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limitlessgojo · 3 years

Text

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 9)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Red Strings of Fate

Next Chapter: Invisible Ties

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

Chapter 9: Wait for Me

After the mission, you got back to the Kyoto High School campus. Both of you were still a little awkward, not knowing exactly how to proceed with your relationship. Are you dating now? Not necessarily.

Noritoshi reached out to you from behind, but thought better and retracted his hand. You seemed to have zoned out for the rest of the mission, so he thought it would be better to give you a bit of space.

You both were outside your dorm room after having submitted the report about how the mission went.

You turned back to face Noritoshi, “Thank you so much for accompanying me on my first ever mission senpai. It was definitely a different experience from just sparring with other jujutsu sorcerers. I’ll do my best to improve.”

You lowered your head, but he bent his knees so he could face you, “You definitely have talent and raw power. Please be more logical in your tactical and in-fight responses next time. Thank you for protecting me.” He spoke quietly so as to not disturb the other students who are already in bed.

You smiled tightly, “Just… doing my job.”

You looked up to face him. There was something cloudy and stormy in his expression that you couldn’t quite read.

He was such a hard man to read, Kamo Noritoshi. Now that you think about it, you really don’t know much about the man who is your soulmate.

Noritoshi pulled back with his usual solemn expression. “You should go on ahead and get some rest. Good night.”

“Good night Noritoshi senpai.” You weakly called out, before going back into your room. Your heart had never pounded this hard and fast before, you were sure. You had trouble going to sleep that night, remembering the second vision you both shared.

On the other hand Noritoshi’s head was spinning by the time he got back into his room. He could still feel the ghost of the kiss from the vision and wondered how it would feel to hold you close to him like that.

◇◇◇

During the weekend, Noritoshi went back to the Kamo Clan estate and told his father of everything that had occurred between the two of you. As soon as he finished his father softly slammed down a fist on his desk out of excitement.

“It’s been how many years since the last known living pair of soulmates existed? They were so highly regarded that most pairs chose to live in complete isolation out of fear of being targeted. We need to be careful, but this is truly a blessing from the heavens.” His father smiled.

Noritoshi’s dad pushed a book towards him. “We were able to find a very old record of soulmates from our clan’s history. Kamo no Hotaru. A man who lived quietly, after eloping with his soulmate away from the Kamo clan. His partner was said to be a woman from the Abe clan. They supposedly died in battle, according to records. This happened during the rise of curses right before the Heian era.” His father spoke solemnly.

Noritoshi felt chills run up his spine upon hearing his words. “The woman’s name is unknown. But her parents were known to have not approved of her involvement with Hotaru kun. This was as written in the diary entries of Hotaru. Curses and curse users alike were drawn towards their synergy and tried to break them apart or at least kill one of them.”

“They might have survived had they stayed with their families, but they chose love above all. Back then it was not yet widely known about how soulmates’ offsprings could have a power far greater than their parents’, but now we do. But even apart from that, a soulmate bond is said to make both halves grow stronger. So make sure that you don’t let go of her. Charm her and make sure she stays with you. A stronger bond will give you strength as a Jujutsu sorcerer.” His father orders him.

The words were swimming in Noritoshi’s head. But… “If it’s simply falling for her and making her fall for me, it should come naturally with time father. To be frank, I’ve been attracted to her since our first meeting. I will do my best.” Noritoshi said firmly.

◇◇◇

Days after your first mission, Noritoshi’s words from your first mission together still bothered you. It was so dumb on your part. “You don’t know me.” Those words just kept repeating in your mind. It wasn’t wrong.

Make no mistake, Noritoshi didn't mean to offend you at all. From his point of view, he only wanted you to tell him the real reason as to why you saved him without thinking of your actions. He didn't mean to hurt you with his words.

You tried to let it go, knowing that he was just extra worried at that time. But to be honest, it was something that still hung over you. You wished to know him better, not only as a soulmate, but also as a friend.

Everytime Noritoshi came around you and greeted you hello, your heart would tighten just a bit. He could start to feel the weighted heaviness on your soul that he didn't realize was yours via the bond.

He simply thought that he was also feeling down for no reason. It was a long way, distinguishing whose emotions were whose, as the bond is still so fresh between the two of you.

And so he gave his mother a call and scheduled a meetup with her.

“Hello? Mother. Yes, I am well. How are you? …. That’s good to hear. Are you free this weekend? …. Nothing really, I just wanted to see you. …. Yes, me too. …. All is going well here at school, you don’t have to worry I promise. … Yes father is okay. …. Thank you, I’ll see you this Saturday then. Goodbye.” Beep.

◇◇◇

In the following weeks, Noritoshi had been incredibly busy to say the least. He was finally getting promoted to a semi grade 1 as long as he does well in his next mission.

His father was constantly reminding him to make sure he makes you fall in love with him as his soulmate, and hurry it up so that the rest of the clan can meet you already. And he just really wanted to see his mother.

One afternoon you tried to cheer him up after noticing his bad moods. You made senpai some coffee and brought him pastries in your free time.

You sent him a text saying you had something for him. He replied that you could stay for a bit in his room.

“Pardon my intrusion!” You called out as you went in. The door was left unlocked for you. “Come in.” Noritoshi looked up tiredly. His eyes had heavy bags and he looked so exhausted.

“I’m sorry to be bothering you. I just brought some coffee and pastries here so that you can regain a bit of energy senpai.” you whispered, not wanting to be too loud for him.

“It’s not a bother. I’ve just been swamped with so much work as of the late.”

"Senpai, have you… considered getting a bit of rest first? The TOEIC is still a long way to go." You stared at the papers that read "TOEIC 990" stacked on top of his desk.

"I have other matters I’m attending to. Family business and other missions." He grunted while continuing to write down on his paper. He was definitely stressed and overworked.

Maybe he needed someone, like a family member. You tried to empathize with him, "I see. Have you heard from your mom and dad lately? I also understand if you're feeling homesick, I feel the same…" You trailed off upon seeing his face tighten at the mention of his mother.

Your heart dropped.

"That's none of your business." He whispered coldly without thinking.

Fuck y/n. You stepped on a landmine.

You inhaled sharply, backing away. “Ah, I’m so sorry to be intruding. I stepped out of bounds. Please get as much rest as you need.”

You quickly excused yourself from his room feeling so confused from his sudden cold demeanour.

Noritoshi reached out to you, “Wait! I didn’t-” but you already closed his door and stumbled out of his room faster than he could react.

He gave a deep sigh, not meaning to offend you or anything. He just wasn’t in the mood to be around anyone else, and that included you at the moment.

He was just feeling stressed, because he had to cancel his meetup with his mother since his father demanded to talk with him about other clan matters.

He groaned out in frustration. “I’ll have to talk and apologize to her later.” He noticed a heavy and sharp tugging at his heart. He dropped his pen in surprise and stared at his chest in confusion.

"This… these aren't my emotions…" it dawned on him finally. Finally, you both are starting to share very strong bursts of emotion.

Pain and sorrow. Your emotions washed over him like a tidal wave, so sudden that he didn't realize tears were running down one side of his left eye.

He felt guilt and regret like never before.

◇◇◇

A strong wave of regret and guilt stabbed through you. You were pretty sure that these were Noritoshi's emotions.

You finally started feeling something from his end, but you just felt heavy. Was it supposed to be tiring to be a fated pair? Or was it just the bond that was messing up both of your emotions?

You couldn’t even ask anyone else for help, because currently there are no known living soulmates. Besides you and Noritoshi that is.

◇◇◇

The next time you met each other, it was a bit awkward. You tried to give him space during the past few days, understanding that it must be what he needed.

After all, he didn't seem too keen on the way you tried to connect with him last time. You probably overstepped your boundaries. It's true, even though you're soulmates, you're still just friends at this stage.

But Noritoshi found himself looking for you. Trying to catch you in his free time, he finally found you in the weaponry, training with your twin blades.

He stared at your figure. You looked like you were dancing rather than fighting. Smaller daggers controlled by your cursed energy flew around you, covering for any blind spots.

They came to a halt as you set them down and deactivated your technique.

"May I help you Noritoshi senpai?" You asked without turning to look at him. He felt his throat tighten up.

"I came to apologise." Your fingers twitched as though itching to throw your dagger at him. But of course you would never.

"Ahhh, it's okay, Noritoshi senpai. I'm sorry for rudely not minding my own business. Even though we might be soulmates, you're not my boyfriend. We are just good friends aren't we?" You said as you finally turned to face him.

‘Set the boundaries and define the relationship’, you thought to yourself.

Every word you said felt like you were pushing the needle deeper in your heart. It hurt, and you both knew it.

He stepped towards you, standing inches away and shaking his head. "I took out my anger and stress on you, and that was wrong of me. I'm sorry. I do care about you deeply, and you're much more than a friend. You are a very special person to me.``

"Don't say words you don't mean Noritoshi senpai. Please." Your heart was slowly crumbling. He looked pained. "I am not lying. Please believe me.”

But you shook your head and stood your ground. You could feel a fraction of his emotions at this stage of the bond. And you knew in your heart that he was just as confused as you are, trying to feel his way into this relationship.

Noritoshi’s father’s words echoed in his head, ‘Don’t let her go.’

"Don't be unfair to me y/n. If I need time I need it. And I will surely fall for you. If you need time, I’ll also give it to you." He whispered out urgently. "We have a lifetime together."

How did he always sound so sure of himself? Of the future for both of you? You looked back up at him with teary eyes. It sounded so wrong, like he was forcing himself to love you just for the sake of the bond. Does that even count...

"To be honest with you, I don't know what to feel right now senpai." Your voice cracked. His heart broke upon seeing you like this. But nothing can be done.

Does the knowledge of a soulbond always bring a pair together or does it doom two people who are not yet ready to love?

"Wait for me." He promised as he took your hands in his and looked you in the eyes. Your marks felt warm.

You finally felt yourself calm down. And it was so frustrating that you're becoming so dependent on him, turning to him for physical affection. He was the cause of your sorrows and joys altogether.

Blood Bound: Table of Contents

#kamo noritoshi #blood bound #red strings of fate #noritoshi x reader #jujutsu kaisen #noritoshi angst #mahito #jjk x y/n #jjk x you #jjk fic #kamo noritoshi x reader #noritoshi x y/n #noritoshi fluff #kamo noritoshi x you #jjk kamo #noritoshi x you

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sukirichi · 3 years

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hi suki! wanted to tell you this bc i have no one else to talk about it with ><

( you can answer this when the English chapter releases! i was able to read it because my friend bought the WSJ issue)

I was trying to udnerstand Naoy's character, so I was reding everything from CH138-151 again. I'm kinda sad at how people just calls Naoya a Toji fanboy (though true LMAO) and not realizing how Toji really influenced his persona. Like the admiration Naoya held for Toji is so deeply engraved in him that he, who was called a genius sorcerer as a child, looks up to a man who was called a failure. Toji is probably the only man in the clan that he respected, that's why toji's level of strength became his "picture" to follow. And I think a lot of who Naoya has become is because the Zen'ins literally groomed the decency out of him. Still, though groomed to be everything he is, he himself chose not to change anything about it.

(wait but also?? little naoya looks cute like he would guide old ladies on the ped xing so what the fuck happened after that)

I guess one major reason why he does not respect anyone else in the clan (besides his superiority complex) is because of the Zen'in's concept of what is marked as strong. Like, the way they see and treated him as if he's the best sorcerer in the making, yet failing to see Toji's powers and rejecting him fully. It's something similar to Mai when she said "Maki has talent that I don't. And the clan rejected that; that talent that I lacked", except Naoya is raised to be a confident (arrogant?) child, thus he takes it as a challenge instead and works to achieve it.

So, when Maki reached the level of Toji, I think his reaction wasn't simply stemmed on his "fanboy" antics, but his desperation of being part of that level of strength. I think he's more irritated in the fact that Maki, someone who he does not see anywhere near as strong as he is (though he does say Maki is strong in chapter 138), reached a level of strength that he hasn't; that he is trying hard to achieve. It's also the same with having your favorite superhero getting defeated. And Naoya's in denial that there is someone else who could be the same as Toji.

I like how he's an antagonist that was not build under the foundation of a sob backstory (though it was a v small sneak peak of his background and was mainly centered with his admiration for toji, plus I think people forget that Naoya is an antagonist), how he acknowledges that he has not reached that level of strength. Of course, I'm angsty about his misogynistic ideals. I get that he's from a very traditionalist clan so... yeah. I mean, no child is born evil. Children learn from those around them (I've seen many people say he's trash since he was a kid when he said that "i wonder what miserable face he has", but like he's a kid, he doesn't know what he's saying AHSJFJWJQ8QR he was either taught that or he just learned it from others. Funnily enough, he does say toji has a pretty face now LMAO). Maybe it stems from something else, maybe it didn't.

I'm not saying him trying to kill Megumi is forgotten (Though, the Jujutsu Society is a place where teens get executed for the simple fact that they are too strong, so im not surprised. Just like Noritoshi said, age does not matter in Jujutsu Society). I see now why he was really pissed about Megumi being the head, since Naoya has been promised the position since he was young, only to loose of a 15 year old who is the son of the man he admires :')) However, still, none of it excuses the shit he did. He still has a shitty personality, but it's nice to know a bit of a background.

Anyway, that's all for now. My English is bad so that might be all over the place •`,`• That's just my take on it so I could be wrong or maybe seeing him wrong since we still don't know much abt him. I'm always scared to talk about naoya because the last time i did (on twt) i got a backlash of hate (ppl really do get hate just from admiring someone's characterization). Your blog is like a safe haven for naoya stans, so i thank you for that hehe.

Have a nice day suki!! kisses~

(also this is a PSPSPSPS to a naoya childhood friends au fic pls 👁👁)

bestie omg I am so sorry, I found this deep in my inbox and I am *shakes* and yes yes let’s talk about naoya, I would be more than glad to and I’m sorry I didn’t see this any sooner!! more rants and simping under the cut

I'm kinda sad at how people just calls Naoya a Toji fanboy (though true LMAO) and not realizing how Toji really influenced his persona. Like the admiration Naoya held for Toji is so deeply engraved in him that he, who was called a genius sorcerer as a child, looks up to a man who was called a failure. Toji is probably the only man in the clan that he respected, that's why toji's level of strength became his "picture" to follow. And I think a lot of who Naoya has become is because the Zen'ins literally groomed the decency out of him. Still, though groomed to be everything he is, he himself chose not to change anything about it.

omg for this…I’m actually like…like I love the detail that naoya admires toji? as we can see from the panel of little naoya, it’s like people have already planted in his head that no cursed energy = loser, yet he ended up admiring him and I am,,,my heart is just soft! exactly! just think of naoya born as a genius sorcerer yet his admiration for toji, who is painted as the clan’s failure, helped shape him into who he is! idk but I just really love the fact that naoya, who is like born with the pressure and role of being clan leader, somewhat strays from tradition and ends up finding strength into toji and even strives to follow him or “stand by him” someday. for me, it just shows that perhaps naoya isn’t really half as bad as he should be in an honest sense, meaning that he’s evil or morally corrupt because he was born that way or because he chose to be that way. I do agree that perhaps he is the way he is now because he’s groomed to be like that, but of course, I’m not going to disregard the fact that somewhere along the way, Naoya could’ve matured to choose himself to not embody the misogynistic tradition of the zen’in clan.

This could just be me, but my interpretation of it is that Naoya seems more like the perfect product or embodiment of how the clan shaped him to be, blinded him with false morals and the patriarchy presiding into them. Rather than Naoya being just “a misogynistic arrogant man” in my perspective and my opinion, I see him more into the bigger picture of his toxic upbringing to begin with. Like, no child is born evil unless there’s like a predetermined curse deciding their fate for them, so its partly the Zen’in clan’s fault he’s that way. But Gege showing that Naoya admiring someone the Zen’in clan disregarded, it shows that he is capable of being himself without the clause of his clan enforcing things to him once again, like the whole “he’s gonna be the future clan leader” thing, though that is still heavily embedded within him.

(wait but also?? little naoya looks cute like he would guide old ladies on the ped xing so what the fuck happened after that)

OMGGGG PLEASE THAT’S SO CUTE, HE LOOKED SO INNOCENT AND ADORABLE BUT EVEN AS A CHILD HE WAS ALREADY CALLING PEOPLE A LOSER LIKE EYE

I guess one major reason why he does not respect anyone else in the clan (besides his superiority complex) is because of the Zen'in's concept of what is marked as strong. Like, the way they see and treated him as if he's the best sorcerer in the making, yet failing to see Toji's powers and rejecting him fully. It's something similar to Mai when she said "Maki has talent that I don't. And the clan rejected that; that talent that I lacked",except Naoya is raised to be a confident (arrogant?) child, thus he takes it as a challenge instead and works to achieve it.

Anon, is it just me or like…was his superiority complex also enforced on him by the Zen’in clan as well? Again this could just be me going all psychologist mode on Naoya but the nature of superiority complex is quite interesting, you know! As a psych student, I perfectly understand that superiority complex either stems from several things like a) wanting to live up to one’s or others expectations, b) masking it with a deep stem of insecurity, or c) it’s a coping mechanism. See, I could go on and on about but then I’d have to link all my past studies lmao so let’s just put it on layman’s terms that my interpretation of Naoya’s superiority complex is once again, influenced by the clan. Imagine being a kid born into a clan where people remind you again and again that you’re the future leader, that you would be the one to guide them or protect them or discuss the clan’s future and status once you grow, and you’re quite groomed for it.

For such pressure to be put on a child’s shoulders, it kind of strips off his youth and instead of him enjoying his youth, I can imagine that it took a toll on little Naoya, and the reason he grew his superiority complex is his way to cope and reach the standards and expectations that is given to him. Of course, he’s a kid, he might start to wonder, “Can I even do all of that?” but seeing as the Zen’in clan highly measures strength and growth based on abilities, cursed energy, and overall just to conform into the image they’ve held for years, it’s quite obvious that Naoya can’t exactly voice out his worries over this, so instead, he masks it with a superiority complex that absolutely boosts him to a higher level, thus giving him the confidence he needed to carry out his tasks and the reassurance that, “Yes, I am worthy and I will be the clan leader.” As for your theory that he takes it as a challenge, I can see where you’re coming from! I think Naoya is the type of person who definitely likes to challenge himself, but one of the reasons I love his character so much is because he’s not completely a brainless “head on straight to war” type of person too.

He knows his limits and knows which side he should be in, as showed when Yuuta came and mans surrendered easily. Idk why but to me, Naoya, who is such an arrogant confident man who has high trust in abilities, but at the same time can admit when someone is stronger than him (like him admiring Toji and Gojo) just makes him more human and a little more beautifully flawed. Like, he’s not perfect and he’s most definitely an irritating character, but the way he was written is just *chef’s kiss*

Yes, ah I really do love this theory that he’s more irritated because in his mind, he’s like, “I’m a genius sorcerer! I was meant to be clan leader! This is my rightful spot to be a strong one, so how come Maki, who is a woman, with no zero cursed energy has reached the level of the person I looked up most to?” again, Naoya didn’t say that and those are just my opinions and brainrot so don’t come at me for it uwu, but yeah I do think that he’s very aggravated that he didn’t react that level first. Because I guess you could say, he’s probably alluding that Maki reaching Toji’s strength = them being equals, and ofc Naoya wanted to be the one standing beside them. It probably hit his superiority complex that he wasn’t the one in Maki’s spot especially when he tried so hard to achieve it, and considering the gifts he was given (same cursed technique as his dad and him having cursed energy) it threw him off.

Yeah, Naoya is most likely in denial and becomes aggressive over it, although I don’t really mean physically aggressive because Naoya is actually quite calm and ‘composed.’ If ever he did go on a rampage, he does it in such a suave, calculated manner with this silent confidence that he will win. It kind of makes you root for him because he even fools the audience (by audience I mean ME) that he’s going to OWN that fight but whoop, he got his ass kicked. Plus ten points for confidence and a bonus thousand points for being sexy though!!! Yeah, omg he’s probably in disbelief that a woman of all people could be like the person he admired most.

OMG YESSSS ANON YES YES YES *slams down simping button angrily* That’s what I like about him too! Even though Naoya is cocky and wayyyy too arrogant for his own good, I also like that he acknowledges he’s not quite in a level he wants to be in yet. And hah, his backstory, it wasn’t totally sob because it’s obvious he was much too doted on, but I still hate how they made him like that. True, if he’s still carrying the same misogynistic ideals as he is now in an age where he has the mental capacity to improve and be different, then the belief has become more of a choice than something engraved into him, which I am really disappointed and not really into because of course, he’d be much better if he wasn’t like that in the first place. LOLOLOLOL yes yes he’s a kid, it sure as hell doesn’t excuse the way he is now but like just think !!

if a kid was spouting out such mean words and CLEARLY no one is correcting him, who really is the problem here? A child has a harder time deciphering what is right and wrong by himself without proper guidance. And he didn’t have proper guidance, they really just let him be like that and it’s because the clan!! sucks !! ass !! YEAH he probably called toji with a miserable face because he hasn’t seen him before but after seeing the iconic dilf, Naoya gone be like, “anyways, I lied, moving on—”

I'm not saying him trying to kill Megumi is forgotten (Though, the Jujutsu Society isa place where teens get executed for the simple fact that they are too strong, so im not surprised. Just like Noritoshi said, age does not matter in Jujutsu Society). I see now why he was really pissed about Megumi being the head, since Naoya has been promised the position since he was young, only to loose of a 15 year old who is the son of the man he admires :')) However, still, none of it excuses the shit he did. He still has a shitty personality, but it's nice to know a bit of a background.

yeah no of course, no worries! even as a hardcore naoya stan, I can admit this dude is TERRIBLE for so many reasons! yeah I mean that could be pretty irritating because he was born for it, raised to be clan leader, groomed and expected he’d have that role, but nah someone else took his throne. yeah I’m with you on that, naoya has a shitty personality and I would totally smack him if he was real because he makes my eyes roll to the back of my head, but knowing his background and theorizing (read: me going all psychologist mode because he’s the only character I ever cared about to apply my studies into) his character is quite fun. I wish we had more scenes with Naoya though, I really hoped he’d play a bigger role but he just…died, I guess, though I’m starting to believe that maybe he really isn’t dead! Gege did him dirty omg I’ll cry again if it’s really GENUINELY confirmed my baby is gone.

ah no worries about your English, I didn’t really notice anything wrong with it tbh! And I understand, these are all just our opinions/theories/perspectives, we could be wrong or not, we don’t really know because we’re not Gege (⋟﹏⋞) NOOOO PEOPLE HATED YOU ON THAT? ISTG I’VE NEVER SEEN A FANDOM CANCEL SOMEONE AS MUCH AS JJK FANDOM CANCELS NAOYA AND NAOYA STANS LIKE – he’s just a fictional character omg, cancelling naoya is understandable because I would too but attacking his fans? or generally anyone who talks about him in a neutral or not in a way that goes, “yeah I would punch this mfer” is just?? doesn’t make sense to me bestie, people really choose to do that with their time yikes.

AND AWWW THANK YOU YES I PROTECT ALL MY FELLOW NAOYA STANS HERE, I respect who people simp for because if it’s what you enjoy and as long as you’re not hurting anybody, then it really doesn’t matter and it’s not a big deal! and you’re always welcome here uwu. have an even nicer day bestie and I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner AAAA I really loved talking about this tho HEHEHEH I’m not actually too much of a JJK theorist since I’m not smart enough to pay attention or infer from all the details but NAOYA HMMMMM also childhood friends fic? hmu let’s hear it!! also ahh hmm idk but i get really happy whenever people talk to me freely about naoya bcos even tho i have been a naoya simp for like three months, it was not until recently that people came to me about him and i have just been simping alone (bcos people MADDDD) spsppsps okay rant over thank you anon i love you kith kith <3

#asks with naoya's trophy wife #jjk: manga spoilers #tw: misogyny

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takayatweets · 4 years

Text

Under the cut is a translation of a now archived interview on Anireko TV about Fruits Basket 2nd Season that aired on the 25th of May 2020. The episode was retweeted by Takaya-sensei here. The special guests are Umehara Yuuichirou (the voice of Kureno Sohma) and Ishida Ayumi (member of girl group Morning Musume ‘20 and Fruits Basket fan)!

I have condensed it down but this interview is still a little long, so for those who are only interested in Umehara-san and Ishida-sans’ parts, you will find the beginning of their sections highlighted in bold.

Translation begins from 0:47 of the video.

Miyama Karen (host): Todays line-up will be this: “Fruits Basket 2nd Season 30 minute special!” The first guest we will talk to live over the phone is Umehara Yuuichirou-san. The second guest will be Morning Musume ‘20′s Ishida Ayumi-san!

Inoue Yuusuke (host): We’re very grateful for their participation.

Miyama: Yes!

Interview proceeds to 1:53

Miyama: So Inoue-san! Today we will be doing a big feature on Fruits Basket 2nd Season - a show aired weekly on Mondays at 1:30am!

Inoue: It’s an anime full of drama, isn’t it.

Miyama: Yeah *laughing*. Without further ado, let’s get straight into our chat about the story so far!

Inoue: Ok!

Miyama: The protagonist is Tohru Honda - a girl who has been living in the Sohma house for one year at the beginning of Season 2. The secret of the Sohma clan is that if they are hugged by someone of the opposite gender they are cursed to transform into the animals from the Chinese zodiac. Tohru encounters many members of the Sohma family who are carrying various worries and hardships, deepening her bond with them. Living under the same roof, how will Yuki, Tohru and Kyo face this curse?

Inoue: They are moving towards their goals with conviction, aren’t they!

Miyama: Yes! Towards the curse!

Umehara (narrating): What’s more, we will introduce three new characters who arrive in the 2nd season! First of all, vice-president of the student council Manabe Kakeru. His personality is very friendly and he acts freely and uncontrollably. He is constantly causing trouble for the school council president, Yuki. Next is the school council treasurer, Kuragi Machi, a girl who finds it extremely difficult to deal with things that are organised perfectly.

Miyama: Whats more, another character who is going to greatly push the story forward in Fruits Basket - Kureno Sohma - has finally appeared! He is very popular among fans of the original manga and appears during the ‘vacation house’ arc!

(a montage of scenes from the vacation arc episodes play)

Umehara (narrating): Summer vacation. Tohru and the members of the Sohma Clan have headed over to the family owned vacation house to spread their wings. However, the head of the family, Akito, appears whilst they are enjoying their trip. Akito calls Yuki and the other members of the Zodiac to a separated room from the vacation house in an attempt to isolate Tohru.

(montage footage ends)

Inoue: I see.

Miyama: Finally Akito-san has appeared.

Inoue: It makes you wonder what will happen next, doesn’t it.

Miyama: It makes you anxious, right?

Inoue: Fruits Basket has lots of fluffy, carefree moments, but now it is getting a little heavier, isn’t it.

Miyama: You’re right. I wonder if Tohru-chan will be all right? I’m worried.

First Guest: Umehara Yuuichirou (Kureno Sohma)　Time - 4:40

Miyama: And the man who will be playing Kureno Sohma is none other than our own narrator for Anireko TV, Umehara Yuuichirou-san! Today we will be having a discussion with him over the phone! Hello, Ume-san?

Umehara: Yes, this is Umehara, hello.

Inoue: Hold on a second..... Karen-chan, you just called him ‘Ume-san’ didn’t you? Eeeeeeh?

Miyama: *laughing* I’m sorry!! I got too friendly all of a sudden, please excuse me. Umehara-san!

Inoue: Thanks for always doing the narrations for this show!

Umehara: No, thank you - it's very fun.

Miyama: Well then, let’s start to find out what kind of man Kureno - the chararacter that Umehara-san is voicing - is. Please tell us!

Umehara: All right. You may be able to tell already, but Kureno is a man surrounded by mystery. What we do know so far is that Kureno is a fairly kind man, and he is the type of man who cannot simply leave a certain person alone. You’ll find out more about Kureno in coming episodes.

Inoue: How do you feel about playing Kureno? Were there any hardships in becoming his character?

Umehara: Well, I was told that he should not have too many lines when speaking to other people.

Inoue and Miyama: Oooh?!

Inoue: He does participate in conversations, however he is quite an air-head and spaces out frequently; he gives off the feeling of being quite alienated.

Inoue: So Kureno doesn’t always speak about his feelings out loud?

Umehara: Yes, I think he is not an easy character to understand at first and he may feel out of place among the other characters.

Inoue: I see.

Umehara (narrating): Hello everyone! I’m the narrator Umehara who also plays Kureno Sohma! I have prepared a short clip of Kureno, take a look!

(A clip of Arisa and Kureno speaking to each other is played)

Inoue: How did you feel watching that, Ume-chan?

Umehara: Well.......... it was pretty cool.

(they laugh)

Umehara: It makes me embarrassed, listening to my own voice.

Miyama: Doesn’t it.

Inoue: But after this point Kureno will begin to open his heart a little more, won’t he?

Umehara: He will.

Inoue: When he does, we will find out what kind of past he is carrying, and who he will foster feelings for, I assume?

Umehara: Yes, the next time Kureno makes an appearance after Episode 5 he has a completely different aura about him.

Inoue: Really?!

Umehara: If you watch Episode 5 again after the most recent episodes, I think you will understand.

Inoue: Is that so! That’s really got me interested. Ume-chan!

Umehara: Yes?

Inoue: TELL ME EVERYTHING!

(they laugh)

Inoue: I want to find out about what Kureno will do in future episodes.

Umehara: Please expect good things.

Inoue: Well, you’ve given us a great insight.

Miyama: With that being said, please give us a quick summary of Kureno to wrap things up!

Umehara: Ok. Well, anime-only fans still don’t know what kind of man Kureno is going to be, but little by little his story will progress! Please look forward to seeing Kureno, as well as Fruits Basket!

Inoue: Will do!

Miyama: Thank you very much!

(short advertisement for Fruits Basket products and new releases)

Second Guest: Ishida Asumi (Morning Musume ‘20): Time - 10:12

Umehara (narrating): Coming up, let’s hear from a famous Fruits Basket fan!

Miyama: So Inoue-san! Next up we’re going to hear from a guest who is a die-hard fan of Fruits Basket!

Inoue: Die-hard, huh?

Miyama: So, the person who is going to speak to us and is connected to us via phone call right now is none other than Morning Musume ‘20′s Ishida Ayumi-san!

Ishida: Nice to meet you, I’m Ishida Ayumi - member of Morning Musume ‘20! Please take care of me~

Miyama: We were told that you love Fruits Basket, so-

Ishida: Yes, yes!

Inoue: You love Fruits Basket and came onto this show to tell us something?

Ishida: Well, my plan as a Fruits Basket fan is to come here and convey just how much I love the show!

Miyama: Our staff sent out an invite to you after they heard that you like Fruits Basket, but to think we were actually able to get you to say OK to coming on the show...

Ishida: I was thinking that there is no better platform to show how much I love Fruits Basket, so I gave the OK. My life is pretty much a Fruits Basket textbook at this point!

Umehara (narrating): Yes! Ishida-san has been uploading her Fruits Basket pictures onto social media and her blog, to share her love of Fruits Basket with her fans!

Inoue: Ah, can you tell us when exactly you became interested in Fruits Basket?

Ishida: The first time I ever saw Fruits Basket was about 1 year ago from now.

Inoue: I guess your textbook was made pretty recently then!

Ishida: Hahah, yes! However, in order to find out things about Fruits Basket that I didn’t already know, I decided to read the manga, and I did a lot of looking into into how other people are reacting to various scenes. It’s really fun.

Inoue: You said you had something to say about this, go ahead.

Ishida: Ok, I’ll give you the title of my objective here! ‘My Goal! Fruits Basket Recognition. I want to become a FuruMusu~!!’

(they clap)

Inoue: What does that mean?

Ishida: You see, I want to prove myself useful to all Fruits Basket fans and show that I will do anything for Fruits Basket, so I will become a Fruits Basket Musume - FuruMusu.

*FuruMusu is a play on Fruits Basket and Morning Musume ‘20, the girl group that she is a member of.

Inoue: But to become FuruMusu-

Ishida: Yes.

Inoue: Does that mean you’re ok to quit Morning Musume?

Ishida: WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!

(they laugh)

Ishida: Please let me be both at once.

Inoue: You can’t be the Musume (daughter) of two groups at once, can you?

Ishida: No no no no, I have been two Musume at once, in the past. In Minimoni and Morning Musume.

(they laugh)

Ishida: So it’s fine!

Umehara (narration): With that said, we have asked Ishida-san to provide us with the best scenes to get people hooked on Fruits Basket! The two genres we have prepared are as follows: A scene to make your heart skip a beat, and a scene to wreck your tear ducts. What scenes has she chosen?

Ishida: I will first introduce you to the scene that will make your heart skip a beat. It is from the First Season in Episode 12. Please pay attention to Kyo-kun when Tohru becomes entangled with some male students!

(a clip is played from Episode 12 where Kyo scares off two boys talking about Tohru)

Ishida: There you have it!

Inoue: What is it that you like so much about this scene?

Ishida: When Kyo-kun says “it’s ok to space out when you’re around me”, he is basically saying “I will protect you”. I JUST CAN’T HANDLE IT!

(they laugh)

Inoue: Ishida-san, so you are a Kyo-kun stan?

Ishida: Sorry, yes I am a Kyo-kun stan.

Inoue: Ok then, so how would you react if Kyo-kun were to do the same sort of Kabedon to you?

*Kabedon is when someone (usually a male) forcefully puts their hands onto a wall to trap or shield the object of their affection (usually a female), just as Kyo-kun does in episode 12. In recent years it has been a big trend in Japan.

Ishida: I’m very sorry. I would not be able to survive something like that.

(they laugh)

Umehara (narrating): Moving on to the next scene - this one will wreck your tear ducts. What is Kyo-stan Ishida’s best scene for this?

Ishida: This scene is where Kyo-kun shows his true form, and bears all the burdens he is carrying to Tohru. I am not able to watch it without crying! Take a look!

(A montage plays of Kyo’s transformation into the cats' true form and flashback scenes of Kyo’s parents)

Umehara (narrating over the montage): Kyo-kuns' true form. That is, the zodiac cats' alternate form that is disgraced and shunned by the Sohma family. Kyo’s birth mother is frightened of him, and his birth father rejects him completely. Kyo, who was born with the cat spirit, has to live a life all by himself, unable to be accepted by others. Tohru, who sees Kyo in this state, chases after him.

(The scene of Tohru comforting Kyo, and Kyo embracing Tohru, plays)

Inoue: How did you feel watching that, Ishida-san?

Ishida: Thank you very much....

Inoue: What are you saying thank you for?

Ishida: Thank you for letting me say such a wonderful scene again.

Inoue: Ishida-san, you are the one who selected the clip!

(they laugh)

Ishida: No matter how many times I see this scene it grasps at my heart. To see the size of the burdens that Kyo-kun is forced to carry, and to then see the moment where his heart is eased of that pain makes us fans feel as if we have also been healed, too. That is the appeal of that scene.

Inoue: This is becoming very philosophical, isn’t it!

Miyama: Amazing!

Inoue: By the way Ishida-san, did you know that when this scene between Kyo and Tohru was recorded, the voice actress for Tohru, Iwami-san, really cried as she said the lines? She told us this when she came on as a guest on our show.

Ishida: I knew that! The first time I watched that scene I cried, but once I watched it again knowing that Iwami-san had cried it made me cry even more!

Inoue: How did you find out about that?

Ishida: Uh, I guess, well it was circling around and-

Inoue: YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO SAY FROM OUR SHOW!

(they laugh)

Inoue: No matter how you look at it, your answer should have been Anireko TV!

Ishida: I’m sorry! I’ll correct my answer.

(they laugh)

Inoue: Ok, I hope that the next time we meet we will be able to meet inside our studio rather than over the phone!

Ishida: I would like that!

Inoue: By that time we will have even more stuff to talk about, won’t we.

Ishida: I’ll probably end up talking my mouth off again, but by all means please invite me round again to liven things up.

Inoue: Today you said you were going to be Fruits Basket Musume, but you really just came as a Kyo fan!

Ishida: Hah, don’t say that! After all I was only able to select 2 clips!

Inoue: And if there were 3 clips? What would you pick?

Ishida: Well that... it would be another Kyo-kun scene.

Inoue: That’s enough!!

Ishida: No!!!

Inoue: You are only talking about Kyo, so you should really be KyoMusu instead of FuruMusu!

Ishida: Well, I’d be pretty happy about that.

(they laugh)

Miyama: With that said, our second guest was Ishida Ayumi from Morning Musume ‘20! Thank you very much!

Ishida: Thanks for having me!

(advertisements for various shows and a short skit, skip to 23:32)

Miyama: And so today show comes to an end! It was really an celebration of Umehara and a celebration of Fruits Basket, wasn’t it.

Inoue: But, like Ishida-san, there are probably a lot of people in the entertainment industry who like Fruits Basket, aren’t there?

Miyama: You’re right, I bet there are a lot!

Inoue: We should really gather all these people together and have a round table discussion about Fruits Basket.

Miyama: Sounds great.

Inoue: I want to hear from fans why their favorite character is so great.

Miyama: That would become quite the heated discussion.

Inoue: Karen-chan, who is your favorite?

Miyama: Yuki-kun!

Inoue: So you think that Yuki has a lot of good sides to him?

Miyama: I do.

Inoue: So then if you create a ‘best of’ clip selection just like Ishida-san did, would Yuki be in it?

Miyama: Yes. Of course.

(they laugh)

-End-

#This took a lot.... lot longer than I expected #but hopefully someone other than me can get some enjoyment out of reading it!#Fruits Basket #Morning Musume #Umehara Yuuichirou #Ishida Ayumi #nontweet

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raendown · 5 years

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Pairing: MadaraTobirama Chapter: 16/18 Word count: 2613 Summary: When Tobirama is exiled from the Senju clan without warning, without even the chance to plead his case, it feels like his life is over. What does he have to live for now without his older brother to believe in him? Captured by the Uchiha in his moment of weakness, Tobirama slowly learns to live again with the last people on earth he would have ever expected to care for - or to fall in love with.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the blog header!

Chapter 16

His eyes could see the man standing there in the doorway but his heart refused to accept that this was happening. The only thing inside his head right then was a tiny voice that sounded suspiciously like himself as a child crying out that he wasn’t ready, he just wasn’t ready for this yet. Honestly there was no way to tell if he would have ever been ready no matter this his heart had wanted this right from the very start.

But the universe rarely cared for whether or not one was ready for something and Tobirama had known he would have to deal with this eventually when he agreed to move in to the village. No one could stay hidden completely forever, not if he wanted to start taking missions again at some point since putting his name on the roster would have been a dead giveaway. The surprise of it all was his own fault, really. If he had been infusing chakra to keep his sensing abilities active then he would have felt their guest approaching and disappeared long before the surprise meeting happened. It seemed even he was growing complacent in the safety of their new home; he’d stopped keeping his sensing active so often after the first couple of weeks. He sort of regretted that now.

“Hashirama,” he softly greeted the man stared at him. Izuna shuffled a bit closer and Tobirama felt his heart swell even as he gently touched his friend on the arm to let him know that it was okay. Hashirama was hardly going to attack him or anything but it was nice to know that if he tried anything else there was someone here that wouldn’t let it happen.

“You’re…here. You’re here. You’re alive.” His eyes were quickly filling with tears and Tobirama blinked, nonplussed.

“Did you think I was dead?”

Hashirama took one step forward and then jerked to a stop when Izuna snarled protectively. “Oh god you’re here! Touka – she followed your trail until it disappeared. We didn’t know what to think. I…please. Please believe me, I never stopped looking. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Tobi!”

“You have no right to address him in such a familiar way,” Izuna growled. “You have no rights here! Not to talk to him! Not to apologize to him! Not even to look at him!”

“Izu, it’s alright.”

“No it isn’t! He sent you away! He broke you! Everything that you’ve gone through in the past year is his fault and he should know that! He should know exactly what sort of cowardly, conniving, backstabbing, shameful, kinless, asshole-”

“I do know! Not a day goes by that it doesn’t haunt me but I didn’t mean to! Tobi, please, I never wanted any of this to happen, I beg you to believe that!” Hashirama took another step forward but this time he had eyes only for the one he had turned away more than a year before, barely seeming to notice the way Izuna snarled at him again. “I have scoured every inch of every place I could possibly think of since that day to try and find you because I love you! Of course I love you! I…I would understand…if can you never forgive me. Or if you don’t even want to speak to me again. What I did was terrible and awful and I don’t think I would forgive me either in your position. Kami knows you shouldn’t. But I…”

Tobirama crossed his arms behind the protective barrier of Izuna’s body and held his own chest tightly for fear that he would fly to pieces if he didn’t. But he listened. How could he not? After everything he had gone through he still loved this man more than his own life. Just hearing that beloved voice again was a balm on the withered corners of his heart.

“You deserve a real apology. And to know that I regret everything. If you are willing to listen I will explain what happened and anything else you want to know but please understand that I am not offering that as an excuse. I should never have – well. You know. I should not have done what I did to you. I want nothing more in this world than for you to come home, to have my brother back.” Tears streamed freely down Hashirama’s cheeks and his expression had never been more broken. It was surprisingly difficult for Tobirama to watch. Logically he thought he should have enjoyed this petty revenge for all the pain he had suffered but here in this moment all he wanted was for his big brother to stop crying.

Still he continued to say nothing, only stood there and let the man get through what needed to be said. From the half-coherent way he was stringing himself together instead of blubbering aimlessly it was clear that he had practiced this speech quite a bit and the thought of that was oddly touching. To think of the man picturing this moment, preparing for it, spending the precious hours of so many days thinking about it just as Tobirama himself had, it was a comforting thought.

“If you have it in your heart to let me then I will spend the rest of my life apologizing and making sure you always know how much I love you. How much I regret doing what I did to you. I will make up for the wrongs I have committed in whatever way you deem fit. But if you…if you want nothing more to do with me then I am prepared for that too and no one could ever blame you for it. I promise that I will accept whatever decision you make without arguing. You hate it when I argue. Just please know that I am sorry.” Wilting as ran out of words, Hashirama drew in a shuddering breath and whispered once more, “I’m so sorry Tobi, brother, if I may call you that one more time.”

Then he fell utterly still in a way he would normally be incapable of to await his judgement. It wasn’t in him to deceive, Tobirama knew that very well, so every word that had just come out of his mouth was entirely sincere. Hashirama had never been the type for any sort of manipulation, much preferring open honesty. It was something he used to tease the man for – when he wasn’t also dealing out irritated lectures on giving their enemies too much leeway. What he had said was probably a mish mash of a hundred different speeches that he must have laid awake preparing in the inevitability they ever found each other again.

And now Tobirama had to decide how much honesty to give in return. No matter how many hours he too had sat by himself and imagined this moment he had never been able to decide exactly how he wanted to react, what he wanted to do. Hashirama was sincere in his words now but could he trust that something like this would never happen again?

Could he survive this twice?

With one more tight squeeze he unfolded his arms and ran both hands through his hair. As much as he would like to ask for more time to think about his reply he knew it wouldn’t help. The best thing to do now was something he had always been terrible at: following his heart. And his heart was crying out for Hashirama to drag him in for a big hug just like old times, which the man wouldn’t do if Tobirama didn’t tell him it was okay. Overzealous he might be but he did understand boundaries when they were given. First, however, there were certain things he had to make clear.

“You hurt me,” he began slowly. “You took everything I have and everything I am away from me. When you sent me away you broke a part of me that I had always believed unbreakable because I trusted that my family – you – would always be beside me. Would always believe in me. But…if you hadn’t then I wouldn’t have what I do now. What you did was not okay. Saying sorry does not make it right.” He watched Hashirama’s face crumple and added softly, “It’s a start though.”

“So you…you don’t hate me?” For such a big man he sounded incredibly small. Tobirama sighed.

“No. I don’t think I’m capable of hating you.”

Izuna huffed and muttered, “You should.” Before Tobirama could scold him Hashirama echoed his sigh, scratching at the back of his head with shame on his face.

“He’s right, you should hate me. But I’m glad you don’t and I just can’t tell you how much it means to me that you don’t. Gods above, Tobi, I’m sorry. If I could take it all back I would in a heartbeat.”

“None of us can change the past.” And if he were honest he wasn’t sure he would.

Yes, he had been through hell and worse trying to work his way through what had happened to him but the beautiful things he had gained along the way, weren’t they worth it? Could he ever say that he would give them up for the chance to go back and live as if none of this ever happened? He couldn’t imagine waking up to any face but Madara’s for the rest of his life. He couldn’t imagine never cooking breakfast with Izuna or helping Kagami with his kata forms or listening to the old lady down the street complain about her nephew coming home late every night.

Tobirama looked at the tense man still standing like an immovable barrier between them and bit down on the inside of his cheek. Maybe this wasn’t what he had asked for but being with the Uchiha was where he needed to be, even if it had taken him a long time to admit that it also the place he now wanted to be.

Breaking the news that he would never be ‘going home’ as his brother had phrased it would not be easy but after all the work and time that had gone in to making his place here he had absolutely no intentions of leaving, not for anything. If Hashirama still loved him as much as the man claimed then he would have to accept that. Living in the same village, it wasn’t as if they would never see each other again just because they wouldn’t be living in the same house again.

With trembling hands plucking at each other nervously, Hashirama drew a few trembling breaths and looked around as though hoping to find a few answers for their myriad problems written on the walls.

“So can we…I don’t know where to go from here,” he said. “Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? Would that be okay? You can tell me whatever crazy story led to me finding you…in the Uchiha district. I’m sure that one’s a doozy.”

“I don’t know that I would be comfortable going in to Senju territory just yet. A restaurant maybe?”

Hashirama flinched but nodded understandingly. Then he shifted his weight back and forth until it began to look like a dance, fingers wringing themselves together while he darted his eyes away and back, away and back, gathering his courage to finally blurt out what was really on his mind.

“Can I hug you? If you’re uncomfortable that’s okay, I won’t! I just had to ask! I’m sorry, I’ve just missed you so much and now you’re here, you’re alive, and I just – I want to hold on to you and never let go. I never should have let you go in the first place!” The force of his own rambling left him panting for breath, his hands going still to clasp each other again as his expression settled in to the familiar puppy-eyed gaze he used when he only wanted someone to let him show them his love. Tobirama folded in on himself, feeling like nothing so much as a little boy again, and nodded ever so slightly.

“Yes please,” he said.

“Oh thank kami!” Hashirama lunged around Izuna to throw himself at Tobirama, engulfing him with both arms and burying his face in pale hair. As soon as Tobirama hesitantly patted him on the back he let out a muffled sob that sounded like a confused mixture of sad and happy.

Tobirama melted in to the embrace, afraid to close his eyes just in case it wasn’t real, desperately trying not to break the spell. It took everything in him not to whimper with relief. Hashirama’s scent filled his nose, the warmth of his hug, the home-bright-welcoming feeling of his chakra, it was everything he’d thought he would spend the rest of his life quietly yearning for and then feeling stupid for doing so. He loved his place among the Uchiha, he truly did. But he had loved Hashirama first and it was the sort of love that just never goes away no matter how the staying aches.

A large patch on his shoulder was soaked through with tears by the time the front door opened and Madara’s chakra hurried in to the house feeling tense and purposeful. Tobirama didn’t give much thought to moving, too caught up in his own drama to think about whether he might cause more, so he was just as surprised as Hashirama when they were suddenly wrenched apart for Madara to angrily drag him aside.

“Get away from him!” he was shouting, eyes red and spinning wildly, immediately taking up the same defensive stance as Izuna had before. Hashirama looked devastated to be separated again so soon and Tobirama couldn’t say he felt much different, though he managed to calmly lay his hand on Madara’s wrist.

“It’s alright. I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Madara pinned Hashirama in place with a dangerously sharp look and waved at an all too willing Izuna to watch him before turning to gather Tobirama in both arms and press their foreheads together, stroking the markings on his cheeks. “What did he say to you? If I had known he was coming I would have intercepted him, I swear. Koemi came to get me but all she said was that there was an emergency here at home and to come at once. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Tobirama smiled helplessly, charmed by how much this man cared for his wellbeing. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good.” Madara pet his cheeks a few more times and then gently guided his chin up to gift him with a soft, lingering kiss.

“EH!?” They jolted apart again to look over at where Hashirama had dropped his jaw down to somewhere around his knees, staring at them like they had both grown several new heads. “What are you–? HUH!?”

“Ah. Yes.” Tobirama tilted his head contemplatively. “I hadn’t quite gotten around to explaining anything to him yet. Perhaps we should all sit down; it’s going to take a while to get the whole story out. Especially so because I know I am going to be interrupted a hundred times by each of you.” He rolled his eyes and patted Madara consolingly when his partner gave Hashirama one more suspicious look, still holding him protectively close.

On his part, Hashirama looked like he was ready to faint. He didn’t seem to be dealing very well with so many surprises. Tobirama herded them all towards the living with a faintly worried crease between his brows and hoped that his wayward sibling was up for just a few more shocks.

He wasn’t looking forward to explaining that he had spent several weeks as a prisoner of the man he was now in a relationship with.

#rae writes #madatobi #tobirama #hashirama #izuna #madara #fanfiction

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dalishious · 6 years

Text

@briannamorley Well I wasn’t going to respond to all your replies, but then I figured hell, if you felt the need to go through all my anti Celene shit to leave messages saying you disagreed, you must really value my opinion of your opinion, so who would I be not to?

briannamorley replied to your post “What ending should I take in WEWH? Last time I played I hadn't read...”

Love the page; disagree about Celine and Briala's relationship being toxic--save for her killing Bria's parents. I personally always reconcile them even if you weigh her over Gaspard, she's the lesser of two evils. Gaspard would do way more killing then a 1k elves plus, as far as the abuse we don't know the extent all Bria says is on days she was cruel, she imagined them being amongst the Dalish with Celine having to serve her.

So like... if having her parents murdered doesn’t cross a line for you into toxic territory, what does, then?

And re: “We don’t know the extent” of Celene’s treatment of Briala...

The black curls lightened to grey with the pre-dawn light, then slid to the light brown of cinnamon as the sun brought colour to the room. Dirt-brown, Celene had called it, when Briala had waited upon her as a girl. Horse-dung brown, an ugly shadow of Celene’s spun-gold locks. -pg 27

Briala, a WOC, grew up serving Celene, a white woman, comparing her hair to horse-dung. And had to just grin and bare it because that was her job, and her mother instructed her to be Celene’s friend.

“Maker, I envy you sometimes.” She knew immediately that she had said something wrong. She felt Briala stiffen, though her arms didn’t move, and Briala’s voice was light as she said, “The empress of Orlais envies an elven handmaid?” “You know what I mean, Bria.” Still holding her, Celene patted Briala’s back. “You could leave here, become someone else.” “As long as that someone is an elf,” Briala said with a dimpled smile, but Celene knew she was still hurt. “Yes, I know. But I... I was born to sit on that throne. I can’t do anything else. Since my parents and Lady Mantillon...” She trailed off. This time, Briala pulled away. “You would make a wonderful scholar,” she said as she stood and pulled her robe on, “at least until Emperor Gaspard made a decision you found objectionable. Then, I believe trouble would ensue.” She smiled over her shoulder. “You are probably right, my love.” Celene rose as well and pulled her own robe on, as if nothing were wrong. “And... I will consider Remache.” Briala nodded and slipped her mask into place, then left through the passage behind the mirror, and Celene sighed and fetched her little magical pot. She would be making her own tea this morning, it seemed. -pg 59

Celene hurts Briala, and her thought is how she’ll have to make her own tea.

Briala sat. “...The elves in Halamshiral are angry. Lord Mainserai killed a tradesman without justification, and the elves are calling for mien’harel.” At Celene’s silence, Briala added, “It is an elven word. When the humans go too far, the elves remind them that even a short blade must be respected. They—” “They will rebel,” Celene said, the words cutting through the chilly autumn air. “Against me. Now.” “It is not rebellion, Your Majesty.” Briala bowed her head and took a shaky breath, clutching at the griffon-head arm of her chair. This was exactly what she had feared. “The elves of Halamshiral have never seen you. Their grievance is with neither you nor Orlais. They only wish justice for a man of your empire who died without cause.” “What they wish is irrelevant.” Celene turned and stalked away from the window. “I am already fighting a war on two fronts. I cannot be seen to fight a war on three.” “Then don’t.” Briala rose, putting herself in Celene’s path. “Give them justice.” “A lord for the death of an elf? I... damn this thing.” With a quick jerk, Celene tore the mask from her face. Her face was flushed beneath, her eyes red from another night of little sleep. “Shall I declare the elves equal citizens before the Maker and the throne as well, while I’m at it?” “Why not?” Briala took her own mask off, stealing a quick moment to steady herself. “Unless you don’t believe that, and I’m just a jumped-up kitchen slut you haven’t tired of yet.” Celene turned away, tossing her mask onto an overstuffed couch and stalking to the great amber wall. “You know I cannot do that, Bria. I might as well engrave Gaspard’s initials on the throne.” Against the wall of gold and red, Briala’s empress and lover looked pale and wan. Celene had always seen sleep as an enemy, or at most a necessary evil, from what Briala could tell, and since the events in Kirkwall the stress of rising tensions had her awake before dawn almost every morning. If it were early enough, Briala could sometimes coax her into lovemaking, and the warm and drowsy bliss afterward would let Celene steal a few more hours of rest. Lately, even that had not been enough. Briala sighed. “I do know.” Instead of going to Celene, she went to the small table where Celene’s teapot sat, forever just shy of boiling. She poured Celene a cup of tea, brought it over, and gently touched Celene’s shoulder. It was not quite an apology. -pg 62

Briala fears having to ask Celene to enact justice. Celene says what the elves want is of no care to her. She then mocks the idea of elven freedoms. And “It was not quite an apology” my ass - Briala has nothing to apologize for.

What had happened at Halamshiral was a still-painful ache, but the elves had rebelled. Celene had done what she had to do. Had Briala been there, she might have been able to turn Celene to a different course, but Briala herself was the one who had left. It was not Celene’s fault that she had been manoeuvred into doing what she had done, any more than it was Briala’s fault for leaving Celene without the guidance she had wanted. -pg 167

Celene even has Briala convinced that she’s to blame for Halamshiral, because she wasn’t there to tell Celene otherwise. If one person in a relationship relies solely on another to guide their morals, yes, I would indeed call that toxic.

But anyway, these are just a few samples of Celene’s dismissive behaviour towards Briala. She only does the bare minimum to keep Briala at her side; she does not truly care about the elves.

briannamorley replied to your post “What ending should I take in WEWH? Last time I played I hadn't read...”

Also Bria has accepted that neither the city or Dalish elves see her as part of them; letting her rule with him as her mask--much like forcing them to work together--while interesting in theory, wouldn't last I don't think anyway. Ppl would get suspicious; Gaspard is a military strategist not an adept ruler

Briala goes from this:

Briala could not afford to spare tears for inevitable deaths. In that respect, she supposed that she was more like the nobles she served than the elves in the marketplace. The thought sometimes sickened her, but again, not as much as the thought of deaths she could have prevented. -pg 61

to this:

She had been in Celene’s court for too long. Too many years being called “rabbit,” too many years ducking her head and working from the shadows. Too many years of being proud of who she was, a feeling she could cling to like a floating log in a rushing river. It had kept her head above water, but it had never let her steer her own course. She would fight for her people, because nobody else would, and Fen’Harel take whoever got in her way. -pg 144

Briala’s whole character arc is about discovering who she is as her own person, and reconnecting with her people. Unless “has” was a typo for “had.”

Also, why is it unrealistic for Dalish and city elves to work together? Dalish elves go to the city, and city elves go to the Dalish all the time. In some cases you have clans that have very strong relationships with nearby alienages, such as Clan Boranehn and the Edgehall alienage in Knight Errant, for example.

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: I don’t hate Celene because she’s a woman. I...”

Disagree not about the genocide or lying to Bria but everything else

...K?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: That’s it. Until proven otherwise the Masked...”

Nope to each their own though

...K?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: Celene is a straight guy’s idea of a lesbian....”

Stop... I can see if you were equating this to RR Martin but really???

Yes really lol

briannamorley replied to your post “I just read The Masked Empire and even though I knew how bad Celene...”

Theres disliking something and then there's bashing it to the point it becomes infuriating

Sorry guess we never received the guidelines one has to follow in terms of disliking something. Tell me, does it include going through a blog’s tags and leaving reply after reply that says basically the same thing?

briannamorley replied to your post “mllemaenad: jocelyntorrent: mllemaenad: … Okay, I don’t get it. ...”

Disagree but crazy tired so to each their own

Good thing you left another just plain ‘disagree,’ otherwise I might have gotten confused.

briannamorley replied to your post “So this by no means excuses Celene's actions whatsoever, but I noticed...”

Love orlais but again, to each their own

Cool cool I hate Orlais but to each their own. Perhaps I should find some random Orlais fan and spam their email notifications with replies saying as such, to make sure they know!

briannamorley replied to your post “lmao no, about 300 elves were brutally slaughtered, sweet summer...”

More than 300 but it does border on bashing

WTF does this one even mean?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: Celene has absolute power; she does not have a...”

If so say that from jump don't go on and on going from legitimate gripe to bashing... like damn I like both of y'alls pages but FUCK me this is exhausting

Then why are you reading through all this? And seriously, what is with this “bashing?” Is there some kind of internet slang I’m unfamiliar with? Because if you just mean bashing as in criticism that hell fucking yes I am critical of Celene. She has a lot of reasons for me to be.

briannamorley replied to your post “Remember that time when Michel de Chevin partook in the Academie des...”

Sigh... y es it was an oversight by them that shouldn't have happened but goddamn

“But goddamn...” what? Why is there a but? Why is there a but goddamn? Just... why, period?

Anyway, TL;DR:

#briannamorley #anti celene #anti brialene

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turtlesoupstories · 7 years

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#75 & #76

ok so these prompts were a part of this ask which marlo got to first (you can find the link on that post to her prompt!)

hello everyone i am finally making my official debut onto this blog. (the only one who hasn’t posted anything yet) but not anymore! i have been in a writing slump and i apologize to everyone for the looooong wait. also sorry abt the stories on my main i’m working on it i swear. but prompts #75 and 76 are finally here!

- the disappointment of the four wee bairns, shannon

Worth Fighting For

75. I don’t wanna start begging, but I swear to God I will. 76. How long have you waited to do that?

“Claire, I don’t want to start beggin’, but I swear to God I will.” He whispered against the solid wood of their door, a hint of warning in his voice.

Nothing.

“Claire!” He hissed, a bit louder this time.

“Go away, Jamie.” She spat back.

Ever since they’d returned to Leoch, Claire had avoided him at any and all costs. And when she inevitably did see him, she made it abundantly clear that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

Was she still mad about what happened after Fort William? It had been over a week since then…

He expected her to be upset, but he figured it would only last a day or two. He expected for everything to resolve itself in time… but she was having absolutely none of it.

Surely, she understood why he had to, right?

“Claire, if ye don’t open this door right. Now. I’ll-” The words died on his tongue as the door was suddenly hurled open, revealing his angry-very, angry-wife. And in that moment, Jamie realized he had thrust open the gates of Hell, and unleashed the wrath of the Devil himself.

“You’ll what? Kick the door in and have another go at me?! Why? Because I don’t do every little thing you tell me to? Because I don’t obey your orders?! Christ, Jamie! I’m a person! Not some play thing for you to do whatever you damn well please!” Her voice had steadily risen as she spoke, her face coming within mere inches of his, taunting him–daring him–to argue.

“You do not own me.” She growled, a predator mere seconds away from killing its prey.

“So if you ever lay a hand on me again, James Fraser; I will cut your heart out and have it for breakfast. Do you understand me?” Her face was only a hairsbreadth away from his, her eyes boring holes into him as she awaited his response.

His mind was running a mile a minute searching for something to say– anything; but words were lost to him. Nothing he could say would be good enough. Nothing he could say-or do-would excuse his actions from that night after Fort William.

“A wife must obey her husband, and must be punished when she doesn’t.” A tiny voice in his head castigated him.

“No, that isn’t fair to her. Claire isn’t any other woman; why should she be treated any different?” He argued, one side of him trying to reason with the other.

“She put all the men in danger and almost had herself killed because of her actions. You risked everything to save her: your life and the lives of several other men. And what would have happened if you failed? The entirety of Clan Mackenzie might have had to answer for her actions.”

“Aye, but I didn’t fail. Besides, she hadn’t gotten herself captured on purpose.”

“She should have known there would be English soldiers going by! Remember what happened at the glade?!”

“She was in shock–traumatized, even. All I could do was stand by and watch. Remember how that felt? What must she have felt? She didn’t ask for that.”

“Your father tanned your hide whenever you disobeyed him. Didn’t you understand the consequences of your actions afterwards?”

“But how many times had he done it? Did I ever learn? Obey? In fact, it only made me more rebellious, didn’t it?”

Silence.

He knew he was right, knew Claire was right. That voice was wrong; invalid. There was no room for argument.

“Do you?!” Claire shouted.

Her voice had forced him back into reality, the war inside his head forgotten.

“Aye.” He whispered, ashamed. “Aye, I understand. I’m sorry, Claire.” His eyes met hers now, looking past the shame and the guilt of his actions, overcoming his pride and ego by admitting he was wrong.

He was wrong–and he needed to make it right.

He took a breath and a step towards her. “You’re right. Ye are a person, and ye dinna belong to me–to anyone–but yourself. And i’m sorry for it.” He shook his head, looking down at his feet.

“Wives obey their husbands, and husbands punish them when they don’t. At least, that’s how it was for my father, and his father, and on and on and on back.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he braved another glance at her. “But maybe, for you and me, it has to go a different way.” He smiled and nodded at her, taking a step further inside the room.

“So,” He exhaled before getting onto his knees in front of her, taking her hand in his. “I swear to you, Claire, that I will never lay a hand on you again. And if I do, then my heart deserves to be ripped out from me, for I am not worthy of you.” He lowered his head over her hand before kissing it and looking up at her.

The anger and contempt had vanished, replaced by shock and tenderness.

“I’m sorry. Truly, I am.” He stared up at her, their eyes locked on each other’s. “Can ye forgive me?”

She squeezed his hand and pulled it up towards her, asking him to stand.

Their foreheads met as she breathed in the scent of him.

God, she had missed him.

“You promise?” Her brow furrowed as she pulled back an inch so that she could clearly see into his eyes. “Do you swear; on your life?”

He ran his hands up the length of her arms, stopping at her shoulders and holding them there. “I swear… on my mother’s grave.” He breathed, his face leaning closer and closer to hers.

She smiled and kissed him. “Then yes. Yes, I forgive you.”

Then his mouth was on hers, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth, desperately trying to make up for all the hours that had been lost.

Oh, how he ached for her.

There was no tenderness, only desperation and need. They couldn’t get enough of the other, couldn’t get close enough.

He had her pressed up against the door, making sure to close and bolt it shut as he did so.

His hands were a frenzy over her body, wanting to touch all of her at once, unable to decide which part of her to worship first.

One of her hands was tangled in the hair at his nape, keeping his head exactly where it was. The other on his arse, pulling him towards to her. He rolled his hips against her as she did this, causing the breath to hitch in her throat. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to grab her arse or caress her breast; so he did both. He had two hands, after all.

The hand on her rear slid down to her thigh, hiking her leg up so that it rested just above his hip.

Both of her arms were wrapped around his neck, bracing herself as she hitched her other leg on his hip. His groin was right up against hers, and she could feel the heat of him there. Hard and wanting.

He walked them towards the bed, setting her down gently before fumbling with his stock.

Why is it that fingers never work when you want them to?

Claire had her shift up and over her head in a second, before she helped Jamie in his quest to undress.

Finally, finally, there were no more barriers between them. Only skin against supple skin.

Normally, he would take more time, but ten days was far too long and he needed to be inside her, now.

With one hand braced on either side of her head, Jamie took no time in settling himself between her legs and thrusting home.

Both of them gasped as they relished in the feeling of their joining.

How had they survived those ten days?

Claire raked her fingernails down his back, the pain bordering on pleasure only spurring him onwards.

Sometimes, when they made love, they were slow and tender; pouring everything they had into one another. Other times, it was fast and rough and quick. They craved each other, needed to feel that release.

And this definitely wasn’t slow or tender.

Her fingers dug into his flesh as he thrust into her, her release building and building until she couldn’t take it anymore.

She sunk her teeth into his shoulder, wrapped her legs tight around his waist and held on for dear life as he brought her over the edge. She shook underneath him and it wasn’t long before he tensed above her and followed her into oblivion.

He flopped down beside her, breathing heavily as he pulled her into his arms.

“How long have been waiting to do that?” She sighed, resting her head on his chest.

“Too long, Sassenach. Far too long.” He smirked, kissing her brow.

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animeride-blog · 7 years

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Kagami Uchiha's Importance In Naruto Series https://animeride.com/blogs/6688/kagami-uchihas-importance-in-naruto-series/ #Hashirama, #Izuma, #KagamiUchiha, #Madara, #Naori, #SenjuClan, #Uchiha

New Post has been published on https://animeride.com/blogs/6688/kagami-uchihas-importance-in-naruto-series/

Kagami Uchiha's Importance In Naruto Series

Today we’ll be discussing my favorite Uchiha out of the bunch

Kagami Uchiha

I know the unfamiliar name may already have many of you Googling just who this character was. When thinking of all the Uchiha’s, the list goes something like this: Sasuke, Itachi, Madara, Obito, Shisui, Sarada, and some people tack on Izumi, Fugaku, and Mikoto if they really like the Uchiha enough to remember those last three.

However, there are few Uchiha that people would do good to remember that are of utmost importance to the plot of the Naruto series: Izuna, Kagami, and Naori, all respectively.

And if you don’t remember any of them? That’s perfectly alright! Combined, the three of them hardly have more than five minutes of screen time. Unless you felt the need to explore the characters thoroughly, or have an interest in the Warring States Era, you should hardly have recalled who they were.

This is beside the point though – my main focus is of Kagami and his analysis, though I will often be deferring to Izuna and Naori as examples, along with Tobirama Senju, Danzo Shimura, and Hiruzen Sarutobi as character buffs due to their relation with Kagami.

So, where to start? Let’s have a brief rundown of Kagami’s backstory pertaining to the story: this is what you probably know of Kagami at first glance if you remember him.

Kagami Uchiha was on Tobirama Senju’s task force and was a close body guard of the second Hokage, especially during the First Shinobi World War. Multiple times throughout the series, Hiruzen and Danzo both revere Kagami as having been an incredible fighter, and sometime before the age of twenty five, he had a child and died at that young age. I’m total, he has about less than a minute of screen time, and the most notable screencap he is in, is the one in which Tobirama named Hiruzen as his successor.

After that brief synopsis, you must be confused as to how I could go into any more detail about such a minor character. However, for someone who never spoke a single line in the series – Kagami himself speaks volumes about the Will of Fire and events leading up to the Uchiha Massacre.

Kagami’s main purpose in the series is to be the first Uchiha who willing revokes his status from the clan to follow the Will of Fire that Tobirama had hoped to instill across the village.

Now, it may never be stated that he had done something as harsh as remove himself from the clan, but I would like to turn our attention to the Naruto universe’s real life counterpart: Japan. More specifically in the Warring States Era of the series, Feudal Japan.

If you ever decide to pick up a history book or two about East Asia, you’ll be surprised to discover just how extensive loyalty to your own family went. Westerners hardly realize that last names were something that held more significance than sometimes even religious deities in the East Asian cultures. It was perhaps preferable to lose limbs rather than lose your family name – your loyalty was to your own blood, and those who controlled the government were afraid of that. Family was your law, your government, loyalty to your own blood was your society. In certain parts of Asian history, surnames were even banned in the hopes of severing the familial loyalty civilians clung to.

And from this I see people always ask: Why were the Uchiha so against integrating into Konoha like every other clan? And I give you that as an answer. The Uchiha were fire and passion – to lose their tradition, to meld within other clans was against their ways. They were selfish for the need to maintain status and power, keeping their sharingan closely guarded from those who are not to be blood related, enough to intermarry.

Might I remind you of the instance of Izumi Uchiha? Due to her father not also being of Uchiha decent, her mother and her were shunned by the rest of the Uchiha, labeled as outcasts.

And here I am to turn back to Kagami. For someone raised in a lifestyle, taught nothing but to see the clan as the only thing to pledge loyalty to, how could he ever revoke his status and turn his back on the clan?

And I tell you this:

Kagami was a dreamer.

Growing up quite possibly during the Warring States Era, or at least the bare end of it, Kagami must have seen nothing but endless deaths after deaths. Children his own age, his friends, his uncles, sent out to fight and never return. And for what? To maintain the clan’s pride and foothold in the world.

Imagine you’re in Kagami’s shoes. Unlike those around you, you don’t understand why you must die for the clan – all the meaningless, senseless deaths. It must have been an abhorrent childhood enough to give anyone series mental illnesses.

But as he grew, Konoha was formed, and although the Uchiha were still loyal only to themselves, Kagami found stance in Tobirama’s belief: The Will of Fire.

Unlike his clansmen, Kagami must have found purpose in Tobirama’s belief for peace through absolute loyalty to only the village. Time and time again he proved himself, not just to Tobirama, but the Uchiha themselves that they lost a major playing card within Kagami.

But just what is so important about Kagami joining Tobirama instead of the Uchiha? What did they lose?

In the many references Hiruzen and Danzo had stated of Kagami, they mentioned that he was incredibly powerful, and Shisui himself had admitted in that Kagami was much stronger than he ever was. And the most interesting part? It’s hinted that Kagami never obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan. His strength didn’t rely solely upon his bloodline.

Kagami’s influence of his passion for the Will of Fire was most obviously passed down to Shisui. This, of course, then influenced Itachi and soon the series spiralled from there.

But what else is there to examine? Surely, Kagami didn’t join Tobirama just for some silly belief in peace? Let’s look at Tobirama’s actions for a brief moment.

Contrary to popular belief, Tobirama himself didn’t hate the Uchiha. In fact, he was perfectly accepting of Kagami, as seen to why the other was placed as his body guard.

So why do so many accuse Tobirama of hating the clan so much? Like previously said, Tobirama firmly believed in the Will of Fire, and the Uchiha were against it. However, many may take Tobirama’s action of killing Izuna Uchiha, Madara’s brother, as a sign of his hatred.

I am here to say Tobirama’s actions were anything but pure hatred – it was for his loyalty and devotion to his brother. He had thought eliminating Izuna would keep his clan, and his brother, safe from harm. He followed in what he thought best for his brother. Nevertheless, such an action was a backhand to Hashirama’s dreams, as Tobirama soon discovered.

This is what had Tobirama so devoted to the Will of Fire. He wanted to keep his brother’s dream alive after he almost shattered it with his own selfish actions.

And I am sure the Uchiha talked about Izuna’s murder at the hands of Tobirama during his reign as Hokage. It was most likely their quipped used the most as to justify just how much Tobirama hated them – but Kagami must have seen the other side of Tobirama’s actions, analyzed them to see Tobirama’s true devotion and attempts to make the Uchiha remove themselves from selfish thoughts.

And there I said it again – the Uchiha are selfish. They are infected with the Curse of Hatred, which lead to many negative connotations as far as to many being power hungry.

However, Kagami, Shisui, Itachi, and Naori were the few who never were infected with such a curse – the first three due to their devotion for the Will of Fire. But what of Naori? Does she play a hand in discovering Kagami’s true analysis?

Naori, despite seeing horrors that unlocked her Mangekyou, was a kind soul who sought to stop others from falling into the Curse of Hatred. They sought power, and she sought the need to quell their macabre intentions. Her Uchiha passion wasn’t for hatred – it was for love.

And that’s the last key to Kagami’s personality – he was an Uchiha, yes, but his passion was not for revenge, hatred, power, or any other of the common Uchiha traits. No, his passion was for his devotion to his friends and Tobirama’s beliefs. He considered Hiruzen and Danzo as his great friends, and maybe that was the exact reason he had died so young, protecting his loyalty to those he had bonded with. He chose to bind himself to those he wished, not those he was born into.

All in all, Kagami’s decision and personality had greatly effected the series as a whole – not just with understanding the Will of Fire, but also his lineage within Shisui and by extent, Itachi.

For such a minor character to play such a large role within the series, it’s hard to imagine. But who knows? Maybe Kishimoto had meant to do this, to leave subtle hints in discovering the true reason behind actions within the Uchiha and prove the Curse of Hatred can be dispelled. Maybe it was an excuse as to why Shisui was never infected? At this point, we may never know. However, Kagami as a whole, for a character who hardly existed, had layers of subtext to him that makes him a special gem out of all the minor characters of the Naruto series.

I hope you all enjoyed me never shutting up about such a small character. I may do some other of my favorites in the future, but I just had to talk about Kagami because he’s so overlooked, but such in interesting character.

#Hashirama #Izuma #Kagami Uchiha #Madara #Naori #Senju Clan #uchiha

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tankcupcakes · 7 years

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Into the Mystic - Five

Characters: Dean, Sam, Cas, OCs

Warnings: I'll just give this whole thing a blanket warning of language, fluff, and angst Word Count: 3,150

A/N: This story is a sequel to THUNDER ROAD - catch up HERE! Special thanks to Angie @atc74 and Megan @paintrider13-blog for helping me brainstorm and reading through this! ❤️

Feedback is always excellent - tags are open! This will be a wilder ride than before, so buckle up, friends! :) xoxo

Into the Mystic Masterlist Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four tankcupcakes masterlist

March, 2017 Lebanon, Kansas

A week after the mind-meld debacle, about two weeks after Eve's arrival, things had begun to simmer back down at the bunker.

Dean was in a better spirits, so everyone else was too - but this particular morning he had woken up in a foul mood due to a vivid nightmare he'd had while sleeping. He was dreaming about hell again.

He was alone in his bed, something he noticed immediately, and he got up, dressing quickly before venturing into the hall. Eve's room was empty, as were Sam and JD's. Cas had gone to check a lead on Lucifer, leaving a couple days prior. Everything was quiet. Dean started to feel a little nervous, walking just a bit quicker into the kitchen, library, and war room - all of which were vacant. Heading back down the hall to the other side of the bunker, his heart rate slowly rising, he heard muffled laughter and cheering coming from the shooting range. His creeping paranoia subsided, but the anxiety remained as he pulled the door open. JD, Sam, and Eve all stood at the far end, and she appeared to have just fired, safety ear muffs hung around her neck. The smile was wiped from Sam's face instantly when he saw Dean enter the room and stalk toward them. "Oh, man, Dean! You should've seen it - shot it right between the eyes, she did!" JD seemed to be bubbling over with excitement, his grin wide and eyes sparkling. Upon turning and seeing Dean - as well as the irritated expression on his face - Eve suddenly elbowed JD in the ribs and he glanced down at her. She was shaking her head as she muttered, "Stop. Mad. He's mad." A look of surprise and realization crossed his face as he nodded, his enthusiasm squashed as he faced Dean again. "Who's idea was it to bring her in here?" Dean asked, turning his attention to Sam, who stared back at him with a stony look on his face. "Mine," Eve answered immediately, completely willing to take the heat for this, but Dean could feel the guilt coming from her. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Liar," he countered, crossing his arms as he was met with silence. "Uh, well, I guess I suggested it, didn't I?" JD said after a moment, hoping to diffuse the situation with the truth. "I didn't think -" "Didn't think what?" Dean asked. "Didn't think it would be a big deal to get her killed?" "Dean," Eve said in a warning tone, her hands planted on her hips. "Shooting a gun at a paper target is hardly going to get me killed." "No, but thinking you're prepared to use it in the field will." "Shouldn't she actually be prepared, then...?" JD asked uncertainly, shifting his eyes from Eve to Dean. "She's not going out with us," Dean replied rigidly. "Not now, not ever." Eve opened her mouth to reply, but Dean pointed at her before she could get any words out. "And you can save it - you'll thank me when everyone else we know is dead." "That's enough, Dean," Sam spoke firmly and for the first time since Dean had entered the room. Raising both eyebrows as he looked at his younger brother, Dean let his arms fall to his side. "Oh yeah? You think this is a good idea?" "Yeah, I do," Sam replied evenly with a nod, refusing to back down as he kept his eyes locked with Dean's. "You can't be serious, Sam. You know how dangerous it is out there -" "Exactly, Dean - we both know how dangerous it is. That's why it's important for her to be able to protect herself." "Sam -" "And don't be so arrogant to think that you're the only one who cares about her," Sam replied swiftly, unwilling to allow himself to be interrupted. "Look, you can lock her up here and pretend that she's not going to see combat all you want. But, don't you want her to be prepared? I'm not trying to be a dick, but it's inevitable that she's going to need to know how to defend herself." Everyone silently waited for Dean to respond, but he didn't, so Sam continued, “I'm not saying she should go out in the field with us - I don't want that either, but there may be times that she has to." “I’m not raring to go charging into any hunts, Dean,” Eve said, tilting her head slightly as she spoke to meet Dean’s gaze. “Honestly, I’d prefer to never have to fire at anything, but I agree with Sam - I should know how.”

Dean’s eyes went from Eve, to JD, and landed on Sam as he heaved a sigh.

“Now maybe, instead of making us feel shitty about this, you could help us?" Sam suggested in a lighter tone. "We both know you're the best teacher, and she's already got great aim. How many times did she kick our asses in darts?" Dean watched him carefully before allowing himself to crack a small smile. "Alright," he said, nodding. "You're right. She needs to be able to defend herself.” He turned to Eve again. “Bet you can’t hit that thing between the eyes twice in a row.”

A few hours later, target practice had ended and everyone had dispersed into separate areas of the bunker.

Dean had gone to take a shower and after found Eve laying across her bed, reading.

“Hey,” he said, leaning on the door frame, “you wanna drive into town? As cute as you look in all my clothes, I thought you might want to get some of your own. And maybe a phone or something.”

“Are you offering to take me shopping?” she asked with a smirk. “You feeling okay?”

He chuckled. “Yes. Just wanted to offer you an olive branch for being a dick since you've been back.”

“And you want to watch me freak out around technology again?”

“Maybe a little, yeah.”

“Sure,” she said with a nod as she rolled off the bed and stood. “That sounds fun. Give me a minute to get ready and we can go.”

Dean smiled at her before wandering off into the library, where JD was sitting slumped over the table, his chin resting on his hands.

“Ughhh, Dean, I’m bored,” JD whined as he entered the room.

Dean stopped and gave JD an offended look. “Do not use that voice, you are a grown man.” He resumed walking again toward the war room. “And sorry, buddy, can't help you. Evie and I going to Hays so she can pretend like she’s a millennial.”

“Can I come?” he asked, raising his head as his face lit up like a puppy’s.

Dean had really hoped to take her alone, but did feel a little pang of guilt. He stopped again. “Actually -”

Sam walked into the library then. “Hey, guys.”

“Sam,” Dean began, “I was hoping to take Evie into the city, could you and JD-”

“Oh, you're going into town?” Sam asked, looking up expectantly. “I need to look at a new charger for my laptop, mine’s acting fritzy…”

“Aye, let’s all go,” JD said, hopping up from his seat as he pulled his phone out and showed it to Sam. “Och, my screen is doing somethin’ weird, d’you see that?”

“Sam,” Dean deadpanned, but it was no use as both men had already turned and started heading to the garage.

“Hey,” Eve said as she reappeared next to him. “You ready?”

He had a disappointed look on his face as he sighed and nodded. “Yeah, me and the whole Winchester clan.”

They had driven into Hays, which was almost two hours of loud off-key singing.

There was a large strip mall in the center of town - Sam and JD had broken off to go to an electronics store while Dean had taken Eve to pick some clothes.

Ironically, 60’s and 70’s fashions were popping back up, which she had gotten a laugh out of. This was mostly what she leaned towards, but had opted for some more modern choices as well. She’d really liked the skinny jeans, grabbing a few different colors and even chose to wear a pair out of the store.

They’d met up with Sam and JD again afterward - Sam had picked a suitable smart phone for a beginner and told her he’d help her get it all set up back at the bunker.

A small music store was near the lot they parked in and Eve looked over at Dean wishfully. He laughed and nodded his head and she practically pranced inside.

Dean cocked his head to the side as he watched her walk away - the jeans she'd bought were definitely working for her. "Quit it," JD muttered, elbowing him in the side. "Quit what?" Dean asked after a moment, snapping out of his trance as he turned to JD. "Quit eye-fucking her." Dean scoffed and gave JD an indignant look. "First of all, I'm not eye-fucking her, and second of all, mind your own business." "Aye, well - most unfortunately, you made it my business." "You made it your business." "She's my mother -" "Oh my god, I can't deal with you today," Dean muttered, rolling his eyes as he looked at Sam. "Is this what it's like to talk to me?" JD huffed. "Excuse me, but I am delightful to be around -" "You're a pain in my ass, is what you are," Dean replied. "You guys are a mess," Sam said, shaking his head with a smirk as he followed Eve into the store. Sam had taken an immense amount of joy in being able to introduce her to music from the 90's - it was his personal favorite and he spent over an hour in that one section. He promised to bring her back to expand her music collection again later that week.

The worst part about this trip for Dean was JD buying a Duran Duran album - and playing it the whole way home. He heard Hungry Like the Wolf no less than five times that day.

Later that evening as Sam prepared to retire for the evening, he stopped at Eve’s room, her door open.

"Hey," he said, leaning on Eve's door frame as he gave it a few courteous taps. Eve stood near him, setting up the record player Dean had bought her earlier that day on the desk. Her face lit with a smile as she looked up to see him. "Hey yourself - what's up?" "Nothing, I... I've wanted to tell you, but it never really seemed appropriate to say, y'know? Never a good time to mention..." She eyed him carefully, one eyebrow raised. "Out with it, then." "I wanted to thank you," he blurted, awkwardly crossing his arms over his chest. "For what you did for us. For him." "For both of you," she corrected him back to his original statement, turning to fiddle with the record player again. "Either way," he continued, still standing in the doorway like it was some kind of threshold, "It took a lot of courage. I already knew what kind of person you were, but the things you sacrificed for us? You're far better than we deserve." "You better shut your damn mouth," she replied evenly, not looking over. He gave a dry chuckle, one side of his mouth twitching up as he absently ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway - I'll leave you alone, I just wanted to tell you that." "You're welcome," she said softly after a moment, eyes flashing up to him briefly before diverting back down. "I'd do it again." Sam heaved a sigh, though his half smile stayed where it was. "I hope you'll never have to." She didn't respond to this, placing one of her new records inside the player and setting the needle over it. "Sam?" she said just as he had turned to exit, causing him to swivel back. "Yeah?" She didn't say anything for a moment, arms hung at her sides as she looked up at him with her head cocked to the side. "You okay?" he asked, his head involuntarily tilting too. She nodded but still didn't speak as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Eve?" he said uncertainly, one arm squeezing her in return. She was smiling when she pulled away, one hand resting on his cheek for a moment before she took a step back. "You are a wonderful and kind man, Sam Winchester - I hope you remember that always." He chuckled nervously. "You're kinda scaring me here, Evie - what's going on?" "Nothing," she dismissed with a shake of the head. "You told me something that was uncomfortable for you, and I had something to tell you too. It's just - when Cas did the brain whammy -" Sam snorted "- I saw and felt some of the things that have happened to you, the way Dean felt them. I know self loathing is a classic Winchester trait, but I just wanted to tell you that. You're wonderful and I love you like you were my own brother." Sam blinked widened eyes at her statement - eyes that were a little watery and he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he nodded. "Thank you," he said sincerely. He surprised her when he hugged her tight again. "I love you too. And I've never had a sister before, but it's hard to imagine a better one than you." She smiled over his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. "Thank you for taking care of JD. And Dean, of course." A crooked grin was on his face as they pulled away from each other and he shook his head. "Looking after Dean's dumb ass was my responsibility long before you came along," he said with a wink, and the two of them shared a laugh. “G’night, Evie.”

“Goodnight, Sam.”

Dean's eyes shot open as he lay quietly in his dark bedroom. A tilt of the head showed him the clock on the wall, glowing brightly - 3:00 AM. His outstretched fingers glided across the bed sheets, finding nothing on the other side of the mattress. Fear took hold in an instant, and it was at that moment that JD's voice rang loudly from a few rooms over. "Don't you touch me!" A loud shattering sound followed this and Dean had vaulted from his bed in a split second, hurdling down the hall, swinging JD's door wide open. Light from the hall filtered in the room and he could see Eve on the ground with her back against the wall, JD crouched down beside her. Dean flipped the light on to see her cradling a bloody hand in her lap, a terrified look on her paler than normal face. Broken glass lay scattered on the ground around her and the scene wasn't all that difficult to piece together. Drenched in sweat and out of breath, JD's face wore an expression of deep regret and shock as he stared at Eve. After a moment, he looked up at Dean. "It was an accident," he gasped out. Eve also peered up at Dean, who shifted his gaze to her, his heart drumming in his chest. "What happened?" "He was having a nightmare," she replied softly. "I could hear him down the hall. I tried to wake him up, but I scared him and he shoved me. I brought the glass down with me." Dean dipped down to kneel beside her too. "Let me see," he said, holding his hands out for her injured one. She did as he asked, and he examined the pieces of glass sticking out of her palm. JD moved to reach his hand out, perhaps to remove the glass, but retracted it again quickly, still watching Eve carefully with wide eyes. Dean's eyes flicked up to meet his son's before focusing again on the task in front of him. "I've got it," he said evenly, addressing both of them as he plucked the three large pieces of glass out. "There are a couple smaller pieces, I need to go grab some tweezers. I'm gonna need to stitch you up too - this is pretty deep." She nodded at him, appearing to have calmed herself, but still on edge. "Are you okay?" he asked, searching her eyes for the truth before he would leave the room. Eve let out an exhale and nodded her head. "Alright," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before standing. "I'll be right back." He stopped at the door to glance at JD, who was still frozen down on the ground by Eve, the look of horrified shock firmly in place. He looked like a child. When Dean returned a few minutes later, he hesitated in the doorway, unsure if he should interrupt them or not. Eve sat where he had left her, injured hand propped out of the way, JD's head in her lap. His body was curled into as much of a ball as his large frame would allow, one arm wrapped around her back, and he murmured apologies between sobs. She shushed him gently, her good hand softly stroking his hair. If she hadn't had an injury that needed attention, Dean wouldn't have disturbed this moment in a million years - as it was, he moved as quickly and quietly as he could. She sucked in a sharp breath through her clenched teeth as Dean began to stitch the gash, and this sound seemed to bring JD back to reality. He looked up at her and then over at Dean, his face flushing as he pulled himself back together, wiping his face with the hem of his shirt. "What was your dream about?" Dean murmured, attention focused on his sewing. "Nothin'," JD muttered back. "Mmm... seems like a lot of fuss for 'nothin'," he replied. JD's face was still burning red and he shook his head. "I'd prefer not to talk about it, if it's all the same to you," he said defensively. "Suit yourself," Dean murmured in the same soft tone, tying the last stitch off. He stood, taking Eve's good hand and helping her to her feet. One hand brushed her cheek and he gave her a half smile. He looked past her at JD. "If you change your mind, I know a thing or two about nightmares." Without another word about it, Dean turned to leave, Eve releasing his hand briefly to turn back to JD, who was still seated on the floor. She bent down and kissed his forehead softly, one hand smoothing his hair before she took Dean's hand again, the pair of them leaving the room, sharing secret looks of concern.

Part Six

TAGS: @chelsea072498 @percywinchester27 @atc74 @paintrider13-blog @d-s-winchester @death2thevirgin @just-a-touch-of-sass-and-fandoms @just-another-busy-fangirl @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @mamaredd123 @lalocket @nanie5 @thebabeontheback @dreamwhisper87 @notnaturalanahi

#dean winchester #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic

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whirofinvention-blog · 5 years

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My Brief Encounter With the Sun

It has been a while since I've posted here, at least relative to the rate I would like to be posting and to the events I would like to be attending. To start, I guess I should come clean and admit I didn't attend GP Portland. By now I've drafted three separate posts about my not attending, but they all sounded self-indulgent. Instead of a dedicated post, here's the bullet points:

- I did not know anyone playing in the main event. When I started this blog, I knew two people locked in to the event, but leading up to the event they all dropped out. This is not the end of the world, but it is nice to have friends around to celebrate and commiserate with.

- My deck choice was up in the air. As I have mentioned before, I own Hardened Scales and Lantern Control. My results leading up to the GP with Scales were middling at best. Lantern on the other hand has a better track record, but underperforms against skilled opponents. Plus both are faced with the daunting amount of sideboard hate present for KCI decks right now.

-Lastly, and most importantly, social anxiety was the big roadblock. This is something I have struggled with for awhile. It is far from crippling, but it is stifling at times. I get in my own head about it. Though the other two points were factors, they probably could have been ignored. My anxiety just let them become excuses.

There were still silver linings. I had a great time at the event site with friends playing EDH, and I bought and sold a lot of cardboard.

Plus, the Friday of the GP, I registered for Oakland. Maybe that little bit of disappointment in myself was the perfect push to get me to register for Oakland.

If you're reading this, it means you probably keep up with Magic pretty frequently and are already aware that I did not top 8 the GP this past weekend. It was the most successful weekend (in fact it was pretty heartbreaking), but I had a great time. Friday night I got into Oakland pretty late so did not have time to go to the convention center. Instead I went to the home of my friend David and his partner Kayla who graciously housed me this weekend. We ate some dinner and stayed up way too late drinking, catching up and playing games of Scales versus Mono-Red Phoenix.

Saturday, we got up and made our way to the hall for what was going to be a long day. Before Round 1, I got my beautiful full-art Bolt promo as well as my not-so-beautiful Tigtone playmat and sat down for my first round. Unfortunately for me, I got paired against a pretty rough matchup to start my tournament: UB Faeries. If you have never read the card Mistbind Clique, I would suggest giving it a look cause it is a very messed up card. We went to game 3, but ultimately, the tempo power of his deck combined with his suite of removal and counters proved to strong for my robots.

Round 2 can be described pretty easily. If you are playing against TitanShift and your opponent fails to ever draw a Primeval Titan or a Scapeshift, then their deck looks pretty atrocious.

The following round was the one that really hurt. Most of it is a blur besides the last turn. My opponent was on Grixis Death's Shadow and sitting at 5 life with a few cards, two shocks, a fetch, and a Gurmag and Death's Shadow. I had three lands (2 Nexus, 1 Citadel), a Hangarback on 4 counters with and activation up, a Mox, and a Ravager on three counters at 15 life. My opponent cantrips main phase, plays a second fetch, and goes to combat swinging with both. I know that if he has a Temur Battle Rage, and I don't block the Death's Shadow, I am dead, so I immediately block the Shadow. He then goes to 1 life by fetching a shock and fetching a basic and TBR's the Shadow. I activate Hangarback and the Inkmoth and sacrifice all of my permanents besides the Welding Jar and a Thopter to the Ravager. We do the math. I have a 13/13 Ravager to his 12/12 Shadow. He tramples over for 11 and deals 5 with the Gurmag for lethal. There were two mistakes I made here. The first you may have noticed. If I was going to sac the Hangarback, why not block the Gurmag first. This one felt bad. The other was that I simply did the math wrong and thought the attack put me to 14.

This round spawned the quote of the weekend when I texted Dave: "I just punted my round 3 into the fucking sun." Unfortunately for Dave, he also made a round losing misplay this round, so we vented to each other which helped. Having a friend around can really help alleviate the anger/stress/sadness from moments like this.

Round 4 is where my tournament ended. My opponent was on Devoted Evolution. Game 1 I had a Hardened Scales and Ballista and was able to kill all his creatures easily. The other two games he assembled infinite mana and a mana dump with the first four turns. The only really relevant statistic I have is that all of the games where I resolved a Hardened Scales and was able to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature while it was out, I won easily. The deck felt extremely strong in those instances, and it won a couple games without the Enchantment. Overall, I can't be too disappointed given the amount of preparation I put into things and walked away proud of the fact that even though I scrubbed out early, I took my opponents to game 3 every time and had a nice time.

The rest of the weekend was side events which were super fun. I managed to play a couple Battlebond drafts with Dave which were great, but I want to quickly tell you about my ridiculous Ultimate Masters draft.

The draft started with me taking a Demonic Tutor and getting passed an Unholy Hunger followed by a blue card. Pick 4 I saw a Spider Spawning and went all in. By the end of the draft I had an absolutely insane U/B/g self-mill deck that's win cons were pretty much just a Spider Spawning, Rise from the Tides and a Lab Man I picked up pack 3 pick 7. Round 1 I was paired against Dave, of course, and proceeded to slowly crush his U/W Heroic deck and killed him with Lab Man in 2 quick games. Round 2 didn't go as well. I got paired against the only other competent drafter at the table who was on G/W Heroic and made a 4/4 on turn 3 both games while holding up protection for it. After the games, my opponent told me that she thought my deck was the sweetest and probably the only other good deck in the pod which was nice.

There's not much else to say about the event, except it was a ton of fun, and I am already looking forward to the next one (GPLA in March maybe?).

Before I end things, I feel obligated to talk about the bannings announcement scheduled for two weeks from now. I know most of the world will never read this, but I want to stake a claim and call my shot now.

Modern has a problem that needs to be fixed: KCI. In a typical tournament 4 of the top 8 decks being the same archetype isn't the end of the world, but KCI has been showing a dominant performance in the modern metagame for months now. No matter how many copies of Stony Silence and Rest in Peace are running around, the deck still puts up amazing results. Plus the addition of Sai has made it so some games they just attack you to death. None of this even takes into account how the deck can have 10 minute turns and is a nightmare to sit down across at your local FNM.

As I see it there are a few different permutations for possible bans and unbans that may be on the horizon.

The first, and perhaps most vocalized ban, is Ancient Stirrings. This card is probably the best card draw spell in Modern and sees play in KCI, so it seems like the logical card to target with a ban. Unfortunately, I don't think banning it would actually do too much to KCI. If it were banned, I would expect the deck to just abandon green in favor of more blue sources to take advantage of Whir of Invention. Plus, if you ban Ancient Stirrings, then you are also hurting Tron, Amulet, Hardened Scales, and Lantern/4-Color Prison. Some people might say that it is for the good of the format to take the card out of it, but I have to ask, when is it good for a format to hurt 5 different decks with one banning?

The next most likely banning in my eyes is Faithless Looting. Much like Ancient Stirrings, this card is extremely powerful and is the only other card in the running for most powerful draw spell in the format (at least in my eyes). Looting is almost never used as a fair card and has shown how strong it can be in the recent resurgence of Dredge as well as the new Arclight Phoenix decks. The only reason I write about it here is I believe you cannot ban Ancient Stirrings without also banning Looting. If you get rid of Stirrings it will make the Looting decks stronger in the format. Now, if you ban both of them, you would be hurting a huge chunk of the format. Maybe this is what WotC wants. A fairer looking field of decks in modern. Personally, I don't want to play a format where the combo decks are Storm and CoCo with the other decks all being things like GBx, UW Control and Spirits. I cannot imagine a world where they ban just Looting and not Stirrings as well.

This brings me to the card that people have been asking about banning almost as much as Stirrings. Krark-Clan Ironworks. KCI as a deck obviously couldn't exist without the card KCI. The free sacrifice outlet is powerful and maybe is too powerful for Modern. It creates the mana to cast the spells. If WotC banned KCI, I think it would be a fine decision while only impacting one deck in the format.

Still, I don't think banning KCI is the answer. The card has potential and provides a unique effect to the format, that could see other uses. Maybe people start turbo-ing out their Emrakuls or making giant Walking Ballistas with it. I don't know, but the options are there. Scrap Trawler on the other hand doesn't really seem to have the same potential and is the card I would most like to see banned. If KCI makes the mana, Scrap Trawler is the part that makes the loops actually happen. It gets you back the Spheres and Stars to draw the cards. Plus, it is hard for me to imagine this card ever doing anything other than degenerate interactions with egg-like artifacts. Just like with KCI, banning this would have no effect on the format other than hurting KCI, but I think KCI has more potential for fair things and for that reason should be left in the format.

A few other thoughts I have on the current ban list. Though at this point in time it is pretty much a meme, I do believe Stoneforge Mystic would be a safe unban. It is rare that I find myself in a game where Stoneforge Mystic would be too good. Though it is a powerful card and will assuredly see play in fair decks, modern has become a strong enough format over the past few years that I doubt it would be an issue right now.

The other unbanning I could see happening, and actually want to happen more, is Preordain. Green and Red should not have the best one-mana cantrips in modern. Blue is the card draw color and blue deserves the best cantrip. There are a few worries with unbanning Preordain, specifically blue based combo decks like Storm would become oppressive. That may happen, but I believe that has more to do with storm being a bad mechanic than Preordain being too strong for the format. Plus, I think this might be the best solution to avoid having to ban Stirrings and Looting anytime soon. Maybe this would make the format too combo-centric, but this isn't Legacy where we have Ponder and Brainstorm. Fair blue decks would play Preordain and be better off for it.

Also, they should unban Punishing Fire just to see what the fuck happens.

Well, then. See ya soon I guess. Next time I will probably write about an EDH deck.

#modern #magic #magic the gathering #modern magic #hardened scales #gpoakland

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amymel86 · 7 years

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Increasing the Possibility- Final Chapter - Jon x Sansa

Jon felt as though he may as well be back at the battle camp for the amount of time he had spent with Sansa - which was hardly any at all. She was avoiding him - that much was plain for him to see, although she veiled it behind the pretence of being busy with preparations for the feast.

He'll give her time, he thought. She just needs time.... and if she decides she'll be happier going through with the annulment then so be it - he will not stand in her way, even if it does pain him to think upon on it.

Jon tries to shake the heavy feeling sat on his chest as he dons a set of new clothing that Sansa had made for him whilst he had been away at war. He was preparing to attend the feast with no small amount of trepidation, Jon does not enjoy the gayeties of large gatherings, instead preferring to share his evenings with a few choice people - one of those who has not made herself available to him since his first day back at Winterfell. He scrubbed his face with some fresh water and tied his hair back with some oil and a leather cord before slowly making his way to the festivities.

It's surprising how warm the Great Hall can become when it is packed with bodies, all eager to drink their fill, sate their bellies and dance their feet sore. It almost feels too hot to Jon - a notion that he's sure his Aunt would find preposterous considering the Targaryen fire in his blood. She doesn't understand that there's ice in his veins also and he cannot go without the freshness of the cold.

One could almost taste the high spirits in the air. There was a loud cheer once the attendants saw Jon enter the hall, cups were raised and fists thudded at bench tables. Their war hero returned. Jon smiled, hoping it was not a grimace and waved off their attentions, wanting to somehow disappear into his chair up on the high table.

Sansa had done splendidly with the preparations. The food offered was rich and varied - a stark contrast to the rations everyone was used to in the depths of war. There were all manner of meats and stews, a plethora of pies and puddings. Sprigs of foliage decorated the tables and high beams, flickering candles twinkled everywhere throwing dancing shadows upon the walls. There were a few lute players meandering about the tables, serenading their guests. The celebration was full of promises of peace and prosperity now that the threat to the living had been vanquished and winter was gradually being chased away by spring.

The hall was packed with all manner of joyful people, not just Lords and Ladies, smallfolk and mountain clans, but a few well behaved Wildlings and the Queen's Dothraki were also present - most having stayed to celebrate in their own camps. Jon watched as some of the curious noblewomen pointed and giggled behind their hands at the 'savage horse-men' as they had come to be known.

The only aspect of this evening that Jon was truly looking forward to was being able to spend some time with Sansa - or at least know where she was and what she was doing.

Sansa herself was a whirlwind around the hall, making sure the welcome was a warm one to all her guests before she would take her seat. Jon smiled as he witnessed her curtesy low for a Dothraki Khal. His smile faltered when the Khal, in return, picked up Sansa's bright copper braid intriguingly and brought it to his nose. He then bent his head and said something to Sansa with a wicked grin upon his face. Jon almost left his seat when he saw Sansa look shocked to a deep shade of scarlet, but whatever he had said, she managed to gracefully bob her head and leave his presence, hastily moving onto the next group of visitors, leaving the Khal to snigger with his friends.

Jon was in the midst of pouring himself his second cup of ale when he sensed that the seat next to his had been occupied. He turned, expecting to see his wife by his side only to find Daenerys, looking beautifully regal as she surveyed the hall. Jon failed to hide his frown.

"Bored of my company already nephew"? She quirked a teasing brow at his expression.

"Apologies your Grace...I am not one for such festivities" Jon supplied, hoping it was a good enough excuse to mask his disappointment.

"Hmm, quite" the Silver Queen started "your cousin however" Daenerys nodded her head in Sansa's direction across the hall "seems quite adept at her hostess duties".

"Aye" Jon stifled a proud grin as his eyes followed Sansa about the room "aye, she is".

"You're quite different people, you and her - are you not? You do not not seem... close"? She pried.

Jon's frown deepened at her probing. "We are different, that's true... I'd like to think we compliment each other well" he said before taking a deep gulp from his ale, purposefully avoiding her other query. They were not close - not in the way Jon would like.

"Hmmm" was the Queen's only response, her eyes flitting between Jon and Sansa.

Sansa joined the high table then and much to Jon's dismay, seated herself the other side of Daenerys instead of to his right - a seat in which became occupied by the Queen's Hand.

"I must compliment you on your hospitality Lady Sansa, the feast is spectacular" Daenerys commented, although her tone did not match her words.

"Thank you your Grace" Sansa replied whilst filling her cup.

"You were talking to Khal Gorro"? The Queen noted.

"Yes your Grace".

"And how do you find my Dothraki war Lords my Lady"? Darnerys smirked. Jon shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"....interesting, your Grace".

"Indeed. And what was it that Khal Gorro asked you? You seemed quite perturbed... he did not offend I hope"?

"I....I'd rather not say...your Grace" Sansa replied, busying herself by pushing her food about her plate with her fork.

"Come! Do tell!.... I lived among the Dothraki for years, you'll not shock me I assure you"! The Queen urged.

"He....he..." Sansa started after a long pause "in rather broken Westerosi...he asked me if the hair on my head match the hair on my cunt" Sansa said matter-of-factly. Tyrion choked a little on his wine. Jon bristled, hand itching for Longclaw, eyes searching the crowd for the Khal in question.

"I'll have his head"! Jon snarled.

The Queen threw back her head in laughter "you'll do no such thing nephew"! Daenerys said dismissively before turning back to Sansa. "Oh they must be quite taken by you! I remember their fascination with my own hair... who knows? Perhaps you shall be Khal Gorro's next Khaleesi"! She finished with a giggle. Sansa smiled politely but did not comment. Jon's jaw ached from clenching it shut.

Pushing his chair away as he stood abruptly, Jon ignored the curious glare of the Dragon Queen as he muttered something about fresh air and made his way to the courtyard, secretly hoping to come face to face with some Dothraki shits so he could shear their battle braids from their fucking heads.

He hadn't noticed how much ale he had imbibed until the cool night air licked at his flush face and he felt a certain soft cotton feeling about his head.

He leant his heavy body against one of the walls, trying to stick to the shadows so that he could watch the other guests mill around and not be disturbed. He sighed and closed his eyes as his face reached up to the inky star filled sky.

You do not seem....close - had been the Queen's words, and the truth in them pained him. For all the excuses he told, he berated himself for not sparing more time for his marriage before he left for battle. Perhaps they would be closer now if he had? Perhaps she would look to him lovingly instead of in question as she so often did so now.

"In need of some company my Lord"? Came a sweet voice.

Jon opened his eyes to a blond comely young noble maid who was smiling demurely at him.

"Ah...no, I'm quite fine Lady....???"

"Heartland, Glenda Heartland" she supplied with an even bigger smile.

"Ah yes, I thank you for your concern Lady Glenda, but I'm quite alright".

"A dance perhaps then? I do hope you can spare one for me"? She asked. Jon's brow furrowed, never in his life has a Lady requested a dance from him.

"Perhaps a little later.... if I'm not too into my cups that I'll make such a fool of myself my Lady" he smiled softly at the young woman.

After I have danced as many dances as possible with my wife, Jon thought.

"Or.....if it pleases you....I could keep you company in your chambers my Lord"?

"What"?!

"You chambers my Lord... I could -" she repeated sheepishly.

"I heard you!.... and no, the only company I shall keep in my chambers will be my WIFE Lady Heartland"!

"But the Queen said -"

"What"? He snapped "what did the Queen say"?!

"Only that....that your marriage is soon to be dissolved and that you would be looking for a new bride" the young girl said to her boots. "It's not true then"? She asked, lifting her head.

Jon made an unintelligible northern grunt and pushed himself off of the wall and strode back into the Great Hall.

He had to calm himself, he knew, he couldn't confront the Queen in such a public setting. Jon decided not to return to his seat on the high table but to observe the revelry from an inconspicuous corner - much like he had done as a young bastard lad.

It was from there that he watched Sansa. She was talking and laughing with Willas and his father, Lord Mace Tyrell. Jon's jaw tightened when he saw Willas had the gall to place his hand affectionately on the small of her back as they spoke.

Similar behaviour followed throughout the night as Willas seemed to stay plastered to Sansa's side. Jon watched it all. He watched and he drank. His jaw ached and his knuckles were white from clenching in inaction.

Finally, he witnessed Sansa bid the Tyrell heir good night, she curtsied sweetly and Willas brushed the back of her hand with his lips. Jon didn't miss the gleam in Tyrell's eye or the face that his father clapped him in the back in congratulation when he made his way back to him. Jon decided to stumble after Sansa.

***********

"Jon what are you-" Sansa said after realising he'd followed her back to her solar.

"Couldn't wait to move on then I see" Jon spat as he closed the door behind him, his rage thoroughly mixed with wine and ale.

"What are you talking about"? Sansa retorted as she made a move to brush past him and flee. Jon was having none of it as he curled a hand around her upper arm, forcing Sansa to stay.

"Willas Fucking Tyrell" he slurred.

"What about him"? Sansa snapped, violently shrugging out of Jon's grasp.

"You two seemed very.....comfortable in each others company....talked with him most the evening".

"I was being polite Jon!....What exactly is your problem with Willas"? Sansa's irritation was practically boiling over by now as she balled her fists at her sides.

"Dany has suggested him as your new husband hasn't she"?

Sansa's eyes narrowed "yes, 'Dany' has" she said, elongating the pronunciation of the Queen's name with contempt.

Jon gaped at her for a moment. There was as much defiance in her eyes as there is fire in her hair. She was breathing heavily, causing her chest to move up and down with each angry inhale and exhale. Jon was reminded of that one afternoon many moons ago when he had her panting for a very different reason.

"The Reach Sansa? You'd consider leaving Winterfell"? He asked, trying desperately to calm himself. He knew his anger would get him nowhere.

"I don't see what other option I have Jon!...or am I expected to stay and become firm friends with your new bride?..... I'm surprised really - I thought you would have the good grace to feel guilty"!

"Guilty"?

"Yes Jon! You've used me"! Sansa yelled so hard she was shaking. "You could have told me Jon! You could have told me that I was just to be a pawn in this war where you were to become the great hero! I was a bargaining chip to gain support from your Queen and use of her dragons - nothing more"!

Sansa looked as though she was choking back a sob. No tears fell - a certain resigned fierceness overtook her, not allowing any weakness to show itself. Jon was frozen, caught between sifting through the most appropriate words in his mind and staring at his wife, this woman of the North, this Wolfmaiden, blood of Winterfell.

"You could have told me" Sansa huffed when she got no reaction from him. "I would not have been completely adverse to your plan - I've long come to terms that no one shall marry me for love".

"Sansa I-"

"No Jon"! Sansa held up a slightly trembling silencing hand. "Tell me truthfully, when we wed, you did not love me as a man loves a woman, but did you ever see yourself coming to do so"?

Neither of them moved, Jon did not want to answer, for answering her truthfully was as painful a prospect for him as it surely would be for her. He did not feel for her that way at the time, his mind was too occupied with death and strategy - there had been some truth to Sansa's words, she had been a pawn in some way. She took his silence as confirmation of her words.

"You could have told me" she repeated again with her eyes closed. "You needn't have humoured me with the few visits to my chambers you graced me with. Gods Jon! What if I had conceived?! What would you have done? Kept me and your lover? Or were you so convinced of your skills of persuasion that you thought you could get your annulment anyway? And here I'd be, losing my husband to his next wife and my child to a mad dragon Queen"! Try as she may, that sad thought had bid a few tears to fall and roll down her flaming cheeks. "What was that on that last day before you left? When we tried for the last time? Humouring me again? Pitying me"?!

"Sansa I didn't -" Jon made a move to close the gap between them. He wanted to brush her tears away, he wanted to set this all straight. She had it wrong! So, so wrong!

"No Jon"! Sansa caught his hand by his wrist where it stopped in mid air on its way to cup her cheek "I shall not shed anymore tears for you my Lord - for I'm sure none were shed for me during your many moons planning with 'Dany' on how to be rid of me"!

"Sansa please"!

"Spare me your pity Lord Targaryen, I have no use for it". Sansa spat dangerously. Jon witnessed the very moment she closed herself off from him. Strong. Resolute. Unwavering.

"Sansa"! Jon pleaded but it was for nought, she had already fled with her head held high, unwilling to look back.

***********

Jon awoke late at around midday. His head felt full of fuzzy wool and pain. The light from the winter sun thumping its way through the window and jabbing his eyes.

He moved slowly, groaning with each movement before he was groaning for an entirely different reason. Memories. Memories of the pain in Sansa's eyes and the hurt in her angry words. He had to set this right with her, he had to find her.

Splashing his face with icy water from his basin did the trick for renewing his skin and his spirits. He will find Sansa, he will tell her how he feels, truly. He will lay his heart bare to her and hope she would not stomp all over it but rather learn to care for it and put trust in him that he could make her love him. He could do that, couldn't he? Make her love him?

He donned yet another new tunic by Sansa's hand. This one was dark navy and very finely decorated with silver thread depicting a direwolf head with red eyes on his left breast. In truth, this tunic was finer than the one he wore to the feast last night and probably suited the occasion better. However this felt more important, more worthy.

Jon wandered the short distance to her solar silently concocting and rehearsing phrases to get his pleading point across. He was both surprised and irritated to find that Sansa was not alone in her solar after he knocked and opened the heavy oak door.

Sansa was sat at her large circular table where she likes to break her fast. Sat with her was Queen Daenerys, her Hand - Tyrion Lannister and Willas Tyrell.

Jon's eyes narrowed and something in his belly boiled when he took notice of Willas' arm draped around the backrest of Sansa's chair.

"Lord Targaryen"! the imp greeted "how good of you to join us! We were beginning to think you would prefer to sleep away the day"!

Willas chuckled. Jon sent him a menacing glare causing him to straighten in his seat and retract his arm from Sansa's chair.

"Forgive me my Lord, I was unaware of the gathering or I would have attended from the very beginning....pray tell, to what are we discussing"? Jon shifted his gaze between the Queen and Sansa as he leant his weight on his fingertips where they splayed across the table top.

"Apologies, I thought you had been sent an invitation " Tyrion said before eying the Queen. "We are discussing this" he concluded, clearing his throat whilst pushing a piece of parchment across the table towards Jon.

"The terms of your annulment" the Queen clarified in a crisp clear voice. Jon took the paper and without reading a single word his eyes flitted from the parchment to Sansa.

"Is this what you want"? Jon asked her, eyes boring in to hers, trying to silently communicate his own desire for her to reject the proposal.

"Well -"

"Of course she does"! Daenerys interrupted "she is free to choose her next husband with the full backing of the crown" she paused to smile at Willas "and I have added to her dowry considerab-".

"OH FUCK OFF DANY"! Jon exclaimed, temper thoroughly frayed as he pushed away from the table. All other participants in the meeting looked beyond shocked.

"Jon"! Sansa yelled, rising from her chair.

"My apologies" Jon's jaw clenched "fuck off, your Grace" Jon ended in a mock bow.

"What is the meaning of this"?! Daenerys demanded as she rose from her chair.

"Now, now, I'm sure Lord Targaryen is just tired..."Tyrion supplied with both his arms outstretched as if he were ready to keep nephew and aunt from throttling one another "...and perhaps still a little drunk... he out-drank even me last night so I wouldn't be surprised-".

"I'm quite sound of mind my Lord and I wish to speak freely" Jon started.

"That's evident" Willas sniggered but abruptly shut up when he received glares from both Targaryens.

"Please nephew, do continue... I should like to know the subject matter that has convinced you that addressing me in such a manner is deemed acceptable" the Queen said cooly and not without threat.

Jon licked his lips and stared at Sansa's concerned face. "We will not be accepting the terms of the annulment... or any other as a matter of fact...Sansa will remain MY wife" he shot Willas a look "....and I shall endeavour to be worthy of her and win her affections". Sansa sucked in a shaky breath and continued to stare at Jon.

Jon turned to Daenerys "we shall not be sending our children to you in King's Landing, they shall know a full childhood in the snows of the North..." the Queen raised an incredulous brow before Jon continued "we will concede to accompanying them to the capital for short stays and they will be allowed to refuse the burden of the Iron Throne should they have no wish to sit upon it" Jon finished with fire in his eyes and resolution behind his words.

"You would go against our arrangement?!... what makes you think I would agree to such a thing"? The Queen said in a low voice.

"The way I see it your Grace, you don't have much of a choice" Jon remarked.

"Our agreement was that I would bring my Dothraki, my Unsullied and my dragons to fight beyond the wall and in return -" Daenerys' building rant was cut off.

"And what kind of ruler would you be if you hadn't? If you had left your subjects to fend for themselves against the dead? You would have moved north to join the battle at some point your Grace, our agreement just sped up the process".

Everyone looked to the dragon Queen who looked ready to boil over.

"You WILL adhere to our previous agreement or I shall-"

"Feed me to your dragons?... as the sole person who can make your heirs, I think not" Jon finished with a minute grin.

"Perhaps not nephew"Daenerys growled "but don't forget I can burn those you hold dear" the Queen looked at Sansa.

"Are you threatening my wife"?! Jon exclaimed, his hand going to the pommel of Longclaw. The movement was not missed by Tyrion.

"No one is threatening anyone" the imp shouted quickly "please" he implored, looking to the Queen "the new demands are not unreasonable...I beg that we retire to consider them before any decisions are made".

The Queen stared stonily at Jon for what seemed like an eternity before she gave a tiny nod and moved to leave the solar, closely followed by her Hand.

"Leave" Jon commanded angrily at the Heir to Highgarden, practically growling at him as he hurried past as fast as his affected leg would take him.

The two remaining people left in the large room stood staring at each other, not knowing how to proceed.

"Jon" Sansa finally broke the silence.

Her voice spurred him into action. Jon made three big strides and took her into a tight embrace as he silenced her gasp with his mouth hungrily on hers. Sansa did not respond for the first few moment before seemingly melting into his attentions. Jon groaned and moved his mouth down to her neck where he began his begging between presses of lip and tongue and teeth.

"Sansa...kiss...please...kiss...I'm so sorry Sansa...lick....please forgive me...kiss...I never wanted this annulment...nibble...please say that you don't either...lick...please sweetheart.....lick....say you're still mine Sansa...please...I love you sweet girl...kiss...sweet Sansa...lick...my Sansa".

Sansa had been enjoying Jon's attentions and cooing despite her confusion, but now she pushed him away to look him in the eye. "You love me"?

"Yes" he breathed, his lips red from the force of his initial kiss and his hair disheveled from Sansa's grasping.

"But I..."

"You were right - much to my shame... in the beginning, when we first wed...I...I did it to gain the Queens support in battle...I used you Sansa, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for it.... but I love you...I want you...I want to share a home with you and for you to carry my children...for us to raise them together...this annulment - I had no part in it I swear, it was the Queen's suggestion because she believed we could find more happiness in other unions. But I can't Sansa, please..." Jon ended breathlessly. Sansa studied him while he panted from emotion, the air between them growing thick.

"Why didn't you just tell me"? She whispered.

"I...I thought you might want a way out... that I owed you the chance to be happy with someone else if it pleased you" Jon said in a rush, scanning her face.

"And you're not willing to give me that chance now"? Sansa asked. Jon felt like his stomach had dropped through the floor.

"I...I am...if it's what you really want....I can't say that I can bear the thought of another man touching you though". Jon admitted, raking a shaky hand through his hair.

"You should have told me" Sansa said quietly, looking at the floor.

"Aye" he agreed "aye, I'm an idiot" he huffed looking about the room ashamedly.

Sansa suddenly moved closer "you are an idiot" she whispered in agreement, her breath tickling his skin "but you're my idiot". She smiled. It took a while for Jon to register her words but once he did, he beamed back at her and gathered her in his arms for another passionate kiss.

Their hands roamed each other's bodies, Jon resumed his ravenous attentions to Sansa's throat, making her moan and rub against him. He started walking her back towards her bedchamber.

"Jon"?

"I want to make love to my wife" he murmured behind her earlobe. Sansa shivered.

"Jon, it's the middle of the day! And Queen Daenerys-" Sansa protested weakly.

"Queen Daenerys can fuck off"!

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