#something around the lines of 'oooh there are dark forces and energies and stuff and we need to wait till the stars align' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pinepickled · 3 years

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How about something Gen? Team Minato gets lost in a forest ans have to find each other. Sensei strategizes. Kakashi summons a tracking dog, rin follows the rivers but Obito gets Very Lost and perhaps stumbles upon something he shouldn’t. Maybe a sleepy Old Forest god? Shenanigans are always fun! Hopefully everyone gets home safely 😄 no pairing or just pre-relationship crushes please

Oooh, this is a very fun prompt Ana! I don't write gen often so this will be good practice, and hopefully it's up to your taste! No pairings as requested and Obito-centric.

He got lost in the woods and met a strange man who could do strange things.

Obito was a strong and brave ninja, he knew that for sure. Who else could claim the esteemed Uchiha name and sharingan while also being part of the yondaime's team? No one!

But that didn't change the fact that when a mission went wrong and he was separated from the rest of his team, he got a little scared. Just a little, don't be mistaken, Obito was still calm and in control, it's just that being stuck deep in a forest in the middle of the night would unnerve anybody!

Plus, out of the entire team, Obito had to admit- he was the least prepared to be lost. He'd been following what looked like wolf tracks for the past hour, hoping they belonged to Kakashi's summons and not an actual wolf, but he knew this logic was flawed. It wasn't like he could look at the stars and know exactly where to go like Minato-sensei, or just float down a river and somehow end up at his desired destination like Rin, so following wolf tracks it was.

Obito stopped for a rest and water, his breath coming out in puffs, the cold air bringing a flush to the boy's cheeks. He was tired and slightly injured from the fight that had separated the team, so he couldn't keep going for long. For all Obito knew, he could have been going in the wrong direction deeper into the forest and gotten himself in even more trouble than he was in before. The little Uchiha sighed in frustration.

"Whatever!" He said, turning his nose up. "I'll just keep going! No one and nothing can stop this ninja from completing a mission and going home!" He announced, giving himself an extra boost of energy with his words. He took off running in the direction of the wolf tracks, speeding through the forest as he used tiny amounts of chakra to make himself go faster. The full moon lit his way, and for just a moment, as Obito saw the trees thin, he'd thought he'd really made it!

But life could never be so fortunate.

Instead, he stumbled upon a clearing with a river snaking through it, fed by a small waterfall. Obito sighed and approached it, figuring it was time to try out Rin's method instead of Kakashi's. He was reluctant to step into the water- Minato-sensei had said that some rivers had poison in them that you couldn't swim in, and there were bioluminescent mushrooms going all up and down the banks of the river. Wild mushrooms were signs of poison, right? But Obito had never seen a wild mushroom that glowed in the dark in the forests near Konoha, though. He must have strayed further than he'd initially thought.

Obito sighed as he continued to look around. There were small fish and frogs in the water, seemingly unbothered by the glowing mushrooms. Fireflies floated aimlessly over the water, occasionally landing on beautiful red lilies that grew from the bushes near by. The entire clearing was filled with tiny wild flowers, and Obito absentmindedly thought to pick some for Rin. The boy looked further up the waterfall, and nearly fell over in surprise. Someone had been meditating on a rock in the middle of the pond the entire time, and Obito hadn't even noticed!

The man was tanned with chestnut brown hair, and he was wearing traditional clothing. Despite the cold weather, the man was meditating in a simple tan yukata, the folds of the robe open slightly to expose a muscled abdomen, as though the frigid air didn't affect him at all. The meditation was probably working, then. Figuring that Obito had already wandered too far off to find his way again any time soon, especially when he was cold and hurt, he strolled up the river and sat down to meditate near the man.

It would normally bore the young nin to death, but as his ribs throbbed in pain and his dry lips forced air in and out, he found he could do nothing but focus on the quiet. He closed his eyes and listened to the rattle of his own lungs, quietly wishing Rin would float down the river and patch him up. Obito didn't know how long he'd stayed like that, meditating in silence with the man, but a while later the rustling of cloth snapped him out of his meditation.

The man had gotten up and was wading through the water, the moon shining down on the water from where it sat at it's zenith. Obito stayed put as the man walked off, and startled when a hand patted his shoulder.

"Aren't you coming?" The man asked, golden eyes looking curiously down at the young nin. Obito stared blankly at the man before shrugging and getting up. Maybe the man knew a way out of the forest. Just as they began to walk toward the tree line once more, the man dragged Obito closer to his body.

"Oh my, you're freezing! Come on, come on, let's get inside." The man said. It wasn't so much that Obito was cold as it was that the man was oddly warm, so warm Obito had to double check the air around them to make sure it wasn't summertime. His own body was overcome with a strong, thick chakra, the kind that called back to springtime and the unstoppable force of nature, and in minutes Obito was warmed as well.

Obito reluctantly stuck to the man's side, trying to look tough even as he was warmed by the man's chakra, but his facade dropped when a cottage erupted from the ground right at their feet. The young nin nearly fell backwards, however the man's arm was strong and held him upright. He chuckled, turning Obito's face beet red.

"Sorry for scaring you. Welcome to my humble abode." He said, voice dripping amusement. Obito tried not to pout as the man opened the door for him. It truly was a humble abode, the kitchen and living space all in the same room, cozily pushed together, with a narrow hallway likely leading to a bathroom and bedroom. In the kitchen was a pot of stew on a low fire, it's aroma of meat and onions and all the good stuff filling the air. Obito's stomach rumbled pathetically, and the man cooed.

"Ah, hurt and hungry? I feel like I've found a stray kitten. Come, come." The man mused, gesturing the young nin closer into the kitchen space. He was sat down at the small table and poured a hefty bowl of stew, the man sitting opposite of him with an even bigger bowl. Obito cautiously took a sip. It was delicious, beautifully seasoned and the perfect temperature, and somehow it tasted like home.

"Thank you for the soup and stuff. What's your name?" Obito asked. The man waved off his thanks, golden eyes staring mirthfully at the young Uchiha.

"Hashirama. What's yours?" Hashirama asked. Obito blinked a few times.

"Like the first hokage?" He asked. The man nodded brightly.

"Exactly!"

Obito continued to stare at the man before shrugging. Coincidences happened, and although the first hokage was described to be tan with brown hair, that description matched 90% of the men in Konoha.

"I'm Obito Uchiha!" He said. Hashirama's eyes twinkled.

"An Uchiha, I thought so! What brings you so far from home then, little Uchiha?" He asked. Obito shrugged, not sure how much of the mission he could talk about.

"Was just out with my team and got separated and then lost." He mumbled, swallowing a few more mouthfuls of the soup. Hashirama made a sympathetic expression, nodding.

"Poor thing. Let me get something for that rib of yours, you can stay the night and return in the morning." He said, standing up and disappearing into the hallway. Obito had finished his stew fidgeted for a bit, looking around for any clues as to where he was. All of the decorations in the cottage were reminiscent of fire country, but fire country was humongous so that wasn't really helpful.

There were a few photos on the desk near by, and Obito peered at them curiously. There were photos upon photos of Hashirama holding various plants and animals, as though he'd raised them himself. There were a few photos of a man with white hair and red eyes being embraced by Hashirama, and some more still of a woman with red hair holding a little blond girl. Obito vaguely thought that the red haired woman looked a lot like Minato-sensei's wife, but the thought was short-lived. The genin spotted a photo tucked behind one of the pictures of Hashirama, this time holding a peach. Obito didn't want to take it out for fear of offending his host, so he only craned his neck to look at it.

As soon as he saw who was in the photo, he ran back to his seat and tried to look as polite and not-terrified as possible.

The man in the photo was unmistakable, especially to Obito, and the implications of who that was were too much for him to process. Hashirama came back from the narrow hallway holding medical supplies and some clothes. Obito smiled nervously and lifted his shirt to allow the man to work, hoping that he wouldn't be able to feel the genin's heart pounding through his ribs.

"So uh, have you ever lived in Konoha, Hashirama-san?" He asked, trying to be subtle about it. Hashirama smiled brightly and nodded.

"Oh yes, I was quite involved in the village for many years, and only moved out recently for my retirement." He said. Obito's mind drifted to the white haired man in the photo, and he felt his stomach turn over. If Obito was right, then that had to be...

"Where you friends with the Uchiha?" He asked. It took an effort to keep his voice light and airy, and Obito was sure Minato-sensei would have been proud of him.

"Yes! Myself and the Uchiha were at odds for a while, but now we are the best of friends." Hashirama replied. Obito giggled. With a swipe of chakra, some medicine, and a swift wrapping of the bandage, Obito was free from the man's ministrations. Despite how nervous Obito was at interacting with the Hashirama, he could sense no malicious intent, and Hashirama looked as though he was enjoying their awkward conversation. He was handed fresh clothes, but something in Obito's gut told him not to stay long.

"I'm sorry, Hashirama-san," He started, trying to be as polite as possible, "But I really need to get back home, my sensei is probably worried sick. Could you please just point the way?"

Hashirama blinked blankly at Obito for a few moments before smiling in defeat and nodding.

"Sure, I understand. You've made this old man a little sad, though. It's been so long since I've spoken to a living person." He said, golden eyes looking wistful. As Obito turned those words over in his head and studied Hashirama's face, an old Uchiha story drifted across his mind, but for the life of him he couldn't remember.

Hashirama led him to the door and handed him a packaged bowl of the stew. Whenever Obito looked back at what he'd said that day he could never explain the urge to blurt it out.

"Can't you just talk to Madara?" He asked. Hashirama looked completely taken aback, eyes blown wide in surprise, before he guffawed. That was who had been on the picture behind the peach, the former head of the Uchiha clan, one of the greatest shinobi in the world, who had Hashirama's arm around his shoulders and was smiling brighter than the sun.

"If I could, I would! Now get out of here, go defend that village I love so much." Hashirama said, chortling as his hand pushed Obito through the open door. The genin lost his balance and fell into what seemed to be an endless tunnel of darkness, the only light being the soft golden glow of Hashirama's eyes.

Then he crashed into a head of white hair and got cursed out by Kakashi all the way back home.

#obito uchiha #hashirama senju #uchiha obito #senju hashirama #madara uchiha #pine talks #naruto #naruto fic #pine fic #fic requests #gen

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starrysupercell · 3 years

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Second paternal-centric piece, centered on the highly dramatic Graveyard Fam! The patchwork family <3

Do I put way too many serious thoughts in things? Maybe. But I am a storyteller.

Heavily headcanon based that I've mentioned before.

Warnings: mentions of formerly living in a toxic and neglectful environment, and a current abrasive and struggling relationship between Mortis and Frank.

Ask to tag.

🧟‍♀️📱 Picture Perfect 🦇🎧

Emz awoke naturally, opening her eyes, and blinking away the sleep. She stared up at her ceiling blankly. What a good day's sleep!

She pulled her arm from the tightly wrapped blanket around her and slipped it under her pillow to grab her phone.

She held it above her face to replace the ceiling as the point of interest in her line of sight. It was around 1:30 pm. What have people talked about ever since she went to sleep earlier that morning?

She began to scroll through posts, ready to begin her morning regime of giving only a few hearts to a handful of posts, and maybe even one or two coveted comments from her. (It was best to leave them wanting more!)

However, she froze in her browsing when she quickly noticed a trend in today's posts. A long winded paragraph by some random of how lucky they were, a meme about single mothers, grilling pictures.

Oh, today was no day to lay in bed for half an hour before beginning her day! It was Father's Day. Emz twisted around, trying to roll out of her bedsheets.

"Ogh, stupid covers--!" She grumbled despite the fact that she loved twisting herself up in them. It helped her sleep at night.

The zombie rolled too far one way and gave a cut off yelp as she fell clean off the bed and landed on the ground painfully on her stomach. How embarrassing, she huffed, peeved. She slapped the ground in frustration and pushed herself up with the same palm. She sat on her knees and leaned on her bed, fixing her hair with her other hand. Okay, fail, but at least nobody saw that.

Absent-mindedly, the teen brought her phone up again and unlocked it fluidly. She scrolled through a few posts and ended up giving the first like of the day.

"Wait, no," She said, looking up. She had a plan for today and everything! Emz stood up and slipped her phone into her back pocket. First up, the gifts!

She bounded over to her closet and opened it. There they were. Two gift baskets for today. One for her Uncle, and one for Frank. Emz smiled. They were handmade of course, because premade goodie bags were absolutely lame!

As if she would settle for giving anything less than perfection. No, she hand picked what would go into each basket, decorated and placed it to be aesthetically pleasing, and wrapped it up with a gorgeous ribbon. She's even refrained about bragging about any of this online, to keep it absolutely secret. Man, was she just amazing or what? That was rhetorical, of course. She knew she was flawless already.

Like an instinct to survive, Emz had her phone out of her pocket and in front of her once more, camera open. She winked and stuck her tongue out with a smile, and took a picture. She grimaced.

Ugh, she had to go through her morning routine first and then take another picture afterwards. This was a terrible excuse for a selfie. With that thought in mind, Emz stretched properly, and strolled to her bathroom.

"Talk to me, Franklin. You know it's a mutual effort." Mortis said, poking Frank's cheek. He was leaning over the back of the couch where Frank was sitting at. The big guy tilted his head away with a grunt. His eyes were trained on the television as he tried his best to tune out the vampires.

"...Is this still about the dishes?" Mortis decided to guess since he refused to answer. "I'll have you know that I got started on them the other day. But then I got a call that simply couldn't go unanswered." Mortis paused and studied the lack of change in grump level in Frank. Okay. Maybe not that. "...If this is about my bats, I am not making them sleep outside. They like it in here. Only Robata likes it outside." Still no answer. Mortis tapped on his chin. What else could possibly be on his spouse's mind? It was already hard to believe that Franklin was mad at him, but he was just not budging in giving any hints. (Yet again!)

"Ugh," Frank grunted. "It's not just about the dishes or the bats." He started to explain quietly. Mortis leaned in attentively with a small smile on his face. Oh, it was such a rare treat now when Franklin opened up to him. Even if this was about an argument, Mortis adored the fact.

"It's about the fact that you still make excuses for your laziness." He finished.

Mortis frowned. Except for when he spouted spiteful lies and insults! "They aren't excuses! I'm telling you what happened. You know, you're not the only who lives here, Franklin. There's a thing called--"

"Good afternoon~!" Emz called out, stepping down the staircase with flourish.

Mortis ruffled Frank's hair and lowered his voice. "Hold that thought." With a pirouette, he shot a cheerful grin at Emz. "Poisoned Apple! Good afternoon!" The gravedigger greeted. Frank was annoyed, but he held up a hand to wave at Emz pleasantly. With his other hand, he turned the volume down on the show he was watching.

"Hi!" Emz said, stopping right before she reached the bottom. She was using the railing to hide the baskets. "You guys know what today is, right?"

"....Sunday?" Mortis questioned happily.

"I guess so, yeah," Emz said, "But beyond that."

Frank blinked and shook his head lightly.

"It's..." Emz paused for dramatic effect, and then lifted the baskets into view. "Father's Day! Look what I made!"

"Ooh," Mortis smiled, fangs glinting. He held his arms out as Emz walked forward to hand him his basket.

"This is for you and--" she moved on to Frank. "--this is for you!"

Mortis marveled at the items he could see, and turned it to see it from a different angle. The plastic wrap crinkled as he did this.

Frank smiled at her as she passed it over to him. With just a glance, he could already see some of his favorite things in there, he placed it aside and stood, prompting her for a hug as he walked around the sofa.

Emz was wrapped and lifted up in his large stature, pleasantly smiling. "I'm glad you both liked it." She laughed, muffled.

"Naturally," Mortis remarked, "Your craftsmanship is to die for!"

Emz was finally let go by Frank, landing on the floor. "Oh, tell me about it," she smirked. "I stayed up a couple of days ago finishing those up and they turned out perfectly!" She flipped her hair with an obvious flourish. "You can go on gushing," she said, only half jokingly as she brought out her phone to idly glance through any messages.

Mortis laughed in amusement. Frank smiled patiently. Emz was sharp around the edges, but she was endearingly so. As long as she didn't go too far...

"Oh, yeah!" She put her phone away. "You should both, like get dressed up. There's an event on the beach later on tonight, and I was thinking we could go out today. Like... my treat."

"You?" Mortis voiced for both he and Frank. "You have money?"

"Yeah? I save up. Don't you?" She asked haughtily. "Or do you just not want to go?"

Frank gave short laugh, and patted his stomach in jest. Mortis shrugged in amusement, catching on to Frank's joke. "Well, if you think you have enough for Frank, we'll be your guests, sweetheart."

"Oooh, futuristic," Mortis marveled, taking off the wide-brimmed hat he wore as the Trio walked inside. They were at the Zero-Gravity diner. It was a part of Starr Force's attractions.

A bored-looking feline straightened up in attention as the doors slid open. "Welcome, Civilians!" She greeted from her silvery podium. "Feeling low on energy? If you want to help out Colonel Ruffs in his quest against the Dark Lord, you should fill up while you've got the chance." She recited in character, "Luckily, you're safe here, and we've got plenty of foodstuffs that'll fill you up! So, how can I help you today?"

Emz scoffed. Did Kit not recognize them or something? "You could have skipped the spiel. Like, you know that we're Brawlers, right?"

The cat blinked slowly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Okay. What do you want then?"

"I've got a reservation for three, under Emz."

Kit shifted her focus to the high-tech screen right beside her. It was see through. From the perspective of the Graveyard Trio, the images, texts and buttons were flipped.

Kit pressed through a few buttons, navigating through menus, and then confirmed Emz's arrival. "Alright. If you'll follow me." She picked up three devices from her podium, and began to lead the way through the restaurant. Her tail swished as she walked along.

When they got to the table, Kit waited until they were seated and placed the devices in front of the three. "Press the blue button to activate your menus." She said.

Mortis pressed it, and a holographic screen flashed into view, akin to Kit's own screen at her podium. He laughed. "This is spectacular! We should add a horror-themed restaurant to our section. It would be a hit!" Mortis exclaimed. "What say you two?"

"Ooh, that'd be sooo cute! I can run it." Emz said.

Frank grunted, and pressed the menu button. It didn't spring to life like Mortis' did, so he pressed it again, and then once more even rougher. It broke under his strength.

"Oh," Kit reached over. "Sorry about that. You can hand me the pieces, and I'll get you a replacement menu. I'll be right back." Frank did so, a bit embarrassed.

As soon as Kit was out of earshot, Emz laughed. "Our place won't have cheap stuff like here though."

Mortis grinned. Frank was less than amused and gave a shrug. It was simply an accident, and they shouldn't be rude about it.

Kit returned and activated the device before handing it to Frank. "Here you go. While you look through that, what can I get for you to drink?" She asked, readying a tablet.

"I'll have a peach iced tea." Emz told Kit.

"I'll have a glass of Merlot." The mortician decided.

Great. Now he'd have to drive. Frank rolled his eyes, and looked through the sodas.

Mortis looked over at him. "What would you like, Franklin?"

After eyeing the selections, he pointed out his choice. Mortis made a face and looked at Kit. "He'll just have a Coke."

"Okay. I'll get that to you. A waiter will be right out to get the rest of your order." Kit said. She departed from the table.

Emz hummed and stood up. "I'll be right back. Remember- order whatever you want! I'm paying." She reminded, smoothing out the cute dress she wore and then walking off towards the restroom.

Mortis watched her go, and then moved aside the menu device.

"Okay, Franklin. Let's talk." he interlocked his fingers like this was a business deal.

Frank ignored him, swiping through the menu.

"This is a fancier restaraunt. Emz is treating us, and you can tell how important this is to her, can't you? I hope you do."

Mortis paused for any telling gesture or expression, but Franklin remained quiet. The mortician continued. "Well, it'd be great if you'd drop the pettiness, if only for tonight. This is between us, not Emz."

Frank glowered at Mortis. Pettiness? Him? The big guy shoved aside the device now. He was tired of Mortis' tone and habits and everything.

"Don't even think of causing a scene here, Franklin," Mortis tensed up. "Think about Emz!" Frank frowned.

"Here are your drinks, Sirs." the black cat returned. She either didn't notice or chose to ignore the quiet tension at the table as she put the drinks down and then left.

Frank grumpily put his face in his hand. "Fine. But you're being a dick." Frank said.

Mortis was offended. "How!?" He asked indignantly.

"Drinking without even asking me, nitpicking what I want, and those are on top of the bats and dishes. And I bet you're ready with some excuse now too." Frank listed.

Mortis clamped his mouth shut. He was going to point out that it was only one, and that plain old coke at a more fancy place, really? But, that would just prove Franklin right. "Well," he struggled on what to say for only a second before finding a string. "You always keep things to yourself! How am I supposed to guess what you're thinking? You wait and get mad and then out of the blue, you just attack me!"

Frank furrowed his brows and looked aside, feeling a bit guilty.

"Hey!" Emz arrived and sat down, and scooched up in her chair. "You guys are being an itty bitty loud, you know? I'm sure you don't want people staring."

"Uhh..." Mortis said. "I suppose not. So... Franklin." He said awkwardly, trying to think of some different topic. "I think... our Brawl Ball strategy should change." He sighed, disappointed in himself. How weak of a subject.

Emz was puzzled and looked like she wanted to say something. So, of course, she did voice her thoughts. "Weren't you guys talking about, like being mad or whatever?"

"No....?" Mortis said. "Nobody's mad here. Am I right, Franklin?"

"Uh. Yeah." The big guy shrugged.

Emz pursed her lips. "Right... So this afternoon too?"

Mortis gave a tight smile. "This afternoon?" He pretended.

Emz was merciless in completely demolishing this lie. "This morning, when I walked downstairs, Frank was on the couch with the T.V. on. It wasn't muted, even though you were beside him presumably chatting. That's some weirdo way to talk if you weren't mad at someone." She said, matter-of-factly. "You think I don't know body language?"

"...." Mortis was stunned. Frank laughed at the absurdity. She had guessed it perfectly!

Emz crossed her arms though. She waited for Frank's chuckle to die down. "So, what gives? You two are going to start lying to me all of a sudden?" She looked between the two, waiting impatiently for an answer.

".....No." Mortis said finally.

"Then?"

The vampire faltered. "It's just that... well, you know. The discussions Frank and I gave, ah, doesn't have to do with you? So... why involve you?" Mortis managed.

"Okay? But, like, why lie about it." She repeated. She had an inkling about it now, given both of their awkward glances and fidgets. Her sharp tone softened, and she sighed inaudibly. Guess it was sappy truth time.

She looked down at the table, focused on the closed menu device. "I know you two argue. Like. Duh. That's normal. And, I'm guessing that you want to pretend like everything's peachy because you don't want to remind me of... well, you know who already!" She shook her head. "But I'm okay, really. I actually wake up on my own and not from endless yelling, and I'm not picked up hours late from wherever because you never agreed on whose turn it is to pick me up.." Emz paused, feeling quite at unease from sharing this, but pushed through. This was just another step at breaking her own tough shell. "What I'm trying to say is, simply arguing isn't going to remind me of my 'parents.' You two are leagues better, okay? I know you actually care about me. So you dont have to lie to me. Bicker and argue all day until your jaws fall off. You wouldn't be my Uncle Mortis and Frank without it." She smiled up at them.

Mortis had his upper face covered, just about already to cry. "Emz... I don't know what to even say..."

Frank leaned to her and gave her a kiss on her head. "It means a lot, sweetheart..." he said genuinely. Maybe he still had things to learn... He glanced over at Mortis who happened to look up then from his heartfelt pause. "I think I speak for the both of us."

They exchanged a soft smile.

"How about a picture?" Emz asked as she held her phone up.

"That sounds grand," Mortis sighed contentedly. Frank nodded with a smile.

The graveyard family bunched in together to fit into Emz's screen that she held up for all of them. On their way to posing for the perfect picture, their glasses were knocked down. The mixture of the three drinks short-circuited the menus, stained the white tablecloth and started to drip on the floor. Kit was walking by at that moment to check on another table when she saw the damage. That troublemaking team. Her tail swished around dangerously. She pulled a communicator out of her pocket and held it up to talk into it. She never took her eyes off of the Graveyard Trio. "Colonel Ruffs. This is MerXanary Special Agent Kit. Over."

"Roger!" He answered. There were squeaks in the background. No doubt the new Private was fooling around.

"There's Brawlers here giving me trouble. I'm requesting backup at the Zero-Gravity Diner. I'm going in now. Over."

"Willco." Colonel Ruffs confirmed. Kit pocketed her radio transmitter, and readied to Brawl.

Emz's camera flashed, capturing the moment.

#Brawl Stars #Mortis #Frank #Emz #Graveyard Fam #Mortis/Frank #Fortress #Neglect #Toxicity #struggling relationship #ask to tag

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pi-cat000 · 4 years

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Whumptober No.13: Adrenaline

Fandom: Mystery Skulls Animated

Characters: Arthur, ???, and Lewis

Summary: Arthur gets in trouble while on a case with Vivi (set before Ghost). (PART 4)

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3)

(PART 5)

A ghost? Is that a ghost? Arthur is unsure because he has never seen one so solid looking. All he has as a reference are encounters with the rare wisp on occasions when the supernatural stuff Vivi investigated happened to be real. This creature is completely different, made of solid shadow and fire. Perhaps it’s an elemental spirit?

“What do you want?” The skeleton-ghost-monster-creature grumbles, voice vibrating in the air without an obvious source. It glares down, visibly irritated by the man’s presence. Of course, this green-eyed looney has decided to go bother a powerful fire spirit…of-freaking- course. And here Arthur is, stuck, unable to escape, watching in the back of a car with his arms and legs bound.

Despite the show of aggression, the shorter man only huffs, unafraid of the monster he’s pissing off.

“There is no need to be rude. And after everything I’ve done to help. Where’s the appreciation?”

A growl. “I don’t count you’re useless rambling as help.”

Three smaller spirits in matching shades of pink and purple materialise along the larger ghost’s shoulders to glare. Great, more supernatural creatures. Hey, maybe the big ghost will get rid of his kidnapper, not notice Arthur watching in the car, and he’ll make an uninterrupted escape attempt. Why does that feel like wishful thinking?

“Ugh, no, no. You have it all wrong,” The man waves a dismissive hand, “They’re motivational rambles, not useless. Motivational! Don’t you always feel motivated after our chats?”

The ghost burns a little brighter, floating forward, forcing the other figure back, “If you’re here to insult me with more ‘motivation’ then you better leave. Now.” Fire crackles, punctuating the order.

“Oooh, scary…Have you been practising?”

There is a slow threatening growl, and all the smaller ghosts hiss.

“Kidding! I’m just kidding,” The man continues, louder so he can be heard over the rumbling, “Geez. You’ll be happy to know that I’m not here for a chat. Not this time.”

Slowly, the next sentence is delivered with deliberate emphasis, “Do you remember that deal we made way back when?”

The fire ghost hesitates in its aggressive approach. Now Arthur’s vision has cleared again, he can see how its' glowing eyes have narrowed in suspicion.

“Well, guess who just fulfilled their side of the bargain …” Arthur can hear the bastard’s smile as he sings the line.

This obviously means something important because the ghost stiffens and the fire pulses, becoming more erratic. Before Arthur can even think to process this development, those glowing purple eyes have snapped up to look straight past his crazy kidnapper and towards the car. Arthur doesn’t have time to duck down, meaning they make immediate eye contact.

A bright flash of magenta light and fire erupts over dirt, spiralling outwards. There is a deep ominous rumble from the ghost as it moves deliberately forward, pushing roughly past the second man who stumbles to the side.

Oh shit.

Adrenaline spikes, hitting Arthur like a sledgehammer. Arthur throws himself to the opposite side the vehicle, trying to shoulder check his way to freedom. He only succeeds in giving himself a sore shoulder. Frantically, he attempts to pull his arms free but the cuffs don’t budge, keeping his hands firmly tied behind his back. Shit!

Metal screeches, making Arthur wince, and the door opposite him is ripped free to frame the furious ghost who leans into the opening, glaring. Up close, the fire spirit is a hundred times more menacing, and, despite the excess energy, Arthur’s limbs lock up momentarily in fear.

“You,” The ghost grows, echoey voice laced with anger.

“Me?” Arthur squeaks in response, pushing himself back against the door. The escape attempt proves fruitless when a large hand reaches in, gripping the front of his shirt. An attempt at mule-kicking the appendage away is easily ignored. Arthur, riding high on adrenaline wiggles about, determined to not to go down without a fight.

“Traitor! You’ll pay for what you did.”

“What did I do!” Arthur objects, voice high pitched. He realises quickly that this is the exact wrong thing to say. Fire spreads around them, dancing over the ground, running down the ghost’s arms to his shirt. The area around him is slowly increasing in temperature, growing unbearably hot.

“What did you do!?” The repeated question is punctuated with Arthur being slammed back against the car. His neck snaps back, giving him a renewed sense of vertigo.

“You killed me!” Is yelled right in his face.

“No!” Arthur gasps, pulling at his cuffs which bight at his wrists, “I don’t even know who you are!”

“Who I am?…WHO I AM!”

Arthur is smashed into the car again. This time, when his head snaps back, it connects with the metal surface of the car. Lights explode behind his eyes accompanied by dizziness.

“WHO ELSE WOULD I BE!”

By this point, everything has gone all fuzzy and the sound around him is warping, making the words difficult to hear. The fire is suffocating, burning his throat. Forget his neck and back, everything hurts now.

“Ahem,” An amused voice cuts in from the side, “if I may interrupt this touching reunion, but I believe the deal was that we keep him alive long enough to act as bait.”

For a moment everything is still and all Arthur can hear is the pounding in his head. Then the fire around him recedes an inch and Arthur is suddenly dropped. He hits the dirt next to the car like a sack of potatoes.

“That’s …” The ghost hesitates, anger abating, “Yes…Right…”

Arthur groans, trying to curl up and protect his head, “I didn’t…kill…anyone.” This had to be a case of mistaken identity. If he could just make them listen! At least the dirt is cold, offering some relief.

“Got… wrong person…” He mutters to the ground.

There is a long pause before, “What’s wrong with him,” is snapped. Their voices are growing more distance now and Arthur realises everything around him is growing increasingly dark. It’s not the natural dark of nightfall either.

“Aside from the obvious physical injuries? Did I forget to mention, dear old Arthur is telling the truth about not remembering you.”

A harsh, “What.”

“He really doesn’t remember killing you. Got a case of the old trauma-induced amnesia I’d say.” It’s the last thing Arthur hears.

(PART 5)

If you want to know more about this challenge I have an intro here

Completed Prompts: Shaky Hands, Explosion, Delirium, Human Shield, Gunpoint & Dragged away, Isolation, Stab Wound, Unconscious & Shackled, Stitches, ‘Don’t Move’

#whumptober2019 #no.13 #adrenaline #mystery skulls animated #arthur kingsmen #???#Lewis pepper #kidnaping #handcuffs #graphic descriptions of violence #volience #injury #head injury #angry ghost lewis #misunderstanding #sorry arthur #the ??? and Lewis team up we've all been waiting for #writing challenge: whumptober

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luphorics · 2 years

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Oooh could you tell a little bit about the lore of your world? I know you said it's still in progress but i'm interested in hearing what you have so far! Cyberpunk and fantasy sound like a very cool mix too

Of course, anon! I tried my best to condense what I've solidified of the lore for the most part, but it'll still be a pretty long read, just to warn you! Some areas that could have more info will be left vague for now until I figure stuff out! ;7; 💞 Have fun!

GENESIS/CODE takes place in an alternate future in the year 2205. The lines collide between the mundane world and the supernatural forces.

Long before the main events of the story, humans established connection with a grand civilization from another universe. The people from that world were known as the Geneses (Genesis in singular form)—taller in size compared to humans, and were known to weave technology with something intangible to the humans in their world: magic. The Geneses gifted the humans a mysterious device for their hospitality. The device was nearly the size of a massive skyscraper and hovered above the Earth. It was meant to aid the humans in their future advancements. After this exchange, the Geneses departed back to their realm; contact with them afterwards was lost, as the manmade device that was capable of opening the dimensional rift in the first place was destroyed. It would’ve taken yet another couple of years in order to repair it. Things were mostly peaceful for many years afterwards, until a worldwide event—dubbed by the public as the Dark Horizon (or simply the Horizon)—took place. During this event, a shockwave of foreign energy originating from the Geneses’ device permeated the planet, causing a world-scale blackout that lasted a couple days at most.

In the time following the Horizon, not only did technology alter as a result of the energy, but some parts of the environment changed as well. Strange creatures, harmless or hostile, emerged from the natural parts of the world. However, the biggest point of interest are the humans that were exposed to the foreign energy. Not all humans were affected, but those who were started exhibiting hypernatural abilities akin to what the Geneses were capable of doing. These humans came to be known as the Genesis Codes.

A powerful research conglomerate known as APCORP is one of the main entities of this world. APCORP serves as the corporate face of the nation, Elysian Prime, where most of the events take place in. As of the current events, APCORP has been trying to look into the skyborne device in an attempt to reverse its effects, but it's implied that their intentions are dubious. Meanwhile, the hostile denizens have been become nuisances to parts of the world. To answer this, the ADVENT Initiative was started in order to gather teams of qualified Genesis Codes (though some non-Codes were selected) from around the world to combat the threat. Most of these Codes were affiliated with APCORP, though others came from outside associations or originally worked independently.

The seven central characters of my story are all Genesis Codes from the same team, but some of them have varying levels of ability! Carolyn, for example, is a fully-realized Code for the most part, as she has much of her abilities in control. Due to her past occupation as a lieutenant, she acts as the leader and mentor to her tight-knit team. However, those like Sione only have a fraction of their abilities realized and hasn't had the time to fully control them due to this.

This is as much as I can go about the lore! It is a lot, and probably enough to provide you a good idea of what's happening! However, there's a still a bunch that I need to address in the future and you'll see all of that quite soon! (:

#ask luo #genesis/code #ty for the ask anon!!#gave me a lot to ramble abt in terms of my story nyehehehe

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femsff · 6 years

Note

4, 8, 11, 13, 23, 30, 34, 38 :)

Oooh, awesome! Thanks.

I’ve included already answered ones below.

A Writer’s Ask Game

agwitow:

Send me an ask with the number(s) you’d like me to answer!

The Basics1. Do you listen to music when you write?2. Are you a pantser or plotter?

Started out as a pantser but after a few fic, I decided to give plotting a try. Am now a fully committed plotter.

3. Computer or pen and paper?

Definitely computer. My fingers tend to cramp up even when I write a little bit and when I write a page or so in a notebook (I often carry a notebook with me when I go somewhere but don’t want to drag the laptop with me), about 3/4th of it illegible to anyone who isn’t me. In a way, that’s a good thing I suppose considering some of my smuttier fics, but overall it’s just a pain. And I always get disappointed when I get around to typing out the notes because it looks like a lot more when written out!

4. Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

No, I have never been published. Maybe one day I’ll try my hand at it, but right now I don’t feel like my writing is “good enough” yet. No idea for an original novel either.

5. How much writing do you get done on an average day?6. Single or multiple POV?7. Standalone or series?8. Oldest WIP

Oldest WIP I’ve written for or does plotting also count? If it’s just written, then it’s probably my abandoned Down the Rabbit Hole (FFnet | AO3). I just... got stuck. And it was so incredibly frustrating and really stopped me from enjoying anything fic-related that I finally just said to hell with it and dropped it. I just checked and I stopped working on it in 2013... I still have the outline and everything though, so who knows?

9. Current WIP10. Do you set yourself deadlines?

The Specifics11. Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know, maybe I’m rare but I’ve never been one of those people who held specific authors up as their ideal. I used to read a lot of books (nowadays less so, because 1) am adult and have to adult and 2) because I read fanfic and often would rather write my own fic than read a book) and have some favorites (all fiction) but nothing that really stands out.

12. Describe your perfect writing space13. Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Hahaha! Are you sure you want to know?

Okay, so I get an idea. Often when I’m half asleep/dozing, in the shower or just doing something mindlessly. The ideas are usually specific scenes that I can see play out in my head, but occasionally it’s just a conversation/some dialogue. If I like it, I’ll try to force more by really focusing on it. If the muse wishes it, that tends to work. I’m rarely super excited about an idea that I’ll start working on it right away, and prefer to let it roll around for a while. See if it keeps popping up and more details are added. If it’s worth my time and energy, I suppose.

Once that happens, I’ll start writing down notes. I use OneNote to organize my fic ideas/plotting and have one notebook that’s simply for ideas; one section per idea and depending on the idea, it’ll just be a stream of consciousness (often peppered with questions for myself) or a bit more organized in different pages. Again, depending on how excited I am about the idea, this can be done in a day or it can take weeks/months where I’ll occasionally add some info.

Then, when I feel like I want to work on it some more, I’ll start to delve into the details. When is it set? What’s the beginning, middle and end? Which events do I want include but have no idea where yet? Is there specific dialogue or are there actions I want to maybe include at one point? If it’s an AU, AR or AT, I’ll start working on the differences from canon (who is in it, what’s their role, how does it deviate from canon). How long do I think this fic will be? I need to set a max number of chapters for myself, otherwise the story will just keep growing and I’ll keep adding stuff and in the end it’ll read like I just came up with more and more stuff simply so I wouldn’t have to end the story, rather than telling the story I wanted to tell in the beginning.

Anyway, I start creating pages for the chapters and fill in the few things I already know. At this point I often also involve my beta and discuss the fic idea with her. Everything from that conversation goes into the ‘brainstorm’ section and I’ll work on the questions and suggestions that arose during the conversation. Then, I’ll start focusing on filling up the chapters with general outlines. That can be anything from “scene 1 Sam telling Jack (Sam pov); scene 2 introspection about changes (Jack pov)” to a paragraphed summary or even a scene completely written out. Sometimes it’s just “some shippy stuff here”, to let me know that at one point I need to lighten it up or bring them closer together. I go over all the chapter pages that way, but don’t necessarily fill them all out. I also make one page with a chapter overview, which is usually the numbered chapters with one or two lines about the content so I can see in one quick glance which things need working on.

More thinking on the fic idea, sometimes even when sleeping and brainstorming with the beta usually follows, which in turn results in adding more details. The chapter pages get more specifics or maybe a “don’t forget to mention [character]” or “now [# weeks] pregnant, mention that/include symptoms”. Also, depending on the story idea, I might need to do research. That can be canon/fanon stuff, but also scientific stuff, maybe a different language, create background information for original/rarely used canonical characters, timeline, locations, RL world events, and so on. That also gets included in the notebook and, at some point, added to the relevant chapter.

Once my outlining is done and I feel comfortable to start writing, I tend to just create a master document and start writing. Now, that’s not to say my whole outline is complete or that it’s something I must strictly adhere to. Additions and changes are made all the time, sometimes I’ll get stuck or realize a scene doesn’t work the way I envisioned it or the beta tells me something is missing. So, I go back to the notes and work on it. Then I go back to the fic and write, write, write.

Oh and I usually ask the beta to go over a chapter once I’ve finished writing it (or, if I’m stuck in a scene, I’ll ask her to look at it right away) and then I’ll go over the feedback, make changes, possibly discuss some of the things she mentioned, do some more editing and then I’ll go to the next chapter and write some more.

14. How do you deal with self-doubts?15. How do you deal with writer’s block?16. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?17. What writing habits or rituals do you have?

Hmm. I’m not sure? I do know that when I’m stuck I tend to make a fruit salad or get snacks out in the hopes of it resulting in the required brainpower to keep going.

18. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?19. How do you keep yourself motivated?20. How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

The Favourites21. Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?22. Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?23. Favourite author

I don’t think I really have a favorite author... I don’t like non-fiction, I always read fiction and often thrillers. Some of the books I always order and often reread are ones by Jilliane Hoffman and Ingrid Black.

As for fic, see my favorites/bookmarks on my profile on FFnet/AO3.

24. Favourite genre to write and read25. Favourite part of writing

Ooh, difficult to choose. I really love doing the research and plotting, but I think the best part of writing is ending up with the story you imagined before you even ‘put pen to to paper’. Also, managing to convey the emotions through the writing - like when a reader comments with how they also teared up, they had to stop reading a few times to catch their breath/get a grip on their emotions or were just overwhelmed by it all. That’s pretty neat.

26. Favourite writing program27. Favourite line/scene28. Favourite side character29. Favourite villain30. Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I have quite a few fic ideas I haven’t started writing yet. Not sure I can choose one. But one that I’ve had for a long time, like ~6 years, and even started writing on (but then discarded that because it wasn’t a good opening) is for Woman In Blue. It’s a first-person fic, a style I actually kinda hate and would probably back-button right away if I saw one of my favorite authors use in a new fic... anyway, it’s Mark Carter in first person, writing about Sam (and to a smaller extent, Jack) and all the things he learned about her life after her death - she and Jack died in a blaze of glory, defending Earth against a Replicator attack that also prompted Disclosure.

The Dark31. Least favourite part of writing32. Most difficult character to write33. Have you ever killed a main character?34. What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

There are so many scenes I’ve struggled with, most recently in Unmade Plans (chapter 8 specifically, that one really was a fight and I’ve rewritten it probably a dozen times) but the hardest was probably the Sam/Klorel scene in Only the Stubborn Survive. Those of you who’ve read the fic will know which scene I mean.

35. What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

The Fun36. Last sentence you wrote37. First sentence or your current WIP38. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

I’m not quite sure. A lot of them start out as weird ideas! The end result as you see them are soooo different. Maybe Consequences of Being Touched, because there were quite a few risque scenes in there?

39. Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had40. Share some backstory for one of your characters

The Rest of It41. Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?42. How do you feel about love triangles?43. What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

It depends on the situation and the outline. I’ve thrown outlines out of the window at times because something else turned out to work much better once you actually reach that point in your story, but I’ve also rewritten a scene a dozen times before I got it exactly the way I wanted it in the outline.

44. How much research do you do?45. How much world building do you do?46. Do you reread your own stories?47. Best way to procrastinate48. What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?49. Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?50. [Other question—ask me anything]

Well, those were fun but also tricky! Guess I shouldn’t have skimmed the list before rb’ing, haha. No just kidding, I loved answering them. Thanks!

#writer's ask game #writing #fanfiction #me #rl #thank you for playing #london88blog

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cortex-reaver · 7 years

Text

Chapter 63: Jailbreak Prep

Warnings: language, cyberspace surreality

Masterpost

Been a while. I’ve had this with a 15-plus chapter buffer sitting on my hard-drive for a while. Just now starting to get back into things again.

Chapter 63: Jailbreak Prep

Warnings: drugs, language, cyberpunk horror-ish mention

Hacker stared morosely at the Cortieball in his lap, gently running one hand along its surface. Cortie's gaze darted around uneasily as she contemplated the psychological clusterfuck that would be his rescue mission.

He sighed.

A clatter interrupted his reverie. He glanced up to see the Stooges shuffling in to watch the goings-on. He waved half-heartedly.

“You think you guys could give me a quick Reaver c-space tutorial?” he asked tiredly. “I took a look in local c-space already and it's nuts. Also there might be some monitors out there. I noticed a couple floating skulls like the old-time Reavers”--

Moe: Dude that was us. Didn't you see the glitch art?

Larry: DUDE I had the whole Pirate Pixels hack going. BOOYAH.

Moe: C-space here is WICKED SICK! You're gonna love it. Well once you're over the whole neon overload shitfest. It uh, takes some adjusting.

The Stooges grinned in perfect unison, letting out little burbling moans. Hacker blinked. Then blinked again. Cortie giggled from his lap.

“No wonder you didn't freak out when we showed up at the door, huh? Okay then. Anything I need to know?”

Larry: Bottomless 1-ups. Seriously. Infinite c-space reloads. Get zapped, come back pronto.

Moe: You're still gonna feel those hits, but they're just not gonna wear you down. You've got a big-ass machine, CPU and all, sprouting outta your brain. So you can take 'em better.

Curly: You also got a deeper health pool. Like, triple cuz of the cyberware. AKA: More hitpoints. I mean, from the gamer perspective....

“Nice. Now I just gotta brace for the incoming Berserker trip dipped in acid and Stam-Up then,” Hacker muttered, then fished in his armor's pockets. “Pretty sure I got a patch in here somewhere.”

Larry moved forward, waving their hands to catch Hacker's attention. He glanced up in surprise at the Reaver's wicked grin.

Larry: Nawww you're not gonna need that. Our rigs feed us the pharma shit. Yours probably does too. Just look for a Stam-Up option in the menus.

Moe: DUDE do you reaaaaally wanna enable him?

Curly: Do you seriously NOT want to enable him? We're in SHITFUCK CENTRAL here. Better he know where to get his Stam-Up NOW before he needs it. Cause we just TOLD him about the health rundown, 'member? Not as fast, but it's still gonna happen. Specially with SHODAN-flavored c-space shit.

Moe: Good point, bro. Good point.

Dazed, Hacker checked his menus.

Sure enough, there was a pharmaceutical menu with such a long list of assorted drugs to replicate for his body. He knew only half of them. Fortunately he recognized the Stam-Up option, and cackled softly.

Moe: Don't forget the Genius stuff. We get those by default whenever we go into c-space. Probably why you got back out as fast as you did. Helps with the fast reloads. Annnd you're gonna want a double-dose to start.

Hacker: Oh yeah right. Lemme just turn both of those on...

“Permanent life-time supply of Stam-Up,” he said in wonderment as his new Reaver frame promptly began feeding his body a moderate dose of both drugs. The world felt brighter, crisper, even more saturated now. He grinned.

“If I'd known a Reaver rig could do this”--

“WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TELL HIM THAT?!” Goggles yelled in exasperation.

All three Reavers backed up. Slightly. They shot her offended looks, folding ther arms.

Larry: He's gonna need it! Specially Genius. Dude's not used to the c-space here.

Curly: C'mon, you don't know how SHODAN is in c-space. We heard plenty from the Cerberus guys here. He's going up against all her crazy-ass shit.

Moe: HE'S TOTALLY GONNA NEED IT OKAY? This IS SHODAN we’re talking about here--

“I'm gonna stop you right there,” Goggles let out a low growl as she clapped a hand to her face, then dragged it down to stretch out her skin. “I've fought SHODAN in an FTL warp that turned c-space into fucking reality. I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“SHe d-dOesSS,” SHObeta hissed.

“AnNd he WiLL neED aLl the Help he Can gET,” Cortie spoke up.

Goggles sighed, then held up her hands as she backed away.

“Okay. Fine. Ignore the sensible voice in the room.”

“All right, anything else before I go in there to break Cortie out?” Hacker asked the Stooges.

“MiND yoUR RanGE,” Cortie interrupted softly. “YoU Will KNow whaAT I meaAN. I am UNabLE to SPeaK theEEr-r-E, so I wiLl w-waRn yoU nOOW. I suSPect The SUper-ReaAVer-r-rRs kneW how To bYpasS it. It wAs the ONly DeFEnSE I haD RuNNinG TheEEe-RE.”

Hacker froze, his entire Reaver rig raising abruptly.

“You kept...that system?”

“HOw DO yOU thiNK I PuLled mY ForRK out of RebeCCA's boDY?” she asked so pointedly that SHObeta flinched.

Goggles and Hacker could only stare.

The soldier dug into one pocket, and pried out a large black bandanna, and passed it to Hacker. Only then did he realize he'd broken into a sweat his new Reaver technology couldn't counter. He gratefully took it and dabbed at his face.

Cortie drooped inside the ball, her eyes wide and sad.

“I wouLd Not be ABle to StoP thE neuRaL RoOTKit if tHe ProtoCols actiVAte it,” she whispered, her eyes welling with glittering digital tears. “P-p-p-pLeASe...s-t-t-taAY saAFe.”

“Y-yeah. Okay. N-no problem,” Hacker squeaked out. “But it's being run by an ethics program, right? That limits the kinda commands it's gonna try running on my brain...r-right?”

Cortie blinked.

“What's the worst a neural rootkit run by an ethics program gonna do, paralyze him?” Goggles asked, surprised.

“I...w-w-wOUld raTher-r-r NOt KNoOW,” she whispered. “JuusSt StaY s-s-saFE.”

“R-right.”

He closed his eyes, blocking out all his various inputs as he settled himself back on the regenerator room's floor. He settled into a nice comfy cross-legged position, and put Cortieball securely in his lap.

He tried to replicate the search for the Visible Spectrum View. Two tries flavored by constant mental cussing later, he finally found the C-SPACE ENTRY button he'd missed in his earlier fumbling.

Cyberspace bloomed in his mind, all neon outlines and utter blackness beyond. As he squinted in the new landscape, he spotted distant shapes in the darkness past the glowing walls of his immediate area.

Three large pixilated skulls hovered in front of him. One sported an equally pixilated eyepatch, while the other had animated red-and-blue flames playing across its face. The third gleamed a brilliant silver which rippled lazily from gunmetal gray to dazzling platinum.

Hacker recognized them as the ones he'd seen earlier. Then he wondered how he'd assumed they were hostiles when they looked like flying retro-ware hacker icons instead of Citadel programs. He mentally shook his head. His brain's been through a lot right now. Best to forgive and move on.

Moe: Yo.

Curly: DUUUDE that is a sick-ass avatar.

Larry: DAAAAAAMN man that makes me look like a sad troll.

Hacker: Oh? What do I look like?

The pirate-decorated skull spat out a gleaming metallic mirror which unfolded, then floated to hang between it and Hacker. He stared at it, then reeled backwards while screaming in horror.

He looked like a hyper-realistic neon green skull, complete with glittering fractal-covered orbs for eyes, and crackling lines of energy for teeth.

“WHAUGH!”

He blinked as the regen room swam into view in front of him. He glanced about wildly as Goggles eyed him quizzically.

“Dude, you okay?”

All three Reavers burbled mischievously. Hacker quickly rearranged his disarrayed Super-Reaver limbs back around him, and forced himself to settle down. Cortie stared up at him with confusion.

“Eh, not a big deal. I just...”

Larry: Little avatar shock heh heh heh.

Moe: I guess skulls aren't your thing huh?

Hacker shot the Stooge an irritated glare as he straightened. Goggles snickered as she realized what the Stooges meant, shaking her head with a lopsided grin.

“Big bad Super-Reaver scared of his own face,” he heard her mutter.

He flipped her the bird. She folded her arms while still chuckling. He rolled his eyes, then turned to the Stooges.

“I can change that, right? Is there a menu for those kinda things?”

Moe: Oh yeah sure it's probably the same on your stuff as ours. Look for Avatar Customization. You could prolly set it back to your old c-space avatar. Go to the menus before coming back, ok?

Hacker: Okay, will do.

Moments later, he found the menu he'd been looking for, and plowed into the customization options. Another few moments got him a decent replica of his old c-space avatar – a copy of his younger self's appearance with simplified polygons making up its shape. It was very in with the pixel-rave style at the time of Citadel, something he remained fond of even when it was forty years out of date.

Once he was sure he had his appearance the way he wanted it, Hacker returned to cyberspace.

The skulls looked him up and down, then nodded in unison.

Moe: Totally you, dude.

Larry: Yo Hacker, welcome back. Smart move going with your old Citadel look.

Curly: Oooh likin' the whole pixel-retro getup there. Sweet.

Hacker: Thanks. Suprised you guys even remember that interview I showed it in. Some things...eh...back to business. So where are we? Local regen-room c-space or a junction?

Hacker peered about the room. The walls here glowed from deep blue-green grid, rippling with lines of energy and code. One set of green lines pulsed horizontally from the left to the right, while a set of blue lines pulsed vertically from top to bottom. Code streamed along the lines here and there, sparking blue and purple pixels where they intersected. Beyond them lay a rippling black nothingness, which was a real feat of virtual rendering - he registered it as both a squirming solid surface and a complete utter void.

A quick scan with his software told him the walls were made of a super-dense, multi-layered ICE that would require considerable time and processing power to crack. It was the cyberspace equivalent of bending a black hole into the shape of a room. No signals got out past it, and no signals got inside.

Moe: Actually, both. It's the Med room but Cortie stuck a junction in for us. Asked us to monitor it for her. Keep out any skeeveware or whatever else her bitchzilla fork stuck in the station. As for the room? It's rigged as a Max-Sec Area surrounded by sickass ICE walls. Cortie's stuff.

Curly: It's wicked strong. She also put in in this network of high-end EMF blockers, so no signals get in or out of the area. You basically walk inside and you don't exist, as far as the station cares. Might as well be a Faraday Cage. Cept a Faraday Cage is like, Stone Age shit compared to this.

Larry: The defense perimeter is ten meters in all directions past the doorway. She took out all the cameras between the elevator and here to help with that. So the station and by extension, Crazyfork, doesn't know what you've been doing with a dead Super-Reaver. Heh heh heh.

Curly: OK back to the present, kids. Look to your left, Hacker. That's all the regenerator systems. You'll see the other operations systems as little diamonds around the room. They'll shoot data around here and there. Don't interrupt 'em. They'll bork up systems in the room if they don't get their bits and bytes.

Larry: You got into the junction when you popped in the first time cause you were just outside the doorway and inside the perimeter. So long as you're in the perimeter or in the room, you'll pop up in here whenever you reload. Got all that?

Hacker: With you so far.

Larry: If you go outside of all this, you ain't popping up here, and well, I'm not gonna speculate on that. Cause FUBARDAN.

Hacker: Oh. Thanks.

He turned to face four large glowing green wireframe boxes lined in a row. Within them moved dozens of shapes resembling bones or organs made up of very tiny flickering pixels. They floated in groups, resembling stacks of Tetris blocks coming together in lines as the regenerators went through their restorative work. Once the icon of an organ or other biological system turned from red, through yellow, and finally green, it dropped from the top of the box into orderly rows of green items at its bottom.

One box had more green icons piled at its bottom than the other, with a timer indicating sufficient cycles to equal roughly fifteen minutes. Judging from the patient picture plastered across one of the box's walls in bright black-and-yellow, Hacker guessed he was looking at Rebecca's regenerator. The other three boxes indicated bodies in worse shape – particularly the one for Suzi.

Not too different from the other regenerator icons I've seen...hmm...basically just higher-resolution, and higher complexity to match. Hokay. Making more sense here now.

Nodding to himself, Hacker did a slow 180-degree turn. Now that he had a better sense of how this higher-resolution c-space worked, he could figure out what everything was.

He quickly recognized the assorted software and data-input icons for the replicator hovering in an orderly multi-colored sphere to one corner. Then he spotted the flat blue-gray diamond shapes of the local systems icons – life-support, lighting, temperature control, gravity, and the doorway. Indicators glittered and flashed from their surfaces in shades of red, yellow, and green. Data, arranged in lines of bright geometric icons, flicked between them in orderly rows of pixels zipping across the room's c-space.

The systems' indicators were mostly green, except for a haphazard flicker between red and orange glowing from the doorway's diamond. Data sputtered erratically from it to the other systems. An error icon blinked above it, indicating some sort of software conflict with the outer doorway mainframe in the station. He was too far away to read its message to be sure.

Then came a familiar sight hovering in the empty space between the regenerators' systems and the replicator's.

A familiar cone, twice the size of his c-space avatar, drifted lazily near him. Its smooth surface shone a dark gray covered in tidy blue and gray lines. A staticky face stared at him from its flat circular top, its eyes wide with horror. Unlike SHODAN's avatar from Citadel's cyberspace, this cone didn't have the curving tentacles along its top at quarter-intervals. Nor did it emit SHODAN's characteristic green glow.

Hacker: Damn, Cortie. You're definitely locked down. Oh. Right, you can't talk. S-sorry.

He watched as the cone continued its slow floating trajectory, nearly bouncing off a flitting data icon racing between a regenerator and the replicator. Its face flicked through several expressions – horror, anger, sadness, hopefulness, and then sadness again.

He glanced to his cyberspace weapons menu, noting that a Super-Reaver had a lot more options than he ever did on Citadel. Pulsers. Megapulsers. Rapid-fire virus projectiles. Energy beams for weakening ICE shields. ICE picks, even.

Between his loadout and his Super-Reaver capabilities, Hacker would likely survive whatever battering Cortie's ethics systems put him through long enough to get her free. The problem was more how close he'd have to get to Cortie to send that code to her.

Hacker: Okay guys. If I get close to her, the ethics params are gonna pick me up as an intruder and start shooting. My range on the filesend is about the same as her brain-rootkit system, so I'm gonna have to chance it on the range to get null.ethic to her.

Moe: Right.

Hacker: Fan out and try to keep any projectiles or shit from hitting regenerator systems. It's gonna get ugly real quick in here.

Larry: Gotcha.

Moe: Good idea, that.

Curly: We'll back you up if you need it.

Well, here goes nothing.

Hacker headed towards the tumbling cone, pulsers at the ready.

Intruder detected. No Tri-Optimum authorizations activated. Security systems online, spoke a familiar voice – SHODAN's flat pre-hack voice – as the ethics systems' ICE suddenly activated. A glowing blue bubble popped into existence, encapsulating Cortie's cone.

Hacker: Figures. Let's see if I can punch a hole in that...

Hacker opened fire with both the pulser in one hand while holding an ICE pick in the other.

#System Shock fanfic #post system shock 2 #The Hacker #Goggles #SHODAN

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book-o-scams · 7 years

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Double Dee Weekend Analysis Challenge

This weekend, for Double Dee Appreciation Month, a bunch of EEnE blogs have been asked by @eene-fangirl to analyze the climactic swamp scene from Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show. In this scene, Eddy tricks Edd into believing Edd has allowed Ed and Eddy to drown in quicksand. This leaves Edd alone with the audience for about a minute, attempting to rescue them and then sobbing over survivor’s guilt. If you’re ready to deal with that, keep reading!

If you’re interested in how my opinion of this scene has evolved, here’s another analysis of it from a few years ago. Hopefully I don’t repeat myself too much, I only gave myself a moment to gloss over it before I started this: http://book-o-scams.tumblr.com/post/128634520423/do-you-think-you-could-do-a-review-about-the

What if the last time you saw your best friends safe and happy before their tragic deaths, one of them was pretending to be an alligator-skin bag and the other was running away from him in half naked mock-terror? This is Edd’s lot in life.

To be serious, I want to take a moment to say this swamp is beautifully designed. The water is so much more detailed and colorful than the flat colors on the animated water we usually see, and the silhouette trees exist in a really surreal season 1-inspired style that I can’t put into words. What are those stripes on the trees meant to be? Just weird lighting? Fumes?

“WAIT!” Love this little hand gesture.

I always wonder if Eddy was already planning the prank when he led Ed away. It IMMEDIATELY upsets Edd that Eddy is out of view. Eddy’s prank seems like it could be a response to the argument Edd and Eddy were having prior to this scene about why Edd ISN’T on this road trip (”to impress your brother”).

Graceful Swamp Nymph Edd over here....

Whoa

How did he land that jump!?

This whole shot is great.

As much as I would love to watch close-ups of Edd slipping all over these platforms, the crane shot communicates the loneliness of the moment, the distance between Edd and his friends, the dread that makes Ed n Eddy’s deaths seem like a possibility, and all while giving us a moment to appreciate the background art.

The decaying stagnant location could probably be taken as a metaphor for the state of the Eds’ friendship...

The small drawings are a little sloppy, but kinda charming. They remind me of the EEnE comics that weren’t drawn by AKA artists.

This moment of isolation also feels like a parallel to shots from the previous prank in the movie....

I love the subtle extra detail in Eddy’s hand, and the grime is good and creepy.

Maybe it’s just because lately I’ve been listening to the music I listened to backwhen BPS came out in 2009, but I feel like there’s a metaphor for Edd’s friendship with Eddy and Ed behind this whole “quicksand” visual hook. I’ll let you psychoanalyze that yourselves, but here’s a song about quicksand to help you think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo50Wv2A4uk

Gotta love that escalation from whispering to panicking! In my previous analysis of this scene, I believe I considered the possibility that Eddy fell in this muck by accident and just ran with Edd’s suggestion that it was quicksand. On the other hand, it’s pretty suspicious that Eddy ran off shirtless and then got dressed before jumping in here... I think Eddy really does just know how to fake his own ignorance and predict Edd’s phobias.

I mean look at Ed in the very next shot! He’s not even trying to make this convincing. Very good dramatic touch on Eddy’s part to reach out for Edd, though.

I know I’m supposed to be analyzing Edd but I’m always taken by Eddy’s acting during these pranks. In the Gag Factory, he just goes for horror movie shock value, but here it becomes clear that Eddy has thought through the dramatic potential of his own death. Look at this pageantry!

Ed’s comments, “In Manure” vs “Immature” and “to all the girls I’ve loved before,” also suggest the scriptedness of this prank.

But at least Ed’s choking here sounds genuine enough to make his other banter more believably sad that he’s going out with jokes.

More staging focused on isolating Edd from his friends.

Ed and Eddy dragging each other to their deaths, their voices fading out in the background, while Edd frantically races in the foreground to do what’s best for them. Eddy really could not have set up a prank that conveyed the cracks in their friendship more VISUALLY, could he?

Suffocating close-ups. This anxiety is drowning Edd more than Ed and Eddy are drowning themselves!

Like tightening a noose, right, Edd?

BTW, don’t forget the significance of nooses to Bro, and by extension, Eddy!

So, seriously, what’s causing the bubbles here? Are Ed and Eddy waiting out this prank with no oxygen or are they back in the bushes or something?

I’d like to mention how much I appreciate the subtle gritty spraypainty detail on the coloring of the quicksand, it definitely helps create the illusion that this may be more threatening than the show’s usual grimy environments.

Today on Ed, Edd n Eddy, Double Dee processes the existential horror of accidental death!

“No.” Edd clutches his heart and attempts to restrain himself.

OOOH, good expression matching between shots!!!

“No!”

This is such a goddamn sweaty movie.

“NO!!!!”

The very first frame of the next shot is Edd already digging and slathered in mud. The urgency with which he throws away his germ phobia to save his friends makes his leap into the quicksand so fast it cannot be caught on film.

I love that the movie does not overstate Edd’s germ phobia and instead lets the grotesque thickness of this mud’s animation speak for itself. Nobody would want to start wading in anything this gloppy, but Edd does it with so much energy, he is not kidding about how much he does not want Ed or Eddy to die no matter how they’ve mistreated each other in the past year.

OOH THEY FORGOT TO LINE SOME TEETH!!!

ah there they are

The first frame of Edd crying in this scene and the tears are already down his cheeks! He’s sprung a leak now.

Edd demands to know where Ed and Eddy are.

AND WE’VE STRUCK GOLD WITH THIS FRAME-BY-FRAME ANALYSIS

to be clear I am skipping some frames. sorry there isn’t more commentary but i think this glorious ugly-crying speaks for itself.

Edd begs them not to give up on him, the survivor’s guilt coming out full force.

“ANSWER ME!”

Edd whimpering after “...please...” is the part of this scene that breaks my heart the most. That quiet acceptance that death is real, even in the Eds’ static world, definitely hits on the pain of losing someone close to you for the first time, a note that’s really important to land when this is so obviously (to the audience) a prank.

The tear animation on this particular expression is REALLY smooth. Some of the dripping loops are kinda choppy but this one looks great, I love the touch with the darker eyelid skin being colored differently through the tears. It’s a perfect capper to a shot full of really incredible Edd drawings.

Again I’d like to point out that Edd’s perspective keeps switching between claustrophobic close-ups and devastating isolation.

I love how he SCREAMS and stomps around in a circle!

A little foreshadowing of the physical violence he’s going to bestow upon Eddy when they fight after the prank is revealed...

“WHY OH WHY DIDN’T YOU LISTEN TO ME!?”

I love that I can’t tell if Edd is referring to these swamp antics or the entire show. It feels a little underhanded for Edd to say this stuff out loud at what he believes to be the scene of their deaths, but that sort of darkness is necessary to justify this scene after the prank is revealed. Ed and Eddy don’t exactly deserve a better requiem, at this point they’ve brought almost nothing but despair to all the people they wanted love from, even if that’s not what they intended.

In an ask earlier tonight, I interpreted a line Edd says after this scene that informs why he reacts to their “deaths” this way. I just want to underline that: Ed and Eddy are officially more important to Edd than any member of his family, any acquaintance, anyone he’s ever met. And this is the way they treat him after ruining what little bit of a life he had accumulated through all his mistakes. His reaction to their death and his reaction to them being alive but lying to him have a similar fury behind the expressions, fueled by how much Edd has lost over both the last year and the last 24 hours.

Edd finally faceplants in the mud, to punish himself for failing to steer Ed and Eddy away from their doomed quest, for failing to save their lives, and for insulting them at their graves.

This is the beginning of the last shot of the “Ed and Eddy are dead” sequence, but I want to savor it.

This is the moment where their “death” has finally lingered long enough to feel like the new reality, to Edd as well as the audience. A moment sooner would have rendered it meaningless, and possibly made Ed and Eddy seem nicer or at least more concerned with Edd’s heartbreak, while leaving our thoughts on Edd’s slight about Ed and Eddy ignoring him. Keep the death going too long and it would DEFINITELY feel like a waste. This feels like Ed, Edd n Eddy tugging at heartstrings with the exact balance of sweet and mean that defines the show.

“This is all my fault!”

“I should have never let you leave the cul-de-sac!”

I like that Edd’s thoughts would return to “the cul-de-sac” at their death. Even with the traumas we witnessed in Peach Creek, “the cul-de-sac” still sounds like a safe nostalgic place, the natural habitat of the Eds.

Is that a miscolored sleeve?

This shot was important it because it allowed Edd to show remorse and get more to the heart of what he meant with that slight.

And I think Ed and Eddy quietly offering Edd a tissue is a really good beat to end the death sequence on as well. Mean as they are and as rightfully angry as Edd is, we are still given the sense that they heard what Edd said, and want to return with a semi-caring gesture with a little of Ed’s personality mixed in to help restore normalcy. It’s almost like they are saying “let us laugh right now and we won’t blame you at all for thinking so little of us at our deathbeds.” It is specific and in character. But it doesn’t make up for their actions as much as they think it does.

Edd initially complaining about Ed’s gross handkerchief and then drooping as the dots connect that this was a prank is also a pretty well-timed gag.

These shit-eating grins, Eddy looks like Norbert Beaver right now with that little beak.

Hmm, Ed’s face doesn’t match between these shots... I wonder if a line got cut out for time here.

Ridiculing Edd for caring, which probably reflects how little care Ed and Eddy receive from their families and peers.

Just like old times, huh Double Dee?

...Maybe too similar to old times...

Thousand yard stare while tears stream down his cheeks...

“This muck’s only ankle deep, can’t sink in it!”

Edd untethers himself. Symbolism.

Ed starts making some stupid free-associative response to Eddy’s line.

And Edd spins around and stomps away with stifled anger.

In light of how deeply he just felt about these two, he cannot bring himself to give them the fight they deserve without Eddy dragging it out of him. But Edd can sure as hell walk away.

And with that Edd silently quits and Eddy makes a series of strange faces.

Also in this shot, tiny Eddy’s animation does not sync up with the dialogue at ALL, so I really want to know what line he was animated to...

Anyway, that’s it for this challenge. I hope you enjoyed this mini-analysis grande-screenshot-gallery and have been enjoying these character appreciation months as much as I have! Have a good night.

#Double Dee Weekend Analysis Challenge #double dee appreciation month #ed edd n eddy #ed edd n eddy's big picture show #Big Picture Show #movie #the movie #analysis #double dee #edd #double d

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stipulatedconflict · 7 years

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Band interview with NEGATIV(Oslo/Norway)

NEGATIV from Oslo, Norway

NEGATIV is a new hardcore punk from Oslo. This band makes me feel that it will bring something exiting to the Oslo punk scene which is not just about Oslo punk scene but it is more involvements from punk scene in other countries. It’s maybe also by the vocalist Skunk’s own hard works for label and bookings, and NEGATIV is deeply involved in it as well. Thus this band makes me feel something will happen! I have seen them couple of times and the latest one was at Barrikaden with SIEVEHEAD. Once they started playing, the band immediately grabbed the entire atmosphere in the moldy underground space and delivered its manic primitive energy thoroughly. Their sound is based on 80s hardcore with weird mixture of Scandinavian hardcore punk, some Japanese flavor, light distorted guitar sound which sometimes sounded even rockin and the edge of thrash hardcore. Their groove is undulated with its manic groaning vocal but still has some sharp edge of thrash hardcore here and there. Their groove completely smashed the space and whole live space was undulated by the crowds and its sweaty moist heated air. It was a great show.

This time I could get a chance to interview them.

Check their sound Here:

Bandcamp: https://negativ1010.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/endlessnegativityoslo/

Interview start from below;

-So, who is in the band? is there any band which any of you have played or been playing before or currently playing beside NEGATIV?

Skunk: I do vocals, me and Sig used to scream against each other in JENKEM WARRIORS before and I'm also part of a noisy hardcore band called INTERNT OPPGJØR. Sig used to play drums in DISCUNT and has a electro band called HYSJ.

Møkk(Kenneth) plays guitar and has been in bands since I wore diapers, MORTE CEREBRALE, 2:20 and currently KNUSTE RUTER just to name a few!

Our drummer; Erik has probably had the most musical projects than I can count! He originates from Death Metal but is very comfortable with anything rockin' and-a-rollin and grabs punk songwriting better than most; maybe it's because he's so untouched by all the genre-wanking bullshit that's been going on. I think his most noticed band was FILTHDIGGER, he also had a hardcore band called STRUKTURELL VOLD which is coming out on 7" sometime this year..

-Is there anyone who is involved in any DIY punk activities like running label, writing zines, taking pictures, designing, organizing shows etc in NEGATIV?

Skunk: Møkk is the mastermind and fingers behind ENDLESS STUDIO which is where we record and practice, we just moved into a new space so it's still under renovation. I'm gonna do my label work from there as well.

Sig has always been super busy with Queer and LGBTQ activism in Oslo and used to be the editor of the feminist radio RadiOrakel!

Erik does sound on a regular basis in our squatted venue; Barrikaden.

I've been running a small hardcore-punk label for about six years now called BYLLEPEST DISTRO and been doing booking at Barrikaden for pretty much the same amount of years. I've done sporadic designs for covers and posters but wouldn't really consider myself a designer in any sense. Just a complete hc-punk dweeb who spends too much time on punk stuff.

We all do shows!

-How did NEGATIV start in the beginning? how did all of you get together?

Skunk: Me and Sigrun had some aspirations to start a japanese-style hardcore band in the veins of stuff like GAI, EEL, LEBENDEN TOTEN etc. but had really big problems finding people in Oslo who were interested in playing that primitive and distorted. Sig was supposed to play drums originally, then guitar when Erik joined in on drums. We had our first rehearsal with a complete line-up including MØKK on guitar , which resulted in Sig playing Bass.

Møkk and Erik brought their own inspirations along and it ended up like something completely different! Kenneth wanted to bring influences from Italian 80's hardcore like NEGAZIONE and IMPACT, I think.. Although we try to avoid it I think we can't remain completely untouched by roots of Norwegian hardcore like KAFKA PROSESS , SISTE DAGERS HELVETE etc...

It was a really cold winter and all our other band project were on complete Hiatus.

-How do you describe the sound of the band by your own words?

Skunk: I think Sorry State Records described us the best; so I'd rather not describe our sound in my own words! They wrote; "After starting with a primitive SOA-style banger based around a punishing polka beat and snare rolls as jagged as a prison shiv, Negativ settle into a pleasantly thrash-infused take on 80s hardcore." It's originally about the two first songs on our EP; Automatic Thoughts but I think it describes our entire sound pretty well.

It's primitive and banging steadily! Sometimes we jazz out completely into weird atmospheric parts, but it always remain primitive to the bone.

-Is there any specific bands gave influence/inspiration to the band sound?

Skunk: Anything 80's hardcore but I think we all come from a bit different directions!

All the mentioned above and so many more! I listen to too many hardcore punk records... For the past year I've been quite inspired by the vocal style in UPRIGHT CITIZENS from Germany and early DEAD ENDS from the Philipines. The foundation for me has always been japanese bands from the 80's though. Sigrun is mostly inspired by american hardcore , anything from MINOR THREAT to SICK FIX to L.O.T.I.O.N to LIMP WRIST; I know there's also a great deal of EMBRACE and other mid-era SST influences in there... I know for sure that Erik is inspired by the roots of punk like THE GERMS, SEX PISTOLS and BLACK FLAG while Kenneth gets his groves from anything technically aggressive and JIMI HENDRIX!

-What kind of elements/influences do individual members bring to the band to sounds like NEGATIVE?

Skunk: Everyone in Negativ are practically professional musicians besides me, Erik brings a lot of discipline and force to the band which makes us evolve faster. He's also the father of the term "S-Beat" which is his most common beat inspired by SLAYER and old school death metal like that, it adds a great foundation for primitive hardcore punk!

Sigrun gives our songs those bass lines that makes the songs stick out, there is always a minimalistic melody or harmony that gives the songs a certain drive. I guess it's from that post-hardcore stuff I mentioned above but I dunno haha! I think Kenneth truly gives us that 80's sound with the way he plays in general and he's also a genius at making simplicity sound massive!

-How did you decide the band name? Is there any special meaning? something negative?

Møkk: We where talking about how things seemed upside down in the world.

That the ruling class of the world is mentally ill, but they act as they are the healthy ones. That right wing racist tyrants claim the role as victims, while refugees have lost everything, that capitalists are talking about ecology and “saving the world” while they are the ones raping it. When its more hierarchy, social and sexual abuse in the punk community than in the rest of society? What the fuck is going on!?!?! Its upside down isn’t it?! We where thinking of calling us “The Negatives” Like a photo negative. Where everything is inverted. But, since we`re all quite pessimistic, and having more experience with depression and negative thinking than we would like, and the double meaning with the upside down status of things at the moment, we cut it short and went for Negativ. The meaning is the same.

Its no secret that we dig Negative Approach either. Hehe!

-How's the punk scene in Oslo?

Møkk: Oooh, its like a roller coaster! Haha! Its ups and downs.. But yeah, oslo is a “bi-polar” city. We usually have very cold, long and dark winters. But still we have hot and sunny summers, the sun is up almost 24/7.

So when the winter is letting go, it seems that people are becoming manic, its good! But its definitely manic. Hehe!

Everything happening at the same time, everybody is ON and its a million things to do.

And of course, people are depressed during the winter. Getting “winter depressed” is as common as getting a cough here..

All that affects the punk scene, how the spirit is, if we are fighting each other or fighting our real enemies, or fighting for keeping our spaces, fighting for a better world. We are a small scene, everybody knows everybody, we aren’t very split into fractions. At least not in the same degree as other cities in Europe where I see more fractions and more homogenic communities. And I feel that the punk scene in Oslo is gonna be a good place to be in the future. Seems like people is starting to see what we have in common, rather than what we don’t have in common with each other. I think it has been a bit of a down period lately, but it looks promising at the moment. But hey! Its the month of May right now and maybe I`m just optimistic and manic at the moment?

-How do you think about playing in a band in Oslo?

Skunk: I think we only played five shows in Oslo during the year we have existed. It's a small city and even though there are always some punk gigs, the quota of local bands is always a variable. We've only done five shows here or so for the past year and we're gonna keep it at a minimum just to keep shit interesting...

The best thing about playing in a band in Oslo would have to be the access to studios, venues etc. We run our own label and studio directly in the center of Grønland and can pretty much play how much/how little we feel like and still be sustainable. I

The worst part is probably that a lot of great bands from Oslo doesn't get recognized abroad because we're so far away from everything and often drown in the shadows of bands from Sweden and Denmark!

-Which bands are you playing together a lot? any bands you feel sympathy as in a same scene?

Skunk: We played a couple of shows with Terrorstat, they're probably my personal favorites in Oslo. All good mates and half the band played with me and Sig in Jenkem Warriors. Terrorstat is a true freak accident of a fusion between Boston hardcore and Svart Framtid. They always deliver and is just such a hard-working, no bullshit band! All the members are also involved in Punk shit in Oslo outside of the band! Båndtvang is also a sick new noisy gang that I love to bits! Can't wait to see what direction they're heading, but it kinda reminds me of if Crucifucks would play Noise Punk!

We also did a two of our gigs with BLOOD SUCKERS, which is probably the only puristic USHC band in Oslo at the moment. Håvard from that band has put up quite a few gigs for us as well with the SVART SAMTID collective!

-Is there any bands you feel sympathy for the sound/attitude outside of Norway?

Skunk: First off, I'd have to say Arggh! Fukk! Kill!!! that we played two gigs with in Germany, they've helped us out a lot and are great guys; we are doing a UK tour with manic D-beaters in Split-Veins in the end of June, Carlos from that band has done some artwork for us and is generally a super sweet guy! We had a good session with PMS 84 in a club in Oslo not long ago and we hope we'll get to do some US shows with them in 2018!

-Is there any good bands out there in Oslo which we should keep our eyes on in these days?

Skunk: Besides BÅNDTVANG, BLOOD SUCKERS and TERRORSTAT; I would strongly recommend everyone to check out MODERN LOVE, URBANOIA, PURPLE X, and OUTER LIMIT LOTUS! Oslo is not really a big enough scene to segregate genres, so the bands on this list varies from post punk to hardcore to power pop! We all play together!

-How do you guys compose songs and lyrics? some specific members are dedicated to it? or more like bring some riffs and developing it by jamming?

Skunk: Most of the flesh on our songs is hammered out by Erik; our drummer; then the rest of us puts our flavor on it. This is not a rule though and I think all of us bring ideas to the table!

-Have you played outside of Norway?

Skunk: We did a short European tour about 8 months into NEGATIV's existence where we toured Denmark, Germany, Holland and Belgium. We got to meet old and new friends and I think it helped us define how we want to tour in the future.

-What was the most impressive/unforgettable show NEGATIV had so far?

Skunk: The craziest shit ever for sure was to see the kids in Die Friese, Bremen singing along to our lyrics! I never expected that on our first tour!

-What was the craziest things you had as NEGATIV?

Skunk: For me it must be the positive receivement we've gotten from the international punk scene. I've been playing in bands for about five years now where we've practically been having to beg for shows; with NEGATIV things've just fallen into place and the record has almost distributed itself. We're getting so many requests for shows, interviews etc. it's actually becoming stressful! We're extremely thankful to the punk community in it's completeness!

-What is the further plan for NEGATIV?

Skunk: We're just about to embark on a UK Tour with Split-Veins and if things go as planned we wanna record our side for a four way split we're doing in Sheffield! We are also working on material for an LP and would love to tour the US in 2018 if shit go as planned!

Møkk: We just played together for a year, so i have the feeling we have some crazy things happening in the future! Right now there’s just some small stories involving chocolate in Amsterdam, stalking in Copenhagen, Latin American punk sieg-heiling in Rigaerstrasse. So, can`t wait for the real crazy stuff to happen! Haha. Ugh!

-Is there any specific goal/aim for NEGATIV to achieve?

Møkk: At first it was just a goal to create a vent for frustration. Just to let it out.

The ambition was no ambition. It still is I guess. Some kind of therapy.

Right now we want to make an Album, we have a lot of stuff we want to sing about, and musical ideas to dig into. So no.. No specific goal at the moment.

But that can change as Byllepest Records is making a compilation called “infection”.

I think the goal is to infect society with punk rock. And make punk rock a very dangerous contaminating disease.

Skunk: Our goal is to keep up the fight and make sure it doesn't end anytime soon! Fight in Progress!!!

#Interview(EN)

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failureoftheyear-blog · 7 years

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I will go down with this ship: Chapter 22

Sasuke followed Sakura outside onto the natural balcony that was formed from strong trunks of wood. Sasuke's eyes widened at what lay beyond that.

Running down the middle was a river; one that was the replacement of land in this place. Sasuke only saw water and trees as the support and no sand. The trees were all interlocked and provided mother nature's own balconies. Another thing Sasuke noticed was the fact that people were living inside the trees as if they were huts. Fully functional and perfectly safe. Sasuke had never seen such strange architecture and so much wild foliage in his life! The people wore clothes made of the materials around them; some of leaves, wood and forged cloth. Though the entire scene was peaceful and a picture of untapped beauty.

"It's amazing" Sasuke voiced in awe, Sakura nodding.

"It is, isn't it?" Sakura agreed, a silence taking over that soon turned uncomfortable, Sakura shifted as she took a breath, "Look Sasuke, about this whole religious thing, spiritualism is...it's-"

"That Tsunade woman already gave me a...brief outlining of what it is exactly" Sasuke interjected, neither one looking at each other and concentrating on whatever was in front of them.

"Oh..." Sakura responded, shifting nervously, "So...what do you think?" Sakura questioned, Sasuke's opinion meaning everything to her. Holding her breath for the disapproval that was sure to come.

"I think you're audacious" Sasuke remarked with a lack of emotion, giving Sakura no clue to his view. "It can't be easy changing beliefs like that" Sasuke added, giving Sakura more confidence to speak.

"It wasn't easy" Sakura confirmed, "At first I said that they would all burn in hell for what they believed in..." Sakura admitted with a coy smile, "Heh, funny how things change" She said gently, Sasuke nodded in agreement. Another silence overwhelmed Sakura, forcing her to speak for her own sanity, "I know that we've both changed in the last two years, me more so...but it doesn't matter, right?" Sakura asked hopefully, when met with silence Sakura grew nervous, "Sasuke?"

"No" Sasuke stated calmly, "It doesn't matter" He continued, yet his tone didn't reassure Sakura. "You honestly just seem to be doing whatever you want with no intention of reform" Sasuke went on, pausing a moment before looking over to her, "But...you're happy, and that's what matters to me" Sasuke explained, Sakura feeling a massive weight lifted off her shoulder. Staring at Sasuke with an adoring shock.

"Sasuke..."

"Come on" Sasuke spoke light-heartedly, a breezy countenance to match, "I want you to show me around this place, it's intriguing" Sasuke requested, Sakura smiled and nodded. Sakura lead him across the trees, making sure he was safe as they travelled on top of the thick branches. Sakura jumped down in front of a tree-hut and gestured for Sasuke to follow. Sasuke heard laughter and shouts of humour from inside. As he followed Sakura inside he saw four guffawing women. One of the women noticed Sakura and stood.

"Cherry blossom!" The woman bellowed happily, "I've not seen you in how many moons? Too many!" She laughed, squeezing Sakura in a tight hug. Sasuke took in the woman's appearance. Her personality appeared big, but she herself was rather small and quite plump. Dark-skinned with short hair akin to a coconut, covered in sewn leaves with wooden decorations.

"It's goo to see you too, Hana" Sakura smiled as she was released from the deadly hug. Sakura looked past the woman, now identified as Hana, to one of the other women, "You too Gratia, you're looking well" Sakura greeted, Sasuke observed Gratia to see she was the opposite of Hana. Tall and thin with long, silky hair; dressed simply in an decent dress made from old cloth.

"You sweet talker!" Gratia responded with a laugh, Sakura turned to the last two women that remained seated.

"Tian, Lian, it's been a while" Sakura addressed with a smile.

"Hello, Sakura" They replied in calm unison, Sasuke saw them to be twins. While dark-skinned like the other women, a stark contrast due to their pure white hair; almost glowingly white. Sasuke noted that nothing else was revealed due to the large, identical, brown shawl they wore. Sakura stepped back to stand besides Sasuke, gesturing towards him in a show-like manner.

"Ladies, meet Sasuke" Sakura introduced, the women all looked at him for a moment before Hana exploded into action, striding over excitedly.

"Oh! He is just adorable!" Hana squealed, pinching his cheeks and fussing over every aspect of him. Gratia circling him like a vulture, a eying him up and down.

"If I was 50 years younger" Gratia remarked, the twins remained seated once more and stared at him with no change of emotion.

"Pretty" The twins spoke, Sasuke shifting a bit flustered from all the attention. Sakura noticed his fidgety composure and chuckled.

"Don't worry, they don't bite" Sakura reassured with a smile, calming Sasuke for a moment, "Well...maybe the twins" Sakura added, Sasuke looked over at the twins who suddenly flashed a smile that bared their teeth. Sasuke blinked a few times.

"U-Um..."

"Come, come, sit down!" Hana offered, moving Sasuke to sit on a stump that served as a chair. Once everyone had settled down, they began to pay all undivided attention to Sasuke, "Where are you from, flower?" Hana asked eagerly, Sasuke practically feeling the energy radiate off of her.

"Konoha" Sasuke answered politely, Hana liking the answer.

"Oooh, we got one a very long way away from home girls! But...why so far?" Hana enquired.

"An idiotic blonde kidnapped me" Sasuke stated, laughter sprouting from Hana and Gratia at his answer.

"Feisty little thing!" Gratia remarked.

"I'd kidnap you and all! You're so small and cute!" Hana babied, another pinch at Sasuke's cheek.

"Doll" The twins voiced in the same tone, Hana making a small gasp and nodding.

"You're right! He's just like a little doll!" Hana agreed, turning her head to look at the amused Sakura, "Oh cherry blossom, you have to let us play with him!" Hana pleaded, Sakura shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm sure it couldn't hurt" Sakura allowed, but Sasuke was more concerned. Even more so as Hana began to chuckle with Gratia and possibly the twins.

"W-Wait, what do they mean play?" Sasuke questioned Sakura, who just kept her easy-going smile.

"They wanna dress you up and stuff" Sakura explained, Sasuke tilted his head in confusion.

"Dress me up?" Sasuke voiced apprehensively, Sakura giggled a little at Sasuke's worried expression.

"Don't look so nervous, they're just old ladies" Sakura brushed off, Sasuke's eyes widened at her statement. Such disrespect and insult was unheard of for Sasuke, especially when it came to insulting age.

"S-Sakura!" Sasuke scolded, not wanting to offend the kind women, though Sakura waved it off.

"Sasuke, they're like...150 years old" Sakura explained, Sasuke scoffed and folded his arms.

"Impossible" Sasuke remarked.

"Tsunade is 80" Sakura informed, but Sasuke couldn't imagine the young-looking woman being over 30. So Sasuke shook his head, unaware of the capabilities that the people of the Crystal Labyrinth possessed.

"Your ability to lie is suddenly very impressive" Sasuke responded ironically, Sakura chuckling in response.

"Alright, alright, don't believe me" Sakura voiced, now noticing the women with a piece. "Though you got others things to worry about right now" Sakura added in amusement, Sasuke looked over to see Hana approaching him excitedly.

"I have just finished the most beautiful piece" Hana declared, taking Sasuke hand to lead him to another part of the tree-hut, "Oh! You are going to look so adorable!" Hana exclaimed, Sasuke trying to settle the uneasy feeling in his gut.

10 minutes later, Hana reappeared with a grand smile. Everyone coming to attention as Hana nodded, bursting with energy. Sakura raised an eyebrow, hearing shuffling from behind the archway. Sasuke peeked his head out slightly, revealing only a hint to his emotion. Sheepish and flustered.

"Sasuke?" Sakura voiced, Sasuke not moving.

"Is..is this really necessary?" Sasuke questioned with embarrassment in his voice, Sakura giggled.

"C'mon, I promise I won't laugh" Sakura reassured, Sasuke shifted a bit more before meekly walking out and revealing himself entirely. Sakura's eyes widened slightly at her friend's new look.

Sasuke's outfit was split into two. Made of two emerald green leaves; a sleeveless, turtleneck that revealed his midsection temptingly, the two leaves crossed each other behind Sasuke's back. Drawing attention to the second part of his outfit. A matching skirt that while reached his ankle was cut diagonally across, revealing an alluring part of Sasuke's left leg and half of his right; tied at his hip with green string. Equally as green arm warmers lined with black. Sasuke no longer bared any shoes, but a golden anklet that swirled twice around his ankle. Finished off with a shamrock coloured piece of cloth tied in Sasuke's hair, the ends cascading down.

"Sasuke..." Sakura voiced, a lost for words at how beautiful Sasuke was at that moment. She always knew her dear friend was captivating, but to see him in such a bewitching outfit brought a small blush to her cheeks.

I can't wait for Naruto to see this...Sakura schemed in her head, knowing that this was bound to spark something from within Naruto. Though Sasuke was unaware and remained self-conscious about his appearance.

"W-Well?" Sasuke questioned, Sakura brought herself back to reality and nodded.

"Sasuke...i-it looks so good on you!" Sakura exclaimed, her statement was only agreed with when the rest of the women spoke up.

"I told you he would look adorable!" Hana declared proudly.

"What a sight!" Gratia stated in a gasp, "Careful there, little raven, a fox might want to gobble you all up" Gratia laughed, her words innocent enough, but Sasuke's mind flashed to Naruto. Naruto and his fox-like smirk. Sasuke blushed and shook his head of those thoughts.

"Naruto will certainly like it" Sakura commented, Sasuke's blush only deepened. His mind wondering about Naruto's possible reaction for a split second before realising it was unbecoming of him to think like that.

"W-Why would I care what that dobe thinks?" Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms childishly.

"Denial" The twins voiced, making Sasuke splutter and his face red while Sakura laughed.

"I-I-I'm not denying a-anything!" Sasuke stuttered out, Gratia nudging his arm.

"Got a thing for Naruto, eh?" Gratia teased, Sasuke blushed even more and shook his head.

"O-Of course not!" Sasuke exclaimed, losing his composure completely. Hana giggling away like a young maiden.

"Naruto is gorgeous! Don't you think, flower?" Hana enquired with a amused grin. Sasuke wasn't able to comprehend her sentence moments before an memory flashed in his head of the sweaty and shirtless Naruto from before. Sasuke's face was now a ripe tomato.

"D-Don't ask me things like that!" Sasuke responded, the women cooing at his flustered demeanour.

"Aw, the poor thing is so shy" Hana cooed, Sasuke looked over to Sakura desperately. Sakura saw that he had reached his limit and went to his aid.

"I'm sorry to interrupt" Sakura started, placing her hands on Sasuke's shoulders, "But I have to steal Sasuke away" Sakura explained, the women whining instantly at the loss of their new companion, "I know, I know, but I promise to bring him back here before we go" Sakura declared, managing to get Sasuke away from the smothering ladies. "Heh, sorry, they got a little...excited" Sakura stated sheepishly.

"It's fine, I suppose" Sasuke shrugged off, Sakura's eye caught Naruto in the not so far distance and smirked.

"I'm sorry to abandon you like this" Sakura began, turning to face Sasuke, "But I have to get to Tsunade" Sakura lied, Sasuke frowned.

"But-"

"Sorry!" Sakura apologised quickly before scattering off, Sasuke blinked a few times in confusion before realising that he should probably find a familiar face.

More concerned for his safety in the dangerous Labyrinth than his pride, he spotted Naruto standing outside of a tree-hut; casually on the balcony rail made of tree. Sasuke sighed and made his way over, Naruto sensed someone approaching him from the side and looked over. Surprised at what he saw. Naruto watched as Sasuke came into full view; slowing standing up straight at the sight of Sasuke. Naruto smirked and walked over.

"Oh? And what's this?" Naruto questioned teasingly, circling Sasuke like a predator observing his prey. Sasuke's face sported a light pink as Naruto hummed around him; though was now very aware of how much skin was currently exposed. Moving his arms to hold his bared stomach, while avoiding Naruto's eye. Naruto, who was loving every moment, was rubbing his chin as if viewing a possible buy. "Whatever it is, you are certainly making me happy, love" Naruto purred out, Sasuke scoffed.

"I'm not wearing this for you" Sasuke hissed, crossing his arms more comfortably. Though Naruto just saw an opening.

"Then why don't you take it all off for me" Naruto winked, Sasuke grimaced in response.

"Ugh, you are such a pervert" Sasuke insulted, Naruto merely tilted his head with a fox-like smirk.

"It's hard being a gentlemen when presented with something so delicious" Naruto justified, flicking his tongue over his lips playfully, "Then again, you are making a part of me really hard, love" Naruto implied, though Sasuke wasn't understanding the implication.

"Huh?" Sasuke voiced in confused, Naruto chuckled at Sasuke's innocence and waved it off.

"Hn, nevermind..." Naruto chuckled, "Anyway, I should explain the plan to you, or at least what's going to happen next" Naruto started, his tone less flirty and more business.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"About the next puzzle map" Naruto answered, "Tsunade spoke to the island, it communicated that it's at Oakerli" Naruto added.

"Oakerli? Where is that exactly?" Sasuke questioned.

"The centre of the island" Naruto responded, but judging by Sasuke's unimpressed expression knew he should explain more, "Oakerli is the main tree that is so large and so full of life that its roots make up the entire island" Naruto explained, nodding ahead of him to emphasise his point, "Everything thing you see and everything we're standing on are all connected to Oakerli" Naruto enlightened, Sasuke almost feeling the raw energy that vibrated through the wood under his hand.

"Remarkable..." Sasuke voiced quietly before looking at Naruto with a question, "But how is that even possible?" Sasuke enquired, Naruto shrugged.

"Hell if I know!" Naruto laughed, ruining his previous image of being an intellectual, "But they say if you reach enlightenment then you gain the knowledge to everything..." Naruto preached, looking off in the distance before an amused smile danced its way onto his face, "I'd so hate that" Naruto stated, shocking Sasuke.

"What?! How could you detest the idea of infinite understanding?" Sasuke questioned quickly, Naruto shook his head.

"I like not knowing what's going to happen next" Naruto shrugged, suddenly smirking mischievously, "Besides..." Naruto trailed off before flashing in front of Sasuke and trapping him, his hands on either side of the natural rail behind Sasuke. Sasuke blushed a shocking red that rivalled blood itself, giving Naruto a severely annoyed expression at his smug one.

"D-Dobe..." Sasuke stuttered, trying to add venom in his voice but failing. Naruto gave a softer smile and raised his hand to hold Sasuke's upper neck, thumbing Sasuke's crimson cheek.

"Hn, love..." Naruto voiced tenderly, Sasuke gulp slightly as he felt Naruto's hand gently slide up the back of his head. Leaning in closer to Sasuke at a teasingly slow rate, smile still apparent. Sasuke's breath was hitched and his mouth was dry at the proximity between them ever decreasing. Naruto stopped. His gentle smile turning into a sly smirk. Sasuke was confused until Naruto removed his hand and revealed that he had removed Sasuke's head piece.

Sasuke realised he had been tricked.

"Y-You! Give that back!" Sasuke exclaimed, but Naruto gracefully taking steps away from the agitated raven. "Ugh! Give it back, dobe!" Sasuke ordered, jumping up and down to attempt to reach his stolen piece. Though Naruto just held it above him, using the height difference to his advantage.

"Come and get it, love" Naruto teased, Sasuke glared up at him before swiping at his hand. Naruto dodged it and swept behind him quickly. Planting a quick kiss to the back of Sasuke's neck to rile him up. Sasuke gasped at the feel of the blonde's lips. Feeling a unfamiliar shiver go down his back. Though that only angered Sasuke more.

"Gr, you-!" Sasuke spun around angrily at the chuckling man. Though lost his footing as he jumped up at Naruto, making Naruto fall back and Sasuke go with him. The fall making them travel into a nearby tree-hut. They groaned went the shock of the fall began to hurt slightly. Sasuke noted that he landed on something softer than the wooden floor. Opening his eyes to see that he had landed on Naruto. Naruto's own eyes blinked open and locked with Sasuke's.

Dead silence.

That was what screamed at that very moment. Faces only a few inches apart, they could only look at the other's surprised eyes. Sasuke was on top of Naruto, his hands on his firm chest, thoughts stilled in shock. Naruto's own hand was placed on Sasuke's hip, while the other had grasped Sasuke's exposed thigh. Naruto's mind wasn't able to comprehend much as the frozen seconds passed. The only movement was the head piece floating down and eventually landing over Naruto's eyes. That action sparked Sasuke to move.

Sitting up instantly, Sasuke took the piece off of Naruto's face and began to tie it back in his hair. Naruto watching him blankly while Sasuke avoided his gaze. Though after he was done, he became aware of the hand on his thigh; too intimate for non-lovers. Naruto followed his gaze and instantly removed his hand, almost apologetic about what was happening. They caught each other's gaze once more before Sasuke arose and composed himself as Naruto stood as well. Both mindful that no one had spoken a word.

"Um...I-" Naruto started, but was suddenly interrupted by a joyous voice.

"Naruto, m'boy!" A voice ran out happily, they looked forward to see a white-haired man. Sasuke observed the man and his strange appearance.

Long, spiky hair that was white. Not as white as the twins mind you, but still a natural-born colour. A massive grin on his face nearly stole the show from the red lines that started from his eyes and travelled down his face. The typical black, leather pants that each pirate seemed to adore. A khaki green shirt, only the two bottom buttons buttoned up, revealing his chest that bore a interesting wound. With a dark, red frock coat that reached his ankles; leading his eye to see his black boots with golden buckles. This was the only pirate Sasuke had seen that didn't wear any form of weapon.

"Ha ha ha! It's been ages!" The man exclaimed, spreading his arms for a hug, Naruto seemed excited by his presence and ran over to him.

"Jiraiya!" Naruto addressed loudly, running into the hug without any hesitation. Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the joyful reunion, never seeing such warmth in his own house.

"How have ya been?!" Jiraiya laughed heartedly, patting his back as they parted, his grin slipped off when he saw Sasuke, "Wha...and who is this lovely creature?" Jiraiya smiled again, walking over and taking Sasuke's hand, raising it up to his lips, "Honey, I'd marry your cat to get in your family" Jiraiya flirted, Sasuke grimaced slightly at the crude introduction. Especially when Jiraiya kissed the back of his hand...then quickly tracing them up his arm to get closer to Sasuke's neck, but before he could go any further he was stopped.

"That's enough, ya perv" Naruto reprimanded, his hand on the back of Jiraiya's collar. Jiraiya didn't appreciate the barrier and whipped round.

"Have some respect for you captain, eh?!" Jiraiya exclaimed, Naruto's brow twitching.

"You ain't captain of anything anymore, ya old man!" Naruto responded in the same tone and volume.

"Oh yeah?!" Jiraiya challenged, his fist up in the air.

"Yeah!" Naruto replied, staring at one another for dominance until realisation hit Jiraiya.

"Oh...yeah..." Jiraiya understood, remembering how he had passed on the role of captain to Naruto and that he wasn't a pirate anymore, "Heh, heh, got a little excited there" Jiraiya chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before going back to arrogance, "But still, kid, I'm trying to get with the babe over there!" Jiraiya stated to Naruto, Sasuke narrowing his eyes while Naruto rolled his.

"You ain't getting with nobody" Naruto waved off, walking to stand next to Sasuke. Slipping an arm around his waist, "Jiraiya, meet Sasuke" Naruto introduced, Jiraiya observed them for a moment before displaying an interested look on his face.

"Oh, are you…?" Jiraiya trailed off, but made a gesture that Sasuke didn't understand, "Rolling in the hay with this one?" Jiraiya asked, Sasuke felt Naruto's hand tense slightly, but not understanding why.

"Naruto, what does he mean?" Sasuke enquired innocently, looking up curiously at Naruto who had a rather constricted expression.

"No" Naruto answered Jiraiya, though the man just raised an eyebrow and gazed over to the hand on Sasuke's hip.

"Really?" Jiraiya implied, Naruto caught his view and removed his hand quickly, coughing into his hand awkwardly.

"Anyway" Naruto stated, changing the subject, "He's from Konoha, an ojo from the Uchiha family" Naruto explained, Jiraiya looked surprised to say the least.

"Uchiha? How did your scruffy ass get in the same room with someone as decent as him?" Jiraiya scoffed, folding his arms suspiciously. Naruto made a smug smirk.

"I'll have you know that Sasuke here enjoys my company" Naruto replied, but Sasuke interjected.

"The idiot kidnapped me" Sasuke stated in a deadpan voice, making Jiraiya rip out a large laugh. Naruto huffed as Jiraiya continued to guffaw, pouting at Sasuke.

"Couldn't work with me for one minute, could ya love?" Naruto sighed, Sasuke sent a small glare his way.

"As if I would" Sasuke scoffed, Jiraiya continuing with his obnoxious noise.

"Hahahaha! Oh boy, you are absolutely stupid!" Jiraiya roared in laughter, Naruto scowled childishly.

"Shut up!" Naruto exclaimed, Jiraiya only calming down when his gaze landed back on Sasuke. Diverting attention back on him.

"So beautiful, does that mean you're single?" Jiraiya purred, Sasuke remained unimpressed and folded his arms as he looked at Naruto.

"I see where you get it from now" Sasuke remarked, Naruto faking hurt, putting a offended hand on his chest.

"Aw, c'mon, love, I've got more tact than that guy!" Naruto responded, though Sasuke felt no sympathy for his little display of mock hurt.

"You've not a shred of dignity" Sasuke retorted, a deep chuckle emitted from Jiraiya.

"Ohohoho, he's feisty" Jiraiya stated, "I like that" Jiraiya winked, making Sasuke roll his eyes. Since annoyed by once pervert was one thing, but another made it tedious.

"Ugh" Sasuke voiced in disgust, Naruto chuckled.

"Don't worry, love, you'll get used to him" Naruto reassured, but Sasuke scowled slightly.

"I don't particularly want to" Sasuke muttered under his breath, Naruto catching it and chuckling more. Jiraiya looked as if he suddenly realised something and jumped into action, turning around and walking.

"I just remembered, I got something for ya" Jiraiya stated, both boys curious as Jiraiya comically sorted through an old trunk, "Ah! Found it!" Jiraiya declared proudly, holding up a book as if it was a golden chalice. Strolling back over to the boys, handing the book to Naruto, "Here, my latest edition of my work!" Jiraiya spoke boastfully, Naruto took the book and nodded, while Sasuke took a quick interest.

"You're a writer?" Sasuke asked, his love of reading suddenly putting Jiraiya in a new light for him.

"The best in the world!" Jiraiya proclaimed arrogantly, only intriguing Sasuke more, but Naruto scoffed.

"Trust me love, you don't want to read his perverted stories" Naruto remarked, making Sasuke frowned at Naruto's warning, thinking it was disrespectful to talk about an author's work that way.

"I prefer the term 'erotic tales'" Jiraiya corrected, "Anyway, give this to Kakashi next time you see him" Jiraiya ordered, Naruto nodding. Though Sasuke was surprised.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke spoke in a eager confusion, both males looking incredulously towards him.

"Wait, how do you know Kakashi?" Naruto questioned, Sasuke giving him the exact same stare.

"How do you?" Sasuke retorted, Naruto was about to open his mouth when suddenly an enraged voice called out

"Brat!" They heard a strict voice growl, they looked over at the tree-hut entrance to see Tsunade with an infuriated expression. "Didn't I tell you to get some sleep?! You're getting up early tomorrow to track through the damn island! You need to be alert you moron!" Tsunade screeched stomping over and pinching Naruto's ear, dragging him back mercilessly.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Naruto complained, Tsunade with no remorse.

"I'm gonna knock you out so hard that you'll be sleeping for weeks!" Tsunade barked, that being the last Sasuke heard of him and the angered woman. Sasuke blinked a few times before hearing an amused sigh from Jiraiya.

"Hell hath no fury like Tsunade" Jiraiya commented, Sasuke would have enquired more, but Sakura entered at that moment.

"Hey, Jiraiya" Sakura greeted before her eyes landed on Sasuke, "Ah, Sasuke, there you are" Sakura smiled casually, but Sasuke frowned at her.

"You abandoned me!" Sasuke accused, Sakura nervously rubbed the back of her head.

"Heh, heh, about that..." Sakura chuckled apprehensively, before waving it off, "It's getting a little late, Sasuke, I want to show you something before we go to sleep, okay?" Sakura informed, after a quick goodbye to Jiraiya, they set off.

"What do you want to show me?" Sasuke asked, Sakura tapping her nose.

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise then, would it?"

Spoiler. It’s surprising.

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