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#very awkward whoops
clove-pinks · 3 months
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1814 portrait miniature of Lieutenant John Trumbull Ray, by artist Andrew Robertson. A Peninsular War veteran of the Napoleonic Wars in the British Army, he served under Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and was wounded first during the Siege of Badajoz and, later, at the Battle of Salamanca.
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its-paperd · 2 months
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hey everyone, i got some very important news, specifically on what's to happen to this blog soon!
please take your small time to read, as it is kinda important to me ^^
hello, hello!! it's me, tumblr user its-paperd, coming to you live with an important announcement!!
to put it very very simply, my entire blog will be on a VERY long hiatus, much longer than my usual 5 to 7 days kind
reason behind this is kind of personal, but it does kind of relating to school and grades. to put it simply, my grades haven't been going well and i admit, i have been getting addicted to this app a bit. too much hahah ^^"
now here's the thing, while i say it'll be a hiatus here, there would be a possibility of my blogs... getting deleted.
now don't panic!! i'm not exactly sure if it would happen but it might be a possiblity, so while my blog is still here, if there's anything you want to archive from my blog, it's best to take action and reblog some as soon as you can
get some of my spices, as you will kekek /silly
' oh, but paperd, you're taking this so well, don't you care about us? '
i do!! from the bottom of my heart, i do. it's just that it has been a long time coming, and it was inevitable that it would happen so i mentally prepared myself before i can give a proper goodbye ^^
with all of this happening, i can only think of parting words before i go radio silent
now things are gonna get sappy for me, kekeke <x'D
( moots i'm so sorry you have to learn about this this way <x| )
[ —-—-—-—-— ]
to my two bestest friends, @psycho-chair and @unknownarmageddon , the two members of the kross trio!! thank you both so much for being my friends, the moments we had in pony town will never be forgotten, and the memories we shared too. i appreciate you two being my besties, and i'm very sad to see myself go but to whatever that may come through, just remember guys!! keep being swag for me >:] live laugh kross forever ‼️‼️
to @jun1per-t33th !! my silly friend and amazing artist!! i always appreciate all the memes you sent to me, and your art is a banger every time!! ily so much, juni mwah mwah /p
to @justanidiotartist , my homie friend bud!! thank you for being my mutual, and all the art you made i have always been amazed, you keep being your fun, spectacular self, and take care!! :D
( honourable mentions, ily all so much <3 <3 /p : @the-arcade-doctor, @skelle404 , @corrupted-icarus , @karineverse , @captain-kretsnik , @sunnemona , @cherrio-krispz , @glitchysquidd , @socksandbuttons , @yuriyuruandyuraart , toka!! i see you >:] , other mutuals i've interacted!! you all are the best!! )
[ —-—-—-—-— ]
and with all that, my play of the show is done, but never over!! i will try harder for you all and hopefully, i can come back with pride and joy to you all!! thank you for your support, and i shall see you all again, whenever it may be!!
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possamble · 24 days
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whats your take on marcille and pattadols post canon friendship? they seem to hang out occasionally in a couple of post canon shorts and i was wondering if your beautiful mind has anything more to add? youre amazing 💖
☺️ aha thank you so much!!! Pattadol and Marcille are sooo interesting to me because like. I think Pattadol is who Marcille would have become if her parents had both been long-lived, and she never had a reason to question elven authority. The hardworking attitude, insistence on sticking to a very rigid set of principles, a little bit of vanity in wanting to be recognized for her efforts... the slightly ridiculous uptightness and neurotic attitude at times, though at heart they're both kind people who want the best for everyone in their own ways.
In the post-canon, I'm assuming that Pattadol has her own ambassador's quarters in either the castle or the inner city, and the two of them grab tea at the castle drawing room/garden/whatever. I think they talk shop, soundboard ideas off each other, and gossip/complain a little about incompetent colleagues/problems... I think they're each others' dream work friends, honestly. Polite, competent, friendly but never getting overly personal, fun and pleasant to talk to. The fact that Pattadol's 82 and a fairly young woman by elven standards also plays into it, I think -- Marcille hasn't had another elf friend along the same maturity range and professional level of experience, so this is probably nice for her!
What I would like to see is them eventually developing a closer relationship. I think a lot about the way Pattadol reassured Marcille that, because of her accomplishments, she'd have a pretty comfortable sentence as a Canary. About the way, while there was tension because of what was happening at the time, they were both immediately very polite to each other upon meeting and kind of?? got along/clicked immediately in some ways?? It feels like they have the same kind of standards for themselves and others (as well as general inexperience and slight insecurity about their own competency, which probably makes them feel at more or less an equal level with each other).
And I think that'd be good for both of them -- having someone else that they admire, who also admires them in return and recognizes their talents and hard work. There's a very unique kind of rapport you build with someone that you hold as an intellectual peer and can trust to give you feedback that's actually reliable and up to par. While they might both be too professional to really become super close friends who can always be open with each other, there's a very real and deep kind of companionship that forms from this kind of trust, and I hope that's the direction they're heading in.
It's also extra delicious if you add in the tension of Pattadol inherently being a foreign agent from a country that isn't necessarily friendly, but they end up with that strange trust anyway... not to mention the thought that she might find herself actually admiring how Melini is growing and trying to defend it when reporting back to the queen.
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inflammatoryfandomblog · 11 months
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@spiderdreamer-blog said:
I liked the main trio at first when I thought the story was going somewhere, then it jumped into weird baby's-first-romance stuff that felt designed to get people to make gifsets, and Ezran was the perfect unchallenged moral center.
yeah, i mean early callum/rayla/ezran were fine. early on in like season 1, there’s a huge question mark of potential above their heads. you’re still kind of sketching the type of person they maybe are. why is callum so calm in the face of danger, thinking about cycles of violence even when an elf assassin has a knife to his neck? who is rayla, really? how has being raised an assassin affected her? and ezran is a cute kid, what challenges will he face as king?
anyways as the story went on the answers were “lmao.” they stayed in that potential stage and kind of got worse. meanwhile soren and claudia were faced with pretty serious dilemmas and really tangibly changed throughout the series in a way none of the main 3 have. when the side characters are faced with the big questions and the main characters aren’t allowed to have any feelings, you sort of end up with that.
but like. the baby’s-first-romance is a symptom that they don’t actually know what to do with the 3 mains. it was completely unplanned, and it really kind of shows. even though callum and rayla just.... didn’t really have that level of emotional connection, they sort of wrote it in because, uh, i guess girls and boys can’t be friends. and it wasn’t a small write-in, either. so much time is spent on this romance.
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outeremissary · 11 months
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How about 3, 14, and 32 for Balthazar and Tristian?
Hello Cassy! Thanks for the ask, and apologies as always for the tardiness.
[prompts from here]
[and to have a posterity note at the top instead of just the tags for once, significant Kingmaker chapter five spoilers throughout]
3. By contrast, what was the moment that first made their ~heart~ Soft for the other person? Not necessarily a conscious realization of “I love this person,” but a moment that had them like “Oh…I adore them…”
(note: I think I may have played it a little loose with this one... apologies!)
There had long been a sense of protectiveness on Tristian's side of things, but it was a sense born out of obligation and guilt: on the one hand the obligation to do his duty to Nyrissa and the need to return to his goddess, and on the other the guilt of treachery that dragged on and on (even if the victim of that treachery wasn't exactly Tristian's favorite person). There was always a twist of terror when Balthazar was in danger or astonished respect seeing him persevere through what should have been the end, but none of that was that soft feeling. The first time for that feeling was probably some time after Balthazar's wings came in, when Tristian, still anxious from the lingering effects of the Bloom and attempts on Balthazar's life, caught Balthazar attempting to slip out of the capital by himself one afternoon and insisted on accompanying him (doggedly ignoring attempts to lose him). Following the reluctant baron to the privacy of the countryside, he learned that Balthazar had been attempting for some time to adjust to the wings on his own. Before that it was clear that the wings had been unwelcome and that on some level Balthazar was fighting it, and it had stirred some amount of envy and resentment in Tristian to see the ungrateful aasimar rejecting what Tristian yearned to have back. But seeing the open vulnerability as Balthazar tried to come to terms with his changed body felt painfully familiar, and as he attempted to offer advice under the flimsy veil of having known another aasimar at his childhood temple (lies, all lies, and for what?) he began to feel a sense of connection with Balthazar. It wasn't the first time he had seen Balthazar vulnerable- there were more than enough of those throughout the Bloom, and awkward moments littered their history before that. But it was the first time that pang of sympathy blossomed into a deeper sense of understanding. As the initial tension eased the afternoon became comfortable, conversation becoming easy and unguarded. It was awkward but genuine. It may have been the first time Tristian saw a soft, warm smile on Balthazar's face- something that would haunt him a long time after.
For Balthazar, the first spark of excitement (long before he could pin down what it might mean) came when he managed to coax Tristian into a dance at the first festival held in the wake of the fall of Trobold. The dance had been meant as a tease- a bet with Octavia and Regongar that he could get Tristian onto the floor, nothing more- but he was caught off guard when his success didn't come in the form of the cleric passively following along. Watching Tristian linger at the edge of the festivities, not joining in on the celebration he had himself insisted on, Balthazar had guessed that Tristian was held back by insecurity. Tristian came off as so naive and sheltered that it stood to reason that a noisy northern festival would be far outside of their depth- as would partaking of the dance with an admirer on their arm. He expected to overwhelm Tristian, to enjoy teasing him and leading him along. Instead, after relenting to the dance Tristian proved a quick learner (or perhaps already knew the dance from somewhere): he matched Balthazar's pace without ever being thrown for long, and the threat of being challenged for the lead began to occur to Balthazar. When they broke apart at the end it was Balthazar who was breathless, caught in the fascination of his partner. The mystery of that moment lingered on his mind- he'd thought he had Tristian solved, but he was wrong. After that he noticed Tristian in a way he never had before- he watched for answers, but along the way began to drink in the details of Tristian he never had before. Maybe that dance wasn't itself so soft, but it opened the floodgate of everything after: a growing affection for the awkward innocence that had frustrated him, an amusement with the stern edge Tristian's voice took on when lecturing (so often with undeserved boldness for his ignorance), the sudden sorrow that would soak into his expression at the most inexplicable times. Becoming bound up in pursuit of that pattern began to wear away at him to the point of distraction.
14. What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?
For Tristian, more than anything, simply physical presence. It's comforting to have Balthazar present, to feel supported and less alone. Tristian never built many close friendships before the betrayal- easier to keep just a bit apart from people you'll let down in the end, and to avoid becoming caught in the messy tangle of mortal lives to leave without regret at the end (or at least, as little regret as can be managed with the circumstances). But despite that, Tristian is a lonely person, and there was something about being drawn again and again into time with Balthazar that became something of a comfort. That loneliness intensifies after the betrayal: their relationships with most people they know in the Stolen Lands have been soured by their actions, and leaving Nyrissa behind meant leaving even the illusion that one day they might return to Sarenrae. Simply having Balthazar present brought a sense of normalcy that kept them grounded. And similarly, there's something about physical touch that's grounding. It makes them feel at home in a body that they're still struggling to accept. It reassures that despite all of the misdeeds and the hurt, they're still worth touching, worth being in contact with. When they can feel Balthazar at their side they know without a doubt that they have a place in the world still, no matter how much has changed. Sometimes they might ask for that presence or that touch: it's easy to ask for and easily granted. But the truth is it's rarely necessary to ask for it- these are things Balthazar always wants to give.
For Balthazar, more than anything it's verbal reassurance. It's not enough to be close, to spend time together- he needs to hear that he's wanted. He wants to know that he's a choice, one made freely, that he's not just what Tristian has resigned himself to. Maybe some part of him is afraid because of his long, long history of transactional relationships- it's hard sometimes to internalize the idea of a relationship where no value needs to be proven and offered. And he's afraid that a better offer is out there: it's abundantly clear that Tristian wishes he could return to the life he had as a deva, and doubt seeps in that anything Balthazar has with Tristian is only because Tristian is trapped. So he wants to hear it: that he's wanted, that he's loved, that he's irreplaceable. Tristian is so terribly sincere, despite all the deception. It's reassuring to hear it voiced. But Balthazar himself is only half aware of this need, and he'd never ask for it if he came to understand what it was he wanted. It would feel like begging. It would be pathetic and too vulnerable several times over. He can get to it only halfway- teasing and baiting out affectionate words or gentle chiding, demanding that his partner be vocal in intimate moments- but there's always a hunger for something else, something he can't quite name.
32. How do their friends react to finding out they’re a couple? Do they have lots of mutual friends? Did their friends know, perhaps before they themselves did?
Obviously there's a significant shared social circle, even if not everyone in it could be described as "friends." ^^;; And it was certainly clear to most people in that circle that something was going on before there was any relationship cemented. There was a period where the two of them were suddenly spending much more time together and there was significantly less animosity between them than there had been previously. The shift may have been most noticeable with Balthazar- after all, this coincided rather cleanly with breaking things off with Regongar (accomplished by avoiding Reg until he got the message. Balthazar is an asshole). Regongar and Octavia were the first to put a name to Balthazar's side of things because of that (in not especially kind terms), although they certainly weren't alone. Tristian, on the other hand, was more of a mystery to most: although certainly not a friend, the person who clocked that one best would have been Nyrissa of all people. The pattern of her skylark's distraction wasn't hard to guess at- a frustrating obstacle with an increasingly useless pawn. This also makes Nyrissa possibly the only person who could tell that these feelings were indeed mutual.
The reaction to the news of the relationship could generously be described as lukewarm. Very, very generously. Everything came together very close on the heels of the betrayal and fallout, and between lingering tension regarding Tristian and some scattered concern about Balthazar's judgment in the wake of everything the general mood could be summed up as "wow! I don't know about this one, guys." Eventually the mood cooled into reluctant acceptance- after all, if two of the most drama prone people you know decide to date, who can stop them, really. Distinct award for least supportive goes jointly to Jaethal and Regongar. For Jaethal, becoming emotionally invested in Tristian was the worst mistake Balthazar had yet made- a mistake which boded ill for the future and she counseled him at every possible opportunity to correct. On Regongar's side of things there was lingering (and justified) resentment over being abandoned seemingly for Tristian. The person who could be most generously described as supportive would be Jhod, with the faint hope that maybe the two of them would keep one another in check. A relationship helps with the maturity, after all.
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britneyshakespeare · 6 months
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my great auntie barbara has been a widow for almost 10 years now. uncle jack died in summer 2014. and with my grandfather gone she's without her only brother too. today was the wake for my grandfather and she looked absolutely beautiful, i told her as much, she was the best-dressed lady there. and it's been almost three years since my grandmother died and you could tell there was a different understanding between her and my grandfather whenever they got together. it became more necessary to invite barbara to extended-family events when her husband died, but after grammy died it was just about mandatory. there was just something about the two of them sitting together, brother and sister, in their 90s having lost their life partners, but sitting with the only other person left that they had known for as long, no, even longer. as far back as they could each remember. they both looked like they were in the company of their favorite living person. so it was hard to see her at the wake although she looked beautiful and she always does; she has a wonderful smile. it must be hard to be the last survivor of your generation. i just hope she goes home and she has something that makes her feel not so lonely.
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lesbian-kyoru · 9 months
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loved your analysis about arata but about his interactions with taichi i think there time he /is/ being mean or petty on purpose. i dislike a lot when people try to paint him as someone actively evil and trying to make taichi's life hell blabla or when they don't acknowledge taichi does take everything too personally sometimes because of his own insecureness but like... arata can be petty and shady as hell at times with taichi too. they kinda bring this 'bad side' out of eachother but i honestly love this about their dynamic as well. and those feelings doesn't make any of them bad or evil. i just feel frustrated it always have to be one or another.
also it's funny how they have to fight inner demons and jealousy (not necessarily about chihaya) and chihaya is kinda clueless and just vibing (fighting different inner demons)
i feel pretty similarly as someone whose two favorite characters are arata and taichi! most analysis i've come across unfortunately tends to skew heavily against one of the boys, which isn't surprising for a LT manga but is a shame since it usually does a huge disservice to both of their fantastic character arcs. in my experience, especially in the past few years, i see way more like. willful misinterpretation of arata's character than taichi's which is why i spend less time defending taichi—i do dearly love both characters and their relationship for all the messiness that both of them bring to it lmao.
i definitely agree that arata has his petty moments which i do love, because frankly he is so funny when he's mean kdfj;lahdf. it's so against his kindhearted nature (which isn't so different from taichi!) and causes him a lot of turmoil, which really adds greater complexity to his character, especially to his relationship with taichi. as an aside, i think an interesting contrast between them is imo taichi is much more consistently self-aware of his negative feelings toward arata than vice versa, which is why taichi spends so much time agonizing over it—as opposed to arata only realizing it in key moments, like yoshino and the challenger matches, and THEN beating himself up over it because it suddenly creeps into his overwhelming fond feelings about taichi as a friend (which clashes with his slow recognition of taichi as a rival, but that's another discussion).
with my prior post i was mostly trying to highlight that, while arata has moments of lashing out or being mean to taichi (+ my exploration of how a lot of those moments stem from trauma and his insecurities, like taichi—basically an argument that arata like everyone else is shaped by his experiences and has reasons that he's cold, unfriendly, mean), there are other moments where i genuinely don't think he has petty intentions. like, the "chihaya doesn't belong to anyone" moment? definitely petty. but when he tells taichi "i thought you already would be in class A by now" and then tells him to give chihaya his phone number? to me that scene genuinely reads as arata being super socially awkward and not realizing that he's hitting all of taichi's insecurities within the span of 30 seconds l;adkhf;alsdkhfh;a. and to me that's an interesting distinction and super compelling because of how it impacts taichi without necessarily being intentional, an example of how the true mutual affection between arata and taichi is constantly frayed by their individual baggage. and it's gonna come down to reader interpretation, but i do notice that 99% of the time arata's intentions are taken with the most negative possible reading possible, so it was my hope to add another reading of his actions that, as you said, is not assuming he's just actively evil lol. also, a lot of why i read those scenes as not always actively malicious is due to how warmly he does act toward taichi in surrounding scenes (the blushing, the smiling when he sees him, wanting to see taichi as much as chihaya, the awkward "you're supposed to high-five, right?" and other socially awkward behaviors etc etc).
tl;dr you're not wrong that they bring out the worst in each other, or rather i think they bring out a very real, raw version of the other and see each other for what they are—and being able to fully appreciate their relationship requires an ability to view both of their characters without idealization, both of them having flaws and moments where they act badly to each other. it's clear that despite all their issues and how they mutually embody each other's worst insecurities, they very deeply love and care about each other, even if that bond is complicated. love them forever
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daswarschonkaputt · 2 years
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are you still taking requests for dvd commentary of a fic scene? could you do apias chapter 19, the opening scene with jiraiya, oro and the sandaime?
oh yeah, ofc sure!!
[quickly takes off my kinnporsche hat and puts on my naruto one]
under the cut so i don't bore people with my rambling, haha.
Orochimaru’s lip curls as he props himself up languidly on one of Sensei’s couches. “Welcome home Jiraiya,” he says, voice smooth and mocking. “Done with your penance already?”
So, like, this first line was one of the very first things I had written for this chapter. In fact, this entire first scene had been sitting in my drafts since before I wrote chapter 18. I rewrote the entire scene, like, five times before I finished the chapter, getting all my ducks in a row.
This is actually referencing something that we'll find out a bit more about later on. I have in-depth plans regarding what the sannin got up to during the war, and how everything ended up fracturing. (Basically, Jiraiya was involved in something a little fucked up during the war, that he sort of blames himself for. There were originally going to be way more references to this throughout the chapter, but they got cut for flow reasons.)
The job of this scene is to establish the byplay between Jiraiya, Orochimaru and the Sandaime, and sort of set-up the state of their relationship. (Which comes back again at the end of the chapter.)
“I’d gathered,” Orochimaru says flatly. “We’re one person short for a Team Hiruzen reunion.” [...] Sensei reacts with the same nonchalance that he’s always carried when faced with Orochimaru’s spite. “That is, in fact, the issue,” he says.
So here we have a cornerstone of the Orochimaru and Sandaime dynamic: Orochimaru snipes, and the Sandaime doesn't react at all. There was actually a line from earlier in the scene that got cut that might explain this better -- Jiraiya says, "The only way to survive Orochimaru's brutal words is to hide the fact that he's ever managed to draw blood at all." Or something to that tune. Essentially, this is a powerplay from Hiruzen -- Orochimaru can't do much more than say mean things, because Hiruzen is Hokage, and so Hiruzen is just pretending that those mean things don't effect him at all.
Sensei taps his pipe against the edge of his desk, flecks of smouldering ash falling down onto the floor. His movements are measured, slow and relaxed. A powerplay, of sorts – he knows he can afford to make you wait.
This is one of my favourite lines in the chapter, lol. It's so fun to write this scene from Jiraiya's POV as opposed to Orochimaru, because Jiraiya is very neutral about all the ways the Sandaime uses to display his power and subtly keep them in line, but you just know that internally, Orochimaru is fucking fuming.
It's an impression that matched with what he read of her sealing style – concise, elegant, and subtly brilliant. Never a wasted stroke. Compared with Jiraiya’s haphazard scrawling, the difference was stark.
So, this bit here is referring to Mito, and her sealing style. It exists to establish that Jiraiya did not learn his sealing technique from Mito -- he's mostly self-taught -- and establish this idea that your sealing technique reflects your personality. (In a following chapter, we get to have Jiraiya's perspective on Minato's sealing technique, so we've got to lay the groundwork here.)
The other bit of groundwork laid here is the idea that Mito didn't have all that much interest in Jiraiya's fuuinjutsu. This hasn't been revealed yet, because it turns out the scene I'm thinking of is at the start of ch 21 not 20, but whatever. I do what I want. On the topic of Minato, someone says, "Look, Minato I get. He’s not your average floater genin. Heck, Mito-sensei even sort of likes him." Mito-sensei likes Minato, and she likes how Minato writes seals -- there's a reason Minato was there when she had her stroke.
On the outside, it’s a simple request. From their view within, Jiraiya knows it’s anything but. “I…” he starts. “There are some contacts, I could lean on, who might have some ideas. She won’t have left Fire Country, not with the price on her head after the war. And, well, with her habits, there should be some sort of trail I can follow.” He inhales. “When do you want me to leave?” Orochimaru says nothing. They both know it has to be him.
So, obviously, this is referencing the complicated relationship between Orochimaru and Tsunade, that we get a bit more context for later on in the chapter:
Anyone else would probably believe him. But Jiraiya had been there, the day they put Nawaki to rest. He’d been there when Orochimaru had put his head on the floor, and begged Tsunade for forgiveness. He’d been the one to pick Orochimaru up off the floor when Tsunade slapped him so hard his left eye swelled shut.
Tsunade and Orochimaru have a grudge between them that Orochimaru acknowledges was his fault (lowkey a huge deal given Orochimaru's... everything), involves Nawaki (Tsunade's dead little brother), and is so awful that Tsunade slapped him when he tried to apologise. Oh, and it has something to do with why Orochimaru doesn't want to be a jounin-sensei. Hmm. Wonder what could be going on there. Truly, a mystery for the ages.
Sensei takes in another deep inhale from his pipe. “That,” he says, “is where things get a little complicated.”
So, this is the last line of the scene, and things deliberately cut off there so that I didn't have to explain all the wild political scheming going on. We obviously get one puzzle piece for this with Jiraiya and Orochimaru at the bar:
Orochimaru doesn’t do anything as plebian as flinch. He pours himself another cup of sake. “Jounin-sensei get to pick their teams. I presume Sensei is extending you the same courtesy?” “Yeah,” Jiraiya says.
And then another bit at the end of the chapter:
“We are not broke – yet. On the second matter, I have been very reliably informed that the daimyo will not support another war,” Sensei says calmly.
But there's a lot more going on than just that. One of the things about Sarutobi Hiruzen, and writing him in this fic, is that he has schemes within schemes. You see this very much this chapter -- he lets Jiraiya and Orochimaru in on something, and then lets Jiraiya in on another, later, secretly. The way I write Hiruzen is as a dyed-in-the-wool politician. He's clever and he's scheming. Jiraiya, at least, is convinced of his sensei's benevolence beneath that -- he still has faith. Orochimaru is somewhat more disillusioned.
Some more general things to with this scene:
We start the chapter off in Jiraiya's POV, because it's important that the readers get a feel for what he's like, how his brain works, before we see Megumi's POV on him next chapter -- and as such, can choose how much of what she sees to believe.
I wanted Jiraiya to feel like a plausible spymaster, without making him cold and manipulative. He's genial, and friendly, and he gets on with people and even builds genuine relationships with them -- but he's also got a head for secrets, and he ferrets them out with relative ease.
Orochimaru is the kind of person who would orchestrate a six-month long seduction of someone to get access to an office to steal a file. Jiraiya is the kind of person who'd just have a mate who could slip it to him. Friends in every city, essentially.
So, like, one of the things this chapter is how much are the characters saying? What aren't they saying and why? Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hiruzen all wear masks for different purposes. Jiraiya's interesting, because what he hides first and foremost is his intelligence. You see it a little, at the end of the chapter -- the mask comes off. Jiraiya lays his cards on the table for his teacher.
Basically, when you chose that scene for the commentary, my brain went, huh. yeah. okay. i see why.
There's a lot going on with Jiraiya this chapter. But, in the interests of not spoiling the entire arc, I'm trying to be as general as possible here. Let's just say there was a lot of set-up here.
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pebbltree · 1 year
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25 for the ask game!!
Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one
I recently made a character for a rpg called Monster of the Week!! She's a student with mild magic powers and a cat who she can talk with. She's a bit of a wet rag of a woman, dresses like shit, and i love her. Her cat knows more than her and makes sure she knows it, but honestly that's not too far from how a lot of cats act. I played her for the first time about two weeks ago, and by the end of it, she's been inducted into the organization that hunts the monsters, only to find out her cat was involved with the organization years back and knows some of the higherups. I also gave her cleo's knee high striped socks!
end of the year asks
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kirinda-ondo · 2 years
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Reason #47266284764828 Aneas is legally not allowed to become Tall
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Bonus:
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I've wanted to draw these idiots doing the trench coat bit for years but my artistic skills were simply not up to the task
Until today
Anyhoo, as always, Bragi and Aneas are mine
Coulie belongs to @emizel
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When you forget to follow back a friend
Yet ya at least finally remembered
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shiningstages · 10 months
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I finally got through my asks here...Maybe I'll get to other stuff...Later...
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imthatqueerkid · 1 year
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haojun · 1 year
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I think "im not a stick in the mud i can be spontaneous!" And then last night at 6pm my roommate hits me with "hey we got invited to so-and-so's birthday party tomorrow night" and my immediate response was "not going" bc thats Too Short Notice and also Roads Are Incredibly Bad
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vivwritesfics · 2 months
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whoops one bed you and lando (besties to lovers edition)
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things had been rough in her life and things had been rough in his career. The start of the season wasn't everything McLaren had promised it would be and it had frustrated him. But he didn't quite understand what was going on in her life.
Still, he wanted to help in any way he could. So he had somebody book a nice little holiday for them, just as friends. Two beds and all that.
A cottage in the countryside was booked for them. The description on the website was very clear about two beds. Lando drove them out there. She controlled the music while he drove (even if he didn't like the music she chose, he wasn't going to complain. He'd never complain about anything she did).
When they got to the cottage the two of them immediately ran to find the two bedrooms.
"I've found the master bedroom," Lando said as he opened the room to find a kingsized bed. He dropped his bag on the floor as Y/N walked past him, trying to find the second bedroom.
It didn't take long until she found the door that probably led to the second bedroom. "Found the second... bedroom."
But, as she opened the door, she realised it wasn't the second bedroom. No, it was simply another door to the master bedroom. "Wait, is this the only one?" She asked as she dropped her own bag.
"Maybe it's two singles pushed together," Lando suggested as he pulled back the blankets. Spoiler alert, it wasn't two single beds pushed together.
Y/N looked up at Lando. "What the hell are we gonna do?"
Before either could say anything more, there was a knock on the cottage door. Y/N left her bag where it was to open the door.
It was a kindly old woman standing at the door. She smiled and stepped into the cottage when Y/N opened the door. "Hello, love," she said with a smile. "How are you finding everything?"
It took Y/N a moment to work out this was the owner of the cottage. "Oh. Oh! Lovely, everything is just lovely," she responded as she tried to match her smile. "But, I thought there was supposed to be more than one bed."
"Yes, we used to have two twin beds in the master bedroom, but since it's mostly couples staying with us for romantic weekends so we swapped it for the king."
As she said it, Lando walked up behind her. "That shouldn't be a problem for young lovers like you," she continued.
Lando swapped his arms around her and placed his head on her shoulder. "That's more than fine," he said.
They said their goodbyes to her and shut the door. "So," Lando began as he turned her towards him. "One bed."
"One bed," she repeated, sucking in a breath. "We can top and tail it."
"And sleep beside your smelly feet? No thanks."
They decided not to think anything of it. It would be fine, they were best friends and they could work through it. This was nothing.
But then they had a few bottles of wine between them.
But then they woke up beside each other, clothes scattered on the floor.
"What the hell happened?" She asked as she shook her head. But then she noticed the dried... stuff on her stomach. "Oh Lando, we didn't. We can't have."
Lando pulled down the blanket and looked between them. "I think we did."
At first things were awkward between the two. They tried to avoid each other at all cost. But in a small cottage where their only company was each other, it was pretty hard.
After two days of avoiding each other, they caved and slept together again. This time the alcohol wasn't influencing them. This time it was natural. The time after that as well. Fuck, they couldn't keep away from each other.
By the time summer break ended and they returned to Formula One, they were basically in love. They walked through the paddock together, like they always did. "I got to go for a meeting," he said and grabbed her hand, pulling her in for a kiss before he left.
"When did that happen?" Asked Oscar as they walked together.
Lando just shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
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zephyrchama · 2 months
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Movie Night with Diavolo and Barbatos
A self-indulgent fic (under the read more) inspired by the The Brothers' Hobbies Devilgram story.
SFW fluff, gender neutral reader, it's like 1.5k words long? I just threw together whatever because I wanted to imagine a cozy movie night.
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Very few beings in either of the three realms ever got to witness Diavolo or Barbatos in their pajamas. You were the lucky soul who got to see both as they guided you through the castle for a special movie marathon night. Sweatpants and a loose robe were a nice change of pace from the usual stiff-collared uniforms Diavolo typically wore. He excited donned the dragon slippers you gifted him once. Barbatos had his matching owl slippers on under a slimmer, flowier set of pajamas with matching button-up top and bottoms. The fabric looked incredibly smooth, with not a single wrinkle.
The room they led you to was dimly lit. The curtains were drawn so that starlight couldn’t shine through the windows, in front of which were various stacks of DVDs as tall as you. A plush three-person couch had been placed right in the room’s center, squarely in front of a projector that took up an entire wall. In the back of the room closest to where you all entered was a table piled high with treats. Most of it was an approximation of human world movie snacks, but Barbatos had clearly done his best.
"Are those nachos?" You asked. "Pretzels and popcorn... That's so many toppings... M&Ms!? Really? Are those real?"
Barbatos chuckled. "Indeed. Seeing your face light up was worth all the effort to procure them. Please, take as much as you'd like."
Barbatos and Diavolo went to claim their seats on either side of the couch, but encouraged you to take your time with the food. Diavolo clutched a half dozen blockbuster movies in his hand.
“Will you get a plate for me too? I can’t decide what we should start with.” He hummed and hawed, turning each package over to read their summaries.
By the time you were ready, Diavolo had made a choice and loaded up the movie’s main menu. You carried the heaping plates over with enough food for everyone. They each offered to hold them while you sat down.
There was not a lot of room to sit. Despite seating three, Diavolo could have taken up half of the couch by himself and Barbatos was being unusually liberal with how much space he took up. They happily motioned for you to take a seat, Diavolo grinning like a kid.
You sandwiched yourself between them as best you could, wiggling until your back touched cushions. It felt awkward basically distributing your weight over the side of their laps, but neither one made any outward signs of acknowledgement. It was very warm between the two demons. With your thighs brushing those on either side of you, you could confirm their pajamas really were soft. It was incredibly cozy. They both smelled like a recent shower.
“Ready?” DIavolo asked once you were settled in with your plate. “I thought we’d start with an action film to really kick things off on a high note. Let’s begin!”
The bright film cast a gentle light over the three of you. Every time something exploded or a twist occurred, Diavolo would whoop and laugh. He was a very expressive movie watcher.
“This is rather delicious,” he commented in a low voice after cleaning his plate. Diavolo leaned into your ear, bumping your shoulder with his own.“Mind if I try some of yours?”
“Feel free. Barbatos, you too.” There was plenty left, not to mention the entire table of food. Every few minutes his highness would pluck a chip or handful of chocolates off your plate. You realized shortly before the credits that it should have run out already with the two of you constantly snacking. Was it refilling itself?
You turned to Barbatos. His eyes were already transfixed on you instead of the projector, as if you were the night’s main event. “Is something wrong?”
You pointed to the magic plate. “Are you doing this?”
He merely smiled, neither confirming or denying. You softly nudged him in the side in appreciation as he whispered, “if there’s anything you need, just ask.”
As the action flick finally ended, Diavolo leaned forward to browse through the other movies. “What shall we watch next? Romance? Comedy?” He asked as you took advantage of the extra space to stretch.
“I believe romance and comedy often go together, so we could watch both genres at once,” Barbatos said.
“Oh! What about this? It’s very famous, right?” Diavolo thrust an old horror movie at you. You’d heard the name before and vaguely knew its plot, but never actually saw it.
”Yeah, everyone in the human world knows that movie.”
“Then we’ll go with this!”
He loaded it up, while Barbatos sifted through the pile and pulled out a disk. “Let us put this romance comedy on standby.”
The horror movie was way scarier than you thought. Weren’t old films supposed to have cheesy graphics and a now-overdone plot? This was gory and dark. Barbatos and Diavolo were actually laughing at the chainsaw-wielding maniac on screen. “Hilarious! I thought the comedy was after this?” Diavolo exclaimed. You realized once again that demons were not normal.
You put on a brave face and powered through the movie, intent on not ruining their good time. But a particular jumpscare caught you off-guard, prompting a shriek as you shakily turned away from the movie. That turned all the attention on to you. “Sorry, sorry. Don’t mind me, just surprised me,” you stammered.
“Do you find this scary?” Diavolo asked. “This silly thing?”
Barbatos apologized, saying “I hadn’t considered this could be distressing for you. I’ll turn it off immediately.”
“No, it’s fine! We can keep watching,” you insisted while diverting your eyes from the scene on the screen.
Diavolo grabbed your hand. “Nothing could possibly hurt you when we’re here. Isn’t that right, Barbatos? Why, I dare say you’re with the two strongest men in the whole Devildom. We could stop a thousand of these murderous humans.” His lighthearted smile was reassuring as always as he belted out another laugh.
“Would it help if we held your hands?” Barbatos suggested. It was a childish recommendation, but tempting nonetheless. “We could even lock arms, and if the film becomes too much, you can rely on one of us to block it out for you.”
That sounded agreeable, and you approved of it just to get their attention back to the movie. You were thankful the two self-professed strongest demons in the realm would be so accommodating for you. Though embarrassing at first, it did help to bury your head in one of their sides any time things got too horrific.
Any time you jumped towards Diavolo, he would wrap his arm around your shoulders and bring you in closer for a comforting side hug. He’d make small comments, “this actor is very good, does he have any other famous works? I wonder if they filmed this on a set,” so you could focus on the sound of his voice instead of the televised screams.
Any time you jumped towards Barbatos, he would cover your ears and bring your forehead against his chest. It helped to focus on the calm, steady beating of his heart until the scene ended. One hand would gently brush through your hair and down your back until you were composed again.
This film was thankfully shorter than the first one. As you excused yourself to the restroom, you heard Diavolo comment about how it was “too short,” with Barbatos agreeing it was “more fun than expected.” You hoped they really meant the movie, and not the way you acted.
Upon returning, Barbatos had prepared a large fluffy blanket.
“It’s getting quite late, and as you know the Devildom gets rather cold at night.”
You doubted you could get cold while wedged between these two on a sofa. Though, It did add to the movie viewing experience.
The third movie was, as expected, much lighter and more enjoyable. You could laugh along with them and at times explain aspects of human culture important to the plot. 
“If she doesn’t want her ex to show up, why doesn’t she just cast a warding spell? Such an easy solution.”
“Humans usually can’t cast magic. Until I got here, I didn’t even know magic was real.”
”Oh! Right.”
Maybe it was all the food, or the addition of the blanket, or the overall coziness of the situation. Your eyelids were starting to get heavy and interest in the film was waning. “Hey, I know we’re only on the third movie, but how many of these are we watching tonight?”
Diavolo stared at you. “As many as we can! We have all those.” He gestured to the massive collection by the windows.
”My lord, some will have to wait until next week.”
“Right, but the night is still young!”
You were at a loss for words. It had been five hours so far. “I don’t… Uh… I’ll try my best, but like, I don’t know if I can stay up that long,” you admitted. Did these two ever even sleep? They were in pajamas, so maybe?
“That is a problem.” Barbatos seemed troubled, unable to think of a solution that didn’t involve delaying their schedule.
“Well, let’s just keep going,” Diavolo offered. “It can’t be helped if you’re tired, but we can still get through what we can. I greatly enjoy having you here! Both as a friend and to clarify what’s happening.” He ruffled your hair before turning his eyes back to the screen.
Before you realized it, you were waking up from a snug slumber. You don’t remember falling asleep, only that you guys had finished the romantic comedy and started on something sci-fi with robots.
On the screen now was a documentary about birds.
“Oh, awake now? This movie’s getting really good, I think you’ll like it.” You were more focused on how nonchalant Lord Diavolo was acting about being your pillow. You quickly and apologetically lifted your head from his lap.
Barbatos had apparently moved you into a more comfortable position while you slept, as the lower half of your body was in his lap as well. He helped you sit up, “careful not to fall now. But yes, this film is most fascinating. Can I get you anything? Some water?”
There were half a dozen questions running through your mind, but the first one out was “what time is it?”
“6:15am, nearly time for the Young Master to begin his day.”
DIavolo huffed. He couldn’t fight the looming workload he had to deal with, so he popped a potato chip into his mouth instead. Despite your insistence that you would sit normally, the two of them equally insisted you lay down and stay comfortable for the remainder of the documentary. It was peaceful.
When all was done, Barbatos procured everyone a change of clothes and started wrapping up the food table. First pick of leftovers went to you. “Would you like to take it all?” he asked.
“Don’t think I can finish all that, but Beel can help me.”
Diavolo went to change in the other room, but called out, “There's still so much we have to watch, and I'd like to go back over the ones you missed! What do you say, same plans for next week? Same day, same time?”
That sounded good to you.
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(Thanks for reading!) (bonus pic I wanted to put in the text but didn't want to interrupt the story)
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