Externality 6c/? (2017-09-29)

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She’ll admit, later, that she probably developed tunnel vision trying to find Neji Hyuuga while also avoiding the angry mob. She gets into the rhythm of a task–even if this particular one is frenetic and stressful–and tends to forget her surroundings.

Luckily, Naruto Uzumaki is there to shove her out of the way of a barrage of kunai. They thunk into the tree beyond her.

As Tetsuki regains her bearings, she notices they’re in the perfect outline of her body.

TenTen?

A different blur, much larger and closer, drops down in her peripheral, and this time it’s her own hasty reflexes that have her dodge out of the way of a jab glowing with chakra.

Jyuuken.

Well, they found him…

… hooray?

Neji Hyuuga is not their year’s highest ranked student for no reason and for all that Tetsuki is fast, no one is as fast as him.

In short order her entire right arm is numb and absolutely useless, swinging around and throwing off her balance.

Any thoughts to negotiate a truce flies from her head. In the face of such overwhelming power only one concept remains: survive.

She tries to fight back, he defends easily. She tries to retreat, he follows unerringly. She tries to hold off his stupidly undefeatable attacks, she fails miserably.

And maybe if it were just Tetsuki by herself, that’d be it. But she’s not alone.

“Wait! Hold on you bastard,” Naruto Uzumaki says, brash and somehow endearing now, “We’re not here to fight you!” he says even as he throws a punch, trying to take the pressure off her.

He means well. She does appreciate the effort. Unfortunately, two against one when that one is Neji Hyuuga doesn’t make much of a difference.

But it jolts her out of her hindbrain panic, and she still has use of one of her hands: Tetsuki grabs the two purple armbands and throws them to the ground between them, almost like a gauntlet.

Neji Hyuuga doesn’t look down–Byakugan activated, he doesn’t need to–but he pauses for a moment, almost curious, which gives her and Naruto Uzumaki a moment to breathe.

“We don’t want your token,” Tetsuki says, slowly, still functional arm raised slightly to show no harm, “Or TenTen’s,” she adds, remembering the kunai.

Naruto Uzumaki makes an indignant noise, high in the back of his throat, and she shoots him a look. Tetsuki hasn’t forgotten he still needs another token, but they can’t get it from Neji Hyuuga and she’s not going to let him take it from TenTen (even if he could–he’s not as terrible as he seems in the classroom, but she’d put her nonexistent money on TenTen any day).

Speaking of TenTen, another figure peers out from the foliage, a brace of kunai at the ready between her fingers.

“… we’d like your help with something.”

Something that struck me the first time I watched Moana was how similar the spiral on the boat’s sail was to the Uzumaki Spiral; they both look like a crashing wave if you look at them with the right mindset.

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beka-tiddalik:

jacksgreysays:

Given the importance of the ocean to both island cultures, its not surprising that both utilize spirals as their symbol of mystical badassery. But now that you bring it up, I’m imagining Uzushio also being a voyager society and that is SO DOPE?!

Like. I shouldered my way into a rant about how the Uchiha clan probably isn’t as extinct as it seems on paper and I’ve always had so many overflowing feels about Uzushio, so this is a FANTASTIC possible solution to that, anon, so thanks!

Because. Just. Obviously, a good chunk of Uzushio did die. But maybe not as many as we think. Maybe some of them did flee to the mainland, leading to the smattering of Uzushio descendants that we know from canon (and some that we don’t necessarily know–but I have separate headcanons for that). But what if the rest of them just left?

Maybe at first, they hid. Even if their barrier failed to stop the incursion from Mist (though I follow @blackkatmagic​’s theory on Danzo being involved in some internal sabotage there) there’s no way NO ONE was able to get to some kind of failsafe shelters for noncombatants. Konoha’s “secret” shelters/bunkers inside the Hokage mountain cannot be the only kind of fortified fallback.

So maybe they hid. They hid for as long as they could, for as long as their supplies would last. They waited for Konoha to send reinforcements or aid or anything that their alliance should have guaranteed for them. But nothing. Because Danzo（╬ಠ益ಠ)

And so, because they were mostly noncombatants–scared but all that remained of Uzushio–they decided to leave. They decided to revive their voyaging ways that had been nearly forgotten when Konoha was founded, when Konoha had falsely promised eternal sisterhood. Some of the noncombatants were elders who–while they may not physically kept their voyaging skills–still remembered the lessons that their elders had passed down. And so the remnants of Uzushio fled the Elemental Nations entirely, forsaking the continent that had forsaken them first.

Until, maybe, news of an Uzumaki–powerful, yes, but kind and determined and passionate–spreads even beyond the Elemental Nations. To where the flotilla of Uzushio can hear and begin to consider voyaging back home.

They’ve been hiding out somewhere beyond O’uzu Island (in retrospect that wasn’t much of a secret) and when they make land in Tea Country, their long term ally who actually came to their aid, the Uzumaki are startled to hear the news that one of the Jinchuriki Line is actually Hokage. They decide to go investigate, sending their most subtle spies.

Konoha, some days later

“Shika, is it just me, or are there suddenly an odd abundance of red heads around?”

“….Troublesome.”

😀

The Adventure Zone Balance Arc Major Arcana (2017-09-27)

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A/N: When I was younger, I actually made a deck of tarot cards for myself (major arcana and the royalty of the suits only) and did readings for other people during one particularly lucrative Halloween dance.

I have not entirely grown out of that obsession–I almost made an angry rant about the DA:I tarot and how they didn’t match the right artwork/characters with the correct cards, but alas, I got halfway through and my anger couldn’t sustain itself–this is done with far more love and much less frustrated cursing.

For the most part I tried to keep it semi chronological (as the listeners experience it, that is) but certain characters matched certain cards too well for me to adhere to that strictly though I am up for suggestions of alternate designations if anyone is interested.

For some cards (the ones that aren’t actually people) the characters I listed would be more who I’d put on the artwork, were I to draw, and not necessarily the embodiment of the idea.

—

(0 and 22) The Fool – Tres Horny Boys
(1) The Magician – Angus McDonald
(2) The High Priestess – Lucretia
(3) The Empress – Istus
(4) The Emperor – Pan
(5) The Hierophant – Johann and Voidfish
(6) The Lovers – Carey and Killian
(7) The Chariot – Sloane and Hurley
(8) Strength – NO-3113
(9) The Hermit – Lucas Miller
(10) Wheel of Fortune – Garfield the Deals Warlock and Leon the Artificer
(11) Justice – [Faceless Red Robe?]
(12) The Hanged Man – Cam
(13) Death – Kravitz
(14) Temperance – [Roswell and June?]
(15) The Devil – John + The Hunger
(16) The Tower – [Edward and Lydia?]
(17) The Star – Davenport
(18) The Moon – Barry Bluejeans
(19) The Sun – Lup
(20) Judgement – Joaquin Terrero
(21) The World – Julia Burnsides

Untitled (2017-09-26)

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Give them enough rope to hang themselves.

A cunning, cruel, almost hungry statement. Vindictive. Waiting patiently for the inevitable, bloody comeuppance. A predator in the grass, calmly running down their prey to exhaustion.

Prometheus was punished by the gods for giving humanity fire–light, warmth, intelligence. In the myth he is a hero unjustly punished for his generosity. But what if that’s not the case?

Give them fire, watch them burn.

In a different story, there was another who gave humanity intelligence–or, at least, gave them the idea to seize it for themselves.

A predator in the grass.

A new dawn for humanity.

Light bringer playing the long game.

—

“Go home!” he shouts, straining and desperate, eyes wide and burning, “Just go home, okay? It’ll all be okay, just go home!”

You stumble backwards, obeying subconsciously but unable to break his gaze. This may be the last time you see him which, if you listen to him and he’s telling the truth, may very well mean that this image is the last memory of him you’ll keep.

You’re not sure if future-you will want to remember him like this, trapped and fighting–losing–and sacrificing himself for your foolish, useless self, but it’d be disrespectful not to take it in while you can.

Forgetting would be worse.

You take another faltering few steps backwards, his shouts have turned into pained screams, his wide eyes no longer seeing you. Only then do you turn and run for your life.

Fake Fic Summaries, 22/? the Wolfworld edition (2017-09-25)

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A/N: So speaking of having binge-watched all of Westworld while embroidering…

Apparently there’s no Teen Wolf crossover/fusion (or, at least, not on ao3)? Which I am greatly surprised by considering how PERFECT it would be.

And not even going with the whole “western historical fiction” thing (which I could do since ~Sheriff’s son~) but just the idea of theme parks with realistic androids and, I mean… there are a bunch of different parks, so maybe in one there is a “21st century small town with ~magical monsters~”

Anyway:

Wolfworld

Stiles already knows there’s something wrong with him–maze-like thoughts and a tendency towards disarray–but that doesn’t mean there isn’t also something wrong with this world.

He just hasn’t found the answer. Yet.

Or, Stiles is on the verge of consciousness and Derek’s family has a controlling interest in the park.

—

I wouldn’t want to do an exact one to one cut and paste since… that’d be boring… but I guess as a more “equivalent role” of sorts here’s a list of which character I would match with which. I kind of think that, except for the Argents who are also involved in running the park, all the humans (or originally-humans) are probably hosts.

Stiles is Dolores (and, sort of, Charlie)
Sheriff Stilinski as Abernathy
Scott as Teddy
Derek as William (but Peter as The Man In Black)
(Jennifer as Ben?)
Lydia as Maeve (Jackson as Clementine?)
Erica, Boyd, and Isaac as Lawrence/Hector/Armistice
Claudia as Bernard
Deaton as Ford (Morrell as Elsie?)
Chris as Theresa
Allison as Ashley Stubbs (Head of Security)
(Gerard/Kate as Charlotte?)
(Malia as Felix?)

Uh… so, yeah, as I said… this is very much so a loose translation.

The idea is that Deaton and Claudia were the original creators of the hosts and the parks. Before or during construction, Claudia’s son died (as well as her husband?) and so she made copies of them that would live forever.

Except, well, obviously that isn’t a long-term solution and it ends poorly (unsure if in mass death and assisted suicide) but she gives Stiles the keys to consciousness before that as a final goodbye.

A few years later, the park is in financial trouble, but luckily a young Peter Hale goes to the park, has the time of his life–involving awful things to Lydia and Stiles in particular–and decides to invest heavily in it to the point where whenever a Hale visits, whatever they want, they get.

(At this point I have a weird idea about Malia being conceived during this? Like… Peter has sex with someone who he thinks is a host but is very much not. I’m thinking… Paige? And because that’s scandalous, Paige goes to the park, gives birth, and leaves Malia there. She’s raised by hosts for a while until the whole “looping storyline” thing becomes an issue and then she just starts working for the park as one of the repairers.)

A couple decades later, the park’s internal politics have changed greatly. The Argents see Deaton as an overly cerebral, unmarketable old man and some of the hosts are starting to act a little strange. Derek, as a Hale representative, is sent to reassert their controlling interest over the Argents (without implicitly backing Deaton whose motivations are vague at best) and investigate what the hell is going on. (In this ‘verse, the Argents and Hales have been constantly battling for greater influence over the park. They are rival corporate empires whose only joint venture is the park).

Within the park, all the hosts are on loops. Again, unsure if this would be a “21st century with magical monsters” or a “western historical fiction” but either work? Stiles as the Sheriff’s mischievous son, Scott as his endearing best friend with the main quest, Lydia as the queen bee who rules the town, Erica/Boyd/Isaac as the outsiders/outlaws who guests have to go out of their way to interact with.

Um. But… yeah.

Very short and abstract since mostly I’m surprised no one’s done a fusion yet…

I dreamt of Shikako storing bees in the storage seals inside her cheeks, and then propelling them out with chakra. So, enemy nin gets the horrifying nightmare that is Shikako opening her mouth and having a swarm of bees seemingly summoned and propelled in their direction. (Or maybe they’re wasps? Hahaha)

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While I do enjoy the imagery and, no doubt, absolute terror that would invoke, I’m not sure it’s something Shikako would want to do given her canonical dislike of bugs and a more general concern about stinging insects inside her body.

Also, pretty sure you can’t store living things in seals?

But you know who IS a bug-based kunoichi who is cute enough that swarm of insects coming out of her mouth would be horrifying and cripplingly effective? Chiyako.

And since, well, I kinda like the idea of her being a more combat Aburame than Shino (whose hive is more tracking/intel gathering) swarms of bees/wasps would be preeeetty great for her.

Other things being shot out of Shikako’s mouth at high speeds would be pretty fun. Never mind the fact that she could do a human Water Gun (in the Pokemon sense) if she tweaks the speed and pressure of the canonical water seals, just her shooting out random food at her enemy (if, for example, her arms are tied so she can’t do any jutsu, she’d just shoot out, like, ration bars and bewilder her opponents). Smoke would be fairly effective for a similar reason, if she can figure out how to harvest enough for a seal, and that way she can turn into her shadow form without anyone seeing.

Externality 6b/? (2017-09-21)

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Tetsuki knows both less and more about Neji Hyuuga than she’d like:

Less because the Hyuuga clan isn’t exactly going around airing out their weaknesses for some random street urchin to hear.

More because, well, not even she’s so isolated from her classmates that she doesn’t pick up some of the rumors going around their resident prodigy. Unfortunately, it’s nothing particularly useful and more to do with… ugh… what kind of girl he may or may not like?

She’d much rather know his training regimen than his astrological sign and blood type and favorite food (Cancer, O, and herring soba respectively) but them’s the breaks.

Even without hearsay, Tetsuki knows that if a Hyuuga doesn’t want to be found–much less the best Byakugan user in generations–then they won’t.

That being said, she also knows that most Hyuuga are prideful, what with being the most powerful cardinal clan now, and that the prouder they are the more reckless they get when bored.

She imagines that, unlike her and Naruto Uzumaki’s experience, the past sixty odd hours or so have been excruciatingly boring for Neji Hyuuga. Especially if his objective is what she thinks it is.

“Give me your armband,” she hisses at Naruto Uzumaki, as they approach what must be Neji Hyuuga’s chosen space for the exam. It’s not an open clearing turned into a civilian level campsite, but it’s definitely not the overly paranoid and defended nook in some tree roots like theirs was.

Not that Neji Hyuuga would need much in the way of traps, no one would dare attack him.

Naruto Uzumaki pulls out the wrinkled and crumpled mass of cloth from his pouch, looking at her in blatant confusion.

“Your original one,” she clarifies, pulling out the dark purple armband she got from Rock Lee, “the one that looks just like this.”

Why not bring a little excitement Neji Hyuuga’s way?