#Asano thinks it’s insufferable | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mikaya07 · 19 days ago

Text

À little teaser of my Karma x Reader x Asano x Nagisa fantasy au fanfic

Thus, you both found yourselves in a completely new world—a fresh start, a new chapter. You couldn't contain your excitement. No longer would you live as an introverted shut-in, drowning in monotony and hiding from the world. This was your rebirth—a chance to become the hero of your own story.

But of course, there was him.

That insufferable redheaded god sat squatting nearby, clutching his head dramatically as if the world was about to end. Karma Akabane—that god—was mumbling incoherent curses under his breath while random buckets kept falling on his head out of nowhere. He was probably cursing you under his breath but you decided to ignore him and focus on the dazzling world around you.

Everywhere you turned, there was something extraordinary—humanoid creatures of all sizes, semi-crowded streets filled with adventurers, and a sense of magic that made the air feel alive. Your animated expressions and reactions spoke volumes for how amazed you were. "Woah! An elf!" you squealed, pointing at a tall, pointy-eared figure in the distance. "Oh wow, is that a witch? This feels exactly like a video game, a fantasy world!" Your wide, sparkling eyes darted around with childlike wonder, taking in every detail of the world.

Then came the obnoxiously loud groan.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrghhhhhhhhhh!"

It was Karma, naturally. You turned to find him throwing yet another tantrum. His expression was equal parts frustration and despair as he glared daggers at you.

"Stop being so loud!" you scolded. "We're in public, and people are staring. Do you want them to think you're crazy?"

He froze for a second but quickly grabbed your shoulders, shaking you back and forth like a madman. "YOU WITCH! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'M STUCK IN THIS STUPID, INSIGNIFICANT WORLD BECAUSE OF YOU!" he shouted, comical tears streaming down his face. "YOU—YOU LITTLE—" a bucket dropped down on his head.

You rolled your eyes and pried his hands off your shoulders. "Chill out. You can go home if it's such a big deal." you said, shrugging nonchalantly.

Karma's face darkened as he stared at you, deadpan. "That's the problem, you idiot. I can't go home until you beat the Demon King. Thanks to your brilliant idea, I'm trapped here," he muttered, crossing his arms and sulking.

"Oh well, I guess you're stuck with me!" you said cheerfully, clapping your hands together like it was the best news ever.

Karma's golden eyes narrowed at you. "Yeah, yeah. But don't forget—If I'm miserable, I'll make sure you're twice as miserable." His tone was calm, but had a menacing edge to it that made you shiver.

"Whatever." You dismissed, brushing him off. "Come on, let's find the adventurers guild or something. That's how all these king of things start, right?"

With an exaggerated sigh, Karma dragged himself behind you. "Sure. Lead the way oh fearless leader," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

❤️

Several minutes later....

Karma had stopped walking and was staring at you with a look of smug amusement. His arms were crossed, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You're lost, aren't you?" he asked, his voice annoyingly smug.

You froze, lowering your head in embarrassment. "...Maybe."

Suddenly, you brightened up with an idea. "Hey God," you said, spinning on your heel to face him. "Do you know the whereabouts of the adventurers guild?"

"First of all, call me Karma. We don't wanna attract unwanted attention now," He said, raising an eyebrow. "And second, no, I don't magically know the layout of this place. This world is just one out of millions, and honestly, it's not even worth memorizing." he stretched his arms behind his back. As if on cue, another bucket dropped out of nowhere and landed squarely on his head. He sighed, pushing it off without flinching.

Damn he's useless.

With no other choice, you approached a shopkeeper and asked for directions to the adventurers guild. After convincing him that you were hopelessly lost, he gave you clear directions.

Feeling confident now, you turned to Karma with a smug grin. "See? I got it. Follow me."

Karma raised an eyebrow, trailing behind you as you led the way. "Congratulations. You can ask for directions. Truly a hero in the making," he said dryly, though there was a faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

❤️

The lively buzz of the adventurers' tavern hit you as soon as you stepped inside. Warriors, mages and rogues filled the room, boasting of their exploits or nursing tankards of ale. You couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement. This was it, the start of your new journey. You felt like you had finally fit in.

Karma trailed behind you, looking distinctly unimpressed as his amber orbs scanned the room. He noticed many staring towards his direction, mainly at him and most were women, admiring his appearance. You had noticed it too. Couldn't blame them though. After all he was really handsome. Well when his mouth was shut.

Ignoring the stares, your gaze landed on a beautiful young women with deep chestnut brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail with her red coloured scrunchie. She had a professional smile and an air of grace that immediately caught your attention. Her figure further emphasised her matured look. You marched towards her.

"Excuse me! We'd like to sign up as adventurers please!" you said, practically bouncing on your heels.

The woman, who's name tag read as Toka Yada offered you a friendly smile. "Of course! Welcome to the Adventures' Guild. You'll need to pay a small registration fee to get started."

Your enthusiasm dimmed. "Oh we need money?" You asked, sheepishly, glancing at Karma, who was now leaning casually against the counter with his usual smirk.

"Don't worry, I've got this." Karma said, pushing himself off the counter and sauntering toward a random table. You had no idea what he was planning, but knowing him, it couldn't be good.

He had stepped in front of an elderly man dressed in priestly robes and cleared his throat. "Greetings, mortal," Karma said, his voice taking on a pompous tone. "Behold, for you are in the presence of a god." He struck a dramatic pose, one hand raised as if he were blessing the room.

You slapped a hand on your face.

Oh no.

The old man blinked, then gave Karma a warm smile. "A god, you say? Well then, tell me what deity you serve?"

"Heh, I am the God Of Chaos, Karma Akabane!" he replies, confidently. The priest's eyes narrow slightly. "I see. As it happens, I am a devoted follower of Yuuma Isogai. The God Of Preservasion and Abundance." he raises a necklace showing him the symbolic pendant. "And while I respect all divine beings, I find it quite improper to boast blatantly about your supposed status."

Karma's cheeks turned faintly pink, a rare sight that immediately committed to your memory. Before he could dig himself deeper, the old man sighed and handed over a small pouch of coins.

"Here, take this and use it wisely. I wish you the best, Follower of the God of Chaos." He flashes him a close-eyed smile. Karma snatches the pouch, muttering something under his breath, and stalked back to you.

"Here." He shoved the coins in your hands. "Go pay before I change my mind." you stared at him. Half shocked, half trying not to laugh. You then turned towards Yada who was carefully avoiding both of your gaze, her polite smile strained. It seemed she felt second-hand embarrassement as her cheeks were tainted of a pink hue. That suddenly made you blush, feeling embarrassed. However you handed the registration fee anyway.

"Thank you." Yada said, handing you both shiny new cards that looked like IDs. Your name, age and stats were displayed neatly on the surface. "Please fill in these forms and I'll analyse your stats to determine your recommended class."

You eagerly filled in the form and handed it back. The brunette placed it in the Crystal device and a holographic projection of your stats appeared in mid air. She scanned it briefly before her smile faltered.

"Ah..." she began hesitantly. "Your luck stat is quite high..."

"Awesome!" you grinned. "Soo, what kind of adventurer does that make me?" you asked.

Yada hesitated, her eyes darted toward Karma, who wore a knowing smirk, seeing right threw her. She then looked back at you. "Well high luck is um not particularly useful in combat. I would recommend perhaps a merchant? Luck is quite handy for bargaining and trade."

You froze. "A merchant? You're saying I'm not good enough to be an adventurer?"

"N-Not at all!" Yada said quickly, waving her hands. "It's just that—"

"A merchant, huh?" Karma interrupted, chuckling under his breath. "Yeah that suits you perfectly. You can sell healing potions while I take out the Demon King." A bin cap drops on his head.

You shot him a glare, your face burning with embarrassment and indignation. "Oh, shut up!"

Yada coughed, awkwardly, trying to maintain her composure. "You can still choose any class you want of course," Yada said. "It's just a suggestion based on your stats."

You huffed and crossed your arms. "Fine. I'll show you. I'll be the greatest adventurer this world has ever seen—even with luck as my highest stat!"

Karma snickered. "Sure. Let's see how far 'luck' takes you." Another bin cap drops on his head but he barely flinches anymore as he's used to it.

It took all your power not to smack that annoying, obnoxious asshole.

"Alright, your turn," Yada said, turning to Karma with a polite smile as she handed him a form.

He filled it out lazily, clearly disinterested by the whole process. "Do I really need to do this? I'm already perfect in every way that matters," he muttered, handing the form back.

Yada placed his form on the glowing crystal and the holographic projection of Karma's stats materialized.

"W-What the..." Yada's eyes widened as she leaned in for a closer look. "These stats are... incredible!"

She stares at his stats in awe "Your strength and intelligence are off the charts! However your luck is 'quite' abysmal." She says.

The murmurs started immediately, rippling through the room like wildfire.

Karma smirked, basking in the attention. He casually flipped his red hair out of his eyes, his cocky demeanor dialed up to eleven."Well, of course. I am amazing, after all. Did you expect anything less from me?" he said, his voice dripping with self-satisfaction while a bin cap dropped on his head.

You crossed your arms, glaring daggers at him. "Oh, give me a break," you muttered under your breath.

Karma noticed your sour expression and leaned closer, his smirk widening. "Jealous, are we?"

"Jealous? Of you? Please," you scoffed, even though the truth was written all over your face.

"Don't worry," he said, patting your head condescendingly. "With my stats and your... uh, Luck, we'll balance each other out. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?"

You slapped his hand away. "I don't need you to carry me!"

Meanwhile, Yada cleared her throat, clearly trying to remain professional despite the chaos. "Your stats are remarkable, Karma. With numbers like these, you're qualified to choose nearly any class you like."

"Hear that?" Karma said smugly, glancing around the room as if expecting a standing ovation. "I'm what they call a natural-born legend." A bin cap falls on his head.

"Don't let it go to your head," you muttered, trying to shrink under the weight of everyone's stares.

Despite your best efforts to ignore him, Karma's smug aura was impossible to escape. The tavern continued to buzz with murmurs, and you couldn't help but feel like your thunder had been thoroughly stolen.

"Let's go," you snapped, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the counter.

"Aw, don't be so grumpy," Karma teased, leaning down to whisper in your ear. "I'll make sure to save you a spot in my shadow when I become the greatest hero in this world." a bin cap drops on his head.

"You're insufferable," you muttered.

This dick stole my thunder.

With that, Karma had decided to be an Advanced Arch-priest while you were a lower class adventurer.

❤️

Work

The days had blended into a monotonous cycle of hard labor. Both of you had taken up jobs as day laborers—menial work, but it kept you afloat. Dressed in white loose tank tops and scruffy trousers, Karma painted buildings with a nonchalant ease while you stacked bricks in the scorching sun. His exposed arms were well toned along with parts of his semi-exposed skin. The tank top he wore further accentuated his toned body, which you couldn't help but admire.

You worked alongside large, muscular men whose skin glistened with sweat. Their loud laughs echoed through the site, but they barely noticed you, too busy with their own tasks. Karma, however, seemed to revel in the absurdity of it all, humming obnoxiously as he painted, occasionally flicking paint at you when he thought you weren't looking.

Cleansing

After grueling work, the public hot tub was a luxury you couldn't resist. Despite the expense, soaking in the steaming water felt like heaven. You relished the warmth enveloping your sore muscles, letting the day's grime melt away.

Karma had finished his bath earlier and was waiting for you, outside, grumbling about the cost and how he'd rather spend the money on food. Meanwhile, you stayed a little longer, savoring the rare moment of peace.

Tavern

Evenings were for indulgence. You both splurged on hearty meals: steak, roasted chicken, fresh bread, and savory sides you couldn't name but devoured anyway. The highlight, however, was the tavern's famous drink, Bubbly.

Karma, ever the connoisseur of trouble, developed a dangerous obsession with the fizzy, intoxicating brew. "This is the nectar of the gods," he declared, slamming his mug down as the room erupted into laughter.

The night often ended with both of you tipsy, surrounded by other adventurers swapping exaggerated tales of glory and danger. For a brief moment, you felt like you belonged—until the reality of your situation hit again.

Nighttime

The harsh truth was waiting for you in the cold stable you called home. With only two thin blankets—one to shield the hay beneath you, the other to keep you warm—you tried to find comfort in a place that reeked of manure. Every so often, you'd wake to find it disturbingly close to your face, reminding you just how far from luxury you were.

This cycle continued for days until one night, you woke up in the middle of the night, groaning in frustration.

"Ughhhhhh, this sucks," you whined, sitting up and rubbing your temples.

Karma stirred beside you, his voice groggy. "What? Do you need to pee?"

You shot him a glare in the dim light. "There's no toilet, Karma. Or did you forget we're dirt poor and sleeping in a stable?"

He chuckled, resting his head on his hand, staring at you with his half lidded eyes and his signature smirk. "Just pee outside. What, you scared of the dark? Need me to come with?"

"I'm not scared of the dark! And I don't need to pee!" You screamed, drawing a muffled groan from one of the other stables.

Karma smirked. "Then what's the problem?"

You clenched your fists. "The problem is, I didn't come here to stack bricks and make pennies. I came here to be an adventurer. I want to be rich!"

"Right." Karma yawned and stretched. "Well, sweetheart, that involves fighting monsters, and with my crappy Luck and your incredibly low stats, we'd get annihilated in five minutes. You're dreaming if you think we're surviving that."

"THATS BECAUSE WE'RE STUCK IN THE SAFEST PART OF THE TOWN!" you shot back. "WE CANT JUDT SIT HERE FOREVER. I REFUSE TO WASTE ANOTHER DAY WAKING UP TO LITERAL SHIT NEAR MY FACE! AND ARENT YOU LIKE A GOD? YOU'RE LIKE INSANELY POWERFUL!! YOU CAN FIGHT ALL THE MONSTERS THAT COME OUR WAY?"

One of your neighbors shouted, "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?!"

"Sorry!" you yelled back, shrinking under the blanket.

Karma sighed and lay back down, facing you. "If you're dead set on it, fine. Tomorrow, we'll try this adventuring thing. Just don't get yourself killed."

You locked eyes with him in the dark. "We're not just going to try. We're going to do it. I'm not living like this anymore."

Karma rolled his eyes but smirked. "Alright, boss. Let's see what you've got."

And with that, the two of you drifted back to sleep, ready to face the next chapter of your journey.

❤️

You and Karma had ventured into the open fields for your first-ever quest as adventurers. The task was simple or so you thought: kill five toads. Completing it would earn you 20 experience points, level you up, and reward you with 300 Yuumas. (Yuumas was the currency of this world.)

Killing toads was considered the easiest quest for experienced adventurers. After all, they had low health points, were too focused on eating their prey to notice much else, and actively avoided armored adventurers since they were too heavy to carry.

But that was for experienced adventurers. For you and Karma, it was pure hell.

Armed with nothing but a tiny dagger, you had little hope of surviving. And Karma? Forget him. He had arrogantly refused a weapon, claiming, "A god as powerful as me doesn't need such mortal trinkets."

Yeah, useless.

The disaster began almost immediately.

"AHHHHHHH! KARMA, SAVE ME!" you screeched, sprinting across the field as a gigantic toad bounded after you, its slimy tongue flicking inches from your back.

Behind you, Karma was doubled over, clutching his stomach as he laughed hysterically.

"Pfft—HAHAHA! Look at you! A red-faced, desperate, screaming mess! This is priceless!" he cackled, his voice dripping with sadistic glee.

"KARMA! HELP ME!" you wailed, tears streaming down your cheeks as you ran for your life.

He smirked, clearly savoring your misery. "Well, that depends. Are you ready to grovel? Say, 'Oh, my handsome, righteous god—'"

"OH, MY HANDSOME, RIGHTEOUS GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!" you interrupted, desperation overriding your pride.

I'm going to BURY him after this.

Karma grinned. "Good start. Now, promise to worship me, pray to me three times a day, think about me constantly, sing my praises—"

Before he could finish, a slimy tongue whipped around his torso and yanked him backward.

"What the—?" His smugness evaporated as the toad opened its massive jaws and gulped him whole.

The toad that had been chasing you suddenly forgot about you, now busy with its new meal. You froze, screaming, "KARMA! DON'T YOU DARE GET SWALLOWED!"

Fueled by a mix of terror and fury, you lunged at the frog, dagger in hand. With one swift slice, you tore through its slimy flesh.

❤️

Karma sat on the grass, coughing and spitting out mucus. After that, he puked. It wasn't normal puke, it had a rainbow like colour and it didn't smell of anything. From head to toe, he was drenched in the toad's white, gooey slime. The stench was so unbearable that even the air around him seemed offended.

He wiped his face, avoiding your gaze. "Thanks," he muttered, humiliated.

"No problem," you replied.

Silence stretched between you as Karma simmered in his embarrassment. But his anger soon bubbled over.

"That's IT!" he snarled, leaping to his feet. He charged at another toad with reckless abandon, his fist glowing faintly with a yellow aura.

"KARMA, WAIT—DON'T GO!" you shouted, panic rising.

He ignored you, yelling like a lunatic. "THIS is what happens when you defile a god!" His fist connected with the frog, sending a powerful shockwave that stripped its slimy skin clean off.

You stared, stunned. "What the—how did you—?"

Karma smirked smugly, basking in his own glory. "Told you I didn't need a weapon. Who's the useless one now, huh?"

But before he could continue gloating, a chorus of ribbits sounded around him. Four massive toads emerged from the shadows, their tongues lashing out mercilessly, wrapping him up like a mummy.

"W-WAIT! NOT AGAIN!" Karma yelped, flailing as he was tossed around like a rag doll.

Groaning, you charged in with your dagger, slicing through the swarm of frogs to rescue him—again.

"Forget the stupid mission. Let's head back to the tavern. We'll figure things out." you say. He nods in agreement but first things first, he needs to take a shower.

❤️

Back at the tavern, you slumped at the table while Karma devoured yet another serving of roasted frog legs, a smug grin plastered across his face.

"We need allies if we want any chance at defeating the Demon King," you said, frustration lacing your tone.

Karma nodded between bites. "Exactly. That’s why we’ll form a party. Don’t worry—I know just what to do."

You didn’t like the confidence in his voice.

🕒

Hours later, Karma triumphantly pinned up a freshly written poster on the town’s central board.

🕛

Four days passed, and the two of you were back in the tavern, staring at the same untouched poster.

"Ugh, why isn’t anyone joining?" Karma groaned, slouching over the table.

You crossed your arms, glaring at him. "Gee, I don’t know, maybe because YOU MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO QUALIFY?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

You pointed to the poster. "'Only the ELITE of each individual class need apply—no mediocres or low-class adventurers allowed.' Karma, this town is literally full of beginner and low-class adventurers!"

Karma scoffed. "Well, excuse me for wanting quality over quantity. We need the best if we’re going to take down the Demon King. A bunch of amateurs won’t do."

You rolled your eyes. "Look, with you already being an advanced Arch Priest, we don’t need a team full of elites. Besides, being surrounded by overpowered adventurers would just make me feel like a loser."

Karma replied with a straight face. "But you are a loser."

Kill yourself

Before you could retort, the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the air. They grew louder, stopping just behind Karma. He immediately stiffened and turned around. You followed his gaze.

Standing there was a blue-haired boy with a soft but confident presence. His cloak was modest, and his staff had a practical design—clearly well-used but carefully maintained. He wore a black wizard hat.

"Excuse me," he said politely, his voice calm and measured, "are you still looking for party members?"

Both you and Karma stared, blinking in surprise, before nodding slowly.

The boy cleared his throat, preparing himself for a dramatic introduction. "I am Nagisa Shiota, an advanced upper class mage and I want to join your team!"

--------

If you want to read the full story, find it on Quotev. It's called Eternal

Link:

#nagisa shiota #karma x reader #karma akabane #assasination classroom #karma #fanfiction #fanfic #assclass #x reader #anime #anime x reader #comedy #funny #romance #genshin impact

8 notes · View notes

adelle-ein · 2 years ago

Text

lace's oc2path review

Disclaimer: I am deeply critical of this game and of Octopath 1, and I very much loathe COTC's overly edgy grimdark plot, so there will be a lot of negativity in this post. Don't like don't read!!!111 Also explicit spoilers for everything duh, and game typical content warnings.

Octopath and I have a…complicated relationship. It was my first Switch game. I had fond memories of it, even if it was never my favorite, I found it very hard, I really only cared about Primrose and Cyrus as characters, and I never even got all the secret jobs, let alone beat Galdera. Then the mobile game COTC came along, bringing with it a clusterfuck of horrific misogyny, racism, and frankly terrible grimdark story writing, severely souring my relationship with the franchise. I tried to replay it in 2022 and couldn’t even get to a chapter 2 — the grind was awful, the world was bland, the stories were just insufferably boring at best and misogynistic at worst. The lack of relationships or even acknowledgement between the characters made the whole thing feel stilted. Therion works alone, don’t mind the seven other people walking behind him! Now let’s explain the ways all the stories connect in a diary info dump locked behind a boss rush!

Octopath 1 has staggering design flaws and, as more and more JRPGS come to the Switch, those flaws become strikingly pronounced. Party dynamics are important to me, and without them, most of 1’s cast remained stubbornly boring. The game was hard, but not fun enough for me to want to grind OR learn advanced strats. Every chapter of every story follows the same basic plot beats and the layout of the world is boring and predictable, with even the scenery getting old eventually.

So I had mixed feelings when Octopath 2 was announced, especially when I saw they hadn't changed a single one of the main 8 classes and that the Crossed Paths would only be between four duos of characters. Still, the game went on sale for $40 in mid-April. Split the price with a sibling and here we are.

For starters: The graphics in this game are fantastic. I’m still not in love with HD-2D, mostly because of the lack of expressiveness in the tiny character pixels. Watching them flop over dead in a pile of blood in Triangle Strategy was only ever hilarious, and most emotional scenes fall flat. Strangely, Asano continues insisting on using this style for really drama-heavy, emotional games. Luckily, they’ve made some strides forward with OT2. The bigger human sprites are drastically more dynamic and expressive, move more fluidly than ever before, and have ample opportunity to demonstrate both emotion and personality. Everyone’s unique walk cycles and Bewildering Grace dances really bring character to the game. We can get a clearer look at job outfits and have animations for all kinds of things like dancing and character interactions. And HD-2D, as always, continues to shine in the backgrounds, special effects, and enemy sprites. The game is very pretty, and while I still don’t think HD-2D is the best choice for any character-driven game, the sprites don’t feel nearly as rough and awkward as they do in their predecessors. I hope Team Asano retains this style in future HD-2D installments, especially interpersonal ones.

The world is huge, sprawling, and genuinely FUN to explore this time, with various nooks and crannies to dig into. The day/night cycle and added path actions really add a lot of fun and variety to gameplay. The world not being a perfect circle moving outwards really makes things more exciting and less tedious, and the towns, cities, and dungeons had so much variety. I genuinely had fun on the journey this time, while in 1 i was just dragging myself from town to town. The bonus bosses, latent powers, hidden classes, sidequests, and various new game mechanics all felt like upgrades from the first game to me.

The music is banging, no criticisms here. I’ve gotten the impression before that Revo and Nishiki have been influenced by and learning from each other and I think this really shows it. Super fun, loved that we have more theme variants now. VA work was solid, with some very fun moments but nothing I was super amazed by. That's not a problem, though, it's really all I ask for in a game. Loved the added voice lines, the unique voice lines for certain bosses (I don't wanna fight no doggy-dog…), and how the characters interact with each other in battle as the game proceeds.

I’ll continue with my thoughts on the eight characters/stories one by one and then give some overall opinions on the “main plot” and game itself.

Ochette:

The constant food talk gets old fast. Seriously, every conversation this girl has ends up being about food or similar. I also think her voice acting may have been mixed oddly, sometimes it's quiet and sometimes at too high a volume, she ends up sounding REALLY loud and grating a lot of the time. Overall, she really doesn't feel as fleshed out as every other character, and it's a shame. That being said, she does have some very fun travel banters and brings a fun "kid of the group" energy, it's just…she's twenty goddamn years old.

Story-wise, had a lot of potential but constant food talk and the weird fantasy racism (why do they all speak broken English) were huge drags. I thought the stuff with the unchosen starter was a really good idea, but there just wasn't enough time lent to it, and overall the first and last chapters felt completely disconnected from the middle ones. Oh well.

Castti:

No mercy, only pain. She's just a great character who ended up with so much depth and felt like a twist on the kindly, maternal healer. "Do harm when necessary to save lives" is a great archetype for doctor characters and Castti plays the role fantastically. She has been through so much and still chooses to be gentle when she can, but if she has to she'll bring the axe down. She has a talent for making do. She has so many fantastic scenes and lines and flips the "mom friend" character around on its head. I really love her, she's great, she's up there with Primrose for me forever.

Her story was also my favorite, and her boss the toughest to beat by a comfortable margin (what worked in the end was no strategy just hikari, throne, and their knives). Sure, some beats are always predictable in Octopathland, but chapter 3 was beautifully done, and the use of game mechanics and the interface to play with the effects of Castti's amnesia were really enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking, but a strong and solid story that felt emotional and meaningful as well as unique and independent from the stuff all three games have done and rehashed. Castti herself is of course a huge part of that, but this is one of the rare Octopath stories that didn't feel like it was being fully carried by the strength of the MC.

Throne:

Throne herself, I adore. She's fun, she's determined, she's witty, she's like Primrose in some ways but firmly different in others. She doesn't want to kill, but it's all she knows. She has some fantastic travel banters. I laughed out loud at her first "Bravo, Temenos." And the little "tada…" when she uses Disguise. She's great, she has endless potential, and boy does she have fun path actions.

Warning for discussion of incest, abuse, and rape in the following paragraph :(

Unfortunately, her story is the classic edgy Octopath misogyny fest. What was with that random sex slave and what the hell happened to her??? We don't care, she only exists to show that Bad Guys Evil and that Throne Can't Be A Hero Because She Is Tainted. Everyone wants to rape Throne and that is made way too clear. Some of those people are her fucking brothers, because why the fuck not. And the ending with the "but was it worth it?" tone was phenomenally stupid. Octopath asking the quintessential question: is it okay to escape slavery even if you have to kill your slavers? What if your slavers love you (even though they keep you in a collar and whip you and offer you up as a rape victim and force you to kill people?) What if your slavers are your parents or siblings? Also not loving any of the Marietta story, anything that involves "she killed our baby" is going to set my hair on end in this day and age and I just did not like the way any of that was portrayed and handled. Even if Claude didn't rape Marietta, it's clear he raped several of the other mothers including a few of the ones we meet, and they're all forcibly separated from their babies and left to die — it's just too much. It's too disgusting. The huge conspiracy itself fell flat due to the general creep factor and tried way too hard to be edgy. Throne cannot be happy within her story for even a second and it's way overdone. I'm sick, absolutely sick, of this type of story and COTC trying to play with "but she loves her abuser" stuff and doing a frankly disgusting and often fetishizing job. Overall, it felt like a COTC plotline, and that is very much a bad thing for me! I'm glad that the postgame sidequest cleared up the Mira plotline and actually had some "breaking the cycle" themes, but the fact that we've just apparently left the residents of Lostseed to suffer and die instead of even attempting to bring them to the Garden or somewhere they can get help is pretty gross.

But again, I adore Throne herself. Get her out of this game. Put her in Animal Crossing or something.

Osvald:

And now we flip around! Talk about pleasant surprises! I was not expecting to like him or his story at all, it felt so Octopath edgy and woman-in-fridges-y. And to an extent, it is, but the game is actually self-aware of this and gently pokes fun at it to a degree that makes it more bearable. Osvald is an Edgy Man and the other travelers can and will be confused by it. That's really fun. Being able to save Elena flips everything about the story on its head in a good way, and The Answer being The Power Of Love is both so funny and so sweet and fitting. Just a genuinely heartfelt and optimistic story in the end despite where it begins, I really liked it despite another dead wife on the pile. The antithesis to Throne's story.

My main complaint is that the story pacing ends up really off due to two out of five chapters being at the very start and about the prison escape. I really think he could have benefited from another chapter between his 3 and 4. I wish the ending was more emotionally satisfying, but it does feel in character and leave on a hopeful note. Would have enjoyed, if not a reunion scene between him and Elena, something more significant about them and their relationship than the tiny nod we got at the end. All that being said, liked both him and his story a lot!

Partitio:

He really is very funny. Those voice lines are a hoot, every Scent of Commerce is just ridiculous, and his determination to stop That Devil Called Poverty by having a polite meeting with the CEO of capitalism and giving him some $$$ is just absurd. As a character, I can’t say I find him as interesting as Castti, Throne, or Osvald, but he’s entertaining if nothing else, and his first chapter pacing is creative. He was my MC and spent tons of time running Arcanist Sidestepper or Latent Power Catapult Inventor, so of course I got pretty attached. Yeehaw let's do it catapult go-go-go

But let’s be real here. Any story about a merchant “helping the poor” by doing more capitalism is going to be kind of a mess. It wasn’t a harmful mess, but it felt like the story was deliberately skirting around making any meaningful commentary. None of this is surprising, but I spent a lot of chapter 4 rolling my eyes. Roque illegally modifying a contract after signature on multiple occasions is just completely brushed aside, and Partitio happily SIGNS a contract with him KNOWING Roque has a habit of violating and editing them. It’s all just very…dumb. Seize the means of production Partitio! Don’t just give The Man eighty billion leaves! Also, Roque apparently KEEPS all that money in the postgame even though he’s allegedly reformed, soooooo (I know he's using it on the railroads but like….Yeah)

But yeah, while it was a silly story, it wasn’t much else. He's a fun guy though. I wonder if octopath 3 will bring us our first edgy merchant MC.

Agnea:

She’s sweet and fun. I don’t really feel like I have a lot to say about her, which isn’t a negative? I enjoy her theme, I love all her dance animations, I think her constantly-slipping accent is pretty funny (I’m genuinely not sure if the premise is that Agnea hides her accent and occasionally slips into it by mistake, or if the VA keeps forgetting that Agnea is supposed to sound Southern and only remembers when Agnea says “oh my stars” or something lol. It’s funny though.) But like I said, I enjoy her, she’s not as grating as some of the other “goodhearted, happy go lucky” characters from 1.

Similarly, while I don’t have much to say about her story, that’s not to say I disliked it. I thought it was sweet. Dolcinea and her gf are some of my favorite NPCs in the game, the final battle kicked my ass in a fun way, and most of all I love how ¾ of Agnea’s bosses are just her going “I want to speak to the manager!!” and it actually working. I liked it a LOT better than tressa’s, which it’s constantly compared to, since it felt like an actual coherent story. She’s a star!

Temenos:

Fandom made me dislike Temenos before I set foot in the Crestlands. In those early days especially, every woman in this game was ignored in favor of an AVALANCHE of fanart of him and crick. People say weird shit about Temenos being a twink, some of which is frankly homophobic and/or creepy. I pretty strongly disliked his predecessor Fandom Favorite Man, Therion. Man had a lot riding against him. All that being said, once I got to know him I liked Temenos just fine! He's a priest who can't remember the Lord's Prayer and calls the scripture boring at every given opportunity. Also enjoys beating the shit out of people for information and can barely be contained by those around him. It's a fun character type.

His story, though, is honestly just blah. I guessed the big murderer about as soon as they appeared on screen, and by the time I finished the story I was pretty confident I knew who was manipulating them too…and I was right. As funny as it is that Temenos can use his "special powers" to just, like, see something lying on the floor, the investigation/mystery is really lacking and dull, which is disappointing. Particularly since his story is the "main" one that reveals the ultimate final boss, and the only one that gets a full follow-up cutscene in the extra chapters — it ended up just being a big pile of text dumping, which is not a fun way to do a mystery/whodunit!

Also Crick is boring.

Hikari:

Hikari is Just Fine. He's sometimes fun, largely unremarkable, just another member of the crowd. The same is pretty much true of his story as well — it's just Fine. Has a pretty hilarious mom-fridging as horses whinny loudly in the background, which I think was iconic. Dunban levels of "bad at making friends" (and while it's not "Therion works alone" levels of stupid by any means, does feel a little awkward that he keeps talking about needing his Allies and True Friends while seven people he camps with are standing right there…) I really just don't have a lot to say about him or his story, which isn't a bad thing! It was fine, he's fine. My only real complaint is that I don't love that his overcoming his Evil Blood was tied to him also having Good Blood on his mother's side — that detail seems irrelevant to everything, and I would have preferred his overcoming the Shadow and taking back his Hidden Power just be framed as him having willpower and a good, kind heart. But I am nitpicking here, since I think that was the intention — just wish blood hadn't been brought into it, y'know? Anyway yeah Hikari's fine.

Together Now:

The Crossed Paths are SO short (other than waiting for that insanely long lute performance to be over) and that's a shame. I wish there were more of them, between more characters, that they were longer…I hope any future Octopath games play with these concepts. Overall, I mean, it's a huge meaty game and it's not that I wanted to be playing it longer, I was satisfied by the length. I just really would have appreciated more character interaction. I'm glad that you can view the travel banters freely and easily from the menus now, and that there are more of them. But I do wish that the characters emoted during them instead of just standing there staring blankly at each other. Huge improvement over one, just not quite there yet!

I will say the Extra Chapters/final boss were also huge improvement over 1's, with actual cutscenes, some character interaction, more consistent foreshadowing, and finally, a boss with no boss rush leadup whose level of challenge is more "difficult but doable" than "haha fuck you." My hopes for this game had been that they would lower the final boss difficulty and make a bigger, harder bonus boss for hardcore players to enjoy, and I'm really happy that they did so! I beat Vide :)

That being said, most of the Extra Chapter reveals were entirely contained in heaps of diary entries again. You guys expect me to remember who Tanzy was or care?? Other than the Arcanette cutscene/battle, things never got that emotional or exciting. A few travel banters tried to fill in the blanks, but there just wasn't enough emotion or stakes put into the scenes. That being said, I enjoyed the Vide battle and it was the perfect difficulty level for me, and I enjoyed the ending and epilogue a lot! It just didn't quite do everything I want from a JRPG ending (which…has been my tune with almost every newly released JRPG I've played in the last couple years :( we need better endings in these things.)

Will also say that the Osterra nods don't really make sense, but I'm personally subscribing to Osterra and Solistia straight up being parallel worlds (I suspect COTC will be confirming this one way or another in the JP version shortly, but like, eh).

Overall, it was a good game, I liked it, it's hands down my favorite Octopath and probably my second favorite Asano game after BD2. Despite my complaints, wishes things had diverged further from the original game, and generally feeling like this series is a bit overrated in JRPG circles, Oct2path is solid, fun, and a big upgrade from its predecessors. Stan Castti

#lace reviews #txt #octopath traveler spoilers #octopath traveler 2 spoilers #octopath 2 spoilers #octopath traveler ii spoilers

8 notes · View notes

minteayoongimakesmewoozi · 2 years ago

Text

spent two days devouring assassination classroom all over again but anime version and now

now i have thoughts of modern!fits idiots squad in class 3E

karma and ayame as rivals (in what sense? doesn't matter cos they are on opposite ends of the spectrum and don't want to get along)

nagisa and tanjirou constantly sweatdropping at the nonsense they're class-assigned best friends get up to

zenitsu and okajima are a terrible duo and they work so well together

nagisa and ayame both being the top assassins while karma and tanjirou are the best combat assassins

rio, ayame, zenitsu and karma hanging out and someone is gonna get teased within an inch of their lives (tanjirou, kayano, nagisa rUN)

i just have so many thoughts for this crossover

#me as a writer #mind drabble #fog in the summertime #fits #fits au #fits x assclass crossover #demon slayer x assassination classroom crossover #fits assclass au #higuchi ayame #kamado tanjirou #agatsuma zenitsu #nakamura rio #okajima taiga #kayano kaede #i can't stop thinking about this aaaahhh #maybe i'll write it one of these days #just cos i think ayame and karma together would be insufferable to asano-kun

10 notes · View notes

blazardragon · 7 years ago

Note

Any headcanons for the relationship between karma and Gakushu throughout the duration of their high school life? Karma would never ever conform to Asano-kuns leadership, etc. Karma being karma probably liked to give Shuu a hard time, Im sure being rivals only enforced that. So do you think Gakushuu also regarded Akabane as a "war buddy" too. How do you think that promised talk went about korosensei? Despite the rivalry, do you think they ever followed each other on social media? (Just a thought)

You mentioned a lot of great ideas, so I hope I was able to cover all of them:

Based on the brief mentions of theirrivalry in the Graduation Album, “hard time” is a mild way of putting it, even when they weren’tin direct competition with each other. Karma likes to sit in the back ofthe class, so Gakushuu would have had to deal with two eyes periodically boringinto the back of his head for a chance to tease him for three whole years. At leasttheir interests are different, so Gakushuu probably was able to lead Class Awhichever way he wanted, like when deciding what to do for the school festival,and Karma probably got the school roof and other sparsely populated territories to himself.

Judging by their final interaction inthe series, it’s very likely that Karma isn’t exempt from the “war buddy”status the other members of 3-E have earned. As far as I recall, the scene whenGakushuu is talking to Karma is only the second time we see a genuine smilefrom him (the first time being in episode 13 with his father). That said, Karmaprobably gets an extra adjective in Gakushuu’s mind, like, “Insufferable warbuddy”.

The promised talk is something Karmaprobably dangled in front of Gakushuu as a prize for beating him on an exam or sports competition. He’d also end the story on cliffhangersto make Gakushuu suffer.

Gakushuu: I cannot believe you’re endingthe story there.

Karma: Hey, you only scored two pointshigher than me this time, so this is all you get to hear from me today~

Reflecting on his time with Korosenseiwas a little hard for Karma at first, too, so this arrangement served a secondpurpose, where Karma can share a bit of his story at a time without gettingoverwhelmed by his memories.

They both meticulously kept track oftheir wins and losses against each other. I imagine that Karma had a bit of adisadvantage at first because he lost his teacher and most of his friends wentto different schools. In contrast, Gakushuu still had his whole crew, andnobody died recently, so Gakushuu was probably able to claim more victories hisfreshman year. This probably made Gakushuu just a tad complacent during theirsecond year, though, so Karma probably managed to claim more victories hissecond year, with Gakushuu catching back up in his third year to more or lesstie with each other by the end.

At first, following each other on socialmedia wasn’t an option. Seeing each other at school was enoughsquareness/demonic activity for them both. However, once it became time tograduate, they shared their info. After all, Gakushuu needs to keep tabs onJapan’s newest evil bureaucrat for the safety of his business, and Karma needsto keep tabs on America’s up-and-coming Silicon Valley tyrant for the safety ofhis nation.

50 notes · View notes

irraydiance · 7 years ago

Note

1. No specific fandom, do whatever you feel like 2. I just really like salt, you don't have to do all of them if you don't want to

It’s cool anon, I’m just pulling your leg. All in good fun!

I’ll stick to Assassination Classroom because it’d probably be too much salt if it was a fandom free-for-all.

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

I see why people ship Karma with Asano – it’s the same reason people ship rival pairs, which is something I don’t get – but to me, they’re always going to be the rivals who find one another insufferable and don’t get along. It’s a personality clash as I think they’re fundamentally different people.

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Karma/Nagisa and even then, their friendship is just kind of…”meh” to me now. In the past, I would’ve called it a BroTP of mine but I’m just indifferent now. Yeah, they’re close and there was that schism/survival game arc and all – I recognize that, but I’m just tired of seeing it everywhere even when it’s actually presented as strictly friendship.

I’d rather read about the Nagisa/Sugino BroTP to be honest. Or better yet, the Karma/Sugino BroTP. Hell, give me some Sugino/Kayano friendship.

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

No, but that might also be because I generally only follow fandom-specific blogs. I also only follow one AC blog, so…

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

Yes, I have a NoTP – it’s Karma/Nagisa, and yes, it’s the goddamn most popular pairing in the fandom no matter which side of the world you’re on. Just my fucking luck, right?

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

A pairing that I actually liked? No. A pairing I was indifferent to at first? Yes.

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

Hahaha. No.

If I hated it to begin with, then I probably had a solid reason as to why, and my opinion wouldn’t change so easily.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?*

Not a one.

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?*

Never. That might change after this. But I did get an annoyed anon one time when I said Karma and Nakamura aren’t actually close. They were actually pretty civil though so no offense taken. I never heard back from anon but I hope they read my response!

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Takaoka, probably… Yanagisawa was a scumbag but as a villain, Takaoka was more annoying as far as motives go. Like a goddamn cockroach, he just won’t go away (see: Karasuma’s 2-page manga in Grad Album Time). He also felt like a cartoon villain…but I can’t complain too much as the target demographic for AssClass definitely skewed younger.

There aren’t really any characters in the series whose guts I absolutely hated though.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Oh hell. The space arc right after the schism/survival game arc. Yeah, it’s AssClass we’re talking about, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much. Also, the lull in-between that arc and the final arc where nothing really happened was kind of a chore to read. It was the calm before the storm, but not much happened.

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

The fandom doesn’t hate him as far as I know, but Sugino doesn’t get nearly as much love as anyone that isn’t a member of Utatan, Nakamura, or Asano. Is it because he’s just a regular nice guy and people think that’s boring? Because he’s super ordinary and apparently heterosexual? I guess that’s Tumblr’s least favourite combination.

I’m kidding. Don’t kill me.

12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I don’t know if it’s unpopular but I enjoyed the baseball arc with Sugino. He’s just very likable to me. The themes of friendship and teamwork were recycled constantly, like in the sports festival (Isogai’s) arc and the culmination of Karma’s character development in the second semester finals, but it really began with Sugino’s baseball arc, and to me, that one really exemplified the themes best out of them all. They felt like a real rag-tag group of guys working toward a goal together.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

Karma is not a flirt and he’s not a slave to his hormones.

Stop writing him this way.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

Outside of the Ace Attorney fandom, I’ve never been in a fandom that hates on het pairings so much. I’ve seen all the common ones insulted and just trashed in general for the most inane reasons, and the Nagisa/Kayano ship has it the absolute worst, but I digress. The only het pairing people don’t seem to shit on is Chiba/Hayami – probably because they mostly only ever interact with one another. Go figure.

Also, this is a thing in every fandom, but seriously, you’ll have two characters interact, and even if it’s a completely regular conversation, people suddenly just start shipping it. It’s like people will ship any character with another character as long as they have even some kind of small connection. “These characters hate each other? Yeah, let’s ship ‘em.” “This character complimented this other character in an offhanded way but they have no other interactions? Yeah, I ship it.”

I’m not saying “stop having fun, guys,” but it’s a mentality I don’t follow.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

Some of the villains felt a little too cartoon-y/flat for my tastes, like Takaoka, but as I said earlier, I think AssClass skewed younger despite such a focus on assassination and the entire nature of “killing” – most of the time, not literally, of course. They had basically zero redeeming qualities as opposed to antagonists like the Asanos, who were ultimately sympathetic, or even Korosensei’s apprentice.

16. If you could change anything in the manga/show, what would you change?

I’m terrible with these questions. My biggest complaint is that in a series with loads and loads of characters, most of them didn’t even get fleshed out so I really would’ve preferred there to be more alternate points of view – make it really feel like an ensemble cast because outside of maybe 2-3 characters, the rest of them only ever got one-and-done chapters. There are so many characters that I wish got more time in the spotlight, but alas.No offense to Nagisa and his fans – I like Nagisa, but especially in the second half of the story, it just felt like the scope narrowed way too much on him and/or Karma when Class E is actually supposed to be treated as a single entity where everyone feels equally important. Kind of like in the problem Karma solved for the final exam.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

I wouldn’t have had Kayano die only to be brought back to life right after. I get that it was a parallel with Korosensei not being able to save Aguri, and now being able to save her sister Kayano. Still, the whole she’s dead lol psyche! angle went beyond cheating death; Kayano straight up died and got revived.

At the same time, in the entire series where they had a death fakeout like what we got with Lovro, if Kayano ended up being the only one killed off for real, I would’ve been upset.

So I would’ve not had that happen at all. I would’ve settled for Kayano getting hurt, or being about to get hurt when she tried to help only to have Korosensei cover for her, but not have her literally dying.

18. Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

Whether you ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ a pairing is down to preference.

There are plenty of pairings in other series that have strong evidence behind them and even then, there will be a handful of people from the more popular ship that twist facts to suit their narratives because they don’t like opposing pairings. They’ll even bend fiction into fact to deny actual facts. That’s being biased, but I can’t even say these people are “in denial” because a lot of those people honestly do believe they’re 100% right. Even if you throw a fact in their face, they have some kind of warped excuse ready.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Obnoxious, toxic shippers.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

You’d think that on a salty ask list, the question would be what the most vile ship is, not the purest one.

Come on, guys. Karma/Okuda is obviously the purest. Sarcasm aside, I really do think Karma/Okuda is the purest. It’s very sweet and genuine. The very guarded Karma can completely drop his walls and open his heart to Okuda and in turn, she watches out for Karma and really wants what’s best for him.

Putting aside the deadly pranks they can unleash on others, Karma and Okuda’s relationship is definitely pure.

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

I don’t mind crack ships at all but I would prefer that there’s something logical that connects the characters involved, even if it’s a crack ship.

22. Popular character you hate?

I don’t hate any of the popular characters, but I find that I’m much more mild about Nakamura than a lot of people in this fandom. I like her, but clearly not as much as everyone else.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Sugino is one of my favourites. No love from the fandom, sadly.

He’s referred to as Nagisa’s “best friend” by official material but it seems the fandom completely buries this. He’s always written off as a goddamn third wheel to Karma and Nagisa no matter if it’s shippy or just platonic and that’s such a pet peeve of mine. Official material indicates that Nagisa/Sugino/Karma get along well as a trio, but noooo, fandom seems to have this perception that Karma and Sugino only see one other as a friend-of-a-friend (Nagisa).

I feel that they might not have been friends if not for Nagisa, but after they got to know each other, Karma and Sugino would still be good friends even if Nagisa’s not around.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

I’ll say yes. For a weekly Jump series, AssClass is a lot more off the wall compared to the usual stuff, but it has your standard life lessons/morals for not just kids, but anyone. Plus it’s short and sweet at ~180 chapters.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I wouldn’t change the ending. Korosensei had to die or else it would cheapen the meaning of the story.

26. Most shippable character?

The fandom would say it’s Karma, but I will say it’s someone with a welcoming and adaptable personality like Sugino. Isogai works too.

27. Least shippable character?

Outside of actual villains, probably Asano. This isn’t meant as an insult, but it’s hard to find a match for him because of his personality.

I didn’t have great answers, but I tried, lol.

#inbox #ask meme fill #anonymous

33 notes · View notes