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yume-fanfare · 4 years ago

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wonder egg priority has a lot of unreliable narrators:

(spoilers under the cut, a long explanation/thoughts on neiru, ep 11 and ep 12 and some theories. feel free to add on! this got long lol)

all we know about neiru's sister, who supposedly stabbed her and then killed herself, was told to us by neiru, who had been told so at the icu.

we have barely seen her statue. and neiru is essentially lab-made, we do not even know what exactly constitutes as a sister. she doesn't know her parents, her sister was not mentioned at all in her focus episode, nor does she appear in the ed like the other statue girls

for all we know, maybe she didn't even have one and:

she was lied to at the icu

she was implanted fake memories

she lied to us

point 1 is the easy solution, and point 2 is included because i think it's possible, given japan plati's impressive technology. but, in the end, they mean the same thing: they position her as on "our side", a deceived girl. she was born with a purpose, for a reason, with a mission to accomplish since the beginning, and she has been raised for that.

neiru, kinda like the accas, grew up under watch, and was essentially treated like an experiment during her childhood. they can even see her Dreams, i don't think she has much privacy. even if she is the president of the company (interesting, her business card said vice-president), she may not have that much power. she is a child, after all, prodigy or not

point 3, however, is interesting, as i've seen people point out her growing resemblance to koito, the person ai is fighting for. neiru was the first girl to be introduced to us, and it looked like she'd been fighting longer than ai, yet she has not finished yet (it's interesting, really, how they're completing their missions in reverse order). neiru also knew about japan plati's involvement but didn't say anything. i don't (want to) think she's Malicious, but there may be something weird going on with her

so, in my opinion, i lean more towards points 1) & 2), but who knows

episode 11: the entirety of frill's story is told by ura-acca

now, i don't think i have to explain why ura-acca is unreliable. the accas have been suspicious since the beginning, filling a kyubey sort of role in the story, the ones who drove the girls to fight

so, they are unreliable narrators. they're sexist, and have odd views on the world (the comment on girls and boys suicides). neiru called them out on the suicide thing on an earlier draft, we know their words are not to be taken as truths

truth is, we don't know if frill killed acca's wife. ura-acca couldn't possibly know either, he wasn't there. we don't know about himari either, much less about all the other girls frill supposedly "tempted to death"

many others have pointed this out: the accas are looking for someone to blame, to try and make sense of a tragedy. i don't think frill has a "magic button" that she can just press and make people kill themselves. she could also just be a metaphor, too, to symbolize a death wish. but, what is a fact is that, as they've said, there isn't a link between the suicides, other than "it Must have been frill because people don't kill themselves", which is the accas' opinion, not a fact

and well, i have watched Bad anime where the conflict was, indeed, that the villain could magically make people kill themselves, but said anime was bad since the beginning, you know

the whole "someone to blame" appears with the wonder killers too. it's not like there was one single thing that drove them to the edge. ai 2 was bullied at school, sawaki isn't the Only problem she had. if he disappeared her problems would still be there, just minus one. kotobuki didn't actively kill herself, she died because of an experiment, so her reaction to seeing her wonder killer was just "huh, yeah, i guess this is the guy that annoyed me the most". the idol fans from the 3rd episode were following another person, the girl who saw ghosts wasn't antagonized by a single person. however, this is the system set up by the accas, because they think it works.

i think everything, eggs and statues, are an artificial environment that can be set up just by pushing a button, because that's how they think frill did it

and why do they do it?

there has to be an ulterior motive. even if they are deluded and truly doing it "for himari", whatever it is that they think they'll achieve, there has to be a more clear explanation or they wouldn't have gotten that many other people into it. someone pointed out, at the end of kotobuki's episode, that it looked like they had made her neiru's wonder egg so she'd turn off kotobuki's life support, and, it could be. they're also, well, mannequins, that's a huge thing we don't know about yet. at first i thought maybe it was some research on immortality, but i'm not so sure about that anymore

kotobuki's case is very interesting. it's the first one that heavily implies the egg was especially made. kotobuki had been monitorized her entire life, so wouldn't be too hard to turn her into an ia, input her personality into an algorithm and tune it in neiru's dream.

so, who's to say all the other kids weren't like that too. none of the girls knew them to say "hey, they're acting different than usual". i think the accas took them from news reports about suicides and inputted them into the program, in neat little folders, one in relation to each of the girls. ai 2 could have been made simply out of their regular monitorizing of her since the beginning

and, how do the girls who committed suicide come back to life? do they really. do they really. we Still don't know if they really do and it's interesting that they still haven't shown us

episode 12: mr sawaki and the dream worlds

the conclusion i got from ai and the wonder killer's battle was that that sawaki, like all the other elements in that dream (koito), were all ai's perception

the wonder killers are cartoonized and exaggerated versions of the real person they're modelled after. sawaki wouldn't say out loud all those things, he's not stupid, and neither did any of the other wonder killers actually say All of That to the victims.

the entire monologue, thus, as ai points out, was supposed to be all in her head. because the fishy things she'd seen were all from her point of view, and she hadn't actually seen him do anything wrong, so maybe she had misunderstood, and that's why she gives her mother her blessings in the end, because he's actually a nice man

things like momoe saying he rescues cats, and seeing a creepy shot of a Lot of cats instead of a tender one of him holding a kitten, were all ai's image of him

so, all of it was supposed to be just an unreliable narrator

now, i, personally, don't like this. the aged-up painting titled latent heat is plain creepy and kinda gross. and that was a real-life Fact, unaltered. someone said that maybe ai was being naive, but episode 12 is a bit late for that

so. mr sawaki redemption arc. how we feeling folks.

please feel free to tell me your thoughts about this! i'd love to hear them, maybe i'm just being too sceptic lol

#wonder egg priority #wep #the sawaki thing was the reason i wrote this #bc it's what bothers me the most #but the accasa and frill part was also worth mentioning and neiru was supposed to be an example that got too long lol #wondegg #mar's midnight rambles

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scream-into-the-voiddd · 4 years ago

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this looks like fun! [I can’t seem to find the og poster but i got it from @lizzaroona]

September 1st: Favourite s1 episode?

Honesty a super hard pick, and i think there are better episodes in the season but the one i go back too most often is ep 10 “The Sear of Selene”

It just has some of the best character moments (for me) and is truly funny and interesting. And has some real insight into Donald and Dewey’s feelings about Della and her being gone. we saw glimpse of this in ‘dime chase’ and ‘woo-woo/Atlantis’ but here we actually see the pain Della left in her wake. And what it means going forward.

Plus stokeulse is a big sweet boi and i love watching him and Donald ‘re-connecting’ speaking of witch it is also the frist time Scrooge and Donald have a form of re-connection to

“just like old times ah lad”

look at that face.

its a strong ep and lead the way for bigger ‘emotional hits’ down the line (the last crash of the sun chaser)

September 2nd: Favourite triplet?

I don’t really have one as they are all fleshed out and well rounded, that being said I am looking forward to more of Huey this season. But i don’t have a fav.

September 3rd: Favourite member of team magic

Webby, but i don’t know if that counts as she is main cast so i see her more often then any other Team Magic characters. The girl is fun and filled with so much love and she is to be feared. and I love her faults to she is awkward and hyper-fixated on Mcduck history to the point that its scary. and is a fun loving social shut in.

She is just so multifaceted and complex that i love her with all my heart.

September 4th: favourite three caballeros

I am bias on this one as i love José Oliveira (the og José) and anything involving that funky little parrot makes me happy. But in DT17 I do love that there is elements of that Og Jose in his characterisation

like in s2 ep 4

when he calls over and hugs Donald (so sweet), and that he knows how to claim Donald down so fast (by making him dance and then getting him to sing) and to my knowledge he is the only one to do this in the whole show not just once but twice, so it shows that he has a deep understanding of Donald that most just don’t, and i have always loved that about their friendship.

plus from what i can tell from that ep as well it was Jose’s idea to meet up and he planned the trip (as he payed for it) so the fact he made arraignments for Panchito, Donald and THE BOY’S (+ scrooge) shows how much Jose really loves his friends, and plays an umbrella as an trumpet.

September 5th: favourite ep of season 2

This was a hard one as most of the eps knock it out of the park, but i’m going to have to go with, ep 16 “the Duck Knight Returns” its just such a good ep and has so many wonderful layers to it, and i was actually caught of guard with the final Jim Starling twist. like i can’t even remember the lat time a twist hit me that hard (i got side swiped) I actually had to sit in silence for a solid minute or two and then watch the whole ep again.

they wasted no detail big or small in this ep (like that Jim was already wearing an unbuttoned DW suit and had the hat in the box next to him, or the sound drake made being thrown into the bathroom just like og DW, and the meta jokes and the animation, the whole ep just went so hard)

and it was a really fun way to ‘pass the torch’ from one actor to another, especially playing with the idea of someone just not being done with the character yet and not wanting to let go, (as a lot of audiences have that issue, with re-boots and relaunches, and especially when a version of a character has an unfinished story left, think Andrew Garfield’s spider-man for e.g.)

i could honesty talk forever about this ep but i’ll spare you all.

September 6th: favourite hug?

Honesty its a three way tie...

1) Scrooge and Della when she first comes home. Just they way he scoops her up like a kid and holds her tight, makes my heart full.

2) this one with Louie, just the mother son embrace was really earned here.

3) and this one with Jose and Donald, its rare we see Donald so happy to see anyone (who is not his family) and just how naturally he ran into his arms was so nice. And Jose dropping his umbrella right away show how he knew what was coming. Plus i am a big fan of men showing their love and friendship in sweet fun ways like this, so a win for non-toxic masculinity here.

September 7th Gizmoduck or Darkwing duck?

this is a hard one as i do like both of these hero boy’s and i have talked about how they have conflicting views of their own success through the other (basically, Drake has is personal life together, but Fenton has his hero life together, and i think it would be a point of envy for both characters) And I love Fenton and Drake for different reasons, but at their core they are somewhat the same just two people who want to help others for no other reason then it is the right thing to do.

And i Love what the show has done for both characters but...I will have to give it Drake by a fraction of a hair (feather?).

As unlike Fenton I only needed one ep to be 100% on board with Drake and i know everything i need to know about him from that. As DW had a whole ass show for a reason and that one ep showed it. As Fenton is a wonderful character and he is a very well done character, but one of his defining traits is that he is all over the place (like in his life, work, the way he specks ect) but that can get messy from time to time as it can be hard to be ‘on board’ with someone with no clear ‘goal’ persay (they did cover most of this in “who is Gizmoduck” but some of it still lingers now that can be a tiny bit jarring at times) But like that is SUPER Neat-picky, tho.

And Drake has that chaotic feral energy that Fenton just don’t have (Fenton has more Bi panic energy), but Drake also has tired dad energy (like how he growls at GD in moonvation and when he calls to LP before the set explodes) and i love that about him.

Get this man his Gosalyn already so he can be the dorky dad he is destined to be.

September 8th: Favourite duck cousin?

I’m going to have to go with Gladstone, because he is a HUGE prick, but in a way he is not fully aware of. He is generous (he literally offers the boy’s a bucket of diamonds, just because they came by)

And I love that half hazard nature about him, he is true neutral, things just happen to him and for him and he just takes it, and that is actually really interesting, (don’t get me wrong i love Fethry, Della and Donald) but Gladstone is such a wild card in the duck/mcduck family when compared to everyone else that its a nice change of pace from the rest in a way (all of them good hearted and well meaning people) I generally have no idea what he might do when presented with an actual problem/ choice, so to see that will be fun and this crews take on Gladstone in that regard.

As i think out of all the cousins he has the most growing/changing to do.

September 9th: favourite ship?

Ok here is the thing.

in general fandom

I don’t really have any strong feelings about most ships one way or the other. I think a lot are nice and I enjoy seeing others enjoy themselves and all the wonderful art and time they put into it. That being said out of all my years of being in fandoms I have had a grand total of 5-10 ships i am super passionate about and that is over the span of 10+ years.

and one of the things i love the most about ducktales is how much it focuses on family love and pure platonic friendships (for both kid and adult characters). And that makes my ace heart happy. So basically I’m saying is I have no strong feelings about most ships in general beyond “aww” or “man i love how much the fandom loves them” and “that is some great art/ fic / creative output I’m happy for them.”

But with that out of the way, the question at hand.

I’m going to have to go with Donald and Daisy, as from a writing sand point it was so well done and sweet and cute. And it gave a new perspective on a relationship that has been around for 70+ years, so that was impressive all on it’s own, and it is going to be a loving, interesting relationship going forward.

September 10th: Favourite season 3 episode

I am going to assume that this is out of the 7 eps so far (duh), which again is hard cause this show is just so damn good. But I would have to say it is ep 6 “Astro B.O.Y.D”

now cue story of me as a kid in 3...2...1...

when i was a kid, I was obsessed with Astro boy, i was maybe 6 years old and i loved it. I was a relatively poor kid so in the early/mid 2000′s i would get a lot of my reading/watching materials from my local library. This included 4 VSH tapes of Astro boy episodes for the 80′s series and i would watch the 2003 anime dub on Saturday mornings TV (one ep a week if that), The library also had the first 2 vols of the og manga that i read so many times that i could probably re-sight it from memory. anyway, the reason i love astro boy so much was because it gave me a feeling i had not felt in my young life before that point, even if i did not full understand it at the time.

Its a feeling i still can’t fully put into words, but i will do my best. Astro boy goes right for the heart in every way possible, but it always twist the knife when it goes for, grief, regret and longing agony. specifically when in looks at lost love, usually platonic love (Tobio and Tenma e.g), the feeling these story’s gave me was the complexity of pain that losing love can bring, but it is most effective because it is through the lens of a child (astro/ tobi) and an innocent, loving child at that. The child is (somewhat) untouched by the tragedy (via memory loss) but is still shaped by the love that was put into them, despite the grief's overall out come (the abandonment of said child). So the feeling is a bitter-sweetness that comes from a place of innocents but also personal understanding of the self Astro was made by Tenma, but he was not what tenma made him to be (his lost son) but astro became his own person who loves and is loved by others, and is a whole person on his own outside of what he was made for (and is in a way still A son to tenma just NOT Tobi). and there is that sense of a child just wanting to be heard and understood for who they ARE and not what others what them to be, regardless of their “potential” (in other words personal choice’s and passions that the child actually wants for themselves)

I just love Astro Boy ok...and i never get a chance to talk about it, so i thought i would here, as this list was foolish enough to give me an opening.

Moving on to the DT17 ep.

The Astro Boyd ep. hit all of these notes, the longing agony of lost love (Gyro and Boyd) the regret that came from Gyro for boyd’s creation.

Boyd’s innocents and loving nature coupled with his wants and identity not being fully understood (gyro thinking he is evil, Fenton wanting him to be a hero, Akita having him be a tool and Tesuka thinking he is just a mindless robot) and just wanting to be seen for what he truly is “a defiantly real boy” and he gets that conformation from Gyro at the end!

and Gyro has is own actualisation, about his own grief, after thinking his love was “misplace” for years on end in a way that made him shut down his heart almost completely. Only to find that he was right to let himself love and that love is actually what helped Boyd help himself. Gyro in essence realising that both him and Boyd are not mistakes or failures but two people who lost the one they loved (each other) and have finally found a way back to each other so they can both begin to fully heal.

So it was a good episode *wipes tear away from eye*

September 11th : favourite villain?

I don’t really have a favourite villain as the show don’t tend to focus to heavy on them and when they do it is somewhat short lived, (like Magica in season 1 and Lunarus in season 2) and since this season has a group of villains (FOWL) and not just one main one like the last 2 seasons, I have a feeling that one of the up coming FOWL members may take the top spot later down the line.

but if we are going off the one i find most entertaining...

I’m going to have to give it to

Magica she is played as scary, funny and damn relatable on occasion (the funzo scene), and i am never disappointed to see her. I think she is very different from comic magica in a lot of ways, but i enjoy this version for different reasons. And i think this magica has room to grow/ change (for good or for worst). So safe to say i am looking forward to the first ep in the line up.

September 12th : favourite character?

why must you make me choose...

seriously all of the characters major or minor is shown in a way that makes them feel very real and well rounded even if they have very little screen time. for god sake the ottoman empire guys get character development (one left the show to pursue acting and they fight with scrooge in the moonvation). So this is not an easy pick to say the least.

but I will be judging it by the one i ‘get the most out of’ so to speck....

and I have to say its a tie...

Donald Duck

I love him ok. He is very small and very angry and he will fight god(s) for his family safety. Anyway, I have always love Donald Duck shorts and everything else he shows up in he is always my fav.

I have always been able to relate to Donald as i too have a bit of a disability that makes it hard for people to understand be (in writing) and i have a ‘voice issue’ that makes me different from everyone around me. So i really understand the feeling Donald have and the anger that comes from being misunderstood in the most basic ways. Its not fun

So Donald has always been important to me in a sense,

The thing about Ducktales 2017 that i love is that it fleshes out Donald’s already established characteristics, by giving them context (e.g. using his outbursts to protect the boys). this gives him something that me has been missing (in animation) for awhile now, and that is how functions outside of himself.

what i mean by that is that Donald is kind of unique when it comes to the Disney sensational 6, unlike the rest is/ can be

-selfish

-cowardly

-rude/ mean spirited

-a loser

these things are what make him different to the rest but in animation for a while he has been shown by himself (without his family or even Daisy) so all of the above characteristics are not “diluted” or held to any standard outside of Donald’s personal misery.

So he can be super selfish and an all around ass cause, yeah, if your life was one pain after the other no matter what you did and you were all on your own all the time, then yeah, your going to be a miserable little shit.

But by reintroducing the boy’s and giving him a more defined role (father/ solo care giver) at least at the start of the show, it gives Donald a reason to “fight off” his less than noble parts of his personality. It also makes his action have more weight as everything he does or fails to do effects the boy’s. So that makes him more appealing overall as what he does (or doesn’t) do now matters, and all the tragedy in Donald’s life are also given weight (Della being gone for 10 yrs, and what that did to his relationship with Scrooge) so his pain is now REAL and even tho he is funny and reckless, he is now a person with flaws and failings but also victory's (getting Della back and his family being close again) and dreams (the three caballeros and his relationship with Daisy)

I do love this little Rage machine

the other fav is

Drake Mallard

(maybe I just like single duck dads? idk, lol)

I have already talked a bit about his intro ep,

but as of right now i am more in love with the potential i see in the character. As we have not really seen to much of him like maybe 4 ep’s total. But Drake is the character i am most hyped to see more of (and the people who are around him, Gos and LP etc.)

as i find him really interesting and he is (ironically) one of the more “normal” people in the show as a whole, He is not rich (high society rich anyway) he is not an explorer, not a scientist, he don’t have a ‘crazy’ backstory (like Gyro in Tokyok) and he doesn't have a direct connection to Scrooge himself (he never worked for him directly, and is not a family member)

so he is just a random guy, who thought “I’m going to do this crazy shit just because a handsome pilot man said i could if i wanted to”

and honestly that’s cool.

he is fun and goofy in an engendering way, and his ego is the right amount of controlled (ish) but still over the top. the character is full of story’s that can be taken from the og show and mixed in with the new show (like his intro ep),

Drake is a just fun to think about, and how his world relates to the world of ducktales in general, as they were separate for such a long time, so seeing it come together in a new way is super existing.

I was already blown away by his last solo ep I can’t wait to see more of him (and his how he will be with his Gos, and how that adventure will unfold)

September 13th Favorited actor/ actress

now this is just an unfair question, this is a star strutted cast and everyone is amazing. There is a pop culture icon and a Disney legend in the cast (and the fact your not 100% sure which one’s i’m talking about proves my point)

So i am going to cheat a little here, I’m not going off the actors and actress themselves per say but rather I’m going to talk about my favourite performance in the show.

I judge this on two things

1) how much the act ‘disappears’ into the character (as in i don’t see the human person when there talking, even if its still just their normal voice)

2) I can’t see (/hear) anyone else being able to do the role

So on those two things in mind i will have to go with.

Paget Brewster

she just plays Della with this fun life to her, she can switch on a dime from crazy adventurer to comic foil to herself and then have moments of deep self refection. And she had to carry the introduction to the character all on her own, as Della was isolated, so if she didn’t sell Della to us (the audience) then the whole mystery/ build up to Della would have fallen apart. So that was not easy but she pulled it off (with great writing as well).

and she was/is amazing as Della, she is just awesome and I love listening to her and how she plays Della.

September 14th Favourite song

Oh for me it hands down has to be “not good enough” I love a good Bond ballad and Ben kills it. Plus it plays a big part in the episodes theme’s for LP,

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its perfect, it fits the story, character and the parody.

September 15th: Favourite scene from favourite episode.

well out of my top 3 episode (that i have already listed) I’m going to not talk about ‘the dark duck returns’ as there is a scene in there that i will talk about later. my favourite scene out of the other 2 episodes i have picked, i would have to go with...

The ‘Defiantly real boy’ scene from Astro BOYD

(i have already talked about my love for Astro boy and this ep in relation to that) what i love the most about this scene is that not only did Gyro and Boyd ‘find’ each other again, but they found themselves again.

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Boyd turned back into the real boy Gyro ‘made’ him to be (the boy Gyro always believed he was/could be) and that not only was that ok, but the best way for Boyd be himself. Thus his reclaiming of the word Boyd, he is still ‘the same’ but now has a clear sense of what it actually means to himself, mixing both 2BO and Boyd into one. With the love given to 2BO by Gyro and the life experience he has had as Boyd, so Boyd didn’t have to change everything about himself to be complete he just needed to understand that he was loved for being himself and to get confirmation that he is what he believes himself to be a ”Defiantly real boy” (T-T)

as for Gyro, he realised that his love, care and idealism (as he put it) was not misplaced (on Boyd), as when the little boy he loved so fully seemingly turn on him, that broke his heart and his spirit in a way that just would not fully mend. (thus his cold and rude behaviour through out the show so far...) But when Gyro fully embraces his idealism and loving side again (by embracing Boyd) he realises that he can bring his true feeling to the surface again as it was never a mistake for him to do so. thus why he embraces Fenton as an equal, by calling him Doctor and showing the respect he actually always felt for Fenton.

They found themselves through each other, and it melts my heart (T-T)

September 16th: Favourite moonlander

Penny.

September 17th: Favourite Beagle Boy

Black arts Beagle,

I mean he is the reason we have Duckworth back so thats got to count for something.

September 18th: Favourite scene of your favourite ship

I have to say its this little moment here...

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Donald spent the whole episode wanting to impress this woman (Glamor), but after spending time with Daisy decided that Daisy’s dignity was more important then his Big Break. And Daisy returns in kind like ‘yeah i shouldn’t be treated this way’ and its just really sweet. It also got Daisy noticed and most likely jumb started her career and Daisy (again) returned in kind (most likely) by having the three Caballeros perform on stage right after.

so its a small but very insight look into the new dynamic Donald and Daisy are going to/ do have in this show.

[plus this screen shot was funny to me,

i think it has meme template vibes]

September 19th: Favourite scene of your favourite character.

oh my, where oh where to take this?

every character in this show is so good so this is just hard man....

but I will go with “The Duck Knight returns” one of my favs, and honesty i could talk about this episode all on its own (and I just might after “Lets Get Dangerous” airs) but for me one of the scenes that really stuck out to me (that others have not really touched on) Is when they have the “meeting” with Alister, Jim, Scrooge and Dewey and then Drake comes in (and then immediately gets his shit wrecked by Jim).

As a film student, I feel this scene on a personal level.

the old(er) man who knows nothing but wants to take control.

the Pretentious “artist” that thinks “making it dark” makes it meaningful.

the person who pretends they know what there talking about but is to stuck in their ways to really change their mind.

and a child or child like understanding (its more common then you think)

(tho i would place LP in the audience position, which is the point of this scene) This scene hit me where I live, and is a really good commentary on Corporate meddling. As there are three ‘battles’ happening in this scene

1) Scrooge Vs Alistair

this acts as a money vs art argument, that is seen all to often in movies and shows, as I can guess we can all name at least one movie or show that has the “the record studio is changing your sound its not authentic...”

but Dt 2017 shows the other side to this and asks

authentic to what? like its one things when its your own creation but what if its was someone else's (like a reboot)

is it better to be authentic to what was before (the og material), or is it best to take a new direction because its more ‘comfortable’ for you to do (fits your style / sensibility's)

thus leading to

2) LP Vs Dewey

or a young audience vs the older audience, now Dewey and LP don’t really clash in this ep per say but, they act as a more “aggressive” views on audience backlash now they are Not Malicious but they do act as conflicting presences. Dewey (understandably) doesn’t get why it has to be dark and gritty, or what was happening at all as Alistair is going for a high concept film, but guess what, kids aren’t always great at picking high concepts up (at least not right away) and they can be easily bored by it, if its not engaging in a way that can appeal to them.

and LP as an older audience member does know what the show/ movie is “meant to be” so seeing these high concepts added in a way that is not in the sprit of og material can be unnerving. And high concepts can miss the point or main message/style of the og material to the point that unrecognisable (*cough*Live action, Titians *cough*).

both of these points are legitimate concerns for audiences to have, as if something is so different its not unrecognisable then why not just make something original? and not draw a comparison.

and if your main audience is meant to be younger, they how are you going to engage them in way that matters to them or in a way they can understand (youth culture or ‘young truths’ i.e. things kids deal with/experience when growing up)

speaking of which

3) Jim Vs Drake

this one is kind of the mix of the pervious two, or nostalgia vs update? (i can’t think of a better word),

Jim is so determined to be in the spot light that he is willing to ‘throw away’ is morals (as seen at the end), his ‘artist integrity’ no longer matters as long as DW gets to come back, he just wants some sense of being back that it doesn’t actually matter how (*cough* Teen Titians Go*cough*), so he losses a big part of what made it DW to begin with and not because he don’t care about DW but because he places his value of it in one spot (himself as darkwing)

as Drake on the other hand. understands that changes need to be made but he knows the movie is off base (he says so himself later), but he puts the value of DW in more then himself, as he has felt it be bigger then what was just on screen (Jim) and has carried that with him here. And since he is set up as an ‘enemy’ here (Jim jumps him) new is seen as an enemy as well, but he literal gets attached for just existing, so yeah not a great move by Jimbo there, and due to nostalgia (both in and out of the show due Jim starling/cummings) most may not of have pick up on it right away.

so yeah, this is an underrated scene and i wanted to talk about it a little as it sets up the rest of the episode.

September 20th: Favourite friend group

hmmm....

I have a feeling that this is going to change after the new wave of episodes (i like how team hero is shaping up) but for now i will have to say team science. They just have a nice balance of personalities and ability's, plus they the most team (ish) as they literally have to work together (most of them)

huey, gyro, fenton, manny and lil bulb

and all have their own style and smarts

Manny and Lil blub don’t even talk but they have big personalities and now with the addition of Boyd this little group feels well rounded.

I love them nerds

#ducktales #dt17 #ducktales 2017 #text #gladstone gander #darkwing duck #drake mallard #Donald duck #jose carioca #webby vanderquack #will edit as i go #gyro gearloose #boyd gearloose #daisy duck #magica de spell #della duck #jim starling

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kaibutsushidousha · 4 years ago

Note

What eight Servants you want to see added to the series (one of each class counting all the extras as one)?

Sorry for the delay. I had answers ready for quite a few of the classes but the ones I didn’t were real tough picks.

Saber: Momotarou

Momotarou is up there with Kintarou and Urashima Tarou as Japan’s most popular children’s folklore character. Kintarou is already present in FGO as Sakata Kintoki and Urashima is at least referenced with Ryuugu being an area in Agartha, but there’s no mention of Momotarou yet. And how would he mesh with Nasuverse lore? Momotarou is a super powerful boy born from a peach. A fruit person from Japan.

[Lostbelt 3 spoilers] Yu Meiren is a tianxian, an immortal being functionally identical to a True Ancestor. And she often references the fact she was born from the Fusang Tree in Japan. Implying tianxian, and maybe even actual True Ancenstors are also fruit people from Japan. I want Momotarou as a True Ancestor.

I actually already wrote a sheet for this one.

Archer: Lampião

Fate/ currently has a grand total of 0 Brazilian heroes in its Servant roster and that’s definitely a thing I want changed (Lostbelt 7, please...). At this point I think I’d be ok with absolutely any Brazilian hero, but if you asked which I want the most, my answer would easily be Lampião. Though my biggest fear is that they design him without his glasses.

I still haven’t written my own sheet for Lampião yet, but I have it complete in my head for maybe over an year. The glasses are a Noble Phantasm and he gushes about each others glasses with Sigurd.

Lancer: Odin

I’ll admit I picked this one only to fill all Classes and don’t actually have any real ideas for a Lancer. Sorry. At least we have a lot of implications for a canon Odin taking a super important role in FGO soon.

(Grand) Rider: Santa Claus

Grand Servants are designed to counter Beasts. I is a magic formula, so Grand Caster is the mage who can fix it. II is life, so Grand Assassin is death. Both versions of III use overpowered mental attacks that affect any rational being, so Grand Berserker is not rational. V is a fox, so Grand Archer is a hunter. VI is being hunted by Arthur, who is fine candidate for Grand Saber. VII erased everything on Earth, so Grand Lancer is the builder of civilization.

By process of elimination, Grand Rider should be someone who can handle IV, Fou. Fou is the Beast of Comparision, a being who thrives and grows from competition. He gets agitated when challenged by others, but I can only remember 3 instances of him getting aggressive with someone completely unprovoked. Against Merlin, against Napoleon, and against Jinako (once). That’s the kingmaker, a dude literally made of hopes and dreams, and the remover of obstacles, respectively. Three huge facilitators for mankind. Beings who exist to let humanity dream for no real cost.

Jinako’s case is the most interesting because Fou immediately stops being violent once he sees Jinako’s lazy, unhelpful personality. It’s like Fou can tell she won’t be an obstacle to strife and fair competition. That’s the bit that makes me feel really confident about my read on Fou.

Anyways, we established that Fou’s natural enemies are the facilitators, and who is the biggest facilitator of them all? Yes, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas himself. The Rider grand enough to run his sled through the entire world on a single night, distributing free dreams for the good children of humanity. I want him to tag along with all the meme Santa Servants from the Christmas events to dunk on Fou if he turns evil.

Caster: Toriyama Sekien

Toriyama Sekien is a Japanese artist famous for publishing a series of artbooks titled Gazu Hyakki Yagyou. Youkais used to formless monsters, vaguely described, with their true appearance being defined by the listener’s fears. This changed when Sekien published his Gazu Hyakki Yagyou, which was sort of a Pokédex where he published his illustrations of an youkai, along with its legends and description. All images you know of youkais are based on the designs Sekien created for his Pokédex.

The first volume of his series contained all the famous and popular youkais. The second volume also contained many famous, but a few very obscure ones. And then the third and fourth are filled with very few verifiably obscure youkais and most of them so obscure that they had no known sources aside from GHY itself. Because of this, Toriyama is rumored to have given up on researching obscure youkai by his 3rd artbook and started making his own youkai up for money.

Now let’s talk Type-Moon lore. In Shimousa there’s an explanation for the different types of oni and one of the categories there is onis from stories. Demonic beings who only came to exist because humanity believe they existed. This ties in very nicely to the idea that Sekien was making youkai up to fill all the slots in his Pokédex. By the way, in Osakabehime’s mats, her source is not listed as “Japanese mythology”, but as the second volume of Gazu Hyakki Yagyou, which implies Higashide also subscribes to the idea Sekien is creating youkais in-universe and Osakabehime was potentially Sekien’s first OC.

Assassin: Agatha Christie

I just think writer Servants outside of the Caster class are neat, and want Fate/ to turn the topic of my research paper into my next waifu. I have cool ideas for her Noble Phantasms, but I won’t comment on them here because I want to get her Servant sheet posted soon.

Berserker: Gilgamesh

Another pack filler like Odin, sorry. We already Gilgamesh before his journey to the netherworld as Archer and after it as Caster, so I just think a nice new take on Gil would be making him Mad Enhanced into believing he’s still stuck in the netherworld. It’s the one point of his life where he completely cast away his pride, and struggled to the point of crawling and eating dirt to survive. A constantly panicky and pragmatic Gilgamesh would be a nice new side of Gilgamesh to see, with an amazing contrast with his three other forms.

Extra Class (Avenger): Kohaku

It’s no secret that Kohaku is my favorite fictional character ever and I wouldn’t hesitate to whale for her ifwhen we get a Tsukihime event. She could work as an Assassin, but I picked Avenger instead because I’m an emotional masochist, and love her for how she makes me suffer. Kohaku is a tortured empath who operated a revenge plan, but through all of that she could never bring herself to truly hate her abusers because she understand better than anyone that Tsukihime is a tragedy where absolutely everyone is a victim. So her Oblivion Correction would just make her relive the worst moments of her life, trying to force upon her a hatred that doesn’t fit anywhere in her empathic heart. Avenger Kohaku is not even made a character yet, and she’s already on the verge of making me cry.

On alternate take, Kohaku technically participated in a Grail War with Okita on Koha-Ace, so she theoretically should qualify as a vessel for a Pseudo-Servant. I’d place her as a good vessel for Prometheus. They both remembered mostly as tricksters, and accepted to be subjects of scheduled torture to protect someone they cared for and allow them to grow up free and healthily.

#type moon

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fandom-meanderer · 5 years ago

Text

Not Your Classic Vigilante [Pt. 7]

Pairing: Batfamily x Reader

Part: (7/?) [First] [Previous] [Next]

Genre: General Fiction

Fandom: DC Universe

P.o.V.: 3rd

Word Count: 1,476 Words

Warnings: None

Further Notes: Hey guys! Sorry for the super long wait for this, but here is the next part! I hope you all enjoy :) (Tag List anyone?)

—

The clock stroke midnight, and the Manor was empty save for two souls.

Alfred Pennyworth sat in the library, patiently waiting for the Master of the home, with a simple book in hand and a cup of tea in another. The library was lit in a way that made the area seem warm and welcoming. Anyone who walked into its warmth would be encased in a feeling of comfort and safety that all else would fade away and allow one restful night. The old butler thought back to the simpler times when the Waynes were a rather joyous group, well, as joyous as a family could be given their hobby. Now would be an important time to note that the book in Alfred’s hands was not one you would find in a store, no not quite, it was a birthday present gifted to Bruce Wayne by the one and only (Name) Wayne. The brightest of the Waynes, but at the same time the most tragic. All she wanted was her father’s approval, but it never came. And despite all the love and affection her siblings gave her, it was never enough to fill the void left by her own father. His eyes drifted over to the darkness of the hallway. The (Name) that entered the manor that day, he knew it was her, yet at the same time he knew it wasn’t. But what is this strange feeling?

Now, in stark difference to the library, was a rather cold and secluded bedroom where our heroine lay. Her eyes staring up at the ceiling, unable to even consider the horrors of allowing the tired captain to close her eyes for just a moment. Years of being in a new world conditioned her to be unable to relax in atmospheres like this, cold and alone. An environment that used to feel like the afore mentioned room, was now the opposite. She recalled when the then younger Tim Drake would run in, shaking in his pajamas, and timidly ask to sleep with her after thinking it a good idea to watch a horror movie with Jason, or how every now and then she’d find Damien resting at the foot of her bed. (Name) Wayne remembered these fondly, but was still unable to find herself in a state of comfort. Was it the loathing she felt for this manor in general? Or was it the constant nagging of her best friend in her head. Whatever it was, it was enough to drag (Name) out of the prison of her bed and onto her feet.

‘What, Alex?’ She grumbles, her hand clutching her heart.

‘I’m sure you’d love to come back, and I can see that the path to your father’s computer is empty.’

‘Okay, yeah, I’m going. Alfred’s pretty vigilant though.’

‘Ah, so you need a diversion.’

‘Yup, what do you have up your sleeves?’

‘Not much, unfortunately. Oh wait, just kidding.’

‘Wait, what? What’s up?’ Their mental conversation is disrupted by a small but sudden explosion outside. She rushes over to the window as Carter gives her a sloppy salute. She looks down and notices Alfred walking out to investigate. ‘Alexander Wright, you are a genius.’

‘Thank you, darling. But you really should be thanking Carter, I’m sure he’d love praise from his dear Captain.’

‘Don’t say it like that it’s creepy.’

‘Is it? Why don’t you pay more attention to his mannerisms? I’m sure the two of you would make a lovely couple.’

‘What do you mean?’ (Name)’s face reddens slightly. ‘Alex?’

After repeatedly trying to call out to him, and repeatedly not hearing a response, (Name) opted to run down the stairs, making sure that Alfred is kept busy as she accessed the bat cave. She fumbled to pull the flash drive out but quickly regain composure as she watched all of the information from the bat computer duplicate and save onto the small device that would serve to be her lifeline.

‘Don’t forget the device.’

‘I know, I know, fuck off.’ (Name) mentally argues with Alexander. She pulls out a second listening device and plants it far beneath the desk just as the flash drive completed its purpose. Just as quickly as she went in, she pulled out the flash drive and retreated back upstairs; however, this time she couldn’t ignore the library. Seeing as it was still empty, she walked in.

(Name) looked out the window and watched Alfred finish cleaning up the aftermath of Carter’s work and more questions popped into her mind.

First of all, how did they cope after she left? Her father, she can guess easily, probably didn’t find out until months after the fact. Her brothers, Dick in particular, must have been heartbroken. She could hate her father as much as she wanted, but she could never hate her siblings. All of the carnival dates with Dick, the late night motorcycle rides with Jason, how she and Tim would do late night homework together, and how could she forget about all the arcade days with Damien? And furthermore, the cute movie nights with Steph, or the girls’ nights with Cass, all of these were memories that (Name) held dear.

Second of all, how different would things be if she had stayed? Would she have gained her father’s approval? Would she have graduated? Who knows? Maybe she would have finally met someone who could have filled that lack of fatherly care. Maybe she would have met someone to share her life with under different circumstances. Two names appeared in her head, but she dismissed them quickly.

(Name)’s eyes land on the book near the fire. And of course not just any book, her book. She picked it up and turned through the pages. It was a sloppy, albeit adorable, picture book littered with polaroids of herself and her many family members, each picture had a short description next to it. (Name) remembered clearly, she made this to give to her father. She had felt terrible that he was on business trips all of the time, and felt like he would miss their family. At the time, the only people pictured were herself, Dick, Jason, and Alfred. Simpler times. She flipped through the pages and noticed that they had been filled in with more neat handwriting and more professional pictures, and she easily recognized this to be Alfred’s doing. Finally, (Name) came to a stop at the last page. In childish writing, it read: “For my superhero dad! So he would always have his family with him!”

“I know it may not seem like it, Miss (Name),” Alfred cuts in. (Name) doesn’t move from her spot and continues to stare down at the page. “But your father did truly love you.”

“Right,” (Name)’s facade breaks. “I’m sure he did.”

“Are you really the same (Name) Wayne who left this manor two years ago?” Alfred moves cautiously towards her. (Name) takes in a deep breath and closes the picture book.

“Keen as ever, Alfred,” (Name) smiles weakly.

“Your smile certainly isn’t,” Alfred points out. He takes a seat by the fire once more and gestures for (Name) to do the same. “It’s different, almost like you have seen a world of pain.”

“Is it? I guess that would make sense,” (Name) tries to build up her character again. “I did die.”

“That is true,” Alfred says sadly. He drinks his tea silently. “Do you really not remember anything from that day?”

“I do not,” (Name) lies. The two remain quiet for awhile. (Name) coughs lightly and places her hand on her heart.

‘He’s catching on,’ she worries.

‘I don’t quite think so,’ Alex responds. ‘Although, I would remain vigilant.’

“Are you alright, Miss (Name),” Alfred speaks again.

“I have been having these strange chest pains,” (Name) explains.

‘Is that all I am to you? Strange chest pains?’ Alex teases. (Name) lets her hand drop to her lap, ending her side of the conversation with her best friend. “Maybe it’s an after effect of dying.”

“Please don’t speak of your death so calmly,” Alfred shakes his head. “Master Dick did not sleep for days, Master Jason kept coming home with new wounds, Master Tim kept surrounding himself with work, and do not get me started on Master Damien… It truly was a tragedy for us.”

“Was it for dad?” (Name) looks up at him again, but this time with genuine curiosity. Alfred is silent for awhile. “Did he even know?” (Name) felt her voice waiver. She couldn’t understand why she felt this way, she should loathe him. That’s what the Royal Guard emphasized. Remember the pain, remember who caused it, and remember to use it to become stronger.

“He… He did not,” Alfred admits. (Name) put on another pained smile and nodded slowly.

“Of course he didn’t. Why would he care?”

“He didn’t find out until Mr. Kent came over to pay his condolences,” Alfred admits. “Just a few days before your funeral.”

“Right, sounds like him,” (Name) shakes her head. Before Alfred could try to defend her father’s actions, she speaks up quickly, “I’m going to bed.”

“Of course, Miss (Name),” Alfred bows his head slightly. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Strangely enough, (Name) found herself drifting to sleep after their talk.

Tag List: @loxbbg @holymotherofchickennoodlesoup @ijustwannabecanadian @oneshots-galore @xapham @peqchynero @sono-sakana @theroyalbrownbarbie @audioshoes @allycat4458 @izzy28901

#Batman #Batfamily #Batfamily x Reader #Batsis #Batfamily x Batsis #dc universe #reader #reader insert #Batfamily x Batsis!Reader

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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August 3rd-August 9th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from August 3rd, 2019 to August 9th, 2019. The chat focused on the following question:

Describe your comic’s setting. What made you choose this setting?

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

For https://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/, I chose a very nebulous interbellum period because I felt like that sort of gave me the best of all worlds. At heart, I just love me some vintage settings, especially the early 20th century. I knew I wanted a setting without modern conveniences, not only because it helps the comic stand up to aging and reduces the risk of falling out of date, but presents its own challenges and advantages. But while I wanted a vintage setting, I also wanted one that I felt like hadn't been done before in regards to mermaid stories, which are almost always set either in modern days or in the rough time period of the Little Mermaid--1700s to early 1800s. Interbellum Scotland felt like a unique setting that was, at once, hearkening to classical mermaid settings with sailboats and old-timey fisherman, tiny fishing towns, but with some trapping familiar to modern readers even they have vintage twists, like telephones but with switchboards, cars but they're old model Ts, things like that. I also felt like this period brought some neat ideas. I've never seen mermaids dealing with old radios or model Ts or a setting that had just recovered from a brutal world war with trenches and ocean mines and diesel and radar. Transitioning from pastoral to industrialized. Where does this element of fantasy, the mermaid story, come into play and interact with this? And you'll see that, even between Witchy and Ainsley, things revolving around mermaids are more fantasy-based with monsters and magic, while things revolving around humans are more realistic and down to earth, wondering about income and walking to work and selling your goods and what's going on south in england. And over time, things start to overlap and entwine as their relationship progresses, magic seeping into the human world and the mundane seeping into the mermaid world.

But overall I just love drawing and researching vintage things. ;3 And Scotland's just pretty as heck.

Respheal

Galebound http://www.galebound.com/ takes place on a tidally-locked planet shortly before their equivalent to earth's industrial revolution. Steam engines are getting more popular, mostly used by merchants where the fixed wind and currents aren't helpful, and they're on the cusp of science and medical advancements that will make their planetary and magical system very problematic. The tidally-locked world came first, just 'cuz they're neat! Planets like that have one side constantly facing their sun so you get that whole fire-ice world with a narrow band of eternal twilight and safety in between. These type of planets, if they have a good atmosphere, also usually have a giant storm at the subsolar point. So I made that storm the carrier of their magic system, the Gale, because why not. This sorta setup causes some interesting narrative features, like the complete lack of night and seasons and huge swaths of the planet that are completely uninhabitable. The time period sort of just happened, but it worked out. I wanted it to take place later than sword-and-sorcery times, but it couldn't be too modern, so the early 19th century was about right. Also it sort of sets a time limit on fixing certain things, because certain scientific advances would make the magic system so ridiculously broken I don't think it could be salvaged ahahaha :'D(edited)

spacerocketbunny

http://www.ghostjunksickness.com/ the setting in GJS is in a universe that has a variety of different time period aesthetics in one. It takes on a retro futurism where there's outdated tech from the 80's and 90's but there's also spaceships and technological advancements to make travelling from one planet to the next into a day trip. There's aliens and a variety of different people that make humans a minority in the population in a very mixed and blended cultural mosaic. The main setting of the story, which is a planet called June7 is also a place recovering from a inexplicable catastrophe which destroyed a majority of the planet's surface. It's unstable and crumbling structures make it difficult for the residents to thrive and something like transient bounty hunters have pretty much taken over the main livelihood of the planet.

We wanted to make a really well lived in setting, so we took inspiration from a variety of different cultures and stories that the science-fiction genre hadn't quite delved into.

LadyLazuli

For Phantomarine, http://www.phantomarine.com/, the basic concept was simple - I like the ocean, and I like ghosts, so I mashed them together into a haunted ocean But I also love worlds where beauty and danger are close neighbors - in this case, a network of sacred lighthouses keeps swarms of hungry ghosts away from the living population of the sea. I love stories where civilian life is pretty uncomplicated and chill - I've got a nice tropical fantasy vibe going on in these last couple chapters - but there's always a massive danger element looming over everyone's head. What if those lighthouses fail? What if you fall overboard outside the barrier? All that relaxing energy can change to morbid tragedy in a flash...(edited)

LadyLazuli

In terms of rough time period, I've kept it incredibly vague, mostly for my own enjoyment I have sailboats and motorboats existing side by side, color cameras, radios, electricity... certainly not technologically advanced, but it's got some 19th-20th century bits-n-bobs here and there. It's a fantasy world, but more supernatural than magical - gods, ghosts, some humans with strange gifts, but more often than not, a very strong boundary between ordinary and extraordinary. It's a story where a few normal people get swept up into all sorts of divine shenanigans, and have to find their way through.

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

Finally getting a chance to read through phantomarine and I thought that blanket was familiar! Absolutely love the PNW-inspired outfit, @LadyLazuli !

LadyLazuli

AAH! Yes yes! I've spent far too much time at the Museum of Anthropology here in Vancouver to NOT be inspired by it. My world is truly a mishmash of cultures

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

OHHH I WANNA VISIT SO BAADD. I need to get my washington license upgraded so I can take a trip up there to the museum!(edited)

But your whole comic is a delight. <3 I'll be retweetin' it in a bit when I finish reading.

AntiBunny

AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ is pretty straight forward. The city is inspired by film noir, hardboiled comics, and detective novels. It's an old city, so everything should look weathered, especially the old town district where most of the stories take place, so it's all brick work, broken plaster, cracked window panes and such. To some degree I also take visual inspiration from the historic district in my home town, and surrounding areas.

MJ Massey

Black Ball http://welcometoblackball.com/ is set in an alternate 1920s in the New York area. Because of course you set a 1920s comic in New York! But also, I used to live in the metro area and loved it, so to me it was natural to have the setting there. There's a lot of good reference, and lots of sneaky places one can hide a speakeasy. There are a whole bunch of good historical references as well, which makes it easier.

snuffysam

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/ is set in a deliberately anachronistic fantasy world. There are biplanes and 20's cars, but there's also online message boards and cell phones. Fashion makes no sense, climate makes no sense, etc. The reason I built the world like this is because I wanted to mix up my background designs (and crowd designs) between scenes, and making a world that has no real consistency was the best way to get away with this in my mind. One town has modern art and roller skates, another has tents and open-air shops, there's a city on a hexagonal grid with triangular skyscrapers, this city: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/524/ uses a fractal pattern for its layout, etc.

Desnik

http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/ is based on the idea that a medieval fantasy can be MORE than a DnD piggyback ride. And like, the medieval time period was a couple thousand years, yo, there's differentiation between different time periods. I used it as an opportunity to revamp my worldbuilding techniques and I've learned a lot about frontier-style governments and societies that function without a central authority. Also marginalia are the best comics and no one can tell me otherwise.

Attila Polyák

The setting of Tales of Midgard https://talesofmidgard.com/ is at a glance pretty much what you’d expect a generic fantasy world to be. Aaaand in a way that is right. The setting is a world that used to be kinda medieval-Europe like a long time ago, magic became commonplace, and the world reacted. Instead of developing technology, like in the real world, magic became technology and ultimately it became so common that it satisfied the needs of everyone in every niche possible. And then modernization happened, because why wouldn't it? What we in real life call science and technology slowly got discovered and integrated with a magic-based economy. The end result is a world that looks a bit anachronistic but if you look at it more closely you’ll notice that most things either don’t have a real-life counterpart or if they do they actually mean very different things. This is the point where my main story takes place and the world we see in my comic.

Funari (Raison d'Etre)

Well for Raison d'Etre ( http://raisondetrecomic.com/ ) I was always inspired by anime and general Japanese culture/pop culture growing up, so I had a handle of 90s/00s Japan pretty well that I wanted to use it! I also grew up during the 00s as a teen so the fashions and stuff have stuck. Kinda giving off a sense of nostalgia with the memories that way. And the "Present Day"'s trends are just based off what I grew up with and what a future would look like if we re-cycled back to millennium pop culture, including the love for 60s/70s-inspired stuff, so it's a "neat mess" of that stuff

We haven't shown much of the other planes of existence yet, but we plan to soon. But the idea with those is alternate/fantastical takes on plain ol' Earth (the Middle Plane). Mildly so, though, as even Umbria and Celeste have evolved over time like Earth's denizens have. Little bits of modernization, and assimilation with Earth trends due to the eventual discovery of these planes by Earth's NKP folks.

KAME (commissions open!)

Describe your comic’s setting. What made you choose this setting? For http://tapas.io/series/dragonclawcomic I chose fantasy because I’ve always loved stories about epic adventures, and magical creatures, and I also love the elements from mythology that are often integrated into fantasy stories (gods and demons, heroes and villains, etc.). There’re so many wonderful worlds and characters and creatures that exist within a fantasy setting, and so many more you can create on your own, it’s overwhelming (I mean, Dragons, man, they’re awesome!). Probably one of the first things that got me into fantasy was the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show, but recently and more importantly, the thing that inspired me to write my own story was the The Legend of Drizzt novels, which I absolutely love (and I’m thankful to my brother who sent me the first like 9 novels for me to read, when I didn’t know a thing about them, and now there are over 20?, I lost count, but I always look forward to the next book) and needless to say have and keep inspiring me a lot

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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willow-salix · 6 years ago

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Story Construction

Hi there, a few people have asked me to elaborate on the elements that actually make up a good story. We’ve covered how to do your actual plotting, and how to create believable characters, the seven basic plots and I’ve recently done a video on pacing, but the question I was asked was how to construct the body of the story, what does that actually entail. What elements are actually needed for a good story.

youtube

So today I’m going to elaborate on something I touched on in the guide to pacing, story formula.

First, lets assume that you have an actual idea for a story. As I said in my video on plotting, most people have an idea of how their story is going to start and end, but they aren’t too sure on the bits in between.

That’s ok, we can work with that.

First step is to identify which plot, or plots, your story fits into, because that will help us to find the sub formula for your story.

I’m not going to go into major details of all these plots because, as I said, I have done a whole video on these recently, but what I will do will be picking one to use as an example to show you how useful they can be. So, if you haven’t watched that video, go check that out.

First plot is Over coming the monster, just as it says, it’s a monster, either a physical monster, a big evil of some description or even something that represents a monster like a company or a political party. Think Beowulf or any number of Greek myths.

Rags to riches, again, clue is in the title. The main character will start off poor and down on their luck, maybe treated badly by everyone around them, and by the end of the story they will have made their fortune and live happily ever after. Think Aladdin or Dick Whittington.

The quest, where your main character has to track down an object or person that is needed to save the day. Think Treasure Island or Lord of the Rings.

Voyage and return, where our hero has to set out on an epic journey or suddenly finds themselves in an unknown land and has to find their way home again. Good examples of this are Alice in Wonderland and The Lion the witch and the wardrobe.

Rebirth is where our character will change over the course of the story, from a person that no one really likes, to someone that is worthy and good. Think A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast or the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Comedy, which includes romance, really doesn’t need an explanation nor examples.

And finally, tragedy, which is different from rebirth because there is no redemptive end for the character, something they cannot recover from. Think of Romeo and Juliet or a Picture of Dorian Gray.

Ok, so we now have our basic plots, for my example I’m going to use voyage and return and mix it up with a little comedy/romance as that’s what I live for.

Next, lets take a little more of an in-depth look at our basic story formula.

A story usually has three acts to it, the first which focuses on the main protagonists normal, everyday life.

We start with the hook, something in your first chapter that will grab your readers attention and keep it, they need to feel for your characters, to be drawn in by them and want to know what happens next.

This could be in the form of an event, known as the inciting incident, and this is basically the main reason that the story will happen, it’s the thing that kicks off the whole series of events that make up your story and lead to the climax.

This could be something dramatic, like a car accident that leaves your main character in need of help, physical and mental therapy or it could be the loss of someone close to the main character. It could be a robbery or even some kind of abuse that triggers a change in them that needs to be addressed.

This creates a goal for your protagonist, the thing they will be working towards for the rest of the story.

You will need to show all of this event in the first chapter or stretched over to two if it’s a particularly detailed and complicated event, though I wouldn’t recommend this unless you have had practice in this. Too much detail and drama in one go can be too much for your reader and rather than drawing them in, it will push them away. The idea is to show everything that is major in the event, and tease what will happen next by the end of the chapter.

Let’s start constructing our story as we go. Our main character, who I’m going to call John, has been out at a party with his best friend. John has been drinking, but his friend promises him that he has been good and only had one, he’s more than capable of driving. Unfortunately, that one had been topped up numerous times during the night and was, in reality, more like three or four.

They get in the car and head off home. Within a few minutes, John has drifted off, his head resting against the window. His friend, lest call him Carl, is feeling a bit tired too, and a little fuzzy from the drinks. Deciding that bed is what he needed, he chose to take the quickest route home, down a smaller back road.

While driving, his eyes slide shut and, without his knowledge the car slowly drifts into the wrong lane, right into the path of an oncoming car. Trees and verges on both sides of the road leave the other car with no where to go and BANG.

John wakes up in hospital four days later to find out that his best friend is dead and that he’s lost a leg from the knee down, crushed in the accident.

So now we have our hook, our back story and know the journey that our protagonist will likely have to go on, one where he learns to walk again and deal with the horror of the crash.

Next is the beginning of our second act and our 1st plot point.

This happens somewhere around a quarter of the way into your book, an event that forces the protagonist to face up to their problems in life and find a way to fix them.

The second act is all about a series of events, successes and failures, that escalate towards our 3rd and final act and the ending.

Our hero will be pursuing his goal and overcoming obstacles on the way.

So, lets continue working on our story.

So, we left John in his hospital bed, dealing with the reality of not being able to walk and losing his best friend all in the same moment. He’s understandably upset, traumatised and grieving, both for his friend and his lost limb.

He is let out of hospital in a wheelchair and has to move back in with his parents because he needs help with pretty much everything. He feels useless and sinks into depression.

He is offered counselling, forced to go to group therapy, but refuses to talk about it or face up to the reality of the situation. Slowly he gains some strength back and is booked in to have his first prosthetic leg fitted, even though he doesn’t want it, he sees no point in it.

Now we reach our midpoint, where your character will be in the middle of some kind of drama or at a massive low point int their lives. Something needs to happen in order to give them the kick up the arse they need to keep going, otherwise wed have a pretty rubbish book.

So, as I said, I’m mixing in a little romance here. So, lets picture the scene.

John is assigned a new therapist who fits him with his leg and then starts him on physio therapy. At first he is grumpy and short with her, not wanting to work, not wanting to try, feeling like he wasn’t worth the effort. But in time, he starts to open up and talk to her about the crash and how he is feeling, and they become closer. Both of them are attracted to each other but, when they finally get around to a kiss, they are interrupted and discovered by her boss.

They both get told off, told that it is not allowed, that his therapist will lose her job if it happens again and she is reassigned to another patient.

John, feeling like its all his fault, falls into a downward depressive spiral, feeling like he wasn’t good enough for her anyway, all his doubts about his worthiness and attractiveness now that he’s missing a leg comes back to haunt him.

So that’s the dramatic moment, our hero has been knocked back and it looks like he will fail, but of course, that’s not how this plot works. Now we need him to come back fighting.

John reaches his lowest point, he has no where to go but up. He decides to go it on his own, to work hard and get back to the man he was before the accident, to learn to walk again.

Now we enter the 3rd and last act, our climax the final battle, and then our resolution, a satisfying ending that our reader deserves.

The climactic sequence as we near the end of our book and where we will be putting all our plot points and plans into motion, everything we have been working towards is in this moment.

We see John working hard, taking his first faltering steps, and then gaining more strength. We see him working out in the therapy gym, gaining back some of the muscle he’d lost. We see him forcing himself to eat to fuel his body even though he didn’t have any appetite at first. We see him avoiding his old therapist at all costs, scheduling appointments when she would be busy or have finished for the night, he doesn’t want to see her, not yet. And finally, we see him walking on his own, being discharged from therapy.

And now, we need our satisfying resolution, where everything needs to be tied up in a neat little bow. All our plot points and story threads have to be gathered up and addressed.

So, we see his old therapist coming out of work one night, looking up to see John standing there, beside her car, unaided, without even a stick. She’s shocked, but happy to see him, feeling all kinds of emotions, pride that he did so well and continued, that all their work in the beginning wasn’t wasted.

She runs over to him, wanting to hug him, to hold him, to kiss him, but stops herself before she reaches him. It’s wrong, they aren’t allowed.

Smiling, john closes the distance between them, reaching out, wrapping his arms around her, he pulls her closer, his lips finding hers in the sweetest of kisses.

She pulls back, breaking the kiss, worried that someone might see them, and that’s when he reveals that he is no longer under the care of her facility, they are free to be together.

And there we have our basic plot and the structure to our story, we can see the way that it flows and ebbs, having highs and lows, taking the reader on the journey with them.

All that’s needed then is to fill in the details, to flesh out your story and to make it your own, make it special, make it unique to you.

I hope this has helped. I’m always happy to hear any ideas or requests you may have for videos or any questions, hit me up in the comments or on social media, I’m always happy to talk to people and help in any way that I can.

Until next time, blessed be and happy writing.

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nitratestock · 4 years ago

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One by one, like a painful slow drip from a finite source, we lose people to time, people who contributed positively to the world in ways political, artistic, scientific. One by one. Considering the sum total is simply too great, we need stagger. For those who share my year of birth by a margin of three years give or take on either side, we’ve been lucky. Lucky in the sense that the stagger has been long and wide. Over the last decade we’ve lost some important people, particularly important to our early life, the exit of our single digits and the early part of our teens. Early on I was crushed by the death of Sidney Lumet, in 2011, a giant of the film community. I wrote about his passing back then, at the point of worst emotional pain, as bad as one can feel without being a family member or close friend. Since then we’ve lost Cimino. We’ve lost Nichols. We’ve lost Varda. We’ve lost Akerman. We’ve lost Hooper and Romero. As we brine in our Gen X jar, we unfortunately transition from sniper fire to machine gun spray. Legato becomes staccato. People of my age group watch in horror as heroes depart. It’s no different of any other age group, perhaps only more enhanced by the increased prevalence of mass media over the course of the last century and into ours. Distance and folklore becomes nearness and screens. In either case we involve ourselves in the lives of others, in ways good and bad. At worst we connect through this urge to pillory those who are guilty of our very same sins. At best, we mourn the passing of a public figure we’ve come to acknowledge, without their knowledge, as a friend. Hopefully out of benevolent interest, that last part.

So I say with the melancholy of a film fanatic that came of age in the 80’s and the heft of a life, if averages count, mostly lived at this point, that the recent passing of one Alan Parker left me despondent. Perhaps not for the fate of the world, but definitely for the fate of film as a malleable form that might struggle with the twin purposes of art and commerce and succeed somehow. Film fanatics, or as I prefer to refer to myself and others, Cinegeeks, often find themselves drawn to figures within the film world considered 2nd or 3rd tier interviews, whose body of work might contain two or three masterpieces amongst a body of mediocrity, or who might have a mostly or even highly successful box office record but never get critical acclaim. Fanatics like to champion the underdog. It’s our nature. To a degree Alan Parker found himself in this category. Partially because his CV didn’t fit neatly into the Auteur Theory folder. Partially because he didn’t play the normal Hollywood game. It’s sometimes overlooked that the boldest outsiders during that New Hollywood era knew how to play the studio/PR angle and did so like sawing a harp from hell. I’m looking at YOU, Coppola and Scorsese.

Parker had artistic ambitions, some would even say pretentious ambitions, and yet I defy anyone to observe his body of work and not see a blue-collar hardscrabble mentality etching away at the base of all his films. He failed sometimes, but in all endeavors he struggled not just to ensure proper light diffusion, but to connect the audience to the scene that was unfolding and the characters within all of that art direction and brilliant cinematography. In his debut feature, the cult classic BUGSY MALONE, he invited audiences to indulge in the lark of basically watching an updated Little Rascals film as whipped-cream St. Valentine’s massacre. With an infectious soundtrack by Paul Williams. And it worked and still works. In MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, he sought nothing less than to put you through the Turkish prison system at its most barbaric. And damn, did he succeed. In FAME, he sought to enroll you in La Guardia High, the School for the Performing Arts, partially ushered in by one Mr. Lumet, and he brought you into the NYC streets to join the dance. In SHOOT THE MOON, he dragged you through the broken glass and nails that is a brutal divorce. Most critics still feel it’s the film that’ll never be topped on that topic. And yeah. It’s punishing to this day.

That’s just his first four films. He followed MOON in the same year with his cinematic distillation of PINK FLOYD’S THE WALL, as ambitious, reckless, insane, obtuse and inspiring as any art film dared to be. He waged one of the bravest, constant battles between the band, their label, his studio and the inevitable lash or backlash from the critics and the crowds as any director dared in that decade, which had now, even by 1992, belonged to Reagan and Thatcher’s crowd. It worked, it was a success on its own terms. It stood with QUADROPHENIA as one of the few successful adaps of a “RockOpera” to screen. And it would serve as an insanely influential piece of cinema/album mashup. I can’t think of another film that’s even attempted to match it to this day.

Parker’s true gift was that of exploration, and this was evinced by his sojourn from cinematic genre to cinematic genre. Like great directors before him, he felt the need to examine and exult in them all. He turned after 1982’s twin trials to what many referred to as William Wharton’s “un-filmable” novel. Parker found a way to film it, and in the process crafted a minor masterpiece, and the first film in his American Gothic trilogy. BIRDY is about so many things; the horror of war, the futility of grand romantic dreams, the last days of glorious, unweighted childhood. It succeeds in all those ambitions, but what it is squarely about is the healing power of friendship, of that bond between brothers that even the trauma of battle cannot best. He accomplished this in two different time periods and two different venues; the 60’s early and late, as disparate as a decade could get from itself; then the wide, economically depressed funland expanse of post-WW2 Brooklyn, against the claustrophobic, chiaroscuro lit cell of the VA, where the only shadow to hide within lies beneath the mottled cot. All of Parker’s CV can be described as character studies of one form or another. Here he began a three film sojourn into America’s pockets, its secret soul and even its original sins. He’d leave the punishing abandonment of what once was the City of Brooklyn as it stood circa 1962, for a far more insidious and painful abandonment, one of a whole swath of the country and of its stolen populace.

ANGEL HEART was ostensibly a mashup of horror and noir, a neat trick that any successful director would’ve been drawn to, especially in the MTV 80’s, a music video era (greatly inspired by directors like Parker, I might add) that found itself drawing on the tropes of past cinema genres in a highly stylized way. The synopsis implies a simple morality tale, a private eye hired by a seemingly nefarious talent agent to track down the client who’s eluded him. Perhaps by supernatural means. Parker expanded on the location by quickly resetting the action from Brooklyn to New Orleans, after a quick trip through Harlem. White culture has to answer to and for black culture in America, and Parker employed this almost caricature smoke-and-topcoat shamus to do this investigation. There is great butchery in ANGEL HEART, which I’ve always believed reps the butchery of slavery and the Jim Crow era. There are bold implications and terrible consequences for what we now term “cultural appropriation”, from Johnny Favorite’s Depression-era crooner stealing from black artists to the Krusemark’s adoption of the patchwork voodoo religion. Above all, there is guilt. There is a clear through line, as clear as Capt. Willard’s river to Kurtz, toward White America’s brutality, ongoing. Harry is our surrogate, should we choose. He goes on his own journey of discovery that becomes, unwittingly and surely unwillingly, one of SELF-discovery. His final manic, desperate denial is the same as any who enjoy white privilege to this day while at the same time being wholly unaware of it: I know who I am. If ANGEL HEART is the one he’s going to be remembered for, I believe it’s this subtext, unplanned or otherwise, that will allow it the test of time well over the brilliant cinematography and perhaps Mickey Rourke’s finest performance. Parker would next attempt to expand on this subtext and present it as text, with very, VERY mixed reactions.

MISSISSIPPI BURNING was a project begun with noble intent, I believe. In an era where white men still got to tell the black narrative in America. While I forgive a lot of the film’s dramatic license, I fully agree with its detractors as well. 1988 was a tipping point for tone-deafness in the film industry. Had Parker made BURNING a decade or so prior, it might enjoy a better rep in the context of its time. The end of the 80’s demanded better. I’m a fan of this film, as a film, not as a history. In the same way I’m a fan of well-crafted cinematic narratives that have dated very poorly. The tragedy of MISSISSIPPI BURNING is not just that he made so well-crafted a film at a point in the timeline when something more inclusive, honest, and better representative of history was possible, it’s that he chose fiction for fiction’s sake. Nevertheless, it was the second and final Oscar nomination for direction he’d receive.

Parker remained in this wheelhouse of American guilt for 20th century wrong-doing. COME SEE THE PARADISE was an earnest attempt to depict, to REMIND America really, of the awful Japanese internment camps of the WW2 years, the venerable FDR’s greatest sin. At the height of his filmmaking powers he was unerring in his balance between stylistic pursuit and substance. Alas, with this effort and his previous, glow softened suffer, and the heart of the tale proved elusive as a result.

Maybe he had a moment of clarity then, after these ambitious but perhaps stultifying efforts, and decided to return to a genre that had stood him in good stead. Parker turned to the homespun Celtic kick of Roddy Doyle and decided to create a real-life soul/funk/r&b band from scratch for THE COMMITMENTS, which most will agree is his last great film, though his later fare has its champions, and fair play to them. For a director so well known for his meticulous prep and focus he fared incredibly well in filming wild abandon. Maybe it was a mode he needed to consciously shift into gear for, but once there he cooked quite a stew. The film delighted both critics and audiences, and also helped re-start a soul music resurgence, helped in no little way by the film’s pre-fab ensemble, who’d take to the road for a series of live shows with various members of the celluloid iteration in tow. Some might argue that he retreated to a stance that shied from his previous inquiries regarding the separation of cultures white and other, and the theft perpetrated by one on the other, and in doing crafted so populist an entertainment as to render the argument moot. That’s a fair assessment. Some others might argue that a truthful, passionate depiction of people inspired by others different from their living experience, plaintively plying their art, is honest work as well, no matter their skin color. The debate won’t go away. And it shouldn’t. In terms of moviemaking, though, Parker had fired on all cylinders. Perhaps for the last time.

The remaining decade-plus of his work was, in most estimations, workmanlike, with the odd Parker flourish here and there recognizable to his fans. THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE was an eccentric choice as follow-up, and also as navigation through the early days of a new and unsure decade (He’d already travelled the biz director-driven, to producer-driven, and was now in the who-the-hell’s-driving 90’s). It features several fine performances, from recent and deserved Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins to the still-finding-their-way Matthew Broderick and John Cusack, and its huckster-health theme does still resonate, or at least it SHOULD, as well today as then as late 19th century. If it ultimately found no target to spear, it remains a well crafted and intentioned work. EVITA was no sleepwalk-to the-Oscar gig, even though the resulting film is at best assessed as a dreamily-hued mess. Parker took on the challenge of a legendary broadway smash, one that Hollywood had been desperate to film for well over a decade. A lesser director would’ve turned the camera on and yelled “Sing!”. But Parker was one of the few who’d found success in the post-studio era with one of its warhorse genres, the musical, which had diminished, and decidedly felled such giants as Coppola and Bogdanovich at their peak or near-peak. It’s a noble effort, if it comes up short. It’s not quite empty Oscar-bait, but it’s well shy of a film with a purpose. He either directed or was gifted a great Antonio Banderas perf, and he did his damnedest with Madonna, which is sorta the theme of her career don’t send hate mail. He got a hard-won, decent turn out of her, perhaps not the magnetic dying star that the role demanded, but an actor giving her all. That’s still worth something, even if they’re miscast. For further evidence I direct you toward Matt Damon in THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY.

And here’s the part that I always hate to talk about. Parker was a director who, in my estimation, never sought validation, but always inspiration. It’s the source of his greatest works, and they remain some of the greatest of the post-studio years. He took his best swipe at an unlikely best-seller, Frank McCourt’s wildly successful but impossibly depressing ANGELA’S ASHES. Like EVITA, it had “prestige” built into it. Like EVITA, it was a package deal. Like EVITA, the studio expected some love from the Academy at the end of the day. I feel like Parker was thwarted from the start, tasked with this take of utter poverty and despondency while asked to chase the gold. Had the book come out sometime early in his career, had he discovered it and championed it, and then saw it through production and release, we may have been gifted something along the lines of a Ken Loach or even Buñuel at his most honest. The gilt and geld of the Hollywood studios, especially at that time competing with the newly-found prestige of the indies, precluded any chance at that, despite next-level perfs from Stephen Rea and Emily Watson. It’s a not-unworthy effort to seek out, especially if you're a Parker fan, but in some ways it may have signaled his ultimate abandonment of this art form. Maybe he felt he’d said enough. Maybe he felt he wouldn’t be allowed to say his piece on his terms anymore. Maybe he looked ahead at filmmaking in the new millennium and decided he’d not update his passport to this new continent. For reasons we never fully received, Parker was leaving.

His last film would be THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE, an anti-capital punishment screed that felt out of joint, and not due to the lack of effort from its stars, Kate Winslet and Christopher Plummer. But it’s an aimless effort, deprived of any real bite on a subject molten to a wide swath of the citizenry. It was met with mixed box office and mixed reviews. It left with nary a trace. And then, whether we realized it or not, so did Alan Parker.

It seemed to be a welcome retirement. At least in my following of my filmmaker heroes. I don’t believe I saw one item, one gossip piece, about a new Alan Parker project, about a studio extending him an offer on a prestige or even indie film. He popped up as interview subject and fairly frequently, and seemed to enjoy his status as thus. He’d crafted a remarkable body of work, and by all witness enjoyed remarking on it. He occasionally served as mentor, as when Christopher Nolan reached out to him. He’d definitely serve as defense attorney, especially when the subject of Mickey Rourke came up. He absolutely and most magnificently served as beacon to a whole generation of film lovers and future filmmakers, kids who were desperate in the corporate/production team/CAA 80’s to cling to films of their generation they could call their own. At a time when art and the so-called “auteur” was a dirty word in Hollywood he was able to put the work he’d crafted into your head and into your heart. I’m not sure if we’re gonna see another Alan Parker, and he’d be most upset by that notion, but if you’re reading this, and you find this possibility unacceptable, go grab a camera and be another Alan Parker. We’re waiting.

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secnghq-blog · 7 years ago

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task o n e ; development.

❝ ——- i wish i could p a i n t our love , these moments and vibrant HUES , peach color, moon glistens, the plot thickens ; old souls have found a new religion . ❞

general info

full name: chung hyeseong

nickname(s): hui, seong, chungie

gender & pronouns: demiboy. they/them or he/him

sexual & romantic orientation: homosexual and homoromantic

age & dob: November 3rd 1993, 24

birthplace/hometown: Gwangju, South Korea

parents/siblings: chung taewoo & chung mijoo

astrological sign: Scorpio

dominant hand: leftie because they a rare specimen like that

handwriting style: very fancy and cursive, often compared to a girls because its very elegant and neat, pretty small as well.

language(s) known/spoken: japanese, chinese, korean and english.

religion: atheist

current living arrangements: apartment of his own but he did share with hyunwoo when he first moved here for a long time.

occupation/major: animal care worker, also studying.

appearances

picture reference: x , x . x , x

blood type: A

nationality: korean

skin tone/color: pale tan

birthmarks & scars: no scars but birthmarks, one on collarbone, one on left side and bottom of spine

height: 5′10

build: toned, muscled but undefined and softly mostly.

hair color: blonde or a reddish brown

hair length: shaggy but short

eye color: hazel, sometimes look more dark green, he wears lenses a lot.

eye shape: cat eyes

diet: regular

exercise & level of fitness: not into exercise at all but will go on long walks and do things like yoga if they had to.

how’s their posture ( or lack thereof )? :

typical style of dress: x , x , x , x , x , x , x , x

body modifications: tongue piercing, ear piercings all down both ears, lot of tattoos which you can view on his stats page.

body language and mannerisms

how does your muse walk? hui used to model online and camboy so they know how to strut their stuff and have quite a subtle but powerful sashay to their stride. hui’s stance and aura can usually fill a whole room pretty fast when they enter.

how does your muse talk? massive extrovert, so hui speaks with confidence and only says what they feel needs to be said, they don’t sugar coat things either unless it’ll benefit them. they’re interesting bc hui can be sweet as candy and irresistible or they can be super lewd and swear like a sailor with dark humor.

what accent/dialect does your muse talk with? if they’re talking in english they actually sound very british as opposed to american.

how high (or low) is the tone of their voice? are they loud or quiet? i wouldn’t say hui’s voice is high but it is quite effeminate and soft, they are loud though so its lucky their voice is fairly gentle on the ears.

what is their laugh like? breezy giggle usually but it also changes and fluctuates depending on mood and situation. it usually sounds very flirty whether hui intends it to or not.

how does your muse typically smell? spiced apple and cinnamon, its actually seasonal really bc hui uses a lot of fragrances that are expensive and lush products so if we’re talking autumn for example its usually eggnog and cinnamon.

what kind of air do they carry? are they intimidating? hui can be intimidating but those days are more in their past so now they tend to appear much more charming and approachable, the air they carry can switch. if you go against hui you’ll quickly find they are quite threatening and strike silently deadly.

psychology

what makes your muse happiest? hui doesn’t really know right now, they’re still on a journey to find that since they spent most their life until they got here in less than laughable and far from happy upbringings and becomings. however they do feel incredibly happy when with friends and when feeling accomplished.

what upsets them the most? probably thinking about the past and how it could potentially affect his future. obviously he’s been through a lot of shit with his toxic relationships, rape and domestic violence and it haunts him. he’s still seeing a therapist and he thinks he always be no matter how much he recovers. naturally it gets him really down. he’s also very scared of being lonely, never being meaningful to anyone.

does your muse have any quirks? they pull and twirl their hair?? like a lot?? also when they eat certain things they can accidentally make it look super obscene and a bad habit they have is chewing on their inner cheek.

what are their hobbies? how frequent do/can they do them? hui likes fashion, music and painting. they do actually have a mini sketchbook they take around with them which is like a tiny bible of loads of fashion sketches and paintings. they do it often if their on a particularly dry shift or can’t sleep at night.

do they have any guilty pleasures? i guess... they binge eat quite a lot and they are very out there with fashion also...this one is the worst for getting into troublesome situations too and lives for danger and trouble sO.

is your muse an extrovert? an introvert? neither? extrovert af

do they have high or low self-esteem? what about confidence? definitely has a lot of confidence and self esteem if hui has nothing, they do have that for sure because its been something they relied on since young to make a living and more.

are they easily stressed? how do they respond to stress? hui isn’t easily stressed but if you meet them in the wrong mood or in a bad headspace they definitely go off easily and get frustrated. when they’re stressed, their temper is a lot shorter.

what is your muses worst fear? isolation

what is your muses biggest dream? mm hui doesn’t really know yet its hard for him to have big dreams the way he’s lived his life and they are still settling into this steady and stable lifestyle but i think they’d like to do more with the fashion work they can do.

is your muse an early riser? a night owl? both, lack of sleep does not affect hui at all they go to bed at like 2am and wake up early and get through the day just fine but you will notice they are easy to go into their own headspace and get distracted. they dont act sleepy but it can sometimes be seen in their eyes which are less sparkly then.

how intelligent is your muse? do they acknowledge it? hui actually is very skilled i dont know about intelligent, academically they’re very good when considering how they lived younger but i would say hui is more open about how intelligent they are on things like social activist matters, talents like art and negotiation. they are smart but in their own way.

what is their sense of humour like? very dry witted, slightly narcissistic, often gets told they’re too dark and quick with little taunts and sass.

relationship tendencies

what’s their sexual orientation? what about romantic? hui is homosexual and homoromantic.

are they currently in any sexual or romantic relationships? they are in a sexual relationship ajsj with kace and thats probably not the only one they’re in bc hui is a minx by nature but no romantic ones as of yet.

what is their experience with relationships? not fuckin great my dudes. all hui’s relationships so far have been very very toxic for them and tbh if they arent then hui is just sleeping around for the fun of it.

how does your muse view the idea of friends with benefits? have they ever had one, or would they ever? no problem with it naturally, they have had one will probably have many more and honestly they know its a shitfest and only ever ends in tragedy it either stops or goes somewhere and its more often the latter then shit gets fucked but hey ho says hui cause they a fool who thinks this is all they got.

sex, is it important to your muse? no, interestingly. it isn’t. it makes more sense than it seems after the way sex has been used for hui they just don’t care about it, they do it, a lot, and for fun but it isn’t important at all. its just another unhealthy coping mechanism and gets misused too often in hui’s perspective of it.

what are their biggest turn on and turn offs? thigh kissing, neck biting, manhandling smh i dont think hui really has any turn offs other than super weird shit like watersports *pukes* and for softer turn ons, they like someone who knows how to be loyal and respectful. hui isn’t exactly pristine and not entirely a ray of sunshine either but they are attracted to people like that (although they are a sucker for a bad boy)

does your muse find it easy to make friends? very, hui is charismatic and extroverted at its extreme so they’re kinda like a puppy it can be annoying but mainly you can’t help but be charmed and once you fall into being their bud, thats it, u done for life.

how important is friendship to them? fairly, they have jeaki after all who they absolutely adore. its all platonic but jeaki is their always best friend and they would definitely lie down their life for him so yeah even though they’re new and still making them. they value friendship the most.

quantity or quality of friends? quality

how important is family? complicated one. i think hui thinks it is important even though they haven’t been blessed with a good one, the whole reason hui’s family broke down was due to dysfunction and miscommunication. they think if a family is valued and constructed healthily then yes its important.

are they close to their family? why or why not ? hui is not good with their family at all, abusive mother and missing dad but to be honest hui does admire their dad, they wish they knew more about him because they think they would’ve had a lot in common with him. yeah he ran off with another man and left hui’s mum but hui thinks if their mom had been a more supportive decent partner, their dad could’ve been a good one.

headcanons

before shit went crazy and daddy left, hui and their mom actually had a really good relationship and she helped them balance their gender-fluidity and be comfy in it massively, was super supportive and put everything in motion.

hui doesn’t blame their dad for walking out or think what he did was wrong, in his fathers situation hui can make an exception for the fact the way he left hui’s mother wasn’t clean cut as it should be.

hui adopts a load of animals from the care shelter he works at, but his best bud and one he’s had longest is minki and he is adOrable you’ll see soon that hui never fUCkin shuts up about him and posts about him 24/7. he dont need no men.

the reason they don’t model anymore is actually very *taps nose, sips tea* spicy, there was some serious shit going on behind the scenes but they would be interested in doing it again if the industry wasn’t the way it is.

this little shit is such a feminist and actually really wants a cute soft boyfriend sobs

has never been to a pride and aches to bc u know they’d own that shit and go all out with the glitter and rainbow

WHY ISNT HUI A CAM BOY ANYMORE I WONDER??? *SIDE EYES SIDE EYES* i aint telling you that one but he isn’t anymore and there is a spicy lil reason behind that too.

this bih has a lot of secrets from their past, mainly bc they making a fresh start as the person they always wanted to be which life previously held them back from.

#seoultask #doing this reminded me of why i love hui sm as a muse im shOoketh #ive been sleepin on my boi more than i thought

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furederiko · 7 years ago

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Meet the Rider of Science, and his power of... Exposition!!! Yeah, it's a full review for Kamen Rider Build episode 1...

NOTE: After long consideration, I've decided to upgrade my First Impression into a full review. This doesn't necessarily mean I'll be doing the same for the following episodes. That part is... still undecided for now. If anything, I might end up doing a batch review for several episodes in each new post. Probably once a month, or at least a bi-weekly (2 episodes) release. Assuming I continue watching, of course! Also, don't expect this to be as thorough/detailed as my recap-view for "Kamen Rider Ghost". To be honest, that ended up being a bit taxing to produce... LOL. For this one in particular, I've already offered some points before, so I'm just going to expand on those. Let's start!

- Like I've pointed out before, the Pandora's Box mystery is intriguing. Sure, it's basically another plot-generating macguffin, but what is it really? Of course, after a few days, I've realized one thing: TOEI seems to have a thing with cubes lately! Remember "Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger"? And also that recent 'odd' anime series, "Sekaisuru KADO". I'm so glad "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" has the... balls to be different. LOL. - The interesting part about this item though, is that it gave clear confirmation to the series' time setting. Much like Kyuranger, this show is being set in the future, albeit not as distant as that current Super Hero Time counterpart (after all, Kyuranger takes place more than 300 years after humanity's first space exploration). This first episode began around 10 years after the elusive Box was discovered. And that occured during humanity's first landing on Mars! - As for the "Romance of Three Kingdom" angle I said before? That's due to what the Box created: the "Skywall Disaster". When the macguffin was triggered during the Martian Exploration's homecoming ceremony, it unleashed a mysterious impenetrable Skywall that divided Japan into... yes, THREE areas. Namely, Hokuto (blue, the social welfare), Seito red, the economic recovery), and Touto (green, the traditional pacifist). The last is where this series is set (for now, at least). We have three confirmed Kamen Riders as well, so I'm guessing they will represent the Rulers/Leaders for each area. Not unlike Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan, right? - Oh, one more thing... that mysterious worker who conveniently activated the Box and instigated the tragedy? I could be wrong, but I think it's quite obvious enough that he's none other than our protagonist. His amnesiac state and strange obsession curiosity to the Box that was shown afterwards, strongly supported this theory. - Protagonist Sentou Kiryuu (played by yet another JUNON Super Boy winner Atsuhiro Inukai) is still grating on my nerves. Yes, I HAVE warmed up to him after 3rd viewing (kind of... sort of...), but I'm still having trouble liking this guy. He's what you get if the duo of "Kamen Rider W" had a child together: the cocky side of Shoutarou Hidari, and the naive curiosity of Philip/Raito Sonozaki. Calling himself genius and self-praising his own invention? Yikes! That's Shoutarou's bad-side all right. Also... Spada Spada Spada!!! Sentou's body language reminds me of Kyuranger's Spada. But he's far from being as likeable. For now, that is. - Inspite of that, I do like the questions surrounding his 'forgotten past'. That creepy human-experimentation nightmare? Yeah, it's a strong nod to Shouwa Riders, with "Kamen Rider Black" being a great example. It doesn't take a genius to guess, that it's how he ended up becoming Kamen Rider Build. Introduced via the nightmares, was 'Bat-Man'.... I mean the bat-themed Faust leader Night Rogue. It seems this mysterious figure is pulling the strings behind these experimentations. - Speaking of experiments... Ryuuga Banjou (played by Eiji Akaso) is the recent in its long line of victim. This stupid 23 years old is easily my second favorite character so far. His actor have proven his ability to showcase emotions in "Kamen Rider Amazons S2" (I hated his character at first, but he evolved into a compelling audience-surrogate later on). So he's another strong talent for the protagonist side. He also shared that Shouwa Rider-esque backstory, which comfortably placed him on route to become the 2nd Rider, Kamen Rider Claws. But if, and only if, this show is indeed going through the Sangokuden path, will he end up becoming Sun Quan to Sentou's Liu Bei? Hmmmm.... that would be a heartbreaking twist, considering how heavily he's being shipped with Sentou right now. Then again, don't forget Shadowmoon... - If Ryuuga's second, who's my favorite character then? The answer is of course... Gentoku Himuro (played by Kensei Mikai). Contrary to my First Impression, he's not that ambiguous. He's a sleek-haired corporate-level douchebag, as evidenced by his sleazy move towards the lady journalist. He might look cool and tough, but at several occasions, he's acting like a spoiled brat! That's probably why I liked him even more! LOL. I admit, he's currently present to deliver exposition dump regarding the Pandora's Box. But he also had his own mystery, which means future potentials. Gentoku's one of the three bigwigs who experienced the Skywall disaster first hand. Yet in contrast to his words, he looked okay, and seemingly hasn't aged in 10 years. What's the deal with him then? What about those other two, the lady in white and middle-aged man? Are they the leaders of the two other areas now? Why is the buttons on his gray uniform is on the left, and not right side? If I do end up following this series, getting answers to those will probably be one of the few reasons. - There's more. These past few days, many have been connecting Gentoku with the supposed-antagonist Night Rogue. A nice theory, but a little too obvious one if you ask me. Unless of course, TOEI is going the exact same route to "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid". Which makes sense, since Gentoku shares MANY similarities to Kuroto Dan! Both are played by crowd-pleasing really-good-looking (I can't really argue that, can I... ;D) 30-something actors, both are corporate businessmen who somehow got involved with the protagonist, and they exuded a strong "I'm a villain" vibe from the very start of the show. Two of a kind! But that's also the reason why it's too obvious. I doubt TOEI is going to rehash the same twist so soon. - Personally, I'm currently suspecting his assistant Nariaki Utsumi (played by Yuki Ochi) to be the real face behind Night Rogue. Going back to my Sangokuden theory, there's a likelihood that Gentoku will serve as the show's Cao Cao. But remember, it wasn't Cao Cao who ended up becoming the bigger challenge to Liu Bei. It was Sima Yi, who was his right hand and also personal advisor. I hope you're getting my point here... - Misora Isurugi (played by Kaho Takada) is obviously the official sidekick for Sentou. I sincerely hope we'll see a development in her character soon, because for now, her listless attitude... is sucking the joy out of this series. Think of it, like grumpy Koyomi in "Kamen Rider Wizard". She made me abandoned that series! For some reason, Misora has the power to cleanse evil. That means she might end up becoming a key character later on. That's a story for another day though. She's just part of Sentou's glaring exposition dump now. - Freelance journalist Sawa Takigawa (played by Yukari Taki and Cafe Nascita owner Souichi Isurugi (played by Yasuyuki Maekawa) are also exposition tools! Their main contribution to the episode was to deliver explanations, such as: the unidentified life forms Smash, how Build could extract their Essence to turn them back into human, how Misora could purify the Essence to be used by Build later on, why Sentou ended up living in Nascita's hidden basement/bunker, Build's goals in this series, as well as about Ryuuga's criminal background. Sawa served as the first damsel-in-distress, while Souichi as... Spada, Spada, Spada (that use of Italian? duh...)... a comic relief support. He was NOT funny though. AT ALL. Generally annoying for my taste. - Aaah yes, the flat dry jokes just did NOT work. It's said that third time's the charm, but definitely not for this one. None of the humor made me laugh, not even once. Aside from being weak in materials and relies too much on slapstick, the comedic timing was also off. The optimist in me would say, "Better luck next episode", but the pessimist half is saying, "Cut the crap, and just focus on being serious!!!". - If there's one thing I easily enjoyed about this episode, it's the design and concept. I could be biased due to my love to "Kamen Rider W", but Build certainly emitted Double's flair of style. Likely due to Ryuta Tasaki being the director. The dual-elements is a such a neat concept, combining biological and technological, though it seems these will not be limited to those categories (we'll be getting elementals like Diamonds, Fire, and more). Yes, the whole Full Bottles gimmick is basically an excuse to promote toy collectibles/figures. But at least it allows a variety of combinations, or as the Build Driver say... "BEST MATCH". The fact that it's created using purified Smash's essence (Hedgehog is the example) is equally intriguing. That means every Smash serves a purpose to become a new power-base! What will happen if Build accidentally uses an evil one, then? Will he turn evil too? Hmmm... - Build's transformation scene feels very SCIENCEy with all those physics equations. All those metallurgy angle... I really dig that! Sadly, the finishing move "VOLTECH FINISH" is a complete opposite. It's meant to look cool, but for me it's cheesy because the use of Physics felt unnatural/forced. Really, I don't think it's possible for anyone to move that way. To sum up, the Science approach in this episode was a hit or miss for me. - Last but not least, the nicely choreographed action, helped elevate the episode's second half into something that was genuinely entertaining. The motorcycle chase against the Touto armed forces in particular, was a highlight. It's over the top, but exciting. Like many had said, it felt like a Kamen Rider show once again.

As far as first episode go, this was... okay to good. Not great, due to many reasons I've pointed out above. Unlike Kyuranger that instantly stole my attention and sped off with it, this one didn't accomplish as much. It's clearly handholding its audience with thorough explanations here and there, so the bulk of it was merely expositions. Just to be fair, it can't really be helped nor blamed, considering this IS only the first episode. I do however, hope things will 'build up' with more... 'natural' flow in the next one. That's probably when I can properly decide whether to pick this series up or not. So yeah, allow me to reiterate: this post does NOT mean I'll be following the series from now on. There are some nitpick-ish parts I still need to... 'shake off' first, but I do have some good enough reasons to give it a chance, at least until around the 5th-6th episode. Here's hoping the next ones will be able to convince me even more... Next Episode: Is Ryuuga a real killer? Time for a murder investigation...

Episode 01 Score: 7,3 out of 10

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Kamen Rider Build" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

#tokusatsu #kamen rider #kamen rider build #review #Just for Fun

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drundertalescum · 8 years ago

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Bandage, Nice Cream, Bisicle, and Astronaut Food.

Bandage: What is a scene from the game that really connected with you?

Okay since this is the 3rd time I got this, I’ll just break down and say the Lost Souls section during the Asriel fight even though that entire battle feels like cheating, because WOW.

Just reliving the moments with your friends, seeing what they’ve been set back to or are thinking or feeling now that they’re forgetting you. “just give up, i did…” and Alphys’s self-loathing while she’s wearing the dress… the dress for a date she never could have gone on without you. A relationship that never would have blossomed if you hadn’t helped. It’s just so sad, not just seeing them forget you, but seeing their progress and hard work just be completely reset. Papyrus still dreaming of what might happen if he captures a human… Undyne still wanting to destroy you… Toriel still smothering you because you never proved to her that you were strong enough; you never showed her what kind of strength you had… (Also telling Asgore you aren’t going to hurt him no matter what, even though to get to that point, you HAD TO hurt him, and he doesn’t even know you. The fact that the human telling him that effects him enough to recover his memories. Wow)

And then you remind them of who you were, and who they were once you entered their lives. You remind them of what they accomplished and the connections they made, and the fog clears and they remember, because those connections MATTERED. It’s just so GOOD.

(and then you willingly reset later and inflicted that same thing on them. Because you were curious. Because you were bored.)

Nice Cream: What’s your favorite line and who said it?

“YOU’RE BLUE NOW! THAT’S MY ATTACK!”

I was avoiding answering this one first because I didn’t want to ramble about Papyrus in multiple answers, but now I’m going to go ahead and ramble about Papyrus.

This line is what hooked me into the game. It went from watching and going “okay yeah this is neat” to I MUST PLAY THIS. Papyrus’s hidden depths coming out, with the brothers sort-of conspiring to set that surprise up. The way the music kicked up to Bonetrousle. It’s such a good moment.

But I also just love the way the game completely banked in on the confusion between cyan and indigo both being “blue,” the way that whole surprise was set up and executed, just everything about that line and everything relating to it was fun and clever and subtly badass. What a great game.

Bisicle: What’s your favorite land, and what was your least favorite?

Least Favorite is the Ruins, because I didn’t really appreciate it very much, really. Long, linear, no shortcuts, nothing to really explore, and your hand is literally held throughout parts of it.

Favorite is trickier, but I’d say it’s probably a tie between Waterfall and True Lab. Both have amazing storytelling and atmosphere and do a great job of setting a tone and worldbuilding. The two areas really work well together thematically. Waterfall is all about the ancient tragedy of the monsters’ banishment. The wistfulness of the Underground, and that looming sense of still-aching distant loss, old wounds that haven’t quite healed. Then the true lab is a more recent, real, personal tragedy, as you’re seeing what the old wounds you learned about in Waterfall and the desperation, angry and reopening of those wounds you learned about in the road to New Home have all lead up to. The desperation of life Underground and what it’s built up to and all of it’s consequences.

(On the other hand, Snowdin, Hotland, and the CORE are the opposite ends of that spectrum. Those areas really show the adaptations and the hopes and what monsters have built and aspired to. They’re all really lively, friendly areas. The CORE is WEIRDLY adorable considering the implied backstory of it. I want to rant about that someday. So cute. So oddly considerate)

Astronaut Food: When you got to the part of the Undertale Musical, did you sing along with Mettaton?

I didn’t, but that’s only because the walls were thin where I was playing. I’m pretty sure I hummed it though!

#asks #meta #meme #me #mine #papyrus #you're blue now #lost souls #waterfall #true lab #true pacifist #bonetrousle #the CORE #sexyshoelessgodofwar

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darwinism00 · 8 years ago

Text

Chapter three

CHAPTER 3 The butterflies sneak attack Keera shuts the back door to Bob's Wings and things with a deep exhale. It seemed like everything was testing her tonight. She is use to the drunks and witty responses she has to give to every drunk quip with sarcasm and a smile. However there is only so much a person can take. She is only human after all; right? She chuckles to herself at the ironic thoughts going through her head when she reaches for her Zig and lighter. “Fuck!” she yells a little too loud as she realises she lent out her lighter to a regular only to have them not return it even after her playful threats for their life if it wasn't returned. She bangs the back of her head on the back door leaning her body up against it at the same time and looks up silently cursing the Gods for what seemed to be an entire day of picking on her. She tilts her head looking to the outside lights for the cameras outlining the building. The jurisprudence requires businesses to have one at every angle outside of their building. Even Though Chicago was a Union state anything under Jurisprudence was a law that was universal between all territories in the United States. One, two, three, she counts to herself and guesses them to be about 10 ft apart on this side of the building. She walks down the ramp where a overhead light was out and there seemed to be a shaded area in the already dim alley. Since Summer was almost here it was still barely light out. Looking around to make sure she is still alone she then cups her hands like she has a lighter and lights her zig. Breathing in the fire deep she instantly relaxes. Was it worth it? She thought. Exposing herself and her illigal ability she was born with? Definitely, she thought. If she didn't get this drag in she would've lost it and ended up torching someone for sure. She has to keep herself cool so to speak. She wraps her over sized hoodie around herself tight. Even though it was Spring and the days where warm, the nights were still crisp and cold and in the windy city, unforgiving. She closes her eyes and tries to clear her mind. The buzzing of the pods on their zip lines filled with families in them polluted the city sky. Public transportation freaks me out. Keera thought to herself. Thinking about all the different traveling ziplines they had set up from skyscraper to skyscraper. Suddenly the door swings open and Doug the douchebag sticks his oversized head out. This was the name Keera liked to call him to herself or around corners to other servers. Seeing him instantly gave her stomach a sinking lurch before he even yelled the following. “Keera we need you in here we are starting to fill up!” His round head hung in a uncanny comparison to a bulldog with a patchy five o’clock shadow outlining it. His face was red with flush from the ten whole feet it took him to get up from his tiny office to the back door. He turns, seemingly out of breath, letting the door ease shut just to waddle back to his 5ft by 5ft office and sit in his well worn in computer chair so that he can pretend to work. Keera rolls her eyes. By we he surely means everyone but him. He most likely had the tragedy of someone asking him to actually do something for once. Keera complained in her head. In which case he managed to barely walk 10 feet for her to get in there and do his job along with hers. “Fucking fat ass.” She mumbles out as she exhales the drag. She learned a long time ago that relying on him to be functional in his duties was a far cry from reality and waiting on him to do anything only cut into her nightly tips and caused her blood pressure and keep it cool gage to go through the roof so to speak. Letting out another curse as reality sinks in she throws the lit zig into its 1 inch burn container which is one of the many things mandated by Jurisprudence. Keera ties up her thick blonde colored wavy hair in a tight pony. Then she takes a quick glance in her mirror on her phone to make sure her makeup hasn't sweated into a mess like it can sometimes do and puts what she like to call her game face on. “Girl can't have five minutes in this fucking place.” She mumbles as she aggressively swings the door open, annoyed that even after eight hours she can't get any kind of a break. She walks in glaring in Doug the douchebags direction which is in the office like she had thought playing a video game on the computer. “Worthless.” She mumbles under her breath while shaking her head in disapproval. Keera pulled her jeans up over her hips, takes the commuity hoodie off and hangs it on the coat rack mounted to the wall in back and pulls her Bobs wings and things shirt down over her large breasts and tucks it back in. She sprayed some vanilla body spray on so she smelled like fresh dessert and sighed pausing for a second like a runner waiting for the gunshot at the beginning of the race. She knew when she saw a server's shirt and it read (I am a server not your servant) on the back that she wanted to work here. However, some days it just seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth. That's life though, better than being in prison, dead or a camp she thought to herself with a shrug. A fraction of a memory of Albo flashed in her mind like it always did when she thought about being taken and she quickly shoved it behind her well built wall of emotions she had made so solid over the years that she had yet to meet anyone to even shake it. Keera got ready to go from peaceful serenity to super bowl crowd type noise. It's like jumping into a pool, but that pool is noise and chaos. All your senses just get drowned all at once and it takes you a second to get into the flow. “Keera!” Amanda called with urgent eyes. Deep breath! Keera thought to herself quickly as she dived in. “I'm so glad I found you!” Amanda says while walking away towards a P.O.S. which is a computer where servers ring their orders in. Keera didn't have to ask she automatically just knew. She walks with purpose flinging her soft pony back off her shoulder letting the loud yells and bar noise fade into the background of her mind. Amanda followed closely behind. “I tried asking the Douchebag but it was like trying to wake a bear from hibernation.” “Yeah I bet it was. His penguin ass actually had to get up to tell me to come inside.” Keera laughs sarcastically because even though he is the punch line to every joke when servers complain about anything at Bob's wings and things Keera knows that it's more of a joke to put up with it and stay. But like any place if she leaves it will only screw her friends long enough for them to find another person willing to do his job for him. She punches in Doug's manager numbers and proceeds to comp 50% off of one of Amanda's table’s appetizer for their meal coming out before it did. She then scans the bar and sees 10 tickets coming out of the printer and the new bartender, Duke trying to work on 5 other drinks. Crash! A glass breaks and the crowd goes wild. Amanda leans in; or up since she is a whole 5’2 and maybe 100 lbs and says. “You better save him girl. That's the 3rd glass since you went on break 5 minutes ago.” “Fuck me! Angel said he was ok to be left alone.” Keera mumbles to herself with a focused expression on her face people often mistake for resting bitch face and starts to half jog in his direction. Amanda yells her way while printing her newly corrected tickets. “That's what she said!” Amanda gives out a warm laughter and a huge bright smile. Keera smirked but was on a mission. On her way to the bar which couldn't be more than 20 ft she was asked for three refills on tables that weren't hers, two tv changes and someone asking if they were killing chickens in the back because their food was taking forever. Her responses were as follows. “What are you drinking piss water? Scott you better be saying a cheers to me cause you know better than to ask me to get you a refill when you don't sit at my bar rail. Didn't you hear the rookie back there just break your drink? Its Coors light it belongs on the floor. Yes the white sox will be on in 15, no I will not turn it on before then and yes we have to catch them, kill em and then we try not to kill ourselves in the process do you see this crowd?” She didn't know the last guy which was more rare than not; seeing how she practically lived there and this place was a native’s hang out but she didn't care. If he can't stand the heat than he can get the hell away from her and definitely out of Chicago. Even with her attitude and curse happy vocabulary she was considered nice in the windy city and if she pissed someone off Doug was more than happy with letting her pretend to be the manager and get her ass chewed out. This Duke guy was a fumbling idiot! She thought to herself when she almost reached the bar. Keera didn't get a chance to train him since he was going to be mainly on days which were usually pretty slow and she was the main closing bartender. This was supposed to be his final training shift and he was not cutting it. They were so quick to hire a penis that they didn't stop to actually ask if he knew anything about American sports or actual bartending. This guy had a British accent, which was surprising giving his obvious Indian heritage. It annoyed the piss out of Keera. She had been listening in on his first interview from behind the bar and told Douchebag not to hire him. So of course here he is breaking her shit and clogging up the traffic of drinks that needed to be going out of this bar in the first 20 minutes of his shift. Keera turns the bar corner pretty much flying in for the rescue. The 30 by 10 foot space was her safe haven. The bottles were displayed against the brick back wall, clean and neat in the order she places them every night when she wipes them down. Whiskey on the left and vodka on the right. The speed rails were filled with the various tequilas and attached to two glass chillers that were stainless steel coolers and fit snug under the 34 taps in the middle of the bar. Behind the taps was a mirror back splash and above that was one projection screen and four big screens lining up the rest of the wall behind the bar. The other speed rails were hidden behind the bar lining the sinks and ice bin filled with the bars cordials and bottom shelf liquors. The sink was filled with ice to cool the syrups and fresh cut fruit. One was open for dumping old drinks and the dishwasher sat to the right of that. The rest of the bar had sports posters and jerseys lining every square inch of the place. If there wasn't a tv it was a shelf with a signed baseballs in dusty case or a shadow box with a signed chicago jersey. The bar top had bottle caps of local beers lined up in a fancy mural picturing a baseball bat, basketball, hockey stick and chicago logo shellacked into a smooth surface. She was almost baffled that the place didn't get robbed for the merch hanging every where alone but seeing how one of the biggest mob families in the city had a daughter working here that thought explained itself away every time it popped into Keera’s head. Keera walks behind the bar and her performance begins. She plasters a smile on her face. “Awe Rookie no one can leave the baby for five minutes hu?” Duke turns around with panic stricken eyes. His glasses were foggy from sweat, his unusually well groomed hair was tassled and his too nice of a button up shirt had bar syrups and God knows what else on it and his hands were shaking. Jesus he'd only been back here for five minutes Keera thought to herself. She almost felt sorry for him. However he was now cutting into her tips and when it came to her money above all things she didn't screw around. She walks up to what they called the watering well which was where the servers all came to either gossip or pick up their drinks. She kicks the glass under the glass chiller and grabs 4 of the five tickets, spins on her heel and faces Duke. “Listen Rookie.” He interrupts her in his crisp accent. “My name is Duke.” He then holds out his hand. Keera being distracted and irritated by not only the gobs of people yelling requests at her but the fact that this guy couldn't handle a bar for literally 5 minutes for her to get a break in was infuriating. Keera snaps at him. “I don't care what your name is I need you to make these tickets.” She raises a fist of tickets between them and with hardly a glance to his eyes shoves them at his chest. “Snap snap rookie you're hurting my rent!” “Nice to finally meet you too. I've been looking forward to it all week.” Duke mumbles, pausing for just a second. She passes him by and heads to regulars from the left side of the bar so that she can work her way to the right which should leave the rookie with plenty of room to make those drinks and serve them to the now angry mob gathering at the watering hole waiting for their guest’s drinks. Not only did Duke step on every female's toes getting hired on straight to bartender but he was the only man employed there in a staff of men hating single moms, and he sucked for lack of a better word. Keera knocked out a Killer Koolaid, top shelf long island, blue mother fucker and a caribbean martini in about 90 seconds flat which is how long it took Duke to pour three beers and bring them over. Keera turns around dodging the clumsy tall Brit to see hardly a dent made into the tickets spilling from the printer onto the bar counter now touching the floor. “Seriously?” She says loudly then reminds herself to breath and keep a cool head. She had mastered the ability of not letting her anger expose her and this is the longest she had stayed at one job because of it. Keera turns to Duke and directs him to take care of the remaining customers at the bar rail. “Move that cute ass of yours and make yourself useful!” She yells loudly trying to make light of a stressful situation and calling attention to the fact that even though he's a shitty bartender at least he's good to look at. He smiles for a second before she points at the end of the bar where a few females, both decked out in white sox apparel from head to toe were sitting. They raised their empty glasses, smiling and giggling at Duke. Keera knocked the rest of the tickets out under five minutes. “Did you ever know that you're my hero?” Lynn, a mexican waitress says in her always sarcastic voice as she snags her drink and shuffles off to her tables. Keera was like a dancer and the bar was her dance floor and when it got busy it was her performance. She glided behind that bar like a ballerina in swan lake. Regulars had come accustomed to watching her light shine when she's in her element. She gets her bar rail some refills, cleans some dishes and puts the game on in time to shut any ridiculous baseball fan up. They act as if you are murdering their baby if you don't get the game on. Keera thinks to herself as she gives a signature eye roll. White sox, cubs, cardinals. They all sucked donkey dick! She thought almost every time she worked a game night. Chicago fans are crazy about Chicago sports. She didn't want to share her tips with a barback so she scheduled this to be Duke’s first and last night of training with her. She always gave the go ahead with a new hire. He'd get paid minimum wage and she could keep her tips and he would be put to the test. So far he is failing miserably. Keera thinks briefly flashing a glance his way while she poured a row of five beers from the tap. He had worked a few shifts this week with the daytime bartender and Keeras bestie Angel and she said he was doing great but thats Angel for you. Super positive even if this kid didn't deserve it. Angel was going on vacation in a few weeks to New Vegas and when she got back she was switching to nights. Daytime was just too slow. That and Keera got to see her best friend more so even though she didn't agree with Duke being hired she kept her mouth shut. That and Douchebag didn't listen to her anyways. It would interfere with his power tripping he does when he occasionally decides to work. It would be less of a hassle if she was on her own. But that's how Keera was with everything in her life. Can't trust anyone to do anything so she did everything herself. Another comp and a void for a few servers she danced behind the bar for four hours until it finally slowed down. She was on a double and that 3 minute break was all that she got. She was starving and running on coffee and Brio fumes. Although Brio is advertised to be full of protein, vitamins and caffeine she was sure it wasn't designed to be a full supplement to the human meal plan in a 24 hour span of time. “Ok Duke I have to go eat something. I'll be gone for five minutes. Will you be ok?” She talks slowly at him as if he couldn't understand English but after babysitting him all night she didn't care. This was the first time actually talking to him instead of at him. The game was over and the place was clearing out fast. He would be in charge of cashing maybe two people out and cleaning dishes. He takes off his foggy glasses and is rubbing the sweat out of his eyebrows when he stops and looks at her with dark puppy dog eyes. Not just brown but almost black. Like the kind of black holes you want to get sucked down. “That's the first time you've said my actual name.” He looks at her almost star struck. Her stomach flutters and she looks down. Keera is not used to feeling a flutter of any kind. That part of her was dead. It was taken away a long time ago when the first and only boy she had loved was taken. She goes to say something witty or smart ass in defense of her feelings and is instead left speechless and for the first time in a long time; she blushes. “What?” She shaked her head. “Never mind.” She mumbles and turns quickly away to hide her flushed face. Keera walks quickly to the back baffled by her own emotions. “I'll be right back!” She yells back not waiting for a response leaving Duke with a goofy smile on his face looking after her. In her 24 years she had taken care of her primal needs with one night stands in cars, party bathrooms and once in the woods in the mountains. She thought of her virginity as something to get rid of, like it was something of a burden to carry. She had never knew her father and what she knew of her mother this type of behaviour was normal. It was a way for her to numb herself and build her wall of emotions up. “What’s wrong with you?” Keera looks up startled torn away from her own taunting thoughts. Amanda stood there, bright red hair shining from a fresh dye job that was cut short in a edgy wedge. She had fair freckled skin and a crooked smile and an attitude that would put any kitchen cook in his place. She was the actual living definition of a spit fire. She snaps her fingers. “Hello earth to Keera! You aren't dipping on me are you.” a playful laugh escapes her. Dipping was the slang term for Heroin addicts when they dipped into a particular stash of Heroin known to the general public as “Dirty tar.” This was named to a specific batch of heroin distributed from Afghanistan between the years 2015-2021 that was cut with a unknown substance causing mutations in the human genome. It caused nerve degeneration at an accelerated rate. The user was so full of adrenaline and pain that they would be severely aggressive and dangerous. There hasn't been any new cases of “Dirty tar” for over 20 years but the offsprings of these addicts were mutated and were the cause of the genetic war of 2020. That is what caused martial law to be instated for seven years. Amongst all the fighting the people with abilities were either shot dead or gathered up like cattle. Now; after the civil war known as the gene war that arose because most of these people with abilities were children jurisprudence was created for peace, which is a mutated version of the law itself. It causes restrictions and regulations on everything and everyone for the so called safety and preservation of the human species as a whole. It was the only thing all three territories agreed on towards the end of the war. Amanda didn't know Keera’s secret so Keera couldn't let her see how close she hit home for her by saying what she said. “No I'm good. I'm just exhausted.” Keera says this while staring blankly at the white wall with grease stains on it and laminated safety signs plastered in random spots. She clears her throat taking a huge bite of a turkey sandwich. “Yeah girl it's been a ridiculous night, let alone day! I can't believe you have already been here 12 hours. Girl you are crazy.” Amanda is separating out her credit card receipts for the night and organizing her money on the metal stainless steel countertop where she had cleared a little space between the silverware that still needed rolled and the ranch and blue cheese containers that were wrapped in plastic but not yet stored away in the walk in cooler for the night. She pauses in counting her money. “Not to mention your tall dark and dorky back there.” She chuckles and though Keera has a mouth full of food she does too. “Yeah I guess he is dorky, and clumsy.” She glances at the clock, gut clenching at the thought of leaving him behind her bar again even though it had slowed way down since the game had ended. “You guess hu?” Amanda eyed her skeptically clutching her money in both hands stopping mid count. “You got a thing for the British Hindu or something?” She thrusts her hips and then pokes Keeras side playfully letting out a loud laugh. “No!” Keera said too quickly catching Amanda's scrutinizing look. “I just can't help but feel a little, small amount of pity for him.” Keera gestures animatedly with her free hand and then continues. “ He's hopeless.” She shrugs and glances sideways wishing Amanda would stop looking at her that way and God help her she feels heat paint her face again. Not the dangerous kind but warm tingling heat that she knew was giving her away. “Oh my God!” Amanda says way too loud causing Keera to drop her last bit of sandwich and walk away. “You have a thang for him don't you!?” She still didn't hush her voice what so ever, following right behind her like a pesky fly at a Summer picnic. Keera wanted to crawl in a hole. She didn't know why but maybe she was right. “Girl I have never known you to have a thang for anyone! In the four years I've known you or ever!” She put her fingers in quotation marks rounding the corner and passing the bathrooms after Keera. The thought flashes through Keeras mind of the actual logistics of such a small person carrying such a loud voice. It just doesn't seem possible but here Amanda was louder than ever. “Well I'm not starting now. I just feel sorry for him and that's it.” Keera says in a hushed voice turning towards her friend and holding her finger to her lips to hush her. “So you like the Geek type then? No wonder you never meet anyone here!” Her voice seems to almost be getting louder as she gestures around the bar within earshot of Duke now. “You feel sorry enough to… you know?” She puts her finger in a hole she made from her index finger and thumb with her other hand. “Jesus fucking Christ Amanda get your fucking head out of the gutter!” She yells too loud while grabbing a half full glass left by a customer long gone along with most customers that were clearing out just minutes before. Without skipping a beat Amanda yells back while heading back towards the kitchen. “Yeah well that's where your head usually is at honey but now I think it's floated to the clouds.” she gestures fluttering fingers towards the ceiling while looking back and then she lets out a loud cackle. Keera had never wanted this night to end as bad as she did right then. She walks behind her bar glaring at the corner where her friend had just turned only to smack directly in a solid, firm, lean figure. Before thinking she yells. “Jesus Christ!” Her nerves where more than shot but at least she didn't drop her glass. She makes note of the height of Duke. Looking up into his dark eyes once again. He towers over her 5”7 body a good 8 inches. He has thick hair pushed back; long on the top, shaved and clean on the sides. He has a mocha skin tone with a beard that normally would do nothing for her but as her eyes move to his full soft looking lips she wonders what it would feel like to kiss them. She notices them moving but doesn't hear a word. She glances at his white tank that he was now wearing noticing his broad shoulders and defined muscles that glistened with sweat over all his tattoos that went down his arms. There was an electrical charge between them that had her holding her breath. He moves to touch her hand and she is froze. Her instinct is to always move away or be on the defense but she couldn't move. She didn't want to move. He doesn't touch her hand but instead was trying take the glass out of her hand. Before she barely let go he drops the glass yelping in the process. “Bloody Hell that glass was hot! How in Gods name did you not burn yourself?” He is stepped back shaking his hand as to shake the heat off of it. Keera looks around to just see Kenny and Richard which were the bars most faithful regulars and usually pretty well done for the night especially since the white sox won. They cheered and clapped! “Good job rookie that's glass number 7 for the night! You should get a raise.” Kenny says sarcastically and they both laugh to each other. He half smiles at them and nodes. “Yup lads it's all good. I'm ok. Thanks for asking.” Keera goes to grab his hand but before she does he steps back a little too quickly. Does he suspect something? She thinks to herself. He is Indian right? Maybe he's a Samsaptaka? Keera thinks to herself. The Samsaptaka are a group of Hindu religious nuts that are also called hunters that believe that the people with abilities are cursed with demon blood or as they call it (KALI) which is a demon that that possessed Nala and need eradicated from this world for the survival of the human species. They use some special knife to pierce the heart and they believe save the soul of the tainted, or so they call them. They use a chaaku that is blessed by their Brahmans which are their appointed priest to their cause. Keera silently kicks herself for being so prejudiced. Hes British she scolds herself. Besides they haven't been spotted in years she continued her inner dialogue just to see him staring blankly at her with a look of anticipation on his face. Just as her mind goes blank words start to fall out of her mouth. “I barely have fingerprints anymore rookie. You need to grow a pair and get use to it. No pain no gain.” She smiles and grabs the broom and hands it to him. “Here Cinderella hop to it.” Duke hesitates, squinting for a brief moment and then smiles his brilliant 1000 watt smile and starts sweeping all the broken glass in the alley way. “And put on a shirt.” She says a bit shakily, avoiding looking in his direction what so ever. Awe there it is. The face and personality she wears at work. Sarcastic, witty Keera. Nothing gets to her. She is carefree and everything rolls off her shoulder and she most certainly does not get all girly, shy and giggly over a guy. She feels comfortable and safe now. Keera feels in control.

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