#a fictional character has never consumed me like this stupid idiot | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

uselessheretic · 3 years ago

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this is a post thats just me complaining based on my feelings as a black person on ofmd and the reaction to it. people can do what they want and be critical of whatever. nobody needs to stop complaining abt ofmd. this is just me complaining abt ppl complaining and this is my official disclaimer of please dont be obnoxious to me

tumblr keeps making me insane bc i keep getting mad at purposefully bad faith and ill meaning "critiques" of ofmd that arent actually trying to open a dialogue or anything, but are just. unpleasant. which its ok to be critical of things including the show i just think a lot of people are fucking idiots unwilling to examine media in an actual critical fashion and instead are just 1. negative for the sake of being negative and 2. shuts down any further conversation on the topics to the point of removing agency from other poc in fandom and the poc (and black ppl specifically) making and acting within the show. like its not possible that other people might just have different opinions on how to portray history, no ofc not, we have to be patronizing and assume that the black writers just dont know any better and are too ignorant of their own history to understand their own subjugation.

its just annoying and unproductive in a way that goes beyond discussing analysis of the show and its relationship to race, and instead gets stuck on this black and white viewpoint that doesnt just express "i dont care for this show" which is fine, but makes sweeping generalizations that ppl consuming the media or participating in fandom are all co-conspirators to bigotry and GOD its so stupid bc its a standard that is flat out not applied to other media. like i dont understand how people can say that black sails is flawed but ultimately good, a show that portrays both fictional and irl slaveowners with white characters who participate in the slave trade and assist in the sexual abuse of a black woman, and in the same breath discredit ofmd as a whole.

like! it doesnt matter that much but it is disheartening bc there flat out isnt that much media with this type of representation both in the show and in the writers room. i feel like people are so used to taika being in big marvel things that they forget that its not common for an indigenous man to be able to act/create things. and nobody needs to watch the show or be kind to it, but it does feel kinda fucked up that theres this encouragement for others to also not watch it or that ppl engaging in fandom are doing harm when theres just not much media with a gay indigenous love interest. theres not much media with latinx nonbinary people and esp not any of them dating a black man.

theres not much media with a writers room as diverse as theirs, where theres several black women/nonbinary black ppl in the writers room alongside other poc (THREE nonbinary writers of color!!!) same with having directors of color, makeup artists, and other crew members who are left off of set and have a hard time finding work in an industry that is not kind to them.

and idk! i think its kinda fucked up that this is not a big show, and that hbomax gave it very limited promotion and the vast majority of its promotion has been from the cast openly pleading for a second season, and word of mouth, but that criticism of it goes beyond personal distaste or open conversation, and instead is this stupid ass thing of promoting this stupid ass idea that a fandom existing is proof that theyre bigoted and that the show never shouldve existed in the first place.

it just sucks i guess! as a black person who genuinely likes the black representation in the show, and feels comforted seeing that the black cast are all openly joyful about the show and have talked abt being able to incorporate their culture within it, and the relief of having a writers room full of poc dedicated to not doing harm. like i was trying to find the article where leslie jones talks abt being excited about having her pirate boots and 20 husbands and how fun the character was to play, and the first thing that popped up on google was a handful of articles about the harassment she received for ghostbusters and the lack of support from her cast members. and it makes me sad that there arent many roles for black people in general, but that the black cast has been so positive about this story and have felt so connected to their characters.

and i just dont see the point in trying to take that away i guess? where you can just not watch the show, and you can be openly critical of it too, but it feels like an over expansion of that criticism to the point of discrediting the writers and actors as unknowing victims, actively and explicitly discouraging a fandom to emerge (the only thing sustaining a show that has not received support bc idk how to break it to ppl but networks arent kind to gay shows with casts of color,) and then purposefully shutting down any conversation on the topic including people bringing further context into the convo. (like that the actor loves the name roach, or that there are prominent black writers on the show, or that a lot of criticism has been specifically addressed before the show started and you dont have to agree with their approach, but its weird to erase the fact that thought went into this via a diverse room)

and its just fuuucking insane specifically because its criticism that is not leveraged at other shows!!!! at the very least, people cant sit here and explain how black sails is more woke than ofmd, a show with very few prominent poc where the main ones are a black woman raped on screen and a slave! with characters ALSO based off of real historical figures (the guthrie clan was a real clan!!!!!!) and white main characters who participate in the slave trade. and im p sure doesnt even have a single poc in the writers room? at the very least i desperately need people to be consistent.

be critical all you want, but it fucking suuuucks that its a hypercriticism being leverage against a show that doesnt have network support and only is able to get attention because of fans/word of mouth. and its fucking annoying how 1. its not even taikas show like he produced four episodes of it so idk why critique is mostly directed at only him but okay and 2. this weird thing where it feels like people deracialize him where i know he makes it look easy bc of how massively talented he is as a creator, but its not easy to get representation for māori or indigenous people and it SUCKS that it feels like people are discrediting and ignoring the fact that there isnt really any gay representation for indigenous ppl :(

anyways this was my long winded way of saying im going to try and be off tumblr for a bit bc this site irritates me and i need to stop being annoyed at tv things bc ppl can do and consume what they want just jfc it annoys me

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ganymedesclock · 4 years ago

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So... What do you think about revisiting Danny phantom in general? Revisiting the fandom I've noticed a lot of fanfic that have Danny's parents finding out his deal rather violently, or generally having more violence/angst than the original show..

I’m assuming you’re sending me this ask because of my recent burst of Danny Phantom art, so, it’s probably not a surprise to say I’m doing a certain amount of revisiting myself, and certainly not about to shame anyone else for it. It was a very dear cartoon to me in many ways and left some enduring hallmarks on my own writing, and I can absolutely understand people feeling the same way.

That said, as someone who’s been in this fandom for a while, albeit quietly- there certainly is a thread of macabre interest in fandom spaces, one I don’t always know that I agree with, especially when it comes to the Fentons.

My personal verdict on the Fenton parents specifically is I think they are not handled fairly by canon. This is a problem that Danny Phantom as a show shares with Fairly Odd Parents, though I would argue the Turner parents in FOP are quite a bit worse at this.

Roughly, I think how the Fenton parents are canonically depicted suffers from a phenomenon that affects many parts of the show: DP, as a series, has a bit of a sense of confused priorities between comedy and drama, and as a result, what’s 'real’ in-universe and what’s “just supposed to be a joke”. The kind of humor that DP tends to spring for is exaggerated or shocking behavior- it also tends to be a humor that hinges on the idea that other people are generally inconvenient to the main character. So humor-characterization is inconsistent here- Jack is negligent until it’s more inconvenient to depict him as overbearing (see: Girl’s Night Out and other cases he desperately wants to bond with Danny) he’s a recluse only loved by his wife until it’s more inconvenient to depict him as having an active social life (Masters Of All Time and that he and Maddie are going to a themed party so they’re dressed ‘weirdly’ in public)

A big victim of this is Jack’s sense that ghosts aren’t people and his desire to dissect them. Because here is the thing: it’s all talk, in the worst way. It hinges on the idea Jack- someone who knows enough of what he’s doing that along with Maddie and, in the past, Vlad- ripped two different holes in reality hard enough to permanently alter someone’s relation to undeath- has never seen a ghost before the series as he says in Mystery Meat.

The series has a big problem where it hinges on the Fentons’ inventions and expertise but also wants to treat them like idiots constantly. And if you notice how much I’m talking exclusively about Jack- that’s part of the problem. Maddie, in many ways, outside of episodes that throw her a bone, despite constantly being told by people she’s too good for Jack, is really treated as an extension of Jack. Masters Of All Time even suggests that her choosing Jack in the first place was just a path of least resistance between her two college friends, and she’d have married whichever one stuck around.

The Fentons are not respected as experts, so Jack is given his ignorant line about dissecting a ghost. The Fentons need to remain exaggerated, ridiculous, an inconvenience to Danny- so they threaten his alter ego and point guns at him, but this is funny and not serious and not a reason to be worried about them as parents, because they are not on Danny’s level. Nobody is ever on Danny’s level. There is literally an episode called The Ultimate Enemy. The antagonist is an evil future Danny. The only person who could ever be Danny’s ultimate nemesis is Danny himself.

And when the series stops milking the Fentons for jokes about how they’re so stupid and how Jack is an idiot and Maddie married that idiot but even she doesn’t respect him even though she loves him and dutifully follows him everywhere and god how can these people care about ghosts they’re so ignorant and out of their league-

-then it kinda shuffles its feet awkwardly and goes, yeah. the Fentons love each other, and love their kids.

Yeah, Jack has framed photographs of Maddie, Jazz, and Danny on his personal workstation.

Yeah, in Mystery Meat Jack was seriously debating walking away from his lifework because it upset one of his kids.

Yeah, every time in canon the Fentons find out Danny’s secret they’re immediately all in supporting him.

Yeah, even not knowing it’s Danny, Jack has an amiable conversation with him in Million Dollar Ghost and the ghost containment units designed by the Fentons get some jokes about that they’re a little cramped but they aren’t horrifying prisons of inhumanity- and as soon as Danny Phantom the ghost boy has a good point, Jack lets him go on purpose.

Yeah, Jack is a competent ghost hunter who can take on Skulker and win as well as beat down the giant lake monster Skulker brought with him in Girls’ Night Out and would do this in a heartbeat, no jokes and no sidetracks, because that monster just chewed on his baby boy and nobody does that to his baby boy.

Yeah, Maternal Instinct is an entire episode of Maddie throwing hands with (or deceiving and manipulating) literally anything she thinks was responsible for getting Danny in this dangerous situation.

...And then the series says “but that’s not funny! Here, have jokes about the Fenton Stockades, that exist and have spikes and Jack wants to put his kids in them for time out, when the spikes apparently don’t hurt given Jack is not injured for being put in there. Here, have a joke about Jack attacking Jazz with a vacuum cleaner because he gets hellbent on the idea she’s possessed for no good reason. Here, have an uncomfortable joke about how badly Jack Fenton wants to vivisect a ghost while it screams. Funny funny funny. Why- why are you flinching?”

It basically creates a comedic situation where the show is constantly winding up like it’s gonna punch you- with the idea that the Fentons are bad parents and this has consequences for Danny and Jazz personally- and then laughs in your face if you flinch. It’ll never actually punch you- but it will sure keep swinging its hand really close to your face and laughing at your reactions.

This is, I’m just gonna say- one of the worst elements of the series, this weird relationship it has with “hahaha are we depicting an abusive family or not? ;)” where its actual point is that Jack Fenton is a person who should be shamed for being overzealous, for caring about this niche field, because nobody cares about ghosts! (unless the entire premise of the show does) Nobody wants to think about ghost science! That’s LAME! (unless Vlad does it)

So I think ultimately this creates a polarizing experience in the fandom. What part of this information do you take?

Do you take, say, my personal approach, which is:

“Hey, so it’s pretty clear and consistent that the Fentons love their kids and wouldn’t hurt them. The Fentons are nice people. They can be obsessive or headstrong but there’s nuanced and salient ways to examine this in the basic framework that they care, both about their family specifically, and in general- and while I think they can have flaws or conflicts with their kids, and with ambient ghosts in the world, I really don’t think they’re in danger of torturing a sapient entity in their basement and it frustrates and annoys me that canon ‘makes a joke’ of them doing these things because it thinks they’re so incompetent that these things are not really malicious actions, when- whether or not you successfully shoot them, it takes a certain kind of person to point a weapon you know is dangerous at something that looks, and talks, like a fourteen-year-old, especially when you’re a parent who has probably at least once in your life worried about something happening to your kids, and the ghost of a teenager means something happened to someone’s kid, in a general sense.

So my end conclusion on the Fentons is I think they are being depicted in a kind of metatextual bad faith, that they are not cruel or malicious people, and in my personal take or understanding on the series, I’d massively dial down those elements, and if any remain, take them seriously as problems they have in their relationships with other people.”

Or do you take an approach more rooted in,

“If the Fentons are shown to be negligent parents they are negligent parents, I’m going to examine and depict them as that, and I find this very hard to forgive, so it’s going to have real and nasty consequences.”

Both are basically valid. The place where I tend to get a little uncomfortable is twofold:

First, I think sometimes people just really want some fictional tragedy to either create or consume, and to that end, you aren’t going to get much juicy drama out of the Fentons being reasonable people. This isn’t evil or unforgivable, but for me, it’s definitely my least favorite fannish content to create or consume. I’m no fan of angst for angst’s sake, and I feel like there’s enough misery and heartbreak in the world that I’m not interested in wallowing in it unless it’s got something interesting to say.

Second- and this is a point I’m gonna be saltier: A lot of abusive Fenton fics that refuse to forgive them for the poorer-taste jokes the series makes, simultaneously give Vlad a blank check, when he has done targetedly malicious things to Danny.

Now- do I also have a more sympathetic read on Vlad, and feel like canon also gives him a bad rap? Yeah! But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say, “I can’t forgive the Fentons for stuff that was tagged onto them because canon thought it was funny, but I’m gonna editorialize Vlad’s depiction to lionize him as the ideal parent figure for Danny to run into the arms of.”

And the main reason I get so worked up in this, is I feel like Jack in particular (when Maddie is characterized as subordinate to Jack, following his cues, etc., and that’s its own demon) is... characterized as kind of a mocking caricature of traits that I personally recognize as an autistic and ADHD person.

Because the reality is? In many practical ways, I am Jack Fenton.

I like a bunch of weird stuff people find unacceptable or gross, like bugs

I’m hyperlexic (that means I talk, a lot)

Scatterbrained, forget words or where I left something or, sometimes, to do something important

Passionate and excitable including and especially in situations where it’s not normal, or expected, to have this much energy

I absolutely can forget birthdays, even for people I love dearly that mean the world to me! It’s horrible! There’s almost nothing I can do about it! My brain refuses to hold onto this information reliably and no amount of caring fixes it.

And being this way, living like this? My worst nightmare has always been that people think I either don’t care or that I’m just too much of a stupid, flippant buffoon to get right.

The thing about Jack is he’s “a person like me” and he’s “a person like me” who was designed to be a joke. We’re clearly expected to view him as untrustworthy, stupid, just like a big dumb dog of a man who barks in the wrong directions, who sometimes, when it counts, fetches a stick like he’s supposed to. Good job, Lassie. You got little Timmy out of the well.

And I am going to say with certainty and confidence that feeling like this is how people see me is the most unbelievably crushing feeling I have ever experienced in my life. That my excitement and passion means I’m unprofessional, stupid, don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s nearly painful for me, as an adult, to watch Danny Phantom because the show can never get off Jack’s case. And the few times it does, he hauls overtime arduously to make a difference, to help, to build something that will protect others, to put his own life on the line to stop hostile ghosts.

And immediately, then he goes back to being stupid stupid dog man. ha ha. why does his wife love him? no wonder his kids don’t ever want to be seen with him. no wonder his best friend is trying to kill him and he doesn’t even know, the big idiot.

(never mind that we see a scenario where he does know. and admits he would’ve forgiven Vlad anyway. but he can’t forgive Vlad hurting Danny.)

So to rein in this wild tangent: I’m not saying all must love Jack Fenton and despair. I’m not even telling people to hide their angst. If I have a sincere request, it’s this:

If you’re inclined to thinking of Vlad as a cool, troubled, complex person (as I do!) and are haunted by the implications of The Ultimate Enemy specifically for Vlad, that when Danny lost everyone else in his life that Vlad really genuinely tried to help, and was not gloating and happy and victorious to have Danny as his protege, and when that went badly, he was haunted to the end of his days by not having been able to help-

-but immediately turn around and think Jack is just a rotten awful person who’d absolutely hurt his own kid in spite of canon to the contrary (when there’s just as much, if not more, canon of Vlad being willfully hostile)

It might be good to examine why you’re feeling this way, and if this might not come down to the fact that even when canon has people call Vlad a desperately lonely fruit loop, it has a lot more respect for him than it does for Jack, and this isn’t because it’s actually taking a stance against any of the qualities it gave Jack that someone might find disagreeable- it’s because Jack’s just “a big old fat idiot nobody likes, right?”

and that’s... not something comfy to buy into.

#Danny Phantom #readmore #long post #I have a lot of feelings about the fenton parents #and about how generally cartoons like to normalize child abuse in the context of jokes #and this creates a very upsetting similarity between parents who are otherwise characterized as good and reliable #but given these jokes anyway #and parents who genuinely seem really nasty #but it's tied up in a bow with 'it's Just A Joke'#Anonymous

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mst3kproject · 4 years ago

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The Flame Barrier

I’ve got an awful lot of movies from 1958 on my resume, don’t I? Why is that? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Apparently it was just a bumper year for cheap, crappy black-and-white films. This one stars Kathleen Crowley from The Rebel Set and Rodd Redwing from The Mole People, in a movie written by George Worthing Yates, who also penned Earth vs the Spider. Also featuring a blob from outer space, with motives even less clear than the one in The Space Children.

Over yet another stock-footage rocket launch, one of those deep-voiced 50’s narrators informs us that there’s a layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the Flame Barrier which destroys everything it touches. This particular rocket was no exception, and its crash-landing in the Mexican jungle may be related to the disappearance of explorer Howard Dalman, whose wife Carol has now come looking for him. She seeks out a pair of prospectors, Dave and Matt Hollister, to guide her to his last known location. As they go deeper into the bush, they find they’re wandering into something unknown… something that can make men burst into flames!

This movie isn’t terrible. It’s not great, but it’s not irredeemably awful. It reminds me a lot of The Giant Gila Monster, in that there’s a story going on and it’s not a bad story per se, but it’s one that’s got nothing whatsoever to do with the title and premise that drew us to the film in the first place. When the supposed main plot pops up again at the end, it makes for a sudden and jarring shift.

The Flame Barrier starts off all right. We have the inevitable narrator to give us the backstory, and then it gets right on with meeting the characters. They’re introduced one by one, telling us their personalities and goals: Carol is naïve and spoiled but she’s trying her best, Matt is a drunk fool but he’s got a good heart, and Dave is a gruff, cynical realist who loves his brother but is tired of his bullshit. None of them are exactly nice people but you can see where they’re coming from, and they each get an arc. Carol struggles with whether she really loved Howard, whom she barely knew, and the movie allows her to toughen up and learn how to survive in the wilderness. Dave spends much of the movie being a jerk to Carol but eventually realizes he judged her too harshly and apologizes. Matt gets a chance to be a hero and takes it, believing that he owes it to Dave for never giving up on him. The writing is frequently unsubtle but the actors are competent, and these little stories work just fine.

The movie that surrounds them, however, is often very sloppy. The narrator tells us that the space probe from the opening crashed because ‘it unexpectedly lost its gravitational force’. What? What is that supposed to even mean? The narrator also tells us it’s been six months since Howard disappeared, then mere minutes later Carol says it’s been four. There’s a bit where Carol is menaced by an iguana… the creature is never actually in the shot with her, so they couldn’t find anything scarier? The stock wildlife footage on their trek through the soundstage sets of Central America includes hyenas. I can hear Crow saying, “boy, are we in Afri… wait a minute…” And, pet peeve, they describe a snake as poisonous instead of venomous.

This being a jungle movie, obviously there are ‘natives’. I think most of these are actual Mexicans, although Wikipedia says Rodd Redwing may have been from India (if so, I like to think his entire career in Westerns was based on just walking into casting directors’ offices and announcing he was ‘an Indian’, and letting them draw their own conclusions). Being as this is a movie from the fifties, the natives are there largely to provide a body count – white people aren’t allowed to die until the climax. To its credit, The Flame Barrier mostly (though not entirely) avoids the trope where the natives have interpreted the mysterious happenings as supernatural, leading the white characters to scoff at the whole thing. There is some of this, but Dave clearly knows these people well and respects their culture and their warnings.

Then there’s the love story. Obviously this is a movie, so Carol’s gotta fall for one or other of these idiots, but neither of the Hollister brothers is a good choice. Matt is sweet to her but he’s also a useless drunk who only has a job because his brother puts up with him. Dave spends eighty percent of the movie being an asshole and I have no idea what Carol sees in him. At least the two men never fight over her. I guess the love affair is important to the plot, because it spurs the party on to finish their search for the missing Howard Dalman despite the odds being stacked against them… but that basically boils down to Carol and Dave needing to be sure she’s a widow before they can bone.

After all this messing around in the jungle, with the run time half over we get to the plot, and the movie changes gears with an almost audible ka-chunk. Now we’ve got this space blob sitting in a cave (how did it get in there when it’s still attached to the rocket?) doubling in size every two hours, which must be destroyed before it can consume the entire earth! Suddenly we have a laboratory, because all the scientific equipment Howard brought with him is still in perfect condition despite having been sitting in the jungle for either four or six months. Suddenly Dave the rugged survivalist is a scientist and mathematician. It’s like they took the same actors and sets and started trying to make a totally different movie.

Honestly, I think this is more or less what happened. I think the multiplying space blob was the movie somebody originally wanted to make – it starts out as a tiny thing in a test tube, growing bigger and bigger until it consumes the whole building and will destroy the entire city if it isn’t stopped! That sounds like a pretty fun 50’s sci-fi movie in itself. It also, however, sounds like an expensive 50’s sci-fi movie, needing miniatures destroyed and screaming extras and other stuff The Flame Barrier just didn’t have the money for. Hence the need to spend so much time wandering around in the jungle swapping tragic backstories before the characters are allowed to get to that point.

The unfortunate thing about this is that the movie doesn’t really have time to get into the nature of its alien. In Spacemaster X-7, the Blood Rust was offscreen much of the time but we still had a good idea of what it was and of its capabilities, and the explanations we were given made a reasonable amount of sense. In The Flame Barrier, we’ve got this blob that apparently lives in the rarified and super-hot outer atmosphere (the writers seem to have confused Earth’s atmosphere with the Sun’s corona), but can also survive on the ground… and its effects are all over the place. Sometimes when things get too close to it, they’re just electrocuted and disintegrated, as happens to the rocket’s original passenger, a very young chimpanzee. Sometimes people get horribly burned and then burst into flames and are reduced to skeletons hours or days later, as keeps happening to the natives. And then there’s Howard, who somehow managed to get close enough to be swallowed up by the thing and his corpse is still completely intact inside it.

None of this makes any sense. If the blob has that protective electrocution barrier that the humans must be so careful to avoid, how did Howard get close enough to be trapped in it? How did the chimp get out to end up wandering around in the jungle? What the heck is happening to the natives who get burned and then skeletonized and why doesn’t that ever happen to the chimp or any of the main characters? And how do they manage to kill by electrocution a creature that uses lethal amounts of electricity without any harm to itself? ‘It’s an alien – we don’t understand it’ can cover a multitude of sins in movie writing, but the blob’s random effects don’t even feel like they could potentially make sense.

The Flame Barrier reminds me of other MST3K movies, too. Prominent among them are It Conquered the World and The Crawling Hand, both of which ended on the same unintentionally depressing note: they suggest that the dangers of going into space are so great that humans will never be able to overcome them. It Conquered the World tells us that there are eight more Venusians just waiting for their own turn to invade. The Crawling Hand says that exposure to outer space causes mutations that will turn astronauts into mindless murderers. The Flame Barrier posits that not only is space itself deadly, but is also full of deadly creatures, and the only way to avoid them is to stay on the ground.

This has always interested me because movies like this stand alongside things like the tales of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger!, in which humans have an exciting future among the stars. Stories set in space can be about either the exhilaration of discovery or the terror of the unknown, and this dichotomy seems to be as old as science fiction – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered the first work of proper sci-fi, and it encompasses both. Frankenstein tells us that if we let our fear over-rule our curiosity, we’ll miss out on something potentially wonderful. Movies like The Flame Barrier, and even modern space monster flicks like Alien, seem to say the opposite, that we shouldn’t meddle with the unknown at all.

This movie was kind of a compromise on my part. I’ve had a lot on my plate lately and I picked The Flame Barrier as a movie that was kinda stupid but wouldn’t be either a test of my endurance or particularly challenging to write about. I’m hoping to have something a little juicier for you next time.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #the flame barrier #boy are we in africa!#50s #we're running out of plots

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anokaiwritingblog · 4 years ago

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Oh hey. I forgot I have a writing blog. Here’s a WIP of my short story collection for my creative writing class. It’s a WIP for one of my major ideas I want to do.

Once every century, it is said that the planets of the solar system align perfectly. In a perfect row, they cast upon the ultimate shadow upon one another; opening the gates to other realms far from our own. It was said that the fallen god rose from this gate and set his sights on destroying our system just like his own. But where evil went, goodness was sure to follow. Out from this gate came the Holy Maiden and her summoned knight. Together, they sealed away the fallen god and cast light back into our system. The two understood that the battle was far from over. “Catch a fish for a man, he would eat for a day. Teach the man how to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.” Despite their love for each other, the Holy Maiden and her summoned knight agreed to go on separate pilgrimages to spread their teachings. The Holy Maiden remained in our system and founded us, the Holy Order, to pass on her teachings and traditions to future Holy Maidens. Her summoned knight, on the other hand, returned into the gate and spread his words to the numerous realms behind the gate. With their sacrifice, we have prevented the fallen god’s awakening over a thousand times…

“Ay yo… so, like… cool lore but like… pretty cringy not gonna lie. You lost me at the “aligning of the planets” bit. It went from horoscope bullshit to cliched pre-teen novels with a bit of a JRPG elements in there,” a voice spoke out, breaking the breathtaking spell that weighed heavy in this beautifully painted dream.

The wind blew soft through the empty courtyard as no one said anything. In a walled-off garden stood seven bodies, each facing each other in a circle with a pond that separated each figure. Each stood on their own path that was surrounded by the water on each side but behind. A mini pier if you wish to imagine. The water was clear, yet the light was too blinding to see past the surface. All seven figures were outlined well enough to show that they were all women, yet a shadow covered their faces to remain a mystery to one another. Sitting above all this was a pink-haired woman. Her hair was braided back and looked far too youthful to be talking like an elder. Her prink eyes scanned each woman to search for the back talker, a glare like a dagger and on edge. Despite that, she kept an icy façade.

“Who cut me off? Head Nun of the Holy Order?” the pink-haired woman spoke up, looking down at the crowd of women below her.

“Uh, me.”

Slicing through the air, the Head Nun’s eyes locked on to the woman who spoke up; her hand raised slightly while maintaining the image of being smaller than what she was. Her limbs were tightly held together like a defensive turtle yet flashing a Chester cat grin in reception of the attention. “No offense lady but I felt like I heard this exact same plot with some gacha game I played last month. Can we just skip all this tutorial nonsense to get to the fuckin’ point already?” the woman continued, her blunt and straightforward words not matching the lowkey appearance she was trying to give off.

“Oh! You played Fate/Grand Order too? I’ve been trying to pull Gilgamesh for my team for months,” the woman on the right of the back talker chimed in. Though she was covered in shadow, the third party was animatedly clapping her hands together in excitement that she found a companion who played the same game.

“Eh, I stopped after two months. The drop rates are insane for that game and you don’t get enough of the in-game currency. I prefer Epic Seven since you actually win the gamble in summoning a strong hero-“

“Silence!”

Slamming her hand against the armrest of her chair, the Head Nun demanded all attention back onto her. The sound of flesh against marble echoing throughout this supernatural courtyard. Zeroing in out the outlier, the Head Nun sized her up before letting out a scoff. Receiving this judgmental look was a young woman of 21 years. If she never stood by herself, she might have blended in with a crowd with her rather ordinary looks. Brown hair, matching brown eyes, and a pair of glasses. Tell that description to any sketch artist and they would draw any other woman. One in five women look exactly like her. Was that statistically correct? Of course not, but most would believe it these days.

The nun craned her neck over these seven girls, peering down with arrogance. Who would have thought that the bold one in this group wasn’t the goth but this… loser. Despite not being affected by the spell, the rebel was overseen like the shadow of her chair or the tree’s. “Are you done speaking over me?”

“No, actually. You aren’t hurrying the fuck up and you rudely cut me off from having a pleasant and stimulating conversation from my neighbor here,” the woman said, “If you aren’t going to tell me what my horoscope is, I don’t want to hear another hour of lore.” From her sides, the woman could hear the reactions from the other girls who listen in to this back and forth. Some ‘tsk’ from her disrespectful actions while others acted a bit shocked. Of course, there were those who snickered from the show while one seemed to be rather disinterested. Tough crowd… To be fair, she wasn’t normally as blunt as she was today. She knew when to keep things to herself but quite frankly, this lady was going on for the last hour about prophecies and cosmic evils. This nun sounds like those writers who only focus on worldbuilding and not writing their story.

“Hurry up? We’re talking about the end of the world- YOUR world. This “lore” is vital. People’s lives are at stake with this information, Two,” the Head Nun said.

“Shit, really? Then why don’t you act it? Literally… no agency. This is the part where a creative writing teacher tells you “show don’t tell”,” Two answered right back; sarcasm dripping from every syllable. She wanted to correct the hag. Her name was Mia, but she understood there was anonymity for a reason. She was tactless, not stupid. Well, Mia would argue she had some tact, but her patience ran thin do this grossly, mishandled magic society. She thought those campy young adult books with groups run by idiots were meant to be… you know, fiction?

It all started right when Mia got to bed. She just got home from a long shift at work and all she wanted was nothing more than lay in bed. And that she did once she took an evening shower before bed. It was normal, everyday stuff for the third-year college student. She had school tomorrow and Mia just wanted to rest her aching body. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she opened her eyes to a completely new world. Looking around, she found herself not alone. There was one other person with her face covered and the pink-haired woman as well. Mia was greeted as “Two” and was told to wait for the other five to show.

That was an hour wasted in waiting and add in the additional hour for the hefty speech, we got our recipe for an irritated Mia. She didn’t go to bed just to stand up for two hours for some fantasy bullshit. Any other time? Sure. It’s cool. But now??? WHEN SHE HAS A TEST TOMORROW?! INCONVENIENT! It killed Mia since this was pretty fucking cool and different from the norm. Everyone dreams of being picked the chosen one but, come on… this was too predictable. If you read a fantasy book or consumed any fantasy media before, then you know what’s going on.

“Rude child. This information isn’t something as trivial as a novel,” the Head Nun spoke, looking down at Mia like a haughty teacher.

“I’m gonna assume that we’re all candidates in being chosen as the new Holy Maiden. We chose our knights or whatever. Compete and whoever wins must reseal the fallen god then tada! Happy ending! Yay!” Mia said. She even raised her hand at the ‘yay’ portion of her phrase. “Listen dude, I play too many games and read a shit ton of books for this. Can we please not do this while I’m in my pajamas?” Mia said, practically begging to be released from this mild inconvenience.

“… You guys weren’t exactly chosen. The universe brought you to us…” the Head Nun spoke, not really arguing with what Mia said. There was a cocky grin on Mia’s face as she just couldn’t help but find it funny how she got some otherworldly person tongue-tied.

“A lottery system huh… sounds about right. An NPC like me wouldn’t be chosen normally… I’m way too smart to be a main character,” Mia thought. She glances to the side for a moment before back on the show.

“Well… I’ll work with Two on this point and speed things up. Time is of the essence,” the head nun spoke, acting as if she was graciously fulfilling Mia’s wish. At this point, Mia didn’t care. Whatever helped the nun feel powerful or whatever… “As Two pointed out, all seven of you are candidates for becoming the new Holy Maiden. You will come into this realm three times a week for your lessons to strengthen your magic and during your regular days of the week, you seven will compete with one another. Your knights are the extension of your magic. When one knight trumps the other, they prove you are the strongest magic user and your defeated candidate is knocked out of the running. This continues until the last one is standing,” the nun explained, “We have hidden your faces and names from each other to keep you guys from cheating and attacking each other when you aren’t ready for combat. If you wish to fight, it’s up to you guys to discuss how to go about it.”

“A battle royal? I thought dystopian novels where kids kill each other in a game was out of fashion? I mean- they already got the Mirai Nikki vibe with the covered faces in the central hub…” Mia thought. She laughed under her breath with mild amusement at the situation. She decided to keep her thoughts hidden now as she surveys the competition. She wasn’t sure if she was going to take this seriously, but she thought she should start hiding her thoughts on the matter now. “The Head Nun never said we couldn’t figure out each other’s identity and jump them… nor any etiquettes of battle… how curious,” she continued her train of thought as she waited for the nun to finish.

“We’ll now do the summoning ritual. One, please kneel down and place your hand into the water to help your knight rise,” the Head Nun spoke. One looked around confused by the order, but she soon nervously did as she was told. She knelt and placed her hand inside. There was a good pause before One jolted. Slowly, One stood up to her feet as a tall figure rose from the water. Just like the girls, his face was hidden from everyone else but his master, no doubt. But his figure was very much noticeable.

“YO! Did you just summon a furry?!” Mia exclaimed before bursting out laughing. She pointed a finger at the girl next to her in a mocking fashion. While she couldn’t see the competition, Mia could at least see a pair of fuzzy dog ears on the knight’s head. But despite her words, Mia knew that, realistically, this knight was most likely a beast man or even a werewolf. She simply didn’t want to lose this chance to taunt her competition.

“Two! Please restrain yourself and respect your fellow maidens and their knights,” the Head Nun spoke. The pink-haired woman coughing into her hand to break up the interaction. “Now, for the love of God. Please shut up, kneel, and summon your knight.”

“Damn, at least ask for my consent before forcing me on my knees,” Mia muttered before kneeling as instructed. She felt rather stupid but seeing how the first maiden got a knight, Mia decided to just trust the action. She submerged her hand in the opaque lake. It was wet alright. Yet despite being in spitting distance to the surface, Mia couldn’t see past her reflection. “Come on RNG don’t fail me now. A hot guy would do wonders for my mental health,” Mia joked, “I hope re-rolls are free.”

On the edge of non-existence and existence, a subconscious mind rose to consciousness once more. He drowns in nothingness and breaths in hopelessness.

There was no sky nor ground to define his abysmal prison. Not even a memory to keep him company.

A hand reached out from above. A hand surrounded by light and a promise of warmth. He attempted to reach for it, yet he was restricted from moving and was forced to watch another steal the opportunity from the shadow. He watched the pair of hands meet and just like that, the light was gone.

He sank deeper into the depths of this unholy waiting room.

Yet again, a hand was extended from the dark with the temptation of freedom. Cautious to reach for it after the first time, he looked around for others who wished to take it. Many came and all walked away. No one wanted to take this hand.

He made an attempt to take it, if only to escape, but found that he was unable to pry himself free. Defeated, he decided to give up on the opportunity. It was pointless anyways.

Left unheld, the hand does not reel empty handed. No. Instead, it curled its fingers until one finger remained up.

One big ‘fuck you’.

What the fuck? So much for an inviting presence. Who did this person think they are? It wasn’t like he didn’t try to take their hand. But seeing this middle finger dangling in front of him like a fishhook with bait, he reached for it once more to drag the hand down into the depths with him. He was tied in place but after some furious tugs, he was freed with a pop.

Taking the hand, it became evident that the one getting snatched wasn’t them but him. Curled fingers shifted forms into a vice grip around his wrist upon skin contact. The dark veil that covered him were ripped off in that instance. Lights, sounds, textures, tastes, and smells flooded his senses as he became a person once again.

Planting both feet on the ground, Mia used both hands to reel up her prey. This summoning was nothing graceful like the girl next to her. It was primal and chaotic as Mia’s partner was floundering under the water. So much for a knight in shining armor. This guy isn’t fighting any dragons anytime soon if he’s having difficulty wrestling against an inanimate substance.

Letting out a battle cry, Mia used all her strength to bring her knight to the surface and onto the pier with her. It wasn’t his entire body but enough of it was on land that it was easier to drag the rest of him out with less trouble. Mia fell backwards on her butt and was slightly out of breath after that intensive ritual. Shiiiit. Carrying a body is a lot harder than it looks kids! Don’t trust what you see on TV. The more you knowミ★

Mia was the image of ‘tired’ with her slightly flushed cheeks and skewed. Fanning herself, she patiently waited for the man she pulled out to make the first move, yet he was belly-down, still as a door nail. For someone who had a lot of energy to fight against help, he suddenly became as complacent as a kitten.

Oh fuck... he isn’t dead, is he? Cause that’ll be pretty awkward ngl ┐(´-｀)┌

Mia leaned forward to inspect what she pulled out. She lifted his pale arm to search for a pulse. It was cold to the touch and she couldn’t tell if the steady thud she felt was his or an echo of her own. Upon letting it go, it limply fell to the ground with no flinch from him. Crap. Don’t tell her that she accidentally pulled out a dead body?! Well, Mia knew that pulling trash can happen during fishing mini games but she thought that this more of a “guarantee knight summoning” deal. Mia refused to believe that she waited five humiliating minutes waiting just to pull out a corpse. She wants a refund, god damn it!

Moving his head, Mia planned to check his pulse from his neck to double check if he was dead. There was no resistance in the action, yet she found herself meeting a pair of responsive red eyes peaking from between snowy white hair. The two of them stared at each other for a moment as they both seemed like caught criminals in the middle of a crime. The man’s chest raised up and down as he breaths; a piece of evidence that doesn’t escape Mia’s attention. He’s…

“HE’S HOT!!!”

Scrambling to her feet, Mia put both her hands in the air and let out her victory screech to the worried silhouettes surrounding her. No wait- she should be yelling how he was alive, not his appearance. Yet here she was, doing a victory dance on top of her knight in a pair of polka dotted pajamas. Give her a pitchfork and a tail then you got the image of an imp dancing on a grave. “Bro! He’s so hot... Edward Cullen lookin’ ass- I mean, not like the musty looking Robert Patterson version but how you imagine he look like based on the description,” Mia explained to anyone listening with a wildly inaccurate and vague description of the man. She waved her arms animatedly as she gossiped with her peers with the person in question crawling to his feet.

“Dude, that should be the last of your concerns,” Five said.

“I think you should make sure he’s okay…” Seven said, joining Five in expressing concern.

“Whoa there! You can’t really blame my maiden here for getting hung up on my dashing good looks. Dead or alive, you’ll notice my face first before anything else.”

Laying a heavy hand on Mia’s right shoulder, the man wrapped his arm around the woman to stand in solidarity it her. Surprised by the action, Mia tilt her head to the side to look at her knight to judge which side he was playing on. She locked eyes with him once more but not on accident this time. His touch was uncomfortable, yet she doesn’t push him away. They were a pair of souls with two different goals yet had a silent agreement to meet in the middle for the moment.

“Good to see you again, Catherine. You hardly look over two thousand years old,” Mia’s knight said, being the first to break their line of sight to look at the Head Nun. The nun sneered as the source of her stress doubled over the course of ten minutes.

“Ashley…” the Head Nun said, nearly hissing out the name. Her knuckles were turning white due to how tightly she held onto her armrest.

“Ash,” he corrected her, with equal amount of distaste in return. Ash was smiling but he on edge just like the Head Nun. But this rivalry was interrupted when Mia pinched Ash’s hand to catch his attention. He looked back down to receive Mia’s disapproving expression at his brief quip with the Head Nun. It seemed hypocritical that Mia was suddenly policing his attitude considering she was flaunting on the competition, but Ash clocked on what’s making her step in. “It’s okay,” Ash said, leaning down to whisper into Mia’s left ear, “This was just between me and her. No one heard me use my name. Not like it matters.”

“I’m just disappointed that you don’t have a chainsaw arm,” Mia whispered back, pretending she never had that concern by throwing out a seemingly random thought. Ash stared at her as if she was insane and as if to say ‘what are you talking about’ with expressions alone. “What? You never seen the Evil Dead franchise?” Mia whispered, “Not a fan of zombies movies?”

“You watched me rise from the depths, fight other knights, and you’re asking me if I’ve seen a movie?” Ash said, in disbelief at her question yet finding himself amused by it at the same time.

“I take it that you don’t have Netflix in the void then.”

Watching the duo snicker and conspire with each other like a pair of high school delinquents, the Head Nun rubbed her forehead as a migraine began to surface. She was losing control once again thanks to double trouble. Even the other girls who were patiently waiting began talking among each other. “Oh my god… like I thought, this was the worst combination I’ve ever seen in my lifetime…,” the Head Nun muttered to herself. She covered her face as she shook her head slowly as if she was contemplating something. “I didn’t realize it would be this bad… Out of all the times for that guy to make an appearance, he had to end up with her,” she continued muttering before ultimately lifting her head to look down at Mia and her summoned knight. The Head Nun needed to separate them. “Ah, Two? I don’t mean to disturb your… fun. But you summoned one of the more… troublesome knights considering his background. I’ll allow you to “re-roll”. How does that sound?” the Head Nun spoke, her voice sickening sweet and obviously fake.

Mia and Ash quickly turned to look at each other for how their partner would react. They wordlessly conversed with Mia gesturing the two of them then to the Head Nun. Ash’s only reply was an uncaring shrug but ended up nervously shaking off the water that stuck to his hair to appear distracted. “Yeah… no deal, Howie Mandel,” Mia said, trailing off for a moment to gauge last minute expressions from Ash before turning her full attention on the Head Nun. “You doing that makes me want to stick with Mr. Abominable Albino even more,” she said.

“Abominable Albino?” Ash said. He had a hand over his chest and appeared almost offending by the alliteration. He was hardly offended by being called such a thing but the fact that Mia wasted a braincell to make an awful pun in the middle of a fantastical end-of-the-world scenario.

“Whenever some untrustworthy figure makes some inflammatory comment about one of the leads, they’re obviously doing that to cause aa divide between the leads for their own benefit,” Mia continued as she ignored Ash’s offense to her words. She waved her hand in the air as if to disperse the fog of misinformation. “You even had a mini aside moment where you muttered to the readers that there’s something more about Ash!”

“Pardon?”

The Head Nun looked completely lost as Mia’s rambling turned to the meta and spoke about invisible audience members. But just like Ash, Mia ignored her words to continue her spiel. “And even if he’s a piece of shit. Worthless. Good for nothing. Pathetic. Dead weight. Only a pretty vase-“

“Okay. I think she gets it already,” Ash said, cutting in as the terms began to pile in his heart. He squeezed Mia’s shoulder to have her move on to the point.

“I will never give him up,” Mia said.

“And... why is that?” the Head Nun asked, wringing her dress in fear that Mia figured something out that she wasn’t supposed to.

“Because he is hot. I made that pretty clear since the beginning,” Mia said. She held her head high and mighty with not even a hint of shame. For a moment, Ash was about to feel touched by Mia coming to his defense. Touched enough that it would make him loyal to her and act as a spark to a turbulent but heartfelt young adult love story which would turn into a mildly popular trilogy with an eventual movie deal before fading into obscurity. But the curtains closed on that sparkling yet oddly specific future as Ash realized that he was stuck with the weird kid. “I mean- I guess I value him as a person too… or something. Power of belief or whatever inspirational term author’s like to use to tug on heartstrings.”

#my writing #this is isekai believe it or not #writer on tumblr #pov you're my classmate who sees me uploading this to our blackboard discussion board

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janiedean · 4 years ago

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I feel so frustrated, I mean.. I read so many bullsh*ts around and I'd like to know your opinion. I think that making a villain sympathetic through their backstory is not *insert bad action* apology. I'm so tired of people trying to make me feel guilty just because I think 100% of times a bad person is not born bad but turned into a monster because of a lot of reasons. It's dehumanizing to consider someone bad without taking into account their past. There's always a reason in the past, even if a villain looks like they're enjoying doing bad things. It's sad and something to be compassionate to that a person find enjoyable hurting others because something in their past made them reach the point where they think hurting others is acceptable or even the only way out

eh I... agree with you on all accounts but again this is... the ultimate reaping the sows of this idiotic attitude cool motive still murder in fandom everywhere lately which like, some times it could be a fair objection to... people not owning up to their favorite being actually an asshole (and even then it would be valid just if they’re harassing you), but most times it started like that and turned into AH IF YOU JUSTIFY BAD DUDE’S BACKSTORY OR EXPLAIN IT THEN YOU EXCUSE HIM, which like.... shows at least some things:

a complete lack of being able to analyze a story going outside the ‘good guys vs bad guys scheme’ which is why I really wish people stopped consuming only media aimed for ages from fourteen under because that’s not going to do anything to help you

refuse to consider the fact that what happens to anyone in life shapes them negatively or positively but negatively is... a... thing, thus falling back on the usual calvinist bullshit of either you’re good or you’re bad and the best thing you can do to redeem yourself is dying to help someone else, which again.... the world doesn’t work like that

a complete refusal of actually trying to understand how trauma and abuse works because like cool motive still murder for someone you don’t like 99,9% of the times translates in the good victim vs bad victim dynamic, which in turn basically translates into ‘if you’re an abuse victim/you have trauma but you don’t react in The Appropriate Way or don’t fit the Good Victim points then your trauma/abuse isn’t valid’, which like... sorry but all victims of trauma/abuse are valid in that sense and you can’t write off someone just because they didn’t react the way you think they should

(which then usually means that they treat fans of problematic character who might in their turn have trauma etc in the same way and like... lol no)

now, thing is, one thing is fiction and another is real life - in real life if someone hurts you and they’re a shit person and they have exceedingly good reasons to be but they’re still a shit person you don’t have to be in contact with them and if they don’t get their shit together even moreso (or if they try to and reach out for help you can accept to or not), but when it comes to fiction the point is: it’s up to the damned author.

like, one thing that people don’t get is that obviously fictional bad actions are not happening in real life and a narrative is usually built to either redeem the person committing them or not, but if they want to, then... that character will be redeemed and there’s like nothing the reader can object. now, like... I mean if this ask isn’t about b*n solo I’ll eat my hat but if it’s not let’s just take him as the poster child example for this entire bullshit trend: ofc if you kill your father irl you go to jail, but since star wars is a SPACE OPERA where real life world consequences don’t exist and patricide is a literary device since the history of ever (GREEK TRAGEDY FFS) to symbolize freeing yourself from your roots and needing to find yourself and so on, the act of ben killing han in itself means shit narratively beyond telling you that ben has ISSUES that made him go to the dark side and that he’s conflicted, and in the moment that someone is conflicted you already should see he’s a decent person or has the potential to be. now, ofc ben solo did an amount of exactly not kosher things and is a shit at declaring his feelings and has issues, but the point is: if the sw sequels (as bad as the overall narrative eventually was) wanted him to be conflicted and then do the right thing (reconciling himself with his parents ahahahahah HAN FORGAVE HIM LIKE.. XDD) then they want you to see him as a human being who made mistakes but then could still do the right thing. the fact that he died after bc they couldn’t commit to one damned side and do a sensed story doesn’t matter, but the concept of ‘he did x y and z fictionally so BAD’ is stupid bc x y and z never happened irl and you can choose to forgive a fictional character because he’s fictional, and a lot of people who are ‘’bad victims’’ or not poster children for trauma management actually do find hope in seeing characters like that getting another chance. because guess what, catharsis through fiction. like guys I realized I could actually not settle for someone out of fear of not ever finding anyone the moment I realized why I was into jb that much, someone else can find catharsis in bensolo being redeemed or whatever and people refusing to see it can’t engage with an adult-driven story (and not even for children bc a lot of media for children has bad guys who turn good).

and in that sense like.... I mean personally if I see a character like that I don’t even count them as villain bc I know they won’t eventually be (like I didn’t consider bensolo a bad guy since... ever) and for me villains are 95% of the time just people who are assholes without redeeming qualities that the author doesn’t care for redeeming even if they explain why they’re like that (see instances c. lannister for one I hate and randall flagg for one I actually love) so I have troubles like.... seeing them as bad guys (I mean the... supposed one from luke cage s2? for me went from vague villain to antagonist the moment they exposed his backstory lmao) and idg this mindset but personally I just hope fandom goes back on the ‘you do realize you can like antagonists without being a bad person for relating to them’ train because this entire mindset is just... fucking... tiring.

#social justice calvinism #sw drama for ts #i mean there are... cases when some ppl are just shit and no other explanation #but they're like the extreme minority #and if you can't extend that favor to fictional chars #good luck doing it irl #then again most ppl who don't then don't extend it to fans of those chars irl so #Anonymous #ask post

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ink-beneath-her-fingernails · 4 years ago

Text

BNHA/MHA First Watch-Through Notes

1x01

these are... stupid... and... a mess. bc I am stupid and a mess. you have had your warning. I didn’t even go back and skim through this when I was done I’m just releasing these little bastard thoughts into the void they’re not my problem now

I’m watching dubbed btw

I know, I know... it’s the only one I have access to rn tho

I... do not know how to feel about funimation’s new intro?

well I guess it’s not really new but

listen I haven’t watched anything of funimation’s since the og fruits basket ok I’m used to the DUN-DUN *funimation* ((....you should be watching))

he is. babie. green babie.

but also why do these small children have such wild hair colors

I mean I’m here for it

I just wasn’t expecting it

oH SHIT THEY GOT POWERS POWERS

so this is the famous deku

I’m guessing this is like a flashback or memory or something?

I missed the bully’s name

speaking of the bullies, they changed order? It was wings, fire, stretchy hands, but now it’s fire, stretchy hands, wings. I know that they probably wanted to show the “leader” closest and that’s why but,,

also wtf?? these are kids. like bullies should not be a thing, I think we can all agree on that, but yeah, it’s gonna happen. but these kids are, what? eight? nine? maybe their powers (’quirks,’ whatever) aren’t super powerful yet, but this blonde kid has fire powers. has nobody talked to them about just how dangerous this is? forget roughing the other two up or intimidating them or giving them a hard time, this could genuinely escalate and get way out of hand super fast, and someone could get seriously injured.

oof. boy is dead.

this eight year old (purple hair) sounds like he’s a thirty yo new teacher trying to sound hip and cool but also wise and knowing to his class who Does Not Care

that wasn’t purple kid?? that was current deku???

wack

then this fourteen year old sounds like he’s a thirty yo new teacher trying to sound hip and cool but also wise and knowing to his class who Does Not Care

also they were four?

jeepers heckin criminey who starts beating people up at four years old

have to say though, I loved that sky-to-puddle transition

jiminey fucking crickets I’m not even a minute into the episode these notes are going to be stupidly long I’m sorry

!! I love his little skipping-dance thing when he’s impatient at the crosswalk!

alright... I’ll admit it... his character design is pretty adorable

also tf is that thing

it looks half shark half poorly drawn dog

I mean I get it’s probably a person and that’s their quirk or whatever but

did this kid just run all the way across the city just to watch this guy start shit at the station so he could see the heroes take him down??

I mean respect tbh but also priorities kid

also I really appreciate that the cops are just kind of calmly directing everyone and everyone else is just kind of chillin like “oh. another villain. that’s too bad.” like tbh that’s one of the things that always kind of annoys me about movies and shows like this where there’s like repeatedly villain attacks because yes they are scary, especially when you’re caught up in them, but if you’re just kind of there and not directly in the action or being directly threatened, then why are you freaking out? you’ve lived in this city for how long? there’s an attack every, what, two days? this isn’t routine for you by now?

I started this like 15 min ago and am only like a minute and a half into the ep smh

ngl this intro kinda pops off

that hero guy seemed... kind of evil lookin tho

love the animation oml

also the lyrics to this are great???

OH IS THAT A NARRATIVE FOIL I SEE IMPLIED THERE

I THINK IT IS

“and they were narrative foils” “oh my god they were narrative foils”

k ngl rewinding real quick bc I missed some of the intro and there’s always so much fun stuff to see and unpack in those

also I wanna read all the lyrics

k so I was wondering this before but I’m just gonna say it... why does the hero guy have rabbit ears

alright character designs lookin p fire so far

last guy I keep missing but he kind of looks like steven universe?? idk I still have to watch that show too tbh so,,,

does the big hero guy turn into a giant bird?

oh that intro got me excited for this

these characters look so lit!!

“the first incident?” so this isn’t just like a natural factor of their world? it hasn’t always been going on? there was, like, a definitive start to it all? was that kid really the first incident or the first one they noticed? was that actually the first incident or is it just like the commonly told first incident, like an old myth/legend/folktale/old wive’s tale?

interesting that it started with a baby and then moved to people of all ages?

oh they don’t know the cause of the quirks? interesting

((why do I feel like finding out the answer to that is gonna be like A Big Thing™ at some point in the series))

I really like the visuals they put with this exposition?? idk why it’s just,,, very appealing

also his voice is very nice to listen to tbh, so that’s a definite plus

I hate it when the main character’s voice is super annoying

but like how long ago was it that this started? he just said “before long”

I like that in this universe they actually acknowledge that hey comic books are a thing and this whole superheroes/villains/powers thing is kind of ridiculous bc it’s legit like playing out scenes straight from those comic books but also this is real life and it’s actually happening and really does pose a lot of danger and complications to a lot of people, so we’re going to treat it as something real and serious and affecting us

I might’ve spoken too soon but I really hope they don’t blow that mindset

I feel like too often superhero shows/movies just either completely gloss over the effects this stuff has on society as a whole, or it’s like a completely new thing for them, like there’s never been the concept of a fictional superhero or a comic book there before.

“was an age of heroes”??? oh no what happens

k but why is this guy dressed like the ‘do not cross’ lines

kind of a lame hero costume tbh :/

why. does he have. sleeves. but no shirt.

edna mode would never do you like that honey go see her

“Death Arms”?? what kind of alias is that?? also wouldn’t it make more sense for arms to be uncovered than his chest, then??

“The Punching Hero”

I’m sorry I Cannot take this guy seriously

waterbending??

asdkfdls idk why but this firehose guy really reminds me of that one alchemist from fmab with the top hat and the monocle and the peg leg that spun like a top and Scar murked

“rescue specialist” see?? that makes sense!! it makes me so happy that they’re actually thinking more about the worldbuilding and how dangerous scenarios would work if 80% of the population had powers of different kinds, beyond “big bad guy meet big good guy. punch punch good guy wins”

also dear god thank you for putting someone on crowd control I know I was just saying it was great these people weren’t really treating this like the end of the world and it is good that they were mostly staying back by themselves but. they were still standing very close to an ongoing fight. priorities, people. self preservation. they are things. that I do not believe most people in superhero universes have in the slightest.

aww he’s too short

(but is he shorter than edward elric)

((do we know))

(((somebody please tell me if this information is available)))

alsdfkj l;a that guy calling in late bc the train got held up by the villain... do you think that’s another equivalent of “oh...I’m...sick... yeah, totally, I’m sick” and “my dog ate my homework” to them? “there was a villain attack” or “some idiot on my block decided to show off their quirk and it got out of hand”

ope Big Hero™ is here

...why am I surprised that they have fans?? I mean I guess that makes sense they’re basically celebrities and public figures right?

okay Big Hero™ is Kamui got it

wait no that is not the Big Hero™

but they are another hero and their name is Kamui got it

“Kamui Woods” ok that’s actually helpful I was gonna ask what his skin was supposed to be bc I didn’t think it was scales and it does look kind of like bark... Now going to take that as permission to assume it’s the latter

kamui kind of reminds me of some pokemon but I’m not sure which one?? I’m sorry idk pokemon v well but thy def remind me of one of them

“...a fAnBOY” he looks and sounds like he just tricked someone into confessing to murder why is he so smug about that smh

you know what. speaking of. I don’t get why everyone views being a fan of something/someone as something to be embarrassed or ashamed about?? why do people make fun of other people for it? why do we treat it like some big dark secret we try to hide? when did liking something become a bad thing? like?? sorry I have hobbies and interests and you don’t? sorry I think this person is talented? sorry I thought this book was life-changing? sorry I listen to this album so much because it’s good? sorry this show made me laugh during a really rough time? like goddamn it’s nobody’s business what you like unless you’re trying to force it on you when you’ve asked them to stop or it’s hurting someone? if they’re being safe and respectful about it for everyone involved then there shouldn’t be a problem? stop making people feel like freaks or be scared to enjoy something just a little too much? just let people have good things in life and consume the media that makes them happy? it has little to no effect on you? I don’t get why it’s you’re problem?? sorry to get all soapboxy this is something that’s always really annoyed me

does kamui have flowers on their belt

icon

k but isn’t wood like... really easy to break tho

I mean... comparatively speaking?

“illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic” alsfjsadlkf

wait so he’s listing charges for the guy, does that mean heroes are officially licensed here and can actually arrest people? and... actually work with law enforcement?? gasp no wait but I thought that was impossible except for The One Officer On The Inside That The Hero Has Convinced Of Their Cause™

hold up... “assault, robbery, and illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic... you are the incarnation of evil” ...bro chill lmao

I mean those aren’t good things but,,,, buddy “evil” can get so much worse holy shit sunflower child has no idea what’s in store for them

the show can do a hell of a lot even if they decide not to go that dark

well deku did say he was new

also off topic but I just looked it up and DEKU IS HALF A FOOT TALLER THAN ED

I’M SORRY BUT THAT’S HILARIOUS

CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS EXCITED GREEN CHILD MEETING ED THE GREMLIN ELRIC AND JUST TOWERING OVER HIM

he’d probably get along well w al though so ed would have to like him anyways

ok but back to bnha

ope kamui just got upstaged

but honestly?? he was actin a lil cocky and she seems like a queen so I ain’t mad about it

oh great creeps are everywhere apparently

YES THANK YOU THEY NEED TO INCLUDE SUPERPOWERS IN LEGISLATION SOMEHOW OTHERWISE PEOPLE CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING GEEZ

just. more worldbuilding that I appreciate.

jfc they muzzled him?

ok i wasn’t that mad about kamui being upstaged (idk why I kinda like the guy) but now she’s acting a little too cocky for me and I feel kind of bad for Death Arms and Backdraft (?) because they definitely do deserve at least a little credit

yes. official. overseen by the government. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a good idea bc I’m not getting into the whole mess the MCU basically did regarding that, but it really does add to the worldbuilding and making it seem more realistic/draw you in a little more because you can bet that would be a thing that would actually happen in some capacity if such a large percentage of the population had superpowers, and crime was at an all-time high at the same time, with normal methods without powers likely not doing much to combat that, and it being even harder because everyone’s is different

wow so they really do have roles similar to celebrities huh?

I actually love how he’s analyzing the new hero

that’s!! the good!!! nerdery!!!!

ngl thought that guy was gonna be like “well that’s never gonna happen” lmao glad he didn’t turn out to be an asshole

this guy’s hair and his sweater need an upgrade

I’m sorry honey it’s just not a Look™

I mean ngl I’d probably wear it but also I am the absolute last person to look to for a good idea of fashion so

wow we hate asshole teachers

this kid’s hair grows wtf

they seriously just break out their quirks when they get annoyed?? I mean me too probably but

oh wait he’s not totally an asshole

but that still is kind of a dick move because even if it seems really really likely that most of them do, a lot of them probably feel like that’s just what’s expected of them or that that’s their best bet at an ok life, or they don’t think they’ll actually be able to get a career as a hero, and he has to know that there are kids (or at least one) in his class who don’t have powers and who will probably be shut down at every turn on that career track??

also what is it with the absurd number of people whose hair grows/flys/whatever and whose hands change chape and/or elongate

the girl who just throws up the rock n roll sign is my favorite

also why does this teacher remind me of gilderoy lockhart

I get that his eye thing is part of his quirk... but does he face no consequences health-wise from putting his grubby fingers all over his eyeballs?? you don’t know where your hands have been

the famed bakugo

we finally meet

you seem like a cocky asshole and if I remember correctly you have firepowers

you know who else seemed like cocky assholes and one point or another and had firepowers??

roy mustang and zuko

and one of those guys is an awkward, angry turtleduck, and the other one is a rightly smug bastard who succeeded in pulling a coup on the government who was surveilling him and holding half his team hostage

so yeah I have a feeling I’m gonna like this guy

probably

at some point

eventually

it might take a while

“the only place worthy of me” oh dear

All Might!! Big Hero™ has a name!!

oh being a hero solely bc you want to be rich and popular? lame

aklsdfsjaslkfd teach just callin deku out in front of everyone

r.i.p.

it was nice having you as a main character for eight whole minutes I’m sorry you have to face death-by-embarrassment you deserved better

ope

bakugo doesn’t want anyone stealin his thunder

lemme guess deku is also his Main Rival™ or at least will be

awwwww poor guy

how much you wanna bet he gets the highest scores in all the exams bc he studies the heroes so much and that’s how he gets in

that lady got forcefields for her quirk? damn she lucked out

“this cash is mine” *drops cash*

are all the heroes like fine mt. lady can deal w the guy she keeps stealing all our credit anyway so there’s no point??

....is that all might?

k but... y’all should be taking notes on the heroes too if you want a better chance at that career and better schools for it? I know they’re probably making fun of it bc he doesn’t have a quirk but still

also I find it really interesting that the kids all act like the quirks are absolutely everything but at that scene on the street earlier people were complaining about missing the days they didn’t have to worry about “every rando w a quirk” or something... like maybe it’s because the kids grew up w it? Idk just the difference in mindset between (presumably) generations seems cool to look into

wow we love bullies so much

no we don’t pls stop you’re not as cool as you think you are

DESTROYING SOMEONE’S NOTEBOOK/JOURNAL/SKETCHBOOK IS ONE OF THE MOST DICK MOVES SOMEONE CAN MAKE CHANGE MY MIND

alright bakugo you’ve definitely moved onto my shitlist for the moment

don’t stay there

well you know what they say about greatness... some people are destined for it, yeah, but some become it, and some have it thrust upon them

cliches are there for a reason buddy

and either way... I could be wrong but... there doesn’t seem like anything great or heroic about bullying people... I mean idk that’s just my opinion but

god I hope they eat bakugo alive at ua

deku I know you’re a sunshine child but you have to get in now. you have to. out of pure spite. please.

yeah, friend 1b is right buddy...

destroy him deku

DESTROY THEM DEKU

oh suicide jokes huh

bakugo you’re on thin fucking ice you’ve just moved way up in my shit list

wow I hate him <3

EXACTLY

THANK YOU DEKU

I hate it when shows have someone make a suicide joke like that and just? no one addresses it?? or the characters don’t seem to realize that it needs addressing, at least to themselves??? so this is refreshing

voiced my thoughts exactly

he really is an idiot

NO BUDDY YOUR DREAMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE AND VALID

YOUR NOTES ARE SALVAGEABLE

he really is a jerk deku you’re right

awww little deku is so cute

alright I’m gonna make a prediction

this is his mom right

is this gonna be

another

dead anime mom?

and lemme guess she always told him she was sure he’d be a hero/she knew he’d become one, and then she died, and that’s why he’s so set on it

probably not

but just... placing my bets now

w h a t is this child doing

he’s a hair’s breadth away from head-desking

are we... just gonna... ignore that robbery that was happening on the street a few minutes ago

OKAY WE GET IT YOU’RE HERE CAN YOU GO BACK TO SAVING PEOPLE THEY’RE STILL IN DANGER

HIS CACKLES I CAN’T

alsdkjf;lsjk I feel bad for him but also,,, that transition was gold

but also the face his mom made before he started laughing... she knew he probably wouldn’t get one didn’t she

but why do they assume it won’t happen if they don’t get it by a certain age? they said after that baby people all around the world were getting powers, and showed people of all different ages when they said so. that implies that they got those powers at those ages, after the baby was born but not when they were children themselves? like yeah there’s probably some point where you’d consider them “aged out” and therefore less likely to get a quirk but... she just said he’s in kindergarten.

fourth generation? so the appearance of quirks isn’t a super recent thing then

they can tell if someone is going to manifest a quirk or is starting to by looking at x-rays?

also I know I’m seriously overusing the word “interesting” but

maybe I’m reading too far into this but it’s also kind of interesting that his father and his (current) main antagonist have such similar powers?

OH!!!! lore drop!! kind of!!! that’s a really interesting (wow there it is again) thing they chose to be an indicator for that kind of thing in this universe

*cue izuku contemplating chopping off his pinky toes*

I feel like... all might’s... not gonna be that great....

DEAR LORD HOW MANY TEARS CAN THIS CHILD HOLD IN HIS EYES

also ngl when little deku’s eyes are wide and he doesn’t move he looks really creepy and kind of like a child-sized doll

like pinocchio

how sure are we that deku isn’t made of wood

hmmmmmmmmm I do love this animation

ah Internal Angst™

the fuck is that laughter??

skin suit? no thanks

but guess we aren’t ignoring that earlier scene

yeah all might’s in the city alright

he’s gonna break this up isn’t he

yepppppp that’s him

idk I think alex louise armstrong did it better sorry bud :/

“texas smash”??

he just... punched liquid apart

this kid’s still gonna go flying and hit the ground hard buddy thanks for your help

oh he stuck around

and he’s not hurt too bad

“justicing”

he’s using the city’s sewer system being difficult to navigate as his excuse for why he wasn’t paying attention to keeping bystanders safe like he “usually” does?

the armstrongs do the sparkle better

a;ldkfsdlfls this is really funny to watch ngl

“that’s... a pretty good point.” yeah no shit lmao

I love how he’s just. awkwardly patting deku.

yeah he’s gonna end up accidentally adopting this kid isn’t he

is he hurt?? or did the other guy actually take him over while deku was unconscious??

nah I think he’s just hurt I’m p sure he really did get the guy

but still

that was... a big boom.... that’s not good

he’s just.... abandoning this kid on the rooftop??

but also he probably really does have to go if blood is coming out of his mouth

do heroes in this universe have secret identities?

I feel like yes but also no??

watch as this guy’s like “I don’t have a quirk either” and he’s just. like. an armstrong or something

that or he’s gonna crush this kid’s dreams and be like “no, it’s not possible” and I will be forced to ensure deku becomes the most successful hero ever out of Even More Pure Spite™ even if he idolizes the guy

oh yeah he’s gonna get his dreams crushed

IS ALL MIGHT GONNA VOUCH FOR HIM AND GET HIM AN OPPORTUNITY AT UA BC HE FEELS BAD FOR HIM

hmm this outro kinda slaps too

overall feelin good, like it so far, definitely think I won’t have trouble continuing watching at least for now

#this took me... almost 2 AND A HALF HOURS #IT'S A 24 MINUTE EPISODE #THESE AREN'T EVEN GOOD NOTES #but whatever #notes #bnha notes #mha notes #bnha #mha #yap yap #1x01

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

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Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-19th place

Throughout the 2010s, animated series began to have a trend become less episodic and more serialized. Not to say there haven’t been plot-driven cartoons before, but there have been more now than ever. And if you ask me, there is one show that practically started that trend.

#19 - Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated (2010-2013)

(Yes, really)

The Plot: Four teens and their dog reside in a town called Crystal Cove, where they do what teenagers do best: Solve mysteries! One day, they get a warning from a mysterious man named Mr. E (10 years later, and I finally get that stupid pun), who warns them that they stumbled upon a mystery that could lead to the destruction of their town, possibly even the world. Of course, Mystery Incorporated ignores this warning and goes out to solve their greatest mystery yet. Will they like what they'll learn? Or will this mystery be better off unsolved?

I should probably start off by saying that I frickin' love Scooby-Doo! When I was a little kid, I would watch, collect, and even consume anything that had the Scooby-Doo name on it. Over the years, my excitement has lessened, and I can openly admit that my childhood hero might not be as great as I remember. That being said, I can guarantee that Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated is hands down the best reboot that the franchise has had in a long time.

One thing that makes this reboot great is that it does something that not many Scooby-Doo reboots have done: Have an overarching mystery. You would think that a franchise all about solving mysteries would do this more often, but Mystery Incorporated is surprisingly a rare case. I remember that every time the show would reveal another piece of the puzzle, I would legitimately come up with my own theories to solve the mystery myself. That is something I have never done with any other interpretation except for this one. This is what Scooby-Doo is about: Teaching kids to be more observant by paying attention to the clues and trying to solve the mystery themselves.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, unlike past Scooby-Doo shows, also seems capable to actually scare the little kids that the franchise is aimed towards. Most of the designs for these monsters genuinely look disturbing, some of which even creeped me out a little when looking back. The environments also improve the show's gothic imagery by incorporating spine-tingling backgrounds that make sense as to why the monster of the week would reside there. This show also takes advantage of the use of color gradience. When a monster attacks, the show uses colors like ghostly green, midnight blue, and blood-red to help make scenes a little creepier. Heck, one episode somehow manages to make a shade of pink seem scary. Pink! The least threatening color on the spectrum!

But by far, what makes this the best reboot of Scooby-Doo is that Mystery Incorporated actually utilizes character development. While I love the previous shows before this, I will admit that the characters do not change much from their original personalities. Here, they actually become fully developed once the series comes to an end. Shaggy and Scooby become braver, Velma learns to accept that the supernatural might be real, and Daphne...okay, so Daphne still kind of sucks by the end. But at least they tried!

However, no better character needed development more than Fred Jones. In previous Scooby-Doo reboots, Fred has always been a happy go lucky guy obsessed with traps. Here...well...he still is, but the show goes out of its way to make him more of a likable character. He’s less of an idiot and more of a mad scientist type who’s only a little slow when it comes to reading social cues and relationships. This is appropriate because the people in Fred’s life are the driving point of his character. He’s scared of losing the people he loves. And when dark truths are revealed about his friends and family, he drops the optimistic persona and actually acts like a more pressing leader. This show honestly made Fred a serious leader! And a darn good one, too!

Now, at this point, you’re probably wondering, “Well, if it’s so good, then why is it #19 of the best-animated shows of the 2010s?”

Well, here’s the thing. While this is still hands-down the best Scooby-Doo reboot of all time, it is still a Scooby-Doo reboot that takes itself a little too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I loved watching this show when it came out, but that might be because I loved the franchise since I was a kid. But odds are not that many people will be open-minded about a super-serious version of Scooby Frickin’ Doo. Case in point, Professor Pericles is the main antagonist. And he's a purple parrot that is apparently an evil mastermind. Most shows would make a character like that more comical, but this show demands that you take it seriously. There are also moments when I felt obligated to admit that this super serious show didn’t really feel like original. In fact, it feels more like what would happen if the CW had the rights to make a Scooby-Doo reboot: Full of teen agnst, absurdity taken seriously, and ocasional wooden acting.

Things get even worse when Mystery Incorporated dives headfirst into romantic subplots. This show makes the common mistake of having characters consistently explain why they “love” each other but falling short when it comes to the most essential part of a relationship: Chemistry. Some of my favorite fictional relationships have bare minimum reasons why the characters like each other, but the chemistry is so good that I don’t care. And unfortunately, no relationship in this series has the chemistry to make me root for any couple shown.

In the end, it’s really the seriousness and romance that drags this reboot down, for the most part. I wouldn’t be surprised if people got turned away from this show. In fact, I feel like if I wasn’t as big of a fan of Scooby-Doo, the odds are I wouldn’t even like it either. However, I still stuck around, and I’m glad that I did. A great mystery, good scares, and hands down the best version of all of these characters (except Daphne) are what makes Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated less of a Scooby Don’t and more of a Scooby Dooby Do!

(You can cringe at that pun all you want, but I’m sticking by it)

#top 20 of 2010s #scooby-doo mystery incorporated #what i thought about

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morsking · 5 years ago

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Got around to starting and finishing Old World Blues in the past couple of days. I think it’s the strongest of the game’s DLC I’ve played so far.

At first, it feels like you’re in for some wacky science fiction b-movie shenanigans once you’re introduced to the Think Tank. They’re all whimsical idiots who forget what words are, repeat themselves to elongate their sentences to look smart, and even one of them is bizarrely horny and has a fetish for... innocuous human behavior? Stretching? Yawning? They are neurotic brains in machines who take stuff apart and break it without really creating anything with it, just replicating the same results over and over and none of them seem to notice how stupid they are and it’s amazing. They took your brain, spine, and heart out of your body in an attempt to turn you into a walking vegetable, only for them to become so fascinated with the damage you took from Benny’s bullet that they fuck up the surgery and end up finding a way to keep your intelligence about you with a remote device that connects your brain to the tesla coils in your skull. Their biggest scientific discovery since... who knows how fucking long, was an absolute accident. It could only come about by chance, because you, as an existence alien to the static Big MT, shook things up tremendously.

But as funny and baffling as all these things could be, the more you explore Big MT, the more apparent it is that for all their quirks the Think Tank are also responsible for some of the most heinous crimes against humanity you can witness in Fallout: New Vegas. They experimented with carnivorous, parasitic plants on human beings, spliced humans, dogs, and robots together, developed nightstalkers and cazadores you see in the base game, used the Sierra Madre casino and its inhabitants as a petri dish for holograms, the claustrophobic hazmat suits, and the poisonous Cloud that killed everyone and turned them into zombies. Their experiments killed all their staff, and not one of them batted an eye to what they did. And their most shocking crime is the repetition of Japanese internment with Chinese hostages, who you can find ghoulified from radiation and are forced to kill them. These prisoners can’t be reasoned with or saved because the Think Tank stripped them from their humanity long ago along with any humanity or rationality that was left in the Big Empty. The only thing they can do as being robbed of their humanity is lash out at anything that still looks human. All throughout the DLC, you are subjected to displays of the Think Tank’s obsessions and cruelties and aimless ambitions, and you wonder why. How did things get this twisted and distortioned? And then you meet Dr. Mobius, and you find out why.

In his introductory segment when you start the DLC, he seems like the parody of the crazed mad scientist terrorizing the slightly less crazy eccentric scientists and the bastard who kidnapped your brain. But when you meet him, he’s like a sweet, confused, senile old man. He’s got an endearing if a little weird addiction to radioactive snacks despite him being a brain in a machine who has no mouth to eat them. He forgets he keeps a giant killer robot scorpion with a OHKO death laser of infinite... death powered on and sucking up energy all the time and that’s why his shit never works. He uses the wrong words on his sentences because they sound like the actual words he means to use. He didn’t just steal your brain, he kept it safe for you. And also, he’s the one who lobotomized the Think Tank into the witless abominations they are now.

Dr. Mobius witnessed his co-workers, his friends, pushing the boundaries of science further and further into dark places. Terrified for what they might do, he robbed them of their sanity and created an army not to terrorize them, but to keep them busy and from getting out. Dr. Mobius feared for the world, that it might be subjected to one new horror after another. There is great compassion in his actions but also great cruelty. He was so afraid of his friends the new world he trapped them in the old one. That’s where obsession and abhorrence belong, in the big emptiness of the past. It’s so appropriate, that Big MT is misread as “the Big Empty”. Because obsession and madness are an abyss, and also because everything that happened there was meaningless and hollow. There was no purpose to the Think Tank repeating its process of lobotomizing and observing the lobotomites. The great irony is that. That they don’t realize that what they do to human beings is what’s been done to them. Like the nature of all their names, their actions and their philosophies are cyclical and self-consuming. (Ouro)Borous. Zero. (Man)Dala (circle in Sanskrit), 8, Klein and Mobius. They are concepts that loop into themselves, symbolic of the futility of holding on to the grudges and ambitions of the Old World, a world that new only conflict and supremacy and paranoia and hostility. The fact that Mobius had to resort to brainwashing his own colleagues itself is evident even he didn’t know how to let go of the brutal utilitarian methods of the Old World in an effort to save the New One.

And what’s even worse is that didn’t matter anyway, because the mutated abominations that Borous created still found their way into the Mojave anyway. Are we supposed to accept that as a mercy that night stalkers, spores, and cazadores are the only things that slipped through the crater into the desert and be thankful for it? The only thing you can do about it now is say “Enough.” Enough of the Old World and its curses. It has no right to turn this world into a graveyard with it. It has no write to take from it and toy with it. Many times that attachment is played for laughs in Old World Blues, particularly Borous’s anti-communist fixation and enactments of his high school trauma being the basis for a training operation. But when you truly look at it it really feels like gallows humor. How many people do you reckon died in those tests at Lab X-8 because he used the test subjects as a means of catharsis? What was the human cost of that myopic insecurity and resentment? You only have to look around you. The facility is littered with guts. And it’s not the only one that looks like that. Not by a longshot.

So it came my time to also say enough to the Think Tank. I chose to kill them (more like stumbled my way into killing them because you have to thematically cycle through speech and skill checks for Mobius to give you the option of sparing everyone). It was both a roleplay gesture of revenge as much as it was a choice from me as a player to put the Big Empty out of its misery. It was already a graveyard in concept, it had to be made a graveyard in reality.

So that’s it for my review of the story. As for the more physical aspects of the DLC, I’ll say the Big Empty is probably the most interestingly designed setting I’ve ever seen. From the moment I woke up at the top of the Sink’s balcony I fell in love with what I was seeing. The layout includes some interesting platforming and traversal of the terrain from labs to cliffs to caves. Every laboratory houses something useful for you or relevant to the story and it’s easy to circle around the entire map and unlock everything as you go. The exploration comes naturally and you’re always encouraged to go back and look to see if you missed something (which you probably did, because it sure happened to me). One of the best things I found was the stealth suit. I’ve written about it already, but it is simply adorable, quirky, and also very helpful. Getting all its upgrades is worth it and not all that difficult even if it looks like a case of trial and error. There are some neat unlockables in terms of weapons as well like the stuff Elijah and Christine left behind, and lore that elaborates on their time there and Christine’s chase of Elijah to make him pay for his crimes. There is also the excellent set-up of your encounter with Ulysses in Lonesome Road, since he’s left his mark everywhere for you to see, as if luring you and taunting you. The dialogue is some of the wittiest and funniest Fallout’s ever been. The personalities in the Sink’s assistant appliances are so varied and interesting. You have the weirdly horny and seductive seed processor, the germaphobic water sink, the pessimistic and exhausted Muggy mini securitron, the jealous bickering light switches, the radio man juke box, the brave little toaster that could (murder everything), the ultra-patriotic and self-unaware book chute, the compassionate level-headed Auto-Doc, and finally the neutral, loyal, and polite Central Intelligence Monitor. Old World Blues had such an interesting and loveable cast. There is not a single human character in the entirety of the DLC, yet all of those feel vivid and alive.

Those are my two cents on Old World Blues. A beautifully written, poignant, and entertaining piece of gaming. Now, we move on to Lonesome Road.

#homecooked meta #fallout #new vegas #fnv #old world blues #fallout nv

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littlemisskookie · 6 years ago

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Loveless: Chapter 2

Loveless: Index Ship: Reader | OT7 Description: Spy/Men in Black!AU | You worked at an institution that dealt with aliens- aliens that were the fictional creatures we were told were from fairy tales. The job entailed love only for it, and nothing else. That’d all change when a mission goes wrong. Warnings: Future Smut, Comedy, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, Violence, Gore, Panic Attack Word Count: 5,073

"We are expected to leave at 600 sharp. The Phasecraft 3000 will be waiting for us on deck and I expect all of you to be ready and well equipped."

You sat at the head of the table in the meeting room, the seven men flanking either side. You were colder and sterner than usual, far different from your typical demeanor. Inside you felt pent up and anxious, as though you knew that somewhere in this building was a ticking bomb, and you just didn't know where it was.

"Don't you think it's weird how we had thousands of numbers at the end of our equipment? Like Dr. Doofenshmirtz?" Jimin wondered allowed.

"Don't worry, Q, rest assured I'm always well-equipped," Jin said, smirking as he leaned back in his chair.

"I've seen your dick, dude, and you don't have much to brag about," Jungkook struck back.

"Alright, number one I was peeing and flaccid, and I'm a grower, not a shower. Second, who the fuck stands right next to someone at the urinals when there are plenty of available spaces?"

"Someone who wants to piss you off."

"Fuck you man!" Jin said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, at least I don't drop my pants and underwear around my ankles like Agent V!"

"It was one time and you just happened to see my ass! Get over it," Taehyung quipped back. "Leave me out of this. You're the one who admits to looking at other guys' dicks in the bathroom."

"I just wanted to see if he was all talk. And he was."

"For the last time, I'm a grower, not a shower!"

"Are you guys done blathering on about nonsense? We've got a mission at hand," Namjoon interrupted, clearly agitated. You'd figure after working for years with the same idiots, he'd get used to it.

"What's the big deal? We've done shit like this before. This can't be as bad as the Kraken," Hoseok questioned, yawning as he looked at his blunt nails. "Kill mission? Negotiation? Information? Or just subtle ways of moving the pawns around? We've handled it all, what's the big deal?"

"Haven't you noticed? The maximum amount of agents typically sent on a mission is five. We've got eight. This isn't our normal mission," Namjoon says, turning to you for confirmation, "is it?"

You lowered your eyes, knowing all of the men's gazes were trained on you. "Right as always, Namjoon. Perhaps your specialty should be changed to psychic abilities."

"I thought there was a reason you weren't being as witty as usual," Jimin said.

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'wit'," Yoongi grumbled into the pair of arms he rested his head upon, trying to drown out the noise in pursuit of his nap.

"Namjoon's right, though, this isn't the normal mission. And truth be told I don't feel as confident in this one as I would typically. We've never had to use this many agents, especially our best ones. It's... unsettling." You stared down at the paperwork in front of you, looking over the words you had been analyzing for the past hour.

"So what is it?" Hoseok questioned.

You sighed, sliding the stack of papers down the table. "A new species has been discovered on Earth, one unlike any of the others we've seen before. It doesn't reside in any of the universes or galaxies we know of."

"Maybe some of the other species finally did the do," Jin murmured. "I always knew the Mothman was getting a major bug boner for the Minotaur. They better invite me to their wedding if they really fornicated."

You ignored his joke as you looked over the data. "It doesn't appear to be related to any of the species we've come across, either. This isn't your average mission by any means- it's a highly risky one that requires the top agents."

"At least we all get along with one another, so we won't worry about that," Jungkook offered hopefully.

"Most of us," Yoongi murmured.

"I wasn't in charge of this lineup, and truth be told I'm surprised I'm being asked to lead the mission. There is a reason why we're the ones chosen to have the first contact with this new species," you continue. "I, for one, couldn't have picked a finer group of men."

"Fine is right," Jin snickered.

Hoseok elbowed the man in the ribs. "Way to ruin the sentiment, dumbass."

"What? You said it yourself. We've handled plenty. I'm sure this isn't that bad. Most aliens are relatively peaceful," Jin shrugged. "This'll be a walk in the park."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Jimin's face is sour, analyzing the paperwork in front of him. "We can forget everything we know when it comes to them. It's a blank slate, and we'll have to improvise in any possible scenario. There's no telling what could happen."

"Agent P is right- for all we know they can wipe us out within a minute for no reason. And I don't just mean the EAA." You can hear the nervousness in your voice. "I know this isn't the most efficient of options, and the Head of Board would be pissed to know I'm even offering you this, but something about this doesn't rub me the right way. Agent C, don't you dare make a joke about that expression."

He shuts his trap immediately, the joke dying in his throat as he slumped back down in his chair.

You continue your speech. "If even one of you wishes to leave the mission, I'll allow it. I'll make sure you won't be forced into this, and though we aren't supposed to harbor distractions, the last thing I'd want for one of my friends to die before my eyes. You seven, even Yoongi despite the major piece of shit he is, are the closest to my heart. I've seen agent after agent die before my eyes, but I know if we all go on this mission, nothing would be the same. I can't bear to let a single one of you go, despite the fact I know all of you are more than capable of handling yourselves. However, I discourage any of you from participating and urge you to let me do this on my own."

Immediately, chaos ensued. The men erupted in anger, offense, and shock.

"You're kidding, right? Please tell me this is one of your practical jokes," Jimin pleaded, his eyes wide.

"This is extremely stupid, even for you, Agent Q," Yoongi said, finally fully alert as he deadpanned.

"No way are we letting you go on a mission by yourself, especially with the risks you listed." Hoseok shook his head.

Jin simply crossed his arms, fuming. "I'd think you knew us better than that, Q! We aren't cowards, we won't back down from this. You said it yourself, we're friends. Friends stick together."

"He's right. We care about you too, Y/N. We feel the exact same way, but it's more reason for us to stick together," Jungkook assured you, placing a hand on your shoulder. "I was trained by the best, so I know I can handle it. I'm confident the others can, too."

"You're not alone in this," Taehyung grinned, trying to provide a sense of comfort. "You'll always have us."

You felt your heart warm at their sentiments, but couldn't reveal your emotions that way just yet. Instead, with an expressionless face, you turn to Namjoon, whose opinion you valued above all. "Agent B?"

"I think the decision is pretty unanimous, Agent Q," Namjoon said, a small smile on his face as he gave you a soft pat on your arm. "You're not getting rid of us that easily."

Were you not a master of control, you would've wept. Instead, you let out a sigh, up to interpretation for relief or frustration. You stared up at the boys, all anticipating your response, strong and firm as they stood their ground against your disapproval.

"Looks like we've got a mission on our hands, then, gentlemen."

"Everyone's got their suitcases packed and ready?" you question, trying to project your voice over the sound of the other jets taking off outside.

Everyone had their own suitcase- civilian clothes or disguises besides the standard black and white suit and tie, adorned with sunglasses. Extra necessities that could possibly be used for your own specialty, in case you needed to improvise. Taehyung would have spare parts for weapons to make on the go, Yoongi had torture tools, Jin first aid and medical kits, etc. There was a memory wiper for everyone, as customary as the shades. Extra weapons were standard in the luggage, as well as a basic foreign phrases booklet. You wouldn't really need that one with Jimin around, though. But most importantly was a little pen, where if one were to bite down on the tip of it, they'd consume a lethal poison. They'd be dead before they even hit the floor.

"Yes, ma'am," everyone answered, suitcases by their side.

You pulled out a pen from your jacket pocket, clicking the top eight times, each of them shrinking to be no more than five inches. About the height of Tinkerbell. The pen worked simply, just click it for as many customary suitcases there were within the radius, and it'll grow or shrink.

"Remember, gentlemen, we're going to attempt friendly interaction and such first. Still, keep weapons in hand and trained, however. We don't want to take risks," you remind them, each of them giving you a curt nod in reply.

You huff, taking in a deep breath as you began to board the jet. Your destination would be a small island off the coast of Australia, near where a plane had crashed. That's where the foreign entities seemed to be residing now.

You felt shaky, but looking back at your men, all confident and assured, you couldn't help but feel a bit the same, as though the aura was contagious.

Hopefully, this'll work.

Your jet landed on shore, and you waited for the foreign entities. Guns cocked and loaded, all of you prepared yourselves, forming a defense circle with each barrel pointed outwards, your backs pressed against one another's.

You furrowed your brows as you tried to look for where the entities were. They were supposed to be here.

Before you knew it the water before you seemed to swallow in, as though it were falling down a deep, long tunnel, sinking below and falling. Not swirling, like a whirlpool. Just caving in as though a new crater was formed. Your jaw dropped as an airplane, having been abandoned for years prior, bubbled up to the surface.

A group of about six or more entities was atop the plane as it went to the surface, all completely dry. Finally, the plane seemed to come to a halt, bobbing along the surface, the creatures balancing atop it.

You felt your heart sink into your stomach, your finger tense over the trigger with an urgency to shoot.

You didn't know why, but you suspected you were coming across one of the most powerful beings the world had ever known.

You studied them as the plane slowly floated closer to shore, letting them come into view. Their eyes were far bigger than a human's, unnaturally so. Their pupils seemed to be surrounded by tiny solar systems, a tiny dot within the pupil glowing bright orange, as though the sun. Their skin looked as though it were made of pure diamond, almost translucent, reflecting everywhere as the sun hit the water and bounced off of their skin, emitting rainbows wherever they moved. They dressed in robes of light silk that would protect whatever skin wasn't exposed from the blistering heat. Their hair seemed to be luscious and voluminous, cascading down and rippling in the golden light.

They were beautiful in a fascinating way, but when the head of the group went nearer, she smiled to reveal sharp teeth, you weren't so sure you'd call it beautiful by the end of this.

"So this is the tiny planet they call Earth, is it?" The voice sounded gravelly, deep, and feminine, reminding you of stones rolling down mountain tops, in a bizarre fashion. "Why is it so many venture to stay here?"

"Stay long enough and you may find out," you say, speaking formally.

She smiled, fluttering her long lashes, and you swore you could feel a soft breeze wash over you. Her bare foot stepped off the plane and onto the shore, her entourage following. You could smell a sort of perfume that reminded you of citrus, and oddly enough she became more enchanting to you, as though putting you in a trance. No, everything was entrancing to you. The sky began to seep more colors, as though hidden gems within were coming to light. Everything was slightly iridescent, as though you were in a surreal dream.

Was she a god?

She studied you for a moment. "Are you the ruler of this planet?"

"Only the men beside me," you say, quirking your mouth to the side. This was good- real good. So far no malicious intent had been established. Simply wonder and curiosity, and on both sides. "Are you of yours?"

Her face soured, teeth hidden as she pursed her lips. "Was," she notes. "Much like yourself, I only lead with my loyal followers. We've run from our home planet."

"You seek refuge?" You look to Namjoon, and he steps forward, briefcase in hand. "We have paperwork and such for you to fill out if you wish to reside here. We cannot promise to anything, of course, and the process will be far harder considering we've never come across your species. No wars will be brought to Earth, however, under any circumstances. If you're still on Earth and your government comes looking for you, you'll be asked to leave immediately. You cannot interact with humans outside of the Extraterrestrial Association Agency, and you'll be required to share any and all information about your species."

She quirked a perfectly arched brow. "You wish to study our kind?"

"Of course," Namjoon snorted, unable to prevent himself from interjecting. "It's essential to learn about all you can, and with a new species, we cannot let the opportunity pass. Knowledge is the key to life."

She turns her attention back to you, a pleased smile shown with her pointy teeth. "Your follower is very wise. Is he a royal advisor?"

"I'm by no means royalty. I'm just leading these men," you inform her, watching as a member of her entourage takes the briefcase to Namjoon. Namjoon steps back with the other boys, still keeping his aim at the group. "And you?"

"Me?" She chuckles softly at that, as though amused. "I'm a scientist. Though I'll allow you to call me Jashwi. "

You can't help but be caught off guard by that, your brows shooting up. "Scientist?"

"You Eartheans aren't the only ones to seek knowledge," Jashwi says, her voice like silk. "My group believes in obtaining knowledge by any means necessary."

"We have a few departments that are similar," you note, thinking to Yoongi's torture methods.

"Might I ask if you all can lower your weapons? It makes my rapture a bit anxious." Her tone is serene, but you can't help but stress over her words.

"Rapture?" you repeat.

Jashwi chuckles. "An inside joke. It refers to a group of messiahs. Truth be told it's a group that all have a telepathic bond with the leader, which would be me. A singular bond with me can be formed, and I can open the gates for them to also speak to others who I have a bond with. Something that you dirt dwellers would call a hive, I suppose, but not quite."

"What are your capabilities beyond telepathy?"

She thinks back on that, thoughtful. "My species, the Anancites as we call ourselves, typically doesn't have any abilities- we're as ordinary as you. A tiny bit more immortal, and it takes far more to even attempt to hurt us. It's only very few who possess a certain spark that can even acquire a power bestowed by the gods. Though that certain quality we're looking to find out. No ordinary civilian, even of our kind, can even attempt to try to form the telepathic bond we share.

"Besides that, there's been known cases of water manipulation, which is what I possess. Others may control other elements, such as fire or air or earth- whatever else you can come up with. A specialty, however, is shadow bending, though that's more so a skill you have to learn than luck."

"Shadow bending? We've got a few of those who deal with those sorts of things. Demons and ghosts, mainly."

She shakes her head with a haughty laugh, as though she found you to be a rather amusing mouse. Jashwi's large eyes looked to you with glimmering curiosity. "You dirt dwellers hardly know anything, do you? So much for searching for knowledge. Shadow bending for us is to kill one's shadow. The shadow is where the soul resides, as both sides have to share it. You kill the shadow, you kill the person. It's something that many wish to learn where I live, for it's a skill so rare that one who possesses it immediately goes to the castle to live a life of luxury. What is it some of you call it? Ah, yes. It's to the same standard of Nirvana for some."

"Is that what you'll list as your weakness?" You could hear the soft shutter of the lens camera through someone's contact, a sound you had gotten accustomed to since your time at the agency. Based on the positioning of the sound behind you, you assumed it was Jungkook who took it upon himself to record the encounter for further documentation.

She shrugs, as though you were a small ant that had pinched her ankle, and she was a god. Unbothered and uncaring. "I suppose it'd only be fair. Blood bags such as you have far too many."

"What is it you consume?"

"We are by no means parasitic," Jashwi says demurely. "Our feeding is beneficial for both. Most species seem to need sustenance in harmful ways. Vampires drain lifeforce through drinking blood. Succubi drain lifeforce through sex. They only leave enough for them to regain strength for the next feeding, leaving an endless cycle only to serve one person's needs. No, we do not focus on selfish desires such as that. Nothing is for only one, but always for many, as it should be. I'll leave the question blank for now- you'll find out soon enough. Shall we move on?"

"And are you related to any other species?" You thought to the top of your head, trying to find something similar to them. You found nothing, truthfully, but it was worth a shot. "Sirens? Banshees? Vampires?"

She pulled the sour face again, scowling. "We choose not to interact with their kind, as they've proven themselves to be insufficient."

"Insufficient?" you muttered to yourself.

"Of course," she only said, her smile wide to reveal the sharp teeth. "And if there's one thing a true scientist hates, it's insufficiency."

"Might you state your reasoning for coming to Earth? Refuge? Vacation? Migration?"

She steps forward, inches before you. You hitch your breath as you feel all of the guns behind you point to her, her body towering over your smaller one. You'd most likely act as an 'insufficient' shield from the bullets.

"Didn't I ask for you to lower this?" She puts a single finger on the gun, lowering it so that it pointed to the floor whilst still being in your hands. "My rapture's still very anxious about my safety."

"Why are you here?" you repeat, voice hard.

She cocks her head to the side, lifting your chin with a single finger, forcing you to look at her. Her eyes take up perhaps most of the upper half of her head, and as you stare into her eyes, you see an entire universe is trapped in there. Spinning planets and moons and suns, orbiting around one another as though a digital map of her home.

Jashwi hums, staring into your eyes intently, too. You didn't have to turn around to know the boys were waiting for the signal from you to shoot.

"Do you recall when I told you about going to any means necessary for knowledge?"

"I do."

"Just making sure." You feel her fresh breath on your lips as she says that, and she lets you go. You stagger back and land on your ass, air slamming into your lungs as you realize that you were holding your breath that entire time.

"Might I speak to this one? The big one with the cute eyes," she questions.

Your eyes widen as you look to Jungkook, who seems just as shocked as you.

"Jungkook, y-"

"It's alright," he hastily cuts off, pushing past the others, gun still raised as he approaches her.

She holds his chin for a moment, examining his face as she turns it from side to side, her touch gentle. Jashwi then looks at his biceps, her touch cool as she traces the muscle beneath the nicely fitted suit.

"Would you describe yourself as strong, my boy?"

"I suppose," he says, his jaw ticked as he looked at her with a stony expression.

Jashwi looks over to your boys, quirking a brow. "Is he the strongest out of your group?"

There was no doubt about that. Warily, they nod.

She sighs, running her tongue along the inside of her cheek. "I suppose you'll have to do, then, little boy."

Her mouth opens wide, her entire face splitting in two, her jaw becoming unhinged as her mouth opened wider and wider. It was something like a bear trap, but far more terrifying. She had three sets of teeth, as though she were a shark.

Her grip on his chin was ironclad, keeping him in place and turning it to the side, as though to leave the neck exposed. Bullets fire at her carefully aimed to avoid Jungkook's writhing body as he struggles in her grip. The bullets simply embed themselves halfway inside of her, cracking some of the skin, as though she were a marble palace that refused to fall. At this point her rapture began to fight back, moving towards the men as they got more guns and blasters, testing everything they could for the creatures' limits.

Without thinking you're on your feet, slamming your body as hard as you could against Jungkook's bulky form. If he were stable on his feet, you would've uselessly bounced back to crash to the floor. Instead, he was knocked down, and before you could fall with him you're grabbed by the throat.

Jashwi doesn't bother to do so much as sneer at you, instead seeming disappointed. "I would've assumed a leader would understand better than her follower."

She raises you above her head, and you kick and thrash, her long limbs hoisting you far enough where you couldn't reach her. You could feel your face reddening fast. At this rate, you'll die.

Jashwi seems to sense that, as well as the urgency of the battle behind her. One of her men falls, Hoseok's blaster steaming after the newest hit. The body evaporated in the sun, as though it were water boiling into steam.

"Shoot the shadows! The little rainbows- now!"

Jashwi tenses, cursing under her breath as she tosses you up like a ragdoll, snatching you by your hair to allow airflow into your lungs.

"I guess you'll just have to do, won't you?" she says. "Don't disappoint me, little dirt dweller."

With that, she sinks her teeth into your jugular, and you can't even scream. She sinks all three sets of teeth into your throat, clamping down until she rips away, throwing the chunks of flesh out on the floor. Your head is barely kept together save for a bit of muscle, though there's still a gaping spot where flesh should be.

Your eyes were lifeless as your corpse hit the floor, blood everywhere as your body let it seep from the wound, running like a stream.

Jungkook still had most of the wind knocked out of him, all of it happening so fast. All he could do was watch as your body continued to bleed out before him, surrounded by nothing but blood, flesh, and chaos.

He can't help but crawl on his knees towards you, blasters and rays and more flying overhead. His eyes are fixed on your body, shock making him feel cold and numb.

No, you weren't dead. You couldn't be.

You couldn't be.

He didn't even have time to process it before Yoongi was yanking him by the bicep, putting him to his feet and shoving the blaster that had been knocked off of him into his hand. Yoongi gritted his teeth, glaring at the boy, eyes glassy. "Avenge her goddammit!"

He shoves the boy away as he aims once again at a moving shadow of one of the Acancites. It dodges the blasts, dancing around it. Jashwi hopped upon the plane, and soon enough the others wordlessly followed her, still dodging the blasts.

The crater formed again, the water parting as the rubble of the plane sank into the water, the crater resealing itself back up, the plane disappearing.

"Come back and fight, cowards!"

Taehyung enraged, fuming as he blasts into the water, watching the bright beam disappear down, down below, never to be seen again. He continues, over and over again, hot tears rolling his cheeks as he lets out whines and whimpers, his arms shaking.

"Agent V... Taehyung." Jin steps forward, pushing his arms down, ceasing the constant roll of blasts. Jin looks at the boy, who already seemed to be grieving whereas everyone else was still in shock. "Stop."

"They fucking killed her! She-" Taehyung looked back to your corpse but was unable to bear the sight. Every agent had seen a mangled body, but something about it made him want to throw up and never consume anything again. He choked on his tears, shaking. "She can't be dead, right? Y/N can't be dead. Not her, anyone but her."

He starts breathing heavily, shaking from head to foot, and Jin moves him away from the water, sitting him down where he wouldn't have to see you. Not that it helped. He could smell your blood everywhere, the smell consuming him completely. Perhaps your corpse was already beginning to rot beneath the hot beating sun.

"Guys, he's having a panic attack. Step back."

Taehyung wrapped himself into a tight ball, hugging his knees as his weapon clattered to the ground. He felt so pathetic. He felt so useless. All he could do was rock back and forth, heart pounding in his ears as he let out a cold sweat, anxiety and dread coursing through him.

What's done is done. What's done is done. What's done is done.

No. No no no no no no NO!

You weren't dead. You can't be. Not you. You were the best goddamn agent he knew, you couldn't be dead.

"Breathe, Taehyung. Deep breaths. Close your eyes, clear your head," Jin reminded him. "You need to breathe."

He did his best, taking in deep breaths, crying as he did so. He wanted this to end. All of this. He hated this feeling. He hated every bit of it.

"This is my fault," Jungkook said, staring at the elder man as the panic attack began to subside after a few minutes. "It's all my fault."

"No, it's not. No one knew what would've happened." Jimin was in such a state of shock as well, unable to even cry. He couldn't process any of what had happened.

"It should've been me. In the end, I was so stupid. If I had done something else, anything else-"

"You're having survivor's guilt-"

"Y/N should be standing here. Not me." He looked to your corpse, feeling sick to his stomach. "I should be that right now. I went up to Jashwi, and then refused my leader's orders when she tried to warn me. If I hadn't done that none of this would've happened..."

"It was an honest mistake."

"This one cost someone their life," Jungkook cut in sharply. He took in a deep breath. "This is all my fault."

"We need to stop wallowing in our pity and go find the sick bastards," Hoseok interjected. "What're we waiting for? Why don't we just dive in after them?"

"Agent A..." Jimin trails off, his voice wary.

"No, don't you 'Agent A' me. It's Hoseok. We're friends. That's the last thing she said, right? We're friends. Not just coworkers." Hoseok stared down at the water bitterly. "And friends don't let other friends die in vain. She was the closest thing I had to family, and now that's taken away, too."

"We can't rush into things without thinking rationally," Namjoon reminded him.

"Fuck rationality! They just killed my best friend, and I'll kill the sick sons of bitches myself if I have to!" Hoseok shoved Namjoon's comforting touch off of him, flinching away, boiling. "What're you going to say to change my mind?"

Namjoon's gaze softened. "Are we really just going to leave Y/N here? Are we going to abandon her? In the heat?"

Everyone quieted down at that, lowering their gazes in shame. Perhaps some of them were being too self-focused on their own misery.

"We should get her home," Yoongi says, sucking in a shaky breath. He leans forward, using his sleeve to clean your face a bit, wiping away the blood so they could see your face clearly. "It's the least she deserves, and she... she deserved... Well, she deserves more than this." His voice cracked mid-sentence as he tried to choke back tears. Despite how often he'd tell you he hated you or how you annoyed him or to leave him alone... He didn't mean any of it. He just wished he made sure you knew that. Now it was too late.

Taehyung's quiet, trying to force himself to look at you. Never had he seen you with such a blank expression. With a shaky hand, he pushes some hair out of your face, lips trembling.

"She deserved the world."

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lannister-slings-and-arrows · 5 years ago

Text

I was tagged by @rzrcrst to share five things about me so we all can get to know each other better. Thanks sweets! :D

I was raised in a tiny house with six other people and a bigger side of medium sized dog, I thrive on noise and chaos lol. I am loud, opinionated, have a lax standard when it comes to boundaries, and don’t take personal offense easily. (Do I get Angry? Yes. I have a Temper that I really should see someone about lol, but I don’t take personal offense if someone gets mad and calls me an idiot or steals the last of the pop tarts.) That being said, I am well and truly satisfied being by myself, making my own noise however and whenever I see fit- I think it’s the novelty personally, it probably won’t ever wear off lol. That’s not to say I don’t miss those chaos days. Getting back together with all of my siblings is my favorite thing to do. No one can quite match me screaming opinion for screaming opinion as they can lol. In the line of my friends my siblings will always come first, they’re built in bffs that you never have to worry about pretending with.

I’m sure that at some point very early on in my life I must have made a conscious decision that my big brother was The Authority on Everything That Is Cool and Awesome, but it must have been VERY early because I don’t remember it. All I know is that the standard by which I have always measured if something is Cool and if I should Like it/Do it has been if Kevin has either done it before or also thinks it’s cool lol. Kevin did karate, so Meghan did karate. Kevin wore flannel shirts over tee shirts? Meghan STILL does that lol. He got sick of the more age appropriate boy bands I was listening to in jr. high so he burned me CDs with bands like Blue October and The Tea Party and Rammstein and Korn et al on them and said they were cool. And So It Was lol. And that hasn’t changed- to this day I’m still not really sure if I actually like all the things I like or if I just accept that I do bc he does lol. Honestly it hasn’t been all bad, in fact it has some pretty great advantages. I’ve never been in a Terrible relationship in my life; the second Kevin doesn’t like someone they’re gone- it’s been pretty damn useful having a guy look out for all the shitty things that guys do and point them out so I can head that mess off at the pass lol.

I think I was probably 12 when I wrote my first fanfiction? It was this LONG ASS multi chapter behemoth that was written in I think four of those black and white notebooks? The marble ones? You know what I’m talking about? It was about the characters from the movie Gladiator lololol. It didn’t go on the internet (fandom online was in its INFANCY back then and I wasn’t a part of it until years later) and no one besides me read it. Like NO ONE. I’m honestly not sure if anyone besides me actually knew that I wrote this lol. I kept it hidden in different places all over my house, my back yard (zipped in those gallon freezer bags lol), and a few times my grandparents basement lol. Every week like clockwork I would move it’s hiding spot- I don’t know why I felt the need to do this but whatever lol. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) the first time I smoked pot in high school I came home so fucking paranoid that I took it out of its spot in the shed in the back yard and burned it. Just set it on fire lol. I was convinced someone knew where it was and was going to read it so clearly the only thing to do was destroy it before my secret could get out. That was also the time I realized that pot makes me too paranoid to function and I should not be allowed near lighters when I was high lol. Thankfully for all you I have become much more lax about letting people read my writing since those early days.

When I first saw Pirates of the Caribbean I, of course like any decent human being, fell in love with Jack Sparrow. Who wouldn’t. But for some reason I could not put my finger on every time I thought of or looked at or had to talk about Elizabeth Swann and Kiera Knightly I got so MAD. Like unexplainably FURIOUS. I HATED her and I really didn’t have any good reason to. About a year later my brother introduced me to the original Lara Croft movie (the Angelina Jolie one) and I watched it constantly- I LOVED it. And then came the Kate Beckinsale Underworld movies which I couldn’t get enough of. It was okay to say that those two women were hot cause Kevin said so too right? And I just kind of branched out from there? I didn’t deliberately identify as bi, I just kind of started taking it for granted that I looked at women and thought they were gorgeous the same way that I did men. My mental block about Kiera Knightly finally lifted sometime in college and I can now finally admit that the first girl I ever had a crush on was Lizzie Swan in POTC lol. (Not that I will EVER tell my mother or the adult members of my very Catholic, very conservative Republican extended family that I have, in fact, kissed girls and liked it lol. There are some things that even I am not stupid enough to do lol.)

I fucking LOVE science fiction. The camp-iest, the cheese-iest the better. I love space travel/adventure sci-fi the best, I’m sorry I don’t care what ANYONE says, Flash Gordon is a cinematic masterpiece and I will fight anyone who says differently. I love Firefly and Star Trek and oh my god the Riddick movies are so fucking great. And when you can combine my love of sci fi with my pure and unadulterated THING for cowboys (I don’t know where that came from by the way I just. I have a cowboy kink that cannot be stopped. I need professional help lol) you have right there a double threat of Meghan is gonna love this. (I unironically STAN Cowboys and Aliens ok. And Pacific Rim.) I’ll read sci-fi, I’ll watch it, I’ll listen to it, you put it in front of me and I will consume it.

I’m tagging @spacegayofficial @youmeanmybrain @pajamasecrets @pascalispretty @stevieharrrr @keeper0fthestars @zeldasayer @hystericalmedicine and frankly anybody who sees this and wants to share. Tell me about your interesting selves!! :p

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skollwolf · 5 years ago

Note

carnegie, faulkner, diary

carnegie: what authors and/or books/stories have inspired you to write or influenced your work?

Ooh, there are a ton of authors whose works have inspired me/influenced my own writing over the years. As far as original fiction goes, the authors coming most readily to mind right now are Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Seanan McGuire, and Naomi Novik. There have also been a ton of amazing fanfic stories I’ve consumed that have influenced me, and that could be a whole essay length post on its own, but this one for some reason has stuck with me maybe the hardest.

faulkner: what tropes do you LOVE writing? which ones are your guilty pleasure?

As my published ao3 fics can attest, I love soulmate AUs, especially soulmate AUs where I get to mess with or subvert the traditional take on the trope. I also really enjoy slow burn stupid misunderstanding/mutual pining fics, like, the more painfully in love with each other and idiotic about it both people are, the more I eat that up. This...maybe more than a little bit explains my recent hyperfixation on MDZS.

diary: how many pieces have you written that are just for you or will never see the light of day?

Basically all of my original fiction is an exercise in just-for-me writing, because I can’t foresee a situation where I decide to navigate the vagaries of publishing original work. I do make a few exceptions to this privacy (Cal or my IRL best friends can read my original works whenever they want to, for instance). As far as fanfic is concerned, though...relatively few pieces? A few character studies here or there, snippets of works that didn’t get fleshed out, or things I wasn’t happy with and couldn’t be bothered to fix. I’m too motivated by reader response to write fanfic without any feedback. Unfortunately for y’all that means I’m prone to publishing WIPs rather than completed works.

If anyone wants to send in more asks, you can find the list anon was working from here.

#anon #ask meme #Anonymous

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animebw · 5 years ago

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Binge-Watching: Revue Starlight, Episodes 5-6

In which we start digging into the meat of what makes these couples tick, and the results are, unsurprisingly, delightful.

Couple Drama

You know what I love to see in fiction? Couples doing things. Not just couples forming, but existing, exploring their bond, growing closer, going though rough patches, repairing stronger than ever, discovering more and more about the things that draw them to each other. I am a romantic slut, and I have anime entirely to thank for that, because back when I actually consumed Western media on a regular basis, I used to think I hated romance. But what I actually hated was the stupid ways Western media treated romance, the lack of chemistry between general leads, the contrived drama, the stupid hoop the plot would make them jump through for the sake of drawing out the inevitable. One of the most important things anime ever did for my understanding of media was show me that fictional romance could actually be one one of the most fulfilling aspects of a story if done correctly. With couples like Edwin from FMA, Nagisa and Tomoyo from Clannad, and especially Taiga and Ryuji from Toradora, I was introduced to an entirely new kind of on-screen love I had never really encountered before. Fictional couples could be sweet! They could be touching! They could be earnest and kind and mutually beneficial and allowed to explore and deepen their bond in a way that actually endeared them to you! It sounds simple enough in retrospect, but to a guy who’d rarely seen love in stories allowed to be this genuine, it was a revelation.

It should come as no surprise, then, that a story explicitly centered around the development and intimacy of several couples at once would earn such a swift place in my heart. Revue Starlight does many things right, but the one thing it truly excels at is getting you invested all these funky little lesbians. The chemistry between every single pairing is fucking glorious, thanks to a wonderful sense of lived-in history and an endlessly entertaining cavalcade of quips and tics that state their feelings with more emotional clarity than a simple confession ever could. And now that we’re heading into the middle stretch of the show, Revue Starlight has time to buckle down and start really digging into what makes all these pairings tick. The result? Some of the most giddily entertaining couple drama I’ve ever experienced in fiction. Sweet buttery crumpets, folks, these episodes are wonderful. I can’t remember the last time a bunch of romantic idiots butting heads has left this big a smile on my face. Their chemistry has all been established so goddamn well, so watching them get the chance to actually deepen those bonds by way of floundering helplessly in teen hormones is one of my most rewarding romantic indulgences in recent memory. This is the kind of treat that made Hibiki and Miku’s relationship in Symphogear so giddily intoxicating, and here’s Revue Starlight spreading that sugar around four potential romantic entanglements. How beautiful the world can be.

Find Your Shine

That’s not to say there’s no legitimate drama to be found among these episodes; in fact, part of the reason they’re so rewarding is how well they balance the emotional pathos of their characters with the outwardly goofy way those hang-ups manifest. And there’s no better evidence of that than jealous girlfriend Mahiru, whose reactions to Hikari intruding on her love life with Karen are simultaneously gut-bustingly hilarious and deeply, achingly human. It astounds me how deep Mahiru’s affections for Karen run; even putting aside this show being brave enough to let her explicitly state “I love Karen” herself, the way Karen sparkles like a kaleidoscope in her eyes, a vision of everything she aspires to, is such a simple visual motif, but it’s so goddamn effective. You feel how deeply Karen has touched her, and it can’t help but hurt to see self-doubt start creeping in once Hikari starts dominating the picture. But that doesn’t keep it from making you burst out laughing, because oh my fucking god Mahiru HOW ARE YOU SO THIRSTY. The first time Hikari walked in on her muffling herself with Karen’s pillow was funny enough, but then they one-upped it with Mahiru getting flustered over Karen’s sweaty towel, and then they went one step goddamn further with her going for an indirect kiss with Karen’s water bottle and the comedic timing on Mahiru’s panic upon being found out was flawless and oh my fucking god CONTROL YOUR HORMONES YOU ABSOLUTE DISASTER GAY I SWEAR TO JESUS

*ahem*

But then, Revue Starlight goes one step further: it also has the guts to let Mahiru’s feelings for Karen not be perfect. Karen’s her idol, but she’s also a crutch to compensate for her lack of self-esteem. Mahiru has so little faith in her abilities as a stage girl, feeling like she’s just going through the motions for her family’s sake despite being wholly inadequate in the face of everyone else’s talent. She can’t believe in her own shine, so she clings onto Karen’s as tightly as possible to fill the void, which only makes it harder for her to trust in her own abilities. It’s a vicious cycle of self-doubt and anxiety, and Hikari tearing her out of her comfort zone was the only thing that could force her to confront the trials ahead for herself. She can’t keep leaning on Karen if she wants to become a true talent herself; she needs to be brave enough to trust in her own abilities and fight for her own desires, even if that means physically ripping away her support system to make it happn. Because Mahiru is worthy to fight in these auditions. She does have what it takes to shine as bright as everyone else. And if you doubt that, I need only direct your attention to Mahiru’s revue of jealousy as she clashes against Karen, because oh my dear sweet baby lord, where do I even start? The baseball game knocking them into everyone else’s stages, Karen’s frantic “rollrollrollrollrollroll”, the cardboard puppet show that could power a superconductor with sheer concentrated lesbian goofery, the toe-tapping swing number backing it all... I had to pause the video for a good minute there just to collect myself, I was laughing so hard. That’s Mahiru’s shine, and no one can take that away from her. So be proud of yourself, you utter disaster. Your star is shining just fine, and Karen’s not the only one who can see it.

Taxi Fare

And yet, as adorable as everything surrounding Mahiru is, I have to concede victory to the fire-and-ice duo who’ve taken my top spot as favorite couple of the show: Futaba and Kaoruko. There’s something about their prickly intimacy that puts a smile on my face like nothing else; if they’re close enough to be this comfortable tossing pot shots at each other, then their trust must be truly something of wonder. And that’s a good thing, because over the course of episode 6 we find out just how stubborn they can both be. Kaoru’s a lazy lump of entitlement who whines when things don’t go her way, because she’s forgotten the importance of actually putting effort in to achieve her goals. Futaba’s stoic and self-confident enough to handle her tantrums on a regular basis, but once the pressure finally starts getting to her, she’d rather leave Kaoruko flailing on her own than swallow her pride and try to give her a hand up. When these two find themselves at odds, the pettiness of their outward bickering quickly overshadows the deep-seated emotional truths they’re trying to interlock. But the stubbornness that brings them apart is the same stubbornness that pulls them back together, because they believe in each other too damn much to let the other one give up on themselves. Kaoruko is crushed when she thinks Futaba isn’t coming to stop her from leaving, because if she’s really lost Futaba’s trust in her, then she really has nothing left. That’s how powerful their bond runs, even when they’re mad at each other for not expressing it as clearly as they could.

It’s a wake-up call that Kaoruko desperately needed, because as we can see from the flashbacks in this episode, she has an unfortunate tendency to take Futaba for granted at times. To her, this girl rooting for her has been a fixture of her life, as permanent and unchanging as the rest of the gifts she was granted with by virtue of her noble family. But Futaba didn’t just slip into supporting Kaoruko out of necessity; she chose to believe in her this deeply. She fought her hardest, improved her grades to get into Seisho, learned to ride a motorcycle because Kaoruko hated walking, all to give her girlfriend the best opportunity she possibly could to achieve her greatest potential. So seeing her procrastinate and take all that opportunity for granted like a spoiled rich kid who thinks she’s entitled to the world on a silver platter is the biggest insult Futaba could ever endure. She’s given so goddamn much to stand on the same stage with Kaoruko, and she will be damned if she lets Kaoruko let her down now. This being Revue Starlight, the overall tone of the episode is still remarkably light and bouncy, trading on the stubbornness of both characters for maximum “couple spat” enjoyment (MAYBE I WILL ROOM WITH CLAUDINE, AT LEAST SHE TREATS ME WITH RESPECT!!), but the ultimate revelation as Kaoruko realizes how deeply she needs to change is still really damn effective. When someone you care for believes in you as much as that, there’s no excuse not to reach for your full potential and put in the effort to prove them right.

And can I just say, I love the use of the silly taxi fares as a metaphor for their situation. Ever since their childhood, Futaba’s been supporting Kaoruko in everything she does, but in return, Kaoruko owes her that fare. She owes her the effort and focus to prove her trust right, to prove that supporting her all this time wasn’t in vain. And now that Kaoruko’s finally ready to start paying those fares back, they’ll only find more and more ways to push each other to greatness. God, give me girlfriends supporting each other with such confidence any day of the week.

Odds and Ends

-”And she’s not sleeping during class!” Proud of you, hon.

-”Fostering plays and letting them grow, that’s what we working backstage will do.” Listen to your crew, theatre kids, they are your lifeline.

-Don’t talk with your mouth full, ffs Giraffe-chan.

-”Yes, this is potatoes.” lkdsalkjalkj fuck’s sake Tendo

-”Fantastic kimono girl!” English tourists really do be like that, huh?

-”We can’t lose to a certain sleepyhead.” “That’s right!” Oh Karen, never change.

-She. Ate the asparagus. Good fucking god, Kaoruko, no need to torture yourself.

-Daaaamn, the ricochet arrow! Junna’s really damn cool, guys.

-I love how Claudine and Tendo are just in the background of all this couple drama looking on it with bemusement. They’ve got such massive “kids these days” energy.

-As a side note, in case you missed it, it turns out I was using subtitles with inaccurate translations, and Claudine was actually the one who broke off her friendship with Maya to try and surpass her. Not gonna lie, that makes a lot more sense than the alternative, given what we’ve seen of their relationship thus far.

-”You finally came to stop me, Futaba-han.” AAAAAKJSDHAKJS THAT BLUSH HOLY FUCK YOU GUYS

God, how am I already halfway done? I never want this show to end. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #revue starlight #shojo kageki revue starlight #shoujo kageki revue starlight

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