#and since duke is so heavily involved in all the other lives he got involved in this one too
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Please continue ghostlights multiverse constant au with Earth 0 having a happy ending together cuz halfa Danny is impossible to really kill anymore pleaseeeeeee ��
(part one)
Danny is destined to die once he meets Duke. He knows this; heâs seen how their friendship leads to Dannyâs death is so many different lives. Thereâs no doubt in his mind that the only way to ensure Danny lives a long life is to stay away from him.
Which is why the universe decides to make Danny pop up constantly. Itâs clearly trying to get him killed, and Duke refuses to let that happen!
It starts innocently enough. They cross paths briefly at a bus stop, bumping into each other as Duke gets off the bus and Danny moves to go on it. He recognizes Danny immediately, feels a little spark go through him when their shoulders brush against each other. Something in him says I know you. I miss you.
He pulls back a step and offers a quick apology. Danny waves it off and looks at him as through searching for something. He opens his mouth to say something, but Duke can feel the threads of fate tighten around their throats and hurries away.Â
He waits until he hears the bus pull away, then glances behind him to watch it go before he slows down to a normal walking pace and heads for the mall where he planned to meet his friends.Â
Dukeâs heart pounds in his chest. He canât get Dannyâs eyes out of his head; so painfully blue, so nostalgic, so doomed.Â
This is for the best, he reminds himself. This is so Danny can live. Thatâs all that matters.
The momentâs passed, anyways. Theyâre still strangers, and theyâll stay that way.Â
He takes another minute to collect himself, then plasters on a smile and heads into the mall to find his friends.
The next six times, Duke has to save Danny as the Signal, appearing just in time to stop a mugging, an armed store robbery, a car trying to run Danny over, and fighting off Man-Bat who, for some reason, took one look at Danny and went fuck this guy, actually.
Duke is stressed. Heâs Stressed⢠and if anyone tries to take out Danny again heâs just going to start screaming.Â
For whatever reason, the universe is just out to get Danny now that theyâve run into each other once. Dukeâs life is a cosmic joke, and heâs stuck in the center of it all waiting for the moment comedy turns into tragedy.Â
Itâs gotten to the point that Duke expects to find Danny in some sort of dangerous situation as soon as he starts patrol. Heâs starting to dread going out, but he needs to; Gotham needs the Signal to keep the streets safe during the day, and Danny needs Duke to save his incredibly unlucky ass nearly every single day.
The first two hours go fine. He stops an armed robbery and a car jacking, chases away some creeps from the working girls, and gets a blueberry muffin from the bakery thatâs been around forever, on account of the old woman running it thinking heâs a good lad who needs to eat more.
Duke begins to hope that heâll have a quiet patrol. He begins to hope that Danny is safe and not in mortal danger for once.
His hopes are immediately dashed when he spots Danny on a rooftop, standing way too close to the edge.
Heart in his throat, Duke crosses the space between them in an instant, slingshotting himself forward through shadows.
He intends to pull Danny back, to say something, to try and shake some common sense into him so he actually has a chance at living a long life. Duke doesnât get to do any of that; as soon as he steps out of the shadows, Danny turns to face him with a tired smile.
âThere you are,â he says. âI knew youâd find me.â
âWhat? Iâlisten, can you step back from the ledge for me?â
Danny steps back, keeping his eyes on Duke. He doesnât seem to mind that the Signal is so hesitant in this moment, keeping his distance.Â
âI wasnât sure at first,â he says, as if he never stopped talking, âBut I had a feeling. Youâve probably had it too, right? Itâs why we keep being pushed together, and why my luck has been so awful ever since I came to Gotham.â
He knows, is the first thing Duke things. But how can that be? If Danny knows about all those other universes where they had each other, then he knows how it ends. If he knows, then he should be trying to keep his distance from both Duke and the Signal before he gets killed.
âItâs you under that mask, isnât it? Duke.â
The way Danny says his name brings him back to all those other lives where they had each other from the start. He sounds so sure of himself, as if heâs always known Duke.
Itâs only when Duke says, âHow?â that Danny falters, fear briefly crossing his expression before it settles into something more neutral. His fingers begin to pull at the cuffs of his jacket sleeves, confidence melting away.Â
âDo you⌠not know me?â
The quietness of his voice, the fragility of it, breaks Dukeâs heart. He doesnât stop to think before he answers, âI know you. Of course I know you, Danny.â Then he blinks, shakes his head, and says, âWait. No. I know of you. We havenât really met this life.â
âItâs the dreams, right? They make things so confusing.â
âYouâve been getting them too?â
âI may be the cause of them,â Danny says with a wince. âDue to some, uh⌠ghostly magic shenanigans. It wasnât on purpose! But it is kinda my fault.â
Ghostly magic? Okay, sure, why not. Who is Duke to judge the bizarre things that exist in their world. He has superpowers and his biological father is an evil immortal. He has absolutely no leg to stand on when it cames to the weird and the unexpected. Might as well roll with it, since this is his life now.
Besides, thereâs more important things to focus on, such as: âOkay, so, just to be on the same page, youâve been getting the same dreams as me, yeah? The ones where you always die? Those dreams?â
And Danny, very casually, answers, âYeah.â
âDude,â Duke says, pained, âIf you know that meeting me leads to your death, then why are you seeking me out?!â
âWhat?â
âHave you not seen how you die young in every single universe? Because I have! And itâs messing me up!â
Danny blinks at him, then looks guilty, hunching in on himself. âOh, yeah. That. Uh, yeah, soâŚâ he trails off and bites his lip, gaze kept downwards so he doesnât have to meet Dukeâs eyes. âI do die young always, yeah, but itâs totally not your fault! I just do that!â
âYou just do that,â Duke repeats, pained.Â
âYeah. I just die young.â
âIs this somehow not a problem for you.â
To his immense displeasure, Danny has the nerve to shrug and say, âEh, not really.â
âDanny.â
âItâs okay! Really!â Danny says, a little frantically, âAnd also it has nothing to do with you! None of my deaths have been your fault, itâs just a thing that happens to me!â And then, in a quiet, rushed mumble, âAlso I already died in this universe so itâs fine.â
A strangled sound bursts out of Dukeâs throat as he tries very hard not to start yelling. He puts his head in his hands and holds back a heavy sigh because the boy of his literal dreams is stressing him out so much heâs about to dissolve into ashes and ascend to a higher realm where he has no worries.Â
Unfortunately, heâs not quite there yet, so Duke has to deal with living in the reality where Danny admits he already died because thatâs just what he does: die young.Â
Which is, apparently, not Dukeâs fault at all. Cool.Â
Cool cool cool. Heâs definitely not going to have a breakdown about this.
A hand gently tugs on his wrist, making him lift his head to meet Dannyâs worried gaze. âHey, you alright? Do you wanna sit down for a minute?â
And you know what? Duke does want to sit down for a minute. Heâs earned it.Â
He nods, and Danny carefully guides him back to where the roof access door is, so they can sit with their backs against something and be away from the edge where curious eyes might spot them. It feels easy, practiced, as if theyâve done this a thousand times before instead of just now having their first conversation. Their lives have been linked and twisted together, though only for a short time before death takes Danny away.Â
He knows Danny, despite how illogical it is, and thatâs what makes him take off his helmet and exposure his face to the world.Â
Danny knows him too, after all.Â
There is no hiding from someone who is meant to be in his life.
Dannyâs smiling softly when he turns to look at him. âHey, Duke. Itâs good to see you properly. Is it weird to say that Iâve missed you even though weâve technically never met in this life?â
âNah,â he replies, âI missed you too. Please stop scaring me like that.â
âI make no promises. Expect for this: dying wonât take me away from you in this life. Iâve got it handled.â
âI donât⌠I donât think thatâs someone anyone can have handled.â
âIâve got it handled,â Danny repeats firmly.Â
Duke shakes his head with a small laugh. He got so caught up in the guilt of leading to Dannyâs death, of being unable to save him, of losing him in every universe, that he forgot how stubborn Danny is.Â
It is a weight off his chest, though. To know that it wasnât his fault. To know that the worst has already come to pass long before they met in this universe, so they donât have to fear the future together.Â
âSo,â he says, âTell me more about these magical ghostly shenanigans?â
âAt least wait until the second date for personal questions,â Danny jokes.
âOkay. Wanna grab dinner tonight?â
Itâs nice to see that Danny blushes easily in this universe too. âIsnât that moving a little fast?â
âWeâve been dreaming about a bunch of other universes where weâre together. We know each other even though we donât know each other. Weâre well past moving fast, dude.â
âYeah, thatâs fair,â Danny nods. âAlright. Dinner tonight, then. Take me to the best place for breakfast foods in Gotham. Iâve been craving pancakes all week.â
âSure, I can do that. Mind giving me your number so I can figure out where to pick you up from?â
Danny nods and begins patting his pockets in search of⌠something. Duke means to grab his phone and hand it to Danny to get his number, but heâs quickly distracted as Danny gives up on his pockets and shoves a hand directly into his own chest.Â
Ghostly magic shenanigans. This is probably part of it? Danny doesnât look alarmed by this at all, so Duke rolls with it and shoves away his shock at the sight.Â
âAha!â Danny holds up a sharpie in triumph. He sure did pull that straight out of his ribcage. Duke is so chill with it.Â
He lets Danny take hold of his arm, removing a wrist gauntlet so he can write on the skin. The cool ink of the sharpie makes him shiver, but otherwise, he stays still. Danny writes carefully, in smooth movements. It doesnât take more than a few seconds, then he pulls the sharpie away and blows a surprisingly cold breath against Dukeâs wrist to help the ink dry faster.
âThere we go,â he says with a smile. âLet me know when you wanna have our date, okay? Iâm free whenever, so donât worry about accommodating me or anything.
âIâll text you once Iâm ready,â Duke agrees. He stands up, looking over the numbers written on his wrist. He memorizes them, then puts his wrist gauntlet back on. Itâs about time for him to get back to being the Signal, as much as he hates to leave Danny here when theyâve finally been able to have a quiet moment to themselves.Â
âIâll see you later, then.â Danny hesitates, then leans forward and presses a quick, chaste kiss against Dukeâs cheek. Duke blinks at him, stunned, his heart skipping a beat.Â
He doesnât get the chance to return the gesture; Danny flushes red, backs up a few steps with a shy grin, and says, âOkay, bye Duke! Stay safe out there!â And then heâs gone, blinking out of sight, and itâs only his meta powers that let him see a faint wispy outline where Danny was.Â
It moves, floating up in the air, then flies away like smoke in the breeze.Â
Ah, Duke thinks, Ghostly. Heâs a ghost. Iâll worry about that later.
His fingers brush against the spot where Danny kissed him. Then he puts his helmet back on and focuses on swinging through the streets of Gotham, ready for anything.Â
The sooner he gets done with patrol, the better, after all. He needs all his focus to do that so he can start getting ready for his date with Danny, the literal boy of his dreams.Â
This time, this life, this universe, theyâre gonna do it right. Theyâll make up for all the time their other selves lost. Theyâll cherish every minute together, one pancake date at a time.
And to think, it only took a couple dozen different lives to get here.
#ghostlights#dc x dp#dp x dc#dcxdp#dpxdc#prompt fill#my writing#the dreams were bc danny messed w magic stuff he found in the ghost zone#and since duke is so heavily involved in all the other lives he got involved in this one too#basically the magic being like oh u want ur boy? here he is!#dannys bad luck has nothing to do w magic tho he just lives like that lmao#thanks for the prompt!
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Twig Liveblog for Arc 14
lots of crazy shit happened in this arc it was so good!! first of all it's so psychedelic. the lambs talking about sylvester in the third person while he just sort of mopes around, barely alive--really a terrifying section. the city of new amsterdam provides quite the psychedelic backdrop too, with pulsing walls and living buildings.
and it's got so many cool nobles!!! i love the infante so much, you all have no idea. greatest wildbow character of all time. and then my second favorite wildbow character of all time (the god mauer) shows up too... and then the two queens face off... we're truly spoiled. this arc has probably some of the best Mauer Moments⢠so far. he fucking slits syvette's throat what a badass. his encounter with augustus the noble was kind of beautiful--we see mauer's drive and doubt and determination in one fatal moment. even if mauer commits the most evil acts of all time i'm still ride or die for him.
the time spent as evette was insane--sy's psyche, which has been splitting since the death of jamie, has its most dramatic fracture yet. i find it fascinating the way sy's identity exists only in relation to the other lambs. sy is sy only insofar as he is not helen, gordon, lillian, etc. and when the equilibrium is disrupted, sy cannot really be himself. the lambs are like one organism it's so evil to split them up!!! i think the sequence where evette has her heart outside her body is a metaphor for this idea. i mean they did it to themselves here lol but i guess it's just part of sy's Journey. twig is so existentialist. sy must create himself.
my favorite part of the arc was mauer taking evette to The Block. it felt like something out of true detective. we get a kind of answer at the end of the arc, but there is still so much mystery. i'm such a sucker for conspiracy thrillers involving the abuse of children. such haunting context, too.
and then right after they talk about the child trafficking jessie comes out lmao. so sweet!!!!!!!! the love between jessie and sy is so pure and beautiful it makes my heart race. they understand each other so deeply and fundamentally and intimately. they must kiss imminently!!!!!!!!!!
the interlude with lillian made me want to be an academy student so bad even though it seems so awful lol. it's like "the magicians" i just want to escape into the evil fantasy school. then the infante shows up again let's fucking goooooo. he's very mean to lillian and the lambs but that is his right. i'm also very intrigued about the idea of giving wyvern to the duke, but i would root heavily against him in his quest to harm the infante. i only liked the duke before i knew about the infante, and now that i know there is a larger, more powerful noble, the duke is basically a stupid maggot to me who must be squished more.
#twigblr#henghost's twig arc#twig liveblog#sylvester lambsbridge#the infante is my noblekin#i would die for him
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[ camilla luddington | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome AVERY BRADENTON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 38 year old WITCH, who is one of the SURVIVORS but weâll keep that a secret. They are said to be CYNICAL, but thatâs all a façade to cover up their INDEPENDENT nature. Weâve heard that they can be found listening to CONSEQUENCES by CAMILA CABELLO which sums them up pretty well. Letâs hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world
NAME:Â avery joanne bradenton nĂŠe reynolds NICKNAME:Â AGE:Â 38 BIRTHDAY:Â SPECIES:Â witch GENDER:Â cisfemale PRONOUNS:Â she/her SEXUALITY:Â heterosexual FACECLAIM: camilla luddington HAIR COLOR: brown EYE COLOR:Â hazel
FAMILY :
andre reynolds ( father )
charlotte pearson ( mother )
unnamed reynolds ( older brother )
unnamed reynolds ( younger sister )
SPOUSE: ryker bradenton ( husband, deceased ) CHILDREN: ashton ryker bradenton ( five year old son )
Avery and her siblings grew up in New Orleans in a prominent coven. Their parents weren't the most prominent or influential. But they were among the most loyal. Everything they did, every choice they made was with the coven at heart. Their parents taught the children at a very young age to hone in on their powers and wanted them to move up within the coven and remain loyal.
Avery followed in her parents footsteps, learning complex spells at a very young age and eventually wanted to move up into a position of power within the coven. This was until she met a boy at school and the two became fast friends. The two were pretty inseparable. It wasnât until later that she found out that his family were members of the opposing coven. This didnât change how Avery viewed him; she knew him outside of the coven rivalry. But it did change how their parents viewed the other. The pair were no longer able to spend time at each others houses, only being able to see each other at school and extracurriculars.
The pair tried not to let it affect them, remaining great friends for a few years; Avery even developed a crush over time, convincing herself that at some point, they could be together. But over the years, the boy got more involved with his coven and let his parents influence him, naturally pulling him away from Avery. But she didn't give up hope. Even after going away to Duke for college, she still held out hope that eventually they would come back to each other and he would realize that she was what he needed all along.
That was until she met Ryker. He was just some guy in a bar. At first, that is. The two instantly hit it off and started w whirlwind fling that only lasted a short while until his was reassigned and quickly left. The pair promised not to lose touch, but long distance would never be the same. Though their romance was short lived, he had forever changed her life for the better. He finally showed her what she had been missing: a man who chose her, who wanted her. He helped her realize her worth, helped her realize that she deserved a man who would put her first. From that first day she met him, she would never let another man treat her as lesser.
Once Ryker was gone, Avery picked herself up and moved on with a newfound confidence. She graduated with a Masters in Business and eventually moved home and opened her own small coffee shop that she had since worked on expanding to neighboring towns. But what she couldn't have predicted was meeting Ryker again. She then knew that it was fate. The pair were meant to be together. And she wouldn't let him go again so easily.
However, their happily ever ever was not meant to last as Ryker's life was taken just before Avery learned of her pregnancy with their first child. Avery lost her entire sense of self when she learned of Ryker's death, leaning heavily on her siblings and best friend/business partner, the only family who had stuck by her side. This was especially so after the birth of her son.
â â â ONE YEAR LATER â â â
Avery hadn't handled her husband coming back into her life from the dead and seemingly instantly moving on as well as she thought she would. She had built up an idea in her mind of what her life would be if they got a second chance. that to get that ripped away was like losing him all over again.
Despite her heartache, she prioritized their healthy co-parenting relationship. Seeing him and hearing about the other girl may have hurt more than anything, but she knew that the most important thing was for her son to have a relationship with his father and for them to give their son the best life that they possibly could.
After a couple months, Avery knew that she couldn't go on like this. She was essentially a shell of herself, very reminiscent of when Ryker had first died. Eventually she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and out of her funk. The first step of the process was to change her name back to her maiden name to try and find a new sense of self outside of her failed marriage.
She began going to therapy, something she probably should have done a LONG time ago. There, she met Asher Simmons as they were coming out of their respective appointments and became sort of âtherapy buddiesâ and began helping each other out with their progress.
Avery has also dived right back into her work and is currently working on expanding the cafe and creating a performance space for small acoustic sets for smaller artists
Though sheâs been working on healing, she may not be making all the best choices. One of those choices being her involvement with a certain athlete turned model. The two are far from serious and far from public; she is well aware of his marriage and is just treating it as something fun while her son is off with his father. For now, that is. Weâll see how long it takes for her to catch feelings.
#* . âšÂ avery bradenton â đđđđđđđđđ˘#tw death#exitium.intro#//a repost with a revamp
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[ camilla luddington | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome AVERY BRADENTON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 38 year old WITCH, who is one of the SURVIVORS but weâll keep that a secret. They are said to be CYNICAL, but thatâs all a façade to cover up their INDEPENDENT nature. Weâve heard that they can be found listening to CONSEQUENCES by CAMILA CABELLO which sums them up pretty well. Letâs hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world
NAME:Â avery joanne bradenton nĂŠe reynolds NICKNAME:Â AGE:Â 38 BIRTHDAY:Â SPECIES:Â witch GENDER:Â cisfemale PRONOUNS:Â she/her SEXUALITY:Â heterosexual FACECLAIM: camilla luddington HAIR COLOR: brown EYE COLOR:Â hazel
FAMILY :
andre reynolds ( father )
charlotte pearson ( mother )
unnamed reynolds ( older brother )
unnamed reynolds ( younger sister )
SPOUSE: ryker bradenton ( husband, deceased ) CHILDREN: ashton ryker bradenton ( five year old son )
Avery and her siblings grew up in New Orleans in a prominent coven. Their parents weren't the most prominent or influential. But they were among the most loyal. Everything they did, every choice they made was with the coven at heart. Their parents taught the children at a very young age to hone in on their powers and wanted them to move up within the coven and remain loyal.
Avery followed in her parents footsteps, learning complex spells at a very young age and eventually wanted to move up into a position of power within the coven. This was until she met a boy at school and the two became fast friends. The two were pretty inseparable. It wasnât until later that she found out that his family were members of the opposing coven. This didnât change how Avery viewed him; she knew him outside of the coven rivalry. But it did change how their parents viewed the other. The pair were no longer able to spend time at each others houses, only being able to see each other at school and extracurriculars.
The pair tried not to let it affect them, remaining great friends for a few years; Avery even developed a crush over time, convincing herself that at some point, they could be together. But over the years, the boy got more involved with his coven and let his parents influence him, naturally pulling him away from Avery. But she didn't give up hope. Even after going away to Duke for college, she still held out hope that eventually they would come back to each other and he would realize that she was what he needed all along.
That was until she met Ryker. He was just some guy in a bar. At first, that is. The two instantly hit it off and started w whirlwind fling that only lasted a short while until his was reassigned and quickly left. The pair promised not to lose touch, but long distance would never be the same. Though their romance was short lived, he had forever changed her life for the better. He finally showed her what she had been missing: a man who chose her, who wanted her. He helped her realize her worth, helped her realize that she deserved a man who would put her first. From that first day she met him, she would never let another man treat her as lesser.
Once Ryker was gone, Avery picked herself up and moved on with a newfound confidence. She graduated with a Masters in Business and eventually moved home and opened her own small coffee shop that she had since worked on expanding to neighboring towns. But what she couldn't have predicted was meeting Ryker again. She then knew that it was fate. The pair were meant to be together. And she wouldn't let him go again so easily.
However, their happily ever ever was not meant to last as Ryker's life was taken just before Avery learned of her pregnancy with their first child. Avery lost her entire sense of self when she learned of Ryker's death, leaning heavily on her siblings and best friend/business partner, the only family who had stuck by her side. This was especially so after the birth of her son.
â â â ONE YEAR LATER â â â
Avery hadn't handled her husband coming back into her life from the dead and seemingly instantly moving on as well as she thought she would. She had built up an idea in her mind of what her life would be if they got a second chance. that to get that ripped away was like losing him all over again.
Despite her heartache, she prioritized their healthy co-parenting relationship. Seeing him and hearing about the other girl may have hurt more than anything, but she knew that the most important thing was for her son to have a relationship with his father and for them to give their son the best life that they possibly could.
After a couple months, Avery knew that she couldn't go on like this. She was essentially a shell of herself, very reminiscent of when Ryker had first died. Eventually she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and out of her funk. The first step of the process was to change her name back to her maiden name to try and find a new sense of self outside of her failed marriage.
She began going to therapy, something she probably should have done a LONG time ago. There, she met Asher Simmons as they were coming out of their respective appointments and became sort of âtherapy buddiesâ and began helping each other out with their progress.
Avery has also dived right back into her work and is currently working on expanding the cafe and creating a performance space for small acoustic sets for smaller artists
Though sheâs been working on healing, she may not be making all the best choices. One of those choices being her involvement with a certain athlete turned model. The two are far from serious and far from public; she is well aware of his marriage and is just treating it as something fun while her son is off with his father. For now, that is. Weâll see how long it takes for her to catch feelings.
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I have read your thought about the Batfamily, now I really want to know your thought about the one who started it, the Batman himself. We can't ignore the fact that Bruce is abusing his children, but there's also some moments where he's being a good father to them. But some of his act doesn't make sense.
He's beating his children, then calling them his son after. He act like a mad man after Damian's death (yeah, they did Jason dirty in here), feeling sorrow and desperately wanting to ressurect him, but then neglecting him continously in the future. I didn't know much about Cass, Bruce seems to always be a good father to her. But her fans once pointed that Bruce (or DC) is too hard on her to not killing/too soft on the others, because the other batkids has killed some villains while under Batman and still got to continue putting on their costumes.
What is exactly Bruce character? How is his relationship with every one of his children?
I feel like Batman can't be in a good relationship with one of his children without destroying his relationship with the other. I always love parents and children relationship in comics, but with batfamily sometimes it just so 'fanon-y' and some are hurtful.
I stopped reading Batman book for a long time. And come back reading that wedding and city of bane arc, because I want to know how they killed Alfred. And honestly those run are terrible. The issue basically just a batcat fanservice, with the worst Batman and Catwoman characterization ever. The batkids didn't even got many appearance and treated awfully as if they are just extras, even if they all are capable and have connection with Alfred.
Hey there Anon!
My thoughts on Batman and Bruce have changed over the last few years, he wasnât the character that introduced me to DC comics but what I got to read from him at the time seemed good. As time went by, I started to feel like the whole concept of Batman was overrated and he kinda tired me in entertainment such as movies and all that. He never truly was a character that I actually liked so by the time that I read Under the Red Hood I knew that I liked Dick and Jason better than Bruce.
Batman was interesting but I was completely indifferent about Bruce. That whole thing changed around the time that the New 52 was sort of ending, there I started to heavily dislike Bruce and then that turned into pure hate. Now, I am just tired of the guy and every time that he appears in Dick or Jason content my day is ruined.
I hate that DC has been writing Bruce as an abusive and manipulative person and father to his âkidsâ, he has done a lot of wrong to them in comic history but all went to shit (in current comics) when Bruce tried to manipulate Jason into reliving the day that he died and his resurrection in Batman and Robin vol2. #20 and when he beat Dick and manipulated him into becoming a spy after telling him that he had told everyone that he was dead in Nightwing vol.3 #30.
Bruce was a horrible human being in the pre-New 52 timeline too sometimes, mostly towards Dick but in a way, it felt like Dick was able time and time again to get away from him a little bit. Now none of his kids are given the opportunity to turn their backs on Bruce, they are kept in his surroundings no matter how abusive he becomes towards them.
My biggest problem with Bruceâs abusiveness is the fact that the writers never treat it like he acts in an abusive way, they never make him apologize or have an internal discussion where he realises that he was in the wrong. âBruce is a horrible person to his sons but it doesnât matter because he is right and he is Batman so thatâs thatâ, thatâs the message that I feel DC is selling us. Bruce never receives punishment or is called out for his behaviour, Dick was never able to tell Bruce that what he did to him was unforgivable, he never got the chance to explain to anyone that he didnât play dead, and when he came back from Spyral he took all the shit from his âfamilyâ himself.
Sometimes DC does something even worse, they try to hide Bruceâs neglect with things that never happened like they did with the Ric thing in Dickâs case. Dick was passed around from villain to villain when he was most vulnerable and at the end of it all DC had the guts to say that Batman had been watching over Dick all the time. Like, why lie in such a blatant way? Does Bruce enjoy watching his son suffer from a far or was he too much of a coward to tell Dick that he was a shit father, got stuck in a hole and then decided to play âCat and Batâ with Selina instead of caring for any of his children?
The situation with Damianâs death and resurrection was a whole thing that was meant to prove that Bruce loved Damian and considered him his son. But in their effort to make Bruce look like a good father to Damian they completely destroyed his relationship with his other kids and that was also the start of Bruce referring to Damian as his ONLY son. And like you said after Damian was resurrected Bruce ended up neglecting him afterwards which ultimately led Damian to run away.
His relationship with Cass and Duke is something that I cannot explore because I am not into those characters and they are involved in books that I am not interested in. So I cannot say anything about that.
With Tim itâs complicated because I feel like his relationship with him was never actually father/son it was more like mentor/mentee and that seemed to work better for them, ever since they started the whole family thing Bruce started to act a little bit too rough towards Tim and that ended with Bruce punching Tim during the âCity of Baneâ arc. Bruce never apologised or was shown realising his mistake, but DC made sure to explain that Bruce was going through a rough time so thatâs why he did it. It was pure rubbish and I dislike it a lot.
I answered an ask a while ago about how I thought Dick and Jason could become family the way that DC treats the âBatfamilyâ within comics and I came up with the idea of the âDickfamilyâ because I felt like DC made a big mistake the moment they revolved the Bat family around Bruce and not Dick. Bruce is a character that is known for being lonely and for being surrounded by darkness that he only manages to escape through the light of Robin (Dick Grayson because he was the first), he was always depicted as someone who is hard to work with and considers his teammates only co-workers and not friends. He is a difficult person to connect with, so why on earth did DC come up with a family surrounding that man? (I actually know the answer to that question and it is: money, DC did it to sell more comics under the Batman name but we are going to forget about that here, let me be petty).
Why would DC make it all about a man that doesnât connect or goes out of his way to say that he âworks aloneâ when Dick Grayson is standing right there? DC hates that they created a character like Dick because he is just better than Bruce at everything, he just is, he is better family to Alfred, Jason, Tim and Damian, he was even written as a better father to Damian than Bruce ever was!
Bruce is just not a people person or a person that forms strong bonds with people. And that makes the whole âBatfamilyâ concept suffer and come off as something forced that doesnât actually work.
Tom King was one of the writers that tried to kill the concept of the âBatfamilyâ with Bruce and Selina becoming a couple and by continuously saying that Selina was who was the most important person in Bruceâs life and the one that made him a better person. All Tom King did with that is make fans and non-fans of the âBatfamilyâ feel rage. Like, I might not like the âBatfamilyâ but there is no way that Selina comes first to Alfred, Dick or Damian, there is just no way and if that were actually true then thatâs boring.
All the writers that have pushed the âBatfamilyâ concept (try) do it in a way that makes it look grand and of actual essence but without putting any work on it, if you ask me the âBatfamilyâ (if there has to be one) should only include Bruce, Alfred (he do be dead though), Dick, Tim, Cass and Damian (I suppose Duke too, I donât know much about him). The âBatfamilyâ has to be small because that way you can actually build relationships and make them matter. Having Kate, Steph, Jason and so many others involved in a concept that was made to fit around Bruce looks stupid! Bruce has had almost zero connection to Kate and Steph in the last ten years and Bruceâs ârelationshipâ with Jason is a complete joke!
Bruce is just not the character that is meant to be surrounded by too much people, and he is not a good person towards his family so the whole ass concept should be thrown to the trash and finally let it die. But money is important and if there is something that DC will never stop doing, is milking Batman for content that can be (sometimes) pretty basic.
All in all, I think Bruce sucks and that his âkidsâ shouldnât be dragged back to him ever again or at least for a long while. All of them would actually benefit from not being involved with anything relating to Batman. Dick could benefit from Bruce and other Bat-related characters staying away from him and letting him live his life in Bludhaven. And Jason? My sweet Chonky? He would be in such a better place if Bruce disappeared from his life, imagine the actually good books we would have if Jason was free to act the way he was meant to do as the Red HoodâŚ
(We saw a little bit of that in the back up story of Detective Comics by Rosenberg, Batman is still involved but he and Jason are definitely not on the same side of the story! So excited for Task Force Z!)
I donât know If al that I just said answers your question but I hope you have a fantastic week Anon!
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Hereâs my dnd OCâs
Iâll say what race and class they are, and a very basic description of their background( cause all their BG are some what long and I ainât got the time to explain everything).
Solana Starfury: Sheâs the first DnD character I ever made and played with, due to the DM going MIA, Iâm no longer playing as her (although would love to). Sheâs a 5 level High Elf Wizard (school of necromancy), with a raven familiar called Cerlyn. Sheâs from a very prestigious elf family that focus heavily on figthing and being warriors and sucked at that but home girl loved to read. This led to her feeling ostracized and she getting disowned on her 100th birthday by her grandfather, whoâs a war heor. She lived on the streets for close to a year before she joined the party.Â
Ace: Heâs a Changeling Bard, who keeps the form of a half elf as a disguise. He never knew nothing from his family or heritage cause he was left at an orphanage. He got kicked out of the place the owner discovered his changeling nature (changelings are essentially extinct in this world cause they were hunted down). He lived by himself, traveling from place to place, always learning and reading until he settled on a village named Lipia and met a young half-elf boy named Pacen (whoâs @desenhosdebolso OC). Eventually he left, due to personal reasons, and years later he and Pacen met again. (OBS: Ace is not his real name)
Elizabeth Adawolf: The character Iâll use to play in a new campaign, sheâs a 3 level Human Blood Hunter (order of the Lycan) and sheâs a noble. Sheâs the youngest of her family and when she was 10, the household got on fire which led to her motherâs death and her getting the right side of her face burned. Others would make fun of her face, her brother started teaching her how to fight, and after one incident she discovers what blood hunters are and decides to join them. After something really bad happens, she leaves the order and goes traveling around the world, and often killing some monster or other stuff for money (essentially, working as mercenary of sorts).Â
Genevieve Nox: Sheâs a Dhampir Fighter (thank you Unearthed Arcana for the gothic bloodlines) and sheâs also a noble. Sheâs the daughter of a vampire couple, and she has 11 siblings (most of them are adopted) and the one sheâs closest to is a firbolg named Gaev (whoâs @desenhosdebolso OC). Her life was pretty chill, being the daugther of a duke and all, and when Gaev decided to go search for some answers, she went with him.
Galien: Heâs the second DnD character I ever created and heâs a Human Monk. His parents are a half elf woman and a half orc man, but his mom left him and his dad when he was young. One day his villaged got attacked and some monks took him to the monastery, since he didnât have a family. There, some other appretinces were major assholes towards him because of who his parents were, and after one terrible incident, that made him go mute, he left. An old woman found him and took care of him, and although he couldnât say a word, he was grateful. Eventually he joined a group of travelling bards and barbarians, who showed him the fun parts of life. Eventually he left the group to do a bit of spiritual learning and try and find his mother. (OBS: Galien is not his real name).
Magna Nightingale: Sheâs an Aasimar Warlock and Iâll probably change her backstory but the basics that I wonât change is that she was kinapped by a bad man when she was a pre teen, and after lots of years she was finally able to escape, after renoucing the gods for letting her suffer, she makes a deal with her patron (who I havenât decided yet what he is). When I rewrite her BG, Iâll either edit this post or make a separate one.Â
Cecily Grey: A Human Artificer, but make it a child (sheâs like 11 or so). Both her parents were genius inventors. Cecily was born without a leg so her parents built one for her, and although some other kids made fun of her, she didnât care cause she knew her parents loved her regardless. From early on, her parents knew she was a very smart young girl, so she became interested and involved in their discoveries and inventions. One day, she woke and her parents were missing, which is why she went out in the world.Â
Triton Corus: A Triton Cleric and yes Triton is his ânameâ. He lost his memory, and the first thing he remembers is being found on a beach and someone saying âTritonâ, which is why he believes thatâs his first name. The people who found were clerics of a goddess of nature, who took care and nursed him back to health, cause he was all bruised and beaten up. The few memories he has is of what he believes is his home, which was underwater, and the felling of being in love. He also had a rind in his ring finger with the inscription âCorusâ in it, which leads him to believe that might be the person he was in love with and why he uses that as his surname. Triton became devout to that goddess, for he believes he saved her. After he was fully healed and a firm believer, the other clerics told him to go spread the word and try and find his home and past.Â
Thatâs basically it, Iâll take questions about any of them and below the cut (cause this post is long enough as it is), Iâll leave the drawings I have for 2 of them, all made by @desenhosdebolsoâÂ
Solana Starfury:
Ace (half elf version and changeling version):
#long post#dnd#dungeons and dragons#my oc's#and yes please send questions ill answer all#maybe not for magna cause im changing her stuff but the rest yes
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ohoho my goodness okay so for the prompt thing I think itâs be cool if you wrote something about the batfam being absolute trash at board games because detective skills get you no where in candy land. Maybe theyâre just playing among themselves and those who havenât been in the vigilante business as long as the others are better at it or maybe theyâre playing with the jla, thatâs up to you! No pressure tho, Iâd just like to see where youâd go with this. I hope youâre well!
Thanks for the prompt, it was certainly an interesting one to try and come up with scenarios for and I apologise that itâs taken so long to answer this!!Â
So this basically ended up being the batfam playing different board games and roasting each other, hope thatâs okay because it may not be what you had in mind.Â
Hopefully youâll enjoy it nonetheless! :DÂ
âWell this is just unrealistic.â Tim comments scowling at the board on the floor in front of him.
Next to him Steph lets out a long groan and cradles her face in her hands in frustration. âItâs a board game Tim! Itâs not supposed to be realistic.â
âYouâre just mad because you guessed wrong and are now out of the game.â Harper laughs at him from her position opposite him. âTim Drake, a sore loser, who knew?â
âIâm not a sore loser!â Tim almost yells back feeling himself get worked up in both anger and embarrassment. âThis game is stupid.â
âBecause you lost.â
âBecause itâs unrealistic.â
âI would have thought this game was right up your street dude, but obviously not.â Duke says from Timâs right, looking a bit despondent at this revelation. Tim sends him a glare, not appreciating his input in the conversation.
Duke isnât fazed by it, he ignores the look and gestures at the board in front of them. âCluedo is a detective game and youâre a detective, how did you get it wrong?â
To stop himself from lashing out at Duke, Tim forces himself to take a deep breath. He is getting ridiculously wound up over this stupid game and the others with their goading isnât helping matters.
âYou know why,â Steph remarks with a smirk, âbecause that giant ass brain of his over thought it all and since he over analysed it, he got it wrong.â
Thereâs moment of silence in the room after Steph stops talking. Tim huffs at her statement but finds that he really canât argue against it because thatâs probably exactly what happened.
Steph leans back onto her elbows so sheâs sprawled out over the floor, âitâs just a game, thereâs no need to get so defensive over it. Itâs supposed to be a bit of fun with a little mystery involved.â
That elicits a snort from Harper. She gives the blonde a disbelieving side look. âHave you seen yourself when playing Mario Kart? Iâll be sure to use those exact words next time youâre putting a sailor to shame for the language you come out with when a blue shell hits you.â
Steph rolls her eyes. âIâm not that bad.â
âYou totally rival Jason when it comes to mouthing off at Mario Kart Steph. Donât deny it.â Tim says, contributing to the conversation. Heâs pleased that the topic has moved away from him and onto Steph.
Steph opens her mouth to respond but Duke beats her to it. He waves his note pad around wildly. âAs fun as it is to roast one another, thereâs a game here still to be played.â
Grumbling underneath her breath Steph sits back up and the four of them continue with the game at hand, or at least the three others do. Tim had guessed wrong and now has to sit by to watch, but on the bright side he gets to judge all of their movements now knowing the truth.
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The grimace that crosses his face is entirely instinctual as soon as he sees what box is placed down on the table. With a quick glance around he sees three otherâs mirroring his look. Dick opens his mouth to make the comment of why the chosen game may not be wise but instead he shuts his mouth and keeps quiet. He figures they need to learn somehow, being told what to expect is different to actually experiencing it.
Itâs currently a rare Sunday afternoon when a majority of the family is over at the Manor at the same time. Itâs probably because of the weather that everyone has unintentionally gathered together in the media room, with it heavily raining no one really wants to go adventuring outside.
Dick finds himself surrounded by his younger siblings, some of the extended family theyâve adopted over time and Bruce himself. All of them now sitting around the table after deciding to play a board game together.
That probably should have been the first warning sign. Dick really ought to know better but he had been distracted by the feeling of having all of his family around for once when no one has been injured or the reason why theyâre together being a life-threatening crisis.
The decision of what board game to play takes almost twenty minutes to decide. Even then they hadnât actually decided what to play, it got decided that everyone would place a game of their choice into a hat and it would get chosen at random.
Thatâs when the worst one of the bunch got chosen. Dick could see the same look he was wearing appearing on his brotherâs faces.
Monopoly. Thatâs the game thatâs been decided.
âIs it safe to assume that today is the end of the batfamily?â Steph comments with a laugh.
Almost everyone around the table gives her an odd look and only a couple chuckle along with her. From past experiences when playing this game, Dick knows itâs not the falling out part thatâs the issue, the main issue is that Bruce absolutely dominates the game every time. Itâs no fun playing with his adoptive father, this is something heâs learnt the hard way. His brothers also had learnt this the hard way, that being the explanation behind the grimaces they all share.
âI would rather play literally anything else.â Tim states boldly looking around, though his eyes often flicker to Bruce.
The two seats to his right are occupied by a confused looking Duke and Cass. âWhy? Monopolyâs not so bad, sure itâs long and can get tedious. Weâve played this game before.â
Tim sends him a pointed look but itâs Jason who speaks up from the opposite side of the table. âYeah sure, but thatâs because you havenât played with Bruce before. Youâll come to despise this game by the end of today.â
âFather gets rather self-assertive when playing this particular game. While I admire his skills and efficiency of winning this so-called game, father tends to take the apparent competition away any time he plays.â Damian claims from his position on Jasonâs left.
The youngest Wayne is now scowling at the box on the table with obvious resentment from past experiences.
If Duke looked confused before, now he seems utterly baffled.
âOh Iâm not that bad.â Bruce declares sounded offended. Dick knows him better however, heâs completely faking it. He knows exactly what heâs like with this game.
âBruce will literally bankrupt everyone within like five rounds of this game.â Tim says glancing around.
Silence falls over them after that and it feels like everyone is deciding whether they should in fact play or not. Of course the earlier members of the family know exactly whatâs in store for them if they do play but the newer members donât.
In the end Steph stands up and grabs the box, clearly stating she doesnât care and can they just get on with it because staring at one another isnât getting them anywhere. As the board gets set up Dick shares a knowing, helpless look with his brothers. Well they have to learn at some point.
Three hours later, half of those around the table have their heads in their heads and were wearing disbelieving looks on their faces. Itâs as funny as it is depressing.
âThis is ridiculous,â Steph mutters glaring at the table, âthis is so unfair.â
âWell, Iâll do the honours by saying; we told you so.â Tim gloats with a smirk at the blonde. Steph decidedly glares at Tim instead of the table.
Jason bark of laughter causes Dick to crack at grin at the various of reactions the family is having to Bruceâs domination of the game. The man is stacked with money, having nearly owned every property on the board and has practically bankrupted three quarters of them by now.
âThis is why you donât play Monopoly with Bruce. Hope you all learned your lesson now!â Dick laughs.
Thereâs a low groan from Duke who soon mumbles out, âYeah just a bitâŚ.â
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âWhoever decided this game can go to hellâŚâ Tim mutters underneath his breath scowling at the paper in front of him.
Next to him Jason snorts. âYou only say that because you know who chose this game.â
âMy point still stands.â
âEnough.â Dick dejects in an attempt to stop an argument from happening. âKnock it off, weâve all had our turns to choose and now itâs his turn.â
âBut he canât even play it right!â Tim whines, itâs like heâs a child throwing a tantrum.
âYâknow, no one is making you play.â Duke points out from his spot on the floor, his focus is on the paper in his hands as he continues to draw whatever he needs to.
Tim huffs and kicks his leg out, successfully knocking Duke off balance. Duke doesnât rise to the bait, he simply grabs Timâs ankle and shoves it away. âReal mature Tim.â
âTim likes to complain when things arenât going his way, heâs immature like that.â Steph comments with a laugh. Next to her Cass is smiling away as she nods her in agreement.
A group of them has gathered into the living room of Dickâs apartment on a slow evening and all have sprawled out across the place. Jason, Dick and Tim are sharing a sofa with Duke perched on a cushion by their feet on the floor. Steph and Cass were sprawled out on the second couch and Damian is adjacent to them all sitting in the love seat.
Itâs been a recent between them all, having game nights and taking in turns to choose what is to be played. This time happens to be Damianâs turn and the youngest has chosen to play Pictionary.
Itâs a good game, one that is generally enjoyed by the majority of the family, however, what Tim had been referring to, is that when playing with Damian, he tends to lose the point of the game. He takes every drawing too seriously and spends an unreasonable amount of time on each word.
Because itâs Damian, every drawing has to be perfect before he shows them or even hints at what heâs drawing. Theyâve tried to explain to him multiple times that the drawings donât have to be perfect, as long as they are recognisable then thatâs all that matters, but the kid refuses to listen.
It can make playing with him very frustrating.
Him, Jason and Tim are used to it, but it seems like Duke and the girls are all taking it in stride. They only get through a couple rounds within like an hour thanks to Damian and itâs getting to the point where Dick is beginning to think that Damian is actually doing it on purpose because he can see how much itâs riling up Tim.
Brotherly love right there.
Theyâre just finishing off the third round and sharing their terribly drawn pictures with one another. Duke holds his piece of paper up with a sheepish smile, âI tried okay. It wasnât easy.â
âWhat is that?â Damian demands as he squints at the mess of blue squiggles on the page.
âItâs supposed to be a sunrise, my word was morning but no one got it.â
âTt, thatâs not a surprise Thomas as that looks nothing like a morning, or a sunrise for that matter.â
âWell, jeeze, thanks Damian. I only had 60 seconds to come up with something and draw it.â
When Damian tuts in obvious displeasure, Dick simply rubs a hand over his face. That kid⌠he loves him, he does but sometimes he certainly makes it difficult to do so. While Duke is still new to the family, heâs been around long enough to get a feel for what Damian can be like. He simply rolls his eyes and turns the paper away.
âCass what is that supposed to be?â
Jasonâs question to Cass gets his attention, he looks in their direction to find Jason frowning at the piece of paper Cass is showing him. His sister shrugs not looking at all embarrassed with her attempts to draw whatever itâs supposed to be. Dick couldnât work it out either. As far as he could tell itâs a solid colour of black on the page.
âAn eclipse.â
Her answer makes Jason even more confused. âSo you decided to colour the whole page black?â
âIt creates a shadowâŚâ
âRight.â
In the end Jason shakes his head and leans against the back of the sofa. His expression makes it clear that heâs simply done with everything tonight. Dick snorts at his behaviour before he feels a nudge on his left side.
Tim is looking at him with a raised eyebrow. âDonât you just love game nights Dick? Theyâre great right?â
His voice is dripping with sarcasm and Dick restrains himself from commenting on it. He does love game nights with his siblings but they sure as hell make it a challenge sometimes. All of them do. Not one of them is innocent.
But as he looks around at the scene he knows he wouldnât change it. While not all of them are currently present, game nights are an opportunity to hang out outside of the masks, any public personas they play and any emergencies that may be happening.
Dick leans back against the sofa and mumbles underneath his breath as he watches Duke and Damian bicker about the art of drawing under pressure and about how to play the game correctly. âI actually do, yeah.â
#prompt#batfamily#board games#this is them roasting one another really#dick grayson#Tim Drake#Stephanie Brown#Jason Todd#Damian Wayne#duke thomas#others#fanfiction#i hope you like this#i had to actually google how to play some of these games haha#humour#annoying siblings#brotherly bonding#family bonding
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Journey To The Agarthan Cache - An FE3H pirates!au - Chapter One
Iâve been working on this epic for literally over a month now with the ever lovely @goldendeer-crescentmoon. It is entirely self-indulgent and includes both our OCs (who youâll meet later in the story). I just love it so much that I wanted to share it. I hope yâall enjoy!
Mini-tag list: @heyy-ahriii, @fantastiqueparfait, @claudemblems, @eelkonig
Felix landed with a small hup as he jumped over the propertyâs fence with practiced ease. He could distantly hear the voices of his friends, Sylvain and Ingrid, calling for him. But he didnât care. Heâd finally had enough.
Looking over his shoulder and then around him to make sure he was in the clear, Felix swiftly dusted himself off before running towards the street. The scene from earlier that day kept on replaying in his mind.
âFelix, my son.â
The young man in question heard the voice of his father behind him but chose to ignore him. Gripping the hilt of his sword tighter in his hand, he glared at the training dummy in front of him before rushing forward and striking it with a flurry of attacks.
âFelix,â Rodrigue tried again, his voice holding a bit more edge.Â
Felix released a heavy sigh and looked over his shoulder towards his father. âCanât you see that Iâm busy, old man?â
âThis conversation will only take a moment, provided you actually comply and listen to what I have to say,â Rodrigue mused as he gestured towards one of the steps jutting above the manorâs training ground. âSit with me, wonât you?â
âWhy? Canât whatever needs to be discussed be done from where both you and I stand?â
Rodrigue sighed while bringing a hand to rest against his temple. âI suppose.â The older man cleared his throat. âItâs come to my attention that youâve been⌠repeatedly absent from your lessons in etiquette, the history of Faerghus, political affairs⌠Iâm sure I could go on and on.â
âWhatâs your point?â Felix asked pointedly, his hand draped over the handle of his sword.Â
âMy point, son, is that thereâs a reason you have to partake in those lessons. Itâs so that you can carry on-â
ââ-the Fraldarius family legacy and rise to the title of Duke so that, should the time ever come, I can aid his majesty.ââ Felix prattled on, interrupting his father while he rattled off the words with an air of annoyance. âDid I miss anything?â
âJust one,â Rodrigue pointed out matter-of-factly. âYou also need to be able to impress any potential suitors so that the Crest of Fraldarius lives on.âÂ
âI have neither time nor interest for suitors.â
âThen make some.â
âWhy?â Felix shot back immediately. He finally looked his father in the eyes with a similar copper-hued gaze.
âFor the sake of our legacy-â
âFor the sake of your legacy,â Felix interrupted.Â
âAre you not a Fraldarius?â Rodrigue exclaimed, his anger rising.Â
âIâm me!â Felix yelled, pointing a thumb towards himself. âIâm more than just an heir to a âlegacyâ that I neither had a choice or interest in.â
Rodrigue stared at his son. His eyebrows were set in a scowl while his fists were clenched at his sides. He was just about to speak his mind until a familiar red-head and blonde walked through the doors to the Fraldarius sparring grounds.Â
âSorry to keep you waiting, Felix,â Sylvain said as he raised a hand in greeting. He sent his friend a wink and a content smirk until he noticed the older Fraldarius at the other side of the space.Â
âLord Rodrigue!â Sylvain exclaimed, immediately sending a short bow the nobleâs ways. âI didnât see you there.â An uncomfortable silence settled atop the grounds. â...Weâre not interrupting anything are we?â
âNot at all,â Felix responded plainly. He sent a pointed glare towards his father before walking towards his two friends. âAre you ready for training or what?â
Both Ingrid and Sylvain glanced nervously between both Fraldarius men. âIf you guys need a moment, please donât pause on our account-â
âNo, no, we were just about finished,â Rodrigue said, cutting Ingrid off. âJust think on what I said, son. One way or another you will do whatâs expected of you as the heir to the Fraldarius Dukedom.â
âWhat about what I want,â Felix angrily muttered to himself as he distanced himself from the estate. Ever since theyâd lost his older brother, Glenn, his father had come down harder and harder on him to âfulfill his roleâ and âmaintain the Fraldarius legacyâ. He grit his teeth and quickened his pace the more he thought about it.Â
There were things he wanted to do before being tied down with all of those expectations. For starters, he wanted to see all of Fodlan. He didnât care how he went about doing so; heâd settle for being a wandering swordsman or lowly cabin boy aboard a nasty pirate ship if it meant he got to actually be out in the world and experience it.
Soft moonlight gleamed against the small, detailed golden stitches of Felixâs navy blue waistcoat as he followed the road that led into town. Heâd snuck out so many times, especially when he was younger, that he could probably make his way to the square with his eyes closed. Quick images of impromptu outings with his brother flashed in his mind. Felix quickened his pace and shook his head to dispel the thoughts.Â
âYou should be here to carry on the legacy. Not me.â
As soon as Felix reached the square, he let his legs carry him towards where he always went when he was upset: the tavern. Stepping through the large doorway leading inside, Felix sighed heavily as the sounds of the tavern surrounded him as he entered: glasses clinking, hearty conversation, and jovial laughter galore. Expertly weaving himself around the usual patrons, crowd, and staff with practiced ease, the young noble made his way to the bar and raised a hand half-committedly to get the bartenderâs attention.Â
âAh, if it isnât the young, posh noble,â the bartender teased, reveling in the scowl Felix sent his way. âWhat can I do ya for tonight, lad?â
âYou know what I want,â Felix huffed before averting his gaze. While the bartender got to preparing his drink--a pint of ale and not a drop more--Felix held his head in his hands.Â
He was tired of being told what he could and couldnât do. He hadnât asked to be born a nobleâs son, yet here he was still stuck with the obligations and responsibilities that come with the position. The whole situation was just damn frustrating. Felix not only wanted to see the world; he wanted to live life the way he wanted. There was more to Fodlan and life than just the Fraldarius estate.Â
The clink of glass atop hardwood brought Felixâs attention back to the bartender, who was sending him an almost sympathetic smile.Â
âDid yer father chew you out again?â
Felix took a sip of his ale and let the refreshing liquid wash down his throat before responding. âWhatâs it to you?â
âWell, you only ever come in here when yer sulking.â
Felix slammed his glass atop the counter in frustration. âI-I do not!â Though his words said one thing, the slight dust of pink on his cheeks said another. The bartender did his best to hold in a laugh before inquiring again.Â
âAlright then. If youâre not here to sulk, why are you here?â
âDoes it really matter to you? Shouldnât you just be happy youâre getting my money?â All it took was a cocked eyebrow from the bartender whilst he cleaned an empty glass for Felix to finally spill the beans. âAlright, fine. Yes, the old man yelled at me.â Felix took another sip of his drink. âGave me a whole damn lecture on how itâs my responsibility to âuphold the Fraldarius legacyâ.â Felix said almost mockingly. âBut thatâs not what I want to do.â
âAnd whyâs that?â
Felix blinked incredulously at the man before darting his gaze towards the counter. When he didnât offer a reply, the bartender sighed and turned towards the other end of the bar.
âIâm just sayinâ that youâve got it better than most, son.â The bartender mentioned almost somberly. He gingerly set the glass he was cleaning atop the counter before continuing. âBesides, Iâm sure your father just wants whatâs best for you.â
âWhat makes you say that?âÂ
The bartender smiled softly. âBecause all parents want whatâs best for their children.â
Felix chugged the remainder of his ale before slamming his glass against the counter a second time. âWhatever.â Fishing a copper piece from his pocket, he flicked it towards the bartender before forcefully shoving his stool against the bar. As soon as he turned around, he collided into someone behind him.Â
âO-Oh, Iâm so sorry! Did I hurt you at all?â
Felix shot a glare towards the person he ran into but immediately softened it when he got a full look at her appearance. Standing before him was a small young woman who couldnât have been older than he was. She wore a simple, pale dark-green blouse with flowing ž sleeves tied tightly in the middle with string and a layered, dark grey skirt with a brown half-overskirt. Coupled with simple ankle high boots and black knee-length stockings, she looked like the last person youâd expect to see in a place like this.
Felix merely scoffed before shoving past her. âJust watch where youâre going next time.âÂ
âRight! Sorry again!â the girl exclaimed before sending a small bow his way.Â
Felix couldnât help but find himself confused and intrigued by the out-of-place looking girl. He frequented the bar enough to know that she wasnât a regular. And compared to the personage he was used to dealing with, he didnât peg her as the type to hit up bars much to begin with. Allowing himself the slightest of smirks, Felix made his way towards the entrance of the tavern and turned to watch as the girl talked with the bartender. While he had no idea what they were talking about, he surmised that whatever it was involved the bartender having to go out of his way to get something for her, if her continual bows of apology meant anything.Â
âThereâs no way sheâs asking for a drink. Sheâs so small that the minute the drink hit her system sheâd be passed out on the floor,â Felix muttered to himself, stopping midstep. Yet, to his surprise, the bartender came back with several clear vials filled with what Felix assumed was alcohol. He had to hold in a chuckle as the girl sent the bartender one more bow and nearly dropped all of the vials sheâd just received.Â
âAre you just going to stand there and gawk?â
Felix slowly shifted his gaze towards the voice speaking to him while a hand came to rest atop the hilt of his sword. âSo what if I am?â
The man staring down at him was the exact image of snootiness in Felixâs mind; donning a purple overcoat, gaudy white dress shirt with billowy sleeves, black trousers, and very tall boots was a man with a horrendous, dark purple bowl-cut and look of disgust. âIâll have you know that itâs quite rude to stare and block entryways, young man.â The individual gave him a onceover. âI figured youâd be a noble with the way youâre dressed, but with such horrible manners perhaps I was mistaken.â
Felix could swear he felt a vein rise in his forehead. Adjusting his grip around the sword he always kept at his side, he was just about to draw it and teach the jerk some manners until a familiar sounding voice joined the fray.Â
âAh, Lorenz! Here you are,â the young woman greeted as she made her way towards them. âThanks so much for waiting for me,â she added with a smile before locking eyes with Felix for just a second.Â
âNot a problem. Letâs get going, though. I canât say Iâm too fond of the company here in this tavern.â Before Felix could do much else, the pretentious looking fellow -- whom he assumed was Lorenz going off what the girlâd said -- firmly but gently pushed the girl forward and out of the tavern. Felix continued to stare before sheathing what little of his sword heâd drawn back into its scabbard.Â
Felix glared at the absurd looking couple walking away before rubbing the back of his neck harshly in irritation. âDamn bastard. Maybe someone should teach him a bit of manners,â he mused before looking up to glance at the quickly departing couple.Â
âBesides, I want to find out why a girl like her would hang around a guy like him.âÂ
With that resolution made, Felix waited a while longer before following behind them in quiet pursuit.
#Fire Emblem Three Houses#fe3h#fe3h oc#pirates!au#fe3h fanfic#felix fraldarius#felix hugo fraldarius#Lorenz Gloucester#lorenz hellman gloucester#my oc#journey to the agarthan cache
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58. Special - Sonic and Knuckles Mecha Madness
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Mecha Madness
Writer: Michael Gallagher Pencils: Pat Spaziante Colors: Kyle Hunter
Oh boy, time to see what "Operation Last Resort" is! Turns out, it involves a portable roboticizer - the same one, in fact, that partially roboticized Bunnie all the way back in StH#3. Apparently they actually took it with them when they rescued Bunnie, and Sally's been having Rotor fix it up this whole time in case of such an emergency. It even has a built-in neuro-overrider to let the person inside keep⌠their⌠okay, hang on. I'm calling BS. You're telling me that this entire time they've had a portable roboticizer which functions normally, lets the person keep their mind, and as revealed later in the issue even comes with a reverse function that can deroboticize any 'bot that it's created? Can you say plot holes? First of all, since this is Bunnie's roboticizer, it should be the simplest matter ever to stick her in it and give her her organic body back. I guess you could fudge around and say, well, there's too many risks since her process was interrupted and whatnot, but the other problem comes with the fact that two different issues now have had this same drama about someone being roboticized and not having kept their normal mind. How different would literally the last issue have gone if Sally, in response to Sonic's request, had said "Well sure Sonic, we have a nearly-risk-free option right here in Knothole Village. With your consent we'll throw you in it and have Robotnik defeated and in prison by lunchtime"? There would be absolutely no risk of him losing his mind and becoming a slave of Robotnik's! Sure it would come with physical risks, but since when has Sonic ever balked at a risk of death or injury before?
Man, the only way we'll be able to get through this issue is if we just pretend there's no plot holes, so I'll stop my yapping and move on. Knuckles comes to, and after deliriously trying to punch several of the Freedom Fighters present Sally kicks him in the back, which makes him recognize her, because I guess she's the only one who's ever kicked him in the back like that. Healthy relationship, guys! They get a bit gaga over each other for a little while, reminiscing on their past together - apparently Sally's father used to vacation on the Floating Island when Knuckles' father was still guardian and before Robotnik's takeover. Really, this issue makes it seem like they have a residual crush on each other, with Sally in particular still being affected by it. Man, Sally, how many crushes can you have at once? I still insist she's polyamorous. Things would be so much easier for her if she could just date multiple people at once. After a bit more discussion, Sally tells him the plan, and apparently Knuckles just cannot wait to scoot his booty into the 'botmaker and get roboticized.
Everyone actually acts quite terrified by using this option, with Rotor even questioning Sally if this makes them "no better than Robotnik." While it's played for laughs with Sally's response of "Et tu, Rotor?" honestly all this makes me think is that these literal kids (none of them is over 18 at this point) are definitely traumatized by all the crap they've gone through in this war. For basically their entire lives, getting roboticized has been synonymous with psychological warfare and death, with only a handful of examples otherwise (such as Uncle Chuck and the people he rescued a few issues ago, but even then that's an incredibly recent occurrence). It's clear they're having a hard time getting over this association in their minds, apart from Sally, who's the pragmatist of the group, and Knuckles, who⌠well, has spent most of his time away from the war anyway, and thus doesn't have the same fear.
As all this is going on, Tails is the last to evacuate Knothole himself while Mecha Sonic lays waste to all its buildings, and as such is spotted and targeted. He tries to fly away to safety, but it's hopeless. He's still within reach of Mecha Sonic's blasters, and Mecha Sonic locks on⌠andâŚ
âŚhesitates! Sonic, you still in there buddy? He seems to be fighting back somehow, even though Robotnik's apparently upgraded his roboticizers since Sally's old attempts to thwart them. Not a problem for Robotnik though, since he has nuclear bombs, apparently! Jeez, man, he's really serious about taking these guys out for good. After a little while, Mecha Knuckles emerges from the roboticizer, and engages Mecha Sonic in battle, conveniently right before Mecha Sonic can tell Robotnik the coordinates of Knothole. They duke it out midair for a little while, until Mecha Sonic eventually hits Mecha Knuckles hard enough to knock him back straight toward Robotropolis, on a direct course for wherever Robotnik stores his nuclear warheads. Mecha Knuckles, determined to take out Mecha Sonic no matter what, grabs him with a magnetic pull, and together, they hit the stockpile.
Oh, boy.
Everyone back home is in tears. Certainly, as confirmed by Nicole, there's no way they could have survived a nuclear blast like that, not even with upgraded robotic bodies. Sally has to take a few moments away from the group to hide her tears. It's pretty damn bleak.
So, turns out that the blast just straight up ripped a hole in the middle of Robotnik's city, vaporizing basically every building in its path and irradiating the crater. This is some serious damage. No mention of the fact that this probably just killed untold numbers of roboticized Mobians who were stuck inside that section of the city, however, because Robotnik then emerges from an underground shelter, straight into the radiation - how messed up is this guy, dude? He drinks motor oil like it's a nice glass of wine, never exercises, and already lives in a city made out of pollution, and now he can just walk right out into the site of a nuclear bomb explosion with no issue? Anyway, he then happens to find Mecha Sonic's mangled body, somehow still barely alive, though heavily malfunctioning. Oh, and Mecha Knuckles is alive, too, so Robotnik gets punched in the head.
Mecha Knuckles isn't doing so hot, but incredibly, he recounts how just before the impact Mecha Sonic switched their places so he would take most of the brunt of the blast instead. Mecha Knuckles heads back to the Freedom Fighters with Mecha Sonic in tow, to Sally's immense relief, and they get ready to deroboticize Knuckles.
Aww, poor Sonic. Literally, he thinks he doesn't deserve to be saved after what he did, despite it not even being his fault. That's some seriously heavy stuff for a fifteen year old, man. Of course, Sally isn't about to take that. Nicole is able to run some tests and confirm that somehow, back when Sonic collected his one billionth ring and went on that crazy drug trip with the Ancient Walkers, it gave him a magical protection around his "life force," which allowed him to keep some of his personality even while roboticized. I don't know how the hell all that is supposed to work, but essentially, she's certain she'll be able to use that life force protection to deroboticize him even without the help of any machinery, since all of Rotor's equipment was destroyed in the attack on Knothole.
Miraculously, it works, and after a few moments, Sonic is back to normal, although suffering from one hell of a migraine and unable to remember anything from his time as Mecha Sonic. At first everyone is quite happy to have him back, but then he sasses Knuckles right out of the roboticizer, who glides away in a huff, and from there things start to turn sour.
Yeah, you didn't think everyone forgot about his supposed disobedience of a direct order, did you? He's handcuffed and marched away in preparation for a court-martial, as he's now suspected of treason! Remember, from Sonic's point of view, this is all he remembers: got denied his proposition, walked away and passed out, woke up in very brief agony before everything going blank, and then woke up again on the floor with a migraine. He has no idea what has even happened these past two issues, and now he's suddenly being dragged away in cuffs. Can you imagine? This poor guy.
Don't Let the Island Hit You on the Way Down!
Writer: Kent Taylor Pencils: Harvey Mercadoocasio Colors: Kyle Hunter
Well, we couldn't have an epic issue like this without a couple of silly "nothing" stories following it, so time to see what the Chaotix were doing while Knuckles was away being a robot and everything. Turns out they're under attack from the "Fearsome Foursome," a random group of Mobians who are apparently just interested in kicking some ass. The Chaotix get slapped around for a little while before regrouping and fighting back.
It goes on for a weirdly long amount of time considering nothing even happens in this story until like, six pages in. All they do is punch each other around. Suddenly, a mysterious figure emerges onto the scene: Mammoth Mogul, a gigantic mammoth with delusions of grandeur. Apparently, he was actually born in prehistoric times, but a chance encounter with a Chaos Emerald granted him mysterious powers and immortality, and as such he declared himself ruler of Mobius while sitting on a throne wearing a loincloth that leaves almost nothing to the imagination. People eventually couldn't take his manspreading on the throne any longer and ousted him as their leader, and so he just bided his time for millennia until the modern day, where he assembled this really weird ragtag team and is now intending to take the Floating Island's Chaos Emerald for his own, since apparently there are absolutely no other Chaos Emeralds for him to choose from on the planet right now.
The Chaotix respond by punching him in the face in unison, and he immediately retreats, insisting he'll be back at a better time. He literally just jumps into a hovercar straight out of the punch and zooms away at top speed while essentially doing the stereotypical villain thing of shaking his fist and yelling "I'll be back, mark my words!" C'mon, man, you're apparently this immortal god-being from prehistoric times and four random dudes slapping you is enough to drive you back? What a wuss.
Eel of Fortune
Writer: Michael Gallagher Pencils: Dave Manak Colors: Kyle Hunter
This story pretty much only exists because Michael has overestimated how much people might care about the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters. P.B. Jellyfish encounters Octobot swimming at top speed and tries to stop and fight him, but turns out Octobot, no longer a big bad boss of the ocean, is himself running away from someone even more terrifying - Eel Capone! Yeah, this guy is basically just a big mob boss joke, even getting his own "hired mussel" (geddit? geddit?) to beat the crap out of P.B. His other friends in the F.F.F.F. find him unconscious, and Bottlenose decides to take things into his own hands by beating up Eel Capone in ninja getup, while simultaneously murdering all his lackeys! Wait, what?!
That is cold-blooded, man! No one even makes mention of the fact that Bottlenose just brutally killed like, a hundred sentient beings. They just drag Eel Capone off to "Aquatraz," and then sing a silly, pun-filled song about the battle. Guys, I can't stress this enough, but your friend is now a literal murderer. Just because he was dressed in a ninja disguise while he was doing the murdering doesn't make him any less of a killer. These weren't even roboticized mussels or anything, they were literally just some living individuals who made bad life decisions. What kind of a Freedom Fighter keeps the head honcho alive but murders all the lackeys who were just following orders? Jesus christ.
#nala reads archie sonic preboot#archie sonic#archie sonic preboot#sonic the hedgehog#special - sonic and knuckles mecha madness#era 2 the freedom fight#writer: michael gallagher#writer: kent taylor#pencils: pat spaziante#pencils: harvey mercadoocasio#pencils: dave manak#colors: kyle hunter
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a window, open and closed
chapter 2Â
(chapter 1)
cw: implied nsfw, nothing explicit
note: i donât even know what the state of tense is in this, and i donât care at this point lol
- - - - -
â...So.â
Hla-eix had already rolled over away from Daabush, her eyes contemplating the window. âSo...what?â
âYou said we would talk.â
Dammit, he remembered. She closes her eyes. âDid I?â
A hand grabs her shoulder and rolls her onto her back, but she keeps her head turned away from him. âNo,â Daabush says. âNot again. You agreed to this. Stop trying to run away.â
âItâs all Iâm good for. Running away.â She bites the inside of her lip, wishing she hadnât said anything.
Daabush reaches over her, his rough hand gentle on her chin, pulling her around to face him. Heâs so intense, the way he stares at her - into her. She always tries to avoid eye contact, but if she ever finds it, that intensity holds her completely still. No more running away.Â
He caresses her cheek, his thumb running over the thin, delicate scales there. âI just want to get to know you, Eix.â
âSorry,â she says, her eyes managing to step aside for just a moment to breathe. âI donât know what to tell you. Where to start.â
Daabush purses his lips around his tusks. âFine,â he says. âOkay. Iâll start, then. I grew up in a stronghold, out east, in the Velothi. What about you?â
âUh.â This was going to be hard to explain. She always hates having to. But maybe if she can just get it over with⌠âI grew up in two places. Some in Morrowind, some in Black Marsh. Few years with my moms near the border. About ten years in Morrowind. Few years after the Red Year, I got taken in by the An-Xileel. Then -â
Daabush stretches his thumb over to cover her lips. âSorry, hold on,â he says. âThe Red Year?â
She bites his thumb. âI told you I was old.â
âOw! Okay.â He props himself up on one elbow. âAlso, whatâs the An-Xileel?â
âUh. Government of Black Marsh?â
âIs that common knowledge?â
âItâs not a secret.â
âIâve only ever lived in Skyrim.â
âI guess you wouldnât know then.â
âAnyways. Whyâd they take you in?â
âWell. My mother was a dunmer. Ashlander. Mabrigash, to be specific. Like a witch, I guess. I lived with her and her coven for a long time.â Hla-eix looks up at the ceiling. Sheâs always thought about these things. She just needed a push - and some trust - but once she got going, she had plenty to say. âBut the An-Xileel pushed north after the Red Year, to take back lands stolen by the dunmer long ago. We lived in those lands. So they killed the mabrigash except for me.â
âOh. Iâm sorry.â
âIt was a long time ago.â
âYeah, butâŚokay. They didnât kill you? Why?â
Hereâs the hard part, the one sheâd been avoiding. âWell. You know what I look like. I had two mothers, an argonian and a dunmer. They found a way to have a child of their own with magic. When the soldiers found me, they thought I was ⌠a cruel experiment of witches, I guess. Another awful thing the elves had done to our people.â
âWhy didnât you tell them?â
âCouldnât. I donât know why. But I didnât speak for a couple years after that. So I just let them assume what they wanted.â
âOkay. So -â
Hla-eix covers his mouth with her hand. âNope. Your turn again.â
He swats her arm away. âUgh. Fine.â
âWhyâd you leave the stronghold?â
âWell. Hm. You know the Great Houses of Morrowind, yeah?â
âYeah.â
âWell, there was a wave of Hlaalu emigrants almost ten years ago. Bunch of folks nobody wanted no more, on account of being so close to the Empire. Got especially bad after the Red Year.â
âWait. You said you were born in a stronghold.â
âI did. Hold your tongue for a minute. Iâm not Hlaalu.â His eyes glaze with thought for a moment. âWell. I might actually be, technically. Thatâs...well, who gives a shit.â He shakes his head and looks back at Hla-eix. âWhere was I? Before you rudely butted in.â
âHlaalu emigrants.â
âOh. Well, they passed through the Velothi near our stronghold on their way to Skyrim. We let them camp nearby, gave them some supplies. Hlaaluâs always been the House that hated us least. There wasâŚâ He pauses, bites his lip. â...a person who, uh. Became important to me. But before I could get...their...name, the caravan left.â
âDaa.â Hla-eix playfully bonks him on the head. âMy parents were both women. You donât have to play the pronoun game.â
He sighs, and she notices that some tension leaves his body. He closes his eyes. âOkay. So ⌠Well, I decided to leave the stronghold to follow them, so I could talk to him again.â
âYou didnât mind leaving your kin behind to follow this Hlaalu mer?â
Daabushâs eyes shoot open. âThatâs...Actually. Itâs your turn. Whyâd you leave Black Marsh?âÂ
â...Occupational reasons.â
âA trader? Adventurer? Mercenary?â
â...Sure.â
Daabush furrows his brows pointedly but doesnât push it. âBut you didnât mind leaving your kin behind to follow your occupation.â
Hla-eix cocks an eyebrow. âSo your elf crush was just a job to you?â
âThatâsâŚ!â He stiffens his posture and raises his voice. âThatâs not what I mean and you know it. I was just ⌠ugh.â
âI was forty-four when I left for the first time since arriving,â Hla-eix says. âTo me, thatâs nothing. But to orcs Iâm sure that age is meaningful. What Iâm saying is that it wasnât easy to leave.â She wiggles and fiddles with her fingers idly. âIâm sure you can imagine ⌠what it was like for me. To be among normal-looking argonians. To constantly have to prove yourself worthy. That youâre one of them. That youâre loyal to them, and not the dark elves.â
â...Yeah. I get it.â
She snaps out of her anxious spell and sits up straight, crossing her legs. âTell me more about the Hlaalu boy.âÂ
Daabush gently runs his fingers along Hla-eixâs exposed and heavily scaled back. â...His name was Sevren. Member of the Dren family, he said.â Hla-eix raises a confused eyebrow. âAs in, Vedam Dren.â She pulls back a corner of her mouth and shakes her head. âWas the Duke of Ebonheart. Whatever. Important guy.â
â...So what happened? Did you talk to him? Were you...involved?â
Daabushâs eyes close shut, then open again, but they were in a different place and time. âYes. We were in love. He left his family to be with me.â He shakes his head back and forth slightly. âNot easy, two men, orc and elf, in Skyrim, you know. He was used to city life. But it wasnât really an option. We joined a band of poachers in Eastmarch. They didnât mind, long as we pulled our weight and didnât get nobody caught. They were skeptical about Sev at first. But we managed. It was cold, but there was warmth there, with Sev, and the others. Like family.â
He shakes his head more forcibly to clear it and sits up, matching Hla-eixâs posture. âWhat about you? Whatâs your history with love like?âÂ
She looks away towards the window. â...I lied.â
âWhat?â
âI, uh. Youâre my first.â
Daabush places a firm hand on her thigh. â...No. Doesnât make sense. Youâre too experienced. Youâve had others.â
She stands and walks towards the window. âNo. When youâre like me, you have to pay them. And only if theyâre desperate.â She opens it and leans into the biting cold.
Hla-eix doesnât hear anything except for the heavy silence of Solitude late at night. It is a quiet hour, even the loud drunkards fled to bed. No early morning exercises clanging metal at the castle; no music wafting from the college; no weeping at the cemetery; no prayers at the temple. There is the faint whisper of winter wind, the delicate sound of snow shifting, the crisp crackling of street torches, and the cacophony of thoughts roaring in her head.
Then there is a massive warmth pressed against her back, wrapping around her. âThen Iâm not your first,â Daabush says, slowly turning her to face him.
First she sees his chest, heavily scarred grey-green flesh built like a bear. Then she looks up into his eyes, this time without being forced by them. âYouâre the first that mattered.â
He pulls her into a deep kiss, their first real kiss despite all their rutting, and his first in years. In his arms, she is warm despite the cold outside.
When they finally pull away from each other, he reaches over to close the window. Hla-eix buries her face in his chest, listening to his heavy heartbeat, entranced. But he hesitates, and distantly she registers the sound of a door slamming open downstairs.Â
âShit.â
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The Coltell & Byknov Family Histories.
âHe was her dark fairy tale and she was his twisted fantasy and together they made magic.â
The Byknov Family -
The Byknov family have ties all the way back to the Romanov dynasty of Russia. The product of a secret love child from Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, born in 1900, Antony Byknov was born in the slums of St. Petersburg with his mother being in his only caregiver, though she could be hardly called such a thing. His mother regularly had her gentlemen callers visit their small, one-bedroom apartment and Antony was forced to play in the streets while his mother earned their living.
It was on these streets of the slums that Antony became involved in various nefarious activities, it was there that he began dealing illicit substances and selling alcohol at the age of twelves, him and a few of the other neighbourhood boys making something of a lucrative business for themselves. It didnât take long for Antony to catch the eye of a local gang leader who took the young male under his wing, showing him the way of the street and helping him move up the ranks of the Bratva until he was one of the leaders right-hand man by the time he was eighteen years old.
The leader of the Bratva only had two daughters to his name and they surely couldnât take over the family business so it was the next move of Antony marrying the eldest daughter and getting ready to take over as the leader of the Bratva as the leaders ailing health was beginning to fail him. Everyone knew that Antony was a ruthless man- never afraid to get his hands bloody or take what he believed was rightfully his, he walked the streets of St. Petersburg with people bowing to him in respect and fear.
Antony and his wife had three children- one girl and two boys. No longer were they living in the slums of St. Petersburg but a lush almost palace-like structure just on the outskirts of the Russian city. Antony was no longer the starving boy from the slums but a self-made man who had the respect of everyone around him.
Being there only one son from his marriage; Aleksei Byknov, despite being the youngest born in 1940, was raised to take over his fatherâs legacy. When Antony passed away in 1970, Aleksei took over as the leader of the Bratva, who seemed even more powerful during the Soviet Union of Russia, they ran all the backdoor businesses, keeping the repressed people happy while appearing upstanding members of society. Aleksei marrying a local girl, someone who was not apart of the business but quickly adjusted.
They married in 1968 and had two children, both girls. Galina and Katarina Byknov, though Galina seemed to turn away from the violence she was born into, Katarina embraced it wholly, though she knew that her father would never allow her to take over the family business so it was only natural that she would find someone who could help her run the Russian empire her Grandfather had built for himself from the slums of St. Petersburg.
Byknov Family Facts:
It is believed that the Byknov family and the Bratva had been responsible for over 3,000 deaths and disappearances since Antony took over in 1918.
Both Galina and Katarina live elsewhere in Europe. Katarina living in France with her husband while her daughter studies over in the states and Galinaâs whereabouts are unknown.
Despite mainly remaining in the shadows, it is believed the Byknov family are one of the most powerful names in the European underworld.
It is unknown who the current leader of the Bratva is as the Byknov family died out with Aleksei.
They Byknov family made their amass fortune by selling drugs, firearms, hits and protection.
The Coltell Family-
The Coltell family truly began in the slums of Paris in 1930 with 20 year old, Absalon Coltell who worked as a doorman for a prestigious apartment building in order to provide for his sickly mother. A sturdily built man and someone who was known to talk with his fists, it was no shock when he was hired as protection for some of the most notorious crime families in Paris. He was paid more handsomely than most doormen mainly because he knew when to keep his mouth shut and when to use his fist to do the talking.
It was while working as a doorman that he caught the eye of a 15-year-old daughter from a famous Spanish crime family, she appreciated the mans good looks but how also his demeanour changed whenever she approached him. Though her father was reluctant to allow them to begin courting, he trusted Absalon to look after his daughter and he knew the young man could be trusted to take their family secrets to the grave. They were married the following spring and it wasnât long before she was pregnant.
Though Absalon and his young wife werenât heavily involved in the family, instead choosing to reside in a small village just outside of Paris where they raised their family of six. Absalon owning and managing a restaurant and his wife staying at home to look after their four children. They were comfortable thanks to her father and everyone knew of the connections the quiet family had to some of the most powerful crime families in Europe.
The Coltell family history remains quiet for the next forty years with the family still remaining in the quiet, comfortable village just outside of Paris. It was to Absalonâs eldest son, Christein that Gerald Coltell was born- the one who would bring the Coletell name to the forefront of the underworld once again.
Gerald always showed a violent side, even as a young boy, often picking fights with local boys and even going as far to push the girls over if they got in his way. He was violent, prone to his temper and cataclysmic but he showed a talent for working on cars, he could fix up any car that was placed in front of him. Dropping out of school at 15 and opting to start his own mechanic business, it didnât take long for his business to flourish.
Moving back to Paris in 1992 when he was eighteen, Gerald opened his own company and began building his own cars. It didnât take long for Gerald to get involved with nefarious people mainly due to his Grandmotherâs connections; helping him to build up his automobile company and use it as a cover for the firearms and drugs transport that began taking place. It was two years later that Katarina Byknov walked through the doors of his company with her father, announcing that Katarina and Gerald would be married in order to bring together many of the families that were now using Geraldâs company as a front.
The Byknovw-Coltell family merger-
Married in later 1994- Gerald and Katarina Coltell moved to a large, renovated mansion just on the outskirts of Paris. It wasnât even a month into the marriage that Katarina announced she was pregnant, it was six months later that their only daughter, Alice Galina Coltell was born.
Though to most it appeared that Gerald was merely a self-made man who managed to make billions from his automobile company and his wife coming from a wealthy, old Russian family, there were always the rumors that both were strongly connected to the European underworld and that Geraldâs automobile business was merely a front for the transportation of all things illegal for some of the most powerful families in Europe.
Though both Katarina and Gerald vehemently deny any of these allegations, insisting they are merely a quiet family trying their best to provide for their only daughter, Alice Coltell, who is currently studying abroad in the states.
Coltell family facts-
Geral Coltell is now rumoured to be worth over 3 billion dollars.
Their daughter Alice is currently engaged to a famous Spanish family.
Though it has never been confirmed, it is believed Gerald Coltell has killed over ten people.
Their daughter Alice is studying Public Relations at University and is expected to take over her fatherâs business when she is older.
They own summer homes in Spain, Greece, Russia and the USA.
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Hoping for Home~ Ch. 3- Coming Home
Summary: Sixteen years ago Libby Scott was supposed to become Queen of Cordonia, but Fate had other plans. Catch up here (ya know ya wanna).
Song for this chapter:Â âComing Homeâ by Gwyneth Paltrow
Disclaimer: I donât own the TRR characters, they own me
Tags: @fullbeaumonty @speedyoperarascalparty @cocomaxley @leelee10898 @ao719 @hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @choiceswreckedme @indiacater @noey718-blog @carabeth @daniv2278 @cosigottahavefaith @gibbles82 @innerpostmentality @blackcoffee85 @perfectprofessorherokid @darley1101 @jovialyouthmusic @liamxs-world @thequeenofcronuts @blznbaby @stopforamoment @zilch3382 @wannabemc2 @jlouise88
   Two days had passed since Libby's impromptu dinner with Drake, and they had been some of the hardest of her life. There had been so much talking. She talked with the twins about her past answering any and all questions they had.
   Will hadn't had many, except he wanted to know the names of his potential fathers. Libby had found him asleep at his computer desk later, articles about Maxwell and Liam and anything Cordonia-related splashed across his screen.
  Emma had been much more receptive, hungrily taking in the story of how she and her brother had come to be. âIt sounds like a fairy tale. King's and assassins and, Mom, you're a Duchess! It's so exciting.â Emma had mused, and Libby didn't have the heart to tell her life in Cordonia was anything but a fairy tale.
    Drake and McKenzie had been back to her house on both days. She and Drake had talked about any and everything under the sun that didn't involve their shared past.  She complained about the harder parts of business ownership and he'd told her all about working on his mother's family ranch.
    Last night he'd come bearing a bottle of single malt whiskey and the throbbing in her head reminded her that they had indeed finished it. Â
  As she made her way into the living room, headed for the kitchen, she found the pull out couch she'd made up for Mack and Drake had been put away. The linens and pillows we're folded and neatly stacked on the armchair and McKenzie smiled from her seat on the couch watching TV.
    Libby followed the smell of fresh brewed coffee and pancakes to find Drake over the stove wearing her brown and tan fox apron as he scrambled some eggs.
   âWho are you?â She asked him.
   He wiped his hands on the apron and poured her a cup of coffee which she accepted, walking past him to the fridge in search of cream.
    âIt's me and Mack's last day here, so I wanted to thank you for sharing your home with us the past couple of days.â He said simply.
   Libby swiped a piece of bacon from the stack next to the stove when something caught her eye on the fridge. A cheap magnetic âgrocery listâ pad hung on the door and she noticed Drake had scrawled 'eggs, bacon, orange juiceâ at the top. At the bottom he'd written three phone numbers. He noticed her confusion so he piped up, âThe top one is mine. Then Liam's. Maxwell's is at the bottom. Just in case.â
    After breakfast Libby tore off the page that hung on the fridge. Drake refused to let her help him and Mack wash the dishes so she excused herself, taking her coffee with her to sit on the back porch.
     Her hands flew over her phone as she punched in the last number on the paper. It rang twice and then there was an answer.
    âYell-oh?â
   Libby froze her heart pounding so hard in her chest she thought her ribs may break.
    âHello? Is somebody there?â
   Her head was spinning as she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
  âOkay I'm hanging up now. Have a nice evening.â
   Libby panicked. âM-Maxwell? Maxwell Beaumont?â She squeaked.
   She heard his familiar chuckle through the phone. âYou're speaking to him. May I ask who's calling?â
   Her eyes went wide. What was she supposed to say?
   âSorry I didn't mean to bother you. I-I just..â she stammered but he interrupted her.
   âLibby? Is that you?â he sounded mystified.
    Silence.
   âHow did you get this number? Hello? Libby?â
    In all of her life she had never smashed the end call button so fast.
     Chest heaving and eyes as wide as sand dollars she gulped her coffee, kicking herself for even attempting that call. She peered inside her French doors to see Drake was still washing dishes, so she picked up her phone and made another call.
   âLibby! I'm so happy to hear from you! How're the twins?â Hanaâs bright voice answered.
   âThey're great. How's Abel? How're you?â
   âEverything is fantastic here, Abel and me included.â
   âGood...guess what I'm looking at right now.â Libby laughed.
   âUm...a coffee mug?â
   Libby could visualize Hana checking her wristwatch, noting the early hours in the States.
   âDrake Walker. Washing my dishes.â
   âOHMIGAWD! Libby, I didn't say a word! How did he find you?â
  âRelax, Hana. It was total coincidence. But seeing him again has made me think⌠the twins are turning 16 in 6 weeks. It's Cordonian custom to introduce noble heirs to court before their 16th birthday right?â
  âSpot on, Lib.â She was quiet a few moments before she continued. âAre you sure about this?â
  âI'm not sure about anything anymore, to be honest. Seeing Walker has really messed things up around here,but the twins want to know. Can you pull off a ball in 6 weeks time?â
  âConsider it planned, Duchess.â Hana giggled. âI can't wait to see you. Um, but do you want me to invite-?â
  âThe King and Queen, of course. The Duke and Duchess of Ramsford. And it's Lord. The whole court, Hana. I'm prepared to face them.â Libby lied.
***************
Ramsford, Cordonia - present day
     Maxwell stared down at his phone, heart slamming against his ribs. His first thought had been to immediately dial the number back. If it really was Libby she likely wouldn't answer anyway. He had played this game with her before, and although he was persistent, in the end he'd conceded.
    He frowned at his glass of red wine, suddenly feeling like tonight this just wasn't going to be strong enough. He plucked a bottle of bourbon from his bar cart pouring himself a few fingers worth, sipping it slowly as his mind traveled to thoughts of Libby Scott.
**************
Ramsford, Cordonia 16 years ago
      â...your quickstep is a littleâŚâ Maxwell started.
   âSlow. Again.â Bertrand commanded and Libby and Maxwell once more got into the starting position.
   Not that he needed to be told to wrap his arms around her. He was more than happy to dance with her as many times as his brother saw fit.
  Everything about Libby Scott was intoxicating-Her laugh, her shampoo, the way the ballroom lights twinkled in her eyes- and Maxwell was suiting up for a hangover he may never recover from.
  She'd stolen his heart right away, on that first night in New York. In the beginning he had thought it was only a school boy crush, but all the time they'd spent together during the social season had solidified something within him, and now he couldn't get enough.
   He found himself becoming less and less willing to share her, hoarding every second they could possibly be together. He was even starting to resent Bertrand for hanging around so much, although the two of them were training her in all manner of courtly etiquette.
   Bertrand's phone rang as Maxwell and Libby spun.
  âI have to take this, but don't stop dancing. Lady Scott must be in perfect form by the time the engagement tour begins.â
   As soon as his brother was gone, Maxwell pulled her closer, much closer than was appropriate for a courtly dance.
   âI thought he would never leave.â He whispered in her ear, earning himself a small laugh from his beloved. She twisted her face to meet his, their lips and noses brushing as she spoke.
  âAnd what will you do with me, Lord Beaumont, now that our babysitter is gone?â
  He smirked and pressed his lips to hers, savoring the taste.
  Her actions begged to deepen the kiss, and he parted his mouth to oblige, their tongues rolling together in a frenzy.
  No longer were they twirling, they were simply standing in the near center of the ballroom with their bodies clasped so closely together that Maxwell couldn't tell where he ended and Libby began. The rest of the world melted away as he tangled his long slender fingers through her fiery hair. Time seemed to stand still in that moment, until the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat dragged Maxwell back to reality.
   The couple parted with a loud *smack,* whirling around to find Bertrand looking somewhere between angry and appalled.
   He squared his shoulders and adjusted his blazer sleeves. âLady Libby, I believe that's enough practice for right now. I'd like to have a moment alone with my little brother, please.â
*******************
   En route to Cordonia - Present day
    Will tapped Emma's shoulder as he slouched down in his seat. She pulled her earbuds out and quirked a brow at him.
  âWhat do you think they're gonna be like?â he asked, fiddling with his fingers, his voice barely above a whisper. Emma snuggled down into her chair, now level with her twin.
   âWell you read all about them. You tell me.â
    Will fingered his shoelace, twirling it between his fingers. After a few moments he replied, âI think that King Liam is pragmatic. I like a lot of the equality policies he's put into place since he became king. The general consensus throughout Cordonia seems to be that he's a wise and fair king.
   Lord Beaumont finished fourth in his class at Cordonia University. He speaks seven languages and he has a Master's degree in political science. A minor in accounting. So he seems intelligent. I found a few articles about him in Trend Magazine back around the time we were born. He's been married twice. There were rumors that he was a drunk and a party guy.â Will shrugged.
   âIt sounds like we'd be lucky to have either man be our dad.â Emma told him. âBut they're still just articles. The authors likely don't know Lord Beaumont or the King personally. We should be open to giving them both a chance when we meet them.â
   Will sighed heavily, his head lolling to the side as he peered out window.
  âI don't mean to be rude, but you know I have met both the King and Lord Beaumont. Liam is my godfather and Max is my uncle. A lot of what you read on click it and in Trend or wherever else is bullshit.â McKenzie said.
   Will whipped his head in her direction as Emma giggled.
  âWell then, tell us what they're really like.â The blonde girl prompted.
    McKenzie picked at a loose thread in the hole on her jeans.
   âThe King isâŚ.he has a boyish charm. Everyone adores him. He's fiercely determined and very guarded. I don't mean physically, but his emotions. Even when he's sad he still smiles.
    Uncle Max is seriously the funniest guy in the world. He's constantly like, making silly faces and telling bad jokes, or dancing to music that isn't there. But he's also very serious. Like two sides of a coin. And when you talk to him, he actually hears you. Like he isn't just waiting for his turn to talk ya know?â
   Will stared at her a moment.
   âI just wanna know, ya know? Like who are we? Where did we come from? Why did Mom keep this secret for so long? Last week I barely knew Cordonia was a place and now, I might be the crown prince. You might be the princess. Our mom is a freaking Duchess?â He shook his head. âI'm so pissed off at her.â
   He slammed his knuckles into the armrest causing his sister to jump.
  âHey. It's okay. I'll be with you the whole time. I won't let my dad take me Away. And Emma will be there too, so you won't ever be alone.â McKenzie told him reaching over Emma to place a hand on Will's thigh.
   He smiled at her. âThanks. I'm thankful for that.â
   âAnd Abel. I can't wait to see him.â Emma gushed referring to Hana's son. He and Hana had visited the twins and Libby every summer and Emma had always been particularly close to Abel.
  Will rolled his eyes. âOf course you're excited to see him. You totally have a  crush on Mr-Im-perfect-at-everything.â
  âHush! All he's ever tried to be is your friend, Will. It's not his fault he beats you at every game.â Emma scolded as her brother mumbled under his breath.
  Libby peered over the back of her seat at her twins.
  âHey guys look out the window. We're about to fly over Cordonia. They view is breathtaking. It's always been my favorite part of flying in.â She told them.
   Emma lunged across her brother's lap plastering her face against the window. Will reluctantly peeked out too as Libby and McKenzie grinned.
   The waters surrounding Cordonia were pristine and the perfect shade of inviting blue.
   âWooooooow. It's like something from a storybook. Isn't it beautiful, Will?!â Emma squealed.
   Her brother scoffed, âit's something alright.â
   Libby eyed her son. Although she could tell he was impressed she allowed him to continue to brood. She wished for the millionth time that she knew how to reach him.
  âCan we see Valtoria from here?âhe asked.
  Libby shook her head. âUnfortunately it's too far from the airport. But we'll be there soon enough. You're going to love it in particular, Will. Valtoria is heavily wooded, perfect for camping. And there's an outdoor fun park, complete with it's very own paintball field right on the estate grounds.â
   For the first time in days Will actually smiled as he turned from the window to face his mother.
   âCool.â He commented.
   Emma sat back in her seat as the pilot announced their descent. âWell I can't wait to see it, Mom. Or Aunt Hana, Uncle Mark, and Abel. We've never been to their house before.â
   âActually,â McKenzie said. âAlthough they have their own holdings in Whipstaff, a county within Valtoria, Aunt Hana and Uncle Mark live in your house. The estate at Valtoria belongs to the Duchess.â
    The blonde girl smiled as she buckled her seat belt, gripping each armrest. âEven better.â
****************
Cordonian Capital- present day
    Liam snapped his head up from his desk as his wife entered his study, her heels clicking across the marble floors as she marched straight up to his desk. His first instinct told him she was angry, but as she slammed an elegant piece of heavy card stock down on the mahogany surface he caught a wry grin forming at the edges of her lips.
   âHello, Darling. What have we here?â He asked sliding the paper from under her polished nails.
   âAn invitation that you are going to be very interested in seeing.â She remarked, clicking her tongue.
  Liam read over the document three times before he finally looked up at Olivia whose arms were now neatly folded over her chest. âHeirs..?â he said aloud. âThere are two of them?â
   The queen nodded. âApparently so. She sure did take her sweet time starting a family though. And why haven't we heard about a husband? Or hell, even a wife?â
   He tossed the paper on his desk. âI have a summit meeting in Italy the next morning. I don't think we will be able to make it.â
   He removed his glasses, tossing them aside as well.
    âLiam, as your wife I'm telling you that you had better find a way to reschedule that meeting. But as your friend, I'm telling you that if you don't reschedule it I will kill you and make it look like an accident.â A wide smile plastered itself on Olivia's face as Liam chuckled.
   âAh, Liv. I thought I smelled a hint of treason in the room.â
   âYou never really know with me, dear. I think thatâs what keeps things interesting.â she sat on the edge of the desk, smoothing her dress over her knees.
  âWe have to be there, Liam. I really want to see Libby, and Iâll be damned if Iâm going alone.â
   Liam laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair.
   âIâll do my best, Darling.â he told her.
#hoping for home au#hoping for home#trr fan fic#trr fanfiction#the royal romance#maxwell beaumont#king liam#olivia nevrakis#drake walker
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Yu Yu Hakusho, a review
(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, donât take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturerâs Suggested Retail Price for Season (MSRP): Â 80 dollars for the entire series on Digital. 80 Dollars for the entire series on DVD. Animation Studio: Pierrot Licensed and Localized by: Funimation Entertainment Audio: Both English and Japanese Audio available Price per episode: 2 USD per Episode when bought digitally. 1.40 When bought in a season. (20 Dollars when bought per season vs 56 Dollars when bought individually). Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Number of Discs: 4 DVD Discs per season. 16 DVD Discs in total. Episodes per Disc: 6 or 7. Bonus Features: Trailers for other Funimation licensed shows. Also on: Blu-ray, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation Now, paid subscription services that allows dual language streaming of select shows. How much I paid: 160 Dollars/USD. (80 for the DVDs. 80 for the digital licenses for the show). Number of Episodes: 112 Episodes My Personal Biases: Gather round, old Toonami Faithful. Back in the 2000âs, I followed Hakusho closely when it was released on Toonami and Adult Swim. So, you can imagine, Iâm heavily biased in favor of this series. My Verdict: Yu Yu Hakusho represents the last of an era. Not only is it a classic from the 90âs, but itâs a lean, matter of fact Shounen Anime that probably has the least amount of filler during a time Dragon Ball Z spent endless days on the Namek Saga. Still beautifully rendered, great score, fast paced action and one of the few Funimation dubs that manages to be more interesting than the sub script and you have one of the last few anime out there worth seeing. Buy it! KEEP IN MIND: Anime series and Western Television have very different formats when selling shows. While Western TV Seasons have one story arc that ends and begins within the season, Dubbed Anime is usually released in multiple volumes and releases. For example, While Yu Yu Hakusho each as 28 Episodes per season, Story Arcs, such as the infamous Dark Tournament Saga, beginning and ending points not found in an individual season. Authorâs Note: The following review will be a review of the dubbed version of the show localized by Funimation Entertainment. While the majority of the scenes remain unchanged, the Funimation translated script contains additional dialogue, observations and jokes not found in the original version. Please keep that in mind. WARNING: SPOILERS Yu Yu Hakusho, a review
"And so it all begins. This boy's name is Yusuke. He's fourteen years old, and is supposed to be the hero of this story. But oddly enough... he's dead."
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Yusuke Urameshi is a delinquent more likely to get into fistfights with classmates than attend class. Scolded by everyone, from his alcoholic mother to childhood friend, Keiko, to his principal, Yusuke ditches school. But when a young boy is about to be hit by a car, Yusuke literally dies protecting the child. As a ghost with the help of a surprisingly cheerful Botan, the Grim Reaper, Yusuke learns that there was something of this life worth living. When Yusuke returns to life, he becomes a Spirt Detective, assigned from Spirit World to hunt down Rogue Demons. With the help of his classmate, Kazuma Kuwabara, and two enemies turned teammates, the Fox Demon reborn Kurama and the mischievous Hiei, Yusuke faces a whole slew of opponents heâd never thought heâd face. Has it really been 25 years since Yu Yu Hakusho first debuted in Japan? Itâs hard to imagine Yu Yu Hakusho being made the way it was. This 112 Shounen Anime series managed to end on a complete note. Think about other shows in the genre. Shows like DBZ, Naruto, Bleach and One Piece manage to have over 200 episodes each and filled with filler and theatrical released movies. Other Shounen shows like this, like Soul Eater, manage to end on 26 episodes or around 50. But then thereâs Yu Yu Hakusho, a show that had over 100 episodes with little to no filler but never achieved the merchandising empires Dragonball and Naruto had. Even Bleach, a series that had popularity drain out by the end of its run, was able to span more episodes and had more theatrical releases. One of the key successes was limiting the cast to a group of familiar but complex faces. The Team of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama were all memorable, but the interaction within the group was so great that it could span a couple of episodes. Each had a different morality and perspective. The Main character was a smart-ass with a potty mouth with a deep sense of morality, Kuwabara seemed to have a strong sense of honor and persistence, Kurama had a collected calm of a general while Hiei was always getting into trouble for his own reasons. Not only did the four manage to make each scenario interesting but the interaction with one another is something to be written about for the ages. One of the things I found surprising was how beautiful the animation manages to hold up. Granted, it still uses 90âs tricks such as speed lines and fade outs, but each fight seemed not only well choreographed but colored and detailed in a way that made me come back to watch more. Add to that, Togashiâs emphasis to make fights more strategic and detailed, and I found myself rewatching old fights again and again. Looking back, the fights always thrilled me but as I grew older, I appreciated Kuramaâs fights more. Thatâs not to say Yusukeâs, Hieiâs or even Kuwabaraâs fights were bad, but they generally devolved into âwhoâs strongerâ fistfights with fireballs. Kuramaâs usually revolved around a sense of strategy and out smarting his opponent with plant based wapons. The series got a number of dubs but the most famous one by far is the English version by Funimation Entertainment. I know Funimation gets a lot of flak for its translation issues, but Yu Yu Hakusho manages to use localization to its benefit, in that they make Yusuke, the loud mouthed delinquent that had little cares for the world, extremely likable and funny. Fans will recognize veteran voice actors such as Chuck Huber (who voiced 17 in Dragonball Z) as Hiei, John Burgmeier (Who voiced Tien) as Kurama and Chris Sabat (Who voiced Vegeta, Yamcha and Piccolo) as Kuwabara. Each shows a surprising amount of range as each character (especially Sabat) and manages to rival their Japanese counterparts. But Justin Cook steals the show as Yusuke Urameshi. Thatâs not to say Nozomu Sasaki, Yusukeâs Japanese Voice Performer, does a bad job, but Justin Cook manages to bring Yusuke to life thanks to some adlibbing and great comedic timing. (While Cook voiced Yusuke, he also acted as the Line Director at Funimation).
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The Funimation Script took liberties from the original source material and added additional lines not found in the original version. But, I feel this is one of the times where it benefits the scripts as well as the personalities. Yusukeâs additional dialogue not only manages to be funny but also solidifies the fact that if Yusuke were a real person, heâd be a pain in the ass to deal with. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. Another Yusuke, Yusuke Honma, composed the soundtrack. It not only managed to be dramatic, but comedic, emotional and powerful at the same time. Struggle of Sadness manages to be one of my all time favorites to listen to.
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The clear fan favorite out of all the story arcs is the Dark Tournament. When Yusuke is forced to compete in a life or death tournament involving some of the strongest demons out there, heâll have to gather up his teammates and duke it out with some of the series most memorable opponents. It not only manages to be a good tournament arc, but also a great training arc and a lesson in mortality vs immortality. If nothing else, get the Dark Tournament saga. Verdict: Do you like Shounen Anime? Do you like owning a series and paying far less than for other long running series? Are you a fan of 90âs anime? IF youâve answered yes, Yu Yu Hakusho is definitely a show to check out. Donât let this one miss you! Full Price!
#yu yu hakusho#justin cook#funimation#yusuke urameshi#yusuke#urameshi#chris sabat#kurama#hiei#chuck huber#John Burgmeier#dbz#anime#review#shounen#shounen jump
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Dear Cedric Phillips and GerryT,
Having listened with great interest to the âChange Worth Fighting Forâ episode of the Cedric Phillips Podcast, I felt compelled to reply. On that episode, you wondered why professional Magic players have seen their fortunes decline so precipitously over the past ten years, and what they can now do to improve their situation. I believe I can help explain this reversal of fortune, and offer some relevant advice. What follows is a little on the long side, and perhaps a little depressing, but I hope you will nonetheless find it edifying. If you like, it would be my pleasure to discuss these matters further.
About me, briefly: Iâve played Magic on and off since the release of Fallen Empires, and am a regular consumer of Magic content. Among other things, Iâve watched every Pro Tour since PT Los Angeles (October 2005); Iâve watched countless LSV draft videos and Twitch streams; Iâve listened to hundreds of episodes of Limited Resources, Mark Rosewaterâs Drive to Work podcast, and various other Magic podcasts; and Iâve read just about every column that Mark Rosewater has ever written. At the same time, Iâm also an English Ph.D. and author whose research interests include the economics of fantasy artworksâfor instance, my most recent book, I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing: Star Wars and the Triumph of Geek Culture, tells the story of how geek culture went from being an underground phenomenon to a mainstream demographic. Given that, I tend to view Magic from a financial perspectiveâby which I donât mean living the dream of playing on the Pro Tour, or making a fortune by speculating on Magic cards, but rather trying to understand why Wizards of the Coast makes the economic decisions that it does.
I am hardly a Wizards insider. But I believe that my research into Magicâs financial history, coupled with my broader knowledge of fantasy franchises, enables me to understand why Wizards has chosen over the past decade to disinvest in its Pros, even if that decision appears baffling and counterintuitive to those players. For years now Iâve watched Pros complain about their situation, wondering why, if Magic is doing so great, then why are the Pros suffering? Shouldnât their fortunes rise and fall with Wizardsâ? As you yourselves put it on your podcast, âthe stars sell the cards,â by which logic if Wizards wants to succeed, then it needs to build stars. Just like how the NBA promotes LeBron James, and not simply âhoops,â Wizards should promote, say, Reid Duke, and not simply âSiege Rhino.â By that same logic, if Wizards doesnât build stars, then it wonât sell cards, and everyoneâs fortune will decline.
I sympathize with your argument. I love watching professional Magic, and once attended a Pro Tour as press just so I could blog about it. But at the same time, I think that your logic is mistaken, and I suspect that your arguments will fail to impress Wizards. Because while it appears to you that Wizards is behaving irrationally, or foolishly, the fact remains that the company long ago settled on a business plan that involves investing less in its Pro players, not more. This is because Wizards has already tried the strategy that you citeâpromoting Magic by championing in its Prosâonly to find that it didnât work out that all that well. Indeed, it proved nearly catastrophic. And because of that, as well as for other reasons, Wizards has spent the past ten years rebranding Magic as something other than a competitive tournament game.
Letâs review the relevant history. In 1996, Skaff Elias, Magicâs first Brand Manager, created the Pro Tour in order to promote Magic, and for the next twelve years, Wizards invested heavily in competitive Magic. Wizards ditched Magicâs original whimsical fantasy flavor (not to mention nearly all of the gameâs female artists)âŚ
âŚrefocusing the game around dueling mage-punk badasses.
In September 2005, Magicâs creative lead, Matt Cavotta, described the gameâs flavor as follows:
Magic is a head-to-head battle of wits in which two spellcasting warriors fight to the death with magic and armies of bad-ass creatures. Every card illustration should work in that context: active, aggressive, cool, wicked, âedgy.â The word âmagepunkâ works for us. Remember, your audience is BOYS 14 and up.
There were even two blocks centered around pit fighting.
In the Pro Player Era, Magic became a game about winning and dominating, as Wizards targeted competitive young men, selling them dreams of fame and glory, as well as the chance to âplay the game, see the world.â The greatest dream was winning the Pro Tour, which Wizards presented not only as the pinnacle of Magic, but as a recruitment pipeline, using it to hire players like Randy Buehler and Aaron Forsythe. Small wonder then that, during this time, Wizards catered heavily to the Pros by creating Magic Online, the Magic Invitational, the Pro Players Club, and the Pro Tour Hall of Fame, and by making the Pro Tour Player Cards, which went inside actual packs.
Wizards also made Magic the way Pros tend to like it: grindy and combo-heavy, chock full of abstract mechanics and cards that skilled players could abuse to gain incremental advantage. For a dozen years, the Pros were Magicâs foremost ambassadors, and the stars did in fact sell the cards.
The problem is that they didnât sell that many. By catering so heavily to Pros and Pro-wannabes, Wizards steadily alienated its casual players and much of its female fan base. (Scroll, for instance, through these photos, taken at Worlds 2008.) At first, Wizards didnât know it was losing these customers. On an early episode of his Drive to Work podcast, Mark Rosewater explains that Wizards began calling those disappearing players âthe Invisibles,â a shorthand for âpeople who play who donât participate in organized play.â Take a moment to let that terminology sink in: during the Pro Player Era, Wizards was so invested in Magic as a competitive game that it didnât even know that non-competitive players existed, and as such apparently had no good means of tracking their preferences or spending habits. But by 2008, Wizards could no longer deny that its business strategy wasnât working. Magic was in financial crisis, with sales declining despite the fact that tournament attendance was good and the Pros loved perplexingly complex blocks like Ravnica, Time Spiral, Lorwyn, Shadowmoor, and Alara.
The Pro Player Era came to a rather abrupt end in 2008. That year, Hasbro got a new CEO, Brian Goldner, who appointed a new CEO to Wizards, a man named Greg Leeds. Leedsâ first order of business upon arrival was to clean house, and get Magic back on stable financial footing. Leeds fired several employees (including Randy Buehler), and stripped Wizards back to its core products: Magic and D&D. All other Wizards productsâboondoggles like Hecatomb, DreamBlade, and Gleemaxâwent by the wayside.
Leeds could see that Wizards was spending too much on enfranchised, competitive gamers even as it failed to attract and acquire new players. Part of the problem was that Magic had grown too abstract, too daunting, too mind-meltingly complex for newcomers to grasp. Under Leedsâ direction, Wizards took steps to reverse course. The company partnered with Stainless Games to create the new-player-friendly video game Duels of the Planeswalkers, which launched in June 2009 and proved an immediate success. Wizards also fundamentally changed how Magic was played. Prior to 2008, Magic was primarily a game about mana, in which strategy revolved around players concealing what they were capable of doing on any given turn, which is why control and combo strategies dominated. After 2008, Magic became a game about creature combat, as Wizards nerfed the control and combo strategies that Pros adored, but that infuriated casual players. Wizards also simplified the gameâs rules and implemented âNew World Orderâ in an effort to curtail âcomplexity creep.â Ever since then, Mark Rosewater has cited âcomplexityâ as the greatest threat to Magicâs survival, and Wizards has continued making changes to simplify the game, most recently scaling back the number of new mechanics in each set, and eliminating the block structure. (See Mark Rosewaterâs âState of Designâ columns for 2016 and 2017.)
The Pros at the time grumbled about the way that Magic was changing, but by and large they accepted what Wizards was doing, reasoning that if and when the gameâs fortunes improved, their fortunes would as wellâwhat you, GerryT, called the âtrickle-downâ theory of Magic. The Pros also accepted that, for the time being at least, sacrifices were needed, so they sucked it up when Wizards reduced its spending on them. The Magic Invitational and the Pro Tour Player Cards disappeared, even as payouts and player perks decreased, as did the number of Pro Tours. The remaining PTs were closed and scaled back, and synced to the latest set releases, no longer taking their names from the cities hosting them. It may not have been obvious at the time, but Wizards was abandoning the concept of âplay the game, see the world,â and so it was that in February 2012, Pros attended Pro Tour Dark Ascension, and not the third Pro Tour Honolulu (!). It would seem that, in order to justify its continued existence, the Pro Tour needed to come across less like a vacation for a select few, and more like an ad for the latest set.
But the changes to Magic didnât stop there. Here it will help to understand how Brian Goldner became CEO of Hasbro, and how he thinks about Magicâhow he thinks about all of the companyâs top brands. Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 after working for Haim Saban, the man behind the Power Rangers franchise, and he rose to power by applying Sabanâs brand strategy to the Transformers line of toys, transforming it, so to speak, into a massive movie-centric franchise thatâs still going strong. (Bumblebee is due out in theaters soon.) Since becoming CEO, Goldner has taken the same approach to a number of Hasbro brands, making movies out of G.I. Joe, Ouija, Battleship, and My Little Pony, and attempting to make films out of Monopoly and Magic. In this way, Goldner has spent the past ten years moving Hasbro away from being a company that acquires licenses to make toys for other brands (such as Star Wars), and more toward becoming an entertainment company that promotes its own brands through movies, TV shows, and other media. (The company recently tried to purchase DreamWorks Animation.)
The way Goldner sees it, consumers arenât looking to buy toys or Magic cards or physical products per se, but rather emotionally resonant experiences. By this logic, Transformers fans (for example) are looking for all kinds of opportunities to express their love of Transformers, from buying toys and watching movies to putting Autobot emblems on their cars and getting Decepticon tattoos. Or even doing random things like buying bags of shortbread cookies adorned with illustrations of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
The trick is to give fans limitless opportunities to express their identity as fans, and thereby experience the joy their fandom brings them. In that way, they bond emotionally with the brand, coming to regard it as an essential part of their life.
Goldner transmitted this philosophy to Wizards via Greg Leeds, which is why, post-2008, Wizards became obsessed with creating emotionally resonant experiences for its players. Aaron Forsythe designed Magic 2010 in order to recapture the resonant flavor of Alpha, and Mark Rosewater designed Innistrad in order to make players feel (pleasurably) afraid. Rosewater even reconceived of his job as designing not Magic cards, but emotional experiences for players. As he put it on a 2013 episode of Drive to Work:
The last couple years [âŚ] Iâve been making sure that when I make a design, that I have an emotion that I am getting out of you. That I, the game player, am going, âWhat experience am I trying to create?â And I want to make sure that Iâm making gameplay that has that emotional response.
Goldner also encouraged Wizards to create intellectual property for Magicâcharacters and plot lines that could be exploited across other media. Wizards responded by rebranding Magic around the Planeswalkers, a growing cast of recurring characters that can be represented not only in card form âŚ
⌠but as Funko Pop figures âŚ
⌠and as pieces in a board game âŚ
⌠as well as characters in movies and TV shows and theme parks and Broadway musicals andâwell, anything Wizards wants, really, including media and products yet to be invented. (Here, other franchises, like Harry Potter, the MCU, Star Wars, and Avatar, have been leading the way for a while, and Wizards is scrambling to catch up.) This ambition is what led Brian Goldner to claim during Hasbroâs Fourth Quarter 2014 Earnings Conference Call that Magic is âa storytelling brand first and foremost,â specifying that âengagement with characters is critical,â and itâs why Wizards announced soon thereafter that it would be doubling down on promoting the gameâs story, using the Magic website and âstory spotlightâ cards to ensure that players can easily follow whatâs happening with Jace, Liliana, Nicol Bolas, and all the rest.
As you and I know, these changes proved wildly successful: between 2009 and 2015, Magic acquired new players at a rapid clip, topping out at a reported 20 million. But as you and I also know, even though Magic financially recovered, the Magic Pros did not. Instead, in 2018, the Pro playersâ condition is more precarious than ever, despite the fact that Magic is at or near the height of its popularity. Which is to say that Magicâs recent success has not, in fact, benefited the Pros. Rather, it has come at their expense.
The reason for this is relatively simple, although it might be difficult to see if one is too close to the game, and especially if one is too close to professional play. While Magic has grown tremendously over the past decade, the vast majority of the people playing today arenât Pros, or even wannabe Pros. Instead, the past ten years have seen the âInvisiblesââcasual, non-competitive playersâtake over. And while itâs true, as you said in your podcast, that people connect with other people, I fear youâre kidding yourselves if you think that most current Magic players are looking to connect with Magic Pros. Casual players and competitive gamers want fundamentally different things from Magic. Competitive Magic players want to test themselves, to participate in the highest levels of competition, where they strategically outplay the best opponents in the world. Like Kamahl, Pit Fighter, they came not to play, but to win, wanting the same thing Bob Maher wanted: âGreatness, at any cost.â
Casual players donât want that, not at all. So while the Pro Tour remains, for professional players, the pinnacle of Magic, itâs a total bore for casual players (assuming they even know it exists). For one thing, as everyone knows, it makes a decidedly poor spectator sport: thereâs tons of down time, and when players finally do sit down to battle, viewers can barely make out whatâs happening, let alone read which cards are in play.
Beyond that, the game play itself is frequently anticlimactic, with a large percentage of games being won or lost due to mana issues. (Witness LSV losing the very last game of PT Guilds of Ravnica after mulling to four.)
Itâs easy to forget, after learning something, what it was like not to know it, and competitive Magic players often forget how much knowledge is required in order to watch and enjoy the Pro Tour. Not only does one need to know all of the relevant cards and decks in a given format, but one has to understand top-level strategies, as well as issues like priority, triggers, and so on. Casual players donât understand these things, and they donât want to understand them. In March 2017, the Limited Resources podcast spent ninety minutes providing a detailed overview of Magic Online and âall of the phases and steps of Magic.â Casual players donât want to listen to podcasts like that; nor do they want to learn how to set stops on Magic Online, or how to even start playing Magic Online.
Nor do they want to memorize draft pick orders, or feel like they have to know every combat trick in the format in order to play. They donât want to have to do tons of homework just to play Magic. As such, these players (happily) lack the knowledge and proclivity required to appreciate the things that Pros obsess over, like in-depth analyses of strategy, or three-hour-long video series discussing the Top 100 Magic Cards of All Time, or even longer set reviews that scrutinize every card in a new set with an eye toward limited play. They donât want to be Pros.
You can see this in the fact that casual players prefer playing different formats than the Pros do, to the point where the two groups are practically playing different games. Whereas Pros want to do Rochester drafts (with Beta packs!) and brew Standard decks and play Legacy and Vintage and Vintage cube, casual players gravitate toward formats like Commander. Pros famously dislike that multiplayer format due to the outsize role that politics play in determining who wins and who loses. But casual players are less invested in whether they win or lose, being more concerned with playing a fun, social game with people like themselvesâpeople who express themselves not through crushing their opponents, but through the Guild identities, Commanders, Planeswalkers, and tribes. These players couldnât care less about solving the metagame; since they lack the luxury of being sponsored by card shops, they canât easily swap between decks, or afford to do dozens of drafts. Instead of playing with the best cards in the format, they play with the cards they happen to own, and if they do invest in a deck, itâs usually one that suits their personality, and that they can go on to play year in and year out, tinkering with over time.
Because these players are numerous, Wizards has spent the past decade shifting resources away from the Pro players and toward the larger, more casual demographic, rebranding Magic not as a cut-throat competitive game, but more as a fun play experienceâhence the onslaught of casual-friendly products such as Archenemy, Conspiracy, Commander decks, Unstable, the full-art promos for Ultimate Masters, and Magic Arena. The Magic brand no longer revolves around winning games of Magic; indeed, it no longer necessarily involves playing games of Magic. Since 2010, Magic Prereleases have routinely featured events like unlocking the Helvault (Scars of Mirrodin), picking a side in the Mirran-Phyrexian war (Mirrodin Besieged), choosing a clan (Khans of Tarkir), and puzzling oneâs way out of the âStitcherâs Labâ escape room (Shadows over Innistrad)âi.e., ways of getting players to engage with the Magic brand beyond building decks and playing matches. Rather than being cute side events, these types of activities are increasingly the central attraction. Two months ago, Wizards announced its intention to rebrand Grands Prix as âMagicFest,â or âweekends about so much more than just the main event,â including âside events, artist booths, cosplay, panels, [and] spellslinging.â (Pro Tours will be held at MagicFests.) Todayâs Magic players are looking for more than just tournaments, which means that tournaments alone arenât enough to sell and promote the Magic brand. (Wizards can no longer justify paying for standalone GPs and PTs.)
The shoe is now clearly on the other foot. Gradually, steadily, over the past ten years, the Pro players have traded places with the Invisibles, receding from view. At the Magic Subreddit, the top posts concern topics like Magic story, Magic art, card alters, and cosplay; rarely do they involve Magic tournaments. One week after your podcast came out, the âGrand Prix Montreal, Grand Prix Mexico City, and SCG Open Columbus Discussion Megathread!â pinned to the top of the Magic Subreddit received a whopping fifty-three up-votes, and forty-four comments. As it happened, more people were interested in the fact that the artwork for Expropriate features True-Name Nemesis. Small wonder then that the Mothershipâs front page routinely ignores GPs and other organized play events, preferring to use that real estate to promote Guilds of Ravnica, Commander 2018, and Magic Arena.
Speaking of which: surely it wonât be long before Wizards moves the Pro Tour to Magic Arena, or replaces the Pro Tour outright with Arena-based tournaments. Already the company is paying celebrity gamers like Day9 and Trump to stream Arenaâentertaining personalities who may not be the most skilled Magic players, but who are capable of drawing thousands of eyeballs.
Of course, itâs true that casual players admire certain Magic Pros, such as LSV. But casual players donât like Luis Scott-Vargas just because heâs one of the greatest players of all time; they like him, and subscribe to the Divination, because LSV is funny and charismatic and loves to durdle and tease Paul Cheon. Thatâs why they tune in to his Twitch channel even when he does things like sign tokens for GP Las Vegas, choosing to vicariously hang out with him. LSV doesnât make his casual fans feel stupid; he makes them feel smarter, and as though theyâre winning and losing alongside him. In this regard, heâs unlike most Magic Pros, who typically come across to casual players as cold, unfeeling jerks who make Magic unfun by quickly defeating them, then berating them for making bad plays with bad cards and bad decks (or for picking foil Tarmogoyfs in draft).
That is why, in 2018, Pro players are no longer the public face of Magic, having been supplanted by the Planeswalkers. If 1996â2008 was the Pro Player Era, then 2008âpresent has been the Planeswalker Era. More Magic players today fantasize about being Kiora or Chandra than they do being Magic Pros, which is why Wizards has taken pains to diversify that lineup of characters. The casual player base has always been more diverse than the overwhelmingly male Pro scene, and itâs presumably growing more diverse by the day. (Note how many women and female characters Wizards has chosen to depict on the current Magic homepage.)
And the Planeswalkers offer benefits beyond that. Wizards doesnât have to pay those characters anything, or fly them anywhere, or put up with them complaining about Magic, or doing things like sitting out Worlds in protest. (Sorry, GerryT.)
Mind you, none of this is to say that Wizards no longer cares about the Pros. I imagine the company is delighted to have such a dedicated group of players that spends all of its time promoting Magic for free by making Magic videos and podcastsânot to mention purchasing Magic cards. And no doubt Pros and Pro-wannabes are still responsible for a significant portion of the gameâs revenue. But those players no longer appear to be Magicâs primary audience. As such, Wizards has spent the past decade adjusting its spending on those players to a more appropriate level, valuing them for what theyâre really worth, as opposed to what Wizards thought they were worth c. 2006.
Since I donât want to end this letter on too pessimistic a note, Iâll offer a few hopeful words of advice. Please keep in mind that I am not a Magic Pro. But if I were, I would try to take more of my well-being into my own hands. Fifteen years ago, when Wizards was ignoring the âInvisibles,â some of those players created Elder Dragon Highlander, which went on to become Commander, now the most popular Magic format (and which is still maintained by its own independent rules committee). Today, if the Pros feel slighted by Wizards, then they should make the version of Magic they want to existâtheir own tournament scene, their own formats, their own banned and restricted lists, their own Hall of Fameârather than relying on Wizards to maintain institutions it created in a totally different era, when the companyâs priorities were different from what they are now. The Pros should also unionize, or enter into some other collective partnership, and make their stand together, collectively working to attract sponsors and streaming deals. More than anything else, the Pros should recognize that their fortunes wonât necessarily rise or fall with Wizardsâ, or with Magicâs. But the Pros will certainly rise and fall with each other.
Best wishes, Adam
An open letter to Cedric Phillips, Gerry Thompson, and the Pro Magic community at large Dear Cedric Phillips and GerryT, Having listened with great interest to the âChange Worth Fighting ForâŚ
#Brian Goldner#Cedric Phillips#cosplay#geek culture#Gerry Thompson#Greg Leeds#Hasbro#Luis Scott-Vargas#Magic the Gathering#Mark Rosewater#Matt Cavotta#MTG#Planeswalkers#Randy Buehler#Skaff Elias#Transformers#Wizards of the Coast
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Danganronpa: Away Chapter 2: Talk is Cheap, Death is Free (Part 1)
The night after the first trial. Location: ???
The gold light peers through a portal to see the horrors that have occured. âI knew it was too good to be trueâ the light says to itself. âDid Monkuma know I couldnât interfere unless he did something? Or is there another reason? Either way, I just need to find another way to help them. Hopefully before the body count becomes all of them. However, if Iâm reading this right, there is going to be some help with that.â
Abandoned Hopeâs Peak Academy Building:
I had the dream again. I was being dragged away, begging not to, while an evil smile haunted me. Only this time I saw some more detail. I was in a courtroom. Why was I in a courtroom at this young of an age? Oh yeah, grandpa. He probably had something to do with it. But why did I get involved? Why am I screaming to be let go? Why is this smile looking at me? The smile gets closer and closer.
âGAH!â I said waking up. I breathed heavily for a while. I tried going back to sleep, but my mind kept jumping back and forth between Mariaâs body, Romanâs execution, and that smile. It was only 2 am. âWhat do I do?â I said to myself. Just then I was reminded of some things.
[The first day of Monkuma rule]
âI just make statues of Maria to relaxâ said Roman.
[The night of the arm wrestling contest]
âBy the way, one of you was complaining about the low amount of clay. Iâll make sure that they bring it along with the next food deliveryâ said Monokuma.
[Present]
â...Well, normally taking advice from killers isnât something I would doâ I said. âBut I guess in this case, itâs better than nothing.â I got out of bed and went down to the art room. Mariaâs body, the statue, and the tapestry have all been moved. I looked around and eventually found the clay. âNow letâs see...from what I remember from art classâŚâ I prepared the clay and sat down at a station. I began by taking a lump of clay and start working on it. I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I began to work on the clay. I wasnât an expert like Roman was, but I hope my stuff looks fine. I just kept working away at it.
The next thing I remember is someone telling me to âwake upâŚâ I opened my eyes, not knowing that they were closed and saw the light of day and a figure hovering over me. âGood sir, wake up!â the voice said again.
I adjust to the light and saw Troy through the haze. â...Troy?â I say.
âHE LIVES!â shouted Troy.
âOh thank goodnessâ said Jay.
âWhatâs going on?â I asked.
Troy looked at me and said âYou werenât in your room this morning, good sir. We thought something bad had happened to you. So we went looking for you.â
âHey, heâs in here!â Jay called out to everyone else. âHeâs alive!â Soon everyone was in here.
âWhat happened?â asked May.
âWe just found him sleepingâ said Jay. âHe was just hunched over in a seat.â
âWhat were you thinking?!â shouted Cassy. âWhy did you leave your room?!â
â...Well-â I said.
âDonât yell at himâ said Pierce, who I noticed had received a big black eye on his left eye since the last time I saw him. âHeâs alright, and thatâs all that matters.â
âPierce...your eyeâŚâ I said.
âHuh? Oh, donât worry about it. Iâm just glad youâre alrightâ said Pierce.
â...But what he was doing here is a mysteryâ said Annabelle. âAnd I wouldnât mind knowing.â
âOf courseâ said Rachel.
âSo, um, what were you doing in here?â asked Sophie.
âWell...I kind of had a nightmare last nightâ I said. âI woke up and couldnât get back to sleep. I then remembered that Roman says he sometimes makes statues to relax. So Iâd thought Iâd try it.â
âI get itâ said Pierce. âSo, what did you make statues of?â
âWell, IâŚâ I began when I remembered something. âOh FUCK!â I called out and went back to my station. The statue I was working on was on its side, and pressing against itself. âOh noâ I said.
âWhatâs wrong?â asked Jay.
âItâs just *sigh* the statue of my mom I was working on got ruinedâ I said.
âI am sorry to hear that, good sirâ said Troy, putting his hand on my shoulder. âIâm sure you can fix her.â
âI guess youâre rightâ I said. I picked her up and put her back on the station. âSo, are we all getting breakfast?â I asked.
âHuh? Oh yeahâ said Jay.
âI kind forgot about breakfast actuallyâ said Duke. âI was too worried about what happened yesterday. And then Justin was missing. I became double worried.â
âDoes this mean you like him?â asked Annabelle.
âHuh? Like, like him like him?â asked Duke. âNot really. I canât deny his appeal, but I donât swing that way. I just got so worried because I saw two dead bodies yesterday. Thatâs two more than I usually see in a day.â
âUsually?â said Annabelle.
âAppeal?â I said.
Jay put his arm around me âLetâs just go get breakfast. We can continue talking in there.â
âHuhâ I said. âOh sure.â We all made our way to the dining area. We each made our own breakfast, and sat down to eat. I decided to ask Pierce âSo, how did you get that black eye?â
Cassy stopped and stared at me. âIt was nothing. Honestlyâ said Pierce.
âNOTHING?!â shouted Andy. âCassy just started punching you when we found out that  Justin was missing! How can you call that nothing?!â
âCassy?!â
âYeah,â said Jay. âIt was kind of hilarious actually. I mean, it wasnât so funny at the time, but now that we know youâre safe, it was funny.â
âWhy did she do that?â I asked.
âI can explainâ said Pierce. âSee, last night, I was going to grab a bite to eat. Cassy was too, and we met each other in the hall. Cassy, being Cassy, wanted to keep her distance, but I told her that it would be fine. In the moment I said âno one would try anything just after the trial.â So when you went missing, Cassy thought someone might have killed you. She took that anger out on me for thinking I lied. But youâre alive, and thatâs all that matters.â
Cassy looked at him. âI guess that makes senseâ I said.
Cassy looked back at me and said âRight. Of course. More importantly, I would like to know something. How did you manage to figure out who killed Maria?â
âYeah, I was wondering the same thingâ said Jay. âYour performance was amazing.â
âI would like to know as wellâ said Annabelle. âYouâre style of questioning and summarizing was second to none.â
â...I donât knowâŚâ I said. âI just kind of figured out what was going on. Although, you guys played a huge part in it.â
âWe did?!â asked Buck.
âWell yeahâ I said. âIf it wasnât for the information you guys gave, we never would have made it out of there alive.â
âBut you were the one who put it togetherâ said Cassy. âHow did you do that?â
I stared at her for a second. âI really donât know. It just kind of came to me.â
âMaybe it has something to do with his hidden talentâ said Duke. We all looked at him. âI mean, I know that chemical compositions come to me naturally. Maybe he has a knack for figuring things out.â
âYou know what?â said Pierce. âI think you might be onto something.â
âReally?!â said Duke.
âIt makes senseâ said Andy. âWe each had the pieces, but Justin is the one who put it all together. Maybe he has some sort of puzzle solving Ultimate talent.â
âBut how could we test it?â said Tammy. âI mean, I could engineer a puzzle, but I donât have the materials.â
âThatâs a good pointâ said Jay. âHow could we test it?â
We all stopped to think. âHey, what about figuring out who is controlling Monokuma?!â said Annabelle. âThatâs certainly a puzzle worth solving.â
âIt isâ said Cassy. âBut Iâve been trying to figure it out since Monokuma trapped us in here, and I canât figure it out.â
âWell, maybe itâs worth giving Justin a tryâ said Elliot. âHe might figure it out in minutes.â
âWhat did you say?â said Cassy, with a dark look on her face.
âDo I need to spell it out for you?â said Elliot. âIâm saying that Justin may be better than you.â
âDo you want to be the next person we find dead?â said Cassy.
âIâm not better than Cassyâ I said.
Cassy and Elliot looked at me and said âHuh?â
âWell, itâs more that we have different skill setsâ I said. âCassy is better at getting information than I am. During our investigation yesterday, she figured out different elements that I wouldnât even think to test. She might also be better at figuring out stuff than I am as well, but she needs time to do it, and Monokuma doesnât give us that luxury.â
âIndeed I do notâ said Monokumaâs voice from nowhere. Monokuma mysteriously showed up and then continued talking. âAnd as I do not give you the luxury of time, FINISH YOUR BREAKFASTS QUICKLY! Iâve got something to show you all upstairs.â Monokuma left.
Not wanting to try his patience, we did as he said and finished breakfast. We then all headed upstairs to see what he wanted. We found him standing by the walled off hallway. âWhat do you want, fuckface?â asked Buck.
âIâm glad you askedâ said Monokuma. âBut I am sad that you called me a âfuckface.ââ
âConsider yourself lucky I didnât go furtherâ said Buck.
âVery well. I will do thatâ said Monokuma. âAhem. Now for the main event. You all congregating in the trial room made refurbishing this old building easier. So now I have this area done for you. You can explore and kill each other here to your heartâs content.â
I found this odd. âWhat about the rest of the first floor?â I asked.
âSilly Justinâ said Monokuma. âYou donât know whatâs on the rest of the first floor. So you donât know how hard it is to refurbish it. DONâT QUESTION MY METHODS ANYMORE!â
âAlright, chillâ I said. âYou could have just said that without getting angry.â
âTrue...but I like getting angryâ said Monokuma. âAnyway, itâs time for the reveal.â Monokuma grabbed the end of the wall and pulled it back to reveal the rest of the second floor. âPresenting, the second half of the second floor. That is all.â Monokuma disappeared.
We walked forward to see what this new area entitled. There were a lot of classrooms. âSo THIS is where the classrooms wereâ Buck said. The left side had classrooms going most of the way down the hallway. At the end though, there was a bigger room. I thought to check that later. The right side had some classrooms, but it had something else. A big room that spanned the back half of the hallway. I decided to save that room for last.
I first looked through the classrooms. Most of them were empty. They all looked like regular classrooms. I found some of my fellow students in some of them though.
The first room I found that had others in it had Sophie, Tammy, and Elliot. âOh, helloâ I said, walking in.
âHiâ said Sophie.
âHelloâ said Tammy.
âHey thereâ said Elliot. âSo, what do you think this room was used for?â
âHuh?â I said, confused.
âItâs just that the three of us were arguing about what kind of room this isâ said Elliot.
I stood confused. âItâs a classroomâ I said.
âWe know THATâ said Tammy. âWe just want to know what kind of classroom it is.â
I was even more confused. âWhaâŚâŚâ I said.
âYou know, like âIs this a math classroom?ââ said Sophie. âOr like a psychology classroom?â
âOhâ I said. âThatâs what you mean. What makes you think that I would know?â
âWell DUH! Because your grandfather used to be the headmaster hereâ said Tammy.
âYeah, and he was still doing some side-work for Hopeâs Peak up until his deathâ said Elliot. âAnd since you spent so much time with him, Iâd thought you would have known.â
I guess that makes sense. âUnfortunately, I donât know exactly what kind of classroom this wasâ I said. âBy the time I was born, this building had already been condemned.â
âOhâ said Elliot.
âThis doesnât resemble the classrooms at the current Hopeâs Peak at allâ I said. âI wonder why.â
âGood questionâ said Monokuma, popping up.
âAH!â I said.
âSee, at this building, Hopeâs Peak was more generalizedâ said Monokuma. âBack when this building was open, they had your regular classes, and just put similar students together. If I recall, this was a social sciences room. When this building become condemned, the headmaster at the time, your grandfather, thought it was time for a change and asked the new building to reflect that change. The result was making Hopeâs Peak, more open ended.â
âTell me somethingâ said Elliot. âWhy did this building get condemned?â
âAnd why are you refurbishing it?â asked Tammy. âIf you hate Hopeâs Peak so much, why do you want to bring this building back?â
âWell...I canât answer that first questionâ said Monokuma.
âWhy not?â asked Sophie.
âBecause that would give away too muchâ said Monokuma.
âWeâll figure it out eventuallyâ I said, defiantly.
âWell, I suppose given enough time here, you couldâ said Monokuma. âBut what are the odds that youâll be alive to figure it out are in the first place?â
I was worried. That was a good point, but I wasnât going to let him know that. âWhat makes you think any more of us will be dead in the first place?â I said.
âSmoothâ said Monokuma kind of sarcastically. âBut I already know. Iâm already working on the next motive.â
That bastard.
âAs for that second question, I have two answers. One, itâs to encourage you guys to kill each other in more creative ways. It would be boring if you each grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed someone in the throat EVERY time.â
âUm, whatâs the other reason?â said Sophie, nervously.
âThe other reason?â said Monokuma. âWhy, because this is the Ultimate Killerâs old stomping grounds of course. He feels nostalgic whenever he sees students roaming around here. Itâs a nice little gesture I do for him. But itâs mostly the first answer.â
âWHAT?! No way!â said Tammy.
âYup!â said Monokuma. âIt was here that he came to learn about the best possible ways to kill people.â
âWhy would your grandfather allow that kind of talent in?â asked Elliot.
âHe wouldnâtâ I said. âYou know, I always thought that claim was suspicious.â
âSuspicious or not, he just admitted he went to Hopeâs Peak. He is the Ultimate Killer, isnât he?â said Elliot.
âWell, technically, no. Iâm just an AI programed by the Ultimate Killer. Iâm like a tool he uses for killing. Much like a knife or a gun. Except Iâm cuterâ said Monokuma.
âAs I was saying,â I said, âI thought it was suspicious, but now that know that you went to school here while my grandfather was headmaster, thereâs no doubt in my mind. You didnât come to Hopeâs Peak to become the Ultimate Killer!â Everyone was shocked.
âAlright smartypants,â said Monokuma, âIF the Ultimate Killer didnât come here to become the Ultimate Killer, then what DID he come to Hopeâs Peak for?â
âWellâŚâ I said. âI donât know.â
âAHA!â said Monokuma. âSo you canât prove anything! You have no evidence.â
âWell...you kind of just gave me some circumstantial evidence, if Iâm being honestâ I said.
âWha? HOW?!â asked Monokuma.
âYou just asked me to prove it. You didnât deny itâ I said.
âWell, I deny it nowâ said Monokuma. âYou didnât let me get to that point.â
âNo, it makes more sense that you didnât come here to be the Ultimate Killerâ said Tammy. âI mean, Hopeâs Peak is meant to help, and since when has killing people helped anyone?â
âWars. Coups. Making martyrs. Getting away from people who attack others. The uses for killing are endlessâ said Monokuma.
âSureâŚâ said Elliot. âBut those are a very specific way of killing, with a more specialized type of person to deal with those things. You kill because you donât like Hopeâs Peak. Thatâs more of a specific end to your goals, not what those things might accomplish.â
âBut, you also work at Hopeâs Peakâ said Sophie. âHow does that work?â
âWhy should I tell you?â said Monokuma. âI almost let something slip because of your mind games. Iâm not going to let that happen.â
âDoesnât likeâŚâ I said. Everyone looked at me. âTHATâS IT!â
âWhatâs it?â asked Elliot.
âThe Ultimate Killer doesnât LIKE the talent he was originally recruited forâ I said. âTHATâS why he said he came here to be the Ultimate Killer. He would rather be a killer than his original talent.â Monokuma was mad. âAm I wrong?â
âNO MORE QUESTIONS!â Monokuma fled.
âDoes that mean youâre right?â asked Sophie.
âI think I mightâ I said.
âWait, people can NOT like their talents?â asked Tammy.
âWell, yeahâ I said. âMy grandfather ran into those kinds of people from time to time. He would always talk to them personally and get to know why they donât like their talents. It would take some doing, but my grandfather could always convince them that their talents meant something.â
âHuh. Interestingâ said Tammy.
âBut why did he not do that with the Ultimate Killer?â asked Elliot. âThen we wouldnât be in this situation.â
âI...donât knowâ I said. âMaybe he couldnât get through to them? I really donât know. This was before I was born. I didnât know him back then.â
âI suppose thatâs fairâ said Elliot.
âWell, at least we know what this room was forâ said Sophie.
âOh yeahâ said Tammy. âI had forgotten about that.â
âWell, I should get back to exploringâ I said.
âSeeya!â said Elliot.
âBye!â said Tammy.
âLater!â said Sophie. I left the room.
The next room I walked into that had anyone in it only had Buck. âHey Justinâ he said.
âHeyâ I said. âWhat are you doing here?â
âOh, I was doing some self-reflectionâ said Buck.
âOh?â I said.
âYeahâ said Buck. âBeing in here, it reminds me of my old school. I had to keep my grades up if I wanted to be on the basketball team. I used to think of all that fucking school work as a means to an end. A way to do the thing I enjoy. But..â
âButâŚâ I said.
âJust thinking of this horrible shittastic situation weâre in, Iâd feel like those classes would come as a sweet relief. And now I just feel bad that I treated it the way I did. I mean, look around. It seems so peaceful now.â
âI guess compared to our current situation, class doesnât seem so badâ I said.
âExactlyâ said Buck. âAnd Iâm thinking âitâs only peaceful here because thereâs no one in here. Usually, itâs chaotic. But itâs the same with basketball. Itâs chaos, but finding your way though it is what makes it satisfying. So Iâm thinking that when I get out, I should start treating school work the same way.â
âI like that ideaâ I said. âI hope you do better.â
âThanksâ said Buck. I left.
The last classroom I found with someone in it had Cassie. âUm, hiâ I said.
âNot nowâ she said. âIâm trying to look for clues.â
âWell...if itâs information that you wantâŚâ I said. I then informed her of the conversation Tammy, Sophie, Elliot, and I had with Monokuma.
â...I canât believe I missed all of that.â
âWell, itâs just wrong place wrong time.â
âNo. They invited me to come with them. But I refused.â
âOh...â
âGod, I am such an IDIOT!â
âNo youâre not.â
âI am! Iâm too focused on getting out that I miss an opportunity to do so.â
âIt happens to the best of usâŚâ I could tell sheâs beating herself up. âLook, there was no way of knowing that would happen. It only happened because I joined the conversation.â
âSo...youâre saying I should follow you constantly?â
âWell, no. Iâm saying that it can happen at anytime. The point is you donât know. So itâd be hard to get anything on your own. I know how hard it can be to open up at times, but sometimes it can be worth it.â
â...I think I get what youâre saying.â
âGreat. Iâm glad we had this talk.â
âI think I would like to hang around with you for the rest of the day though. You know, just because.â
â...OK. We can do that.â
âWhere are you going next?â
âWell, I was going to go to the room at the end on the left.â
âOK, letâs go!â
We left the classroom and entered that room. It was a library with a computer lab. Rachel and Annabelle were there.
âOh, hi thereâ said Annabelle.
âHow do you two do?â asked Rachel.
âWeâre doing alright...I thinkâ I said.
âYesâ said Cassy. âIt appears you two have been here for a while. What can you tell us about this place?â
âStraight to the point, I see?â said Rachel. âWell, itâs just as it looks like. Itâs a library. There are a lot of book here. As you could probably guess, I took a glance at all of the history books.â
âWas there anything to report on them?â I asked.
âYesâ said Rachel. âThese books are ancient. Well, not technically ancient. But they are rather old. I think these were the book that were here when this school was operational.â
âThatâs weirdâ said Annabelle. âBecause I was in the computer lab, and all of the computers seem rather up-to-date.â
âThatâs strangeâ said Cassy.
âSo, if the computers are up to date, do you think you could contact the outside world?â I asked.
âI tried thatâ said Annabelle, âbut they wonât do that.â
âReally?â said Rachel.
âYeah, itâs using a weird operating systemâ said Annabelle. âAccording to the computer, itâs called Kuma.O.S.â
âNo doubt a gift from our gracious hostâ I said.
âWhy would he bother installing his own operating system if he didnât bother to update the GODDAM BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY?!â shouted Rachel.
I have never seen Rachel like this before.
Cassy was thinking â...maybe it has something to do with the security. He had to hijack Monobirdâs systems and install his security cameras and such. Maybe these computers had to be update.â
âWait!â I said. âIf these computers are connected to that, then itâs possible we might be able to reverse engineer it.â
âWhat do you mean?â said Rachel.
âWell, if theyâre all on this Kuma.O.S., then itâs possible we could find a way around Kuma.O.S. by figuring it out on a computer thatâs here.â
âYeah. Yeah I think we couldâ said Annabelle.
âBut weâd need someone who has an expertise with computersâ said Cassy.
âWhat about Tammy. Maybe she could do itâ I said.
âGood thinkingâ said Cassy. âWe shall tell her at dinner.â
âGreatâ I said.
âYou know, Iâm starting to get it even moreâ said Cassy.
Annabelle tok out a notepad âGet what more?â she asked.
âOhâ said Cassy. âWell, I was having some trouble doing some detective work on my own. Justin is going around talking with everyone and in turn he is finding out all of this information. So Iâm starting to see the benefits of getting out of my shell more...so to speak.â
âOK. OKâ said Annabelle. âBut as a detective, donât you usually talk to witnesses?â
âOF COURSE!â said Cassy, defiantly. âWhat do you take me for?â
âItâs just...why arenât you good at talking to people in this instance then?â asked Annabelle.
âWell...itâs just that...trying to get out of here is work. Iâm a detective. Iâm trying to solve a mystery. From the outset of this, you guys were presented as people I should be friends with. I donât like mixing work with pleasure. When Iâm at work, I like focusing on work. When Iâm having fun, I like focusing on that. But in this situation, everything is jumbled. Are you my friends, or are you potential targets that I need to solve a mystery to save? I donât know.â
âItâs bothâ I said.
âWhat?â said Cassy.
âItâs bothâ I repeated. âWell, I think you should treat it as both anyway.â
âHow do you figure?â said Cassy.
âWell, I think Monokuma designed this to aggravate you specificallyâ I told her. âLike the three hour time limit on the investigation. Heâs doing this to actively throw you off. Because he knows youâre a good detective when you work how you usually do.â
âSo, youâre thinking heâs doing this to throw me off of my groove?â Cassy asked.
âI mean, yeahâ I said. âYouâre probably the biggest threat if you had time and the ability to investigate properly. So by taking all of that away, heâs trying to reduce you to the level of everyone else who doesnât have experience solving high profile cases.â
âHmmmm. You have a pointâ said Cassy. âAlright.â
âAlright what?â asked Annabelle.
âIâm going to try to break out of my usual style and adapt to this new situation. I canât think like how I usually think if I want to bring everyone out of hereâ said Cassy.
âOh. OK. That sounds fantasticâ said Annabelle. âNow JustinâŚâ
âYes?â I asked.
âHow did you figure that out?â Annabelle said.
âWell...I just thought of everything thatâs happened so farâ I said. âIt seems like at every turn Monokuma wants to mess with Cassy.â
âThat is entirely correctâ said Monokuma popping up.
âGAH!â said Annabelle.
âBut it seems like I should have been more worried about you, Mr. Arbilâ said Monokuma.
âWell, how could you?â I asked. âAfter all, I have an unknown talent.â
âTrue...but youâre also the grandson of that jackass Westwoodâ said Monokuma. âIf he wanted you in Hopeâs Peak, then thereâs no reason not to fear you.â
âSo does this mean you fear all of us?â I asked.
âI-NO MORE QUESTIONS!â Monokuma said as he disappeared.
âWeirdâ said Annabelle.
âAlthough I think you were on to somethingâ said Cassy. âI DO think heâs afraid of all of us. Thatâs why he wants us all dead.â
âI agreeâ I said. âBut that presents a new question.â
âWhat's that?â asked Cassy.
âIf heâs afraid of all of us, then why doesnât he just kill us all. He has the means.â
âTrueâ said Cassy. âYou did mention that the Ultimate Killer doesnât like his actual talent right?â
âYeahâ I said.
âWhen did this happen?â asked Rachel.
âWhen I was talking with Elliot, Tammy, and Sophieâ I said. âMonokuma showed up there too.â
âFuckâ said Rachel. âI gotta check on her later.â
âStill, there might be a connection. Iâll need to think on it a little moreâ said Cassy.
âOKâ I said. âShall we continue exploring?â
âI think we shallâ said Cassy.
âIâm going to stay hereâ said Annabelle.
âSameâ said Rachel.
Cassy and I left. We went into the big room across the hall. It was a theater and it appeared that a lot of people came here as well. We looked around for a minute. We then decided to talk to Troy and Jay.
âHey howâs it going?â I asked.
âWell, itâs just me right nowâ said Jay. âTroy has been lost in deep thought since we got here.â
âOhâ I said. âAny reason why?â
âNot that I know ofâ said Jay. âAs soon as he saw the stage, he suddenly got lost in thought. Iâm standing on guard so no one takes him from behind.â
âOh. Youâre doing a great job thenâ I said.
âThanks. That means a lot coming from youâ said Jay.
âLetâs see what else we can find hereâ said Cassy. We looked by the area we entered an electrical box. âWhatâs this?â I ask, flipping one of the switches. It turned on a light on the stage. We saw Duke and Pierce get blindsided by it. âSORRY!â I called out as I flipped it back off.
âWhy is this here though?â asked Cassy.
âI can explainâ said Monokuma popping up. â...What, is no one going to go âGAH!â anymore?â
âI think weâre used to it at this pointâ I said.
âIf you say soâ said Monokuma. âAnyway, this was set up while this building was still in use. I didnât want to mess with the building plans. Unlike a certain bird. Can you believe he installed a computer lab?!â
âHe did that?â asked Cassy.
âOh yeahâ said Monokuma. âI was just lucky none of you got to it before I arrived.â
âYouâre also lucky that you have machine guns pointed at usâ said Cassy.
âYes indeedâ said Monokuma. âI just might be the luckiest person in here.â
âWhat about Sophie?â I asked.
âWell...weâll see about that. Soon there may come a time where her luck will be pitted against mineâ said Monokuma. âIs that all?â
âYeahâ said Cassy.
âGrrrrrreat!â said Monokuma, disappearing again.
We went up to the sound room and unsurprisingly found May there. âHey guysâ said May. âWhatâs up?â
âWe were just having a look aroundâ I said. âWhat did you find?â
âGlad you askedâ said May. âLook at this.â She pointed to the sound system for the stage. âThis thing is ancient. BUT it produces some of the best sound imaginable. In a non-digital format, that is. Man, I have always wanted to use one of these things. Although it only takes records and cassettes. I hope those are easy to find around here.â
âMaybe you could check the library?â I said.
âThereâs a library?â said May.
âYeah, it��s across the hallâ said Cassy.
âCoolâ said May, walking off.
Finally we decided to inspect the stage. âThereâs a lot of tape hereâ said Cassy.
âYeah, thatâs so the actors learn where theyâre standingâ I said
âIt is?â said Cassy.
âYeahâ said Pierce, inserting himself into our conversation. âDid you not know that?â
âWell...I donât know how common that information isâ said Cassy.
âYeah, I suppose youâre rightâ said Pierce. âI only know that because Andy told me.â
âSo why are you judging me?â asked Cassy.
âI donât knowâ said Pierce. âPerhaps I couldnât see right from wrong after what happened this morning.â
âLook, Iâm sorryâ said Cassy. âI just got really scared and really angry.â
âI know. Itâs just fun messing with youâ said Pierce. Cassy glared. âAlright Iâll stop.â
âSo, what are you doing on this stage?â I asked.
âI was just checking it outâ said Pierce. âWhich reminds meâŚâ Piece looked up and called out âHEY ANDY! HOW YOU DOING UP THERE?!â
âFINE!â shouted Andy. âTHERE SEEMS TO BE A PLATFORM UP HERE!â
âGREAT! KEEP ME UPDATED!â shouted Pierce.
âAre you sure itâs safe for him up there?â I asked.
âIâM FINE!â screamed Andy. âHEIGHTS DONâT BOTHER ME ACTUALLY!â
âBesides, if he falls, Iâm here to catch himâ said Pierce. âISNâT THAT RIGHT?!â
âCORRECT!â said Andy.
âANDY, WHAT KIND OF PLATFORM IS IT?!â asked Cassy. I looked at her. âI mean, as long as heâs up there.â
âUM...IT LOOKS LIKE IT CAN BE LOWERED!â said Andy. âITâS PROBABLY USED FOR PERFORMANCES!â
âGREAT! THANKS FOR THE INFO!â shouted Cassy.
âNO PROBLEM!â shouted Andy.
âPierce, did you notice anything else?â I asked.
âNahâ said Pierce. âBy all accounts, this is a fairly normal stage. The lights seem to be in a weird place though.â
âYeah, sorry about thatâ I said. âSay, where is Duke, by the way?â
âOh, he went backstageâ said Pierce.
âMaybe he found something thereâ said Cassy. âC'monâ she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me.
We headed back stage. It was a narrow hallway, filled with some props and costumes. There were two dressing rooms. âWhich one do you think Duke is in?â I asked.
âI donât knowâ said Cassy.
Duke walked out of the menâs dressing room. âYou guys need me?â he asked.
Cassy and I looked at each other. âDuke, did you see anything interesting in there?â I asked.
âEh, not reallyâ said Duke. âJust a bunch of old scripts and stuff.â
âSo, why were you in there?â asked Cassy.
âItâs the closest bathroomâ said Duke. âWhat are you getting at?â
âSo you donât mind if we investigate?â I said.
âGo aheadâ said Duke.
âShould we divide and conquer?â I asked Cassy.
âI take the girlâs room, you take the boyâs?â said Cassy
âYupâ I said. We broke off and investigated. I went into the boyâs dressing room and it is as Duke said it was. I walked back out and said âIt looks like Duke was telling the truthâ I said.
âYup. Same hereâ said Cassy.
âLook, just because I insisted that Maria was killed in the art room, doesnât mean I was lyingâ said Duke. âI didnât know the trick to it.â
Both Cassy and I were stunned. âWe were more worried about you penchant for peepingâ I told him.
âWhat?â said Duke. âWhere did you get that from?â
âFrom you trying to get into the girlâs bathroomâ said Cassy.
âI told you, I was investigatingâ said Duke. âHow was I supposed to know that someone was in there?â
âThe point is you donât go inâ said Cassy.
âYeah, it looks really bad that you did thatâ I said.
Duke was taken aback. He then hung his head in shame. âI guess youâre rightâ said Duke.
âWell, it will help if you apologiseâ said Cassy. âHow about at dinner?â
âThat sound goodâ said Duke.
The three of us walked back out together. Just as we were getting out we heard Troy scream âTHATâS IT! I GOT IT!â
âGot what?â asked Jay, who was recuperating from the sudden shout.
âMeet me at dinner, good sirâ said Troy .âI shall have all the details for you all then. Until then, I bid you all adieu.â Troy ran off.
âI wonder what thatâs about?â I asked.
âIt looks like dinner is going to be eventfulâ said Cassy.
âYeahâ I said.
We kept looking around, but didnât find much. Soon it was time for dinner, and we went off to join everyone else for this eventful evening.
Later, at dinner.
âA play?!â I said.
âYes, good sirâ said Troy. âI think this will be a great idea.â
âAnd what is this for?â asked Pierce.
âWhy it is to help Justin find his talent, good sirâ said Troy. Everyone looked at him confused.
âUm...How?â I asked.
âItâs simple, good sirâ said Troy. âWe put on a mystery play, and before we reveal whodunit, we shall give you the chance to answer!â
âAnd this will help?â I asked.
âYesâ said Troy. âAt least, I think it will, good sir. It should test your aptitude for solving a case, like you did with the...unfortunate incident that happened recently. Worst case scenario: we just figure out your thoughts from it.â
âI guess itâs worth a shotâ I said. âItâs better than someone getting killed.â
âI couldnât agree more, good sir!â said Troy.
âDo you have a script?â asked Cassy.
âActually, good madam, I was going to ask you about thatâ said Troy.
âMe?â said Cassy.
âYes. I was wondering if we could borrow from a case you have solved to use as a scriptâ said Troy. âI was stacking my brain for the best script, but I couldnât come up with something. When you entered, it hit me. This way, not only can we guarantee that Justin doesnât know about it, but it will be more real, which may help Justin more.â
âI guess soâŚâ said Cassy.
âI think it sounds funâ said Pierce.
âI think you should help himâ I said. âYou did say you wanted to break out of your shell more. Besides, I donât know how much more investigating we can do until we figure out Kuma.O.S.â
âWhat?â asked Troy.
âOh yeahâ I said. âTammy!â
âYeah?â asked Tammy.
âWhen we were in the library today, we noticed that there was a computer lab. I was wondering if you cod help us figure out the schematics of the weird programing that Monokuma installed. It could help us find a way outâ I said.
âOh. Sure!â said Tammy, delightfully. âAlthough it might take a while.Do you know how hard it was getting the blueprints for the prison computers? Like a month. And that was in a stress-free environment.â
âSo, itâs going to take a while thenâ I said.
âYeahâ said Tammy. âBut I can start figuring out stuff tomorrow.â
âCoolâ I said.
Rachel looked at Sophie and said âHey, I heard you had a run-in with Monokuma today. You alright?â
âYeah, Iâm fineâ said Sophie.
âGood. I donât want that plush bastard doing anything to youâ said Rachel.
âI know you worry,â said Sophie, âbut I think you need to look out for yourself a bit more.â
âIâm fineâ said Rachel.
âThatâs exactly what I said, and we both know I donât fully mean itâ said Sophie. âLuckily Justin got him all flustered, so Iâm not as worried.â
âWell, thatâs goodâ said Rachel.
âIâm serious thoughâ said Sophie. âIâll be fine. Maybe you need to start taking care of me less, and taking care of yourself more.â
â...Iâll think about itâ said Rachel.
âGoodâ said Sophie.
Duke was nervously looking at May. âWhat do you want?â May asked. âYou've been nervous since we got here.â
âItâs just that...I want to apologizeâŚâ said Duke. âAbout yesterday.â
âOh. Yeah, that was weirdâ said May.
âBut I was trying to investigate, but I know itâs wrongâŚâ said Duke.
âYou know what you can do?â said May. âMaybe just stay away for a little bit. I mean, except in instances where Monokuma summons us all under the threat of death.â
âOKâ said Duke. âSo, how long do you figure?â
âI dunnoâ said May. âBut I will tell you when itâs over.â
âCoolâ said Duke. He picked up his things and moved next to me. âWell, that could have gone betterâ he told me.
âCould have gone worseâ I said, trying to cheer him up.
âYeah. I guess it could haveâ said Duke.
After we finished, everyone went to relax. It was kind of a big day. As I was about to leave, Cassy stopped me and said âHey.â
âHey. Whatâs Up?â I asked.
âSo, was your mom the only statue you worked on, orâŚ?â
âOh. OH! Right. Uh, no actuallyâ I said.
âCould I see what else you made?â
âSure.â I walked her into the back room of the art room and showered her the top shelf. Up there was little statues of Maria and Roman.
âOh. Cool.â
âYou like them?â
âI like the thought behind themâ Cassy said. âBut your craft could use a little work.
âYeah, I knowâ I said.
âYou gonna finish your momâs?â
âI think Iâll do that tomorrow. Today was a long day. Iâm tired enough.â
âFair...I think Iâll head back to my room and try to think of a case that Troy can adapt.â
âHey, do you think Troy could do a good job?â
âWell, I think he has a flair for the dramatic. Heâs also very upfront about being trusting. So I think he wonât ruin it too much.â
âToo much?â I asked.
âWell, you kinda have to fudge a few details in adapting the truth. It makes things more interesting.â
âGotchaâ I told her.
âWell, laterâ she said, leaving the art room.
I decided to reflect on the statues and the people they were inspired by.
Maria. Full of kindness and understanding right up to the very end. Always looking out for everyone. Roman, Andy, all of us. She was like our mom in a way. She had no place in this Hell. Hopefully sheâs thriving in Heaven.
Roman. Always trying to impress. He was afraid to be left behind, and that fear drove him to make his decisions. Of course I donât agree with what he did, but I understand it. If it wasnât for all this intense pressure, Iâm sure heâd be doing good for himself.
I left the art room and the night time announcement came on. After it finished, I was going to head to my room, but then I remembered something. âI wonder whatâs new in the MonoMono Machine.â I walked over and gave it a spin. Â Put some coins in and got a few things. The first notable thing I got a jumbo pack of marshmallows. âWeirdâ I said. âBut I guess theyâll be useful for something.â
The other notable thing I got was an acoustic guitar. âOK, how does this even fit in here?â
âOh, I know thisâ said Monokuma, popping up. âOK, letâs get into character. Short. Apathetic. Really believes in this stuff. Ahem. Itâs MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGIC!â
âRightâŚâ I said. âHey so, as long as I have you here, you willing to be honest with me?â
âDependsâ said Monokuma.
âHow long until weâve figured out everything?â
âOh, I know this one too. OK. Short. Depressed. Athletic. Ahem. Youâve still got a ways to go.â
âRight. Well good nightâ I told him, as I walked back to my room. I went into bed and fell asleep, thinking about all of the weird stuff that happened today. What does it mean? And what will our future hold.
#Danganronpa#Dangaonronpa fanfic#Danganronpa away#Justin#May#Cassy#Andy#Troy#Jay#Pierce#Annabelle#Rachel#Sophie#Buck#Elliot#Duke#Tammy#Monokuma#Monobird
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haha okay i love jd, i really do, yes iâm one of Those People
BUT i really want to show the masterpiece of manipulative behavior that is the reprise of âmeant to be yoursâ (which veronica thankfully outsmarts)
(i talk about this a lot but i think about this a lot so???)
this is gonna be LINE BY LINE yall
oh and side note this is so fun for voice/acting practice because of the bajillion emotions and crescendos in this frickin genius song
All is forgiven, baby!Â
JDâs introducing himself as the gracious, forgiving party that was wronged in their previous encounter (which, if you havenât watched through the whole musical, was him intimating the murder of Heather Duke... and his extremely reckless use of a firearm after promising that he was a changed man). This is putting Veronica in an awkward position of guilt from the get-go.
Come on, get dressed. You're my date to the pep rally tonight!
More of JD assuming that heâll get his way from Veronica without her having a say in the matter.
You chucked me out like I was trash
Placing all the guilt from their encounter on Veronicaâs cruelty and senselessness. Avoiding responsibility for anything heâs done thus far. Painting Veronica in a heartless light that would normally inspire pity and apology.Â
For that you should be deadâ
More evidence of JDâs recklessly erratic behavior and roller coaster of emotional extremes. Though I definitely think JD has a lot of mental illness issues on his plate, I (as an unprofessional run of the mill armchair diagnoser) donât think this is a symptom of any of them. Itâs another sign of abuse--that JDâs mood varies so wildly that Veronica would have to walk around eggshells on him. That this idea popped in his head is enough of a red flag; that he tells Veronica this while trying to make up is nothing less than an implicit death threat.Â
For context, remember that JDâs already set plans in motion that would make it very, very easy to fake Veronicaâs suicide at his own hands. This wasnât just a passing idea. This is a noose heâs already wrapped around her neck.
But! But! But! Then it hit me like a flash What if high school went away instead?
This line is definitely more of a mental-illness issue (or at least unhealthy thinking) than the previous ones. JDâs getting paranoid now in his search for somebody to blame besides himself or Veronica for their breakup.Â
Those assholes are the key!
JDâs extending an olive branch here, at least in his own mind. Heâs not forgiving Veronica for their fight, though; heâs saying that itâs not her fault, since sheâs being controlled by a malicious third party. Not only is this insulting--itâs insinuating that her judgment and decision-making is impaired (and that JD is the one to make her decisions for her in the meantime).
Keep in mind that heâs not just talking about the jocks and Heathers, though. Heâs talking about every single other student--including Martha and Heather McNamara, whose wills to live Veronicaâs been fighting tooth and nail to save. JD may not have meant this line to be a threat against Veronica, but it functions to further drown out her opinion and isolate her from anyone besides himself.
Theyâre keeping you away from me!
Now JDâs making up barriers. He and Veronica didnât âbreak upâ by her choice anymore--thereâs just an obstruction in their relationship that needs to be overcome by force. This is simplifying the issue even further than before.Â
They made you blind, messed up your mind
Completely robbing Veronica of any power here. Even if Veronica tried to talk down JD at this point, he could discount anything she said as being the product of her brainwashing by the other students.
But I can set you free!
Classic manipulation--introducing a problem (whether or not it objectively exists) and putting forward the desired action as the only solution. Black and white thinking, false dilemma, whatever you want to call it--JDâs crafting a situation You left me and I fell apart
Having given Veronica an âout,â a way to escape the conflict between the two of them, JD goes back to playing the pity game. Veronica supposedly was the one who caused JDâs emotional breakdown. JDâs not letting himself be blamed at all here, and heâs definitely nowhere near an apology.
I punched the wall and criedâBam! Bam! Bam!
This is, again, an implicit threat. If Veronica claimed to feel threatened, JD could honestly say that he said no such thing, sheâs being emotional, etc. But this introduces a very immediate, physically violent threat. JDâs âlost controlâ and started hitting things before, and he seems like heâs in the mood to do it again.Â
Then I found you changed my heart and set loose all that truthful shit inside!
Further defending his actions as the right thing to do, while painting Veronica as the guilty party. This isnât much better reasoning than the stereotypical âyou made me abuse youâ line.Â
And so I built a bomb Tonight our school is Vietnam! Letâs guarantee theyâll never see their senior prom! Ramping up the physical threat from mere punching to action, large-scale murder. JD is still seeing himself as the rational person here, and he expects Veronica to agree with him.
I was meant to be yours! We were meant to be one!
The soft singing and sudden waltz tempo of these lines is important, I think. JDâs using a stick-and-carrot for Veronica. Heâs just finished introduced the sticks--possible physical abuse or murder of Veronica, Veronica being guilty for JDâs mental breakdown, the ending of their relationship--and now heâs teasing her with the carrot. Their relationship used to be so good, and it could be again. Not only that, itâs meant to be. This isnât a choice for Veronica anymore--itâs her fate, and she has no say in the end result.
Donât give up on me now!
JDâs reminding Veronica of the emotional investment sheâs put in this relationship. Not only does the breakup represent her failure, now; it represents her giving up on someone she cares about.
Finish what weâve begun!
And Veronicaâs not an accidental accomplice to JDâs murders, in his mind. This was something they started together.
Sadly Veronica is, at least, affected by this reasoning, as we hear in the Dead Girl Walking reprise. She considers herself as guilty as JD in Heather, Ram, and Kurtâs murders, and she does believe that itâs her destiny to end this chain of events by JDâs side.Â
I was meant to be yours!
So when the high school gym goes BOOM with everyone insideâPew! Pew! Pew!
In the rubble of their tomb
Weâll plant this note explaining why they died!
OK Iâm not even gonna analyze this one for manipulation, because this is so batshit ahahahah. Heathers is full of dark comedy and I consider this one of the examples of gallows humor.Â
Like the cops are just gonna be like âwelp, this explosion destroyed countless human bodies................... but hey look a stickie note survivedâ
(Westerburg cops might, but youâd think the FBI or something would get involved. Like.......................JD didnât even laminate the note. wtf mate, what are you expecting to happen) Weâll watch the smoke pour out the doors Bring marshmallows Weâll make sâmores! We can smile and cuddle while the fire roars! Painting a vivid picture of their relationship being âall better,â while JD still seems to be under the mistaken impression that Veronica will stop caring about her dead classmates immediately afterward. I was meant to be yours! We were meant to be one! I canât take it alone! Finish what weâve begun!
You were meant to be mine! I am all that you need!
Reinforcing the isolation of the victim. If Veronica actually went along with this--god forbid she had any other close personal relationships. JD would consider that absolute betrayal.Â
(His motives for this are worth thinking about, though not here--he has very polarized views of the people in his life. He worships Veronica, and at this point he expects that attitude to be reciprocated)
You carved open my heart! Donât just leave me to bleed!
Veronicaâs the cruel, bloodthirsty person in this relationship if she refuses to answer him. JDâs heaping the guilt on her. Veronica, open theâopen the door, please Veronica, open the door
Now heâs trying a foot-in-the-door (ha!) approach. Opening a door is a very tiny request, but if she agrees to it out of pity, sheâll feel more obligated to agree to his much bigger demands.
The frantic repetition is making this tiny request that much harder to ignore.
Veronica, can we not fight anymore, please Can we not fight anymore
JDâs trivializing the issue, turning it into a run-of-the-mill couples spat that can be fixed with a single conversation. Heâs trying to get Veronica to question her judgment.Â
After all, it would be so much easier at this point for her to go along with them. And then they could be happy again together.
(in the off-broadway recording JDâs voice breaks so beautifully here. I consider it a nod to the audience that JDâs not just making this up for the sake of manipulating Veronica, even if that is his desired end result--heâs really, genuinely confused at why this is such a big deal to her, and why they canât just be happy together again [on his awful terms].)
Veronica, sure, youâre scared Iâve been there. I can set you free!
Trying to wrap up this one-sided argument by once again setting up himself and Veronica as allies in the fight against the world. Heâs relating to his victim, making the issue in their relationship seem temporary and dependent on her own flawed state of mind.
This also echoes the short talk Veronica got from her mother in the previous song. While her mom was genuinely caring and trying to relate, JD is saying the same thing for much more sinister purposes. Veronica didnât like it the first time nor the second.
Veronica, donât make me come in there!
Again--the âyou made me do itâ abusive line of reasoning, with heavily implied threats and an act of physical violence.
Iâm gonna count to three!
Putting a time limit on something is a great way to convince people to do it. (See: limited-time flash sales.) JDâs demanding an immediate answer from Veronica, or else.Â
Heâs also still setting himself up as a disciplinary adult figure--making decisions for her, scolding her, relating to her, helping her, and even trying to get her to open her bedroom door by the count of three, like sheâs a five-year-old.
One! Two! Fuck it!
And I think itâs really important to note these last couple of lines in JDâs one-sided argument. He set up a time limit, but still barged in ahead of time. This wasnât in the interest of getting inside as fast as possible, of course. This was done specifically to take Veronica off guard and find her in an even more vulnerable position while still sounding like the voice of reason. After all, he did warn her that he was coming in, and she refused to answer him, so of course he came in, who cares that he got bored of counting.
Heâs making his mood unpredictable and dangerous whenever he doesnât get his way.Â
aaaand haha holy fuck iâve written almost 2000 words on this short song and i still think i skipped over bits on accident
iâd love to hear ur thoughts tho guys if anyone read this
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