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aros001 · 3 years ago

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First time read through light novel vol. 18. Random thoughts.

I somewhat suspect the author was hungry while writing this volume.

Also, wow, I knew Kizuna was short but the prior artworks never gave me the full idea of how short. She

is only chest-high compared to Naofumi and Glass (I suppose that could make Glass happy, though; ease of access for Kizuna and whatnot).

Given that, outside of the natural gluttons like Filo, S’yne, and the killer whale sisters, the only person on Naofumi's side with the "Eat food for EXP" matter is Itsuki, I think this is him falling dangerously close to thinking only in terms of game mechanics instead of reality, much like the other three heroes had been early on. Theoretically, yes, if you can gain levels and strength just by eating, why wouldn't you do a lot of it? But he's almost outright ignoring the physical discomfort and pain it's causing his allies and seeing only the numbers. Not to mention that he himself doesn't appear to be eating nearly as much, as he's focus on the cooking.

That said, it is cute that this is the first time in her life Filo is starting to feel full.

Chapter One: Sloth

OH SHI-! Oh, wait. Wrong franchise. We're good. I did not want to have to imagine Kizuna biting her fingers off (Kizuna: "My brain trembles!!!).

If Kizuna is indeed suffering under the curse of Sloth, I'm curious what triggered that specific sin for her. We only have the four heroes of Raphtalia's world to go off of but each sin applied to that specific hero for a reason. Naofumi: Wrath because of his hatred of what Witch and Trash put him through. Ren: Greed because he wanted more EXP, levels, and loot; a toxic extreme of his solo-adventuring. Itsuki: Pride because he believed only in his view of justice. And Motoyasu: lust and envy because of his obsession with Filo and being kept away from her. Kizuna's obsession with fishing, even when there's other important matters that need to be dealt with, I suppose could be considered lazy and thus lead to sloth as its extreme, but it feels a little bit like a stretch.

As he did so, the books from a nearby shelf whirled up into the air, forming . . . a dinosaur . . . perhaps. No, a dragon. The monster’s name was “Magical Tome Dragon.” Now things were really getting a bit crazy. A dragon created from books! Was this some kind of joke?

I want a Yu-Gi-Oh card of that.

“Don’t tell me, Glass is like the Raphtalia of this world? Could we really get that lucky?”

I mean, that's what the fandom likes to joke when it comes to her and Kizuna.

Breaking the sloth curse through Kizuna's love of fishing was about what I expected. Not complaining, of course. Again though, I'm just wonder what about her coincides with Sloth. She prefers talking it out and making allies as opposed to fighting but I wouldn't exactly call that lazy or slothful either.

Kizuna had a lot of folks like this among her allies—people who had started out as enemies but then became allies. If I fought someone as an enemy, there was generally no coming back—there were exceptions, like Sadeena and Shildina, so it was probably better not to generalize.

Glass and L'Arc are literally standing right next to Naofumi as he thinks this and Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki all tried to murder him at one point or another. S'yne was part of the gladiator fights too, now that I think about it, and while they never fought he and Trash were definitely enemies for a while. This dude turns more enemies into friends than freakin' Naruto. Being kind of oblivious is part of Naofumi's character but I suppose this could be seen as an interesting look as to how exactly he considers someone an enemy. If they fought him for reasons he eventually came to understand and sympathize with, then he perhaps doesn't consider them as ever having been a "true" enemy.

Aww, Glass is jealous of Tsugumi being close to Kizuna. And unlike Raphtalia with Naofumi, Kizuna doesn't have any kind of tragedy that keeps her opposed to relationship and would require Glass to be patient. I suppose Glass could simply be afraid of hurting their friendship by proposing romance or even that Kizuna doesn't swing that way. And this is from Naofumi's perspective, so Glass being gay could be completely off the mark. Still, it'd be nice to get a solid landing one way or another. Even Eclair unknowingly rejecting Ren at least give solid confirmation that he's into her and why they're not together.

“What! I’m the Hunting Hero! I don’t handle the cooking part!” Kizuna complained.

“And I’m the Shield Hero!” I retorted. Not the Stewpot Hero! If anyone called me that, I would kill them with cookery!

And technically, you're not even that right now. Not with that mirror on your arm. The mirror is cool and all but I am looking forward to Naofumi eventually getting his shield back. He just feels incomplete without it.

“Almost feeding time!” one of them said. Others proceeded to chime in.

“Yes . . . the time we’ve all been waiting for.”

“The moment we live for, basically!”

“Even if I only get to eat one mouthful . . . that is the fuel that will keep me alive!”

“I’ll never eat anything but his cooking ever again!”

“I think the schweiz is the best! It has to be!”

“No! The stietz!”

“Hey! No fighting! We’ve been warned about fighting!”

Did they stumble across a food cult?

“It isn’t bad,” Filo said. “It just isn’t as nice as yours, Master.”

“Well, okay . . .” I replied.

“All of the heroes have cooked in the village, Mr. Naofumi, but Filo and everyone else all feel the same way,” Raphtalia told me.

Filo also grew up with Naofumi's cooking since birth, so while he's already a good cook you get the added taste of home for her. I've said it before but out of everyone I consider Filo to be the most like Naofumi's daughter.

“Then you wish to settle the bill,” she replied. I thought it was free. As my suspicions intensified, the girl spread both of her hands and continued. “How was the food at Seya’s restaurant? It was so delicious, wasn’t it? If you wish to become a member, please leave all of your assets or hand over anything that can be turned into money. If you leave some personal items as collateral, you can have some time to go and fetch some offerings.”

Yep, that's a cult alright.

“Master’s food!” Filo said.

“They’ll get a surprise when they taste what you’re cooking, kiddo,” L’Arc said.

“Indeed. Your victory is assured, if that’s the best they can do,” Glass agreed. I was still concerned about how aggressive they were being. Were they hopped up on endorphins or something? They weren’t acting in character at all.

My first thought was that the OOC behavior was some side effect Naofumi didn't realize came with the Mirror weapon's power-up method, but then why wouldn't Raphtalia or Kizuna be effected when they have been eating the food too? Then I thought maybe they were more used to eating Naofumi's food in general and would have a tolerance to any addictive effects, but then why is Filo still effected?

“That’s the best dish Seya’s restaurant has to offer! Seya’s curry bag! And it’s Fifth Floor too!” one of the MCs shouted. I barely stopped myself from tipping over onto the ground. He really was just reheating a premade curry in a bag! So he was allowed to heat and serve already finished dishes? I mean, that might give me some ideas myself . . .

“The flavors that are normally lost in reheating have been sealed in the bag using proprietary technology! Now you get the maximized flavor from the moment you open the bag! This truly is the ultimate culinary technique! Everyone, watch this kitchen miracle closely as it unfolds before your astounded eyes!” The MCs continued their diatribe, but it just made it harder for me to keep a straight face. It was all a matter of perspective. Capturing the flavor in a bag was certainly a worse approach than making it on the spot.

“Naofumi . . . am I imagining things? It looks to me like he’s just adding or warming up instant ingredients using hot water,” Kizuna said.

So, like most other antagonists in this series lately, Seya is just an arrogant, entitled fraud high on his own stolen power. Why am I not surprised? Though he is giving me a bit of a Kazuma from Konosuba vibe with how he managed to figure out how to recreate items the old heroes would have talked about from Japan. It's odd to say he doesn't have nearly the same level of charisma as Kazuma give...well...it's Kazuma and he's deliberately written to be a massive scumbag.

I do like with his magic powers and awesome cape, Naofumi is basically the little muddy boy meeting a superhero, one who will save the day through cooking.

As for Kizuna . . . I handed her some of the fish we had brought in and had her cut it up. She’d finished with the poisonous fish already. Her life as a fishing fool was paying off now. She knew her way around a fish. The blood had been skillfully drained, and overall, she was a step ahead when it came to gutting and cleaning.

...You think the Hunting Tool can turn into something like the Wunder Boner

I explained pointedly, looking at Seya, Trash III, and the other MC. Trash III responded by flipping me off. I could taunt with the best of them, and I mouthed some swear words back.

I mean, one of my favorite scenes in Isekai Quartet was Naofumi and Shalltear sassing each other, so I can agree with that.

“Pollution?” Kizuna asked, looking puzzled.

“You didn’t notice that?” I replied. “Well, just watch.” She wasn’t the brightest bulb, that was for sure.

“Hmmm, I think I need to go wash up,” the rotund noble said. “I’ll be right back.” The judges proceeded to take turns visiting the washroom. Once they had all returned, it was time to eat Seya’s food.

“Huh?” Kizuna, L’Arc, and Therese were looking puzzled. The other diners around us too. I guess there was cause for a little suspicion.

...Did Naofumi give them laxatives?

“Ah!” Kizuna finally cottoned on. “So that’s why you used so many medicinal herbs in your dishes!”

“Exactly. The reason they all wanted to go to the washroom after eating was to expel the toxins. I also used other herbs to bolster the lethargic feeling that would bring on,” I explained.

He gave the judges f**king laxatives! That's hilarious! I get the actual explanation he gives is more complicated than that, relating to purifying and digestion and getting them to finally take notice of the toxins in Seya's food now that they're free from its hold, but it's funny to think that's basically what he did. He won a cooking competition through dishes that encouraged the judges to take a sh*t (or a p*ss, I suppose).

“Hey . . . you’ve been reading too many cooking manga. It’s an illusion that delicious and good things will be evaluated highly. What you need is popularity and demand,” I said. Of course, it had to taste good, but putting the emphasis on that as a bare requirement was also a problem. If you were planning on selling food in a restaurant, of course it had to taste good. Customers came because of other elements, because of popularity. If Seya’s restaurant collapsed here, it would cause trouble for all the judges. That was why I’d created an escape for them. In order to realize the future that boy wanted.

While we don't see Naofumi selling his wares so much anymore because he has far less of a need to, it is nice we do still get that cynical and merchant side of him. All that time didn't just go to waste and it's still a key part of his character.

“What, then? What do you want?” Seya asked.

“There’s someone behind all of this, correct? Someone pulling the strings. If you tell us all about that, we’ll let you go. Hey, I have an idea. Write it down on this piece of paper here. I want a record of this.” I said and passed a piece of paper to him. Seya’s expression immediately brightened.

“That’s all you want? Fine, I can—” But the rest of that sentence vanished into an awful grunt. The moment Seya tried to write a single word, his head simply crumpled in on itself. He managed a brief scream, and then his entire melon exploded. I didn’t want to traumatize my allies, so I quickly threw up a cage and blocked out the grisly scene. Then I gave a sigh.

Well...that was kind of f**ked up for Naofumi to do. Don't get me wrong, after what they had to do to get Takt to be willing to confess, this is much less horrific. But Naofumi did basically just give Seya false hope and then trick him into executing himself. I get why he did it and how dangerous the vanguards are, but it is interesting to think that while ROTSH isn't the darkest of the light novel series I've been reading, Naofumi, save for Ainz Ooal Gown, is definitely the most morally grey of the protagonists compared to Kazuma, Subaru, and Goblin Slayer.

“No matter how delicious the food is, if you eat the same thing every time, you’ll start to get sick of it. Once you get sick of it, you won’t overeat simply because you won’t want to. I’ve been applying that concept to my food,”

That is better than what I was thinking with Naofumi getting too into the game mechanics. And boy do I feel for his friends. It's the same thing that killed me off of soda for a few years. Obviously it's worse to starve than be overstuffed but it's still not a pleasant experience.

We were talking about the primary reason why Kizuna was summoned here in the first place. To put it simply, the idea was to revive the Demon Dragon.

YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

And they Tanya'd him too; reborn as an infant of the opposite gender. So does that make Kizuna or Naofumi Being X?

“Seriously . . . it brings dragon tears to my dragon eyes to see you, the great Shield Hero who defeated me, now reduced to this.” The Demon Dragon placed her front paws against her head and muttered sadly to herself.

“I hope you aren’t looking for sympathy,” I said harshly.

“Just think about it for a moment. The same bunch who shouted about defeating me and saving the world are now back, having screwed everything up, relying on me—their sworn enemy—to save them! Take a look around. Does this world look like it’s at peace to you? Well?” the dragon said, really coming for me now. What was worse, I didn’t really have a reply. This world was still plagued by humans fighting each other and had been ravaged by the vanguards of the waves. Everything the dragon had said so far had been so on the money that Kizuna and Glass probably didn’t have any response either. “Can you see how this might feel like something from your own past? Having been chased as a criminal, and then having to clean up after those very weaklings who were chasing you after they had been beaten down by the waves and people from another world?” That punch really landed hard. I wanted to call it a low blow, but she was basically providing a stunningly succinct summary of my life in these other worlds.

Seriously though, after Kyo, Takt, and the various other vanguards, it is so refreshing to have a villain who speaks with some dignity and can actually make a decent point or two, rather than "I'm strong so I can do whatever I want! Losers!" In my vol. 16 random thoughts I compared Takt to All For One from My Hero Academia and I still feel the same way. The two are not that much different goal-wise. They wanted the world and had the power to make it theirs, thus their actions. It is an immature goal when you think about it but AFO did not act anywhere near as immature as Takt and it made him feel so much more intimating. He would sometimes mock his enemy but when he did they were deep cuts that he knew would get under the skin of someone he truly hated, like All Might, rather than just throwing out insults and acting like a brat. And the Demon Dragon is the same (the High Priest too, now that I remember him, even if I don't talk about him as much). I liked Glass as an antagonist because she was intimidating, spoke only as much as she needed to, and was very powerful compared to the protagonists at that time, getting Naofumi to fear facing her again and giving her weight to the story and for the audience. Finding out later her motivations gave her some depth and added grey to the situation. The Demon Dragon is not nearly as sympathetic, but he still works for a lot of the reasons she did. There's presence to him, er, her. It's not a brat who needs to be knocked off their high horse but a genuine threat.

And being able to work with the heroes weirdly makes that even better. The Demon Dragon calls a 100 year truce, not because she's on the side of good, but because she wants there to still be a world around for her to take over. She's completely open about her goal, which ironically makes it easier to trust her.

“That should do for now,” the dragon said. “Hmmm, and this is a female body. Excellent. Shield Hero, under the condition that you will ultimately mate with me, I shall provide even greater cooperation.” So that was how long it took for things to take a crazy turn.

Still a little weird that she wants to f**k Naofumi though. And when the anime gets to this part there is almost definitely going to be a fanfic or doujin. Actually, now that I think about it, there are going to be creators getting some mileage out of when the Demon Dragon tried to take Naofumi over earlier in the series.

“Can’t you make do with Kizuna? She’s one of the four holies from this world. You’ll just have to overcome the gender barrier,” I said.

“Why me?!” Kizuna exclaimed.

“What are you planning on doing to Kizuna?” Now Glass turned a hostile gaze on me too.

Ahh, Naofumi's such a d*ck, I love it. Also, now that's two rivals in one book for Glass. She's almost caught up with Raphtalia.

It would have suited us better if the enemy was a bunch of morons. It was annoying that life never worked out quite so easily. We had no idea how bad it was going to get with the waves, so we had to plan our moves carefully and move to prevent this “fusion of the worlds,” whatever that meant.

Wouldn't that be a heck of a comeback to my bitching about the villains? The ones behind the vanguards have been sending out their idiots first, the ones arrogant and drunk off their power, to soften up the heroes first and cause a bunch of damage but that they know will ultimately just get killed. Takt and the others getting offered up as sacrificial lambs basically because those like S'yne's sister don't like them either.

“I’m starting to feel sorry for Naofumi,” Kizuna agreed.

“He probably thinks you two are in the ‘harem,’” I told them.

“I really don’t like that,” Glass responded. “No, I don’t. I don’t like that at all.” I wasn’t sure why she said it three times, but I didn’t like it either. Just for the record.

“Naofumi is a friend and a comrade, but we’re not like that!” Kizuna retorted. I wondered if she really understood the situation. She was the type who needed things to be said directly to her face.

“A shame we don’t have Fohl here. Even L’Arc would have worked,” I said. Just a few guys mixed in might have broken the group up a bit and prevented it from looking like a harem.

“Naofumi . . . even if we did have some guys, it would probably just give them some different ideas. Like . . . boys love?” Kizuna said. It sounded like, whatever the composition of the party, they would presume a lewd relationship with me at the center.

You know, you never hear about this kind of thing with Ren and Itsuki. Motoyasu went out of his way to have a harem and he still doesn't get it thrown at him as much as Naofumi does. Maybe it's one of those "He protest too much" kind of mindsets, where the more Naofumi denies it the more people think it's true.

“You got lucky. If a wave had occurred with the world of our illustrious leader, we were planning on shattering you. That’s the problem with this system; that’s the only way to get the reward for destroying a world,” the sister explained. I’d heard this talk about rewards for destroying worlds before, I vaguely recalled. I had no idea where that reward came from.

So there's a third world mixed up in all this. Obviously there already was the implication of multiple universes with S'yne and such but now there's a big spotlight on somewhere besides Raphtalia and Kizuna's worlds, where the big bad supposedly lives.

“That’s pretty much what I was expecting. Shield Hero, let me tell you something interesting,” the Demon Dragon began. Then she looked at the Artificial Behemoth’s chest again. “That part there houses a corrupted holy weapon from this world, which has artificially turned the monster into one of the four holy heroes and has allowed it all the power-up methods. It’s basically the monster version of a holy hero.”

I'm somewhat suspecting it's the Blunt Force Holy Weapon, given how easily that beast is smashing through barriers.

The soul that Raphtalia had pulled from the vanguard of the waves was not much like the body it had come from. Instead, it was a gloomy, Japanese-looking guy who was probably in his thirties.

...

“The vanguards of the waves are people who have been reborn or transferred over here after being selected by the one who assumes the name of God. They are given all sorts of abilities, such as the power to steal holy weapons or seven star weapons. They come into these worlds and start causing chaos,” I explained.

“Reborn? You mean like having spare bodies, like Kyo?” Raphtalia asked.

“No, something else. Just their souls were led to this world from Japan, and then they were reborn here as someone from this world. With their memories of the past,” I said. For example, they are people who died in unfortunate accidents—people like Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. This “god” would whisper to them that they had died an untimely death and offer to reincarnate them in any world they liked. They were already dead and so had no reason to reject such an offer. If they did, the “god” probably claimed to be taken with their resolve and promised to give them additional cheat powers, basically forcing them to accept. In some cases, maybe they were just forced to be reborn, no matter what they felt. I’d read books like that, loads of them. Now that they knew being summoned to another world was actually a thing, why not getting reborn or transferred over?

So I was right about Takt being some OC f**kboy! They're all OCs! They're people from Japan who died and now are getting to live out their sh*tty power fantasy fanfiction as their equally sh*tty original character! As a source of useful but disposable minions, that's actually kind of brilliant. We saw how bad Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki had been at the beginning (with Naofumi himself potentially on that path as well before he was betrayed) and they were chosen by weapons that actually have the world's best interest at heart. Take those same people and have a malevolent entity constantly feeding their egos and pushing them to do terrible things because "it's their right to do so" and "they're the real heroes" and you've got an near endless source of wrenches to throw into the works of those trying to stop you.

Of course, now I just have this image in my head that the World Eater is Aqua from Konosuba. Which would actually be kind of amazing, not gonna lie. A godly being reincarnating otakus from Japan into a new fantasy-based world for a singular purpose and giving them special powers and tools in exchange.

“What if . . . and just hear me out . . . what if this one who assumes the name of a god is somehow responsible for my game knowledge?” Itsuki quietly suggested. That sounded possible to me now. Even if being summoned was the correct process, having some prior knowledge would change your actions once you arrived.

Before, when the Shield Spirit had explained to Naofumi that he was a first pick choice and the other three heroes were their weapons' third picks, I'd theorized as to why and how the final selection ended up. Assuming the weapons were telling the truth about being able to grant any wish once the waves were over, it could be assumed they have some power over reality even in the four's home universe. So I'd theorized the weapons set up a window to snag their picks, with the shield getting Naofumi and the other weapons, by sheer unfortunance, had their picks keep missing the window and thus they became more desperate, thus why their third picks had to die in order to reincarnate because the weapons couldn't leave things to chance anymore.

Now, with the new speculation and info, we can assume the World Eater has some influence over other universes too, including the heroes' original ones. So two new theories come to mind.

The first, and one I find most likely, is that the World Eater is causing video games that are similar to the worlds impacted by the waves to appear in the original worlds of the heroes. In theory, the butterfly effect could cause a chain of events that'd lead to such games existing, so it's not like the World Eater is just dropping them into each reality. It would just need to nudge things in the right direction. If video game knowledge is actually detrimental to the heroes, then that leaves less choices for the Holy Weapons (at least in regards to what their ideal candidates would be) and opens up more choices for the World Eater, since it wants arrogant and know-it-alls like that for vanguards.

The second, which could still work with the first, is that the World Eater is aware of humans the Holy Weapons have their eyes on and is actively sabotaging them. A weapon has a first choice, so the World Eater throws the game or other things in their path to turn them into a less desirable option, possibly even vanguard material.

After all my comments about the recent antagonists, S'yne's sister is starting to grow on me. She's filling a similar role as Witch; manipulating and using people before ultimately tossing them aside. But like the Demon Dragon and High Priest, there is more of an air of dignity about her than with Witch. With the exception of her sister, she's not really talking down and belittling anyone to try and promote her own strength. Like Glass she feels like someone who is genuinely powerful and doesn't need to prove it. How she's using the enemies of the week is curious and perhaps even a little scary because it does feel like she's testing and experimenting and these losses are not really a loss for her. And there's the added mystery Sadeena threw in over what she really wants. Whether bad guy with a bigger agenda or a secret good guy, she's more enjoyable to read about, as opposed to the vanguards where the biggest enjoyment they offer is watching them get taken down, and even that's not much with all the whining and tantrums they have after they're beaten. She's different from Witch and Kyo. She's not completely high off her own power and doesn't refuse to recognize her enemies' strength. Her casually teleporting away for a bit when she realized the battle was turning in the heroes' favor gave a ton to her character.

I'm just looking forward to when she gets a name other than S'yne's sister or Moron Woman. I appreciate Naofumi's completely lack of caring for learning the names of people who don't deserve it, but if she's going to be a serious antagonist or secret ally, a name would help.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/kdwai7/first_time_read_through_light_novel_vol_18_random/

#rising of the shield hero #random thoughts #reddit repost

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tuiyla · 4 years ago

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So I finally watched The Owl House

I wish I’d do this with every show I watch but it seems like only a lucky few get the She-Ra style rant of love treatment. Well, I finally watched The Owl House after my dash having been flooded for the past couple of weeks and I have some thoughts. Slight spoilers below.

First off, I love the whole vibe. I had a faint idea that this show would be about magic but I didn’t know much before watching - except for one thing, we’ll get back to that. The way it builds its world and deals with magic, though, is so refreshing. And I just have to mention here that I laughed out loud at all the Harry Potter jabs, they were hilarious. I expect we’ll learn much more about magic and its users as the show goes on but as far as the first season goes the introduction was really solid. It strikes the right balance between leaving things to the imagination but being more than “wave wand and magic happens”. It’s colourful, it’s creative, and I even like the ovens and school tracks, despite knowing that the story is about not conforming to those. It makes the Boiling Isles unique and make me want to learn more about the world even beyond the characters and the main plot.

TOH also presents a world that’s much more macabre than I was expecting from the Disney Channel, not that that’s a bad thing. I found myself thinking of Adventure Time at certain points and pondering, at scary moments, how kids would react. I think kids love this, though, and besides, nothing can be more scarring than Courage the Cowardly Dog was. It’s not that terrifying, of course, just daring enough to stand out. Overall the show has what I would classify as more of a Cartoon Network vibe than a Disney Channel one, but I admittedly haven’t really been following many Disney shows. In any case, I dig it. I dig the weird creatures and the beautiful backgrounds and I appreciate how alive the Boiling Isles feel. It doesn’t take long for TOH to immerse you in its world so I’m for one am hooked.

I make a big deal of loving the world itself because rarely does it happen that world-building stands out to me so soon in a series. I do love carefully constructed fantasy worlds but for the most part I’m more interested in the characters themselves. Here, I’d say it’s close to being a 50-50, which is something that even Avatar can’t say with its elemental masterclass in world-building (which is mostly because the character depth there is unrivaled but still). So yeah, kudos to The Owl House for achieving this. From Luz’s glyph magic to the covens and the titans, I’m excited to explore this world more.

Now, the characters. The real meat of any story. Starting with Luz, I have seen some criticism that she’s a generic hero so far, the “I’m a weirdo”, heart of gold, upbeat variety. I don’t think this makes her bland, though I do admit that being told over and over again that she’s weird makes me less engaged, even she’s also shown to be weird. I like the message of her arc and that the chosen one trope was deconstructed almost right away. I like that she’s relentlessly enthusiastic and kind to people and I like that she doesn’t have to get more bitter in order to get development. Instead, she learns from her mistakes but keeps being herself and brings her unique spirit to the Boiling Isles. We need protagonists like Luz, not just because she’s latina and bisexual but because her learning process doesn’t involve cynicism. Sure, there is a lot she needs to learn but her heart is presented as an asset and a sort of source of magic. I’m excited to see where her story goes, for sure.

I’m gonna write briefly about the other characters before I get to my favourite one. Eda is super cool and I quickly got over the fact that she’s not Beatrice Horseman, lol. She embodies such a youthful energy but the show also allows her to be a middle-aged woman comfortable in her own body - well, owl curse notwithstanding. Also, her relationship with Lilith is one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Eda subverts so many of the mentor’s traditional tropes and I’m here for it. I kinda thought she was the villain based on her design and when I didn’t know anything about the show but hey, happy she’s not.

I don’t think I’d even seen a picture of King before starting to watch the series and at first I thought I’d get tired of him real quick. He’s the type of character who can get really annoying instead of endearing really fast if he’s not given any depth or charm, both by way of writing and voice acting. Luckily, I ended up liking King and his antics. His design is indeed adorable and Alex Hirsch is a genius. The only time I felt like he went too far was, perhaps surprisingly, in the book writing episode, “Sense and Insensitivity”, but even there going too far was the point. So yeah, King’s also great, there’s much potential in his backstory and general character.

Alright so really quickly, other characters: Willow and Gus are generic best friend characters and though they already have other things going on, I expect more development as the series progresses. I like that Willow is actually super powerful, just not in the way people expected her to and Gus is clearly also talented despite being younger. I’d be happy to see more of the other kids, get more familiar with Hexside. Edric and Emira are fun characters but they were really shitty in their first episode so I was kind of surprised they weren’t more of a nuisance to Amity later on. I’m all for supportive siblings so I wouldn’t mind a good relationship between the three but I feel like it’s more complicated than that with the Blights.

Finally, I also have to mention that Hooty is... well, quite something, isn’t he. Much like with King, I thought he’d be much more annoying but somehow the show is self-aware enough that it makes Hooty tolerable. I’m almost always torn between feeling sorry for him and being thoroughly weirded out, and I think that’s the intention? It’s fitting that he’s the titular character as he embodies the tone of The Owl House well in my eyes. He’s there for the comedy but there’s just enough there to hint at something more. Very bizarre, strong CN vibes, here for it.

Now that I’ve written a paragraph more about Hooty than I expected to, let’s talk about Amity. Listen, no other character stood a chance to be my favourite as soon as I learned Mae Whitman voiced Amity. That woman gave me Katara so now I have a quasi Pavlovian response to her voice. I’d also say that I knew more about Amity going into the show than I did about any other aspect of TOH. I heard somewhere that she started out as an antagonist, I knew her parents were abusive, and the reason the show blew up on my dash and my general online bubble is the Grom episode. Lucikly I only saw stills of Lumity beneath the crescent moon but the pure Sapphic energy of that was enough to gay migrate me to this show. I’d like to note it here though that The Owl House is a good show in and of itself, the queer rep is just a nice extra. I’m gonna spend the next couple hundred words going on about Amity and her crush on Luz but I don’t value only that. The Gay Migration is great and rep is great but I’m also grateful to have a solid show behind it. That being said.

I’m a total dyke for Amity Blight. I was very biased before even being introduced to her character but I genuinely find her to be fascinating and she has great potential. She’s developing quite quickly, like much of The Owl House, but an arc not being stretched out for several seasons before getting a rushed conclusion is refreshing. The progress hits all the beats and the only note I have is that I want more. She starts out as a generic bully but the opportunity to be more is there from the beginning. We find out early on that she used to be friends with Willow, we see that she works hard and values honest work. When she becomes Luz’s rival, it doesn’t last long before Amity shows that she’s open to new perspectives. That’s not to defend or even justify her earlier and nastier moments, Amity was rude to both Luz and Willow. But through all that, she becomes a complex character who does bad things but isn’t a bad person and grows when she gets the space to. I think that’s neat.

Luz’s decision to befriend her might be cartoon logic but as someone who subscribes to the “kill them with kindness” ideology, I can totally relate. Amity’s softer side doesn’t take long to show and “Lost in Language” is such a great episode to show how complex people can be. Again, I was already biased when it came to Amity but she’s consistently shown to be capable of self-reflection and growth when others give her the chance. I think her past and potential future friendship with Willow is a great way to explore many different topics and I’m trusting the show to do it justice. I also can’t wait to meet the rest of the Blights, if only to get me some angst and further develop Amity. I half expected Grom to take the form of her parents. Too dark for Disney? Well, we don’t know Amity’s dynamic with her parents, exactly, but there’s so much subtext and potential. I love what we’ve already seen from her but I’d also say that she has one of the greatest potentials in the show.

Another way in which this potential manifests is Lumity, of course. Again, they’re developing quite quickly but that doesn’t mean it’s rushed. I’d love to explore Amity’s crush more and what Luz means to her. The Grom episode surpassed all expectations, still and gifs don’t do the stunning dance sequence justice. The animation is so smooth, the colours are amazing, the music is on point and the Sapphic vibes complete the picture. Poetic cinema, truly. Molly Ostertag and Noelle Stevenson are really out there giving wlw animation fans everything we ever wanted, huh. It also warms my heart that the crush is made very clear, not just by Luz’s name being on the note but by the delightful gay disaster that is Amity in “Wing It Like Witches”. I never thought I’d ever see such a relatable useless lesbian in animation so kudos to Dana Terrace and the whole crew. Wow, how far we’ve come.

So yeah, Amity is a funky little lesbian and I’m a 100% here for her gay disaster moments, but I also love where Lumity is going thematically. They’re great as foils and I’m hoping that they won’t get together at the very end. Look, I love me some Bubbline, Korrasami and Catradora, but it’s time a wlw relationship had the chance to exist onscreen and not only in the last episode. The Owl House has a great chance to do that. I know the creators don’t want romance to be the main focus and I respect that, I think the world they created deserves to showcased and explored to its full potential. Lumity could be a great subplot though, as representation on the one hand and as a thematically interesting dynamic on the other. Plus, Luz and Amity are just cute and sometimes, it’s as simple as that. Oh, and also the whole Little Miss Perfect thing? One of the best fandom discoveries I’ve made in a long while. Not only is the song truly perfect for Amity, I love that Joriah Kwamé went on to write Ordinary as well. This right here is why fandom is beautiful.

I think that’s about it for season 1 initial thoughts. The moral can be a bit on the nose at times, especially in the early episodes but the show is ultimately for kids and I appreciate its message. Interesting world and magic system, good characters, great potential for later seasons, just a well put together show that I’m really glad I started watching. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t keep up with season 1 as it was coming out but I would not have been able to wait between episodes. The pacing is good overall, deffo moves fast but I wouldn’t call it rushed, and the “filler” episodes still add something to the story. I’m not sure if I would still feel like the show moves at a fast pace if I hadn’t binged it but in any case it isn’t rushed, the necessary beats are all there and have time to sit. I’m going to watch as it comes out from now on so hopefully season 2 will arrive early next year.

Oh, and: I’m very new to the fandom, barely just found out about Little Miss Perfect, so any and all tidbits, fun facts, and fic recommendations are welcome. Also if you just want to chat my inbox is always open!

#the owl house #toh #amity blight #lumity #luz noceda #my thoughts #down another rabbit hole i go

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fluffi · 4 years ago

Text

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 | 𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐍

pairing: taehyun x reader

genre: 30% fluff, 70% angst, masquerade!au, prince!taehyun, antagonist!reader

word count: 3.8k

author’s note: I know halloween is over but I couldn’t get this out in time (I wrote the entire story in like 2 days) so it’s finally out now! my first time writing such deep angst (i am crazy). Surprisingly, I really like it, so look forward to more works like this in the coming year!

warnings: major character death, descriptions of seizures, mass murdering, mentions of fire, mentions of knifes, soul sucking, ghosts, killing, vague descriptions of dead bodies, feeling of being lonely, detailed descriptions of slashing throats

- - -

6.58PM | FRIDAY | 13 OCTOBER

“So, you finally decided to show up, huh?” Soobin side-eyed the blonde-haired boy, and sighed, shaking his head.

Kang Taehyun wasn’t one to go to balls and parties. He would much rather stay home and read a good book from his own humongous library, while sipping on a good cup of coffee by the fire. He wasn’t interested in the free food, since he could ask for that anytime in the comfort of his own home. Taehyun certainly wasn’t interested in the commoners who would follow him anytime they spotted him, or his father’s obnoxious friends. However, after hearing that tonight’s event was a masquerade, he decided to attend just for the fun of it. Little did he know, this vague decision would change him, forever.

“Well, yeah. I did, Soobin. Is it a big deal?”

Taehyun looked up at Soobin with squinted eyes through his sequined handmade mask, signalling that he was done with the conversation. How Soobin could tell it was him, he didn’t know. He thought that with the mask and different colored hair he could become an anonymous guest, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

“Yes, Taehyun, it's a big deal! You never show up to any party and suddenly, BAM! You pop up out of the blue wearing a velvet red coat and a white ruffled shirt. What’s your ulterior motive, huh?” Soobin squinted back at him.

“I don’t have any motives, Soobin. I’m just here because it's a masked party and no one should’ve been able to tell that I’m Kang Taehyun. However, that seems to have already failed because here you are blabbering to me about how I can’t even show up to one party.”

Soobin sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the railing behind him.

“Well, since you’re here, I need a favor from you.”

Taehyun groaned. “No, no, please don’t. I’ve had enough of your weird shenanigans. I’m not going to be your model for photography class again, or accompany you to climb Ruby Mountain just so you can pick flowers for your dumb bouquet crafting class.”

“Wow, excuse me! What’s with your petty attitude? Number one, bouquet crafting class is not dumb, it’s a new art form. Number two, this is not one of my ‘weird shenanigan’ favors, I just need you to talk to this girl I’m friends with.”

“I swear, Choi Soobin, are you trying to set me up?” Taehyun grimaced and looked at Soobin in disgust.

Soobin waved his hands in front of him in defense and blurted, “No, of course not! She just wants to talk to you to help her get something? I think? She didn’t explain it to me in detail. If you want to know, you should go ask her yourself.”

On any other night, Taehyun would’ve immediately rejected and made his way home. However, today was a special night, why not give it a go?

7.05PM

Taehyun frowned at the sight in front of him. She looks so out of place here, what is Soobin setting me up for?

“What do you want? Make it quick. I have places to go and things to do.” He tapped his foot and looked at his watch. She probably just wants royal connections, like everyone else..

“Hi, prince Taehyun. Oh wait, I’m sorry, no. Your majesty, good ev- ugh, no. That’s not right. Your highness, I have come to request a favor from you.” You clumsily curtsied, and looked at Taehyun with quivering eyes.

“Okay, cut the crap. Why are you really here? I wouldn’t be surprised if you just robbed me or-”

“Oh, no! I just need your help with...um..how should I explain this…” You glanced at the floor, and fiddled with the loose thread on your cheap tacky gown.

Taehyun sighed. “Look. Talk to me when you’ve figured things out. Otherwise, stop wasting my time.” He was about to stalk off when you suddenly shouted from behind.

“Okay, I’m sorry! Here’s what I need. I need you to sneak me in your chamber lab in the Kang Castle so I can grab...my...uh...things! Yes, my things! I left something there and I want it back!”

Taehyun stopped in his tracks and turned back. “I’m a prince. Out of all the favors you could ask me for, all you want is this? You could’ve just asked someone else.”

You were running out of ways to convince him. “Well, I need your help because there’s something I want to show you too! My new creation!” There, that should work. People like him get intrigued over inventions and such. All they want is money. This will make them money.

That statement alone persuaded Taehyun to let a mere stranger into his castle, his home, and let someone he barely knew into a room full of gadgets and dangerous items.

Kang Taehyun was an intellectual, but he should’ve known that curiosity always kills the cat.

- - -

7.29PM

“I’m so sorry, I never asked for your name.”

“Oh, it’s Y/N L/N! Nice to meet you!” You waved and innocently smiled. It was like you had forgotten that you were talking to a prince.

Y/N L/N. He mouthed the two words carefully. They sounded very familiar, and he felt like he had heard the combination of the two words before somewhere in conversation.

Taehyun expected that he would be going home early at some point in the masquerade party, but not with any girl. He wasn’t interested in courting anyone, but he knew that either way, his time would come and he would be arranged with a princess from a neighboring kingdom. However, he didn’t like you like that. He didn’t even know you, and he didn’t know what took over him when he amenably agreed to taking you with him.

“So, Prince Kang, how-“

“Just Taehyun.”

“Well, Just Taehyun, let’s get to know each other better! I’ve been friends with Soobin for a long, long time. We met when we were ten, in the Fenced Forest outside. We-“

“Wait, I’m sorry. Fenced Forest? Royals aren’t allowed to go there. Wha...how did Soobin manage to get out?”

Taehyun was the king of manners, but curiosity got the best of him and he just had to butt in. Soobin was the second prince of Choi Kingdom, the first being Choi Yeonjun and the third being Choi Beomgyu, who would follow suit after Soobin. Princes are usually kept under high security. There’s no way he could’ve gone out by himself without getting caught. Plus, who is this weird lady? She seems to be a commoner, how did she enter a high-end party without getting caught?

“Oh! About that...I snuck him out!” You proudly exclaimed, acting like it was the best Samaritan deed you had ever done.

Taehyun’s eyes enlarged twice its size. “You...you…” he was at a loss for words. Secretly, he wanted someone to sneak him out as well, but he was never going to say that.

Before you could respond with your weird, quirky remarks. The carriage stopped to a halt and the chauffeur in front got off, opening the side door for the two of you.

He stood at the side and gestured with a gloved hand to the front of the castle.

“Welcome back home, Prince Kang.”

Taehyun expected a similar welcome statement to be said to you, but the chauffeur only bowed at him, and nearly slammed the door in your face as you were exiting the gold carriage.

That’s so weird. Our chauffeurs always greet guests. Why was he so rude to Y/N?

The chauffeur was also wondering why Prince Kang was talking to himself just now on the ride home, but he didn’t dare to confront his dear prince and decided to just let the questionable behavior slide.

The both of you made your way inside, and began climbing the long flights of stairs to the Chamber Lab, which was on the highest floor of the Kang Castle.

- - -

8.38PM

“...right! He called me a buffoon, and then kicked me out! Who even does that?”

The both of you cracked up and a steel door came into view. The entrance to Chamber Lab.

You and Taehyun had been having mindless chatter in the past 45 minutes, and the both of you had bonded over a lot of things the two of you didn’t know you had in common. Alas, you both had reached the top.

Taehyun removed a key from the inner pocket of his coat, which you eyed warily, and he slid it inside the keyhole. With a rusty groan, the door popped open and you cautiously followed Taehyun inside.

Yes! Just as I expected! Everyone is at the masquerade party, so there’s no one inside right now. Plan A is working perfectly, you thought to yourself. In front of you, Taehyun glanced around at the empty lab. He removed his mask and set it aside on an empty table.

Taehyun didn’t really know what to think right now, He had caught feelings for you within the past hour. What are you thinking? You just met this commoner girl, and suddenly you want to court her?

The problem was that he really liked you, a lot. It wasn’t everyday he got to talk to someone without feeling like he was a royal. You completely ignored the social norms of this century and treated him like a friend, like an equal. The only other experience he had with people like this were the Choi brothers. To be frank, he was getting quite sick of them.

You were tinkering with a few buttons on a panel, and Taehyun looked back in shock and panic. “Y/N! You’re not supposed to touch that! Let’s just grab your things and we can go!”

“Well, Taehyun, remember the invention I wanted to show you? Come here.” You walked over to a translucent cylinder, and beckoned him to come over. Taehyun reluctantly shuffled over.

“Hey, Y/N, you forgot to take off your mask. Let me do it for you.” He was about to grab the elastic off your head, when you slapped his arm off fiercely. You tried to mask your angry expression with a small giggle.

“No! I like it, it’s quirky. Leave me alone.” You winked at him and he frowned at you.

The air had shifted, you knew you were running out of time.

“Okay, anyways. You want to see my invention, right? Ta-da!” You jazzed your hands in front of the green cylinder. “Go inside! It’s going to be fun!”

“And why should I trust you?” Taehyun quirked an eyebrow up and stepped back.

“Because! Because we’re friends! I trust you, so you trust me too!”

Taehyun reluctantly stepped into the small opening of the green cylinder. Maybe this thing is fun, it might send me flying. Heck! It could even help dad make some money!

You snickered to yourself and pressed a large red button on the side of the cylinder. The opening flap shut tight, creating an impossible-to-open vacuum seal. Taehyun was trapped inside, he just didn’t know it yet.

“Hey, Kang! You want to see me remove my mask right?” You smirked.

He nodded and shouted through the cylinder, “You look so weird with it!”

Wait till you see me without my mask, then you won’t be laughing anymore.

You slowly slid off your cheap off-brand feather mask, and innocently looked up at Taehyun.

Wait. I recognize her. Isn’’t she on my textbook? The front cover? L/N Kingdom...massacre...L/N Family...royal family killed…

All the memories from what he thought were useless history lessons were all rushing back to him.

“The Kang Massacre. A historical event of mass killing that changed the 5 neighboring kingdoms forever. Taehyun II, your great grandfather, ordered and arranged the burning of the L/N Kingdom’s royal palace. He hadn’t intended to spread the fire any further, but it hit the commoner’s village and in three days, the entire kingdom had burned down.” Taehyun could remember word-for-word what his teacher had said.

“...Y/N L/N was the oldest of the kingdom’s five children. Displaying amazing capabilities, she had the potential to be the next queen. Her body was found in her sister’s nursery room and placed in a special green cylinder for examination and autopsy. She was the only one of the five children to not be buried but cremated. Y/N L/N displayed amazing capabilities and had the potential to become the first queen of L/N Kingdom. If only such a tragic event hadn’t happened. Anyways, moving on! The biggest factor…”

It was all coming back now. He had seen a painted portrait of her on the front cover of his history textbook and he knew that this Y/N L/N was exactly the same as the Y/N L/N he had learned about. Their hair was the same, facial features, the same scar on her left cheekbone never left. He was getting scared, and he wanted to get out of the green cylinder fast.

“Um...uh….this is all fun and whatever, but what are you planning to do?” He was trying to keep his cool, but you could clearly hear the tremble in his voice.

“Cut the crap, Kang Taehyun. I know you know who I am. Let me tell you why I’m here.”

You, finally able to reveal your true self as a ghost, slid over the tables and went through the chairs to float right in front of Taehyun, while menacingly smirking and mocking his frightened expression.

“Let’s see...where should I begin? Ah, yes, the night I died. It was all your great granddad’s fault. All of it. The stupid idiot and my father got into a small argument and he decided to burn us all up into flames. I still remember that night vividly. I was in Aera’s room, playing with her and her new dolls. Next thing I know, smoke enters the room, followed by my coughing mother. She stands in front of Aera’s nursery and mumbles, ‘Y/N, revenge. Y/N, revenge.’ Mother collapses, and I fall into unconsciousness afterwards.”

You sidle up to Taehyun and (attempt to) press your nose against the sealed cylinder. “How is it, huh? Enjoying the story so far?”

Taehyun doesn’t respond. Regardless, you continue.

“When I wake up, I’m not in my body anymore. No, no, no, I’m looking at my dead body, in that green cylinder. It’s at that moment that I realize, I’ve turned into a freaking ghost. A ghost! I don’t have a body and this is my life now! At that point in time, I wished I could’ve ended this, but right now I love it. I have been alive for two hundred years and I will never die, or age. One day, I suddenly remembered about my mother’s last words, revenge. I swore upon myself to avenge for the death of my family and my entire kingdom, and started my plan to kill every single one of your family. Do you know where this is going?”

Taehyun is in the midst of trying to open the vacuum seal when you go through the cylinder and grimace at him. Taehyun shouts in surprise and scrambles all the way back until his body is plastered onto the cylinder walls and he cannot go any further.

You looked down at him with mock empathy and continuing telling your life story. “Well, I started with grabbing tools for my little plan. I was in Fenced Forest one day, and guess who I met? Ho ho ho, I met your dear friend, Choi Soobin. I wasn’t expecting to get so close to him, but when I found out that he was a close buddy of yours, I decided to keep the friendship, thinking that it may come into use later, and it did. I have been waiting for this exact moment my entire life. I was the one who convinced Soobin to ask his father to do a masquerade party, and I was the one who convinced him to invite you, even though he said you would never show up. Guess what? You did. Big mistake.” You enunciated the ‘I’s”, and gleamed proudly at the quivering boy.

“After doing some research downtown, I found out that this green cylinder that you’re in right now has the power to control the souls of mortals. I spent years and years recreating this invention, and now, it’s ready. For you. Do you want to know what will happen to you here?”

Taehyun slowly shook his head and looked down at the ground, trying to see if there was an exit somewhere.

There wasn’t any place to escape, anywhere. Taehyun’s body was stuck inside, and the only way he could escape was if his soul left his body behind, but he didn’t know that yet.

You squealed in excitement. You had been waiting for this moment your entire life, and you wanted to drag it on for as long as possible. “Guess what? I’m going to tell you anyway! I will click this cute little blue button on my right, which will suck out your soul! Did you hear that? Your soul! Then I will enter your empty corpse, and I will become Kang Taehyun! No one will know, because they won’t be able to tell. I can do anything I want when I’m in your body. Do you know what I’m going to do when I become you, stupid Kang Taehyun? I am going to go to your father’s throne room when no one else is around except him, and I will slash his throat, nice and slow. I will watch the life seep out from his dead body and then you know what I, as you, will do? I will burn his corpse in the throne room, and leave. I will walk around every inch of this idiotic palace and set fire to every part of it, until every single part of this castle is lit in flames. Oh, no! Aren’t you scared? Don’t worry, by that time every peasant, merchant, servant, and royal of the Kang Kingdom, will be dead. Fun, right?”

Taehyun tried slowly processing the information you were throwing at him. This is a dream. It’s a nightmare. Ms. Patricia, the housekeeper, will wake me up from my slumber anytime now. Y/N doesn’t exist, you never liked her. He pinched his skin and knocked on the surface of the cylinder.

Sadly, he was still very much alive. “Let me out! You idiotic psycho! I didn’t do anything my great grandfather did! I’m not him. We are two completely different people and the person you want to kill isn’t me, its him, but he’s dead. Give up, Y/N. Your mother’s words have already come to life a long time ago. My great grandfather died from an assassination.”

You tilted your head in response. You didn’t know about this piece of information. However, you had wasted too much time to figure out a way of sucking Taehyun’s soul out of his body that you just couldn’t believe him. You had gone ballistic. You had to end the Kang legacy, just like how his ancestors did for your family legacy.

“Sounds like false information to me. I am not going to stop here just because of one measly statement. I have been working for this for more than a hundred years, and I’m not letting my hard effort go to waste. Oh, won’t poor Soobinnie be so sad to hear that his good friend murdered his own family and kingdom. Whoopsies.” You stuck your tongue out and shrugged.

Taehyun realized that giving you false information wasn’t to get him out of this mess, so he resorted to pleading. “Please, Y/N. This is not my fault. I’m sorry, we can get over this. I can give you anything you want. Money? Rooms? Clothes? Heck, I can even give you love!”

You scowled at his cowering figure. “I want your empty body. I don’t want anything else. You are going to give it to me regardless.” You glided over to the blue button and hovered your arm over it.

“Any last words?”

“I...Y/N…I truly liked you. You were a nice person, and I know you still are. Deep down, you have real emotions and I’m sure you possess some form of empathy. Please Y/N. You can stop now. Is it because for all these years, no one cared for you? Did no one ask you how you were, or what you wanted? Well, I’m here. I can help you. I can give you a better life. You will be able to tell me anything and have everything. Please, Y/N...this is not the real you. You don’t have to do this.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, and you turned away from Taehyun to hide your vulnerability.

“I don’t need anyone or anything. I just want you gone. You don’t know me. I don’t want a better life. I want to avenge for my family and my kingdom. The Kang Kingdom has to pay for what they have done, and this is the only method that will suffice.”

While you sniffled and sobbed, you turned back to a teary Taehyun, and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

As more floods of tears came rolling down your face, you pressed the blue button, and looked away.

Taehyun’s body contorted back and forth, turning blue and eyes dilating. His corpse rose into the air and his limbs flailed back and forth, as if they were screaming for help. He could no longer control his body, and he couldn’t do anything about the agonizing pains that were seeping in. With one last jolt, his limp body fell back to the ground, returning to its normal color.

You peeked through the hands covering your eyes at the sight in front of you, and immediately, all empathy and sympathy from before disappeared. Taehyun’s soul had been disposed into another dimension, and he was now the least of your worries.

No one had talked to you like that before, no one had understood you so easily. No one seemed to care, until you met Taehyun.

Well, he was gone. You didn’t have to worry about showing your true emotions again.

You floated over to his empty corpse, and with a deep breath, you pushed down a small lever under the deck of the cylinder.

With a whirring noise, the cylinder started shaking, and you felt yourself fall into unconsciousness.

- - -

10.49PM

The guards all wondered what happened to Taehyun. It was like he had changed into a completely different person. He lost all forms of his mannerisms, and was rude to anything and everyone. The only person he treated decently was Choi Soobin, who had come to visit him after hearing about the events taking place. Even then, he had changed drastically within just three hours.

Taehyun walked past the two stationed guards outside the king’s throne room, who politely bowed to him. He completely ignored them and continued sauntering inside.

When the small ray of light from outside peeked through the translucent window, the item in Taehyun’s back pocket could be seen with a metallic shine. The guards should have questioned it, as well as the lit match he was holding when he walked inside.

- - -

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neonjawbone · 4 years ago

Note

What else do you like about rwby besides monster lady?

Rambling ahead since U ASKED

I just genuinely got invested in it- me and my roommate couldn’t get it out of our heads after watching hbomberguys RWBY is Disappointing and Here’s Why (a 2 and a half hour long critical dissection of the many, MANY problems with it’s first 3 seasons) and we decided, hey, it’s honestly not that big of a time sink. What if we watched it. Like as a goof. In that ironic way us 20-something’s do things.

And we just genuinely had a good time with it??

Somewhere around volume 6 we stopped saying “This show might be good?” to “I think this show is good?”

-I think it’s got a lot of fun characters once it actually stops to develop them, it’s got FUN bad guys (Salem’s whole group, but particularly Tyrian, Arthur, and Cinder are GREAT)

-the fight choreography is really good-

the soundtrack is full of errant slappers.

-Ironwood’s antagonistic arc from troubled man doing what he thinks is right to paranoid martial maniac gunning people down for standing in his way is COMPELLING as hell.

Idk!! I think the writing/animation/voice acting all improved around the time that it actually settled on what the plot was to the point that I thought Volume 7 was just a GOOD TIME. I mean it was a bad time but it was a good time.

This isn’t to say it doesn’t have some Major Issues. Most of the interactions between any given Boy and Girl early on is pretty rough (This is a Neptune Hate-Blog). There’s....representation issues. A lot of the writing is pretty hamfisted early on and having to get through like 5 or 6 seasons before a show gets Good isn’t ideal. PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING INVOLVING THE FAUNUS/WHITE FANG IS. ROUGH. Perhaps we shouldn’t have made civil rights activists our Bad Guys Huh. At least by volume 7 pretty much everything involving that plotline seems to have basically been written out/taken care of, but WHO KNOWS.

I do recc watching that hbomb video regardless, he goes way more in depth then I have a mind to.

RWBY spends a lot of time retconning things and re-establishing “no THIS is what the plot is” but if you can get past that and don’t mind a little bit of a time sink, it can be a fun show with cool characters/fights and genuinely compelling stakes.

Anyway stan Arthur Watts.

#nj talks #no art here #asks

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skaianet · 4 years ago

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so i swapped them hives (act 2) and...

huh i have some thoughts. like gameplay thoughts and some tinfoil story thoughts. spoilers below, obviously

- i loved the game, generally speaking. the grand majority of the puzzles were good and the writing had good moments and it did make me laugh/chuckle out loud a several times

- character writing was fun, except for some parts. even then im not sure if the characters were written bad or if i just got mad at the game and it made me bored of the characters

- the “parts” im speaking of is actually just one big part which you probably guessed right away. THE TRIAL. it was genuinely fucking awful. the game was great before and after it, but that single thing just dragged on way too long and was god damn obtuse (though i was playing it at...... 3 am or something. maybe not the best time for detective work but oh well. tyzias i hope your hand isnt sore from all the holding)

- everything else besides the trial was great. to give an overall rating for act 2 would be difficult due to such a wild disparity in gameplay quality.

- the other puzzles were good. i had to use the hint button only a few times outside the trial for genuine clues. the last puzzle is fresh in my mind because in the end i just kinda spammed the button to be sure i was safe to break the glass/turn the switch because i didnt want to do the whole process over after failing so many times. that was annoying but otherwise the puzzles were cool in my book.

- OBSERVATIONS: some early parts seemed disjointed, like right at the very beginning (after the explosion, in the cave and the bee farm). There were some weird excuses to cover the fact joey and xefros just somehow ended up to the cave. Also it was OBVIOUS the screens from the cave didn’t lead up to the farm properly. We’ve seen in-development animations and screenshots from Zebede and Charun in these areas previously, looking pretty complete. Also the gears at the farm windmill were very intricate, suggesting that maybe there used to be a puzzle there at some point? Also the skip to the train station from the forest was very abrupt. I feel kind of... sad? knowing weve lost some cool content probably forever for whatever reason, but the game is still good. the dev team said that if some troll call trolls are missing from the game they will appear in future acts, so its not like zebede and charun dont exist anymore, but... i wonder why they were scrapped. i mean, probably due to the absolute development hell, but at least charun was in the first steam trailer a year ago iirc. id love to know why this stuff was scrapped

-PLOT THOUGHTS 1: okay okay theres a lot im still thinking about but what im most curious about is the jeevik week. like its some kind of a festival but to what end? the tetrarchs (dammek, cridea, fiamet, xefros/chixie) were apparently planning something and i believe the jeevik week is supposed to be the culmination of those plans. in addition to the tetrarchs, i think marvus has some interest of their own in this, but its uncertain if theyre in on the same plot. he protected joey a lot, and i think it was kinda suspicious how they emphasized how marvus just “happened” to be on this train.

-PLOT THOUGHTS 2: so what happened at the end of the act. it seems likely that the first guardian axolotl thing from the concept art just blasted the train (directly hitting the rustblood car, mind this) though that thing seemed to have wings? does the axolotl have wings or is this something else? its most likely the axolotl, but there are more options... the green fire seems to hint at a green sun-powered creature either way. could there be a link to the act 1 creatures? which were black with green insides, like some kind of nega first guardian? could someone gotten their hands on ectobiology equipment and started producing first guardian-like creatures, powered by the green sun? on alternia, obviously as lusii, but as earth doesnt have them, as some kind of weird mutants? just food for thought

-PLOT THOUGHTS 3: okay, this is kind of a wild idea, but i suspect the attack at the end was intended to eliminate joey and xefros. the creature specifically targeted the lowblood car, and from one of the ending freeze-frames we see half of the wagon being obliterated probably killing everyone inside. xefros is a lowblood and joey was posing as one, so if the attack was intentionally directed whoever is behind it couldve assumed those two were in there. and if the creature was indeed the axolotl, the culprit is likely fiamet as thats likely her lusus or something (something that has been theorised from some in-development screenshots having a axolotl character as a stand-in chitter avatar for her). fiamet also knew joey and xefros were on the train. anyway if thats in any way accurate theres a chance shell be the secret final ultimate antagonist of hiveswap. but who knows

anyway thats my two cents... mean at this point, my about 30 cents on hiveswap act 2.

#hiveswap

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atamascolily · 4 years ago

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Unicorn Chronicles, Book Two: “Song of the Wanderer,” by Bruce Coville

I know I read Song of the Wanderer at least once in the early 2000s, but somehow it didn't stick with me like the first one. Anyway, I definitely remember stumbling across it in the library and being all, "huh, there's book two now," and then moving on to something else once I’d finished it.

Song of the Wanderer was published in 1999, five years after Into the Land of the Unicorns. This is lampshaded in the dedication:

Dedicated to all the readers who have waited, patiently and impatiently, for this second volume, with my deepest apologies for taking so long.

(keep in mind that Book Three didn't come out until 2008, and you'll appreciate the irony here)

I really like the cover of the original edition by Rebecca Guary, which shows that the artist actually did read the books and which I prefer over the questionable choices in the reprints. The hardcover version has a gorgeous spread with more unicorns, which unfortunately I was not able to find a scan of online.

Anyway, Song of the Wanderer kicks off with Cara embarking on a quest to fetch her grandmother, Ivy Morris, back to Luster so the Queen of the Unicorns can see her one last time before she dies. In fact, the ONLY reason the Queen is still alive at all is because she's holding out for a reunion.

Unfortunately, even though Cara has a magic amulet that will let her jump back to Earth at will, it's not that simple.

I gotta say, I love the complication that Earth and Luster are shifting in relationship to each other, so that Cara can't be sure where she'll end up in the other world without consulting a geomancer.

Cara is accompanied on this subquest by three unicorns - the Queen's nephew Moonheart, who is also Lightfoot's uncle and very aloof, distant, and dismissive of both humans and Lightfoot, who he considers to be immature and irresponsible. There's Finder, who is like the unicorn version of a LotR-esque ranger, and Belle, a warrior. Belle thinks Finder is a coward and a wuss, and Moonheart is just like "Thanks, I hate it" but goes along because Serious Business. Cara would rather have Lightfoot, but he refused to come along to Summerhaven, so she doesn't know how to contact him.

We also have confirmation of Cara's age (twelve), and a bit more of her backstory: she never really felt like she had a home growing up because Ivy was always moving them to avoid detection from the Hunters. Cara is also upset Ivy withheld the truth about Luster from her but also worried that the Hunters have hurt Ivy in Cara's absence.

The night before they leave, Cara is looking up at the stars and then dreams of her ancestor Beloved, who is waiting for her in Cara's old house. Beloved would like to kill all the unicorns and is still itching to get her hands on Cara's amulet so she can launch an invasion to Luster. She claims Cara belongs to her, and Cara wakes up before Beloved can snatch her.

This is the first time Cara and Beloved meet face to face--in Book One, Beloved was a story and a scrawled signature in a scryglass, not a character. The main antagonist in Book One was Cara's father, Ian Hunter, acting as Beloved's agent. So I have to say it's refreshing to see Beloved in the flesh (so to speak) and she genuinely is terrifying - simultaneously young and old, beautiful and ugly all at once.

M'Gama the Geomancer is human, so she's able to comb Cara's hair and outfit her with new clothes to replace her dirty jeans and t-shirt she's been wearing the entire time to date. The geomancy works but not without a struggle and Cara thinks she hears her grandmother's voice calling to her in the darkness, begging for rescue.

M'Gama explains that in order for Cara to return to her grandmother's house on Earth, they must leave from the dragon Ebillan's cave. Ebillan hates humans, so this isn't going to be easy. Furthermore, as the seasons change, so do the relative positions of Luster and Earth, and so they only have a month to get there before the spot is useless.

(This is really smart from a writing perspective, because it ups the tension and raises the stakes by imposing a deadline, and gives them obstacles to overcome.)

Anyway,the party leaves and encounters the Queen's Players, a group of humans who travel around and entertain people with their circus and barding antics. Cara befriends a melancholy older man named Jaques (I see what you did there, Coville!) and learns the "Song of the Wanderer," which is both about Ivy Morris and her signature song. Jaques reveals he is Cara's grandfather and Ivy's former husband and wishes to join their quest.

There's a delver attack and Lightfoot and the Dimblethum save them, yay. The party meets Grimmwold, who takes them through his caverns, and provides more exposition about Ivy's backstory. Ivy was an orphan with no memory of her past who was adopted by the Hunters and ran away, rather than be their pawn. She hurt herself, and a unicorn was drawn to her pain and healed her, only to be attacked by the Hunters. Ivy races through the nearby Gate to Luster for reinforcements, and we learn that the unicorn who saved her was none other than Moonheart!

Lightfoot's reaction is priceless, of course:

Cara gasped. "Moonheart?"

"I never knew about this!" Lightfoot said, sounding equally surprised--and slightly amused.

"There is a great deal you don't know, nephew," said Moonheart severely. "Continue with your story, Grimmwold."

..."But what happened next?"

"I survived," said Moonheart dryly.

AHAHAHAHA,THE SNARK.

We learn that Unicorns also have the equivalent of a Rumspringa--they call it a "Wander Year"--and that Lightfoot never came back from his, which is why Moonheart is mad at him. We also learn that humans and unicorns can only talk if the unicorn pierces their chest with a horn first, which is... interesting. Also, the Hunter who tried to kill Moonheart is sleeping in prison because the unicorns didn't know what else to do with him - so I'm sure that will be relevant later.

(Coville is also very insistent that the proper term for a group of unicorns is "glory" and will not hesitate to correct you.)

Anyway, Moonheart and Ivy have a special bond, and no one understands why, but everyone loves Ivy, even though she disappoints the Queen by being unable to stay in one place for very long. The Queen is upset when Ivy marries Jaques, to the point of causing a massive scene at the wedding, too.

Grimmwold gives Cara a jewel to bribe Ebillan with - Cara looks into it and has a vision of her mother, which disturbs her. Cara sneaks off her own and encounters Beloved again, only to wrench herself free and get lost. She rescues the injured gryphon Medafil, and they return to his nest.

Medafil claims that the Wanderer owes him a kiss, and Cara pays up for her absent grandmother once Medafil learns they're related. Medafil's nest is filled with all sorts of useful treasures, but Cara is most entranced with a seashell recording of Ivy's voice singing the "Song of the Wanderer," which she takes with them when they leave. Medafil agrees to help guide them to Ebillan, though he's very tsundere about it.

Cara trades the seashell to Ebillan in exchange for access to the cave and returns to Earth. She finds Beloved waiting for her. Turns out Beloved has been using the constellation called "The Ravager" to contact Cara, which strongly implies Beloved can see everything that goes on in Luster through the stars, which is super-creepy. A scuffle ensues over the amulet.

Jaques and Lightfoot appear out of nowhere and are taken prisoner by Beloved's men. Cara's father Ian turns against Beloved, and Beloved retreats, but Cara is devastated when Jaques reveals that she stole the amulet Thomas gave them and can launch an attack on Luster at last.

(On the one hand, this isn't surprising, because Thomas has a lot of hidden depths, but it isn't exactly foreshadowed so it just feels like it comes out of nowhere. But anyway, Nice Job Breaking It, y'all!)

Ivy Morris is upstairs but unconscious. Cara tries to wake her, and is drawn into a green prison between worlds. The unicorn queen's spirit appears and explains this is part of the Rainbow Prison. Cara realizes her mother must be in the red shaft of the rainbow, and Jaques is able to call them back to their bodies with the "Song of the Wanderer". Everyone returns to Luster, using Ivy's gift to return directly to the Queen rather than taking the long way back. Ian stays on Earth and vows to hunt down Cara's mother Martha and free her, since he realized Beloved has been using her as a pawn.

The Queen tells a story of her wayward daughter, Amalia Flickerfoot, and it becomes increasingly clear that Ivy is said unicorn who was transformed into a human to keep her from the hunters and lost her memories in the process. Amalia is restored to her true form, and is made the new Queen (to Lightfoot's intense relief) when the old Queen dies.

Yes, this makes Cara part unicorn, although I would argue,she's completely human because Ivy was human when she had kids and genetics doesn't work like that--but I admit, she is uniquely positioned to make peace between the warring parties now that her grandmother is the Queen of the Unicorns and her other grandmother is the Queen of the Hunters. So...

So Medafil is great - I can see why I put an expy of him in my own novel. Belle and Finder are interesting, but quickly fade into the background once Lightfoot and co. join the party, and it feels like there are too many characters competing for my attention. Running into Jaques feels a little contrived, but I like how he considers Cara his granddaughter regardless of their blood connections, and his acrobatics come in handy. Also, he gets to reconnect with his beloved ex-wife, but also... she's a unicorn now? AWKWARD.

Beloved is a great antagonist. I'm not sure I buy Ian's abrupt Face Heel Turn, but I'm willing to roll with it. (Can we just say how refreshing it is for a grown-ass man to admit his daughter is right and he was brainwashed his whole life? TALK ABOUT A POWER FANTASY THERE.) The sudden reveal of Thomas's amulet annoys me, but it succeeds in upping the stakes. The mystery of Ivy's past is well-handled, but I don't really like the whole rainbow prison bit. Ebillan's dragon angst is interesting and turns him into a more two-dimensional character.

We get our first mention of the human wizard Bellenmore who opened the gates, and also the possibility that the gates might close on their own. The delver subplot from Book One is mostly ignored, which is fine, because I don't really like them, but we're not allowed to forget they exist, either. The Squijum doesn't really do much except be annoying, I think.

I'm really sad there's not more Cara-Lightfoot conversation here. There is one thing where Cara asks if he's into Belle, but they don't get the time together they did in Book One. I started off hating Moonheart, but he grew on me, and I enjoy his grumpy relationship with Lightfoot.

I'd also like to know more about Thomas and his friendship with the dragon Fah-lieng that he alludes to, and how the geography of Luster works. Finder says there are still areas that aren't explored and I'm really curious what he's up to and how he got to be so well traveled.

#book reviews #unicorn chronicles #bruce coville #childhood influences

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iatheia · 4 years ago

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EDA reviews part 2 - books 10-18

Previous part here

10) Legacy of the Daleks - A very enjoyable read, even though it doesn’t mesh well with Big Finish continuity. I have a few headcanons on how to rectify that, though... The meeting between the Eight and Delgado’s Master left me grinning ear to ear, the way Eight was posturing, wholly aware of the way the Master ticks. I’m not sure I liked Susan quite as much, though - nor was she that fundamental to the story, spending most of the time off screen, but being somewhat unlikeable when she was there. Her final confrontation with the Master was a bit much... Similarly, it was hard to accept Master not recognizing her. That said, the rest of it was a fun romp, and Eight’s thoughts towards the end were particularly poignant, 9/10

11) Dreamstone Moon - Starting right off the bat with an author self insert, and have him being both the source of the conflict and the one to ultimately save the day, kind of - it’s a bold choice.... It’s been said before, but Doctor’s companions really should unionize huh? Eight’s in particular. It really is quite striking that the situation with Sam is pretty much the exact same one as it will be with Charlie - thinking that the Doctor is dead, abandoned, alone, without any network of support. And I’m finally about to have context for that post, so, cheers, I guess. That said, Sam and the Doctor are very much representative of the “quit telling everyone I’m dead - sometimes I can still hear his voice” meme. I’ve lost count how many times Sam decided that the Doctor’s dead within five minutes of seeing him very much alive. (Ok, no, I jest, but it’s a good book, throughly enjoyable from the beginning to end, 10/10)

12) Seeing I - I, uh, really struggle to follow Sam’s logic in the beginning here. I don’t really understand how she ended up in the place she did, after the last novel. Because, she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t abandoned, she was in a company of people, who, uh, cared about her might be putting it a bit too strongly, but who at least could vouch for her. So this disconnect is a bit odd. And, as good as this novel is, as good as the character work in here is, I have a slight disconnect with the rest of it, too. There is too big of a gulf with where the story begun and where it ended - there are too many things going on, too many plots introduced and then unceremoniously dropped. It’s like... Revolution of the Daleks inside of Kerblam, with Nightmare in Silver thrown in with half a dozen other themes from other episodes. When you have the doctor in the machine and the psychologist guy go from primary antagonists to the supporting cast we’re supposed to root for, there is something mildly dissatisfying about it, thematically speaking. Overall, the story in its entirety is less than a sum of its parts. Breaking it into pieces, though, there is a lot of exciting stuff there. 9/10

13) Placebo Effect - Controversial opinion time - I don’t care for Ark in Space. I think it’s a pretty forgettable episode. So any time I encounter any reference to the wirrrn, my reaction is “wait, who?”. And even though I like Leisure Hive well enough, I dare you to find anyone who has been clamoring for the return of Foamasi. This rather made me immediately apprehensive, straight from the preface. In general, there was too much continuity. Stacy & Ssard, really? How deep do you need to be to appreciate their appearance? They are so utterly unnecessary, too, they disappear less than a quarter of the way into the novel, they aren’t even there for set up, they are there for a set up of a set up. If you are actually a person who knew who they were, and wanted to see more of them, I can’t imagine this being all that satisfying. It’s a rather abrupt transition from the previous ark. I dare even say, aggressive, to the degree you have Sam going from “she is afraid to be even in the same room with him, lest she kills him with her soaked through panties” to “she is absolutely delighted when he imparts onto her his grandfatherly wisdom”. Then again, any time either Eight or Sam opened their mouth, I didn’t see Eight or Sam. I saw Four and Sarah Jane. It’s not well written, either. It’s very clunky. The dialogues in particular are obnoxious. Stacy’s and Sam’s conversation, and later on dogmatic discussion between Sam and the priests gave me full on psychic damage. I mostly skimmed beyond that, can’t say there was much to catch the eye. 2/10

14) Vanderdeken's Children - This book is aiming to be a masterpiece, but it’ll just have to settle for being good enough. It does have some interesting twists and turns in here, even though most of them are pretty predictable and expected from the set up. The last couple of chapters, the ending overall, are quite decent (even though all the ebook versions I was able to find cut off the last couple of pages, argh!), but the middle is very middling, with mostly uninspiring secondary characters that are ever so slowly being positioned on the chess board. 7/10

15) The Scarlet Empress - Where to begin... It’s a series of mostly unrelated short stories in a trench coat pretending to be a novel. It’s set up in a middle of a road trip, unrelated not just to each other, but also the measly bit of plot that was given to us? I found it’s quite difficult to engage with the story overall, or follow it, really. It tries to be more character driven than plot driven, which is an admirable aim, and some of the character stuff they have in here is nice, except... Outside of may be bits of chapter 1, I couldn’t really hear Doctor’s voice - any version of him, let alone Eight. Sam fares a bit better, but, at the end of the day... It doesn’t really feel like Doctor Who story. The pacing is completely off, as is the structure, and it was quite nonsensical and whimsical, more akin to Alice in Wonderland than Doctor Who. Not bad in and of itself, just, hard for me to appreciate as a part of this marathon. A note on Iris. I haven’t yet listened to her stand-alone adventures, but I generally enjoy whenever she shows up in Big Finish. Here, though, she was rather lacking Katy Manning’s charm and personality. And, I feel, if you didn’t have any existing fondness for the character before, this novel isn’t going to give you much to care about her. Except, *checks notes*, this was one of her first major outings? Not really a good start. Oh, and prior to this she was in a few short stories, by the same writer. Well, that checks out. 6/10

16) The Janus Conjunction - I really liked this one. Not much to say beyond it, but, very well written, very easy read, practically in a single breath. Excellent characterization for both Doctor and Sam, just a right degree of joyful, determined, adventurous, death defying, mad, delirious, and codependent, almost moreso than any other I’ve read so far. Rather dark, though, I can feel it resonating in the pit of my stomach, and it gets inside your head. 10/10

17) Beltempest - What did the Doctor do to deserve this character assassination??? It’s not without redeeming bits (looks like “I’m not a man” quote comes from here, big yay), but, in large part, is barely a pale shadow of a character I like. Especially in the beginning - he think that Sam might have died and he is ok with this??? After the Dreamstone Moon??? And he is incredibly obnoxious? And Sam was barely herself, even before being... uh, possessed? for plot related reasons. I can’t describe how much disconnect I have with the protagonists here, or with any characters in the rest of the book, for that matter, and how much the dialogue made me roll my eyes. And, ah, the technobabble. I generally try not to overthink the physics of most things in fiction, because, as a certified space scientist, otherwise I’d be here all day, but there comes a point where it crosses the line. After everything else, to read the words “newly born main sequence star” with my own two eyes is just too much. I’m a good person, I do not deserve this nonsense... The first half of the book left me rather put off. The second part left me feeling absolutely flat. No emotions, either positive or negative. And, uh, there was a post going around on tumblr along the lines of “the worst you can do to the character is having them mention a certain food, because the fandom will turn it into an obsession” - it’s rather the same here with Eight and books & classical music. I am rather starting to loose count of the number of times they are trying to emulate the scene with the ending of the movie, where he is lounging about and reading, or specifically mentioning Pucchini. To be fair, it’s not just this novel, but it definitely starting to take me out of it. 5/10

18) The Face-Eater - I’m generally a bit wary of cold opens in the books, because some tend to ramble a bit, with the characters I don’t already know and love, so it’s often is a chore to muster enthusiasm to care about them. This one, though, despite all that, starts very effectively, in a way that made me immediately sit up straight. Very snappish, in a style of noir novels. Too bad it doesn’t quite sustain that energy throughout it. The plot is... interesting, I guess. Characterization is decent, for the most part - although some moments, especially early on gave me a pause, it more than makes up for it in other places. 7/10

Overall impressions so far: Much better than the first set of 9, which often were too deeply rooted in nostalgia to try to offer anything unique. And, I guess, with more writers having a chance to read each others works, the characterization is a bit more consistent (not for every writer, mind, but, in general). How long does it take for them to write a novel of this length, I wonder? A book a month is a rather grueling pace for the series - how far in advance do they start? How many other books come out during that time?

Sam in particular incrementally found her footing (though, there is a bit of a lag from novel to novel). Instead of imagining literally any other companion, there were certain novels that really helped me to grasp her character. Though, hmm... being Doctor’s companion is not a safe job by any stretch of imagination, but this girl has really been through a wringer. I’m rather struggling to think of any other companion that has been put through so much (non-lethal) battering. There comes a point when one just wants to just to let her have some good time. And, uh, there was a horrible thought that occurred to me, and went to look up how she will depart the TARDIS in the end, and... well, I have a feeling that sometime afterwards I will not like what will happen.

Also, there is this trend of separating her and the Doctor, for a prolonged period of time, them having no idea where to find each other, without any contact, just, stumbling onto one another eventually. It’s a way for writers to have them cover more narrative ground, and you certainly don’t want them attached by the hip, but when they spend less than 20 pages a book in each other’s company, that’s, uh... not a trend I particularly care for.

Well, onto the next batch where we meet Fitz, and say good bye to Sam.

Next part here

#doctor who #eighth doctor #eighth doctor adventures #eda

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ejzah · 4 years ago

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How about a story set in the early seasons when Deeks and Sam still didn’t always see eye to eye and Sam treated Deeks like dirt. Can you write a story where Deeks finally has had enough and demands respect or at the very least decency otherwise he’ll leave the team.

A/N: As requested, this takes place on the first few seasons. I often forget, but when you go back to the early days, everyone, including Sam say some unnecessarily unkind things to him.

***

“I don’t trust him,” Deeks said, leaning against the table in the boat shed as he eyed the monitor in front of him. They were waiting for Callen and Kensi to come back from questioning some witnesses.

“He’s a marine, Deeks,” Sam said, like that somehow absolved him of any potential guilt. He’d been irritable with Deeks all morning.

“Last I checked, marines are still capable of committing crimes. I mean, we wouldn’t have much work if they didn’t.” He tried to joke, to lighten the mood that had been slowly going downhill since Jared Hornyak had become a potential suspect. Deeks didn’t like it either, but like he’d said, it wasn’t unusual.

“He has a good record. Besides, you wouldn’t understand.” There was something definitely condescending in Sam’s tone, dismissive of Deeks’ input. He knew he should really just ignore it. Sam got riled up when he felt someone violated his very stringent, personal code of ethics. Particularly when that person happened to be a member of the armed forces. They were just lucky it wasn’t a SEAL.

“Why, because I’m a cop?” Deeks asked, knowing he should just let it go. Nothing good ever came from challenging angry people. But he was a little ticked off himself. “You know I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before. Anybody can break the law, anybody can be a bad guy. Even a U.S. Navy Marine. Just because this guy looks all bright and shiny on the surface, doesn’t mean he’s-“

“Shut up, Deeks,” Sam said, cutting him short. Deeks looked at him incredulously.

“Excuse me?” Sam shook his head, his gaze flicking over to Deeks.

“For once in your life just stop talking. I don’t want or need your opinion.” Before Deeks could think of a response, Callen and Kensi walked in.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Kensi said told them. “Jared’s buddies didn’t-is everything ok?” Her eyes darted between Sam and Deeks obviously picking up on the tension in the room. Deeks, crossed his arms, adopting a falsely relaxed position against the table, waiting to see what Sam would say.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. What about his teammates?” Kensi’s eyes drifted over to Deeks as Callen took over summarizing what they’d learned from Jared Hornyak’s fellow marines. She tried to catch his eye, but Deeks just shook his head.

“There was something a little fishy about their stories,” Callen was saying.

“Like what?” Sam asked, frowning as he glanced at the monitor. His whole demeanor had changed: from blatantly antagonistic to accepting.

“Too rehearsed, like they’d talked about it and agreed on a similar story.” Sam sighed, uncrossing his arms and accepting Callen’s judgment at face value. Deeks pressed his lips together, biting back a nasty comment.

“Ok, let’s see what Hornyak has to say.” Sam and Callen walked down the short hallway to the interrogation room and appeared on the screen a moment later.

“Unbelievable,” Deeks muttered under his breath. He’d thought Sam was finally starting to treat him like a functional, possibly valuable, member of the team. Clearly he had been very wrong. When he turned around, Kensi was staring at him, a worried look in her eyes. He had a feeling she’d been watching him closely than he realized.

“Are you ok?” she asked again, going so far as to touch his arm. He gave her a weak smile and replied,

“I’m fine, Partner.”

“You look...angry. Did something happen while we were gone?”

“I’m not angry with you,” he assured her, which didn’t exactly answer her question. It was as much as he could say right now without going on a full-blown tirade.

“Deeks-“

“You know, I think I’m going to take a half day. I’m not feeling great right now.” He saw Kensi’s eyes widen and she reached out to him again. Her hand was warm and firm on his arm, sending a confusing shiver across his skin.

“Hey, whatever’s going on, you know you can talk to me about it, right?” She asked, tucking her fingers into her back pockets and smiling a little shyly. “I mean, what are partners for if you can’t unload on them?

“I know,” Deeks assured her, brushing her arm as he headed for the door. “And I appreciate. But right now I think it’s best if I’m not here right now.”

Half an hour later of interrogation, Sam and Callen emerged, looking frustrated. Hornyak had proved uncooperative.

“Where’s Deeks,” Callen asked, glancing around the boat shed, like Deeks might be hiding behind a boat and suddenly appear.

“He went home,” Kensi informed them, biting down on her lip. She turned to Sam with a frown. “Did something happen between you two? Deeks seemed upset about something.”

Sam rolled his eyes and made a perturbed sound.

“I think I know what’s going on. Although I’m surprised he’d overreact like this,” Sam replied. “Then again, it’s Deeks, so I guess I should expect the melodrama.”

“What does that mean,” Kensi asked, sounding a little defensive. Deeks wasn’t there to defend himself, so it fell to her as his partner.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll go talk to Deeks when we get done here.”

***

“No, I don’t want any-oh it’s you,” Deeks said, surprised to Sam standing on his doorstep.

“Who did you think I was?” Sam asked, glancing around him.

“High schoolers have been pestering me to buy magazines, chocolate, and cookie dough all night,” Deeks explained. “And before you can ask, yeah, I know it’s bad trade craft to not check before I opened the door.” Sam smirked at him mildly.

“Actually, I was just going to ask if I could come in.”

“Would it matter if I said ‘no’?” Deeks wondered, reclining against the door jamb with his ankles crossed.

“Not really,” Sam said, walking past him. He looked around and Deeks realized it was the first time he’d been inside his apartment. “Huh, not what I expected. A lot neater.

“So did you just come to insult my homemaking skills, or can I look forward to further critiques?”

“I came to ask why you walked out today.”

“I think you know why,” Deeks told him, pausing for a moment to give Sam a pointed look. He allowed the silence to grow and thicken between them and Deeks felt a perverse pleasure when Sam twitched uncomfortably.

“If this is about what happened in the boat shed...”

“You mean, when you told me to shut up after implying that I have poor judgment, then no. No, that is not the reason why I walked out today. Or at least not the sole reason.” Sam made a noise again, the one that he made when he thought Deeks was being particularly ridiculous.

“What are you talking about, Deeks?” he said.

“Ever since I joined the team, you’ve insulted me and disregarded my input. At first I accepted it as just your normal hazing, but it’s been two years man,” he said, shaking his head as he put his thought together.

“You’re telling me you can’t put up with a little teasing? I thought you had a thicker skin than that, Deeks.”

“It isn’t just teasing, Sam. It’s the lack of respect.” Deeks shrugged. “Today it just hit me that I’m not sure I can keep working in that environment.”

“You’re thinking of quitting?”

“No, I’m thinking of going back to LAPD as a detective.”

“They treated you like crap there,” Sam said, sounding angrier than Deeks had expected. He’d actually thought Sam would be in favor of his potential departure.

“And you don’t?” Deeks challenged him. Sam had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. It was an odd look for the man. He pursed his lips, staring down at his shoes for a minute.

“Fine, I apologize.” Deeks’ eyebrows rose in surprise. “I shouldn’t ride you so hard. I’ll try to keep those comments to himself.” Sam ended his apology by clapping Deeks’ on the shoulder, his expression expectant. It wasn’t the best apology he’d ever hear, but Deeks supposed it probably the best he would get.

“Really, you’re going to be able to stop making jokes about my appearance?” Sam smirked at that.

“Hey, I might not get it right 100% of the time, but I’ll try.” Deeks didn’t answer immediately so he added, “Plus, Hetty and Kensi will kill both of us if you leave.”

“True,” Deeks acknowledge. He sighed, wondering if he was about to make the right decision. “Fine, I’ll stay. For now. But I was serious about what I said.” Sam smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, apparently pleased with a good night’s work.

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, reaching for the door. “Oh, and Deeks, next time check the door before you open it. I could have been anyone.” Deeks chuckled to himself as he shut the door behind Sam. Sam Hanna just couldn’t help himself.

He wondered if Sam would actually stick to his side of their agreement, or if he’d just said what he needed to get the desired result. Either way, Deeks was a liaison for at least one more day.

***

Thanks for the prompt, anon!

A/N: I feel like this kind of fizzled at the end. Anyhoo, I tried to make this more possibly canon-compliant.

#ncis la fanfiction #marty deeks #sam hanna #g callen #kensi blye #light angst #marty deeks defense squad #anonymous prompt #ejzah fanfiction

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johannstutt413 · 5 years ago

Text

(requested by dragon-archer)

“And stay down!” FEater gave the bag one last punch, cracking the fabric and sending sand flying all over the dojo. “Whoops.”

“Nice punch,” the Doctor called out to her from the doorway.

She turned, hands still gritty, and flashed him a smile. “Hey, Doctor! Don’t worry, this’ll clean up itself.”

“Uh-huh.” He smirked. “What are you doing here at 4 in the morning, by the way?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Drank too many energy drinks during work; now I have all this extra energy I need to get rid of.”

The Doctor undid his coat and threw it aside. “That’s convenient - I came looking for a punching bag, but it looks like I found a sparring partner instead.”

“Oh?” FEater’s grin sharpened as he walked forward. “Are you approaching me?”

“I can’t touch you without coming closer.”

She took a stance and extended her hand. “Then come as close as you like.”

“You were good in that movie,” he called out as he leapt forward, closing the distance with a jump kick. “Maybe a little too relatable to be the antagonist, though.”

“Oh, you liked that one? I didn’t think it was all that good.” FEater blocked the kick, and the pair of them began exchanging punches at unbelievable speeds.

The Doctor took a punch square to the jaw and grunted...cheerfully? “No matter how bad the actors around you are, you manage to make it all seem believable. Not to mention you do all your own stunts.”

“Not quite all of them,” she admitted, a pair of punches hitting her shoulders and pushing her back slightly. “They had other people for the risque stuff.”

“I sort of figured.” He let loose a single heavy punch with his left hand, leaving a massive opening on his right side.

FEater saw it and moved to take advantage. “How so? I thought they did a decent job on the makeup.”

“Because,” the Doctor replied, bending impossibly to avoid the punch and land his own square against the side of her chest, “it’s impossible to fake these.”

“Timeout...That’s how you knew I didn’t do those scenes?”

He chuckled, on the floor after his little stunt. “I figured it out the first of those scenes I saw, and honestly, I respect you for it, but I do wonder why.”

“The Fist may be Universal,” she said with a grim expression, “but my heart shall only belong to one.” Her face immediately returned to a smile. “I did write one of those kinds of stories, though. One I’d consider acting in.”

“Really? Would you be willing to tell me about it?”

FEater glanced at the door to the dojo. “It’s pretty early still, right?”

“Yeah, that only took a couple minutes at most.” The Doctor cocked his head. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m not sure I want anyone else to hear this. You’ve made it pretty clear you’re a fan of my work, Doctor, but I bet you I’m just as much a fan of yours.”

He sat up as FEater took a seat across from him. “Really?”

“You’ve done so much good for Rhodes Island, it’s like you’re in a movie yourself.” She chuckled. “When I first came here, actually, you shook my hand, and I was walking on air for a while. That night, I couldn’t sleep, so I wrote a little script about...us.”

“You wrote a fanfic about me?”

She blushed. “I guess? I’ve been working on it off and on since then, honestly - not a lot, just when you do something really cool, or when I’m feeling a little insecure-”

“You? Insecure?” The Doctor seemed genuinely shocked. “About what?”

“I mean, going from acting to crimefighting-in-exile is a bit of a jump, and I love my life here, but sometimes...sometimes I wonder if I’m the best fit for it?”

He reached forward and took hold of her hands. “FEater, if there’s anyone who belongs here, it’s you. You’re an amazing fighter, you keep everyone in good spirits but aren’t afraid to step in and hold the line, and...and I remember you, from before, sort of.”

“Wait, what? You remember me?”

“It’s not much, but you’ve always felt so familiar compared to even Amiya, and...you’re the only one who feels that way.” The Doctor examined her bare knuckles, unharmed despite however much training she’d done through the night and into this morning. “That was the reason I started watching your movies when I woke up, which reminded me how much I love martial arts, which reminded me that it would be nice to find a girl who knows how to throw a punch...do you wanna go out on a date later today?”

It took a moment for the realization to properly connect, but when it did, FEater was all smiles. “YES! Yes, Doctor, I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Yes.” He pumped his fist, remembered where he was, and blushed brighter red than some tomatoes.

“You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed~” She stood up, helped the Doctor to his feet, and pulled him against her chest. “Oh, you have no idea how excited I am!”

With all the blood rushing away from his head, it was impressive he could still blush. “Same here~”

#arknights #FEater (arknights)#thicc panda waifu #man this game has a lot of near best girls...#arknights fic

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mikkock · 5 years ago

Note

HELLO I ADORE YOUR OCS SO MUCH WILL YOU TELL ME ABOUT KAI HE LOOKS LIKE A TOTAL "YOUR DAUGHTER CALLS ME DADDY TOO" DOUCHEBAG AND I FUCKING LOVE HIM AND WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM

LBLMVBGK THANK U OMG love it when ppl like my kids, im a proud dad rn

ALSO wrow congrats on ur on point analysis, cause, that’s the Essence Of His Being (fun fact since i got two characters who go by the name of kai -cause fuck that basic writing tip that says ‘dont have two characters named the same thing- i usually refer to him as The Bad Kai cuz he a bad bitch)

so lets unwrap that dude shall we uwu

SO this dude was created when i realised my story didnt have antagonists so i made a bunch of Bad People and then they all became good people after i started giving them more personnality somehow eXCEPt him for some reason, the only survivor of the “everyone will be baby” plague, the only rude bitch in this house, the only guy who’s still on the dark grey side of morally grey...but tbh im in love with him cause he’s an asshole and im an idiot so like.

His base concept was basically something along the lines of “fuckboy but make it Couture”, like douchebag indeed But Gotta Be Fancy at being one, gotta add a pinch of Sneaky Bitch in the pot. His aesthetic is Chillin, gettin in ur pants, then moving on for some more chillin and more pants. So if you’re into some funky sexy time with no pressure and no ties, ya gon get along, your goals meet, time to have fun.

All that is supported by his charisma, cause unless ya got some nasty history, he’ll just look like that charming bad-boy “oho hot dude with a dangerous but not agressive” vibed person, and he’s quite a sweet-talker. He’s probs not only the ‘your daughter calls me daddy’ kind but also ‘and so will YOU, i’m scoring with the whole family and you wont stop me (and you wont WANT to stop me)’

He got that handsome ppl priviledge ya feel

but also, he wouldnt be a rude guy if he was just the ‘i enjoy chill frick-fracking and im just so sexy that no one can say no to that booty’ guy

Dude got quiiite some spite-fueled ego and Does Not Take losing well, and will not, in fact, let himself lose on any objective he has, and when that objective is A Person, he gets ugly. Being good at sweet talking also means being good at small stuff like “not saying exactly the truth always when it would be more beneficial not to”, “deliberately using euphemistic, ambiguous or obscure language so to mask wrong doings and technically saying the truth but in such a way that it becomes completely masked by a thick fog of bullshit”, and “use words and behaviour in general to influence others unscrupulously so to get something in return”. Even a little “playing with their perception in order to make them doubt in their thoughts and selves”. In short dude got no qualms about using all the tools of manipulation available if it means that he comes on top (or on bottom if the goal was getting an assful eeeeeey we’re masters of comedy here) It tends to be all for short term results tho, so not much your ‘boyfriend who convinces you you’re nothing without him” and more of a “you thought you were dating but only you were thinking that as he always kept it just vague enough to have you not official yet convinced of his and now you’re blaming yourself for believing you were together”

master of getting ass, also master of Ugly Ass Breakups, and master of suddenly dissapearing from your life so hard that you wonder if it was just your imagination all along (he got ugly past with a bunch of other ocs especially he’s ex boyfriend with two that are now together cause i dig that sort of drama the sAME dUDe gave u the trust issues that held u from going full lovey dovey ? i fucking lIVE off that kinda shit wait until he pops back like ‘oho hello fancy seeing YOU TWO here my two fave exes together incredible what a small world”)

Though I have to rework on all that cause that backstory is oLD AS SHIT (like prolly i built it in what, 2016? ew ugly) I had that stem from some sort of neglect-fueled inferiority complex. I had given him a kinda cold family with a bunch of siblings who got Way More Nurtured due to their respective talents and achievements, having him left behind and feeling like he got nothing. SO that’s basically the explanation as of today but i dont like iiiiit anymooooore so I’ll have to work on it to make it something i dig, cause idk, bitch feels flat so far.

BUT i do intend on keeping the whole concept of ~Loneliness~, and of him working alone and quite hard for anything he gets. And the general need of proving himself that had come from the WIP backstory. I don’t exactly see him as an overachiever at all, but definitly as an obstinate and persevering hardworking guy, because “Look YALL I WAS aBLE TO DO THIS YALL THOUGHT I COULDNT HUH YALL LOOK DOWN ON ME well fuck u cause idc im better than u now also ur mum’s into bondage i kno from experience bye”. So tbh pair up with him for group projects, you’ll be sure his share of the work will be done (but also if you dont do yours then he’s probably going to be a bITCh about it, no remorse in leaving blank slides in the middle of the powerpoint and then loudly proclaiming ‘OH RIGHT This was supposed to be Kevin’s part but I suppose he never sent it to me, despite the numerous reminders i sent him, no big deal, no hard feelings, its ok sweetie we all sometimes feel too lazy i forgive u :)” )

Also he’d be Chill to hang out with for like, parties, nights out at the bar, that kinda shit. He definetly has some beans to spill about quite some people, he gathers the goss as he gathers lovers (i was gonna end that in “as he spreads legs” but it sounded too PG-18 for this good Well Behaved family friendly blog) and Will Not stay tight lipped, and Will be a bitch when trashtalking people, and It Will Be Entertaining as it always is when you’re hearing about crazy exes and you’ve had some beers.

Now trivia that idk where else to write cause idk i stupid or more like disorganised :

- he digs red ale beer like if ya wanna win him over with the appropriate alcohol offer there u go

- he’s a fake blonde (cause my hobby is painting regrowth roots on hair)

- his design is a mixture of those 3dgy denim boys u see on pinterest and the specific brand of fuckboys that are french-L-section-chic-grunge-hipster-fuckboys (L section is like a branch of highschool)(that word combo is a so specific kinda guy)(its kinda like a softboi but more arrogant but in a lowkey way)(also they rich)(but he’s not rich so guess that should make him Less Arrogant)

-im constantly dead afraid of giving him more characteristics and story or whatveer cause he’s the only meanie i got left and i do Not want him to stop being an asshole but everytime i develop a character they end up nice or redeemed or whatever and i wanna keep him a bitch so i neglect him (just like his parents in his 2016 version wow)

he smokes (prolly started quite early to Be Kool and now relies on it for stress relief)

he’s outspoken and extraverted and prolly the guy who had a lot to say when you were doing debates in class (there’s always that person who has a Lot to argument about)(its him) but outside of a Set and Defined debate structure he probably doesnt give his mind voraciously

he’s a law student and despite saying he’s the one bad guy left he probably wont be a corrupt lawyer or judge or whatever like come on he will do his job properly he worked hARD FOR THIS justice may be served

he’s not the kind to openly hate or even dislike anyone cause what’s the point of wasting your energy on that? its much funnier to him to be obnoxiously Neutral with someone and basically ignore them but still strike them with some Spikes of passive-agressive comments, let them be Mad at your calmness

he’s 177cm tall (that’s like 5.8 according to google)

honestly if you’re bros with him he’s fun to be with the being a jerk is completly coincidental

he probably ranks high in the list of “those criminals who steal big lighters from their friends”

i think at a point his design had tattoos but i forgot the designs of those so now he doesnt anymore

a dog person

i think ive run out of facts (or my brain dead) so im leavin with a shirtless pic cause my hobby is drawing tits

in short, charming asshole who can get ugly, secretly feels lonely and small, works hard for himself, better have him as a friend than as a foe though probably not the most frontally agressive enemy, and also, your booty, hand it over.

#people probably excuse his naughty behaviour bc of his looks and that's the fact

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drinkupthesunrise · 5 years ago

Text

2019 Star Wars Rare Pairs Exchange Letter

Hey! While I’m pretty sure I will love WHATEVER you make me, if you are in need / want of some advice, the following may be of interest to you:

In general, I like: pining, unrequited love that turns out not to be unrequited, people being friends & in love with each other generally, found family, ridiculous references, fic that explores what characters mean to each other in a greater context, alt!timeline shit (ie, what would happen if a character had made x choice instead of y), complicated relationships, baby/kid!fic, hurt/comfort.

Things I do not want: character bashing, unnecessary character death (ymmv here it’s Star Wars, characters die, I accept that, but please don’t kill anyone off in the pairings, canonical deaths are fine), gratuitous / explicit violence, mundane!AUs (coffee!shop, high school/college, etc), dubcon/noncon in any form, cheating, first person POV.

General links that might be useful to you: my ao3 works, my fic writing tag, my ficlet tag, and my general star wars tag.

General note: I like characters, and relationships, best when they’re situated in a world that feels real, and that means having other characters around them, and the relationships between them. While the pairings below should definitely be the focus of any fic, please feel free to slip in other things that you think I might like. I think what’s below should give you an idea of that, hopefully :D. For instance, I adore Wedge’s relationship / friendship with the rest of the Fab Four / his pilots in general, and I find the Han / Luke / Leia dynamic endlessly fascinating (both platonically and romantically on all sides), I’m always up for guest appearances from anyone from any point in canon.

Also, in every universe, Wedge Antilles is bisexual. That is very important to me.

Wedge Antilles/Luke Skywalker

Would happily take anything, but specific loves include stuff with them founding Rogue Squadron and that early part of their relationship, where they’re a little unsure and unfamiliar but still utterly trusting of each other? Or in the aftermath of Endor where Luke’s off founding the Jedi Order and Wedge is off fighting the Imperial Remnant and they’re trying to work out if they could have a relationship in all of that? I really love these two, the relationship between them really is one of my all-time faves.

I am also desperate for pre-and-post-TLJ era fic for them. What does Wedge make of Luke’s choices and decisions? Did Wedge go with him to Ahch-To? If Wedge is present, how does that affect the choices Luke makes?

I would also sell my soul for Jedi Academy-era fic in which Wedge is a teacher at Luke’s Jedi Academy, either with them in an established relationship and founding the school, or where Wedge gets involved somehow and slowly realises, oh, actually, Luke is very attractive and there is a lot of pining, and Luke is off having the same realisations about Wedge.

Wedge Antilles/Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker

In which Wedge Antilles and Mara Jade have precisely one thing in common: they both think that Luke Skywalker is endearing and also kinda useless, and would do anything for him. Which includes teaming up to save Luke when he gets into yet more trouble (insert situation of choice here) despite the fact that Mara is really not very convinced by this short flyboy with floppy hair who cannot act, and Wedge is not really over the fact that Mara wanted to kill Luke. Bonus points for them discovering that they have far more in common than they think, and for Talon Karrde & Booster Terrik background shenanigans.

(I’d be okay with platonic!wedge&mara, if you can’t get that bit to work, but I would like Wedge and Mara to both be in love with Luke - or on their way there - and for Luke to love them both back.)

Things which I would also be down for: Wedge and Mara having a drunken one night stand, and when Luke hears about it he is very jealous and also how that might just be the answer to all his problems.

Wedge Antilles/Leia Organa

I think Wedge and Leia are very alike, in some ways - both soldiers with a sense of duty that goes far beyond themselves, who’d sacrifice their personal lives for their ideals every time. So anything that builds on that, really; either early Alliance / Rebellion (pre / post Yavin), with Leia still trying to sort out her feelings for Han / Luke and working them out with the person who is the mid-ground between the two (fight me on this Wedge is Han’s smuggling no-good self crossed with Luke’s idealism and good!man nature), or possibly after the Jedi Temple Massacre, or post TLJ, where they are the last two left standing and seek solace in each other?

Also! If you have read the 2013 Marvel Star Wars comic (the Wood/D’Anda one), you should know I was so very very very weak for Leia as Squadron Commander and Wedge as her second, and I cannot believe that was an actual thing that happened in Legends okay??

(as you can see below, I like Han/Wedge too, so please feel free to alude to polyamory / open relationship stuff with Han/Leia in the background if that takes your fancy.)

Wedge Antilles/Han Solo Okay I can hear you probably going ‘huh what’ and I submit to you these quotes from the X-Wing books, and actually the entirety of Solo Command as a book. Essentially, Corellians giving each other shit. But no seriously in Solo Command there’s a real easiness and willingness to tease and I’d be really interested as to how they got there, and if it ever was anything more.

Also, in new canon – I’ve always figured that Wedge and Han might have a bit of antagonistic start to their relationship, Wedge is much more of a believer and very willing to die for the cause – how does he react when he finds out what Han did in Solo? Aiding Enfys Nest? Does that change his feelings?

(as you can see above, I like Leia/Wedge too, so please feel free to alude to polyamory / open relationship stuff with Han/Leia in the background if that takes your fancy.)

Wedge Antilles/Biggs Darklighter

They must have known each other on Yavin, so it’s not inconceivable that they might have met and, y’know, got it on. So quick and dirty introductions, or possibly even something set later, after the Death Star battle, where Biggs!lives and the two pilots who didn’t get that shot off try and find solace in each other.

Wedge Antilles/Bodhi Rook

So – well, Wedge was at the Imperial Academy for a time, as was Bodhi, and although it’s unlikely they were in classes together, I think that their paths could have crossed; what’s it like when they see each other on Yavin all those years later? If Bodhi is the only survivor of the Rogue One team, and Wedge is the only survivor of the original pilots (Luke is too new, really) do they find solace in each other? Do they only really catch up after the war with each other, and suddenly realise that no one else is quite going to understand their grief? (I am heavily into Wedge Antilles has a case of survivor’s guilt the size of a Star Destroyer this ship only compounds my feelings).

Wedge Antilles/Lando Calrissian

They took down a Death Star together, that’s a start. I think the other thing about these two is they’re both very set on keeping their people safe – Wedge with his pilots, Lando with the people of Cloud City, and they have principles and lines they won’t cross but they’ll go through hell and back to try and save as many as they can. So maybe something about that?

Wedge Antilles/Mon Mothma

This was mostly crack, until I incepted myself (and several other people) with it, and now I have very serious feelings about it and I want them to be in love. And have really good sex.

I think they are both serious impassioned people who want to do what is right, only Wedge is brash and daring and Mon is tempered by experience / diplomacy. So maybe something where Wedge does something reckless and Mon has to take him to task for it? Or Wedge trying to lure Mon out of her seriousness, but also he is a very serious person himself but seriously, Chancellor, you have been at your desk for twenty hours please come to the mess. Love letters – they write letters after the war and slowly fall in love?

I also have many, many feelings about how Mon apparently trained as a starfighter pilot after the fall of the Republic and was ready to quit the political life until she realised she could do more good there. What about a universe where becomes a pilot, becomes the senior starfighter officer. Does it turn into mentorship or a rivalry? Or maybe Mon—as chancellor—just decides to use her training and goes on a mission with Wedge and Wedge is completely and utterly impressed by her.

Fucked-up power dynamics are also very much a feature: Mon is ultimately Wedge’s commander in chief, his life is in her hands, etc. I like the power play, I like it a lot.

Wedge Antilles/Amilyn Holdo

There’s something about the way Amilyn reacts to flyboys doing stupid things, like she has seen it all before. Maybe she has? I feel these two would have really good banter and a very sparky relationship, lots of challenging each other. But also mutual respect, possibly found later – they are both very good at their jobs.

I’d love fic set post-Rebellion era, where they’re both trying to find their footing in the new Galaxy, or maybe fic set around TLJ – what if Wedge is with the Resistance? Does he conflict with Amilyn over her command decisions? (I think Amilyn should still have charge of the Resistance, don’t make Wedge outrank her.) Can he mediate the conflict between her and Poe? What if Wedge is with the Republic and brings a fleet to save the day?

Wedge Antilles/Louis Hoshi (Battlestar Galactica)

everyone SHUT UP yes i have a type yes it’s stoic dark haired men who face great personal tragedy and still do their duty SHUSH

Look, I’m not even going to attempt to justify this one.

Anyway, I have two main thoughts on this. One, the Pegasus finds the GFFA instead of the Galactica, probably shortly after Yavin, and Wedge and Hoshi bond over basically losing everyone they’ve ever cared about. In the second, post-Blood on the Scales / The Oath and that horrendous mutiny, the Galactica finds the GFFA, and Hoshi finds a kindred spirit who has sacrificed and believes in doing his duty just as much as he does.

Wes Janson/Derek “Hobbie” Klivian

So Wes and Hobbie are like the ultimate wingpair / brothers-in-arms, they are two peas in a pod, and I love them. I like slow realisation of feelings, the dragging out of the relationship over the years, perhaps one of them pining away whilst the other one wakes up one day and is like ‘oh, it’s you, you’ve been here all along and I never noticed.’ But also! Comic shenanigans, prank wars between them, practical jokes, truth or dare - I’m easy to please, honestly.

Jagged Fel/Jaina Solo/Zekk

Okay, for those who didn’t go and read all of Legends… Jagged Fel is Wedge Antilles’ nephew, Jaina Solo was Han and Leia’s daughter, and Zekk was one of Luke’s students. There was a bit of a love triangle going on. However, in many points, it was less of a love triangle, and more… well. They should have all banged.

Key moments include that time Jaina and Zekk were in a hive mind, and got slightly confused over whose memories were whose, leading to this conversation:

Our boyfriend means business, Zekk observed.

Don’t know that it’s him. And it’s old boyfriend.

Right. We’re so over him.

We?

And also the bit in Legacy of the Force: Invincible, where after Jag and Zekk help pull Jaina out of a sticky situation, she, in a state of confusion due to her banged up head, asks them to both to bunk with her.

So, basically, I want poly shenanigans – fic after the proposed quarters sharing would be great (what if Jag and Zekk took her seriously and had already moved everything about by the time she came round???), messy relationship rebuilding after the Dark Nest fiasco, something where Zekk steps in as Jaina and Jag’s relationship starts to fall apart post NJO? I dunno. But I want them all to kiss.

Plourr Ilo/Evaan Verlaine

They are both kickass lady pilots, and they are both very gay, sooooooooo… it is a crime that they do not exist in the same canon. I want shenanigans. I want an encounter where one or both is undercover and they don’t realise the other is a rebellion / new republic pilot until after everything. I want them on different squadrons trying to one up each other.

Iella Wessiri Antilles/Wedge Antilles/Luke Skywalker

Okay so look what I really, really want is the utterly tragic fic after Mara’s death where Iella ‘I know what it feels like to lose a spouse’ Antilles and Wedge ‘I loved you once before who says I can’t do it again’ Antilles decide that they’re going to put Luke back together again, in whatever way it takes. Featuring movie nights, bed sharing and a lot of relationship negotiations.

Also acceptable would be fic set around the time of the X-Wing books, in which Wedge is trying very hard to move on from Luke but is doing an utterly terrible job of it but also really really likes Iella, and the mess (and eventual happy polyamory negotiations) that comes out of that.

Iella Wessiri Antilles/Wedge Antilles/Diric Wessiri

So, Diric really didn’t seem to have any objections to Iella and Wedge getting it on when Wedge (tragically) goes to ask Iella out in the Krytos Trap. So what would happen if something had happened between Wedge and Iella. How do the three of them navigate that—does Diric try and encourage them and leave them to it only for Iella to miss her husband too much, or does Iella try and ignore her developing feelings for Wedge in favour of her marriage.

I am also very interested in what happens if Diric lives—Wedge and Iella still have that tension between them, does that develop? I suspect they both feel absolutely awful about it and try to keep it underwraps while Diric is subtly—or not so subtly—trying to push them together.

Somewhat related thoughts: based on the fact that Iella and Diric married when Iella was very young, and she took his last name when that’s not the standard for independent corellian women… I have an elaborate headcanon about how she married Diric to get out of a really bad home situation, and only fell in love with him later on. How does that play into the dynamic?

#star wars rare pairs #rare pairs #exchange letter

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firstpuffin · 5 years ago

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Where is Frozen 2 going to go, and will it meet the standard of the first?

It’s probably worth pointing out early on that I don’t watch trailers to the things that I’m interested in; I’ve had too many experience ruining spoilers, which also happens to be an article in the works. I avoid as much as I can about the movie, series or game, which means that everything I have to say about the upcoming Frozen 2 is based solely on posters, the products we get in at work and experience.

So, sequels are a difficult thing to pull off, like wet clothes or a duct-tape gag. A good, satisfying movie should stand on its own without needing a follow up movie, television series or other separate source (looking at you Marvel Cinematic Universe). But of course this complete story can mean that it’s hard to follow up on. That’s why the first Kingdom Hearts game appears to close off the story (mostly) while letting you know that the main cast haven’t stopped adventuring; it’s both finished and open to expansion.

I wanted to throw in a bad example but I think it’s telling of the internet age that I don’t remember any; I only ever seem to watch or play things that have been recommended for quality (or I watch specifically because they are bad) so I haven’t experienced many bad sequels in recent years. I’ve suddenly lost confidence in this article… Still, it’s nice to only remember the good examples because depressed people typically better remember bad memories than good, so maybe I’m managing my own better? Silver linings.

The second Harry Potter book could have been a travesty. They’d apparently killed off for good the big bad antagonist with He-who-must-not-be-named’s revival being foiled, only to be followed up by another attempt set into motion before he died originally. You could accuse this of being a forced method of continuing the story for a number of reasons, but that’s how writing goes. The diary horcrux doesn’t contradict anything from the first book and isn’t a deus-ex-machina at the end of a story, so where’s the problem?

Star Wars did this well too: the first movie was actually very simple. Leia asks for help, this leads to finding the Luke which leads to saving the Leia, which leads to defeating the bad guys. It’s a super-simple three acts that closes the story while also leaving things open (although what with Lucas changing everything I don’t know about the original versions…). Then the second movie expands on the simple story and background set up by the first movie, of the empire, Vader etc.

Another way to do a sequel is just to have a series of movies that follow the adventures of the heroes without any mention of destiny or anything particularly grand. Look at any action movie series: sure, they may be saving the world but nothing really changes after each movie. Iron Man is just Iron Man making up for mistakes. Ethan Hunt is just trying to- save the girl? Am I misremembering this or is Ethan usually trying to protect a woman? Sure, he saves the world too, but that’s secondary.

Anyway, these movies are pretty simple and don’t try to take things too far. Look at the tagline for Frozen 2: “Destiny Awaits”. I mean, ignoring how dull it is to bring destiny into a story it’s apparently the only way for the writers to keep to the scale of the first film, which was a Game of Thrones (GoT) attempt at taking over a fucking kingdom (a word that has lost a lot of impact through Disney films so just take a moment to think about how huge it really is), while a freezing apocalypse (huh, it is GOT) ravages it.

So thinking back to what I said about Star Wars, what did the first Frozen movie set up that is still available for use? Hans is gone, Anna and Elsa made up, that one angry Duke may return but I can’t see him as a valid villain. The only thing left is the mystery of Elsa’s Wintersmith powers which, given the destiny angle, is probably where this is going. And it’s boring. As a society we need a break from destiny, it’s everywhere. Chosen ones in particular are annoying.

But it seems we are going to have another one. Elsa’s powers make her a chosen one and something is going to happen to require her to defeat some great scourge in a far-off land- Why am I talking about adventure though? Well, the merch has a lot of pictures of Elsa, Anna and Kristoff with horses and one particular poster, the one that inspired this article in the first place, has them cheerfully walking along a snowy riverbank.

I’ve been nanny-negative so far (does nanny-negative work? I don’t know why I said it) so let’s look at what does have me interested. That poster that changed the course of this article? Not only was it a super pretty piece of art (but too big to put in my room), but while it seemed to be set during the day and the snow was pure white as it tends to be in the day, the river water was an ominous red.

I didn’t even notice it at first, but when I did it immediately set a scene. Sure, the scene is exactly what I bemoaned earlier, but the poster set it up so well that I don’t mind. Absolutely, I think that having our heroes go on an adventure is the easy option for a prequel and while I can’t think of any examples (it’s bad, I know, but at least I’m being honest) I’m sure it’s done frequently.

Frozen set one hell of a standard for any potential sequels to try and meet and if it isn’t met then people

will

get upset because people: well that’s what they do. It may have been better left as a stand-alone film, but we’ll see.

#first puffin #I'mgettingfedupoftags #frozen #frozen2 #writing #borednow #thosetagswilldofornow

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jojotier · 6 years ago

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may we hear your thots about edogai in the form of that character ask? ❤️

Well Usami would be the biggest thot by design if not function if he’s by Edogai-

ihvfuovfhj in all seriousness, Edogai… is an interesting case. Because on the one hand, I have no fucking clue what to feel about him. Am I terrified? Disgusted? Protective? Respectful? Fuck man I don’t even know

Favorite Thing: His passion for his craft is something wonderful to behold. Like, if you just look Beyond the fact that its Human Skin Robbed From Corpses being made into clothes, if you just mentally replace it with fabric or focus on his taxidermy, the care and dedication he has to what he does is incredible. Not only is he precise in his methods, but he has obvious skill in what he does that speaks volumes about how much he’s honed it. And honestly, I’d even take it one step further- even with the skin clothes, the fact that he’s so willing to experiment with different designs and forms for his hobby shows a massively creative, adventurous spirit. In a lot of ways, I love that Edogai is a character that an artist like myself can see some like qualities in- though of course, my art is the simple act of writing, and not. Skin. I also just think that his personality is a lot of fun, when paired with other characters, and love how sweet he can be!

Least Favorite Thing: That he died so early, tbh. As much as I’m wishy washy over like. How I feel about him personally. There’s no denying that Edogai himself had a massive amount of potential as an antagonist, and with some character development, might have one day surpassed the likes of Tsurumi and Kiroranke. Or if not become an antagonist, becoming an unlikely ally along with Ienaga would have been fun as well. That being said, his personality was kind of annoying in big, big doses…

Favorite Line: To be honest, nothing really stands out to me as much as Edogai being like “Well how about YOU let me skin you and tattoo that, huh Tsukishima?!” when Tsukishima is trying to be motivational. It was both pretty fuckin’ funny and gave me an inkling of a sadistic idea that will now forever be woven into future aus I get in contact with- when will the point come when Edogai decides to take matters into his own hands and get fresh skin for himself?

brOTP: Outside the confines of canon, where he presumably lives? Edogai and Ienaga, all the goddamn way. Think about it- Ienaga likely has nice skin already, so she doesn’t really need to eat much of it. And I mean, Ienaga would probably be absolutely charmed by all of Edogai’s creations, what with being kind of a freak herself, so she’d likely hand the skin of her victims off to him. Thesis statement: let Edogai have a cannibal granny who shows him the true meaning of family. Also I guess Tsukishima and Edogai would be a good brOTP, in the confines of canon

OTP: EdoSami. I know they haven’t interacted in canon, but listen dude. I’m a goddamn Sucker for that photoset where the guy is holding a rose and trying to decide which of two girls to get with, so the girls just take the rose and go out with each other. That’s EdoSami, except the rose is a freshly severed hand and the guy is Tsurumi. Some other runners up include EdoKaidou, EdoTsuki, and EdoKoi- basically, I ship him with anyone in the 7th Except Tsurumi

nOTP: TsuruGai.

Random Headcanon: Edogai became interested in working with human bodies after his father was killed. After his father’s body was sent to the mortician, Edogai followed, grieving over the corpse. The mortician, taking pity on the youth and knowing his hobby, offers to give him a space to “do what he has to do”. Edogai didn’t understand what he meant, at first. But the mortician and the mortician’s wife let him stay with them for a few days, and the mortician showed him how to work on human corpses, pulling up the intestines with vigor and keeping the faces covered until Edogai was ready. The mortician’s wife advised him in proper sterilization and embalming.

He soon came to understand that they were willing to let him stuff his father like one of his taxidermies and, at first repulsed but wanting desperately to have some remnant of his only confidant and friend, he does it.

Unpopular opinion: TW: Descriptions of medical cadavers and general corpses

Despite Edogai’s hobby being grisly and highly disrespectful, I can… understand how it might have started. I think Edogai’s hobby evolved and mutated from a very sane place. In some respects, this comes from my own experience visitng a cadaver lab when I was 17 as well as the simple fact of human nature: to some people, the macabre and uncanny is fascinating, rather than frightening. For myself and my interest in psychology, seeing a human corpse like that, highly dissected to the point where it was easy for me to lift the intestines or poke around the ribcage to feel the heart, it put into perspective how strange and precious consciousness is, that the brain full of holes that I held in my hands once belonged to a mind and body. For Edogai, perhaps his fascination began there as well- understanding that the skin he used belonged to a person. Someone who was using it, who filled it with scars and callouses.

Edogai is terrifying not just because of what he does with skin- but because what he does with skin is the result of something deeply disturbed. A morbid fascination, twisted in the wrong way, egged on by years of abuse and isolation. And in surrounding himself with mounts and skins and bodies, cutting himself off from others, he began to become more terrifying, perhaps not even remembering that all the graves he robbed- all the skins he took- used to belong to humans. Living, breathing, humans. With lives. With loves. With families and dreams. And in that dehumanization of the dead, his descent into madness began.

Song I Associate with Him: Death by Glamour, at .666 speed. You’ll understand why if you listen lmao

Favorite Picture: Is it bad to say I kinda like this design Edogai made? ;;

#edogai yasaku #golden kamuy #corpses tw #discussion of that therein #also the cadaver lab experience was cool!!!#but ive never done it again #mostly bc im not premed anymore #i still dont know how to feel about edogai #but boy is he.... kinda fun and cute to write

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drv3imagines · 7 years ago

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Hey, what up friends of this blog. If you were expecting Mod Ouma, But Ironically (Mod Tojo) to answer an ask, I deeply apologize because that’s not what this post is about… HOWEVER. I would like to pay special attention to a few characters we’ve missed out on for birthday bashes. I was waiting until Rantaro’s birthday to go ahead and compile the birthday bashes we’ve previously missed out on. I had no intention of JUST doing Korekiyo, Ryoma, and Kirumi (Everyone deserves the love the killing game didn’t give them). I’m gonna go as far back as Angie Yonaga, Kokichi Ouma, Tsumugi Shirogane, Shuuichi Saihara, and finally our boi who’s birthday is today! Rantaro Amami! No one placed these asks in our boxes, so technically we aren’t obligated to write for them? But, I like being fair, and those poor kids deserve more.

So without further ado. Have a VERY LONG POST.

Angie Yonaga You weren’t exactly sure what to get Angie, which is a little more complex than you thought it should have been. She found a lot of gifts from you pleasing through the eyes of Atua. New art brushes? Atua thanks you for the offering of tools to further Angie’s craft for His eyes. Cute hair pin? Atua says that s/o is kind to bring forth ornaments to decorate Angie’s hair~ Once you tried to make her dinner, but that didn’t work out too well… Atua said it sucked and you ended up ordering out instead. Atua was right on that one, pizza was much better than eating burned meatloaf… You didn’t want to separate Angie from her religious views, but you honestly wanted to hear what she had to say for once. Even though you’ve been dating for so long, was it possible to hear just her thoughts on something? Especially since today was her birthday. That’s when you started to formulate your plan… Angie had just finished leading a prayer, when you stopped her just before she could go off. “Hey Angie, y'know what today is right?~” You asked in a sing-songy voice. The artist closed her eyes -probably asking Atua- before humming out the answer. “Atua says… Today is the day we celebrate a devout follower!~” “That’s right! And I got you som-” “S/o finally wants to donate blood for sacrifice!” A twinge of panic caused your heart to leap. Not that you didn’t wanna appease her wishes in donating…it’s just that you already agreed to do that nearly four times this month…any more blood and you’d end up in the hospital… “Maybe…next month…or three. Actually, it’s your birthday~ And I got you something! I think you’re going to really love it this time, Angie!” “Ah, but Angie already loves everything you offer. As s/o’s kind heart is pleasing in Atua’s eyes. He sees you and loves how you treat his dear children.” Perhaps…Angie really does appreciate everything you do behind her religious veil…if this is the best she could do to admit her feelings then you’d just have to accept it. You’d love her either way… You pulled your gift to her out of the bag anyway and she squealed. “It’s an avocado!~ Thanks!~ The gracious avocado is a blessing that Atua sends to Angie’s island as a gift for our devotion to Him! However…Angie thinks the best gift she has received from Atua…is you, s/o.” You blush at her comment before muttering, “do you think you can ask Atua if I can kiss you?” Angie pretended to think for a moment before cheerfully giggling, “Atua grants you permission~”

Kokichi Ouma It was never a quiet day at the Ouma household. Your boyfriend was as childish as he was in high school, always the jokester and prankster. Still cuter than a button, and a huge tantrum throwing crybaby at times, but that’s what made him special. Who cares if he’d grow to be a man-child? He was loving and cared for you like no other. That’s why you reserved all your rest for his special day. Each year since you’d known him he’d been a guy to go all out- But… When you woke up this morning…it was quiet. You immediately thought he just got a super early start and wasn’t here, but you found him in the kitchen making a breakfast. It was a tad cleaner than when he normally cooked but- “Okay, who are you and where’s my energetic boyfriend?” He turned to you with that infamous devilish grin of his accompanied with his ‘evil laugh’. “Nishishishishi~ Good morning s/o~ I decided this year I’d shake things up for my birthday~” What. This was automatically suspicious. What was this dork planning? “Awww, don’t you trust me, s/o?” No Well, of course. But if Kokichi made an unexpected change, something very bizarre was going to happen…you’d just have to keep a close eye on him for the day. Unfortunately…you were left with nothing. Your boyfriend was completely unreadable all throughout the day. You spent a whole day with him, indulging in activities you wanted to do??? Was it like some April Fool’s Day prank he was pulling?! But it isn’t April… maybe he’s got something really strange planned up ahead…better brace yourself. Yet nothing happened. It was actually well into the evening and the two of you were having dinner at a restaurant the two of you would frequent on really special date nights. Okay, seriously what is going on?! “Kokichi…are you alright? We spent your entire birthday doing things I liked to do? Did you do something I need to know about?!” That same smirk he gave you this morning reappeared, but it was softer…and very loving… “You’ve been so suspicious of me today, s/o,” he whined, “don’t you trust me?~” This time you vocalized your answer, “yes… I trust you, Kokichi. Please tell me why you’re doing this?” “Well, since you’re so nosy today~ I guess I should spill, huh?” For a moment you thought he blushed, but whatever it was, it immediately disappeared. “You’ve trusted me this long. I guess I should start acting like I like it or something. Every year you’re always making my birthday memorable, so I thought I’d be selfish and make this next memory one I create for us~” You didn’t have the slightest clue of what he was talking about until he pulled out a small box from his pocket and kneeled down at your side.

Tsumugi Shirogane Plain. That was the single thing your girlfriend asked from you on this day. She wanted the day to be a reflection of who she was. Plain. No surprises. No cake, unless it made a specific cameo from her favorite anime episode. And definitely no parties. Definitely no. She just wanted to cuddle her human dakimura and watch some of her favorite classics. Even though Sailor Moon was typically for normies, she was glad the remakes were staying true to the classic. You decided you would obey her demands…for now…and cuddle your otaku til her heart’s content. Eventually, noon rolled around and you had started to get hungry. Offering her lunch was pointless when she was fully immersed in whatever you two had been watching (Sailor Moon had to go when a new episode of her fave was on), so you took it upon yourself to make her something cutesy. While you were cutting up vegetables to put on her side, you checked your cell phone really quick before returning to your otaku. You thought you heard her mumble something, but you figured it was about the show, and started your at lunch. Just as the next episode began, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” even though it was pointless to announce when she wasn’t paying any mind.

Tsumugi had finished her lunch a while ago, but her focus was on this crucial exchange between the protagonist and the antagonist. It would determine whether a successful escape would be possible for the protagonist and the future of anyone else who received this fate, or if the antagonist would have the advantage and would continue their plot even after death. She figured it would be a pretty cool reference for her next cosplay. Maybe she should discuss this matter with someone who had appreciated her– Oh? But… where had you gone off to. Tsumugi paused the episode, worried that she had lost your interest by being to delved into her favorite show. Even though it was her birthday…she should have considered your feelings too. Deciding she’d apologize, the cosplayer picked up her plate and placed it in the kitchen, before searching the house for you. “S/o? I-I’m sorry I got lost in the show again… Ill do my best to give you more attention if that’s what you- Oh?” Had she somehow reentered the fictional reality she just left? Blinking repeatedly, she made sure she was awake, but nothing had changed. You stood before her, dressed as her favorite character, but not only that, you turned your shared bedroom into the world the character came from. It was nearly perfect, almost as if she had done the work herself. “I know you said you didn’t want a surprise, but I just wanted to do something special for my not-so-plain girlfriend. I had a speech prepared, but I think I’ll wait to deliver it when I’m not in character.” Her heart is completely overwhelmed at the work you put into impressing her. You’re almost worried she might faint, so you embrace her gently, steadying her balance. “Th-thank you… For not only taking the time for putting this together… making my belief that cosplay is an expression of love real.”

Shuuichi Saihara Today is my birthday. Shuuichi thought to himself. A few years ago if he said that to himself, he’d have mixed feelings about it. He didn’t really like big social gatherings and only kept the celebratory matters amongst his family members. And even then, he insisted they kept everything on a low profile. That is…until he met you. You were very exciting, and persistent. You always helped him out of his shell every now and then, allowing him to comfortably be able to celebrate this renewed day knowing love and care. He couldn’t wait until he found out what you had in store to- He turned over to see your side of the bed very much empty. It wasn’t even like warm, meaning you had been absent for some time. Curious of the situation, Shuuichi climbed out of bed and began to investigate. And investigate was definitely something he was going to have to do today. He smiled at the sticky note on his door, a symbol scribbled on its surface. So this is what he had in store today. After getting dressed, Shuuichi had accumulated nearly twelve sticky notes all of which had some kind of symbol scrawled on it. But he was at a dead end when he collected all of the notes. This can’t be right, none of these sheets have words on them. Shuuichi closely examined each of the notes splayed across the table, then he examined the area once more before his eyes rested on an out of place book. It looked like it had been recently removed from the shelf as the other books were more settled. Shuuichi removed the book finding his guess to be accurate when he discovered a sticky note with a smiley face tacked on the first page. It was a book of codes, you’d bought him for his previous birthday. He didn’t want to spoil himself as to what could be in store next…but he was practically bouncing in his shoes with excitement at his guesses. Turns out he was right! You had used previous gifts to give him clues as to where you could be hiding…all leading up to the final destination. Shuuichi saw you patiently waiting underneath a gazebo in a local park…the scene had looked vaguely familiar to him… but he couldn’t recall why… After your normal greeting, Shuuichi followed your movements carefully, trying to note what was it about this place that was ringing so many bells at once?! “Would it be too much trouble to ask you out on a tea date next time? I could perhaps bring my novels and we could talk about our favorite characters.” Almost on instinct, Shuuichi replied, “that wouldn’t be any trouble at all. If it’s with you, I would-” Oh. My. Gosh. You were recreating the moment when the two of you first met! “I see the light bulbs going off Mr. Detective, have you finally solved the case?” “I think so. I think the culprit is definitely you this time. The crime you’re being charged with……stealing my heart.” He’d have to look up some better pick up lines next time! He was not prepared at all, but at least you blushed. Maybe even-…even after all these years you still took his breath whenever you kissed him.

Rantaro Amami “S/o!~ Rise and shine (ursine…//shot).” You grumbled in response to the cheery voice, turning over to put your pillow over your head. “Come on, s/o, you promised.” You could almost hear the pout he was doing. Rantaro was easy to understand in these moments… But it is his birthday today, so it was understandable. And, honestly, you were looking forward to it. Heck you were really excited to celebrate with him……but this year he had a little something daring saved up for this afternoon. And that thing was rock climbing. We aren’t talking about your basic run of the mill indoor plastic walls with artificial hand and foot holds. No, we are talking a real terrain. A real terrain with steep cliffs. A real terrain with natural sharp rocks. That kind of extreme rock climbing that only your boyfriend would suggest. You trusted he would make it safe for you since your skill was no where near his, but you still had your doubts. The bed sunk as you felt an extra weight approach you. He was getting persistent. You mentally sighed; it wasn’t fair for you to lie in bed and make him go by himself…especially on his birthday… “Okay, okay… I’ll do it for the birthday boy.” You mumbled in your half-sleep state. Whatever he was planning, stopped and he immediately retreated. “Great, I’ll see you at the rendezvous then?” Wait?! We’re leaving now?!? “By that I mean breakfast~” he chuckled and headed out of the room, leaving you to reluctantly get ready.

“Rantaro…are you sure you want to do this today? Have you checked the weather? Do we have enough supplies? What if we get lost and our phones die? Or they lose signal?” Your worried state didn’t phase your lover as he winked to you and passed a slice of cake to you. “It’s early, but consider it our last meal together.” He stated gravely, holding back a laugh. “Rantaro, that’s not funny! I’m being serious!” Your green haired lover froze at the graveness of your tone. It was silent for a moment before he turned back to the counter and moved the entire cake to the center of the table. You weren’t sure what he was up to, and became even more confused when he returned to the table with some candles and a lighter. He offered you some of the candles and you begrudgingly assisted him. Once he lit each candle, he gave you a small smile, then closed his eyes and blew out the candles. “Hopefully, that will keep us safe and not make you worry any more.” Huh? “What are you talking about? What did you wish for?” “If I told you it might not come true and we really could die~” “RANTARO!!!”

#Tfw you write for some of the shadiest characters in the game but you gotta act like they're pure for the sake of their fans #RIP Mod Tojo #also really sorry that I used the infamous Monokubs phrase... I've been playing V3 and I can't stop thinking about it lol...#Also shoutout to all you vine fans who caught what I did in Angie's story #lol #Rantaro in-canon actually has a pretty dark sense of humor #I think it's during his character introduction that he makes a light joke about their situation lololol #of course it was due to spoilers but it was still funny #Mod Tojo is so cheesy...but it's 1 am on a Tuesday I've extorted all my 1am resources lol #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#Mod Tojo #Angie Yonaga #Kokichi Ouma #Tsumugi Shirogane #Shuuichi Saihara #Rantaro Amami #Happy Birthday Rantaro #long post

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