#even down to how the dialogues and scenes are structured it's almost...the same it's a lot lmao

[logicheartsoul]

MattJen & Sambucky Parallels (Finale Edition)

[galedekarios]

this is a personal vent post so please let me just get it all out without trying to come at me lol:

so many ppl saying they respect larian's decision to peace out and not deal with hasbro/wotc, but i have to be honest, i don't respect them at all.

they are leaving a game behind that is unfinished and a narrative mess.

they leave a game behind where everyone paid the same amount of money for it, yet depending on which character you prefer, you get less content.

the disparity between everyone else and their writer's pet ast*rion is insane. he has a half to a third more content depending on which character you compare him to.

they leave behind a sparse act 2, which is already so barren compared to act 1 and all it had to offer. act 3 is a narrative mess and lacks structure.

they leave a game behind where they made promises a handful of weeks before release where they ought to have known that they, in fact, will not be delivering said promises: access to the upper city, consequences for playing certain races across the acts (playing a drow is going to be different in act 1 and gives you advantages vs act 3 where it would give you understandable disadvantages), etc etc etc.

they leave behind a game where content was cut from the companions to make it seem like the origins have something to offer when that system is barely able to compare what origin playthroughs offered in dos2 and it hurts the game and the experience (like tara being cut for companion gale).

they leave behind a game where they promised to much variety and proclaimed in panels from hell how they struggled to show the width and depth of the game, but really? it's about as deep as a puddle. a lot of the choices do not matter. kill ethel? nah, she's alive and well in the city. no sister hags to be angry here. give karlach no infernal iron and never talk to her at all? doesn't matter, she'll survive until the end of act 3 and will still call you her bff. dissuade gale to use the orb? we'll make sure he'll still offer 3 more times just in case. send yenna away from camp bc you don't want her there? doesn't matter, she'll stay. and yes, i'm aware these are all small things, but they are part of a larger problem. almost nothing you do truly matters to the point of where i just skip most things in act 1 and 2 now.

they leave behind a game that they promise to still patch, but some things have been broken since early access / release to the point of where i'm like i'm sorry, but your word that you will continue to patch things means about as much to me as all the other empty promises. the dialogue about morena dekarios is still broken and it's been over half a year now. the astral sea scene has low-res body textures for months. i know from mutuals who love minthara that her romance is still broken. and i could go on and on.

and what gets me the most about this is all is that they have learned nothing at all from dos2: act 3 of that game was so bugged and all over the place that i couldn't muster up the motivation to finish it the first time i played. they neglected a character to the point of where he could have been removed from the game or made a general hireling (beast).

those issues were at least attempted to be fixed in the definitive edition.

with swen saying that there will be no new content anymore and stating that both bg3 and its characters are now property of wotc/hasbro, it seems unlikely we'll even get an attempt of a fix.

so what this boils down to to me is just another game company not delivering on their promises after overselling their product and more or less abandoning it after a year to move onto the next big thing.

i don't think i can respect that ngl.

[mae-i-scribble]

So I'm not really that into Arcane fandom or anything like that but is anyone else a little worried for how season 2 is progressing thus far? I'm not talking about the apparent Caitlyn vitriol that some people are falling into- god forbid you have complex characters am I right. But watching the first act of season 2 it's all so terribly rushed and not in the same way season 1 had fast pacing but with tight writing to make up for it.

Spoilers for the first 3 episodes ahead but the fact that we barely even get to know the new enforcer characters that come to Zaun annoys me. The most we have is the girl introducing herself to Vi. The other two aren't even named in the show let alone have any sort of personality. For the big shield guy why is he even allowed to be an enforcer???? Sir you were seemingly living on the streets drinking away your problems last I checked with no indication you were or wanted to be an enforcer. The kid that follows Jinx around doesn't even have any sort of lines until episode 3- which would be fine if it was clearly a deliberate choice for her character but considering that the show is trying to juggle so much it just feels like she fell to the wayside.

I'm also very much not a fan of how the 2nd season is structuring its storylines thus far- certain scenes loose their tension because they're so intercut with other scenes happening simultaneously- take the vi and jinx fight for example. Like I get it you wanted to show how them interacting with the run was actively interfering with the fight but the constant cuts back and forth leave a bad taste in my mouth. The structure they use for the various sections with music overplaying them are hit or miss to me- some I love, some I think should have been actual scenes with dialogue.

I'm also really sad to see them seemingly rush over bits of character development we really need to see. Like take Vi- her not wanting to be an enforcer is 200% justifiable and believable, we haven't been shown anything about how the enforcers work that would give Vi a reason to want to join. And then after the attack in episode 1 she silently comes to a decision to join which fine, I can buy her wanting to help now that Zaun is conducting terrorist attacks. But she just agreed to the plan to use the gray against the people of Zaun???? Really???? Vi did??? Shouldn't Vi, someone who is only joining the enforcers out of desperate necessity, be way more critical of any use of force in the undercity? There's even little things like when Caitlyn arrests the henchman I was expecting Vi to stand up for him because almost *everyone* in the undercity is some sort of criminal so that they can survive. But no it just turns into Vi asking them to ditch the side characters we know absolutely nothing about.

Speaking of Vi- for the record the cait/vi kiss in my opinion was stupidly forced in. I would have liked to see their relationship develop this season because in season 1 I could see the beginning of something there. I really loved the moment in the first episode where it's only when seeing Vi that Caitlyn breaks down a little because Vi is someone she can trust to be open with. Great stuff to further develop- oh no they're kissing after no development just to make the immediately following break up more dramatic? Great yay yippee representation -_- Don't get me wrong I would have loved to see it develop into a romance but not in episode 3 with no buildup (1st season does not count as buildup to me for an actual romantic relationship).

This is also somewhat petty but I do hate the fact that Ambessa is revealed to be behind the memorial attack in episode 3- I much would have preferred for that information to be revealed to the audience alongside whatever character discovers it. Revealing it like that is dramatic, sure, but I feel like it ruins the mystery of Ambessa's morality in a way that is not satisfying.

All in all I'm not the happiest with these first 3 episodes but we'll have to see how the other 2 arcs go before making any judgement calls overall.

[untoldsoup]

Hi! I was curious about how you organise work with your comics, including the writing parts :)

Idk if my process is how it's supposed to be done, but I'll share what's been working for me so far!

So for the btb comic, I got it written last year before the 'change' comic was done being drawn. I learned alot about how I wanted to do storytelling with that comic and it influenced how I organized the sequel.

One thing I learned from the 'change' comic is I absolutely loathed drawing the same location too much. Most of that comic is the wedding and by the end of the wedding I was so sick of drawing the wedding scenes (it almost caused me to quit a few times lol).

So when writing the script for the sequel I told myself every chapter would indicate a scene change. This would help me get through drawing a chapter knowing a new scene location would be drawn for the next chapter.

A scene change can be as small as a different room or as big as a new location, as long as *something* changed about the background I would have to draw.

Each chapter is its own word document (well google docs now, i switch over)

I write my stories in movie script format. When researching how to write comics I found the most helpful advice was screenwriting advice. I highly encourage people to watch youtube videos on screenwriting. I also watched a ton of videos aimed at screenwriters that talk about plot, how to write interesting characters, and the three act structure.

I made sure i could answer questions such as "why is my character doing this?" And "what motivates them?" And "how does their wants and desires change throughout the story?" I made sure that each character's motives and personality could answer these questions with a few simple words. I needed to make sure I have a clear understanding of what they wanted.

I go through a TON of edits in my chapters. I even edit alot when I finally start drawing, if I think some dialogue would work better rephrased once I see it next to my art. Editing is huge. Your first draft really is just getting the "dumbest" version down. Once you get over that hurdle, you can mold the script into what you need.

I remove a lot of dialogue during edits. Comics are a visual story telling device, so i try and make sure the words and art work together, and that the words don't feel like they could exist without the art.

There is nothing I hate more than when a comic page is a giant block of text. I find large scary blocks of text uninteresting, So I will often go out of my way to draw more panels if it means breaking up the dialogue.

I also try my best to write realistic dialogue. Would this character say this? Why are they saying this?

If you notice with my stories alot of characters are not direct in how they speak. In real life no one tells you directly "i am mad". They deflect, lash out, say things because they are jealous or hurt ect ect. I wanted to do my best to have my dialogue reflect how each character would realistically handle the pain they are dealt.

When I start drawing, I have the script for the chapter I'm working on open on one computer screen, and my art tablet with my program open on the other. This way as I'm drawing I can easily reference my script.

If I'm drawing an action heavy scene, I will often start paneling out on paper some crude sketches just so I can keep track of where everything should be. It's easy for things to get lost in the action so I try my best to make sure I am aware of where every character is in busy scenes.

These drawings are extremely crude but really really helpful. I don't mind sharing these as they are so abstract they don't really give anything away lol. But they do help me organize.

I use clip Studio to draw and from there start drawing my pages. Each page takes about 2-3 days to finish depending on complexity. I think I get about two pages done a week, more if I have vacation days or something from work.

I have a full time Quality Analyst job, so I'm only able to work on my comic between the hours of midnight and 5am lol. It's why you always see me updating and posting at horrible hours lol.

Anyway I hope that helps? Hopefully I answered your questions!

[dpsisquared]

6 (although I think I already know the answer :P), 10, 20!

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

Other than Dimileth, lol... certainly Sylvain, particularly teasing Dimitri. He's just The Guy that says what the audience wants to say. And there's always an undercurrent of "I'm being an ass cause that's my gimmick but I do actually care underneath all this smarmy bs".

Lately I've been writing Flayn more and she is fun too. Her stage notes are basically "how would an overexcited puppy react to this?" Lol. Petra as well because she is usually dropping some knowledge but you have to really analyze your sentence structure and word choice but keep that same message.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Utter chaos. Anarchy.

But more seriously, GRR Martin has a quote about "gardening" writing style, where you start with a small seed of an idea and let it grow on its own which is exactly what I do. I have never outlined a fic or even known where it was headed when starting. For example with my ongoing fic rn, I didn't start out thinking "I'm going to write a regency au with a count of monte Cristo type revenge arc". A conversation popped into my head where there was a party at some palace where a few women were talking about Kronya's body being found just outside. I just liked the contrast. Then I thought, oh the gossiping seems regency-ish. Then, I have to ask myself questions to fill in the blanks- who killed her and why? Dimitri-- but how do they not know that? He's hiding his identity-- ok then who do they think he is? What would have had to happen to make that plausible? Etc etc etc, eventually a setting and plot come together. This is why my longer fics are usually complete by the time I start posting. Because the beginning setup usually comes last 😅

Unfortunately this leaves a lot of unfinished WIPs with 1-2k words written in one sitting and abandoned 🫠 Sometimes I come back weeks, months, or even a year later and finish them, sometimes not.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Hmmmm not sure if this counts, but I always try to keep Dimitri and Byleth's relationship balanced. I don't ever want it to be "woman with no personality of her own saves complicated man". I try to show how he has done a lot for her too 💙💙💙

A random thing I do for Byleth is reevaluate any dialogue that has her saying more than two sentences without pause. Almost always I will cut it down if that's the case, unless she is relaying an event or something unemotional like that.

[menacing-anon]

I’m kicking off my set of posts on season 1 overall, especially as an adaptation, with this one about structure, additions and omissions.

Alice mentioned somewhere on Tapas that she initially intended for Heartstopper to be a novel, but showing events in the characters’ lives without escalating and resolving overarching conflicts was better suited to a webcomic. The show changed it to allow that, and I think they really pulled it off! I have a long explanation in me about how pretty much every issue I’ve seen people have with Love, Simon doesn’t happen in the novel, and I believe most of them are the result of adaptation to cinematic convention, so it’s inextricable from my thoughts about adaptation across mediums and my go-to example of it being at the expense of the story. Heartstopper, on the other hand, is a nice example of retaining a good and similar story while staying in keeping with the TV season format.

What’s also super interesting is that the changes can be subtle and add up, because the show has a lot of the same scenes, in the same order, sometimes even with almost identical dialogue, but the adjustments they make collectively shift the story. That’s also why they’re easier to notice when looking at the whole season. The best example might be Charlie’s apparent low self-esteem: there are multiple instances of Charlie being down on himself added to scenes of the comic. Here are my posts on how the two versions of Nick and Charlie individually are different.

The show kind of stretches the comic: it often takes a couple scenes and has a whole episode surrounding them. I would say that its additions do a few things that all come down to fleshing out the story: they, a, build plotlines more gradually, b, develop and escalate conflicts, and c, take the opportunity to further explore major themes. I’ll elaborate on each 🙂

With regards to the more spacious buildup, it’s things like all the fuss surrounding Tara before she comes out to Nick, and it can be a little fillery. In the comic, Tao tells Charlie that he heard Nick likes a Tara Jones from Higgs, and the next we hear of her is when Harry meddles at his party. And that works. So, strictly speaking, Charlie asking Elle to find out whether Tara likes Nick, Tara coming out to Elle and thus also the viewers beforehand, Elle reassuring Charlie, and Harry and Christian discussing Nick’s opportunity to talk to Tara are not indispensable — they’re just other events surrounding the ones that give us key information. However, this type of additions let us spend more time with and get to know the characters, which is awesome, and the greatest benefit from it probably comes to Taoelle. In the chapters of the comic corresponding to season 1, we only see them together at the bowling alley, and most of their romance is just direct characterization: other people note that they like each other a couple times. In the show, we get to see a lot of them together, their romantic storyline is set up and progresses, and there are scenes dedicated to it.

In terms of brewing conflicts, I’d say the conflicts in question are with Nick’s mates, Tao’s concerns, and Charlie’s insecurity. For instance, Nick actually undoes telling off Harry at the party, so Harry can stay the crux of Nick’s social pressure. But honestly, this whole storyline is one of the biggest changes from the comic, I think: it’s really relevant in the show, it’s almost The conflict, but it barely exists in the source material. Tao’s conflict, too, is way more significant. Both call for their own posts, linked here for Nick's friends and here for Tao. And most of the aforementioned post about Charlie could work as an elaboration on the third one. Anyway, they all reach boiling points in the last two eps of the season, unlike the comic, which moves pretty uniformly. There’s also Ben’s little comeback, which might’ve been intended as part of Charlie’s crisis, but then I think it could’ve been executed more effectively, since what Ben threw at him wasn’t really what Charlie was worrying about. It may also have been thrown in for structure in its own right. Show seasons and movies often have a low point where every storyline has gone to s***, then they’re resolved one by one; Ben Benning again pulls the show closer to the rockest possible bottom and creates another step to take up.

Finally, about exploring themes, I’m mainly thinking about Tara’s coming out storyline. The show has a mostly closeted LGBTQ+ character other than Nick and an opportunity to show, through her, other experiences related to coming out. And I’m glad they do! Here’s a post about me really liking how the season explores coming out 😅 The storyline with Imogen, which is entirely new, can also be seen as fleshing out the major theme, because it slots cleanly into the expectations and pressures Nick faces; and maybe secondarily as bulking up an existing conflict, because it fans the Tao flame.

Through all three types of additions, most characters get to be if not more impactful, then more present than in the comic. Isaac is about equally present to Aled, whom he kind of replaces, Elle makes many more appearances and actually has some influence on the plot, and Tao is waaay more involved. While Darcy hasn’t really gotten her own focus, her participation does increase along with Tara’s, who has an episode that notably explores her coming-out. Heck, even Harry and Ben have more to do.

I’ll touch on omissions briefly, because I don’t think there are many, but they did take some useful and really interesting stuff out for no clear reason, I thought. I’m pretty much just thinking of Tao in the bathroom explaining that he’s as worried as he is about Nick pulling something because Charlie was bullied really hurtfully and Tao was powerless to fix it. This definitely would’ve made it easier to see Tao’s desperation as coming from a place of hurt and fear. But also, Nick in response to that conversation saying that he wishes he had done something about it at the time, and Tao noticing that Nick is flirting with Charlie and doubting the sincerity of that, not their friendship in general. But perhaps most significantly, Christian, Sai and Otis — acronymed, that can make COS, so I call them collectively Cosine (or… Co-Sai-ne?) — blur into the other mates in the show. HOWEVER, credit where credit is very much due, you can see them being uncomfortable in the cinema in the show too,

so I assume they’ll be back and this is some great attention to detail for the retrospect. In that case, though, there will be an unnatural spike in their involvement: they would be apologizing to Nick and starting to be treated as his friends shortly after the viewers learn their names.

[bestworstcase]

Is it ever difficult for you to know when you're describing too much for a scene or when you need to stop?

hmm you know, not anymore? which feels weird to say because that used to be something i would AGONIZE about, but on reflection with like bitter snow (which, sidebar, creative drought notwithstanding i am still working on) it… really hasn’t been. like the question itself of if something is too much or too little these days is more on the level of fiddling with sentence structure or word choice in that it’s something i do in revision, and making the decision to pare back or lengthen has become fairly intuitive and painless.

and i think that’s probably just down to practice. i’m 29. i started writing novel-length fiction when i was 14 and have been writing basically all the time since then; even when stalled out on long term WIPs (like now) i write a lot, in the form of scraps of scenes or dialogue or character studies or fictional lore and so forth. so i am, i think, at a point where certain things are starting to gel because i’ve got a pretty solid grasp of what i like and how i want my prose to feel and also the skill to Make That Happen.

pacing—fundamentally description that is too long or not long enough is a pacing concern—depends a lot on tone and style. for example: pratchett. the discworld series takes a very minimalistic, snappy approach to description (a LOT of scenes are almost pure dialogue!) but still feels vivid and grounded in its setting because the descriptive voice is so strong; it’s awesome and a joy to read and also a style that absolutely does not work for me because i HATE writing it. (mimicking the styles of other writers is a valuable exercise for the same reason that doing studies is a valuable exercise for artists.)

i think that’s a crucial thing to realize. the right answer for one writer—even a writer whose stories you really like and whose craft you really admire—might be the wrong answer for you, and to a certain extent figuring this stuff out is about developing your own style and having confidence in that. and i also think that if you find yourself getting hung up on questions like “is this too much?” and “where do i stop?” on a regular basis, it might be helpful to start picking apart WHEN and WHY those questions occur, because it might be that you’ve hit the natural end point of a passage or scene and the doubts are happening because you’re second-guessing yourself and trying to keep writing beyond that point. or maybe it’s arising from insecurity and you’re trying to pump the brakes too early because you don’t trust yourself to know when enough is enough. or maybe it’s more granular, like a habit of repeating the same idea in different ways or letting scenes just kind of trail off instead of ending. when something feels like it isn’t working the best thing you can do for yourself as a writer is to pin down WHY, because from there it’s just troubleshooting.

[xanofmercia]

Hmmm, interesting. Thanks for your take!

For me, the reason why I like “shittier draft” is because it gives me permission to do it badly. Almost like… “I *meant* to do it that way”. Sure, I’ll be pleasantly surprised if I come back to edit and find some gems there, but “shitty” is a vibe for me more than just a quality or moral judgment, so I expect it to seem rough around the edges and let myself do more experimenting or “good enough” stopgaps to get it done. Whereas “worst version” actually feels… to me, the same way “shittiest” feels to you! Like that’s not a vibe; that’s just a statement of quality. The worst version. It doesn’t matter that it’s relative; it still feels really bad even if it’s true. Calling something a “worst version” or “worst draft” would actually sap all of my motivation and morale to work on it.

All this is to say, it’s really interesting how different words can have massively different impacts on different people, even if we agree on their definitions.

Anyway, part of it might be things like.. I’ll say “oh this is so shitty but I love it”. The word with respect to quality kind of evokes grittiness, like “oh this isn’t smooth but the potential is there. Shaping and honing it will be fun but so is just getting it out there.” Whereas I’d never say “this is the worst but I love it.” To me “worst” carries more of a sense of… “irredeemable”, even though that doesn’t necessarily logically follow.

Also “shitty”, when I say it about my own work, doesn’t really bother me at all. It has no harmful impact and instead just lowers my expectations, which makes the process more fun. Slapping a “shitty” label onto something lets me know that this is the “quantity over quality” zone where I can dick around with things.

“it just needs to be done” doesn’t really work because it’s a mouthful and also not an adjective. It’s also not accurate! It implies I’m just trying to get it over with, like the process is a struggle but as long as it’s done that’s good. When I’m doing something shitty, the process isn’t a struggle. It’s just deliberately not trying to be good. And that feels a lot more fun! Whereas the “done version” (idk what one would call it) makes it sound like a boring slog that I definitely wouldn’t want to keep working on.

I’d never heard of “zero draft” before your post and checked out your posts on it. It sounds interesting and I’m really glad there are people it works for, but WOW that could not be me! I don’t even number my drafts at all, usually; I edit as part of the writing process (I.e. go back to read a previous scene to refresh myself on what the vibe was and where I left off, only to end up revising the scene because there are parts that need work). So it’s all one continuous first-to-final thing, until I’m at least halfway through and a really huge change comes up, and then I make a new file so it’s easier to delete big chunks and replace them. But if it isn’t halfway through, then I just move the big chunk to a section called “deleted scenes” and write the new chunk right there, making it still part of the same draft. Now that I think about it, I don’t actually use “shittiest version” at all, so oops on misleading! I’ll just classify works as “this one is ‘shitty’”, as shorthand for “this one has absolutely zero expectations, do whatever you want, write it all in dialogue if you want, or do half of it in comic sans”. And others as “no this one is actually good, so you have to be in a more serious mindset to do it, and it’ll be slower because you’re being a lot more deliberate and planning what to do, and also the structure of the plot is already in place and the style is already set so you’ll have to match both until it’s done and you start editing”. For those, I don’t actually like “playing” or experimenting, because that’ll just slow things down. I’ll come back to it and find it doesn’t fit, or it made the story way longer than I wanted it to be, and the extra length isn’t doing anything. So it needs to be tight. And I know some people hate writing immediately like that, since “that’s what editing is for”, but I don’t mind doing that sometimes; it’s a different form of fun for me. I’ll still go back and edit afterwards, but being deliberate from the very start is challenging and interesting in a different way than… being shitty 😅

I'm so glad Tumblr brought me across the guy who won't let people talk bad about their singing voices because I am his sister in another artistic line.

"It's my shitty draft."

No! It's not shitty, it's just early in the writing/rewriting process!

[idrellegames]

I sometimes regret making Wayfarer's development cycle episodic. It's really hard not to measure success through the lens of engagement, activity and statistics. I constantly worry about folks losing interest in the game because the public build doesn't update regularly, but it is very much the nature of engagement to go up and down.

I know I could maintain consistent engagement if I had a shorter update cycles. More updates = more players = more things to talk about = more engagement. It's the same reason most successful content creators (ajsdhfg I hate that term) have some kind of weekly or daily upload schedule.

But game development takes an extremely long time and the sheer amount of writing that goes into making an interactive fiction game is a little bonkers. From the way my game is structured and created, I really do think it is in its best interest to do complete episodic releases rather than updates in parts. There's so much going on behind-the-scenes that it would put me in a situation where I would constantly break save files to fix major errors, handle new variations, and put in new branches.

I'm a lot more comfortable working in big chunks, so I can see the whole picture properly and account for any missing continuity. It minimizes errors on my part and makes editing in the long run a lot easier. I have a philosophy of "don't code until finished" because once a section is in the game, it's really hard to do major text edits without taking the whole thing out and re-coding it.

I'm not sure how smaller updates would be fulfilling to play anyway, given the average playthrough to total word count ratio. What is often a huge update for me is a small one for the player; going through a few new dialogue branches and making a couple decisions just doesn't seem worth it for the sake of monthly updates. It's more impactful to play an entire episode as a whole, rather than in parts.

All this to say: activity/engagement stats mess with my head and I'm doing my best to ignore it. 😅 I work on Wayfarer almost every single day and even though it seems like a lot of time has passed since the last public update, when the next one rolls around, there's going to be a lot to sink your teeth into.

[earthstellar]

The Cybertronian Class System in Transformers Prime

We know very well about the class system in IDW Transformers and how that contributed to the societal tensions that led to the rise of the Decepticon movement, but what about the Aligned Continuity? 

Novel: Exodus 

We know there is a dual caste and guild system in place. 

The caste system referenced in Exodus is directly stated to be determined through a process in which a new spark is encouraged to take its most natural alt-mode form as soon as it is able. The alt-mode is then used to rank them in society. 

Guilds are less well defined, but appear to be structured around further classification of bots by their relative position within their caste. 

The scientific/academic guilds are stated to be of a very high rank, whereas labourers and manual workers are towards the lowest rank. 

There isn’t much more detail than that, so that is almost all of the information we have to work off of in terms of the TFP Cybertronian social structure.

However, it is worth noting that Functionism in the IDW Transformers comics was developed prior to TFP’s writing, and TFP borrowed the concept of alt-mode determination from the comics. So we can assume that many elements of Functionism are shared one to one between these continuities, although the Functionist Council does not exist in the Aligned Continuity. 

Interestingly, Megatron and the beginning of his social revolutionary efforts are based around the same similar initial core beliefs in both IDW and TFP:

I talk more about how class differences between Orion Pax and Megatronus are largely what caused the war in TFP in this post. 

TFP: Deus Ex Machina 

The episode opens with Miko in trouble at school, when she is picked up by Bulkhead after detention is over. He takes her back to base, and they have a discussion about Miko’s future.

Here’s the relevant dialogue: 

Bulkhead: ��Look, Miko. Before I became a warrior, I was a labourer. Construction. I can build stuff, I can break stuff. And that’s it!”

Miko: “I love breaking stuff! I wanna be just like you, Bulk.”

Bulkhead: “Ugh... Why would you wanna be like me, when you could be a... A medic, like Ratchet!”

Two things here stick out to me, the first being that Bulkhead thinks very little of himself, and has class related trauma that likely resulted in his generally low self-esteem. He always claims he isn’t smart, isn’t clever, and so on. But building and construction takes significant skill and knowledge on a material and conceptual level. 

The second thing is that he immediately jumps to using Ratchet as an example of what Miko should aspire to be. Ratchet, of course, is a medic-- Remember the guild system in TFP, where scientific class bots were deemed amongst the highest in social capital and relative value. 

The Wreckers and the Class System

I get the feeling this is why Wheeljack doesn’t like Ratchet very much (at least at first), and why Wheeljack resists Ultra Magnus outright. They are both higher class/upper guild bots who would have been a part of the system that likely kept Wheeljack down. 

We don’t know what Wheeljack’s background is in TFP, other than the fact that he’s a Wrecker, but I get the feeling that the reason why he’s not first and foremost a scientist/engineer in this continuity is because he was likely prevented from joining the scientific guild because he was ranked into a lower class due to his natural alt-mode. 

There’s nothing that supports that in canon, but it makes a lot of sense. 

We also know that Bulkhead and Breakdown know each other, and we don’t have all the details there, but it seems likely their relationship to each other may pre-date the factional divide and they may have been from the same class/caste or guild. 

TFP: One Shall Fall 

The episode opens with the kids erasing photos of Bumblebee from the internet; Infamously, this leads to Jack asking Optimus if he wants to see the cat gif that made Ratchet laugh, to which Optimus replies with a flat no. 

This leads Ratchet to mention that Optimus wasn’t always like this, and he was very different before becoming a Prime, leading to the following dialogue: 

Raf: “Optimus wasn’t always a Prime?”

Ratchet: “On Cybertron, one isn’t born into greatness; Rather, one must earn it.”

I think it’s interesting that as he says this, he takes the posture above: Looking up, even though the kids are all far below his line of sight and off to the opposite side of his gaze here. Like he’s repeating it from memory. And that’s possibly exactly what this is; He’s repeating what he was always told. 

Of course, that statement contradicts nearly everything we know to be factual about Cybertronian culture, but it makes sense from Ratchet’s point of view.

We know Ratchet is old, walked across the Cybertronian continent to reach Iacon to study and train as a medic under Remedy, who was the CMO in Iacon at that time. 

Ratchet, while his spark originated in an undeveloped village, had to travel and work hard to become a medic. 

What he doesn’t seem to grasp, is that he’s quite possibly old enough to pre-date the caste and guild system on Cybertron. 

While we don’t have any definite dates, we do have eras for Cybertronian civilisation which I explore further in this post, and it is entirely possible Ratchet simply became a medic before he would have been defined by his alt-mode. Or perhaps his alt-mode was always some kind of Cybertronian ambulance, and it didn’t make any difference in his case because he wanted to become a medic anyway. 

It’s easy to see why his attitude might grate on bots like Wheeljack or Bulkhead; He’s either very old or very lucky or both, and while from his own POV he did have to earn his place to study in Iacon by way of having to get there first and prove his potential, that is a very far cry from experiencing systemic oppression. 

In Pre-War Cybertron, Ratchet had social privilege above every other Autobot we see in TFP.

I think in light of that, it’s very interesting that he yearns for Cybertron so severely. We know Ratchet cares about others and would not have supported the Functionist society if only because he feels all bots should have equal access to healthcare and a right to be well. 

But we also know he wants Cybertron restored, so much so that the destruction of the Omega Lock nearly causes him to collapse. (I might talk about that scene in a future post, too.) 

What we don’t know, is what Ratchet’s vision for an idealised, restored Post-War Cybertron actually is. 

Do I think Ratchet is a Functionist? No. He cares about his people, and believes in the Autobot key tenant that all bots are autonomous and should have the right to individual choice. (Something Megatron also believes, or believed in the beginning-- He is the one who first put the thought into Orion Pax’s mind.) 

But do I think that Ratchet has been heavily indoctrinated by Functionist beliefs due to his long-standing high ranking position in an intensely classist society? Yes. And I think he’s repeating something that used to be said in his pre-war social circle in the scene above, because surely, he knows better. 

[kpop-hive]

It Started In Italy

Osaki Shotaro x Reader, Romeo and Juliet based AU.

Warnings ⚠️: Language, Violence, Graphic Scenes, Unprotected Sex, Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Marking, Slight Praise, Slight Cockwarming, Mentions of blood, nausea, vomiting, arranged marriage and pregnancy.

I have arranged for this dialogue to be written Shakespearean language. Sorry if some of the dialogue is confusing I tried my best. 😊

Word Count: 10.4k Oops 🤭

Act I

Scene i

8:42 a.m. The sun kissed your skin as you awoke from your slumber. The white bedsheets spread across your skin smoothly as you rolled over, looking towards your bedroom door, there lay your big black suitcase packed and ready for placement in the car along with the silk dress you were ready to wear for the long flight to the Almafi Coast. You’ve always wanted to see Italy. Your father never took you and your mother with him when he went there for business. You’ve dreamt of going to Italy since you were litte, you always heard of stories about the food, clothes, structure and beautiful people. You’ve always thought about what you could find in Italy, your future, estates, love, your possibilities were endless. Now, the dream you’ve dreamt up for so long is finally coming true.

“(Y/n)! Why is my daughter still lay in her slumber!? We have to leave the house in thirty minutes and here thou are still in twilight’s clothes. Are thou not ready for Italy?” Your mother spoke. “Yes mother, has my own mother think slothfulness has been bestowed upon me? I will be ready for our departure quick and swiftly.” “Well, hurry up, thou father gets mad when thee is tardy.” Your mother says before exiting and closing the door. You sighed to yourself before getting up and headed to your bathroom for your morning routine.

You headed down to the kitchen to have some breakfast before you leave. Grabbing a bowl and some oatmeal, you pour it into the bowl, add some water, and throw it in the microwave. You went to the fridge to get some fruit to have with the oatmeal, and then your mom walked in.

“Darling, make sure thou doth not eat too much, bloating will not be accepted when there are so many young men that would adore being thou spouse.” Your mom commented. It was the dreaded marriage talk, your parents got married at a young age to secure their assets as a way to be set financially for life, and now your parents expect you to do the same. They didn’t really care about love in the relationship, it was only about partnership and favors, you hoped that if ever got to marry someone, it was because of love, regardless of money.

“Mother, dost thou not believe in mutual feelings?” You ask. “Mutual agreements are supposed to be in order dear, never feelings, thou needs to be presentable, and not fond of sloppiness. Thy image is everything, thou needs to be pure as heaven, kind and graceful, and thou will then have the perfect husband.” You rolled your eyes away from your mom, how is it that you have to be attractive to get a husband, but the marriage is not out of love at all, only lust, greed, and pride.

“Come hither my wife and daughter! We are all ready for thy departure.” Your father says. You finish up the last of your breakfast before cleaning your area, and leaving for the airport.

Scene ii

The Osaki Residence was quite different. They were filled with chaos, and humor. They lived life fully, and rarely conformed to society’s expectations. They had life long riches, but never acted as if they had it. Their life consisted of endless travel, fun and living life at full potential. In this residence, it consists of three family members as well, Mr and Mrs Osaki, and their son Shotaro.

“Shotaro, boys come forth, or we will miss thy flight!” A voice called. “Mom, we are ready, bags are together and all.” Shotaro responded. “We are fine, I thank thee, Mrs. Osaki.” Haechan said before bowing. “I’m sure we are all grateful for thee letting us come along on the trip to Italy.” Sungchan spoke. “Yeah, we are gonna have so much fun, partying, drinking, beautiful girls.” YangYang chimed in. “I know that all sounds fun, but have thou boys ever thought about settling down and finding a beautiful girl that thou would want to marry someday?” Mr. Osaki asked. The four boys all gave gagging faces. “Trust me boys, I was like thee at thou age, charming and could get many girls but remember, there’s nothing like being in love.” He said before kissing his wife’s cheek. “Now let’s go we don’t want to miss thy flight.”

Scene iii

The (L/n) family finally arrived in Italy. Almafi Coast was beautiful to say the least, and the villa that they purchased for the occasion was apart of the perfect scenery, quiet, serene, and tasteful.

“Oh! This exquisite, (Y/n), isn’t this lovely?” Your mother asked. “Yes, quite.” You spoke. You were still experiencing jet-lag, so you have answering as you went along. “(Y/n), come now, thou should go look at thou room.” Your father commented. You walked through the hallway and upstairs to get to your room at the villa, and you were astound at how beautiful the room was. It contained nude pink renaissance themed wall paper, a yellow canopy bed with gold bedding, and a large balcony that you could walk out to to see the coastline. You were honestly impressed with how well the room was put together. You definitely felt like your dad payed good money for this villa.

“(Y/n), how dost thou like thy room?” Your mom asked. “Very beautiful I thank thee, mom.” You replied. “Don’t forget, we mustn’t wait around, we have a party with thou father’s business partners and a few guests tonight to celebrate their new deals.” “Oh most certainly! I remember a few of father’s partners, Mr. Lee, Mr. Jung, Mr. Nakamoto, Mr. Huang, and Mr. Osaki.” After you mentioned that name, your mother’s reaction went from nice to brutal. “Do not speak of that scum that infiltrated our family do thou hear me!? He is not fit to be here! He has almost shunned our family’s honor, and I am glad that he will not be attending.” She exclaimed. You were awfully confused, your father and Mr. Osaki were really good business partners, you don’t know what happened, but due to the recent outburst, you thought it would be best to not bring it up again to your mother. She sighed before walking out of your room to calm down for a bit. You shrugged it off and began to get ready for the party.

Scene iv

After a long flight, the Osaki family and Haechan, YangYang, and Sungchan finally arrived. As they all were situated in their villa, the family and friends all caught up on the excitement that they all wanted for the trip.

“So, what is the one thing that thee would like to do?” Mrs. Osaki asked. “Well, there’s a pretty big coast, I do plan on going to thy dock one day and sail a little bit.” Mr. Osaki spoke. “For me, three words, girls, girls, and girls.” Haechan joked. “I definitely want to see the Sistine Chapel for sure, as well as some of Italy’s infrastructure and history.” Sungchan explained. “Are you kidding me, I came here for two things and two things only, parties and football.” YangYang smiled. The family continued to murmur on what they wanted to do until Mrs. Osaki questioned her son. “Shotaro, what about thee?” “I don’t know, I’ll go where thy wind takes me.” Shotaro shrugged. Everyone nodded. “I’m just glad we all get to spend time with each other, just my loving wife and son, his friends, and no one else that could ruin this vacation, besides I’m finally away from thy man who caused all this stress upon me.” Mr. Osaki said. “Are thou talking about Mr. (L/n) sir?” Haechan asked, but got glares from Mrs. Osaki and Shotaro causing him to look down. “Sorry.” He said. “No it’s alright, I guess I can explain what happened so thou boys could learn a life lesson from this.” Mr. Osaki spoke up. “Mr (L/n), and I were both working together on a co-partnership deal that we put a lot of money into. If we made this deal work, we were gonna make so much money that we didn’t know what to do with, luckily the plan was approved and we were all ready to go into action, but there was a flaw. In order for this plan to work we needed to leave home for a very long time, your mother just gave birth to thee Shotaro, and I didn’t want to leave her by herself so with rational thinking, I told Mr. (L/n) no, but that caused chaos. He was mad because I chose to stay with my family instead of going along with thy multi million dollar deal because I already have money, but I also have a family that loves me. He was very angry at me for backing out of thy deal because of money that he already has, and has a family so I asked, ‘what about thou family?’ He then replied ‘As long as I’m making money, they don’t have to worry about where I go.’ After that he came up with his own deal, and made even more money, he stopped talking to me after that. It made me realize that he wasn’t a friend, he was a cruel businessman who only worried about deals in life, and I’m pretty sure he’s teaching his wife and child thy same way, so boys let this be a lesson to not think about wealth and power over love, it shows how heartless thou are as a person.

“Wow.” The boys said in unison. “Yep, I don’t tell people this story, because it’s quite boring, I’ll do it for thee, because thou all are my rock.” Everyone smiled before looking at the time. “Oh! We have to get ready!” Shotaro said. “Where are thou boys going?” Mrs. Osaki asked. “There’s a beach party a miles along the coast. It said open invite, so we just decided to try it out.” Haechan replied. “Well okay, as long as there’s no trouble, then thou boys can go.” She replied. “Awesome.” YangYang said.

Scene v

The decor for the party looked nice, the food looked good, everyone was dressed in formal-casual clothes, and there were all kinds of guests, the business partners, their kids, younger mentors, and respectable people.

You walked up the stairs to your room to get something from your room when you overheard your father from the other side of the door of your parents room.

“I don’t care if they were accidentally written to attend this party, the Osaki’s are not invited! They are spineless saps who don’t care about there livelihood or reputation at all, they will just ruin this party, especially with that reckless son of theirs, he’s just like his father, they are not invited, and if anyone of the Osaki’s or their acquaintances try to attend this party, I command thee to use force at once!” Your father spoke to who you assumed was security. Your father sighed before you heard footsteps going towards the door causing you to walk downstairs quickly towards the party. You thought to yourself how are the Osaki’s that bad, not only was your mom upset, your father reiterated in the same tone, it was very confusing. As you walked around the villa, your mom stopped you in your tracks along with a gorgeous man with long hair.

“(Y/n), this is Nakamoto Yuta, Mr. Nakamoto’s son, he spoke very fondly of thee, so I brought him over to chat with thee, so thou two enjoy yourselves.” Your mother spoke making you side eye her. “Hi, I’m Yuta, it’s a pleasure to meet thee, (Y/n).” He said before shaking your hand and bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it. You have to admit, Yuta is quite handsome, long hair, soft yet seductive eyes, and a sharp jawline, you were intrigued. Maybe you could stay with him for a few minutes and get to know him.

Scene vi

On the other side of town there be another party, this one at the beach, and all kinds of fun, it nothing but young adults, sand, the sea, a bonfire, and fun. Haechan, YangYang, Sungchan, and Shotaro started having fun until they realized that almost half of the partygoers left due to the mildly cold waters, fire almost dying down, and open winds picking up.

“Damn, where’d all thy people go?” Haechan asked. “Probably indoors, it’s freezing.” Sungchan mentioned. “Yeah, and so is the water.” YangYang commented as he left the cold, dark ocean. “Thou guys wanna head back to thy villa?” Shotaro asked. “I guess, but I thought our main point of this vacation was to have fun? Going back to thy villa defeats that purpose.” Haechan shrugged. “What if instead of going back to our villa, we go to another?” YangYang suggests. “Elaborate.” Sungchan said. “I heard a few people say that thy guests of the Royal Renaissance villa is having a party tonight that started at 8:00, it’s 9:00 now, and I highly doubt that thy party would be over in an hour.” “What about security?” Shotaro mentions. “Please, with Sungchan’s legs, and YangYang’s and I’s sneakiness, we can easily get in there, I’m down.” Haechan spoke. The boys all agreed before pouring some water over the fire, threw on the shirts, and left the beach to head to the villa.

Scene vii

As the cab fare pulled up to the high class villa, the four boys were in awe, it was definitely high class due to the vintage yet modern architecture, pastel color palette, and array of organized flowers and lights along entry. The boys proceeded the villa with caution, taking in every detail and scoping out how they would get in.

“Okay, so what’s thy plan?” Sungchan asked. “I don’t know, but we need to figure it out to get in.” Shotaro replied. “Well, I hope we figure it out before that finds us.” Haechan said, referring to the tall and buff stone faced security. “I got it! Do you guys see that gate where the pool is? What if Haechan distracts thy guard in front of it away from the gate, we all climb thy gate, hide behind thy shack, and walk up thy stairs to thy party?” YangYang suggested. “Not a bad idea, but what about me, how will I get in after distracting him?” Haechan questioned. “I guess one of us will have to hide in that shed to let thee in. Sungchan and Shotaro are too tall to not be noticed so I guess it will be me. Just make sure you run faster than the security so he doesn’t see me open the gate. Is everyone down?” They all agreed to YangYang’s plan and kicked it into effect.

The plan was slightly conspicuous. The three boys hid in the bushes before Haechan began to insult the security guard making the boys chuckle. As Haechan took off running, the boys swiftly made their move. Considering that the gate could only be open by a key from security, and no key on the inside, they used Sungchan to leverage themselves up over the gate. With all the three inside, they knew they didn’t have much time before security came back.

As Sungchan and Shotaro moved upstairs towards the main door, YangYang hid in the small peach colored pool shed peeping out the window before seeing tuffs of brown hair flopping up and down quickly. He looked carefully to make sure security was nowhere near Haechan as he opened the shed and hid behind it before finally seeing Haechan near the gate. He moved to open the gate allowing him in as they could both tread heavy footsteps while running. The two boys ran at the speed of light, and hid under the stairs that led to the main door where the party was. Finally when the security got there, he looked around while catching his breath, and saw no sign of Haechan anywhere. Thinking he was gone, he got back to his job attending the gate.

The two boys tiptoed up the stairs as they saw the gold lighting inside. They opened the door quietly before ducking in. They assumed Shotaro and Sungchan were somewhere off browsing, but to their surprise, they were still waiting for their two friends and stunned at the decor of the party. Arranged table for Hors d’oeuvres, another table that set out wine glasses and champagne, and another one that had tons of gift bags for the guest. As they looked at the guests, they noticed their attire, laid back, but nice and formal wear, and then looked at themselves in their beach attire, getting a few looks from some of the guests, but to them, they didn’t care, a party was a party. “Guys, we made it.” Shotaro spoke.

Scene viii

As the night continued, the guests partied, some slightly tipsy as they stumbled upon their words. Laughter and chatter filled the villa well, many were happy, and were glad to be there, except (Y/n) who didn’t feel like talking to the handsome guy that irritated her.

“So my parents bought me a helicopter that I rode around in, it was worth $500,000, but I was with my friends, we were all wearing shiny Rolex watches, and my friend lost his off thy helicopter because it was too loose! Luckily my dad bought him another one, it was worth $60,000.” Yuta explained. “Uh huh.” You say nonchalantly. “Maybe, I could buy you one too, that is if you stay with me, maybe a pretty pink one with diamonds, hmm?” Yuta asked. “Yeah, that be great.” You shrugged. At this point, you were tired of Yuta, it was bad enough that you had to deal with your mom trying to match you up with him, but it was worse when all he would talk about was how rich him and his family was. “Hey, Yuta, do you mind if you could get me something to drink from thy table please?” “No problem.” He answered. He slowly walked towards the table, a slight arrogance to his walk. It was the perfect time to make an escape.

You hurriedly walked away from the people at the party, scurrying to the stairs trying to get away from anybody named your mom, your dad, or Yuta. As you walked fast you ran into somebody that was definitely taller and more broad than you. Hoping it wasn’t Yuta, you swore under your breath not wanting to see him. “Are thou okay?” A voice asked. Your ears perked up hearing a sweet voice that didn’t belong to Yuta, as you slowly looked up, you were struck with the most beautiful person you’ve ever met in your life.

Scene ix

“Shotaro, can we go somewhere else, this party is no fun, and thy alcohol and food are bleh.” Haechan whined. “Yeah, I agree with Haechan, everything here is so snotty and bratty, I tried talking a cute girl, and all she wanted to know was how much is my family’s worth.” YangYang replied. “If we find another place we could probably go to a club near here.” Sungchan spoke. “Looked it up, clubs aren’t near here, we have to travel to the city for clubs, we’re on an island coast remember?” Shotaro said. “Fuck.” Haechan swore, getting a few stares from random guests. “Okay well look, if thou guys want to leave that’s fine, but if we leave, we’ll have to back to the villa.” Shotaro mentioned. “That’s fine, at least the chefs could whip up some awesome Italian pizza for me.” Haechan joked. “You’re full of it Haechan.” Shotaro said as he walked into you. “Are thou okay?” He asked as he held you in his arms to keep you from falling. He took in your visible features like your height, hair, figure, and white dress. You finally looked up, and he thought he saw an angel, you were beautiful to him, had a very soft look in your eye, one that showed sweetness and caring personality, something that he has never seen in his life. The boys looked at his friend and the girl, and questioned the scene, both frozen, looking into each other’s eyes, as they held onto each other not letting go. Haechan, YangYang, and Sungchan all looked at each other and thought to themselves, did their friend find someone that infatuates him?

Act II

Scene i

Some people believed that there was a time and place for everything, others believe fate, in this case Shotaro and (Y/n) realized that their fate may be the best thing that has happened to them at this party, but what they don’t know is that there may be a catch to this lovely fate.

“Are thou okay?” Shotaro asked. “Yes I’m fine.” You replied still holding onto his grasp. You stood up a little showing your true height and form, even then you were still shorter that him by a few inches, but could finally see everything in view. His gorgeous smile, bright brown eyes, soft skin, You stared deep into his eyes, looking into the windows showed that he was kind, someone you could trust, you never saw that before, not even in your parents. “What is thou name?” He asked. “(Y/n), and thee?” “Shotaro.” You smiled. You felt warmth cascade through your body, you both were still into each other’s grasps, not wanting to let go, you felt safe, and secure, you didn’t know that a stranger could make you feel this way at all.

“We’re still linked.” Shotaro chuckled. “Well, it’s hard to remove yourself from someone who has such a hold on thee.” You smiled. “If it makes thou feel any better… I don’t want to let go of thee.” He whispered. “I don’t either.” Shotaro felt someone tap his shoulder, and sighed. He was annoyed at how someone could ruin such a beautiful moment. As he turned around, there stood his best friends ready to depart from the slow party. “Thou guys go ahead, I think I’m gonna stay here for awhile.” Shotaro spoke. “Are thou sure?” Sungchan asked. He looked back at you and smiled. “Yeah thou guys go, I’ll be fine.” He replied. They all smiled before patting his back and leaving from the exit.

“So what brings thee here to this party?” You ask. “Nothing but sheer boredom, I was ready to leave, but I found someone to make me stay.” He replies, making you smile. “I appreciate the gratitude, I guess I’ve become the life of the party?” You joke. “You definitely have.” He smiles. “How about thee? Is this a party thou wanted to come to tonight?” “Actually no, this is my parents party, they are hosting it.” You sighed and looked down. “You don’t seem happy.” He grabbed your chin with his thumb and index finger lifting it up to keep your eyes focused on him. “Why are thou upset?” He asked with sincerity in his voice. “I’m not into this whole putting up a front for guests type of thing, I want to be my own self, not someone who is thy perfect daughter. Thou are the first person I didn’t have to lie to tonight.” You said. “If this is thee true self, I wouldn’t want thee to be any other way.” He commented. You both looked into each other’s eyes, his holding a truth to every word about you being your true self. Within seconds, your lips connected. The soft skin of his lips gave you tingles, never leaving the spot you were in, you both melted into it, you felt like your feet lifted off of the ground, and were transcending towards heaven. You loved every moment. As you both pulled away, you stared into each other’s eyes, smiling wide. “Sorry for stealing such a sweet kiss.” He spoke. “Why doth thou have to be sorry, I’m not upset, my lips feel happy to graze thee so nicely.

Not long after, your name was called, and it didn’t sound pleasant. Worried you hurried up to the stairs, with Shotaro behind you, hands intertwined. “We must hurry. I think my parents are calling me.” You said worriedly. As you both huddled towards the stairs, you saw your mother in trying to look for you with Yuta in her peripheral. You ran up the stairs with Shotaro and instantly made it to your bedroom, shutting the door and locking it afterwards.

“That was close.” You huffed. Shotaro looked around your room looking at the beautiful decor. “Nice room.” He commented. “Thank thee, thou can sit if thou want.” You replied, signaling him to the bed. “Can I ask why we were running away from thou parents?” You sighed. “It’s because of a lot, my parents hosted this party, I didn’t want to be here, and now my mom found this nice, but incredibly arrogant guy for me to talk to, but I’m not into him at all.” “Arrogant? He sounds horrible already.” Shotaro comments. “Yeah he is, they only want me to date someone who has a great status to keep up with the family name. They said that marriage is only an agreement, and should be used as such.” “That’s nothing like my parents, they fell in love when they first met.” “Well, thou parents sound lovely. I think my parents only want me to succeed at wealth and family and it’s just that I’m tired of trying to be… perfect.” “…Perfect?” You and Shotaro said in sync. You stare into his eyes lovingly, before you both leaned in and kissed again. The same feeling you had downstairs coming back to you, this time with more courage and understanding. You didn’t know what to call this feeling, but from the small comment from Shotaro about his parents, you felt like it was nothing other than love. You two were so enamored by each other so infatuated, the fact that you two couldn’t get out of each other’s grasps downstairs, and now you two have been kissing for as long as you could count, it all made sense to you.

Just then, there was a knock on your door that startled you and Shotaro. You both pulled away, you groaning in annoyance, but your emotions changed when a tone in voice replaced the knocks. “(Y/n), open this door, thou mother and I need to talk with thee it’s urgent.” Your father spoke. You began to panic, you knew your father didn’t want you to have a boy in your room, even on vacation. “That’s my father he can’t know thou are here, thou has to leave!” You whispered at Shotaro. “But what about thee? I want thee with me?” He asked. “Come by tomorrow, and I’ll see thee then. There’s a stairway under my room that is an emergency exit, thou can go through there from the balcony.” You kissed him one last time hands tucked in his hair. “Goodnight, I’ll see thee again.” You said. “Thou as well, be safe, goodnight.” He says before leaving you see him climb down safely before closing the balcony doors a little to allow some air, and finally opening the door to your room.

“Hi mother, father, what brings thee here?” You ask. “(Y/n), was there any boys here who were in swim attire that attended this party?” Your father asked. “Not that I’ve seen, is something wrong?” You asked, playing it coy. “Well one, they weren’t on the list of guests, and two, one of them was the only son of our enemies thy Osaki’s. His name is Osaki Shotaro.”

Scene ii

With night in place, everyone was happy, all except (Y/n) who now found out that her lover whom she loved relentlessly, was now the son of her parents enemies.

In that moment, your heart sank, Shotaro, an enemy, you hated to think that. “(Y/n)?” Your mother asked calmly. “N-no, I haven’t seen anyone of thy sorts.” You said sadly. “Well, just in case, we’ve upped security around just so no one with thy surname ‘Osaki’ Can step foot in this villa.” Your father replied. Your mother moved closer to you grabbing your hands as your dad stared at you as well. “Sweetheart, I know thou may not know much about thy Osaki incident, but just know that they are not good people to be around, they are untrustworthy, shallow, leeches, and one decision that Mr. Osaki made years ago with thou father, almost cost us our entire source of income and could’ve tarnished our names, we have swore to this day that no one with thy name Osaki shall cross our paths and we won’t let them.” Your mom said. “And we advise thee to do the same.” Your father said, staring at you. “Is that clear?” You nodded your head, making your parents smile. “Well good, now come along, we’ve got an hour left of the party, and Yuta would like to get to know thee more.” Your mom said dragging you out of your room and downstairs.

You looked back at the balcony thinking about Shotaro and his escape, upset that your lover is now thought of as an enemy, but one thing you didn’t know was that he was still on the steps, frozen after hearing every word your parents said about him and his family, and is also in the same sudden realization that hit you moments ago that you are a (L/n), his family’s worst enemy.

Scene iii

As dawn awakens, sunlight shines through the windows, by now, the Osaki family and friends have awaken, while the (L/n)’s are still in slumber. Shotaro smiles to himself, now happy to know he’s in love regardless of the baggage that his and her family holds to each other.

“So, let me get this straight, thou fell in love with a girl who is thou enemy!?” Haechan asks Shotaro while laughing. “Dost thou knoweth when to hold his jest laugh? She was beautiful, more than thy heavens that sit above earth. Her smile brighter than thy sun, and her sweet voice could not even compare to calming birds.” Shotaro speaks, staring in a distance. “How are’t thou so radiant in a lustrous love, that he hath forgotten thy disdain of thy families?” Sungchan asked. “Why thou question my love, thus this love can not grow without pandering to thy heart, less’t be thy heart that be so drugged in her.” “Why must we gossip? If thou love her, then thou shall seek her.” YangYang spoke agreeing with Shotaro. “I, but alas, the savagery that keeps us disheartened, also keeps us discontent.” Shotaro replied. “Her father who is thy conflict has released obsequious men who come to seek me if thy enter thy chambers. I ask of my three companions, dost thou not want me to be happy, shall I stay in isolation and remain frugal? I seek of my mates to help me through my journey, and keep me satisfied day by day forever as I live.” Shotaro pleads. As the three boys elaborate with thoughts, they all agree to Shotaro’s cries for help. Within minutes, Shotaro will see to his one true love as soon as possible.

Scene iv

Throughout the day, (Y/n) is infatuated by her lover Shotaro. As sunset falls, she dreams peacefully about the boy who was kept in her room hoping to see her again, sadly, news awaits her that she doesn’t want to hear.

“(Y/n), I come with grave news for thee!” Your mother exclaimed. “And what news shall thou bestow upon me?” You ask. “Yuta, has fallen in love with thee, and would respectfully take her hand in marriage!” You looked at her with shameful eyes, how could he want to marry you after a failed conversation? “Why must thou present this news to me now? Was said man so lustrous, he be willing to give vows so easily after a talk so lackluster?” You ask. “Oh stop being dramatic! Can’t thou see how infatuated he is of thee? If he not, then why is thy man so generous with words he cannot take back?” She replied. “But why now? Why cans’t thou wait for fate to cross our paths?” You ask. “Because fate is flawed, sometimes thou works fate in one’s favor.” “But what dost Yuta possess that no other man cans’t satisfy?” You question. “Wealth and a status that won’t besmirch thy name. Why would thee want someone worthless, when thou could have good courtship with a satisfying label? Vowing to thee would be monumental to thy family name, and help with accusations thy family has been wrongly shunned for.”You looked down, you hated to have to make a choice between your family and your lover, it was hard, but it seemed like your mother already gave you your option. “Thy ceremony is in a few weeks. That gives thee time to know Yuta in a more vulnerable state.” She says then exits. You sigh before laying back in bed, a tear rolling down your cheek.

Scene v

With forced marriage in one hand and love in the other, (Y/n) is torn. Luckily, with the help of his three friends, Shotaro might make her night feel much more secure.

“What scuffle is thy friend about to get us into now?” Haechan asked. “With maximum protection, thy can’t help thy self to (Y/n)’s chambers.” Shotaro explains. “Well, what shall dost thou need for help?” Sungchan asked. “With one dauntless armed guard near the gate, thou needs to throw something unbeknownst to him to excel on, with swiftness, thou noiselessly move past thy gate and into her chambers.” Shotaro explains.

As the three friends nod in agreement, they follow with the plan. YangYang and Shotaro promiscuously throw two rocks in a different direction making the near guards run towards the sound. They all erupt from the bushes before Sungchan lifts his friend up and over the gate to meet his fair maiden. Shotaro thanks his friends before ushering towards the balcony to climb, as the other three boys quietly walk back to their villa. With Shotaro in a great state, he climbs up until he finally meets the balcony door of his lover’s room.

Scene vi

Unknown to her, Shotaro pays (Y/n) a visit like he said he would, but is sad to hear the news from his lover that fills her heart with dread.

“(Y/n)! (Y/n)!” Shotaro whispers from the balcony before knocking. Hurriedly, she rushed to the door to see Shotaro, and opened the door finally seeing his brown orbs staring at her with all the love he had. He entered her room before kissing her lips with so much passion, not wanting to break away from her, but she had to in order for her to bare bad news.

“I missed thee so much.” He whispered. “Me too, but I sadly have horrid news.” You said. You could sense the worry in his body as you looked at him. You let in a huff before telling him. “My parents have arranged a marriage upon me.” Anger filled Shotaro’s body. “To whom will thou be exchanging vows with!?” He asked. “Y-Yuta.” You replied. With heavy hands, Shotaro pounded the desk behind you, rage in his eyes. You wanted to calm him down, but you were very worried about what could happen if you did.

“I have no intention to be courted by him. He is not who is here right now, only thee, I love thee.” You spoke up. Shotaro calmed down looking at you. “Thou doth not wish to be courted by him?” He asked. “No, only thee, I would gladly take thou courtship from thee. I love thee.” You repeat. He came up to you and kissed you passionately. “Then by night…and stars…take thee…and make…thee satisfied…until morn.” Shotaro said between kisses. You nodded your head before replying. “I take thee.” You whispered as he moved you to the soft and comfortable bed.

“Don’t leave…Don’t leave…Don’t leave.” He whispered as his kisses trailed down to your neck. “I’m here Shotaro, I’m here.” You moaned.

Shotaro kissed your neck softly making sure to be gentle with you, not wanting to mess this up for you. He kicked off his shoes before completely moving up onto the bed above your sprawled out body. He looked up at your state, in nothing but a silk robe almost ready for bed before he showed up. You smiled up at him wanting him to continue, his eyes fixated on your silk covered body long enough. “Please Shotaro, please.” You whined. He licked his lips, lust now clouding his thoughts more than ever. He leaned back down to place more kisses against your neck before finally giving in and marking up your soft skin. The suction was a foreign feeling, it was slightly painful, but arousing. You whined in response, making Shotaro smile against your skin, he moved away from the purple mark making sure to kiss it before moving to another part of your neck to deliver another mark near the first one and kissed it as well, he continued this action two more times before removing your robe of your shoulder to expose your collarbones to repeat the same action.

He kissed and marked them up making you sigh into his touch. Loving the way your collarbones looked covered in his marks, he pushed the right side of your robe off your shoulder to expose your right breast. He gasped at your breast, not even thinking that you two would get this far. He stared at round mound, while a small part of your nipple on your left breast peeked out of the remaining piece of the robe left on your chest. Obligated, he removed the left side as well, now your full chest on display for him. He cupped your breasts in his hand before leaning down to kiss and suck at the supple skin on your right breast leaving marks on it, while repeating the same moves to the left. His thumbs grazed over your nipples making you shudder. Finally, he took your nipple into his mouth making you whine.

He sucked the sensitive nipple eagerly, tongue rolling over the bud and flicking it up and down as you gripped his hair, playfully running your fingers through the brown locks. He moved to the other nipple to do the same actions. “Shotaro.” You moaned. You couldn’t bear it, your arousal got the best of you, you needed some sort of friction for your almost practically soaked heat. “Please go f-further.” He gave you a nod before removing his shirt showing his toned body, not making your arousal any better.

He untied the loose belt on the robe as you sat up to help him. You grabbed the robe when it was completely open, and moved it out of your way. Shotaro happy to finally have your body on full display. “So beautiful.” He groaned, his bulge now strained in his pants as he caught a glance of your soaked pussy.

He bent down to kiss the top of your thighs, not wanting to waste any time pleasing you. He kissed towards the inside of your thighs, moving your legs apart to get more access. He was now face to face with your pussy, he looked up at you to make sure it was okay. “Is this good?” He asked. “Yes, please, I need something there.” You replied. With no hesitation, Shotaro wrapped his supple lips around your clit. You threw your head back, eyes closed with pleasure going through your body. He sucked on your sensitive clit, getting you used to the feeling. Your body jolted at the immense sensation that coursed between your legs.

Continuing his movements, Shotaro trailed his tongue to your sopping entrance, licking around it teasing you before using his tongue to lick aggressively at your slit. You felt so violated, how could a tongue have so much control over you? You craved it more, your carnal instincts coming out when he pushed his tongue into your gaping hole. “Ahh, Shotaro!” You moaned. You moved your hand to his hair, while the other one laid on the sheets, bunching up the material. He pushed his tongue in and out of you, preparing you for what was about to come later on, you loved how gentle he was with you, but also liked his initiative to please you.

Shotaro removed his tongue from your entrance and moved up to suck your clit, his finger replacing his tongue from your entrance. “That feels good.” You moaned. You could feel the soft smile spread across his face in between your legs, loving the praise you gave him. He sucked harshly at your clit, trying to build up your release, he knew you were close by the way your toes curled, and your body tensing up, you didn’t even realize you’ve been grinding against his face for the past minute. “Shotaro, close!” You whined. With a groan from his voice, he was ready for your release. With the curl of his digit, and his mouth sucking your bundle of nerves, he used his tongue to claim what was his, he spelled the seven letters into your clit that sent you over the edge. ‘S,H,O,T,A,R,O’ you were his. You convulsed around his finger, his lips still doing a number on you as pleasure took over your entire body. Pants and gasps left your mouth with small whines made you sigh. Shotaro let out a smile, seeing your body go through that much pleasure. Your body sent little shockwaves as you tried to calm down, he removed his finger and mouth that were now covered in both your arousal and release. With the satisfied look on Shotaro’s face, you knew you did well.

“So beautiful.” He comments making you giggle. Not wanting to waste another minute, Shotaro unbuttons his pants to remove them, releasing some of the tension on his strained hard on. You looked at the boy who stood tall above you, nearly naked, only a piece of thin underwear stood in the way. Slowly, he removed his underwear, his length now standing at full attention, his tip leaking precum from how long it’s been confined for.

Your breath hitched as your pussy clenched around nothing staring at his impressive length. He noticed your staring before he moved back up to the bed, and kissed you again while pumping his length in his hand. He looked at you making sure you were ready as he lined himself up with your entrance. You issued him a nod before he rubbed your slit with his tip before entering in slowly.

You gave a choked sound, the pain a little overwhelming. He took in your expression that showed pain, halting his movements into you. “Does it hurt?” He asked. “A little.” You sighed. He held your waist firmly before kissing you to help take away from the pain, after every few seconds, his length inches inside of you. Finally sheathed in you, the pain subsides. “Shotaro…move.”

Shotaro began to move in and out of you slowly, moans soon taking over yours and his throats. The feeling was amazing to you, you felt so secure, and so full, you didn’t think you could feel this way. Each thrust he gave was slow and meaningful, they were also precise enough to hit you at a good angle. Your hands gripped his shoulders, for leverage, holding onto him as his thrusts went harder. Giving more pleasure between the two of you.

Shotaro’s hard thrusts we’re so good that he was able to hit a spot in you that you didn’t even know you had. “Shotaro, there!” You moaned out. Shotaro moved down to your neck hiding in it as he continued his harsh thrusts, moaning into your neck as you clenched around him. “So good (Y/n).” He moaned. You moved your legs to wrap around his torso, feeling a bundle of nerves move from your stomach to your pussy, you were close again, and Shotaro was too. His dick twitched inside of you as his thrusts became sloppy. Only moans could be heard in the room as you both chased your orgasm. Shotaro removed his hand from your waist to vigorously rub at your clit throwing you off the edge. “Let go angel.” He groaned. You released around him. A cry of his name was all that you could utter in the moment. Your pussy clenching hard on his dick making him satisfied before releasing as well. Thick spurts of cum filled you up as you both rode out your highs together giving each other one final kiss as you both began to calm down. Still fully sheathed inside of you, Shotaro flips you two over, as you now lay on top of him. With his hands wrapped around your waist, Shotaro kisses your temple before you both fall into a deep sleep.

Act III

Scene i

As the two lovers awake from their slumber, they are in peace. Tranquil sounds fill the room as they recall last nights’ endeavors.

“Good morn.” You giggle. Shotaro kisses your head and nose before responding. “Good morn, love.” You and Shotaro both cuddle each other, still tight in each other’s embraces as you and your bodies were still tangled within each other from last night.

“We’re still intertwined.” You say, your warm heat still enclosed on Shotaro’s cock. “Yes, we are, doth my love wish to remove herself?” “It depends on if thou can’t take it anymore.” You reply. “Oh, I can handle it, thou feels so warm.” He comments. “But Shotaro, thou has to leave before my mother and father find out.” You said. “Mm, give me a minute, never a morn person.” You giggle at his reply. Even though it’s only been two days, you never realized how easy it is to love a person so much, it felt amazing.

“Come on, let us take a shower to clean off thy sins of last night.” You say removing yourself from his grip and standing up completely bare. Shotaro puts his arm behind his head, and smirks. “I’d rather watch the view, thou looks gorgeous.” You roll your eyes before walking off. “If thou wants to see this, thou should get up and come to the shower.” In a flash, he scurries to the bathroom door as you turn on the shower. You both clean yourselves off, scrubbing each other’s bodies, sharing kisses in between as you hurry to get out of the shower. After a few minutes, you and Shotaro both walk out, towels covering each other’s frames, hair wet, with the same smiles plastered on each other’s faces.

“I needed that.” Shotaro commented. “Me too, now we can get dressed, and find a way to hangout today.” You reply. “I know a way.” Shotaro smirks. He began to kiss your neck, licking at the love marks he left on you last night. “Mm, Taro.” You whimpered. He couldn’t help himself, you looked good coming out of the shower with nothing but a towel on. He removed your towel and you removed his, as you were both about to take it to the bed, but you felt your heart pretty much drop at the sound of a door opening.

“(Y/n) dear, it’s time for, Ahhh!” Your mother shrieked, dropping the glass of juice on the floor. You and Shotaro completely bare, sitting on the edge of the bed was the image your mother had to endure. Frozen, you didn’t know what to think, but Shotaro did, throw on his clothes and go, he hurriedly threw on his pants as your mom stood there anger in her face. As she charged towards you, you sprung for the covers, shielding your body from the open.

“Thou wretched boy how dare thou approach our sanctum!?” Your mother exclaimed as she moved to you. Shotaro was trying to find his shirt from the floor to hurry and leave, but the situation was worse when someone who you did not want to see showed up in your peripheral. “I heard screaming what has happened, OUT!!!” Your father exclaimed, not even giving a second to check out the entire situation. Your father began to charge at Shotaro full speed, luckily Shotaro managed to quickly climb down from the balcony, his chest pounding with adrenaline.

“Don’t you dare come back, if thou do, thou will face thy fury of thee, and surely view thy fiery depths of hell for thy sin put upon thy fruit of my loins!” Your father yelled towards Shotaro. As your dad turned around, you saw how angered he was. His face flustered, veins visible with his temple, eyes seething with rage. You wanted to say something, but you were too scared to. He finally saw the glimpse of the scene in your bedroom, messy sheets, your body only covered by the sheets that lay on top of your bed, a few fixtures from the room out of place, and the discarded clothes on the floor, especially Shotaro’s shirt and underwear finally made him put two and two together, you slept with each other, now even madder than before, he wasn’t going to let bygones be bygones, he needed to get some aggression out, and the only for that to happen was to visit the people who fueled that aggression.

“As I swear by thy world today, if I don’t get my hands on that boy who take away my daughter’s purity, rage that is built up in me shall be as hot as thy wicked in hell.” He seethes before walking out.

Scene ii

Tension has arose within the (L/n) family, now with the unforseen circumstances, their entire vacation now feels like a nightmare, especially for Mr. (L/n).

In a flash, Shotaro has made it home with no questions from his family that is until they overhear a light comment from Haechan that sparks suspicions.

“Oh look who’ comes about, thy man of thy hour, how did sulking in your own love and sin feel?” In that moment, Shotaro wanted to attack Haechan quickly, but was stopped by his parents. “Love and sin? What is thy boy mumbling about?” Mrs. Osaki asked. “Isn’t it obvious honey? Our son has found love, I’m proud.” Mr. Osaki replied. “Well who’s thy beautiful girl that you spark interest with, she must be intriguing.” Mrs. Osaki said. “Quite.” Shotaro commented. “Well don’t purse thy lips together, who doth she be?” Mr. Osaki asked. Haechan, YangYang, and Sungchan all looked at Shotaro with wide eyes, waiting for his answer. “Well, she’s, her name is…” Just then three loud bangs erupted from the door, the Osaki’s and the boys confused as to what the commotion was about. As they looked around noting that they heard the same thing, the banging happened again this time louder, not wanting to anticipate any longer, Mr. Osaki went to the door before opening it, and much to his dismay, was shocked to see a person he wasn’t ready to see.

Scene iii

There stood an angry Mr. (L/n) eyes scanning Mr. Osaki. Both had despised each other deeply, and to even see each other face to face was very surprising to say the least.

“Doth thou son not knoweth of the rules of fondling with my family!?” Mr. (L/n) asked. “What are thou uttering now?” Mr. Osaki replied. “I am talking about thy sins thou son has placed upon my daughter!” Everyone in the Osaki villa looked back at Shotaro anger or shock upon their faces. “Why would thou come up with a preposterous accusation of that nature!?” Mr. Osaki questioned. “Why!? Because thou son has been seen by my and my wife’s eyes for thy matter! They have been bare together, and have laid up through the sins of lust!” “Not lust, love, it is love that binds our young hearts together.” Shotaro speaks up. “Love!? What do thou know about love!? How could my daughter even love such scum that walk!? You’re ridiculous, you’re just as incompetent as your father!” “How dare thou speak to my son! Thou has no right to speak of thy relations that spill from thou mouth, thou is a pretentious hob knob that cares about nothing in thy world but thou own’s personal gain, do not blame my son for this mess, when thou daughter could be a glorified rich earned whore!”

With that there issued a punch to Mr. Osaki’s nose, the rage and fury finally drove Mr. (L/n) to his breaking point. Mr. Osaki stumbled back, the boys and Mrs. Osaki frozen at the scene. Mr. Osaki went and lunged at Mr. (L/n), punching him across his jaw. Eventually the fight continued, both men throwing punches left and right at each other, blood and bruises gathering on their faces. Mr. (L/n) took one hit to Mr. Osaki making him fall to the ground. “I always knew thou was a weakling, couldn’t even say no to others, and now look at thee, scattered across his own floor.” Mr. (L/n) scoffed. Suddenly, Mr. Osaki stood back up and gave Mr. (L/n) a really hard punch giving him a bloody nose. “I may be a weakling, but at least I don’t put up a facade of money and status to hide mine.” Mr. (L/n) then attacked Mr. Osaki by pushing him down, now punching him multiple times at once, his knuckles were covered with blood, while Mr. Osaki grunted from the pain. The boys and Mrs. Osaki pulled Mr. (L/n) off of his body, holding him steady as Mrs. Osaki went to check on her injured husband. Sadly, the strength of the four boys was too weak to hold Mr. (L/n) and with that he punched Shotaro across his jaw. Shotaro covered his mouth making sure there was no teeth or blood involved. “Stay away from my daughter.” He threatened. Mrs. Osaki saw enough and was ready to combust, this man has interrupted their vacation and has now beat up her husband and punched her son, she was pissed. “Get out! Thou shall be banned from our place immediately, go go!” She yelled before following him and closing the door after his way out.

Scene iv

As the fight and eruptions calm down, the Osaki household has some issues to resolve. One being of how to resolve the complications that came from Mr. (L/n).

“Thou are not to speak of this matter understand!? All four of thee are to go upstairs, thou three help Shotaro, and Shotaro, thou are not to interact with that tramp ever again! Do thou understand!?” Mrs. Osaki exclaimed. The boys nodded quickly before following orders.

“That was some blow thou took!” YangYang spoke. “Can we not talk about that right now, my father was almost murdered by a psycho!” “What is thou about to do?” Sungchan asked. “Nothing. We are still here for almost two weeks, I can make up with (Y/n) before we leave, I love her, and I won’t let that crazed man stand between us. “Thou is brave.” Haechan comments.

Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Osaki barge into Shotaro’s room. “I-, I just- WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? Did thou not listen to my orders when I say the (L/n)’s are bad people!?” Mr. Osaki yelled. “I’m sorry, but thou shouldn’t be mad about love, thou said it was a wonderful thing.” Shotaro replied. “Well maybe thou loves the wrong person, this time.” Mrs. Osaki said starkly. “Well at this point it doesn’t matter anymore because we are leaving right now! Pack your bags!” Mr. Osaki commanded. “W-why?” Haechan asked. “Why!? Because a foul creature has evaded my vacation home and has shunned me and my family, that’s why. Shotaro, thou will never speak to her again, and that’s final, if so, then thou should drop the name of Osaki till thou’s last days.”

At that moment, Shotaro’s heart sank how is he supposed to leave without saying goodbye, he wouldn’t do it. “No, why should I leave just because thou two hate each other!? I’d rather die a thousand deaths before leaving my one true love!” “Shotaro thou are leaving with us and that is final!” Mrs. Osaki said, putting Shotaro back in his place. He didn’t say another word, and began to pack, his friends showing worry in their eyes as Shotaro aggressively packed his bags, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I’ll miss her. I love her.” He mumbled.

Scene v

As the afternoon came along, you sat and waited for everything to settle down, not even thinking about your parents, only Shotaro and when he would come back.

You looked out your balcony. Hopefully Shotaro will come back, you had to see him again. The anticipation was driving you crazy. Everything here was very rough when your father walked out for a few hours. Your mother scolded you, explaining how wrong it was to sleep with someone they despised as well as sleeping with someone while you were engaged. She even tried to scrub the love bites that Shotaro left on you last night, it only made your skin dry and irritated with how hard she was scrubbing.

Suddenly, the door opened, hoping it was Shotaro, it was your parents, you looked at your father, his face was covered in scratches, bruises, and dried blood making you gasp. He noticed your worried expression before answering.

“It was Osaki, he did this, I confronted him about his son, and he just attacked me, I tried to fend for myself, but I was useless. He obviously hates us because of our previous issues, but now it’s worse since thou have sinned with that boy, therefore thou is forbidden to see him.” Your father spoke. “What, no thou can’t do that, I love him!” You exclaim. “Well, then I guess it won’t be hard for thee to love Yuta when thy marriage complete. It happens in three weeks, a week from when we go back home.” Your mother explained. “No, I don’t want to be married to anyone other than Shotaro!” You yell, tears welling in your eyes. “(Y/n), this marriage is binding and that is final! And if I so hear one word about that Osaki kid coming anywhere near thee again, then so help me I will make it be his last.” Your father commented. “And just so thou doth not get any ideas… she will have these doors locked shut for her well being.” Your dad said before locking the balcony doors and walking out with your mother before shutting the door and locking it as well. “No! Thou can’t do this, let me see him please!” You sob behind the door. “Goodnight my daughter.” Your parents both said in sync. You silently sob into your pillow, wanting to see Shotaro again.

Shotaro Epilogue

The Osaki’s and the boys boarded the plain swiftly, all upset that their trip had to end over petty drama. The only ones sympathetic about the situation was Haechan, YangYang, and Sungchan who have never seen their best friend so crushed before, they knew that he obviously loved you and couldn’t let go, but he had to. All the stuff that he did was for you, and he’d be willing to do it all again if it meant to see you. He clutched his heart the entire time, completely heartbroken, eyes bloodshot from how much he cried about missing you. His only regret was never kissing you goodbye. But he has also learned a pretty good life lesson, love at first sight is real, but don’t be a fool enough to fall for it. As the plane began to take off he shed one final tear before the plane left the ground. “Goodbye my love.” He whispered quietly.

(Y/n) Epilogue

You had come to find out that the Osaki’s left the night of your father’s fight with Mr. Osaki, you were crushed, how could he leave? How could Shotaro leave. What was worse was that you found out one week after they left, depressed about your lover, you were crushed. He was the one you wanted to marry, the one you wanted to start a family with, live with him together forever. Now, you sit at home getting ready for the wedding reception for today, but you were very nauseous. Throwing up left and right since last night, once you peed on the small blue stick, it made sense, no period, the vomiting, and mood swings, you were pregnant, so now, you are getting married to the wrong man, you’re pregnant, and now, your lover and father of your child has departed from you, what a way to end all that you and Shotaro have stayed together for. “(Y/n) darling, are you ready?” Your mother asked. “No, but if it makes everyone else happy, then sure.” Everyone gets happiness but you and Shotaro, the boy who you will always love.

[starcrossedkaiju]

Kingslayer AU: Chapter One

Finally! I’m sorry this took so long, I’m a nervous wreck.

Notes: this was originally a warmup for character interactions/setting. It is very dialogue heavy.

\\ Warnings: alcohol //

A single tumbleweed was all that crossed Scott’s path when he arrived in the Red Desert. It was rather comical, he stood and watched it roll away until he couldn’t see it through the sheets of sand blowing over the ground.

In the distance, the only mountain located in the desert biome loomed over the horizon. Imposingly backlit by the red, swirling, tendrils of the world border. Most residents kept away from the thing, as it was meant to give off an unsettling aura. Although Scott never minded it. The wall of his room was almost right up against it after all.

On top of the mountain was a barely visible “castle”, which looked as if it was built by someone wearing a blindfold. The inhabitants of the castle, and the aptly named “Monopoly Mountain” could be accurately described as menaces.

Clumsy when it came to forward thinking, and leaving hidden traps around so frequently that traveling through any wooded area required either a very long stick, or someone willing to take the business end of a TNT trap for the team.

They also happened to be Scott’s nearest allies. It hadn’t always been pleasant between them, but circumstance led to circumstance, and now Scott was making his semi-weekly visit to Monopoly Mountain to shoot the breeze.

Typically the only person at the base would be Grian. Scar liked to make himself elusive by causing problems elsewhere and returning late into the evening with a story to tell over dinner.

The base of the mountain was void of a bubble-elevator. To reach the top one must climb an absurd amount of stairs. Scott huffed and resigned himself to the task in front of him.

As his perspective grew higher and higher the rest of the map revealed itself. The roof of Joel’s house peeked over a swathe of trees, and the tall barricades of Dogwarts stood out as a stark silhouette against the sky. Scott took a few minutes to regain his purchase, shielding his eyes from the whipping wind.

The season was gradually descending into winter. Made obvious by the deciduous trees’ leaves choking out the last of their green pigment for fiery shades of red and orange. The weather was far less pleasant to endure. Everywhere outside of the Red Desert had to deal with bitterly cold conditions, although there hadn’t been snow yet, the sky churned with a constant overcast. Threatening to storm at the drop of a coin.

Scott rubbed his arms to fight off the oncoming chill and continued his ascent, hoping someone had installed a fireplace since the last time he visited.

Finally he rounded the last of the stairs and gazed up at the tall, thin roof of the Sand Castle. The Red Desert flag strung on the tallest rooftop flapped around in the wind. Pizza, the pet lama, grunted in Scott’s direction when he approached the front door. He hesitantly reached out to pet her (she bit him once and he’d never fully gotten over it) from over the fence of her pen, and she let him rub her fluffy bangs.

Scott knocked on the door three times and gave Pizza one last pat, anticipating someone to open the door. It would be a shame if he’d hiked all the way out only for nobody to be home.

Thankfully, the door swung open with a welcoming screech of it’s hinges.

“Hey dude,” Grian welcomed him from the front steps.

“Hey,” Scott greeted in return, “may I come in?” he asked.

“Of course! It’s freezing out here,” Grian replied and stepped away from the door, which slammed with a squeak behind the two of them.

Scott closed his eyes and waved to the resident enderman, who greeted him with a friendly, distorted “hello”. A furnace was running to warm the living room.

Scott took his coat and hat off. He draped them over the arm of the couch before swatting a layer of sand from the cushion and sitting down, observing the scene in front of him. There was always something going on in there.

This time, a myriad of blueprints were strewn across the floor. Each of them depicting heavily annotated structures and what looked like plans for redstone. Grian had planted himself on the floor with a pencil, and was furiously erasing a line of text.

“What’s that?” Scott pointed over his shoulder.

“These,” Grian held one of the outlines up to the other’s face, “are the blueprints for our secret bunker,” he explained.

“You hear that? Secret Bunker, so don’t go telling anyone about it m’kay?” He tapped the paper with the end of his pencil.

“Okay, fair enough. Is that redstone?” Scott slid another sheet of paper towards them with his shoe.

“Yup. I’m gonna equip it with a lava trap,” Grian said proudly.

“And this one will work?” Scott teased.

“Hilarious,” Grian pushed the other’s shoulder, “yes it will work, it’s going to be my best yet,” he assured.

“Oh good! That’s not a very high standard to meet then,” Scott congratulated.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Grian mocked back, “you better be careful what you say with twenty five reputation points,” he said.

Scott threw his hands up in surrender, still laughing at how the other man’s ears turned red.

The house fell into a comfortable silence after that. The sound of scribbling and wind served as a calming ambience. Scott intermittently shared a few words with the enderman, who seemed to understand more of what Scott said to him than the other way around.

“Hey, Grian?” Scott turned over on the couch to face his friend.

“Yeah?” The other said without looking away from his work.

“Do you think you would have still been friends with Scar if he hadn’t died from that creeper?” Scott asked.

There was a pregnant pause, then Grian said, “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” he doodled absently on the margin of his paper.

“Hm,” Scott replied halfheartedly. He mainly asked because whenever he visited Grian was alone. If they were even home at all. Other than that him and Scar were always attached at the hip.

“Why?” Grian asked in return.

“I don’t know, forget it,” Scott waved him off. Not wanting to get into it.

“When’s he gonna be back?” he asked instead.

Grian sat up and stretched his back, “uh, I don’t know actually. He said he went to gather resources but you can never really count on him doing what he says he will,” he explained.

“You didn’t go with him?” Scott asked.

“I don’t want to babysit him anymore. If he gets in trouble that’s not my problem,” Grian said. He stood up and wandered over the the kitchen, carefully avoiding the blueprints on the floor.

“Ha! I would drink to that one, Jimmy is the same way sometimes,” Scott replied and watched as Grian contemplated the contents of their cooler, reaching in and pulling out a bottle of red wine.

“Well then, let’s drink to it,” he held the bottle up with a grin.

“Where did you get that?” Scott vacated the couch and made his way over to his friend, taking the bottle and studying it, “I haven’t seen the fruit of the vine in years!” he recalled.

The bottle had clearly been tapped into before, although not much was absent from its contents.

“I have my ways,” Grian rummaged around in a cabinet and pulled out two glasses.

“I would say it’s too early for this, but for once, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” Scott uncorked the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured each glass a third of the way.

Grian cleared his throat, “To the safety of our stupid partners,” he raised his glass.

Scott nodded in return and connected their drinks with a polite clink, then they drank to the sentiment.

The conversation traveled to the dining table, which was more of a booth. Talking points ranged from preparing for winter to future plans to expand their bases.

“I’m not going to get anything done with the weather coming on,” Scott complained over his drink, “I don’t handle the cold very well,” he downed the last of it.

“Well you can always move in with us for the season, the attic is vacant,” Grian offered.

“Never in a million years. I’d rather be sick at home than spend a week living with barbarians,” Scott refused the offer.

Grian rolled his eyes, “it is not that bad,” he defended himself.

Scott raised an eyebrow and shoved his hand in between the cushions of the booth. Pulling up a handful of sand, which he deposited on the table.

“We live in a desert! What do you want us to do about it, of course there’s some sand in here,” Grian threw his hands up.

“Some?” Scott repeated.

“Okay,” Grian glanced under the table and shuffled his foot around, which scraped across a layer of sand, “a lot of sand,” he corrected himself.

“Get a vacuum. For the hundredth time, get a vacuum,” Scott demanded.

“We have a broom that works perfectly fine,” Grian stood up and opened a linen closet to reveal a single broom leaned up against the wall.

Scott didn’t comment on it, but he had a feeling that broom never left the closet.

The conversation was effectively halted when the front door screeched open, letting in a gust of wind and sand. It blew a few papers off the floor and scattered them around the living area.

“Hey,” Grian called out, “Scar? You back?” he asked.

“Yeah,” came from the front of the Sand Castle.

“Okay! We have company by the way,” Grian prefaced.

Scar’s head poked around the doorframe, he waved at Scott who returned the gesture.

“What have you guys been up to?” He inquired at the sight of the wine on the counter.

“Just hanging out. It gets a bit lonely up here you know,” Grian closed the linen closet and took Scar’s backpack from him. He opened it and looked at the contents.

“Oh, you actually did what you went out to do,” Grian revealed a bundle of wood from the bag.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scar crossed his arms.

“Never mind, go wash up. I assume you’re hungry,” Grian opened a pantry and took some spices out, “are you staying for dinner Scott?” he asked.

Scott leaned out of the booth to check the time on the clock above the door, “mmm, yeah why not. I’m already here,” he decided.

“Let me just page Jimmy and tell him I’m gonna be home late,” Scott patted all his pockets but found no sign of his communication device.

“Hey Grian? Can I use your pager?” he requested.

Grian fished around in his back pockets and pulled out his pager, tossing it towards the other who caught it with both hands. Scott thanked him and flipped the screen up, selected the address he needed to contact, and typed out a short message. Making sure to say it was from him and not Grian before sending it to Jimmy.

“What’re we making?” Scott asked once he finished, intent on trying to help in the kitchen.

“Well, it’s Spaghetti Friday,” Grian declared and revealed a bag of Rigatoni pasta.

“That’s a thing?” Scott inquired, taking the bag and examining the packaging. It was pretty simple, mostly cardboard with a plastic window. Presumably from the village on the other side of the map.

“We’ve gotta have some fun around here, come on now Scott,” Grian said.

“You’re right, how can I help?” Scott said. Grian side eyed him.

“You can add the salt when I say you can add the salt,” he offered. Scott crossed his arms.

He wasn’t that bad at cooking. He’d only burned a few things, smoked the house out for three days once, and set scrambled eggs on fire.

“That one time was just a rookie mistake,” Scott retorted. It’s not like he did it on purpose.

“A rookie mistake that almost burned your flower forest down. I wouldn’t let you near the kitchen if I was Jimmy either,” Grian set a pot down on the stove.

Scar came back in the kitchen then, and was pulled into it almost immediately.

“A man can’t even sit down in his own house without his culinary skills being put up for debate?”

Grian laughed at him, sliding the pot under the water pump.

“That’s not an answer at all! Can you or can’t you?” Scott demanded to know, holding a salt shaker.

“I can cook,” Scar’s gaze wandered into thought, he started counting on his fingers, “pasta, assorted vegetables, mac and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and I can bake a half decent carrot cake,” he recited.

“I worked in a supermarket before the borders. We made some of our own stuff for the bakery and the buffet,” Scar said. It was the first mention he made of what he did back when things were normal. At least to Scott.

Scott was pleasantly surprised. He nodded, seeing as he’d been given a satisfying answer.

The spaghetti went off without a hitch, Grian was surprisingly good at making it. Scott had the sense that he’d done it many times before.

“Remember, you can put the salt in but you can’t take it out. Here taste the sauce and tell me if it’s alright,” Grian fished a spoon from a drawer and handed it to Scott.

“Hmm,” the other pondered after trying a spoonful, “maybe a bit more salt?” he suggested.

A window was propped open to let the steam and heat out. It was getting dark now, and the world border stood out against the purple hues of night falling over the server. The brightest stars made themselves known to the east as the sun set to the west. It was peaceful, the wind had died down. Scott wondered if anyone else was watching.

Personally, he enjoyed stargazing a lot more. His servermates knew next to nothing about the cosmos, which made him wonder who was teaching them about the greater universe. Clearly they’d never been out there.

“Yo,” Scar called him out of his trance. He handed the other a ceramic bowl.

“Thank you,” Scott said and waited to serve himself.

The spaghetti was pretty good. Decent meals were hard to come by, especially with the limited resources outside of villages.

Over the course of dinner, Scar explained his excursion of the day. He had been gathering wood to stockpile for the winter months (no wood in the desert, better to have a source available and not have to hike out and get more constantly) when he came upon Etho’s base.

“It’s entirely made of wool,” he recounted.

Grian raised an eyebrow in confusion, “All of it? Why?” he mused.

“Dunno. There was nobody around,” Scar replied.

“You didn’t steal from them did you?” Scott interjected.

“Not this time,” he said, which earned him a jab in the ribs from Grian.

The three laughed it off and switched the subject to current server affairs. Who had the best gear, everyone’s respective allies, the phantom problem, and the pros and cons of a vacuum.

“Well, I would say this is a fine work of spaghetti,” Scar complimented when he was finished.

“Indeed, couldn’t have done it without Scott. The best salt dispenser among us,” Grian agreed.

Scott tried to look offended but couldn’t repress a smile. He stood up, about to take his bowl to the sink; but Scar insisted that he was the guest, so he handed over his dish and sat back down. Preparing his “i’m out of here” pleasantries.

He settled on, “Well, I’m out of here,” after a few more minutes of banter.

“Okay! Thanks for keeping me company dude,” Grian gave Scott a hug as thanks.

“My pleasure,” Scott replied.

Scar offered to accompany Scott back to the Hobbit territory, but he refused.

“No need Scar, you’ve been out all day. I’ll be fine,” he assured as he adjusted his hat and jacket for the chilly walk home.

“Alright then, let me walk you out,” Scar proposed instead.

Final waves and good wishes were exchanged and Scott started back down all those stairs. It was quiet, save for the gentle buzz of the world border which sat right against the Red Desert.

Lost in thought for most of the journey, Scott traveled into the dark canopy of leaves. There weren’t many mobs out due to the moon being in its Waning Crescent phase. Scott rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his pockets, wishing he’d brought his mittens.

As he crossed over a clearing, an arrow whizzed over his shoulder. Scott ducked down in surprise, turning around and expecting to see a skeleton, but there was nothing there except a dreadfully dark bank of trees and a vacant plot of land.

Scott squinted into the darkness.

Then the handle of a weapon was brought down on the side of his face, and all the lights went out.

[ernmark]

One Possible Read of The Green Knight

I say one possible, because this is the story as I understood it as I was watching the film. When I mentioned it to my partner, he didn't take that away. I'm not saying my take on it is right or wrong (I think it's hard to say that about most reads for a movie like this), but I submit it for your consideration.

(Spoilers and a fairly thorough plot summary under the cut)

(Holy moly this got long)

A brief caveat:

Caveat the First: I'm basing this off a pre-existing understanding of medieval stories, which don't necessarily follow the same narrative structures as modern ones. The world they lived in was weird, so sometimes weird shit just happened for no reason, often very conveniently. (If anything, I think this movie did less of that than existed in typical medieval stories.) They also heavily relied on archetypes rather than distinct characters with backstories, as well as a pre-established understanding of the story you're listening to. Like the puppet show that shows up in the story, the kids in the audience had already heard the story enough times that they could follow it without any actual words. On that note, I've also read a version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Caveat the Second: I immediately distrust anybody who talks about any story older than three centuries or so having an "original" version. There are some stories that have distinct authors, but often these stories were retold and rewritten to suit the tastes of their latest audience. So I refer to the version I read, not "the original". I take my reading of that story into my interpretation of what I saw. I'll note the details from the version I read where it's relevant.

The Story

We start with Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, waking up in a brothel with his sex worker lady friend. She sends him on his way back home to Camelot where his mother greets him and kindly asks him where he's been all night. Oh, off at Christmas Mass, naturally, is what he tells her. She counters that clearly he's been drinking all the communion wine, because she can smell it on his breath.

She tells him she's not feeling well, so he should go to the Christmas celebration without her and tell her all about it afterward.

[I don't recall hearing her name in the movie, but in the version I read, the Green Knight is sent by Morgana. Between his mother being described in dialogue as Arthur's sister and a known witch, I'm gonna run with that assumption and call her that.]

This is where my reading diverges: I take all of this as being almost entirely Morgana's story. And from her perspective, it's kind of hilarious. Because this isn't the story of Gawain's journey into Manhood, but of a very frustrated mother's attempts to save her beloved (if disappointing) son.

While Gawain is partying with the sickly King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, Morgana joins three of her fellow witches and they enact a spell, summoning the Green Knight and a very specifically worded challenge. The Green Knight presents a game: any one person in attendance may injure him and get his badass axe as a prize, but in a year exactly he'll have to go to the Green Knight's chapel and allow the Green Knight to return the exact same blow to him.

Arthur says he wants to do it, but acknowledges he's too sickly to do so. Gawain, already embarrassed once at this party, jumps up and volunteers to be his champion. And when he steps into the ring with the Green Knight, he cuts off his opponent's head. He'd think that was the end of it, but the Green Knight just picks up his severed head, reminds him of the deal to bring the axe back and let himself get beheaded in a year, and leaves.

[In the version I read, this was a ploy on Morgana's part just to freak out Guinevere. Seriously, that was the entirety of it. Just fucking with her rival/sister-in-law.]

In the movie, I got the vibe that Gawain was never meant to be in the line of fire. I suspect that either Arthur or one of his knights was meant to be the Green Knight's opponent, who would die after a year to get his affairs in order. Given that Gawain was Arthur's next-of-kin, that would have given him plenty of time to pass the crown to Morgana's beloved son. Unfortunately, Gawain stepping up messed up her whole plan.

During the intervening year, we see Morgana and the other witches working together to weave the Girdle of Invulnerability. As the name suggests, it's laden with magic to protect him from all harm and all blows from anyone. So long as he wears it, she explains, he'll make it home in one piece.

[In the version I read, the girdle is given to him by another woman later on at a weirdly convenient time. More on that later.]

Gawain barely makes it out when he asks directions from a young man looting the corpses on a recent battlefield. Being the idiot that he is, Gawain takes the young man's directions straight into a trap, where the young man and several other bandits are lying in wait. Despite his mother's assurances that he's invulnerable, he stands down immediately, allowing the bandits to take the Green Knight's axe, his Magic Girdle, all his money, all his supplies, etc.

During all this, three things happen: first, we see A Fox. Second, when the bandit takes the axe he goes all weird and runs off on the horse, forcing the other bandits to chase after him and leaving Gawain unobserved. Third, we get a weird vision of the future where Gawain remains where he is, tied up, until he rots away and he's left nothing but a skeleton.

My read is that The Fox is either Morgana or one of the other witches shapeshifted to keep an eye on him (alternatively, the fox is Reynard or a similar magical creature employed by them for the same purpose.) The Fox then enchants the bandit into running off with the Girdle and the Axe, leaving Gawain relatively safe. And when he fails to do anything with this spectacular opportunity, the Fox gives him the vision of what's gonna happen to him if he just waits around to be rescued.

Prompted to action, Gawain manages to free himself and continues his quest on foot. Eventually he comes across an abandoned manor. Inside, he meets a ghost who asks him to retrieve her severed head, which was thrown into the nearby spring. After some hemming and hawing, he does. When he returns to the surface with the woman's skull, the ghost is gone, but the Fox is watching him.

My take is that the ghost disappeared. They do that. The Fox, being sent to watch him, saw him actually step up and do a brave and selfless thing for once. This is what cements to the Fox that Gawain isn't a perennial fuckup, he's able to grow and mature if he's given the chance.

Gawain returns the skull to the rest of the ghost's skeleton, and he's rewarded by regaining his lost axe. (The axe placed there by the Fox, who took it from the enchanted bandit.)

So this is great, right? Gawain's fuck-upery has been cured and he's doing the responsible thing. Yay, right?

Except he's a fuckup who spends more time drinking and hanging out in brothels than doing Knightly stuff, so he doesn't know basics. Like how to start a fire or get food. Offscreen, Morgana must have been bashing her head into a wall, because her beloved son is going to get himself killed.

The Fox appears to him, and after his initial attempt to drive it off, Gawain lets it stay with him. From this point forward it stays by his side, not-so-subtly giving him directions and keeping him generally safe.

Later we meet some giants, because sometimes there are just giants. We don't question these things in Arthurian fantasy. Gawain asks them to give him a ride to his destination, but when one agrees to help him, he freaks out at the last second and refuses. The Fox speaks to the giant, quite possibly apologizing for its very rude human friend, and the giants go on their way without him.

Gawain is most of the way there by now, but it's late December in Wales, he's super cold and hasn't eaten anything but trippy mushrooms, he can't build a fire, he's been walking for days. He collapses, but the Fox urges him to go a little further and leads him to another manor house. Fortunately for him, this manor has living people in it, who clean him up, put him in a warm bed, and give him food.

We get a dreamy scene where he's being tended by his mother before he wakes up in the care of the manor. My read on it was that this manor and the people in it were sent directly by Morgana to save him. I don't think the manor was even there ten seconds before he collapsed the first time. Because Morgana loves her son, but he is REALLY bad at this.

Notably, it seems that the only people here are the Lord and Lady of the manor, as well as a blind old woman who seems to be the lady's maidservant and/or mother? Hard to tell.

Some flirting happens between Gawain and the Lord and Lady. The Lord of the manor explains that conveniently, Gawain's destination is only one day's walk away and he's several days early, so why not take some time to rest and gather his strength. The Lady shows off her library and her fancy daguerreotype-like mechanism, etc. The Lord suggests another game (mirroring the game presented by the Green Knight) : the Lord will go hunting the next day and give Gawain whatever he catches. Gawain will in return give the Lord whatever he gains throughout the day.

[In the version I read, this happens over the course of three days. Each day the Lord leaves, the Lady tries to seduce Gawain but he refuses, only accepting a kiss from her on the first two days; when the Lord returns with a hunted animal each day, Gawain gives him the kiss that the Lady gave him. On the third day, the Lady also gives Gawain a previously-unmentioned enchanted Girdle of Invincibility, which he neglects to pass along to the Lord, opting just to kiss him instead.]

In the movie, this is condensed into only one day. Gawain wakes up with the Lady creepily watching him sleep, wearing the Girdle of Invincibility that Morgana made for him. She invites him into bed and offers him the Girdle, reminding him that it can render him invincible. The scene gets a bit weird after that-- sex acts of some sort ensue, and the Lady walks away, leaving Gawain with post-coital shame and the Girdle.

Upset, Gawain grabs his stuff and makes to leave. Along the way he runs into the Lord in the middle of his hunt, and he declares that he's going to meet the Green Knight a day early. Citing their game, the Lord presents Gawain with The Fox (who is alive despite having been caught by a hunter, hmmm) and requests Gawain's "winnings" in return-- which he claims by stealing a kiss. I dunno about you, but it seemed to me that Gawain was Into It, at least before he remembers to be freaked out and runs off.

He's nearly at the place where he's to meet the Green Knight when the fox stops him. Now it starts talking, its voice shifting from masculine to feminine. It tells him that he's done a great job, and he can turn back right now and go home and nobody will know but the two of them. He doesn't have to go through with this. But Gawain, determined to fulfil his quest, drives the Fox off once again and goes the last bit alone.

Here he meets the Green Knight in the ruins of an old chapel, though because he's early the Green Knight is little more than a statue, awake but unmoving until the appointed Christmas Day. All the while Gawain just has to sit there and stew in the knowledge that he's gonna die. Finally the Green Knight stirs, asks Gawain if he's ready to die, and readies the axe that Gawain returned to him.

Throughout this, the light hits the Green Knight differently, making him look an awful lot like the Lord of the manor. After Gawain flinches away from the axe the first time, he speaks gently to him, almost tenderly.

[In the version I read, the Green Knight and the Lord of the manor are the same person, and the Lord/Knight is aware of Gawain's magic Girdle, because this was all an elaborate ruse. Because of Gawain's invincibility, the Green Knight only scratches his neck, permanently scarring him as punishment for lying about it and cheating in both their games, but doesn't hold it against him. Gawain then returns to Camelot and they keep the Girdle at the round table as a symbol that all of them have their failings.]

In the movie, Gawain flinches one more time. We then get a second very lengthy vision of an alternate future: Gawain flees the Green Knight and returns home, where he's welcomed back without external consequences. However, he's haunted by his own cowardice, giving up a difficult love in favor of living up to expectation, only to lose everything in the end anyway. His life following the cowardly route was longer, but it wasn't a better life.

He stops the Green Knight one last time, only to remove the Girdle and set it aside before declaring himself ready. The Green Knight is genuinely pleased by this, and he leans in and simply traces a finger over Gawain's throat, before happily saying. "Off with your head."

The movie ends there. Whether the Green Knight leaves him alive or kills him is up for interpretation. But even if the Green Knight wasn't on Morgana's payroll, I feel like he's way too fond of Gawain to do him real harm at this point.

And so Gawain has grown up-- he's brave, he's honorable, he's learned to keep his word and face the consequences of his actions. And Morgana, after some major struggles and a lot of called-in favors, has managed to keep her son from dying on his quest. Victory all around.

There's also an after-credits scene: just a little girl playing with Arthur/Gawain's crown. Notably, this little girl is neither of the children Gawain had in his vision of the cowardly future, so I interpreted it as a new future with a new child with potential all their own.

But that's just my take.

[amuelia]

How do you think Roose will meet his demise? Or will he survive? What's your best Roose end game predictions?

Thank you for the question! This will be a long post under the readmore, going into my thoughts on the show ending and exploring what the books may have set up in regards to themes and characterization, as well as a bit of general analysis of Roose' story arc in a Dance with Dragons (and some speculation about Ramsay as well).

If you click on the readmore i will have divided the post into sections with bolded Headers, if you want to only read my specific endgame ideas you can skip ahead to the "His Endgame?" section.

In The Show

The show had him get killed by Ramsay in s6, which informs a lot of the fandom speculation about this storyline.

I am not a fan of the show's scenario as it was both similar to tywin and tyrion as well as a mirror of robb's death; it would also be offscreen in the books since neither of the characters are PoVs and Ramsay would need to do the act in secret. This would ultimately undercut Roose' role and impact, being a death scene that is not very unique and also isn't shown to the reader directly. Since no PoV is even in Winterfell currently, we would just hear of it from afar and not witness the consequences.

The show also has a different dynamic in the Bolton storyline, emphasizing Ramsay as the "main character" of this arc, and elevating him to the main villain for s5-6 to fill Joffrey's shoes as an evil character played by a very charismatic actor. Ramsay's show writing is informed by the needs of a TV setting that wants shocking moments and capitalizes on "fan favourite" actors; his rising importance in the show thus is not necessarily an indicator of his book importance. The show was also missing many central characters like the northern lords and the Frey men in Winterfell.

The show had a tendency to kill off characters early when they wanted to cull storylines or had no plans to adapt more of the character's story (like Stannis, Barristan, possibly the Tyrells...); In Mance Rayder we have the most obvious example, where they killed him off for real in a scene that in the book was a misdirection. We also have characters like Jorah where it appears the showrunners had their own choice of how they want his storyline to end, even if Grrm has his own ending in mind.

"For a long time we wanted Ser Jorah to be there at The Wall in the end," writer Dave Hill says. "The three coming out of the tunnel would be Jon and Jorah and Tormund. But [...] Jorah should have the noble death he craves defending the woman he loves." - Dave Hill for Entertainment Weekly

So a death in the show does not need to be an indicator that the books will feature an equivalent scene, even if it gives a hint as to what may happen. By s5 the show has become its own beast, and the butterfly effects from radical changes they made as well as the different characterizations results in the show having to cater to its own needs in many cases when it gets to resolving a plotline.

"We reconceived the role to make it worthy of the actor's talents." - Benioff and Weiss for the s5 DVD commentary, on Indira Varma's casting as Ellaria

In The Books

(Since this post was getting out of hand in length a lot of these arguments are a little shortened/not as in-depth as i'd like! Feel free to inquire more via ask if something is unclear or you disagree)

In the books i find it hard to make a concrete guess as to how it will end. Occam's razor would be to assume the show sort of got it right and that it will vaguely end the same, which could very well happen and i will not discount the possibility; Ramsay is cruel, desires the Dreadfort rule, and is a suspected kinslayer and has no qualms to commit immoral violence.

"Ramsay killed [his brother]. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison." - Reek III, aDwD

Reek saw the way Ramsay's mouth twisted, the spittle glistening between his lips. He feared he might leap the table with his dagger in his hand [to attack his father]. - Reek III, aDwD

Arguments against this or for a different endgame come down to interpretations of the themes in the story arc and opinions on dramatic structure/grrm's writing, and are thus very subjective.

The way the story currently is going, Ramsay killing Roose treats Roose almost as a plot device; his death brings no change or development to Ramsay's character as we already know his motivations and cruelty align with such an act, and we can assume that he would feel no remorse about it either. The results of such a scene would be firmly on a story level, as it brings political changes and moves the plot along into a specific direction. Roose himself cannot have any relevant character development about it as he does not have a PoV and we would not be able to witness his reaction from the outside.

“The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” - William Faulkner, often quoted by Grrm

Further, killing his father is very difficult to pull off in secret (Roose is frequently described as very cautious, and employs many guardsmen). And even if Ramsay pulls it off (people often interpret Ramsay as Roose' blind spot, assuming he might be caught by surprise, not expecting Ramsay would bite the hand that feeds him), Roose is the one that holds his entire alliance together; The Freys would be alienated by Ramsay who would antagonize Walda and her son as his rivals, The Ryswell bloc appears to dislike Ramsay (especially Barbrey), and the other northmen are implied to not even like Roose himself. Killing Roose would quickly combust the entire northern faction, and hinder Ramsay's further plans (another reason why I am not convinced of a book version of the "Battle of Bastards"). Though this might of course, if we look at it from the other side, be grrm's plan to quickly dissolve this plot and move the northern story forwards.

"Ramsay will kill [Walda's children], of course. [...] [She] will grieve to see them die, though." - Reek III, aDwD

"How many of our grudging friends do you imagine we'd retain if the truth were known? Only Lady Barbrey, whom you would turn into a pair of boots … inferior boots." - Reek III, aDwD

"Fear is what keeps a man alive in this world of treachery and deceit. Even here in Barrowton the crows are circling, waiting to feast upon our flesh. The Cerwyns and the Tallharts are not to be relied on, my fat friend Lord Wyman plots betrayal, and Whoresbane … the Umbers may seem simple, but they are not without a certain low cunning. Ramsay should fear them all, as I do." - Reek III, aDwD

Roose' death at Ramsay's hand also removes him thematically from the Red Wedding, as we can assume such a death might have happened regardless of his participation in the event (seeing as Ramsay is getting provoked by Roose constantly in normal dialogue, and has a general violent disposition). Roose already took Ramsay in before aGoT started, and married Walda very early in the war, which is already most of the buildup that the show's scenario had. It also has little to do with the The North Remembers plot except set dressing, since the northmen are presumably neither collaborating with/egging on Ramsay nor would they appreciate the development.

Themes: Ned Stark and the rule over the North

Roose is treated as a foil to Eddard; They are often contrasted in morals and ruling styles, while also having many superficial similarities that further connect them (they are seen as cold by people, grey eyed, patriarchs of rivalling northern houses, etc...).

Pale as morning mist, his eyes concealed more than they told. Jaime misliked those eyes. They reminded him of the day at King's Landing when Ned Stark had found him seated on the Iron Throne. - Jaime IV, aSoS

They both have a "bastard son" that they handle very differently; Roose treating Ramsay in the way that is seen as common in their society. Ramsay and Jon as a comparison are meant to show that Catelyn had a reason to see a bastard as a threat (since Domeric was antagonized by his bastard brother), but also shows that her suggested plan for Jon would not have stopped any danger either (as Ramsay being raised away from the castle didn't help).

And if his seed quickened, she expected he would see to the child's needs. He did more than that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him "son" for all the north to see. - Catelyn II, aGoT

"Each year I sent the woman some piglets and chickens and a bag of stars, on the understanding that she was never to tell the boy who had fathered him. A peaceful land, a quiet people, that has always been my rule." - Reek III, aDwD

It appears to me that Roose' story functions in some ways as an inversion to Ned. He makes an attempt to grab a power he was not destined to (becoming warden of the north), where Ned did not want the responsiblity thrust upon him ("It was all meant for Brandon. [...] I never asked for this cup to pass to me." - Cat II, aGoT). Where Ned rules successfully and his northmen honor his legacy ("What do you think passes through their heads when they hear the new bride weeping? Valiant Ned's precious little girl." - The Turncloak, aDwD), the Boltons are largely hated and there are several plots conspiring against them ("Let me bathe in Bolton blood before I die." - The King's Prize, aDwD).

It seems possible to me that in terms of their family and legacy, Roose might also live through an inverted version of Ned's story; where Ned died first, leaving his family behind, Roose already lived to see the death of his wives and trueborn heir, and might thus also live to see Ramsay's death. Ned leaves behind well raised children and a North who still respects his name, and even though he dies it will presumably all be "in good hands" in the end (in broad strokes, obviously this is all much more morally complex). Roose however built up a bad and toxic legacy, and also built his way of life around evading consequences; it makes sense to me that he would be forced by the story to finally endure all the consequences of his actions and witness the fall of his house firsthand. After all we already have Tywin who fulfils the purpose of dying before his children while his legacy falls to ruins, and a Feast for Crows explores this aspect thoroughly.

Roose' arc in A Dance With Dragons

The story repeatedly builds up the situation unravelling around Roose, and him slowly losing a grip on it and becoming more stressed and anxious.

Reek wondered if Roose Bolton ever cried. If so, do the tears feel cold upon his cheeks? - Reek II, aDwD

Roose Bolton said nothing at all. But Theon Greyjoy saw a look in his pale eyes that he had never seen before—an uneasiness, even a hint of fear. [...] That night the new stable collapsed beneath the weight of the snow that had buried it. - a Ghost in Winterfell, aDwD

Lady Walda gave a shriek and clutched at her lord husband's arm. "Stop," Roose Bolton shouted. "Stop this madness." His own men rushed forward as the Manderlys vaulted over the benches to get at the Freys. - Theon I, aDwD

It also directly presents him as a parallel to Theon's rule in aCoK, who similarly experienced a very unpopular rule and his subjects slowly turning against him. Presumably, the point of this comparison will not just be "Ramsay comes in at the end and unexpectedly whacks them on the head". Both Theon and Roose invited Ramsay into their lives, giving him more power than he deserves, and causing Ramsay to make choices that increasingly alienate others from them (the death of the miller's boys for example has repercussions for both Theon and Roose). Grrm is likely steering this towards a difference in how they will deal with this situation.

It all seemed so familiar, like a mummer show that he had seen before. Only the mummers had changed. Roose Bolton was playing the part that Theon had played the last time round, and the dead men were playing the parts of Aggar, Gynir Rednose, and Gelmarr the Grim. Reek was there too, he remembered, but he was a different Reek, a Reek with bloody hands and lies dripping from his lips, sweet as honey. - a Ghost in Winterfell, aDwD

"Stark's little wolflings are dead," said Ramsay, sloshing some more ale into his cup, "and they'll stay dead. Let them show their ugly faces, and my girls will rip those wolves of theirs to pieces. The sooner they turn up, the sooner I kill them again." - The elder Bolton sighed. "Again? Surely you misspeak. You never slew Lord Eddard's sons, those two sweet boys we loved so well. That was Theon Turncloak's work, remember? How many of our grudging friends do you imagine we'd retain if the truth were known?" - Reek III, aDwD

Roose' arc is deeply connected to the relations he shares to the other northern lords, which has been heavily impacted by the Red Wedding. It stands to reason that they are going to be an important part of his downfall, and we see many hints of them plotting to betray him.

The north remembers, Lord Davos. The north remembers, and the mummer's farce is almost done. My son is home." - Davos IV, aDwD

Themes: Stannis and kinslaying

The books set up Roose and Stannis as foils as well; Both lack charisma and have trouble winnning the people's support, Stannis and Roose both parallel and contrast Ned, Stannis appears as a "lesser Robert" where Roose is a "lesser Ned", Stannis represents the fire where Roose represents the ice, both struggle over dominion in a land that doesnt particularly want either of them, etc... What i find interesting is how they are contrasted over kinslaying:

"Only Renly could vex me so with a piece of fruit. He brought his doom on himself with his treason, but I did love him, Davos. I know that now. I swear, I will go to my grave thinking of my brother's peach." - Davos II, aCoK

"I should've had the mother whipped and thrown her child down a well … but the babe did have my eyes." [...] "Now [Domeric's] bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord … if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?" - Reek III, aCoK

Stannis is set up as someone who is very thorough and strict in following his own code and his "duty", even if he does not like what it forces him to do.

Stannis ground his teeth again. "I never asked for this crown. Gold is cold and heavy on the head, but so long as I am the king, I have a duty . . . If I must sacrifice one child to the flames to save a million from the dark . . . Sacrifice . . . is never easy, Davos. Or it is no true sacrifice. Tell him, my lady." - Davos IV, aSoS

The armorer considered that a moment. "Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He'll break before he bends." - Jon I, aCoK

Roose however is frequently characterized as someone who tries to get as much as he can while avoiding negative consequences, and who does not have a consistent moral code and instead bends rules to his benefit to be the most comfortable to him.

It is often theorized that Stannis will end up burning his daughter Shireen; the Ramsay issue might then serve to contrast the two men. If Grrm intends it to be compared by the reader, I can see it going two ways: Either Roose will be forced to finally act in a drastic way after avoiding his responsibility in regards to Ramsay and he will be forced to get rid of his son, making him break the only moral hurdle he has presented adhering to during the story (though analyzing his character, the kinslaying taboo is probably less a sign of moral fortitude and more him using the guise of morals to explain a selfish motivation). Or he might not act against Ramsay and suffer the consequences, presenting an interesting moral situation where some readers might consider his action "better" or more relatable than Stannis', breaking up the otherwise very black and white moral comparison between the two men. It serves as an interesting conflict of the morality of kinslaying compared to what readers might see as a moral obligation of getting rid of a monster such as Ramsay; contrasting Shireen whose death would not be seen as worth it by most. Ramsay as a bastard (who was almost killed at birth if he hadnt been able to prove his paternity) also makes for an interesting verbal parallel with the bastard Edric Storm, and might be used for a look at the utilitarian principle of killing a child (baby ramsay/edric) to save countless people from suffering that underpinned Edric's story.

"As Faulkner says, all of us have the capacity in us for great good and for great evil, for love but also for hate. I wanted to write those kinds of complex character in a fantasy, and not just have all the good people get together to fight the bad guy." - Grrm

"Robert, I ask you, what did we rise against Aerys Targaryen for, if not to put an end to the murder of children?" - Eddard VIII, aGoT

"If Joffrey should die . . . what is the life of one bastard boy against a kingdom?" - "Everything," said Davos, softly. - Davos V, aSoS

However Grrm decides to present these conflicts or which actions the characters will take in the end, it will result in interesting discussion and analysis for the readers.

His Endgame?

Looking at the trends of the past books, it is probably going to be hard to predict any specific outcome; every book introduces new characters and plot elements that were impossible to predict from the last book even if their thematic importance or setup was aptly foreshadowed.

Roose has a lot of plot importance and characterization that has, in my opinion, not yet been properly resolved in a way that would be unique and poignant to the specific purpose his character appears to fulfil. However I also have a bias in that i did not like the show's writing of that scene which makes me averse to see a version of it in the books, and i really like Roose as a character and want to see him have more scenes in the next book(s). This leads me to discount plot speculation that cuts his character arc short offscreen early. Roose is only a side character; however, i have trust in grrm's writing abilities and that he would give him a proper sendoff that feels satisfying to a fan of the character.

"…even the [characters] who are complete bastards, nasty, twisted, deeply flawed human beings with serious psychological problems… When I get inside their skin and look out through their eyes, I have to feel a certain — if not sympathy, certainly empathy for them. I have to try to perceive the world as they do, and that creates a certain amount of affection." — George Martin

Considering my earlier analyis, there is a case to be made for Roose killing Ramsay; however it appears grrm might have a different endgame in mind for Ramsay, foreshadowed in Chett's prologue:

There'd be no lord's life for the leechman's son, no keep to call his own, no wives nor crowns. Only a wildling's sword in his belly, and then an unmarked grave. The snow's taken it all from me . . . the bloody snow . . . - Chett, aSoS

I tend to think something might happen to Roose/the Bolton bloc later in the book that would cause Ramsay to attempt to flee the scene again like he did back in aCoK fleeing Rodrik's justice; perhaps Ramsay is sent out to battle but then flees it like a coward, or he sees his cause as lost. This time, the fleeing and potentially disguised Ramsay would not make it out to safety though, and get killed without being recognized as Ramsay, dying forgotten. This would serve as dramatic irony since Ramsay so strongly desired to be recognized and respected as a Lord of Bolton, without being too on the nose.

As for Roose, i could see him getting captured and somehow brought to justice (either when someone takes Winterfell or in some sort of battle). I see it unlikely that he will be backstabbed like Robb was, because it seems very "eye for an eye" and ultimately doesn't teach much of a lesson except "he had it coming"; But the various people conspiring against him could lead to his capture by betraying him (giving a payoff to the northern conspiracies and the red wedding). I would find a scene of him standing trial interesting since i believe we didn't have one of these for a true non-pov villain yet, and it would be an interesting confrontation that he cannot escape from (he also loves to talk so it would be a good read to see him make a case for himself).

I assume Roose will be out of the picture when the Other plot finally properly kicks into gear (whether dead or "in prison"). With Stannis as a false Azor Ahai and Roose as a false Other (with his pale, cold features), their struggle in the north seems to be a representation of the false "Game of Thrones" that distracts people from the "real threat" of the Others.

As always this is just my opinion, and it could all go very differently in the books! There could always be something that completely uproots my analysis and goes into a direction i did not expect from the material we had; But i have fate that Grrm as a writer will deliver and give me something i can be satisfied with.

[inkyquince]

SOMEONE FINALLY UNDERSTANDS MY PROBLEMS WITH GENSHIN!! oh my god I liked paimon at the Start but then she became overbearing and the lack of actual options in conversations was so annoying that I hate her now. For example, the very first character quest you for Kaeya, the traveler has the option to be "well time to report to Kaeya" OR "go immediately to the treasure" but if you chose the option to go report to Kaeya first, paimon straight up goes "THERES NO NEED!!" and you're FORCED TO GO WITH IT?? It's a tame example but it's honestly a perfect example of my issues. There's no reason for several options honestly. They don't affect character relationships despise there being a companionship mechanic. Even persona 5 had a right/wrong choice that could either speed or slow down your relationship with others. Also paimon is so annoyingly childish and honestly useless? I don't recall a single time she actually helped. Almost all the time, she's just as confused as, if not more confused, than the Traveller. Honestly Genshin would be considerably better if the Traveller was a one-person team, Paimon is just loud, obnoxious, and if I was the Traveller I would've thrown her out before I reached liyue

THANK YOU!!

Like... I fucking love dialogue trees.

From Pathologic, where the dialogue tree has you on edge, it's scary, because you could lock yourself out of the conversation if you pick wrong, and it fits the game so well? Mass effect, being paragon or renegade, forming your reputation and flirting with aliens, and it fits the game. Dragon age, especially origin and 2, where you could LITERALLY CHOOSE IMPORTANT SHIT in dialogue, and choose what kinda Hawke you wanted to be, yknow purple hawke for life, and it fits the game. FALLOUT NEW VEGAS??? Legitimately lets you peacefully resolve a huge threat IF you have high speech and pick the correct options, you have to THINK and, you know it, it fits the game.

It's amazing how something as simple as dialogue trees show a substantial part of any game that has them.

Even Dishonored, which mainly has them pop up to tell the loyalists you don't want to go to bed yet and to either let certain NPC's go, set up an alternative route visa vi Slackjaw, and knock out/kill. It says a lot about what the game is, if you want high or low chaos, who you form Corvo out to be. And they don't even pop up that much??? And it fits the fucking game.

So, yknow, genshin's dialogue trees also fit the game. You are seemingly given options on how to play, but it's just fluff on your way to the same outcome. The choice that matters most in the game is who you pick at the start and that's it. You pick one dialogue option that suggests you can approach a quest in a different way, but no, you're shot down and have to do it the original way. Paimon keeps commenting. It's the facade of an interesting choice. Nothing you do matters and in most games, that's fine. You cannot take branching paths in most games, like call of duty, or GTA, or older assassin's creed, and it doesn't diminish them! They have a story they want told.

But pretending your game is smarter and deeper than it is, is what is fucking stupid. Why have dialogue trees. What's the point of pretending to be an RPG if you're just a fun ensemble of collectible characters with tight combat? You're ruining your game by this pretending of being deeper. All it does is make me smack the space-bar frantically and switch to pressing the mouse button when the "options" pop up. Like it's just insulting.

It's like Deus Ex Human Revolution. They wanted this game to be as varied and fun and immersive as Deus Ex, but it just wasn't. Dialogue and actions meant nothing at all.

No shame in just telling the player to get past the challenge and the enemies and don't die during it and then we insert the next scene of the plot. No shame, as I said, AMAZING games have a simple linear structure that has the player having a stellar game riding along with their story.

But why the fuck would you pretend otherwise.

Also... I would have slam dunked Paimon into the stove the moment she started insulting Venti. Like?? We don't know this man, who raised your rude ass.

[incredifan34]

Incredibles Theory

Recently, I watched a video by Cartoon Conspiracy that theorized that Syndrome, was, in fact, a superhero - more specifically, the child of two supers. I highly reccommend you check it out.

More specifically, in the video, Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Syndrome's parents must've been supers for the following reasons:

Mr. Incredible / Bob Parr seems to know Buddy Pine's mother well, if not both of his parents. As seen with the wedding scene where Helen and Bob get married, most of the attendees are, in fact, superheroes. This would suggest that Bob and Helen's majority of friends / acquaintances are also supers.

Buddy Pine, as a child, seems to be overly eager to become a superhero himself (and has access to advanced tech parts), idolizing Mr. Incredible, showing up at the scene of the crimes, inventing his own tech to give him "powers", and dubbing himself "IncrediBoy". For one, where exactly is Buddy getting all of the tech parts (as a child, no less) needed to make working rocket boots? And two, how exactly where, and when, to find Mr. Incredible multiple times, unless he also had a police scanner / some sort of device that notifies Supers when criminals are at large? (Or, perhaps more likely, he overheard his Super parents talk about where Mr. Incredible normally fights crime?) And why is Buddy the only "sidekick" we see or hear about? This could also potentially point to Buddy having one, or two, superhero parents, ones with access to government technology made for superheroes (i.e. Gazerbeam's eyepiece, gauntlets, etc.).

Buddy Pine seems to be obsessively fixated on "becoming a superhero", so much so that his entire childhood is spent revolving around becoming one, as well as his later adulthood. It seems strange that Buddy is the only "non-Super" featured in the film who wants to emulate a superhero in real life, whereas everyone else seems to be perfectly content with letting the established Supers (ones with powers) do the job of crime-fighting for them.

Forshadowing as related to Jack-Jack Parr, the child of two Supers, supposedly "not having any powers". In the film, one of the points that comes up is Helen Parr, a.k.a Elastigirl, worrying about (or at least noticing) that "Jack-Jack doesn't [seem to] have any powers". This is in spite of Jack-Jack being the child of two superheroes. So this tells us two things: one, that a superhero couple has had at least one child before; and two, that a "non-super" born to two supers has also happened before. Why else would Helen Parr / Elastigirl just seemingly accept so suddenly that Jack-Jack doesn't have any apparent abilities, even though he's still a toddler? ...unless, of course, there was a previous example that she knew of a "superhero couple's baby" turning out to be a "Muggle"...a child, perhaps, like Buddy Pine.

Syndrome's / Buddy Pine's later island base seems almost identical to the base of the Phantasmics, a team of superheroes mentioned in the extra of The Incredibles DVD. The Phantasmics were a super group part of the National Supers Agency, and focused on international threats. Their base, as such, is noted as a "Secret Mid-Ocean Location - Codename - New Atlantis".

Speaking of the Phantasmics, in the video noted by Cartoon Conspiracy, they were headed by team leader Everseer, whose superpowers included telepathy, clairvoyance, and "magni-vision"; Macroburst, a superhero with the ability to control air currents and create high-velocity winds; Plasmabolt, a female superhero whose powers involved shooting bolts of plasma, which was gathered from the insect-like antennae mounted on the head of her super suit; and Psychwave, whose powers included mental force wave generation, temporary mental paralysis, the ability to possess the bodies of others, psychic foresight, thought control, and telekinesis; her superhero uniform was notable for an atomic insignia. In the video montage of the Supers that Syndrome's Omnidroid kills in the film, the Phantasmics (Psycwave, Everseer, Macroburst) are some of the first superheroes to die by his hand.

Buddy Pine bears some physical resemblance to at least two potential Super parents. Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Psycwave and Universal Man were the parents of Buddy Pine, because these two Supers appear first on his "kill list" (Project Kronos). However, personally, I think that Buddy Pine / Syndrome bears much more physical resemblance to the superhero Phylange, who had the ability to project sonic fields; and Apogee, a Super whose powers involved gravity control and levitation. Buddy Pine's facial / ear structure matches that of Phylange; his crooked teeth match Apogee's. Phylange and Apogee were both team members of the team "the Thrilling Three", along with...wait for it...none other than Gazerbeam. Likewise, Syndrome's Zero-point energy also involves what appears to be tech related to Apogee's gravity control / levitation ability.

Speaking of Gazerbeam, he seems to be, essentially, his presence seems to be the biggest piece of evidence in favor of this theory. According to The Incredibles DVD extras, Gazerbeam was originally a member of the Phantasmics, which would mean that he also worked with them off of their "secret island base" of "New Atlantis". (Sound familiar?) However, Gazerbeam's rivalry with team leader Everseer led to Gazerbeam's dismissal from the Phantasmics. After Dynaguy's death, Gazerbeam replaced him as leader of "the Thrilling Three", joining Phylange and Apogee in crime-fighting. In the film, Gazerbeam is also featured heavily somewhat, giving Mr. Incredible / Bob Parr the information on "Project Kronos" post-humously. However, Gazerbeam's previous involvement with the Phantasmics (and their "island base") seems too convenient to be merely a coincidence when it comes to his presence on Syndrome's island.

The "Thrilling Three"'s base seems based out of the same city from the intro. According to, again, the DVD extras, the Thrilling Three were based out of "the Trilling Three Towers...hours of operation effective by noon". (Again, why not start crime-fighting until noon, unlike the "around the clock" listed availability of other superheroes...unless one of the team had to take care of her child?) The Towers must've been based in the same city as Helen and Bob got married in, because Gazerbeam (a later Thrilling Three team member) also shows up at their wedding. Dynaguy, the current TT leader, also shows up to the wedding. However, the other two TT members, Apogee and Phylange, don't make an appearance. This could be due to the trouble their son (Buddy Pine) got into with Mr. Incredible only a short time before.

The only other "tech hero" seen in the film is Dynaguy, who, like Buddy Pine, had "rocket tech" to allow him to fly. Dynaguy, of course, used to be the leader of the "Thrilling Three", before his untimely death because his cape hit a snag on liftoff. Again, it seems too much to be a mere coincidence that Buddy Pine - who could be the child of two of Dynaguy's team members - apparently had the same, advanced "Super" tech Dynaguy had access to, albeit with Buddy reworking it into "rocket boots". Buddy even says to Mr. Incredible, "This is because I don't have powers, isn't it? Well, not every superhero has powers, y'know! You can be super without them! I invented these. I can fly! Can you fly?"

Buddy's / Syndrome's own dialogue as it relates to the Incredibles seems to indicate his own past. In the alternate opening on the deleted scenes, there's this really creepy moment after Syndrome hears baby Violet crying and then says to Bob, "You are breaking the law, Mr. Incredible. You know supers aren't supposed to breed," his eyes just slowly move in the direction of Violet's room. There's something very unsettling about that moment. Syndrome has Bob and Helen trapped with his freeze ray, and there's nothing they can do to stop Syndrome as he moves down the hall toward Violet. (Source) Likewise, Syndrome's decision to try and abduct Jack-Jack to "raise him as his own son" is disturbing in itself...almost like Syndrome has mental issues from his own abandonment / neglect as the child of a Super couple.

In addition to the last point, Syndrome's dialogue as he attempts to kidnap Jack-Jack is also very telling as to his own past:

Syndrome: "Shhhhhh.... the baby's sleeping. (chuckles evilly) You took away my future. I'm simply returning the favor. Oh, don't worry, I'll be a good mentor. Supportive, encouraging. Everything you weren't! And in time, who knows? He might make a good sidekick."

My theory as to what happened in Buddy's / Syndrome's backstory...

So, while Cartoon Conspiracy theorized that Buddy Pine is, in fact, a Super - having "super intelligence" - I am of the belief that Buddy, in reality, is not a Super. However, I agree on the point that he was born to two Super parents, just different ones from CC's theory: Phylange and Apogee.

Sometime before the flashback in the intro to The Incredibles, Phylange and Apogee had a son: Buddy Pine. However, being born to two superhero parents, especially during "the Glory Days", likely wasn't easy. When both of your parents' jobs involves dedicating themselves to a life of crime-fighting, where does that leave Buddy Pine?

As a result, growing up, Buddy's parents are frequently away on business. As such, he grows up looking up to, and idolizing, superheroes - and one in particular, Mr. Incredible. I think Buddy's obsession with Mr. Incredible started because, perhaps, he was neglected emotionally at home by his largely-absent parents. As such, Buddy decided to "latch onto" who he saw as a "perfect" father figure and role model - Mr. Incredible, who was an associate of his parents'.

As such, Buddy built up a "shrine" to Mr. Incredible in his house; "invented" his rocket boots; joined the Mr. Incredible Fan Club (or maybe even started it); and even tried to fight crime alongside Mr. Incredible as his sidekick ("ward"), "IncrediBoy". Having been emotionally neglected by his parents, he used this as a way to try and "become worthy" (in his eyes) of the attention and affection they never gave him. In his eyes, if he became a "Super", and "earned respect" as one, then his parents (as well as Mr. Incredible) might spend more time with / praise him.

Perhaps the case could've been that, because Buddy was born without any superpowers, he was more neglected by his parents, in his view, because "they expected / wanted a Super child". So, Buddy thought, if he could become a Super himself, then, perhaps, they might "love him more" then.

Indeed, TV Tropes says of a "Muggle born of mages":

He may be nice-if-pathetic or mean-spirited, but whatever the case, his bitterness and regret over not being a super is a major character trait.

If there's one thing that Buddy Pine / Syndrome seems to practically ooze, it's "bitterness and regret over not being a Super". He seems to always carry a chip on his shoulder because of it.

Buddy Pine / Syndrome particularly has three quotes related to the "absent parent narrative", particularly the "absent father" one:

"I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics that anyone has even SEEN!"

"See? Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works."

"That ship has sailed! All I wanted was to help you, I only wanted to help! And what did you say to me? (Flashback of Mr. Incredible: "Fly home, Buddy. I work alone.") It tore me apart, but I finally learned an important lesson: you can't count on anyone, especially your heroes!"

However, when Buddy Pine is rejected by Mr. Incredible, after the incident with Bomb Voyage, his anger and bitterness comes to a head. He decides that he "can't rely on anyone - not even his heroes", and, over time, becomes more and more hateful of his parents, and Supers in general. He sees them as people who deserve to be hurt - to be punished - and "just as they took away his future", he would "return the favor".

In time, Buddy Pine develops all sorts of tech, most likely taken from his parents' base. He likely goes to a normal university - probably a tech-related one - and is eventually hired by the government / National Supers Agency, possibly due to his parents' influence as (by-then-ex) Supers. He uses the government tech to create weapons of war and other technology, selling them to other countries for a huge sum on the black market.

All the while Buddy Pine works for the NSA, he gathers all of the intelligence he can on every Super, especially after the Supers go into hiding. Previously, the NSA required every superhero to register with them to fight crime legally, so naturally, they would have all of the Supers' information. Buddy Pine uses the government's task of "hiding" the Supers against them, and even his own parents.

However, despite the U.S.'s "Superhero Relocation Program", effectively ending the Supers, this isn't enough for Buddy. He begins plotting his revenge. Likewise, the Phantasmics are still operating internationally, not just in the U.S., off of their island base of "New Atlantis". Buddy, as part of the government / NSA, manages to get sent to "New Atlantis" as an NSA agent, claiming "he needs to do official government business".

So, Buddy scopes out the island, planning his method of attack. In the meantime, he finishes completion of the Omnidroid v.X1, and manages to lure the ex-superhero Universal Man to his death via it.

Not long after Universal Man's death, Buddy launches a surprise attack on the Phantasmics. (That, or he disguises it as an "NSA training session / meeting".) In the battle, Psycwave and Everseer are killed by the Omnidroid v.XI. Macroburst manages to take out the Omnidroid, only to be later killed by the Omnidroid v.X2. The last remaining team member, Plasmabolt, manages to escape the island, and is never seen / heard from again.

With the Phantasmics out of the way, Buddy takes over "New Atlantis", and makes it his base of operations as Syndrome. His next target - not surprisingly - is his own father, Phylange. Luring his father to the island, Buddy uses the Omnidroid v.X2 to kill him, obtaining the first part of his revenge.

After killing a few more Supers, Buddy moves on to his mother, Apogee, luring her to the island to kill her with the Omnidroid v.X4.

Meanwhile, former Phantasmics member Gazerbeam has been working as a lawyer. After being forced into hiding, Gazerbeam used his civilian identity to launch a campaign to get the ban on Supers repealed. Frozone commented that he "had trouble adjusting to civilian life," much like his best friend Mr. Incredible had. Also, Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible's civilian alter ego) had learned in a Metroville Tribune newspaper that Gazerbeam had gone missing. According to the newspaper article, he was last seen outside his apartment on Traction Avenue ten days prior to the date of the article. His past advocacy of Superhero rights—which had lead some citizens to believe that he had actually been a superhero—would have made him a likely target (especially to Operation Kronos, a plan set forth by super-villain Syndrome). (Source)

However, Gazerbeam had also been former team mates (and likely close friends) with Phylange and Apogee, Buddy's parents. After reading / hearing about Phylange's and Apogee's "disappearance", along with that of other supers, Gazerbeam does some extra research. He finds that Phylange, Apogee, and/or their son, Buddy, were last tracked to / seen on "New Atlantis", the Phantasmics' old base.

Thus, Gazerbeam, under the guise of being "recruited" for "Project Kronos", decides to do some undercover investigations. In time, he finds out the terrible truth - that Buddy Pine, his best friends' son, is now a meglomaniacal supervillain, and has been the one killing Supers - but that he's the next victim.

Likely being ambushed after finding out the truth, Gazerbeam has just enough time to swim to the underwater cave, and, using his abilities, carve the word "KRONOS" into the rock wall. By then, the Omnidroid catches and kills him, or he's already been mortally wounded.

And, from that point on, the events of The Incredibles happen as-is.

And, as a final kicker: the name "Kronos" itself is not only a reference to the 1957 movie [Kronos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronos_(film), but also to, in Greek Mythology, the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father, Uranus, and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son, Zeus, and imprisoned in Tartarus.

The period in which Kronos ruled was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent. Kronos learned that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, Zeus, just as he had overthrown his father, Uranus; thus, Kronos ate his own children, until his wife tricked him, and raised Zeus outside of his influence.

In the same vein, "Kronos" could be a reference by Buddy Pine himself to how he views his vengeance - with him as "Zeus", he used "Project Kronos" as a way to overthrow his father, Phylange (and his father figure, Mr. Incredible), "the most-well-known Supers of the Golden Age", even years after the Supers' retirement. And, just like how Zeus locked away all of the Titans (and Kronos) after their defeat to clear the way for him to rule as King of the Gods, Buddy / Syndrome kills so many Supers in order to clear the way for his "new world order".

After all...

Syndrome: [watching live news footage of the Omnidroid] "Huh? Huh? Oh, come on! You gotta admit, this is cool! Just like a movie: the robot will emerge dramatically, do some damage, throw some screaming people. And just when all hope is lost? Syndrome will save the day! I'll be a bigger hero than you ever were."

Mr. Incredible: "You mean you killed off real heroes so that you could pretend to be one?"

Syndrome: "Oh, I'm real. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone's ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be super!"

Syndrome: "And when everyone's super ...[laughs]...no one will be."