#flora is my most hated character | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

topazadine · 4 months ago

Text

How to Kick Ass at Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding. You either love it and spend all your time dreaming up rules rather than writing, or you hate it and try your best to avoid it despite writing fantasy or scifi.

Or you are in the middle, which is where you should be. You have a healthy appreciation for what makes worldbuilding so special, but you also don't obsess over it.

Worldbuilding does not need to be complicated to be effective, as I've harped on a few different times now. So how do you strike the right balance? Let's take a look.

As always, this is just my opinion based on my own efforts creating The Eirenic Verses. You can disagree and that is fine. However, I hope you'll consider thinking about what I offer here as you craft your own world.

A lot of what people focus on when worldbuilding is not what the audience cares about.

Very few people like to read a book littered with random terms they have to keep track of. We want to build a unique world, but we also don't want to throw such an extreme amount of lore at our readers that they tune out.

When worldbuilding, we want to consider the cognitive load on our audience. This is how much information the reader needs to remember throughout your story so that they can follow along.

Cognitive load includes things like:

Character names and appearances

Relationships between characters

Place names, such as cities and countries

Unique mythological creature or fauna

Backstory, including mythology and folklore

Language names

The general plot (who is the protag, who is the enemy, etc)

Magic usage (who has the power, how they acquire it, any conditions it comes with, etc)

Power dynamics between characters, countries, and so on

Political systems, if included

Even in the most barebones fantasy story, this is a lot to remember. As such, we need to consider what is most important for our readers to generally understand the plot and emphasize this, letting the rest serve as background information that is not quite as essential. The more emphasis we put on something, the more we direct a reader's attention.

At the same time, we want to create a world that feels lived-in and interesting so that readers want to know more. How do we do this?

Consider what you think about foreign countries in our world.

Most of us will have a general concept of a country but only will think about the specifics if it is currently relevant.

Let's take Japan for an example. (I'm a bit of a weeabo, okay?) Here is what I personally think about when I imagine Japan, in order of what I consider important.

Japanese cuisine (sushi, ramen, ochazuke, sake, lots of rice dishes, seafood)

What the people are like according to my own stereotypes/cultural perceptions (polite, quiet, respectful, hardworking, punctual)

Climate and geography (temperate, island country, volcanos, mountains, beaches)

Unique flora and fauna (cherry blossoms, flowers, Nara deer, giant salamanders, pretty birds)

General landmarks, but not necessarily specifics (castles, temples, busy cities, red bridges, torii gates)

Clothing styles (kimonos, school uniforms, business suits, kawaii fashion)

Cultural icons (samurai swords, samurai armor, Shinto shrines)

General overview of the history (samurai, daimyo, feudal system, bushido, Meiji restoration)

Language, but not necessarily specifics of the language (Japanese, kanji, hiragana)

Religion (Buddhism and Shintoism)

Folklore (ghosts, kami, tsukumogami, evil spirits)

Any festivals I might know of (cherry blossom festivals, moon viewings, Obon)

Your own list may have these in a slightly different order, but it's probably what you most think about.

Notice that you will likely not think about these things:

Political system

Specifics of the language

Interpersonal hierarchies

International relations

Specific landmarks

Specific historical events

Famous figures

So why do we think like this? Because in real life, we also have a cognitive load that we must balance with things that are more relevant to our everyday lives.

If I tried to memorize specific details of every country in the world, I would go insane. I have better things to do, so I create a general image of a country based on pictures I've seen, people I've met, food I've eaten, and so on. You do the same thing.

To be realistic, you do not need to be specific. You need to approach worldbuilding the same way people generate their world knowledge: basic concepts and visual imagery.

What to emphasize in worldbuilding

So let's break this down on what you want to think about when creating a world.

Food is one of the most accessible elements of a culture.

Food is how many people learn about different cultures for a simple reason: if you have the ingredients, you can cook food from anywhere. You don't need to be introduced to it by a native of that culture.

Plus, humans tend to like food. We kind of need it to exist.

Think about these things when considering national cuisines and eating habits of your fantasy world:

Do they have spicy food? Bland food? Heavy hearty dishes?

Is most food served hot or cold?

What kind of spices and vegetables do they use? Root vegetables, beans, cinnamon? Salt?

What type of meat do people eat (if any)? Seafood, poultry, beef, pork?

How is bread prepared? What is it made of? (Look, nearly every culture has some sort of bread, we love carbs)

What about pasta? Does that exist here?

Are desserts important? What are they made of?

What kinds of drinks do they have? Coffee, tea, milk, lemon water?

Is alcohol a thing? What kind of alcohol? How often do people drink? Are there bars?

How often do people eat, and when? Do they have the typical three square meals, or do people eat kinda whenever they feel like it?

Do people prepare food at home or are there restaurants?

Are communal dinners common?

Cultural stereotypes provide tension and can help craft your characters.

Are people in your culture known for their boldness? Their cunning? Their resilience? Their standoffishness? Their fiery tongues, or their passive-aggressive jabs?

You can play with a lot of this, either confirming or denying the assumptions through your characters.

Landscape gives us an idea of where we are and what to expect.

Landscapes are some of my favorite aspects of worldbuilding rather than intricate magic systems and political concepts. Readers get a good sense of environment when you focus in on landscape and how it impacts the characters. You can also build a culture off your landscape, such as how certain geographic features may influence peoples' attitudes and lifestyles.

For example, a coastal landscape will have beautiful views of the ocean, sparkling beaches, and maybe tall cliffs. Being a fisherman may be seen as an honorable but dangerous profession. People might cliff dive for fun.

Mountainous areas may produce cultural enclaves, especially in a fantasy setting where everyone is more isolated. One mountain town may have a completely different vibe than the town over.

Flat, wide-open plains mean people can spread out, but since moving from one place to another is easier, there may be a more cohesive culture.

An area with caves will have a sense of mystery and fear; there may be a lot of superstitions about the caves.

A swampy area can also be very mysterious as there are so many places to hide out and a lot of dangerous animals.

Climate influences how people behave.

Hot climates make people need to conserve energy, so they may take afternoon naps in the worst of the heat. They might value relaxation and calm over industry and productivity because bro, have you ever tried to even walk outside in the Florida heat? Shut up and get me air conditioning.

Cold climates make people need to stay active to stay warm, but they can also produce a sense of isolation. Think about how outdoorsy the Finnish are but how they looove their personal space.

Temperate climates are probably a bit more even-tempered, but as weather changes get more extreme, people will vary their behaviors based on the seasons: spending more time outdoors during summer but holing up during winter. The culture may emphasize hospitality because people need to rely on one another to survive, and they have time to meet their neighbors during the summer.

I am very partial to temperate climates, being from the American Midwest. We're known for being nice and hardy people. You should come visit.

Flora and fauna help the world feel real.

When I worldbuild, I often base my cultures on a real place and what kinds of animals or plants are there. For example, Breme is based on Mongolia so I have herbivores, big raptors, and a lot of grasses.

A warm climate will have lots of reptiles. Sea life will be important in a coastal area. Swamps might have big predators. Mountains will have hardy creatures that can climb. A savannah area will have huge herbivores and fast, hungry predators.

General cityscapes or villages are great for providing a sense of place.

Do people build low spread-out cities or tall rickety homes? What kinds of building materials do they use? Are there lots of markets, bars, apocetharies, temples or churches? What do homes look like here? What are any unique architectural features?

This gives a sense that we are in a different but specific world that has a rich culture.

Clothing tells us what people prioritize.

Cold places will have lots of layers. Hot places will have soft draping outfits or very skimpy outfits. Natural materials that are easily available will make up the majority of the clothing in a fantasy setting. You wouldn't have people wearing cotton in a place that doesn't grow cotton. If there are lots of sheep, people will wear wool. If there's lots of cattle, people will wear leather.

You can also think about adornment. Is jewelry common? What type? Why is it important? Is it a status symbol, a way to keep wealth, or perhaps ways to honor ancestors?

Cultural icons demonstrate what the society values.

A warlike culture will prioritize weaponry. A pacifist culture will think about art and music. A nomadic culture may have a rich oral tradition. An agrarian society will emphasize farming rituals.

Think of a few things that symbolize your society, whether that's musical instruments, weaponry, textiles, statues, or jewelry. Consider how those traditions could have come about and why.

Folklore and mythology offer an offbeat but important sense of history.

Folklore is often tied up with many other factors of a society, such as their religion, landscape, history, and overall values.

For example, the Japanese believe items survive for over a century gain a kami, or spiritual essence. This shows that the Japanese cherish their long history and their material culture, and it also infuses their Shinto belief into folklore.

You can also think about cryptids or ghost stories. Isolated and difficult terrain often makes people think of monsters lurking in the woods. Areas with lots of caves will have myths about what is down there. Coastal areas develop myths about ghost ships.

Idioms, turns of phrase, and gestural quirks tell us more about the culture without overwhelming readers.

This one can be more challenging (I haven't done much with it) but if you can manage it, you'll have a very rewarding story.

I'm not talking about making a whole new language here, but rather about idioms and turns of phrase. Think about all the fun idioms that English has, like "beating around the bush" or "break a leg." Without cultural context, you can't understand them, so you'll have to incorporate an explanation without actually stating it.

For example, you can have a character say "the horses are running fast" as they look out the window to see a sheet of rain. We can guess from this that the idiom is rain = horses, so lots of rain = fast horses. We'll understand from this that this culture probably loves horses; maybe they're a formerly nomadic race.

Gestures, like whether people give thumbs-up, point with their index, or bow with their hands to their chest all give us a feeling of the culture without being overwhelming.

What not to emphasize

Now that we've gone through some things to focus on, let's talk about what you don't need to make up for your world.

A whole-cloth language

Please, you don't need to create brand new words for things that exist in our world. You can reference a language, but do not make people memorize nouns they don't need.

Don't even make up the language at all. Say there's a language and then write the rest of it in English.

Made-up languages are irritating for readers because they want to focus on the characters and plot, not mysterious words they need to translate.

It's possible to make languages interesting without going into specifics. For example, the Bas-Lag trilogy by China Mieville has a species that communicates in clicks but the species can also learn human languages if necessary. There's a language called Salt that's basically the common tongue blended from everything else.

Do we need to know how Salt works? No. Doesn't matter. We're told someone is talking in Salt, or they're learning it, or they switch to it when meeting someone from a different culture. That's plenty.

Specifics of a magic system

You're not going to instantly summon up all the rules of magical realms when you visit a new country; you might not even know them. And your readers won't be too interested in them either.

For example, in The Eirenic Verses, I have High Poetry. Readers will come to know that this was a magical system where certain people given the power can recite a poem and whatever they speak comes true. Every poem can only be used once.

It was given by the goddess Poesy to a specific woman, Saint Luridalr. It was so successful that the goddess started giving it to more women and a whole religious system arose.

I don't need to explain exactly how it works because no one cares. Someone makes things happen by coming up with a poem: that's about it. We don't need to question whether certain rhyme schemes or meter or punctuation impacts anything. That's too technical.

If you've got pages and pages of notes on all the intricacies of the magical system, you have too much. Pare it down.

Political systems

Unless you're writing a fantasy where politics are absolutely critical to the plot, you can just reference the political system in passing and maybe elucidate a few key elements, like who the leader is, how power is transferred, etc. You don't need to go into all the specifics because most people are not going to care.

Hierarchies

Please don't lay out the entirety of an army's ranking system or how someone is promoted. Make up something consistent and stick with it, but don't go into exhaustive detail. People aren't going to sit and question whether a captain is above a lieutenant or how long it takes to become a general.

We'll know that a general is a big deal if the characters make it a big deal. We'll know who the head of the army is but we don't need to know how they got to that position.

Exact city layouts

You do not need to tell us where everything is in relation to one another. Tell us characters are moving from one landmark to another. You could say "this is across a bridge, this is up in the mountains, these buildings are right next to one another, these two buildings are in opposite ends of the city." That's plenty.

If somewhere is very far away, just show them travelling there and how long it takes. You don't need to measure it in miles or leagues or whatever. We will guess that if it takes them a week to walk there, it's pretty distant.

Economic systems

We just need the basics here: mercantile, capitalist, bartering, etc. We don't need to know if the coinage is pegged to a certain precious metal or if people invest their money or how people are paid. That's boring.

In my world, I have two currencies: quillim for Breme and barnals for Sina. What's the exchange rate? I don't know and don't care. How much is one quillim worth? One quillim is not a lot but 2,500 quillim is. How much is the average person paid? Doesn't matter. Do people keep lots of coins on them? No one is asking that. It's not important.

Transit systems

Tells us if the roads are cramped, spread out, nonexistent, poorly maintained. Tell us if there are road blocks or toll booths. Tell us if there are roving bandits. The more physical and sensory you can get, the more real it feels.

Few people care about the specifics of even their own transportation system. I know highways are fast, I know tollroads are expensive, I know parkways are pretty, I know some cities have weird turnabouts and dead ends. That's exactly what I need and what I care about.

That's what I've got for you today. If you liked this, maybe you'll consider checking out The Eirenic Verses series, which follows most of these principles.

I've been told that my fantasy writing is very approachable, even for those who don't usually like fantasy, specifically because I don't get too insane with my worldbuilding. So maybe you'll enjoy it too!

#fantasy worldbuilding #worldbuilding #fantasy writing #fantasy writer #writing community #creative writing #writeblr #writeblr community #writing on tumblr #writing opinions #am writing #writers of tumblr #writer stuff #how to write #fiction writing #writing advice #writing tips #writing resources

159 notes · View notes

14dayswithyou · 8 months ago

Note

Meowdy Saint! ^^ lolol hello hello o/ hope you are doing good!!

So this masterpiece of a game has been invading my mind with ZERO chill lately which directly translated to me coming up with a TON of questions orz I really didn't realize how many I ended up compiling lol

If you don't feel like answering this many please feel absolutely free to ignore this ask or only answer the ones you like the most, the last thing I want is for you to feel overwhelmed! ^^

ALRIGHT LET'S-A GO

-does he know how to give massages? :00

-during day 1, how did Ren come up with a book on the local flora?? It seems like such a random topic to pick when put on the spot without already having a genuine interest in it lmao

(I am not sure if this⬇️ questions falls under character deaths, if it does I really apologize and absolutely feel free to ignore it ^^)

-uuhh I know there is already a lot in this ask(im seriously sorry orz), but I was wondering if we will eventually get an SFW alphabet for Ren/[REDACTED] for the folks who don't care about the nasty 👉👈

-THIS IS THE LAST THING I PROMISE 👹 will there be a guide to get all the endings? I'm not sure if there is one already and in that case I missed it 100%

Also I find it ironic how the fandom is trying to find out every single aspect of Ren/[REDACTED]'s character the same way he must do with angel lmao

ALRIGHT THATS ALL IM SO SORRY FOR ASKING SO MUCH THE REN BRAINROT HOURS ARE SO REAL IM LOSING BRAINCELLS orz Remember to take care of yourself drink water and take breaks!! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

(Also sorry if some phrases don't make sense, english isn't my first language as I am 🤌 lolol)

✦゜ANSWERED: Under da cut because this got long >:3

-do Rendacted's memories remain intact when he resets the day or do his wipe too with everyone else's? Also is there an in-universe answer for why he has these glitchy powers or is he just Built Different™? Ren's memories remain intact!! I mean... He remembers each time you get a bad end and sometimes says something different... >:3 There is also an in-universe reason as to why he has his abilities — I won't spoil anything, but his real name (along with River's and one other character) have a reeeeally big tell. But what this tell is is for me to know and you to find out >:3

-if angel made it VERY clear that they would be mad asf and prolly even start hating and leave Ren/[REDACTED] if he were to hurt their friends(or killing people bc this man needs to chill fr), would he listen to them? Bc I know that if he touches Violet, Elanor, Kiara or god forbid Moth I'm personally deleting his kneecaps 🥰 Ren (and by extension [REDACTED]) knows not to harm anyone if he knows you won't like it — and even then — he won't actively show that murderous side of him in the first place. To Angel, Ren is just a timid, normal guy.

-since it seems to me that Ren/[REDACTED] is only kinda meh at cooking I was wondering if he actually made the not burnt pancakes in day 3 or if he had some store bought ones that he passed off as his own lol Ren is actually good at cooking, he's just a bit out of touch since he doesn't normally cook for himself! It's normally microwave meals or takeout for him... ^^; And yes, Ren did burn and burn the pancakes in Day 3 — he was distracted by something on his phone :3

Bonus cut Day 3 content: I took out the scene where Ren started to profusely apologise for burning the pancake because he often had to cook when he was younger. Given the dynamic of his family and the environment he grew up in, Ren didn't have much room to make mistakes ;n; I cut this scene out because I felt bad ksgskd So y'all get to have flustered, happy Ren instead!!

-does he know how to give massages? :00 If that was one of Angel's interests or desires, then sure!! ^^

-during day 1, how did Ren come up with a book on the local flora?? It seems like such a random topic to pick when put on the spot without already having a genuine interest in it lmao Someone else likes flora too, and it sure would be funny if Ren (eventually) starts to mimic certain traits and interests of the person you have the highest affinity/relationship points with in order to make himself look more appealing… >:3c

-if I understood correctly Maple should be Jae's dog right?? Did you have a specific breed or age in mind when creating her? I got curious because in my head she automatically popped up as a young australian shepherd to match with Jae's hyperactive dumbass energy lol❀⸜(˶´ ˘ `˶)⸝❀ It was mentioned in Jae's lore post (I'll link it here once I find it), but Maple is a Labrador! (Leon would be Jae's Australian Shepherd hehe) In my mind, Maple is only 2 or 3 years old, but that wouldn't really fit the official timeframe... ^^; Jae adopted Maple during high school so he wouldn't feel lonely at home, and it's been over 6+ years since then.... hgdshjg

-staying on the dog topic lol, in day 1 when angel gets up from the couch to get Ren the inflatable mattress(iirc) and he follows right behind them i immediately thought he acted like a puppy lmao. So would he mind being called 'puppy' as a pet name? Angel affectionately calls Ren a puppy during the scene in Day 1 where they meet up after work, so that nickname definitely could work!

-from an ask from last year it seems [REDACTED] would ultimately kill angel if there was ultimately not way to enter in their life?? Gotta say I was very taken aback by this, would this still be the case after a year of building more to his character? (Ok I went back to check the ask again but I can't for the life of me find it anymore maybe I dreamt it up idk😭😭 im really sorry if that is the case jdkslajdl) aaa I think you might be mistaking that ask for something else? ;v; [REDACTED] would NEVER harm Angel in any capacity, and they're a very patient person. Even if it took decades for Angel to fall in love with him, they'll wait.

-THIS IS THE LAST THING I PROMISE 👹 will there be a guide to get all the endings? I'm not sure if there is one already and in that case I missed it 100% I've shared a spreadsheet that lists all the available choices, the points you earn from each of them, and the endings you can get — however it's only available on Discord and I don't really want to share it outside of the server and potentially put it in the hands of minors. Sorry!!

Also I find it ironic how the fandom is trying to find out every single aspect of Ren/[REDACTED]'s character the same way he must do with angel lmao Hehe >:3 There's a loooot of lore that won't ever be mentioned in the game (since it doesn't seem fitting/I don't see a reason to), so I'm happy to provide it here!

#💌 — answered.#💖 — 14 days with queue.#to be tagged later #icant-pickthenameiwant

255 notes · View notes

loveliest-venus · 1 year ago

Text

bittersweet - straw hats crew x reader

includes: Straw Hats crew x f!reader warnings: major character death summary: In your last moments, your crewmates reflect on their time with you before saying goodbye. content: angst, slight fluff, can be read as romantic or platonic, no spoilers, 1.5k words.

Dying was never part of the plan.

Then again, none of this was ever part of the plan, from getting experimented on to meeting a rowdy pirate crew that called themselves the Straw Hats to end up joining them, thus starting what would be the biggest adventure of your whole life. Of course, you regretted it from time to time, it was a wonder how this wasn’t one of those times.

Well, maybe a little bit. You didn’t like seeing tears further dirtying Luffy’s face. It didn’t suit him, you weren’t used to seeing him with anything but a huge smile on his face, the smile that gave you hope despite everything. Your ears were still ringing but you thought you could vaguely hear Nami’s cries, or were they Chopper’s? It was hard to say, the poison had spread fast and you were certain that the blurriness in your vision wasn’t because of tears, as your eyes were dry and bloodshot, most likely from the toxins pumping through your veins, making each breath just a little more painful and… Was it just you or was Zoro screaming? You honestly couldn’t tell anymore. Your eyes closed as your body fell forward, stopping as Luffy’s arms wrapped around your torso to hold you up, making your chin rest on his shoulder.

“Hang on!” Your captain called your name hoarsely, snapping his head to the side, desperate yells piercing through the air as Chopper clumsily dashed over to where you were, slumped over Luffy’s shaking form. “Chopper!”

“D-Don’t worry, I will save her!” Chopper’s fur was wet, snot and salty water mixing as he cried, his voice cracking at the vowels of your name while his arms reached out to help stabilize you. It hurt your heart to see them so distraught and you hated that there was nothing you could do to comfort them.

“Chopper… Stop.” Both of them froze, Luffy’s body growing stiff against your clammy skin. “It’s okay… I’m not scared,” the words tasted bitter in your mouth, in contrast to the serene look on your worn-out features. Blood was trickling down your forehead, hanging on your eyelashes and joining the tiny trail spilling from the corners of your lips. “I’m happy to die… for my crew.” You meant it, your heart had never felt lighter.

“Oi! What the fuck are you going on about?! You can’t just–!” Zoro’s voice was unmistakable, rough like the numerous knives on your body. From the looks of it, your peaceful declaration hadn’t settled well with him. You wished you could meet his gaze one last time, blissfully unaware of the milky sheen on yours. It was then that Chopper realized, with a heartbroken sob, that it was truly too late. “Chopper, do something! Hurry up!”

“Moss-head…” Zoro’s earrings jingled when he turned to look at Sanji, ready to cuss him out until he saw the look on his face, somber and pleading. It dawned on him that the cook had already begrudgingly accepted that this was it. But the swordsman wasn’t known for admitting defeat that easily, if ever.

“Save it, you damn– ,” he was cut off when a pale, delicate hand landed on his broad shoulder, Robin’s lips set in a thin line, the only thing betraying her true feelings was the tight grip she had on him.

“Zoro.” Her eyes were fixated on your battered form, her brow furrowing at your labored breathing. “This isn’t the time. She’s too far gone.” It was Franky’s turn to lose composure, aggressively kicking away the remnants of what had once been a beautiful tree. Taking away the destroyed flora, the unconscious enemies around you and your own blood splattering the ground, this could’ve been called a scenic place to die.

“B-B-But Chopper can fix her up! He always can! R-Right, Chopper?! Tell Robin that she’s wrong!” Usopp’s arms were tightly wound around Nami, both of their eyes growing misty, holding each other up in a fruitless attempt to hold it together. At the archeologist’s soft murmur of your name, their hopes were shattered, Nami’s knees buckling under the weight of her grief, almost taking Usopp with her, forcing him to stand up straighter than before, for once staring at death right in the eye. If only it wasn’t your bloodied face staring back…

Brook remained silent, for once devoid of all joy. It was happening again, someone he held dear was being taken away from him all too soon, your life cut short at the capricious hands of fate. Jinbei had a similar expression on his face, choosing to honor your wishes as you clearly didn’t want to leave them without a proper goodbye.

“Why…?” Luffy, who hadn’t stopped crying, tried shaking you as if that would rip you out of your dazed state, your hair tickling his cheek as you didn’t have enough strength to lift your head up to look at him properly. “Why did you do it?!” He kept yelling your name, now crushing you against his scarred chest, refusing to let you go. “You can’t leave us!” A choked sob rocked his body, a shiver running down your spine at the sheer pain lacing his youthful voice.

Chopper was clinging to your leg, burying his face in your calf to hide his swollen eyes. “I’m sorry, I-I’m so sorry! Please…” The mink was talking to himself at this point, stuck between begging whatever deity was listening and apologizing to you for not getting to you in time, for not being smart enough to find a cure. Zoro’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, loathing the helplessness wrapping around their group viciously, refusing to look away from you, still being held up by the devil fruit user’s embrace. His heart was fighting tooth and nail to keep itself from breaking, minuscule cracks growing the heavier your eyes got. Unbeknownst to him, there was already a scar in the shape of you.

Sanji gritted his teeth, taking a few steps in your direction, blinking away the moisture building up in his lash line, he didn’t want to miss any detail in your face, knowing it was the last time he’d ever get to admire it. In his eyes, you were as beautiful as ever, not even death could take your beauty away from you. Nothing would convince him otherwise.

Their allies could only watch, growing restless as the silence continued, were you gone already? None of them were close enough to see your face clearly, your crewmates had formed a circle around you, protecting you from unwanted eyes. Each of them had different opinions on your rambunctious group, however, none of them could deny that you were fiercely loyal to each other and seeing such a tight-knit crew lose a member was disheartening, a few of them inching closer to their own. It was an unspoken agreement, to pay their respects to the person who had given it her all to win this battle, saving them from a similar fate.

“Because… you called me your friend.”

Your soft voice cut through their thoughts seamlessly, a few gasps escaping from Nami, Usopp and Chopper. Zoro’s eye widened, almost losing his grip when the meaning behind that phrase registered in his brain; whereas Sanji chose to let his feelings take over, slowly sinking to his knees. Brook hung his head, and if he had eyes, he would’ve closed them, not wanting to witness the inevitable. Franky, on the other hand, kept his steely gaze on you, his fists growing tighter with each droplet of your blood that had touched the ground, none of this made any sense to the cyborg whose robotic body shook with the strength of his pained weeping. Your sweet words were like a knife to Jinbei’s kind heart, all of his memories with you as part of the crew playing like a cinematic sequence in his mind, you were one of the first to approach him when he had finally accepted Luffy’s invite. Robin could only smile, finally allowing her tears to drip down her face, wishing she could hold you for one last time. Life without you was unfathomable to them at this point, could this truly be reality? Wasn’t there any way to rewind time to save you?

None of them could see Luffy’s face, his reaction to you admitting that you were willingly exchanging your life for theirs in the name of your friendship. But it wasn’t hard to guess, seeing as he’d pressed his face into your neck, inhaling your scent to soothe his racing heart, torn to pieces by you and his inability to help you. He knew from the moment that he saw you that you would become an important part of his crew, however, he never imagined that it would end like this. He wasn’t ready to continue his journey without you. How could he become the King of the Pirates if you weren’t by his side?

“You truly are the best crew I could’ve asked for. I’m thankful for you… From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” Your eyes were fully closed, the corners of your lips curling up ever so slightly in a loving smile. It was a breathtaking image that would be branded into their hearts forever, sealed with your very last words to them.

“I love you.”

#one piece x reader #one piece angst #op x reader #one piece imagine #op imagines #venus.works #venus.sfw #venus.angst

586 notes · View notes

cerastes · 1 year ago

Text

Bro any time I think about Valkyria Chronicles I laugh my nipples off, the game is fundamentally flawed gameplaywise but, simultaneously, it's stupidly fun, which is the recipe for any club banger, it has a story that weaves flawlessly between "that's pretty poignant" and "this is some goofy goober shit", it's got the horrors of war but also this fucking pig piece of shit mascot, Hans,

It's an amalgam of white and black without any gray: It exists on extremes, and it never intersects, it's playing two parallel lines and coming to terms with the fact that you'll never see cohesion but that somehow enhances the end product in ways evidently no one intended. You have narrative comparisons with the persecution of jews and, at the same time, the game ends with the bad guy getting German Suplexed.

But I think the funniest aspect of Valkyria Chronicles The First is that the main character is the farthest thing from a war hero they could possibly muster with the expertise of a stoic Japanese swordsmith from the mountains crafting a god-cleaving blade: Welkin.

This Scout From TF2 Put Through An Anime Filter looking mother fucker was chilling in his hometown talking about how much he wanted to be a teacher and showing people his really good sketches of animals because he's also a gifted artist, when suddenly, the Dudes attack, and his reaction to the Dudes attacking is "hang on, I recall my dad hiding his actual service tank in the shed in the back" so he goes and, yeah, his dad's tank from a previous war is just there, chilling, so he takes it for a joy ride while the town baker, Alicia, armed with a rifle and infinite action economy due to the afore mentioned flawed gameplay, sweeps the entire god damn platoon of heavily armed machine gun troops.

The entire game is Welkin using his love for nature and his baker love interest to inflict insane personnel and materiel damage to an entire empire: Welkin and Alicia will come across a heavily fortified bridge, and the dialogue will go something like

"Welkin! They will pulverize us with the heaviest machine guns known to man if we step one foot in that bridge! They practically developed wooden low-orbit bombardment stations! What's the plan!"

"Well... Look at that duck over there. It's flying from the east to the west, right? Well, YOU SEE, that duck is known as a Balkunese Socioduck, and those, during this season, migrate from west to east, and they only exhibit this irregular flight path if a Matrisgel Weasel family is molting by the juniper berry bushes, their favorite food. Matrisgel Weasels only ever molt if they are put under the exact amount of stress caused to them by the sound of distant tank threads on the road, and they are known to hide in sturdy, stable soil."

"Welkin, SIR, what the fuck does this all mean?"

"If we follow the smoldering shrieking of the molting weasels, we'll find a SECRET PATH that will, as always, let us ambush, flank, and surprise our foes! Alicia, you know what to do."

"Ogggeyyyyy"

and then, invariably, no matter the level, thanks to Welkin's impressive knowledge of fauna and flora, and Alicia's literally infinite action economy in a game that wasn't properly beta tested in-house during development, they combine their powers like a piss poor Captain Planet and kill the absolute shit out of an entire Empire's worth of dudes, and it's legitimately one of the most fun and charming games you'll ever touch if you remember to not take it too seriously. I fucking hate Hans but I love this game.

#valkyria chronicles

415 notes · View notes

layton-heritage-posts · 3 months ago

Note

hear me out

Layton game where the usual puzzles are blended with Mario Party-style gameplay

@wacca-heritage-posts

Are you tired of having healthy and stable friendships? Do you get bored and want to feel unimaginable rage against the people you thought you could trust? And most importantly: Do you like puzzles? If so then get ready for Professor Layton Party!

Move around different boards themed after the locations Layton and Luke have been to over the course of the games! Like London. Future London. And of course, London (Azran Legacy Edition).

Play as your favorite characters, featuring not only Layton and Luke but also Descole, Don Paolo, and many more! No, Flora isn't playable. We at Level-5 don't even know who that is anymore.

After every player rolled the dice and screamed their lungs out for getting put on a red field, or even worse, a targent field, mix up the game play by trying to solve a puzzle before the others can.

These puzzles range from "could be solved by an infant" to "needs a stem degree to even understand". But it's not like it matters, because that piece of shit Jeremy has all of them already memorized and puts in the answer before you can say "don't you FUCKING DARE!"

The first player to solve the Puzzle gets 10 Picarats, the second one gets 5, third place gets 3 and the player on the last place will gain nothing except for the realization that they are the dumb one of the group.

Once you get 20 Picarats you can exchange them for an Artifact! Or at least you could, but of course right before you can grab it this fucking Asshole called Jessica USES AN ITEM THAT CHANGES THE POSITION OF THE ARTIFACT AND NOW IT IS COINCIDENTALLY RIGHT. IN. FRONT. OF. HER. BECAUSE OF FUCKING COURSE IT IS I HATE THIS GAME I HATE YOU A-

The player who has collected the most artifacts by the end of the game is crowned the winner.

If you believed that you are a fool. It all comes down to the Bullshit "Bonus-Artefacts" where players suddenly get rewarded???? For Being Dogshit????

WHY IS "GOT THE MOST AMOUNT OF PUZZLES WRONG" EVEN WORTH A BONUS ARTIFACT??? FUCK THAT, WHYYYYYY IS IT WORTH ANYTHING AT ALL???? WHY IS THIS GAME REWARDING YOUR DOGSHIT BRAIN THOMAS THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VICTORY GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF-

Professor Layton Party. Coming out on the 30. February 2926.

#not a heritage post #ask

65 notes · View notes

anime-lover-forever-1127 · 9 months ago

Text

Sky from OG Winx Club

Disclaimer: Just my opinion

So as a kid I actually liked Sky. Like there were 10 different people I saw Bloom with more than Sky, but as a canon ship. They weren't bad. But they weren't great in the way that you go: That's love.

But now as I re-watch it, I ABSOUTLY DESPISE Sky.

Like he lied to Bloom about his identity, "But But he-" "SHHHHH" I don't care why he did it. He full on scammed her. On top of that he had a frickin fiancé. It dosen't matter he didn't want the marriage, he lied to her about his identity and the fact he was engaged.

Looking back on it I feel SO bad for Diaspero. Like there she was just minding her own business and Bloom comes out and attacks her. And accuses her of stealing her man? Like WTF? So obviously Diaspero fought back. Like I get Bloom was the protagonist and such could do no wrong, but here she was the "other woman". She had no idea about Diaspero, but she was still the person Sky was cheating on with.

Not to mention when Bloom thought she may be a witch, Sky's initial reaction was to turn away. Am I the only one who remembered that moment when Brandon pretended that Flora's spell was still working just so Stella wouldn't feel bad about her appearance and he assured her that he loved her no matter what she looked like? Like in those moment Sky reacted like a BOY and Brandon did what a MAN would do.

Also, going a quick reroute to Blooms other ships, I know people joke about Bloom having more chemistry with literally ever other character than Sky. But I honestly feel like it's SO TRUE! Like Icy and Valtor. She had so much chemistry with those two. Also, is it just me or do I feel like Bloom honestly had more screen time with Icy than Sky? I mean if shit comes down to it, I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being Icy and Bloom fighting against a big bad (Bad-Version-Valtor in season 8) than Sky and Bloom.

Gotta ask who was the best winx club boyfriend? For me personally it would come down to Brandon, Helia, and Nabu. Like Brandon and Stella were just great. Helia and Flora were the sweetest and steadiest. Aisha and Nabu I feel like had the most growth from Aisha hating the idea of him to falling in love.

#brandon #sky #winx club #riven #nabu #timmy #bloom #icy #bloom x valtor #valtor #icy x bloom #sky x bloom #stella #aisha #rants #my opinion

127 notes · View notes

wings-of-fire-confessions · 11 months ago

Note

okay I was sorta lurking but I actually have a confession after reading that one about the rp servers because oh my god I had a TERRIBLE experience with an rp server. It’s so bad that it is literally the reason I have such a burning hatred for Pyrite the Skywing.

it was based extremely on wof (with some focus on the legend of Spyro, of all things) and it was called something like “WoF: Talon” or something like that; it had this edgy Bloodclan-esque dragon tribe but that’s beside the point. the server had this economy where in order to get like anything mildly special about a character you were going to play (hivewing abilities, Nightwing being born under any moons, firescales, etc.) and animus magic was the second most expensive thing, only being cheaper than literally buying moderator role. I’m dead serious.

Anyway, I decide to submit my personal animus character, a Nightwing named Gemcarver. basically he makes jewelry and sometimes puts enchantments on it of various usefulness. It gets accepted, I look for someone willing to rp. Lucky me, I guess; the owner of the server wants to rp. The owner, as a side note, literally idolizes Pyrite and unironically says that he “simps for her” and calls her “his queen.” I’ve never liked Pyrite as a character; she’s like a stereotypical shy girl who turns out to be like very overt TF bait? which is like not bad in itself, but it feels so over the top in the books. Anyway. Owner of the server decides to rp with his version of Pyrite, who is this more confident version of herself who has a husband and children, and also animus magic for some reason. We start rping, I’m having a decent amount of fun, and then he decides to do something…funny. pyrite decides to take a little piece of jewelry that Gemcarver bought just to be nice, and enchants it to basically have a second pyrite; Flora the Rainwing was born. And I was having fun with that too for a bit, until pyrite started making the spell more complicated, with ideas such as:

-flora being unable to get mad at pyrite for ANYTHING.

-flora being obsessed with Skywing culture and just Skywings in general, to the point of wanting to be one

-flora being obsessed with Pyrite specifically, romantically. Despite her having a husband.

And frankly I’m getting sort of annoyed, and want to play Gemcarver again (maybe there could be some like plot where he starts hating pyrite as he crushes the jewelry? I thought it would be cool) and saw my opportunity to get rid of it and made my shot, twice….and the owner didn’t let it happen. So I voice my complaints, like “so did I pay all that currency for nothing? the character I made is just dead now, for no reason?”

“Essentially, yes.”

this pisses me off, and I tell him that this is shitty, and he essentially just says “nuh this isn’t bad pyrite just wants attention uwu” and I just eventually dropped the conversation. and to this day I hate Pyrite with a burning passion.

Fuck that guy.

I can definitely understand why you hate Pyrite after that encounter.

#wings of fire confessions #wof confessions #wof #wings of fire #rp #roleplaying #discord

72 notes · View notes

vestaclinicpod · 7 days ago

Text

Audio Drama Sunday - 26th January ✨

I feel like I’ve listened to SO much good audio drama this week, it’s been so good! 💙

🔎 @224bbaker (16) I don’t even know where to begin here. This episode was so good I HAD to listen twice. A huuuuuge piece of the story came together and it was SO good. I don’t want to give too much away in case there are people who haven’t yet listened but, my god, even minutes in I was like: ‘oh my god, they’re so married.’ The chemistry between the actors is so natural and frankly outrageous. It’s been a while since I’ve had the feeling of my heart breaking for someone while simultaneously laughing but the ‘Fuck you, Dennis’ really got me. Tom Crowley might be my fave Watson ever and I’m not afraid to call it early.

AND GOD, can we talk about Hampton’s immediate dislike of Fitzy? Can we talk about how Fitzy and Madge got on like a house on fire? Can we talk about how he was caught checking James out? AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT - Can we talk about how he said his name was ‘John’ can we - please can we talk about - *throat closes up*

🦋 @remnantspod (24+25) I was so glad that I went back and listened to most of ep 24, the circumstances around that initially heartbreaking marriage were so different from this perspective. Though, it did hurt my heart just the same to know that Simeon also loved and thought of Gerald right up to the end. I wasn’t sure quite what to make of wildflowers remnant. Flora seemed to be swept along by life without doing too much obvious steering. It was very interesting to get a perspective on Martine. I do wonder if something happened to precipitate her change in mental health . . . I’m sure we’ll find out! And, god, Sir really is panicked about keeping his Apprentice . . . I can’t wait to finally work out why.

🧋 @hinaypod (31-32) Oh, man!!! That J & Dooley special. Please. My heart can only take so much ❤️‍🩹 I really hope that they get reunited somehow, some way! And that it isn’t some horrible trick!! Honestly, the only elders I care about are gay elders so, please, let them be happy!! I feel like I want to listen to 32 again to tease out all the information I can about our fave main characters . . .

🍾 @ameliapodcast (42) The gang are (mostly) back together!! Alvina hating the ballet is very funny to me. She and Amelia have such an easy friendship, I adore them! So excited for the fun and games of this season!

🌨️ @thewhitevault (16) You know there’s a generally understood rule in horror that the audience will create an even more horrific scene in their head that what one could describe/show? I feel like this is definitely what’s happening a the hotel! I don’t know what you imagined, but it was horrendous in my head! I’m so scared for Dís! The whole reason they’re there is because it’s not possible for family to get hurt!! (also I’m sure no-one who is reading this will be involved by my GOD, can people stop leaving shitty comments on Spotify for this show??? I’ve never seen anything like it for anyone else’s stuff!)

🌵 @desertskiespodcast (9-11) I feel like these episodes brought some huuuge changes to how I see the characters. Tendy was so adamant that he needed to go back, clearly he has left someone important behind! I don’t know how to feel about the fact that they’ve been tricked into staying 😣 First, though, time to save the astral plane!!!!

💍 @forgedbondspod (6) oh, gods, Hermes is down BAD. All Hephaestus never stood a chance against someone who wants to watch her make swords, let’s be real.

January is nearly over!!! Hope everyone has a good week! 💙

#fawx and stallion spoilers #2x06 spoilers #fawx & stallion spoilers #remnants pod #the amelia project #hi nay #the white vault #desert skies #forged bonds #audio drama sunday #audiodramasunday #audio drama #podcast recs #audio fiction

17 notes · View notes

lsartcorner · 5 months ago

Text

I think it’s time to reveal my Wir/Turbo AU isn’t it?

Yes, yes it is

(Logo, basic character designs & a lil exposition of the au below!)

—————————

You ready? Lets go

Welcome too…

Game explanation

><><><><><><><><><

A Version of TurboTime where instead of racing cars the characters are racing on Jetski’s and to fit the theme the landscape of the game is a summer paradise by the shoreline where the characters can relax and hangout in after the arcade closes.

Not only is there Turbo and the Twins in this game but also two new summer themed racers Sunny and Flora to join them in the competition!

Sunny would be considered the secondary protagonist of the game who has comparable stats to the man himself.

In this version of the game any of the 5 racers can be chosen, not just Turbo like from the base game, this is to ensure people can choose their favourite character and to ensure multiplayer capability.

Each character has their own unique stats and skill sets with Turbo and Sunnys being the best being the protagonists, but it doesn’t mean you can win with anyone else, you’ve just got to try a bit more.

With each character comes with character exclusive skills and abilities which is to encourage players to play the secondary characters, for there to be a reason on why they should be played in the first place.

There are an assortment of maps, upgrades and achievements to unlock playing the game if you are skilled or lucky enough in finding them. This is to ensure that each game is unique from the last, with each player upgrading and choosing to their style so it rarely would get boring for the characters, testing stuff on different maps alongside the player.

Why was developed? (In lore)

><><><><><><><><><><><><><

The developers wanted to create a motorcycle esque racing arcade cabinet with a summer twist and decided to reutilise an old classic ip of theirs into the modern day for the modern audience, so putting them on the beach with new characters and jetskis just worked!

The arcade

><><><><><><

Mr Litwak saw this and decided to give it a go for old times sake and kids like the summer and racing so why not combine them? And who knows maybe it could be as successful as the OG TurboTime?

However the characters in the arcade seeing this are weary and uncertain of this new game, only thinking of the worst and what happened last time, with not only the Roadblasters incident of 1987 but also of what Turbo did in Sugar Rush behind everyone’s noses, especially Vanellope, for 15 years nonetheless.

This would cause most characters to go past it with a 5 metre poll, not wanting to be involved in what would happen if they did. Even when a character or two go inside to have a look and say it’s fine, people are still cautious because “it’s only early days” and continue with their daily routine and spreading rumours about what they see from their cabinets on the game and its characters.

Despite this intermingling, when characters that were in the OG game (Turbo & the Twins) ask what they’re talking about, they act inconspicuous and nonchalant with the twins while being more defensive and hostile with Turbo himself, irritating him to no end especially when he has no clue what is going on having just been plugged in and being seemingly on hated by everyone in the arcade immediately.

With this uncooperative behaviour from many people in the arcade the characters tend to stay in the game itself most of the time and considering they have all the amenities they need in game, this isn’t much of a conundrum. Essentially leaving the game in a world of its own unknown of the main body of the arcade and they intend to keep it that way for the most part, until a certain something happens lore-wise which you will need to stay updated on if you want to find out what!

(Wink wink nudge nudge 😉)

How/what kind of posts will be done?

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

For this au I will post either,

- Non story based artworks/doodles of the characters

- Short comic strips of character interactions which I intend to mostly be unrelated to the main story itself, but no promises here

- The AUs main story comics

- Updates/revamps

- Answering questions on the AU

In a few hours time I will start releasing full character designs & descriptions, so look out for that!

Then once that’s all said and done, expect what is on the list to come after, especially the comics, have had many ideas for them!

Now that’s all I can think of from the top of my head for now, so now I think it’s time you saw the basic character designs for this AU!

(Btw if you got this far well done I kinda wrote more than expected and may or may not have created a text wall, whoops! This AU has been on my mind for days and it needed to be seen sooner or later.)

(Fun fact! The idea of this AU is actually from my first WiR/Turbo fixation around this time last year, and it only came back with a roaring passion after being reminded of it having watched a particular 2 hour video everyone knows of *cough cough*, so if you want to see og sketches let me know!)

I have written so much and definitely need some sleep.

Hope you enjoyed & stay tuned!

- LsArtCorner

#wreck it ralph #wir #turbo #turbo wreck it ralph #wreckitralph #turbotastic #turbo wir #wir fanart #wir turbo #wreck it ralph turbo #wreck it ralph fanart #turbo waters #turbo waters au #lsartcorner

26 notes · View notes

yossipossi · 18 days ago

Note

Hi hi hi hi hi hi!!! Time to fix your inbox with questions again! :D

1. If you're not uncomfortable with answering, what is your mistake which you regret the most on the scpwiki?

2. What are your favourite works from other SCP authors?

3. If Lillian (after containment) would end up in another GoI's hands, which one would you want it to be, and how would they treat her? (For me: it would be cool for her to get transported into VANGUARD or 6001 universe... wait i have an idea for a fanfic)

4. What's your opinion on minors getting into the SCP community?

5. When writing 8980, did you feel guilt for making Lillian suffer? And did you want to flay byrnes alive?

6. Do you think it would be possible for Lillian to develop androphobia due to her abuse?

7. I noticed that Byrnes was amnesticised with class E amnestics, if we follow the upgraded amnestics guide that means he remembers everythinf, but just doesnt care about it, was this intentional?

8. Would Flora Marinos beat up Byrnes if she had a chance? (I need confirnation)

9. What would be Marinos' reaction after reading 8980? Like, how did she feel like?

10. Opinion on r/fuckdrbyrnes?

1: Definitely uncomfortable answering that one in terms of non-fictional stuff, but in terms of writing... probably putting that email at the end of SCP-5545. It was a super clunky "here's the solution, reader!" instead of letting the reader sit with a more surreal, disturbing ending. I don't plan to rewrite it at some point, but I still kick myself at how much I mishandled that article lol

2: I actually am in the process of going through everything I've written on the Wiki and compiling the best articles into a recommendations list! If you want to read what I have so far, you can check it out here!

3: This is really tough because most of them are not all that nice. If I had to pick, probably the Serpent's Hand. I feel like they'd be sympathetic.

4: This is really tough for me to answer. I joined the community as a minor myself, but had some... not so great experiences with the adults in the community (all permabanned now, thankfully). I don't know what to think about whether the Wiki should allow minors; I have deeply conflicted feelings on the topic.

5: Ouch. But yes, I did feel guilty, the entire time. Part of why it was so hard to write. I still feel guilty about it, a bit, even though I know she's a fictional character I conjured up in my own brain. I do still hate Byrnes though.

6: Absolutely. She probably did.

7: Ah, I didn't really follow the amnestics guideline. Not enough flexibility for my setting to stay faithful to it.

8: Depends how old she is and how old Byrnes is. Probably not but I wouldn't rule it out if she got mad enough and he was weak enough.

9: Dread, anger, and despair. Basically whatever my readers felt when they read it the first time :p

10: Eh. I'm glad the story was compelling enough that it got people mad enough to make a subreddit about hating its primary antagonist, but at the end of the day it does kind of miss the point about how Byrnes was enabled by systematic negligence and patriarchical tendencies. Though I guess r/fuckthesystemthatsupportedbyrnes is less catchy.

I will say, though, that I am absolutely not a fan of the fact that they used to have rule 1 forbidden posts about sympathizing with Marley. That's fucked five ways to Sunday. Happy it was removed, at least.

#scp #scp foundation #scp wiki #scp-8980 #scp-7777

11 notes · View notes

redfountainpostin · 3 months ago

Note

thoughts on riven (fate)?

I hate him.

(Disclaimer, I'll be answering this with consideration for the source material, not my own headcanons about Riven)

The thing is with a different direction he might have done wellish. For the aesthetic part of it he does have that angular, somewhat foxy face that I think fits Riven well. But getting rid of his haircolor is a crime. Also his hair should be messier. I don't think his cartoon style would work in live action and I also don't think simple spikes would work, that's very hedgehog vibe and his cartoon vibe is not that. His hair should have just been dyed and made voluminous and messy or he should have gotten the appropriate wig.

Now the writing. First of all, without Brandon and Tommy the whole balance is off. Combining Riven and Brandon in a Substance like monstrosity (RIP ElisaSue) and dousing it in homophobia and making it an apprentice sex predator is not it.

But let's go bit by bit, first: the brandon/riven combo. It doesn't work. Riven and Sky were barely friends in season 1. Riven had huge beef with him and Sky gave back in kind. In Fate Riven acts like an insecure younger brother mad that Sky is better than him in a really whiny way. Riven hated that Sky is better than him (or considered better) in OG and he was ANGRY about it. He met that guy and for some reason got competitive real quick. Instead of exploring why that is, they just made them close as brothers, and then Riven has his meltdown (was it even a meltdown? The conflicts in Fate are so weak (unless, ofc, we're directing a white actress to call a black girl a rat in disgust, THAT got to be intense) like Sky bitches to him about Beatrix (my blood pressure rises just thinking about it) Riven goes "whaaah, I'm just a guy you look down on!" and then they're cool next season as if nothing happened.

Now there's also a badassery level missing. Now in the show boys very rarely get to actually be badass bc the girls outshine them, yes. However, one thing about Riven is that the motherfucker is durable. Cartoon Riven would NEVER fold just bc Flora mildly plant choked him and he would rather eat glass than run away with his tail between his legs.

Now to the homophobia/sex predator part. 1) The way he cornered Dane at first was creepy as fuck. The way Dane then reached out none the less is not that unrealistic sadly, but wasn't addressed at all. Riven's lack of boundaries itself was not only not addressed at all later on but it also disappeared. It's inconsistent writing. Now I don't mind Riven being biphobic even though he is clearly bi himself. Like sure a self hating queer isn't an original trope but meh you could shoehorn it ig (the self hate part, not the queer part, I'm not annoyed at that). BUT my problem isn't a homophobic character, it's homophobic writing. I have a separate post for that ( https://www.tumblr.com/redfountainpostin/763521760187580416/beyond-racism-one-of-my-most-hated-aspects-of?source=share) but short version is that making villains (sorry excuse for villains, what did Bea even do? BLOOM released the big bad) the sexually "lascivious" ones is TIRED and I'm TIRED of softcore preporn of characters that are 16 and 17.

THAT brings me to my next point: Riven is made to look like he's a girl crazy sex crazed teen. He's not. I know several fanfiction authors gave him and Darcy a sexual relationship that's very intense and I respect that- just like I hope to do with my own headcanons, they work off of canon, exaggate themes, push them in desired directions and they make it WORK. However none of them make sex the ONLY think Darven has and Fate makes that mistake. Canon Riven is not girl crazy and no matter the dub you never get the idea he's thirsty for Darcy. He's in LOVE. Puppy love, if you will. Could sex be added in the live action version? Sure! But OVERDO it and fail on the love part and you ruined Darven. Speaking of which, are Riven and Bea even together in season 2? I swear to God I don't remember scenes of them together?

One thing I disliked as well was how crude and vulgar he was. However, that's something that could have been a plot point. I recently made a post about Riven's drinking habits (https://www.tumblr.com/redfountainpostin/766437598221697024/riven-actually-drank-quite-a-lot-for-awhile-im?source=share) and was considering merits of him having had a nasty vocal when he first came to Red Fountain. Why? Bc one of the more popular theories about Riven was that he spent his childhood on his own, homeless, on the streets. That IS breeding ground for bad habits. And those are ugly. From that environment you don't just get a tragic backstory, you get some UGLY traits that make people in general want to avoid you. Riven having those and slowly healing out of them would be GREAT. (having Brandon and some others, even Sky, be there for him and offer him friendship before he's officially "deserving" or even ready to fully accept it would also be lovely and speak loads about their own character) But we never really see that. He's a bit less of a prick by the end of season 2 I think (I never finished it) but not bc of any on screen growth.

Overall, Fate Riven is a sad, sad disappointment. He should have been the CARRIER of angst and edgy there. When Straffi promised us darker and grittier Winx, I was like FUCK YES, Riven angst here we go. And what did I get? Fuck all. Mellow not villain just ass, and fuck all of it.

The least problem is limited Rivusa time but honestly even that is fucked by the fact she got a nice boyfriend already. Let Musa pine, damn it. She needs heartbreak for her art.

#winx #winx shitposting #winx headcanons #winx club #winx riven #winx sky #winx specialists #winx darcy #Winx fate #Fuck fate

15 notes · View notes

ultraviolet-cello · 1 year ago

Text

Gooooood morning Trigun fandom, I'm up bright and early, ready to sink my teeth into today's analysis/detailed watchthrough episode - 11. To A New World.

I can't believe we're almost done with @tristampparty. These 12 days have been a blast and I'm very glad that I got to chat abt them!! I've been in a bout of artblock recently too, so I'm glad that I can just ramble instead!

Spoilers for Trigun Stampede and Trigun Maximum, and CWs for. okay this one is a Lot, but discussion of violation of bodily autonomy, sexual assault and trauma, pregnancy, transphobia, harm coming to children, Millions Knives in general, Vash's passive suicidal tendencies. If I think of any more I'll pop them up here but this episode is a heavy one!

If you wanna skip those first few CWs (Totally understandable <3), you can skip the paragraphs labelled with a [CW] at the front.

[CW] Okay so we're gonna tail off the end of Episode 10 for a second, but uh. Knives in this scene is using extremely Loaded Language to outright tell Vash that there is something wrong with him that needs to be fixed.

Just to be clear I do think Vash is very trans-coded (intentionally or not), and that very strongly influences how I interpret this scene - I myself am a trans man as well.

Cool, moving on! That's all really for the end of ep 10, I just needed to point out that Knives is using language that is commonly used to justify corrective sexual assault; which is pretty much what my reading of this scene is analogous to.

what in the fresh hell i got jumpscared by dub again. returning to subs hold on a moment. Like i've been checking dub occasionally to match up some dialogue and make sure I'm not being misled by Subtitle Jank but I'm one of those guys who can't listen to anything without subtitles lmao

But i also think i do get the funniest possible translation of this line - actually wait no i hate the double meaning (with Vash's body being used to kickstart the pregnancy imagery). was that intentional. who did this.

Anyway Meryl kicking Wolfwood is really funny but also like. Yeah. justified. She's having a no good awful time but like. She's so willing to believe in Vash, to chase after him even into Extremely Dangerous conditions (There's those hints of Trimax Meryl again....) and Wolfwood is being an ass here. (An understandable ass. But an ass nonetheless). Which is to say YEAHHH MERYL GET HIS ASS!!!

Knives' gay little like. bodysuit here. He and Vash have the same build but their respective clothes make them stand out very differently. Also that Knives' stuff seems to have more muscle definition (HYDRATE. You shouldn't have that Knives you need water :pensive:) which could be building towards his more intimidating appearance.

Also I'd be a fool to not show everyone my initial reaction to this

I've talked a little bit about how Vash uses his gun as a tonfa (thwacky baton) most of the time in melee combat, and I think that's a great way to show him utilizing something Knives gave him to Kill as a nonlethal weapon - in this, however, he doesn't have it and his normally very fluid very good form martial arts is flailing and panicked. Vash is pretty good at keeping his cool in most combat situations, and is a very skilled fighter. Seeing him lose that cool and just start struggling when Knives tries to grab him is :(

Once again the metal/organic dichotomy is coming into play - the creation of inorganic but the destruction that comes from the organic. Typically plant (as in flora) powers in media lend themselves to being creation powers, life, and healing. But Vash here has that plant (flora) theme but those are very much a force for destruction.

Also Knives with the angelic white, and Vash with the black.

I hate Conrad So Much (he's such a good character). Like we Know to some extent that dependent plants are self-aware enough to feel pain, to hold onto memories, to hatred, to love. They don't have consciousness the same way humans or Independents do, but they feel, they live, they understand what Vash tells them. Maybe it is a shallow form of themselves. But I think something a lot of people fail to realize is that (some, not all, because they are individuals even throughout a hivemind) plants appear to enjoy their purpose.

Once again the memory that is shared with Knives in Trimax of a woman and her child thanking the plant for her service and she smiles? After being fused, that plant held onto that memory. I've been given no reason to believe that plants in Tristamp are different, so Conrad is just,,, ignoring the subtleties of plants and taking away their agency to choose for themselves. Doubly so for Knives, who can communicate efficiently with them.

A very quick blink and you'll miss it detail is that Vash says "It was our fault humans crashed here!". The shifting blame and guilt between the two is something that is fighting the narrative allll the time, but Vash attributing to both of them as an appeal to Knives is interesting to relay how he feels.

I also don't think Vash is right, though, when he says the only reason humans abuse plants is because they crashed. Tesla was before, Chronica in Trimax has apparently seen independent fusions before (For what reason?). Like yeah to this extent it's a result of the big fall, but there'd still be problems without it. Nobody is right in this argument lmao

(except me. I'm always correct about everything ever)

[CW] Once again - violating Vash's consent and autonomy because he does not agree with or differs from Knives. Corrective violation, in this case. It's also important that it's Meryl who calls this out - she has to really really struggle for her autonomy to be important. She's small, carry-able, inexperienced, doesn't have any special powers or genetic modification. She's carrying a tiny gun from a man who can never back her up anymore. In fact, nobody is backing her up! She's out here alone! But she's sticking up for Vash. She cares about him,,,, so much

SURPRISE ROBERTO ATTACK [sobs]

Meryl pulled the nail out of him and placed his hands gently over the wound, as one might do in a casket. A memorial of cigarettes and his flask. All this will be destroyed soon, but Meryl did give him a funeral to the best of her ability.

Knives using Roberto's image is cruel as hell. Not to Vash but to ME. He's already dead you can't do this to meeee. "How do you think they'll react when they learn you caused the big fall" He will never learn it!! he never got the chance!!!

So fun fact you can actually eat geraniums. It's just that if Rem had said yes Vash probably would have eaten it right there and then. I've made that mistake before (told one of my class that nasturtiums were edible and he just ate one. right from the plant)

So; the Tesla scene. Something I do want to point out is that Rem finds them almost immediately, and Knives doesn't immediately pass out - Is he still catatonic enough to miss Rem's speech, or did he hear it? Because the reason that Vash turned out like he did is because he was awake to go through that with Rem - Knives was unconscious the entire time and didn't get to start that trauma recovery.

It's also important to recognize that these memories could be unreliable, especially as Knives tampers with them later.

I do want to know which version of the Bible Knives was reading. Because depending on translation/version, you can get Very different ideas out of that.

Anyway Knives is kind of beginning his spiral in that memory - "Humanity never learns" kinda shit, which seems to take place after Tesla. Who knows how long. But baby Vash calls that out and goes "yeah lets have faith"! Baby Knives looks a tad shocked and then Present Knives just. Cuts off the memory. What was the ensuing conversation!!! Hello???

Like he's clearly Having Thoughts (The Horror), we just don't get to know what those were.

So remember when I said it was interesting that Vash said it was "our" fault that the ships crashed, sharing the blame?

Yeah that gave Knives some ammo that just. Broke him. Shifts it allllll to Vash. Update Vash's description to running on 18 guilt complexes, CPTSD, and bisexuality.

[CW] There's so many different forms of assault, metaphorical and. Not. That is happening in this scene from mind violation to Knives literally using Vash's (specifically Vash's) body as a vessel to impregnate other plants which. Hey did you know that pregnancy is a massive fear of a lot of trans men. So many transphobes reduce trans men to their capability to have children, as if that's all they're good for (even if it would kill them.), and that often leads to corrective rape in order to "remind them of biological reality". In this case, Vash is a plant, he's meant to create, and yet he doesn't. But he's still being used to create anyway.

Again, Meryl also directly calls out Vash's lack of consent and gets shot down by Conrad. The whole scene is just. Hgnrhgnhrhnrnrn. It's So,,, everything to me, because it's a really good scene and shows you how far gone Knives is in Tristamp.

There are panels in Trimax that are,,, the imagery is there, but it's very overt in Tristamp.

Also hey yeah. Why is Conrad still alive?? Did he have access to cold sleep? or it's probably the robotics but did he not think of enhancing humans that way? It might just be a temporary solution, I guess, given that he is. Actively coughing up blood.

Alright! I have finished this part of the analysis that I always Feel Strongly about lmao - I have fun doing it but that's such an emotionally heavy episode.

#cli speaks #trigun #trigun stampede #tristampparty #cli analysis

67 notes · View notes

owlhead650 · 8 months ago

Text

"The Devil of Darchlight Caves"

1012 word essay below discussing Erin as a character in Rejuvenation.

I find it interesting that in v13.5 Erin's first major appearance is in her Darchlight Form, as a devil. This is different to how in V13 her first appearance featured her normal design. It could be that this form, the one said to be 'the true reflection of your soul' is how Jan wants us to see her. Erin declared herself the devil who defies Vitus, a man that sees himself as God. Conventional myth portrays the devil as a prison warden keeping sinners trapped and punished. The devil also normally hates God, despite only punishing people God wants him to. Erin is a much stronger character than the classic devil, rather than punishing those God considers evil or unworthy she accepts them. We see this when she encourages Kanon to embrace his individuality and to reject the idea that he's less than human and only exists to serve. Rather than punishing people Erin liberates them.

This aligns perfectly with how she behaves in Darchlight Caves. The first thing she does is help Florin, Flora and the Interceptor escape confinement witin the glass boxes. During the rest of this sequence of the game we see her wit and cunning as we learn more about Bladestar and decide what to do with this information. I remember in v13 I exposed Flora during that playthrough, but I didn't make the mistake of sharing information with Cassandra because Erin beforehand warns: "Analyse the information, then make a decision. Don't you ever do it the other way around." To my memory that's how it was worded.

Erin's backstory also parralels the devil. She at first obeyed Vitus and basically acted as a spy in the drama between him and Anathea. She was basically parentified and forced to help mediate an unhappy marriage between two adults who weren't mature enough to settle their differences the correct way. Vitus superficially apologised for this and said it was because she was the eldest daughter. This is somewhat similar to how the devil was once a beautiful angel that served God but later wanted to be greater than God and was cast into hell as punishment. Erin eventually reached her breaking point and defied Vitus. She fought him with her archetype powers and was eventually dragged to the basement. Vitus banished her to the unknown dimension and left her there to be forgotten, along with the twins Alice and Allen, which is fundamentally the same as how the devil was banished to hell.

I would also like to comment on how Vitus and Erin fighting with their magic powers until Erin got dragged into the basement is essentially a glorified version of a father beating his daughter, physically disciplining a child and abusing them. When you examine the incident from a grounded domestic angle, that's all it is. Really of all the atrocities Vitus commits as Indriad, his treatment of his children is really the only one I feel personally motivated to make him answer for. I was delighted when I saw his name on M2's (S)hit list.

In future versions of the game I look forward to seeing how she handles the confrontation with Vitus/Indriad, most likely taking place after the Xen raid. Although Erin is resolute and clever, Vitus is still her biological father and the memory of his abuse and power over her isn't so easily forgotten. Defying her creator won't be simple and it will definitely be frightening. The renegade route parralels the paragon route in some ways, like how both routes featured a battle against Talon on top of his tower but in two completely different contexts. I'm excited to see how the confrontation with Vitus plays out on both routes.

I'm expecting Erin to triumph in either scenario, but the overall meaning of the outcome could differ. I wonder if we'll get to see a karma beast design for her like how we saw one with Talon. Talon turned into a Flying/Poison type bird monster, I think it's rather obvious what Erin would turn into. Her personality is subtly befitting of a dark type already, and if we want to take the devil motifs to their logical extreme then she should be a Fire/Dark type that looks like it crawled out of Dante's Inferno. The Infernal Field would be perfect for this battle. It's message is:

"The souls of the damned burn on."

In a worst case scenario like a fight between Erin and the Renegade Interceptor I think this field effect would suit her karma beast transformation. Before Karma turned Talon into a monster we had a trainer battle against him in which he used a Tornados and other strong flying types. I think that Darkrai and the Dimensional Field effect would be powerful buffs that could turn a fight against Erin into an incredible ordeal for the player, even some of her current pokemon like Absol have abilities and moves that the field empowers.

Returning to my more narrative focused predictions, we must consider how Alice being possessed by Vitus will influence events on the Renegade Route. In Paragon her new "Queendom" rose and fell within a day, but that's only because her siblings quickly mobilised to deal with the situation. In the Renegade route we never saw that incident resolved and Melia was swapped with M2, distracting Erin with other challenges. She considers Kanon family and managed to free him, will she achieve the same with her sister Alice? Or will Erin fail to liberate her and instead embrace a darker interpretation of her role as the devil? Erin has a logical mind but her temper can inhibit it. Maybe on the Renegade Route despair at the devolving situation will drive her to fixate on punishing evil rather than helping the innocent.

No matter what she does in either route Erin will always be the cunning, quick witted, candid and beautiful tactician that massively improves Rejuvenation's narrative and cast of characters. If you actually read my whole essay here's some extra pictures as a thank you.

I wouldn't mind going to hell if she's the one running it.

I can't be the only one who looked at Flora's sprite in Darchlight Caves and saw her in a Jotaro Kujo outfit. The true reflection of Flora's soul is that she's like a jojo character I guess. Go on, punch Cassandra for ten pages. Scream ora ora.

Florin is literally such a good boy that his soul is that of an angel. His design was a bit simple but I enjoyed doing the toga he seems to be wearing.

My personal Interceptor oc Asopo. I want to give him as many variants as Melia has, which will take time but I'll get there. This is his darchlight form. I saw how many Darchlight forms turned people into fantasy creatures/characters from general media. I decided that making Asopo a merman would fit in with the other Darchlight forms while being a nice nod to his backstory. His hair in this form is meant to look like the black void of space with some white stars in it. He has a celtic bracelet on his arm and a badge on the cloth that looks like The Core. I gave him that yellow cloth because I didn't feel like drawing him shirtless with nipples.

I hope you liked this artwork and essay, it's probably my most proud work I've put on Tumblr.

#pokemon rejuvenation #13.5 spoilers #noctor art #oc asopo #pokemon fan game #erin rejuvenation #erin theolia #flora grevillea #florin grevillea #did you realise i like erin?#noctor writes #the Erin

25 notes · View notes

dragonfly0808 · 1 year ago

Text

Helia: The Thesis

Kay, so, for Helia’s thesis there won’t be that many spoilers but there will be references to a big even in s3, if you haven’t read after the Eraklyon party in s3 then you run a risk of spoilers, the spoilers will mainly revolve around the changes I made to Helia’s backstory

TRIGGER WARNING: TALK OF SELF-HARM AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, IF THIS TRIGGERS YOU PLEASE SKIP THIS THESIS

First Things First

The first words I have in Helia’s character sheet are:

Sensitive artist that doesn’t kick your ass cause he choses peace.

Helia was always super interesting to me in the OG cause, in the 2000’s I honestly don’t remember many soft boys being portrayed as also being able to be badass and just super cool.

I changed quite a bit of Helia’s backstory cause in the OG we just hear that he drops out of Red Fountain and goes to art school before going back to Red Fountain with zero explanation.

There is a phrase that really inspired a lot of the changes I made to Helia’s backstory and that is: No one will ever know the violence it took to become this gentle.

Over the years I’ve learned that some of the loveliest, gentlest and kindest people are the ones who’ve hated and suffered the most in the past. And that is something that I could really see Helia being.

Helia is someone who really let him anger get the best of him in the past. In my version, Helia grew up angry due to heavy expectations of his parents and being Saladin’s grandson. He’s someone who grew up with endless anger and sadness and who had no real outlet after his art was taken away to not distract him too much from his training as Specialist and Wizard.

(Here’s where the talk of self-harm and attempted suicide starts)

Helia self-harms and tries to take his own life a year before season 2. This decision was… a tad bit drastic and to be honest it wasn’t even fully planned at first but it just made sense to me with his character.

Helia is someone who, after hitting rock bottom, seeks help and slowly starts to get better. He goes back into art to let out all of his pain, he works things out with his parents and gets his life back on track.

And it’s not like he is magically completely healed, like we see in season 3, when he has a reason, his anger can and will get the better of him and it can be scary. He has relapses when things get extreme. But he continues to heal and to grow

Helia isn’t born peaceful. He learns it. He grows into peace slowly over his year at art school where he learns to meditate and to just process his emotions in a more healthy manner and I think that makes his serene and mostly peaceful personality and thought process all the more impactful.

People can tell he’s wise and I think I mention in s2 that he just erradiates this comfort, people want to be liked by Helia.

Healing Isn’t Linear

In s3, we see Helia relapse into his self-harming habits.

This to me was important for his character because, whilst he has learned better ways to cope with his feelings, relapse is a realistic thing that can happen and doesn’t mean you’re doing horribly if that makes sense. Because healing isn’t linear. Especially with everything that happens in season 3, to me it made sense for Helia to snap both in anger and in his past self-destructive tendencies.

Helia attacks Sky when the truth of his curse comes out and we see him be ashamed of it, worried he scared Flora and telling Bloom that that isn’t who he wants to be

Helia is very conscious of his own issues and how he is/wants to be perceived. He is very conscious of when he needs help even if sometimes he still needs a little push to get said help

Something to Fight For

A big part of what helps Helia truly come into his own post s2 is figuring out what he is fighting for.

Before s2 Helia was furious because he didn’t know what to fight for, he was a Specialist mostly due to being a legacy.

He returns to Red Fountain because he always enjoyed the routine of it, but also to finally figure out what he wants to fight for.

So what does Helia fight for?

Well… I’d say that, at first he fights for his friends. He is inspired by them and wants to protect them, after that, he also fights for those who can’t protect themselves, much like his grandfather.

No longer being so pressured by his parents allows him to kind of see things like his family does and he finds that he feels the same way.

Kind of reminds me of the Argent family: We protect those who cannot protect themselves. That’s the same view of the Alarie family

Thoughts Behind his Main Relationships

Riven: Riven is Helia’s best friend and they are kind of two sides of the same coin. They both have had anger issues and, surprisingly enough, Helia was a lot more violent than Riven ever was since Riven had a better hold on his anger due to facing major consequences (*cough* *cough* his dad *cough* *cough*) but they bond over trying to better themselves.

Riven learns to meditate with Helia and occasionally even paints with him. Helia learns to fix stuff with Riven and they both love the routine that comes with being Specialists second only to Brandon so they often do work-outs and bets with each other.

Their friendship is one of very different yet similar lives. They get each other in a: we’ve both come face to face with the darkest versions of ourselves and came out on top, we’ve both hit rock bottom and we’re both working on figuring out how to be better.

They’re both very aware of their darker emotions but never judge the other for it. They both have nightmares regarding their pasts and they can open up because they know that they get one another.

Flora: They’re relationship is just… ufff. I love them so much.

To me, Flora and Helia have both been through a lot and have both learned to make light of the darkness in different ways. They are both on their healing journey and support each other unconditionally.

They are soft souls that have been hit time and time again but have refused to become harsh.

Their relationship is one of complete trust and support. They know what they’ve been through but never fear being pitied or feared by the other because they’re the same in a way.

Their relationship is ‘we’re both pulling ourselves and you make me feel like all of it will never drown me and I know that my soul and yours have known each other for a very long time.’

They find comfort, understanding and safety in their love.

They know they can trust each other with the darkest parts of themselves because they won’t lose them, they are very much connected in a way that is hard to even comprehend.

Their love is a soft one

Musa: These two are platonic soulmates.

They’re the artists of the group, the ones that communicate better on a page or when speaking in prose, they’re the ones that will spill their guts out in the middle of the night with a pen in their hands

They’re the artists that make art not just because they like to but because it’s crucial to their survival and an integral part of who they are.

They both struggle a bit to be vulnerable, Musa more so than Helia, but find that they can lower their guard with each other because they get what it’s like to finally find your voice after years of bearing the stifling forced silence that comes with not being heard by your own family

They just make sense to me as unexpected platonic soulmates

Who is Helia in this Rewrite?

Helia is a young legacy who has suffered the weight of his heritage. He is someone who used to be incredibly lost and angry at the universe and turned that hatred and frustration inward and into self-destructive tendencies.

He is someone who has grown incredibly and learned peace, learned self-love and learned vulnerability. He is someone incredibly aware of who he is and who he wants to be.

He is someone who took a long time to figure out what he is fighting for, what he wants to live for and become. But, once he figured it out, he will not go back, he will forge ahead, not forgetting his past but not letting it drag him down, allowing it to be a lesson

Helia is at his core, an artist: someone incredibly caring, soft and who wants to help people, even if it isn’t as a warrior, he wants to make sure others don’t have to go through the pain that he and his friends have gone through. He is someone who will fight to protect the vulnerable.

He is someone who learned to wring sunlight out of the darkest parts of himself.

Helia is a soft soul, the warm side of a warrior.

———

Masterlist

Helia Moodboard

Helia’s Instagram

Helia and Riven Moodboard

Flora and Helia Moodboard

Musa and Helia Moodboard

#winx club #winx rewrite #winx #winx headcannon #winx fanfic #winx headcanons #winx helia #winx flora #winx club rewrite #winx specialists #veiled wings and shattered panoramas

81 notes · View notes