#forcing all my interests together for serotonin reasons :) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spidey-bie · 11 months ago

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Hey, hey! We should talk about how beautiful the diversity is in this fandom. I wanna talk about how cool it is that everyone you meet is different then you and how much fun that is to learn about. Moxie is holding onto the serotonin and dopamine and they want to talk about beautiful people are. I am merely the hostage with fingers to type. It's really fucking cool that one piece of media could bring so many different communities together simply to make creative shit. It's really cool. I like it alot. That is all.

-In Moxie's college, due to the fact that in mainstream media there isn't alotta talk about how to draw someone who isn't white, there has been a long running project over the course of 30+ years where every art model who comes in gets a paint swatch of their skin match. Once someone gets it, they paint a full card, have it dry, and then put instructions on the back of how to replicate or make the paint match the shade. There is some who have been put on a block of wood, and then hand-carved out the instructions so someone who is hard of seeing can feel the indents. You ask, why would someone be painting if they can't see the canvas? I tell you that painting is for everyone including people you wouldn't expect to be able to. Everyone should paint, no matter what. There's a wall of little plastic clear sleeves that covers every corner of wall in both the outer hallway and their main campus ready drawing room. It's actually really pretty and arranged via skin-color, so it's like a light to dark rainbow. Really fucking cool, this is my favorite thing about their world and it's been the first thing I made when I rewrote it.

because comic Hobie is more street smart then Moxie is, when moxie gets confused they look at him for social cues to follow. This has both helped, and have given their personal dynamic an interesting mesh of follow and lead. Moxie knows alot about how to play the game of capitalism and elitist because of the place they were born in, but Hobie knows how to actually get to know people and Moxie didn't get that luxury until they move out. You did read that right, Moxie has a brand of spider-man Loser Dorkness. They're also a slow thinker, so Hobie is also talking for them sometimes.

-Moxie does have a relationship with Movie! Hobie, but it leaves moxie very confused. Moxie is very untrusting of him, and they won't admit it but most of it is irrational. They don't actually judge him that hard for being in the spider society considering where he came from (they can look into dimensions from the infinite, they know about the racial segregation and how bad things are over there too) and how well adjusted he is. Things like spider-society prey specifically onto young people who are mentally Ill and Moxie isn't ignorant to that. They are actually mad because they're afraid that if they let Movie! Hobie too close, It'll hurt like it did when Comic! Hobie left them to go back to his chosen family. Remember, Moxie is the selfish one in their world. All of their villains are people who end up in bad places for selfless reasons. Admitting that, means that Movie! Hobie would have a sense of power over them and they can't stand that. So, They lie and say it's the fascism. They just can't stand the fact that he looks like comic!Hobie means he inherently has emotional sway. I did write Moxie with flaws, thanks for noticing.

Movie! Hobie looks at this dumbass kid who's saying all the right things to him, who so clearly wants to help people and knows exactly how wrong the spider-society is for the mere fact that they're caging people and the flaws in their ideology but they're confused on who the enemy actually is. Moxie is an anomaly. No spider-person is just supposed to fucking inter-dimensionally teleport with their fucking DNA. He could rat them out to Miguel at any time and have an all out war happen between the two forces because Moxie doesn't want to be separated from Roses (Comic! Hobie's nickname) and Miguel who's got his head up his ass. He, Instead, Looks out for them from a distance. It's a dumbass kid with a target on their back who just wants to care for some twit. How could he put them in a cage? He ain't got the heart for that shit. They're cool in his book, He'll admit they've got a good couple licks at him too when they puff out their chest and get in his face. They're a good kid, solid shit. Too bad Moxie isn't sticking around to have a relationship, though.

Moxie is, as the field notes I sent ya first if you remember, are first generation French and Indigenous! They, however, have never been to France or can even speak the language despite their very recognizable natural accent. They also weren't raised by their custody holders, so they don't know shit about their tribe despite the fact that the paperwork says they belong there. So, they lie and say they're white because the fact that they're pale as fuck gives them that luxury. They do have some Indigenous beliefs that were told to be passed on to them from their hired caretakers. Moxie religiously takes care of their hair (though they don't know what a curl pattern is until Hobie comes along. That's racism and another story. It's incredibly uncommon for knowledge for like, coil hair to go through white environments. Guess where Moxie lived growing up.) They have "cotton candy" hair until after Hobie leaves. Read: Heat damaged, burnt, dehydrated under conditioned overly washed frizz ball of unhealthy proportions. It looks like "cotton candy" because it's so whispy and unable to form a full curl that it instead puffs out despite the fact it shouldn't. Another character flaw, they have healthy shit before the story ends. They also like reading and researching alot of native stories. Storytelling is a better form of learning, in their most egotistical of opinions.

Because Moxie is able to change pigments, it sorta just happens without them thinking sometimes. Moxie could be looking at their jumping spider and then suddenly their skin and hair is jet black with big yellow pupils and retinas, or they'll stare at Hobie for too long and accidentally confuse someone who just walked in into thinking they've got natural melanin, black hair and brown eyes. It's not intentional, they swear. It happens with frogs too. If you touch them while they're lost in thought their skin will ripple with color like the effect of water, but they'll look like a lava lamp as those lines flow across them. They're a fun little cartoon person.

-Because Moxie's art style is an oil painting, they sometimes get mistaken as a work of art when they're sitting very still. This is flattery to them.

-Moxie has a rule against painting people or landmarks because it's more challenging to paint into tangible into a concept. They've recently started breaking this rule in the mental place with Hobie. I cannot describe to you the volume of fucking paintings of this one motherfucker in their room, in their bed. Ya'll are fucking disgusting (lovingly)

-Moxie doesn't wear…. clothes. Like, they wear fabric, but you'll more likely find them, when they can actually wear what they want, wrapped up in folded fabrics instead of a shirt. They wear skirts, but it's not so much as a skirt but a blanket tied around their waist with their thigh sticking out. Once they get top surgery, they walk around topless alot because there's no point in hiding a lack of titty. (There is many reasons, they just don't see bodys as the issue.)

-Moxie is a relationship Anarchist, they have no social cues, and they kiss everyone on the lips. What scenario would they not? Boundaries. These two motherfuckers talk about consent like it's the coming of jesus in american politics. It's a good thing, honestly really good. Unfortunately for your time, they also need a full indepth conversation before everytime they do something with you. "Are you certain you are com-" "Moxie, I swear to god you can just hold my fucking hand. We're cool."

-Moxie is slowly getting a face, I made a personality and a world and a background, and now they're getting a face. In previous writing, I gave them blue eyes like movie gwen, they're now light green and their eyeshape is round and downturned. Heavily freckled on the cheeks, Emotes less with the mouth and mostly with the eyes and brows. Sometimes Roses is a better social cue follower then Moxie's expressions are in conversation.

-Moxie will literally forget other people are in the room completely if they're more interested in Hobie at the moment. Hobie came back from a patrol with a bruise or a scratch? Are you okay? Shall I help you? "Hey mox, are you don-" "Shall I get the medkit for you Hobie? Run a hot bath for you to relax?" "And these fuckers say they're platonic. I've never ran up to a homie and asked them to get naked before." "That's because you're bitch-less and rizz-less, Ms. Marvel." (Moxie speaking) "Hey, fucking friendly fire you lava lamp!"

Part 2 soon

I eas just thinking about that with some friends in Discord. We all have Spidersonas and with each Sona you can see a variety of different cultures and ethnicities and backgrounds. Just the asks I've gotten of others Sonas shows how important representation is and I'm happy ATSV paved the way for that.

OMG the paint shade reminded me of a project I did in college where we had to color match with an object in the room and we had to hide the swatch in plain sight for others to find. Unrelated but it just came to mind 😂

I love the imagery of just somebody grabbing some wood from like the woodwork class and everybody is just used to them coming in to carve out the instructions. Like, "Oh Javier yeah they don't take this course. They just like to carve." And you turn and see a slab of instructions all perfectly chiseled out and sanded.

Socially awkward sonas my beloved 😔. If your spidersona isn't a loser dork in some way then what's the point?

PFFFFFT Moxie like I don't trust him and Hobie's like I must protect this kid with my life is so real and funny. (Also Roses 🥺. How'd he get that nickname actually?)

Custody holders 💀 Not even life giver, sperm provider, incubator, nope just straight custody holders 💀💀💀💀

KICKING AND SCREAMING AT LOSS OF CULTURAL ROOTS. Does this have any impact on them mentally? Like do they feel at loss because of the culture they'll never come to know? Do they feel empty?

I remember you reblogging that one post of the woman with the fabrics and explaining how that's basically what Moxie does and I can better picture it now. If I can find it I might link it later.

Moxie going off on Ms. Marvel is hilarious. YOU TELL EM ANYTHING CAN BE PLATONIC IF WE WANT IT TO BE.

#we're not gonna talk about how long this sat in my inbox #moxie #my fuzzy friends [🕷️]#jay webs words #spidersonas

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lil-kissy · 2 years ago

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Alright I know at this point I probably sound like a broken record but when it comes to threads and replies I'm pretty chill.

Sure quick replies are nice, it's great to be able to just keep on things going and sometimes can help maintain the interest and motivation plus at least for me my ADHD often craves that immediate serotonin boost that comes with seeing a reply so. So waiting is hard I won't deny it,

But that doesn't also mean I don't understand the myriad of reasons that exist and while just like waiting for a package to be delivered being patient isn't easy. I can and will wait till my partner is ready to continue, if ever you see me pop into your IMs I promise it's only out of curiosity as well as wanting to try of course wanting to try and keep some communication with you guys- and obviously even for those I don't necessarily expect an immediate response.

I try to ask before simply throwing an link to an old thread- in case the person already does have it saved and avoid feeling awkward but in either case whether you see me asking 'hey you need/want a link to thread' or I've sent a link to one of our threads that I know I personally wouldn't mind continuing I simply want people to know that there is no pressure to respond to it right away or even at all.

Consider it a personal interest checker and as well as a casual reminder- lord knows I've unintentionally become distracted and forgotten about threads (or talked with friends that hadn't realized or forgotten themselves that the ball was in their court now so to speak)

Of course as always that doesn't mean a reply is mandatory and if whatever the reason interest / motivation ect isn't there and would rather drop the thread as is that's cool.

While I'm more then happy to discuss and see if there's any spark left, any potential in resurrecting an old thread or seeing if there's anything to be used to spring board I don't want any one to think or take that as me trying to force a thread - I simply like at least trying to explore other angles and possibilities but it still doesn't mean we gotta.

-Bonus alternative is if there is still some mutual interest but are both at block on exactly what to do, that's when I'll just suggest shelving it and putting it on the back burner.

So it doesn't have to be completely dropped dead but also allowing for focusing on new things while letting it rest- and basically at that point if it'll either just fade away and die on its own as other stuff takes off or maybe we'll finally reach a break/ find the missing piece to get the gears moving again and boom off we go.

I've had both happen- sometimes even just a change of direction/plan helps,

example: Something that started out as a regular sick/hurt character thread/plot and let's say we came up with potential things to happen but oops a snag was hit on how to continue , maybe it's as simple as well what is Muse A's motivation for doing 'thing' or piecing together a okay why couldn't the do 'thing' or why be at 'place'

or from personal experience- there was a plan/idea but life happened and now we both don't remember what exactly it was, at best remember fragments of ideas but aren't sure of how they fit or what the bigger picture was.

But hey guess what "X just happened in Y thread so what if that connects to muse in Z..."

Does it always work nah and as always sometimes a thread is best left alone and dropped and that's A-okay. And heck just cause the thread itself is dropped doesn't mean we have to leave/drop whatever idea we were working with in it. Take it rework it, hell start the idea completely over, fresh slate with new ideas brought to the table.

Yeah okay so I don't always drop threads easily or like to totally give up on a plot/idea but I also will never try to force one to continue and am totally fine with letting them drop if need be.

tl;dr

At the end of the day I can wait as along as needed, just let me know if I actually should be waiting time to try something new and understand that if you ever seem me toss a link to a thread into your IMs / ask about any you want to continue,

Basically picture me holding up a game or a movie and asking if you're (still) interested in playing/watching it, and know whether to continue putting it on- be it now or later- or search for something else. That's it. Nothing more.

#psa #That's also why I usally try to preface a message with 'no rush' or something #Cause while I know all my partners are reasonable people and I'm sure would never assume I'm actually being pushy/demanding #I also no tone doesn't always come through and I'd rather avoid any potential misunderstanding #in that I am not asking/demanding you reply to this thing right now just wanted to remind you about #this thread cause it's been awhile/ am just curious as to if you're still interested or not and at this point it's more habit #long post #idk just in a rambling mood

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chromotps · 8 months ago

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you know me, I am eating up all this fresh, locally-brewed AU material. let's see how long I ramble in reply 😅

I feel a little silly/like I should have clarified on the reincarnation AU;; I was envisioning something more along the lines of a modern setting, where one or both characters retain their memories of their past life from the canon setting. I was probably thinking of that since I'd read a few fics focused on Ace and Luffy and how their dynamic would be affected by, say, Luffy remembering that Ace had died for him in another life. So;; in this "modern" reincarnation AU, I thought it could be interesting if:

Shanks recalls everything from original-flavor One Piece, but maybe no one else does?

so he runs into people in his day-to-day life, like Buggy and Mihawk, and like you said, struggles not to repeat his previous emotional missteps with them... and whatever thematic fallout comes from that

and he also encounters Ace, who he either A) never got to know well in his past life, but remembers was lost tragically and feels a fierce need to protect in this one. or B) knew intimately back then, and feels an even fiercer need to cherish now.

but Ace, for one reason or another, has just as many walls up in this life as he did originally. something like that?

(or, more tragic-ish, Ace also remembers everything, and that colors what he does in his current life... in like a fatalistic way that he needs to be snapped out of 😭)

I hadn't considered one quite like what you laid out, but ooooooooof the time-loop style implications of Shanks knowing certain things about the OP universe that he uses to his advantage in his second go-round, like you described...

There's something hilarious and kind of bittersweet about him immediately setting out to complete his same mission!

The flip?? Of Shanks joining Ace's crew this time round... I can't even wrap my head around it, haha. They'd be such an unstoppable force, though, with Ace being so powerful and more grounded (hopefully 😂) at that age, and Shanks earning his trust as they navigate their adventures together...

Poor Luffy... God what if Ace was that much more protective in return, and like, rants to crewmate-Shanks ("Stabby." I'm. dfjkgshg) about this reckless pirate who saved his baby brother's life once, which he's so grateful for, but he also kind of wishes he could throttle the guy for some reason. Maybe because Luffy cried over him so much... In the end, Ace has to suppose he was an incredible person. (And "Stabby" is just like. sweating)

The Pirate Radio AU is so. Fun. The amount of serotonin I got from "the idea of them running a timeslot together, only to get caught flirting live on air. (Or, having sex in the booth and accidentally broadcasting it. Oh, god.)" Them having just a disgusting amount of chemistry on air together, and seeming to share a brainwave when it comes to musical taste. And making the extremely poor to decision to fuck in there (they w o u l d. oh my god). That's what dreams are made of right there.

I'm thinking about this too much, but... Shanks' having to repress his inner romantic in this AU—like, he has to project a lot of swagger to be the face of rock & roll (or so he thinks lmao). Which is part of why Ace can't help clashing with him, defensively at first, and then more and more playfully as it becomes clear that they're just sooo smitten with each other. Heheheh.

fffff it got unfortunately late for me here, so feel free to take or leave as much of this half-awake rambling as you'd like 😂

Two shanksace AUs, hot off the press:

Reincarnation AU??

gosh Shanks struggling under the weight of having a Second Chance to "do things right" in a new life

Maybe there's tension between him feeling obligated to pursue relationships that failed before, while maybe not recognizing that those things could have followed their natural course and still ended up where they did

OOOOO the AU could also change drastically depending on whether shace was established in their previous life, or if things strictly followed canon!!

Pirate Radio AU!!

Yes!!!!

I know you suggested it but I'd love to hear more thoughts there

the creativity/artistry really suits them both so much... Plus, the renegade swagger!! Shanks in some kind of loudly-patterned blazer, stubble, & colored glasses, as he sizes up the newest addition to their operation........ yes!!

This is longer than intended. Forgive me?? (Or not.)

Reincarnation AU

Okay, omg. Like you say, there's so many ways a Shanks reincarnation AU could go, so the whole idea is pretty exciting. A Shanks/Ace reincarnation AU in particular? Oh-ho!!!! So many possibilities, and yet I've never really considered it before.

I think you could write it two ways? One where Shanks dies after meeting Ace (he would find the reversal in their age gap hilarious!!!), and one where Shanks dies before they meet. Maybe he dies from blood loss after saving Luffy? Traumatising, lol. But that's potentially where I'd start, and go from there.

As for the kind of people he'd be born to, I think it'd be fucking hilarious if he was a Celestial Dragon (especially considering people speculate this about his birth anyway). Just some vague ideas:

During childhood, he'd take advantage of his position to find out incriminating military secrets he'd previously been unable to discover, including personal secrets. Just for funsies!!! (And, you know, blackmail.)

He doesn't stick around with his parents, setting sail as soon as he can fend for himself. I think he would, at first, go to Rayleigh. He can't go to Buggy—he wouldn't be quite helpful enough—and he can't go to Garp or Whitebeard (what if he makes him his son????) So, he spends a few years with Rayleigh (working with Dragon during this time) until he's 18ish, maybe?

He sets sail alone, seeking out Luffy, who of course ate the Gum Gum Fruit. That's how he meets Ace, who is reminded of another runaway high-born he knows, and invites Shanks to join his crew. Which, well, why not? He's Luffy's brother and son of the Pirate King. What better way to be in the centre of the action.

What's going on in the background? Why is Ace still alive? Well, Shanks' death was so traumatising for Luffy, and then Sabo's, that he became so terrified of Ace dying, he got incredibly protective. No way was he letting Ace hunt down Blackbeard, especially not when he finds out Whitebeard didn't strictly permit it. This is also assuming the timeline moves more slowly, which it does, because I say so, so there.

Having said all of that, I also totally think Shanks would try to make amends in his old relationships just by being a better person for them (and totally burns himself out doing so). However it goes, you're so right in that Shanks would totally struggle with the idea of getting another chance (because he's a fucking martyr who wants to fix everything). I do think a timeline where Shanks/Ace were previously a thing could be interesting, but I'm not as certain how I'd do that. (Probably I'd have Ace born earlier, while Roger's alive.)

(Also, Shanks would call himself, like, Stabby, as homage to Shanks. Or he gets Rayleigh to name him.)

Pirate Radio AU

This idea is underdeveloped but I love it. It just works for them/their relationship, and fits snugly with the OP universe. I imagine secret radio stations transmitted through specifically bred Den Dens. I'd prefer to write it that way than to write an modern AU simply because Den Dens are fun! (As you well know, Chromo... 👀)

So, the backstory would be like OP, just: Roger is considered the king of pirate radio. After his death, Shanks follows his lead and creates his own station, broadcasting from a ship, so he's harder to catch, of course. And, yes, Luffy and Ace join him when they're old enough!

"Shanks in some kind of loudly-patterned blazer, stubble, & colored glasses..." YES, exactly. I think Ace would be so, like, dazed by him, and angry about it. Then Shanks starts letting him choose songs, and dedicates songs to him, and they get more and more ridiculous in their outrageous, musical flirting, until one of the others (Benn, probably) plays a very passive aggressive song about it. Or something.

Also, love the idea of them running a timeslot together, only to get caught flirting live on air. (Or, having sex in the booth and accidentally broadcasting it. Oh, god.)

When they're not aggressively flirting, they're pissing off the government, of course, who are meticulously censoring all music. Maybe while sailing, they seek the legendary scores of Joy Boy, the first true pirate radio host, lol.

This was fun!! Thanks Chromo!! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

#shanksace #op #headcanons #aus #i'm still thinking of their cute song-based flirting tho #shanks playing some tune called 'be my baby' and ace replying with a song called 'someday'

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kotokos-cafe · 3 years ago

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Kokichi With A S/O With Borderline Personality Disorder And ADHD

First off, let's just immediately say he probably has ADHD, himself, so he completely understands that.

He'll totally hop from different activities with you, and feels comfortable bringing up when he wants to do that, too! One minute, he'll be forcing you to color with him, and the next, you have him baking cupcakes!

Honestly, he relates to becoming bored with an activity fast, and he does it, himself, but he knows you probably don't wanna annoy him, so he'll bring it up first.

"Heyyyyyy, S/O-Chan, I'm booooooored! Can we do something else now? Pretty please?"

You're super thankful, and immediately agree, picking a new activity together.

If you ever need help with homework, he's probably not the person to go to. He'll make you break away from it faster, probably by tickling you or pranking you.

But if you stress to him that it's important, Kokichi just loudly sighs.

"*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH* Fiiiiiiiiiiine..."

Expect crocodile tears later.

If you lose things, he's basically an expert at finding them at this point.

He's the type to playfully snap your attention back to him with a giggle, snapping his fingers in front of your face.

"Hey! Hey, S/O-Chan! Hey! Don't you love me anymore? Is that why you're not paying attention to me?"

If you just want to wander around aimlessly, he's there to do it with you. Anything is better than sitting around bored, after all!

Totally the type to help you with directions that are given. He'll explain them better, anyway, being the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

If you ever want to rant about your latest interest, he'll pretend he's bored, but he'll secretly be listening the entire time. How else would he get you the perfect presents suited to your interests?

Kokichi Ouma is as impatient as you are, and he'll join you in pestering that damn car in front of you to just hurry up, or the teacher to release you from class already!

He doesn't mind being interrupted, honestly. He loves you, and that's all that matters. Besides, now he gets to hear your angelic voice! It's a win-win situation!

He can't fathom the idea that you think he might abandon you someday.

How could he? He loves you, and you're the first person that's treated him with warmth and compassion in... so long.

"Hey, no. None of that. How could I ditch my Partner In Crime? As long as you're here, you're my King, My Queen, or whatever else you wanna be."

Kokichi gets a little lost when you alternate between "Ah! My best friend is so sweet! I love them with all my heart!" and "They're the worst! They never make time for me anymore! I couldn't care less if they died!"

Your perceptions of yourself change so often, and Kokichi is one of the few who can keep up with that. He does it, himself, being both egotistical and self-loathing.

He's a little concerned about your unsafe and unstable habits, though. Whether that be drinking, reckless driving, unsafe sex, etc., he's trying to help you curb that. He doesn't want you getting hurt before you can take over the world together!

When you become depressed, Kokichi will lay with you in his arms (or vice versa, if you prefer to hold him), and ask you to tell him about how you feel. Then he'll take you out anywhere just to get you moving, knowing sometimes that can get the serotonin flowing.

If you get super irritable, Kokichi takes the hint and leaves you alone for a while (but not before saying some harsh words, himself). You do later apologize, though, and he forgives you, knowing it's your disorder's fault, not yours.

"Hey, heeeeeey, it's okay! See? I'm not sad anymore, so you shouldn't be, either!"

Once anxiety hits, Kokichi is the type to reassure you that nothing can or will go wrong, and that he'll take care of everything, even if it means lying forever.

When you start feeling empty and alone, Kokichi is the type to lay directly on top of you and purr into your chest lovingly.

"Look! I'm on your heart now! So I'll be the thing that fills your empty heart up for now, until you find more stuff, 'kay?"

If it ever made you angry enough to hit him, that's it, it's over. He's leaving. You've broken his trust, and you can't ever repair it after that. He needs time to heal from you.

But if it doesn't, he'll be loyal to you until the bitter end, defending you from everyone that talks down to you with harsh retorts of his own.

If you ever dissociate in front of him, the first thing he'll do is back away. He's familiar with the fact that people dissociate when they feel unsafe, so he figures if he's nowhere near you, you'll have no reason to view him as a threat.

He wishes he could just take all your mental illness and pain away, but sadly, he can't. He just doesn't want to see you hurting while he doesn't have to.

All in all, he loves you with all his heart, and would stop at nothing to keep you happy.

#Ouma Kokichi #Kokichi Ouma #Oma Kokichi #Kokichi Oma #kokichi x reader #kokichi oma x reader #kokichi ouma x reader #🎂 here you are! 🎂

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frappe-art · 3 years ago

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Sometimes i just wanna do on frappepeee 6 9 (NICE) 10 11 24

DOT ON i dont wanna do anything on you DOT ON

Also 25 😘

lucyyy i'm sorry i took so long, real life intense and brain energy low ;-; (also that second ask made me laugh like a hyena, thanks)

6. Which artists inspire you right now?

9. What are you currently trying to improve?

i'm merging these two together since they're connected. lately i've been trying to improve my coloring process, which color to abbine to which, how to make depth and contrast through color choice, and how to complement that with lineart. two pieces of media i loved in the last year always leave me speechless with their artstyle and vibrant colors. first one is AdaIro's jibaku shounen hanako-kun - the story is cute and interesting, but the way they use colors and light and brushes gives me so much serotonin, even when the panel is monochrome you can feel the light refraction it's really alive and vibrant.

the other one is hades, and seeing how popular among artists that game was when it first came out it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, it's just gorgeous

also recently i started playing genshin impact and SIR THESE CHARACTERS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO BE THIS COOL. yep, i'm sensing a new art obsession coming up.

10. What's that one thing that inspired you to make drawing your consistant hobby?

mmmmh this is hard. i don't really remember why i started drawing, nor i usually give it much thought, so if i had to pick a reason i'd say it's just that i like the creative process of putting hours and energy into something and then seeing it finished?

11. Favorite comment you've ever recieved on your work?

dfhjsfd just know i screenshot the long notes i get in my art posts and reread it when i need an inspiration burst (and yours are among the longest notes lmao)

24. How do you deal with artblock?

i-- don't. i'm not sure if it's the right way to deal with it, but i prefer not to confront it straight on. i feel like it would be counterproductive and energy-consuming, forcing myself with something that should be a passion or a hobby (and my energy resources are already really low), so i rather wait for feeling inspired again

25. Based on your recent reference searches, what would the FBI assume about you?

you know my current crows wip, the one with jesper pointing a gun? yeah, my search history is currently flooded with revolvers. my pinterest dash is 75% guns now. i see them everywhere and i still can't find the angle i need

so yeah, my personal FBI agent would be very confused at this sudden gun obsession, and maybe worried, if it wasn't for all the rest of my google history erasing all doubts that i'm anything but just a nerd

#ask game #charmspoint

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honkster · 4 years ago

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Why the Dream SMP’s way of storytelling is IMPOSSIBLE to recreate in any other medium.

This has been in the back of my mind for the longest time. I think I finally got it.

People have talked about this before, and they’ve put forward some good points, and good for them – most of them are correct. It’s the way the ccs interact with each other, it’s how plot is mixed in with banter, that’s all good! I wanna put more out there.

So you know how you open a book to read, you start a new show, you sit down to watch a movie – that’s all produced by some sort of company, someone who made it specifically for you to enjoy. You expect a certain dramatic flair to it, certain cinematic choices, certain ways of writing, certain camera angles, certain reactions to things. That’s just ingrained expectations of things now.

The DSMP? Doesn’t have that.

The low expectations work very much in its favor. It’s a Minecraft role-playing server with a bunch of famous youtubers/streamers, who are all good friends and have great dynamics with each other. So when you expect “just another Minecraft video” but in stream form, or you watch the videos because there are certain people in them, you don’t expect to be dropped into extreme lore and sensitive topics, realistic situations proposed in game form, a combination of serious stuff and just fun times with friends goofing around – and you’re pleasantly surprised.

We, the fandom, are used to it a bit more now. How excellently they manage to make a serious story in such a “ridiculous” medium, how much it affects us all and gets our creative juices flowing. But even the ccs can’t predict some of the things that happen. And that’s fun.

The whole election ending the way it has? That was on us. And it made some of the most angsty content there has been in the DSMP. People still theorize about the arc and make connections to now – that’s pog!

Fundy being adopted by Eret – that sparked the whole “Fundy just wants a dad – let’s get him some love” thing that made FundyWasTaken and other Fundy+someone ships happen. I see a different person paired with Fundy every week, and somehow, I agree with all of them. I really got into Fundy because of that stream where Eret “slept through the adoption” and Fundy confronted his real dad and spent time with his granddad. That little stream gave us more insight into Fundy’s whole character (Nevermind Fundy showing off his acting skills – you go you funky little fox), but also justifies some of his actions now. DryWaters? Wanting to kill Technoblade? Fucked up reasons, but we still love him.

Phil being broken out of house arrest ahead of time – still made a great stream and Phil agreeing with Techno’s want for revenge – that made us all very happy. The SBI!!! The AE! And that’s also a thing!

That even if we do know or have predicted what’s going to happen, begged it out of the ccs basically, it is still incredibly fun to watch. Where some books/shows/movies fall short and reveal too much and end up being “too predictable”, they’re not fun anymore. I read this somewhere before, that sometimes holding back EVERYTHING from the reader, and relying on shock value to make a good story is just bad. Whereas if you progress the story naturally and let the reader make some predictions of their own and then they end up being right – that’s a lot of serotonin right there. It’s the re-readability that makes it slightly better the second time.

The DSMP takes this concept and fucking yeets with it. Letting fans engage in the story, letting them theorize and then be right, even acknowledging the fanart that was made, just engaging with the community that their roleplay created – that makes it so much more fun. I bet that even if the whole script was revealed to the fandom we would still watch every plot stream. Even if we knew vaguely what happens in the stream, we would tune in and enjoy every second of it. Because the ccs are just that good, we love them that much, we love this plot that much.

Oh and the unpredictability helps too. Tommy in exile was the vague concept of a lot of the streams – it’s taken that and ran with it in a lot of different directions. All quite enjoyable.

Having said all of that… The fact that this type of telling a story is impossible to recreate in any other medium is… kinda saddening? It is incredibly unique, and I’d say has things that not a lot of the people that produce mainstream media would even consider. “Just friends hanging out” – how would that make the script progress? “Engagement with the fandom, even considering their wishes for the characters” – but we’re telling a story here!

The only thing I can think of that would come close to the vibe, would be just a bunch of writer friends coming together, thinking up a universe and general plot, and then each deciding to write a few of their own characters in that universe. When one author focuses on their main characters, the side ones can feel left in the dust, or not fleshed out. The DSMP is just “every character can write their own story”, which takes a lot of the strain from the “main writers”. But the general thing of “just friends hanging out” would be taken away from it. We’re being serious here, why would we change the tone so quick?

With all of that in mind… I kinda wanna make some predictions? And I don’t know if they’re correct, but it’s fun to theorize. See?

1. L’manburg will die.

And not just because Techno has 54 withers. The country is cursed – it definitely is. There is little sentimental value that can be felt for a few flimsy stilts built on top of a crater. It might go out in a blaze of glory, with the withers (Is history repeating itself an interesting enough plot point to recycle a whole arc?), but it might just be forgotten. Yeah there have been some angsty headcanons about how “no one cares about L’manburg anymore, save for two people” and it just gets abandoned, but how about it just becoming irrelevant?

This all comes back to Dream, it always does! His want, need for the server to be “one happy family again”, it just means one thing. He wants the server to return to the peaceful anarchy that it was before L’manburg. No rulers, no factions, no nothing.

That’s never going to happen.

Try as he might, Dream cannot affect that change that L’manburg did to the server. The introduction of a faction, one that can exist without the interference of a higher power – why do you think so many factions have sprouted up since? And it’s not even serious factions a lot of the time, it’s just a few friends deciding to build their bases on a plot of land that they claim is a nation now. L’manburg has changed the mindset of these people, now an alliance with somebody is a political move. An alliance doesn’t exist if it doesn’t have a faction, and that faction can remain neutral for only so long.

Basically, L’manburg introduced the factions mod into the server.

And the fact that every faction now has enough relevance to hold weight in a war also means that every nation on the server is doomed to follow the downfall of L’manburg. Eventually, they will get into a fight they can’t win, go up against the wrong people, anger someone they shouldn’t have. All factions will either be destroyed, or lose relevance, until their creators, residents and such just… move on.

(And really you can go into meta and talk about real governments and compare them, but it’s far more simple than that. The server isn’t built for peace, it isn’t meant to be a relaxing place where you can just vibe, it may have been made for a few friends to play Minecraft together, but it has turned into An Author’s Curse. The curse that follows any kind of story being told – the fact that peace is boring. People watched the first streams of the DSMP because they liked the ccs, and that’s valid. But how many more people tuned in to watch the war streams because there was PLOT and there was CHAOS and there WASN’T CALM PEACE ANYMORE – that’s the curse of every writer. That you can write about someone just living their life drama-free, you can make interesting peace with characters or circumstances, but it’s always leading to one inevitable conclusion – war, drama, because people read that. And at this point, it’s just a predictable outcome. No matter how much you say that you are retired, that you’re done with violence (Technoblade), something will happen that will prove to you that you believed in people too much. No matter how “neutral” you may be in the matter, no matter how much you claim that you have no allegiance (Philza), you will be forced to pick one, because out of all the bad things, you pick the least worst one, the most appealing to you, the one that can benefit your want of revenge.

And I can go on, but this is far too deep for one simple reason – The Author’s Curse is so prevalent here because THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO STAKES. It’s a video game – you die? You respawn. Something gets destroyed? You can just rebuild. Sure, you’ll want to kill the person who did wrong to you, but whatever they did wrong can just be replaced, remade, recreated. So why not have wars? Why not cause massive amounts of destruction “for the plot”?

It’s literally a playground. How all authors have their little playground with their characters that they meticulously plan out, the DSMP is that playground for all of these people.

And it’s fun! Sure! I like it! I’m just really skeptical whenever someone in character says that they “just want peace”, “are retired”, “swear off violence”, “are building just a little city for themselves”. Because you can do that, nothing wrong. But eventually, no matter how much you distance yourself from all of the chaos happening, all of the wars, you will return.

Because it is just much more fun.

It’s the curse. A cursed cycle.

And everyone is in it.)

2. The prison.

I don’t have anything on the prison because I don’t have anything on the book. Yeah I’ve done a whole post where I overanalyze what it could be, but it doesn’t make it any clearer. Whatever it is, it’s made out to be a huge plot point, something that can only be revealed when the prison is finished.

Cursed. The prison’s reason for being constructed is the book, but the book is only relevant when the prison is finished. We can only wait, and theorize, as we do.

(My only theory is that the book is information about another op on the server. Or at least something related to op or creative mode. Dream only fears one thing on this server, and that’s Technoblade, so if his one fear is the most skilled player on the server, what else could give him existential fear?)

3. The SBI.

Again, I don’t have anything! Yeah the reunion seems to be going smoothly, one member at a time, but there is already conflict in their beliefs among each other. And all that’s happened is a vague “maybe one day we’ll strike”.

Is history repeating itself an interesting enough plot point to recycle a whole arc?

Is L’manburg’s destruction AGAIN really necessary to hammer home the idea that no one likes that place anymore?

I don’t know. Whatever happens, no one’s in the right. No one’s in the wrong either. They’re all not good people and that’s that on that.

4. The Clingy Duo.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

That’s all.

(Okay seriously? All of these arcs are connected. You know what happens when everything seems to be connected to one another?

A giant, dramatic final showdown between the two opposing sides.

Cause it’s just Chaos vs L’manburg. Those are the sides. People that want L’manburg to exist and people that want it gone. There are no other sides, there isn’t someone who’s like “Well maybe it can exist if we do this and this” cause no one wants to put in anymore effort into this cursed country. The only people were the clingy duo and now they’re separated and everyone is just leaving and Tommy is on the Chaos side like at this point he doesn’t care about L’manburg he just cares about Tubbo but he has to convince Tubbo to leave L’manburg but will Tubbo be convinced but will Tommy even consider leaving L’manburg and breaking free from its curse AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Goddamit.)

5. The Egg?

Dunno shit about it. Like the prison – it seems important, but we’re just not being given enough information. Is it a coincidence that the moment Dream commissioned the prison the Egg popped up? Or are the two directly related?

I don’t know. But as long as someone is finding ways to fight the Egg, that’s fantastic. Bad juju indeed.

6. Oh the Butcher Army want to kill Dream!

Hah.

Okay I’ve seen people make the case that the Army is just a bunch of people with trauma repeating the cycle of ab*se that they went through and yes.

Just yes.

And the fact that no one is actually looking at it that way and no one is there to like.. help them or even help them understand that what they are doing is just irrational, even though their reason for doing it and the result they hope to achieve is YES and the only thing that a lot of the people of the server who want peace should try to go for as well, they cannot stand up to Dream on their own. They just can’t, they will get punted into exile. They need allies, and they need powerful ones, people that have also been wronged by Dream and want him gone.

But the cycle continues, and no one knows where it ends.

(Okay but from a writing perspective? Getting rid of Dream is the end goal. It is the be all end all of all conflict, well… most of it, at least most that’s related to the supposed “good side”, or “the side that’s been most victimized”. But from the same perspective, that side is just… no longer. It has proven that is just as bad, if not worse than the final boss. I have to agree that Techno has to pay for his crimes, even though I like him a lot, but Techno did in fact cause insane damage. Yeah L’manburg rebuilt, yeah Wilbur probably caused more – still he isn’t completely free.

But that’s a discussion on morality more than laws.

L’manburg is doomed to die. Dream is doomed to be fought, and probably won against (simply because he has won far too many times already, you know how everyone seems to hate OP characters…). But the Butcher Army is doomed to fail against Dream. So how does that work?

Welp.

Is history repeating itself and interesting enough plot point to recycle a whole arc?

The answer is no.

I’ve repeated that question three times now, and the answer to it is no. No it is not. L’manburg can be destroyed again, and it can be rebuilt again, but the sentimentality that people feel for it will not remain. The cycle of history ends somewhere, and it’s not too far a fetch that it ends here.

So what happens when Technoblade, Philza and Tommy roll up to L’manburg with withers and a destruction wish, only to be met with a bunch of traumatized children with axes and a death wish?

Well, I’ll spare the details, but from a purely writing standpoint…

The two sides team up.

Think about it – The Butcher Army doesn’t care about Technoblade anymore. They’ve seen that Dream is the one pulling the strings, they know that even if they do care about trying to eliminate Technoblade again, they have to get rid of his strongest ally – Dream. But through their anger, they’ve lost their fear. You should fear Dream, he’s a fuckin op. Techno is correct in not wanting to go against him.

But after Tommy? After seeing the Butcher Army at their lowest, screeching about Dream being the villain?

Will Techno finally go past his thinking of “government is evil, always government is source of problem” and realize that Dream has the most evil government in mind for his rule?

I’m still kinda sad that Techno isn’t making the conclusions he should about Dream. But he’s starting to – and really, the SBI-Butcher Army team up is the most logical thing that could happen.

Watch me be completely wrong or miss something and I’ve got ALL of it wrong. I would love that.)

(Also it’s very funny to me that Dream is literally simping for Techno while he’s just here like “Listen bud I would stab you on sight if you didn’t have creative mode”. Dream KNOWS that Techno can and will kill him given the opportunity. Techno knows that that opportunity may never arise.

It’s a weird type of stalemate, to be sure. But goddamn is it interesting.)

Anyway... if you read through all of this... I could bake you a cookie? Thank you! I like to ramble.

#dream smp #gooood its just a block game #ITS JUST A BLOCK GAME #...dammit #anyway #debate me #on everything please

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fakeloveaskblog · 3 years ago

Note

(Hi, me again. Once again trying to reason with Virgil like the bleeding heart I am. Sorry for the constant asks I am very invested in this story and desperately want everyone to have a happy ending.)

Hi Virgil it’s the drug ghost. I wanted to say thank you for listening to me and not just dismissing what I had to say immediately on principle. I think you are right about you and Remy holding on to each other to hard and that having a few days apart is a really good idea. It will give you both some time to breathe and process everything that has happened between you two recently.

I’m afraid to say that taking a few days apart won’t be enough to repair your relationship but it is a start. To fix a relationship this badly damaged it will take a lot of time, effort, communication and some clear boundaries. Once again I’d strongly recommend therapy for both you and Remy, individual sessions for you both to work on your own issues as well as couples therapy to help improve your relationship.

One thing I’d like you to take into consideration is if this relationship is worth salvaging, you said that your whole life revolves around Remy and that it’s been like that ever since you were fifteen. That isn’t healthy, for you or for them. It’s important that you have an identity outside of being Remy’s boyfriend and that you aren’t entirely dependent on them to give your life meaning.

You also said you want them to feel safe and happy with you. I want you to look at your relationship and ask yourself, “are they safe with me? Do they feel happy with me?” If the answer to those questions is no then should you be together? Is that fair to them? I also want you to ask yourself if you’re happy with them? Because you don’t sound happy, you sound like you are scared of losing them because you don’t know who you are without them. Do you deserve that? Are either of you happy in this relationship? Is it truly worth salvaging? Or is it time to do something that will hurt you now but will help both of you be much happier in the future. It sounds harsh and I get why you’re reluctant to do so, but is it worth all the hurt and pain that you’re causing just to stay in a relationship that no one is happy in?

I’m not saying this to hurt you I only want to help, I hope you can see the merit of what I’m saying and that no matter what you end up doing I hope thet you do it with both yours and Remy’s best interests at heart.

(Not related to the blog but I just found a song that has been giving me tones of serotonin and I’ve spent the past two days listening to it on loop while jumping around and hand flapping like crazy. I wanted to share it with someone so I’ll just put it here.)

Tw: Mentions of abuse, mentions of drug use, there is a short paragraph of plushie violence :( im sorry

At first you couldn't see Virgil. The bedroom looked like it was straight from 2007 with the band posters plastered across the purple walls. The blinds were rolled down over the sole window and the majority of the belongings in the childhood room had been put aside into boxes. The bed had quickly been fixed up with a childish The nightmare before Christmas pillow and blanket set.

A blanket lump laid curdled up in the bed. The room warmed as your presence became more solid. The blanket lump shifted and Virgil's face appeared. His eyes were red from tears and his cheeks were stale with rubbed out snot. He hadn’t particularly enjoyed having enough free time to process what he’d done.

He groaned "A ghost? Here!? Have you put a gps signal in my brain or something. Fuck off!"

He was clearly trying to force on an intimidating look but he failed completely since he was wearing a fuzzy skeleton onesie and was clutching an old worn out spider plushie to his chest.

"Whatever" He rolled his eyes "blah blab you're welcome”

He squeezed the plushie a little harder as you began to speak.

“I got time. I got effort. I got a mouth, I can communicate” He muttered out “I can- we can fix this. I’m not Against therapy. I- it was probably kind of stupid of me to to force Remy out of it. It was really stupid. They have issues! I know that! I know that so fucking well! I- I felt them slipping away from me and I just got so afraid. They’ve- I was there! I know that they have stuff they have to work through! With like professionals! I know! I know it was a stupid thing to do! I know!! You don’t have to keep saying it! I know! I know!”

At the end he was moreso talking to his own thoughts than to you. He was holding up his hands mid air, they were half clutched like he was about to punch someone. They were shaking like all he could feel was fear.

“I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have Remy. Saying goodbye to them would be like pulling out my own lungs. You can’t just except a guy to just suddenly start living without ever breathing!”

His foot was tapping into the ground at breakneck speed while he kept fiddling with the plushie’s soft spider legs between his fingers.

“Like isn’t love supposed to be...meeting the one and and it’s like you fit so well together it’s like you slowly become one and then you live happily ever after and you’re never alone ‘cause they’re a part of you....is it really so bad to want love to be the meaning of my life...I have interests...I’m a person outside of Remy...I just.....I don’t think it’s so bad if I let most of my happiness come from them and their happiness from me...i wanna take care of them for like forever”

He looked up and nodded when you said that he wanted Remy to be safe and happy. Somehow his expression turned even more miserable as you continued.

“are they safe with me? are they happy?” He mumbled out through half gritted teeth.

He stood up from the bed. The blanket stayed around his shoulders as he went over to open the window. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. The smoke rose out into the icy air.

A mixture of emotions slowly passed over his face as the minutes ticked by. He’d gotten so lost in thought the cigarette stayed forgotten between his tightly clenched fingers.

“I’m ruining them” He finally let out. He turned and looked directly at you “I’m ruining them but they would be worse off without me. They Need me! Who’s gonna take care of them if not me? Those other fuckers can’t be trusted! No one will love Remy like I do! No one understands them like I do! No matter how much I’m hurting them they would be worse off without me! You get that!? You get it don’t you!?”

He let out a muffled groan and pressed the cigarette down against the window sill to put it out. He slammed the window shut and sunk down onto the floor.

"They- When we were in high school they would always- they- Remy was high a Lot of the time or like drunk or something. And And I never knew! It was a lot of like xanax and oxy and i just thought they were sleepy ‘cause that’s how Remys are! It wasn’t until they told me later I realized- they have a hard time even remembering most of our dates from that time! They would always make me promise not to tell when they took alcohol from my parents and when I saw them sitting awfully often with Those kinds of people they said it was just to get cigs, nothing more. I don’t judge them for it. They needed to survive I just-”

He ran his hand through his hair. Strands of still purple hair fell down onto the floor. The roots had gone back to being his natural blond. His appearance was the last thing on his mind.

“Fibromyalgia is genetic but it’s also like....there is only so much stress the body can take before it....breaks. The joints and the nervous system it doesn’t know where to fit all the pain so the pain never leaves. It never stops hurting. I always wonder if I’d told someone sooner- If I’d convinced them to run away from their dad would they still be in this much pain? Sometimes I’m so fucking glad they’re in pain ‘cause it makes them easier to- They got clean y’know? I mean once they were safe from their dad we would only smoke joints now and then, maybe some poppers at a party. That was all. It was just to survive y’know. They didn’t know how to live through it without-”

He fumbled with his hands after a new cigarette. He had to keep his body busy somehow or else it might start tearing in on himself.

“And now they’re back to being high all the time! Every time I come home from work they’re just completely out of it! I’ve had to shake them or- or slap them- or something to get a response from them even when their eyes have been open! If they’re eyes aren’t red they’re super diluted or their hands are super shakey or they drag themself out to the bathroom at like 3 am to puke and then cry like super loudly! so it’s all annoying!! and i have to get up and tell them to shut up so i can sleep so i can go to work ‘cause they can’t do any work! and that they’re just a nuisance but they just keep crying but like without making sound so I have to-”

He took a deep breathe.

“Am I the reason they’re high so often? I- I feel....bad...I...I hate myself....but it feels good in the moment. It wouldn’t feel good if i didn’t do the right thing right? I’m doing it to protect them! I know how to make them happy! They’re just- They’re too messed up to know it by themself!”

The worry writhed into anger as he closed his hands into fists and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Do you know how many times I’ve come home to Remy laying all close to Oswald!? ‘The dealer’ y’know!? They’re all high and he has his stupid fucking arm around them or some shit! And their speech is all slurred and they keep laughing at all his stupid unfunny fucking jokes!! And he has this smug fucking grin! Ugh! I hate him! His pasta isn’t even that good!!! Okay! I know I*m not the greatest cook but c’mon he’s not that good!!”

Virgil shot his arms out in frustration and waved them around.

“He’s not even a dealer!!! Like not a regular one at least!! I swear!! I’ve only ever seen him deal with like girls or people he’s all flirty with!! I was out drinking with my weed guy from work and Oswald was there and it wasn’t until i said something ‘bout Remy that he like all fucking smoothly like asked me if I was looking for anything to buy y’know!! Ugh!! I need to! I need to punch something!!”

He got up and peered around the home. He grabbed onto the spider plushie laying on the bed and threw it against the wall. It fell down sadly onto the floor and he stamped on it over and over.

Virgil stopped to catch his breathe. He looked down onto the plushie and crashed down onto his knees to hug it.

“....You’re...You’re right...I am scared....I am so scared....I hate myself....I...When I’m with Remy...I don’t feel happy...I feel scared....I feel...powerful...I feel Good, but I don’t feel happy”

He shut his eyes tightly and looked away from you.

“I can’t remember what it’s like without them anymore. I’m so scared. I’m so scared”

Dot jumped out of surprise as she heard your voice. It echoed through the living room. She nearly dropped the book she was reading.

“A ghost? Oh jeez don’t tell me we accidentally destroyed an ancient family relic in the latest Christmas cleaning”

The big Saint Bernard dog laying by the couch, named Rubert, got up and bonked his paw against her leg since he could tell she was a bit scared. He sniffed his big snoot around the room before finding your cookie like smell. He stomped up to you. In response you morphed your ghost body into the shape of a warm hand to pet him behind his big ears. His tail started to wag.

“Aww” Dot let out “Well I have heard that Dog’s have a great sixth sense so if Rubert likes you you must be a well meaning ghost. Tell me sweetie, what’re you here for?”

Dot nodded along as you continued your message. A deep look of worry swept across her face.

“Thank you for telling me hun. I’m glad my Vivzie has people like you caring for him, even if you’re uhm not fully corporeal. He’s always had a little trouble finding friends so it doesn’t surprise me he’s apparently gravitated towards finding friends through spiritual rituals? or a ghost friend apps? It’s not important”

She ate the cookie while walking up the stairs to her son’s room. Rubert followed along and she let him munch on some of the cookie bits that didn’t have chocolate on it.

“Hey honey?” She asked as she knocked on the door “You in there?”

She heard quick footsteps and a blanket moving before getting a quiet “Mhm. Something wrong?” As a response.

Dot opened the door ever so slightly and peered in. Virgil was sitting in the bed. He was holding his phone in front of his face and had quickly put on his headphones to make it seem like he’d just been watching youtube or something.

Rubert jumped up into the bed. Virgil mumbled compliments to him while scratching him on his favorite petting spots on the side of his tummy. Dot sat down on the bed as well, she tried not to intrude on his space too much.

“Your friend talked to me just now” She said.

“My friend?” He squinted.

“It had, let’s see umm, big eyes. Very expressive. Floated in the air”

Virgil let out a sigh and leant back against the bedframe “What did she say?”

“I won’t get mad at you for not telling me everything, you know that right? Even if you’ve lied I can understand”

“Now you’re making it sounds like the friend told you i’d burned down an orphanage”

“She simply told me that you haven’t been completely honest about why you’re staying over here instead of being with Remy. There’s something else going on isn’t there?”

A silence pressed on. Virgil hid his face in Rubert’s fur and pressed his hands down under the dog’s warm fluff coat.

“...Sweetie has Remy’s conditions gotten worse somehow? Do they need more help? If you’re worried about not being able to pay hospital bills or anything like that me and Larry can help! I promise! Or if there’s something else like that you’re worried about. If you’ve lost your job or- oh deary don’t tell me the landlord kicked you out. Please don’t tell me Remy is staying with some friend while you’re staying here as an emergency. You can tell me”

Virgil didn’t look at her.

“If you and Remy are...growing apart....thinking of breaking up even. That is fine too honey. It’s difficult to end such a long relationship but we’re here fo-”

“WE’RE NOT BREAKING UP!”

Rubert cuddled closer to try and comfort him. He licked Virgil’s hand while giving him puppy eyes.

“We’re not breaking up” Virgil whispered out “We’re just....I....I’ve been....I’ve been....berating them...or like yelled at them I guess...A few times....Like just a few....*cause they’ve been like difficult or something”

When he glanced up he was met with Dot looking at him with an expression he had never seen on her before.

“You have been yelling at your partner? Several times? Because they have been ‘difficult’? What does difficult mean deary? The only reason I could see is if they have been hurting you, and if it is that Vivzie, my middle piece of my heart, please tell me. I won’t judge you a bit. Anyone can be hurt by their partner. Even if you think you couldn’t since Remy is physically weaker than you me and Larry will believe you”

“It just- it makes me feel...better” His voice cracked a little as he said it.

“It makes you feel better to yell at- Babey” Dot tilted her head and sent him a questioning look “Babey you know better. Especially if it’s Remy. We all know what they have been through. And you are yelling at them to make yourself feel better. Sweetie I am not angry at you. Anger won’t solve anything in this case. But I am thoroughly disappointed. I would never in a million years believe it if a person came up to me and told me that my son, my Virgil was yelling at his partner to put them down. Never”

“I hate myself. We’re just gonna get through this rough spot. They haven’t even told me not to yell. I think” He mumbled out while still hiding his face in Rubert’s fur.

“Sweetie hating yourself doesn’t help with anything when you’re hurting someone else. You shouldn’t hurt yourself either for that matter. I should have known something was fishy when Picani told me Remy had suddenly stopped going to therapy”

Rubert looked between them before moving his big fluffy body away from Virgil. He laid his head and paws in Dot’s lap instead, he could tell something was wrong.

“Hun what we are going to do is find you a therapist. However much you might think feeling guilty or hateful about yourself will change your actions I think it will be much better for everyone if you get professional help. I- I really should have made you get help sooner”

“I don’t-”

“Virgil. You are Not leaving this house until we have booked a time with a suitable therapist! I don’t want to force you into this but if your problems have lead you to doing...those types of things I honestly believe it’s necessary, for both you and Remy”

He didn’t respond.

“There are support groups too if you don’t like the thought of one on one conversations. I think there even are helplines, not just for victims and that sort. And not only for abusers either. You can just get help, it doesn’t make you an abuser, it only means you have issues to solve. Whether they be anger issues or anxiety issues or codependency or what have you. I know you dislike phonecalls but I’m sure there even are helplines that work over text or text to speech. We can discuss this honey”

“And then what? What is even supposed to happen after all this bull- this bullstuff! You- Everyone just wants Remy to like leave me! And then I will be all alone! An-and I dunno- I- I don’t know”

Dot tried soothe him by putting her hand on his shoulder but he forced her away.

“Honey I think it might be better if you and Remy at least take a break until you have both worked out things. After we have found a therapist for you you can maybe go home to them and you can assure them that they are safe to leave if they wish to. You better not make them feel forced into anything, even if it’s staying. I know you love them and they love you, and you are both smart adults so I can’t exactly say that Remy has to leave you. I don’t know what would be the most healthy for them. The important thing is that they get a choice. Just like you got the choice to yell at them or not”

He buried himself under the blanket. He felt how the mattress shifted as she stood up.

“Well then sweetie. I’ll go get my ipad and my reading glasses and we can together try to find a therapist that you think would work for you”

The floorboards creaked as she left the room. Rubert jumped down from the bed to follow her.

Virgil stayed under the covers. He shut his eyes so hard it hurt. He imagined Remy laying next to him as he held back the urge to cry.

(this ask is kinda old bc im slow so sorry if this ask dont make sense to anyone but glowy and me)

Hiya. Don’t worry, i did not at all mean to insinuate that any of y’all had to disclose ur ages. i am like notoriously aganst minors or really anyone putting personal information like that on the internet. i just meant we were all like in school age, whether that be high school or university etc. im a minor too. also WOWZA dude i thought my holidays started unusually late on the 16th but youre even worse. i cant wait until im free so i can start taking out all my rage and also slowly go insane during my summer job

i dont have any age restrictions on this blog. i doubt i would ever write something that would need an age restriction like smut or r/mrom or anything like that. i think the trigger warnings are enough

also i dunno if ive said this before but if a tw is ever too much and any of you can’t read it you can just dm me or send an ask asking me to like tell you shortly what happens without making it triggering, in case the TW part is plot important. people have DMed me before on this blog, dont worry. saying it especially now bc the next mini fic i’ll (probs) write includes quite a tw thingy

#if i remember right you said youd actually made those cookies #which very impressive dude #glow eyes #ask #thanks for the ask <3 #unsympathetic virgil #(btw i have seen the practice drawings youve sent)#(im keeping them in the inbox)#(feel free to send the finished drawing whenver ur done)

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gojos-sidepiece-69 · 4 years ago

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Tokyo Tech Training- Chapter 4

How was it only Tuesday? You groaned and put your hands over your eyes, slowly sitting up in your bed. You had just had a nice, dreamless sleep: no blindfolds, no stupid jokes, no stupidly moisturized lips (that belonged to a certain man whore) anywhere to be seen. You racked your brain trying to figure out how any of this could have possibly happened within the span of your first four days in the Jujutsu world. The whiplash from the most eventful weekend of your life started to kick in, heavily.

Your feet dangled over the edge of your bed, and you sighed deeply, touching at the bruised flesh on your hips. You pulled the band of your pajama pants down slightly, gaping at the state of your thighs. You couldn’t tell whether the crescent-shaped indents and the violent branding of love bites were from Gojo or...Sukuna. You let out a small laugh at the insanity of the situation.

To your luck and great relief, the higher-ups had ordered a restful “team-bonding” day. From what you had heard, Megumi and Nobara had taken quite the beating as well. Their mission with Nanami to exorcise a certain high-grade curse with patchwork skin proved to be unsuccessful, as the evil thing escaped without a trace into the sewer systems. You pushed your door open and joined your fellow first-years in the hallway. There was a certain comfort in seeing the four of you together, all tired and scarred and bruised, but still smiling nonetheless (except for the ever-deadpanned Megumi). “Hey, I know what we can do today!” Nobara suggested excitedly. “Let’s go movie-hopping!”

Yuji started jumping up and down quickly. “Yes, yes, let’s do it! What movies are they showing today?! Hopefully something with Jennifer Lawrence in it,” he drooled. Megumi rolled his eyes, but nodded. “If I see any curses, though, I’m going to be upset. This was our day to recover.” You agreed with the movie-hopping idea, glad that you could have just one more day to yourselves, doing normal teenager things.

Half an hour later, you met up with your classmates at the front gates of Tokyo Tech, and started on your stroll downtown. “Hey, Y/n, what’s with the limp?” Nobara chuckled as she took in your pathetic attempt to walk straight. “The curse get you that badly?” You nodded at her, sheepishly thinking about how the damage from that curse was the least of your concerns. Yuji immediately patted himself. “Hop on,” he told you, signaling you to jump onto his back. “You want to give me a piggy back ride?” You smiled and teased him; his sincerity and concern was genuine, and it made your heart warmer.

You climbed onto his back and he continued walking as though he was weightless. Damn, you thought enviously. How did he recover so quickly? Yuji animatedly and dramatically described yesterday’s encounter to his friends. He was talking so fast you could barely keep up: “...and there were spikes, and the finger was caged between the teeth, and ... and, then I had to switch with Sukuna or we would’ve died! !! !!! And I can’t remember a thing after that. Oh, did you guys like your Mickey Mouse keychains?” Nobara gushed about how cute the souvenir was, and the two of you discussed how much you loved being in Tokyo. You took in the street vendors around you, the big flashing, neon lights, and the vibrant storefronts. Everything you laid your eyes on was so interesting and new, but couldn’t help but find yourself thinking about the view from above...38 floors above.

You shook your head and tried to forget about him. Why did your mind always have to wander back to him? No, you still didn’t care. “We’re here!!” Yuji shook you out of your intrusive thoughts as he announced your arrival in front of the Toho Cinema. You gaped at the marvelous glass building, serotonin boosting by the minute. “What are we watching?” You asked after you all pushed inside. Of course, it only took a second for the three get into a heated argument about which movie they would see first.

“We’re watching the showing of Back to the Future!” Yuji pouted, and Nobara was quick to yell, “Hell no! The freaky old man scares me!” Then Megumi suggested, “How about Fight Club?” and Nobara stamped her foot. “No violence today. I don’t need to see a skinny Brad Pitt with blood spurting out of his nostrils for two hours straight,” and you nodded in accord. After two more minutes of heated debate, you settled on Fast and Furious, because of its perfect blend of early-2000s tomfoolery, corny dialogue, and sexy (but ridiculous) car chases.

You sat sandwiched between Nobara and Itadori, and made the regrettable decision of holding the food tray in your lap. You could barely hear the furious engines revving over the sound of Yuji and Nobara greedily scooping popcorn and dropping sour gummy worms everywhere. Yuji repeatedly slurped his coke (which he for some reason preferred watered down) at maximum volume. Megumi was intently staring at the screen, and you made eye contact with him a few times and exchanged friendly eye rolls. The four of you exited the theater after the movie, and were about to commence your second round of argument for the next choice when your eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Sukuna’s devilish mouth made an appearance on Yuji’s right cheek. This couldn’t be good.

Before Yuji could slap it away, it spoke. “Y/n has a little secret to tell you guys. Go on, tell them,” he provoked you. The three turned to you, looking slightly confused. “Huh? I-I have no idea what he’s talking about,” you rushed. “Come on, you don’t want them to know how much fun we had together yesterday? Oh, maybe your friends don’t know that side of you yet; surprising, because I could tell just from the redness of your cheeks how much you enjoyed being called a slut. Anyways, if you don’t tell them, I will,” Sukuna’s mouth continued in a bored tone. You went to sharply slap your hand right across Yuji’s face, but his reflexes were too fast.

“He’s talking nonsense, guys,” you pleaded with their eyes. Before any of them could speak, Sukuna laughed and yelled, “I fucked her! And she was screaming and arching her back for me like she’d been deprived of dick her whole life! Don’t let her innocence fool you, she’s nothing but a whore!” He laughed once more and retreated back into Yuji’s skin.

You were so shocked that you couldn’t move. “What the fuck,” Megumi said, his usually half-lidded eyes widening. “Is it true?” Nobara asked. “Is that why you could barely walk today? Was it that big?” While those two were quietly asking questions in shock and utter disbelief, your pink-haired companion went completely ballistic. “I CAN’T REMEMBER ANY OF THIS. WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?!!! I DON’T UNDERSTAND...I’M NEVER SWITCHING WITH THAT IDIOT AGAIN!” He continued to have a system malfunction and babble, but your shame and embarrassment grew. You felt a slight pinch of anger forming as you realized that Gojo hadn’t explained anything to Yuji yet, even though he said he would. Yuji didn’t know about Sukuna’s deal yet.

“Was it...did you want to do it? I have to make sure. Because if you didn’t, I’ll kill that bastard right now with my own two hands” Nobara said. You swallowed the growing lump in your throat and nodded shamefully. “I wanted to.” “He’s taken so many innocent lives,” Megumi said quietly, and looked away. “Who’s side are you on?” Your shoes began to look really interesting, and you managed a weak, “I...didn’t want you guys to find out. It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about me. It’s extremely hard to explain, but I-you’re just going to have to trust me when I say I’ll be okay. There’s a...a reason I’m doing it.” Even saying it out loud sounded ridiculous. You had no guarantee that you would leave this arrangement unscathed, no guarantee except for...whatever Gojo’s protection had to offer.

There was no guarantee, either, that keeping up your end of the bargain would even save lives. “DID HE HURT YOU? DID I HURT YOU?” Yuji grabbed your shoulders and forced you to look up. “No, no. I’m good,” you answered. You were glad that your friends had your back, but extremely ashamed that you had let all of them down for your own selfish reasons. To play a game and keep a certain person jealous. What made you feel even worse, though, was the fact that you secretly didn’t want that game to end.

Yuji, sensing the tension, broke the silence. “All right, no more arguing. We’re going to go watch World War Z and forget that ever happened.” You were so grateful when him and Nobara took you by the arms and dragged you into another theater, Megumi following behind. Even if it was a zombie apocalypse movie, you needed the escape. “And more popcorn!” Yuji enthusiastically suggested, bolting to get another large bucket and then coming back within two seconds.

You tried, again, to focus on the movie but this time you weren’t distracted by you’re friends’ prodding elbows and crunching noises. It was the looming fear of what Sukuna was going to do to you day after tomorrow. The thought of his evil grin and sheer strength sent chills down your spine, and you sat up straight. You looked at Yuji for a minute, wondering if the king of curses was watching you writhe with nervousness right now. He was probably enjoying feeding off of your fear, you thought. And you were right. He was.

🌹

#gojo smut #gojo x reader #gojo x y/n #gojo satoru #gojo sensei #jujutsu kaisen #jjk anime #jjk smut #anime #chapter 4 #long fic #fanfic #writing #fancfiction #fushiguro megumi #yuji itadori #kugisaki nobara #sukuna #jjk

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ressyfaerie · 4 years ago

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OKAY YALL.

I haven’t been paying attention at all.

Do you want to be really angry,

Like really, really angry?

I’m putting this in a read more since there’s going to be a LOT and it may start a FIRE.

It was a lonely snowy night in the north of British Columbia Canada.

Just kidding.

For real though- I had no internet! We could only watch TV on satellite (the only anime I watched was on YTV). If it snowed in the winter we had to go outside and brush the snow off the satellite to continue watching Beyblade or Inuyasha.

So I was 5-6 when I first started watching Beyblade. Of course I LOVED IT. I would rush home to try to watch it everyday. Beyblade has just airing and it was a HIT. I watched season 1 religiously, I actually don’t remember watching much of V-force or G-rev but that’s probably because it wasn’t made yet lmao.

I grew up in a small town, whatever you’re imagining, imagine it smaller. (I could write a whole essay on the social hierarchy of Port Ed in the early 2000s but I’ll keep it short for now) White kids= rich/ pretentious, Native kids=poor. I didn’t like the attitude of most of the white girls, so I mostly made friends with the native kids (I miss yall btw) but anyways, this is where you’re going to get angry.

So I didn’t know what Japanese WAS. Like I knew what Chinese was (Small town surrounded by racists? Who would have guessed?) I don’t even think I knew Japanese existed, but any other anime I watched (Sailor moon, Inuyasha, Gundam Wing) most of the characters were white representing or had extremely light skin tones.

So what the heck was 5 year old me supposed to do with beyblade? Which was a show filled with lots of different ethnicities? 5 year old me was obsessed with beyblade, tearing apart every episode I saw, so I gathered: Max=American, Ray=Chinese, Kai=Russian (Because that’s what matched with all their championships, makes sense to a kid right?)

But what WAS Japanese? I dunno? But you know who Tyson looked like?

My chubby native friends.

THAT’S RIGHT

YALL ARE DEBATING BIRACIAL KAI

LITTLE ME THOUGHT TYSON WAS NATIVE FOR YEEEAAAARRRSSSSS.

I’m laughing as I write this, when I learned Japan was indeed a real place, it didn’t dawn on me immediately. It still took finding beyblade online when I was like 11, re-watching it and being like ‘huh’. (Note: Remember when beyblade was on youtube but each episode was like 4 parts? Good times.)

So, on the topic of Kai.

First of all, I need to point something out that I deem obvious, but must be said.

Beyblade (As well as many other shows from long ago (Yugioh, Naruto, Inuyasha, and Sailor moon come to mind), a lot of us latched on to these shows so hard because of trauma or lonely childhoods. Which means a lot of us find our connections to these shows or characters very personal, which is why it’s hard to break headcannons. It’s more than a fandom for us, and any of us who feel this way, are risking their comfort show to involve themselves in the fandom (This is why I believe a lot of beyblade fans don’t interact with fandom, and I go out of my way to warmly welcome all whenever I can)

It needs to be said, that you owe no explanation to anyone, and neither do I, nor do I apologize for my headcannons.

With this being said, I knew eventually the fandom would blow up (as it has many times, over the idea of biracial Kai/ Kai with Russian ancestry/ Japanese Kai), now that it has hit so close to home, I feel the need to validate my decision to make Kai biracial in my two long main fics. However, it needs to be stated, I am not doing this to validate myself, but because I simply want to talk about it, I’m not explaining, or apologizing, simply stating some facts, and how I feel.

For a lot of us, these characters are so personal and we’ve kept them for so long that they’re verging on OC’s, this is NOT YOUR JOB to point out! Although I believe my Kai is very close to canon, there’s many things that aren’t, regardless, myself and many others, still belong to the fandom.

Back to my childhood:

FINALLY DIAL-UP INTERNET!

The first thing I did when I learned how to read and had private access to internet was google ‘Kai Beyblade’, if you asked, I probably would have said a child’s equivalent to ‘“fuck you that’s why”.

I learned his last name was Hiwatari, and man, I thought that was SO COOL. But that wasn’t a Russian name was it? I dived further, I don’t think the beyblade wiki even existed at this point, I think I was reading everything off of wikipedia. What I read was: Kai’s father was Russian and his mother was Japanese. I didn’t think too much of it, I mean, it made sense. It would explain Voltaire’s connection to Russia. Later on I realised it made more sense for Kai’s mother to be Russian since the Hiwatari name is Japanese and would most likely come from his grandfather, and for some reason, I was convinced Susumu was Voltaire’s son. The idea of Voltaire marrying his son off to some Russian heiress made so much sense to me. I never read fics, my ideas were definitely influenced by wiki edits, I had no reason to doubt it, or think any differently, I think a lot of people followed the same footsteps. It’s interesting to think that’s how headcanons became universal back in the day.

I learned the manga existed after a trip to Metrotown Vancouver where I bought every volume they had (3 lmao) (I still haven’t read every volume, and will when I can afford them).

I just always assumed Kai was biracial, IT JUST MADE SENSE. Kai’s family’s deep ties to Russia, the reason why he knew Russian (regardless of the Abbey), his figure compared to Tyson’s in season 1, I had no reason to doubt it, and it seemed the Dub side of the internet agreed!

When I wrote my fanfics at 18-19, 5 (years ago now, wow), I still assumed Kai was biracial. Only recently have I dived into the fandom and got into every side (Sub, Dub, Manga). I learned there’s 3 things Dub/Sub/Manga people will instantly fight over: Kai’s race, character’s names, and their ages.

The reason these three things are so debated is because of the dramatically different storylines/ differences in language versions. The Dub and Sub are two completely different shows when played side by side. I am most familiar with the Dub, as it stays close to my heart, which influences most of my headcanons.

I still headcanon Kai as biracial. We actually don’t know much about his parents, and canon is very loosey goosey. We’re learning more in Rising, but I highly doubt Takao Aoki is going to be like “AND THEN KAI’S MOM WENT TO VISIT HER RUSSIAN FAMILY IS RUSSIA BECAUSE SHE IS RUSSIAN” I’m not going to go into super detail why I think it’s likely that Kai is biracial, but you know what? It doesn’t really matter. This fandom is old, and being from the early 2000’s that means the dub is much different, which means there are MULTIPLE versions of canons. I guarantee you, in every version there is something problematic, and one of the least important ones, is whether or not the fandom white-washes Kai by making him biracial (Maybe full Russia could be an issue, but you know what? Does it really matter?). You know what DOES MATTER. What they did to Eddy, they did that boy dirty.

I mean they LITERALLY white-washed him. LIKE.

Also changing Tyson/ Takao’s skin tone in G-rev/ V-force will forever annoy me; that might be an asian skin whitening thing though, still, problematic.

But anyways, in the end I’m sure the reason why the English fandom so frequently headcanons Kai as biracial is not because of white-washing, but because of the time the Dub was created.

The early 2000’s was an interesting time. Some towns were still stuck in the 90’s, lots of kids had no access to the internet, and when they finally DID, they did not use it wisely. Misinformation was spread easily. Not many people in America read the manga, and very few people watched the Sub.

People like me, young and old, filled in the gaps that were missing.

It’s been 20 YEARS GUYS. A lot has changed. Headcanons that aren’t problematic will stick. As long as it’s not hurting anybody, or anyone else, it’s really not a bad thing.

Our main focus should be to keep the fandom going! We can’t die, we’ve been together too long to die and I refuse to let it happen, where will I get my serotonin from??

Here’s a pic of my love to end it off:

Dumb idiot loser fuckin smiles fucking lunatic.

#ressyfaerie #beyblade thoughts #on the subject of kai biracial headcanons and how they came to be #yall dont forget ive been here for the loooooonnggg ride #i was seeing the wikipedia edits ages ago #the passive aggressive edits were what gave me life

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speechlessxx · 4 years ago

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Delicate. (Henry Cavill x Reader)

Summary: Following a break up, the reader finds herself in a delicate position as she contemplates if moving on is the right thing to do.

Warnings: exboyfriend!Chris Evans (he’s barely in this lol), mention of cheating, very inaccurate Chris Evans, implied famous (actress)!reader, kinda fluffy, y’all know i love taylor swift and i’m not apologetic about it, very wordy (i haven’t written a fic in like 2 weeks give me a break). this is lowkey a dumpster fire but i’m trying

This was originally a Chris fic, but since Taylor’s man is a brit, I thought it was rather fitting.

Inspired by you guessed it Delicate – Taylor Swift

Word Count: 2.3k

AHH! My first Henry fic omg

Ko-fi - donations are appreciated but not necessary!

The night sky was a dark grey accompanied by an array of sporadic lightning followed by claps of deafening thunder. Your heels contrasted the roars of the city as they patted lightly against the concrete. Goosebumps painted your skin as the air suddenly chilled and the rain began its descent.

In a matter of minutes, you were drenched, but you paid it no mind. Despite the awful situation and the heavy storm, something told you it would be worth it.

Your phone buzzed just as you turned the corner. You fumbled with the device, not caring if the storm ruined your clothes or your makeup. A small smile found its way onto your face as you read through the water droplets that decorated your phone screen.

Come here, you can meet me in the back.

You hurriedly but carefully ran in the rain, shrugging off your trench coat to use as a makeshift cover – not that it made much of a difference. You were still soaked.

You began to regret the heels, cursing your friends for convincing you to go to a party where you coincidentally ran into your ex-boyfriend. However, you were convinced it was no happy accident but a horribly planned ambush.

He begged for a moment of your attention, and out of respect for your short history, you obliged. Regret was perfectly painted across his features as he pulled you aside. The lines of his face accentuated his remorse and emphasized his apologies, but they fell to deaf ears. You had pulled your arm from his grip and shook your head.

“It’s over, Chris,” you told him with a steady voice. It startled him. He had expected a stormy rage like the one now in the sky. “I forgive you for cheating, but it’s… it’s over.”

It had been weeks since his scandal – one that inexplicably tarnished your own reputation – but you were over it. It felt good to say it out loud – to say it to him.

The red neon sign illuminated the darkness. The bar’s name reflected in the puddles on the street. You took a deep breath as a fluttering feeling – butterflies – erupted throughout your whole body. This feeling – the nervous tingling that triggered a rush of serotonin – was reserved for one person.

And he was right through those doors.

-=+=-

The scent of various alcoholic drinks hung in the air. Unlike the cold and stormy city, the inside of the bar was warm – it felt as if it were like a home.

The bar wasn’t crowded though it wasn’t deserted either. People were huddled in their respective groups. Despite hobbling in drenched from the storm, no one paid you any attention – something you weren’t necessarily used to, but you could definitely grow accustomed to it – though some did shoot a curious glance your way because of the door suddenly opening and closing. But it stopped at that – just a glance before turning their attention back to their company.

You cracked a smile. You understood why he chose this place. A public place filled with people who were either too drunk to care or too busy to notice you. No cameras flashing, prying eyes, judgmental stares, and whispers. It was a nice change from the overly published relationship you walked away from.

You felt his eyes on you even before you even laid eyes on him. His stare was burning as if he ignited a fire beneath you.

You cringed, suddenly becoming insecure about the smudged makeup – you undoubtedly had mascara and eyeliner running down your cheeks due to the rain. But nevertheless, you made your way to the back of the bar, keeping your head low.

“(Y/N).” He stood, wrapping his arms tightly around you. You closed your eyes and returned the embrace, savoring the warmth. “Look at you, you’re drenched.”

Yeah and look at you, you thought. Though he wasn’t fancied up – he wore dark jeans and a pair of Nikes, inconspicuous at its finest. – he was easily one of the most handsome men you’d ever seen.

“Kinda happens when you stupidly think you can outwalk the rain,” you chided, and he chuckled in response. The rumbling of his chest vibrated through you. You were the first to pull away, but his grip around your body kept you anchored. Your body flush against his.

He frowned, tilting his head curiously. His hands moved from around you to cup your cheeks. His thumbs gently brushed away the clumped and smudged makeup that collected under your eyes. You stared up into his eyes – god, have they always been that blue?

“Henry,” you finally said, turning your head side to side to escape from his hands. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Likewise,” he nodded as if you two hadn’t seen each other in a long time (it had only been a few days). He took a step back and pulled out your seat for you just before situating himself in the stool next to yours. “So, how was that party?”

You shivered as the bar’s doors opened and closed as a group of friends wandered off into the storm. Just as the door shut, you heard a boom of thunder that rattled the building – glasses shook along with it. Henry immediately took notice and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and wrapped it around you.

You thanked him, relishing in his cologne. Your heart nearly jumped out of your chest when he adjusted his seat closer to yours so he could drape one arm over your shoulder, slightly pulling you into him but not so much that you were falling out of the stool.

Warmth immediately rushed through you. You felt it rise to your cheeks. It felt as if you were radiating – glowing.

“Yeah, I really shouldn’t have went.” You admitted before smiling at the bartender and reciting your order – to which Henry added to put it on his tab. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I dragged you out to the east side. It’s the least I could do.” He dismissed. His opposite hand absentmindedly reached over and pushed a wet strand of hair behind your ear. You raised an eyebrow questioningly at him as he unabashedly admired you.

“You’re so beautiful.”

You gaped at the compliment. It was abrupt and sudden.

Although you and Henry had fluttered around each other like moths to flames for the past several weeks that followed your breakup, neither of you had been so … open. Sure, the secret meet ups were an indication that something else lied underneath, but the sudden “you’re so beautiful” was so forthright that it startled you.

“I look like a wet dog,” you deadpanned, thanking the bartender as he brought you your drink. You carefully took a sip of the bourbon. Your hands were shaking though at this point you weren’t sure if it was because of the rain-soaked clothes or that nervous feeling gnawing at your heart.

“Wet dog, or not. You’re still beautiful.”

“You’re drunk.” You dismissed with a laugh that quickly faded when your eyes wandered to his barely touched pint. “Or not?”

His brows were drawn up. His eyes left no indication that he was even slightly buzzed – and the look on his face told you he was serious. “Why are you so hell bent on pushing me away? Unless you’re leading me on though I don’t think that’s the case. But I think I’ve been very clear that I’m interested.”

Again, his sudden outburst stunned you, forcing you to break eye contact as an embarrassed expression glazed over your face.

You weren’t stupid though. You saw the signs – his very clear signals (ones that you reciprocated though never spoke out about). You both knew that the interest was mutual, but it was a matter of taking that step – having that conversation.

But you were afraid of the backlash. Your previous relationship with Chris Evans had left fans with such a sour impression of you. The relationship was sudden – no implications, nor hints. It was purely out of the blue – tabloids describing it as “a whirlwind romance” – and it truthfully was.

You threw yourself into a relationship with what was a stranger – an actor who was charming and kind but quite the flirt – and got your heartbroken in the process. And because of your blank slate of a dating history – and you, the new blank slate in general – it was easy to paint you as the villain.

You were afraid that jumping into something serious with Henry would fan the flames of your already burning reputation. You saw how the industry portrays women – move on too slow, you’re bitter; move on too fast, you’re an easy slut.

You couldn’t win.

“Because I like you.” It was your turn to be open, to be abrupt, and honest. You took another sip. You needed an extra push – that liquid courage – to look over at him. His raised brows had now scrunched together in confusion as he tried to decipher the deeper meaning to that. “No, Hen, like really like you…”

You felt like you were in primary school again. He was that crush – that best friend you told yourself you didn’t want though it was all just blind denial. You refrained from saying “I like like you” like a child would’ve feeling as if you’d never live down that embarrassment.

“I don’t see how that could be a reason why you’re holding back?” He asked, his voice low. His eyes finally broke away from yours as he nervously glanced around the room. Only to find reassurance that everyone still was off in their own worlds – no care for the intimate conversation that you were having.

“Because I’m afraid that when everything blows up like it did with …” you didn’t bother to say his name. You both knew it anyway. “Like it did with him that … you won’t want me – “

“How would we know if you won’t give it the chance?” It was a legitimate question. One you had no answer to. “From where I stand and from what I’ve seen, we can walk through their fires, we can dodge their pitchforks – they’re witch hunt be damned.” He said, blue eyes wide and staring into yours so intensely. The speck of brown in his iris was so noticeable in this light. “I just want you. I want to be with you.”

“You say that now – “

“I’ll say it now and I’ll say it tomorrow… Then the next day, then the next.” You laughed at his corniness as he reeled his arm from your shoulders to take your hands in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll keep saying it until you don’t want me to say it.”

“You’re dramatic.”

He chuckled. “I’m truthful.”

“I don’t want to lose our friendship.”

“How about I raise you a deal, hm? We try this out, give it a run. If it works, then it works,” he smiled and you couldn’t help but return a toothy grin. “And in the off chance that it doesn’t, then we’ll still be friends.”

“Easier said than done. What if we have a bad break up?”

Henry scoffed and rolled his eyes at your pessimism. “It won’t happen.”

“Henry – “

“I don’t plan on letting you go. So, bad break up is really off the table. What do you say?”

“Anyone tell you you’d make a decent salesman?”

“(Y/N).” His tone became jokingly stern at your attempted deflection.

“Okay, okay!” You laughed.

“Think of all the fun we can have.” Henry continued.

“On the condition, that this is all private, but seeing as you’re you, I’ll take the closest to private as we can get.” You told him. “Last relationship, I was being watched like a hawk. I don’t want that to be us.”

“I can’t make that promise. But I can promise that we can try our best. It’s doable, I’m sure, but everyone has their ways of finding out.”

“Okay.” You nodded. “We’ll give this a spin.”

“In that case, let’s head back to my hotel.”

Your eyes bulged. “Henry, buddy, let’s take it slow.” You said, emphasizing the last word.

His shoulders bounced as he began to chuckle. “I didn’t mean it in that way…” A small blush crept onto his cheeks as the both of you continued to laugh. “I meant … let’s go somewhere private.”

“Doesn’t help your case.” You laughed harder.

“Maybe it’s just your mind that’s in the gutter.”

-=+=-

The night was spent like how all your secret meetings went – laughing at one another, sharing stories and secrets. You enjoyed Henry’s company and getting to know him outside of a screen.

You two stayed up all night relishing in each other’s presence. The laughter was addicting. The happy chemicals in your brain made your cheeks sore from the smiles.

You woke up before he did. The incessant buzzing of your cell phone dragging you out from your sleep. You sent the call from your friends – who were probably wondering where you ran off to after the party – to voicemail before silencing your phone. You wanted to savor this moment – this peace – for a little while longer.

You turned in the bed and smiled to yourself. His face was laxed as he slept. Soft snores escaped him. He was truly a work of art.

You wondered if he was dreaming of you like you were of him. You wondered if his words, his confessions, whatever this would evolve into held any weight. You were always so good at knowing when someone was lying to you, so when Henry looked you in the eyes and told you he wanted to be with you, something told you to believe him – something told you to make him yours.

He suddenly shuffled, startling you once again. He swung an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

“Yeah, I still want you,” he muttered.

You grinned. Maybe you won after all.

#henry cavil x reader #henry cavill #henry cavill imagine #im cheating on chris evans but again poly relationship #lowkey #chris evans x reader #delicate #the witcher imagine #superman imagine #clark kent imagine #fluff #august walker imagine

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botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years ago

Text

Whoopsie King Rhoam’s a dick but I gotta flesh him out so

Read Part 1 here!

Part 2

If you’re on mobile, and tumblr hates this post, follow along on this google doc!

Rules/overview this rewrite in the beginning of Part 1

‘sup ya beautiful bastards it’s time to gush about the process of storytelling and writing as we fix up the fix it fic so let’s just jump into it

- - - - - - - - - -

A quick recap of Part 2, and I swear this recap is faster than the recap last time: Chapter 3 of Age of Calamity opens with a more substantial scene the beginning points of Revali’s character, and contrasting the old position that Link and eggbot have, so that their later changes in this chapter (well, at least for Link in this chapter) are more pronounced. We edited a bit of the dialogue to make Revali’s intentions make a bit more sense, while also putting some little foreshadowing points with some camera tricks for the Hollow Champions. The Hollow Champions can now speak, which means their potential for being used to bring out the flaws or bitter aspects of each character is more readily available further into the story. And of course, we’ve introduced the main antagonist of Astor, and coupling his presence and dynamic with Zelda’s insecurities. While his intentions of needing Zelda for something is clear, his motivations and backstory remain a mystery as of yet, the only true clue we have so far being some sort of connection to eggbot.

I didn’t get any big asks or comments about Part 2 so I’m going to assume that it was mostly well received (although I will note that I promise I’m going to flesh out Revali to be more than he has been presented as of yet, this is just the very very start of this development don’t you worry your feather loving butts) that being said, you should totally critique me or give me your opinions or comments. I’d love to hear them! Although, keep in mind that I am restraining my rewrite to the guidelines already said, so don’t get mad at me for not killing off all the Champions or something. Thaaat’s a rewrite for another time. So yeah if you reblog you get a little kiss from me because believe it or not I spent a lot of time trying to rewrite an entire storyline while keeping it’s tone and integrity intact. So thanks much <3

Okie dokie then chaps! Let us finally delve into Urbosa lesbian vibes, a zest of Zelink angst, rants about pacing, and a couple tablespoons of Astor backstory, all starting in the latest stage of Chapter 3: The Road Home, Besieged

So right of the bat, big problem here. This Chapter follows directly after the events of Korok Forest, so you assume that maybe “The Road Home” refers to the team, going home, back to the castle, to tell King Rhoam what’s up. But...that’s apparently not the case.

So this entire stage, firstly, it brushes over any scenes where Zelda, Link or the other Champions might talk to King Rhoam about the Master Sword, or the Deku Tree, or...hmm what else happened last stage that might be interesting to see—oh yEAH HOW ABOUT that mysterious magic guy that tried to kill Zelda and was going off about the future and stuff?? That guy that wielded a bunch of dark magic and malice looking stuff and, uh yeah, you’d think it might be important and interesting to see the King’s take on was is essentially a wanted traitor to the crown who may or may not be leading the entire movement for the Calamity’s uprising. But nope, no one asks questions, no one says anything or has interesting conversations that reveal stuff about the plot. It's just….just all about Zelda and ooooOOooo she can’t awaken her powers oh no what’s a gal to do!

And I do mean that quite literally, this entire stage is all centered around two scenes with Zelda. The first, an admittedly narratively important scene of Zelda having a quick flashback about eggbot after he sings her a song, but it lasts for five seconds. And the second, being a pep talk with Urbosa as Link eats rocks in the background. For the majority of this stage, it’s all focused on Zelda, and pacing wise, it does virtually nothing to progress the narrative/plot forward.

And on paper, there’s nothing wrong with that! Hell, people read entire fanfictions dedicated to character development and relationships that have absolutely no external plot. Having a scene dedicated to just character development is completely fine, it’s something that’s pretty common and even encouraged to an extent. The problem arises when you remember that this is a story being told through the medium of a video game.

Now, I am going to try and breeze by this because, similar to Age of Calamity, I have to also construct this post with pacing that keeps my audience engaged, while progressing with my core narrative and story. But I highly encourage you to watch through this video by hello future me (On Writing: How to Master Pacing) because a lot of what I know about this I’ve picked up from his videos, and if you’re a writer or just someone who thinks storytelling is cool, it’s a great guide to the art of pacing.

youtube

Anyhow. There are two levels of pacing within a story. There is the small type of pacing, like for the structure of a singular scene. And there is the pacing of the overall core narrative, how the larger beats of the entire story is revealed. Good pacing for your core narrative is about whether the reader feels like they are getting closer to the big thing, the big climax or answer or promise of satisfaction. The smaller type of pacing, for your singular scenes, focuses on that timing between how close you get to achieving new information, this refers to your slow and fast pacing, tension versus rapid action.

So, overall the rule of thumb is: the amount of time you invest into your smaller scenes, even put together, that must correlate with a big enough payoff in the core narrative. That’s what good pacing is. (And that’s why people make stuff like the Three Act Structure to help visualize this pacing process but obviously other forms of pacing guidelines exist like the Five and Seven Act Structures but that’s too complicated for this Nintendo Game anyhow that’s just some educational flavour for ya to impress your highschool English Teacher I guess)

So knowing that, the question now is: Does The Road Home, Besieged contribute good pacing to the story? This is going to be my excuse for changing up other later scenes in the game, so when I mention pacing and narrative again, remember this. The time spent playing for thirty minutes, minimum, in the game, to only be paid off by two lines of character development isn’t good pacing. So the answer is “no.”

Delving as long an amount of time as thirty minutes, means that pretty much everytime a stage is complete, you must introduce new substantial progress to your story. A game like this just doesn’t have time to waste it’s valuable cutscenes on character development alone. There’s an even further wrench in the issue when you consider you also need to account for sidequests, so you could really be forcing your player to go through hours of gametime before you introduce new details in the story.

Obviously it’s not always gonna be cut and dry like that—sometimes you have to account for how enjoyable the gameplay is, and sometimes the amount of character development offsets any lack of narrative development—but for the majority of stages I’m gonna change, they all suffer this pacing problem. In a game that's entire story hinges on these cutscenes, bad pacing is just something it doesn’t have time for.

Anyhow anyhow anyhow, I got to get my dose of serotonin by talking about pacing writing structure and stuff and blah blah, so now I shall grace you with the changes that address these problems that would theoretically lead to vast improvement. I gave you this reasoning and backstory to writing because I am making hella changes, to hopefully make the experience more “poggers,” which is something the cool kids say these days if you didn’t know.

Firstly, timeline wise this stage is gonna take place directly after the Korok Forest battle. The gang is returning home from the battle, with Link, the new wielder of the Master Sword, along with this new information regarding a certain Astor character.

We open the same way it does in game, focusing on Zelda’s face, before the frame is suddenly blocked by the pommel of the Master Sword. A wordless way to express how the sudden revelation of Link being the hero has forced its way into Zelda’s mind, great use of camera Koei Tecmo 10 outta 10

Now I don’t want to immediately jump into Zelda’s “oh poor me I can’t awaken my powers” dialogue because—and this is something even Breath of the Wild is guilty of—This game seems to forget that there are other characters besides Zelda. It’s marketed towards kids, sure, but I assure you that kids playing this game have a longer attention span than 2 minutes. You don’t need to keep reminding the audience every single scene about how Zelda is anxious about her powers. It gets redundant, you waste the audience’s time, and therefore you waste your own time, because you could have been using that precious screen time to develop some other thing further. So anyhow, goes a bit like this.

Zelda’s walking, the Master Sword comes into frame. Zelda looks down at the ground but keeps walking, but you can tell from her expression that she’s troubled. Don’t need to waste time on dialogue for her here, show don’t tell, we need to make the most of the scene here. Camera is still on Zelda, but the focus blurs shifts from Zelda to the Champions behind her. We can start with Mipha, I don’t have my heart set heavily on any specific dialogue, but I want her to say something along the lines of “how proud she is of Link” and what an honor it will be to fight by the side of not just her dear friend, but also someone selected by the goddess to be the hero. Subtextually, I want her to say this in a tone that suggests that she doubts the need for her to be here at all. She’ll say something like “He’s grown so…” glances up at Link who's just walking ahead, “...so much stronger than I could ever imagine. [Something Something] His power has grown so much over the course of a few days, more than I have achieved in a lifetime.” She looks down, but she still has a sweet smile.

Now I’m doing this because I want to develop further this plot line of “getting stronger” that Age of Calamity sets up but never does anything with. Remember how in Chapter 2, Mipha asks Daruk to train with her to get stronger? I really like the possibilities of this arc with Mipha as it can not only parallel with her feelings for Link, but also make her character better as an individual. Mipha wants to get stronger so that she can protect Link, but now she thinks that Link’s already growing stronger to an extent that she might not be needed. She’s not jealous of Link, nor does she wish him to be weaker, she simply wants to be more than she already is. This is literally echoing her words that she left her father, about how leaving the Domain and experiencing new challenges would be “good for her.” So I wanna run with it. The dialogue here establishes Mipha’s motivation to grow stronger, almost equivalent to a rivalry of sorts.

So after Mipha says this, Revali scoffs and butts in. Again, I’m not too set on any particular dialogue here, just something like “Hmph! Well, I don’t know about that. Seems to me all that’s happened is some magic sword gave the knight an ego boost. Blade’s only as strong as the little Hylian who wields it, and—based on my own extended experience and professional observations of course—I’ve yet to see this ‘stronger’ boy that you speak of.” Another camera pan to Link a ways in front of them. “If you ask me, hero or no, that knight is still exactly the same as I first met him.”

Revali places a wing on his chest dramatically. “Perhaps if you’re truly keen on seeing growth in skill and strength, Mipha, you’d do well to—”

“Flattering of an offer as that may be, Revali,” Urbosa interjects, “But I think Mipha might find it difficult to observe growth from one of the shortest Rito in Hyrule.”

Cue laughter from others or snickering or something. We just need some banter to add a bit more flavour to the characters. Revali can do a little huff and cross his wings or flip his scarf or something. But then Urbosa continues.

“Although...he is right about one thing.” Urbosa looks straight ahead. “A sword does not alter a hand, just as strength does not alter character.” She puts a hand on Mipha’s shoulder. “Grow as he might, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the same boy as he’s always been.” Urbosa looks up in the direction of Zelda. “Whether you realize it or not.”

Ok so, scene’s not done yet, BUT quick gush on the dialogue flow here. I’m trying to establish parallels in these character perspectives based on the flow of conversation. We started with Mipha who, like I said, wished to grow stronger along with Link. This flows into Revali who also has a similar parallel as he wishes to grow above Link’s shadow. But the distinction between Mipha and Revali is that Mipha think’s Link’s strength is earned, and Revali thinks he cheated, gaining authority through a magic sword, and not through merit and skill. Thus, leading to Revali’s perspective of Link being exactly the same as he’s always been, he believes the sword doesn’t change anything. Urbosa then speaks, because she thinks exactly the same thing. However, her distinction is that Link is the same as he’s always been: a determined young boy earned his place and cares for his friends. Then she looks to Zelda who, as we know, will develop a perspective that contradicts this. So you get it? This scene is like 20 seconds long but it already mirrors nearly all the character parallels and perspective, that’s why the flow of dialogue is important. And I know half of you probably think these kinds of details are a stretch but I promise you it’s not, just look at any movie or show ever and I guarantee you can find similar stuff there too. Ok moving on moving on—

Urbosa looks up at Zelda, comments her, “He’s the same boy, whether you realize it or not” piece of dialogue. Camera shifts back to Zelda and Link, who, idk if I mentioned this, but in the scene there’s enough distance between the Champions and Zelda and Link that the Champions can speak without the other two listening. So they didn’t hear any of this.

So the camera is back on Zelda, and now we can get her “How can I…..If I am unable to awaken my inner power….” line. Eggbot senses her sadness, does his little cheer up dance, Zelda gets a flashback.

One small change I wanna make to this flashback: Instead of just a baby Zelda going “nighty-night” I want there to ALSO be a figure in the background behind eggbot wearing a silk royal blue dress. And said woman has blonde hair and she’s by the table back there. We don’t have to show her face or anything because Nintendo hates that. Just place the woman somewhere in the back somewhere

Also possibly you could add the shadow of another figure by the doorway, maybe? It would serve good continuity purposes for the plot points that I’m telling, but that part is not as necessary. I just need at least the woman there.

Then Zelda is like “I remember you” to eggbot and all that and blah blah… Now, instead of Impa offscreen just yelling “enemy ahead!” I just want it to be a full on ambush. Not like a major one, but just enough where the group is surprised a bit. Maybe on the cliffs above, a lizalfo throws a boomerang, or a bokoblin shoots and arrow, or even just throws a rock. I don’t really care. I just need this to happen because…

As soon as this danger is presented, Link turns around to grab Zelda’s hand and they start running again. And he can like use his body to try and shield her a bit, I need it to parallel how he acted during Chapter 1 on the road to the Royal Tech Lab. However, this parallel has one important distinction because…

Zelda rips he grip from Link’s after a moment. “You don’t need to coddle me!” She says, or something along those lines. “Y-You...You’re the hero aren’t you! I’m perfectly fine, you don’t need to spend your precious time playing babysitter to me.” In the distance, a horde of monsters is beginning to form. Zelda looks between the monsters and Link’s Master Sword, her expression unreadable. “Well? Just...just go do what you need to do.” Link hesitates, looking between her, and the approaching monsters. Zelda speaks more sternly now, “Go!” So Link, not one to disregard an order from the Princess, gives one last look to Zelda before setting off towards the monsters. Maybe Zelda can take a deep breath to steady herself after he leaves, but as soon as Link unsheathes his sword, the metal glistening in the setting sunlight, it cuts immediately to gameplay. Start battle.

For essays’ purposes this is the part where I explain why this is better than the original. So here’s my reasoning:

Uhhh, it just is. :3

Ok but seriously, I’ve already talked a tone about why the pacing and dialogue flow is better than the original. But also this scene doesn’t just say “Ooo Zelda is sad about her powers,” because that’s not interesting. Like I said, it’s redundant information. What is interesting is see how characters deal with that internal conflict and how it affects their relationships. AKA Zelda’s relationship with Link, who now basically embodies the success that she’s been working so hard towards but never achieved, is deteriorating a bit. I wanted to get that sense of the Zelda that we see in Breath of the Wild because all things considered, they should be roughly the same character.

So that’s that, you fight the battle, the Hollows show up a bit, so insert “dark evil Champion” dialogue because if you’re gonna use the evil clone trope might as well use it to the fullest. Then you fight the Talus and hurray horrah the day is saved.

Then we have that iconic Urbosa motherly pep talk to Zelda as Link eats rocks in the background. Now honestly, I’m not that big a fan of the first half of the dialogue, so I wanna change it into something more interesting. But the rest of the beats and camera work go roughly the same.

Zelda: “Link is...so much stronger now”

Urbosa: “‘And yet I have not.’ I presume that’s what you’re thinking, hmm?”

Zelda: “Well it’s true, isn’t it? More and more, monsters have been appearing around Hyrule. It is a sign that the Calamity draws near. So...there isn’t much time. And still, no sign of my power awakening.”

Urbosa: *sighs* “Little bird…”

Zelda cuts her off, in an attempt to change topics: “Why do you call me that?”

Urbosa: “Hmm?”

Zelda: “Little bird...I feel like I’ve heard it before. Why do you call me that?”

Urbosa, after a beat looks off in the distance or something: “A long time ago, my dear friend would call me to the palace, or perhaps invite herself over to mine, [she chuckles] ...and she would talk with me all day, and ask me to gaze upon her little bird with her. Her dearest daughter...a princess”

Zelda: “You mean my…”

Urbosa just smiles with a soft nod: “Back then, times were a bit different. The destiny that you have was still upon the Queen, who worked day and night to refine her powers and fulfill her destiny. In just a few short years, I went from being friends with a Queen, to friends with the destined sealer of the Calamity.”

Another pause, before Urbosa speaks again: “But...she was still the same woman I had grown with. Still the same loving mother who spoke about her little bird with joy. She had not changed one bit.”

Urbosa: “Even when your mother passed, her loving smile was there until the very end. She always loved you—believed in you, Zelda. She had great hope, great faith that her daughter would grow into the beacon of light Hyrule needed. That even with her gone, you would spread your wings and fly, because you were just that amazing to her.” *Urbosa puts her hands on Zelda’s shoulders.*

Urbosa: “Destiny did not change your mother’s love, just as it does not change Link’s courage, or your value.” *the camera can pan to Link eating rocks now*

Urbosa looks directly at Zelda now: “Look how hard we’ve all worked to get this far, how hard you have worked to get here. While we may grow in strength, in that regard, we’re all one in the same.”

Zelda: “...I….well…”

Urbosa: “What did the Great Deku Tree say? There is no need to fret princess.”

Urbosa: “Our faith, Link’s, your mother’s, it’s all as strong as ever. And everyday, with every moment that you travel towards your destiny, it just grows. It is always with us. So believe in that, have hope, yet, little bird.” *Eggbot can scurry up and make cute noises here next to Zelda*

Urbosa: “I know, you are where you need to be. You must accept that too.”

Zelda: “...”

Zelda gives a solemn nod: “Thank you, Urbosa.”

So that’s that scene! Don’t let the length fool you, it’s technically even shorter than the original scene in Age of Calamity. So why is it, in my opinion, better? Because for one, we actually get an insight into Zelda’s mom and Urbosa’s relationship, something that was PROMISED To us but never given and I’m still a bit salty about it. Anyhow, in addition to just getting some lore details, that relationship between the Queen and Urbosa is important for this scene because, just like Urbosa spells out, it’s in direct parallel with Link and Zelda.

Before the Queen suddenly got sick and died, she was destined to seal the Calamity. But she didn’t let that destiny change her, she was still the same loving mother to the end. Now that is something that Zelda needs to realize about Link, as his newly acquired destiny doesn’t change who he was before, the knight who cares for her and wishes to protect her. Zelda needs to realize he’s the same and that she can still trust and confide in him. Hence, that’s why this mom backstory is in this scene and not somewhere else, because it serves to the narrative but also more impactfully to the character development.

The dialogue could probably be polished a bit more but come on, not half bad for an improvement yeah? So that concludes Chapter—

SIKE we’re not done yet. We still have to move into the entire point of this stage, the road home, to the castle.

So, badabing badaboom, I’m adding an entirely new scene from scratch right here at the end, because it is VITAL that I set up something new about the story, as a sort of clincher. So anyhow

Zelda is alone with her father, let’s set it in the royal library (Intact, not ruined, of course) because we don’t see enough of that location and it’s really cool. So Zelda is briefing her dad about the events in Korok Forest and on the journey back home. I know I always gush about cinematography but it can’t be fully appreciated since I’m….writing,,, this, BUT I think it might be fun if the side shots of Zelda have her background be some bookcases of the library, maybe half bookcases and the other half the ornate walls. Then the background for the King’s shots is the full symmetry of the elegant staircases.

[And if you needed the specific reasoning for that, because it makes camera shots more fun. Like when Zelda says something that aids in her scholarly side, the camera angle can change slightly where the bookcases take up more of the frame, and then when the King’s will takes more power, then the book cases can be angled a bit more out of frame. And then the symmetry of the King by the staircase is a way to show his higher power dynamic to her, and contrasts well with Zelda’s shots since the bookcases are dark and the stone is lighter, so on a meta level is also makes it easier for the audience to understand where they are. Shot composition is fun ok, and that’s not even getting into color theory (Thinks about Baby Driver and LaLaLand....even videogames like Undertale and Hollow Knight have such wonderful shot composition and use of color theory hhhhh love it)]

Ok so Zelda’s briefing the King in the library, she’s standing while he’s sitting at a desk. There’s maybe two or four Royal Guards on the staircase entrances, but for the most part, they’re alone. You can tell that this meeting between them has been going on for a bit now, as from Zelda’s dialogue, she’s retelling events midway through the story.

The King is flipping through some paperwork, not really looking Zelda in the eyes. She continues speaking.

“And so...with the malice cleared and the monsters being dealt with, Link and I made our way into the heart of Korok Forest.”

The King hums a response, flipping through another page. “And this is when Link pulled out the Sword that Seals the Darkness then, I presume.”

Zelda paused, as of thinking of how to phrase her next words. “Not exactly. I...we both encountered someone beforehand. A man, with a pale face, and dark hair and robes, and he had the power to control malice, using a strange object in one of his hands.”

Rhoam stops writing in his journal or whatever. He doesn’t look up, but the sudden stop he makes is obvious. Zelda notices, but continues.

“He talked about...the Calamity, and my birthday...destiny, and the future….I’m not quite sure I can remember his intentions word for word. But he did introduce himself as—“

“Astor…” Zelda and the King say simultaneously. The King has fully perked up now, looking at Zelda. She’s pleased to see a reaction from him. The King rises from his chair, and starts pacing a bit, stroking his beard thoughtfully like the asshole he is.

“So you know him then? This Astor man? Who is he, father? What does he—“

“Were you alright? Did he hurt you, or mention anything else?”

Zelda pauses for a moment before shaking her head, as if the concern he was expressing was uncharacteristic. “N-No. No, I’m fine, and Link was there. During the battle, as Link fought him off, that was when the sword was pulled. Then Astor fled, or...” Zelda pauses for a beat, “retreated...he expressed his wish to speak with me again.”

Another beat of silence, as Rhoam gets up, hands clasped behind his back. “He used to work at this very palace.” The shot is now directly on Rhoams back, as he faces a bookcase, although it’s clear that he’s just deep in thought, and not just staring at books. Rhoam is in third column of the shot (he’s to the right, not in the center)

“A trusted advisor. Someone gifted with foresight, who many years ago, had first predicted the coming Calamity.” Cut to shot of Rhoams face, the camera being by the bookcase, so that we see Rhoam’s expression and Zelda’s.

“In truth, I thought him dead. For the last time I saw him alive—truly, truly alive—was ten long years ago...” The shot goes back to the original establishing shot, of Rhoam facing away from the camera, towards the bookcase, he’s standing to the right, hands still clasped behind his back.

“...when your mother still graced this earth.”

From left frame, a younger Astor walks up and stands beside Rhoam. He runs his fingers along the books. Rhoam looks to his left, as if he is seeing Astor. Camera cuts to Astor’s right, as if looking at him from Rhoam’s perspective. He continues brushing his fingers against the spines of the books, before he finds the one he’s looking for. Pulling it out, he opens the book, flipping through its pages, before giving a genuine smile. Cut back to wide angle behind them. With the book, Astor starts walking back out left frame, but this time the camera follows him. Filter fade to a memory tint as the camera pans right to left

[when the camera fades fully into the Astor memory, the figures can have that silhouetted effect like you see in botw. Cause I know Nintendo hates making new character models for some reason.]

So if it wasn’t clear already, even though the memory filter doesn’t come immediately, Astor isn’t actually there, but it’s just a flashback. I’m a sucker for merges, which is something this game and botw NEVER do which bugs me because there are so many creative ways you could introduce flashbacks without just doing “ooOooOoo fade to sepia filter and then oooOOooOOO we fade back to reality and no time has passed.” I apologize if my explanation of the camera doesn’t make sense as it’s hard without much visual aid, but hopefully it makes sense so far. Anyhow! Let’s continue.

We’re now fully immersed in this memory, but King Rhoam’s voice still narrates overhead.

Astor brings the book to one of the desks in the library, where a woman sits writing something onto paper. News flash, it’s the queen. Astor hands her the book and starts speaking about something, although you can tell the tone of their conversation is light, almost akin to Zelda rambling about Sheikah Technology. The Queen laughs about something unheard, as Astor continues ranting about something, his hands moving to like a professor giving a lecture.

Rhoam Narration: “When he had first predicted the Calamity, things were much more hopefully for our kingdom. As although his foresight granted him only glimpses and fragments of a future, he was almost certain that with the Guardians, and the strength of your mother’s power, our victory would be absolute.”

Scene changes to the Queen walking down a corridor, Astor is leaning against the wall by a window.

Rhoam Narration: “He and your mother would often work together tirelessly to study the ancient arts, to make the most of the powers given by the goddess.”

The Queen has walked up to Astor now. She crouches down and gestures to her left, the side not yet seen by the camera.

Rhoam Narration: “In fact…”

The camera changes to focus to where the Queen was looking towards—a young Zelda, crouched behind her mother’s dress, stares up at Astor.

Rhoam Narration: “I would not be surprised if you found within yourself, a memory of such.”

I would prefer if you could see the expressions of Astor (giving Zelda not a smile, but not really a frown or anything rude either) and young Zelda. But I guess it can also just be silhouettes too cause again, Nintendo hates giving us younger character models outside of first person POV stuff. Anyhow.

The scene fades, the light from the window dimming as everything darkens.

Rhoam Narration: “I often times wish we could go back to such a time, when victory and pride swam in every corner of this castle. But of course…”

The scene brightens again, although not as bright as before. It’s the exact same corridor with the large window, but now it’s raining. A young Zelda stands alone in front of it, looking outside.

Rhoam Narration: “Such a time did end…”

We now cut to a new scene, King Rhoam is walking down a hall, the camera’s perspective is of a bird’s eye view, like we’re peering in from outside a window. We can see the shadow of Astor chasing after him, as he starts speaking frantically about something, not quite, but almost to the point of shouts.

Rhoam Narration: “After your mother died, the visions of the future shifted drastically. No longer was there glimpses of rolling fields and shimmering skies, but instead, of rubble, red earth, and death.”

You can now more clearly hear the words coming out of Astor’s mouth. He is telling something about failure, and souls, and the Calamity to the King’s ear. He’s still walking forward.

Rhoam Narration: “He was adamant that our demise was now coming faster than ever, and that without your mother, we were doomed. That even you, should you take up your mother’s mantle, could not save everyone.”

Astor: “I’m telling you Your Majesty, if you go down this path, there is no going back.”

King Rhoam: “There is no other choice, we are moving forward.”

Astor: “I don’t think you quite understand the true gravity of the fate you’re choosing for yourself. It is a guarantee that you, me, and countless others shall die.”

King Rhoam: “I don’t want to hear it.”

Astor: “And of course, there are a multitude of possibilities, but the end result is the same.”

Astor: “Do you have a preference, perhaps? Crushed by rubble? Suffocation under ash?”

Rhoam’s tone is deadly: “Stop.”

Astor: “I’ve seen fire too. I’m not yet quite sure the exact circumstances that lead to flame appearing and spreading so quickly, but rest assured that if you—”

King Rhoam: “Stop.”

Astor: “If you saddle someone else with this duty I am absolutely certain that you and I will—”

King Rhoam, voice not shouting, but still with a booming intensity: “Just like you were so certain of our victory 10 years ago?”

Astor’s face darkens. He’s silent for a moment, collecting his words before practically spitting the first articulation: “...That, future, was the one that would come to be if Her Majesty was alive. If you’re so unsatisfied with my departed wisdom you can go ahead and flail around with destiny alone. You think I choose for these events to happen? You think I lie when I saw I want what’s best for this kingdom—”

King Rhoam: “What’s best for you.”

An ugly pause.

King Rhoam: “It is decided, Seer. It’s time you accept this. My wife is dead. That is the truth. Thus the role of sealing the Calamity shall pass to my daughter. She will work to awaken her own ability. It will be her duty to save us.”

Astor half laughs: “A child?! Surely you don’t need the supernatural to see how foolish that is.”

King Rhoam’s voice is even more stern: “You are living proof that the future is not absolute. Therefore I...must place all belief in her ability.”

The King walks away, leaving Astor alone. Weirdly, he smiles. Perhaps to mask some other emotion.

After another moment, Astor yells to the King: “I’ll fix this! Alone if I must!” He’s chuckling as he shakes his head. “Your useless faith may cost many lives, but even so mark my words, I will fix this.”

The King looks back, but says nothing, his expression unreadable. He continues forward, leaving Astor alone chuckling, or perhaps something in between chuckling and crying to himself.

Rhoam Narration: “We haven’t spoken since that day. I simply left him to his devices. If he was so determined to find another way to stop the Calamity, then who was I to stop him. I doubt my word could have swayed his mind regardless.

We’re now looking at a room, the camera is just by the doorway, looking at an office, circular and domed. It’s stone brick walls are covered in parchment and ripped books, covered in symbols and frantic writing. An old Sheikah tapestry hangs crudely on the left wall, and the window on the right seems to tint grey, or even a deepest crimson. Centerframe, is the back of Astor, robe hanging just above the paper ridden floor. He is flipping through something on his desk.

Rhoam Narration: “Fixated as he was on the perfect future that you mother might have led, I still had hope that with time, he might still assist you with your destiny one day.”

The camera slowly comes closer to Astor. We can see more clearly the type of stuff that sprawls the papers and books and diagrams across his office. Some depict stars and constellations, and even a few notes on Ancient Technology, although in a noticeably cleaner font. However, as the camera moves close and closer to Astor, the papers and books depict only one clear topic: the aura of death that comes only with necromancy.

Rhoam Narration: “It seems…”

Astor finally reacts to whatever he was doing on his desk. You don’t see his eyes, but as he fully turns around to face the camera, you see his smile, along with him holding a dark orb of unknown energy. It hovers in his hand.

Rhoam Narration: “...I was mistaken.”

The camera cuts to a wide angle, looking at Astor from behind a stack of books on his desk. The stack of books on Astor’s desk brighten in color (from the memory dull filter), until the scene fully fades back into the Royal Library. The camera is now focused on a similar stack of books on the desk behind Zelda, where Rhoam was working before.

Zelda is still looking at her father, who is still turned away. Now, he turns back around to face her.

“He had disappeared completely one day, so it was my understanding that whatever he was working on killed him. However, if he is truly back as you say…”

Rhoam walks closer to Zelda, close enough that he might have put a hand on her shoulder, but his arms stay behind his back.

“It is in your utmost interest to prove him wrong. I know not what he plans on doing, but it would be wise to stop him before he does.”

Rhoam turns away now, pacing back to the otherside of the desk. “But, your more important priority is unlocking your powers, understand? Now more than ever, is not the time to get distracted.”

Zelda, taking this all in, takes a deep breath. She then nods at him. “I understand...Father.”

After a moment, the King makes a motion as if to dismiss her. She starts to walk away, her thoughts churning in her head, heart thumping to the same beat as her echoing footsteps. Suddenly, Rhoam calls,

“Zelda.” It’s not a question, but the tone is asked like one.

She turns back, looking at him, expectantly. Rhoam only stares at her, an uncharacteristic moment of uncertainty for him. The words he wants to form seem stuck in his throat, until finally, he lets out a quiet breathe through his nose, before simply saying:

“You must.”

Zelda can only frown, her shoulder’s slumping slightly, as she ducks her head and leaves.

- - - - - -

And that’s that! That’s the complete end of Chapter 3. So tune in next time for Chapter 4, including a new slight but important story changes, Yiga husbands, and shocking turns of events.

Edit: I forgot that posts with link’s dont show up in tag results so a rb is appreciated :p

#Hwaoc: The Kip Cut #fuck this is the biggest one yet #hwaoc #age of calamity #hwaoc rewrite #hw age of calamity #hyrule warriors age of calamity

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i-love-side-characters · 4 years ago

Note

What did you think of the end of The Toll?

!!! TOLL SPOILERS !!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!!

Scythe Cult: @honorablescythecurie @honorablescythefaraday @palli-x @book-limerence @lochscinders @a-lonely-tatertot @shellyseashell

bored? send me serotonin please <3

Okay now lets get a couple things out of the way. I haven’t read Toll in a little bit, and it’s taking forever to come from the library. Also, yes I did have it downloaded before, but I kept rereading Faraday’s journal entry when he find out Curie is dead. I know, I’m trash for them but honestly let me have this #curiedeservedbetter2021 #faradaydeservedbetter2021 #curadayforlife

Now that we’ve established that I’m just lonely and so I cling onto healthy (ish) fictional couples for my source of love, let’s proceed.

Things I remember:

- Rowan and Citra go zoomy zoom into spacey space, but Citra’s deadish because Goddard pulled some shit and so Rowan’s going to wait a couple hundred years for her to wake up

- Total hottie Ayn Rand shanked Goddard which is honestly a power move you go girl

- Faraday and Munira unleashed the failsafe, which basically infected a whole bunch of people and now Scythes just kill the infected people so that there’s no suffering

- Jeri!!! and Greyson!!! Babeys!!! Smol Beans!!! My genderfluid babey with my weird Jesus man it’s a match made by the Thunderhead (because it literally is)

- Rowan and Citra (who renounced her Scythehood) are going to start a new colony on some random ass planet

Things I don’t remember:

- Whatever happen with Cirrus

- Whatever happen with Joel the Jobe Man

- Whatever happen with Loriana and Munira who are totally in love Shusterman said Sapphic rights

Okay Akki stfu lets move on:

Okay. I didn’t really like it. I did like Rowan’s sarcasm, but the ending fell a little flat. Compared to the other books�� endings, I didn’t really think it measured up. It was just a bit bland. Here’s why.

The end goal:

Let’s just work our way through the series to show why The Toll just didn’t really work for me.

Scythe - Book 1:

Goal/Climax:

The goal/climax of the book was clear. Citra and Rowan are fighting for the ring. Only one can get it, and the winner has to glean the other.

The ending:

Citra wins the ring, and is ordained. Instead of actually killing (gleaning) Rowan, she slyly grants him immunity by punching him so that his blood’s DNA would transfer to the database and no Scythe could kill him. We also got a confession scene where they tell each other they love the other. It ends with Rowan finding out that Faraday did not self-glean.

Why it works:

It is tense. We are watching the two main characters have to either kill the other or be killed. Neither want to. It is clear from their actions throughout that they harbour feelings for each other. This is a high stakes situation. And it flows nicely. We don’t have any unnecessary dialogue/scenes. We don’t have a dumb solution to the problem where a bunch of unnecessary events happen like a character death/romantic scene. They do tell the other that they love them, but the moment is quick and is not the focus of the moment. The focus is on the actual ordainment ceremony and the challenge. The solution directly addresses the main conflict of the book.

Thunderhead - Book 2:

Goal/Climax:

Goddard and Citra (now Anastasia) are presenting their arguments as to who will win the inquest. The inquest was called because Anastasia and Curie needed time to gain more votes in favour of Curie for the position of High Blade.

The ending:

Anastasia and Curie win the inquest, and Goddard must complete a full new apprenticeship in order to train his new body. Goddard, however, has tricks up his sleeve. He had made a plan prior to the events on Endura to cripple the Grandslayers tower. The plan changes, but works to his favour and destroys the entire island. Curie, in a desperate attempt to save Rowan and Citra, locks them in an airtight chamber that will preserve them so they can be revived. With this sacrifice, Curie is forced to self glean.

“She thrust her blade inward, directly into her heart. She fell to the ground only seconds before the sea would wash over her, but she knew death would wash over her faster. And the blade hurt far less than she imagined it would, which made her smile. She was good. Very, very good.”

-Thunderhead, page 499

Why it works:

*violently screams in my head* I’m good don’t worry

It is a logical ending. If Curie and Anastasia had won the inquest and survived Endura, there would be no need for a third book, unless Shusterman had decided to write a book about Curie being High Blade and Goddard sulking in the shadows and plotting to kill her. That wouldn’t work because I don’t think there is any possible way Curie wouldn’t catch Goddard in two seconds because she’s a boss.

Many people say that Curie should have gotten Rowan to lock her and Anastasia in the vault instead of him. Rowan would have died for Anastasia, it makes sense, but that takes away from the very essence of Curie’s character. She is a truly Honourable Scythe. She knows that Anastasia loves him, and she cares deeply about Anastasia. Letting herself survive would have been completely out of character. She also knows that Anastasia is the future of the Scythedom. While it would be a great help if Curie didn’t die, as well as sparing us emotional trauma, it doesn’t make sense for her character.

This ending also directly “solved” the issue in the book. While the villain won, it was a satisfying ending. Curie is dead, that was a very smart move, because obviously Goddard wouldn’t survive two seconds if she was there. It gave us a good reason for the Thunderhead to disappear.

*violently screams again* Curie died, yeah, no, I’m okay

The Toll - Book 3: *note that some details may be wrong

Goal/Climax:

Faraday, Rowan, Jeri, Munira, Loriana, Anastasia, Greyson, and Cirrus need to figure out what to with the frozen Tonists, all unknowing that Scythes Goddard and Rand are heading towards the island. They still need to beat him in order to make sure that the non-Scythe population won’t be subject to bias/malice/aforethought/Goddard’s ego.

The ending:

Rowan, and Citra, who renounced her Scythehood, travel to another planet that can support life with the frozen Tonists, as well as 42 other ships carrying Tonists. Cirrus is copied into 42 different versions in order to save humanity. After being offered Citra’s old ring, Munira (I believe) returns to the Library of Alexandria. Faraday follows through with the failsafe and gleans only the suffering. Greyson and Jeri stay together on the island, and become romantically involved. Scythe Rand is the one who eventually kills Goddard.

Why it DOESN’T work:

Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. I’m just going to go character by character and by the plot.

1. Plot - It just doesn’t make sense. The hero’s solution doesn’t in any way stop Goddard, who is the main villain. We’ve led up to this for a very long time, and Rand is the one who gleans him. If I’m correct, The main characters don’t interact with Goddard for nearly the entire book, save Rowan. The solution, to save humanity by colonizing other planets would, without Rand’s interference, let Goddard wreak his havoc on the world. Only Scythe Faraday and Morrison could truly challenge him, and even then Faraday is old and hasn’t kept his abilities refined, and Morrison is young and inexperienced and wears a denim robe.

2. Rand and Goddard’s Arcs - Rand is the one who kills Goddard. I think that this was a very interesting move, and one that made a lot of sense. Goddard has treated her terribly, it would satisfy her arc of turning against him, as well as giving her a redemption arc that would also avenge Tyger’s death. I think that this is actually a really good arc, were it not for the fact that Citra and Goddard never fought/interacted with each other. If there had been a fight, and Rand had killed him then, that would have been better and would have better satisfied the actual conflict in the book.

3. Rowan and Citra’s Arcs - In terms of Citra’s arc, I think it was emotionally impactful to have her renounce her Scythehood. But Rowan didn’t have as much of a part to play in this book as he could have had. Citra and Goddard also never interacted, which would have been very interesting since he was the direct cause of her mentor and canon mother figure’s death. It would have been an interesting scene that could have played out really well. Based on Discord texts from a conversation I had, I know an reminded that the last two pages of The Toll were incredibly impactful and beautiful. I don’t have much to say about Rowan since I don’t remember much of his role.

4. Jeri, Greyson, Loriana, and Munira’s Arcs - I paired these four together since their doings aren’t very solid after the books. Jeri and Greyson are canonically together, which I think was a great move by Shusterman. Having a main character in a healthy relationship with a canon LGBTQ+ character was incredibly impactful for me, and it satisfied Greyson’s thoughts about how he doesn’t care if Jeri is a boy or a girl, he just loves them. Loriana didn’t have as much of an arc, but Munira did have a small one. Her refusal of the Scythe’s ring let her dispense of her hatred for Scythes and their system, and let her let go of her bitter feelings about not being ordained.

5. Cirrus’ Arc? - I do not remember enough to speak about Cirrus’ role in the books.

6. Faraday’s Arc - This is probably the one I have the most to say about. I am sorry in advance. Faraday is an emotional character. He has cried canonically twice as far as I can remember, once when he gleaned a child, and the other when he found out Scythe Curie and Anastasia had died on Endura. He is also openly disgusted with Scythe Goddard and his practices, which is why I supremely dislike his arc. It would have been so interesting to see how he would have reacted if Scythe Goddard and the heroes had interacted during the end scene of The Toll. We know he is an Honourable Scythe, like Curie, and upholds the Scythe Commandments, especially after his punishment over his breaking of the 9th commandment “Thou shalt have no spouse nor spawn.” It would have been so. interesting. to see whether Faraday would snap and attack Goddard, if he would try and talk to him, how he would react. Like with Anastasia, he would have been interacting with Curie’s murderer. The potential of that moment! Don’t forget that Faraday is definitely still in love with Curie, based on his elevated heart rate in Thunderhead, and his journal entry in The Toll. I think it would have been so interesting to see him confront her killer.

Summary:

Okay that was much longer than I intended, and I have more thoughts, but it’s 2:40 am and I haven’t slept in a while. So my summary. I liked The Toll. It was a solid book, that had funny moments, jaw dropping moments, heartfelt moments, and emotionally impactful scenes. It was a solid book.

I don’t think it compared as much to the other two, especially Thunderhead. The ending fell a little flat and didn’t carry the arcs as well as I would have liked, but honestly, I still reread it. Shusterman really managed to pull at your emotions.

Because I just beat up on the book for the last couple paragraphs, let me tell you some of my favourite parts of the book.

1. Literally any scene with Possuelo and Anastasia that dynamic was so good and him calling her “meu anjo” literally made my heart do a little happy dance the father-daughter dynamic was what we needed. It also offered a nice levity to tough scenes.

2. The Rowan-Anastasia Reunion. They ran towards each other and knocked each other off their feet. Ohhhh my god, they ran towards each other and knocked each other off their feet! That was so cute, and as someone who was a strong supporter of platonic Rowan & Anastasia, I honestly loved it.

3. Faraday-Anastasia Reunion. Him dropping to his knees in front her her, her initial confusion as to who he was, and the “perhaps the greatest of all Scythes was kneeling in front of her” part killed me. Their reunion was so well written and heart-wrenching.

4. Anastasia Cries about Curie’s Death. I feel like WatchMojo right now. Anyways, the way her emotions break after trying to repress her sadness over her mentor’s sacrifice for her.

5. Rowan’s sarcasm. Beauty. What a power move to sass the guy who’s going to set you on fire in front of 3000 people.

6. Scythe Constantine and Rand. What a dynamic I wasn’t ready for. Rand’s cool comebacks with Constantine’s sly personality just made for the most amazing dialogue opportunities.

Thank you anon!

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nightcoremoon · 4 years ago

Text

it's evident people haven't watched enough kids media to adequately understand just what constitutes a kids show as opposed to a show that kids can watch and be entertained by

when I was a kid I watched king of the hill and blues clues (among other things). king of the hill is NOT a kids show by any stretch of the imagination; it is an adult animation, replete with fairly heavy subject matter, sexual themes, political humor, cultural references that kids won't understand, discussion of religion in the modern day, depression and suicidal thoughts, adultery, puberty and sexual awakenings, body image, propane, propane accessories, and ultimately above all else what it means to be family. and blues clues is a show about a man who plays with a shovel & pail, talks to his condiments and mailbox, and sometimes he teleports into the felt dimension, all while playing Sherlock Holmes hercule poirot with his dog, and teaching kids how to count and draw and recognize colors and learn their ABCs. do you see the fucking difference? no? then I'll make it more clear.

dora the explorer & go diego go, mickey mouse clubhouse, handy manny, octonauts, bob the builder, super why, wild kratts, zoboomafoo, jojo's circus, wow wow wubbzy, stanley, doc mcstuffins, max & ruby, wonder pets, bubble guppies, ni hao khai lan, backyardigans, little einsteins, caillou (ugh) and p*w p*trol (double ugh), these are all undeniably kids shows. their audience is children (and the occasional adult by age with severe intellectual disabilities) and maybe the parents whose brains are too fried to care what's on the tv. these shows main purpose is to educate while entertaining on subjects one would encounter in preschool and kindergarten. counting 1-10, ABCs, basic color, basic language, basic intrapersonal skills, basic emotional literacy, problem solving, using your imagination, what sounds do animals make, breaking the fourth wall to ask the audience to answer what's 2+2 or tell them a lesson they learned today like I LEARNED TO NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER or some simple message like that. it's always light, there's no edgelord grimdark "what if they were dead the whole time" bullshit. it's just good clean simple wholesome [except for paw patrol] programs for kids to be distracted for a little bit of time, while also letting them walk away having said they learned something. at least half of the time dedicated to every single one of these shows is devoted to the same shit over and over again. I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map WE FUCKING GET IT YOURE THE MAP! backpack backpack I'm the backpack loaded up with things and knickknacks too, anything that you might need I've got inside for you. we did it we did it we did it HOORAY! come on vamanos everybody let's go, come on let's get to it, I know that we can do it,

WHERE ARE WE GOING

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

THESE SONGS ARE BURNED INTO MY BRAIN AND THEYLL BE STUCK IN MY HEAD UNTIL I DIE

say click take a pic, the hot dog dance, CAN HE FIX IT???, pizza! spaghetti!, THE DOC IS IN AND SHELL FIX YOU UP, max & ruby ruby & max max & ruby ruby & max MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX, wonder pets wonder pets we're on our way to help the friend and save the day, we're not too big and we're not too tough but when we work together we've got the right stuff, goooOOO WONDER PETS YAAAAY~, yoooour backyard friends the backyardigans (weve got the whole wide world in our yard to explore, thATS WHY EVERY DAY WEEEEERE BACK FOR MOOOORE), were going on a trip in our little rocket ship SOARING THROOOOOUGH THE SKY!!! little einsteins!

I swear to god I've been forced to watch so much children's television in my life it's no wonder there's no room left for serotonin executive function or the ability to speak to morons

point is I know my way around kids shows. my sisters were born in 98, 02, 05, 06, 10, and 18, I think, I don't even know because they're all a blur, I'm literally closer in age to my parents than to my youngest sibling, I never stopped being exposed to kids shows. I know what is and is not a kids show.

adventure time? not a kids show even though kids watch it. it's a "for everyone" show. it's got a target audience of 100% of the planet. steven universe? not a kids show even though kids watch it. miraculous ladybug? not a kids show even though kids watch it. scooby doo? not a kids show even though kids watch it. I'm not discussing the history of adult acceptance of animation, adult animation, or anime, so don't ask. dexter's laboratory. the grim adventures of billy & mandy. codename kids next door. teen titans. fairly oddparents. kim possible. invader zim. AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER. totally spies. courage the cowardly dog. the proud family. SPONGEBOB F*ING SQUAREPANTS. powerpuff girls. foster's home for imaginary friends. oh yeah you know what's coming next. my little goddamn pony friendship is mother fucking magic is not. a. kids. show. even though kids can watch it. it is a cartoon. it is an everyone show. that's why it's disingenuous and fucking stupid to decry any fan over the age of 7 as a pedophile and a weirdo creep; it participates in the infantilization of femininity. why is it ok for 20somethings to keep watching aang and squidward and finn & jake and zim and "return the slab" and everyone's totally fine wth that but when it's twilight sparkle suddenly everyone's like whoa you're a huge fucking loser for watching this girly wussy baby show for girly wussy babies. oh some bronies are sex crazed perverts? I'm sorry have you seen just how much porn there is for spongebob? oh some bronies are cringe? I'm sorry have you met half the steven universe fandom? oh some bronies are fascist rick sanchez kinnies with fedoras and katanas? BREAKING BAD FANS, HELLO!?!?!?

this is such a stupid tiring boring argument. maybe magic talking horses being friends and turning their friendship into magic rainbow nuclear fucking arms and blasting the evil out of a demon and turning her into the coolest fucking half-unicorn biker lesbian in the world is something that brings me, and adult, pure wholesome joy, in between bojack horseman and dark souls and breaking bad and deftones and fallout new vegas and jojo and cannibal corpse and other bleak depressing edgy shit that also brings me comfort. and MAYBE me at 16 starting to watch MLP:FIM becoming finally comfortable with the outward public expression of "traditionally feminine" interests is the main reason why I realized I was a girl when I did, and MAYBE I just like how pretty the colorful ponies look, AND MAYBE I KIN WITH ONE OR TWO OR EIGHT CHARACTERS, WHAT OF IT?

AND MAYBE ITS LITERALLY THE BEST LONG RUNNING FANTASY TV SERIES ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW* SINCE GAME OF THRONES FUCKING SUCKS

but whatever, kids watch it sometimes so it's illegal for anyone who's not a kid to enjoy it, but only if it's something girly because liking girly things is bad because girliness is inherently bad, and the only things that are good have predominantly male casts*. right? right??? wrong, fucker. g4mlp has so much more in common with adventure time & atla than with blues clues or dora the fucking explora...r.

but keep in mind I'm saying this while hugging a blues clues plushie my grandma gave me for valentine's day because it reminds her of when I was a baby because I may not watch blues clues but it still means a lot to me for nostalgia and is 50% of the reason why I love ray charles. kids media isn't necessarily bad. I still do enjoy watching it with my little sisters. all this is is me being anal about categorization because I'm autistic and I LIVE for categorizing everything.

*besides atla obviously

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thepancakeboi · 4 years ago

Text

An Unexpected Growth Spurt

So it barely took five minutes before this idea by @hetyra sent me down the rabbit hole of getting ideas and hyperfocusing on it rather than my current stuff. Whoops? No regrets. These types of fun reactions, where Ren is being such a goddamn menace towards Goro, are among my favorite to write. I will disclose this right now: I know very little about the storyline of Persona 5 Strikers outside of “sequel set in the summer after Persona 5 events″. As a result, it’s only there as a timing thing and a reference, but it’s fine. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this writing that gave me dopamine and serotonin in spades!

01/01/2018, 10:39 AM > Ren: Meiji Shrine it is! I can’t wait to see you.

I keep looking at that last text over and over as I stand here by the torii, awaiting Ren’s arrival. It’s been over a year since I last saw him. I’m lucky I was even able to get in touch with him, but...was coming here a mistake?

I’m not the type to get nervous, but I never thought I would see him again. With everything that happened between us, he shouldn’t even want to meet up with me. That and he probably assumed I was dead. The last time I saw him was in the engine room of Shido’s Palace. That place should have been my grave, yet somehow I had survived. I hadn’t told anyone. Truth be told, I hadn’t wanted anyone to know I was alive.

I...simply wanted to disappear.

Even now, I have the urge to leave before I can potentially reunite with Ren. Whatever had come over me last night, in that spur of the moment decision to text Ren after a year of silence, is gone. This whole idea is a mistake. He has much better ways to spend his time than wasting it on me. He’s probably been with his precious friends doing who knows what. There’s no way he needs someone like me in his life. He’s got all the people he could ever want. That’s it. I’m leaving now, before-

“Goro? Is that you?”

I freeze. His voice is a little deeper than I remember, but I would know it anywhere. I turn around, my heart leaping in my chest at seeing Ren. Although he’s not wearing his glasses this time, he hasn’t changed a bit. Even his hair is as unkempt as ever. It’s almost like I went back in time, to days where I wasn’t his (attempted) murderer. There are so many things I want to say, but all I can manage is a simple, “Hey, Ren.”

And he grins. Yet another thing that hasn’t changed: that beautiful smile. I can tell he’s barely stopping himself from running and pulling me into a hug as he approaches. I’m thankful for his restraint. There’s no telling what my reaction would have been. “Hi, Akeppi.”

I huff, shaking my head. “I was hoping you forgot that damn nickname.” And me as well, some small part of me silently adds.

“You know you like it.” Smug as ever, the menace. “I missed you. Where have you been? You never told me.”

Straight to the point, I see. I had very purposefully avoided the dogged questions about how I was alive or where I’d been. It didn’t seem like the type of thing to discuss through instant messages. This needed to be a face-to-face conversation. “I was at a rehab center, believe it or not.”

“You were?”

Nodding, I force myself to continue. He deserves to know what happened. “It’s outside of Tokyo...and it’s where my mother would go. I went there on Christmas Eve without an appointment, but they accepted me anyway. The only time I had left between then and now was when I heard word that you were being detained.”

“Oh?”

“I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. After all, you did change Shido’s heart for me. So, I helped your friends track down the woman in your assault case.”

“Wait, did they know you were alive and didn’t tell me?”

“No, nothing like that,” I reassure him, letting Ren know that his friends hadn’t kept my survival a secret from him. “I gave them what information I could find, anonymously, of course. They probably wouldn’t have accepted it if they knew who it came from.”

“Come on, give them a little more credit than that.”

I don’t think I can, especially when two of my victims had been Futaba Sakura’s mother and Haru Okumura’s father. “Either way, what about you? You’re a third-year now, yes?”

“Yeah. A lot’s happened since...” He stops for a moment. Something tells me the reason he stopped isn’t pleasant. Could it be he was about to say “since our last fight”, or something of that caliber? He quickly snaps out of it, though, beaming once again as he continues. “Oh, I saved Christmas by summoning satan to shoot god in the face!”

If he were any other person, I might have figured him insane. Even so, I can’t hide my surprise as I stammer, “You...what?”

“We went into the depths of Mementos to find its treasure. Never want to go there again. And then we fought the holy grail, which was really a god who was controlling everyone. I summoned this huge Persona, Satanael, and we shot god in the face!”

I chuckle at that. It all sounds so impossible, yet anything’s possible in the Metaverse. “If only I could have seen such a sight.” Upon seeing Ren’s melancholy look, I quickly add, “What else happened after that?”

“I went back home in March.” He doesn’t seem too thrilled about that detail. I know he preferred living at Leblanc over with his own parents, who never seemed to contact him while he was on probation. “And then I came back for summer vacation with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. But then the Metaverse came back, and these places called Jails were showing up, and...well, it’s a long story.”

“Perhaps for another time. Your life certainly has been interesting.”

“I wish you could’ve been there, but I’m happy you’re still alive. I...didn’t know what happened to you. Everyone else thought you were dead, but I just couldn’t believe it. I kept hoping that you weren’t. I really did miss you, Goro.” And I believe it, somehow.

“I apologize for not contacting you until yesterday. I know I should have. I cannot imagine what you must have gone through, and-”

“It’s okay!” he replies, a little too quickly. It makes me wonder how he handled my supposed death. I won’t pry. If he wants to tell me one day, it’ll be when he wants. He finally pulls me into the hug he’s likely been waiting for this whole time, gently running his fingers through my hair. “Your hair’s shorter than before.”

“Is that a problem?” I know it’s only a simple observation, but I can’t help but assume he doesn’t like it.

“No. I just noticed. That’s all. You look cute with short hair.”

“I’m not cute,” I immediately retort.

“Are too.”

“Well, you haven’t changed a-” I pause. Some small detail is pulling at my attention, but what is it? “Wait a minute. Did you...?”

“Did I what?” he asks, clearly as confused as I am.

I move out of his embrace to back up a few steps, looking at his footwear. He isn’t wearing heels, which means... “Have you...grown since we last saw each other?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, a little. Why?”

“How much?”

“I dunno, five centimeters?”

“Damnit,” I hiss. “Who said you were allowed to have a growth spurt!?”

Clarity lights up his face as he realizes the reason for my irritable reaction. “Oh, right. You hated when I was taller as Joker. Does it bother you that I’m taller than you now?”

“Shut up.”

He laughs. “I love it. It’s nice seeing you as the smaller one.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

He fake gasps. “He swore! Are you angy, my adorable little detective?” he asks, his voice sounding all cutesy. Goddamn menace.

“What do you think!?”

He is obviously smug that he’s now taller than me by two centimeters. His grin only widens as he pats my head. I try to smack his hand away, but he moves it away before I can. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Even more so since I’m taller than you.”

“Infuriating as ever,” I snarl, my patience running thin. He’s being so cocky that I want to fucking strangle him. “I should wear heels just to be the taller one.”

“I don’t think you could.”

“Is that a challenge, Ren?”

“I dunno.” He shrugs, but I see right through the gesture. He knows exactly what he’s doing. “You tell me, detective. Is it a challenge?”

“I think it is, and I don’t intend to lose. I can and will wear heels. Watch me.”

“Even if you did, I could just wear heels as well,” he replies with a shit-eating grin to match his tone, “and run in them, too.”

I sigh in frustration, crossing my arms. I hate that I know he’s right. The Metaverse is enough indication of that. “You little shit.”

“You’re the little one, not me.”

“Shut up, Ren.”

“Make me,” he says as he gets right in my face, smirking as I instinctively lean back. “You could always kiss me into silence.”

There’s no hiding my flushed reaction to his suggestion. “You fucking wish, you idiot,” I snap, trying to ignore just how hot my face feels.

“Yeah, I do, my little tsundere pancake.”

Oh, of course, he had to mention the pancakes. Of fucking course. “I hate you so much.”

“I still don’t believe you. We both know that’s a lie.”

“Damn you and your two centimeters,” I say right before I recklessly kiss him on the lips.

I can see the ever so slight surprise on Ren’s face. He hides it well. His mirth at the unexpected kiss is clear as he asks, “Now, was that really so bad?”

“Yes.” No.

“Why’d you do it, then?”

“To get you to shut up.” I’ve been wanting to for a while now.

“Sure, sure,” he laughs. “Hey, would you want to get some lunch together? My treat.”

I’m glad he asked first. Truth be told, I wanted an excuse to spend more time with him. I’ve missed Ren more than I care to admit. “Sounds delightful. You can choose the location, but I’m paying.”

“Hey, no. I’m buying lunch, and you can’t stop me.”

“I’m paying, and that’s final.”

“Okay, how about we leave it up to chance? Whoever ends up with the bill pays. Deal?”

“Very well. You have a deal.” I’m still not letting him pay, though, even if it means resorting to more...underhanded methods.

He takes my hand in his, the small gesture of affection almost causing me to tear up. No one’s cared about me like Ren has. I don’t deserve it, but I doubt arguing that with him would get anywhere. It would be fruitless. All I can hope is that he’ll be happy around me.

And, for the first time in a year...I smile.

#akeppi writes #p5 #persona 5 #p5s #persona 5 scramble #persona 5 strikers #persona 5 spoilers #p5 spoilers #goro akechi #akechi #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #akeshu #shuake #ren is a menace #i also kind of worked the unused rehab thing from royal into this #i just really needed a reason why goro wasn't around in strikers/scramble #plus i just have a soft spot for that unused event

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