#the moment i realized how well the concepts foiled each other i had to

[basilpaste]

hey! the following has themes of derealization and dissociation!! read safely!!

isaloops! hi!

You and Loop have been sitting in silence for a while now. You were trying to come up with something to ask them, but you guess you got a bit distracted. Augh! You need a clear head! You breathe deep, in and out. Things feel a bit less hazy, but the pit in your chest still lingers.

"Hm. It's my turn to ask a question now, actually!" Loop asserts, straightening up.

You jump. "Oh!"

"Okay." They start, "So. Maybe it's a bit presumptuous of me to comment on, but!~ I've noticed you've been touching your friends less. Why?"

… Oh.

You like touch. You like to physically hold onto people. That kind of closeness is important to you. Wrapping someone into a tight hug, squeezing their hand, holding their face gently, it all means the world to you. So you touch your friends all the time!

Except.

Except you don't anymore, do you? You used to. Any chance you got! But now? Now you find yourself flinching away. Why?

Because — because none of it feels real anymore. It's all stuff that's happened before! Every time you touch it's something you've already done! And everyone says the same things and does the same things they always do! Like nothing matters!

You feel like you're fake. like a mannequin, stiff and cold and stagnant.

Everything feels fake. When you've done it all before, all the words lose meaning! All the touch loses meaning! You just want to feel real again! You just…

"Fighter."

Ah.

Your gaze snaps up to Loop. They look back at you, eyes wide and pupils small. Their hands hover around their chest, balled into fists.

"Fighter — I… Sunlight. You're here." They stare at you. It takes a minute to realize they want you to breathe. you try your best.

Slowly, carefully… they reach a hand out. They place it atop one of yours and very gently squeeze. There's pressure and warmth. It creeps up your arm and into your chest.

...

They called you Sunlight.

You twist your hand under theirs so your palms face. After a bit of hesitation, you squeeze back. They stiffen, but don't pull away.

"Thank you, Loop." You tell them quietly.

You still don't think they believe you.

They open their mouth to respond, but you beat them to the punch. "You're here, too."

Loop freezes. Something you can't quite discern flashes in their eyes before they steady themself. Like an actor on a stage. You think they'd hate that metaphor.

"Hah…" it's less of a laugh and more of a breath. "I… I suppose I am."

You're still holding hands. You hope they let you stay like this for a while. Maybe… maybe they need it, too.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

Akechi for the character ask thing. If already done Sumire pls

this ask is from *checks date* july 6 2022 and I never did this for either character but honestly i love goro so much that the format barely even works for him and everyone already knows how i feel abt him so i'm just gonna do sumire 1 year late

What I like about them

Her conflict with her sister is sooo compelling and just fucks as a character concept it's so good. The way she erases herself from existence because she wants to be her sister so bad...the way she doesn't want her sister back, she just wants to become her...it's so tasty and angsty and hrghh. And as a foil to Akechi she works soooo well it makes me a 100k+ word fic kind of mentally ill.

What I dislike about them

Her idolization of Akira is never called out by the narrative and it really bothers me because it is literally the exact same problem she had with overly identifying herself with Kasumi but we're supposed to find it cute because it's romantic. There is a version of their relationship that is healthy, and the game wants you to think that's what they have, but that's a little hard to believe when her Metaverse outfit is literally identical to his. I like shusumi and I do think it's cute...but only in theory. Sumire needs to be his equal, and as it stands she just isn't.

Favorite moment

When she goes absolutely apeshit berserk on Akira and Akechi and nearly succeeds in killing them because she wants so desperately to become her sister.

Least favorite moment

Her true awakening to Cendrillion has never and will never sit with me quite right. I don't like that Kasumi is still her Persona. Symbolically, Kasumi is still her mask, and that just doesn't work when her arc is all about finding her own identity? And eventually Sumire realizes that she can be herself while also honoring her sister, but she's just not there in her arc yet. Sumire needs a Persona that is herself before she can have a Persona that is symbolic of the memory of Kasumi living on inside her. I really wish Sumire had gotten her own Persona that wasn't symbolically her sister. She deserves to represent herself and have an identity all her own.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

Just...everything with Sumire and Akechi, honestly. God. There is so much potential in the way the two of them contrast each other that goes completely unexplored and it's such a shame. They could be besties (or more) in another life. And...I do get why we don't get sumigoro friendship in canon, because Akechi is barely in a place to talk to Akira during third sem, let alone this girl who reminds him of all his own worst problems, but god. Imagine it. They could be so good.

An interesting AU for this character

I have an AU concept that involves Kasumi more than it does Sumire, but it lives rent free in my mind and I've been looking for a chance to post about it, so. here.

Kasumi fails to save Sumire. She blames herself for her sister's death--it's her job as the eldest to protect her little sister; she ran into that road because of how Kasumi made her feel. She has a mental breakdown over it, becoming suicidal. Kasumi is sent to therapy under Maruki and admits that she's always envied her younger sister. Kasumi loves gymnastics, but lately it's become nothing but pressure and stress, and she can't even enjoy it anymore. Kasumi may be the champion, but that also put so much pressure on her that she never knew quite how to handle. If she doesn't win every meet she doesn't think she'd be able to live with the shame. All she is are the trophies--no one truly values her for herself, and they shouldn't, since she's a failure and a fraud. But unlike Kasumi, as the younger sister, Sumire never had that same pressure to be the very best. Sumire doesn't have the pressure of being the perfect older sister who has it all together.

Kasumi put up a strong front as a defense mechanism, but inwardly struggled to connect and understand Sumire like she should have. And now her sister is dead, because of her. Because she was too stupid to realize how she was hurting her.

She wishes she could be Sumire. Maybe then she could relax and be happy. Maybe then people wouldn't put so much pressure on her to always succeed. Maybe then her sister's death wouldn't be her fault.

And so Maruki actualizes Kasumi to become Sumire.

A crossover

I don't really have a crossover involving Sumire, honestly. I don't do crossovers very often anyhow, I'm more of an AU type person.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favorite ship)

I adore akeshusumi so much you guys. One year ago I wouldn't have shipped them but writing a Royal Trio fic changed me in unalterable ways. They are so good. They are so beautiful. I am obsessed with them. I cannot wait for Repaint Your Heart.

Other ships?

Sumitaba is a very close second to Royal Trio, they're such lesbians. And gamer x athlete is extremely cute.

BROTP

Sumire and Ryuji! Actually, Sumire and literally any of the Phantom Thieves, honestly! There's so much untapped friendship potential between her and all of the Thieves I'm so sad she didn't get to spend more time with them during third semester.

NOTP

I don't really have one. At one point this would have been shusumi but I've changed my mind on that ship. Its execution in game is meh but the concept itself could be so great.

An assortment of headcanons!

I'm bad at thinking of headcanons off the top of my head so Imma be an asshole and link you to my Royal Trio fic code violet instead. It has a ton of Sumire headcanons in it. It's an AU where Sumire saves Akechi's life in the engine room that continues through the whole third semester. I'm getting pretty close to finishing it!

[lucem-stellarum]

@t4llhum4n your tags made me want to expand on a thought I had. It was initially just a throwaway line but then I started thinking. It's not Vega centric, but still your fault :) also tysm I love sharing theories <3

For everyone else, the post in question is this one and these are the tags:

(Photo ID: #I stg this is so cool i legit have never thought about them this way #and Vincent being compared to MARCUS?! #and it WORKING?? #immaculate /end ID)

Under the cut due to length and discussion of canon violations of consent, of the Marcus and Adam variation.

Yeah, Vincent and Marcus. You'd think that Vincent and Adam are supposed to be mirrors of each other, and that's not WRONG, but when talking about specifically attraction and consent, which Mr. Redacted has explicitly said is a very important concept for him, I think there are different fits worth discussing.

To recap: Vincent and Marcus are foils of each other because of their idolization of their respective listeners. Lovely, especially in the first couple of videos, is particularly passive (which changes once Adam kidnaps them and they unleash their powers. I think it boils down to that literally being the first videos Mr. Redacted posts and having to figure out the particular balance between an ASMR listener and an audiobook character. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I couldn't do it. But it is something he's improved on since then). The Android is also one of the more passive characters to start with; this makes sense, especially early on while they were still being built and coded, their personality was literally a "work in progress" under Marcus' direction. Vincent and Marcus both are instantly and deeply enamored with the object of their affection. Vincent uses his charms, mysterious vampire nature, and flirty personality to entice Lovely and gain their interest. Marcus is sweet, caring, even nurturing, and tips the scales with the obsession code. But while both of their interest is reciprocated, it is Marcus' that is forced; it would be analagous to if Vincent were to use a trance to force Lovely to consent and accept his "love". While Vincent bites Lovely when he loses control (which, as per classic vampire stories, thematically is a blatant metaphor for sex), he very importantly waits for their true consent- without trancing them. Due to the obsession code overriding their system, the android at no point is able to give true, uncoerced consent during any of their interactions. They're both narratively confronted by their actions and treatment of their listener. Vincent has his moment of realization after Adam kidnaps Lovely and they get their power that he was (paraphrasing) "treating them like a toy; something to flirt with and tease and use for blood" and that he doesn't like that he's fallen into that pattern of behavior. He apologizes and promises to do better, and he does. Marcus, on the other hand, gets confronted by James about his actions and... well. His apology really doesn't amount to much, does it? Not with how selfishly and thoroughly he took advantage of his power over the Android and ignored any semblance of boundaries they might have had.

But what about Adam? Adam trances Lovely and takes advantage of them, and then gets what's coming to him almost immediately. Yes, that is one correct interpretation of his character in relation to Vincent. But, Adam never cared about Lovely as a person. He never wanted their affection or attention, it didn't matter if they hated him. He wanted Lovely to hate him, to acknowledge and submit to the sadistic power he held over them. All Adam cared about was their blood, their body, and didn't care what he had to do to get both. Lovely wasn't a person, they were a toy, a cash cow, "rare type of cattle that liked it", a pet he could keep and use and take advantage of as he wished. His character and narrative foil is someone... different. To use a different phrase, Adam is hedonistic. He cares about pleasure, his wants, and indulgences. To contrast this, we'd need a character who enjoys the same physical pleasures of the flesh but who values the consent of their partner. Someone who likes to take control but respects the other person's desires and boundaries. Someone like Gavin.

Makes sense when it's put that way, doesn't it? And Gavin is certainly rewarded for valuing and prioritizing consent with his partner. Taking care of them, and being taken care of in return. The relationship between Gavin and Freelancer starts out as pretty...physical and sensual, same as Adam's instant attraction, but that undercurrent of mutual respect morphed into true affection and love. Adam never respected Lovely, and used trancing as a way to disregard their boundaries. Gavin does make a few (a lot) of passes at Freelancer, but if a Sadism demon can use a spark of magic to encourage the worst in people to get larger energy returns (per Caelum) and Serenity demons can calm their charges, then why wouldn't an Incubus be able to do something similar? Plus, demons are so much more magically powerful than humans and it's never specifically said that vampires are the only ones able to cause a trance, just that's one of the few types of magic that they're really good at. Gavin is a strong demon and good at a lot of different types of magic; enough that he's basically just a formality away from full certification. He has the power to forcibly take away Freelancer's consent if he was so inclined, but he chooses not to; he wants the enthusiastic consent of his partners. If you accept a diversion into the Imperium verse, Vindemiator's valuation of consent is consistent across both verses because it's so centrally important to who he is, and one reason why he hates Kody so much (in both universes). Furthermore, vampires are the Sovereign's failed attempts at recreating Incubi among humans; as magical races, they're more closely linked than would immediately be apparent. If anyone would be able to also do a trance, it would be an incubus. So, Adam is the narrative selfish foil to Gavin's respectful hedonism.

So... thoughts? Does this make sense, or am I just talking out of my ass? The parallels are there, but are they narratively the most appropriate comparison, or would there be another one you think would work better? Thank you for sparking this in my brain, I wouldn't have gotten the motivation for this without you!

[fourseasonsfigs]

Love Fan

We've seen this very cute scene in fig form once before - in Everything I See is You. That set was adorable, and so is this one!

This is the extremely charming segment in Zhehan's Wahaha yogurt drink event (August 4, 2021), where the host pointed out an attendee who was holding up hand fan of Gong Jun's face. The host called it out as being Zhehan's face, but then realized his mistake when the fans went wild, and corrected himself that it wasn't. Zhehan had a huge, beautiful smile on his face, for a long time.

Here's a video of it:

Here's a few pics:

And, here's the hand fan in question:

I absolutely love this delightful little fandom moment. I also really love Gong Jun's version of it when he was filming Go Fighting, and he saw a fan holding a hand fan of Zhehan, and he also got this incredible smile on his face. I really hope some fig maker makes that version too. I'd add that video but once again the 1-video-per-post limit gets in the way.

When I purchased these figs, the seller had a challenge question of who's face was facing the stage. This was an easy one to answer!

Alright, before we move on to the figs, let's have a few more pics of Zhehan's beautiful face:

Alright, on to the figs!

These two are PVC, so they arrived sealed up in their little foil bags, each with their accessories.

AND...

I also got a hand fan! It came disassembled, but is easily put together. This is one side, with Gong Jun's smiley wiggly mouth...

...and on the other side we have Zhehan's face! Why he is frowning I just don't know, but it is just too cute.

This is quite large, it's actual hand fan size. Fig Gong Jun is holding an exact mini version of it.

Thankfully, the microphone went easily into Zhehan's hand, and Gong Jun holds his fan no problem. I'm a LOT less worried about accessories with PVC figs, but still.

I always put the side with Zhehan's face pointing out to the "stage" when Gong Jun is holding it, since he wouldn't need to hold up his own face on a sign! He's there to show fan support!

The concept of this is just so cute.

The detail on these figs is fantastic. You can see the careful touches on the back of their outfits.

As you can see, these figs stand up quite well. They're what's known as fat body style, which is extra cute here. Gives us more real estate for fig detailing too, which the maker has put to great use.

Wow, the light is all over the place - I took these very early this morning, and you can see the light changing as the pics progress!

Look at that detail on Zhehan's cuffs - both the shirt and the pants! So well done.

I love how the maker did Zhehan's hair - we really get the up-swoop that his hair was doing that day. This angle is also a great one to see one of his silver hoop earrings.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the inspiration for Junjun's outfit is this Louis Vuitton one:

Zhehan's outfit he wore that day was denim, as is this outfit, so I think it's a really cute choice by the figmaker to make them have complementary denim outfits.

A quick closeup of all that beautiful detail.

You can tell their accessories fit in their hands nicely since they are not falling out!

I really love the pants detail on Zhehan.

His little pointing finger is so cute!

Speaking of cute, we have the SUPER adorable box art. Along with a spoiler for another fig set, Big Fan Little Fan, which I'll post later this week. That set is also adorable!

Here's our figs with the other fig set so you can see both of them together. I love them both!

Hmm, I tried to take more of a close up but that's not much closer in. Well, you can still see how cute they are!

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 486

Scene Count: 31

Rating: Absolutely lovable!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[phoenix-fell]

This is not a dog at the last anon bc while I wasn’t a hardcore BS shipper I do love like morning follows night and think not fall in love with you is very cute. But as far as Teasing Moments, knowing Blake is bisexual actually makes the shift from BS to BB really cool? Yang was her teammate and friend, they were new to each other, so even with some initial physical affection and liking her Blake, who had just left a long term thing with Adam, wouldn’t want to rush or assume anything in a new friendship. But Sun who was very flirty from the get go and openly goofy was a Faunus like her so that’s how they connected, and while he was into her he wasn’t intense like Adam and wasn’t a close partner like Yang, so he was someone she could crush on in a safe way that wouldn’t ruin her team or anything like that.

But at the fall of Beacon when Adam set his sights on Yang, Blake realized her feelings for Yang ran deeper than a crush, and she left ALL of her friends behind. I know a lot of ppl don’t enjoy the fact that Sun followed her onto the boat, but his entire interaction with Blake during V4 and V5 is his own crush slowly taking a backseat bc he just wants to help Blake as his friend. He mentions Yang personally after he gets hurt and unlike Jaune in V8 I think Sun is able to pick up on Blake’s romantic feelings for Yang.

Not this anon but it makes me laugh / makes me mad when ppl say BS Deserve to be canon bc of the moments they shared and ignore that Sun as a character was willing to put those moments aside when he saw Blake was no longer looking at him that way or her crush was taking a backseat to the white fang issues as well as her feelings for Yang

Not to mention HOW MANY YA novels do the same thing where the main girl has a crush on two guys and has to pick between them? BS and BB are literally that trope but Sun is actually a good friend who cares about her and doesn’t try to kiss her to prove he’s Better. He’s a goof he can be too in your personal space at times. But he cares a great deal and seeing ppl say they want BS to be canon without taking these things into account make me wonder if they actually prefer the ship or just HATE BB. Bc BS is cute I like the concept, but if BB is bad bc they spent two volumes apart even if the girls didn’t “start” in V6 Blake has been away from Sun for going on four volumes now. So if they got together in V10 would ppl say it doesn’t make sense bc they weren’t around each other?

Again no hate to this anon or BS I think it’s cute I like their songs. But the butchering of Sun’s character is something I’ve seen for years and it’s always bothered me

Oh for sure - I get a lot of inboxes/messages to the effect of 'BS is better because Sun put in all the effort' and for me, like, I'm really respectful of BS as it's a valid ship even if it wasn't my cup of tea.

But one of my pet peeves is the concept that BS should have happened because Sun put in all the effort to help Blake overcome her fears while Yang 'just helped her with Adam', because it's so demeaning to Sun's character (and Yang's tbf) and how great of a friend he is (not to mention the fact that helping a friend out doesn't entitle you to a relationship with them), it just seems like a constant insinuation that all Sun's 'effort' was wasted because it didn't end in romance. I think Sun was a fantastic foil to Adam in handling rejection, because despite Blake being interested in someone else, Sun was a top guy about it and just so supportive. I love the fact that Blake and Yang started as friends, there's something in the supporting material as well that said Blake thought it would be easier to have been with a faunus too so I think that makes a lot of sense in the beginning. And tbh, it made a lot of sense for Sun to be the one to go to Menagerie with Blake, I think he was definitely the right one to go at that point. Partly because of it being a faunus settlement, because Sun has been invariably tied with the WF plot since he was introduced, but also to properly show that vital transition for Blake. Because even though Yang isn't there, it's prevalent throughout that they're both in each other's thoughts.

But yeah, you're spot on - the part that irks me most is the butchering of Sun's character in some of these takes. Like I said, BS was never my thing - had it happened, I wouldn't have been mad about it, and I think people should absolutely still enjoy the ship if that's their OTP and they deserve to, but yeah, everything you've said tbh!

[lunestael]

Itafushi vs. Satosugu Analysis

Posed with this question on twitter which had me go like “yeah thats not gonna happen.”

“If Megumi and Yuji end up the same as Gojo and Geto... what are we going to do? “

disclaimer: just using their ship names in reference to the relationship dynamic between the characters in canon, not connotating a romantic relationship

I feel like satosugu and itafushi are specifically portrayed to be foils of each other, to compare the ways that itfs excels in what stsg failed at (honest communication and being sensitive to each other’s feelings, acceptance of each other despite differences in philosophy, etc)

Both itfs and stsg have pivotal philosophical debates on what their personal beliefs surrounding “saving people” entails, which narratively serves to establish each person’s character and goals as jujutsu sorcerers. however, despite being about a similar topic, they are approached completely differently.

fushiguro claims “selfish” reasons for saving people, saving those he personally believes deserved to be saved, because he isn’t some kind of righteous hero, hes just a jujutsu sorcerer, and he does not want to save someone who will just cause harm others in the future.

itadori, on the other hand, maintains the belief that all humans deserve to life a normal life and die a normal death, regardless of what they have done, or will do. If someone were in trouble, and you were the only one capable of saving them, itadori’s belief is that you should try your best to save them. 

Both of them acknowledge this difference in philosophy, but interestingly enough neither disagree with each other’s conviction either. They find the meaning and think about each other’s positions in life that made them come to their own separate conclusions, and respect it even if it doesn’t exactly align with their own, with itadori stating that even if their philosophies are different, doesn’t mean they can’t both be right.

itafushi consistently seek to understand each other’s perspective and put themselves in each other’s shoes. This makes them more empathetic and more willing to listen and understand those they care about. 

stsg have always struggled with this from the beginning. Gojo and Fushiguro have relatively the same philosophy, as do Itadori and Geto (i could do a whole other analysis comparing gojo vs megumi as well as itadori vs. geto goddd) regarding the concept of saving people, though Gojo is much more crass about it than Fushiguro was, most likely to bait Geto into a fight, which Geto easily falls for. Even though they’re close and inseparable friends and the self-named “strongest duo”, there are clear moral lines that divide the two that they use to push against each other. I mean, they literally escalate into a near physical duel over it in not even two pages. 

on another note, gojo has been noted by gege to have relied on geto as a moral compass. your own moral and ethical code being dictated by another person can be extremely unhealthy and become manipulative. gojo saw geto as the pinnacle of morality (which is ironic considering his moral decisions a year later) to the point where whether gojo would massacre an entire religious group all depended on geto’s response at that moment. 

meanwhile geto had his own inner idealization of gojo as the strongest alone, not in the way the rest of the world perceived him, but in his own way as the supposed other half of the strongest duo. you can feel a certain sense of...envy or resentment when geto wishes he were gojo so he could achieve the society he gave up everything for, even though he was supposed to be the strongest WITH gojo. thats how far he felt from gojo without gojo realizing he had felt that way.

satosugu overall have a lot of misconceptions about each other they accept as inherent truths though they never actually confirmed, some of which are realized too late, others never revealed at all.

megumi could almost immediately tell when yuji had gone through some trauma as soon as he saw him alive again, and immediately brought it up to make sure he was okay, which even though yuji was not okay, it was a huge gesture from megumi to stay emotionally in touch with yuji when he can see him struggling.

gojo, however, doesn’t notice when the same thing happens to suguru, though he does notice something is off with suguru. not to say that it was satoru’s responsibility to bring suguru from the brink of his mental break, but rather it shows how their wavelengths are no longer as in sync as they used to be. with satoru having suguru as his moral compass as well, satoru may also have some doubts that suguru would have his own moral struggles since he depends on him to always make the right and just choices (oh the tragic irony...)

TLDR; itafushi tackle their differences and issues with each other with open arms and seeking to understand each other with honesty. they don’t apply a codependent attitude towards each other, being very close and understanding without idealizations of each other beyond reason. itafushi are just raw truths to each other from the beginning. satosugu...have a lot of internal issues they never bring to each other and just let fester until the dam breaks. they have preconceptions about each other and idealize each other without communicating them to each other, adopting both an unhealthy codependent relationship without proper communications. 

i think itafushi have a much better foundation of support to survive whatever ordeals they will undergo, and most likely be able to pull each other from their respective brinks when they come compared to satosugu’s tragic end.

[appleflavoredkitkats]

gonna talk about quackity and las nevadas real quick— fair warning, this is not cohesive as i am rambling this from the top of my head, but i wanted to relay my thoughts on them because i just. love them so much.

also this basically turned into “what is quackity's character arc and why is the las nevadas crew important to quackity's arc”

all people mentioned are of their dsmp counterparts unless said otherwise /dsmp /rp

tw: mentions of torture, violence

quackity is not a character who is only rooted in maliciousness. i can acknowledge that he is, scarily, one of the best manipulators of the smp, but his intentions and the reason las nevadas was made are not rooted in maliciousness. before the election results, we know that wilbur and quackity had a discussion about peace and change in the smp. quackity's reason for running was because he wanted to be the one to bring a positive shift in the smp. he wanted to garner a sense of belongingness in the smp because he felt excluded by l'manberg. upon hearing this, wilbur slaps him with the real truth about the dsmp— it is not controlled by pacifism. it can never be controlled by pacifism. if quackity wanted to make an impact, he needed power, and to acquire power, he needed to be violent.

which is why he does the things he does right now. his torturing of dream, his manipulation of his friends, him creating a gambling ground in general— he does that all to contribute to his plans of being revered. the main question we can garner from all this is: what's his end goal? i've been pondering about this for months on end now, and i still can't pinpoint what he wants to do with his power once he acquires it. all we can conclude is that he still wants to impact the smp one way or another, and that he is immensely determined to execute his plan perfectly. a guess of mine is that he still genuinely wants to bring peace in this server, to create a conflict so loud that it ends all conflicts. but to be honest, i could also see his end goal being less of “make the smp better” and more of a “let me guarantee the safety of myself and my loved ones” because at the beginning, we knew las nevadas was supposed to be made for him and the rest of el rapids, but we all know what happened. so now, he has different people in his crew that might substitute el rapids as other potential family he can care about? who knows! i do think it has to be related to the concept of belongingness somehow, because that theme is prevalent in both possibilities. also, something something, the plan's perfect execution may also become his legacy, something something. you get the idea.

which is actually funny because i remember that cc!quackity himself has expressed his own purpose in life in his alt streams, and it's quite the opposite of his own character's. he's stated numerous times that he intends to just… enjoy life. he was gifted one life to spent, and he'll just have fun with it. do what makes him happy. no legacies, no everlasting impacts on society— just his own happiness and wellbeing. and to me, i think cc!quackity is trying to make this ideology something his character eventually acquires in the future. the state of the dream smp shouldn't fall into the hands of quackity. it was never his responsibility to fix in the first place. he could have just left, he could have just enjoyed his life, but quackity seems so fixated in the idea of a possible shift in the smp. he wants to make as much noise as possible.

which is also funny because like, he doesn't have to! and interestingly enough, charlie mentions it. charlie has been continuously mentioning that everyone turns into dust anyway. charlie has seen lots of violent events throughout history, but he always seems to suggest that it's pointless because again, we all turn to dust. that belief is such a foil to quackity's belief of leaving a stamp on the smp because charlie suggests that it does not matter. quackity can make as much noise as possible yet still turn into the same kind of dust that silent people will turn into as well. it does not. matter. he should not be this fixated on his legacy and impact when it's not only going to be potentially meaningless, but it has also been hurting many other people as well.

but how will he eventually learn to believe in this ideology?

well, knowing that charlie was the first one to bring it up, i fully believe the las nevadas crew will be responsible for quackity's potential healing arc. las nevadas' crew is interesting because it feels like an anti-found-family family that fits in perfectly with actual found families. they were definitely manipulated into thinking joining las nevadas was a life or death situation, but what's interesting is that the same dreadful aura from las nevadas' third episode does not… continue on for the rest of the las nevadas streams? quite frankly, their streams have been pretty pleasant. of course, quackity still prioritizes his country over his people, but that doesn't mean he does not care about them at all. the fact that he's willing to recruit them and possibly share the legacy once his plans go smoothly shows that he does care about them to an extent.

but even if quackity manipulated them into joining, the crew has not been controlled by quackity in any other way afterwards. in fact, it seems like these people have been actually finding something purposeful and fulfilling from their stay there. like, fundy, foolish, charlie, and purpled genuinely seem like they're enjoying their time with one another. they don't degrade each other, they don't infantilize or hurt or insult each other; they actually seem like they enjoy each other's presence. sure, quackity promised them a legacy, but they themselves have kind of found a bigger purpose outside of legacy in las nevadas: belongingness, togetherness.

and i want quackity to realize that. because we already know that cc!quackity's probably gonna apply his own life philosophy into his character, but there needs to be a reason as to why he gets to that point. at the moment, those who craved for legacies in las nevadas seems to be slowly just… enjoying their time there because of the people they meet. the people they begin caring for. i 100% bet that later on, these people will stop caring about their legacy and begin caring for las nevadas for the people there that gave them purpose outside of making as much noise as possible.

and i want quackity to be one of those people to lets go of the concept of legacies and impacts. i bet that las nevadas will experience hell back to back, but he will have his crew members to fight alongside him everyday. he thinks that they're there because he manipulated them enough, but he slowly realizes that that's not the case— maybe at a point where las nevadas is at its lowest, quackity tells them that they can leave, that this was not the las nevadas he promised them. quackity tells them that there's no way they can ever gain proper legacies from it, but to his surprise, the crew stays. not because they still think las nevadas can provide them a proper legacy, but because they found a better purpose from las nevadas outside of legacies and impacts— and to them, quackity brought them together, and they're thankful for it. quackity delivered this opportunity for them, and now, the rest of the crew is giving quackity his own opportunity to find his own purpose. not in las nevadas in particular, but in them. he does not need to change the entire state of the smp to gain a sense of belongingness like he wanted during the elections— he can just find it through them, and that should be enough for him.

[doortotomorrow]

Mirrors and Cautionary Tales : John Murphy’s Journey to Redemption

When it comes to John Murphy, plenty of people have wondered why he spent a significant portion of his screen time interacting with the seasonal villains, and I think I’ve come up with a reason why this feels like such a steady trend in his overall story arc. It all comes down to how these villains represented Murphy’s internal struggles with himself as he grew and matured into the man we now know him as today. 

Let’s take this back to the very first season of The 100 where we first encounter Murphy as he touches down onto Earth and the kind of person he was back then. As beloved a character as he is now, I can’t mince words or sugarcoat things. He was the villain for the delinquents in the first season. So, what kind of villain was he?

He wanted power and authority by any means necessary - ( “Well, I think the princess is dead... but I know the king's about to die, so who's really gonna lead these people, huh? Me, that's who, and, yeah, maybe I'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister.” - We are Grounders I )

He was downright wrathful - ( his willingness to kill Jasper, holding someone over a fire, ganging up on Wells to remove his bracelet, almost killing Raven )

He was selfish and all about his own self preservation- ( making everyone else do the work around the delinquent camp while Bellamy is gone, wasting resources to blow a hole in the drop ship to make his getaway )

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With those things out of the way, let’s jot down all the villains Murphy interacted with.

Charles Pike

Ontari kom Azgeda

Paxton McCreary

Josephine Lightbourne 

Sheidheda

We’ll start with John Murphy’s origin point and his experience under his abusive Earth skills teacher, Charles Pike. While Murphy was largely absent from witnessing much of what Pike did to become Chancellor of Arkadia, he did see the end result of how that worked out for him. Desperate, in a jail cell, and then later on, stabbed to death in an act of revenge for the horrific things he did while in a position of power he practically stole. 

On the Grounder side, he had the unfortunate luck of being trapped in Polis with Ontari kom Azgeda. Initially, he went along with the whole false Commander thing, masquerading as her Fleimkepa and even gave her advice on how to maintain her power...but then he started becoming unnerved by her violent paranoia, ultimately getting traumatized by her when she viciously abused him.

Murphy’s front row seat to watching two people’s quests for power and authority left him with this valuable lesson : being power hungry will turn you in a paranoid, unhinged person with a list of enemies a mile long. You will never, ever have a moment’s peace. You will always be looking over your shoulder wondering if this is the day you get a knife in the back.

After the third season, Murphy’s desire for power and authority completely disappears. It’s not something he’s interested in anymore because he’s been shown that it’s simply not worth it. 

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Enter season five and its main villain : Paxton McCreary. What does McCreary like to do for fun? Start riots, blow things up, fire off big guns, and getting high off of combat. Oh, and he’s always, always emotionally detached and angry. His default setting is rage. It’s sounding kind of familiar, isn’t it? 

The fifth season is where Murphy’s at his most chaotic and destructive(both internally and externally). He’s blowing things up, playing with huge guns, causing riots, jumping into any battle he can for the adrenaline rush, pushing everyone away, breaking up with Emori until finally, it all comes crashing down on him. All of this chaotic behavior leads to him getting shot in the Rover, nearly losing his life in the process.

On the other side of the war, McCreary’s wrath caused untold levels of destruction. It was McCreary’s need for destruction that lead to Earth being completely fried, it was McCreary’s wrath that resulted in the loss of Monty and Harper, taking away two members of Murphy’s family from him. 

All of this unquantifiable destruction and death was a giant wake up call for Murphy. McCreary leaves him with this lesson: if you let rage and chaos possess you, you will end up losing everything. 

That’s why, when the sixth season rolls around, Murphy’s lust for battle was greatly diminished. 

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Speaking of the sixth season, it’s time to revisit Sanctum and get ourselves reacquainted with Josephine Lightbourne. 

When Murphy arrived in Sanctum, his heart was heavy, clearly in a state of mourning over those he lost when he woke up and realized Monty and Harper were gone. Not only that, but yet again, he had suffered another traumatic near death experience during Sanctum’s Red Sun event. His first day out of his long hibernation was hardly fun at all, experiencing nightmares about going to hell when he fell into a coma and waking up screaming over what he saw.

So, in a moment of vulnerability and wanting to avoid going to hell, Murphy became more and more tempted with the concept of the Prime’s method of immortality. The ultimate survivor’s move : not dying at all. It’s at this point where he met Josie and saw first hand what living forever does to a person. At first, he made a deal with her to get his hands on some empty mind drives(getting Emori in on the deal as well), but the longer he lingered in her company, the more immortality started losing its luster. When it was revealed Clarke was still alive, Murphy joined the others in helping to get Josie out of her head.

Immortality had turned Josie into a sociopathic monster, utterly incapable of respecting other people’s feelings and wishes, only focusing on her own wants and needs for the sake of preserving herself. This wasn’t who Murphy wanted/needed to be anymore, having fallen in love with Emori, and creating a family alongside her which Murphy valued too much to lose. After all, what was the point of living forever if he lost his family?

That’s why, when the mind drives come up again in the seventh season, they’re now a symbol of finite time in Murphy’s story. Just a few more hours with the woman he loved as humanity itself faced its final hours.

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With all of these cautionary tales Murphy’s seen play out throughout the seasons, avoiding all of those pitfalls the previous villains fell in, we’re introduced to his perfect foil : Sheidheda, the dark commander. 

Sheidheda was everything Murphy could have become if he never went on his journey of redemption, falling in love, and finding a family to fight for. Sheidheda craved power and desired nothing more than to see everyone kneeling at his feet. Through the Flame, he had lived forever, waiting for his moment of opportunity to arrive where he could rise again. If something got in his way, he’d burn it all down, creating chaos and bloodshed in his wake. He’s all of the previous villains combined into one package.

We were in desperate need of a hero...and we got one.

When Murphy and Sheidheda had their first confrontation, Murphy was deep into hero mode. He helped Emori calm down a rioting crowd, saved Sanctum from a nuclear meltdown, and rescued a group of frightened children. He kept on saying he was tired of playing the hero, but let’s be honest here, he wore the title well. Sheidheda was flawlessly utilized to showcase how far Murphy had come as a character, becoming a man we know his father would be proud of. 

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There you have it! My long, long winded way of breaking down why Murphy spent so much time interacting with the villains. It was their way of marking down each stage of Murphy’s overall arc. It was very much intentional. 

[blushie14]

Announcement/Skephalo AU idea

Hey all you lovely people! Hope you guys are all doing well. Just wanna say I’m still on break and I’ll probably stay on break for a little while longer.

Buuuut I couldn’t help but write something I had in mind a little bit. It’s not exactly a fanfiction. Partially a drabble? It’s mostly just an idea. 

If you’re interested in hearing my ideas for a hero/villain AU, feel free to keep reading.

So I've always had this AU in the back of my mind, and the more I think about it, the more I fall in love with the concept.

I don't know how long I had this idea, but either way I honestly have no clue how to turn it into a oneshot which makes me :(

So to make this easier for me, I'm just listing out my thought process. Seriously, I'm thinking up these things at the top of my head.

Skeppy is this well known hero that protects the city from various villains. His costume represents his minecraft skin a little. 

Skeppy's powers relate to his minecraft skin being a diamond. He can summon crystals in any shape or form. It can be anything he wants it to be and can control wherever they can go (like telekinesis). His identity is hidden from the public.

One of his greatest enemies ever? Badboyhalo, who also has a costume similar to his minecraft skin. 

He unfortunately doesn't have superpowers, but he's smart enough to build interesting/dangerous machines and weapons. Bad is also very good at combat.

"Now hold on a flipping second!" I can hear you say. "How in the world is this precious angel from above the villain in this?!" 

Umm well you see, the thing is he's kind of.. not.. great at it. I mean he isn’t the worst at being a villain. It’s just that he’s almost harmless! He's the kind of villain who not a lot of people take seriously when he's first introduced. 

His plans either end up being poorly executed or barely dangerous. Bad's persona is a little chaotic and basically "Mwahaha look how evil I am! I am the greatest villain of all time! >:D" ... Adorable, right? <3

When the two first face each other, Skeppy... does not take this guy seriously at all. Cuz first of all, what kind of dumb villain name is badboyhalo?! Skeppy finds this too funny to be true.

Bad of course gets immediately annoyed and all pouty about this (because how dare he makes fun of him). He tries to continue with whatever plan he was going to execute but..

Skeppy couldn't help but mess with him even more. Whatever his plan was, Skeppy didn't think it was a good one. It was waaaaay too easy to mess with him.

Because of that, Bad's plan to.. (idk, take over the city or somethin?) foiled and Skeppy didn't even have to do that much. He didn't even bother having the authorities involved. 

When it comes to all of the other villains, he needed to get the job done right away. That means it’s something he can’t joke about. But Skeppy surprisingly found it really fun to stop this new villain. A small part of him hopes he gets to see him again.

Bad however was absolutely (salty bahaha) furious with Skeppy. He was already loathing this annoying and troublesome hero. He was also frustrated that he didn’t exactly make an impactful first impression. (I mean, he DID but not in the way he wanted to)

Eventually of course, they face each other again. The moment Bad sees Skeppy once again, he immediately tries to act as menacing and confident as possible. He… starts monologuing like a typical cartoon villain. 

Like last time, Skeppy isn't taking this guy seriously. He interrupts his monologuing with dumb questions he could think of off the top of his head, floating right up to his face. (He's on a floating crystal platform)

"Soooo do you do anything in your spare time aside from acting all villainy?" 

Bad is caught off guard by this. He was trying to have this epic moment and all and this guy just-... what? He could barely get words out to even answer him as Skeppy asked more questions. Skeppy finds him intriguing, so he might as well!

"Do you prefer soup or lasagna?"

"Why does your costume look like a clown?

"If you could turn into any food you wanted, what would you turn into?" 

Bad then suddenly responds. "Hey! My costume does not look clown like!"

"I don't know dude, you seem kind of funny to me!" 

"Oh you're one to talk! How am I supposed to take you seriously when your costume is so derpy!" 

"Aww, thanks! I take that as a compliment!"

"Oh my goodness you muffin head. Just get out of my way!" 

"Muffin head?" Skeppy bursts out laughing. This "big bad villain" really just used muffin as an insult. That's freaking hilarious.

 "So I'm guessing you would want to be a muffin for that last question, hm?"

"No! No I-" Bad is stuttering, embarrassed that he was being mocked. "Maybe I do, but that's not the point right now! Stop laughing at me!"

Little did Bad know that Skeppy was undoing his hard work to carry out his plan while he was busy screaming at him.

When Bad realized this, it was already too late. His plan was ruined by Skeppy again. And of course, Bad was not happy.

As the weeks go by, scenarios similar to this would repeat over and over again. Skeppy would always trick him successfully, laughing every time their little "battle" would end.

Until this happened.

"You dirty cheater! That's the last time I fall for your tricks! Next time is going to be different!" Bad has had it with him.

Skeppy couldn't help but tease him to just rub salt in the wound. "You realize you've said that for like the 14th time, right?" 

He giggled as he continued "I find it cute that you think you can win someday. Cute and hilarious badboyhalo."

Bad growled and stayed silent. He didn’t like it when Skeppy openly mocks him. He also hates when he jokingly calls him cute. How could he say that?! He's hardcore! 

Besides, whenever he hears Skeppy call him cute, it makes him feel… weird.

As Skeppy leaves, happy with another day of fun destroying Bad's evil plans, Bad makes a serious decision.

His main goal has changed. He vows to destroy or at least trap Skeppy no matter what. Skeppy doesn't know it yet, but this was the rise of his archenemy.

I’m going to remind you all again... he’s almost harmless.

[tomyo]

Ducktales 2017 is gonna have me crying.

I haven't been able to watch the series due to college taking away too much times but I've been happy to finally get a chance to catch up and I'm slain. What gets me the most is the casualness of the world. They keep it fantastical and immediately fill it with a wide cast ranging from greek gods, superheros, and the supernatural but it never feels zany. Gearloose has been a favourite example of this, he is literally a mad scientist unable to really function with greater society. He has almost no empathy, curses society for misunderstanding him while also trying to appeal to investors and reasonably attempts to fire his intern when he's out of order. There's just something so bizarrely grounded in a way I can't fully place, sometimes it's show don't tell being well used, sometimes subtext, and sometimes just that they don't pause for dramatic effect. Before you know it, the horse with a statue head or the ghosts of Christmas just feel natural.

In interesting ways that feeling reflects the Duck family. When I think about it, Ducktales 2017 is pretty align with Venture Bros. A family known for adventures and the real ways the out there can be normalized. Everyone in the cast is capable of fighting and out manuvering their opponent. Season one's finale really shows it off as you watch chauffers, trained spies, and office workers quickly turn into a specialized tactical unit. I remember before being able to watch it being mystified and going frame by frame through webby's fighting. Remember Sokka's iconic fight against his master, how the master highlights each skill that makes the choreography so beautiful? Weeby and Magica are doing all of that and it's not even the focus of what they're doing. This is someone she's never even faced and not only keep low to stay out of range but even uses Magica's own barrier against her and slide behind her. There's something just so ingenious about that.

What particularly stands out to be too is Donald. I've always understood Donald Duck as the character who will get his comeupits in the end. Short tempered, self serving, cocky, and likely to be bested by the smart allec foil. He's the don't of the do/don't example. While he's certainly kinder I'm Ducktales, he's now presented as the helicopter parent who spoils everyone's fun. The text of the show says Donald isn't seen as cool, at least in the eyes of his nephews. The triplets are clearly now the main character (as apposed to scrounge in the previous interaction) and we can even see this by the fact they've now been given normal voices to be easier to hear. The juxtaposition the reboot is presenting us is how they as newcomers see their mudane uncle against the adventurous, eccentric, and wealthy head of the clan great uncle as well as other family members or associates.

But what's mostly crazy about this is they continue to see him as that. Even as they continues to learn not only of Scrooge but Donald's exploits, his casual greeting to a Greek god that idolizes him, taking command when there's a reason to fight, etc. He's still the lame one in their eyes.

So then we get to the latest episode I saw, Last Christmas, and it overwhelms me.

The boys have not known what it was like to grow up in the duck clan and we can really see that gap in this episode. Mind you, Dewey recently took part in defeating a witch out for world domination. He immediately drags Teen Donald along to find his mom and something to note is he leaves through the window of a stories high mansion and makes it to the ground in a few leaps. So it sets the standard for Donald's much higher skill.

The most obvious difference is how Donald's just willing to lick what could be his sister's blood. He's not even speculative, he's just unimpressed. Like he says, adventuring is juvenile to him. Where Dewey tumbles down a hill of snow, he slides with ease; when Dewey hides from the monster, Donald climbs up a tree like it's second nature and begins attacking the wendigo. The one that especially gets to me is when Della cuts them down. The striking image of his arms apathetically dangling, the hair flip, how I bothered he is at the idea of fighting with a guitar shifting around on his shoulder. It's really such an anime sense, like the slightly unhinged OP character you find.

I also want to deviate a moment to talk about Della's appearance, how she grapples the net trap with ease and talks about capturing one of the most well known fairy tale figures like she was trying to find just some rabbit or such. The twins almost kind of have the feeling of kids of doomsday preppers. That uncanny feeling of watching children feel so familiar with survival skills and tacticion even adults have lost touch with.

The dropdown shows not only the twins skill level over Dewey but also their relationship in their lineage. Again to gush over teen Donald's animation, he drops down with hardly any brace for impact, only briefly having his hand on the ground before getting up in a limp relaxed stance and an unfocused expression. Della on the other hand immeadia adjust herself into a proper fighting position showing her eagerness to fight as she delivers a challenge. It really solidifies what we know about them, how she always is after the next journey while he kind of sees it as there's better things he could be doing. And this carries through how he prioritized raising and keeping the triplets safe even more so than their mother had.

Like I mentioned before, the mcduck clan and the Ventures share a lot in common with how a famous patriarch defines the identity of the family as well as how each family member takes to that role laid out before them. For a lot of shows, the spectacle of concepts brought up in Ducktales would big it down and I actually see it a benefit to characters often being nonplused and capable when faced with daunting obstacles. But in some ways that suggests a general ennui for the clan. The mcducks/ducks are estranged from the rest of duckville and have numbed themselves over time. We see Rusty Venture deal with the consequences of having an unstructured and unsafe upbringing but rarely is it brought up in Ducktales (which to be fair it's a kid show even for as emotionally mature as it is). Della's disappearance was just the one tragedy where things went too far.

By the end we see the twins not even theorize but call out Dewey as a future relative and know protocol enough to stop him from revealing anything. I saw another user point out how sad it actually is when it's shown Donald remembers this night and what it must of meant as he raised the kid he met. But it also says a lot that in that moment as kids that Dewey clearly was emotional over Della and how foreboding it would be to have an unknown they needed to be warned about with not even a when to put it to. When you think of how even Webby says she's hardly known other kids before the boys, it apparent how isolating this home must be. When Dewey first finds Donald, the hallway he's in looks rundown, like the room was out of the way in a less used section of the house. That maybe the twins rarely saw other people.

At the end, Dewey returned along with his uncle as both realize how nice it would be to stay with all their loved ones singing carols next to a painting of Della's legacy while Donald and Della only have each other to be with as the huge portrait of Scrooge hangs over them.

[4birds-of-a-feather]

Chapter 27 - Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight (when it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night) [part 5]

Birds Of a Feather

A bit late because we wanted to update on occasion of Jeff Ament’s birthday but it’s the thought that counts, right? ✨ Hope you’re gonna enjoy this, thanks for your patience!

(In the previous chapters: after Mike has made her reason, Layla has decided to finally do something about her crush on Eddie; Sara has been enjoying Demri’s company but her mood has been ruined by finding Jeff with another girl in what’s been her room for the last weeks; Stone has witnessed the entire scene and, after some failed attempts by Layla, is resolute to make Sara come out from the bathroom where she has locked herself up)

“There you are!” Eddie came up behind Layla’s back as she was chatting with a guy and a girl who told her they were going to be part of the band’s crew during their first actual tour. She had known for a while that the guys were about to leave to play some gigs outside Seattle but somehow she kept thinking about it as something happening in a much more distant future. Talking with the crew members she realized they were going to go to Canada in a little more than a week and, in less than a month, they’d be off to California. She was thinking about Eddie and the fact she’d be missing him and also that she and Sara would probably be back to their own apartment soon. When she heard him call her she got startled because it was like her thoughts materialized right there beside her. She turned around and saw him standing there, holding two glasses of what looked like red wine, lips curled up in a kind of goofy smile “Did I scare you?” “Hehe no, I just didn’t hear you coming” she awkwardly replied and took one of the glasses from his hands. <It’s a party, it’s loud, you’re not supposed to hear anything, you didn’t need to point that out> “Wine! Good idea! Hey Smitty, let’s go get some for the midnight toast as well” the girl told her friend as they exchanged an obvious look. “I’ve been doing toasts with Cready the whole evening, I can’t miss the big one. By the way, where is he?” “No idea, let’s go find him” she dragged him out of the way and left Eddie and Layla alone. “So…” Layla smiled at him and started to talk but didn’t know how to continue and hoped he would say something to fill the however pleasurable silence. “So… what about Sara? Where is she?” Eddie thought that if Layla wasn’t right outside that door anymore then things must have been settled. “Oh. She’s still in there, with Stone. He’s trying to talk her into starting the new year in a room that’s not the bathroom” she shrugged and took a sip. “Stone? And why did you leave it to Stone to solve the mystery?” the singer asked suspiciously, since he knew the two girls were inseparable and Layla sounded weirdly annoyed all of a sudden. For a fleeting moment he thought she could be jealous but immediately laughed at the idea. “He confessed he was the one who made her upset” “It’s Stone’s fault then? It’s always Stone’s fault”  “He told her Scorsese is overrated and you know she’s a little touchy on the movie department” “Ouch! Yeah, hehe, I guessed. So, she likes Coppola and Scorsese too” Eddie tilted his head like he was assigning new interesting information to his memory and drank some wine while the girl stopped right before drinking. “How do you know she likes Coppola?”  “Oh well, ehm, because… because she said it. Not like she told me directly but I think I heard her mentioning him a couple of times”  “I see…” “IT’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT, YOU FUCKERS! GO AND GET YOURSELF SOMEONE AND CHOOSE CAREFULLY WHO YOU WANT TO ENTER THE NEW YEAR WITH!” Cornell turned down the music for a second to yell his announcement, then turned it up straight away. Eddie and Layla turned their heads to watch Chris just like everybody else in the room and, when the music was back on and their eyes met, the awkward silence was back on. “Err, any particular New Year’s Eve’s tradition in France?” Eddie mentally kicked himself as he spoke.  <What the fuck did I just say??> “Oh, well, yeah, there are many traditions for nouvel an” she answered, taken aback by the question. “I’m all ears”  “Well, people usually go to the réveillon, that is the New Year’s Eve party, all dressed up for the special occasion” “And I see you respected the tradition perfectly” the guy was feeling he was making a fool of himself with Layla but couldn’t help it. “Thanks. Mmm and well, to ring in 1991 the French way the wine in our glasses should be sparkly but I prefer red so I can make an exception” “I prefer red too” Eddie was thinking less about the wine he was drinking and more about the color of Layla’s top.  “And, you know, at the stroke of midnight… everybody wish each other a happy new year and kiss” “Lovers kissing at midnight is a tradition that goes beyond borders, I guess” he watched as couples were starting to appear all around them and felt the urge to drink a little more. “But it’s not about lovers only, everybody kisses everybody”  “WHA-” “... On the cheeks” “Ah!” “Hehe, lovers usually s’embrassent sous le gui” Layla added giggling at Eddie’s funny face. “That is…? They kiss… like idiots?” “They kiss under the mistletoe” she explained. “Isn’t that on Christmas?” “In France it’s a New Year’s Eve thing” she drank up what was left of her glass of wine and realized she hadn’t thought about putting any mistletoe branch in the apartment.  <It wouldn’t have made any difference but…> “No mistletoe here though” Eddie said, almost mirroring her thoughts. “And no lovers either. At least, on my part” she sighed as she scanned the living room and noticed people already kissing without the need to wait for midnight or to have mistletoe hanging over their heads. “Same for me” their eyes met again and totally unexpectedly they both burst out laughing at the same time. “We’re such losers” Layla stated as she was catching her breath. “We can always enter the new year kissing each other’s cheek like the losers we are” “Agreed!” Layla and Eddie shook hands “But being losers, we also need more wine to enter 1991 properly” “Your wish is my command, Miss Boulais” he offered her his arm and she gladly took it as they made their way together to the drinks table.

♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️

“You’ve been too harsh with Mike, Gossrad… I would have suggested my ex-apartment but the plumbing is fucked up, just like the electrical system and everything else” “No worries, I’m sure he has already charmed one of your neighbors – it’s a quality I envy him, to be honest” the guitarist sighed “C’mon, Sara, let me in” “I wanna be alone, is that such a hard concept to grasp? I hate New Year’s Eve, this is my normal mood for this day” “But you were totally fine before… has something happened to you?” “Well, I’m a great actress whose strongest suit is feigning happiness… now, seriously, nothing has happened: you must leave me alone, please”  He couldn’t see her but the way she had just said that last word struck something within him. “Scirea” “... what did you say?”   “I said Scirea, you fool!” “No, you mangled that word, you big fuckin’ idiot!” the girl almost growled “And that was a low blow, you shouldn’t have said it” “Desperate times call for desperate measures… C’mon, now you have to let me in, you can’t go back on your word” “I can’t believe you still remember it after all these years…” “I know, right? It’s just a code word that forces one of us to do whatever the other one wants, nothing remarkable”  “Just like your pronunciation, genius” she quickly retorted, making Stone snort. “So? What are you waiting for?” “You know you just blew the chance to use it for the rest of the year, right?” “Well, according to my watch I can survive this: it’s a quarter to midnight, after all” “Suit yourself,” Sara declared, finally peeping out from a crack in the door that she had just cautiously opened “but next year I’ll have two free passes to the word and it’s mandatory, ok?” “Deal” he smiled at her and followed her inside the room, then closed the door behind them. 

♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️

“Hey, what time is it?” he heard the question as if it was coming from a distant voice but it actually came from the person right beside him. It was probably due to the loud music playing at the party but mostly to the fact that his mind was somewhere else, just like his eyes, which were searching through the crowd in the living room. At some point he looked further ahead through the foil curtain and noticed some kind of commotion near the bathroom. He clearly saw Eddie and Layla leave one after the other. Then the bathroom door opened once again and someone let Stone in. He didn’t see who was inside, but caught a glimpse of a blue silhouette and didn’t like it at all. “Jeff?? Are you deaf?” “Huh?” he immediately came back from his frozen zoned-out state and looked at the blonde right next to him, who was giving him both a perplexed and amused glance “... It’s almost 1991, I guess”

♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️

“You know he died, right?” “Who?” Stone shifted in his seat, turning to look at the girl. They were both sitting on the floor, with their backs leaning against the door. “Scirea… last year, in a car accident” “Oh, I didn’t know” “Yeah, you never were a big soccer fan” Sara hugged herself “It’s a pity, he surely deserved much more fame” She then kept on rambling about his fate, what had caused his death, what kind of a job he was doing for Juventus and God knows what else; Stone couldn’t care less about soccer, that was true, but he listened to every single word without interrupting her: if babbling about deceased soccer champions kept her from wallowing in her own misery, he wouldn’t mind spending the next hours listening to her. Not at all. 

♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️♣♦️

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me??” Steve shook his head as he watched Layla and Eddie laugh together straight in front of him; in the meantime, somebody else was sitting near him and singing to himself. “When I was young, I never needed anyone…” “I can’t believe she hasn’t been single in like forever and now that I gave up putting the moves on her she’s fuckin’ single, for fuck’s sake?!” “And making love was just for fun…” “Oh shut up Elias, you’re probably still a virgin!” someone shouted behind the guy, who kept getting more and more dramatic and louder in his solo performance. “Those days are gone…” “And she’s already hooking up with some other guy – I mean, so much for being a devoted girlfriend” “Living alone, I think of all the friends I’ve known…” Elias drunkenly went on and put a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m not your friend, man” “But I’m everything you’ve got left so I wouldn’t be so rude, you know?” Elias retorted really quickly before singing again “When I dial the telephone, nobody’s home” “You don’t even have a phone anymore, Dave said you forgot to pay the bill!” Matt said passing him by.  The red haired guy just gave him the middle finger and screamed at the top of his lungs: “ALL BY MYSEEEEEELF” “Oh, Jesus Christ” Steve facepalmed while everybody in the room looked at Elias and laughed. “DON’T WANNA BE ALL BY MYSELF ANYMORE” “I can’t believe even Lukin scored someone and I’m stuck here with you” he pointed at the couch where his bandmate was busy tongue-wrestling a goth girl. “UH! I LOVE THIS SONG!” Layla yelled out of nowhere and for a second the guitarist thought she was referring to Elias’ rendition but then he realized she meant the song by The Church that had just come up from the big stereo in the living room. She was dragging Eddie towards the center of the room when Elias tapped Steve on his shoulder. “Shall we dance?” he asked with a hiccup. “... I need a fuckin’ drink”

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Sometimes, when this place gets kind of empty Sound of their breath fades with the light

“This song…” “It was Layla’s idea, she specifically requested it” “Typical El: she has good taste in music but lacks some ability in the mixtape department… I hope she hasn’t asked you to put on some Dylan or Cohen as well” “Hell, that would spoil the party” “Lambada, on the other hand… no contest, c’mon” Sara exclaimed in a theatrical way, making the guitarist sneer. “Admit it, I brightened your whole evening!” “More like ruined it, champ” “Don’t think you can fool me, missy; I saw you before, when you were rambling on some astrological bullshit with Demri: you were practically grinning from ear to ear” “I told you, I’m a fairly good actress”

I think about the loveless fascination

“Jeez, Sara, is it so hard for you to just admit you were perfectly fine before? And then something happened – and you don’t wanna tell me what it was exactly – and-” he gesticulated, pointing out the bathroom and her “and you ended up here, all alone during New Year’s Eve” “I told ya, this is normal for me… I don’t enjoy New Year’s Eve and hate parties, so put the two together and you end up with my archnemesis” she shrugged, but wasn’t able to meet his gaze. “You’re impossible! I saw you running in here, ok?! I saw you and I’m still doing it right now, when nobody else is giving a shit about you!” he blurted out, and she was taken aback. “What the fuck do you mean?? What, you saw me having a mental breakdown and want me to thank you because you ran here like a knight in shining armor?! Fuck off, Stone! Just what am I supposed to do to make y’all understand you have to leave me alone?! Tell me, what-” the girl stopped because she felt her voice already quivering. <Fuckin’ great, Fancini! Have yourself a good cry, given how it’s been hours since you last cried your eyes out! And do it in front of somebody who probably still appreciated you and now will lose all the respect he had for you! Great fuckin’ job, you outdid yourself> “Hey… hey, it’s ok” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled back. “Nothing’s ok, understood? Nothing! And it’s all because he...” she finally sobbed, her eyes immediately watering like they had wanted to do ever since she had turned that goddamn light on.  <... ever since that July afternoon>

Under the Milky Way tonight

“Forget about him, ok? Let’s not talk about him” the guy kept on babbling. “How… how can you ask me to forget him?” she snapped out of it and recoiled, shooting him a glance full of both desperation and disgust for what he had just said. “Ok, then you don’t have to forget him,” he rolled his eyes, mustering all the patience he could “but we can talk about someone more important – you” “Me? More important? What’s that supposed to mean?”  “It means that you’ll stay silent and I’ll say every single thing that makes you awesome and hopefully you won’t feel like shit anymore” “Then you can cut it out already, there’s nothing you can say that can make me feel better” the girl hid her face between her knees, hugging her legs “And it would only be a waste of time, I haven’t done a single positive thing in years… I’m just tired, I wanna be alone”  

Lower the curtain down on Memphis Lower the curtain down, alright

“You’re so articulate and well-spoken it honestly puts to shame a lot of men who think you aren’t worthy of their time, and somebody should seriously tell ‘em it’s actually them who don’t deserve to waste your time” the guitarist cleared his throat, then resumed speaking without looking at her “The way your mind works… you can have a conversation about everything, there isn’t a single topic you can’t tackle – and yeah, I’m talking about science too: you may have been terrible at it in school, but outside? Whenever the newspaper had a story on the latest scientific discovery, you were always the first of us to know it” He heard her sniffle quietly and took her silence as a sign to keep on going.

I got no time for private consultation

“You’re always unapologetically yourself, for better or worse; you stand up for yourself and the ones you love, but also for people you don’t know at all – hell, you must be the bravest person I know” he heaved a sigh, his eyes never leaving the tile they had been staring at for the past five minutes “You’re a force to be reckoned with, truly you are… and I know you always carry some snacks in your backpack so you can feed stray cats – a shitty person doesn’t do that” At those words the girl raised her head immediately and looked at him with wide eyes: “How…?”

Under the Milky Way tonight

“Five years ago… every time a Queen song came on the radio, I used to think of you and what you might be doing in Florence: were you still attending gigs? Did you speak Italian with an American accent, just like you spoke English with an Italian accent? Did you still fly into a rage if anybody said that Hot Space was a shitty album?” he had ignored her previous question, but now finally found the courage to turn and look her in the eye “Did you still have that half dimple when you smiled all embarrassed? You know that kind of smile, the tight-lipped one”

Wish I knew what you were looking for

“Please, don’t look at me!” Sara immediately turned away, almost shrieking “I’m a monster: I have a runny nose and I’m sure my make-up is all smudged” The guitarist put his hands on her shoulders and made her face him again, then started to wipe her nose with some toilet paper. “... I look like a fucked-up panda, don’t I?” she muttered after a while, finally regaining her voice. “You just have a nose as cute as a button and as red as the one of a certain reindeer, the rest is just like it was before… oops, except for the eyes” “What? What is it?? They’re red, aren’t they?? Fuck, I’m not ready to say goodbye to my reputation as a badas-” “They’re shining, brat” he poked her nose with his index “Crying apparently suits you, but I’d appreciate it if in the future it’ll happen because you’re laughing too much” “Oh, shush” she pouted and shoved him, making him chuckle because avoiding her pushes was becoming increasingly harder but, most of all, because her half dimple had just appeared on the right corner of her mouth.  

Might have known what you would find

After a while Stone was finally able to stop her, taking her hands in his without looking away.  “Ever since I’ve known you, the ending of Chaplin’s City Lights has been able to move me, because before I didn’t understand it… I had never experienced what the Tramp goes through with the flower girl” he sighed and gave her a sad smile, slightly squeezing her hands “I don’t get tired of you the way I get tired of other people”

And it’s something quite peculiar Something shimmering and white

“Stone, what-what are you trying to tell me?” the girl looked quizzically at him but squeezed back his hands. “I don’t know,” he raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear “what do you think it is?” 

It leads you here, despite your destination

Neither of them could tell who had been the first one to move, but now Sara was straddling him and he was holding her face in his hands and they were kissing – heavily. She could still hear the song faintly playing in the background, but all she could focus on right now was how Stone had been looking at her, the feeling of his lips against her own and the way he was still holding her, like she was the most precious thing he had ever laid eyes on. She touched his cheek and felt it was smooth, almost boyish (not strong and stubbly as the one she would have liked to stroke), and the realization made her angry; she instinctively proceeded to run her fingers through his hair, eliciting a moan from him, and pictured a pair of hazel eyes behind her eyelids that turned immediately into green ones. She shut her eyes with all her might until all she could see were lazy stars, then dizzily abandoned herself to passion, as if she were living somebody else’s life. 

Under the Milky Way tonight

[ichihime]

ANONYMOUS ASKED: I was following along a thread on twitter and an anti said when Ichigo laid dead on the ground with a hole in his chest in the Lust arc, that he didn’t say “I can hear her..stand up..I will protect her” before hollowfying. They claim he instead said “I can hear..stand up..I have to protect” using no pronounce directed at Orihime, hence NOT coming back from the dead because he wants to protect her specifically but because of his instincts to protect and he would’ve done it for any of his friends. They also said that Orihime didn’t scream “help me” but instead said “help” which triggered Ichigo’s instincts to protect, making him rise from the dead, hence once again making it clear this was never about Orihime specifically but about Ichigo’s instincts responding when hearing a voice in need (and this voice could’ve been from anyone amongst his friends) and how the hollow would not allow him to die regardless. Basically the English translations are incorrect and the raw version in kanji never used pronounces during these scenes. Is this correct and how would you respond to this?

There are a couple really important factors to address in this translation and why its English counterpart would supplement with pronouns specifically referring to Orihime; first, that Ichigo’s speech is meant to be broken and fairly incoherent because it’s conveying the idea that he as a human is focused on this sole objective as he’s dying. Second, that in Japanese, there isn’t necessarily a requirement for subject pronouns to form a sentence talking about a subject (the subject in question being Orihime) —this is a particular grammar rule that has no translatable equivalent in the English language, because they’re ultimately different structures entirely. I drop this phrase a LOT on here, but again, cultural context is important. Since you also sent this ask to my friend @ichinoue​​, there’s been some really excellent fan feedback about the structure of Japanese language and how it differs from English —this post in particular.

Now — onto the actual question:

I think there’s definitely a possibility that Ichigo would have done this for his other friends, but only if this moment had also been preceded by Ichigo vowing to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” those other friends. Kubo did write a scene like this, and made a pretty big deal about it, but that scene involves one specific character —not all of his friends.

This hollow transformation was written as a climax in Ichigo’s narrative arc for the Hueco Mundo saga —as the ongoing theme during this arc was about his struggle with his identity against his inner hollow as an ever-present threat. This could not be a more clear theme throughout this specific arc. There’s a lot of specific focus placed upon this struggle, his cooperation and subsequent training with the Visoreds, his lack of control despite his best efforts, and his juxtaposition of this struggle for control in his actual fights against the Arrancar and Espada. This is important to note, because in response to this, there is only one scene with one character that both:

Involves him promising to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” a friend he cares deeply for (using the same character for “protect” that’s his namesake, no less —I’ll get into this tidbit more further down).

Functions as a foreshadowing tool, and is later double-downed upon as a foreshadowing tool by the same character as mentioned above.

When it comes down to it, the grammatical inconsistencies that come from translating between languages don’t have any particular bearing on this specific scene, because the intent was already made clear as early as Chapter 196. That’s how foreshadowing works —even if we as the reader don’t realize it’s happening until after the fact. What’s more, this is how Japanese functions as a language; it’s constructed around making sense of the context, which is why it doesn’t necessarily need subject pronouns to function or convey meaning. (Though I can understand why this goes over most Anti-IHs heads... their arguments depend almost entirely on pulling things out of context, which obviously doesn’t work.)

That said —

This scene says a lot. And even though Ichigo is speaking directly to Orihime so we understand she is the subject of what he’s saying, there’s a lot of additional meaning we can derive from this scene by reading (you guessed it) the context. 

Ichigo is characterized early on by somewhat brash, irritable (though this is conditional), impolite, “punk”-like mannerisms. His speech tends to be informal (cultural context) as does his body language. However, we also know that he doesn’t say things lightly when it comes to promises and protecting others. These words carry weight, but there’s an additional sense of conviction conveyed through his respectful and formal gesture of bowing, his unwavering eye contact, and we as the readers can understand this without needing an explanation.

This is especially interesting because if IRs want to get smart about raws, then they should also already understand the additional importance placed on this scene when it comes to Ichigo’s word choice. Ichigo uses the character “護” (mamoru / ”to protect”) to convey his intentions. There are a lot of different ways to write “protect” in Japanese, many of which Ichigo uses when he makes these promises or talks about protecting others throughout the series. What makes his choice of “護” especially significant and piles on more and more contextual importance is that this is the same character for “protect” that is his namesake and the basis for his core character motivations. This is also only time throughout the entire series Ichigo specifically uses “護” to refer to protecting someone. 

If the intention of this to act as a foreshadowing tool wasn’t clear enough, it is again referenced by Orihime later —just at the beginning of the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow. 

Already, we have a precedent set by Orihime’s direct involvement. This is the second scene in a pattern of foreshadowing the events of the Lust Arc. 

The intent is clear; this is a theme in Ichigo’s narrative arc that involves Orihime, because it also involves the development of their relationship. Her fear of hollows, her fear of Ichigo losing himself to his hollow side, Ichigo’s struggle to expose himself to this power he relies on to win in battle while also trying not to lose himself. There’s an underlying theme of Ichigo and Orihime struggling to communicate with each other, desperately wishing to protect each other and going to whatever ends to do it, but ultimately thinking its a burden they must shoulder alone. They are both concurrently struggling with feelings of uselessness (Ichigo isn’t strong enough, Orihime can’t do anything) throughout this arc, acting as foils even if their individual journeys take different shapes. Even so, these conflicts are juxtaposed by the theme of “The Heart” (the bonds between people) that also keep appearing. They’re both frightened, they’re both feeling weak, feeling desperate, and yet still — they can understand one another.

So we have this pattern now:

Ichigo vows “Next time... I will protect you... without fail!” to Orihime with a sense of personal importance conveyed through the use of his name that is unmatched throughout the rest of the series.

Later, Orihime notes very plainly that “Whenever he uses strong words, it’s like he’s making a promise. I believe that he makes a promise to himself. I think that he expresses his words in feelings so that he will follow through.” The important takeaway being of course the forthright meaning, but also “When Ichigo says he’s going to [do something], he will [do that something] for sure.”

We all know what happens next —the character conflicts, the miscommunications, the belief that these are fights that need to be handled alone, the struggle against the powers of a hollow, the fear of exposure to that power... all culminate into The Lust Arc.

— CONTENT WARNING for canon-typical gore, blood, impalement, and body horror.

With the above established foreshadowing, we can see how it leads to this; When Ichigo says that “he will protect you without fail”, he will protect you for sure.

“To be clear, a total transformation to a hollow, is neither evil or good; it’s more like pure power .. so I made a voice of pure-hearted power that is unrelated, beyond the concept of good and evil so I screamed from a clear pure heart yet, at the same time there is some sadness and thought of Orihime in my head.”

— Masakazu Morita (Ichigo Kurosaki’s Japanese VA), on how he voiced Hollowfied!Ichigo during the Lust Arc.

 “The perfectly hollowfied Ichigo ruminated over Orihime’s screams and was bound only by that objective.”

— Bleach UNMASKED

If what I outlined above wasn’t clear enough, Ichigo goes as far as to stab Ishida, his friend. It couldn’t be about anyone else. This specific theme has always very clearly been about Ichigo, Orihime, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to hollowfication as a concept.  

I want to also be very clear here as well; with the established theme of Ichigo always fighting against his hollowfication, and Ichigo’s Hollow being motivated solely by self interest — it isn’t Ichigo’s Hollow responding to Orihime’s plea, it’s Ichigo’s humanity. Ichigo’s Hollow finally getting an opening to take over his host (to become The King and Ichigo, The Horse) is what revives Ichigo. But his vow to Orihime and his desire to fulfill that promise is what allowed him to cling to his humanity. The Hollow is motivated by survival instinct, not any desire to protect —that’s all Ichigo, just as it’s always been.

I think anyone who is still willfully misinterpreting this and holding Japanese language structure to English rules and conventions is seriously pathetic. Even in English, the pronouns have zero bearing on what’s being conveyed here. They can try and disprove IchiHime as much as they want as far as I’m concerned. The fact remains that at the end of the day, giving the Ichigo/Orihime relationship as much attention and dissection as they do goes to show that (a) they still perceive it as a threat and (b) there’s such a large volume of Ichigo/Orihime content to comb through to begin with —a fact they’ve vehemently denied for years.

Also like, IchiHime is canon. They’re happily married. They have a family together. Just tell them to take the fucking L. I get secondhand embarrassment from watching them rehash the same old bullshit time and again.

[warsmith-38]

How I would do RWBY pt. 2

Season Two

Emerald and Mercury go to book store.

Try intimidating ex-White Fang owner.

He’s tense, but not impressed.

Adam walks in.

He shits himself.

Tries fighting.

Dies. Painfully might I add.

Emerald and Mercury banter. Adam just seems bored.

Cinder (teenaged, not adult) scolds them for 86ing the guy in such a public and possibly trackable way.

Adam assures them that they weren’t seen. He has practice in that sort of thing.

Torchwick is annoyed at working with these people but at least he’s getting paid a mint.

Cinder says that, with all of the stolen dust, phase two of plan can to be started soon.

Neo give her a look of ‘get over yourself, you chuunibyou.’

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

More guests arrive.

Ironwood talks with Ozpin about world affairs.

Grimm populations and attacks are getting worse, but are still manageable.

Says that he has brought plenty of extra security in the form of Penny and a big amount of security robots and mechs.

More bonding scenes because reasons.

RWBY + JNPR have food fight because funny.

Velvet and Blake are closer than earlier and give little ‘anti-racism’ classes for Weiss.

Blake is friendlier with everyone now that she knows they wouldn’t kill her since she’s a faunus.

Ruby has taken on the role of mechanic for everyone’s weapons.

Jaune dominates wargaming night.

Ren and Fox try to help Ruby with her hand-to-hand skills (Yang is not a great teacher of such things)

Scene of properly meeting team SSSN.

Nice guys, but a little too uncoordinated in style.

Ruby ends up having a frustrated breakdown.

Gives WBY speech of how they have to get involved and screw the people telling them to sit down and let them handle the problem instead.

Blake is the first to go along with what she’s saying.

Yang and Weiss argue that this is not a good idea, saying that this sounds like Ruby just wants to go play vigilante again.

Blake says that Ruby has a point, nothing will get accomplished if they sit around doing nothing.

Weiss is the one that cracks next. Agrees that the authorities aren’t exactly inspiring confidence since the run in with Torchwick.

Yang finally gives in, if only to make sure Ruby doesn’t get herself murdered.

Ruby, in her excitement to actually be doing something, rushes out the door to get snacks and runs into someone.

That someone is Cinder.

Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and disguised Neo (Team CEMN (Cinnamon (work with me here))) keep up the façade of Haven guests from canon.

Ruby almost immediately starts gushing over their cool weapons before being reined in by WBY.

Emerald pickpocket’s Weiss’ wallet and snags rich girl’s cash before putting it back.

Mercury and Yang have a very clear stare-down of ‘punching vs kicking, who will win?’

Neo and Blake…stare at each other (Adam is Blake’s Rival/Foil. Blake v. Neo is just pair the spares).

RWBY has made new friends. (The poor dears)

RWBY start their investigation.

Team SSSN turns up to help at the last minute.

Okay, sure, free help.

Blake and Sun try to find local White Fang schmucks.

Scarlet and Sage go off to do random shit.

Yang drags Neptune to Junior’s club to check the pulse of the criminal element of the city.

Ruby and Weiss dig up information at library place-thing.

They encounter Penny on the way.

Penny acts weird(er) and tries to bolt off.

Weiss agrees that Penny is suspicious as hell and, with all the happenings, that means that she could be a potential lead.

She lets Ruby go after her while she about her investigating alone.

Penny reveals to Ruby that she’s a mechanical maiden (Persona 3 is best Persona).

Ruby is VERY interested now.

Ruby already liked her as a person and now she knows that Penny is a person who is also a weapon.

Zero downsides.

Penny, happy to be accepted, let’s slip that she knows some crazy stuff is happening in the world.

Says that that’s why she was allowed to come to the tournament, as extra back up just in case.

Says that the communications tower is the most obvious target but might not be the actual target.

Can’t elaborate further because of Ciel and her bodyguards showing up.

Ciel gives Ruby the third degree on encouraging Penny’s truant behavior.

Ruby gives her the finger.

Ciel takes Penny away and Ruby gets back to work.

Weiss gets whatever information about the White Fang and Torchwick that isn’t classified, and a little that is, transferred to her.

Her older sister is a high ranker in the military and her father bankrolled a good chunk of said military.

Ain’t nepotism a bitch?

Yang and Neptune come up empty handed, but Yang got to pick another fight at the club before the cops showed up so she’s all good.

Neptune thinks that that’s all Yang went there to do in the first place.

Scarlet and Sage get captured by the White Fang. (They said they had fresh cookies, what were S + S going to do, say no?)

Blake leads Sun along a trail of breadcrumbs to a White Fang hideout.

Sees a recruitment rally going on.

Blake has a heart attack seeing who’s giving a speech.

It’s Adam.

Speech is an emotional call to arms against the cruelty of humanity.

Crowd is skeptical but still listening.

Reveals his brand.

Crowd is now enthusiastic to sign up for the White Fang.

Adam reveals newly stolen war-mech.

Says that they’ll test its power by executing Scarlet and Sage.

Blake spoils his moment by covertly revealing that Roman is the pilot of said mech (Neo is co-pilot).

Crowd turns against Adam for his hypocrisy.

Adam cheeses it.

Roman takes it on himself to attack Blake and Sun.

Scarlet and Sage are freed and take on the rowdy crowd.

While running, Blake and Sun encounter RWY and Neptune.

Sun and Neptune get good hits in but are btfo’d.

Scarlet and Sage find them and all is good for team SSSN.

RWBY has quasi-rematch against Roman + Neo.

Fight goes well.

Team CFVY shows up and stomps the mech.

Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!

RWBY celebrates a fight well won.

CFVY are pissed that RWBY would do something so dangerous and make them promise not to do things like this again.

RWBY lies through their collective teeth about not doing it again.

Get put on probation anyway.

Pyrrha and Jaune are having a moment together before Jaune ruins it.

Jaune admits that he lied and cheated his way into school due to impatience and lack of immediate combat skills.

He confesses all of this out of guilt and plans to turn himself in.

Pyrrha is actually rather angry at him.

1. for cheating to get what everyone else fought tooth and nail to earn the right to and 2. Putting the rest of his team at risk due to his inability to keep up with them in a fight and for associating them with a cheater/liar.

Not to mention lying to her face.

Says good riddance.

Cardin overhears and blackmails him into doing what he says or else he’ll narc on him and say that NPR knew and thus were complicit in the crime.

Jaune goes along with it while creating plan to oust Cardin and get him kicked from school.

Has conversation with Ren and Nora, both of whom are pissed at him.

Of course Pyrrha told them.

Jaune tells them that he knows he’s a piece of shit but also has Cardin to deal with.

Ren and Nora begrudgingly agree to help him get rid of Cardin.

Tells them his plan.

Plan proceeds to fail and Jaune ends up fighting all of CRDL alone.

Loses.

Grimm outside of their power-level shows up.

Jaune’s quick thinking and tactics get it killed.

Cardin is grateful and promises to keep quiet about blackmail. Even means it too.

CRDL is never a real issue again due to them actually realizing that it’s a very cuntish thing to bully the guy and/or the friends of the guy who actively saved their lives.

Jaune plans to give one last apology to his team before he turns himself in.

NPR say that they deliberated amongst themselves.

They have decided that Jaune doesn’t get to take the easy way out.

His penance is to train his ass off, night and day, to catch up to them on the physical level.

Jaune’s role is to be the strategist and that it’s his job to make plans that keep them all alive.

If he fucks up, they work his ass harder until he doesn’t fuck up.

They haven’t fully forgiven him, but they’re giving him a chance because they genuinely like him.

Jaune is touched by their compassion and promises make up for his mistakes.

Sparring day in class.

Jaune has match against disguised Neo.

Neo wins but Jaune starts to have suspicions.

Pyrrha and Mercury spar.

Pyrrha wins but Mercury now has valuable data on her overall fighting style and semblance usage.

Cinder and Ruby are last match of the class.

Cinder has fire powers as a semblance.

Has second semblance giving her bullet time.

Bullet time doesn’t work all that well against Ruby because of her super-speed.

Ruby gets some pretty good hits in. Kinda kicking Cinder’s ass.

Cinder then decides she’s done playing nice and goes on full offensive. Even starts to scare the crowd.

Times up!

Due to technicality, Ruby won the fight.

Aura cohesion (health bars) Cinder:48% Ruby:51%

Emerald and Mercury are blue in the face with fear of what Cinder might do, having officially lost a fight.

Cinder helps Ruby up, apologizes for going overboard, and offers to buy Ruby lunch the next day.

Ruby happily agrees to hang out with her newest friend.

Cinder later explodes at her hideout and incinerates a White Fang member that got a little too close.

Adam pretends to care. Doesn’t actually.

Ruby and Cinder become shockingly good friends (as far as Ruby is concerned).

Cinder explains the concept of a second semblance, confirming to Ruby that she’s a ten-percenter.

It’s somewhat rare, but it’s common enough that people know how it works and why it unlocks.

Great emotional duress.

She was raised in an orphanage that REALLY sucked.

She awakened both semblances pretty quickly and was snatched up by the authorities as soon as possible to be a huntress.

She’s mostly lying about the details but there is still the base truth.

Ruby tells her that she lost one of her parents too.

Summer just didn’t come home one day, being told she was killed in the line of duty by a lucky grimm.

She’s always thought that there’s more to this story, but doesn’t have the means to follow up just yet.

It’s part of why Ruby wants to be a huntress, to do her best to make sure that some other kid never experiences that kind of loss because of the grimm.

Cinder tells her that that’s not the worst motivation. (she means it more than she thinks)

Since Blake saw Adam at the rally she has become obsessed with analyzing all the data gotten during investigation.

RWY is worried.

Yang talks to her about it, giving the speech about her mother and the problems with obsession.

Blake talks about how dangerous she knows Adam to be. Is vastly terrified of him.

Yang reassures her that the team can handle that punkass.

4 on 1, let him try it. They’ll put the boots to him. Medium style.

Blake reluctantly snaps out of her funk.

Dance comes.

Everyone’s having a good time.

Pyrrha decides to properly forgive Jaune.

They kiss and, after a wacky JNPR argument because funny, so do Ren and Nora.

Insert the cool JNPR dance scene here.

Ruby is happy for her friends but notices some bullshit going on near the comm. tower.

Cinder is infiltrating it wearing something that actually makes it difficult to tell who it is.

Makes a big show of knocking the guards unconscious.

Places real obvious hacking device onto console.

Ruby comes in and shoots at her.

Cinder pops smoke and disappears.

Authorities arrive and (as far as they can tell) disable the hacking device.

Ruby is given a commendation for her actions and her team is taken off probation from earlier.

Upper echelon is pleased that enemy plot was foiled.

Exactly as the bad guys wanted.

Ozpin presses the doubt button.

Teams gets chaperone assignments.

JNPR requested a special Grimm bounty mission.

RWBY gets put on simple observation mission.

JNPR spends time tracking and eventually fighting nuckelavee grimm with Prof. Port.

Ren comes to terms with fighting the grimm that killed his parents.

Y’know, sub-plot stuff to relieve some main plot tension.

RWBY is sent with Dr. Oobleck into ruins to observe and document the growth rate of the non-hostile presence of the local *loud snoring*.

Actually sent near suspected White Fang supply depot with hope that they uncover it and fix problems.

Find it fairly easily after a little bonding moment or two with everyone.

Torchwick and Adam are in charge of train depot. (Torchwick gets the train, Adam gets the depot)

Ruby goes in on her own because she was told not to do things like that.

Ruby gets double-teamed by Roman and Adam. Neo watches like a little shithead.

Ruby fights like a demon but still gets bested.

Adam says that he is now bored and leaves Roman to finish up.

Oobleck and WBY show up.

Roman starts the train, tries to cheese it.

RWBY + Oobleck board the train.

Yang fights Neo.

Weiss fights masked White Fang member (later revealed to be Ilia).

Ruby and Blake fight Torchwick.

Oobleck fights the stormtroopers.

Neo, the crafty, dodgy, dexterity style, sly-bitch, kicks Yang, the brutish and blunt boxer, in the ass.

Raven pops up through a portal.

Neo am-scrays after almost getting her shit pushed in.

Raven says a scant few things to Yang and leaves her a trinket and a map, telling her to follow it when she can before leaving.

Weiss wins her fight.

Blake and Ruby kick Roman’s ass.

Discover train is full of dust explosives to blow up a chunk of Vale and let the grimm through in droves.

Was originally intended to be deployed before explosion but Roman decides ‘fuck it’ and tries to turn it into a kamikaze run at the last minute out of spite.

Oobleck disconnects the explosive cars.

Train still rams hole into central Vale.

Grimm incursion.

RWBY fights as best they can.

Almost get overrun when Teams CFVY, SSSN, and CEMN show up to help.

CEMN only involved because evil plan failed and they want to try and clean up any possible evidence.

Neo (in disguise) tries not to be obvious that she’s still tired from earlier.

Horde battle with large hydra (or something) grimm being final boss of season.

They kill it, of course.

After the battle RWBY thinks that the problem is more or less solved.

Adam is still loose but his plan is foiled and his co-conspirator, Roman, is in prison.

All they have to do is hunt him down.

If he’s going to try something, it’ll be at the tournament. RWBY will have an extra eye open during.

JNPR returns triumphant from their mission and wonders what the hell happened while they were gone.

Cinder is livid that plan-A failed and they lost their best chance to kill Ozpin.

Yeah, their plan is to fuck up Vale and get and chance to kill Ozpin.

Is reassured by the mysterious figure she’s talking to (Salem) that plans can change and still succeed.

Adam is looking through security footage taken from depot.

Sees Blake.

He smiles.

Season two done.

[imaginethebeautifulworld]

Soulmate au idea? What if it was thought that countries couldn't get soulmates. But, one day, they do? Maybe its shown by both them and their soulmate sharing a 'tattoo' that randomly appears on their body, but in the countries case it's their flag? Axis plus romano and spain reaction to this?

[Hello, lovely! I apologize for the delay in this response. I’ve been doing a lot of research for this one; I took the liberty of using the symbols from the first “flag” each of their respective “nations” would have used; there shall be photos. Feel free to message me for any more information about the banners chosen. Thank you for this ask; I had a lot of fun working on this one. I hope you enjoy!]

Germany:

Ludwig first tried to approach the appearance of his soulmark logically.

There was no possible way that he had willingly sought out a tattoo, and there was no evidence of any nation ever having a soulmate.

But the proof was right there, the golden oak branch a bold imprint on his skin.

He dreaded telling anyone at first, worried that if he would allow his curiosity to distract him, it would pull him away from his work, keep him away from his responsibilities.

But as time went by, he started to do some digging, researching the lore behind former soulmates, finding more information into platonic and familial soulmates, learning everything he possibly could about the relationships people formed with one another.

Finally, he found himself turning to the Internet, joining several platforms who specialized in matching soulmates with one another, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, he would find you.

It would be nice to have someone to talk to, someone who he could confide in, someone who could perhaps understand him without having to say a word.The night he finally had an email claiming that you had been found had been one of the most nerve-wracking of his life, the first words he wrote to you deleted over-and-over again until, finally, he was able to send you a simple Hi.A huge step, but one that had proven over-and-over again to have been absolutely worth it.

Japan:

It took Kiku an embarrassingly long time to realize that there was a golden chrysanthemum etched into his shoulder. 

It wasn't until he had made a visit to his favourite bathhouse- only to be hurriedly chased back out- that he was even aware of its presence.

He spent several hours studying the new addition to his shoulder, desperately hoping that it was a prank from one of his siblings, praying that it was only temporary.

Eventually, he came to accept the truth, resigning himself to the knowledge that he now had his person out there, somewhere; he could only hope he could meet you soon.

Under normal circumstances, he would normally be really patient. But after nearly three years of waiting, he finally reached his limit, seeking out any spells from Arthur, Lukas, Vlad, and even Ivan in hopes that they could help him find you; his curiosity was killing him.

He was fascinated by the potential. 

Would you be wary about being bonded to an immortal? Did you recognize the mark that connected you? Did you melt at the knowledge that you had a soulmate out there, or were you one of the types who was repulsed by the very concept?

As he prepped the final pieces for his upcoming spellwork, he let his mind wander at the possibilities.

He knew, no matter what, that he would adore you.

He could only hope that you would like him, too.

Prussia:

To say Gilbert was shocked would be an understatement. 

Put more accurately, when he noticed a bold black eagle during his morning shower, he felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of him.

A soulmate?

No fucking way.

He wondered if the possibility came from his status; he had been dissolved for so long that maybe he had finally become human enough for these things.

Concern for his brother prompted him to keep it covered up; he had long ago accepted his eventual fate, but he couldn't risk hurting Luddy just yet.

He spent hours researching the mark, tracing over each line, daydreaming about the person who shared the same design.

You had to be something special to be stuck with him. Were you his complement and much-needed partner-in-crime? Would you be his foil?

He constantly thought about you- when walking the dogs, when writing, when wandering the wine aisle of the closest shop. Were you a dog person? Were you a writer? A bookworm? An artist? An athlete? Did you even like alcohol?

He wondered about all the intimate things- the colour of your toothbrush, the shape of your eyes, whether you were lactose-intolerant.

He had yet to even meet you, hadn't even a clue of who you were, where you were, but he was already dreaming of waking up each morning next to you.

All he could do was continue pondering the very thought of you, all-the-while plotting out the most foolproof approach to finding you.

Romano:

Lovino was immediate abject denial.

No way. 

Not possible.

Fuck that.

After how many centuries, the appearance of the golden fleur-de-lis on his hip was practically an insult, adding yet another layer of unnecessary drama to his already overly stressful life.

He had a hard enough time getting people to spend any time with him on a good day; the universe implying that there was someone out there who actually would want to stay-The gods may as well have spit in his face.

He knows his brothers would go on about how romantic it all was, would do everything in their power to find you, to set up the most elaborate date seen this millennium.

He decided to ignore his mark, opting instead to keep focusing on his work.

If, and that was a big if, there was actually someone out there who would love him irrevocably, then you would understand that his duties came first. He was tired of the world taking advantage of him; at least with his job, he could ensure that wouldn't happen ever again.

If you really cared about him, you would accept him for all his paranoia.

But there was no way anyone could care for him. 

Not like that.

When he first bumped into you, your notebooks and papers covering the entire table before you, eyes narrowed in concentration, groaning over an email, he had felt a flicker in his chest, an immediate camaraderie.

He had no idea at the time that the two of you had been fated to meet, that the overwhelming urge to treat you to a coffee or a gelato was destiny.

It would be slow-going, and there would be many bumps on the road ahead, but you two would learn to love each other, years before either of you thought about the twin fleurs-de-lis embellishing your hips.

Spain:

Antonio was, simply put, ecstatic. 

He had helped quite a few of his citizens find their soulmates over the centuries, and he never grew tired of helping them overcome whatever obstacles may try to prevent their relationships. Knowing that there was now someone out there for him, wearing his mark, sharing the same beautiful earth and the same moon-

He couldn't have been happier.

He didn't need to know you yet; he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he would love you the moment he saw you, that you were going to be one of the greatest people- if not the greatest person- to ever share a portion of his long life.

He carried on with his life, fully aware that destiny was never something that one rushes; you would meet one another when the time was right.

He couldn't have been more correct in that end.

You and Toni had been friends for several months before the subject of soulmates had even come up, your mark hidden away beneath layers of clothing due to its unfortunate location. 

He was curious; you never really spoke of a desire to meet your intended, content in the life you already had. 

Deciding to address his inquiry, you did your best to describe the golden castle on your thigh, lingering on the shaping of the blue windows that nearly seemed to float above the tattoo.

As you kept going, you were oblivious to the delight of your companion, oblivious to his relief, oblivious to his gratitude.

He had been hoping it was you.

Veneziano:

At first, Feliciano would be wary. 

Finding an unexpected golden blemish taking shape on his skin- a sign of a soulmate!- would give him such unwelcome anxiety. 

What if you were expecting more than him? What if you were someone who could never accept him? What if you were- 

So many worries, so many concerns, and each and every one of them revolved around his own faults, around his own fears that he would never be able to give you what you deserve. 

He was immortal, and if you chose to stay with him-

There was a very real chance that you could still leave him, that you may one day choose to leave him.

He dreaded that hypothetical, the day perhaps even decades away when you would-

When you would-

He dreaded most things. 

There was also the very likely possibility that you would never even meet. 

With nearly 8 billion people scattered across the globe, many of whom never leaving their own regions-

He could only hope that you would be curious enough, affluent enough, dedicated enough-

But even with the distinctive image of his first banner as your clue, there was a huge possibility that you would never figure out exactly what it meant, where-

Upon meeting you for the first time, shimmering golden lion proudly on display as you snapped photos of the setting sun, all of his concerns drifted away with the tide. 

You were absolutely at peace with your surroundings, the salty air ruffling your jacket as you continued wandering the canals.

It was clear that you had conducted enough research to pinpoint his general location, seeking out the oldest corners, exploring the most overlooked crevices; while he could have followed you all day, it was only fair and noble that he made the effort of approaching you, of getting to know you.

And one day, he would summon his courage and offer you everything.

But first-

With that first resolute step, he was already growing into a better man. 

[sepublic]

           You know, I’m entertaining the concept, the idea… for a fanfiction about Infinity Train? Specifically a hypothetical ‘Book 5’, given the anthological nature of the series. The basic premise is that our cast/main group consists of multiple passengers, each with different numbers of varying length, all from different backgrounds and with a multitude of issues that they’re working through, together.

           Perhaps by some stroke of fate, or One-One deciding to experiment with the Infinity Train’s algorithm, these passengers have all come across one another. As ‘Book 5’ progresses (it’s probably going to be a bit longer than your typical Book given its written fanfiction format), our cast grows close and bonds as a very messy, but well-meaning found family… Inevitably, they start to open up more, work on their numbers, etc.

           The way they start off isn’t so genuine, of course- Initially our cast of passengers keep their issues and backstories from one another, for fear of judgment, a lack of trust, wariness as to the others who have even higher numbers, etc. But eventually, they begin to tackle different scenarios, and react uniquely to each one… More observant, perceptive passengers note what makes the others tick, and get a guess as to the others’ issues.

          Functioning as one another’s support group, they move past being together for physical safety, but otherwise solving their problems on their own… And eventually develop to care for the others and their personal dilemmas. Some may dismiss it at first as believing that helping the others will help THEIR number go down… But it eventually becomes a lot more than that. Regardless, in this hypothetical fanfic, I imagine the personalities and issues of each character will be designed to play off one another, with some cast members contributing to one another’s issues, others being able to counter another, and a few being capable of providing insight here or there. Each of them have a LOT to learn from one another, no one person knows best despite having the lowest number…

           What’s more- As the story progresses and begins to near its end, eventually, each passenger from the cast leaves the Infinity Train after their number reaches zero. In anticipation of this, they give each other their phone numbers, addresses, makes plans to regroup and meet up once this is all over. With each cast member’s issues solved, they leave, and the group gets smaller and smaller…

           It’s this sense of development, and further incentive to get off the Infinity Train- Because for the remaining passengers, they also want to reunite with their old friends! But for those who take longer than most, I can imagine their being some apprehensions and insecurities… Perhaps there’s going to be a Simon or two, a passenger that never quite learns their lesson, maybe even dies! Be it by their own mistakes, or by a genuine accident, symbolic of how sometimes death can suddenly and abruptly end a person’s life unfairly, before they can ever finish their ‘journey’. I could see some interesting moments between the final two passengers or so, some quiet emotional discussions here or there, maybe a little drama.

           How this would all turn out and end, I have no idea- This is just a hypothetical WIP, assuming I’ll ever get started on it. It’d require a LOT of energy, time, passion, creativity, and skill to figure it all out- And it wouldn’t be nearly as nuanced or subtle as the actual show itself, but alas. Still, it’s a fun idea… Especially if the fanfic begins to end with just one passenger left, forced to confront their issues on their own, with only the memories of their missing companions to provide courage and support. It could be an ultimate test, to see how this last passenger functions, alone- A measure of integrity, the ability to retain lessons without the others around to keep them in line or judge.

           This does leave the question of who our main-stay denizens will be. There should be at least one, it’s a staple of the series so far! I’d have to wonder how this denizen would function, if they could have their own issues to work through- We might see the other passengers explore the idea of just how much autonomy these denizens have, as NPCs designed to encourage their growth. Would denizens have their own issues to work on, their own character development to go through? Lake was an interesting case as she mirrored a pre-existing, actual human being…

          Personally, I’m of the belief that denizens CAN change and grow just like any regular person- Or at least, it’d be more interesting to go this route. Perhaps the question could be left ambiguously, if some denizens are made with the capacity to learn and grow… While others are given static, singular personalities with very little depth. Regardless, having at least one denizen in the cast would provide a constant for the group, and a friend that those who are left behind can count on, no matter how long it takes for their numbers to progress…

           And, it’d also leave some angst, especially for the final passenger- Because while everybody has made plans to reunite, there’s this implicit realization that the denizen can’t come along. Perhaps we’ll have a repeat of Book 2’s finale, where the final passenger gets their zero, but works to get their denizen friend a way with them to Earth… Maybe doing so is what gets their number down completely! Or, maybe the denizen has their own life to return to, or at least a home they have on the Infinity Train that they can’t quite abandon…

           It’d definitely make for a tearful goodbye for each passenger who leaves. And when they all reunite… I imagine everyone will look to the last passenger to arrive at their destination, the one who made the ‘final goodbye’ to the denizen, to see what that denizen had to say to them all as an ending message. There’d likely be themes of feeling left behind, of feeling stagnant… Thinking that everyone else is moving on ahead of you, while you have yet to grow. There’s the idea of different lives and worlds coming together, then coming and going… People reaching their different stops and destinations, as new arrivals come in. It’d be like being on a train, waiting at various bus stops, and the small little encounters and interactions you have with strangers, before your paths inevitably diverge.

           Actually, perhaps it’d make for an interesting twist- For a new passenger to join the group as it dwindles to its final numbers! It’d definitely contribute to the theme of endings being new beginnings, of how people enter your life and leave, just for others to come along… It’s about how different lives and paths can intersect. It’d be a twist if the new passenger actually knew of a passenger that had just recently left. I suppose this fanfic/Book 5 would revolve around connections, an inter-connected web of interactions that bring people together as a community, and the sharing of stories. Chance encounters that don’t last, but still mean a lot…

           (Last Train Home would be a perfect song for a trailer, or like… Just in general to listen to while writing and brainstorming.)

           There’s a very high chance I won’tactually go ahead and do anything with this concept. At most I’ll offer or air a character concept here or there, but that’s about it. But, it’s food for thought… And hey, maybe this kind of project could be turned into a collaboration amongst multiple fans! As each writer contributes an OC that will become a part of the friend group, amidst discussion of how each OC will interact and contribute to the arcs and development of the other, how some will function as narrative parallels and foils, etc.!

[destinygoldenstar]

Based on my fanfic season ‘Sketched Artistry Pretty Cure’

Rei Takeo is a highly talented loner. She values good will and effort with a passion, and does everything to show people these things, no matter what format she has to show them with. She is also highly talented with her athleticism, her intellect, and especially her singing and her writing, as she is highly known by the teachers as a fantastical novelist. But while she does have some well meaning moments, Rei comes across to others as unapproachable, given she is tough, hot headed, and incredibly strict about helping others. She can have a really sarcastic demeanor at points. When she sees something she doesn’t approve of, she’s quick to jump in the fight and call people out, even if she becomes a victim in the process. If it gets to a point where Rei becomes in the wrong and things don’t go her way, she becomes distant, and even stubborn. Rei really does care about people’s well being though, and she does her best to stand up for them. However, she can never seem to stand up for herself, and its because of this that she refuses to show her creative side to anyone, telling people that she’s not creative and that she can’t write, even if the opposite is the truth.

Her refusal to show people her artwork came from trauma in her past. Before Rei was this tough jock, she was an even sweeter girl, more energetic, and kinder, where she came across by many as weird, but beautiful, and back then she showcased her talents to everyone, especially through her writing. It was bad enough that her tough demeaner now made vocalists shun her out despite her good voice. But one day, her elementary class had to write a fantasy story for a school report, and when Rei wrote her story, it blew her entire class away, to a point where she was granted an award for her work by her entire school that she would receive in the spring... that would have changed Rei’s life forever, if it weren’t for the fact that when she revealed her talents, it caused people to become jealous and turn on her. Someone she thought was a friend did exactly that, manipulated Rei and got her suspended, ensuring that people Rei thought were friends looked down on her and called her a hack, that she didn’t deserve her admiration and that she was essentially worthless, that Rei’s writing was nothing but a crime that would destroy her in her life. All of that, where this ex-friend treated it as advice, that Rei should not show her creative side because stuff like this would happen again. And that scared Rei for life, where she only gained enemies by showing her creative side and she felt so ashamed of her reward that she threw it away and hid her book somewhere she could forget. Rei never trusted anyone again, and never let people know that she could write. She still did write, as it was what made her happy, but she never showed anyone them. She even cut her hair to ruin her gorgeous look, so that nobody could think she was worth anything, even if her kind will still lingers in her where she tries to help others be better at themselves.

Rei was taken to Sketching Crafts Academy against her will by her mother, because her mother recognized Rei’s writing talent and wanted her daughter to express it to people again. Rei was not thrilled with going to this school, and she kept her nose in a book and pushed people away. That is until she meets Keiko Sakura, a girl who was just as naïve with showcasing her art as Rei was, but when she first crashed into Keiko at the art museum, she pushed her away, but not before she granted Keiko advice on how to better her bird painting. 

About a week later at a park, Keiko ended up getting run over by jocks who scold her for her sketch she was making on the spot. Rei sees this and jumps in to defend Keiko, claiming that she was minding her own business and so should they, but when they don’t listen, she throws her book at them. Once they retreat, Keiko thanks Rei, but Rei only stubbornly tells her to be careful where she steps before she continues her walk to class. Keiko however, not only thought Rei was cool, but also followed her because Rei didn’t pick up her book after the encounter, so Keiko tried to give it back. Keiko does figure out that Rei is in her class, and becomes confused when Rei claims to their teacher that she couldn’t write, but ends up getting the highest score in the class on storyboarding, and Keiko realizes that she had never seen a fantasy book like the one Rei had in their libraries. Keiko does eventually find the chance to give Rei back her book, and she asks where Rei got it, but Rei states that it’s none of her business. Keiko however recognizes a yellow neon pen Rei was using to write in the book, and she realizes that Rei wrote that story herself. They do get to express their efforts to each other, with Rei presenting herself as an altruist and Keiko looking up to her as a talented writer and leagues ahead of her. Keiko even tries to encourage Rei to show off her book for their upcoming short story project, but Rei refuses and comments that Keiko doesn’t understand the success of art as much as she thinks she does. Keiko manages to tell Sora about Rei having a neon pen, but by the time their project gets explained, Keiko is partnered up with Rei on it. Sora does try to look after Keiko given that fact, but Rei and Keiko are eventually forced to work on it as just the two of them. The whole time, Rei offers Keiko’s ideas for a story, but its soon realized that Keiko is both creative and disorganized, where Rei tries to improve her ideas as a logical yet passionate writer, and Rei isn’t afraid to call out Keiko’s wild style. (Honestly, Keiko and Rei were the first OCs I made for this series, and they became huge foils to each other as a result, Keiko being an open yet overly naïve with a wild creative style, and Rei being more stubborn and practical with a passionate style in artwork.) They get their short story with some extra editing from Sora, and it becomes a good success... except for the fact that Rei completely denies having any credit for the project, where Keiko felt the opposite. Keiko finally decides to reread the storyboards they made together, as well as look into Rei’s novel to see her talent for herself, and it only makes Keiko want to figure out why Rei is so hard on herself when she clearly has a creative passion. Keiko finds Rei at the same park where she helped her, and Keiko tries to convince Rei that she should embrace her passions, and that Keiko saw for herself that she has it, but it only makes Rei throw the book away and tell Keiko that no one cares for her, or her passion, why would someone care now? Keiko claims that she cares, and that gets Rei to hesitate, asking Keiko if she actually liked what she read, to which Keiko claims that she loved it. 

A new monster is created awhile later, and Rei is knocked to a tree. Keiko and Sora transform into Cure Cherry and Cure Azure to fight it, but because the creature fights with fire, neither of their finishers manage to work on it. (I forgot to mention, Cure Cherry fights with paint, her finisher being ‘Cherry Splatter’ where she uses paint bombs. Cure Azure however fights with glitches and can use fabric as chains, her finisher being ‘Azurica Calculation’ where she glitches color onto the monsters) The general finds the short story Keiko and Rei made together, and he rips it apart in disgust, where this catches Rei’s eye as she wakes up, triggering her. Rei scolds the general for destroying a great fantasy, recalling her previous talk with Keiko that gets her to realize Keiko’s identity as Cure Cherry, and Rei actively jumps in front to protect her new friend, even throwing an extinguisher at the monster with equal hot headed energy. Rei expresses that she doesn’t know how to show people her art, but she loves writing fantasies, and those fantasies should be treated with the same love she put into them. This awakens her power as the third member, and the fire powered cure of the team as the golden writer, Cure GoldenAsh. (Cure Cherry nicknames her Cure G)

Rei still continues to be a foil to Keiko as a counter to the pink lead, as they both have different ways of approaching being Pretty Cure that they don’t always agree with. Keiko is a kind and active leader, but had insane ideas that don’t always pan out, plus she is naïve about criticism, especially when the pressure of public appreciation for artwork and the ego that plagues every artist comes into play later in the story. Rei meanwhile is very strict with how things run and isn’t afraid to call out her teammates for better or worse, and it sometimes blinds her into thinking she’s the only one who knows what to do, even when she doesn’t. However, the two despite being opposites, are able to call out each other and compliment each other at the same time, Rei helping Keiko deal with social pressure in being an artist, and Keiko encouraging Rei slowly but surely to return to her authorship.  

So I kind of created an art themed Pretty Cure. Add it to the list of Wattpad stories I claim I’m going to make, but never do. And if you know me, I love this concept of literal creativity, and since I’ve been on a magical girl run lately, why not make an art themed Pretty Cure. Seriously, I only briefly made this about a year ago, forgot about it, and bought it back in just two weeks with characters and their story arcs. So let me know if you want me to do something like this for the other Cures in this fanmade season, or if you actually want me to make one.