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marierg · 2 years ago

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Of Light and Darkness: Phantom in the Dark 2

Pairing: Obi Wan Kenobi X Reader

WARNINGS!: DARTH MAUL (A warning in and of himself), Death, injuries, loss and sadness. AAANNNNGGGSSSTTT!!!!! Ok we all know what’s coming but it’s still gonna hurt!

A/N: I don’t own any rights to the story or characters in Cannon Star Wars. There are a few portions of the dialogue within this chapter. This is a Loving tribute and work of Fan fiction, with a few tweaks and twists of my own! If you haven’t ever read the novelization there’s a few things that I tossed in there, highly recommend the read. As a kid I thought that the Baddies were more greedy than evil, but after reading a little and watching clone wars I tweaked this to fit more how I thought it should go. Hope you all enjoy!

PS- This is gonna be VERY picture heavy, because I'm not always confident in my ability to write without giving a visual. Sorry....

Picture Credit: Pinterest/ Lucasfilm LTD

Word Count: 4700

MASTERLIST Next Part (3)

Upon jumping out of hyperspace it became apparent that the blockade was over with only one control ship remaining in orbit. None the less your craft was surely detected and time was precious. That the Nubian cruiser landed on the planet in one piece completely solidified your opinion that this was indeed a trap. Queen Amidala seemed to have a plan in mind to garner support and possibly an army from the neighboring Gungans. Enlisting the help of the exuberant Jar Jar Binks your small force was to make their way to the underwater capitol Otoh Gunga. Having found the city deserted Jar Jar surmised that the Gungan populace had probably sought refuge in their sacred temple.

You made plainly clear that you didn’t like the idea of dragging a child into a warzone to Master Qui Gon. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t anywhere safe to put Anakin till this blew over. He was a spitfire though. Having reunited with his friend Padme he insisted that he could help her protect the Queen. Not wanting to give away the surprise you kept your big mouth shut and smirking.

It was during the negotiations with the Gungan leadership that Queen Padme Amidala finally dropped her façade. You and the men knew of course, but you still had to give credit where it was due. Padme had managed to avoid capture and assassination from this well played deception. Not only was she resourceful, but humble and brave.

She made an impassioned speech before Boss Nass and his council, stating that though the two did not always see eye to eye the two groups would always be united by the planet they called home. Humbling herself before them, Queen Padme begged the Gungans help to save her people and their shared planet. It was this act of faith that sealed the pact with the Gungans, even though it was likely that many of them would be killed in this little war.

After the recon team returned from Theed and the last of the strategy had been completed you stepped away to clear your head. Obi Wan was needed to help work with the pilots, but you needed to think away from the cacophony of preparation. Taking a stroll into the woods a ways, you found a clearing. Naboo was a beautiful, vibrant world so teeming with life. You sat meditating for a long while, til small footsteps approached you. “Miss Y/n?”

“Yes Anakin?” you kept your eyes closed, not moving.

“Um … can I sit with you for a while?” His voice seemed tired for a youngling.

Opening your eyes, you studied him. It was clear that he was anxious, but about what was the question. Patting the grass next to you, he took the offered spot. Looking at how you sat he tried his best to imitate. You had to straighten him out a little though.

“Here, chin up. Head tall, no slouching. Master Windu always says that the better the posture the sharper the mind. Just breathe and listen to what’s around you.”

“All I here are speeders and animals dragging things?” Anakin's small face was scrunched in concentration.

Laughing a little, knowing that you were going directly against your own Master’s directive, you thought how best to put it. “Try…filtering it? Listen beyond to what’s going on in the woods. Then hold onto that and just breathe, kind of let go of everything?”

Obi Wan had finally apologized to Master Qui Gon about his attitude of late towards the boy. You had caught him earlier doing a slight of hand trick causing Anakin to laugh. Once he had gotten past his initial dislike and territorialism Obi Wan had actually found that Anakin wasn’t so bad as he thought. The boy couldn’t help that he had gotten attached to Qui Gon, or that the Master had become fond of the boy as well. Anakin was a sweet kid and very easy to like.

“Now feel for something warm like…a blanket on a cold night.” Looking at Anakin’s face again you could see the calm settle over it. “Good job buddy. Why don’t you keep practicing, I’ll send Master Qui Gon over, Huh?”

Peeking one eye open, he smiled, “Ok! Thank you, Miss Y/N!”

“You can just call me Y/N, Ok Ani-Man?” The boy smiled brightly and you set off to find the Master in question. As it would happen he wasn’t too far off.

Qui Gon Jinn had been a Jedi Master and instructor for many cycles and had the opportunity to watch others as they taught. Some had patience, some were strict, and some were just naturally in tune with children. His own apprentice he could see one day being a wise and patient master. You he saw as more of a guide, working with students and letting them lead, but also letting them learn from failure. Both you and Obi Wan complimented each other in those respects.

Qui Gon did worry about the bond that the two young Jedi had with each other. Not for a second did he believe that either of you wouldn’t uphold the spirit of your vows as Jedi or let it interfere with your duties. No, his concern was that one of you may be lost one day, and that the other would face what he had. Together though you and Obi Wan were perfectly paired. He never told Obi Wan that he knew about the relationship, giving that small piece of privacy. He suspected that Mace was unaware, or the two of you would have been separated immediately. Stepping out of the shadows he called out. “Y/n, have you seen Anakin?”

“Oh Master Qui Gon! Yeah, he’s meditating over by the pond. Did you need something?” You were not expecting him to pop out of the blue, normally being able to sense those around you far sooner.

“Actually, I hoping for a word with you. I’m sorry that you got pulled into all this.” Qui Gon looked sadly at you. There were days that your youth was dimmed and the toll of life was evident within your eyes. Today he could well see the map of every battle in your past and felt the apprehension within you, it well matched his own.

“I feel that it’s less anything you did and more Master Windu testing me yet again.” Your eyes rolled, but there was no spite in the statement. Disagree though you often did, you cared deeply for your Master.

“Just the same. I did want to ask, do you believe this to be a foolish venture?” Qui Gon folded his arms leaning against the nearest tree.

“Freeing a people from oppression and pain is never foolish.” You said with ease and confidence. “I do however feel that going into occupied territory, in broad daylight, in large numbers… that might be a little foolhardy.”

Qui Gon chuckled a little under his breath. “Well, I can’t argue that wisdom. Unfortunately, time is not on our side this time my young friend.”

“Is it ever?” You sighed gazing out as if to see a portent of the events to come.

“No, I suppose it’s not.” Smiling he turned towards Anakin, who by now was fast asleep having meditated too deeply. The boy’s future was in the air as much as any of theirs. While Qui Gon knew that Obi Wan was now more amicable towards Anakin, you had developed a small friendship with him as well. “Y/n?”

“Yes Master Qui Gon?” you quirked your brow up, turning to face the older Jedi better.

There was an odd tone in his voice, one you weren’t used too. Cocking your head to the side you looked at Master Qui Gon, really studying him. He seemed far too tired; stressed from the mission and the Council’s decision regarding Anakin’s training. In a way he appeared to have aged rapidly in the last few days.

“I need you to promise me something.” He saw you nod in acknowledgement, though he also saw the suspicious look in your eyes. Smiling a bit to himself he thought about what Melri would have thought of all this, knowing that this was similar in action to the path she had put he and Mace on years ago. “Keep an eye on them for me.”

“Two, if I can.” You winked at him. Your face grew serious then. "Is everything alright Master?”

He tried to relax his expression, smiling confidently at you despite his own wariness. He knew that you too sensed something was amiss. “Everything will be fine. I think Obi Wan was looking for you though.”

Again, you had kept your expression a schooled neutral, though Qui Gon noticed a very small blip in your signature. He often wondered if maybe he noticed these small nuances because he had spent so much time with you and perhaps Mace hadn’t? Taking a few steps forward he gave you a genuine smile and your shoulder a gentle nudge in the direction he knew you wanted to follow. Perhaps you and Obi Wan would avoid the pain of loss.

The two small assault forces infiltrated the capitol of Theed with little trouble. While the second group, led by Captain Panaka, distracted the plaza guards the other went for the main hanger. That’s where all farking hell broke loose between a platoon of droids raining blaster fire down on you and trying to get the pilots to their ships and away. As the fight intensified you had seen Anakin duck into one of the fighters. As the joint assault force finally took out the last of the droids, the hanger seemed secure for the moment.

“Your Highness are you alright.” You asked the young woman from across the bay.

“Yes, thank you. My guess is that the Viceroy is in the throne room.” She straightened an errand hair, checking her blaster.

“I agree,” Master Qui Gon was already scanning the bay for anything out of place. Seeing Anakin trying to get out of the fighter eager to rejoin you all he raised a hand. “No Ani, you stay there, stay right where you are.”

“But I…” Anakin was cut short.

“Stay in that cockpit.” Qui Gon’s voice was firm, it was the end of the discussion.

“Don’t worry Ani-Man, we’ll be back in no time. But keep your head low, Ok?” You shouted to the young man before making your way to the end of the bay, giving him a small smile. He’d be ok, you hoped. If nothing else the ship provided ample cover and concealment.

Your lightsaber was tucked into your boot, out of sight but within reach. You had opted instead to use a blaster like the others so as to not look out of place. Suddenly you felt something, something cold. It was as if you had been dropped in a vat of liquid nitrogen, the hairs on your neck stood straight up. Grabbing young Padme, you pulled her back… from what you weren’t sure. She looked at you startled, “Y/n what are you…”

The bay doors opened revealing not a man, but a monster of legend. The dark figure dropped his cloak, revealing a head of black and red markings crowned by jaundiced horns. The eyes of the creature though, they glowed yellow like the fires from the depths of Perdition. Like many others as a youngling you’d heard the stories of the Sith, had a few nightmares about them too. But none of that compared to the sight in front of you. Stepping between Padme and this creature your first instinct was to grab for your blade.

“We’ll handle this,” Master Qui Gon and Obi Wan had already moved to engage. Nodding to them you understood that your job was now to stay with the Queen and end the fighting on the planet. Giving both of them a glance you sent them a final wish. “May the Force be with you.”

Padme had already switched gears, “We’ll take the long way.”

Heading through the maze of hallways and up a grand staircase the group was soon overtaken by a squad of battle droids. Split down the middle of the hall you were all taking heavy fire. Looking around there wasn’t any real cover, just exposed tall windows. You looked to the Captain, “Any way we can bypass those stairs?”

Panaka nodded his head then blasted the window closest. “One.”

A six-flight ascent by grappling, and yet another blasted window later you were within reach of the objective. However, a detachment of destroyer droids and the Viceroy had other plans. After being captured you were brought before Viceroy Nute Gunray and his second in command Rune Haako in the throne room. Haako sneered at the Queen, raising a hand to strike her. Knowing there was no time to block the blow properly you moved between the two, taking the hit instead. It was made with enough force that you were knocked back onto the floor.

Haako laughed, smiling at his own cruelty, “You should teach your handmaid some restraint.”

“Rune there will be time for that later. Your little insurrection is at an end your Highness. Time for you to sign the treaty and end this pointless debate in the Senate.” Gunray was pacing on the opposite side of the ring of chairs. Haako was still towering over both you and Padme.

“Maybe we shouldn’t kill them after all. Both would bring a fair price on the slave markets.” He ran a lascivious finger down the young Queen’s arm. To Padme’s credit if looks could kill, Haako would have been an ashen pile on the floor.

The Nemoidian was already counting his credits, judging by the look he was giving all of you. Captain Panaka had helped you back to your feet, offering you a sleeve to wipe the blood from your lip. The droids had taken all the blasters but had failed to find your saber. Placing yourself again between the Queen and harm, you swatted away Haako’s hand. He raised his arm once more to strike you, but was interrupted by a commotion in the hall.

“VICEROY!!!”

Gunray and Haako looked down the hallway shocked at seeing what appeared to be the Queen in her full garb, armed guards in tow.

“YOUR REIGN OF TERROR IS AT AN END!” Sabe blasted a few of the droids for effect. Her group then dashed down an opposite hall.

Viceroy Gunray wasn’t silent for long, gesturing wildly. “AFTER HER! This one’s a decoy!”

As some of the droids marched out Padme used the distraction to perfection. Retrieving a set of small blasters hidden in her throne, she tossed one to the good captain. Running forward you went into a slide under the remaining droids as they tried to blast you. Rising with your blade in hand you sliced through the clattering machines. You turned again, pressing the control panel on the wall bringing down the doors, effectively locking everyone in. The Nemoidians were stunned, but weren’t about to surrender yet. Padme turned to the two jaw set, “And now Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty. This is the end of your occupation here.”

Gunray scoffed haughtily, “Don’t be absurd. There are too few of you, even with a Jedi. It won’t be long before hundreds of destroyer droids break into this room and rescue us.”

At that moment you doubled over in agony, the feeling one you had only experienced once before. It wasn’t an injury to you, but as if someone dear to you had been. It was soon followed by another wave of both sorrow and anger. The Force itself was rippling from the shockwaves. You recovered as quickly as you could, knowing that the enemy would look for any opening to make an escape attempt. Re leveling your saber at the Viceroy and his man you glared and stood your ground.

Haako sneered, “Our Lord's plaything has finished your friends, and soon he will finish you all.”

Maker but what if he were right? What if Master Qui Gon & Obi Wan were gone? No, you had to focus. The first priority had to be the mission and the people in the room. You lowered your blade infinitesimally, narrowing your eyes. Haako was far too over confident for the situation he was in. Even Viceroy Gunray had begun to sweat a little. So what was the other Nemoidian playing at?

You stared down, or up as the case was, the Trade Federation Skughole. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Captain Panaka must have had a suspicion of his own, slowly coming to stand nearly in front of the Queen on her throne. The moment happened so fast though, thinking back on it. You saw Haako pull a knife from below his robes and leapt towards Padme. Panaka kicked him, sending Haako back but not disarming him. Sprinting the second the initial threat had appeared you moved again to face the Nemoidian. His red eyes boring into yours with abject hate. “I’m not waiting for Maul to come. I’ll finish you both myself for the trouble you’ve caused!”

Raising his arm he swung the knife to land a blow that would end you. Master Windu often said that it was never about rising to the occasion, but falling back to the level of your training. Simply put you didn’t think about the actions as you took them. Spinning quickly into Haako to close the distance you grabbed the arm with the knife. Twisting and with a great pull you flipped him forward. But as the Nemoidian fell his cloak twisted around, causing him to fall at an awkward angle. This pulled you forward to roll with him. as you both landed Haako slashed your arm and kicked the saber across the room.

Haako had regained the upper hand, kneeling over you. He simultaneously kept a stranglehold on your throat and with his other hand was trying to jam the blade into your chest. It was enough of a struggle that you were barely preventing the blade from doing more than superficial damage. Padme raised her weapon to fire but Captain Panaka stayed her hand, “No! you might hit the girl.”

You were struggling against his superior physical strength and loosing air rapidly. Closing your eyes you focused on using the Force bringing one of the throne room chairs flying across the floor. Like a bug in front of a speeder the chair careened into Haako, and then into the marble wall. Both landed with a deafening thud. Padme kept her blaster leveled at Gunray, “Don’t even think about it.”

Sitting up you coughed, throat finally able to pull in air once more. Something was wrong though, you could sense it. Moving cautiously to where your opponent had fallen you looked down in horror. The knife that had almost ended you was now embedded into Rune Haakos chest. He must have died on impact, near instantaneous. Not even the sacred crystals in the Halls of Healing could have brought him back. Bile rose in your throat, stumbling back you wretched your guts upon the floor.

Your mind reeled, “What have I done?”

“What you had to do.” Captain Panaka had come to stand behind you. He pulled you up by your arm and handed your lightsaber back to you. “It was him or you. Make no mistake he wouldn’t have regretted killing any of us.”

Your mind became a torrent, not wanting to accept that your hands were now stained with this Nemoidian's blood. What kind of Healer…what kind of Jedi were you? The logical part of yourself knew that the Captain was right of course. That is had you not acted then you and or Padme would be dead. Staring at the body one last time you asked Panaka to ensure that Haako’s family be given the body for burial. He may have been a fallen enemy, but you could at least ensure that courtesy. There were no tears to shed, only the feeling of hollowness and cold.

The word came down that the control station destroyed and the war over. The reports from the field were still counting the Gungan injured and dead, casualties mercifully still less than initially expected. After securing the Viceroy and his remaining staff you went in search of your friends. Tracing your way back to the hangar you found Anakin who, as asked hadn’t left the cockpit of the spacecraft. He had however flown said craft straight into the dogfight above and been the one to blow up the control ship. You had crushed the boy to you upon finding him, relieved at his safety. That was one accounted for at least.

Placing him in the care of the other pilots you continued your search. The power station below the capitol was deep and winding. You had to reach with the Force to find an exact location, focusing with all that you had left. The signatures weren’t distinct initially and one faded as you were making the descent, snuffed out of the world like a flame in the wind. When you came at last to the pit, you were both relieved and saddened.

Obi Wan cried out like a wounded animal, cradling the body of his fallen Master. There was no sign of the Sith. Making your way to them you had to fight the bile rising in your stomach again. Slowly you knelt next to Obi Wan, not wanting to jolt or startle him. You tried to reach your signature to his, whispering to him, moving cautiously. “Obi?”

He didn’t hear you, so again you called to him, placing a gentle hand to his arm. “Obi Wan, are you hurt? Is that thing still here?”

Tear-stained eyes looked at you, so lost and in pain that it tore your heart to absolute shreads. His signature finally flickered against yours, wrapping tightly. “Y/n?”

“I’m here, I’m Here.” You voice cracked.

Your hand moved to rest on his cheek turning him to look at you, thumb swiping away the tears. Looking down at Master Qui Gon you could see the evidence of what had befallen him. The tears you were holding back threatened to break loose and join Obi Wans. Master Qui Gon had to have felt something within the Force, that was the only explanation you had for all of his odd behavior leading up to this. Falling back to your training once more, you reached out to see if Obi Wan was indeed uninjured. His gaze was far away, tolerating your examination with little acknowledgement. His gaze passed from Qui Gon to the Pit, then finally back to you. “I killed him.”

Your hands paused their work, looking into his bleak eyes. “Who did you kill Obi Wan?”

“That thing, I killed him.” His voice cracked.

Obi Wan finally blinked, coming back to himself. It was as if he was finally seeing you; that until then you had only been a part of the ether. Obi Wan glanced to your face, then to your neck. The bruising was starting to form dark purple marks, the cut on your lip very apparent. Anger rose within him again, threatening to set loose on whomever had done this to his woman. Raising his hands he turned your chin, seeing the full extent of what had happened. Then he noticed the cuts on your chest where your dress had been blood soaked from the struggle with the knife. Rage crossed his features, no longer only from the loss of his Master and mentor.

"Who did this?" Obi Wan's voice took on a distinctive growl. "Who?!"

“Obi I’m alright. I promise I’m alright.” You had never seen him like this, it frightened you. Reaching further you felt something terrible within his signature, trying to get out. No, you wouldn’t lose him, not to the darkness... not like this!

"I'll kill the bastards..."

“Obi Wan look at me… Its over, it’s over! Please, let it stay over.” Your pleas high pitched but soft spoken. Stroking his face you prayed to whichever higher being was present to aid you. “Obi please… Stay with me love? Please stay please....”

Obi Wan saw the tears in your eyes finally fall, twin trails marking your battered face. He felt your signature calling for his own to be calm, to find peace. Was it not enough that his Master had been killed this day, was it not enough that he was now responsible for a young man’s future? Was the Universe itself trying to beat him down, crushing him beneath its weight?! But Obi Wan knew that he could not give into these feelings of fear, of anger, of despair. No, he would not abandon the light, not abandon all that Master Qui Gon had taught him. Most of all he would not abandon you.

You saw it, the minute that it was over for him. When the light returned to his eyes and he pulled you into his arms, kissing your forehead gently. Obi Wan held you tightly, as if you too would disappear. You clutched him just as tightly, crying like you hadn’t in years for the losses of this day, true wracking sobs. The tension within you began to uncoil, you gazed into his clear blue eyes again.

“I’m so sorry Obi Wan. I’m so very sorry...”

“I know love,” pressing his forehead to yours, pressing a ghost of a kiss to your lips, “I know.”

The two of you brought the body of Qui Gon Jinn back to the hanger, from there the pilots took him to their chapel nearby. A gesture of kindness and respect. Anakin was with Padme, having insisted that he protect her until your return. As he saw you and Obi Wan enter the room his young face fell in sorrow, Padme held him as his tears fell.

Obi Wan wasn’t sure how to comfort Anakin, but he had made a promise to his Master and it would be done. He moved to kneel in front of Anakin, Padme and her escorts let you three have the room, she informed you that both the new Chancellor and members of the Jedi Council would arrive soon. There was a river of unwept tears behind the Queens eyes, for her people and the Gungans and for the Jedi. In the years following Padme would observe the anniversary of the victory in the Naboo Temple, deep in prayer for the souls of who gave all their tomorrows for the peace of today.

Using the sleeve of his robes Obi Wan tried wiping the tears away, giving a sad smile. At first he though what would Qui Gon do, but there was still too much pain there for an answer. So, Obi Wan looked at you, now kneeling next to him and thought what would Y/n do? That answer came more readily, he pulled both of you to him in a hug. It was brief but it seemed to help you all, a little balm on such a large wound.

“It’s alright to feel sad Anakin, we miss him too.” Your own eyes threatened to cloud over again.

“Why…Why did he have to die?” Anakin’s eyes held just a touch of anger behind them.

Obi Wan swallowed thickly, “Qui Gon was a protector of the light, at times that means making a great sacrifice so others may carry on.”

“I’m sorry mister Obi Wan, for your loss. You don’t have to worry about me.” Anakin stared at the floor, trying to figure out what he would do from there. “Maybe… Maybe I could stay here instead? Or one of the pilots could bring me back to my mom?”

“Anakin, look at me.” Obi Wan was firm but still used a soft tone with the boy, not wanting to upset him further. “I promise we will talk with the Jedi Council, you need not worry.”

“Ok.” It was a soft, small reply. The young man looked from Obi Wan to you. “Do you promise?”

It was not an easy question to answer. From experience you knew that it was never a good idea to make a promise that you may not be able to keep. Once given your word was your bond, but it would seem that you were already bound to these two men. Extending your hand Anakin took it. “You have my word, Anakin Skywalker, we will see this done.”

#oooohhhh ma HEART #Qui Gon Nooooooo!#Why do I do this to myself?!#obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan fanfiction #obi wan x reader #obi wan kenobi #obi wan x y/n #obi wan star wars #I've been at this for 12 hours now! :-P

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immediatebreakfast · 2 years ago

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anime would be also awesome at making changes that aren't a complete diversion of the characters. like they could make dracula explicitly bite jonathan instead of implicitly, give him the ability to summon the dead as ghouls to hinder the heroes in his escape, they could give mina more than the psychic ability after her baptism, make renfield and john have a closer bond, make van helsing have backstory with dracula… but still keep the majority especially parts that get cut off, like the marriage, berserker, jonathan's corruption arc, all the character quirks like john's phonograph love and uncoolness around ladies…

EXACTLY! Keep the core parts of the book, and add stuff to round them! A lot of these sound really awesome, specifically giving Van Helsing a good backstory after the little bits that we read in the book in the format of flashbacks, and making Mina's transformation more ominous through her appearance. The scene sequences that could capture the dread and the terror of many moments in the book like Lucy's last entry, Mina's reunion with Jonathan, Mina and Jonathan working on the investigation, or Van Helsing's first appearance, so many moments that need the drama that animation could give.

Imagine poor Lucy alone in her room terrified and agitated, the wind at full force entering through her broken window giving her room a dark blue hue, her mother laying dead on her bed with a single hand outside of the sheet. Lucy locked the door yet something keeps knocking, and she keeps thinking she doesn't know what to do until her eyes catch her diary on the floor. One thought simply repeats in her mind... "Write", she throws herself to grab the diary, and her pencil while the knocking on the door gets more aggressive by the second. Lucy then hides behind her bed, and immediately starts to write her last letter to the world. She starts writing, writing, and writing while her hand trembles, we see Lucy struggle and cross out words yet even if her face is wet with tears her determination is unbreakable. There is no knocking anymore, but now someone is trying to force the door open, and Lucy just keeps writing. I imagine at the end of her letter when she writes her name she does the most dramatic hand action to write and sign her full name one last time, in bold jet black. Then the door finally clicks open... Lucy quickly rips the page off and hides it, she grabs her mother's hand and stars to pray and cry silently, and the angle of the scene goes slowly from her to the now open door to reveal a completely dark background save for two blood red eyes that look directly into the "camera".

It would be so good.

On the other hand... let's say that I'm not too fond on the idea that Renfield and Jack need a "closer bond" because I think that Jack was one of the core factors that pushed Renfield to wrongly give his service to Dracula. My humble opinion is that the best thing that Seward could have done for Renfield before his death was to finally let him go. Just let him leave the asylum since it was clear that Renfield got tired of suffering under Seward's "care".

Said treatment made Renfield seek another person who could give him a semblance of power over something, over anything really, and Dracula was right there to manipulate him and use him. Seward got so deep in his own ableist perspective of Renfield that he didn't notice all the signals around him. Renfield was so traumatized thanks to his time in the asylum that while he was in his death bed he begged Seward to take away the restraining jacket, not knowing that Dracula paralyzed him. The way Jack pushed Renfield to a breaking point again and again was horrible.

I think what a good adaptation would do is give Renfield a happy ending where he keeps on living, away from the asylum and Seward, with a new page to start his life again. If they want to portray his death to be accurate to the book, at least give Renfield a more humane and dignified death than leaving him alone to slowly die in pain.

... wow, que setimientos tan fuertes, mira esos párrafos.

It's 1:33 AM btw.

#I do like Jack as a character #He is my wet little meow meow who did everything wrong 💕#But I read the first entries again and I remembered why I didn't like him at first #His obsession and ableism with Renfield being his own experiment is really uncomfortable #And I can't simply ignore nor remove that because Jack simply doesn't work as a character without it #This is my own bias but as an autistic gal I will always root more for Renfield than Seward even if I headcanon the latter as autistic too #Renfield didn't deserve all the abuse and the humilliation and the death #That was possible because he was trapped in a system that enabled said abuse the second society deemed him as ''unstable''#Anyway I want a Dracula anime with all the shoujo sparkles and the art style and animation of Vampire hunter D #Somewhere in Japan there is an artsy and dramatic anime studio with the power to make it #Or just give it to David Pro they animated jjba very well #dracula daily #dracula

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worstloki · 3 years ago

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Okay, this is gettin’ real screwed up here.

I watch a lot of TV. Probably too much. And I’ve seen characters beaten to their knees before, sometimes even with collars. And yeah, there’s usually someone standing over them, and it’s been a woman sometimes. The kind of scene we got in episode 5 of Loki is not new ground.

But here’s the thing. In EVERY OTHER SCENE I can remember like this, the person kneeling is the hero. They’ve been brought down, fully humbled before the sneering villain, and in a few minutes something will happen to get them back on their feet again. It’s usually a tense moment, a “what if they break?” that makes you want the hero to win. You aren’t rooting for, or even liking in some cases, the person standing. You’re cheering for the person on their knees.

This doesn’t seem to be the case with the Loki show. Yes, the viewers may be rooting for Loki, but there’s no hatred for Sif there. She’s not proved herself to be a cold, heartless villain, ruthlessly pounding the hero until all he can do is kneel at her feet.

Except…she did kind of do that. But it isn’t treated as something bad. It’s treated more as something Loki deserved, in my opinion. The show wants us to feel like he deserved to get repeatedly beaten up and told horrible things, just for cutting off a lock of Sif’s hair. I’ll grant, it’s peanuts compared to what happened to him in the mythology. But it’s still bad. Especially since they had him acknowledge it, repeat her cruel words back. They’re playing it off as if Loki is still the villain by himself, and is only good because of other people- Mobius, mostly, but Sif is part of that.

That’s not the way Loki’s character is. In the comics particularly, his biggest arcs are always about reinventing the labels given to him, changing “villain” into something good, something he can use, and doing it by himself. Yes, there’s outside influence, but ultimately Loki is the one who decided to change.

The show is not letting him do that. The show is portraying him as a stubborn jackass who refuses to change until other people show him the light- either with psychological torture presented as therapy, or with beating him up a bunch of times until he gives in. The show and its characters are forcing Loki to become good- they aren’t showing him doing it by himself. He is not becoming one of the good guys, he’s being essentially enslaved by them, and the show is passing it off as somehow all that good influence finally rubbed off on Loki’s cold, villainous heart. That’s why him betraying Mobius was shown as so bad even though Loki barely knew him and had been psychologically tortured by him- Mobius is written as a character who can choose to be good, and Loki is written as a character who must be forced to be good.

And something about an entire show revolving around an independent character being treated as a villain, literally enslaved by the “good guys” (back when the show still wanted us to think the TVA weren’t shady as all hell), beaten to his knees with a collar around his neck until he accepts that he deserves to be alone because he isn’t “good” like everybody else…that doesn’t go down right for me.

The TVA being presented in not just a neutral but often reliable light is something I thought would change once Loki literally called out their propaganda and Sylvie called them fascists, but, for some reason the authoritarian genocidalists are not being presented as a bad thing and it irks me too.

It's especially weird because of the way what Loki claims to have wanted by making choices for people and what Mobius claims the TVA do ARE THE EXACT SAME THINGS, except Loki, until the show, hadn't done that of his own volition and was being tortured during the invasion and is treated terribly for something he didn't even succeed in doing, while the TVA successfully erase events on a mass scale but are presented as having a higher (or at best, - equal) moral ground.

The exact same thing was done in Ragnarok where Loki's "turning point" from a tricksy villainous scoundrel happened because Thor left him frying on the ground and gave him a pep talk filled with lies and general slander about how he could be better - and people see that as good because Thor is framed as a hero, and it's because instead of accepting Loki is a complex character they take what the narrative tells at face value and that is that Loki fights the protagonist(s) so he's bad.

I personally don't like the narrative pushing a character that is canonically an abuse victim and attempted suicide and was tortured right after as someone who needs fixing because he's lusting for power and needs it to gain a sense of control during a retcon which is occurring for the sake of calling him a complete bad guy who needs to change (probably because no actual original character development could be thought of?) after he was just confirmed as queer and colloquially (i assume) called a narcissist because of twisted love.

That he deserves to be alone was presented neutrally as a joke even as he was repeatedly getting beaten to the ground, and then both people he could call friends were removed from his immediate vicinity right after.

Loki isn't being presented as a character that has done a huge mix of good and bad in the movies, he's being presented as an oft incompetent idiot that deserves what he gets because he shouldn't have run away from captors, or he cut Sif's hair, or he killed his mother, or he dared to think he had any importance or could do something good, because the truth is he's an evil lying scourge.

"But maybe," Mobius says, "Maybe he wants to mix it up. Sometimes you get tired of playing the same part. Is that possible? He can change?" And everyone's already forgotten that moments before the mission Mobius said to Loki's face that the TVA has pruned a lot of Loki variants because he's so nice! look! he has hope in him when no one else does! It's also easy to forget the "and hey, if it doesn't work, I'll delete him myself," right after because the guy was smiling through it and the scene is followed by Loki really badly trying to explain the logic of being a trickster who everyone knows is a trickster.

A lot of people payed more attention in Ragnarok than to the other Thor movies so it's not a new retcon and people seem fine with the extremely strange take that 'loki is bad but he can do good sometimes,' because the character is more animated and acts foolish and that's generally more fun for comedy, which is fair for people to prefer imo, people find different things entertaining.

But I do solidly hope the show doesn't go that way though and takes a side with Loki on the narrative stance eventually because I've seen a lot of people who just. miss that the TVA's concept is bad. And those who think they're "reforming" Loki. As if the guy needs anything but a break at this point lmao he only got away from Thanos like 2 days ago please just let him rest for a bit he's a fail villain and it's cringe to have your supposed 1st open queer character get beaten to a pulp by Sif and then put wack sexualizing shots for it too :/

it's like the show itself is trying to sell the angle of "Loki is a villain" and I'm a clown who is still wanting that to be intentional because if it is? It could be amazing and playing with how different parties are framed would be s p e c t a cu l ar and could encourage people to reassess the hero coding in other movies including ones Loki was previously in - but we're reaching the last two episodes and I don't feel like that'll happen.

I feel like even if Loki does reach the end of the show as a transformed person it'll be done leaving the audience with "perhaps you're not so bad after all, Loki," and then also give credit to Mobius or Sylvie or whoever else was involved, simply because as even of yet Loki hasn't taken on a lead role in the show. I'd argue he hasn't really contributed anything worthwhile to plot either. As you've said, he's being shown as someone who needs to change but isn't really motivated to. Aw man they better not make romantic love the reason he wants to change.

#no because they're framing things that are humiliating or demeaning as *casual*#I don't even care if they wanted fanservice in the show did it have to be THAT type???#of course it did they don't take the character seriously or consider what they're doing with him despite his legitimate grievances #in a show where Loki's had literally no influence on the main plot but delaying it for the entirety of the Lamentis episode #if i was worse this is where i'd theorize about how Loki isn't a typical 'strong' hero and threatens the fragile masculine ideals of some #like........marvel the F*CK kind of message is this meant to send after Thanos throwing Gamora off a cliff was 'love' and Odin was 'strong'#they've made Loki be embarrassingly bad in fights too and what's up with that?????#''no look he's powerful see he just reversed time on an entire building on his own!!! now watch 2 guards hold him back <3''#bro 2 guards aren't enough if loki wants to escape what movies were you watching bro #you want me to believe this is the guy that went toe to toe with thor and tie-lost because he had tears blurring his vision????#nice try mcu im onto you your writing sucks #the Loki show #loki spoilers #loki show spoilers #im still reeling from Sylvie's backstory of BITING AND RUNNING and that she left the door to the TVA open for so long accidentally??????#im enjoying the show but i'm not going to say it's a good show or even that I see Loki as in-character #he CAN CANONICALLY TELEPORT WHY THE FR*CK WERE THEY SITTING AND WATCHING LAMENTIS BLOW UP #he BROKE the tempad - their ONLY WAY OFF THE PLANET - which was stored in a POCKET DIMENSION - by falling TOO HARD ?????#EXCUSE ME????#put some effort into the story you're trying to sell marvel #the logic with the timelines???? makes NO SENSE??????#the TVA either has no clue what they're doing or the multiverse literally already exists and the sacred timeline continues to be lies #i want to strange Marvel #the entire thing is so entertaining though so im definitely enjoying #ThisPostIsLongerThanMyLifeSpan #TPILTMLS

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years ago

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Why isn't Nightwing a bigger deal? He has all of Batman's skills and Superman's faith in humanity and is arguably the most beloved hero in the DCU, but most people seem to know him either as the leader of the N̶o̶t̶ ̶J̶L̶ Teen Ttians or just Robin.

Thank you for asking me about Nightwing, I've been wanting to write a piece about him for a while now. The short version is that everyone who claims Dick becoming Nightwing was him "moving out of Batman's shadow and becoming his own man" is completely wrong.

Dick Grayson is a fantastic character, someone who saved Bruce Wayne in-universe both by forcing Batman to grow up a bit, and the countless times he saved Batman's life as his partner whether as Robin or Nightwing. Dick saved Batman in the real world as well, hard to believe but Batman was actually in danger of being cancelled due to poor sales early on. Enter Robin, a young daredevil audience stand in the creators hoped would get kids interested in reading Batman. And it worked! Sales on Batman doubled once Robin showed up which is crazy to think about, but Dick Grayson has always been a popular character. Cartoons like Teen Titans, Batman: The Animated Series, and The Batman only helped grow his audience.

Character-wise, Dick Grayson really does fill a number of crucial roles in the DCU. For Batman, Dick is proof that Batman is a positive force. Meeting Batman helped change Dick for the better, helped him heal after his parents died. With Dick, Batman can take comfort in knowing that yes, he has made a difference in the world for at least one orphan boy, which is all he wanted when he lost his parents himself. To the wider DCU, Dick is a friendly face who convinces others that Batman is competent and not a complete asshole. He took this kid in, trained him to be one of the best heroes the DCU has seen, and did it all out of the kindness of his heart. That someone like Dick can confront the evils of Gotham and not break means there's still hope for that city. As Robin, Dick has led the Titans and is an icon in his own right as The Sidekick, the original, the one every other Robin is built around copying or contrasting. The one all other superhero sidekicks are drawing on as a basis. As Robin Dick Grayson is very much on Batman's level.

Just not as Nightwing. As Nightwing, Dick has been a second rate Daredevil which means he's a third rate Batman (fully prepared to get hate for this but I've read and enjoyed the Miller and Bendis DD runs so I feel entitled to my opinion). A typical Nightwing run tends to go like this: Moving to Bludhaven (which is Gotham... but WORSE!), Dick Grayson usually enrolls in a pointless job we don't care about in order to provide some meaningless soap opera drama that doesn't go anywhere. Patrolling the city as Nightwing, he fights a variety of bad guys who are usually rather lame and unthreatening, with his big bad being a Kingpin knockoff called Blockbuster. Villains are fought, long running plotlines are set up, then everything is abandoned because it's Batfamily event time, and Dick has to run back to Gotham in order to play sidekick again. Usually his involvement is completely superfluous and it would've been better if the writer had gotten to opt out. By the time we finally get back to Nightwing's solo plotlines, the audience has usually ceased to care and the run gets cut short.

That's how Nightwing has been since the New 52 at least. Anyone who thinks that's "becoming their own man" is out of their mind. Dick is so thoroughly in Batman's shadow that he got shot in the head and spent a longer time as "Ric" which everyone fucking hated and sold like shit, than he did as Agent Grayson which was extremely well-received. Reiterating: Ric went on longer than Grayson because of a fucking Batman plotpoint Tom King wanted where Bruce was sad and cut off from the Batfamily because of Dick getting shot. Not just calling out King either, how many times was Kyle Higgins Nightwing run derailed because of Scott Snyder's crossovers? Or how about that entire run getting dumped to the side because Johns wanted to out Dick during Forever Evil, a Justice League/Lex Luthor story? DC has repeatedly made their contempt for Nightwing clear, he's Batman's sidekick still in their eyes, and he serves whatever story role the Batman writer wants.

Hell his best stories tend to have been the ones where he's not Nightwing. He was Robin in a good chunk of the Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans run. Morrison really showcased his depth as a character when they wrote him as Batman, their time with Dick under the cowl was actually one of the first Batman runs I ever read, and no Nightwing run has ever matched it in terms of quality in my humble opinion. Scott Snyder's work with DickBats also was a high point for the character, showing Dick as competent and examining his relationship with Gotham and the Gordons. King and Seeley gave him one of the best comic runs with Grayson, a series where he wasn't even a "superhero" technically! When it comes to actual pre-New 52 Nightwing runs that are highly recommended where he *is* Nightwing, there's Chuck Dixon and uhhhhhhh... Tomasi's brief run before Dick became Batman? It's not exactly an overwhelming list.

Look there has been good work done with Nightwing, I'm not claiming there hasn't been. Tim Seeley wrote a great run with Nightwing Rebirth. Seeley fleshed out Dick's Rogues Gallery with cool new ones like Raptor, he brought back old foes like Dr. Hurt (why oh why couldn't you have brought back Flamingo too?), he gave Dick's world some character it solely needed. Bludhaven under Seeley is pretty much the only time I've really felt like it lived up to being Dick's city.

The problem with fictional cities is you have to put in the work to give them the character of real cities. You have to make the cities feel like characters in their own right. Gotham is the best example of this, it's a character all it's own, one that tells you a lot about Batman and his cast. In contrast Bludhaven is usually one of the worst. Any place that wants to claim to be worse than the city that is built over the gate to hell and gets wrecked every other month by the Arkham freaks has to really put in the work to compete. Simply put, Bludhaven typically fails utterly. There's nothing about it that makes you really buy it's worse than Gotham, I mean does anyone really think Nightwing's Rogues wouldn't get their lunches eaten by Batman's? No, no one genuinely buys that. When Bludhaven claims to be worse, it just comes across as tryhard, an attribute that does end up telling you about Nightwing in unintentional ways.

So Seeley didn't do that. Instead he created a city built for a hero like Dick Grayson. Someone who is bright and flashy, but does have an element of darkness to him. Someone who loves the spotlight, but often uses it to obscure. Seeley turned Bludhaven into Las Vegas, and that was the fucking best concept for Bludhaven I have ever seen, it makes so much sense. Las Vegas is the "Entertainment Capital of the World" and isn't that the perfect city for a hero who got their start working in the circus? Isn't the aesthetics of the gleaming casinos, the glamorous sex appeal of the performers, and the spectacle of the shows, all being used to cover up the seediness of mob bosses meeting backstage perfect for Nightwing? It's so utterly unlike New York City, yet Las Vegas is still dangerous, it's got a crime culture all it's own. Seeley used it to great effect, as did Humphries during his brief run, and I will always be pissed that DC didn't continue to use it. That should have stuck around and been the definitive look for Bludhaven.

How Seeley's take on Bludhaven was treated feels like a small scale version of how Nightwing in general gets treated. Whenever creators pitched ideas for him, if editorial thought there was potential to break big, they asked for those ideas to be repurposed for Batman instead. Anything big or good gets repurposed for Batman or tossed to the side so Nightwing can go back to his default: having irrelevant adventures in a city that is supposedly worse than Gotham but can't live up to it. Just like how Nightwing is supposedly better than Batman but never gets to show it. Goddamn it's so frustrating seeing his potential get wasted like that.

The Nightwing book should be one of DC's most ambitious books in terms of storytelling. You can go from traditional superhero stories, to romantic soap opera, to spy stories, to crime noir, to horror, to cosmic adventures, and ALL of them would fit because Nightwing is someone who has a foot in both Gotham and Metropolis. He's got friends everywhere on every team, and has been a hero longer than most Leaguers have at this point. No reason DC should still be afraid to let him loose and insisting on hewing close to what Dixon established almost over 30 years ago is only holding him back. At the very least get him some better Rogues, why the hell didn't he get to keep Professor Pyg? That's Dick's villain not Bruce's! Bullshit that they didn't let Dick keep him. Hopefully Flamingo comes back, with a slight revamp I think he'd make a great reoccurring Nightwing Rogue.

Luckily it does look somewhat like Nightwing fans have reason to be optimistic. While Taylor isn't to my taste, DC clearly views him as a "big" writer, and that they put him on Nightwing says a lot. Taylor has been selling well so far, so hopefully he gets to tell his story, hilarious that even he lampshaded having to write Dick running over to Gotham for another tie-in after Taylor's big opening arc was all about Dick committing himself and his money to Bludhaven. Scott Snyder is apparently working on a Black Label Nightwing book which will explore how he's a different detective than Bruce. The Gotham Knights video game has him as one of the main stars, and while Titans is... controversial, it's one of the most popular streaming shows and Dick is the main character. There's a lot of content coming that features him in the starring role, and that will only help his star rise further.

For the first time in, well, ever it feels like DC may be serious about elevating him. Time will tell if it pays off, but I for one choose to be optimistic that the 2020s will be a turning point for Dick Grayson where Nightwing becomes hugely popular in his own right. Not just as Batman's sidekick.

#nightwing #dick grayson #batman #gotham knights #titans #dc comics

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valkblue · 2 years ago

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An OC: Zak ; And a not OC: Aragorn

Oooh thank you for these!!!!

For Aragorn — (I'll stick to movie!Aragorn for this one, because I really like Viggo's interpretation. He's perfect in the role, in my opinion. And also, movie!Aragorn is really not that far from book!Aragorn.)

My favorite line

I have a lot I like very much but, to answer this question, it'd be a tie between "U-chebin estel anim" (I keep no hope for myself) to Elrond and "What says you?!" while crossing the Paths of the Dead. For the first, in the book, it's Gilraen (Aragorn's mother) who says this line, and in the movie they gave it to Aragorn in response to Elrond (saying the first part of Gilraen's OG quote). And even though I think it's more impactful from Gilraen (for various deep lore reasons), I also like what it says about Aragorn in the movie; throughout all the trilogy (and the books too!), he's pushing people towards hope, to regain it or just not loose it, to keep fighting and be strong, that there is always hope! He is always encouraging and inspiring people around but fears the worst from himself because like he said, Isildur's blood courses through his veins, the same weakness… and he fears that he will be no better than his ancestors in face of the same evils, and that he'll inevitably be a terrible king for it.

And the second would be almost for the same reasons; he still doubt himself, but he's resolute, he accepted the role he has to play in those terrible events, to stop Sauron and the rising of evil. And to be king of Men, should he survive.

Also, this scene is super badass and the specter's laugh at Aragorn's despair equally creepy and efficient...!! 😱💖

My favorite moment

Honestly, I really like the scene in which we see him for the first time; that gaze in the dark (with ominous voiceover) and how he grabs Frodo and takes him to 'safety' in another room after the incident with the Ring.

My favorite strength

He's humble. Truly humble. He has no problem trusting a Hobbit with the Fate of all life in his tiny pocket because he trusts Gandalf's judgement about him and his quest, and later on, he can say for himself that it wasn't unwaranted. He accepts criticism and even insults, and draw something to better himself out of it. Nothing is wasted on him; no comment, no opinion given, no time, no resources, no effort, no trust, not even hope!

My favorite weakness

He doubts, a lot. But in a good kind of way! The kind that makes him reconsider anything from strategies to 'simple' decisions, the kind that makes him rely on his allies' abilities and knowledge… and that makes him a good king.

My favorite personal headcanon

He would have wanted to try some of that salted pork from Saruman's pantry too… 👀

For Zak —

My favorite line

"The Law!!" 😱… because he's very lawful, sort of. He had so much trouble with the Law that he's wary of it now. He desperately tried to stay out of trouble but trouble keeps on finding him anyway, it seems.

My favorite moment

That time he fought alongside Sara, and she unleashed her fire elemental. When she looked cornered and about to be killed, he jumped from the roof of the stables to rush and save her. He failed miserably… but she didn't need saving at the moment. After that terrible battle when she was left alone to fight her own mind however… 😔 So he helped her the best he could.

My favorite strength

Trustworthy. Anything you say to him is kept secret forever, and you can ask him for almost everything… even messing with the Law a little!! 😱

My favorite weakness

He has no poker face whatsoever. He's an open book and in his secondary line of work (a.k.a messing with the Law!!!) , it's an almost unforgivable weakness.

My favorite personal headcanon

He makes up lyrics to go along with Sara's music in his head. 👀💕

#ask game #character asks #favourite characters #fatesrpg #thank you!!!#ocs #oc:zak #the lord of the rings #aragorn

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durotoswrites · 2 years ago

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opinion on Luna from TOT/AP? or Kai if you're not as familiar with TOT/AP.

I’ve read a lot of fic taking place in Tree of Tranquility/Animal Parade, but I haven’t played the games. Unfortunately, I haven’t read much fic on Luna, so I wouldn’t have much to go off of her besides looking at a wiki. I do, however, have a lot of experience with Kai, so let’s talk about our favorite summer visitor!

As the main competition in the swimming festivals, I feel compelled to say once more:

Let’s dive in!

How I feel about this character: Harvest Moon 64:

Kai is humble, hardworking, and loyal to a fault. He thinks very highly of his boss (I don’t recall if they actually refer to Gotz by name in this game) and puts Karen on a pedestal. He’s raising money for his family, and if the vineyard isn’t restored and Karen leaves, Kai ends up leaving as well. This version of Kai leaves me a little uncomfortable in the way he doesn’t seem to stick up for himself at all. We can all talk about the elephant in the room as well - one of the few non-white characters referring to his boss as “the master” doesn’t feel very comfortable, although this looks like a translation of master being an owner of a business based on Popuri’s comment to Jeff, who runs the bakery:

Still, when I see Kai leave comments like this, I can’t help but raise my eyebrows a little.

This Kai deserved so much better, and I’m glad that they gave him some confidence in later incarnations.

Mineral Town:

Depending on what game and version of the game you’re playing, Kai can come off as simply charismatic and playful to snarky and a bit womanizing. For example in HM for Girl, Kai will ask Popuri to watch the fireworks with him solely to get a rise out of Rick. In the GBA games, Kai feels very laid back and happy with his on the go lifestyle. He doesn’t want to cause a rift in Popuri’s family despite not getting along with his own family. Rick is dealing with his own abandonment issues from his father and sees Kai as a threat, although I really feel that it’s not so much Kai himself as it is the fact that he travels and won’t be around (like Rod).

All the people I ship romantically with this character

HM 64: Kai x Elli?: I’m a little unsure about shipping Kai with anyone in this game, as I don’t think the pedestal he puts Karen is on is healthy. If I shipped him with anyone, they’d need to be very down to earth and help him with his confidence. Elli would be my main candidate for him, but it’s possible she’d worry about him working too hard and he’d ultimately feel like he has to choose between Gotz and Elli.

Mineral Town: Kai x pretty much everyone: As I’ve discussed with @friendofbats Kai is such a versatile character in Mineral town and he has this charisma about him that makes him a good match for a lot of characters. Popuri is the one who makes the suggestion that they travel the world together, and Kai only wants to do it if Lillia agrees. Only Rick is opposed (but one could easily theorize that Kai and Rick are ex-lovers based on some of Rick’s dialogue) and Kai still handles the situation with dignity. Kai is a people-pleaser for sure, and this shows up in his post-wedding event where Popuri begs for a necklace and he finally breaks down and buys it for her despite the high price tag.

So, I guess I could list some of my favorite ships here, even though I feel like Kai would be great with most characters:

Kai x Karen: Now this version of Kai is fantastic with this version of Karen. They both have confidence and would raise each other up while still remaining playful and romantic.

Kai x Gray: These two are best friends in the game, but they’d be really cute lovers, too. I can see Kai helping Gray with his frustrations about Saibara, and Gray being one of his number one customers.

Kai x Cliff: I could see Cliff really admiring Kai for the way he can support himself with his own business and they would have a lot to talk about regarding their families. I think that Kai would be able to help Cliff come out of his shell a bit, too.

Kai x Ann: They both love cooking, they’re both playful. I could see them teaching each other new things in the kitchen and having picnics on the beach. I love this rare pair, and honestly, it’s one of my favorites.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

HM64:

Kai/Farmer: Kai would be a good friend for the farmer. They’re both from humble beginnings and work hard. They’d have a lot to relate to each other about. I can see them spending evenings at the bar regularly.

Kai/Harris/Jeff: I think after a few drinks, these three guys would easily bond, boosting each other up and as they try to overcome their low self-confidence.

Mineral Town:

Kai/everyone but Rick and all the men insecure in themselves who project onto Kai, such as Duke.

Kai/Gray/Cliff: I absolutely adore the dynamics of these three and wish it was touched on in the game. I headcanon them interacting quite a bit as they share a room. Even if it were BTN where there are two rooms, I still feel like the three of them would see each other enough that they’d bond pretty quickly.

My unpopular opinion about this character

While I do think that Kai works well with a lot of characters, I do feel like him and Popuri aren’t the best couple in the Mineral Town games. There seems to be a lot of tugging from Popuri, and I feel that she has this idealized view of what traveling the world would actually be like, versus Kai, who has actually done it and knows it’s a lot of work.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

HM64 Kai:

A retranslation of the dialogue to keep him from calling Gotz and Karen “The Master” and “The Master’s Daughter” would be appreciated. I’d also love to see some development from him, becoming more outwardly confident in the way he carries himself. He’s clearly happier when the vineyard is doing better, but he seems more focused on the fact that Gotz and Karen are happy than expressing his own feelings on the matter.

Mineral Town Kai:

I wish that Kai ended up being a year-round guest if you completed some sort of requirement for him after maxing out his friendship level. Like, maybe you’d need to help convince him by going around town and having high friendship with people who would be potential customers. I liked the idea of the beach shack, and it gives me more of a reason to visit the beach.

Also in both games, I would love to know more about his family. There’s so much untapped potential!

Thank you for the ask! Kai is such a fun character, and despite only being around a season out of the year, he leaves such a great impression on me. I hope you have a wonderful day! <3

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xerox-candybar · 3 years ago

Text

Ah, so apparently I won’t be able to rest until I yell into the void about... the creative process? here goes. please wish me sleep.

One of my mentors once told me, “A story’s success can be measured by its ability to evoke emotion in its audience.” Notably, she did not mention what emotion (although my story, specifically, had made her laugh a lot). But to some extent, emotion is the best thing to bank on. Nathan Pyle (the cartoonist behind Strange Planet) once Tweeted about his creative strategy, particularly when it came to writing jokes, using the “Leafbucket” cartoon as an example. I saw this about a year or so ago, but I haven’t been able to find it since then so I’m going from memory which hopefully will not fuck me over.

Nathan Pyle posted the comic and then polled his Twitter followers: What do you think the green things are?

80% said salad (Excellent! the joke came through loud and clear for them)

10% said spinach (Good, not what he intended, but it still worked in context)

5% said broccoli (Not so good; they’ll kind of get the joke, but the essence of the punchline is “look how normal behaviors are actually weird!” Eating a bucket of broccoli is unusual, so then you have a comic about a weird person being weird—which might be amusing, but there’s really no twist and therefore no laughter, no catharsis.)

5% had no idea what the green things were. They didn’t get the joke, but it’s possible they appreciated something else about the panel, which, in my humble opinion, is actually kind of beautiful.

Anyway, Pyle actually considered “Leafbucket” to be a successful comic. You certainly can’t expect everyone to get every punchline, and 90% is a lot! You’ve probably seen a comedy routine performed in front of a live audience—nobody laughs at every single joke, to the same degree, the whole entire time. That’s why comedians excitedly break the fourth wall to address particular patrons—“this guy knows what I’m talking about!” which typically earns another round of laughter because I’ve just demonstrated how relatable my jokes are! Here’s one person that’s relating right now—so it’s okay, go ahead and laugh. Peer pressure, amiright? 🤣

Even if you find your niche audience, there’s still going to be variation among individuals. If you think of the audience as a uniform entity—moving in unison and echoing back the author’s moralistic intention word-for-word, then you’ve mistaken your spectators for a Greek Chorus, and a Greek Chorus is an entirely different animal. While your audience may have come seeking a particular trope, they also expect to be challenged at least a little—when you leave aspects of a story up for interpretation, you allow space for each viewer to make it their own. (And in fandom spaces, that can get very heated).

Reframing audience satisfaction as a statistical spread not only helped me be a better writer, but it made me a better reader as well. For awhile, I participated in a writing group with two others—both much more published and credentialed than me. Although we all had an oddly similar niche focus (absurdist-magical-realism-turned-social-commentary), we executed these ideas very differently. And that was an incredibly valuable experience: giving constructive criticism vital to the success of a piece that was Lovingly Not Intended for Me.

You’d think that if we had similar values, we’d at least be able to agree on what made a good story—but to my surprise (and confusion!) these two folks I equally respected frequently gave conflicting advice. While we were generally in agreement about the tools we use to tell a story, and when and how to wield them, my two readers frequently disagreed on what they actually liked about my work. And the weirdest thing? They liked it overall, just in different ways, and for different reasons.

For example, I wrote a story based on my experience visiting my partner in Istanbul. He’s fluent in English but I don’t speak Turkish very well, which kicked up lots of old anxieties when I went out alone, and vastly changed our dynamic when we were together. He did his best to be supportive—for example, by practicing with me—but he had a very different experience learning English. He started very young, with the intention of studying and working abroad, and it was both an obligation and an investment. I did not have the luxury of spending five minutes trying to accurately pronounce exactly one word (“kalp”). I needed just enough Turkish to get by—to understand directions the washing machine, to ask how much something cost or where to find it, to distinguish whether my transit card had expired or run out of funds or de-magnetized, to respond politely to the shopkeeper that was so warmly welcoming me.

Ultimately, my partner ended up speaking for me most of the time—or worse, doing things for me. It’s nice to be cared for, usually, but that sort of affection hits differently when you feeI helpless To encapsulate how conflicting and strange that experience was, I opened the story with the male character explaining the washing machine to the female character. He tries to combine the explanation with a vocabulary lesson, and ultimately the female character gets frustrated and goes back to bed. The male character leaves for work, and offers to step out for a Skype call if she changes her mind. I didn’t expect this final exchange to read as sarcastic or humorous, but that was how it was interpreted. It struck my two readers as an odd thing to do, rather than a nice thing. That was about the only thing they agreed on.

‘Is the male lead likeable?’ wasn’t something I had considered. To me, that character (who, for better or worse, was based on a real person) was just being himself— a faithful representation of an emotionally reserved person showing care, and doing his best to communicate nuanced concepts in his second language. I hadn’t considered that this might come across as brusque.

Thinking back to Nathan Pyle’s notion of an audience reaction spread, this was troubling. “I read him as patronizing and sarcastic,” my first reader said. “Kind of a jerk.”

“Oh, actually--” the other cut in. “I found him patient, if a bit socially awkward.”

My initial inclination was to defend my character—it was difficult not to, considering who he was based on.

“Forget about that,” my friend said. “You don’t need to make excuses for anybody, this is fiction. Don’t sacrifice this character’s authenticity to make him look good—this isn’t about him. There’s more to the story than that.

This was a breakthrough moment for me, actually: an unlikeable character is preferable to an inauthentic one.

“Forget about what you meant to show,” my friend continued. “What do you need the scene to do, for the sake of the story?

I hadn’t considered, actually. As a newer writer, my initial worry was always “will they like this?”—but that shouldn’t be the goal. What I should have been asking was “will I lose them?”

“Was this character / scene / paragraph so insufferably egregious that you would have dropped it entirely, had you been reading for leisure and not as a favor to me? Or will you forgive me if I push your buttons a bit.”

You need to consider what your core audience is here for. Because it doesn’t matter what you deliver, how much or how well, if your audience nopes out and never gets to there.

“Who is your core audience” is another question entirely. It could mean “most of the audience” or it could mean “that handful of fans out for deep cuts” or “the people that most need to hear this story.”

It’s a lot to balance, which is why after I send something out into the aether, I usually spend a lot of time listening to the [title of show] soundtrack: I’d rather be 9 people’s favorite thing than 100 people’s ninth favorite thing.

Sometimes, it’s not just a question of whether I chose well. More often, it’s a matter of whether or not I executed well. Fiona Apple once described wrestling with variations on a particular song, explaining that one of the songs had been in her repertoire for awhile, but she hadn’t recorded it because “it was not wearing the dress I wanted it to go to the party in,” and I think that metaphor is apt. The thing you’re making contains everything necessary to be a showstopper, it just needs to be presented exactly right so that it doesn’t just show up, it turns heads.

I sense that many successful authors and artists struggle grapple with this behind closed doors. Milan Kundera, who wrote The Unbearable Lightness of Being, appears as himself in a later novel, Immortality. In one scene, he’s having dinner with one of his characters, and Kundera breaks the fourth wall to address not just his dinner companion but also his audience (full disclosure, this is also from memory, not a direct quote):

“I’m working on a book,” Kundera says.

“Oh?” His character responds. “What’s it called?”

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” the author replies.

His companion is confused. “Haven’t you already written that?”

“I thought so, but I was mistaken. That book wasn’t The Unbearable Lightness of Being—this is the novel I was meant to be writing.”

I don’t think it’s a fluke. One of my favorite songs, “When I Dream of Michelangelo,” is actually Adam Duritz essentially retconning an earlier song, “Angels of the Silences”:

When I Dream of Michelangelo" was a song I began writing 20 years ago. I only had an idea of that image – and a bit of the music. Which is why that line shows up later in "Angels of the Silences" because I still didn’t understand what "When I Dream of Michelangelo" was about; but I had that image. And that was the right image for that line in "Angels of the Silences". But it wasn’t until now that I was able to write the whole song. But that little piece of music and the sliver of lyrics that went along with it have been there for 20 years. I just hadn’t able to get the song out or understand what it was really about.

“Angels of the silences” has very visceral lyrics that describe the anguish of creating:

I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed

Little angels hang above my head and read me like an open book,

And suck my blood, break my nerve, offer me their arms,

Well I will not be an enemy of anything at all.

“When I dream of Michelangelo” hits it, too:

And I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed,

I see God upon the ceiling, I see angels overhead,

And he seems so close as he reaches out his hand,

But we are never quite as close, as we are led to understand.

Which I feel in my bones, because by now I’ve learned when I’ve got a final draft of something, it means usually 6-8 more weeks of work, at least.

My point is, even people very successful in their field (and quite experienced, as is the case with Milan Kundera--The Unbearable Lightness of Being was shortlisted for the Pulitzer) spend plenty of time wrestling with their visions.

Sometimes it feels like you, the author, don’t even have that much control over what’s happening— you’re merely dictating a vision from another world. Probably my biggest challenge when I started writing again was understanding that what I personally want for my characters isn’t what can plausibly happen for my plot to move forward in the way that I need, with the tools that I have right now. My ongoing original fiction project involves typing up the 20ish years of journals I’ve kept throughout my life, because that’s where my most authentic prose seems to be living right now, and because the character is me I’m especially tempted to rewrite history. And the struggle was recognizing there’s really nothing beautiful or noble about the pain that I was in, or the mistakes I knew I was making, and changing the ending to imply otherwise helps nobody. That doesn’t meant there’s not worth telling or there’s nothing to learn—In fact that almost seems like the point, the fact that I now agree with all the advice I spent years patently ignoring, but I also recognize at the time, you could not (for love nor lemons) have talked me out of the toxic cycles I was in. I just had to live out my own answers.

There are also external limitations on one’s vision as well: in Casablanca, Rick (Humphrey Bogart) reunited with his long lost love, Ilse (Ingrid Bergman). Rick learns that Ilse had been already married by the time they met, but she explains that she opened herself up to a new relationship only because she thought her husband had died. Who should she choose? Well, Ilse doesn’t get a choice—at the time, the Hays Codes (a self-imposed set of industry restrictions) forbid films from depicting marital separation. A woman simply couldn’t leave her husband on screen. Or she could, but then the film wouldn’t be played in most theaters.

So, when it comes to storytelling, there’s always a little bit more happening behind the scenes than just the author. The invisible hand works in art as well as economics, especially if there’s a commercial element.

When I plot out stories, I find myself considering the limitations of what I’ve set up and the limitations of my own skillset, and what it might be like if I were working with a publisher or agent (because maybe I will, someday). What are the aspects on which I might anticipate pushback, or changes, and what are the elements I know can’t be comprised?

…it’s about as daunting as it sounds.

When I’m writing, my goal isn’t to make an argument either way—strong emotions are the goal, and differing opinions are excellent. The primary goal is to inspire others to think deeply and talk amongst themselves, because that’s how art lives and breathes.

…there’s also something Machiavellian about this, because you can’t please everyone (or even ensure they’ll understand you). But the more people argue, the more the word gets out. If someone presents a beautifully dissimilar interpretation, what do you do? You watch the show again. You read the book it was based on. You check out the prequel, the sequel, the spin-off.

Also, people remember emotions moreso than facts. There’s something primal about this, about how the brain is wired. This has been demonstrated neurologically (it’s one of the primary mechanisms behind Post Traumatic Stress—if you have a near miss while driving, your Lizard Brain is going to make you antsy around cars, the same way you get antsy around heights or snakes or dark places). But beyond the primal, when you feel something deeply, you feel like you got something. It might not be what you paid for, but it’s better than nothing. And if the story sticks with you—because it evoked immense fear or sadness or frustration or hatred—you might find yourself compelled to revisit it someday. And when that happens, you might find yourself thinking differently. It will certainly give you something to talk about.

#my writing #meta i guess #tell me you're thinking about one punch man without admitting you're thinking about one punch man #might delete later?#became too tired for editing halfway through #long post

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samwisethewitch · 4 years ago

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Creating Sacred Space

Very few pagans have access to temples or holy sites. If you’re lucky enough to live in the country where your gods were originally worshiped, you may be able to visit ancient temples or sacred sites, but most of us do not have this opportunity. For most pagans, sacred space is something we have to create for ourselves.

On one level, this is very literal — pagans create physical spaces for their gods to inhabit, usually in the form of home altars. An altar is a table, shelf, or other flat surface that is set aside for religious or spiritual use. The altar is likely home to religious items or tools like candles, incense burners, or statues of the gods. It is the place where prayers are made and offerings are given. It is a place within the home that is set aside for the gods.

Like everything within paganism, the exact setup and uses of your altar depend on your tradition. Some groups, like some forms of traditional Wicca, require the altar to look a very certain way, with a collection of ritual tools arranged in the appropriate places on the altar. Other traditions are much more freeform.

Even if you have not chosen a pagan path yet, you may find it helpful to create a special place to connect with the divine. This could be an altar — even a simple one, like an unused shelf holding a white candle and a stick of incense — or another special place like a yoga mat where you do meditations, a special chair where you read spiritual literature, or a special place outdoors. Having a space set aside for spirituality and religion will help you to literally and metaphorically make room for these pursuits in your life.

To dedicate this space to religious pursuits, simply verbally state your intent to use it for that purpose. You might perform a simple ritual by lighting a white candle and saying something like, “I dedicate this space to the gods and to my growing relationship with them.” (It doesn’t matter if you don’t know yet which gods you want to worship.) Now you have a special place to return to when you want to connect with the divine.

You can also build altars to connect to other types of spirits, such as land spirits or ancestors. We’ll talk more about these kinds of altars in a future post.

Though guidelines for altar setup and maintenance vary from one pagan religion to the next, there are a few basic guidelines that are pretty much universal.

For one thing, your altar should be kept clean and tidy. Don’t pile non-religious items on your altar, make sure to clean up any candle wax or incense ashes left after a ritual, and try to keep dust from building up on your icons and statues. I am a generally messy person, but my altar stays clean as a sign of respect for my gods, even when the rest of my house is a mess. If you struggle to keep your altar tidy, schedule 10-20 minutes once a week to go through and clean it up. Think of this cleaning not as a chore, but as a loving service to your gods.

If you use your altar for food offerings, you should dispose of them after 24 hours or less. As we’ve previously discussed, some pagans eat their food offerings after the gods have had a chance to consume their spiritual essence, while other pagans feel that this is rude or taboo. In the latter case, many people choose a special place outside where they dispose of food offerings (if you do this, make sure the offering won’t harm local plant and animal life if left outside). Another option is to add food offerings to a compost pile — you can use the compost in your garden, perhaps for plants that are sacred to your gods (again, make sure your offerings are compost-friendly).

Keeping your altar clean also includes energetic and spiritual cleansing. Before rituals, you should cleanse your altar to ensure that you aren’t bringing any unwanted energy into your worship. Cleansing protocols vary from one tradition to the next and may include sprinkling the altar with blessed water, wafting incense smoke through the space, or using a special tool like a ritual broom or a bell. If you haven’t chosen a pagan religion yet, simply use the cleansing method that works best for you.

When caring for your altar, keep in mind that this is your gods’ space within your home. You want it to be comfortable for them. Like decorating a guest bedroom for a friend, you’ll probably want to choose items that are significant to the god or spirit being honored on the altar. For example, my altar contains a crow skull and feathers because crows are sacred to several of the deities I work with. Take your time to create an environment that will be welcoming to your god(s) of choice. (Again, if you aren’t working with any specific gods yet, you can still create a basic altar — follow the previously stated guidelines for keeping it clean and welcoming.)

While setting up and maintaining an altar or other special space is an important part of creating sacred space, it isn’t the only part. When pagans talk about “creating sacred space,” we are also talking about cultivating a certain mindset.

Just like you need to make space for the gods in your home, you need to make space for them in your life. It’s all well and good to call yourself a pagan, but if you never pray, make offerings, or think about the gods, are you really embodying pagan religious practice? If you’re going to talk the talk, you have to also walk the walk.

Creating sacred space in your life can take many forms. One of the most common (and convenient) is small daily devotional activities. These activities only take a few minutes and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. This may include meditation, divination, or reading a few verses from a holy book. Even the act of lighting a fresh stick of incense on your altar in the morning can help strengthen your connection to your spirituality.

It can even be as simple as remembering to thank the gods when you see them at work in your life. I have a friend who is a Roman pagan, and he has a habit of verbally thanking Mercury (the Roman god of travel, among many other things) whenever he finds a good parking space or doesn’t have to wait at a red light. This kind of small acknowledgement may not seem like a big deal, but it works to integrate our worship of the gods into our daily lives.

Take a few moments, right now, to ask yourself how you can create sacred space in your life. What can you do to make the gods feel welcome in your presence? Try to think of a single change you can make in the next 24 hours to create this space. Write it down.

Commit to maintaining this new practice for at least three weeks. At the end of each day, write down what you did to create sacred space and how it made you feel. Do you feel a sense of peace? Do you feel the gods’ presence more strongly? Do you feel a sense of connection to something bigger than yourself? Write down these and any other thoughts on your new practice.

At the end of three weeks, look back over your notes. How did this practice change the way you feel about your spirituality? How did it change your relationship with the gods? If there was a positive change, try to continue integrating this practice into your daily routine.

If there was no change, that’s okay — this specific practice may not be for you, and there’s no shame in that. Choose a different practice and repeat the experiment. Keep at it until you find a way to create sacred space that works for you on your unique spiritual path.

In my humble opinion, it’s important to learn how to hold sacred space before you start investigating different pagan religions. Not only will it give you the basic tools you’ll need for religious ritual, but it will help you to discover your personal worship style and comfort zone. With this, you’ll be better able to determine which pagan path(s) is a good fit for you.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Following the Sun by Sharon LaBorde

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

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husbandomail-archive · 2 years ago

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Hi there, Jojo! I'm the previous anon's friend who asked about the matchups and I would like to humbly ask you for a matchup please? Thank you!

Gender: Female (afab), she/her/hers

Series: Bakugan, Jojo (any parts , just no villains please EXCEPT FOR La Squadra) and Digimon!

Match-Up Preferrence: I'm actualily biromantic asexual and I like both but I usually lean more on towards guys!

Personality:

Oh boy,,,, I don't honestly know how to start this one but my personality depends on the people I'm usually around with but so far my sister has described my personality can be 'extreme, that has no in between' like I can be extremely nice but also can be extremely mean but I have more to me than meets the eye actually! Here are some of my traits listed down (I would describe this the way most people would describe it like the ones we see on character profiles but anyways)

For the positive ones I have:

-smart

-introspective

-looks out for others

-kind

-creative

-funny

-ambitious

-determined

-charming

-brings positive energy to conversations

-seems to speak with gentle words

-willing to change

-sticks to personal opinions but is happy to learn from a mistake (if spoken to nicely and not yelled at)

-empathetic

-loyal

-will do anything for their loved ones

-humble

-stands up for what's right and will fight someone for you (not in a literal way but it still counts) and will not hesitate to defend them or call the person out on their bs

-curious

-is the designated 'chaotic wine aunt/gremlin/ mom friend'

-brave

-understanding and very wise

Negative ones:

-spends a lot of time in my head than being down to earth

-gives out advices to other people but never follows them

-always has to prove people wrong

-sarcastic at times

-cynical

-procrastinates

-has to rely on other people's opinions to see who I really am because I dont know who I am at certain days

-sharp-tongued

-tends to forget about other people and or forgets to do certain things but always says 'I'll do it later' (its bc of my adhd)

-people always assume that I have low EQ

-often, if not, commonly perceived as grumpy and always angry

-stubborn but not reckless

-is either cautious or too trusting of people at times to the point it just becomes a mess

-introverted

-sometimes would prefer the easy way out than the hard road taken

-seen as scatter-brained

-pretends everything is okay when clearly, it's not

-doesnt want to be seen or perceived as weak

-too independent and believes that I can do everything by myself when in reality I just don't like asking people for help because I think I'm a bother to them

-has the mindset that no one will love me for me

-likes love but is afraid to be with someone to avoid getting hurt or hurting someone

Passions, Hobbies and Goals:

-Well as of now, my main goal is to finish up college and become successful and be rich eventually but also I'd also love to like, if ever I got to like have enough money, be able to donate it to organisations that need it and whatnot and I'm a huge supporter and advocate for animal welfare, rights for minorities, women's rights and everything in between as long as they're honest and provide receipts.

Though I dont exactly like do work like they do, for example, field work, I just want to help out in any way I can and the best thing I could do is to spread awareness and talk about these kinds of issues whenever I can (and once I have like sufficient knowledge about the topic itself)

As for my hobbies, I got lots of them to the point my grandma says I'm the jack of all trades but the master of none. Most of them are artistic exploitations such as drawing, listening to music (or playing music since I have like instruments of my own), writing, crafting, cooking and reading, I also like learning about the occult and I usually dabble with divination and astrology and I collect stuff like funko pops and books but I'm usually seen on my phone and being on social media where I shitpost memes to my friends and talking to them or I'm playing games like Stardew Valley!

I think that's about it! Thank you, Jojo! Hope you have a great day/night/afternoon! 💕💕💕😘😘😘🌸🌸🌸✨✨✨

I apologize for taking so long, please thank your friend for her patience with me!

I’d pair you with Gus Grav!

I’ll admit, getting to know each other would be rough at first— it’s very difficult to get past his emotional walls, and the way you’re always running at full throttle in any direction might be a bit much for him until you both know each other better. That being said, he manages to work alongside someone like Shadow Prove, so you’ve got a good shot at working your way into his life.

Once the two of you properly get to know each other, Gus quietly admits to himself that he prefers your company over some of his coworkers; even some of the traits you call negative appeal to him. You’re both introverted, meaning you know when he needs to be left alone; you might think being sharp-tongued is a negative, but he thinks it’s amusing when you whittle Lync’s ego down to size. He also appreciates your general introspective nature— he’s spent far too long with a group of impulsive idiots, so it’s refreshing to have someone who can sit back and strategize together.

We know Gus is interested in humanity, so he’d find your hobbies really interesting no matter what; yeah sure, the vestals have music and art, but there’s just something different when you’re the one doing it. He’d love to watch you sketch and paint, or sit quietly and listen to you practicing instruments whether you’re good or bad with them. He’ll also listen intently whenever you discuss astrology— he might not believe in it himself, but Earth has constellations far different from the ones he’d grown up with, and he’s curious about what you believe in them.

Gus really is willing to work around a lot of things for the people he loves. Once you’re in his life, he’s much more patient than he would’ve been otherwise; he’s observant enough to notice when you’re quietly slipping back into yourself and away from the world around you. Gus is also introspective and keeps to himself, so he’s willing to make a deal on that front— he’ll be open about everything with you, but only if you do the same in turn. It’s difficult to be vulnerable, especially when you’re so used to being isolated and alone, but the two of you can grow past that together.

#matchups #haven't done one of these in awhile!#these are fun lmao

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 3 years ago

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Survivor Rankings 1: Story Arcs

//So, in my update post, I eluded to everyone that I would do this, but since we’ve finished such a big chapter of the story, it’s time for me to look back at everything that’s happened so far, and do a bit of self reflection.

//That self-reflection is going to come in the form of these rankings. They’re pretty simple, they work sort of the same as a top 10. The one that I was the most excited to do, and the one that we will get out of the way first is ranking each Story Arc/Chapter in the story, from both phases.

//No, we aren’t done with Phase 2 yet. I was originally going to wait until the end of Phase 2 to do this, but since the Fugitive ended up being such a long story arc, I decided to bring it in now. I may revisit these rankings by the time we get to that point though.

//To be honest, the reason why I wanted to get this one out of the way so quickly and why I was so eager to do this one first, is because I honestly have more shit to say about this particular ranking because it reflects my overall capability of writing a good story, and seeing if I’ve done a good job or not.

//The big thing that I want to get out of the way is I will be analyzing each arc from a critical writing perspective, as well as putting in my own opinion. Also, since this is a self evaluation, I’ll let everyone know now that I’m not trying to toot my own horn or gush my writing up so that people will read it.

//To be perfectly honest, I think every single one of these arcs have flaws. I’ve never outright considered Survivor to be my best work, at least in the Danganronpa medium, but it is one of my projects that I take the most seriously.

//The other important thing I want to cover is that this list WILL NOT include “Inventum Arc”, or “The 12 Days of Christmas”. The reason being that Inventum exists purely as a transition between Phase 1 and 2, and does not have any story outside of Peko’s pregnancy, and 12 Days of Christmas was never written to be taken seriously. Just for fun. And it’s not really worth analysing it.

//I would be excited if you guys could share your own thoughts and feelings on what you found from each arc of the story. Once again, this is just my opinion, and I kindly request that everyone who reads this ranking respects it. Nobody can shit on my own writing quite like I can.

//Anyway, let’s hit it.

All is peaceful until a mysterious time-breaking wormhole appears on Jabberwock Island. What could it mean?

//As someone who studies writing and animation on a University course, I can drop a bit of advice for you. Your first piece of work on any medium is going to be bad. This is because you are inexperienced, and with practice, later down the line, you’ll be able to look back at your flawed writing, and see just how much you’ve improved on that.

//Trouble’s Brewing is proof of that. It was the very first story arc, and it only exists to do two things. Introduce the V3 characters involvement in the story, and establish Kuripa Kurafto as an additional character.

//The only reason why it’s the lowest on the list is because I was still trying to figure out how I would actually go about the blog, and working on a system, and also, since no one really knew about the blog, I basically had no asks to go through, and I didn’t quite know how to best promote the blog either.

//Of course, I don’t have the same problems I do now, so looking back on this arc, really, I just see it as humble beginnings. The writing isn’t terrible, but you can definitely tell that it’s improved as the series has gone on. This arc falls flat really due to circumstance more than anything else.

//...and I wish the same could be said for the next pick.

After becoming desperate to save Keebo’s life, Miu takes control of an important Future Foundation research facility and traps the workers inside, forcing them to tinker with a reactor until it’s powerful enough to wake Keebo up. In order to save the people of the Tower and bring Miu to her senses, Kaede and the others team up with Uchui and an inventor by the name of Mona to infiltrate the tower and stop her before she goes mad.

//Oh god here we go...

//Alright, so if you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that I’ve made a few very quick self-reflectory posts before, usually in the form of a few lines, and not on the level of a post like this.

//If anyone caught those cute little posts, you’ll know that I FUCKING hate “The Tower”

//I took what could have been a really unique arc about character reflection, or redemption for a character who arguably needed it more than others, and completely butchered it.

//Maybe I’m being too hard on myself, but things just didn’t go the way I wanted them to for this one. The pacing is awful, the conflict is stupid, Miu’s character development didn’t go the way I wanted, Keebo isn’t relevant, despite being the main factor of conflict in the arc, Kirumi and Kaito amounted to basically nothing, despite being on Kaede’s team as the whole story revolved more around the other characters and thus leaving no reason for either of them to be there, Mii-Yu’s arc basically ends here and it’s totally awful...I just really hit a low point with the first arc in Phase 2, and could keep going on and on.

//This arc also took a few days to write, which makes it pretty pointless compared to every other chapter in the blog.

//However, there are things that I did look back, and appreciate when I looked back. Namely, this arc introduced Mona, who as of right now hasn’t done much, but I feel was a very well handled character in that arc, especially with her growing relationship with Mii-Yu. Uchui also gets a bit of spotlight, though not much, and he’s pretty fun too. This arc also served as a pretty good stepping stone for some of Miu’s relationships, namely with Kaede as friends, and Keebo as a friend and potential romantic partner.

//But overall, the good points of The Tower do not make up for complete flop that it was. Originally, I had planned this to be the penultimate end of Mii-Yu’s arc in Survivor, but there’s no way I can allow this to be her send off. Hopefully my arcs in the future can make up for the tragedy that this was.

The former remnants of despair decide that after all the stress they’ve been through lately, they should go on vacation to relieve themselves of it. However, wherever the 77th class go, trouble is not far behind, and trouble comes in the form of the Ultimate Wizard, Mikado Sannoji. Hajime and the others, along with the help of both an old friend and a new one, must stop the vermin!

//I appreciate the things that Neo World did for the blog. This was the point where I felt I really had something going, and even though my community wasn’t as big as it is now, but this arc in particular definitely was where things started to pick up.

//Let’s go over a few things that I liked about this arc.

//Firstly, this arc introduced and re-introduced quite a few great characters into the asks. Kibin and Chiaki in particular are whom I’m referring to. Kibin who eventually gets some pretty great character moments, and Chiaki is clearly one of the most popular characters on the blog as a whole, being the most-asked non-protag character. It WAS Mahiru, but since then, she has taken the spot.

//My second point would be that there were a lot of really good moments in this arc too. This was the arc where Hajime’s relationship with Mahiru flourished, and we got to see a lot of fun, cute and overall entertaining interactions between the cast of the second game, plus Ryota and Yoruko (and Yuki too in some cases). In case anyone wasn’t aware of this, I consider Danganronpa 2 to be the best game in the series, and the cast is the primary reason why. This arc had a lot going for it.

//Aside from that, Neo World is also the first time that Organization Zetsubou are established and NAMED as a main source of conflict. We also get to see Yukari for a little bit for the first time.

//So why is it so low? Well, there’s a few reasons, one of which is a similar problem that I had with The Tower. The conflict doesn't feel real for the most part.

//This arc really only exists to give the Remnants some good character motives. Mikado NEO is present, and yeah, things do pick up at the end of the arc once they actually go into the Neo World and Hajime goes super saiyan and fights him, which was cool, but it doesn’t make up for how the vast majority of the arc was nothing more than mindless filler, with Kibin, or the Enigma Assassin at the time, serving as the breaking point.

//Alongside that, there were some moments that I felt were a little out of character, namely Nagito threatening Chiaki, Imposter’s reluctance to notify the Future Foundation of the incident, as well as Ryota’s willingness to create the brainwashing machine to combat Mikado in the Neo World. The ending also feels incredibly anime, in a story that for the most part has remained mostly realistic, which I consider to be a little cheesy and not fitting in well.

//So yeah, Neo World has it’s problems, but if anyone in particular is looking for an arc that is 80% wholesomeness, then allow me to point you in the right direction.

When old friends and an old adversary return from the dead, Maki Harukawa, with the help of the Kisaragi Foundation, must save her loved ones and stop her old nemesis in the process.

//There really isn’t much to say about Deadly Harmony. It kinda just exists. But overall, I do think it served it’s purpose in the story overall, and did it well.

//The arc that came prior to this one established some basic plot points, but overall, it was just a way to ease into the overall story of the blog. This arc on the other hand sets the ground for a lot of future events and plot points.

//For starters, it established that Shuichi, Maki and Himiko were not alone, and weren’t the only V3 characters to make an appearance. Miu, Kirumi, Tenko, Kaito and Tsumugi all show up, and establish the V3 plot relevance. The reason of how they got here, and all the other mysteries surrounding the group will be revealed eventually, but it was nice to bring the gang into the story.

//Speaking of Tsumugi, this arc also establishes her involvement in the plot as the main, over-arching villain. She’s not very impressive in the arc, and one of the stupidest parts of the story was when she played that little game with the characters, which was ultimately pointless in the end. Still, I think she had a pretty strong introduction all things considered. In addition, while not many people reacted to it at the time, the arc also introduces the controversy of the Reserve Course students, which becomes a very essential plot point during the story’s climax in Phase 2.

//Furthermore, this is the first time (besides Midori’s involvement in the prior arc) that the Future Foundation and Kisaragi Foundation collaborate. They end up doing so a few times in the future of course, but this was the first real point where Tsurugi decides to involve himself, sometimes being helpful and others just being a setback or emotional problem. Speaking of whom, Rei and Tsurugi are both pretty fun characters to write, and I have considered giving the Kisaragi’s their own arc. No promises though.

//Lastly, there’s Mii-Yu. Like I said before, I am frustrated that her arc didn’t “end” in the best way, but around the time that I was writing this arc, I was playing the first chapter of New World Order and was getting really into it. M11-YU, or Mii-Yu, was my favourite character, so I HAD to include her. And all things considered, she’s actually turned out to be really fun. Not really essential to the plot, but a nice character who embodies the good and evils of humanity, a main theme in the blog.

//Overall, I don’t regret writing this arc, but I don’t think the overall story was anything remotely special.

Kuripa forms an anime and manga club along with Ryota and Hifumi. They spend an evening at the High Roller and meet Iroha, who they hit it off with, and allow her to join. After agreeing to go to the upcoming anime convention with her, leaders from 4 other rival cabaret clubs show up and state they plan to evict the High Roller and it’s management. Iroha’s job and life are at stake, so Kuripa decides to team up with Kokichi to beat the owners at their own game.

//This arc’s biggest problem has the same issue as Neo World. It’s a vast majority of filler, and arguably, it suffers from it more than Neo World does. Neo World at least contributed some to the plot by introducing some important characters, like Chiaki and Mikado, but Cabaret Kyojin’s doesn’t even do that. It exists as nothing more than a subplot, and almost all of the important characters either get tossed out of the blog, or become background characters.

//The other problem that I had is that I’m gonna be totally real, I didn’t workshop this plotline from scratch. I borrowed, and by borrowed I mean stole, a lot of plot points from Yakuza 0′s Nightlife Island plotline with Majime trying to lift Club Sunshine back from the brink, battling against the 5-stars, much like how the gang does against the 4 Horsemen. The motives are similar, and I feel like I should have done more with it, instead of ripping stuff off from an already great game with equally great writing.

//I’m not going to hide the fact that Survivor isn’t totally original. I borrow and reference from many different media I’m into. However, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing for writers. Everyone is capable of writing the same plot differently, and provided they can make their own original twists and spins on the format, I think using previously made works is acceptable, and doesn’t go through the line of outright plagiarism.

//The reason why Cabaret Kyojin’s is higher, despite these problems, is that it was just plain fun to write. I enjoyed every character moment, be it from Kokichi, Kuripa, Iroha, the members of the 4 Horsemen, or anyone.

//Speaking of the 4 Horsemen, they were among the more fun antagonists to write, and I still enjoy making little moments for them in the present arcs. Hayamoto and Rokuhana in particular were super fun, particularly with their individual relationships, Hayamoto with Kibin, and Rokuhana with her daughter.

//Kokichi also gets some good development, which is weird, because Kokichi has never been known for his development. And this mainly stems from his newfound relationship with Kuripa, as the two end up being alike in ways neither expected.

//That, in general, is the main theme of the arc, and one of the things that makes it so fun: Relationship Dynamics.

//Kuripa and Kibin, Kuripa and Kokichi, Iroha and Ryota, Iroha and Syobai, Iroha, Hifumi, Ryota and Kuripa as a band, Hayamoto and Kibin, Misako and Misuzu, Kana and Iroha, Kana and Yosaku, Asayori and Datenashi, Kibin and Datenashi, Kokichi and the V3 gang, Kuripa and Komaru. The relationship dynamics and interactions between each of the characters in this arc is what makes it so fantastic.

//This doesn’t resolve it of it’s problems in that I should have had some more originality to my writing, but at least I’m a big enough man that I’m honest about it. Besides, it’s not like I regret writing this arc. It was definitely a fun ride, and the High Roller will continue to be one of the best places in the world.

Ex-Future Foundation member and former Ultimate Scout, Koichi Kizakura finds himself under suspicion of the murder of a street thug. It’s up to Ultimate Detective Duo, Kyoko and Shuichi to save him from being convicted.

//The first arc that had an actual story. And the point where people started to pay attention. And I couldn’t ask anything more of it.

//My only issues with this arc are firstly, like Cabaret Kyojin’s, the plotline borrows a lot from a plotline in the Yakuza series, but in this case I put some more original twists on it.

//The second problem is that the conflict isn’t completely desperate. It’s definitely there, and it’s definitely more tense than previously mentioned arcs, but since this arc is established before the overall over-arching story with Organization Zetsubou is, there’s no real world-ending threat. Sure, the arc DOES have Eje Karma, but let’s be real, in comparison to the OZ members who kill hundreds of people and even try to take over whole kingdoms, Karma’s just a regular street thug. The worst thing he does in this arc is break Makoto’s arm and kidnap Kanon to stop Leon from standing up for Koichi during the trial. Yeah, both of these are pretty serious offenses, and he somehow gets away with them, but Organization Zetsubou have ABSOLUTELY done worse.

//Third is the involvement of the Your Turn To Die characters. At the time of writing the blog, Your Turn To Die was the latest fad for fans of the genre, and to gain clout, I included Keiji Shinogi on the blog. I look back on that and regret it, and yes, I have used the YTTD characters since because of my lack of options. However, I now stand by the belief that Your Turn To Die and Danganronpa are two completely different games that shouldn’t be compared or overlapped. They’re both interesting, they’re both great, and they both deserve respect, but only INDIVIDUALLY, and my early writing did not help.

//That being said, this arc was the first instance where Shuichi adapted to his new life, and worked on his first proper case with his boss and fellow detective, Kyoko. Which was an interesting thing to work with.

//Also, while I said already that the arc happens before the main story is established, this is also the earliest action that Organization Zetsubou take. This is before they are uncovered to be a group, but in reality, the victim in the case that Shuichi and Kyoko are trying to solve was ACTUALLY killed by CELESTE, to silence him. This was WAAY before she was named as the traitor though, so not many would have realized it.

//Overall, I think “The Trial of Koichi Kizakura” is nothing spectacular, but it is a totally solid story arc in comparison to Trouble’s Brewing. This was where I actually had my system, figured out what direction I wanted to go in, and overall, it turned out pretty darn well.

The Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu returns from the dead, like the other 53rd Killing Game Participants, only to be found with a bad case of memory loss. Now, Shuichi has to team up with Chihiro, Yoruko and the Kisaragi Foundation, as well as an old nemesis, to get her memories back before Organization Zetsubou can get their hands on her.

//The final arc of Phase 1 ended up being pretty darn good, but as is the case with every other arc in this blog, it isn’t without it’s problems.

//Everyone who followed the blog at the time was heavily awaiting the return of Kaede Akamatsu. She’s been hyped up quite a lot, and everyone took well to when she finally showed up...but the twist was that when she returned, she had no memories of all the events that had led up to this point, after being brainwashed by Organization Zetsubou.

//Which overall, was a very fun plot point to write. However, to be perfectly honest, I don’t really think “The Amnesiac and the Alter Ego” has as many good moments as some of the other arcs in the blog, but I still think the moments it has do...MOSTLY outclass the prior spots. And for this one, I’ll do it in a list form, since for this arc, it’s easier.

While she wasn’t around for very long, Chinami Hasami was a solid character, and her death due to misunderstanding (and Yukari being a bitch) has stuck with Kaede even now, playing a big role in her character.

Shuichi and Kaede’s relationship starts here, and it grows over the course of the arc, which was pretty fun and cute.

Kaede’s identity crisis and overweighing guilt she feels once Miu reminds her of Rantaro’s death was a major conflict source, and led to the arc’s overall climax. And it was a very difficult scene to write, but I think I did it fairly well.

The Kisaragi’s make a return, and they have some new members this time.

A lot of well loved characters return in this arc, aside from Kaede. Yuta, Taichi and Keebo are revealed to be alive still, and Kokichi, who has planted his roots as a solid plot-essential character in the blog overtime, first makes his return here, actually as one of the arcs main villains. In additon, Teruya, Setsuka and Mikako are now revived and members of the Kisaragi Foundation, and they each have their shining moments throughout the arc too.

Same can be said for the return of Sora. While she hasn’t had many strong moments or involvement in the story since this arc, Sora’s return and the way it happened was a fun chapter.

Mikado’s death scene was specifically done to catch everyone of guard, and question the differences between man and machine once Sora absolutely pummels him.

Akira is introduced for the first time, and while he doesn’t get his shinging moments just yet, he’s still pretty good for the short time in which he’s shown.

//There are a few other things, and to be honest, a lot of the basic stuff I said about previous arcs applies to this one. To be honest, I rank this one higher than Ultra Despair Gang, but the two can swap around depending on my mood.

//My favourite parts of this arc in particular are Kaede and Shuichi’s relationship througout, Kokichi’s actions as an anti-hero, and the very bittersweet ending with Mikado’s death. One of the biggest regrets that I have for this arc, are that while I do think that Mikado NEO’s death was a shocking twist and completely out of left field, in meant that the character remained rather underused and wasted potential. There were a lot of things that I still could have done with Mikado, but hopefully, AI Junko now fills those gaps.

//Overall, “The Amnesiac and the Alter Ego” Solid arc, decent writing, but very much the middle tier. No real problems, but nothing that makes it particularly stand out.

Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa, the Ultra Despair Girls, end up taking on a trafficking case, but they get much more than they bargain for. Now, they need to assemble a team of able warriors, an Ultra Despair Gang, to stop Haiji Towa from ending countless lives just for the sake of petty revenge!

//No one really talks about this arc, and that makes me sadge.

//I generally think that some of the best arcs in the series are the one’s that are focused around Ultra Despair Girls, which is odd since UDG is easily my least favourite games in the series. For no reason really, I just don’t find it as impressive or memorable. I still think they’re pretty good though, and I like that I give them a lot of good points in writing.

//Let’s go through a few things that I liked about this arc in particular.

//The first, and main thing, is that in comparison to other arcs in this story, aside from some of our more recent one’s is that this arc is actually kinda...well...Dark.

//Made all the more fitting since it revolves around the cast of Ultra Despair Girls, which I also consider to be the darkest iteration in DR, only outranked by Danganronpa 3. One thing many people seem to forget about Danganronpa, is that it is a VERY DARK game series. Sure, the humor hides this sometimes, and sometimes it’s actually a problem, but the basis of Danganronpa is far from kid friendly.

//The point is, there’s a lot of moments in this arc that are significantly more dark and depressing than the rest. By this, I of course refer to moments like when Haiji tortures Komaru, resulting in her losing a leg, which then forces her to go through military style rehabilitation, and when he shoots and murders Hiroko in front of the Warrior’s of Hope. There’s one other moment in particular that I would mention, but I will get to that because it’s essential that I talk about it on it’s own. Point is, a lot of things that happen in this arc pertain to not only depressing situations, but also realistic situations. Take Komaru coming out as gay to her brother. Not a dark moment, but definitely one that requires a lot of courage.

//This arc also had a lot of fantastic moments and characters that get overlooked. Hiroko was the first major character death (and death in general) on the blog, which meant a lot. It hurt Komaru and Toko, who loved the woman, and it forced Hiro to act, even though he’s usually cowardly and prefers to leave the fighting to others. I generally dislike Hiro by QUITE a lot, so I was worried that my biases would get in the way of allowing him a unique character arc. Fortunately, I think I looked past it.

//The second moment I think that was great, besides the one’s I’ve just mentioned, was the return of Monaca and the beginning of HER arc. I imagine I caught quite a few people by surprise when I brought back UDG’s main villain, not as a threat, but as a HELPER to the cause. One of the best thing’s about writing for the Warrior’s Of Hope in the blog, is seeing how exactly their personality's change over time, now that they’re all adults. Monaca in particular is the best of the group, for reasons that I have established in a previous countdown, but she was fun for the small moments she got. Her development and growth in her isolation didn’t change her completely. She’s no longer evil, but she’s still a bit of a jerk.

//Third point is the New Warrior’s Of Hope. Ryoma and Akeru, while neither have a significant involvement in this arc besides being the one’s who introduce the conflict, but the two were really fun additions to the group.

//Second to last thing I want to go over is Haiji Towa. I would like to say that, like the majority of Danganronpa fans, I HATE Haiji Towa. And any time that someone explains why Haiji is a detestable piece of shit, I always think they have a point.That being said, there was a particular way I wanted to steer his character. The pedophilia problem is obvious, and the one that most people talk about with him, but in some instances, what people fail to realize is that the moral issues don’t stop there. Haiji is overall an awful man, being cowardly, but also deliberate and calculating even though most of his actions are done out of desperation, and it’s clear that given time, he would have descended into madness. So that’s exactly what I tried to show with his character. And I kept telling everyone during the course of the story that the Future Foundation only intended to capture him and arrest him for his crimes in the story, which as a reminder was that he was going to blow up a hospital to kill a bunch of kids, not caring if other patients got caught in the explosion in the process, but let’s be real. In my right mind, I wasn’t going to let him get off easily.

//And that my friends, is where we come to the most essential moment in the arc, and by far my favourite character involved in the whole conflict...

//Kuripa Kurafto.

//This arc marked the FIRST moment, where the readers got to see Kuripa for who he REALLY was. Before now, he was a goofy, nerdy, karaoke-loving, easy-going animator, who just so happened to know how to fight with a sword, which is what gets Toko to recruit him. He even goes as far as to defend both Makoto and Komaru’s perspectives when the two get into a fight, telling Makoto to be less of a helicopter parent, and Komaru to be more open to her brother’s suggestions. But from the very beginning, Kuripa has his own intentions...In reality, he has an arguably justified, but extremely fucked up sense of justice, believing that the best way to take care of a “stain on society” is to flat out kill it. Unlike the rest of the heroes in the story, he firmly believes that murder and manslaughter is a JUSTIFIED action in the face of taking down criminals, with the mindset that if they are gone, it’s the answer to all the world’s problems, not taking into account the fact that violence just breeds more violence. His true nature is that of a manipulative, ruthless and bloodthirsty antagonistic character, who’s justice brings other’s down with him, and leads him to murder Haiji in the most terrible way possible, and then give a “motivational speech” to everyone about his ideal of Despair and Hope not being so different. It was honestly a fantastic moment to write, and I enjoy going back to it every now and then to reread it, and Kuripa has only been taken more seriously over time.

//This arc does have a problem with pacing, and some characters that remained underused, but in summary, this arc was super fun, and I wish people had appreciated it more at the time.

Sonia Nevermind, Princess of Novoselic, returns to her country, aided by her friends, awaiting the fateful day in which she will finally be crowned the kingdoms queen. Unfortunately, Angie Yonaga and her coup have other ideas for the country. Can Sonia, with the help of Gundham, Shuichi and the others, defeat them before the day of the rite of passage?

//Before making this list, I had a read back through each of the story arcs that I had made for the blog. By the time I was ranking them, and put the arc on the list, I thought to myself “Oh. Yeah, this one can go higher up, I actually liked Novoselic Revolution.”

//And then once the list was finished, I looked through it and thought to myself “Holy shit! I actually LOVED Novoselic Revolution!”

//Before I get into what I really appreciated about this arc in particular, let’s just very quickly go over some problems.

//For starters, the pacing could have been a lot better. It’s conflict is good, considering the entire vitality of a kingdom is at stake, and I think the build up to the problem was decently handled. Not everything goes to hell right away, and it takes a short while before Angie, Mikihiko and the rest of the coup actually strike. When it does happen, it’s very sudden, and the confusion is exactly what I was going for.

//However, considering Angie doesn’t have any guards to go after the gang, and that a lot happens in between each substantial plot point, that for the most part, the conflict doesn’t feel incredibly real. And most of the time, a little cliché. The cliché writing for this arc is one that’s a bit of a problem, because (at least for the most part) the plot points are fairly predictable.

//Mikan and Ibuki also get two chapters to themselves, and while I love my girls and the fact that they got together in this arc, I think it was unfair and biased of me to give these two their own chapter that didn’t really need to happen, and not do the same for every other couple on the blog. 12 Days of Christmas does not count.

//A lot of the other things about this arc were pretty damn great though. Sonia, Gundham and Shuichi are the main triad of heroes in this arc, and I think each of them ended up having their highlights. Sonia in particular gets overlooked compared to a lot of Danganronpa girls, which isn’t right, so having an arc revolve around her story and her sacrifice was fun.

//Speaking of which, probably the most fun hero character to write in this arc especially was Mikan. There is a slight problem with the blog in that I make Mikan more badass than she usually is, because while she’s not as skittish or clumsy as she was before, she’s still rather shy, ditzy and is usually very sweethearted. Some of her moments though in this arc were my absolute favourites, mainly, when she went undercover as a double agent to get the scepter, and her big speech to Angie and Mikihiko about true loyalty, and how she isn’t the monster she used to be. It’s a defining character moment for Mikan, and it makes her one of the most entertaining characters to write for on the blog as a whole.

//However, one of my absolute favourite parts of this arc have to be the actions of the villains. In this instance, we’re talking Angie Yonaga, and of course, everybody’s “favourite” antagonist on the blog so far, Mikihiko Koyasunaga. While Mikihiko was set up to be a twist villain, I think the majority of readers were able to see past the bullshit. The relationship the two have throughout the story is one built on trust, which causes Angie to be crushed when Mikihiko tries to kill her, and reveals that he has simply been using her as a means of gaining the kingdom for himself. All the better, one of the things that made Mikihiko great in this arc by the end, is he is the person who stays the most in-character throughout. He’s a twist villain, but once the mask is off, and all his actions here come to light, it shows everyone who he really is: A detestable piece of shit, garbage, rat of a man, who lies, and kills his way through whoever and whatever to make his goals come to fruition. It’s because of this that Mikihiko was my favourite villain on the blog, prior to the introduction of the Rebirth Duo (Akira and Narumi)

//The last thing I will say, is that much like what made Cabaret Kyojin’s fun, this arc is another one that bases itself on relationships, and has a lot of great relationship moments. Some that I can list are

Sonia trusting Shuichi to solve a decade old Novoselic mystery.

Kazuichi and Gundham having Sonia’s back all the way.

Tenko sacrificing herself for Himiko and the others.

Angie and Mikihiko’s “healthy” relationship throughout, which then leads to Mikihiko backstabbing her and giving Angie a taste of her own medicine.

Tenko and Angie’s spiteful relationship coming full circle.

Tenko literally fighting tooth and nail with tigers to save Himiko.

Shuichi working together with Kaito and Maki to take back the castle.

Shuichi and Mikan collaborating together to hatch the double agent plan.

Mikan and Ibuki confessing their feelings for each other.

Mikan and Hiyoko properly reconciling after so many years

Gundham and Sonia getting married and Kazuichi finally accepting their relationship in full.

//And the list goes on. In summary, Novoselic Revolution isn’t without it’s problems, and that is why it is my favourite arc in Phase 1.

//Now onto the top 3!

Future Foundation receives reports that an Organization Zetsubou operative is lurking in Towa City, planning something big, and Komaru and Toko take it on themselves to investigate. However, much to their shock and horror, the agent takes Akeru Yozora, the young girl that leads the next gen Warriors of Hope, captive and forces Toko and Komaru to participate in a deadly IRL RPG-like game. In order to defeat their enemy and save Yozora, Komaru and Toko team up with Makoto, Sayaka, Leon, Yuta, Ryoma and the Warriors of Hope, as they are forced to dig into the Ninja Warrior’s very dark past.

//It should come as a neat little surprise that the top 3 arcs in the story are actually the 3 most recent arcs. Question is, what order are they in? Well, to kick of the top 3 in third place is Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora, which, ironically, shares a lot in common with Ultra Despair Gang in regards to me overall opinion of it. It’s an arc that revolves around Komaru and Toko, it’s themes are significantly darker than the other arcs, and for some reason, no one really took it seriously and that makes me a little sad to be honest, because this is hands down one of the most fun asks to write in the blog as a whole.

//As already said, much like the prior arc that featured the Ultra Despair Girls, there’s a lot of dark shit that goes down in this arc. Namely, Akeru’s entire backstory, the mass murder of the New Warrior’s of Hope, Gonta revealed to be the deadly Mr Kuma, murdering people under Narumi’s control, and of course, the actions of Shinitani Yozora, Akeru’s birth mother who is by far one of the most despicable villains in the blog. There’s a lot I could say about Shinitani, but I’ll save that for another list.

//The arc’s ending is also one of my favourites. To be honest, the beginning and end of an arc is usually the most difficult part for me. You have to make sure that you start it on the right note and end it on the right note, and in a lot of cases, I struggle with that. The only two arcs where I think I did that perfectly are this one, and the next one, but we’ll get to that. The ending specifically was really nice, and it sucked that during the course of writing, I went on holiday for a weke for my mum’s birthday, and thus had to delay it. It was satisfying to get back to it though, because the mother/daughter dynamic between Akeru, Komaru and Toko is now one of my personal favourite things to write during asks.

//Akeru as a character comes full circle here. She carries many similarities with that of the old Warrior’s of Hope, but unlike them, she was able to retain her sense of justice. She killed Shinitani, yes, but she did so out of rage and vengeance, and swore not to do it again. Akeru is essentially what would have happened to Nagisa, Kotoko and the others, had they actually tried to make sense of their situation, and not been corrupted by Junko and Monaca. And I think it suits her.

//Aside from Akeru, a lot of the characters in the conflict do get some decent development too. Toko, after dealing with several years of insecurities and trust issues, finally opens up to her classmates and friends about the truth of her past, and how she isn’t so different from Akeru’s (by the way, she promises that she would tell the other members of Class 78 her story, and she does, it’s just never shown). Ryoma has to deal with his own crises, and after losing his found family, and then discovering that found family was killed by his best friend under mind control, struggles to stay sane, and with him being one of the most calm and collected characters in the series, this means something. Kirumi also learns that her dedication can be easily used against her, and she unintentionally becomes a villain, even if only for a little bit. Gonta’s development and story is self-explanotory, with a mountain of regret weighting on him, and how his character revolves around trying to get over the trauma of the people who he watched die at his own hand. Leon, with help from Ryoma, reevaluates himself and tries to sort himself out, wondering if he can actually put his talents to good use. Lastly, while not as impressive or essential as the prior points, Makoto’s training with Mukuro really pays off here, as he uses his skills to save Gonta. Admittedly, Sayaka and Yuta, the last two members of the main team, fall a little flat, but each of them had their decent moments too I feel.

//The final fights, despite there being quite a few of them, are also very good. Fight scenes are super hard to write on a blog that doens’t have moving images, but the elevator shaft fight against Narumi in particular is among my favourites.

//And speaking of which, we come to what was quite possibly my favourite aspect of this whole chapter. The introduction of Narumi Osone. A breath of fresh air for villains in Survivor.

//My favourite moment from this arc, and one that I consider a shame that people didn’t pick up on very much, was when Narumi waits patiently for Komaru and Toko to show up and stop her Project Neuron plan...before disposing of it herself.

//Narumi’s mindset is very much a mix between Nagito’s and Monaca’s. She has Monaca’s playfulness and desire to play games with the heroes, but she does so out of an obscene desire to watch them overcome the challenges, leading up to when she has a chance to face them down herself. And while she doesn’t show up a lot physically, is really only a child, and destroyed HER OWN PLAN, she was DEFINITELY a threat, and a very real source of conflict in the arc from a lot of the actions she takes.

//I think the biggest problem with the arc’s mainly lie in that the pacing wasn’t the greatest, and also, Tumblr had updated it’s post editor against my will, and I did not take kindly to the new one, so when it was implemented, I had a bit of a nerous breakdown. Naturally, I’ve now sorted it out, but I hope to god it doesn’t happen again.

//”The Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora.” Underrated and Underappreciated, but oh so good, and oh so fun to write.

When the Future Foundation thinks they’ve finally found an opportunity to out the traitor among them, things go horribly wrong. Kyoko Kirigiri is critically injured and hospitalized and Yui Samidare is murdered when a bomb goes off in the latter’s office building. Things look bleak as Makoto becomes the prime suspect behind the attack, and is then endlessly pursued by his own friends and allies. Using the aid of whatever friends they can make in the trying time that is their life, Makoto, alongside Kuripa, must now remain on the run until the truth and the identity of the real traitor comes to light.

//Finally, we arrive right where we left off. The most recently finished arc.

//This is the other arc on this list that I’m going to have to break down in the format of a list/bullet points, but unlike “The Amnesiac and the Alter Ego” I’m doing so for a different reason. The reason being...HOLY FUCK this arc is SO LONG!

//It took almost exactly 3 months to write this whole section of the story, and while I’m not against longer arcs, with more conflict and tension, 3 months is definitely pushing it.

//In any case, let’s go through a few things that I think makes this arc overall pretty solid.

Unlike most arcs, the beginning and end to this arc were both very satisfying. The opening post featuring Gyalusetsu perfectly set up the tone of the arc, and how this one was going to be far more dark and depressing compared to a lot of the others. The ending on the other hand is bittersweet. It’s a victory for the heroes, but a lot was lost in the process, so it’s hard to be completely satisfied with the conclusion to the conflict, shown mainly in Makoto’s letter.

The main three characters in the arc are Makoto, Mukuro and Kuripa, three characters who are kind of like a trio on the blog. As I mentioned before, interactions and relationships are a big part of what makes some of these arcs great, and these three in particular have some great moments together. Their interactions are almost like that of a family, with Makoto being the father and keeping the other two in check, but with stern kindness, Mukuro as either the mature and sensible mother or the older sister, and Kuripa being the rambunctious and wild son or younger brother.

The arc by far has the strongest conflict and the highest stakes of any other. The entire Future Foundation is against Makoto, all due to a misunderstanding, and if not for certain variables in place, i.e. Shuichi involving himself, Organization Zetsubou may very well have won right there and then. Even now, as already mentioned, while technically the heroes won, the OZ members still got the last laugh. Kyoko is hospitalized, Mukuro winds up dead, Shuichi’s hands are permanently scarred, and Celeste is revealed to have betrayed the group and unveils that she was never looking out for anyone other than herself. The conclusion cant be satisfying because the victory doesn’t feel like a victory at all. Instead, it feels like half of one. And that’s only a few depressing things that came out of the conclusion.

I think the twists, tense moments and battles of this arc really stood out. Despite the fact that there’s a few good fights here, and some of them drag on, they’re all pretty solid.

Mukuro is by far the biggest death in the blog. She was a very essential character, and in her final moments, she finally achieves the redemption that she had been searching for for so long.

As mentioned already, the villains really did shine here. Yukari/AI Junko, Gyalusetsu and Celeste are the three main one’s here. Munakata too, but he’s kind of his own thing.

One of the more satisfying things about the arc was Shuichi’s character development. By the end of his story here, he solves the case, becomes the new Branch Chief, and gets the girl, despite what he sacrificed along the way. And to be honest, he deserves it.

While their role is ultimately rather minor, the Kisaragi’s stand out in the scenes they are in, particularly when Tsurugi, who is rather overconfident and mighty sure of himself up to this point, crumbles under the pressure Kuripa puts on him.

Emotional conflicts come and go throughout the characters in this arc, and I think most of them are executed very well. Mukuro’s desire to seek redemption, Kuripa reflecting on his actions and making his own decisions in regards to avenging his sister and protecting his boss, Makoto wondering if continuing to run is the right thing to do, Shuichi overcoming his fears, and gaining the confidence needed to make the sacrifices he does.

Kokichi pushing Kaede along to confess to Shuichi, despite his own feelings, is a redeemable moment for him, despite being the same confident brat that he usually is, and also having his own feelings for Shuichi. He doesn’t let his selflessness ruin things for Shuichi in this case.

While I think things could have been written better, Mukuro grows from allowing herself to tell Makoto the truth about her inner conflicts and her feelings for him.

//To be honest, thee’s a bunch of other stuff that I could write about, but we’ll be here for a while if I do.

//With all this in mind, you may then be wondering to yourself. If there’s all these good things to say about this arc from the mod’s perspective, why isn’t this arc the number one spot? Well, the reason is actually something that I haven’t really taken into account on any of these other parts, but I consider this to be a problem, and thus am including it.

//Writing this arc...was NOT fun.

//Do I think it’s story is solid? Yes I do. Did I enjoy it when I wrote it? No, I didn’t. Because life was hell for me in the three months it took.

//I was transitioning into life as a university student, and having to deal with deadlines and stockpiled work, as well as new systems really got to me. Not only that, but because of a countable number of situations in my personal life, I was dealing with a lot of health issues, both physical and mental. People might not remember this, but it took 3 chapters to write the Kuripa and Munakata fight, and on the first night, I had to cut off asks because I was THAT close to going to hospital after I very nearly collapsed.

//What didn’t help was that a group of people decided “Hey! An ask blog! Let’s BULLY IT’S MOD!” and I got a whole heaping load of hate messages and critical asks, bullying me and delivering accusations. Namely, calling me sexist for some of the things that happened to the girls in this arc, which was purely coincidence, and even when I said “I would do the same thing if they were male” they’re just like “yeah, ok but...no you wouldn’t, sexist prick’ you’re sexist, the most sexist writer on Tumblr, good idea, how about you stop writing and go kill yourself?”

//I’m not exaggerating by the way, that is legit what one of them said.

//Some of the characters on the blog, namely Kaede and Shuichi, also got shat on by some askers for absolutely no fucking reason. One person, who is now blocked permanently, was SO desperate for Kaede to die this arc, and not get with Shuichi, that they actually THREATENED me, and told me they would report me if I didn’t. Needless to say, banning them was satisfying.

//So yeah. Thanks to some assholes, life changes, and health issues, this arc was a fucking nightmare to pull my way through. And that is really the only reason why it misses the top spot, besides from a few other small complains which I’ve already talked about for the other spots.

//I can look back on “The Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora” and “Novoselic Revolution” with fond memories. The same cannot be said for this arc.

//But with that said...there now only remains one more arc...and by process of elimination, you know what it is.

When struggling to come to terms with the power that he holds, Hajime encounters a misfortunate boy by the name of Ayumu Fujimori, who is alike to him in many ways. Employed by Zetsubou, Fujimori and his band of societal rebels intend to weaponize the preserved Reserve Course and some new special drugs in order to break the current society. Hajime must save the country from Ayumu, and come to terms with the fact that the two of them aren’t so different.

//Alright. I know that many of you may disagree with me, but take a lot of what good things I said about all the previous arcs, and put almost all of them into “Misfortune’s Revenge.”

//The characters are great, the conflict is real, the beginning and ending are good (not as good as Number 2 and 3, but still) the pacing is actually somewhat decent, the emotional dynamic between the heroes and the villains, the villains backstory and motivations...All of it perfectly culminates into a very good chapter, and my personal favourite so far.

//Is it perfect? Absolutely not.

//In fact, I think there’s quite a few things that do somewhat hurt it, namely certain characters not getting as much attention as others. However, I very much think that the positives of this arc outweigh the negatives. Let’s just breakdown a couple things to talk about.

//For one thing, this arc is pretty long. The Fugitive is longer of course, but Misfortune’s Revenge had quite the run time. However, there aren’t many points in the arc where the story feels like it’s being dragged on, or there’s some pointless filler. The story remains fairly consistent, and the most out-of-plot scenes you get are the scenes that focus on Ayumu and the UUV. However, those scenes had a purpose, showing off Ayumu’s growing and changing character.

//Speaking of Ayumu, while he may have been around for this arc and this arc only, he is absolutely the highlight. His character, as I’ve mentioned before, turned out to be far greater than I held him to be. A few problems that I have with him are that his Ultimate Bad Luck doesn’t make an awful lot of sense in this context, and also there are a few questions about him that remain kind of unanswered. Still, there are many parts of him as a character that really stand out, and killing him off was depressing, but it was ultimately necessary for both future events and Hajime’s character arc in the near future.

//Ayumu and Hajime are very much alike in several ways. Their life experiences are basically the same, and it leads them both down the same path. Where they diverge is what they actually decide to do with their powers. Hajime really lacks a choice after the Hope’s Peak board erases him in place of Izuru, but Ayumu had no such issue. What makes the UUV’s goal so difficult to tackle is that they are doing awful things, stealing, fighting, relying on Organization Zetsubou for help, and a lot of other stuff, but they’re doing it for reasons that can be considered very justified. All they want is to fix the government, and unite the world leaders to create the ultimate age of peace and prosperity, but knowing that creation comes after ruin, they need to break it down before they can build it back up again.

//Hajime, and his friends in this context, understand these goals. In fact, Hajime agrees with Ayumu and the UUV’s fight. He simply does not agree with the way they are fighting it. And if you give it some thought, thanks to Hajime, Ayumu’s dream of uniting the overseas parties and creating a single, unified government body to help save the world...actually kind of succeeds? Hajime is able to talk some sense into the world leaders, which is another moment in this arc that I really enjoyed. Despite not really possessing the right, since he’s partially responsible for the whole tragedy in the first place, Hajime stands up to the higher power, and completes Ayumu’s mission for him. Not in the brutal way. In his own way. The Hajime way. The RIGHT way.

//However...on the other end of the spectrum, and honestly, the ACTUAL antagonist of this arc...is Nagito.

//Ayumu is an antagonist and a threat to the Future Foundation in the arc, but him, Kego, Aruma, Mitsunari, Mikoto and ESPECIALLY Marin, aren’t actually villains, nor are they evil in any sort of way. They’re just misguided kids, with the right mindset, and they even have a policy against violence and murder. Yes, Ayumu goes a little stir crazy at the end and abandons his morals, but first of all, it’s clear that he doesn’t mean or intends to follow up on any of his threats. Hajime even calls him out after their climactic fight at the end and points out that Ayumu very much said that he would rather Hajime save the hostages than spend time focused on him, which shows that right when he’s about to reach his penultimate goal, he has doubt eating away at him, and wants nothing more than to stop his own desperate actions, feeling that he’s incapable of doing so. The OTHER thing to note, is that Ayumu would not have gone off this deep end, if NAGITO hadn’t decided to go crazy.

//One thing that many people did observe, but I will clear up, is that Nagito’s change in character and his out-of-character actions in this arc were not sudden. If anyone has been around since the early days of Survivor, over the course of the story, Nagito slowly but surely becomes more unsure and doubtful of his position. And it’s mainly thanks to Hajime that this is the case.

//Nagito holds Izuru Kamukura in very high regard, but post-survivor, he finds out that Izuru and Hajime are the same person. Now, if you were to ask me, I think that if Nagito were to find that out, it wouldn’t lead to the romantic fantasy and happy, wholesome gay relationship with Hajime that a lot of the fangirls of the series would adore (not bashing on Komahina by the way. I used to hate it, but now I think it’s ok) but in reality, knowing Nagito, I think he would have his reservations, and not necessarily know how to feel about it. Hajime, a “talentless, worthless, run-of-the-mill nobody” and this almighty, talent-bound GOD of a human being Izuru being the same person? Nagito probably wouldn’t feel completely satisfied with this outcome, and over time, would probably harbor some ill feelings and thoughts to his boss. The Nagito in this blog does not consider the project that Hajime went through to be talent, because Hajime was not BORN with his abilities. Thus, the artificail talents held by Hajime do not count in Nagito’s eyes, and not only does he shun Hajime for this, but he considers him a cheater. Is there jealously involved? A little bit, but at the same time, it’s mainly because Nagito believes that if you’re born as nothing but talentless and useless trash, you should stay that way, like it’s your fate and your destiny for your whole life, and trying to change that is pointless, and offensive to people who are BORN with talent. He doesn’t believe or accept that something like the project could make Hajime so powerful, and give him so many abilities, not does he think that he can, or is allowed to, amount to anything.

//Then you have to consider that the entire arc revolves around a kid who is basically the EXACT same case as Hajime. Now Nagito has to deal with TWO of these cretins, who are worthless stains on society, but are now powerful potential threats. Hajime and Ayumu collectively are a threat to Nagito’s ideal, and the idea that this project exists that can just grant human’s these talents, TERRIFIES him. In comparison to the rest of the squad in this arc; Hajime, Mahiru, Fuyuhiko, Chiaki and Peko, Nagito doesn’t feel that Ayumu and his team are worthy of saving, or redeeming, simply because of Ayumu’s fatal choices. As such, like when he goes against the plan in the basement of the lab building, and when he fights Ayumu in the construction site, Nagito actively tries to end Ayumu’s life. While he advocates for it constantly, Nagito thinks of this particular Hope as a disease, and while he doesn’t think he’s powerful enough to destroy it, he believes he’s smart enough to stop it from spreading.

//Then...of course...there’s the case with Marin. And the reason I brought all of these prior variables up is to better explain this penultimate moment.

//This scene has a lot of parallels to Kuripa’s big scene in “Ultra Despair Gang” but arguably, it’s so much better and has far more of an impact. Haiji’s death was sudden, and quick, so much so that it took a while for everyone to process it fully. MARIN on the other hand, died a slow, painful, brutal death, from being beaten to death by Nagito.

//And the reason this scene is so essential, is because, in the words of Cole Cassidy (formerly Jesse McCree) “that’s when things started...to go wrong.”

//Nagito’s actions in this arc, are ultimately what lead to the events of the story we currently find ourselves in. Organization Zetsubou are getting a foot above the Future Foundation, the public are beginning to doubt the FF’s justice, society is beginning to emotionally crumble once more, and another tragedy ins’t far from sight...

//All it takes is one bad day...One fleeting moment for things to completly go to shit...And of every crowning moment in Danganronpa Survivor...This...was...it...

//Nagito up until this point is up on top, and about to topple. Thanks to the actions of serving under Hajime, and Ayumu’s presence and actions, he’s questioning everything he knows, is getting scared and desperate to protect his hope and talent based ideals, and once Seiko goes bye bye after Akira kidnaps her...THAT is the final, tiny push, that sends Nagito over the edge...and Marin Mizuta pays the price for it.

//It’s a powerful, devastating scene to see someone as reserved as Nagito in a state of genuine rage, fury and anger, and to see him take such a violent approach against another human being, particularly against Marin, the UUV’s arguably most adorkable and loveable member...And it’s all too clear that from this point on, Nagito Komaeda is no longer the man he was...Now...he’s far more dangerous...

//But, overall, that concludes most of what I have to say about “Misfortune’s Revenge” our number one for this list.

//This arc was definitely not perfect, but it was in my own opinion, successful at taking the story to a much darker plotline and tone that it may never come back from, and overall proves to be a more mature take on a story full of characters living in a grey area. And a fantastic story about two lost souls with a connection that will tie them together till the end of time.

//And that concludes my analysis, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

//This won’t be the last time I make one of these analysis’ and I’ve got more breakdowns on the way, as I mentioned before.

//I had also planned for this to go up yesterday, but it took way longer than I thought it would, so I’m uploading this on December 1st which is my birthday, so...Happy birthday to me I guess? I think it was fun though.

//In any case, I know the ask box is currently closed, but I would REALLY love to hear what you guys thought of my arcs. If you want to share your own thoughts and opinions, maybe you can repost this and do a little mini analysis of your own? I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on what their favourite chapter of the story was.

//But for now, I’m tired and need my rest, so I’ll catch you guys in the next countdown~

-Mod

#danganronpa survivor #ranking #self reflection #troubles brewing arc #the trial of koichi kizakura arc #deadly harmony arc #neo world arc #ultra despair gang arc #novoselic revolution arc #the amnesiac and the alter ego arc #the tower arc #cabaret kyojins arc #the life and lies of akeru yozora arc #misfortunes revenge arc #the fugitive arc

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