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mk-wizard · 1 year

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Medias Who Failed Due to Picking the Wrong Guy as the MC

As a writer myself, I can confirm that it’s not easy writing a great story and it is even harder to write a great main character (MC), but sometimes, the solution is right in your face: pick someone else to be the MC and that alone fixes EVERYTHING. And no, I am not exaggerating. When you pick someone else to take lead of the story, it changes things and sometimes, for the better. Here are a few medias from movies, to shows, to video games who missed the mark due to running with the wrong guy and who should have been the MC instead... Also note that the following is my personal opinion not absolute. Feel free to disagree.

Note that there are spoilers ahead!

Final Fantasy 7: It should have been Barret Wallace. - I know Cloud is beloved for his pretty face and big sword, but if we’re talking about who should have been in the hero’s seat, Barret should have been it. And not just because he would have the first FF MC of his type (black, middle aged, a parent, widower, etc.). Barret had motives that were both heroic and personal at the same time in that he wants to save the planet, but he also has a personal stake against Shin-Ra in what it took from him. Had he been treated like a serious character and took the lead, I think the plot of FF7 would have been much better and he would have brought out better in the cast. In fact, I see so many parallels between him and Cecil from FF4. Also, Barret has a perfect balance between heart and flaws. Not to mention that unlike Cloud, he let go of making everything personal and began to fight for the right reasons in the end. He’s a badass and let’s face it, there aren’t enough MCs out there who are good dads.

Family Matters: It should have kept being Carl and Harriet Winslow. - In the beginning, the underrated couple of sitcom TV were the MC’s, but then the network decided to center the show around Steve Urkel who isn’t even a member of the family. Now, I like Steve Urkel, but he should have stayed a side character the same way Kimmy Gibbler did on Full House. When Carl and Harriet were at the helm, the show was relatable, grounded and just whimsical enough to be fun for the whole family. In never got too silly and did not shy away from serious topics. Most importantly, there was character development which I would have loved to see continue. Steve Urkel may have helped Family Matters get back on its feet, but it was fully capable of continuing to stand on its own and should have.

The Simpsons: It should have kept being Bart Simpson. - Like Family Matters, this kid was the MC initially and he was great. Bart represented what the Simpsons family embodied and why we loved it: it isn’t perfect or saintly, but filled with love and goodness. Bart is also a fun character to follow because he isn’t just funny. He’s resourceful, clever and is quite the hero. Homer is funny, but... when he took the lead, he took the show in another direction which was fun in the beginning, but in the end, became too silly. If Bart stayed in the driver’s seat, the show would have kept its focus as well as its identity. He probably would have also lead it to ending a lot sooner, but that’s not a bad thing.

Dragon Ball Z: It should have been Gohan. - I always got the impression that a part of Akira Toriyama wanted to pass the reigns down to the kid, but never wound up doing so which in my opinion, was a waste. Goku had his heroic arc during the first arc, but in the Z arc, the plot seemed to always lean towards needing a hero like Gohan because he was a better fit for what was needed. You see, Goku is noble too, but he fights for honour and to prove himself. Gohan fights because he must and because he wants to protect those he loves. Had Gohan been the star, I think Z arc could have been much better and Goku would have learned to (finally) grow up alongside his son. I mean, it’s not a bad thing to let go and accept that your journey has come to an end. Where one ends, another begins.

Transformers (2007): It should have been Mikaela Banes. - From the moment she literally took Ravage apart with a chainsaw without messing up her hair, we knew she was more than a pretty face. Mikaela is a fighter and a noble one. The only reason she had a criminal record was because she refused to sell out her dad and even then, there’s more to her. She’s smart, she’s brave, she’s resourceful and has long term life goals. She doesn’t play around nor does she let her involvement with the Transformers get to her head (unlike Sam Witwicky). And as the AU graphic novels showed us, she’s also a born leader. In my opinion, when she left Sam, Bumblebee should have followed suit and followed her instead.

Final Fantasy 6: It should have been Celes Chere. - Don’t get me wrong, Terra is a badass and belonged in the main cast, but she constantly needed to be kicked in the pants. At times, she even came across as a damsel in distress. Celes was always motivated of her own accord and she is a born leader. After all, she took the reigns when Terra was out for the count and during the end of the world, she brought the team back together. And let’s face it, her romance with Locke is heartwarming.

Full House/Fuller House: It should have been Danny Tanner. - Possibly the earliest case of a character getting hijacked in their own show... The story of Full House in general was originally Danny’s story about trying to raise his three daughters after becoming a widower with the help of his best friend and brother-in-law. Had Danny not become the show’s sad clown and instead was the lead, not only would have caught a break, the show itself would have flourished. After all, Danny is raising the family not the other way around. And quite frankly, Michelle as a main character made her and the show insufferable. I even think he should have remained the main character in the sequel series as he has experience being a single parent to pass onto to DJ. If anything, it would have still had that little bit of maturity that the audience so hungrily craved.

Star Wars Episodes 7, 8, 9: It should have been Finn as the hero and Rey as the villain. - I don’t want to be the fan who knocks down the new trilogy because in its defense, it had good bones and introduced good characters who had potential. The problem was that they were given the wrong roles in the story. Finn clearly had a connection to the force and was as plain as day MC material from the get go because like all great Star Wars MCs, he started from the bottom while being clumsy and worked his way up to being a capable young man. In fact, Finn always was motivated and capable. He was just grounded and relatable too because he is still learning to be a rebel. I can say that every time he was on screen, he always inspired me even when he was making mistakes. On the flipside, Rey also had potential, but if there’s one thing she should wound up being, it was the big bad because her greatest motivation was wanting a family though in a way that was obsessive and in so long as she was not in a position where she beneath someone. In other words, her story has a lot of parallels with Anakin Skywalker. Had she gone to the dark side, it ironically would have made her more human because it shows how wanting something obsessively (in her case, a family) even when it is something good, it can become twisted and make you do terrible things. Star Wars is all about growing and working hard towards greatness while cautioning the audience about the pitfalls of obsession, anger and selfishness.

Anyway, that is my list. Do you agree or have anything to add? Let me know. Thanks for reading and as always, stay safe.

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pooks · 2 years

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(disclaimer: the Welcome to Somewhere Else universe belongs to @sm0kebreaks @kerink and game-warden. all i have is thoughts and theories)

had some thoughts regarding Callum in WTSE universe, which was prompted by some weird dreams last night (the heatwave and a weird subconscious causes some really ultra weird dreams)

for example "when does he come in?" well, i figured Callum enters Night Vale's universe significally later than Jon and Martin.

think of the distance between Night Street and the Panopticon. 27 episodes between MAG 173 and MAG 200. i would say it's less than half of JonMartin's journey. so the collapse of the Panopticon and the Fears being dragged to "somewhere else" took longer, depending on where in the Fearpocalypse they were.

so Callum appears in Night Vale between Acts 3 or 4, i assume (i may eventually ask the actual WTSE creators about this, but working up my courage cause I'm very shy)

my second take is "what does Rayner to do with this"

allow me to explain.

we don't know for certainty what happened with Rayner in canon. Jon referred him as "died in the light", but i thought his line was more of an assumption than actual truth when Jon interrogated Callum in MAG 173.

this is what happened with Callum: Maxwell Rayner and his ritual to bodyhop Callum failed, in Basira's statement. Callum was saved by Basira and the police that signed Section 31. but Rayner didn't die because he was missing a body to die in, so he had already bodyhopped Callum but the light saved Callum from being taken over,so Rayner lived inside his soul like a parasite.

and he heavily influenced Callum pre- and post- Change.

but as Callum lands in Night Vale, Rayner doesn't need a body to freely exist so a mistake is made when Callum and his friends do an "experiment" that involves an Ouija Board (kids, seriously. do NOT try this, not even in Night Vale). so Rayner frees himself from his vessel, but is still plans his Ritual and wants to take Callum's life as a sacrifice.

the whole Callum vs. Rayner is an mini-act on itself and touches on Callum's relationships with his new dads, especially Cecil.

the third point, "which dad is Callum closest to?"

simple answer? it's Cecil. but Callum is close to all his four dads on equal, different levels. but he has the strongest bond to Cecil.

Callum and Cecil share a bond because it was Cecil who saved his life when Cal was starving to death in Night Vale. and then saved his life a second time when Cal was nearly taken by Rayner. and Callum has 80s vibes as guilty pleasure which Cecil indulges in wholeheartedly. such as aerobics, listening to music on cassette tapes and of course, shopping in the Night Vale Mall.

and the last and fourth question "what happened to Callum's mother, Caroline Brodie?"

easy. she was killed by the Spiral in Helen's "hotel" in the Fearpocalypse. Caroline was searching for her son, got tricked and trapped in Helen's Spiral Hotel where she got herself devoured. a "fragment" of Caroline existed deep within Callum, once he allowed the Eye to take him as an acolyte.

in the Rayner Arc, Cecil dives into Callum's subconscious with Jon's help and to find him (Cal is possessed at this point and unresponsive). Cecil meets with the fragment that is Caroline Brodie and it's revealed she managed to plit and send a small part of herself to her son before she was devoured by the Distortion. Caroline gets the story of what happened to Callum so far and asks Cecil of only one favor: to take Callum as his son, protect and love him until the end of time.

Cecil finds that to save Callum, he needs to make Cal realize he is loved and cherished by his family and it throws Rayner off-guard.

the difference between Rayner and Jon, to an extent, is they're both actual eldritch monsters feeding on fear. but Rayner is completely incapable of understanding love while Jon embraces love as a infinite force that no fear can destroy.

short answer is Cecil decides to honor Caroline Brodie's last wish before she faded into nothingness (or the eternal infinity, as Cecil calls it).

and my point with all this that Callum is a 13 year old boy who got traumatized by an old evil regency eldritch monster and needed to find his path of healing, but not before getting himself lost and then finding the right people who could love and support him, like an actual adult should've done.

#tma #the magnus archives #wtnv #welcome to night vale #wtse #welcome to somewhere else #callum brodie #cecil gershwin palmer #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #carlos the scientist #callum's role in WTSE?#wtse thoughts #wtse theories #maxwell rayner #caroline brodie #callum be running up that hill

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purpleyin · 2 years

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Savitar, Joe West, and/or E2 Killer Frost for the character opinion bingo. :D

Doing all 3 in my rambly way, but let's go with Joe West first.

I think Joe is a fairly solid character, who got a decent amount of depth early on in the show. I don't always agree with his character's choices (especially the over protectiveness in S1) but he has a good heart and it's clear he's always coming to things with good intentions. He's pretty likeable too, I've rarely come across anyone who dislikes him, though I've seen a few which surprised me!

The 'wasted potential' is minor and more related to the mid seasons. S1/2 had great stuff for Joe but I feel like it's s3/4/5 had much less and it was mainly focused on him and Cecile rather than just Joe. Less in S5 was unavoidable due to the actor's injury but I remember there was a whole other plot that got scrapped about Joe finally getting a new partner and it was a real shame we didn't get to see that with him. I've only seen til mid S6 and it sounds like he gets more to do with his promotion recently at least so I look forward to seeing what more he gets when I finally catch up with the show.

I think we don't get to see him being a dad to Wally, Jenna (maybe even Joanie?) as much as we should. Like, we occasionally still get him giving his nuggets of wisdom to Barry, Iris, and sometimes Caitlin as a sort of father figure for her, but I'm trying to remember when him and Cisco last had a good talk, it feels too long but maybe I've forgotten some.

I don't know if it's gotten better more recently but I think he did in the past also fall foul of becoming the writer's exposition character, in the sense that he's one of the non-scientist characters who prompts the explanations. Sometimes that did a bit of a disservice to his character I think, that he's often made to be the confused person in the room, since he is smart in others ways; he's quick witted, must be good at logic/deductive reason given he's a detective and good enough to get promoted as well, and he's got some impressive social skills, he's good at advice and talking people round gently usually. I think mainly though it would really have been nice to see more of Joe at his day job in those mid seasons and also him outside his work and Team Flash, in a capacity other than just his dating Cecile. I'd say where are Joe's hobbies and friends, but none of the cast ever seem to have outside friends except when the writer's want someone new to kill off/become a villain...

Now for Earth-2 Killer Frost

I enjoyed most of what we got with Earth-2 Killer Frost, though I was always curious if - after what we got on E1 with Frost and Caitlin sharing a body - that meant there was a Caitlin pushed to the back of her mind on E2, suppressed instead of Frost. I occasionally think about writing fanfic for her but mostly I stick to thinking about E1-Caitlin and Frost to be honest.

There were also all sorts of interesting angles about metahumans on Earth-2 and possible discrimination coming from Harry's well-intentioned 'detectors' for safety that might have been why her, Reverb and others felt they had to join Zoom, or were bitter enough about their treatment to. But it did feel like they just went for her being evil, because, and I would have liked to know more there - I suspect the writers didn't know why any more than they do for E1-Frost's arc.

I really disliked how they offed her, that felt anti-climatic for such a powerful character and just used to shock Caitlin more as if being abducted etc wasn't trauma enough for her end of S2 arc. I think it could've been fun to keep her around for occasional appearances, possibly even become a sometimes anti-hero ally for Earth-2. But then I would also have really loved it if we'd gotten an E2 spin off with Jesse and Jay, that had occasionally appearances from E2 Barry, Iris, Harry, Wally etc. Not likely but it would have been fun, you know.

And saved for last, Savitar.

Anyone who's seen my The Flash fics back catalogue isn't gonna be surprised that this was one of the characters that got on my brain majorly. I love time-travel, time-loops, all the timey-wimey-make-my-head-hurts overthinking of this stuff, and the added identity issues to boot is great. Plus, I love the meta about Barry versus Savitar. How such a good guy could turn so bad, it just fascinates me from an evolved characterization point of view and buttons had to be pressed down to push him over that edge. Also, I eat up angst and his character is just so damn tragic any plot with him comes with boatloads.

I know it's not popular to enjoy villains or spend so much time creating fanworks for them - in case people think you're condoning/romanticizing things - but part of why I like writing explanations for how he is (and in some cases more of a redemption arc) is precisely because he used to be Barry. I feel like the capacity for good/hope is still in there somewhere and the team canonically tend to give people 2nd chances etc, possibly more than they should.

Re: not enough screen time, we got a lot of suit/CGI Savitar but not enough of unsuited Grant playing him for my liking. It was so interesting to see how different he played Savitar. There was also a lot of wasted potential with the show just dropping the early S3 stuff for Dr. Alchemy and Savitar's followers with no resolution, and little ongoing link to Julian either, but I'd seen people blame switching show runners for that fault.

I think one of the reasons I'm rather attached to writing this character now and wanting to just do better than canon ever did - see the adoption papers square - is because they never explained his origin all that well. And the show continues to be ableist too where Savitar is just one example of that with how they treat his scars on multiple occasions. They also glossed over the speedforce prison causing insanity angle for his turning bad which seemed kind of relevant, not an excuse for what he does but certainly part of an explanation and something that seemed too throwaway in canon. There's the damage to his eye affecting him and Barry's likely PTSD that Savitar will only have so much worse with the timeline he came from, and both those make for interesting things to explore that canon clearly never will... so time for fics to instead.

#the flash #joe west #earth 2 killer frost #savitar #e2 killer frost #earth-2 killer frost #character opinion bingo #longpost #i always ramble on but I hope it's interesting to some

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inkofamethyst · 2 years

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May 16, 2022

You know I relate to Lin Manuel Miranda because I, too, don’t have that great of a singing voice but boy howdy I sure do love me a good solo.

I’m writing this research paper and it’s meant to be twelve to twenty pages long and I really do not know what I am doing. How did I, once awarded the Senior of the Year in English thing or whatever (alongside my puzzle-friend), end up here? It’s meant to be mostly regurgitation, but there’s no rubric or anything so I get the feeling that it’ll be graded based on vibes and effort. I’m cutting it a little close but I’ll get it done. I always do.

I literally never see the windows open from the rooms across from me which like,,, on some level I get it bc privacy but their rooms aren’t situated like mine, so they only have the one window and I simply cannot fathom keeping the blinds closed literally all the time on my only window. Man I love my room so much.

I think one of the biggest things I learned from PJO/HOO was that anyone could be a hero. Age, gender, stereotypes, learning ability/disability, economic class... those things didn’t matter. Even Paul Blofis, a dude without a magic bone in his body, was able to help in the Battle of Manhattan. As a ten year old, seeing kids with dyslexia and adhd use those “disabilities” to their advantage as a literal cannon aspect of the story was so so cool despite myself not having either. I’m literally so excited for the series.

Not gonna lie though,,,,, it’s a little bit funny to me that nobody’s up in arms over Grover being nonwhite when he was white (I’m almost definitely sure lil goat dude was a redhead... like that feels like a description from really really early on that I recall reading, like when they were on the bus or somethin) in the books. Y’all boutta tear your throats to shreds arguing over hair colors but have no problem seeing a goat-man as nonwhite? Hasn’t it been shown that the depiction of poc as non-human/animal characters has a lil bit of uhhh racist undertones? Now, I’m happy for the kid, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying that a lot of people’s true colors are showing both from what they’re arguing about and what they’re not mentioning at all. “Oh ya it was really easy for me to picture Grover as nonwhite” and why exactly is that, hm?

I’m making a list of WTNV episodes that could be good for someone to listen to for their first ever WTNV thing. Now, I, personally, was hooked by episode 1, but I think there are definitely some better monologues that Cecil’s performed. I don’t want there to be character arcs (not that one Lee Marvin episode), no major plot developments (no Desert Bluffs)...

Episode 22 (The Whispering Forest) for the opener, 62 for the but no I can’t bc Maureen leaves and that’s a spoiler, 54 (A Carnival Comes to Town) for just one line but it’s got the right amount of creepy, I would do episode 60 but it doesn’t mention weather by name and goes a bit out of the formula so not that one, not 56 bc spoilers, not the episodes about You or Them because even though they’re fantastic they go outside of the normal formula, ... I think of the ones I’ve listed as having cool quotes, E22 and E54 are probably best to show newcomers.

Speaking of podcasts I’m watching CR c3e22 and the whole conversation around 3:19:00 where they’re using edging to describe Chetney’s feral reaction has me in TEARS AND MATT JUST WON’T STOP THEM

...what if I made my dad a Star Trek apron... hmm. And since we’re on the topic of sewing I’ve got this lovely pink linen blend at home that I’ve known for ages was going to become a bishop-sleeved blouse (maybe princess-seamed, like KittenishBehavior’s Shirt of Dreams? (I do think I’d prefer the tucked-in look, so that might be what I go for, we’ll see)) but every once in a while I start to think well what if I used it for something else (what if it was a tank dress with princess seams (I don’t tend to wear light-colored dresses (...but then I’d have two ways to style it (that assumes I’d even have enough fabric for a dress))), what if it was a half circle skirt (I prefer darker bottoms though), what if it was a chemise-style top (I think I want one in white first)). And I take myself through a bunch of projects on my list but always return back to the same original idea. I guess sometimes you just find fabric that fits a project really really well.

Today I’m thankful that I’ll have the opportunity later this week to visit a smivy smeage lab. There’s the remote possibility that I could intern there this summer, but I’m not really holding my breath over it. I’ve never stepped foot onto an ivy league campus before so this should be interesting. I also get to ride a train up there which will be dope!! It’ll be a whole day trip on my own, really.

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kitkatt0430 · 3 years

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So here, have some thoughts on Allegra and Nash

Allegra's got father figure issues. We know her bio dad skipped out when she was a baby. No doubt her mom's boyfriends were all losers too. She gets arrested by Joe and sent to juvie as a result and while he makes an effort to get through to her and help her get to a better place in her life, she doesn't really have any reason to trust him or accept his help because she probably views him as the reason she's in juvie in the first place. (Let's face it, Joe sees someone approximately Iris and Barry's age or younger and immediately attempts to parent that person. He is Team Dad for a reason.)

It's Cecile and Iris who wind up connecting to Allegra when she's finally ready to turn her life around and fight to keep her life on that better track. And they can connect to her because they're not trying to be parental figures. Cecile believes Allegra when no one else does - quite likely the first time anyone has ever done that - and Iris offers professional mentorship and respect.

But then here comes Nash, who is struggling with the guilt he feels over the death of his daughter, who just so happened to look exactly like Allegra. And it's understandable that Allegra would be uncomfortable with this. Allegra's already got father figure issues and she doesn't know whether Nash sees her for herself or as a replacement goldfish for his dead daughter. But on some level she wants to like him and trust him because he doesn't act like he's trying to become her father. He's just... trying to be supportive of her and the whole situation confuses the hell out of her.

So Allegra often lashes out at him, trying to figure out when he's going to abandon her like so many other wannabe father figures have. Her behavior isn't malicious. It's defensive. She wants to protect herself so that when Nash inevitably proves to be disappointing, that revelation won't hurt her.

She's not really ready to be considering his side of the equation in their relationship yet. That he's in so much pain from the loss of his daughter and being manipulated by the anti-monitor and all the victim blaming people have been heaping on him for the part he unwittingly played in the Red Skies Crisis. And I doubt even he knows whether or not he's trying to befriend Allegra because of his dead daughter or not. Yet despite everything weighing him down, Nash still tries to give Allegra support while trying not to automatically treat her like Maya.

Allegra's still young and learning to move past her abusive childhood and I really don't think she gets cut enough slack for that. She isn't, ultimately, responsible for Nash's bad mental health or his suicide, but I don't doubt that the way she ran hot and cold with him over their friendship wasn't good for Nash's mental health.

And she has to live with the fact that the last thing she said to Nash might have pushed him over the edge to suicide and she can never know for sure or take those words back or make it right. And that's clearly affected her a lot - I think she was hoping to find some connection to Nash through Timeless Wells and he, gently, made her realize that she was going to have to learn to shine without Nash's support. That it was okay to thrive on her own, without getting the answers about Nash that she can't quite articulate the questions for.

If Nash hadn't been killed off, though, I could easily see the two of them having character arcs where they learn to move past their trauma because of each other. While I don't think Allegra would ever be totally comfortable seeing Nash as a dad figure, I do think they'd have found a common ground of mutual respect and friendship that would have suited them both quite nicely.

#the flash #the flash meta #allegra garcia #nash wells #tw suicide #tw suicide mention #I like timeless wells well enough but I wish nash arc had ended with him leaving to seek out adventure in the new multiverse instead #I think him proving the multiverse had been reborn in a new form #and traveling to determine how much of the old multiverse still existed in the new one would have been a more fitting end for him #he'd still be able to come back when needed but it could have been about him atoning or something instead of...#dying for an artificial speed force that lasted only one episode before being destroyed #and then nash and allegra could have ended on a happier note where they cleared the air between them

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benisasoftboi · 4 years

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Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel III:

...I’m gonna need like a week to process that

I guess I know why people hate George now!

Could really use a good old reset from KeA right now

This is the best game in the Cold Steel series so far. Easily

I... there’s no way they’re all really dead, right? This series has been completely toothless about killing anyone who isn’t a villain until now, no way they’re permanently killing someone who’s been here since practically day 1, no way. Show me a body

And even then I’ll doubt it with all these revivals happening all over the place

‘He’s HIDING’ I sob as I apply clown make-up

Ben Diskin did not need to go so hard on the voice acting at Millium’s death he did not need to do that to me

My god when Angie drove into the graveyard and my PS4 popped up a little notification telling me it was a blocked scene, the tension in me... and I never saw that coming, I’ll have to see if it was foreshadowed at all by replaying CS1 and 2 some time

I saw Lughman being a baddie a mile away (a mysterious professor turning out to be evil in a Trails game? UNPRECEDENTED!) but he’s Alisa’s dad!?

Neat writing trick actually, since they probably knew we’d guess the former, they blindside us with the latter

I can’t express how happy it made me that the Rufus battle was Machias Jusis Elliot. My dream team!

Estelle and Joshua got mentioned so much I figured they’d make a surprise appearance at the end and save the day

So. Characters:

Rean: Rean is once again moderately more interesting than he was before, but still the least interesting person in the game. I guess he’s got some guilt that’s actually justified now, that’s cool?

I ship him with Crow, not because the pairing really appeals to me that much, but because being shipped with Crow would totally piss Rean off and I find that extremely funny

His relationship with Altina is the best relationship he’s ever had with a female character and it is 100% because she’s the only girl he’s never ship teased with

(I don’t have an issue with the concept of ship tease itself, I have an issue with Rean-ship tease because 1. I still truly do not understand why so many girls like him so much and 2. None of it will ever canonically go anywhere)

(Seriously I’m so tempted to write a breakdown of why every other guy in Erebonia is more desirable than Rean)

Juna: I like Juna. I realised early on that she and Kurt remind me of Estelle and Joshua, without being carbon copies, and that’s good. I also think her relationship with Rean was really interesting - ‘I don’t know how to feel about you because you saved my life, but it also wouldn’t have needed saving if it weren’t for your country’s actions, which you’ve played a major role in - but now I’m being forced to confront that you’re a human being too’ is a really complicated situation for her. It’s a lot more interesting than ‘I don’t like you because you accidentally got a face full of chest’, Alisa

I also really liked using her, I ended up loading her with the Platinum Pecky Medal and defensive stuff, and she was a wall, she took an S-craft from Arianrhod in her stride! My buff girl!

She should’ve just been the new protagonist ngl

Kurt: Kurt had a lot to live up to, seeing as his brother is my favourite minor character. And oh does he succeed, Kurt is my favourite of New VII, he’s a good straight man, he’s great in battle, I like his arc, I like his friendship with Juna, I like Kurt

Altina: I was not sure about Altina just... being a student now. But damn if she didn’t have the best character arc in the game. I only did her final bonding event on a whim, but it’s the best one I saw. My girl Allie deserves the damn world

I really, truly believe those three have a bond as well, they’re very well written as a group. This was a problem I had with Old VII, the fact that so many of them just... didn’t have relationships with each other. How do, say, Fie and Machias feel about each other? I have no idea. But this group has a fantastic dynamic and it makes that ending so much more effective

It’s like I praised Crossbell for, really - having a small core group is much more manageable in terms of giving them all equal screen time and getting me to care about them

Musse: Uh, kind of one-note and annoying, honestly. I don’t hate her or anything, but like... she’s either Being Mysterious or Hitting On Her Teacher (I hate it I hate it so much). It’s just hard to care about someone who’s clearly so fake, I guess? I’m definitely interested in her, but like... I don’t really like her

Ash: Poor boy. I thought Ash was such an interesting character (and man do I love having someone around who does not like Rean, and never really changes his mind about it). Ash is very well done imo

Alisa: Alisa is good when the issue is her family drama, and is so goddamn boring when it comes to Rean. Nothing new there

Elliot: I love his little ponytail I love it he’s so cute I want to hug him so bad

Laura: Winner of the ‘best new outfit’ award (was never that fond of her war outfit, but this one is perfect). Still good, but not notably so. I feel so bad for Laura, she tries so hard to matter, but she’s by far the character you’d have the easiest time lifting out of the game

And while I love Elliot... same situation really. You could go back to the start and have one character named Elliaura who likes swords and music and has two big-shot dads, and you wouldn’t lose much

Machias: Took down Rufus, yeah, destroy your best friend (boyfriend)’s evil family! Winner of the ‘worst new outfit’ award, AGAIN. Also winner of ‘dorkiest S-craft’. I did his final bonding event first, and according to Playstation trophies it’s the least popular one! Stop sleeping on my boy Machias guys, I know he was annoying in the first game but I love him :(

Gaius: Special award to Gaius for finally being interesting! Boy’s a Gralsritter now, did not see that coming!

And of course it happened off screen. Because god forbid interesting stuff happen to Gaius when we’re actually around

Oh also goddamn, that is a beautiful man

Emma: Don’t really like the new outfit. It’s kind of remarkable that she’s so important but I keep forgetting she exists. Exposition witch who sometimes just doesn’t deliver the exposition I guess

Fie: Still my fav girl. Wish there had been more focus on her feelings about her dad coming back to life. Like that she’s a bracer

Jusis: Wasn’t sure how to feel about his newly close friendship with Millium because I was concerned that I was meant to ship it (by far my least favourite thing about this franchise is that that was not an unreasonable concern, as it wouldn’t even be the most inappropriate relationship in this game alone). Very, very glad it was confirmed sibling-y (not that it’s stopped them before). He didn’t really get to do anything else, sadly, but he’s good as always

I did the Purebread contest with him, and he made bread from coffee beans Machias gave him, the Ferdibert Fire Emblem energy-

“What are you doing underneath this scarlet Pleroma Grass?”

Milliam: :(

Sara: Doesn’t get much to do because this cast is bloated but like, I still really like her :)

Towa: Someone needs to check on Towa all her friends are dead or evil the poor poor girl (or uh. I guess Crow isn’t... hmm.)

Angie :(

My kids Tita and Agate are back and completely overshadowed by people teasing this almost 30-year old man about being in love with a 17 year old that he’s only ever claimed to see as a sister, I swear to god

The orbal gear looks so goofy lol

Stop mentioning Schera as just being ‘totally here, just off screen, ha ha’ give her a model! Have her be here!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Josette again, I just don’t get... why? Why is she here?

Tio is back! And so is Randy, as a major character! I’m very very happy, I love them both

Michael’s fine, I guess? He’s kind of bland but I guess that’s kind of the point and I like him just fine. He serves his purpose well

I’ve never really liked Claire all that much, but she’s fine in this one again I suppose. A bit disappointed by the Lechter reveals really, I had expected more, to be honest

Aurelia is a fun character and I enjoy her as the principal. Want to see her fight Cassius

Want to see Cassius

I love my girl Annabelle, but she’s the only reason I didn’t get all the character profiles (how was I meant to know I could even go to the highway at that point hmmm Falcom!?)

They picked a good selection of returning Thors students. Even Dorothee isn’t as annoying as she used to be. Hilarious that she’s the only one who didn’t get a profile

Juna gave a great big speech about how awesome the SSS are and namedrops everyone EXCEPT WAZY! My FAVOURITE Crossbell character! So offensive!

Oh speaking of offensive I took Machias to the Mishy show and was told he and Rean did a Mishy dance but they didn’t show it, what the hell-

Playable Olivier! Olivier back story! I could write a goddamn essay on why Olivier is such a great character. Glaring at you Falcom

I miss Mueller :(

Ada Grant is wonderful and I want better things for her

Rufus is a damn great villain just because of how much sense his actions suddenly make when you know that one little detail of him not actually being Jusis’s brother

I hate Cedric but like, in a way where I’m having fun hating him. That little bitch

Literally what do you even actually want Osbourne

I still cannot stand Elise. Something I realised playing this game is that one of the things that stops the Estelle and Joshua relationship from being as weird as it could be is that they don’t look at all alike, it’s very clear they’re not related in the slightest. Elise and Rean look like they really could be siblings, and come to think, so do Lloyd and Cecile. Which is also teased, to a lesser extent. It would be so much less uncomfortable if they just swapped Elise and Alfin’s models ngl (though still not good)

inb4 the final plot twist of the whole series is that Estelle and Joshua actually were biological siblings all along

This game looks so much better than its predecessors. Having the models being a little rounder and softer looking makes it look much more like an updated version of the original style than the complete departure that was CS1 and 2. Every time there was a flashback, Rean would be like ‘back then...’ and I’d feel compelled to say out loud ‘when we were shiny, and looked bad!’

‘Evil ancient magic corrupts people into making them do bad things!’ is... honestly a bit of a cop out that I did not expect from this series

I found Rean telling Patrick ‘leave room for Aidios when dancing with my sister’ extremely funny. Rean would totally be a Christian summer camp counsellor in the real world

I honestly would have enjoyed it a lot more if Alfin decided to cause a scandal and have her first dance with Elise, but we can’t have such luxuries I suppose

When you get that book on dystopias, very clever to put the author on the last page. Seeing the name Gideon gave me such a start

Racquel was easily my fav new location

Leeves > Trista no doubt, maybe I’m just biased because it looks a lot like the village I grew up in but it’s just such a nicer design

Also the branch campus > main campus purely for being smaller, making the filler segments between field trips more bearable

I prefer the longer but fewer chapters set-up, I think

There’s so many sad faces in this write up :(

Back when I played Sky SC, I said something about how one of the themes is ‘you are not defined by your trauma’. I now think it would be more accurate to say that the theme of all the games (but especially the Sky arc) is ‘don’t let your worst experiences define you’

Because there are characters who define themselves by their traumas and worst experiences - and those characters are all villains, or miserable, or both. Like, they don’t phrase it as such, but the requirement to be an Ouroboros enforcer is ‘have trauma and define yourself by it’

And both Joshua and Renne’s arcs are about learning not to do that

Equally, the idea that ‘it’s much easier to not to define yourself by your trauma when you have a good support system that wants the best for you’ is a big theme as well

I just think that’s a really interesting idea for a JRPG series to tackle, idk

I can’t believe I’m at the last game! This series has been my life for the past near-half a year, what do I do when I finish it?

...go back and play Sky FC, maybe?

#trails of cold steel 3 #trails of cold steel #trails series #kiseki series #erebonia arc

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drnotreallystrange · 5 years

Text

On Nora

I’ve been wanting to do a longer analysis of Nora W*st-Allen, her story arc, her motivations and how she is really a tragic character.

Nora is born as the daughter of Barry Allen and his foster sister Ir*s W*st-Allen. In 2024, when Nora is still a toddler, Crisis hits and Barry disappears, without returning. Nora is brought up by Ir*s and (presumably) her grand-dad Joe and his wife Cecile.

Nora turns out to be a speedster like her dad, and Ir*s, for reasons not really made clear, implants a meta-human dampening chip in her baby daughter. Ir*s also does not tell Nora who and what her father really was, and apparently instructs everyone else (like Joe) to do the same. Iris also is kind of absent, being distracted by her work, leaving Nora to spend long hours in the Flash museum, obsessing about the Flash without knowing that he’s actually her dad, and she has the same powers.

Nora finds out about all this as a adult, when the chip is accidentally destroyed in a fight with Godspeed. Not knowing who to turn to, she decides to visit the only speedster she knows apart from herself: Eobard Thawne. Of course Eobard starts to manipulate her immediately for his own goals, sending her back in time to “get to know her dad” and the events in S5 unfold as we’ve seen them.

A couple of points

Nora’s identity as a speedster and daughter of the Flash is suppressed by her mother. This abuse lasts from a very young age well into Nora’s adulthood, when she’s already working as a CSI. When she finds out she is devastated (as she should be) and no longer trusts her mom.

Ir*s may have had a good reason to dampen the powers of a small child - even for safety reasons. But there is NO excuse at all that would justify doing this to an adolescent, let alone an adult.

So Nora was abused by her mum and turned to someone else she thought she could trust. Since Nora never knew about the Flash’s personal history (Ir*s never told her), she did not know Eobard Thawne murdered her grandmother.

While she’s of course being manipulated by Thawne, the whole sequence of events is also made possible by Ir*s and Barry deciding to “keep” her in the past, despite having had NUMEROUS experiences with time travel and the disruption of timelines. I want to make the point that Barry wants to send her back, but gives in to Ir*s. Also Barry and Ir*s fight over how to deal with the Thawne situation, with Ir*s again “winning”.

Nora ultimately pays the price for the mistakes of others (and a few of her own): she is erased from existence, and Crisis comes up 5 years earlier. Many lives have been changed (and destroyed) by this.

In my view Nora is really a tragic character, lied to, manipulated, alone, caught up in events that led to her undoing. The real responsibility lies with IR*S and Thawne. Thawne is a bad guy, we know that. So what is Ir*s?

#anti iris west #anti westallen #justice for nora

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moirai-au · 5 years

Note

16 with Henrik and Chase :3

Timeline: beginning of Arc 5: The Orator

Warning: this is Davil (dave x cecil). there are mentions of nsfw stuff, implied self-harm, and maybe a mention of homophobia??? but other than that it’s clean.

it was supposed to be a short and fluffy thing, but it turned into this absolute monster wtf. but you already know this tabby, my partner in crime! love ya

(if anyone wants to read the longer, nsfw version of this, head right over here)

“Mars almost lit the kitchen on fire again.”

Cecil blinked and turned to look at David; the other wasn’t looking at him, eyes set on the diminishing pile of clean laundry between them. His movements were swift and precise, folding the clothes and beddings with practised care, like he’d done it a million times before.

Which he probably had, being a father and all.

“Is that so?” Cecil mumbled, eyeing the black button-up shirt in his hands. Probably Mars’, he though. He hadn’t worn one of those in a long time, verdammt. How did they fold again?

“Yeaaah. I’m really starting to consider giving him cooking lessons.” Dave chuckled, his voice echoing slightly in the small room. “I swear this kid could burn water if we left him unsupervised.”

The doctor only hummed in response, trying not to get caught on the way Chase’s hands moved with rhythmic intent, or the way theauburn bangs peeking out from under his snapback made the blue of his eyes pop, or-

Nein.

His low hum died in his throat as he swallowed, painfully aware of the strangled sound that had escaped him, trying his very best to shake it off. He was almost scared to look up and risk making eye contact with Dave, to be confronted about what he knew was such a meaningless non-problem that it shouldn’t even be crossing his mind…

He bit his tongue, setting down the shirt he’d been holding idly for seconds, a small sigh escaping his lips.

They kept going as if nothing had changed.

Had it?

“I wish you the very best of luck,” Cecil muttered, picking up another article of clothing. “You should have seen the mess he created when attempting to bake me a Father’s Day cake when he was five…”

“Oh?” Dave asked, clearly intrigued. “Was it any good?”

Despite the unwelcome warmth and tingles spreading through his veins, Cecil let out a mirth-filled huff of laughter. “After I scraped what was left of it from the ceiling, it was… adequate. Certainly not winning any awards.”

David seemed to find Cecil’s response humorous, judging by the way his eyes lit up with mirth. He chuckled lightly, and the doctor felt his breath hitch at the sound. “Well,” the father said, “it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Cecil nodded distractedly, eyes trailing back to the lump of fabric in his hands, and cringed; the folding was all wrong. Scheiße. How was he supposed to focus with the other man babbling away next to him, the space between them so thin he could almost feel his warmth through his sweater vest-

“Um, Doc? Helloooo, Earth to Cecil, you with me?”

He tensed up, jaw tightening; He felt on edge, restless, filled with confusion and annoyance and something else that made his insides twist in the most peculiar way.

Dave leaned forward, catching Cecil’s stiff expression. His brow furrowed in concern; was the doc mad at him? It wouldn’t be out of character for him, David always seemed to get on his nerves for some reason, but still…

He looked down and spotted the black button-up balled up in the doctor’s clenched fists. “Oh, are you having trouble with that shirt?” he tried, treading carefully. He reached out, his hand brushing up against the German’s as he tried to grab the fabric. “Here, l can-”

Cecil flinched at the sudden contact, a sharp intake of air resonating in the room. Dave did a double-take, worry squeezing his chest at the other’s tight expression. “Ceec? Shit, are you hurt or something?”

“I am fine.” the German hissed at him, folding the black shirt frantically and messily. “I know how to fold a shirt, David. Mars was never good at taking care of his own things.”

“That’s not- I don’t care about the damn shirt! For fuck’s sake, right now the only thing I’m worried about is you!”

The doctor clenched his jaw, not responding and stubbornly keeping his eyes on the folding table. He wasn’t in the mood for this. He didn’t want to discuss this.

Problem was, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to out himself right there, right now, with Dave hovering so close he could almost feel his breath on his cheek…

The father shook his head. “You’ve been out of it all morning- c'mon Doc, for me?”

“No.”

“For you?”

”No.”

“Will you just tell me what’s wrong?”

"No! Nothing is wrong, I am okay.”

"Oh for the love of- stop telling me you’re okay! I’m here for you if you-”

That’s when Cecil snapped.

“How do you keep doing that?” he hissed between clenched teeth, suddenly turning around to take a step closer to Dave. The younger man’s eyes widened in surprise, taking a step back as the older man advanced on him; and ended up with his back flush against the wall. His expression was the textbook definition of oh god what did I do. “C-Cecil?”

“Why do I become such a mess everytime you speak to me?” the German accused, his voice seemingly on the edge of breaking.

That must’ve been the moment his brain decided to stop working, because the next thing he knew his lips were on Dave’s, his hands squeezing the other’s shoulders for dear life. The coil of anxiety in his stomach, instead of loosening up like he’s expected it to, was only getting tighter and tighter with each passing moment. He felt lightheaded, the chills coursing through his body colliding with the growing heat in his belly, the lightest touch from the younger man lighting a fire under his skin.

He barely registered the surprised sound coming from the other man as their faces collided, nor the feeling of warm fingertips tentatively settling on the side of his face, or the fact that the other was tilting his head to deepen Cecil’s clumsy kiss.

I want this I don’t want this

I want to hold you I want to run away

His body started trembling under the onslaught of conflicting emotions, and he let out a choked sob; he had no idea what he was doing, everything was slipping out of his control and it felt like tethering at the edge of a cliff, the smallest breeze threatening to push him over.

Gott, he hadn’t realized how starved he was for human contact. When was the last time anyone had touched him so gently?

At this moment, Cecil wanted so, so much. So much to say, to feel, to run his hands through that annoyingly messy hair and pull the other man flush against him and let him in give him everything he was and ever will be please please please something anything-

“Ceec? Cecil, jesus, are you okay?”

The doctor gasped, unaware that he had been holding his breath this whole time. He blinked back into awareness and found Dave staring at him with this soft, concerned expression of his, which only made Cecil’s heart ache more intensely. “I-” he started, only to devolve into a sudden coughing fit; his throat had seized up, making his voice come up in a broken croak.

“S’okay,” Dave whispered, running his hand up and down his arm in a comforting gesture, “It’s okay Doc. Take your time.”

The cap-wearing man moved his other hand to gently brush his thumb against Cecil’s cheek; it came back wet, to the doctor’s surprise and following mortification. Surely he wasn’t that desperate!

Was he?

He groaned and rubbed at his own face, wiping the tears away as he tried to gain a semblance of decorum back. “I… apologize. I don’t know- I’m not… usually like this.”

“Like what? Human?”

Cecil blinked; David was smiling up at him, his cerulean eyes crinkled up in amusement. “I’m not gonna get offended by you showing emotion, you doof. Do you need to sit down?”

He nodded, a shiver running through his spine when Dave grasped his hand to lead him out of the room, the unfinished pile of laundry left behind and forgotten.

***

“So. You have feelings.”

An eyeroll. “Hilarious. But yes.”

“Feelings for me.”

A nod.

“Romantic ones?”

“Among… other types, yes.”

They had moved into the living room, both of them sitting across each other on the plush red couch. Dave had kept a respectful distance between them, which Cecil wasn’t sure whether he hated or found comfort in.

The dad plopped his elbows on his crossed legs, resting his head in his hands. “I like the sound of that.” he winked, making Cecil groan in irritation. Why, out of all people, did he have to fall for such an aggravating little-

“But seriously though, you looked really freaked out back there. Did I do something wrong?”

Cecil lost his trail of thought; Dave’s tone had lost that teasing edge, and he was looking at him with genuine concern. The German took a deep breath, fighting off the anxiety swelling in his chest; guess there was no point in hiding it now, was there?

“I was… overwhelmed.” he began, scanning the other’s body language. Dave only nodded, silently prompting him to keep going. So he did.

“I had never really… felt for someone that way before. Not this strongly.”

“But weren’t you married once? That’s what you told us anyway.”

He shook his head. “Irrelevant. Vanessa and I- we wed out of convenience. And because it seemed like the most logical action to take at the time.”

“Waddaya mean?”

Cecil pursed his lips; this conversation was making him re-live a part of his life best buried in his subconscious, away from the surface. He took a moment to center himself, focusing on the way the couch felt under his fingers. And when he spoke again, his words came a lot easier.

“In my teenage years, I felt… alienated.” he continued. “Other boys my age were eloping left and right, while I just didn’t see the appeal.”

He folded his arms on his lap, rubbing them absentmindedly. “When I met Vanessa, we… clicked. Intellectually anyway. We agreed on a lot of things, and she ended up confessing to me.”

He rubbed his neck, grimacing slightly. “I was young and foolish. I thought that maybe this could work. We got along well, we shared common interests, and marrying her would allow me to get a US citizenship, which I’d been wanting for a while. I thought we could be happy, even without the more… physical aspect of a relationship.”

He sighed. “But… in the end, she wanted more out of this than I did. Things I couldn’t give her. So she grew bored.”

He hadn’t realised he had started trembling until he felt Dave grasp his hand, running his fingers along the palm and back. He didn’t try to pry it away, letting the soothing motions ground him again. “And-” he breathed out, voice strained and unsteady. He cleared his throat. “And even though I never loved her, I still cared for her. So when she left, I- it hurt. A lot. I thought ‘this is it. I’m the problem. Something’s wrong with me, I’m incapable of loving someone, so it makes sense than no-one could love me either’ ”

“Ceec, I-”

“So I shut down.” Cecil kept going, words tumbling faster and faster out of his mouth. He could no longer stop them, nor did he want to. “I became cold. Bitter. Angry. Gott, I was so angry, mostly at myself. I lashed out at my colleagues, I lashed out at my patients- that’s how I lost my medical license in case you were wondering, because why not get that truth out of the way as well, right?!”

He took a shuddering breath, grabbing the side of his face. It was wet again. He could feel the looming threat of a panic attack. “Everything fell apart around me. I was a broken mess, merely a shell of my former self- that’s why I could barely stand to look at you the first few days you spent here, it was like looking into a mirror-”

“Doc!”

“I’m sorry!” he cried out, curling into himself and burying his face in his arms. I am the worst kind of person. Dave stared in shock as Cecil devolved into full-blown, nearly silent sobs, choking out half-formed apologies; this wasn’t how he expected his day to go.

It had all started to normally: wake up, take his meds, have breakfast with the doc and Mars -if the kid hadn’t stayed up all night practising his magic again- and greet Ollie as he climbed in through the window with a fond hair ruffle, laugh as Cecil chastised him for “not using the door like a normal person”, help out Mars with his plants, look up jobs and schools, get a snarky remark from Cecil here and there…

Huh. He now realized the doctor hadn’t said much at all today. Hell, he’d been borderline cordial to him since this morning, if a bit… low. Careful. Like he was treading on thin ice.

Which, in hindsight, should’ve ticked David off as to what was going on.

Eyes going soft, the dad scooted over to Cecil, hands hovering just above the doctor’s shoulders. “Ceec… I’m going to touch you now, yeah? Tell me if that’s okay.”

The older man took a trembling breath, his thin frame still wracked with sobs, and nodded. Dave let out a relieved sigh and gently set his hands on the older man’s blue sweater vest, slowly moving them up and down his arms in a soothing pattern. “Cecil? I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you for anything. I… get it. Really, I do. So don’t beat yourself up too much about our early days, okay? Look at me.”

He delicately grabbed the older man’s face, encouraging him to raise his head back up; he gave in after a few seconds, meeting Dave’s gaze with his own.

The dad smiled at him, his expression radiating something Cecil hadn’t seen directed at him in a really long time.

Honesty. Warmth. Kindness.

“There you are,” Dave said softly, “There you are. If it makes you feel better… I forgive you. Even if I don’t think there’s not much to forgive in the first place.”

He hummed, tucking a strand of brown and grey hair behind Cecil’s ear. “And I like you too. A lot. I just assumed you weren’t interested, so I never said anything. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

Cecil’s breathing slowed as he took in the words, mind switching into autopilot. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of Dave’s hands against the fabric of his clothes. The faint hum of the fridge in the kitchen nearby. The lingering smell of chamomile tea David had brewed not long ago.

Breathe. Five seconds. Hold. Seven. Exhale. Eight.

When he opened his eyes again, he felt… more or less in control. He wiped his face on his sleeve with a quick swipe, eyes red and puffy, but sharp once more. “…Thank you.” he grunted, voice hoarse and thick with leftover emotion. “I’m okay.”

The father raised an eyebrow, disbelieving. “…Okay-ish.” the older man relented, rolling his eyes. “How is that?”

Dave shrugged. “Acceptable. Can I hug you?”

“You may.”

The younger man didn’t waste another second, wrapping his arms around Cecil and pulling him into a tight embrace. The doctor stiffened slightly, still unused to so much human contact in one setting, but soon relaxed into the soft, strong body enveloping him. His hands tentatively crept up Dave’s back as his eyes fluttered closed, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He basked in the feeling for a little while, his skin tingling in the spots David brushed against, while the other buried his face in his hair.

Cecil eventually let go, patting on Dave’s arm to make him release his hold. They pulled away, almost regretfully, and the dad smiled down at the doc. “How was that?”

“…Acceptable.”

Dave laughed. “Okay, I deserved that one. Sorry you had to relive all… that.”

Cecil shook his head, sighing. “It was… a long time ago. It shouldn’t affect me that much still…”

"You shut down and buried it for years, I think I can cut you some slack for not having processed it properly yet.”

"Hmm. I never thought about it that way.”

The dad waved noncommittally. “Eeeh. Been there. I know my way around trauma by now. So, you’ve never… you know…”

"No. I never desired women that way.”

"Yeah? How about guys?”

"I never thought about it. Never considered that I could be-”

"Gay?”

Cecil suppressed a wince, pushing down the unpleasant memories this word tended to bring up in him. “…Yes.”

“Well… do you have any gay cousins?” David asked, tilting his head to the side. The other just stared, failing to see how this was relevant. “No?”

The dad smirked. “And that,” he said, poking at Cecil’s chest playfully, “was your first clue. in this world, you either have a gay cousin, or you are the gay cousin.”

The doctor gaped. Then he let out an undignified snort, amazed at the nonsense Dave could spin on the fly. “That doesn’t sound very scientifically sound. Besides, I don’t know if it applies to me, considering I never felt any attraction to any man before you.”

“Aww.”

“Shut up. And stop making that face, it makes me want to punch it.”

“Kinky. But for real, there’s nothing wrong with the way you felt back then, you know that, right? You could just be ace.”

Cecil hummed. “I do know about asexuality and aromanticism. But by the time I learned of the concepts, I had stopped caring about labeling myself altogether.”

He looked up at Dave, eyes lingering on the gentle curves of his body. He gulped, lingering heat pooling in his stomach. “And… recent evidence suggests that I’m definitely not those.”

“So you got the hots for me, got it.”

“You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Dave chuckled. “But that’s okay too, y’know? Maybe you like men, maybe it’s just me. Maybe you’ve changed, maybe it’s always been this way. Maybe you’re demi, it fits what you told me at least.” he shrugged. “But who gives a shit, right? I know labels are important to a lot of people, they can be super helpful. But if you don’t care about them, that’s fine. You don’t need them if you don’t want them.”

Cecil processed the other’s words, the gentle yet determined tone soothing more and more of his worries. He offered the younger man an appreciative smile. “I suppose so.”

“Although… do you still want this?” Dave asked softly. “D’you still want, y’know… me?”

Cecil stayed silent for a few seconds, parsing the sensation, David’s earnest voice, his expression. “…Yes,” he realized, “Very much so. You?”

“God yes,” the other man breathed out, hands looping around Cecil’s middle with surprising gentleness. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this for?”

The doctor shook his head, eyes wide. Dave smiled. “Dude, I’ve been pining after you since the day we met.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“I am so serious. I mean, I didn’t realize I was until we visited Liz and the kids last week, but yeah. Though to be fair,” he continued, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, “At first it was purely… y’know, physical. A ‘oh no he’s hot’ kinda thing. And I liked the banter, a lot. But I think I really, really fell for you when- I think it was a few days after Marv went all supernova on us. Right before Ollie finally came back.”

He reached out, brushing his hand against Cecil’s. He looked wistful. “T’was the first time I heard you say you were sorry. About being an asshole.”

“Hey!”

“What? You were,” Dave laughed, “still kinda are. That’s okay though, you’re our asshole now.”

He sobered up, planting his gaze in Cecil’s eyes with rare intensity. “But seriously. You looked so earnest. I looked at you, and saw you. Really saw you. The version of you that you hide under all that snark and- and ‘oh look at me, I’m a genius slash doctor slash better than everybody else here’…”

“I do not sound like that.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” the former vlogger rolled his eyes playfully. “Still. That uh, that was the moment that did me in, y’know?”

cecil was stunned- he could’ve hit himself. For a man of his genius, he was apparently blind when it came to those things. “I’m a dummkopf, aren’t I.”

David nodded, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. “Yeah. But I kinda like that about you. When you drop the whole ‘cold-hearted science man’ thing and get all confused and clueless. It’s cute.”

The older man felt his ears heat up, resisting the urge to look away. “Don’t call me that.” he grumbled. “That’s not- I’m not-”

“How about you?”

Cecil stopped his muttering, focusing back on the other man. “I’m sorry?”

“You know, like… you being into me. When did that happen?”

Oh.

Cecil looked down, absentmindedly rubbing his calloused hands together as he pondered. This deserved a proper answer. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the memories wash over him. Phantom images and words passed through his mind as he tried to pinpoint that moment.

“When Ollie came back,” he finally said, “After the whole… debacle.”

Dave made an oof sound. “You mean when he and Mars had an argument, and Ollie disappeared for weeks and spiraled into repressed anger until he almost killed a guy while Mars shut himself away and made the whole house float?”

Cecil groaned; those weeks had been rough on everyone, but he still remembered running himself ragged trying to keep everyone in the mansion from falling apart at the seams. “Yes, that. I wasn’t… present when the situation was sorted out, but Marvin told me how you successfully calmed him down.”

Dave nodded. “Yeah, the whole thing was insane. I still can’t believe you trusted me to go to him at that moment. Then again,” he smirked, “you were pretty concussed. Mars’ a great kid, but he’s got issues.”

“I know.”

“He needs therapy. AND better parents.”

“I know. That’s… kind of related to what I’m trying to tell you here.”

The younger man blinked. “What? Oh, oh, are you finally gonna adopt him?”

Cecil gaped, cheeks flushing in surprised embarrassment. “Was?!”

“I mean,” the other continued, seemingly oblivious to Cecil’s state of unrest, “I already heard him slip up and call you dad once, so I figured-”

“NEIN! Nein, Gott, that’s not what I mean!” the doctor sputtered, hands gesticulating wildly. “Can you just- let me explain? Please?”

David laughed, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just teasing ya. That was way too good to pass up. But okay, I’ll shut up now, go ahead.”

Cecil spat out something in his native tongue that Dave didn’t quite catch, then cleared his throat. “Anyway. After all… that, when Oliver eventually came back, and I found him, you and Mars together in the living room…”

Dave’s eyes widened, leaning forward to show he was back to taking Cecil’s words seriously; he knew where he was going with this. He remembered holding the two in his arms, their exhausted sobs still resonating in his ears. Their quivering, trembling hands grabbing his clothes with desperate strength, his shirt growing damp from all the tears they shed.

“When they were at their lowest, when I proved unable to help… you were there for them.” Cecil continued. “They relied on you. Trusted you. And you told them it was alright, that they didn’t have to go through their struggles alone anymore.”

He chuckled, the sound jarring and unfamiliar coming from him. “I can only guess that’s when I started to… feel for you, one might say.”

“Wow.”

“Yes. I admitted it earlier, but before this moment, my opinion of you was somewhat different.”

Dave raised an eyebrow. “You thought I was an alcoholic bum, a neglectful father and a bad influence on Mars.”

Cecil cringed at that. “… Not the words I would’ve used, but I guess that is accurate.”

“It’s fine,” the younger man shrugged, “not like it was that far from the truth.”

The German shook his head, the heat progressing down his cheeks. “That’s irrelevant. I’m still sorry I thought so little of you, and hurt your feelings. A few times.”

Dave gasped in pretend shock, his face splitting into a huge grin. “Oh my! Three apologies in the same week? Who are you and what have you done with Dr. Edelheim?”

“Ha-ha,” Cecil rolled his eyes, “very funny. I am being serious.”

“And so am I when I tell you I forgive you. Hell, I wasn’t even mad at you in the first place.”

The doctor opened his mouth, ready to protest once more, but Dave beat him to it with a much more inviting prospect.

“Can I kiss you?”

Cecil’s words died on his tongue, the man taken aback by Dave’s sudden query. “Sorry,” the dad continued, “you just have that look on your face and- I think I’ll go insane if I don’t smother you in affection. Right now.”

The doctor observed David’s face, taking in his words; the man’s eyes were blown wide, shiny with something akin to desire. He was biting on his bottom lip idly, waiting expectantly for Cecil’s response, but searching for any sign of fear or discomfort in the older man.

“…Bedroom.” he blurted out.

“What?”

He flushed; that came out wrong. “I mean- What I meant to say is-” he sputtered, pausing to gain some composure back. “We shouldn’t- do this here. Talking. About things. Feelings. In the middle of the living room, where someone could walk in.”

He grimaced. “Like Aster.”

Dave’s face twisted, nearly perfectly mirroring the other’s expression. “Yeaaah, we def’ don’t want that happening. We’d never hear the end of it.”

He got up, reaching a hand out to Cecil with a small smile. “We can go to my room if you want to, like… talk. Or make out, or whatever.”

Cecil’s heart skipped a beat, anticipation -for what, he wasn’t sure- making him feel lightheaded. He took Dave’s hand and let him pull him to his feet. “Yes.” he said quietly, squeezing the warm hand in his grasp. Steady. “Let’s talk.”

#moirai au #schneeplebro #docaverage #david #cecil #davil #arc 5: the orator

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voidbeantm · 4 years

Note

alright so you’ve reblogged a lot of stuff about that ts show and now I Have to know. SELL IT TO ME BEAN, what on EARTH is it about IM SO CURIOUS

okay wow now i understand that post that was like "how the hell are you supposed to sell stella firma to people?"

okay so, the show is an ongoing webseries called Sanders Sides. here is a handy chronological playlist if you want to skip my waffle and go check it out for yourself

anyway, the basic premise is one guy — thomas sanders (yes the guy from vine) — tries to solve various personal issues by talking them through with personifications of aspects of his personality collectively known as his Sides (as in his logical side, his creative side, etc). if you've seen pixar's inside out, then you have a basic idea of what it's like

every episode deals with a different dilemma that thomas is having. the Sides, originally intended as flat representations of a single aspect of thomas, eventually grow to encompass more and more of thomas; they also begin to develop into fully-fleshed characters with personal arcs as the plot gets more and more complex

the rest under read more because goodness gracious this got Long

quick spoiler-free run down of the main characters:

thomas: the main man just tryin his best (help him), sometimes referred to as "character thomas" by the creators and fans to differentiate him from the real person thomas sanders (jonny sims and cecil baldwin can relate)

logic or teacher guy: wears a black polo and blue tie with glasses, personification of thomas' logical thinking and learning

morality or dad guy: wears a light blue polo and grey cardigan wrapped around his shoulders with glasses, personification of thomas' emotions and sense of right and wrong

creativity or princey/prince guy: wears a white prince outfit with a red sash, personification of thomas creativity, passion, and confidence

anxiety: emo dude in all black with raccoon eyeshadow, personification of thomas' — well — anxiety

the series started as a one-off thing with thomas just wanting to make a fun video with the characters that he created during his vine days but hoo boy, did it morph into something else

it's a little bit like watching steven universe sometimes. the first half of season 1 is steven having nice fun adventures being goofy and then the second half hits you with heavy plots that get darker and darker and don't necessarily get resolved with a neat little bow tied around it by the end of the episode. it's like that but season 1 is fun disney debates, q&a's, and shapeshifting into his friends while season 2 goes full The Good Place with discussions of morality, ethics, grief, intrusive thoughts, the whole shebang

if you made it this far and are still interested, here is the link to the playlist again so you don’t have to scroll all the way back up through the colours of the sky: Sanders Sides Playlist

or if you want some fun easy ones to hook you in and isn't too heavy, alone on valentine's day or sanders sides q&a are good ones to start at! (note: sanders sides q&a contains one mild spoiler of an earlier episode that you probably already know if you read my tags)

#i'm so sorry this is a giant clusterfuck of a mess #i dont know how to sell people things this is why i hated working in sales #anyway if you read all this anon and you're somehow still interested you get a cookie (and if you're feeling dangerous — a second cookie)#also you called me bean!! that's adorable!! i love that nickname and i'm going to use it now (actually i already sorta do)#this last tag is just so i hit the five tag limit so i don't show up on the tumblr search function #i am not in the business of having any sort of presence in the fandom #ts #ts sides #anon #asks #long post #sorry about that #i do not control the hyperfixation #pls watch the series it's really good thomas is an amazing actor and he and his team are amazing at what they do #anonymous

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frostygar · 5 years

Text

The Flash S5 Ep2 Thoughts

- Iris finds out that her husband is STILL missing after the first article and she doesn’t seem to care one bit. Mmhm…

- Caitlin overhearing Cisco listening to Cynthia’s old messages and her comforting him :( their friendship is so solid I love it. I love them 😭😭 LET CISCO BE HAPPY 2KFOREVER

- RALPH GENUINELY LEAVING A FUCKING VOICE MESSAGE omg how cute.

- “please stop caring about me.” CISCO 🥺🥺🥺 you could murder Barry but I’d still love and care for you so that’s not going to happen

- I feel like Ralph’s going to bring them to a strip club or something along that line.

- Ew when you fucking CRUNCH SOMEBODY TO DEATH ugh my ears… however Vanessa looks like Meg from Supernatural (the first blonde version, obviously).

- I’ve missed Barry doing mundane crime scene shit 🥺

- Cecile wanting to desperately have the powers so she can stay connected to her baby aw I’m so SOFT. Because I watch Riverdale I don’t get other characters actually having like an arc that isn’t fucking crazy and I’m really appreciating it right now. This moment was very, very nice.

- “Yes! I get to take down my first baddie!! With your permission of course…” ugh I love this father/daughter it’s really sweet I love it so much

- WHEN VANESSA FUCKING YEETS NORA INTO OBLIVION JESUS CHRIST

- Ralph bringing Cisco out of his stupor with a Star Wars thing aww

- Does Iris believe Cisco’s going to suddenly feel better about his break up in like one day?

- Every time Nora calls Barry Dad I wanna cry but she’s wrong in trying to be like him. She should focus on adapting it with her.

- OH NOO SHE HIT BARRY :( SHE’S GOING TO FEEL SO BAD MY POOR SWEET BABY

- UGH JOE WITH ALWAYS REALLY KNOWING WHAT TO SAY SDFSFHSAFHF CECILE LISTENING INTO THEIR CONVERSATION I’M CRYING WITH HER!!!!

- Cisco looks so good in that suit, and that cinnamon bun looks delicious oh my god

- “If he has been alive this whole time, it means that he didn’t want to see me” Caitlin 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

- Ralph’s rule about “if you’re not dating her anymore, she’s not the one” was super deep for him damn…

- Cisco helping and gathering himself so he can help Caitlin I’m… sobbing. NOW CAITLIN IS CRYING OH MY GOD CISCO AND CAITLIN’S FRIENDSHIP IS THE LITERAL BEST NOTHING CAN BEAT IT

- Nora reacting to her dad fucking biffing it from the beginning I—

- Please tell me “Block” isn’t going to stick…

- Cute family moment of them figuring out the weather thing jksdfhskfafd

- YES NORA YOU FUCKING SMART QUEEN

- Cisco and Ralph, again omgggggg

- WAIT HE TOOK THEIR POWERS…. FUCK.

- He stopped for Nora…? Umm that’s great but horrifying

- Caitlin doesn’t know about Thor’s hammer?

- “I SUPPORT YOU EITHER WAY, CAITLIN” RALPH 😭😭

- Oh so it only temporarily takes their powers okay I was like???

- No Caitlin’s mom knows :( that probably means that their strained bond is going to become even more strained :(

- Cicada… at least they have a cool name lol

#The Flash #Barry Allen #Caitlin Snow #Cisco Ramon #anti-westallen #anti-iris west #Nora West

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siverwrites · 5 years

Text

Press Start Letter

AO3: Siver

There are some pretty big groups here, so I’ll try to keep things short. Prompts are just possible starters. As long as the DNWs are avoided it’s all good! Really can’t go wrong taking anything from my Likes list. A lot of found family vibes happening in this batch so anything in that vein in particular is great.

All requests are for fic or art. Art: Interactions of some sort: emoting at each other, talking, sharing some activity, taking a walk, hugs are always welcome, soft things, whatever suits the pair/group

Likes: fluff, hurt/comfort, comfort, missing scenes, friendships, long-term friendships, close relationships of any sort whether romantic or platonic, familial bonds, found family, sickfic, AUs, fandom crossovers or fusions, angst with a happy end, bonding, cuddling/hugs/holding, banter, mutual care and support, emotional bonding, loyalty, pre-canon, post-canon, reuniting, slice of life

DNW: NSFW, non-con, dub-con, underage relationships, unrequested ships, infidelity

Ghost Trick

I love this game, its characters and pretty much everything about it, so whatever you want to do will be great I am sure. New timeline mysteries and missing memories are always welcome where it makes sense. Alternate timelines and what-ifs are cool to explore. Fluff, comfort, family found or otherwise and friendships are always a go. Any combination of these characters is more than welcome too!

Alma & Emma: Friends! Mom-friends? Knew each other before the girls were born? Is Alma Emma’s beta-reader?Is a certain detective husband merely a great inspiration and Alma is endlessly amused?

Alma & Sissel: That cat is Strange shenanigans. Alternatively Alma knows and teamup times of any sort! Or just some good old comfy cat times

Cabanela & Jowd: Close friends (or more), partners. Determination and loyalty. Really can’t go wrong with anything and these two. Case fic? Just time spent together? Mutual insufferability? Nothing like it!

Cabanela & Kamila: Best weird cool uncle! Best cool niece (whether kids are a what do situation for Cabs or not). How do they spend time together? How does he spoil her rotten?

Cabanela & Missile: Loyalty to the max--of course they get along. Anything cute/fun for these is welcome. Dog snuggles! Dance lessons! Rookie Detective Missile is on the case bark bark!

Cabanela & Pigeon Man: I’m always down for anything during the year they worked together. Alternatively what the heck might pull them together in post-game?

Cabanela/Jowd: No infidelity please. So, this could be a no-reset scenario, something during the game events–ch.9 and ch.15 stuff is always great. Or on a less angsty route, it is the ot3 or some kind of happy V. but Alma’s simply not involved if they’re at work, she’s at work, or a trip or she’s on a trip, etc, so the focus is on their end. Fluff, bonding, banter, travel, domestic stuff, on-the-job antics either at the station or out on a case.

Cabanela/Jowd/Alma: Post-game. All the polyamory fluff! Domestic fluff, travel fluff, vacation fluff, road trip, picnics, beach trips, train trip? etc. Go for a date whatever a date might entail for these three. Hugs, snuggles, and love. Light angst is fine too, as long as they get a happy end.

Jowd & Lynne & Memry: Detective group/mentor shenanigans. Likely chicken.

Jowd & Pigeon Man: Old friends. Anything from their past working together, or new timeline working together! Jowd’s gotten strange. There’s a meteorite. PM is intrigued.

Jowd & Sissel: Detective and Ghost Cat. Working together!

Kamila & Amelie: Anything friendship is good. Current ages or future fic/art when they’re older!

Lynne & Memry, Lynne/Memry: The Odd Girls working together drawing all the oddest cases!

Pigeon Man & Blue Doctor: Who is the Blue Doctor. How long has he been around? How might they meet and what do think of each other?

Rindge & Lynne & Memry: Odd Girls + trying-to-be-normal Rindge in an odd world. Contrasts! Clashing ways of working that manage to work!

Sissel & Missile & Lovey-Dove: The animals just hanging out doing animal things. The animals getting on a mission of their own?

Cabanela: Anything Cabanela being his sparkly determined Cabanela self. Something during his five years goal? Day to day life? A hobby? Post-game fun times? Just. Cabanela.

Crossover settings are cool too. Some other settings that I like born of Discord Talks:

FFVI: Half esper Sissel? Magic infused Cabanela with the Empire working in secret? Jowd suplexing a train? Returner Lynne somewhere back there? General Final Fantasy VI shenanigans with these characters. World of Balance? Reunions in the World of Ruin? Opera Cabanela. More info here https://archiveofourown.org/series/1169099 or here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1196335 or here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16407494

Ivalice: Viera Cabanela! Nu Mou (Tactics Nu Mou specifically) Jowd and family! Anything here. I am more familiar with Tactics versions but anything goes. Fluff? Intrigue? Mist frenzied Cabanela and after effects–maybe the first time Jowd’s seen this happen, and particularly startling from the usually controlled Cabanela who relies more on magic?

FFX: Summoner Jowd, devoted guardian Cabanela who hates this whole process, but isn’t about to leave Jowd. Something during the journey? Something with Yunalesca? Even shortly after it’s all over but they have this new world and old scars to contend with?

Crystal Chronicles: No idea what races they’d be but if there’s something fun to be had here, fly at it. Lilty Jowd? Yuke Cabanela (got that tall bird thing going)? Something more fitting? Something something miasma, something crystals. A moment in their caravan journey?

Trails Series: The cast in Zemuria! Dominion Cabanela undercover in Arc-en-Ciel. What might his stigma be? Knight Alma of the Gralsritter assigned with Cabanela. Crossbell Chief of Police of Jowd separated from Alma some years previously to some disaster (like the manifestation of Cabanela’s stigma) and doesn’t know the other two are alive, along with his daughter Kamila who’s learning all she can about orbal tech. Reuniting! Hermit Pigeon Man orbal scientist and contact for Jowd? Is Lynne a Detective under Jowd or a Bracer? What of Memry? Other ideas entirely!

Trails in the Sky | Sora no Kiseki

Anything in any of the three Sky games or something in between them. Missing scenes, scene extensions, travel along the roads, airship travel times, etc. Ample opportunity for anything in the Garden in 3rd. I love these characters, their world, their relationships or potential for.

Estelle Bright & Cassius Bright: Any kind of father-daughter bonding time. Pre-FC, post-SC before she and Joshua set off, post-return to Liberl, anywhere something can fit really.

Estelle Bright & Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Estelle is perpetually and understandably exasperated with him, but what about a quieter moment? Parting ways after SC, or some encouragement at some point during SC for Estelle, or Estelle catching Olivier in an off moment (example: like their talk about the dreams from Luciola).

Estelle Bright & Tita Russell: Sisters! Anything showing a sisterly bond is great.

Julia Schwarz & Mueller Vander: They share the same role with drastically different charges. Relate to one another in some respects? Do some training? Commiserate? Encourage through some similar worries for Kloe and Olivier respectively?

Kevin Graham & Ries Argent: Kevin is a dumbass and is lucky Ries is patient for this self-deprecating fool. More seriously anything about their relationship is good during 3rd or post-3rd (nothing that could spoil Cold Steel III or IV please)

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Just Olivier being Olivier during his Liberl travels either when he’s alone or while he’s with the group, whether it’s outrageous Olivier or quiet time Olivier with a hell of a long road ahead of him on this battle he’s chosen.

Kloe Rinz & Julia Schwarz: Beyond their bond as knight and princess I think they love each other platonically. Sisterly? Something showing their close bond. Helping each other out? Julia protects Kloe but Kloe protects her back in turn? Talks of duty but also personal wants?

The Legend of Heroes VII | Zero/Ao no Kiseki

These games hit my found family buttons hard. Anything portraying some kind of relationship among these characters is awesome. Any combination of these characters is more than welcome too!

Elie MacDowell: Explore Elie’s thoughts and feelings on everything that’s happening in Crossbell. What about her personal feelings on the Croises and betrayed by Mariabell? Her feelings on her own standing and what she wants?

Cecil Neues & Ilya Platiere: They’re an odd friendship and both married to their work but they make it work. Anything exploring their friendship or the time while Ilya was hospitalized--hard on both of them in different ways.

Elie MacDowell & Tio Plato & KeA: Girl’s day out! Aidios knows they could use one. Some kind of Mishy involvement is a bonus (or a necessity in Tio’s eyes).

Lloyd Bannings & KeA: Lloyd is the daddest of dads. Lloyd and KeA time of any sort is good.

Lloyd Bannings & Randy Orlando: They’ve both lost family but they can be brothers for each other. Supporting each other

Randy Orlando & Tio Plato: Big brother Randy and little sister Tio? They both lost their childhoods. Something to relate on?

Rixia Mao/Ilya Platiere: While Ilya clearly cares for Rixia, Rixia’s love may be one-sided (for the time being at least, perhaps more in the future?). Rixia’s thoughts and fears while Ilya is hospitalized. Once awake, Ilya’s concerns for what Rixia really wants and her place--she belongs with Arc-en-Ciel and they both know it

Sergei Lou & Alex Dudley: Past working together or connections in current time. Wildly different personalities but Dudley still listens to Sergei. Anything exploring their working relationship, or anything exploring them off the job on break.

Sergei Lou & KeA: Grumpy uncle Sergei cannot resist the charms of KeA. Anything familial (possibly despite himself) between these two.

Shizuku MacLaine & KeA: Let these kids be happy. Give them a good time together.

Wazy Hemisphere & Noel Seeker: The temporary SSS members, outliers that never quite fit the same as our core four. They’re completely different in personality but how might they connect at least for a little while?

Randy Orlando: Always interested in anything exploring Randy’s struggles with home and family and where his place is (the night he runs away included!). He belongs with SSS but it’s hard for him to see. Also appreciate how casino owner Drake looks out for him. He’s cared for even if he can’t always see it!

Trails of Cold Steel | Sen no Kiseki

Following the theme of these games, bonds! Old bonds, new bonds, forming bonds!

Elliot Craig & Fie Claussell: They don’t get much interaction in-game all told, but I have a special soft spot for a budding friendship between them. School days activities or something during the month they (and Machias) spent in the Celdic area between CS I and II?

Fie Clausell & Instructor Beatrix: Fie finding comfort in Beatrix’s presence. Beatrix looking out for her.

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Alfin Reise Arnor & Mueller Vander: Olivier is Too Much. Alfin is Too Much. What is a Mueller to do when he’s got both of them around?

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Alfin Reise Arnor: Alfin is very much Olivier’s sister. Little sister and big brother shenanigans! Or maybe something welcoming him back to Erebonia?

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Mueller Vander, Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor/Mueller Vande: Gen or romance slant. I’m good with either or one with shades of the other. I enjoy Mueller and Olivier’s closeness and how they contrast each other. Olivier’s more eccentric and flamboyant nature, but also his more serious side. And Mueller’s regular exasperation with him, but also his care for him. Being there for each other. I’m fond of the little things like how Mueller always calls him Olivier even in Erebonia when Olivert’s identity is known and public. Heimdallr fun or trouble (Olivier…). Planning against Osborne. Look after a tired Olivert? Something during the civil war when they’re in the west?

Principal Vandyck & Instructor Beatrix: Both are more than they appear. I loved the Instructor teamup in the last part of CS I and these two have a history. Explore their connection, or reminiscing. Would also be interested in their activities during Trista’s occupation.

Towa Herschel & George Nome & Angelica Rogner: Anything exploring their friendship, or perhaps something during their time as the proto Class VII or their memories of that time in comparison (or contrast) to the new Class VII?

Mueller Vander & Elise Schwarzer: Elise is sliding into a similar role for Alfin as Mueller for Olivier. Maybe he can give her some advice? Or the two stand by while their respective charges/friends are <vague gesture> That. One way or another the siblings are a handful and Mueller and Elise know it (and if forced into honesty wouldn’t have it any other way).

Pyre

Another case of give me all the found family joys. Daily activities while they travel? Post Peaceful revolution activities? (Note: I’m good with any of the _ae options for Vagabond girl for naming purposes)

Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood: I adore their close friendship and that it came about from Bertrude’s unrequited love, but it’s okay, better than okay! Anything between them in their history, or during the Nightwings travels or post revolution would be great.

Big Bertrude & Sir Gilman: Big snakes and little snake. Grump and enthusiast. Awkward mutual (grudging?) respect?

Jodariel & Sir Gilman: Contrasts in everything from personality to size. Something exploring that would be great

Tariq | The Lone Minstrel & Big Bertrude: We don’t see a lot of interaction between them. How do they get along? What stories might they share? An appreciation for music or something to tolerate? What does a day in the blackwagon look like between them?

Tariq | The Lone Minstrel & Sir Gilman: The Moon and the Wyrm. Music and Knighting. Just these two interacting somehow

Vagabond Girl & Jodariel: Jodariel going mom-mode on _ae? Or just a big hug? _ae being far more enthusiastic than Jodi is used to these days?

Vagabond Girl & Sir Gilman: So much energy!

Volfred Sandalwood & Sandra: So much potential for interaction as a reader. And snark. And an unimpressed Sandra. But on some things they can maybe agree...

Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: Something gentle for the tree and the moon who somehow fell for him, any time period

Ti'Zo: Imp doing imp things. Anything Ti’zo will make me happy

FFVI

All that travelling time is ripe for more interaction or character exploration. Equally interested in what they might be doing after the world is saved too.

Cayenne Garamonde | Cyan Garamonde (FFVI): Where does Cyan go when the world is saved? What is a new home for Cyan? Alternatively a look at Cyan’s time during the year between the World of Balance and the World of Ruin

Celes Chere (FFVI): Opera Celes! Celes time away from the party after Vector. Celes after the world is saved--what does she do, where does she go?

Edgar Roni Figaro & Setzer Gabbiani: King and Engineer in a mechanical moving castle? Pilot of the only airship? They could have some great talks. Maybe some proposed airship upgrades?

Thank you for anything you do!

#press start #press start 2019 #letter

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pinkletterday · 6 years

Text

Okay so the Flash tag was very misleading. This wasn't the best 100th episode they could have done but it was the sweetest.

Don't get me wrong, none of that painfully contrived plot made a lick of sense, starting with being so blasé about going back in time when its pretty much the golden rule for them to not do that anymore (and er. Did Hunter Solomon just get Time Wraithed five episodes too early? What?) Nora not knowing Eobard killed her grandmother what in fuck and the whole thing about popping up the same day S2 Barry did (I know it was supposed to be all tense and menacing but I was giggling so hard. Someone should write a fic about various Barry Allens interrupting Thawne's work day to heckle him into fixing more and more shit. "Hi. My name is Barry Allen. You killed my mother. How do I fix the plumbing in STAR Labs? Bitch.")

AND FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY DID THEY KEEP VOLUNTEERING THAWNE INFORMATION.

After all that, the plan didn't even work.

BUT OH MY GOD I LOVED KILLER FROST. She is the most badass bitch and I can tell DP has a blast playing her. Train her up and send her against Cicada for real, cause that fight I would watch.

I loved seeing Eowells with Cisco and Caitlin, I loved revisiting all those milestone moments through Nora's eyes, and my God this episode was 75 % the tour de force that is Tom Cavanaugh. He nailled every scene - the suave menace of pre-series Eowells, the barely contained malice of S1 Eowells, the frenetic single-minded, almost callous version of Harry we first met and (sigh) Sherloque. Who somehow managed to be so distinct from the other personas that I didn't even think to compare his absurdity to the groundedness of Harry and Eowells. Cavanaugh's direction was also beautiful and seamless, even with all the recycled shots.

I didn't even mind missing Iris as much as I would have - she was always there somehow, maybe because of Nora. Mama Flash trying her hardest not to be the closed off woman who holds her daughter back, encouraging her husband to do the same. And then stepping back and letting them do their thing, trusting them to come back home to her.

Seeing her shooting Savitar to save Barry, seeing her be the one to hold and comfort him before they were ever together and then watching them so young and innocent waiting in the crowd during the pilot really encapsulated their journey together (thank god Eddie wasn't in this. Nothing against the character, I just hate that he existed at all). Iris has always been Barry's secret hope through his whole life. During the Zoom episode they were still tentatively trying to find a new footing between feelings that could not yet be spoken and the entirety of S3 was spent in terror that fate would still rip her away. Now they're rock solid and their daughter is right there next to Barry, the promise and realization of everything he had ever hoped for him and Iris.

I love Iris and Westallen, but The Flash has always been Barry Allen's story first. Taking his daughter through the journey of all his mistakes and defeats instead of his victories was such an aching, vulnerable choice. I'm not perfect, I've never been the man you think I was, I have made so many mistakes and been hurt so badly and all I have learned from it is how much I cannot change, no matter how powerful I become, no matter how much I love. It was the moment when he went from "father" to "Barry Allen" in Nora's eyes; when she started to see him as a person first. I understand and I still want to know you. Still love you. It was the most heartaching moment. And such a shock for Nora to realize that they both know the trauma of losing a parent, such a terrible connection to share.

Nora visiting her grandparents killed me. The Allens so young and happy and whole, not knowing their lives are about to be ripped apart in moments. Barry simply turning up at her side, almost casually, guessing she'd go there because he does the same thing. The quiet, sad resignation in his eyes when he says "every day." He has had to experience and accept Nora's own nightmare, that nothing she does will change her family's fate. How many times has he time travelled just to see his parents like this, knowing he could change it but also knowing the price of doing so is too great? His family in front of him, flesh and blood and alive, but still only ghosts he can never touch nor save?

But then Nora's there, again the living reminder of all that he stands to gain, all that of himself and his loves that will continue. Nora carries Barry's mother and father in her blood, Iris and Joe, and the legacy of his own life. And she's there, smiling at him, pulling him out of the past into the future.

Barry is still young, but he's aged beyond his years. The non-linear confusion of his life doesn't help him advance in stages. He's twenty-five and shaped by a vendetta ten years into the future, he's twenty seven and faced with himself a thousand years old and warped, he's watched every timeline unfold in the Speed Force till his mind broke apart, and now he's the father of a young woman he's never yet held as a baby and still loves with all his heart because she is his. It's such a surreal dissonance of age and identity when Nora calls him "old man". For a moment, he remembers that he's still young, and young enough to be hilariously offended by it.

I'm not going to touch on the Nora-working-with-Thawne "reveal" because we've seen that coming from the first. Instead I want to gush about Jessica Parker Kennedy. You guys, this woman is incredible. She was the sweetest, most precious thing this episode, the perfect audience surrogate. She has killed every scene she's in so far this season, so much so that her calling Barry and Iris "Mom and Dad" has never seemed weird, her love and connection to them has never seemed untrue, keeping her character so emotionally balanced right where she needs to sell it that we don't think overmuch about her bizarre age situation (2049? Really?). I don't know why this fandom doesn't appreciate her more, especially the Westallen fandom. Nora is literally the legacy of the show and of Barry and Iris's love. I cannot imagine anyone other than Jessica doing it so much justice.

Special notes:

- I wish we had more Golden Trio moments. Barry, Cait and Cisco's friendship was the lynchpin of the first two seasons and its disintegration in the third season is something that still hasn't been healed. SHOW ME BARRY'S CARE AND LOVE FOR CAITLIN SNOW. SHOW ME BARRY'S LOVE FOR CISCO.

- I am always torn between appreciating what this show wants to tell me and frustration of how badly it's usually told. Nora seeing Iris being Barry's comfort and support during one of his worst moments before they were ever together should have been heartwarming. But instead of showing a sweet, silent moment where Barry is allowed to curl up in her lap while she holds him in the aftermath of a traumatic experience, we see her pushing him to get up again before he even changes out of his suit. It made the scene seem so forced and contrived. Sometimes it's like the writers only know the theory of how humans work.

- It stood out to me again how embedded Cisco is in the emotional narrative of this show. It's Barry's story but Cisco's universe, his presence is vital, ubiquitous, pervasive. Seeing him innocent and sweet and vulnerable with Eowells, craving his approval, and then seeing him face down Cicada as a confident full-fledged superhero (are my baby's hands healed now?) was so satisfying. His character arc has been so amazing and consistent through four seasons of shoddy and uneven writing. He is literally the Samwise to Barry's Frodo and the fact that we havent heard stories of Uncle Cisco from Nora is a farce.

- I know fandom jumped on "at least you still have one" as a reference to Donovan's existence but I'm wondering if it's a reference to Thawne's own daughter Melonie. Did she still marry Don in his future or was she erased?

- I like that Eowells touched on the fact that Savitar was actually Barry. It gets persistently glossed over, that while Barry can't be held responsible for his future self, it was very much still him. I hate that Savitar was our Barry because the fact that any version of him could ever kill Iris is such a fundamental betrayal of his character, but jeez, if you're going to put it out there at least explore the ramfications of that concept in full.

- I missed Jesse L. Martin so much. I had really hoped we could have at least gotten five minutes of recycled footage of him.

- Also missed my cinnabun Cecile, and I want to see Iris interacting with her new sister! I need her to hold Jenna trying to imagine what Nora will feel like in her arms. I want Wally to be delighted at having a sibling he can watch grow up. GIVE ME MY WEST FAMILY DAMN IT.

- I still want my vow renewal (will literally kill someone for it at this point, preferably Guggy. No one will miss him) but that last iconic porch scene with the Allens is a compromise I can live with.

All in all, not the best 100th episode we could have gotten but very far from the worst.

#the flash 100th episode #the flash spoilers #recap #review #commentary #barry allen #iris west-allen #nora west-allen #cisco ramon #jessica parker kennedy #carlos valdez #tom cavanaugh #harrison wells #eobard thawne #caitlin snow #danielle panabaker #westallen

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amisbro · 6 years

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Late Night Deep Dive: What is best for HEAVENS fans

Hello friends and followers alike: How are we on this Sunday Morning? So this post will be discussing a thing I remember seeing on twitter in a tweet thread when discussing HEAVENS and the upcoming movie. The tweet in question I can’t seem to find at the moment but in it the concept of “What would be best for HEAVENS and their fans” came up and it was an interesting take for sure. We’re going to discuss the rest of this under a cut though cos this might get long so join me will you

Alright so There was a tweet made by a user whom is also on this platform. Now what they stated was their opinion (some of it just being plain wrong but I digress) and when I read the very first tweets in the chain it was interesting and gave me great pause. One of the tweets went something like this “What would be best for HEAVENS (And HEAVENS fans) is if Raging was going to retire/shut down his agency and then Shining took in HEAVENS. It would help characters that aren’t very popular/likable and get them more fans.” I might have gotten some of that wrong but I assure the person it was not intentional...quite the contrary but when I read that my mind went in a few directions and one of them was the story of season 4 In the season it was (at times) an “odd couple” situation: The duo for the week might have some issue come up (let’s say Nagi/Natsuki or Shion/Cecil) and you just knew that something was going to happen. It was a season where I couldn’t tell what A-1 wanted to do with HEAVENS as far as making them likable for the fandom (In Japan and Korea this isn’t an issue its more of a western thing) or if they wanted to “enhance the villainy”. THIS became a big issue because every week when you went to go look at the situation with the fans (at the very least on this site) there seemed to be a clear directive at times to ignore if there was something positive that HEAVENS did in anyway but call them out on their nonsense. It was a very odd slant to take but at times you couldn’t help but notice it...especially when Shion had his nervous breakdown and the fandom made a meme out if it for some perverse reason which I never got...I’m sure the main reason goes like this “*Hiss* HEAVENS EVIL...MUST NOT LIKE THEM BECAUSE THAT WOULD BETRAY STARISH!” The irony of this mindset would be that in (almost) every episode the duo of the week would actually get along and want to sing together again. Now that gets to be more funny when we get to the Triple S and STARISH doesn’t look the LEAST BIT happy...save for Otoya whom actually openly smiles at the site of Eiichi! That was pretty interesting for sure. What would have been best for HEAVENS in this season is if the western fans of UtaPri saw what Broccoli/A-1 was showing when it came to HEAVENS like how Eiichi was a strict but fair leader and called out his brother when he messed up on something. What would have been best for HEAVENS then would have been when Eiichi had to console Shion and they have a talk where Eiichi was ready to bite the bullet for the duet project but Shion didn’t want that What also would have been best is if people saw when Eiji scolded Nagi during his duet episode and also if they saw when Eiichi was snatched up by his own dad. The problem is people did see that and then acted like it never happened! (And if people want to argue this with me then tell me why when these things happened NO ONE commented on them during the season and only shit on Eiichi because of what happened to Otoya? I don’t think you can!) Moving on Let’s talk about the end of the season because a lot of what happened there kind of addresses the idea in the tweet and...its not happening! If Shining really wanted to take HEAVENS from Raging his best opportunity would have been at the Triple S. Yes Raging walked out without them BUT they technically are still with him AND after the end of Season 4 on a tweet marked on December 25th of 2016 it was stated as the following (and some of this is paraphrasing) “From now on the stories of the idols of Shining Agency AND RAGING ENTERTAINMENT will continue” And then there was some other stuff that I can’t remember offhand cos the tweet is literally almost 2 years old at this point. The point is that “What is best for HEAVENS and their fans” is not what you think. You see from a story perspective like I said Shining had that opportunity to take HEAVENS when he blocked Raging from taking them off the stage when they were performing “Legend Star” (and selfishly a part of me wishes he had because the image of them just being subservient to STARISH always gives war flashbacks) and when Shining stood on the railing of the box that Raging had I had thought then (despite what Raging said( that Shining was taking them then because my question then would be this “Why in the hell would HEAVENS want to do a song with a group that has beaten them twice? From a story perspective there (and maybe fan perspective) that doesn’t work because all that says is ‘HEAVENS is STARISH’s b***h’!” Now One thing that also got brought up was that “if HEAVENS joined Shining Agency that would make them more likable and get them more fans” I’m not sure if this person knows this but...A-1 CAN’T write a story for any group other than STARISH it seems and “Revolutions” is one of the best examples of this If you really stop to think about it from the way UtaPri was designed it felt like the “UtaPri Awards Arc” was used to introduce STARISH to a new audience and it did it successfully especially when they triumphantly won the award competition (although let’s be honest the name of the award show was a dead giveaway they would win but I was still happy for them). When “Revoluions” happened I THINK this was the plan Since STARISH had the first two seasons of the series to introduce themselves and get better acquainted with a new audience (and old fans too) the writers probably thought it would be a good idea to introduce QN with a season of their own. ONE PROBLEM! See with STARISH you got 7 members so doing a season with 7 solos works out...QN only had 4 members so they had to figure out THEN how to add STARISH to make it look better (and to be fair it did). The problem comes here and I will use a criticism I got years ago that I never forgot. When I used to write RPs one of the “game masters” (Well...fed heads as the game was for what was called e-fedding) gave me the following criticism: He basically said that I wrote too many characters into the RPs to help my story along. He basically said that the characters I added at that time were more “crutches” than anything that added to the story I was telling in the RP and its something I never forgot. Its why if you find any of my fics on FF.net ,here or AO3 I try to condense the # of characters that appear so as not to just blatantly pad the story with characters that are unnecessary. Now this argument CAN be made “Well putting in STARISH makes sense in ‘Revolutions’ because they would face QN at the Triple S AND they would help the story out.” Alright I’ll accept that BUT I think this needs to be said too for maybe the “Innocent Wind” episode and NEVER it actually worked out. I can’t remember the involvement of Masa or Ren in Ran’s and we already know that with Cecil it was just showcasing the conflict between Cecil and Camus. Literally that whole episode felt like it was more about Cecil going off about how Camus was treating Nanami and only when she said that she had agreed to it did he kind of go “...oh” (BTW I must point this out that I actually LIKE Cecil as a character but that episode felt like it showcased him way more than it should have IMHO.) The point I am trying to make here is that for this season when the writers HAD to do something they found a way to wedge in the STARISH boys no matter if the episode SHOULD have had more of their influence or not. I can’t say that this is when I started to take “issue” with the group because I don’t have one but this was something I noticed in the writing and it drove me friggin’ nuts! Season 4 though...holy hell! Here is why I get genuinely annoyed a lot of the time and I kind of discussed it earlier but I want to go full on here. A writer’s job is to make you give a fuck...period! If you don’t give one fuck about something guess what happens? You don’t and then you find a way to either directly or passively dismiss it! This season was a case of something going wrong in the writing and they didn’t know how to fix it. Here is basically what the writers knew 1. There would be 7 duet singles and 3 group singles 2. There would be 2 episodes prior to the duet project and 3 between Next Door and when the Triple S is getting ready to stary These were like the two main things in the entire meeting...now how do you think they are supposed to work off of this? Well the writers knew one other thing “Since Season 2 only 2 groups have been active for almost the duration of the season. We need to keep this up but we also need to keep one of our more popular acts (as we would find out later that would be QN in real life) in the conscience of the viewer” So now let’s figure out how this puzzle was going to go STARISH and HEAVENS had the duet songs BUT at some point members of QN would show up give their Juniors a pep talk. Now I have no issue with this because of the fact that QN were still the Seniors that STARISH answered to but at the same time I always thought about the whole “HEAVENS’ role is to make STARISH better” thing and it always made me wonder “Then what is QN’s job?!” Well it also made me think about this (and this is more recent) “So if HEAVENS’ job is to ‘Make STARISH better’ then whom is the group that is supposed to make HEAVENS better?!” Now a weird twist in this question came recently when they announced the “Shuffle Units” because you have in some cases a 1-1-1 situation where its 1 QN member 1 STARISH member 1 HEAVENS member This works...the problem comes when its either 1 STARISH to 2 HEAVENS or the other way around. My thing though is for the groups that have the one QN member is their job now to try and teach HEAVENS to help then get good enough TO BEAT STARISH at some point or what is the purpose behind this? Cos really the issue is that by having a unit where you have either 2 HEAVENS or 2 STARISH in one there is going to be a problem where you know that one part of the fandom is gonna wait to watch the other fuck up...that’s all this is becoming if we’re really brutally and thoroughly honest. This actually would bring me back to the beginning of this long af post “What would be est for HEAVENS (and their fans)?” If we are being brutally honest To be left the f**k alone! Here is what I mean by this It is clear in the western fandom there ware a lot of people that don’t like ,haven’t liked AND WILL NEVER LIKE HEAVENS and that’s fine...at this point I’ve all but given up on some of you because you can’t be talked to about the positives because the negative is what you see...fine! So here is what I ask in return If you see that HEAVENS fans are genuinely pissed off about something that they heard that they might not be happy about stay in YOUR LANE unless you want to be a bit more positive about them to that person cos really if we’re honest...its been 2 years and we western fans the only content we genuinely get to see is what the fans in Japan and Korea do. How often does anybody even THINK about the fact that HEAVENS has had their birthdays announced and yet I think there is me and one other person that has done stuff for them because they are members of a group that isn’t popular on here and I get it. I think honest to god most of their popularity at this time comes from Twitter (and when I do my fics with them as central figures because I rarely see anyone else do them). I’ll end like this What would be best for HEAVENS and their fanbase is acceptance after the group (as a whole) has been around for about 6 years (3 as a 7 member currently) and the support of the rest of the fandom. Otherwise please...if you see we are upset about something and you can’t help the situation please just leave us alone because we are tired and we just want them to be happy...that’s not too much to ask is it? Later friends

#Amisbro #Deep Dive #HEAVENS #UtaPri #all we want for Christmas and the new year is acceptance #can we get that finally Santa?

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