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horrorisunknowntoyou · 1 year

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Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem! Artist-Reader [Tattoos]

A/n: This is technically a part two but it's not needed to read this. Also ooc Simon maybe? Idk but I'm here to supply wholesome fics for my fellow fluff enjoyers.

Also c/n = codename

Credit to @punkwrld for this idea. They commented this on my other post. This is a more wholesome approach to it.

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So it was a known fact you can draw within the task force at this point.

From mindlessly doodling or staring at things that caught your attention or the huge folder of save pictures and photos in your phone.

It was obvious at this point.

Simon knew since he looked through your sketchbook when you accidentally left it on a bench.

Since then, he would sometimes watch you draw or give you little requests, mostly of soap in dumb shit. But that's fine.

But one day one of his requests caught you off guard.

You sat on a table, it was your free time and you had pieces of paper on the table, scribbling random things that you consider interesting or whatever idea stuck in your head. As you draw, you hear footsteps behind you and see a shadow blocking over you. A hand gently places on your shoulder as they soon sits besides you on the bench.

Simon left whatever he was doing to join you at the table to watch you draw.

"y/n"

"yes?"

"I want you to do something for me. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Depends, what request do you have this time?"

He thinks about it before his glove hand gently taps on the paper, " I want you to design a tattoo for me, of a skull and your codename. "

The pencil stopped, and you turn at him, surprised at his request.

"w-wha? Are you sure? I know you like my art, but that's permanent Simon."

"yes I'm sure, why else am I asking you."

You just sat there, " umm I get that, but like I said it's permanent and I don't think my art is that good. I can give you ideas and basic stencil but a finish idea? I don't know."

All he replied with was a hum.

After much thought, you flipped to a new piece of paper, you set the pencil down and faced him. You gently grabbed his arm much to his surprised, inspecting it, trying to guess where he would want to add it. Your face close to his, focus at the task.

"Will it be on the arm that already has tattoos or a different place?"

Simon was just staring at her before answering her question. " Same arm."

"hmm, okay...I get it." She then faces the paper as she starts to work on rough ideas.

Based on previous tattoos Simon's has, and his requests. Black and white, it has to have a skull and some reference to your code name.

It took ALOT of debriefing and rough ideas to get a design you liked.

You want to make sure, it works well with his other tattoos and the placement is right on him.

He could tell you were focused on this as you barely talked during the drawing process. And at the end stages he wasn't allowed to see it until you thought it was perfect.

He was pretty happy at the design at the end.

And when it came the day to actually get it inked, you were nervous. He reassured it's fine.

He let you come along to watch. He wasn't even faze with the pain. In his words he said "It tickles."

Most of time, you mainly talked to the tattoo artist over art related things and Simon stayed quiet.

He wasn't a jealous man but, he was definitely watching how excited you got with the artist.

Did he understand the conversation? No.

But overall it was a pleasant time, and once it was done, it looked really good on him. You were so excited over it.

Simon stared at it on the mirror, silently taking it in as now a part of you was on him.

And that comforted him.

As the tattoo artist wrapped it up so it can heal you sat on the chair looking through folders curiously at the lettering and designs.

" Simon, maybe next time I'll get something based off you tattooed on me. I don't know maybe something cheesy like ' I love you' in your hand writing or something. "

"Is that so?" Simon replies, " maybe I should too."

" you just got one! Wait until that one heals or something! " You closed the folder in hand, setting it aside back to the bookcase.

Once it was healed, Simon didn't show it off to others, even Soap. But you knew he adores it. He was still same old him but you swore, you heard him say your name is a happier tune.

Oh and at home, he still wears his hoodies but sometimes you'll catch him in tank tops or shirtless staring at the tattoo.

Overall you did a good job and Simon seems a little more brighter then before.

A/n: my oc's codename is raven so my Headcanon is he has a skull and raven on him. also fun fact, I have a tattoo on my wrist. It didn't hurt a lot but it.

Also I'm so sorry if this is bad.

#ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #call of duty x reader #simon riley x you #ghost imagine

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earlyspringtranscendence · 9 months

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ok i made this post already but tumblr ate it and also it started to get far more in depth than i intended so perhaps it is good i’m redoing it with better formatting. anyway is anyone else deeply unwell about mjf and dax harwood meeting in the ring again for what (iirc, but my brain don’t work too good) is essentially the first time since the pinnacle break up or is it just me. it’s about the devotion. it’s about changing when a beloved can’t change alongside you. and THEN it’s about a whole lot of twitter drama

i think what has always gotten to me about max and dax (and specifically them, though mjftr in general is of course a large part of this and also something i’m crazy about) is how during the pinnacle days dax was part of mjf’s family and max was part of his. ftr stood in a position of higher standing than wardlow, sure, but their relative normalcy in the friendship they had with max is what made him so utterly devoted to them in a way that is truly painful to see especially now when comparing it to the whole mjf + adam cole tag team.

something that stuck out to me in that bit where they’re playing video games is when max says he’s never played multiplayer cause he’s never had friends, but the pinnacle was like... beyond anything he’s been a part of since. i think what has come closest before adam was the specific twitter relationship btwn mjf and bestsmileinthebusiness lee moriarty (remember when they were firmly flirting with each other on twit? god those were the days) but then i’m also sensitive about the pinnacle so this is like besides the point

anyway, there wasn’t dead much going on with ftr in the pinnacle and part of that is of course their recent arrival to aew and them coming into their own as wrestlers with more creative freedom than they had been afforded before. they were cast as heels because that’s what they had always been and as such is what the audience expected and what made the transition go along smoothly, but as always with wrestling you gotta pick and choose where the line btwn kayfabe and reality lies and for now i’m gonna focus all my attention on the fictional because while all that is interesting from an irl perspective, it’s got fuck all to do with the emotions i’m feeling towards these crazy kids

regardless, when max has a new friend he will do anything to keep that friend. the only line he has never crossed in friendship is the one where he trusts the other person. an interesting dichotomy in the character of mjf to me has always been how easily he subjugates himself and humiliates himself (in the eyes of toxic masculinity, ykwim) to please one of his baser instincts (winning, saving face, love) and it’s something he did with ftr a lot by the end

i’ve been thinking about that one interview he did with barstool where ftr come in at the end and it’s awkward because it’s in the stage of separation before the eventual breakup. cash is all smiles and happy to be there, max is praising them both like nothing else and dax is... starting to get a little bit annoyed. he’s bothered. something’s rubbing him just a little bit wrong.

(this already is like sending me into a spiral but thats neither here nor there)

(cash is pointing at max here btw, i couldn’t get the screenie quite right)

this subtle thing is so important to me. cash’s persona during this period (and for the most part it still is) is so like laid back. he follows whatever dax wants to do but only because he’s sort of just good with whatever. even in this video there’s an element of refereeing or messenger boy-ing he’s doing between his friend and his other half that’s so dynamic to watch. (also it doesn’t hurt that the angle of the camera cuts off dax’s eyes so you only see his slightly defensive seeming posture towards max. it’s something i’m reading too deeply into by far but it’s something that does, like, enhance this experience for me)

(yt subtitles are wrong, he said heat not hate but like. whatevs) in this bit dax thinks brandon’s talking abt dax towards himself and he’s quick to interject, but when it’s clarified he’s talking about mjf there’s a considering look and a bit of a grimace. anyone else going crazy or is it just me

DAX SAYS THIS SO QUICKLY. HE SNAPS TO THIS SO QUICKLY. I’M CRAZY ABOUT THIS DYNAMIC

ok we have to move on from this because i still have so much to cover

i wanna talk about the second part of my motivation for caring so deeply about these two and that’s the ‘changing and being spitting mad a beloved isn’t changing alongside you’. beloved may have been a big word, i’ll allow for that, but please do recall that ftr are the ones who loudly proclaims that mjf is their family in pinnacle promos

thank you cash for making me absolutely insane i appreciate it now onto dax

i refuse to be normal about them.

anyway this disgust that ftr started showing once the pinnacle fell apart (and, crucially, punk became their bezzie) because they started turning face (due in part to the wardlow sitch, the other part, you guessed it, punk) and max couldn’t follow them there is in such dire opposition to this that it feels real. like i’m a mark and all but like it feels really genuine. the (learned) masculine inclination to turn to anger rather than sadness when someone disappoints you.

then max, you know, left us hanging for a veritable fucking age and in the meantime this all happened (bear in mind that more than this happened this was just what i could bear to actually reblog bc i’m not joking i’m like genuinely very unwell about this group it made me feel like so upset when it happened so you know. this isn’t the absolute worst of the worst it’s just what i could bear):

(ngl i thought i had a little more than just this post saved but they were talking supreme shit and i guess my fragile self wasn’t having it. good on me for knowing boundaries. anyway you get the idea tho, this was all happening and there was general mjf smacktalk all while mjf couldn’t respond to it because he was on his little getaway getting built as fuck)

and this:

(post found here, idk what this is from originally) you see what i mean too though about cash being this benevolent, laid back bystander and dax being angry. what’s that sentiment about being angry because you care?

what this all boils down to at long last after many paragraphs of me making very little points is this: next saturday at collision mjf is going to be doing his shit with adam cole and ftr is going to be husbands as all get, but i don’t care about any of that in the face of this final showdown between dax and max, even if i know, in my brain and my heart, that none of this will even be all that relevant to the story anymore. pour one out.

(and also final disclaimer i’ve never actually heard of any like shoot nonsense btwn these two and i’m Preddy sure this is all just part of the narrative, but i could be wrong. if anything btwn them is real well that’s none of my business and they shouldn’t have put it on the internet then. i mean im mostly kidding but if it’s real obviously disregard this reading of that situation)

#ftr #dax harwood #mjf #mjftr #sorry about all this. it's just that i have problems in my brain.

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shinitai-sama · 1 year

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Yumichika’s Underrated (and unique) Character: Beast in Beauty’s clothing.

First appearance:

We get to know Yumichika at the chapter 96 of the manga. From that moment, he is set as a simple minor character.

“Minor character. A minor character is usually a character who's not the protagonist or one of the main supporting characters or secondary characters. They usually have a relatively small role and often only appear for a few scenes. But even if they aren't on stage for very long, minor characters can have a big impact on the story.“

Besides the filler episodes of the anime, we can only get to see him if he’s either following Ikkaku or Kenpachi, as the typical “puppy character”. He is there to fight the one that Ikkaku won’t because the opponents are weaker, to watch him fight or take care of something else as Ikkaku does all the hard work.

We do get a lot more of Minor Characters on bleach and mostly all of them have, at least, some sort of backstory. In comparison, we don’t really have much information about him as we have from other minor characters and at first sight he’s not crucial for the plot.

So, what makes Yumichika so special and different from everyone else? I’ve been wondering for some time now, why is Yumichika in the 11th division if he’s so different from the rest of his comrades? We know that there, people only like to fight. But we got to see multiple times that the 5th seat is the only one who actually does the work, he even cares about his appearance almost more than fighting.

Said that, why is Yumichika, a feminine male character (Who are most of the time viewed and written as a joke) on the strongest squad of the Gotei 13?

First, we’re going to get a look at his first fight.

First battle:

Yumichika’s first fight happened when he was still viewed as an antagonist and his worst traits had the focus on the audience: Some random dude obsessed with beauty who says some cruel and sadistic stuff to one of Ichigo’s allies. Besides, as I said before, male characters with femenine traits are viewed not only as a joke but as disgusting (Let's remember that Bleach’s first episode was in 2001 and Japan isn’t the most friendly country with non-manly-men who actually take showers).

This is, mostly, a comedy relief fight while we see the main one between Ichigo and Ikkaku; in contrast, Yumichika vs Ganju isn’t really a proper fight, Ayasegawa just follows Ganju around and falls on his silly tricks over and over again until he’s defeated by a firework.

But, as a Yumichika starved fan, I could rescue some content from this. That is, we got to know Yumichika’s only weak spot in the entire series: Ikkaku.

That might be some irrelevant thing, based on Yumichika’s existence is only Ikkaku because he’s his minor character, a mere shadow to not leave Ikkaku alone on his important scenes, right? Wrong, but that comes later.

Let’s focus on this first. The fight was almost comical, Ganju and Yumichika running in circles, getting lost in the process, falling on a hole full of garbage bags; but at the mere mention that Ikkaku lost, Yumichika seems to turn on a completely different character. He loses his composure, that could be taken as just a normal thing for newer viewers, but after finishing the manga for the 10th time I can’t let this fact go unperceived.

Yumichika starts fighting for real, looking almost feral and with ugly expressions that he doesn’t normally make since he’s obsessed with his looks. There, you can understand why he is a part of the 11th division (But there’s more).

That is, also, an important fact regarding his and Ikkaku’s past. Where they would normally walk around looking for the strongest ones to fight.

What we learned here is; Yumichika knows how to fight dirty, and he doesn’t lose a single second in seriously attacking his opponent when he thinks that Ikkaku is in danger. That kinda resembles Kenpachi, who says that he doesn’t fight with all his strength from the beginning because otherwise he wouldn’t get to enjoy the fight and get fun, because it would end too early, too boring.

Second battle:

We already know that Yumichika is, in fact, part of the 11th squad. But we still have more doubts left: Why is he so different from everyone else there?

If you’re a fan of Bleach, you probably know by now that every dumb detail on this anime has sense, you get an explanation for every thing that happens. So what is Yumichika’s reason to be an unusual character with femenine traits, obsessed with beauty and fashion, who is also a part of the 11th division but also enjoys killing people? (Sounding not correlative at all).

And, most important, why is he so relevant even though his entire life is just Ikkaku?

On his fight with Hisagi, Yumichika talks about that a little. This takes place in chapter 139 and 147 of the manga. Here, Hisagi mentions that a 5th place can’t even win against a Co-lieutenant.

We do know that Ikkaku is the second strongest men on the 11th division, and the only reason why he isn’t lieutenant is because Yachiru has that place (If you finished the manga, you probably know why); and Yumichika didn’t say that he couldn’t achieve the 3rd place, he just mentions that Ikkaku took it, making it seem as it’s not really about power balance. Him and Ikkaku have, or almost have, the same amount of strength.

That makes Yumichika, also, an almost Lieutenant if we speak about power.

And he is not even training his real powers (Remember this for later); later on, Yumichika shows his true form to Hisagi, but we don’t get to see it until the White Invasion.

I said before that the reason for him being in a lower position than Ikkaku is not power imbalance. He is fighting with an arm besides his back, he always has been since him and Madarame have been friends from the beginning, therefore he probably hasn’t even trained his true powers because he’s afraid of Ikkaku sensing his reiatsu.

That almost makes pieces fall together in place: He is different from everyone on the 11th division because he’s the only one with a Kidou Zanpakuto, but he feels as he belongs there, therefore he hides his true self so he can be at Ikkaku’s and Kenpachi’s side, even if that means never achieving Bankai.

Yumichika not only loves his own pride, not only cares about what other think despite his narcissistic personality, but he also must love fight if that means he’s always wining with a half-released Zanpakuto, making every battle last longer than it should because he’s having fun.

One-sided pinning:

This far, we already know more about Yumichika. At this point is even a liked character for most of the viewer audience and even a comedy relief when he’s at Rangiku’s side; we also see him as a part of the 11th division and it’s been a while since we have seen him actually struggling in the first two fights.

On the chapter 202 of the manga, during the arrancar invasion. Bleach takes a more defeated turn where everyone learns that their power isn’t enough to fight Aizen and, therefore, to save the world and his loved ones in the process.

During this fight, Yumichika is once again spectating as one of the viewers while he takes care of Keigo. On his personal plot, I see this fight as one approaching the point of no return, but we’re not quite there yet.

As we know already, Ikkaku is Yumichika’s weak spot, that’s why he doesn’t want him knowing the true identity of his powers. In this battle, we know a little bit more about their dynamic, as Yumichika tells Keigo that they have some sort of agreement where they have prohibited to help each other in a fight, saying that if he dies during a battle, he’ll be proud of him.

This thing seemed a little odd for me; even as a part of the 11th division, why would you let someone so strong die? Also, remembering the first battle of Yumichika vs Ganju, why would Yumichika react so strongly to Ikkaku’s potential death if he’s so chill about letting his best friend die?

But nothing happens during this, we get to see Ikkaku getting his ass kicked and Yumichika talking on the phone in an oddly relaxed tone, saying to make the preparations for Madarame’s funeral, as if he has accepted his death already and he’s fine with it (Except, he’s not).

That doesn’t make sense, not even for Yumichika’s wolf-in-sheeps-clothes character. As the battle goes on, Ikkaku summons his Bankai and that’s where everything makes sense (For now).

Yumichika is not okay with Ikkaku’s death besides having accepted that agreement, who would be, if his plot is always revolving around him? But they both were hiding their true powers due to similar reasons: Yumichika didn't want to be rejected and Ikkaku didn’t want to leave the squad because of the empty captain spots; and even though Yumichika is an hypocrite, or at least his character has a lot of contrasts that shouldn’t make sense together but somehow they do, he accepts if Ikkaku wants to die for the same reason as him: his pride.

Point of no return: “Beauty is solitary”

During the White Invasion, Yumichika has to defend one of the fourth pillars protecting Karakura city along Ikkaku, Hisagi and Kira. I see his battle against Charlotte (Episode 319 of the manga) as a point of no return on Yumichika’s character.

First, they’re presented as mirror characters.

“Mirror characters are used for a similar purpose. They tend to share several qualities and are used to complement and highlight each other's traits. Common mirror characters embark on parallel plots, sometimes to achieve a single goal, which tests them and highlights their traits in different ways”

But that is highly debatable, even though they do share a common goal and several qualities such as obsessive beauty, we can hardly see them alike during the fight. Charlotte’s beauty is more prominent, exaggerated and doesn’t lose a single second in trying to show off. At the same time, Yumichika shows off his beauty because he can’t show his powers and strength without limiting himself due to his pride; he doesn’t even use Fuki-Kujaku until seconds after the end of the battle.

Yes they are, at some point, mirror characters. But at the same time, they’re foils.

“Foil Definition. In literature, a foil is a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character. The objective is to highlight the traits of the other character.”

The first Chapter of the fight is titled “Beauty is so solitary” and that will make sense in just a minute. On the battle, Yumichika is losing without looking much affected by it, he is angry, but he doesn’t show the kind of feral-angry that he should even knowing that his death will mean that one of the pillars broke.

Almost at the end of the fight, Charlotte shows what it seems to be his most powerful technique, leaving him and Yumichika both alone in some kind of alter-dimension; a black sphere made of briars that doesn’t let other people even sense the spiritual pressure of the ones inside it.

At first, “Beauty is so solitary” resembled Charlotte; meaning his beauty was so unique that only he could truly understand and appreciate it. But now, it takes a completely different turn. “Beauty is so solitary” meaning Yumichika being trapped in a place where nobody can see him, where he can show his true beauty only when he’s alone.

That is why his beauty is solitary, and why he is so different from the rest of the 11th squad, he is meant to be different because otherwise it wouldn’t be solitary, he’d completely fit in.

Yumichika reacted automatically, releasing the true power of his Zanpakuto. But unlike with Hisagi’s battle, we can actually see how his power are this time.

We also get a explanation on why he can have two Shikais; that being him calling his Zanpakuto “Ruri-iro Kujaku” as a true name.

瑠璃色孔雀 = Azure peacock, being azure his zanpakuto’s hair (and more prominent) color on his humanized form.

He says his sword hates the color light-purple (More specifically wisteria) so when Yumichika calls “Fuji-Kujaku” only does half of its Shikai, the multiple blades showing what it should be vines.

Fuji-Kujaku = Wisteria peacock. And, funny fact, wisteria is the color of Yumichika’s eyes.

Here Yumichika explains how the victim dies once the flowers bloom. His true Shikai is so strong that Charlotte later asks if that was his Bankai; besides that, Yumichika can actually eat the flowers and consume his enemy’s powers by doing that. Each one of the flowers representing a fraction of their powers.

So, if Yumichika would actually train and use his Shikai on every battle, he’d soon become a Reiatsu monster in just a few battles. Yumichika is not only risking his own life by keeping his powers by himself, he sacrifices his Bankai (Why would he want to achieve a Kidou one anyway), he sacrifices his strength (Even if he’s part of the 11th division where being strong is kinda the main goal).

He also says he would have sacrificed his own life if Charlotte didn’t show him that technique. And all that is just for his squad, mainly Kenpachi and, most important, Ikkaku.

Yumichika’s weakness:

I said multiple times that Yumichika’s only weakness is Ikkaku, and I will say it again. The previous scene about him planning his funeral takes a different turn now.

It did seem that Yumichika was accepting that Ikkaku and him had the same destiny: dying because of denying the use of their true powers. But the last few times Ikkaku was in true danger, Yumichika’s reaction was far from accepting.

Even if he was accepting his own death and he would be gone if it wasn't for Charlotte’s technique, when we see that Ikkaku’s pillar got destroyed…

In the anime he goes as far as trying to attack Hisagi, telling Yumichika that he’ll lose too if Ikkaku loses in the first place. Once again, Yumichika lost it completely just for the fact that Ikkaku lost (He is not dead and he recovers consciousness two seconds after the first frame).

Sadly, they sedate Yumichika so we don’t get any answer as to why this happened. We do know that is completely different from the time where Ikkaku showed his Bankai, but what happened in the middle?

I, unfortunately, can’t answer that. We did see them together many times when the invasion was going, they lived together with Keigo some time, but there was nothing plot-related that could send Yumichika on a rage tantrum; maybe that time he just knew that Ikkaku was going to use his Bankai and that’s why it’s the only time on the entire series where he doesn’t lost his composure at Ikkaku’s safety.

And, in the Quincy Blood War, it happened again.

When Bambinetta was about to explode Ikkaku’s head, she didn’t even get to touch him for more than a fraction of second before Yumichika this time stepped on the fight and broke their agreement of “We mustn't help each other”.

Only, this time, Ikkaku seemed to help Yumichika too, pushing him away with his sword when Yumichika pretended to block an attack with Kidou. So maybe after some years they both agreed that their promise to not help each-other wasn’t worth keeping anymore, but that’s just speculation.

Once again, Yumichika lost his brains when Toshirou attacked Ikkaku. Which is surprising, because on the Quincy arc we do get to see that Yumichika got smarter, being now on the 3rd seat and being able to read his enemies just a second in the fight. But when things are about Ikkaku, he just stops thinking.

Sadly, Toshiro knocked him out before he could release his true Shikai so we didn’t get to see him in action again after Charlotte’s fight.

Is subtle development enough?:

I am still upset that we didn’t get to see Yumichika releasing his true powers in front of everyone and his plot stayed the same. But we do got some Yumi character development on the Quincy Blood War.

Now, Yumichika acts more assertive, smarter and faster than before which is… Not surprising, but at the same time, we are in a shonen where characters usually don’t think before they act (Goodbye to all the Bankais of those who didn’t use their brain in this war). The Gotei 13 is showed as “not strong enough” during this arc, but somehow Yumichika is once again different from everyone else, since he seems to have gotten better, because his “beauty is solitary”.

For example: on their fight with Giselle, he discovers her stupidly fast.

The same happened with Bambinetta.

And he actually uses Kidou now, that’s why it was so disappointing to see that they didn’t do much plot-development for him. Maybe they’re saving Yumichika’s power for the Hell Arc, I hope, because otherwise they would be throwing an amazing and underrated character to the trash.

Anyway, that’s everything I have on the subject. Feel free to comment if I forgot about any details + theories you have :)

#bleach #meta #bleach meta #yumichika ayasegawa #madarame ikkaku #ayasegawa yumichika #ikkaku madarame #bleach analysis #bleach character analysis #bleach theory #literature analysis #bleach tybw #someone make an ova only about yumi

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writer-haley-e · 1 month

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I saw some other people doing a WIP questionnaire and I decided to join in and do it. No one tagged me to do this, I’m just doing it cause I want to.

I’m answering for my NaNoWriMo WIP (camp nanowrimo’s tomorrow! Anyone else participating?) which is a post-apocalyptic tragic fantasy where magic was released into the world causing mass death across the world. The MC, Nia, takes in a small horde of children and struggles to keep them fed and cared for while they’re also dealing with a magical world they know nothing about.

Now onto the questions:

1. What was the first part of your WIP that you created?

I first created the ending, which I can’t say without spoiling the story. But it’s a tragedy, and I thought of the ending that makes it a tragedy before any of the characters or worldbuilding or plot.

2. If your WIP was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

I have no idea, but it’s probably be something gentle-ish that reflects the more wholesome/lighthearted bits of the story.

3. Who are your favorite characters you’ve made? Why?

I really like the main characters brother, Andy, who in draft two will be getting his own POV! I know so much more about his character than what’s currently written into the story and I love him so much haha. He’s the kind of guy who always has snacks on him, though you probably won’t notice until he starts eating them. He’s got a girlfriend and baby daughter who he’s so sweet with and I will definitely be showing more of their relationship when I add in his POV to the story. Hes an extrovert who loves to make friends with as many people as he can, and is very ambitious. He does what he can to help others, and despite some of the things he does in the story and before it, he’s a pretty good guy.

I also love two of the child characters that the main character is taking care of, too. I didn’t portray them exactly how I liked in the first draft and will be fixing that in the rewrite. I love who I’m intending them to be haha. Theyre five year old twins, named Anna and Adam, and they’re pretty much always seen beside each other. Most likely because of anxiety after losing all the rest of their family outside their older sister. Anna ends up getting a power that impacts the whole end of the story and I feel bad for the weight she has to carry.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fanbase for your story?

I’m not really sure about specific media’s, but people who enjoy the genres fantasy and tragedy would enjoy it, as well as post-apocalypse fans.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Sticking to it to finish the first draft probably. I’m so close and I’m not letting myself put it on hiatus, especially because I really want to read the finished product. I enjoy reading my writing, but I have such a hard time finishing anything. I’m maybe 20k words away from finishing this first draft and I will get it done during camp Nanowrimo! Hopefully, at least.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

There are a handful of chickens and goats, but they’re not very interesting. Just another source of food for the characters. There are mythical creatures, who may not count as animals but are pretty cool! Not to the characters, though. The mythical creatures are just more things to fear and struggle to live alongside.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Walking or cars, typically. It hasn’t been so long since most of the world died and the gas is still usable, so they make use of it.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on rn?

I’m about two scenes away from act 3! Probably about 20k from the end and I’m excited to get it written! It’s the part I’ve been looking forward to writing since the beginning stages of planning.

9. What aspects of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

Probably the focus on non-romantic relationships. There’s some found family as well as reconnecting with biological family and friendships and all that. The main character does not have a love story, it’s not a romance. But the connections with the other characters are very important and I hope readers will enjoy it as much as I do.

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

I hope to get it published one day, and have some kind of audience reading it. I genuinely think it will be an amazing story once finished, and I just want a few other people to think so too.

#this story is called For All We Can’t Do #I started it for NaNoWriMo and will finish it for camp NaNoWriMo #I can’t wait for it to be finished completely so I can read and enjoy it haha #I haven’t finished a non-fanfic full-length novel yet so I’m excited!#writerblr #writing #writing community #writer #writblr #writeblr #writers #nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #WIP #WIP Questionnaire

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aeoki · 1 year

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Ghostic: Prologue

Location: ES Halloween Stage (fine) Characters: Touri, Shinobu, Mao & Yuzuru Season: Autumn Writer: Seitarou Kino (Happy Elements) & Akira

Yuzuru: (Ahh, what a disgrace.)

(I, Yuzuru Fushimi, have made a mistake of a lifetime. At this rate, the Young Master will be in danger…!)

Touri: Help me…

Yuzuru: Young Master…!

I’m over here! Where are you? Young Master!

Touri: ………

Yuzuru: Oh, thank goodness. You were over here. I’m relieved to see you’re unhurt.

Touri: ………

Yuzuru: The Young Master’s eyes are lifeless…

Yuzuru: As I thought my hunch was correct – there is something “bad” in this haunted house.

I should have been more cautious if I had known this would happen.

There is an evil haunting this mansion. Among the evil ghosts, there is–

< A few days ago. >

< The latter half of October. On a certain day preparing for “Halloween Party”. >

Location: Student Council Room

Mao: ...*Phew* Good job, guys!

I wasn’t sure if we could finish in the beginning, but it looks like most of the paperwork for ES’ collaboration has been completed.

I think the management for “Halloween Party” has gotten a lot easier.

Yuzuru, thanks for getting in touch with Tenshouin-senpai too.

Yuzuru: No need to thank me, I was already having difficulty with this year’s “Halloween Party”.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been I, a member of “fine”, to request Eichi-sama’s assistance. I’m terribly sorry.

Mao: No no. It feels kinda wrong of us to contact a senior who’s graduated already. I didn’t want him to think I’m unreliable, so you’re not in the wrong at all, Yuzuru.

Anyway, it really helped that Hasumi-senpai got wind of our troubles and negotiated ES’ joint sponsorship with Tenshouin-senpai.

Thanks to him, we’ve cleared the issue of not having enough performance venues at the school. All that’s left is to focus on our own “units”.

Touri: Yeah, you really got lucky~ It’s all thanks to Hasumi-senpai negotiating with Eichi-sama that we get to have Halloween with ES.

You guys better be grateful for Eichi-sama’s generosity~

Mao: Hey, you’re also a member of the Student Council, so he technically helped you out too, you know?

Oh well. Either way, I should be thankful to a graduated senior who helped us with our unexpected troubles.

Shinobu: Yup. He truly is a “helping hand” ~de gozaru. Thanks to him, I think I can meet up with “RYUUSEITAI” earlier than expected for our Halloween activities.

I’m happy to see that everyone else can also meet up with their “units” ~de gozaru ♪

Mao: Everyone else but me in “Trickstar” is working really hard, so it just feels like I’m just dropping in at the last minute, though.

If I remember correctly, Tenshouin-senpai’s in charge of the event for “fine”, right?

Touri: Yup. We’re leaving ES to Eichi-sama.

Both me and Yuzuru were helping out with the planning up until halfway, but Eichi-sama told us we should prioritise Yumenosaki Academy, and I thought what he said was very true.

Besides, we don’t have to worry since Eichi-sama has created so many successful events already. That’s why we decided it’d be best for him and Hibiki-senpai to go ahead with the preparations.

Fufu, if there’s anything worth worrying about, then I guess it might be the fact that Eichi-sama is feeling lonely because I’m not there with him~♪

Yuzuru: It’s too early to relax, Young Master.

Seeing as Eichi-sama and Hibiki-sama are working on the preparations for Halloween in advance means we must work harder than them, or else we may not make it in time.

Touri: I know~ Sheesh, you always notice the small things, Yuzuru.

Besides, I’m always super motivated, you know?

You saw Eichi-sama’s proposal, too, right? They’re doing a grand haunted house at ES!

A difficult lesson is nothing compared to that ♪

Mao: A haunted house? That sounds pretty complicated~

Shinobu: As expected of Tenshouin-dono. His ideas are on a whole different level ~de gozaru.

Touri: I know, right? No one can even stand close to Eichi-sama’s planning skills ♪

Anyway, we’ve reached a good stopping point in our Student Council work, so let’s go to ES. Yuzuru?

Sorry, but “fine” is gonna be the main attraction of Halloween this year! Take care not to get buried in the ground~♪

Mao: Haha, he sure seems energetic~ His footsteps look so light ♪

Yuzuru: I apologise for my Young Master’s rudeness, Isara-sama, Sengoku-sama.

Shinobu: No, it’s fine. I feel motivated watching Touri-kun too.

“RYUUSEITAI” doesn’t have the same funds as “fine”, but we’ll liven up Halloween as a familiar presence ~de gozaru!

Yuzuru: Thank you for your kind words.

But the Young Master’s movements seemed oddly light. I was sure he would have been frustrated not being able to have a say in “fine’s” plans up until now, due to his position as a member of the Student Council.

…Or so I had thought, but this is not the time to be sharing what’s on my mind. If I were to leave the Young Master on his own, I’m sure he may carelessly hurt himself.

I shall take my leave as well. May you all enjoy the rest of your evening.

Mao: Yeah, you too.

Sengoku, you can leave too. Your “RYUUSEITAI” members are waiting at ES, right?

I’m planning on practising at school, so I’ll lock the student council room.

Shinobu: Thank you for being so considerate. Then, I shall go as well ~de gozaru.

Trick or Treat – I’ll do my best so that I can make everyone happy on the big day…☆

Mao: Haha. They all left like baby spiders. They must have all been itching to participate in the Halloween activities.

Alright. I’ll take a break from student council work and get the Halloween spirit going as an idol!

Wait for me, “Trickstar”...☆

Next Chapter →

#enstars #enstars translation #ghostic

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slide-s · 1 year

Text

꒰⠀⠀⠀⠀hwang hyunjin. twenty-three. cis man. he/him.⠀⠀⠀⠀꒱ hold your f*** horses ! jonathan “jonnie” yoon has just been spotted walking into revolution headquarters. they are best known for being the drummer in glow and have been signed with the label for two years. they share a lot of interesting things about life in the music industry on their social media, so make sure you don’t forget to follow them at @jonniedrums. fans know them for being laidback but i swear they’ve got a sharp-tongued side as well. maybe that explains why they’re always associated with unbuttoned shirts on stage, glazed over eyes, and feet kicked up on the table. stan twitter even voted them most likely to wear flip flops in the middle of winter. we’ll see how they live up to that reputation.

hi ! i'm chase and i do just want to say before i get into this intro that i am super rusty .. i haven't rped in about four years and have also not been on tumblr in about two years on top of that, so please be patient with me when it comes to this new layout and relearning everything 🙏 anyways ! down below is a little bit about jonnie's background and personality, plus some plots !

background.

u can check out his stats page for more random tidbits 🫡

hates being called jonathan first and foremost .. his bandmates are probably the only ones who get that luxury unless ur trying to piss him off 🤚

jonnie grew up in new york city, he was born to a mother who was better off as a single mom considering his father was an abusive shitbag.

besides the obvious Daddy Issues, his mother was as good of a mother as she could've been for him. she worked multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

however, because of that, she wasn't home much and jonnie wanted to spend as little time as he could with his father. this meant he spent a lot of free time at his neighborhood's community center where he hung out with kids older than him that introduced him to The Cool Kid™️ music. this is where his passion for music really took off.

at age 10 he began to fuck around on the center's rickety old drum kit and would perform for anyone who would listen. of course he wasn't good, but that never stopped him. music and learning it was an escape and freedom he'd never felt before and that was something he realized he didn't want to give up.

as he aged, he spent less and less time at home. enough to the point he was even estranged from his mother whom he loved more than anyone else.

personally, he never found anything wrong with it, he wanted freedom from a place he wasn't safe in, so by the time he was 16, he was completely moved out of his parents' place and couch surfing through his friends for the remaining years of high school.

school wasn't necessarily his strong suit, he wasn't Bad per say, but he just had a huge lack of focus because as a teenager struggling to stay afloat without any support, there was a lot more on his mind than doing the best he could. which basically means he didn't apply himself nearly as much as he probably should have.

despite the lack of any sort of structure or support in his life, he still managed to somehow weasel his way into university .. but only for a year or so before he dropped out, realizing pursuing something that wasn't music never felt right to him.

after dropping out he worked at a shitty deli getting yelled at by white soccer moms for not putting enough arugula on their sandwich.

every other second, he was working on music whether alone or with the band.

he hasn't spoken to his parents since he moved out, his mother has tried to reach out to him on multiple occasions, but his excuse is he's busy when in reality he's not Ready to face that shit.

personality.

jonnie is an extremely easygoing dude, he's never one to take something too seriously and is definitely the type to know absolutely nothing about anything

he's pretty oblivious ? mainly because he's stoned 80% of the time and he also hates thinking .. coping mechanism 💪

LOOOOVES to talk .. will talk ur ear off about everything

he is a major Loser .. laughs too loud at stupid shit, will tell u bad jokes, has horrible style unless he is styled by someone else and i mean horrible. like patterned button ups and khaki shorts and SANDALS .. help him ..

can get pretty reckless because he loves doing stupid shit

hates being serious like. would rather die because being serious means actually having to think about how he feels and he hates doing that shit more than anything .. as u can tell he has a lot of Repressed trauma ..

he can be Unintentionally flirty .. he definitely doesn't try to be, but it's just part of how he acts and most of the time he doesn't realize he's doing it. like pulling a Wow Ur Eyes Are So Pretty in the middle of a conversion because he Just noticed and can't keep his mouth shut

he has a hard time understanding love .. it's sort of a foreign concept to him ? it's not that he doesn't believe in it per say, but he's never been shown a positive romantic relationship .. so he doesn't know how to navigate one

can be pretty clumsy like trip over his own feet clumsy

he's like .. a himbo meets dude bro meet shaggy from scooby doo all mixed into one ..

wanted connections.

confidant: as much as he trusts his bandmates, i think having someone outside of them that he can talk to and be real with would be really good for him

mentor / role model: i have a current wc on the main for it, but this person would've been jonnie's first real introduction to music and the reason he wanted to be a drummer ( so the muse would have to play the drums ) and after joining revolution they became like a parental figure to him

flings: i mentioned in my application that i was unsure of his sexuality, so i think it'd be super interesting to see him explore it within the group !

enemy / rival / someone to dislike: also mentioned in my app that as much as jonnie is a easygoing person, i think it'd be interesting to see him have someone or a couple people that just don't vibe with him and how he acts, so they're always at each other's throats and they bring out the Non Chill side of him

high school buddy: this is most likely someone who he lived with for a period of time while he was couch surfing .. they could've stayed friends or maybe tiffed with each other and that's why he moved in with someone else .. possibilities = endless

an ex: for obvious reasons this did not work out .. they could still be friendly, could be on rocky terms, whatever

a sibling figure: maybe someone he takes care of and vice versa

partner in crime: someone he just gets into shit with

honestly anything else ? like i mentioned before i'm a bit rusty, so coming up with a lot of plots was a little 😵‍💫 for me so i'm down to just vibe a plot or just vibe in general and see where chem takes our muses !

#* ◟ 𝖒𝖚𝖓 ╱ 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 ‚ ooc .#revolution.intro #abuse tw #just like .. literally the smallest 🤏 mention

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rpf-bat · 2 years

Note

1. "I miss you" || "It's only been two days since I left" || "Feels like ages to me"

With Niko/Joel😍

Thanks for the prompt! It’s Niko/Joel, as requested, and it’s 925 words.

Trigger warning for mentions of injuries.

“Good morning!” Nino called, as he stepped through the door of the hospital room. He hoped Joel wasn’t still sleeping.

“Niko!” Joel grinned, sitting up in his bed. “I missed you!”

Of course he’s not asleep, Niko realized. This is Joel we’re talking about.

“It’s only been two days since I left,” he chuckled.

“Feels like ages to me,” Joel sighed. “It’s lonely here. The only people I have to talk to are the nurses. And they only come by every so often, to change my bandages.”

“If you don’t like it,” Niko teased, “then maybe next time you should watch where you’re going, when we’re onstage?”

“I still can’t believe I walked right into a fucking pyro,” Joel shook his head. “We rehearsed our set a dozen times, and I still managed to step on it and burn my foot.”

“Honestly, I’m just glad you weren’t hurt worse,” Niko confessed. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, my foot fucking hurts,” Joel grumbled.

“No shit!” Niko sputtered. “At least you still have a foot, after that.”

He was trying to keep the mood light with jokes, for Joel’s sake, but the truth was that it had been absolutely terrifying. One minute they were singing together, like they always did. The next minute, Joel had been engulfed in flames, and hit the stage floor like a stone. The fans had started screaming when the awful smell of charred flesh filled the air.

It had been Joonas who grabbed Joel and smothered his foot with his jacket, until the flames were out. It was Olli who called 112, and Tommi who dragged the injured Joel backstage to wait for the paramedics.

The task that had fallen to Niko was perhaps the hardest. He had to stand there with his mic, and say something to calm the crowd, even though he felt like screaming himself. He’d managed to choke out that the band would be heading to the hospital, and that the rest of the gig was canceled.

Thankfully, he had waited until he was backstage with the guys, to dissolve into panicked tears.

That had been two days ago, and since then, Niko had calmed himself. The doctors had told him that Joel was going to make a full recovery.

“I went on social media last night,” Niko announced, trying to focus on anything else. “I gave our fans an update - let them know you’re recovering and you’re gonna be okay. I also let them know that the gig in Helsinki is cancelled.”

“I’m so angry at myself!” Joel huffed, the air of his sigh pushing his bangs out of his eyes. “This was supposed to be our first show in the capital, and now we can’t go!”

“Another opportunity will come,” Niko assured him. “Right now, I’m more worried about your health.”

“I’m fine,” Joel insisted. “What did the venue say, when you called them?”

“They said they’ll give the fans refunds, for their tickets,” Niko shrugged.

“That’s good, at least,” Joel considered. “I’d hate for some teenager to be out ten euros because of me.”

“It’s not like there were that many fans, who were going to be there anyway,” Niko frowned, taking a seat beside the hospital bed.

“Hey,” Joel glanced up. “It’s not like you to sound so depressed. What happened to ‘we’re going to become the next biggest Finnish export?’”

Of course Niko’s usual bravado was absent. Could Joel really not see why?

“I just…,” Niko felt tears welling up in his eyes, as he struggled to speak his true feelings. “I thought I could’ve lost you, y’know? You’re only twenty years old. How is Blind Channel supposed to conquer Finland - and the rest of the world - if you fucking die before we even drop a full length album?”

“We can go back to the studio as soon as I’m discharged from the hospital,” Joel said quickly, “and work on the album some more, so…”

“That’s not the point!” Niko cried. “The point is…fuck. What if I’d had to call your mother, and tell her that her son wasn’t coming back to Oulu?”

“But, that didn’t happen,” Joel soothed him. He wasn’t used to seeing his friend get so emotional. “The gig in Jyväskylä didn’t kill me.”

“I just…,” Niko wiped at his eyes, with the back of his sleeve. “I really care about you a lot, okay?”

“I care about you, too,” Joel blushed. “Um, hey…what’s that in your hand?”

“Oh…it’s flowers,” Niko blinked. He’d almost forgotten, that he’d been clutching the bouquet in his hand the whole time.

“You bought me flowers?” Joel asked, blue eyes wide.

“Isn’t that like…what you do when someone’s in the hospital?” Niko reddened. “Do you think it’s weird?”

“No, not at all,” Joel smiled. “Can I see them?”

“Sure,” Niko nodded, setting the bouquet down on the blanket that covered Joel’s lap.

“A dozen roses?” Joel smirked. “What am I, your girlfriend?”

“That…That was the only kind of flowers they had at the gift shop when I got here, okay?!” Niko stammered, his whole face turning as red as the roses.

“I like them, actually,” Joel laughed, sniffing the petals with his long beak. “Thank you.”

“Y-Yeah, no problem,” Niko mumbled. “Uhh…So. Tommi’s off work tomorrow. Since you said you’re lonely, should I ask him to visit you?”

“Actually,” Joel said softly, looking away, “I would kind of prefer…if you could visit me again? Only if you don’t have to work, of course.”

“I’ll be here,” Niko promised. “There’s nowhere else that I’d rather be.”

#blind channel rpf #joel hokka x niko vilhelm #i decided to make this one Baby Channel

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ravs6709 · 2 years

Text

Won't You Shine With Me (Oh Distant Star Of Mine)- Hekster, Kam, Marelliana, Fedex

Act 1. Act 2. Act 3. Act 4. Act 5 (here). Act 6.

Or read on ao3 here!

Word count: 2.3k words

Act 5 to my revue starlight au! Main focus on hekster, not really on other ships, and this will continue for the next part too (also totally irrelevant but i've had constant polycule thoughts since the beginning. i do not confirm anything beyond the main ships but it is a thing that you can maybe sense if you squint really hard)

A short chapter, but it was necessary to end it off where I did (a lot has been working up to here). And the next chapter should be longer than usual since I need to conclude everything. I am so excited to write the next chapter, but it will take a bit to come out (i also need to focus on writing something else)

Warnings: censored swearing

•~•~•~•~•~•

ACT 5

SCENE 1

Stina woke up to Sophie staring at her.

"'s there something on my face?" Stina mumbled, half asleep. "How do you see in this dark?"

"It's nothing," Sophie replied.

Stina squinted. "You nervous 'bout the revues?"

"I can't not be. Everything rides on what happens next."

"Stop thinking too much, I told you that we'll make it through together," she mumbled, wrapping an arm around her to pull her closer. "I don't need you making me nervous."

"But—"

"Shh. Linh's sleeping."

Sophie closed her mouth.

"Foster?"

"What?"

"Why did you come to Foxfire?" It was something that Stina had to wonder. Why transfer schools? Why here? Why now? "You were surprised to see me, so it's not because of me."

"Well..."

"Did Silveny bring you here for the revues?"

It was the only explanation that Stina could think of. She didn't really understand the point, but Stina couldn't help but feel grateful anyways.

"Yeah," Sophie said.

Stina wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't awake enough yet, or if Sophie sounded a little odd. "Well, I'm glad you're here. So let's go back to sleep."

SCENE 2

"Excuse me?" Stina asked, walking into the mess that was her room.

"It's the final day of the revues," Linh said, "there's maybe two hours left until Silveny starts calling people down."

"That's why we should relax before!" Keefe declared, holding up a wine glass.

Stina narrowed her eyes.

"He's being dramatic," Tam explained. "I've already made sure."

"We're just drinking fruit punch," Dex added.

"We're minors, also I'm not doing the revues while drunk," Fitz chimed in.

"Where did you even get those?" Sophie asked.

Keefe smirked. "Stole them from the teachers. You'd be surprised what stuff teachers have in the staff room, you'd think they'd save the alcohol for at home."

"And nobody's gonna notice they're missing and think the students are illegally drinking alcohol?"

"Nah. It's not like I stole their actual alcohol, glasses are too innocuous."

"Well, alright," Stina said, sitting down beside Sophie.

Keefe pulled out more wine glasses, pouring in punch and giving them each a glass. "To fighting in revues, and not killing each other!"

Stina huffed out a laugh. All nine of them clinked their glasses together. They all made themselves comfortable, casually drinking their punch as they all just hung out in the room. Stina found herself really comfortable, and it wasn't just because Sophie had an arm over her shoulder. It'd been a bit, since she'd relaxed just like this. With the revues, the shining lights, the heart-pounding fights, it was so easy to get caught up on being on stage, fighting against the people she knew.

But here they all were, just sitting on the floor in a bedroom, friends hanging out. Despite everything, despite the tension, despite the fact that they were all competing and many of them had lost to each other at some point of time, there were no hard feelings.

"What's up with this whole revue thing, by the way?" Stina asked. "We compete for the top, but what's the reward? Considering a talking alicorn exists, it'd be weird if it was just for the satisfaction of winning."

Everyone turned to look at her.

Keefe snickered.

"You did join late," Marella murmured.

"You don't know?" Biana asked.

"You jumped on stage mid-revue and you didn't even know what they were for?" Tam asked.

"Stop laughing!" Stina huffed, taking a pencil off her desk and throwing it at Keefe. Then she turned to Sophie, "Tell me."

"Being the 'Top Star' means you can stand on the 'Stage of Destiny', you make your own destiny," Sophie explained.

"Weird," Stina said. "But okay, I guess. We're performing on a living stage that reacts to what we need, an alicorn hosts the revues, so it's not that weird."

"I'm gonna miss having a stage like that," Marella said.

"I totally agree with you, but don't catch Maruca hearing you say something like that," Biana chided, "she's been working hard backstage."

"It's just us in this room that know about the revues, right?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder if the teachers know."

"Oh yeah, because they always happen after school. Imagine if we had to leave during class. Or at 3 am. 3 am me singing would sound more like cackling."

"I wouldn't mind ditching."

"Of course you'd want to ditch class, Keefe."

"I'm just saying, besides, we'd be ditching acting to do more acting, I'm not sure what else I can say."

"The teachers don't know."

"It'd be crazy illegal to let nine fifteen year olds—"

"I'm sixteen."

"—thanks, Wonderboy. Eight fifteen year olds and a sixteen year old be unsupervised in a school's basement that is somehow larger than the entire top floor of said school. Also give them access to sharp weapons and whatever the stage decides to give us."

"Marella set the stage on fire."

"Hey, why not? If the school burns down isn't there some rule that says everyone passes all their classes?"

"I'm gonna kill it next time we have to do improv in class."

"Or maybe fighting for your life—"

"You make it sound like we're dying."

"—or fighting in general gets your brain working."

"Hey, Bangs Boy, let's buy our own swords and use them next time we do singing practice."

"That is a horrible idea."

"Are you turning down a chance to spend your parents' money?"

"...let's do it."

"Marella I am not letting you play with fire."

"Biana—I didn't even say anything! Stop laughing Linh, I'm not going to swim with you ever again if you're gonna make a face like that!"

Stina stayed quiet, relishing in this nice atmosphere. Just one more night, and then her and Sophie would shine as stars and... deal with whatever Stage of Destiny that was mentioned earlier, she supposed. She still didn't really know what that meant, but it was something to deal with later.

"Hey, Foster, don't look so gloomy," Keefe said. "Even if we lose to you, we're not gonna hate you."

Marella nodded. "You're one of us."

Stina turned to look at Sophie's reaction. She still looked nervous. Stina nudged her with an elbow again. "I told you not to overthink things."

Once they'd all finished their punch and they cleaned up a little bit, all of their phones rang.

"Let's go," Sophie said.

All smiles faded as they got up, because no matter how much they were friends with each other, they all knew that they weren't going to just let the other win.

SCENE 3

When five people arrived in the underground theatre, they were placed into the audience's seats.

"This is where Stina would have jumped in from," Tam remarked.

"Oh, probably," Linh replied.

"I guess that means we're not fighting anymore? Marella asked.

"I guess so," Biana answered.

Dex sat down. "I'm curious to see those four from afar, see what those four had that I didn't."

"It'll be fun, yeah. We'll get to see what they want as their Stage of Destiny."

Four spotlights shone on the stage, illuminating Keefe, Sophie, Stina and Fitz who were standing near a desk with two boxes on top.

As the five audience members all sat down, Silveny, who was beside them spoke. "Last day!"

Sophie looked confused. "Why are four of us on the stage?"

"Rules change!" Silveny said. "Top four! You four! Perform! Revue duets!"

"A... duet?"

Stina nudged her with an elbow. "Isn't that good for us?"

Sophie looked up at Silveny. "Yeah, it is."

"Keefe! Number one! Pick partner!"

Keefe strode up to the desk and picked up a box. He attached a golden button to his outfit, twirling a second on his finger. He grinned, looking at his three potential partners.

"Well, my partner will be, my dear F..."

His gaze landed on Sophie, and Stina worried that maybe her and Sophie would have to fight after all.

Keefe threw the button to his choice. "Fitzy!"

Fitz caught the button with ease. "Figured you'd choose me."

He pouted. "I didn't even surprise you with the fake-out?"

Sophie took the other box from the desk, handing a button to Stina. Stina attached it on.

The stage went dark again as they took their positions.

"In the darkness that makes up our stage, We shine like shooting stars! No matter the tragic events that come our way, We'll make it through every day! We are Foxfire students, Sophie Foster and Stina Heks! Our light will create the most dazzling night sky!"

"Us two stars shine brighter than all, Through song and dance will we enthrall. We've ascended all the way up here, We won't look back until we're in the clear! We are Foxfire students, Keefe Sencen and Fitz Vacker! We won't let our glimmer fade here!"

"One cloak fall on team! Whole team lose!"

"We need to be really careful then," Stina said to Sophie as she deciphered what Silveny meant by that. "But it's good that we don't have to beat them both to move on."

"Don't underestimate us!" Fitz said, starting his attack.

Stina moved to defend. Sophie could deal with Keefe. It'd be better that way, the two people with polearms could go against each other, same with the two who used swords.

"Let this battle begin, no time to hesitate, A moment that will define our fate."

☆ REVUE OF DESTINY ☆

Stina blocked the attack, but she could feel the aggression that he came at her with. No wonder he'd been number one for so long. Even if she was above him at the moment in the leaderboards, she couldn't underestimate him. He'd only lost one. There was a reason his glimmer shone the brightest, but no matter, Stina hadn't come all this way for nothing.

She was forced back, and she could feel herself being backed towards where Sophie and Keefe were clashing.

"On this stage made up both you and me, Let us work towards our destiny."

The two boys sang that, trapping the girls.

"We're both standing here, look at how we've grown, On this grand stage I won't leave you alone."

Sophie and Stina sang next as they both spun, switching targets for a moment.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Linh asked.

Marella hummed. "Who do you want to win?"

"Well, we all have our biases. It'd be rude to admit who I want to see win."

"I want Keefe's *ss to be kicked, but I'd hate to see him lose too," Tam said.

Dex sighed. "Oh, I get you."

Keefe and Fitz jumped up into the air, avoiding the attacks, flipping as they aimed down at their opponents. Stina and Sophie moved outward, so now Keefe and Fitz were standing back to back.

"Not bad, Fitzy," Keefe said.

"We've known each other for a long time," Fitz replied.

The two linked hands as they spun around, swinging their weapons.

"Oh wow," Tam murmured.

"Childhood bonds, huh?" Stina mused.

"We've got that too!" Sophie added.

The stage began shifting to the will of the performers, and in turn, the performers adapted to it. The four actors all shined as their weapons clashed with each other.

"For the sake of those who chase after us!"

Keefe jumped onto Fitz's spear, and was launched into the air.

"For the sakeof our treasured promise!"

Sophie threw her sword into the wall they were running by, and Stina jumped onto it, pushing herself higher.

"We'll shine as bright as we possibly can!"

Stina and Keefe held their weapons out, prepared to swing. Once they were in range, they swung their weapons. A golden button flew in the air. They both landed. Keefe's jacket fell off his shoulder.

"Damn it," Fitz muttered, cutting off his own button.

Keefe sighed, head downcast. "Sorry, Fitz."

"It's fine... we did our best."

"Yeah..."

"Position Zero!" Stina and Sophie declared, stabbing their weapons into the ground. "We are Stina Heks and Sophie Foster!"

"Duet over!" Silveny announced, "Stina and Sophie win!"

Stina turned to Sophie. "See, Foster?" She took her by the hand and spun her around. "We're finally here."

The two started swaying gently as Stina led her through an easy dance; a dance with little flair, more hugging for contact to show the relief that she felt. Sophie didn't make the dance easy, looking at Stina with trembling eyes, her movements significantly less coordinated. The stage shook beneath them. The ground beneath them began to rise.

"What?" Stina asked.

"Last audition! Song! Dance! Compete! Shine! Brightest light! Become Top Star!" Silveny said.

☆ REVUE OF TRAGEDY ☆

Stina looked from Silveny, then back to Sophie, whose trembling eyes had hardened. "They never were that simple after all."

Sophie stepped closer to her, grabbed Stina by the sash and pulled her in for a kiss. In that moment, Stina's mind blanked as she returned the kiss, tight and desperate and not at all sweet, and oh, the revue said tragedy.

Stina pulled away. "Sophie, what does this mean?"

"I'm glad I got to see you again. That you remembered our promise. That your glimmer allowed me to shine on the stage once more. I won't let anything happen to you and your glimmer."

Stina could barely process the words, and by the time she did, a sword was swung at her, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards. As she fell, her aiguillette was cut off; the golden button sent flying.

"Thank you," were the last words that Stina heard as she fell off the stage.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Kotlc taglist: @keefeinnit , @my-swan-song , @impostertamsong , @subrosasteath , @when-wax-wings-melt

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? Just let me know!

#stina heks #sophie foster #hekster #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc fanfiction #ravi writes a thing #won't you shine with me (oh distant star of mine)

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modmamono · 2 years

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So. I don't think I like this game.

I played this game recently.

You can see my mega Twitter thread here.

Now for my word on it (it’s not as negative as you think):

I don't hate it, but it's on the negative side of apathy I wanna say.

I have nothing bad to say about the game besides it having a few modes I like. And some menu things that long have been sorted out in later Puyo games.

I am also not bad-mouthing anyone who worked on this game, be it the original game, the writer, and/or any of the folks who helped make the patch.

The reason I don't like this game is none of their faults. Even if their work on the game contributes to why I not like it, I'm pinning the blame on no one.

I've been informed everyone working on the game and the patch have improved, and can and will do better in the future.

I still wanna be nice about it. I have made stuff, fan fiction, etc. I know what it's like to have people talk about your old stuff.

So I just wanna a talk story: I don't think the Anni formula, at least how 20th does it, it's been too long to judge 15th's, does the storytelling any favors.

This need for everyone to have an 8-stage story... It's exhausting. Not every story is gonna be a winner and sturgeon's law feels like it's in effect. Whatever they wanna explore with the characters it feels hard to pay attention to.

A lot of stories repeat scenes over and over again, sometimes without anything new learned from the last one. They awfully meander a bunch.

This doesn't always have to be a bad thing, but a bunch of these stories tease character growth... And they barely deliver on that character growth. A few do, but a lot of characters stay static.

And that's the joke a lot of the time, but it's done so much, the joke isn't funny anymore.

It feels like a ton of characters are just mandated to stay the same, and I kinda get it, 20th is sort of a new start for the franchise.

A fresh start after PP7 existed and did a thing. Bringing things back to normal. But it's a bit too much.

And the thing is, this game has at least one chapter that works around this limitation: Risukuma's.

Risukuma's story doesn't pretend to be about anything else but setting up jokes and having interactions. At best we only learn some odd things about the other characters and that's fine.

15th does something similar if I remember correctly. Every character does have a reason for going forward. But since it's a tournament, it also gives every character to just talk a bit just for the sake of it. They're not on a quest to find out what Amitie's hat is for example.

20th... I don't know it just doesn't do it for me. I think the PPT2 story mode formula is better.

PP7's story, say what you want, is a story that doesn't waste a fight. And if you combine that with PPT2's side paths...

Imagine that 20th's Ringo, Arle, Accord, Ecolo, Satan, basically anyone who has direct plot relation were on the main story path, and everyone else had a side path with the amount of matches they need to tell their story.

I think I'd prefer that for a future Anni game.

Because you spend so much time with all these characters in 20th Anni. If you're a newbie, you learn a lot about them.

But in the end, while you can pick anybody but Satan and Ecolo for the final fight. The only characters that seemed to matter according to the final story are Arle, Amitie, Ringo, Schezo, Lemres, Accord, Risukuma, Ecolo, Satan, and maybe Maguro and Raffina...

Like, did I REALLY have to play Lidelle's search for anti-insecurity? Witch's murder quest? Feli being an ass? Ocean Prince barely existing? Onion Pixie and Donguri as fun as they were?

I'm not saying they are a waste of time. But the fact I have to play every single story as a requirement to play the final story??? When a lot of them have nothing to do with the Satan and/or Ecolo plots...

No. I don't think so.

Again it's cool you can pick anyone you like for the final fight, but narratively it's unsatisfying for most characters to take down Satan/Ecolo. The Final story mainly focus on the A trio, and then out of nowhere Draco and Feli come in to save the day...

No... (Granted, I think using any of the A girls is unsatisfying too. I picked Lemres and Schezo because they are the most fitting.)

Now... Who wants to hear me say nice things?

This game's main protagonist is really really good.

I'm of course talking about...

Ecolo.

They are the main protagonist. You will not convince me otherwise.

This is their story. If you say it's Ringo's... Look, she just has a pretty face, that's it she's a plank of wood with quirks in this game.

The story may start with Risukuma exploding 7 ARS into Primp. But it truly starts with Ecolo not remembering who or what they are.

And it ends with remembering who they are.

And in between, it only remembers what fun is, and they wanna spread to as much people as possible.

Ecolo drives this story. This game is theirs. And either gives the illusion of character growth or has actual character growth. Hard to tell sometimes. Point is, they changed the most through the story.

I may make a video about it someday. Maybe.

It's just interesting, they took the generic main bad guy from the last game. And tried to flesh'm out. I've definitely started to like Ecolo.

I hope I didn't forget to bring something up.

In short: I don't like the storytelling in this game, I'll keep playing this game though, it's good Puyo Puyo. Maybe Saetta & Friends eventual Wii patch's translation will make the story more palatable. Making it more fun to read.

#puyo puyo #Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary #puyo #puyo puyo 20th

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brakingpoint · 1 year

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18, 22

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene. i want you all to know that i fully intend on doing a free for all director's commentary session after i'm done with rep lol bc i love talking about this fic SO much. but i'm really proud of this passage from chapter 11 in particular:

The week continues to spiral along the same relentless trajectory. They visit the market on Tuesday more for the atmosphere than anything else seeing as they have nowhere to cook at the hotel, and Aiden catches Devon checking his phone one too many times beside a fruit stall and takes his hand, manually guiding it back into his own pocket.

“Just keep the ringer on,” he says, seemingly unaware of how close his hand is skirting to Devon’s crotch. Devon begs his body not to respond accordingly. “They’ll call you. You’ll know when they do. But you’re on holiday, okay? Stop worrying about it.”

i really wanted to keep making references to devon keeping the ringer on his phone bc it's so pivotal in the next chapter but i also wanted the reader to be blindsided by the twist. so it was a very delicate balancing act of putting the chekhov's ringtone work in there while not making it too obvious that this would come back to bite them. i hope i managed this by putting most of the attention on devon trying so so hard not to get a boner

At the same time they both spot someone staring, phone camera trained on the two of them, and Aiden dutifully leans forward and gives Devon a sweet, chaste peck on the lips.

all through the fic there's this conflict from aiden where he is the most enthusiastic to go along with the PR aspect of the relatonship but thinking it's all a PR thing is what drives him to break up with devon. let's be honest it's because he knows he's helping devon out of love but he has absolutely no clue that those feelings are reciprocated

That night, they fall asleep separately, and Devon wakes up in the middle of the night with his head on Aiden’s chest and Aiden’s hands weaving slow, careful patterns through his hair.

He slips out of bed, panicked, and Aiden, half asleep, does not stir.

i'll be honest i'm not sure how aiden can be half asleep and also not stir but i've posted the chapter now. whoops

Devon makes his way out onto the terrace and watches the sea glistening ink-black before him, the tiniest waves lapping towards the shoreline and echoing the sudden sensation that he’s being pulled, one tiny repeated motion at a time, towards something dark and hopelessly inevitable.

He wonders, as he turns and crawls back into bed, if this is how it would feel to drive a race you know would kill you, watching the lap count tick down and knowing, every time you skim past the same barrier, that one of these times it will catch you in your tracks, crushing your organs together and forcing the air from your lungs in one final, strangled cry.

you might notice that i use a lot of racing and especially crash metaphors in this fic. they're all over the place. part of that was absolutely unapologetic foreshadowing for chapter 13 (in all honesty i wish i'd tied it together with this paragraph a little more strongly by really honing in on t14 as a point of focus for devon during the race!) but a big part of it is also that extremely specific metaphors are a quintessential feature of my writing style and when i'm writing third person limited pov i like to shape them around the narrator's own worldview/frame of knowledge; devon has been living and breathing racing since he was teeny tiny so it makes sense that this would be his first point of comparison for any especially strong emotions.

one part where i deviate from this and use my own lived experience is the stage kissing metaphor in chapter 5. imogen is a drama student almost entirely to give devon a reason to have that idea in his head because i was so desperate to use it.

On Wednesday, they visit the butterfly museum.

100% one of the most deliberately pretentious and Author-y things i have ever written. the stark contrast between the run on sentence of the previous paragraph and the brevity of this one. the triple meaning of the mundanity of their activity vs how apparently twee it is in comparison to devon's spiralling thoughts vs the persistent morbid undercurrent bc they are still spending their time looking at thousands of dead specimens of these beautiful, fragile, ephemeral creatures. when i wrote this paragraph i was right back in my gcse english class trying to nail every one of my assessment criteria. 22. Have you cried while writing a fic? i've not cried while writing but i'll tell you i had a really close call like two days after publishing chapter 12 when i went to work and perfect strangers came on the shop radio

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evermorehqs · 1 year

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CATCHING MY BREATH, STARING OUT AN OPEN WINDOW

Roxanne Rhodes is based on Roxanne from A Goofy Movie. She is a 28 year old human, personal assistant, and uses she/her pronouns. She has no powers. Roxanne is portrayed by Greta Onieogou and she is open.

CATCHING MY DEATH, AND I COULDN’T BE SURE

Roxanne grew up in a pretty average house in some average town but since her dad was there then it was home. She never got the chance to meet her mother, as she died not too long after childbirth. That wasn’t something that she talked about all that often with her dad. She could tell how broken he was, always promising he’ll never remarry and the only girl in his life was Roxanne. Her father was her best friend and she loved him more than anything but he did have the tendency to get a little overprotective. Roxanne couldn’t even be too upset, knowing he meant well and it wasn’t like she was interested in dating anyways. Instead of relationships Roxanne put her energy into her studies which was how she ended up meeting her best friend Stacey in Mathletes. Once they discovered they had a mutual love for Powerline they knew it was meant to be. Not to mention they were both smart and supported each other any way they could, Roxanne standing right beside Stacy as they handed out student body present flyers. It was later that same semester that she first officially met Max Goof. She’d known of him and giggled to the jokes he would make in class. During a wildly boring assembly he even got up on stage dressed like Powerline and preformed, little did she know he did it all to impress her. Roxanne wasn’t sure if he liked her too but a part of her was just waiting for him to ask her out. She has to remind herself that she one day wants to work for people like Powerline which meant she had to focus on her career. As much as she loved the idea of preforming she preferred to stick behind the scenes if she could, hopefully working her way up into becoming a manager to someone big, maybe even Powerline. After college she was working full time as a personal assistant and starting her way up the ladder, that was until she woke up in Evermore. Roxanne’s memories were hazy, only bits and pieces sticking. For certain she knew Stacey was her best friend and that she loved Powerline. She was able to get right back into being an assistant, it being like riding a bike to Roxanne at this point. Everything else was kind of a blur, especially Max. All she remembers about him is having class together and him being funny. As hard as she tries to remember anything else about her life before she just… can’t.

I HAD A FEELING SO PECULIAR

❀ Rosetta Fleur: She has become a new friend since coming to Evermore but quickly one of her closest. Everything Roxanne learned about gardening was from her and Rosetta was now the proud owner of an Official Powerline vinyl. ❀ Mabel Pines: Roxanne thinks she is an absolute ray of sunshine. If she had a little sister in her past life she hoped they were just like Mabel. She is also who introduced Roxanne to Sev'ral Timez. ❀ Eric Seaver: She thinks he’s really handsome and always gets nervous when they talk. A part of her wonders if he’d be interested if she were she actually able to hold a conversation but also a little scared to find out at the same time.

THAT THIS PAIN WOULD BE FOR EVERMORE

#disney rp #tumblr rp #a goofy movie #greta onieogou #roxanne #female bio #no powers #open female #open bio

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below-average-fangirl · 2 years

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This is a ways down now, but since you just posted something by someone else who agrees with me about Tom and stage acting, besides Guys and dolls it was written somewhere he also did Godspell in a professional production; in any case I would go back in time to see even a middle school play lmao. Unlike some screen actors where you can tell they only let go in a very controlled closed movie set environment, I think Tom is the type of actor who would be great on stage.

Hey anon,

I had no idea he'd done some stage work in a professional production, but that would be amazing to see. In an interview with Larry King for the promotion for Eyes Wide Shut he talked about doing some stage acting, I think Nicole Kidman was working in the West End around then to. It's sad it didn't happen but his focus has been from the get-go to make movies so understandable.

I do hope though that he's not written off ever doing that, would love to see an older Cruise on stage. What's the play that you would love to see him star in?

#anon asks #tom cruise

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thespongemagic · 18 days

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THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS AND ANALYSIS FOR HAZBIN HOTEL. I AM NOT A HAZBIN FAN AND ONLY WATCHED IT TO FORM FAIR AND HONEST CRITIQUE.

Also this post is really long.

So... I watched all of Hazbin with a friend and... it wasn't good. I didn't have high expectations because I saw the pilot when it came out and it gave me a really bad headache for the rest of the day. But I had higher hopes for the Amazon Prime series since it was, y'know, a more professional production with established companies behind it. But as we were watching it, more and more problems began to surface. Something that continues to bother me long after we finished it.

See, many criticisms about the show online devolve into the show swearing a lot and all of the designs looking the same, and while those are definitely issues with the show, they are not to the extreme people make it out to be. It kind of goes to show how the people who have made these points never actually sat down and watched at least an episode of it and just going with what everyone else said about it. That's beside the point. If you really want to make the memes of "Xyz if it were written by VivziePop", you could always address Hazbin's shockingly bad pacing and the team's "Tell-Don't-Show" writing style that permeates throughout this 8 episode experience.

That's the part that drove me up a wall, the fact that Hazbin tries to dump all of this lore, character arcs, and a plot of epic proportions in just 8 24 minute episodes, a little over 3 hours of total screentime. You can definitely tell that events (plot important events, I might add) are just glosses over or speedran through faster than the Olympic 100m. Relationship conflicts? Started and resolved in one episode. Angel Dust's traumatic experiences and abuse? Presented and resolved in one episode. Sir Pentious learning to be a good person? This one's even better. It happens OFF SCREEN. Not to mention, everyone just flat out states their problems instead of showing them. It's really all over the place. But I have a theory as to why it's like this.

The Hazbin writers are writing a musical instead of a serialized animated series.

Lemme explain.

Now I am not a big fan of musical theater. I respect the hell out of it and Hades Town was pretty cool. But I just don't like it. But as someone who was forced to be in various high school musical theater productions and a former musician, I know more than most about theater. And applying that logic to the show made some things about it make more sense.

It's important to note first off that theater and television are two very different mediums of storytelling. The primary focus of musical theater is... the theatrics. The songs, the performances, the dancing, etc. While it still needs to be there, story isn't as prominent like television and film.

You wanna know why Cats failed as a movie? Aside from everything else surrounding it, the pacing of the musical is incredibly lopsided, focusing most of the runtime on introducing characters with musical numbers and only really getting anywhere by the end of the second act. But the show is still very popular because the music and the choreography are so incredible.

Because story doesn't isn't top priority, things can be forgiven and hand-waved that normally wouldn't in television and film. Important plot points can happen off screen, usually because showing it on stage would be too difficult. Actors often flat out state how they're feeling or acting because the audience can't see their faces from that far away. Characters can go through complete arcs in one or two scenes to get the show moving along. It works in musical theater because of suspension of disbelief and the charm comes from seeing these events happen live.

These are all things that Hazbin does, and the show is filled with tons of theatrics and spectacle over a story. Hell, it even has a closer runtime to a Broadway musical than it does to a standard 13 episode season.

But here's the problem. What works in musical theater doesn't work in TV or film. When watching a TV show, there are certain expectations that need to be met and vice versa. It's like trying to talk to an Italian speaker by using Spanish. Some stuff may look or sound similar to each other, but it's not as compatible as you'd think.

Considering that VivziePop is a huge fan of Broadway, it wouldn't surprise me at all if her writing style was influenced by it. You could take Hazbin season 1 and adapt it as a Broadway musical and you wouldn't need to change much. In fact you could remove things for time and it would still be good. But this type of storytelling doesn't work in TV, especially serialized shows. Things need to be elaborated on further and characters need to be seen growing and learning instead of just telling the audience that they are.

tl:dr - Hazbin Hotel's pacing problems and writing faults make sense when you look at it through the lens of music theater, which doesn't excuse it because it's a TV show and not Broadway.

#very long post

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barkingbarghest · 6 months

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hi please tell me about the zombie christmas musical. i have an inkling i know which one it is and i would love to hear more about it!!

omg lol... ok so it's called Anna and the Apocalypse (AatA) and its primary sin is that it wanted to be Too Much All At Once and consequently became a shambling mass of disjointed ideas. Also it's a great example of writing that is Not Tight. They're trying to do a lot but they're not being efficient about it.

[edit: putting a read more because i.............. well. i typed a lot.]

the Biggest example of this, there's a lot, but like ok they really liked the musical episode of Buffy. And not to spoil Buffy, but the song at the climax of the musical episode of Buffy is where Buffy sings about her conflicting duty as The Guy Who Fights Monsters and her desire to stop fighting and take the rest she's earned from saving the world you know like, several times. There's more to it but again I don't want to spoil Buffy in case that's something you're into

How that relates is, that the people who wrote AatA really liked that number and they were like "ok let's do that" so the song at the climax of the movie has our heroine singing about how she's a reluctant hero who will fight since that's what's expected of her. "It's been said the world's a stage / and everyone must play their part / well if that's true I'll act with all my heart" and "There are some things in life / you just can't control / but I'm ready to fight / I was born for this role" it's all very reminiscent of Buffy "magical girl who is the only person who can fight vampires and whatever" The Vampire Slayer... except Anna, our heroine, is not at all like Buffy and has no reason to feel this way.

Anna and the Apocalypse is a story about some high school students in a small town in Scotland who have to reckon with zombies at Christmastime. Anna is our main character, and she is a disillusioned teen who doesn't care about stuff and she just wants to get out of this dead end town and she doesn't care about people etc etc. It would be a fitting narrative if she started off like this, and through the events of the movie and the zombie apocalypse, she learns that when push comes to shove she does care about people and she is willing to fight for them, but she doesn't. Her characterization is a flat line except when the movie needs her to be something else. It's very noticeable and weird.

And like, the whole cast is like this. We follow a handful of kids besides Anna: John is Anna's friend singular and he's got a crush on her but she's friendzoned him and that's kind of it, Steph is a social justice warrior working on a film project and struggling with being an outsider by proxy of being a transfer student, Chris is a filmmaker roped into helping Steph, Lisa is Chris' girlfriend who exists for 1) singing a horny song and 2) it's sad when she dies via zombie, and Nick who is a Mean Hot Boy who had a fling with Anna and maybe he wants more of that but she doesn't but it doesn't matter because it doesn't go anywhere because this movie is 98 minutes long and we've got a lot to do and we're not very efficient storytellers!

The antagonist is the vice principal (vice dean?) Mr. Savage who is Comedically Villainous and not in a campy way just in a sledgehammer way. He hates kids and he hates the idea of fun but he likes being able to take away their candy and boss people around. Which leads me to my next point: tone. this movie does not balance comedy and drama. It's so bad. It wants these heartfelt moments but it can't commit to them and it wants to be funny but The Christmas School Pageant is so bad and guys we can be funny without resorting to kids and adults reacting to Lisa's horny song and the bad rap about fish that's bad on purpose which is the joke.. it's so bad. That screen time could have gone to so many other things. Better things.

They should have given a side plot to John and Steph, 1) because it would give John a much needed focus-that-isn't-Anna and 2) because John and Steph share an insecurity about not being bold enough. John sings about how he's too cowardly to tell Anna how he feels and Steph sings about how she's worried nobody will take her documentary about the homeless problem seriously and she's just another voice in the crowd. Do something with that! C'mon!!

And it's wild because like there ARE good things about this movie like the songs are pretty catchy, and the actors mostly do a great job with what they've been given, and I remember the choreography being pretty fun, but christ bacon sandwich the writing!

There's like, a song where the kids are huddled in a building looking at news stories about the zombie thing and being worried about their families and their own survival, but then the song they are singing is about the tragedy of kids these days being on their phones all the time and lacking a 'human connection'??? It's so disconnected from the story.

'Turning My Life Around', a duet between Anna and John where they juxtapose the characters' cheerful optimism with the zombie thing starting (imagine kids dancing down a street and in the background of the shot there's a guy spurting blood it's that kind of thing). It's a fun song and a fun scene and it's great. For some reason, Anna has taken her antidepressants for this song and this song only! Immediately before the song she is a sulky teen and immediately after the song she is a sulky teen. But! For the bit! She is cheerful!

Ok I've gotta stop because but I'll close argument with this list of inspirations from Wikipedia:

"Director John McPhail said that Anna and the Apocalypse was influenced by the films West Side Story (1961), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Breakfast Club (1985), as well as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, with Feeling". McPhail also said that the film includes "nods" to the zombie films Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), The Evil Dead (1981), The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) and Shaun of the Dead (2004). The crop tops and short shorts seen in the film were inspired by the costume design in the slasher film Sleepaway Camp (1983)."

My guy that is too many things to try and be at once.

wait wait wait also John's harmony at the end of Break Away is so good and I love to sing that part where everyone's singing the refrain and he's singing about how he doesn't want Anna to leave in direct contrast with the rest of the cast singing about the things they're trying to get away from. Malcom Cumming if you're out there you did a great job on this movie.

also the incredibly Scottish line "What was I thinking / This isn'ae Disney" mwah chef's kiss

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laine-lulu · 1 year

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My first thoughts when looking at this page was actually a memory of the terms area of the page. I remember doing these in past classes growing up in some of my English courses. I know more than one of my teachers usually had a poster in their room similar to this, but with terms regarding learning and English vocabulary. So being this struck me first, it really allowed me to see the key words used throughout, the top five were (page, begin, know, man, and life). Although I would disregard “page” being number one since I did do a copy and paste to not have to go back and forth between two web browser pop ups, so I’ll make the importance of the other four words.

I think these words really are seen throughout what Whitman writes. When we read we “begin” our journey into his mind, and what he entails us to acknowledge about life. Which then leads us to “know” which is also something like in my last post with the Bibble meme, and how Whitman is often asking the reader and everyone in general what they know (how they function essentially and their lifestyle; what is known to them in their routine of life). Then we fall into “man” which relates to more man-kind rather than just “a man”. This is also important to point out as again the poem is open for everyone to question life with. The last in the top 5 was “life,” which again would make sense of the higher usage throughout the poem, since we are talking about experience of ourselves and others.

Besides the terms scrambled into a framing way based upon usage, I also looked at the trends graph to the right corner. This caught my eye as it distributed the way the top 5 words were relative. I noticed one word that was at the highest part of the graph and lowest at some point on the frequencies which was “know”. I think this is fascinating, because it sort of could be seen as a visual metaphor on what we know and don’t know as we go through this rollercoaster we call life. We have points where we might feel the most smart or equipped of reality when in a certain room full of people, other times not so much. Which is why I go back to Whitman questioning the reader so much throughout the poem, while also telling his knowledge throughout. Sometimes we might know the most compared to everyone in the room, as almost if we’re an expert, other times we might not have a clue after being questioned more, or asked to break something down and almost feel “defeated”. Though once we get over the defeated stage we become more equipped from taking in that experience and start to grow from it, leading us to a high point again. Of course down the line it can go down, but it’s a frequency, it won’t always stay the same forever.

Seeing these two parts on the page, showed me Voyant is a tool that although might look like a lot going on at first and possibly even feel messy, can tell you a lot about what is the key of focus through whatever you are plugging into it. I think before doing this exercise I feel like I could explain Whitman’s poem to someone else, but it might be a broad meaning to them if they haven’t read it. However, after doing this, it could allow me to breakdown more into detail on what Whitman portrays and tackles into his work and allow me to explain to someone in a better description; since it focuses on things such as terms and the times used, frequencies throughout what is plugged in, as well as other things like the density of vocabulary given, and the readability of it. These are important tools to have when trying to not only explain to others if they want to know or communicate on this piece whether they’ve heard about it or not, as well as for ourselves to dive deeper into the meaning of what we are learning.

#BlogPost3 #voyant

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