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funniestbusiness · 5 months

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Genshin Impact: The Magnus Archives AU

or How to Mix Media With Wildly Different Vibes Because They Have This One Thing in Common

OK SO

You wanted to know! There's an audience for my thoughts! I shall inflict them upon you!

So we have the Archons in Genshin, inflicting benevolent or neutral concepts upon the world. We have the Fears in TMA, inflicting, well, fears upon the world.

*approaches blender*

(Be warned, this is probably rather superficial, no deep character analysis here, literally just "Which Archon could be which Fear?" Also, I'll use the Archons' common names because I like them more, except for Focalors for obvious reasons)

1. Venti - The Vast

Well, first of all, it fits elementally, but that alone does not make a Fear. Venti's major topics are those of being untethered, lost, small in comparison to everything. The thing is, he's not inflicting those on anyone, unless him abandoning Mondstadt counts. For the time being, let's consider this to be enough.

2. Zhongli - The Buried

In comparison, this one is easy. There has been very literal use of stone and earth to bury his enemies (just ask Osial). The Buried's more metaphorical manifestation are obligation and debt, especially financial debt, and the God of Contracts and Mora seems tailor-made for the position.

(We also have a rather obvious pick for a devoted avatar - Ningguang)

3. Ei - The Lonely or The End

A very strong case can be made for both.

The Lonely: She closed off the country and divided its people, abandoned Kunikuzushi and eagerly isolated even herself.

The End: She started the Vision Hunt, where deaths of ambitions metaphorically or literally meant deaths of the people themselves, chased the kind of eternity that is identical to death in its stillness, and is famous for how her Musou no Hitotachi is an unavoidable strike.

I like The End more, but take your pick!

4. Nahida - The Eye

Another easy one. It's knowledge, knowledge, desire for knowledge all the way down. Additionally, through the Akasha Terminal, she was able to execute surveillance, and currently is capable of reading thoughts. And yes, we have an archon who may not want to ever execute their power maliciously - but who definitely could.

Being assigned the colour green is only a nice bonus :D

(Two avatars quickly come to mind - Alhaitham and Cyno. I want to see them and/or Nahida "ceaseless watcher"ing someone. Badly.)

5. Focalors - The Web or The Stranger (with Furina as an avatar)

See, this gets complicated because this duo leans in different directions. Focalors herself is more of The Web, masterminding a grandiose plan to deceive Celestia, for which Furina would need to deceive all of Fontaine, spinning a lie for hundreds of years. But the fact that she's specifically an imposter, together with the general theatre and performance theme, brings Furina closer to The Stranger. You could say it's now the fear of "archons, but not quite" instead of "humans, but not quite", hehe.

(For either Fear, I feel like Arlecchino is a good avatar candidate? Jury's still out on how many layers there are to her)

Murata would likely be The Slaughter or possibly The Desolation, and the Tsaritsa could of course be The Web but I have no idea at this point.

Finally, we have another divine being in Teyvat who deserves an Entity of their own. I decided to get a little edgy with it~

SPOILERS FOR MAG 134 AND BEYOND

6. Neuvillette - The Extinction

...or is he?

He could have been, that much is true. He could let the people of Fontaine be eliminated due to "their sin" (at best becoming Oceanid hiveminds and at worst vanishing entirely) and Fontaine itself be destroyed in a catastrophic flood.

Which he did not do - the only thing he wants to eliminate is Celestia.

And Celestia itself is much more realised as The Extinction. It has once laid waste to the world order, replacing the inhabitants with humans, and later, repeated this on a smaller scale, casting down environment-warping Divine Nails and destroying civilizations it deemed full of hubris.

If Neuvillete is Extinction, he only is, for lack of a more elegant way to say it, their personal Extinction.

(Also he just doesn't go with The Vast, he has no vibes of it beyond his element. Even The Eye fits better)

So, here are my thoughts on this AU! Feel fre to add (please do add). I currently have no other avatar ideas in mind other than Childe being very obviously Slaughter-coded.

People who expressed their interest (thank you SO MUCH for enabling me): @hawk-in-a-tree @smokinghotcrow @ninthfeather @paxoculi @thejoespooky

#genshin impact #the magnus archives #tma #genshin impact au #tma au #genshin impact venti #venti gi #zhongli #ningguang #raiden shogun #raiden ei #nahida #alhaitham #cyno #focalors #furina #arleccino genshin #neuvillette

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the-iceni-bitch · 1 year

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On the Tip of My Tongue

Kinkmas Day 9: Dirty Talk

Relationship: Andy Barber x TJ Hammond (jawbreaker and sugar, NLLYL)

Words: ~1k

Summary: Andy really is going to be the death of TJ.

Warnings: explicit language, explicit sexual content (all just dirty talk, but it’s nasty, salad tossing, unprotected anal sex, feminization, bimbofication, multiple orgasms, anal cream pie, big ass daddy kink), age gap (not mentioned but present), ANDY’S MOUTH, baby TJ being all flustered and cute, mentions of waxing, lingerie, SMUT!! 18+ ONLY!!

A/N: Andy is going to kill ALL OF US, holy fucking shit.

I am no longer doing taglists so if you want to stay up to date on all the latest filth, follow my sideblog @the-iceni-library and turn on notifications!

TJ was shaking. He could hear the ice in his drink tinkling against the glass when he brought it to his lips as he struggled to get himself under control.

But he couldn’t, and it was all Andy’s fault.

“God you smell so fucking good.” TJ tried his best not to whimper when Andy growled in his ear again, the feeling of the older man’s arm sliding around his waist and squeezing making his knees weak as he just looked at the bottom of his soda glass. “Like sex and vanilla. I bet that boy pussy smells even better, wanna suffocate myself in it while I make you squeal, sugar.”

He was sure he was going to start sobbing and begging Andy to fuck him if this kept up, fuck the fact that they were surrounded by Andy’s partners and clients at the firm’s holiday party, TJ’s prick had been hard for the past half hour and it didn’t seem like that was going to change anytime soon.

Maybe he should have waited to show Andy his surprise until after they got back to his house, but he wanted to tease his Daddy. How was he supposed to know that telling Andy he’d gotten everything waxed and given him a little peek at the dark green panties he was wearing would turn him into… this? Damn Johnny for telling him to be more forward, as soon as he saw that asshole here he was going to smack him, or kiss him, he couldn’t decide.

“Know that cunt is so goddamn soft and warm now, I wanna make it wet.” Andy was so worked up TJ was sure he was only seconds away from actually ripping the well-tailored suit right off his body and eating him out with an audience. “Make a fucking feast out of that pretty pink hole. Are you extra sensitive, sugar? Are those soft little panties making that pretty prick of yours leak for your Daddy?”

They were, all TJ could do was nod as he blushed up to his ears, batting his eyelashes like a little coquette as he gazed at Andy and not helping the situation at all. He couldn’t look at the man for long though, the intensity in his eyes making his gut burn and his head swim as he fought the urge to bare his throat and whine.

“So fucking pink and sweet for your Daddy.” TJ could feel Andy’s smile against his cheek when he choked on a whimper, trying not to openly pant when he felt teeth scraping against the shell of his ear while he picked out a spot on the wall to stare at. “Poor little thing. And I would’ve made you feel so good, baby boy, would’ve taken my time kissing and licking that pretty, smooth little pussy until it opened up for Daddy before I fucked you nice and slow. But you had to be mean and tease your Daddy.”

Oh no…

“Daddy was gonna be so nice, sugar, was gonna give you just one before we left, was gonna make sure you felt it in your toes and got all syrupy sweet for me since you had to be on my arm all night.” Andy took a sip of his bourbon and smiled when TJ let out a pathetic hiccup, nuzzling against the younger man’s temple and purring as he kept detailing exactly what he was going to do to him. “You made me wait, though, and fuck, baby, I’m gonna wreck that boy cunt.”

TJ was sure everyone saw him jump when Andy bit his ear and slid his hand down to grab his ass, barely swallowing his squeal when Andy’s fingers slipped even lower until they were teasing along his taint over his trousers. Someone was going to see them, or hear the way TJ was practically keening each time he breathed. Andy was being so brazen, and as embarrassed as TJ knew he should be, all he could feel was warm and aroused and achy in his core.

“I’m gonna eat that pussy like a fucking buffet, gonna make that smooth, pretty cunt so fucking wet and messy it makes a stain on my damn sheets.” Andy was so close, TJ felt like he was suffocating in the man, like he was about to be shoved up against a wall and have every single breath stolen from his lungs. “Want it all slick and swollen for Daddy’s dick, it’s gonna look so pretty swallowing my cock whole, gonna feel so fucking good when I dig into that sweet spot until my balls are nestled right up against that soft skin. Then I’m gonna fuck you, look at me.”

Andy was gentle when he gripped TJ’s chin and tilted his face up to his, but the look in his eyes was absolutely feral. It made TJ start vibrating as his entire body drew tight with anticipation, his breath shallow and warm against Andy’s lips while he looked at him stupidly.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard, sugar.” He wasn’t sure if it was just the anxiety of the situation, but Andy had never seemed bigger than he did right now, and it had TJ swooning. “Gonna make that pussy squirt, you’re gonna come so hard. And I’m not gonna stop, your tight little cunt is gonna come on Daddy’s dick so many times you won’t be able to walk, I’m gonna ruin you, gonna use that sweet body of yours however I want until you’re jelly. You aren’t even gonna be able to hold on all the cum I’m going to pump into that pussy. You feel how fucking full I am for you, sugar?”

Andy groaned as he grabbed TJ’s hand and pressed it against his bulge, the way his baby gasped when he dragged his palm down until he was cupping his balls making him barely hang onto his composure as he smashed their lips together. TJ couldn’t handle it, he was done, if Andy didn’t do everything he had just detailed within the next ten minutes he was going to explode.

“Daddy…”

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dynamightmite · 2 years

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Since Bakugo's back in the manga, I'm seeing more of the same old arguments about why Bakugo's actually a bad character/person/whatever circling the fandom, and I figured, since no one asked, I'd share my thoughts and maybe dispute some of the more frequent issues people have. Considering my username, I feel like it's basically my duty lmao.

To start with the one I hear most often:

1) Bakugo gets away with being an asshole and his attitude is terrible

Horikoshi spends a lot of time working through the fact that while Bakugo can genuinely be a huge dick, he "gets away" with his general loud-mouthed, crass, rude attitude because, for the most part, people don't take him seriously. Like, Horikoshi goes out of his way to show him openly being mocked (bus ride to the USJ facility, during his internship with Best Jeanist a bunch of kids taunt him, the whole remedial course program with the kids who think he's as threatening as a house fly, basically every pro hero he interacts with), but also has the other characters mostly disregard the things Bakugo says. Why? Because it's made clear, frequently and often, that he doesn't actually mean them. He'll tell Kaminari he'll kill him and not even move. There's no follow through, and he's often teased about it or ignored. At best, someone will express annoyance. The use of other characters as a tonal tell is a method of including us, the audience, in the joke. The joke being, in this case, that whatever Bakugo's saying is meant sarcastically/humorously. Like most things, it's all about context.

Additionally, did you think the scene with Bakugo's mom was supposed to just be funny? It also is meant to inform the audience about where Bakugo got his speaking habits from, and helps show that, to him, telling someone to go fuck themselves is just like. How you talk to people. Pretty sure he genuinely thinks shouting is how you show you're listening and engaged. Class 1A picks up very quickly that, while yes Bakugo has a temper, he's almost all bark and no bite, except for the occasions when he does actually lose it. Which leads me to another common complaint:

2) Bakugo experiences no real consequences

This is just... straight up not true. Just about every single time he acts like an actual asshole, Bakugo gets immediate and direct consequences that occur specifically because of his own actions.

Examples: Bakugo gets all uppity about having a powerful quirk and tells Midoriya to kill himself -> he nearly gets murdered like two hours later because he's unable to defend himself. He tries to attack Midoriya on their first day of school -> he loses their first real fight (in front of their childhood hero no less) and gets pretty solidly humiliated. He goes nuts at the sports festival -> he doesn't get many internship opportunities he gets kidnapped by a fucking terrorist group. He smacks Midoriya during their final exam and doesn't want to cooperate -> Midoriya Detroit smashes his face lol. He acts like a huge asshole at the licensing exam -> he doesn't get his hero license. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

And if your argument is that those aren't "real" consequences or whatever, keep in mind that part of writing consequences for a character well means tailoring them to what that character cares about and finds important, which guess what—Horikoshi does. All the consequences Bakugo faces tie into his character growth, and deal with issues that he takes extremely seriously, namely his hero career. Equally—and I've mentioned this before—it is not in the spirit of the story to go full on Gone Girl fuck-up-your-life on characters who start off being less than stellar. Especially since Bakugo basically functions as the character version of a moral litmus test for the audience; if you can't bring yourself to believe that a schoolyard bully deserves a second chance, how can you ever believe that real villains, who have killed people and done other awful shit, could ever deserve a shot at redemption?

Moving on!

3) Bakugo is too OP/has too much plot armor

To some extent, I mean, yeah. That's a fair argument. Bakugo is a prodigy, that's a big part of his character, and his quirk doesn't have any specific downsides or limitations the end up hindering him more than in passing. However, I will point out that as the story goes on and we're introduced to more pro heroes, overpowered quirks with limited or no downsides become much more common, so it doesn't stick out as much. Besides, when creating a character who wants to be the best hero in the world, who you'd like to have even a fighting chance in a universe where almost everyone has super powers, he kind of needs to have a badass quirk. Also, considering All Might is the figure both Bakugo and Midoriya are trying to live up to... that is overpowered. And as we're seeing in the manga, Bakugo is starting to come up short in the rat race. So I think some of the OP arguments had greater merit back in the day, but I don't really feel like they hold much water anymore.

When it comes to the plot armor issue... I see people's points, and don't always disagree, but Bakugo is the deuteragonist of the story, and he's in a shonen manga. Like of course he's got plot armor. Most of the universe wouldn't even function if there wasn't a lot of plot armor, because many of the quirks we see are basically magic and the fight scenes require a heck of a lot of suspension of disbelief. In the real world Deku wouldn't even have arms anymore. So yeah, I get it, but also... you know. Chill.

Lastly:

4) Bakugo hasn't actually made up for his actions against Midoriya

This one kind of ties in with the consequences one and also the attitude one, in that a lot of people's arguments about this are frankly just unrealistic. Like what exactly do you want Bakugo to do that he hasn't already done? Change his personality entirely? Be publicly humiliated and experience horrific suffering? What is the purpose? Especially when Midoriya, the person Bakugo has most hurt, has never once expressed that he wants Bakugo to be less like himself. He just wants them to be closer. Yes he could yell less, but Midoriya likes being competitive with Bakugo, he likes having someone who pushes him and won't put up with bullshit. He doesn't actually want Bakugo to change who he is as a person.

Additionally, I think it's only fair to point out that Bakugo has done most of his growth largely unaided and by himself. That's incredibly impressive. Like he, a sixteen year old with an inferiority complex and anger issues, realizes he was out of line and has a fucked-up view of the world and his relationships, and spends a lot of time, energy, and care in basically overhauling his entire life philosophy. Again, pretty much completely by himself. He takes responsibility for his own actions, he goes out of his way to try and fix his mistakes, he apologizes to Midoriya (publicly, expressing the emotions and reasons behind his actions without excusing them, and without pressuring Midoriya to forgive him, allowing the ball to fall firmly in Midoriya's court), and works to support Midoriya in any way he can, including taking a fucking bullet (slash weird finger blade thingy) to the chest to protect him. Nobody forced Bakugo to do those things, he chose to because he genuinely wants to do and be better. At this point, sure he's still a loud-mouth little shit, but being a loud-mouth little shit was never the problem, and he's addressed the things that were problems.

Basically, the point I'm trying to make is that while it's absolutely fine to not like Bakugo—he'll never appeal to everyone, no character can—a lot of the issues people bring up with him are relatively unfounded or over-exaggerated. If you're someone who dislikes him, cool! Just try to find something less superficial to criticize him for.

#bnha #bnha spoilers #bnha 358 #bakugo #bkdk

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amorelray · 5 months

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Yuuta vs. Yuuji - A Costume/Character Analysis

❗Disclaimer❗ I have only watched up to Season 2 Ep. 19 & JJK 0 before writing this analysis. So, all of this will be from the knowledge that I have prior Shibuya. Additionally, for the sake of argument, we'll be focusing on their Jujutsu High uniforms. & Last but not least, all thoughts, ideas, & opinions are my own.

Before making any comparisons between Yuuji or Yuuta, I'd like to lay down the baseline for Jujutsu High students' uniforms.

Noticeably, the uniforms for the students tend to be all black/dark blue - with the exception of Panda. Each student's uniform is tailored to them and fitted in a way that fits their personality, need for movement, comfortability, etc. However, the uniform remains the same solid color across the board.

In fact, this is even reinforced when the viewer is taken back in time to witness Gojo's school days with Shoko and Geto. The classic uniform worn by the Jujutsu High students appears to have carried on from then until now. (See Picture Below👇🏻)

Yuuta:

I'd like to start with Yuuta because chronologically, he came before Yuuji and I believe setting him up first paves the way to speak a bit more in-depth about Yuuji.

Yuuta is set up as our hero from the get-go and we can see that through his uniform.

Typically, the color white is related to being "pure," "holy," "set apart," or "good."

At first, this seems counter-intuitive to what we know about Yuuta's backstory. He cursed a childhood friend who died and has been following him around as a very high-level curse ever since. How could that be any of the things associated with the color white? However, as we get to learn Yuuta's story - these words begin to relate to him time and time again.

First, he is set apart. He's the outsider. He's not from the Jujutsu world and only enters it when he's merely 16 years old. Whereas Inumaki is the child of a Jujutsu clan, Maki is a child of one of the most well-known Jujutsu clans, and Panda is quite literally a cursed doll. Thus, placing all 3 of his peers in a position of being born and raised inside this world. Second, we begin to discover time and time again that Yuuta is good. He has a kind soul who simply wants to help others and believes in his peers. He's gentle and wants to protect those who he cares about. Third, while he did curse Rika, it was from a pure emotion - love. Love is rarely seen as a "bad" thing in the world and while Yuuta unintentionally cursed her, it was out of a pure and naive mindset that the curse was accidentally enacted.

Which leads us to - "holy."

Definition via Google: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.

This one lands on a personal theory of mine. Yuuta is the hero and has been set aside as the holy one via Gojo. Why do I say this?

Gojo fought for Yuuta to not be executed. (JJK 0)

Gojo will sometimes get involved with customizing his student's uniforms (Season 1 Ep. 3)

Gojo directly informs the elders that he will always side with Yuuta. ("If it comes to that...don't forget, I'm on Okkotsu's side." JJK 0)

Gojo believes that Yuuta is one of the few students who could someday surpass him. (Season 1 Ep. 6)

I believe that Yuuta was picked and set aside by Gojo to potentially fulfill something that even the audience might be unaware of at this point in time. We hear and see time and time again Yuuta being mentioned even when he's not around and that Gojo places a lot of faith in the student. Additionally, the teacher seems to place a different type of protection over Yuuta than he does for Yuuji.

Yuuji:

Yuuji has a uniform that closely resembles the typical style and color palette as the rest of the Jujutsu High students, but has a few pieces that set him apart.

Yuuji has a red hood and red wrists accompanying his otherwise generic uniform.

I believe the placement of these customized pieces along with the color red itself could be a very intentional decision in regard to Yuuji's character and his story inside of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Typically, the color red is associated with anger, power, and passion.

Starting with the hood. I believe this added piece could be a sort of representation of Sukuna being inside Itadori's head. While Sukuna is a curse and likely resides within all of Yuuji's body, it is likely widely understood that Yuuji lives with Sukuna subconsciously at all times. Thus, alluding to the hood that never covers Yuuji's head, but is always there, ready to be pulled up at any moment's notice. In the same way, Sukuna does not cloud Yuuji every moment but is always lurking in the background, waiting for an opening to surface.

I believe the wrist holes also point toward the hands of Sukuna as well. This could be in regards to both the fingers Yuuji continues to swallow and the way Sukuna uses Yuuji's body when he's in control. As a curse that used to have four hands, it's clear that they were important to him; and so, it's an interesting highlight on Yuuji's uniform knowing that.

However, aside from the hood and wrists, Itadori wears the typical uniform colors; which is likely there to symbolize that he's "just another normal student."

So, while those few things do set him apart from the others - it could be theorized that they're there not to set him apart as Yuuji but instead what resides inside of him - thus, Sukuna.

My Personal Theory/Opinions:

I believe Yuuji is important as the main character. However, I believe his costume tells a story that the audience might not necessarily enjoy.

While he has a little flair and is set apart from the rest of the students due to his pop of color and uniform style, it's definitely a reminder that Sukuna is what sets him apart - unlike Yuuta.

Yuuta is what sets Yuuta apart as he's made a name for himself on his merit alone. Thus, giving him such a drastically different uniform compared to any of the other students makes sense. Whereas Yuuji is very much an outsider on borrowed time/magic - making him a bit more "normal" in this regard.

I believe both characters have enough "differences" to set them apart as "important players" in the overarching story of Jujutsu Kaisen. I simply wanted to sit down and enjoy breaking down the potential implications/signals that could be coming from the way they are both costumed as these "important players."

💭Final Thoughts:

It's my personal belief that costumes/uniforms/clothing and colors play an important role in telling stories. They're good ways to signal information to an audience without having to spell everything out. As well as being good ways to subtly hint at something about a character, story, or plotline.

Hope you all enjoyed it! It was really fun breaking this down and theorizing the implications of the colors, customization, etc! It's really exciting to think about how these two mirror each other and complement and contrast one another. Quite frequently, I find myself thinking of them as two sides of the same coin and it's just boundless theories, strings, and ideas being pulled together to see how they relate both in characterization and fitting into the plot.

I'm sure there will be more analysis to come! Just be on the lookout!

#jjk yuuji #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk yuta #jjk yuuta #jjk yuji #jujutsu yuta #jujutsu yuji #character analysis #my writing #costume analysis #jjk sukuna #sukuna #jujutsu sukuna #analysis

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zz-chikorita · 18 hours

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If Leon and Guzma and other characters from your fic were in a historical, real-world AU, what kind of jobs would they have? And what time period?

Oh shit I get to pick the occupation AND time period??? Ok. Give me a sec...

Let's talk 1920's USA🎼🎶🎷🎺🍻🥃🥂:

Guzma is a bootlegger. He started out solo but gained the trust and admiration of many if his peers and is now the head of the gang that bootlegs in that area. He goes by many names like The Boss, Don G, and The Passing Don, to name a few.

Leon is a jazz pianist. Although well known and loved in Europe for the classics, he immigrated to the US to pursue his passion for jazz. He faced far more discrimination due to the color of his skin in this country, making it difficult to get a foothold anywhere. He mainly plays for pennies at illegal speakeasies these days. He's very well liked by patrons for his upbeat personality and "exotic" good looks. His jazz nickname is "Champ"

Plumeria is a suffragette that frequents Guzma's main hang out. She's a sharp tongue and a very good card player. Guzma quickly learns to play her for drinks and not cold hard cash (or, worse, the shirt off his back).

Kukui was recently discharged from the Navy and currently works as a tailor. He comes to the speakeasy regularly to drink away his sorrows and flirt with the dancers.

Kalani is a mechanic who moonlights as a bar tender at the speakeasy. He's also not above helping Guzma out with those rattling vehicles that certainly don't have secret compartments he's installed to smuggle booze.

Raihan was a praised scholar over in Europe, but after immigrating, the best he can land is a job as a barber. The bar is a sweet reprieve from reality.

Piers is a jazz trumpeter. He use to be a jazz singer as well, however, he's decided to live life as the man he is and although he's successfully adjusted his speaking voice with practice, he is unable to make his singing voice sound any less feminine. He focuses solely on his horn now. Although, there's rumors that he will sing private encores for those few he truly trusts.

Imma write a little taste of this AU under the readmore:

Leon wiped the sweat from his brow before placing it back into the pocket of his suit with shaky hands. He's performed in front of audiences of hundreds of people! So, why is simply standing at an unmarked back door in a back alleyway getting to him?

He took a deep breath and patted his cheeks with his palms, an old habit that's become a ritual before every performance. In this case, it helps him keep his bloody nerves, if only a little.

Finally, he knocks on the door and does his best to straighten his suit.

After a moment of no response, Leon is about to knock again when a voice from the other side gruffly demands, "Password."

"P-password?" he replies dumbly.

"No password, no entry."

"Wait! I'm no with the police! A friend telt me ye have a piano? I'm just looking for a gig's all!"

Leon held his breath. There was mumbling on the other side of the door. It sounded like two voices. He looked over his shoulders and then gently pressed his ear to the door.

"...we been lookin' for someone casual. Keep the patrons entertained between sets."

"How ya know he's legit?! Could just be tryna get free booze! And what's with that voice? Queerest Brit I've ever heard!"

The next voice he heard he's certain he would've heard clearly even if he wasn't pressed up against the door:

"ACE! BLACLJACK! What the hell are you numbskulls arguing about this time?"

"There's some kid at the door," the more nasally 'numbskull' explains, "says he plays da keys."

Next thing Leon knew, the door gave way and he stumbled forward, the side of his face landing squarely in the broad chest of a man with a spotless, white suit with hair to match.

Leon quickly scrambled backwards, apologizing profusely.

The man roared with laughter and grabbed the young man by the front of his shirt, practically dragging him through the door.

"He's a bit of a gongoozler as well, eh? But tell you what, kid, I'll let it slide this time since you're so damn pretty." The man winked, and every nerve in Leon's body felt like it was lit aflame.

The man put his hand at Leon's mid back and began to lead him down a dimly lit hallway.

"You sure 'bout lettin' him in here?" the same 'numbskull' from before asked as they walked.

"Ace, the kid says he plays the keys. So let 'im play the keys! If it turns out he's lyin'-"

"We can just kick 'is ass later!" finished the other 'numbskull'.

The white-haired man waggled a finger at him with a grin on his face. "See? Blackjack knows what's up."

They arrived in a large room with a bar, some tables, a decent size stage, and a grand piano sitting just below it.

Being early in the day, there were not many people here. The dark skinned bartender eyed him from where he wiped down the bar. A couple patrons were passed out, bottle or glass in hand. In the very back corner booth, a group of men in suits quietly played cards. One, whose suit could only be described as cut sharp as a razor, appeared to be winning.

As they made their way to the piano, the man's hand still resting gently at the small of Leon's back, said man asked him, "What's your drink?"

"Oh...uh...whisky, I guess."

He called over for the bartender to pour a glass before setting a firm hand on each of Leon's shoulders and forcing him to sit on the piano bench.

Next thing he knew, a lowball glass was thrust into his hand. Without thinking, he started throwing it back.

"A'right, a'right, take it easy, kid," the white haired man scolded, a bit of amusement in his voice, snatching the glass from his hand and setting it up on top of the piano. "You play good, you can have the rest and then some, eh?"

"O-oh! Richt! Umm... what do ye want meh to play?"

"Whatever ya got," he replies cooly, leaning an elbow on the piano, "You sing too?"

"I... umm... I mean... I can... it just... isnae onything special."

The man hummed in thought.

"Alright then. Just play us somethin', don't worry 'bout singin'. If I happen to know it, maybe I'll sing with ya. Sound good?"

"Aye- er... yeah. Ok."

Leon took a breath to center himself. This is the easy part. All he's gotta do is focus on his playing and lose himself in it. Luckily, the few ounces of liquor he just ingested seemed to be helping his nerves as well.

He didn't really think about which song to play; he just started playing and hoped for the best. The tall man seemed to perk up with interest.

Next thing Leon knew, a deep sultry voice sang:

"There was a boy

A very strange enchanted boy

They say he wandered very far

Very far

Over land and sea

A little shy

And sad of eye

But very wise was he-"

Transfixed on the handsome man singing just in his peripheral vision, Leon failed to notice all the heads turning their way, some even beginning to nod in approval or sway to the deliciously languid rhythm.

"And then one day

One magic day he passed my way

And while we spoken of many things

Fools and kings

This he said to me-"

As a professional, Leon didn't waver as the white-haired man moved to stand behind him, placing a large hand on each of his shoulders. Although, it didn't stop the hair on the back of his neck from standing on end.

"The greatest thing

You'll ever learn

Is just to love-"

The man leaned down to his ear.

"And be loved...

in return."

#ask zz c #ask and ye shall recieve #what with the aus and such #what with the hcs and such #guzma #pokemon leon #i meant to write like one paragraph whoops #the song is nature boy by nat 'king' cole #nat king cole is a famous jazz pianist and singer go look up his stuff ig youve never heard of him #i had way more fun with this ask than i thought i would tbh #oh btw i didnt want to make it any longer but the man with the suit 'cut sharp as a razor' is Piers

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accordokite · 1 year

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My Nijisanji DR is complicated, so I'm gonna try and explain the key important parts, not just for whatever audience sees this, but for myself. It'll help me put words to what I have in my head of this DR.

Firstly, all of the vtubers look just like their models offline. They act just like their characters, and all of the lore and their memories are real. In short, Vox is actually a voice demon, Doppio actually has his supernatural ability thing, et cetera. Magic is real in this reality, and both the XSOLEIL and ILUNA Institutes are essentially this reality's elite supernatural schools.

Nijisanji as an agency quite different from what we know it to be in this reality. ANYCOLOR as a company does not exist, and the company solely consists of the EN branch. So, when the Nijisanji company is referred to, there is no need to clarify which branch, since there is only one. I mainly did this for my own sake, since there is over 100 VTubers in Nijisanji JP. Without knowing much about them, it would be hard to pinpoint a reality and shift there.

The founder of Nijisanji is still Tazumi, and he does speak both English and Japanese (I could not remember if he spoke English or not, but I included it just in case). In my Nijisanji desired reality, VTubing is much more popular than it is in our current reality. Especially for a wealthy agency like Nijisanji, VTubers within this agency have about 10x more viewers on average than they do in this reality.

Essentially, VTubers are the new popular form of streamer, and can even be compared to music artists or actors with their level of popularity and content. Nijisanji is probably the most popular, but other well-known agencies such as HOLOLIVE exist here too.

As stated in my post where I gave a general description of all of my DRs, all of the Nijisanji members live together in one big magical mansion, known as the House of Nijisanji. This house is at the center of an artificially created island, created by the Nijisanji company. The island is named Riku Island, after Tazumi's given name. New VTubers will typically move in about two weeks before debut, to get settled into their dorms, meet their genmates, get tutorials on how their streaming applications work, etc..

Each wave has its own hallway, and although Staff live on the island, the only people who live in the house are Tazumi and the other VTubers. The hallway has individual dorm rooms for each member, that are highly customized and tailored to the person. There is a total of two floors when I will first shift, however, I suspect that eventually more floors will need to be built as more waves are added.

My wave is Nijisanji's 8th wave, Altarana. Before I explain the wave and how I got in, it is important to explain that in this reality, not all members auditioned. Some waves were personally scouted out, while others did audition. More specifically, LazuLight, OBSYDIA, Ethyria, and Nijisanji's 9th wave, TEAM SOS (inspired by those who sang the "Let's Get it Started" cover on YouTube, hosted by Aruvn) all auditioned to be in Nijisanji in this reality. This means that Luxiem, Noctyx, ILUNA, XSOLEIL, and Altarana did not audition, and were hand-picked based on wave themes Nijisanji wanted to do.

My wave is interesting, because before I was a VTuber, I was actually a vocaloid producer. I would produce songs and covers, which is why me and my four other genmates were picked.

I also have a few Nijisanji VTubers, both boys and girls, listed to be a potential S/O in my script. I also included already existing and official couples for this reality.

I think that so far, these are the most important details about the DR. Some details I am not quite comfortable sharing yet, and so I will end this post for now.

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dishtothedeath · 9 months

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The thread comes in tangles, I see such pretty things || Castella || MM TRIAL || Reveal React

The streamer once known as Castella, the person once known as Seo-jun before that, and currently known as a weird mix of both and neither watched this all in silence. The trials had always been too much for them to handle, even before their death, and afterwards they'd elected to stay out of them and the investigations both.

But they'd floated along at the peripheral of this final investigation, filed into a seat for this final trial and settled in to see what would happen. But once the curtain fell away from Miss Kamikita, it's too much. Castella has had enough of the silence, of being an observer.

Gritted teeth replace a practiced smile, tired mismatched eyes narrow as they eye Yukari's new look. The costuming is superb, the small details making an already symbolic design even more so, but their appreciation extends no further than the craftsmanship. If this was a show, a game, this is something they'd aspire to make, to push the limits of their cosplay skills. But seeing Yukari wearing it in the moment, an angel locked in a cage, a bird bleeding light and 'be-not-afraid's... There's something wrong about it.

Something very unlike Yukari. Yes the angel motif fit, yes the caged bird motif was perfectly on the nose for an idol lead around by her agency her whole life but... Something was off. They eye the outfit again, not meeting Yukari's gaze (the betrayal still stings, even if they weren't close), the gears turning.

...

Then it clicks. It's not her style at all, is it. Those sketches they'd poured over were much more modest, nowhere near as flashy. Yukari's personal style was down to earth, monochrome and understated. This gaudy dress was just another costume in an idol's wardrobe, flashy and eye-catching, designed to drag one's attention in. Not at all tailored to the wearers tastes but the audiences.

As much as the betrayal hurts, the director isn't alone and isn't in charge. She was put on full display to try and steal the eyes and minds of the audience. An idol paraded in front of the masses to dazzle and inspire emotion, one last time.

"...Right, we have a producer to find. A director calls the shots on the ground, picks and chooses the scenes but the one really in charge is a producer right? All the backstage stuff is on them, they make the big choices about the product overall and have more sway when it comes to overhead decisions than the director, but less creative freedom." They start, finding their voice after Man starts them all off on the Producer idea. They have so much they could say about Yukari, about the costuming, but they don't for now. That can come later, they figure. "Another one of us. Someone working with Kamikita-san, to compliment and assist her as the project's producer... Maybe that's a hint too, someone she was close with maybe? Or someone understated that could hide in her shadow while she took to center stage like this...?" Man's suggestions are way more concrete honestly, but they're trying to think of other angles too.

#reaction #trial #castella

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awakeshedreams · 3 years

Text

sugar and spice ( 1 )

pairing : resident bad boy!jjk x model student!reader

setting : highschool!au x stepbrother!au

summary :

a messy highschool!au x stepbrother!au where model student reader who has quite a few dirty little secrets sees her world take an unexpected turn when her mother comes home one day with an engagement announcement, to the father of none other than the school's resident bad boy.... Jeon Jungkook.

genre : smut, for laughs, kinda pornish, slow burn with collosaly overwhelming sexual tension

rating: soft m ( for now ) due to adult content

warnings : unconventional relationship of sexual nature, tropes and clichès, teenagers partaking in porn-esque activities, made up things with made up people happening in a made up world, don't like don't read XD

wordcount : 2.3K

a/n : i've been fighting in a long standing war and I have lost. the man known as jeon jungkook had his foot on my neck for years and today, I have finally submitted to my fate and surrendered to his reign.

yes. after a hundred years, i'm writing again. specifically, writing for bts. particularly, writing for jungkook. its been a long time coming.

life just took over and I transitioned into an adult and kind of grew out of the state of mind I was in before. but. sigh. jeon jungkook has been tormenting me the whole time. it was only a matter of time before i relapsed honestly.

so here I am again. in mind, body and spirit, a different person from who I was before but still the same in the sense that with the way bts have my whole heart, jk will always be the demon in the corner of my room that I invite to bed for a cuddle even though it's (probably really) not good for me.

do not misconstrue. I love him more than I can say. but. sigh. he has me in a chokehold, loves. please try to understand where I'm coming from.

anyways, enough with this ranting. you all came here for the nitty gritty so let me not hold you hostage with my dilemma rambling any longer. here's to the first bts fic i've posted in literal years. introducing- sugar and spice.

1 2

Unless they told someone, no one would have been able to guess it.

At school they were complete strangers.

She was the nice head girl with a clean record, all smiles and straight A’s. He was the mysterious bad boy with a track record, all tatted up with bruised knuckles.

She wore plaid skirts with neat pleads in them and pastel sweaters with bows at the collar. He wore jeans with rips in them and leather jackets with studs.

They couldn't have been any more different.

As far as anyone was concerned, they existed on two extreme ends of a vast spectrum.

What they didn't know was that they shared a dirty little secret.

You were a girl with many dirty secrets.

For instance, you used to sell nudes online. It was a side hustle you did.

Not because you needed money.

Your mom was a renowned doctor so there was more than enough of that in your life.

Not because you needed validation from people online either.

Even without the constant compliments and the praises you knew you were visually blessed with a pretty face and a nice body too.

All things considered, you simply thought you had a nice pair of tits and you took pictures of them sometimes.

Posting the shots you snapped online came much later when you heard about this website where people were getting paid crazy money for posting racy things.

‘It’s just so degrading…’ It was one of your friends, June, who sneered, pretty nose scrunched up. She fixed her long ponytail and rolled her brown eyes while looking in the mirror at her locker. ‘Who would do such a thing, am I right?’

She said this, but June was the girl who has slept with more boys than she could count on her two hands. And those were the ones she told you about.

Like every other time, you said nothing. Even when it carried on to lunch with the rest.

‘Pretty desperate if you ask me.’ Mei the stellar track runner shrugged casually as she stretched her limbs like routine.

‘Where are their parents?’ Nina the library nerd shook her head in disapproval as she fixed her glasses so it sat right on the bridge of her nose.

‘Um… I don’t think it’s … appropriate… to talk about ….’ Kiko the one who always carried a cross and bible around mumbled into her sleeve.

All your friends spoke of it in derision and repulsion of course. This was a school for proper children so they were proper girls. At least they were supposed to be.

Regardless the conversation sparked a curiosity in you.

So you made an account and uploaded your first picture. Nothing bizarre. Just your tits in a pretty lace bra.

You made sure to keep your face out of the frame because that was the smart thing to do and you were nothing if not the smartest student in school.

In all honesty, you weren’t expecting anything out of it. In fact, in between work with student council and tutoring your juniors with finals right around the corner, you even forgot about it for an entire month.

It was by a complete whim that you decided to open the app while you’d been unwinding at your desk following a tedious day at school.

To say you were amused by the response you found waiting for you would have be a grave understatement.

You were staring at the four figure digit that now sat in your bank account.

Reading through the comment section was even more interesting.

There were all sorts of people there who had all sorts of things to say. Ranging from honestly sweet to downright dirty.

You had never been brought to tears laughing in her life before until then.

It was just so funny to see people misbehave and lose their minds over a pair of tits.

From then on it just sort of became a thing.

But that wasn't the worse of your secrets.

You were making a name for yourself on the crude web months later.

The next step was naturally to move from making taking pictures to making videos. Since you was already in too deep you didn’t see why not.

So you upgraded and opened another account. An amateur one where your touched yourself for an audience.

You were no prude.

You might have never been touched by a boy before but you had touched yourself plenty times. Stress and frustration came hand in hand with being head girl. Since you couldn’t quite vent it out at the annoying troublemakers at school, this was your second best option.

Third was watching porn, but that was mostly when you were extremely bored.

But that wasn’t where that little endeavor ended.

Later on it became a lot more risqué.

It all started when your mom hit you with a marriage announcement.

She met a guy on her business trip who she really liked and she was convinced he was the one.

Your mom had a tragic history of being a bad judge of character.

You’ve had this conversation at least five times since you became old enough to understand that boys and girls who were just friends didn’t kiss and sleep with each other.

Most times, it felt like she was doing it because she thought you needed a dad around.

You might have once, when you were younger and your mom was too busy with work to be there. But she worked from home these days and you were soo busy with school to worry about things like that.

This time it was like she was doing it for her. You were glad.

Your mom looked genuinely happy when she spoke about this guy.

Who were you to get in the way?

She spent almost the whole weekend in the kitchen. It was the longest you’ve seen her in there in your entire life.

She was excited for the dinner on Sunday.

Mr Jeon was the name of the chosen man.

He was coming over with his kid. A son, his only family. His wife passed away years ago.

You wore the dress your mom picked out for you, something cream in color and off the shoulders that brushed your knees. She looked pretty in her champagne dress. It was different from the office slacks and loose blouses you were used to seeing her in.

You stood by her at the door while the guests came through.

Lifting your head from a polite bow, you found herself staring straight into an achingly familiar pair of glinting dark eyes and went completely still.

‘Sweetie,' Your mother said sounding delighted, a soft hand on your stiff shoulder. 'This is Mr Jeon and his son Jungkook.’

Ah. Fuck.

‘Jeon dear, this is my daughter. Isn’t she lovely?’

Dinner was a mild affair, with small talk and the occasional clinking of cutlery on fine china.

From the outside looking in, you probably looked the picture perfect family already.

Only if no-one looked close enough.

Arms crossed, tongue in cheek. Your discomfort could be detected from miles away.

The two adults were oblivious.

The dark eyed boy with the slightest wave to his nape touching, brow grazing, ear covering onyx hair sat across you though; he took note of this with a passing glance and wordlessly returned to his food.

Jeon Jungkook had a countenance that betrayed his reputation.

Even though you’ve never talked, you knew plenty about him and you were sure he knew a lot about you too.

You went to the same school.

Dressed as he was in a crisp white dress shirt buttoned at the wrist and dark tailored pants with a fine belt on, it might have been hard to tell what kind of person he really was.

You lifted her gaze from your plate to look study him wordlessly, idly twisting the noodles with your fork.

People either called him the black sheep or the dark cloud but for you, Jeon Jungkook was the school’s resident lone wolf.

He smoked in the secluded areas on campus, sometimes playing his guitar. Beat up people who got on his nerves, sometimes using his guitar. Slept in class the rare times he was there, many times on his guitar.

Being his senior, you had never seen any of any of that for yourself. But you received plenty reports weekly to come to a sound conclusion.

There was no way people hated him enough to join hands in solidarity and make this all up.

It was quite the contrary actually. He had an alarming number of fans.

On the surface level you couldn’t see why. Most times you saw him, he looked bored out his mind and honestly, intimidating.

Maybe it was the tattoos. Or the ripped skinny jeans. Or the leather jackets with studs.

Maybe it was the domineering height and fit frame and structured face.

Maybe it was the intense dark eyes or the silky ruffled hair.

Even then, you failed to see the irresistible appeal in him. All those things that made him up only added to his unapproachable aura.

Bottom line was, he was bad news.

You didn’t want to be a spoil sport.

But how much of a thug your mom’s boyfriend’s son was shouldn’t be something that would make her like him less.

They were both their own people. Right ?

It was just that you just didn’t want her to be shocked and devastated if something happened later. When it happened.

Yet it seemed the serious conversation would have to wait.

After dinner your mom suggested you head to the living room to chat over wine and cheese.

You stayed back to do take out the dishes.

Earlier, your mom had stood to do it instead at first.

‘Don’t bother with that, dear.’ She reached for the plates in your hands. ‘Let me do it.’

‘It’s okay, mom.’ You smiled a little. ‘This is your night. I’ll meet you in the living room.’

'Sweetie...' Your mom looked close to tears. ‘But there’s so much of it…’

‘Jungkook,’ his father's voice had cut through the moment. He was a serious man in a crisp suit with a stoic countenance. His voice was just naturally authoritarian without him trying ‘Give her a hand.’

Jungkook stood, almost robotically.

‘It’s fine.’ You said. Politely. Nicely. Tightly. ‘I can handle this much.’

You left without another word.

That had been moments ago and now you were done with cleaning.

You stood at living room entrance for a while, taking in the scene.

The two adults were exchanging moon eyes and whispering in each other’s ears at the love seat.

Jungkook was sitting on a solo seat, but he was on his phone, completely unbothered by what was happening.

Your mom seemed to think it was the perfect time to pull out the photo album right then and there upon seeing you.

It was embarrassing but at least you knew you didn’t have to worry about the pictures spreading at school.

Jungkook was looking, picking up a picture occasionally to rove over, but he wasn’t the type to do that.

He also wasn’t the type to stare but you felt his glance shifting to you and lingering multiple times.

Once, you caught his eyes and he just stared at you across the coffee table wordlessly with a curious tilt to his head, idly flipping a picture of you dressed as a knight in glitter shining armor for Halloween at eight in his hands.

Honestly, it was starting to get annoying.

But you endured. For your mom’s sake.

Your alarm went off at exactly ten.

As subtly as you could, you excused yourself with an apology to the guests, saying you weren't really feeling well.

In hindsight you probably should have used a better excuse.

Your mom was notorious when it came to worrying, especially when it comes to your health.

Also, you probably should’ve locked the door before undressing just for good measure since people were over.

But in the moment, you were too busy setting your camera up where you were kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed to be concerned about that.

That day you were testing out a new toy.

Distractedly, you took note of a couple of people asking you if that was your boyfriend’s shirt you had lifted over your tits.

You ignored them.

Couldn’t a girl own an oversized tee without getting any flack?

Trivial comments like that aside, a good majority of the audience are fawning over how wet you were and how perfect you bouncing tits look being played with.

Your head fell back and your eyes fluttered shut.

You were sitting there, knees raised to your chest and legs splayed, your gushing pussy in full display where the toy was stuffed deep into her tightness, vibrating pleasantly.

‘I’m close…’ you mumbled throatily, squeezing your tits and pinching your stiff nipples in between your moving fingers. You moved your hips move faster, feeling the toy buzz against fluttering walls. You took a hand off one of your tits to rub at your engorged clit. ‘Fuckfuckfuck…’

Deep in your high, you didn’t hear the door open and close with a foreboding click.

You only heard your name being called by a deep, smooth voice through the heady haze.

Instantly you stilled.

When you snapped your head to look over her shoulder Jungkook was there, hands in his pockets, leaning against your doorframe with his sleeves drawn up to his elbows, muscle roped, inked skin on full display.

When he tilted his head to the side a little, appraisively, you dared to say as a quaking chill ran down your spine and your entire body felt like it was about to burst into flames, a bit of his hair fell over his face.

His eyes were like two black in the dark as he took you in, dragging his gaze up and down your exposed body languidly.

In the back of your mind, you wished the ground would part and swallow you whole.

‘Your mom,' he starts, capturing your attention wholly, dark gaze finally flickering to your face, his voice suddenly lower, hoarser. ‘She sent me over to check on you.’

It took you a moment to realize where you were, who you were, who he was.

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dropped over your head.

Jeon Jungkook, the school's resident trouble maker, soon to be your step brother, just walked in on you fingering yourself in in front of a recording camera.

Well. Yeah.

You gulped.

You were royally fucked.

depending on the response I get I might ( most probably will ) delete this. not because I'm ashamed of my work. because I'm embarrassed of myself. I really swore to never write again and here I am. sigh. yes, I have seen my previous works and noticed just how terrible they were and this is a big reason why. so sorry for putting you through that. a million apologies.

also, that's right. I have adopted a new style which might not be to everyone's liking. another reason why.

anyways, if you liked this filth ( i know it seems mild but I can tell you it's very likely gonna get worse ) please idk uh... fuck this isn't ao3. hm.

like and drop by in the ask box if you liked it and want to see more. it makes me happy. its like serotonin fuel to me.

have a nice day. see you next time ( maybe ). stay fresh. yeah. 💜💜.

#bangtan #bts #bts angst #bts fluff #bts imagine #bts scenario #bts smut #bts au #jeon jungkook #jungkook scenario #jungkook imagine #jungkook smut #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #bts high school au #jungkook high school au

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meomoonymonstar · 2 years

Text

I like Alina as a character. But she is a shit show of a heroine and a main character.

I like the ending of ruin and rising for her, not because she lost her powers but because she is out of the war. Not only was she exhausted but she also left the country in a worse state than it was when she was found.

Losing her powers aside, because she didn't know it would happen anyway and it was not her goal, she successfully destroyed the fold. Good, I guess.

And the rest? She really thought she was doing something for Grisha when she told Nikolai to form a triumvirate with Zoya, Genya and David. First of all, they were all kids. It's just easy writing to use characters the audience already knows to fill the blanks. They could have been honored for being war heros I guess, all of them were on Alina's side and suffered a great deal, so give them a medal or something. But leading the second army? Grisha are supposed to live longer lives than other people considering how they use their powers. Given that they are part of an army they have to train hard and be the best soldiers they can, but there are only children left? I know it's YA but makes no sense. The part that does make sense is having them be mentors to the younger kids, like Genya being a poison expert and giving tailor lessons to healers and heartrenders. Zoya is definitely a leader and we all know how cracking powerful she got, of course that her attitude would make her be punished more than to be pushed to a higher ranking in the army, but sure, having her as a general does work. David on the other hand is supposed to represent the materialnik order. He is brilliant and he leads the progress of Ravka's technology (which is way behind any other nation but sure). He has no social skills and all he wants to do is work on his inventions, so why is he in meetings and having a voice in the decisions? He's always buried in his books, let the man be in his lab and be a mad scientist, find someone else to actually lead the order.

But all of this to criticise Alina. Why did Nikolai heard her request? I mean it's a good idea, it gives a voice to the second army. But why those people in question? Who is she to decide who should lead the second army?

Oh right, she defeated the previous general and she was the one leading Grisha against him. And why was that? Well, because she's the main character. That's literally the only reason there was. She has no leading skills, she herself doesn't know what she's doing, she improvises from chapter to chapter, which makes ruin and rising be her breaking point since she has no resources and her amazing leadership keeps making people around her die and get hurt.

Which to be honest, makes her a relatable character. Any 16 year old I know would not know what to do if they caught themselves in the middle of a civil war with people looking up at them (even though, they try to spin the Saint shit on her when the second army looks at her as "the darklings whore" so idk how strong that idea is). Any of us would lose their shits in that situation. But this is fiction and she is supposed to be a hero. Her weaknesses make her compelling and make us feel empathy, but it is her actions that make me be critical. She doesn't know shit about leading and yet she asks Nikolai for the second army and takes lead of it. To her own credit, she does assemble representatives of the other orders and they have meetings to discuss strategy, which is a good move. One good move, through the whole thing.

But when the fold is gone and she is supposedly dead she still wants to have a voice in what happens next. I suppose she does have a voice since she did help defeat their enemy. But she was not a real leader during the whole story, just a pretender so they would have numbers to face the Darkling.

"I am no longer Grisha" and "Grisha can lead themselves" are both quotes from alina on the same chapter. Pick a struggle alina, why are you choosing leaders for grisha on your own? They were all tired as alina was. When she got married and retired to her nice mansion, they had to keep working. The fact that she just chose for them and its painted as a reward baffles me.

#grishaverse #aleksander morovoza #nikolai lantsov #the darkling #alina starkov #it makes no sense #im so tired of this books #aleksander deserved better

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scrawnytreedemon · 3 years

Text

Victor Frankenstein and Frustration: a Not-Essay, because I can’t structure for shit.

Alright, I’ll try to keep it as clean and concise as I can, but at the end of the day this is a sorta-heat-in-the-moment thing I’m writing while all the ideas and motivation are in me yet. I will be jumping around alot of topics, as this covers alot of ground, but I can’t say I’ll do it with grace: for this, I apologise.

I’ve noticed a trend in online lit fandom, not just on Tumblr, to condense Victor’s character to something roughly following “arrogant, ineffectual and selfish weenie who failed horribly at parenting, who ought not to be taken seriously in any significant way, largely in-due to his constant whining“ --In other words, a right twat.

And here’s the thing: largely, I agree.

However, what I take issue with, I suppose, is largely how this is all framed.

See, fandom has a tendency to sort characters into boxes, and then pick favourites or bête noires from that selection; this is helpful for the largely memetic(as in, shareable,) nature of online spaces; but where I think this thinking falls short is that it tends to divide casts into More Good or More Evil, with little room for nuance.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Victor Frankenstein, by all accounts, is an incredibly frustrating character to witness; he gets way in over his head, isolates himself from his loved ones, leaving them worried, deems those ambitions failed, hides from them, then when shit starts hitting the fan, he takes initial actions to try and mitigate the consequence, hits a roadblock, either stops their or chooses an even worse option, someone else gets hurt, he whines, rinse and repeat until the final act of the book, as the stakes get higher and higher and his mental state deteriorates more, and more, and more. If you look at this entirely from an outsiders’ perspective, as you, the audience, being subjected to his moaning time and time again, it can wear on you and your sympathies-- Needless to say, I Get It™.

I think, however, it needs be remarked that Victor is also just some guy.

What I feel is often missed, is that even before Victor goes to university, he has just suffered the loss of his mother, with little time to recover, and that all of this is being told in hindsight, on his deathbed.

When Victor took on, all by himself, at twenty-two years old, not even letting anyone else know what he was up to, the monumental task of creating life, and then finding that life horribly botched, he did not have the perspective that what he created was equivalent to a newborn child-- For all he knew, he might have animated an actual demon. It isn’t until two years later, after the death of his little brother at the hands of said demon, the he’s even remotely made aware of this.

Victor had worn himself out over the course of several months, physically and mentally, to this one task. He was not equipped to deal witht he consequences. I do not say this to downplay the weight of his actions, or the horrible mess of events that come afterwards, but to state perspective. Victor does not have the hindsight we have at the time of this act. I cannot stress this enough. As much as I enjoy Deadbeat Dad Vick jokes, I get the feeling many people actually view the story from this lens, and hold Victor up to that standard.

Then there’s the trial of Justine: a horrible, useless, unneeded and avoidable affair that ends in even more senseless death. This is where alot of people’s sympathy for Victor runs out-- For more than understandable reasons. He failed to act accordingly, to share the information he had, deeming it to be either dismissed instantly or for himself to be put under scrutiny; it’s clear he’s passionate about Justine’s innocence, but he cannot push himself past his fear and doubt, and ultimately, it ends in her death.

It is a horrible, horrible moment, and one that cements the tone of the story from there on out.

These are two key events that largely colour this image of Victor so prevelant online; and it certainly doesn’t help, what with fandom being almost aggressively left-leaning at times, that Victor comes from a place of privilege; he is almost tailor-made to push all the buttons of fandom sensitivities.

Let me elaborate.

A key feature of Victor’s character is his complete and utter inability to ask for help; no matter how dire the situation. Victor feels, that, despite and even because of his incompetence, that it is his cross and his cross alone to bear. Any inolvement from others, such as Clerval when he heads to England, is hesitant and highly discouraged, even when he wants nothing more than to partake in the company of his loved ones, after all he’s been through. While it is also heavily coloured by the anguished sentiment that borders on self-absorption so much of the time, I think it is also worthy to examine this too.

Victor’s tendency to indulge in self-pity and self-loathing is nigh, if not entirely, all-consuming; it pervades the narrative to a painful degree, particularly as it comes from his recollections; it is often exhausting to read through, and nigh unbearable if you already hold a disdane from his previous actions; but here’s the thing I think most people miss,

Victor is depressed.

I don’t mean “ooh, he’s so sad, leave him alone 🥺,“ I mean the guy is fucking depressed, stuck in a constant cycle of attempting to make do but failing, hating himself even more, letting it consume him because he at once feels like he deserves to be consumed and it’s the only thing he can do then and there to soothe to pain as shit gets worse and worse.

Victor Frankenstein’s internal monolgue is a prime example of deep-seated, far-gone depression, and I say this because I myself have experienced and do experience this. Depression is fucking soul-sucking, man; it turns you in on yourself, makes you feel entirely undeserving of love and compassion, leaves you feeling like you must, have to, deal with this entirely by yourself because it is your cross to bear.

Depression is so often self-flagellating and pointless, leaving the subject drained and often largely unable to experience the world outside their own miserable little bubble.

Victor is so wrapped up in this soul-sucking guilt, attempting to fight his own ineffectuality and in doing so only furthering his own ineffectuality, refusing to ask for help, that he ends up putting the ones he’s trying to protect in further danger as he tries to scramble a hodge-podge solution to the problem he created and couldn’t have even begun to forsee its consequences at twenty-two years old. It is a painful, painful example of how if only he reached out, if only he told someone, was honest, all of this could have been avoided, or at least mitigated.

And I think that’s the thing with Victor.

He’s a kind of banal evil-- If such continuous stumbling can even be considered so --He is an example of every day self-isolation and refusal to let anyone else in ballooning to such a degree it ends in distaster.

People are far, far more willing to forgive Adam for his transgressions-- And I say this as someone far more sympathetic to his plight, what with the absolute abandonment he faced at the hands of humanity --Despite their far more horrific consequences; in many ways, they’re attributed to Victor’s failing; which isn’t entirely untrue,

But I have to wonder, if alot of this also comes down to the fact that Victor’s wrongdoings are so human; leaving someone in your care behind; not speaking up in cases of injustice; being self-involved; again, the constant whining. In a way, it’s the sentiment that in stories a horrible person is often far more bearable than an annoying one.

That doesn’t even begin to touch on how much of the bemoaning might largely be and often is directly post-hoc regret colouring all his previous actions. This, above all else, is a cautionary tale to a fellow idealist in the hopes that Robert Walton doesn’t Fuck Up the way he did. Victor stresses his regret and his failings and his misery time and time again because he wants to protect Robert from a similar fate; a fate that ultimately ends in his death.

Victor Frankenstein is a study in frustration; in audience frustration, self-frustration, narrative frustration; it seeps into every corner of the story.

I am not trying to defend Victor Frankenstein as a person; he is flawed; and he’s meant to be flawed. Victor, at the end of the day, is a deconstruction of the Byronic hero-- Of Great and Powerful Men on the Fronteers of History™-- And most importantly, I think, a deconstruction he himself undergoes. Victor eventually alerts someone, a Genevan magistrate, is doubted just as he feared, and then runs off to take revenge into his own hands.

It takes the death of Elizabeth Lavenza to do so.

Victor is a flawed, miserable man, but not an evil one. That doesn’t mean he deserved to have his life crumble around him.

He could have done better. Should have done better.

And he knows this.

His entire arc is about how he knows this.

Victor dies knowing this.

Him being unlikable doesn’t make him a bad character. Him being unlikable is part of the character; and in a meaningful way.

God, I don’t know how to end this. I’ll probably come back and edit this many, many times.

I guess I’m just tired of people flattening characters just because they’re not particularly endearing.

#frankenstein #scrawny speaks #scrawny rambles #analysis #victor frankenstein #there's probably even more i want to say and will regret failing to touch on #and believe me i do see the irony in a thinkpiece about victor frankenstein so laser-focusing on him #i really do #but it's kinda all the energy i have for #point is i don't think victor is a particularly good person #or admirable in any way shape or form #but that doesn't mean his character doesn't have worth #and i guess i'm tired about all of this just getting... tossed out the window #fandom is fun but also exhausting #he's a weenie yes but he isn't j us t a weenie can we please acknowledge that?#he's a guy. some fucking guy who fucked up. like alot of fucking guys who fucked up.#i wonder how much of this is also The Protagonist Complex #wherein we insert ourselves and go 'i would have done this better!'#because BELIEVE ME i hope i'd be far more empathetic and far more... Less That #but i don't know and i won't pretend to know #and i do wonder if some of this comes down to people not wanting to sympathise with a Bad Person because then it means they could be Bad #spoiler alert: yes. all of us have the potential to be miserable weenies.#none of us are safe.#i want to stress *potential*#please don't leap down my throat #ughghjg i'll stop. hopefully this was... Okay. i guess.#long post

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justimajin · 3 years

Text

Til Death Do Us Part ♜ Pt. 1

➟ Pairing: Namjoon x Reader

➟ Genre: Angst, Fluff, Eventual Smut

↳ (3.7k), Arranged Marriage AU

➟ Summary: If someone told you that you’d be marrying the Kim Namjoon, you would think you were being lied to, or worse, that you were hallucinating. However, fate seems to have it’s own ways of making the impossible possible and before you even know it, the title of Mrs. Kim is bestowed onto you. There’s just one problem: you’re not sure if Kim Namjoon is the person he says he is and the truth of your own identity is dangling by the strength of a mere thread.

➟ Warnings: This series will involve themes of graphic violence, depictions of blood, major character death and hints of trauma. 18+ rating. Reader discretion is highly advised.

gif credit.

➟ Next Update: Tuesday, December 22

Love is a strange thing.

It pulls individuals together, sparking fireworks and blissful rays of euphoria within seconds. It renders people affectionate, words dripped with honey and caresses full of tenderness transcending without a means of stopping. To be frank, it’s majestic through the eyes of the beholder.

But love is indeed a strange thing.

It’s history has been plagued with moments of weakness and hesitation, moments that rip away layers to reveal raw, vulnerable selves from every individual. It’s inability to forget and move on clutches onto the minds of those that chose to associate with it, invading their memories and never granting them a single second to run free. Love is a strange thing, but it’s most putrid use has always been the necessity to use it like a tool.

A deep breath escapes your tinted red lips, cold hands clutching onto the delicate bouquet that’s been thrust into them. The petal pink and lilac purple flowers rest against the chaste white of your dress, the awaited arrival of yours long passed as you raise your head and sneak a peek at the person standing in front of you behind your veil.

Clad in a special tailored suit for the occasion, his dark brown hair has been brushed back and neatly tucked into the corners of his hair. He stands tall and confident, seemingly captivated by the words the priest mumbles through as he drags on through every dull phase written in his book. As if he can tell your eyes are on him, he suddenly looks in your direction and you return your gaze back to the ground, clutching onto the array of petals in your hands.

The priest goes on to dutifully declare the responsibilities you must carry, including the very ones that tie you to each other.

For better, for worse. Rich, poor. Sickness, health.

Love. Cherish.

“Until death do you part?” The priest peers up with fatigued eyes, glancing in between you. You suck in a shaky breath, eyes fixating on everything except for the man standing on the opposing side.

“I-I do.” You hastily mutter, swallowing the lump stuck in your throat. Patiently waiting for his answer, you try not to focus on the collection of eyes gawking at you from the altar.

“I do.” He states, firm and resolute with his answer. It shakes you to your core, eyes immediately flickering up to meet his warm ones.

You’re perplexed for a moment, but you’re not given time to dwell any longer once the priest shuts his book, content with your answers. Relief floods you in an instant, yet it’s short-lived and has your stomach churning instead.

“You may kiss the bride.” The priest steps back as if you needed room for the grandiose gesture, eagerly awaiting the showcase with the rest of the people seated in front of the altar. Nevertheless, your hands begin to quiver despite your best wishes and you remain planted in place.

Before you even know it, the delicate veil resting against your forehead is being pulled up and tucked away, projecting your dolled up features on full display. You can only fidget when he draws near, preparing for the worse until he pauses.

Glancing up in surprise, you’re caught off guard from the lines crossing his forehead and the dismay clouding his eyes. For a second, you could have sworn that you were gazing into a mirror, an image of your combined concerns being painted right in front of you.

You’re caught in between a daze and bewilderment when he advances again, however all you feel is a soft peck against your skin before your veil is placed back into place. Your audience seems to be at loss with the action, but once he turns around to face them in the midst of holding your hand, loud cheers and roars flood the room as congratulatory confetti bursts into the room.

Unconsciously, your hand drifts over to your cheek with furrowed brows and you steal another glance at the man you will be bound to for eternity.

***

The L/N Family.

Tactical and resourceful, known for their skillful strategies and trade explorations, a business they would go on to proudly pronounce in the arms industry. Others would look to them for support and reassurance, and they would in return cohesively make protective deals that would ensure no harm. Yonghwa, their head, would go on to make a legacy out of his family name.

The Kim Family.

Discreet and powerful, known for their relentless determination and invokable hunger, characteristics that would eventually seep into their weapon manufacturing business. They know how and with whom to pick their fights, vigorously acquiring a steady position in the industry within a flash before everyone’s eyes. Namjung, their head, carved the Kim name into a status no one would have ever imagined.

Trade and manufacturing, two able sides of the same coin. They seeked to forge an union that would unite their two sectors, to create a harmonious flow of success within their collective industries.

But not all deals, go as planned.

On the fateful day, Yonghwa was found on the ground in a pool of his own blood while Namjung was left visibly shaken. Catastrophe seemed to only follow the event there on after, with both families seeking revenge on the other. Their union seemed to be the last thing on either mind, but after the years passed and stained relations had been fully dragged out, there only seemed to be one solution that could bring peace to the two of them.

***

The wheels of the large suitcase hit the polished ground.

It’s lavish and grand, crystals littering the high held ceiling and lilies spread over the handles of the spiraling staircase. It ends right at the large chandelier, with more crystals dangling down opposite the shining marble that your slippers find purchase in.

You remain in place, staring with wide eyes and an agape jaw the scenery before you.

“Please,” A girl bows before you, dressed in a simple pale blouse and skirt that’s paired with an apron. There’s a small twinkle in her pleasant eyes paired with natural pouting lips; the delicate features drawing out the sheer youth the girl embodies. “Follow me.”

You snap out of your daze once she advances forward, her hands careful weaving through yours to clutch onto your packed luggage. At first, you’re a bit unsure as to if you should let her carry the heavy load up the stairs, but you’re pleasantly surprised when she manages to hall it all the way up.

She roughly pushes herself against a large wooden door, revealing the grand room behind it. It’s decorated similarly to the main portion of the house, however the sheer size of it has your jaw dropping again, eyebrows furrowed as its appearance.

Your suspicions are confirmed right away, “This will be your room, Miss Y/N.”

“I-I…” You can’t help but hesitate, “Are you sure?”

She nods, placing your luggage now. “Of course, Master Kim asked us to prepare it for you.”

You instinctively flinch at the sudden mention of your husband, but the girl tilts her head to the side, curiosity peeking through her.

“Don’t they have such rooms in the L/N residence?” Her eyes suddenly widen, and she slaps a hand against her mouth, “Oh no, I-I didn’t mean it that way!”

A smile curls on the corners of your lips, “What’s your name?”

She gazes at you with surprise, like she had been expecting a scolding fit for her lifetime. Nonetheless, she hastily answers your question with a bow.

“I am Eunjoo, one of Master Kim’s most faithful servants.”

“Little flower.” You decipher, “Sounds like a fitting name.”

“It could have been summer’s grace.” Eunjoo offers with a shrug, “Though I don’t really like summer, so I’ve tried my best to ignore that meaning.”

You let out a genuine chuckle from that, something that has Eunjoo instantly beam. The news of her own Master getting married to someone from the L/N family was initially difficult for her to digest, but it appears that she was too early to judge.

A lopped smile etching onto your features, “And to answer your previous question, unfortunately the L/N’s don’t have such a residence. We’ve lost much of our wealth after‒…” You pause, biting back your words, “...after, you know.”

You wave your hand away in the air and Eunjoo understandably nods, no need to delve into the long-lived history of your families that is known to all. She hurriedly aids in you in unpacking much to your reassured protests, following and assisting you around like a little fairy. Her company ends up being both interesting and comfortable, especially since the two of you discovered the other wasn’t well in adapting the titles you carry.

A knock resounds against the door, drawing out your attention. Immediately Eunjoo drops the clothes in her hands, right before she straightens up and takes a graceful bow.

Her reaction is telling of who's at the door, so with pinched lips and a creased forehead, you turn around.

He remains glued to the door frame, still adorned in his tailored black suit. Aside from the similarity in his put together appearance though, his shoulders are no longer hiked up in a noble stance, nor is there any remaining amount of warmth spreading through his eyes. Instead, he appears akin to how he was in the split-second before your ultimate union was official, the memory causing the skin of your cheek to slightly burn.

Swaying from side to side, he hesitates to step into the room.

“I see you’ve met Eunjoo.” He mentions. On cue, the servant straightens up, a huge smile on her lips.

“I was just helping Miss Y/N unpack!”

“Oh that’s nice, perhaps I can assist to‒” He isn’t able to finish his sentence, because the next thing you know you jolt at the sound of a loud crash that echoes through the room.

“Master Kim!” Eunjoo immediately rushes forward, scurrying to help the fallen man. He instantly rises up to his feet and dusts off his suit jacket, but remains of glass are scattered all over the ground.

He lets out a groan and Eunjoo sighs, “Master, you know you have to be careful.” She begins to quickly pluck up the shards of the vase, raising one up to eye level with a pout, “I especially picked this one out for your newly wedded wife.”

At the mention of you, Namjoon instantly glances up, pupils shaking. “I-I can get you a new one soon, it might take around a week but if I put in a request now‒” He scrambles around for a moment, before checking the inner pockets of his jacket for something to write on in a haste.

Unconsciously, a small smile cracks through the seam of your lips, increasing as he tries to intervene with Eunjoo to pick the shards, and she protests that he shouldn’t get his hands soiled with her errands. He eventually has to sheepishly stand to the side, staring at her defeated like a child that had just gotten scolded for misbehaving.

Eunjoo eventually collects all the pieces and ushers herself out, reminding you of the pending family dinner you’ll need to attend in the evening. She leaves the room and you decide to resume unpacking, until you come across the realization that you’re not alone.

“Do you need help?” He peers at your suitcase behind you, “I’m usually more capable with things that aren’t easy to break.”

The abrupt proximity catches you by surprise, but you merely shake your head at his kind offer, “I should be fine, thank you.”

He nods and you assume he’ll excuse himself after a moment, but he lingers and that’s when you crane your head over at him.

Appearing to be in between a deep ponder, he snaps back into reality once your questioning eyes fall onto him. “Uh I‒” A lengthy sigh leaves his lips, “I know this is strange.”

You wonder what he's referring to until you notice him gesturing to the gap between you, “It’s strange for me, and it’s strange for you. We didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

He sheepishly scratches the back of his neck, a deep crease forming between his brows. You’re frozen in place, at a complete loss for words.

He suddenly sucks in a breath, looking up to gaze into your eyes, “But I’d like to get to know you better….a-as my future wife.”

Your eyes round and his declaration only receives dead silence in its awake. Flabbergasted, he attempts to correct himself amidst your prolonged response.

“T-That doesn’t mean right away! We can take our time and I’m not expecting anything from you, so you don’t need to worry and‒”

“I’d like that.”

He freezes, “Wait, really?”

You hum, a corner of your mouth lifting, “You’re right, it’s strange. But I’d like to get to know my husband better as well.”

His eyes immediately sparkle, like you’ve said the very words he’s been aching to hear, “That’s great!” A breathtaking smile overtakes his features, “I guess I’ll see you at dinner then?”

You nod with a smile, and he departs, the euphoria never once leaving his lips.

***

Evening draws near and long gone is the dilatory white piece of garment that’s forever confined you to your fate. Instead, it’s replaced with a delicate fabric of rose gold, perhaps to represent the luxury you have of being present in such a place or in the new beginnings that will soon follow you.

Regardless, you prepare yourself. Although you’re simply arriving to dinner, there’s a family waiting at the table that you don’t know of yet.

Eunjoo brings you down with her after putting your hair up and presenting a pair of matching heels your way. You’re wary as you walk down the spiraling staircase, barely balancing yourself on the elevated shoes. Luckily, Eunjoo notices and helps you down, but the split moment of relief is met with a jolt of surprise when you notice someone waiting at the bottom.

“I’ll take it from here, Eunjoo.” The women amiably bids. Eunjoo swiftly bows, mumbling something along the lines of Mistress Kim, before heading into the dinner room.

You immediately whirl around, eyes on alert like a deer in headlights. She mirthfully smiles at you, carrying a warm tone in her eyes that feels familiar.

“You don’t have to look so worried,” She reprimands, “I’m not going to bite your head off.”

Your eyes widen even more, “I-I’m sorry?”

She bursts out into laughter, concealing her ruby red lips with a hand that is glittering in assorted jewels.

“Nothing, dear. I’m just teasing you.” You nervously laugh at that, and she places a hand against your back, guiding you forward. “Come, I’m eager to know what my son’s wife is like.”

Politely nodding, you follow behind her and nearly freeze. If you had expected your bedroom to be astonishing, then you weren’t prepared for the enormous buffet that waits for you ahead.

Pieces of food are scattered all over the decorated table, ranging from freshly cooked to foods you would have never imagined yourself eating. It reminds you of times your family could barely manage to have a decent meal for one night, lost scavenging for food that wouldn’t make your empty pockets hurt.

You’re so lost in the thought that you don’t feel someone brush by you. There’s suddenly a warm hand planting onto your shoulder, drawing your attention with a smile full of dimples.

“Do you want to sit down first?” He gestures to the table, where his mother sits next to his father and opposite to his sister. Embarrassed that you’ve been just gawking at the table, you hurriedly take a seat and so does Namjoon.

Even though you’re only just sitting at the table, it seems like all eyes are on you, burning into your skin and tracing every move. The impending silence eventually does crack though, and it’s done by a person you would have least expected.

“Is that chicken?” Namjoon’s father blurts out, his eyes following a tray one of the servants brings by. His wife immediately interjects, dismayed by his reaction.

“Indeed,” She points a demanding finger at him, “But none for you, there’s a reason why your health hasn’t been the greatest as of lately.”

He pouts at her response, longley staring at the dish once it arrives. The childlike display catches you a bit off guard, eyebrows raised.

“That’s unreasonable though.” He suddenly looks in your direction, “What do you think, Y/N? Isn’t she being unreasonable?”

The abrupt inquiry leaves you speechless, no coherent words manifesting at the tip of your tongue. His wife whirls around, cocking up a brow in his direction.

“Why are you dragging her into this?” She faces you with a smile, “Y/N is the newest addition to our family so we should make her feel welcome, not bring her into such trivial matters.”

The pleasant response astonishes you, but more so the mention of your inclusion. He lets out a sigh, acknowledging his wife’s sentiments.

“You’re right.” He turns to you, “Y/N, why don’t you tell us about yourself?”

His mother hums, “I’d like to hear about where you grew up, Y/N.”

“Oh, it’s nothing really special,” You grow bashful, “I was raised in the outskirts of the country by my parents.”

The two of them nod, intently listening to you, “Before coming here, I studied in the imperial academy for a while.”

“Ah, involved in the industry I see.” He praises, “You must know a lot about how our businesses are conducted, right?”

“Not quite.” There’s a strained smile on your lips, “I didn’t want to actively participate in it.”

Although your answer seems to have taken both of them by surprise, his wife hums in approval. “So I’m assuming that was your personal choice?”

When you nod, a giant smile stretches onto her lips, and she elbows her husband, “A gutsy one, don’t you think?”

He smiles in retaliation, “Just like you.”

She blushes at his sudden compliment, but a voice from afar breaks the two out of their daze.

“Gross - we’re eating here.”

Appalled at the feminine voice, you notice the young girl seated across from Namjoon, a deep frown etched onto her stern features.

“Leave them be, Geongmin.” Namjoon coaxes his sister, but she lets out a grunt of disapproval in the midst of eating soup.

The corners of his mother’s lips turn up and his father faces you again, looking as if he had a million questions up his sleeve lined up just for you.

Much to your surprise, the rest of the evening is spent exchanging pleasantries with them and keeping conversation light. There even comes a moment when both you and Namjoon end up reaching out for the bread basket, only to pull away once you discover your hands had ended up meeting halfway. As you grow bashful, you notice his mother smiling tenderly and his father chuckling at the abrupt affiliation.

Once the evening begins to come to an end, you excuse yourself through the use of your own fatigue and request to head to bed first. They waste no time in understanding, with Namjoon’s father even wrapping a hand around his son and expressing that he needed to discuss some things with him anyway.

You leave the room as he heads off with his family, granting you with some much-needed time and space.

***

Treading back, you pause at the large wooden door that leads into your room. Your eyes briefly skim over the fine carvings on the wood, instead choosing to scrutinize the direction of your right and left side. A shadow casts over your pupils and your hand presses against the door, letting it slowly creak wide open.

Step by step, you stroll inside and let the light fade out, replacing itself with only darkness.

The moment the source of luminescence disappears, you move within a flash. The handle is locked, tugged at for a confirmation. There’s a speck of radiance coming from the small lamp you’ve turned on, enough to see the large suitcase you’ve brought get yanked out.

Zippers are flying and the cover is ripped off. Clothes are frantically thrown astray, dumped into a careless heep without much of a second look. Your hands are weaving through the material and running rampant, eyes flickering with something akin to desire and alloyed with increasing unease.

Once your hands meet with metal, a twinkle emerges within your orbs. The spindle of ore is unwound; detangling the material in a quickened manner. It looks distinctly similar to what one would use for electrical purposes, set with the intention of providing light in grim areas.

Right. The intention.

Unraveled, you cautiously drift over to the large window by the bedside and crank it open. Peering outside, there’s no glimmer or streak of luminescence meeting your eyes, only a dark, simple gray sky.

Unconsciously a breath of relief leaves your lips and you reach out, reclining your body just enough to reach above and then below the window’s hilt. The instrument effortlessly blends in, appearing like a simple cable that’s been tightly strung around.

You lean back and rummage through the luggage on the ground, pulling out a small plastic box that doesn’t appear to be much, but more or less, is the sole thing you couldn’t have departed without. With a small hinged click, it connects to the thin barbed string you just unraveled and right when a quiet buzz resonates through, does a smile tugs on the corner of your lips.

A knock resonates through the box. Followed by another, and then another. It’s succeeded with a prolonged silence on your part, your entire body remaining in a frozen state.

Static echoes and you let out the air you didn’t realize you were holding from your lungs.

Within seconds, you are nimbly knocking against the box in repetitive notions. Your actions range from different types of knocks; heavy, light, twice the sound.

More static echoes and your eyes immediately widen, hands balling up into tighter fists.

A heavier one.

“I have….”

Lighter.

“...successfully infiltrated….”

One last firm knock.

“....the enemy household.”

787 notes · View notes

finalfantasyix · 3 years

Photo

Meet The Team Working On A Final Fantasy 9 Remake You’ll Never Get To Play

Final Fantasy 9: Memoria Project is a fan homage like nothing we've ever seen before. “It is no secret that fan projects get shut down all the time,” Dan Eder tells us about Final Fantasy 9: Memoria Project, a fan-driven love letter to the classic JRPG. It isn’t aiming to be a playable remake of the epic adventure though - instead, it’s an aesthetic homage to its timeless world and characters.

It’s somewhat anomalous in the world of community creations, but Eder wants to use this distinct identity to craft something truly special, even if many obstacles stand in the way of making it a reality. But the team keeps moving forward: “Without a doubt, some of the most frequent comments we get from naysayers is ‘have fun with it while it lasts’ or ‘cease and desist incoming’”, Eder explains. “People are understandably skeptical of the longevity potential of yet another passion project. The key difference is that, unlike those projects, Memoria is essentially an elaborate piece of fan art, nothing more - it will have no actual gameplay, will never be released to the public, and is nothing more than a ‘what-if’ scenario. [It’s] no different from any other fan-made piece of artwork. We have never, and will never, make a single dollar out of this project, and are basically doing this for the personal gratification of the fans.”

The genesis of Memoria Project dates all the way back to Eder’s younger years, with dreams of a potential FF9 remake entering his imagination soon after the original game’s launch. That’s no great surprise - millions still regard Final Fantasy 9 as the series’ finest hour. “While it's true that the project really started to pick up steam a few months ago, it wouldn't be a stretch to say I've been planning it since high school,” Eder explains. “I remember scribbling ‘FF9 remake’ on my notepad during classes and writing imaginary new features and battle system mechanics, starting online petitions to remake FF9 for the PS2, sketching drawings depicting scenes from the ‘FF9 sequel’ and whatnot. I could confidently say that my life would probably have been completely different had my older brother not borrowed this game from his friend in the summer of 2000.

“As a non-native English speaker who had never played an RPG up until that point, my first playthrough was a challenging experience to say the least, and I can honestly say that I understood literally nothing of what was going on the first time I finished the game (how I even managed to beat it is a mystery in and of itself). It didn't really matter to me though, since I was absolutely enamored with the incredible cast of characters, jaw-dropping FMV sequences, mesmerizing music, thrilling gameplay, and just the overall atmosphere and charm it exuded at every step. My unconditional love for this game persisted throughout my entire childhood and adult life, and it is one of the central reasons why I chose to become a 3D character artist in the video game industry. In short, this project is my way of thanking this game for everything it has done for me over the past 21 years.”

Eder’s passion for this game can be found across several industry professionals who grew up with games like this and wanted to replicate them, or create something entirely unique to live up to their brilliance. This is very much how Memoria Project found its feet, beginning life as a trivial side activity before blossoming into something infinitely more ambitious. It still has a long way to go, but there’s little urgency to reach the finish line, so the team can take their time and just enjoy the nostalgic indulgence of it all.

“Memoria actually started unofficially as a side project when I reached out to Colin Valek [of] Sucker Punch Studios in early 2020 after I came across his fanart of an environment from FF7,” Eder says. “I had already modeled Princess Garnet, and thought it could be a fun idea to combine our talents to reimagine the opening area of Alexandria. Initially, it was progressing at a snail's pace - we were slowly chipping away at it for over a year without making a lot of progress. While Colin continued modeling the buildings, I created another character - Vivi.”

This glacial pace received a resurgence of sorts in January when the Alexandria scene was finally complete, with Eder and company finally being able to see how much potential the project had if it was opened up to a larger range of creators. “When I posted that WIP screenshot, the response from fellow FF fans was overwhelmingly positive, more than we could have imagined,” Eder remembers. “Very quickly, other people from the gaming industry started reaching out - environment artists, animators, riggers, concept artists. That's when I decided to turn this side project into a full-fledged modern reimagining of the original game, while always making sure to emphasize the fact that this is a non-playable proof-of-concept, since we never have any intention of doing anything to violate Square Enix's copyright. Four months after officially announcing the project, we've grown from a couple of FF fanboys to a huge team of over 20 industry veterans working collaboratively to honor this masterpiece, fueled by our love and adoration for the source material.”

Now, the project has over 20 developers from Sucker Punch, Ubisoft, Rare, Unbroken Studios, and more all diving into this labour of love in their spare time, with composers and voice actors also contributing their talents to help make this glimpse into the world of Final Fantasy 9 worth celebrating. But Eder is aware of being overly enthusiastic, knowing that fan projects like this often doom themselves by undertaking something that isn’t feasible with so few resources.

“One of the most common traps for these kinds of fan projects is being overly ambitious,” Eder says. “Since all of us are actively working in the video game industry, we understand the importance of milestones, short term goals, and taking things one step at a time. For now, we are focusing our efforts on the opening sequence of the game, which mainly revolves around Vivi and his exploration of Alexandria. Where we go from here is still being discussed, but one thing I can say for sure is that Vivi will not be the only main character we're planning to include.” I’m told that Memoria is aiming to look indistinguishable - at least from a graphics perspective - from something you’d see in a triple-A blockbuster, and it seems the team has the pedigree to back that claim up.

Visuals are the entire point after all, since turning this project into a playable piece of media would require far more resources to create. By narrowing its focus, Memoria is able to deliver something special while also hopefully avoiding the ire of Square Enix. “The fact that this is a non-playable project definitely makes it easier for us to tailor the experience in a way that would truly allow the audience to be fully immersed in the world without having to worry about technical limitations,” Eder tells me. “Creating actual functional gameplay is a completely different ball game, one that we never had any intention of even discussing given the copyright limitations. This gives us a lot of leeway with how we are going to portray the world of Gaia in terms of character interaction, camera movement, [and] scene transitions. We have a lot of cool plans for the near future - please look forward to it!”

As for the sad truth of fan projects like this often being wiped from existence by publishers throwing out cease and desist letters, Eder is confident that Memoria occupies a niche where this won’t happen. It’s not a commercial or even playable product - it’s a piece of fan art, albeit an endlessly elaborate one. If the tides were to change, Eder believes companies should welcome the enthusiasm for experiences like this.

“If I were to be completely honest, I think it could be a potentially brilliant decision by Square Enix to do something wildly unexpected and invest in a project like this,” Eder states. “There's a considerable amount of hype, talent, motivation, and pure, unadulterated passion behind it. It's not something I would expect, but I think it could be incredibly helpful in regaining some of the trust and reverence that this legendary company was known for during its golden years.”

(source)

#final fantasy ix #memoria project #final fantasy 9 #ffix: memoria project #article #news #interview #long post #very long post!

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septembercfawkes · 3 years

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How Premise Plays into Theme

For many writers, theme is an afterthought--something they may try to figure out once the book is mostly written. But in reality, for a lot of stories, the premise actually promises a theme, or at least, a theme topic. This may not be true of all premises, but a surprising number actually have a theme already begging to be explored.

First, what do I mean by premise? Because a quick search online shows me multiple writing websites that define it slightly differently. Most will agree that a premise is the main idea of the story. It's usually 1 - 3 sentences that say what the story is about, typically the setup. This means it has a character, a goal, and a conflict. It's basically the same thing as a logline, if you are more familiar with that term.

Before we start writing, most of us have some idea of a premise, even if we haven't officially written it down and ironed it out. As we brainstorm and work on the story, that may become more defined. Here is an example of one:

When Fa Mulan learns her weakened father must go to war to fight the invading Huns, she secretly disguises herself as a man to take his place.

So we have a character, Mulan, promised conflict with the Huns, and how that affects her family, and a sense of desire illustrated by proaction--she takes her father's place.

And would you believe it?

It already has thematic elements begging to be explored!

The most obvious one is gender. The protagonist is trying to pass as the opposite gender. Just this setup already tells us that we are going to be including her personal struggles with that. How can you not? And if you didn't, the story might feel like it's lacking--like you are possibly dancing around a topic that deserves to be addressed.

So in a sense, at least one of the theme topics is already decided just by the premise.

Let's look at what else we have going on in that single sentence. We have both a personal problem and a public problem: Mulan's family life and the Huns invading China. So we will probably need to be addressing both of those. Looking at the setting and the fact that Mulan is going in her father's place, which is a no-no, we might start to get ideas for a second theme topic that should be addressed: honor.

Already, just from the basic idea, the setup of the story, we have two theme topics.

Let's look at some more examples.

When an ogre, Shrek, who craves solitude discovers that fairytale creatures are being exiled to his swamp by Lord Farquaad, he sets out to reclaim his property--while reluctantly being befriended by a very social donkey. But when Shrek meets with the lord, a deal is struck that he must rescue Princess Fiona, who is awaiting her true love in a tall tower guarded by a dragon.

Okay, so just from this setup, we have some great things happening. As always, notice how the writers created contrasts. Shrek craves solitude, and the worst thing that can happen is having his home overrun with magical creatures AND having to pal around with a Donkey who will never shut up. To make matters worse, he has to rescue a (at this point) seemingly stereotypical princess who is awaiting her true love (and his kiss), but he's an ogre.

We have a character, with a desire, with conflict.

And look at that! Just from the setup, I see some theme topics that are aching to be developed and explored. We'll want to be addressing something with solitude and socializing, and also probably disappointing others by not meeting expectations.

Sure, this maybe needs a bit more work to nail down specific themes. But if you are familiar with the story, you'll see how these things tie into the bigger theme of not judging others based on their appearances. (Ogres are like onions!)

Here is Arrival's.

Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touchdown in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. (source)

Take a moment and look at that setup. That premise. Do you see any theme topics that are begging to be addressed?

The most obvious is language/communication.

Which will feed into a higher, linguistic concept that language itself affects--literally--howour minds process the world.

This is also played into not only by trying to communicate with aliens, but with "nations teeter[ing] on the verge of a global war"--communications between nations, and humans as a whole.

Premise plays into theme.

And another:

A penniless son of a tailor strives to eventually work his way to the top and give the love of his life the life of her dreams by putting together a show full of oddities and outcasts, in what will become the first ever circus.

Here is a premise for The Greatest Showman, but I also want to illustrate how even just concepts themselves can hint at a theme. Obviously a story about P. T. Barnum is going to be a story about the circus. What theme topics could a circus naturally invite?

Well, historically, the people there were considered "freaks" by society. It seems that many people who joined the circus back then were outcasts with little chance of climbing the social ladder. Seems like a good theme topic to explore would be "belonging" and its relationship with society.

But, really, you could keep brainstorming and researching circuses and find other features that beg to be discussed, like the circus animals. What topics and ideas relate to that? The most obvious would be to discuss how animals are treated. But you could also play around with it and look at how humans behave more like animals to each other, than the animals.

Or maybe you want to explore how audiences or humans in general want to be fooled, as exemplified by them attending the circus. Or the irony that they pay to see the same people they threw out on the street.

Really, there are a whole bunch of thematic threads that could relate to circuses. But The Greatest Showman's premise helps bring in thematic focus.

(Though, technically, you could also do it vice-versa--find the theme topic you want and then build to a solid premise.)

One thematic problem that can come up, is that the author picks a theme topic that doesn't really fit the premise.

However, you can surprisingly get a lot of theme topics to fit a lot of premises. For example, we could have instead made Shrek explore communication--the topic of Arrival. After all, Shrek craves solitude but is paired with Donkey, who talks nonstop. He also has to learn how to communicate with Farquaad and Fiona.

But could we have made Shrek explore the topics of gender and honor? Well . . . perhaps, but not as powerfully or as apt as Mulan, which frankly begs for it.

Could we put the theme of communication and language into The Greatest Showman? Well . . . perhaps, but the story would likely change quite a bit to meet that need, and it almost seems like that would be a missed opportunity to pick a theme topic that resonates more closely with circuses, like belonging. Now, imagine picking a topic that has little to do with the story you’ve decided to write–it’s going to create problems, probably some of the most common problems that writers run into when it comes to theme (such as being too preachy)–because it’s unnatural. So instead, look at the premise of your story to help you identify what theme topics you should probably explore–and troubleshoot which don’t fit in as easily.

#Writing tips #writing tips and tricks #writeblr #writing references #writing help #writing theme #shrek #mulan #arrival #the greatest showman

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queen-ofsunflowers · 3 years

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DadWorth AU: Part 4 (Trials & Tribulations)

Unlike the previous parts, this is mostly just shenanigans since Kay and Miles at this point are starting to work on bettering their relationship after their reunion in Farewell, My Turnabout. So it’s fun and kind of angsty times because Phoenix still falls off a bridge. Miles is present for most of the cases, excluding Stolen, but his appearances mostly take place in the background.

< Part 3 | Part 5 >

Turnabout Memories

Kay’s junior year at Themis starts and the students are given a chance to look into previous cases for a project that they have to do. Kay decides to do the one that inspired her to be an attorney. Or at least, for her to start following Mia’s career. Which if anyone remembers from part 1, was the State v. Wright 2014.

At the time of the case happening, Kay didn’t recognize the defendant’s name. But now... Now she knows who it is. So she goes directly to Phoenix to get an explanation. In front of just about everybody.

Today is Embarrass Phoenix Wright Day.

If you’re wondering, Kay is absolutely stunned by the fact that Phoenix ate the necklace. She knew it happened, but it’s only now hitting her that the defendant who swallowed the bottle and the amazing attorney who so far has been the only one to beat Miles and her semi-mentor figure are the same person.

The Stolen Turnabout

With Miles out of the country, Kay (and maybe the boys klavier and sebastian too, I’m not sure) is dragged down to Lordly Tailor by Maya, and that’s where things go from there. She’s kind of surprised that it was the urn that got stolen, picking up pretty quickly that it wasn’t worth that much in the first place. (Though this might be due to her involvement in 2-2, so she knows that it has been broken before.)

Kay stands with Phoenix on the matter of whether or not Ron actually stole the urn. According to her, the guy “couldn’t even pickpocket a blind man”. Pearl kicks her in the shin before running out of the detention center. Maya and Kay have gotten pretty close to each other because of the events of Farewell, since they were kidnapped and that’s some strong bonding there. So, Maya’s hurt by both of them believing in Ron’s innocence, but with Kay’s involvement, she quickly starts to think that they might be right sooner rather than later. Still, since it hurts, Kay takes Maya’s place temporarily on the first day of investigating.

Things that happen here are Kay starting to steal stuff herself. For example, she swipes the blackmail letter on the first visit to the DeLite’s apartment. (”kay, we’re defense attorneys. we don’t steal.” “but you take evidence all the time. how is that not the same thing?” “...moving on--”.)

Kay can’t stand Atmey, especially when he starts rambling on the way he does. She both states that Gumshoe’s a better detective than he is (some of that being bias, but still) and calls him out when he claims that Miles has called Godot the best prosecutor in the country. Miles doesn’t even know who he is. Phoenix finds her interactions with him slightly hilarious (it’s a sixteen year old girl tearing an eccentric a-hole a new one, after all.)

Kay’s able to stand co-counsel for the entirety of this trial due to it taking place completely on a weekend. Which means she also gets to meet Godot. He’s... To her, he’s flat out weird. He’s Cyclops with a caffeine addiction. And he’s not able to avoid her snark either.

She gets really happy when they get the Not Guilty verdict on the first day, and her relationship with the Feys gets patched up, too. And then all that goes down the drain when Ron is arrested for murder. More investigation is needed.

When it’s revealed that Ron is actually Mask ☆ DeMasque, Kay feels kind of bad over the remark she made the day before since most of those thefts were kind of impressive to her after she read about them. That’s about as much as what happens during the investigation. She really gets into the whole phantom thief stuff, much to Phoenix’s dismay.

When it comes time for the trial, Kay feels so much satisfaction in catching Atmey. She hates him so much. She doesn’t, however, like the fact that Godot keeps throwing coffee at the defense team.

I should note that Kay thinks that Godot’s voice sounds familiar, but she can’t place why at this time. It’s been YEARS since the events of Beginnings, and they didn’t even interact. Kay just watched the trial and heard him speak. So, that whole mystery is still under wraps for now.

Recipe for the Turnabout

Kay, Klavier and Sebastian are at Wright & Co. when Gumshoe bursts through the door, scaring the crap out of the three of them and Maya in the process. She, much like Phoenix, is confused as heck as to what he’s talking about when he tells them about the phony trial. She can also vouch for what happened and the fake Phoenix. (I have plans for what happened there, i just need to watch/play the game there myself...) So everyone is confused, and this warrants some footwork.

Phoenix Wright ends up being followed by a group of teenagers during his investigation. This has been going on for a while. He’s accepted it. It’s part of his life now.

When it comes to Tres Bien, Maya’s not the only one who gets roped into working there. Through misunderstandings, Kay gets pulled in as well. The guys kind of just run off, leaving the girls in their unfortunate situation for now.

Phoenix is stuck with the boys for the time being, which leads to some pretty fun and interesting interactions, including their reactions to meeting Tigre for the first time. Sebastian’s just confused because Tigre is taller, older and the only thing about Phoenix that he shares is their hair style. Klavier verbally voices this, just going off on how the hell anyone could mistake the two. (and loses his shit at the cardboard badge. from a distance, yeah, but seriously?!)

When they eventually come back to the restaurant, being the stupid teenage boys that they are, Klavier and Sebastian find the situation Kay is in hilarious. Klavier takes a picture of Kay in the Tres Bien outfit because “everyone needs to see this”. (Everyone mostly being Ema, whose in Europe.) Kay tackles him to try and get him to delete the photo, but he doesn’t. It becomes Kay’s contact picture in his phone.

whether or not kay continues to work here after the case is still up in the air. her and miles’ financial situation is pretty good, but kay’s also the independent type, so i feel like she’d want to save her own money for things instead of having to ask for it.

It’s lucky that at this point the girls are saved from their forced jobs, and Phoenix brings them down to the park, where things go as they do in canon with Maya channeling Mia to get information out of Kudo. Phoenix just kind of pushes Kay behind him while Mia does her thing, because if Miles ever found out he let Kay do something like that, he would never forgive him. It does lead, however, to this interaction here:

“and what have we learned today?” “take what you got and exploit the men who think with their di--” “okay! let’s get back to the investigation, shall we?!” “...klavier, why are you looking down at your chest?” “huh? just thinking.”

listen, klavier doesn’t button up his shirt all the way for a reason, and this is why.

Kay gets a bit ticked off that the prosecutor is Godot again (something that the guys predict because she complained about her hair smelling like coffee for days after being in the splash zone of the last trial). Fortunately, she doesn’t have to be here since the trial primarily covers school days. However, the Themis Trio does help out with the investigation when they’re free, taking a look at Blue Screens while Phoenix and Maya handle Tres Bien. They regroup when its time to head to Tender Lender.

Things go pretty much the same from there until the end with the confrontation with Tigre at Tres Bien. There’s another change here since Tigre and Armstrong are outnumbered. Phoenix still gets punched, but its not Tigre who grabs the medical papers. It’s Sebastian in a moment of panic. This basically leads to them playing keep-away with the papers as they try to get out with them and get away from Tigre. It doesn’t work out, though, because eventually as the papers are returned to Phoenix and the gang goes to flee, Tigre grabs and pulls an off-guard Kay back. It’s an exchange -- the papers for the girl. (think that one situation in ablaze but without the threat of getting shot.)

But that’s not what happens because like in canon, Gumshoe comes to the rescue. And he is more pissed off than before because that’s his pseudo-niece. Phoenix and the kids run out of there as soon as they can. Later that night, Miles asks about the bruises on Kay’s arm from where Tigre had grabbed her. She’s not sure what to say.

Miles gets involved in the background of this case due to Kay’s injury, helping out Gumshoe when it comes to getting the bottle analyzed (and getting assault added to the list of crimes Tigre is charged with.) Both him and Kay are pleased when Tigre gets arrested.

Turnabout Beginnings

We already covered this case in Part 1. Kay was in the audience watching. Primarily, this is mostly skipped aside from Kay mentioning it to Phoenix very earlier on. I’m talking like... last part early during Reunion. Thinking about that while in the hospital sparks his interest in taking a look at it via Mia’s case files.

Bridge to the Turnabout

With Miles out of the country, Kay is free to kind of do whatever. Because she’s friends with Maya, Pearl drags her up to Hazakura, partially against Kay’s will because its cold and she hates the cold.

She faintly recognizes Iris because as said before, she sat in on Beginnings. She knows what Dahlia looks like. However, because it was so long ago for her, she doesn’t quite remember why. She does play into Larry’s whole artist thing, but refuses to call him Laurice. (”okay... good for you, larry.” “laurice!” “i’m not calling you that.”)

As for Elise, the most that Kay knows about her is that she’s an author. Though, unlike Maya, she does take note of how similar she looks to the painting of Misty, as well as Maya and Mia. (maya must’ve noticed some similarities herself, but why she didn’t say anything is a mystery to me.)

Kay’s starting to think that this trip might not be so bad... until everything goes to shit when she’s woken up by a scream. As a result, both she and Phoenix head out to the courtyard and discover Elise’s body. Unlike Phoenix, however, Kay has her phone on her. She’s not able to tell him this, though, because Phoenix is already running to the bridge. She gives chase, trying to catch up.

Things go on as normal. The bridge is on fire, they meet up with Larry. And Phoenix runs across the bridge. He falls. Kay screams.

Kay and Larry both find and pull Phoenix out of the river. Larry calls the police while Kay is trying to calm herself down and keep Phoenix from possibly dying. The only person she can think of to call is Miles. So yes, in this version of the story, Kay handles the phone call to Edgeworth, so things are a bit more well explained on that end. Not entirely, because Kay’s freaking the fuck out, but a bit better.

The police arrive, Iris is arrested and Phoenix is taken to the hospital with Kay riding in the ambulance as well (after some heavy persuasion.) She’s at the hospital all night, and is there when Miles arrives. He’s relieved that she’s alright, especially after the phone call he received from her last night. It’s pure luck that Phoenix survived the fall with minimal injury and a cold. Kay calls him stupid in at least seven different ways when they’re finally let into his room.

Kay is still freaked out over everything that happened the night before, so she sticks by her dad’s side. She’s there to straighten out Larry at the detention center and explain the magatama in a bit more detail than a fever-hazy Phoenix since she’s seen him use it multiple times before. Alon

Basically, Kay is the Maya to Miles’s Phoenix here. Miles doesn’t want her to be on the case with him, but she does so anyway. She claims it’s because she’s the defense attorney in training and she knows more about it than he does since she was there, too. During the investigation, Kay finds out about Pearl and Maya being on the other side of the bridge and gets worried as heck for their safety.

She’s also the one who handles getting Franziska to prosecute. Kay lies and says that Phoenix had a pretty big case on his hands that still needed a prosecutor, and Franziska took the bait. Needless to say, Fran’s a bit ticked off when she discovers the truth.

But the best part about this is father-daughter standing at the bench together. It is a lot of fun banter between them and Franziska, too. And Kay gets another Larry-Induced headache when he testifies on the stand. Though, due to what happened with Goodbyes, she trusts him to some extent and his trying to figure out what the heck actually happened.

When the trial gets out and Phoenix is back in the saddle, Kay calls him stupid again for investigating while sick. She works in tandem with both him and Miles for this part of the case. Yeah, she’s part of the investigation team.

She’s relieved when they finally find Pearl on the other side of the bridge (Kay gets a small hug from Pearls, have that visual.) She, like everyone else, is confused about why Godot is there. Unlike the others, however, Kay is incredibly close to fighting a man about twice her age when he starts going after Phoenix for his involvement in Mia’s death.

When the earthquake hits, the first thing Kay’s mind goes to is her dad. She races to find Miles first before anything else. She’s lived with him since she was ten years old. She knows about his fear of earthquakes.

After discovering the locks on the door, Kay does follow Miles out to the garden. He does get a hug from her, since she’s not sure what else to do at the time. Compared to last year, it shows that they’re doing a lot better. She’s also there when Phoenix comes by and manages to figure out the Hawthorne connection pretty quickly. She leaks the information to Phoenix, despite Miles’s protests. (”i’m not a prosecutor, so i don’t have to keep my mouth shut.”)

When it comes to the trial the next day, Kay’s in the gallery with everyone else since Phoenix claims that he has to do this alone (another thing that Kay calls him stupid for.) She’s on the edge of her seat the entire time -- watching as Phoenix unmasks and stands before the spirit of the woman who tried to kill him. And after exercising her from Maya’s body, Kay claims that she’s no longer phased by anything weird that happens in court.

Though, she is surprised when Phoenix accuses Godot of the crime. She doesn’t like the guy as much as the next person -- he’s a huge jerk -- but what? As the mystery begins to unravel, she starts to see how he got there, she’s kind of awestruck. She never expected Phoenix to come into his own like this. In the end, though, Godot confesses and things go pretty much the same way as they do in canon.

After all is said and done, Kay promises that she’ll become a defense attorney as great as both Mia Fey and the amazing Phoenix Wright. Phoenix will deny that this ever happened, but he did start to tear up a little upon hearing that. He becomes her mentor after the events of this case. It’ll become an important factor in Kay’s decisions later on that year... right around April.

And that’s it for the trilogy! There are some more parts that I want to add on, such as the ripples all this has created in the later games -- the investigation games especially.

#ace attorney #ace attorney au #dadworth au #kay faraday #phoenix wright #klavier gavin #sebastian debeste #maya fey #godot #diego armando #larry butz #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #mia fey #furio tigre #luke atmey #ron delite #dahlia hawthorne #kay edgeworth au

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ckret2 · 3 years

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GVK spoilers below, about conspiracy theories

I’m gonna get around to posting all my GVK reactions but this one got long so I’m putting it in its own post.

The Monsterverse series, in both KOTM and GVK, has some pretty interesting things to say about conspiracy theories and ecofascism; but, unfortunately, it doesn’t REALIZE that it’s saying any of them, so it keeps dropping the ball and missing opportunities to explore them.

Starting with KOTM, “there’s too many humans so we’ve just gotta let some die and that’ll fix pollution 🤷” is like false ecofascist claim #1 but at no point in the movie was it challenged as unfactual, it was just presented as a sad truth that people have to do morally ambiguous things about. Except that it’s just literally mathematically not true!

Emma could be such a GREAT, believable character—especially in this world with, like, frigging QAnon nonsense getting such widespread traction—showing a compelling, realistic tragedy of how this normal, intelligent, well-educated white mom who otherwise is likely left-leaning (pro-environmentalism, pro-nature conservation, got a doctorate and generally more academia correlates with more liberal ideals) got sucked into a far right ecofascist doomsday militia that combines hokey pseudo-environmentalist propaganda with “in balance with nature” semi-religious mysticism, because she was exploited at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable (when her kid had just died) and was lacking healthy emotional support (when her husband turned to alcohol and then ran off).

... Except the movie never says that her “overpopulation” beliefs are WRONG. It says that they’re RIGHT, and she was just forced to choose between two losing scenarios—deliberately kill most of humanity to hopefully save a few, or watch humanity kill itself.

Nobody bothers to mention that the size of the population isn’t the problem, it’s the disproportionate pollution coming out of first world countries. Nobody bothers to mention that when Emma talks about “overpopulation” and shows a screenshot of an overcrowded neighborhood, it ain’t affluent downtown skyscraper condos in Europe or America that she’s highlighting, but large masses of poor people whose neighborhoods look “dirty” to the white woman’s eyes, despite the fact that they’re contributing the least to humanity’s carbon footprint.

Emma’s beliefs are empirically wrong, and if KOTM had ever demonstrated that, it would’ve been brilliant. Instead, it tries to say “she was right, she just went too far,” and in doing so loses an opportunity to make Emma a deeply believable, timely, realistic, well-meaning but wrong villain.

And now we’ve got GVK, which has swerved away from the ecofascism but doubled down on the conspiracy theories. Here, Emma’s daughter, who was raised for five years with what amounts to a survivalist doomsday cult’s beliefs, when faced with the grief of her mother’s death and the struggle of trying to reconnect to her estranged father, turns—again—to conspiracies to make sense of the world around her. Because that’s what Madison’s been raised with, and even though she got disillusioned with the particular “we know something special that the normal people can’t handle” beliefs that she was raised with, that kind of thinking is still what she knows. She’s still doing what her mother raised her to do! She’s still pulling the “hypercompetent highly-trained lone wolf ‘survivor’ saves the world” shtick that Jonah’s gang taught her to do—but it’s never brought up that it was screwed up to raise a child like that and it’s screwed up for her to still be interacting with the world like that.

At least THIS conspiracy theorist isn’t literally advocating for global genocide. Bernie’s focus largely seems to be on “this corporation is trying to screw people over and screw up the environment—” (because in Monsterverse, as in Toho monster movies as a whole, kaiju/titans and the environment are symbolically conflated, so if a corporation is messing with Godzilla then they’re messing with nature as well) “—so I’m gonna find out what they’re up to and be a whistleblower.” Which is great! Solid start! We’ve got a guy taking aim at big business and who says “when the weather Godzilla acts erratic, it’s not random chance, it’s because a big business is doing something it shouldn’t,” so it looks like we’ve got a leftist conspiracy theorist, that’s different, could be interesting to explore.

Except then he starts talking about governments serving a “global elite” and facilities built by “lizard people” and then we’ve swung right back around to the far right by casually dropping in a couple of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Add that in with the whole “hollow earth” thing and damn, we’re namedropping a lot of antisemitic conspiracy theories, aren’t we? Granted, most conspiracy theories ARE antisemitic—but like, they could have dug around for some that aren’t. Have him talk some more about Roswell. Have him bring up things that we’ve actually got documentation happened and theorize that MKUltra research was used in Apex’s development of their pilot’s psychic mind link to Mechagodzilla. Have him bring up tailor-made-for-the-Monsterverse conspiracy theories that don’t exist here, “Monster Zero is actually the secret weapon of a nearby ‘Planet X’ that’s gonna invade,” whatever. Instead, nah, we went with the antisemitic ones.

Now, do I think the writers behind KOTM and GVK intended antisemitism? Do I think they’re closet alt-right trying to dogwhistle the fascists in the audience? No, I think they think they’re making fun of—or playing around with—what they see as harmless, unbelievable, way-out-there conspiracy theories. I think they know just enough about “hollow earth” and “global elites” and “lizard people” to make references to them, but not in a way that promotes the common antisemitic understanding of those theories as true. (Monsterverse’s hollow earth, a weird underground jungle where King Kong lives, sure doesn’t resemble the usual conspiracy theory.) To me, the way they were used suggests the writers didn’t deeply understand (or at least, didn’t deeply think about) what the theories really mean—nor what they imply about the beliefs of the characters who espouse them. Which is the crux of my issue with how the movies deal with conspiracy theories and ecofascists and so forth (beyond the fact that, hey, I just don’t like seeing likable characters casually referencing antisemitic beliefs): the writers didn’t think about the implications.

Because these things do imply a lot! For example, if, say, Josh, total newb to conspiracy theories, had asked about lizard people, I would have grimaced to hear it but I would have believed that he’s a teen boy that picked up the term at school and doesn’t know anything about what’s behind it. But on the other hand, I can’t believe a guy so deep in the conspiracy theory world that he bathes in bleach doesn’t know exactly what those conspiracies mean—or, even if he does somehow staunchly refuse to believe that “lizard people” is a code for “Jewish people,” that whatever circle of conspiracy theorists he runs with doesn’t use it as a code. Bernie didn’t pick up those beliefs in a void. I really doubt that’s what the writers wanted to imply about the goofy likable underdog with a podcast.

And sure, the “global elite” and “lizard people” references are presented like a “haha look how far out his beliefs are” joke—the same as the fluoride reference, which is basically Hollywood code for “bogus nonsense only complete lunatics believe” thanks to Dr. Strangelove—but at the same time, they’re never really disproven. Nothing he believes is challenged. Nor are any of Madison’s beliefs that she’s picked up from him. Everything they both believe is either a “wow that’s wild” throwaway joke, or else they’re presented as totally right, e.g. about Apex being up to dubious crap that’s irritating Godzilla.

Just like Emma, who was presented as in the wrong not because she was incorrect but because she WAS correct but took the wrong actions. And just like Rick in KOTM, who kept bring up the hollow earth theory like a running joke but then the joke was that he was right.

And that’s at the root of the issues with both movies’ portrayals of conspiracy theories. Aside from the jokes that are never explored (and therefore, never disproven), the movies say that, every time it matters, the conspiracy theorists on the fringe are correct, the heroes that need to be believed. Even though all (excluding Rick) are characters who have suffered deep loss, who have been hurt, who you can imagine as passionate but grieving people who turned to dangerously wrong extremism in their search for meaning... the movies don’t portray them as people who have been led astray by their pain, but enlightened by their pain. Which is what they themselves think they are, sure, but that doesn’t line up with reality.

The movies never forces them to grapple with how far they’ve gone astray from reality—and I think they should. I’d like to see them processing the revelation that their beliefs are wrong. Whether it’s as big as somebody trying to convince Emma that killing half the population doesn’t fix the pollution caused by corporations rich enough to weather a global hurricane, or as small as Bernie looking at Apex’s financial records and realizing the company’s money is going to the CEO’s vacation home rather than a reptile government and deciding to rethink those beliefs after they’ve checked out Hong Kong.

“Conspiracy theorist is right about everything” is already a common enough trope that Monsterverse isn’t breaking any new ground with it. And in a franchise like Godzilla, whose movies are rife with messages both allegorical and literal about environmentalism, corporate exploitation, the futility of military action, international politics, war crimes... letting the conspiracy theorists be wrong and showing that they’re wrong and what that wrongness can lead to would mesh far better with the themes of Godzilla.

Think about Jonah and Emma unleashing Ghidorah (who emerged from a destroyed ice cap and immediately caused devastating hurricanes—a perfect metaphor for climate change), and what that could say about how ecofascists who purportedly joined the movement because they support environmentalism are actually far more in bed with the destructive industries really at the root of environmental damage... if the movie acknowledged them as ecofascists.

Think about how Jonah collected Ghidorah’s head at the end of KOTM and by the time of GVK it was in Apex’s hands, and how this exchange demonstrates that “I want to unleash titans to destroy humanity to save the environment” Jonah the ecoterrorist and “I want to beat the titans to protect humanity” Simmons the billionaire CEO actually have far more similar ideals beneath the surface of their opposed goals—ideals that have less to do with the environment or with humanity and more to do with securing personal power and control... if the movie had explained how this exchange took place.

Think about how Madison’s mother died trying to mitigate just a little of the damage she did under the thrall of a doomsday cult’s skewed beliefs, how even though Madison broke free she found herself embroiled in similarly skewed beliefs just three years later, and how powerful it would have been if she recognized that she herself had walked right back into the kind of fringe beliefs her mother had led her into as a child, and if she had then resolved to learn how this kept happening to her and break this pattern... if the movie had ever let her realize that she was making the same mistakes, or even acknowledged them as mistakes.

There’s so much potential there, so many things you can see happening right beneath the surface... but the movies never touch on them. And so it looks like, in Monsterverse, all fringe beliefs are either right or harmless. And we never get the “disillusioned conspiracy theorist” story that could be so brilliant and that, right now, would be so relevant.

#gvk #godzilla vs kong #gvk spoilers #godzilla vs kong spoilers #godzilla #kotm #meta

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