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maxmagic · 10 months

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LONG post featuring my opinions on this design and her concept and also Vivs character design decisions in general

This design singlehandedly made my account rise from the fucking dead because of how much opinions I have on it

TO NOTE : I LIKE Helluva Boss as a show. Is it perfect? No. Do I think it has issues from both writing and design aspects? Yes. Do I like it regardless? Also yes. You can like a show and still have criticisms of it. Also Viv has answered some criticisms about Beelzebubs design and I will talk about them too

Final warning cuz this is LONG and rambled at points

By this point we are all aware that once a new character gets revealed in Helluva or Hazbin , there's always opinions on it.

But Beelzebub truly takes the cake on how divided people are on her design. People either adore it or hate it with a blinding passion (and some just don't like it cuz they have a Viv hate boner).

I have to say I actually really like it as a stand alone design. Remove her from the story and context it's genuinely an appealing design with fun and bright colors. I personally don't mind the early 2010's sparkle dog look. It has a nostalgic charm to it and if you followed Viv for long enough you know she really likes that aesthetic. She has good colors and color placement and my main real dislike is the weird hair.

And she's animated BEAUTIFULLY !!! Real props to the animators for being able to make this design look nice in motion because god lord is it complicated. This will be a criticism later, but again, its really amazing on how they made this design look good even though we all know this must have been a real bitch to animate.

The real issue that come to me with her design is when you put her in the show and have to think about who she is, what she is, what her lore is ect.

Firstly: Her not being 'lore accurate' kinda falls flat given that none of the designs thus far have been accurate to what they're based on. Like Asmodeus has elements that tie him to his demon name counterpart (with the rooster tail and 3 faces) but they're more allusions then design inspirations. Lucifer is literally just a top hat twink and Mammon (even tho we haven't seen his full design yet) is clown/jester themed. Viv has made it clear that this version of hell isn't supported to be an accurate depiction of biblical hell. So she can really do whatever she wants with her interpretation. Her not being an insect, although disappointing since we don't really have that in the show, is only just a matter of personal taste.

HOWEVER there's still a lot of discrepancies with her design.

So she's supposed to be a Bee-Fox hybrid... Where's the bee??? Like take away the hexagon background, where is the bee part of her design? She has antenna and wings but... They don't really do much. The antenna are fine and its smart they placed at the tip of her ears, but the wings are straight up not bee wings!!! They look more like pixie wings and they're so small half the time I forgot they were there. Couldn't you have added.. idk some stripes?? she has stripes on her ears but they don't look like bee stripers more so general Viv design details. It's weird given she uses stripes so heavily in other designs yet the BEE character doesnt. Maybe add some fuzz like how bumblebees have?? Maybe trade that stupid lava lamp tail/hair if its too complex. I really don't like how she has normal hair and also a weird liquid part and liquid tail. It adds too much visual noise and just doesn't gel well wit the rest of her design. Her lava lamp stomach too just feels like needless addition of animation work for something that just doesn't add anything. Her colors ( despite being nice) kinda clash against all the other hellhounds who have a muted black/grey/red color pallate. It makes her look like an 13 year olds OC thats been edited in

Literally the only things that changed are her colors, size and eyes. In my opinion this should have been her base design because the colors and bug eyes lean into more of the bee aspect. Plus with these colors she fits more with other hellhounds.

Like right now the normal design feels 97% fox with just the most subtle bee elements slapped on. If it wasn't for the background, look me in the eye and tell me this design is a fox bee hybrid.

She also doesn't feel like a prince? She's dressed very casually and doesn't have nearly have enough of an imposing vibe. I didn't know she was a prince until it was said in show. I thought she was just some high rank demon performer. Its kinda disappointing given how grand, larger then life look and energy Asmodeus had. They were introduced in the same way via big song number, but Asmodeus felt like a Prince of Lust, Beelzebub felt more like a performer of Gluttony rather then a ruler.

Also why if she a hellhound in the first place? i saw somewhere on twitter that its cuz her people are hellhounds but that doesnt make sense. Lucifer isn't a human and Asmodeus isn't a succubus, so why does Bee have to be a hellhound? We know that hellhounds are the lowest ranked amongst hell natives, so how do people outside of gluttony feel about her? She is treated like royalty but is also a hellhound, the lowest demon. It causes a needless paradox that makes you question the worldbuilding of the show.

Also why are hellhounds the lowest rank in hell ? and why are they associated with gluttony of all things? I am going to be honest when I say I completely forgot they were native to gluttony because gluttony has a beehive aesthetic and like wtf do dogs have anything to do with it . Like other demons shown have themes that tie them into their respective prince or sin, but we aren't shown why hellhounds in particular are gluttony. Like it feels like a minor thing but when you present information about worldbuilding and show stuff that contradicts it, people will question it.

And why is she dating a hellhound? Or more so why is she so open about it. Like its been shown in the show that Stolas and Admodeus dating imps is a taboo thing so her being so open about her relationship with someone whose even lower then an imp. Again its going back on lore and worldbuilding being contradicted. If you're going to make rules for a show, stick to them.

I'm putting these two side by side cuz I have the same complaint about them.

How are we suppose to know this?? First the gluttony ring severally lacks any circus motifs (it has more of a bee theme then a circus one), but Bee ESPECIALLY doesn't have ANY hints at being circus themed, let alone animal trainer.

I knew that all the princes had a circus theme but from I (and from what ive seen in other comments) though she was an acrobat or like dancer of the sort. Literary nothing in her design says she is an animal trainer. And also the hippie 60s spirit is also not anywhere in the design. Just because a design choice is clear to you doesn't mean its clear to everyone else. A good design makes its points across loud and clear so everyone can understand it. This really feels like she's making it all up as people ask. She probably isn't but it really comes across that way. You cant just say something about a design that just isn't in the design or its not shown properly. This is an issue a lot of Helluva and Hazbin Hotels characters have (look up any of their trivia and you'll see how bad some designs are communicated), but with Bee its emphasized tenfold because she's suppose to represent all these different things (fox, bee, prince, party girl, animal trainer, DA sparkle dog, 60s hippie free spirit) at it just isn't conveyed or is put in such a way where you cant clearly tell what it is. It honestly feels like Viv had in mind to have a Kesha pop party girl character and just made her a prince. Shes trying to justify all these things and saying them like they're obvious when they're clearly not!

This design suffers from having too many ideas slapped on it that just don't work and actively work against each other.It makes me less excited for the future prince designs

If youve come this far good for you for sticking around to this way too long of a ramble about a probably one off character in a popular indie cartoon :D

#hazbin hotel #helluva boss #helluva critical #helluva boss critique #design #rant #god this felt freeing to release #seriously it was boiling in my brain for days

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sharpth1ng · 5 months

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Obviously it doesn't apply to Debaser but I was wondering how you feel about Scream 3 and the narrative that it was all orchestrated by Roman. I feel myself constantly surrounded by people downplaying Billy's and Stu's role (with Roman also claiming Maureen's death) I felt like they take away a lot of our horror husbands' autonomy. When I watched it I feel like Roman gave Billy a hint and the rest was them (it also didn't feel like Billy really used Stu as the guy to take the fall like Roman said.) so idk I feel weird about how people see it and was curious about your thoughts?

Sorry if it's already been asked!

I honestly think Scream 3 is an instance of some pretty bad screen writing in the context of the original trilogy. The dialogue and self-contained plot is mostly fine, I like the concept of the movie taking place on set with the director as the killer, but the reveal also weakens the impact of the first movie, which is still by far the best one in the franchise.

Honestly I dislike even the concept that Roman inspired Billy at all, part of what I like about the original is the fact that the motive isn't grand or justified, it's very much teenage bullshit, even if it matters a lot to Billy. It's petty, it's overkill, and with every murder after Maureen it's very obviously a weak excuse for the killing spree they go on.

The fact is that originally scream wasn't going to be a franchise. Roman was added in after the fact as a cause for the events of the first movie. Saw can pull that shit off because its a soap opera basically, but I expect a tighter plot from scream. I also dislike the way Roman's motivation pulls Maureen back into the situation again, and especially the fact that it ads sexual assault to her backstory. I found that unnecessary.

In context of the themes in the original trilogy I think it would have worked better not to connect Roman's motive back to scream 1 in that way. Scream 1 is a deconstruction of horror, scream 2 is a deconstruction of sequels, so scream 3 should deal with what we tend to see happening when a horror franchise gets popular enough to have 3 movies (and it sort of does? Just not as well as I think it could have).

At that point, it becomes part of the popular culture, its not just a genre flick anymore. We see funko pops and parodic depictions of the killers, knockoff merch, and sometimes we see real life acts of violence being blamed on them (Like with Childs play 3), because they're so omnipresent they're hard to avoid. We already see this happening in Scream 2 with the popularity of the Stab franchise and with Mickey, but I would have taken this a step further for Scream 3.

Roman shouldn't have been related to anyone in the original movie, and that should have been played as plot twist.

Roman's sole motive should have been to make a new movie, and to raise the stakes for the new millennium. In the 2000's we start to see a lot more gore than we got on screen before (think final destination, it comes out the same year as scream 3) and I think making a point of commenting on the need to raise the stakes for a desensitized audience that's already used to the state of play could have worked well.

So yeah, I don't like a lot about scream 3, I do not like Roman's motive or his involvement in the events of the first movie- because you're totally right, it does take Billy and Stu's agency in a way that makes Scream 1 hit a little less hard. Also you're right about the fact that it doesn't really feel like Billy is setting Stu up as a fall guy- because it wasn't a fucking part of the original script, it's a retcon.

Sorry for the rant lmao I have feelings.

#scream 3 criticisms #sharp rant #ask

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lpycb42 · 1 year

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Shadow and Bone Season 2 Opinions:

SPOILER DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED

The first thing I’ll mention is that I have not read the books. That being said, I know of the books and what they deal with a bit.

Anyway:

I like that Alina was developed into a take charge badass. I heard that Alina in the books is more of a Mary Sue. I’m glad she’s not that this season. She was far more interesting to me and far more likable this time around. I liked her before but I love her now.

I also love that Mal was given importance. They were obviously hinting to him having special powers and potentially being a Grisha, but I love that they made him a KEY piece in the puzzle. I also appreciate that he gets to live his life away from Alina and not be her lapdog.

The new characters were immediately likable which is so important, especially when you are going to pair them up with characters like The Crows and Alina/Mal. It’s tough to gain the interest and sympathy of the audience when they’re already invested in a specific group of people, so I’m glad they were able to fit right in and have good chemistry with the rest of the cast.

Now for some criticism

This season was fun to watch, but it felt a little bloated to me. I liked the slower pacing of the first season, which took its time building the world and the relationships a bit better.

I also felt the editing was a big messy because of how many stories were being told at the same time.

One thing I disliked was how the Matthias/Nina situation was handled. Again, I haven’t read the book, so idk how accurate it is, but, I was hoping to see more anger on Matthias’s side towards Nina.

I understand that some of the changes have happened because since the book was written, a lot has changed and depicting violence against women on TV is a big no no. You also don’t want to make Matthias irredeemable, but I wish they had shown more of Matthias’s inner conflict regarding his feelings towards Nina. I do wish they would’ve had him both dream of her romantically and also his nightmares in which she’s a monster without showing him actually hurting her. In addition, I wish that he hadn’t already seen her. I would’ve been fine with him seeing her while fighting, but thinking she was just a vision and not the real her. Idk, but I was hoping for more angst there and more of a buildup to their reunion.

I also know that they are supposed to rebuild their relationship and trust in one another. Nina shouting to the whole world that Matthias is the love of her life is kind of counterproductive, because now I’m going to have a hard time believing that they will be at odds. I hope they don’t change that, because that’s one thing I’m most excited about in their story. I do LOVE that they added Pekka to that mix, though. I like him as an antagonist. The actor is amazing.

I was hoping there would be more of a courtship between Jasper and Wylan. That relationship felt rushed, but at the same time, I understand what they’re doing. It’s the Friend’s formula. You already have many angsty couples, so you need one that will be the foil to that. The couple who just wants to be together and happy.

Inej and Kaz were done to perfection, in my opinion. I also liked that little moment between her and Tolya.

I was also hoping that Nikolai and Zoya would have a bit of a moment in the end, but oh well.

I’m honest, I’ll be fine if Shadow Daddy doesn’t return. I don’t see what the purpose would be for him, moving forward. But, if he does, then cool.

All in all, I enjoyed it. I will rewatch to really take everything in.

#shadow and bone s2 #shadow and bone #helnik #wesper #kanej #malina

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cielospeaks · 2 years

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obligatory event review post since im behind again lol

Story- 1/10. idk the whole idea of giving all the appearances of a country to a person who has a pretty big bias against it is kinda? also the ignoring of canada is weird, since the first event established bunyan was french canadian as well as american? the actual story was really meh, i was actually really insulted by potentially offensive “haha lets laugh at people who died” jokes in the first chapter, but when it was revealed it was all a movie set i was willing to give it a chance. however, the whole concept seems really gross and no. like if the writer has such a problem with tall tales/ect then why not focus on like. actual american folklore/creation myths/ect? rather than just complain. fuck this game company.

Free servant- 0/10. no free servant so :/ i guess ppl consider the gacha servant to be free but thats different. im not a fan of the hyper sexualizing so im not rlly going to roll. which is a shame bc besides that i would enjoy the character a lot more.

Gacha servant- 5/10. dont care, not rolling. kinda too bad bc the kiyo and liz ce is cute af

Event gameplay- 7/10. completely average eventwise. people complain abt the digging game but its way less annoying than that stupid board game node, and less tedious than all the “super hard” battles in like. cf and stuff.

Other- 4/10. myroom is only salvageable for me making one stupid pun. i dont think it really added anything else. ok sure, servant coins for bunyan but i dont use those so :/ but myroom not being the worst thing is fine, and i like fou way home better than the bland and generic white day backgrounds this year and last.

Overall- 4/10.

extremely underwhelming for a gw event but like. compared to white day/ect kinda same old same old. i dont like what they did w characterization but ive felt the comic/series getting more and more unscrupulous esp after 2019 abouts. like the writers just use it as an outlet for nasty/in poor taste jokes, and it shows esp during the april fools games. (this year was def the worst of it oh my fucking gosh). i think between this and the second mystery event go is just unable to make decent movies. they are like dingo productions except it isnt even funny. chaotic film director province charles save us.

and more event reviews bc im behind!

sea monster crisis- 6/10. i liked the sisters, they were cool. their design was def for marketing/getting ppl to spend money but it seemed not as dismissive as the game could be, esp considering they are likened to jeanne in terms of country’s liberators. the free servant was cute, besides the usual shirou shilling, i like both of his designs. the throwbacks to summer 1 were charming, but just made me feel a bit depressed bc of how much i enjoyed the game when summer 1 happened and now its hard to find (popular) servants i dont dislike for some reason or other.

white day- 4/10. heck them for what they did to faraday, got screwed out of a servant slot for more pretty boy op powerful guy fanservice. -angry emoji- i was also thirsty for science bois at the time so i got extra angry lol. the glasses are ok tho. enkidu, katsu, and nemo i enjoyed esp. but the whole event was kinda meh and the ces this year were bad also. i think i just got cus one w the ticket, but even that one was really boring as far as character choice and i skipped the voiced dialogue immediately.

valentines- 4/10. i honestly cant comment. on one hand i like baz, shes cool. and strong in game. but on another hand i didnt really care much for her other asc, they seemed just like “oh baz is cu’s master in fuyuki so i stopped thinking” which. makes sense for this game. also the shipping makes me insecure. but so do other popular cu ships (besides medb prolly, and thats bc shes very unhealthy for him lol). i think the valentines ces were pretty average this year too. i remember thinking ranmarus was cute. and nemo’s was so wholesome. i also really liked ash’s and how down to earth he is.

i skipped the kohan event so yea. skip/10. i dont want to play avalon bc it sucks/10.

#gameblogging #negative

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whump-a-la-mode · 3 years

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Um hi, I don't normally send prompts but I had an idea, so…anyway, basically the prompt is a villain's young sidekick who shows up at the villain's doorstep in the middle of the night (villain is a nice person; more unlawful than evil, idk) really injured, and when the villain patches them up, they end up accidentally revealing that they live with an abusive family? Idk, sorry if this is a weird idea.

With ideas as good as this one, you should send prompts more often ^^ It's not weird at all, I absolutely love this. I tried really hard on this one, so I really hope you enjoy!

Please note that this work contains descriptions of the aftermath of physical child abuse. If this would upset or distress you, please avoid reading this work.

CW//Child abuse, physical child abuse, verbal child abuse, being called a 'freak', death of a spouse, blood, bacteria (in a scientific setting)

Villain had never been much of a fan of children.

They wouldn't exactly describe it as a dislike. Kids were... fine. Annoying on occasion, and endlessly confusing with their new trends and habits, but fine. Those who brought them into the world and raised them provided a precious service, but their talents were far more useful elsewhere.

They squinted their eye, the eye pressed up against the lens of their microscope. With a tiny twist of a knob, the image below focused, displaying in full detail a million squirming lifeforms.

The culture was developing as expected. They removed the slide and returned the bacterial colony to its petri dish.

They'd thought about having a family, when they were young. A juvenile, clueless thought, but a thought nonetheless. There was something that warmed them about the concept of a home that was never empty.

Nowadays, they shared their home with no one but the bacteria, and they weren't exactly the best conversationalists.

Villain moved across their lab, soft socks muffling the thudding of their feet on the tile. With practiced accuracy, they returned the petri dish back to its tray, where it belonged.

They couldn't help but glancing just to the right. To the rabbit cage, sitting empty as it was. The light above it was still glowing bright, illuminating the stale hay below, and the toilet paper roll where the cage's inhabitant's teeth had once gnawed.

Now, the habitat sat empty.

They couldn't bring themself to clean it out. That was Spouse-

That was Spouse's job.

Villain bit their lip, taking another petri dish from the tray and returning to their microscope.

They growled and swatted at the thoughts that fought to enter their brain, but it was no use. No weapon could have fended them off.

Because... Because...

Because Spouse had loved kids.

They had always talked about the concept in dreamy, wistful tones. The idea of having a family, of creating something together that wasn't borne of chemicals in a lab. And Villain had agreed. But it was always simply a plan. Something that would be done sometime in the future. When the world wasn't so hectic. When there wasn't work to be done. When...

Villain bit their tongue hard enough to draw blood, gazing as intensely through the microscope's lens as they could manage.

Now that Spouse was gone, the laughter of children would never light the dreary home. There would always be a spare bedroom.

Their home would always be empty.

Maybe that was why they had taken Sidekick in.

It was something they'd wondered so often, not that they'd ever admit it to the teen they had taken under their wing. The relationship had started so uneventfully-- a powered kid with just enough spunk and reckless abandon to find their way into the world of heroes and villains.

At first, Villain hadn't even thought of them as a sidekick. They were just a kid that they trained in their free time. A future ally who needed someone to show them the ropes.

Then, they'd started coming with them on missions.

And fighting at their side.

And now, Villain couldn't help wondering, whenever they laid in their large, empty bed, what Spouse would have thought of their protege. If they were still around, then Sidekick's 16th birthday cake wouldn't have been so shitty. But, hey, no one could say that Villain hadn't tried.

Damn, did they miss that kid. Even when they called them a dinosaur and laughed when they didn't know what Tock-Tic was, or whatever they'd said. They'd been gone almost a whole week, now.

It wasn't the first time, of course. No teen had the time to be a full-time sidekick. They had their own life. They needed to go to school and hang out with their friends and be a kid. And do whatever kids did on Tock-Tik. Villain was certain that they would come back when they were able.

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By the time the knock on the door came, Villain was almost done with their inspection of the bacteria colonies. Their tired eyes flitted to the clock on the wall: Three in the morning. Had it been that long?

And who the hell was at their door at three in the morning?

The knock sounded again, yet, this time, it was distinct. Three sharp taps, then a fourth two seconds later.

Sidekick's knock. The one they'd practiced, to notify Villain when they arrived. But... They looked at the clock again. Their eyes had not deceived them. It was the dead of night. The kid should have been asleep hours ago!

Without care, they tossed down the petri dish in their hands on the nearest countertop, not so much as bothering to shrug off their lab coat as they hurried to the front door. They expected to hear the knock again-- the kid was always so impatient-- but there was no such noise. Only heavy, shallow breathing.

Other villains would have bemoaned their recklessness, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that their kid was here.

Villain flung open the window. Sidekick leapt back.

Sidekick...

They stood in the doorway a moment, liquid shock and terror battling for dominance within their bones. When they finally recovered, they spoke no words, only bustled their protege through the door and locked it behind. The kid stumbled all the way to the lab's exam table, which Villain practically threw them upon.

The terror in their bones had settled firmly in their stomach.

"What in the world happened to you?"

It was with the gaze of a parent rather than a doctor that they scanned the kid from head to toe.

The sheer volume of blood made it difficult to pinpoint their wounds. Yet, it was clear to see that the side of their head was still pumping scarlet, and the crimson dribbling down their leg was already dripping onto the pristine lab floor.

Villain gulped. The idea of taking their eyes of the kid for a split second was petrifying, but they relented, rushing off to returning a moment later with handfuls of rags. They shoved one into the kids hands.

"Hold this to the wound on your head, as tight as you can. I'll clean off your leg."

Even with trembling hands, the kid obliged as Villain knelt down , drenching rag after rag in blood until the leg was finally clear. At the very least, the wound upon their knee seemed to have stopped weeping scarlet. It was a messy thing, blunt trauma with enough force behind it to tear straight through the skin. The villain's practiced fingers tied a tight wrapping of gauze around the joint, standing to their feet.

Blood had seeped between Sidekick's fingers, but it seemed to have begun to dry. The head wound had stopped bleeding.

"Good." Villain pried the soaked rag from the kid's hands, tossing it aside. They could clean up later. "Where else?"

Sidekick averted their gaze, shoulders winding up taut.

"You need to tell me where you were hurt. Please."

After a few moments of trembling like a leaf, the kid gestured to their side.

"Okay. Can you take your shirt off for me, please? I need to get that cleaned."

"Okay..." The kid whimpered, obliging. Villain tossed aside the bloodied garment with little care, adding it to the pile of dirtied fabric.

Their torso...

The wound on their side, just above the hip, did not bleed nearly as bad as the other two. But...

With the sheer amount of bruises littering their flesh, Sidekick's skin may as well have been blue.

Villain took a clean rag, pressing it to their side.

"Who." They spat. "Who did this?"

Their mind began to run with such speed that, had it been a computer, its fans would have been on overdrive. What heroes were active around Sidekick's neighborhood? A few came to mind, at least one or two that were far enough outside the law that they wouldn't have put much thought into doing this to a kid.

But Sidekick did not speak, instead staring at their own shoes, dangling off the exam table.

When the hip wound was dried and wrapped, Villain whirled around, grabbing their phone and flicking to the contacts page. Which of their fellow villains was near the kid's home? They could think of at least a couple. Even if they were little more than acquaintances, someone who would hurt a kid was the common enemy of all.

"I need a name, kiddo. A name. Was it Viper? Sunstorm? The Twilight Reaper? I have friends, lots of friends. We can make them regret this."

No reply. Villain bit their lip, selecting a contact, moving their finger towards the call button-

"Wait!"

The kid at last cried.

"It wasn't a hero. My dad's not a-"

Villain whirled around.

"Your dad?"

Sidekick flushed.

"U- um, no, I, um-"

"Did your father do this?" They stormed to the exam room where the kid sat. "All of this?"

"I- I-" Their voice was choked by tears, carving down their scarlet-stained face.

Villain placed their hands on the kid's shoulders, turning their gaze towards them.

"Please. Please, kid."

The falling tears turned to full-on sobs.

"H- He said I was a- a freak!" They wailed. "I was training, I- You said I needed to practice my flying, in bird form. And I was practicing, and I didn't think anyone else was home, and then he walked in and-"

A sob broke their voice.

"They told me never to use my powers. He doesn't know that I- I stopped taking the pills. The ones that suppress them. And he got m- mad, and, and-"

"It's okay, it's okay."

Villain threw their arms around their child, embracing them while taking care not to disturb their wounds.

"I didn't know where else to go." Sidekick's words were strangled. "I'm sorry, but I didn't want to go back home and..."

"No, no." They tightened the embrace. "No. You don't have to go back, never. Not if you don't want to."

They broke off the hug, picking their phone up again once more.

"Talon has kids your age, she would take you in. Alya, too. Swan Dancer is a teacher..."

"Um." Sidekick seemed to have run out of tears, leaving them with only a broken, low voice. "I... That's all fine. But, um, I thought you mentioned having a spare room?"

Despite their parental terror, Villain let their face break into the smallest smile.

Spouse's room.

In a way, maybe they would get to meet Sidekick, after all.

#whump #hero villain whump #villain caretaker #whump prompt

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iloveallmyocs · 3 years

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the Dawn of a friendship

Ariadne didn’t know how long she had been waiting in the games room, hoping Anna would show up as was Anna’s routine in grand parties like the one of the one they were having.

Eventually, Ariadne got herself to step out of the games room and picked up the courage to scout for Anna herself. She needed to tell Anna that she had heard what Anna had said to her at the infirmary.

James Herondale’s and Cordelia Carstairs’ engagement party was one of the most luxurious parties Ariadne had attended, consisting of numerous respected members of the enclave, but it wasn’t hard to spot Anna among the crowd.

Anna was always easy to spot, the aura around her just commanded people to pay attention. It had always caught Ariadne’s attention.

But then, at that moment, what caught Ariadne’s attention was not Anna Lightwood. What caught her attention was the sight of a boy, looking around the same age as Ariadne was, storming out of the ballroom looking distraught.

Even though she didn’t know the boy at all, Ariadne felt a surge of protectiveness overpower her. The boy was heading away from a group of teenage boys. Ariadne was able to recognise the group of boys. Everybody knew the group, it consisted of the children of the most popular shadowhunters of the previous generation.

Matthew Fairchild, who looked positively furious, was part of the group. He was the Counsul’s son and so Ariadne had been acquainted with him. He was fair company, but promiscuously quoted Oscar Wilde every five minutes or so.

As if by instinct, Ariadne found herself sprinting after the boy, only to have her path blocked by-

“Anna?” she panted, peering outside the door to catch a glimpse of the boy.

“Ari, you look healthy-” Anna began, her cool and unworried tone clashing against the mood Ariadne was in. Ariadne could no longer able to see the boy.

“Anna, please do excuse me for being impolite, but I have an important matter to attend to” said Ariadne apologetically, pushing past Anna even before she had the time to respond.

Ariadne, on any other day, would have shuddered at the thought of dismissing Anna for going after some boy she didn’t know anything about.

But there was something about the boy. No, Ariadne was not in love with him, she didn’t even know him properly. In fact, she would never love any boy, she was certain of it. No matter how many times she had been warned of the dangers of being the way she was, she was certain that no matter how hard she tried, she would never fall in love with a boy.

“Stop”, Ariadne called out when the boy was finally in her line of vision.

The boy whipped his head back to look at the source of the voice. His face wore an alarmed expression and upon closer inspection, Ariadne could see tears spilling out of his eyes.

“I’ll be with you in a moment” announced the boy, before facing the other direction and furiously wiping off his tears.

“What’s the matter?” asked Ariadne when he was done and turned towards her once more.

“Miss Bridgestock, everything is alright, just don’t mind me and return to your party. why did you come after me?”

“I just wanted to make sure everything was fine” shrugged Ariadne “It’s not at every party that Thomas Lightwood is the cause of a grown man’s tears”

The boy scoffed and later held out his hand, preparing to leave “I’m Alastair Carstairs, it was nice to-”

“Carstairs?” Ariadne interrupted .“I don’t think you should be going anywhere now, are you related to the would be bride?”

“I’m her brother” revealed Alastair, which resulted in Ariadne arching her eyebrows up in a display of disappointment.

Taking notice of Ariadne’s expression, Alastair folded his hands and struck his chin out. “Yes, I know should be in there, but just want one day to myself. Is that too much to ask? Also, stop being so judgmental, you barely know who I am or what I’ve been through”

“Then tell me about it” said Ariadne, gently nudging Alastair with her elbow.

Alastair looked perplexed. “Good lord, you’re impossible to dislike” he remarked, looking up to the sky in exasperation.

Ariadne’s eyebrows went up again. “Why would you ‘dislike’ me?” she asked, her voice full of curiosity. What would a boy whom she had never met before have against her?

“I just said that I didn’t” muttered Alastair “well, for a time I did, because of Charles”

“Charles Fairchild? The one ‘Charles’ I was engaged to?”. Ariadne had gotten somewhat of an idea of where the conversation was going, but wasn’t very confident about it and let Alastair explain it himself. Also, they were in England and in England there were as as many Charles’ as there were mice.

“Yes. Him” confirmed Alastair “I presume you already know that he likes men, don’t you? I was told that you know”

Ariadne nodded. “I know. that is why I agreed to the engagement in the first place”

“Well, the thing is, Charles and I were together at the time of your engagement” Alastair confessed, “I just broke things off with him”

“Is that why you’re upset?” asked Ariadne.

“No. I actually feel like a load has been lifted off chest, actually” said Alastair, smiling sadly. “Why I left early is because I tried to make amends with a few boys who went to the academy with me and it didn’t go well”

“What went wrong in the academy?” Ariadne inquired, feeling as though she might explode if she didn’t receive all the answers to her questions.

“You ask a lot of questions” laughed Alastair, his mind distant.

Ariadne patiently waited for him to answer.

Alastair gulped, not sure if he was making the right choice by spilling out all of his problems to his previous lover’s previous fiancée.

“I wasn’t treated right, when I first joined the academy. Well, you should know how it is” said Alastair, gesturing to Ariadne.

Of course Ariadne knew how it was. Both her overprotective parents had tried to protect her from the harsh realities of living in London while looking the way she did. And yet, she knew.

She knew it from the way the guests arriving in her house looking for inquisitor Bridgestock always looked down upon her. Some even assumed that she was bought for money by the Bridgestocks, not as a daughter but as something else.

That was what people normally assumed of you when you were from a country that was colonised by the country you are presently residing in.

“I more than ‘know’ how it is” retuned Ariadne.

For a moment they stood in silence, neither knowing what to say. Alastair finally broke it by asking “How do you bear it? I sometimes feel like screaming until nothing comes out, but I have my mother and Layla who are like me but you-”

“-am adopted” finished Ariadne “It does get frustrating. My parents want me to forget that I am an Indian and once had another name. they want me to forget about my birth parents, their-” Ariadne broke off bursting into tears.

“Oh god, this was supposed to be about you” sniffed Ariadne as Alastair wrapped his coat around her.

“Why don’t we go to your house and talk about it over a warm cup of tea, which probably was imported from India, Miss Bridgestock?” he asked in a desperate attempt to cheer Ariadne up.

“Alright” Ariadne laughed, then with a solemn face face, added “call me Kamala, it is my birth name”

*********************************************************************************

An AU (idk if it should be classified as an AU) instead of Lucie, Kamala chases after Alastair at the end of ChoG. I probably should have written this before Choi came out and its tag was flooded with HCs about Alastair’s and Kamala’s friendship.

@cant-think-of-anything let me know what you think (I don’t have anyone else to tag lol)

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uvobreakmylegs · 3 years

Text

Caught by the Storm

idk how many people actually wanted a sequel to the Franklin piece but here you go anyway. A kinda soft thing except not really

Part 1

Warnings: gaslighting, hints of stalking

On Thursday nights you were the one in charge of closing up the cafe. The doors closed at 9, and it usually took about an hour to wipe down everything and make it all presentable again for opening the next morning.

But tonight had been particularly chaotic: three people had called off sick and left the wait staff shorthanded, and when you had finally reached the end of dinner service the kid who was supposed to help you clean up the cafe had skipped out early, claiming that his mom needed him home earlier “for something”. When you'd asked him what exactly that was, he couldn't answer, but with the legalities of such things being what they were and the fact that he had gotten permission from the manager, you also couldn't really keep him from leaving. You were just another one of the wait staff like him and even though you'd worked there longer, you had no authority to order him around. The bell on the front door rung out as it closed shut behind him, a grin plastered on his stupid face as he left you with all the work in the messy dining area.

As nice as it would have been to beat him over the head with your broom, that wouldn't get the dining room clean.

It was after 11 when you were finally done. After turning out the lights, you left through the back entrance, double-checking to make sure that the door was locked before you started the walk back home.

Depending on how your shift had gone, this was either a relaxing walk back as you winded down, or it was a final kick to the stomach before you could reach the safety of your apartment. Tonight it was the latter: your legs felt like lead, your feet were aching from running around for hours, your back hurt from moving around the chairs and tables, and you were exhausted from keeping up that cheerful server persona for the sake of unpleasant customers. It was also frustrating how unreliable your coworkers could be, like that kid who'd abandoned you, but you knew that if you tried bringing it up to the manager you'd just get blown off. He didn't like you, and he went out of his way to make that clear. You were certain that he wanted you to just quit.

And honestly, you really wanted to.

The issue was there was no other job that was close enough to your home that you were qualified for. Not having a car made getting around to places that were further away difficult and trying to save up for something like that was easier said than done. Until you completed your studies and could get a better job, you were stuck in the purgatory that was your current life. All you could hope for was that it would be worth it if you worked hard and stuck it out. Good things come to those who wait or something.

In the midst of the inner pep-talk you always gave yourself after a hard shift, you felt something small fall on your head.

A drop of water?

You glanced up, noting the dark clouds that filled the night sky that hadn't registered when you had walked out earlier. A few more drops fell, some landing on you again.

Crap. You couldn't recall seeing any sort of weather report about rain tonight, and you didn't have an umbrella on you.

As much as the muscles in your legs protested, you picked up the pace as you continued down the sidewalk, hoping that you could make it back to your apartment before the rain came down harder.

'So much for that,' you thought as you stood beneath the awning of a small business while the rain poured down around you. You had barely made it to the little shelter when the rain had switched from a drizzle to a downpour, and even now the wind was still blowing some of the water in your direction, your shoes and socks slowly becoming soaked. But you tried to stay positive. At least you had even this much as a shelter so you could avoid being completely soaked, right? Just wait it out until the rain lessened a bit.

So you waited.

And waited.

And waited while the water pooled in your shoes and your cold wet socks clung to your feet, the sensation becoming worse whenever you would adjust your footing and caused the water that had filled up in the soles of your shoes to be forced out.

And the goddamn rain was not dying down.

The idea of braving the storm and entering your apartment building looking like a drowned rat wasn't appealing, but you really needed to get home. It was already so late and you couldn't stay under the awning for the rest of the night. Better to just hurry back as fast as you could and hope that you wouldn't get pneumonia.

Adjusting the contents of your bag so your electronics were positioned where they were the least likely to get wet, you took in a deep breath as you prepared yourself to run out into the storm.

But a voice that called out your name made you stop.

Turning around, you blinked in surprise when you recognized the man who had called out to you, standing only a few feet behind you: Franklin, the man who had quickly become your favorite regular at your job. He was far different than anybody else you served at that cafe; not just in appearance, but in terms of how he treated you. Even though he didn't spend much time there whenever he did come in, the little conversations you managed to have with him were usually among the highlights of your work day.

He was dressed in his normal attire, holding a large black umbrella that, despite its size, was unable to keep him completely sheltered from the downpour, the edge of his shoulder sticking out from underneath it and the fabric of his white jacket clinging to him. Franklin seemed to be just as surprised as you, and he walked closer, closing the umbrella as he joined you under the awning.

“What are you doing out so late?” he asked.

“Trying to get home,” you answered, sighing as you looked out again at the rain.

“I guess I missed the weather reports because this took me completely by surprise. Although I probably could have made it back fine if I had gotten out on time,” you added bitterly, more to yourself than him.

“I see,” said Franklin.

A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed overhead, followed by a loud peal of thunder that made you jump. Was it possible that this storm was only getting worse?

“Would you like me to walk you home?” he asked.

“Huh?”

Franklin motioned to the falling rain.

“It doesn't seem like it'll die down soon, and with how dark it is now, going back on your own might be dangerous,” he explained, “although it might not protect us too much with how bad this storm is, I do have an umbrella, so we won't get completely soaked. It's better than nothing, at least. So let me walk you the rest of the way.”

It was a nice offer, and even if his umbrella didn't give you much protection – you weren't sure how the two of you would fit under there together – anything would be better than going off alone. But despite his offer, you were worried that you might be inconveniencing him in some way.

“Are you sure? That won't be too out of the way for you?” you asked.

“Not at all. I'm heading that direction anyway. It makes more sense if we go together, right?”

You hummed an affirmative, and he smiled at you, stepping forward to open the umbrella and motioning for you to join him. Smiling back at him, you did just that. The two of you needed to squeeze close together to fit, and just as expected, a majority of the rain was still hitting you both. But like he had said, it was better than nothing, and Franklin did his best to angle the umbrella in the right way so it faced the direction that the rain was coming in from to protect you as much as he could.

His arm hovered around you as you began to walk forward, seemingly trying to shield you further from the elements while also trying to not make you too uncomfortable with the physical contact. You smiled up at him, offering a small “thank you.”

He smiled back in response, but said nothing as the two of you went along.

“So were you working late, too?” you asked after a few moments of relative silence, the rain still pounding against the pavement.

“A meeting ran late,” he explained, “what about you? You mentioned not getting out on time. Is this not normal for you?”

“No, not usually,” you sighed, “the guy who was supposed to help me clean up ran off early, and things were crazier than usual at dinner service because of some call-ins. So there was just a lot to do after we closed, and I can only go so fast.”

“Your coworker just left you?”

“Yep.”

“Can't you complain?”

“I can, but it won't do much. The manager signed off on it before I even got in today, and since he likes that kid more than he likes me, nothing would come from it,” you explained.

“Hmm. And this is the same manager who dislikes me?” he asked.

“Yeah, that's him. I really am sorry about him,” you said, “you'd think someone who managed to get to that position would act better towards customers.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” said Franklin, “his behavior isn't your fault.”

He looked ahead as the two of you walked.

“By the way, where exactly are we headed?” he asked.

“Ah! That would be helpful, wouldn't it? Sorry,” you said, scratching your head, slightly embarrassed.

“We have to walk straight a little more until we come up to a stop sign, then we'll take a right. There'll be some turns we need to take after, but I can explain when we get there.”

You looked back to him, asking “you're sure this isn't too much trouble?”

“I'm sure. Besides,” he chuckled, “I'm not going to leave you halfway.”

You smiled at him.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Despite the dreary, dark atmosphere the storm created, things felt peaceful between you two as you made your way down the sidewalk, eventually turning a corner as you had instructed him. It was nice to talk to him outside of your job where you didn't have management breathing down your back, and you made more chit-chat as the two of you continued, only ever being interrupted whenever the thunder sounded out especially loud or when a lightning strike in the distance startled you. Unlike you, Franklin appeared to have nerves of steel as he barely reacted to the things that made you jump. But given that he said he worked as a security guard, you supposed that made sense.

“Do you normally get out late on Thursdays?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah, I close, so I'm supposed to be out by 10.”

“So still pretty late. Aren't you worried about walking back by yourself?”

“I mean, this has always been a pretty safe area,” you said.

“For now, at least. But all it takes is for someone to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I guess,” you conceded, “but I don't really have much choice, so it's just a risk that I have to take.”

Franklin looked as if he wanted to say something, but he instead chose to hum in acknowledgment. His eyes then turned upward and he straightened slightly when he noticed something.

“This is your apartment, isn't it?”

You looked to where his eyes had gone, and sure enough, your apartment building stood not too far from where the two of you were. That had seemed faster than you anticipated, though it was likely due to you being distracted when you were speaking to him.

You two were already heading to the building when a thought occurred to you.

“Did I give you the rest of the directions after we passed the stop sign?” you asked him.

Franklin blinked in surprise, then looked at you quizzically.

“Of course you did. How else would I have gotten you here?”

You felt slightly stupid again as he said that. Of course you had given him the rest of the directions: there wasn't any other way he could have known where to go.

“Sorry, you're right. I must have forgotten,” you said, trying to laugh it off, “I'm more tired than I realized.”

“Don't worry about it,” he answered.

Both of you were fairly damp by the time you reached the shelter of the building, Franklin shaking out his umbrella while you retreated further towards the front door, leaving your wet footprints on the dry concrete that had been protected by the cover over the building's entrance.

“I guess that could have been worse,” Franklin commented as he joined you by the door.

“I'm happy to not be completely soaked, so thank you for that,” you said.

He chuckled as he looked you over.

“It is late, so I won't keep you any longer,” he said, turning back towards the rain that continued to pour down, “I'll see you sometime later.”

“Ah, sure.”

A pang of guilt shot through you as he started to walk back out into it. He didn't need to walk you back, but he had anyway even though it had possibly kept him out in these bad conditions longer than he needed to be. Letting him go back out into that didn't seem like the right thing to do.

“Wait,” you called out.

Franklin paused, turning back to look at you.

“Would you, um, like to come in for a bit?”

There was a certain unsteadiness to your voice, you could tell. You weren't one to really invite anyone into your apartment, much less men that you really didn't know all that well. But it felt different with Franklin; you could trust him.

His eyebrows raised in surprise.

“I thought you were tired,” he said.

“Yeah, but it's still pouring out. At least stay until it dies down a little. As a 'thank you' for walking me back?”

Franklin looks between you and the rain, contemplating his options. At least, that's what it seemed like he was doing. There was a certain intensity in his gaze that you'd never seen before, and you weren't sure what that was about. Maybe you were being too forward? He didn't seem like the type to get uncomfortable easily, but maybe this was the exception.

You were about to tell him that he didn't have to if he had somewhere else to be when he answered you, saying “it might be nice to wait this out for a little.”

Beaming at him, you waved him back over as you opened the glass door of the building.

He'd needed to side-step through your front door in order to fit his wide shoulders through. While it was hard to miss that he was much larger than the average person, the fact that your apartment may have been too small for him wasn't something you had factored in when you'd invited him up.

“Sorry if it's cramped,” you said as he wiped his shoes on the mat.

As usual, he took everything in stride, telling you to not worry about it.

You pulled out one of the larger towels from your bathroom at his suggestion, placing it on the couch so he could sit without soaking it too much with his damp clothes. There was no way you had anything that could remotely fit him, so you needed to settle with handing him another towel after he sat; hopefully he could dry off at least a little bit.

“Do you want anything to drink? I have tea,” you offered.

“That sounds nice,” he said, nodding at you, “but shouldn't you do something about your clothes first?”

It had somehow slipped your mind that you had yet to change out of your wet work clothes. Today's shift really had run you more ragged than you'd thought; you weren't normally this forgettable.

“Sorry, can you give me a minute to change?”

“Go ahead.”

You hurried back to your room, closing the door behind you and pulling off your work uniform before throwing it into the hamper. Maybe not the best place to put it since it wasn't dry, but you'd deal with it later. Even though you weren't normally a host, you felt bad for leaving Franklin alone, and you worried that perhaps he perceived you as being some sort of careless idiot for managing to forget something as obvious as changing out of wet clothes. Not to mention the thing with the directions earlier.

Slipping into a loose-fitting shirt and a pair of leggings, you stepped back out into the living room area where he sat patiently, and you hoped you didn't look as flustered as you felt.

“Sorry again,” you said, making your way to the adjoining kitchen, “did you want anything to eat? I've got some snacks.”

“Just the tea is fine,” he answered.

Nodding, you turned away from him as you entered the small kitchen.

And then you paused.

In general, you wouldn't say you had that sense of being able to tell if someone was watching you. And yet when you turned away it was like a weight had fallen on you. A pair of eyes were roaming over you, scanning your form and taking in everything about you. And with there being only one other person in your apartment, there was only one possibility of who could be looking at you like that.

You glanced over your shoulder to see that not only was Franklin's gaze was not on you, but he wasn't even facing you. His eyes were closed, actually, and he continued to wait, the now damp towel he had used earlier folded up and sitting on his knee.

With a barely-audible sigh of relief, you relaxed a bit. It was the exhaustion that was making you feel weird; hopefully the tea would wake you up a bit and save you from any other embarrassing situations.

The largest mug in your pantry was still a bit small for Franklin, but you hoped it was slightly better than the mugs that held his coffee when he went to the cafe. Even if it wasn't he accepted it without complaint, thanking you and taking a small sip as you sat down on the chair adjacent to the couch with your own mug. Outside the storm continued, but while it didn't seem to have died down much, you at least no longer heard any thunder.

“So you live alone?” Franklin asked.

“Yeah. It's a bit more expensive this way, but I figured it's better than moving in with people I don't know and might not get along with,” you explained.

“What about family? Do they not live close by?”

“No, they live pretty far from here,” you said, “it was kind of scary when I moved out, but part of the young adult experience is living on your own, right?”

“I suppose,” he said, taking another sip of his tea.

“What about you? Where's your family?” you asked.

He set his mug back down, humming to himself as he considered his answer.

“In terms of biological family, I don't have any,” he said, “or if there are any out there, they've never come around looking for me.”

Oh.

“But,” Franklin continued before you could get out an apology for bringing it up, “it's not something that's really bothered me. I'd say I've done well enough for myself, and I'm not interested in seeking them out.

“Besides, I have a stronger bond with the people I work with.”

“Your coworkers?” you asked.

“Yeah. A lot of us started working together around the same time a few years ago. If I were to have any kind of familial bond, it'd be with them.”

He paused as he brought the mug up to his lips again, his thoughts distracting him.

“Maybe not all of them,” he added, somewhat hastily.

“That still sounds really nice. I wish I had that kind of close relationship where I worked,” you said, then added jokingly “is there a chance the place you work at is hiring?”

He let out a brief laugh, shaking his head as he smiled.

“Even if we were, there are some basic requirements you wouldn't be able to pass.”

“Ah, I see. I guess I'm not intimidating enough for a security job,” you said, laughing a little.

“That could be part of it,” he answered, chuckling.

“That's too bad. Guess I'll have to suffer with my current job until I can find something better.”

“You don't want to stay there?” Franklin asked.

“God no. That job is just to pay my bills. Eventually I'll find something better, I just need to figure out what to do with my life before that,” you sighed.

Franklin hummed, draining the last of his tea before setting the mug back down. His gaze went to the clock on the wall, and your own gaze followed, noting that it was now well after midnight.

“I should leave,” he said, “there are things I need to get done in the morning, and you should get some rest.”

“As long as you're sure – it sounds like it's still going pretty hard out there,” you said as he stood up.

“It'll be fine,” he assured you.

Walking back to the front door of your apartment, he collected the umbrella he'd left next to the entrance and then turned back to you.

“Thanks for the tea.”

“No problem. Do you want me to walk you back downstairs?” you asked.

“No, that's not necessary,” he said, “but that does remind me of something.”

“Hm?”

“You said earlier that you walk back on Thursdays at ten?”

You nodded, remembering what he asked before and how he seemed worried at the idea of you walking alone at night.

“Would you mind if I walked you back after you get off work on those days?”

In the moment you weren't sure what to say, and you just stared at him with some surprise. It was very kind of him to offer something like that, but part of you worried that maybe you'd be taking advantage of him a little.

“I know you said this was a safe area,” he continued, “but you never know what might happen.”

That's true. There had been more than a few times when making the journey back to your home that a dangerous-looking person on the street made you feel nervous. Not that anything had ever happened.

“I guess,” you began, “I won't stop you if you really want to? But I don't want to inconvenience you.”

“You won't,” said Franklin, “I don't mind making sure that you're safe.”

This sort of attention wasn't what you were used to, and all you could do was thank him again for his kindness, hoping that it didn't come out too awkward. You still didn't really feel like something like that was necessary, but ultimately, you couldn't see how it could hurt. Franklin just smiled at you again.

“I have some business to take care of over the weekend and at the beginning of the week, so I won't be in the area. But at the latest, I'll see you again next Thursday,” he said.

“Sounds good.”

The two of you exchanged your goodbyes before he side-stepped out the front door, you giving him one more wave before he entered the stairwell. When he left the building a few minutes later you watched a bit from your window. By this time the rain wasn't coming down as hard as it had been earlier, but with how that umbrella didn't protect him completely, he would still have the issue of his clothes being soaked by the time he got to his destination, probably. At least he didn't have another person to worry about.

You spent what little was left of your evening by cleaning up a bit before getting ready for bed, burrowing under the warm sheets after. But before you were able to drift off to sleep completely, another thought occurred:

Franklin seemed to have known where you were headed even before you had given him your directions. Almost like he had some idea of where you lived.

…... That's dumb. You probably told him what way you were headed and you just couldn't remember again.

What other explanation was there?

#franklin x reader #hxh franklin #franklin bordeau #yandere hunter x hunter #reader insert #yandere hxh #yandere #yandere x reader

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pantheon-god-of-war · 3 years

Note

If possible, are there any Pantheon skins that you wish to be Canon?

Just give us a Legendary The Warrior skin of Pantheon reborn.

Lore wise it could be after the Ruination. Atreus has expelled Pantheon from his body with his own gritty resolve, Pantheon requires a vessel to take form in mortal shape but the war of the Ruination has caused so much havoc and strengthened him so much that he manages to keep a corporal form for a brief while. He retreats to the peak of Targon and to spite Atreus revives his long-dead friend Pylas to possess and mold his flesh to the war gods needs. Pantheon is fully in control because Pylas has long since died, only using the body himself.

Now Pantheon pursues the interests of Targon and his own dark desires while Atreus tries to actively counter the War god. Both will still fight the darkin, but for different reasons. Pantheon will do so because they threaten Targon Prime and Atreus does so to save the humans that's would undoubtedly die in the wake of the darkin.

VOICELINES

Pantheon differs from Atreus in a few key aspects (heh) where Atreus is noble and stalwart, Pantheon is deliberate and ruthless, where Atreus anger towards the gods is a cold and determined hate Pantheon's contempt for mortals, darkin and all those who would face him is clearly made evident, he speaks with pride, being condescending to everyone he encounters, thirsting for another challenge to vanquish. His LoR voice lines already highlight his personality quite well and I think the sound effects work perfectly for him, that could all be ported from LoR into league to replicate the sound effect. Voice line wise he could have interactions with the following:

Pantheon (Atreus) - While Pantheon does not outright hate Atreus like let's say Aatrox for example he sees the mortal man as a failure of a warrior, knowing only defeat his entire life. Interactions would be more condescending.

Ascended Pantheon - Here Pantheon would see Ascended Atreus as a worthy challenge, something along the lines of "Perhaps now you can prove yourself worthy." Or something more condescending. "No matter the cosmic might you hold, you will always be a mortal."

Aatrox - He loathes Aatrox with a passion for what he did to him, but also realizes that the Darkin might be his only true equal combat-wise.

Leona - Pantheon would be fond of Leona, applaud her for her fine work, call her the daughter of Targon, and that the sun is proud of what she has wrought upon the Mountain. He would tell her that she is right, that she needs to defend her people from the coming darkness and not grow careless upon her golden throne. He would support the militaristic order of the Solari and goad on their zealous witch hunt as in the end all he cares about is war and the more carnage Leona causes on the mountain in the name of the sun, the stronger he gets.

Diana - Diana is the same as Leona, he would tell her to keep fighting, to hold on and think of her people. That he can see the cracks in the Solari foundation and that soon the moon will triumph. Much like Leona, these are sweet lies to goad both of them onward to fight harder and grow more reckless in their pursuit of victory.

Taric - Taric is the antithesis to Pantheon, championing love and life against his war and hate, He would call out Taric and try to kill the noble hero because he spits on the ideals Taric protects.

Soraka - Pantheon would be disappointed in Soraka, to have forsaken the stars for these mortals, he would never understand and while he is not hostile he also tells her that she is dead to him. Just another mortal.

Zoe - He would want to know how Zoe sealed the Darkin away, and if there is a way to make them disappear forever. He would also be annoyed by her childish appearance/demeanor since Myisha was a lot more mature than Zoe.

Aurelion Sol - He would remind Aurelion Sol that with his return the tether locking him to Targon grows stronger again. It has been Pantheon for ages to bind Aurelion to Targon and now with him returned Pantheon will make sure Aurelion is put back in his place.

Other Darkin - He would simply tell them that their end is nigh, that Pantheon has found them, and that they are about to expire.

Other Gods/Demi Gods - here it depends on how many interactions would be wanted, he could comment on the powers of the sun disc being borrowed from the Sun/Solari/Leona's aspect or challenge Volibear to a fight. Lots more here if interactions need to be stretched out.

Sion - Pantheon looks kindly on Sion, a beast revived for war, its very humanity dull and eroded where only violence and anger remain. Pantheon would call Sion his champion of War and tell him to go slaughter in the name of war.

Other Warriors (Garen/Tryndamere/Darius/Olaf/etc) He would salute them and challenge them to combat, noting how a death at his feet is the greatest honor they can wish for.

A cool idea for VO would be that he gets a Taunt like normal champs but then you get different voice lines for ally champions when you hit taunt.

Example

Enemy Pantheon - "Atreus, you come before me again, with my very own spear. Kneel boy. A dog should recognize it's better."

Ally Pantheon - "You feel the power, let loose Atreus, show me your rage and perhaps you will be worthy of my favor."

Enemy Aatrox - "Another one of your flesh puppets for me to rend Aatrox? Pathetic!"

Ally Aatrox - "You and me against them?! Who can stand against Aspect AND Darkin?"

Enemy Leona - "You say you burn as the sun does! So then, show me your fire girl!"

Ally Leona - "The daughter of Targon and War eternal who could hope to stand against such a phalanx of spear, sword, and shield?"

I always wanted to have more interaction with allies, since you only see enemy champions every now and then, and even if you do they mostly attack you and never let you enjoy the interactions. Whereas if you play with friends you can actually enjoy this content of ally interaction. Idk why Riot has not done this before.

MODEL

The base design doesn't have to differ so much from the Legends of Runeterra Warrior design. (KEEP IT RED) Red stands for hot-headed aggression, red stands for fire, red stands for blood. Red is a color much more fitting to war than blue and the argument that Pantheon's cape is blue to show his allegiance with the stars is null and void since LoR showed us all HOW GOOD red looks on Pantheon. It fits so much better.

Some small tweaks here and there perhaps but overall the base model looks great. If the cape would be longer and more flowing like Yoric it would be great, aside from that there could be small visual design changes for reaching levels 6/11/16. Also as a longtime Pantheon main I really love the aesthetic of his face being shrouded, I dislike the new post rework Pantheon skins for that very reason. Pulsefire, Ruined and even Ascended Pantheon are all marred by the face that they show his face, when his facelessness was something that made him stand out. In this skin he should absolutely not have a face since he is a divine being that helmet should be his face, the face of war, nothing else.

The colors get brighter and hotter, to signal that Pantheon is getting supercharged with the psychic energies of war, colors would go from red-orange to bright yellow, additionally, the number of spears in his cape could also increase from 2/4/6 at levels 6/11/16 with small edits like the passive fire on spear and shield and the fire plume increasing in sizes slightly.

ADDITIONALLY

There could be a number of smaller tweaks to make the VFX stand out. Like pulling a new spear from his cape after Pantheon throws it. Or that Pantheon doesn't even throw the main spear but shoots a spear forward from his cape as he can manifest them. Voicelines like "Unstoppable, War eternal an Invincible!" could be added to his E whenever he uses it as if he mocks whoever dares attack him. "Here mortal, or just Heel!" when he stuns you.

His ult could be Pantheon coming straight down where the spear lands, instead of in an angle, and the angle is then covered by either a spear storm or meteorite shards. The straight-down Pantheon landing being a homage to Grand Skyfall. He does not land sooner and he still shoots down a spear first, but this time he just lands from above.

As for the dance, either you give him some workout to flex on people or you give him the Ricardo Milos dance. Which let's be honest, everyone wants to see.

Lore wise I think Pantheon is very important. Currently, we have Pantheon (Atreus) Diana and Taric who are all outright heroes. Aphelios serves under Diana and Zoe does not really care she does whatever she wants. Soraka while a hero lives secluded. Targon only has Leona as a villain and the celestial Pantheon would fill that slot very well. He is the god of war, he would try to rouse them all against one another and also give them a reason to unite against him. To fight together, and perhaps even be incentive enough for Leona and Diana to lay down their weapons and join forces.

Additionally, all it takes is a skin to create a champion's worth of impact on the league universe. There doesn't need to be a new champion from Targon to push the narrative forward which means less time that needs to be invested on Riots part.

Thank you for your time, I will be sitting here on my mountain top, waiting and hoping that I started a fire.

#Pantheon #the warrior

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fandom-fangirler · 3 years

Text

Pick me up when I fall (Tanjiro x reader)

Summary: You return from a mission injured, and Tanjiro soon learns that your wound was self-inflicted.

This story may be interpreted as platonic or romantic, that’s up to you. If you want him to be your boyfriend in this oneshot, or if he’s your best friend, is your decision.

Warnings: self-harm, blood, angst, heavily implied killing of a demon. If you are sensitive to any of these topics, please do not read this. I want you to stay safe, so please don’t read this if it may trigger you.

Word count - 1895

Yes, I was working on this until past 12:30 on a school night. Fight me.

Tanjiro knew something was wrong when your scent changed. At first he thought you were having a bad day, but then as the days passed your scent continued to grow stronger, and it was almost constantly one of a deep sadness and despair. When you returned from a mission and the first thing he smelled was blood, he ran to the front of the building like his life depended on it. When his eyes landed on you, there was a large gash on the side of your left leg, spread over almost the entire length of your calf. He was at your side in an instant, pulling your arm around his shoulder to help you walk as he exclaimed,

“What happened?!” You stiffened at the sudden contact, and tried not to wince at the pressure put on your ribcage - you were almost certain you had cracked at least one of them.

“Was just a difficult mission is all - a demon slashed my leg in a fight,” you lied. Tanjiro smelled another new scent from you in that moment, he had never smelled it from you before, and could not recognize what it was.

“Let’s go, we need to get you to the docto-”

“No! I’m fine, Tanjiro, I’ll heal on my own, I really don’t need medical attention,” you cut in, knowing the doctor would know your cut was not one from a demon.

“Y/n, it's okay. There’s nothing to be worried about. Please,” Tanjiro said, and as you gazed into his eyes you saw a genuine concern for you. You sighed, internally panicking as you tried to think of any possible way out of this situation, or any explanations you could give of what happened. Tanjiro was already leading you to the doctor, and you had no choice but to walk along with him. You were screwed.

Tanjiro could smell your distress, but couldn’t figure out why you would be so terrified. Soon he was opening the door to the medical room for you, and you slowly stepped through. You walked to the middle of the room and took a seat on the floor. Tanjiro sat next to you, taking your hand in his as he smelled the fear radiating off of you.

“Why are you so nervous?” he asked softly.

“I just don’t like doctors,” you replied, not completely untruthfully. You had always disliked and been anxious about going to the doctor, even for a simple check-up.

“Are you sure that’s it? You seem… terrified. More than you normally are for a doctor visit. You’ve been afraid even before I told you you should come here.” At that moment, the doctor entered the room. His eyes widened when they landed on your leg.

“Miss L/n, what happened?” he questioned, kneeling next to you with his medical equipment.

“I- I was attacked by a demon,” you said, and Tanjiro noted that your scent of fear and hesitation grew stronger when you said that. The doctor treated your leg, and left for a moment to get some test results. When he returned, he spoke,

“Miss L/n, what really happened to you out there? These test results clearly show that you were not attacked by a demon.” He didn’t specify what the results showed, so that he might know whether the answer you gave would be another lie or not.

That was what made Tanjiro remember what had happened a few minutes before, when you gave off a new scent when you told him you were attacked by a demon. He now knew what it was - deceit. But why would you lie to him? Especially about how you had been hurt?

“Oh, did I say demon? I-I meant a demon slayer. I killed a demon that another slayer was apparently hunting, and he was angry and started attacking me.” You threw your answer together quickly, but it was better than you had expected. Still, Tanjiro could smell the stench of deceit once more.

“Miss L/n, may I see your sword?” The doctor asked, extending his hands.

What?

He asked for your sword?

You hadn’t thought to clean it before, since you could always say it was the blood of a demon you killed. You knew you were going to have to hand over your sword, but you tried to stall anyways.

“Why?”

“Miss Y/n. Your sword, please.” The doctor pushed his hands closer to you, and Tanjiro watched as you shakily pulled your sword, which was covered in blood, from its sheath on your hip, placing it in the doctor’s waiting hands. He stood, still holding your sword, and walked to another room, presumably to run a test on the blood.

Tanjiro was caught by surprise as he smelled your fear growing even more intense, and you began to shake, leaning on your right arm, which had its palm against the ground, for support as tears streamed down your cheeks. His expression softened (his expression is always soft, but just pretend) as he carefully wrapped an arm around you, letting you cry into his shoulder. As your breathing became less erratic, and slightly slower, Tanjiro considered what to say to you. His voice was soft and laced with care as he slowly asked,

“What’s wrong? Why are you so scared of giving him your sword?” He paused, before adding, quieter, “Why did you lie about what hurt you?”

You didn’t know what to say. You knew he would know that you were lying, so you couldn’t fabricate an answer. At the same time, you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him the truth. As you opened your mouth to try to tell him what happened, the doctor walked in with a frown.

“Miss Y/n…. you were not attacked by a demon slayer, unless they took your sword from you and cut you with it.” Tanjiro was still processing what the doctor had said as you stood, stumbling slightly because of your injured leg, before walking over to the doctor.

“Yes, I didn’t tell the entire story. But that’s what happened.” You reached to take your sword back, but the doctor held it out of your reach. He turned to Tanjiro.

“Mr. Kamado, please take this, and do not allow it within sight of Miss L/n until I say otherwise.” Your eyes widened, feeling stiff from the tear stains that lined them.

“What?! That’s my sword! I need it! How else am I supposed to go on missions?”

“You won’t be going on missions until I feel you will be safe and will not harm yourself. Perhaps in a few weeks I will allow you to go on a mission, provided Mr. Kamado accompanies you.” That was when the doctor’s previous words really sunk in. You had cut yourself with your sword. Intentionally. That was why you were so afraid when he made you come here - because you knew the doctor would find out. He had to fight off tears himself as the reality of the situation sunk in. He stood, walking over to stand beside you, before the doctor.

“Thank you, sir,” he said shakily as he took your weapon and put it in his sheath (he didn’t bring his sword or two swords somehow fit, idk). “Come on, Y/n.”

The walk to your room was silent, and it bothered you more than anything. The uncomfortable silence hung thick in the atmosphere, and you tried to focus on anything other than the impending conversation with Tanjiro.

As Tanjiro walked beside you, he could smell that your fear was not at all gone, though it seemed to give way to something else, or perhaps more specific - fear of disappointing someone, or letting them - probably him - down.

Soon you had arrived in your room, and you stepped in and tried closing the door before Tanjiro could enter, but to no avail. His reflexes were almost faster than lightning, and he caught the door with his hand before you could fully close it.

“Y/n,” he sighed, “Let me in. We need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” you said as you averted your gaze.

“Please.” When you looked up again, you saw nothing but love and worry for you in his dark red eyes. You relented, stepping away from the door and walking to your bed, sitting down.

“Fine.” Tanjiro thanked you, and stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind him. He wordlessly sat next to you, and the two of you sat in silence for a few moments, before he broke it.

“Why?”

It was a simple question, but there was not a simple answer. You didn’t know how to explain it, without telling him everything. You took a deep breath, thinking of how to respond, and trying not to break down again. It didn’t work, and soon Tanjiro enveloped you in a warm, comforting embrace as you cried. He rubbed circles in your back with the palm of his hand, doing whatever he could to help you and comfort you. He knew you had been in pain, but he never would have imagined it would be so great you would hurt yourself. It took a while, but you had eventually calmed down, and you pulled away from Tanjiro, rubbing your eye.

“A week ago…. I-I found out m-my family was… k-killed,” you spoke slowly, and Tanjiro was patient as he waited for you to find your words. When the sentence had left your lips, he gasped softly.

“Y/n…. I’m so sorry…. I had no idea.” He pulled you closer into his side as he continued to rub circles into your back, occasionally running a hand through your hair. You slowly continued,

“When I went on the m-mission…. I saw a d-demon,” your breathing was growing more erratic as you spoke, “b-but it was m-my…. M-my b-brother. H-he a-attacked me…. And I-I…. I-I….” you couldn’t finish, the image of what you had seen and done was too horrific. Tanjiro understood what happened, and tightened his grip around you.

“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry, Y/n. But it was unavoidable, it was your life or his. And I’m glad you chose yours. Your brother wouldn’t have wanted to be a demon either - and he would never want to lose you.” After a moment, he added, “And I don’t want to lose you.” You listened to his words and tried to accept them. “But, Y/n…” Tanjiro glanced down to your leg, wincing at how deep the cut was. “Please, don’t hurt yourself. I know you’re in a lot of pain, but please, don’t do this to yourself. I’m here for you if you ever need anything.” You thought on Tanjiro’s words, before slowly nodding your head.

“I…. I can’t promise I’ll never do it again, Tanjiro. B-but, I’ll try.” Tanjiro looked at you, a gentle smile forming on his lips.

“Thank you, Y/n. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” You wrapped both of your arms around him, pulling him into another hug. You knew it wouldn’t be easy to move past the losses you’d suffered, or to accept what you had done to your brother, but with Tanjiro by your side, you could do anything. He would always be there for you, to pick you back up when you fall.

#anime #tanjiro #kamado tanjirou #kamado tanjiro x reader #demon slayer #self-harm #angst and comfort #fanfic #kimetsu no yaiba

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aceofshitposts · 3 years

Note

I saw that you like CATS the musical. What are your thoughts on the movie?

AAAAH AHHAHA oh man oh boy y'all should BUCKLE IN cuz it's a ride

my simple thoughts? it's entertaining if only because it butchered the stage show so badly in an attempt to idk modernize it? Well, modernization is one part of it I think. The other part I'll go into below lol. I don't necessarily hate some of the more modern renditions of the songs (mostly the ensemble sets like Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats) but then others are just... so poorly done it's insulting.

I've said this at the end of this whole rant too but I'm gonna put it up here in case people don't (justifiably) wanna see me go on and on about it:

The movie wasn't made for fans of the musical. It was made to make money and I believe they choose, at least partially, to do that through making it the weirdest and worst possible adaptation they could so that people would want to go see the train wreck. Which, really, worked! It was all people could talk about for a good while so like... Goal achieved, I guess.

A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT cuz i don't wanna. flood your dash with... this

ALRIGHT SO. Most of my friends know I'm actually a huge fan of new adaptations of things. I love remakes (provided the people making it are coming at it with some form of heart and not just... cash grabbing which is more often the case) I love seeing other peoples interpretations of characters, or changing settings. It's one of the reasons I like American comics so much, getting to see different writers takes is fascinating.

I think musical movies can be wonderful ways to introduce people to a stage show that might have been unavailable to them otherwise! Chicago, for example, is one of the BEST musical to movie adaptations in my opinion. It kept the heart of the show, it's funny and the song numbers are done really well.

There are of course other famous examples, such as Grease or Bye Bye Birdie. Hairspray was also a wonderful take. These are simply off the top of my head, there are of course more.

CATS in particular has a history. If you go through my CATS tag you may see a few posts from @catsnonreplica which posts photos from non broadway productions of CATS! It's a fascinating read and I love, love, love looking at the other interpretations of the characters! CATS is a musical full of fun and wonderful characters if you take the time to see past the ridiculousness haha and the Korean and Japanese runs of CATS especially have some of my favourites.

How does this relate to the movie, I hear you say well. As you might has noticed the movie's interpretations of the characters is........ lackluster at best and downright uncanny valley at best.

CATS is, at its core, a ridiculous thing. I will fully admit that! But it's fun, it's entertaining and if you pay a little attention you can actually get the plot. (Honestly I don't understand when people complain it has no plot but that's a whole other rant for another day)

The movie was... obsessed with this idea of like... semi realism? Like obviously, as a fan, I think they should have leaned into the over the top character designs but instead we got...w ell:

Bombalurina:

Demeter left and Bomba right. Demeter was actually cut! From the movie which is. upsetting lmao.

Macavity is one of the worst offenders for me:

Macavity was... I wish I could know what the hell they were thinking there cuz it's even in his song? Ginger cat??? THAT IS NOT... A GINGER CAT...... but I digress. I would show more examples but I think you get the point.

So. We've butchered the characters appearances. Okay that's fine but what about their personalities?

ALSO BUTCHERED.

There's... there's a lot to unpack here. Just for context: the Jellicle Ball happens once a year and the Jellicle leader chooses a single cat to be reborn into a new life. In the stage play all the cats who are nominated for this honour are on the older side (Jenny-Any-Dots, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, Gus The Theatre Cat, and eventually Grizzabella) AND are always nominated by another cat. Not themself, unlike the movie where they all seem to nominate themselves.

Jenny-Any-Dots went from a doting grandmother figure who's celebrated for her selfless volunteering and tireless work into a conceited, vain younger cat who is obsessed with fame.

It's an incredibly strange dichotomy. I don't doubt some of it isn't the result of the uh people playing the characters honestly. I do think some of them did the best they could! I don't really blame Jason Derulo, for example, for Tugger. And honestly, Tugger was probably closest to his stage version (while being a trouble maker, he's shown to show Deuteronomy an immense amount of respect)

Speaking of Tugger! This will bring us to one of the biggest grievances with the movie and that is how they handled Mr Mistoffelees.

So... Ugh. So. We have Victoria as the pov character, which imo is like whatever in the grand scheme of things, and then we have Misto who they have decided will be get live interest cuz... Of course. Misto is shown throughout the musical to be awkward, unsure of himself and well. Really, kinda incompetent. Which is Wild cuz in the stage show he might be aloof but he's fairly confident in his powers.

So, Old Deuts gets kidnapped. In the stage show Tugger is the one to bring Misto forward! It's really quite sweet, imo, and I'm showing myself as a Tuggoffelees shipper here, but again Tugger is previously shown to be pretty conceited but then here he is boosting and hyping up Misto to bring Deuteronomy back. My friends and I have lovingly dubbed this the boyfriend hype song.

SOMEHOW. The movie manages to make this, easily, the MOST BORING number in the whole thing. Which, again, WILD. Misto awkwardly stumbles through his whole song, which again is... Boasting of his supreme magical powers which movie Misto clearly. Does not have or believe to have. The song, to me, feels super awkward and unnecessarily drawn out in the movie which sucks cuz it's one of my favourites in the show.

The declawing (heh) of Mr Mistoffelees actually reminds me strongly of how they changed Gaston in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. He's gone from a beloved figure in the animated movie to someone so disliked in the town that Le Fou has to pay people off to say nice things about him. It's just. Wild character choices were made!!

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat is probably my favourite in movie non ensemble number. It feels the most... Genuine? Compared to the other nomination songs.

Other problems include but are not limited to:

The inconsistent size scale of the CATS which throws me off constantly.

The weirdly overt sexual overtones added to MANY of the songs (Jenny and Bustopher being the worst)

This is just a personal gripe and opinion but I don't like that they used the UK version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The American version is both better known and tbh way more fun. Teazer's giggle? Adds ten years to my life every time.

Victoria's added solo song, Beautiful Ghosts, while I like the song as a song it doesn't fit the style of message of the musical. In the movie she's singing directly to Grizzabella who's being an outcast for years that she should be grateful she even has memories of being part of the tribe?? What?? But I know they had to add an original song to be able to be nominated for awards in like the Grammys n shit (which is why all musical movies will have an original song, fun fact!!) kinda funny they went to the effort though considering........... I don't think anyone could have genuinely believed CATS 2019 was gonna win anything but golden rhaspberries.

Movie Mr Mistoffelees has made repeated appearances as my sleep paralysis demon

The various cut characters, shout outs to Jemima, Demeter and Jellylorum especially

Bombalurina being a henchman to Macavity rubs me the wrong way

God I've written... So much. You probably get it by now haha. Like I said at the beginning, I try to go into any adaptation with an open mind but... Let's be honest, this movie wasn't marketed to people who are fans of the musical.

It was marketed, and made, to make money. And they choose to do that through, I think, intentionally making the worst possible version ever. Bad press is still press and the more outrageous people said the movie was the more people wanted to go see exactly what kind of train wreck it was.

Which is a disservice to the stage show, honestly, and all the people who've worked on it over the years.

But what can we do, right?

And besides all that, I do... Still own the movie version and I do still rewatch it on occasion. It is entertaining even if it's in a train wreck kind of way. I usually end up watching the 1998 version, then 2019 and then various tour runs that are on YouTube. (I highly recommend the 2016 tour, it's very good)

So in conclusion. It's fun (?) to watch. I enjoy picking things apart and doing analysis (if you couldn't tell!) so like... I don't hate it?

It did what it set out to do, I guess, and I can't fault it for that but. It's not a fair metre with which to judge the stage show imo. But I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, haha.

Jazz hands. I'm more than happy to elaborate or just chat about CATS if anyone wants! I grew up listening to the Broadway CD since I was a toddler so it's been! A very long standing obsession haha. Probably the only other thing on par with CATS is my obsession with Jurassic Park which I've also been a fan of since I was 3 (but that's a whole story in and of itself)

#astrix thoughts #cats the musical #Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my hyperfixations anon!#And to anyone who reads this whole mess lmao

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zechleton · 3 years

Text

Ranting and Raving About Magic in 2022

I haven’t written about Magic in ages, so what better way could there be to get back into the habit that a stream of consciousness spiel about the 2022 announcement?

Strap in, folks, because this is going to be long and poorly edited.

Actually, it’s not that long, about 1500 words. It might feel longer, though.

Neo-Tokyo or something idk

As one of the five people on r/magictcg that didn’t want to return to Kamigawa in standard set, I have to admit this one looks surprisingly awesome. The couple of pieces of art Wizard shared looked fantastic, as usual, and I’m a sucker for that blue/pink colour scheme. I’m not a huge fan of time travel as a story telling device but since the Magic story has always served the card game, using tropes I don’t enjoy is far from a deal-breaker. Yeah – I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

Someone Made Elspeth an Offer she Couldn’t Refuse

Obviously, we know much less about this set. Still, it sounds right up my alley. I’m curious how Wizards is going to make Magic meets The Godfather work, but the good kind of curious. On top of that, I’d really like to have some more shard-based commanders on Arena for Brawl, and I assume we’re the “three-colour demon crime families” isn’t referring to clans (triome?) again after leaving Ikoria behind. Also, come on, how can you not love the sound of demon crime families?

Glory, Glory, Dom United!

There is a part of me that gets nervous about nebulous concepts like design space whenever we go back to an old plane again. All these crossovers (more on those later) take on a different appearance when viewed through an “are they running out of ideas” lens. Still, Dominaria was fantastic, by far the best “return to” set – though I’m hoping Innistrad claims that throne in a few weeks. With that in mind, I’m expecting Wizards to knock it out of the park with DU, just like they did with Dominaria.

The Nostalgia Wars

I might scoff somewhat at Magic’s storyline sometimes, but I’ve read the stuff that people think is good. I own both collections of the Artifacts Cycle. They all pale in comparison to good fantasy, but they’re not bad, and they hold a special place in my heart from when I was more invested in stuff like lore and story. The point of that ramble? 2022, more than ever, is Wizards’ mining the seemingly neverending mineral that is nerd nostalgia. It further adds to my “are they running out of ideas” worry, but I can’t say the nostalgia hit/psychological manipulation isn’t working on me. Hell, Return to Return to Innistrad has me more excited than any set for a couple of years now so I guess I’m part of the problem.

Uncaring

The phrase “not for you” is thrown around distrubingly often in Magic circles nowadays. Unfinity, however, is decidedly not for me. And that’s fine.

Dungeons And Dragons Battle for Baldur’s Gate Commander Legends I Think That’s The Whole Title But Maybe I Missed a bit I’m not Sure

Yikes, what a mouthful. I hate the title, both its length and unwieldiness. I don’t really have much interest in the set either. Commander Legends was a neat idea with a lot of flaws. Adding crossover flavour from another IP I have little-to-no interest in isn’t helping matters, though I appreciate that Adventures in the Forgotten Realms was super popular. For me, AFR was pretty much just a core set without any of the usual references to sets I do know and care about. Another “not for me” release.

Double Trouble

Hmm. I’m torn here. As a primarily limited-focused player, Masters sets have been some of my favourites ever. Original Modern Masters is still one of my in my top five sets of all time, and I have fond memories of almost all of the others, too.

Original Double Masters, though, was a victim of apathy brought on by the never-ending deluge of Magic product being released nowadays. I have never even seen a booster of this product, much less opened one. Without looking it up, I can’t even tell you if it was hurt by the pandemic or not, because there’s just way too much fucking stuff nowadays. I don’t know what else to say.

Oh, hang on. Was this the set with a $100 VIP Booster? Hahaha, fuck off.

Jump Around

The original Jumpstart was surprisingly enjoyable on Arena. I never wanted to play it more than a few times, and sometimes you got packs that relied entirely on your opponent getting mana screwed, but those few times I played it were pretty fun. I think putting stuff like obvious eternal format staples like Alosaurus Shepherd in a set like this is some extremely anti-consumer bullshit, but as a play experience it was an interesting mesh of draft and sealed. Not as much fun as either of those, but close enough that the novelty carried it into the “pretty fun, actually” camp. I expect more of the same – I’ll probably do a few runs if I have gems or gold spare.

Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40K Commander et al

Really, this is the bit about all the crossover stuff.

Another vomit inducing title and one that has left me with some introspection to do. Like many people, I find a lot of this crossover stuff distasteful, but I can’t really say why. The fact that the Street Fighter one – an IP I have some amount of investment in – seems less egregious than Warhammer of D&D makes me think that I don’t necessarily object to crossovers on principal. Does my dislike come from the fact that, so far, all of the other crossovers don’t involve properties I care about? Maybe. Even the mechanically unique line of text that pissed off so many people when the Walking Dead set came out doesn’t bother me that much, because Commander is a format I can take or leave.

The Fortnite one rubs me a different wrong way, though. Partly, it’s the sheer fucking inevitability of it all. Of course a popular part of the nerd sphere will have a crossover with Fortnite because that’s just the world in which we live. Partly it makes me feel old, uncool, and excluded, like all the other crossovers I don’t care about, sure. But there’s something more visceral about Fortnite. It’s fucking everywhere and I resent feeling like I have to have an opinion about it. Still, I don’t really have strong opinions about most of the other crossovers, so why this one? I really don’t know. Maybe this is one “this isn’t for you” too many from a game that has been part of my life for over 20 years.

I haven’t bought a single Secret Lair, but I’m generally willing to accept that they’re a bonus product that isn’t needed by anyone but is wanted by some. Hell, if they put out Secret Lair: Snapcaster Mage with good art (at last), I could probably te tempted into picking one up. It would be against my better judgement, though. Something about all these “not necessary but also don’t miss out, aren’t they cool, spend more money please” products rubs me the wrong way. Playing Magic and hating capitalism are difficult interests to reconcile. That’s it. That’s the tagline for this article.

Oh, right, it’s just a blog. Never mind.

Oh, God. The Fornite Secret Lair is going to be the Snapcaster Mage one, isn’t it?

Then there’s Lord of The Rings. My pal Kristen will be thrilled about this, was my first thought. I’m less enthusiastic (shocker, right?), but at least LOTR makes sense as a thing to crossover with. I mean, apart from the obvious business sense. It doesn’t have any guns and it isn’t an obnoxiously ubiquitous battle royale FPS, so that already puts it ahead of two of the other three crossovers. Indeed, without LOTR, you can make a reasonable case that MTG would never exist in the first place. Personally, I view LOTR in the same way I view The Beatles – they were important, and worthy of respect, but have been surpassed in every way since.

And the movies are better than the books. There I said it.

Regardless, this one is fine, actually. I still don’t particularly care for crossovers in general, especially as the setting for a standard set, but at least it makes sense this time.

Shut up Already

Alright, I hear you. I know a lot of that was negative towards the end, but I want to reiterate that a lot of the stuff happening in standard sets next year is really exciting, if a little unoriginal. The crossover/sellout stuff and the interminable deluge of FOMO-driven products is worrying and disappointing, but I guess we just have to try and ignore the ever-increasing number of “not for you” products and focus on the stuff we do like. Seriously, Neon Destiny looks amazing, and I don’t even like anime.

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captainreecejames · 3 years

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here is the first part to Win a Date with an English Premier League Player! - Winners are Released.

author’s note: this is gonna be a short series, i’m not really sure how many parts its gonna be but I’m going to guess around five or six. as i’ve said before, this is a trope from win a date with tad hamilton, but it’s still my story. i’ve tried to make the reader (which is a female) as neutral as possible, with no physical description so that it fits everyone. If I haven’t done that and you spot something, please tell me and I’ll fix it!

warnings: definitely some language in here and the reader’s first relationship is unhealthy, so be wary of that

word count: 1.6k

part two

“What the hell is this?” Troy asked Y/N, shoving her phone in her face as she tried to get ready for their date.

“What the hell is what?” she asked back, not even trying to read the screen that was two inches from her face.

“This voicemail!” Her blank look only irritated him more. “You’ve won a date with Christian Pulisic! When the fuck did you sign up for a date with that sad footballer?”

“I didn’t,” she answered plainly, going back to applying the mascara on her eyelashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As Y/N finished speaking, the flat door slammed closed and Erin, her best friend, announced her presence. “Babe! Where are you?”

“Bathroom!” Y/N called back, ignoring the look sent by her boyfriend.

“So I did something,” she started as she walked towards the couple. Y/N could tell her friend was guilty by the way her tone and she looked towards the door, waiting for her to appear.

“Does it have anything to do with this voicemail that Y/N just received?” Troy looked down at her, a stern look in his eyes that Erin didn’t back away from.

“Hello Troy,” a drawl in her voice which Y/N recognized. Erin’s dislike for Troy began when Y/N started dating him and it only grew with every break up the two went through. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“It’s date night,” Y/N answered, a pointed look at her best friend. She mouthed an oops as Troy rolled his eyes, picking up his phone to answer a call.

“Go for Troy,” he said walking away, Erin mocking him to Y/N’s face. She stifled a laugh, turning back to the mirror to inspect the makeup on her face, making sure there were no smudges.

“So, does whatever you did happen to be related to this voicemail I have yet to listen to that claims I won a date with Christian Pulisic?”

“Maybe.”

“When did you even do that?” She walked towards her bedroom, grabbing her purse and coat laying on the bed.

“Like a month ago, you and Troy were on a ‘break’ that I definitely thought was going to last longer than it did.” She put air quotes around break, making Y/N roll her eyes again. “Wonder where I got that idea from.”

She was about to respond when Troy came in, tapping his foot expectantly. “Erin, I don’t really care why you did it, can you just cancel on them for me?”

“No!” she yelled, shocking the other two. “It doesn’t have to be a romantic date or anything, but you are going out with Christian Pulisic! How else am I ever going to get to meet Tammy Abraham?” Y?N rolled her eyes again, ushering Erin out of her flat with Troy behind her.

“I don’t know, maybe you should have signed yourself up for that date thing and said Tammy?” she suggested as she locked the front door.

“He wasn’t an option, and how many times have you said that Pulisic was beyond fit?” Erin gulped as she saw Troy tense, regretting her words as she looked between the two.

“I’ll see you later, Erin.” With a terse smile, Y/N sent her best friend one more pointed look before ushering Troy down the stairs so they could start their date.

“Ay, Christian!” Tammy called as he opened the door to his hotel room. “Who’s the lucky girl?” he asked with a teasing smirk on his face.

“What girl?” Callum asked, sitting up on his bed to look at the American boy who laid upside down on his own bed.

Christian groaned, sitting up so he could show the boys his new email. Fikayo smirked as he sat down, grabbing the phone in Christian’s outstretched hand to read the news.

“Christian lost a bet two months ago on who could get the most crossbar hits, and he had to agree to be one of the premier league players that joined the ‘Win a date’ contest,” Tammy explained, smiling wide as Christian just shook his head. “Put a reminder in my phone for when the winners would be announced so I could come tease him about it.”

“Check her Instagram yet?” Mason asked from his spot on the desk. It seemed everyone was enjoying this but Christian.

“I’m pulling it up right now,” Fikayo answered, copying the Instagram handle that was provided into the search bar, resulting in one page: y/ninstagram. Fikayo clicked on it, nodding as the pictures loaded. “She’s fit.”

Tammy grabbed the phone next, scrolling through with his own smirk. “Definitely your type, Captain America.”

Christian groaned at the nickname, watching as his phone was passed around his friends. “I don’t have a type.”

All four looked at him with a pointed look, making him blush from their stares. “Looks like she has a boyfriend though,” Callum added, brows furrowed as he looked at the pictures himself.

Christian, also confused, grabbed his phone back. He couldn’t deny that she was very attractive, and if he had a type, which he didn’t, then she fit it really well.

“Why’d she sign up if she had a boyfriend?” Mason asked, though no one had an answer from him.

“Wait,” Christian interupted, “she dmed me.”

y/ninstagram : hey, idk if you’re even gonna see this cause you have like 3 million followers but i’m the girl who like “won a date” with you. My friend signed me up cause she thought it’d make me get over my ex but we actually got back together. I just don’t think i should be going on a date with a man im not in a relationship with. Anyway, i’m gonna contact the people in charge and tell them to pick a different person.

y/ninstagram : also, hope you get better soon so you can be back in blue!

Y/N had just reached the top of the steps when Erin opened her door, a sheepish look on her face. “How was your date?” Y/N sent her a scathing look, fiddling with the keys as she walked to her own door. “Are you ignoring me now?”

Still not answering, Y/N opened the door to her flat, though she wasn’t mad enough to lock Erin out. She held the door open for Erin to follow her in. “It was a nightmare,” she answered while shrugging her jacket off. “Thanks for that.”

Erin followed Y/N to the kitchen, sighing at her friend as she pulled open her fridge for the wine sitting in the door. “I’m sorry, I knew better than to say those things about Pulisic.”

“With Troy here!” Y/N cut her off, turning around with the wine in hand and a sad look in her eyes.

Erin’s heart dropped, feeling even worse as tears welled in Y/N’s eyes. “What happened?” Erin walked to her, pulling her in for a hug.

“I messaged Christian, told him I couldn’t do the date and Troy stopped talking to me. It was so awkward. I feel like I’m being dramatic by crying right now, but I’m just tired of everything with him. Why can’t it be easy anymore?” Erin just hugged Y/N tighter, wishing that she could know how much better she deserved.

y/ninstagram : hi christian pulisic!!! This is erin, Y/N’s best friend. I just wanted to let you know that even though she said she’s backing out of the date, she won’t actually be doing that. I will make her go on that date with you even if I have to drag her out of her apartment and to the restaurant myself. Anyway, i also hope you get better soon and tell tammy abraham that he is fine

“Have you messaged her back?” Mason asked the next morning, looking at Christian expectantly. The American boy only looked down at his phone. “It’s been a night, Christian, and I think that she can see that you read her message.”

“I don’t even know how to answer her,” he defended. “Besides, her friend messaged me too, and she said that Y/N was going to go on a date with me even if she dragged her to it.”

“Mate, sounds like this girl doesn’t even like you,” Mason teased.

Tammy came to Christian’s rescue. “That’s not true,” he interrupted, placing his tray on the table next to Chris. “I did some research, and she’s a definite Blue.” Tammy’s smile grew wider, turning into a teasing smirk directed at his friend. “And she’s a Pulisic fan as well.”

“How do you know this?”

“She’s got a saved Story from the Burnley game. Properly drunk during the game and bought a Pulisic jersey. Friends tease her about it in the comments still.” Christian only blushed at his friends comments, looking down at his phone to see another message. She had dmed him again.

y/ninstagram : i am so sorry about erin, she’s very overzealous and can be a lot to handle. Don’t feel pressured to do this date. And don’t feel pressured to tell tammy he’s fine, she’s just obsessed with him lol. Hope to see you out against arsenal.

y/ninstagram : also i can see that you have read those other messages just a fyi

“Ayyo,” Tammy exclaimed, pulling up from peering over Christian’s shoulder. “Her friend thinks I’m fine.” The two others rolled their eyes at him. “What was that friend's name?” He leaned back down, squinting to read the screen.

“What, you gonna stalk her too?” Mason asked, but seeing Tammy buried in his phone gave him the answer he needed.

#chelsea fc #christian pulisic #read #christian pulisic fanfic #christian pulisic imagine #christian pulisic x reader #chelsea fc imagine #dani writes #football fanfiction

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theruby-redmare · 3 years

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XC recap 5/2/21

Cricket was thankfully sound after pulling her shoes, so we went XC schooling. I wasn’t sure who’s trailer I was getting on until I was told to load up...Cricket got on in less than 5 minutes (she def had a look of “wtf AGAIN??” for a second and then just sighed and got on). Pretty miraculous, especially considering she ended up on a trailer with a mare she dislikes (cranky mare, always tries to bite us when we pass her stall to go to the arena).

I ended up being in a mixed group of 8 pairs ranging from barely-ready-for-starter to about-to-go-novice riders. We all warmed up in the same area without instructions, a bit chaotic but fine. Cricket was energized but was attentive in the transitions. When we started going one-by-one over a simple intro log, she rammed it down each time. No naughtiness, but way too fast for comfort on the backside. I was afraid to turn too sharp on grass so I was not as insistent as I would have liked to have been. I was nervous that we were already starting out like that. However, she ended up settling more as we continued to make our way to other jumps. I think the jump-stop-turn around-jump it again thing of XC schooling annoyed her and she probably would have been more content to just do the whole course in one go. We jumped all of the starter fences. She never refused, or even really looked, at anything. J had people rejumping a lot of fences to fix position and/or approach issues. I rejumped things to see if I could get her to approach more calmly, but I tried not to drill things. When we started putting things together, I ended up giving her a heavy half-halt and then letting her canter. She was quick, but I think she was less panicky/pissy than if I had insisted on getting trot in-between. That was probably the most that I have purposefully cantered fences with her. We walked through water in a single file line, so of course, she didn’t have any issues. I would have liked to have tried it on my own, but she was being good and I didn’t want to push too much. Plus, things started to take longer as other people had refusals and needed a lot of redos. I actually ended up getting on a ~12h pony to set it straight, as it decided that it was done jumping for the day and its kid shut down. Jumping a tiny, unfamiliar pony over a 2′3″ fence in front of an audience is um terrifying lol but I’m glad I was able to get it done! I asked J if I could do a ditch and a bank. I ended up being the only person who did a ditch (J didn’t tell anyone else to go over it, and no one else asked if they could). Cricket went right over it but bulged mid-air (I think looking at the big bush next to it? idk) so I lost my stirrup and landed unbalanced but we survived lol. Everyone did a little up-bank. She attacked it. The second time around, I had to circle her to prevent her charging it. Then the third time, we added a starter “table”. I also had to hold her back from that but she jumped it great. So much ping. She never really slowed down; she power-walked all the way back to the trailer. Totally didn’t mind leaving all the other horses behind and walking alone through a busy park.

The XC course is in a state park, so it was filled with walkers, bikers, dogs, kids, etc. It was fun to see the onlookers watching in awe. I probably won’t go again, though, as a 4h round trip makes for a hefty trailering fee. I don’t regret it, though; it was a good experience. Definitely a nice facility and nice to test Cricket out in a new setting. It was a busy weekend for her, but she rose to the occasion.

#me #cricket

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illusionsofcontrol · 3 years

Note

are there any tropes you wanted to stay away from with each character or the setting of danganronpa? its a pertty formulaic thing but you made it probably 10x more interesting than the usual game. maybe its because of the depth in charcters or the stakes but wh just seems more engaing than most real dr games! i love your works btw!

I'm really honored that you feel that way about my story! Thank you!

I should warn that my response is going to be somewhat critical of Danganronpa. I want to clarify that I still enjoy the games and it's perfectly fine if anyone disagrees, but these are my opinions and I feel they are important to my response.

First off, I guess I'm not sure if there's any setting tropes I mind in DR. The settings are actually pretty unique to each game and tie into the murders decently. WH obviously has a different setting, but that's more to fit the story rather than avoiding DR tropes.

There are, however, a lot of character tropes I intentionally avoided in WH:R.

Singular Buff Character Who Dies in Chapter 4

WH:R has two buff characters (formerly named Jerome and Ryan) and without going into spoilers, they may or may not have anything to do with Part 04. I don't know, this trope is just so overdone that I saw Gonta's design and instantly predicted that he'd die in Chapter 4. I thought it had to be a red herring, but no. That indeed happened just as expected. I don't want people to be able to predict deaths just by looking at a character design.

Girls Must Wear Skirts

Fun fact, there are only three female Danganronpa characters who don't wear skirts. They would be Aoi Asahina (wears shorts, much like an athletic swimmer would outside of the pool), Hiroko Hagakure (Yasuhiro's mom, wears jeans), and Ruruka Ando (Confectionary girl from DR3, wears very, very short shorts-). Unless there's someone I'm forgetting, every other DR girl wears skirts. Now, I'm aware that this is because most Japanese school uniforms require girls to wear skirts. But given how... bizarre everyone's outfits already are, do all the girls HAVE to wear skirts??? Given the weird fanservice of the games, I feel like it's more to make the girls reveal more skin/slim figure idk :/

I'm getting carried away here. Anyway, WH:R doesn't take place in a Japanese school so I made sure that the women aren't all wearing skirts. And while we're on the subject...

Sexual Fanservice

I'm not against it, but I personally feel like sexual fanservice in a Murder Mystery game (especially involving teenagers) is really uncomfortable. Every game has certain female characters designated to making fanservice moments (DR1: Aoi, DR2: Akane, Mikan, v3: Miu) (Junko for all three I guess-) (Also yes I'm aware that Mikan's fanservice is part of her character/backstory but it doesn't change the fact that the CGs are there for shameless fanservice. They could've drawn the scenes where her back was to the screen or something and conveyed the same message but they made sure to show Everything.)

There's also plenty of designs that are overly revealing; obviously anyone can wear what they want and a large chest is not inherently sexual but it's pretty clear to me that a lot of the revealing designs are for fanservice. Once again, these are mainly teenagers, and the older I get the more it unsettles me.

Anyway, I really wanted to avoid doing sexual fanservice for WH:R. Even though all characters but one are adults, it's just not something I want to write in a story like this. It's not my style.

The Rat

I mentioned this in a previous post, but I ended up avoiding the Rat Character trope. It's not that I dislike it, but I quite enjoyed having the characters all mean well (except for the Puppetmaster, of course.)

(But if I were to have a rat character in WH:R, they'd be the Super Diamond Level Griefer haha)

Resident Dumbass

Yasuhiro, Kazuichi, Kaito, and Akane come to mind (yeah the middle two aren't actually dumb but they tend to fall into this trope regardless). Having to do an entire minigame just to convince Yasuhiro that Kyoko wasn't a literal ghost comes to mind... Idk, I guess I just feel like characters like Kazuichi and Kaito are actually smarter than that but because it's "funny" they have to say illogical stuff throughout the games? Perhaps in a game with voice acting it can be a funny aside, but in a novel that kind of stuff would just slow everything down.

I don't know, it's not like everyone in WH:R is super smart, but that's a trope I tried to avoid.

Rude Characters (?)

Okay this isn't really a trope but Danganronpa tends to always have abrasive characters, but given that WH:R has a main cast of friends, it wouldn't make much sense for there to be much rudeness. I guess Ryan would be the closest to that but he still genuinely cares about the group.

This isn't a bad trope, it's just more natural to exist in Danganronpa because the characters there start off as strangers.

Conclusion

I can't really think of other tropes at the moment. Maybe if I think of more I'll reblog this. But I want to clarify that most of these "tropes" are avoided because of personal preference and differences in media, not necessarily because they're inherently bad.

This next part isn't exactly answering the ask, but I'm assuming that I get these asks from people who are interested in making their own fangans. So here are my two cents.

I've seen fangans that are made out of love for DR and I've seen fangans made out of spite and dislike for some aspects. Both reasons are valid (mine is mostly the former with a slight hint of the latter that's grown over the years). Kodaka's writing is definitely flawed; however, making fangans purely out of spite is dangerous. I don't want to name names, but there is one fangan in particular where the writer admitted to hating Danganronpa and only focused on adding what they wanted. But they neglected the most important part: having a solid story and cast.

Whether or not you love or hate Danganronpa, if you're writing a fangan, it is important to consider the many subjective reasons people are drawn to/away the series. I'm a firm believer that every story has something to teach a writer; even if the lesson is simply "I really don't like these tropes", considering why is insightful.

It mostly boils down to style, in my opinion. Danganronpa has a much different tone with its wacky characters and dialogue and scenarios, but that's Kodaka's style. My style is more grounded in reality, with each character having their own depth that comes up in the main plot and not just in Free Time Events. This is because my stories are more character-driven, and I personally dislike important character information that is sidelined to bonus content. I'm the kind of writer that never makes an OC that's not part of a story, cuz my style has every character play an important role.

(However, one can argue that in a visual novel, having more character depth in Free Time Events adds greater meaning because the player gets a special insight from choosing to interact with certain characters. In a regular novel, there isn't really that kind of interaction. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the media you're working with is also important.)

I think one of the biggest lessons I learned while writing WH is that forcing yourself to imitate any writer's style when trying to take inspiration is going to fall flat. It's kind of apparent in the beginning of WH, but I used to be feel like I had to follow the Danganronpa style even when I had my own desires for the story.

In reality, every writer is different and has their own quirks that they enjoy but other writers might not. There are many things I dislike about Kodaka's writing, but I know those things are definitely appealing to other people. Likewise, I know my style is not for everyone. It's fine to try and branch out if you want, but one has to recognize what one is comfortable with.

This lesson is still hard for me to absorb sometimes because I don't have much confidence in my storytelling abilities, but I'm gradually accepting that this fangan is my own. I am doing my own spin on the Danganronpa story and that's okay.

And honestly, that's what every fangan should be; a writer's own spin on the Danganronpa plot concept. So while here are the tropes I made sure to avoid, that doesn't mean other writers need to do the same. Figure out what works best for you and what YOU want to see in a Danganronpa story.

(Holy crap this was so long I'm so sorry-)

#ask

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cheekbites-moved · 3 years

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ok i still havent gotten the secret ending but farming for it might take me a bit so im gonna make a thoughts post for age of calamity now:

Major spoilers obvs so ill put it under a read more

things i enjoyed:

revali beatdown simulator

the controls for the divine beasts are a bit clunky, but i think the angles they used for them did an excellent job at really making the player feel like we were actually controlling a divine beast. so i think it was done well.

link’s personality really gets to shine full force in this game with the amount of cut scenes and it was wonderful to see

every character clearly had a lot of love put into how they operate. they truly all feel unique, & all of their play styles fit them really well in my opinion

the game does a really good job of making you understand what a real threat the monsters are. like in botw they’re intimidating at first, but once you’re far enough into the game they become just an inconvenience to work around if anything. this game managed to actually make certain monsters intimidating for me again, and i think that’s a real accomplishment

the blight battles are actually somewhat challenging in this game and that is truly a commendable achievement lol i think all the bosses are good tbh. i didnt rly dislike or not enjoy any of them.

the way daruk and link’s friendship & urbosa’s motherly relationship towards zelda got to shine was. so good. it’s all i could’ve ever wanted

seeing the descendants again was really nice & it was awesome to see the champions interacting with them!! especially sidon and mipha omggggg. that was. really fucking good shit

kohga. just. kohga in general. getting to see more of him was really rad, he’s such a fun guy! and his english va was Excellent. you could really tell he was having a lot of fun playing him, and it was lovely to see! :)

zelda getting to really shine in this game was also lovely to see. and her being so assertive and badass by the end? omg. it was so wonderful especially after botw. man.

the combat is done very well imo. im rly glad that they took so many elements from botw, but also added their own flares to make it feel fresh. it was rad.

sidon’s tagline is “winning smile” and his power is “boundless optimism” and i think that’s beautiful

the music in this game is SOOOOO good oh my god. multiple times during playing i had to pause to just appreciate it. it’s pretty much all remixes of botw with a few originals for the new characters, but they all slap. there was not a single song in this game i didn’t like. it is definitely one of my favorite video game soundtracks officially. maybe one of my favorite overall soundtracks in general tbh.

the visuals obviously look just like botw, but it still looked fucking gorgeous at some points. like. man. they really went off to make it look not only faithful to botw as far as appearance goes, but also as far as capturing botw’s beauty and it was. excellent to see!

if anything is true to botw’s backstory, it’s definitely how op link is. cause he was established to be op in botw, & when u finish botw he is also op as hell. he is so fun to play as the higher leveled he gets. he absolutely kicks ass. especially with a two-handed weapon??? daaaaammmmnnn. thats my badass baby boy!!!!

link eating rocks not once, but TWICE. just showing PEAK gremlin energy. 10/10 for those scenes they were great

the ending was really beautiful actually and i did cry like a little baby for it what about it

things i didn’t like:

obviously first and foremost.. this is not the game we were advertised. and no matter how much i overall enjoyed the game, it will always have some layer of being tainted attached to it due to the false advertising. this is not the prequel we thought we’d be getting. & not using “prequel” specifically doesn’t matter when all the advertising, including the box art talks about this being the story of what happened 100 years ago. with no indication it wasn’t the story of what happened 100 years ago in the botw timeline, but a separate universe/timeline entirely. i do hope we get dlc for the game at some point giving us what we were advertised, but at the same time... rly wish that the story that’s in the final game was dlc, & the story we were promised was the original :/ or just having the game have two separate storylines originally would’ve been cool. i just wish it wasn’t falsely advertised.

fort hateno can fucking eat my whole entire shit WHY is that part so needlessly obnoxious compared to everything else oh my god

being forced to fulfill revali’s power fantasy TWICE hurt my soul

fuck any mission where you have to protect the useless hylian guards. i hate them. they suck.

the ai for player characters when you aren’t playing as them can also be pretty useless. it was really frustrating failing missions because my fellow party members weren’t helping me, and i was basically expected to be in two places at once to get shit done myself. :/ ik you can just switch between characters to make it easier, but like. i like playing as link the most. he’s my favorite character, & ofc since he’s mandatorily played for most of the story, he’s gonna be the most leveled up character regardless so he’s just the best to play as in general especially for harder missions. it was annoying to be forced to play as other people Solely cause the ai was so useless.

king rhoam’s attempt at a redemption arc. i’m not sorry that i just fucking hate this man. i don’t mind him entirely in botw bc you can see clear, genuine remorse during the cut scene at the end of the great plateau. but the redemption arc he gets in this game? after all the fucking shit he does in this game? especially when after his ~redemption arc~ i had to sit through a cut scene of him being an absolute fucking asshole to baby zelda after her mother just died????? absolutely fuck that shit. i don’t appreciate that crap at fucking all. he’s a verbally abusive piece of shit and i hate his guts.

obviously there was gonna be some retconning of how certain things worked in botw in order to make this kinda game work but the way sheikah technology works in this game is so goddamn confusing i do not get it. the works of botw are never outright said or explained completely, but it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really matter. this game does try to explain certain things and it just becomes. really clunky and confusing very quickly.

the story is alright, i guess, but..... really confusing/convoluted as hell at times to a point that it’s. really fucking distracting. especially in comparison to how straightforward botw’s story is. like..... cannot help but be annoyed that such a problem wouldn’t have been a thing if they stuck to botw’s story.

i was sad when the egg thing died but i dont like the egg thing.... it is the MAIN reason shit was retconned so much & i just. dont get its purpose. but i did really like the reveal that zelda made it herself. that was good shit!

also the egg glitched out like. a LOT. idk what the fuck was going on with the poor thing but there was multiple times during a cut scene or when i was just sitting there that it was freaking out in the background and it was rly weird

elemental overworld boss monsters................. obnoxious. especially elemental guardians like goddamn bro what the fuck

i know warriors’ games aren’t about exploring anyway but the limitations for exploring was really sad/frustrating. this is still somewhat the world of hyrule before the calamity, which is something we’ve always wanted to see. not being able to explore even the immediate area at certain points because of shit like timed missions was really upsetting, man. :( i just wanted to see hyrule castle Before the calamity why was did they have to rob us like that.....

creepy corrupted egg’s transformation. why. what was that. what the fuck

even though i did enjoy the boss fights, it did get. incredibly taxing eventually to have to fight the SAME bastards so many times. like yeah botw is also guilty of this with the blights, but goddamn.... at least i have a choice to avoid certain encounters with them? this game has you fighting the same bitches like upwards of 3-4 times. it was. really annoying tbh. like the fights themselves are enjoyable, but damn we added new characters and it still inevitably lacked variety in boss fights.

no playable kass >:( if he’s available later in dlc then fine but i wish he was playable in the original game. so many random choices you’d never expect are. why couldn’t he also be there >:(

overall:

it will forever have that sour taste for the false advertising attached to it unfortunately, but that aside, i overall did enjoy the game! i think it has a lot to love in spite of the issues i encountered. as someone who has this as their first warriors game as well, it did lend itself to letting me see the appeal of them. idk if i’ll get more, but i do get why they’re so beloved/popular now. it was an alright time, with some amazing highlights that i’m gonna think back on very fondly for a very, very long time. if i had to rate it..... 7/10

#hw #aoc #hw aoc #hyrule warriors #age of calamity #legend of zelda #botw #danni plays hw aoc #mine #long post #v long post sorry lol i have so many thoughts/feelings

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