#and the reference to the line sailor moon always says too!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spiderrrling · 2 years

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stargazing with eddie!!!

yes, a million times yes, always one of my favorites to write (also i was thinking about with love eddie munson while writing this because he mentions stargazing, so go read that too)

Masterlist - Taglist - 3K follower celebration

True North

The back doors to his van were wide open and the cool summer night air flooded the car. Eddie was sitting on the floor of the car and she sat with her back to his front, his arms draped around her holding her close. Her fingers were mindlessly tracing the ink that decorated his arms.

He would never admit it but the action was sending small shivers down his spine as they sat there enjoying their evening. The stars had just started peeking out and she was showing him which stars belonged to which constellations.

"You see those three right there?" She grabbed his hand to guide his line of sight to where she wanted him to look, and Eddie nodded as he finally saw what she was referring to. "Those belong to Orion's Belt, and if you look just a little further up you'll see his bow."

Eddie could never get enough of this, sitting there with her in his arms and listening to her talk. He could do it for hours, days even without getting bored of it. Simply having her close was always enough for him.

His guitar laid discarded close to them, he had been mindlessly plucking away at the strings all evening, his big metal rings glinting in the evening lights.

Lovers Lake was stretched out before them, the moon reflected in the smooth surface of the water. The sound of the small water waves hitting the shore could be heard in the background. There was something idyllic about it all.

They were sitting there by the lake, the still warm summer night surrounding them. They had been down at the lake all day, it was their get away Eddie had called it. And he came prepared. The van had been stuffed to the bring with all sorts of things.

Books, snacks, a couple of beers. A small disposable grill along with hot dogs and buns. Hawkins in the summer was always unbearably hot, the Indiana heat was totally unforgiving in the months of July and August.

And the Hawkins public pool was way too crowded, and neither of them liked the attention it brought. Which is why they'd taken the van down to the lake to spend the day.

Life here felt so different to the rest of Hawkins, with no peering eyes around, no expectations or problems to deal with. They could simply get away.

"Tell me one more." Eddie leaned forward and whispered in her ear. He had been saying one more for the past twenty minutes, but he couldn't help himself. "Ok that one there." She moved his hand again, curling his fingers into his palm so she could just guide his pointer finger.

"That one star there that's brighter than all the rest?" Eddie hummed in response, his lips dangerously close to her neck. "That's the north star, it's used to find the direction of true north."

"True north?" He asked, turning his head so he could look at her and she smiled. "If you have a compass, the needle will point towards the direction of the northern magnetic pole." She started explaining carefully, examining his face. "That is the same as cardinal north, what you'd find on a map."

"But true north leads towards the north pole." Eddie was nodding slowly as she spoke, hanging onto every single word she said like it was precious gold or silver. "Sailors used to use the north star to find out which way is north when at sea, it was said to guide the way home."

Eddie laughed and buried his head in the crook of her neck, she could feel the slight stubble on his chin tickling against her skin. "Something funny Munson."

"It's cheesy." He warned and looked at her, he had gotten that playfull spark in his eyes that he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "I'm still waiting for the day you'll say something that is not cheesy."

"I think you're my true north." Eddie whispered to her and looked at her with those big brown doe eyes that made her melt. "You're home."

"You're right, that was cheesy."

Mutuals @uglypastels @catastrofhe @loveronlineee

Taglist -

@pastel-abyss-x @fayetheenthusiast @obi-wanakenobi @starbeambo @chloebeansack @a-villain-vying-for-attention @meaganjm @prettytoxix @magicalxdaydream @ghoulsgraveyard @EmmaGinanni @eddie-munsons-girlfriend @munchabunch @kaydencegilr0y @eateraa @satorix @xbreezymeadowsx @hunnybunimdun @eddiemunsonsfuturewife @avery-needs-more-fics @kbakery @milly-louise @salome-c @hope baker @mooonlight-and-stars @sweetpeapod

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dwellerinroots · 1 year

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6 questions

This post brought to you by @thana-topsy; cheers for tagging me! Hopefully you'll get a few chuckles out of it..!

RULES: answer the questions then tag some folx you want to get to know better/catch up with.

Last Song: Like a lot of you here, I listen to a lot of game music; in general, ambient music is my preferred music for work/writing, since in the field it's easier to hear people talking if there isn't someone else talking... And for writing, words just get distracting. Anyway, I'm cheating here, a bit... Song ft. Vox; Air - Sex Born Poison (the line 'Prince from the Biomass' lives rent free in my head) Song sans Vox; Desiderii Marginis - The Sweet Hereafter (just full of feelings mostly...) Song (gaming games for gamers); Chapter 1 Epilogue, Limbus Company (I'm a huge fan of this company's works. They're very literary and just the right level of obtuse. But even still, what a wild ride this was... Oh, spoilers I suppose...)

Last Show: Television? Anime? What are those? Haha, no, I kid, I kid. I just generally place anything I can't consume at my own pace pretty low, you know..? Let's see, uh... I think it was old Sailor Moon. Dubbed, of course. The only way to watch.

Currently Watching: Isn't this really the same questions as above? Gawoaoaoh!? How am I supposed to answer?! I'm in a pickle, the last movie I watched, uh, hrmn, uh... Probably a horror film, probably Body Count, 1986. I'd link the trailer, but I think it's probably too much for tumblr dot com. You should look it up, though, horror is so dumb. (I say, affectionately.)

Currently Reading: Due to life having kicked my teeth so hard I'm talking through my gums, right now, I've mostly just been reading whatever I can take with me to work, so material literature only. Sorry, I'm luddite. I'm on my nth re-read of The Alexiad, and it angers me so much that a certain power is trying to - take the legacy of Ana Komnena (dreamy sigh) for their own. I've also been thumbing through my local birder's guide, as well as a book of regional mushroom varieties. I'm preparing. Also the Making of Doom 3 design book to cross-reference things. What else, hrmn... A friend of mine picked up a pulp sci-fantasy bundle, and it made me want to re-read The Dungeon series. But there's a lot in it, more then I can recommend here, so poke me if you want questionably-written swords, sandals, lasers, and who-knows-what-else recommendations.

Current Obsession: I feel a bit bad, I don't really obsess over - wait, wait, re-do. My WIFE (fictional) [hoarse croaking] More seriously, I don't really obsess over any one media. I love everything lots, and tend to go back to things that I didn't love 'the most' and revisit them even if they were only somewhat important to me. Similarly, even when I love a media, medium, or idea, it's somewhat at a distance. I realise that's quite disappointing to people, but I'm kind of laid-back. Always have been. Let's see if I can still find an interesting answer to this one, though... Oh, actually, it's not an obsession, but I'm obsessed in trying to promote it? The problem is, it's entirely - I feel like if you aren't a child of slavic descent who had bootleg consoles and enjoyed faerie tales and mushrooms, it's probably a hard sell, ahaha... Mushroom Musume is hard to describe. It's the perfect game for people who might have roughly time for one (1) level in ye old Boomer Shooter, but are feeling in the mood for faerie tales. And that's basically what it is; a faerie-tale simulator. It can be a light-hearted, even treacle-sweet story, one that's a little scary, something dark or melancholy, or a combination of all of the three. Sometimes, things that feel like failures are unique steps in that story that turn new pages; and this, combined with the incredible amount of choice and options available, makes it one of the coolest indie games I've stumbled upon. The score is hauntingly beautiful, the art and writing are divine, and short of mystical birds, it's got basically everything I grew up with. (Now one of the devs'll poke me that there are, in fact, mystical birds, probably.) You start as a recluse hermit, raise a mushroom-hominid as your daughter, and then play as said myconoid, just trying to live life. It's a simple joy of a game, and one I'll recommend to my dying breath.

Unrelated Obsession Stuff I've Been Doing: Again, sorry, I'm not really - even the stuff I love, I'll be like, well, 'that's enough of that, then, time to do something else' bahahahaha...

Re-playing Doom 2016; I'm looking forward to Routine, since apparently Mick Gordon did the score for it, and I thought the project was dead. There are still some flaws I have with it as a whole, but it's good fun.

Occasionally playing Civilisation... 3. With Rise and Rule. Listen, my entire family loves turn-based strategy. I really like how Civ 3 and ESPECIALLY R&R handled climate change, yeah? Complexity is often good. Also, I like games I can play for a few turns, thirty minutes over a cuppa, and then save and quit. I know the joke is 'one more turn' but for me it's 'ah, perfect for a lunch break.'

My cousin threatened said that we'll be playing GAUNTLET: DARK LEGACY on the nintendo gamecub (r) (tm) this weekend assuming that bit rot hasn't taken it's toll. It may not be a 'good' game. But if you're telling me you don't hear this and get amped...

Keeping friends and family from further complicating things in their lives.

Faffing about with writing; I'm also a read/writing mode only person, and if I have to choose between reading fics or writing, the latter wins out. If I don't spill a tiny amount of blood/ink I instantly explode, it's known. Ideally, people will make better decisions into the future and I will have more time. But if not, at least we'll always have TES...

Please don't feel obligated to do this sort of thing, but if you wanna have at it... I'll tag @zombiecatboys, @kulgen, @pikkish, @expended-sleeper, @totally-not-deacon, @beloved-lady-alma, @lyriumspectre, @thattalviel and anyone else who might possibly want it. Legitimately, I've never been good at telling what the proper etiquette is, especially when I'm like - 'wowowowowowo! quizzes awesome!' but know how - tiring that can get, bahaha!

#ask game #thana-topsy #queued #this was so much fun - being a goofball is fun.#listen if any of you want STUPID horror recs by the by #i am in your court.#not nearly as as much as my cousin mind but i've got some skills even now.

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outercrasis · 2 years

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At Your Service

Pairing: Vigilante (Adrian Chase) x F!Reader

Word Count / Rating: 3.1k / Explicit 18+ only

Warnings: sub!Adrian/dom!Reader, maid costume Adrian, oral (f!receiving), unprotected sex, bit of degradation (not towards reader), cockwarming, praise kink, reference to somno

Summary: Adrian tries to make things up to you after not listening on a mission.

A/N: HUUUGE shoutout to @green-socks who essentially handed me the plot to this fic on a platter after I simply shouted "Adrian in a maid costume" at her. This fic wouldn't exist without you babe💕

Maid-rian art by @nobodys-baby-now

“Adrian what the fuck are you wearing?”

The answer to that is obvious. It’s incredibly apparent what he’s wearing, surprising you as you step out from the bathroom where you’ve been taking a very long shower with the door pointedly locked in an attempt to ignore him. The question is borne more so out of surprise, completely unaware the costume existed in your apartment before now.

Adrian looks down, swinging his hips slightly to let the skirt and attached apron flow around his inviting thighs. “I thought you liked these.”

You do. You like them a lot, but you never thought Adrian would wear a maid costume for you without any prompting. You’d shown him a couple tiktoks hoping to inspire, but Adrian has never been the best with subtle cues. He might be a bit more perceptive than you give him credit for at times.

The cheap fabric clings to his toned body, the stupid open collar accentuating his trapezius and shoulder muscles. You’re frozen in your towel, stuck between continuing to be mad at him and giving in. You know Adrian isn’t stupid – this is a well planned ploy to break down your walls and let him back in. Unlucky for him, you’re a little more stubborn than he thinks.

You’ve been ignoring him for a few days now, ever since your last mission. It’s a feat in and of itself, working and living with Adrian, to ignore him as effectively as you have. You know it isn’t the mature approach, but you haven’t really allowed yourself to care. If he can disregard your clear instructions on a mission then you can ignore him too. At least it isn’t life or death when you do it.

“I think I bought a size too small,” Adrian says, still looking down at where the skirt hits just above mid-thigh.

You don’t really want to offer the satisfaction of commenting, but you can hardly help yourself. He looks so stupidly good that you’re already wondering what you could get him to wear next. Maybe a Sailor Moon costume?

“I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Adrian’s head pops up, beaming at you. “You think so? I really had to guess. Sizing is a nightmare for women online, I don't know how you buy anything-”

He stops talking, eyes widening as you drop your towel. You don’t want to hear about his discovery of the eternal struggle of shopping as a woman right now. What you do want is him, on his knees, begging for you. It might convince you to forgive him. Maybe.

“Adrian,” you say, walking towards him. “Is that really what you want to be discussing right now?”

“No, fuck no. Although I really wouldn’t mind talking about it later because it was really confusing and I thought this would be a little bigger on me.”

You brush past Adrian, walking straight towards the bed behind him and positioning yourself on the edge. His eyes follow you, glued to your body as you throw some extra sway into your hips. He’s always staring at your tits or your ass and you’re looking to put on a show.

Adrian follows exactly as you expected, a smile on his face as he thinks he’s already won this game. He has no idea what you have in store for him.

He leans down, already going in for a kiss, when you turn your head to the side. His lips land awkwardly on your cheek and he recoils, obviously confused.

“Uh-uh. On your knees.”

Your tone of voice doesn’t leave any room for argument. Adrian sinks to his knees in front of you, his face now perfectly in line with your pussy. You spread your legs slightly, but don't allow him a proper look, tipping Adrian’s head up towards your face with a finger.

“Did you think it was going to be that easy? You dress up for me like a little slut and I forgive you?” you ask him. Adrian doesn’t answer, a slight glaze glossing over his eyes. You grab his jaw more firmly, refocusing him. “Good boys answer.”

“I- I was hoping that you would,” he stammers.

You pout at him, holding his jaw in your hand. “That’s sweet baby. Dumb, but sweet.”

You know that by now Adrian understands what he did wrong in the first place. Whether he figured it out on his own or someone else explained it to him you aren’t sure, but there wouldn’t be the obvious I’m sorry attempt of a maid costume if he didn’t.

A mission to infiltrate a building a few days ago is what caused all of this in the first place. As the team’s tactician, it’s your job to lead everyone on the field through the path of least resistance. Of course that doesn’t work when someone doesn’t listen to you and puts himself in direct and completely unnecessary danger. Whether he could have taken those goons on or not was never in question – whether he needed to without backup was. You can still feel the way your stomach dropped, listening to Adrian’s laugh and the pops of gunfire over the headset after expressly telling him to stay put and wait. You had half a mind to kill him yourself once he got back to the van.

You look down at him, on his knees before you, and card your fingers through his curls. It’s impossibly soft despite his religious use of Suave strawberry shampoo. “Tell me what you want, baby.”

Adrian has never been one to be shy before in the bedroom, but something about this overt shift in your dynamic has him stumbling over himself. “I want- want to taste you. I don’t want you to be mad at me anymore. You’re so-” You tug on his hair, making him lose his train of thought for a moment. He’s tripping over his words when his brain catches up. “Fuck- you’re so fucking sexy. I want to do anything you tell me to.”

“Yeah? You think you can actually listen to me? Be a good boy?”

Adrian shakes his head vigorously, eager to show you how good of a boy he can be. You hum, acting like you’re debating on whether or not you’ll take him up on it. It serves to only make him more desperate, pushing himself against your leg, starting to beg. “Please? I’ll be so, so good for you, baby. Do anything you want.”

“Anything?” you ponder, reaching down to slip his silver frames off his face. You love the way they look on him, but you know they’ll only end up in your way.

“Please,” Adrian pleads with you.

You look down at him, enjoying the contrast of this to the Adrian you typically know. Despite the awkwardness of any missed social cues, Adrian is always confident and self-assured. He knows what he wants and what he's capable of, which is probably what led him to ignore you telling him to wait for backup in the first place. The Adrian before you now knows what he wants but he has no idea how to get it and it's throwing him off his game.

Slowly, his eyes searching your face, Adrian leans in and begins to kiss along your bare legs. You allow it, still running your fingers through his hair.

There are so many options available to you, it's hard to know what to take. You know your boyfriend well – what he likes and what really gets him going. The idea of a turn-off is nearly nonexistent with him but you've been cataloging what he's especially aroused by. You've nearly decided when he cinches the choice for you.

One of his hands ventures further to wind around your ass, pulling you closer, and you catch it with your own. Adrian is capable of being patient. You're going to see just how far you can push him.

You slide up the bed, leaving Adrian on the floor, skirt pooling in his lap. "Come on up here," you invite, crooking a finger his way, and he wastes no time.

He climbs over top of you, eagerly grinding down so that you can feel his hardening length through the thin skirt fabric. It takes a great deal of your willpower to not let him continue. You tut, reaching up underneath the dress and stilling his hips by digging your nails into them. "Did I say you could do that?"

Adrian shakes his head. "Words, Ade," you say, something you never thought you would need to remind him to use.

"No, but fuck you're so pretty. I want to make you feel good, let me make you feel good. Please? I know I can make you feel good," he rambles. It's so cute of him.

"Tell you what baby, you want to grind on me? You can have my thigh."

Adrian groans, clearly not thrilled with the turn of events but he seems to understand he should take what he can get right now. You flip the skirt of the costume up, palming him through his tight black briefs. His eyes fall closed at the pressure, pressing down into your hand. “Be a good boy for me and I’ll let you have more.”

You reach around, giving his ass a squeeze and pulling him onto your thigh. You’re thankful Adrian rarely overthinks things, completely unembarrassed to be humping your leg to get off. He looks perfect like this, his soft but strong muscles straining under the slightly too tight fabric. You still can’t quite believe he bought the costume just for you. No one you’ve ever been with before would have done something like this to get back in your good graces. Then again, you’ve never been with someone quite like Adrian.

“F-f-fuck, please I need more,” he whines desperately and you feel your resolve slip.

“Okay baby. Let’s get these off,” you say, pushing at the waistband of his briefs. The front of the fabric has been growing damp with precum, the barrier basically useless at this point. You’re aching for some relief of your own, guiding him to grind down against your pussy.

“Oh fuck, fuck, you feel so good. Please let me fuck you, please? You’re already so wet I want to make you feel good,” Adrian rambles, his forehead pressing against yours. His eyes are open wide, pleading but you know he can last longer than this.

“Keep going like you are. Being such a good boy for me.” You cut off his broken moan at the praise, capturing his lips in a filthy kiss. It’s mostly teeth and tongue, but after a few days of not doing so much as holding Adrian’s hand, you’re just as eager for this as he is.

His hips move faster, pantomiming what he’d actually like to be doing buried deep inside you. You can tell he’s getting close, the little noises he’s making and uneven strokes giving him away. This is what you’ve been waiting for – the ultimate test of his patience.

You dig your fingers into the globes of his ass, forcing him to stop moving completely. A pathetic whimper escapes him, his head dropping heavily into the pillow behind you. He’s pleading, a constant stream of please pouring from him as he tries to do his best and keep his hips still. It’s so hard to deny him like this, but you’re not done pushing him just yet.

“You’ll cum when I say you can,” you say, nipping at his earlobe. “You’ve been such a good boy for me though, I’ll let you have a reward.”

That catches Adrian’s attention, his head popping up from the pillow. His eyes are a little glossy, the green of his irises looking brighter than normal. “Yeah, yeah okay. I can- I can wait for you. Whatever you want.”

“It’s what you want, Ade. You said you wanted to taste me- go ahead.”

It takes him a second to pull himself together, but then Adrian is sliding down your body, the cheap polyester of his maid costume gliding against your skin. The skirt has remained flipped up, giving you the perfect view of his ass peeking over the swell of his shoulders. His mouth is hot and wet pressed against your skin, leaving open mouthed kisses along every inch wherever he hasn’t already left a compliment.

You love how vocal Adrian is in bed, never too self-conscious to say exactly what he’s thinking or to try and mask the noises you inspire him to make. Even as he goes down on you, he’s noisy, working you over with his mouth like you’ve served him up a five-star meal.

Your fingers thread through his curls, pulling him deeper into you. Adrian doesn’t seem to mind at all, fingers flexing happily on your hips. You feel wanton, unabashed in your wants as Adrian lets you use him however you see fit. He even manages to keep his own hips still against the bed when he could easily grind for some friction of his own – not that you’d let him get away with that right now.

“Good-good boy,” you gasp, smoothing a few curls away from his sweat slicked forehead. “Make me come and then I’ll let you fuck me.”

Encouraged, Adrian somehow doubles down, trying to speed you towards your orgasm. You can’t fault him after denying him for this long. It’s a bit surprising he’s held out like he has – not that Adrian doesn’t usually last, but you so rarely deny him anything that you didn’t know he could wait this long to get what he wants.

Looking down, you find Adrian staring up at you, focused on the reactions you’re having from his tongue alone. It’s enough to push you over the edge, legs trembling and flooding Adrian’s mouth with your release.

Before you can even come down from your high, Adrian is overtop of you and pushing himself into your slick cunt. Your clench around his cock, the sensation of him pressing into you prolonging your orgasm as he begins to slowly rock his hips.

“You’re so fucking hot, fuck, I love you telling me what to do. It’s like you’re a hot teacher or something but you’re my girlfriend and it’s so hot,” Adrian says, sucking marks into your neck. You don’t want to show up to work tomorrow with hickeys on display, but you’re too far gone to tell him to stop.

The flowy fabric of the skirt pools over your pubic bone, blocking you from watching as Adrian slides in and out. Your arms wrap around him as he braces himself over you on his elbows, careful to keep the majority of his weight off of you. He weighs more than someone might suspect, toned and compact muscle deceiving to the eyes. The fabric of the maid costume is too tight around his shoulders, giving you no purchase to grab onto. Frustrated with the inability to grab him how you want, you shift, using the element of surprise to flip Adrian onto his back.

“Holy shit that was so sexy-” He’s cut off from saying anything more as you ride him faster, hands braced against his chest.

“Such a good boy,” you pant, clit rubbing against the neatly trimmed hairs at the base of his cock. “So good listening to me, doing what I ask.”

Adrian nods his head vigorously, hands pressing little bruises into your hips that he’ll kiss better later. You’re both close, movements growing sloppy and uncoordinated. “Come for me, Ade. Come on good boy, fill me up.”

It doesn’t take much more than that, Adrian’s eyes rolling back in his head as he thrusts up into you. You reach down, fingers circling your clit, to bring yourself over the edge along with him. His cock twitches, painting your walls with his spend, and the feeling pushes you over with him, making your mind go cotton-soft as you clench down around him.

You slump over top of Adrian, covering his body with yours. He’s probably overheating in the cheap costume and with your body on his, but he makes no complaints or effort to move. His fingers gently run along your back, bringing you back down from your high.

You shift to get off of him and Adrian’s hands quickly land on your hips, keeping you firmly in place. “Stay please? You feel nice.”

How can you deny him after all of that? You nod, a bow on the costume pressed uncomfortably into your cheek but you can hardly bring yourself to care. “Ade?” you mumble.

“What’s up?” You have no idea how his voice sounds as clear as it does. You rode him within an inch of his life and you want to take a nap.

“You were such a good boy, listening to me. Getting all dressed up for me.” You can feel his cock twitch in you at the praise and you stow that information away for later. It seems like he responds to that more than just in the heat of the moment. “Thank you.”

Adrian brings your hand up to his lips, kissing it gently before holding it against his heart. “I’m really sorry for not listening during the mission this week. I know you were trying to keep me safe and I wanted to show you that I could totally take those guys.”

You chuckle, tilting your head to look up at him. Adrian always makes it easier to say things plainly, his own genuine brand of honesty inspiring your own. “I knew you could take them you goof. But I also knew you would be safer if you did it with backup. I don’t like seeing you get hurt.”

“Oh. So you knew I could take them out?”

“Of course. Vigilante is way better than some D-list goons. Could probably do it in your sleep.”

Adrian’s chest puffs at your compliment, squeezing you into a tight hug. “Can you help me buy a maid costume that actually fits? This one is really tight in my armpits and it feels really weird.”

“Of course babe. And maybe we can buy you some other costumes?” you ask, yawning.

“Yeah, can we get you some too? Now that I’ve said it I can’t stop thinking of you as a sexy teacher.”

“Sure, Ade. Wake me up in ten and we’ll look.”

You snuggle down into the crook of his neck, clenching around him once more just to tease, prompting Adrian to ask, “Can I wake you up with my dick?”

You snort and place a gentle kiss against his neck. “Yeah baby, go ahead.”

Reblogs and comments very much appreciated!

Tagging those who interacted with/had interest in my last Adrian fic 💕: @green-socks @skeletonstwins @pettyprocrastination @just-w4nderlust @prismaticpizza @middimidoris @giselatropicana @moonlight-prose @anaaaispunk

#adrian chase x you #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase fanfiction #vigilante x you #vigilante x reader #peacemaker fanfiction #crasis writes #tossing this out before I overthink it

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aquaburst3 · 2 years

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And now. Bizarre changes for the official English release of Twisted Wonderland that I saw so far on TikTok and Tumblr.

Grim is called a weasel.

Ruggie has a Brooklyn accent.

Epel has a natural Southern accent.

Malleus is nicknamed "Hornton."

Chenya's name is altered. (Not a bad thing, since I heard the Slavic name is more accurate.)

Idia uses a lot more western Gen Z Slang. (This one I don't mind. Idia IS from a Greek analog, so he would realistically talk like a westerner instead of a Japanese person. While him talking like a weeaboo fits too, there's nothing wrong with that direction either.)

Floyd says "yeet" a lot.

"Drumming is canceled. Yeet."

Grim talks like a boomer. Literally.

Cater uses a lot of 2000s slang terms. Which is ill fitting since he's supposed to be up to date with trends.

Trey's Unique Magic is now called "Painting the Roses", despite him saying "Doodle Suit" out loud in English.

The terms for "Unique Magic" and "Madol" are different now.

Getting rid of Cater asking Vil out on a date in his personal story.

Crowley uses a lot of complicated words. Fits because he seems like the haughty type.

Kalim describes Jamil as being "like a brother", despite never talking about him like that before. (I'm not a JamiKali shipper, but...they do realize that guys can be friends without spout out they are brothers constantly, right? And it's even weirder given that Kalim is Jamil's BOSS.)

Sebek refers to Malleus by name, despite that being completely OOC. This is the same guy who honours the man so much that he hung up a picture of him in his bedroom. He always referred to him as "Young Master" in the original.

Getting rid of Sam's tattoos. (This one could be understandable if it's due to cultural sensitivity reasons that I could be missing as a non black person. As for right now, I'm lost.)

[Edit: Jamil and Kalim aren't cousins in the official translations. Apparently, someone cracked a joke about them being like "the Sailor Moon cousins" on Twitter. So someone down the line misinterpreted that as them being LITERALLY cousins in the game. The rumour spread from there. It's just that. A rumour. They aren't related still. Thank god, because I would've fought a bitch if that was true.]

#twisted wonderland #aqua rambles

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studiojeon · 3 years

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troubled outsiders | intro - jjk

| summary | - how you two end up pining for each other.

warnings: none :)

content: idol!jungkook x student!oc, friends to lovers (because it’s THE superior trope okurrrt), jungkook is quiet and shy but a social butterfly when needed (and when it comes to oc but you’re not supposed to know that yet), oc is both a badass and a socially akward queen, she has TWO friends and only because one is dating the other (like... same), the Lee Charyeong is her bestie, oc works at bighit and feels like everyone either fears her or hates her, author nim is a crackhead and has no plot planned for this series whatsoever (doesn’t know if she’ll keep this up, we’ll see).

words: 1.93 k

His presence was overwhelming, to say the least. Even if he were surrounded by six hundred other equally handsome men, somehow, to you (and the majority of the female population, at that point) he was as captivating and magnetic as they come. Jeon Jungkook didn't pay no mind to no one, but sure as hell everyone became hyper aware of his existence and essence in time. And that didn’t exclude you.

Yet, as nonchalant and indifferent as the man could be perceived, in reality he was more considerate and friendly than the aura he exuded. You knew this because working in the same company had to teach a thing or two about the people who literally carried said company and the whole industry at some point, still you barely knew four or three people, including your assistant and Jungkook, whom you had met once.

The opportunity of working at the company had come to you out of the blue, quite literally, you were attempting to send one of your assignments in when an email appeared in your notifications during your sailor moon study break.

HYBE Entertainment

We’re glad to inform you that you’re being recruited for the position of Logistics Manager in one of our sub companies, BIGHIT Entertainment. We’ve thoroughly looked through the CV you’ve submitted and are very interested in your capabilities and what you can contribute to our organization. One of our other managers will gladly meet you on a day you can both agree on. Make sure to answer this email to get more details about your interview.

“Nani!? THE FUCK?” sure as hell that your eyes and cognitive functions were deceiving you (ADHD) you went over the text a little over three times in a row before the message settled in your mind. This was sus.

Before even considering a reply you made a quick call. “Fucking Lee Chaeryeong” you spat on your end of the line. “You did this, didn’t you?”.

Her silence was more than enough to have you cursing her under your breath. “I don’t know what exactly you’re talking about but it most likely was me. Does it have to do with a sex toy in particular?”

“No” you denied almost monotonously, guessing the pile of boxes in the corner of your room with her names on them was what she referred to. “Does anything come to mind if i mention BIGHIT FUCKING ENTERTAINMENT?”

It was her. All those conversations during the summer about how badly you wanted to work in the entertainment business as marketing staff of some sort had their effect on your friend, who, despite all your excuses and denials, knew you better than you and your mom combined did, and because of this, was sure as hell you were not making a move towards that goal whatsoever. So, being the boss bitch she was, she took matters into her own hands, was what she explained.

You concluded that was the reason you had reached a point in your life where you had more experience than most recently graduated kids in your field, because Chaeryeong had you moving every summer break. You had been the manager of a coffee franchise and convenience store during you junior and senior years, and also figured a way to improve the marketing management strategy of a fucking restaurant while at it. Not to toot your own horn, but you were kind of cool.

Or not. “I hope this job satisfies your workaholic ass for once, I’m running out of ideas”. Chaeryeong spat before hanging up.

Sure as hell it would.

On friday afternoon, you made your way to the HYBE INSIGHT building and introduced yourself to your recruiters who promised to give you a call at some point. “It went fine” you told Chaeryeong once you were in your car. And it was the truth, however you weren’t so sure if they would actually hire you at some point since well, you were a girl in a male dominated industry and, in your opinion, there were always better people than you. “Wanna go grab coffee?”

“I want to. But, I have practice today. I’m actually on my way there. Please avoid driving through Hongdae today, this shit’s packed.” You sighed and thanked her for the heads up. You missed your friend, badly. You hadn’t seen each other in three weeks, and you didn’t even live so far away from each other (you did, but it had been worse before). You two had very agitated lives to say the least. Chaeryeong was a kpop group member, and well, you were jumping from job to job and getting your phD in Business Management at the same time. It was hard to find moments to spare together during some periods of the year, but you guess the anticipation made your encounters better.

“Talk about anticipation” you slammed your forehead against your desk, taking a breather after such an anxiety packed situation. Short story: you got the job (for some fucking reason). And you had gone through a whole week of expectancy and anguish. Not getting that job would have broken your heart, and ego at the same time.

You guessed the law of attraction tactics Chaeryeong had taught you had sorted their effect and were what led you to your current position in life.

“Miss _____, your presentation’s ready” your work assistant gave you a comforting pat in the back as she took a seat somewhere next to you. You were nervous, shitless. It was your fifth week at the job, and being the proactive woman you were, you had collected lots of data in order to come up with a resources management plan.

It was a Thursday afternoon, and more than a hundred people sat in front of you, waiting for your speech. Including him, who you’d once bumped into accidentally during one of your data recollections runs inside the building.

You hated having the need to impress others yet, hence your anxious behaviour. But this was a decisive moment in regards to your validation in your new job and how you’d continue to be perceived during your work stance (no reason to panic at all)… you needed to get it together.

“I think I just pissed off a bunch of old men right now,” you told your assistant right after you got off stage. “I need a bathroom break”. Linh gave you a reassuring smile, one she always had plastered on her face.

“Take as long as you need to. I’ll give you a call once the rest are done”.

The commute to the bathroom was unnecessarily complicated in your opinion. You had spent a little over a month rushing through the hallways of the building and you swore every single day your spatial orientation got a bit more fucked up. There was no way there wasn’t a single bathroom on the floor you were in, that would just be atrocious. “It’s not completed yet” someone said beside you as you stared at the half empty map the company had projected on a wall next to the elevators. “Where do you need to go?”

Kim Taehyung of all people in the world was talking to your ugly and unworthy ass. Your breath caught in your throat and after staring for at least five seconds your body finally reacted to your orders. “Oh, um… the bathroom. I’ve been looking for it for a good ten minutes” you explained with a nervous laugh.

“Trust me, I get it. I still get lost over here” he smiled gently. “It’s in the hallway in the middle of the next hallway”

You laughed at his very ambiguous explanation. “Thank you” you bowed your head and made your way to said destination.

It was in the hallway to your left, not your right, and it took you a while to figure out that new piece of information. Once you were staring at yourself in the mirror, you realized that you looked considerably tired and exhausted from all the social interaction you had undergone throughout the day. You were used to the side stares and whispering you’d get whenever you entered a room at that point, but some days you just wished you could get a break from them. After all, it wasn’t your fault you didn’t look Korean at all, and that you also didn’t fit the stereotype of a foreigner.

You got that from your mom, both the non Korean features and social fatigue. But that wasn’t even the problem most of the time, it was your friendly and smart nature which she had also passed onto you. Some would consider it a blessing, but to you it was a burden, like a clear glass that shielded you from introducing yourself into other people’s realities. You had few friends and people to trust, but in your everyday life you had to deal with the pressure of standing out too much and that came with a lot of negative energy from others. You sigh as you spray your favorite fragrance on yourself. You could be feeling like shit, but no one will ever catch you slipping.

But that excluded him apparently. You hadn’t noticed that on the other side of the hallway was the men’s bathroom and the realization hit you as you were calmly getting some tea from the vending machine. “Good afternoon” the man greeted you as he made his way out the hallway, but stopped in his tracks right after he noticed you. “_____! Hi” he smiled at you and you wanted to die, suddenly forgetting what you were ordering in the first place.

“H-hi Jungkook” You smiled back, poorly attempting to put your wallet back into your backpack.

“Need help there?” he noticed your agitated state and held your bag for you. He smelled just as heavenly as you had expected, somewhat between big dick energy and flowers. Oh, and he also remained as kind and polite as you remembered him.

Seeming as if he wasn’t planning on continuing his path to wherever he was heading to in the first place, he stood quietly by your side, waiting for you to be done with your deal. “How have you been?” you break the ice for him.

Quickly, you grab your tea and start walking back to the auditorium together, unaware of your surroundings or the suspicions that could arise. “Busy, but very good. How have you been? I saw your presentation earlier… I wish I understood half of what you said but you still sounded amazing”.

And you would never admit it out loud, but you were positive you were blushing (and falling in love too - platonically, of course). “Oh god, you think so? I basically told them they’ve been doing things wrong all along so maybe you’re the only one who’s appreciative of my work” you handed him the second can of iced tea you bought without him noticing. You swear his eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. “Payback for the other day” you smile at him.

The first time you two had crossed paths you didn’t look nearly as glamorous as you did now. In fact, you looked incredibly disturbed and in pain, carrying a huge pile of paperwork in your hands. But as soon as sweet Jungkook noticed your state, he offered you a hand and somehow ended up helping through your multiple data collecting trips that afternoon. It was a nice day.

“Anytime” he took the can in his hands with a shy look on his face. “Unless I’m practicing, you know…” you look down at his feet, with huge black boots engulfing them, and you smile due to their contrast with his personality. “Here, i’ll give you my number so you can call me whenever you need to put all those papers back. Hopefully I’ll be around” he added as he pulled his phone from his back pocket.

Way to get a girl’s number, my god.

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shivada-jade · 3 years

Text

songs of a siren

characters: venti, beidou, kazuha, albedo ➡ mention(s): xiangling, ningguang, sucrose, timaeus, peepaw warning(s): yo ho ho me hearties

note: whenever i write venti, i always have 27 tabs of rhymezone opened up. my rhyming vocabulary will be unstoppable in a few weeks time. no one can stop me, it will be sublime

Venti:

Venti has seen many things in his free-spirited life. He's seen many different lives and creatures, but something he has never seen before are the fabled sirens of the sea.

"Beware of the sirens!" The old captains of Teyvat warned, "Their music is captivating and will drown you into sea."

"Music?" The bard asks with sparkling eyes.

The old sea captain squints her eyes. "Bard, do you have selective hearing? The sirens will drown you in sea."

Venti laughs, "But I've never heard of singing sirens! Just sirens. I wish to see one."

"Younglings these days," the captain shakes her head, tipping her chair back just enough so she wouldn't fall.

"I'm actually older than I look, you can see me in many books," he chuckles, hopping off the table right outside of Angel's Share.

"Thank you for your sea tips captain!" He says, tipping his hat in a bow with a hand behind his back. "I'll put it to jolly good use. With your knowledge, I'll make sure nothing bad will happen!"

Venti sneakily snatches an apple from a sleeping person's hand and saunters on his way, whistling a few notes.

"Sirens of the Sea will be my next tune!"

Everyday, Venti comes out playing his lyre to the sea, hoping he would be able to hear someone sing back. He made his winds carry his song to the deepest part of the waters, trying to catch the attention of sirens.

And everyday, he would return to the tavern, fruitless as the patrons pat his back singing a drunken song.

The young adults nearby would shake their heads, kindly telling Venti that sirens are not real. The grandparents' eyes would twinkle when they heard Venti playing the song for the sirens while kids would sit next to Venti who played his lyre at the docks.

His green cape flew back as he played a different style of music, one that's more mellow and calm compared to the upbeat kind he plays so often. There, he swears he sees the flip of a tail far beyond the ocean.

He bid farewell to the children and apologize for not being to able to play more music for them. "I'll be back if you bring apples!"

Venti waves goodbye and walks out the exits of Mondstadt.

His legs brush the long grass, reaching to touch his hand as he hikes up Starsnatch Cliff, until he remembers he can fly. Oops.

Swirls of teal lift his feet, representing the winds carrying him to the top. The blue of the sky reflected on the waters, and he decides today is the perfect day to sing for his siren again.

Letting his lashes rest on his cheeks, he plays the same mellow tune at the docks, sometimes peeking with one eye to see if the siren is there.

That's when he hears it. The sound of a loud splash ringing in his ear. His lyre playing turns quick and exited, when looking down to see a bobbing head, and a colourful siren tail behind it.

Venti waves his hand wildly, stopping his lyre playing momentarily.

"A real siren!"

The siren freezes, and sinks a bit deeper in the water. The green bard slowly floats down with a friendly smile.

"Did you enjoy my music?" He asks in glee, waiting for an answer. Venti hovers right above the water so his clothes won't get wet. He sees the siren's eyes look at the instrument in his hand and pushes it to their face, making them lean back a bit from shock. "Do you wanna try the lyre?"

"The lyre?" The siren repeats, gliding a finger on the wood of the instrument.

"Just don't sing okay? I can't drown yet, my pride is still high, and the kids there would be in dismay."

The siren laughs, now gripping on the lyre, "Do you always speak like this?"

"Yep!" He says, relieved you feel comfortable with him and seem friendly too. He scratches the back of his head. "Although... you're taking this lightly. Is it true your singing drowns people?" He asks politely.

The tip of the siren's finger touches their lip, thinking. "Well, in some cases, it does."

Venti's eyes widen.

"But not in the way your folktale mention it!" The siren continues, now clasping on the lyre that Venti let go of, playing a few strings. "Sometimes when our folk sing, the sailors are curious where the singing comes from. But the sailor that spread the story of the deadly, singing sirens is The Sailor That Can't Swim."

"The Sailor That Can't Swim? Now that's a tale I need to hear! Though, I must say, I do pity for him."

The siren splashes Venti, making him dripping in cold water. The berette on his head now droops to his eyes. He grins mischievously as he wrings the water out, showing the hair he hides. A strong gust of wind dries the siren's face, making them go back in the water to splash Venti.

"Right, so," the siren pops out their head again. "It was my great great grandfather that actually sang the song. The sailor was curious and fell off his ship, but he didn't know how to swim and drowned. His first mate blamed my great great grandfather's singing for making his captain drown. We're not bad actually. We stopped singing music so close to the surface."

"Wouldn't that be a sight," the bard hums, listening to the song you play on his lyre while looking at the sky above. "Say, Siren. What do you want me to call you? Let me know before the day turns night"

"You ask me my name before telling me yours?" The siren teases, giving his lyre back.

"Ah! My apologies, I'm Venti the bard!... Uh, I can't seem to get a word that rhymes with 'apologies' that go great with my sentence, so I hope you accept my repentance."

"It's alright." The siren says. "I'm [Name]. It's not everyday I can make friends with someone from the surface."

[Name] draws a figure in the air. "My first surface friends told me to be wary of others, but I think I can trust you," [Name] glances at the green glass, strapped on Venti's hip. "One of them even has the same looking glass orb as you. A vision he called it."

Venti shrugs with a smile, feeling like he knows the person the siren was referring to, "I would like to make a song for you, [Name]. Let's have others know what a wonderful siren you are."

Kazuha:

He sits at the side of the ship, playing his leaf like a flute beautifully. The crewmates on The Crux hum the same notes on repeat. They are broken records.

"Even the sturgeon and the ray, they get the urge and start to play!" A kid sings out loud, skipping behind Kazuha.

"Hmm hmm mmm" the kid hums, replacing the words he doesn't know with just the tune itself. "Under the sea!"

Kazuha sighs, letting go of his leaf for the ocean winds to take. His finger traces the lines of the ship, bored and somewhat annoyed. Beidou's crew had been singing the same song for hours after leaving Liyue, showing no signs of ever stopping. It was like a curse.

He looks over the horizon, the crescent moon shining on the ocean, making the ripples turn to satin sheets covering the water. The world is asleep, but not The Crux Crew.

He lets his hair free from the tie; snow hair moves with the breeze, waiting for his friend to appear.

A tall woman settles her hand on the boy's shoulders, sighing. "It's time to get rest. Your siren friend won't come, especially if sirens don't exist," she says saying the last part to herself.

"Beidou," Kazuha greets without turning his head.

"Come on, kid," Beidou insists. "It's late."

Kazuha stays seated, looking over the waters to find his siren friend. "I think I'll stay here a bit more. The ocean calls me as much as the wind."

He feels Beidou's hand leaving is shoulder. He silently thanks him for respecting his wishes.

"Good night, Captain. See you tomorrow," he says waving her off.

The sea captain lifts a hand while turning away, even when she knows Kazuha isn't looking.

Kazuha waits.

He waits some more.

Maybe Beidou is right. His siren friend won't be back today. He'll just wait again tomorrow.

He begins to stand until he sees a familiar figure in the ocean.

"[Name]," he breathes out gently.

A shimmering siren tail waves at him instead of a hand. Kazuha laughs and waves eagerly. He walks along the side, reaching one of the 'emergency boats' strapped on the ship and untangles its ropes, letting it fall to the ocean with a splash.

He gently falls down, the winds he summons cushioning his landing onto the small boat. His ruby eyes spot something in your hand and he asks about it.

"This? A weird green boy gave me this thing called a lyre. Said he had tons more so he gave me this one after making a song with me." [Name] presents it to Kazuha with both hands, grinning. "The boy even taught me a song."

"Oh?" He tilts his head, "Go ahead, play the song. Perhaps some day we may duet."

The siren sends him a thumbs up and start pulling the strings of a lyre.

Kazuha feels his eye twitch. "This song... what's the name?"

"Do you not like it?"

"No it's just... the crew was singing this song all day. I was wondering what song it is."

"Oh the green boy and I made it. I didn't know it would go that famous!"

"Hmm, keep playing."

Kazuha didn't mind the song the siren plays. After all, when [Name] plays the song, it sounds enchanting. He understands why people tend to fall overboard when hearing a siren play music. In fact, he almost drowned himself when hearing his siren friend sing for the first time.

...

He was preparing a boat to escape Inazuma by a secluded beach covered with sakura trees and many plants of nature.

Placing the planks in one spot, he hears a song in the sea.

Strange.

Enchanted by the singing, he walks out to sea. The water reaching his ankles, his knee then soon his chest to look for what was making the music. The sounds of nature call him back, desperately trying to make him safe, but he was too curious. The singing stops and Kazuha sinks under the sea to hear clearer, but instead his eyes widen and a few bubbles escape his mouth.

Glowing eyes stare at him.

A few scales pattern adorning their face. He looks behind the face and sees a tail, a fish tale. He knows it's a siren.

He sinks deeper, noting the details on the siren. How human ears aren't there, it's replaced by these webbed-like frills looking like a crown. He is amazed, and it seems the siren is too by seeing land legs for the first time so close.

Kazuha kicks his feet up, remembering he needs air to breathe, but a pesky seaweed wrapped around his leg, not letting go. The salt water stings his eyes, hurting more from every second. The lungs that need air start to fail him.

The siren in front of him flicks it's tail, quickly weaving their hands to untangle the boy from the seaweed.

The last of the bubbles escape Kazuha's lips. He shuts his eyes as he feels the drag of a current and the arms of the siren taking him to who knows where.

"So many... regrets," he thinks, letting himself be carried by a creature from only fairytales.

His head breaks the water tension and he immediately gasps for air. He coughs out water, chest heaving against the sandy beach, trying to calm himself. He stills, watching the siren lay on their stomach next to him, drawing flowers and fishes on the sand with the tip of their finger.

Sand sticks on Kazuha's wet skin and clothes.

"Thank you," he says weakly.

The siren perks their head up, hearing Kazuha's voice. "You're welcome!" They return to drawing on the sand and speak up without diverting attention from the drawing, "You're... the first human I've met."

Kazuha props himself up, his elbows acting as support. "Oh really? You're the first siren I met."

"No, duh. You had this dumb look on your face when you saw me," the siren teases, now looking at Kazuha. "All the other sirens say that humans are looking to hurt us. Why is it you don't want to hurt me?"

"Well- I was on the verge of dying."

The sound of feet stomping on the ground startles Kazuha and his new friend. Both of them sit up straight, feeling the ground shake.

"The Raiden Shogun..."

Kazuha flips his head to his unfinished boat and stands, quickly trying to complete it.

"Human," the siren calls, now back in the ocean. Kazuha looks at the siren. "Your broken boat will not take you anywhere. Just hold on to my back."

Kazuha chuckles and runs to the siren, knowing what they said is true. The guards will take him the second they reach him.

He trudges through the water, and clasps his arms around the siren's neck. "I know of a ship that can hide me for the time being." He says.

"So... what's your name?"

...

The song [Name] plays ceases, and Kazuha claps his hands lightly, careful not to wake the crew. He gives a small, "Heh" and leans on his small boat to be closer to the siren's face.

Their faces draw closer and [Name's] cheeks feel warm. Kazuha looks like a prince under the moon and stars shining on him.

Delicate hands make their way to cradle [Name's] jaw, making their foreheads touch. His thumb swipes [Name's] bottom lip all while gazing into their dilated eyes.

"I think your siren family are calling you," Kazuha says cheekily and quickly moving back away from [Name] after hearing the sound of other sirens calling for them.

"Oh, I- Well-" [Name] takes a deep breath before speaking, "Will you be here again?"

"Just as the moon awaits for the sun to rise once more, I will stay as well. I'll wait for your arrival once more at the same spot."

Beidou:

The well known Captain of the Crux Fleet does not believe in sirens. Dragons and the water form called Osial is one thing. Sirens, or better yet- merpeople are a kids' tale in her mind. Not even after Kazuha telling her he befriended a siren.

It's a child's tale; a myth not to believe in, which is ridiculous in Kazuha's opinion because they live in a world of myths.

She stands, sitting on a box of crates, peeking at her anemo wielding friend untangle the ropes of the emergency boat to get down closer to the waters.

Despite her crew telling her to rest at nights, she doesn't. As captain, it's her duty to keep watch after all her crew members, ensuring full safety on the fleet. She watches Kazuha always docking down from her ship to he his siren, but she never follows, only seeing his white hair descend from her sight.

Kazuha harnesses the wind to lift himself up back on the ship after hours being with the so-called siren. His hands move, controlling the wind once again to lift the boat, strapping it back on the ship. His ruby eyes glint to Beidou, who waves at him.

"Enjoy time with the siren?"

Kazuha sighs, knowing Beidou's doing this for the sake of it. "Beidou, they're real. My friend and every other siren in the waters." He says, trying to cover his flushed face by turning away from her.

"Right, right. Well, you only have one hour to sleep at most until the sun rises again."

"What about you?" Asks Kazuha, his back still facing Beidou. "Not even the bravest of warriors could stand their posts if they lack the energy to do so."

Beidou places her hands on her hips and laughs, "Come on, kid. I'll even tuck you in."

"Thank you... but I'm quite sure I can tuck myself in."

"Nonsense. You'll be tucked in."

She takes Kazuha to his own chambers in the ship, amused how he did not struggle against her.

After tucking him in, the tall captain stands at the figure of her ship and overlooks the sea. It is coincidental how when the topic of sirens came up the conversations, there was a song accompanied by it. The song will be the death of her.

Her chestnut hair weaves in the wind as she inhales deeply, enjoying the crisp air. She spots the seen peeking out from it's blanket of blue waves. She is blessed with another day.

One by one, her crew starts to file out. She greets them a good morning and with a surprise, "Crew! We're heading to Liyue. Chef Xiangling sent her kind invitation to eat for free!"

Woops and hoorays echo. Food made by Xiangling is the best.

The Captain lifts a hand and everyone quiets, "Set sail to Liyue!"

Upon reaching Liyue, Beidou swears something was following them, but every time she looks back, there would be nothing. She shrugs it off, thinking it was the lack of sleep getting to her and continues to lower the sails, preparing to land.

"I'll meet you there," she tells her crew. They accept their orders, already knowing were to go. They chatter their way to Wanmin Restaurant. She turns to Kazuha, seeing as he won't leave without her. "Kazuha, has something been following us?" She asks, knowing his sensitivity to things around him.

"Yes, but you won't believe me if I said what, or who, was following us."

Beidou groans, "Kazuha, sirens are just a folklore. I've spent years in my reckless teenage life looking for sirens. There just aren't any." She slaps Kazuha's back, "Let's go eat. You still look weary."

Kazuha purses his lips, looking at his Captain dead in the eyes. "[Name] is waiting below this ship. [Name] wouldn't follow us to Liyue unless something needs to be said." He waits for Beidou's reply.

"Alright, it's about time I met this siren friend of yours."

Surprised, Kazuha parts his mouth. "Wait, really?"

Beidou gives no answer, but instead unties the boat Kazuha uses to go 'meet his siren friend.' She waits on the tiny boat for Kazuha to join. When he takes a step in, Beidou releases the ropes she was once holding and falls to the ocean. This part of the ship is hidden from the people of Liyue, and Kazuha thanks his luck because who knows what people will do when they see a siren?

The small boat rocks side to side, balancing itself. Beidou lazily reaches for the water and splashes Kazuha's face who only tightens his lip in response. "Relax," the woman teases. "Your friend will be here if they're real, right?"

Kazuha summons a leaf, twiddling it with his fingers, waiting until he jumps in the water.

Beidou sharply turns to Kazuha, leaning over the boat to reach for him. "Kazuha!"

She jumps in after him with a smooth dive.

And that's when she sees that sirens are true.

The salt water stings her eyes as she looks at Kazuha making hang motions, pointing to her and up to the surface. The siren nods, understanding, swimming to Beidou. They wave, chuckling with the jaw-slacked face the sea captain makes.

Bubbles escape her lungs, so she treads up quickly, breathing in the air and then coming back down. Kazuha swims beside the siren and shows a smug face, as if saying "What did you say about sirens?"

Divine is the only word to describe Kazuha's siren friend. From the shimmering tale to the beauty of their smile, Beidou can only describe the siren as simply divine (a word Ningguang taught her).

The siren's webbed-like ear perks up to the surface. They tap Kazuha's shouder and cup their ears and point up.

Breathtaking.

Beidou notes how Kazuha and his friend communicate with each other so effectively with only a look in the eye and a few hand movements.

Kazuha nods, smiling then swims up to the surface, but Beidou stays, amazed by the tail of the siren.

"Up," the siren mouths. Beidou remembers the pain in her lungs for not having to get air in a while. She swims up, giving the siren one last look and breaking free from the water.

Strands of brown hair stick to her skin, looking at Kazuha with so much child-like wonder.

"Kazuha, is your siren friend single by any chance?"

Albedo:

Rumours of the singing siren spread through Mondstadt. Greeting Timaeus and Sucrose, he ignores the new song that spread around Teyvat called "A Siren's Tale," but he can't help but wonder if the tales are true.

On rare days Albedo isn't on Dragonspine or his office, he's sketching alongside the water and the marine life inside. It's a new interest he's taken in after learning everything above land. The ocean is so huge, there's an endless amount of questions under the sea.

He finishes the last stroke of a drawing. The Snapdragon and the crab next to it look realistic in his canvas. He sits on an isolated rock, a good distance away from the beach, enjoying the calming tunes of the ocean.

Wait- tunes?

He almost drops his canvas and charcoal, making eye contact with a bobbing head. Curious eyes flit from Albedo to his sketch in hand.

His immediate reaction is to create a flower to lift and up to glide back to shore, but he can't.

The stranger drifts closer to the rock Albedo sits on, revealing a tail that flickers behind it.

A siren.

"You aren't Venti, but I'll take it. I love someone of arts and crafts

Albedo tilts his head quizzically, charmed, "I am indeed not Venti, but thank you for the compliment." He takes a while, studying the details on the siren. "You're not what the song describes you as."

Lifting themselves onto the rock beside Albedo, the siren brings up their tail to wrap around what they sit on. "The song? Oh the one Venti made. I'm so sure we described myself perfectly, partly because I helped make it."

Albedo takes another canvas from his bag and draws circles to get the base of a face, "Well, physically yes. It captures your looks, but never did it once mention how enchanting you are."

The siren sputters, obviously not expecting a stranger to flirt. "What- huh?"

Albedo laughs, looking at the siren that sits next to him, analyzing their features before returning to his sketch. "I apologize. Socializing is not my thing."

"Yeah, I could tell. People usually tell me their names before saying things like that. Granted, I only met three other people before you."

"One being Venti?"

"Yeah. I visit him around this time everyday, but he said he's struggling to pay back a bartender so he's hiding with an old friend in Liyue. His friend's name is Peepaw. Should've been back by now, but he's gone."

"..Oh."

Two fingers push down the drawing and he looks at the siren, confused.

"Are you drawing me?" They grin. "It's fantastic, but why?"

Albedo explains, "I tend to sketch what fascinates me. Your beauty was surprising, I couldn't help but draw you." His charcoal grazes the canvas so swiftly, it's dancing on ice. The black tool turns to a stub, until it turns to nothing but ashes on his finger. His sketch is only half finished.

"Excuse this lousy drawing. I appear to be out of charcoal."

The siren jumps into the water and comes back up with rusted metal from a sword. "Will this work?"

"Ah, that's a sword. I can't use that for sketching."

"Oh..."

Albedo lifts a finger, a thought is said out loud, "I realize I have yet to ask your name. I'm Albedo, Chief Alchemist of The Knights of Favonius."

"Wow that's a long name." The siren takes a deep breath and speaks in one go, "Hello, Albedochiefalchemistofthenightsoffavonius. Pleasure to meet you, I'm [Name]."

"How charming." He says, putting his canvas in his bag. "I mean to ask another question, would it be alright to visit you again soon? You live under the sea, surely you know about the mysteries we have there."

[Name] looks at him like he was an alien. "Are you for real?"

"I'm pretty sure I am."

"You can just tell me you want to hang out. I know I'm fun," they say puffing their chest, proud of themselves.

"You certainly have high views of yourself," Albedo laughs, covering the bottom half of his face with his charcoal stained hand. "I'll be here tomorrow, if you would take your time to see me again."

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #kazuha x reader #kazuha #kaedehara kazuha #genshin #venti x reader #genshin venti #beidou #beidou x reader #albedo #albedo kreideprinz #albedo x reader

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adobe-outdesign · 3 years

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Reviews of All Scrapped Spaceword Betas

Exactly what it says in the title. This is also for my reference, as I might redesign some of these later for funsies.

I’m only including Pokemon that were 100% scrapped (we’re not here to argue what might have become what) and aren’t evos/pre-evos of existing Pokemon. Also, I’m using the English fan-translations for the names because I don’t speak Japanese.

Flambear/Volbear/Dynabear

Our original fire starter, and yeah, I can see why this was scrapped. For starters (heh), it looks more like a rodent that evolves into a lion than anything resembling a bear. And secondly... it doesn’t really have a clear focus, nor a memorable design. It’s just kind of a rodent-bear thing with flames tacked onto it.

The best Pokes usually have a "catch” to them, and these guys lack that. For example, this got replaced by Cyndaquil, which has the concept of flaming spikes that form out of its back. That’s memorable. This, well, isn’t.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Teddiursa and Ursaring are probably the closest in terms of being bears. Something about it also reminds me of Growlithe/Arcanine, probably because it’s a fluffy fire thing that evolves into a bigger fluffy fire thing with a mane and black markings.

Cruz/Aqua/Aquaria

This has the same problem as the Flambear line, just less extreme. It’s okay, being a little plesiosaur that evolves into a bigger plesiosaur, but it also lacks an interesting catch to it. The pearls are maybe something, but they’re not really emphasized, just kind of tacked on. Plus Dragonair kind of has the crystal neck ornaments on lock. And the horn. And the underbelly. And the water theme...

Whoops.

I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to a plesiosaur water starter in the future, but it would probably have to be completely redesigned.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design; too similar to Dragonair

Pokes to fill the void: Dragonair, as mentioned above. If you want a plesiosaur, Lapras is always a thing.

Putting the rest under the cut for length.

Sunmola1/Anchorage/Grotess

This is one of the most chaotic beta evolutions out there, aside from beta Girafarig. I can see the resemblance between Sunmola1 and Anchorage to some extent--counter-shaded blue fish with two fins and a short body--but the anchor part of the evolution comes out of nowhere. Then it sporadically turns into a gulper eel, which has nothing to do with the previous two evolutions at all.

I’ve heard some people suggest that Sunmola1 basically gets dragged into the depths and turns into a deep-sea creature due to its anchor, which is a fantastic idea. However, if that’s what they were going for here it’s not really clear, and I think it could be executed much better.

Individually, Sumola1 is a little plain. Not terrible, but I think they could do something more interesting with the little head thing. Anchorage is memorable, but there’s something very un-Pokemonish about it. I think it’s just the fact that it’s basically cut in half--I keep expecting the backsprite to show its organs or something. Grotess is also a bit too plain.

It’s also worth noting that at some point, this was the evolutionary line, which is more consistent but much less interesting (save for the middle evo’s eyes, which are pretty great).

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of evolutionary consistency; some designs plain or not very fitting for Pokemon

Pokes to fill the void: Alomomola is a sunfish Pokemon. Sharpedo is a shark crossed with an object, and Grotess almost certainly became Huntail and Gorebyss.

Rinring/Bellboyant

These two... are pretty good. They have a simple catch--black cats with bells--and the designs are nicely executed and memorable.

If I had one complaint, it’s that they maybe seems a tad unfocused in the backend of things. They’re dark types, but have a bunch of “cutesy” moves, and it’s not clear why’d they be dark apart from being black cats. They seem to have a magical girl vibe (Bellboyant looks a bit like Luna from Sailor Moon, which is probably not a coincidence), which also has nothing to do with the bells or the dark theme. I do think that the designs themselves are fine though, and that if you just focused on the sound concept a hair more you’d have a pretty great Pokemon.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not entirely sure, these definitely would’ve been popular. Might’ve just been a balancing thing, or it lost the dev popularity contest.

Pokes to fill the void: Skitty kind of has the same vibe as Rinring. They also remind me a bit of the Meowth line, being cat Pokemon with metal attached to them. The Purrloin line takes over the “dark-type cat” aspect.

Bomseel

I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, it’s a very plain looking Pokemon. The idea of it balancing a fireball/bomb on its nose instead of a ball is clever and memorable enough... except that it’s dependent on it being on that pose. It can’t balance that 24/7, and once it stops all you’re left with is a plain sea lion with dark points.

However, it’s fire/water. The only fire/water we have right now is a legendary, so it would be sweet to have one that’s just a regular poke. So it’s not that the concept itself is bad, using a water-based animal and adding a fire type; it’s just more that the execution is lackluster. Give this guy a hook not related to the fireball and make the seal itself more interesting and I think you’d have something here.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Volcanion is our only fire/water Pokemon for now. In terms of seals/sea lions with a circus theme, Popplio is a decent enough match.

Tigrette/Electiger

Someone at Gamefreak hates tigerballs, because this line was planned for Gen 1, scrapped, then planned for Gen 2 and scrapped again. Which is strange, because while it’s not the best design it’s not bad either. It’s very very cute, and could definitely find an audience.

However, I’m not really sure what the premise is here. If it’s based on tiger clay bells, then it doesn’t really play into the bell theme much at all. And if it’s not... why is it so round? It’s not that the roundness is bad, but it would usually form the hook for this Pokemon, like it collects static electricity in its fur that makes it puff out or something. Maybe some dex descriptions would’ve made this clearer, who knows.

Also, Electiger is literally the exact same design as Tigrette, just bigger. It would either need a completely new final evolution or would need to show up as a single evo.

While that sounds harsh, I do really like this design. Fix the evo, figure out/build on the hook of it being round or bell like, and maybe refine the markings a touch and it would be pretty perfect.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not sure. Might’ve been too similar to Pikachu (both being yellow round electric type Pokemon with zig-zag tails, and og fat Pikachu was also very round). The need to rework the evolution also might’ve turned GameFreak off of it.

Pokes to fill the void: Spheal and Rowlet are both pleasantly round. Pikachu is cute and electric themed in a similar way. In terms of tigers, Raikou is also electric-type. The exact way the stripes are done here is also very similar to Litten.

Kurstraw/Pangshi

GameFreak. GameFreak, you are telling me that we almost had a voodoo-doll Pokemon based off of Ushi-no-Toki-Mairi that evolves into a fucking jiangshi panda?? You are killing me here.

A few interesting things to note here:

Kurstraw evolves at level 1. How? Why? No idea. It could just be a placeholder, but...

The fact that Kurstraw was set to have Curse as its signature move (then called “nail”) and that it only learned this move at level 100 makes it evolving at level 1 seem intentional.

To make things more confusing, it almost seems like (and this is speculation on my part) GameFreak’s intention was to encourage players to not evolve this thing. Stats are comparable, Kurstraw only gets its signature move if you level it up to where it can’t evolve, and Kurstraw has the better moveset (getting frigging destiny bond at lv. 16, while Pangshi gets... splash (which. makes more sense when you consider it’s called “hop” in Japan but it’s still useless). If that was what they were aiming for, then that’s a really unique mechanic that would really make this poke stand out.

Design wise, Kurstraw is... well, it’s a doll with a nail rammed through it. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not very Pokemon-ish. Meanwhile, Pangshi is maybe a little too much like a Jianshi rather than being reminiscent of one, right down to the little hat. The pose, fangs, and panda colors (which resemble Jiangshi mandarin robes) are more than enough to get the hook across.

What I really love about these two are the expressions. They are just like, so dissonantly happy. Kurstraw is literally like

and Pangshi has the dead-eyed thousand-yard stare of Espurr, except unlike Espurr it looks completely and utter deranged. It looks like if this Pokemon ended up in Mystery Dungeon, it would respond to every question with “my favorite color is blood”. Amazing.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I think these two might’ve been scrapped just because they were too scary. I mean, it’s a voodoo doll impaled on a giant nail that evolves into a literal actual corpse. The implied violence was probably just a bit much for GameFreak.

The reason I think this is, beside the fact that they have fairly solid designs, good hooks, and all of their stats and moves in place, most beta Pokemon have had their premises revisited at some point. But we’ve really never gotten a voodoo doll Pokemon since this, and we definitely haven’t gotten any jiangshi Pokemon either, which suggests the problem lied in the very concept rather than the execution.

Pokes to fill the void: People say that Kurstraw was reworked into Banette, but if anyone Pokemon resembles it to be, it would actually be Mimikyu. They both have cloth bodies with drawn-on smiley faces that resemble something cuter than them and they both want to curse you for existing.

For Pangshi... well, there’s Pancham if you’re looking for tiny pandas. If you’re after a jiangshi though, you’re out of luck.

Wolfman/Warwolf

This Pokemon has a great hook. I mean, a Pokemon that wears a pelt that transforms it into a werewolf? Hell yeah. Not to mention it might be a reference to an obscure Nordic tale about people donning wolf pelts to turn into wolves for ten days.

Design wise, it... well, Wolfman looks almost exactly like Venonat. I’m not the only one who sees this, right?

That aside, I think the idea could be played up a little more. Wolfman is fine, save for its Venonat-ishness, but Warwolf doesn’t do much for me, basically just being a larger version with claws and fangs. If the idea is that it turns into a werewolf by wearing the pelt, what if its evolution looked somewhat like a wolf? Or better yet, the actually body of the thing changes to fill the wolf skin more, so it looks like its a part of it? That would really elevate this Pokemon to a new level.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I’d guess that it’s the same problem as Kurstraw and Pangshi--too scary. I mean, that is a dead pelt of some kind, which means that it killed and skinned some kind of Pokemon, and that’s not getting into questions of what Pokemon they got that from.

It’s also worth noting that when we did finally get a werewolf Pokemon via Lycanroc, it was minus the pelt concept.

Pokes to fill the void: Lycanroc as our werewolf Pokemon. In terms of design, Venonat is very similar as noted above. And something about it really reminds me of Snorunt, being little critters with glowing eyes that wear a cloak of some kind and live in the cold (this line was ice-type).

#pokemon #pkmn #beta pokemon #pokemon gold and silver #pokemon gen 2 #outdesign posts things #god this ended up a lot longer than I intended it to #anyway I hope you enjoyed me rambling about concept art for 2k words

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mk-wizard · 3 years

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Sailor Moon 90s Anime is STILL the best

Hi. I know I am on a Sailor Moon binge here, but after seeing all of Crystal, Eternal and on R (season 2) of the first anime, I want to get this all off of my chest... and before I go further, since these are all animes, I will refer to them as 90s, Crystal and Eternal. And after watching them all, I have to say that the 90s takes the gold medal as the best Sailor Moon anime so far and this is why;

1- It had the best pacing. - While I admit that sometimes, it went too far with the filler, 98% of the time, it worked with the 90s. It took its time to make you get to know the characters for better or for worse, it made you see different sides of them, it gave them a chance to truly develop and be multi-dimensional, and it made you care about them. When a death happened, it felt tragic. When a victory happened, you cheered. And when you saw what side characters did, it mattered. I mean, who can ever forget the contribution 90s Naru Osaka had to the story? And everyone who has seen the 90s anime cannot forget her. More on the character development and getting to know characters later.

Sure, it wasn’t true to the manga and even the characters had different personalities, but I let that slide by because when Crystal and Eternal did follow the manga to the letter, we didn’t get a chance to digest anything. The only characters who develop are Usagi, Chibi-Usa and the outer guardians, and for the last bunch, it was the bare minimum. Crystal and Eternal were fun rides and I would be lying if I said I didn’t like them, but they were like roller coasters. They gave you a thrill, but fast and been done. The 90s was like a slow scenic ride that gave you surprises, emotionally touched you, made you cry, made you laugh, made you root for the heroes and even at the age of 37 years now, I keep rewatching this series.

2- The art of the 90s was better because it was sketchy, dark and edgier. - I know Sailor Moon doesn’t seem like this on the surface because the heroines are lovely girls in cute costumes, it emphasizes femininity and all things pretty, it has a romantic theme and is all about love, but Sailor Moon is also one of the darkest, grittiest, edgy and violent magical girl animes I have ever seen since Magic Knights Rayearth. Sailor Moon has on screen deaths which were permanent most of the time, on screen stabbings and the drawing of blood, and fights that got so hardcore, that real punches and kicks were thrown. The dark edges, black line art and sharp edges worked with the atmosphere of the story. I mean, look at the difference between the halls Dark Kingdom of the 90s (above) and that of Crystal.

And if that is not enough to win you over, the characters were much more animated, organic and conveyed more emotion whether they were exaggerated or serious.

In Crystal, the expressions and body language was very dulled down. Not to mention, very stiff.

Everything is also too bright and soft which makes the characters look like velvet dolls with too much make up especially with the line art. I will give them props for adding better details, cleaner lines, the glow of magical items, and details in the gems, but everything else is all wrong.

Eternal was better, but still not quite there. The colours are still way too bright and the characters still look too much like dolls from having line art that is too wispy. And I really do not like how the eyes have this unnatural glow to them. The edgy scenes become lost with all this brightness.

3- We got to see that there was so much more the characters than just heroes or villains. - Since Usagi is the titular character, let us just talk about her in the 90s since I could go on forever about how much we learned about the characters. In any version of Sailor Moon, Usagi’s role as a Sailor Guardian has always been the core of the story and she does indeed show progress as one. However, the 90s tells us that no matter what, she is still going to be herself too which is just as important and she shows character development as just plain old Usagi too. The manga, Crystal and Eternal which only paint Usagi as not doing anything right except be a Sailor Guardian, but the 90s show her hidden talents and learning new skills. For example, she was bad at cooking at the beginning of the series.

However, by Sailor Moon R, she gets the hang of it and is able to cook a meal by herself. Yes, she is messy, clumsy, never gets the hang of making cookies and is nowhere near Makoto’s level especially when it comes to presentation, but she is good at cooking food.

Another hidden talent of Usagi’s is her drawing skills. She isn’t just good at drawing. She’s got talent at it, so in the 90s, Usagi is quite the artist.

And it is admirable that 90s Usagi is open to trying new things even if she isn’t good at them. She practices, she explores and tries to enlighten herself. Sure, academics, coordination and organization will never be her fortes, but she really does have other and tries to discover more.

In Crystal and Eternal, she is good at being Sailor Moon, she is a good friend and a good girlfriend, but that is it. She is one dimensional here and she isn’t the only one to painted like that. Everyone is only the obvious and that is all the audience gets.

4- Better character redemption. - I mentioned before that Sailor Moon had grit and was dark, but the 90s also made it more complex and did character redemption right. It was open to the possibility of bad people becoming good. For instance, the Black Moon Clan Specter Sister are unforgettable for being successfully redeemed.

Yes, I admit that the monster of the day would get killed by the hands of the Sailor Guardians, but they also clearly showed that the monsters were not people or even alive. They were made of energy, clay or sand. When the monster of the day was a possessed innocent, they were saved through exorcism. Very rarely was an actual person ever killed and even when they were, it was either by the hands of another villain, their own hand, self defense or as a last resort. They never used killing as means of dealing with every single bad guy.

Furthermore, the bridge arc about the Makai Tree that also served as a prologue to Sailor Moon R could be seen as a story about mercy, kindness and love. It stands out as the one time the big bad was actually a misunderstood big good being the Makai Tree herself. And even Ail an An were never bad, but were raised bad. And even then, they changed. This story is unique only to the 90s so far, but it was great and stood out for that reason.

In Crystal, the heroines will kill a person without a second thought which I am shocked that no one brings up how repetitive and contradictory that is. The pretty warrior of love and justice should by all means protect the Earth, but doing so by killing off the bad guy all time is not love or justice. I also think the caption in this picture sums up how I feel about how the one and only time bad guys were given a chance to be redeemed...

Eternal was better because the Asteroid Guardians got redeemed and saved. However, even then, I feel like there is still a double standard. They were one of the good guys to begin with and Sailor Guardians. In the 90s, the Amazoness Quartet wasn’t, but were given a chance to change anyway. I find it cool that the Quartet turned out to be Sailors and even better that they will go on to become Chibi-Usa’s team, but mercy is not just for your allies or for your own benefit. Everyone should be given at least one chance to fix their mistakes.

5- We got to know Mamoru better. - I admit that no matter the incarnation, Tuxedo Mask will never be as powerful as Sailor Moon except when he is King Endymion, but the 90s take on his character made him better even if they did omit his super attack being Tuxedo le Smoking Bomber. What the well dressed masked man lacked in firepower, he made up for in intelligence, insight about the enemy’s weakness, courage and skill. The only times he ever did get overpowered was either by bad luck or because it was intentional because he was taking a hit for Sailor Moon. And even then, he always got back up. He’s a real man like that.

More importantly, we get to know him as Mamoru too. Even before he confides being an amnesiac to Usagi, we see his struggles with feeling alone in the world from having no memory of his life before a tragic accident which also killed his parents. Now, him being a stern cynical person makes sense because I probably wouldn’t be pleasant to be around either if I lived with that. Once his walls come down, we see that deep down, all he wants is to belong somewhere and have a family. It should also be noted that 90s Mamoru doesn’t love Usagi because he is “destined” to. He loves her because he wants to. Even during that brief period where he broke up with Usagi was an act of love. The thing I also always liked best about 90s Mamoru is that even though he loves Usagi more than life itself, his life doesn’t revolve around her which is a healthy thing and he tries to encourage Usagi to be the same way for her own good. He is studying to be a doctor, he has a job and he even has his own crowd which I think is great.

In Crystal and Eternal, while I do see an attempt at trying to follow this trend by showing that Usagi and Mamoru were on their way to falling in love even before they got their memories back, I still find he was one note and we never really learn much about him that has nothing to do with Tuxedo Mask, Endymion or anything royal related. Sure, we know that he’s studying to be a doctor and is a genius to an extent too, but that is it.

I would like to end this by admitting that the 90s was not perfect either, but out of all the takes on the tale of Sailor Moon as of date. Crystal and Eternal were ok, but they just cannot stand up to the quality of the 90s. The only thing I can say I find Crystal did better than the 90s were the costume designs. Specifically, how they let Venus keep her chain belt, Pluto’s key chain belt, Uranus and Neptune’s shorter gloves, Uranus’s sword, Uranus having two earrings, Mercury’s suit is shoulder less which I always found suited her better, and I liked Sailor Moon’s brooch and necklace better in season 1.

And even then, I should have liked it if Jupiter’s antenna was always on display as it is just something I always found cute in the manga, I liked Mars’ five point star earrings better in the 90s, and I like how in the 90s, each of the Inner Guardians’ sailor stripes were a little different.

Of course, this is all my opinion. I would like to hear which of the animes did Sailor Moon right in your opinion and why. Thanks for reading and stay safe, and have a great day.

#sailor moon anime #sailor moon reboot #sailor moon crystal #sailor moon eternal #pretty guardian sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon crystal #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #90s anime #sailor moon 90s #character development #storytelling #quality #critique

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gracemyheart · 3 years

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KaguMyu Act I ~ RANT REACTION

Okay, so I watched act 1 of the new Sailor Moon Musical "Kaguya Hime no Koibito" and spoiler: it felt like wasted time. Even NewMyu is more exciting to watch and I say that as an official NewMyu-hater-disliker...

You can watch the musical full for free on vk.

I included screenshots to make my little notes a bit more exciting. Disclaimer again: I am and will forever be honest with my opinions. If I think something sucks, I'll say that it sucks. (Spoiler: This was even too boring to suck lmao). Tbh. I have no idea how the manga handeled this story so I will make references from the S-movie.

- The musical starts with the song "You are my universe" and I have to say, it reminds me strongly of Tsukiiro no Chainon. That is not particularly a good thing because those random J-Pop songs these days have a bad thing in common: There is not really a melody in them? Like it feels too mechanical and not like music anymore. I couldn't really follow the melody because it was actually not existing. A good thing is that every Senshi has some solo lines in the song but that doesn't make it better. I am for example not sure if I could sing it with that lack of melody and rhythm.

- Next thing is the costumes. Was there really not enough money to make them look not THAT cheap? Also, Chibimoon's costume looks so baggy? And her wig looks, I quote @vampiru-chan "like a burst sofa cushion" xD.

- What annoys me too is that we got those no-name background-dancer demons again. SO boring like wtf finally get something interesting like in Banitimes again!

- However, the choreography wasn't as bad as it usually is in NewMyu and with that I mean they were not swinging their arms like crazy while running and walking from on end to the other end of the stage. So I grant a bonus point for the choreography.

- Yuuka-Saturn NAILED her solo-line. Good girl.

- I am still annoyed, that we got that all-female cast again! It might be rare, but I am still a straight girl in this fandom and I need real men again xD And I think all the lovely gay fanboys in the fandom agree xP.

- After the dance-fight-song-scene we see how Kakeru finds Snow Princess Kaguya's ice crystal as he does in the movie and then we get to know that it is winter and the Senshi will celebrate Mako's, Mina's and Setsuna's birthdays all together. And I have to say, she doesn't do ANYTHING, she is only a side character and simply...well there - BUT I LOVE Shinjyu-Haruka so much, omg. Finally a good Uranus! Her face reminds me of Asako but she is stronger and her male-like acting does not feel that forced. Too bad she was in a musical that was not about the Senshi at all :(

- Again I have to say, WHO, WHO thought it was a good idea to cast a Sailor Moon with that kind of face? Like, literally wtf. Tbh I would sue the surgeon who is responsible for this.

- Okay, now we found out why the costumes are so cheap: The whole budget was spent on the civilian outfits. They are so sweet and so pretty, omg. I want to have them all!

- But because all the money was spent on the outfits, there was no budget left for Artemis >:( He is only mentioned.

- Then lemme ask why our Usagi-chan is so bitchy here? She pushed Minako to the side in a very-not-Usagi-like style??

- Okay, birthday goes on and we get a birthday song and then some kind of idol-song by Mina and Mako. And the songs are not memorable at all :(

- What I liked was this little scene between Rei and Usagi. Looks like a reference to the anime where both quarrel a lot and it feld refreshing.

- And I have to say, that the lovely voice of Kisara-Mako/Jupiter reminds me SO MUCH of my friend's voice @missemperor you gotta cover her, nobody would notice the difference lol.

- Okay, now Himeko sings a song of how Kakeru developed as a professor or something and it makes no sense because Himeko is just so unimportant. Oh, yes and I never liked her in the movie because she was such a fkn bitch to Luna? I mean, I don't like Luna either but stop bullying the cat, bitch.

- as I mentioned in my last post about KaguMyu - we do not have a real setting again :/ But they tried to compensate that with heavy projections even from thought bubbles. I'd liked it better if there had actually been a setting but okay, we live in the century of technology and not of proper requisites.

- I also wonder why Michiru always has such a cute voice in Nelke productions? Ever watched the anime? She has a normal adult voice which sounds very elegant but not cute. But besides being a side character, Ayana plays a decent Neptune/Michiru.

- The rest of the musical is basically Luna and Kakeru doing stuff? But it feels like nothing happens T_T. Btw. the actress of Kakeru reminds me STRONGLY of a Zuka actress too. Apropos Takarazuka: Riku Sorahana is a cool Mamoru. Maybe a bit too cool for Mamoru but I like her.

- Another thing I noticed: The birthday scene, in the beginning, was just to show that this musical actually has the Senshi in it. Because after that scene... they are gone. There is that one scene with Usagi and Luna à la how does a kiss taste and then Chibiusa sings (very badly, omg. Why not casting a child that can sing?) a very annoying song, of how Luna is in love.

Overall:

- It was so boring. Literally, nothing happened. It felt like wasted time and yes, I know that the story is mainly about Luna but....geez no. I had a bit of hope that this musical might be better than the last ones but I have to say out of the new musicals - NogiMyu stays the best.

- Those songs were really not good and not memorable at all. They feel like the typical mass-production these days. Maybe BaniMyu was so good because back then it was a rare thing for anime/manga to turn into stage plays? I mean, today almost every anime/manga which is a bit popular gets a musical. Plus BaniMyu had Akiko Kosaka for the songs (and Queen Ado for the choreo <3).

- Funny thing: Usually in the new musicals it is that the first act is rather good or at least ok while the second one is boring af - but in this case, I doubt that this can get even more boring - maybe act 2 will be good then? Ewwww, we'll see but I do not have big hopes, tbh.

- If I had to rate it with points while 10 points would be super good and 0 points super bad, I'd give it so far 2 points. (LR, PE and UNV would even get 3 to 4 points, wtf it's really so bad xD. Okay, no they'd get at least 3 but still xD).

Today I'll watch the second act but I doubt it will get any better... :(

BANDAI! GET SERA MYU BACK AND DO GOOD STUFF AGAIN!

#sailor moon #sailor moon musical #sailor moon 2021 #kaguya hime's beloved #kaguya hime no koibito #kagumyu #sera myu #reaction

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polarbearaone · 4 years

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Want to give everyone a show? ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

✞ synopsis: Kyōtani took his s/o to an anime convention. he thought everything would go ok until your favorite character came around....

✞ pairing: Kyōtani Kentaro x gn! ( I didn’t proof read but I think it is) reader

✞genre: 1.2k WORDS OF PURE FLUFF FOR KYŌ

“ Please Kyo!” you pleaded to your boyfriend, “ You know how much I’ve wanted to go to the anime convention! Plus it’ll only be in Miyagi for two days!” Kyotani, your boyfriend of two years now, continued looking at the movie playing in front of you two. You knew he would take you, he couldn’t say no. You were his weak spot and you were determined to use it to your advantage. “ Pleaseeeee baby?” you asked again but this time with puppy dog eyes. “ If you know my answer why do you keep asking?” he replied in his usual annoyed voice but dating him for so long let you know that he was just teasing you. “ I just wanted to hear you say it” you sighed, turning your attention back to the movie. Silence ruled over the room for only 5 minutes before Kyotani softly turned, kissing you on your cheek. “ Yes. I’ll take you. Now go tell my mom you’re going to stay over, she loves you more” you happily jumped out of Kyotani’s bed knowing you had gotten your way.

It had felt as if it was an eternity before Saturday. Kyotani had scolded you to stop being so jittery. How could you not? You were going to be in a convention hall full of cosplayers of your favorite anime characters along with so much merchandise and this is why Kyotani scolded you. “ Kyo, can I stay over today and over the weekend, I’m not sure at what time we’ll leave the convention and I don’t want to bother my family getting home super late” you asked as the both of you walked to your house after practice. “ You want to be with me that bad huh?” He shot you a cocky smile, quickly holding your hand. You loved this part of Kyotani the most. The side of him that turned goofy when you two were alone. The deep cherry colored blush filled your face, to which Kyotani held both your cheeks and kissed you passionately. “Babe, you do notice we are out in the middle of the street right?” you managed to say as both of you caught your breath. “ Want to give everyone a show?” he told you, hands still cupping your cheeks.

Your alarm awoke you from your cozy, warm slumber under Kyotani’s strong arms. Ever since the Seijoh sleepover , which you had to drag Kyotani to, at the gym where Oikawa tried to pry you away from Kyotani all night , Kyotani always held you close to his chest whenever you two slept in the same bed. You tried to escape his grasp to quiet your alarm. You purposefully set your alarm 15 minutes earlier because you knew this would happen. After twenty minutes of pure struggling, Kyotani was able to wake up. “ Isn’t it way too fucking early?” he said with his incredibly hot, groggy sleepy voice. “ Baby,” you said, kissing him all over his face, “i love you to death but if we miss the train I will make you walk home” Kyotani didn’t seem fazed by your threat. “ Calling my house ‘home’ huh? Damn you love me that much” he said, sitting up in bed. You were so used to referring to each other's houses as “home” that you didn’t even notice. Kyotani’s hands wrapping themselves around your wait like two loving snakes broke you from your pensive state. “ Hurry up and get dressed or I’ll leave you here.

The train ride was quite short in distance but felt long by your excitement. “ Princess, you’re shaking,” Kyotani said, worried. “ I’m just so excited” you say, rapidly tapping your feet. The train came to a stop and you were the first one waiting for the doors to slide open. Kyotani felt as if he had a small golden retriever puppy on a leash. Your father had gotten the both of you fast admission entrance to the convention so you wouldn’t have to wait in line. Being one of the first to enter, your whole happiness was centered in one place. Kyotani swore that he saw stars in your eyes. Noticing your frozen state of happiness, Kyotani took your hand. “ Come on baby, you wanted to come so bad, don’t enjoy it from one spot”. By Kyotani’s olders, you two ate first. There was a booth serving the icon ramen from Naruto where you two ate. Despite ordering two bowls, Kyotani finished by saying “ My grandmother makes better ramen, I’ll take you to visit her one day”. After paying the booth owner, you two started to walk around. Kyotani took pictures of you with some of your favorite characters that were being cosplayed. The Bakugou cosplayer had the same attitude as the real Bakugou and Kyotani almost talked back, but you quickly took him away. “ Look Kyotani, its Sailor Mars, isn’t she your favorite?” you asked, pointing at the Sailor Moon display. “ No, you’re my favorite princess,” he said, walking a tad bit faster. “ Babe, they’re not even princesses and plus come on”, you said starting to pull him towards the booth, “ let's get you a picture so I can show your mom” Ten minutes later you had a multitude of pictures with Sailor Mars hugging an overly-blushing Kyotani.

Kyotani did have his moments of jealousy. When you hid your blushing face in your hands after an Aizawa cosplayer said hi to you, Kyotani started to think coming here was a bad idea. He knew he had nothing to be jealous of since he was the one that held you at night but he still felt jealous. What pushed Kyotani over the ledge was when you stood still when walking. Looking back at you, he saw Haru from Fugou Keiji put an arm around your shoulder, getting ready for a picture. When Daisuke came around to join the picture, Kyotani didn’t know what to feel. Daisuke left right after but that left you with Haru, which didn’t help Kyotani’s emotions. Before you could get Haru to sign anything from you, Kyotani yanked you away, pulling you outside. “ What the hell Kyotani, I wasn’t done” you wanted to growl like he was known for. Kyotani couldn't look you in the eyes. Anger and embarrassment flooded his mind. Anger from you being so excited to see another man and embarrassment from getting angry at you being excited seeing your favorite anime character. You noticed quickly what was happening, you grabbed Kyotani’s cheeks and softly gave him eskimo kisses. You knew eskimo kisses calmed him down, especially when he was angry. “ I’m sorry” he muttered to you. “ Did you get jealous Kyo?” you asked softly, not wanting to speak loud. “ I’m sorry” is all Kyotani could say. He knew you were so excited and he probably ruined everything for you. You knew reassurance would help him so you stood on your tippy toes and gave him a kiss. A kiss quite like the one he gave you in the middle of the street. Before he could respond, you asked with a cocky smirk on your face, “Want to give everyone a show?”

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x reader #hq #hq x reader #hq kyoutani #kyoutani kentarou #kyoutani x reader #mad dog #mad dog x reader

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jadenite · 4 years

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Hi. I redesigned the DC trinity’s outfits according to my own personal aesthetic preferences.

Detailed breakdown below:

Wondy:

kept mostly in line with the Perez era/JL cartoon look because they’re the most iconic to me; just added a few seams so she’ll match the other two in this group

I added some much needed straps to her bodice; I know the movie proved it can be done without straps too, but in my head the bodice should look more sporty even if it’s made of leather; therefore - straps (in the back they should form the classic X shape sports tank tops usually have)

changed the belt to be more Sailor Moon-esque because I always loved how that V shape hugs the hip area; it’s also more contemporary

added thigh high stockings (slanted for even more V-shape effects) just ‘cause I wanted more blue on her

I am not a fan of the decision to ditch the stars from the bottom in recent iterations of the comics (which are inspired by the movie outfit) so I want to bring them back; the stars are not a pattern on the bottom anymore though, they’re in a line that follows the shape of the belt

the boots are now made up of shoes + greaves (that wrap around the entire leg so they look like boots), to mirror just a little bit of the newer designs WW has gone through and also to be closer to what the Ancient Greeks used to wear in their time; also, the white lines are now silver/metallic like her bracers (that particular inconsistency always bugged me); the boots are FLAT - no high heels or platforms or other nonsensical things that can’t possibly be useful in combat

I don’t like a skirt on her, or the ‘flaps’ they went with for the movie version; I get that the leather flaps are a very vague reference to the pteruges that Greek/Roman soldier used to wear but they just look off for me; it’s fine for her to only be in a leotard, as her fighting style is quite acrobatic anyway and she needs the full range of movement; what I’m ultimately trying to say is I like her looking more like an athlete than a soldier.

Bats:

I actually liked the new52 redesign with the extra seams so I kept them, mostly because it reinforces the idea that his suit is all textile instead of being some sort of body armor like the movies/games keep insisting it is and I hate with a passion (he should never ever look like a heavily armored cop y’all) I’m probably gonna end up writing a separate post on why I think Batman should have a very simple, textile-only body suit

the cowl and insignia are inspired from the cartoon designs, specifically JLU and Batman Beyond; I really love him with longer ears, they really drive home the eerie, shadow-dwelling, scary presence he’s perceived as; also taken from the cartoons is the pointy boot tip - yes I think his boots should be pointy...like his ears and a bunch of other smaller details across his outfit BECAUSE I LIKE DESIGN CONSISTENCY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

belt is also in a V shape because one can never have too many V shapes. I will die on a V-shaped hill also known as a mountain

I reintroduced blue on the inside of his cape as both a nod to the golden-age design, and because I felt he was in dire need of more color on him; I think the increasingly monochrome look he’s suffered throughout the years makes him look too different from the rest of the Justice League and I don’t like that much discrepancy of design and colors between the members

pointy shoulders are a nod to Cass Cain’s Batgirl design and I can’t list all the reasons why this works on so many levels.

Supes:

I learned to love the red trunks in recent years; the part of the fandom that liked them made a very good case and convinced me so congrats red trunk team! Anyway, I decided to keep them in my idealized version of his suit, but extended them a bit further down the thighs to be more like hot pants than underwear (for the full himbo effect); I just really like how this looks because it resembles the old timey strongman getup even more (and I’m pretty sure was the inspiration for the original design)

ditched the belt in favor of something more subtle and integrated into the trunks; I think I achieved something neat here, because, in combination with the trunks, I think I found a way to marry both the original design and the Man of Steel movie one (which I don’t hate)

salutations from Mount V-malaya: the neck, the way the cape attaches to the suit, the logo (lower part), the “belt”, the boots

also more seams, to match Bats’ design (listen, I like having some semblance of design coordination between members of a team okay)

I never liked the exposed neck on practically every iteration of Supes’ costume so I decided to fix that and took inspiration from the Justice Lord Supes design (which has a high neck suit); I am aware that the main reason he has a collarbone neckline is because of the cape but I don’t care, I still think it’s very unflattering to the body.

#Wonder Woman #Batman #Superman #justice league #dc comics #costume design #character design #my art

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arsenicpanda · 3 years

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So, I was tagged by the lovely @sullypants for this meme, like, two weeks ago, but I’m really bad at perceiving and measuring time, so I’m doing it now instead orz.

How many works do you have on AO3?

Five, one of which is a literal drabble, an exact 100 words, and ymmv on whether it should be its own fic.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

23,447, which is way more than I expected and and like almost a third of which is just chapter three of (ain’t it good to know) you’ve got a friend.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

So, like, back in the day, I wrote self-insert Sailor Moon fanfiction (I know, I know), but the only stuff that’s still up is Final Fantasy VII fic (including one on FFN that hasn’t been taken down solely because someone favorited it and, as someone who always gets bummed when a favorite fic vanishes, it’s forever up as a result) and Riverdale fic.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Broseph, I only have five fics up on AO3, but here’s the order anyway, from most to least:

(day)dreams can come true

wet dreams may come

(ain't it good to know) you've got a friend

Cancelled Plans

The Looming Fog and Other Strange Happenings

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do my best to, but, uh, I’m not great at it in terms of timeliness (I’ve certainly got some that have been sitting waiting for a response for months, and I’ll get to them eventually, I promise). I’d like to think I’m pretty good at responding with substance though, when I finally get around to it. Like, if you name a specific part you like, I will give you too much insight into that part.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Well, (ain’t it good to know) you’ve got a friend was originally going to have a very angsty ending, but a.) I changed that after a discussion with my friend and b.) it’s not finished anyway lol. So, I guess wet dreams may come? Like, I end it with a reference to that scene in End of Evangelion (because I had the opportunity for a parallel and it also shows Jughead’s opinion of himself, even though his actions are harmless, whereas Shinji’s...well.), and that’s pretty angsty, yeah?

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I mean, only three of them have endings, so (day)dreams come true, probably, because its ending is just very sweet (the third fic with an ending, Cancelled Plans, has a comedic end, so it doesn’t really qualify in the first place).

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Not normally, but I have written a mashup with the Lovecraft mythos, specifically as seen in the Arkham Horror boardgame; it’s The Looming Fog and Other Strange Happenings, and it is by default the craziest one I’ve written.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope. I fly pretty under the radar.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yup. When you include incomplete/unpublished stuff, probably like 40-50% of stuff I write will contain some kind of smut because I find it sexy, fun, and intimate, and I’d say it’s...explicit? I’m prone to writing dirty talk, mainly, because I will forever love writing dialogue and think in terms of it; also, the fics I’ve published (and like two other incomplete fics that haven’t been published) skirt around portraying the actual act of sex from the POV of the ones having sex. Idk, that part’s really hard for me (no pun intended).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t think so.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, and I probably never will because I’m bad at finishing things, and I wouldn’t want to have the pressure/guilt of working with another person and dragging down the completion of the fic.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Lelouch/Shirley from Code Geass, 10000% THE otp, closely followed by Izaya/Namie from Durarara!!.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’d really love to finish both my WIPs, but, uh, I doubt that will ever happen (I’m still completely stuck on the chapters that need finishing, and it doesn’t help that I have other fics taking up more space in my brain).

What’s your writing strengths?

I like to think I’m good at dialogue because I generally think in dialouge, but ymmv.

What’s your writing weaknesses?

Description and introspection, tbh, basically anything other than dialogue. It’s just not how I think, so it often is something I have to fill in. I generally have a solid picture in my head of what, exactly, is happening, but getting it down in words in a way that isn’t awkward af is v challenging for me.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think you should avoid it if you can. I think it’s best to adhere to Megatokyo’s strategy of putting any dialogue in another language in brackets (either [] or <>) to show that it’s in another language; you still get the meaning, with no footnotes, and you don’t have to hunt down a native speaker and ask them to help write the dialogue correctly in another language or make the decision over whether to include end/foot notes with the translations. I do allow for some foreign language terms in dialogue, but then I think I mainly allow that in Naruto fic, and it’s mainly grandfathered in from years of fandom. Like, it’d be super weird to see a fic talk about techniques and not jutsu, y’know? And is there anything more awkward than an “upperclassmen” in place of “senpai”?

What’s the first fandom you wrote for?

Sailor Moon, but the first non-self insert stuff was Final Fantasy VII.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I think (day)dreams come true is the best fic I’ve written, hands down. It has the strongest emotional core and emotional progression. I also just really like the ending. But there are also a few lines and moments in other fics that I’m really pleased with; for example, the lunch conversation in chapter three of (ain’t it good to know) you’ve got a friend is one of my absolute favorite things I’ve written.

And that’s it. Ok, uh, tagging (god, I’m so bad at tagging people, and idek who’s done this, so apologies for if you’ve already finished) @gettingjuggiewithit @imreallyloveleee @satelliteinasupernova @heartunsettledsoul and anyone else who wants to do this

#tag games #writing

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algernoninwonderland · 3 years

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Miraculous, intertextuality and why referencing other works all the time isn’t necessarily a great idea

TL;DR: Miraculous loves itself some pop culture references, they’re in the show all the time for you to enjoy, especially if you’re a big nerd.

Only, making a list of references and trying to replicate what other works did before yours doesn’t make your show good by association, and when it comes to Miraculous, these references seldom do these original works justice. Instead, it makes comparing these other works with Miraculous really easy, and the comparison is rarely flattering.

Miraculous would be a much better show if it tried to be its own thing, a few scenes are just that and they are great. It’d be a wonderful show were they not so few and far between.

Miraculous is made by nerds, as is the case with most cartoons. The show itself lets you know that right away. It’s a pastiche of magical girl anime and Silver Age comics, it uses a lot of their visual languages, and references its other inspirations a lot, for instance:

The name of its fictional locations, (Françoise Dupont is a regular kid with a masked detective alter ego named Fantomette, Marinette’s address is a reference to a French illustrator who often drew a talking ladybird)

The way its characters look (Master Fu is both Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid and Muten Roshi from Dragon Ball, when akumatised, Mme Couffaine becomes basically Captain Harlock and her houseboat becomes the Arcadia)

Sometimes entire scenes are references to other works (Aurore’s akumatisation is straight out of Utena’s Dark Rose Saga, “Gorizilla” has a King Kong pastiche).

You could fill an entire Wiki with all the references in Miraculous if you wanted to. If you paid me well, I’d do it myself.

Wearing your inspirations on your sleeves is a double-edged sword, really.

On the one hand, you showcase the things that inspired your creative process, a way to say, “hey, that show/film/book exists within a landscape, it’s the heir to such and such work”. You acknowledge that you owe a lot to your predecessors, you acknowledge that there’s no such thing as a 100% original thing. That’s a great act of humility.

And intertextuality conveys meaning, too! Let’s take a very mainstream example. When you notice that ha! The pod-racing scene in Phantom Menace comes from the 1959 movie Ben-Hur for instance, you get the sense that you understand the cinematic masterpiece that is Episode 1 a bit more. It tells you that your movie about space wizards owes a lot to other genres, and that it transposes these genres to another setting, space! “It’s Ben-Hur, in that that slave kid is pod-racing for his freedom, but I gave it my own spin,” George Lucas tells you. “Look, the funny Gungan stepped into that space cow’s poop! Haha, sure hope I’ll sell lots of toys and buy myself some death sticks!”

You feel really smart when you get a reference, too! “Hey, that’s a Dezaki effect right there!” “Wow, is that a robot from Castle in the Sky in Age of Ultron?” Likewise, if you don’t recognise the work being referred to, you might get curious about it! References send back to other things and your knowledge of these things and when you get it, it feels nice. Lots of people discovered Utena thanks to Steven Universe and that’s really cool, and these references add to the meaning of the cartoon! Folks who casually got into RWBY but didn’t know Soul Eater and Cowboy Bebop heard about those shows and many others while discussing RWBY and I’m sure lots of them got into anime thanks to RWBY!

On the other hand, by being so open about your sources of inspiration, you expose yourself to criticism, especially in the case of your work being compared with what inspired it: it might be seen as derivative, or even worse, unable to do these previous pieces of media justice by only retaining and replicating their most superficial elements without a great understanding of what made them work, gratuitous fanservice for nerds.

And I’m not quite sure where Miraculous stands. Oftentimes, it feels more like a Spider-Man/Kamen Rider crossover with bits of outdated shoujo manga and superficial wuxia sprinkled in there than a show at least trying to be its own thing.

And the problem is, Sailor Moon is better at being Sailor Moon than Miraculous could ever be, as it uses its visual language better, and it has a tiny thing called “the main character having a group of friends who aren’t props and a plot you can follow” that is the very reason why people liked the manga and anime in the first place. Miraculous only retains the very superficial aspects of the manga/anime and of the genre. Marinette still trips over a cat in the opening. Because that’s how it happens in Sailor Moon. Her characterisation as a civilian screams “Usagi Tsukino but more stressed out”.

Spider-Man is better at splash pages than Miraculous because ML’s CGI is pretty meh when it’s not in motion, these weird filter effects don’t look great, that only works when you’re Into the Spiderverse and have comic-book aesthetics. Queen Wasp has a whole sequence that is just that scene in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 only this time Queen Bee sabotaged a metro on purpose to stop it. It’s not an awful scene, it carries its point across rather well (Chloé is a selfish nerd who thinks she can be like these comic book characters but truly isn’t fit to be a hero) but the original did it better, it was more impressive, there was more tension to that original scene, some really interesting camera and foley work that made you feel the weight of that train. It didn’t feel cheap the way that scene in “Queen Wasp” did.

Utena’s Black Rose Saga explores the psyche of some of its secondary characters the audience is already familiar with, with problems we could already identify within them. It offers an examination of the storyworld from another point of view, and helps build it further. There’s always a proper buildup before these characters have a mental breakdown in an moody elevator with a butterfly pinned on the wall that turns back into a chrysalis, because the characters are going through a kind of regression that makes them easier to manipulate and turn into “villains” while acting out their true desires in a twisted way. “Stormy Weather” has most of that, an elevator with dramatic lighting, a butterfly and a mental breakdown, but the character is all new to us so it’s just not that impactful. Often, that one secondary character who’ll get transformed has had spoken lines, yes, but that’s only minutes before they get akumatised.

“Kinda the same but a bit worse and missing some of the key aspects of what made the original thing so good” isn’t much of a tribute, is it?

In an earlier post, I stated that Animaestro was basically “I have watched a lot of animated shows and I know how to mimic them, the episode”. It told us nothing about animation as a medium except that it’s cool sometimes and that you get to imitate other people who are much better at the things they do than you are.

It’s not a clever metacommentary, it’s just “me likey moving pictures”. Good for you, I guess… Did you really need an entire episode to make that point?

And then you’ve got all the bad outdated shoujo tropes with characters falling on top of each other, aggressive flirting (harassment, really) from Adrien portrayed as really sweet and romantic because it’s just like in the shoujo manga (which one?) you see… And that’s just not great, is it?

Miraculous is a much better cartoon when it doesn’t try (and fail) to emulate other shows and movies and comic books and manga. The only thing it tells us about these works is that That Guy and co really like them and that copy-pasting them is the best way they’ve found to show their love. Imitation and flattery and all of that I guess.

“Look, it’s like in that scene in the anime! Did you like the anime? It sure was a good anime, and if our show makes you think about it, then it’s also good, right?”

No, you guys, I’m sorry but no. If making references was all it took to be good, then gaming webcomics would be regarded as masterpieces.

Very often, the show seems interested in being anything but itself. And it’s a shame, because there are lots of ideas the show kind of brings up but never quite touches. Marinette is interested in fashion design? That’s great, show us more of that! Make it an important part of her character, and by the same occasion, make her creations look not-laughable. Miraculous could be the first cartoon to explore what it’s like to be a biracial kid with a Chinese parent in France (would that work with a crew of almost strictly middle-aged white men is another question to which the answer is a resounding “no”). The show is set in Paris? Cool, how about exploring the city outside of its landmarks every tourist and their mom already knows?

Inexplicably, in the middle of an episode when you expect it the least, you get brilliant bits of directing that aren’t references to other works. Alya becoming Rena Rouge and her first steps as a superhero? Brilliant, really immersive, loved it, not a reference. The sad car scene in Puppeteer 2? It’s really really good, not a reference either. All the unexplored lore? It seemed really promising and having more of it would help us understand things a bit more!

People don’t just like your show because it reminds them of another show. Why watch it if you can watch that original work in the first place?

Trying to make a superficial mashup of all things you think are great in other works is not the way to do these works justice, nor is it the way to make your show interesting, let alone good.

#miraculous #ml salt #ml writers salt #ml critical #ml analysis #longpost #rwby #star wars #spider-man #adrien salt

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yn-dere · 4 years

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La sorcière • Y!K.TH

Synopsis: The goddess Ashtoreth seemed to have found her worshipper.

Ship/s: Photographer!Taehyung x Antagonist/seductress!Reader

Warning/s: Angst, Yandere/Dark themes, Manipulation, Mentions of killing, Bored and mean reader.

(Note: this takes place in the late 19th century)

'It is not the quality of the desired object that gives us pleasure, but rather the energy of our appetites'

~ Charles Baudelaire, The end of Don Juan

A dejected summer, that's what it was. The suffocating air that leaves you sweltering in your corset but I am anything but, naked on my cold feet with a cigar between those gentil fingers, sluggishly looking out from my apartment window into the florid affluent streets which were once quite and reserved. The sounds of playful squabbling, the occasional delightful squeals of children, the ecstatic laughter of women did nothing to soothe that covetous feeling throbbing at the pit of my stomach. Nor did the family of stars splattered all across the dark night sky with the dazzling moon nowhere to be seen. They seemed to be mocking me with every sparkle, impersonating my woe by disappearing this second only to come back and laugh at my face. Oh well. It hurts my chest as I exhale out the smog; I forgot that I even took a drag. Not even smoke can replace that void in my lungs now.

This moment is slightly pleasant though, accompanied by the crisp breeze that blows in through the drapes, strong enough to make my locks flutter and trigger my cigar to litter on the window railing (that I'm not bothering to clean anytime soon) but not enough to take the glum away with it. The only thing that found me pleasant enough to return. And... the troubled men that found home in my cosy and welcoming bed. Neither of them were guaranteed.

Thinking about men, I glance back into the dark room to spot the man I chose for the night. Blissfully sound asleep between my covers, with a small but radiant smile adorning his regal face. He really emulated the beautiful night sky, the baby constellation spreading across his portrait in the form of les grains de beauté. The way the light reflected off of his unblemished face puts la lune to shame, almost looking as if it is it's own light source. His beauty truly was bewitching and I would've felt envious of it if I didn't know any better.

If I didn't own an enormous dressing mirror in the corner which kept reflecting the street lights back onto my eyes; it was adorned with pink crystals, fresh roses and myrtles, white feathers and burnt out incense that left behind a soft but strong scent. It truly looked like an altar for venus herself, towering over me to have me take a look at the highly sexual, supremely confident, alluring female that offers endless pleasure and a bit of... danger. At least, that's what people men see. And I agree with it. I know the expression does sound like something that would come out of Narcissus' mouth as he stares into his reflection but can you really blame me?

It's the huge impact left on me by years and years of society misjudging me as just another pretty face in the crowd. No matter how hard I worked on something, it would always be de-emphasized. All the blood, sweat and tears only to be wasted because individuals couldn't see the nimble brain past the pleasant portrait. I wanted to stand out, and I did at times but.. not in the way I wanted to. But soon enough, I began to convince myself that maybe this isn't so bad at all, and wearily...

... I accepted it.

I accepted my place in the stupid community as one of those women, a blood sucking succubus is just how they saw me to be exact. Mind you, I've never stood sturdy in any of my subjects until I slowly started to abuse my power and it made me feel competent and sure enough I felt powerful enough to destroy families, to get someone to chase me so feverishly that they lose control but I guess I was never that valuable to keep nor was I important enough for someone to actually care about me. The only difference between your pompous narrator here and a poor mistress is that I don't have a fickle of hope nor do I really care enough about a particular visitor to be left heartbroken.

It still kills me to feel impotent at the end of the day (or the start of the day, when they leave me with nothing). I feel like THE FOOL, a frail dog chasing a car....

....But as the lonely sun finally decides to set to rest and the family of stars gets more discernable with every shimmer against the dark and misty horizon; I, once again find myself repeating history as if my life's a record on the phonograph. But as one get sick of listening to the same song over and over again, there's a momentary pause... and then an appalling revelation; it's seems as though you've been singing the most important part of the song, the chorus, wrong.

And suddenly I can grasp it all..

You see, lust is what makes one take a glance at you. Temptation is what makes them throw caution in the air, when they know they shouldn't. But is it really enough to keep the attention on you? Is the beauty really enough for the sirens who beckon sailors to their destruction? If that was the case, wouldn't mermaids be able to do the same? Love is-

"...h-hey?"

That deep voice...

Then suddenly, lean icy fingers grabbed my arm and pulled me back into reality just when I started inching through the darkness in my mind.

Oh God. How did I not see him wake up? Especially with the mess he made in an effort to get up from the bed? One of the pillows accompanied with the sheets are on the floor... those velvet covers are really hard to wash. I will never forgive him for that.

But my irritation soon turned into embarrassment when I pondered over how crazy I must have looked, naked while just staring into my mirror with a cigar in hand. Or what was left of it, the soft ash on my fingers, my bare breasts and one of my thighs.

"Is everything a-alright?" He questioned. I looked down to his palm which was still holding my arm with a firm grip. He followed my gaze, his eyes widening slighting as he quickly let it go. "I m-mean, you were kind of dazed off or something. I thought..." he muttered after clearing his throat in a futile attempt at ceasing the stuttering. "Yeah.. I was just thinking about something" I replied as I looked up at his eyes and his orbs that were just suffering with nervousness and uncertainty were now swimming in curiosity. I couldn't help but let a giggle get past my lips. He hummed in response as his brows furrowed. "about.. this." I uttered, feigning a bashful look. His brows furrowed even further, creating small lines on his otherwise smooth forehead. "What do you mean by "this" ?" He seems to have forgotten his tense stance and the risqué side of me wanted to bring it back so I tried. "Our liaison, everything we did and...." if it weren't for the pin drop silence in the room, I would've never heard his breath hitching as he waited for me to continue. "Us." I finished with a whisper...

... After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for him to answer, my patience wore thin so I couldn't help but gently poke his chest. It surely did broke the trance he was in and the cute timid man was back. "Uh- I- uhm" he stuttered, looking at everything but my presence. I slowly started to feel the disappointment building up in the bottom of my stomach. Why do I when I didn't even expected anything else? If this is the only way it can go for me, why not have a little fun? I couldn't help but let out a smirk which I covered in a second, hoping he didn't see it. "I might be quite racy at times but I don't just do this with anyone. I thought I told you in the tavern that if you are to leave, leave already..." as soon as I finished bluffing the sadness in my voice, I casted my eyes downwards at his feet as I anticipated the same white lies but they never came. I awaited the "I will never leave you", "you're the best thing that ever happened" or my personal favorite one " I have a wife and kids that I love very dearly" but he didn't say anything. And just as I was about to look up, the smooth dark honey voice cut me off.

"And I thought I told you that I didn't want to follow you back home for whatever fleshly pleasures you had to offer.." the hint of disappointment was evident. This was a new one to add in the book, eh? "But because my precious cameras are all in vain without your figure and your lively soul.. like an empty canvas to an artist with no references or muse." My ears couldn't help but perk up as he continued, " Sure, they might not be too good at capturing the enigma that is you as the films only render in shades of grey which evidently fails to recognize the different shades of your blush and the undertones, but this is all that I have..."

It's his time to wait as I, for the first time, didn't know what to say. He opened his lips once again "I would be lying if I said I didn't gravely fell in love the second I took my first glance at you months ago. Love at first sight was never my thing but you cleared all my doubts about the idea". I wanted to mock him and tell him about how lust in first sight is a thing, not love but I rather chose to humor him. "That's what they all said..." I slowly look up at his face, looking at each and every feature carefully leaving out his mors than intense eyes. "Who are "they"?" He asked with a slight fury in his voice and the sharp edge of the words spoken almost gashed my already tainted soul. I wish I didn't faked the courage and take a glance into his orbs since I saw the immense anger and hatred through his narrowed eyes as he scrutinized my very existence. I withered uncomfortably under his glare, already regretting opening my mouth without thinking.

"You seriously didn't just compare me to those men, did you? After everything I've done? After I got rid of those hideous women that had nothing else to do but spread nasty rumours about you because the same husbands that couldn't get it up for them were lusting after you? Because they couldn't hold their husbands accountable so they were threatened by you?" He took a sharp but shaky breath before continuing, "Or after I got rid of those men who bonded over their heinous fantasies about violating you?..." I cover my mouth, I feel like throwing up. Not because I don't want to/can't believe it but because this is alot of information to take in in a few minutes. I heard him sigh and his voice suddenly changed from being gruff to soft in a second as he saw my terrified look, "you see these hands, sweetheart?" He said in a slightly coaxing voice as he laid his large hand on top of mine, "They were only used to clicking pictures of everything beautiful and developing them but now, they're stained with shed blood of anyone who dared to lay a finger on you.... You made me this way. You made me so empathetically challenged. You did this."

Me? Me...

I did this. I made him this way.

"How could you have been so blind?"

How could I have been so blind?

Maybe I didn't give myself enough credit.

And as he continued to stare into my frame with such adoration that it reminded me of what I was thinking about before he startled me by waking up...

As I was saying previously, lust is what makes one take a glance at you. Temptation is what makes them throw caution in the air, when they know they shouldn't but it's still not enough to keep the attention on you. Love is. It is the greatest weapon of all. It's the most exceptional power that you can have over someone. Making them do what they never thought they ever would do, act in ways they might've mocked previous to meeting you, taking up any space in their mind that was left for rationality and instead plaguing it with sweet obsession. Not even fear dares to compete with love when it comes to power. If anything, they go hand in hand. It truly turns a mermaid to a siren.

Wow. It's not the family of stars that I envied, who would want to look like some aliens just jizzed all over the sky? I was made to be la lune, who with all her blemishes littering her skin still stood unfazed as her admirers wrote poems about her beauty. It's not the homely women that I envied, I have always been quite sophisticated but I just wanted to belong somewhere.

I wanted power over someone or something.

And the thought of me making this man do the most vile acts of crime that humanity cannot even begin to visualize in their brains flared up the familiar feeling of ascendency and competency but this time? It was about to stay. Why? Because he is to stay.

I softly smiled at that thought and slowly held my small hands up to his face to caress his cheeks. The shyness got to him as he squeezed his eyes shut to relish in the contact without having to look at my amused face. I could feel him slowly shaking under finger tips, his face was warm unlike the rest of his body. The effect that my small gesture had on him is unlike anything I've ever seen or experienced. This isn't vulgar, this is sensual. And sure, what I feel might not be love but it has one thing in common with it. It's a drug. A high we're both on, and not even my cigar, my only companion for so long can compete with it.

Let's see how long this lasts before I drain all life out of him... or maybe, this is forever but I doubt. Then again, he- wait a minute... what's his name, again? This is going to suck. As I was saying, he does like to surprise me so let's hope for the best.

"Okay, let's just forget we met like this... hello, my name's y/n", I reached out for his hand to shake with a small smile on my face. He erupted into giggles as he took my hand, "Nice to meet you y/n, this is taehyung." Taehyung. Oh taehyung. And suddenly the cheerful atmosphere turned into something sinister as I pulled him in.

"Taehyung, I am like a raging flame.. don't be a moth and get too close or I might destroy you" I whispered in my raspy voice, the smirk that played in my rouge lips being incredibly devilish along with that red unnatural glint in my eye.

"I want to be destroyed."

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