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tokiro07 · 1 year

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Undead Unluck ch.151 thoughts

[But I Stay Billy]

...So I was sorta right last week. Fuuko did not scare off two military groups with lasers

She scared them off by activating Disc at all

Which I guess makes sense, the whole point of the operation was to steal Disc because it’s an unbeatable superweapon; if someone else gets to it first, no matter who it is, they’re automatically too much of a threat to simply fight for it, aren’t they?

Plus, with the military out of the way, we get to jump right into the juicy stuff: developing Billy’s character!!!

I mentioned to another user recently that even if an Undead Unluck character seemed unlikable at some point, their backstories never fail to make me fall in love with them, and Billy is a particularly interesting case for me because we just keep learning more facets of him while seeing that they’re shockingly consistent with what we already knew

Billy being a bit of a goofball, screaming for Tella to save him when Disc starts flying only to stand at attention and start smoking all cool-like when he realizes that Fuuko’s looking at him, is so perfectly in-line with what little we saw of him back in the beginning of the story. “Huh? I’m gonna die?” when Juiz forced Tatiana to point her lasers at him, the long-cake bars that he designed himself for Tatiana; we didn’t get to interact with him much, but it was clear from the beginning that he’s an overall silly person, which was just enough to throw us for a loop when we learned that he was the leader of Under

The thing about that, though, is that it was just enough; we understood conceptually that Billy’s betrayal was upsetting to the cast, but I’ve seen a lot of readers who found the twist itself to be fairly weak because it was so abrupt. We only knew the bare minimum about Billy, so this didn’t feel like a huge betrayal of our expectations, it admittedly felt kind of lazy, like it was just the Aizen reveal from Bleach without any build-up

And this brings us to the current loop: everyone we met in the first loop had a similar level of simplicity that is only now being deepened. While the entire cast was kind of shallow in the beginning, it ultimately served as a way to pique our interests, a teaser for the real story to come. Once we learned that the loops were even a factor, it became something of an inevitability that we would meet the dead cast again; Loop 100 was just a preview for all of the characters that would get to develop later, and it gave us the opportunity to think “I want to know more about them”

Every character that we’ve seen this time has made me so excited. “Oh! We finally get to be properly introduced to Void!” “It’s Yusai!!!” “Oh great, it’s Sean...actually, wait, maybe I’ll come to like Sean!” While I do think that everyone could have stood to be a bit more fleshed out early on, I’m grateful that things went the way they did now, because it means that the first half of the story focused on the most important thing, Andy and Fuuko’s relationship, while still serving as a solid introduction to our supporting characters, and the second half allows us to focus on the team itself, more specifically Fuuko’s relationship with them

I guess that’s really the main thing: everything is about Fuuko’s relationships in the end. Part 1, she gets to know Andy, Tatiana, Chikara, Rip, Latla, Isshin, Juiz, and Nico (through Andy’s fight with him); Part 2, she’s getting to know everyone else in sequence, and even gets a do-over with Gina, something I had been hoping for since chapter 20 when I pieced together that the loops existed in the first place. Tozuka never lost sight of that idea, and while he didn’t completely eschew the supporting cast, he chose to only worry about telling us things that were centered around Fuuko for the most part, and that’s paying dividends now

Circling back to Billy, that’s actually a fantastic parallel between them: Fuuko’s entire story is centered around how she builds her friendships with people, partially because Unluck is dependent on her love for others and partially because she’s the leader of the Union; Billy’s Unfair, conversely, is dependent on the hate others feel for him, so he actively destroys his friendships and builds a team specifically of people who feel no loyalty for him and whom he can turn on at a moment’s notice if stealing their powers would be advantageous for him. By Billy’s current interpretation of Unfair, he cannot use his ability if he has the sort of relationships that Fuuko seeks to cultivate, and thus must become a lone-wolf who actively pushes others off of the battlefield to scowl at him from the sidelines

This is why Fuuko’s plan to recruit Billy necessitates a battle with him, even if he technically isn’t an enemy at this point: she needs to prove to him that he’ll be stronger with a team. To Billy, having people weaker than him on the battlefield will only result in their loss, so he tries to protect them by keeping them at arm’s length, whereas Fuuko’s approach is to keep them within arm’s reach so she can protect them and be protected by them in turn. If the Union can beat Billy in combat, that should prove to him that they’re not so weak as to need his protection, and that they are just as capable of protecting him should the need arise

This is why it’s especially poignant that while the Union is ganging up on him, Tella swoops in and evolves Untell to protect Billy. Tella took a seemingly useless ability that only seemed to hamper communication and turn it into an impenetrable shield. How his interpretation changed, I can’t say, but if I had to guess, I would say that he interprets an attack as an incoming communication, and uses Untell to negate any form of communication involving himself, not just outgoing messages such as speech. I’ve theorized this to be the case since we first saw him use his ability just prior to the Winter battle, so it’s a little frustrating that they still haven’t properly explained it, but I imagine we’ll either get a more detailed explanation soon or in an omake in the volume where this chapter is published

Anyway, it’s really nice to see Billy’s closest friend jump into to save him when he thought he could get away with fighting alone, it really helps make the transition in his thinking more believable. That, and the fact that Fuuko got the upper hand against him in their fight, which seems to have impressed him; even if he couldn’t see, the smile Billy and Fuuko exchanged before Tella stopped the fight was surprisingly heartwarming, as if he acknowledged and appreciated that Fuuko was in fact strong enough to stand by him and not need his protection

It’s especially appropriate when you realizes that Fuuko specifically is one of the Negators that he didn’t want on the front lines in the previous loop. He thought that she was too weak to use Unluck effectively, and only brought her with him to the Spring fight because he couldn’t get her to view him as an enemy and needed her to overcome Spring’s games of chance. He never thought she had this kind of ability in her, but now it’s been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she does. He says that this feels nostalgic for some reason, and I think that this line ties back to what Fuuko said about Sean’s soul deliberately being born early to meet her; I think that Billy’s soul remembers the previous loop, that somewhere deep inside him he knows that he’s finally been proven wrong

Of course, he has to put her to one final test, if for no better reason than for his own pride; a direct confrontation, a one-to-one duel in his area of expertise. If she can surpass him here, that will be the ultimate proof that she really is strong enough to be his equal, and after how he managed to fend off the rest of the Union by himself just a moment ago (very impressively, I might add), that would clearly be no mean feat. Most importantly, though, being one-on-one, using the same weapons (Billy even giving Fuuko the same kind of gun that he has), with no powers makes this fight the most important thing it could be: fair

How Billy got his understanding of fairness, how Unfair would come to manifest within him, we still don’t know. Until we learn that, his backstory is still incomplete, we’re learning everything about him completely backwards, but we know that he does value fairness above all else. He views himself, being one of the strongest Negators, as being the one most responsible with shouldering the burden of defeating God. He views himself, as a tactical genius and skilled soldier, as being the one most responsible for uniting the world as a common enemy (which I mistook for Creed’s motivation last week, so I’m glad my analysis didn’t completely go to waste). He always talked tough, saying that it was unfair that the Negators were saddled with powers and forced to bear that responsibility for the helpless masses, but we now know that those weren’t his true feelings: if anything, it was unfair that the Negators were forced to fight at all, but he never really blamed those who weren’t chosen, he only really blamed God for burdening anyone in the first place

It also occurs to me how meaningful it is for Billy, as the leader of Under, to carry Unfair, while Juiz, leader of the Union, carried Unjustice. Depending on the context, those words are almost synonymous, a cruel imbalance in the natural order that skews events one way or the other. The powers they gained were completely different, but both negate the balance and either require or force people to shift to either side of the scale; Unjustice forces the target to betray themselves while Unfair requires the user to betray their friends in order to stay true to themself. I can’t speak for how much of this Tozuka planned, but it lines up quite beautifully

Billy really has gone from being a seemingly bland, poorly implemented trope to one of the most fascinating and nuanced characters in the story. I enjoy him so much, and while he hasn’t become my favorite character or anything, I am massively endeared to him in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to predict almost two and a half years ago. I don’t know exactly how this fight is going to conclude, whether Fuuko will lose an ear but force a draw or if she’ll have an undisputed victory, but I know this duel is going to be good. Maybe this is where we’ll get the final piece of BIlly’s backstory, maybe we’ll watch him gain Unfair in a spectacular fashion, or maybe he’ll be a mystery just a little longer. Either way, Billy has shown himself to be not only one of the strongest in terms of ability, but character, and I’m so glad he became so much more than I ever gave him credit for in the beginning

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #i'm glad that these reviews have become me finding an excuse to talk about themes and character development rather than pure summaries #these are the kinds of analyses i really like to write and i don't feel like i'm being so bogged down in panel combing #but i worry that i'm managing to miss key details now #i guess before i was missing the forest for the trees but now i'm worried i'm not getting a close enough look at the trees y'know?#but hey no sense in worrying about something like that it'll only hurt my enjoyment in the end #4y1a reviews

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shirophantomvox · 3 years

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Analyzing Kars' Character

Hello everyone! FYI I am not ignoring your requests. I have tried for a week to get them finished and I keep losing motivation. Then I had the brilliant idea of writing something else about an interesting topic and then I’ll be able to finish a few requests! Today’s post is another character analysis. This is still a multi-fandom blog; you will see content related to other shows besides Voltron. Today’s character analysis is on Kars, the 10,000-year-old vampire. That’s funny. He, Allura, and Coran are the same age!

Overview

I watched JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures about a month ago when I became frustrated that there were only 4 seasons of Hunter x Hunter on Netflix. Remember the scene in the election arc when the citizens were casting their votes for chairperson and Hisoka walked up with his arms forming an “S”? Many people were posing the question of it being a “JoJo’s” reference and for the life of me, I never understood what they were talking about. Finally, I watched the show for the first time and by season 2 I could understand what they were saying.

I have to admit that by the second episode I was bored because the nature of season one took place in the 1800s England and nothing exciting happened. Though I worked my way through a few more episodes. I noticed a creepy stone mask on the way and how it never fell unless blood was splattered on it. I concluded the mask was going to play the role of an antagonist or help the antagonist succeed. Although this post is about Kars, I would like to take a moment and say that Jonathan’s death was very heart wrenching and it made me angry. Jonathan was unnecessarily nice to Dio and living in a privileged bubble lead to his demise. Jonathan was stronger than Dio and he should have kicked his ass once and for all. Have you noticed that after Joseph’s father, all JoJo’s (at least until season 5) could beat the antagonist in the show?

Anyway, the mask is a key tool in the bizarre adventures that each protagonist experiences.

Kars is a 10,000-year-old vampire that designed the Stone Mask and is essentially responsible for the horrific events that have happened throughout history. Dio being turned into a merciless vampire and his minions resulted from the Stone Mask. After discovering that he and his people could not be out in the sun, he concluded he needed the Red Stone of Aja to complete his transformation. Lisa-Lisa, a 50-year-old human woman, has possession of the stone given by her foster father Straizo. Kars, along with the 3 remaining Pilar Men (Wamuu, Esidsi, and Santana, can only survive in the sun if they two wear the mask with the Red Stone of Aja. After awakening, it is quite clear that Kars is on a mission to retrieve the stone and will destroy anything in his way. He was the only one wanting to live a life outside of the darkness. This was the driving force of creating so many Stone Masks and later discovering the need for the Red Stone of Aja. Kars understood the mask would only work on him partially because of his larger skull size, aka body manipulation. This created an increase in hunger. The Pillar Men did not like this at all and sought to eliminate him so he could not ruin the flow of nature. Kars retaliated; he murdered 99% of his people only leaving his friend Esidsi, and two children known as Santana and Wamuu.

Kars’ character is very interesting. A dog was about to have its life ended because of drunk drivers. I don’t know if this struck a nerve in his soul, but Kars nearly cut off the driver’s head, causing them to crash their car and the puppy was saved. After being defeated by Joseph the first time, he landed at the end of a snowy cliff, making sure he did not land on a few daisies. Given these unique interactions with nature and secondary species, Kars has some vendetta against humans. What did they do to him or his people for him to care only about flowers and animals but want to wipe out Harmon users? He insists that Lisa-Lisa drink poison instead of fighting her. Fighting women is something he and Wamuu don’t take pleasure in doing. When I heard this for the first time, I didn’t know if that was something to be proud of or if he was being misogynistic (you know the stereotypical view society has about women). Even if he genuinely did not want to lay a finger on Lisa-Lisa or any woman, his intentions are very questionable. He mimics politeness. If Kars offered to pay for dinner or a drink, run. Just run because if you don’t, you’ll probably be turned into a vampire or be eaten alive.

This is off topic but I wanted to pose this scenario. After watching Battle Tendency for the 10th time, I always like to bring out the “soft” side in villains. Being a sucker for Fluff isn’t helpful. I know that’s defeating the purpose of villains and antagonists, but I can’t help and wonder how it would show in Kars. As I’ve previously stated, Kars seems to care for animals and plants more than humans...so there’s a soft spot somewhere in there. I had a rather amusing and odd thought involving Kars and Lisa-Lisa. Since Lisa-Lisa is the leader over Caesar and Joseph and Kars is the leader over the remain few Pillar Men, I can’t help but wonder how they’d react to each other. When Lisa-Lisa is ordered by Kars to stay at their hideout while Joseph retrieved the Stone, I know she didn’t stand there like a statue for nearly 12 hours. I imagine Kars offering a drink, water, or juice just to get her talking. I mean, she has to warm up to him or it’s going to be a horrible 12 hours. Then he’ll try to engage in conversation and will only try to flirt with her to see how she responds. He may make a comment about how clear her skin is, how perfect her makeup stays intact, or how her legs look better than his (well, duh, you’re 9,950 years older than her!). This way, he can exploit anything he deems as a weakness, but she is a smart woman. She would reveal nothing about her that could be used against her. As OOC as this seems, it could be something he’d do. Remember, he mimics politeness; he has a trick up his sleeve. Although that may be true, at the back of his mind, he really admires how young and enchanting she looks.

Although Esidsi, Wamuu, and Santana are Pillar Men, they are ancient humanoid superhuman beings who lived on the American continent. They have supernatural abilities that leave them invincible while the sun is down. They look similar to humans, but they are much bigger and muscular. Among the 3 remaining Pillar Men, I seem to gravitate to Kars than the others. Before you judge me, I’ll explain. Kars, like many male characters in this anime and others, has a unique character design. Contrary to popular belief, I like Kars better in his head wrap or while he is wearing his hat and cape. That outfit reminds me of a ghost/monster from the remastered Scooby-Doo series in the 70s. The one thing in particular that stood out to me was his eye shadow and mascara. The earrings didn’t surprise me as every time I draw my male characters, they automatically get a pair of earrings. While being physically fit, he can make ANYTHING look excellent!

Just like any villain, Kars and Joseph are equally arrogant and can exploit their opponent’s weaknesses against them. Making jokes about Lisa-Lisa while she is unconscious nearly sets him over the edge and while Kars thinks he has defeated Joseph, he is launched into space.

Last but not least, I noticed how the first two protagonists form an unusual bond with their enemies. As many of you have seen, Dio calls Jonathan JoJo but does not acknowledge Joseph or Jotaro in the same way. He does twice towards Jotaro but not after that. Kars refers to Joseph as JoJo and I have to believe that even if he knew his real name, he’d still refer to him as JoJo. Wamuu stated that fighting Jospeh was worth his time as he did not waste it and fight fairly. Throughout their battles, they somehow remind me of childish games with the name-calling and all. I wish Kars was not a “onetime” villain. I wish he could roll over to the next season. This is a preference, as I hate seasonal villains, like Chrollo Lucilfer or anyone similar.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!

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wasted-headspace-98 · 3 years

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Cataegis: Part II

Summary: An apprentice to the famed Mace Windu, your master has made sure you are strong with the Force. But, sometimes the Force has other plans. And you happen to be caught in the middle of them. Rating: 18+ Warnings: Nonexplicit sexual content, slow-burn, noncon elements (non explicit), underage elements (non explicit), inappropriate use of the force, etc Pairing: Sith!Obi-Wan x Reader Masterlist

Cataegis (n.) Latin word meaning tempestuous storm

Part I

“Master?” you asked tentatively, approaching him with your hands clasped behind your back.

Mace turned his head slightly when he heard your footsteps approaching. “I can feel your worry from across the temple, Padawan.” he said. “What’s troubling you?”

You sighed, shaking your head and dropping to your knees in front of him, mirroring his meditative position. You hadn’t had any other Force interactions with the Sith Lord since that day a week ago. But you could feel a presence pushing at the back of your consciousness, and you knew it was him. And you didn’t understand why the connection was so strong or why it had been made in the first place.

“What…what exactly happened? I’ve heard that Cataegis was once a Jedi. But what turned him to the Dark Side?”

Master Windu let out a breath. “I thought you would come looking for answers,” he said. He relaxed his position slightly, no longer as tense as he was a few moments ago. “I can’t give you everything you’re looking for, but I can give you a start.”

You patiently waited for him to continue. You knew that talking about a fallen comrade wasn’t an easy thing, and even less so when one had fallen so far from the light. So, you didn’t press him, simply allowing your master to take his time.

Something tapped on your mental walls and you blinked in surprise. Windu had closed his eyes and began breathing evenly. That tapping was coming from him. Relaxing into your seat, you closed your eyes and allowed him inside.

Master Kenobi was one of the most loyal Jedi I had ever met. Qui Gon trained his padawan well.

Images of the Jedi Master flashed in your mind. Master Windu began sharing some of his memories with you, allowing you to feel what knowing the man had been like. Pride and a strong bond of friendship flooded your system as you witnessed various points in the Jedi’s life. The emotions were Windu’s; he was simply allowing you to feel them as he had.

He was a strong Knight, one with a powerful connection to the Force. He grieved the loss of his Master, but did what he could to train Anakin.

Darth Vader, you responded.

Yes. They worked well together despite Anakin’s unusual approach to many situations.

Now, now, little one. Opening your mind to another Force User? Tsk, tsk, tsk. And here I thought what we had was special.

A loud gasp fell from your lips and your eyes slammed open as you yanked all of your mental shielding back up. Mace was forcibly ejected from your mind with a grunt, and he quite literally fell backwards a bit when he came to.

“Y/N, what-“

If you wanted to know more about me, love, all you had to do was ask.

“Get out of my head,” you hissed aloud, scrunching your eyes shut once again.

He hummed quietly. As much as you and I would both enjoy that, I don’t think I can. So, it seems you’re stuck with me.

When you opened your eyes again, you were still sitting across from Mace, but another figure had entered the room as well. He stood back towards the wall, his black robes blending into the shadows that danced in the dying sunlight.

“Master-“ you choked, eyes widening the longer you stared at the man.

“There’s no use, love. He can’t see me. That privilege belongs only to you.”

The deep voice and smooth Coruscanti accent rolled off his tongue with ease, sending a shiver down your spine. Every instinct you had was telling you to run, to get out of the dangerous situation you found yourself in.

But something else came over you, something you hadn’t felt before. A deep sense of calm flooded your system, sinking down into your very core. You felt yourself relax, and your shoulders dropped from the tense and defensive position you had taken.

“There’s such conflict in you,” Cataegis said with a frown, coming closer to you. You couldn’t see much of his face from beneath the cowl, save for the glowing golden eyes of the Sith Lord. “Has Windu not even taught you to control your emotions?” he asked in surprise.

“He has, you said, taking a shaky breath. “But it’s a bit difficult in a situation like this…”

Cataegis cocked his head as he examined you. He raised his hand, fingers outstretched to brush across your cheek. “Such power runs through you, little one. It’s no wonder you have a hard time keeping it in check.”

You didn’t even have to force yourself to stay still beneath his touch. The soothing calmness that washed over you kept you from doing so.

“Why are you here?” you asked eventually, now more curious than anything.

“I could ask you the same thing, love. Why am I here? It seems you have a power held over me that even I don’t understand.”

You frowned in confusion. “I’m not doing this,” you insisted. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

Cataegis hummed quietly and looked at your Master for a moment. Mace looked confused for a moment before quickly realizing what was happening. He stood back with his arms crossed, allowing you to deal with your experience.

“A Sith and a Jedi,” he mumbled to himself. “A dark Lord and a warrior of the Light.”

You frowned. “We have nothing in common, Sith. What do you want from me?”

He tsked you again, shaking his head. “I think we have more in common than you think, little one. The Force wouldn’t connect us like this without a purpose.”

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. “I doubt the Force is doing this.”

Cataegis raised an eyebrow at you from under the cowl. “Then Windu hasn’t taught you well enough,” he said. “The Force works in mysterious ways. Sometimes it takes more than a Jedi to see that.”

A huff escaped your lips. You were getting nowhere with this man. And honestly, you weren’t sure if you wanted to. The whole thing confused you to no end and you didn’t want him in your head. You raised your mental shielding even further, trying to quite literally shove his presence out of your mind. But as if reading your thoughts, Cataegis let out a quiet chuckle. “There’s no need to try and hide your thoughts, my dear. I won’t pry unless I need to.” You gave him a skeptical look and he rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Even as a Sith, I realize that there are things sacred to each individual. I won’t deprive you of that right simply to sate my curiosity.”

That gave you pause for a moment, and you blinked in surprise.

He snorted at you. “Don’t look so surprised. I might be a Dark Warrior, but I still have my morals.” He seemed rather put off by the fact that you would think otherwise. Why, you didn’t know. But he was right, it had surprised you. You were expecting him to simply reach in and take what he wanted instead of standing there speaking to you. And you had to admit, this turn of events wasn’t unpleasant, although unexpected.

“What do you want from me?” you asked eventually.

He hummed as he approached you, clasping his hands behind his back and walking in a circle around you. It was as if he was appraising you, taking in every detail that he could. “I would imagine it’s much the same as you want from me, love.”

The closer he walked, the more you felt your senses softening. There was something about his presence that soothed you to your very core. And that alone put you on edge. It was a rather interesting feeling to say the least. His presence was powerful, and you knew he was capable of unspeakable things. But strangely, you felt no sense of danger from him. Instead, there was nothing but peace. It was a similar feeling to that which you had while meditating. There was an odd calmness that washed over you whenever he was near you. And the affect didn’t go unnoticed. You opened the eyes you hadn’t realized you closed, coming eye to eye with a sea of golden depths.

“You feel it too,” you said quietly.

Cataegis felt no need to question you. He knew exactly what you were talking about. “Yes.” he said simply. There was a hint of curiosity in his tone, and you had to admit that you had the same feeling gnawing at you. As much as your training had gone against everything you were doing, you stood in front of him, not moving a muscle. You could feel his breath fan against your face as he reached up and brushed his knuckles across your cheek.

“I think our time is up, little one.” he said quietly. You stared at him unblinkingly as he brushed a piece of hair behind your ear. It had fallen out of the braid around your head, catching his attention. “But I think we’ll be seeing each other more often than not.”

Your eyes opened with a gasp as a wave of force energy exploded from your body. Your ears picked up on the sound of breaking clay and glass, and short circuiting wiring within the walls. Even your Master was sent flying through the air, his back colliding with the wall hard enough to crack it. You yourself were covered in a sheen of sweat and you realized yo0u were shaking.

“Y/N?”

Your eyes focused on Windu, who was pulling himself up and making his way towards you. You managed to pull yourself out of the trance you were in and you gasped, immediately bolting to your feet. You helped him up, quickly checking him over for any major injuries.

“Are you alright, Master?” you asked.

He coughed a couple times before letting out a quiet chuckle. “I think I can take a few hits.” he said. “The question is, are you alright? I haven’t seen you in a meditation like that before.”

You shook your head. “It wasn’t a meditation,” you said.

Mace raised an eyebrow at you. “Then what was it?”

A frustrated sigh escaped you as you helped him find a seat. “I think it was a vision,” you said.

He hummed quietly. “I can feel your fear, apprentice. There’s no use in hiding it.”

And it was true. You were scared. You didn’t know what these visions meant, or how they were happening. Cataegis seemed to think it was a Force connection. You had to admit, that made sense. But that didn’t mean you understood it. There was a chance it was all his doing and he was simply manipulating you into believing it. But then you thought about what his presence had felt like. Sith or Jedi, you’d never felt anything like it before. And you couldn’t bring yourself to believe that he was projecting it. There had to be something else, something stronger binding the two of you together.

“I saw him again,” you said quietly, grabbing Windu’s arm to examine one of the wounds there. A piece of a vase had embedded itself in his flesh and you made yourself busy with cleaning it up.

“Saw who?”

“Cataegis,”

A hum sounded from deep in his chest. You knew that sound. It wasn’t often that your master was perplexed. But when he was, it was a troubling puzzle indeed. And you couldn’t stand the thought of being part of that mystery.

You’d known Master Windu your entire life. You’d grown up admiring him as a youngling. And when he had decided to take you as his apprentice, you were over the moons. He was more than simply your master. He had become more of a father figure to you than anything. You relied on him and trusted him more than anyone in your life before. Yoda had said that it was a special bond between Master and Padawan, but you knew it went deeper than that. The two of you had been through hell and back. You’d been his commander in the middle of the Clone Wars, his Padawan in training, his closest friend in times of peace. But one thing you’d never been was a mystery.

Becoming one now was going to test the limits of your patience. You didn’t even understand what was happening, or why. You didn’t want to be a puzzle for Mace to pick apart.

“There’s no use asking,” you said after a moment. “I don’t know what he wants or why I’m even seeing him.”

Mace shook his head. “That’s not what I was going to ask,” he said softly. “I was going to ask if you’re alright.”

You blinked in surprised, taken aback by his words. “Oh,” you said. “I..I don’t know.” you said honestly. You weren’t sure how to process what was happening, and you were even less sure that you could trust what your eyes were telling you.

He nodded. “That’s understandable, Y/N.” His tone was gentle as he spoke, which was something he did only when he knew how much of a toll things were taking on you. He believed that trials were what built character and made one stronger. But even he knew there were things that were too much, even among the Jedi. “We’ll figure this out together.”

Taglist: @rogueheretic555 @lordofthenerds97 @say-something-nice-missy @doctor-warthrop

#star wars #obi wan x reader #sith obi wan x reader #sith obi wan #clone wars #jedi #jedi x sith #reader insert #facfic #star wars fic

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abbynx · 3 years

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Juliet and Ophelia (Trish Una X Reader)

Like I said I can't pass up an opportunity to simp for this girl.

So this is a continuation of 'How would the La Squadra family react to you having a crush on the former boss' daughter, Trish Una?'

So yes, this series will be called, "Juliet and Ophelia" A Trish Una X Reader with a dash of found family with La Squadra and the Bucci gang so stay tuned!

Genre: Romance, fluff, wholesome

School. Nothing else to say, the certain word can emit a certain reaction from every individual. Some recoil and wince from the sudden flashbacks rushing into them, embarrassment and shame from all of the stunts they pulled. Some react with a certain fondness within them, lips slightly tugged to the side as the sudden nostalgia just soaks them up. Some, indifference. It's just an establishment wherein an individual attended for a quarter of their life and held nothing against it. To you, it didn't really emit anything from you. As a person who has never attended school, you looked at in an indifferent manner. You've been homeschooled all your life, relying on the knowledge your tutor Melone or sometimes Ghiaccio teaching you. They're good mentors, always took the time to make you feel like they aren't dumping overwhelming amounts of data on you. Additionally, they were extremely mindful of your well-being and made sure to not over-work La Squadra's adopted child. You thought of school as something as that, a school. You have nothing against it at all, nor you feel any sorts of things to it but you can certainly empathize those young people who struggle against it, tiring themselves to no end and are unsatisfied until their unmeetable standards are met. So that's what sums it, you were indifferent towards it... Until you yourself have began to attend it and all you can associate it with would be utmost regret. You didn't know what came up to you when Risotto asked of you if you wanted to live normally, he clarified that again; would you like to start attending school, like any other normal teens your age? Admittedly, home schooling is the norm too, but do you really want assassins educating you all your life instead of spending times with people your age, just enjoying the wonders of life? Ohhh, the entirety of La Squadra does not want you to emulate the same misery they've live to get to this, dear no. Risotto was kind enough to give you time to think about it, his right hand man Prosciutto taking the time to also explain its benefits and negatives. They offered to enroll you to a boarding school, attain a certain normalcy in your life for once. Although it was a boarding school, you can always go home every weekend to see them again. They can try to play it smooth and casual, but you know that they'd be too clingy to let you go. And by that, you accepted for some reason and now you've come to regret it, and can never take it back. You remain unmoving from your desk for the remainder of lunch break, head tilted down and interacted at the most interesting specimen to you, that were the pair of polished black shoes Prosciutto bought you. They were ridiculously expensive for a pair of shoes, but they are durable and pretty to look at, I guess. Just the perks of having a fashionable guy around. It was a dumb sight in hindsight and in an outsider's point of view, but you liked the way it gave out a glimmer when directed in light. Not only that, it's not like you can do anything about your crippling isolation in school. Everyone seems to despise your guts in this damned institution for some reason. You really don't know what they problems were, nor were they willing to confront you about it and instead opted to whisper and laugh at you from behind as you tread pass them. It was so damn unfair that you were one of the most fierce assassins La Squadra Esecuzione has to offer and yet you were easily taken down by a bunch of high schoolers who talked behind your back. You loathed this place. You regretted accepting the offer to study in this god forsaken hell and just wanted to go home. Melone's home education was more than enough, heck his teachings were more advance than the school curriculum has to offer and yet Risotto has insisted for you to experience this period of life for some reason. You've grown up from them, raised by assassins and have experienced the weirdest shit as a Stand User and they still think you need to have a normal high school life? And for what? It's not like there's an underground

organisation ran by students at school where you were needed to play double agent but no-- they insisted you to study things you already knew and compete among students apparently. The lunch packed with food remained untouched in your bag, wherein you planned to just give it to the stray cats and dogs just as you wait for one of La Squadra to pick you up from this damned institution. It's not like you were starving yourself, you were just uninterested to eat at the moment and you really didn't want it to go to waste so why not give it to those who are more in need? You weren't really accustomed to eating alone, as there would always be a member of La Squadra eating with you. These past few weeks felt so full without them that now it's made imminent to you that without them— life can be so colourless, so monochrome, so damn boring. Your crippling sense of loneliness, in addition to your utter unaccustomed self in a new environment made life hell for you in here. It would only be a few, agonising hours until you would be picked up by one of the assassins. At least there you'd get some actual slumber that won't require you to wake up at five o'clock to practically rush towards the school shower rooms and bathe in ice cold water in the middle of dawn for another day in hell. The teacher's lectures remained audible to you, and yet you couldn't seem to properly understand what she was going on about. It was a mere noise, as your eyes would impatiently dart up to meet with the hands of ticking clock, idly zooming by, as your legs bounced at the anticipation of the bell ringing. It was only a matter of a few more hours and yet, you just can't wait to ditch this hellhole for two days. "L/N, are you paying attention?" You jerk your head up from your daydreams with a slight yelp. Your teacher stood indignant, hands on her hips as she raised a questioning brow at you. "Well?" She waits. "Yes, Madam." You nodded. "Then pray tell, what is the common misconception about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?" She challenged, shifting her weight on one side and awaits for your answer. It was then you noticed all eyes were on you. You knew the answer very well, it was simple really and yet being the centre of attention certainly hindered you from answering as soon as you can. "See? This is why--" "The common misconception regarding the Gothic novel Frankenstein is that often they refer the monster as Frankenstein, when in reality it's the name of the creator of the creature, Doctor Victor Frankenstein." You once remembered Ghiaccio's outburst about that, his shrill voice just ranting on and on about referencing the name incorrectly in modern pop culture. For a moment the teacher looks at you from the tip of her nose, as if to say 'I'll get you next time', before returning to the lesson Well, that was a relief. You released a breathe you've been harbouring, before turning your head yet again to watch the ticking hands of the clock go by and finally have the day done. ~•~ Similarly to your situation, it has come to her attention that she deeply regretted transferring back to school after a year of her absence. It was as if nothing changed, she was the same ol' Trish no one paid attention to, nor cared about. She only existed amidst their faint breathes whispering amongst each other behind her back as she passes by; "Whoop, there is she is again. I don't get why she returned." "Maybe she was pregnant last year." "Omg, really?" And she despises it. She couldn't have a single shit about their thoughts about her, but if they ever dared to spread rumours she wouldn't hesitate to use her connection with the mafia. She tries not to abuse this power, but come on, who wouldn't? At least now, they knew they wouldn't dare to land a hand on her, she has her own Stand now and not only that, her new family wouldn't stand something such as this to happen to her. All she wanted to do was to leave to godforsaken hell hole for two days for the weekend but alas, her pickup person was taking way too long. As much as she wants to stand up,

march forward to her new home with Bruno and the others, she was strictly told to wait for one of them to pick her up. But alas, they were taking too long and the roof of the waiting shed wasn't ideal for a rainy day either, not with its leaky roof, that is. All she can do was to sit on the metallic bench, and dodge dripping water leaking from the roof of the waiting shed. Seated at arm's length away from her, was a classmate of hers. A memory implanted itself on her brain after that one lecture in class, impressed at their quick wit to respond to the teacher's question, even if they paid little to no attention to the lesson apparently. And not to mention, their nonchalance response after proving the teacher correct was admirable. If only she can do something similar of that, she knew she'd be more proud of herself. The pinkette looks up in anticipation at the sound of a vehicle pulling over in front of a waiting shed, but frowned once she sees it wasn't the usual van Bruno rents. It was a black van, with pure black tinted windows and honestly, she'd think it was one of those vans that you'd be afraid of when you see it approaching. The student beside her let out a relieved sigh, and practically skipped off before boarding the van. Trish couldn't help but to sigh out as well, as she was now left alone to wait under the leaky roof. Trish shivered from the cold, before she decided to gather her knees in front of her chest to provide herself warmth from the rain. If only she brought with her the pink umbrella Giorno gifted to her, but alas, she forgot and left it back in the villa they currently reside in. She wanted to disobey them, and just walk home but she had no umbrella and doesn't really want to spend the weekend with her nose clogged and throat sealed with pain, as much as she wants to stay and rest within the villa with her new found family. She wanted to go home, she hated the hell hole and regretted her decision going back to it. As she wallows from her regrettable decision, the van door opens and the students steps out of it. Trish was confused for a moment, but didn't reacted to it, as her gaze remains directed down. For all she knew they don't left something behind, but apparently she was wrong. "Hey, it's pretty cold and you might catch a fever. You can borrow my jacket, here," Trish looked up, shocked to see you holding a black jacket and a light blue umbrella. She was shocked to say the least, but graciously accepts it. "The umbrella is a bit broken, sorry about that—" "N-no, it's enough... T-Thank you..." "You're welcome," they were quick to interact with, before they run towards the van once again and drove off. Trish watches the black van disappear into a turn, before she looks back at the jacket, subconsciously smiling fondly at it. She shrugs the jacket on, as it was slightly loose around her frame, before opening the umbrella above her head. After glancing at the direction from whence your van drove off, the smile on her face never wavered despite her impatience for her pick up person to arrive. ~•~ "So how was school, Y/N?" Risotto asks after a cheery round of laughter at the dinner table. You halted for a moment upon hearing the dreaded s-word being spoken. Thankfully, no one took notice of your reluctant pause and cleared your throat. You went on as normal, as you poke with your food in front of you. "It's good." You hoped that it wouldn't come up but alas, it was inevitable they'd ask that like any other adult talking to a young adolescent. "Anyone got your attention~?" Illuso teases with his usual lopsided grin, with a mock crone. "Not really." You deadpanned, as you mentally rolled at the idea of liking someone in that school when everyone's been mean to you. "Your asking the wrong question, did you get someone's attention, though?" Melone chimes in. Once again, you mentally scoff at the idea of someone liking you. "Nuh uh." Oh if only they knew. Well now that you think about it, it was better for them not to know. They're highly capable people with strings to

pull and honestly, your classmates hasn't done anything physical to you yet. "Enough about the lovey dovey crap, what's important is that they're learning crap in school like they're supposed to be!" Ghiaccio retorts towards the two. "We're just glad you're enjoying yourself at school." Pesci adds with a warm smile. Another reason you can't tell them about your hatred for school. They were happy for you having that normalcy in your life, something they've never experienced pleasantly. As much as yours wasn't that ideal of a usual high school teen drama in one of those novels, but at least it wasn't as worst as their experience. And honestly, you would do just about anything to see them smile. "OHHH SHIT, Y/N'S SCHEDULED TO WASH THE DISHES!" Formaggio shouts from the kitchen in joy, prompting you to jerk up your seat in shock. The man has the tendancy to trick you into washing dishes sometimes and now that you've grown and realised how naïve you were, you grew more wary of his tricks. "SHUT THE HELL UP, NO WAY—" "YES WAY!" Formaggio returns from the kitchen, holding up the chart of dish washing schedule, before sticking his tongue out at you. "SUCKER!" Truly, you've missed the rampant chaos within your family, a stark contrast against the repetitive schedule in school. It was sheer chaos there too, not gonna lie, but this is a different type. This was the type wherein you felt at home, just smiling as the villa becomes frosted with a thin layer of ice unlike the one in school. You wanted to stay with them, but of course, their main priority was for you to have some sort of normalcy in your life and honestly, if that's what makes them happy you'd be happy to oblige. You are certainly doing great at school, and they're proud of it, it shows... If only Gelato and Sorbet were to see you as well. They may be gone, but you can just imagine them smiling and encouraging you. ~•~ Of course happy days would pass swiftly than its duller counterpart. Happy days were over once Monday hits and you were once again strapped to your seat for the next eight hours, another three hours by the library to get the Mount Everest high school work due to tomorrow, before curling up against the corner of your bed staring off into the abyss until slumber has taken a liking to you and claim you within its embrace and then somehow, someway, you would be then pulled from your sweet escape by a shrill bell from your bedside table, before you would inevitably glare at the blaring alarm clock, slam your hand against it before attempting to regain about five more minutes of sleep— only then to remember how things function in this seventh circle of hell as it was enough to convince you to get up and march towards your dresser with your stuff and head to the shower room. Needless to say, you've got the school schedule memorised by now. Even the usual discord occurring from time to time began to bore you. Nothing much really happened in school, you were just slowly deteriorating from boredom and by home sickness... Once gain, just goes to show how much you missed your chaotic little assassin family. You set yourself by your desk with a sigh, just wanting to get through this place without wanting to wreak havoc within the school premises that will prompt a bad mark on your pristine records. Not that you cared, it's just that Prosciutto will surely bitch about once he catches a glimpse of it and make an hour-long lecture about it. You let out an exhausted sigh for the umpteenth time, slumping against your desk with your eyes closed when suddenly a figure stands in front of your table. You immediately straightened your back and tried your best to look alive, before glancing up at her. "Oh hey, what's up?" You instinctively asked to swerve yourself away from the awkward silence, smiling up to the pinkette. "Hi, thank you for lending me you cost and umbrella. If it weren't for them I would've caught a cold back there." She hands you your jacket and umbrella back, in which you graciously accepted. "You're welcome, Miss Una— I-um—" you

stammered, your hands brushing against hers once you've reached to collect your neatly folded, pressed and newly washed jacket, along with your light blue umbrella. It was the heat of the moment when you gave her those following items and felt sorry for the girl, concerned about the dripping rain and the cold, humid air. "It's no problem." "Please no need for formalities, we're the same age. Just call me Trish." She insists. "There's the cafe in front of campus. I'll see you there after classes, my treat. It's the least I can do to show you my gratitude." "Uhhh, of course." For a moment it didn't process that the café she was referring to was an expensive one. The posh, fancy, the Prosciutto's to-go-to type of thing that charges an arm and a leg just to buy a shot of espresso, and they'd charge you your pair of kidneys if you asked for sugar and cream. Money wasn't a problem now that the boss was actually considerate, but why in all nine circle's of hell did you not insist her not to treat you? Well now's too late, as class has started and she's trudged back to her desk. Aside from the expensive coffee shop... Wow, you never thought that your encounter with her would expand to this type of interaction. At the back of your mind screamed wary, but something stronger in you just found this as a perfect opportunity for a friendship to bloom. She seems like a nice girl and quite frankly, she'd be lovely to spend time with. Like the weeks before spending your time in school, you gaze up to the clock as always, excited for something new other than weekends to go back to the La Squadra villa. This time, you were excitedly anticipating the time after class to meet with the lovely pinkette. Something good will happen, I just feel it!

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sarahjtv · 3 years

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BNHA Chapter 308 Spoiler Thoughts: Beat His Ass, Young Midoriya!

Chapter leaks are out! Full chapter hasn’t been revealed yet (and take what I say with a grain of salt until the official translations come out), but I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. Nothing super heavy, but it’s an action-packed chapter that shows us how much of a badass Deku has become since he left UA and went all vigilante on us. So, let’s do this:

Before we get into the chapter, I need to mention our mangaka, Kohei Horikoshi-sensei’s comment this week. He’s basically apologizing for taking a break last week, calling himself a “small-fry”, and promising to pick himself up. Horikoshi deserved a break last week and he is by no means a “small-fry” for creating one of the best and most popular pieces of fiction in the last few years. I hope that he knows that and that he shouldn’t blame himself for taking a break.

So, the chapter picks up right where we left off! Deku and Muscular’s battle begins and Muscular recognizes Deku’s voice. He says that he’s been waiting for this moment as everyone else he’s faced have been weaklings compared to Deku. As far as we know, Deku has been the only one to even beat Muscular by himself. It took over 100% of his strength to do so, but Deku did manage to kick Muscular’s ass. It makes sense why he’d want a rematch.

I need to take a moment here to talk about how awesome Deku looks in his Vigilante costume (as I’ve decided to call it). The tattered clothing really works for him and the dark sclera around his eye adds to the effect. Again, I love that he’s finally putting the bunny hood and metal mask to use. I mean, he used them before, but not as a real part of his daily costume. He looks almost like a completely different person with them on. I’d be scared of Deku tbh.

As the fight continues, he gives the injured Yo Shindo to his GF, Tatami. Tatami can’t see Deku’s costume because of the smoke surrounding him, but she does kind of recognize his voice from somewhere. I do wonder if Tatami’s going to put the pieces together and find out that the vigilante is Izuku Midoriya. And I wonder if she’s going to get the word about his actions spreading and if that will reach our UA kids. Or the news stations will, that might happen too.

Speaking of smoke, DEKU UNLOCKED THE 6TH OFA USER’S QUIRK! The 6th user is the Tobio Kageyama-looking dude with the long collar (He’s cute btw 😳!) and his name is “En” which translated to smoke. His Quirk is Smokescreen which explains the smoke surrounding Deku at the end of the last chapter. Deku is using the Quirk too much, so he needs to calm down a bit and use each Quirk individually. There’s actually quite a bit that Deku could use with a Quirk like Smoakscreen: He could hide himself for a sneak attack, he could use it as a distraction, use it if he needs to retreat, etc. My mind immediately went to Pokémon (because of course it did) and how Team Rocket would constantly use moves like Smoakscreen and Haze to either distract Ash and Co. to confuse them or use a sneak attack, or run away from the protagonist. It’s another support-type Quirk, but it’s a damn good one if used right.

Edit: There’s a panel that shows the scale of how much Smokescreen Deku used and it’s A LOT. Like, the smoke is covering several streets and it goes to the top of some buildings. It’s hard for really anyone to see anything. Deku’s really trying to keep himself in the shadows, I suppose.

To use all his Quirks well, En suggests that Deku think of each Quirk like a support tool. So, Float is a jetpack, Black Whip is a long string of rope, Danger Sense is a radio, and Smoakscreen is a flare or some kind of smoke grenade (I don’t know the specific name). This is a really good way of thinking for Deku since he’s been using object-focused metaphors for OFA before. Remember the “Egg in The Microwave” and the “Turntable in The Microwave”? Similar to that!

Edit: Fan-scans are out. It seem like Deku is actively talking to En here as if he’s a little voice in his head guiding him on what to do. My guess is that after his coma talk with the OFA Holders, Deku can now talk to the vestiges consciously. He doesn’t need to enter a dream-like state to interact with him; it’s just a thing he can do willingly.

So, Deku uses each Quirk individually and finally ties Muscular down with Black Whip. I can’t describe it, but it’s so cool to see Deku in action here absolutely folding Muscular. He really has improved since their last fight. There’s one panel that has a close up of Deku’s masked face and he looks so damn cool! I’m so tempted to color it when the official translations come out.

Deku is asking Muscular where AFO and Shigaraki are, but Muscular doesn’t know. He also asks why Muscular is doing what he’s doing, but Muscular just responds that there is only blood and battle in his heart and he doesn’t want to live a life where he regrets not fulfilling that (his name is revealed to be Gouto Imasuji btw. Don’t know the translation behind that, but I assume it has to do with his Quirk and his violent personality). So, this confirms that Deku is actively looking for Shigaraki and AFO. He’s not just saving people left and right, but he is actively looking for the big bad on his own. I can’t see that ending well without help unfortunately. Deku’s also trying to reason with Muscular to see if there’s a different path for him similar to his fight with Gentle and LaBrava. He’s really going for the “Save People’s Hearts” route and I can understand why. That’s Deku’s character at its core. It’s why he wants to try to save Shigaraki despite everything. If there is a different path for a villain, then Deku will try to lead them to it. Unfortunately, villains like Muscular don’t always have that path.

Edit: Actually, you know what, how in the world did Deku know Muscular’s real name? Did he see it on the news somewhere? Did he do some research and manage to look it up? Does he have someone to give him intel? I mean, unless Muscular’s name was broadcast out there, his real name is some very specific information Deku got a hold of.

Finally, as he remembers Shigaraki and Kota (the small boy Deku saved back in the Forest Training Camp), Deku runs towards Muscular with full speed and finishes him with one powerful punch! Deku speeds past Muscular as we finally see his face again under the mask (Badass Deku🥵)! One Punch Man has left the chat, my dudes. For real, though, if Muscular really is defeated, it’s amazing how flawlessly Deku beat him. Deku used every Quirk well and efficiently to dodge Muscular's attacks and pin him down so he could get a clean hit in. Everything was calculated and executed perfectly. This is not the Deku we knew back in the Training Camp Arc.

Edit: Ok, it was explained that Shindo’s Vibration actually did effect Muscular’s Quirk. Then tendons in his muscles were pulled and were starting to unravel. That’s what made an opening for Deku to get a good hit in. I think it would’ve been hard for Deku to knock Muscular out with one punch if that opening wouldn’t have been made. So, Shindo wasn’t entirely useless.

And that’s it from what I can gather! Damn good action-packed chapter! A+ art and writing from Horikoshi once again! This man just keeps bringing us 🔥. I’m so glad to see Deku fight like the badass he’s meant to be. I wish it didn’t have to take a war and several near-death experiences to get here, but Shonen gotta Shonen. He knocked the lights out of Muscular, I almost feel sorry for him. He got his ass kicked by the same kid twice in less than a year. You should’ve stayed in Tartarus, my dude. Really, all prisoners should’ve stayed in Tartarus. If Deku can defeat Muscular, then none of them stand a chance against him now. I can only assume Deku’s going to go after everyone who was associated with the LOV to find Shigaraki and AFO at this point. Thankfully, we don’t have a break next week. Will En teach Deku how to play volleyball?!? I’m kidding! I do want to know what our UA kids are doing, especially Bakugo, Shoto, and Uraraka. This would be a good time to transition to them. Like, they can see Muscular’s capture on the local news, put the pieces together, and go after Deku. Or we could just keep focusing on Deku’s vigilante adventures, that works too!

Me @ Deku:

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sweetescapeartist · 3 years

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MY DBS MANGA CHAPTER 70 REVIEW

We learn in the last chapter that the Cerealian Dragon's name is Toronbo when Granolah speaks Namekian. Toronbo grants Granolah's wish but can't make Granolah stronger than the gods.

Here's the confusion I have... Goku is a mortal beyond GoDs so making Granolah the strongest mortal is making him stronger than gods. If you wanna say Beerus has been training and is now stronger than Goku, there's still a problem. It was said that Goku and Vegeta were stronger than some GoDs right before the ToP (but that might be anime only, so maybe it doesn't apply here). So Granolah is stronger than GoDs no matter what. If the gods that Toronbo is speaking of are the Angels, then that means Granolah is Ultra Instinct level of power since Goku is the lowest in Angel tier. But whatever. Bottom line is Granolah is temporarily stronger than Goku who may or may not be stronger than Beerus.

Granolah gets his wish granted and the cost is shortening his life... cool. Not much to say except let's see how its executed.

(I recently read that in DBXV2, during the Infinite History Saga, Videl is enchanted with Towa's Dark Magic spell by Dabura shaving off her life but granting her greater power. So granting power at the cost of lifespan has been done in DB before. Not in canon but in the games.)

Also, Granolah's life being shortened to 3 yrs got me thinking... Currently it's almost AGE 781 in the DBS manga timeline. Goku leaves to train Uub in AGE 784. We got 3 yrs left. The original manga shows Bulma said she hadn't seen Goku in 5 yrs. How I see DBS is that it is an alternate timeline that just happens to have a similar outcome to the EoZ.

So... why is Vegeta learing from Beerus again if Beerus isn't that strong now? Is Vegeta being like Krillin and continuing his learning from a master weaker than him, but gaining wisdom & knowledge? I-is Vegeta becoming Krillin 2.0?! (More like dollar-store Krillin)

I do think beerus got stronger tho. He seems very confident that Vegeta can get stronger from learning from him. Beerus probably saw Goku get UI then decide to train aftet the ToP

Anyways, Beerus is teaching us about hakai/destruction energy. Its erasing something from existence, not just destroying it (we already knew that). But, Vegeta quickly figures out how to do it anyways. By destroying a tiny pebble...

A tangent again but I personally think Piccolo is capable of easily learning Hakai energy. Think about it. Piccolo can create clothing out of nothing, why could he not do the reverse?

Goku is uninterested in what Beerus & Vegeta are doing. I dont know about you, but it sounds like Goku thinks that he's above Beerus in strength. Beerus & Vegeta aren't considered a challenge to him in any way. Goku sees UI as more important & better than anything Beerus has to teach, and Goku is right. Plus Goku learned Hakai on his own while Vegeta needs Beerus to teach him. It's a waste of Goku's time to learn it again.

(God Comics is funny. I imagine Toribot writes them)

Goku says "Let's see which one of us can be the strongest in the universe!" Really, Goku...? At present time, Goku is the strongest mortal in the universe already. He should know that. Then Vegeta for some reason thinks he will become the strongest in the universe. The last time manga Vegeta was the strongest mortal in the universe was... never. He's always behind Goku or whatever new opponent arises. This scene is meant to be comedic that they're arguing over who will be the greatest but it's not funny to me. And yet Vegeta fans still hold on for hope.

But why is Goku concerned about being the strongest between him & Vegeta? Goku is far above Vegeta. They're not rivals at this point. Also, Goku was the strongest in the universe until just a few moments ago. Goku should be saying "I knew bein' the strongest wouldn't last for too long. Roshi did tell me there will always be somebody stronger out there. Hehe! This is gettin' me excited! I can't wait to meet 'em!" (This would alsp parallel Monaito giving Granolah the same advice Goku already knows.)

Also, I guess Broly isn't that strong after all. Bye Broly, you served your purpose. And to think that Goku had said that he thinks Broly is stronger than Beerus...

Oh yeah. So Vegeta destroys a pebble. Impressive? Goku kinda gives a compliment or he is practically saying "Good job Vegeta! You're doing great following in my footsteps!" Seriously, this would be so much better and cooler if this seperate paths of training began right after the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 tournament. That would be the perfect spot to have them train under Beerus & Whis. [Vegeta using Hakai against Merged Zamasu, Goku able to fight Merged Zamasu temporarily because he is getting better at letting his body move on its own, Toppo & Vegeta using Hakai against each other as Goku & Jiren use power above GoDs. That would work so much better.]

Then Vegeta says he's gonna destroy bigger things soon... is that supposed to be more impressive? Its not. But this it to build up Vegeta even though there is nothing amazing about anything he is doing at the moment. Maybe later tho.

So Cerealians can't grow beards. Also I guess Granolah's race don't age? His hair grew when his lifespan was shortened but he has no wrinkles. It seems that they age more gracefully than Saiyans. If he has some wrinkles he would have looked cooler imo. Or those lines under the eyes at the very least. If the wish shortened his life & made his hair grow, it should have also showed that he aged. (Here's an edit I made of "Grampa Granolah." You're welcome)

And remember Vegeta destroying a pebble? Granolah can suddenly destroy big rocks! Cool right?! No? Its not cool? Showing Granolah destroy a much larger object right afterwards kinda belittles Vegeta's accomplishment.

Oatmil is surprised by a boulder exploding. This means one of 2 things. Oatmil is stupid & never saw an Granolah explode a boulder. Or it's implying that the boulder exploding is some technique Oatmil doesn't know of. Idk how he can tell its any different from just blowing up a rock with ki. I think it's supposed to be destruction energy. If it is then, ok. If getting his wish was so easy, then why can't he suddenly learn destruction as well?

Yay! Monaito! (This really should be a Namekian focused arc)

Granolah reminds me of Zamasu with his attitude a bit. Monaito tells him somebody stronger will definetly appear. Granolah has become like Vegeta and is over confident, so he is destined to get humbled. And think about this. Goku can probably train a bit and surpass Granolah within a week.

Granolah can now sense ki. Meaning he can have the destruction technique or UI, because why not?

Monaito blames himself for Granolah's actions. Its not your fault Monaito! You did nothing wrong! Dont be so hard on yourself.

Whis being a creep and peeping on people lol.

Granolah's hair growing was pointless because he cuts it off soon after. Nothing changed visually. This kinda reminds me of how Moro lost his arm. Goku gave him a senzu, Moro grew it back, & then Moro broke his arm when attacking Goku. Then Moro tore his arm off & reattached his old one. There was no need for Moro to grow his arm back then tear it off. Similarly, there is no need for Granolah to have grown long hair then cut it off.

Maki still brings a smile to my face. She & Gas stand out the most out of the Heeters. Maki's personality is kinda like Zangya combined with a teasing Bulma. Gas reminds me of a Krillin/Piccolo fusion with dreadlocks. I also ship Maki x Gas cause they're short and look cute together. (please don't be siblings so I can draw them together🤞)

Granolah fights Oil & Maki. I'm not impressed. They seem like they could be defeated by Chaoitzu (he's stronger than Raditz and probably Nappa now too). Granolah's movements could be seen as UI. If it is or isn't UI, it doesn't matter. Showing off that kind of power is like Goku using Ultra Instinct during a rematch with Nam or King Chappa. Its not effective storytelling. There had to be a better way of showing Granolah's new strength than making him fight opponents that give him zero challenge.

The art is good as usual and the panel flow is nice. Toyotaro is improving at creating the illusion of motion. The environment being used in the fight was smart and a good visual. Toyo still uses a ton of panels almost every page tho. But he's still a better artist than I am.

Granolah appears to have used Hakai again. Not the explosive variant but the sand variant (yes I think there are 2 ways of using Hakai).

The "Sand Variant" that Beerus & Goku (& maybe Granolah) have used.

The "Explosive Variant" Beerus & Vegeta (& maybe Granolah) have used.

Maki thinks the "Hakai" is magic so that's interesting. I would say I'd like for the next enemy to be a magic user but, we know how Moro turned out... 😓

Maki has "ki claws" & I like the idea but it would be better if she had used it against an enemy she can defeat. It doesn't make her look useful in this fight. Gas seems confident when he is about to fight Granolah, but Elec stops him. Gas would've gotten beaten but it make ya wonder what Gas can do.

Granolah appears to be a person that is easily manipulated and persuaded. He even gave information they weren't even asking for. He'll probably be easily convinced and manipulated by Freeza/the Hedters or quickly have a truce with Goku.

The Heeters plan to go to Planet Cereal to get the Dragon Balls. As I suspected, the Cerealian Dragon Balls were created so that it would be easy for wishes to be granted. Gathering 2 Dragon Balls on a nearby planet instead of gathering 7 on New Namek or Earth. Plus these new Dragon Balls ensures no interaction between Earthlings & Granolah/the Heeters. A perfect way to write Gohan & company out of the story... *sigh* 😔😒

We learn Cerealians live for 2 centuries. How's that compare to other races in Universe 7? Freeza & King Cold apparently can live more than 200 yrs, But that may be because they are mutants. Namekians can live for like 500 yrs & its possible for them to reincarnate themselves too. So in a way, Namekians can live forever. Saiyans stay youthful & live to be in their 80's, but rapidly age when they reach their 60's or 70's. Average Earthlings appear live to be in their 80's or 90's but some are over 100 yrs old (Dr. Briefs, Panchy, & Ox King are in their 90's in GT) and others can increase their lifespan through elixers or the Paradise Herb. Just some thoughts of mine.

Maki says "If he ices Freeza..." Ha, an ice pun. Elec wants to defeat Freeza so he can control his army. Its revealed they wanna kill Granolah & that they worked with Freeza to destroy his planet & race. Well... that more than likely means they're gonna die by Granolah's hand or Freeza's. This info is also an attempt to make the reader more sympathetic for Granolah. Granolah is too bland (pun intended) so I don't feel any more sympathy than I already had for him. Elec plans to make Goku & Vegeta fight Granolah since Granolah hates Saiyans. Smart but we all kinda expected it. Not bad writing tho.

The final panel talks about fate bringing the 3 (Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah) together. Sounds like a repeat of the Broly movie.

We've had 4 chapters in this arc & not 1 panel of Freeza... If Freeza doesnt appear & do something in the next chapter then I will be disappointed in the writing. Showing Freeza here and there would give tension and build up until we get the encounter with him. We also have no idea who Oatmil is. Is he an A.I. or a person? Not that big of a deal yet, but I would like to find out soon. Either show Freeza or tell us more about Oatmil next chapter pleaae

This chapter was like oatmeal (the food not the character) without butter, brown sugar, milk, & honey or raisins. Not bad, but not very good either.

So here's my thoughts on the things that could or could not happen in this arc.

Goku vs Granolah. I don't care for the fight because the power is at a point that it doesnt make sense for enemies to get to without cheating somehow. The fight will look cool but I have no interest in it.

Vegeta vs Granolah will have Vegeta being stomped as always and Vegeta fans will make excuses & complain how it's not fair. A lot of Vegeta fans often make fun of Yamcha & Krillin for getting beat up even though those 2 bravely fight opponents leagues stronger than they are. Vegeta has gotten stomped by opponents more times than Krillin & Yamcha combined but the fans gotta deflect somehow. I don't care to hear or see the complaining again.

The interaction and dialogue between Granolah & Vegeta is going to be more interesting than their fight. But I worry because Toyo isn't the best at writing dialogue.

I have no reason to care about power growth, certain interactions, or Goku & Vegeta's training.

What I am curious about/want to see?

Monaito's well being. I want him to reunite with other Namekians. But I think he's been set up to die.

Lore about the dragon gods & Namekian lore we probably wont get.

I want Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, & others will be involved. Piccolo because of the Namekian & wosh granting dragon lore. Gohan because his interaction with Granolah eould be interesting since Gohan is half Saiyan & views himself as an Earthling. Krillin & other Earthlings because they can bring tensions where characters like Goku & Vegeta can't. Those 2 are too strong for there to be any real tension. However Earthlings aren't all powerful so them using wits to survive is more exciting. But I doubt any of their involvement.

How long a Cerealian year is? Is it shorter than a Namekian year? How much time will pass for the Cerealian Dragon Balls to be active? How much stronger than Granolah will Goku get? Hopefully the answers aren't lazy...

Will Beerus finally fight somebody? There are 6 mortals that are near or above his power (Goku, Granolah, Vegeta, Broly, Freeza, Gohan).

Who's the villian of the next arc & what explanation is going to be given for them having power on the level of Angels? Angel tier fights don't sound interesting to me anymore. After those kinds of battles, Goku will have no challengers left.

Will Goku disappear to train or something so the story can TRY to match up with the EoZ?

Will Goten, Trunks, & Marron hit their growth spurts within 3 yrs?

Will we get spin-off manga about other characters? PLEASE!? 🙏

Also DBS moved too quickly when it comes to power. Now we're at the point that Goku & Vegeta need to stop being involved in fights for there to be any actual threat or tension. The Buu saga took place in AGE 774. After training for 4 years of peace, Goku thought SS3 & fusion was his limits as a Saiyan and he was right. Well, kinda... Goku was introduced to god ki near the end of AGE 778. Then in AGE 781, Goku masters Ultra Instinct... He mastered an Angel technique in 2 year or 2.5 yrs. That was waaaay too fast. As a result the storytelling & writing are suffering from this rushed progress. Now we're gonna have an Angel tier opponent? According to the pattern of DBS, Goku's gonna end up surpassing the Angels within 2 or 3 yrs after learning god ki. Thats not impressive for Goku, that's terrible writing. And no, Goku getting this strong so fast is not a benefit to Saiyans either. It just shows us that without god ki, Saiyans ain't all that powerful unless they're the legendary Saiyan like Broly. Saiyans didn't even have a concept of training until Goku was trained by Earthlings. Gohan, Freeza, 17, & I'm pretty sure Piccolo as well have all surpassed SS3 without the help of god ki. God ki makes Saiyans look like they have limits. With god ki, the writing is broken....

I got off topic again... Anyways that's the end of my review.

#dbs manga review #dbs manga #dragon ball #db #dragon ball super #dbs #edited out the 10 yrs of peace because the original manga never says that

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ashenburst · 4 years

Text

Any Which Way

Mista x Reader, fluff (?), 4366 words - oh GOD do I hate this one and I apologize if it sucks in advance I just aaa had no coherent ideas whatsoever and I was trying to write fluff at the time my brain was screaming angst and - well, it shows. Anyway.

Mista is acting up because you fed the Pistols. Oh no.

When Mista asked you out, you told him his joke was tasteless. When Mista asked you out for the second time, you didn’t feel well enough. The third time, wondrously, your grandmother needed your assistance. He didn’t bother asking you for the fourth time.

It was a long gag running between the two of you, and the run started off wrongly. A marathon ought to begin with a leisure pace, and only by the near end should the contestants accelerate – this method would provide optimal results. Your situation was the exact opposite. Naturally, it did not turn out well enough.

At least for you, because you knew this was a silly mishap, from the beginning to the end. Yes, you may had been mean the first time, but it was an automated reaction: Mista was a jokester, and you enjoyed retorting. Many of the interactions weren’t serious, simply put. You were in Buccellati’s team for around a week and this dynamic had already been established.

So when he casually asked you out, after knowing you for such a short period, you brushed it off with a retort. For a moment, though, you were a mess. To be asked out by a guy this pretty, this… cool? Unbelievable, truly – it was only natural that shock rendered you dazed. Then, you procured a reply fitting to that disbelief you were stunned with: a snarky comeback. Afterwards, he quickly changed the subject, but did not change in behavior. There was no flinch in his voice, no meaningful allusion to the possible date, no, nothing at all. You had a valid reason to believe it wasn’t a sincere question.

And once you borrowed more thought to that matter, logic grounded your idea. You had seen Mista flirt with other girls, which meant he had a social life outside the mafia. This was not surprising, he had quite the unique charm. Therefore, he could certainly get together with people who were better than you.

However, this pondering had a side effect. The gunslinger crept onto your mind, binding your daily reflections into a slow realization that, perhaps, you had a thing for him.

But you didn’t feel bad. If anything, you were glad that he was your friend. Although his company was a gnawing reminder of your growing feelings, at the end of the day, he fulfilled you – and you supposed you fulfilled him too. Not once did he bully you, so you took that as a positive sign. On the other hand, you had a slight bullying tendency towards him. Teasing him was something he always loved to respond to, dramatically, exaggerated, which would cause much laughter to the both of you. In other words… there was no harm done.

The next two times you were asked out held terrible luck to them. You simply could not make it. Upon uttering your excuse, in both cases, Mista laughed, commented, and moved on. Swiftly and comically, just the usual. You were left to rethink the tinge in your heart.

This third fiasco had occurred just a couple of days ago. What remained of it was – null, just some void of reminiscence that irked your daydreaming. Early in the morning, in Libeccio, you couldn’t enjoy your drink. The haziness of your mind did not carry a pleasant undercurrent. You did not know what to make of it, or what to remake of it. You were left to stare at your own beverage, hand on your chin, as your empty thoughts tumbled.

It was quite peaceful. The kind of peaceful you’d see in the first morning classes back in school. People all around you were barely awake, and quietly agreed to bask in the mutual silence.

That is, until Buccellati strolled in. His lively “buongiorno” made you flinch. Where did that energy come from?

The team leader explained himself. He already had a long discussion with some Mario La-something (you weren’t focused enough to catch that) and its result was a mission. You clenched your jaw. This early in the morning? Damn. You could only pray you wouldn’t be picked, you really weren’t in the mood –

But alas, Murphy’s law was in effect.

Buccellati rightfully deduced that there was something going on between you and Mista. Therefore he stated, “I’m sending (Y/N) and Mista on this mission, due to their remarkable chemistry.” Something that was, allegedly, apparent right from the start.

Not only that. Buccellati’s decision was (objectively speaking) great, as your and Mista’s stand were a powerful combo. Speaking of the Pistols, there was the amusing fact that you would die internally whenever you saw them. You surely were looking forward to that, and… cooperating with Mista too. This might work out well.

Someone tapped on your shoulder, making you jump in your seat. Looking at the culprit, you weren’t surprised to uncover his identity. It was him.

“Let’s go, sleepyhead,” Mista urged, wiggling his thick brows. Your smile was inevitable. “Or you’d rather trade places with Abbacchio?” He questioned with a smirk.

“Huh?” You took a glance at Abbacchio, and immediately scowled. He somehow slid so much down his chair that his chin was touching his chest – and he was sleeping soundly. How come you didn’t notice?

“Too bad, you can’t trade places with Abbacchio. Duty calls. Come on, on your feet,” Mista blabbered, which barely worked on your half-conscious self. You let our yet another “huh” which was followed by a disturbed squeak – Mista started pulling you up. You had no choice but to stand up.

“(Y/N) secured, Buccellati!” Mista proudly announced. Buccellati wasn’t too impressed. You, however, were impressed by the fact Mista was so… awake, all of a sudden.

Mista then put a hand on Narancia’s shoulder. “Okay, before we go, Narancia – you know what you’re supposed to do, right?”

The boy had a similar reaction to yours. “Eh? What?”

Mista nodded towards Abbacchio. Narancia grinned. You bit your lip, both grateful and sad you’d miss this. That was how you were brought back to your senses, and how you departed for the task.

Now, the nature of the mission was simple, but it took so long. Until you got there, until you found the exact location, until Mista talked with his Pistols (and you tried to, too), etcetera, etcetera – in the end, it took you hours to complete it. Funnily enough, you didn’t even take out your own stand. So, in your eyes, this was a complete waste of time.

Luckily, with that over, you two were free to go. Not before Mista had a little chit-chat with his stand, praising them all for a job well done. However, he didn’t really get the reaction he expected – instead of the usual one, just a “yay” in unison, the Pistols began asking Mista for a reward. A snack, to be specific. Mista quickly turned them down.

“It isn’t lunchtime yet, everyone, you’ll spoil your appetite,” he explained himself, only for the Pistols to start loudly pleading him for food. Mista crossed his arms.

“Come on guys, have some patience. We’ll go back to Libeccio just in time for lunch.”

It was a solid argument. Did that help? No, not at all. The Pistols were still floating in front of Mista and screaming with their tiny voices about how hungry they were. Their user, acting like the usual tired parent, tried to subdue them – but to no avail. They continued rambling, almost every single one of them, like spoiled children. Because, although did not want to be viewed that way, they truly were children. Even the fact they denied it supported the idea.

But these were no ordinary crybabies. They were sly and awfully intelligent, all while maintaining their characteristic lighthearted aura. Those childish antics? They lead to chaos, sometimes even to brutal honesty.

Mista got to deal with the downsides of that, but you? You would just stand aside. And whenever you did get to interact with those Pistols, you were exposed to downpours of compliments and almost perfect behavior. The brutal honesty? It came in the form of their heartfelt words and actions, as you were able to discipline them better than Mista could ever hope to. They listened to you, which came as no surprise.

Because Mista always played the role of the bad cop. In contrast, you were the good cop. It was only natural – you adored them, you had every reason to.

Taking all of these things into account, you couldn’t help but feel bad for them. You took their side.

“But Mista, they performed exceptionally well on this mission. On an empty stomach! Maybe they do deserve a little something, look at them. They’re desperate,” you made sure to point out. The Pistols approved of their new advocate.

“There’s no way in hell I’m wasting my money on them when we have free food at Libeccio,” Mista said, causing various sounds of disappointment. Even you sighed. He rolled his eyes.

“Come on now, shush, let’s go.” He waved his hand at the Pistols who did their best to ignore that.

“Aww, but Mista, we deserve a reward! You told us we did a great job! And! And (Y/N) agrees!” One of the Pistols was heard clearly. You nodded in approval, which Mista didn’t notice. He was too weirded out.

“What’s up with you? Why are you so persistent all of a sudden? I told you not to do this,” his tone suddenly hushed down. Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. He had no idea how to handle the situation, evidently – the Pistols wouldn’t shut up unless they were fed. It was as simple as that.

You shot another question at him, “And why won’t you let them have a snack, Mista?”

“I think I’ve been yelling my reasons up until now,” he murmured.

“Look, your method isn’t working. They won’t calm down. Why don’t you just give in and basically do the right thing?”

Mista made a disgruntled “eh” to that.

“Don’t be on their side. Just don’t. Please,” he pleaded, irritation lowering his tone. He kept that act of an exhausted father even with you – and this confused you. “Why?”

“Because,” Mista said, then paused, waving his hand towards the Pistols who were already parading in joy, “they’re impossible.”

“Impossible? Them? Ha, I wonder why. Maybe because you aren’t a good parental figure,” you teased.

“That isn’t true,” Mista quickly responded, clearly displeased. “If anything, they’re acting like this because they are a reflection of who I am. I’m not perfect, neither are they, but as you can see, I’m trying to make them… better.” He took a deep breath, and you had to think that, woah, he truly was invested. “I know them the best, because they are me and mine, so the task is on me,” he finished.

To that verbal essay, you simply shrugged. “Yeah, sure. So you know they’ll get quiet once they have what they want.”

Reluctantly, Mista nodded. “They need to be taught patience, though,” he added.

You were quick to counter. “Or do they need to be rewarded for doing great?”

You assumed this fried Mista’s brain because he couldn’t devise a proper response. His face, however, depicted the reply quite clearly – a pout appeared, such a childish move coming from the user of a childish stand. Soon, however, he had to react. The Pistols were getting too excited.

He waved his arms in a surrendering gesture, and almost hit some of the Pistols while doing so… purposefully or not. “Fine, you win. What’s your grand idea for the reward?”

That was where your little snack came in. Something you carried around in case a mission would appear out of nowhere. You once had the displeasure of going on a day-long mission without anything proper to eat. This instance, you weren’t hungry enough for the fruit. “I… can give them my apple,” you suggested. You were sure they wouldn’t mind. Their appetite was so blind, they would eat anything.

Mista, on the other hand, once again acted baffling. His eyes widened after he had heard your offer, and he denied it. “Aw, no, (Y/N) you won’t –”

But you interrupted him. “Again? Why?” Now, why was he so insistent on not letting them eat? Out of all people in the team, he was the most relaxed one. Even if he were trying to lecture the Pistols and set an example for them, he didn’t have to go this far. It was out of character, to say the least.

Strangely, it seemed as if he too was confused – he paused, as a furrow brought his brows together. “That’s your apple. Don’t waste it on them,” he reasoned strictly. Strictly?

You sighed, already removing your backpack. Mista obviously had ulterior motives, but you couldn’t care less. The Pistols wouldn’t be silenced until they had their meal – and not only that, but they deserved it. If only Mista realized that…

Maybe he did? Nevertheless, something was going on in his mind. You looked over to him. He was staring at you, despite the mess some of the Pistols were making in front of him. Number Five was already on the verge of tears. Oh, he was definitely hiding something.

You reciprocated his stern tone. “I’m not hungry, but they are hungry. Who should eat the apple? Them. Seems pretty logical to me.”

At long last, Mista gave up. “Aw, man, there really is no arguing with you, huh?” He waved his head in disbelief. “Alright, have it your way. I suppose there’s no harm done.”

And on that cue, the Pistols all flew towards you, squeaking their gratefulness. They were already in front of your face, telling you how amazing you were and how thankful they were. Just a bunch of overjoyed little gremlins. You couldn’t help but giggle.

“Thank you, everyone, thank you,” you barely managed to utter, overwhelmed with their excitement. You had to stop and stare for a moment there – they were actually flailing their hand and feet in the air, performing a dance of sorts. They were that happy! It warmed your heart, it really did.

So, to reward them. As soon as you took it out, they were decimating the apple.

It looked like carnage. You were about to look away when you noticed something odd.

Did… did Number Three just push Number Five? Were you seeing that well? Yeah, you definitely were, since Number Three was now shoving his tiny hand into Number Five’s face.

“Number Three! Don’t be such a meanie, there’s enough for everyone,” you warned.

He looked up to you, his eyes squinted, then he huffed. “Sheesh, fine.”

“Thank you so much, (Y/N),” Number Five mumbled, his voice high-pitched on the brink of breaking, as usual.

“You’re welcome!” You offered a reassuring smile, and the little stand mustered one too. Your heart was melting. You had to squeal.

That attracted Number Three’s attention. “Ass-kisser,” he grumbled. You gasped.

That was when Mista came in. He stepped by your side, pointed at them, and ordered, “Oi, Pistols, behave yourselves! You don’t wanna leave a bad impression on (Y/N), now, do you?”

Naturally, they screamed a “nu-uh”.

You heard their user sigh. “Just as I thought, whew,” he spoke in relief.

You looked over to Mista, and he mustered a smile.

“You were asking the Pistols what’s wrong with them,” you told him, “but in reality, it’s you who has been acting weird.”

He chuckled. “What do you mean?”

The apple in your hand weighted so little that you had to give it a peek. Or at least, you gave a peek to of its last fragments as they were being devoured. They actually ate everything.

Redirecting your attention back to Mista, you told him what was on your mind. “You’re too… uptight. Relax a little, will you?”

“Ah, that. Absolutely, relaxing straight away!”

His showcase of relaxation was stretching himself. What an incredible way to put his muscles on display – but you knew better than to ogle. To avoid the possibility of being flustered, you looked away. The Pistols were a much more pleasant sight. Sitting on your palm, just enjoying the aftermath of their meal.

“Pistols! It’s go time, come here,” you heard their user’s demand, and you watched as they flew back to Mista. They vanished, and thus, the entire hassle was over with. Thanks to you, it was done so in no time. You almost felt victorious.

That would mean that only you and Mista were left – alone. This wasn’t a problem on your way to the mission, but now, after everything you had witnessed, some awkwardness spawned in the air. It was a shame, truly. You finally had some time alone with Mista and you were getting these weird vibes from him, and they unsettled you. Perhaps for a good reason.

The only way to find out more was through communication. You decided to be straightforward, and did not hesitate to inquire, “Alright, so, what’s up with you?”

Mista jumped, as if it were a gunshot he heard instead of your question. “M-me?”

“Yes, you. Have you seen the number four or something?”

“Ew, no. Why are you askin’ – have you seen it?!” He was already getting panicky.

Probably yes, but unlike Mista, you didn’t bother noticing and remembering them. “Nope. But why are you acting so weird? You okay?”

“What exactly are you referring to?”

“You being way too strict with the Pistols.”

He laughed. “Oh. That stupid thing. It’s nothing. Dontcha worry.”

“I am worried. You seemed too aggravated. Almost as if you weren’t yourself.”

He placed a hand on his chest, his expression that of astonishment. “Now that is what you call a surprise.”

You shook your head in misunderstanding. “What are you talking about?”

He then placed a hand on your shoulder and offered you his tearful answer. “You worrying about me! I didn’t know you would do that!”

You were partially offended by this act because, by all accords, you cared about him, more than he could ever imagine. Mista probably caught the meaning of your grim face, so he let go of your shoulder and talked on.

“Kidding, I know you care. Anyway, yeah, they messed up big time. We had a chat, me and the Pistols, and would you believe it, they act like brats so they could get you to take their side.”

Despite the annoyed façade you put on, you had to laugh. Those sly little gremlins, brightening your mood even when they weren’t present.

“Are they like this with everyone or?” You had to ask – because as far as you had seen, nobody was as privileged as you were.

“Nah, just you. You’re the only one who’s willing to help ‘em anyway.” He put a hand on his chin, completely discarding your sudden smile. “Come to think of it, (Y/N), you’re too… hm…”

“I’m what?” You tilted your head, and he snapped his fingers.

“Nice! I think that’s the right word. You’re just too nice.”

Well, isn’t that a lovely thing to hear. “Aww, why, thank you.”

“Yeah, now listen up, you should really take care! There are bad people out there who can take advantage of that!” He raised a finger in the air to further emphasize his point.

“Err, Mista, hate to break it to you, but I’m literally a member of the mafia. I doubt that can happen.”

“And yet you’re so sweet! Sometimes, at least,” he whispered the last bit, and before you could say anything to that, he continued. “I’m telling you this for a reason. I mean, did you know that the Pistols were abusing your kindness?”

“Not that I was aware, and not that it mattered,” you replied with staggering indifference. Mista, on the other hand, was overly jumpy. This was so odd.

He went from one extreme to another in a handful of moments. The shift was so unusually stark that it left you perplexed. Lost in thought, you didn’t pay much attention to Mista’s future ramblings.

“You get it? You – you didn’t recognize their scheme! They’re acting all whiny because they know you’ll react. As I said, you’re too good… for your own good.”

Did you hear that well? You looked at him with a raised brow. He winked.

That sort of “joke” or whatever it was, deserved only a snort. That’s what you gave him, and he wasn’t pleased in the least.

“Did you just – oh come on (Y/N), why not actually laugh? Laugher is so healthy! It prolongs life expectancy. Or am I really that unfunny?”

“You’re the funniest, Mista, don’t you worry about that,” you told him, and as a reassuring act, pat his head (or at least, his hat). His eyes widened and he smiled after the initial shock. You suddenly became aware of what you did, and you averted your gaze elsewhere to continue your explanation. “I… suppose I am simply confused as to why you are so…”

“Worried?”

“Yeah, I guess, among other things.”

He provided you with an elaboration spoken through the smile you had caused him. “Worried, yeah, I am worried because you’re too nice to some people. You see, (Y/N), just like you, I’m simply confused as fuck. Some people get that nice treatment, and sometimes they’re undeserving of that. I mean, just look at you. You’re so weak for the Pistols. Like… why do you like ‘em so much, anyway?”

You looked over to him with squinted eyes. What was this question about?

He leaned in close. “Are they cute? Or just adorably… bratty? Is that what you like?”

It clicked. It finally clicked.

“Mista… oh, Mista…” You began laughing. This was unbelievable.

You were being such a prick towards him sometimes. It was no wonder why he went crazy once he saw you were actually capable of being so caring and sweet for none other than his stand. His stand! The irony! He must’ve been so jealous, even desperate, to see you side with them and not him.

And if he truly suffered from jealousy, well, only one thing could cause it. The revelation, no, the mere possibility was so wonderful –

“You okay?”

Not at all, but he didn’t have to know that. Shit, you had to do something – but what? Maybe this was the opportunity for you to come clean after all this time, and for him to, finally, admit if he was being serious or not. You took a deep breath and decided to delve deeper.

You took him by the arm, which scared Mista, who yelped. You looked in his dark, so comfortingly black eyes, and the lashes that softened their still gaze – and he looked back into yours with unyielding focus.

“You know the saying: it’s not you, it’s me. Well, in this case, it is you,” you chiefly began, and it was enough to bewilder Mista. “You are jealous of them,” you accused, and it did not go as you expected.

Then and there, he broke into a laughing fit. So much so, that you had to let go of him. You thought that, indeed, this was too blatantly exaggerated – but it was no bad thing! It could still, somehow, turn into something good!

He finally calmed down, and naturally, denied the envy. “Pfft. Me? Jealous of them? That’s ridiculous, (Y/N), very funny, ten out of ten, top-notch humor.”

“Aww, top-notch acting, Mista,” you reciprocated the compliment boldly. Despite that sarcasm, he was a grinning mess, and he immediately moved past it.

“Say, hypothetically, what would you do if I were jealous? Just what would you do?” His question was characterized by some shy excitement, as he darted his focus away from your face, then back at it, in rapid repetitions. And you were buying it. You were totally buying it.

But not to accelerate this suddenly delicate conversation, you continued that teasing tone – although your heart was pounding, mind buzzing. You knew things were set in motion and you had to be very careful about what you said next.

And what was on your mind? Mista, who was standing right in front of you, with that heartfelt and yet undoubtedly cheesy smile; his eyes that bore into yours, expectant, so shamelessly looking for a reply. All of that, such a rightfully overwhelming visage, it was too much – and you bent your head slightly, averted your gaze slightly, and with the same rocky smoothness offered him a truthful answer, “Laugh at you, because… it’s adorable.”

His eyes widened, lips parted – now, perhaps he too was having a whirlwind inside his mind. “You think so?”

“Y-yeah, I mean, I…”

And there you have it, the embarrassment you knew would be your doom. You were so unsure what to speak, what to do, even. Should you just say it? Get it over with –

But Mista just ruffled your hair. “Save it for a better time. Say, are you hungry?”

You swallowed hard. “Are you...?”

“Yes, I am,” he confirmed.

That didn’t make any sense, because, as you recalled… “But… isn’t this the fourth time –“

Mista jumped backwards, utterly and wholly terrified. “What the fuck?! Okay, we’re skipping this one too, sorry, (Y/N), but I can’t do this! There’s no way I’m putting either of us in danger because of a date!” He waved his hands around in what you perceived as comical outrage.

In it, you found some amusement. It relieved you, and relief was what you needed. The aftermath of this conundrum left you with an obnoxious heartbeat, and at long last, it was quieting down. Therein laid some peace, and with it, you garnered a brilliant idea. “And what if I invited you to that date? As… attempt number five.”

And he was shocked. Did it align with his logic? Or was the risk of the deadly number too high?

After what seemed like an eternity of processing, Mista’s expression shifted to that of an overjoyed one. He chuckled, commented, “Honestly? I’m sure Buccellati wouldn’t mind it if we were a little late,” and pulled you by your waist, ready to drag you to that goddamned date.

#definitely not my proudest gamer moment #mista x reader #guido mista #mista #mista headcanon #vento aureo x reader #jojo x reader #jjba x reader

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cheemerthelizard · 4 years

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Crusader of Life 2: Chapter 8

I don’t know why, but putting down summaries of the chapter are really hard on these chapters, way harder than it was for the first Crusader of Life. Please forgive me for not putting one down for this one. It just kind of revolves around Emily, if that helps.

Dio looked down at the body in front of him with a smirk. He’d done it. Jotaro was dead. Now, all that was left was that pesky Lily. Although, he could probably do something much more damaging to her.

“Come here,” he ordered.

“No,” Lily sobbed. “I won’t.”

Suddenly, he appeared right in front of her, grabbing her by the front of her shirt.

“When I tell you to do something, you do it,” Dio growled. “Understand?”

Lily only looked away.

“Do. You. Understand?” Dio’s sharpened teeth were bared.

No answer.

“I don’t take well to being ignored,” Dio forcibly turned her head to meet his eyes. “And you’re testing that statement like I couldn’t kill you in an instant.”

“If you want to kill me, then just do it,” Lily snapped.

“But I don’t want to kill you,” Dio sneered. “I want you to know that I own you.”

Lily looked over at Dio’s hair, which seemed to be moving on its own. Before she knew it, a strand had shot towards her forehead, and placed something in. A flesh bud.

“No!” Lily fought back Dio’s influence as much as she could, for her last moments of freedom. “No! Get out of my head!”

It was another night where Kakyoin couldn’t sleep. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t close his eyes.

“Ngh... mmph...”

Lily was fast asleep, but it sounded like something was bothering her. It looked like it, too, with her furrowed brow and her mouth in a frown, more than just her usual resting face.

“Lily,” Kakyoin whispered, “Lily, wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”

“Noooo!”

Lily jerked up from her bed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. She quickly touched the top of her forehead and sighed with relief.

“Lily,” Kakyoin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You look pretty shaken up. Are you okay?”

Lily didn’t say a word, but the tight hug that she gave Kakyoin was answer enough for him.

“He still haunts my dreams,” Lily whimpered. “Dio, he, he put a flesh bud in my forehead, and, and,”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kakyoin wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “It was all a dream. Dio’s dead. He’s gone. It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

“Mommy?” Emily opened the door. “I heard crying. Are you okay?”

“Oh, Emily,” Lily sniffled. “Yes, I’m okay. I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

“What are you doing up so late, little missy?” Kakyoin got up from the bed and ruffled her hair.

“I was gonna get some water,” Emily answered. “I learned how to not spill with Sunshine. But I think I wanna give Mommy a hug first. When I have a bad dream, hugs make it better.”

“Of course you can give me a hug, Emily,” Lily smiled while wiping away tears. That’s right. She was here. Dio was long gone. He wouldn’t threaten her or her family’s lives ever again.

“Ooh, you’re feeling a bit feverish,” Lily placed her hand on the top of Emily’s head. “Poor girl. This must be why you needed water so late.”

“We can get you to Josuke in the morning,” Kakyoin kissed the top of her head. “Let’s get that water, and then you need to go to bed again.”

“Okay,” Emily murmured. “Goodnight, Mommy.”

“Goodnight,” Lily echoed. “Sleep tight.”

When Kakyoin got back to the bed, Lily was already asleep again. “You’re safe here,” he whispered. “And Emily will be okay. Don’t worry about a thing.”

The next morning, the three of them walked down to the Higashikata residence.

“Hey, Mr. Kakyoin, Mrs. Lily,” Josuke said as he opened the door, then bent down. “Hey, Emily. What do you guys need?”

“Well, Emily’s been getting a little bit of a fever,” Lily answered him, “and we were wondering if you could heal her before it affects her too much.”

“Oh, of course I can!” Josuke patted the top of Emily’s head. “I’m glad you got here before it got worse.” He summoned Crazy Diamond, then had it hold a hand to the little girl’s cheek. In an instant, she was healed. Or, she should have been.

“I still don’t feel good,” Emily groaned. “I still feel really bad.”

Even Josuke looked surprised. “You do?”

Emily nodded her head.

“Uh oh.” Josuke tried again and again, but she still looked sick. “What’s going on here?” he muttered.

“If Josuke’s Stand isn’t healing Emily,” Jotaro suddenly appeared, “it might not be a normal sickness.”

“But I can heal any sickness!” Josuke said worriedly. “What do you mean by ‘not a normal sickness’?”

“What I mean,” Jotaro explained, “is that it could be Emily’s Stand that’s causing her to be sick.”

“Just like what happened to your mother?” Kakyoin asked. “Are you saying that her Stand is getting too strong for her to handle?”

Jotaro nodded his head. “You said that Walking on Sunshine has sometimes exerted its power without Emily meaning to, and you told me that it was getting stronger by the day. I knew that sounded too good to come without a price.”

Kakyoin and Lily’s hearts both sank. Their little Emily, who had so much life to live, who brightened anyone’s day with a smile, could die from a part of her that they couldn’t take away.

“You said her power activated instinctually when she was in danger, right?” Jotaro asked. “It could be that its power heightens when it senses danger, and it knows how dangerous this mission is. But I think the most plausible reason is that she’s been using it too often, giving it a chance to grow faster than she is.”

It took all of their willpower for Lily and Kakyoin not to break down in tears right then.

“Well, I think it’s time for Emily’s nap,” Lily said, her voice a little shaky. “We should be going.”

“Yes, we should,” Kakyoin agreed, sniffling a little bit. “Thanks for trying to help, Josuke. You’re a wonderful kid.”

“I’ll see you later,” Josuke replied. “I hope you get this sorted out.”

“Don’t let Emily use her Stand until we figure out what’s going on,” Jotaro ordered. “I’ll be checking in on her later today, if that’s alright with you.”

“It is,” Kakyoin said. “Thank you so much. Bye.”

The walk back to the hotel was completely silent, aside from Emily’s coughs every once in a while. Both parents were afraid that if they spoke even one word, all the tears would come gushing out. They had to stay strong for Emily.

“Now, it’s time for a nap,” Kakyoin said once they got back to the hotel. “You’re sick, so getting sleep is very important.”

“And Emily,” Lily added, “don’t use Walking on Sunshine. If you use her, you’ll get more sick, and we don’t want that.”

Emily nodded, and got into her bed. “I love you,” she said.

“We love you, too,” Lily kissed her forehead.

“We hope you feel better,” Kakyoin kissed her cheek. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Emily yawned.

As soon as the door closed, all of the tears went past their breaking point.

“She could die,” Lily sobbed. “She could die and there would be nothing we could do about it!”

“It’s awful,” Kakyoin cried. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

The two cried together for a while, but as the tears were drying up, they started looking at it in retrospect.

“Actually, I think I remember something happening when I first got Ace of Pentacles,” Lily said, hoping to reassure one of them. “I was super excited to use her all the time, and then I had a fever for a whole week.”

“Yeah, and you turned out fine,” Kakyoin replied. “Although, I don’t remember anything happening with Hierophant.”

“Well, yours is a different type of Stand, so that’s probably the reason,” Lily theorized. “I’m sure Emily will be alright. I’m sure of it.”

Lily and Kakyoin slowly walked into Emily’s room, making sure the door didn’t creak at all. There, they saw Walking on Sunshine, completely awake, and looking down at her user worriedly. It stroked her hair, placed a hand on her forehead, and hugged her tightly.

“It knows,” Kakyoin whispered. “Walking on Sunshine knows it’s killing Emily.”

“I’m sorry,” it said. The voice sounded similar to Emily’s, but it had some aspects of its own that made it sound distinct.

“There’s no need to be sorry,” Lily comforted the Stand. “You can’t help it.”

“We’ll get this all sorted out eventually,” Kakyoin reassured it. “For now, don’t let Emily use your power.”

Walking on Sunshine nodded, and went back to tending to Emily. Well, as much as it could. Seeing as using its power wasn’t really an option if it wanted Emily to get better, and it wasn’t a long-range Stand, it was tied to Emily’s side.

“Why did that girl summon her Stand before she went to bed?” Kakyoin muttered. “We specifically told her not to use Walking on Sunshine.”

“Maybe she needs a friend to stick by her,” Lily suggested. “After all, there’s no evidence that she used Sunshine’s ability.”

“You’re right,” Kakyoin sighed. “I’m just worried that she’s going to make her condition worse.”

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. “Who is it?” Lily asked.

“It’s Josuke.”

Kakyoin opened the door with Hierophant. “What’s up?”

“Koichi is missing!” Josuke exclaimed. “Recently, he’s been having these interactions with a girl who’s totally obsessed with him, and today, neither of them showed up to school. We think he’s been kidnapped. I came here because if Mr. Kakyoin could find Reina from all the girls in the entire town without even knowing what she looked like, then he can surely find Koichi in a house near the coast.”

“That does sound like a job for Hierophant,” Lily nudged Kakyoin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay here with Emily.”

“Okay,” Kakyoin agreed. “I’ll go.”

“Thank you,” Josuke sighed heavily. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing,” Kakyoin replied. “Just doing my job. I’ll see you soon, Lily. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Lily kissed Kakyoin on the cheek before he left. “Be safe!”

“I’ll be as safe as I can,” Kakyoin half-joked. “Goodbye!”

#oc #crusader of life #diamond is unbreakable #jojo's bizarre adventure #fanfiction #my fanfiction

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prorevenge · 5 years

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Boy meets girl

I often pressed V for information on how she earned income but she would give conflicting answers about grants and scholarships until one day.... About 6 months after our first meeting, she finally tells me and IT. IS. NOT. GOOD. I was interviewing at a professional school when I receive the call, she's in trouble, BIG TROUBLE, and needs my help. She tells me she earns money by doing others' assignments for them. $200 to write a paper and $800 to complete an online class, usually a 100 level introductory course. She describes the method she uses to circumvent the ITs detection of others completing others assignment and how her client wasn't doing his part to copy/paste and submit from his own computer. He is failing the course and blames her. He threatens to turn her in. Her plan is to refund his money and wants me to 'follow him to see if he goes somewhere alone and take his phone' because that has all the evidence of their communications. HOLY SHIT! SHE WANTS ME TO COMMIT STRONG ARMED ROBBERY, a FELONY for her! I'm not going down for this or with her and I know nobody would believe me. ENTER: military experience - if there's no record, it didn't happen. So, I agree to help her, somehow, as soon as I return to town. I go to V's dorm the next night and she shows me EVERYTHING. Her list of clients, their blackboard passwords, how she meets them, how she defends them during honor code violations, etc. So I tell her not to worry, I'll handle everything on the day she refunds his money. Relieved, she goes to bed but before she lays down I ask to use her computer for on assignment and she says "sure do whatever you want". In my state, if you let someone use your electronics, its called "having privilege" and anything you do with their computer which may harm them is legal as if it your own computer. So, I took screenshots of her conversations with her clients, I open google settings and screenshot all the blackboard users and passwords stored on her computer. I go to her messenger and screenshot their conversations. Back home, I compiled our recordings and saved our facebook conversations. A week later, I made up an argument about an upcoming New Years Party and broke up with her. Then sat on the information I had on hand for 2 more weeks thinking about what I should do.

I remembered how she has a history of arrests from high school to freshman year for stealing from outlet malls and selling their loot online. Never formally charged. She, of course, omitted this from her application into professional school. How she admitted "finding a mark" and using them to pass her courses. How she denigrated others who were completing courses through hard work. How she used her position as honor council to get her friends out of trouble while helping to expel others for doing exactly what she was doing. How she cheated on me multiple times, used me, manipulated me, tried to make me commit a felony and ruin my life. SHE HAD TO BE STOPPED.

Knowing she was friends with the faculty on the honor council, they often bought each other gifts, I had to go above their heads. I gave names and descriptions of the events to my program director. He then goes to the honor council, anyway. I was called into the honor council's head office of "Corrupt Administrator" CA. CA tells me I should delete the information I have because it could become a civil matter and I should consider my "self preservation." She schedules another meeting with me a week later. I return and she asks if I want to make a statement about V. Guess what I said, I tell her "no, I deleted everything and I don't remember" because I was in the military and I know how to 'play ball' when superiors tell you to shut your mouth. But the most important reason I decided to not file against V directly was due to the fact I was applying for a military scholarship to pay for professional school. Since I did not follow through, the program director filed an honor code violation complaint against V on a date [suggested by CA]. A month later they tell me their investigation was inconclusive and they will close the case due to the director waiting 1 day too long to file according to the school's academic policy. CA set us up! However, since the director used my name as a source, they must notify V because students have rights to know their accusers. FUCK.MY.LIFE. CA fucked me and ruined any chance for a case against V based on a technicality. Now I fear for my safety because V tried to get me to strong arm rob someone now I just implicated a dozen cheaters who have as much as her to lose. CA schedules a meeting with V and tell her about an ongoing investigation and tells her she will be kept up-to-date. I know the investigation is over and now they are just doing formalities. V requests the information of the investigation and they promise to email it to her. V calls me for support even though we aren't together. She is crying and talking about killing herself. She tells me her dad had been paying for her college this whole time and starts coming clean with other lies. I feel bad and almost regret everything. Maybe she is not a sociopath, maybe she is really sorry. She stays at my house the next few days, I'm watching her trying to keep it together. THEN HER FUCKING CLIENTS START COMING TO MY HOUSE. She is still doing their assignments! She NEVER LEARNS!

Finally she gets the investigation info and there's my name. She calls me 130 times in 3 days, sends her friends to my classes to tell me to come to her house, finally I do. But I don't go into her room because she will trap me. She takes my phone so I can't record. She tries to get me to sign a paper saying I fabricated everything and its all false. I tell V, "They already closed the investigation, you wont get in any trouble why should I implicate myself and get in trouble? It wont solve anything!" And she pleads, "Do you still love me?" I shake my head and walk out. Two days later, police are waiting at my house to serve a 72 hour emergency protective order (EPO) commanding me to stay away from V. I know what she is up to. She is trying to get me to violate the protective order, discredit me, and send me to jail. Its very easy to lie to create one and lie to say it was violated.

NOW ITS NOT JUST REVENGE TIME, ITS WAR

Here's the plot twist: I never really deleted the files as I told CA. TYVM, Google drive.

After the 72 hours EPO expired, another EPO arrives which lasts two years but requires a court appearance. This is a huge problem because I am in the US Army reserves and it requires the handling of firearms which is illegal under an EPO. Her lawyer calls me and threatens me not to "participate in anymore investigations against her" and sends a paper tiger. I get a lawyer, lets name him "Folds like a lawn chair". He tells me "who will they believe: a pretty girl or you?" I fire him. Get a better lawyer, a trial lawyer, called "Miss Badass Esq." and prepare for war. Miss Badass requests a copy of V's EPO from the court. It essentially says I was blackmailing her, threatening to beat her up, and I broke into her room to steal incriminating information against her. All lies. I provide my lawyer the entire history of our relationship: 600 pages of facebook and text messages showing she is the aggressor, the abuser, in the relationship, phone call history, all the recordings and screenshots of her cheating ring. I make a poster sized chart of her room and the events that transpire there the day in question when she tried to trap me into signing a statement taking responsibility for her actions.

Courtdate: We made V and her lawyer look REALLY stupid. They were going with the 'pretty girl' strategy. But the dorm gave us records showing she was signing me in and out of her room, so it discredits the need to break in. The call logs: 130 times in 3 days and aggressive texts showed she wasn't actually afraid of me adn it was her, not me, being aggressive. And when he asked what I had to use to blackmail her, her lawyer said "just some tutoring papers" for which the judge said, "that doesn't sound like anything wrong. What power did that give him over you?" They had no response. My turn to speak, I explain how she tried to get me to rob a guy, how she wanted me to write a letter to take the blame, how she used her position as honor council chair to break state law and violate academic policy. And summarized we were only there because she wanted revenge on me. I watched V and her lawyer stutter and squirm uncomfortably under the judges questioning, case dismissed.

All that information I gathered to defend myself was not going to go to waste. I took it to a newly hired honor council investigator called "Meg" who had no affiliation with V. I told her what CA had done to defend V. A week later, I was told the by Meg there had been a meeting with the school police, the provost, their legal team, then the provost himself decided filed a complaint against V. I had to meet with the police to file a statement about V trying to recruit me to rob someone but other than that I was out of the loop. I later learned the results: V lost her her slot at that school's professional program, her program director yelled at her at the top of his lungs, "YOU WILL NEVER GO TO ********* SCHOOL, I KNOW ADMISSIONS AND I WILL SEE TO IT", she got expelled, her TWO degrees (biomedical engineering and biology with a minor in chemistry) were withheld for 6 years and her transcripts would carry a permanent mention of an honor code violation, her clients who graduated had their degrees retracted with similar mentions on their transcripts, and current clients were also expelled. The school changed its policy on reporting date requirements to like 60 or 90 days. Me? I am in professional school. V had her chance to get away with all of this until she tried to get revenge on me. I reduced this super villain from owning a fleet of beta male minions, being the most connected person in the university, and having a lucrative future in ripping people off in the medical industry to the last time I saw her: riding a fucking scooter.

(source) story by (/u/Apophis1942)

#prorevenge #by /u/Apophis1942 #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #last10

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mariolucario493 · 5 years

Text

A Frozen 2 review no one asked for! (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)

Okay, hear me out. I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but...

I think it’s better than the first one.

I liked the original Frozen just fine. I liked how it depicted anxiety and how it subverted a lot of Disney tropes, but I probably wouldn’t put it in my top ten.

(Which, in case you’re interested, is:)

10. Tarzan

9. Aladdin

8. Beauty and the Beast

7. Frozen 2 (this one!)

6. Lilo & Stitch

5. Wreck-it Ralph

4. Moana

3. The Lion King

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1. Zootopia

(And that’s not even including the Pixar ones.)

But it seems that the general consensus of Frozen 2 is the same as a lot of sequels (especially Disney sequels): that it’s not as good as the first one. Or, dare I say it, that it’s just the first one all over again. But here’s my argument against that. I think being similar to the first one actually works in its favor.

What do I mean by that? Well, after the prologue, the movie opens with a song called “Some Things Never Change,” in which all the characters sing about how happy they are in their current life. Although Olaf worries that change might be inevitable (I love how woke he’s become, btw), no one is really seeking anything new. Now that sounds like the setup for a lot of recent Disney movies, I know. But it's an idea that’s really explored throughout the entirety of the movie.

Every character reacts to change differently. Elsa is nervous, but tries to embrace it anyway; Olaf dismisses it as something he will understand when he’s older; Kristoff feels like he and his friends are drifting apart; and Anna struggles to accept it overall. And we see how each of them goes through it. Even the inclusion of darker themes allows the audience to react similarly to the characters onscreen. Kids probably won’t always understand what’s going on; but they’ll have a good time anyway. And just like Olaf, they’ll understand it when they’re older. That does seem to be one of the major criticisms I’ve seen for Frozen 2, that it’s too dark and too complicated for kids. But Disney’s never been afraid to tackle heavy subjects before, because they know that challenging the audience helps them grow. And hey, at least it’s not Crimes of Grindelwald, right?

I think the reason they made Frozen 2 similar to Frozen 1 was the same reason they used similar themes in Frozen 1 that we were already familiar with - princesses, magical kingdoms, curses, goofy sidekicks. And that’s to deconstruct and subvert them. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that this was an attempt to remind Disney to always try new things, which they have had trouble with recently. Just look at all those live-action remakes that no one asked for. The exact same thing all over again disguised as something new, but without all the stuff that made the originals so good in the first place.

Frozen 2 also continues the tradition of having interesting female protagonists. Well, interesting ANIMATED female protagonists, anyway. It’s not like the Aladdin remake, where Jasmine has a whole new song about girl power, but then she becomes the damsel in distress anyway and does nothing to fight back. It’s not like Captain Marvel, who makes a big deal about being a female superhero even though the Avengers already have several much more interesting female members. It’s not like the new Star Wars movies, in which they’re so focused with making Rey a strong female role model that they forget to give her a personality. And it’s not going to be like the Mulan remake, which I’m just going to assume is going to be another soapbox feminist’s wet dream. Oh, wait, I forgot this is Tumblr, and they love that shit.

But really. Starting with Tiana, Disney’s animated leading ladies have become such well-written characters. From Rapunzel to Vanellope to Judy Hopps to Moana to Elastigirl, they are fully fleshed-out characters first and agenda pushers second. Anna and Elsa are no exception. Elsa battles magical spirits and tames a water horse, and Anna has a crisis of ethics that feels really genuine. All without saying something dumb like “Look how capable I, a female, am in this situation, in comparison to my less competent male companions.”

Oh, by the way, for those of you who wanted Elsa to be revealed as a lesbian, I think we have a few more hints that she may be. She does not end up with a love interest, but I noticed she does seem to get along really well with Honeymaren. So maybe? Definitely better than the live-action Beauty and the Beast, am I right?

Oh, and the songs are great. We get not one, but TWO big numbers from Idina Menzel. Olaf and Kristoff both get new songs that are pointless, but still really funny. Anna has a new song that is one of the emotional highlights. The lyrics are just as clever, and they help further each character’s story arc. Even the lame pop versions of the songs over the end credits, which I usually DESPISE; hearing Imagine Dragons’ cover of “Into the Unknown” was actually pretty decent.

So, those darker themes. The reveal that one of Anna and Elsa’s ancestors was a genocidal tyrant who built the dam as a way to restrict the Northuldra tribe’s resources, and then declared war on them. Pretty ballsy, I have to say. And pretty creative that the villain of this movie is a character who is already dead before the movie even begins. Kind of like Coco, but they don’t even interact with him as a spirit or anything. What I like about this is that it kind of explains why the father in the first movie didn’t always do the right thing when it came to raising his kids. Locking up one of your daughters because she has supernatural abilities seems like a terrible move. But when you consider that Agnarr’s father was also distant from his son and had the goal of suppressing magic, you realize that it may have been a subconscious choice on his behalf. And hey, it’s also revealed that the reason Agnarr left on the ship that would eventually be his grave was to find answers about Elsa. So he probably felt remorse about it.

And now it’s time to compare this movie to today’s political climate. And before you start typing about how I’m wrong like Tumblr users are prone to do, maybe take a hint from the first movie and let it go. This is just my personal analysis.

The Northuldra tribe is clearly inspired by the Sami, the indigenous people of Norway, who have been persecuted for generations. But I don’t know much about Norwegian history, so let’s just compare it to America. Now let’s see...does America have a history of persecuting its indigenous population and disguising acts of war as offerings of peace? Hey, didn’t this movie come out just a week before Thanksgiving?

That’s right, I’m going there. Come to think of it, this whole movie radiates Thanksgiving vibes. It’s set in autumn, and it opens with everyone having a big feast with pumpkins and stuff.

King Runeard is a historical figure within Arendelle, and he is considered a hero. The dam that Runeard built is a monument that is ultimately destroyed by Anna in the film’s climax. And Anna initially refuses to do so because she believes the dam represents all that her kingdom stands for. I might be crazy, but this reminds me of how people are starting to take down statues of Confederate soldiers or how many cities have stopped recognizing Columbus Day as a national holiday, despite others saying that they are important parts of our heritage. One of the lines in “Some Things Never Change” is “Arendelle’s flag will always fly.” Sounds kind of like those conservative nuts who think the American flag is an infallible symbol and anyone who disrespects it (say, by taking a knee during the national anthem) is not a true patriot. Might be grasping at straws with that one.

And what Anna decides to do ultimately makes Arendelle a better place, even though she worries that it will be an unpopular decision. So we have a person in a position of political power who puts aside her own hubris for the good of her people. She asks for nothing in return, and knows that the right choice is not the easy one. She destroys a physical bridge, but builds a metaphorical one. Anna really is the type of leader we need. And if you think that it’s ethnocentric that a white person saves the day for a minority, remember that Anna and Elsa are actually half Northuldran on their mother’s side.

Yes, I believe Frozen 2 is up there with Zootopia as one of the great Disney flexes on right-wing extremists. But it’s subtle enough that we can enjoy the characters, the music, and the story first; and the message second. It reminds us to step outside our comfort zones and to always think about what it means to do the right thing.

If you didn’t like the first Frozen, you probably won’t enjoy this one either. I can understand what people mean when they say the movie throws a lot at you and doesn’t always feel focused on a coherent story. But regardless, I think it is an important movie.

#frozen 2 #disney #review #anna #elsa #olaf #kristoff #sven

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happy-haunts · 5 years

Text

The Hostess

Chapter one | Constance pt.1 : Constance pt.2

Chapter two | Mister Topper pt.1 : Mister Topper pt.2

Chapter three | Madame Leota pt.1 : Madame Leota pt.2

Chapter four | The Hostess

Chapter five | Captain Blood pt.1 : Captain Blood pt.2

Chapter six | Emily DeClaire pt.1 : Emily DeClaire pt.2 : Emily DeClaire pt.3

Chapter seven | Finale

I walked with Red and Constance behind me as I held my lamp up beside my head, leading them to a door that said ‘Cast Members Only’ and upon opening they were flooded with the overwhelming pinks, on my walls were several prominent heroes, princesses, magical girls, and fantasy posters. I had bookshelves filled with books- sitting atop them were the animes, manga, and novels of the characters on my walls if not more, hanging in a closet with black beads as curtains were cosplays and an assortment of pastel clothing, my bed was just a standard queen with regular pastel pink sheets(and a body pillow of a really hot anime girl), and last but not least my pink desk with my tiny chibi figurines, pink desk chair, pink headphones, and gaming set up.

I felt rather embarrassed that Red and Constance had to see this side of me but I attempted not to show it as I took a seat in my desk chair. Constance sat on my bed while Red kept standing- she seemed visibly uncomfortable in my room.

“Okay so pushing aside all of the questions I have about just this...” Red gestured to everything, “Maybe you can tell us how you managed to break Constances’ amnesia? Because that would be helpful in the future.”

“I can tell you that but it might involve alot more context.” I poked my fingers together nervously.

Red sighed and sat beside Constance on the bed, “Fine! Tell us your life story!” Constance gave a smile as she poked the body pillow.

❧

I am a twin, but my sister and I aren’t very close since she tends to be so depressing! She asks me if I want to know when I want to die, tells me the world is eternally doomed, and will sometimes quote outdated jokes from the internet. I’m the opposite to my sister, I read manga, cosplay, do seances in my room at 2am because I desperately want a date even if that means I need to sign a pact with a crossroads demon, and sometimes I actually drink the recommended amount of water in a day. Our home life was normal enough, we lived in the suburbs of California which could be kind of dreary at times with how sunny it is, so when my sister and I received a letter to work in a haunted mansion (TM) you could see how we would jump at the chance! It was a dream job for both of us! My sister would get to do more research in the powers of the undead and I could spend all day reading manga and messaging my devil boyfriend who won’t return my summons.

And that was that, I was sent to Liberty Square to await the inevitable rising of my undead ancestors and make sure they didn’t do anything damaging to anyone in or around the mansion.

When I arrived to the rather well-put together mansion I was greeted by a gentleman named Fletcher Hodges who was there to welcome me to the mansion. “Ah you must have been the Hostess assigned to the Liberty Square branch of Gracey manors?” He extended his hand for me to shake as I accepted it.

“Yes, I heard there would be ghosts...? Where are they?”

“Oh they haven’t risen just yet, but according to our calculations they should be due to show in a couple months - if they show at all.”

“You don’t believe in ghosts Mr. Hodges?” He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

“Not exactly, I know they exist since I’ve conducted many experiments and what I’ve recorded is that ghosts are seemingly everywhere - dozens of people who have unfinished business (or in this case cursed) roaming on a plane parallel to our own, but we are unable to see or interact with them without the aid of technology or a highly remarkable gift.”

“Wait if they can’t interact with us then what is the threat of this curse? They’ll all just exist on their own plane.”

“Ah, not exactly! I was reading up on this type of necromancy in ‘Necronomicon on the go’ and there is a footnote similar to this situation -it states that if an apparition gains the ability to raise the dead then it can have a dramatic side-effect, which may cause the user and those risen to exist in the same plane as us mortals while also having their spectral bodies.”

“Well that could be a problem.”

“And as a descendant of the Gracey bloodline we believe it is your responsibility to care for your elderly.”

“Would they really be considered elderly if they’re dead?” Mr. Hodges waved his hand at me and handed me an envelope as well as a box.

“Lets not get into the finer details, here is your first paycheck - you will receive one at the end of every week, and here is your uniform.”

“How will you know I’m even in uniform?” He looked at me with a stone cold expression.

“We know everything.” I raised my eyebrows - that was disturbing. “Now if you excuse me I need to be in Tokyo tomorrow - so I must get to the airport.”

“Wait, isn’t there anything you can give me? Maybe a spirit wrangling lasso?”

“I’m afraid not, but Leota’s headstone is out back so perhaps you can ask her once she’s risen.” He gave me a wave and walked back to his car.

“Well that’s not very helpful.” I opened the paystub and almost choked $400 for doing nothing in an empty mansion! “You know maybe I can figure something out.”

❧

I wasn’t sure how long it would take for these ghosts to appear - or if they even would - but I got started on my room almost immediately, painting the walls myself and buying cheap shelves so I could save up for the books and figures that I always wished I had enough money for.

I remember a very specific weekend when I was putting together a second bookshelf (I had filled the other one up already)and was out of uniform - it wasn’t anything awful just a pink shirt with fuzzy blue pajama bottoms. I heard a voice coming from the hallway and quickly threw on my uniform before walking out to investigate - but we will ignore the fact that I had forgotten I was wearing pink bunny slippers.

Walking down the hallway was a blue apparition, he shimmered like water, his wavy hair floating around his features.

“Emily?” He called, but when he turned his head he only saw me. “Who are you?”

“The Hostess - who are you?”

“William Gracey, is Emily here? Have I risen her?”

“I’m not sure? Maybe die again and come back later?” He gave me a skeptical look.

“I don’t think I can be killed again.”

“I could figure it out probably, I’ve been watching this show about two brothers who fight monsters and -.”

“I’ll stop you, I don’t care.” He then kept walking - mumbling something to himself.

“Maybe if it hasn’t worked you just need to try harder?” William glanced back to me with a dark glare- his glowing red eyes piercing me.

“Fine, why don’t I just raise the entire graveyard!”

“No, no, no, no!”

But I guess I hit a nerve because he raised everyone...

Ballroom dancers were swaying in the parlor, an undead horse charged down the halls, some guy kept throwing around hat puns and making his head appear in his hat suitcase - it was overall a mess.

“Perhaps this is better?” William smirked and disappeared into the walls.

“What a dick!” I shouted, but I had a job to do ... oh crap I had a job to do. “Well lets start with ... A catalog.” So I grabbed a spare journal and began to catalog all the names of of the inhabitants and a short description of them.

Constance Hatchaway : Attic bride - I walked into the attic to try and find that William guy who made my life 999 times harder than it needed to be, sitting on a chest was Constance.

“Hello? I’m making a catalog of ghosts in the mansion, could I get your name and if you can recall - a brief summary of your life?” She stood up and when she turned to face me I noticed the hatchet in her hand.

“Constance Hatchaway - the Hatchaway bride, I killed all of my husbands in life because they were trash.”

“Mhm, mhm, ma’am please set down the hatchet.” She looked at her hand and gave a little chuckle.

“I’m not going to do anything to you...” She sat back on a chest with her chin in her palm. “I just wish I had made some different choices when I was alive.”

“If it helps you have a whole afterlife to do things that you wanted to before? I can come back to talk more with you after the catalog is done?” She perked up and gave me a warm smile.

“That would be wonderful if you did.”

Hatty : origins unknown - I had begun to notice when I approached the inhabitants of the mansion over time a lot of them couldn’t much recall their lives, most of those in particular were quite old ghosts, I’m talking Egypt ghosts which made absolutely no sense! But the puzzling thing was when I approached Hatty - a rather skeletal looking apparition - he couldn’t recall his name, life, or death let alone recall the room he just came out of. I took it upon myself to just go ahead and write down a name for him, Hatty seemed rather suitable given that was his preferred pun.

Madame Leota : Psychic and Scorceress - When Leota finally appeared in her crystal ball she was rather puzzled, not knowing that she would be buried on Gracey soil -thus immortalizing herself within the curse.

“Just call me the Hostess.” Leota eyed me up and down before finally flashing a smile.

“Alright, so what else is it that you need of me?”

“I’m glad you asked, I need to have more power over the mansion’s ghosts than that William guy.”

“Well if you remain inside the mansion’s property you’re out of luck, I gave him all the powers he desires so long as he died and was forgotten.”

“Isn’t there some kind of loophole you can give me just in case this dick decides he wants to go on a power trip?”

“I suppose I could give you something to ward off his presence in a limited manner...” She made a lantern materialize before me, “When a candle is lit inside this lantern, any control William has over the inhabitants of this mansion will be lifted - as well as William cannot step foot into the light to do harm to any apparitions he may wish to hurt.”

“This is fantastic!”

“I could, however, give you all the powers I possess if you want to make a deal?”

“Nah that’s okay and anyway the groundskeeper has been complaining about not having a light at nighttime, so this can double as his little walking light.” I exited the seance room and began looking through my catalog - so far I recorded 998 ghosts, but I hadn’t ran into any named Emily? Maybe William’s attempt to bring this girl back from the dead really did fail?

❧

I walked along the large windows of the ballroom as I watched the dancers spin in circles, but something outside caught my eye - a glowing specter in the distance.

“I am not about to lose a ghost on my first day.” I grumbled and marched outside, it was further away than I expected - sitting atop a hill of wildflowers overlooking the river that reflected moonlight from it’s surface. “Hey! You’re too far from the mansion property, I’m going to need to escort you back inside until I see about drawing up some travel papers - because honestly I don’t think those hitchhikers are going to stay in one place very long.” I placed my hand on my hip with a sigh - I needed a raise.

“I danced with a boy on that river.” The ghost mused, her hair was a dark violet, skin purple, and wearing a white wedding dress with a matching flower crown that left petals scattered through her hair. “I remember that ... I remember everything...” She turned to face me, her eyes glowed blue unlike all the other ghosts, and on her chest was a bright red beating heart.

“I don’t think I’ve met you...” I mumbled, sitting beside her and pulling out my catalog. “What is your name?”

“Emily DeClaire, what is your name?” She adjusted herself so we faced each other.

“I’m the...” I blinked, my heart tugged in my chest as I was about to tell her my job description. “I’m Tera Normal.”

“Good to meet you! But you aren’t a ghost?” She hesitantly reached out her hands and passed them through my arm.

“No, I’m the Hostess I work here to try and keep all of you contained - seeing as you aren’t supposed to be on this plane but rather the one parallel to us.” I sighed “But William really missed you I guess and is looking for you.”

“Oh dear, well I can help in any way that I’m able!” She clenched her little hands into fists, smiling with determination. “But I suppose first I should go see William if he is missing me that much.” She bounced up in realization, “Oh! Is Mister Topper here too?”

“I don’t have a Mister Topper listed...” I furiously flipped through my catalog, “I have an Ezra Topper?”

“No, that’s just Mister Topper’s brother.” She gave a huff as another startling feeling came across my heart, I felt like it was breaking in two. “I suppose he can’t be here can he?”

“Not if he wasn’t buried here.” Another sharp pain pierced my heart. “But maybe William can sort this out?” Part of the aching lifted.

“Do you really think so?” She smiled at me then twirled into the air, “Okay! we can go see William, maybe he knows how to get my Topper back!”

But once we walked back into the mansion I noticed there was something strange going on with Emily. “So does this Mister Topper have a first name or is it just Topper?”

“Who?” Emily turned her gaze to me now.

“Um, Mister Topper? The guy you’re missing?”

“Topper... Top hat...” She mused- but was overcome when she thought about top hat and began crying. “He lost his head!”

“Whoa, okay what is going on with you?”

“Hurry back!” She screamed as her deafening heartbeat made the walls shake. “Please, Hurry back!”

“I’m right here, Emily...”

“Now look what you’ve done.” William scolded as he walked from the walls and wrapped his arms around Emily- who cried in his chest. “Hush, just forget and all the pain will be gone.” His hand slid over her head making her blink - a smile spreading across her lips.

“I can’t even remember what I was doing again, you must think I’m an air head.” She laughed to William, but tears were still streaking down her cheeks.

“What did you just do?” I hissed to the man, he glared at me - releasing Emily and lifting his hand to her.

“Emily can you give the Hostess and I some privacy?”

“Sure!” She sniffled and began floating down the hall, “I sure am crying a lot today.” William watched her disappear behind a door and then turned his gaze back to me.

“You can’t mention that name to her, where did you even hear it?”

“She told me his name! Are you the one making her forget? What is your problem!”

“It’s for her own good, you didn’t see her when she first came back ...” He closed his eyes and sighed, “She can’t remember, just trust me.”

“Well forgive me but I don’t trust you.” I lifted my lantern, reaching into my pockets to find some of the matches I stowed away.

“What you’re going to blind me?” He laughed and made a fist, slipping the hallway rug out from under my feet and knocking me to the ground, I clutched the lantern against me to keep it from breaking- William approached me now, I began crawling backwards in a panic. “I know, how about I have you join the mansion? We are just dying to have you!”

“Or you can shove it six feet under.” I lit up the match and ignited the lantern - shining it on William which pushed him backwards, I could see he was annoyed.

“Fine, you can do whatever it is you do - but leave Emily alone as well as make sure no one interferes with her memory, or there will be deadly consequences.”

“Just keep making death puns, I can sit here all day.” His cheeks glowed with a dark blue as he turned away and walked back into the wall. “He is SUCH a dick!”

❧

I sat at my desk and kicked my feet in my chair, Red and Constance looking at me with great interest. “Fast forward to today I had come across Hatty being crazier than normal, and whatever had been pushed on Hatty was spreading into the other ghosts - they didn’t seem to remember who they were or who I was! The ballroom ghosts were in a panic because they all forgot how to dance, and the Quartet forgot how to sing! So I lit my lamp and decided it was time to find the source - I ran from room to room till I came across you two! And now I know why the mansion is acting strange- because you two are prying into ghost business and William doesn’t want you to.”

“Well someone killed Emily and we think the murderer might *be* William, which means we need to confront him.” Constance had determination in her glowing yellow eyes, “Emily deserves better than to be played like a puppet.”

“Enough.” Came a deep voice, I turned quickly to my lamp to see the nub of my candle was out- the flame had been doused by the wax. “If you are all so curious to have a conversation then lets talk!” The voice boomed and my figurines were thrown across the room making me scream, books flying from the shelves, floor shaking, and lightbulbs bursting leaving us all in complete darkness other than the three glowing bodies before me.

Wait.

Three?

There he was, the first ghost I had laid eyes on when the mansion came to life.

“William?” I whispered in disbelief, Red seemed to be unaffected by this as though she might have guessed.

“What? Cat got your tongue? I thought you wanted to talk.” He grinned.

#ghost hostess #the haunted mansion #disney world #disneyland #wdw #madame leota #the hatbox ghost #emily declaire #we wants the redhead #Constance Hatchaway

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thesanguinerose · 4 years

Text

Week One Apprentice April Asks

I wanted to post the remaining asks for my boys, so here you go!

Questions already answered are linked. Also RIP to mobile users. I’m so sorry.

For Rory:

1. The Basics. What is your character’s name? How old are they? How tall are they? Skin color? Eye color? Hair color? Gender identification?

Riordan “Rory” Enda Tanner is 26 years old at the start of the game. He was born April 11 (Aries), and is trans (he/him only, please). He does identify as gay, though he has been known to have some wiggle room - rare as said wiggle room is. He stands at a towering 5’2” (though he wears heeled boots 99% of the time so really everyone sees him at….5’5”), is incredibly pale and rosy and freckled, has green eyes, and brown hair that’s usually pulled back into a ponytail or braid. Sometimes he leaves it down, though, and it is close to waist length. He likes to wear silver earrings (cuffed up to his cartilage), and his colors are Navy, Cream, and Silver. He made his own binder by developing a modified stay, though his build is slight enough that he doesn’t require it all the time. His general outfit is a white undershirt, with the sleeves rolled up, his modified stay, a navy vest/jerkin, and brown trousers and boots. Fairly simple and standard. Doesn’t garner much attention. He also cannot see very well and has circular spectacles. However, due to his clumsiness, Rory keeps them on a chain in case they fall from his face. Which they do. Frequently. (Further outfit info can be provided on request for pre-death/masquerade/etc purposes if interested!)

2. Love Interest. Who does your character love? What attracted them to that particular LI?

Answered here

3. Familiar. Does your character have a familiar? How did they meet?

Answered here

4. Hobbies. What kinds of things does your character like to do for fun?

He likes to sew. One of his passions is designing and sewing together outfits or finding fun ways to design practical clothing items. He makes all of his own clothing and post-game experiments with many different kinds and colors of fabrics. He also enjoys writing - mostly journal entries as he doesn’t want to forget any other aspect of his life from now on. Also enjoys horseback riding and general tomfoolery!

5. Hidden talents. Is there something neat that your character can do? Tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue? Say any word backwards perfectly?

SFW - He’s a very good dancer, though usually just when others aren’t looking. He is also a fan of sleight of hand tricks, using magic or just by being slippery.

…..he has some NSFW ones, but those are available upon request ^_^

6. Magical talents. Is there a specific type of magic that your character excels at? Any magic they aren’t so great at? Or do they actually shy away from magic altogether?

Rory has some natural talent and some learned. Naturally, he is adept with fire based magic, and prophetic divination, most of which is involuntary. He is also prone to emotional outbursts that result in items being broken/people being hurt. Learned, he excelled at alchemy, illusion, and magical theory. He likes the balance and physicality of alchemy, versus the creativity and freedom of illusion, and how they play into one another. Most of his learned magic was lost, but Asra retaught him a bit of it :)

7. Interaction. How does your character typically interact with people?

Answered here

8. Romance. What is something that your character and their LI love to do together? How do they show affection?

With Julian, they like to go on adventures. The more places they can go, the better. They are also both very good at surprising each other with events, gifts, vacations. Sometimes, just the simple things like making breakfast in the morning, or a comforting hug after a bad day. Rory primarily shows his affection with words and actions - he is very much a fan of telling people that he loves them and why, and wants to hug and touch as much as he can. He requires the same, though usually the words are the important part, especially as his insecurities show up. He just needs reassurance that he is loved, and he is glad to provide the same as is needed.

9. Travel. Does your character like to travel outside of Vesuvia? How often? For how long? What kinds of things do they do away from home?

Now he does. He was raised on a farm in a small village about a week’s travel southwest of Vesuvia. He ran away from home at 18, stayed briefly with his aunt in Vesuvia, went to school in Prakra for magic, then returned to Vesuvia to help his aunt with her shop. Up until his death, however, he stayed within the general city limits. Once he is brought back, he stays at home up through end-game. At that point, he and Julian travel all over the world, for months at a time, especially once they get Julian his own ship. They regularly travel to Nevivon and galavant across Prakra, but always return home to Vesuvia. Every trip means a new place that Rory hasn’t seen, and if Julian hasn’t been there, either, all the better!

10. WTF. Has anything just…weird ever happened to your character? Something that made them stop and go “What just happened?!”

Answered here

11. Crime. Has your character ever been arrested? If so, what did they do? Have they ever helped stop a crime?

He’s never been caught ;) See Question 10 for stopping crimes, though that hardly counts, doesn’t it?

12. Secrets. What is a secret that your character has? Are they in line for the throne in a far off land? Was there this one time at band camp…? Are they secretly involved in an assassin’s guild?

Answered here

13. Overcompensation. Is there something that your character just HAS to do better than anyone else? Or are they just that dang good without trying? If they see someone else showing off, what is their kneejerk reaction?

Answered here

14. Fight Club. Is your character a good fighter? What kind of skills do they have?

Answered here

15. The Arts. Is your character a creative type? What kinds of things can they create? Can they act? Street perform?

He can sketch! Not well, and not people, but he likes to sketch out landscapes and plants. Professional Doodler ;) He also does stage magic and sleight of hand for fun, and has been known to do some work down at the community theater. He can sing, but he’s a better dancer, preferring to let his body do the talking for him. Wishes he could play an instrument, but for everyone’s sake...best not to let him near one!

16. Goofy. Is your character a clown? Do they like to make people laugh?

Answered here

17. Language. Is your character multilingual? How many languages do they speak? Do they have an accent? Is it sexy? Is it silly? Do they have a multilingual lisp?

Answered here

18. Embarrassment. What is something really embarrassing that your character has done/said?

Honestly, when he first went to Prakra, he was a bit of a bumpkin. So just his overall reactions to being in a metropolis, plus his shy demeanor, led him to act in some embarrassing ways around people he wanted to befriend. In game, Rory is notoriously clumsy, not quite used to his limbs, like a young colt. He laughs off his embarrassment, now, at least!

19. Memory. Has your character gotten any of their memory back? If so, what? Did it change them?

Not properly. When he became strong enough, Asra gave Rory back his old journal, which documented Rory’s life from the ages of 16 to 22, when he died. Rory can’t read it for too long or, yes, the headaches start. So instead of getting his memories back, he just sort of re-reads what his life was from the point of view of someone that he...quite simply doesn’t relate to anymore. But it’s good for him to know, he thinks. To see what he was like, and to avoid making similar mistakes. It does inspire him to make his own journal, and to keep track of his days so he never loses another moment again.

20. Family. Talk about your character’s family. Who were they?

Answered here

For Riley

1. The Basics. What is your character’s name? How old are they? How tall are they? Skin color? Eye color? Hair color? Gender identification?

Riley Aeron Tanner is 24 years old at the start of the game. He’s a Virgo, born September 17th, and is cis, using he/him pronouns. Highkey a bisexual disaster who doesn’t quite know what to do with all the feelings he has, and also pretty oblivious to people liking him! He’s 6’2” and built like a brick shithouse, warm skin-toned, easy to tan, but still very clearly pale. He has brown eyes and dark brown hair, which he tries to keep short, but he’s not very good at cutting it, so it sometimes hits near chin length. He can be found wearing very practical clothing that makes it easy to move as he does a lot of stocking/lifting/errand running for the shop, as well as odd jobs around town. Also very earthy in his tones - lots of greens and browns and oranges! He’s also not incredibly hairy, but he does have a fair amount of body hair - including a full beard, which he tries to keep neatly trimmed. Unlike his brother, he can see without glasses, so any accessories would be practical - a bag, tools, and the like.

2. Love Interest. Who does your character love? What attracted them to that particular LI?

Answered here

3. Familiar. Does your character have a familiar? How did they meet?

Answered here

4. Hobbies. What kinds of things does your character like to do for fun?

He likes to play the lute, go for walks outside the city, and people watch. He’s definitely a people person and his favorite is going into the marketplace and just complimenting people on their wares, or drawing the animals he sees running around. And just being an all around good guy...Those are hobbies, right?

5. Hidden talents. Is there something neat that your character can do? Tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue? Say any word backwards perfectly?

Answered here

6. Magical talents. Is there a specific type of magic that your character excels at? Any magic they aren’t so great at? Or do they actually shy away from magic altogether?

Honestly, Riley isn’t good at magic at all. He’s never shown an affinity for it, and it’s never been that big a deal to him. In his canon, Rory dies when Riley is 15, and so he pursues magic as a way to honor him, even if it’s hard. He gains an affinity for Green Magic and enjoys tarot, but he still isn’t particularly good at either of them. After he is brought back, of course, this changes, and his magical powers develop very quickly.

7. Interaction. How does your character typically interact with people?

He. Loves. People. He’s like a big puppy - loud and excited, kind and helpful, constantly the life of the party. He tries to help people in need whenever he can, and if he ends a conversation with the other person grinning, then he has succeeded! Generally well liked, but not smug or rude about it. He’s just a good dude!

8. Romance. What is something that your character and their LI love to do together? How do they show affection?

With Portia, they like to go on adventures together either in real life, or in their books. He likes it when she reads to him, and he likes to read to her. He likes to surprise her with events and little shows of physical affection - neck kisses, spinning her around, humming into her ear, massages after a long day. He likes to doodle her - though he is so upset that he can’t catch her likeness in his stick figures, not properly. Riley also serenades her - out in public or in the privacy of their home - doesn’t matter!

9. Travel. Does your character like to travel outside of Vesuvia? How often? For how long? What kinds of things do they do away from home?

He doesn’t travel very often. He’s stayed in Vesuvia since he moved there at 15, so I guess you could say he’s a bit of a homebody. He will travel occasionally, especially if Portia wants to, and is open to adventure, but it doesn’t occur to him to leave unless someone else suggests it.

10. WTF. Has anything just…weird ever happened to your character? Something that made them stop and go “What just happened?!”

Answered here

11. Crime. Has your character ever been arrested? If so, what did they do? Have they ever helped stop a crime?

Riley is generally pretty lawful good, though in both Rory and Riley’s canons, he does take up with a small militia to fight some of Lucio’s men. I suppose that was a crime, though I would argue the validity of that claim. He’s stopped a robbery or two in the past, but he generally tries to stay out of trouble.

12. Secrets. What is a secret that your character has? Are they in line for the throne in a far off land? Was there this one time at band camp…? Are they secretly involved in an assassin’s guild?

Answered here

14. Fight Club. Is your character a good fighter? What kind of skills do they have?

Yes. He can punch, he can throw, he can swordfight - He’s just very good at fighting. In canon, he is a practiced fighter, and in most AUs, he has done boxing or wrestling in addition to weightlifting. Boy can Fight!

15. The Arts. Is your character a creative type? What kinds of things can they create? Can they act? Street perform?

Answered here

16. Goofy. Is your character a clown? Do they like to make people laugh?

Answered here

17. Language. Is your character multilingual? How many languages do they speak? Do they have an accent? Is it sexy? Is it silly? Do they have a multilingual lisp?

Answered here

18. Embarrassment. What is something really embarrassing that your character has done/said?

Asra tried to tell Riley he loved him once before Riley’s death, and Riley just said, “Oh, wow, buddy! I love you too!” because he didn’t realize what Asra meant. Once he did realize, it was deeply embarrassing for both of them and Riley felt really bad about it.

19. Memory. Has your character gotten any of their memory back? If so, what? Did it change them?

He hasn’t. But maybe it’s better to forget, y’know? He can move forward instead of looking back on what he lost.

20. Family. Talk about your character’s family. Who were they?

See Rory’s answer for most of this. The only difference is the dynamic. Riley was raised as the “perfect” child in contrast to the abuse Rory faced, and so developed a weird complex around being “perfect”. He was spoiled, though did not want to be, and was uncomfortable with it. He also looked up to his older brother like he was made of everything good in this world - Riley wanted so much to be like Rory.

#apprenticeapril #long post #rory redacted #riley redacted #i'm so sorry this is so long #and the formatting probably got messed up #al;skjflajd #the arcana game #uhhhh #have fun with these

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brieannakeogh · 5 years

Text

I’m Not Her- Ch 1

So the start of my angsty Bucky fic. No summery until chapter 2 b/c really it would just be this chapter condensed.

Master List

Warnings- Violence, sad Bucky.

Chapter 1

Bucky had been training for months. He finally felt ready to help with missions and Steve agreed. The rift between Steve and Tony took a while to heal. Bucky didn’t blame Tony, he understood how he felt, but he wasn’t willing to give up his life or Steve. Honestly he was surprised when Tony called them. Some big bad was trying to take over the world and in the process of defeating it the rift was somewhat mended. Steve and Bucky got to go home to New York, well upstate New York. Steve started right back up as the leader, but Bucky couldn’t work well with a team. He had been alone for 70 years, never relying on anyone else. The only person he trusted to watch his back was Steve. So he trained, and trained, and did lots of group mock missions. Finally he thought he could do it, work as part of a team. He should have known better.

It was his first mission being part of the Avengers. It was supposed to be simple, easy. A couple of enhanced were robbing a bank. Steve was lead on it, but stayed back on a rooftop observing, being the eyes and ears.

“Buck, you and Nat take the back entrance. There are two guards, non-enhanced, at the door. Nat can get through the window above with a boost and then let you in. Sam, I want you at the front entrance creating a distraction with the enhanced. We don’t know what they can do yet so just talk to them. See what you can find out.”

“Aye aye Captain.” Sam calls through coms and Bucky hears him start to chatter loudly through the front door of the bank.

Nat nudges him, and points to follow her. They get around to the back entrance and there is a small window about 20 feet up. Bucky bends low as Nat comes running at him, pushing her off at the last moment. She scales the wall gripping the edge of the window with her fingertips. She is through the window and opening the door in less than five minutes.

He walks past two unconscious men and a smirking Nat. Ducking around a corner staying low and quiet, gun drawn up, Nat moves behind him in the same position. Technically, for his first mission back, he is the one in charge to make the calls, even though Steve is overseeing the operation. It’s as much of a test as anything.

Bucky can see the hostages around the doorway he’s hiding behind. They have them huddled up together in a corner. The only civilian that isn’t with them is a teller that is getting the money from each till and putting it into their bag.

“I’ve got eyes on the hostages. They are all out of the way but one, for now. Birdbrain I need to know what they are packing before we make a play.” Bucky says into coms.

Sam starts yelling and waving his arms wildly trying to get both of their attentions. It was a man and woman team, both on the younger side and seem to be new to their power from Bucky’s guess. They didn’t seem very confident. The guy was interacting with Sam, but the woman had kept her eye on the teller and the money. From their position they couldn’t see the other hostages clearly so he made eye contact with Nat, pointing at the hostages and doing a little circle motion in the air and pointed to the exit. She nodded and went off around the side to gather them up and lead them out the back door.

When Sam started going off, it distracted the woman, eyes darting between the teller and the front door. On one of these distractions he caught the tellers eye and hers went wide as he put his finger to his lips. He indicated to keep doing what she was doing, but help was here. She nodded and went back to putting money in the bag.

All of a sudden Bucky heard a crash of glass, and looked up to see the woman striding towards Sam with her hand out. Sam was knocked on his ass, glass from the doors and front windows scattered around him.

Bucky muttered a curse, coming out from his position with his gun drawn. “Leave him alone lady.” He shouts to her. Steve is in his ear asking what’s going on, but he ignores him.

“You know I’m so tired of you so called ‘heroes’ mucking up everything for us.” She turns to face Bucky. The guy goes to stand over Sam, arm held in a similar position. “My brother and I just needed a little extra cash to get us through winter, like a Christmas present, but no you couldn’t even let us have a little fun.”

A blast of air is shot out of her upraised arm and the wind is knocked out of Bucky, his gun sliding across the floor as he lands on his back. “Nat, we’ve got force users. Where the fuck are you? Get that teller out now.” He growls.

“Kinda busy Barnes. Three non-enhanced covering the escape route. Civies are out though.” She answers, huffing out with grunts interlaced in the words.

“Get ready.” Sam says quietly into coms and Bucky sees the little drone, that Sam has a cutesy name for, come out of nowhere knocking the guy off his feet. Sam is on top of him quickly, neutralizing him.

Bucky sees the woman turn to Sam and her brother, so with a shout he’s running straight at her, going for a tackle. She turns back to him, arm raised and another blast of air is released, but he doesn’t get thrown back. The girl, the teller, intercepts it. Taking the full force of the blast. He watches her go down, a bit of blood trickling out her mouth. The enhanced woman seems just as surprised, so he takes that opportunity to grab the knife from his boot, throwing it and hitting her square in the chest.

The thunk sound echos as he runs to the girl that kept him from getting hit. He sees the softball sized crater in her back, about half an inch deep. He knows she won’t survive, but calls Steve for medical evac anyway. Lifting her front to lay in his lap, he sees she’s still conscious, eyes blinking up at him where her head is turned to the side. He moves the hair from her face, taking in her features, she had her whole life left, young, pretty, why would she do that?

That’s exactly what he asks. “Why doll? Why did you take the hit? I could have survived it.”

“But...you’re Bucky...hurts...no...hurts.” She wheezes out, the blood filling her lungs even as she smiles at him. His heart stutters, she knew who he was and stepped in the way anyway. He whispers pretty lies to her as she lays there dieing. She gripped his hand so tight, he thought for a moment she might be super, but soon her hand slacked and he couldn’t hear the bubbling from her lungs.

The EMTs declared her DOA, ten minutes after the blast happened. Bucky didn’t want to release her body, still trying to feel for a pulse when Steve laid a hand on his shoulder. Steve could see the cracks that it left behind in his friend’s soul even months after the incident. He had thought he was getting the old Bucky back, but after that Buck went cold. Pushing through mission after mission, never looking at the casualty list, only referring to them as statistics. While during the war that was what they needed to do to keep their head on straight out in the wilderness and the cold, this wasn’t WWII. Steve tried to get him to stop, see someone, but Bucky knew what words to say to get his friend to let him keep at it.

Bucky dove head first into his work. If he couldn’t save her, he would save everyone in his power. Hoping the sheer count of lives saved against hers made up for it. It was six months after that he saw her again. Walking on the streets of Brooklyn, he passed right by her. He knew it was her. It was the same face he saw every night before bed, and every morning when he got up. After he got over the shock, he turned to find her in the crowd, but she wasn’t there. He spent an hour walking up and down that street and alleyways to no avail. Of course when he told Steve what he saw, he wanted to send him to the shrink again. He knew what he saw. He wasn’t crazy. When he saw her again two weeks later in a coffee shop, he didn’t bother telling Steve about it, and the fact that he couldn’t get there in time before she disappeared again had nothing to do with it.

The apartment in Brooklyn Bucky got, not long after the incident, was cozy, to say the least. Tiny one bedroom apartment with a bathroom, kitchen and living room. Tony had offered to get him something else but the last thing he needed was an even more guilty conscious by taking Tony’s help. He just couldn’t stay at the Avengers base anymore. The looks he was getting were driving him crazy, well more crazy if you were to believe Sam. So the fact that he kept seeing her pop up all over his neighborhood in Brooklyn wasn’t doing him any favors.

He started to think he might be crazy, until he ran into her again, literally. She was exiting a local bakery as he was trying to enter. It would be a good meet cute if she wasn’t supposed to be dead.

He helped steady her, picking up the little brown bag she dropped, filled with pastries. Getting finally a real clear look at her, as his arm extended offering her the bag. She was bigger than he remembered, but that made sense if she was in recovery all this time. Had Steve lied to him? Tony had said he looked at the autopsy report, even told him when the funeral was. He was on a mission out of the country at the time, but how was she standing here?

His voice came out cracked and raw as he said the name he had memorized on her file. Her eyes widened, jaw working without any sound coming out. He sees her eyes well up as she speaks.

“That was my sister.”

Who would have thought I would post 2 different things in a day? This will get dark, but of course what is one of my slow burns without some banter thrown in. So kinda expect the gambit.

Tags open.

@katykyll, @avengersrulez1536, @ultrafreespirit, @wantingtobekorra, @i-had-a-life-once, @boyfriendsarebetterinbooks, @ghostssss, @babybeluuga, @bodhi-black, @kanupps06, @hatterripper31, @grandloser, @reniescarlett, @kjidhzyx, @normanreedus5150, @ilovethings-somuch, @spiderman-2013, @bloodyvalentine93, @xx-raven, @passionghost, @r-avenclaw, @prettybubblesintheair, @averyrogers83, @stevieang, @albinotigerpython, @ria132love, @whom-the-fack, @paintballkid711, @lilypalmer1987, @the-strandedgypsy, @serenaphoenix81, @theonelittleone, @spidey-babe-parker

#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x plus size reader #plus sized reader #bucky barnes angst

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aliceslantern · 5 years

Text

Beyond This Existence: Counterpoint, chapter 15

Summary: After being recompleted, Ienzo vows to do everything in his power to atone for the atrocities he committed in the past. But this life hasn't been easy, and he's plagued with memories and nightmares. When Demyx suddenly reappears, the two discover that they have more in common than they thought, though the secrets in their past might tear them apart. Zemyx (Demyx/Ienzo), post kh3 Read it on FF.net/on AO3

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Ienzo made himself eat. He cut one of the white pills in half and took it, flinching at the bitter taste. He set a timer for the three hours, took the small hand mirror from his bedroom, and crossed back to Demyx’s room. He sat at the foot of the bed.

Mirrors and reflections always made this easier in the past. What else was an illusion than a reflection of hopes, or fears, or memories?

Ienzo leaned back against the bed frame. He waited some time for the medication to take effect, trying to keep his thoughts orderly and calm before proceeding. He didn’t think he would feel anything, but after about twenty minutes or so a vague tingling started in his extremities, and his vision became woozy. He was convinced that Even gave him a sleeping pill rather than a painkiller or nerve block, but the sensation wasn’t like drowsiness. The walls seemed to have no straight edges. His breaths felt foreign.

Ienzo picked up the mirror. There was his own face, clear as day. He shut his eyes.

Magic, aside from the most complex glamour, had always come easily. He understood now more than he had before how deeply Demyx grieved the loss of Arpeggio. Dark or not, this power had been part of him. His control over the illusion was a projection of the loss of control he’d had over his own life. Manipulating others had been the easy way out.

No more.

He took a deep breath, and let his memory drift back. Surely the utter clarity of his own memories was a sign he could still work with others’.

In the beginning, those first numb and horrifying weeks as a Nobody left him overloaded to the point of silence. Xemnas took Ansem’s role as their leader seamlessly, down to the name. At first it seemed clear to them that they would continue their experiments, albeit with a pool of participants all the World over. But Xemnas--Xehanort--had a larger goal in mind. Kingdom Hearts. To get there, they needed Keyblade users. So they were sent out into the World to try and find them. Heartless hunted him mercilessly, figuring due to his small size and fragile nature he was easy pickings. He returned badly wounded more than once before his power manifested.

Heartless, after all, were easier to fool than people. Give them a decoy and they’ll chase after it. As he grew, physically and mentally, so did his power. His illusions deepened, took on the ability to also interact with the senses. It was all perception, of course, entirely artificial. He found he could sense the memories of others, could build these memories in real time.

His own memory was easiest to work with. He straightened his spine.

Remember. And create.

Perhaps an emptier room would have been a better starting point. He imagined his other bedroom, from the Organization. The barren gray walls. The cold metal floor. The bookshelf packed with volumes with identical spines. The window out into the Nobody city, how it always had its own damp sticky scent. The feel of the black coat against his skin, soft and supple.

Despite the medicine, he could feel hollow echoes of pain gnawing hungrily. Ienzo touched the space below his nose--still dry. He opened his eyes.

The space in front of him had changed. The surge of relief he felt was nearly enough to shake what little illusion he’d built. It was an imperfect manifestation--things seemed to twitch in the corners and in some spots he could still see Demyx’s real bedroom peeking through, as if through a veil. But it was something.

He stood slowly, dizziness battering him. He approached the mirror above the dresser hesitantly, aware that Zexion’s room had been bigger and he likely hadn’t yet regained the ability to manipulate spatial perception.

Ienzo looked at himself--and flinched. Zexion stared back. He could feel his human clothes, but what he saw was the cloak.

“It’s over now,” he said to himself.

“Is that what you think?”

The reflection in the mirror moved with him, but the voice in his ear was definitely his own. Ienzo turned away. The facade of the cloak melted away, leaving him in his apprentice garb.

“Clever, clever Ienzo,” said the voice. “You should’ve realized that you’re not immune to your own manipulations anymore.”

Ienzo scowled. “You are a poor projection of my own guilt. I don’t need you anymore.”

“I’m not too sure about that. Come here.”

The illusion pitched and pulled. He found himself standing in a cold dark room in Castle Oblivion. A large and familiar book was in his hands. “So this is what you are,” he said. He looked down.

The color was no longer a sage green, no longer adorned with the Nobody insignia. It was a soft blue, with an artistic rendering of a heart.

“Old friend,” Ienzo said. “You’re different.”

“You do see why I haven’t come sooner?”

“I believe so. But do elaborate. It’s not often I can converse so clearly with my own subconscious.”

“You had to begin to forgive yourself. You had to accept the love you were given. Steep costs for you.”

Ienzo frowned, disappointed. “I’ve done it, then?”

“You may have a complex mind, but your heart is no different than anyone else’s.”

Ienzo stroked the soft cloth cover. It was an odd sensation, familiar-yet-not, like so much of this life. “So he was the key.”

“It didn’t necessarily have to be him. It could have been any love. Familial, platonic. This just so happened to be first.”

“Can I still help people?”

“That’s up to you.”

Ienzo opened the book. The lexicon had always been infinitely useful. Its pages seemed numbered, but the content was completely under his control. Whenever he read or wrote something, it could be accessed inside forevermore. He could access memories. Data.

The inside of the front cover was written in ink. Property of Ienzo, age 8 . He remembered that birthday Ansem had given him a fountain pen and he’d been incredibly proud of it. The handwriting looked similar to it had back then, an attempt at neatness and maturity, falling short.

“Was Even right?” he asked slowly. “Will this risk my life in the process?”

“All power has a cost. You know this.”

Ienzo stared down at the lexicon for several moments. There simply wasn’t time to parse this out properly. He had no idea how much of his three hours he’d already spent. Time he was wasting. Time that trauma could be eating Demyx alive. And if he were to do nothing , and Demyx were to lose the will to live, what then? Could he ever forgive himself? He might as well kill him with his own hands.

“Do you want this power back?” the lexicon asked.

“I cannot let people keep suffering.”

“Then there’s something we have to see.”

The pages of the lexicon shifted of their own accord. Within it was a memory, rendered as though it were a children’s story, with the same etched-looking illustrations.

Ienzo and Xehanort, walking through the castle. The ever-present sea salt ice cream.

“Seven years old. A grown up little man,” Xehanort said.

“Yes,” Ienzo said.

“Master says you’re doing wonderfully well in your studies. Most children your age are only barely learning to read and write, and you’re studying neuroscience. If only there were more minds like yours. This world would be a vastly better place.”

Reading it now, it was so incredibly obvious, the way Xehanort hefted and tugged the strings.

“I only wish he would let you help with our research. A fresh, young, innocent perspective might be just what we need.”

“I like helping.”

“I know. I know you do.”

“I can ask again. I’m seven now.”

“It’s worth a shot. If that’s what you wish.”

The story faded, shifted to a new memory--Ansem’s study, Ienzo so very small in the chair across from his master, head bent over a book that filled his lap.

“Master?”

A kind smile. Ansem had always doted on him, except when it really mattered. “What is it, my boy?”

“Am I very smart?”

“Why yes--of course.”

“Can I help you work?” His speech then had been much simpler, much more plain. Initially, the trauma of losing his parents left him completely mute. It had taken nearly a year to shake the silence.

In the present, Ienzo felt something very like pain. He did not know if it was physical or emotional. “Why are you making me see this?” he asked the lexicon. “I know how it all went down.”

“Do you forgive him?” The text appeared on the page, no longer a whispered voice.

“Master Ansem? Is that… part of all this?”

“He is part of me. He is part of you. His choices have rippled through your life. Carelessly. He agreed to these experiments. He didn’t stop them until it was too late.”

“It is not my place to say anything of the sort.”

“Perhaps when you were a child. That’s not the case now.”

The book trembled in his hands.

“He gave me a home when no one else would,” Ienzo said.

“He said he would take care of us. But he changed his mind.” The book shuffled again, to a different illustration, of darkness consuming Even and Ienzo. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Of course it does, but that was not his choice, he was thrown into--”

“Do you forgive him?”

Ienzo swallowed. “Must I? To take back this power?”

“All it requires is clarity of thought.”

“Because lately that has been so easy.” His mouth was sour. “No. I do not forgive him. Not yet.”

The lexicon flicked through some illustrations. Being strangled to death, waking up as Ienzo, assisting Sora, reuniting with Demyx when he was a vessel. Reuniting with Ansem. Working on the replicas. And every little thing that had happened since then, one after the other, faster and faster, until--

The room in Castle Oblivion gave way to a starry night. Long grasses curled around his knees. Illumina petals, wild and free, glowed softly in the dark, lighting the path forward. Another thin finger of pain, gagged and numb, crawled up and down his spine.

“Where am I now?” Ienzo asked the lexicon, but its work was done; it was silent. He treaded the path. A gentle breeze stirred up the smell of the flowers. Time was truncating; it seemed like he walked both a very long way and not far at all. The scent of the field mingled with something like a sea breeze. He held the book tightly under his arm as a sort of anchor and kept walking, touching the spot below his nose every few hundred meters, but it remained dry.

He heard tides. Softly at first, then closer and closer. The field of grass gave way to sand, which was soft and cool under his now-bare feet. Ienzo’s illusions had never been this strong to him personally. If he had to, could he get out? The lexicon in his arms seemed to shudder a little. How much farther could he push?

The sea spread across the horizon. A quarter-horn moon coated everything in a silvery light. The surf looked calm, and gentle, but he could feel the pain radiating from it. He approached cautiously.

His powers were stronger and weaker than ever before. He had gone, somehow, from recreating memory to actively walking within it.

He set the lexicon down and placed a hand in the gentle, cold surf. Keyblade wielders--child warriors--gathered listening to a woman in a pink robe give an impassioned speech. Something about they will not remember. Fighting alongside other young children who called him another name, against Heartless and other deformed creatures, and the then-unscarred ground of the Keyblade Graveyard--

Ienzo yanked his hand out of the water, feeling as though he had somehow violated Demyx.

“Where are you?” he asked.

No response. He could see nothing, just sand, and water, and night. Ienzo took another step towards the water.

A harsh, sharp pain shot through his chest and back, almost knocking him over. This was too much power. The entropy. He had to act quickly. Otherwise this would all be for naught and they would both end up dead.

He waded into the water. It was icy cold, and painful. Little whisps of memory darted across his vision, memories that weren’t his. He tried not to look at them, but he couldn’t necessarily help it. Fights. Keyblades. Songs-- the most melancholic music he’d ever heard. He took a deep breath, and dove.

Demyx was drowning, immobile and sinking slowly, his palms outstretched. Ienzo, never the strongest swimmer, pressed hard against the viscous memory. His chest was hurting again, though whether it was from entropy or the perceived lack of oxygen he wasn’t sure.

Ienzo grasped his hand and felt something like a shock. The pain of it made him cry out and lose more precious air.

This was unnatural. This would have a price.

It was too late to turn back.

Ienzo grasped both of his hands and pulled. Between the weight and the effort and the memories, Ienzo couldn’t be sure he was bringing them to shore.

They surfaced at last. His muscles were weak and trembling. He dragged Demyx away from the surf and all but collapsed.

Demyx coughed and gagged, spitting up seawater. He groaned.

“Are you alright?” Even outside of the water, the pain was still there, hungry.

Demyx looked up. Apprehension and fear crossed his face, and for a moment Ienzo wondered if he should have left him in the water, if he were disturbing some necessary process. “Ienzo?” His voice was hoarse.

Ienzo breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, Demyx, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here? How--” He coughed harder, and Ienzo patted him on the back.

“My power brought me here.”

“Your power?” He sounded incredulous. “I thought you didn’t have any--”

Ienzo picked up the lexicon and held it out to him. “I’ve found it. My power as Zexion let me bring people into their memory. It only seems natural that as Ienzo I can bring people out of it.”

“It’s different,” he said softly. Demyx shook his head. “Still, you’re in my head--this is weird.”

“I’m sorry. I… I was trying to help.” He looked out towards the sea. “You could’ve drowned. You were drowning. I could feel your heart there, so tenuous--”

“Memory,” was all he said.

“I know who you are,” Ienzo said. “Even told me. But I saw, too.”

His breath hitched. “I tried to tell you--”

Ienzo touched his face. Uncanny, how realistic the wetness and sand felt. “I know. You couldn’t’ve. I’m not mad at you.”

Demyx glanced away at him. His eyes were watering. “So much pain they tried to hide from us,” he said brokenly. “They did a shitty job. I can see everything that happened . ”

“Xehanort?”

He swallowed thickly. “The Foretellers.” His lip twitched. Ienzo drew him into his arms and Demyx started to cry.

Another pang of pain inside of his head. This time it was like lightning. Ienzo knew there would be blood before he even checked.

“Ienzo?” Demyx asked wearily. “What’s--”

“Come back with me,” Ienzo said. “Quickly. We both have to wake up.”

“You’re bleeding--”

“My power, it’s--” The agony tightened within him. He didn’t know how to get out of here, but he had to do it fast. Even his illusory body was losing strength.

“You’re burning out,” Demyx said.

“Worse. I’m--”

“Shit, shit, shit.” He was panicking. “Okay. Um.” He pinched himself hard. “Fuck, why did I think that would work? What do you normally do?”

“I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Demyx blinked. “This is probably really stupid but I can’t think of anything else--” He cut himself off and kissed Ienzo square on the mouth, blood and all.

The next thing Ienzo was aware of was the pain. He couldn’t move. His insides felt like they were burning--they probably were.

Demyx was yelling. “Hey. Hey, Ienzo. Wake up. You have to--” Hands at his shoulder, his wrist, checking for a pulse. Pressure against his pockets. “I need help. Even, I need-- I think Ienzo’s dying and I don’t know how to stop it.”

Was he dying? He was feeling more numbness than pain now.

Even’s voice. “What happened?”

“He found me. In my memory. I don’t know how, but he--he said he wasn’t supposed to have that power.” Ienzo heard a sob.

Even swore. “No. He isn’t. There’s a reason humans don’t control the elements willy-nilly. What are the symptoms?” He sounded slightly out of breath.

“He’s having trouble breathing. His pulse is really fucked up. His nose is bleeding and it seems like he’s in a lot of pain--” Another sob cut through Demyx. “I’m sorry, Even.”

“I know you didn’t ask for this.”

“Why is this happening?”

“Power like that comes from the will. It can only exist without the presence of a fully realized heart--otherwise, it’s too much power. Hence why Nobodies can use it as a defense mechanism. At that point, entropy starts wreaking havoc on the body. Your cells literally start to break down and melt. The will to live starts to wear down.”

“Ienzo…”

“I’ve messaged Aerith. I don’t think my skills are enough. We must keep him alive until then.”

Alive.

Ienzo could not feel anything, not even fear. He tried to keep drawing breaths, to stay alive , but his lungs were not responsive. He was starting to get dizzy, and drowsy. There was more pressure against his chest, repetitive and insistent. Demyx’s voice, again, heartbroken: “Why would you do this? Why didn’t you let me drown?”

He tried to fight the pull of sleep, but with his will cleaved, he had no choice but to give into it.

#beyond this existence: counterpoint #ienzo #demyx #zemyx #demyx/ienzo #beyond this existence

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blubberquark · 5 years

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The value and place of “good game design”

Last year, noted game design theorist, developer and podcaster Keith Burgun softened his stance on the theory of strategy games and game design as a discipline. I wrote 90% of this as a response to his podcasts back then, but when I read my own words it felt too negative. I don’t want to dunk on somebody for a commercial failure from the relative safety of not even having tried.

I’m posting it now though, because it ties into my ideas about Jam Games and Short Games, which I want to develop further, as well as my previous post about starting with simple games like Pong, Flappy Bird, and Minesweeper: Starting with simple ideas might not be enough. Top-down game design might be important after all.

Why not Game Design?

Part of Burgun’s change of heart was for what I would call “political” reasons, and I try to avoid politics on this blog. I hate how the conversation around game design grinds to a halt when some troll says “Aha, this looks like a game a Communist would make!“, and then the designer tries to explain himself and his politics and we stop talking about game design or the game itself altogether.

It’s one thing to talk about the politics, the political ideas and implications of a game, and quite another to look at the author and to try to read the authors politics into every game developed by that author. This is especially important when the author is outspoken about politics. People can be politically active and have strong convictions and just plain fail to convey their ideas through their game design.

Another reason for this shift was trying to give people more space for self-expression. Maybe you want to make something new and exploratory, or something short and poignant, or some “experience“ or “virtual installation” that is game-adjacent, but not even meant to be a game. Trying to ground “game design” in lessons learn from existing games, or trying to be precise with your terminology might be counterproductive. There is little overlap between the mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, or affordances of Smash Bros and Firewatch (unless you count The Quiet Man, an artsy game that manages to combine worst of both worlds into a buggy mess). This difference between Command & Conquer and Bioshock is huge, and you can only find commonalities in the individual disciplines like graphics, UI design, or programming, and in high-level psychological and narrative principles of pacing and world-building.

Lessons in game design implicitly tell you how games should be. General statements about “game design” are bound to alienate some people. Artists who make short interactive pieces that are both experimental and personal at the same time, like Tale of Tales, Robert Yang or Anna Anthropy, are most susceptible to this particularly easy to disparage by accident if you don’t choose your words very carefully.

Lastly, it looks like the long development of Escape The Omnochronom, with many iterations on the game design and player feedback in early access, has informed his new approach to game design - just like Auro was the game that embodied the Clockwork Game Design theories. This quick look back on the development of ETO is interesting and sobering: https://keithburgun.net/escaping-the-omnochronom-and-moonshot-game-design/.

Wasted Design?

From a commercial point of view, it looks like a lot of the game design effort on ETO has been mis-spent: More than about interesting decisions and carefully balanced gameplay, players on Steam seem to want tons of content, random loot, and an epic, tragic backstory.

Most indie developers probably wouldn’t have completely scrapped all four prototypes, but released some of them as stand-alone games or as prototypes - either on itch, on Newgrounds, or a on mobile app store. One iteration of the concept - then called “Push The Lane!” - looked and felt more like a puzzle game, and might have been developed into a somewhat successful puzzle game on a mobile app store.

I might be wrong about this. There are many old, failed prototypes of mine that just didn’t work. True artists hate to see their practice pieces, and I don’t want to polish my all of old failed ideas that didn’t work until I can release them. I know why they don’t work. I’d rather try to make the ones that already work better. I’d rather start from scratch than working on a game idea when I know that it won’t work and why.

If you’re looking at somebody else’s failed prototype, you may think it warrants further exploration, or that it can ba salvaged, when the dev has already tried most of your suggested easy fixes and found that they don’t quite work. Ideas and game mechanics that work well in a short game, interesting based on their novelty alone, often cannot sustain a long-form game on their own - and that’s where game design as a discipline comes in.

If you’re just starting out, I can only urge you to fail faster, within days or weeks rather than years. Get feedback from players and other developers! See what works and cut your losses early! Don’t try to make a failed design work if you can use a better one! Try to start with a small game that works!

But if your goal is to make a long-form game, maybe the jump from a small jam game to a larger one is not just quantitative, but qualitative. You can’t just keep adding more stuff to Flappy Bird and hope it becomes Half-Life somewhere along the way.

Maybe the commercial bottleneck is not game design, but market research. The cool kids are all playing Fortnite now. By the time you finish developing your Fortnite clone, the cool kids will probably have moved on the the Next Big Thing. (I wrote this before the current wave of Auto Chess games. The next big thing only took half a year.)

Who needs Game Design anyway?

So Good Game Design(tm) seems to be only relevant once people have started playing the game. According to conventional game marketing wisdom, iterating on a part of your design can be all for nothing if you realise late in the cycle that the core loop has to be re-worked, and you need to create new content for the new mechanics.

According to conventional game marketing wisdom, a mechanically bland action platformer with good graphics can sell better than a well-designed strategy game with abstract black-and-white graphics.

An accessible multiplayer game can outlast a well-balanced multiplayer strategy game: You need your player base to grow beyond the critical mass to sustain online matchmaking and a competitive scene in the first place.

A game idea that is a great fit for a mobile game, small prototype, demo, or coffee-break browser game cannot always be turned into a long-form game. Many long-form games are impossible to distil down into a five-minute slice.

All that doesn’t mean that there is no market for good game design. There is certainly a market for well-made games, for good design in games, and for carefully designed games. These are not the same as game design though, if you go by the ideas from Burgun’s podcast. Game design is more fundamental, more about mechanics and interactive feedback loops, not about visual design, game feel or intuitive user interfaces.

The bigger your game gets, the more urgent a concern the actual game design becomes. If you’re aiming for a big commerical release, you need to make a long-form game. If you’re making a long-form game, you need better game design than you can get away with in a shorter one. When you start with a small core and add content and features, game design can sneak up on you, and you may end up with No Man’s Sky or Anthem.

My Funnel Model

First Impression: The first thing a player sees of your game is probably a pithy description of the game, and then screenshot, maybe a short video. What gets him interested in installing is a novel, clever premise (like ”puzzle MOBA” or “you play a crazy cat lady”), and your promotional screenshots.

When your potential new player looks for reviews of the game, only opinions, sound-bites and screenshots will reach him, because good game design cannot be easily captured in words and pictures. If the game design is hard to explain or doesn’t translate well to trailers or screenshots, you already have a problem. Labels like “fantasy“, “noir“, “battle royale“ or unique visual aesthetics can give you a way in, or they can turn players off.

Accessibility: This does not mean accessibility to people with disabilities in particular (which is ”Barrierefreiheit” in my native German, the freedom from barriers which exclude certain groups of people), although that kind of accessibility is also important. Accessibility in general means how easy it is to get into the game, in a similar way to how certain books can be very inaccessible by starting off with weird jargon you need to get used to, or fifty pages of dry exposition before the plot gets started.

Tetris gets difficult quickly, but stays accessible, whereas Dear Esther is impossible to fail, but quite dense and inaccessible in its own way. Whenever possible, it makes sense to introduce complexity and difficulty only gradually.

Innovation: Next you have to compete with all the other games in the user’s game library. If the novelty of the elevator pitch doesn’t translate into innovative gameplay, your player might just go back to playing Minecraft, Fortnite, or Hearthstone again. If the game is not accessible and engaging early on, then the player might quit early and not even get to the novel or innovative part. The innovative part must be accessible in itself, without feeling forced or tacked on, and it must feel natural to use it.

Some AAA games try to solve this by early on giving the player “a taste” of what’s to come, for example by giving all the spells in the magic system to the player during a flashback sequence in the first level. Then they take away the innovative game mechanics and proceed with a bunch of boring third-person action adventure RPG shooter things for half the game.

Core Gameplay Loop: This is where the good game design comes in. This is also the part that makes your players recommend the game to their friends.

In addition to good game design, adjacent qualities like responsive control design/game feel, clear visual feedback, legible game state, and quality-of-life features also become relevant when the player goes through the core loop a couple of times. Even when the controls and mechanics of your game are easy to learn, they can still be boring, tedious, or distracting.

Earlier this year, a game with an interesting premise, cool visual aesthetic, and some innovative mechanics on top of the classic JRPG formula was released on the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, neither the mechanics of combat nor the NPC dialogue were very engaging, or fun. The game got a lot of attention, but that attention culminated in mixed to bad reviews.

Getting the steps up to here right will give your game more eyeballs, and will get people to try it or even write about it. Getting the core gameplay loop right will make people enjoy and play your game more after that.

Scope: The more content there is - that can be quests, levels, guns, monsters, puzzles - the longer you can keep the core loop going. The amount of meaningfully “new” content you can put into your game is limited by the game design though. Just adding “two billions of guns“ won’t cut it if the gameplay difference between different pieces of content is not meaningful. The value of additional content also depends on the game design. Some games get more value out of their content. Mario Kart 8 for the Nintendo Switch has ten pre-arranged tournaments with for racetracks each. That doesn’t look like a lot of content, but the game gets a large amount of replay value out of them.

Sometimes the scope of a game is limited by the design and the core loop. Some puzzle game mechanics have only a handful of interesting puzzles in them, and are more appropriate for a one-off puzzle set piece in a larger action game than for a dedicated puzzle game.

Some game genres, like point-and-click adventures, are mainly constrained by the scope of the content, and a piece of content can only be used once. Puzzle- and strategy games can often squeeze a lot of value out of content by re-using the same units and mechanics in a new context or a different combination. RPGs are somewhere in-between, by re-using monsters, dungeon architecture, loot, and crafting elements, while quests, NPCs and villages must be uniquely crafted.

“Elegant” game design is not only good for its own sake, it also allows you to add more stuff into your game in a cost-effective way.

There is a flip side to this: Prototypes, jam games, mostly story-driven games, and demos don’t really need good game design at all. One can build a small game prototype based on novelty alone, without a way to expand the scope, maybe even without an engaging core gameplay loop. The core gameplay loops two or three times and then the game just ends.

If you want to make a long-form game, you have to think from the beginning about scope and longevity.

Grand unified theories of game design(tm) become more applicable the larger the scope of your game is. In a small game, individual aspects like game feel, visual design, music, “funny/edgy” dialogue or characters, and novel mechanics outweigh balance, level design, world-building, and well-written characters.

Depth: I am using “depth” somewhat loosely and colloquially: Depth is what keeps players coming back, and talking to each other. That can be endgame content, high-level competitive play, lore, or a modding/mapmaking scene. Depth can be speedrunning, or finding new, clever solutions to puzzles. Depth is finding new meaning in content you already know or played.

After I beat Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, or after Waking Mars, I uninstalled the game and moved on. Nothing is making me come back to Mark of The Ninja, Dear Esther or Thomas Was Alone. I don’t think I will ever want to revisit Torchlight, the first or the sequel. I enjoyed each of these games - or in the case of Dear Esther at least I appreciated it, on a detached, intellectual level. I played Nuclear Throne until I had beaten the game, unlocked every character, seen every gun, and gone to most of the secret stages. Then I quit playing. I have no interest in looping.

I played a lot of StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty. I played custom matches with my friends, I played on the ladder, I looked up strategy tips on TeamLiquid, I watched live streams of competitive games, and then I watched Day[9] analyse competitive games in-depth.

Back when I was a child, I played lots of multi-player games of WarCraft 3 and Worms: Armageddon. It never got stale for me. I played some multiplayer matches of Swords & Soldiers, but there is not a lot of variety, and it got stale rather quickly.

I know this evaluation of games and my concept of “depth” are both rather subjective. In content-heavy games, this kind of “depth“ can be hidden content, endgame content, side quests, and lore. In mechanics-focused games, depth and longevity are facilitated by game design(tm).

The recipe for popularity?

The funnel goes like this: First Impression > Accessibility > Innovation > Core Loop > Scope > Depth. At every stage, you lose some players, or potential players. If a potential player doesn’t hear about your game, that’s it. If a player looks at a let’s play or a review, and doesn’t understand what the game is about, that’s it. If your game is reviewed by a professional site, you can expect that they play through the main content. The longer players stay with your game, the more relevant game design(tm) will become.

Depth is beyond the scope of a review, but it will make people stick with your game for longer, and can make players show or recommend it to friends.

Depth and scope will make people stick with your game for longer, and make your game show up in Steam and Discord friend lists.

An engaging core loop will lead to good reviews and probably also good user scores.

Unfortunately, good game design is usually not the limiting factor, because we live in a word where we are bombarded with new game releases every day, and we have to decide which ones to buy, which free ones to download and play, or even which reviews to read, because there are just so many games that the limiting factor is time and getting attention in the first place, not how good - or “fun”, or “engaging” - the game actually is.

AAA studios already have our attention, or at least the attention of big gaming news sites, so they can compete for making the game with the best shooting or the biggest open world. AAA studios have an easier time getting a consistent player base for online matchmaking. In contrast to this, indies have to compete for attention in the first place.

However, once you have the attention of players and reviewers, you still have to convince them that your game is any good.

#game design #longpost #clockwork game design #game development #indiepocalypse #are games art

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