#and Legendary would... just chill in Japan?? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dynamite-derek · 3 months

Text

The Best Sort of Sendoff

Note: This article contains spoilers for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. For reference, I am in Chapter 10 of the game right now, so this won't contain end-game spoilers. This is instead a look at what happens in the "Memoirs of a Dragon" portion of the game. It's risky writing this before I finish playing, after all this is the franchise that used rubber bullets as a plot twist, but I have faith in the writers to not suddenly drop the ball.

In most films in the Rocky franchise after the first two, there would be a scene where Rocky looks back on his past and you get a great montage of scenes. They would show his triumphs, his hardships and generally make you feel good for following his story up to this point. I would like to think this is because Sylvester Stallone never knew when the final Rocky movie was actually going to be. Rocky Balboa was a legendary character, the movie's world isn't the only thing bidding farewell to him - the audience is too.

Saying goodbye to a character the audience has spent a lot of time with is a tricky thing to do. One of the main complaints about the Disney Star Wars films are how they treat characters from the original trilogy. Return of the Jedi had a pretty happy ending for the main cast but fast forward to the sequel trilogy and everybody is miserable, their lives suck and they die in a way that left a lot of people feeling unfulfilled. Regardless of what you think about the quality of these films, the treatment of these characters is a gigantic reason the reception towards them is so chilled.

The Like a Dragon franchise has not had Kazuma Kiryu as its main protagonist for two games now. Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the seventh entry in the franchise, replaced him with a character that feels like his polar opposite. Kiryu is stoic and keeps a lot of things internalized, Ichiban Kasuga is loud and personable and wears his heart on his sleeve. They both come across as good people but in different ways. Kiryu did get to show up in that seventh entry, but he felt like more of a cameo role. It was like getting to spend one more afternoon with the living legend. It wasn't his show anymore, but he was around.

Little did we know when playing those games that Kiryu would get a farewell tour. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name kicked this all off with a nice little side story about Kiryu living life as a man who is supposed to be dead. It's mostly a standalone piece, but the references to Kiryu's past adventures come hitting hard and fast at the very end. I wrote that the ending to that game is a masterclass in video game storytelling and I stand by that - if you've stuck with Kiryu through all his adventures so far, it is one of the best scenes the medium has ever conveyed.

There wasn't a sense of finality though. That title ended with Kiryu saying he wanted to live a little bit for himself. He was already a major part of the ad campaign for the eighth entry in the franchise, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, so there was no feeling that we were saying farewell to this guy. In a sense, we would be getting a new chapter for this legendary figure. Rocky Balboa would be getting one final fight in that ring.

Infinite Wealth gives you that finality. Kiryu shows up and it is revealed that he has cancer and only has months to live. While he is still an imposing and larger than life figure, his time on this earth is up. He doesn't seem too bothered about it though. The audience might be going like "hey dude, why don't you reconnect with Haruka or something?" but the man himself just wants to accomplish this last mission he is on and die in peace. You spend a long time in Infinite Wealth going around Hawaii with the future and past of the franchise yucking it up and it just feels great. Chocolate and Peanut Butter together at last!

At some point in the game, Kiryu's illness gets the better of him and he is sent back to Japan to take it easier. Given that he has months to live, he shouldn't be fighting baddies with Kasuga all day and night, he should be resting. Who knows, he may have more time than he thinks! At this point, the game decides to start letting the player say goodbye to this character. Your party and Kiryu's old friend Makoto Date note that the dragon of Dojima has spent the majority of his life looking out for others and should really spend his last moments doing something for himself. That's right, Kiryu gets to star in the hit 2007 film "The Bucket List"

The game then opens up a bit of story called "memoirs of a dragon" as part of this bucket list. You guide Kiryu to a bunch of locations in Japan, both in Ijincho and the very familiar Kamurocho, and relive all sorts of things. It's one thing seeing the gate in front of Tenkaichi Street and going 'oh yeah, I've seen that gate before, it's in every single one of these stinkin' games,' it's another thing to have your main character reminisce about this and what it means to him. Sure, a lot of time media can best convey emotions by showing and not telling, but hearing your fading protagonist talk about the old days gives you more insight into those things and can help the player feel a little bit more.

These scenes vary greatly in their emotional impact. Some of them are goofy, with call backs to side games like Yakuza Dead Souls or Like a Dragon: Ishin. Some of them are sweet, with our protagonist talking about characters who don't even seem to appear in this game like Goro Majima or Taiga Saejima or Shun Akiyama. If you played past Yakuza games, you know who these guys are and it's nice to see them acknowledged in some way even if they don't play a major role here. You remember them and Kiryu does too. This is a memory of his life, not just a memory of what you experienced in Infinite Wealth to this point.

At some point, Kiryu's friend Date decides that this whole process needs to get a little more personal. You see, the Dragon of Dojima is supposed to be a dead man. He fakes his own death in order to protect his loved ones because he was privy to some government secrets that put everyone in danger. So Date decides to gather some people and have Kiryu sort of listen in on their conversations so he can see how they're doing without him. The conversation almost always circle back to Kiryu and how awesome he is (was), so it can feel a bit like Tom Sawyer listening in on his own funeral, but it's sweet hearing people give their thoughts nonetheless.

Sometimes Kiryu will interact with these people, but he never actually explicitly says who he is. He'll say he's Taichi Suzuki and leave it at that. You get the impression that everybody knows it's really him, so they'll say really emotional things that start with phrases like "well if he was here, I'd say something like..." It's just very sweet to get a sense of closure with characters that normally would just be one and done. You never got to see Rocky Balboa get one more chat with Clubber Lang well after the fact, but longtime minor foe Lau Ka Long sure as hell gets one final moment to see the legendary yakuza one more time.

All of these scenes are a really nice look back on this guy's life. The player gets to be privy to a lot of introspection and dialogue they normally wouldn't get to be a part of. The best part of this is, you never get the impression Kiryu is a miserable person who isn't ready to go out. He instead goes with the approach of "I thought I had finished all I needed to do, but getting this extra closure has been really nice." It's incredibly sweet to see orphan boy Taichi as a grownup and doing well for himself. As players, we saw this fella when he was just a little brat at the orphanage. Kiryu put on a wrestling match for him! The last time Kiryu saw him was when he was a child too, so this little scene is great because both the protagonist and the player get to see this long gone character and go "his life seems pretty neat."

Probably the most impactful scene I had gotten to at this point would be Kiryu seeing Kaoru Sayama one final time. For those that don't remember, Sayama was Kiryu's love interest in the second Yakuza title and the two of them ended up parting ways because of different goals in life. It was always sad to me, personally, as a player that she got written off and just vanished into the void but here she was once again. And yeah, her life is going great! She's working hard to help ensure that the youth don't go down the wrong path, she made a good life for herself in America.

But Date hones in on her lack of a wedding ring and it is revealed that, yeah, she keeps kinda busy so it's hard to find someone. But also a part of her wants to stay available just in case Kiryu really is alive, as a lot of people whisper in the underground. Date almost lets it spill that well he's actually still there, but Kiryu (communicating via secret spy headset so he can listen in) stops him and says it's not necessary. Later on he says something like "to know she still cares is more than enough for me" and that his current situation would just make things worse for her. He isn't regretting his past choice of parting from her here, he is instead appreciative of the person she has become.

Being able to see and hear all of the impact this character has had is really something special. You've spent hundreds of hours as Kiryu talking to all these characters. You're not only saying goodbye to this legendary video game character, you are also saying goodbye to his world and the people he cared about. This isn't just a farewell to Kiryu, it's a farewell to the old.

By not portraying Kiryu as a miserable sadsack on death's door but instead showing him as a man ready to face death head on, the writers of this title really make this feel like an excellent farewell. He doesn't need to be in a Wonderful Life scenario where everyone tells him how important he is, but he gets to experience it anyway and appreciate it. It's a final gift for a man on his way out. These characters aren't trying to redeem Kiryu or make you see him in a different way, they are simply reaffirming what you the player already know: that he's awesome.

We will probably never see a character get as great of a sendoff as this again. There will not be an Uncharted game in 10 years where you get to revisit all the old characters and see where life has taken them. So appreciate this for what it is - another great example of storytelling in video games.

#Like a Dragon #Yakuza #Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth #video games #PS5 #Xbox Series #PC #JRPGs #vidya #vidya thoughts #video game thoughts #rambling #opinion

2 notes · View notes

fayyet · 10 months

Text

9 Games that Defined My 2010′s (pt. 2)

NOTE for 7/5/2023 - I sat on this article then never published it. 3 years later I figured just to preserve this article as it was intended to be read by me from 3 years ago. My thoughts & feelings have changed. The final 2 entries had little text & my memory is not strong enough to remember the context carefully enough to really add onto what was there.

4) Bloodborne (played on PS4)

Lovecraftian horror saw a huge resurgence in the 2010s, and Bloodborne was the first thing to show me that you could easily harness the author’s distinct sensibilities while avoiding all the racist/sexism/homophobic/pro-eugenics bullshit that informed H.P. Lovecraft’s worldview. Bloodborne sidesteps these pitfalls entirely by merging the aesthetics of Lovecraft & Victorian-era gothic fantasy horror to weave a tale of politics, the abuse of power, and how those abuses destroy the lives of ordinary people. Truthfully, so much of the actual story & sequence is so obfuscated that the only way to really grasp it is to dive into community-built Wikis, watch plot explainers, & pour through archived Reddit threads. Bloodborne’s world is horrific. Chilling soundscapes, unsettling environments, and increasingly distressing monster designs evoke an almost nihilistic sense of doom. I heard unseen NPCs cry out in pain and read descriptions about mass suffering, and it became clear that Yharnam was not only haunted by werewolves and aliens, but the despair. ALSO, there’s a game you can play too! Unlike Dark Souls, the combat loop revolves around aggressive play, leading to a faster, twitchier feel. Even though I played Dark Souls first, I didn’t like it. Bloodborne’s loop was super compelling, though years out, the setting still lingers with me.

3) Pokken Tournament DX (played on Wii U & Nintendo Switch)

In 2013, I was a frightened closeted trans kid that just escaped the Midwest, heading towards an unfamiliar city. In my new home, I started developing interest for competitive Smash Bros: Melee thanks to the surge of popularity the game was having online. I quickly saved up for a Gamecube and started I grinding Melee, but ultimately this first foray into competitive fighting games would be a lonely experience, as I struggled to find friends or local meetups. I dropped Melee and wound up neglecting the genre until around 2016, when I reluctantly tried out Pokken Tournament on the WIi U (BTW f--- 2016). Picking it up initially was rather bewildering, as Pokken is just, fucking WEIRD. Matches constantly switch between a 3D arena-fighter arena with 6 degrees of movement, and a 2D state that plays like a traditional fighting game. Moves & inputs change across both settings, meaning that every character has 2 unique kits to learn. Despite this curve-ball, I quickly came to adore Pokken’s lightning-quick pace.

Also, it’s deeply important to note that the game has Suicune, my favorite Legendary Water Dog. Pokemon Crystal (for Game Boy Color) was the 2nd game I ever owned so YEAH, Pokken DID mine some unearned affection from me right out of the gate. I’m ashamed of nothing. Solid fighting games were certainly common in 2016 (BTW fuck 2016), but, unknown to me, Pokken Tournament had something uncommon: decent online matchmaking. Even in 2020, Japanese-developed fighting games still implement delay-based netcode that doesn’t scale well from Japan to America, which infamously makes online play a struggle for many here in the US. With Pokken, online matches came quickly and felt responsive, even on my average connection. This ease of access allow me to spend 100-ish hours in the game’s competitive modes. With hindsight, I was lucky super that my reintroduction to fighting games was so accessible and opened my heart up to the genre.

2) Tetris Effect (played on PS4 & PSVR)

I have two special interest that do not overlap: Electronic Dance Music and video games. This game merged those two things awkwardly, but in a way that helped me celebrate my love for commercial dance music.

1) Warframe (played on PC & Nintendo Switch)

I have ADHD & Warframe’s loops sucked me in. 600 hours and $600 dollars spent on a game that let me press buttons.

Is it good? Kinda. Narrative stuff is a bit Warhammer-y, which like, fine.

#pokken tournament #pokken #Wii U

0 notes

trinketprince · 3 years

Text

All the Youkaimatsus so far

JExcept sets that have all of them as the same youkais (Nekomata, Tanuki and the various Kitsune sets from Tabimatsu)

Pinup Poster from the Osomatsu Character Book #6 (July 2016)

A classic. The very first iteration of Youkaimatsu. Kind of hard to find since it was a bonus poster from the character book, so unless you were actively looking for the book, you wouldn’t find this.

Osomatsu - Kitsune (unknown how many tails he has but is often depicted in fan artworks as 6 or 9, 9 meaning strongest/wisest a kitsune has been, Spirit Fox)

Karamatsu - Karasu-Tengu (pun on Kara, Bird Man)

Choromatsu - Dodomeki (usually a woman cursed with long arms littered with many bird eyes because of greed. Most popular one imo)

Ichimatsu + ESP Nyanko - Nekomata (Two-tailed cat, legend says that cats who live longer than a 100 years gain a second tail)

Jyushimatsu - Rokurobi (available in two flavors. Long Neck and Floating Head. He is the former. Theorized to not actually be a youkai but created for entertainment. Also used as a literary device for a wandering soul.)

Todomatsu - Yukki Onna (Also a joke on Todo being scared stiff. Yuki Onna pull tricks on humans that usually end on the person’s death via cold. Has a harsh and soft side)

Youkai Units from The Great Youkai War event from Hesokuri Wars (November 2016)

Most popular Youkaimatsu set, this baby could get milked for miles, but for some reason isn’t. Has a lot of variants (Awakened, Darkness, Snow, Sakura and Hyakki Yagyou) and connected to a lot of other sets: Denki Mystery, Colorless Overalls, Mononoke and a bunch of others. She is the top DOGG set.

Osomatsu - Shuten-Douji (Oni Leader with a penchance for Sake, literally carrying a big ass bottle of it on his back, since he is the leader of the sextuplets and the one seen drinking beer the most)

Karamatsu - Aoandon (Summoned after 100 supernatural stories are told. Originated from the blue (ao) paper lanterns (andon) that were sometimes used to give a chilling atmosphere)

Choromatsu - Daitengu (Great Tengu, Tengus were theorized to be ascended souls, but also has its origins in a Dog Beast that looked like a comet. For some reason Dog Beast turned into Bird Man. The bird man’s beak is often anthropomorphized into long noses. Tells humanity to behave by throwing invisible stones at them)

Ichimatsu - Nine-tailed Kitsune (So wise. So powerful)

Jyushimatsu - Inugami (Dog God that possesses people)

Todomatsu - Bake-Danuki (also known as tanuki, mischievous spirits, mostly known in pop culture for their BIG FAT NUTS)

Dayon is a miko, a shrine maiden. Hatabou is an Onmyoji, an exorcist, Dekapan is a kannushi, a shrine priest. Totoko and Iyami are regular civillians

Youkai Hyakki Yagyou merchandise from Animate Girls Festival (September 2017)

One of the lesser known sets, considering that it’s just designs for a line of merch but their designs are so good? Why don’t people use these designs more often.

Osomatsu - Karasu-Tengu

Karamatsu - Nine-tailed fox

Choromatsu - Shuten-Douji (A possible reference to Season 1 Episode 2 where he gets the most drunk?)

Ichimatsu - Mizuchi (Legendary Water Serpent/Dragon)

Jyushimatsu - Kamaitachi (Beast that rides on dust devils. Cuts people using it’s scythe-like nails. The wounds are sharp but painless)

Todomatsu - Ungaikyou (A haunted mirror that can be used to trap spirits. The spirits in the ungaikyou can manipulate the reflection shown on it’s reflection.)

Kitsune Servant Set from Tabimatsu (September 2017)

Ok I know I said I wouldn’t cover the Kitsune sets from Tabimatsu since there are like 5 different Kitsune sets, but this one is noteworthy cause they have secondary Youkai traits other than the regular kitsune traits.

Osomatsu - Oni’s horns

Karamatsu - Tengu’s wings

Choromatsu - Orochi around his neck

Ichimatsu - True Kitsune (Or Nekomata’s paw?)

Jyushimatsu - Wanyudo (Flaming Wheel)

Todomatsu - I don’t know, but there’s something around his neck?

Japanese Youkai set from Shimamatsu (January 2018)

Shimamatsu was such a good game, what a shame it ended so soon. The 3D models were so cute. Edit: The two designs are from before and after evolution!

Osomatsu - Enma-san (A wrathful god in charge of judging souls in the afterlife. Resides over hell)

Karamatsu - Yamato no Orochi (Eight headed and Eight-tailed serpent/dragon)

Choromatsu - Kamaitachi (wields an actual scythe)

Ichimatsu - Youkai Catman or a Bakaneko (Catboy, furry)

Jyushimatsu - Yobuko (lives in the mountains, repeats whatevers shouted into the mountain, explains the phenomemon of Echos)

Todomatsu - Yuki Otoko (Snowman, a Yuki Onna basically)

“Inn” Osoma and Choroe from Osomatsu Season 2 Episode 17

A BUNCH OF PEOPLE REMINDED ME AND HOW COULD I FORGET THE BEST YOUKAI EVER. Osoma baby,,,, I’m so sorry..... Srsly, this skit was so good, I hope they make more skits like this where they make entirely new characters out of the framework of the sextuplets.

Osoma - A Zashiki-warashi, child spirits who live in store rooms or extra rooms, they died buried in their homes. Pranksters but meeting one is said to bring good fortunes to families. Osoma gets crossovered a lot with the other Youkai sets in JP fanart. A popular pairing is Dodomeki Chorosuke (from Denki Mystery) and Osoma also Kitsune Osomatsu (from the poster) and Osoma.

Choroe - Not necessarily a youkai, in fact in the episode she’s presented as just a regular human. But is theorized often to be a Yama-uba. An old woman banished to the mountains. She provides shelter to weary travelers (in the myth it’s just a humble shelter but you know. an inn is also considered a shelter) before eating them. In one story she eats the recently birthed baby of a woman who had to give birth in the mountains.

Mononoke from Hesokuri Wars (May 2019)

Technically they are all the same type of being, Mononoke, but they look different from each other. Mononoke can posses individuals and cause suffereing and even death. And technically they aren’t Youkais but Onryos, vengeful spirits. But Onryos can also be used to refer to youkais and truthfully I just wanna include this set cause their designs are so cool looking. This set’s attacks contain glimpses of units of other sets.

Osomatsu - Bear themed

Karamatsu - Wolf themed

Choromatsu - Rooster/Chicken themed

Ichimatsu - Spider

Jyushimatsu - Boar

Todomatsu - Bull or Ox

Edo Rock The Great Youkai Harvest Festival from Tabimatsu (October 2019)

This set is interesting cause rather than youkai alone, they are also musicians. This set also has another set like Hesokuri called The Great Youkai NEET which is basically the awakened versions, properly showcasing more of the youkai traits.

Osomatsu - Shuten-Douji (Again, we need to stage an intervention for you damn)

Karamatsu - Karasu-Tengu (Again)

Choromatsu - Mizuchi (actually riding said serpent)

Ichimatsu - Black Kitsune (Hot Topic, Goth version)

Jyushimatsu - Frog. Just. Frog. (could be a reference to the legend of Jiraiya, the ninja who could shapeshift into a frog/ride big frogs. His mouth is cover just like a ninja is too.)

Todomatsu - Kamaitachi (could be a reference to season 1 where Todomatsu wields a scythe)

Iyami - Oni (not sure if he’s any particular oni but he does have the horns and metal club)

Atsushi - Ibaraki-Douji? (White hair and singular horn, most imporant servant of Shuten-Douji)

Promo Merch from Sega Cafe collab (September 2020)

Edit: Thank you @zenryokubatankyu for notifying me! Another set of promo youkais! You can get them by random by ordering a drink or meal at the now-defunct Sega x Osomatsu collab cafe. And the return of F6? Damn I haven’t seen you since Season 2!

Osomatsu - Oni

Karamatsu - I’m not exactly sure but he seems like a Mizuchi, a water serpent/dragon. He also could be another legendary serpent/dragon though.

Choromatsu - Kappa

Ichimatsu + ESP Nyanko - Karasu-Tengu

Jyushimatsu - I’m not sure, at first i thought it might be a crab youkai judging from the legs, but upon closer inspection he has spider webs on his robes, so they may be spider legs instead. Could be a Jorogumo, a youkai that wields fire breathing spiders with it’s spider legs

Todomatsu - Bakaneko (I think? The veil could be the napkin a bakaneko puts on it’s head)

Ayakashi Sextuplet’s Retro Halloween Cafe merch from Web Kuji (October 2020)

Thank you @gradelstuff for telling me about this! Ayakashi are Youkai that appear above nearby bodies of water. Although the youkais they’re dressed up as (or are?) aren’t really what you would call ayakashi? Although it’s cafe themed, it isn’t actually from a cafe collaboration. These designs are merchandise meant to be won through lottery. So if say you really love Kara and Choro’s designs (I do), then tough luck buddy!

Osomatsu - Oni

Karamatsu - Now you may think he’s Dodomeki since he’s covered with eyes, but turns out there are two other eye-relateed youkai! Mokumokuren is a youkai phenomenon where eyes appear from torn paper walls and tatami floors, initially i thought this was it given the checkered pattern he was wearing. But he might actually be a Hyakume, a youkai covered head to toe in yellow eyes specifically. Underneath those eyes is a body of flesh roughly in the shape of a man. This Youkai isn’t particularly malicious, only detaching one of it’s many eyes to follow you and survey you for criminal activiy. He might also be a BackBeard, a youkai allegedly from the US, err that would make him a cryptid I guess? A Backbeard is often characterized as a shadow with a Yellow eye with a red iris in the center. Note: Backbeard’s true origins are not known as there doesn’t seem to be any cryprid called a Backbeard, it first entered the Japanese public eye as an antogonist in the show Gegege no Kitaro. Although ever since then this “yokai” has appeared in other media and games in Japan.

Choromatsu - He isn’t exactly dressed as it (only themed as it) but the youkai he represents is the one he’s holding, a Kasa-obake, One of my favorite youkais and it’s literally iconic. Thought to be a Tsukomogami, an object that gains a spirit after it turns 100 years old.

Ichimatsu - Edit: I’m not sure but he might be a Kuchisake-Onna. In the description attached to his teaser, it makes mention of specifically his wide smile, his dos dagger and his beautiful shirt. A kuchisake onna is a yokai that wanders in the street covering her face with a mask (skull mask for ichi) and a sharp object (his dos dagger). TW GORE DESCRIPTION: She asks you if you think she’s attractive and depending on your answer she muders you with her scissors, plunging it into you OR she takes off her mask showing her wide smile, her mouth slit at the corners to her ears and asks “how about now?” and depending on your reaction she cuts you in half with her sharp object OR she slits the corners of your mouth to look like hers. END DESCRIPTION. Ichi has the mask, sharp object, wide smile and “attractiveness”. Obviously it would be inappropriate to portray ichi in the same fashion as the kuchisake onna so he was probably given the internal organ tattoos to represent the gory yokai. (internal organs usually = gore in japan). This is speculah and he might be another youkai but this is all i can think of rn.

Jyushimatsu - sailor themed Jiangshi. Jiangshi are basically Zombies originally from Chinese culture. They hop around, and crave for life force. this little jyushimatsu has taken to tomato juice instead. (Bonus: the zombie that osomatsu is in the zombie set in hesokuri wars is also a Jiangshi)

Todomatsu - Kitsune (sly fox)

“The Night Path” Youkai from Osomatsu-san Season 3 Episode 6 (November 2020)

The latest and what sparked me to make this post tbh. This set reuses the Rokurobi design from the very first Youkaimatsu iteration! Full circle yo! I like to think of this set as an addition to the original youkaimatsu, since they’re both from the primary sources.

Jyushimatsu - Rokurobi (Again)

Totoko - Amabie (mermaid with three legs? prophesized about either good harvest or an epidemic, trivia: “Amabie” trended when Covid 19 hit the world)

Hatabou - Azukiarai (a youkai that originated from the sound of something like beans being washed near a river, anyone who comes near will fall into the river)

Dayon - Nopperabou (Faceless spirits that take the form of humans. They are harmless usually, they just scare humans)

Dekapan - Kappa (Mischievous River spirits)

That should be all of them!

Recap:

Osomatsu has been a Kitsune, Shuten-Douji (twice), Karasu-Tengu, Enma-san and an Oni

Karamatsu has been a Karasu-Tengu (twice), Aoandon, Kitsune, Yamato no Orochi and a Mizuchi (?)

Choromatsu has been a Dodomeki, Daitengu, Shuten-Douji, Kamaitachi, Mizuki and a Kappa (No repeats!)

Ichimatsu has been a Nekomata, Kitsune (twice), Mizuchi, Bakaneko and a Karasu-Tengu

Jyushimatsu has been a Rokurobi (twice-ish), Inugami, Kamaitachi, Yobuko, a Frog from Jiraiya and a Jorogumo (?)

Todomatsu has been a Yuki Onna (twice), Bake-danuki, Ungaikyou, Kamaitachi and a Bakaneko

You can definitely see a trend (lmao), I’m looking forward to more Youkaimatsus from Osomatsu-san!

bonus:

Osomatsu-san cameo from Yokai Watch!!!

#Osomatsu san #Youkaimatsu #Yokaimatsu #妖怪松 #Hesokuri Wars #Shimamatsu #Tabimatsu #I'm not tagging all the matsus lmao #long post

628 notes · View notes

avinaccia · 3 years

Text

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping, I have too much time on my hands, let’s go.

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes.

70. Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice) My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68. My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67. Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66. Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64. It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63. Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62. Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61. The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60. Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59. W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58. Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56. Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55. Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54. Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53. My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52. With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51. Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50. Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49. Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47. Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46. In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45. Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44. White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43. Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42. We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41. Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40. Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39. May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38. Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37. I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36. Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34. Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33. Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32. Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31. Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30. The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28. Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27. United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26. Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25. Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24. Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23. Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22. Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21. I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20. La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19. Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE.

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14. Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13. Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12. Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11. Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10. Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9. Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8. Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7. Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6. Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5. Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate.

4. Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1. The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series)

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

93 notes · View notes

mxvladdy · 3 years

Text

True Form- Leviathan

Here it is. Sorry for the delay! I hope you like it!

True Form- Leviathan

In the celestial realm, he loved the waters and was gifted a body that was best suited for it from his father. It was beautiful, so sleek, shiny, and fast. When he was in the water even Mammon had trouble keeping up. But, the best part of it all was that some angels were envious of it.

He was pretty close to Asmo during this time too. Asmo would help him dry brush his scales and moisturize the harder to reach areas across his body. In return when Levi would shed Asmo got to keep his pretty scales. From there Asmo would make makeup and jewelry from them.

When he would visit the human realm with Lilith and Belphie they would play near any body of water that tickled their fancy to teased the mortals with his splendor. They would get a good laugh out of the stories of mermaids and great sea beasts that were created around him afterward.

During the fall he was separated from the rest of the brothers. His unconscious body flung away from the pack to careen into the parts unknown while his brothers plummet into the Devildom.

He comes to briefly to the feel of his blistered flayed skin hissing on impact by the cool ocean waters of the human realm.

He slumbered for a long time down there. His body recovering from the war in the quiet. It adapted without him, working overtime to survive its new environment. His broken halo’s edges dull out, the deep trench’s currents buffering and polishing it down to horns. They grow out slowly into a large coral reef for the deep-sea inhabitants.

The lack of light turns his skin a translucent grey color, the warm glow from the celestial realm leached from him. While his scales and hide turn dark and take on an oily sheen. Great clumps of basalt rock grow over the burns from tearing through the earth's atmosphere. The rapid heating and cooling of his skin formed iron-rich patches around his flaking scales.

When he wakes he is distraught. His once illustrious serpentine tail and radiant body were now battered and stained in his eyes. He stays down there in the depths out of shame for a few more years.

The rest of the changes to his body were of his own making. A grand mixture from the creatures that he observed around him. His bright celestial markings now took after the bioluminescent creatures that would flock around him. He grew his hair out, enchanting some strains to take after the jellyfish he ate. Absorbing their toxins to imbue into his hair and blood.

He finds the fish with razor sharp teeth and large net-like mouths fascinating and takes after them too. Once he is satisfied (and has pulled himself out of his little self-pity party) he moves from his den, traversing the ocean floor and migrating with some of the other larger sea beasts.

The years of separation from his brothers did a number on his mental health and social skills. Being trapped under the water for so long healing has stunted that part of his physique. The years before his brothers found him have dulled his social skills with higher beings and humans. Making him antisocial as well as paranoid.

His communication skills with sea life are much better. During his travels, he bested and then befriended many mythical creatures. But his greatest ally has to be the legendary sea beast Lotan.

The older beast taught Leviathan a lot about the human realm and what has changed over time. Took up a bit of a parental/ mentor role for Levithan. They settle together in the waters of the east sea.

Leviathan was drawn to this particular patch of water because of the pretty boats, atakebune Lotan called them. For years he watched the coastal regions of China and Japan grow and prosper and more ships entered his territory.

He became somewhat of a local legend. Sailors and warriors would bring him offerings of food, gold, people, and other valuables for safe passage through his waters or help in an upcoming naval battle. He sometimes helped but most of the time he just observed.

He did take great joy in battles. It was a great game for him. Something different from the boring year among the fish.

Contrary to belief, he can’t control the weather or the seas but his massive body can create devastating waves and his control of sea life is deadly to sailors. His fishy friends eat well when he emerges for a battle. He keeps the bloated and rioting corpses of fallen soldiers. They feed his smaller friends and help him maintain his coral horns

His brother’s eventually find him and bring him to the Devildom after they hear rumors of a mischievous sea serpent.

Whether it was because of his old injuries or just all his time under the sea with a tail he doesn’t have great control in his bipedal form. Both his human and demonic form have a slight limp and no aptitude for physical activity. 100% has a pass to get out of P.E.

Moving back in with the brothers really brought out his cardinal sin of envy. He used to be so close with them all and then he was separated for so long he feels like he will never catch up. Between their new forms (that he finds much more practical and prettier than his) and his inability to adjust to their new lifestyle, he cemented himself in his envy. He tucks himself away in his room and surrounds himself with distractions and stories.

Diavolo gifted him his enchanted aquarium after hearing about his struggles to adapt from Lucifer. Levi was appreciative but will never say it. When he gets overwhelmed by life and his video games can’t distract from his racing thoughts he likes to go in for a swim and tend to his aquatic gardens.

Mini Fic

Warm water laps at your toes. The salt of it clinging to your feet in thin crusty layers. You wiggle them, washing away some of the grime and to propel yourself deeper into the water. You take joy in disrupting the mirror-like finish of the once still water. Smiling up at the giant sun lamp mounted over you, you adjust your sunglasses.

Sunday lounge days were the best. Just you, a cold bottle of soda, and a new swimsuit. You missed the beach and waters of the human whelm but not the crowds. Ugh, screaming kids and impolite beach guests were the worst. This was the best alternative you could have imagined. Between the warmth of the heat lamp and the slow motions of the water underneath you, you felt the stress of the week slowly washing away.

Dipping your hands in the water you begin to push your floaty further away from the edge of the thick aquarium wall. The light blue water underneath you deepening to an emerald green when you reach the drop-off point of Levi’s tank. The water is cooler here, but still comfortable as most of your body is still dry and safely nestled in his oversized pool float. Little surface fish and aquatic animals swim by, splashing your floaty and nibbling at your toes gently in greeting. They all knew better than to actually bother you.

Letting the gentle current of the water pumps push you around in lazy circles you pull out the manga Levi had bought you (magically coated to make it waterproof) and flip back to your last bookmark. Enjoying the peace and quiet you immerse yourself in his latest hyper fixation.

A few chapters in and three empty soda bottles later you notice your idle turning had stopped. Leaving you at a complete standstill. The water around you was still. The little fishies that had been following you had disappeared to the devil knows when. Yet despite the sudden abandonment of your aquatic entourage you still felt a presence. The heavy aura of a predatory gaze makes the fine hairs of your neck stand on end. The self-preserving part of your mind kicking into fight or flight mode. Best to just ignore that for now...Peeking out from behind your sunglasses you lean over your floaty to see what had stopped you. A gargantuan milky white eye stares back up at you.

When you had first been introduced to this side of Levi his pearly gaze had been so guarded. It had been by complete accident that you saw well- him. So that couldn’t have helped much with his confidence. You had come by to drop off a few handheld consoles that he had lent you to see if you would like one as a gift. You remember being by his desk trying to find a noncluttered space to put them all when the blue glow of his room was suddenly thrown into darkness.

That was the first time you had been face to face with The Leviathan. It was magnificent. Even your textbooks in your Introduction to Demonology didn’t do him justice. It was breathtaking and bone chilling all in one. You remember locking eyes with him and the both of you freezing. His reflexive gaze boring into you a mixture of betrayal and fear fighting for dominance. A wordless dare for you to scream or curse his appearance. They had been closed off to all your kind words and encouragements at the beginning.

Now they are open and warm. If not a little mischievous. Scratch that-very mischievous.

“Don’t you dare.” You warn with a dawning realization. “Levi!” You shout over the edge of your float after him. He sinks down without even making a ripple. The shadow of the beast's body turns the green waters black as he jets underneath you. The little flicks of bioluminescence on his hide blink in and out of focus as he moves. Distracted as you were leaning over the side you didn’t notice the slim tip of his tail rise from the other side.

It happened quickly, a slight jerk on your ankle and then a shock of cold water. Coughing and sputtering you breach the surface. Floundering about blindly for your floaty, your hands rest on something thick and sturdy. He chitters and laughs at his little joke. “Ya-ya laugh it up.” You grip his tree trunk sized tail like a lifeline. He keeps still giving you time to blink the water out of your eyes. “Ok. You got me in the water now what?”

HAvE- sUrpiEssss. Levi’s large mouth clicked clumsily over the syllables. His long thin teeth always made it hard to shape his words. It had taken some time and effort to get him to loosen up enough to talk. He was very self-conscious of the phlegmy- waterlogged sound of it. The years spent under the sea having permanently filled his lungs with briny saltwater. Each breath of air rattle deep in his barrel chest.

Schooling your expression you shot him a scowl Lucifer would be proud of. “What, a mouthful of salt wasn’t enough?” He scoffs white eyes narrowing, seeing right through your false agitation. This wouldn’t be the first or the last time he got your attention like this and he knew you were fine with it. “Alright you oversized guppy, how far down is it?”

Levi beams, wide mouth stretching to flash you his blood-stained fangs. His gills flaring up in excitement down his large neck and rib cage. Careful of his more toxic strands of hair and the abrasive patches of rock around his neck, you swim closer accepting help from his long pale fingers. Clutching onto his strong neck you give him a small thumbs up.

He dives into the water with practiced ease slowly descending to give your body and the magic protecting you time to acclimate. It was bone-chillingly at first, your whole body seizing as you are submerged. But soon the magic of your pact began to work warming you and making you able to breathe underneath the artificial currents. Eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light you nestle into the crook of his neck for the remainder of the ride.

He takes you to an underwater cave. The mouth hidden behind flowing purple and green water weeds. The entrance of the cave was like nothing you’ve seen before. Other caves in his habit were filled to the brim with coral and little crustaceans. Sometimes even an elusive mermaid or capricorn nursing injury. But this one was- empty. Warmer too as you swam deeper. The great sea beast dragging himself through the cave with his needle like claw above you. A defensive stance if ever you saw one.

You catch his eye and raise a brow. Don’t worry- itss ssafe...I think.

“Wait? You think?” You stop in your tracks only to have a massive hand nudge you along. He pushes you through the last of the tangled seaweed and kelp you look up into a- “nursery?” Levi smiles and nods twitchily.

Do you like it? I’ve spent months getting this place ready. He leaves you to look around freely, instead slithering up to a slightly less floral. You gape turning slowly in circles to take in the beauty around you. The cove simmered with the lights from his heat lamp pushing through the cracks in the rocks from above. The yellow warmth makes it easier for the crazy amount of plants and sponges to thrive. But the vast majority of the light came from the jellies and fish that had probably never been seen by human eyes before floating around you.

They were busy, grooming the anemones and rainbow colored corals, eating and pushing bits of waste away from large lilac colored eggs. The larger of the sea creatures swim above you checking on some of the moving eggs completely ignoring you and Levi... “Are they-”

Sirens. Lotan found a broodmother and her clutch last winter. We thought they had been wiped out centuries ago. He chitters at one of the eggs and scratches at his coral horns. She needed a place to nest so we made a deal. Taking great care he pulls at a large clump of sargassum from the base and pats it into a bare patch of rock. You watch him with a growing smile as he pulls more plants and critters from his horns. Once satisfied he scoops up a few of the larger eggs below him and nestles them into their new home.

You peek over his shoulder to look into the nest. Hauntingly beautiful babies look back up at you. Cherub sweet faces follow you and Levi’s movements. Levi grins proudly as one of the girls stretches out in her small space. They should be hatching soon. With some prompting from Leviathan, you accepted an egg. The inhabited squirming and clawing at its elastic membrane. It looked too small for its leather confines. The baby siren opens her tiny mouth and screeches, little needle teeth biting and ripping at the egg.

“Should I help it?” You ask. She was squirming so hard it was a fight to keep her in your arms. Levi looks over and emits a little series of clicks and coos at the fussy babe. The babe stops wiggling as hard but begins to claw at a thinner part of the shell. He turns after that to tend to a few squirming eggs himself. His claws were much more helpful than your blunt human fingers. Well then... You wait until the little beast has punctured the shell itself before helping it widen the breech.

Once freed the siren floats to the soft cave flooring. The kelp and anemones cushioning it, covering her body almost lovingly. A swarm of little crabs and shrimp descend on it picking and eating away at the remaining goo and membrane clinging to the infant. She giggles at the tiny pinches and mouths nibbling at her tail and claws. With a squeal of delight, she crawled after them and began to devourer them. Blue and green blood coming up in clouds from her mouth.

Levi laughs at your look of disgust momentarily distracted from freeing a few more babies. They will grow to bring the bodies of sailors to me for Diavolo’s navy. This is but practice.

“Oh-” You blink down at the monster now enraptured with your toes. The mood changed quickly.

Oh no. Levi buries his face in his hands instantly regretting opening his big mouth. That’s gross, isn’t it? Of course, this whole thing is disgusting to a human. I should have never shown you, nobody likes this stuff. He coils in on himself sinking to the bottom, eggs forgot to his misery.

“Now what a minute! I didn’t say that.” You sink down after him. “I don’t think it’s icky. Just another learning curve for us normies right? Honestly, this is kinda cool.”

Really? He peeks out from behind his hair and fingers.

You grip his hands, struggling to pull them away from his face. “Yeah!” You beam. “I mean you built all this? It is beautiful. Totally reminds me of that anime you watched with me last month.”

I think my roommate is a sea god and almost drowned my ex? He brightens tailing wagging.

“Exactly! You’ve really outdone yourself this time. Plus think of all the cool names you can come up with for all these sirens.” His gills flare again with a shrill screech.

Henry’s!

Ah- well maybe it would be better if someone else named them.

#obey me fandom #obey me leviathan #obey me fanfic #my writing #leviathan

174 notes · View notes

oswednesday · 2 years

Note

Weds since you're in Pokémon mode rn I wanna see your Legends Arceus opinions if you have any, it's personally the most fun I've ever had with a pokemon game so far I love being a pokemon biologist

omg i have not played it yet! i hope they carry any fun like full sim stuff over to the new region, and okay i really like the mythos lore and stuff of d/p, if it Had been the actual last pkmn that would have been alright i feel like that or b/w like how people thought back then and sometimes it does feel like that had been the intent but x/y is so charming despite a lot of things and sun and moon is like top slot number one pkmn game, but d/p its so like deep futuristic and strange, and im glad that carried over to legends, im also a big fan of like time travel theories right along with like war stuff so like, also legends and stuff like it often are my fave things about pkmn like nonmain series stuff ends up being so cool, like i miss stuff like sevvi islands or like the just overload of strange stuff in emerald or like the shadow series

but i think its rather problematic to take pokemon from other regions and connect them to like to this and like others who are affected by this in a day to day way have said its really freaking weird to make a game be like teehee my pocket monsters [colonizing of an inhabited land in the background] like, pokemon games have avoided this in the past by making stuff seem like scifi futuristic alt space so this past thing in the way theyre doing it is really like,i think in poor tastes

cause like past games were designed like with draw Hard Line this pokemon is from this region, even if they appear from another region its as import, invasive, or like an expanded territory, where further away regions were given no like interconnectivity like why would rowlet be there, implying thats like the Truer form like its really,,hm, tasteless, given like japan's history with hawaii,, and like rude, a lot of design work recently has felt that that to me like, mean spirited

like here's all this work and effort previous teams put in to make this world feel a certain way, like rules the setting has, designs meant to exist in a certain space and feel a certain way, well now we're going to use it this way, do as little work on it as possible, to make fat stacks of cash, overall i find design work is uggo to me, i know its a by product of how the staff is like separated from each other (like you can design a creature and have no say in its name or what it does in the game or even its final color palette,,,,insane) and how much crunch it is but it has a really strong vibe of like being made to cater to like a casual western player in a way that feels hard to arctiulate like when you're in a shop and there's stuff for tourists willing to spend 30 dollars or so on something that Looks like its from there

but from the fan art im filter feeding off the dash the writing looks like it takes it so some pretty cool places! not fully related, but i dont think id mind it if they did these like mini games to support legendary lore! like i do mind that theyre 60 dollars each, but if each legendary came with a free or like 10 dollarish or 30 dollarish (being realistic =_=) dlc event thing that would be really cool! one of my All time fave things about d/p is like invsa wall hacking it and walking off into the void to see the legendaries chilling, and its all extremely cluttered in the main game but imagine like a two hour or so fully written add on getting to explore them, they just try to do soo much in the main games it ends up thinning them out too much, id rather like smaller story with a more robust simulator with story added overtime

#this is just me talking about random things i think

3 notes · View notes

ijustkindalikebooks · 3 years

Text

As some of you may know, this Friday sees the beginning officially of the 2020 Olympic Games, a year late due to the pandemonium. Do I think they should be going ahead? Probably not. Do I think we should support athletes who have worked their ass off to represent their country and make history? Heck yes, so here we are. This is part one, or you'd be here forever.

Basketball - At the Tokyo Olympics, there will be basketball and 3x Basketball where teams have three members - apparently it's the biggest Urban sport in the world right now. I will recommend 'The Crossover' by Kwame Alexander - a brilliant book written in verse about two brothers with basketball in their DNA and their battles on and off court.

Archery - You know, Archery is the sport I would love to be good at - every year when I go on holiday I always do archery as one of my activities and every year I end up shooting the back of the target. I am going to go with a classic and say Robin Hood. Probably the most famous archer known to the world, who doesn't love a guy who steals from the rich and gives to the poor?

Gymnastics - I did this as a kid and it is elegant, and beautiful and brilliant to watch anyone do this sport. From seeing people like Max Whitlock conquer Pommel, to Simone Biles who just is pure brilliance to Kohei Ichimura who is flawless on the Japanese men's team, Gymnastics is just that sport. I recommend Simone Biles' book 'Courage To Soar' go to the best.

Artistic Swimming - This is such a cool sport, it looks like mermaids, and I think they learn how to breathe underwater to be honest - it must take such incredible dedication and I salute them for it, you go queens. 'The Adventures Of Team Pom' is a graphic novel for kids maybe, that involves a group of friends who want to be sychronised swimmers. If you want a book for older age range, try 'The Melting of Maggie Bean' TW: weight talk.

Athletics - We could probably be here all day finding books about running, 'Run, Rebel' by Manjeet Mann comes to mind, 'A Heart In A Body In The World' comes to mind too, both books TW for violence, but both magnificent reads. Haruki Murakami's 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' also is another good call.

Badminton - I swear I only watch this when the Olympics is on, but do I get into it, yes. Gail Emms is a legendary player for example for GB, and I know that cos I watched her play, take that. But there is no book about it, a sport older than the oldest person has no novel, so I'm going to link to this article about why that ain't right at all, this link here.

Baseball - Baseball is a huge sport in the US, and in many countries such as Japan and South Korea (go Lotte Giants!) and the reintroduction of the sport should come as no surprise. 'Moneyball' by Michael Lewis does come to mind for this of course, however books such as 'Evvie Drake Starts Over' a nice chick-lit romance might be a more chill way to get into the sporting spirit.

Volleyball - Beach volleyball is such a fun sport anyway, go read Haikyu!! and you will have a great read about this sport and you will fall down a Manga hole - which is perfect considering this year's Olympics is in Japan.

BMX - I just feel like you can't put BMX in the same category as Cycling, my brother would be ashamed (my brother rides BMX and runs a skate park, he'd find me) so you want a cute middle grade try 'Princess BMX' - I can only find non-fiction about this subject, but who doesn't like princesses who can do a 360 barspin and a downside tailwhip (one trick according to my brother).

Boxing - There are so many books on this subject such as 'The Fight' by Norman Mailer, which is now considered a classic, or 'On Boxing' which is a combination psychology and study of the sport - you can find an authoritative link to books here via The Guardian.

Canoeing - here in the good old blighty, not getting a gold medal in this sport is just weird and may that continue, I can only find books about great routes when it comes to Canoeing, which I hope doesn't say anything about the sport, but you can do yourself a favour and check this Goodreads list out here.

More to come, as there are too many sports to cover!

What is your favourite sport, let me know!

Vee xo.

#books #booklr #bookblr #olympics #sports #fiction #non fiction #book recs #book recommendations

6 notes · View notes

cherriesink · 3 years

Text

Yatsufusa Yuki - Murmurs

Murmurs are snippets of character reflection earned by increasing Explore Points during Exploration. They usually include 6-7 monologues about other characters and 3-4 monologues about things important to the specific character.

These lines are taken straight from the English translation of the game, so fair warning of bad grammar.

About Kurusu “Kurusu is not a typical vampire. He is the strongest vampire in Japan but doesn’t fit the stereotype at all. My instincts will warn me that he’s dangerous- but when I talk to him, I find myself at ease.

I’ve been thinking about the emotions I get when interacting with him. And came to the conclusion that it’s a feeling where my instinct and rationality fighting against each other. My instinct as a vampire fears him, but my rationality as a human feels safe with Kurusu... After all, the strange feeling I get with him is probably from my inner conflict of being both a vampire and human.

I heard that Kurusu is really strong when he’s serious, but I’ve never seen him be like that. So that’s also probably why I feel how I feel around him.

But regardless of human or vampire, I bet the most threatening type are people like Kurusu too.

...Let’s not get on the wrong side with him.”

About Maeda “I wonder if Colonel Maeda is really a human. I mean, I know he’s not a vampire... but he looks like another kind of a monster to me. His sadistic personality is more horrifying than a vampire, and not to mention that his glares give me the chills.

I wonder how he was raised... I was brought up in a military family, but I don’t think his is related to his profession.

...Come to think of it, Code Zero is a group of vampires being regulated by a human. It’s amazing when you really think about it... I’ve seen their battle a couple of times, but he moves quicker than an unranked vampire. I wonder if warriors in the Sengoku period were like that too...”

About Yamagami “Yamagami makes me feel at ease. He just does.

...Sometimes, I think that maybe Yamagami is the strongest vampire. When one becomes a vampire, their humanness slowly dies out. First of all, one cannot build a family by marrying the person they love because of the eternal life that we have. One can only drink blood. One can only live in the dark...

We’re baffled by it at first but soon learn to adjust. And after 100 or 200 years, the elements that made us human will completely disappear.

But Yamagami is always himself. He’s always this middle-aged “uncle” type of a guy. Always nagging and short-tempered, yet soft-hearted... easily scared, and needs company. He holds many weaknesses just like a typical person. You can also say that he has less weaknesses as a vampire.

The weaknesses of a vampire... Our hearts do not adhere to our immortal body. But I think Yamagami will always be Yamagami even 100 years from now.”

About Takeuchi “I was quite confused at first, but I heavily rely on this umbrella that Takeuchi gave me. Not only is it useful as a weapon, but it protects me from the sun when I completely lost track of time. I can hide myself from the sunlight for a short second.

...I can be careless, so I don’t know how many times I almost fried myself with the daylight. My body became superhuman-like after turning into a vampire but my personality is still the same as before...

Takeuchi is an amazing scientist but I think he goes overboard sometimes... He even added a toothbrush and a nail clipper when he improved the umbrella for me the other day. Just the skunk gas and Blood Candy is enough... Do vampires need those tools anyway?

And this Takeuchi logo. Sometimes I feel people staring at me, probably because the sunscreen sold in the department stores have the same logo as my umbrella...”

About Suwa “Suwa has been around since the Azuchi-Momoyama period. I remember Takeuchi saying that one must be clever on top of being strong if a vampire wants to live for over 300 years. And not many of us are alive for that long. Because most people die from the poison when being bitten by a vampire.

Even if they lucked out and became a vampire, they don’t know that vampires cannot be under the sunlight so they die before they know it. It must be rough having to learn your way through to live as a vampire... So now that I look back, I was very lucky.

Suwa, Defrott, and I have one thing and one thing only in common. We all love plays.

...Then, does that mean that I’m going to live for another 100 to 200 years? Or will my heart give out midway and self-destruct...?”

About Shinnosuke “Shinnosuke is not much older than me but he is very responsible.

...No, more like a fine adult. According to Ishikawa, Shinnosuke isn’t a pure Japanese. So he was bullied when he was a child for having a different hair color... And the ones who protected him at the time were vampires.

He must’ve welcomed me like a family when we first met because of his past experiences in life. He probably understands pain for both humans and vampires because he went through a lot himself. Shinnosuke was a child who had to grow up faster than anyone...

I hope an era will come where he doesn’t have to dye his hair black anymore.”

About Ishikawa “Ishikawa doesn’t speak much about himself, but he has been living since the Edo period. A master of sword drawing, intelligent, and gentle... He’s like a legendary master swordsman.

He ranks lower than me, but I cannot dodge his sword drawing... One thing I learned from observing him is that we can beat a vampire that ranks above us through training and experience.

But what’s most impressive about Ishikawa is that he tries to solve issues by talking it through. That is why vampires that work at Tenman-ya and the customers all respect him. He’s always there when you need him... If it weren’t for him I’d probably be shattered by now.

Shinnosuke and Ishikawa- They are both very important to me, and I want to protect them no matter what. Tenman-ya... is where I belong.”

About the Change “My physical abilities drastically improved since I became a vampire... Though, I don’t know how to put it, but it seems like my brain can’t keep up with my body.

It’s probably because I wasn’t the athletic type. It’s like I’m put behind the wheel of a car with broken brakes without any practice... I guess being athletic not only requires physicality, but also the skill the process information that’s coming in.

Adjusting my strength is the challenge. If I touch something the same way I did when I was human, it breaks... I broke 4 doors and 26 plates until today... Sigh, being a vampire isn’t for me after all... Shinnosuke won’t yell and just smiles if I break something at the shop... But he does deduct my salary.

...I’ll be loaded with debt... if I don’t get used to my body fast enough...”

About Daily Life “I rather hated the sun even as a human. I think it was since I was young... I rarely played with my friends outside. I locked myself in the house and read books during the day, and went out to see operas or concerts at night... People mocked me that I’m an “Ope-rascal” or a “rich slacker”...

Wait- my life hasn’t changed much even after becoming a vampire... In that sense, people like me might be right for vampires. Although... I’m not good with fighting or seeing blood.

Ishikawa said that there are many vampires who find it difficult to be restricted to night hours. But, it hasn’t really bothered me just yet.”

About Ranks “I’ve noticed that some people avoid me. Back when I was human, people made fun of me or even bullied me. So I didn’t realize it at first... But it seems that the ones that are avoiding me right now are vampires that rank below me. If I hadn’t become a vampire, I would probably have never known that there were so many vampires in the Imperial Capital.

...But I wonder about Defrott if that’s the case. I wonder how he sees this world? If people are afraid of someone like me who is merely C-Class, then it must be tough for someone like Defrott who’s an S-Class to walk around the streets...

But to be honest- I am scared of him myself deep inside... He looks like a young boy who talks so kindly but... vampire’s instincts can be quite mysterious.”

#mars red #yatsufusa yuki

6 notes · View notes

dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Text

Tokyo Tower (End) The Script is Rewritten

*waggles eyebrows* Hinted at in the chapter Butterfly Effect, little decisions lead to huge consequences. :)

"Is the King General's legacy?" Chisei's back was against Tachibana’s.

The deadpool in front of you has not only evolved a snake tail, but even evolved a pair of membrane wings. In the legends of countless ancient civilizations, the difference between ordinary beasts and gods and demons is the power of flight.

These Deadpool have very little human to them; they are far closer to wild dragons, dancing in the air.

The legendary dragon deadpool has appeared in the world.

"Go back to the elevator!" Chisei shouts to you. But he himself suddenly burst past you, sword executing a swift arc of twisted light.

The flying beast in front of you folded its wings like a raging gargoyle and lunged at you with its blade-like claws, but hit Chisei’s longsword before it could pounce over the railing and cut you open.

The sword made a rhythmic whoosh-whoosh sound, brightly spinning out of Chisei’s hand and through the air like a helicopter's rotors, before stopping suddenly, firmly grasped in your hand. You draw your claw dagger. “Those words give me Deja vu. You were saying?”

Having lost Onimaru to you, Chisei draws his remaining sword Dojigiri as a deadpool pounced from the top of the tower. Just as it neared reaching him, it cracked in half. Dojigiri had split its body in two and with the sharpness of that sword, the wound took a few seconds to show.

Another Deadpool swooped up from below the observation deck and swung its tail at you. You might not be an expert swordsman but you swing the blade automatically in the manner of a slashing dagger, only this dagger was much longer. The blade cut so easily through the deadpool, like a carving knife cutting a fresh ham, severing through the skin and muscle fibers smoothly, the bones cracking in pathetic resistance. You’d never felt anything cut through dragon tissue like that. Your eyes sharpen and widen with the thrill of killing! You swing again and the head goes flying off!

“Leave these to me! You go back to the elevator!” You call, your voice filled with a mocking sort of laughter. Your hair is flying in the rain as you run off to confront your next victim who slashes at you and collides with the sword blade. You roll and parry and sidestep, dancing with each opponent until you find an opening and then you go in with Onimaru, stabbing through and cutting out, leaving grievous wounds with it. The long sword forced a bit more distance from your opponents than you were used to, so your claw dagger served more as a parry weapon, than your main killing blow, punishing those who dared reach inside the hitbox of Onimaru to get at you with a lost finger or a cut wrist.

You dance back into the observation room to join the others. Sakura and Bondarev were gathering what little weapons were strewn across the floor.

“The elevator isn’t on the floor any more!” Bondarev shouts. “I do not know who is summoning the elevator below but they took our weapons!”

You turned toward the voice briefly, but had to turn back to fend off another attacker. Every instinct told you that was BS. There was no one else here unless Caesar and Zihang were coming up too. Bondarev was a military man and a strategist, not some old coot in a sweater waiting to retire. You still remember him on skis, his sleeveless shirt showing immaculate physique while he stood in minus 3 degree weather with a wind chill of minus thirty-three. LIke some Siberian Heracles. And now he had taken dragon blood to bolster his aging strength, not to mention give himself a significant healing factor.

He was delaying for some reason. Was he still trying to kill you? It would be wise to assume so. You’re not getting on the elevator. You got a very bad feeling that Bondarev was not going to let you leave this tower alive.

Chisei Gen also retreated into the room and swung his long sword clean, throwing away the black blood on it. The three of them regrouped, Sakura holding a sword with both hands, Bondarev holding the blunt end of a two-meter-long European lance, the tip of which resembles a crescent moon.

"Come on!” Chisei beckons to you. “Crow and Yasha, they will think of something."

You see the shock and dismay in his eyes when you back away and shake your head.

He tries again. “MC! We need to put aside our differences right now!”

“Some things cannot be put aside I’m afraid.” Bondarev sighs sadly. “I killed her best friend in Black Swan Bay. She was young. Barely a woman. I have no right to ask her to fight by my side.”

You sneer at his performance. Then you rudely and sharply cut through his bluster with facts. “If I get on that elevator, he’s going to kill me. The same way he killed her. He won’t kill you. At least… not directly. He’ll manipulate you into dying, giving up your life by choice. That’s how it works… right Bondarev?” You look at him directly. “How can a master spy like you not know your precious asset would be here to save you?”

A very dark shadow obscures your face and when you look up, the sky above the glass ceiling is seething with deadpool. The deadpool let out a shrill whistle and swoop down as if the black mountain of clouds hanging overhead had collapsed.They smash that glass ceiling all at once and come flying in, their jagged bone wings snapping violently open.

You roll and flee the group waiting for the elevator, putting as many deadpool as you can between yourself and Bondarev. Z’s words to you ring in your ears. He said, ‘your ride will be here shortly’, right before Fingel came crashing out of the sky. He wasn’t referring to leaving with Fingel, he meant your alternate way out that was waiting for you, waiting for this moment. The rope that dangled from the Tokyo Tower saved Fingel from death. And it would save you too.

In the distance came the sound of a bell tolling twelve o'clock at midnight. The sound of the bells are unusually cold to the ears, and Tokyo seemed to be transformed into a ghostly medieval city in this rainstorm, with the bronze bells on the churches roaring and the devils laughing wildly in the shadows.

The deadpool creatures no longer have hands. Judging by the puckered scars at the joints, they appear removed by some kind of surgery, replaced with curved metal serrated scimitars granting them a long reach but no grappling ability except for their prehensile tails. So long as you target their wings, they wouldn’t be able to climb back up the tower very easily. That fearlessness that moved Chime Gen to praise you in front of your peers takes hold of you again.

The beasts chase you like seagulls, creeling, getting in each other's way and bunching up. You slide like a baseball player under a canopy of razor sharp blades and jump up behind one, slamming Onimaru into its back and dangling from the hilt to cut the wings off the other beasts. You brace yourself on it, like riding a rodeo show horse. The monster beneath your feet heaved and rolled, howling in pain but was more occupied with defending itself from being overwhelmed by its own brethren than attacking you.

You were eye to eye with them in mid air, using the deadpool dagger to cut into their wings, tearing the membranes. You stab into the space between the joints and the biomechanical working of the muscles is so strong, it nearly wrenches your dagger from your hands. The deadpool creatures with damaged wings start to fall from the sky, unable to keep up their flight but they still have the strength to glide back onto the platform.

You twist the sword and leap back onto the platform to regroup. One beast rears up to battle but then its head snaps back to the sound of a distant rifle. You dash in to slit its throat. You grin! Somewhere on the roof of a far building, Mingfei was still there with his sniper rifle! You calculate in your head. You know he was shooting before. You make a conservative estimate for his ammunition and assume he still has your rifle and ammunition as a back up.

This was good news because reinforcements were arriving on the Deadpool side. More of them are climbing up over the railing, their scales shimmering. In addition to the dragon-like Deadpool, there are more of those snake-like Deadpool from Genji Heavy Industries, and they are all converging on the observation deck.

The demon hordes of Herzog and Bondarev had amassed against you.

A buffeting downdraft came from above. Huge black shadows descended from the sky. The support from Crow and Yasha in the form of helicopters finally arrived. The elite of the Executive Board of Japan stood on the landing gear and fired. Intense firepower pinned down the group of Deadpool. The helicopter’s heavy rapid-fire machine gun poured out a rain of bullets without a care in the world -- or a care for you for that matter! You’re forced to take cover from their reckless rain of bullets that could easily kill you as much as they beat back the Deadpool!

You snarl in your heart, cursing Bondarev again. The helicopter slowly approached the observation deck. The Executive Board's plan was apparently to open the way with a barrage of bullets, allowing their three leaders to jump directly onto the aircraft.

"Follow me!" Through the broken windows and heaving mass of bodies, you see Chisei bend down and pick up one sword after another. These blades began to spin in midair. He could wield them without touching them! He used these blades to open the way. Deadpool could not approach him when the royal blood was burning.

The Hydra members were inspired by the leader's godlike bravery, and the Gatling machine guns roared even louder as the barrage of bullets drove Deadpool and you to the sides, leaving the way for Gen Chisei and the others, but pushing you farther away from your rope! You wished you had a ballistic weapon in your hand right now so you can shoot Bondarev! He seemed to realize that, like the King, you were betting on an alternative and was forcibly moving you away from your desired position.

Chisei didn’t seem concerned for you any longer. Who knew what that snake whispered in his ear to wipe away your warning words. The helicopter lowered the ladder and approached the observation deck, and the men stopped firing to wave desperately for Chisei to jump up quickly.

A new black shadow shot out of the observation area like an arrow, having taken a mighty leap, and bit the hanging ladder. The men on the landing gear were stunned. They didn't even think that these ferocious beasts had such intelligence. They seemed to be completely suppressed by the rain of bullets, but in fact they were waiting for their chance to attack!

For a bloody meal, these things are happy to trade their lives. A second black shadow swooped out of the tower and latched onto the first one’s tail. The men’s eyes are wide with terror as they shoot at the deadpool who had bitten the hanging ladder. But the battered Deadpool didn't let go. Its mutilated face seemed to be wearing a maniacal grin as more and more of them bit its tail, hooking their bodies upward with their metal blade appendages. One black shadow after another swarms into the cockpit, the men’s guns still roaring, but to no avail. They could not expel those who had come to feed. The helicopter had become their coffin.

Chisei watched in silence as the helicopter moved away from the observation deck, like a wounded eagle going to find a place to heal, but it didn't get very far before it lost its balance and plummeted toward the square.

The helicopter landed in flames.

With no helicopter and the elevator taking its sweet time getting here, Chisei took quick stock in the situation. Bondarev was still limping next to his guardian Chisei, sticking close to him. If anything happened to Chisei, you’re not sure how you would face Chime ever again. But so long as that viper was next to him, your survival couldn’t be guaranteed. So you keep your mouth shut about the rope and keep your distance.

You’d have to find a way to separate those two, not only physically but mentally, but time was ticking. There were too many enemies, not enough weapons. From this high in the air, you couldn’t use your Soul Skill. It was too wet inside and out to use fire. So long as those deadpool were swimming all over this place, there was no way you’d be able to use the rope and escape scot free. You had to beat these things to escape!

You hear a sudden low, melodic snarling.

Chisei recited the long lost language and his Soul Skill, Majesty, was released, expanding slowly, the borders glowing with a faint luminescence. He walked to the center of the special observation deck where his ability could just about cover the whole area. This was Chisei’s coup de grace. While it was overwhelming, he would be as weak as a baby later. But this would be your last chance!

You rush toward the staggering deadpool, a whirling dervish with twin blades. Black blood splashed in fountains and ran like waterfalls off the observation deck. This was no time for finesse or art killing. You fell on them like a mad beast while they could not move. How long did Majesty endure the last time you saw it? Around 30 seconds to a minute? This would be a greater fitness test than anything you had experienced in Black Swan Bay. You had to kill, de-wing or disable dozens of deadpool in 30 seconds.

It was an incomparably bizarre scene. The deadpool were prostrate on the ground, unable to even lift their heads, inert pieces of meat for you to slaughter. The floor tiles cracked and they sank inch by inch into the concrete floor platform.

What world would Renata think of you now? Or even the loving father version of Dr. Herzog that you used to believe existed? You imagined them watching the clock, cheering you on. Vera applauding and whooping, saying you can do it. In your head, these fantasies seem to be extending the time longer than thirty seconds, but you try not to think about it. Every second lost would never return. You had to take every one and kill two or even three deadpool per second and not think about the clock.

Then it was over. A deadpool hissed at you and swiped out one claw. You leap back and sever it at the same time. You look towards Chisei and Chisei looks back at you. He opens his mouth to speak but vomits red. You look around as the deadpool raise their upper bodies even as their lower heavier bodies are still stuck. They’re so insanely ravenous that they pull hard, and in their attempt to drag themselves, pull their own bodies apart! Their naked vertebrae, stripped of flesh, dripping black, gives the scene the new appearance of a zombie apocalypse as they crawl forward, cutting you off from the elevator. But they’re still weak. You can still kill them.

You shake your head at Chisei as he gazes at you from across the gap. It shocked you. He should be concerned about Bondarev. That man had his invisible shackles around his mind, but he hesitated. He wanted to save you. But you knew that the minute you were ‘saved’, you would be in the clutches of Hydra and that was the end.

You would take your chances with the deadpool horde.

Chisei finally turned back, staggering and near collapse. The deadpool slithered after him, slowed, but still active. He was still making an effort to support what you felt was a malingering Bondarev when suddenly Bondarev fell to the floor, pulling Chisei to the ground.

Majesty released further and the beasts were starting to attack closer to full speed! You’re dodging and slashing and Mingfei was still firing to give you back up support, but if Chisei didn’t leave now, he would die. Time was truly up!

You gasp, momentarily torn. If you left the edge of the tower now to go help Chisei get to the elevator, you’d be completely committed to that route with Bondarev. But if you lost Chisei…

Chime’s cry echoed in your mind. Brother!

You chew your lip hard and turn to go back to the Observation deck to help! But as you do you see that someone else is carrying Chisei!

Sakura Yabuki had leaped up and grabbed Chisei’s arms and carried him on her back. She didn’t look that strong but she was. Apparently, she’d tired of his delay and was hauling him like a sack of potatoes to get out.

Now you just needed to secure your own escape. The half bodied deadpool were no match for your twinblades and you laughed at cutting them down like mere chickens. You felt free to expend the last of your energy doing this. Your escape was now guaranteed. You’d run the gauntlet and once again come out the winner!

Surrounded by corpses, you look around. There were no more deadpool coming. You straighten in confusion. Was it something you said?

As one swarm, the deadpool abandoned you to chase something else and your heart twisted in despair and tears sparked from your eyes. You screech in desperate fury! “No! Chisei, you idiot, you didn’t! You didn’t sacrifice yourself for that MAN!”

You scream at the flying figure above you. The person, however, was not Chisei. It was Sakura! Using a ballistic grapple hook like Batman, she was soaring over the top to the observation deck through the broken windows!

You stomped your foot in a fury! That Bondarev siren song of suicide! What was she thinking? Did Sakura not think you might have a way out? Did she figure that you were giving Chisei a way out by killing yourself? You weren’t like everyone else in the Japan Branch! You didn’t give your life away like them!

Sakura didn’t deserve to be used as food for Bondarev!

Sakura was climbing to the top of the central spire of the Tokyo tower, the huge radio tower on top of the observation deck, while being pursued by every deadpool in the tower. Just like in the elevator shaft, they ignored you completely, sweeping by and slithering and trailing drool. Once they got to the base of the spire they started to kill each other to be the first to climb up while suppressive fire rained down from Sakura’s last remaining gun.

Lu Mingfei shifted his focus from you to the tower in support of Sakura. You follow her trajectory closely the way she climbed, the way she was lining herself up with you on the top of the tower. She was lining herself up close to you.

You feel a slight shiver and your eyes widen. She really did believe in you. She believed you had an alternate way out!

She’s now standing up at the top of the radio tower and bows deeply in thanks to Mingfei for his support.

She was going to jump and that whole horde was going to follow her down into the void. Your heart is beating. A spotlight was on you. You had only one chance at this. You slip Onimaru into your belt. You climb the safety railing as she takes her leap of faith, a wave of black scaly bodies falling in a beautiful, horrible arc.

You throw yourself off too.

At the critical moment, your bodies align and your eyes meet. You sweep up with your claw dagger. The hooked claw rends the bloody fabric that the deadpool found so irresistible. Then you wrap that arm around her slender waist and reach out for the rope you knew was there, the rope that had saved Fingel not too long ago from the same fate.

The sudden stop pulls your shoulder out of its socket and your arm nearly releases but by then, Sakura has recovered her senses and grabs hold of you before you can fall, clinging to the rope herself.

The tattered wet and bloody clothing continues the rapid descent Sakura should have taken had you not been there. Had you not climbed the steps. Had you not loved Ruri Kazama enough to obey his words and not Caesar’s.

The deadpool continued their fall after the clothing and you could hear the disgusting continuous splatter of their bodies slamming into the concrete and bursting apart in an ebony fountain.

Sakura Yabuki supports you and helps you cling to the rope. She’s completely topless and her body is warm against yours in the cold rain.

“I have to ask you, because I don’t understand. Why save me? Chisei killed the man you loved. It would have been easy to let me fall. Let me die. To let Chisei feel the pain you felt that night. Some would even call it justice.” She gasped out the words.

You’re both shivering and out of breath.

You stare at her with frigid eyes. “I don’t know what justice is, first of all.” You snap, angry and desperate, your emotions swirling in a hurricane in your mind. “And second of all, I didn’t save you because of Chisei.” Your eyes sparkle in the dark with unshed tears. “Third of all, I’m sure he is feeling what I felt that night, because he thinks you’re dead right now. But unlike Chance, you will come back!”

Sakura Yabuki sobered. She didn’t know you, but you had the feeling she was listening closely and understanding.

So you continue, each sentence a shouted exclamation above the rain’s metallic rhythm on the tower struts. “I didn’t come here with morals or life lessons that teach me mercy. I’m no better than he is. I was raised by Dr. Herzog for God’s sake! Chisei Gen was raised by that child-murderer Bondarev! We both kill first and ask questions later. Our father figures just tried to rip each other’s throats out! It shouldn’t surprise anyone that we’re going to hurt each other, so don’t think I care for him! The only true difference between us, in truth?” You pause, your eyes wide. “I just hang out with better people! Caesar, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, and Ruri Kazama. They’re my world. I will do things that will please them. So I look better. But I’m not better!”

Your voice lowers to a dull snarl in her ears. “I could have just walked away, easily! I could be eating a warm bowl of ramen noodles, right now!” Your snarl turned to a soft bitter laughter. “But Chime… Chime would never have forgiven me if something happened to his brother because I did that. I could have let you fall. But Chance is gone. I might have another chance… at love. That is.” You again crack a brief joke. “But Chime wouldn’t want me to hurt his brother by letting you die.”

Your laughter takes hold of you, but it’s painful. It was just a way to stop from crying. “I’m only here because of my boyfriend. You heard that right. It’s so stupid.” You shove Onimaru back into her hands. “Here, take his dumb sword back. I don’t want it.”

Sakura looked down at you and a small smile graced her features. “Fair. Still, I must thank you. Farewell. Until we meet again.” Sakura Yabuki slid down the rope, speeding down the rest of the way down from Tokyo Tower. You see her land and she’s gone in the blink of an eye.

#Dragon Raja

6 notes · View notes

margridarnauds · 4 years

Note

What's your ranking for all Japanese Marie Antoinette roles you know?

Thank you so much for asking this, since it lets me talk about some of my favorite musicals!

[warning for some critical talk + references to sexual harassment, because.....1789′s take on Artois.]

1. Marie Antoinette das Musical (Rena Sasamoto) - Having an entire musical DEVOTED to her really helped as far as making her a real character, and in my opinion, it shows very well with her portrayal. Elegant, generous, and kind, but also stubborn and naive. She can be very infuriating, but I think that, in the end, the audience can see WHY Fersen loves her so much and why even Margrid is able to feel pity and respect for her. I also give it props for actually showing that, by the time the musical begins in 1784, Antoinette HAD given up her partying in favor of her family. In many ways, it’s a more mature take on Antoinette that I think we also see traces of in Azure Moment and Kaname Ouki’s portrayal in 1789. She does still struggle with the urge to spend, but she’s resolved to be a better queen; the tragedy is that it’s too late. Probably one of my favorite Antoinette portrayals in general.

2. Azure Moment - NOT a musical that I discuss very often, which is a pity because it’s very worth discussing. (A guilty admission: I STILL need to watch it with subs.) But I do feel like Antoinette is dealt with very evenly there; she’s still frivolous, yes, but there’s something under the surface, she’s much more even, not as high-energy or brainless as some of the portrayals lower on the list are, and it’s genuinely sad to see her relying on Ademar and Simon after all her friends abandon her. (Also, on a purely aesthetic level, I FEEL like she resembles the historical Antoinette a little more? She has a much squarer face than I generally see, which I feels suits her very well.) It’s not the BIGGEST role, given that this is a musical that isn’t REALLY about her, but I think it did some interesting things with how little she is there. I felt like she was perhaps a little smarter than Antoinette’s generally allowed to be, a little more intuitive, and though I don’t think we’ll EVER see a Takarazuka show showing Antoinette’s pragmatism and subtle streak of ruthlessness...it was a little refreshing to see something that didn’t seem ENTIRELY cookie cutter.

3. 1789 (Kaname Ouki) - Look. I’ll be blunt. I’m fairly certain that her singing has nearly shattered several glasses in my apartment. She hits that high note at the end of the Je Mise Tout reprise and several neighborhood cats shriek at what they suspect is one of their friends in danger. I wish that we could have heard what she sounded like in the 2016 album, but alas. For reasons that NO ONE CAN EVER FULLY KNOW, we didn’t. BUT. BUT. I do like that she plays Antoinette a little bit more down to earth, it makes her transition in Act 2 very plausible. I feel like, even in her partying days in Act 1, she isn’t really INTO *it* per se, she’s more interested in it because it’s a distraction, but she’s slowing down. (Which makes sense, given that, historically, by 1789 Antoinette HAD fully given up her partying ways, but alas.) I think that her argument with Fersen really shows a certain genuiness, as a lonely woman who’s terrified that the one person who really has her best interests at heart is abandoning her. And she does have a nice, silvery voice when she doesn’t force it, and that gives her a somewhat eerie sense to her “Je vous rends mon âme”, which is sealed by her self-awareness, turning away from the audience and resolvedly walking away after the sound of a guillotine falling is played, fully aware of her fate.

4. 1789 (Takarazuka) - I felt like Manaki Reika did a WONDERFUL job balancing Act 1 Antoinette’s carelessness with Act 2 and, in my opinion, probably had the best balance of acting and singing overall. There’s a reason why she is an absolutely legendary Top Star, and she shows it here. “But Rachel,” you might ask, “Why is she rated so lowly? Especially when you spent the first few sentences of the last one savaging Kaname Ouki?” And I feel like the reason is, in this case, the writing. Her dialogue with Artois, for example, indicates that she knows that he uses aphrodisiacs on women, she KNOWS what his reputation is, and she still lets Olympe be in the same area as him. Unmarried, unprotected Olympe who doesn’t have the social standing to recover. (Note: Historical!Antoinette was faced with a similar situation re: one of her ladies in waiting and Artois, and she had the woman sent away to Paris except when it was absolutely necessary. Why? Because historical!Antoinette CARED about the people around her.) And, then you have the bit during the 1st act finale where she says that her suffering is the same as that of the common people, and you just have to sit back and go “....really Antoinette? Really?” As an actress, as a singer, she was GREAT, and there are little touches that she leaves that are great (a personal favorite is the Raku performance, where she is visibly horrified and shaken by the guillotine at the end of “Je vous rends mon âme”), but...unfortunately...the writing. Which is why I would LOVE to see her do Toho 1789 one of these days, though it would inevitably be heartbreaking for me since it’s VERY unlikely I would be able to see it.

5. 1789 (Ryuu Masaki) - Masao’s infectious spark is DEFINITELY present in her Antoinette, and I do appreciate seeing that. Her Antoinette is IN LOVE with life and is enjoying living it up. Honestly, I do love seeing her on stage. But. BUT. Masao, while a solid singer (If I’m just LISTENING to the Antoinettes, I’ll pick hers any day of the week) has never been described as the best actress. And, unfortunately, some of the issues that were present in her Takarazuka run (Never 5get her questionable moans in Takarazuka Maniaque) are still very present in her brief Toho run, with an accidentally side-splitting moan when Louis-Joseph dies being a highlight (?). Overall, her Antoinette comes off as less nuanced, a little bit more like an 8 year old stuffed into the body of a 30 year old, and so, as far as OVERALL portrayal, I have to hand it to Kaname Ouki. I will say that, on one last note, BECAUSE she’s such a high energy Antoinette, seeing her at the end in her execution gown, completely sober, is spine-chilling.

6. Hanafusa Mari. Now, you might wonder why I didn’t bother to specify which particular take on Antoinette I’m referring to, given that she’s played the role twice: Once in 1789 (which wasn’t filmed, so I have to judge off of what friends who DID see it have said, the album, and the little digest footage available), once in Marie Antoinette das Musical (which I DO own), and the reason for that is essentially the same as why she’s rated so lowly on the list: She plays the same role regardless of the musical. And that role has all the depth of plastic, going between saccharine sweetness worthy of Dolores Umbridge herself and self-pitying whingeing that kind of makes you want the revolutionaries to just get on with it, with comparatively little in-between. She has a solid voice, I would never deny her training, she’s certainly had the best training (and career) that money can buy, but there’s a certain grating quality to it. And, when she is put up against another star, she tends to try to outbelt them instead of letting her voice flow smoothly with theirs (Mario Tashiro’s Fersen in MA is a notable example, giving the two of them....a significantly lower degree of chemistry). I feel like the best Antoinettes will have the audience crying by the end WITHOUT demanding “PITY ME. MY LIFE IS SO SAD. PITY ME,” and in her case....she doesn’t ask, she forces.

7. Marie Antoinette das Musical 1.0 (2006). Ah, the original, debut version of the musical. There’s a reason they changed it. Marie is presented as a petulant, vain child with a cruel streak (sloshing champagne in Margrid’s face), fake-crying whenever Louis tells her that they need to lower their spending. I HATED her. And I know that the overall idea is that she starts off as a bitch but then shows more as the musical goes on, but it was still a little too vicious for me to feel........anything by the end. Like, I’m fully #TeamOrléans in that version (okay, in general, but that’s BESIDE the point), because.......why should we have ANY sympathy for this woman? She’s terrible!

My guilty admission is that I’ve never actually watched either the Rose of Versailles or Lupin III, which I know also are key musicals for her portrayal, especially RoV since, last I checked, it massively influenced the public perception of Antoinette in Japan and is really the key reason why the French Revolution is SUCH a thing in terms of pop culture. I did TRY once, but I kind of....fell asleep during the former. (In defense of RoV, I WAS very sleep deprived at the time and had just marathoned the Scarlet Pimpernel; I’m sure it’s lovely, though, if I recall correctly, it’s a little TOO much pastels and glitter for my taste.)

#marie antoinette #marie antoinette das musical #1789 les amants de la bastille #if i'm killed for this please tell my dogs i love them #Anonymous

12 notes · View notes

kuixotic · 4 years

Text

aight it’s headcanon time

I had this thought for a while of hey there’s no flags for the pokemon regions and me being me I decided to try my hand at some theoretical flags for the main games (sorry ranger/coliseum/etc) with color meaning and all (and I’m gonna hide it under a read more because this is gonna be a lot)

These are just lil headcanons for my own purposes but if anyone wants to revamp some of these for their own use I’m so chill with that and would LOVE to see them!

Kanto-Johto

I can see Kanto and Johto having a combination flag since in G/S/C/HG/SS you travel to both regions and they’re explicitly connected to each other geographically speaking. Initially I did think of a white bg but that would hide the fact that Lugia’s wings are present, so I opted for a pale blue that could double for the sky/sea (for Johto in particular since we’re dealing with Ho-oh and Lugia) meanwhile the circle in the middle (borrowing from Japan’s actual flag) has a triad thing going to represent both the legendary birds and beasts, maybe kinda the “first” three games too? We all know Green was there before Yellow sooo-

Hoenn

(I also made a version of this with the Birth Island puzzle pattern because who doesn’t like “conspiracy theory” things right)

Hoenn was pretty fun, initially I thought of putting the eon siblings in here but since I tried sticking with box legendaries welllll yeah, oops. I kinda did the stripe order to resemble the start credits in the originals, the red acting as dirt/rocks under the grass Brendan/May is riding their bike on. White is a standard harmony/peace color so I had it binding/connecting the glowing marks that the weather trio have on their respective start menus, kinda doing a lil trinity thing on that regard.

Sinnoh

For Sinnoh I kinda played around with the idea of the region being a bit remote compared to the prior three, and what’s more remote and has a flag than Antarctica right? I borrowed from Hokkaido’s flag with white=snow since especially in Platinum the region is more snow covered, also taking into consideration that creation is thought to originate from Arceus (obviously from Sinnoh) which explains the use of the actual region in this rather than symbols. Not only you’ve got the box legendaries (Dialga/Palkia/Giratina) represented by their respective colors, but also the lake trio and their territories. For the middle design it could also be considered an inspiration of Hokkaido’s while also being on the Spear Pillar (line it up with a Sinnoh map, do it) and the “petals” are actually 18 plates ;D (18 since this would be a “current” flag featuring fairy type). The line cutting east and west is actually through the rest of the mountain range in Sinnoh too.

Unova

Unova was relatively easy to work with-the whole truth v ideals/black and white/yin-yang was very quick to come up with ideas for. Since Unova was based on the U.S I did initially think of adding something along the 13 stripes but things would start looking less like a flag and more like a ripped piece of a prison uniform. Instead I opted for a star in the middle made with alternating black-white pieces and connected by grey-doing that whole gray space/morality in the face of truths/ideals thing yknow?

Kalos

Kalos has a similar scheme to Hoenn save for the fact the color stripes are horizontal to emulate the French flag, the only difference being the “Zygrade green” instead of white. Considering the context from the games surrounding it, the Eternal Flower is a bit of a negative connotation especially with the color scheme resembling Yveltal’s, We’re looking for a balance here right, and Kalos would probably not want their most memorable feature to be death and destruction. So instead we have a sort of reverse of it, maybe called the Peace Flower??? White is generally associated with peace/purity, coupled with Zygarde’s green really brings the importance of the balance between life and death that it keeps a check on.

Alola

Alola was fun to think on, being my next favorite region in general to Sinnoh. The color order for the stripes goes from east to west-the same progression the sun and moon have when passing through the sky. Obviously-the colors come from the islands with Ula Ula in the far east and Poni to the far west. You can kinda think of the sun/moon positions as rotating around the flag so that if it were animated-the moon would be next to the red stripe and the sun by the purple to just continually cycle around.

Galar

Galar was an idea and while roughly executed (partially due to style choices because wtf are heraldry lions doing are they in pain- and partially due to being the last thing I drew up today and my energy was DYING but if I didn’t do it all today I would’ve never done it at all) We hardly know anything about Calyrex and truth be told I don’t have a switch so I can’t say I’ve gone through the region thousands of times to make my own headcanons yet. I did like the logo from Leon’s clothes and thought it was too good to pass up for use, combining Calyrex’ head-thing since it looks like a crown. As much as I would think Galar would use the crowned versions of the za-siblings, “Hero of Many Battles” just kinda gives more of that “ancient” vibe that I for some reason associate the region with (I’m calling the U.K old because compared to my lil U.S self-it is). I really took some inspiration from Scotland’s coat of arms because of the unicorn and all, and while this flag deviates from the pattern of subtle references to main legendaries I feel it fits considering how different Galar is in comparison to the other core games.

#pokemon headcanons #pokemon #kanto #johto #hoenn #sinnoh #unova #kalos #alola #galar #my art

29 notes · View notes

daphncfm · 4 years

Text

wow i can’t believe i got an intro out in a reasonable period of time ! love that for me ! hi angels , i’m aly ( she / her ) chilling in mst but you can ignore that because my schedule is lowkey all over the place . what do you need to know about moi ? i’m an angst whore and drama queen yet i some how created the soft bean that is daphne , ugh my mind . JKJKJK . really i’m a nerd and i make too many outdated references . but you can find out more about daphne below and if you’d like to plot give this post some ❤️ or drop me a message on discord ( 𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑎𝔬𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫#8950 )

content warning : drug mention

𝑖. 𝑎𝑝𝑝.

new york's very own daphne larson was spotted on broadway street in nike air force one sneakers . your resemblance to kendall jenner is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty - second birthday bash . while living in nyc , you've been labeled as being uninhibited , but also worldly . i guess being an aquarius explains that . three things that would paint a better picture of you would be a field of dandelions dancing in the summer breeze , an overflowing crystalline glass of champagne and blissful laughter .

𝑖𝑖. 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑠.

full name : daphne isobel larson nickname : daph age : twenty - two birthday : january twenty - sixth astrological sign : aquarius gender : cisfemale pronouns : she/her sexual orientation : bisexual ( only publicly dated guys ) location of birth : new york city , new york char inspo : caroline forbes ( tvd ) , love quinn ( you ) , sharon tate , bubbles ( powerpuff girls ) char labels : the halcyon , the icarian , the vagabond , the quixotic , the aesthete . char traits : sanguine , dreamy , escapist , emotional , philanthropic and idealistic .

𝑖𝑖𝑖. 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦.

her parents are known philanthropists , along with her dad being a high profile lawyer / law company partner ( like a nicer harvey specter , ngl i’ve only watched half of one season of suits ) and while her mom is heavily involved in nyc drug dealing / trade ( think rebe’s mom from elite , high profile clients and the best stuff on the block , etc ... shh ) . daphne was sheltered from the whole drug world for .. a while , we shall get into that . her adolescent summer’s were spent with her dad jet setting around the globe , giving her an adoration for traveling and the beauty of world . she also picked up an appreciation for art and a bitch loves a good museum lbr . her dad is a big part of the reason daphne is a softie as they spent the majority of time together while her mom was otherwise occupied but firmly reminded daph to take off her rose colored glasses often driving a wedge between the pair . it wasn’t until her mom’s first arrest that started the divide between daph and her dad , and her first introduction to the whole underground source of wealth . around fifteen / sixteen at the time off gallivanting the streets of new york daph arrived home to the police stationed outside her the building they lived in , trying to get in before she saw her mom being whisked away in handcuffs and her dad furiously following . from there the whole situation became a blur for daph aka i’m too lazy to dissect the whole scenario SLKDFJS . but due to the swift work of her dad and his connections everything was all but swept under the rug in less than a week ! and by that weekend , her mom was back in business while her dad sat her down and explained the whole situation .

this was an obvious turning point for daphne , she was pissed at the deception from her parents but was understanding of it ; but knew what it meant , keeping a big ol secret and frankly it’s something daph is NOT the best at . give it a week before she was spilling her guts to some of her friends , bringing it back to her parents that they were interested and insert another stream of income for the larson clan . in a sea of students figuring out just how much fun partying can be , daph basically became the hook up for a good time . while her relationship with her parents strained , especially with her dad , daph put that big ol heart of hers into friendships / relationships , she gets really invested OKAY 🥺 ! anyways , daph probably threw some pretty fuckin legendary parties as well , mostly because her parents loosened the reigns on her since ... she could BASICALLY send them to jail ... not that she ever would because soft .

let’s insert glow up here and daphne’s parents realize that she could really become the face of their family foundation , which lead to fashion designers asking for her to walk on their runways just for the publicity . this opened up a whole new stream of clients and revenue for the larson’s and you could say that her parents were actually rather proud of their daughter , much to her dismay LSKDJFLS cause really the last thing daph wants to be is like her parents ? but at the same time she’d ... do anything for them bc to her that’s what family is ? she’s TROUBLED okay .

where are we at ? daphne is currently studying art history at columbia while being the primary face of her family’s foundation . she still has a working relationship with her parents and occasionally does some modeling , still mostly runways and typically for charity . hasn’t dropped her high school party ways , she’s just more mature about it now ! going to clubs , getting wine drunk , you know classy things .

𝑖𝑣. 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠.

while daph really hates what her parents do ... she can’t deny she hasn’t tried the product every so often . quality check , you know . but she smokes a lot of weed , A LOT . being stoned and laying in the grass or fuzzy carpets ... it’s a thing

her passion for traveling and culture hasn’t diminished at all , but daph can be so irrationally spontaneous sometimes ? catch her flying to italy or israel ��or japan for a little getaway

daph’s all about getting the most out of life , like she just ... wants to have the best day everyday like a child man . it can make her a bit flaky and unreliable sometimes . but the one thing you can rely on ! being late SLDKJF

she’s just a whimsical drug pixie okay

and an aquarius .. y’all know

𝑣. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠.

i ... am really drawing a blank on uh good ideas ? what a flop lMAO but i’m really up for anything , and MUCH better at brainstorming ngl .

#wealthyhq:intro #drugs tw

13 notes · View notes

crepuscular-gloom · 4 years

Text

Poptropica Island Ratings

okay I saw a post on here a while ago and someone rated the Poptropica islands. I remember agreeing with a lot of them, but they only went so far so a lot of the newer islands were missed out. I came across it again recently and got hit by a wave of nostalgia so I’m gonna do my own now. Unoriginal content very good. i’ll put a keep reading link to stop it from taking up too much space

Early Poptropica - mega nostalgia but kinda boring. I like the original Poptropicans being pixely and there is a goth gf in the sewers however the giant green spider scared the shit out of me as a kid and the idea of an aircraft graveyard made me sad so 6/10

Shark Tooth Island - also nostalgic but I didn’t complete it for a long time for some reason.. very short. it has a story but its there is nasty shark and people stuck on an island so make a calming potion. the medicine man looks like he is from viva pinata so 6/10

Time Tangled Island - VERY GOOD AND FUN AND HISTORICAL FUCK THAT AZTEC THO DICKHEAD. quite lengthy for an island but this is good because that means more time periods to explore. it’s also educational but i just care about restoring time. very legendary the iconic just jumped out - 10/10

24 Carrot Island - stupid pun point taken off. introduces Dr Hare and people are THIRSTY. you can dye your hair with milkshakes. i thought it was creepy as a kid honestly. i think its mind control or something. but i like it, it still has nostalgia value 8/10

Super Power Island - very legend like. i loooove the antagonists, especially copy cat but i think i had to look up a guide to beat her because i was dumb af. you need a licence to be a superhero but you are a superhero!!! very fun i like this one a lot 10/10

Spy Island - i remember sucking at this one as well as a kid. i think it fucks with peoples hair and i only remember because my character looks fresh 100% of the time and this island fucked it up i think. i don't really remember it tho. 5/10

Nabooti Island - it’s based on a Choose Your Own Adventure book so good premise. go around the world is also good. you have to get jewels i think. ngl i didn’t finish this one because i sucked at it so i’m just going off the wiki and how far i got into it. fuck the animal puzzle 7/10

Big Nate Island - who the fuck is Big Nate. i only remember the school climbing frame and a stink bomb. fuck you big nate we don’t have your comics in England 1/10

Astro-Knights Island - medieval knights.... IN SPACE?!?! COUNT ME IN. crazy jester bard guy antagonist. people are thirsty for him too. i’m pretty sure you end up in another dimension or something. cyborgs and shit 9/10

Counterfeit Island - bruh i loved this island. pretty sure antagonist is also making people thirsty. you have to go back to Early Poptropica Island to complete it, very cool. investigating crime is cool idea it’s l.a. noire in poptropica. the wiki says there is a glitch called anti-social clown and i have to say relatable 9/10

Reality TV Island - i think i completed this like twice and i remember jackshit. you get to see past characters tho so very good. it’s just doing challenges. 4/10

Mythology Island - VERY GOOD. LEARN ABOUT MYTHOLOGY. you can fight hydra and other creatures, you meet Zeus you meet Hades, Aphrodite is a bitch. 9/10

Skullduggery Island - pirates are always good no matter what. apparently it is one of the hardest islands which explains why i never completed it but you fight other pirates and sea monsters for doubloons or some shit sounds cool to me 8/10

Steamworks Island - steampunk is good. i remember completing this and thinking it was interesting and weird to look at. i think the atmosphere is was lonely tho. there’s a boss battle against a plant i think. otherwise i don’t fuckin remember 7/10

Great Pumpkin Island - it’s Peanuts so it’s nice. very nice and simple. it’s just about the great pumpkin except you’re there. 6/10

Cryptids Island - GOD TIER. CRYPTIDS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA. some of it is scary tho. the jersey devil just fucking staring at you from the window was a shit the bed moment for a kids game. also before the islands got rebooted, it was one of the only islands to have sound effects, i.e. when the chupacabra bursts out the box. honestly because of the balls on this kids game to scare children and also being good island 10/10

Wild West Island - the only thing better than pirates is cowboys. i don’t really remember it but you do go against an outlaw gang. i like cowboys 10/10

Wimpy Wonderland Island - Jeff I know you made doawk and poptropica but did you have to show it. ngl i liked it because i like doawk. but it’s kinda... creatively bankrupt i guess. 3/10 2 points because Rodrick is there

Red Dragon Island - i think more time travel but just to old Japan. you have to save a girl. that’s all i remember. also i think there is a nasty samurai guy. but also evil dragon. i can’t remember because for the longest time this was a premium account only island so i never got to finish it for the longest time. that was a dick move 7/10 for that alone.

Shrink Ray Island - cool premise but this island expects me to learn morse code 3/10

Mystery Train Island - detectives? on a train? very nice. basically murder on the orient express except no murder and thomas edison is there and also various other 1700/1800 nerds

Game Show Island - basically Reality TV except it’s to save the world from robots. 5/10

Ghost Story Island - wow iconic. this is the only island with voice acting and it’s to fucking jumpscare you i shat myself. ghost hunting, very cool 10/10

S.O.S Island - it’s basically Titanic mixed with Moby Dick. it’s ok 6/10

Vampire’s Curse Island - i reaaaally like this one. i like vampires. it has a vampire daddy in it so. he kidnaps a teenage girl tho because he thinks its the love of his life who is dead. kinda weird. he does stop being insane at the end tho and says sorry and dies. the girls bf is a dickhead tho. 9/10

Twisted Thicket Island - i think you’re saving a forest from becoming housing. i really like it because it introduces various folkloric creatures like the nokken. i only remember the nokken because i went on akinator to see if he knew what it was and i don’t think he did so i added it and it’s photo to his database. or maybe it was just his photo but i remember uploading something to akinator. 8/10

Poptropolis Games Island - i don’t think i liked this one 3/10

Wimpy Boardwalk Island - Jeff. 2/10 1 point added because Rodrick is also there

Lunar Colony Island - space is good. do i remember this island tho? no. i think theres aliens tho. 5/10 because i like space and aliens.

Super Villain Island - it brings back the most memorable villains like binary bard and black widow. you find out why they are evil. pretty chill 8/10

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Island - what do you expect 5/10

Zomberry Island - the last of us except i think people are just eating nasty berries really. i like it it’s spooky 7/10

Night Watch Island - Paul Blart Mall Cop 6/10

Back Lot Island - you make a film. i can’t remeber it like at all. 6/10 because it sounds ok

Poptropolis Games Island Part 2 - fuck off 2/10

Virus Hunter Island - i don’t think i completed this one either. however it is one of those inside the human body things which is always cool if cliche. 8/10

Mocktropica Island - very satirical what if about if poptropica was run by assholes. ironic since a bunch of islands were made premium only for a while. pretty sure the bonus missions still are too which is why i’m not mentioning them. funny tho 7/10

Monster Carnival Island - spooky yes. people thirst over the ringmaster raven guy too. theres a spooky clown on the ferris wheel. i don’t remember much other than i liked it because it was about monsters in a theme park. 9/10 i remember it was surprisingly short tho

Survival Island - castaway except it’s you. i don’t remember it either lmao. i got out of touch with old poptropica real bad by this time so my next ratings might be unfair sorry. pretty sure it also becomes the most dangerous game tho and some guy wants to actually fucking kill you. ballsy. 7/10 because it sounds ok i should maybe play it.

Mission Atlantis Island - i like atlantis but i didn’t play this one either. you see deepsea creatures which are spooky so extra points 8/10

PoptropiCon Island - poptropica’s answer to comicon. now i did play this one for some reason but i don’t remember it too well either. i was 14 when it came out so. sounds like yu-gi-oh so good. 7/10

Arabian Nights Island - didn’t play it i think it’s just telling the story. it’s a cool story so 7/10

Galactic Hotdogs Island - what the fuck 1/10

Mystery of The Map Island - vikings are cool. island seems very short tho. 5/10

Timmy Failure Island - who the fuck. this would be more impactful if i read these fucking things but i don’t. who the fuck are you timmy. i guess it’s called failure for a reason. (that was mean sorry) 1/10

Escape from Pelican Rock Island - prison break, nice idea. you have like a twin in this one. seems a bit repetitive sometimes tho. theres like 7 days of doing similar things. 6/10

Monkey Wrench Island - it was created to be the new tutorial, i.e. an actual tutorial rather than Early Poptropica. very fast and boring, especially if you already know everything. 2/10

Crisis Caverns Island - i know nothing about this. even the wiki is incomplete. maybe that means its shit then. 1/10 the wiki doesn’t even care too much about this one.

Greek Sea Odyssey - more ancient greece is always good. you get to beat the shit out of zeus this time 8/10

Snagglemast Island - all you do is collect coins. another tutorial one. 1/10.

bonus: home island. legit just a hub. points added because you can do a lot of customisation here and pick up a pet that doesn’t cost credits. 4/10

DOUBLE BONUS: the little haunted house mini thing. very good because spooky costumes, spooky house fun little monster party. 10/10

#poptropica #feel free to add your opinions #do you agree #or disagree #i get unfair because i stopped playing a loooong time ago #tho i sometimes jump on #if you see me i'm called chilly skull #edgy i know but i made it when i was 7 #poptropica islands #this felt like writing a goddamn essay enjoy

17 notes · View notes

sassyduckqueen · 4 years

Text

30 Days of Lukanette- Songbird

Only one more chapter to go now! I hope you guys like!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what do you think?" Luka asked as he looked up from his guitar. Marc and Nathaniel were looking at him like he was playing music from heaven or something and Max was grinning. Luka had played him the piece of music he had composed for his game.

"Perfect!" He grinned as Markov floated around him. "I knew you were the right person to capture what I wanted. Thank you, Luka,"

"No worries," Luka smiled, stretching as Marc and Nathaniel came over excited. "You two ok?"

"We just wanted to show you our latest comic," Marc smiled as Nathaniel handed him the book. Luka took it and flicked through it. It was their take on the battle between Basilisk and the heroes. Luka couldn't help but smile at how well drawn it was. "Basilisk was terrifyingly awesome but we added some context as to why Viperion was akumatized,"

"We wrote it so Viperion had no other choice. If he didn't get akumatized, Hawkmoth got the miraculous," Nathaniel explained.

"So to make sure that never happened, he used his second chance to bring him back and allowed himself to be taking over instead," Marc added in. "He is defeated by the hero trio of Silencer, The Illustrator and Reverser after his fearsome glare petrifies all the miraculous holders! What do you think?"

"That's awesome," Luka grinned, handing it back to them. If only they knew how close to the truth they were. "But why did you make Viperion sacrifice himself?"

"It seems like something he would do," Nathaniel replied as Marc nodded.

"Yeah, Viperion comes across very caring. When I met him after I was devilized, he seemed very concerned about my well being. He even caught me when I fell. You know he reminds me of you, Luka. Very cool, very caring, extremely selfless," Marc mused, blushing a little. Sometimes, Luka wondered if Marc and Nathaniel knew more about the heroes then they let on.

"Maybe he is Viperion?" Nathaniel laughed. "If he changed his hair to green, he would look exactly like him!"

"Nah!" Alix butted in. "I met Viperion and Luka is way more chill! Besides, Viperion has green eyes and Luka has blue!"

"Hmm I don't know there's similarities," Marc continued. "Both Luka and Viperion are older then everyone else, both are very kind and both are musicians,"

"But an he actually play the lyre?" Max pointed out. "All I've seen is him throwing it. A surprisingly effective weapon though,"

"Umm I look nothing like Viperion... right?" Luka asked, wanting to change the subject. Everyone was way too close to working out he actually was Viperion. Fortunately for him, Rose and Alya had perfect timing and rushed into the art area with Nino. All three of them looked like they had just downed a lot of sugar. "Um... Rose? You ok?"

"I'm fine but we're just heard the greatest thing ever!" She gasped excitedly as she practically bounced.

"Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale are filming a new music video!" Alya gasped, looking at everyone in excitement. "And they're holding auditions for extras and the heroes of Paris at the Louvre today! Now!"

"We must go!" Marc declared.

"Yes!" Alix joined in. "A chance to meet both Jagged Stone and Clare Nightingale! I'm not missing this!"

"Our chances of actually meeting the two stars are very slim," Max pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Less then 10% and our chances of been in the video are even lower!"

"Don't worry, Max," Alya grinned. "Marinette does Jagged's designs. She's already there!"

"That does increase our chances to 21%," Max replied. Luka wondered if he should tell them about his mum's past with Jagged.

~At the Louvre~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sass asked as Luka splashed water on his face. "Our magic disguises you but even so..."

"Don't worry," He smiled as he adjusted his guitar on his back. "I'm not going to compromise my identity and we'll just be extras. I doubt Jagged and Clara will remember me anyway,"

"Alright," Sass hissed as he curled up in Luka's pocket. "I trust you,"

"I know," He smiled as he walked out of the bathroom before joining the others in one of the huge lines. It seemed everyone in France came out to audition. He looked around and frowned as he couldn't see Marinette. He walked over to Juleka and the others, who looked like they were about to explore with excitement. "Hey, where's Mari?"

Juleka pointed to the stage, where he saw Marinette, Adrien and Kagami all dressed in superhero costumes. He could have face palmed as they were all dressed as their superhero identities. If only people knew but as he looked around, he noticed people seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they all looked like the heroes. He remembered Sass explaining that while their magic causes people to look the other way, it would be wise to avoid something like this.

"So how did Marinette get on stage?" He asked.

"Oh, Clara insisted on her been Ladybug since she almost got the role last time," Alya explained as Marinette just grinned nervously. "And Adrien's father got him the role again. As for Kagami, I think her mother pressured her into been Ryuko but look how close they look! It's so perfect!"

"They do look like Ladybug, Cat Noir and Ryuko," Luka commented, hoping no one put two and two together. Marinette's eyes were looking at the auidence. She spotted him and instantly relaxed as she waved a little. He smiled and waved back before Clara came onto the stage, followed by Jagged. The crowd cheered and roared in excitement as she spun around and grinned.

"Thank you for coming all of you!" Clara declared as Jagged stood next to her. "Now let's work on making this dream come true!"

"Yeah! Time to rock and roll!" Jagged grinned. "As you can see we have three of our heroes! Allow me to introduce them! You all know Adrien Agreste!"

The amount of girls that roared made Luka jump a little.

"He's gonna be playing Cat Noir!" Jagged declared. "And our Ladybug is my album designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

"And last but certainly not least! Our dragon girl without a leash!" Clara rhymed.

"Kagami Tsurugi, daughter of Tomoe Tsurugi, the legendary dragon fencer of Japan!" Jagged called out. Luka was surprised by the yells that some boys gave out. Kagami merely bowed a little and stood up straight.

"However, we are still missing our snake!" Clara declared. "We need a Viperion, make no mistake!"

"Luka, you should totally try out for him," Marc hissed, giving him a thumbs up but Luka shook his head.

"Let the auditions begin!" Jagged declared before he grabbed a seat. Clara sat next to him and watched as people walked on and tried to play the role of Viperion. Luka frowned as neither of them seem satisfied. A few people came close to looking like him but to both Jagged and Clara, they lacked something.

"This is hopeless! We're never find our Viperion!" Jagged wailed as the que came to an end.

"What seems to be the problem?" The voice of Gabriel Agreste asked as his assistant Nathalie came over, holding a tablet that had a video call on it. Luka watched with interest. "No Viperion yet? That is a shame,"

"We need someone who is wise, kind and smart! Someone who truly loves their art!" Clara sighed before she looked towards the crowd. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she grinned. "Of course, how could I not see? The answer is right in front of me!"

"I take you have been inspired, Clara. Very good," Gabriel replied, nodding.

"I have to make sure my thought is true," She replied. "About a dear friend in the color blue,"

She grabbed a tray of cakes and walked over to the line.

"You all must be hungry from all this waiting," She declared, walking over with a tray of cakes. "Please, help yourselves,"

A rush of people caused the gang to get squashed against the barrier. Marc instantly felt panicked. However, it subsided as Luka carefully pushed back people, protecting his friends and Juleka. Clara noticed and smiled to herself as the idea evolved.

"Oh no, you're all get squashed!" She gasped before un-clipping the barrier rope. Her security gasped as the swamp of fans was unleashed, causing her to drop the cakes and knocking her down. She gasped, overwhelmed but the sound of a guitar caught the attentions of the fans, giving Alix a chance to help her up. She looked over and saw Luka playing his guitar, drawing the attention to him. She stood and instantly squealed before rushing over to him. "Luka Couffaine! I knew it was you. As soon as I saw the color blue!"

"W-What?" He gasped, ceasing his playing as she rushed over before pulling him over to her. He was completely surprised at the fact that she remembered him.

"Sweet Luka, as beautiful as the music you make," She grinned, dancing with him. "Will you do the honor of been our snake?"

"M-Me?" He gasped, surprised. "Oh, I'm nothing like Viperion! Really, someone else sho-"

"Luka, your heart is pure and true," She sang, spinning him around before she looked at him. "I think this would be a perfect role for you,"

He looked over at Marinette, Adrien and Kagami. He did come to be with his friends and they were his friends. After all, Marinette was his girlfriend. He looked over at the others, who gave him thumbs up and grinned. He looked back at Clara before looking at Marinette again. She gave him a thumbs , meaning

"My sweet kind boy, please say yes!" She sang. "You really would be the very best!"

However before he could answer, XY and Bob Roth stormed in, looking very confident. To his surprise, XY was wearing a cheap Viperion outfit. He instantly shoved Luka out of the way and grinned at Clara.

"No need to use such a loser," He declared as he bowed. "Your Viperion is here,"

"Ummm," Clara frowned as she looked over at XY. She sighed softly and turned to the tablet. "Gab, what do you think? I don't mind XY been in the video-"

"The boy in blue would be preferrable. He looks like he would fix in with our heroes and I'm sure he's a friend of my son," He mumbled, looking at him. "Boy, what's your name?"

"Luka, sir," He mumbled, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"You're friends with my son, correct?"

"Y-yes, sir,"

"And you know the girls?"

"Yes, sir. Kagami is a friend and Marinette is my girlfriend," He replied.

"Knowing the other 'heroes' is perfect and you're the correct height and build but if you do not wish to play our Viperion, I won't make you," He replied, giving Luka a glare never the less. Though Luka felt that this was Gabriel Agreste's natural expression. He made a mental note to ask Adrien later. Bob Roth cleared his throat.

"This punk is no where near as talented as my son-"

"I'll do it," Luka blurted out, shocking XY and Bob Roth as Clara squealed in happiness.

"Oh, Luka! You've made my day!" She sang, spinning around. "Now off the the changing room that way!"

She pointed to them as a member of the tech team lead him to the changing room. They gave him the outfit and he went inside before getting changed. Sass flew up and sat on the vanity case. Luka moved around.

"Wow, this is a perfect fit," He mumbled as he looked around. Sass checked out the outfit as Luka put on the mask. "How do I look?"

"Like Viperion," Sass replied, admiring the details on the outfit. "This is made so well. The craftman ship, the material. It's perfect,"

"Do you think people will work out that I'm Viperion?"

"No," Sass replied. "No one has even battered at eyelid at the other three despite the fact that they look like their heroes selves. Besides, your hair is currently blue and your eyes are blue. When you're Viperion, they all turn green. Even if you look like the real deal, people will think otherwise because of those features,"

"Clever," He replied. "Hey, why are my eyes and hair green when I transform?"

"The look is what you desire," Sass answered. "I would guess on a subconscious level you want to define yourself from Viperion,"

"So I make myself as different as I can,"

"That or you just really like the color green," Sass shrugged, making Luka smile before someone knocked on the door. Sass hid as Luka opened the door.

"You ready, Luka?" The techie asked.

"Yeah," Luka replied, coming out of the trailer and walking over. He waved at his friends as they cheered out and stood next to Marinette, who looked more nervous then before. "You ok?"

"Y-yeah... just freaking out inside," She gasped. "I think I have stage fright,"

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," He smiled, making her relax as Clara span over. Luka noticed that Bob Roth and XY had gone. He felt a little more relieved.

"You four are perfect so let's begin!" She called out. "It's time to have fun, dance and sing!"

"Not so fast, Miss Nightingale," Bob Roth appeared with Mayor Bourgeois. Both men looked annoyed as they walked over. "Sorry, kids but this video is cancelled. No filming will be done today,"

"W-what?" Marinette gasped.

"Mr Roth, you can't just walk in here and shut us down. Miss Nightingale and Jagged don't work for you-"

"You're right there, Miss Rolling but they need certain permission to-"

"We got the permission, Bob!" Jagged called out. "Penny made sure we had it. Didn't you Penny?"

"Yes I did,"

"Ah but you see as the mayor of Paris, it goes to my office and I'm afraid I have no such paperwork," Mayor Bourgeois grinned, smugly. Luka frowned deeply. "Since you have no paperwork, you can't have your video filmed here until you filed it,"

"But I did file it!" Penny gasped.

"Clearly not," Bob Roth laughed. Luka gripped his hand into a fist.

"It's obvious that you had it destroyed because your son isn't in the video!" He gasped but Bob laughed.

"I destroyed nothing and you can't prove I did," He grinned. "Too bad. I was looking forward to you failing, Mr Couffaine. You better clear up. The mayor wants the musem back to open in an hour,"

With that, he laughed and walked off. Clara sank onto her knees as Penny and Jagged moved over to her. Luka frowned deeply and moved across to them but before he could, Clara ran off and Jagged followed. Marinette walked over as Penny began to clear out people and the tech team started to take down the set.

"Something similar happened last time she tried to do a song about the heroes," She mumbled, taking his hand before whispering. "Maybe we're just cursed,"

"I refuse to believe that," He whispered back as Adrien and Kagami walked over.

"We should all get changed. Father will want the costumes back until they can start filming again," Adrien replied, looking over at where Clara had ran off too. Luka nodded and they all began to walk off towards the changing rooms but the room were suddenly destroyed by a sound wave. The four of them gasped as they looked up and saw both Clara and Jagged on top of a trailer, only they were their akumatized selves.

"I don't where you all think you're going but we're making this video today!" Guitar Villain declared before beginning to play his guitar.

"Get back!" Luka called out, rushing over with Marinette to pull people back from the falling bricks as Guitar Villain trapped everyone inside. Luka looked around and started to direct other people to answer exit. As people started to escape, he began to sneak away.

"You two, don't you dare go!" Frightingale sang as she jumped in front of Kagami and Luka. He had noticed Adrien and Marinette had managed to slip away. "You're the stars of my video!"

She then hit the two of them and others with her whip before laugh.

"Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you're be frozen in no time!" She declared as people started to turn into crimson statues.

"We have to sing, rhythm or dance," Kagami frowned as she moved her body to a slightly rhythm. "Or we'll be frozen like the rest of France,"

"Not an issue for me," Luka grinned. "Music and art is second nature to me,"

"Oh a natural bravo," Fighteningale grinned as the four of them danced. "You even have the right tempo,"

She jumped away as Cat Noir and Ladybug jumped through the window and began to fight her. Guitar Villain joined in as Luka looked around.

"We need a plan, we need to fight," Kagami growled. "We can't just dance for the rest of the night,"

"Agreed, my friend," He stated. "But to no end,"

He noticed the stage production and the two of them rushed over there. He looked around as he kept up the dance before noticing the smoke machine.

"I have an idea. That smoke machine," He sang. "It was cause quite the scene,"

"Good thinking, Snake," She grinned as he turned it on and put it on the highest setting. "Trouble is ours to make,"

"Yes but the heroes need to come to play," He stated as the smoke covered them. "It's time for Viperion and Ryuko to save the day,"

The two of them ran to a place for cover, even though the fog machine was thick enough to hide them. Ryuko frowned to herself before she clicked.

"I've been hit in my civilian form," She sang. "So Longg, bring the storm!"

She transformed as Cat Noir and Ladybug got hit. She joined the battle as Sass popped out, doing a little dance of his own. Luka rose an eyebrow but didn't question it.

"If I don't sing or dance, then I'll wither," He sang to himself. "Time to say. Sass, scales slither!"

He transformed into Viperion and joined the battle. Frightingale went to lash out another person so he dived in the way and took the hit before jumping up and landed a kick. It worked perfectly because then people would thinking he got hit as Viperion. She stumbled back but laughed.

"Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you'll be frozen in no time!" She cackled as he back flipped away.

"I hope you have a plan," He stated, dancing. Ladybug frowned and shrugged.

"Last time, we defeated her by been chained together," Cat Noir sang. "But she has guitar Villain with her, she's more powerful then ever,"

"If we are to win and save France, then I better activate my..." Viperion sang as he flicked back the head of the snake. "Second Chance!"

"Awesome solo!" Guitar Villain cried out, causing the heroes to jump out the way.

"The only way to get the upper arm is for me to summon my.... Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out as she threw up her yoyo as the other three danced. She frowned to herself as a cable appeared out of thin air.

"A cable? Great, that's our only hope. I guess it's better then a rope," Cat Noir stated as she looked around. The guitar resting against the wall lit up as did the speakers and Viperion. She grinned before turning to Viperion.

"I know what to do," She grinned. "We need a guitar player and that has to be you,"

"She wants a world full of song," He grinned. "Guess I have to play along,"

"Cat Noir, use your power on the guitar to bring harm," Ladybug grinned. "You know the opposite to my Lucky charm,"

"And what of me? What can I do?"

"Help me destroy the mic of you know who,"

Viperion rushed over to the guitar and plugged it in before he started to play, getting the attention of Guitar Villain and Frighteningale. Cat Noir landed a kick to Guitar Villain and destroyed his guitar using his power as Ryuko and Ladybug took out Frighteningale's microphone. The little butterfly escaped just as Viperion turned into a crimson statue. Ladybug purified it then grabbed the cable and threw them into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, restoring everything before the four of them fist bumped each other before going off their separate ways. Luka came back into the studio as Marinette and the others rushed over to him.

"Are you ok?!" Marinette gasped, knowing full well he was but she hugged him anyway. Clara and Jagged walked over.

"We've decided not to make the video," She sighed, causing everyone to frown. "However, onward with the show,"

"Both me and Clara are working a song called Songbird and we need a guitarist to play since Vivica is on holiday," Jagged started before looking at Luka. "Would you like to be our guitarist on this song?"

"Me?" He gasped, surprised as everyone gave him words of encouragement. He looked over at Marinette, who grinned. "Yeah.. I'd love to!"

"Awesome!" Jagged grinned. "Marinette will be doing the designs for the album it will be released on, right Marinette?"

"Of course!"

#lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupen chang #adrien agreste #kagami #frightingale #guitar villain #bob roth is a dick #bob roth #XY #music #viperon #ryuko #ladybug #cat noir #miraculous ladybug #Pro LukaMari

44 notes · View notes

kshitij1997 · 4 years

Text

Chapter 8: Childhood, stories and role models

A late evening in Midsummer, 1825, Arendelle

King Agnarr's passion for books and stories was legendary. He had been collecting books since the age of five. He had books on all subjects, be it tales of ancient times, philosophy, nature, mathematics, the skies above, the sciences that dealt with the functioning of the world. Not to mention the private histories that he had collected of various people across the world. The lives o great people who lived centuries before him from lands as far as the hermit kingdom of Korea, the isolated lands of Japan, the protectorate of India and the Dutch East Indies (Modern day Indonesia). Stories that appealed to the greater good in all humanity.

Stories of Warlords like Yi Sun Shin, the naval commander who defeated a fleet of nearly five hundred enemy Japanese warships, with only twenty-three ships under his command, using the ingenious turtleships, a fighting vessel of war centuries ahead of its time, when the Japanese invaded in 1592 to 1598, even as he was being hunted down by his own master, the king. Stories of supreme courage to fight against all odds for your homeland, be it the enemy or your own government.

Then there were stories like that of Ashoka the Great, the ruthless emperor, warlord and warmonger whose name meant 'the one who never mourned', whose expansive policies brought all ancient India under his control, save for Kalinga. Said emperor was fair to his people and cruel to his enemies. Said usurper waged war against his hundred brothers when they were between him and the throne. Said conqueror vanquished the state of Kalinga when he declared war on Kalinga, where he was defeated even in victory. The cries of the mauled, dying and mourning forever left an impression on the emperor who hadn't known sorrow ever before in his life, who spent the rest of his life shunning conquest, embracing Buddhism, taking the path of non-violence and allowing his children to abandon their royal titles and become monks to spread the faith. Stories of war, conquest and eventual repentance, sacrifice, forgiveness and redemption.

Tales of extreme dedication and unbreakable vows, like the one taken by Gajah Mada, the Prime Minister of the empire of Majapahit, who swore not to touch spice and experience pleasure until all the Indonesian islands were under Majapahit's control. It took him twenty-one years, but he did it.

Tales of Kings, queens, warlords, soldiers and even a few common people with extraordinary fates.

King Agnarr felt proud to have such stories of such people from around the world. How throughout history, people face similar problems and situations and how they rise to face them. He felt even prouder when he realized that his wife Iduna also loved stories. But the proudest moment for him was when he found out that his children had an even greater passion for reading than him. Elsa and Olva were nearly inseparable, taking great joy in reciting their favourite stories and playacting their favourite characters. The fact that Olva had an almost academic interest in Elsa's ice powers was also found to be very charming by the king. She would often challenge Elsa to make something out of ice, usually a new word or name of an object she just learned, and Elsa usually rose to the occasion and made it as if it was second nature.

'How can you make that, Elsie?'

'I don't know Olba, it just came to me.'

'Is that what a pearl looks like, Pa?' Olva asked her father.

'I'm sorry sweetheart, but it doesn't.' Corrected the king. 'This is a pearl' Said the king as he showed the corner jewel of his ring.

Elsa's face fell as she realized her crystal of ice was not the right shape for a pearl.

Agnarr asked Olva 'Well little one, where did you hear the word?'

Olva replied sheepishly a book 'In this big book, it was the only word I could get.'

Agnarr laughed inwardly as he realised that his five-year-old and three-and-a-half-year-old kids had stumbled upon a book written in middle English. Olva helpfully guided him to the place where she had read the curious word. He read the sentence in all the middle English that he could remember, which was ample in this case. It was a beautiful sentence:

'The smooth pearl doesn't pretend to shine, for it knows that it is close to the heart.'

Agnarr smiled, my kids are too precious.

He sat alongside them and said ' Well Elsa, the shape may be off, but it is a pearl for sure. Your ice is close to you isn't it?'

Elsa replied with a small voice ' I think so?'

'Yes, it is! She makes pretty things all the time. She loves it.' Olva chimed in.

Elsa blushed with a small smile 'It is very pretty, and I like doing it, so I guess it is close to me.'

'It is close to both of us, it is a pearl to us.' Olva added as she hugged Elsa from behind. Elsa didn't admit it, but she loved a good hug. She also loved to mess with Olva at times. She waved her little hands over Olva's head and declared 'I name this: vanilla on black forest.'

'Hey! Not fair Elsie!' said Olva as she brushed the thin snow frosting from her dark brown hair.

'Bahahaha, it's so much fun messing with you.' Laughed Elsa even as Olva stuck her tongue out. Elsa responded in kind with a raspberry.

'Alright girls, calm down, ma's here.' Iduna said as she entered the royal chambers with princess Anna, who had just turned two years old, and was learning to speak her first words.

'Snow!' cried the baby princess as she held her head with both her tiny hands.

'Hey Anna!' Both Elsa and Olva chimed in unison as they were beside their baby sister in no time.

'Hey Anna, want to see something?' Elsa spoke to Anna, always one to ask even though Anna never said no to her.

Elsa waved her hands to form a ball of ice, but the difference was that it glowed with a luminescence of its own, as if she had tamed a star into her hands.

'Whoa! Elsie, that's beautiful' Olva said, clearly taken in by the glowing ball of ice.

'Mine!' cried Anna as she reached out to it with her baby hands. She tried to bite into it, alas she was not prepared for the cold.

'Ow!' She yelped and started crying, as the ball of ice fell to the floor and was smashed into a thousand little pieces.

'Oh no!' Elsa wailed as she grabbed Anna and proceeded to comfort her in her arms. Olva joined in and tried to coo her and made clicking sounds with her tongue to calm her down. Eventually the redhaired princess, a quality she had inherited from her father, managed to calm down and started giggling in Elsa's arms as tears of relief ebbed from Elsa's face.

'I'm so sorry Anna.' Elsa wept quietly, even as Olva had now started to comfort her.

'She's all right Elsa, it was just a little chill.' Olva reassured the platinum blonde.

The king and queen watched the scene play out from a small distance, curious to see how they would handle it. The princesses were all right in the end, the royal couple breathed a sigh of relief.

Agnarr's thoughts drifted back to when they had first gotten pregnant with Anna; Dr. Klaus had advised the king not to conceive so quickly after Olva's birth. However, with the deed done, the good doctor advised the king to go for a caesarean operation when the time of delivery came. The king was vary about the procedure at first, but Dr. Klaus had pacified him by saying that it would be easier and safer for both the queen and the doctor. So, the third child was born and named Anna by them together. Elsa and Olva were almost immediately taken in by their baby sister and made sure to always keep her happy and entertained and make her feel loved.

Iduna's thoughts were drifting too, albeit in a different direction. Sure, this was just a small accident, but who knew what could happen with Elsa's powers. She felt foolish in that moment; there was a time when she was comforting Agnarr in his moments of doubt, and now she felt the same fears, only much, much worse. She prayed to all the gods she knew to please let her children have a normal childhood. To not panic when in moment of vulnerability, to not abandon those who believed in her, not to give in to hate when the world was against her. How could her gifted, cursed child even begin to understand these things, much less take the correct decision when the situation arose?

Well, as her mother, she could cultivate a sense of responsibility in her eldest.

'Olva' Iduna called 'Today you and Anna shall sleep with Pa, Elsa will sleep with me.'

'Aw Ma why?' Anna asked even as Olva, who held her, was already snuggled beside her father.

'I need to talk with Elsa, she needs to know something. Good night.' The queen answered quietly. With that, she left the royal chambers to sleep in her own private quarters with Elsa.

'It's okay Anna, sleep with big sister Olva tonight' Olva said, then gave a small kiss on Anna's forehead as they both snuggled close to their father.

'Are you cross with Pa?' Elsa asked nervously when mother and daughter reached their chamber.

'No sweetheart' Iduna comforted her 'I'm here to tell you a story. I promised to tell you a story when you were ready, remember? Well, I think you're ready now.'

Elsa's face lit up as she remembered 'Oh yes! This should be fun! I'm ready.'

The little princess huddled to her mother's side as the duo settled in for the night.

'So, what's the story, Ma?'

'Well, this is a slightly different story than you are used to, little one. It isn't a story of magic; or of princesses being saved by their princes. No, this is a story of survival and sacrifice. The story of a woman who battled the world to protect her family, even if it cost her everything. It might be a story based on true events.'

'Oh, a true story?' Elsa perked up; true stories were a special occasion.

'Yes sweetheart' Iduna whispered.

Iduna proceeded to tell the story of a girl like Elsa, her real name lost to time. The girl was in her late teens, had powers over water and lived with her family in Avignon, France in the 14h century, at the height of pope Innocent the third's rule in the catholic church of Rome. One year, the rains had failed, and famine threatened follow, leading to peasants dying in the thousands from thirst and rising in protest. The girl stepped forward to help the needy, using her powers of water to help those in need and to improve the scene. The pope did not approve; this girl was going to spoil the carefully laid out narrative he had created to destroy the heretic cathars by citing the drought as god's fury. How dare that pipsqueak stand in his way? To discredit her, Innocent the third branded her as a witch, and sent the papal armies and inquisitors after her. The girl had anticipated this and advised her parents and her little brother to escape as quickly as they could. As fate would have it, she was captured and tortured for weeks on end, as the inquisitors wanted the whole family to be vanquished for the crime of nurturing a witch. But the girl held strong, as her family escaped the clutches of the pope away from France with a heavy heart, the girl was sentenced to burn at the stake. The girl went to her death quite bravely, but her screams as she burnt continued to haunt the memories of the local people for centuries afterwards and in time, the girl was canonized as saint Vida of Avignon. Her parents died from the grief, however her little brother survived and found himself in Arendelle. In due course of time, he became a powerful official, and his descendants went on to inherit the crown of Arendelle.

Elsa listened to the story in stunned silence, and once Iduna was finished with the story, she asked one question 'So the little brother is my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather?'

'Yes, most likely.'

'I wonder what the girl felt as she died, did she feel sad or happy?' Elsa mused

'Why would she feel sad or happy, Elsa? I think she was very scared.'

'Alright, but was she sad or scared that she was going to die, or happy that she saved her family?'

'I think she felt both at the same time.'

'Can you feel sad and happy at the same time, Ma?' Elsa asked. Iduna began to worry that with questions like that, Elsa was not going to go to sleep. Maybe she chose the wrong story to tell?

'You will find out on your own someday, now close your eyes snowflake.'

As Elsa settled down to sleep, she murmured 'I think, if I was in her place, I would do the same.'

Iduna thought, god forbid should the day come, I fear you might have to.

Across the North Sea towards the south, in the Southern Isles

Queen Paulina was reeling with frustration and anger after another attempt at insurgency into Russia had failed. Her trusted aide, one she had personally broken bread with and had appointed in her service, had tried to poison prince Nicholas in order to prevent him from coming to the Russian throne. If it had gone to plan, the military man would die along with the aging emperor who himself was knocking on death's door, and prince Pokhilarpov, the weakling that he was, would be her puppet as Poland would come back to Europe. Alas it was not so, as her vassal had been intercepted and caught by the prince's private guard. At least he had the decency to poison himself to death before he could be questioned, so she was safe for now. Nevertheless, it was a source of anxiety and anger.

Queen Paulina was counting her losses and planning her next move when her son, prince Hans came running and crying to her. He was wet from head to toe, his fine tunic was tattered, and his face was swollen from the beating he had received in a scuffle, blood ebbing from his forehead. In his hand, he held a torn piece of paper that once had been a paper boat. 'Ma!' cried the young prince of five years of age 'Look at what they have done!'

'What are you crying about now?' Asked the exasperated queen. This boy needs toughening up, he never ceases to cry, the insufferable coward.

'I was near the pool, playing with the boat I made, when the triplets came and pushed me into the pool!' The prince wailed.

'And?' The queen asked.

'When I climbed out to fight them, they punched me in the face, tore my clothes and, and me boat.' The prince finished and started crying again.

'So instead of taking out an eye, you came running back to me? What are you going to do in life? Hmm?' Hissed the irritated queen 'I have bigger troubles to deal with than a squabble between toddlers.'

'Please, Ma. Help me' The prince begged as big tears rolled down.

'Not until you stop crying. Even then why should I help you? This is between you and the triplets. Ask help from your elder siblings if you're so desperate.'

'They hate me, I heard them say that they wished I was dead.'

'What?!' The queen screamed, it was not enough that she had enemies all over Europe, now she had these runts threatening her own child? 'Alright, stop crying, I'll take them to task.'

It was a heated conversation between king and queen when she badgered him in front of their children and ministers, in the imperial court. The king had always avoided conflict, so it was natural that he was severely outclassed by his determined wife.

'Please calm down, Paulina, I can't discuss this here. Please understand.' The king pleaded.

The queen would not back down this time 'I'm supposed to calm down?! When YOU've ignored your children and have failed to see that they are at each other's throats?! I'm supposed to care for decorum and understand your position, when YOU plan for an early grave, while your children are waiting to be let loose and go picnicking on each other?! You nurse snakes in your garden, and cry when you get bitten, who the fuck do you think you are?!' The impossibly irate queen finished her rebuke even as the king's officials and ministers quietly bid their leave.

'Please breathe sweetheart, are they not your children as well?' The king tried to pacify and prod his queen at the same time. A spectacularly poor decision on his part.

'My children?! If they were my children, they wouldn't ever dare say such things. Admit it, you are at your wit's end, aren't you? You don't know how to raise your own children anymore, do you? Looks like I'll have to deal with them personally.' The queen finished with a growl, implying dire consequences for those who had stirred her wrath.

The king was terrified. Of all his wives, she was the only woman who had reduced him to such a quivering, pathetic state. He was scared in general of her, but there were moments like these, when he was truly frightened of her. At one point, he was formidable, unbeatable, invincible. This woman had reduced him to a scraggy, whining fool. At one point in his life, he had known how to laugh, now all he knew was fear.

'No, Paulina, please do nothing of the sort, I'll talk to them personally, I promise.' The king pleaded with folded hands.

'You better do so, lest I strip these baboons myself and have them made into shoes.' The queen relented, in her own way.

Outside the courtroom, Janus was in a corner hearing everything with an expression of horror.

An island off Northern Cyprus, the Ottoman Empire

It was a curious place to be sure, the tower was black like obsidian glass, smack in the middle of the dense forest. Who thought a small island could have such a jungle? But the tower had a treacherous secret of its own; if anyone had tried to touch the stony tower in order to climb it, the unfortunate person was reduced to ash and powder in a matter of seconds. If anyone was lucky, they may leave a skeleton behind as a terrible warning to all. At one point the six-year-old girl living in the tower wanted to remove the bones, but her mother advised against it; she may catch a curse herself if she touched the remains. So, the little girl had little in the way of distraction; Maybe paint a bit, frolic around the castle for a bit, trying not to trip over her golden blonde hair even as her hair grew longer than her body, often using the same hair to bring back to life the young birds who had been killed while perching on the tower, while telling them to avoid her mother's vegetable patch.

She loved how the hair glowed like the sun when she read the incantation in her head. She enjoyed seeing the little birds wake up as if from a deep slumber, before flying away. She also loved taking care of the vegetable patch, feeling a great sense of pride when the land produced good legumes. But her mind always wandered back to the remains, how she felt that perhaps, the people lying there didn't deserve to die. Unknown to her mother, she had tried to bring the skeletons back to life, but she fainted, and all she saw was black. When she came to her senses, she found her mother holding her on by her bundle of hair for dear life, her face wet from tears.

It was then she understood, it was too late for them, and she had nearly died in the process of reviving them. Never again would she touch the remains.

All in all, it wasn't a bad life in the tower; she had everything she needed, a soft bed, good food, and materials for creating art. Once she found out how far her mother had to travel for said materials, she appreciated them even more. However, there was one thing that wasn't there in the tower.

The only thing she wanted, was to go outside the tower, to see the world, to get out of the tower. If she was to choose the day she wanted to go, it would be the day the people in the distance let loose thousands of lanterns every year. It was a special day for another reason, the lanterns always flew up on her birthday. Oh, to experience that in person!

She was broken from her thoughts when her mother called out 'Rapunzel! Time for lunch.' The owner of the voice was a dark-haired woman with exotic features, with eyes that revealed a life lived far longer than what the face showed.

The little girl responded 'Yes, Gothel.' It felt strange calling her mother by her name, but if she preferred it that way, who was she to complain?

Oh, this was a big one, I think.

We're getting close!

As always, feel free to tell me how you feel with regards to the story. Love it or hate it, please feel free in letting me know :D

Until next time.

#frozen #frozen elsa #frozen anna #frozen agnarr #frozen iduna #frozen fanfiction #frozen fanfic #frozen hans #hans frozen #frozen tangled #tangled fandom #tangled fanfiction #tangled #tangled rapunzel

3 notes · View notes