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nobodysdaydreams · 9 months

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For the Character Bingo Game!! Please feel free to mix and match and disregard as you please:

Milligan, Isaac the Messenger, Susan Pevensie, and Toph Beifong

Hope you are having an amazing day, and that the Tasks go smoothly :)

Done! Sorry the highlights on this look so terrible, I'm bad at filling these out. But I very much appreciate the ask! 🥰🥰🥰

Milligan:

I don't know if Milligan and I would be friends irl (I suppose it depends if you're talking about my fic's version, canon, and whether he has memories or not), but assuming there's nothing crazy going on, then yeah, I could see us getting along. Not a big sports fan though. As you know from my fic, I have a lot of head canons, and rotating 24/7, and all MBS characters need therapy let's be real. They also all need more screen time, had wasted potential, and canon did them all dirty by cancelling the show, but I highlighted these for Milligan specifically because he never got closure and answers as to what Curtain did to him and why he was working there. As for my half filled in "my opinions are unpopular", that's mostly because of SOS: people either love it, or it's not for them. So I'm not sure what to call that. I relate to him (positive) because I head canon him as having ADHD (even though I have ADHD-I and I head canon him as having ADHD-HI, but close enough).

Isaac the Messenger:

I feel like Isaac and I would be friends irl since I have a lot of friends doing STEM things. All MBS characters go to therapy, and I clicked canon did him dirty and wasted potential because... did he just wait in the woods forever? I feel like they could have done something with that. I wasn't sure whether to click "needed more screen time" because I feel like it wouldn't be a lot more screen time, just enough to give a little closure on that. I say my opinions are unpopular because I haven't seen any other fics with him as a main or even major side character (if they exist lmk) and I half filled in "so many head canons" because...I do expand on his character a bit in SOS, but I don't know if I'd say I have a ton of head canons for him.

Susan Pevensie:

Ohhh....the problem of Susan. That's what all these highlights are based off of btw. I understand Lewis was using her to reflect his own issues, but why couldn't he have lived to write her story? The arrow over rotating is because when Narnia was my primary childhood hyperfixation, Susan's story was one I was really interested in. (Spoilers Ahead for The Last Battle). She has to live with all her friends and family dying, and figure out how to get back on the right path without them. I would have loved to read a story about Susan and her husband and kids where Susan tells them about her time in Narnia and her younger kids and her husband believe her, but other relatives think it's a manifestation of her grief, and even her older kids are like "mom, seriously?" but then either someone who used to live in Narnia but found a portal to our world or another world shows up, or Susan and her family get sucked through a portal to another world that still exists (not Narnia or Charn because those worlds were destroyed but maybe someplace else), and you could have them go on this whole new adventure and I would love to see that happen. However, I am worried about how people would handle the story, hence the half filled boxes for "the fandom is wrong" and "my opinions are unpopular", because I do see the occasional posts that are like "Lewis was just being sexist and hates Susan because she likes boys and lipstick" or "Lewis was 100% right about girls who like boys and lipstick being terrible" which...respectfully, no to both of these. If I remember correctly, Susan wasn't on the train and is still alive, she can have a redemption arc, and she was always described as pretty and liking stereotypical girly things, that itself was never the issue. The issue was her becoming materialistic and caring too much about what other's think of her and mocking her siblings for not acting otherwise. Look, I never related to Susan very much, and I'm not sure that I'd be friends with her irl, based on interests and personality, maybe not, but she's not a bad person just because she's stereotypically feminine and she's certainly not irredeemable. Would have loved to see a sequel where she goes on other adventures and shows off her awesome archery skills and we get to meet a bunch of new fun characters, but I'm so worried that someone who focuses on the wrong aspects of her character would try to make the message of her story about how Lewis was wrong about something he never said or about how Susan was terrible for something that was never a problem in the first place. Sorry to rant, but these are my thoughts.

Toph Beifong:

She's not the ATLA character I rotate the most, but I do love her. She's insane, but I love her. For this, I kept it ATLA (I know some people would put "wasted potential" or "canon did them dirty" for stuff that happens in Korra, but I'm gonna put that on hold for now). I would love to adopt child her because I have a younger sibling like her and as for the irl we'd be friends, that would 100% depend on whether Toph decided she liked me, and I have no control over that. She needs therapy, but so do all those war surviving children and she has never done anything wrong ever (was using her earth bending to scam people).

#long post #Feels like I might be over thinking this a tad...#But I hope you like my answers #Thank you so much Sophie!#Bod's Answers #Character ask game #Character bingo #Ask game #susan pevensie #toph beifong #atla #narnia #chronicles of narnia #milligan wetherall #mbs #tmbs #tmbs disney

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heloflor · 6 months

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You know, considering how many posts I recently made about Movie Peach and how negative they are, there’s something I feel the need to clarify since I wouldn’t be surprised if people had some assumptions and I don’t want words I didn’t say being put into my mouth (Tl;Dr at the end):

As a completely original character, fully detached from everything other than the movie, I have no issues with Movie Peach. She’s badass in a fun way, spunky, has a few cute faces, and I especially appreciate how despite being a strong female character stereotype she’s very supportive of Mario and builds him up rather than putting him down, it makes her likeable and their relationship very cute.

And yes, this is the way I perceived her from the get-go, but only mentioned it in my movie reaction post made all the way back when said movie came out, hence needing to say it again now. To quote that post: “Least favorite character is DK. It could’ve been Peach but my issues with her stem from how different she is from her games counterpart. If you take her movie character as a brand-new character rather than a game adaptation, she’s actually pretty great as a guide and strong mentor.” And while there are things in this post I now disagree with, this part remains my current opinion.

So yeah, as an original character, she’s pretty great...but that’s also the issue.

Movie Peach is not an original character. She’s supposed to be an adaptation of a pre-existing character who already has her own personality. And as an adaptation, Movie Peach fails at every level. Not only that, but several dialogues keep hyping her up in a way that comes off as Illuminations looking down on Games Peach, you know, the character their own Peach is supposed to be an adaptation of.

That’s why I take such issue with Movie Peach. It’s not the character itself, it’s how bad of an adaptation she is. And if I did my job correctly, every single time I talk negatively of her in my posts, it’s about her as an adaptation specifically. The only instance of me being an ass for no reason is in my table comparison post where I call her a dumbass, which I point out in the tags to be me throwing shade and not something I actually believe.

Now I also want to say that I hate Movie Peach for what she represents and the consequences of her existence on Peach’s character and her perception by the public, so to keep it short I’m going with bullet points:

It annoys me a lot that a multi-million dollars company couldn’t be bothered to adapt her character properly, especially since they apparently closely worked with Nintendo and the concept art very much show them who Peach is as a person (the one where she’s encouraging Mario to fight DK reminds me of the 86 Anime where she keeps having Mario fight her battles while powerless to defend herself; also it’s funny how in the art of Games Peach reacting to Movie Peach it’s obvious the artist had no idea what personality Movie Peach has). The fact she’s a favorite character of mine doesn’t help and makes me feel robbed from seeing a beloved character on the big screen for the first time. And obviously them low-key insulting her by hyping up Movie Peach makes it worse.

Even before getting into the fandom I knew that Peach isn’t the most well-liked character, with many gamers especially finding her bland and boring. This was already sad on its own, but now those same people are praising a character who’s completely different from her for being “so much better” or “finally giving her a personality”. It sucks. Games Peach deserves better than that.

With those things in mind I don’t think I need to explain why the fact this characterization is possibly bleeding out into the games is something I dread. Now I can live with a cover art change, but if they change her actual character I’m going to scream. Especially if they only do it to Peach and no other character. And yes I know some people also pointed out a possible direction change for her voice but 1. for some reason I don’t really care, possibly because she’s been through quite a lot of voice-actors already 2. we only clearly hear her voice in the Showtime trailer during the Kung-Fu part so maybe her voice will differ depending on the costume, it is a stageplay after all, and 3. the Wonder short with Bowser has her let out four noises, one of which has a different tone while the other three keep her usual high octave, so I’m not sure if they truly intend on changing her voice. Haven’t played Wonder yet tho so I can’t speak to all her other voicelines.

Hopefully this will be my last post about this outside of answering asks and reblogs as I’m always open to discussions/debates. I don’t like bringing negativity and especially not drama to my blog but, considering the extensive rant I made about this, it only feels right to make sure people don’t misinterpret where my issues come from, since I can absolutely understand people seeing my posts and concluding that I hate Movie Peach for who she is rather than what she represents.

Now, instead of being negative about Movie Peach I’d rather focus on being positive about Games Peach, mostly through the fics I’m working on.

Tl;Dr: Movie Peach would be genuinely great as an original character but alas she was put inside the skin of someone with a completely different personality from hers. And it's very hard to look past this given the consequences of Movie Peach's existence on how people percieve Peach as a whole now on top of a possible change in her games character.

#Super Mario #Princess Peach #Movie Peach #Mario Movie #Flor talks #long post #yeah I'm getting a bit more personal in my explanations here; it's not an analysis post like the other ones after all #but thing is the main reason why I take such issue is BECAUSE I love the character so it feels personal #I mean I wouldn't be talking so extensively about a bad adaptation of a character if I didn't care about them #oh and for those asking what did DK do; I just don't like his character archetype #tbh I feel like an ass rn for complaining about such trivial stuff when a LITERAL GEN/OCIDE is taking place; and things are getting worse #but I want to put the whole comparison thing behind and this is the last info that needed to be said; so it needs to be posted now #and I mean it this time when saying it's the last post outside of answering asks; I said everything I had to say #(but yeah I don't like bringing politics into my blog as I want it to be a place to enjoy fandom content #but what's happening right now in pales/tine is beyond horrifying #and the fact politicians are using 'we don't want to be called bigots' to justify their inaction is utterly disgusting #just admit you can't be bothered to help instead of hiding behind false political correctness)

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chiyoso · 8 months

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I HONESTLY DID NOT EXPECT TO HAVE SO MUCH GREETINGS THAT ITS OVERWHELMING ME TO THE POINT WHERE IM GUSHING WITH SO MUCH JOY ??????????????

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVELY AND UPLIFTING WORDS

i thought my birthday was going to be dull this year with all the whole pandemic, getting sick thing and burnout shinanigans — but creating a growing community... was one of the best decisions i have done in my whole nineteen years worth of choices to do. i love you all, so so much. strangers we might be, acquaintances from afar, friends from behind the screen — it doesn't matter, kindness goes far beyond through each word we speak.

and all of your words have reached me. (cough your lie in april reference without the dying)

this is my first time letting out media of my adventures and personal life, but yesterday was such a special day and i plan to do more today (birthdays over here typically last a few more days since only a day of celebration isnt really enough, depends on the person/environment though 🤭)

Chocolate Taiyaki Strawberry Pocky Pork Katsudon

Mochi Ice Cream Wendys Coffee

ME AND GOJO MERCH I BOUGHT HEHE

(will buy genshin impact birthday gifts for myself)

the name of the restaurant on the right reminded me of lyney, scara and me.

i will not elaborate further.

(also why am i so good at taking pics)

hehe. once again, thank you all so much for the support, i've been planning mentally so much that perhaps i just needed a little break from writing (the sickness and my bday proved a very nice break for me)

writing things

cynosure's ascendance

• i have no idea if people still remember this series of mine, but i do remember starting it out of desire to create a character of lust, battle and trauma and laying it bare for the xianzhou luofu to witness (cough jing yuan) so this series WILL be continued out of self interest

the mara's will

• the direction of this series will take a dark turn. it wont all be happy, but since its inspired by honkai impact... you're going to see more of powerful reader, and come to me in inbox, should i refer to old gods as herrschers? make this timeline where the universe of star rail will be tested by the imaginary tree's schemes and threaten to fall it towards the sea of quanta? i primarily have a good understanding of the whole imaginary tree thing, and i can see it applies to hyv games, thus leading me to the question of — are all connected somehow? (hsr welt's from hi3 after all)

• so yeah! i'm just conflicted as to what direction ill lead tmw with, so please, indulge me with your ideas and help me make sense of the timeline for it.

• (option 1) star rail, a universe that fought off the very, very ancient forces of what people of the infinitely old called honkai, and since the eradication of the ancient forces, they have been thriving ever since, hence the start of new technologies combined with long forgotten ones (previous era combined with stellar resources today) but all had forgotten about them in the process, them being the houkai, and the imaginary tree will soon test this 'bubble universe' (hsr) because simply; it is its law, it is its nature.

• (option 2) no bubble universes, no honkai impact timeline, just hsr itself with elements INSPIRED by the game

• (option 3) come to me! (told you im so conflicted hehe)

stellar chasm

• nngh im making a few ppl wait with this series, but trust me, i'm just studying and playing honkai impact to get a better grasp of hi3 abilities, how herrschers work, the lore and etc. and i honestly really want to involve durandal in mc's progress, we all know durandal is so fucking, so damn strong to the point where she can hold off kevin (im in that part or after so i have no clue if something happens to her, PLEASE DONT SPOIL ME THO) so yeah! i have already an idea as to how will mc will become a herrscher + getting the divine key abyss flower 😌 juuust... let me study more of hi3 🥹 also i have kind of scrapped the HoV personality? i'm going for an eden but more flirty, sensual (not purposely) type — that's all i'm spoiling!

i have 4 upcoming fics as well!

• It starts with a glance (Neuvillette, dark content)

• For you, Ma Moitie (Neuvillette oneshot)

• Neuvillette, your colleague (Headcannons)

• follower milestone with self aware!blade

that's all for now! once again, thank you all and LOVELY PROSPEROUS DAYS TO ALL OF YOU

love,

hiraeth

#🎂|·❍✧⃝·° H. — Birthday Archives (090123)#🪧|·❍✧⃝·° H. — UPDATES

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tarnishedxknight · 15 days

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Headcanons: Gabranth's Physical and Mental Condition/Status From the Pharos Onward

{out of dalmasca} Not my day on the rp schedule to be on this blog, but I've finally finished watching the FFXII "movie" to refresh myself and I've got some things to say. It took me long enough to find time over several months to do it, haha, but it's finally done. For anyone else who wants a refresher or even if you've never played the game before, the movie I watched is here. It distills it down to important cutscenes, conversation, and major quests/battles that are essential to the main story. So if you don't want to play the game or just don't have the time, that movie will tell you everything you need to know about it! =)

Below the cut are some thoughts/headcanons I'd like to share after finishing the movie, while it's still fresh in my mind! Note: this concerns my version of Noah/Gabranth on this blog and will be very canon-divergent.

Having finished the movie, I've got some comments and headcanons I'd like to discuss. I also want to make sure everyone understands how I write Gabranth, because he's very canon-divergent. Because of the way the main FFXII game was chopped up when they decided to change who the main protagonists were, I've had to extrapolate, assume, fill in, speculate, and use a bit of imagination to explain a number of things that happened to Gabranth in the final phase of the story. I'd like to clear some things up as far as how I choose to write him and what I think was going on with him towards the end of the story and his life.

Also I realize now that I got some of the conversations mixed up with regard to timing when I was answering some asks of late, so... oops my bad. I haven't played it in a long time so some of the more important conversations were all jumbled in my head. Don't mind me, I'm just constantly putting the whole game in a mental blender and using whatever I want where I want, hahaha.

Okay. So. When they decided to create Vaan and Penelo and make them the main protagonists and focus instead of Basch and Gabranth, the development team removed the third act of the story, among other things, that detailed the story between Basch and Gabranth. That’s why it’s never said in the game that Gabranth has nethicite poisoning, or what the two brothers are even feuding about beside Basch who “fled our homeland,” as Gabranth put it. That’s also why the last part of the game seems rushed and thinner on story than the rest of the game, because they removed a lot of it.

Specifically, they removed a lot that occurred in between the battle with Gabranth/Cid at the Pharos and the final showdown on the Bahamut. Me and Noah's other mun ( @greyingeneral ) have tried to piece together what the rest of the story and missing details from that omitted third act might have been by looking at the manga, dev notes, Gabranth’s game mechanics, and his list of abilities/spells. Below is how I interpret my version of Gabranth based on everything I've researched and discussed with others as well as how I piece together the parts of the game in trying to fill the gaps where missing material once was.

At the point of arriving to confront Basch, Ashe, & Co. at the Pharos, Gabranth’s nethicite poisoning was catching up with him and addling his mind, hence his erratic and aggressive behavior. It is canon that exposure to nethicite makes one more aggressive (e.g. what happened to Bergan and Vayne). Gabranth was also reacting to the increase in Mist at the highest ascent of the Pharos. Just like the Bahamut absorbed the Mist released from Reddas destroying then Sun Cryst, so too would Gabranth’s body begin accumulating it too. He already has some Mist inside him from the nethicite poisoning he acquired in Landis. Mist… likes itself, heh. It will accumulate itself like a magnet, “sticking” to magical things or to things which already contain Mist and causing it to intensify. So Gabranth was feeling the simultaneously detrimental and invigorating effects of this increase in Mist exposure when he confronted the party.

Now… I headcanon that Gabranth actually died at the Pharos when Cid/Venat threw him against the wall. He heals fast due to the Mist in his body, but not that fast at that point in his life, and things can still kill him like they kill a regular human. My best guess is that he slammed his head so hard or maybe his back was broken from the impact of hitting the stone wall, and that’s how he died.

There’s a surprising amount of support for this in canon. First of all, that’s why you just… don’t hear from him again until later. He doesn’t help anymore against Cid, doesn’t confront Basch again, doesn’t try to follow the party, no one's talking about him anymore, nothing. Because he’s dead.

Second, if you look at his game mechanics before the Pharos and then after, his abilities and spells skew more towards magic than purely martial or weapon-based abilities, and he acquires a lot of magic and special abilities that are consistent with revenants and other undead creatures in the game. How do I know that? Because they match some of the abilities/spells of actual revenants, ghosts, wights, etc. that you can fight if you venture into the Necrohol of Nabudis. Which, I remind you, is full of undead creatures and people who were reanimated by the Mists that resulted from Reddas (then Judge Zecht) detonating the Midlight Shard. So, Gabranth was accumulating a lot of Mist from the charged environment at the highest ascent of the Pharos, he seems to just drop out of the story completely for a while following what looks to be a high impact blow to his head and back, and his abilities/spell list change from that of a Judge Magister to something more matching a revenant type creature by the time we see him again in the Bahamut… everything seems to add up that there's been a significant change in him.

But that’s not all. Basch’s reaction to Gabranth upon seeing him at the Bahamut is, “So, you have lived.” He sounds… surprised. Inasmuch as Basch ever shows emotion about anything, I mean that was… surprised… for him. XD But even so. Why would he be surprised? Because they already checked his body at the Pharos and knew he was dead. There’s a delay in between death and reanimation, so it wouldn’t have happened right away. And because Gabranth wasn’t in a full-scale nethicite explosion as the people of Nabudis, the Mist wouldn’t be quite as intense, so it might take longer to reanimate him.

There is also the question of how Gabranth got to the Bahamut in the first place, and more importantly, how he got there almost as fast as the rest of Ashe and her party. Aside from the fact that we never got told what Gabranth’s ship was, if he even had one (I gave him one, because come on), we never really see him move… anywhere. It’s always… sure I’ll go, and then… I’m there. XD But even if he woke up seconds after the party left, got on his ship, and immediately set course for the Bahamut… how did he know to go there? He was unconscious (or dead, or in-between life and death) during that entire conversation where they decided where to go.

One might say, well Vayne over on the Bahamut knew of Cid’s fate, so that means Gabranth must have gone to the Bahamut, beat Ashe & Co. there, and told him, right? Nope, it was Venat. Occuria can move damn fast, they’re incorporeal, heh. As the party was arriving at the Bahamut, Vayne already knew what happened to Cid and was saying things like, “What say you, Venat?” So Vayne was already talking to him then. Her? It? Did they ever say? I’m not sure, but regardless, heh. Vayne didn’t mention Gabranth at all, which means he might not have known what became of him, or he didn’t care, both are equally plausible. And when Gabranth next encounters Vayne, he’s… challenging him. So I don’t think Gabranth would have quickly run over to Vayne to tell him what was going on because at that point, his loyalties were 100% with Larsa and out in the open.

So how did Gabranth get to the Bahamut so fast? The party took him there. I headcanon that either the party, out of respect for the fact that he was Basch’s brother, or maybe Basch himself decided it, took Gabranth’s body with them and kept it on the Strahl. Maybe he was even laid where we see him lying at the very end of the game, where he later finally died permanently. They were merely saving the body for later burial or maybe for return to Archadia, and when they docked at the Bahamut, left the Strahl, and went to confront Vayne, Gabranth woke up shortly after that, now some sort of raised, in-between, revenant-like being but not realizing it, and left as well. Realizing where he was, his first thoughts would have been of protecting Larsa, so he would’ve been trying to find him and ran into the party along the way.

This also explains why Gabranth kept going after several devastating injuries. After being so badly injured at the Pharos as to be effectively taken out of the plot for a time, he comes back wounded and weaker but still able to fight. Basch & Co. beats him again, and he falls. They leave to confront Vayne, and Gabranth gets up again, and is able to fight Vayne despite the fact that he should be almost dead. After Vayne fatally wounds him (you can only kill a revenant with fire/explosion, decapitation, or bifurcation, and the consensus after reading various sources is that Vayne almost bifurcated Gabranth’s body at the waist with one of his attacks (I've seen it mentioned in more than one place but can't find a canon source), enough to kill him, but just not instantly), he falls and seems to die. Then later we see he’s barely alive on the Strahl, though this time when he “dies,” it’s permanent. The fact that he keeps getting wounded to the point of what looks like death but then keeps coming back is consistent with revenant game mechanics. They have regeneration abilities. So if he can just stay “alive,” his body will continue to regenerate itself. Only Vayne’s devastating attack on him at the end of the game is enough to kill him, with the effects of the wound (damage to major organs and bleeding out) taking hold faster than his body could regenerate.

So… is Gabranth alive, dead, undead, or what at the end of the game? I hesitate to say he’s undead. He’s not rotting, he doesn’t look undead, he still has his sanity despite being a bit unhinged at times, and some of the most specific undead traits and abilities that others have in the game, he doesn’t have. I do think he “died” at the Pharos, but he’s a special case. He’s been living with a low level of Mist in his body for more than half his life. I think when he wakes up after the Pharos, he’s something between life and death, an immortal maybe, more like a vampire. In defiance of death but no longer completely a mortal being. Not invincible, mind you, the rules of killing a revenant still apply, but I think… immortal. I think he will stop aging from that point, and if nothing manages to kill him, he will live indefinitely.

Then why do I write him as “dying” from ailments associated with his nethicite poisoning (lung issues, his cough, issues with his eyes and mental health, etc.)? Two reasons. First, that’s what he believes (but of an unreliable narrator situation going on here) and what all doctors who attended to him in Archadia believed because that’s the syndrome of nethicite poisoning usually entails. But people with nethicite poisoning usually die a lot faster, or they’re a lot sicker that he is. So...

...he’s definitely a special case, and I think it has to do with Ashe’s special brand of Dynast magic. I headcanon that the magic of the Dynast Kings is the only type that can fully and permanently heal/cure nethicite poisoning. When Basch’s own poisoning (he left Landis but was still exposed by the initial explosion) caused him to eventually fall deathly ill, a very young Ashelia who was still learning her magic made a child’s wish that her dear friend would get better soon and accidentally cast her first major healing spell, unwittingly curing him. What does this have to do with Gabranth? I'm getting to that, heh.

This heads right into another headcanon I have, and that is that Basch and Gabranth, as twins (identical, no less) share a soul. For all you MCU fans on this blog, it’s absolutely like Wanda and Pietro. They sometimes feel what is happening to the other or know what the other is thinking, and some things that affect one, can potentially affect the other. When Ashe cured Basch years ago, some of that healing bled through the bond and healed Gabranth without him even knowing. All he knows is that he woke up one morning feeling freaking awesome for no reason, lol. From then on, Gabranth became this strange combination of low-level poisoned, partially healed with ancient Dynast magic, still having Mist in his body, but living with this weird stasis of his body breaking down with Mist-caused illness and simultaneously regenerating itself also because of the Mist. So that very unique set of circumstances and characteristics resulted in Gabranth becoming… something no one has ever seen before.

So I consider him either back from the dead, kindof, or alive but with one foot on the other side, heh. Like... someone who's been touched by death, or who is forever changed by the experience of having experienced death for a time, like people who have near-death experiences and claim to never be the same again. Not undead, not dead, but not 100% alive either, not in the traditional sense. Like an immortal vampire without the blood-sucking, heh. He's his own being, heh.

Okay, now that I've explained that (if it made any sense at all haha), I just have some more comments on Gabranth's emotional ranting at the Pharos, specifically with what he kept saying to Ashelia. (If you want to watch the scene I'm going to describe, you can start here and watch until 5:30:35.) He seemed to be egging her on, to choose violence and revenge, and it begs the question... why? Does he want to kill her? Was he looking for a reason? And why would that be? He really has nothing against her personally and in the grand scheme of things, she wasn't that valuable of a playing card to him as far as his goal of stabilizing the Empire. Actually, goading her into using the nethicite could obliterate Archadia, so why... would he push her to do that? It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but to me it kindof does.

If you listen to Gabranth talk during this time, he's breathing really hard, like he's strained or he can't catch his breath. He also sounds angry, emotional, erratic, and volatile. All of that is because he's reacting to the Mist, although he really doesn't realize that. Despite him merely going there to assess where Ashelia's head is at and to pass judgement accordingly, he starts pushing her to choose revenge, saying, "Why do you hesitate? Take what is yours. The cryst is a blade. It was meant for you. Wield it. Avenge your father. Yes, it was I who wore Basch's face, who cut down the life of Dalmasca. Lady Ashe, your father's murderer is here! I slew your king. I slew your country. Do these deeds not demand vengeance?" When she picks up the sword, he continues, "Yes! Good! Find your wrath! Take up your sword. Fight, and serve those who died before you!

Ashe ultimately decides against using the nethicite for revenge, and goes on to say, "Even with power we cannot change the past. What is done, is done." To which Gabranth replies, "Yet without power, what future can you claim? What good a kingdom you cannot defend? You claim no need of power? What of your broken kingdom's shame? The dead demand justice!"

There's... a LOT to unpack in what Gabranth is saying. Personally, I think he's projecting all over Ashe. Read his lines again, but this time imagine he's talking to himself about Landis. Imagine he's talking about his own rise to power in Archadia, feeling he needs it to avenge the past, to somehow change it, because he's stuck in it still. Imagine also that when all his power is stripped away, deep inside, he thinks very little of himself. He blames himself for Landis, for his own perceived weakness. The fact that he would serve Archadia after it destroyed Landis deep down really disgusts him. The fact that he murdered King Raminas disgusts him. The fact that he didn't avenge the dead of Landis disgusts him.

Think about things in that context and read his lines again. They suddenly start to be a lot less about Ashelia and what she should do for Dalmasca, and start to sound a whole lot more like Gabranth itemizing his own failures, regrets, and self-loathing. It's almost like he's yelling at himself when he's yelling at her, as if to say... Aren't I a terrible person? I should be punished for the things I've done. I should be ashamed. What about my fallen homeland? I should have avenged the past and the dead.

And then of course the fact that Basch chooses that choice moment to interject only pours salt on Gabranth's wounds. Basch is the absolutely worst person to try and de-escalate the situation, because Gabranth is already agitated beyond what he can control because of the Mist. He's not going to calm down, he's going to rage against Basch. Mist doesn't just make you crazy and aggressive, it makes you emotional as well. It can bring to the surface things you normally wouldn't express.

Basch says, "Then I will defend queen and kingdom both." And then... Gabranth starts projecting again. "Hah! Defend? You? You who failed Landis and Dalmasca? What can shame hope to keep safe? Your shield is shattered! Your oaths poisoned those you would protect!" That's... All of that is Gabranth feeling like things are falling apart, like he's failed Larsa, like he's failed the Empire that he shouldn't really even be serving in the first place. He's poisoned all he would protect. But nope, it's Basch's fault! Everything bad in his life is Basch's fault because that original sin of Basch abandoning him and Landis so many years ago was what Gabranth felt ruined his peace of mind and his life forever. Nothing was the same after that and he became a terrible all person because of Basch. So he lashes out at him. It's... a whole lot of projecting, and frankly, ranting. He's not a well person at this point. It's almost like he's on a drug the way he's racing and raging. Sad, really. I feel badly for him at that point because there's so much pain in what he's saying but he just won't admit it. I just want to hug him, heh, he really needs it.

Alright, this post is getting long enough. XD If I think of anything else, I'll add to this, but I just wanted to get it all down somewhere while it was fresh in my mind. Feel free to comment on any of this if you like, or to use the information in it as fuel for threads, starters, AUs, whatever, as this is the main way I choose to write my version of Noah/Gabranth most of the time.

#{ out of dalmasca } ᵒᵒᶜ #{ headcanons }

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semi-sketchy · 6 months

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I did it. I'm done with the Final Horizon.

The side stories...alright did anyone else run into issues where voice lines would randomly not play or was that just me? I had to keep reloading saves because it would glitch and be dead silent for like 10 seconds until the next audio file came up.

I heard lots of people didn't really like the writing in this update, but it really was just more of the same from Frontiers. Nothing scenes with poor character voice. Yeah, there were bad lines, but base game had those, too. The cyber corruption Sonic's friends go through is also just as meaningless here as it was in base game.

The biggest part I didn't like was how much this felt like an afterthought, which is because it WAS an afterthought. I didn't think the base ending was spectacular, but it also felt more in line with how the rest of the story was built.

Here, the first cutscene literally just tries to undo the Rhea island scene and everything is so tacked on. Sonic's friends face cyber corruption from interacting with cyberspace? But they're also TRAPPED in cyberspace, so why is this any different to what they've been doing? Weren't they technically helping Sonic get the Emeralds on the other islands, hence getting Emerald rewards for quests?

It's just a lot of fluff masking this basic "earn the respect of the Ancient's pilots to get a new super form that can deal with The End" and...alright. I've never been concerned over power scaling. You don't NEED to go bigger and better every time, all you have to do is make me care about the stakes and you have a good narrative. That final battle made regular Super Sonic look like a pussy so Hyper Sonic Super Sonic 2 could look so much more powerful. And I know why. This is the exact thing Ian Flynn said he wanted, only he skirted around the no Hyper decision by just changing Sonic's eye color.

But really, you have invincible Super Sonic here, WINCING and getting his hands YANKED AROUND by the cyber energy.

TWO ISLANDS AGO he was swinging a giant sword.

But now, he can't even DENT the boss without this power up. This either makes Super Sonic look weak or this stupidly easy titan tied to a rock mightier than a god.

The Sonic X reference though wasn't lost on me and I admit, I thought it was cool. Even if Super Sonic with blue eyes is a bit uncanny.

The fight itself though is...not very well choreographed. I lost my first attempt and still kinda fumbled around because I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Seriously, when was quick cyloop EVER useful in one of these fights? And now I'm required to do it twice with the penalty of failing being forced to redo the Supreme fight AGAIN?

This is a case where Sonic's friends would've been helpful. I know, I know, I got sick of "THAT LOOKS LIKE A HOMING SHOT" very quickly, but a little thing like "Sever that connection!" or "It's down! Get the gun!" would've helped.

Though, I liked the fight alright and it certainly had the spectacle Supreme lacked.

New music was good, though! The vocal theme for I'm With You is 10x better than Dear Father and I LOVED the I'm Here remix.

Overall, I'm...conflicted. I don't think I liked the update? Really I'm trying to recall having fun with it at any point. There were a few cool moments, the Cyclone having that fuck u laser from SA2 was definitely one, but there wasn't a high point, it was just baseline and lower.

It really upset me at a few points and I couldn't even get performatively angry, it broke me and I was just sad, though I kept going. I think I've grown numb to the bullshit. Really, this was just more of Frontiers with some added jank and difficulty.

The worst parts were challenges 2 and 5. Aside from that, there's not really difficulty as much as bullshit and cheap design. Even my brother came in and asked why they stuck this platform you have to glide to at an angle that causes you to slide off. I rage quit 4-H because they ask you to do PRECISE platforming on tiny angled boxes. With physics that make that near impossible. That's bullshit design and not a difficulty issue.

Also, who thought the rescuing animal objectives were a good idea? ESPECIALLY IN 4-H. There's a glitch where when Sonic gets the animal to safety, he stays stuck in carrying mode which means low jump, no boost, double jump, homing attack, you're basically dead in the water. It goes away at certain points, so maybe this was intentional, but also, seriously?

This was a FREE CONTENT UPDATE that they announced a month before it got pushed out, so why was it rushed so badly that the physics sliders don't even work properly for the extra characters?

At the end of the day though, replaying base Frontiers right before this and running into the EXACT same problems made me realize that it's just more of the same. Base Frontiers has some big faults and pretty BS design, it's just dialed up to 11 here.

I don't want to play Frontiers again, much less this update.

#sonic frontiers spoilers #sonic frontiers #the final horizon #sassy plays sonic

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psianabel · 1 year

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I wish Pokemon didn't release a big game every year, I don't know how they managed to ship Scarlet Violet like that, I feel so sorry for the QA testers because im so sure they ... they addressed all this? They had to right ?? There is no way they didn't. And thinking about that, just. Man.

This game now goes viral because, yeah it's Pokemon, but mostly because of its bugs and because it is Pokemon. It's never a good look if a game gets attention because of bugs of all things.

And it's not that it's unplayable, you can ... normally play it and maybe encounter some graphics bugs, but I for myself have to say you just cannot go through this game without encountering any, and that is the problem itself. It just ... dampens the mood, the fun. I'm tired of seeing all these shadow bugs, it just doesn't look good, I don't want to stay in this place because my game is just glitching left and right. I don’t know why a shadow disappears when I open the attack menu in a battle, after seeing so many shadow bugs I'm just tired.

And I don't even want to address the performance issues, I for myself am so easy to please and don't care if NPCs walk with like 5 fps in the background, or disappear from sight in some distance, I literally just don't care. What I do care about though is that I myself can walk freely without slowdowns. Or not see random NPCs walk through my battle screen.

But honestly the biggest gripe I have with this game is the camera. Yeah free flow camera in the battle screen is nice and all, but if i cant find an angle where I can see my and the enemy Pokemon in a traditional style and just see the hint of my Mon somewhere at the edge of the screen - battles just aren’t enjoyable for me like that. And this is mostly because I think the game doesn’t really know what to do when you initiate a battle in a non flat surface - which this game has a lot, with beaches, mountains, hills everywhere. The instant transition between overworld and putting the battlefield just right there and now is so ... wonky, if you're too close to the wild Pokemon you get ported Somewhere further away, and when the battle ends you are standing Right There where the game put you and not where you were, which can have you randomly fall down a slope, or right into the next wild Pokemon, or has you bug into a wall.

All of these things have happened to me, hence I can't address the issues the multiplayer has apparently. Which, from the things I've seen, is another can of worms.

This game can be so beautiful. It's so full of life with all these neat details - Pokemon animations, them running around in the wild, group of Pokemon staying together, the interactions with them depending on the weather. I absolutely adore the characters, the story, the final part.

But I just cannot enjoy so many things in this game because I'm just so tired of these bugs.

#pokemon scarvi #pokemon #personal #aaaahhhhh i just. had to get this out.#Legends Arceus did so many things correct which ScarVi completely destroys #e.g free camera and Pokemon Battle Screen from Overworld to Battle #puts head into hands. please please just. please release fixes

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fellstcr · 2 years

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— on divine pulse.

. . . because all magic should have rules , right?

Divine Pulse (DP) is both a straightforward power and a... really vague one. So, I’ve decided to compile all my thoughts on how it works from the outside looking in / in general for RP rules. That way, I’m not god-modding your characters, while also not playing down exactly how OP this power is. WHEN it can be used, anyways. (seriously there’s so much she can do with only a single minute of divine pulse. It’s strictly a matter of opportunity.)

Byleth can rewind the hands of time up to ten and a half minutes per charge.

This is more than enough time to turn the tide of battle when things go wrong. It’s also ample time to pivot during tense conversations, but Byleth doesn’t like to use it for that.

Byleth can supercharge her Divine Pulse (all 13 pulses) to reverse time up to 2 and a half hours.

Theoretically she can go well past this limit, but a.) she’s but a fledgling god, so that would take a lot of time and effort even at the end of the events of the game, and b.) she’s known to be very wary of abusing her power, so the limit is more of a mental thing on her end. Give her a hundred years; she’ll be unstoppable. I see you NG+

Most commonly, Byleth keeps her use of DP straight forward: Stop, then rewind time.

The outside viewer cannot discern this at all. period. Not even Arval/Shez. She is effectively rewriting fate/history/destiny itself, and so the timeline she is coming from is rendered is entirely void. It doesn’t exist anywhere except Byleth’s memory. To everyone else, Byleth either has ridiculously good instincts or probably more often is theorized to be some kind of clairvoyant.

When Byleth uses Divine Pulse to SLIGHTLY change the outcome of events, (see: actually all of 3 Hopes), then that can be discerned by outsiders. (Like Shez.)

Because she’s not rewriting time. She’s merely stopping time, using the space between past and present to switch tactics and/or move, and effectively “pressing play” without altering anybody’s movements but her own.

In these cases, Byleth looks like she’s shimmering with purple light. She’s gone and then back again, but it goes by so quickly that if you blink you’ll undoubtedly miss it or mistake it for a trick of the eye.

When Byleth pauses time she is caught between past and future. This Present-Space is entirely her own domain. For those who have never seen it, it looks like THIS. (this is different from Sothis’ holy tomb.) Byleth can observe her surroundings freely and regain her bearings in this space.

Byleth can move freely here, but only within range of where she first used DP. (Range being within... Roughly 4500ft of where she first used DP. This is based on a 30x30 tile map in FE3H, since you can theoretically have Byleth go from one side of the map back to the other in one DP charge.) I’d imagine if she moved too far out of range, time would just . . . start again. And to everyone else she’d just have “teleported” to a completely different location.

She also can’t, say, be warped from Garreg Mach to say, Gronder Field and rewind time so that she never left Garreg Mach. Her instincts have to be sharp enough to perceive the warp coming, and then she can use DP to move out of the way. (Or stop the warp from coming by rewinding far back enough, if that’s a possibility.)

Hence why she fell from the cliff in the siege of Garreg Mach at all. The second she was pushed off the cliff was the second she could no longer use DP to stop the attack.

Using Divine Pulse to its limit tires her out. She’ll get lightheaded, overstimulated, and feel the urge to fall into a very, very long nap. Using it to excess (aka running out) will also leave her with chills and a severe headache. It’s... not fun.

#save #⚔️ hc. / heart of fire.#⚔️ ooc. / mun.#⚔️ psa. / professor announcement.#(can't believe i've never used my PSA tag before wowwww)#(this is good for both isola members AND indie!)#(and is based entirely on what we see she can do in canon)#(3hopes rules included except modified to fit into 3 houses canon)

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aspiringtrashpanda · 1 year

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(CONTINUED) So I worry about someone thinking I’m writing a disguised ship fic especially as I write really close relationships/dramatic Shounen Anime moments, but I feel like it should be PRETTY DARN OBVIOUS that shipping is not my intent because some Very Specific Language goes into that. I may have accidentally tripped and made their relationship Lowkey Deep Because Of Connections and Parallels And Encouraging Self-Growth And Making Your Own Future And Seeing A Bit Of Myself In You, with a Sprinkle of Oops I Accidentally Cursed Myself Because I Tried To Bring You Back To Life In The Last Timeline Breaking The Sacred Relationship With Legendaries That Gave You Their Trust And Now Arceus Is Making Me Watch Over His Chosen One Because None of The Protagonists Were Born In This World So We Need To Do Their Jobs, after Red and Kris, Steven was kind of the last straw. It's a bit fantasy and magical and weird, and I acknowledge that's often attributed to certain romance tropes, but it can be totally normal too. I'm mostly seeing how much emotional complexity I can disguise using fantasy tropes and if that's readable as relatable if you squint or not. Hence, it could get a tad bit personal at times. That's the real thing I'm disguising and telling myself "look, don't go trying to project this thing too, you instinctively try to downplay and disguise it too much to fit the world/hide it's connection to you / so people might think you're making light of it / it'll just ruin the story, it doesn't fit your established lore and it's too awkward to shift things around / it'll get too bloated / you don't have the time to address it properly / stick with classic Pokemon-elements / keep it simple") So now it really is a squinting game and I won't be writing this in the author's notes in case people try to read too much into how it relates to me...you won't be able to tell with all my disguising and changes and Specifically trying to fit it into a canonically existing story element from the games + it writes itself sometimes, as there's the genuine element of just doing what writers do to puzzle out a story to "read like a story" without projections, more entertainment value and classic writing advice.

If anyone thinks you're writing a disguised ship fic (ESPECIALLY if it is NOT tagged as a ship fic (read: tagged appropriately and marked as Gen), and you have said yourself that it is an emotionally intimate PLATONIC relationship), then that's on them. And that ties into the next bit - You can't control what other people perceive and think of your work. You can write what you think can be the most easily understood allegory, or something, and there will still be people who will interpret it an entirely different way than you intended. The COOLEST thing about art (in all forms), is just how subjective it is to the viewer/reader/listener. Where one person may read your work and say "wow talk about self projection. This is out of character (You said it yourself - there is very little canon personality to the player characters in Pokemon games. What is accepted as "fanon" is STILL a headcanon.) There is way too much going on in this plot. I came here for Pokemon battles, not emotional growth." I guarantee there will be another person saying, "Wow I have also felt this way before. The themes in this fic run so deep. It is so much more than a fantasy fic and the character development is so important to me. This fic stirs up emotions within me and makes me question how I see these characters now." Yes, there is something to be said about ensuring the coherency of a fic, making sure that the plot makes sense and there's a beginning and end and climax (or two or three lol), etc. But, at the end of the day - you put out what you think is your best work, something that comes from the heart and that you are proud of, and someone will love it and appreciate it. A fic does not have to be perfect (by critic's guidelines) for it to be incredible to a number of people. (To be continued...)

#aspiringtrashpanda #please talk to me about your fics

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niko-jpeg · 3 years

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Apparently my life has been consumed by Deltarune so much that I've started dreaming about, hence one of my previous posts. So now, my antithesis to the Salt Route because apparently my brain was so upset at Spamton's suffering it wanted to fix it or some shit:

The Factory Reset Route (thanks friend on discord for the name)

So basically, its an alternate rout where the game plays out as normal except for the part when Kris gets captured by Queen and put in the cages based on their search history. You can only access this in a pacifist run and if Kris has had the JevilsTail thing equipped. When you get to the part where Lancer breaks you out, Spamton comes in and claims he already broke out of his cage and offers to help Kris for some Kromer. Kris' choices are "Yes." and "No." No means the game shuts down and the next time you open it everything is back to normal. In order to activate the route itself you must press yes. From there you have Spamton on your team (he helps Kris in battle and exclusively Kris).

From there its like a little side quest. You get to help him come to terms with his past and reunite him with the Addisons. Only then does he leave the party to be with his family. In the end he helps defeat Queen and gives the thrash machine cool glasses and a slightly higher defense.

Kris can also help him build a Neo form out of scraps after the Attack of the Killer Queen but before the Giga Queen fight. He'll give a monologue about wanting to help and Kris can either do it or do it, theyre going to do it you dont get a say in this. So basically they attach tiny little multicolored wings to Spamton and give him a gun.

Kris gets to take him back to the Castle Town where he sets up shop near the big gate and gives you some unique dialogue giving insight to the other characters relationships with each other as well as who the knight might be and a little Gaster related dialogue.

Throughout the entire thing the Team questions Kris for letting Spamton tag along and sometimes try to convince Kris to ditch him, but they refuse every time.

Overworld stuff and credits play as normal, except for at the end of the credits song. A distorted "Dialtone" will play as Spamton looks into the screen of your computer and thank you for helping him. He thanks YOU.

"Hey there [[BIG SHOT]]! Special thanks to you, [[PUPPETEER]], you did me [[A BIG FAT]] solid one! Kris did all the [[PAINSTAKING WORK]] while you just [[SAT THERE]] but thats not [[THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT]]. See you soon-" and it cuts out.

Kind of long and complicated, but opinions?

#deltarune #deltarune chapter 2 #deltarune alternate route #also based on a dream #susie deltarune #noelle holiday #kris deltarune #spamton #spamton deltarune #spamton g spamton #Factory Reset Route

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saphirered · 3 years

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I Don’t Hate You (Vagrant pt3.)

The lady at the front desk gives you a dirty look as you come straggling in, leaving a wet trail behind you, boots sopping with an equally disgruntled expression on your face. You toss her a coin, if only to be done with it all and go back up the stairs. There you see, Fjord is no longer sitting in the hallway and probably either has gotten himself a room of his own or Molly’s taken mercy upon the half-orc and let him sleep peacefully and undisturbed in their shared room. A sense of dread still lingers as you approach your door and you take a sip from the opened bottle in your hand, hoping to find some courage to push you over the edge and just get it over with. You can see the hint of orange light bleeding through the small gap.

When the door opens Caleb looks up from his book, or well, your book. You look like an absolute mess and he knows you know you do. It’s an unspoken agreement to not comment on this fact made in that brief moment of eye contact, for both of your sakes.

“Do not question my terrible life’s choices, Widogast.” You grumble as you let yourself fall backwards on your bed. You don’t even have the energy to magic away the remainders of the rain that kept you company from your soaked person. Well, that or the fact that the droplets rolling down your skin hid the tears from the panic attack and brief existential crisis you had on that rooftop before you came down.

Caleb puts down the book, gets up from the bed and slowly and carefully inches over to your side of the room. He hesitantly sits down on the edge. You have half the mind to kick him off just because but can’t find the energy to do so. Despite your distaste for magic users like him, being alone after your mental breakdown you just experienced, really sucks. Caleb pats your knee awkwardly in an attempt to comfort but not wanting to cross any boundaries. It’s pathetic, he knows because one can hardly fix a stab wound by slapping on a bandaid. His own past experiences have left him a tad bit at a loss when it comes to comforting a person in pain, especially one so stubborn and crass as you have been towards him.

Still, Caleb has figured out your hatred isn’t directed at him personally. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out it’s people with abilities like him that have played a part in your past causing you pain and suffering and the wound is still very fresh, hence your trauma being reflected onto him, despite his complete lack of involvement in your before the moment you met. It may not have helped that your hostility towards him hasn’t exactly encouraged him to try and build a proper relationship with you. He hardly even knows you yet still he feels as if he knows your tells, the things you go through and why you act like you do. He may not know the details of your life but he feels safe to say he knows you better than any of the others.

It’s not his lack of knowledge and insight into your life beyond what’s surface and what he can read off you that holds him back. It’s the fear of what he might find within you that will tear open wounds of his own he’s worked so hard to cover up. It’s the fear you might be one step ahead of him in a similar story and there is no hope for people like you and him after all. It’s the fear those you run from are the same people he has tried so hard to escape. It’s the fear of you, that you might be each others’ salvation, or undoing because he knows what he has the capability to become, what you could become.

But here you lie, upon your bed curled up, traces of tears long since fallen, possibly even ran out, tightness in your throat, indents of your nails in your palms from clenching too much, frustration and anger in your eyes is still overwhelmed by pain and hopelessness and a wish the void would just come and claim you, where you no longer fear the consequences of running and will be able to obliterate those who caused you so much hurt, or die trying in the process. Caleb is reminded of himself in that cell of his own, for years, a broken mind piecing itself together from the shambles it was left in, barely a shell of what it used to be.

When he promised himself he would do anything and everything in his power to take down these tormentors and their accomplices so no one would ever have to suffer like he had, still is suffering, Caleb didn’t expect to find you. He still remembers himself begging, praying, screaming just to not be alone, to have someone tell him there is still hope and not all is lost. There’s still good in this wretched world and if the world turns bleak, it’s up to you to be that good despite everything. Those were the pretty words and empty promises of a dreamer but does that make them a lie?

“Don’t patronise me. I’m not some fragile broken child in need of mothering.” Caleb retreats his hand, clasping them together in his lap as he studies your face. Your eyes are cold, your expression matching. A mask, he knows. A way to protect yourself.

“Good. Because I have no intention of doing so. I want you to be blunt and truthful and I don’t want you to hold back. I want you to humour me and answer some questions.” You raise an eyebrow expecting there to be something behind Caleb’s request but his stare is unreadable, like a practiced mask of his own.

“You want me to be blunt and give you a peace of my mind?” You humour. You’ll tell the asshole okay. You’ll bicker and fight and quarrel if that’s what he wants no problem. Maybe a battle of wits and words will get you back into your groove.

Little do you know that is in fact not what Caleb is looking for. Not exactly. He isn’t looking for a fight. He’s looking for answers, how to help you despite your differences because no one deserves to go through this, especially not alone. So because of that, he will not humour you in turn with his usual reply to your attempts to push him. He doesn’t intend this to end in another futile empty argument. Not now. So he’ll drop the game and go straight for the jugular.

“Why do you hate me?” You freeze at the abrupt and sudden question. Caleb knows you don’t really hate him personally but coddling you won’t work and some things you’ll have to realise by yourself first. Finding the strength to lean up on your elbows you tilt your head at him as a half smirk creeps upon your lips.

“Because you’re an egotistical self-serving bastard who cares for nothing but himself and the people useful to him, until they outlive their usefulness.” The words are meant to cut like knives and usually you’d get a rise out of Caleb by such a statement but when you don’t see any response to your words, nothing but those blue eyes staring into yours so… unbothered, it feels as if those knives are turned onto you instead. You’re not quick enough to get rid of that tiny hint of guilt slithering across your features.

“Why do you hate me?” Caleb asks again, voice still calm like it’s the most unremarkable question ever. He could have asked you about the weather with that tone.

“Because you’re an asshole.”

“Why do you hate me?”

“Seriously? I already gave you an answer. Was I not clear the first time?” That guilt in your stomach starts growing, festering. There’s something in your mind pushing through but you try to fight it off, not liking the thought of being faced with those emotions. You’ve worked too hard to push them away.

“Just answer the question. Why do you hate me?” Caleb sees you struggle. Your first answers where in the blink of an eye, a defence mechanism slipping into place. That works, for a while, until it doesn’t, until you start questioning it and give yourself a moment to think.

“Because…” Because you’re a coward. Because you run from your problems. Because you leave other people to swipe up the mess for you. Because you’re a monster to blame for the pain of others. Because you’re to blame for your own pain. Because you couldn’t save them. Because. Because. Because. Those are not reasons you hate Caleb. You take in a sharp breath, clenching your jaw in anger, nose scrunching holding at bay the curses from passing your lips and the threat of all your emotions from spilling out like a breaking dam.

“Why do you hate me?” The words now, do not sound void of emotion, but instead are filled with a warmth and pity. Damn him! Damn him to the hells and abyss! When you don’t answer he repeats it again. Caleb gives you amicable time to answer, leaving a long silence to give your mind the time and space to think for itself, analyse and process and you hate every second of it because you can’t stop it. The cracks in the walls you’ve tried to hard to build become more apparent by the second. He asks again.

“I don’t bloody hate you!” You shout, pretty sure you may just have woken up the entire floor. The silence after the words leave your lips is deafening.

“Then what do you hate about me that causes you to act the way you do?” Your hands clench back into fists, your nails pressing down again in the still tender skin from but minutes ago. You don’t want to say it. You really don’t but that pain raging through your body wants to get out and you feel the floodgates opening inch by inch despite your efforts to fight it. Then there’s that voice in the back of your mind; maybe speaking the unspoken will give you some peace.

“I don’t hate you! I just hate what your remind me of. It’s like you’re here to personally torture me so please just leave me alone to suffer, get over it and move on.” You don’t want to remember the last time you pleaded for something, and had hoped to never plead for anything again yet here you are.

“I am going to give you a choice and I’ll only offer it once, so listen very carefully.” You’ve never seen Caleb look so intense, so genuine, and so determined. You can’t do anything but listen so you nod, signalling him to continue and that you’re paying attention to his every word and not to twist them for your own amusement for once. Whatever previous relation, or rather lack thereof you’ve had is gone now. There’s only you two, in a place of vulnerability and without judgement.

“You’ve got two options. One; you tell me to piss off, like you usually do. I’ll go back to bed, back to sleep and leave you alone. We will never speak of this again, never mention this and go our separate ways. We will remain cordial when interacting and won’t let our own grievances get in the way of the others.” You take in the words, nodding to confirm you understand.

“Or two; you and I are going to talk. You are going to tell me what you wish, and can tell me provided it’s the truth and I will listen. If you wish to tell me your life story I will listen. If you wish to tell me all your troubles I will listen. If you wish to share your pain, I will listen. And know that I will help you if you’ll allow me to. Because if you keep doing this on your own, let the guilt and grief and pain swallow you whole, I know exactly where it will lead. Do not allow it to be your undoing, or turn you into a person beyond your recognition.” Midway through his offer your eyes have closed and your brow furrows. You bit your lip and that combined with the movement of your eyes behind your eyelids are the only indication to Caleb you’re still listening to him.

Caleb gives you time. He doesn’t expect an answer right away. That’s not how this works but he does study you, attempting to get an inkling of what’s going through your mind. He feels warmth wrap around his wrist, glancing down to notice your fingers have wrapped around it and hold on tightly. You’re holding onto a lifeline and he knows it.

“Why?” Your, words a pained choke, you don’t dare open your eyes, don’t trust the look in Caleb’s eyes to tear down what last defences you had up and turning you into even more of a broken mess.

“Because despite what people might have you believe, there is still good in this world.” You’re unable to stifle a sob, feeling a tear slide down your cheek.

“I’ve not known much kindness in my life but I feel confident in saying this is the kindest thing anyone has ever offered me. It’s why my pervious actions and words towards you make me feel like an absolute ass even more. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me.” You release Caleb’s wrist, feeling grounded once more despite the buzzing in your head and twiddle with your fingers awaiting a response, the tense air slowly lifting as you sit in peace and silence.

You nod, wiping at the corners of your eyes before you open them, a bit more red and puffy than they were before you entered the room. You finally look at the wizard and take in a deep breath before nodding again. If it were anyone else, any other moment you might have said no. You’d even have laughed at whoever tried this emotional shit on you. But it’s time. You’re not getting any better nor can you repress everything forever. It’s time to face some of these troubles head on. Luckily you won’t have to do it on your own. It will take time and effort and it’s going to hurt like hell but it has to be done. You have to move on and learn how to live. You owe it to yourself, if not the people you’ve left behind.

“Now this doesn’t mean we’re going to be best friends from now on. You’re still an asshole and so am I so don’t think I’ll let you off easy for your comments and the trouble you cause.” The corner of Caleb’s lips turns up slightly as he speaks and you mimic his expression.

“I don’t think anyone else could handle it, so I’m sorry to disappoint but you’re definitely stuck with me, Widogast.” You muster a smile, exhausted. It’s mutually understood the conversation as per your agreement won’t happen right here, right now but instead when you’re both ready. For now, at least you won’t pretend to hate each other anymore and start over.

“Hey, Caleb?” You ask.

“Yes?” He answers but before he knows it your arms wrap around him and pull him into your embrace. Caleb’s form goes rigid shocked by not only the gesture but by the physical touch itself. After a good few moments he finds himself ease just a little, enough to return the embrace lightly.

“Thank you.” You whisper.

#critical role x reader #critrole x reader #mighty nein x reader #caleb widogast x reader #caleb x reader

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hanascrisis · 3 years

Text

A REVIEW: Fake Slackers (Mu Gua Huang)

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW

LENGTH: 112 Chapters and 3 Extras

GENRE: (BL) Slice of Life, High School Romance

MAIN COUPLE: He Zhao and Xie Yu

BRIEF SUMMARY: Xie Yu, a repressed genius playing dumb in school (2nd last place) and kicking ass otherwise, becomes desk mates with another famed rebel He Yu, who has grades that are dead last in ranking. The two navigate high school in an elaborate game of imposter, fooling their peers, their teachers, and each other, only to develop a romantic relationship through their solidarity.

LINK: https://fake-slackers.carrd.co/

II. CATEGORICAL RANKING & BREAKDOWN

I read this novel fairly recently, after reading multiple with historical settings, including the famed Dumb Husky and his White Cat Shizun (2ha), so this was definitely a breath of fresh air. The novel itself reads like a slice of life story set in high school, with small snippets of life and no “proper plot with an end goal”. The only real development throughout the book is that of the relationship between He Zhao and Xie Yu, their ever evolving closeness with their classmates, and He Zhao/Xie Yu’s ongoing battle to keep their secret identity as geniuses from everyone around them. Because of this, the book is quite “nostalgic” and reminiscent of what its like living life in high school and falling in love over the accumulation of small gestures and connections. While I ended up laughing my ass off over some parts, overall, reading the book made me feel how listening to “Mystery of Love” Sufjan Stevens makes me feel, which is probably the best way to describe it.

1. CHARACTERIZATION ~ Rated 10/10

I greatly adore the characterization of every character in the book, from the teachers, the ridiculous classmates, Xie Yu’s “found family” in Black Water Street, to the two main characters themselves. The characters in the book all have their own distinct personalities and motivations that might otherwise clash, but all the relationships in the book demonstrate how they can fit together rather harmoniously due to circumstance. By the end, the friend group He Zhao and Xie Yu created included people who usually would have no relation to each other, but their bond was built over the years they had spent “suffering” through thick and thin together within the four walls that was their classroom. You could really label their friendships as “unlikely” ones, but the author really displays how meaningful each of these interactions between the characters are, especially during times of adversity where one or more are struggling. Its really sweet and heartwarming to read.

With the two main characters, both are characterized at the beginning to be “rebels” who behave badly, with low grades and picking fights every other day. They both garnered a reputation within the school as two rivals who rule their respected “half of the territory”, intimidating all students and frankly becoming inapproachable. But being in the same class together as deskmates, on the contrary to everyone’s preconceived notions, they get along extremely well. This leads the people around them to see both of them in a different light, and befriend them as two classmates who are subject to the exact same school related struggles. The dynamic between the two characters and the development in their relationship just feels so natural and smooth, with small gestures building up to a very straightforward, non-chalant confession, to then dating. Its quite nice and mellow, in comparison to a lot more grandiose and overdramatic confessions and love stories we see commonly in the romance genre. Its also quite refreshing to see two people who are both shameless in their affection, not easily flustered. Their relationship is sweet, in the way that warm water with lemon and honey is sweet; gentle and warm, but not tooth-rotting.

2. WORLD BUILDING ~ Rated 9/10

Because it is a slice of life, there is not really the necessity for there to be intricate world building like in the case of any xianxia genre novel. However, in terms of the ability for the author to create a world in which has a bidirectional relationship of influence with the main characters, the author does this very well. The author is able to create a clear juxtaposition between Xie Yu’s previous life in the poorer Black Water district, and his life as the second son of a wealthy business man, and how his environment ultimately plays into his relationships, characterization, and some of the major decisions he makes such as hiding his true abilities. Because of this type of juxtaposition, the book is also able to touch on more heavy, “angsty” themes, such as classism and the portrayal of people divided between classes, as can be seen from the relationship between Xie Yu’s mom and the people from Black Water Street who were with her when her and Xie Yu were hiding from debt. While the themes prevalent tend to be more serious, the author maintains a balance and still adheres to the bright and warm “slice of life” style, making the book really easy to follow, and frankly quite relaxing to read.

3. PLOT DEVELOPMENT ~ Rated 8/10

The direction the story takes is fairly obvious from the first few arcs of the book, which generally makes the plot development quite predictable, but this is NOT A BAD THING. While I knew what was going to happen anyway, the suspense and tension created prior to the “big reveal” was done so well I was basically screaming and laughing for those 6 or so chapters. It made me giggle, and also slam my fist into the table. I loved the interesting concept and how their two lives were able to intertwine by a shared secret common to both of them. The game of “cat and mouse” as they attempted to fool each other and everyone around them that they were indeed the two worst students personally gave me a death note-esque vibe, without the unnecessary drama and a more mundane goal. Hence, I found the plot EXTREMELY ENJOYABLE to say the least. The book was more comedic situationally, but it was definitely the type of book that makes your face hurt from smiling too much.

III. FINAL THOUGHTS

RECOMMENDATION: I DEFINITELY recommended this book, especially to people who are looking for an enjoyable, sweet slice of life book with a high school romance. One of the “selling points” of this book, if you will is how the arrogant and flamboyant + aloof and distant combination of high school boys falling in love feels so natural, as if they are really just two people who get along really well as best friends, with the added depth of intimacy. It feels “normal”, like a partnership that is just deepened over time, and I love it very much. Reading this book both filled my heart and also left a gaping hole in it (out of jealously because me, when?). I do really recommend this book if you are looking for one with limited angst, filled with nostalgia and subtle, slow burn, high school love.

#danmei #sliceoflife #bookreview #highschoolromance #highschool #fakeslackers #fake slackers #muguahuang #hanashonestreviews #BLbookreview #book review

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nancydfan · 3 years

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Okay but honestly everyone (besides Mia) doubted Ethan and his abilities the entirety of the game- especially Chris.

Obviously all the lords are like “ha ha you’ll never get past me!” And then insert picacho surprised meme when he does.

Even Miranda seems to be like “whAT THE FUCK” when Ethan stumbles his way back to fight her after she swore she killed him. Like yes she knew he was “special” somehow but never realized the full extent of his abilities.

But Chris himself doubted Ethan the most honestly.

I feel like when Chris and his team found and got Ethan and Mia out of the Baker’s house in RE7, he probably just thought Ethan was lucky. I mean, here’s this totally average guy and you’re telling me he killed/ severely injured the members of this family who had been infected with the mold, as well as killed Eveline himself? Like Chris was probably like while this man definitely was able to fight his way out there’s no actual way he was able to do this on his own, maybe he’s over exaggerating or whatever.

But he doesn’t say anything, and offers to teach Ethan military training (at least I think it was Chris, only because they seem to be more familiar with each other in RE8) because even if he’s over exaggerating the man clearly has talent and capabilities to make it out of that house in relatively one piece.

And then they get into training and Chris is incredibly impressed. For what appears to be your typical average dude he’s got pretty good fight tactics and techniques, and can handle a gun pretty well. Of course there’s always stuff to improve on and Chris teaches him to the best of his abilities, and here he gets to know Ethan.

This is a man who always offers help to anyone who needs it, and goes out of his way to comfort people whenever they need it. He truly loves his wife, he never makes a “gotta get back to the old ball and chain” or other “I hate my wife” jokes, he truly appreciates her and respects her with every part of him.

He has a great intuition, both in fighting and just when reading people. When Chris or someone around them has an off day he immediately picks up on it and is able to sense what that person needs. With Chris he will casually mention that his door is always open, he might not know the answer but Ethan is always willing to listen if Chris needs it. And though Chris at first insists that he’s fine, somehow Ethan Winters gets him to open up a bit (not completely, but Ethan’s genuine kindness begins to crack Chris’ ‘tough guy’ mask he puts on that lets Ethan see a glimpse of the real him. Chris’ squad is in utter shock of this because it took them YEARS to achieve this), and they both can sit down and share the horrors they both have experienced and for once in Chris’ life he starts to feel that maybe he can actually recover from what he’s seen.

Ethan also somehow knows exactly what to say. Though sometimes he’ll have to pause to get the right words and thoughts together, when he finally speaks his words are exactly what Chris (and others) needed to hear, even if Chris won’t admit it.

Ethan is the guy who when he sees injustice he doesn’t stay quiet, he is loud and makes sure that whatever happened doesn’t go unnoticed. He somehow remembers everyone’s birthday and gets them the present that they actually want, even if the person and Ethan have only talked once.

And though Ethan has the capability to be serious when needed he can be light hearted and funny, and though sometimes his jokes are simple puns or the same reiteration of the joke you’ve heard 100 times you can’t help but laugh because he somehow made it sound different, somehow breathed some fresh life into it. He has his favorite shows that he always makes sure he is home by to watch, and though he is at his core gentle and kind he can also be tough, and isn’t afraid to call you out when you’re wrong.

Ethan is the least judgmental person you will ever meet, and is truly open minded and will listen to you completely and openly. He isn’t afraid to change his opinion when he realizes he was wrong. When him and Mia throw a Christmas party they always invite Chris and he is always touched by it.

It is through their time together training that Chris realizes that while yes Ethan is a completely normal man he is far from completely ordinary and boring.

And when he announces he’s going to be a father Ethan’s eyes completely light up, and he spends hours of talking about all the beautifully mundane things that accompany preparing to become a parent and dealing with the trials of Mia’s pregnancy. There is no doubt in Ethan’s voice or heart that lead anyone to believe that he thinks that there’s a possibility that Rose might be unhealthy due to both of their exposure to the mold. Ethan runs on optimism and truly believes that she’ll be alright, that though they’ve been through hell him and Mia finally got the happy ending they deserve, and Chris has never been so happy for him.

And then, of course, everything comes crashing down.

When Chris learns that Miranda has infiltrated the Winters’ home he is infuriated on their behalf (can’t this family catch a fucking break?) and does all he can to help them (but little does he know he actually will make it worse). He doesn’t tell Ethan whats going on because they need the element of surprise to get Miranda and Chris knows Ethan will not lie low until he gets there. While Ethan was incredibly lucky to survive Dulvey there’s no way he can survive Miranda’s wrath.

(Also I think there was a document saying they didn’t know if Ethan was compromised or not, hence why Chris didn’t tell Ethan immediately what was going on but still he was over the line)

When Chris discovers that his team escorting Ethan, Rose, and Miranda had crashed and died, leaving Miranda in sole control of Rose he is devastated but thinks to himself that he must keep going, there’s no time to grieve or feel guilty for mistakes when Miranda is moments away from completing her ceremony.

And then he gets word that Ethan Winters has been spotted in the castle. And he shakes his head because of course he’s still alive, Ethan must run on luck and sheer will because how else would he have survived the crash?

And though Chris wants to go after him to tell him to sit his ass down so his team can do their job he can’t because again time is a luxury he can’t afford and he hopes Ethan’s luck saves his ass again this time. And though he hopes for the best can Ethan really take on these god-like creatures?

And then he again gets word that Ethan Winters somehow is defeating all of the lords. He’s going through them as if they’re simply ants beneath his feet and somehow he is still going. And though this is great Chris and his team are rapidly losing the element of surprise they’ve been trying to maintain since coming to this village.

And when he encounters Ethan again it almost hurts to see this man who once sat with him for hours talking about nothing, offering to help him with his taxes look at him with such fury and disdain that it almost sends shivers down his spine, that even though Chris is a highly trained operative he for some reason feels like if Ethan chose to kill him Chris wouldn’t last long. He wants to explain but time won’t let him (or is it the fear that he was wrong all along and once he spits his words out he’ll realize this).

And when Chris runs into Ethan at Karl’s factory he finally gives up and figures that he could use Ethan’s luck on his team, if Ethan can eliminate the four lords without any military help then he’s got to be able to have a shot and killing Miranda with Chris’ and his team’s help.

And when he hears Miranda kill Ethan on the phone it is a blow to his gut that he wasn’t expecting, because Ethan Winters has made a bigger impact on his heart than he thought possible. And it is in this moment of grief that he realizes his mistakes, that he was wrong to alienate Ethan, the man who went through hell twice without looking back to save his family.

The guilt only gets worse when he finds Mia, because he has to explain to her that it’s his fault that her husband is lying dead without his heart due to Chris’ own negligence. And when Mia tells him that he doesn’t understand how special he is he desperately wants to hear it, despite his mind telling him that’s she’s wrong, he wants Mia to tell him that Ethan can survive the impossible because he wants a second chance to make things right.

And when he gets the report again that Ethan Winters is somehow alive and is on his way to the ceremony site Chris’ heart soars and he wonders how could he have ever doubted Ethan Winters and his ability to come back to the people he loves time and time again.

(Also I could be wrong here because I don’t remember if Miranda blocked Chris out once she realized he was there but the rest of this is going to go off of the assumption that Chris was present and could see what was happening)

It is not until Chris makes it to the ceremony site and sees the battle between Miranda and Ethan that Chris truly realizes that he has severely underestimated this man for 3 whole years.

He’s seen Ethan fight before- he saw it in training and heard his squad give him the summary of what they saw when Ethan fought the other lords, but this is the first time Chris has seen Ethan TRULY fight, and on his face where Chris is so used to seeing compassion and love and carefreeness is suddenly replaced by anger, resentment, and pure determination because his daughter’s life is on the line and he will fight until there is nothing left of him to keep that little girl safe.

Chris watches in awe, because even though Ethan looks like he is barely staying together, like he is one breath away from falling apart he is still fighting. Maybe it’s because the mold is being destroyed or maybe Ethan’s injuries are so severe that the mold can’t be bothered hiding itself anymore but he finally sees the proof for himself that Ethan Winters is no longer human- Miranda is tearing into him and Ethan does not care- the long gashes she makes onto his body are desperately trying to suture themselves back together with small tendrils of black, this mold desperately trying to keep Ethan together when Miranda is so intent on tearing him apart.

He watches in amazement as Ethan somehow manages to avoid her claws and her own tendrils of mold reaching out to pound him into dust. He watches in amazement as it doesn’t matter how much Miranda damages Ethan- he gets back up again to unload another round of bullets into Miranda without slowing down, and watches in amazement as Ethan actually begins to win this battle- this perfectly normal man versus a god-like creature and Ethan is actually winning despite all the odds stacked against him.

This is Ethan Winters, he thinks, and while the mold might have given him regenerative properties the mold did not give him the drive and determination Chris sees before him- though Ethan Winters is infected but he is still Ethan Winters, each bullet he fires is coming from him, and his pure will to survive and save his daughter. The mold did not change him to a super hero because this is who he is at heart, a man who is willing to risk it all just to make sure the ones he loves are all right.

And if he didn’t already respect Ethan before he certainly does now, and he curses himself for being so ignorant and not letting Ethan in when he had the chance.

But that’s alright- because Ethan Winters has just eliminated Miranda before his eyes and is running to his daughter, and now Chris will have a lifetime to make it up to him.

But then he sees Ethan collapse to his knees in front of him, and his feet are moving before he even thinks to go because there’s no way, this man did not survive this hell just to die on him now.

Chris is relieved that Ethan is still (barely) conscious as he puts his arm around the man to help him out. Time has never been on their side and it certainly isn’t now, as Chris practically drags Ethan out because he has failed him too many times and he refuses to fail him again.

He tries to get Ethan to keep fighting because it seems that all of the life has drained from this man, the only part of him that’s full of life is the arm carrying his daughter because even when he’s on the brink of death he will not let anything happen to her. Chris brings up Mia and it pains him to hear the loss in Ethan’s voice, as if he’s already decided he’s a lost cause. Chris will not let this happen, he points out that they’re going to blow the village sky high and that’s why they need to get a move on and-

Suddenly Ethan is pushing Rose into his arms, and Chris can’t believe he gets the privilege to hold this man’s daughter after all he’s done and Ethan is draping Rose in his worn out coat and begging Chris to teach her to be strong and Chris won’t have this, Ethan Winters will not die on his watch he will get home to his family and live to live a perfectly normal life, when suddenly Ethan pushes Chris out of the way of a mold tendril that acts as a barrier between them and Chris watches in horror as Ethan stumbles backwards, the man looking more and more like a walking corpse versus the man he just saw moments ago, full of life and determination to kill Miranda.

“Goodbye, Rosemary” Ethan chokes out as he starts to stumble his way back to the ceremony site, and Chris can almost feel the pain of Ethan’s loss at not being able to be with his daughter and wife just within the utterance of these two words.

And Chris is calling Ethan back because dammit it doesn’t have to be like this but Chris knows what a man hell bent on something looks like, and Ethan is already almost out of his sight and the whole village is collapsing around him.

Cursing Chris turns around, cradling Rose close because Ethan somehow miraculously chose to trust Chris in protecting her and like hell will he let something happen to her after this. Chris will teach her to be strong and how to be brave, and not because he’s a man and Mia is incapable of it, but Chris will teach Rose how to be strong like her father was, and how to defend herself because both he and Ethan know that Rose’s abilities will make her a constant target for people to use for their own gain.

When Chris hands Rose back to Mia the joy on her face is short lived and suddenly she’s demanding where Ethan is, begging them to put the plane back down because there’s no way in hell he’d leave them willingly and just as Chris utters that Ethan chose to sacrifice himself the bomb goes off and he feels another blow to his chest, and it’s as though he can’t breathe for a second. He sees the realization hit Mia, and that though Ethan has survived the impossible time and time again can he really survive being blown to bits?

Chris can barely contain the grief and guilt that is consuming him as he looks out the window at the site where Ethan Winters’ luck has run out, the site where Ethan Winters has now died for the second time.

He glances back at Mia and Rose, and each sob Mia lets out cuts him like a knife because he knows he is responsible. He promised this little family that he would protect them and he failed. He failed Mia, he failed Ethan, and now he has failed Rosemary as she must now navigate her life missing a father who would have done anything for her.

Chris will not let Ethan die in vain. He will protect Rose, he will teach her how to fight and how to defend herself. And though he wants to reach out and comfort Mia he knows it will be unwelcome, but looking at Rose he will not fail her again.

He made a promise to Ethan Winters that he fully intends on keeping.

I’m sorry what did I do to be so emotionally attacked like this 😆

I’m SOBBING OMG. Ty really. I feel like I have nothin I can add to this because GAH MY HEART. You get it. You understand these characters and I was smiling so huge as you described Ethan because YES ALL OF THIS. Then the pain as Ethans end approaches. AND CHRIS’ PERSPECTIVE THROUGHOUT AND HIS PROMISE GOING FORWARD.

Anyway someone get me tissues. This was so beautiful. Bless you 💜💜

#thanks for the ask nonnie 💜💜💜#resident evil #resident evil 8 #ethan winters #chris redfield #resident evil spoilers #mrs joe speaks #long post

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strawberrywritingfiction · 3 years

Text

Lip Sync Battle Birthday Bash

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Word count: 1.5k

Synopsis: Zendaya incorporates a lip sync battle into Tom’s birthday party, only you were unaware you’re featured in it

A/N: To celebrate Tom’s birthday. Idk what this is, but it’s something 😭

Also, If you happen to not have heard of Tom Holland’s Lip Sync Battle, I suggest you watch it immediately: Tom’s Lip Sync Battle

Warnings: ⚠️ lil sugestive ig but mostly fluff

masterlist

^^^

Tom’s birthday called for a fun party. Only involving close friends, of course. No surprises were in store. That is- until Zendaya became ringleader of an impromptu lip sync battle. Which you agreed to be part of, assuming it would be simple. Nothing too extravagant.

“Z, WHAT is this?” You enquired with a rather harsh whisper, as you held the shiny material and fishnets in your hands. Z had swept you away from the pleasant party you had created, and brought you into the other room, in order to cultivate her devious plan. Zendaya only grinned mischievously at your response. “Listen, it's going to be girls vs boys, OK? Only, I told Tom that he would go up with Harrison, Sam, Tuwaine and Jacob, and just bust out some moves to any song of their choice. Little do they know….” Zendaya whispered excitedly, “we have a fully choreographed and costumed routine.” She grinned wildy. “Also, do you have any umbrellas around, perchance?” Zendaya eagerly looked around the room.

“Zendaya! I can’t do this! Just you and me??? I don’t even know Tom’s old dance-” you rambled.

“We have Harry too, he asked some questions when he saw some fishnets hanging out of my bag, so I had no choice but to recruit him. And, if you don’t know the dance for sure, follow along with me, or make something up. But I am sure you’ve seen that video a little more than you let on.” Zendaya laughed, only earning an eye roll from you.

“Come on, y/n, this will be my revenge! Do you know just how many times Tom has rubbed in that he won that stupid thing?��

“Fine,” You groaned, “I’ll just stand behind you during your little performance,” you sneered.

“Nuh uh, you’re front and center, after all, your Tom’s leading lady,”

You began to persist, but Z grasped your arm, walking you back into the party.

There were only the boys, watching some football and drinking beers. But the two of you were still given some glances. You just managed to hide the costume behind your back, before anyone could take notice. Aside from the few birthday balloons hanging around, it felt like a normal weekend. Jacob and Zendaya had flown in to celebrate Tom’s birthday, and there had been a large group dinner the previous night. Hence why the birthday itself was rather low-key.

“Ladies and gents, we will now be moving this party outside, if you will!” Zendaya yelled to the group.

^^^

The party moved outside, and lawn chairs were splayed across the grass, facing the slightly raised patio at the back of the house. You stood next to Tom as the two of you overlooked both Harry and Zendaya plugging in a speaker and discussing their performance in hushed tones.

“What are they doing?” Tom mumbled to you.

“I’m not sure,” you whispered, still confused by the whole affair.

Harry held his hands up and faced the rest of the group yelling “alright, alright, we are going to do a celebratory lip sync battle. The teams will be me, Zendaya, and y/n, up against the rest of you, Tom, Haz, Sam, Tuwaine and Jacob.

“That’s bold of you mate, three versus five?” Tom countered. The boys were always up to games, and were never not competitive.

“Originally it was just gonna be girls, Tom, but your brother here hopped onto my performance,” Zendaya sneered in defense. “Now the rest of you, choose what song you're gonna compete with.”

Tom huffed, and left you with a brief kiss on the cheek, as he joined a huddle with the boys. You joined Zendaya and the two of you watched their huddled discussion. “Idiots.” she said, and leant into you, whispering, “They don’t know what they’re in for.” You laughed.

The boys recovered from their huddle and Harrison proudly spoke on behalf of the group, yelling, “Courtesy of Tom, we are going to be performing, “My Heart will Go On.”

Both you and Zendaya booed them, in opposition to their cheers. Then, they set up their song and performed. The whole charade was comical. Tuwaine was held within Tom’s grasp, arms spread apart, in recreation of the ‘Titanic pose.’ Sam and Jacob exhibited some graceful dancing around the two, and Harrison dramatically mouthed the words, beer bottle in hand, in place of a microphone. It was obvious the boys were rather intoxicated, as they idiotically danced, and swayed standing up. They earned a few cheers, but most of you erupted in laughter in response to their performance.

“You ready,” Z asked.

“No.”

Z groaned, but turned to the rest of the party and shouted, “Boys we need a minute of preparation,” to which they responded with a chorus of ‘ooh’s

Zendaya dragged you to the nearest bathroom, where the two of you got dressed, in a pretty close replica of what Tom wore for his performance. Zendaya then sat you down and applied some makeup on you, followed by herself, and Harry. You put a black haired wig on Harry, just like the one Tom wore, and he couldn’t help but begin to regret agreeing to perform alongside you two. Your laughter at his appearance faltered when Tom rapped on the bathroom door, “You idiots ready yet?” He said to the three of you.

“No, Tom! Just sit and wait on the lawn,” Zendaya yelled, irritated. You laughed, and Tom groaned before walking away. After your looks were completed, Zendaya peeked out the door, making sure you were all in the clear. It was basically dark out, and the backyard was only illuminated by a few small lights. “Ok y/n, Harry and I will walk out first, then when the chorus hits, you join us. Ooh, and stand between us, you know, you a little further up, Harry and I spread behind you, like a triangle, ok?” Zendaya rambled, “Tom, cue the music!!!” She yelled. You peeked out the back door and saw the boys sitting on the lawn chairs, Tom with his phone in hand, pushing play on the music.

Both Harry and Zendaya walked outside, in view of the group, who erupted in cheers and idiotic laughter. Harry chucked a flashlight at the boys, which Sam caught, and angled up at the both of them. Harry began mouthing a part of the song. And all the boys began doubling over in laughter. Tom, on the contrary, had his head in his hands, in embarrassment.

Umbrella in hand, you awkwardly walked out, sporting the fishnets, as the chorus played and all the boys below you broke out in a fit of even more laughter and cheers. Some pulling out phones to record.

Tom sat in shock as the rest of the boys laughed at him. His face went a little red as he watched you, whilst you waltzed around the umbrella in laughter alongside Harry and Zendaya. Harry received the most laughter, however, as he awkwardly danced, an umbrella held over his head.

The dance continued, and Tom tensed as you walked over to him whilst the lyrics continued to play. The other boys erupted in a chorus of laughter and cheers when you danced in front of Tom, just as he approached Zendaya in his own performance. It was evident he enjoyed the entire fiasco, but was flushed with embarrassment.

You retreated back to the patio and continued to dance, alongside Harry and Zendaya, still receiving cheers from the boys, however less climatic with a lack of rainfall in comparison to Tom’s.

The lyrics ended and the music stopped. The round of cheers, claps and laughter from the boys was immense, and Zendaya engulfed you in a hug, the two of you out of breath from fits of laughter.

“THAT’S ONE ALL HOLLAND!” Zendaya snickered and yelled in the direction of your boyfriend.

He only responded with a “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” still rather pink in the face as the two of you walked down to the lawn and joined the rest of the crew. Both you and Zendaya earned a pat on the back from the boys, but Harry was ridiculed immensely. Harrison stole his wig and ran around in it. Tuwaine and Jacob smothered the poor boy in tackles. And Sam just pointed and laughed at his brother. Although, Harry managed to plant kisses on both Tuwaine and Jacob, who now had remnants of red lipstick smeared across their cheeks.

Overall, the performance was a success as you were given a standing ovation, and both you and Zendaya bowed gratefully. Tom whistled, two fingers against his lips.

^^^

#tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland #happybirthdaytom #tom holland one shot #zendaya #lipsync battle #luc writes #strawberrywritingfiction #tomhollandbirthdayimagine #tom holland fluff

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shima-draws · 4 years

Photo

Aww yeahhh time for Kiyo to make his entrance!

I wrote an entire essay about him (again whoops) so it’s very long and under the cut for your viewing pleasure ;)

Kiyo

Age: 29

Hair color: Green

Eye color: Brown

Element: Stars

Kiyo, the Guildmaster of the Asterstone Guild! He only took up the position recently and has had the Guildmaster title for about a year and a half. He was the previous record holder for youngest Guildmaster until that title was stolen by Taku. (Kiyo holds a grudge about it but it’s playful.)

Kiyo, just like lots of other characters in ATS, was taken in by the Asterstone Guild at a young age. He’s similar to Shima in that he has no previous memories before showing up outside the guild one day, battered and bruised. (That marks three characters in this series with amnesia now! Wrow) He grew up under the watchful eye and tutelage of the previous Guildmaster, and because of how attached to him she’d gotten, it wasn’t long before he began to express desires to take over the guild once she retired. After a lot of thought and contemplation she eventually handed over the position to him. This initially resulted in a lot of outrage from the guild members because they did not think Kiyo was suited to be the Guildmaster, but he eventually proved them wrong once he stepped up to the plate and showed them he could act like a true leader!

They did have good reason to be nervous about that, though, as Kiyo is normally a very laid-back and carefree person and is strictly non-violent. This has lead into lots of situations where he’s opted out of fighting, leading his guildmates into lots of trouble when they needed a hand, and they labeled him as both a coward for avoiding necessary battles on missions (which is practically a requirement for a guild member going out on dangerous quests, you sort of have to have a battle prowess to take on any foes) and lazy for not participating when he should. Initially this bothered Kiyo a great deal, but the previous guildmaster assured him that not everybody is suited for battling others, and that he can still pave his own way to success in a non-violent manner. While Kiyo may not have a liking for fighting, he has an extremely smooth tongue and is very capable of talking himself out of sticky situations (mostly by bribing. He is VERY good at that lmao). He has a talent for manipulating others into doing what he wants them to, though he rarely uses this on people he considers friends. When Kiyo’s able to complete a mission and win the day without resorting to using their elemental powers in a fight, his guild members have to stop and think for a second like. Hold on. He just did that so easily, he made it look so simple, we really need to stop underestimating him and calling him totally useless (Kiyo: Hey. HEY).

Kiyo’s pretty close to all of his guildmates despite their constant ribbing—the one person he’s close to that adores him completely is Lacie, because he was the person to bring her into the guild (she was around 10, he was 17), and being the first person to genuinely show her kindness that wasn’t for ulterior motives, Lacie became very attached to him. Kiyo acts like an older brother to her, and Lacie supports him in whatever he does. She was thrilled when he took on the Guildmaster position, and he has a very soft spot for her :’) She always sings his praises to anybody outside who will listen, and gets angry at Emrys the one time he called Kiyo incompetent.

After becoming the guildmaster, Kiyo actually does a good job at taking charge despite the general opinions that he wouldn’t. He’s still very casual about it though and is a bit more flexible with how the guild is run, preferring to let the guild members do things their own way and be less strict about the overall rules. He’s basically got the “Do whatever you want!” and “Just wing it!” outlook, and while a lot of the members don’t like this attitude, a lot of them do. At the end of the day they all do respect him, though! While he isn’t a fighter he’s very good at giving orders and keeping things in check around Asterstone lol

Despite Kiyo’s insistence on staying out of battles, he’s actually an extremely skilled fighter, and is probably the strongest and most dangerous person in the entire guild. The issue with this, though, is that whenever he gets into a fight, he tends to get too “serious” and starts going off the walls, treating the battle as a game and something fun and entertaining. This leads into him not knowing when to stop, and nobody else being able to stop him, so he’s seriously injured other people without meaning to—revealing that he’s actually terrified of violence because he loses himself in it, and why he prefers to stay on the sidelines. It’s only when Kiyo gets really serious in battles that a darker side comes out, and where the star mark in his eye appears. It’s only been seen a few rare times throughout his life at the guild, so nobody really thinks much of it or notices it. It’s only after the star mark appears that Kiyo passes out afterwards, having exerted a lot of power and extremely skilled battle prowess nobody has ever seen before. However, after a grand guild tournament where Kiyo faces off against Taku and gets too into it, revealing his star mark and almost slicing Taku’s head clean off, one of Kiyo’s advisors at the guild starts to look into it out of concern for both Kiyo’s safety and that of others.

In the middle of all this mess, Kiyo meets Toru, and after nearly forcing him to join Asterstone, the two start growing closer 👀 Toru joins the squad of not putting up with Kiyo’s bullshit, but that’s only after he gets over his starstruck fanboy phase. Because Toru is newer to the guild and because he’s a non-elemental not suited for fighting, Kiyo instantly becomes attached to him, finding similarities in their preferences and backgrounds. While Toru does think Kiyo’s an idiot sometimes he treats him very kindly, and is usually the first to defend him when the other members playfully tease him, so Kiyo’s just like you are an angel sent from heaven just for me and I adore you. Still though with Toru being a non-elemental Kiyo stresses about his safety CONSTANTLY, even after Toru gets official training in self defense. If Toru’s in danger Kiyo will blow off literally everything else to go rescue him first, which the other members have to get used to as it happens more often than they’d like akdasbmlads

Later down the line the guild is caught up in something terrible, and find themselves being targeted by a descendant of a great inventor and sorcerer (not Elymas this time tho lol). She’s apparently seeking what’s known as the Velle Nova, and has reason to believe Asterstone is in possession of it. After Kiyo’s forced to fight and unleashes the power behind his star mark, the descendant reveals that Kiyo has the Velle Nova, and then the truth finally comes out…

Kiyo remembers everything about his past. Years ago, his town had been caught up in a great disaster, and he was the only survivor. He was forcibly taken in by several scientists, one of them being the ancestor of the girl descendant. They were attempting to recreate the Velle Nova, one of the great sorcerer Elymas’ inventions, which is said to grant any sort of wish imaginable. They wanted to claim that power for themselves and possess the powers of the universe itself. However every attempt had failed, and without the real Velle Nova they couldn’t achieve what they were after. So they decided to pour all of their research into Kiyo instead, and try to create the weapon inside of a human being. This ended up making a twisted, broken version of what should have been the Velle Nova. But Kiyo couldn’t contain its power—it was going to unravel the universe itself and either destroy everything or alter it tragically into something unimaginable. One of the scientists working with the group realized how awful their experiment was and, being a Time elemental, decided to erase Kiyo’s memories (with some help) and send him centuries into the future so that the rest of the group couldn’t get their hands on him. Hence Kiyo winding up outside of Asterstone with no memories, and the truth behind his star mark. It had been granting Kiyo his wish the whole time—the longing to protect the things he cares about by being able to defeat any threat in his way. Of course with the unstable power that he can’t control, it usually leads into disaster;;

Kiyo, now having recovered his memories, realizes that the same thing is going to happen again, and decides to seal himself off to protect Asterstone and the world before the universe unravels. Cue an epic PMD-esque goodbye scene where he bids farewell to Toru, gives him his trademark scarf, and vanishes, escaping into a dimension between time and space where his power can be contained. *Starts playing I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye*

Toru, absolutely devastated by Kiyo’s farewell, decides he’s going to break time and space to save his man, except there’s one small issue...nobody else remembers that Kiyo even existed, and Toru only managed to by some miracle (and also maybe bc Kiyo handed him his scarf idk some magic soul connection thing). But after a while...a long while, maybe like a year or more...they finally unlock the key to finding Kiyo!!

Toru and Kiyo share a tearful reunion, and Kiyo cries a lot because it had been so lonely sitting in that black hole all by himself for so long. Toru begs Kiyo to come back, and suggests that Kiyo separate himself from the Vella Nova in order to live a normal life, but Kiyo informs him that he and the Vella Nova...are the same. They’re the same combined entity! Kiyo says that if he tries to unfuse, he’ll just end up destroying himself, because there’s nothing to separate, being one singular existence. So Toru points out uh hey since you’re the same thing, don’t you get a say on how your power is used? “It’s your power, Kiyo” yes we’re referencing Tododeku here we go

Kiyo’s like hmm uh yeah I guess you have a point;; so we went through all that for nothing huh. And Toru tells him you’re a fucking moron and Kiyo’s like ahh yes but you loved this moron enough to come rescue him from the void ;) And they kinda sorta confess but not really? Kiyo’s too nervous and Toru’s too distracted trying to figure out how to get them out of there but no worries they sort it out later. Kiyo tells him that hey I’m still dangerous and I could lose control at any given moment and Toru’s just like well I guess we’ll just have to stop you and bring you back to yourself. So with the knowledge that he’s got a whole guild of awesome people backing him up and a boy who broke the laws of the universe to save his ass, Kiyo and Toru escape the rift and finally return home together 💕 And that’s pretty much how their arc ends!

Extra personality traits

-He has a really short attention span so this makes things painfully hard on mission briefings, which leads to Kiyo usually screwing up the mission one way or another

-He often charges ahead without thinking and is the first one to become a target in a bad situation. Nobody really feels bad for him though because most of the time it’s his fault for walking right into it LMAO

-He can be very childish sometimes and most of the time he does it on purpose. His guildmates complain that their leader is a whiny, immature brat

-He is an expert on how to annoy people do not test him oh my god

-He can be incredibly selfish;; He’s gotten better with it during recent years, but he got scorned for it a lot when he was younger. He’s also very emotional, and you can read what he’s thinking like an open book! When his friends can’t read him that’s when they start getting worried.

-He has no experience in romance whatsoever and it’s the one (1) thing that can get him flustered. Nobody at the guild has ever seen Kiyo get mildly embarrassed or caught off guard, so they begin to think it’s impossible to make him blush. Then Toru shows up and ruins everything lmao

-He has a great sense of humor and can always make others laugh! He’s also very mischievous and sometimes plays pranks on other members of his guild.

-He’s very stubborn when he wants something and not in a good way. He also pouts a lot when he gets like this

-He loves his guild and his guild members man :'( If any of them are ever in any real danger he's quick to offer himself up first as a target. He's protective of his friends and will do anything to keep them safe!

-A very very affectionate person. He mostly shows this through physical acts like hugging and generally touching other people. In return he also craves affection and gets very soft when it’s given back to him. I’d probably say he’s a little touch starved despite being in close contact with others all the time lol

#Me: Time for a new OC! *Writes a novel-length essay about their background*#Kiyo #Among the Stars #ATS #Shima's OCs #This took me way too long to write fnaskbldads god #Original character #Character art #Character design #Digital art #Art #Character sheet #Character reference #Shima arts #Long post #shima-draws

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