#like just jumping around and making associations and references that are Obvious to you but other ppl don't see or wouldnt get ?

[angelsdean]

the thing is. while i don’t always understand dean’s references i DO talk like that inserting my own collection of references and phrases and word associations. the deancoded of it all speaking completely incomprehensibly 

#not to be the 'everything is a symptom of adhd' meme but i Do feel like this is an adhd brain thing #like just jumping around and making associations and references that are Obvious to you but other ppl don't see or wouldnt get ? #my sister and i talk exclusively in references and we both have like the same brain #i always find it odd that sam doesn't really get dean's references or jump off them #and it just drives home for me how different their childhoods and experiences were #like dean lived and breathed tv and movies bc ~adhd headcanon~ it was a form of entertainment that kept him engaged and stimulated #while sam was a total bookworm and also tried to spend as much time as possible at friends' houses and stuff #like dean was LONELY so lonely and so it makes sense that he found so much comfort in media and pop culture #to the point that his language and the way he communicates is steeped with those references #he literally learned about the real world through television he learned everything he knows abt relationships and people thru tv #he knows real life isn't like that but he wants it so bad it's his unattainable ideal the family sitcom where the dad always hugs you #and knows just what to say and where the mom is always there and where there's always dinner on the table #where every problem gets solved in a half hour #movies where the bad guy always dies and the beats are familiar and predictable #whooops these tags have turned into a dean and tv thesis my bad djgkdfg #vic.txt

[bidonica]

Art in HotD - 1x04 “King of the Narrow Sea”

(more art in Westeros) - (more art in HotD)

I didn’t set out to do an episode by episode analysis, but it’s not my fault this show keeps giving me material, so,,, Also I’m sorry for not embedding the references in the post and linking them out instead, but Tumblr keeps a ten images limit per post and I’d rather anchor the commentary in screencaps.

The episode opens with a look at the inside of Storm’s End (which we never got a description of in the books because all the action happens outside). It’s very spartan and undecorated, which sort of tracks with the Baratheon vibe.

Back in King’s Landing, we get a shout out to the textile art of Qohor and Norvos, which shows that they really are doing their homework because the tapestries are only mentioned in passing in the books when describing the council room. Unfortunately we don’t get to actually see them because Viserys decides to be a dick about it to Alicent. Boo.

We get a good look at the fresco under the wisteria arbor in the godswood. It seems like another instance of Valyrian taste being inspired by Roman antiquity, as it’s reminiscent of Roman garden painting:

It seems to be a more naturalistic, loose style of painting compared to both the more archaic looking erotic art from inside the Keep and the “international Gothic” style painting behind Viserys in the previous episode. This decorative naturalism tracks with both the paintings we got from imperial Rome, and the Renaissance approach to landscape.

Are those braziers to the left here dragon shaped or griffin shaped? the way the wings are rendered makes me unsure, but I would actuaally love if - kind of like in the real Middle Ages - the heraldic representation of animals wasn’t entirely accurate (see also the Velaryon seahorse sigil). Or it might really be a griffin, a Connington gift or an Essosi import just like the aforementioned tapestries. I also wondered how many pieces on set were commissioned and how many bought ready made because they fit with the aesthetic.

The dragon in Rhaenyra’s room. At least she doesn’t get sex/fertility art in the room where she supposedly grew up. My immediate reaction to the picture, however, was to associate it with the erotic paintings because it’s sort of flat and the lines are bold, but it’s also very flowery and ornate in a way that I associate more with the hunt painting from episode three that I “dated” to Jaehaerys’ reign. On the other other hand, the fact that it hides/signals a secret passage makes me think this might also come from Maegor’s reign.

And now, on to the good stuff: the scene where Daemon is banished to the Vale by Viserys gives us a clear, well lit look at the columns in the throne room. Let’s rewind the tape for a moment: the Great Hall in GoT looked like this...

It makes sense that it looks different two centuries later, and it has become richer and more refined. It also makes sense that Robert’s regime would have tried to hide or destroy the Targaryen signifiers around the Keep as much as possible (though in the books it seems limited to Robert taking down the dragon skulls and no substantial structural change is mentioned). But I also think HotD is jumping at the chance to imbue its design choices with lore in a way that GoT never cared to do, so - besides having an Iron Throne that’s more in line with how it’s described in the books - it makes the throne room another celebration of the history of House Targaryen. And once again it does so by looking at Imperial Rome: enter Trajan’s Column.

Trajan’s column was a monumental column, and as such didn’t serve a structural purpose like the ones in the Great Hall, but like their obvious inspiration they seem to depict war scenes - if you enlarge the screenshots above you can see soldiers wearing helms, warriors on horseback, archers, and in the bottom frame of the column on the right what seems like a cluster of shields (maybe a callback to the testudo formation, also depicted on Trajan’s column?)

The middle row here is the most interesting because it seems to depict a dragon wing flying over soldiers, while a crowd overlooks the scene from a balustrade (possibly cheering for the dragon?). If we assume that these columns have been designed with the Roman blueprint in mind, the narrative should be continuous across the different rows, so it’s unlikely that this scene is the conclusion of a war as it’s in a middle row.

Hard to tell which war, though. The armors and weapons depicted are stylized enough that it’s difficult to date them or even place them geographically; these could be scenes from the Conquest (the first two Dornish wars?), or wars from Valyrian history. Either way, this version of the Great Hall has been designed so that people who enter it see not only grandiosity, but also a long and victorious history; makes sense especially because relatively to Westeros, Targaryens are *new* and foreign, even more so when the Keep was built. The decorations on this most public facing room establish loud and clear that the house of the dragon is strong and has a history, something the sometimes very old nobility of Westeros has got to respect - and fear.

#art in hotd #house of the dragon #hotd 1x04 #hotd meta #roman art #medieval art #game of thrones #ngl i am also going back and doing a roundup for the first two episodes... fucking nerd (me) #keeping the art in westeros and art in hotd separate #for those who don't want to mix canons

[crossover-enthusiast]

If you haven’t already could you please spare some thoughts on the replacement fellas…? 🤲

Oooo yes yes yes!!

They don't have as much as John and Jack (for obvious reasons) but I do have some stuff for them based off OG The Captain and Shotgun Man + general musings

Gonna do the same as I did for John and Jack, them separate and then together

Got surprisingly long again, so read more time!

The Captain - "Police, BITCH!" - Isn't actually the captain (that would be John, technically), still calls himself that - While on-shift his demeanor is close to that of The Captain from Every StoryTime Animation and Mokey's Show, more reserved and Shotgun's straight man. Off-shift he's a lot more goofy - Acts like he has the braincell, really doesn't - Has absolutely used "Police, BITCH!" on a suspect before - A massive flirt oh my god, and most of it is cheesy gestures and sappy pick up lines - Him pulling down his shades was him trying to flirt with Jack, John, and Patty - He's tried to flirt with Patty before and she does not care for it lol - Tried to flirt with Evermore on his first day on the job and nearly got fired - Most likely bi - Mans the tip line. It's pretty uneventful (as far as this town goes, anyway), but he's noticed that every now and then this gruff-voiced guy will anonymously call in to report child abuse cases - Oddly though, any tips related to the cult seem to go missing when he's on shift, if they're recorded at all… - Still has that grey brick of a flip phone. No he will not get a new one - Orders his contacts by name and then an emoji of something he associates with them, e.g. John 🚬, Jack 🍩, etc. -- this makes them easier to search for, in his opinion. The exception to this is Shotgun, whose contact is instead BFF ❤❤🙂 - Has ~mommy issues~ - Is the one who drives bc Shotgun would absolutely try to run over potential suspects - Shotgun is the bad bitch he pulled by being autistic /j - He is actually autistic tho! Undiagnosed, probably isn't aware he has it - His sunglasses are not only cool but hide how he's avoiding eye contact most of the time B) - Readjusts his tie constantly - If he doesn't want to deal with something he'll most likely just shoot it - His favorite donuts are plain with pink frosting and sprinkles the cliche donut lol - The guy ever, a little weird but definitely one of the more normal people in town

Shotgun Man - "SHOTGUN POW!!" - Usually just called Shotgun, Shotty, or SG/SGM - Still has the shotgun, no one knows why - I don't think he has the safety on- - Has threatened many a perp by shoving the barrel of his gun in their face - Absolute menace honestly, it's a wonder he hasn't been fired yet - Sometimes leans on his shotgun (the barrel is pointed at the floor, he's not that stupid) - Almost never refers to people by their first name, instead using titles or last names (e.g. Sheriff, Nurse, Velseb, etc.). For some reason Jerald is an exception, and Shotty will always refer to him by name - Mellows out slightly when around Captain. Slightly. - Gets control of the radio and all he plays is either heavy metal or stations no one's heard of - Probably eats at Boys n Grills - Does finger guns by putting his hands together to make a single big gun - Would get along great with Dexter - GNC AF, would wear a dress for fun - Runs on cartoon physics similar to Skid and Pump, but only when it would be funny - He has ADHD :> Unlike the others he's actually diagnosed, tho he doesn't take medication for it because of course he doesn't - "POW" is a vocal stim - When he’s feeling mischievous™ he’ll rub his hands together - Doesn't know what he is but it sure as hell ain't straight - On Valentines Day he went into the station early so he could jump Captain, Jack, and John and give them surprise smooches - However bc this is Shotty it ended up playing out like a horror movie lol - Generally just someone big on physical affection and PDA, and he loves to fluster people: slinging his arm around someone's shoulder, random hugs, kisses, that kinda thing - His favorite donuts are cake donuts and he will fight people for them - Just a silly goofy guy, I love him

Both - The cops before John and Jack were real - Braincell pecking order is Shotgun Man -> Jack -> Captain -> John - They were officers at another precinct before getting transferred, and Captain actually was the captain there - Both are still friends and in contact with Jerald (the swat guy) - Even tho Jack and John kept their jobs Evermore still hired Captain and Shotgun, if only to get the press off his back about underfunding the police - "See, they're not underfunded, I just hired two new officers!" (they are still heavily underfunded) - Really they just kinda goof around, Jack and John handle the more serious cases - When they are on a case, they're... semi-competent - They're also both shoot first, ask questions later - This isn't a hc but more so an idea, but if they show up again I want them to interact with the Hobomen, there is ample opportunity to recreate the "NOOOO, IT'S PISS!!" joke with Tankman and Shotgun and that would be so funny - Both of them realized real quick that John and Jack have feelings for each other and they are such teases about it - Captain is more subtle. Shotty, in comparison, once shouted "OH, JUST KISS ALREADY!" at the two - As for their relationship to each other… - No one can figure out what these two are to each other and they think that's hilarious - For real tho, they just like being around each other. They are a package deal, no matter what way you spin them, and they ain't gonna be separated - I like the idea that in general they're a lot more upfront and casual in their relationship, offers a nice contrast to John and Jack - This also means Captain gets the brunt of Shotty's affections! You'd think Captain would be used to it but Shotty always seems to find a new way to fluster him - Are horrible enablers to Jack's pranks, and regularly help him pull them - John is so exasperated by their antics, please save him - Dunno who came up with this initially but I got it from @mallory-vallory so: I like the idea that their actual names are Scott (Captain) and Sammy (Shotgun), feels fitting. Almost no one calls them by their actual names tho - Also there's this art by Ratzzle/Charlieratqueen on twitter of the two wearing patterned scarves during Contagious Christmas and it looks so cute so that is part of my headcanon for their winter clothes now pls and thank u - If they actually had to work with John and Jack on a case it'd be fucking chaos, good lordy - Overall they're dumbasses and bad at their jobs, but at least they get it done

I'm honestly surprised at how much I had for these guys! They're definitely not rotating as fiercely as the other cop duo, but I've still thought a lot about them, both their original and Spooky Month incarnations

I think they have great potential as a comedic foil duo to John and Jack, hope we see them again in later episodes

#Spooky Month #Captain #Shotgun Man #Headcanon

[wordsandrobots]

Wishing on Space Hardware update . . . I never actually started counting these, did I? Oh well, never mind. An Update, of indeterminate numeration.

I just finished posting Fic #18 over on Ao3, which completes the set up for the grand finale. Mwhaha. This brings the total word count to over 476,000 words. *expires on the spot* *revives immediately because it’s still not done!*

I had originally planned not to post the final arc until I had everything ready but honestly, all my plans around timing are vague suggestions at best and have consistently gone out of the window. C'est la vie.

I’m working steadily on Fic #19, the extremely reassuringly named ‘Ragnarök in G Minor‘, currently on chapter 7 of 20 (on top of which there will be a total of 10 prologues, interludes and epilogues). Overall, I think I’ve got about a third of the writing done, and the planning/plotting for the rest is unfolding nicely, so I’m feeling good about progress -- even if I can’t actually say when it’ll be done yet.

For those wondering about the title beyond the gag about invoking another Gundam series, I direct you to this harpsichord version of Bach’s Polonaise in G Minor, with reference to music used for Gjallarhorn in IBO and the character who has been the main instigator of chaos thus far. Also Mozart associated G minor with, to quote Wiki, “sadness and tragedy”. So. Yup.

Anyhoo, I thought since it will be a fair while before I get to posting, I would share some technical details one what I’m doing with #19 AKA here is the hole I am digging for myself.

I decided to structure this story so each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view. That is, each chapter focuses on a single character and that is the sole use of their POV in the narrative (excluding the epilogues where I’m going to mix and match). This is the technical maximisation of the strict single-POV-per-section style I’ve been using throughout the series, which is hard mode in terms of landing emotional beats but does force me to make each chapter the culmination of a particular character’s development. Not necessarily the end-point of their stories, you understand, but the point at which I can say, this is definitively what the character is like under my pen.

I think I’ve worked out an order that will let me tell the story I want using this method. It involves a a lot of jumping around temporally, the narrative looping back to tell earlier events from other perspectives, but that does means I can do some quite excellent chapter cliffhangers too (yes, a man with a gun IS going to spring through a door at a dramatic moment, because sometimes you really do just have to Chandler yourself out of a situation).

And it means I can do cute flourishes like entitling each chapter using a single word I associate with a character, and ending them on a quote from an appropriate song. Which admittedly does double my workload somewhat. I’ve managed to sort out the words but I still need to find songs for some people.

For your (hopeful) amusement, I’ll list out the chapter titles and then the characters with their associated songs under this spoiler-preventing cut. Have a go at guessing which go together, if you like. Some are pretty obvious, others probably less so. Regardless -- thank you for reading if you have been!

It’s great to have had so many of you along for the ride.

Chapter titles (not in the order they will appear):

Academic; Devil; Echo; Fighter; Friend; Fury; Human; Loser; Oddball; Maiden; Minister; Mouse; Noble; Remainder; Smith; Stray; Survivor; Sword; Terror; Tool

Character playlist (likewise alphabetised to protect the innocent):

Almandi Iverson (OC) - Fight For Me (AlicebanD)

Almiria Bauduin - Fall Together (Thea Gilmore)

Ahmed Fahim (OC/it’s complicated) - RAGE OF DUST (SPYAIR)

Argi Mirage - Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (Cage The Elephant)

Atra Mixta-Bernstein - leaning towards Gold (The Wandering Hearts)

Chad Chaden - not sure yet

Derma Altland - not sure yet

Embi [Barton] - Appetite for Destruction (Vo Williams)

Eugene Sevenstark - Some Kind of Hero (Felix Hagan and the Family)

Hirume [I should invent him a surname too] - not sure yet.

Julieta Juris - Apparition #13 (Thea Gilmore)

Kudelia Aina Bernstein - My Silver Lining (First Aid Kit)

Kipchoge Ordsley (OC/it’s complicated) - Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio)

Gaelio Bauduin - The Road You Didn’t Take (Stornaway)

Mackenzie Croft (OC) - leaning towards Fire With Fire (AlicebanD)

Norba Shino - Rattle & Roar (Skinny Lister)

Ride Mass - Skin and Bones (Cage The Elephant)

Sri Chaifin (OC) - Mile Magnificent (molly ofgeography)

Takaki Uno - Bones (Of Monsters and Men)

Yamagi Gilmerton - Parallax (Afterlight)

#Gundam Iron-blooded Orphans #Tekketsu no Orphans #fanfic #writing #progress #playlists #yes I'll link the full playlist when I'm done #it's all coming together

[careeralley]

How to Identify Legitimate Remote Job Listings and Avoid Scams

Remote jobs are a buzzword in today's business world. The flexibility provided by technology to work when and where you like is a tantalizing offer for many people nowadays, and for good reason. Even if your current lifestyle does not allow for you to sit poolside in the Bahamas while you check your emails, the prospect of just having more free time to spend with family and friends rather than be stuck in traffic is a goal some people are starting to shoot for. Nearly two-thirds of the world's workforce around the world today take advantage of the opportunity to work out of the office at least once a week. 50% of employees globally spend time working outside of the office, at least two and a half days a week. Being that nearly 80% of people, when given the choice between similar employment offers, would choose a position that offers more flexibility of their schedule companies should take notice. A business that understands the new needs and wants of their employees enough to then extend the offer of this new hybrid, work-from-home jobs have seen a marked boost in employee productivity, longer talent retention, and lower operating costs. The numbers are a win all around. Remote jobs are a buzzword in today's business world. The flexibility provided by technology to work when and where you like is a tantalizing offer for many people nowadays, and for good reason.Click To Tweet As with any new idea, however, it is not just honest, hard working people and businesses that tend to capitalize. Scammers have gotten in the game as well. The opportunity for new and clever ways to try and swindle people out of their personal information will always be tempting for criminals. The heightened excitement that can come from clickbait associated with a potential remote job offer makes easy prey for unsuspecting people. Just because there are more scams, and now the potential to be caught up in a deceptive job offer, does not mean that a search for legitimate positions should be discarded. With some basic tips, wisdom, and the knowledge of how to avoid the entrapments of scam artists using remote job propositions to fool people into giving away personal information, anyone can avoid the tragic traps. Here are some things to watch out for in order to avoid being scammed while looking for legitimate remote job listings. Red Flags of Job Scams The Unsolicited Job Offer This first situation may seem a bit obvious to some, but when faced with months’ worth of searching without any luck, pressure can start to cause people to jump at almost any offer. That is why unsolicited job offers need to be vetted out. While unexpected job offers can be flattering and encouraging, extra steps should be taken to research just who exactly may be reaching out with an offer. Scammers tend to make an offer sound too good to be true— enticing salaries, great benefits, company perks— any number of things can get the heart pumping with hope and enthusiasm. What needs to be remembered though, is that most if not all legitimate jobs will ever contact someone with an offer right away. There is a reason for the cycle of submitting resumes, going through interviews, and waiting for references to come back: companies want to protect themselves as much as anybody else. The same wariness and so type of background research should be done by you, the potential employee. Salaries That Are Just Too Good to Be True No one is immune to the endorphin rush that comes from seeing a large salary, especially when it may be a significant increase from what you're making now. Everyone wants to feel valued, and deserves adequate compensation, but actually finding that dream job with an unusually high salary is uncommon for a reason: it might be fake. Doing some basic research to see what the spectrum of salaries is in the matching field will give you a better idea if the job offer is real. Such information is very easy to find nowadays online. Taking those facts and then weighing it honestly against your skills and experience will help to temper that urge to click on a baited email link. Which brings us to the next point: validating email addresses.  Real Email One of the first and easiest ways to verify the legitimacy of a job offer is through the email address. Taking a closer look at the information as it shows up after the “@” sign can tell you a lot about where an email may originate from. Simply checking to see if the email address matches the URL of the company website provided is a good step. Even taking the same text and doing a web search can help you determine if the company is real or fake. If the website matches, you may be on the right track, and while a good sign, that's not enough to be safe. More needs to be learned. Ask Questions If an unexpected job offer has shown up in your email inbox you already have the ability to start a conversation. Being that they have reached out to you, you now have the power to ask clarifying questions to continue to affirm the honesty or deception of an offer. A great place to start is asking where and how a company got a hold of your contact information. Email addresses and phone numbers are no longer as private as one might hope they would be, being that nearly every social media platform or basic account requires both. As such, that basic information is readily available for scammers to find on the internet. Until the contact can give you a good reason for why and how they found your personal information, keep your guard up. If satisfied with those reasons, move on to more specific questions. Ask about the job position itself, making note of any possible inconsistencies. If answers begin to sound vague or different from the initial offer, walk away. Whatever answers are given can be used to do more detailed digging. Verifying the Details Details matter in every situation, but can be critical in verifying the truth of a job offer. First, try to find the job offer on other websites. Job posting platforms like Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed all tend to be a funnel point for the same jobs. Finding the same listings multiple times between the platforms is a good sign, but it is not enough to be totally safe, that’s why reaching out to the company in question and inquiring about the feasibility of the job is a great next step. Even going so far as to ask for the full name and a picture of the contact you have been communicating with can be used to fact check against social media and company profiles. Summary With the steady rise in popularity of hybrids, remote job roles are becoming more common.  The opportunities found through executive networking groups, job postings, and just calling up friends and family can point anyone towards a potential new job. With this increase of availability for exciting new remote positions, scammers have taken to using such information in new scams. Protecting yourself during the job search can be easily accomplished so long as you know what to look for. Read the full article

[villxinoux]

cult of dublin .

lead singer: JENNIE JONES ( twenty-six )

jennie, nicknamed jen, is the lead singer & founder together with lead guitarist rowan. jen is one of those kids that were forced to grow up too fast. her childhood was spent trying to help her single mother in poverty provide for her & her three younger siblings. she is ambitious but also a caregiver. loyalty is gravely important to her & those who she considers her family or friends she stands behind at all costs. she founded cult of dublin five years ago after jumping from band to band since her young teenage years. she is well-respected in dublin’s punk scene & her apartment is always full of people that she is helping for the time being. her couch is always on loan & her fridge is always stocked for anyone who needs a meal. she is a giver, a protector, & a very good leader for the band of “rowdy youngsters”. 

jennie’s relationship to ciaran might look strained from the outside because she is constantly scolding or talking down on him. in reality, jennie is only worried because ciaran has expressed borderline suicidal ideation in the past & she feels very protective of him. she constantly questions his choices & gets angry when he gets himself into danger because he has no one else really looking after him. he jokingly calls her “mom” & she lets him. she is also the one who gave him pet fish so he’d have something to look after & come home to.

lead guitarist: ROWAN ATHY ( twenty-three )

rowan is a childhood friend of jen. she used to be best friends with jen’s younger sister who sadly passed away young. during the grieving process rowan & jen got very close. they didn’t stop hanging out after & soon became like sisters themselves. rowan was kicked out of her home after she fell victim to drug abuse at a young age. today she is sober & doesn’t touch drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. music was her way out & her therapy through treatment. because rowan wanted to join a band but was scared of the peer pressure associated with booze it was an obvious choice for her to start making music together with the person she trusts mosts in the world. on the side of music she works in a fast food establishment.

rowan & ciaran together seem like an odd match. rowan with her strict sobriety & ciaran with his blatant alcoholism didn’t seem like it would work, but they became like siblings very fast. they tease each other, play & joke around like they’ve done nothing else their entire lives. it’s not unusual to find them throwing around insults, but if anyone else tries to join in they become fiercely protective. it’s a no one can talk shit about my friend but me-trope.

bassist: CIARAN Ó CEALLAIGH ( twenty-four )

ciaran is the newest member in the band, but he has been a part of it for two years now. he came to them as a dulled out version of himself; he had just left a long-term contract with a band because he felt suffocated by their homophobic tendencies. cult of dublin was perfect for him & he was perfect for them. after their old bassist had to quit after a personal betrayal towards jen, ciaran stepped in & became like the little brother of the group. he is wild, fun & loud. it was a second wind to the group who suddenly had a lot more inspiration & energy to play. he is not to be trusted with management or planning, but he always shows up when he has to & when he plays he is the most serious you’ll ever see him. he isn’t a singer by trade but does the job as a backup singer if a song has the need for male vocals. on the side of music he works a nightshift guard job as well as freelance bartending.

drummer: LIAM DONAGHEY ( twenty-eight )

liam, sometimes playfully referred to as donna (or daddy if you ask ciaran) is the only member with a family to go home to every day. he dropped out of middle school after horrendous bullying that almost cost him his life. he escaped to the streets for protection & found it in the punk community. now he is grown up, a little silly & goofy at times, but tall & intimidating before you get to know him. he lives with his two dogs which he cares for like they are his children.

ciaran & liam have a very playfully flirtatious way to interact. ciaran constantly calls him daddy, sits in his lap & asks him for money to spend on beer. to most people they look like lovers, but in reality liam has no interest in ciaran & ciaran knows that. ciaran has a good relationship with liam’s girlfriends of the past who only laugh at the goofiness of the two. liam is the only one who knows how to calm ciaran down when he needs to. 

#( c i a r a n ) headcanons . #my babies

[iselsis]

Writing Tip!

An easy way to tell if you’re showing instead of telling is how much you’re using is/was. My English professor explained this to me a few semesters ago, and while he just wanted varied sentence structure in my papers, it also works very well for creative writing. 

This isn’t to say that is and was are bad verbs, but rather that they are very basic and do not express anything beyond the fact that something exists. Sometimes, that’s all you need to know in a sentence, but often, the writer can make the story or the characters more engaging by explaining who someone is, what something is, where something is, when something is, why something is, or how something or someone is more powerfully by using one of a few tactics.

The first method is to use strong verbs. “Strong verbs” is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but a strong verb is simply a verb that explains what action is happening as clearly as possibly. For instance, when one “jumps” off the diving board, the reader doesn’t know how the person jumped, but the reader will be able to more clearly see the action if you write “she dove” or “he cannonballed” or “she belly-flopped.” Be aware of who is reading your writing and who the narrator is. In general, if your target demographic probably doesn’t know the word or if your narrator wouldn’t know the word, use a simpler, less precise verb and use adverbs to make it specific.

Another way is to show why the narrator was saying “it is/she was/there is” in the first place. Think of the is/was statement as the disease. You want your reader to guess the disease, so you start describing symptoms. For instance, “She is mourning her husband.” vs. “She stared at the empty seat at the table, unfazed by her mother’s repeated attempts to get her attention.” This way is more rambly than just swapping boring verbs for strong verbs, but it is a good way to show the narrator’s experience in life, the narrator’s biases, the narrator’s emotional state, etc. 

One other way is to make the object of the sentence the subject instead. This just means that whatever “is/was” is now what the sentence is about. This is a simple fix in cases when the object is doing something in the sentence. Instead of “There was a ball rolling past her feet.” write “A ball rolled past her feet.”

Let me illustrate:

How you can use varied word choice to show who is being talked about:

Bland: Jason’s dad was standing in front of Jason. 

Engaging: His dad loomed over him.

By using a stronger verb, the more hostile loomed, the reader gets a better idea of who Jason’s dad is and how Jason feels about him.

How you can use varied word choice to show who is talking:

Bland: Macy was sitting at the edge of her seat.

Engaging: Macy balanced very carefully at the very edge of the seat so her feet could touch the floor, because Macy was a very big girl now.

The POV character is a young girl at an age where she wants to be perceived as older than the height of chair legs and the lack of height of her own legs will let her be. She also refers unironically to herself as a big girl in her own thoughts, something grownups generally do not do. By expanding on the reason for the action instead of the action itself and with careful word choice, you can set the tone of the character and of the story.

How you can use varied word choice to show what something is:

Bland: That is a tree branch blowing against the window.

Still bland but better: A tree branch blew against the window.

Engaging: The branch smacked against the window. 

This is an example of taking the object (the thing in the sentence that the verb is happening to) in this case “branch” and make it the subject. In the still bland but better version of the sentence, the fact that the tree branch is blowing against the window is obvious, but that doesn’t tell us anything about how the narrator feels about what the tree branch is doing. That tells us what, but it does not tell us what the character feels about this thing. Smacked is a more violent, sudden, startling verb that communicates suddenness, surprise, and unease.

How you can use varied word choice to show where something is:

Bland: The phone was on the far side of the nightstand. 

Engaging: She flopped an arm blindly across the nightstand, but her fingers hit empty air just shy of the faint glow of her phone.

The engaging version of this sentence tells you more about the character’s mental state, fatigued, while also communicating where the phone is. Also, using a more descriptive word like flopped gives the reader a clearer mental image of what is physically happening in the scene.

How you can use varied word choice to show when something is set:

Bland: It was the early two thousands.

Engaging: Jana looked around the room and saw many a teenage male heinie, but not a belt among them.

Noting fashion trends, like sagging pants or hoop skirts, can reinforce the time period that you’re writing in and how the narrator fits or does not fit into that time period.

How you can use varied word choice to show when (what time) something is:

Bland: It was seven P.M. on a summer night.

Engaging: He watched the sun dip below the far reaches of the ocean as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

The engaging version of this sentence uses a few details to show about what time and when in the year this sentence takes place: it is sunset, so the exact time isn’t stated, but the rough time is implied; the ocean does exist at times of the year when humans aren’t on it as much (and here I though the entire state of Hawaii disappeared between September and April) but most readers will associate the beach with summer; and if the reader didn’t get the clue about the traditionally seasonal location, it is hot enough to make the main character sweat. 

How you can use varied word choice to show why the narrator believes something:

Bland: Kai is a good friend.

Engaging: Kai held her hair away from her face as she threw up into the toilet bowl for the fourth time that night.

Anyone can say anything about anyone else, but the best way to get a reader to like a character, an idea, or a thing is to show them why they should like that thing. Instead of making bland moral claims like “Love is stronger than hate.” tell me how the Samaritan stopped to save the Jew, or how the enemies put aside their differences to protect what they care about. Instead of saying “He was scared of his dad.” show me the beer cans and the slurred speech, show me the belt falling and the voice yelling. Show the reader why.

How you can use varied word choice to show how something is:

Bland: The woman was looking at him.

Engaging: The woman ogled him.

Strong verbs again! Use strong verbs that are emotionally charged when you’re talking about emotionally charged situations! Being ogled is an uncomfortable sensation for the person being ogled, and it also shows disrespect on the part of the person ogling. 

Keep in mind that these are guidelines! Sometimes is is the best word for the job, and don’t stress if you have a lot of is/was in your stories. Just because they’re bland doesn’t mean that sometimes you need bland verbs to communicate what you want to communicate. Still, you don’t want vagueness to be your crutch, either. Practice showing instead of telling when showing is more important, but have fun with it! Besides, you can always edit whatever you hate or are unsure of now sometime later. 

Don’t sweat! Go write awesome papers and stories!

#writing advice #writing community #creative writing #school #school hacks #writing prose #writing problems #writing tips #author #Fanfic writer

[volturiwolf]

Soulmates - A Demetri Volturi x Reader Imagine

A/N: This is the first imagine I finished and uploaded, and it came quite unexpectedly while talking with @volturidoll13 who suggested a Demetri Volturi one-shot where the reader would follow Bella and Alice to Italy and would accidentally say “wish he’d choke ME” out loud (see my post for reference). So, here it is. Also, I’m sorry if something doesn’t make sense. English is not my first langage. Enjoy :)

No of Words: 5749

Mentions of: Swear Language, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Dying/Death, Killings, Self-doubt, Self-consciousness, Kinky Choking, Sexual Arousal

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I think I had enough of Bella. No, I know I've had enough of her. She may be my best friend, the one who truly understood me the moment I stepped foot in Forks High School, beginning of last year, but this was just too much.

I have spent countless hours trying to support her when Edward Cullen left her, 5 months ago. I was there to be her emotional support, and even spent time with Jacob Black, an old friend of Bella's, who stayed at the Quileute reservation.

Jacob seemed kind of polite, although his attempts to flirt with Bella whenever he could were cringy, to say the least. But I supported her then too, trying to be sort of the third wheel / the one who tried to show Jacob she wasn't really interested in him that way.

His friends, Embry and Quil, were as nice and polite as they were beautiful. When Embry abandoned Jacob and Quil, Bella and I were there to support him. When Jacob abandoned Bella, I was there to support her. 

Even when Bella was sad, angry and desperate to know what happened to Jacob, I was there to calm her down. I was there when she went to see him and he turned her away. I was there when she slapped Paul in the face. I was there when he turned into a huge wolf, and I couldn't help but scream.

Jacob explained everything about the wolves to both Bella and I. He told us how it's part of their DNA; how they are meant to protect the tribe from dangerous outsiders; how the metamorphosis from human to wolf can be somehow controlled over time, with practice and persistence. THAT I could understand.

What I couldn't understand was how vampires existed in this world! It wasn't Bella the one to reveal that secret to me, rather Alice, Edward's sister. Apparently, she saw Bella dying, the day she supposedly went cliff-diving, which I told her not to, having a severe fear of heights myself.

Bella took the risk, and if it weren't for Jacob, she would most likely be dead by now. That's what Alice said she "saw" - she explained to my incapable self that, as a vampire, she had a gift, the gift of predicting the future, based on others' decisions. 

All this information was overwhelming me. I could swallow the harsh reality of wolves existing, but vampires, too? It seemed too much for me in such a short period of time.

Alice quickly explained some basics to me, like the fact that the Cullens were vegetarians, but the majority of their kind fed on human blood, as well as the fact that they even had a sort-of-government of vampires, residing in Italy, the Volturi.

She then turned to Bella to scold her about her recklessness and how she was prone to "life-threatening idiocy". I couldn't agree more with the short brunette right now. Bella has been nothing but reckless the last few weeks, and she was putting her life in danger for no reason.

They were talking about Edward or whatever, but I wasn't paying any particular attention until Jacob showed up. I decided to give them some space to talk, and Alice followed behind me, stepping out of the house.

Her face was a mix of disgust and worry, not paying any particular attention to me, probably trying to hear Bella and Jacob's conversation from the kitchen. After a minute or two, I heard her taking a sharp breath, her eyes fixating on nothing in particular; they were just staring ahead of her.

She took a sharp breath, as she regained consciousness, stepping quickly into the house. She walked in quite wide and quick strides, considering her miniature figure, and, though taller than her, I had some trouble following behind her.

She ran directly to the kitchen. "Bella. Bella, it's Edward. He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I came here."

They both looked at Jacob; Bella practically screaming to his face, accusing him of not giving her the telephone to speak with Edward herself.

"Bella, he's going to the Volturi. He wants to die, too." The small brunette continued.

Within a minute, Bella made her decision: she was going to Italy to save her ex-lover. She promised us that she would just make sure he lived, and then, she would go back to her "boring" life.

Alice ran outside, starting her car immediately, as Bella was followed closely by Jacob, who tried to convince her not to go, pleading with her, all in vain. Bella was as stubborn as she could get, and nobody could change her mind. 

I turned to Jacob, without really thinking about my next words. "Don't worry. I'll go with her. I'll make sure she's back safe, okay?"

All Jacob could do is nod at me, though his face was full of concern, frustration, and he was clearly distraught by Bella's decision to leave him and save Edward. As if all this time she, Jacob and, sometimes, I spent time together meant nothing to her.

I jumped in the back seat of the car, not waiting for either Bella's, or Alice's approval. I knew it would be a huge risk for me to go to the vampires' lair, but I also knew that Bella could use all the emotional support she could get. 

As much as I hated Edward for what he did and said to her, I knew that he was everything to her, like her own little haven. Her own little oasis, which I guess felt more like a tundra, compared to Jacob's flaming hot desert. I rolled my eyes at my embarrassing thoughts, but I assumed that's how she thought of them.

The drive to the airport felt like a ton of weight crushing my shoulders. I had no place to follow them to Italy, as it was truly none of my business. But I promised Jacob, and though Bella could make me so frustrated with her lack of self-confidence and self-respect, I liked her company a lot, and I needed to make sure she was alive and safe.

In the couple of months that she came out of her apathetic state, we reconnected again, reminiscing about our unorthodox friendship, both of us being new to the town, shy and not particularly sociable.

However, Bella was the ideal friend to keep you grounded and connected with reality, which I, sometimes, had trouble with; my mind was running wild and free most of the time, while my mouth was staying shut. 

So, I was willing to go across the ocean for her, to an unknown place, in a castle full of bloodsucking vampires. I wasn't pleased, but I was willing. Willing to help her save her stupid ex-boyfriend, and hopefully not get killed in the process.

During the flights, Alice tried, more or less, to explain the dynamics of the vampire world; the Volturi, being this sort of government-slash-royalty of the vampire kind, were tasked with imposing their laws over the other vampires. Their most important law? Don't expose your existence to humans, unless you want to die. Well, there goes that! 

Alice had already talked to me about their kind; Bella knew through her association with both Edward and the rest of the Cullen family. The chances of any of us making out of there alive seemed slim to none. I was literally flying towards my death. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. 

I was trying to calm down my nerves, which did not work at all, when all I could think about were those Italian vampires. Alice told me that the vampire Kings, especially Aro, who seemed to be their leader, were interested in collecting talented vampires. 

So, it was pretty obvious that he would, most likely, get rid of Bella and myself, and would gladly keep Alice and Edward, who, as Alice told me, has the gift of reading people’s minds. So, we were actually doing that Aro guy a favor there; bring him the “talents” and get rid of the “intruders”, the humans. Great. Just, great.

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We were currently on our way to Volterra. Alice had stolen a yellow Porsche from the airport’s parking lot, which neither Bella, nor I opposed to, for now. It was a fast way to get to Volterra, plus I’ve never actually been in a Porsche, and I felt pretty amazing. Alice seemed like a skillful driver, and drove pretty fast, which I liked, especially if I was the one driving. Bella and Alice’s conversation interrupted my thoughts.

“What? What do you see?”

“They refused him.” That was good, right?

“So..?” Bella knew there was something else behind Alice’s vision.

“He’s gonna make a scene. Show himself to the humans.” Why the hell, Edward?!

“No! When?”

“He’s gonna wait until noon, when the sun’s at its highest.” Bella seemed more and more worried and anxious, and I heard her heavy breath, which seemed like she was starting to go on panic mode. I stroked her shoulders lightly, trying to calm her down. As much as she deserved to get worried, given the events that led us here, this was not the time to panic.

“There’s Volterra.” Alice pointed to her left, at a beautiful, picturesque town that looked as if it had jumped out of the Renaissance era. The scenery of Tuscany was beautiful, and it had always been part of my bucket list to travel across Tuscany in a small rental car. That was not how I pictured that trip, or how I pictured my last day on Earth.

Alice was running through the city’s narrow streets by now, never stopping to honk at people passing by, who moved left and right, trying to avoid the “crazy driver who decided it was a good idea to drive a sports car through such a city’s small, narrow, occupied streets”; at least, that’s how I saw it.

Alice did not back down, and continued driving skillfully through the city’s small arteries. It was odd though, the fact that everyone around us was wearing red capes, red clothes, everything was red. Bella questioned it out loud and Alice informed us that today was the celebration of Saint Marcus’ Day, the day that the Saint expelled all vampires from the town. The irony.

Bella was experiencing a full on panic attack, as we were only 5 minutes away from Edward’s shenanigans. Theoretically, everything was in order, until the moment we were stopped by the local police who refused to let us go any farther. Bella opened her door. She would go on foot, to find Edward before he exposed himself. Alice would park the car somewhere outside of the town’s walls, and we’d then go and find them.

I turned around my seat, to watch Bella running through the streets, to the plaza where the clock tower, which Edward was going to expose himself from, was located. Alice left the car outside of the walls, but still, close enough to have easy access. 

For me, it was quite easy to walk around now, as my skin was not sparkling like Alice’s was. Alice had to wrap herself around a coat, a long, thick scarf and gloves, and wear sunglasses to protect her identity even more. I was walking in the middle of the streets, watching around carefully, as good as my human eyes could see, trying to help Alice go unnoticed, as she pushed herself more towards the buildings’ walls, trying to avoid the sunlight. 

That went on for a while, until we were close enough to the clock tower, where Alice took my hand on hers and, with long strides, walked towards the main entrance, which was, thankfully, shaded enough for her to walk through. 

She must have heard the conversation inside the building, as the moment we stepped in - Alice breaking the lock that kept the door momentarily closed, she started talking to the others, who I mistook as being Bella and Edward. As another sign of my unluckiness in life, she was actually addressing two other vampires, a tall brunette and a shorter blond.

They both looked gorgeous, but they could probably kill me as easily as it was for me to blink. I instantly became stiff, and Alice must have felt it, but she kept on holding my hand, trying to play it cool in front of the others, while trying to get rid of her disguise with her free hand at the same time.

“Come on, guys. It’s a festival. You wouldn’t want to make a scene.” She tried to play it nice and cool, though I knew she was just as worried being here as the rest of us.

“We wouldn’t.” The brunette vampire responded, now looking at me, who, by now, I have lost all my confidence in coming to Italy to help Bella.

I caught the blond vampire looking me up and down my body, and felt rather self-conscious. I didn’t have the best relationship with my own body and my own self; I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror, most of the time. So, I made up for what I lacked in self-confidence with sarcasm, bad humor, honesty and snarky remarks. I would be really going off of him right now, if I wasn’t shaking.

Though beautiful, the blond vampire also scared me, just as much as his brunette partner. I stared back at him, looking at his confident stance, one hand behind his back, and a smirk across his face. 

When my (Y/E/C) eyes met with his red ones, I started shivering even more, holding on Alice tighter than before. I felt my heart beating faster, my breath became both sharper and deeper, and I felt as if I would cry, right then and there, in front of everyone. I saw the blond becoming a bit stiff, his jaw clenching, swallowing deeply, but he still wouldn’t take his eyes off of me.

Alice and Edward exchanged some looks, as if they knew what was happening, but chose to not tell anyone else. The scene in front of me was interrupted by the clicks of heeled shoes, and a blonde girl came into our view. 

“Enough.” Her voice was stern, and her stance was stoic as she came closer to us.

“Jane.” Edward recognised her and lowered his head towards the ground. He didn’t seem scared before, when it was just the two vampires in front of us, but the small woman now seemed to have him terrified.

“Aro sent me to see what was taking so long.” She looked between the two vampires of her coven, as if she was criticizing them for their incompetence to bring us all before Aro. Then, she turned to us, looking us straight in our eyes, or rather our souls, probably to warn and scare us at the same time, before walking back to where she came from. 

Alice turned towards Bella and I, the only humans there, who clearly looked more terrified than she and Edward did. “Just do as she says.” She simply said and we followed behind the girl, with the other two vampires closely behind us. 

The blond one was so close to me, I could feel the coldness radiating off his body, making me shiver. The brunette gave Edward the red robe I didn’t notice he was holding before, probably to cover himself in front of the Kings. The blonde girl moved between Bella and Edward, and Alice and I. Edward was trying to comfort Bella but I couldn’t exactly make out what they were saying, my mind making all shorts of scenarios about how the vampires would kill me and the others. The more I thought about it, the more I was shriveling on Alice’s side. 

We reached an elevator - I never thought vampires used elevators, but maybe it was for the humans around? The brunette and the blond entered first, as the blond turned around to stare at us, turning his gaze at me afterwards, before fully stepping in. Then, it was time for Edward and Bella to get in, followed by Alice and I. The blonde girl stepped in last, before the elevator’s doors closed shut.

The elevator music, an operetta, was supposed to calm peoples’ nerves. Yet, in this tight box, it had the opposite effect. Surrounded by vampires, vegetarian and non, the music was just creeping me out. 

The fact that the blond vampire was merely two inches away from me was making my knees weak and my heart pounding, though I, myself, didn’t even know if my own body was reacting out of fear or attraction towards the blond vampire. I felt him leaning closer to me and barely heard him sniff around, but I clearly saw Alice turning her head around and giving him death stares, to which he retrieved back to his original position.

The elevator stopped and we all stepped out. We walked past a receptionist’s desk, the woman standing up, smiling and wishing us a good afternoon - based on the few Italian that I knew. From what Bella and Edward said, the receptionist was a human, wishing to become a vampire, like the others.

“And so she will be.” Demetri smirked, looking at me, who I still haven't abandoned Alice’s hand.

“Or dessert.” Jane interrupted, and I felt myself losing consciousness for a split second, before I felt the blond vampire grabbing my arm to stabilize me. His hand was cold and his grip tight on me, not leaving me even after I looked at him with wide eyes. He just smiled and continued walking ahead.

Jane opened the doors in front of her, leading us to a massive room, made out of marble, and decorated with Roman columns and scriptures on the walls. Surprisingly, it was well-lit and bright, compared to the dark halls that we passed through just a minute ago.

“Sister. Send you out to get one and you bring back two. And two halves. Such a clever girl.” A brunette boy, a bit taller than Jane, called towards her, as she walked by his side.

The blond vampire let me go and walk farther into the room, still holding Alice’s hand like I was holding on her for dear life. The blond vampire now stood a few feet behind us, next to the tall brunette one.

A black-haired vampire, who seemed a bit too excited, started walking towards us. “What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all. Isn’t that wonderful. I love a happy ending. They are so rare.” He was talking with fake happiness in his face, as if he was reading from a script, grabbing Edward’s hand in the process.

“La tua cantante.” Your singer. The vampire seemed to know how much Edward craved Bella’s blood, and questioned how Edward could do so easily. 

“Aro can read every thought I’ve ever had with one touch.” Well, that explained a lot. And now I placed who Aro was within the Volturi.

I now learned more about Edward’s gift, which was more similar to Aro’s than anyone else’s, but he couldn’t actually read Bella’s thoughts. Aro requested if he could test his own gift on Bella, probably hoping that he could read her thoughts and brag about it. But when Bella offered her hand, which he took too willingly, his face was unreadable and then, disappointed and angry, not being able to read her either.

Then, he turned towards me, still by Alice’s side. His red eyes were cold and hostile, and his face uninviting. I felt small and vulnerable, exposed, in front of his critical gaze.

“Dear (Y/N), excuse me for the waiting. Edward has presented me a very..intriguing image of you. Could you offer me your hand? I would like to get to know you, as well.”

My lips were trembling, not being able to say a word, and my eyes were glistening. Please, don’t cry. Please, don’t cry. I knew that whatever Edward had shown him I couldn’t avoid. So, I took a step forward, leaving Alice’s hand and extending the other one towards Aro. I felt a breeze behind me, as Demetri came to stand on my right side, looking closely between Aro and I.

The mind reader took my hand between his hands, and I felt my thoughts being examined and tossed around my head, like a small whisper trying to cast a spell on me. The vampire looked at me, deep in the eyes, and his face was filled with fascination for whatever he saw inside my head.

“Fascinating, indeed, dear. Your mind is just filled with thoughts and images, though they are not very distinct. You are not an easy book to read. I still haven’t figured out who you really are. Although…”. He looked at the vampire standing beside me, motioning for him to give him his hand.

The blond obeyed his master. Did he have any other choice? Probably not. Aro took the blond’s hand, and his wicked, sick smile came back.

“Oh, this suddenly became even better than I would have expected.” He turned towards the vampire sitting on the throne, looking sad. Marcus? The vampire in question nodded, and Aro turned around in an almost theatrical move, with open arms, for everyone to see. 

“It seems that our dear Demetri has finally found his mate in (Y/N). I’m so happy for the two of you!” His face was smiling, but his voice sounded as fake as ever. 

I didn’t know what “mates” meant. Alice didn’t have enough time to explain every “vampire term” to me, so I was clueless regarding this part. The blond, who I now knew as Demetri, must have seen the confusion in my face, as he leaned slightly towards me and whispered “Soulmates” in my ear. My eyes widened and he giggled lightly.

Whether it was how close he came near me, or his giggle, or the fact that we were “soulmates”, my heart responded immediately, thumbing faster in my chest, and I felt my cheeks burn - I was clearly blushing in front of everyone, as if I couldn’t be any more awkward than I was before.

Aro interrupted my embarrassment, as he turned once again towards Bella, wanting to test if she was immune to the others’ gifts as well. He turned towards the blonde girl, Jane, asking her basically to show off her own gift. Edward ran forward to stop whatever it was going to happen, only to end up in pain, writhing in an inaudible pain, as Bella was practically screaming to stop.

I honestly didn’t mind Edward suffering, even if it was for a few seconds, considering that Bella had it worse for over 5 months. He finally dropped to the floor, as Alice ran to his side, and the blonde girl’s brother ran to grab Bella, to stop her from going by her lover’s side.

I had no idea what was happening. I was just looking around, shocked and scared, as all these unfamiliar things were taking place in front of my untrained eyes. I felt a hand stroking my arm up and down. I turned around to see Demetri smiling slightly at me, trying to calm me down. I sighed a bit and felt my heart slightly at ease.

That was until the Kings decided that Bella was a liability - I wasn’t? - and Aro called out for Felix. I turned around and saw the tall brunette smiling evilly, while the shorter brunette turned Bella around and left her there, exposed, in front of the giant. Edward seemed to know what it would be happening, as he immediately stood up and ran by Bella’s side to protect her.

He immediately ran forward, attacking the tall brunette, and knocking him down. Alice ran towards Edward to help him out, but she was immediately stopped by Demetri, who I didn’t notice had left my side, grabbing her by her neck and immobilizing her, dragging her away from ever reaching her brother. 

“Alec!” Demetri shouted towards the brunette boy, who had just left Bella at Felix’s mercy, pointing towards me with his eyes. The boy, Alec, came by my side, and practically dragged me farther from the scene that took place in front of me. His grip was a bit too much as he squeezed my arm, making me slightly cry in pain. Demetri growled at him, and Alec’s grip loosened significantly, but he still kept his hand on my arm.

Felix was pissed by now, as he immediately started fighting Edward, pushing and slamming him around the room. However, I couldn’t focus my gaze on them; not because they were fast, but because I was focused on watching Demetri, and how he was still holding on Alice’s neck tightly, never letting her go.

Watching Demetri’s hand around Alice’s neck should have made me feel appalled and sorry for the small brunette girl, but it didn’t. On the contrary, I felt rather aroused, watching his strong hand wrapped around the brunette’s neck. 

Honestly, I felt a wave of jealousy and annoyance hitting me. That should have been me! Only I was worthy to be touched by this sort of demon who masked his true identity with the facade of an angel. It should be me! I couldn’t help myself, my jealousy building up inside me. 

“Wish he’d choke ME!” I told myself, getting more frustrated by the minute.

“Patience, cara mia. All in due time.” Demetri smirked at me. I did not realise I said that out loud, until Alec started snorting beside me, clearly laughing cheekily, and Felix started bursting in laughter, his grip tight on Edward’s jaw by now.

I had embarrassed myself in a room full of vampires once again, the majority of them being part of the Volturi coven. If the Earth opened in half and swallowed me, I would pretty much welcome it at that point.

Bella brought me back to reality, as she was practically screaming, begging the vampires to let go of Edward, as she looked clearly distraught and upset. She even offered herself instead of Edward! Why, Bella? Just why? I have understood by now that they were mates and they’d do anything for each other, but she would sacrifice her own life for Edward?! That didn’t make sense to me.

Aro seemed to agree with me, but he thought more of the “soulless monster” perspective, while I thought more of Edward’s character, and how much his absence had scarred Bella. Alice told me, on our way here, that he thought he was doing everything to keep her away just to protect her, that being close to him put her in danger. But, from my own experience with Bella, she was suffering more away from him than he thought she would.

Aro looked disappointed between Edward and Bella, wishing he would give her immortality, which he did not seem willing to do. Aro moved menacingly towards the terrified girl, prepared to end her life. I fell forwards, attempting to reach her, to move in between them, but Alec’s grip tightened, keeping me back, both of his hands on my arms now. Aro was basically licking his lips, when, suddenly, Alice stopped him. 

The small brunette confirmed that Bella would become a vampire like them, and that she would even be the one to change her, as she saw in her vision. Aro called her forward, and Demetri let her walk towards his Master. 

He then moved towards Alec and I, replacing the brunette boy, but, instead of grabbing my arms like Alec did, he embraced me tightly, not letting me move away from my position. His cold embrace sent shivers down my spine, but, surprisingly, I let myself relax in his arms, feeling safe, and like that was where I belonged. I felt him smiling and relaxing, as well.

Aro seemed pleased with whatever Alice had shown him, and intrigued by her own gift of predicting the future. Alice had told me that her gift was subjected to the decisions people made, and the future could just change at any point. However, if Aro believed that her vision would eventually come true, we had no reason to tell him otherwise. 

Aro turned to Bella. “Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal.” He whispered as he touched her face, Bella clearly feeling uncomfortable under his touch. I would, too - Aro seemed creepy in his own way, his behavior and movements just as unpredictable.

He then told us to leave, and prepare for Bella’s transformation, and Felix let go of Edward. Marcus told everyone that a woman named Heidi would be coming soon and thanked us “for the visit”, as Aro said his goodbyes. Demetri walked towards the exit, me still in his arms. Edward grabbed Bella by her hand and Alice followed them behind.

As we were walking through the corridor, a beautiful woman walked past us, many people - they looked like tourists - following behind her. She had long, wavy brown hair and purple eyes, which could only mean that she was most likely wearing blue contacts over her red eyes. Her aura was full of confidence and power; she knew what she was doing and she took her job seriously.

“Nice fishing, Heidi.” I heard Demetri addressing the woman from behind me. So, that was the Heidi Marcus was referring to. Wait.. Nice..what?

“Yes, they do look rather juicy.” The beautiful woman replied, eyeing between Bella and I, as she continued leading the tourists down the hallway.

Demetri must have seen her reaction, as he brought me closer to him. I was in shock, and started trembling more than before. These people, these poor people would be the vampires’ snacks in a few seconds. Like Bella and I could have been just minutes ago. I tried to not think about it, but the screams that echoed through the hall would probably haunt me for the rest of my life.

Demetri opened another door as we approached the end of the corridor, and we found ourselves back in the reception area. The Italian woman greeted us once again, but I didn’t listen to what she said, still in shock, just waiting to leave this horrible place as soon as I could.

“Just wait here. You will be able to leave in a few hours, when it’s dark outside.” Demetri instructed Edward and Alice, and took his arms away from my body, turning to look at me. “Wait here, cara mia. I’ll be back soon.” I nodded, not being able to say a word.

Demetri turned and ran towards the throne room. I knew he left to feed, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of him killing innocent humans. I couldn’t keep myself from crying, as I started trembling and losing balance. 

Alice came by my side, trying to stabilize and calm me down, while Edward tried calming down a hyperventilating Bella. We were both losing our sanity, not being able to keep up with the Volturi’s lifestyle, as it seemed. I was craving Demetri’s touch but, at the same time, I couldn’t stop the human in me, the logic, the sense that said that I should stay away from the vampires who killed people. 

I heard Alice and Edward talking with the receptionist, but I couldn’t make out exactly what they were talking about. Alice, slowly and carefully, with her hands still on my arms, led me to a nearby bench, as the receptionist walked away. I was rocking back and forth, trying to calm down, realizing that we are still alive. I saw the receptionist coming towards us, offering a glass of water to both Bella and I.

“Grazie mille.” I thanked her, my voice barely audible.

“Prego.” She smiled at me, and walked back towards her desk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I didn’t realise how much time passed, until I heard footsteps coming towards us. I was way more calm by now. Lifting my head towards the direction of the footsteps, I saw Demetri and Felix. I shyly smiled at Demetri, and he smiled back, with a smile wider than mine, a smile that warmed my heart.

“Hello, again, amore mio.” I felt as if my heart stopped for a split second upon hearing the words he used to address me. I would still be weak to my knees, if I didn't already sit down.

Felix was the one to inform us that we were allowed to go now, being way past nighttime. I stood up, and attempted to walk forward, towards Bella and the two Cullen siblings. I intended to leave with them, but I was stopped by Demetri’s hand on my wrist.

“Where are you going, cara?” He looked at me, knowing why I was attempting to walk away.

“I.. I thought we’d.. be leaving? That I’d be leaving? With the others?” At least, I was hoping I would be leaving with them. 

“I’m sorry, amore. I can’t let you go, not now that I found you. You’ll be staying here, with me.” Demetri sounded so natural and serious, and I could only stare at him, my mouth agape.

“But.. I thought it was okay for me to leave. I have a life behind, you know. I have a school to finish, I have my family, I have things to do.” I still looked at him dumbfounded, waiting for him to allow me to go, just for now, just for a few months at least.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). But I cannot risk anything happening to you. I will make sure you are safe and protected here. We will arrange everything with your school and your family, and whatever else is needed. Please, stay.” Demetri’s eyes were pleading, and a shiver passed through my body, just by looking at him and hearing him talk.

It took me a few minutes to respond; nobody said a word all this time. “Okay.” I said faintly. “I will stay.. here.. with you.”

Demetri’s face lit up, and he leaned closer to me, wrapping his arms around me. He was careful to not hurt me, and I knew, at the moment, with my heart full of love and affection for that man, that that was where I was supposed to be. With Demetri. For as long as it lasted.  

#demetri volturi #volturi #demetri volturi x reader #twilight #twilight saga #twilight post #twilight renessaince

[demonslayedher]

Good day Buriko-senpai. So happy to see the box open! Though first i want to say thank you so much for the analysis on characters, places, names, as well as the posibilities canon could have taken without deviating from the original as much, and the awesome drawings you have made (as well as the fanfics!! The fanfics!!), they all bring me so much joy and if i keep on throwing so much praise i might never finish– I only had one question which was about Sabito. As much as I tried to look into him, I dont know what to make of his character, since, everyone always has some sort of meaning behind their names to their characters (even the minor ones like Makomo- Truth/Pure prob because of her personality. Kanae- mostly compared with Hana- Flower. Masachika- Save and near or close in time, as in he saved sanemi before.) But Sabito has the "rust" and "rabbit" on him and i dont know what to make on that, maybe the rust part yes like, hes weak and failed, but the rabbit? Was it to represent some kind of bunny meaning? Or a rabbit story in Japan? His clothes are fine (the turtle shell pattern I feel like it was more to represent Giyuu surving through it all ngl) since they have significance, but the weird hair color also throws me off, what even is his character? He has such a cool design and i have no idea what it means ಥ_ಥ. Anyways thank you for this long rant I am really sorry it was too long! And have a nice day! Again love your tumblr its so so great !

You read my fics... you read my fiiiiiics... (◕‿◕)♡ I'm so happy I had the Ask Box open long enough for you to slip in, I'm always so happy to hear that! They are the reason for all that analysis, haha XD (The art is usually an accident because I can't stop myself.)

So... Sabito. 錆兎. Rusty Rabbit. Pyon, pyon, watch him hop around with a sword. Hmm. Not very manly.

This is one of the more difficult names to grasp, especially with him being more closely identified with the fox theme than any other character who has used a fox mask in this series. However, while you'd be hard pressed to find personal names with references to foxes, you ca-a-a-n find names using "rabbit" for its 'to' or 'u' sound, and these names generally carry an element of mystery to them. They're endearing names, but also mystical. While I started by searching for any rabbit legends or associations I hadn't heard of (the White Hare of Inaba didn't feel relevant, and associations with the moon or medicine matchmaking also felt like a stretch, though I guess there's something vaguely moon-like about Sabito?? Just for like, being mysterious? I dunno??? Does he use his Water Breath to pull tides????), and the baby name advice websites I found myself on while searching for myths and legends wound up giving me the most food for thought, as well as a few general geomancy sites that say how the Rabbit, among the Twelve Animals of the sexagenary system, is associated with vitality and leaping into action. While the most obvious Japanese folk tale is the stupid, foolhardy White Hare who got its fur bit off because it couldn't keep its mouth shut about fooling sharks, there's a general sense in other stories that rabbits are kind creatures who are self-sacrificing for how willing they are to jump into danger if it means saving someone else.

What strikes me most about the name suggestions (all analyzed either for the gentleness of the rabbit or the rabbit's bravery in leaping into action) is how many of them are paired with glittery kanji, like "bright rabbit" (a moon reference), "jade rabbit" (another moon reference), or "rabbit moon" (...yeah, a moon reference).

"Rust" flies in the face of this. Whether this is in reference to the moon in shadow, the hue of the moon at the edge of shadow, or even in reference to how Sabito's vitality has tragically ended and how he is now stuck, who knows. (Gotouge knows. I do not.)

But if we could step back to Makomo a moment... "Makomo" (真菰) is a variety of black rice not used much nowadays (though it totally thrives in water cultivation... ha!), but it had a lot of influence in the Nara and Heian periods of Japan, referenced in a lot of classic poetry and thought to have name origins in mythology. Not to make a pun here, but we'd really be getting into the Kojiki weeds on it, so suffice to say it is a medicinal, sun-associated plant also associated with vitality.

Not only that, but it's a holy plant long since used in making shimenawa, the sacred ropes at Shinto shrines--especially at Hachiman shrines, dedicated to the god of war.

Dang it, Gotouge. DANG IT, GOTOUGE, PLEASE LET ME BORROW YOUR BRAIN FOR A DAY.

#sabito #makomo #kny fandom theories and meta #kny nerdery #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer

[siswritesyanderes]

SUFFER SADIE SUFFER. How would she like Newt, do you think? Would Sadie be much different in that time period, or shall we say a dimensional wormhole dropped her from the future? Would Newt let her bring Brillig?

Lol, I won't lie, I often find myself thinking "What if we threw Sadie at them?" about various yanderes. This one isn't as solid as I'd like, but here it is!

Sadie (my OC from a yandere Twilight fic, if you're new here; I'm going to have her be a Muggle in this, if that's cool) would be somewhat different in the time period. Ignoring the racial aspect of it– because that's a bummer and I don't feel like dealing with it –the fact that psychology was a very different field of study back then would impact how she feels about it. Like, a present day Sadie has ethically-conducted studies to look to and more comprehensive and compassionate scientists to refer to. In that time period, (and forgive me if I'm not an expert on the subject) there was a lot of Freudian thought going around. I feel like Sadie, in that time period, would be frustrated by the potential of psychology and how it's held back by so many biases of its practitioners and those paying for it to be studied.

That would parallel Newt's feelings about magizoology; most books on magical creatures are extermination guides at that point in time, and he wants to write a book that will help people understand these creatures, instead of just regarding them with fear or disgust. Sadie feels similarly about human mental illness (or– because again, time period –things that aren't mental illnesses but were treated as such).

As a result, she would earn Yandere Newt attention pretty much just by talking about her interests for upward of two seconds.

He actually wouldn't jump right to kidnapping, because he'd initially just be so glad to have someone to talk to who Gets It. They would have a fair number of conversations where they just listen to each other getting passionate about their respective sciences, the associated stigmas, the ways it could be bettered. He starts following her around even after they've parted for the day, just because he feels so happy around her and he doesn't want their interactions to end.

As she returns home after a long day, he lurks quietly in the background, watching her fit her key into the lock. Letting out a sigh when she disappears inside. She's a Muggle, and he's only barely managed to keep wizardry a secret during their lengthy talks. She's so easy to talk to, he almost slips up sometimes. (Instead of "in the wizarding world", he's more than once had to quickly change gears and say "in England".)

He finds himself drawing closer and closer to her front door.

He whispers, "Alohomora," and hears the lock click.

He slips his wand back into his coat pocket.

He stands with his hand on the doorknob for a long time, breathing. Yearning.

He opens the door a crack, then he hears a dog barking and quickly closes it. Locks it back. Walks away quickly, his face warm and red.

He rationalizes tirelessly, but as much as he knows– and he does know –that he could take wonderful care of her, and make the best home for her imaginable, he finds himself hesitating. He knows her ambitions, and they're like his. How can he justify keeping her away from what she wants so badly to do and become?

It has been minutes since he left her front door. He wanders the city, finding the dangers (especially to a Muggle!) more and more obvious the longer he thinks about it.

He would just have to make the most enriching environment he can. Give her things to study, things to learn about. Let her write out her findings, publish them for her, under her name; he could be her agent, in a way. She could still live out her dreams, in his care. In safety.

No. It would be wrong.

He finds himself back at that same front door. He's been wandering for hours, changing his mind over and over. It's midnight, now. There is no light in any of the windows.

He slips inside.

...Just to see. He leaves his suitcase at the door, casts a disillusionment charm on himself, and explores each room of the house.

The dog barks at him but is easily soothed. Newt gives him a treat and spends a bit of time petting him.

(Newt would get along well with Brillig, in a different way than Eleven would; where Eleven would be chaotic with Brillig and talk to him like he talks to everyone, Newt would pretty effortlessly train Brillig. Where, early on, Brillig might bark at him or jump on him because he's a stranger, it wouldn't take long for Newt to get him to calm down, behave, and respond to silent commands. Newt is good at navigating the wildest, least understood magical creatures, so he would figure out Brillig very easily.)

Sadie is sleeping.

On that particular night, she has a book still in her hand and her bedside lamp (I looked it up; it's not an anachronism) still lit. Newt turns off the light, slips the book gently from her hand, and maneuvers her into a more comfortable position, so she won't wake up with a crick in her neck. He sets the book down on her beside table.

He's just caring for her. That's all. He's giving care where she needs it.

He doesn't sneak in every night, but he does let himself in when he feels the need. Brillig doesn't bark at him anymore; Newt throws him a treat as soon as he walks in, and Brillig snaps it up out of the air.

He makes sure Sadie is warm enough or cool enough. He rids the floor of stumbling hazards: shoes left out, things like that.

If she notices any of it, she doesn't bring it up to him. She doesn't seem worried about anything.

For a while, all is well. Maybe he could have managed to limit his obsession to those parameters. Cared for her without drastically changing her way of life.

Then, MACUSA has to go and intervene.

They say that his infatuation with this Muggle (Well, the term they use is "No-Maj".) has been noticed: that they placed him under official observation as soon as they found that he was tied to the abnormal magical activity in a Muggle neighborhood over the past few weeks. They advise him to limit his contact with Muggles while on US soil.

They want him to stop talking to her during the day and to stop visiting her at night.

They want him to leave her to the mercy of the Muggle world.

They want him to leave her.

Very soon after, Newt knocks on Sadie's front door, opens his suitcase, and announces that he wants to show her something.

Sadie is awed by the revelation that magic is real (and Newt beckons Brillig inside after them and shuts the suitcase). She is amazed by every creature Newt shows her, and she asks loads of questions, and he loves answering them.

He introduces her to the bowtruckles, who climb all over her body. She laughs, amazed and ticklish, her shoulders hunched in pleasant surprise, and he's sure he has never been so in love with anyone.

While she is distracted, he sneaks away. He exits the suitcase, shuts it, and apparates to the room where he's staying. Then he returns to the suitcase to explain to Sadie that her memory will be erased if others of his kind catch her, but he'll make sure that she has everything she needs right here.

(I briefly entertained the thought that he might bring other humans into the suitcase for Sadie to psychologically study, but I think that's more yandere Volturi territory.)

#yandere newt scamander #sadie lily gilder #rule one sadie #male yandere

[orojuice]

Vanishing Point: Alternate Cut

A short comic I made with u/Sha-Yurigami featuring an alternate take on the Vanishing Point boss fight. The last of the NMH3: Alternate Struggles mini-series.

While I appreciated the exotic way that Kimmy Love/Howell played with the alien’s theme of “memory”, I was hoping for a more elaborate kill trip down memory lane. Nothing too extravagant. In fact, you could just play around with existing assets.

Just odd Arkham Knight-esque visual discrepancies that pop out without Travis noting them:

Like Jeane being a kitten again.

Shinobu wearing her school uniform while in her hospital bed.

Bad Girl not having her TSA crown and just drinking beer when you visit her.

Fu and Damon’s star-shaped tower and other alien structures being completely missing from Santa Destroy’s skybox.

It comes to a head when Travis visits the video store and mistakes Buzariashvili Bishop for his brother, the deceased Georgy. Apologizes. And then asks him tell his brother that he said hi.Sylvia manages to get him back on track with a phone call reminding him to go after “the Drifter”, who is now no longer on the top of a building, but is now hiding out in the baseball stadium of Santa Destroy.

When Travis goes there and confronts “the Drifter”, he sees Vanishing Point eating hotdogs and drinking beer instead. The sight of the alien snaps Travis out of his weird haze, and he berates the extraterrestrial for both messing with his memories and attacking his town.Vanishing Point scoffs at the latter, claiming that he’s pawed through the lavatory that is Travis’ brain, so he’s aware that Travis has been spilling blood all over Santa Destroy long before he, Fu, and the others made planetfall. He’s no protector. He’s just some crazed psycho killer with a beam katana. So naturally, a superhero’s got to put a stop to his rampage. Even if said superhero has to peel back his mind until he’s a drooling, witless husk. Then it’s only proper to give such a vacuous creature a quick mercy killing, right?

As Vanishing Point is saying this, a distorted version of Dr. Peace’s “The virgin child makes her wish without feeling anything” which builds in intensity and malice as the conversation between Travis and Vanishing Point becomes more hostile.

The big gimmick in the fight besides Vanishing Point’s blades, sartry kicks, phantoms of Gold Joe and Mr. Blackhole, and 80s grid projectile nonsense is that he “steals” Travis’ memories during each phase, rendering the assassin into his TSA, NMH2, and finally NMH1 skins that are typically available to the player after finishing NMH3.

Phase 2: Peels Travis back into his TSA self, while robbing him of every Death Glove Skill besides Death Force as that was one of the first Death Glove Chips he had access to in TSA.

Phase 3: Peels Travis back into his NMH2 self, robbing him of both his Death Glove Skills and his ability to jump. Jeane’s voice (as she only started talking in TSA) no longer provides battle commentary.

Phase 4: Peels Travis back into his NMH1 self, robbing him of his Tension meter and associated combos.

When Travis brings Vanishing Points HP down to zero, it has him stumble and get into a combat stance like the bosses did when you beat them in NMH1. A cutscene plays of Travis slicing off Vanishing Point’s left arm, and he’s about to land the killing blow to this weird half-horse, Mega Man-looking freakshow who he doesn’t remember having any beef with but who’s trying to kill him so whatever, when all of a sudden…this comic happens.

Besides the obvious allusions to Jeane’s boss fight in NMH1, I threw in a couple of remixed videogame and superhero comic references in. See if you can spot them all!

Or don’t.

You can just let this moment come and go.

#travis touchdown #vanishing point #jeane #no more heroes 3 #nmh #nmh3 #nmh3alternate #no more heroes

[rpmemesbyarat]

Reasons Your Character Was Made A Vampire That ISN’T Love

I've been roleplaying in vampire games for awhile, and a very common motive that I see for why a character was made a vampire, was that the vampire who made them was in love with them (or lust, or just because they were beautiful). In fact, it's far and away the single most common reason given in bios, in my own experience. Another thing I see a lot is that the character was just turned RANDOMLY for no apparent reason, which is weird to say the least. And while I'm not going to say these are bad reasons you should never ever do or anything like that, I am here to offer some alternatives if you’re interested in them, if “love” or “attraction” doesn’t work for your story or character, etc: 1) Hate. If vampirism is a cursed existence, maybe it was brought about because the sire vampire hated your character and wanted them to suffer, or had a grudge against someone your character was connected to and wanted to punish them by “stealing” their loved one and making them a monster. Similarly, perhaps your character was being punished for something grave. Note that this really only works when being a vampire is a truly unfortunate thing to be; being given eternal life, youth, and a bevy of superpowers is not exactly a punishment on its own, especially if your vampire has ways around killing people for their blood (bagged blood, willing donors, psychic vampire, doesn't need to kill to feed, etc) so I would recommend it for canons where being a vampire really sucks, no pun intended. 2) Usefulness. Perhaps your character has some skill or ability that their sire had use for, or some role they could play, and it’s something they needed long enough to require making them a vampire. Or maybe the skill is needed, but it can only be useful if they also have the enhanced strength, speed, and healing typically associated with vampires in current pop culture. Or maybe they needed a patsy or pawn in some scheme, and they needed to be a fellow vampire, and what better one than some naive newcomer who trusts them? There’s endless potential reasons here! 3) Preservation. Maybe your character has some trait or skill that the vampire who turns them believed must be preserved forever. Maybe they’re a master artist not appreciated in their own time, the last speaker of a dead language, a scientist who needs more time on their work (a project the vampire themselves commissioned, perhaps?) than a natural lifespan can give, or some rare supernatural talent they already posess before being turned. 4) Worthiness. The vampire sees something in this character that they feel has earned being a vampire too. Maybe it’s ruthlessness, cleverness, military prowess, or drive to survive above all else. Maybe it’s unusual kindness, or unusual cruelty. Maybe they accomplished some great feat. Maybe they did a favor for the vampire in exchange for the gift. Again, there are vast options here depending on the personal standards of the sire. One good tip I recommend is to develop the sire vampire as a character themselves, not just as a background prop to the character being turned. What they value, what they're like, who they are that has NOTHING to do with their childer. Then look at that person, and go, why would they turn someone? A lot of times, the sire character either has no personality at all, or is just obsessed with the childer, and that's about the amount of thought given. I think that's part of why some people have a hard time thinking why their character would be turned, so they just go with 'well they were in love' or make it a random attack. There certainly are people who, if they were a vampire, would turn others for love. Others for greed or gain to themselves in some way. Others out of loneliness, a desire to preserve something they value, out of anger, because they were impressed---the reasons for someone to be turned are as numerous as people themselves, and most vampires (depending on the canon) are people. For ideas on why your character could be turned, another good reference is to check out the different clans of the “Vampire: The Masquerade” tabletop roleplaying game (which is where the terms sire and childer seem to originate!). Each clan has different values, and thus seek different traits in recruits, and have different ways of handling said recruits---teaching them, nurturing them, testing them cruelly, or straight up abandoning them to see how they do. This isn’t to say make your character(s) obvious expies of the clan in question (unless that’s what you want) but more like, say, if the way the Toreador clan or the Lasombra clan chooses and treats their “Embraces” sticks out to you as working for your character and/or their sire, there’s no reason you can’t use that for your own character even in a setting where those clans don’t exist. You can mix and match too----for instance, maybe the sire chose your character for Ventrue-like reasons (nobles, religious leaders, great military figures, successful CEOs, powerful mob bosses, etc) but treated them in a more Gangrel-like way (Embraced by ambush, then abandoned to survive on their own for a time and only re-approached by their sire once they proved their worth) Also, while most vampire RPs that I’ve seen work on the “human turned by a vampire who also used to be human” version, it is worth noting that while modern pop culture vampires are almost exclusively deliberately "made" by other vampires, that's not the case at all in the folklore(s) that they come from. These are some ways people became vampires in various legends from around the world:

- Dying without being baptized - Being buried improperly or not at all - Dying of suicide - Wicked deeds in life - People who were witches or werewolves in life; werewolves and vampires overlap in many folklores, and are sometimes the same creature. Ditto for vampires and witches. - Be the seventh child of the same sex in a family - In some stories, any corpse that was jumped over by an animal, particularly a dog or a cat, was feared to become one of the undead - Violent death - Unfinished business in life And if you’re making your own story, you can always make up your own unique way! Magical rituals, botched experiments, deals with gods, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

#writeblr #writing advice #vampires #writing vampires #character building #character ideas #vampire ideas

[maxwell-grant]

Jumping off from my previous question/suggestion, might I please ask if there are any superheroes you think would make fine Pulp Villains and any Supervillains you think would make convincing Pulp Heroes?

I'm gonna go ahead and remark that I'd personally suggest to anyone who's trying to create pulp characters inspired by superheroes (which would be probably about 90% of you who may want to do that sort of thing) to flip the script around a little. As in, don't try to create pulp analogues to the Justice League/Avengers upfront, but play around with some of the lesser-known icons and filter those through your idea of what “pulp” means (which is gonna be quite different than my own or anyone else’s). 

I’m not gonna really mention characters I’ve already talked about before like Vandal Savage or Namor, instead I’ll pick new ones and see what can be highlighted about them.

Regarding “Superheroes who could make fine/convincing Pulp Villains”, even though he’s a character I've read basically nothing on, Martian Manhunter definitely leaped out to me as an obvious option. He’s a Sci-Fi Superman who takes the first half of the name to an extreme that borders on comical, except he’s not a square-jawed white man, he’s a 1.000 year old green alien from Mars with shapeshifting powers who can look as monstrous as the artist desires. He’s the product of an advanced civilization and genetic modification, and on top of the Flying Brick powerset and shapeshifting, he also has incredibly powerful and extensive telepathic abilities, he can become invisible, phaze through matter, use telekinesis and other weird abilities. A lot of pulp stories closer to sci-fi were based around the idea of taking one of these abilities and extrapolating horrific consequences for them, and J’onn has those by the dozens. He also has an extremely mundane weakness that would allow him to be beaten by Macready with a blowtorch if that’s where the story ended.

He was also a law enforcement officer from Mars who became a police detective and it’s even right there in his name, and again, I have never read anything he’s in (I should probably pick the Orlando mini), I know he’s for all intents and purposes a generally nice man who tends to job a lot in crossovers and cartoons, but the idea of taking all those great vast and horrifying alien powers, combining all of them into a single character who also happens to be the last survivor of a doomed planet (and one who actually lived through it’s collapse), and then making that character a former cop trying to resume his work on Earth? 

That is a Pulp Supervillain begging to happen, and a particularly horrifying one at that. And hey, speaking of The Thing-

Now, Plastic Man’s potential for horror has already been explored quite a bit in some of the darker DC continuities like Injustice and DCeased, and it’s quite funny seeing a lot of these turn Plastic Man into The Thing because there were quite a handful of Wold Newton pages that ran with the idea that Macready from the original story was Doc Savage, and that the secret chemicals that Eel O’Brian was hit by that gave him his powers were actually samples of The Thing contained in one of Savage’s labs. Regardless, the idea of a former street crook suddenly gaining bizarre shapeshifting abilities that allow him to reign terror on his gangster associates could make for a great premise as a pulp crime story that veers into horror as the gangsters gradually figure out what is Eel O’Brian’s deal, and then the story can take a more tragic turn.

The thing about Jack Cole’s Plastic Man that modern takes on the character neglect is that, while Plas was a lively roguish anti-hero (arguably the first of it’s kind in comics), he’s still for intents and purposes “the straight man” (HA, right, Plastic Man being “straight”). He’s the relatively sane hero who plays off Woozy’s wackier misadventures and the imaginative madness that Jack Cole paints his adventures with, and it makes for an interesting contrast considering Plastic Man is already a weird character, having to ramp up the strangeness of the world around him so that he still remains the sane man. There are ways to twist this into something quite horrifying, even tragic for Plastic Man as he either struggles to maintain coherency, or embraces the shifting chaos the world’s spiraling into for better or worse (and definitely for the worse towards those on the receiving end of his vengeance, or even his humor).

Now, onto the flipside, regarding Supervillains that could become Pulp Heroes -

Normally I’d not mention the Batman villains here, because I already have a lot to talk about in regards to them as is, they comprise some of my favorite comic characters, but I pretty much have to make an exception for Two-Face in this topic, as not only a pretty obvious option but one with even case studies to prove it, as not only do we have The Black Bat, a 1930s costumed pulp hero with an identical origin story and several other conceptual overlaps with Batman, as well as The Whisperer, a young hotshot police commissioner who dresses up as a disfigured vigilante to kill criminals without consequence (and who’s somehow less of a maniacal asshole in his secret identity than in his regular one), but it turns out that there actually was a 1910s pulp hero called The Two-Faced Man:

Crewe was created by “Varick Vanardy,” the pseudonym of Frederic van Rensselaer Dey (Nick Carter, Doctor Quartz), and appeared in three short stories and two novels and short story collections from 1914 to 1919, beginning with “That Man Crew” (The Cavalier, Jan. 24, 1914). 

Crewe is “The Two-Faced Man.” 

He is in his forties and has gray hair and a “sharply cut and handsome profile—until one caught a view of the other side of his face and saw the almost hideous blemish that nearly covered it, and which graduated in corrugated irregularity from a delicate pink to repulsive purple.” 

Crewe is two-faced in another way. Crewe is a saloon owner in below Washington Square. But he has another identity: Birge Moreau, portraitist and socialite hanger-on. Crewe uses both his identities to solve crimes as an amateur detective.

The only person to know about both of Crewe’s identities is a police inspector who is also Crewe’s friend and who Crewe helps in pressing cases - The Encyclopedia of Pulp Heores by Jess Nevins

And speaking of obvious picks for Supervillains turned Pulp Heroes,

Assuming I even need to make a case for Kraven the Hunter other than just presenting this cropped panel from Squirrel Girl and in particular the art painted on the Kra-Van, or even just telling you to read Squirrel Girl and it’s take on “The Unhuntable Sergei” (I had no idea most of the people saying “Kraven’s arc in Squirrel Girl is as good if not better than Kraven’s Last Hunt” weren’t actually joking in the slightest and I speak as someone who has Kraven among their absolute favorite Marvel characters, it had no right being that good), I’m going to quote the brilliant Rogue’s Review from The Mindless Ones that lays down in painstaking detail why Kraven could make a killer protagonist in that horrifically over-the-top pulp fashion

One thing that strikes me writing this, is how well Kraven could hold his own comic. There’s always room for a book spotlighting a ruthless, hardcore, gentleman bastard, and Kraven’s raison d’etre makes him supremely versatile, so well suited to any genre, any environment. It’s odd that more writers haven’t jumped on the fact that in a universe where off-world travel is possible – indeed, common – a hunter like Kraven would have a field day. 

I can just imagine the opening scene – herds of weird cthuloid bat creatures grazing in the gloomy green nitrogen fields, bathed in lethal, bone splintering fog, when, suddenly, LIGHT! from above and an unholy bellowing: “CTHGRGN fthgrgnARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGN!”

They look up in fear and then they start to run – ploughing into and over each other, tentacles flailing, as from the space-ship’s docking bay Kraven silently plummets, barely dressed for the cold, a glowing knife smothered in elder signs jammed between his teeth. 

You should have seen him one night previous, sipping alien tokay around the Captain’s table with the other guests, discussing the morning’s hunt; and the way he insulted the Skrull dignitary by forgetting himself and accidentally sporting his favourite piece of formal wear: his boiling unstable dinner-jacket of many colours, fashioned from the hide of one of the Ambassador’s super kinsmen.

Whoops!

Midway through Kraven explaining how the best way to irreparably damage a symbiote is to wait until its bonded with you and then seriously maim yourself, the Skrull decided it might be a good idea to simmer down, while his beautiful Inhuman lover hung on every word.

The deeper I get into this the more convinced I am that the MU’s hunter-killer extraordinaire wouldn’t limit himself to bloody planet Earth. And neither would he limit himself to this dimension, or universe or timeline. The guy’d be just as at home leaping, sword raised, onto the back of a T-Rex in the Savage Land, as he would be ploughing through werewolves in the graveyards of Arkham or tracking a howling Demon across Mephistopheles’ realm. 

He’d work perfectly in all these environments because he has a damn good reason to be casting a bloody swathe through them: wherever there’s big game, you’ll find Kraven.

The next choice I guess is an oddball, but not that much of an oddball if you know already what is my main frame of reference towards Marvel

I don’t think people appreciate enough that the main reason Shuma-Gorath has anything resembling a fanbase has nothing whatsoever to do with the comics he was in, but entirely because, when Capcom designers had a list of Marvel characters to pick from to work on Marvel Super Heroes, they took a look at the diet Cthulhu and went “gimme THAT one”, and then went all-in in giving the alien squid monster a funky personality along with a great stage and music and animations and all that great fighting game character stuff, and now he’s maybe the most popular Dr Strange villain along with Dormammu and Mordo, despite having ZERO film appearences or major showings in comic sagas.

Capcom's designers redefined Shuma-Gorath from a nebulous cosmic evil into a comically smug cartoon bastard who can rant about devouring all dimensions and souls horrifically while also cracking poses and zingers like “How do you expect to win a fight with only two arms?” and having dinners with Dhalsim or hosting Japanese game shows in his endings, and it kills me that none of this ever made it’s way into any depictions of the character outside of MvC. 

So that’s kinda what I’d go with. I’d take Capcom’s Shuma-Gorath, depower him a bit obviously from his canonical power, and run with the premise of his MvC3 ending where he decides that, well, if he's the unlikely savior of this pathetic planet and these wretched human dogs like him so much, and he’s clearly having a much better time here among them than he ever had drifting among the stars cealessly consuming life, then maybe he can take a break from all that eldritch business and keep up hosting the Super Monster Awesome Hour and maybe fight whatever PITIFUL villains think can take HIS planet. I mean, he’ll probably still end up destroying the planet by the end, but why not give this hero business a try?

Just until he gets his full powers back of course. 

I mean you can’t deny he DOES look pretty good in that bowtie, surely The Great Shuma-Gorath wouldn’t be so unmerciful as to deny these vile wastes of flesh something good to look at in their brief and miserable lives.

#replies tag #marvel comics #marvel #dc comics #dc #pulp heroes #pulp villains #martian manhunter #plastic man #kraven the hunter #two-face #shuma-gorath #marvel vs capcom

[caffeinatedseri]

Dead Apple Light Novel

Recently, I decided to buy LN 5, Dead Apple, purely because I’m a sucker for all of BSD’s light novels, so this post will revolve around what I took away from this novel. 

Dead Apple is Canon

Since the story jumps around in the timeline a lot, I had originally thought that Dead Apple took place outside of canon (especially with Atsushi’s flashback). 

However, a particular part of Asagiri’s afterword stuck out to me:

Now, allow me a moment to discuss some of the particulars of Dead Apple. Chronologically, the story takes place after the second season of the anime — in other words, after the war with the Guild, which puts Dead Apple somewhere between the ninth and tenth volumes of the manga. 

The novel also ended up affecting the main story in numerous ways, and I’m sure this new experience will continue to influence my future work as well.

It’s not unusual for a light novel to insert itself into the main timeline (see 55 Minutes which takes place in the 10th volume), but it’s nice to have confirmation that the same applies to Dead Apple. 

Of course, just because a work isn’t canon compliant (see BEAST), doesn’t mean that it has no potential for further analysis or it doesn’t bring any added complexity to the main plot. Regardless, this post serves as somewhat of a precursor to my other posts concerning Dead Apple since I have a tendency to talk about it a lot, and I’d like to establish a basis for a lot of my posts. 

Differences between the Movie and Light Novel

In the afterword of the light novel, Hiro Iwahata (the author of this LN) said:

“Furthermore, I worked on this book under Asagiri’s supervision, meaning there are several lines in certain scenes that differ from the movie. It might even be fun comparing the two!  Nothing would make me happier than the fans enjoying this novel alongside the movie.”

As per Iwahata’s request, I went into the light novel, looking for differences between it and the movie. However, the novel is surprisingly, almost identical to the movie (maybe not surprising considering it is a “movie novelization”).

Because the differences are so miniscule, I believe they hold an even greater significance, since Asagiri must have wanted to change these specific details for a certain reason. 

Some of the differences I talk about might be unimportant, but I did my best to catch everything that was changed from the movie.

1. The movie doesn’t mention SKK as a part of the Dragon’s Head Conflict, but the novel says, “Some fought under the alias Twin Dark.” 

This probably means that SKK became a pair either before the Dragon’s Head Conflict or during (although I’m pretty sure that the “organization” they destroyed over night was Shibusawa’s organization).

2. When Dazai says that he would’ve continued killing people in the mafia if it weren’t for Oda, Atsushi has little to no reaction in the movie; I would describe it as maybe a hesitant or concerned feeling.

In the novel, Atsushi has a more outward reaction.

““Huh...?!” Atsushi was baffled. He had no idea whether that was true. What did Dazai mean by that? (...) The melancholy Atsushi felt from Dazai had disappeared, and Dazai continued to speak in his usual lighthearted manner.”

Not only does he react verbally, but the novel also adds an inner monologue (mainly for Atsushi) that can’t be portrayed as well in movie format. 

To me, this change highlights how Atsushi sees Dazai purely as a good person; he reacts in such a startled manner because he believes that Dazai is too good of a person to be in the mafia killing people (which we know Atsushi hates). This trend reoccurs throughout the story, of Atsushi turning a blind eye to Dazai’s “bad side.”

3. This one isn’t at all the movie’s fault, but the novel gives a lot more clues as to what the “dead apple” and the dagger in the apple motif represents.

The first time it appears is when Kunikida and Tanizaki meet the Special Division’s agent, but they find out that he’s already dead.

“It [the apple] was, without a doubt, a simple fruit... save for the fact that there was a knife sticking out of it as if to condemn the taste of sin. A blade had been driven into the symbol of original sin. A dreary, ominous aura, oozed from the ripe fruit like venom. 

Throughout the novel, it seems to associate the “dead apple” motif with Fyodor pretty strongly, especially since this paragraph ties in Fyodor’s ideals nicely with the symbolism of the apple and dagger.

The apple represents sin, the very first sin — which you could interpret as sin at its purest — while the dagger represents the condemning of such sin. However, the apple can also potentially symbolize life, while the dagger stabbing into life can mean death. 

Fyodor’s ideals revolve around “removing the sin” of ability users (represented by an apple in this case) but he does so through manipulation. The dagger is associated with stealth and deception, which is fitting with what Fyodor does to “remove the sin” of ability users.

However, he’s also taking the lives of ability users in this process, hence stabbing the apple, coincidentally committing another sin in his attempt to relinquish all sin.

4. In the “Snow White” Oda and Dazai flashback, everything is identical to the movie (word for word), but there is some additional narration.

“It was an alarming sight — Dazai sounded like he was in a trance. It was as if he was ignoring all this world had to offer while in pursuit of something else.”

I’ve talked about this particular scene before here, but the gist is that Dazai was discreetly talking about himself while referring to Snow White. 

Dazai joined the mafia because he believed that the violence (or true human nature) would give him a reason to live, but we already know that this kind of thinking was flawed.  Thus, this line most likely means that Dazai was ignoring all of the “good” qualities of the world while pursuing a reason to live, which inevitably wouldn’t work. 

5. Right after the flashback, when Dazai takes the pill, the novel really sells the act of “Dazai walking towards his death and going to the evil side.” 

Personally, this scene in the movie felt more open to interpretation after you’ve seen the ending. You could say that Dazai took the antidote and said “Being on the side that saves people is more beautiful,” because his plan is to continue living to save more people. 

However, the novel throws away any possible double meaning with this paragraph:

“Dazai then reached for the pill with his bandaged hand, neatly picked it up, and slowly brought it to his lips — just like Snow White and the sweet, poisoned apple. The venomous red-and-pure-white-pill disappeared inside his mouth.”

After Dazai’s tangent on how Snow White could’ve committed suicide out of despair, the narration compares him directly to Snow White. With the added venomous pill stated outright, it only further cements the idea that Dazai’s actually committing suicide here.

I don’t particularly like this change, because it feels like this moment was set up entirely just to divert the audience’s expectations, rather than it be a standalone scene that makes sense when considering the rest of the story. (It might not necessarily be a change, possibly just a rough translation from movie to novel). 

6. When Atsushi wakes up from his nightmare, there’s some additional inner monologue:

Everything’s okay. I’m not the same person I was when I lived at the orphanage. I have friends. I have a place where I belong — the Armed Detective Agency. Things are different now.

The anime (and in turn the movie) tends to downplay the effects of Atsushi’s trauma — probably due to the limitations of anime — but regardless the novel portrays it much better with how Atsushi’s trauma affects practically every aspect of his life. 

7. I thought Fukuzawa’s ability only gave his subordinates control over their abilities, but the novel says:

“Yukichi Fukuzawa and his skill, All Men are Equal, a peculiar ability that allowed him to suppress and control his subordinates’ skills.”

Does this mean that Fukuzawa could control and suppress all of the agency’s abilities? It could be a weird translation, but it seems oddly specific.

8. This detail isn’t actually a novel exclusive, but it is an extremely small detail that I missed while watching the movie, so I figured I would add it here too.

“the phantom’s notebook had the word Compromise written on the cover. A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida.”

Considering how abilities act as the shadow to every character in this story, this is a nice detail that shows how Kunikida’s inner desire is to compromise, because carrying such heavy ideals is undoubtedly a burden. However, because he holds onto his ideals so strongly, it becomes his biggest weakness AND his biggest strength.

9. There’s a super small detail added to this scene with Dazai, Fyodor, and Shibusawa. When Dazai suggests that Shibusawa could be saved by an angel or a demon, the following exchange occurs:

“Hmm... Maybe an angel?” Dazai picked up the skull on the table. “Or maybe a demon?” “It’s obvious what both of your true intentions are, if you ask me.” The third man mirthfully cackled and took the skull from Dazai’s hand.

In the movie, Dazai doesn’t pick up anything, so as a result Fyodor doesn’t take anything from Dazai either. 

Because Fyodor walked into the scene after Dazai suggested that an angel or demon would save Shibusawa, I strongly suspect that this was foreshadowing future events in which Fyodor does “save” Shibusawa by giving him his memories back.

The novel adds more to this foreshadowing by having Dazai pick up the skull before it’s taken by Fyodor — essentially having Fyodor take the cards out of Dazai’s hands and put them in his favor. 

It’s also worth pointing out that the skull is also the object that Fyodor uses to revive Shibusawa into a supernatural ghost of some sorts at the end of the story.

10. This may be just a difference in translations but in the movie, Shibusawa refers to Fyodor as “Demon Fyodor-kun”, whereas in the novel Fyodor is called “Fyodor the Conjurer.” (Ango uses the Conjurer title as well).

In western esotericism, a conjurer is a person who summons supernatural beings, like spirits, demons, or God.

This slightly changes the connotation of Fyodor’s title from a inhuman being of pure malicious intent to just a human who summons these otherworldly beings. This idea also aligns with Shibusawa’s revival, since he’s some sort of supernatural ghost that was “summoned” by Fyodor. 

11. Skipping past the parts where Kyouka and Akutagawa regain their abilities, and Chuuya talks to Ango in the government facility, (since they have little to no changes between the movie and the novel) there is a somewhat significant detail changed in Draconia once again with Dazai and Fyodor.

In the novel, this glowing ball of energy from the movie is actually described as an apple: 

The two lights melted into one and spun until they formed a juicy sphere. They had produced a single apple — a juicy, poisoned apple red as blood.

It birthed a skill — and an extremely powerful one at that — the ability to absorb. Every last crystal adorning Draconia’s walls was sucked into the apple with intense force. Ten — a hundred — a thousand — two thousand — every last one was greedily devoured by the apple...

The apple swelled as it absorbed the numerous crystals until the red light became hotter than the surface of hell.

Since the “dead apple” motif aligns with Fyodor’s character, we can assume that the apple is representative of sin, and sin is associated with abilities, as Fyodor believes.

This strange poisoned apple is made of abilities and has an ability (the ability to absorb), and it commits a sin (greed) in its devouring of other abilities; it’s also hotter than “hell”, which is a very specific connection that leads me to this idea:

My theory is that a normal apple represents life, while a poisoned apple (or dead apple), indicative of a stained, impure life, represents sin. Fyodor believes abilities are akin to sin (what a clever rhyme), therefore all of their lives are sinful.

12. This is arguably the most insignificant change of this entire post, but I feel obligated to put it here regardless since it was different from the movie. When the Special Division detects the singularity of Shibusawa’s dragon form in the novel, it says:

“Abnormal values for singularity are increasing! They’re twice — no, 2.5 times higher than they were six years ago.”

In the movie, the number is five times higher instead.

Why did this number change? Is it significant? I honestly have no idea (I’m surprised I even caught this), but it’s there and I had to document it anyways. 

13. The novel adds this narration for Shibusawa when he gets his memories back and he’s in the orphanage’s room with Atsushi:

“Shibusawa clearly recalled the events from six years ago. Fyodor had enticed him to go to the orphanage where he tortured a young Atsushi... until Atsushi fought back and killed him.”

There’s two things to take away from this: Fyodor had known Shibusawa for at least six years, and Fyodor had been planning the events of Dead Apple since at least six years ago. 

I find it hard to believe that Fyodor’s plan was thwarted by Dazai, because of how Fyodor demonstrated his ability to plan ahead in the main series, but I’m not sure what the long term effects of this plan could be. If Shibusawa succeeded, then it could’ve aligned with the DOA’s goals, but once again I don’t think Fyodor’s plan was actually foiled.

14. Super minor once again, but right after Shibusawa gets revived, the last sentence of chapter 5 is,

“Nobody would ever see the smile on Fyodor’s face.” 

Honestly, I think this was just added to create an ominous tone, but it’s a nice detail regardless.

15. As the red fog spreads across Yokohama, there’s a good part of exposition that connects the “dead apple” motif to Fyodor once again:

“After the red fog devoured the earth, the planet would undoubtedly look like a floating red apple from space. There would be no humans left on its surface, nor any signs they ever existed. It would be a true paradise, and with that, the Dead Apple would finally be complete. A dead planet covered in red fog — that was what Fyodor had planned and sought out.

Nothing other than death could wash away the original sin of man, so it was only fitting for the sin, which started with a fruit, to end with one as well. 

It’s pretty long, but I like the way this passage is written, more specifically the last part since it fits well with the sinful poisoned apple idea.

It also aligns with Fyodor’s ideals of creating a true paradise, free of ability users. However, if Fyodor had planned to have the Earth covered in fog, that could mean that his plan was actually stopped by Dazai and Atsushi in the end.

16. Shibusawa has a few additional lines of dialogue when he talks to Atsushi in their final fight.

“The dragon and tiger... I see now why they are called rivals.”

The dragon and tiger have their roots in Chinese Buddhism, but to go further into that topic would make this already lengthy post even longer.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, though. I’m not blaming you for what happened.”

This line is a brief moment of weakness for Shibusawa, which is interesting in contrast to his strong will to kill Atsushi. Just as Atsushi learned to accept the past and the tiger’s ferocity, Shibusawa shares the same attitude by separating the blame from himself to just simply accepting the past for what happened.

17. In the aftermath of the last fight against Shibusawa, Atsushi and Kyouka meet up with Dazai.

Kyouka asks, “Are you sure this is what you wanted?” which prompts two different responses in the movie and novel respectively.

In the movie, Atsushi says, “Just as Shibusawa was able to forget that he’d been killed before, I think Dazai can put his past behind him again. But this is fine.”

In the novel, Atsushi says:

“... I could probably seal away this memory just like how I’d forgotten I’d killed him before. But... I’m okay with this.”

I interpreted Kyouka’s question in the movie to be questioning Dazai’s loyalties, as he did betray everyone, and Atsushi responded in Dazai’s defense because he trusts him.

However, the novel does change Atsushi’s response to focus on himself rather than Dazai, which in turn changes the implications of Kyouka’s question. 

Kyouka seems to be asking Atsushi whether he was okay with killing Shibusawa, and Atsushi responds by acknowledging that he did kill Shibusawa, and that’s okay. (a very clear development from the beginning of the story when he believed it was unnecessary to kill anyone, and he didn’t want to kill anyone)

18. In the epilogue, Ango talks about the underlying motivations behind the “Dead Apple” case. This change could be attributed to translation differences (like many others in this post), but the connotation does slightly differ from movie to novel. 

In the movie, Ango says, “How is a man like Shibusawa, so intelligent that others look like alien creatures to him, to act, to be destroyed, or to be saved?”

In the novel, Ango says:

“Perhaps the two of them [Dazai and Fyodor] just wanted to get a glimpse of someone like them... Perhaps they wanted to see what he would do and how he would meet his demise... or perhaps how he would be saved.”

The movie simply poses a broad question of what would happen to Shibusawa, a person alienated from the rest of society. 

The novel changes this to focus on Dazai and Fyodor’s perspective — two irredeemable aliens from society just like Shibusawa — executing this grand scheme out of curiosity to see what would happen to someone of the likes of them, and if there’s a possibility for redemption.

19. This is the final difference on this list, and it’s quite a large change. In Fyodor’s monologue at the very end of the story, he has a completely different tone from the movie to novel.

In the movie, Fyodor says, “But in order to end this world, rife with crime and punishment, I do need that book.”

The novel says: 

Glittering high-rises and stately brick buildings stood side by side in this port city with its countless citizens who struggled against crime and punishment. “I think I’ve taken a liking to this city myself..”  Fyodor took a bite of the apple in his hand, and the juicy nectar ran down his delicate fingers. “You’d all better be on your best behavior until next time.”

The reference to the book may have been removed for consistency with the main series, as the book is a part of the DOA’s plan (or more specifically Fukuchi). 

It also seems like Fyodor has grown fond of the city, and no longer wants Yokohama to be destroyed, so it’s still possible that his plan deterred from what he had originally intended.

Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure why crime and punishment was mentioned, or why there’s such an ominous tone to his ending statement, but that’s up to personal interpretation. 

That concludes the long list of extremely specific and minor differences between the Dead Apple movie and light novel! 

Overall, I would say it’s worth checking out the light novel if you don’t have a strong grasp of the Dead Apple story, because it definitely presents the small intricacies of the plot in a more comprehensible way. 

On a side note, the manga adaptation has a lot of noticeable differences from the movie and light novel, mostly with the addition of entirely new scenes (which you can read @buraihatranslations​ — what a shameless self plug). I would highly recommend reading it as those extra scenes are very amusing, to say the least without giving any spoilers.

Honestly, this post was a lot longer than I intended, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. Thank you for reading!

#bsd #bsd dead apple #bsd meta #bungou stray dogs

[angelicmichael]

What if Xavier had a kid he didn't know about and he meets them for the first time after he's already a ghost? Maybe there's a kindergarten group that takes a trip to the camp, and he just has this spirit intuition as soon as he sees them and KNOWS it's his child. Do you think you could expand on this idea? I'd love to see what you come up with!

A/N: This was so fun, thank you for this idea dear anon!! I'm sorry it's late but hopefully u like it 😶. Also, I apologize this is so dark and heavy- I didnt intend for it.. it just, kinda happened lmfao. I turned this into a 'x reader' and it starts with Xaviers POV and ends with readers perspective!! First few paragraphs are pretty dark and then the rest is weird.. angst fluff LOL.Hope yall enjoy 💖💖💖

Warnings: First few paragraphs discuss Xavier's thots about dying SO, it highkey gets dark yall I'm so sorry, mentions of anger?? issues, mentions of murder, stops getting dark roughly around paragraph 6 if u wanna skip all that, MAJOR ANGST, reuniting, very brief Xantana reference 😈, mention of kids, bit of fluff.. think that's it :)

In Xaviers eyes; the worst part of being killed in a desolate camp and having to reside there for the rest of eternity; wasnt the fact that he would have to handle Richard Rameriez and tolerate his peers for eons to come. Sure, both of those things required an adjustment period but.. the realization that his life with you was abruptly cut short, was what truly broke him.

It took him being stripped from everything he once knew to truly appreciate how heavenly life once was before Camp Redwood. He had a steady job, good friends, and a relationship with a actual living, breathing person.. Not to shade Montana or anything, of course. However he had taken all of those things for fucking granted; moving to Camp Redwood definetly had made him become humble- at the very least. He was now nothing but a mere shell of the person he once was; nothing to bring him out of this absolute living nightmare he found himself in.. At first this mindset nearly consumed him, it drove him to kill multiple times.

There was no point in trying to conceal the anger he felt, no way of trying to channel it out into a more socially appropriate way and at this point.. there really was no point in trying to do so. Out here in the forest, espically after he was killed, life outside of the forest soon seemed as if it was some type of myth or fairytale- something not real or attainable. Time in the redwood forest felt different- days quickly bled and melted into weeks, and then months.. trying to guess the date was something Xavier gave up on doing after about the first week.

As much as he tried to deny it, being dead and becoming trapped here had completly made him lose his grip on reality and his previous life. Soon enough, the thought that life even fully existed outside of the camp and that there was actual fucking laws against killing (something which was now a leisurely hobby) had completly slipped his mind momentarily in the beginning as well. Out here in the forest, nothing felt real execpt for his anger that he held onto so tightly.

It was really the only thing he had left; atleast for a while.

The pain of losing his partner, (y/n), still remained but letting that grief not consume him was easily the hardest battle he had fought in his life. Xavier realized he still had his friends - and if he really was going to live for eternity, he sure wasnt going to spend it angry.

After so many years of being 'cursed' to spend forever in this forest, keeping track of the time was something Xavier rarely bothered with, but - it was obvious by the suns posistion, and even the slight mist that made the grass wet that it was just starting to cut into morning. Xavier walked through the forest alone, nowhere in particular to go or to necessarily do, only a sudden need to go and be alone. Almost a beckoning, for him to go and be somewhere else. To witness something.

His days were more often than not purely mundane; he had absolutely no excuse to not listen to this odd and sudden attraction he felt toward a very particular spot in the camp.. so, that's what brought him to where he stood now. Close to the road that brought visitors (a nice word for victims) into Camp Redwood, right next to the mess hall which was rarely used close by.

Xavier felt wildly uncomfortable standing so close to the place which previously held so much trauma - and honestly still did.. The place where Chef Bertie died. Xavier paused, about to just say 'fuck it' and just give up and go back to where his friends resided (or atleast Montana) when.. he heard it.

His sign, the thing that seemingly enticed him in the first place.

It first sounded like the old, familar sounds of tires coming across a gravel road - Xaviers mind immeadietly jumped to perhaps this could be new people.. new vistors.. new victims.

His blood ran cold when he heard something else; an eerie ringing of chains hitting against the ground. Something that was mostly a associated with buses.. and hauntingly familar. He had little to no time to think or even act on his suspicion when he noticed that a yellow school bus full, and nearly combusting with children was pulling into the camp.

Xavier wasnt exactly certain the bounds that ghosts had when it came to certain bodily functions like vomiting, but hes sure that under normal circumstances he would certainly be sick by now. Nevertheless he could feel his body tense up and the other natural symptoms associated with anxiety also kicked in. Urging him to clumsily get out of vision; he stumbled behind a few trees that poorly blocked him from sight. He continued to watch in complete and utter horror as the bus came to a stop, and it didnt take long for kids to start pouring out of the bus. Xavier felt his heart drop and his blood run cold every time a kid exited the bus and stepped on the dirt soil of Camp Redwood.

Xavier whipped his head around; scanning the surrounding area to make sure no other ghosts were here to bear witness to this.. Xavier was nearly always down to commit murder, it was really the only thing that kept him from fully going insane from pure fucking boredom but - kids? There was no fucking way he would let anyone touch them.

While he thoroughly scanned the area, he noticed a few adults leave the bus out of his periphery vision. He thought nothing of it, chaperones were to be expected on elementary field trips but.. the strange beckoning feeling he felt ealier visited him again, urging him to turn his head fully and look at one of the chaperones more closely. Instantaneously, he then automatically realized why he felt so compelled to come to this spot.. Why he was meant to be here at this exact moment.. It was you.

At first he thought he was merely hallucinating; you definetly looked significantly different from the last time he had saw you but.. he knew it was you, his partner that he had before his life completly went to shit (minus the catastrophe that occured with Blake, of course). He knew instantly, it was your eyes, your stature and just.. your overall warm and familiar aura that gave your identity away. He couldnt believe that the person he had so fucking desperately wanted to see more than anyone or anything was only a few feet away - and now, that you were finally here... All he wanted for you to do was to leave.

As soon as he saw you he felt a sudden tightness posses his chest and throat which accompanied the formation of tears burning his eyes; hastily blurring his vision. He had to physically restrain himself from sobbing outloud; trying his best to just swallow down his tears. His whole body felt as if it was on fire with anxiety, but he chose to continue to stand still behind a few dainty trees - trying to pull himself together so he could actually have the chance to think critically and choose what the ever living fuck he was going to do next.

While he waited for his blurry vision to clear, he chose to focus on the semi distant figure that he knew was you. He took in the little details; like how the sun highlighted the colors in your hair and your simple but charming outfit. It took him several moments to think of why you would even be here in the first place, with a school bus- and thats when another dreadful realization hit him.

Only parents were mainly chaperones when it came to elementary field trips.. meaning-

No other thought crossed Xaviers mind as his eyes flicked down inhumanely fast to the child where (y/n) stood next too.. and immeadietly he knew.

The features the child shared of both you and Xavier were partially a giveaway, but most importantly.. it was the feeling he had that confirmed his belief. The initial anxiety he felt of the kids arriving still remained but was significantly muted and mostly replaced with a overwhelming sense of pure love. The feeling spread to every fiber of his being, and so did a odd urge to protect this small being which he knew was his.

Not ever in his entire life had he felt this way about someone (execpt for perhaps, you). He felt himself taking a few steps forward, at first completly involuntary but he knew he had to talk to you. Just the idea of reuniting tasted so fucking good but, he knew he couldnt get too greedy if he was going to talk to you. He knew confronting you had to be solely done in order to save you and his child, he couldnt get carried away. He wouldnt.

He tried his best to appear casual as he submerged from behind the trees, his hands held behind his back - the only way he could get them to stop shaking. He tried to relax his shoulders and appear confident as he strided up to you; your back turned toward him. He continued until he was directly behind you, he wanted to tap your shoulder but - touching you seemed out of the question. That would confirm everything, it would make it seem actually real and not like this just some torturous dream.

"(Y/n)"? He spoke.

Xaviers breath hitched as he watched you whip around to face him. He studied your features as you went from looking utterly confused to surprised beyond belief.

"Xavier, what-"

"We need to talk".

Xavier quickly grabbed your hand, leading you away from herd of kids and the few sparse chaperones that were amongst them. A few of them gave you two a few odd looks but neither you or Xavier particularly cared, after all this was the first time in years you two had seen eachother. You hastily followed his lead, feeling slightly embarrassed that it was obvious how nervous and simply caught off guard you currently were. Your palms (one of which was still holding onto Xaviers hand) were starting to moisten with sweat. These feelings only amplified once Xavier turned around to face you. The intensity that was in his eyes put you on edge - never in your time of dating or knowing him did he ever look so serious with you.

"What are you doing here"? Xavier spoke, his voice was still in a higher pitch, slightly breaking.

"What"?

After years of not being able to see you, in fact; years of you not even knowing where he went - this was how he chose to greet you?? Automatically your blood ran cold with the sudden realization that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.. but the feeling didnt just apply to your ex boyfriend. It was the entire camp.

"Its not safe here, you need to take the kids and leave". Xaviers voice more visibly shook this time as he spoke; as if his words physically pained him.

Your heart skipped a beat, the sudden pain and anguish starting to fully settle in. You couldnt believe it; after years of not seeing you - this was all he had to say? Was he fucking joking?

"What? A-are you kidding? Xavier, I havent seen you in years- I didnt even know you would be here-"

"I'm sorry (y/n). I'm so sorry but you have no idea what this place is like. You just need to go, and the kids. And promise me you wont come back".

It was torturous to watch tears gather in Xaviers eyes, and watch as they streaked down his cheeks. The sadness you previously felt was now washed away with red, hot rage. The feeling spread throughout your body like a wildfire that he was seemingly rejecting you.. but you knew now this wasnt some pathetic excuse. Something was seriously wrong here; and now it was starting to become too obvious to ignore.

Xavier looked hauntingly the exact same from the last time you saw him. He forever, looked as if he was still stuck in the same moment of time - like in the summer of 1984, which was when you last saw him.

You didnt realize you were still holding onto one of his hands until you reflexively tried to move it to brush away his tears that were still staining his cheeks; but awkwardly.. you chose to do so with your other hand. Squeezing the one hand you were still holding onto a bit tighter.

He winced as you touched him, and as much you tried your damn best to hold it together - you could feel tears starting to burn your eyes as well.

"I cant promise I wont ever come back, Xavier. I need to see you again, and what about-" you said softly, about to reference the child you two shared together.

"No, you'll see me again (y/n). I promise.. okay"?

He brought your hand up to his mouth to kiss your knuckles; the tears you trying so desperately to hold in were now sliding down your cheeks. Your breathing was now horribly choppy. You were on the brink of full on sobbing but you held yourself back - it was nearly time for you to go.

The fact you would have to go back to go the others and make up some bullshit excuse to leave, put a bitter taste in your mouth.. but your sure Xavier had a valid reason for ushering you to leave. Even if he didnt want to tell you right now; you trusted him with your life.

"Okay.. Fine. I'm coming back though, and I'm sorry I couldnt find you sooner". You admitted.

You dropped his hand that you were still holding in order to wrap your arms around him. To get one final touch to remember him by. You were desperate to fully touch him and to be wrapped in his embrace, something you had desperately and madly missed. As he held you; you tried to soak in his scent, his aura.. just the fact that he was even here seriously with you, in this moment.

You previously assumed Xavier had passed away; that was easier to come to terms with rather than thinking he willingly ran away or.. that something else more sinister had happened. A part of you wanted to be frustrated that you were leaving with more questions than answers but.. you didnt care. Your heart didnt care. You were just happy you were able to see your boyfriend.. no matter the circumstance or conditions it came with. Even though you were stupidly happy, your thoughts kept annoyingly circling back to the same question - how was Xavier here with you, living.. breathing.. in the flesh. How was this possible? You were about to speak your thoughts outloud when you first felt Xavier break away from you. You didnt get as much as a second glance just when you felt something soft on your cheek. Perhaps a goodbye kiss? and then.. just like he wasnt there at all, he was gone. Almost as if he completly disintegrated into the fresh, morning sky.

You felt your entire body stiffen as you realized he was gone.. again. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly how you felt. It was a nasty mix of both grief and anger that left you completly speechless and deathly still. You took a step back to combat the feeling, and attempted to look casual (and not like the person whom you were just hugging had completly fucking vanished). Sheepishly taking a look at the group you had arrived with and making sure none of them noticed your.. odd behavior.

Sure enough, none of them did. They all stood, and continued on conversing just like they were before you had broke away from them. Smiling and laughing as if nothing was wrong; just like they didnt have a care in the world - just as if the love of their life wasnt ripped away from them for a second time.

Even though Xavier was now gone, that odd, unsettling feeling still lingered with you. Like something was terribly wrong here, in Camp Redwood. The feeling wasn't entirely bad though; sure - the overall air in this place reeked of something terrible but.. now you felt something else mixed into it. A comforting essence of safety; Xaviers presence. You knew he wasnt directly beside you anymore but he was somewhere.. lurking. Watching you, as you begrudgingly walked over to the group you came with. Making up a bullshit excuse in your head so you could escape whatever this place was pretending to be.

Taglist: @michaellangdonstanaccount @langdonsexual @jimmason @blakewaterxx @dark-mei-rose @9layerdevilfoodcake @prophecy-is-inevitable @matildaofoz @beautyiswithinchaos @frenchlangdon @instincts-baby let me know if u would like to be added!! :)

#xavier x reader #xavier plympton x reader #xavier plympton fanfic #ahs fanfic #cody fern fanfic #my fic #inbox is officially empty now 💅🏻 #hopefully the pov switching wasnt weird LOL #it was my first time writing like that hehe #i lowkey feel bad i made this so dark so hopefully its still enjoyable LOL #also this doesnt rlly follow canon details that well but- idc djdjd

[pyreo]

deltarune megapost

I wanted to make a Deltarune post about the lore and the things that aren’t  obvious. And once I do that I wanna focus on why Mettaton is incredibly important to this setting

And also why he poses a problem

Why did Toriel and Asgore get divorced?

Without the setting of Undertale, Asgore and Toriel’s marriage still broke up after they had Asriel. There needs to be a reason though. In UT it was Asgore’s ‘worst of both worlds’ decision regarding killing anybody that fell from the human world, including children. We saw how close they were before this happened. Only something deep and serious caused that rift. In Deltarune, what on earth did Asgore do?

What happened to Dess?

Mentioned a handful of times by Noelle, Dess was her older sister and is mentioned In Undertale.... in that Xbox exclusing casino thing. The way Noelle talks about her, the conspicuous way Noelle gets locked out of her big house - it implies Dess is gone or deceased. Berdly recalls a spelling bee when he and Noelle were younger where she, despite being smarter than him, misspelled ‘December’, allowing him to win.

In the two-player spelling puzzle, it also spells out ‘December’ as Noelle recalls the past and her silhouette regresses to a child while she does so. Being distracted by her sister’s disappearance, rather than pure shyness, could account for her misspelling her name on stage, and it clearly left a big psychological mark for her to have this visual regression in the Dark World.

However, there’s a graveyard in Hometown with no Dess. I heard another theory that she has been missing for years, because where each character’s personal room is made by Queen to reflect their tastes via their search results, Noelle has a calendar where every day is December 25th. This could imply that Noelle continually searches the internet for ‘December Holiday’, her sister’s name, to see if there are clues to her disappearance, but of course the only result you would get is the date of Christmas.

Who is the Knight?

It’s now implied to be Kris, who has been forcibly removing the player’s influence to act on their own. By all accounts the Knight is the game’s main antagonist. Spade King and Queen both mention the Knight as someone who influenced their position - they brought Spade King to absolute power, and showed Queen that creation of new worlds was possible.

We’re led to believe that Kris was doing this, because they’ve been acting outside of the player’s control. Eating the entire pie between chapter 1 and 2 might have been a red herring to cover that they also went to the library and used that knife to slash open a dark fountain there.

However. This has issues. How would they even manage to shuffle slowly all the way to the library and get in the computer lab? The Knight is also the one creating the hidden bosses. They talked to Jevil until he realised he was in a game and he lost his mind; they ruined Spamton’s life by elevating him to success and then crushing him. Whatever the Knight is doing seems to be deliberately planned with key players in mind.

Kris opening the fountain at home at the end of ch.2 can be explained in that you just figured out in Cyber World that anyone determined enough can do this, and so, Kris decided to. So a better question might even be...

What does Kris want?

We have no idea. They are capable of removing the SOUL, ‘us’, temporarily, and putting things in motion we cannot influence. But they also keep putting us back in control afterward. This is hinted at right when ch.2 starts, where if you inspect the cage in Kris’s bedroom they threw us into, the description says it’s inescapable. Meaning Kris came back and took us out, willingly.

They allow us to pilot them through the game. Why? Because they cannot live without the SOUL for long for some reason? Because they’re bad at bullet hell? Why did they slash Toriel’s tyres before opening the fountain, making sure nobody could drive away?? Why did they specifically open the door?

You can find out details about Kris through the creepy way you interact with the townsfolk, who think you are Kris. They play the piano at the hospital waiting room - better than you. They used to go to church just to get the special church juice. It’s all normal, relatable things, not like someone who’s trying to plunge the world into darkness. Judging by their search history portrayed in their Queen’s castle room, they really want to see their brother again. However the castle has a room based on Asriel’s search history too, and Kris (not you) closes their eyes and won’t look at it.

What is Ralsei?

His name is an anagram of Asriel. Is he an extension of Asriel? The slightly flirtier dialogue in ch.2 would point to no. Is he an extension of Kris themselves, given the link between Kris’s childhood habit of wearing a headband with red horns on it, to pretend to be a monster like their family?

Ralsei knows exactly where the Dark World in the school is located, and unlike regular Darkners, knows the world is folded up inside the ‘real world’. There’s a certain whiplash to Ralsei telling you to hop out of his reality into yours and go down the hallway to retrieve all the board game items.

How does he jump from one Dark World to another, without assistance? How does he not get petrified like Lancer and Rouxls? Is this a power level thing because he’s a prince or something else? We definitely do not know enough about Ralsei.

He also says this incredibly suspicious thing after you spare Spamton NEO. Susie was also curious but accepts that maybe it ‘didn’t mean anything’, which is a sure tell that these optional bosses do mean something.

Someone is orchestrating what’s happening, opening fountains, manipulating the rulers, and influencing NPCs to become the optional bosses. Why? I suspect Ralsei for both knowing too much, and pretending something doesn’t matter when it clearly does. Until Asriel actually comes home from college I’m going to suspect he’s involved in this too.

How much does Seam know?

Seam on the other hand knows a lot about what’s going on but is openly withholding information while helping you. He’s nihilistic. He says things like:

One day soon... You too, will begin to realize the futility of your actions. Ha ha ha... At that time, feel free to come back here. I'll make you tea... And we can toast... to the end of the world!

Either this ‘end of the world’ is a reference to The Roaring, where opening too many dark fountains dooms the Dark World and the real one... or, I can’t get out of my head the idea that Deltarune takes place in a fake, or weird reconstruction of Undertale where things don’t match up, and eventually it will have to disappear. After all, powers of determination and creating and manipulating universes are Undertale’s basic bread and butter. How can we look at an Alternate Universe containing the characters we already know and not suspect that? Seam also uses Gaster’s key words, ‘darker, yet darker’, seemingly to clue us in that he’s not off track here.

Why haven’t we seen Papyrus?

This is a bright neon flashing ‘something’s not right’ sign. It’s not like Papyrus’s voice actor was too busy or anything. His absence is noticable and for a reason. Nice of Sans to promise we could meet him despite being aware we’re piloting a child’s body around, though, even if he didn’t follow through.

What locations in town could be used for dark fountains in the next 4 chapters?

If the sequence continues, we have chapter 1 in the school games room, chapter 2 in a computer lab, and chapter 3 in front of Kris’s television, where the aesthetic of each setting influences the world, characters, and enemies in the Dark World created there. Future possibilities include the church, the hospital, sans’s grocery store, Noelle’s house, and the closed bunker.

What the hell’s in the closed bunker

This one’s too obvious, honestly. I think it’ll open for no reason in chapter 7 and a little white dog will bounce out and steal one of your key items and nothing else happens.

Why does Asgore have these

Unlike the bunker feeling like a joke teaser, I gotta believe this is foreshadowing something weird. For example, what does opening a dark fountain in here with the seven flowers do? Does it just take you into Undertale?

Each chapter will have a hidden boss with a ‘soul mode’ from Undertale

Chapter 1 let you stay red, but I think each subsequent chapter is going to change your soul mode to one of the seven colours and design the encounter around that. Purple, yellow, green and blue were used in Undertale, leaving the light blue and orange modes yet to be revealed.

How does Spamton emulate Mettaton Neo’s name, body, and incorporate his battle theme, and the ‘Dummy!’ theme, with no actual connection between them ingame?

This is a really fun one that’s explained over in this post here. Swatch is the Dark World creation from the paint program on the library computers, so he’s able to explain that a Lightner made the robot body decaying in the castle basement that way.

Mettaton went to the library and drew his ideal form, Mettaton NEO, in MS Paint, and the Dark World formed that into a puppet body which Spamton was able to hijack temporarily. So by doing that Spamton was able to channel Mettaton’s appearance, attacks, music, and SOUL mode for the fight.

This might mean that the future hidden bosses, each with their own SOUL mode, might be based on the associated character for that mode (Muffet, Undyne, and Sans or Papyrus), and the boss will take on some aspect of them from their world to leech their fight mechanics.

The Problem With Mettaton

We don’t exactly know what Deltarune is about. It’s an alternate universe where the characters from Undertale already live on the surface, have completely normal lives, but diverge from the storyline of Undertale and, crucially, have not lived through the changes Frisk brought to their lives.

Remember how Undertale had a dozen different ending routes depending on who you befriended? The constant reinforcement in Undertale was that your choices mattered. Through Frisk, you chose to bring Alphys closure about her mistakes, you chose to befriend papyrus instead of attacking him, you chose to help Alphys and Undyne realise their feelings for each other and it’s only doing that that leads to the golden ending and escape to the surface.

Deltarune is the opposite, your choices do not matter. The only thing you can do to force the route of the game to change is to force Noelle into a No Mercy run, which is indirect, and also, a total desperation to mess with an otherwise set course. This version of the characters have not been helped by Frisk - Undyne and Alphys are not together, Papyrus has no friends, Asgore cannot get over himself, and they’re clearly the worse for it, but potentially, you COULD still do these things. In fact it’s hinted that you already are.

But there’s Mettaton.

He’s still a ghost and does not leave his house. In Frisk’s world, Gaster deleted himself, promoting Alphys to royal scientist by bluffing with Mettaton, and she then build him his ideal body. In Kris’s world... Alphys is a school teacher. There’s no barrier to break, no reason to experiment on souls, no Flowey mistake, and no body for Mettaton.

It was sad in Ch.1, but now with the Spamton NEO fight in ch.2, it’s unmissable. Mettaton wants that body and he cannot get it. Alphys in this universe is not going to leave her teaching job and suddenly be able to build a robot. Mettaton is just... screwed out of his happy ending and cannot get it.

So what resolution could this have? If it wasn’t for Mettaton I might believe in the vaildity of Deltarune and Hometown. But. How can you doom this character? If Undertale was the only way Mettaton could be befriended, then Undertale is Primary Universe A and Seam is right - the world of Deltarune is doomed as some kind of aberration. It all relies on how this gets explained in the future, but the core mystery of Deltarune is how exactly this universe intersects with Undertale and whether one is an offshoot of the other. How the Dark World links into that is another complication. But even as we get more fun characters and neat stuff in the Dark Worlds, let’s not forget we have absolutely no idea why Undertale’s characters are living here with no mention of underground or why there are no other humans beside Kris.

#undertale #deltarune #welcome to my giant essay post