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m-aster-of-spinjitzu · 3 years

Text

the hues of an empty sky

Missing memories, or having two of them for one moment - not quite the same, but if there's one thing Jay's leant over the last few weeks, it's that literally nothing makes sense anymore.

Or, some Skybound aftermath, Zane actually expressing emotions about his memory switch being turned off for all those years, and what was supposed to be a 'they tell everyone about the erased timeline' fic, but it turned into a 'two characters who barely interact on screen talk at like one am in the morning, and don't actually tell the other what exactly they're alluding to the whole time' fic that I wrote at like one am-

Also yeah, I realized too late that they split up to look for Wu after s7, we’re just gonna pretend that they waited a few days or something, idk anymore tbh, lol.

(I also didn't have time to edit - so please tell me where the typos are? 😂💛)

Word count: 4539

Prompt: crying, from @ninjago-bingo 's warm board.

Trigger warnings: the main character has a panic attack, and squeezes their fingernails into their hands once or twice but I think that's it.

*facepalms* also, guys, i’m so stupid - i literally just realized that this freaking CHANGES TENSE HALFWAY OHMYGOSH I- i don’t think it’s super noticeable, but ugh, apologies to anyone who actually thought my writing was good lol-

---

It's cold.

Bitterly, freezing cold.

The biting chill of the air is a bit strange for this time of year, but, heck, that's nowhere near the craziest thing that's ever happened to him - not by a long shot.

He sighs, squinting at the stars dotted liberally against the black canvas of the sky.

Cole had once joked that one of them might be the remains of their golden weapons, after they'd hurled the burning mass into the sky - in another alternate timeline; one that only existed in the memories of a certain few.

Gosh - that seemed like such a long time ago.

Wouldn't it be nice to go back to that time, when he'd still thought that their powers were the coolest thing ever - instead of despising them for all the responsibility and sacrifice that came with them? When one of his biggest worries was whether the girl he had a crush on liked him back - not wondering if his friends would survive the night?

"I did not expect to find you awake at this hour, Jay."

Reflexivity, he jumps back, his mind twisting his friend's gentle voice into the- the djin's triumphant, accented one.

You're supposed to be a ninja. What good are you if your friends can still sneak up on you?

"Geez, warn a guy before you sneak up on him! I almost fell off the Bounty!"

"My apologies. I was... surprised to find you awake at this hour," Zane answers. "What are you doing?" "Couldn't sleep. It's too cold," he confesses, not entirely a lie. Ninjago wasn't 'that' far from the Sea of Sand, but he'd grown up in a much warmer area - unfortunately resulting in his practically nonexistent tolerance to the cold. That never failed to stop Kai from teasing him about it, though. He doesn't mention the pressing weight on his chest, almost tangible - or how it constantly makes him feel. Like he's being dragged through the darkness of an empty sky, spikes of fear making everything so freaking terrifying- "You?"

"I have been analyzing my memories of Pixal, in the hope that it may lead me to her whereabouts. However, all my efforts have proved... unsuccessful," Zane answers wearily, shifting his gaze to the sky.

Oh- oh. They'd all be so caught up in the chaos of the last few weeks - hey, it's not like any of them had asked the universe to permanently be out to get them! - that they'd forgotten Pixal was still offline.

"Hey, I'm sure that she's still there somewhere," he says, earnestly. "After all - she wouldn't be your girlfriend if she didn't pull a vanishing act every now and again, eh?"

The question is punctuated with a laugh, but he doesn't say that he's a little worried about her too. They hadn't talked much, but-

I can't see one of my best friends find out that his girlfriend is dead, a quiet voice at the back of his mind points out. Well - been there, done that, wouldn't recommend, he thinks bitterly. Emotional breakdowns and frequent nightmares apply. Anxiety attacks are half off, too!

It's quiet for a few minutes, neither of them seeing a need to break the silence. The wind blows softly through the sails above them; gray wisps of cloud revealing a pale sliver of moonlight that paints the sky in its glow.

It should be a peaceful night: beautiful, calm, no one trying to kill them or destroy their city - for a change.

His hands won't stop shaking.

It should be a peaceful night, but, as usual, the world is too freaking unfair for that-

He hasn't even slept for a full night in weeks! Well, not since- since-

Don't think about it! That's only going to make it worse, duh-

"Are you alright, Jay?"

"Yeah- I- I'm good, thanks," he says quickly, ignoring the way his breathing keeps speeding up. FSM, not this-

Not for the first time, the world suddenly becomes too loud - too much. Every little thing, from trying to breathe properly or even walk- feels insurmountable, because, gosh, oh gosh, it's going to come crashing down if he even moves-

The memory starts off the same as it always does.

Rubble strewn over the temple grounds, his friends literally reduced to nothing more than statues. A shot that hit the mark perfectly, but perfectly shattered his world in the process.

A poison-splattered dress, a terrifying realization.

Her well-aimed joke, but one that never fails to sting every time. Gosh, why hadn't they just allowed her to join their team in the first place? Maybe they could've prevented this- this- whole situation, if they hadn't been so freaking egotistical-

And, again, he's overwhelmed by the sheer sense of helplessness, all his power and training and skills completely useless to one of the people he cared most about. FSM, if only I hadn't used my first w-request so carelessly! If only I'd been able to escape- or, or if only I'd been able to assemble the team faster! If only-

Despite being in what must've been unimaginable pain, she offers a strained smile - a sweet gesture that, ironically, feels like she's poisoning him, because- because FSM, this is all so wrong, it wasn't supposed to end like this-

He watches with horror as her eyes dull and she stills in his arms.

She's gone, FSM, she's gone and it's all my fault-

"Jay?" a voice asks, concern evident in their tone. Distantly, he registers that he's having a breakdown in front of one of his best friends - one of the things he'd been trying really hard to avoid.

Dang it.

"I-" he tries to say, but, great, he's breathing too fast to even get the stupid words out.

"Breathe in for four seconds," Zane says, softly.

Four seconds? Time has no meaning right now, narrowed down to, like - falling down a chasm, terrified of what's at the bottom, except the fear's all around, this- this... foreboding thing of his mind that keeps yelling that he needs to run, or fight, but he can't, can't-

Right. Four seconds.

You're okay, you're fine, no one's trying to hurt you or your friends. She's not dead.

But what if- what if they're being dragged out of this ship right now? What if it was all a dream, and she's dead anyway, because all of us were too stupid to come up with another plan, and none of us could even do anything when she-

After a little while, when he could breathe a little easier, and the fear didn't feel like it was slamming into him from every possible direction, he slowly opened his eyes. Shakily, he wiped a tear from his face - as if that would wipe away all the weeks that had, theoretically, never even freaking happened.

The sky comes back into focus - pinpricks of light against pitch black.

How was he going to come up with some sorta explanation without... well, explaining everything?

Great.

My nerves are frayed, and I have to lie to a walking lie detector - what could possibly go wrong?

"Are you alright?" Zane asks, his brows creased in concern.

"Heh heh, yeah. Probably just too many video games," he replies quickly, laughter a bit strained.

"You were muttering to yourself," his friend replies quietly. Ugh, trust the way-too-observant-nindroid to call him out on the remains of his facade. "If you do not mind me asking, what was 'all your fault'? I am sure that it was probably a misunderstanding."

You're the one who misunderstands everything, he thinks wearily, ignoring the part of him that yearns to tell someone else about... well, everything that's happened because of that stupid teapot. He's not one to keep secrets by nature, and it's been taking a bigger toll of him than he'd thought it would. Is this how Nya felt when she was still the Samurai? "It's- it's nothing, probably just nonsense."

"Are you sure? You seem... quite worried about something."

Dang it, were his hands still shaking? He presses his fingernails into his palms, squeezing his eyes shut for a second.

He's talking to one of his best friends, FSM. Weren't friends able to tell each other anything?

"Do you think it's easier to forget? Better?"

He didn't even realize he'd asked a question until Zane's eyes widened in surprise.

A forest coated in snow, ice crystals dangling from the tree branches above their heads. Plenty of screaming - way too much, he reflects, couldn't they have been a bit nicer? It must've been pretty jarring to learn that you weren't human, or that your father had erased years of your life from your mind - in that weird underground treehouse. Those crazy tree monsters - and the realization that they all had much more power than they'd thought.

"N- nevermind," he stutters, fleetingly thinking of kicking the deck. "That's way too personal, you don't have to answer it-"

"I do not mind," Zane says, a bit sadly.

Oh.

Heck, his friend was way too nice.

They gaze up at the stars for a few minutes, not really seeing them - one drowning under the weight of too many secrets, the other, too many memories.

It's quiet - too quiet.

Ugh, he thinks, sighing, that sounds like something a low-budget horror movie would start with, cringey sound effects to match.

But the silence is a painful reminder of the days he'd spent tossing and turning in a cramped cell - nothing but his worries and the bruises on his leg from that stupid ball and chain keeping him awake.

He's been trying hard - maybe too hard - to avoid being alone, avoid being in a situation where they've gotta be quiet ever since then, because, dang it, his memories always seem to fill the silence, and they're always far more terrifying than they should be-

It's easier, in a way, to be mocked for his stupid jokes than it is to relive a single moment from those nightmarish few weeks.

Almost reflexively, he grasps for something to fill the quiet.

"Heh, this is a bit awkward. It's okay if you wanna leave-"

"I do not mind," Zane echoes, walking a bit closer. "It is not as if I need to sleep. But... I do not quite know what to think of your question."

There comes the answer - or a semblance of one at least, and it's the last thing he'd been expecting.

"You don't know?" he blurts out before he can even think of trying to filter the thought. Way to treat your friend who's been nothing but kind to you, Jay. "But you're- you're a nindroid! You know everything-"

"Pixal," his friend mutters softly, sighing, and the hurt, the fear, laced through the word makes something in his heart practically twist. He knows all too well what it feels like to be in that situation - even if, technically, it had never happened.

Then- "I wish that were true. But I suppose that my emotions make certain situations much more complicated than... than they need to be. Thus I cannot give my perspective on this - or, at least, without sounding quite conflicted."

"You know that you're allowed to be conflicted, right? Even the coolest Nindroids don't know everything."

"...Yes, I suppose so."

Jay frowns at the almost subconscious hesitation, eyebrows creasing in concern.

"Seriously," he starts earnestly. They're both leaning on one of the railings just above the deck now. "Just 'cause you're a nindroid doesn't mean that you've gotta chase some kind of perfection that doesn't even exist."

He doesn't miss how Zane's eyes widen in shock, their bright blue hue glowing a little brighter - and heck, if that doesn't hurt even more than the earlier realization.

"Besides - it's not like none of us haven't made mistakes before. Hate to go all Wu on ya, but they help us learn or some stupid thing like that. Even if the mistake is trying not to make 'em, you know?"

"Thank you," Zane replies, a tired smile on his face. "Even the most advanced tech is susceptible to error, I suppose."

They've all made lots of mistakes, heaven forbid if one of them is still agonizing over messing up over the crazy situations the universe constantly put them in. It's not like they were told they'd have to face more ancient evil armies than they could count, were they?

Maybe it's time to stop focusing on events that never even happened, and pay more attention to your friends. What's the point of being part of this team if you're always scared or selfish?

"Shut up," he mumbles, rubbing his temples. What's the point of fighting if your own brain is gonna fight you whenever it gets a chance? A few seconds later, he schools his face back into his default anxious grin. "Great, cause I- I- could use your advice on something." "Alright," comes the quiet reply, his friend seemingly lost in thought.

"What if you wanted to tell someone something, but you couldn't?"

His breathing starts to speed up again, but he grips the deck until his fingers are practically bruised, stark white against his tanned skin. Not this time-

"Is this what you were referring to earlier? An event that you blamed yourself for?" Zane asks, eyes flitting between the floor and the sky.

Dang it, way too observant as usual. He masks his surprise with a laugh, but the conversation definitely isn't going as planned and, oh gosh oh gosh, what if-

No, there's no way that any of them would even believe that. Besides - no one can remember stuff that they've forgotten, especially if magic's at play.

"Yeah, kinda," and he's surprised by how steady his voice sounds. It's not easy to even think about that- event, talking about it is a whole different thing. A much more difficult thing, but also - a bit, a little bit, easier. "I-" "Apologies for interrupting," his friend interjects. "I suppose that I have not been entirely honest with you." What?

"A few days ago, I discovered a number of deleted memory files buried deep within my code."

Just like that, his whole world tilts out from underneath him.

It takes every ounce of his strength to keep himself from falling into the abyss again.

Wait, what?

Has he really known for all this time? It's been weeks! Surely he would've said something? It can't be, it never even-

The rational part of his mind points out that he can remember every day of those few weeks. Well, he was the one to make the wish - magical logic is kinda stupid, but maybe that's why he had to remember it or something?

Well then, a small voice interjects, why was Nya cursed to remember everything too?

Of course, even the stupid magical logic doesn't even make sense to the one who caused this whole mess in the first place.

"They were almost entirely corrupted - scrambled in a way that I am not familiar with. However, I did realize that certain files bore dates that have not even occurred yet. I dismissed it as a problem with my code, however..."

Breathe, calm down, it's not like he was able to process them or anything-

We agreed that no one was supposed to know! What if they end up blaming us for keeping it a secret this long, or, or-

"I mean, they could've been-" he starts, but the way in which he's nervously twisting his fingers is a pretty clear indication that he's lying, dang it.

"So when you mentioned that you were unable to tell someone something - did you mean that it was because they had quite literally forgotten about it?"

Great. Fantastic. Of course the literal robot has pieced it together by now-

He squeezes his eyes shut for a minute, hoping that if he ignores the problem, maybe it'll go away.

Okay, fine, maybe he's trying to figure out a way to fix this whole mess. Doesn't mean that he's any closer to coming up with a solution, though.

"Er, yeah," he whispers, shoulders slumped, eyes still firmly shut. Because gosh, he doesn't want to - can't, can't - see the realization dawn that, yeah, he's lied to people he's known for years and years, even though they've all seen way too many times that secrets bring nothing but trouble-

"Well, then - I would say that you don't have to tell them," Zane replies, surprisingly... earnestly? That, or he's either too freaked out to understand the tone properly. Could be either.

He opens his eyes, hesitantly.

And it comes as a bit of a shock to find nothing but concern reflected in his friend's.

The almost persistent weight on his chest feels a little lighter now, like the sky isn't as quite so empty.

Well, it still kinda is. But that doesn't hold as much weight as he'd thought it did - not if one of his friends is willing to look past that; past the heaviness of holding up all those memories with nothing his single star, flickering in and out of the darkness, to try and light the unforgiving darkness of the sky.

"Why?" Jay asks, so quietly he can barely hear it himself. "Don't I owe it to them? Do you?"

"No. Definitely not," comes the reply, so full of conviction that he almost stumbles back. Why-

"My father..."

Oh- oh.

"thought it was better to spare me the pain of mourning him than for me to know who I was," Zane confesses, hesitantly. "Not that I disagree, necessarily. I just..."

He trails off, clutching the railing so hard that the wood almost snaps beneath his titanium fingers.

It takes Jay a little while to realize why - why exactly his friend, who has access to a wealth of knowledge and information, is grasping for an answer. Because- because, well, even if someone does something in your best interests - sometimes the choice isn't always up to them. Or maybe it is, but it was... difficult, to say the least, to let go of the fact that his parents had never told him the truth sooner. Not that he blames them, necessarily - it's not like they knew that his father would pass on before he'd even get the chance to meet him - but... it's confusing, and difficult, not to know why you were left at a junkyard as soon as you were born. Maybe if he'd known that sooner, he could've asked the one person who might've had answers - although it's not like hoping for the past to change will actually change it.

They don't even know that you know, a small voice at the back of his mind points out, and suddenly everything makes a lot more sense-

"You wanted a choice," he breathes, eyes widening. A choice - like one that he'd never been given, one that he stills struggles not to hold against two people who've always had his best interests at heart. Even if they did have the right to withhold that one thing, after all they've done for him - the 'what if's' still echo in his mind far more often than he'd like. "There's nothing wrong with that, even if it feels that way. I kinda get where you're coming from, dude, and it's... super confusing, but I'd be pretty mad if my memories were tampered with like that."

So would anyone, he realizes, heart sinking. Oh, great. Not helping-

"I- I suppose so?" Zane answers, but it sounds more like a question than a reply. "However, in the same vein, it would be unwise for you to give away your choice whilst you still have one." "But don't I owe it to everyone? You just said it, it's horrible to alter people's memories and I- I-" "Did we forget... whatever it was for a good reason? "I- I mean, I guess, but..." "Then you do not owe it to us to relive something that we do not even remember." The words should be a relief - and they kinda are. But some part of him really does want to explain the crazy alternate timeline, and everything that happened in it. It's just... really, really freaking difficult.

"What if- what if I wanted to, though?" Jay asks hysterically, running his hands through his hair in a frenzied sort of way. "And I still couldn't? I just, I-"

He cuts himself off with a bout of forced laughter.

Zane takes a moment to reply, the bright blue light in his eyes flickering - a small tell that he was thinking so deeply, his processors were literally sparking up a bit.

"You queried earlier if it was easier, or better, to forget. And while all situations are different, I suppose it is... well, subjective. What do you think?" Zane asks, softly.

Derailing the conversation a bit, but his friend's obviously smart enough to be leading up to something.

Sure, he'll go along with it.

"I mean, there are some things I'd rather forget, you know? I guess we all know what that feels like," Jay replies, the statement with oddly sad air to it. They're still kids, after all, and it gets a bit exhausting pretending that their superhero lives were all fun and games - when they'd just given him enough grey hair to last then lifetimes, and enough nightmares to keep him from ever getting the normal amount of sleep his mum always prattled on about.

Sleep, heh heh. Practically a foreign concept, now.

"And I know that stuff that happens, like shapes us or something - and Master Wu would probably go off on a whole ramble about why we learn from our mistakes or whatever," he laughs nervously, resisting the urge to just fall headfirst onto the deck of the stupid ship instead of continuing the conversation," and how 'our scars only make us stronger', crap like that, but I just-"

"I'm just really... tired of this," he confesses warily, shoulders slumped. "W- I remember so many horrible things, and I-" he breaks off, laughing bitterly. His voice takes on a sort of brittle quality, way too high pitched, "and I can't even talk about them, dude. If that's not the most pathetic thing ever, I dunno what is."

"It does not-"

"Don't say it," Jay mutters, rubbing his temples. "I know, I know, my feelings aren't pathetic, they're always valid, whatever, spare me the lecture-"

"That is not what I was going to say," Zane replies gently. "It just seems that you have answered your own question."

"Gee, which one?"

"I do not know how much helpful assistance I can provide in this situation, but it is understandable to wish certain events had never occurred. However, seeing as we cannot change the past, it seems unwise to dwell on said events if you can avoid it."

Jay stiffens, clamping a shaky hand over his mouth. Something seems to press down even harder on his chest, a heavy sort of weight that causes his breathing to speed up again. Don't say it don't say it there's no reason to warn them this time-

"If you would like to tell any of us about something, of course you are welcome to. It does not to be the whole story, after all. Just make sure that it is the decision you choose, not one you choose because of what you think how it will affect others," Zane finishes quietly, ducking his head as if he's embarrassed.

The stars are still white-hot, burning away some million miles above them.

"Thanks," he says, and puts his hand softly on Zane's shoulder. "I mean, I know - that all makes sense, I guess. It's just- I-"

"You want to?"

"Yeah," Jay starts, sighing, "I do. It's just- it's not just my choice. And I'm pretty much dying already right now, so, as fantastic as making it all worse sounds, hard pass."

Oops, maybe he shouldn't have said that last bit. They'd agreed not to tell anyone about it - even this conversation was cutting it way too close. It wasn't impossible for them to put everything together - they were a pretty smart group, after all, even without their resident inventor and engineer - and Jay didn't really know what he'd think if they did. Fearful? Relieved? Angry?

"That does... not sound great? Dying certainly does not seem-"

"It's called sarcasm, Zane."

"Oh- yes. My memory now accesses the fact that people often speak in that manner. It does seem a bit counterproductive, though. Why not just say what you mean?"

"Shut it, you have no clue how integral to my life it is," Jay replies with a halfhearted grin.

A few seconds later, he remembers something his friend had mentioned earlier, and the grin disappears.

"You know that you can talk to us if you're not happy, right?" he asks, earnestly. Sure, it's not like he could always do that, considering, well, a stupid djin and even stupider magic, but it's not like he needs to. It's- well- he'll be okay, probably. Maybe. Kinda.

Zane's eyes blink on and off again, blue fading in and out. "I... I suppose that I was not quite aware of that."

Okay, they've screwed up way too many times, but this... this is pretty bad. Dang it, how long does it take for them to throw self-preservation instincts at their friend before he freaking- picks them up or something?

"However, will it not hurt those who have experienced the same unfortunate events?"

Dude, not the best question to ask someone wondering the exact same thing-

"It's been... uh, nice, kind of, talking to you. So- I don't think so, and I'm pretty sure someone would say so if it did. Besides, don't we talk about our adventures all the time? It'd probably be better if we... uh, well- heh heh, nothing."

"If we talked about the less than positive elements of them? Perhaps, but I still-"

Maybe it's the fact Zane has always tried to be there for him, or maybe he's too sleep deprived to care anymore, but this is a way too familiar situation and-

Well, not ignoring the issue would be a start.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're family, Zane. We care about each other. And, gosh, that means that we care about you too. Memories are stupid and annoying sometimes, but we have to make good ones too, right? To block out the bad ones a bit, I guess? Kinda, at least."

They both look away from the stars now, grappling for something else to say.

In the end, they leave it be with a hug and a fondly exasperated warning about sleeping, if you happen to need it.

After all, they're family. They don't have to be perfect, or tell each other everything - even if it does take them a long time to realize that, and an even longer time remembering it.

---

The next time Jay startles awake from a nightmare, the sky is still empty - painfully so, like an ache that simmers beneath the surface even when it's not able to be seen.

The hue, though, is a little lighter.

Just a little - the all-encompassing darkness of it is now a navy sort of blue, his star shining a little bit brighter.

It's still not sunrise, not even close - but he'll take it. AN: the ‘sky’ mentioned at the start and end is a stupid metaphor that i somehow ended up liking too much to trash, it’s ‘empty’ because he hasn’t told anyone about the timeline, and Nya’s not included because they never had a chance to tell each other everything significant or even talked about it or processed it on screen. so yeah! if you read this,,, not great thing, can i send you a hug or good vibes or smth? tyy🥺

#ninjago #jay walker #zane julien #skybound #ninjago fic #not the best thing i've written #actually it's not great-#but i spent too long on it to not post it so if you actually read to here i simunltaneously wanna send you good vibes & apologize profusely-#the ending is super rushed but im too tired to try and write a better one yay:/#also dang it- sorry this fits the prompt so badly i-#i didn't realize till after oops #ninbingo #ninjago jay #ninjago zane #ninjago masters of spinjitzu

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radiorenjun · 3 years

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Rain Rituals || Z.CL

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x Reader

Genre: Comedy, fluff

Summary: Chenle's high school life was more than tedious to say the least. That is when he caught you screaming under the rain.

Warning: fluff. Comedy. Mentions of detention. Second hand embarrassment. Cliché

Wordcount: 2.8K (it's short)

A/n: please ignore my terrible editing skills and happy birthday Chenle!

Chenle was just a simple rich high school boy who, like any other student, just wants to get school and exams over with as soon as possible. He was bored of waking up everyday only for the same exact thing to happen over and over again.

Wake up. Eat. Go to school. Endure hell for 6 hours straight. Go home. Eat. Study. Sleep.

Repeat.

It was boring to say the least. Chenle wanted something to spice up his life, anything to make life more worth living. He wasn’t one to pay attention to whatever’s happening around him, he just wasn’t interested. But one faithful day, a chaotic social hazard of a Chemistry classmate of his decided to change that. Well, technically, the situation was unexpected and absolutely ludicrous for the young boy’s mind to comprehend.

It was a cold, raining evening. Chenle was just getting out of basketball practice, sweat trickling down his forehead as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. Chenle was just on his way to the parking lot, fumbling with the car keys in his hand, his uniform blazer draped over his head to prevent him from getting even more wet than he already is.

A loud scream pierced the quiet atmosphere, causing Chenle to flinch at the sudden sound. His head rapidly turned to see where the scream had come from before his eyes squinted at a blurry figure standing in the middle of the school garden.

‘What the fuck?’

Curiosity kills the cat, as they say.

Chenle went closer to the figure who let out another alarming scream, his brows furrowed in confusion as the figure became clearer and clearer with every step. The soles of his new Air Jordan’s making soft sounds as they made contact with the puddles that formed on the ground.

He leaned his head to the side when he was close enough to see the figure clearly. His eyes widened to see none other than you, the class clown of his grade. Also known as ‘That Girl Beside Me Who Wrote Three Pages Worth Of A Test Answer To Spite The Teacher’.

You were quite infamous for your extroverted demeanor. Making friends and cracking jokes left and right as if it was as simple as breathing air. Joking around and riling up teachers as if they were your closest friends.

To Chenle, you were quite peculiar.

But the sight before him was more than odd. You were standing soaking wet in the rain with your arms stretched out, your hair sticking to your forehead as you leaned your head up as if you were doing some kind of satanic ritual or religious sacrifice.

You let out another scream before groaning in frustration. “Jesus Christ!” you cursed out, kicking a puddle with your shoes as if it would do anything to make your frustrations go away.

Chenle just stood awkwardly not far behind you as he watched you throw a mini tantrum for whatever reason, his pupils dilating in concern with a frown on his lips. ‘This is just sad and embarrassing,’ he thought with a shake of his head.

The second hand embarrassment Chenle felt as he watched you push your wet hair back, letting the raindrops hit your face was almost as extravagant as the time when he watched his seniors attempt to flirt with one of his classmates.

A part of him wanted to just leave before someone (or you) catches him staring at you with a look of disappointment and sympathy. But another part of him was interested to see what you were whining on about in the middle of a heavy rain at 4:57 PM in the evening when you could be doing all this nonsense in the comforts of your own home like a normal person.

“God dammit!” you cursed once again. “Why the fuck am I single!?”

Chenle’s frown deepened when he heard those words exit your mouth. ‘Seriously?’ he thought with a click of his tongue, ‘she’s screaming out here like a lunatic all because she’s single?’

“Come on! Being single is a choice, right? I didn’t choose to be the only single one in all of my friend groups, so why the fuck am I single?” You rambled, letting out a loud groan afterwards. Chenle shook his head in disappointment, he wanted to walk away instead of looking at whatever you were doing. But yet again, he was far too entertained to even look away.

“Oh God.” you clasped your hands together, intertwining your fingers and shutting your eyes tighty. “ If you can hear me up there. If you can hear me screaming my lungs out like a lunatic. Please, oh please, give me a fucking boyfriend! I think I deserved that much for being good for all my life, right?” You paused at the last part, opening an eye as if to rethink your words before you shut them tight again. “Well for the most part of it, anyways!” you added.

Chenle couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, his arms crossing as he let out a soft laugh. ‘This is just getting really sad, I almost feel bad for her.’ he thought before looking down at his Apple Watch, eyes widened at what time it was. He turned to make a run to his car, pulling out his car keys to unlock it.

As Chenle dried himself off with the spare towel he usually keeps in the compartment box of his car, he made a mental note to himself to bring this up to you the next time he sees you. He’s sure that your reaction to him having blackmail is just going to be absolutely satisfying.

You were sitting in your desk, listening to your friend ramble about the things she did with her significant other after school the other day. A small sad smile forming on your lips as you try to listen to her conversation without feeling too sad about your pathetic, almost nonexistent, love life.

But yet again, it’s been a couple of days since you threw a tantrum at the school garden. Cursing at the sky and rain to give you a boyfriend. Only for the principal to come up to you to tell you to go home and get some rest, her expression filled with worry and concern. She probably thought you had your screws loose. And honestly, you couldn’t blame her.

You screamed till the boys at the basketball team had already gone home, your parents scolding you for being out so late in the rain. You spent two days in bed with a fever, worrying if anyone saw you acting like a delusional maniac for two hours straight. But you were relieved to see that it’s been a while since your little outburst and nobody had brought up the topic of you screaming and yelling in the middle of the rain.

Not even the janitors.

That is until you had your Chemistry class.

Your desk mate, who was none other than the infamous Chinese rich boy, Chenle came up to you with a grin spread across his face. You had never spoken to Chenle before, mostly because he was quite cute and you didn’t know what to say to someone so adorable and quiet.

You were just minding your own business, jotting down notes that your friend lent you because you couldn’t make it to school last class because of said fever. “Hey,” Chenle greeted, nodding at you as he placed his bag on his chair. You look up in surprise, eyes widening slightly at the fact that Chenle was actually talking to you and starting a conversation with you.

“Hi?” your throat was dry as your mind went blank, trying to use your extrovert powers to desperately try to come up with something to keep the conversation going. “What’s up?” you added, looking down at your notebook as you continued jotting down notes. Chenle sat on his chair, staring at you with a suspicious smirk spread across his lips.

“Can I ask you something?”

You hummed a small ‘yes’ under your breath, eyes scanning your notes.

“You have to answer it truthfully, though.”

You replied with another small hum, nodding slightly.

“Were you that girl screaming like a lunatic in the middle of the rain the other day?” he asked with a casual hum. His words made your hand stop writing, your eyes going wide as you felt your heart almost stop beating. ‘Shit. Oh god. Oh Dear God, no. You can’t do this to me,’ you thought with a nervous bite of your lip.

You attempted to shrug it off casually, keeping an emotionless expression as you continued writing on your notebook. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you responded, feeling your heartbeat nervously against your chest. Chenle’s smirk widened at the way you gulped nervously and avoided eye contact when he brought it up.

“You sure? I’m pretty sure I saw you kicking and stomping puddles the other day, cursing and what-not,” Chenle taunted, watching as your hand weakened their grip on your pen. You cleared your throat, “again, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? You sure you weren’t the girl who screamed ‘Dear God, give me a damn boyfriend already?!’ in the middle of the school garden like some kind of deranged maniac?”

“You saw that?!” you gasped, your head shooting up to glare at him with wide eyes. You then cupped your mouth when you realised you accidentally gave yourself away. Chenle let out a laugh, pointing a finger at your reaction. “Called it! So you were the girl doing a satanic ritual the other day!” he exclaimed, an amused smile playing at his lips.

You frowned, rolling your eyes as you looked back down at your paper. “Shut up, Zhong Chenle,” you grumbled with a small pout on your lips. “Come on, Y/n. What the hell happened to make you go all bat-shit crazy like that? I mean, not gonna lie it was quite amusing, you should definitely do it again,” he chuckled, leaning his chin against his hand, his elbow propped up on his desk.

You gave an exasperated sigh, looking up at him with a tired expression. “God I wished I took a video of it. Sadly, my phone ran out of battery at that time,” he added with an innocent smile. “You done? I get it, I publicly embarrassed myself. Is there anything you would like to add to that?” Your lips twitched in annoyance when Chenle took a moment to actually think of an answer.

“Give me a minute,” he hummed.

“That was a rhetorical question,” you frowned.

“I publicly embarrass myself on a daily basis, Chenle. What do you want from me?” you let out a soft chuckle, shaking your head at the boy. “Threatening to spread the information isn’t going to embarrass me that much. I’ve done worse things,” you added, finishing the last few words of your notes.

“No shit, you walked into the boys bathroom to hide from some guy.” Chenle exclaimed with a laugh. “Survival is a reasonable explanation. I still wanted to live, you know! I’ll have you know I only got two weeks of detention for it,” you closed your notebook with a huff, getting up from your seat.

“And was your little tantrum under the rain another part of your survival instincts?” Chenle provoked, causing you to clench your teeth. “I don’t think doing a religious sacrifice on a rainy school day can be called survival, Y/n. Especially whining about how single you are,” he snorted against his palm.

You flushed in embarrassment, turning your body away as you grabbed the notes you borrowed from your classmate. “Shut up. I should’ve performed a demonic ritual to wipe you off of the face of the earth instead,” you spat back, walking away from your shared desk to head on over to your classmate’s.

“It still won’t get you a boyfriend, though.” Was the last words Chenle said to you before you walked away.

It was safe to say you had to apologize to your friend for crumpling their notes.

“I still can’t believe screaming like a lunatic under the rain actually works,” you shuddered, sipping your hot cocoa with a traumatized expression. It’s been almost a year since then. You graduated high school, now you’re in your first year of college.

It was honestly a surprising journey but a couple months after your little tantrum, you manage to find yourself an actual boyfriend, who you now share a flat with. It’s all just ironic really, you screaming under the rain like a deranged psycho was supposed to be something to laugh at in the near future.

But now, the story became even more laughable when the world decided to drop your boyfriend right in front of you not too soon afterwards. Even though you didn’t get along very well at first, it was still pretty worth it, if you say so.

“You still can’t believe what, babe?” you heard your boyfriend call out from the kitchen, the sound of his spoon stirring inside one of your ceramic mugs hitting the air. You let out a soft laugh, shaking your head as you scrolled through your old picture file on your laptop. Pictures you and your friends took before you all graduated high school to capture your last moments with each other.

“Remember the day I screamed and cursed at the sky because I was tired of being single?” you laughed, remembering the moment as if it happened only yesterday. There was a small pause before a loud dolphin-like laugh pierced your ears. “Oh my god, that was so iconic!” he exclaimed, tapping the spoon against the edge of the mug.

“Right? God it was so embarrassing! I finally stopped when I realised the principal was going home. Damn, thank god I didn’t get detention,” you joked, opening a picture of you and your boyfriend laughing and smiling under the heavy rain. “I’m still pissed off that I didn’t record it, it could’ve pinpoint the day I decided to talk to you,” Chenle chuckled, coming out of the kitchen with a mug of his own.

“Shut up, I know for a fact you’re never going to let it go if you actually did record it,” you stuck your tongue out teasingly, scooting over to the edge of the couch to make room for him to sit. “Indeed, it could’ve gone viral, you know. I could post it on Tik Tok or Youtube with the caption ‘Girl Screams At How Single She Is Not Knowing That Her Future Boyfriend Is Standing Right Behind Her, Recording Her For Epic Black Mail!’” Chenle grinned, emphasizing his words with his hand.

You rolled your eyes. “Shut up, I hate you,” you huffed, pushing the laptop closer to the two of you so he could see. “What are you looking at by the way?” he asked, leaning over to see your screen clearly as he sipped his beverage. “Old photos from high school, you were way more annoying then,” you commented, giggling.

“I’m not annoying now?” he raised his brow at you, making you grin. “You still are, don’t worry. Just slightly less than back when we started dating,” you pinched his cheek gingerly causing him to chuckle. “That means I’m not doing my job as a good boyfriend,” he pouted, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“Chenle, no.” You shook your head at him.

“Chenle, yes.” He nodded with a cheeky grin.

“I’m breaking up with you,” you deadpanned, turning away from him to continue scrolling. “Sure you would,” he said sarcastically, wrapping an arm around you lovingly. “You love me too much to even think about breaking up,” he said, grabbing your cheeks in both of his palms, turning your head to make you look at him. He pressed your cheeks together, making your lips pucker up for him to press a loving kiss against them.

“Remind me why I like you so much?” you mumbled against his lips before he pulled away. He hummed, thinking it over for a moment. “I’m just too damn amazing. Plus, a clown like yourself deserves someone to over-clown you,” he giggled. “I prefer the term ‘rival’ because over-clowning isn’t a thing but go off, I guess.” you let out a soft laugh, nuzzling your nose against his.

“Maybe you should do what I did and start screaming at the rain to make us rich,” you suggested.

“Y/n, no. You’re not funny.”

#NCT-WRITERS #neowritingsnet #neo-constellations #nct x reader #chenle x reader #zhong chenle scenarios #chenle scenarios #zhong chenle x reader #nct dream x reader #nct dream scenarios #nct u x reader #nct 127 x reader

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tiaragqueen · 5 years

Note

Could you do a scenario where Vincent Phantomhive falls for a shy darling who is good at sword fighting, please?

In A Dither

✂ Pairing: Yandere! Vincent Phantomhive x Reader

✂ Word Count: 2k

✂ Trigger Warnings: Manipulation, yandere theme.

[Edited]

***

That feeling when you have a vague idea about a scenario and it literally disappears at the last minute is just–

If you like mywriting, please support me on ko-fi!

“Cuz you’re my favorite subject. My sweet, submissive subject. My loyal, royal subject.” - You’ll Be Back [Hamilton]

There was something… strange about you.

Vincent realized that once he caught you sneaking glances towards the practice room. It was a subtle movement; one that most people would surely overlook. But Vincent was trained to be observant, both for socializing purpose and for detecting any enemy within the vicinity. He might be known as a courteous gentleman who always spared a minute to exchange pleasantries, yet he wasn’t without his foes. He needed to be alert pretty much at all times, even if he had guards around.

However, you didn’t seem to have done another thing that might warrant suspicion aside from those straying glances. He supposed it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, per se. Who knows, you might be curious about the new environment. After all, you had been working here for a month now. It wouldn’t be weird if you wanted to know the purpose of each room or memorize the locations. The many places inside his manor could be a bit tricky to remember.

Still, positive thinking didn’t ease his interest and slight wariness. In fact, the longer you worked here, the more Vincent began to grow curious with you. Well, looking at your mannerisms alone, there was nothing remarkably intriguing from you as far as he could see. You were shy, sure. He’d met similar people before, mostly from the townspeople who were fortunate enough to talk with him. You rarely spoke up, and if you did, it would come out as mumbles and stammers instead. You were obedient and polite. You never shirked your duties nor did you complain about them. Overall, you were an excellent maid. Though, it should be expected from his workers.

But he certainly never expected you to be able to do sword fighting, either.

The way your black skirt fluttered behind you as it tried to catch up with your rapid movements, the way your usually meek demeanor turned into one of pure concentration, the way the silver sword slashed through the thin air, the way those [h/c] strands of hair clung on to your sweaty forehead, and the way you looked so determined to ward off the invisible enemies. It was unlike anything that he’d ever seen from you before.

The you who he used to think was demure and almost unnoticeable.

The you who always blushed whenever you encountered him.

The you who looked at the practice room with a glint of longing in those droopy eyes of yours.

Although startled, a small smile that graced his handsome features expressed the pleasure and proudness of a father whose child was working hard for something. You seemed to be in your element, he noted; so focused yet… oblivious to your surroundings.

When you finished your ‘training’ with a vicious thrust to the ceiling, Vincent decided that it would be appropriate to announce his presence and satisfaction.

“How graceful.”

You snapped your head towards him and immediately dropped the sword. Vincent grimaced a little when it fell with a clang against the marble floor, the sound ringing in the spacious room. You bowed deeply, almost shamefully, unaware of the displeasure that distorted his controlled visage “F-forgive me, my Lord!” you squeaked, cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and vision blurry from the upcoming tears. “I didn’t… I wasn’t…”

Despite the initial yet short-lived shock of hearing you raise your voice for the first time, Vincent found himself chuckling good-humoredly and strode across the room towards you. It seemed that today, you were determined to surprise him even though he knew it was none of your intentions, to begin with. Though, he couldn’t deny that your shivering figure made you look cuter under his warmyet sharp gaze. “It’s alright, [Name]. No need to be so flustered. There is nothing to be ashamed of.” You flinched when his hand reached out to pat your trembling shoulder. “In fact, I happened to enjoy it very much.”

Blinking in confusion, you inclined your head and sniffled. “Thank you…” you mumbled, unsure of how to respond any further. It wasn’t as though you practiced for the sake of showing off to him. However, his compliment managed to relax your thumping heart somehow. His lowered voice and gentle look helped to that, too.

“How long have you been practicing sword fighting?” he inquired, bending down to retrieve the sword you’d dropped out of the horror of being caught red-handed. “Judging from your movements, I’d say a long time ago.”

“Well, I…” You pursed your lips and played with the hem of your apron. “… When I was a little girl, I used to play sword fighting with my brother. I… didn’t have any friends, to begin with, so he became my first and only friend. He insisted on playing sword fighting with me, and although I’d initially resisted it, I relented.

Somehow, sword fighting became something that I’m fond of. And when I saw a real sword in this house, I’d thought it would be a good idea to try it out. To see whether I could polish my skill. I-I’m sorry for using it without your permission, my Lord.” You immediately apologized in fear of him getting the wrong idea. “I assure you, I have no intention of hurting anyone in this house. Especially not you. I only intend to have some skill to help me protect myself should I’m in some predicament.”

“What a practical outlook,” he remarked, his eyes hardened slightly as he tried to ascertain whether you told the truth or the lie. He didn’t want you to know that he was secretly analyzing you. It would intensify your anxiety even more and, thus, prompting you to be defensive towards his innocent inquiries. Vincent couldn’t study you if you kept stuttering nonsense. “It seems that I have misjudged you. I apologize for that, too.”

You hesitantly nodded, still keeping your gaze on the floor.

“And no, I’m not mad. Really. I was being truthful when I said I enjoyed seeing your training very much.” Vincent smiled softly to further convince you of his sincerity. It was endearing of you to assume he would be angry over such an insignificant matter when you hadn’t even witnessed how he would react to irritation. Not that he would display it, though. There were other, far easier ways to prove his dominance over you than simply yelling around. “I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised to see you here.”

You nervously glanced at him through your eyelashes, worried that he might have demanded your presence and you weren’t there to fulfill his orders. “Were you summoning me, my Lord?” you asked meekly.

“Ah, no. It was a pure coincidence that I passed by this room, and I was grateful for having the opportunity to see your training from up close. If you don’t mind,” he invitingly extended his right hand and smiled cordially. “Would it be possible for us to train together? I could teach you a thing or two regarding sword fighting, and I could be your opponent to test your skill. What do you say, [Name]? Would you accept it?”

You stared down at the palm. At the offer that he so generously gave to you. At the soft smile that gently urged you to just go and comply. Looking back at it, you should’ve known that it was merely a clever ruse to get close to you. You should’ve rejected it. You should’ve been more mindful of your status. You should’ve made up an excuse. But your young self was happy with the prospect of being taught by such an intelligent and skilled man, so you put your hand on his and beamed.

“Yes. Thank you so much, my Lord.”

And indeed, he didn’t disappoint you. Not in the least bit. He was just as skilled as you’d expected, and he was just as intelligent in raising your status from a scullery maid to a personal maid. You didn’t think he even needed one in the first place since the butler had done his job very well. However, Vincent was your master and to disobey him would be a bad decision.

And you’d know it soon enough.

“You’re becoming more and more adept in sword fighting,” he remarked, clapping his hands after you showed him your recent ‘improvement’. “I’m thoroughly impressed.”

“It would be a shame if something were to happen to your first and only friend.”

You stole a glance towards his pleased mien before looking away. “Thank you, my Lord.” you murmured.

“Why… why are you doing this, my Lord? What could you possibly gain from this?”

Vincent held out a hand and lifted you effortlessly from the floor, where it had taken the brunt of your defeat against him. “How about we visit the town? As a reward, you’re free to buy anything you want.”

“Isn’t it obvious already?” He hummed and stared through the window that overlooked an ample garden. “Ah, I suppose it’s not. You can’t comprehend vague things very well, do you? No worries, I’ll be more than happy to reiterate it to you. You’re my beloved maid, after all. You’ve done so much for me. I think it’s time to give you some bonus, no?”

“No. Thank you for the offer, my Lord, but I’m fine. I don’t need anything.” You patted your skirt from the nonexistent dust, ignoring how he was still grasping your hand and the hold that became a bit tighter and tighter with each second passed in weak rejection.

“B-bonus…?”

“Nonsense,” he gripped your intertwined fingers and squeezed them none too gently. “I promised you, didn’t I? And I’m not one to go back on my words, nor do I intend to do so anytime soon.”

Vincent smiled; the very same smile that had enticed you to this predicament in the first place. “I want you to be my maid, and I shall double your compensation.”

“Of course…”

“B-but, what about your butler?”

Vincent simpered, pleased with your immediate compliance. “Go and change your clothes into a more appropriate one. We shall go before noon.”

“He’ll keep working, of course. His duty doesn’t exist merely to serve me, as he has other important things to do.”

You hurriedly nodded and scurried out of the practice room, unable to bear his overwhelming presence any longer. You didn’t know how you could persist to be with him for so long. You didn’t know how your body managed to keep holding on to life around his cold and calculating aura. You didn’t know how you could survive without breaking down in front of him.

“No, I-I can’t. I can’t do that. I’m sorry, but I still reject it.”

Perhaps, this was a price you had to pay for studying under his tutelage. After all, nothing was free in this world.

“Is that so?” Vincent hummed in mock understanding and put a fist under his chin. “I suppose I can’t exactly change your mind, can I?”

Or maybe, this was a price for willingly giving up your freedom to him.

“Don’t you want to raise your family from poverty, [Name]? Surely you’re not cruel enough to abandon them, right? Your… friend won’t be happy to hear this.”

“Oh, and [Name]?”

“My payment is enough.”

You halted on your tracks, patiently waiting for his next order despite the thundering sound of your heart against its ribcage.

��We all know that you can only do so much with the payment of a scullery maid. I doubt that you can even feed your family for a full month.”

“I will be holding a ball next week. I figured I should tell you now, so you can be prepared to be my partner.” Your eyes widened horrifyingly, yet his expression was less than fake pleasantness. “A fitting and beautiful dress, that is what youneed.”

“I…”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and reluctantly nodded. “Yes, my Lord.”

“And what could I possibly gain from this, you may ask? Well, a lot.”

#Yandere kuroshitsuji #Yandere black butler #Yandere vincent #Yandere vincent phantomhive #Yandere vincent x reader #Yandere vincent phantomhive x Reader #Yandere story #Yandere one-shot #Yandere imagine #Yandere scenario #Yandere request #Yandere anime #Anon #Request

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canvaswolfdoll · 5 years

Text

CanvasWatches: KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!

You know what was a surprisingly nice discovery? Crunchyroll has the english dub of the first… season? Cour? First ten episodes of KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (also known and henceforth referred to as KonoSuba) with the english dub. How magnanimous of the Dub-unfriendly service.

Konosuba was a pleasant follow-up to Kill la Kill (the review of which I’d been struggling with as I write this essay, so we’ll see if anything from that materializes). The network of Youtube Anime Reviewers had decided this was real good and funny and is worth the time. And, hey, I did have that free month courtesy of Twitch Prime, I might as well![1]

I thought it was fine! But the massive hype might’ve dragged it down. Comedy’s difficult. A lot relies on the unexpected, so if you prime viewers with “It’s really funny,” you raise critical expectations, which can undercut the weaker material.

Or maybe I’m too much of a comedic writer to get the full effect. Learned to read set-ups and such.

But I can recommend it if you have access and are interested. You won’t be disappointed.

Possibly another hurdle to my enjoyment is I went in intending to mine ideas for my own works. Spoofing RPGs and such is something I’ve long been wanting to set my skills towards, and it’s not always clear the best way to interpret mechanics.

Anyways, Konosuba has decided to parody the increasingly popular isekai[3] genre.

First ingredient: an average loser everyman for the viewer to project on. Filling the role is Kazuma Sato.[5] He goes out to buy a video game, decides to save a girl’s life from a perceived threat, and dies.

So, he needs to be reincarnated. As part of the typical Isekai set-up, he’s allowed to ask for whatever he needs to make himself massively overpowered.

So he takes Aqua, the sassy goddess offering him the choice.

This is the point where the typical formula breaks down. Kazuma has no notable advantages, and Aqua isn’t actually competent. Thus, we spend the 10 episodes stuck in the starting town of the pseudo-video game world.

So, when you throw someone into a video game or (less commonly) TRPG world, there’s the question of how to depict the actual GUI and game mechanics.

There’s the Sword Art Online and Log Horizon method, where the mechanics and their relationship with the world is unchanged, including the “players” being able to pull up a system menu to do… system menu things.

On the other end, we have Overlord, where the menu and other visuals vanish, and the tasks they accomplished must either be intuited by those translated into the world, or become part of their innate knowledge.

KonoSuba has everyone talk about the mechanics and such freely (in a tutorial NPC sort of way), but the menu has been replaced by an Adventurers ID, which shows stats and allows the adventurers to swipe and learn skills. Functional and easy for the viewer to accept.[6]

From this starting point, we have Aqua as the healer, and Kazuma as… an unclear role. He learns a Steal skill early, but he then starts learning magic, so he’s a bit of a Jack-of-all-Trades. The show’s not shy about the Master of None side of that, because the only decent stat our protagonist has is Luck, which counts just enough for him not to die and get the crucial things to fall in his lap.

Such crucial things include a Mage (who refuses to cast any spell except an excessive explosion spell) named Megumin, and a Tank-Fighter (who is… rather excited to take damage) named Darkness. Not the ideal companions, but functional.

But that also means we don’t have a straight Rouge, so I’m required to be salty about that.

Kazuma attempts to build a sustainable and fulfilling life, but the quests available are either above his capabilities or menial labor. Because life is more funny whenever things don’t go well for the hero.

The first three episodes are dedicated to establishing the setting and the characters, and aren’t actually that funny. Yes, there are things I can identify as attempts at comedy, but they’re modest attempts that don’t really build to a satisfying laugh. Kazuma’s attempt at straight-manning the shenanigans of his allies is restricted to complaining and feeling put upon, which flattens the funny moment by drawing attention to how wacky it’s meant to be.

Episode four, however, finally introduces a desperately needed element: a victim. In the form of a Dullahan who is up to his nonexistent neck with annoyance at Megumin casting a daily explosion spell on his castle.

His attempts at intimidation fall flat due to the apathy of our main party, and then Darkness steps in with her masochism, which bewilders him. He casts a death curse on Darkness, to her delight, and rides off to await Megumin to fight him in his castle.

Aqua then casually removes the curse, and our party forgets about the encounter.

A character desperately trying to do his job in spite of the ideocentricies of the main cast is much funnier than a character that just complains.

Comedy works better when it builds off what is established in narrative than over-relying on meta-knowledge and lampshade hanging. Those things have their place, but they work better as augmenting jokes or to speed up delivery, not as whole jokes themselves.

The next episode does a better job in that respect by introducing another guy with the same deal as Kazuma, except he’s a more traditional Isekai protagonist, and thus kind of a loser NEET. He also chose a massively overpowered sword instead of Aqua, and is doing better because of it.

Kazuma easily outwits him, steals the sword, and fences it. This sets a stronger character base for Kazuma: a genre savvy jerk willing to exploit the world around him for a quick buck. It turns him from a put-upon everyman into a jerk able to cause the same sort of chaos as the rest of his party.

Unfortunately, such moments are few and far between, as the rest of the season has Kazuma back to being a useless whiner. We do get closure with the Dullahan, which showcases Kazuma is actually pretty good at analytical thinking and tactics, but lacks the personal capabilities to actually fight.

The show then introduces an important character (a lich named Wiz) in a manner that clearly cut segments from the source material that, if shown in full, probably would’ve strengthened the rest of the story.

Instead, that time is used for an episode where Kazuma patronizes a succubus business that offers customized dreams. We watch an extended Q&A segment that raises uneasy implications about Kazuma’s predilections, then an uncomfortable encounter between him and Darkness which I don’t know how to fairly judge, since Kazuma is forcing Darkness into foreplay and intends to go further, but he thinks it’s a dream while Darkness doesn’t know that and thinks he’s being forceful, but she also could very easily overpower him and the show’s established…

Look, episode 9 should’ve been cut and I don’t wish to dwell on it any further.[7]

Anyways, the fall-out of that adventure is suddenly ignored as Howl’s Moving Castle (Dark Edition) lurches towards the town. Deary dear.

It belongs to the Dark Lord, though the exact nature of it and it’s controller is rather ambiguous. But it’s scary, powerful, and has immense defense. What will the town do?

Fortunately, Kazuma’s surprisingly powerful party and his tactical scheming allows them to stop it. However, in true villain lair fashion, the moving fortress starts a self destruct sequence. So now that needs to be addressed.

While searching the place to figure out how to deactivate it, Kazuma finds the corpse of the builder/driver with his diary.

Turns out, the guy was hired to build it, but thought the requirements were excessive and he didn’t really want to do the job. So he told his employers he needed a rare relic to power it, thinking it’d never get supplied.

The relic gets supplied.

So he builds the fortress, turns it on, and immediately loses control. The fortress goes on an unstoppable rampage as the builder is stuck inside. Oops. So he just kind of kept bluffing his way along.

Which tells us something crucial about this world: it runs on a narrativium fueled by malicious luck. Kazuma’s form of luck is not unique, wherein he is only fortunate enough for the next inconvenience to come along. He gets a rent-free manor not because he particularly deserves it, but because fate demands he be able to survive the winter. His companions are just competent enough to excuse their quirks. Even a second isekai protagonist finds success for only long enough to become a punchline.

It is a universe with a cruel sense of humor, and the greatest success goes to those who stumble uphill while trying to avoid detection.

It’s a world that rewards not the Aragorns, but the Rincewinds. So that’s fun.

This is best exemplified when Kazuma’s rousing success in saving the town results in him being arrested for at least property damage if not regicide.[8] And that is where the first 10 episodes end.

Now to wait for the season 2 and OVA dubs…

It’s a fine anime, but I think it’s been oversold. The premise is strong, the characters are fun, but the storytelling felt more like an attempt to hit the Greatest Hits beats. It might be worth the effort to read the Light Novel, as I suspect that might be the superior version in this case.[9]

Still, there are strong ideas, and a few things I’d aim to emulate. Especially the distinct leads. I do struggle with making a cast of diverse personalities.

If you enjoyed reading this review, please consider paying me. I have a patreon, a Ko-fi, and a burning desire to branch out into other projects but require investment to make it worth it.

We can’t all reincarnate into a fantasy world. Some of us need support to create them for ourselves.

Kataal kataal.

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[1] My brother, meanwhile, has been binging Deltora Quest for… some reason… I know the books were pretty good for elementary school Canvas, while the succeeding series made less of an impression.[2] [2] Which is to say, bother Vulpin if you think it deserves a review. [3] Isekai (Japanese: 異世界, transl. "different world") is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy light novels, manga, anime, and video games revolving around a normal person from Earth being transported to, reborn, or trapped in a parallel universe. (Wikipedia)[4] [4] Yes, I actually used a footnote to cite a source and provide further information. Don’t get used to it. [5] I desperately want to make a Yakuza joke, but I got nothing. [6] The solution I devised for Penn & Pauper puts the Stats read-out on smartphones, with everything else being as it is in the normal world. IE, you have to manually equip weapons and armor and such. [7] Not just because my Mom is my only patreon patron. [8] They don’t specify if anyone was in the manor that got exploded. [9] Not that the Light Novels I’ve read thus far have been particularly strong. The writing of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Spice & Wolf felt very stiff on the other end of the translation process. Log Horizon, meanwhile, has meandering Light Novels with a poor sense of rhythm for page breaks.[10] [10] Also, the Mighty Santa Clara Library System refused to accept my Spice & Wolf books, so now I don’t know what to do with them.

#CanvasWatches #konosuba #anime #CanvasReviews

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emeraldbabygirl · 5 years

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Random Thoughts pt.2

Literally everyone is meeting VAV? Like, at first I just noticed a few famous youtubers, you know before I started officially stanning VAV but now. Damn everyone’s meeting and making videos with VAV. It’s crazy. I wanna meet my daddies too I mean VAV. Also despite all the VAV videos out there and how popular there are overseas, they’re still underrated in Korea? I honestly don’t understand how Korean fans can just ignore talent? Like, there’s an ass-load of kpop groups so I guess it makes sense that lots of groups go unnoticed but talent literally oozes out of these groups and Korean fans don’t catch wind of it? Shit’s crazy man

I’m still sad about Cameron Boyce. Jessie was such a good show and Cameron’s character was my favorite. He was so funny and adorable

I love Cardi B. She’s so precious. I also love Shawn Mendes, Camilla, Kacey Musgraves and there was a few others but my two brain cells can’t think of them rn

SF9, Pentagon, ATEEZ, Astro, Stray Kids, OneWe, OneUs, Cherry Bullet, Golden Child, Samuel, Somi, Yeri, Tzuyu, D-Crunch, Noir, NCTDream + Mark and Target are my actual children

Halo, Imfact, Boys Republic, Boyfriend and Seventeen, the rest of NCT, the rest of Twice and the rest of Red Velvet and WJSN are my babies

Btw my babies and my children literally prolly mean the same thing but my babies are members of groups that are my precious babes and I see them as soft uwus that I want to hug and give them all my uwus and my children are actual children or members of groups that I see as small kids that I want to protect from the world even tho I can’t even take care of myself lmao. I want them to stay smol precious children and when I think of them growing up I get sad cause I want them to stay small forever even tho they can’t:(

I’m sad because the year’s half over and I never successfully made any 90’s Heartthrob edits. I love them so much but all I see are BTS, BlackPink, NCT, and Red Velvet. I’ve found a few Itzy, Chungha, ATEEZ, Day6, iKON, Winner, Stray Kids and Got7 but I wanted to learn how to make the edits so I could do underrated groups like Sistar, Fx, D-Crunch, N.Tic, Imfact and other groups I stan. Unfortunately I can’t get Prequel cause I only have an iPhone 6, I read other ways in the comments of those tutorial videos but they don’t turn out good. I got Snow and Picsart and used the advice people gave me but I can’t get it to look right

Then I realized that it’s not the apps, it’s me. I such at edits in general, I can’t write for shit. I’ve made enough moodboards to make me sick of moodboards, I can’t draw, my skills are limited. My creativity is nonexistent. Everything is in my brain but I can’t make it look good when it leaves my brain. I wish I was talented.

I wish a lot of things but if I made a list rn it would just make me sad so let’s not go there. Anyway, please send Somin pics. I have two pics of Somin and my storage wants to commit seppuku so I should be getting more pics but I can’t help it.

Also maybe someone can make edits for me? I know I should learn how to do things on my own but let’s be honest, that’s not gonna happen. Plus I like when people make things for me because it’s sweet and they are so much better at it than me

However I just started doing imports on recolor again after taking a break and they are getting better so maybe I just need a break from moodboards and failed 90’s edits. I did recently make two 90’s edits that do look better than when I first tried doing them

I love chicken nuggets and the Carol Burnett Show is great. Some of my text posts are coming from there. This actually isn’t random thoughts are they. I should prolly get off Tumblr for awhile

Also, am I always hungry or am I just bored?

#vav #n.tic #ateez #i’m not tagging every group #90’s edits #fanfics #im bad at everything #except sleeping lmao

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zillion-ronald-manus · 7 years

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im out of meme ideas for now so i’m just going to copy&paste the Omniversal Battle Wiki page for Luka from Monster Girl Quest

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Luka (MGQ)

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Summary

Luka is a 15 year old boy, born with the blood of fallen angels in his veins. He's just an innocent, naive little boy, precious as can be, who dreams of a day when monsters and humans would coexist peacefully instead of all the opression that's widespread across the world. His mom, Lucifina, died from an epidemic when he was younger, so he's been living by himself at a young age. One day, ilias calls out to him in a vision and tells him to go and defeat the current monster lord, the latest in a long line of powerful yoma that traces back to the dark goddess herself. But since he's naive he decides to get baptized and do it, regardless of the fact that he'd probably die in an instant. He's walking back to his house one day, when he meets a strange yoma named Alice. He's forced to choose between helping her or going to his baptism, and of course he chooses to help. He befriends Alice and travels the world with her in his quest to defeat the monster lord and end racism.

Along the course of his quest, he goes from being a naive little boy with big dreams to a tougher-than-nails motherfucker who splits heaven and earth to bring a star down to hell just so he can counterattack someone, not to mention he single-handedly ends wars by defeating both armies himself.

Powers and Stats

Tier: At least High 2-A | Low 1-C | 1-C, possibly higher

Name: Luka, Fallen Angel, Corrupted hero, Son of Lucifina

Origin: Monster Girl Quest

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Classification: Human/Angel hybrid

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman physical characteristics, Space manipulation, Dimensional manipulation, Time manipulation, Soul manipulation, Acasuality, Weakness alteration, Sealing, Healing, Elemental manipulation, Matter manipulation, Death manipulation, Existence erasure resistance, Conceptual manipulation resistance, Matter manipulation resistance, Death manipulation resistance, Light manipulation, Darkness manipulation.

Attack Potency: High Multiverse Level+ (Defeated beings like Goddess Ilias and Adramelech, the former is the embodiment of perfect nonexistence on at the very least a 5D scale, while the latter can erase Multiversal SpaceTime on a near-conceptual level by existing) | Complex Multiverse Level (freely moved around within an isolated area of the multiverse, which was beyond even Goddess Ilias' perception. Completely unfazed, physically speaking, when Sonya Chaos warped reality using the Chaos, a phenomenon infinitely beyond a normal multiverse and which exists inside and outside of all multiverses as the antonym to all existence. Also unfazed when Adramelech at her full power manipulates the same phenomenon into outright destroying a universal section of existence itself. Spoke face-to-face with the overseer of countless 5D multiverses, and was able to defeat her when she was holding back. Defeated every one of Sonya's forms. Likely comparable to the seraphs.) possibly Higher (the MGQ verse follows quantum mechanics and wave functions, which opens the door towards possibly 11 dimensions, or, if we go farther to the extreme, infinite dimensions via hilbert space.)

Speed: Immeasurable (Could freely exist within, run around in, think within and even dodge light within places where conventional spacetime didn't exist, many times, and can speedblitz people who can do the same. Accessed a future point in another timeline by physically walking.)

Lifting Strength: Mountain Level (Escaped the grasp of a mountain-sized monster), probably higher (He's gotten much stronger since then.)| Immeasurable By nature of being a higher dimensional being.

Striking Strength: High Multiverse Level+ | Complex Multiverse level, possibly higher

Durability: High Multiverse Level+ (Traded blows with Adramelech and Goddess Ilias, is capable of defeating and tanking blows from the seraphs and the Lilith sisters.) | Complex Multiverse Level

Stamina: Very high (Able to climb entire mountains in little time, can fuck grills for days or even months straight, seldom even needing water.) | Immeasurable by nature of being a higher dimensional being.

Range: Possibly Universal (Caused an endlessly expanding being who could devour the entire universe if left unchecked to dissolve into a shapeless blob of flesh.)

Standard Equipment: The Angel halo, a baleful sword created by Heinrich by melting 666 angels alive and fusing them onto a sword. Can either kill, or seal when the enemy is weak enough, whichever the user may wish.

Intelligence: Genius (his mathematical knowledge impressed Promestein, who single-handedly discovered every field of modern science, including physics and quantum physics, with only rocks in a cave.)

Weaknesses: Becomes weak and bitch-like for about a day every time he cums.

Feats:

Is capable of effortlessly defeating Apoptosis, beings created from spacetime itself ripping itself apart and putting itself back together.

Can easily exist, move within, think, run laps within and dodge shit within places where conventional spacetime is destroyed as well as places that transcend spacetime.

Can effortlessly breach and move through inter-dimensional barriers.

Can easily move himself and others to and from isolated areas of spacetime (Pocket dimensions) as well as entirely separate timelines.

Traded blows with Adramelech, Sonya Chaos, and Tamamo, one of the six ancestors in her prime. All of them should be metaversal one way or another.

Able to seal and touch non-corporeal beings like angels.

Can heal himself both mentally and physically simply by focusing his mind.

Can imbue his blade with healing properties, which allows him to heal allies.

With holy energy-based attacks, he is capable of dissolving an opponent's physical body into light and sending their soul to heaven, the latter probably has something to do with soul manipulation and sealing.

Can transform enemies' bodies into stone statues with attacks that inflict petrification.

Can instantaneously end an opponent's life with most darkness-imbued attacks.

Can alter his enemies' weaknesses with taoism skills, which cause enemies to gain a heightened vulnerability to a specific element.

One-shot an AP-ignoring barrier while still in a relatively early and weak stage of the game.

Can hit and kill non-corporeal beings.

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

Daystar: A counter-attack which he performs when the enemy attempts to attack. Hits extremely hard. Later upgrades this to Infallible daystar, which is even more powerful.

Ninefold Rakshasa: A flurry of 9 sword strikes which only seraphim-level angels can use. Described as "near infinite" in-game, but it only hits 9 times. Upgrades this attack to Ninefold Rakasha: Asura, which basically just does more damage, and can thus be assumed is stronger than the original.

Fallen Angel Dance: Allows him to perfectly dodge most attacks, even those that are thrown at him by a being with immeasurable speed. His attacks also never miss and hit twice.

Heavenly Demon Revival: A concentration of Luka's power which deals massive damage. Later upgrades this attack to Heavenly demon revival: Gaia, which makes it even stronger.

Flash Kill: Splits the very fabric of space and time and can destroy even things that have AP-ignoring hax. Upgrades this attack to Flash kill: Destructive wind, which boosts it's strength massively.

Element Spica: A skill which deals horrendously massive damage, but costs a lot of stamina to perform. Imbued with the power of all 4 elemental spirits, who embody the universal concepts of their respective elements.

Quadruple Giga: Luka's strongest skill and a toned up version of element spica. If activated while the 4 spirits are in effect, it's power increases 10,000 fold. "The power of this skill is amplified by each spirit imbued in it. But if all four were at a power of ten, it wouldn’t be ten times four for forty... It would be ten to the fourth power for 10,000..."- Alipheese the 16th.

Note: By nature of being an angel, logic would imply that he also has Mid-Godly regeneration and types 1, 4 and 8 of immortality, but gameplay and the general story appears to contradict it. Could it be something to do with him being only a half-angel?