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rudycomics · 5 months

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Rudy Recs: Witch Watch (and its bittersweet love story)

I've written in the past before about some of the things I've been reading in shonen jump, You and I are Polar Opposites as an example, and the current generation of manga in their lineup right now has some interesting stuff going on. Somehow, Witch Watch is not one of the manga I hear other people talking about as often as the others and I think that's a real shame!

Kenta Shinohara has 2 award winning manga under his belt and even though his concepts don't have this really intense fantastical hook and his art isn't clamoring for attention in the ways things like Chainsaw Man or Dandadan do, I think Witch Watch has incredible range. It's part romance, part slapstick comedy/gag manga, and part shonen battle manga all together, bouncing back and forth between these different styles each chapter.

I always felt like it was just really solidly put together and consistently entertaining (except for when the story focuses on some side characters writing fan doujinshi which bores me to DEATH), but the thing that made me feel like I needed to write about it was the way the series handles the romance between the two main characters, Nico, the witch given a prophesized control over every type of magic, and Morihito, her childhood friend and chosen protector because he happens to be one of the last Ogres in the world.

I'm going to be talking spoilers for things that happened in recent chapters, so be warned!

I will put a warning when I get to it, but I like writing about these things because I personally think getting someone to gush about specific instances of well executed craft gets me more interested in checking out new things than anything else.

The basic setup to their romance is that Nico has a crush on Morihito (which she calls Moi and I'll use this nickname for convenience) and she begins living with him as her mother received a prophecy that some evil force will try to use Nico and her unnatural powers for evil purposes that will ultimately bring her harm in the process. Moi is chosen to be Nico's familiar to protect her from whatever this vague danger may end up being, but we see their personalities clash right away. She's very aware of him and he seems very stone-walled and closed off, despite their being some sort of connection between them from childhood.

The two get into a lot of wacky situations as Nico attends school and continuously uses her powers to try to help classmates with their personal troubles and they make some new friends along the way with their own special powers. The household of just the two of them grows into a house of 4 boys and Nico, with two other girls making frequent appearances. We learn about all these characters and their quirks and see how they are all invested in helping Nico try to form a relationship with Moi. It's not until a good handful of chapters later that we learn that in typical Nico fashion, she had somehow ended up putting a curse on Moi when they were children that locked Moi into being "best friends forever" with Nico, essentially kneecapping any romantic growth from sprouting from Moi.

It's not that important to what I wanted to talk about, but I do think this is such a fun story device because it completely fits in line with everything we've learned about Nico and what every wacky situation stems from in this series: Nico somehow uses her magic in ways that challenge the intuitive way the powers would seem to work and creating unintended effects on top of what the power is supposed to do. Nico's bond with Moi ever since they were children has also become the reason that nothing will ever happen between them.

EXCEPT... All of their new friends have sussed the situation out and form a plan to break through the curse and free Moi to accept the feelings that are actually blocked off inside his heart that they all know are there. They even have this fun visual metaphor of a heart with a valve leaking romantic feelings that gets repeated all through this arc.

They try some things to get Moi to over flow with feelings faster than the curse can repress them which is fun but ultimately fruitless, only for Moi to accidentally being able to listen in to Nico tell everyone that she loves him because of all his flaws that are center to his insecurities that make him close up. It's a beautiful moment that caps it off with using that visual metaphor again to really push emotion to the reader and I thought this was so effective!

From here on, I think what I want to talk about is spoilery enough that I should put a marker here for people that don't want to see anymore before reading:

**SPOILER WARNING!!**

The two both have feelings for each other at this point and Moi wants to confess to Nico now, but tragedy strikes as the big bad makes his move to attack Nico and friends which ends up costing Moi his life as he gets shot in the chest with a gun. Nico uses her powers to heal him at the cost of something of her own and what she ends up giving up is her time, which includes her memories, and turns back into a 5 year old.

The group find out that Nico can be restored to her natural state by collecting these magic butterflies that escaped from her body during her spell, and here is where I think this series does something that really grabbed me.

I read a LOT of manga. Like, scouring for new stuff to read every day. Comics are my primary source of entertainment and I read a LOT of romance stories. One of the things that I feel like authors have to consider when writing compelling romance is how to get readers to connect with characters enough to also want to see those characters get into a relationship. In general, I think a lot of this connection buildup happens AFTER characters get together and you have to just get accept the weak initial romantic beginning (like Galaxy Next Door for example), OR the story spends its whole lifetime creating their bonds slowly and ends right as they get together which annoys me, personally (hoping this one doesn't do that, but we will have to see).

What I think Witch Watch does here is so striking and unique; Nico and the gang put in so much effort in between their escapades to get these two characters together so that they can be happy. Right when things lock into place, it all comes to a halt and resets, but what doesn't get reset is the readers' understanding and connections to these characters. We're already invested in Nico and Moi and we get a second chance to see these characters form a loving connection in a really unique way that feels unpredictable as Nico slowly regains her age and memories back. It's got a bittersweet tone to it as Moi doesn't get to express his love in the way that he wants to, but we get to see such a complex form of love develop as he takes the role of a caretaker for little Nico. Love is more than romance or attraction and getting a chance to put that trope away for a bit to do something different is so refreshing. It really builds out something so much more complete and more befitting of a seinen maybe, rather than a shonen with fight scenes and mythical characters.

This current arc is the beginning of part 2 of Witch Watch, with the big bad leaving the group alone because Nico is useless to him as a child with no control over magic. We know this peace will come to an end when Nico is restored to her proper age, but we get to see the characters all get up to their silly antics again with child Nico in the mix now. It's a really cool shakeup that adds new life to the slapstick comedy bits that make up most of the story, putting the action in the back seat again for now. This is the most recent chapter at the time of me writing this (chapter 133), and seeing Moi's perspective as the point of view in contrast to Nico's experiences so far is really gripping to me. This final page of the chapter is what did it for me:

It hurts, but it's love. The pain is temporary, all for the goal of being together when it's all over, with a connection deeper than anything that they would have formed otherwise.

Please go give Witch Watch a read! It's really fun!!

#rudy recs #manga recs #manga recommendation #witch watch #kenta shinohara

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cobaltaris · 1 year

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Aris 2023 Media #17: The Owl House

so i just saw the Finale, and, fuck this show REALLY resonated with me, and I'm so glad I listened to everyone who told me to check it out. even if Season 3 was kinda rushed because Disney Fuckin Sucks and Hates The GaysTM, the way this show portrays the kinda struggles I and others dealt with as our Autistic LGBTQIA+ Zoomer Selves, and so ACCURATELY depicts how it feels to be in that kind of life with the world it sets up, with the characters it sets up, and how engrossed i was for all of it. it. it is so good

the show kinda struggles a bit at the beginning since you know, Season 1 need to establish the world and being a Disney Channel show its pretty light-hearted, gag-heavy, but you can still see a LOT of good world building scenes planted, and there's more subtleties put in place to eventually leading the show becoming Gay as Shit But Also Incredibly Heart-Wrenching and Lovable (I binged the shit out of Season 2, NO REGRETS) but god, Luz's struggles are so relatable. her's, King's, and Eda's all really - SUCH a good main trio, and the supporting cast I also all really liked by the end, especially Lilith, Amity, and Hunter! the Boiling Isles themselves have such a cool art direction too, that I'm glad in hindsight so much of Season 1 was focused on it, to let it support Season 2 and 3 as much as it did - the work Dana and her team did to make everyone and everything endearing as it was, making even the most out-there stuff be close to our own personal struggles is. fuck. it got me several times, especially when this show wants to get dark and boy can it get fucking grim

but there's always such a sense of optimism and connection despite it all, I felt for everyone to the end! fuck, the midpoint of Season 2 might just be the best part of the show for that alone, they get you attached to these characters and they put you through the WRINGER with them, but it works so, so well. and I'm so glad the show ended as it did, hit me in all the right spots and that, even if it was rushed, i still felt really sad yet satisfied to see this lovable cast go; thank you Dana and the entire Owl House team for making one of my new favorite shows ever <3

show is definitely S grade btw, I need to internalize putting in the rankings for these now that I actually have character spacing ghfgjfgjfg

#Aris Media 2023 #the owl house

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mattsunnn · 3 years

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Title : Fucking Brat

Character/s : Bakugou Katsuki

Warning/s : brat taming, punishment, spanking, orgasm denial, degradation (like ghorl), choking, fingering, dumbification(slight), finger sucking😌, did I miss smth?

A/n : something that I came up with BECAUSE WTF 200 FOLLOWERS?? YOU- T—T THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!! ILYSM

He’s mad at you. You can clearly see it on his blazing eyes as he glared at anything on his way while driving to your apartment. He has a tight grip on the steering wheel that you gulped at, you realized that you fucked up so bad today.

“Katsuki?” You received no response from the blonde. You looked down nervously on the hem of your dress, thinking that today was somehow different than the others. You can feel the heat of his anger as he motioned for you to get out of the car before gripping your arm and pulling you to the front door, slamming the wood with a loud slam.

“Bedroom. No clothes.” His simple words brought a shiver down your spine as you quickly followed his orders, walking to your shared bedroom and shredding yourself from your dress and undergarments, leaving yourself bare to the person yet to go in.

Let’s have a throwback on what you did. Today was a scheduled reunion for 1-A class in a nearby fancy restaurant. You were very much excited to see your old friends that was now successful as pro-heros just like you and Katsuki. It started simple, you go in and say your hellos while you hug each other excitedly.

Katsuki was his usual self but nodded to his old classmates as a greeting, except for Deku and Shoto. The two was getting along well, since they both attend the same agency. When the two saw you, Deku was elated to see you again. He’s your bestfriend-more-like-a-brother in your life, he hugged you due to his excitement and it didn’t miss Katsuki’s piercing glares as you hugged back the number 1 pro-hero as well.

What made his anger worse? Well, you had eye contact with him and you teasingly hugged Deku closer to your body while smirking at him. You added more fire when you also hugged Shoto, smiling innocently towards your boyfriend whose grip on the cup has tightened until the content was spilling from the lack of space.

You were so deep in your mind that you didn’t even notice Katsuki’s presence until he has a hand wrapped around your throat, pulling your face closer to him, “You like being a fucking brat, don’t you?” You can only let out a whimper in response.

He threw you to the bed, your body bouncing as you gasped at the force. Shaking his head in disappointment, he started to undo his tie then unbuttoning the sleeves, “Fucking around with me and hugging those pieces of shits. You even have the audacity to look at me innocently.”

He then focused his hands on his shirt, undoing the buttons while staring at you so intently, “Pressing yourself up to that Stupid Deku, you’re such a slut.”’ He scoffed, throwing his now discarded shirt before bringing his body down towards you, his arms on both sides of your head to support his weight. He gave you a sinister grin, his eyes piercing through yours, “Where’s the confidence from awhile ago? Pathetic.”

You whined, leaning up to capture his lips in a desprate attempt to have yourself be forgiven. He moved his face away, smirking down at you when you wailed in frustration. “You really think I’ll let you kiss me after that stunt? What a dumb bitch you are.” Katsuki wrapped his hand around your throat again, pulling you up until your noses are touching. “Think again.”

You couldn’t help but to rub your thighs together, feeling how wet you are inbetween. “I’m sorry, Daddy. Please, I’ll never do that again-“

“We both know that’s a lie, baby girl. We both know you’ll do everything just to get your cunt filled, just to get you cumming like the slut you are.” Shaking his head at you, he landed a slap on your core that had you jolting in both pain and pleasure. He smirked at your reaction before rubbing his palm on your lower lips, spreading your arousal everywhere. Thumb reaching your clit, he starts to rub harsh circles as his lips traced the curve of your breast, soon finding your right bud that was immediately captured by his lips, sucking and nibbling.

You let out moans and wails from the stimulations, thinking that this doesn’t feel like a punishment at all so you decided not to speak or tell anything about it. Katsuki suddenly chuckled, pulling his fingers away from your cunt and his lips away from your nipples, “You getting cozy? That’s what you would be feeling right now if you have only behaved, slut.”

The emptiness on your hole has you whining in frustration, hands flying up to grip on his shoulders or neck, and he let you be, smirking at how pathetic and desperate you look right now. “Please, Daddy. I promise I’ll be good! Be a good girl for you! I’m sorry, Daddy. Please, forgive me.” He watched the tears pool in your eyes before rolling down your cheeks. You looked so pretty crying under him, begging for his forgiveness just to have his fingers on your cunt, on your puffy clit.

“Are you going to behave now?” Katsuki asked, raising an eyebrow at you as he took off his belt, discarding his lower clothes. You couldn’t help but stare in awe once his cock showed itself, springing up to his abdomen, big and thick despite only being semihard.

Your husband laughed, leaning down towards you to wipe the saliva falling from your opened lips with his thumb, “Have you gone dumb? You’re drooling just from the sight of my cock.” He chuckled before slipping his finger to your mouth. Wrapping your lips around the digit, you start to suckle as he groaned at the feeling of your tongue brushing against the pads.

He admired you, smiling slightly as he gazed down at your teary eyed face, glossy orbs and red cheeks. The power he had on you was a consolation you drown yourself into, him asserting dominance to your meek self is something you revel at. He’s grateful for that. It warms his heart to know that you trust your husband that much to let him do the things that is somewhat unusual. But today is about putting you in your place and knowing who owns you.

He pulled away from your mouth, using his other hand to insert two fingers on your cunt, smirking at the easy entrance, knowing that it was your arousal that helped him. “So wet. Were you anticipating this? You really want a cock in your hole that much?” You blushed deep red on his words but didn’t deny it.

“Your cock, Daddy. Only your cock!” You cried out when he added a finger and pushing in knuckle deep, he curls them just the right way to graze on your g-spot, sending you jolts of pleasure as he continued to abuse the spot. He then used his other hand to rub your clit with two of his fingers that was covered in your saliva.

You’re trembling, legs quaking while letting out whines and moans that has Katsuki’s cock throbbing and leaking precum. He continued his ministrations, never stopping ad he watched your face for any signs of orgasm nearing. He gave a sinister smile when he hears you say “Cummin’!”, pulling his fingers away and standing up.

“Daddy!” You whined, tears running down your cheeks as your orgasm was stopped. Katsuki chuckled, opening your legs and slinging one over his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Babe.” He groaned once he has fully sheathed himself in you. His cock throbbed once he felt your warm walls capturing his length, his eyebrows furrowing when you clamped down on him when his head touched your cervix.

You let out soft huffs of ‘Daddy’, the only name present on your mind. You felt so full with just his cock, your body unconsciously tried to take him deeper as your hips moved upwards towsrds him, wriggling them to also get friction. Katsuki huffed, placing his hands on your hips to stop you with a tight grip, “Greedy slut. Stay still and let me fuck you.”

You nodded wordlessly, eyes clenching shut with a wail when he pulled put before driving back in with such a speed. He does this for a few times, pushing his hips closer to your butt cheeks to reach even deeper. “Too much!” You cried out, a hand reaching out to press against his toned stomach.

He swatted them away, shaking his head in disappointment, “Thought you wanted to get dicked down so bad? You’re being a fucking brat.” He tsked before snapping his hips to yours, burying his member to the hilt before pulling out and doing the former action again with much more fevor . You whined when he continued to brush against your g-spot and on your cervix, the slight pain was overpowered by the great pleasure you’re receiving.

His pace fastened and his actions got harder, he makes sure that his pelvic bone can rub on your clit. All you can do is moan and cry out in pleasure, completely drowning in them and letting yourself be handed over to the man above you. You whimpered when you felt a familiar coil in your stomach, legs twitching as you called out to your lover, “Daddy! Cummin’! Please!”

Katsuki didn’t respond but continued his ministrations. Stopping altogether when he felt you clench around him so hard that he feels like you’re trying to milk him. You cried out, legs thrashing around as you whined at your lover. Katsuki rolled his eyes before grabbing your throat, pushing you down even more into the mattress, makinh you gag from the lack of oxygen. “You’re not going to get what you want if you keep on acting like a spoiled dumb whore.”

“I’m sorry! Please, Daddy! Please, let me cum!” Tears rolled down your cheeks as you tried to move your hips again, desperate for any friction. He slapped your puffy clit in respnsne, eyes glinting when you jolted from the pain.

He thrusted his hips forward, connecting them with your ass cheeks as he slapped your clit again, “Do you think those two fuckers can actually make you feel this good? Do you think they can get you crying and begging like this? Do you, my little cumslut?” You shake your head repeatedly in response, moaning when he started to piston his hips rapaciously, “Words.”

“No! Only Daddy can make me feel this way! Only Daddy!” He gave a hum of approval before bringing his thumb on your clit, rubbing and circling the nub as he leaned down and captured a nipple inbetween his lips. He nibbled before rolling his tongue all over your areola then sucking the button in and pulling. Your body jolted when he bit down before letting go, smirking down on your fucked out form. Your mouth opened in pure bliss, eyes unfocused but stayed staring at Katsuki’s red endearing eyes as you felt yourself nearing.

“You gonna cum, baby?” He asked, pace going more furious as he focused on having you orgasm on his cock. “You think you deserve it?

“Yes, Daddy. Please, let me cum!” You begged as your hands found his toned shoulders, gripping on them for dear life.

“Cream on my cock, my little whore.”

You keened when you snapped, thighs shaking and toes curling as you creamed around his cock. He never stopped his ministrations as he was chasing his own release too, wanting his cum inside you. He groaned when he felt how tightly you are clenching around him, restricting his movements but that didn’t stop him from taking a final powerful thrust before stilling inside you, cock twitching and throbbing as it spurts out white cum and painted your velvety walls. You whimpered on how full you feel from just his load.

He leaned down to capture your lips in a deep kiss, mouths dancing with each other as you moaned when his tongue slipped into your mouth, claiming territory in your sweet cavern. He pulled away, giving you a wet kiss on the cheek, “You did so great, Baby.” Katsuki rubbed comforting circles on your naked hips as he slowly pulled his cock from inside you, eliciting a small whinper from you. “So so good for Daddy. Aren’t you?”

You gave him a dreamy smile, eyes half-lidded from tiredness. “Thank you, Daddy. ‘M sorry.” You quietly said before snuggling on the hand that he pressed on your cheek.

“Anything for you, babe. Just don’t be such a fucking brat next time, okay?”

You chuckled on his words before nodding your head, “Goodnight, Daddy. Love you.”

“Good night, Teddy Bear. Love you too.”

You sleepily stayed awake with warm hands and a soft fabric cleaning your skin. With a final kiss on your temple, you let yourself drift off to sleep with a small smile on your face.

Lmaooo, how many days did this take? 3 days🤣 I keep on stopping akkdjejdijdje

NOT PROOFREAD I APOLOGISE!

It was Dynamight all along not Ground Zero lmao. Light it up like DYNAMIGHT! OH OH!

Stay safe and stay hydrated!!

#bnha smut #mha smut #bnha imagines #mha imagines #bakugou smut #bnha x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugou katuski x reader #mha x reader #dynamight #TYSM FOR 200+ FOLLOWERS!! ILY ALL T—T #We at 231 now

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captain-sparklefingers · 3 years

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CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS: Billy Batson / Shazam FACECLAIM: Alberto Rosende / Zachary Levi AFFILIATIONS: Nomads AGE: 26 SPECIES: Metahuman IS YOUR CHARACTER’S IDENTITY SECRET OR PUBLIC? Secret IF SECRET, OR YOUR CHARACTER IS A CIVILIAN, DO THEY HAVE A CIVILIAN OCCUPATION? Bar singer DOES YOUR CHARACTER LIVE IN THE MOUSEHOLE? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEIR DUTIES? Yes, he does, and he’s a farmer

DESCRIBE SIX TRAITS YOUR CHARACTER HAS AND HOW THESE AFFECT THEM:

+Kind Hearted: One of the reasons why he decided to use his powers for good, was exactly because of that. He hated seeing people suffering, he could have not known what to do with them in the beginning, but when he learned, he promised himself he would do everything in his power to protect others.

+Selfless: sometimes some would say he was even a little too much. He tended to always put other people's lives first. Luckily, when he was Shazam, that got him into less trouble, perks of having powers, but when he was a mere human, anyone could hurt him, which happened before.

+Loyal: he takes a long time to trust you, but when he does, he almost turns into a dog. He wouldn't ever betray you, would be by your side until your dying day. He would protect you no matter what. You could call him at 3 am saying that you're feeling sad and down, that he would go running to your place to cheer you up.

- Impulsive: he had gone to the field many times without a plan before, because the only thing he could think about when he saw someone in trouble, was that he needed to save the person. When he was the big guy, he tended to have a lot of wisdom, the same couldn't be said when he was just Billy. Despite being an adult, only four years away from his thirties, he wasn't the wisest on some occasions. But some have said that he could give some pretty good advices sometimes.

- Paranoid: when he starts to like someone, he tends to already start to imagine them leaving him, not wanting to have him in their lives anymore. His head starts to scream for him to run, so he doesn't get hurt, that little voice always shows up when he's already terrified of losing someone. He learned to deal with that, not let that control his actions, even if a lot of times, that little voice is still there, in the corner of his mind.

- Closed off: he hides how he feels 90% of the time, mostly negative feelings, because the happy ones, he tends to want to scream to the world, with the exception of love, which is extremely hard for him to talk about, especially to the person that he feels that toward. He took so long to tell his ex how he felt, actually he was only brave enough to do it when she said it first. But it wasn't just when he felt it romantically, platonic love was hard too, just not as much as the former.

POWERS AND/OR ABILITIES:

Wisdom of Solomon: Due to Solomon's blessings, Shazam has instant access to a vast level of scholarly knowledge. Billy describes this ability as a feeling and a moral compass.

Powers related to the above:

Clairvoyance: The wisdom of Solomon gives Billy clairvoyance and provides him with counsel and advice in times of need.

Divine Grace: Billy has the wisdom of Solomon which allows finesse in actions and dealings with others.

Eidetic Memory: Through Solomon's wisdom, Batson is capable of memorizing anything he sees.

Tactics of War: Through Solomon's blessings, Billy is an accomplished tactician.

Mathematics: Through Solomon's blessings, Billy is an accomplished mathematician.

Multilingualism: Through Solomon's wisdom, Shazam can speak any language when transformed. He has been shown to speak decent Arabic and Japanese.

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Strength of Hercules: With the blessings of Hercules, Billy's strength is greatly increased. He is able to crack concrete, bend steel, and could even fight toe-to-toe with Superman.

Powers related with the above:

Super-Leaping: With Hercules's blessing, Billy is able to use his strong leg muscles to leap far distances in a single bound.

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Stamina of Atlas: With the blessings of Atlas, Billy canendure great physical exertion without tiring while in his empowered form.

Powers related to the above:

Self-Sustenance: Because of Atlas' blessings, Shazam is able to survive without food, water or any other sort of sustenance while in his empowered form.

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Power of Zeus: Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transforms Billy, also enhances his other physical abilities and allows for inter-dimensional travel and the casting of various mystical spells. Most notably, this power allows Shazam to manipulate and control the "living lightning".

Powers related to the above

Accelerated Healing: He displayed the ability to use the transformative lightning to heal others or himself instantly from wounds inflicted on his mortal form.

Dimensional Travel: Shazam can access the Rock of Eternity whenever he wants, which sits at the center of the Multiverse. Shazam was also able to forcibly transport the Wizard to the Rock of Eternity through a bolt of his lightning.

Electrokinesis: Shazam is able to generate and manipulate the "living lightning", which is the magical lightning that transforms him into Shazam. He can project the energy from his fingertips and even use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or other target.

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Magic: As the wielder of Shazam's power, Billy is capable of casting magic spells for various purposes. While originally not well-versed in magic, Billy eventually learned to cast precise spells from the Book of Champions.

Powers related to the above

Power Distribution: As Shazam, Billy can share a portion of his magical powers with anyone akin to family that he so chooses, giving both similar and different powers of their own based on their personalities. The Wizard considers this "sharing spell" the greatest of Billy's powers.

Size Alteration: Shazam has used a spell to shrink down to the size of Mister Mind, in order to fight him inside his father's head.

Summoning: By saying "Ala-Ka-Zamm!" Shazam was able to summon a ping-pong table into the Justice League Headquarters.

Thermal-Blast: Through a spell, Shazam was able to ignite a blast of Superboy-Prime's ice breath into flames, and redirect the blast at him.

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Courage of Achilles: This aspect is physical and partly psychological, and gives Billy superhuman amounts of inner strength to draw off from, while also making him indestructible to harm. Bullets have no effect on Billy, and conventional weaponry does nothing to his physical body as well. Only the most powerful of superhumans can topple him. He withstood a punch from an enraged Superman without any noticeable pain and injury afterwards.

Powers related to the above

Indomitable Will: Because of Achilles', blessing Shazam is very strong willed in his actions.

Immortality: As long as he remains in his empowered form he doesn't age

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Speed of Mercury: With the blessings of Mercury, Billy can run as fast as a bolt of lightning, this means Billy can at least run a third of the speed of light.

Powers related to the above

Flight: With Mercury's blessing, Billy is able to hover or out right fly at high speeds.

Superhuman Reflexes: Shazam's reflexes are heightened to superhuman levels.

WEAKNESSES:

Vocal reliance: The spell that allows Billy to transform into Shazam is purely vocal. Therefore, if he is prevented from speaking, such as being gagged, he will not be able to transform.

IC PORTION; DETAILS —

WHAT BROUGHT YOUR CHARACTER TO SOKOVIA? He moved from his hometown, because he thought that Sokovia needed help. He saw everything that was going on, and thought that maybe they needed a little hand. It was a hard decision, because he would be far from his family, but knowing he would have people he was close to there, he felt a little more at ease, he wouldn’t be alone. DID THEY SIGN THE ACCORDS? WHY OR WHY NOT? No, and is shocked by the vigilantes that did, especially Clark. He doesn’t see why anyone would agree with such thing, it was so clear to him that it was some kind of plan Lex created to take over the world. He didn’t trust him. PROVIDE 3-5 HEADCANONS RELATED TO YOUR CHARACTER:

Music is his passion, and he even thought about making a career out of it, but decided against. If people paid more attention to him, would make things harder, so he went for a job that had to do it with, but that he wouldn't get famous over it.

He always wanted pets, but never adopted one because his fear of them getting hurt because of him and his fighting crime job, was bigger.

He also loves dancing, and he is good at it. There are some occasions that he gets really shy, but dancing and singing, are not one of them. He finds so easy to move his hips.

Sometimes he stands on the bed while listening to music, and play air guitars and drums. He had been caught doing it before, many times by his adoptive parents and family.

WANTED CHARACTER CONNECTIONS:

People he joined forces for a mission: vigilantes are always running into each other, so he probably bumped on more than a few of them while working before the accords, and joined forces to stop whatever threat that was going on.

People he met in college: this one probably gonna be a little harder, but if your character has the same age as him or close, maybe they could have met when he was in college.

People that watched one of his gigs: even before going to Sokovia, he played and sang in a bar, so if they lived in Fawcett City or visited it, maybe they could have watched he sing?

CHARACTER BIO — tw alcoholism, vomit, death

Sometimes people that are parents, shouldn’t have become one. Billy Batson was born in Fawcett City, he never met his dad, because he left before the boy was born, so growing up without a dad was already hard, on top of that, his mother was not the greatest one. She drank, a lot. He had seen many times her either sleeping on the couch, with a bunch of empty bottles on the floor, or in the bathroom throwing up. It was hard to deal with it, he was just a kid, he was supposed to be enjoying his childhood, instead he had to take care of a woman that didn’t know when to stop. He had to be an adult, while his friends were outside playing.

She was a mess, which was why no one was surprised when her son was taken away from her and placed in an orphanage. Not that he was that thrilled about it, but he could finally rest. It was exhausting having to look after his mom, many times he had to clean her vomit off her bed or the floor. Maybe he could finally be a kid. He was lucky to be part of an orphanage filled with lovely people. Not all of them were like that, but the staff, they treated him well, however, he didn’t feel like they were a family. Speaking of it, took him a long time to find one that wanted to keep him. He went to one foster house to another, no one wanted him. Couples usually adopted a kid with this perfect image of a family in their head, and Billy just wasn’t the kind of kid that fit into that narrative. He was constantly getting himself into trouble, and running away from their home. He was a problematic kid, because staying 8 years in a home like the one he grew up in, scarred him. He got better as he got older, but it took him to finally find a loving family, and until nowadays, he had to deal with the aftermath of the things he had to face as a kid.

No one was ready to deal with him, so usually they gave up, except for one family. The moment that he met the Vasquez family, he could already notice that there was something different about them, the other families were also sweet at first, sure, but they were different, he could feel just how much they seemed to love him already, and since they had 5 other kids that they also adopted, it was hard to see them as bad people, still, the mere thought of them disappointing him, made him try to run away. It was in that day, that his life would stop being ordinary.

One moment he was in a subway, in the other he was in some kind of cave. He thought that he was dreaming for a moment, who would think that something like that was possible? Especially since there was a wizard there who gave him powers and told him that he was the chosen one. In a blink of an eye, he was an adult, or at least seemed to be in the body of one. After getting out of that cave, he started to freak out, talking out loud to no one in particular, mumbling about how on earth was he supposed to fix this? And why the heck it had to happen to him from all the people in that city? He knew that he would need someone’s help, and the first person that came to mind was Freddy.

Despite the fact that he was planning to run away and never look back, he knew that the boy would help him without hesitating, and for his delight, he did. It was hard to find out how he could go back to his fourteen year old self, but eventually they did. It was so simple, all he had to do was yell the same name that he had to yell in the cave, and shortly after, he was back to his normal self. That didn’t really take away his powers, he could go back to being Shazam at any moment he wanted, so he stayed in the Vasquez home, and his new foster brother helped him to train.

It wasn’t easy, and honestly, he was clearly not ready to be a hero, but he had to be, there was an evil man that he needed to defeat, he was strong. At first he didn’t want to, he didn’t think he would win, he was scared to die, but the moment that he threatened his new family, which after some time really grew on him, it awoke something in him, but the guy was stronger, he would need help. He had to give his siblings powers, the same way that the wizard did to him, together they were unstoppable. They were able to stop Sivana.

After that, Billy’s vigilante duty didn’t end, he continued it, and so did his siblings. Many threats came, and they stopped them all, they were making the world a better place. They could not be capable of changing the whole world, but a small part was still something. As time passed by, Billy had to juggle his secret life with his social and academic one. Found himself a girlfriend, finished high school, started college. It wasn’t an easy task, but he refused to give up of his mundane life or his vigilante one. He continued, and after some time he successfully graduated in music. He found a job in that area, a small little bar that needed a singer for the band that played there.

He had a girlfriend, a job he loved, and a family that were always there for him, not to mention plenty of friends that he never thought he would be able to even meet. Three big heroes that clearly adored him, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Not only he could call them friends, but they were one of the biggest reasons why he had the strength to continue, he met Superman when he was only fourteen and still new to the whole hero thing, he guided him, the three of them did. They taught him so much, he felt like he owes them for the rest of his life, they were his second family.

His life could not have been the best, but at that moment in his life, he could say that it was almost perfect. It had downs like anyone else’s life, like when his best friend died, because he was in the wrong time, in the wrong place, Billy blamed himself for it, as he passed because the bullets that ricocheted him, went straight to the other boy. He learned to deal with the guilt, but there were many days that he still thinks about it, and if it was really his fault. Another thing that he blames himself for, was the end of his relationship, wonders if it could have lasted if he was a better boyfriend.

Things slowly started to get better, but like mentioned, life had many downs. What happened in Sokovia, the accords, it definitely affected him in such a huge way. Not just because he didn’t think that it was fair, but because he found out that one of the people that he trusted the most, Clark Kent, signed it. It infuriated him, how could he do such thing?! He thought he knew him, but apparently he didn’t.

He stayed months trying to decide whether he would move there or not, one more hero is never a bad thing. No matter how dangerous the situation was, he was willing to take the risk. He texted both Bruce and Diana almost daily, both because he missed them, and because he wanted to make sure they were safe and sound. He was still mad at Clark, but he still cared about him, he thought about texting him, he wrote a variety of them, but never sent it.

Months later, he finally decided that he should move, it would be hard to be away from his family, but he knew this was for a greater good, he had to be strong, so in 2018, he packed his things, and went to Sokovia. Without thinking twice, he became a member of the group that they were calling the Nomads, it was time to save that city.

#bio #srisingintro #tw death #tw vomit #tw alchoholism

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Carl Barks: Back to the Klondike Review: Blinkus of the Thinkus

Welcome one and all! If your a longtime reader of this blog, you know I love a good birthday celebration, having started with my first year reviewing animation last year with Donald’s and deciding to do Mickey and Scrooge’s later that year. But since I misseda LOT of disney birthdays, and found several Non-disney birthdays and anniversaries I just gotta celebrate, this year i’m making it up and style and have a whole calender set up to tack these big milestones to the wall. So over the year expect tributes to the greats of disney, looney tunes, and mgm both behind and in front of the scenes, as well as to various shows I like. It’s gonna be a good time.

So to start us off, it’s only fitting my first duck birthday since Scrooge, is for the love of his life and the stealer of his wallet, Glittering Goldie O Gilt! And I felt the best way to celebrate this storied day was to go back to her very FIRST apperance, one of earliest Scrooge headlined comics and a forever fan faviorite, Back to the Klondike!

But before we get into that, a little history on our gal in gold. Goldie was created for this story by comics god, the late great Carl Barks. Barks ended up just using her once, which is a shame but understandable as he probably only thought of her for that one adventure. While some characters like Gyro ended up being used again and again he probably just didn’t have any more stories in mind for her and figured Scrooge would return to her one day or he wouldn’t, but it wasn’t up to him. Fans however loved the character, her feisty dynamic with scrooge, and the fact she brought out his good side, so naturally other writers would bring her back. In paticular Barks Superfan Don Rosa cemented her as the love of his life and wrote several more stories with her, fleshing out their backstory and saying that at least in his personal canon, Scrooge retired to spend his final years with her. And while his fanboy was clearly showing, and that can end nasitly just ask Dan “Hates Wally West because he’s not barry allen” DiDio, glad he’s gone.. Rosa’s work with goldie is an example of what happens when it’s done right. Less DiDio or Bendis and more Al Ewing. Using the continuity and what’s there to build on a character who deserved better.. to me that’s one of the BEST things you can do in comics and Rosa’s work is proof of that, ironing out the.. questionable elements we’ll get to and leaving the gold in. So Rosa’s work combined with Ducktales not only adapting this story but bringing Goldie back a few times after that has elevated the character to a storied and permenat part of the duck canon, with her excellent heavily revamped Reboot counterpart currently carrying the torch with the help of the wonderful Allison Janey, perfect casting there. So with a legacy of gold behind her, let’s take a look at where it’s started and see if it still glitters after all these years under the cut.

We begin our story at the Money Bin. Scrooge has been counting his money.. but has already forgotten, and forgot where he put the slip he wrote the number on and even forgets who Donald is when he shows up until Donald, while having some fun with him as Scrooge is trying to phone him while he’s right there. As for how he got into the most secure place in the bin.. the story actually answers that both worringly and hilariously: Scrooge left the door unlocked. Naturally he’s not happy about this and Donald states the simple solution: Go see a doctor something’s CLEARLY very wrong, and the fact this could possibly be something like Demntia is VERY bad for someone who runs a zillion dollar company. Scrooge of course scoffs at “wasting his precious money” But Donald not only points out the obvious, that two bucks now saves him from having someone rob EVERYTHING, but Scrooge’s attempt to tie a string around his finger.. instead triggers a trap. And this entire sequence is decent with some good gags.. it’s just hampered a bit by making light of something that’s kinda bad. Not old people forgetting things.. but an old person with a disease as we find out forgetting things. Not helping is I laughed at first at the gags.. till I remembered a kind, old, friend of the family who had it and forgot me entirely by the end. So yeah, not the worst gags and the boxing glove and donald bits aren’t terrible, but it hurts now my brain’s made that connection.

Our heroes head to the doctor’s office where Scrooge is diagnosed with...

That.. might be the best name for a fictional illness i’ve ever heard in my life.. just inching out “Brain Cloud” and “Whale Cancer”. Still not the most SENSITIVE gag.. but it was the 50′s and mental issues weren’t given a lot of respect. IT’s why the above sequence and this whole part of the plot dosen’t scuttle things: It’s not the most repsectful.. but it wasn’t a time where these things were givne proper respect, treatment or knowledge, so barks wasn’t being an insentive douche on purpose, he just didn’t know. It dosen’t make it 100% okay btu it dosen’t wreck the story like say his blatant racist caractures in Voodoo Hoodoo. Seriously that’s.. not okay, and given he’s the kind of guy who researched locations he used, unlike with mental illness i expect BETTER of him than most men at the time. Still respect the guy, but it dosen’t mean i’ll overlook the fact he made some pretty bad mistakes. Same way while I love and miss Stan Lee I won’t ignore his blatant sexisim or racisim towards Chinese and Vitamise people. You CAN like a creator even if their work has some questionable and unjustifable elements, times do change and people do mamke mistakes when their young. It just depends on exactly WHAT they did or wrote that makes that distinctoin. So on that bombshell, Scrooge is given medication after a needle gag. He needs to take his pills every 12 hours. It’s then he starts to remember something, mubling abotu skagway, goldie and dawson and telling Donald to get the boys, their going to Alaska! Once they get on the boat Scrooge explains: he remembered thanks to the medcince he left a stash of gold nuggets there from his prospecting days.. and part of why this story ended up being one of the single most important to Scrooge’s character. While it establishes some character traits, something I dind’t realize till wikipedia pointed it out, it also establishes Scrooge’s days as a prospector. While other things made him what he was and got him to that point as Don Rosa would later flesh out, it was his days in the yukon that, for better or worse defined who he is now and shaped him into the man he is today: Tough, fair, badass as all hell, mean as the devil and richer than god. This time would be used a lot to set up stories, which made sense as it was the cleast and most agreed upon part of his past by all writers, and him at his abosltuely peak physically and mentally and the gold rush motif of the time perfectly fits someone defined by being rich. It’s also honestly nice that the Yukon is used, as Canada sometimes gets lost in the shuffle wise and hell until reading life and times I gneuinely had no idea what the Yukon was or where Calvin was headed when he and hobbes ran away from home.

Scrooge also first mentions Goldie and while clearly remembering her fondly.. goes into a rant about her howing him a thousand dollars which has compounded to a billion the second the boys catch on he was sweet on her with Donald assuming he’s just not a good person. But this is really just setting up another vital part of his character and the other thing: his heart. Before he’d been show as a pretty heartless, greedy asshole. While the previous story, Only a Poor Old Man, had softened him up a bit, this is the first to show that beneath the pile of greed and mean lurks a decent human being. Just don’t tell anyone or he’ll throw his money at you.. then tell you to bring it back to him. It’s what makes the character who he is: he’s cruel, onrey and selfish.. but he CAN care when the chips are down and can do the right thing.. as we’ll see later.

God I love the little poems Bill Watterson would put in the books. I didn’t as much as a kid, but god I do now. Anyways before our heroes can get going Yukon Ho, they stop in Skagway for suplies before heading out, Scrooge softing at taking a plane as “Soft” and him and the nephews hiking a week.. before running into the same flying service again, and finding out Scrooge OWNS it and forgot, because being scrooge he forgot to take his meds. Something I can relate to and i’m not proud of as staying on them is important to my well being. Seriously always take your meds. Unless their not working for you then talk with your doctor to get new ones.

So we arrive in Dawson, as our heroes will have to walk rest of the day Scrooge takes the boys to the Black Jack Ballroom, which used to be a hot spot and was where he met Goldie for the first time. After another covering for his reminscing with greedy bollocks, he tells the boys the story.. one that was cut from the original printing despite introducing goldie and something the editors dind’t bother to tell carl till they berated him over trying to sneak a blackjack saloon and a kidnapping in there... and to them, or their long dead skeletons probably, I say.

Yeah not wanting that in a kids story, while bollocks, tha’ts their perogative.. not having him send in replacement pages to keep story flow.. is dickish and underestimates kids intellegence as Don Rosa, while loving the story felt something was off till he saw the missing pages years later thanks to a fellow fan. So yeah kids, and adults, into the work noticed. Nice job. Again I can’t BLAME them for not wanting Scrooge to be a kidnapper as we’ll see and Don Rosa had to massage the hell out of that, but I can blame them for not caring enough to fix the obvious hole int he story. Though it’s now complete and unabriged and has been since the 80′s so there's that.

So in a nutshell Scrooge came to town for a coffee, and while the bartender ignored him he didn’t once he plunked down his goose egg nugget, what made his fortune and one of Scrooge’s most treasured possessions. It’s here we meet Goldie.

Yup.. just in case you thought her being a thief and greedy as hell was a new thing, and I kinda forgot how much, she dirves for the nugget, has Coffee with scrooge.. and drugs it, but makes the mistake of NOT clearing town, so Scrooge fights his way through the ballroom to her, gets the nugget back, forces her to sign the money for the iou he spent.. and then uh.. kindaps her to force her to work on his claim for 50 cents to try and teach her how to work honestly.

Yeahhhh as I said Don Rosa tried his best to fix this , and did so in his final story, which we’ll get to some day, revealing Goldie had a shot gun on her the whole time and was going along entirely to find out where Scrooge’s claim was. That.. actually makes more sense with the character and is far less horrifying and Scrooge finds this out fairly quick, so them forming an attraction out of this becomes 100% more plausable. So yeah good on Don Rosa for fixing the implications here. I may give out on him from time to time.. but he is a genuinely talented writer and did what a good comic book writer in an established continuity should do: update elements so they aren’t so... eugguuhhh after they become horrifingly outdated. And look YES she did do horrible shit to him.. but you still can’t kidnap someone over that. just put her in jail. What was any of that.

Anyways Scrooge HAS been taking his medicine, and proves it by showing the boys his pills and the next day they head to Scrooge’s old claim.. only someone’s living there and using it, and his old cabin.. and a shot gun. Yeah so they aren’t getting through in the day what about the night.. well they get attacked by Blackjack, who turns out to be owned by the claim jumper.. and is also you know a bear> And Donald left his back in new quackmore so their outmatched.

So outgunned and outplanned, if not outnumbered or outmanned, our heroes make a camp fire and whiel Donald again suggests the obvious, call the police.. Scrooge can’t. He didn’t pay taxes on the claim so he’s technically jumping his own claim and techincally she has a right to it. So techncially.. Scrooge is the bad guy here as he left the money here, didn’t pay his taxes and didn’t ever come back for it. Still beats trying to terrify your nephews or deny orphans a train because your an asshole buffet.

So the next morning Scrooge dosen’t want to rush her because “We Daren’t Get Rough with an old woman”. Two things.. 1... think before you put images in my head scrooge.. brrrrrrrrr. I mean Goldie. is not in the best shape in thie story as you’ll see and neither are you. In the reboot sure you two kept up a lot better but here.

And it’s not even an old people thing. Ann Margret was still fine so fine by the time of Grumpy Old Men, not to get creepy jut to prove i’m not being ageist. For a still alive example Keith David is also still a smokeshow at the tender age of 64. So yeah, not an age thing just not these paticular old people.

But they need a plan so the boy suggest luring the bear into a trap with honey. Donald and Scrooge build the cage while the boys.. find the jar of honey.

Regardless since the boys won’t do it for what Scrooge pays and neither will donald Scrooge goes to lure the bear with the honey. Once that’s done, and Scrooge is being covered with honey and licked by a bear...

So while he washes that off, the boys come up with another plan: they run around back while Donald makes noise to draw Goldie’s fire, with that being Dewey’s plan to meet her since he’s figured this out already. But Goldie has a backup plan and when she figures out they disabled Blackjack unleashes mosquitos... ugh. Having been stung like hornets about 50 times in animal crossing I feel you boys. So while Scrooge and Donald run off naked... troy if you will.

Thank you Troy, the boys confront Goldie who reveals her identity... and that she’s broke, her dance hall having failed with the rush and this claim being all she has.. and her suspecting scrooge woudl gladly take it. The boys vow not to tell scrooge.. but he’s on his way so they kinda have to and he primps to go visit and Donald starts to see through his BS about collecting the debt. Sure enough despite being taken aback by her putting on her old dress , he takes her for all she has and is.. genuinely suprised as she thought she’d have more and she’d actually changed since the old days, donating her profits to orphans from mining disasters. Scrooge.. is clearly rattled by this. Whiel it turns out to my shock he was clealry after the money, though givne who we’re dealing with I shoudln’t of been really, he still cares and still realizes he’s being kind of a dick. So he challengers her to a gold digging race, and if she wins the claim is hers and any gold she finds.. and naturally, while he seemingly puts her soemwhere where there isn’t she finds the claim and Scrooge bemoans not taking his pill.. but while the boys boo him for it, Goldie who fondly waves them off and Donald know better: Donald points out he counted the pills this morning.. and recently. SCrooge DID take one today... he’s just has his cane shoved firmly up his ass with pride so he coudln’t ADMIT he was wrong and instead simply staged that whole thing with the full knowledge Goldie would win. It, again, sets up one of his defniing traits; how he keeps people at arms length. How he’s just so proud and full of himself he can’t bear to admit anything resembling weakness.. but WILl find a way to do the right thing without that or forgoe it as a last resort. He may project being a stingy cretionus old man.. because he is.. but he’s got a heart as big as that nugget.. it’s just locked tight in it’s own bin... his body is complicated and weird that way Final Thoughts:

This story is a classic with a decent setup, great backstory for scrooge, and a great guest character and unquestionable impact on the character. However.. it does have it’s problem; As Don Rosa, who as i’ll remind you is both a huge barks fanboy and huge scoldie shipper, himself pointed out he wrote his final story, and had planned to for years ENTIRELY because this one never quite explains how Scrooge and Goldie went from old enmies to lovers.It did lead to one of his best stories and one of the first I read post life and times so, props to that. And of course as I pointed out some things have just.. not aged well, especially the kidnapping so their relationship kinda comes off like stockholm syndrom as a result of both of these.

That being said.. warts and all.. it’s still a really damn good story and a good one to try if your intrested in barks work or where Goldie came from: it has adventure, some really good jokes and if you can get past the dated bits the plot is solid. And while it goes without saying i’ll say it anyway Barks art is goregous as always ESPECIALLY in the flashback sequence. Overall not the best AGED Scrooge story, though not the worst either see Voodoo Hoodoo, good god, but defintely a classic for a reason. If you liked this review, follow me for more, and for more duck content as I still have more of the three cablleros to work through, another chapter of life and times coming up this week befor ewe break again for feburary, and some other fun stuff. Until the next rainbow, it’s been a pleasure.

#carl barks #scrooge mcduck #uncle scrooge #donald duck #huey duck #louie duck #dewey duck #glittering goldie #goldie o gilt #scoldie #back to the klondike #blackjack #comics #disney #ducktales

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devintrinidad · 4 years

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So Uhm, CAW anon here. I haven’t been into Hetalia for years. But I feel like talking about a few things I noticed back in fandom a lot that I didn’t see at all in the canon manga/anime (though Hetalia itself is just a fanfic of history. I’m only focusing on character and relationships present in the canon series).

Ok a lot has probably changed since the last couple of years in fandom. But back then I saw a lot of depictions of the FACE group: England and Canada not having much of a relationship. France and Canda being the closest while France and America aren’t close at all. America and Canada having a strained if not dysfunctional brotherly bond. Canada having no backbone and being a sad sack all the time or just being a pure angel with no flaws. America being too childish.

I’m going to try to remember all the canon bits to back me up. But I’m mostly curious if there’s anything off and your (most likely much more up to date and informed) thoughts.

Canada and England have a pretty good relationship from what I’ve seen. We’ve sen plenty of material of England being present in colony Canada’s life. He used to cook for him too (poor Canada) and Canada spent almost about the same amount of time with him as America did. Later on Canada chose Enlgand over America when the colonies revolted. He didn’t want to pick a side but in the end he did. He fought against American troops. Was there when England was heartbroken over the fighting. He even acted as a strategist, using his knowledge as America’s twin brother to use America’s weaknesses against him (sending surrender papers inside a basket of food. America was so hungry it took George Washington telling him to resist to not take the bait). Later on when America and Canada were trying to mend their relationship. Canada would get so nervous and have England talk for him all the time instead (which only confused America). England did it without any fuss despite any issues he and America might still have. Overall Canada recalls having a good childhood and England was a part of that. The two might not be as close as America and England are, but they have their own history and bond both are very comfortable and happy with each other.

America and Canada. Fans I ran into often focused on America and England’s dynamic history. But the North American brothers have a lot of their own turmoil and strength to them as well. While Canada might,moan about being invisible and such. Canada also remembers having a very fun childhood with America. So much he remembers how sad he was when America grew up much faster then him and couldn’t play with him all the time like he used to. When Canada told America he didn’t want to fight, only to choose England, America felt betrayed. He loved Canada and wanted his twin brother to fight for freedom with him. Their relationship went pretty sour for a long time. But the two did end up trying to be mature later on in life and congratulate each other despite how annoyed they are at how different the other is.

From there we only get brother goodness. They can bug each other a lot. Canada takes for granted everything America has done and gone through, things that have also been good for Canada. While America likes to mess with Canada and act pushy with him. They do like to horse around and spend time together. Despite their differences, they’re probably the closest siblings in the world of nations. They’ve gone through their bitterness and still chose to be close brothers in the end. They like to play sports together. They like to use their appearances to mess with England who can’t tell them apart like France can. They call each other on the phone a lot. They have a joint Search for Santa Claus operations every winter. America respects Canada’s opportunity and ability to easily get along with others. He also takes Canada’s concerns very seriously and offers reasonable and helpful advice such as how to help his citizens get along. Canada’s opinions must mean a lot to him since Canada is the only individual to make America cry in despair when he went into his 3 hour insult rant against him. Despite his complaints about his personality, Canada looks up to America as a big brother who he always goes to for comfort or help. He respects and admires America a lot and trusts him as his closest confidante (after his polar bear. Not that that bear is ever helpful). Overall America and Canada have their downs like every sibling pair has. But they also seem to have a very strong and stable connection where they can act like brothers and best friends. Sometimes I think it’s easier to imagine America is closer to Canada then he is to England.

America and France. Back then these two didn’t get a lot of attention. Which is strange because there’s tons of material of them interacting throughout the centuries. France used to cook for America when England wasn’t around (I bet when Colony America said English food was as good as French food, some thing broke inside France. The reason America started disliking English food is because France made it his mission to salvage some of his tastebuds. Xp). France has been the only FACE member to stay by America’s side without conflict. Both of them obviously had a close bond since France gave America Lady Liberty and you could see teasing and ruffling America’s hair like a big brother. The two hang out a lot. They go to Maid Cafes together. They seem to have lunch together all the time at conferences since France is always looking for America to go eat together. They apparently also have sleepovers a lot and like to compare different genres of movies. Whatever issues their people can have with each other never seems to affect their personal interactions. France is the big brother of love and that’s sometimes a running gag for jokes. But he really seems to be like a normal big brother figure for America. He often worries about America and Russia’s scary relationship and chides England for raising America to be weird. In a deleted strip, France is preventing America from drinking alcohol because he’s too young (being physically 19). It also gets a bit heartwarming when you recall the Joan of arc strips where France meets the reincarnation of Joan and she’s an American. Almost like America is now taking care of Joan and giving her the opportunity to be free and happy in ways she couldn’t before.

Also while it’s not part of their dynamic. It’s always interesting that when the author wanted to show the Nation’s personal relationships with humanity. He always chose America and France. The supposed happy go lucky airheads who often gain a affectionate yet somber (to even downright tragic) experience from it.

Overall America and France have a nice quiet and stable relationship. You could say while England raised America as a colony. France was among the mentors to America on how to be his own Nation.

I think that’s it. Again my memory might be foggy but that’s what I can recall. =P

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WAIT A MINUTE YOU’RE ALSO A HETALIAN??? AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME???

Okay, I’m going to prioritize this ask/submission thing first because wow, you’re a Hetalian and Hetalia has a special place in my heart. First of all, I’m kind of flattered that you think that I’m up to date for this, hahaha. I’ll have to tell you, while I do know a lot about American history, I’m actually more of a fan of the Itabros, hehehe.

A few tumblr people that I know specialize in Hetalia and have already posted FACE dynamics a lot in the blogs are, but not limited to: @historihet @stirringwinds and @ellawritesficssometimes. I’m not sure if Ella is still active, but there’s a lot of content that you can browse through if I’m not thorough. Also, again, the list of tumblrs that have been associated with FACE are definitely more than I can imagine, those are the three that I follow and know off the top of my head.

To @historihet @stirringwinds @ellawritesficssometimes, I love your interpretations and love for history! If I say anything inaccurate or something you don’t find to your liking, please inform me! I don’t want to spread misinformation and I’m just so excited to talk about Hetalia to my dear Anon Friend :D

If you’re reading this, I hope that you all have a wonderful day! And keep up the great work with your own analyses/fanart/fanfiction/etc. You guys rock and keep the fandom alive. :D

Anywhoozles, what you said here is fairly accurate. FACE definitely has its up and downs. Assuming that you haven’t been active in the fandom since... let’s say 2012-2014ish era, you might have noticed that the common bonds are Canada and France (platonic), France and England (rivalry/lovers/enemies), and the most concerning relationship America and England (brothers/rivals/lovers???). What you said in your analysis really applies within the sense of what is considered to be manga/anime canon, not necessarily historical canon.

In historical canon (if you want to go down that route), FACE is one dysfunctional mess if you want to consider it as one family unit. Every one of them at one point has been at each other’s throat at one point (whether it be at war or just snubbing the other because of politics).

We have:

1. The Revolutionary War (England vs America)

2. War of 1812 (Canada/England vs America, with special emphasis in 1814 because Canada burned down America’s White House if I remember correctly)

3. The XYZ Affair (I’m pretty sure it was a snub in diplomacy??? which actually started a war???)

4. The fact that American promised to help France in their own revolution, but Washington said no because we’re still a new country and all that jazz (...I know this because of Hamilton IF YOU’RE ALSO A HAMILFAN I WILL CRY)

5. And like the entire history of France/England is just its own thing

As you can probably tell, FACE... I think was just a term for the fans to make this makeshift family dynamic that is cute in some respects if this was like a human au, but definitely a cluster of effs if you imagine them as eldritch abominations that were brought to life because of human imagination.

Like, the dynamics can go in so many directions if you want to choose one aspect of history over another.

In @stirringwinds, they often write/draw about America as this Prodigal son who happens to be like the Crown Prince succeeding his once proud father. (America turning into a superpower after the World Wars and the English Empire just kinda dismantling itself because of everything.... OF COURSE THAT’S AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION, PLEASE DON’T KILL ME FOR INACCURACY!

Whereas for another tumblr, @historihet they portray the USUK relationship as more of a ship. Like, the whole brother relationship that is skewed in the anime/dubs/subs (this is due to the fact that some fans take the whole older brother thing too literally because in Japan, you call your elders/peers that happen to be older than you via polite endearments) is more of a... I’m not gonna say paternal, but it was more of a mentor thing? I’m not sure, I haven’t interacted with them much, but I’m pretty sure they ship it. Plus, their art is so amazing and they’re obviously a fan of history because wow, their head canons and their art is so beautiful and detailed.

As for the whole France and Canada relationship, I think this can be further elaborated via @ellawritesficssometimes. I remember reading that France and Canada, while having a similar relationship to England and America, it wasn’t that close or as heartwarming as many fans make it out to be. If you follow Canadian history, I’m pretty sure Canada was under French rule for a sort time before becoming part of the English Empire. Like, Canada was part of the Empire for a longer time than under France. This means that France wasn’t always there, England was. You can further read between the lines about the English/Canadian relationships, especially if you consider the fact that America fought an entire revolution to get away from England because of neglect on England’s part and on Canada’s part.... all he had to do was ask.

Soooooo....

Overall, I’m glad that you told me that you were part of the Hetalia fandom. It’s nice to see that the fandom is still alive and kicking, hahah. That reminds me, I’ve got to finish my series concerning Italia Veneziano, oops. Just wondering, but why did you want to talk about this? Not that I mind, it just seems out of the blue...

Thanks for the analysis and your chat! I hope that you have a wonderful day! :D

Please don’t tell me you want a FACE fic, hahahah. XD

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kyndaris · 3 years

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A Hero Lies in You

On April Fool’s Day 2019, a video was released showing the latest game in the Yakuza franchise. Many thought it was a prank. The reason why? The sudden change in combat. Gone was the brawler beat-em-up that was associated with the series. In its stead was a turn-based system reminiscent of role-playing games. Characters waiting for their turns before utilising special skills? In a franchise known for its hard gritty storylines about gangs duking it out in the streets of Japan? ‘Haha Ryu Ga Gotoku. You thought you could fool us, but we see right through you. This isn’t our first rodeo and you’re not Square Enix,’ was many a thought when the footage had been viewed by thousands online.

What gamers did not know was that this was no gag. Fast forward several months to August 2019 and it was confirmed that Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, starring new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban, would actually incorporate turn-based battles. There would even be JOBS!

As I had just finished playing through Kiryu’s story, as well as Judgment, in 2020 I was eager to see what new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban would bring to the table. From trailers, I could already see how much livelier Ichiban would be in comparison to the more stoic Kiryu. And, in contrast to Yagami, he was definitely more of an idiot. A lovable idiot, to be sure, but an idiot nonetheless.

Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon released in a huge week for video games. While I would have preferred to play it earlier, I had other huge titans to wrestle into submission first. Once I had managed to satiate my Ubisoft open-world needs with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, I dived head first onto the streets of Yokohama, ready to bust some heads.

The game opens on a play. For a moment, I thought I had somehow purchased the wrong game. But as the lengthy prologue progressed, it was very clear that this was most definitely a Yakuza game. It just needed to set up a little bit of the tale, starting with Arakawa Masumi - father figure and role-model for our erstwhile hero. It isn’t long before players are introduced to Kasuga Ichiban with his trademark ‘punch perm.’ Born in a soapland and raised by those that lived on the fringes of society, Ichiban, rather than being hardened by his experience, is empathetic and not afraid to show emotion. Tasked with collection, he interprets his orders in a way to benefit those that are struggling. His goofball attitude immediately makes him a character one can connect to. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a bit of a nerd, having played Dragon Quest during his childhood and likening many of the people around him to things in the game.

It’s not long before the plot escalates and Ichiban volunteers to give himself up to the police. Sentenced to fifteen years in prison, he inadvertently extends his sentence when his Patriarch is insulted by one of the fellow inmates. After nearly two decades spent in prison for a crime that he did not commit, Ichiban is released with little fanfare and no waiting convoy. Disappointed, he takes it in stride. The first thing on his order of business: to get his signature punch perm and reconnect with his second father-figure and Patriarch of the Arakawa family.

Along the way, he is dogged by a former policeman: Adachi. At first, it isn’t made clear why Adachi seeks Ichiban for help. After all, Ichiban had supposedly killed another yakuza in Kamurocho, Tokyo. Adachi, on the other hand, was a detective in Yokohama. Why would he have any interest in uncovering the truth behind what had put Ichiban behind bars?

After a few shenanigans are had in and around Kamurocho, our protagonist is shot and left for dead - waking up in a homeless shelter in the heart of Isezaki Ijincho. Climbing his way from rock bottom, Ichiban embarks on a journey to uncover the truth, stumbling upon a series of events and unearthing a vast conspiracy in which he was to serve as a pawn.

Many of the earlier chapters felt a little contrived. In particular was the death of Nonomiya. While it served to move the narrative forward, it was most assuredly a means to an end that didn’t highlight any significant character growth. Poor Nonomiya was fridged just to bring Ichiban into conflict with the Liumang branch of the Ijin Three.

It was only in the later chapters that the story picked up steam - with the confrontations with Bleach Japan and the encroachment by the Omi Alliance. Joined by a menagerie of characters like Zhao, Saeko, Han Joon-Gi, Nanba and Eri, there was a lot to keep track on as the plot barrelled forward at a breakneck pace, connecting Ichiban’s past with his current present and all the while setting up a juicy conflict between two men that could have been brothers. And honestly, the ending with Arakawa Masato and Ichiban got to me. I loved how that Ichiban was finally able to reach his old charge by being vulnerable and finally letting out a little of his resentment at the life Masato led, despite the fact that he could not use his legs.

The characters were superbly written and their motivations were a good reflection of the human condition. The themes of family and finding a home were evident, right from the start, even though a lot of it was glossed over by Ichiban’s desire to be a hero in a video game.

(I also really liked Seong-hui and would love to see her be an actual playable character in possible future instalments. On a side note, Arakawa...you cannot simply say: ‘See you tomorrow, Ichi,’ and expect to walk away. You basically wrote your own name into the Death Note with that line!)

As far as aping Japanese role-playing games go, however, Yakuza: Like a Dragon falls woefully short. While the Tendo twist was a good one - it was pulled a little too early. Worse, there was no world-ending threat. Everyone knows that a Japanese role-playing game MUST HAVE A VILLAIN/ EVIL GOD FIGURE THAT INTENDS TO DESTROY THE WORLD. Yakuza: Like a Dragon was too focused on old childhood rivalries to extend it further afield. I mean, yes, Aoki Ryo hoped to pull the strings of the Japanese government as chair of the CLP, but WHERE WAS THE METEOR HURTLING TOWARDS EARTH?

Honestly, 1/10 for holding true to Japanese role-playing games.

Other than that, the summons with Pound Mates was amusing. As were the side stories. Honestly, there can never be enough side stories to flesh out the wacky world of the Yakuza franchise. So many old favourites made their return. From Pocket Fighter (now dubbed Dragon Fighter) and Gondawara Susumu with his baby fetish.

Also, I didn’t think I’d be so obsessed with it, but I think they cracked property management this time round. Ichiban Confections, later known as Ichiban Holdings, was a blast to manage and accrue juicy money for.

The bartender of Survive also looked very familiar. I mean...what with the huge scar across his face. My suspicions were confirmed when I searched up Kashiwagi up on the Yakuza wiki page and was awarded with the fact that HE MANAGED TO SURVIVE THE ASSAULT HELICOPTER FROM YAKUZA 3!!

Other than that, my few other gripes involved the implementation of the levelling system and the way area of effect skills were handled. In particular, the pathing for how characters moved around the battlefield proved, at least to me, a bit of a frustration. Often, characters would be blocked by a knee-high fence or a corner. Sometimes they would be able to go around, but other times the game (after several seconds of watching them fail to walk through a solid building) warp to the enemy that I had targeted to launch their attack.

And even though the combat is turn-based, most of the enemies tend to walk around the battlefield - either clumping together or distancing themselves from each other. What truly annoyed me was when there were moves that could be used as an area of effect, with the MP cost to go along with it, but were limited by their effectiveness when the enemy combatants were too far away. Yes, it makes sense, but golly gosh, how much of a pixel measurement does it have to be for it to not hit?

Besides that, the levelling was also a bit of a tedious chore. Were it not for the invested vagrants, I feel like I might have put the game down with how much grinding there was - particularly when it came to the various jobs. The biggest hill to climb was from 20-30. Without the exp (experience point) boosting items, it would have been a torturous slog. I know that in the original Japanese release of the game, the cap for jobs was level 30, but if you change it to 99, please, for the sanity of all the gamers out there, tweak the requirements to make it easier. And maybe give normal trash mobs a bit more experience points for the playable characters to munch on.

Goodness, imagine having to grind on level 55 Ornery Yakuza and receiving a paltry 1000xp for each battle (when, in order to level up a job, you needed almost a million).

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a break from the traditional formula that’s been a staple of the franchise for many years. Much like Ichiban, it’s a bit of fresh air to liven up the experience that might have gone a bit stale after I slogged through the whole Kiryu arc last year. With a few tweaks, and a few more Persona 5 CD soundtracks, I’m eager to see how the story evolves and whatever contrivances Ichiban will somehow force him into.

Although, to be fair, is it still appropriate to call this franchise Yakuza when the game literally saw the dismantling of the two biggest clans? Then again, Civilian: Like a Dragon 2 just doesn’t have the same ring to it. In any case, I hope the next one comes soon and we’ll be able to have Seong-hui in our party. I feel like she’d be wielding a gunblade.

(Did I just use a lyric from Mariah Carey? You bet I did! I had been tossing up the idea between this line and ‘I need a hero.’ Why? Well, I think that would be self-explanatory after knowing Ichiban’s proclivities. And it fits so, so, so well!)

#yakuza 7: like a dragon #yakuza #video games #i need a hero

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dorizardthewizard · 4 years

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So I watched the Eurovision movie

Uh, I have a lot of thoughts because this is the closest we’re gonna get to the real thing this year ;^; First, the positives!

What they got right:

Overall, I like that it wasn’t really taking the piss out of the competition – whether you agree or not with how it was portrayed, the creators do have a lot of love for the show and that is reflected in how much it means to the characters. I think it was fitting to start with the kids watching and being inspired by ABBA’s win (I’m always up for showing people where the group’s fame started), and making it their life goal to perform in the contest. Just like Lars and Sigrit, many musicians in Europe grow up with Eurovision being an annual tradition and it’s their big dream to one day perform on that international stage, so yeah I think it decently showed how important ESC is here.

They got the overall vibe right too – most of the songs really felt like Eurovision songs (maybe a little dated but still), from the Viking-Europop opener to the Lordi-aesthetic one to whatever the hell Russia was doing. I don’t think Greece’s song was something they’d ever send though; it fits the character but not what the country typically sends. Then again, Estonia have sent an opera song in Italian and Romania sent yodel rap so actually, I take back that statement. They were missing a Balkan ballad though! Staging was on point – I think it was filmed at the Tel Aviv stage so that’s obviously a factor, but big angel wings and hamster wheels also bring a lot of familiarity :P No pianos being set on fire though, which, in a movie with so many on-stage disasters, is honestly surprising.

Of course there’s also the past contestant cameos, for that I’ll say one thing – needs more Verka. Maybe some contestants from earlier years would have been nice too, at least we did hear Céline Dion’s song in the song-along. Would also have been nice if the whole mashup was Eurovision songs, instead of throwing in some other ones just to make it more recognizable for non-Eurofans. Otherwise, the mashup was really seamless and sounded good.

Another thing the movie got right was European’s attitudes to Americans, not sure how I feel about it since the movie was made by Americans, but it’s self-aware and pretty funny :P There’s also the funny gag about countries not wanting to host because of how expensive it is, not sure why a guy working for the national broadcaster would care about that but looking at Iceland’s population size, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was also an economist for the government or something.

What they got wrong:

Of course, there were some things they didn’t quite get right. First of all, did the UK win for it to be hosted in Scotland??? Unless Australia won, or some other country that didn’t want to host or something. They actually made a joke about UK getting zero points, but they said it’s because no one likes us, when in reality we just send the blandest songs :/

There were also a whole lot of technical inaccuracies like Sweden breaking the rule on number of people allowed on stage, big five countries taking part in the semi-final (come on, how can you not get that right? Maybe they were afraid Americans wouldn’t recognise half the flags? :P), the contestants were just sitting by themselves in some room like it’s The Voice or something, their delegations nowhere to be seen, and then there’s the total lack of security or planning around the competition, with Lars just running around doing whatever. The countries presenting their votes in the semi-final stood out as well, but since we didn’t get to see the final I can brush over it, just so we experience the voting somewhere in the movie. Wonder why they didn’t use past contestants for the points announcements? They also had the French one speaking in English but you know what, they remembered to make sure he was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower so I’ll let them off :P

One thing that did bother me was how hard the movie tried to make us think the Icelandic song was a failure, except the song wasn’t even bad so they had to resort to all the incidents on stage. They even had that complete silence after the hamster wheel incident, and there is NO WAY that would ever happen – even the null points songs get cheers! In fact, people would cheer harder, and I don’t think Graham Norton, or anyone for that matter, would be that surprised that people remembered the song and actually gave it points (oh yeah, great to see him in this!).

Okay, some of those inaccuracies were nitpicks, but they’re just fun to point out. I don’t think they quite nailed the portrayal though, but more on that later.

The movie itself:

Judging the rest of the film, the humour really didn’t do it for me- it was just kind of jarring that one half of the movie felt like your usual light-hearted music contest film that was fairly rooted in reality, then the next there’s a dismembered ghost of Demi Lovato and a guy getting stabbed by Elves??? I know it’s classic Will Ferrel random comedy but honestly, those parts could have been cut out of the movie just fine, it’s like half an hour too long anyway and you can tell by the way the humour drags. It can basically be summarised by the ending scene where Lars is yelling at the Americans and then just keeps going, and I know that’s the joke in that scene but they do this throughout the whole movie – something will happen and the characters will keep reacting back and forth and it’s honestly exhausting. That might just be me though, maybe I’d prefer more witty and self-aware humour in a Eurovision movie but I guess non-fans wouldn’t get half the jokes so they went for over-the-top ridiculousness ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As for the characters, Sigrit was great; she’s a good mix between cute and weird. Lars is… annoying tbh, maybe I just don’t care for Will Ferrel's character type but when Alexander asks Lars what he can possibly offer Sigrit I was like “yeah Lars, what CAN you offer?”. Their relationship was cute though and his arc about caring too much about winning was decent, it does kind of resonate with Eurovision because yeah, lots of countries will revamp their songs to have English lyrics and the style is increasingly converging to Americanized radio-friendly pop music. I do wish they’d focused more on this conflict, rather than bringing in a love square (?) with Alexander and Mita.

Speaking of Alexander, I actually liked how they portrayed the Russian character; he wasn’t a villain, he was fun to watch and was genuinely happy to see Sigrit succeed. I did not expect them to go there with the whole “there are no gays in Russia” thing – I laughed but also actually felt for the guy, and his friendship with Mita was peak mlm/wlw solidarity, it was sweet.

The ending:

For me, this is where it goes American Hollywood style and kinda reminds me of Madonna’s speech about everyone being winners. Felt like I was watching Camp Rock for a second then (which is funny since Demi is in this movie) – all the other acts are fun songs but we’ll just change ours to a ballad so it must be more heartfelt and resonate with the audience, as if a good chunk of ESC songs aren’t ballads already!! To be fair, they do well in having it be a personal song about her hometown and adding in parts in Icelandic (although I’ve heard it’s so butchered you can’t understand what’s being said), it’s a sweet ode to one of the best parts of Eurovision – celebrating where you’re from and making your country proud.

Wish they’d focused more on that tbh, we really could have done without Lars speaking to the audience – that’s the more Hollywood moment for me and kind of reminds me of acts that try to connect with the audience like it’s a concert. Sorry but we don’t do that here :P Instead of the “music is feeling”-like message, it would have been nice if the movie was more directed towards celebrating why the contest is so big and important even decades after it began, and how it literally brings an entire continent together for one night. This would have been nice especially because of all the cynicism towards ESC and its dismissal as just a dumb, campy event with no quality music whatsoever.

Huh, I just remembered there are no live instruments at Eurovision so how everyone can hear the piano at the end is beyond me, also the instrumental kicks in despite the fact that that song has never been recorded in a studio, let alone able to be played out loud onstage. But I’ll just imagine that’s for us to see, the audience actually just heard her singing and nothing else. I don’t think it would have been that impressive, so Iceland probably won everyone’s hearts through memes instead :’D

Overall, I don’t think the movie was terribly offensive or anything, just some silly fun that missed out on the potential of better portraying the Eurovision spirit. I might eventually watch it again, but with skipping out half the comedy :P

#eurovision #esc #eurovision movie #the story of fire saga #feel free to share thoughts if you were crazy enough to read all this!#my posts

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ultra-gari · 4 years

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“you were my life, but life is far away from fair.” | Dabi x Reader

So, I don’t even know how this happened. It’s quite dark and so out of my comfort zone, but it was fun!

This fic was also heavenly inspired by “No time to die“ from Billie Eilish.

pairing: Dabi x Reader

genre: Idk, angst, maybe?

cw: character death

summary: You were moving away and you wanted to see him one last time to say goodbye.

The wind rushed through the trees, making the leaves shuffle. A few of them sank down to the ground, adding to the pile of brown, yellow and red ones. The colours were a strong contrast to the grey clouds hanging in the sky, indicating that a heavy storm was on the way.

The cold crept under your clothes and you pulled the scarf tighter around your neck. Winter was almost here and with it, you were gone. Moving to another city, starting a new life. How he would have wanted you to.

God, you wished he was here with you. He would mock you for not bringing any gloves while he grabbed your hand, warming it with his natural body heat regardless. You would smile up to him, telling him you only forgot because it meant you could feel his long fingers between yours before you would kiss him on the cheeks. He would pull you closer, chasing a deeper kiss, letting go of your hand and cupping your face, his breath ghosting over-

But he wasn’t.

You stuffed your fingers deeper into the pocket of your jacket, hiding it from the biting air as you walked down the uneven path to your destination.

“Woah, you really have a cool toy there!”, a young boy said, admiration glimmering in his eyes as he crunched down to you.

You stopped the flying sound you were doing, the tiny hand holding the said toy pausing in the air. “I know! I got it from Mommy and Daddy for my birthday this year!”

Pressing a little button, the action figure came to life. The eyes started to blink in a light colour as a robotic voice repeated one of the five sentences it could say, adding to the noise in the room.

Facing him now, you saw blue eyes still focused on your toy. The smile he had worn was slowly falling and a sad expression took over his face.

Not wanting him to cry, you asked, “D’you wanna play with me?”

“You want that?” His eyes darted to you, looking unsure as he fumbled with his fingers.

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I?” You practically shoved the figure into his hands to find yourself another toy to play with, already thinking about a cool hero story you two could play.

“No one wants to, because of my dad.”

Grabbing a woman in a superhero costume, you turned back to him, unaware of the pain in his voice as you grinned widely at him. “Well, I don’t know your dad, so I will play with you from now on!”

The old metal gate screeched as you pushed it open, making you flinch at the high sound.

You knew this place like the back of your hand by now. It was usually empty, the people here long forgotten by family members. Sometimes, on sunny days, some elderly would sweep the paths to keep the place somewhat tidy. But given the leaves on the ground, that hadn’t happened in a while. Maybe they were deceased now too.

Another breeze hit you, making you shiver. God, you really hated this place and all the memories it bought up.

You starting to hum a little tune, another habit he would usually knock you for. But this place was too quiet, not even the birds that stayed here during the winter were chirping. The rest had been flying south already. It wasn’t the first time you wished you could be like one of these creatures, being able to fly far, far away to a warmer, a happier place.

You could only go to the opposite end of the country.

A squirrel came running out of the bushes, stopping to give you a look, almost like it wondered who you were and what you were doing at this abandoned place. You couldn’t blame it as you could answer only one of these questions.

There was a knock at your door and within seconds, you opened it. The teenage boy stumbled through your doorstep, holding himself up on the wall. One arm was pressed against his body, hidden away to see thanks to his jacket.

You called his name and he looked up. His beautiful features were contorted in pain and without thinking, you wrapped your arms around him, steadying him as you led him to the couch.

As soon as he sat down and you were sure he wouldn’t pass out, you grabbed the first-aid kit from the bathroom and returned to him.

“Let me see it”, you demanded, taking his arm carefully by the wrist. He hissed as you moved it onto your lap and you gasped when you saw the wound. The blood was already dried, a dark crimson red against a light pinkish-red, patches from his jacket were still stuck onto it. You supressed your gag reflex as the overwhelming acrid smell hit you.

“I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt. A lot”, you said. Taking a tweezer into your shaking hand, you tried to calm yourself enough to start working.

He was breathing heavily, drops of sweat rolling down his neck, but he didn’t complain as you removed the remnant pieces of fabric.

It was quiet for a while and you were about to apply some antiseptic as he whispered, “I’m sorry that I always come to you.”

His voice was almost inaudible, but you had heard him. Your eyes met his and you could see all the things he wanted to say but couldn’t. You brushed a stray hair out of his face. “No, it’s okay. I’m glad that you always choose me to help you.”

Giving him a small smile, you returned to your work, almost missing his next sentence.

“I’m glad that it’s you, too.”

The tiny animal held a nut in his hands and from the form of his cheeks, it had more stuffed in his mouth. It was rather cute, but that wouldn’t help him surviving the upcoming cold. Maybe, if it was really lucky and hurried, it wouldn’t be freeze to death in a few weeks.

But life was cruel and so was nature. Only the strongest could survive. That was the law Darwin had discovered long ago. Absolutely nothing had changed since then.

Shaking your head to get you out of your rather morbid thoughts, you took another step forward and the squirrel disappeared in the high grass next to the way. You quickened your pace, leaving the rows of stones behind you and soon, a large tree came into view.

You almost smiled as you thought that he would have liked this place.

You curled up into him more, savouring the warmth he so naturally gave off, humming in affirmation as he started to play with your hair. The vibrant colours of the TV lighted up the dark room, but the movie playing on the small screen was long forgotten.

You littered his bare chest with little kisses, going up to give his damaged skin around his neck attention too. You knew he needed that. Needed the proof that you were still by his side, despite his appearance he called disgusting.

But he wasn’t disgusting. He was the one who held you when you had a nightmare again, reminding you that he was real and alive and not gone. He was the one who took care of you when you were sick; who could cook for shit, but tried anyways, so he could finally manage to make you your favourite dish.

No, he was a lot of things, but disgusting wasn’t one of it.

His lips turned into a small smile as you kissed his chest over and over again and your heart swelled.

“I love you, you know that, right?”

He kissed your forehead, then your lips. “I love you too, doll.”

“Hey, Darling.”

Your heart squeezed at sight of the modest stone, protected under the tall tree. It didn’t do justice to him in the slightest. He deserved more than this.

“I know that it had been a while since the last time I came here.”

You hugged your knees as you crouched down, trying to warm yourself. It felt always so cold when you came here.

“But you know, life has been quite busy.”

Thunder rumbled somewhere close by. Looking up, you really wished you had more time. Not only with saying goodbye, but with so many more things.

“Actually, I’m moving away tomorrow. Just like you told me to that one time you were wasted and just kept talking about what to do when you were gone. God, I was so angry back with you then.”

You breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh autumn air and you could almost hear him chuckling, a cocky grin on his face as he said some witty remark.

“Kinda seems like you knew the outcome all along.”

You whimpered, pulling him closer, trying to make him stay. His arms wrapped around your frame as he gave you a kiss on top of your head.

“It’s gonna be okay, doll”, he reassured you and added, “It’s just another mission crusty face gave me.”

You inhaled his musky scent, knowing that you were being pathetic, but something about this order gave you a bad feeling in your stomach. Searching for his eyes, you said, “Promise me you will come back.”

He chuckled, but answered, “I promise I will come back.”

His lips connected to yours, pulling you into a deep kiss. It was demanding, full of love and so, so much like him, it left you breathless.

“You’ve known me since we were kids. You’re not getting rid of me now.”

But Dabi never came back on that day.

He had died, killed by his own unknowing father. Or maybe the man had known, you weren’t sure. Not that it mattered anyway.

Dabi, the person you had known all your life, was gone. Nothing could bring him back and you still struggled to accept that.

He hadn’t been able to keep his promise, but you couldn’t be angry at him. You had known what you had gotten yourself into when he had kissed you for the first time.

Still, hope for a better and more peaceful life with him had clung to you until you had seen the pictures on the TV.

You sighed, fingertips brushing over the stone with the poorly carved name and dates in it. Your hand had been shaking so much when you did it, your vision blurred from the tears that had streamed down your face. Toga had taken the stuff out of your hands before you could hurt yourself. She had hold you, giving you room to scream and wreak havoc as much as you needed to. Now you didn’t know where she was anymore.

Your gaze moved to the little photo of him at the foot of the stone. He had been younger, maybe a teen, as you had taken it. His skin on his face had still been intact. The Dabi on the photo actually smiled, a rare sight you would never see again.

Grabbing into your bag, you pulled out a long-forgotten toy. It was used, missing an arm and the colours more pale than vibrant. You couldn’t bring yourself to keep it anymore.

A tear escaped your eye as you sat the action figure next to the photo.

“You were my life.” Your voice got carried away with the wind. You hoped it reached him, wherever he was now. “But life is far away from fair.”

You wiped the tears away as you walked back home, knowing that you would never come back to see him again.

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #dabi #dabi x reader #tw:death #character death #dabi is a todoroki #i cried while i wrote it #send help pls #dabi bnha

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enneagramwingmiranda · 4 years

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Friends: The actual enneagram types of Rachel, Monica, Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey

The Protagonist Friend: Rachel Green [Type 3]

“You know what I figure, if I can do laundry, there's nothing I can't do.”

Enneagram Wing: 3w4 (Achiever along with an individualist)

"It's like all of my life everyone has always told me, 'You're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe.' And then today I just stopped and I said, 'What if I don't want to be a shoe? What if I want to be a purse, you know? Or, a hat?'"

Core Fear: Of being worthless

Core Desire: To feel valuable

Childhood wound: You must be extraordinary to deserve love.

Rachel’s deepest fear is not reaching her full potential in life and this is the driving force behind all of her actions. The symbolism of her being a runaway bride in the pilot episode demonstrates just that, she doesn’t want to settle or live a mediocre life. In adolescence her need for value and significance is demonstrated in her popularity, being head cheerleader, and holding a legacy of being the mean girl. The mean girl trope in pop culture often shows that the meal girl’s deepest vulnerability is feeling as if she is less than others. Being mean to others is her coping mechanism to continue feeling superior. In adulthood, Rachel leaves behind a life of privilege she finds unsatisfying and chooses the ‘road less traveled’ for individuals of her upbringing in which she must achieve things on her own. We see Rachel start from the bottom and make her way to the top. Her career becomes a big part of her identify in that she even neglects her first true love for it. We see that Rachel’s father instilled this childhood wound of valuing superiority in his mistreatment of the lower class.

The Best Friend: Monica Geller [Type 1]

“And remember, if I’m harsh with you it’s only because you’re doing it wrong.”

Enneagram wing: 1w2 (Reformer along with a helper)

“I've got this controllable need to please people!”

Core Fear: Imbalance

Core Desire: Balance

Childhood wound: You must always be better than you are.

Monica’s defining trait is her need for order in her life and environment. She notices all inconsistencies and errors in not only her home organization but the state of her friends appearances and actions. Her OCD tendencies is a running gag in the series. On the contrary, Monica is very caring and nurturing. She is always there to lend a helping hand and advise her friends. Unlike the rest of her friends, Monica is very aware of where she wants to be and what she wants in life. She feels a sort of instability when her life doesn’t go according to the plan she envisions. She has a hard time adapting to change shown the mourning of Richard and her roommate Rachel. However, she’s not afraid to walk away from things that she knows won’t serve her in the long run even if its hard to do. She cannot relax unless she feels she is living up to the high standards she has set for herself and others. She does not hesitant to let others know where they fall short. Not only does she calls others out but tries to steer them in the direction to what they deserve. We see that Monica’s perfectionistic ways are rooted in her childhood wound from her mom’s constant criticism of her.

The Friend Who Loves Hard: Ross Geller [Type 5]

“You’re means you are. Your means your!”

Enneagram wing: 5w6 (Investigator along with a loyalist)

“You know what the scariest part is? What if there's only one woman for everybody, you know?”

Core Fear: Incompetence

Core Desire: Proficiency

Childhood wound: You must acquire all the knowledge otherwise you are helpless and incapable.

Ross’s defining trait is his intellect. He often annoys his friends with constant talk of paleontological topics and his need to always be right. Ross not only values education and knowledge but also security. He fears being alone and often takes the leap of faith with romantic partners, however, his trust issues get in the way and result in self sabotage. He exposes his childhood wound in later seasons: his father made him feel incompetent due to his love of dinosaurs and playing with dinosaur toys as a child. Ross also struggles with feeling less of a man and this can be linked to his enjoyment of role playing as a woman as a kid and being ridiculed for it.

The Friend Who Opens Up: Chandler Bing [Type 6]

“Until I was 25, I thought that that the only response to ‘I love you’ was “Oh, crap!’”

Enneagram wing: 6w7 (The loyalist along with an enthusiast)

“I’m full and yet I know if I stop eating this I’ll regret it.”

Core Fear: Isolation

Core Desire: Comfort

Childhood wound: You must succumb to your doubts because the world is not a safe place anyways.

Chandler’s defining trait is his pessimism. He uses sarcasm and humor as a defense mechanism for his deep insecurity and fear. Chandler longs for closeness and security in his relationships but often sabotages any chance at lasting love. He sticks with what is known and comfortable because it’s predictable (he constantly reconnects with Janice despite his dislike of her). He knows he is a lot to handle so he greatly values his friendships because they accept him for who he is and provide him support and validation. It makes sense that he ends up with Monica because their foundation being built on the already existing trust from friendship, thus providing him safety to trust and open up. Despite Chandler’s neurotic tendencies, he is a fun loving person. Joey, being a 7 himself brings this out in him.

The Friend With A Heart of Gold: Joey Tribbiani [Type 7]

“I like it. What’s not to like? Custard? Good. Jam? Good. Meat? Good.”

Enneagram wing: 7w8

“You can’t just give up! Is that what a dinosaur would do?”

Core Fear: Being unfulfilled

Core Desire: Contempt

Childhood wound: You must sow all your wild oats or you will be eternally unhappy.

Joey’s personality is defined by his enthusiastic yet easygoing nature. Joey’s main concern is to go out and have a good time. He wants to enjoy life however when things don’t go his way he never lets this get him down. He is quite dimwitted but often acts as the wise fool encouraging his friends and sticking up for them whenever needed. He never really commits to anything, bouncing from job to job and woman to woman. He is essentially always looking for the next big thing and he seems to never find it. Joey’s lack of commitment also demonstrates that he doesn’t really desire the security that comes with it. He subconsciously feels as if he is completely self-sufficient (8). His childhood wound is exposed when discussing his family line. He was the only boy out of 7 sisters and felt as if he had to set up and be the protector. We can assume that his parents having so many children to resulted in him lacking the attention and nurturing a child is supposed to have then.

The Intuitive Friend: Phoebe Buffay [Type 8]

“If we were in prison, you guys would be like my bitches!”

Enneagram wing: 8w7/8w9 (Balanced: Challenger along with an enthusiast and peacemaker)

“That’s not running, let’s goooo!”

“I have to go before I put your head through a wall.”

Core Fear: Being harmed

Core Desire: Self-protection

Childhood wound: You must be totally independent because relying on others only results in harm.

Phoebe shows many traits of several enneagram types, for instance she shows hints of a 7 and 9 but her assertiveness and independent nature stands out from the rest. Her childhood wounding defines her personality traits, quirks, relationship dynamics, and her lifestyle. From a young age she had to learn how to defend herself and take care of herself due to the abandonment of her caregivers. She is the least connected to her friend group and for a long time lived on her own while the rest of the friends were each others roommates. She refrained from developing any long term relationships and we can first think that it’s because she doesn’t want that. It is later revealed that she never put much thought it which suggests that her independence is engrained into her being. It’s simply all she knew. However, Phoebe’s challenging nature is balanced out by her wings. She can stay positive and be fun loving (7). She develops a alias, Regina Phalange to get in and out of mischief. Her wing 7 is why she identifies with Joey so well. She also can play the role of the mediator to help her friends work out their issues (9). Phoebe also desires to be at peace with all, even her sister Ursula who is totally disinterested and uncaring. She desires world peace and advocates for animal cruelty and vegetarianism. Phoebe is probably the most emotionally healthy character despite having the roughest upbringing.

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warlordgab · 5 years

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LuNa analysis: “Saving the girl,” when does it matter?

This little analysis and its NaLu version were supposed to be one single post. But, I decided to divde them for there’s a lot to cover, and doing things this way makes it easier to shorten the content

With that out of the way, let us begin!

As explained in the other analysis, when a story develops a bond organically, “saving the girl” doesn’t mean she owes her savior a relationship. True chemistry doesn’t occur because of favors done. That’s like a basic unspoken rule

Going from “saving the girl” to “impregnating the girl” without proper development, or meaningful and engaging moments, is a proof of lazy writing...

But, rescuing a love interest is an legitimate story-telling tool. So when does “saving the girl” matters for the growth of a potent relationship?

First, we have to address why the shipping mindset doesn't work here. To keep things brief, what some readers could find compelling, characters in the story may not find truly moving. Some fans enjoy cool, stylish, and tough characters so much that they end up overhyping every action they take or every interaction the have with others. Even when the story doesn't hype anything at all.

Example, women who would like to have a good-looking man complimenting them 24/7 may find similar actions incredibly thoughtful and meaningful, even if the story doesn't take such behaviors seriously (to the point of using them as jokes/gags) or characters don't see those showings as something significant enough to warrant a serious response.

Readers with this kind of casual mentality are prone to overhyping any and all rescue scene that features their favorite characters despite such instances lacking actual weight or true relevance to any sort of real development

So, some conditions for a moment to be relevant are the characters and the story considering those interactions as impactful, and having those moments pay off. Only the author's works are allowed, as most if not all that comes from directors or writers of the anime adaptation bears no real weight on the source material

Now, such moments have to offer a substantial contribution to the relationship between the characters and leave an impact powerful enough to compel characters in more ways than one

The moment I would like to break down is not one single scene, but rather the context behind the series of events leading us from this...

...to this:

So, Luffy confronts Nami right after she hits her lowest point. At this moment, he stops her from stabbing herself while cursing Arlong, and then Nami does something she hasn't done in years: she decides to open herself to Luffy and rely on him for help.

To understand the true weight of the moments that followed, we have to put everything into context.

After Arlong murdered her adoptive mother and took over her village, Nami made it her mission to save her home...

...she on her own choose to isolate herself while closing her heart, supressing the feelings and emotions that may get in the way of her goal back then: saving her village from a terrible tyrant

As we analyzed in other posts, becoming fond of Luffy and his crew wasn’t enough for her to break out of that self-imposed isolation.

However, the challange Luffy undertook by himself, and part of the emotional narrative driving this arc, was reaching out to Nami. He knew he won’t leave without her, and he knew she was his companion and navigator no matter what she said.

It was when her oppressor Arlong robbed her of all hope for salvation, when she was finally broken by her own powerlessness and despair.

At this moment Luffy arrives with no knowledge of her current situation nor her backstory with her personal oppresor nor what did Arlong did to leave her in that state... even he admits he doesn’t know what’s going on. But, after Luffy actively sought to break through Nami’s defenses, and Nami herself seeing she had no way out, she took a huge gamble

She finally opened her heart to Luffy, and did what she haven’t done in years: she choose to rely on someone else, to put her faith on Luffy. His response is something we analyzed over and over in this blog:

Answering with a pretty iconic gesture meant to provide the relief and hope she needed, and reaffirming he would help her, Luffy confronted Nami’s oppresor as retaliation for making her suffer, and ended up destroying all the traces of the past that was holding her back both physically and emotionally (after getting a small glimpse of what she went through).

Why is Luffy rescuing Nami relevant to their position as potent relationship?

As noted by some readers, the moment she asked Luffy to save her was the first time she opened her heart to someone else. When she decided to emotionally rely on Luffy...

...she found the courage to stand up to the person who treated her as a slave for many years and threatend her home and family. At the end her faith got rewarded

This experience left an impact on Nami with a power that readers can perceive from time to time if they look closely in the author’s works in other arcs.

Even when giving into fear and despair during Luffy’s first battle against Enel, Nami found the courage to face the big bad after another “pass of the hat.”

A gesture which was reminiscent of the first time Luffy provided her with the emotional comfort that allowed her to confront Arlong, and served a similar purpose here. Luffy reassured Nami that she, as a companion of the future PK, had no reason to be so scared. And that was enough for her to stand up to Enel even during Luffy’s absence.

We know that Nami took this to heart, for she would later declare with confidence, to a high-ranking member of one of the most dangerous pirate crews of the world. how Luffy being the future PK guaranteed their victory

During Water 7, she showed some serious drive and determination to save Robin. But, as soon as she got to Luffy, she poured her heart to Luffy, and freely expressed how she truly felt.

Their experience in Arlong Park, which includes the first time she opened to him, made Luffy her emotional anchor.

Something that we also see in the manga version of the Zou arc. As soon as she hears the rest of the crew arrived, she displays great joy...

...but as soon as she has the chance, she seeks comfort and relief in her captain; she once again openly expresses her anguish to him.

Everything comes back to those moments at Arlong Park. The time when she opened her heart to Luffy. The emotional chemistry that became the foundation of their bond.

So, in the framework of this series, when does “saving the girl” truly matters to any potent relationship? First of all, It has nothing to do with overhyped jokes and gags nor about explicit “romance” nor lovey-dovey stuff based on filler.

It matters when it leaves an impact powerful enough to make a emotional connection grow steadily, and when it spawns dozens of meaningful moments contributing to a consistent bonding. A piece of poetry that writes itself

NaLu version: https://warlordgab.tumblr.com/post/186743458211/nalu-analysis-saving-the-girl-when-does-it

#one piece #luffy x nami #lunami #straw hat luffy #cat burglar nami #saving the girl #analysis #ルナミ

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edwardslostalchemy · 4 years

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God it's so nice to see someone who doesn't like Bakugou, THANK YOU😭. Sometimes I feel so fucking alone in this fandom cause everywhere I look there are ppl praising Bakugou and saying that he's the best, I have no fucking idea how he keeps winning popularity polls🤢🙄. And I HATE that Deku puts him on a pedestal. Horikoshi saying that Bakugou has to apologise gives me hope but I think that it'll happen super late and that it'll be written like a super bad apology so yeah... what do you think?

YEAH Idk where his popularity comes from when he's a shitty character who yells at everyone and calls them names. Its just really weird to me. It doesn't make sense to me at all because he's a bully that told Izuku to kill himself and that's something I'm never going to let slide like ever since the first time I watched the show, it really hit me and I even mentioned it to my little brother, who introduced me to the show. Its just...that just hit my heart you know? And then he doesnt get any better. I see people saying he's improving and he's getting development, but I can't see it? Like if he's doing something, it's not even that Great. Like wow he saved a person. That's...that's exactly what a hero should do yeah. But none of that erases what he has done to Izuku which is 10+ years of abuse. He hurt him so much verbally and physically. How do you just ignore that? And I also see people argue "we can enjoy a character and still acknowledge their flaws", but like? I still fail to understand. Like I'm sorry, I just don't enjoy characters that are assholes. ...actually I'm not sorry. I am also really annoyed with Izuku excusing his behavior or just...Not reacting to it. Like I get he is super kind and caring and forgiving, but I also feel like hero society has shaped his opinion. K*tsuki has a strong quirk, therefore he is fit to be a hero. But I'm not sure if Izuku connects abuse to heroism, or lack thereof. Like I really wonder if after Shouto told him about his abusive father, Izuku started to change the way he saw k*tsuki.

I've wanted an apology since like last decade because it's just too much. If he is going to keep being an important character, Horikoshi has to give us a balance. Its becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy this series by having him as one of the protagonists when he is a piece of shit. He yelled at his hosts during the family dinner despite knowing how heavy the subject Shouto and Fuyumi were discussing was for them. I'm never going to let them go because when you talk about something important like that between you another person, the last thing you want is for a 3rd party to yell at you. That just peeved me so much. And he also stabbed Izuku on his head with his accessory and he bled because of that. And nobody reported him. The boys showed concern, but like who intervened? Nobody. Its so annoying. He hasn't changed at all if he's still hurting Izuku. And now its played as a gag, how disgusting. Thanks Horikoshi, for playing off his bullying as a joke, real clever of you, that's exactly what I needed. 😒

Anyways yeah I want a good apology, but because Horikoshi bends over backwards to kiss k*tsuki's ass, I don't know if he will give us a good apology. I hope he does. Because it's what Izuku deserves AT LEAST. At most, he deserves to get away from him because he's so toxic and he needs to heal. So what I would totally LOVE is for Izuku to not only get an apology, but also to spend time away from him. I know from experience that I healed a lot after I spent time away from the person that bullied me in elementary school and I am healing now because I am away from the person that really hurt me. At least the latter apologized to me, but the bully didn't. She never stopped her behavior until I was in a different class from her and I became more confident because of that. When I had a class with her again in high school, she couldn't do anything to me because I was savage. I would have eaten her face off with sass. I'm not trying to say Izuku should totally do this, but Izuku should totally do this. But anyway back to the topic. Izuku deserves better. He has better friends and classmates now, but wouldn't it just be amazing if class 1St and Aizawa and All Might found out that he bullied Izuku "Sunshine" Midoriya? God that would just be cathartic. I would legit frame that on my wall and personally thank Horikoshi for my existence. An apology would be such a gift, though. And k*tsuki also acknowledging that what he did was WRONG and he will try to be a better person and a better friend. Because as it stands now, he does not regret anything he did. He still treats Izuku like shit and he is still a Grade A+ Asshole. So if Horikoshi does not do hustice to the apology, then it will be horrible writing honestly. Like I am afraid for this event because we are getting a damned redemption for endeav*r and that bastard abused his entire family in different ways and just NOW realized he did wring. Its too late, sir, you messed up 5 people, good job, you selfish bastard. K*tsuki is still a 16 year old twerp, so lets hope he'll change and get the proper development he so desperately needs. If Horikoshi butchers it then that'll be a dann shame. I have one fear for the series and this is it. Either we get a shit apology or we get no apology at all. I'm not sure if this answers your question, but I felt like this would 've a good answer.

#anti bakugou #asks #thebipanfangirl #i went off oof #you guys give me fuel and i turn it into fire #i hope this is what you were looking for?#i went on so many tangents that i kept forgetting to stay objective #anyways remember to stan izuku

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love-takes-work · 5 years

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Steven Universe Graphic Novel Camp Pining Play (2019) - Outline & Review

The fourth original graphic novel for Steven Universe, Camp Pining Play, is a new story for the Lapis and Peridot fans, presented as a theatre project but focusing on relationships and emotional resolution more than anything. It’s new content–unlike some of the trade paperbacks that collect previously released individual issues of the comics. It is written by Nicole Mannino, with illustrations by Lisa Sterle and a cover by Francesca Perrone.

This graphic novel involves Peridot and Lapis falling in love with a piece of Camp Pining Hearts fanfiction--which turns out to have been secretly written by Lars--and after they get permission and have auditions, they put on a play that becomes ever more loosely based on the original fan work. Everyone involved seems to have input that takes the story farther from its origins, but they're determined to still present its heart . . . which becomes difficult when Lapis is uncomfortable with a central facet in the finale--a pretend fusion--but doesn't feel empowered to speak up about it even though Peridot keeps checking in with her. It's actually pretty nuanced throughout despite also having a lot of pretty superficial gags, and every character works pretty well as themselves on more than one level despite this being written by people outside the show team. As usual with my reviews, I'll discuss the story and then present a list of notable items.

(I’ve got to cut for length, sorry. Please look at the amazing sample panels under the cut even if you don’t want to read all my rambles about it.)

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

The story:

Peridot and Lapis are reading and enjoying Camp Pining Hearts fanfiction, relishing the author's faithfulness to the show while featuring their favorite non-canon ship (Percy x Pierre). Lapis indulges Peridot's desire to hear her "Percy voice," and they praise the fanfiction while kicking around ideas of how it could become more real--like maybe it could be made into a real episode or an animated adaptation. Soon, though, they decide a play would be a great idea, though they would have to find the author and get their permission.

Using her homemade app Find-A-Clod, Peridot discovers the identity of the fanfic author, and who should it be but good old Lars Barriga--the local "Donut Butler," as Peridot calls him. Predictably, Lars first denies his authorship, then requests secrecy while admitting it. Sadie, it turns out, also knew of his hobby, and she's edited his work tirelessly all along. Lars gives his permission for them to put on a play (as long as he gets to critique it from the shadows and not have his name attached in any way), but now they have another problem: How do you even put on a play?

Sadie jumps into the organizing chair, giving suggestions worthy of Peridot's title "Donut Master." She comes up with a series of steps, manages to get Mayor Dewey's permission, and receives a one-week planning timeframe. They jump into auditions next, and though everyone's enthusiastic, no one seems too fixated on what roles they want to play (besides Amethyst, who really wants to be a shell necklace used as a prop). Steven, as the most handsome human Peridot knows, gets propositioned to play Pierre, and Pearl becomes Paulette. Lapis is elected to play Percy even though she doesn't think she's actually as cool as the character is.

After the auditions, it's time for props. Lapis and Peridot make the actors create the props, though they soon find they need to give more direction or they'll get a bunch of junk they can't use. The sets and props become amalgams of what people can make and bring from home.

Finally, the rehearsals start. Everyone's struggling a little, from people who can't get their lines right to actors trying to destroy the props (well, Onion trying to destroy the props). But most of all, everyone seems to be awkwardly going through the motions, and Lars keeps shrieking "BOO!" because of how unlike his original story everything's going. Soon they come up with some ideas about making the presentation more their own so their characters won't be so awkward, and to help with the lack of chemistry between Percy (Lapis) and Pierre (Steven), Connie comes up with a unique idea. . . .

She suggests Lapis and Steven should fuse!

Well, that's a controversial statement. Peridot's against it because she thinks their actions are enough to show their affection and they don't need fusion, and Garnet is opposed to fusion as a stage trick. But Connie isn't suggesting it willy-nilly; she thinks they'll need something big to really emphasize the characters' connection, and Amethyst thinks it'd make them seem "strong." But then everyone has ideas on how to change the story or characters, and the core creators of the production are split on how to feel about it.

The blessing is given to include more personal interpretation into the characters. Most importantly, though, Peridot decrees that the fusion at the end needs to be a fake fusion. Lapis isn't up for fusion, though she refuses to say so and ruin everyone else's time. Peridot believes this is a good compromise, but Lapis is still nervous. She keeps it to herself and the rehearsals continue.

The day before opening night, Peridot and Lapis have a heart-to-heart, because Peridot can tell Lapis is holding back a bit. She finds herself unwilling to be specific about her issue, while Peridot goes on a bit about how fun it's been to find a good balance between following rules and enjoying some flexibility. Lapis claims she's just a little shy, and pretends she is okay with the fake fusion scene. She clearly feels like she doesn't have any business objecting since it's not real, and Peridot simply takes her word for it. They distract themselves by fooling around doing voices of the characters.

Opening Night arrives and the audience is full of Beach City residents as well as some visitors. Peridot makes a speech backstage thanking everyone for helping (even the people who don't want to be acknowledged, like Lars), and she emphasizes that she appreciates Lapis's partnership. It's a very sweet moment.

But as soon as everyone scurries off to their places, Lapis gets nervous. The beginning scenes go on as planned, but then Lapis stalls with her entrance because she's freezing. She can't think about anything except how she'll have to fake a fusion. Sadie, as a background tree, gives Lapis a pep talk, and then Onion shoves her onstage and she tries her best.

There are a few minor mishaps, but everyone mostly relaxes and carries out their roles. But then the climax occurs--Lapis's character Percy saves Steven's character Pierre from a dangerous lake after he's jumped in there to get Percy's special lost necklace. This is where they're supposed to have a moment and fake-fuse, but Lapis can't go through with even pretending. She lets loose what she's been feeling while on stage, forgetting about the play.

Peridot acknowledges that she knew about Lapis's discomfort with fusion, and she blames herself for approving the scene. But Lapis doesn't want Peridot to blame herself. She told Peridot that she was okay with it because she WANTED to be. It still didn't make her okay with it, though. And now she feels that she ruined the play through the very act of trying so hard not to ruin it for everyone else. But Peridot and Steven help Lapis understand that her feelings aren't irrational even though the fusion was "fake." Peridot only wants her to do it if she wants to do it.

With that, Peridot and Lapis embrace on the stage and exchange kind words, and then a smoke effect surrounds them. Some of the other actors get Steven, Peridot, and Lapis off the stage quickly and a pyramid of other actors assembles. Mr. Smiley and Greg begin playing a "Pierre and Percy Fusion" song, and the audience watches it blankly with little understanding, but Lars is emotional and clapping.

Finally the audience applauds, Lapis takes her bows, and everyone is grateful for the lessons learned and the wonderful experience. The End.

Notable:

1. The only Camp Pining Hearts characters whose faces have been shown on the TV show are Percy and Paulette. Pierre is mentioned frequently--since Peridot ships him with Percy--but we never see what he looks like. So it's pretty cool that the artists chose not to take artistic license with his appearance and drew depictions of him in shadow.

2. Peridot's analysis of why some fanfiction is better than other fanfiction--notably, that they fulfill the desires of the readers to see ships completed while still feeling like an episode of the show--was pretty spot on!

3. The fanfiction author--Lars--uses the handle xx54d4nd10ne1yxx. Even if it's private, I'm surprised Lars would use something that translates to "sad and lonely."

4. This graphic novel probably spends the most time outside Steven's perspective that I've ever seen; Steven is only marginally in the story, and we're used to seeing things from his perspective. This is quite a departure.

5. Peridot's app, "Find-A-Clod," was so unexpectedly funny to me that I almost choked on my sandwich.

6. As Dewey is still Mayor, Lars is not pink, and Sadie is still working at the Big Donut, we can assume this takes place before the episode "The Good Lars." That feels a little weird now, considering this book is fourth in the series of graphic novels and the one that came before it (The Ultimate Dough-Down) used Sadie's departure and Lars's space adventure as a plot point.

7. Lapis's negativity manifests in this comic as insecurity and frequent naysaying/pessimism. I thought it was really well done because it wasn't obnoxiously presented--as in, it felt genuine and appropriate for someone with her past and personality, not tacked on as her defining personality trait. You could really see her trying to have fun and not be the group's spoilsport, and you could tell she really felt those things.

8. Sadie says she's happy as a background character and that's kind of meta.

9. The shipping is strong in this thing. Peridot encouraging Lapis, the two of them solidifying their relationship, and the adorable compliments are so much fun. The Lapidot shippers have received their piece of heaven.

10. I couldn't get enough of Sadie obliquely insulting Lars when he acted like it was obvious he would take the "handsome guy" role if he didn't want to stay in the shadows. Sadie's like, "Oh, I vote for Steven."

11. Mr. Smiley and Greg are musicians for the play. I think that's cute, because we've seen Mr. Smiley as an out-of-work actor/R&B singer in the show. (And obviously Greg's an old rock star.)

12. New characters for Camp Pining Hearts have been invented: namely, Penelope and Parker, played by Connie and Onion, respectively.

13. Peridot is weirdly mean and disrespectful to Amethyst in this story? It seems to really come from nowhere. First she reluctantly lets Amethyst audition and grants her that she guesses she does have some talent after all, and then later when Amethyst comes in to impersonate a prop and "save the day," Peridot first voices her suspicion that Amethyst will not actually make anything better. It's weird; if you didn't watch the show, you'd think they had an ongoing rivalry or hated each other (or at least that Peridot disliked Amethyst). Hmm.

14. The central conflict of the book's story is impossible to understand or interpret without a very good understanding of the show. The book does not explain what fusion is at all (though obviously in a stage play as a symbol for a fraught scene for an actor, it represents having to kiss on stage). It also gives absolutely no mention of why Lapis has trauma surrounding fusion. If someone were trying to read this without the show's context, they might think there was some kind of awkward past or bad feeling between Lapis and Steven, since she's acting reluctant to pretend to carry out a gesture of affection with him. And even though Lapis's past with Jasper is mentioned--by name!--on the back cover, Jasper is literally not mentioned in the book anywhere. As a fan I had no trouble understanding the source of her angst, but because of this pretty important detail, the book can't be enjoyed on its own without seeing several specific episodes of the show.

15. There are some fun Easter Eggs in the crowd scenes. Play attendees include Mr. Frowney, Mr. and Mrs. Barriga, Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran, Mayor Dewey, Yellowtail and Vidalia, Nanefua and Kofi and Kiki Pizza, Barb, Mr. Fryman, and what look look some extras. All the known characters are family or the actors . . . except Mr. Frowney. Does that imply what I think it does about Mr. Frowney and Mr. Smiley? Hey, maybe they’re married now. :)

16. Lapis's speech where she emphasizes that she consented to the scene was powerful. She WANTED to be okay with pretending to fuse, but in the end, she wasn't. There are so many real-life scenarios that parallel this--when someone tries to downplay their own feelings because they feel like they're the odd person out and they will wreck others' good time if they express how they feel. But, as said in the comic, nobody there wants you to do that, and you not enjoying yourself makes it a worse time for everyone else too. Your real friends won't make you pretend.

17. You probably never thought you’d see Garnet in a squirrel costume. You thought wrong.

18. These two are too precious for words when they hug at the end of the play.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

#steven universe #camp pining play #camp pining hearts #lapidot #steven universe comics #su comics #myblog

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captialrogers · 5 years

Text

Relationship Arrangement (part two)

Summary: Steve Rogers has wanted to start a family for as long as he can remember, but things keep happening in his life that stops him from just that. Until he meets a woman in the same predicament. Together, they embark on the journey of parenthood and finding out that some contracts are meant to be broken

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Female Reader

Warnings: Talk of pregnancy, surrogacy, and other things that come with these topics

Wordcount: 2,328

Marvel Masterlist / Character Master List / Series Masterlist

Chapter One | Chapter Two |

Despite their best efforts, the only way the pair could get back into the agency was to make an appointment. And said appointment was weeks away. Weeks that [y/n] spent giddy and terrified. After her initial coffee with Steve, she had struggled to understand exactly how they were going to get any company to agree to their idea.

His idea. She reminded herself. If it hadn’t been for the charming blond and his overconfident way of explaining the details, [y/n] would have spent the rest of her life either searching for the perfect donor or settling for an average one. For that, she thanked him. But she didn’t know him. Not really. She knew his name, his age. Hell, she even knew his occupation. But she knew nothing about him.

There was one thing she knew for certain about the stranger, he was incredibly attractive. Oh so hot. So much so that if she had little to no self-control, [y/n] might have jumped him in the bathroom of the coffee shop.

Might? Who was she kidding? There was no might about it. She would have definitely thrown caution to the wind. But she didn’t. Nor would she ever. That was one breach of trust that she wouldn’t commit. He was going to be her donor after all and she didn’t want whatever relationship they would have to become more complicated than it already was.

Tiny hands tightened their grip on her fingers and [y/n] looked down at the 14-month-old holding on to get for dear life, legs unsteady.

“Hey, what’cha doing there cutie?” She smiled and leaned closer to the toddler, showering her cheeks with sloppy kisses.

“Obviously she’s trying to snap her Auntie out of whatever fog has made it’s home in her head.”

Emily was right about one thing. [y/n]’s head was full of too many things. “Naw, I think she just wanted sturdy support to stand with.” She placed her small hands on her knees and reached forward, picking the toddler up. “Isn’t that right?”

After a chorus of ‘das’ and garbled syllable sounds, the small child gladly sat in [y/n]’s lap as the woman fiddled with Leah’s tiny toes.

“Seriously man, what is going on in that head of yours?” Sitting beside her best friend with an ‘mph’, Emily looked at the other woman and cocked a brow. “You seem more than a bit out of it lately.”

“I know. It’s just…It might finally be happening.” [y/n] hadn’t said it out loud to anyone but Steve. She didn’t want to jinx it before anything could really happen.

“Really?” The brunette was shocked. More than shocked if her tone of voice was any indication. “You’re actually going through with it?” Emily shook her head and took the now fussing toddler from [y/n].

“Of course I am. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“I know. Since the 3rd grade you’ve been obsessed with the whole ‘2.5 and a dog’.” She chuckled and lifted her shirt, nursing the wiggling Leah. “If this is what you want, then I support you.” Emily placed a hand to [y/n]’s shoulder and squeezed. “No matter what.”

“Thanks, Em.” She breathed, looking at her friend.

“I’ll even hold your hair when your gag reflex decides to stop working.”

“Oh geese, thanks. Way to ruin the moment.” She laughed and shook her head.

“It’s what I do.” Emily shrugged and ran a hand through her hair, shifting the toddler still nestled against her breast. “So, what’s he like?”

[y/n] sighed and folded her legs beneath her, “Perfect.”

———

Steve wanted to call [y/n] to discuss how everything would happen, but he didn’t. There was this nagging feeling in his stomach that told him not to. He didn’t want to make the situation more intimate than it already was going to be.

She’d be the mother of his children — technically — and he didn’t know the first thing about her. But he wanted to. He wanted to know what she liked to do in her free time, what her favourite movie was, her favourite restaurant… Steve wanted to know everything.

And it wasn’t because he was interested in her. No. He told himself that it was because he had to make sure she was capable of going through the motions while knowing one of the babies wouldn’t be staying with her. That was if the procedure ended in twins.

As the veteran sat on the small coach of his Brooklyn apartment, he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if only one embryo developed. Who would have the right to the first baby? Would they fight over it like divorced parents? Steve supposed that that was the reason a lawyer would be involved. To legally bind them into compliance.

When he first suggested that they be each others solution, he hadn’t really been thinking about the logistics of it. The blond had only known that [y/n] was just as desperate as he was. Now, however, Steve couldn’t stop thinking about everything that could go wrong.

But the things he was worried about could have happened regardless of who he chose to carry the most precious gift of his life. The only difference would be the fact that [y/n] wasn’t just getting a lump sum after it was all said and done. She’d also have her dreams come true.

He had to remind himself that it wasn’t just for him, it was also for her. They both had stakes in this deal and if either backed out, no one would be happy.

———

This was it. She would finally be a mother. Well, she would be if the agency agreed to their idea. Sure, they could do it the old fashioned way… Wait. No, we couldn’t. [y/n] chided herself, embarrassed at the fact that she’d sleep with a complete stranger in hopes of becoming pregnant with not one, but two babies. There was no way. She couldn’t sleep with Steve more than once. But she knew that what she told herself was a lie.

Her heart sat in her stomach as they stood in the elevator of the fertility company. Steve’s plan was brilliant and she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought of it before the blond mentioned it. Because no one would go through with it. [y/n] risked a glance towards the man beside her. Why hadn’t she met him before today? From what he had told her, there was no one currently in his life and there hadn’t been in quite some time. So how was this the first time they had met? Social circles. She decided and turned to look back at the closed elevator doors.

“It’ll work,” Steve said suddenly, gently brushing his hand against hers. [y/n] hadn’t realized that she was shaking.

“It has to.” She breathed, pulling her hand away from where he could reach it. As if to punctuate her words, the elevator doors opened to a long hallway leading to a large, open concept room with a dark door in the middle. She left then, not waiting for the male to follow.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Steve exited the metal box after the woman. He hadn’t meant to touch her. Not as if he had known her a lifetime when in reality he had barely known her a week or so. And yet he had touched her hand, intimately; briefly.

As he followed [y/n] down the corridor, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. The last time Steve was on this floor, his hopes and dreams of being a father were crushed. But now, there was the slightest possibility that he would get what he wanted most, a family.

They stopped abruptly in front of a dark wood door and the veteran looked at the woman beside him. The expression on her face mimicked how he felt. Anxious. Nervous. Unprepared. “We can turn around if you’re —” He started but was cut off by the shake of her head.

“No. No, I just…”

“Need a moment,” Steve said knowing that he definitely needed one himself. And after a few minutes of silence, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

In an instance it was open and an older woman stood in front of the pair, smiling. “Hello! Please come in and have a seat.” The fertility agent stood to the side, allowing both Steve and [y/n] to enter the large office. “My name is Lani Hargrove and I have been chosen to look after your case.”

The blond male shook the woman’s outstretched hand. “Steve Rogers.” He looked over at the younger woman, “And this is —“

“[y/n] [y/l/n]. It’s very nice to meet you.” She shook the agent's hand and smiled before making her way into the office.

“I’ve had a chance to look over both of your files.” Mrs. Hargrove started, taking a seat in her tall back chair. “It’s a very unusual predicament the two of you are in. Whatever gave you the idea?”

Steve smiled and looked down at the floor before glancing back at the older woman and taking a seat. How honest could he be with this woman? Could he tell her that desperation was a fierce motivator? “We have seen searching and trying to start families for so long. We both know the bitter taste of disappointment and the pain of being told that is simply wasn’t possible. In that connection, Miss [y/l/n] and I are the same. I can’t necessarily speak for her, but I’d like to help someone ease that pain.” He said instead, seriously but with a hint of sadness.

“I completely agree.” [y/n] nodded in agreement, easing back into her uncomfortable chair. “All I’ve ever wanted was to start a family and through all odds, I may finally have the chance to because of the generosity of a stranger.” As she sat, the older woman in front of them took her time deciding what the next course of action would be. She was nervous. What if the company wouldn’t take the chance? What if none of the agency took it?

“There are many legal issues that will arise if this plan is executed.” Unclasping her hands, the greying brunette reached down and opened a drawer, pulling out a file folder. “There might be a contract currently existing within the program that could be altered for this… unique situation.”

[y/n] began to grin. Finally, she would have a baby. “So, It’s possible? You’ll do it?” She asked unable to contain her excitement.

The agent sighed and looked towards the quiet man, “I’ll have to discuss this with the board and the legal team before I gave a definitive answer, you understand.”

Steve nodded his head. “Completely. We wouldn’t want to force the company into anything they’re uncomfortable with.”

“Good.” With that, the older woman leaned back in her chair and smiled slightly. “This is going to be a very exciting time for the two of you, permitting it works in your favour.”

“A very exciting time. Also a very difficult time.”

[y/n] looked at the blond male sitting beside her. How could he be so casual after learning that they could be well on their way to parenthood? Was he getting cold feet now that it was becoming a reality and not just a discussion? The spark in his blue eyes told her differently. He was just as happy as she was. Was she the one acting strange? Was she too hopeful?

“Certainly. Especially for Miss [y/l/n].”

At that, [y/n] turned her attention back to the agent. “I’m sure I can handle the process. Pregnancy affects each woman differently so who’s to say this one will be harder than the average one.”

“IVI is different than traditional pregnancy, as I’m sure you’ve discovered through your research.” The greying brunette sat up in her chair and leaned closer to the pair in front of her, “Each procedure is different from the next. As is the woman and the chance of implantation. The physical aspects aren’t the only difficult things you’ll be going through. The mental toll it takes is also a factor and only the individual can determine whether or not it’s incredibly taxing.”

“You mean, whether or not it takes on the first go?” She asked, her knees trembling slightly and her throat drying.

“Precisely. The first two weeks after treatment are the most difficult for couples and I suspect that it will be even more so for the pair of you.”

Steve’s hands gripped the arms of his chair. He hated that the older woman was right. This was going to be hard on both of them, but more so for [y\n]. He looked at the woman beside him and his facial expression softened. “If it doesn’t take, we’ll try until it does. We’re in this together.” He didn’t care that they were basically strangers he would do everything he could to make sure the treatment worked.

Before the greying brunette could respond, a knock sounded from the front of the office. “Sorry to interrupt,” a head appeared around the now open door, “but your two o’clock meeting…”

“Thank you, Abigail.” With a quiet click, the door closed and Mrs. Hargrove smiled once again. “Well then, Miss [y/l/n], Mr. Rogers, it was a pleasure meeting with you both. I will discuss your case with the board as soon as possible and let you know their decision.” She said, standing and shaking both of their hands before directing them to the entrance of the office. “Thank you for choosing our agency. I hope to have some good news the next time we meet.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hargrove, for meeting with us and considering our situation.” Steve smiled and placed a hand on the small of [y/n]’s back, leading the woman down the corridor and into the elevator, “We look forward to hearing from you.”

With that, the pair left the fertility agency, their hopes and spirits a little higher than before.

Taglist: @captainrogerss @delicatecapnerd @everythingbooknerd

#Steve Rogers #Steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers fic #steve rogers imagine #Steve Rogers x Female Reader #Relationship Arrangement #Kat writes #My writing

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rockmiyabideusexmachina · 5 years

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2019 Megaman Valentine’s Day (Humor) Contest Results!

Apologize for the delay on this once again. Didn’t expect to be posting these results nearly a month after Valentine’s Day, but the extended deadline did help make sure we got a healthy competition this year. Thank you to all for your patience!

I’m going to start out this year’s results thread with a totally appropriate callout 4-Koma that is not technically an official humor entry from SubzeroIceSkater, even though it fit the rules. But it’s worth posting, to publicly humiliate myself anyways:

I'll take my token Akane-in-an-entry bribery any way I can get it, since nobody felt inclined to draw Mrs. Stelar’s fresh, piping hot, iced cinnabuns for their talent entry this year...Did I just type that? I mean, um...

Play me off, Johnny!

I kid, I kid! After all, these contests aren’t about me, it’s about the characters you love and want to draw. And that’s what makes everyone’s entries unique and helps motivate you to create time after time. And I am grateful for it, whether you are a long-time participant, or the yearly new contestant.

I’ll be doing things a little different this year, because the post would be way too long if I kept everything in one. So this first post will just contain the Humor category, and I will have a second, separate post for the Talent category. Raffle prize winners will be contained in both posts, so keep an eye out after my commentary on your art, for some possible winners here. The rest will follow soon. I’ll be contacting all winners soon enough, so sit tight!

Here are your humor winners and full gallery of entries, after the break!

Category 2 (Humor) - Princess Sigmia Returns

A much smaller group of entries for this category, but the zany mergers were great, all the same. I thank you all for getting as creative as you could with this concept, as it was a little more than just a mere gender swap you had to consider, when designing your combined character. Whether you won or not, know I truly enjoyed seeing all of these pics.

I know imgbox gallery gave people some issues before, so as always, let me know if images or links appear broken. Crossing my fingers this works smoothly this year! XD

After each entrant’s name, there will be a link in the character description to the entry, too, just in case the inserted external images don’t load for you.

[Full humor gallery]

1.) SubzeroIceSkater - Arc Weldy Falls In Love (featuring Tundroll.EXE the Arc Weldy, plus ‘Master Albert’)

[Page 1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

Comics with length and substance always seem to steal the show, and this year was no different. Joining the ranks of fenril-huayra, wintesm and so many others in recent years, I believe SubzeroIceSkater’s wonderful tale will stick with many of you, as much as it did me. As a humor piece, sure there are great sight gags and comedic lines all around, but it also has a lot of heart. You feel really bad for Arc Weldy to start out, but also feel so many emotions of compassion, friendship and love throughout. Wonderful work, and thank you for all the effort you put into this massive entry!

Also, are 21 pages not enough for you all? Well, SubzeroIceSkater also had ANOTHER 15 pages worth of ideas, alternates, and outtakes to go with this comic. And, while I won’t upload each link or image here, because this one entry is long enough, you can see them in THIS GALLERY LINK. They are also really great.

*For coming in 1st, SubzeroIceSkater has won $100 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

2.) @drewblossom - Geminette

Nearly equally deserving in length, Drew’s comic more closely followed the Bowsette-style transformation gimmick to give Snake Man his comeuppance. The classic bait-and-switch kiss, turned on it’s head with a ‘lil Search Snake rather than a gross Toad Man, was a funny end.

Design-wise, I really liked what you did to create Geminette’s look. Splitting his helmet crystals to the side as like dual hair broaches, and keeping the motif with the choker, armband, garter straps and chestplate, worked out nice. I can see why Snake was so easily charmed.

*For coming in 2nd, Drew has won $50 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

3.) @wimzik - Rollbble.EXE

If dominatrix Devil Roll wasn’t enough of a pain in Rockman’s side, I shudder to think how bad a Bubble Roll would be, puku! Or, would her devotion to him be as great (or clingy) as Bubs was with Shademan-sama?

Taking Bubbleman’s yellow flipper feet motif, and turning it into a fish fin design, both on her feet, legs, and hair ribbon, turned out pretty neat. If anything, I’m sure this transformation gives her very kissable lips, though! XD I have to wonder what her plan is with that Roll Navi Data chip, now that the chocolate is all gone, and what it will do to Rockman?

*For coming in 3rd, wimzik has won $25 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

And the remaining wonderful entries, in alphabetical order by alias:

@3-oclock-blues - Dr. Willis

What you talkin’ ‘bout, Wil-lis? Or Dr. WHY?!-ris, if you prefer. With that absolutely awesome wide-eyed grin, she’s hellbent on living together with Zero in a world where only Reploids exist. Being that they both have spent time piloting flying machine bodies, and have sorta possessed some form of an evil energy, it’s a rather fitting combo. Unless you are Zero, and it’s your dad and girlfriend merged into one being. Awk~waaaarrrd.

The skull motif and spikes are subtle on Iris’ design, but fit in really well. Her bangs are just wild enough on both sides now, that it gives that Wily hair vibe, without having to give her a horrible, bushy mustache. XD

*3-OClock-Blues is the winner of Raffle Prize #2 - The X OCW artbook and Zero keychain*

@bracedshark - Mettayer

This might be a terrible concept, but I’m going to type it. When a Met pops out from under it’s helmet, especially in sprite form, usually all you can see is the whites of it’s dark, beady eyes under that helmet, on it’s dark grey/black blobby round body form. With Layer, you don’t get to see her eyes under her bangs, hardly ever. So staring at Mettayer’s underboob for too long, due to her chest armor mimicking a Met helmet, all I see is a Met’s pair of closed bottom eyelids, and I’m seriously waiting for those eyes to open up and start staring back at me. Would that not be the most wrong way for Mettayer’s eyes to work?! But I can’t unsee it! Her belly button even feels like a snoring, sleeping Met’s mouth. I’ll spare everyone of me editing this art to make my point. But it’s in your head now, isn’t it?

OK, despite that awful paragraph, this is one hot Metall Mommy. Sorry, I’m starting this paragraph off pretty badly, too, I guess. ^^; Despite my interpretation of the combination, the design elements do stand out in a unique way. The fiery reddish-pink hair seems like a different choice considering the characters merged, but it plays off the red of a Met’s mouth and earpiece, and, well, fitting for Valentine’s, too! And instead, you get the Layer color scheme in the pickaxe, so it still connects visually.

@drewblossom’s 2nd entry - Roll n’ Rock

This bonus entry from Drew flips the genders of both DLN-001 and 002. I liked Roll’s hair bow converting into more of a bow tie, and Rock getting her version of Roll’s hoodie, in a Blue Bomber color scheme. The V-Day card concept, complete with crayon-ish name writing, made for a cute entry. Hearts all around!

@supernovabee - Bayer

No, there won’t be any paragraph about underboob eyes for this version of a Layer transformation, as supernovabee has merged her with Bass. Bayer loves belting out her hard and heavy siren song to woo prospective love interests during karaoke night.

Keeping Layer’s purple hair here actually kinda still keeps a Treble Boost feel, that the color scheme fits seamlessly, to go along with the more obvious Layer armor design pieces.

#Rockman #Megaman #Mega Man #Rock Miyabi's 2019 Megaman Valentine's Day Contest #Fanart Contest #Too many tags to list

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