#you could go the hero or villain route too if you wanted

[writingquestionsanswered]

Trouble with Act III and Villain Motivation

feelingthedisaster asked: I have some issues with my current WIP. The basics are: a guy wants to be a "soldier" (not exactly, but I won't get into worldbuilding), but because he's an outcast he's blamed for the theft of an object that goes missing. He learns about a witch who can help him find the object and they go on a mission to find it, but he learns it was the witch who stole it because she was bored and accepted the job to hang out with people. Here are my concerns:

[Ask edited for length]

Issue #1 - I feel the witch's motivation is not strong enough. There is backstory explaining her loneliness and wanting to have friends, but stealing an object to go on a bogus mission and hang out with someone doesn't feel realistic.

You could definitely go a little bit further to bolster this motivation. Since you mention using Save the Cat!, and since the witch sounds like she might be a redeemable villain, have you considered. her "shard of glass" (psychological wound) that's driving her? What happened in her past that makes her feel like she isn't worthy of making friends in the usual way? Fleshing that out and building upon it creates a little more logic to why she would go so far out of her way just to get some companionship.

Issue #2 - My plot sucks. Act I - the solider gets kicked out, Act II - he and the witch go on the bogus mission and he finds out she's the true thief, Act III - I have no idea. It feels shitty, boring, and I wouldn't want to read this. Honestly, I just want to write my characters and made up plot so it would make sense, but I don't like the plot.

Well, looking at Save the Cat!, in Act III you need to solve the problems created in Act II. In other words, we need to look back at your story's midpoint... what was the false victory or false defeat? How did things get progressively worse or progressively better for the hero after that? In what way was the hero pushed to rock bottom? Based on what you've laid out for me, I feel like a good route to go (if you haven't already) is for there to be a false victory toward the end of Act II, perhaps where the witch--sensing that the hero is losing faith in her ability to help him find the object--tells him they're really close. They've almost got it. Then, as the "bad guys close in" moment, maybe (because they've grown close), she admits that she was the one who stole the object in the first place and promises to take him to it. But... ALL IS LOST! They get to where she'd hidden the object and it's gone! Now neither one of them have the object! At the end of Act II is the hero's "dark night of the soul" where he has to contemplate everything that's happened so far... getting kicked out, finding the witch and trusting her to lead him to the object, growing close to the witch, being betrayed by the witch (she's the true thief). And maybe he even really hurts her feelings by ditching her because he's so mad. This guy has hit rock bottom...

So, your "Break into III" is the moment where your character realizes what he must do to fix everything... First, realizing he can sympathize with the witch and forgive her, he must find her and accept her apology and apologize to her, too. Next, he figures out what happened to the object and how they can get it back. And finally, he realizes how he can get accepted back into whatever he was kicked out of without causing problems for the witch. So, Act III will be him realizing all of this, finding the witch, convincing her to listen to his apology and accepting her apology, telling her what he figured out about who stole the object from her--and how they can get it back, strategizing that plan, executing that plan, facing off against whoever took the object from the witch and getting it back once and for all, then returning the object to its rightful owners and proving that he didn't steal the object. (And, maybe they can blame whoever stole it from the witch to keep the witch from getting into trouble?) And then maybe the hero gets reinstated, or maybe he chooses to go off with the witch on more adventures. It's up to you. And it doesn't have to be any of this exactly, but hopefully it gives you some ideas for what else you can do.

I want to change the entire plot but I don't know how. On top of everything else, my chapters are short.

Well, hopefully now that I've shown you how much more your second and third acts can be, you won't need to change your plot. I think you already have everything here for a great story. You just needed to flesh things out a little bit more. Hopefully this helps you get there.

As far as your short chapters, I just answered another ask about that. Chapters are either a single scene or a group of 2-3 related scenes. So, when your chapters are too short, it's usually because your scenes aren't accomplishing everything they need to. This post goes into detail about that, so hopefully that will help!

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[ew-selfish-art]

Dpxdc AU: consultant groups can be used to outsource problems for companies so why not monarchies?

Danny is listening to the various eyeballs and ghosts chatter on about all the issues that he now has to oversee and advise and make so many freaking decisions on. It’s annoying that it all has to come down to his call because he was a dumb 14 year old who didn’t want his town to permanently live in the ghost zone.

Now 17, King of the Infinite, and a bit wiser to the world, Danny is doing his best to balance his teenage ambitions to not give a shit and his protective obsession to very much give a shit.

Sams parents are making her learn the family business and Tucker is trying to make this internship he’s got with a fancy tech company out of New Jersey into a career without college… so while they’re commiserating with Danny the idea comes up.

Earth has a shit ton of heroes. Like, ever since the Justice League *poofed* the GIW out of existence with the Meta human acts- more and more caped crusaders seemed to be coming out of the wood work. More villains too but still, more people who seemed wise to their abilities and morals. Danny has literally never taken an ethics class.

But rn, Eye-mothy and Eye-Bert are arguing over how Danny as King Phantom is supposed to tackle the problem of some fucking pool acting as a weird trade route with a cult and… ugh it’s just so boring but like also such a fucking problem. But… maybe it can be someone else’s issue.

Opening a portal, Danny escapes into space and gets to work finding the base of operations- Tucker had told him there was a new satellite after all and there’s no way it wasn’t connected to the hero orgs- and boom he flies into the Watchtower.

“Hey- are any of you guys willing to consult on some weird pools of ectoplasm in Pakistan? Green and glowing little lakes of bullshit and magic?” Danny asks into the meeting room of the JL regardless of their startled and alarmed exclamations.

“… I could consult on that.” A voice comes from the corner, and Danny recognizes him as one of the bat people. Or bird? The guy is in a lot of red and clearly wasn’t supposed to be in this meeting based on the way he’s propped in the corner. The room erupts in protest but Danny barely hears them through his excitement and focus on the dude.

“Great! I’ll have him back before the end of the day! Lets go Bird boy!” And with that, Danny grabbed the Bird, chucked them both through a portal back into his thrown room and begins to explain the way these eyeballs are totally trying to trap him into doing more work than he needs to do.

“What do I call you by the way? I’m Danny but you’ll probably hear them call me King Phantom.”

“I go by Red Robin, and honestly, I’ve been trying to get this shit taken care of for years.”

From there Tim becomes a regular consultant for King Phantom- the Bat Family is losing their minds with him constantly going to the land of the dead but also Constantine said not to piss off the king at all costs.

Danny is just thrilled that this dude has a shit ton of insight as well as business sense- like he could legit run the monarchy way better than him despite the fact that they’re the same age.

They end up working together for years, and even when there’s not an active issue at hand, Danny will meet up with the bird just to talk.

Sam and Tucker think they’re hilarious each time they ask if Danny’s proposed yet.

Tim has already planned their wedding but all of that information is in a folder more secured than the nuclear codes- Danny needs to ask him on a date first.

#dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #Tim drake #dead tired #dc crossover #dp crossover #ehehehehe #also him just grabbing any random hero to help on any issue their power set might help to advise #danny outsourcing his issues is my favorite headcanon #boy wants to be helpful but also like is begging to just have one lazy Sunday #Tim drake is like ‘why would I not help run a monarchy in my spare time from running a Fortune 500 company and being a vigilante?’ #tim drake is a menace #he’s what the eyeballs have nightmares about and they didn’t even think they could have nightmares

[stealingyourbones]

*slowly shuffles a wooden box of finger bones towards you* so I have two ideas for you

So, what if ghosts like, really screw with video technology, so it all kind of looks corrupted at all times- so when Danny starts recording like a blog of daily like in amity park (maybe as a way to cope with Trauma) and he posts it, maybe people outside of amity could think it’s all just like, an ARG or analog horror- if you want to go with dc/dp here, tim could be trying to solve a nonexistent mystery

For idea two, do you know ab the mystery flesh pit? If you don’t it’s basically an unreality where a gigantic super organism is turned into a National park and it’s then shit down when the organism basically coughs in its sleep and destroys a lot of stuff-( also be warned, there is a lot of body horror involved in this, so if anyone’s sensitive to it maybe don’t look at any content!) so maybe Giant Danny is taking a nap and some villains find the GIANT GHOST TAKING A SLEEP and decide to hook him up to be used as like, a battery or Lazerus pit (if you go the route of his blood being lazerus water) and the heroes get involved trying to figure out what’s happening

oh man that would be so fun. Danny just takes a little school project 10 minute documentary of the town and doesn't think too much of it when he submits it to Youtube so he can send it to his teacher.

A week later and every ARG/Analog Horror nerd on the planet has heard about this brilliantly well produced video called "Amity Park"

Now knowing this, He decides to have some fun. He takes ominous shots of mundane Amity life and splices them between the more normal scenes of himself and his friends having fun and hanging out.

He amps up the uncanny level. Throughout all of his videos, he starts to tell a slightly dramatized version of his life, not the Phantom stuff, but his life as a Fenton.

The whole world watches in awe and delight as this refreshingly new Analog Horror channel posts nearly twice a week with some of the most stunning CGI that they've ever seen. I mean 'c'mon, Sentient food. A child living in the house of two mad scientists who casually mention dismembering and destroying ghosts at the dinner table. An honest to god crazy scientist lab with a massive portal to this 'Ghost Zone' just in their basement?! Yeah, whoever made this has an absolutely incredible imagination. (Some people are even dissing it since this GZ really just feels like a warped version of The Backrooms but it's fine, it's unique enough that it makes up for it.)

------

I am a hoe for any and every topic that Wendigoon talks about in his videos so I very much so know about the Mystery Flesh Pit. (Video is linked but be warned; Benji isn't joking when they say that it's a LOT of body horror.)

I'd like to propose that Danny isn't even on earth, he's on a different planet that has collected his blood and harnessed his core for energy on a massive scale, helping create and produce items that benefit their world greatly.

To Danny, Their mining, harvesting, and energy draining efforts are the equivalent to bacteria moving around his body. He's so massive that this civilization isnt impacting him in the slightest.

The JL get called because this strange planet superorganism is now moving and it's causing the destruction of an entire civilization.

They fly over to the planet and they notice something very very wrong with the shape of the planet.

First and foremost, the two eyes spanning the equivalent width of Texas that stares up at their ship is new.

#sorry if this makes no sense yall im so tired #danny phantom #dp x dc #dc comics #writing prompts #dpxdc #dp x dc prompt #bones replies #benjis-art-and-reblogs #homie i could kiss you ty for somehow mentioning my favorite ARG/funky worldbuilding work of all time

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Whenever I remember that Tenya almost went full vigilante mode for Tensei I want to scream so bad like it's not even funny.

Bnha somersaults its way into saying "maybe heroes are just good citizens with the power to do good things" and "maybe heroism is not in the big notorious acts but in being kind and fair in the day to day details" AND THAT'S ALL TENSEI.

AND THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATES TENYA TO GO FULL BLOODHOUND ON STAIN.

I'm not denying that the world needs the big ass heroism acts like defeating AFO or saving a city or all those flashy notorious feats. All Might is very needed, because there are threats that are too old and developed and have accumulated too much hatred and damage over the years. You cannot always prevent those things from happening and to believe so would be naive, right?

What I'm saying is that those big events are the lowest percentage. They are the consequences of a systematic failure.

Take two of the biggest evil plots in the manga: AFO planning to still OFA and Overhaul with his quirk-erasure bullets. Both plans depended on an abused child being used as objects, Eri because her quirk was the base of the bullet working and Tomura because he was just meant to be AFO's new body in the future. In both cases, AFO and Overhaul were cornered after losing the child they were using for their plots. In fact it was the kids resisting the abuse that contributed the most to their failure: Eri prevented Overhaul from hurting Deku and Tomura prevented AFO from escaping his decaying body.

In that sense, the little unknown pro-heroes taking care of their neighborhood's children do a lot to prevent cases like Tomura or Eri from happening. Hell, AFO and Overhaul were also kids who went the violent route to survive.

Ingenium's silent heroism is probably the best example of what a hero looks like. They don't seek fame or glory. They regard heroism as their duty, their responsibility. No matter how little the act is, it's still important to do it.

At this point, we must admit the Tenya's crisis over what happened to Tensei is not only about their bond as brothers. Yeah, that was Tenya's big bro, but it is no less than when Deku and Bakugo saw All Might fighting AFO for the last time— the last moments of their role models.

The Iida brothers' crisis was deep rooted in the main issues of the story, so I'm still baffled at how people just tend to ignore it.

Before Stain, the "League of Villains" was just a minor threat. Dabi was a nobody with no real crimes to his name. Toga was just a lost little girl trying to survive the streets. Spinner didn't even think about being a villain. Before Stain, things were bad, but no one really thought they could change the status quo, you know?

The USJ incident was not the big deal because 1) how was attacking kids the answer? and 2) going for All Might was expected, since he was almost invincible and the biggest hero in the world and blah blah blah.

When Stain started attacking minor pro-heroes...

Stain was the opposite of Tomura. He admired All Might and saved those kids, but went after the pro-heroes with less powerful quirks. He gave the population a sense of control. It's like he said "hey, you don't have to go after All Might to change the system and why would you? The real problem are the ones on the lowest part of the pro-hero chain".

Suddenly, they could go against pro-heroes and win. Divide and conquer. Suddenly, there was a ladder to climb. Suddenly, you could target not the institutions responsible for the rotten ideology of your society, but the people who enforced the ideology with their daily work.

Stain defended his posture by saying that those people didn't want to be real heroes. They just wanted the money, the fame, they were not really committed to their duty.

And then attacked Tensei, of all people.

If big crimes are built from little crimes that are accumulated over time, what would happen if you decided to eliminate the people taking care of the little crimes?

The crisis of belief in pro-heroes was triggered by Stain. When Stain pointed out at Ingenium (the one in the suit was Tensei) and accused him of false heroism, it's when shit started to go south. He created the idea that pro-heroes should be punished if they don't perform correctly and that they deserve to die if they don't have pure ideas of their job— or whatever.

Tensei being the victim is supposed to show how hypocritical Stain is. Tensei is probably one of the only pro-heroes that never did anything wrong in the manga and one of the best family men to be presented. A man who was loved by everyone for being good in every sense of the word.

Stain projected his own fantasies on Tensei in order to accomplish his witch hunt, not truly caring to figure out who the person was. He just attacked for the sake of attacking, which explains why he was so popular: anyone could do the same and project their issues on him, fighting different battles disguised as just one cause.

When Tenya went after him, it could only make sense. The little of the Iidas is too righteous and noble, quick to judge and act, prone to making mistakes and getting carried away by the looks of it all. So easily his justice turns into revenge and he falls into the trap Stain set. Who knows what a hero student killing Stain would have caused...

At this point it's obvious I'm just ranting for the sake of ranting but 😭😭😭 give the Iidas the respect they deserve please.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #league of villains #lov #shan's bnha rants #shan's mha rants #iida tenya #iida tensei #Ingenium #pro-hero ingenium

[familyagrestefanblog]

I find it... kinda irritating how saying that Hero Gabriel is still a failure of a father even if he's not a bad person is apparently somewhat of a hot take.

It is irrelevant at what extreme end of the moral spectrum Gabriel is - sadistic villain or heroic saint - fact still remains that you wouldn't notice either with Monarque or Hesperia that they are fathers at all, while simultaneously both Adriens are clearly depicted as teenagers who basically have to re-settle themselves into their lives after they were emotionally orphaned in every sense that matters.

It is irrelevant that Alt Gabriel is a hero, not a bad person or that he wasn't outright abusive like our Gabriel, nothing will change the fact that Griffe Noire Adrien's path to healing goes the same route as our Adrien's.

And that is AWAY from his father, not WITH him.

Griffe Noire at the end was roughly were our Adrien started off at the beginning of the show, just this time with a better path ahead Ladynoir wise since they know their identities.

He changed for the better when our Adrien gave him the self-acceptance, understanding and sympathy he didn't receive from Alt Gabriel or anyone else for the matter.

Helped him overcome the grief of loosing their mother and accepting that the self-harming behavior he's acting on (or both of them) is not something she would want for them.

There are 2 reasons why Alt Adrien couldn't get over his mother's death, and that's 1) because unlike our Adrien, Alt Adrien didn't try finding new happiness in friendship, and 2) because he too couldn't count on his remaining parent (Gabriel) which made him feel his mother's loss even worse.

Alt Gabriel could be the greatest hero of all time and he still would be a fucked up father because he was so busy being a saint that he apparently barely was a father. When alt Gabe cries in the sewer one would think he'd bring up his child as one of his main motivations, but no, he doesn't.

Because Hesperia is just as little characterized as a FATHER as Monarque.

That aspect of Gabriel didn't change.

Hesperia didn't even fucking know that his son is Griffe Noire either, how attentive to you think this man IS??

Alt Adrien goes on the same path as our Adrien and that's away from being emotionally dependent on his father - the way a 14 year old should normally ALLOWED TO BE bc thats NATURAL and how it's supposed to be - to make friends, but most importantly he sure as hell went on being emotionally dependend on HIS Maribug the way our Adrien was/is

Especially the last picture is extremely telling (and one would think our Marinette would finally start paying attention bc Griffe Noire's change right in front of her eyes is literally all she would need to help her fully understand HER Chat Noir's behavior and how that came to be. But apparently we can't ever have Marinette pick up on the most obvious stuff about Chat Noir's problems).

Unlike Toxinelle who is waving goodbye while holding Griffe's hand, HE is not acknowledging our dimension anymore even when he's the last one to enter the portal by a good bit, bc he's so fixated on his Maribug as his whole world bc just like our Adrien he's literally emotionally an orphan and needs an anchor like everyone else.

Good chance that Toxinelle thinks they're just normally holding hands and she's merely going in first, but no, he is letting her lead him out. He doesn't care whats behind or ahead of him, he's just seeing her.

Alt Gabriel is an awful father and you can tell because Alt Adrien literally has to re-settle in life similar to an orphan while his father is still alive and living in the same damn house!

THAT'S what decides if Alt Gabriel is an awful father, NOT him running around as a charming hero. The quality of parenthood is NOT measured by how "good of a person" the parent is, it's measured by the child's fucking well-being

And I don't know if you noticed it by now, but this is the same logic as our Gabriel being hailed a hero after his death. The special already elaborates on this new angle of Gabriel suddenly being a "hero" while he very clearly was a monstrous failure of a father (and person).

So what side are YOU gonna be on here?

Are you going to victim blame Adrien by just declaring Gabriel Agreste a great, blameless and loving father now because that's what you're being told at face-value while the narrative conveniently plays the case in Gabriel's favors by removing all of them from the dimension they are actually from so his faults are being mostly covered up, and Adrien's looks worse without its proper context of their home-dimension and father-son dynamic

Or are you going to fucking LOOK at the child this amazing hero is emotionally abandoning on a daily in way too many ways and ask yourself if that's the result of a competent and attentive parent?

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ml paris spoilers #keeping up with the agrestes #The way people take Gabriel's side in a heartbeat in this and s5 is one disgusting spectacle to behold guys #Keeping it classy with abuse apologia just bc the abuser now has a shiny coat and is being called a hero

[surplus-of-sarcasm]

Burning Up

TW: Delirium, fever (symptoms described), mentioned pills (medicine, I swear)

What is this? It's the fluff snippet I promised my lovely nemesis @hufflepuffwritingstuff2 , and I really hope you enjoy this < 3 < 3

"Are you alright?"

The words seemed to snap the heroine abruptly out the void of her own muddled up thoughts, feeling as though her head were stuffed with cotton, everything an incoherent blur.

"Yes," she still answered back anyway, a trained response, one that stopped people from prying any further, from looking disappointed. It was the answer they really wanted to hear, even if it really disproved the question's validity.

Except the villain didn't smile, and he didn't leave the way he was supposed to. His brows were furrowed, and his arms were folded across his chest, and even though the hero didn't say anything, she just knew she didn't enjoy the sight.

She'd always hated it when he frowned, when he wasn't smiling, or wasn't even wearing the cocky smirk he always brought to their fights. She couldn’t tell what exactly in her response had warranted such a reaction from the criminal, but the guilt twisting knots at the pit of her stomach was very palpable.

As she stepped closer to him, pulling her rigid, aching muscles into a fighting stance; anything to distract him, the attempt hindered by her sluggish movements, all she'd managed to do was stumble towards him, losing her balance humiliatingly fast. It was only her luck that the villain's reflexes were still as razor-sharp as always, rapidly pulling her into his arms and steadying her with his weight.

And he was warm, and blissfully so, his grip firm but never unkind. As fervently as the crime-fighter wanted to lie down, the villain's embrace was comfortable, comfortable to the point that her train of thoughts, broken and destined to crash seemed to steady a bit, the world losing its edge of murkiness for just a moment.

Carefully, the villain pulled away and pressed his hand to her forehead, immediately retracting it away as if he'd been burnt. The guilt resurfaced again, an old, unwelcome demon resurrected, even more so as his frown deepened.

He let out a soft curse. "What were you thinking? Trying to fight when you're like this? You're burning up!" he interjected, his eyes wide, and a note of concern in his voice mixed in with the annoyance.

Except all her mind chose to focus on was the villain's choice of words to describe her state. 'Burning up', as he'd called it, didn't seem too far-fetched from the fire in her head, practically sizzling across her flushed skin, bile rising at the back of her irritated throat, her sore muscles burning with the pain, every movement agonising. Even if she couldn't see that she was burning, literally burning, it felt exactly as though she was.

"You're coming home with me, right now. Whatever ludicrous reason you might have for pulling this bloody stunt, I don't want to hear it," he stated, blunt as always, lifting the hero into a bridal carry almost as though it was second nature to him.

And in the midst of her delirious state, the hero hadn't memorised the route he'd taken home in his car, or how he'd accessed his lair, probably not being able to tell it was a lair as he carried her up into his actual residence. In a different state, the heroine's uncanny attention to detail would have engraved it all into her memory. She only registered the arms that were around her, and the pain that racked her body; her mind becoming too primitive to notice much beyond what she could physically feel.

Soon enough, she found herself being laid down on silk sheets. a thick blanket being drawn over her, and he took her temperature and he swore again, letting out a tired sigh. And just when the villain was about to leave the room. . ."D-don't g. . .go," she slurred, her fingers gripping onto his sleeve as firmly as she could manage.

"I'll just get a couple things for your fever. Won't take me long, I promise." Something in the villain's demeanour shifted, his gaze softening for a mere moment, except he doubted the heroine would take note of it.

There was no doubt about the fact that she would realise she wasn't holding onto his sleeve anymore as he left.

He came back with a cold compress, a glass of water and a bottle of pills, sitting himself at the edge of the bed. Carefully, with a gentleness she'd never known the villain to be capable of, he placed the compress on her forehead, the coolness heavenly against her burning, sweat-slick skin. "Okay, I just need you to sit up and swallow these," he said, and he knew full-well that if she was in a better state she wouldn't have taken the medication so willingly, ergo, she wouldn't have trusted him so willingly. He couldn't help it as a pang of guilt seemed to crawl across his skin, but he shook it off anyway, focusing his attention on steadying the heroine's shaking hands and making sure she swallowed those pills.

He realised he hated seeing the hero, his supposed nemesis, struggling to lift her head up and put it back down, every movement clearly agony for her. He'd imagined he'd revel in her weakness, but right now, nothing of the sort had happened.

The villain had found a washcloth in one of the drawers, using some of the remaining water in the glass to wet it and wipe the sweat off her face and neck, his fingers carding through her hair absently as he pushed himself inwards onto the bed, letting Hero huddle into his form for warmth.

"Y-you're. . .gorgeous," she rasped out, staring into the villain's eyes, taking in the features of his face, his figure, all of him, even in this clouded state.

"What?" he blurted out, completely taken aback, but still continuing to stroke through the heroine's hair.

"Haven't you seen yourself?" she questioned incredulously, as though it was the most obvious thing in existence.

The villain smirked in response, "Well, I guess I'm not narcissistic enough for your point to stick."

"Villain I. . .I'm in love with you," the hero admitted, and he'd never heard her voice so laden with conviction before, not when she'd promised to defeat him, and not any other time ever, her eyes locking with his own, her gaze unrelenting.

Sure, it still irked the villain that when the heroine had confessed her love to him, she'd been delirious, and that her strong emotion could possibly be a result of the aforementioned delirium, but that didn't mean these words held no weight or that the way the hero had regarded him - was still regarding him, had no effect on him.

So for once in his life, the villain sucked in a sharp breath and decided to risk it. "I'm in love with you too," he stage-whispered, carefully shifting the hero so that she was lying down on his lap and kissing her forehead gently.

Some locks are easy to pick, others not so much. That does not mean opening them is impossible, just that it may take a little longer to find the key. Most people aren't aware of what they are capable of feeling, of doing when their heart starts to beat for someone else. But they can never find out unless they have the courage to face the daunting possibility of taking the chance offered to them because love doesn't knock on the door; it walks in announced, and you get to choose what to do about it.

✨️Le Taglist: @larinzz @syberianjade @lateuplight @altu-interactions @enbious-prince @astr0-mj @thelazywitchphotographer @a-fucking-simp-00 @addictedsandwhichaki @justalittlecorrupted @quaggasus @theangstyclown @vernilliom @mothmancommitsarson @starssabove @kurai-hono-blog @talkingsperm @muffinrebel44 @sunnynwanda @annablogsposts @cardboardarsonist @itsmyworld23 @onlywhump @m3rakii @crotchgoblin69 @wtfevenisausername @pendarling @avloki-pal @kaiwewi@those-damn-snippets @whatiswhumpblog

Wanna be on the taglist? This'll take you there!

#snippet #hero x villain #whump #heroes and villains community #sickfic #fever tw #pills tw #delirium tw #hero whumpee #villain caretaker #whumpee x caretaker #enemies to lovers #romance if you squinttt #or actually it's really obvious but who cares #fluff #soft #confession #writing #writers on tumblr #female writers #natalia's writing #sweet #fiction #f/m #hero/villain

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

The thing with Alastor is that I think he genuinely does like people. I don't think he cares too much about many individual persons, but when it comes to people as a collective he likes and wants to be liked back.

You don't go into entertainment if you don't want some kind of validation from it, and Alastor got so into radio in life that his soul was moulded around it in death.

And that's fundamentally the source of a lot of the conflict in his character.

Alastor wants to be the feared and hated Radio Demon. But he also wants to be ‘Al, that charming guy from the radio!’

Alastor wants to be treated with respect and terror at all times. But he also wants to have fun and joke around with people.

Alastor wants to keep the reasons for his disappearance a deadly secret. But he also wants to go to the Overlord meeting and have everyone dying to know where he was and what he was doing.

(“And when Alastor's not in the scene, all the other characters should be standing around like ‘hey, where's Alastor?’!”)

This is why Husk, up until he touches that particular sore spot, gets away with so much more in his relationship with Alastor than, say, Angel gets with Valentino.

Val wants Angel to be a tool or a toy he can control. Alastor kind of wants the same from Husk, but he also wants to be able to play the role of the cheeky but charming boss who can talk Husk around with a wink and a bottle of cheap booze.

(A role that Husk, for his part, goes along with because it allows him to keep some of his dignity. He gets to snark at Alastor and act like he still has even the slightest control over his own destiny. Alastor gets to laugh it off and act like he's a good employer. They both know it's a lie, but Husk clings to it because the alternative is even more humiliation, and Alastor finds it too much fun to give up.)

This is also I think the real reason he and Rosie are such good friends. Because Rosie is also 100% playacting.

Cannibal Town is a fucking dangerous place. Given that Charlie considered the “sights to see en route to my hotel” a selling point for joining her army (a hotel in walking distance) I'm guessing there are some restrictions preventing the residents from leaving. People eat corpses in the streets.

Rosie is clearly a fearsome and vicious Overlord in her own right. Even Lucifer's daughter is twitchy around Cannibal Town.

But, at the same time, when the streets aren't covered in blood and viscera, they're gleaming. The people are all well dressed. There are quaint little shops. Everyone is smiling, all the time.

It's clearly a stage play, but it's one that Rosie and the residents seem to enjoy acting out, and one that they let Alastor have a role in when he visits. In Cannibal Town, Alastor gets to be the charming young man about town whose smile brightens up the place and who everybody (except, ugh, Susan) is pals with.

And I think it's this conflict of personas that is ultimately going to be the biggest factor in whether Alastor ends up being a hero or a villain on the show.

Cause like, Alastor the altruist is obviously an act. But, so is the Radio Demon.

Alastor isn't an all powerful killing machine. In most of the scenes he's in, he's not even the most powerful person in the room. (Albeit

primarily because he's usually accompanied by Charlie.) And he's not acting purely on his own whims, he's on someone else's leash.

I don't think Alastor is necessarily capable of feeling remorse for the stuff he's done in the past. Or caring about other people more than he does himself. It's just not his character.

But I think he is capable, given time to get attached and a lot of positive reinforcement, of deciding that playing 'steadfast hotelier' for Charlie and co is more fun than playing the evil Radio Demon for everyone else.

Picking other people over himself is probably not something that's going to happen for Alastor any time soon. But picking one persona over the other? That I could see.

#alastor #the radio demon #hazbin hotel #hazbin meta #hazbin headcanons #charlie morningstar #hazbin hotel rosie #hazbin hotel husk #alastor hazbin hotel

[kissagii]

Yo! I have a doozy of a request >:)

Okay mha, aizawa, with an adult son/daughter (idk the gender neutral term. Child?? I think it's child?) Who is a hero overseas and one day DIES.

Aizawa hears it some how, goes into grieving, and then...

Reader just shows up... in his house... raiding his fridge (but make it funny)

It turns out reader had to fake their death to go undercover to kick some villans butt and they needed to lay low for a while so they came back home.

Comfort angst-turned Crack!

got it! i loved this concept, it's so amazing <3 <3 <3

i don't think i went crazy enough with the comedy because for some reason i felt like a more wholesome route would work better

safe and sound

aizawa x child!reader ; wc. 0.9k

cw: cursing, reader is presumed dead, it's a lil graphic, not proofread

There were times when Aizawa Shota regretted becoming a father. This was one of them. He knew that his profession put his child in danger of losing a parent at any moment, but he promised himself every day that he would return home safely for their sake. It was what kept him going. But what he had never expected was that he would be the one to lose someone so dear to his heart in a hero mission.

Aizawa was in the middle of a nap when Kaminari shouted the news. “OH MY GOD, THE X-TEAM VANISHED!”

Aizawa knew that team all too well: it was your team.

“Give me that,” He muttered, taking Kaminari’s phone from his hand and skimming through the article. 

X-Team… heroes sent abroad… villain ambush… notorious killers… location unknown… heroes vanished… presumed dead. He reread those last few words. “All heroes presumed dead.” It couldn’t be - it just couldn’t. You had to be alive… you had to.

In that moment, as he sobbed on the floor of his classroom, Aizawa Shota wished he had never encouraged you to be a hero, never let you join the agency known for taking on the most brutal internatonal missions, never taken in a child with such immense potential only for that potential to be cut short in such a terrible accident.

Weeks of searching were to no avail. Try as they might, international heroes could find nothing regarding the X-Team’s location, not a piece of clothing, or a message, or a villain that might spill. Until they found the bodies. Three of them, young adults, disfigured beyond identifiability. But one of them lined up with you - same height, build, gender, age… and clearly the victim of the villains you were chasing. For all Aizawa knew, it was you.

Aizawa Shota is a tired man. He always has been. But weeks of sleepless nights, long days of worrying, and the nightmares… it took a toll on him. He was barely functioning as a teacher and as a hero. Only pure exhaustion would make him sleep, and what little rest he got would never last. So it was no surprise when he, having not slept in days, hallucinated a person in his house.

Illuminated only by the light of the fridge (which, he noticed, had been largely emptied of its contents), the imaginary person turned to him and waved, mouth full of food.

“‘Ello!” They said, grinning. Aizawa knew that voice. That was your voice.

“Oh god… I’m losing it,” He muttered to himself, “I’m fucking hallucinating.”

“But you’re not though? Waittt are there two of me? Or a shadow demon in the corner? HI SHADOW DEMON!!” 

Perhaps it really was you - his child, the little creature he raised from nothing, his reason for living and the most amazing person in his life. 

“Ah, shit, you probably think I’m dead, don’t you? Long story short it was a whole scheme, our cover got blown so we had to hide for a while, the villains wanted to make it look like they killed us, we got in undercover with some reinforcements and they took forever to get to us, then all of a sudden we get out of our hidey hole and everyone thinks we’re dead? I dunno, it was pretty wild though. Sorry for spookin’ you… but we got the job done so it’s fine, right?”

Your father collapsed into your arms. Your very solid, very real, very alive arms. For weeks it had seemed hopeless, like he’d truly lost you. But all that time… all that time you were working diligently, making the best of your situation, the dedicated child he loved so much. Home at last, safe.

“Dad? Daaaaad. There’s really no need to cry, I’m fine! Yeah it was messy, but hey, it all turned out fine! It always does, doesn’t it?” Though you complained, you missed your father. Two months away from home, one of which was spent cut off from most of the world, took a toll on you too.

“Kiddo… you can’t just scare me like that,” Whatever strength he had left was put entirely into the rib-cracking embrace he gave you, tears soaking into your shirt, “I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you.”

“Hey dad, do you remember what you told me when I was little?” He nodded. “How I wasn’t allowed to worry about you when you went on missions because you’d always find a way back to me? Well, now that I’ve gone pro, I think it’s time that bargain went both ways. Because our silly little family - Auntie Kamaya, Uncle Yamada, those other kids you adopted from UA, you, and me - we’ll stick together.”

Aizawa let go of you, placing his hands firmly on your shoulders and looking into your eyes, “Yeah… I’ll try not to worry. Now I’m going to sleep… and you’d better have the fridge reorganized by the time I wake up.”

“Reorganized, restocked, and breakfast on the table. For all the stress I caused you,” You promised as he trudged to his room. Now, there was only one issue between you and seet, sweet sleep - how the hell were you going to get groceries to make breakfast if the whole country thought you were dead???

©king-of-dreamers 2022

#imagine ⋆｡°✩ #aizawa x reader #aizawa x child reader #aizawa #shota aizawa #shota aizawa x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha aizawa #bnha aizawa

[spider-gem]

What if Mobius was a villain/anti-hero in his past life?

Here’s why I think there’s a good possibility for this:

While it’s probably easier for Marvel to go the boring route (Mobius was simply a normal dude with a normal job and a normal family, etc), I think there’s more to Mobius than we think. Owen Wilson himself teased Mobius has a deeper story arc this season:

In the latest episode, X-5 (or Brad) strikes a nerve when asking Mobius why he’s not interested in his past. Mobius tells Loki that he likes his life at the TVA- that’s his purpose and he’s good at it (My Lokius heart also tells me that it’s because he likes being with Loki and doesn’t want to lose him if he goes back to his past life- yeah yeah, I’m delusional, I know…)

I may be looking to hard into this (I’m a writer and reader, over-analyzing is what I do) but what if there’s a reason Mobius prefers his life at the TVA? Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that his memories have been wiped, but what if there’s something deep within him (part of his subconscious perhaps) that’s telling him to avoid his past?

I looked into Mobius’ comic counterpart to see what I could learn about the character. There’s not much. He’s had interactions with the Fantastic Four and She-Hulk, but there aren’t any details on his past. However, there are a few things I found interesting:

We all know that Kang created the TVA, but could this imply that Mobius may have known Kang personally and chose to work with him? Let’s dive deeper:

Mobius is also known as Mr. Tesseract. Why? I have no idea. He doesn’t seem to have any relation with the Tesseract. (There are some VERY cool fanarts though, so check them out if you have time). However, there’s more:

There’s a Mr. Orobourous and a Mr. Paradox as well. We just met Orobourous (spelt as Ouroboros) in the first episode of season two. Also, connect the dots: Mr Paradox = General Dox? I may be looking too deep into this, but I feel like these three may be connected in some way.

While this still isn’t a lot of information, there’s still a chance that this alias has something to do with Mobius’ backstory in the show. So, here’s my theory:

What if Mobius, once known as Mr. Tesseract, worked closely with Kang? What if he helped build the TVA? There’s a possibility that he has powers he doesn’t know about (as well as O.B. and Dox) that helped structure the TVA. Mr. Tesseract may have powers similar to his namesake. Mobius balances the TVA’s power over space, Ouroboros (which, in definition, is a snake that represents infinity) balances the power over time, and Dox balances the power over reality.

So, why don’t they have their memories? I theorize that Mobius (and maybe the others) eventually realized that Kang was wrong. Maybe he attempted to overthrow him. In the end, Kang defeated him and took away his memories as punishment, making him forget about his powers. We also know that Mobius’ memories have been wiped more than once, so there’s a chance that Mobius’ powers (in theory) eventually resurface, causing Kang to repeat the process.

This may be just some wacko theory that I overanalyzed and spent too much time on (probably) but the idea excites me. If this is in anyway true, how will Mobius react? How will Loki react? How will this impact the course of the show?

I can’t wait to find out more. Again, Mobius may have just been some random jet ski enthusiast on the time line. But that’s the boring option. Marvel, please don’t be boring. (Marvel’s probably going to make it boring).

So, what are your theories?

#this ended up being longer than I expected #yes im delusional next question #please share any theories you have! #loki #mobius #mobius m mobius #lokius #loki series #loki theory #marvel #ouroboros #general dox #o.b. #spider-man #Mr Tesseract

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Heyo. I really adore how you write things,I think you're really great at it. (Pls do not put me in horny jail though I am an innocent mortal)

I would like to request for a villain finding out the heros identity, and finding out that it's their lover/someone they were going to confess to? This could either go an incredibly angsty route where hero dies or a happier route where they can live in peace.

Their jaw was set.

They stared at the hero underneath them, blood running down their nose and over their lips. They stared into those eyes that had always seemed too familiar to them. A little detail of many which they had chosen to ignore willingly. The villain took in a laboured breath, exhausted from the final realisation, the actual suspicion that had formed into gruesome reality.

"It's you," they whispered. They held the hero's mask in their hand, twisting the fabric until their knuckles turned white. That damn mask. They cursed themselves. Why had they been so persistent?

"It's me," the hero answered. They swallowed and leaned their head back against the rubble of the destroyed house. "Yeah, it's me darling."

"You knew?"

"...I did," the hero answered. "For quite some time."

The villain swallowed. So, they were the fool again. The last one to know, the last one to find out. The villain felt quite dumb for finding out so late. Maybe love had blinded them or maybe they had chosen to be blind. The truth was, they had suspected something. However, they had blamed their trauma and fear of getting into a relationship for their instincts going wild.

"But you didn't say anything."

"I didn't want to lose you, is that so hard to believe?" The hero didn't even raise their head, they just stared up at the night sky.

"I am your nemesis," the villain reminded them. They couldn't even think about their shared apartment, about the walk back home, about the wounds. About their bed.

"You're my lover," the hero corrected them. "I don't mind that you stab me every once in a while."

"You should care about that."

"Well, I do not," the hero said. "I didn't choose you because it was convenient. I chose you because...I just knew you were the right one for me. Sometimes, you just know."

The villain's eyes burnt again but they knew they couldn't let themselves be distracted. They had plans. They had goals. There were things they needed to do.

"I have goals."

"I know," the hero answered. The villain had probably fractured their ribs.

"Goals you don't agree with."

"I know," the hero repeated. They were still bleeding and the villain felt the need to throw up. The things they had done to their lover in the past were unspeakable. "And I will still love you."

"We'll end up killing each other," the villain said. "I cannot stop doing my work. And you cannot stop doing yours."

"Then I hope death will find me first," the hero said. "And that I'll find you in a quieter life again."

Running and chasing, hating and loving.

It was a never ending cycle.

#sorry for mistakes its late and i hate e.coli #w-w-w-w-w-when fate doesnt l-l-l-l-like them #writing snippet #heroxvillain snippet #heroxvillain prompt #heroes and villains #hero #villain #heroxvillain #hero x villain #request #an answer for an ask

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/dragynkeep/723731318921363456/i-dont-really-understand-the-argument-that-aang

Thoughts? No pressure, don't read if you don't want

"The Lion Turtle saves Aang from making a hard decision" It literally didn't. Aang full on said the words "I have to kill Fire Lord Ozai." He is not happy about it, but he is willing to do it. Even AFTER the Lion Turtle gives him an alternative he still almost does it anyway while in the Avatar state, only stopping himself at the last minute. And even BEFORE the Lion Turtle he had been willing to admit "Fire Lord Ozai is a terrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him"

Aang WAS willing to do the same as Gyatso and take a life if absolutely necessary. But he had a different option, and he took it - again, after seriously considering going for the "just kill the bastard" route.

Could the Lion Turtle have been set up better? Yes. But that doesn't change that fact that Aang's view-point was challenged and he concluded that pacism does not have to mean "just let the bad guy kill everyone", and to say that he didn't is either complete dishonesty or an admission that this kids show was too complicated for you to understand.

"Aang is not only responsible for himself" Neither was Zuko. Yet he let Ozai live when he had the perfect opportunity to kill him - even better than the ones Aang got for most of his battle with Ozai - because he believed it wasn't his fate. Where is the hate for Zuko?

And where's the hate for Iroh for going "Oh, even if I could defeat Ozai, history would see it as just a brother killing another brother for power?" yet sending his nephew to a potentially fatal battle with his niece for the title of Fire Lord? Where's the hate for him for going "Well, what history will think of me is more important than me at least backing up the Avatar?" Why didn't Iroh, the White Lotus, or any of the adults so much as offer be by Aang's side in the battle?

If everyone is throwing the responsibility on his lap, then Aang is the one to decide how he's gonna handle that responsibility, and if other people got a problem with that, they better step the hell up and take charge for once.

"This might be a kid's show instead of Game Of Thrones, but people still died, so it could have had the main character save the day by killing the bad guy"

Buddy. Buddy. Come on.

Avatar TELLS us Ozai disfigured his son, and we see the scar on his face, but it doesn't SHOW us the gory details. We KNOW people died, and we see bodies, but we don't see burnt corpses, people being crushed under rocks and bleeding to death, or hitting the ground after a fatal fall. Nick downright had the writers change scenes before they were animated because they were considered "too violent." They even cut away when Sokka slices a watermellon with his sword because the watermellon in question was representing a human head - it wasn't even a human being!

Kids shows have very specific, often kind of absurd rules - Teen Titans is infamous because Cartoon Network let the villain kidnap, torture, and try to murder to murder the heroes and even be implied to be a pedophlie and we see him burn away a teenager's clothes, yet he HAD to be called "Slade" instead of "Deathstroke" because "Think of the children!"

Saying "Nickelodeon is never gonna let the good guy save the day by murdering the bad guy" is not at all absurd just because they let the writers get away with other tihngs.

And once again, even if they COULD get away with that, they still wouldn't do it because as the anon so kindly pointed out, Aang's arc and the entire theme of mercy the show had from the very beginning do NOT allow that ending to make any goddamn sense.

Characters saving the day through murder is not inherently more "mature" or "more satisfying to watch" than the hero being merciful, and this kids show is not Game Of Thrones, GET OVER YOURSELVES ALREADY.

You like a kids show. A cartoon for 7-year-olds. A show in a children's network. Just because it didn't talk down to it's target audience doesn't mean you can expect it to deliver stuff it never promised you in the first place.

#pro aang #aang deserved better #aang defense squad #respect aang or die by my sword

[primojade]

𝐎𝐃𝐈 𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐌𝐎.

❝ loving you is the highest crime I'm willing to commit. ❞

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 | in which Scaramouche reveals you the reason why he hates you so much. But in the silence that comes after his hatred is revealed, and from the unspoken words that never leave his lips, would it be too selfish to ask for something more than this? 

𝐂𝐖 / 𝐓𝐖 | GN!Reader x Scaramouche; angst with an open ending; mention of kidnapping; could be read as romantic or platonic; a "what if" route in the Fallacy of Love CYOA series; spoilers for the Sumeru Archon Quest; cursing; SAGAU themes (but not the creator thingy) more of this AU in my masterlist if you want to read them!

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 | Uhhh look, I have no idea if Scara could go out of his robot without breaking those stuff in his back? But let's pretend that he could for the sake of the plot xD also, tell me if you want a part 2 cause this one felt kind of a cliffhanger to me hahaha. 

The first time that the game revealed his true colours, you knew that Scaramouche was not one for pleasantries. Perhaps he would if the situation calls for it, or if it means getting his way into tricking his enemies into lowering their guards down before he swiftly strikes them down. But in terms of normal conversations, he was like a person who wouldn't hesitate to call you 'fucker' or something insultingly similar.

He canonically called us 'suckers'. You inwardly snickered at the memory when you first heard it. It was kind of surreal, you know. Back then, you were hoping and praying to Hoyoverse that Scaramouche would be playable and don't let him end up like Signora. And now, he was almost playable!!

Only if you yourself weren't isekicked in Genshin Impact in the first place…then you'll be rejoicing in getting this angry purple guy with mommy issues into your party. And if you weren't thrown in Teyvat, you wouldn't also ended up in this…peculiar position.

"You…" Scaramouche's thunderous voice echoed in the vast chamber, his magnificent robot hovering behind him in a threatening manner. The artificial light that casts over the massive room gives highlight to his ethereal features, giving you time to admire his otherworldly—albeit angry—beauty. It was as if he was planning to skewer you alive with his sharp gaze if you wouldn't give him your full attention. "...You aren't afraid of me at all…"

You couldn't help but to feel shock at his surprisingly accurate observation. While it was true that you were kidnapped by the Sages and their minions, you almost immediately relaxed the moment you heard Scaramouche was the one who ordered it. After all, you knew his lore in-game at the very least and what will happen in the Archon Quest so it wouldn't really matter if he kidnapped you or what.

The Traveller and Nahida will come and defeat the false god, restore the Dendro Archon's reputation and power, save the Irminsul, and the Traveller was once again being crowned as a hero of a nation. That was written in the 3.2 version of the game.

Scaramouche is written as a villain who was destined to be defeated. But in the end, even he would probably be redeemed and would inevitably befriend the Traveller since he will become a playable character.

"...Duh, what are you talking about? Can't you see I'm shaking?" You felt a cold sweat on your back as Scaramouche inched closer to you. Though he was on the smaller side of the male characters, his charisma and appeal isn't lost to you. Especially now that he was glaring at you as if he was ready to plunge you away like what he did to the Traveller in the fighting cutscene. 

"No, that's not it…" Scaramouche gritted his teeth, before he grabbed your collar and forcibly made you look straight into his burning eyes. "...that look in your eyes, that way you're looking at me right now…I despise it, I loathe it more than I despise the Traveller and everyone in this world!"

"Wha—?"

His hand on your collar tightens when you start to struggle under his hold. "Everything you told me, every expression you gave me…I remember it all. Everything was etched into my mind and I…I won't ever forgive you!"

“What in the name of the Archons are you talking about?” Even if there was a pit starting to form in your stomach, and even if he started to shake you out of sheer rage, you forced yourself to not waver under his maddening gaze. 

You have no idea why he hates you so much, nor the sins you seemed to unknowingly commit to him. You were not like the Traveller who could go head to head with him and actually defeat him. You were not like the gods that abandoned him, nor the Harbinger that used him. In fact, you are a nobody to him. Nothing but an addicted gamer of Genshin Impact that was isekai’d in Teyvat for some cruel, unknown reason.

So, why does he hate you so much to the point that he ordered you to be kidnapped just to spit in your face how much he despises you?

“—Back then, when I invaded your mind, you confidently told me that everything I did would be futile and pointless, so it's best if I gave up my plans to save myself of the pain," intense anger bled through his tone, the venom on his voice made you tremble inside.

You remember that. It was during the part where the Traveller touched Haypasia and Scaramouche connected into their mind. But to your surprise, you were also connected to him. Although everything played out just like what happened in the Archon Quest, you still tried your best to convince Scaramouche to stop whatever he was doing—just like the Traveller.

You said it out of pure concern for him. As much as you want everything to play out what it was meant to be, a small part of yourself didn't want to see him suffer with your own eyes when Nahida and Traveller defeat him and take the Gnosis that he treasures so much from him.

You don't want to see him so miserable and lifeless as if his very soul had been ripped apart from him. You especially don't want to see him plummet down from his 'godhood' with no one to catch him as he falls—just like a discarded puppet that he so believed he was.

Still, you don't understand his spiteful words towards you.

"—but now, I understand." There was a sudden calm in his voice that made you slightly nervous, like a brewing storm ready to swept you away. With a harsh tug of your collar, he leaned forward until his face was mere inches away from yours. You couls feel his ragged breathing, his gritted teeth, and his anger. "...you have no right to judge me, mortal. You have no goddamn right to judge people like that!"

You felt as if Scaramouche threw a bucket of cold water into you. 

"I…" Judge you? You wanted to say, but all you've managed was to look at him with wide, horrified eyes as realisation slowly dawns on you.

Genshin Impact is a video game with a strong plot and fictional story, played by millions of people across the world. Scaramouche is one of the villains, the antagonists, who has done nothing good to the main character. He was someone who was just a mere supporting character in order to make the plot interesting, someone who, just by existing, is a catalyst to the plot of Sumeru Archon Quest, who had a sad backstory in order to grab the heartstrings of the players. 

A cash grab for the simps, to cruelly put it.

Scaramouche could never win this battle because that was how this world was set. He could never have the Gnosis because he was written for something much different. 

No matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he struggles, he will only just be hurting himself because his actions are futile for the future had long since written.

The villain role that was given to him is fixed and cannot be changed.

"You were looking at me, thinking that my actions are useless, that I would never become a God, that I will become even less than what my creator thought of me when she abandoned me!" Scaramouche shouted at you and with so much vigour, he finally let go of our collar. Your knees gave out and you were left kneeling on the ground with a daze expression. "—when you were looking at me, gazing at me with those sympathetic eyes as if I'm someone who challenges the absolute impossible!"

No, its…its not like that. 

But you felt sympathetic and empathetic at Scaramouche because just like you, he had no chance of winning this battle. He was not the main character. He was a villain, a supporting role, like yourself. 

This is a world inside a sick game, where each playable character was moving and making choices based on what was programmed of them. They have no control of their choices because that's how the game's flow works.

But all this time, maybe unconsciously, you were seeing—judging—everyone you met here because you knew they were not real. They were programmed characters made to entertain the gamers. 

But Scaramouche…

The Balladeer was so different as he himself shattered your little world. His blazing purple eyes even bluer than what you expect. 

And he looked so real. So human-like and yet god-like at the same time. 

"—I will become a god," he said with finality, so sure of himself that you almost believe him. He turned his back on you and walked towards the giant robot hovering in the distance, the elegant flutter of his sleeves was so real. "—And I do not care if it will be useless. Because unlike you who easily give up, I make my own decisions and I will forge my own future the way I want it to."

As you listlessly watched the Traveller and Nahida slowly but surely defeat Scaramouche's god-like form, watching the familiar battle scene of the Shouki no Kami unfold before your eyes just like you see back in the screen of your device, for the first time since you arrived in Teyvat, you realised that perhaps, despite his artificial origins, Scaramouche was the most human of them all.

...One that you have no right to judge so rashly as he continued to struggle and fight under the harsh thumb of his cruel fate.

𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 | I had this brainrot a lot because I know that a lot of us must've thought along the lines of 'i can't wait to beat up scara' or something along those lines lmao. Ik cause i'm the same LOL. But what if this behaviour had bleed into you when you were isekai'd? Like ofc they are all video game characters, they are programmed and coded to act like what the script told them to, but I felt like Scaramouche fit the trope that wouldn't just give up easily even if the 'ending was already decided' so that's why he hated the reader because he thought that they were judging his actions as useless and futile, even if the sentiment comes from good conscience in our part! I just hope I manage to deliver the feelings well because im not really good at describing stuff 🤡🤡💀

TAGLIST (open! Send a dm or ask to be added :3) | @xinii , @maehemthemisfit , @abvolat , @crazypriestess , @ghostsaysno , @kittence , @unabashedlyminiaturetyrant , @xiyanin , @toasterinabathtub , @sketcheeee , @fuoon , @luvwukong , @salty-salty , @rosebatsc , @inky8 , @thegeekact , @almighty-raiden-shogunate , @isuckat-avery-thing , @perhapsabitgirlypop , @2cuteforyourlies , @stxrgxzxr , @elsoleil , @tsukkinoyya , @mkaella , @celi-alika , @tiffthescales , @blurr3db3rry , @messyserver , @shadowmist0706 , @chin-chii , @observation-subject-753 , @clovers-anxiety , @shizunxie , @lleoll , @shoujishu , @uwu-panic , @forgotten-blues , @chaneylovesfangirling , @enma-reblogs , @cookielovingalien , @iruiji , @samarill , @definitionofsadness , @spynerr , @bigcandlesmolbrain , @universal-rose , @feverish-dove , @inlovewithwaffles , @jar-03 , @swaggyb0ke , ... (if ur username is bolded, it means i cant tagged u :(( maybe its in ur settings? Also lmk if i missed anyone cause im such an idiot sometimes shsh)

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #sagau #genshin sagau #jaded moments—! #gender neutral reader #genshin scaramouche #genshin wanderer

[chaotic-orphan]

Hi, are you still continuing vendetta? It was really good, cant wait for the next part! no rush though :)

Vendetta — part six

Read part one here

Continued from here

I finally got around to finishing this!!!! Honestly, I had the plot, the ideas, everything sorted and then I blanked because — GUESS WHO DIDN’T CONSIDER HERO’S POWER?!?!!! It was me :] anyways! It is done!!!

*~*~*~*~*

Villain led Hero and Vigilante back out through the hole in the med bay towards the courtyard of the Guild where Hero had spent many hours training and sparring throughout their life. Superhero used to stand on the raised platform at the top of the courtyard so they could observe everyone’s progress during training. Now it was empty and it left a numb feeling in Hero’s chest.

Villain marched them up the platform steps and towards the back of it, to the Guild offices. Hero frowned. Why was Villain taking the time to ensure they weren’t seen? Hero could hear the commotion of Villains somewhere in and around the Guild, why not parade them through the masses?

Hero stepped closer to Vigilante when Villain opened the door for them and nodded at them to walk through.

“Stay close to me,” Vigilante whispered as they obeyed Villain’s order.

Hero didn’t need to be told twice. Hero didn’t know how many times they had been through here, how packed with people it used to be. People Hero knew. Now it was empty, it left a hole in Hero’s heart. Now they only had Vigilante to cling to for it to feel normal. They passed Doctor’s office, other Hero’s office and went straight for Superhero’s. Dread pooled in Hero’s gut as Villain knocked on the door.

“Enter,” a voice called from inside that wasn’t Superhero. Villain smiled at Hero, then opened the door. Villain pushed Vigilante ahead of them with a quick, hard shove. Vigilante stumbled forward, barely catching themselves. Villain didn’t give them a second before they delivered another hard shove that sent Vigilante to their knees in front of Superhero’s desk.

Except Superhero wasn’t sitting behind the desk.

Hero’s feet refused to move. They were rooted in place just inside the doorway because Villain blocked their only exit route behind them. They just stood in the doorway, mind going blank with horror as they faced Supervillain.

Supervillain sitting in Superhero’s chair. Where Superhero should be sitting, where they always sat but instead the cause of all Hero’s nightmares and grief occupied the spot instead.

This was the man that killed Doctor, that ordered for Doctor to die; for Hero to die. That forced Vigilante to kill that girl and Hero to fight more battles than they ever should have seen.

The cause for Hero’s entire world being on fire.

Supervillain smiled at Hero briefly, then his eyes went to Vigilante. The smile remained on his face but his eyes turned sharper, something cruel glinting in them. Something monstrous and hungry.

“Vigilante, so nice of you to drop by. I heard you joined the other side,” he said, his voice liquid smooth like mercury, both alluring and dangerous. There was a soft rumble to it in the back of his throat that made it that much more enticing, like you wanted to listen to him.

“I’m on Hero’s side,” Vigilante spat. “Not yours or the Heroes.”

“You put yourself in opposition to me, Vigilante. I don’t care for the reason, but,” Supervillain said, eyes flickering up to Hero who stood frozen at the door. “Fat lot of good it did you considering you’re both here now.”

Hero should do something. They should do… something! Think of a clever way out or something they could bargain with but their mind was blank, too busy sending racing thoughts zooming through their mind like shooting stars, too fast to catch, than having the ability to think properly. Everything in their chest seemed to lodge at the base of their throat and they were surprised they were still able to breathe normally.

“Yeah? Untie me and we’ll see how much good I can inflict.”

Supervillain laughed, Hero flinched at the sound. The reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Two ice coloured eyes found Hero’s and froze them in place even more so than before. Supervillain’s lips spread into a charming smile, exposing the contours of his face and jaw.

“Are you frightened, little Hero?” Supervillain asked, tilting his head to the side to get a better look at Hero. Vigilante glanced at Hero over their shoulder before getting to their feet and stepping in Supervillain’s view.

“Don’t look at them when I’m talking to you,” Vigilante spat. Supervillain let out a small huff of a laugh. As if Vigilante was a puppy puffing out it’s chest.

“I always admired your scrappy nature, Vigilante. It’s what endeared Villain to you in the first place.”

“Let me go and I’ll show you just how adorable I can be.”

“No need,” Supervillain said getting to his feet. The wooden legs of the chair scrapped against the wooden floor. Hero was too aware that their entire body had started to tremble during Vigilante’s and Supervillain’s chat.

They couldn’t move.

They couldn’t breathe.

They couldn’t…

stop…

shaking.

They should be right beside Vigilante defending them. Instead they stood useless. Watching everything as if it was on television… it seemed so unreal, so faraway. Their body felt so far from reach and they couldn’t order it to move, to react — to do anything but shake uselessly beside the door.

Supervillain walked around the desk and raised his hand to backhand Vigilante.

Hero’s heart lurched in their chest.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Supervillain’s arm twitched, the movement telling of his intention to hurt Vigilante. Vigilante hadn’t stepped back, instead they bared their teeth, a flash of white pulling their lips into a vicious grimace. Accepting their fate but it didn’t matter.

Suddenly Hero was the subject of two grinning eyes gleaming down at them. They didn’t know they had moved until their eyes registered that Supervillain now stood in front of them, smile as sharp as barbed wire, and hungrier than a starved lion’s.

Hero tightened their grip on Supervillain’s wrist in their steady hand, Vigilante pushed behind them protectively with their other.

“Ah,” Supervillain said softly. “There you are, little Hero.”

Hero’s heart crashed against their chest hard, more jarring then being stranded in the desert. Fear circled in their gut like a vulture waiting for its quarry to die.

“Here I am,” Hero replied, voice even and steady. How the fuck was their voice so even?! They didn’t want to question it in case the courage decided to abandon them. “That means you don’t lay a finger on Vigilante.”

Hero shoved Supervillain’s hand back towards his chest, who smiled at the audacity of them. Hero stood sturdier than a wall between Supervillain and Villain on one side, and Vigilante protected behind them.

Supervillain’s smile grew more into a grin as he looked down at Hero. “You really are as magnificent as they say.”

Hero tilted their head up. “Wish I could return the compliment.”

“So bold, Hero. I guess Superhero never thought to put manners on you.”

“They were too busy training me to beat Villains like you.”

A warm chest pressed against Hero’s back. Vigilante whispered a soft, exasperated: “Hero.”

Supervillain noticed the warning, eyes flashing back to Vigilante. “Hey,” Hero said, gaining Supervillain’s attention again. “You’re taking to me. Don’t look at Vigilante.”

“But they did such a good job of getting you here,” Supervillain purred. Cruel eyes met Hero’s, and Hero would be lying if they said their stomach didn’t twist into knots at the thought of Vigilante betraying them but they knew Vigilante would never do that. Supervillain was just trying to scare them.

“Nice try, maybe have Villain not tie them up next time and I’ll believe you.”

“Oh so cute. You think there will be a next time, for Vigilante, hmm?”

Hero froze at the question. They hadn’t ever considered being without Vigilante, not being able to see them. But surely… surely Supervillain couldn’t do that, could he?

Supervillain leaned down close to Hero, and Hero, thankfully didn’t flinch at the closeness. They did, however, flinch when Supervillain said: “gotcha” with a chilling smile.

Hero didn’t know Supervillain’s plan, their power, that’s something he had always kept close to the chest so Hero just assumed he was powerless but what if he wasn’t? What then? Supervillain didn’t make any information public or readily available, his closest circle were all loyal to a fault— so what… was his power? Did he have one? Was he just trying to scare Hero?

Supervillain straightened, all humour gone from his face.

“Thank you, Villain, for bringing them both to me. As a reward, I’ll let you decide what you want to do with Vigilante.”

“No,” Vigilante ground out. Hero was frozen, again. Useless! So useless. Their hands itched to reach for their swords but their swords were safely in the possession of Villain, far from Hero. If they moved to Villain first then that would leave Vigilante open for Supervillain and somehow Hero trusted Villain more than Supervillain.

Villain wasn’t going to kill Vigilante, they had said so!

Hero stood powerless in front of Supervillain.

“Thank you, Supervillain,” said Villain. Then he moved towards Vigilante and Hero twisted hands spread out but they couldn’t do anything if Supervillain and Villain attacked at once.

“Come on Hero,” said Villain with a knowing stare.

Hero just bared their teeth in reply. Then there was a hand on Hero’s shoulder and one on their wrist, twisting Hero’s arm up their back. Hero gasped as they felt the familiar wash of ice through their veins when their ability was subduing another powered individual’s.

So Supervillain did have an ability.

“Hah,” Supervillain breathed behind Hero, pausing for a moment. “I knew it. No wonder Superhero kept you so close.”

Hero didn’t reply. They just slammed their head backwards. It stopped before impact and Hero could feel Villain’s power holding them. Shit. They needed Supervillain to stop touching them or they were going to lose Vigilante.

Villain was already behind Vigilante their hand on the back of Vigilante’s neck. Villain tilted their head at Supervillain.

“Do you want their swords?”

“Yeah,” Supervillain said behind Hero and Hero shot backwards. Supervillain quickly subduing them again by pushing their wrist further up their back until Hero cried out. “Leave them anywhere. That will be all. Thank you, Villain.”

“Hero!” Vigilante cried, struggling against Villain’s hold until they went still. Vigilante’s eyes met Hero’s with a determined desperation in them and Hero shook their head as tears sprung to their eyes. “We’ll get out of this, okay? Somehow. I’ll find you again!”

“I love you,” Hero whispered, not caring that the villains could hear them. Villain started to drag Vigilante from the office, steering him half with his power and half with his hands.

“I’ll find you Hero!” Vigilante yelled. “I love you, Hero. I’ll always—”

Hero started crying freely when Villain took Vigilante’s voice. Supervillain’s grip tightened on Hero’s wrist at the quiet hitches in Hero’s breath that was all too telling, but they didn’t care. They didn’t care if Supervillain knew they were crying or not, this wasn’t supposed to end like this!

The Villains weren’t supposed to win! And where the fuck was Superhero in all this? Why weren’t they stopping Supervillain?

Hero froze when a hand went to the top of their hair. Fingers lacing through the strands and running down, before starting from the top again.

“Sssh, sh, shh like Hero,” said Supervillain, while they pet Hero like a dog. Was he trying to be soothing or did he know this was creepy?! “Everything will be over soon enough. All this fighting. You’ll see how pointless it was to go against me in the first place.”

Hero shuddered at his voice, the certainty of his words but they were too tired to fight back anymore. Their heart still aching for Vigilante and the terror of not knowing where they were or what was being done to them.

Supervillain’s next words chilled Hero to the bone. “I think it’s time to rally the troops, don’t you?”

*~*~*~*~*

The Orphanage roll-call (tag-list lmk if you want to be added or removed <3): @micechomper @aarika-merrill

#Vendetta #Vendetta series #writblr #hero villain writing #hero villain snippet #hero villain story #villain #hero #writing #whump writing #orphan writing #orphan #whump fic #whump story #hero whumpee #supervillain whumper #evil whumper #intelligent whumper #intelligent villain #vigilante x hero #hero x vigilante #hero x villain #heroes and villains #hero and villain #heroes vs villains war #war whump #war time whump #my writing #whump #emotional whump

[snapscube]

inFamous' karma system is simply binary and way too rigid to be compelling. "Oh you think bullies should be opposed? Then you're on the babykilling spectrum"

And the gameplay needs to be reworked and expanded tremendously to have incorporate a multifaceted Karma system, which is simply too much effort that neither Sony or SuckerPunch seem to be interested in spending

I think for the time period the early games were released in it was novel and mostly well done but I think if the series wants to survive a modern revival then, PERSONALLY, my hope would be to go the route of the immersive sim genre (or even like, Undertale for a weirder example haha) and leave narrative consequences purely up to gameplay choices rather than dedicated Karma Moments. You lose some of the immediate presentational satisfaction and flare yes, but I think it would be so much more interesting if players like didn’t even fully realize just how much their choices were affecting their story experience until it’s far too late. I think this way you also get rid of the weird situation where in inFAMOUS you really don’t make hero or villain choices as you play the game. Technically you do, but like… how many people are playing half the game making hero choices and then suddenly deciding “uh wait actually i’m gonna sacrifice this civilian so i don’t hallucinate for a bit”. Like, you only really hear about “Good playthroughs” or “Evil playthroughs” and nothing more nuanced because there are legitimate gameplay and power progression reasons to stick to a single karmic path through the whole game. Upgrades are locked behind karma levels of either disposition. It would be a LOT more work and at higher risk of missing the mark to go for a more hidden, nuanced approach yes. But man, if you could pull it off you would have something REALLY special by the end of it I think.

[unlimitedhearts]

I’m dreading the third game of Spiderman might kill off Harry :/ either he’s goblin (solo or probably along with daddy-o) and dies a la Hero Sacrifice. Or kept comatose and in the end with grim results the decision is to pull the plug on him. idk I feel Harry’s fate is doom and gloom. But they could have killed Harry at the end of this sequel giving a strong motivation for Norman to be the Goblin and hatred for Spider-Man…yet they didn’t. idk rambling thoughts. What do you think?

Personally i can see both options. I saw someone in the tags of my last headcanon post say that it wouldnt make sense to save him from death in this game only to kill him in the next. On some level i get that, why wait when you could do it now?

I have two worst case scenarios in my head:

Harry wakes up from his coma w amnesia a la the third Tobey Maguire movie. Hes unaware of Pete being Spider-Man and Peter, thinking hes protecting Harry, wont tell him. This may cause a rift in their friendship when Harry finds out - or if Norman ends up going goblin and dies - Spider-Man is to blame in Harrys eyes and he'll go after him then. To me this is a tired trope of Harry getting an intense hatred for Spidey and wanting to kill him over his father. It always felt out of character for me and i truly TRULY hope they dont go this route.

Harry becomes the Kobold. In the comics, Kobold is essentially Harrys way of making the Green Goblin a good guy. If he still wants to fight by Peters side, he'll find a way to do it. Kobold would make a lot of sense to me personally, as it kind of continues their dynamic from this game. Then at the end theres a heros sacrifice to be made and Harry goes for it despite Peters protests. This would be lazy to me too though because he essential already did the heros sacrifice in this game. Seems like theyd just want us to have more time with him to love him even more, just to make losing him hurt worse. I wouldn't put it past an intrepid writer to think they could make it work, but it just seems lazy to me.

Actual best case scenario for me though? Harry wakes up as the g-serum is being injected. Hes against being his dads experiment all over again so he runs and finds Peter. Hes not aware of his pseudo-retirement, he just goes straight to the place thats always been his safe haven; Peters home. He asks Peter to hide him from his dad. Tries to explain everything but hes exhausted and frantic. Peter agrees and they take him into hiding.

Norman, ever the expert deflector, doesnt see this as a failing on his part. Hes convinced spider-man had something to do with his son escaping so he puts out a hit on him. Hes ready, willing, and able to capture and kill at least one of the two spider-men it doesnt matter. We see him pardon Wilson Fisk for this job, and when Fisk cant do it, he has to. Normans going to go Goblin. I know it, i can feel it in my bones.

Miles asks Peter to get back in action and he does. Fisk, plus potentially Otto again, plus this brand new villain in town is too much for any one person to handle. Heres where i see Harry becoming a "Guy In The Chair" for Peter like Ganke is for Miles. Two Guys in the Chair helping the spider-men is definitely better than one. I could also see Harrys goblin powers start to emerge but he keeps pushing them down. Last time he gave into power it didnt end well for anyone.

In an effort to not write out the entire plot of the game as i see fit (because itd be long and there are so many moving pieces and characters and IDEK WHERE THEYRE GONNA PUT SILK IN-), i think if Harry does take on the cowl he'll be doing so against his father. I think i see Harry becoming Goblin/Kobold to fight against Norman and ultimately try to help Peter/Miles. This is where i see Harry either accidentally killing Norman or Norman killing his son (and of course, blaming Spider-Man)

There is also room, in my mind, to bring back Venom a la Lethal Protector/Agent Venom. But tbh if they do, i would much rather Venom go to Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson. But thats just the separate Venom Fangirl Entity within me.

Ultimately my hope of course is that Harry not die and they dont go down that all too tired and hackneyed trope of Harry growing to hate Peter dor whatever reason. I truly TRULY hope they dont go that route it is just SO tired and lazy. I want them to stay close and loving. Whatever route they go with will be SO MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL if Harry Osborn lives and doesnt make a full 180 on his best friend for no good reason.

#harry osborn #peter parker #parksborn #if you squint #spider-man #marvel's spider man 2 #spider-man 2 #insomniac spider man #insomniac spider-man #insomniac games #spider man imagine #spider-man headcanons #honestly insomniac pls hire me #i would be so good at writing this game i care about these characters SO DEEPLY. #what do i need to do for you to notice me insomniac senpai #venetiangoldroz

[melodyfsoul1]

You know what? Let me rant about Comic Loki & MCU Loki for a bit, because I have been thinking about this for weeks now...

Loki's Character/ Story is so freaking tragic, both Comic & MCU Loki.

In the Comics Loki almost always plays the role of an antagonist or villain (usually for the sake of the story, but that makes Loki's story so difficult, there are many ups and downs.

In the Comics & the MCU Loki was always the mischief maker who brought the Avengers together (on multiple occasions actually) but besides that his story was a mix of his own path, mythology influences and writers going "hey we need a villain for our comic and Loki's popular"

So considering Loki's long life, a deal that has to do with reincarnation, and lots of life experience in playing both the villain and the hero, Loki KNOWS how he is perceived, how others mistrust & even fear him, and for a while he was fine with that.

But after a while he wanted to be more than just the God of Lies ("Evil" as many people wrongly assume)

Loki wants to Change. He actively tries to change, to be good for literally SEVERAL arcs, (Kid Loki, Agent of Asgard Loki and Loki God of Stories)

BUT everytime he either:

- Fails to Change because old habits die hard so he stays a villain

- Changes and gets bored of his, now nice but limited life, because he could be more and ends up reverting back to his old ways

- Or ( the in my opinion saddest option), he manages to change through hard work, to truly be good, but either gets betrayed by his loved ones, or no one even gives him the chance to proof that he can change, saying its not in his nature, that he will always be a villain.

So then he goes the route of "you will always see me as nothing but the villain I once was, no matter how hard I try change.... so why should I even try? You want a villain, fine, let me play the role of the villan"

Hell, in the comics Loki makes a deal with two Entities to literally "rewrite his fate" to that of a hero, knowing he would have to pay the price of a "heroes death" for the story. He literally chose to "die soon/ young, possibly sacrificing himself, but be finally perceived as good", over "staying alive but always be seen as the villain"

And what makes this even sadder, is that this is EXACTLY the Fate the MCU Loki got.

The main timeline Loki got the chance to go from "misunderstood Villain", to Antihero to Hero, and what did he get?

A HEROES DEATH

No second chance at life for redeeming himself? No, he was brutally murdered by his biggest tormentor and greatest fear, sacrificing himself to safe his brother and their people's lives, and I hate it.... he deserves a happy end too...

A character's story/ redemption doesnt need to end in death to be concluded, let them live, let them have this 2nd chance, living and dealing with what they have dome & changing to be better is hard enough as it is

So I hope at least MCU Variant Loki gets to have a happier end, have friends & family.

As you can tell, I still have a very complex hate / acceptance relationship with how main timeline MCU Loki was treated... I could go on for this for hours, but Im gonna make myself sad.... so, thats my little rant for now, Thank You for reading :D

#loki #mcu loki #comic loki #marvel loki #loki agent of asgard #kid loki #loki god of stories #loki god of mischief #loki season one #loki season 2 #loki deserves better #loki needs a hug #and a friend #infinity war #Marvel Please I beg let Loki be happy for once