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writingquestionsanswered · 1 year

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Hello I was wondering if you had advice on how to continue writing a story I start writing books but can't seem to finish them

Starting Stories But Not Finishing Them

There are a few reasons why you might be struggling to finish the stories you start. We'll count them down, because the biggest one is the most important one...

#5 - You're Getting Distracted

Writer brains get very excited by new ideas. Even when we're in the middle of a story we love and are excited about, we can lose all of our focus and motivation when the right idea comes along. But there are other things that can distract us, too... anything you like to do for fun or relaxation, other projects, school and work stuff, social stuff... anything you might be thinking about or spending time on that isn't your story can derail your forward motion. And sometimes it can't be helped, so you have to do some prioritizing and see where your mental energy and effort needs to be going. If there's nothing more important than your story going on, get your mind back on your story. And if new ideas pop up, write them down in a notebook or an "idea" file to save for later. Would Rather Be Doing Other Things

#4 - You're Getting Tripped Up on Quality

The more we write, and the more we read, the more we start to realize that what we're writing isn't quite where we want it to be quality-wise, and that can be really discouraging, especially if you feel like your story has to be perfect in the first draft. But the thing to remember is that quality is the result of two things: polishing and practice. Whatever level your writing is at, no amount of polishing is going to get you above that level. Only practice can do that, and practice means starting and finishing as many stories as you can. But... whatever level you're at, your first draft isn't necessarily going to reflect that level of quality because it's a rough draft. This is why we edit and polish. So, focus on finishing the story, then worry about polishing it up. And don't give yourself a hard time because you're not writing at a higher level than you're at.

Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality #3 - You've Lost Motivation/Inspiration

Sometimes you just lose the spark of inspiration that made you want to write the story in the first place. Maybe you're just bored. Maybe you've forgotten what first excited you about the story. Maybe you're just not in a writing mood. Sometimes, doing exercises to rekindle your interest in the story can help. Try:

Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists #2 - You're stuck on Something That Isn't Working

Stories are like a house of cards in that one misplaced “card” can bring the whole thing crashing down. Sometimes you get stuck because an element or event didn’t quite work, and you can feel in your gut that something’s not right, so the wind completely leaves your sails. It's not that there's a problem with the story, it's just that there's a problem with the path it's on. Try going back through what you've already written and look for the element that isn't pulling its weight. Can you identify the moment where the story loses its fizz? Maybe the addition of a character that's not pulling their weight and is dragging the story down. Maybe a subplot that is cluttering up the story or drawing attention away from the main plot. Or maybe a scene (or several) that don't really add to the story. If you can figure out what's draining your story's energy, you can usually start writing forward again. #1 - You Don't Know Where Your Story is Going

This is the BIG ONE. This is the one that is the culprit 99% of the time for newer writers, and the reason it happens is because newer writers are less familiar with plot and story structure. Your story's plot is the sequence of events that makes up the narrative, and this sequence of events is driven by a conflict. That conflict could be an external conflict (like having to defeat an evil sorceress... aka plot-driven), an internal conflict (like being conflicted between what you want and what someone else wants for you... aka character-driven), or a combination of both. Your story's structure is the order and placement of your story's events.

The type of story you're telling and the way you want to tell it will decide what kind of plot points fill out this framework. The rising action will be kicked off by a catalyst/inciting incident. The climax may be preceded by a dark moment. The denouement may be followed by a final image. It's up to you to plot that out.

Basic Story Structure Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict Fleshing Out Plot Ideas Creating a Detailed Story Outline

*** However, if you do choose to plot out your story using a known story structure guide, like Save the Cat! or the Snowflake Method, just remember you don't have to stick to it exactly. Always do what works best for your story.

Also: even accomplished writers who long ago mastered plot and story structure can still struggle with knowing where their story is going. That's because stories can change dramatically as you write them, and sometimes you get to the middle of your story and realize it's not going where you thought it was. That can lead to a "back to square one" moment that can be frustrating for any writer, but sitting down to do a little bit of plotting almost always helps you get back on track.

I hope this helps!

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lurkingshan · 2 months

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Japanese QL Corner

ICYMI: There are so many Japanese qls airing weekly, so I’m going to start posting this little round up at the end of each week. Most of these shows are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching!

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna 2

Another great batch of episodes this week, as Kasuga and Nomoto settled into dating life, all the gals got together for various food related events, and Nagumo began seeking treatment for her eating disorder. This show is just always so compassionate with its characters, and manages to find interesting conflicts without going for high drama. I am very much enjoying seeing Kasuga and Nomoto figure out how their relationship should look now that they're dating and also how to communicate and respect each other as they make decisions. Kasuga's tendency to let Nomoto steamroll her feels harmless when it's about picking fruit or vegetables, but it won't be when it comes to making decisions about where they live and how to set up their home, so it's great they're addressing it early. It's also awesome to see them expand their circle of friends and deepen their bonds with Yako and Nagumo--I was high key jealous of the curry and s'mores parties. And Nagumo just has my whole heart. When she expressed profound relief at learning there is a name for her illness and ways to treat it, my mind immediately jumped to Rachel Bloom. Looking forward to her healing. I can't believe there is only one more batch of episodes coming, love and gratitude to @furritsubs!

Chaser Game W

I’ll keep this brief. This show was a mess, and not even in a fun way because unfortunately it was also extremely misogynistic. @twig-tea covered the major issues well in her post. Wild that this show aired simultaneously with TsukuTabe, what a dichotomy.

My Strawberry Film

This one is really not grabbing me. It feels kind of slow and muted and uncertain about what it's doing. I am not finding the mystery or the love rhombus compelling, and this week's focus on Hikaru's infatuation with Minami had me yawning and picking up my phone a lot. But it's early, I am hopeful it will pick up some steam.

Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka

This was a cute episode about Sakae and Soga getting past their initial awkwardness, learning how to communicate with each other, and moving into a more intimate phase of their relationship, and I think I would have loved it if we'd gotten it two weeks ago. This should have been the episode that followed their initial confessions, but instead the show did a two week diversion into love triangle nonsense, and unfortunately, I think it really threw off the pacing and the connection to these characters for me. It just feels too late in the show for this relationship to still feel so new. We haven't had time to settle in with them as a couple, or for them to develop a strong foundation to make us root for them to overcome the coming obstacles in the final arc. Still, this episode had some delightful scenes--Soga finally paying a visit to the sauna was my personal fav, and I also enjoyed the metaphor of Sakae literally catching Soga's love (and knowing @bengiyo would lose it over another important SPORTS moment in bl). This is a show I really want to love, but something just isn't connecting.

Perfect Propose

I love this final episode and I love this show. Hiro quit his job, Kai resolved things with the shop owner and his son, and they finally got on the same page about their relationship and made out about it. 10/10 no notes for this finale. It was lovely to see Hiro finish his project and make a decision to quit the daily grind--I loved, too, that he is still in touch with his former colleagues--and we saw the change in him so quickly. He looked happier, lighter, brighter. His skin was cleared and his crops were watered! And Kai got to have his moment of catharsis too, sharing his fear that he is a burden on others and having Hiro affirm for him that he wants him in his life and he's a help, not a burden. And I loved that we got all that plus a great kiss, a bed scene (with a very cute leg cramp diversion) and a small peek at their new domestic life together. This show makes me happy and it will definitely be one I return to for rewatches.

Ossan's Love Returns

I'm of two minds on this finale. On the one hand, I really loved it as a single episode of the show, was happy with where all the resolutions landed, and was left with a very warm feeling toward the show overall. The cherry blossom scene especially really got me right in the feels; I've loved the progression of Maki and Haruta's relationship this season and I love the way they talk to each other. They have earned themselves a spot on my list of favorite drama couples who I actually believe are going to stay together. I also loved everything about the big chaotic group scene and all these characters coming together to pour love on Haruta; it felt earned after a season of him knocking himself out for all his loved ones. The end joke with Chief moving in next door, and getting a final Maki/Kurosawa battle, was *chef's kiss*. And Takegawa's perfect life partner being a cat? 10/10 no notes. I will be clutching my aroace Takegawa read tightly to my bosom.

On the other hand, the episode reinforced for me that the way we got to a lot of these resolutions didn't feel quite right. In particular, I don't think the way Kurosawa's health scare played out across the back half of the season worked, and I'm not too pleased about spending three episodes in a downbeat, tragic mode for the sake of a simple pun joke. I think the whole plot would have landed a lot better for me if the audience was let in on Kurosawa's mistake at the start and the tone of his overwrought goodbyes was farcical all the way through. Not only would that have maintained the comedic tone of the show, but we could have used that story time to better seed some of the themes of this episode with Haruta's crisis of confidence and yearning for family. I'm pretty much agnostic on Kiku and Izumi; they never sold me on that pairing but I wasn't mad about their ending.

Overall, I am very glad I jumped into this show and enjoyed the watch experience a lot, despite my quibbles with some of the overarching writing choices. The cast is amazing and all the characters make me smile. If they make another season, I'll be watching!

Bonus: Josi teki Saikatsu

I finally watched this drama this week--I held out for awhile hoping to find it in better quality, but no dice, it's 480p in the grey--and despite the potato lens I loved it so much. This is the story of Miki, a transfemme lesbian, just trying to live her life in the way she wants, and all the barriers she comes up against in that pursuit. Our story begins when her childhood friend, Goto, comes looking for his old pal in a moment of desperation and is stunned to see how she's changed. The show is only four short episodes, but they manage to paint a full picture of Miki's life at home, at work, with friends and lovers, and with her estranged family, and show us how she became who she is. Miki is whip smart and perceptive and generous, but also wary of trusting anyone after she's been let down by so many loved ones. I love her so much, and you will too. This story was written by a trans woman and it shows! Brave the 480p and check it out.

#japanese ql corner #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #chaser game w #my strawberry film #sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka #perfect propose #ossan's love returns #josi teki saikatsu #life as a girl #japanese bl #japanese gl #jdrama

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uhdrienne · 4 months

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a/n: there's a text photo after the written part! <3

───✱.｡:｡✱.:｡✧.｡✰──────✱

“Mingyu!” You wave to the tall boy standing near your block.

“Y/N!” He yells back, raising his hand in hello.

As you join him, he offers to help you with your computer bag, which you allow to happen reluctantly. He asks about your recent project, whereupon you regale him with the horrors of working on a constitutional and tax law assignment with slacking group members.

“You didn’t have to,” You say suddenly as you both begin walking to the campus cafe.

“What?”

“Pay me back for the tutoring, I mean — I did it for fun and you already knew most of it, you just needed a nudge to memorise it all.”

“It’s fine,” He waves you off. “I did well, so..”

“And if you didn’t do well?”

He shrugs. “No treat for you then. It’s your lucky day.”

You smack him on the chest. “Ow!”

“I know what I’m doing,” you insist, and he rolls his eyes playfully before suddenly yelling, “Last one to the cafe’s paying the next time we eat with Jeonghan!” He sprints off.

Jeonghan’s a bottomless hole. You’re not losing to the 6 foot over man and half your pay the next time Jeonghan thinks it's interesting to challenge who can eat the most pasta in one sitting.

“You’re on!”

───✱.｡:｡✱.:｡✧.｡✰──────✱

“How you doing?” Minghao asks, hands in pockets as he walks down the path with Seungcheol.

“Eh.” Seungcheol murmurs in response.

“Hey,” Minghao says. “Seriously, are you good? You look like you’re surviving off instant food and coffee right now.”

“Just sleepy,” Seungcheol sighs, rubbing his eyes. “The new song assignment is kicking my ass.”

Minghao chuckles. “Sure. You’re not suffering from Y/N withdrawal, are you?”

He swiftly dodges a kick to the shin.

As planned, he checks his phone. “Crap!”

“What?” Seungcheol yawns.

“Can you grab a coffee for me? I’ll be right back, I need to pass some stuff to the library assistant on shift before me.”

“Are you on duty today?”

“Later," Minghao says. "But the fellow says it's urgent."

"Do you want me to go with you? We both work there, anyway." Seungcheol offers.

"No!" Minghao almost shouts, way louder than he intended. "I mean... nah, it's all good. Just help me order, I'll be back in ten minutes."

“Okay,” Seungcheol shrugs, clearly too tired to process his words. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you.”

“Just an Americano.” Minghao does not like Americanos.

“Alright, catch you in a bit. Hurry back.”

“Thanks. See ya.” Minghao walks back the way they came, but only a short distance out of sight, where he’s agreed to meet Mingyu after the accountancy kid drops you off.

───✱.｡:｡✱.:｡✧.｡✰──────✱

“God, I’m so unfit.” You pant, all while Mingyu races ahead of you.

“YN, come on! Hurry!” The boy is currently gesturing towards you.

You launch toward him, shoving him playfully. “Why are your legs so damn long?!”

You’re too busy playfighting each other that you don’t notice that you’ve reached the cafe.

Seungcheol can’t believe his eyes.

You said you were busy with work. Not with play-wrestling the giant that gave him your number in the first place. Not with coming in the direction of the cafe where you had your first ‘date’ together.

It could have been the exhaustion, but he feels tears rising to his eyes, a frown tugging his lips down. You didn’t really want to spend time with him, did you?

He walks towards the cafe door, opens it and steps out, praying that miraculously, you both won’t see him.

“Oh! Seungcheol?” He stops in his tracks at the sound of your voice.

Great.

Mingyu begins raising a hand in greeting, but his smile drops when he sees Seungcheol’s forlorn expression. Slowly, the look of realisation dawns on his face as he processes what the scene looks like.

You, telling Seungcheol you weren’t free for a while, yet seen coming to the cafe with Mingyu. Him, grabbing your hands to wrestle them away as you tried punching his arm. You, head thrown back in laughter. Him, laughing just as loudly. And Seungcheol seeing it all.

It so looked like you and Mingyu were on a date.

He splutters and half-chokes. “Um-!”

“Bye,” Seungcheol mutters, expression one that you can’t quite place as he begins walking away.

“Seungcheol, it’s not what it looks like-” Mingyu begins.

“It’s whatever,” Seungcheol says wearily. “I have to go. See you guys around.”

He leaves, posture slumped, Mingyu speechless while you look on in bewilderment. “What on earth was that?”

“I messed up, that’s what.” Mingyu sighs. “Let’s go find Minghao.”

“…Who’s Minghao?”

───✱.｡:｡✱.:｡✧.｡✰──────✱

“You WHAT?!” Minghao half-shouts.

“I swear-”

“No, no, no! You had one job. You’re not swearing on anything! You screwed it all up!” Minghao groans, rubbing his temples as he leans against the wall. “Great. He’ll feel even worse now.”

“I don’t…wait. Are you two saying you tried to meddle to get us together??” You ask, eyebrows raised.

“Clearly didn’t work.” Mingyu sighs.

“Whose fault is that?!” Minghao shoots at Mingyu, arms folded like an angry parent.

“We would have gotten together on our own,” You complain. “Now he’s misunderstanding this whole thing and he’s upset.”

“Uh, no! You wouldn’t!” Minghao interrupts, pointing at you. “He’s down so bad and so are you and you both are just wallowing-”

“Never mind that, what do I do now?” You sigh in misery. “He’s mad and it’s my fault…”

“No, it was me.” Mingyu sounds apologetic. “I made him misunderstand. Swear, I didn’t mean to.”

“Damn right, you did.” Minghao rolls his eyes. He gestures to you. “Go on and find him. Meanwhile, we'll try not to die when Jeonghan comes."

You tilt your head in confusion. “Jeonghan? What’s this got to..."

At the withering look Minghao gives you, as if to ask, "That's what you're really focusing on now?" You perk right back up. "Oh! Got it!” And then you’re racing off, leaving both boys behind.

───✱.｡:｡✱.:｡✧.｡✰──────✱

ﾟﾟ･｡ all’s fair in love and law (c.sc x reader)

07. you had one job!

p.s: i’m not a law student so i’m not 100% sure if constitutional and tax law are subjects that are actually taught 😭 i googled as much as i could lmaoo so any law students please let me know!!

prev. masterlist. next.

💌 summary: falling for the cute library assistant while struggling through a law degree may not have been in your plans or his — but it was the best thing to happen.

oh, how did something as simple as losing your notes turn into this?

series taglist 🤍:

@myjaeyunn @sun-daddy-yoriichi @rakshithanotrao @leewonkyeom @luchiet @keylex @buffhoshi @malikazz243 @kokoiinuts @jj-ever-lovely-jewel @90s-belladonna @k07-1313 @gh0stbonez

thank you for reading ✨

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quirkwizard · 5 months

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Keystone-Ranking My Hero's Academia's Arcs

To All my Friends and Followers, I am proud again to announce another double milestone. Not only have I reached over 10,000 total posts on this blog, but I have reach over 3,000 followers. Who would have guessed this little blog I made for fun would have made it this far? Because I am frankly flabbergasted that this blog has made it this point. I thank all of you for your support and truly wish that I can make this blog something worthy of your dedication. For this momentous milestone, I once again decided to do a massive project. This time, it will be ranking all the arcs of My Hero Academia.

So before I begin, let's cover some ground rules:

-What I will be considering an arc, as well as where it starts and ends, will be defined by the Wikia, making for a total of twenty one arcs.

-This will mainly be focusing on the manga. While I will mention the anime here and there, it will not play any major role in how I rank these arcs.

-This ranking will be relative to the rest of the series. So if I put an arc lower on the list, I'm not saying it's the worst manga as a medium has to offer, just not up to the standards of the series.

-This will be a series of pros and cons covering each of the series with some notes. This will involve a lot of generalizations and summarizations of points, as well as maybe skipping out on what I don't have much to say, but is the easiest way to get my thoughts across.

-This will be looking at the arcs without the context of later ones. I will review the arcs on their own and will only consider what has happened before in the story when that arc came out. That means that certain events will not "ruin" arcs retroactively, but can be held against the arc they happen in.

-The Final War Arc will not be covered here. Not only because that arc is not completed at the time or writing, but is far longer then any other arc in the story and has so much to cover with it, feeling like there are several arcs going on all at once. Even if it was done, I would still cover it on it's own.

Without further ado: the ranking of My Hero Academia's Arcs.

Stars and Stripes Arc: (0/10)

-This entire arc is built around Cathleen, a one note character that doesn't have any interesting traits or arc. She was never established before, even when she should matter to characters like All For One and is suddenly the most important hero currently active.

-My worst fears are confirmed that Tomura is nothing more than a meat puppet for All For One. All his unique traits and character is under lock and key for this entire arc, leaving us with a very bland villain that I have no interest in reading.

-The whole fight is a forgone conclusion. Tomura can't lose because he's the main antagonist who is next to unkillable and he can't get "New Order" because then he would be way too powerful to beat, robbing the arc of any tension it tries to have.

-The fight itself is not interesting, which is a problem when most of this is a fight. It's Tomura getting ragdolled over and over again while Stars and Stripes keeps using her Quirk in a lot of empty spectacle. No real cleaver plans, just slapping each other back and forth.

-All these factors together rob any emotional investment a reader may have had in the story. So in spite of it only being seven chapters long, it feels like a total slog to get through, simply waiting for canonical filler arc to be done with so we can move on.

-"New Order" is a slap in the face to the entire power system. It's such a vaguely defined ability with what it can actually apply with its rules. It felt more like Tomura was fighting a wizard from a whole other series, adding on to the various frustrations in this fight.

-The main consequences could have been replaced with a single chapter. Just have Tomura writhing in a cave over his body rejecting "All For One" and have Nezu analyze and pick up information on him from the footage of the PLF War. It would have been so simple.

-The actual consequences of this arc are minimal at best. You could honestly skip this arc and not really miss much in the grand story of the series. Again, making it feel like a filler arc. It makes this whole outing seem wholly pointless in the broader narrative.

=I've said my peace on this arc many times over. I struggle to think of anything good about it. It was a chore to read the first time and it took so much willpower to not turn this into another giant rant. I honestly hope I never have to go through or think about this arc again.

Tartarus Escapees Arc: (1/10)

+I like the idea of this arc. Having Izuku regress into his self-destructive tendencies and isolating himself is a really good way to go with his low point. And this is well conveyed in the art, both in and out of costume, which I just want to is really solid this arc.

+Uraraka's speech was certainly a highlight. It's a great moment in her own arc about understanding and wanting to truly save people and gives her the relevance she has so desperately needed. Ending it with the narration of everyone being a hero was a good bit.

+I liked a lot of the bits with Stain, especially his talk with Toshinori. Having Stain, the man who misunderstands All Might the most, gives him the peep talk he needs to get out of his funk.

-The reaval of "Fa Jin" was such a massive miss for me. Not only does it not add anything to Izuku's arsenal outside of hitting even harder, it undermines one of the most interesting fights the series has had thus far by overpowering his enemy rather than outthinking them.

-There is little lasting consequences for some of the characters. Endeavor is an abuser that made a serial killer and Hawks killed a villain in front of everyone. They both say they're getting work done and everyone kind of moves on from it without issue.

-The concept of Izuku cutting off everyone around him, while interesting, wasn't anywhere near fleshed out enough. It's only a single chapter of him on his own before he's saved by the rest of Class 1-A. Kind of makes the arc's name feel like a misnomer.

-Bakugou's apology feels rather hollow given the actual phrasing and the lack of any kind of real response for Izuku. This extends to All Might, but to a lesser degree. These two are the most responsible for Izuku self-destructive mentality and it is quickly brushed to the side.

=Another arc that I've talked about before, but none of the good parts of. I think it's well above something like the Stars and Stripes up, but it's lack of real payoff for so much that was set up really shoots this all the way to the bottom of the list.

Quirk Apprehension Test Arc: (1/10)

+Aizawa has a solid character introduction and effectively sets him up. What seems to be a lazy bum actually hides one of the most strict and dedicated heroes in the entire series. A seemingly rough, pragmatic disciplinarian with a secretly good heart underneath.

+Having Izuku need to work under Aizawa was such a good move for his first day. He really learns just how much of a problem his power is going to be and how much personal responsibility a hero has. It's a good splash of cold water to Izuku's relentless optimism.

+This is the arc where we get Izuku taking on the name Deku. Not only is the moment around it cute and gives us his official nickname, but I like how it starts the trend of Izuku redefining his life, taking the mocking nickname, and making it the name of a real hero.

-The arc is strictly business, for lack of a better phrase. We don't get much expansion on the characters we know about or understanding of the other characters or their powers in spite of the fact that this test would have been the perfect place to introduce them to us.

-All it really has going for it is the one moment of Izuku throwing the softball with his finger. The ultimate, emotional climax is a character flinging a ball really far. I know that sounds like I'm being facetious, but there isn't a lot else happening in the arc worth talking about.

-We do get the early main trio of Izuku, Iida, and Uraraka interacting, but there isn't enough to go off of to get a real sense of their dynamic and characters outside of the basic traits we already established. Maybe how they view each other as people, but that’s about it.

-While the threat of expulsions is threatening for the characters, it's pretty empty from a meta perspective. We know that if Izuku was expelled, the series would be over. The reveal of the test being a ploy does give Aizawa some character, but makes it feel a little pointless.

-In the end, I'm not entirely sure what the point of the arc was. At least, enough to make it its own standalone story. Sure, Izuku develops the finger flicks, but that could have been shuffled to one of the other two arcs after this one and it would be fine.

=An arc that's ultimately a victim of its length. If it was tied into the arc proceed or succeeding it, it would have been fine. On its own, it doesn't really offer much value. I still think it has its points, but not enough to reach past this lull in the series.

Remedial Course Arc: (2/10)

+The interaction between All Might and Endeavor was great. Yeah, a lot of people forget that happened this arc. Endeavor is uncertainty of what to do and turning to his rival is good in it's own right and works as a good springboard for Enji's arc going forward.

+The other character work was fine as well. Bakugou learning to be less of jerk to people as he learns to deal with a younger version of himself is nice. The Shoto, and to a lesser extent Inasa, stuff wasn't as prevalent, but I think it's a good steppingstone in his character.

+I like the one-off chapter with Aoyama and how he connects himself to Izuku and how much their Quirks can cause issues. Giving a minor character like this a one-off chapter like this is a good way to flesh out these characters without taking up too much time.

-Speaking of important stuff, this arc introduces the Quirk Singularity. For what turns out to be such an important idea, I don't think it does the best job building the groundwork. Like there wasn't enough set up to it before or in this arc for it to make sense.

-This arc is very much removed from the rest of the story. I wouldn't mind that but doesn't really give us much in its place. Outside of the few bits I mentioned before with Bakugou and Endeavor, it doesn't feel like it adds much else to the world or story.

-A lot of this arc is more comedic. If the comedy doesn't work with you, it's going to wear down on you fast. Outside of one or two bits, I found myself stone faced at a lot of the gags. Which is really odd because I do think Hori can do comedy, but it's not done well here.

-These two issues create this odd back and forth with the arc. The interesting moments are either small or side pieces while the actual meat of the story feels superfluous. So it can be frustrating to read through this when all the good feels so buried under everything.

-Which I think leads to the biggest sin of the arc: it's so forgettable. Out of all the arcs I went over, it's the least I remember about, not even long after rereading it. Despite having some pretty important moments, I just mentally gloss over it.

=This arc gets a lot of hate, and I get it. It does feel like a pretty low stakes arc where a lot of aspects can grate on people. I can't muster much bile for it, and I still think that there are some redeemable moments here, but certainly earning a spot this low on the list.

Joint Training Arc: (2/10)

+I really liked a lot of the new Quirks on display. I think a lot were pretty neat, or at least unique enough to be intriguing. Plus seeing some of the Quirks interact across both classes makes for some fun moments and dynamics between the various characters in play.

+I do like some of the minor pieces of character we do get. Tokoyami's flashback about controlling Dark shadow, Shoto using both halves of his power, a beat in Momo gaining confidence again, and Monoma's backstory reveal are all solid parts of this arc.

+Round 3 is a major highlight of this arc. A tense battle where it feels like each character is giving it their all with sheer power or clever planning. It feels like such a big battle that is constantly changing, ultimately ending in a surprising, but satisfying payoff of a draw.

-This arc is too long for its own good. Over twenty-four chapters of characters engaging in a consequence free training exercise where the plot isn't really developing outside of a handful of moments. It really wears down on you fast, especially week to week.

-As for these fights, I think a lot of them are pretty mediocre. Whether it be because of the low stakes, the lack of real emotional moments, or simply how the Quirks are used, I found it difficult to really invest in the fights. That is a big issue when most of the arc is fighting.

-Outside of Monoma and Juzo, there is very little in the way of meaningful development for Class 1-B in this arc. And if there was any point in developing these characters, this would be the time. It feels wasted, making the characters feel more like vessels for the powers.

-I really don't like the Round 4 fight. What comes across as Bakugou's big development rights hollow. Not only is the other side kneecapped to make Bakugou look better, but it doesn't really feel like Bakugou learned how to actually work with other people on this.

-To this day, I still have mixed feelings on the "Black Whip" reveal. I don't mind the concept of Izuku with multiple Quirks, but it wasn't built up enough to make this a worthwhile pay off. It seems more like Hori did this in because he ran out of ideas for what to do with Izuku.

=While I certainly don't think this is the worst arc, I can wholly understand why people are so frustrated with this arc as it was happening. There's very little in the way of plot or characters, so it ends up feeling like it drags out too long for its own good.

Provisional License Exam: (3/10)

+I like a lot of the world building in this arc. This whole rescue operation part of the test really shows just how important the non-fighting parts of hero work are, like how you act around civilians, which helpfully sets up how things are headed post All-Might.

+I liked Inasa. His design is great, his power is cool, and he has such a fun personality that you can't help but want to see him. His role is interesting as well, having Shoto's worry about being like his father externalized in someone who sees him only as Endeavor's son.

+I enjoy a lot of the development with the class. Things like the Super Moves, the dorms, and the bits spread throughout the arc does a lot to flesh them out. Obviously, the biggest bit is with Izuku and Bakugo, their battle showing how much them and their dynamic changed.

-The arc is not paced that well. This section is twenty-three chapters long, but it feels so much longer with how everything drags on and not a lot of interesting stuff is happening in them until the very end of the story, whether that be with the fights or the characters.

-The fights aren’t that amazing. It’s not that interesting to see 1-A fight a bunch of jobbers. And when they do fight more prevalent characters, I don’t feel engaged with it. A lot of the action are resolutions to the fights aren’t clever or have a lot the emotional impact they usually do.

-The new characters aren't that well developed, even as far as one-off characters go. Aside from Inasa, there's barely anything to go off of for them. It feels less like an expanded cast from all these schools and more like bloat that Hori didn't know what to do with.

-As much as I like Inasa, I think his whole thing with Shoto is kind of dumb. Like Inasa somehow carries this undying grudge against Shoto and his father because both of them look angry at him. And the resolution ends up being rushed in spite of the focus it gets.

-While I do praise Izuku vs Bakugou, I recognize that it's focused way too much on Bakugou. This feels like it should be doing something for both of them, but a lot of the attention in and out of story is on Bakugou, making it feel incomplete and diminishing Izuku's role.

=For all the buildup of these characters becoming heroes, them pulling it off seems… underwhelming. Which honestly feels like a good way to describe a lot of this arc. A lot of potential for something big and impactful that just didn't stick the landing.

UA Traitor Arc: (3/10)

+The traitor reveal was handled so well. The reveal and backstory were great and I think adds a lot to Aoyama's character. He wasn't an evil pawn, but a terrified kid who was forced into a deal outside his control, now horrified over the safety of himself and his family.

+The villains had some good moments. A lot of it is set up for next arc, but Toga and Spinner especially had the most interesting bits here, with Toga expressing her complicated past and feelings while Spinner is pushed into a role he never wanted for his friend.

+I enjoy the bit with Izuku and Urakara near the end of the arc. It honestly refreshing see these two connecting with each other again and what they talk about is solid stuff, trying to come to terms with their own conflicts feelings about wanting to save the villains.

-In spite of my liking of the reveal, it's far too late. Aoyama's actions as the traitor haven't been a factor pretty much since Kamino onward. So when this reveal comes, it doesn't have the emotional weight it feels like it needs, especially for such a minor character.

-There's very little fall out for Aoyama being the traitor. Besides how it's entirely beneficial for the heroes, no one else really reacts to it and there isn't any fallout. Not even Bakugou, the students most affected by it. It makes 1-A feel like a hive mind rather than their own people.

-In fact, a lot of this arc relies on the reader still being invested in the arc, Aoyama as a character, and there being this powerful bond between whole of the class. There's a lot riding on the emotional core which hasn't been set up as well throughout the rest of the story.

-There are some residual frustrations from the Dark Hero Arc. In spite of all the major moves the last arc did, there is barely any follow up on most or anything with the characters taking a break. We're skipping all that for more training and getting right to the next plot point.

-The villain stuff was good but did suffer from some clunkiness. I didn't really feel like it told us anything new and what it did add felt confusing at points. Did you know that Tomura and Spinner were best friends? I didn't know Tomura liked the guy.

=So I feel like I'm one of the few people that actually like how Aoyama was handed, which elevates the arc above a lot of the later parts, but I still think it's mire by the same issues of this part of the story. It had its moments, but that's all it really had to offer.

Final Exam Arc: (4/10)

+I think the idea of the arc is pretty strong. Not only do we get to see more of the teachers in action, but it’s a cool watching the students go up against the worst opponents possible, with each one needing to overcome some kind of weakness in order to nab the win.

+The fight with Deku, Bakugou and All Might was good. It's their low point, with the two literally and metaphorically trying to overcome All Might, and only able to do so by learning from each other, effectively pushing the both of them forward in their own development together.

+The Momo, Shoto, and Aizawa fight was pretty good. While not as well established in the manga, I do like the confidence issues between the two and how it ties into their leadership abilities. Again, it's a good example of the two learning and growing from each other.

+The ending scene at the mall was well handled. It's such a great one eighty from the tone and really raises the tension. Then there's the set up with Izuku and Tomura's clashing ideals, ending with Tomura truly realizing his goal. All around good stuff.

-The structure of this arc is a mess. All the fights are happening simultaneously and there is constant cutting back and forth between them. This means that all the fights struggle to build up any momentum before quickly cutting away at the most jarring of times.

-On that note, the fights aren't that impressive barring the two I mentioned before. They don't really have anything to offer in either story or spectacle. It's a bunch of pretty basic fights where we are given focus to some of the blandest characters in the series. -While this arc is built around the students going against their worst opponents, there isn't a lot of interesting growth or dynamics. Of all the side characters, we got Mineta and Koda, who aren't that engaging to read about, nor are they developed in engaging ways.

-In spite of the greater focus on character and having tangible threat of loss, this still suffers from a lot of school arcs suffer from. An educational setting like this doesn't have much tension to it. All we really have are the fights, which aren't that good.

=Yeah, this is quite the rough patch between a lot of stellar arcs. I hoped that it was merely a victim of placement, and it had its good points, but that arc is such a mess that it's hard to get much out of it. Not the worst, but not one that I am eager to revisit.

MLA Arc: (4/10)

+The MLA is an interesting concept. A political cult wanting to give power back by letting people use their Quirks without oversight. There's a lot of interesting perspectives for that topic, both in and out of the MLA, for why people may or may not want this to happen.

+Tomura is easily the MVP of the arc. His speech to Garaki was good, but his backstory with the highlight. Seeing the sheer lengths that the world, his family, and All For One poisoned Tenko into this being of pure hatred was equal parts engaging and tragic.

+Toga's backstory was good as well. While I have my issues with how nebulous Quirk Therapy is, that ultimately doesn't detract from it. It sets up the ideas of love and it's the expression and repression that prevail in her character and their importance going forward.

+I like Re-Destro in this arc. He parallels Tomura as a rage-fueled heir to a criminal legend, but contrasts it by being someone who is totally in control of his feelings and power, as well as being successful as running the empire that was left behind by Destro.

-This arc introduces Awakenings. I have never liked this concept, even when it is first revealed. It felt more like a lazy way to give characters power ups when it was convenient. This was especially the case with Toga, even if it fits with her whole love theme.

-The MLA Executives aren't interesting villains. They're one note obstacles to the LOV. I get not every character will get focus, but you think the heads of this massive group of would be given some depth, especially with a basis of the MLA has so many angles to cover.

-The barely functional LOV somehow beating and taking over the biggest group of villains in the country is such a massive leap in threat and scale. For them to survive the fight, let alone totally dominate, feels like Hori needed to hand them the win for the story.

-Following that, this is where a lot of the rushed pacing. It seems as though that the story and characters are trying to rush the story as fast as possible to get it to the point where it needs to be rather than taking its time to make sure all of the steps are set up beforehand.

=I know this arc is a fandom darling, but I really don't care for a majority of it. For me, it's few strong moments to hold up this ultimately weak arc. Especially since it's where a lot of the flaws of the later half of My Hero Academia came to the forefront for me.

Battle Trial Arc: (5/10)

+The arc does a good job of establishing the weight of heroics in the world. While Aizawa laid the foundation, showing how the students failed in the trial in their own ways shows just how much pressure that goes into hero work. The recap of all the flaws and mishandling of the training exercise is really neat.

+This does a great job of showing off Izuku's value as a fighter and as a character. In spite of having the strongest Quirk around, his brain is his most valuable weapon, able to plan around somehow who vastly outclasses him. His vocal declaration of Deku being the name of the hero is such a simple yet powerful moment for him.

+In fact, that fight itself is super neat. Izuku has a limited ace in the hole, but Bakugou has a massive advantage in skill and a psychological edge. Meanwhile Uraraka has to deal with the villainous Iida. It makes for a fun dynamic in the fight on how everyone plays off each other in personality and powers.

+All the character establishment is well handled, something hard for any series. We get a solid mix up of the dynamic between Izuku and Bakugou, good understanding of Iida and Uraraka while having foundational moments for Shoto and Momo. Plus, Ojiro and Hagakure had a cute little moment in there as well.

-None of that is extended to any of the other characters. Again, with all of these characters together, it would have been a really good chance to establish more about them as an ensemble cast. Even if it was only in minor ways like the previous examples it would have helped a lot going forward and made them feel less like cut outs.

-By extension, we only got the one fight out of the arc. Look, I'm not asking Hori to make five extra chapters here. All I'm saying is that I think that it would have been a good chance to get a better showing of the characters’ abilities and personalities by having them fight and bounce off each other before moving forward.

-Look, I know I keep harping on the art, but its flaws become a lot more apparent when trying to do action scenes. It can make certain motions seem a lot more awkward than cool. Again, this may just be hindsight, but it was pretty distracting coming back to read this seeing how much the art hindered the experience.

-The structure of this arc is so bizarre in how it's laid out. The actual order of the panels seems like things are happening oddly or even out of order. Seriously, go back and read the lead up to Izuku confronting Bakugou at the end. It's janky as all get out. This is not helped by the pretty sloppy artwork with the characters.

=The first real fight of the series and it goes off with a bang. I do think this fight is a highlight of the early series, delivering powerful emotional moments and unique dynamic, both in combat and character. Though the series is still green and the early flaws of the series being the most prevalent here really holds it back.

PLF War Arc: (5/10)

+Izuku has some of his strongest character work here. Push to the brink, he regresses back to that totally destructive mindset and constant doubt of his early series version. And having the arc resolve with him having empathy for Tomura after everything he did is just great. No issue with how he was handled this time around.

In fact, I think a lot of the character stuff is pretty strong. Bakugou gets a nice moment by saving Izuku, Enji has to go through some of the harshest development when faced with Tomura and Dabi, and Uraraka is confronted with the most moral complexities of villains. And hey, the arc actually got me to like Miruko.

+The rest of the villains were solid as well. I really like the stuff with Hawks and Double. It works as a nice microcosm of a lot of the conflicts about heroes and the world's inability to understand villains and their issues. Toga's growth and confrontation Uraraka over understanding hero’s savings villains is all around good.

+The Dabi reveal was amazing. What was such a predictable plot point was turned into this amazing reveal, doing a total one eighty and Dabi's character for me. You take this melancholy loser and make it so he dances and reveals in all the suffering he is causing Endeavor. It's great to see it pay off in such a bombastic and impactful way.

-This arc continues the unfortunate trend of Tomura's power creep. His already insane level of power has skyrocketed without any sort of in between. And Tomura getting possesed is one of the dumbest things to happen in the story, robbing Tomura of all his character and agency in favor of someone else stealing his spotlight.

-Not everything is great on the heroes' side. Midnight's death is one a terribly handled aspect of the story, made even worse by Gran Torino somehow surviving and is the only notably causality on the hero's side. And while I get it's supposed to be Kirishima's moment, having Mina set up and undermine like that feels mean spirited.

-Some of the villains in this were let down. All of the relevant MLA members get off screened. I get they aren't the most important, but you think there could be someone more. Then there are the High Ends. You introduce a squad as dangerous as Hood, have them be an issue with one hero, and then kill them all. What was even the point?

-Aside from the Dabi reveal, all the other ones fall flat. Mr. Compress' backstory is here and gone. Oboro is a literal who that requires supplementary material to know who he even is. Mirio comes back with little fanfare and contributes next to nothing in his fight. And Best Jeanist's return raises so many questions, and not in a good way.

=I get this arc is super popular, but for me, it's one of extreme highs and extreme lows. When it's good, it's really good, but when it's bad, it's pretty awful. It's like for every positive, there's an equal negative in the same field. I ultimately believe that the good outweighs the bad, but not enough to make me rank it any higher.

USJ Arc (6/10)

+This arc goes zero to one hundred real quick and it's great. We go from low stakes practice to everything going wrong. The villains are attacking, the adults are out of commission, and All Might is nowhere around. It does a really good job of making this tension situation with real danger, making the pays off that more powerful.

+This is where we get more from the UA characters, doing a surprisingly good job of characterizing a lot of them in spite of having such a short time span, giving a lot of their characters their own moment to show off. Same with the teachers, with us getting more layers to the teachers, like Aizawa genuine care of the students.

+This is where a lot of Izuku's major character traits come about, really show off how much of natural leader he is and just he proficient he is in planning. What's more is the self-image and self-destructive issues come to light, such as giving up the president spot and when he tries to save All Might, adding a lot more to his own character.

+All Might is handled really well in this arc. Not only does it give us a deeper glimpse into his character, but just how he's handled thematically. It goes a good job of showing All Might's power with how he and how hopeless things are without him yet gives us a reminder that power is fading and is one a time limit.

+This may just be hindsight, but I like Tomura for this arc. He's the big bad but is almost constantly undermined and humiliated at every other turn, both physically and ideologically. It's a subversion that's hilarious in the moment but does set him up well for further development and helps parallel him with Izuku's own growth.

-Again, a lot of the early series flaws are present here. It legitimately feels like there are panels missing from the pages or that the panels are really awkwardly structured, such as a having a big moment in a tiny panel or panels not flowing well from one to another. It can make it a very jarring read and takes a lot from the experience.

-Man, for being the climatic fight of the arc, the actual battle with the Nomu and All Might feels super underwhelming. It may just be that the anime spoiled me, but it lacks a lot of impact a fight like this needs, the art doesn't convey the action, and is over pretty quickly. It makes the ending feel pretty flaccid, especially for the first big arc.

-While the main players of the villains’ side are cool, it does feel like a lot of minions leave some to be desired. Seriously, outside of Izuku's group, it doesn't feel like any of the students are under real threat from the horde of minions. It can make it seem like a lot of initial villains were pretty empty outside of the three heavy hitters.

=A big arc that finally expands the world and threats outside the school. Which it does a pretty fine job of. It's not exactly the same high of the anime, but it isn't too bad either. I think it works best when you see it as the punctuation to set up for the greater story. Now that it's done, we can start moving on to the real meat.

Endeavor Agency Arc: (6/10)

+I like the opening chapter about interviews. Besides the fact that most of the gags land and how I've really wanted to see the kids learn stuff like this, I really like the world building behind Super Moves. That they aren't just aces in the hole for a hero, they are a means of brand recognition that help solidify a hero's image.

+The Christmas part was just plain cute. I'm all for the characters doing non-plot stuff like this and I like a lot of the gags with it. All the different gifts people get, the background gag of Mina trying to dress Bakugou, and Eri getting all the holidays mixed up. It's a fun little break that doesn't mess up the plot or pacing too much.

+The family drama was well handled. I think it's interesting how Hori handled the family dynamics of the Todorokis. He gave each of the members their own perspective on a complicated situation, but doesn't invalidate any of them, nor does he try to quickly redeem Enji or say that any one of the family members needs to accept him.

+In fact, Enji is great this arc. Besides the small ways he is humanized on a more personal level and the natural dynamics he has with the characters, it does a great job by trying to separate the ideas of atonement and forgiveness in the arc and what the two really mean, something I believe is key to understanding Endeavor's story.

+The pacing of the arc is near perfect. Everything gets the attention it needs in the time it needs and nothing feels like wasted time or out of place. It goes a great job of setting up the next arc with Hawks' spying and Tomura's growth without detracting from the current plot.

-For an arc called the Endeavor Agency, there isn't a lot of time spent at the agency. The trio isn't learning about being heroes or having their characters really bounce off each other, whether it with their Quirks or overall personalities, skipping right to the end of it. It feels like a lot more could have been done with these three together.

-There are some worrying trends that come with this arc. Like how instead of getting anything with the agency, everything was frustratingly skipped over in a time jump. Then Izuku learns how to use "Black Whip" way too fast, mastering this wild power in a week. It contributes a lot to the rushed feelings of the later arcs.

-Ending is super lame. His design is middling, his power isn't that great, and his whole motivation is just worse Stain. I wouldn't harp on him as much if he were a bit villain, but Hori could have done more with him considering his importance to this arc. Heck, Starchild was more interesting and he's barely in this story.

=An arc that is often lost and forgotten by being sandwiched between two larger, series defining arcs. Which is a real shame because I think it offers quite a bit with all the drama doing on with the Todorokis and the levity of the early chapters. All around a pretty solid arc and does a lot to set up the next big arc well.

Entrance Exam Arc: (7/10)

+If I was rating solely on chapters, Chapter 1 would get a perfect ten. It does such a good job of setting up the world, the characters, the themes, the tone, and the conflicts in the amount of time it has. It's such an amazing foundation for everything going forward. It's honestly impressive all the leg work it does this early on.

+The exam is set up really well. Having there be Hero Points and the Level Zero robots was a smart way for Izuku to have his cake and eat it. He still gets to have his moment of heroic sacrifice, but it was that noble spirit was what got him that spot in the first place. Him finally getting in is such as powerful emotional moment as well.

+The whole reveal of "One For All" is such a good endpoint and hook for the series going forward. Izuku may have been gifted the greatest power in the world, but now has to deal with some of the most dangerous drawbacks in the whole series to limit it, still keeping the stakes giving him plenty of room to develop his power.

+The arc does emotional moments really well. All Might telling Izuku he can be a hero, Izuku triumphantly standing on top of the trash pile, to him rushing to the forefront to save Uraraka. Again, in spite such a limited amount of panel time, it makes each moment feel so much bigger and more impactful then it has any right to be.

+On that note, it does a great job of endearing and connecting you to characters. Izuku's position as an underdog is immediately sympathetic, as is All Might's unenviable role as the top hero. Which I think is a real achievement given how early we're into the manga and how hard it can be to establish characters in the beginning.

-As for the rest of it, most of it's just Izuku training and doing the exam. That's it. It's not terrible and it really goes to show Izuku's dedication to being a hero, but it's not something to really write home about. This could simply be that the first chapter was that good, but it's not as exciting going forward.

-Some of the early art is kind of rough. This could just be because I'm more used to the cleaner style of the later chapters, but it comes across as rather jagged for a lot of the characters. This doesn't feel like a intentional style choice, more of a series finding its footing and with the art style and designs needing refinement.

-This extends to the major players of this arc. Again, benefit of hindsight, but it they seem more like exaggerated versions of themselves. All Might comes across as a lot more callous, and even with the worst version of himself, Bakugou telling Izuku to jump off a roof seems really out of character for him.

=Ah, back in the days that My Hero Academia was the little manga that could. First impressions are equal parts important and difficult, so it really is an accomplishment that the arc is as well put together as it is. It all works as a great foundation for the story. With such a strong start, it's no surprise that it got pick up for more chapters.

Pro Hero Arc: (7/10)

+While the last few arcs did some leg work, the Pro Hero Arc did a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to Enji's character. It takes this one note antagonist and actually makes him the underdog hero while still acknowledging all the bad stuff he did. It's honestly impressive how well this was pulled off given its starting point.

+The fight of Hood was great. Not only does it involve two of the most visually interesting and versatile fighters we've had thus far, giving a lot of ways to mix up the fight, but it manages to pull out some really strong emotional moments. This mixed with the pitch perfect pacing, and stellar art makes for an enjoyable experience.

+Hawks is such an enjoyable addition to the cast. Not only does he have an amazing design and power, but he’s also such a fun personality to hang around with. What seems like a total slacker, goofball is one of the most perceptive and skill heroes around. You're just interested in seeing what he does and how he bounces off Enji.

+And then it all gets flipped upside down by the end of the arc. Hawks was a kid raised to be a hero and is now going to infiltrate the League. Not only does this raise a lot of intrigue for the upcoming story, but it feels like such a massive upset from what we've seen of Hawks and the hero world as whole to have this happen.

+The out of battle stuff was nice as well. Besides Izuku getting his first fan in Kota, the fall out of the Todoroki's was well handled. In spite of his attempts at redemption, Enji's still hurt people and they aren't going to forgive him. It would have been so easy for quick forgiveness, but this makes Enji and Shoto's story all the stronger.

+The flash backs we got at the end with Izuku were pretty cool. It's interesting to see All For One in his younger years and how his empire camp to be. In the frightening world of Quirks with desperate people, his power to give and take power made him a king. It's a unique way to put him in power while still fitting within the world building.

-The other pro heroes have… neat designs. Look, for an arc that's supposed to be about the top heroes of Japan, there is shockingly little shown outside of Hawks and Endeavor. While they are the main characters, you couldn't have thrown a bone to the other characters? Maybe even revealed their Quirks or show off their personalities?

-Hood isn't that amazing of a villain. He's certainly a physical threat, but the fact that he's an intelligent Nomu doesn't really factor much into his character. He wants to fight, but that doesn't really give us much to work from. It feels like Enji is fighting some reflection or contrast and just something he needs to set on fire.

=Yeah, this was surprisingly good. The fact that Hori was able to turn around Enji’s to this degree is really impressive, but I do think that there is a lot more going on with the arc. It’s a good break from the main cast to flesh out the world and develops a lot of interesting ideas and plot points with the introduction of Hawks.

Culture Festival Arc: (8/10)

+Gentle and La Brava are great. They're so wonderful and different from everyone else. Their status as total jokes, both in and out of the series, betrays the fact that both are competent in their own ways and have a lot of care for one another. They're good set up for the later humanization of the villains of the series.

+I like the fight between Gentle and Izuku. Gentle's power is so cool to see in action and leads to an interesting fight dynamic. He isn't stronger than Izuku, but he's so tricky to deal with that it gives him an edge. It feels less like a brawl and more of the two trying to outfox each other, making it more distinct from other fights.

+This works as a good breather and much needed break from the more dower tone for the last few arcs, making for a comforting read. On that note, this is hands down the funniest arc in the whole series. Gentle and La Brava alone would qualify this arc for it, but a lot of the students have some good gags sprinkled throughout.

+I like a lot of the character bits we get. Not only does this arc actually develop Jiro and Eri, but it ties well into some of the general themes of the series. With how everyone is battered after the raid. It shows the kind of pressure that heroes go through and the importance of other kinds of heroics like Jiro's music.

+Not only does the arc establish the point of heroes saving people without fighting in Eri and Jiro's storyline, but the humanization of villains I mentioned before. La Brava and Gentle are both sad victims of circumstance who found strength outside the system in each other. It's affectively a microcosm of the major villains of the story.

-As much as I like this arc, I can admit it goes through kind of a whiplash plot and tone wise. Going from the Shie Hassaikai Arc to this is still pretty jarring to have everything stop and be light on both. I still like it, but I sometimes get the feeling of looking at my watch and wondering when things will be moving forward.

-There really should have been more exploration of the students. If you're going to do a plot light arc based around the school, it would have been a great time to see more of the students. If not from Class 1-B, who are major focuses of the next arc, then at least some of the lesser seen students could have had something going on.

=Probably one of my more controversial picks. I know this arc gets dogged on a lot by the fans, but I think that is wholly underserved. I thought it had a lot of value, even beyond its lighthearted story. And hey, I'm fine with taking breaks from the plot if I believe what's happening is worthwhile, and I certainly think it's worthwhile.

Sports Festival Arc: (8/10)

+In spite the low stakes of sport events, the arc manages to keep the tension up and mix things up with all the strategy and powers at play. Sure, running an obstacle course or doing a cavalry race isn't that cool on paper, but actively fighting against a horde of another students all with their own powers keeps it interesting.

+This arc really shows off some of Izuku's finest qualities. It was interesting seeing Izuku try and plan his way around the events given his huge disadvantages and amazingly shows off his character. Everything from his planning abilities, his skill in leading other people, and his genuine desire to save other people.

+Shoto was certainly the dark horse of the arc. While set up to be important early on, I don't think anyone could have predicted just how well his character and back story was done. That backstory really starts to delve into the darker themes of the story with his father, one of the top heroes, being an abuser that used his kids as tools.

+Of course, the Shoto vs Izuku fight is amazing. There is no contesting this. This is one of Izuku's most defining moments, effectively throwing away at chance at winning just to save Shoto. It ends in an emotional climax of Shoto regaining his power and Izuku losing, making for an subversion that makes sense and is satisfying. +The other side character work is done well, giving us more layers to them. Like hints of Iida's more vengeful side, Uraraka having this frightening amount of drive, and Bakugou showing some real respect to other people. It helps to subvert and expand on the characters, all while delving into more of their motivations and goals.

+This character work extends into more world building, especially with the new side characters. Shinso do a lot to build up the unfair the world can be in regard to Quirks while Mei introduces other aspects of the school and heroism as a whole. And this is all while they're both still fun characters to read about in their own ways.

-As for what happens in the rest of arc… it's pretty good. If you remove the highlight moments, most of the arc doesn't stand out as much in terms of what actually happens in it. I don't think it's bad by any means, but it's not something as amazing or exciting as the few highs of this arc and tends to skew a lot of people's perspectives.

-This extends to the other fights as well. Outside of the one standout I mentioned before, there isn't anything that spectacular to me brings up some frustrations like how Izuku was saved from Shinso by a Deus Ex Machina. Heck, the impetus of Momo's whole character arc is relegated to a single cartoonish panel summarizing the fight.

=I know this is a fandom darling and I feel a lot of that comes from the anime adaptation. To me, when looking at the manga, it's an arc of some extreme highs, but was above average to good with the rest of it. Certainly not my favorite but still a good arc.

Forest Training Camp Arc: (9/10)

+As someone who really likes to explore the mechanics of Quirks and hero work, I enjoy the various ways these Quirks can be trained and evolved and what kind of roles and pressures they would have to handle. Sure, cooking isn't something we really think about with heroes, but it makes sense to know that for disaster work.

+It's really satisfying to see Tomura use all the lessons he's used thus far, putting aside his short-sighted schemes in favor of a more thought out goal with a plan to turn the narrative against the heroes and capturing Bakugou. That mix with the inherent threats of the villains makes the League seem like a serious contender.

+A lot of the villains are pretty good. They don't have a lot of depth right now, but they don't really need to for the purposes they serve. They are all established enough in their own ways that they are interesting to see and makes you want to know more about them, leaving things open for use to learn more about them later.

+I like a lot of the minor stuff we got with the students. A lot of the pre battle antics are good at fleshing them out, but they really start to shine in the second half of the arc. Whether it be as active players in the arc, like Tokoyami and Shoji, or setting up for their own stories, like with Uraraka and Aoyama, it's all good stuff to read.

+Izuku vs Muscular fight is great. There's some real tension with Kota being threatened, we see Izuku being more emotionally and physically broken than any other point in the series. Only for him to overcome it with one of the most emotional panels in the series. The Million Percent Smash being such a perfect punctuation with the whole battle.

+I appreciate the arc ending on such a dower note. In spite everyone's efforts, the villains won. They kidnaped Bakugou, a huge portion of the students are in critical condition, and there is a potential mole within the walls of UA. It works as an affective low point for the next arc to build off of for the story.

+And in spite of the dark tone, the arc still manages to be really funny, like all the small interactions between characters, like Shoto subtlety throwing shade at Bakugou. And I standby that Izuku suddenly getting punched in the nuts is still one of the funniest moments in the entire series. I will die on this hill.

+This arc hits a perfect balance of pacing. The first half of the story is full of fun antics and lighter moments between the characters while the latter half is full of highly emotional action with a new gallery of rogues. And when it hits the ground, it hits hard and fast, never letting up on the fights and intrigue with the characters.

=While not as groundbreaking as some of the higher ups, I still hold this arc in a special place. Everything from the characters, to the fights, to the emotional beats are all handled so well that I often consider it the best of arc of the series. Even if you twist my arm, the only fault it has is that I simply like the other arcs more than it.

Stain Arc: (9/10)

+The art style drastically improves this arc. While I certainly saw a leap in quality once we got to the Sports Festival, the manga really starts to hit its stride once we reach Stain. The characters have more detail to them, the backgrounds pop a lot more, and the paneling is handled a lot better, making for a stronger experience.

+I like a lot of stuff with hero names and internships. Agian, it's a quick and easy way to help us understand and endear ourselves to the character while still developing the bigger ones, such as Iida's uncertainty as a hero after his brother’s injury or Bakugou trying to learn more about the social nuances of being a hero.

+The Full Cowl was such a good idea. The bone breaking was a neat gimmick to start with, but ultimately unsustainable concept. This offers a good side grade that still fits within the power. It gives Izuku far less power but grants him more control and a way to measure his progress throughout the series.

+Tomura and Izuku get some much-needed development. This arc sees them both growing beyond their world view when faced with an outside force, with Stain acting as their reality check. It sets up how the two will grow opposites throughout the series and further reinforcing the two parallels of our two main leads.

+Shoto and Iida get some time to break out of their original shells. While it's nice to see Shoto being far less cold to people, Iida going on a revenge quest is such a drastic yet believable turn for him. Having his righteous vengeance turn on its head and how such a thing would only sully the family name is all great stuff to read.

+Stain is such a great villain. He commands every single scene he's in and always remains a real threat in spite of his lackluster ability. Though the real meat is how much he's able to challenge the world and characters we see. The man has an iron clad code, one that makes he ready to lift up or deconstruct anyone he comes across.

+The fight with Stain is great. Stain is outgunned and outnumbered, but never outmatched, having much greater skill and what amounts to a one hit KO. That mixed with the closed off arena gives him a massive advantage. It's such a uniquely balanced fight and leads to a lot of interesting back and forth, yet still makes Stain a real threat.

+It feels like there were some real consequences to this arc. Stain wasn't some one-off villain, he changed everything, inspiring more villains and building up for the next big arc. Then there are hints to All For One, the who harmed All Might, being behind everything. It builds up a lot of intrigue for the rest of the story.

=Yeah, there is a good reason everyone talks about this arc. While Stain is the standout figure of this part, I do think it does a disservice to the rest of the arc to only bring up him. It's able to balance so much so well with how each of the characters grow and all meet up in fight. So yeah, it's well worth all the hype it gets.

Hideout Raid Arc: (10/10)

+This handles a lot of the aftermath of Forest Camp Arc well. All the students emotionally handling things and the teachers dealing with the fallout being well done. Giving Izuku a very real threat of damage to his body if he keeps pushing himself too far, set up some real stakes for his training and any future battles he has.

+I like a lot of minor moments between the students. Things like the debate at the beginning of whether or not to save Bakugou helps flesh out the class a lot. Then the bit of Momo and Iida keeping their friends from rushing in are good moments for them while still establishing just how big of a threat All For One is.

+And this is the arc where I think Bakugou clicked for me. We got hints of his depth before, but this is where it comes together. It gives us such an interesting peek into his headspace, like the view we got of his home life and getting his perspective on the concept of heroism and how it ties into winning for him.

+All For One's reveal was handled so well. The shadowy man we've heard so much about comes out with a devastating attack, destroying any opposition and horrifying the nearby students. It's nothing truly groundbreaking, but It's all presented so well that it elevates so much in the eyes of the reader as an impossible threat.

+The All For One vs All Might fight is one of the highest, if not the highest peaks in the series. What else could I possibly say? The beats are simple, but the execution is nigh perfect. The back and forth of the two, the reveal of Small Might, the second wind of power, All Might learning from Izuku, and the United States of Smash. All amazing.

+And while many people remember the main fight, I think the aftermath is just as good. The conflict between Izuku, Inko, and Toshinori is so natural and gripping, with Inko wanting to protect Izuku in spite of his dreams and this in turn hardening's Toshinori to the resolve of his new mission of training Izuku.

+Said aftermath sets up some many interesting and exciting plot points. The fall out of All For One's capture, All Might needing to deal with his life after being a hero, Izuku having to bear the weight of "One For All", Bakugou feeling guilt over All Might losing his spot, and the still immature Tomura now being out on his own.

+The tone is really well handled here. It gets pretty grim, but it doesn't get so dark that it takes you out of the experience and hits all the hopeful moments just right. And again, the comedy is oddly strong here. All Might opening his big entrance with a pizza delivery line and the rescue gang trying clothes on in a thrift store.

=Now, I don't need to tell you why this is good. What you may be asking is why it's not at the top. While I do think that All Might vs All For One is amazing and a good chunk of the arc, but there's still the rest of it. Again, it's some good stuff that gets overshadow a lot, but it's another case of something so amazing elevating the rest of the arc.

Shie Hassaikai Arc: (10/10)

+Not only is this arc unique from all the other arcs thus far, giving us our first real look at the hero world, the arc is great technically as well. It's always keeping up my interest and doesn't drag on at any point. The art is really good, especially with the character designs. Everything is as long as it needs to be, and nothing feels awkward.

+I really like how Izuku is handled here. He has been defined by his self-image issues but tackling that as All Might's successor is interesting. It does everything in its power to make you question if he was worthy, yet is always showing you his merits, namely his relentless will to help people no matter the threat may be.

+Sir Nighteye and Mirio are both good characters as well. They do work to contrast's Izuku own feelings and his role but are still enjoyable characters in their own right. Mirio as a hard-working hero with a good heart and Sir Nighteye as a fatalistic naysayer are both great in their own ways.

+In fact, a lot of the side characters are good in it. Kirishima gets a lot of good development, Tamaki is fun to read as the shy dork he is, Rock Lock presents a unique perspective on hero students, and Fat Gum is Fat Gum. Even with the more minor characters, they stand out enough to be interesting in spite of their lack of panel time.

+To me, this is the arc where Tomura really hits his stride as a villain. Without any proper support, he grows into the leader needs to be the League. Not only does this lead to some of his best moments and sets up his story but adds some much needed layers to the burgeoning villain, showing some real care for his teammates.

+Overhaul is such a great villain. Not only is he a massive threat in power, resources, and overall abilities, he acts as a good foil not only to Izuku, but to Tomura as well while still being his own character. His plan and goal are so unique for the setting, yet offer a frightening endgame, effectively controlling the supply and demand of Quirks.

+By extension, I think this does a lot to characterize the rest of the villains. Obviously, Twice and Toga get the bulk of it, building them up as people beyond their gimmicks, but the rest of the League gets their own moments to shine. This extends to the yakuza minions, who I think are my favorite ensemble of villains in the series.

+This arc ends on such a great note. Sir Nighteye's death crushes the heroes' side in spite the reconciliation. Meanwhile, Tomura gets out like champ, getting revenge on Overhaul and leaving with a dangerous weapon in his hands. It's a good way to start the slow shift of the dynamic between heroes and villains going forward.

=So while this doesn't think this hits the same highs as the Hideout Raid, I think it does accomplish more with its scope. It has a lot more to juggle in comparison to the Hideout Raid and pulls it off with flying colors. It obviously doesn't hit the same peaks, but holds as consistently level of quality, making me prefer it.

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cosmiclion · 8 months

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If you thought I couldn't outdo myself more with the fluff for this AU then you haven't seen my true power yet 😈

I don't know if I got OCiel's bangs right but, realistically speaking, human hair never stays in the same place, that's how physics works so whatever lmao.

Anyway, trying to write a Black Butler AU with some fluff where Sebastian and Ciel have a parent-child like relationship WHILE keeping them in-character (Sebas more than Ciel tbh) and still basing it on canon material but making changes and making said changes make sense requires a bit of work ngl.

I mean, I know it's just a project I'm doing for fun and technically there's nothing stopping me from going nuts and making them completely OOC and disregarding canon at all, but I feel then it'd become a separate story with new, original characters who simply happen to be inspired by Kuro (which is also okay, and who knows, maybe in the future I'll repurpose the whole thing to create my own Kuro-inspired original story, even if I don't think I'll ever fully lose interest in Kuro, this cursed series has me in a chokehold lmao). Full ramble under the cut.

Sebastian is the hardest one to write, though I think I'm finally more or less figuring it out. I didn’t want to write him as suddenly learning to love the way humans do thanks to the power of cute children or something, as it just didn't feel natural (or I couldn't personally make it feel natural, I know other people have managed to write that concept very well). What I have so far is that when he does act nurturing he’s simply imitating the behavior of human parents he has observed, but he doesn’t love the kid the same way humans do because he literally doesn’t have that ability. BUT that doesn’t mean he feels nothing at all and that it doesn’t mean anything to Ciel, after all this weird creature is the one who saved his life and raised him with care and patience. The closest comparison I can think of is the relationship between people and “unusual” pets like reptiles, amphibians, insects, etc. We know they can’t love us the way other people (or even other mammals) would but that doesn’t make our bond any less significant! Some bits of canon material also come in handy here, for example I based the fact that familiar Sebas finds Ciel adorable as a kitten on the canon fact that he likes squishing his cheeks because they remind him of a cat's paws 😂 Just know he's an awkward demon who doesn't know how to human but is doing his best 🥺

I think in Ciel’s case I have more freedom since he is, after all, human, and a human’s personality is strongly shaped by their environment and life experiences. Like, what exactly counts as making a character OOC? Sure, I can agree that in a fanwork set in the exact same universe with the exact same events as in canon there’s some things a character would never say or do, but I think AUs were created as a way to explore what-if scenarios. What if this character had been raised by different people? What if they had grown up in a different place? What if this or that event hadn’t happened or had gone differently? Tbh I think it’s just fun to explore endless possibilities, it’s maybe a form of character analysis in some way. And if we think about it, canonverse Ciel was originally sweet, shy and affectionate, and if he’s the complete opposite now it’s only because he went through an utterly horrific and traumatic event that forced him to grow up before his time and toughen himself up because it left him with little to no support system, on top of having to be hyper vigilant because the only thing that "saved" him from that is a literal demon who wants his soul and is haunting him.

So I just wanted to create this alternative timeline where maybe things aren’t as terrible, or they start out as terrible but then some good things come from the most unexpected sources. Ciel is five years younger and thus has more time to process everything and try to heal as he grows up. Sebas isn’t entirely a bastard and willingly does nice things for the child, even if he still doesn’t understand human needs, and while he stills views him as a potential meal (at least at the beginning) he's actually respectful. There’s another demon who understands humans all too well and is happy to lend a hand. His friends and the relatives he has left are more involved in his life. So Ciel more or less has a support system now, albeit a weird dysfunctional one, and doesn’t entirely lose his sweetness (also like... he's 5/6 at the beginning of the story, we really can't expect a preschooler to be an edgy emo who craves violence and revenge ☠️). I imagine he grows up to be just as calculating and cunning as canonverse Ciel, maybe even just as ruthless in his job because it’s a requirement, and is still pretty much a little shit, but this Ciel is not as cold and undemonstrative. He’s still very much an introvert who prefers to be left alone, but he smiles (as in genuinely smile) more often and it’s a little easier for him to express emotions and feelings (more through actions than words, but still meaningful). Hell he may allow himself to be playful and silly sometimes if he’s in the moment.

And if it wasn’t clear from the picture, little Ciel ADORES Sebastian. Sure he's (understandably) a bit skittish around him at first, but once they bond he comes to fully view him as a parental figure. Yes, he's hurt, sad and traumatized, but he's still a resilient little kid, and with enough kindness Sebas can coax his old self to come out of his shell, and until the kid becomes more independent they're like a mama duck and her lil duckling. Their constant banter and bickering when he's older is more a teens being teens thing than anything.

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pencil-peach · 2 months

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Thinking about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Specifically the Persona 3 side of it.

I think it's interesting (and kinda funny) how a lot of the P3 content in this game is built upon the many CD Dramas that released in Japan following Persona 3/FES' releases, specifically the New Moon/Full Moon and Daylight/Moonlight Duologies.

As what's most likely the largest example, Labrys, one of the two major characters introduced in the game, was actually named in the Moonlight CD, which was released back in 2007 (Arena was released in 2012, for reference)

"The 7th Generation, Aigis, was created from all the data we'd obtained from all prior designs up to the 5th Generation, Labrys." (Moonlight)

Aigis' and Labrys' motivation of finding their mother is also building upon the story of Moonlight, where Aigis is able to speak with the girl whose personality was one of the bases used for the Anti-Shadow Weapon development project, and who refers to herself as her mother (but looks more like her younger sister).

"That's right... in human terms, I guess I'm kinda like your mother or something? A-ah, but based on our outward appearances, I guess I look more like your younger sister?" (Moonlight)

(For context, she is forced to forget this meeting at the end of the CD, but resolves to meet with the girl in real life. She isn't named, but we're told she has black hair.)

I think Mitsuru is the most interesting, as her appearance in the game is almost wholly influenced by the story of the New Moon/Full Moon Drama CDs, which are a side story covering her and the broader Kirijo Group's situation immediately following Takeharu's death, released in 2009.

Mitsuru's story opens up with her going public about the bloody past of the Kirijo Group and the existence of the Dark Hour and Shadows. This is following up on her resolution near the end of Full Moon, where she states plainly that this is the path she's going to take.

Ichiro Takadera: "Well then, do you intend to make a public announcement regardless of what follows? About the Shadows and so on?"

Mitsuru: "That is my path in life. I cannot stray from it." (Full Moon)

Kikuno Saikawa, Mitsuru's right hand maid and one of the shadow operatives, also made her debut in New/Full Moon. The two of them met when they were children, and Kikuno vowed to protect Mitsuru after she'd saved her from her despair as a child.

Kikuno: "Six years ago, when I learned my stay at the hospital wasn't because of illness but because I was sold over by my parents, you were the one who saved me from my despair. On that day, I swore I'd devote my life to following this person." (Full Moon)

Ultimax was the first time she was given a design, but she would later appear in the Persona 3 Movie: Winter of Rebirth. Her characterization in Ultimax is pretty faithful to her depiction in the CD.

(A fun fact is that Kikuno was also mentioned in the "Seaside Vacation Before Death's Scythe" Drama CD, which was released in 2013 as a promotion for the then upcoming first Persona 3 Movie, Spring of Birth.)

One of the Kirijo artifacts mentioned in Mitsuru's prologue is a ring that gives its wearer immunity to the effects of the Dark Hour. This too is an object introduced in New/Full Moon.

"Also, there is no need to worry, as everyone who are not in possession of special powers, including me, will wear this ring. While it's on you are able to experience the Dark Hour and even when you take it off your memories of it will remain." (New Moon)

Something that doesn't come up in Ultimax is that if you smash the jewel in the center of the ring, you'll lose all your memories of the Dark Hour. It's an interesting little thing! I mean it's. Useless now cause the Dark Hour is gone but it's pretty cool...

Mitsuru's main internal conflict is her inability to ask others for help for fear of burdening or endangering them. This is something that comes up in Persona 3, but in the Drama CDs this aspect of her character is very deeply explored. It's her main emotional arc and the source of her conflict with Yukari in both the New/Full Moon CDs and Persona 3 Character Drama Vol. 4, which focuses on their relationship.

Yukari: Is your faith in us that weak?

Mitsuru: To be frank, I can't bear it anymore. I don't want others to die for my sake!

Y: And you're gonna sacrifice yourself because of that? Why do you take on so much by yourself? Is that really okay with you? Don't you want to see your friends and family again?! And to survive?! Why can't you just be honest?!

M: Of course I want to! But...that is...what should I say? It's always like that...whenever I get soft or burden others... They might end up dying again. [...] Aragaki, and my Father... What am I supposed to tell you after all that happened? Even if I'm afraid and wish to be saved, what do I say?! What should I say?! (Full Moon)

Yukari even brings up that they've had this talk before. It could be referring to their heart to heart in Kyoto, but I think it could also be read as their conflicts in the CDs too.

When Ken asks Kikuno where she learned to fly a helicopter, she states that she learned it after being involved in an assault operation on a high school dormitory, an incident which Ken says he remembers. (Say it with me now!) This is most likely referencing the climax in Full Moon, where the Kirijo Group led by Takadera attempt to raid Iwatodai Dorm and forcibly apprehend SEES, so as to avoid the possibility of Ikutsuki's plot and the Group's sins from becoming public.

There's definitely more stuff, but I just wanted to point out the things I noticed/particularly liked with Mitsuru's story.

I think Junpei suffers the most from having a lot of his characterization be taken from the CDs. A lot of people were (and still are) confused about P4AU Junpei's seemingly sudden hard pivot to Baseball, as in Persona 3 proper, it's not a very large aspect of his character.

But in the CDs, Junpei being Into Baseball is MUCH more prominent. As in he refers to everyday situations in baseball terms sometimes.

In Persona 3 Character Drama Vol 2., (released in 2008 and centered around Junpei and Chidori) Junpei dreams about taking Chidori out on a date, and eventually settles on asking her to go to a baseball game with him. (She accepts, if you were curious).

He talks with Chidori about baseball so much that she got into it herself and started watching baseball in the hospital.

At the end of Moonlight, the SEES gang talk about what they want to do after they defeat Nyx, and Junpei says he wants to go to a baseball game. They even kind of tacitly explain why he didn't talk about it all that much ingame by saying he'd fallen out of interest in it but that he "feels like it's returned in full force!"

The thing about P4AU's heavy references to the CDs though, especially in Junpei's case, is that they were never officially translated or released outside of Japan. To this day the only way for non-Japanese speaking audiences to experience the CDs is to listen to them with (usually slightly incomplete) fansubs online.

While I kind of appreciate the novelty of that, it's definitely caused some confusion when it comes to characterization. In P3 Reload, for instance, Junpei makes a lot more references to baseball in his dialogue. And for a lot of people, it feels like the purpose of that is to retroactively make Junpei's appearance in P4AU make more sense.

And while that's not incorrect, it misses the fact that Junpei was already established to like baseball in supplementary material before Arena came out. It's more like making his character consistent with the same material that P4AU used when writing Junpei.

But it's not like you can even blame people for thinking that because a lot of people are normal and don't listen to 16 year old fan translated Drama CDs uploaded to youtube. It's just interesting to me I suppose. I wonder how much characterization we miss due to lack of access to supplementary material.

Anyway you should listen to the CDs though they're really good. New Moon/Full Moon especially.

Moonlight is also very good, it's a pseudo-prelude to The Answer, and the character writing is top notch.

But that's all I had to say, really. Just thought it'd be fun to talk about.

Translation Credits: imaginary_numbers (Moonlight) pipeds (New Moon) pipeds (Full Moon)

#if you're a yukamitsu warrior #watch new moon/full moon #character drama cd vol 4 #and moonlight #but the rest are also just really good. the characters feel like their authentic selves #afraid to put this in a persona tag cause i dont want people to yell at me over some perceived inadequacy #they're also very well acted too #like god damn

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multifandomfanficss · 9 months

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More Than I’m Willing To Lose Part 1

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

Featuring platonic!11th Street Kids

Adrian Chase Masterlist

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Prompt: After Project Butterfly, ARGUS decided to make some new additions to the team. You and Adrian have been secretly, hopelessly in love with each other for a year now, but are unaware of the other person’s feelings. Tired of waiting for Adrian, you decide to go on a date with someone else that doesn’t end very well. This is Adrian x GN!Reader.

Warnings: Reader injury, mentions of vomit, gun violence, panic, hospitals, cannon typical Peacemaker violence and language

A/N: So funny story…I’ve actually had the first two chapters of this in my drafts since last August because I was afraid if I posted them I would never finish the fic. A year later I actually wrote two more chapters, even though this was originally only supposed to be three parts. The chapters are done, but are still going through some proofreading and light changes. I’m gonna post a chapter once a week. The original concept for this story was to write what I called at the time “the ultimate hurt/comfort”. The concept I started with was based on an episode of Criminal Minds, but it expanded overtime. I hope you guys enjoy!! ❤️🧜‍♂️❤️

You were happily kicking your feet back and fourth at the table waiting to be let go from the debriefing. After everything went down with the butterflies, ARGUS decided it would be best to expand their small Evergreen team. You were the first addition. They had planned on adding more, but after a year you were still waiting on a big enough mission to present itself for you to be assigned more muscle. Truth be told Harcourt, Adebayo, Vigilante, and Peacemaker could handle themselves. You were great help in the van when Economos needed it. An extra hand was always needed on computers and medical needs. You weren’t a fighter, but you still found your place on the team.

“What are you so happy about?” Adebayo asked in a chipper tone.

“I have a date tonight.” You say blushing. You hadn’t been on a date in a long time. Truth be told, you were holding out for a certain team member of yours, but you feared Adrian would never get the hint and ask you out, let alone even have feelings for you, so you were doing your best to move on. He sat up a little straighter in his chair and stayed uncharacteristically quite, but you didn’t really notice. You were preoccupied by thoughts about your date and questions from your teammates.

“You got a date? Who would wanna date you?” Chris laughs. You roll your eyes.

“A really hot guy! Who’s much cooler and better look than you!” You laugh back at him. You know he’s just teasing, but you can’t help, but feel just a little hurt. You push down the feeling.

“Where did you two meet?” Leota asks.

“At a bar. He walked up to me and we started talking. It was mostly about work, but I didn’t mind listening to him. His job sounded super interesting.” You tell them.

“What do you mean you talked about work? Your job is a secret.” Adrian finally spoke up.

“Well he actually did most of the talking. He doesn’t actually know anything about computers so I just rambled on about coding. He thinks I work as a computer specialist at Best Buy.” You laugh. Adrian’s face stays deadpan.

“What does he do for work?” He asks.

“He’s a lawyer, I think. I don’t know. I can’t really remember what kind of law he specializes in.” You say, hoping to end the conversation. His eyes bore into you.

“Well that’s very exciting and I hope you have fun, but not too much fun. We have to all have to be here at 9am tomorrow.” Harcourt reminds the team. Everybody groans. The meeting ends and you start walking to your car, but Adrian stops you.

“I don’t think you should go on that date.” Adrian starts.

“And why not?” You ask.

“I just have a bad feeling. I don’t think this guy is who he says he is. You barely know anything about him! What if he’s some sort of criminal?!” Adrian begs you to not go on the date. You can’t help, but begin to bubble with anger. This is the first date you’ve gone on in over a year thanks to Adrian and he doesn’t want you to go on this one and the only reason he can pull out of his ass is his stupid intuition? No. You’re going on that fucking date.

“I’m not who I say either. Does that make me dangerous? I appreciate your concern, but I’m going on the date, Adrian.” You say, before leaving him in the parking lot.

Maybe you should have listened to him. The date was nice, but if you were being honest you did feel like he was hiding something. You pushed down the feeling though because you knew you were hiding something too.

Your date Jack was nice enough. He paid for the date and walked you home. It wasn’t until you got home that you felt not just uneasy, but scared. You were walking up the stairs to your door when you heard a clicking noise. You worked around guns enough to know exactly what that sound was. You slowly turned around to confirm your suspicions.

“What are you doing?” You ask.

“Shut up. I’m the one asking the questions.” Jack says. You nod, feeling your breath catch in your throat. It isn’t often you’ve found yourself in trouble like this, but on the rare occasion this did happen your team was always there to keep you safe. Adrian was always there to keep you safe. A tear slipped down your cheek at the thought of Adrian. He told you not to go on this date and you didn’t listen to him. Now you were never going to see him again. “Where is the Task Force X headquarters?” He asks.

“What?” You ask.

“Come on, dumbass! I know you’re on their team. You’re going to tell me everything you know, including who Vigilante is and what you’re currently working on and you’re going to tell me quickly or else you’ll never see your team again.” He rambled, stepping closer, gun pointed at you.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You cry and play dumb.

“You should really get better security on your home computers. Your computers at work are fine, but the second you got home and pulled out your little laptop, you were mine.” That’s when you stop dead in your tracks. You always do your work from headquarters. Always. Except for the day you worked from home sick.

“I don’t really need you. I could just take your laptop. I just thought this would be more fun. After all, the thrill came entirely from stringing you along. Burglary isn’t really my style and I didn’t really feel like taking the time to hack into your laptop. You were so eager to go out with me too. I barley had to ask.” He laughs before pulling the trigger. You feel a sharp pain in your shoulder and you fall to the ground with a scream, at least you think you screamed. You can’t hear anything over the ringing in your ears. You can’t move. All you can do is cry. You feel hands all over you, searching your pockets. Your keys are taken from you as you watch Jack break into your house. As quickly as he’s in, he’s out, laptop in hand. He’s got what he needs and now he’s going to leave you to die. The ringing starts to go down and you start to feel hands on your body again. You try to move, but cry out in pain. You clench your eyes shut in both fear and pain.

“Please don’t touch me. Please. Please get away from me. Please don’t hurt me anymore” You beg. You don’t know who is above you, but you just hope it isn’t Jack or whoever he may be working with.

“Shhh it’s gonna be okay. I’m here. It’s me. It’s Adrian.” You hear his calming voice and you open your tear stained eyes to see him above you in his Vigilante suit. Your steady stream of tears turns into sobs. You hear footsteps approaching quickly and you start to hyperventilate.

“Peacemaker!” Adrian calls over his shoulder. When you realize it’s just Chris you calm down a little. “We need to get them help.” Adrian says, voice quivering.

“What happened?” Chris asks in shock.

“You were right.” You cry out, taking a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have gone on the date. You were both right. Who would want to go on a date with me? I should have known.” You hiccup through your cries. Chris stiffens.

“Hey, don’t talk like that! We need to go get them help.” Adrian says. You let go of any tears you were previously holding back.

“Please don’t leave me!” You cry. Adrian weaves one hand through your hair and the other holds your cheek as he lightly brushes his thumb across your skin.

“I promise I’ll never leave you. Peacemaker’s gonna go get my car.” Adrian promises.

“I am?” Chris asks.

“Yes, you are dude.” Adrian says, tossing him his keys. Chris runs a couple blocks to the car.

“I’m sorry.” You whine after your sobs subside a little.

“Why are you sorry?” Adrian asks.

“I didn’t listen to you. I should have listened to-“

“No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Adrian cuts you off. Your eyes start to feel heavy.

“Hey, stay with me. Stay awake.” He shakes you lightly.

“I’m so tired. Adrian, I’m so scared. Am I going to die?” You ask him. You think you might faintly hear the car pulling up.

“No, I’m not going to let that happen. Peacemaker’s here. We’re going to take you to the hospital. This is going to hurt, okay?” Adrian asks. You nod and brace yourself, but when he picks you up you don’t think you could have prepared yourself for that kind of pain. You scream and grip his arms, chest, neck- anything you can hold onto.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Adrian rambles out a spew of apologies. Chris hits the gas pedal as soon as you are in the back seat with Adrian.

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick.” You whine.

“It’s okay. You can get sick if you need to. I won’t be upset with you.” Adrian secretly cringes at the thought of you throwing up in his car, but he knows you can’t help it.

“Actually can you try to hold it in because if you get sick, I’ll get sick and I can’t drive and throw up.” Chris requests. Adrian gives him a death glare from the rear view mirror. The two speed to the only hospital they know they can go to, the hospital they all went to after the final fight with the butterflies. The staff is less than happy to see Vigilante and Peacemaker walk back in, but they already know what the two men look like under the mask and the helmet, so it was the safest place to go. When you arrive you’re immediately placed on a bed and rolled away.

“No, I need him! Please!” You scream as you’re hauled away from Adrian. You don’t know wether to call him Adrian or Vigilante because your consciousness is slipping and you can’t remember what he’s dressed as, you just know you need him by your side. The nurses hold you down.

“Don’t move. You’re going to make things worse. He’ll be in the waiting room until you’re out of surgery.” The nurse promised. It broke Adrian’s heart to hear you cry for him and not be able to run to you, but he knew if he interfered that it would only take them longer to help you. The truth was he was scared too. He had never been this scared before. He had never felt like this in his life. He realized he was now also on the verge of throwing up.

“They’re gonna be fine.” Chris promised, placing a had on Adrian’s shoulder. He wasn’t 100% confident, but Adrian didn’t need to know that.

By the time you woke up, the whole team was there and Adrian was in his street clothes again. You saw everyone standing outside the waiting room talking while Adrian slept in a chair with his head against your mattress. You couldn’t really understand what they were saying so you just tuned them out. Instead you focused on Adrian’s breathing and his soft messy curls. You traced each curl with your eyes to calm yourself.

Outside your room the team was talking about you and, little did you know, Adrian.

“I’ve never seen him like this before. I’ve never seen him care so much about someone.” Chris starts.

“I thought he didn’t have emotions.” Economos questions.

“Everyone has emotions, even Adrian.” Adebayo added.

“It’s true. I’ve seen him cry before.” Harcourt added her two cents. They all give her a look.

“But can we at least agree he’s being MORE emotional than usual?” Economos asks. They all nod.

Back in the room you decide to start playing with Adrian’s hair. He jolts awake, only to realize it’s just you and he relaxes into your fingers. He then fully realizes it’s you again and practically jumps out of his seat.

“You’re awake! I’m so thankful that Peacemaker and I were patrolling that area and heard the gun shot. Never do anything like that to me ever again!” Adrian exclaims.

“I’m sorry.” You apologize.

“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t do it again.” Adrian sighs, taking your hand in his. The rest of the team must have heard your conversation because they start to shuffle in.

“Hey, kid.” Chris says softly. You always hated that nickname when you started to work with the team, but you had grown to love it. It was given to you because you were the youngest on the team. You were a few years younger than Adrian making you over 10 years younger than Chris.

“How are you feeling?” Adebayo asks.

“Not so hot.” You make an effort at a laugh. You grip Adrian’s hand a little tighter unintentionally and he gives your hand back a squeeze to remind you he’s there. It’s hard to feel all of the spotlight on you. You can’t help, but feel like you’ve fucked up badly. John shifts uncomfortably where he stands.

“I’m gonna head back the van. I’ll be on coms when you get what you need.” Economos starts to head out.

“What do you need?” You ask.

“Could you give us some privacy?” Harcourt asks for the room. Chris and Adebayo leave to stand outside the door. Adrian reluctantly stands up, but you don’t let go of his hand. It’s embarrassing how you hear your heart monitor increase at the thought of him leaving you again. Harcourt must sense or literally hear your panic, despite trying to keep it down.

“Chase can stay if you want.” She says. You nod and he sits back down. Your heartbeat falls into a steady pace when he starts to rub his thumb against your hand.

“I need to ask you a few questions. They might be kind of hard to answer, but it‘s very important you answer them to keep yourself and the rest of us safe. You can take a break at any time.” She tells you and you nod. The first questions she asked were about Jack’s appearance. It was easy to describe hair color, but when you had to go more into detail it almost felt like you were back there with him. Your heart monitor increased again. You felt a tear slip down your cheek. You avoided looking at Adrian. You should have listened to him when he told you not to go on the date. You then went into detail on what he was looking for and what he asked you. By the end you were crying so hard you could barely get out the words.

“I think they should take a break.” Adrian told Harcourt.

“No, I have to keep going.” You told him.

“No, you don’t (Y/N). You can take a break.” She tells you.

“I have to keep going. It was my fault. First I didn’t check to make sure my connection was secure on my laptop and then I went on a date with him even though you said I shouldn’t. I should have believed you and Chris. Why would a guy like me? It’s my fault. He said I made it easy.” You cry.

“It’s not your fault. Chris was just being an asshole. You are worthy of attention from guys. It’s not your fault you try to see the best in people. Hell, I wonder what you see in me and why you’re my friend everyday.” Adrian says. Truth be told you see much more in Adrian than you’ve ever told him. You think you might love him, but you know you can’t say that. You can’t handle the rejection right now.

“I’m going to go out to the van. I think John’s got something.” She informs you. You forgot they were wearing coms and you weren’t. It was odd to not have their voices in your ear.

After everyone is gone you look back to Adrian.

“Hey Adrian, can I ask you a favor?” You ask.

“I’ll do literally anything for you.” You smile at him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to…” You trail off, embarrassed by your request.

“What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.” Adrian says, very adamant on helping you.

“Can you lay in bed with me and hold me?” You ask quietly. He smiles.

“Move over.” He instructs you as he helps you settle into the other side of the bed. He takes off his shoes and slowly climbs in, sliding his arms around you. You place your head on his chest so you can hear his heartbeat. You start to drift off to sleep to the sound of his heartbeat and the feeling of his chest rising and falling with his breath.

“I promise I’m never going to let anything like this happen again. I’m going to keep you safe. I’ll make this right. I love you.” He says as you fade away. He must have thought you were already sleeping. You would respond if you didn’t feel so heavy. You’re not even sure if you heard him right. You could just be high on pain meds. You probably just imagined it.

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starstruckserenity · 1 year

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Heya! Hope you're having a good day and taking care of yourself!

I'm a fellow kokichi lover (bros just so silly), so I was wondering if I could request a kokichi x ultimate Demolitionist (bomb-user/maker!) oneshot where the two are a chaotic, mutually pining duo?

All good if not, and make sure to drink some water, 'kay?

Have a great day my guy!!

ahhh! thank you so so much for your kind words! :) this is such a unique idea, and on top of that, it is my first request!! i am so so sorry if this is a bit late (testing has been kicking my ass currently), so i apologize for that...! i hope you are having an amazing day! <3

oneshot will be under the cut! :)

You have always had an odd fascination with bombs. The smoothness of the outer shell enticed you, and the tiny spark of light when you lit the object thrilled you to no end. Some people thought of it as a... strange interest, especially the classmates you were practically forced to surround yourself with. Bombs combined with a killing game don't usually tend to be known as the perfect pair, and you knew this.

But in a way, it was entertaining to poke fun at unsuspecting individuals who were simply genuinely curious about your ultimate. Most were shocked, some found it to be terrifying, but one boy thought it was utterly and completely bad ass.

As you were just finishing up with your current project, a certain purple-haired someone bursted joyfully through the doors of your dormitory.

"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!!!" A high pitched, whiny voice was approaching you at a face pace. You perked up, setting your pieces down and sighing playfully.

You didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. You swerved yourself around and were face-to-face with Kokichi Ouma, your newly found friend that you had become acquaintances with due to your chaotic and fun-loving behavior.

You two had hit it off ever since you had informed everyone about your talent. Ouma was absolutely starstruck with the amount of confidence you had. He was sure you knew that obtaining the title as "ultimate Demolitionist" was one that would make the average people around you cower in fear, but you announced it so effortlessly that it drew him to you.

You couldn't lie and say that you weren't drawn to him, either. You related to him. He was one of the only people to match your energy, and actually embrace it. It almost seemed like you were perfect for each other.

Snapping yourself back into reality, you stared at him.

"Hey, 'Kichi. What's up?" You smirked.

He stifled a laugh. "...You know what I want, Y/N."

You blinked a bit, pondering to yourself. You mentally sifted through the thousands of favors he wanted from you, and found yourself remembering what he had asked of you.

Thinking back to a few days ago, you recalled his whining.

"Come onnnn, Y/N! This is really important, y'know? Shuichi has been acting like a total asshole to me. I think he needs a good punishment." You had never guessed Ouma would pull of such good puppy-dog-eyes, but here you were, losing yourself in the color of his big, violet hues.

You deadpanned. "Kokichi, I am not making you a stink bomb to use on *him*. Shuichi is actually a good guy to me."

Kokichi whimpered, "Well, Y/N, I'm doing him a favor. His room would smell better with a new fragrance. He's basically asking for it, I can smell his cologne from across the hall!" You rolled your eyes, thinking of a compromise.

"Okay, how about this. You and me can go throw some stink bombs at Kiibo and Miu once we get the chance. It'll take a couple days for me to make it, but Miu has been way more irritating than usual."

Whooping in celebration, Kokichi sprang into you and embraced you tightly.

"Thank you, Y/N! Thank you, thank you! I promise, it'll be so much fun~!" He giggled into your chest.

You stood there in shock, your mind racing. You slowly regained your consciousness and squeezed him back in an uncommon moment of shyness.

"You're lucky that I'm your friend." You commented before reluctantly pulling away.

You turned back to your desk and pulled something out of the drawer closest to you. Kokichi clapped his hands cheerfully when he realized you actually made what he had requested.

In your hand was a tiny capsule that could release an unbearable stink when thrown from a distance. Ouma's eyes widened when he saw it, shaking in excitement. He snatched it out of your palm and ran towards the door, pulling you behind him.

"Ah, I can't wait anymore! Let's go, let's go!" He laughed while racing towards Miu's lab.

The rest of your afternoon was spent hiding in the bushes together, cackling at the reactions of the disgusted Miu and the gracefully unphased Kiibo. You were having so much fun that you didn't even notice Ouma glancing at your features from time to time, smiling to himself as you two relished in the moment.

#danganronpa x reader #kokichi x reader

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petewentzisblack1312 · 5 months

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I was gonna ask you this anyway actually bc you know a lot of artists but I just kept forgetting bc adhd is kicking my ass rn but since you wanted asks: do you know of any cool online stores or artists selling stickers? im trying to decorate my new laptop and I bought a few on etsy but I wanna get more

made in a lab to answer this question bc all i do is look for artists that skew cool. i will also give artists that skew cute. some artists are in between these categories, that is, they have a cute artstyle with subject matter that at least at times skews cool. my metric for whats cool and whats cute is pretty much 'based on aesthetics if this were being sold at a basement show in the 90s to 00s would someone get called gay'. if the answer is yes, its cute. if the answer is no, its cool. i dont know if this makes sense but im gonna use this categorizing anyway. i will tag the artists who are on tumblr but otherwise im naming everyone by their instagram handle because thats where i look at art and im on my phone and cant link everyone without losing my sanity

coming back after writing this list i have GOT to put this under a cut

@cursedluver: cute/cool, mostly cool to me, very bright and colourful and his starpions are really fun

ummmheather: cute/cool, mostly cute but shes got some stuff thats silly in a more cool way if that makes sense.

strikegentlyco: cool, they only recently started making stickers so the selection is a bit limited but they do have lots of enamel pins

sheselle: i would say firmly on the cute side of things in aesthetics but i think her sense of humor can be interesting. new to me though. i think you will really love some of her stuff and not really be into others.

@sweatermuppet: cool, lots of queer political stuff

luluvanhoagland: cool but with a soft artstyle so it feels cute.

@sofftpunk: cute/cool, lots of lgbt stuff

thegraveyardrave: mostly cool, they do have a tumblr blog but its specifically for clownposting so i will not tag him

leestrawberrryshop: cute with a cool tilt, mostly white and pink with just lineart but its an interesting scribble/doodle style. memey at times

prettybadco: cool but lately this guys been doing so much i think you should leave fan merch and its not bad but i dont watch i think you should leave and its not what i followed for. the original stuff is pretty neat though

catcoven: medieval. giving this one its own category on the grounds that thats pretty self explanatory and more precise than cool/cute

interrupted by finding a bee in my bedroom while drinking slightly warm tea (house is closed and the windows in my room (also closed) have mosquito nets)

@verdant-succubus: cool but there is body horror and guts and stuff so tread lightly if youre sensitive to that sort of thing.

radhia rahman (knivesmeow): cute but i feel cool when i look at her art

abprallenuk: cool but the colour palletes are strictly pastel

svv.art: very cool

smdefelice: cool. mostly does screenprinting but i am pretty sure they do stickers also. however the shop is currently closed for con prep do i cannot confirm

lilboatboutique: cute/cool has a homesick at space camp sticker which is currently on my water bottle and which i own in 2 variants as an enamel pin.

kerin cunningham: cool. emo. the goat. what else is there to say.

@darbydraws: cool. quite like her stickers although her bread and butter is t shirts. also emo

xraeart: cool. alt streetwear brand so. yknow.

skullingway: cool. theyre one of my favourite artists hands down. not a lot of stickers tho

jordandebney: cool. this guy makes the coolest stickers but most of it is for his subscription box which is fine. theres 2 stickers not behind a paywall

elrosabel: cool stuff, cute style. she kinda like. soft closed. to do polymer clay sculptures. but she might have reopened? i know shes selling stuff under this project again

piratesarrrt: cool but in a soft style. similar subject matter to luluvanhoagland. which is to say weird girl heads.

seankeetonart: cool.

@moonlume: cute. the concepts are cool though

jimibiscuits: cool. this is one of my favourite artists i have. so many of his pins. he doesnt have a ton of stickers though iirc

@8pxl: i am going to invent a category called 'pretty'. i love pixel art and this is my favourite pixel artist ever.

i gotta fuckin stop

go forth and get some stickers

#dils declares

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parkezra · 1 month

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✨ hello, beautiful citizens of jongnorp! ✨ how the hell are ya?! my name's ryan (h/h, 25+) and i'm so thrilled to finally be posting one of my eight muses' (yes, i know... i know 😅) intros! first up is one of my all-time favorites, ezra park! he's currently working as an influencer who mostly creates fashion, lifestyle, social commentary, and makeover content, but he'll be expanding his résumé with exciting new projects very soon! 👀 below, you'll find a quick breakdown of his life, as well as bits and pieces of his personality. please 💖 this if you'd like to plot!

to keep things simple, he was born and raised to a rather liberal family in queens, nyc. both his parents made good money, he felt very supported, loved, and accepted, and honestly speaking, he had a rather idyllic childhood. i've written this muse before, but in this update of him, i wanted to give him a less grim upbringing.

however, his brighter history has created new flaws. being that he grew up in a rather privileged environment, it's made him ignorant to many things, and upon moving to seoul, he's been hit in the face with plenty of life's harsh realities. he's on his own now (for the most, part, anyway—his older half-brother is also in seoul), he's starting a career for himself, and it's his first time in a part of the world that's dramatically more conservative than the safe haven he surrounded himself in back home.

is he losing his mind? sort of, but he's doing keep his feet on the ground. he'd love it if you joined him on this new journey he's on!

ezra park is a hedonist. he's someone who'll never say no to another drink, or a second slice of cake, or going home wrapped around the arm of a handsome someone. he's over-indulgent like that, and substantially sensual, as well. he's someone who will catch a man's attention by eye-fucking him across the room, then moments later, appearing only to whisper the most delicate compliment in his ear; hoping that the sweet scent of his breath and the feeling of it ghosting along the other's skin is enough to reel him in for a night of fun.

if there is one thing that ezra park values, it's beauty. why else would he host a show on his channel that highlights attractive men from around the city, mostly by giving them makeovers? why else would he be teaching people how to upgrade their closet with clothing that accentuates their best features? why else would he be interested in ensuring that he never leaves the house looking anything other than immaculate? however, he realizes that, like most things, beauty is subjective, and he aches to discover what others find people, too.

ezra park is an individual, much to the chagrin of his grandparents' home country. he's still not gotten used to the stares of his elders whenever he enters public transit, or the glares he receives from his peers when he's a little too "flamboyant" in a public space, but he likes to think he's learning how to comfortably coexist in a place that doesn't fully understand him. after all, that's kind of all he can do. he made the choice to learn about his heritage and expand his career by relocating, and it's a choice he has to live with now. at least for the foreseeable future.

ezra has a show on his youtube channel where he gives handsome men from around the city (often male models, drag queens, and less often men from off-the-street) to interview and give makeovers to. he asks them questions about growing up in korea, and the knowledge they have on queer individuals, and their opinions on certain topics. in addition to this, he also hosts queer people of korea to ask them, specifically, about their experiences living in the country; hoping to shed awareness on stories told by marginalized voices. these could work as connections!

he's been in the city since february of last year, so it's been around a year and he's likely made some friends! maybe they could be your muses?

he's also likely slept around with plenty of men. he's no stranger to jongtaewon, and even hongdae, so if your muses frequent these areas, they've likely ran into him or ended up in his bed.

does your muse watch his content? do they love it? hate it? have them tell him! it'll be a fun time either way!

i'm honestly down for any and all connections, and this is already so long, so let's come up with something incredible together! 🥺💖

#JONGNO:HELLO #/ late to the party but i hope you forgive me!#/ been wearing my “🍑” hat if you know what i mean... 👀

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writingquestionsanswered · 10 months

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Interested in Writing But Can't Seem to Write

Anonymous asked: I've been interested in writing since I was a child. Used to be a bookworm. Whole chapter books in one night, completely addicted as a form of escapism. My first real dream job was to be an author - I decided this at around 11 maybe. No matter how many phases I've had, I always return to wanting to be an author. I am 22 now. I have not written a single thing. I vaguely remember writing like, maybe 3 things at most. Incomplete works that I just had fun with. And this was before I even turned 14. But in all those years of "loving writing and books" and "wanting to be an author" I did straight up nothing. Didn't even contribute to fanfics for the fandoms I was deeply obsessed with (I do remember trying once but wasn't into it). At some point reading was out of my life too.

I'm going to start here, because of these conflicting statements:

-- "I have not written a single thing." -- "I vaguely remember writing like, maybe 3 things at most."

See the issue? ;) If you've written "maybe 3 things" you have written something. They may have been incomplete, and you may not even remember what you were, but that doesn't mean you should discount them. You have written. That experience is still in there somewhere.

One of my biggest pet peeves as a longtime writer is hearing newer writers refer to themselves as "aspiring writers." If you write, you're a writer. Period. It doesn't matter if you journal, write poetry, write fan-fiction, or wrote a middle-school round robin with friends where you all married your favorite K-Pop stars. You write. You're a writer. And, honestly, even if you're not actively writing right now, if you want to write--if you think about writing, are constantly jotting down story ideas and character names, and are eagerly gathering inspiration from all around you... guess what? You're still a writer.

Now I'm trying to take my interest in writing more seriously, but I just can't sit down and write. I'm good at storing notes and ideas and daydreaming what my stories are about, but nothing is ever produced. If I think about it I immediately lose interest - even if I am in fact still interested in writing and publishing? I'm very confused by my behaviour and I wonder if it's normal.

What you're experiencing isn't unusual. In fact, most writers experience it from time to time, though usually it happens at points further into the writing journey and not right at the start. But I still wouldn't call that "abnormal." It happens.

There are a hundred-million reasons why it happens, and the only way to figure out why it's happening for you right now is to do some soul-searching. At your age, I think a prime suspect would be that you're in the jumping off point for your adult life. This can be a tumultuous time for a variety of reasons, and your focus and energy may be naturally geared toward the things that help you explore and settle into this new phase of life. Even beyond that, if you have have a demanding job (including being a parent or caregiver), are going to school or studying for job-related tests/classes, or have a lot going on right now (multiple projects, lots of travel, lots of appointments and social commitments, etc.)--your focus and energy is probably running thin as it is, so finding a way to funnel what's left into writing is going to take some finesse. And that's if this is even the right time for it, which I'll get to later on.

Writing Stress = Writing Avoidance

One of the most mind-blowing things I've learned about writing is that writing avoidance often comes down to writing feeling stressful for whatever reason. If you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to write, write a certain amount, meet goals or deadlines, that translates to stress. It makes writing stressful, and the problem with that is evolution has wired our brains to avoid things that are stressful. At its most basic level, stress is a response to danger--you hear a lion roar in the distance, it causes you stress, you turn and run in the opposite direction. Stress triggers the "fight or flight response," a defense mechanism that protects us from the impending danger. With writing, "fight" shows up as self-criticism. "Flight" shows up as avoidance.

So, if you find that you want to write but are avoiding it, it's worth considering if you're avoiding it because it feels stressful to you. If so, there are things you can do to de-stress writing. For one thing, let go of the notion that you have to write any particular thing or amount in order to be a writer. Set yourself a bare minimum writing goal to reach every day... like writing for 10 minutes. That can be any writing--journaling, writing prompts, working on a story, fleshing out story ideas, fluffy fan-fiction, poetry, writing down a favorite memory, doing a book or movie review, anything. Try to do it every day, but don't beat yourself up if you sit down and aren't able to write anything, don't write a lot, or never sit down at all. Just try, every day, do your best. Also, try setting up a writing routine that you do every day when you sit down for that little writing session. Try to pick the same or similar time each day, do a little meditation or stretch beforehand, put on some soft music or light a candle, get your favorite drink or small snack. If you do this almost every day, what you'll start to find is that the writing happens more and more easily. Eventually you'll be spend more and more time doing it.

Why can I say I'm interested in writing when I don't write at all?

I'm interested in traveling to England but I haven't yet and have no current plans to. Does that mean I'm not allowed to say I'm interested in traveling to England?

Being interested in something doesn't mean you have to do that thing right now or you can't say you're interested in it.

And even if you can't write right now for whatever reason, there are still plenty of writerly things you CAN do. Following writing blogs and vlogs is a good start. You can listen to writing podcasts and read writing craft books. You can keep a notebook full of plot and character ideas, setting inspiration, favorite quotes, interesting words, and overheard bits of dialogue. You can watch TV shows and movies (and read books, which includes listening to audiiobooks!) You don't even have to do these things all the time or everyday. Just periodically, when you can. It all goes into your creative well and will be there to draw from when you are able to write.

One final word...

You do not have to be in a hurry to be a writer or to be a published writer. The average age of first-time publication is mid-30s. I was mid-40s. Jane Austen was 35. Toni Morrison was 40. J.R.R. Tolkien was 45. Richard Adams was 52. Annie Proulx was 57. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65. National Book Award winner Harriet Doerr was 74. Poet Sarah Yerkes started writing poetry at 97 and was published at 101.

So, be interested in writing. Own that interest. Figure out if and how writing fits into your life right now. If it doesn't, do the other things. Fill your creative well so it will be ready when writing does fit into your life. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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!

Learn more about WQA

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

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writing-for-life · 4 months

Text

Thank you for an amazing 2023!

About metas, fics and sparkly things…

This won’t be short, but you wouldn’t expect that from me, would you? 🤣

I’ve been on Tumblr for just a bit over a year because I needed to get off my family’s back after my three decades long Sandman brain-rot got worse again due to the Netflix series. I hovered around a handful of followers for months until things exploded (I still don’t know why tbh, I think it was one particular meta that kicked things off a bit), and I somehow ended up with hundreds of followers, which might not be much to some, but it’s a lot for me.

So to all of you I’d like to say: Thank you for being here. I don’t always manage to stay on top of things because my notifs are a mess and I lose track, plus I have a rather busy life and can often only write in batches and then queue, but each of you is appreciated, even if I accidentally forget to get back to you or if we aren’t mutuals.

I’ve made such lovely connections over the last year—my interest in The Sandman definitely does not align with the main focus that shan’t be named, and I’m glad that you folks are out there. You probably know who you are.

Now to the obligatory “your posts wrapped” thing—and I’m only doing it because I need to make a point (of course I do 🤣).

News and art

My by far most successful posts have been casting/shooting news and pretty pictures (two examples are linked). And I’m grateful for all the reblogs and likes of those, but apart from curating them, they’re not really me. They’re someone else’s work.

Meta analysis

Then you have my metas, which make up the bulk of the other posts that are doing quite well (you can find all of them in my pinned post).

Even if it wasn’t my most “successful” one (what does that even mean?), this one meant the most to me:

I love writing metas, whether they cover literary concepts, psychology, music or art because I’m a permanently brain-frazzled multi-hyphenate who has to talk about everything that won’t leave her alone.

I also love when you’re sending me asks btw. For the latter, I hope they pick up again in 2024 because they really nosedived since I switched off anonymous asks (which I won’t change, soz) after some people just thought it’s good sport to be an arse about my not being here to pray at the altar of the ship. I guess we have briefly covered the ugly side of Tumblr, too, then.

Writing

But what I'm most proud of when I think of all the things I've done in 2023 is my fiction and poetry. And that's both a happy and slightly sad thing to address.

My 31 Haikus for Sandtober started as a bit of fun, but they’ve developed a life of their own, and people seemingly liked them. The post also contains a bit of my fan-art:

I still intend to turn them into a hardcover at some point, but I won’t be able to create all the artwork myself, so if you’re a fan-artist and want to know what I’m thinking of, please get in touch (I’ll still talk about this in more detail at some point though).

The other thing I’m incredibly proud of is “The Light of Stars”.

I started it as a NaNoWriMo project in 2022 (I always use NaNo to do something that is less stressful than my professional writing projects), wrote it in a bit more than a month—and then did nothing with near 80,000 words until June 2023.

And then I thought “Fuck it,” and published it on Ao3. It’s a canon x OC fic, and this is where it gets a bit sad. Because for most of us writers, these are never the posts that get most engagement (the ratio is really something like 100 : 1 — 500 for a shitpost, 5 for an average writing post).

On Ao3, it gradually picked up because I published chapter after chapter, and I think I can say that it’s done fairly well over there in terms of engagement for an OC fic, and above all how people engage with it. Because it’s a bit deeper despite being romance, it deals with heavy topics like grief, and I’m so glad to have touched a few people’s hearts with it, and that it was meaningful to them. So much so that you all convinced me to write a sequel.

But here’s the thing: The general engagement with writing, especially non-explicit, non-ship, non-readerY/N on Tumblr is very, very low.

Writers who write canon x OC are still struggling to be heard through the noise (it’s not just me, I’ve had many conversations about this, so I’ll just say: I’ll speak for many of us). There are basically hardly any events for us to participate in (most of us only ever do so if we shift to canon one-shots, poetry or metas. If we don’t: Again, no one cares), and fandom often actively chooses to ignore us because “all OCs are self-inserts, ew.” Which is patently not true, and I could go on a long rant now why many canon x canon fics are very obvious self-inserts, which I won’t.

But even if all OCs were self-inserts, even if all characters were—so what? All writing is to a degree based on self-insertion because it comes from our brains—it’s not a bad thing. But apparently, it becomes a bad thing if the character is an OC, heaven knows why.

So if I had one wish (I’m allowed one, right?) for 2024, it would be that people engage more with OC fics and include them more in community events. That fandom, which prides itself in community, includes writers who don’t write for (the main) ship/s a bit more, especially if they don’t write smut (which I personally even do professionally, but I don’t want to have to do it in fanfic just to get engagement). I’m not holding my breath because I know that’s not where fandom’s oft single-minded focus lies, but a girl can dream, right?

And with that, I want to get to my proudest accomplishments of them all:

Being the curator queen of the sparkle realms:

Being one (arguably the main) instigator of the maddest crack ship that has ever graced (?) the face of the earth, spawned the most unhinged discussion (much truth in it though 🤣) and even NSFW fanart. I promise I’ll write that fic about Murphy and his Cool Hat:

Have a lovely 2024!

#2023 wrapped #the sandman #sandman #sandman meta #sandman fanfiction #sandman fanart #sparkle content #sparklecontent #murphy and his cool hat

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curatoroffiction · 1 year

Text

Vil Meets A Writer

I like the idea of Vil meeting an MC who likes to write.

Because writers are a very driven type of person which is almost the anthesis to everything Vil considers to be a driven person, but I also think there's a fun scenario where one would be exactly the person he needs.

Because writers create stories.

Vil wants to be the star of a story where he can be the hero. Where he gets to stay on the stage and is loved by the audience, and he gets to be one of the 'good guys'.

A good writer could rectify that.

---

I like to imagine Vil and this MC truly only get to knowing each other through time together at Ramshackle. While he's toiling away with his duties working on the performance group, this MC has a side writing project they've been working on for a while. They do their part, but oftentimes they can be seen scribbling stuff down in a notebook, or spending long periods writing in a journal. And if they have it, typing away on a laptop or leaving notes to themselves in their phone.

The behavior sticks out, and at first Vil thinks that they might be taking this very seriously and taking notes on the performances. He asks them about their notes in front of the group and MC just goes ".... Sorry those are a different project."

"What kind of project?"

"... Writing."

"Please do it on your own time."

"With all due respect, if I don't write things as they come to me, I will lose them."

Vil, sighing, shaking his head. "Just don't let it interfere with your work. If you slack even a little, and I'm taking all your notebooks and such away."

---

All went well until MC missed a rehearsal call and Vil found them in Ramshackle on their computer typing furiously away at their work. The performance troupe watch on as Vil begins taking away MC's stuff, only for MC to lose it and tell him he's not responsible for them so he should back off. Vil, pissed at their lack of commitment, coldly finishes taking away their shit and locks it all in a box with a curse that anyone who opens the box before the final rehearsal will find themselves asleep until the next morning.

While the troupe considered his methods brutal, taking pity on MC's situation, none of them can open the box without incurring Vil's wrath anyway.

Which is fine because MC got Grim to open it with a promise of tuna and belly rubs.

---

Vil would wake up to MC on the couch in Ramshackle, tired, surrounded by all their stuff, Grim tucked up next to them as they write away. At this point, he's no longer heat-of-the-moment pissed, and finds himself curious about what drove the MC to go so far for their stuff back. He leans against the back of the couch, looking over their shoulder.

"I see someone's a bit of a criminal."

"It's more criminal to lock up my shit like I'm a toddler."

Ignoring their biting comment, Vil decides to question; "What is it about this stuff that it's worth more than your responsibilities and that you'd be willing to subject a friend to a curse to get it back?"

"I'm writing. Been hit with a really intense new muse, and I've been writing the most amazing story. It's why it takes up so much of my time and thoughts. It's revitalizing though."

"A new muse. What's your muse?"

"You, actually." MC doesn't look up from their work, but they do pause in their typing.

Vil finds himself thoroughly intrigued. And a little nervous, considering how hard he's been pushing everyone. ".. What kind of story is it?"

"It's a story of a protagonist that has to make a lot of tough calls and is strict, but for good reason. I saw your leadership style and it really stood out to me in an interesting way. You're more free-form than people would probably admit, you just want to ensure people under your tutelage have the means for success. You have a good idea of how to get them there, but if they can find it on their own, you'll support it. I liked that approach a lot and thought it'd make for a really inspiring leader in a messed up situation/world. The actual plot is a sci-fi horror. A harsh environment that really helps the personality to shine for its beneficial nature."

Vil is actually... touched. Hearing how he seems through their eyes is like drinking in an opinion he's been long-awaiting for. They don't know his desire to be a hero, they don't know how long he's worked to try to break out of the mold of his typecasting, and yet here they saw a hero character in him already. A hero type that Neige LeBlanche could never fit. He's staring at MC, realizing he knows nothing about them. He knows nothing about who they are and what they're doing here, or even why they became a leader in the first place. "You talk as though you're not a leader yourself."

"I suppose I am. Though, I'm a reluctant leader. Not someone with a passion for it like you. I was thrown into it. Crowley's a mess of a leader. I think calling him a leader is a bit of a stretch of the truth. But you? You're fascinating. Epel hates being under your thumb, but he works twice as hard because of it. And Epel could quit. He could quit and choose not to abide by your rules regardless, but he doesn't, because he sees that strength in you. You practice what you preach so well that even your dissenters respect that if they can't beat you, they should work with you."

Vil finds himself actually almost.. blushing. A warmth in his cheeks tells him that staying here any longer could cause him to lose his composure. He stands up. "You can keep your things, but don't miss anymore practices. Understood?"

"Aye aye, captain." MC just, giving him a soft salute as they return to typing.

---

I just really like the idea of a writer MC writing something and being like "Vil, you'd make for the leader in this really well."

"What of the rest of the cast?"

"There's a bright-eyed optimist who almost gets everyone killed because he thinks he's fighting an injustice, but is actually fighting the only person keeping the place afloat-"

"Who would you see in that part?"

"I have no idea. I don't know actors in this world. Wait. Actually, that Neige guy would probably be great for the part if he can pull off the whole knight in shining armor trope only to have it blow up in his face because this story is supposed to be more real and gritty."

"..... I'll do it."

"Vil it isn't even finished"

"You should have thought about that before sharing. Finish writing it, that's not a request. I want to play this part."

A story where he not only gets to be the hero, but also where Neige could play the part of the villain in a very believable plot??

Where has Writer MC been all his life?

#Dude all I wanna do is write that story and hand it to Vil #So he can go live his dreams #Concepts #MC Concepts #Vil #Vil Schoenheit #Writer #Writer MC #My own work

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tchtra · 3 months

Note

Best video game.

Why?

Oh that's difficult.

Gonna have to say ULTRAKILL

Massive rant about it and a few other games below

The fast-paced first person shooter has literally everything I would want for a fps. Cool mechanics (slam-storage, railcoin, chargeback), not much dialogue (the only time you're forced to listen to someone talk without being able to fight it's either skipable or at the very end of the act). The boss fights are incredibly fun, like I would gladly replay any of them just for fun. The P-Rank makes the game very replayable and the reward of getting to fight an even more difficult boss is so worth it.

Plus, despite not getting all that much screen time, the main characters/bosses in ULTRAKILL are very memorable.

Like Gabriel, who was seen as a disgrace by the angel council for losing to you, a simple machine. The council removes his holy light and will perish in 24 hours. Instead of enjoying his time left, he decides to fight us once more, enraged by what you've done to him. Half way through the fight, he starts laughing, genuinely enjoying the combat with you. When he looses, he comes to the realisation of how corrupt the angel council was and does the only reasonable thing and kills every single member. He'll still die though.

The concept itself is very interesting as well. You're a war machine that runs on blood and you're going to kill everything until there's nothing left. Humanity is dead so you travel through hell killing husks, machines and even gods. This plays into the gameplay and mechanics of the game more than you'd expect.

The mechanics in the game are so so fun. There's the basics like being able to slide and groundslam. But with your first unlockable weapon, the marksman, it opens up new opportunities for tech and all that gun does is allow you to throw a coin which if you shoot, it guarantees a bit on any nearby enemies. And that's just one weapon. Then you've got the ability to parry projectiles which. Funnily enough, the shotgun pellets count as a projectile so when you "parry" them after shooting, it causes an explosion. It's honestly my favourite way to rack up style points but I can't do complex tech like chargebacks and dead coining. The addition of a style meter makes you want to play in a way which gets you the most stylish way possible.

As well as the main story levels, there's an endless arena area called the Cybergrind where you try and survive for as long as possible while killing enemies stylishly. As with most endless modes, it gets more difficult the longer you survive with harder waves spawning and the introduction of radiant enemies (enemies with more health, speed and damage). This makes Ultrakill infinitely replayable as people try to get the highest score on it. My best is wave 23 on Violent and 25 on Standard.

I'm definitely not the best at it, I haven't P-ranked most of Layer 7 and I haven't even gotten past the many enemies to complete P-2 but this game is great and I can't wait to see what waits for us in the rest of act 3

Honourable mentions to Half Life and TF2. Both are great games by Valve which will never get a third installment.

TF2 is so much fun but the bot problem has really been ruining it. I hope VALVE actually try to fix it after this #savetf2 movement. I personally main Medic which just means I can't aim to save my bloody life- I love the characters, their personalities and playstyles. They're all so unique yet yet stereotypical at the same time. I love the meet the team shorts and how well they establish the characters. This as well as their adventures in the comics really shows the world of TF2 well. The various hats you can get are unique and allow you to make the mercs your own (I have watched death of an art style but I don't think that the cosmetics are the biggest problem for TF2 right now-). The community is completely insane and I'm glad we're all still here after everything the game has been through. I love the fan-made projects so much. The various sfm animations talented creators have made never fail to impress. Like Emesis Blue, a psychological horror movie about the TF2 mercenaries made entirely in SFM, a software that's around as old as TF2 itself! TF2 is really being carried by the community and thank you to anyone who contributes, you guys are incredible. I know I've gone off about the community more than the actual game but without the community, there would be no TF2. But yeah TF2 is amazing, I miss the PS3 version as that was how I first played TF2 when I didn't have a pc.

Half Life as a game series is absolutely incredible. Valve completely changed the opinion of FPS games and the gameplay as a whole. The slower build to the resonance cascade, the scientists chatter, the interactivity as a whole contributes so much to the world building if the first game. The combat options were unique and fun to experiment with while providing interesting enemies to use them on. Of course, the Xen chapters were a bit bland but they still set the atmosphere of what was to come. And Black Mesa's complete remake of Xen completely fixes that if you do have a major issue with it.

Half Life 2 completely blew my mind the first time I played it. I had never seen anything to do with Half Life (except the references to it in TF2) so when I played it, it was amazing. Just like TF2, I first played it on the PS3. There's not many differences except the load times (which were horrid) but I still completed the game.

I hardly remember anything from my first play through of Episode 1 but I did get really attached to Alyx. Oh and I found the kleiner broadcast funny. Episode 2 is a completely different story. I loved every single second of it (there weren't achievements on PS3 version so I didn't do the gnome challenge and it shows-). The car section was fun. I liked looking for those supply crates and doing the physics puzzles to get to them. Hunters were really fun to fight but once I discovered they get instakilled by the jalope, I just started running them over. Made the final sequence much easier. The helicopter fight was interesting. And the ending. Oh my god, the ending. I ain't gonna lie, that shit hurt. It's a shame they rewrote it for Half Life Alyx.

Speaking of Half Life Alyx, I never got to play it but it looks incredible. I hope to be able to play it some day but right now, I have to stick to watching playthroughs.

I love Half Life but at this current moment I prefer ULTRAKILL, may change.

Uh yeah, I'm normal about all these games

#ultrakill #tf2 #half life

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therenlover · 8 months

Text

✨TheRenLovers (Updated) Fanfic Glossary✨

Updated 9/7/23

A glossary of my past works and ongoing projects. Also comes with a handy dandy list for request guidelines! I mostly post x Reader fics, but I'm looking to branch out into established ships soon. To join my fresh, new taglist for any character, just shoot me a message. I also crosspost all my works to my Ao3, which you can find Here!.

This post is a beefy boy, so for the sake of your dash the rest is below the cut.

Red = Abandoned Project (I may eventually complete these, but I have no current plans to)

A Note About Requests

As long as my ask box is open, I am taking requests or questions! I can't promise every request will be completed, or that the ones that are requested will be finished in a timely manner. I'm an adult with a full time job, so sometimes writing takes a backseat. That being said, I will do my best to complete any requests that come my way, so feel free to ask if you're hoping to see something! The worst I could do is direct you to someone who might be able to make what you're looking for.

I am pretty open about what I write, but if a request makes me uncomfortable/isn't something I'm interested in writing, I, again, will try my best to reach out and guide you in the right direction to get that type of content. If you're worried your message got buried/forgotten, don't hesitate to message again. My brain is soup and I can be the worst person on earth at responding.

⚔️Baldur's Gate 3⚔️

Put Me Back In It (I Would Do It Again)

Synopsis: When Tav sold her soul to Raphael for Astarion's, she only hoped it would be worth the price. If only she remembered anything from before she entered the House of Hope...

Rating: E (+18)

Word Count: 40,000~ (Ongoing)

❤️Marvel❤️

Helmut Zemo 💜

One Last Night In Madripoor

Synopsis: Baron Helmut Zemo is a lonely, wanted man looking for some fun, you’re a piss-poor bounty hunter in search of a connection before leaving your life of crime behind, and fate has brought you together at a party the likes of which has never been seen before. You only have one night left in Madripoor, so why not take a chance?

Rating: E (+18)

Word Count: 4200~

Still Some Catching Up To Do

Synopsis: As a member of the criminal underworld, people walk out of your life all the time. Some are killed, others kill themselves, most get caught and only a couple get out of the life unscathed, disappearing into the world never to be seen again. Very few walk back in. So when your supposedly incarcerated ex-lover, the Winter Soldier, and the Falcon waltzed through your door and made you murder your boss, needless to say, you were surprised and more than a little bit pissed.

Rating: M (+16)

Word Count: 6800~

Nine Years Starved

Synopsis: It had been a little over nine years since Helmut Zemo lost his family, his country, and his sanity. Nine years since his last kiss. Nine years since he felt like a human man. Finally, he was ready to start over again, but first, he had to pay his penance back where it all began; Novi Grad. That’s when, by the grace of the fates, he met you.

Rating: G

Word Count: 7000~

Daddy Dearest

Synopsis: Not everyone gets lucky enough to go from being a broke college student in New York to being the sugar baby to literal royalty, but not everyone is you. Most people would be worried about messing things up or losing him to someone else, but you knew he would never find another baby just like you. Besides, you knew exactly what to do to keep him wrapped around your little finger. He may have been the daddy, but you pulled the reins.

Rating: E (18+)

Word Count: 8000~

In Fleeting Touches and Airy Sighs

Synopsis: As a wanted man, Helmut Zemo spends most of his time jumping from place to place in the hopes of avoiding a trip back to prison. Unfortunately, that means he can’t always be home in your arms. When he is, though, in the rare moments of calm, you’re reminded of just how worth it it’s been to wait, even if that wait was only shortened by the arrival of your enemies.

Rating: E (18+)

Word Count: 35,700~

Two Bodies In The Rain

Synopsis: It was raining the day you finally had to admit your feelings to Helmut. You hated to tell him the way you did, under the grey skies as your blood pooled below you, but at least you knew, in the end, he had seen the real you, even just once. That was enough.

Rating: T

Word Count: 5600~

Rest

Synopsis: Living life on the lam with your escaped super-villain lover means things rarely slow down enough for a real rest. When the exhaustion starts to take its toll on you, though, he knows exactly what to do to ease the pain. He may not be a good man, but he’s a good husband when it counts.

Rating: T

Word Count: 3200~

The Boy With The Easel

Synopsis: About a month into your first semester at Novi Grad’s top university, you finally meet the strange young man that you’ve taken to calling “easel boy” in the back of a bookshop. From a distance, he always seemed cold and aloof. As you get to know him, though, you realize things aren’t always what they seem.

Rating: T

Word Count: 7000~

Orestes Fasting and Pylades Drunk

Synopsis: Helmut recalls the story of how he came to be the ruthless man he is and, more specifically, how he came into possession of his strange purple mask.

Rating: M (+16)

Word Count: 10,200~

Balm

Synopsis: Your forbidden dalliance with Baron Zemo, the lord of the house, has finally landed you in the dungeons, subject to the whims of the guards and the endless passage of time. As your sanity slips away, you wonder what will come first, your execution or the Baron's return?

Rating: M (+18)

Word Count: 5,800~

Always For A Second (Usually At The Start)

Synopsis: Leaving Helmut for good had been the biggest, most final choice you'd ever had to make. Two years later, he's in your living room again. This time, though, things are different.

Rating: E (+18)

Word Count: 8,600~

🖤American Horror Story🖤

James Patrick March 🔪

Heartsick

Synopsis: When you fall ill, James is given a forceful awakening about how he’s been neglecting your needs and what he must do to prevent harm from befalling you again.

Rating: M (16+)

Word Count: 3700~

In Sickness And In Health

Synopsis: Normally people don’t have their wedding and funeral on the same day, but you and James don’t quite have a normal relationship, do you? Besides, you wouldn’t wanna go any other way.

Rating: E (18+)

Word Count: 5500~

Jimmy Darling 🦞

Red Nights In Jupiter

Synopsis: At the end of another long day, you fall into bed with Jimmy Darling. The men you served throughout the day don’t matter then, nor do the coins in the mason jar by the door, or the women scheduled to attend Jimmy’s next Tupperware party. No, in that quiet darkness it’s just you and the man you love, bone-tired and happy to be home. Who could ask for more?

Rating: M (16+)

Word Count: 3000~

#jac rambles #fanfiction

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