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goddessofwaifus · 4 years

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No one has done Dragon ball super characters playing Among us so I'll do it!

Goku is first

Sticks with Chi chi the whole round

If imposter, won't know what to do and accidentally clicks buttons

He's the good impostor.

When told what to do, he get sad

Baby doesn't wanna kill

He wants to help like a good boy

If crewmate, he's the first to get killed because he trusts too much

His main skin would be orange with an egg hat and a mini crewmate

Always caught but because he doesn't know how to play, everyone either skips or votes someone else out because of guilt

"How do i use vents like [insert color name] did?"

Very clueless no matter what his role is

Won't kill but will sabotage

Goes for lights or reactor based off what Chi-Chi tells him

Chi-Chi

Sticks with Goku the whole round

Watches his back when doing tasks

If someone tries to kill him first, she lets them kill her first to give Goku a chance to run away

If imposter, she kills everyone else but her husband and son.

Won't go down without a fight

She's pretty good at covering her tracks as imposter

Gets tasks done first as crewmate

Will follow Goku around and protect him as he does tasks

Carries if her and goku are both imposters

Makes sure that Goku isn't sussed so they can win

Very competitive

Her skin is purple

Gohan

Doesn't like being imposter

Tries to play it strategically

Plans everything and plays detective whether imposter or crewmate

Accidentally gives himself away if imposter

Guesses imposter right every time as crewmate

"Do your tasks everyone! We can do this!"

Instant report if body is found but gets sussed and thrown out because self report is sus

Protects videl even if imposter

Tells his teammate not to kill her or his dad and mom

Responsible crewmate but kinda bad at imposter

His skin is white with a mini crewmate

Is always with videl

Always leads the discussions with Bulma as the assist

Goes off who was closest and who was last seen with the dead crewmate

Evidence or skip

If the crew is less than half, he suggests a buddy system to prevent anymore deaths

If done with tasks, will chill in cams or security

Always checks vitals to keep track of everyone

Good boi 2.0

Android 17 & 18

Ultimate imposter combo

Are never sussed by everyone

Precise and clean kills

16 will kill krillin without hesitation

18 will be angry with her brother

Vent plays

Never caught

Always win as imposters

Diligent crewmates

Will report bodies

17 won't report krillin's body if dead

Finish tasks or figure out the imposter

Their skins are green and pink

17 has a pet

18 has a mini crewmate for marron

Yamcha

Second to die after Goku

Always voted out

Always sussed regardless of innocent or not

Gets voted out because too many emergency meetings or keeps finding bodies

Bad imposter

usually carried in kills

Not good at faking tasks

Always caught after kills

His skin is orange with the dum sticky on his face

Everyone doesn't believe him

'Useless crewmate'

Vegeta is usually the one who kills him first.

If not vegeta, then Bulma

Bulma

Like gohan, she calculates

Smart as imposter and crewmate

Detective bulma if gohan has been killed

Smooth kills

Kills yamcha first if vegeta doesn't do it

Covers for her imposter teammate

Vent and stealth kills

Great at faking tasks

Great liar

Always has a backup plan

Will derail discussion if sussed by the crew

Her and chi-chi are ultimate imposter team #2

Doesn't care what color her skin is, just as long as she has the lab coat

Vegeta

Never killed first

If imposter, run

Is very sloppy with his kills

Bulma third imposters for him

Kinda diligent crewmate?

Does half his tasks before running off to find Bulma

Saves electrical for last

"It wasn't me you fucking idiot!"

Super defensive when accused

Hates the kill cooldown when it's set for too long

Hates how slow the characters run

Even if he's dead, you can still hear his angry screams and the sound of him going super saiyan before breaking his computer

Also super competitive

Him and chi-chi work surprisingly well as imposter duo

Him and goku are a disaster

Carries Goku

Screaming at his screen if Goku doesn't kill

His skin is dark blue

Videl

Nervous as imposter

Prefers to be crewmate

Never kills gohan

Also never kills

Gets kills off reactor or o2

Her skin is yellow

Never sussed

No one wants to vote her off if imposter so they skip vote

Follows gohan around and watches his back as crewmate

Likes the buddy system

Tries to avoid being in stacks

Is sad if she gets killed

Has a 2 mini crewmates; one for gohan and one for pan

Plays for fun but still does tasks as ghost to help her team win

Beerus

Does tasks

Kinda watches everyone as he runs to do his next task

Will run for the emergency meeting button or the nearest body if chased by imposter

Sus of everyone

His skin is light blue with the cheese hat

Sometimes hangs with whis if he finishes tasks

Somehow always guesses imposter right every round

Walking lie detector

Keeps track of everyone and where they are

Surprisingly good imposter

Vent kills, dark kills, you name them, he's doing it

Whis and beerus make a good duo

Never voted off because everyone wants to live

Takes the game a bit too serious

Careful when killing and venting

Whis third imposters for him but will also throw him under the bus if he's the imposter

Everyone is shocked at how good he is with sabotaging

Sabotage doors

Sabotage lights

Patient kills

Sabotage everything

Lights and door go hand in hand

Messes with the lights when crew tries to fix them

Runs around when done with tasks

Gets angry if interrupted while doing long tasks

Kinda struggles with card swipe

Always survives as crewmate

How does this man avoid death??

When he does die, he's pissed and follows his killer around.

Tells whis who the killer is to avenge his death

Sometimes he goes to nap or get something to eat if he dies

Aggressive during discussions

Will not point fingers except at goku and Champa

Whis

Good crewmate and imposter

Finishes tasks then hangs out in cams to watch everyone

Third imposters for beerus for fun

Loves the chaos during discussions when everyone is pointing fingers

If it's good, he keeps important info while giggling as he's muted

Lives for the drama

Plans his kills

Good alibis

Great at lying

Never sussed

His skin doesn't matter to him as long as he has the halo every round

He favors white tho

Never kills the ones sus of him to keep suspicion away from him

Wins every time because he's the least suspect

Is fine with beerus being booted off if he's his imposter teammate

Good balance of speaking up and keeping quiet

Moderates discussions if they don't get anywhere

Bonus:

Champa

Uses the excuse "but my cheeks are too thicc to fit in the vent~"

Somehow it works every time!!

Vados third imposters just like whis but will also throw him under the bus for her own benefit if she's on a team with him

Bodies everywhere if him and beerus are a duo

His skin is red with a little top hat just because

Sometimes it's a cherry

Follows Vados around as crewmate

Expects Vados to watch his back and protect him as they do tasks

Gets separated from Vados by the doors and that's how he dies

Always killed in cafeteria

"Take that fatass!"

Screams in anger knowing that's his brother

Swears vengeance on him when he gets imposter

Vados backseats for him when he gets imposter, warning him of witnesses and when and when not to kill or vent

He's always sussed by his brother even when he's not imposter

Beerus somehow gets the majority vote on Champa

*screams into the void*

Very competitive

Doesn't do tasks

Always in security or cams

Vados

Same as whis,need i say more?

She'll throw Champa under the bus for her own benefit if she's on a team with him

Will sus her brother for funsies

Points fingers at her brother for fun

Just picks on her younger twin and champa

Will mess with Whis if done with tasks

Watches everyone and makes sure they're doing tasks

Her skin is black with a halo

Reports the body

Goes through a list of possible suspects

Detective team of three!

The imposter who never gets caught or suspected by anyone

Surprised pikachu meme when everyone finds out it was her at the end after they lose

Loves being imposter for the control

Hope you guys liked it! Thought i would put my take on it

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satoshi-mochida · 3 years

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Some thoughts on my last Gamefly rental, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.

*Though most people are familiar with DBZ, especially the three main Sagas in this game, given how often they’re played out in games, I’ll put a spoiler warning here just in case. Also, I didn’t try out the DLC stories, yet, so this will just be about the base PS4 game with it’s current updates. I may buy the game and try those out in the future. I also say a lot about the game.

The game spans from the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Buu Saga(not counting DLC). Pretty much every important scene is played through, though a few parts are skimmed over or skipped, like:

Goku traveling Snake Way, his brief fall into Hell, and training with King Kai(shown a bit and mentioned but not playable)

Piccolo using Hellzone Grenade against Android 17(you can have him learn the move and do it yourself, though).

Future Trunks’ battle with Cell where he found out the speed-loss disadvantages of Super Saiyan Third Grade(that moment isn’t shown or mentioned, though he does still fight Cell in that form)

Vegito still attacking Super Buu after being turned into candy(which means we don’t get to see him beating Super Buu up as a high-speed jawbreaker). Also, Goku and Vegeta freeing everyone trapped inside Super Buu happens offscreen.

And possibly a few smaller moments. They aren’t too important in the long run, though, plus some were probably for better pacing or something.

There was some added stuff, too:

Several times, you’ll be able to meet, and occasionally do sidequests for, several older Dragon Ball characters, like Nam, Eighter and Launch.

A new fight for Goku against Kid Buu to end the main story before he launches the Super Spirit Bomb at him.

There's a fairly small amount of playable characters(who can also be put in a party as Support Members):

Goku

Gohan

Vegeta

Piccolo

Future Trunks(Android/Cell Saga and Epilogue, only)

Gotenks(only in two battles against Super Buu)

Vegito(in one battle against Super Buu, which, considering how powerful Vegito is, is more of an epic beatdown than a fight)

And a few characters that are support only:

Krillin

Tien

Yamcha

Chiaotzu

Goten

Kid Trunks

Android 18

All characters, Main and Support Only, have a ‘Super Attack Skill Tree’ that you can use Z Orbs that you find/earn to give them new skills and attacks. What you can get increases based on the character’s level and story progress(example, you can’t get Super Saiyan 2 for Gohan until he unlocks it during the fight with Perfect Cell).

Throughout the game, you’ll collect ‘Soul Emblems’ to place onto several ‘Community Boards’ to increase various ingame bonuses, like more EXP or cooking benefits. You get Soul Emblems both from the main story and side quests. They can be leveled up with Gifts to increase the Community Level, giving more bonuses. This seems to be the best setup for all of the emblems that I found.

At campfires and at Goku’s House, you can make food from items/materials you have to give yourself a stat boost. And Chi-Chi can be asked to make the party Full Course Meals at her home, which also increase the Base Stats of whoever eats them.

A certain filler episode from the original series where Goku and Piccolo are forced to get a Driver's License also happens in this game(though unfortunately without the outfits they wore in said episode). After doing so, you unlock the ability to make cars and battle walkers from Bulma, as well as Time Attacks for both types of vehicles(which I didn’t do much of).

Like the first Budokai game, this one has story’s events shown in cutscenes, which the later ones just had them happen in dialogue to speed things along, probably. And they did a really good job of animated said scenes, matching the look and feel of the series VERY closely.

The flying also feels well done, and true to the series. Aside from flying normally, which is fairly slow, you can hit L3 to start flying faster, at the cost of your Ki slowly going down and not being able to sense Ki with R1. This is the best way to travel the the large maps. Goku and Gohan can also use the Flying Nimbus, though you can’t pick up items that you need to hit Circle while doing so. Also, ramming into weaker enemies while flying will defeat them instantly and give you EXP. It’s a bit hard to aim yourself at enemies correctly, sometimes, though.

Going underwater functions the same as flying, except with an air meter to keep an eye on. If it runs out, you get kicked back above where you entered the water as the only penalty. Take a peek down under whatever bodies of water you find; there’s always stuff to see and collect, depending on the map, especially on maps with oceans.

You can also dash on the ground by hitting L3, and unlike when flying, you can still sense Ki while doing so.

I feel like this game’s flying controls are about what it should feel like for a Superman game. Probably might need a few tweaks to fit more with that series, but this feels like a good base for that kind of game.

The game’s many maps are pretty large, with lots to see and explore, including towns, caves that you need to be a certain level to enter, materials to gather, fishing spots, and more. They include plenty of well known DBZ locations, insulting Kame House(and the ocean around it), West City and Capsule Corp., Korin’s Tower and Kami’s Lookout, and so on.

Floating around these maps are enemies you can fight. They grow in strength as you do/the story progresses. If you’re strong enough and are fast-flying when running into an enemy, you’ll defeat it and gain EXP right away.

Speaking of Korin’s Tower, you can eventually unlock the ability to grow Senzu Beans there, which fully heal you. Once they’re unlocked, they will gradually grow and can be collected from Korin, with a Senzu Bean icon appearing next to it on the World Map if there’s any available. He will hold up to 9 at once, so check back once in a while.

Fishing is pretty easy to do; just hit one of the face buttons(X, Triangle, Square and Circle) when the marker is in a marked area, then hot one again when the closing circle is within another marked circle(this might make more sense when you see it yourself). You’ll get items for cooking from fishing, and some sidequests need them, or just certain types of fish, to clear. An amusing detail when fishing is that Goku and Gohan, even when he’s a teenager, use a fake tail as a lure while Vegeta and Piccolo fish like normal people(I forgot to check and see what Future Trunks does, but probably the latter).

After clearing the Frieza Saga, you can collect the Dragon Balls on Earth during Intermissions. They give off a small orange slow when sensing for Ki, and you’ll hear a low humming sound when you’re close to one. You can get several different wishes from them, with three of them always being for Z Orbs, Zeni or Rare Material Items. Other wishes are reviving certain dead characters to fight them again, and can only be done once, unlike the three listed above. At first, you can only make 1 wish at a time, but as the game goes on, it gets upgraded to 2 then 3 wishes at once. After making a wish(s), you ‘ll need to wait 20 ingame minutes before the Dragon Balls can be found and used again. They seems to have a couple set locations on whatever map they end up on(two locations are west of Orange/Satan City, for example).

Speaking of Mr. Satan...I know that his actually Japanese stage name, but I always end up calling him Hercule due to hearing that for so many years(and just liking how that sounds better). Also, ‘Satan City’ just sounds really funny. XD

You probably won’t need to really grind in the base game; you should get enough experience from doing sidequests and story events to get by. Gohan especially; he ended up quite a few more levels than everyone else just from the story EXP alone, and his Unleashed Potential ‘form’ from Elder Kai makes him do quite a lot more damage. Also, gained experience is shared among all party members, even those not currently set to fight.

One of the sidequests you can do throughout the game is defeating ‘Villainous Enemies’, who are fairly strong, and are covered in a red aura. You should at least be at or around their level before fighting them, since you can’t run from fights in this game. It may be best to do them during Intermissions when you can select your party members, and bringing someone who can stun with Solar Flare(like Krillin), can be really helpful.

In the epilogue/postgame, in addition to being able to play as Future Trunks(talk to him outside of Capsule Corp.), you can also use his time machine to redo Boss fights, and do any sidequests you may have missed.

The game’s opening has the old opening for the show, ‘Cha-La-Head-Cha-La”, and this is the first time I really listened to it. It’s really good, and kind of reminds me of the opening to Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, too, for some reason.

There’s a few parts where there’s some nice attention to the series’ details:

At several story points when Saiyan characters are healed, like with Senzu Beans or the healing pod on Namek, they gain experience, while others, like Krillin, don’t get that bonus, which does make them, admittedly accurately, start lagging behind in strength.

If you use Ki Sense on Androids, and a certain researcher in Capsule Corp., you won’t see anything emitting from them.

If you have Piccolo and/or Android 18 in your party while eating a Full Course Meal from Chi-Chi, they won’t eat any of it. Saiyan characters(again, forgot to check Future Trunks) eat it ravenously(even Vegeta), while human party members eat normally.

Only Goku and Gohan can use the Flying Numbus.

These aren’t really important observations, but some events in the game made me think:

Did Piccolo destroying the Moon to stop Gohan’s Great Ape form have any effects on Earth? Or did nothing really happen?

How in the world did Supreme Kai and Babidi survive being so close to Majin Vegeta when he used Final Explosion while Piccolo and Krillin hightailed it out of there with Goten and Kid Trunks?

I noticed a possible(intentional) goof at the end. In the cutscene after beating Kid Buu and going back to Kami’s Lookout to reunite with everyone, Dende is a kid again for some reason. Apparently, both the original anime and manga made this goof too, so maybe it’s a nod to that? It is kind of jarring, though. XD

A couple technical issues I found were that sometimes when loading a map, and in some battles later on, the game would hang for a couple seconds, and one time it crashed while it was loading into an area after traveling to another. Thank goodness for autosave. Also, be careful using the stronger version of Goku’s Spirit Bomb attacks; it caused major lag for me a couple times.

This ended up being one of my favorite DBZ games that I’ve played, close runners up including

Budokai 3

Budokai Tenkaichi 2(mainly for just how many characters that one has, including most of the movies from around that time, outmatched by Budokai Tenkaichi 3, which I didn’t play)

Legacy of Goku 2(I didn’t get the chance to play Buu’s Fury back then)

Next game being sent is: Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel

#Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot #Dragon Ball Z #Thoughts on my rentals

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tobiasdrake · 3 years

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Goku and Chi-Chi: The Ace Marriage?

So there's a LOT of discourse surrounding a gag from Dragon Ball Super in which Goku, a man who has been married for decades, reacts with confusion and disgust towards Trunks delivering a Senzu to Mai through a kiss.

Some people liked this gag because "Haha Stupid Goku". Some people hated this gag because it seems completely unreasonable that Goku, having been married for years and pumped out two crotch-spawn, has never even heard of kissing before. But what I find interesting about this joke is not just what it says about Goku, but also what it says about Chi-Chi.

Dragon Ball tends to treat Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage as more of a contractual cohabitation than a loving, doting relationship between two people who can't exist without being in eyeshot of one another. Outside of something like an occasional anime filler episode such as the lead-up to the Cell Games, we see very little actual passion between the two.

When Vegeta needs a reason to lose himself to blind fury, the villain hurts Bulma. When Goku needs one, the villain hurts Krillin.

And, bizarrely enough, that makes sense. It's not a criticism of their marriage to say that it's largely passionless because here's the thing: neither Goku nor Chi-Chi is in their marriage because of any strong feeling they have for the other. To understand Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage, you need to understand where it's coming from.

American fans starting the series at Raditz are at a disadvantage here, because we were introduced to the status quo of Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage long before we even knew who these characters were. I do believe that there is, among some Dragon Ball fans, a desire to treat Goku and Chi-Chi as a typical marriage because that's what we thought before we were given a chance to know better.

But their marriage isn't normal. It's never been normal. Their marriage is a hollow mimicry of a heteronormative romance because that's all they ever wanted out of it.

To understand their marriage, you need to understand Chi-Chi. As a little girl, Chi-Chi naturally had a child's understanding of romance based entirely on things she'd read. She was a kid trying to figure out who she was supposed to be and what the trajectory of her life should be; we've all been there.

As a child, Goku had a particular quirk. He was horribly ignorant of many things that most of us learn by his age, and one of those things was gender. Goku devised a method for discerning a person's gender by patting their genitals to see if they had testicles; a method that was hilariously inappropriate then and is even more problematic today.

Goku eventually learned enough about visual differences between men and women that he could stop molesting every person he meets, but not before he met Chi-Chi and, uh, checked her gender.

Chi-Chi's first reaction was violent outrage. Her second reaction was heteronormative troll logic. See, Goku touched her private place. And based on the values she'd read and internalized, the only reason for a man to touch her private place is because he is the one true love who will wed her. Therefore, Goku is the boy she is to marry when she comes of age.

Chi-Chi made it official right before Goku left to continue his adventure by offering Goku her hand. Goku was extremely confused by this gesture, answering that he has no idea what she's talking about but if she's offering to give him something, he'll take it. Goku didn't think anything more of this exchange, and he never went back for Chi-Chi.

This is all just kids being kids, really. But the thing is: Chi-Chi never grew out of her juvenile understanding of romance. She clung to that childhood life trajectory: a story-book marriage to the boy who touched her private place that one time when she was young. Six years went by and she was still holding onto this as her purpose for existing.

It wasn't about Goku. She barely even knew him. It was about the heteronormative ideal. Chi-Chi pursued a husband and a house and children because that's what the books promised her. And it had to be Goku because he touched her crotch.

Six years later, Chi-Chi showed up to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai because she was angry that Goku had ghosted on her instead of fulfilling his obligation to come back and take her as his wife. And Goku still had no idea what she was talking about.

What Goku did have now was a support network to help him understand these things. Goku turned to Krillin and Yamcha for explanation, and they helpfully told him that a) taking someone's hand means marrying them, and b) marriage means that he and Chi-Chi are going to live together.

Recognizing that he did technically agree to that, Goku agreed to marry Chi-Chi and they walked arm-in-arm out of the ring. What Chi-Chi said directly after the fight is interesting; Goku tried to resist Chi-Chi grabbing on to him and she explained that couples are supposed to walk like that.

That is the crux of their marriage: for Goku, he agreed to live in the same place as Chi-Chi and he has more or less fulfilled that shallow promise. For Chi-Chi, their marriage is about the aesthetics of a heteronormative life, rather than about any actual romantic or sexual feelings she may or may not have for Goku. This is what their marriage is, with their main source of friction stemming from Goku's unwillingness to live according to the role Chi-Chi cast him in as her Working Man Breadwinner, and instead continuing to chase the hobby he built his entire life around.

And thus we return to "Goku hasn't heard of kissing". This joke is fascinating not just because of what it tells us about Goku, but because of what it tells us about Chi-Chi. It says that not only has Goku never kissed Chi-Chi, but that Chi-Chi has never even tried to kiss Goku.

I've heard people say that they hate this idea because it means Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage is a loveless sham. This seems like an odd take because love was never a factor in why they married in the first place. They're two people going through the motions of heteronormativity for little more reason than because it's what they thought they were supposed to do, and that's... interesting.

#dragon ball #son goku #chi chi #heteronormativity

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aotopmha · 3 years

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I've been revisiting early Dragon Ball (manga and anime) and the dissonance between the awkward sexualisation and the wholesome camaraderie is much more jarring than I remember it being.

It's like all of the wierd stuff is "inserted" in there in specific scenes and then the story resumes as normal once the specific scene is over.

The anime also makes it worse because it drags scenes out, while, in comparison, the manga has a more simplistic art style and generally keeps scenes pretty concise so it's not as bad.

If you are able to look past these very dated aspects of the story, I think you really do have something evergreen and wholesome in here.

The first arc is mostly episodic adventures and this is where most of the sexualisation is also front-loaded. I think this is where most people give up on the story.

Going back to it told me so loud and clear why I love Goku.

It's so clearly because pretty much every other character is a gross wierdo that ends up leading to some version of the same perverted joke – Roshi, Oolong and Yamcha.

It's so much of the same old joke over and over that Goku's innocence and subversive and charming reactions really stand out among them.

For what it's worth, I like that Bulma's character has bite and the assholery towards her is at least punished. Later on, there are jokes which use Roshi as the punching bag in return.

She's allowed to be a jerk and I think she's being a jerk for good reasons.

The clarity of the dialog and panelling is just refreshing, too. Many newer manga are all really cluttered and have really bloated dialog.

To move over to actual solidly written material, I love Krillin's character arc and Goku's growth in the first training (and subsequent tournament) arcs.

In the training arc, Krillin is portrayed as a jerk, but unlike what I remembered, it had nuance because Krillin is genuinely smart. Super's portrayal of his experience and smarts is actually really consistent.

His growth out of being a jerk and learning to stand up to himself was gradual – with occasional sweet moments sprinkled in to him being a jerk towards Goku to the point where in their first meeting Krillin was a complete jerk towards Goku and by the final fight of the tournament he's celebrating victories with him and sincerely worried about him.

It's really unexpectedly gradual.

There was just enough time spent on training and just enough time spent on the battles in the tournament.

I also forgot how rewarding it was to see Goku learn new things. Much of the narrative around Dragon Ball is that Goku is always the same, but there is very specific types of growth Goku goes through as I've mentioned when talking about Dragon Ball before.

He gradually learns how the world works around him and everything he learns, he learns to apply in some situation he finds himself in.

Be it energy conservation, application of techniques he sees or even the value of honest work – the lessons Goku learns from Roshi's training about working for his strength and there always being someone better than him returns in Korin's tower.

And this lesson is challenged once more in freaking Battle of Gods.

Goku is a much more fully realised character than people give the story credit for.

But he also finds his passion in martial arts. He actually didn't really have any interest in becoming one at the start of the story. And even after the tournament and his fight with Roshi, his main goal remained to find the Four Star Dragon Ball.

It's his grandpa Gohan who encouraged him to grow stronger when he met him again. But this gradually changed and by the end of the tournament with Piccolo Jr, Goku spared him because he wanted to fight him again.

Basically, Goku's arc is about gaining direction, knowledge and principles of his own and it is actually very rewarding and is probably the main reason why I kept watching every day back when I was a kid.

All of his strength and wisdom is very much actually earned through years of training and adventures.

For now I made it through to the end of the Red Ribbon Army arc. I'm really genuinely excited for continuing this revisit.

I appreciate how the story allows the characters to be wrong and do bad and then use all of that as a springboard to develop them.

Dated elements aside, I did not expect this to be as much of a breath of fresh air as it was.

You don't need to have walls of text and countless flashbacks to have meaningful and rewarding character growth.

It's really solid stuff. Man I wish it didn't have that dated baggage, though.

#Dragon Ball #DB #Goku #Son Goku #Krillin

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the-original-b · 3 years

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Archangel Chapter 9: Mergers and Acquisitions

Format: Prose / Fiction, multi-entry

Part in Series: 1 of 9 (The Story So Far | The Beginning)

Word Count: c. 4,000

Summary: Now a contractor for the Marlow Partners Northeast Regional headquarters, Specialist Krueger recognizes the emergence of a disturbing trend in the field.

Warning(s): blood, violence, drug use

He released his hands from around her neck when she finally stopped struggling as he stood up to look down at her and study her chest, looking for stillness to indicate she wasn’t breathing anymore. When satisfied he ran his fingers first through the pockets of her hoodie, then her pants to find what he was after—a tiny bag half-filled with a chalky substance resembling powdered drywall.

He emptied the contents of the bag into a bent spoon and held a butane torch to its bottom, applying the heat in five-second intervals so as to only melt his prize down and not burn it, then placed a cotton ball into the puddle of fluid that had accumulated in the spoon. He applied his syringe to the cotton ball to draw the liquid out, inspected it, and stuck the needle into his arm to depress the plunger and lose his senses.

He hadn’t felt the suppressor can when Milo Krueger, clad in a dark turtleneck sweater and tactical pants, arrived later and pressed the muzzle of his .45 ACP Colt Government against the back of his head, and didn’t protest when he thumbed back the hammer, tilted the handgun a little and squeezed the trigger. With his other gloved hand he caught the spent brass mid-flight and hung onto it a while to cool before placing it into his coat pocket and holstering his weapon. He turned his attention to the other body in the room and sat down on the bed next to it to study the poor girl’s pale face and lifeless expression, fearing the worst.

He un-gloved one of his hands to rest the backs of his fingers on her forehead, and pulled it back when he felt just how much cooler her skin was than his; confirming he was far too late to do anything to save her.

“Verdammt,” he exhaled, sitting at the foot of the bed she laid upon. He reached into his inside coat pocket to find his phone and dial her number. “It’s me,” Krueger said soon after she answered. “I found her.”

In his mind’s eye, he could see Elizabeth Khai straighten up in her chair at the news. “Can you get her out?” she asked.

“Not going to happen,” he continued, looking back down at her.

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Shit…” Khai sighed on the other end of the line. “I’ll talk to Isaac and let him know what happened,” she conceded. “Come back to the branch, he’ll want to hear it from you.”

“Understood.” Krueger shut the phone and returned it to his coat pocket before standing up again. He looked down at the girl one last time and offered her a silent apology before turning for the exit.

On his way out he took another glance at the man he just executed, and spotted track marks and bruises running up the length of his left arm. Directly below his fingertips was a syringe half-full of a cloudy solution.

He’d seen that same substance in half-depleted syringes enough times over the last few months to recognize the emerging trend and deduce the circumstances behind the homicide. He would address this when he returned to the branch.

~~~~

Krueger stepped through the glass doors of the office and made his way to the conference room, where he knew Khai and Hayden would be that afternoon.

“Hi, Mr. Krueger,” Danielle said from behind her desk. “They’re just wrapping up another meeting, you can head right in.”

He offered her a nod. “Danke,” he added. He made his way through the hallway and stepped through the double doors, then quietly sat himself down by the foot of a long table in the center of the room as Khai and Isaac Hayden conferred with another person at the other end. Hayden and the other person he didn’t recognize were standing as they talked while Khai sat.

“With respect, Mr. Hayden,” the other man presented his case, “my guys aren’t super comfortable with the idea of being monitored twenty-four-seven. They’ve always found their own pace; that’s when they do their best work.”

“And what kind of work is it they’re doing, Mr. Leo?” Hayden enquired. “I haven't seen a report from your group in months now, have I?” He wore a dark gray pinstriped suit and white shirt with a rosewood red tie and pocket square. “Can I trust that you can maintain control over your operation from a distance?”

“Of course you can,” Leo snapped. “My guys are rock solid, I got no problem letting them do their thing. But they can’t perform the way they have been if your people are watching them all the time, that’s all I’m saying.”

“It’s not supervision,” Hayden lectured, “it’s reassurance. We all know how it is you've made your fortune; nobody here is in the dark on what goes on at the street level. But I remain unconvinced that you’re willing to leave your past behind… and your judgement on the matter is no longer considered sound.”

Leo recoiled, visibly offended by what Hayden said. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means your two weeks’ notice has been filed and processed. It will take me some time to find a suitable replacement for you, and you may continue your work as usual during the interim. But the next time you and I speak, it will be about the process of transition.” He gestured the exit, dismissing him. “You can let yourself out, Mr. Leo.”

Leo briefly clenched his fists, then loosened them as he turned away from Khai and Hayden and headed past Krueger toward the door.

When Leo was gone, Krueger stood up and approached the other two people in the room.

“Miss Khai made me aware of what happened this morning in the Rockaways,” Hayden said as he turned to address Krueger. “I’ve sent my condolences to the mother and father, and made burial arrangements.”

Krueger nodded. “There was another syringe there,” he said. “Narcotics.”

“Dragon Tears,” Khai confirmed, standing to match the other men in the room with her and freeing one hand from her note pad to adjust her glasses. She wore a navy blue skirt suit with black tights and round-toe pumps, her hair down past her shoulders. “The new deluxe heroin that’s dominated the headlines all over the East Coast as of late.”

“Is this us?”

Khai hesitated a little. “Not directly,” she said. “We levy steep fees to allow the stuff into the Tri-state, but none of our people distribute. Mr. Hayden is adamant about that.”

“You may not agree with our handling of the material, Mr. Krueger,” Hayden explained, “but understand—it is simply too profitable an opportunity to pass… and our, regulation, doubles as quality control for both the vendors and their clientele.”

Krueger nodded, keeping his disapproval to himself. “I see…” He gestured the exit, referring to Leo. “And your last conversation?”

“Tyson Leo was a small-time dealer,” Khai elaborated. “Until he got connected with a supplier of the Dragon Tears and expanded his network to encompass all of southeastern Long Island. That’s when he showed up on my radar. At first, Mr. Hayden and I let him keep the drugs in exchange for forty percent of what he makes from them. But now that we’ve folded him in formally, we ordered him to walk away from the drugs.”

“Mr. Leo is a capable leader,” Hayden added, “respected among his peers, but he's restricted by his myopic aspirations. I had hoped he could rise above the chaff and prove himself superior to his associates; I was wrong. The goal of becoming a narcotics kingpin was too deeply rooted in his actions for him to change his ways…” Hayden gathered his coat and slipped it on over his suit. “But there may yet be a way forward,” he mused. “You’ll head to Patchogue tonight, Mr. Krueger. Observe his den from a distance and report what you see.”

Again, Krueger kept his objections to himself. “Understood.”

“You and I will speak soon. Good day to you both.” Hayden exited the conference room, leaving Khai and Krueger alone with each other.

Khai placed her pen and pad on the table top after Hayden had left the room. “I guess that means we’ll need a rain check for our dinner plans.”

“So scheint es,” Krueger noted. He offered her a sorrowful smirk. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I know you will,” Khai said. She shot him a wink before turning to head toward her desk. “I’ll have CJ meet you in the armory downtown,” she continued as she took her seat. “He talked about updating our inventory and replacing a few things, so I let him order a small shipment to field test. I would very much appreciate your help with that.”

“Do you think I’ll run into much trouble on a recon assignment?”

“Nothing you can’t handle,” she noted with a mischievous smirk, lacing her fingers together and resting her forearms on the desk top.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll see what Young Mr. Silvio has for me.” Krueger took his leave, allowing Khai to finalize the funeral arrangements for the girl.

~~~~

Krueger inspected and approved of the reconnaissance equipment when he made it to the armory later that afternoon. “Miss Khai said you’re updating the inventory here?” he said.

“Yep,” CJ replied. “Figure if this place is one of my responsibilities, I’d better make sure it’s up and running without a hitch.”

“Agreed,” he noted, leaning against a workstation and crossing his arms, “but having your associates learn a set of completely new and unfamiliar tools at this point is far from advantageous.”

“Well, that’s why you’re here,” he jested. “To teach us your ways, impart your knowledge. Besides, this is a new branch, Krueger. A new branch needs a new armory. Speaking of which…” CJ Silvio reached up and pulled one of the new arrivals from the wall—a polymer framed handgun resembling a cross between a Glock 17 and a HK P30. “Steyr M,” he said, handing it to Krueger to inspect. “Nine millimeter. The sights are supposed to be better than the competition, and they’re cheaper than Five-sevens.”

Krueger familiarized himself with the feel and weight of the weapon. He held the weapon in a weaver stance and looked down the sights, making sense of the unfamiliar picture composed of a trapezoidal rear notch and triangular front blade. “Suppressor?”

“You bet.” He handed Krueger a suppressor and a pair of fifteen-round magazines. “Let me know how it goes, yeah?”

Krueger attached the can to the end of the handgun and looked down the sights again, dry-firing to get a sense of the trigger weight. “Ja.” He accepted both magazines, sliding one into the handgun and engaging the safety. He placed the other in one of the pockets of his pants before heading for the exit.

~~~~

Krueger observed a one-story house on Carman Street through his binoculars from behind his windshield, the directional microphone resting on the car roof pointed toward the house. Even at this hour the crowds were gathered in force a few blocks north on Main Street, hopping from bar to bar as they satisfied their fleshly desires. He found a measure of solace in the fact that he still had a few short years to go before his daughter Victoria would spend any amount of time or money in this town—and if she did, it would be on Main Street, not at some drug den.

He watched and listened for hours, the microphone’s earbud in one ear and his communicator in the other. “Leo hasn’t come out of the house since he got there,” he said into the receiver. “He’s in with four other men his age.”

“His lieutenants,” Hayden surmised. “Have they had other visitors?”

“Food delivery… and UPS.” Krueger watched the door and partially obscured windows for any sign of activity that would confirm or deny Hayden’s suspicions; whatever shadows he could see through them weren’t giving him any clues. He watched in silence until a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt came into view and walked up to the door. “Hold on,” Krueger noted. “I might have something…”

The person in the hoodie—Krueger couldn’t tell from this distance whether it was a man or woman—knocked on the door four times. Then the door was cracked open a tiny bit, and the hooded figure tried to discreetly hand the person on the other side of the door a crumpled fistful of dollar bills before the door shut. Krueger saw right through it; this person was buying something.

The door opened again and the hooded person accepted a bag of powder from the one behind it. The hooded person took the bag and stepped away from the house, stuffing it in his or her pants pocket as he or she did, then headed down the street toward wherever he or she would spend the night.

“You were right to suspect Mr. Leo,” Krueger commented. “Someone just bought drugs from the house.”

Krueger heard Hayden sigh on the other end. “Then I believe it’s time to shut him down… Scuttle the operation,” he ordered.

“And Leo?”

“Crew expendable.”

Krueger only had a moment’s pause before reaching up through the moon roof to retrieve the directional microphone and put the binoculars away. “Understood.” He deactivated his communicator and shut the engine off, then reached into his coat for his handgun to disengage the safety and chamber the first round. He exited the car and strode down half the block to the house.

When he arrived, he knocked on the door four times at the observed frequency, then drew his weapon and held its muzzle against the door. As soon as the knob twisted and the door opened a little, held by a chain lock, Krueger pressed his weight against the door to hold it open while he fired twice through the door into the person standing behind it. He kicked the door free, knocking the wounded person to the floor before raising his gun and finishing him with two more shots.

Krueger turned his attention toward one other person scrambling for cover behind a doorway, raised his weapon, and put him down with a single well-placed shot. He proceeded deeper into the house, peering around the corner into the kitchen area and dropping the two people there with accurate shots placed between Ziploc bags of off-white powder and triple beam balance scales resting on the table.

He listened for more movement around him, and hearing none, proceeded deeper into the house. He went room to room hunting Leo, and found him curled up on a mattress on the floor, passed out with a depleted syringe in his hand. Krueger raised his gun one-handed, hesitating for a moment before lining up the sights and squeezing the trigger to execute him.

“Weak,” he commented, lowering the weapon.

Krueger returned his gun to the holster and placed his hands in his coat pockets as he walked back down the hallway to the front door, careful not to place his step in the growing puddles of blood on the floor as he headed out the house and back down Carman Street to his car. He entered the vehicle and sat down behind the wheel, starting the engine and fishing his phone out of his inside pocket to report to Hayden as he drove off.

~~~~

Krueger keyed open his front door and stepped into his home in Rego Park when he arrived an hour later. He hung his coat and weapon holster on the rack in the corner next to Khai’s and sat down on the adjacent bench to remove his boots as Khai addressed him from his kitchenette, the evening news on in the background.

“How was Patchogue?” she said from behind her laptop screen.

“Messy,” he replied as he stepped out of his boots and lifted his turtleneck sweater off himself, revealing a black A-shirt which his lean athletic frame filled perfectly. “Had to close business… I tested Silvio’s new arrival,” he added as he walked up to her. “It worked very well.”

“Well,” she noted, standing to greet him in an oversized sweater and a pair of leggings, “he’s grown a lot since Williamsburg. I’d expect no less.” She properly greeted him by wrapping one arm around his neck and planting a string of long kisses on his mouth as she ran her other hand through his hair. These days he had allowed his military fade haircut to grow a little, and it took on a messier look which she liked.

Krueger returned her affections in kind, holding her close by her waist as he kissed her.

When they broke contact, Khai noticed an expression she hadn’t seen in his eyes in a long time—doubt. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Leo,” he said after a brief pause.

“That bad, huh?”

“Hayden was right to suspect him. He was dealing; I called it in, and he had me wipe them out. And I did without a second thought.”

“It can’t be the first time you cleaned up a heroin den.”

“Far from it, but it was never… an associate.” He stopped himself from saying one of his own.

Khai nodded, understanding exactly where his objection came from. She reached back up and rested her hand on his cheek “It never feels right when it’s somebody we work with,” she said, “and Isaac wouldn’t have given you the order if there were any other way.” Her hand rested on his chest now, feeling the pulse of his beating heart. “You did the right thing, Milo. I promise.”

“Suppose I’ll have to trust your judgement there,” he added resting his hand on top of hers.

“I’ve been right so far, haven’t I?” she jested, reclaiming her seat.

“Well, there was that one thing with Osiris,” he added, matching her tone. He went to the kitchen to fix himself a plate of the food she’d prepared.

“It worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“Sure it did,” he chuckled. He placed himself down across the table from her as he ate, turning his attention to the news behind her. “Vas ist das?” he queried.

“Hm?” Khai followed his gaze to the television behind her. “Oh, they’re following a story about PMC operators in a few cities across the country.”

“A private military company here in the States?”

“Yep. Castle Security Solutions,” she said, turning her laptop around for him to see. “They’ve grown like a weed since U.S. Armed Forces starting pulling out of combat zones across the world. In the early days they’ve replaced the troops in those areas of the world where there was still work available, but recently they started providing additional support for law enforcement. You know, ‘handling the more dangerous parts so the guys and girls in blue can protect and serve.’ So it goes.”

“Do you believe any of that?”

Khai shrugged. “As a citizen, I can’t dispute the results they’ve achieved in the cities they’ve been deployed—Detroit, Memphis, Albuquerque…”

“But as controller of the Branch?” Krueger suggested, placing a forkful of beef and broccoli in his mouth.

“A private militarized police force, with no obligation to anything but the bottom line… that can sink us. Such a presence wouldn’t be caught up in the same bureaucratic obstacles as the regular police that allow organizations like the Marlow Partners to operate just outside of what’s legal. Criminal justice staples like warrants and probable cause will be thrown out for ideals like unfounded suspicion, hearsay, and personal grudges.” She shuddered as she considered the implications of what she just said. “I like to think it’ll never happen in New York but still,” she continued, reclaiming Krueger’s heterochromatic eyes. “I can’t shake the feeling that we’re just one bad deal away from signing our own death warrants… We’ll have to be extra careful, going forward.”

~~~~

A man in dark slacks and a white shirt pulled his SUV as close to the crime scene as he could get, then stopped the engine and stepped out of the vehicle. He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his topcoat as he ducked below the police tape and approached the house on Carman Street, illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights of first responders.

Some uniformed officers took eyewitness statements as crime scene investigators took photos of the scene. The man in the coat wove between them as he made his way to the kicked-in door and peered inside, noting the body with four bullet wounds laid out in the foyer, already marked and noted by the investigators.

“Hey,” one of the officers got his attention. “Can I help you somehow?” His uniform sported a Sergeant’s stripes.

“Hey there,” the newcomer responded in a rich, gravelly baritone. “This your crime scene, Sergeant..?”

“Allers,” the officer said. “And yeah, it’s mine. Who did you say you were?”

“Peter Cross,” he said. “United States Government.” He quickly flashed Allers an ID and badge. “You know what this place was?”

“I heard rumors,” Allers said. “Some kind of heroin nest.”

“Looks like more than that to me.”

“And you know this based on your expertise?” Allers questioned. “I’m sorry, you said you were U.S. Government, right? Which agency, FBI? DEA?”

“Not really,” Cross said, shaking his head. “When the DEA shits the bed, I’m the guy they call to change the sheets.” He thumbed over his shoulder in the direction of the house. “Now I’ve seen enough of these dens to know a thing or two about them, so if you like,” he suggested as he took a few steps toward Allers, “I think it would be mutually beneficial for me to stick around for a little bit. Share some insight…” He grinned wryly at the other man.

Allers shrugged. “If you think we missed something, you’re welcome to take a second look Agent Cross.”

“Cool…” He gestured the open door. “Why don’t you show me inside, Sergeant Allers?”

“Follow me.” Allers led Cross to the kitchen area, where the drugs and money was being documented, collected, and marked as evidence. “At first we thought this was a typical gangland hit for the product and the money,” he explained, “but they usually don’t leave the goods behind in raids like that… doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

Cross looked around the room, noting the bodies beside them. He recalled the other one by the door as he played the events in his head as he deduced they played. He gestured the bags of contraband. “Is that what I think it is?”

“The super heroin? Looks like it, but we’ll have to wait for the lab results to be sure.”

“Uh-huh…” Cross leaned against the countertop as he rested his hands on his hips. He looked over to where the kitchen emptied into the central hallway leading to rooms he hadn’t seen yet. “How many bodies?”

“Five, the four you’ve seen plus one more in the master bedroom.”

“You ID any of them?”

“Yeah, we have IDs on all of them,” Allers noted. “These four are nobodies but the one in the master bedroom got our attention: Tyson Leo.”

“Leo..! Son of a bitch…” Cross snapped his fingers as he put the picture together. “Well you’re right about one thing, Sergeant—this was a hit. The work of a professional. Somebody here was out to make a point, not a profit… Share this with the rest of the Suffolk PD,” he suggested, standing up straight again. “This isn’t the first drug den I’ve been to in the last few weeks and I’m betting it won’t be the last.” He headed for the door. “And if I were a betting boy, this drug crisis is going to get a lot bloodier before it goes away.”

“And this is the year they cut our budget,” Allers scoffed, crossing his arms. “Figures.”

“Damn shame,” Cross added. “It would sure be nice if somebody were still around to do fill the gaps in that budget, no?”

(Masterlist | Chapter 10)

#fiction #original work #original content #original fiction #prose #short story #creative writing #drama #thriller #crime story

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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So I'm curious what are some character designs you love? Not from RWBY, but just i general. I'm the same anon who got you to check out Berserk and I'd say essentially all of the designs are done damn well. Fit the character. Changes that makes sense for growth. Also make sense given the setting. Even women in armor that doesn't have those massive boob plates. Good designs impact so much subconsciously to have much we enjoy other aspects of a story.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked my never-ending need to praise Yu Yu Hakusho! :D

This long, picture-laden post needs two disclaimers going forward:

I’m not an artist. In the sense that I’m not a visual artist who knows anything about what makes character design good from a technical/community approved standpoint. This is purely based on my own, personal reaction to a beloved series.

Connected to that, I’m going into this under the assumption that people might really disagree with me (?). Based on the cartoons and anime that I see praised for character design, I don’t think YYH fits whatever list more knowledgeable viewers are pulling from. But I’m gonna lay out my thinking anyway!

Major spoilers for Yu Yu Hakusho below.

Alright let’s do this.

First off, when people start talking character design they often reference how cool a character is. Which makes sense. You want a character to be visually engaging and distinct. Something that makes you go “Wow!” whenever you look at them. However, one of the things I love about the YYH cast is how normal they are. Because they’re supposed to be normal. The trope of the main character having a crazy hair color has become so prominent that we’ve got memes about it now and that works for a lot of stories. You know who is important because, despite the assumption that they’re average people not dying their hair, they stick out like a sore thumb among the rest of the cast.

However, normalcy is a really important part of YYH. The entire point at the start is that Yusuke is not special. He’s not unique. He’s a delinquent kid who most assume isn’t going anywhere in life. When he dies this doesn’t unlock some Super Special Backstory - you were innately amazing all along! - he just gets caught up in the plot because of a paperwork issue. The afterlife doesn’t know what to do with an asshole kid who unexpectedly saved another kid’s life so they just kind of... shuffle him around until he’s given another chance to live. Then he gets to pay back that second chance by becoming a Spirit Detective. Yeah, Yusuke is talented when it comes to fighting and spirit energy, but at the start that’s rarely emphasized outside of “He’s the best street fighter among no-name street fighters so really, it’s not impressive once you take Yusuke out of his tiny world of school parking lots and the occasional alleyway.” The takeaway is that he’s a dime-a-dozen troubled teen who got involved in the spirit world due to an impulsive act and a bunch of bureaucracy. Indeed, it’s a HUGE moment of emotional growth for Yusuke to realize that people do love him despite his supposedly average, unremarkable, and otherwise negative personality. His normal-ness - and others’ expectation that he could someday make himself great if he learns to work at it - is crucial to where Yusuke starts out. Making him visually distinct in terms of Anime Protagonist Looks would undermine a lot of that. This isn’t supposed to be a Super Special Kid Destined For Greatness. He’s just... a kid. A normal kid. A kid who has to work and learn and grow if he wants to make something of himself. So he gets black hair, brown yes, and a green school uniform. He’s pretty damn average looking.

Same with Kuwabara. Same with Keiko. Same with Atsuko. They’re just normal people going about their lives and I always appreciated that they looked the part. You can still easily tell them apart thanks to different hair colors, texture, jaw lines, and outfits, but none of them seem out of place in the average world they start out in. Which, as said, is crucial to a lot of YYH’s themes. The ones who look more visually distinct - Hiei and Botan - aren’t human. It makes sense that they wouldn’t obey these same average laws of the rest of the cast and they are our first taste of a world that, in terms of character design, will eventually get pretty wonderfully weird. They function as stepping stones.

This eventually becomes a story about the demon world and those demons wouldn’t come across as particularly scary/other if you begin the story with equally strange looking humans. Or even just “I don’t see people who look like that walking down the street” humans. Alongside many themes, there’s a contrast at work here. Yusuke stepping out into a stadium full of demons who despise him because of his species hits home when he is so clearly distinct from them. Suddenly, his normal is abnormal.

Once the ball gets rolling, Yusuke’s looks are constantly in contrast with both his environment and his inner self. He looks like a scary thug but then unexpectedly saves a life. He looks like an average human but is actually the strongest among a group of scary-looking demons. He looks like this badass spirit detective who everyone assumes with have an equally badass spirit beast but, uh...

Oh my god that’s a precious baby. By the time our cast is family and everyone accepts that Yusuke looks scarier than he actually is or ever was - once the core group is made up of not just humans but demon loving humans who are equally soft - we turn it all on its head again and reveal that Yusuke has demon blood. For the first time he looks as strange and powerful as he is. Yusuke’s normality is done away with the second he’s fully accepted his place in these worlds, throwing everything back into chaos.

Yusuke’s demon form becomes even more foreign looking when he’s being controlled by his ancestral father. The above is a Yusuke who is still Yusuke and in many respects the design reflects that: natural hair color, human body, tattoos easily covered up with a shirt. When he’s gone full Mazoku though, something dangerous, the white, wilder hair and change to his expressions ensure we read him as something feral. For the first time in the series Yusuke is truly the dangerous creature he’s pretended to be since his principal was running after him at school.

As a side-note about character costumes, we see this emphasis on normality in their outfits as well. Obviously a story like RWBY is limited by how much time/money they have for animation, but it nevertheless has an impact to see the group almost constantly in their battle gear. They’re never not the main characters of an action-fantasy show, not even while just out around town with no expectation of entering a fight.

In contrast, Yusuke and Kuwabara are often animated in everyday clothing that remind us that they’re really just teens trying to live their lives outside of this crazy nonsense. Kuwabara wasn’t even formally hired for all this! The cast wears sweaters and jackets while out and about. More formal clothes for special occasions. Jeans and t-shirts when they’re unexpectedly caught up in a fight because, you know, they’re not ready for battle every second of every day. They’re drawn like normal folks because, outside of the ring, they are.

(We’ve also got a lot of parallels between Yusuke and Kuwabara’s civilian clothing, visually reminding us that they’re far more alike than they might be willing to admit.)

Despite often changing outfits, the group maintains a basic color pallet that makes them recognizable, yet it’s also not so limited that they appear strange for sticking to one (1) color for the entire time we know them. Yusuke, like most people, is drawn to particular colors, mostly greens, yellows, and blues, so each time we see him he’s familiar while also being distinct from the last time he changed.

Hiei, as someone who initially wants nothing to do with anyone else and relies on assassin-like speed to take out his enemies, is dressed almost entirely in black. Without that bit of white in his scarf/hair you’d lose him in the shadows... which is the point.

When he opens up and actually becomes friends with the team, his color pallet starts opening up a great deal too.

And we’re shown all the little changes he starts incorporating that speak to his growth: his Jagan eye, a bandaged arm hiding his Dragon of the Darkness Flame, the necklace connecting him to Yukina.

I’ve blathered on about the outfits enough but as a quick final note: EVERYONE WEARS APPROPRIATE FIGHTING CLOTHES.

No one (even the women to my recollection) wear heels. Everything is loose-fitted and looks easy to move in. They’ve got sensible belts, bandages if they need them, and... that’s it. No unnecessary bells and whistles that distract from what’s supposed to be the story’s real draw: good fights and good characterization. Even the more elaborately styled characters (usually) look like they chose their outfits practically first and for the aesthetic after. At no point do I recall watching this show and going, “WHY would you wear that to a fight??”

Anyway, back to the designs.

The exceptions to either side of these extremes - from human normal to demon monstrous - are Genkai and Kurama, both of whom straddle the line. Genkai is someone who has pushed her spirit and body far past the norm. She’s the first human we meet who truly goes beyond that normality, even if you don’t immediately realize it. Her pink hair (such a soft color in her old age it’s not at all distracting) is a slight hint that something isn’t quite right with her. She’s obviously human... but not a normal human. Not anymore.

Those unnatural looks are emphasized in her youth when she was at the height of her power.

Genkai as a young woman has vibrantly pink hair (a bright pastel like Botan’s), a softer face, and far more emotive eyes. She looks ethereal, which fits not just her own journey to power but Togoru’s as well. Her story is intimately tied up in what that power does to the human body/soul. So Toguro starts out like this

a pretty normal looking guy who is on the far end of what the human body is naturally capable of. He’s buff as hell, but not so much that it looks unreasonable. I’ve seen body builders bigger than him. He’s the average (dehydrated...) MCU superhero. However, he ends up like this

In Togoru’s case his abnormality is explicitly presented as grotesque. Rather than giving him a cool looking characteristic that’s clearly supernatural (blue hair, an extra eye, curly horns, etc.), we’ve taken a human characteristic (muscles) and expanded them to an unnatural degree. He’s got some uncanny valley shit going on.

Paralleling Genkai, we likewise see Kurama subtly standing out among his human allies.

He’s a demon in a human’s body. By in-world logic his appearance should be just as normal as anyone else’s, but a bit of his true nature shines through. His hair is long in a style not popular in YYH’s Japan. His red is far less of a natural shade than Kuwabara’s. He carries himself with the air of someone who is ancient, because he is. His human design deliberately reflects his true demon form so when that’s finally revealed we still recognize him as Kurama.

(Same sort of work with Hiei’s demon form.)

When we look at the cast together we have an immediate, visual impression as to who is normal and who is not - and those assumptions are embedded into the story. Yusuke is someone you’d overlook in the crowd, but he’s the most powerful. Kurama is clearly other in some way, but he’s desperate to live an average, human life. Kuwabara is designed to look and move like the fool and a lot of his development (his and others’ in relation to him, really. Like Hiei) is built around respecting him despite those looks. Hiei is tiny but will kick your ass. Genkai is tinier and will kick your ass worse.

Her size combined with her age - combined with her status as Yusuke’s teacher - is a continuous reminder not to judge power by looks alone. Don’t underestimate your opponent and get overconfident (a major flaw of Yusuke’s). Know that you still have a LOT to learn about the world. That woman you assume is just a rude grandma? She’s going to break your expectations over and over and over again.

Speaking of size, that’s a major aspect of Koenma’s design as well. When Yusuke learns he’s meeting the head of the underworld he starts picturing a massive, demonic beast who (sensing a theme here) looks the part of a supernatural ruler. Seeing Koenma for the first time - an adorable toddler-like being - is an absolute shock.

It’s a gag for the audience, but it’s not just a gag. Due to his looks Yusuke is unable to take Koenma seriously, despite knowing the power he holds.

Which, even more-so than arrogance, is Yusuke’s greatest flaw throughout the series. He doesn’t take school seriously. His death seriously. Ruler of the underworld seriously. His teacher seriously, etc. Yusuke constantly acts like he doesn’t care, throwing basic respect and effort in the face of whatever authority figure is desperately trying to keep him from self-destructing. He’s on the receiving end of multiple speeches throughout the series (mostly from Genkai) that boil down to, “Care about something, dammit. Take this seriously!” and when he does it’s GREAT. It’s a moment of growth we’ve really built to in a hundred different ways, including how he reacts to others’ looks. Koenma’s design feeds directly into the primary flaw Yusuke is working to overcome. How will he go from a delinquent laughing in the face of the most powerful being to someone multiple worlds can put their trust in? Design assists with that.

When Yusuke does respect Koenma (even if he still insults/teases him because that’s just an ingrained part of Yusuke’s personality) Koenma’s appearance can change. It’s no longer serving its original function, so he evolves into a very good looking young man (with references to Tuxedo Mask to emphasize those good looks) that just... happens to still carry a pacifier.

A pacifier that is revealed as an incredibly powerful weapon that will help save the world. Again: don’t judge anyone or anything solely on their looks. They’re never precisely what you’d assume they are based on your first glance - with the exception of minor villains whose looks serve only to convey their villainy:

For everyone else, looks are complex. Two of the most different looking characters (color-wise anyway) are actually siblings, their contrasts reflecting both differing cultures and the emotional distance between them.

The scariest looking monsters are just paper-pushers. It’s the handsome humans you should watch out for.

And this is our hero, a man charged with protecting three worlds.

I could say SO MUCH MORE but this is already disgustingly long so basically YYH (I think) does a great job of:

Crafting characters that are distinct but not different for the sake of different. They always feel like they belong to their individual worlds and adhere to whatever “normal” is by those standards.

Tying character looks really closely to the show’s themes and individual growth. Which, frankly, is something I think all good character design should do.

It’s not nearly as flashy as other anime... but YYH knows what it wants to accomplish and went about it beautifully. Catch me still weeping over this show fifty years from now.

Peace ✌️

#Anonymous #YYH #Yu Yu Hakusho #mymetas #for the record #I'm not trying to hide my response or anything #(lol)#tumblr would just NOT let me put the read more anywhere else #why are you like this tumblr

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i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle · 3 years

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Chapter 10: Dragon Love

Spike’s first stop when he went out of the castle was to the post office, where he goes to meet up with a new friend, Gabby the griffon. Perhaps one of the few overexcitable griffons ever. Their friendship managed to make Rarity a bit jealous of Gabby, but in the end they learned to share their time with Spike.

Spike: Hi Gabby!

Gabby: Oh hi Spike! How’s my favorite little scarred, but still adorable dragon doing?

Spike: Pretty good! I actually came over if you were interested in going with me, my mother, and all our friends friends to Saddle Arabia to see a Royal Ball. There will be plenty of entertainment, food, and friends both new and old to mingle with.

Gabby: Sure thing, Spike! Sounds like a good time!

The steps of hooves are heard from behind the desk. It’s the town mailmare, Derpy Hooves.

Derpy: Both of you going to the ball, too? Awesome!

Spike: Oh hey Derpy! Did you want an invite too?

Derpy: Oh, I actually happened to come across Rainbow Dash before I went into work today! So I’ve already been invited. But I still appreciate it, Spike!

Spike: Very nice! It’ll be great seeing both of you there! I need to head off to find a few more friends I want to invite, but I’ll catch both of you later!

Gabby: Alright, Spike! Seeya!

Spike leaves the post office while waving back to Gabby and Derpy.

Spike: Alright next stop, Thorax’s changeling hive…

Spike gets out his own pack of portal gum to travel to see his friend Thorax. Once just a normal changeling that was discovered in the Crystal Empire by Spike who defected from Chrysalis’ rule and would later help Starlight, Trixie, and Discord defeat Chrysalis. And then showed many others in the Changeling army another way for them to live instead of dependent on invasions to feed on love. The Changelings quickly became a sovereign kingdom of their own.

Spike walks near the hive, Changeling guards recognize him and acknowledge him as a friend of Thorax’s and allow Spik to pass to see him. Eventually he reaches Thorax’s throne.

Spike: Hey there, Thorax!

Thorax: Hello Spike! It’s been a while since we talked just the two of us, what brings you to the hive?

Spike: I just came over to invite you and any of the other changelings here craving some real love, cause in Saddle Arabia there will be a Royal Ball that precedes a Wedding for two of me and Twilight’s friends who live there! Both events are sure to have plenty of love to go around whether it’s friends with friends, family with family, and relationships old and new coming together! And that’s before the actual wedding!

Thorax’s mouth just starts drooling

Thorax: Oh wow… two events full of scrumptious love we can get our fill just by sitting around all the love that will be in the air?! You bet that I’ll go! Is it ok if I bring along some of our hungrier citizens that could use a boost?

Spike: Of course! I definitely wouldn’t want to deprive any of your subjects, if they really want a piece of the love that is sure to be everywhere!

Spike and Thorax go around the hive inviting any changelings that want to come to, as obviously this event is going to have enough love to perhaps fill these changelings for maybe a week or even more. If they decline, they likely know they’ll have their fill for one reason or another anytime close to the time the ball might start, Thorax’s brother Pharyanx among them. Otherwise, they could usually tell who wants to go for if they drooled or flicked their tongues just imagining all the love they could get.

Ocellus: Oh my gosh, I absolutely must go! I have been quite starving as of late…

Spike: Don’t forget Ocellus, your friends from School should be there as well. In fact, I plan to get Smoulder too, when I head on over to the Dragonlands. I think my pony friends will get the rest.

Ocellus: Oh yes, absolutely will be nice to see my friends there too! So much love and friendship to go around! I can’t wait!

In a few short moments, they’ve gone though the whole hive and determined who wanted to go and who didn’t.

Thorax: Thank you for telling us about this, Spike! You will help a lot of our citizens, plus we should have a great time aside from our love feast we’re sure to get!

Spike: No problem, Thorax! It’ll be great to see you there. For now though, I’m heading off to the Dragonlands for my final stop, before settling down for whenever my mom says it’s time.

Thorax: Ok Spike, tell Ember and Smoulder I said hi!

Spike: I will! Bye!

((Story continues after the break))

Spike waves off to Thorax before creating another gum portal, this time to the Dragonlands. He’s still become too accustomed to Equestria, but the Dragonlands is still his species’ home. So Spike always gets to have a dose of his heritage every time he comes over. Spike doesn’t plan on leaving Equestria, even when he’s a super huge adult (And he and Twilight have already discussed how that will go, probably will take a little bit of Genie magic to make it work but that is a very, very, very long time from now, so it’s not exactly a subject that comes up often between the two). But as perhaps the first dragon to grow up in Equestria he’s very much an ambassador to Dragons who may themselves want to move into Equestria, though mainly the smaller ones since if too many big ones come in, there will be problems like when a red dragon sleeping made smoke that was polluting Ponyville, and it took him learning what Fluttershy’s stare could do in order to get him to leave. Not to mention the large size of the big dragons tend to cause a panic in fear-stricken populaces.

Spike flies around the skies of the Dragonlands until he finally catches a glimpse of Smoulder. Which then he swoops down to catch up to.

Spike: Hey Smoulder!

Smoulder: Heeeeeeyyyyyy! Sup’ Spike! Come here to toughen yourself a bit, in the Dragonlands?

Smoulder gives Spike an affectionate punch in the shoulder

Spike: Ouch!

Smoulder: Oops, sorry

Spike: It’s alright, I know that’s your way of saying hi, sometimes. But anyway, I came to invite you somewhere. Your other friends in school will be there as well, I just got done with a visit to the Changeling hive and Ocellus will be going. My pony friends will probably be getting the rest.

Smoulder: Where are all of you going?

Spike: Saddle Arabia, a Royal Ball is being held as well a wedding between two friends of me and my Mom’s who live there.

Smoulder: Hahahaha, no wonder Ocellus is going. She’s going to get the biggest love feast she’s had in a little while!

Spike: Yeah, probably ha. But do you think YOU will go.

Smoulder: Eh, kinda sounds a little too lovey-dovey. But maybe I should go for a chance to hang out with my school friends at least.

Spike: There should be plenty of food as well as entertainment as well. So even if you’re not exactly into any of the love stuff happening, it’s still mainly just a party.

Smoulder: True, I could probably enjoy just going anticipating a big party... So sure, I’ll go!

Spike: Great! Now I only need one more invitee, and I think I’ll see if Ember’s able to go. You have any idea where she is?

Smoulder: I think Lord Ember is meeting with her father, former Lord Torch in their volcano home.

Spike: Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen their volcano home. Can you take me there?

Smoulder: Sure! Just follow me!

Smoulder jumps up in the air to start flying, Spike following as well through the air., until they finally get to a humongous volcano that definitely looks like Torch, and probably Ember too once she’s as big as her father many thousands of years from now could fit in. Spike and Smoulder approaching a cave near the bottom of the volcano.

Spike: Is this an active volcano?

Smoulder: You bet it is! But when it erupts, that only means it’s shower time for ol’ Torch

Spike: This place definitely isn’t a place anyone other then Dragons want to approach then, that’s for certain.

Smoulder: I guess if any ponies wanted to try visiting they’d probably need some sort of heat shield spell or wish from your genie mother. Otherwise yeah, this is a pretty dragons-only spot. But only for the safety of non-dragons, we swear.

Spike and Smoulder head into the cave, the cave is actually pretty hot. It’d probably be unbearable for any ponies without some sort of magic heat suppressor around them to just walk in this place, even besides the fact it’s a volcano that could spew out deadly lava and suffocating ash at any moment. But for dragons like Torch, it’s an atmosphere they revel in. Dragons after all treat lava simply like a hot sauna, and the smoke just brings the lovely smell (At least, in a typical dragon’s opinion) of ash and sulfur.

Eventually they get to the center of the volcano where they can see the towering Torch and his daughter Ember. The current and the former Dragon Lords.

Spike: Hey… er… Ember and Torch!

The two look over to see they have visitors in the small dragon that was born and still chooses to live in Equestria, and another who happens to be the representative in the Friendship school.

Ember: Ahhhh! Hello both of you! Spike, this is the first time I’ve seen you go as far to see us at our home! You’ve sure came a long way from Equestria. What’s the occasion?

Spike: I simply went on over to ask if you and Smoulder would like to attend a Royal Ball and wedding between two of my mom and me’s friends. Smoulder already agreed but thought while I’m here I thought I’d extend an invitation. Oh, and Thorax says hi to both you and Smoulder.

Ember: Haha, of course Thorax says hi. If you invited him he was probably drooling for all that love that will be at that event you’re going to. But perhaps for the sake of peaceful diplomacy, I should go. If a Princess like Twilight is going, along with Thorax, I have a feeling others like the Yaks aren’t too far behind.

Spike: I’d ask your father too but er… his size would probably be a problem unless he agrees to being magically shrunk.

Torch: BA HA HA HA HA, it’s ok little Spike. I don’t think I was going to go, anyway. After all, I’m retired now. But I hope you, Lord Ember, and Smoulder have a good time in Saddle Arabia. Show the ponies how dragons can really light up a party!

Spike: Uh, I hope you aren’t telling us to light the palace on fire.

Torch: Nah, I promise it was just the expression.

Spike: *phew* I guess while I’m here, anything going on lately here? Equestria will always be my home, but as a dragon I guess I should still keep up with anything going on here. You’re the current and former Dragon Lord’s. I imagine you two talk about this nation a lot.

Ember: Heh, maybe a little. But this is our home, usually we just jokingly rib at each other between just us as father and daughter. We sometimes talk about our politics, but things are usually stable when you have one leader promised in power for tens of thousands of years and a general populace that generally remains for themselves with their own stash of treasures.

Torch: Yeah, in fact after I’ve retired I’ve simply been just reflecting about my long reign and the many, many, many, many mates I’ve had over my era.

Spike: Wait… did you say many mates?

Ember: Oh shoot, that’s right. Spike grew up in Equestria, he doesn’t exactly know how… “relationships” for lack of a better word work in the Dragonlands

Spike: What are you talking about?

Torch: In the Dragonlands, there is no such thing as marriage. Only several mates over our long, long lives.

Spike goes wide-eyed

Spike: SAY WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

Ember: Yeaaaaaah… I imagine that must be surprising to anyone who’s mainly experienced life in Equestria. But if you just think about it, most Ponies’ average lifespan is just over 100 years and their regular definition of love is. once they find somepony they love they’ll spend time with them for the rest of their life, barring something happening resulting in divorce, or an unfortunate early death of half of the couple. However, dragons live so long that even if there was a mate a dragon really loved. It might of been perceivably boring at least in our views, to had been with only one.

Thus, it’s actually pretty normal for both male and female dragons to just move on to a different mate at some point. Sometimes, more then one at one point of time! That’s not even seen as wrong here whether you kept it a secret from your mate(/s) or not. And if for any reason a dragon misses a past mate, absolutely nothing wrong with going to see them again to become mates again, if both consent of course.

Spike just stands there trying to process this information that dragons have a very vastly different outlook on love from the one he was raised to know by ponies.

Ember: We’re just starting to at least have some aspects of Friendship. Is it any surprise that love is a lot different too? We can still love and can get infatuated, such as your crush on that white unicorn. But we never settle down with just one mate throughout our lives. Though forgive me for being grim, but you might actually be kind of thankful that this is normal for dragons. Because even if you get into a relationship with the white unicorn at some point she… won’t exactly be around very long in relative to your long lifetime…

Spike breaking out a bit of his trance of being told how Dragon love works, to look to the side solemnly.

Spike: Yeah, I’m well aware of that… I don’t exactly like talking about it however…

Ember: Well uh… it’s still a little while until then. I don’t mean to get you down, but we’re just teaching you a few things about us that most ponies don’t put in any books about us, since until they actually bring brave enough researchers. Any information they have about us are pretty incomplete or even inaccurate information. It’s possible that pony researchers thought we had lifelong mates if they had noticed a couple once or twice but never actually asked if the couple had ever been married or anything.

I think at the very least Celestia knew enough about us, but since she sort of kept her policy towards the Dragonlands as leaving us alone. Informing Equestria about how we live never came up as a priority.

But thanks to your pony mother who’ll soon be ruling solo in Canterlot, we’re entering a new era of prosperity between Dragons and Ponies and other species. I’m pretty sure soon we’ll have some updated books about us in the coming years that will make this common knowledge there. You were raised by ponies, but you’re still a dragon. So thought it’d be useful information for you to know

Spike: I gotcha, but still. Can’t help but feel wowed, and almost a little scary of how many I might end up meeting over my life when I’m old enough to start mating.

Ember: Hehehe, you’ll still have that scar of yours, eye scars happen to be a very attractive trait in older dragons cause it’s perceived strength. You’re sure to have a lot of female dragons after you in your older years. Maybe even me and Smoulder at some point

Ember jokingly winks, Smoulder being the rebelllious teenage dragon just gives a “blegh”.

Spike: …Aren’t you and Smoulder both a decent bit of years apart from me?

Ember: I’m mostly joking, but in actuality once both dragons in a couple are about hundreds of years old it’s not considered wrong to go with any dragons whether they’re 100 years older or younger. Again, just think of the difference between Pony and Dragon concepts of time passed. Yes, it’d be wrong right now, but that’s mainly because relative to dragon aging you’re still just about a hatchling. But say in about maybe a decade or two when you’ve grown to early teenage size you may just be young enough to still be ok for Smoulder to be with, if she so wished.

Smoulder: You better not be shipping me with him, or else I don’t care if you’re Dragon Lord. I’ll kick you in the shins!

Ember just laughs.

Spike: I guess I understand, but boy this feels like a lot of odd conversations will come across from all this…

Ember: From a pony perspective, yeah. Dragon’s approach to love is really weird, but some day it’ll be normal to you at some point, I assure you.

Torch suddenly looks a little away from the conversation and thinking a little solemnly. Ember noticing that’s kind of odd for him to do so.

Ember: Huh? Father? What’s up?

Torch: Nothing too big, Ember. Just reflecting on the conversation you just had with Spike and on my own history. Even though yes, I’ve had many, many, many, many mates over my long life. I… admit there may have been one dragon that I was with for only a few years, that if the pony concept of Marriage for a lifetime did exist in the dragonlands. I would of certainly tried to propose at the very least… though I doubt she would of ever accepted it…

Ember: Who was this, Father?

Torch: Her name was Jennesis, though I liked to affectionately call her Jenny. She was a beautiful pink dragon with green back spines. And she was absolutely the most beautiful and kind dragon I ever had the pleasure to live with.

Spike: Is she still around?

Torch: I don’t know, this was a few thousand years ago. And also unfortunately, she probably wouldn’t say the same about me. As I admit unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly as good a mate to her as she was to me. Which is why we were only together for a few years.

Ember: Which in relative lifeline comparison between dragon and ponies, is like a pony relationship ending in at most less then a week...

Spike: Oof

Torch: Yeah… I admit it’s one of the few regrets I otherwise have, of what I otherwise feel was a glorious reign as Dragon Lord. I had many mates before and after Jenny, but none have ever quite matched up to her.

Ember: Dang, not even my mother?

Torch: Your mother was a lovely mate as well Ember. But Jenny was just on a whole ‘nother level.

Spike: Well, this has certainly been an interesting conversation. But if it’s ok, I’m going to start heading back to Equestria. I have everyone I wanted to invite now. But I suppose thanks for teaching me a few more things about being a dragon. I’m sure it’ll be useful information to know in the far future.

Ember: You’re welcome Spike! I’ll see you in Saddle Arabia!

Spike: Bye Ember! Bye Smoulder! Bye Torch!

Spike waves off to all three before using another gum portal to get back to Equestria, where he walks back to Twilight’s castle. All that information Ember and Torch gave him still kind of bouncing in his head as some of it was still a lot to take in. But nonetheless he gets set to just relax until Twilight likely gets back from finishing her own list of invitees.

UP NEXT: Chapter 11 - Celestia’s Secrets, Part 1

#Secrets Of The Dragon's Tear #Spike #Gabby #Derpy Hooves #Thorax #Ocellus #Smoulder #Ember #Lord Ember #Lord Torch #Torch

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youngbounty · 4 years

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Why Miles Edgeworth is my Favorite Rival Character

I consider Miles Edgeworth my favorite rival character I’ve seen thus far. Not to say there aren’t better rival characters in media or anime, but I’d say that he certainly stands out among them and perhaps would be considered a top 5 favorite. Though, what makes him stand out as a rival is something that I feel is a huge improvement from the usual rival character trope. To explain this, I will contrast what makes a rival character different from an enemy.

The biggest mistake done, in most animes especially, is making the rival character the enemy or villain. The only thing that rivals should have in common with enemies or villains are that their beliefs or opinions oppose the ones the protagonist or the character the rival opposes. It’s common knowledge that a rival will believe strongly in something that the protagonist strongly opposes. In Yu-Gi-Oh, the rival Seto Kaiba strongly believes that strength will achieve victory, while Yugi/Yami believes that a combination of skills their friends share will achieve victory. In Danganronpa, Byakuya Togami believes that everyone should play the killing game with the rules Monokuma set out as a means of survival, whereas Makoto Naegi believes that no one should participate or kill each other at all. In Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta believes in fighting in order to achieve victory, whereas Goku believes in fighting for fun and to protect his loved ones. These rivals have strongly opposing beliefs, much like enemies and villains, except that these views do not make these rivals horrible people. Many times, rivals can be a strong and reliable ally, because of their opposing views, unlike with enemies whose views are meant for nothing more than to create chaos and destruction.

The biggest problem I have with rival characters in general is that they’re often placed as jerks or bullies. I’ve found that rivals are more often vilified than they should. They’re often considered arrogant, selfish, smug and unlikable people. Byakuya Togami comes out as the kind of person that doesn’t care for the life of others or framing someone for murder for just simply annoying him. The other rivals in the Danganronpa sequels follow this trend of being unlikable, but I’ll give Spike Chunsoft credit for making them more original than the rival architype – even though one is a sociopath and the other seems to have some sort of Antisocial Disorder. Seto Kaiba also comes out as an unlikable person and is much more unlikable in the manga, if you can believe it. This guy traumatizes his brother in the manga to the point he’d make Manfred Von Karma look sane by comparison and I wish I was exaggerating. Don’t get me wrong, I love Seto Kaiba, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t the most unlikable person in existence. He also was a villain at first, which goes with the rival architype. Even though he did change throughout the manga and anime, the amount of cares he has for other people’s lives and taking responsibility for his actions that caused so many people harm is enough to make any politician blush. Don’t get me started on Vegeta, but at least he was willing to take responsibility for his actions in the Majin Buu Arc. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about Vegeta after that Arch or have watched Dragon Ball Super, but anything in Dragon Ball Z, you can already guess on your own.

What makes Miles Edgeworth stand out is that, despite his opposing views, he’s not a horrible or unlikable person. Now, he was setup to be unlikable during Turnabout Sisters, but then afterwards, he starts showing himself to being a very good, selfless and likable person. Miles Edgeworth is the kind of person that will give you the coat off his back, help an elderly lady cross the street or sit by you at the lunch table when there’s no one sitting with you. Even though Miles Edgeworth is dressed and can act smug at times, he constantly cares about other people’s feelings. He’d be willing to take the blame for something someone else did, because he will find some reason to feel responsible for something he didn’t do. Miles Edgeworth is the kind of person you’d want as your best friend.

Miles Edgeworth’s views still oppose to Phoenix Wright, the main character, because he believes that trust should be earned and logic will always find the truth. Phoenix Wright, on the other hand, believes that trust shouldn’t have to be earned, but accepted until evidence proves their guilt, and magic can be another way of finding the truth. These are very opposing views, but they do not make either Phoenix or Miles horrible or unlikable people. They’re human and humans will always hold opposing views that clash. Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth consider themselves friends and rivals because, while they hold strongly opposing views, they are also willing to talk or debate those views without thinking negatively about each other. Despite how much they oppose each other, they continually admire each other, because no matter how strongly they oppose each other, they still share the same goal in wanting to find the truth and deliver justice to the culprit.

It isn’t just Miles Edgeworth, the other rivals in the Ace Attorney games are also genuinely kind people that simply have opposing views or beliefs. Ironically, the characters that are considered unlikable or horrible people in Ace Attorney are the ones that are villains and those villains are the ones that try to force their own views into the judicial system or country. It’s like Ace Attorney is saying “your opposing views are not what make you horrible, but your actions from your viewpoints.” Even as the protagonist, you are never given any special treatment. If your friend betrayed and hurt you, it does not justify your actions in painting every prosecutor with a broad brush and the moment you present falsified evidence, even if you didn’t know it was false evidence, you will be the one to be judged the same way you judge everyone else. The only actions that cross the line to villainy is murder and betrayal. They’re actions that anyone with common sense will tell you and everyone universally will agree is wrong. Even actions such as breaking the law or falsifying evidence are questioned if those actions make someone a bad person. Are people like Lana Skye, the Yatagaratsu, Ron DeLite or Godot considered bad people, because one falsified evidence, two are thieves and the last killed someone?

It might seem I’m going on a rabbit trail, but the main point of this is that someone like Miles Edgeworth stands out as a rival, because he teaches us something that is hardly ever tackled in other media. Having an opposing opinion or belief does not make you a bad person. Miles Edgeworth holds strong opposing views that people these days would consider to be hateful and therefore a bad person, but he isn’t. He’s one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet and that’s a fact too many people find hard to swallow. Miles Edgeworth may be the kind of person that can’t trust everyone and wouldn’t be afraid to expose someone’s childhood trauma, but he is also the kind of person to take responsibility for his own actions. He doesn’t allow his trauma to justify his corrupt decisions he’s lived by for the past 15 years and five years of his career. The fact his PTSD is never brought up farther proves that Miles Edgeworth is not the kind of person to play victim or allow it to justify the number of innocents he’s placed behind bars or led to be executed. Not even being brainwashed under his corrupt mentor that murdered his father is ever used to justify his actions.

Miles Edgeworth teaches us how to be responsible individuals. If you’ve done something wrong, take responsibility and never use your tragedy or disability as an excuse. Apologizing is a good start, but you should strive to become a better person than you once were. Never label someone as a bad person for having a different opinion than you. That person may become your best friend you strive to become one day. If there is someone that is treating you horribly, be an example of what they should be. Fight anger with love. If there is someone in trouble or danger, protect them, but never stoop to the same level as your adversary. If someone brings up something horrible you did in the past, never allow that to define you. Only you can decide what you will do in your life and people watch you, so make sure every action you make and words you say reflect the person you strive to be.

So many rival characters are very beloved by a majority of the fandom, but only a few are the kind of people everyone should strive to be. I consider Miles Edgeworth a rival that everyone should strive to be. The fact he is a beloved character in the Ace Attorney fandom makes me happy, because he is a character everyone should strive to be. I can’t say the same for Seto Kaiba, Byakuya Togami and especially Vegeta. All of them are horrible people that do horrible things and are treated as such. Having a rival that isn’t a horrible person, even treated as such, is a breath of fresh air. Now, I do consider Green, not Gary, from Pokémon another rival that only has opposing views and isn’t a horrible person, but most people often look to Gary when they think of Green and the mangas aren’t as popular as the anime. I’d like to see more rivals that aren’t horrible people with that “I am greater than thou” attitude.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about Seto Kaiba, Byakuya Togami or Vegeta. I do like their characters, but I also know they’re written as horrible people nobody likes. Vegeta was written as an alien that tried to destroy Earth and is now forced to live in it, because his planet was destroyed. Seto Kaiba isn’t written to be a good person either, unless being obsessed with revenge and taking it out on the protagonist, who had nothing to do with it, is considered a likable trait. Now, Byakuya Togami does strive to become a better person later on, but that’s mostly because he’s trying to survive an apocalyptic world and he often changes his strategy depending on the situation. If there’s one person that wants to kill everyone, he will trust no one but himself. If he sees that no one wants to murder anyone, he will lead them to victory. Unlike Seto Kaiba and Vegeta, Byakuya Togami was written to be a likable or unlikable person depending on where you stand with him. Spike Chunsoft did a really good job with his character and I like how, if you were to spend all your friendship links with him, you can go from being his antagonistic rival to being the best man he’ll hire as his secretary as a way to rebuild his company. So, don’t mistaken me using them as examples of the rival architype as my way of trashing their characters, because they are some of the best written characters and I consider Vegeta and Seto Kaiba legendary.

The point of this is to demonstrate what makes Miles Edgeworth one of the best rival characters. As characters, the rival architypes can be used very cleverly, but my issue is that they’re considered rivals that are vilified. In real life, not every person you fight or debate with are your enemies. Most of the time, your enemies are the kinds of people you don’t want to or should fight with. They’re the kinds you want to avoid approaching or else someone will get hurt. Rivals are those you want to fight with in order to become a stronger or better person. Byakuya Togami is debatable, but I’d never want Seto Kaiba or Vegeta to be my rivals or someone I’d want to fight with in a million years. They’d just make me a bitter person, because all they want to do is win against the one person they can’t defeat and seem to become better people once the person they are obsessed in defeating dies. I’m not kidding either. Vegeta and Seto Kaiba literally start becoming better and more responsible people once Goku and Yami bite the dust. How is someone a good rival when they only get better and stronger once their opponent dies exactly?

The idea of a rival is for them to be an opposition to the protagonist that makes the both of them better and stronger people. Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright help each other become better and stronger people through their oppositions. They only become weaker once they are apart from each other. This is the kind of relationship rivals should be. They’re the kind of people that will drag you out of bed after being beaten by a gang of thugs just so you both can beat them up together or send you to hell and back for giving up. That’s the kind of relationship Phoenix and Miles have. They’re not afraid to bite each other or show tough love when needed. They’re not the kind of people that bring toxicity and no one should ever consider anybody that’s obsessed with fighting or defeating them as rivals. Those people are toxic and should never be associated with. Luckily, Yu-Gi-Oh does create nontoxic rivals (like Jack Atlas, who isn’t toxic, tries to become a better person, helps Yusei become a better person and is actually a good person and not a selfish ass) and Vegeta does get his act together after the Majin Buu Arc, though I don’t know about Dragon Ball GT or Super. As for Byakuya Togami, he goes from being a rival to being Makoto’s boss and Makoto being Togami’s doormat, so I consider that an improvement overall.

You don’t have to agree with these, but I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #aa rival #aa prosecutor #favorite rival character #aa favorite

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tenshindon · 4 years

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*waves* Hi, I'm Silver. I want to write Yamcha more accurately (he seems really nice?), but I haven't the time or money to buy the manga or episodes, so... any tips, I guess? Can you help me? Thank you 🌻💜

hiya !! i’m always happy to talk about yamcha and The Character Of yamcha :) gonna put my thoughts under a read more cause this Might be long:

I havent watched Z or Super in a while but I do watch and read through the original Dragon Ball often so accuracy May Vary due to my trash memory. I’m also going to try to keep the games’ depictions of him out of this since accuracy varies among those.

The first thing I wanna touch on is Yamcha’s ego- especially how it evolves over the series. The main thing to keep in mind is that while he is generally cocky about his fighting abilities (which is a major weakness of his as he underestimates his opponents often and gets in trouble because of that), he’s never overly confidant with himself as a person; he seldom tries to paint himself as a better person in comparison to others and rather keeps realistic skepticism about himself. It’s also worth noting that, depending on how old Yamcha is in your depiction, his awareness for his fighting inadequacy compared to his friends varies (the older he is obviously the more conscious he is).

Next thing I’ma talk bout is something that i see kind of treated inconsistently; Yamcha’s relationship with women and his love life. I feel like a lot of people forget that Yamcha’s defining character trait in Dragon Ball was his gynophobia- he chased Goku and his friends so long for the dragon balls so he could remedy his fear of women. Of course, he eventually does date Bulma as they realize dating each other would resolve their mutual wishes for Shenron (Bulma’s being getting a boyfriend and as mentioned before Yamcha’s fear of women). As we’re all aware though, nearly a decade later Yamcha and Bulma mysteriously separate, and the reason for doing so is never explicitly made clear in canon (I could honestly make a whole separate post on Bulma and Yamcha’s break up- there’s a lot to discuss with it so if anyone wants that let me know lmao). The majority believe that Yamcha was unfaithful which, in review of his whole character, makes literally no sense- even just subtracting his fear of women (though I’ll elaborate on that later). But back on track and in regards to his fear of women, it never fully goes away. It just so happens that he’s most comfortable around Bulma, and since Bulma’s the most prominent female character of the series we tend to forget his fear in the first place. When around other female characters, he’s subtlety more anxious- or at the very least he isn’t so much of a playboy as fanon interprets him to be. One final thing to note is- unless I remember the series wrong (and anyone’s free to correct me on this)- Yamcha’s never implied to have gotten another girlfriend or even a lover at any point. Of course it’s hard to track the intricacies of Yamcha’s life- this is a shonen anime where slice-of-life episodes are limited, and even then Yamcha is far from being a prominent character anymore (post Dragon Ball).

Up next is his loyalty/friendships, methods of handling conflict, and overall courage because in my rat brain these all go hand in hand. Nevertheless, Yamcha’s a devoted friend- he’s shown time and time again to be supportive of his pals and, even in spite of his shortcomings, always does his best to help the gang out. Like i touched on before, as Yamcha gets older, he’s more and more aware just how far behind in training he is in compared to his peers. But that doesn’t stop him from trying to fight off whatever threat’s present. So with that we can infer that even if Yamcha can’t be the absolute best, that’s not going to stop him from at least trying if it means helping his friends or making them feel better. Additionally, he’s quick to stand up for others, even if he doesn’t know them too well or even at all and he’s shown not to hold onto grudges. One thing to remember is that, presumably for 16 years, Yamcha’s only companion was Puar (that’s not even considering his life before meeting her) and most interactions he has with people involve robbing them. His social skills might not be the best (though that doesn’t mean he can’t act socially capable- he clearly has no issue trying to make Beerus feel comfortable and like a friend at Bulma’s party) but again, his social skills varies with age and the situation. But again, referring back to his readiness to defend others, he isn’t afraid of getting into conflict if it means helping someone else.

Last few topics I’m going to talk about are his relationships with property, finances, and goals- they seem like a small topics but I still want to talk about it. Now hopefully we’re all familiar with Yamcha’s beginnings of being a desert bandit- and seeing his methods of obtaining items, he didn’t try to charm his victims into giving him their stuff. He just took it if he could if he couldn’t intimidate them and retreated if he couldn’t get what he wanted (which is also noteworthy of Yamcha’s awareness of his limits- a bit contradictory to his fighting ego but it seems that if Yamcha’s certain he isn’t able to win something, then he’ll save himself if it means delaying a goal or staying alive). He doesn’t seem to mind playing the long game either, as he’s willing to tail Goku and co. for months as he waits for them to gather the dragon balls without ever letting his true intentions slip. When it comes to finances, Yamcha doesn’t seem to care to heavily about them: back in the desert, Puar mentions to Yamcha that he should wish for money to which Yamcha dismisses it quickly, stating he could just steal money if he really needed it. It’s also worth noting that despite being a successful baseball player by Super, Yamcha chooses to live in a modest apartment. Either he’s very paranoid with money and, despite having enough to buy a full house, chooses to live in a cheaper apartment building or he’s more comfortable with smaller living spaces- which makes sense since he’d lived nearly two decades in a desert cave and had to scavenge for supplies (plus he seems to still think fondly of the desert as he has a painting of such in his apartment).

For the TL;DR version of this post, here’s essentially what you should keep in mind when portraying yamcha:

He’s generally a very lax, simple, and sociable person when he wants to be- though a bit socially awkward when he isn’t prepared

He’s not egotistical, but he has a bad habit of underestimating his enemies at times. this changes over time of course.

While he’s not itching for conflict, he is loyal and quick to stand up for friends and strangers alike

He acknowledges he isn’t the best, but that doesn’t stop him from trying

He’s ambitious and seldom gives up on his goals

He cares little for huge amounts of wealth or property and generally is just trying to get by in life comfortably

While not cripplingly petrified of women post DB, he still maintains a mild anxiety around women he doesn’t know- even around women he does know pardon Bulma he’s still a bit on edge

I’m done with my character study using the anime and manga, but I like talking about Yamcha so below this little buffer I’m going to get into how the games portray him. I might’ve forgot something or got some things wrong so feel free to talk to me about that if you want to. Anyways, you can stop reading if the above is all you’re concerned with- regardless if you keep reading or not, I wish you the best of luck in writing Yamcha ! :)

If you’re still reading, join me in my continuous ramble of the Rubix cube of Yamcha’s character because Toei and Toriyama can’t be consistent.

Something that seems to be portrayed a significant amount is that Yamcha’s aware of his charm and that he uses this to advantage to smooth talk his way out of situations- not that he just so happens to be good looking and endearing and his panicked socialization just happens to work out for him. In regards to his way of talking out of situations, that’s honestly something I could see if Yamcha acknowledges he’s against a threat much greater than his fighting abilities will allow him to handle- and it’s not like he doesn’t consider himself attractive, if we’re to take his reaction to losing his tooth as anything (in case you aren’t aware, he curses Goku for ruining his “beautiful” face). An example of this is most prominent is his interaction with Frieza in FighterZ, where Frieza remarks that Yamcha is both “handsome and sensible”, to which Yamcha attempts to keep the conversation casual so as to not have to fight (which he later points out to Goku once the latter urges that the three of them should just start fighting already). Though I’m sure his first reaction isn’t to talk his way out of something- he’ll just do it if the opportunity presents itself.

I obviously take huge issue with Yamcha’s portrayal of being a womanizer- his major goal was to settle down, get married, and live out the rest of his life with someone. So for him to be portrayed as having to juggle girlfriends is a bit strange to say the least. You could maybe argue that Yamcha hypes himself up to be a lady’s man as a way to cope with his anxiety (fake it til you make it y’know) but I have little faith in the characterization in Dragon Ball games and for them to think that complexly- plus, again, it contradicts with his humble and awkward personality.

Aside from these two notes, that’s all I have to say. so I’m done- forreal this time.

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #dragon ball super #yamcha #snap chats #sorry im late to responding #first i was asleep and second of all i had to think a lot with this- plus i kept getting distracted #there might be a little bias in this with how i see yamcha so take my words with a grain of salt #whether you're 100% accurate or not the thing to remember most is to just have fun :)#saiyanblood2 #reply

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cursed-ice-queen · 3 years

Photo

My Jacob’s birthday was yesterday! So to celebrate here’s his profile! Outline provided by @hogwartsmystory.

IDENTITY

Name: Jacob Lovino Parker

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Birth Date: December 29th

Species: Human

Blood Status: Half-Blood

Sexuality: ???

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Ethnicity: White

Nationality: Irish, Italian

Residence: Cork, Ireland

Myer Briggs Personality Type: INFJ-T

THE MAGE

1st Wand: Pine, 10”, Dragon Heartstring Core

2nd Wand: He has several! All of varying lengths but all dragon heartstring

Hawthorn: Suited to healing magic and curses; suited to those with a conflicted nature, proven talent

Hornbeam: Talented with a single pure passion/obsession, adapt more quickly to owner’s style than most wands, become so personalized others find it difficult to cast simplest spells, absorbs code of honor and may refuse to perform, fine-tuned and sentient

Maple: Suited to travellers and explorers, prefer ambition otherwise magic grows heavy and lackluster, regular changes of scene cause it to shine

Pine: Independent and individual master, may be perceived as loner or mysterious, enjoys being used creatively, adapts well, owners never die young, among most sensitive to non-verbal magic

Silver lime: Works best with skilled Legilimens

Willow: Healing power, owner often has some insecurity, enables advanced, non-verbal magic, selects those of greatest potential

Yew: Matches are notorious, has dark reputation in dueling spheres, a fierce protector of others, never choses mediocre or timid owner

Misc Magical Abilities: Legilimens

Boggart Form:

House centipedes

Snape

R Messengers

Forest Vault with Acromantula over unconscious Parker

Later has Pius’ voice

Riddikulus Form:

Putting it in Disco clothes and making it dance

He has no defense for the Acromantula

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?) Books

Amortentia: (What do they smell?) Pumpkin, dusty old books, Nonna’s garden, fall leaves

Patronus: Cheetah

Patronus Memory: Duncan comforting him after accidentally coming across Snape Boggart

Mirror of Erised: Himself surrounded by friends and family acknowledging that he isn’t mad and that he was right all along about the Vaults

Specialized/Favourite Spells: Melofors Jinx, Bluebell Flames, Doubling Charm

APPEARANCE

Height: (5’5”)

Weight: (135 lbs)

Physique: Scrawny with chubby cheeks

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Copper, darker than Megan’s

Skin Tone: A bit darker than Megan’s, “Italian” skin

Scarring:

Stretch marks across his back from growth spurt

Frostbite scars on legs and feet

Scar from Acromantula on left forearm and calf

Soccer ball-sized burn from dragon on right side of torso

Inventory: (what do they carry on them?) Notebook for taking notes and scribbling in; a separate notebook that he talks with Olivia in

Fashion: Doesn’t like to wear his Hufflepuff uniform pieces, wears a Ravenclaw scarf; sticks his wand in bun; wears fleece leggings under his pants because he’s always cold; long sleeves and pants even in summer; in winter he doubles up his shirts; socks pulled all the way up

ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff (Ravenclaw)

Ilvermorny House: Horned Serpent

Affiliations/Organizations: Rakepick

Professions: Wand-maker

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: Exceeds Expectation

Charms: Outstanding

DADA: Outstanding

Flying: Acceptable

Herbology: Exceeds Expectation

History of Magic: Outstanding

Potions: Troll

Transfiguration: Outstanding

Electives:

Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds Expectation

Divination: Acceptable

Favourite Professors: Sprout, Pince

Least Favourite Professors: Snape

RELATIONSHIPS

Sister: Megan Sofía Parker

Mother: Alice Parker

Grandmother: Sofía Vitale

Best Friends: Duncan Ashe, Olivia Green

Enemy: Snape, Pius

Dormmates: (Who’s in your MC’s dorm with them?) Eric Munch, Aaron Alto, Michael Hughes, Kenny Griffiths

Closest Canon Friends: Duncan Ashe

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

Pre Hogwarts: Learns quickly to take care of Parker due to other people mocking her or teasing her

1st Year: Meets Duncan when they sail across Black Lake; 6½ minute Hat Stall, devastated that he isn’t sorted into Ravenclaw; has a horrible time at Hogwarts; begins to hear whispers and have dreams, learns of the Cursed Vaults and connects the two

2nd Year: Becomes Library assistant for Madam Pince; insists that the Cursed Vaults are real and that they are talking to him and giving him dreams, classmates bully him for this; finds and tampers with Ice Vault, unleashing curse; gets stuck in cursed ice for hours and suffers severe frostbite on his legs and feet because of it; finally opens Ice Vault and shows Dumbledore, Dumbledore realizes he is a Legilimens and tells him

3rd Year: His Boggart becomes Snape, makes his home in Room 784 in an abandoned corridor; Dumbledore gives him Legilimency lessons; Boggart curse begins without him tampering with the Vault, quickly finds and opens Fear Vault; R contacts him for the first time; meets Rakepick and is enthralled to have someone who is a professional Curse Breaker believe that the Vaults speak to him, she promises to work with him; Legilimency lessons with Dumbledore end; sleepwalking curse begins late in the year

4th Year: Duncan starts to drift away from Jacob in favor of new friends and romantic interest, Jacob becomes lonely and jealous; Black Lake Incident, Olivia begins asking Jacob for help with creating spells; connects sleepwalking curse to Centaurs and meets Torvus; Celestial Ball Incident; Jacob becomes closer to Olivia while drifting away from Duncan; Aurors take him from the Three Broomsticks and he is forcibly interrogated by the Ministry of Magic; Rakepick promises to help him open Forest Vault; Duncan’s girlfriend disappears due to curse, Jacob and Duncan agree to open Vault earlier than planned and Jacob sends message to Rakepick; forced to steal jeweled arrowhead from Torvus; while waiting for Rakepick to meet them at Forest Vault to fight Acromantula, Duncan has a nervous breakdown at seeing the half-eaten remains of his girlfriend, little girl sleepwalks into Acromantula nest and to save her they have to fight the Acromantula without waiting for Rakepick to rendezvous with them, Jacob hit by pincer and receives venomous scar on forearm and calf, they force Acromantula to retreat and Jacob opens Forest Vault; receives praise from R and told to immediately work on next Vault; Boggart becomes R messengers

5th Year: Olivia doesn’t return from summer break; R impatient about finding next Vault but Jacob can’t find any leads besides his dreams of dragons and being buried alive; R gives him instructions to create super explosive Erumpant potion, which Jacob asks Duncan to do; Duncan killed in potion explosion, Jacob expelled

Post-Expulsion: R threatens his family, mainly Megan; to force Jacob to work with them an R agent named Pius abducts Megan in the dead of night but Jacob finds out immediately, runs away to work for R, makes Unbreakable Vow with Pius to protect his family; works on finding fourth Vault for months; secretly plans to guide Megan to opening Vaults; closes first three Vaults and hides artifacts in columns; attempts Portrait Vault with Rakepick and Pius, easily opens door with Legillimency, trapped in portrait

PERSONALITY

Cannot curse. Gets flustered and stutters over his words. Avoids even saying the word “butt.”

Rather sweet and caring. A thoughtful friend who shows his appreciation with gifts.

Shows affection through physical touch. His close friends get hugs and cuddles and handholding. Expect him to use you as a pillow. (This all applies to Duncan in their early years)

Never believed in “cooties” and even if he did he wouldn’t see any problem with it.

While he was quite social in elementary school and friends with everyone, in Hogwarts he was more of a loner with only Duncan as a true friend. This was mainly because of his insistence of the Cursed Vaults being real and people thinking he was mad.

An academic prodigy. Despite coming from a largely non-magical life he learns spells with ease and spends a lot of time studying and getting ahead of his classmates. He loves learning new things, especially things that other people don’t know.

Also a voracious reader. He has a particular affinity for magical history and medieval texts. Another thing his classmates think he’s weird for.

A supportive and protective older brother. He dotes on his little sister Megan and learned from a young age that he has to protect her. In elementary school he would have to defend her from people teasing her and making fun of her crooked, discolored teeth.

MISC

Poor boy is always cold.

His first magic is giving his father purple and green boils on his arms when he tries to kidnap infant Megan.

The biggest “Men are trash” proponent you will ever meet. The amount of men and boys who made comments about his sister and he saw cheat on their girlfriends are his evidence.

Searches for the Vaults because they whisper to him and give him dreams, and he wants to confirm that he isn’t crazy or mad.

Thought that he would have a choice in what House he would be sorted into, and he’s convinced that the Sorting Hat made a mistake in putting him in Hufflepuff instead of Ravenclaw like he wanted to be.

His affinity for studying came from having little else to do around the castle. He was frequently ahead of his class and taught himself new spells from books in the Library. Whenever professors would go over spells he already knew he would skip class.

He was a 6 1\2 minute Hat Stall. The Hat couldn't decide whether to put him in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

Has accidentally called McGonagall “Mom” on at least one occasion and will not admit it.

#OC: Jacob Parker #HPHM Jacob #HPHM #Nutty's Creations #I wanted to post this yesterday but I had work all day. Oh well.

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ranma-rewatch · 3 years

Text

Episode 24: Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen

I cannot believe it’s here. Welcome back to the Ranma Rewatch, and it’s time to finish the Phoenix Pill story arc with this episode. I think. I’m pretty sure. I...do not remember this episode at all, really. Like I said last week, most of what I can recall is from the mockery of a YouTuber I used to follow. But I am unshackled from his opinion! I watch this episode with new eyes! Let us see what sights I shall witness!

...

I should have listened.

I wasn’t prepared for this.

So, here’s the plot. They’re on a snowy mountain. Why? No clue, I guess they just wanted to go skiing. Ranma isn’t skiing, Cologne shows up, they start to fight a little, and she reveals that there’s some competition going on, and the winner gets a date with Shampoo and if Ranma wins he gets the Phoenix Pill.

Everyone gets made because of the date with Shampoo part, even though...like, it’s really obvious that he’s just doing it for the pill. There’s a lot of forced conflict over that, and it ends up being just Cologne vs Ranma. It looks like he’s winning, she offers to make this all about their duel. If he wins, he gets the pill, if she loses, he has to marry Shampoo.

When Ranma accepts those terms, she immediately starts wiping the floor with him, and nothing he does makes a difference. In the end, the only way to win is to get Shampoo’s help. She turns into her cat form, which terrifies Ranma until he starts using Cat-Fu. That is actually able to kick Cologne’s butt, and eventually she gives up and hands over the pill. Ranma turns back to his uncursed state, happy to be cured, but he did it in a women’s bath so he looks like a pervert. THE END.

I’m...going to start by talking about the few things I liked here. I think having Cat-Fu being the way to defeat Cologne is a pretty cool idea, especially since it was that story that began this arc. Little bit of a full-circle thing.

There was a decent smattering of cute Akane stuff, and I like that she once again is the one who can immediately calm down the raging Cat Ranma. Not only that, but the Shampoo stuff wasn’t bad. The episode showed off her more scheming side, as she was happy to use Cologne’s plan as a way to steal Ranma’s affections and get a date from him, but in the end she was also happy to work against that plan just to help Ranma out. Plus, Ranma purposefully playing on her love for him was a pretty classic Ranma thing to do.

That’s all my niceness.

This was, by my estimation, one of the biggest drops in animation quality I’ve ever seen. That episode of Gurren Lagann where everyone is super off model? That looks like that show at its best compared to this episode. There’s just...so little animation, and what we do have is frequently full of errors. It’s an action-heavy episode, too, and none of it looks good.

It was bad-funny at first, but after a while...it just became hard to watch. So much reused animation, so many errors, so much still shots. I am not an animation person! I normally don’t care about any of this! But is actively made watching this more difficult.

It’s also just...an underwhelming way to end the arc. They’re just randomly in the mountains, no reason why. Cologne bets everything on a fight against Ranma, he finds a way to win, here’s the pill. Some of the ideas could have worked, I think, if given proper backing. But there’s just nothing here.

Not only that, but wow the dub was bad here. Not only was this a case where, because I preferred Cologne’s Japanese actress and she was in it a lot it was better, but also because the translation for the dub was terrible. There’s one line change that is so baffling, it turns a kind of okay line into something incomprehensible. I was looking forward to my watch on the sub, if only so I could figure out what had just happened.

Hey, why not, the arc is done, let’s talk about Cologne. Neither of her voice actresses are incredibly well known, but at least her Japanese voice actress, Miyoko Aso, has also been Pinako Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist and Shoga from Inuyasha. (She also passed away in 2018, after living quite a long life. Rest in peace.) The english voice actress, Elan Ross Gibson, is also fairly unknown, with her biggest work being as Baba in one of the Dragon Ball Z dubs.

As I mentioned before, they do play the character differently. They’re both going for “wizened old woman”, but Gibson’s Cologne is a lot more...toothless? She mostly sounds tired and bored. Aso gave the character a lot more life, more energy, and it’s that performance that’s working much better for me so far.

As a character, Cologne is...okay. She’s a very old Amazon warrior, the first character to appear who is, flat out, far stronger than Ranma. She serves as both an obstacle, what with the whole pressure point scenario, and a mentor, teaching him his signature move. There’s a sense that as much as she is trying to get one particular thing for him, namely marrying Shampoo, she’s also interested in seeing how he’ll develop, she’s impressed by his potential to grow stronger.

That said, she’s not even close to being among my favorite characters. She’s useful for dispensing exposition or teaching techniques, but her plots to get Ranma to marry Shampoo just...feel kind of boring to me. That’s genuinely all I have to say about her, at least for now. But who knows? Maybe one day my tune will change with this rewatch.

Y’all, I think it’s obvious, but I didn’t like this episode. I have no hesitation saying it was worse that Dr. Tofu’s mom’s episode. But the real question is: is it worse than the clip show? One was basically nothing, the other the active presence of bad. How you weigh one versus the other is a matter of personal preference, but for me, I’m going to say this episode was worse. At the very least, the season 1 finale had the animation from good episodes to show us.

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 15: Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 19: Clash of the Delivery Girls! The Martial Arts Takeout Race

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 23: Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan

Episode 17: I Love You, Ranma! Please Don’t Say Goodbye

Episode 20: You Really Do Hate Cats!

Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 22: Behold! The 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Technique

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 21: This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Episode 14: Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan

Episode 18: I Am a Man! Ranma's Going Back to China!?

Episode 24: Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen

But that’s it! The story arc is done, and next week...I can’t believe it. I’m so happy! With next week’s “The Abduction of P-Chan”, we’re starting a little arc I’ve been dying to revisit for ages! If you’re watching it on the Hulu order, then you’ve already seen it, but I’ll talk more about that next time! See you then!

#episode 24 #Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #shampoo #Cologne #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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FEATURE: Where Are They Now? How Far Our Favorite Long-Running Anime Characters Have Come

This article written by Carlos Cadorniga was originally published on December 30, 2020.

In many of our favorite long-running anime series, the main protagonists go through some immense change. Whether they’re driven by their lofty ambitions or a never-ending quest, they’ve each had their own humble beginnings and have since come so far on their own journeys. We’re continually inspired by these heroes, whether their stories are concluded, ongoing, or simply timeless.

In honor of some classic anime heroes, we’re taking a look back on their illustrious careers as ninja, pirates, Hunters, and Z-fighters alike. Let’s see just how far our favorite anime characters have come.

Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)

Where they started: As a social outcast and the host of a powerful beast, Naruto Uzumaki long dreamt of being the Hokage. His penchant for mischief masked a deep-seated longing for companionship, but he was stalwart in his dreams and was on his way to forming many strong friendships. What he lacked in knowledge and experience he made up for with plenty of grit and attitude as he learned and mastered advanced-level Jutsu at a young age. But even with one or two elite techniques under his belt, his journey to becoming Hokage would be far from easy.

Where they are now: After burying the hatchet with his closest friend and rival and saving the whole world, Naruto has long since achieved his dream, having become the seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He’s now married to Hinata Hyuuga with two children, a daughter named Himawari and a son named Boruto, who sets off on his own ninja adventures. He’s even reconciled with the demon living within him, who often joins Naruto in his fights to protect his village and his family. Though the focus has shifted toward his son, Naruto’s story still continues long after becoming Hokage.

Son Goku (Dragon Ball series)

Image via Funimation

Where they started: After the death of his loving adoptive grandpa, Goku lived on his own for some time with a special charm to remember him by, a Four-Star Dragon Ball. Upon learning from his new friend Bulma that his grandpa’s keepsake is part of a set of seven artifacts that can grant any wish when collected, Goku heads out on a globe-spanning journey to retrieve them all. Along the way, he meets new friends, becomes more powerful, and comes closer to the truth of his mysterious origins.

Where they are now: Among every candidate on this list, few have a history quite as large as Goku’s. While he’s still a loveable oaf who loves fighting as much as eating, he’s become a true savior after defeating incredible foes like Frieza and Kid Buu and continues to grow stronger as a fighter. From a Super Saiyan to Ultra Instinct, his increasing power level knows no bounds. As of the interdimensional Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super, he’s currently one of the strongest fighters in 12 dimensions. And to this day, he’s always looking to become even stronger than he was yesterday.

Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates (One Piece)

Where they started: As the Great Pirate Era kicked off, the rubbery pirate Monkey D. Luffy embarks on his ambitious dream of becoming the next Pirate King, following in the footsteps of Red-Haired Shanks, a renowned pirate in his own right. The first time we meet Luffy is when he emerges from a barrel stowing away on an enemy ship while trying to set sail himself. With little to his name but a simple boat and a tiny ragtag pirate crew, they each enter into a brave new world of untold dangers in order to fulfill their own dreams. Luffy met each of his crewmates in dire straits, but each of their ambitions led them toward each other to form something great.

Where they are now: As of today, the Straw Hats' quest to find the One Piece and achieve their goals still rages on. But so much has changed since then. The ship is bigger, the crew is stronger, and their captain’s power over Haki and mastery over his rubbery body has propelled him and the Straw Hats to infamy. The bounty on Luffy’s head alone is one of the largest in the world, and wherever the crew goes, revolutions and overthrown dictatorships follow. Currently, they find themselves on the Feudal Japanese island of Wano. Having recently broken out of prison, Luffy is gathering up his splintered crew to face off against Kaido, one of the Four Pirate Emperors residing over the isolated nation as a tyrant.

Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)

Where they started: As an aspiring Hunter, Gon is unlike many of his fellow applicants in the treacherous and life-threatening Hunter’s Exam. When he begins his journey, he doesn’t aspire to be a noble hero for hire or to acquire riches, but he simply seeks to understand how being a Hunter is so fascinating that his own father would leave him for it. Having grown up on an island, his physical prowess and senses are well above average, and the Hunter’s Exam was the perfect place to put them to the test.

Where they are now: As of the final episode of the anime, Gon was able to meet up with his father. By the time he finally caught up with Ging, he'd undergone rigorous Nen training and faced all sorts of arduous and terrible trials. From the Phantom Troupe to the game world of Greed Island and the horror of the Chimera Ants, Gon experienced what it was like to be a Hunter from several different perspectives. Having overcome severe hardships and strife, he was able to hear directly from his father what being a Hunter meant to him, and why he was willing to sacrifice so much in order to do it.

Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)

Where they started: An infamous high school delinquent, Ichigo was born with the power to see the ghosts that frequently haunt his town. When his strange ability allows him to encounter Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki, he learned of the existence of Hollows — malevolent spirits who attack the living and the dead alike. After Rukia was wounded defending Ichigo from one such monster, she transferred her powers over to him and made him into a Substitute Soul Reaper. Using his newfound and considerably immense power, he was charged with fighting Hollows in Rukia’s stead.

Where they are now: Ichigo’s reputation throughout Bleach stretches far and wide. He rescued Rukia from execution, uncovered Sosuke Aizen’s conspiracy, became a Vizard in order to defeat the Arrancars, and even went so far as to sacrifice all of his Soul Reaper abilities in order to defeat Aizen.

When last we left him, Ichigo took on Xcution, a group of human outcasts with the spiritual power of Fullbring. Through these newfound abilities, Ichigo regained his Soul Reaper powers and was able to continue his work as a Substitute Soul Reaper. With the final arc of the manga receiving an adaptation in the future, the true conclusion to Ichigo’s story is nearly in sight. In the meantime, the world of Bleach continues in its spiritual successor, Burn the Witch, further expanding the universe of Soul Society.

Whether they've achieved their dreams, are still going strong, or their adventures are neverending, there's no doubt that so much has changed about our favorite anime heroes! Some changes have been for the better while others have resulted in life-altering traumas. Nevertheless, they've each gotten stronger and wiser after all these years. We'll certainly never stop cheering for them!

Which classic anime are you still keeping up with? Are there any series you've always wanted to pick up? Let us know in the comments below!

Carlos (aka Callie) is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their pop culture editorials on Popdust as well as their satirical work on The Hard Times.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Guest Author

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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pasteljeon · 5 years

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Kura’s Ultimate BTS Fic Rec List - PART 1

Long overdue, here I present to you (part one of) the ultimate list (in no particular order) of authors & fics I’ve read and collected since joining Tumblr. These are people I admire, and whose works I find are beautifully, artistically written. Split into 3 parts bc tumblr said no to me and my fat list.

Please do check them out and their entire masterlists when you get the chance, this is just a list of my absolute favourites from them!

[Please also note most of these are rated m.]

Happy reading!

➢ Updated: 05.05.2019

♡ - Super Saiyan Highly Recommended

Author: @happy-meo

Masquerade I : 4/4 ↠ To secretly relieve your stress about your single life and your hard times at work, you cave and decide to give this mysteriously alluring club a chance. At Club Masquerade, you can indulge in your fantasies and indulge in who you really want to be without strings attached. So when you waltz in and realize you’re not exactly sure what you want, two of their best hosts swoop in and are more than willing to help you figure it out… But it seems you’re not the only one keeping secrets in your office.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader/Hoseok | Smut, fluff, mild angst

Masquerade II: Welcome to Burlesque & Balls : 8/8 ↠ Being the receptionist of Club Masquerade and working as a barista wasn’t quite enough to make your ends meet comfortably, so when a new place opens up nearby that’s looking for attractive females to perform in a neo-Burlesque club, you jumped at the chance for a new job and a chance to do something more than sitting behind a desk or counter. But just like your financial status, your love life wasn’t all too great either. When it seemed like all hope was lost, fate had other plans for you. Unexpected suitors waltzed into your life in various ways, and unbeknownst to each of them, you play the field, hoping to overcome your fears and finally find Mr. Right among them… But it seems you’re not the only one keeping secrets.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader/Taehyung | Smut, fluff, mild angst

Masquerade III : 7/7 ↠ With Club Masquerade’s original hosts “graduating” one at a time, it’s up to the newcomers to pick up the slack and keep the customers happy. And who better to take the reins than the notorious Red Mask’s prodigy, Jeon Jungkook. But things become a bit difficult when you come into the picture, with your desire to do research on the rules of love and dating through your experience with your host. Will Jungkook be able to satisfy your curiosities… or will someone else?

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader/Mystery BTS member | Smut, fluff, mild angst

Masquerade IV: The Dark Side : 6/6 ↠ You were never lucky in love. Through disastrous dates, consistent unrequited crushes, and broken relationships, you’ve constantly been searching for someone to give you genuine love and romance. And through it all, one person had remained your constant shoulder to lean on. Although you had never seen his face, he had given you a sense of confidence and a place of comfort in Club Masquerade. The more times you’ve failed in love though, the more you realized that may be no one would ever choose you. However, one fateful encounter, thanks to your dog, made you want to hope one more time. Did fate bring you to the one who would finally end your streak of being broken-hearted? Or had the right guy been with you all along?

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader/Taehyung | Smut, fluff, mild angst

“First Meetings” Series : 7/7 ↠ How you first met them. | Fluff

Hug Me : 1/1 ↠ You and Hoseok were married, but the married life you thought you would be living is nonexistent now. You two were like strangers living in the same house. You knew his heart was no longer yours, but you still loved him. When the end of your marriage was near, you made him promise to stay with you for just one more month. One month was all you needed to finally let him go.

Sequel - Forgive Me : 1/1 ↠ How can one gain forgiveness from someone who is no longer in a position to give it? How can one be forgiven if they refuse to forgive themselves? How can one move forward to the future… if the past was so much better?

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader | Angst

Author: @jungk0oksthighs

Jealous : 2/2 ↠ domestic au

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut

Withdrawal : 1/1 ↠ Yoongi had been your brother’s supplier for years, you were familiar with his name and reputation but never cared enough to meet the man who was indirectly tearing your family apart. That was until your brother got himself into trouble, real trouble, and you found yourself on Yoongi’s doorstep with a very tempting offer. If he cleared your brother’s debts he would get the one thing he never even knew he wanted. You.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Smut, angst, dark themes | druglord au

Infidelity : 1/1 ↠ You and Jin had been divorced for a year but you’re forced to see each other when your son is found cheating on a test. After being called into school you both agree to make more of an effort being civil with each other, but it’s not long before history repeats itself. Family dinners turn into stolen kisses and ruffled bedsheets, but there’s one problem with your new arrangement. Jin’s wife.

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Smut, angst, infidelity

Author: @floralseokjin ♡

Of the Sol : 1/1 ↠ A runaway, you’re not accustomed to the way the kind village that took you in live their life—worshipping and celebrating the dragons’ descendants. A story you only ever thought was legend, is that of real life, and you’ve fallen in love with one of this century’s dragon kin. The baker’s son, Kim Seokjin.; or alternatively, Seokjin is hiding a gold dragon dick under all that clothing…

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Smut, fluff | dragon!jin

The Devil Wears Armani : 5/5 �� You never imagined accidentally attempting to sell your soul to the devil would lead to this…

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Smut, fluff, mild angst | devil!jin, devil au

Memoirs of a Mistake : 16/16 ↠ A series of hook ups with Kim Seokjin, the college’s biggest fuckboy…

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Smut | college au, fwb au

Sequel - Lostmyhead : 1/1 ↠ Kim Seokjin is the worst thing you’ve ever done, quite literally. Hooking up with him—continuously, for months, is something you regret doing. Mainly because you now have a boyfriend and have seen the error of your ways (mistake!). However, even then, you can’t seem to escape him…or say no for that matter…;or alternatively, Jin somehow convinces you and Yoongi to have a threesome with him…

Pairing: Jin/Reader/Yoongi | Smut

Final - Crystallised : 3/7 ↠ Six weeks, that’s all it takes to forget about the threesome you shared with your boyfriend, Yoongi, and your past…fuckbuddy, Seokjin. After all, it’s no big deal. Yoongi and you are doing better than ever, there’s no reason to regret such a night shared. That is until you hear some gossip in the library one day, and then slowly, little by little, everything starts to fall apart… Can you begin to make sense out of all this confusion, or is it too late?

Pairing: Jin/Reader/Yoongi | Smut, fluff, angst | love triangle au

Best of Me : 1/1 ↠ Jimin has been in love with you, his best friend, since as long as he can remember. Struggling with his feelings he makes a terrible mistake, but maybe there’s a silver lining…? Maybe he can make you see what’s right in front of you…

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader ft. Hoseok | Smut, angst | unrequited love au, cheating au, f2l au

Sleepy ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Jungkook’s never too sleepy for sex.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | domestic au

Author: @avveh

The Secrets Trilogy ♡ : 3/3 ↠ Park Jimin is the office’s oddball. Meek and quiet as a mouse, you never assume too much of him. Your mistake.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, angst

Room for Dessert : 4/4 ↠ A boring company dinner gets a little bit spicy when you notice the tension between you and your table’s waiter.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, light angst | waiter!jungkook

Author: @sodoyouknowbts

One Night Stand : 12/12 ↠ A one night stand with Kim Taehyung turns into something you never would’ve expected.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Smut, fluff | arranged marriage au

Autumn Night : 1/1 ↠ You attend an event to support Namjoon, who is the keynote speaker for the night. You can’t help but feel insecure about the attention and the advances he is receiving from the girls he lectures. You attempt to leave the event early, but he stops you, intent on reminding you exactly what you mean to him.

→ Pairing: Namjoon/Reader | Smut, fluff

Timelines : 8/8 ↠ Jin is a time traveler, trying to get a grip of his ability. He can’t quite figure out why he keeps travelling to times and moments with you.

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Fluff | time traveller au, soulmates au

Author: @army-author ♡

Puppy Loving : 1/1 ↠ Cuddling wouldn’t be complete without Min Holly, Yoongi’s dog, getting in your way.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff

Sequel - Puppy Bites Don’t Hurt Much : 1/1 ↠ When you and Yoongi fall out, Min Holly’s on a mission to make things right again.

Final - Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws : 1/1 ↠ Min Holly’s family is gaining a new member.

Mutual Muses : 1/1 ↠ After helping a young busker one Christmas, he goes on to earn fame and fortune. But he hasn’t forgotten you, or your kind deed.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff | heir au

One Minute under the Mistletoe : 1/1 ↠ You say you don’t want to get back together with Taehyung, but your friends and the mistletoe above your head say otherwise...

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Fluff | boarding school au

Author: @dovechim ♡

Miss Communication : 1/1 ↠ Poly relationships can be complicated. Especially one where there’s an established hierarchy, and someone decides to break the rules. In a series of miscommunications between your boyfriends, you find yourself being the conveyor of peace, and something else that isn’t quite what you expected.

→ Pairing: Namkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | domestic au

Reset : 1/1 ↠ We are made of the pieces of what we remember, and we hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there are memories to call our own, there can be no true loss. But Park Jimin has no such privilege.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, angst | college au

A Serpent’s Flower (co-written w/ @jimlingss) : 2/2 ↠ The wizarding community has learned from its past mistakes, sure, but that doesn’t mean that house rivalries aren’t still an issue. What transpires between you and a certain Park Jimin seems to go far beyond just house enmity though - it’s downright personal, and one might even say you go out of your way to torment him. But when a love potion goes awry, it may just force you to walk in his shoes.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff, smut | hogwarts au, hufflepuff!jimin, slytherin!reader, e2l au

Sequel - Sowing a Sapling ♡ (co-written w/ @jimlingss) : 2/2 ↠ What no one told you about ‘Happily Ever After’s’: the next day, you’ll still have to wake up and go about your life as per normal, because life isn’t a fairytale. You thought you had the rest of your life figured out: settling down happily with Jimin, ruling over all of Hogwarts with an iron fist as the Potions Master, and maybe, in the very distant future, starting a family of your own. But life, as usual, decides to throw a wrench in your plans. With a baby on the way and your husband insistently refusing all attempts at initiating sex, the arrival of a gorgeous new student teacher spells disaster for your marriage. If getting married to Park Jimin was the happiest day of your lfie, what does it say about the rest of your life?

Discipline and Punish : 1/1 ↠ When your brat of a boyfriend shows up unexpectedly at your workplace, you decide you have to teach him a lesson.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | sub jungkook

Edge : 1/1 ↠ Babyboy!Jungkook

Songbird : 1/1 ↠ Vocal line basically takes turns breeding you.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Jimin/Jin/Taehyung/Reader | breeding au

Dark Side of the Moon : 1/1 + 4/4 drabbles ↠ Falling in love at first sight is cliche, not until it happens to you on a dark night in a lonely alley. But you’re only human, while Park Jimin is Alpha of his pack; it could never work out. so you resort to pining for him like a wolf howling at the moon, but when Jimin goes feral, that’s when everything changes.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | werewolf au

The Airport Couple ♡ (co-written w/ @jimlingss) : 2/2 (1): The P[ass]enger from Hell ↠ As a TSA agent, you expect your job to be relatively easy, most passengers these days follow the rules to the T in order to avoid prolonging their custom checks. But not a certain Park Jimin, who seems to have a problem understanding what 100ml is, or the very simple fact that gadgets must be taken out of the bag, and bomb jokes are strictly off limits. Frequent traveller Park Jimin is your nemesis, but darn is he a cute one.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | frequent traveller!jimin, tsa agent!reader

(2): Park Jimin’s Cock[pit] ↠ Talk about Angry Birds, and most people would immediately think of the mobile game app. But within your circle of friends, it stands for something else. It’s synonymous with Park Jimin, one of the most talented pilots from your batch who also just happens to have anger issues, or in other words, air rage. He is your best friend, but when you get teamed up with him as his co-pilot, you can only pray things don’t go south ... literally.

Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | pilot au

Author: @jungblue

Hidden Stars : 5/5 ↠ It started out simple, but when your feelings start to grow for the idol who isn’t allowed to date, things get complicated.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader ft. Yoongi | Smut, angst | idolverse

The T-Shirt Thief : 1/1 ↠ In the midst of your loneliness due to Taehyung’s absence, you decide that you need a distraction, which somehow manifests itself as going over to his apartment and stealing a t-shirt or two… or three…

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Smut, Fluff | idolverse

I Hate You, I Love You ♡ : 5/5 ↠ You hated him at seven, warmed up to him at twelve, and liked him at fifteen. Now the two of you are twenty years old and inseparable best friends… and you’re absolutely in love with him; he’s in love too—just not with you.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | cheating au, best friends au

The Devil’s Change Up : 1/1 ↠ Majoring in athletic training means you have mandatory observation hours to perform with every single sports team at your school throughout the year, and so far it’s been going pretty great. However, when regrets from your past cause your rotation with the baseball team to become a little rocky, there’s one star pitcher who says that he can make it all better.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | college au, baseball player!jungkook

Author: @kittae

Carnal Cupidity ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Things are a little tense in your relationship with your boyfriend, an alpha wolf and leader of his own pack. After another fight, you’ve had just about enough and decide to take matters into your own hands when his heat approaches. Your methods, however, prove to be more effective than intended…

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Smut, fluff | werewolf au

Anemia : 2/2 ↠ Jungkook is a bored and thirsty vampire, desperate for something new, something fresh. And let there just be a new girl at his favorite stripclub. You.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | vampire au

Heavy Petting : 1/1 ↠ Your boyfriend is not just a cat hybrid, he’s also very needy! When you come home from work and you expect him to be all over you, you’re fairly disappointed to find he prefers a nap over some well-deserved quality time. You’ll make sure to pay him back for that.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | hybrid au | sub jimin

Author: @gimmesumsuga ♡

Sweeter than Sweet ♡ : 80/? ↠ You never would have expected someone like Park Jimin to notice you. As handsome and beguiling as he is deadly, you’re enthralled from the very moment you meet. Addicted to his kiss and his bite, Jimin opens up your eyes to a whole new world of love, lust and seduction.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader/Yoongi | Smut, fluff | vampire au

See You ♡ : 2/2 ↠ The one where Taehyung notices you at a concert, and can’t help but want to see you again.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Smut, fluff | idolverse

Orectic : 1/1 ↠ The one where you’re a hybrid in heat, and Hobi helps you out.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader | Smut, fluff | hybrid au

Turn it Up : 1/1 ↠ The one where Jimin takes care of you - and you take care of him.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | sub jimin

Author: @hobibliophile

Blue Blooded : 2/2 ↠ You’ve been happily married to Crown Prince Seokjin for months now. Or so it would appear to the public. What only you and the palace staff know your shameful secret: you never consummated your marriage.

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Smut, fluff | royalty au, prince!jin

Not what it looks like : 1/1 ↠ You run into the campus clown Taehyung when he’s in a weird situation but it’s really not what it looks like. Turns out, Taehyung is not what he looks like either.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Fluff | college au

Try Hard ♡ : 2/2 ↠ Yoongi asks you to help him photograph the university rugby team, and you’re reluctant until you see Jeon Jungkook in uniform. Damn.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | college au, rugby player!jungkook

Author: @inktae ♡

Blue Orchids ♡ : 1/1 + 2/2 drabbles ↠ Hanahaki disease au, soulmate au

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst | unrequited love au

The Blue Notebooks : 1/1 ↠ Time travel au

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Angst

The Raindrop Prelude : 1/1 ↠ Pianist au

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff, angst

Author: @jincherie ♡

Silly Kitty : 2/2 ↠ When your friend Jungkook asks you for a favour you aren’t quite expecting it to end with you taking home the handsome cat hybrid he found in an alley.

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Fluff | hybrid au

Timid ♡ : 1/1 + 2/2 drabbles ↠ Jimin was by far the cutest person you’d ever seen, but he always seemed to avoid you, dodging activities and events that included you. That changes when his home is compromised and he finds himself staying with you while it’s being repaired.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff | hybrid au

Butterfingers : 1/1 ↠ He had you at the first pebble he gave you.

→ Pairing: Namjoon/Reader | Fluff | hybrid au, teacher au

Wanted ♡ : 6/6 ↠ You were a deserter, a renegade, a wanted “criminal”. It was never in your plans to crash land on that planet, and it most certainly wasn’t in your plans to fall in love with it’s handsome ruler.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | space au, alien au, soulmate au

A Well Oiled Machine : 2/2 ↠ Your life takes a bit of a turn when you stumble upon an android in pieces, hidden in an alleyway in an area known for its shadows and debauchery. Taking him home to fix him might have been the best decision you’d ever made, but perhaps there was a little more to the android JK01-97 than you’d initially thought.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | robot au, futuristic au, sub jungkook

Under the Bridge : 1/1 ↠ Your life takes a turn for the better one night when you find a bun under the bridge.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | hybrid au

Tentacledipity : 4/7 ↠ This tale starts, as any good fiction does, with a girl crash landing on a foreign planet. And, like any good fiction, it follows a theme of serendipitous happening, and tentacles. Behold, serendipity and tentacles— or dare we call it…. tentacledipity.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | wanted au, alien au, space au, soulmate au

Author: @gukyi ♡

Start Anew : 1/1 ↠ It’s been five years since you left your hometown, vowing never to return, but a simple invitation to a Christmas party and a yearning to know whether or not you’re truly over the heartbreak you left behind has you wondering if, maybe, the Christmas spirit and promise of a new beginning can change your mind.

→ Pairing: Jin/Reader | Fluff, angst | exes au

I’ll give you my heart : 1/1 ↠ Gift exchanges are cool. gift exchanges with your ceo-slash-best friend Min Yoongi are less cool, because what the hell are you supposed to get the man that already has everything?

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff | ceo au, f2l au, christmas au

Heart is where the home is : 1/1 ↠ When you woke up this morning, you didn’t really picture yourself falling in love with the attractive, well-read traveller sitting next to you on the plane, but a missed connection and an alarming amount of hand-holding later, you find that you both get a lot more than what you paid for.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Fluff, smut | airport au, s2l au

Pen Pals : 1/1 ↠ To put it simply, pretending to be Jungkook’s pen pal when you were both eight just so he wouldn’t be disappointed was a bad idea, because now he’s in love with them. or, well, you, he just doesn’t know it

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | high school au, f2l au

Love, Guaranteed : 1/1 ↠ With the celestial ball quickly approaching, Kim Taehyung is horrified to find out that you, his best friend, are dateless. to remedy this, he initiates The Match Project, a matchmaking service designed to find the most optimal date. to you, it’s an opportunity to meet someone else so you can stop pining after your clueless best friend. To him, it’s an opportunity to finally, once and for all, tell you how he feels.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Fluff, mild angst | f2l au, hogwarts au

Author: @the95liner

Watch Me, Watch You : 3/3 ↠ “Mr. Park, I currently have a 4.0 (A/N: this means 85%+ btw to all the non-american readers) in all my classes of the last four years of my university career, I have one friend, no boyfriend and I haven’t had sex in more than six months. All because I can’t find time to spare for these things since I’m continuously working on assignments, essays and studying for upcoming midterms. I am a hundred percent serious with you right now when I plead for you to give me a second chance or at least consider raising my mark to a decent grade.—”

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff, angst | college au, TA!jimin, camboy!jimin

We don’t talk anymore : 1/1 ↠ Ever since he had seen you play the piano for your music class, he’d been inspired by the complete look of tranquility that conquered your features as your fingered danced across the keyboard. He had made that tranquility his soul purpose of drawing. He dreamt of capturing that expression and gifting it to you.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst, fluff | best friends au, artist!jungkook

Author: @tayegi ♡

What am I to you? : 1/1 ↠ Idolverse, amnesia au.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Angst

Cobalt and Charcoal : 1/1 ↠ Soulmate au.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader ft. Jungkook | Angst, smut

The Golden Boy ♡ : 3/3 + 1/1 drabbles ↠ medical (?) au, fwb au, childhood friends au.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Angst, smut | arranged marriage au, unrequited love au

In Bloom ♡ : 3/3 ↠ Werewolf au.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst

Roommates ♡ : 3/3 ↠ Roommates au, f2l au.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst

Equilibrium pt. 1, Polyamory ♡ : 14/14 ↠ Loosely based on Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader/Jimin | Smut, angst

New Rules ♡ : 12/? ↠ Fratboy!Jungkook.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | college au, fwb au

Elements ♡ : 24/? ↠ Circle of magic au, boarding school au.

→ Pairing: OT7 (?)/Reader | Fluff, angst, mystery | magic au

Author: @namjoonchronicles

Iris : 2/2 ↠ Jungkook made it clear to you, who is chasing who. His inability to show PDA made you question your worth. Until one day, you’ve finally had enough.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst | idolverse

Good Guy : 1/1 ↠ Having a baby with namjoon is your lifelong dream, but medical conditions don’t make that possible anytime soon. what happens when your ex boyfriend being a single dad, comes into your life? How will Namjoon handle his jealousy?

→ Pairing: Namjoon/Reader ft. Chanyeol | Angst, fluff | domestic au

Author: @bwitten

Learning Curve : 1/1 ↠ Switch!Jungkook. Pwp.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut

Author: @mrsmon

Little Lights : 1/1 ↠ Angst.

→ Pairing: Namjoon/Reader

Heartbreak : 1/1 ↠ Angst.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader

Author: @taesthetes ♡

Imbroglio ♡ : 1/1 ↠ The first impression is always important. But so is the second.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff | office au, intern au

The Universe of Us ♡ : 1/1 ↠ The story of Icarus tells of a naive being who loved the sun and flew too close, leading to his untimely descent into the ocean. But what the tale didn’t speak of was how the sun and the moon fell in love with him, too. And with the pull of the tides due to the attraction of the sun and the moon, he tosses and turns, torn between two entities.So if Kim Taehyung embodies the sun, then Jeon Jungkook is the moon.And you are Icarus.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader ft. Jungkook | Fluff, angst | fantasy au, slice of life au

Law and Order: BTS (collab w/ @milknotes) : 3/7 ↠ In the Bighit justice system, romance-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In Seoul, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Bangtan Police Unit. These are their stories. From scandalizing traffic tickets to cuffing criminals, the seven cops must navigate their way through the dangerous streets of bad pick up lines, stealing of hearts, and a whole lot of doughnuts.

→ Pairing: series of one-shots; each member x reader | Fluff | police au

Gauche : 1/1 ↠ Waking up to a one night stand doesn’t seem as great as it did last night.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff | morning after au, college au

Author: @dreamscript

Grow : 1/1 ↠ He’s rude, like his feral plants.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff | fantasy au

Office Visits : 1/1 ↠ Yoongi has a daddy kink.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Smut | pwp, mafia au

Sunshine : 1/1 ↠ And no, he doesn’t wash off the ink, even when you draw a huge dick on his forehead and the teachers give him dirty looks.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader | Fluff | high school au

Picture Perfect : 1/1 ↠ Yoongi’s searching for perfection. He meets you.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff, angst | artist au

Author: @imaginethisbts

Territory : 2/2 + 2/2 drabbles ↠ Dogboy Tae gets extremely possessive when “that time of the month” rolls around and find’s it hard to control his natural instincts and his dominating nature during the monthly occurrence.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Smut | pwp, dogboy!taehyung, hybrid au

Shameless : 1/1 ↠ Taehyung’s the new guy in town, just trying to make some friends. And when Jungkook invites him to a party, he thinks he’s finally gotten a good opportunity to meet some new people. But what he doesn’t expect is witnessing his new friend Jungkook and his girlfriend, you, getting it on in front of him, and all of the other guys, at this so-called party.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader ft. Taehyung | Smut | pwp

It takes two to make a thing go right ♡ : 2/2 ↠ What’s better than one dogboy lover? Two dogboy lovers. But when Tae and Jungkook seem unusually clingy, it can only mean one thing. That time of the month has snuck up on you and your dogboy lovers do not want to share.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader, Jungkook/Reader | Smut | pwp, hybrid au, dogboy!taehyung, dogboy!jungkook

Author: @kainks

Orange Tulips ♡ : 1/1 ↠ You’d remember Jungkook with every life you lived. Only he’d never remember you, never recall how your fates were written in the stars since the beginning of time.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst, smut | soulmate au, reincarnation au

Complete : 1/1 ↠ Jungkook. Staff room sex. Feelings revealed.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | idolverse

Midnight Suck : 4/? ↠ You had seen him drain the life out of someone, there was no way he could leave you alone now.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | vampire au, soulmates au

Author @imsarabum

I won’t stop you ♡ : 30/30 ↠ You drive to your boss‘ house with the intention of returning his wallet he left at the office. You feel uneasy, seeing his manor for the first time - Jungkook also feels uneasy, but for reasons that you could never begin to imagine.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | vampire au

I need you : 1/1 ↠ You and Taehyung are in love with each other, but have never made your relationship official. Taehyung gets too drunk and ends up making out with another girl - and Jungkook lets you know everything the next morning.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Angst | college au

Author: @yoonia

Undo ♡ : 1/1 + 7/7 drabbles ↠ You were his soulmate, that part he knew well. Until one day he didn’t want you anymore. He couldn’t, when all he could see from you was light and all he felt within himself was darkness. Your love has gone cold as he retreated from you, burying himself deep in the dark. But what happened when Yoongi had to watch you start over with somebody else, when Yoongi let his selfishness gain control on him of you.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Angst, smut | exes au, slice of life au

Over Again : 3/3 ↠ Sometimes all we need is closure from the past to be able to move on.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Angst | pianist!jimin, artist!reader

Author: @nchu

Private : 1/1 ↠ A glimpse of something private, something that should have remained unknown to your eyes and suddenly the boy you had believed was innocent had become a man practically reeking of testosterone.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | idolverse

Cheat ♡ : 1/1 ↠ infidelity au.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Angst | idolverse

Author: @ellieljade

Apologies : 1/1 ↠ After a fight, Taehyung can’t bring himself to apologize to his girlfriend until he realizes that she might have moved on. If he wants her he needs to go get her.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader | Angst, smut | idolverse

Only Mine ♡ : 1/1 ↠ When you realized your boyfriend was cheating you didn’t expect the waiter you chose for retaliation to become so important to you. Now that you are engaged it is time for you to finally declare who is the one you belong with.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader | Angst, smut | waiter!hoseok

This is how you lose her : 7/7 ↠ A series of short one shots focusing on the moment or choice that will lead to the end of a relationship.

→ Pairing: each member has an individual chapter | Angst

Author: @noona-la-la-la

Unexpected : 8/8 + 1/1 bonus chapter ↠ An attempt to make Yoongi jealous goes to far - but his reaction is unexpected.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader ft. Taehyung | Smut, angst

Nursemaid : 1/1 ↠ Jimin’s crush comes over to his house to help him out after he suffers an injury that leaves him with limited use of both hands.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut | college au

Author: @winetae ♡

Love me, love me ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Legally speaking, Jimin is yours - the shiny collar clasped around his neck and the adoption papers attest this. But behind closed doors, Jimin makes sure you understand that he isn’t anyone’s bitch.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut | hybrid au

Nudes, not flowers : 2/2 ↠ You’re not supposed to fall for Jung Hoseok and his repertoire of awful pick-up lines - but you do. The problem is: he’s afraid of commitment, and bolts at the idea of settling down. After that, you decide to stay far away from fuckboys, but his friend decides to test your new found resolutions.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader, Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | fuckboi au, college au

Sequel - Tessellate : 2/? ↠ Triangles are supposed to be the strongest and most stable of geometric shapes. You wonder how true this statement is if applied to real life situations. The way you see it: triangles aren’t a reliable structure for relationships, especially if the parties you’re involved with find commitment to be a foreign concept.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader, Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | fuckboi au, college au

What you did last summer ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Yoongi was fine with a lot of things - you maxing out his credit cards to buy ridiculously expensive items of clothing that you never wore more than once, you taking out his newest ride for a spin without permission, you spending an extra thirty minutes on your hair and makeup when he was running late for a dinner function. What he was not okay with, however, was sharing your pussy with barely-out-of-college boys who are incapable of going five seconds without creaming their pants. No, that was where he drew the line.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader ft. OT6 | Smut | trophy wife au

Hearts on Fire : 2/2 ↠ Your boyfriend is a dragon. Or so he claims.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, fluff | dragon!jungkook

All that is Gold : 1/1 ↠ As a college student struggling to make ends meet, Taehyung resorts to a less than ethical method to satisfy his appetite for expensive treats. The last thing he wants is for you to find out how he acquires the Gucci in his closet ... however this proves to be difficult when you are his roommate.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader ft. Female OC | Smut, angst | roommate au, college au, sugar baby au

Author: @minsvga

Lifetimes : 1/1 ↠ You spent almost four lifetimes with the love of your life, hopelessly and happily in love with each other - until you lost him, somewhere in the complex webs of reincarnation. It had been almost two hundred years since then and you hadn’t seen him since, with nothing left of him but his memory.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | reincarnation au, soulmates au, high school au

Inked ♡ : 1/1 ↠ You woke up to an empty bed, groggy and awake and looking for his warmth under the blankets. But all that was left was a letter taped to the desk, the pungent tang of alcohol, and his cologne. He was gone.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Angst, smut | best friends au, musician!yoongi

Author: @joonbird

Breakfast in Bed ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Min Yoongi, a grumpy Ikea employee, is wondering who you are and why exactly you’re sleeping in the display bed at his Ikea.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Fluff, smut, humour | ikea employee!yoongi

King Cobra : 1/1 ↠ Yoongi, the zodiac snake hybrid, requests an evening with you - and asks dog hybrid Taehyung to join.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader ft. Taehyung | Smut | hybrid au

Comfort Inn Ending : 7/7 ↠ It was you who Jungkook gave his heart to - that is, until the day you broke it. And it is you now, hoping that some faultlines can be repaired, and that some broken hearts can be put back together again.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst, smut | infidelity au, idolverse

Author: @kookingtae

The Switch ♡ : 1/1 ↠ You think you’re getting a normal Christmas present from your boyfriend Hoseok, but what he doesn’t tell you is that your gift includes a special power he and the rest of the boys have, enabling them to switch off between one another… during sex.

→ Pairing: Hoseok/Reader ft. OT6 | Smut

True Feelings : 1/1 ↠ You and Jimin have been best friends since before you could remember, but one night could change everything.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, fluff | best friends au, f2l au

Author: @kimvtae *** She no longer writes for this fandom, but please give her works love regardless!

All’s Fair ♡ : 1/1 ↠ They say soul mates get their marks on the same day, and you’ve been dating Taehyung for almost four years now, but it isn’t his name that shows up on your wrist. It’s Jeon Jungkook’s, also known as your least favorite person in the world.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader/Jungkook | Smut | college au, soulmates au

Diamond in the Rough : 2/2 ↠ When a business heir from Busan, Jeon Jungkook, meets you, a poor girl from Daegu, he doesn’t expect to fall as quickly as he does. He’s been told for his entire life to avoid Daegu, a town riddled with gangs and a history of a brutal murder in Busan, but he can’t stay away from you, even when he’s warned that you’re not good enough for him.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst, smut

Fall for You : 3/3 + 2/2 drabbles ↠ You hate a lot of things about Jeon Jungkook; you hate his arrogance, his repuation, and his pet name for you to name a few. But most of all, you hate how right it feels for you to fall into his arms, and how easy it is to fall for him.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | fuckboi au, college au

Dangerous ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Control is all about trust.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | sub!jungkook

Author: @jimlingss

The seven kinds of love ♡ : 1/1 ↠ Love - an intense feeling of deep affection.

→ Pairing: OT7/Reader | Fluff, angst

Service Series : 7/7 + 3/3 drabbles ↠ Do you need a service in the area of love? Look below and maybe you’ll find something you’re looking for!

→ Pairing: each member has a chapter | Fluff

Azure Blue : 2/2 ↠ Fairy au.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Fluff, mild angst

Author: @chiminiemoans ♡

Slight Changes ♡ : 7/? ↠ Taehyung gets caught.

→ Pairing: Taehyung/Reader ft. Jimin | Smut, angst | idolverse, infidelity au

Oblivious : 1/1 ↠ It’s normal for you and Jungkook to bicker all the time, your friends describing your friendship like a cat-dog relationship, but your arguments are only getting worse progressively and you don’t understand why.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, light angst | best friends au, f2l au

Employee Perks : 1/1 ↠ Sure, the employee perks at your job were bonuses, life insurance, sick leave, health benefits etc. etc., but the best employee perk of all was working with a man known as Jeon Jungkook.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut, angst | retail au

Appetence : 1/1 ↠ Jungkook fulfills one of your fantasies.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Smut | idolverse

Author: @submissive-bangtan ♡

Sloppy Savvy : 1/1 ↠ You dominate JK and Yoongi in a passionate threesome.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader/Yoongi | Smut | sub!jungkook, sub!yoongi

Trophy Boyfriend ♡ : 1/1 ↠ He’s accomplished. He’s sexy. He is the perfect subordinate. But something about your new secretary seems off. Yoongi wouldn’t be the first spy in your company.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Smut, action | business au, ceo au, e2l au, sub!yoongi

Snowdrop : 1/1 ↠ The first thing you do after moving in together and setting up the bedroom is attending to Valentine’s joys in the sheets.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Smut, fluff | sub!yoongi, domestic au

Boss Witch ♡ : 4/4 ↠ A mighty sorceress turns her apprentice Jimin into a pain-loving baby boy.

→ Pairing: Jimin/Reader | Smut, angst | witch au, sub!jimin

Fuckin’ Wembley : 1/1 ↠ You take care of a pliant, blindfolded Yoongi before BTS’ concert in London.

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Smut | idolverse, sub!yoongi

Author: @dat-town

Bed warm, hearts cold ♡ : 2/2 ↠ “I wanted darkness… I wanted him.”

→ Pairing: Yoongi/Reader | Angst | greek mythology au, hades!yoongi

Beautiful & Stupid : 2/2 ↠ Didn’t you know? Beauty can get you cursed.

→ Pairing: Jungkook/Reader | Angst | percy jackson au

*wipes sweat* whew. this took me 4 days to format sksjd. part 2 and 3 will be out soon! in the meantime, please check these awesome authors out!

#bts #bts fic recs #fic recs #jungkook x reader #jimin x reader #taehyung x reader #yoongi x reader #hoseok x reader #namjoon x reader #jin x reader #jungkook smut #jimin smut #taehyung smut #yoongi smut #hoseok smut #namjoon smut #jin smut #yeethaw #enjoyyy

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critroleing · 5 years

Text

If Campaign 2 went Live in the Middle (like Campaign 1)

Since you guys liked it so much the first time, let’s run through the real world AU where campaign 2 was the one we started in the middle of, but more in depth this time.

There would be a backstory/introduction vid that played in the beginning of episodes and in the break. This is more or less what it would say:

Caleb: All of his backstory will be explained in one chunk, including stuff like the residuum crystals in his arms, his past name, and the concept of scourgers, stuff that was plot twists that came along the way for us. No attention will be paid to how this backstory came out to the characters. Nor who among the characters actually know any of this. We will assume by default that everyone knows.

Nott: this is the story of Veth, mostly. The story of how she got bullied as a child, had a marriage and a baby, got kidnapped and transformed into a goblin but regained her family and now they’re waiting for her in Nicodranas. The story of how she regained them is kind of like the story of how Pike died. Technically it was in game, but it’s so far away it’s essentially backstory.

Beau: The lore we’ve gotten from her is much more sporadic, but they’ll take the pieces of what we have gotten and treat it like the Lore Drops we’ve gotten from people like Caleb and Nott. Her childhood in Kamordah will be explained, along with how she got kidnapped by monks, has a baby brother and mentor named Dairon will all be given as if everyone knows these facts and not like they were carefully dished out to one person here and one person there. (Because of this the fandom’s view of her will be slightly off from who she actually is, and that will lead to a good chunk of fans disliking her, at least until they get the hang of her character.)

Jester will probably be the least affected by this change. We knew her backstory early and met her mother later, which is how this turns out. Her backstory does reach all the way up to include the gnoll follower she met in Asarius and preparations for Travelercon. The Traveler will inevitably turn up somewhere and talk to Jester. He will seem super shady. In other words, nothing much will have changed.

Fjord: Huge changes here. During the time we wouldn’t have seen Fjord has learned who Uk’otoa is, followed him, almost set him free, stopped working for him, lost his powers and started working for another power. That is a lot of developments to be relegated to backstory, and this is on top of the backstory he already had. There will be a brief mention of Fjord having had a different accent in the past, the fandom will not pick up on how big of a deal that is.

Caduceus: His backstory might include the story of the Clays, the Dusts and the Stones, in which case he will feel a lot like Keyleth did. He will sound like he has a Plan, in a way that he did not seem to, watching it episode by episode. We don’t actually know all that much about Caduceus’ personal life, so his backstory presentation might have to go for the big picture stuff.

Yasha: She’ll get her own presentation. We know this because Ashley wasn’t there for the first few episodes of c1 but Pike’s presentation was there anyway. Explanations of her backstory will include Zuala, blacking out and coming to again, the Stormlord, mentions of Obann but not her current situation. That will be explained in the very beginning by Matt, with interruptions form the rest of the gang. The fandom will not understand how serious it is until Yasha comes back.

Molly will not get a presentation. He, in fact, will not be acknowledged until someone makes a reference to him and suddenly the cast will remember that, oh, the audience doesn’t know who he is. The audience understands that this was Taliesin’s previous character, but the extent of his influence on the party will be lost as we have no real feel for Molly’s character or what he could have inspired in others.

Male pronouns will be used when explaining Molly, people will immediately forget that and it becomes pretty common to see and hear Molly depicted as a woman and then people correcting them. The Ruby of the Sea will take some explaining, but she’s definitely one of the people we have to meet as soon as possible. “She’s the best lay ever, you guys,” Laura informs us. We do not get the joke.

Someone remembers Pumat Sol exists. They try to explain him. It’s really hard. Matt does an accent and the fandom enjoys it.

The fact that the Mighty Nein are already established in Xhorhas feels alienating to a lot of viewers. Apparently they’re heroes of the Dynasty? And have a house? With a tree on it? And Beau’s mentor Dairon is there?

So the reason they are heroes is because they gave the Bright Queen some sort of artefact. The fandom is unsure of what it was or where it came from, but it may be that the Empire has another one. The larger lore of how the Dens and Beacons work is largely lost, and with it a lot of understanding about the larger world and the war.

At some point far in the future it comes out that they’ve already met Trent Ikithon, Caleb’s main bad guy. Nothing much seemed to happen. Lots of meta about how that meeting was going to happen has to be thrown out.

Jester has pets. Sprinkle doesn’t get mentioned a lot, but at least he’s on adventures with them. There is also Nugget, who lives Marion and we eventually get to meet. We don’t know where they came from, presumably Jester had them the whole time, like childhood pets.

They also adopted a baby bird for a while. They say it could mimic speech? The people who know what kenku are have their suspicions, everyone else thinks it’s another pet.

Beau has some trauma related to some academic by the name of Professor Thaddeus. Much meta has been written about who he is and what happened between him and Beau.

They know a gentleman who’s blue and sweaty. He is also maybe Jester’s dad. Jury’s out on that one.

The Empire feels so far away, and so Other. People praise Matt for making the humans the bad guys and the Drow the good guys.

The fact that they were pirates once comes up in conversation. A joke is made about it. Nothing is explained.

Eventually it comes out that it had things do do with Fjord’s patron, there was a sexy cult leader pirate with a French accent who Fjord slept with, and they got banished from the pirate island within a day.

They still technically have French accent pirate’s ship. It’s called the Ball Eater. They go there once and we meet the Tortle bagpiper tattoo artist who runs it. His name is Orly. The fandom loses its’ shit.

The ship is named that because of Fjord apparently. He ate some orbs once, so they say.

Fjord also ate a sword once? Was he in a circus? Yasha and that Molly person were in a circus, was Fjord there too?

Jester carries around a an erotica book. Where it comes from no one knows, but it doesn’t seem out of character for her so we roll with it.

They have had an encounter with a dragon, an ancient white one, but they haven’t killed any.

Except maybe they have?

Beau has slept with two (2) whole guest characters.

Jester casts Sending to talk to a guy. Matt answers in a very sexy voice. We think the guy is an NPC. He’s not.

A sweet lady once sent actual letters with actual, physical gifts to them.

After that there are more than a few bets on what other NPC’s are actually guest characters being jaegered for the moment.

Why are they even called the Mighty Nein? The cast explains that it had to do with a session in the early levels when they were rolling a lot of nines, and it sounds funny when Caleb says it. It was probably funny if you were there, but for the fandom it just sounds kinda dumb.

Nott might get some more shipping attention, given that she’s actually a halfling. She also might not, because she’s both married and ugly.

Fjord and Jester still share a deep bond, but the more overt parts of Jester’s crush that were prominent in the earlier episodes seem to have mellowed out by the time we meet them. Fjord and Jester also haven’t, percentage wise, spent more time together as a pair than a group, so that dynamic isn’t really seen. Fjorester exists, but has a very different vibe to it.

Widomauk does not exist.

Beauyasha might exist, if only because they are the only two confirmed wlw in the group. It’s more of an idea until they meet and chemistry can be measured of course.

Beaujester exists, but very much in the ‘look at their emotional chemistry, wouldn’t it be nice’. In a way, not much has changed, you just have less of a basis to ship on.

Fjorclay might be big for a while, given how important Caduceus has been for Fjord’s journey lately.

Videos resurface of the cast playing at home before this campaign became public. Fjord has a Texan accent. Nott calls herself a little goblin girl. That is a really weird Caduceus voice. Life feels strange.

Sam asks Liam on their podcast what would be the worst character to play in D&D, just the worst. Liam suggests goblin. Seems like he was thinking worst as in most morally dubious.

Nott rolls a natural 1 and shoots herself in the foot with her own crossbow. That’s not good, the fandom thinks, what if she got killed doing damage to herself? Besides, that would look really dumb.

We will never know about Spurt.

Jester, Fjord and Yasha got kidnapped by slavers once, we find out alarmingly late. They seem fine though, so that turns into another trivia fact.

Actually no, that’s probably mentioned in passing when they’re explaining how Molly died. It doesn’t really hit home with most if the fandom though.

Unclear where Caleb can teleport to. Generally assumed that he knows at least one teleport circle in the Empire.

In this world Vox Machina probably doesn’t exist at all. At least not online. Maybe they played all of that campaign at home, so we get occasional references to ‘their first game’ or ‘their home game’ but have no context for that either.

In which case you could make a whole category for references to the first campaign we wouldn’t understand.

Like why Taliesin is explaining how the guns work.

Or the ruins of Draconia down south.

Or why the team were so hyped to go to Whitestone.

Or maybe this was their first campaign after all, and none of these things have any additional context.

Nott will be looked at mostly as a halfling mother. Instead of discussions about if she’s even old enough to be an adult she’s considered older than the rest, and a large contingent of the fandom is mad at her for adventuring when she has a child waiting for her at home.

Caleb has at least two homebrew spells. They are eventually referred to as Dunamancy. The fandom realises the level of worldbuilding Matt’s on in that he’s made an entire new school of magic.

Feel free to add more. I’m sure there’s stuff I haven’t considered out there.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #cr meta #critical role meta #what if cr2 started in the middle #like cr1 did

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