#tbh one of my biggest problems with the show is i could be totally content watching geralt and jaskier dunking on each other for 5 hours

[utahimeow]

play of the game — atsumu miya

summary — your boyfriend cheats on you, so to get back at him you sleep with his biggest enemy— the quarterback of your college’s rival team.

pairing — qb!atsumu miya x f!reader

warnings — nsfw content. minors dni. college football au, mentions of cheating, smut, oral (m receiving), fingering, squirting, unprotected sex, creampie, mild degradation (slut, whore)

word count — 4.7k

author’s note — this is just a porn script tbh

Finding your boyfriend in bed with another girl is not something anyone expects, and it's certainly not something anyone can prepare for.

The faces of the two culprits as you discovered them will remain ingrained in your mind forever— they even had the audacity to act shocked, like you had been the one to inconvenience them.

In an instant everything had turned red, and you turned on your heel and stomped out of the house, curse words flying out of your mouth in a never-ending stream, fists balled up by your sides, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. Not tears of sorrow, though, no. Tears of sheer, total rage.

You didn't even want to look at Ken, let alone listen to him as he trailed behind you and begged for you to let him explain. He sounded pathetic, the way his voice cracked with desperation— anyone would think he's the victim. Not a thing in the world could have convinced you to stay, so you hopped in your car and sped away without looking back.

"Two years tossed away like that. What an idiot. The night before his semi-finals too, unbelievable! And the fact that he cheated on someone like you? Pathetic. Every day I’m reminded why I left your father. And I’m glad I did!”

“Oh, my God, mom,” you exclaim, both out of exasperation and laughter. You’re helping her cut vegetables for dinner— something you’d hoped would get your mind off of the entire situation, but as it turned out your mother shared your contempt for the boy. “I don’t wanna talk about him anymore.”

Her face drops, morphing into a pity that in turn makes you feel bad. “I’m so sorry, I was hoping talking smack about him would make you feel better.”

You giggle, but quickly your shoulders slump.

“I just wanna forget about the whole thing," you admit. Perhaps it's not... the healthiest way to deal with it, but you know from experience that once you let yourself go, everything comes crashing down and you lose control. So you resort to pushing things away for long enough until they're not a problem in your life anymore, and that's exactly what you plan to do this time.

But your muscles are still tense with the burning anger your ex-boyfriend brought you, knowing he probably hoped to get away with it. Probably planned on buying you flowers and a glittery necklace so you wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Why don’t we go to a club tomorrow?”

"What?" you spit, frowning as you whip your head towards her.

"Well, I doubt you still wanna go to your ex's football game," your mom says, shrugging.

"Yeah, but why would we go to a club?" you ask, finding yourself laughing at the absurdity of her suggestion.

"To get drunk and forget, why else?”

You stare at the carrot in your hand, and also the knife, pondering. The last thing you want to do is go to the game. But not showing up would mean Ken wins, and you don't want that either.

You want him to feel terrible for what he did, which is why you'll show up and support his rival team– the Black Jackals. They've always been better in every way. Stronger, more strategic. He despises them for it. No matter how hard he and his team pushed themselves, they could never pull through. It doesn't make it any better that the quarterback is a smug asshole who makes sure Ken never forgets that he's second best.

That's it: Atsumu's the perfect revenge. What better way to get back at a cheater, than sleeping with the enemy?

The next day, game day, you put together an outfit that you know will make people stare, and more importantly it'll catch Atsumu's attention. A simple cropped cardigan that makes it look semi-casual, paired with a tennis skirt that's a little short to be modest.

You show up to the game right as it starts, filled with vengeance and an indomitable will.

Your ex-boyfriend spots you as he runs onto the field, flashing his pearly teeth at you, a smile that once had you melting. Now all it does is bother you. Makes your jaw clench and your hands tighten into fists. You glare back at him with daggers.

Atsumu is easy to spot. He's one of the tallest players on the field, and his presence takes up the entire stadium. His voice booms over the whole field when he barks his callouts. Like a magnet, he keeps everyone's eyes on him, including yours.

The game ends with a final score of 55-46. It's no surprise to you that the Jackals manage to secure their spot in the state finals, not when Ken spends half the game gawking at the way you clap and cheer for the opposing team.

Atsumu's team swarms him, whooping and hollering and chanting his name, and you watch on with a strange sense of pride, or perhaps it's the satisfaction of spite. For a moment he catches your eye as you celebrate like it's your college, shooting you a wink before he's lost in the high of winning again.

Everything's working out perfectly.

You give it about twenty minutes for everyone to clear out until you head to the locker rooms. Before you enter, you reach for your phone, open your messages with Ken, and text him: "be at the locker room in 20 minutes no earlier no later".

The locker room is empty when you wander into it. There's almost no sign of life– except for one person, of course, the very one you're looking for. Number thirteen. Quarterback for the Black Jackals. Six feet and two inches of bleached blond waves and an ego the size of Mars. His confident posture makes him radiate contagious triumph. Frankly it's intimidating as hell, but in a way it thrills you.

You puff your chest out and hold your head high as you approach him, swaying your hips just enough to make you look confident but not conceited. You don't say anything. It's better to let him notice you.

Just a few feet away, Atsumu's eyes land on you, and almost immediately your gaze drops to his bare torso. Tan muscles flex with every movement, glimmering with droplets of water. His towel hangs low on his hips and six defined ripples run down his abdomen to where a distinct v-shaped line dips below the piece of fabric. Before you can help it, your mind drifts to the thought of being pressed against him.

"Hey," he says casually, tearing you suddenly from your little daydream. He looks at you like you're familiar to him.  "You're Ken’s girl, right?"

You're not even subtle when you roll your eyes, sighing as you explain the story you're going to have to explain a hundred times for the next few weeks. "Not anymore. I found him hooking up with some girl yesterday."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry," Atsumu says, face softening into something sympathetic.

You shrug. "It's his loss."

Atsumu grins, and the impressed look he stares at you with fuels your ego, egging you on as you step closer towards him.

"Actually, that's sort of why I'm here. I had an idea to, uh... get back at him," you say as he shuts his locker door over.

"Yeah? What's that?" he asks, turning to face you and towering over you when he does. He's almost scary now– shoulders so wide, even without his gear. You have to consciously tell yourself not to shrivel up and cower in front of him, so you let your eyes wander down his chest in an intentionally obvious way.

"Well... How do you think he'd feel about his ex hooking up with his biggest rival? His loathed enemy?"

Atsumu's thick eyebrows shoot up. For a moment you panic, thinking you've come on too strongly and freaked him out and ruined your chances. But a second later the corners of his lips curl up and his eyes fill with a curiosity and you relax a little.

"What's in it f’me?" he asks, but if he truly weren't interested he probably would have said no by now.

"You get to two-up him. Beat him to the state finals and fuck his ex."

He laughs, and it's the hottest thing you've ever heard. It's a low sound full of a type of confidence that borders arrogance. It's probably the best way to describe everything Atsumu does.

"That why ya wore that little skirt? So I'd notice ya?"

His words come almost unexpectedly, his accent betraying you, making your knees weak. You thought maybe you'd have to do a little more convincing, push him towards abandoning any morals. It leaves you having to compose yourself for a moment before you reply, and that's when your mind formulates a devilish idea.

"Actually it was so Ken would notice me and see what a mistake he made," you quip. That's when a grin spreads over his lips and his fingers land under your chin, immediately sending shivers down your entire body. God. If that's your reaction to a feather light touch of his fingers, then...

He steps forward, closing the gap between you and him until your back is pressed against the cold metal of the lockers. He leans in close, just half an inch away from your lips, so close, yet so far it's painful, but the way his giant figure looms over you has you frozen in place.

"Cute," he says.

"Fuck you," you breathe, so he gives you what you want, and you know it's because he wants it too. He kisses you, hard enough to knock your head back against the locker, but the way his lips melt against yours makes the pain turn into a dull tickle. Your arms latch around his neck like a reflex. His hands land on your waist, one moving straight to your ass, the other drawing circles into your hip as he pulls you in until you're flush against his hard body.

He barely has to try when he pushes his tongue past your lips– you're far too rapt by him to put up any sort of resistance. Your knees buckle, your thighs squeezing together as the pulsing between your legs grows almost unbearable. Atsumu works your mouth with his tongue with such fervour that you forget everything, clawing at his shoulders to keep yourself upright. You don't even realise he's unbuttoned your cardigan until he's tugging at the sleeves, pulling your mouth from his to tear it off of you.

Shamelessly his eyes drop to your chest and to the lacy black bra you chose to wear, then back up at you with a primal desire in his eyes, like he's asking for permission.

"Touch me, Atsumu," you mutter, near-whining when you do.

It’s all the assurance he needs. In the blink of an eye his lips are at your neck and his massive hands are cupping your tits and he's not holding back in fear of pushing too far anymore. His teeth graze at the delicate skin under your jaw, him nibbling at your flesh so harshly that you gasp, then you're smiling when you imagine what your neck will look like– tainted with tiny bruises from him for everyone to see.

You struggle to breathe when he squeezes your tits and kneads them in circles. A tiny moan slips past your lips as you breathe out, and it might be embarrassing if it didn't feel so fucking good.

Atsumu's hands trail along your sides with purpose, sending shivers running down your entire body, until they reach your ass once more. He tugs at the hem of your skirt and you mindlessly fiddle with the zipper to help him shove the fabric down your legs without second thought.

Atsumu pulls away, glancing down, raking his eyes down your body with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Fuck, yer gorgeous."

The air in the locker room is cold– something like sixty degrees with the air conditioner blasting– but you're dying from heat from the sheer hunger in the way Atsumu gazes at you. He wants to ravage you, his mind spinning at the thought of how you'll take him. His cock is so hard already where it presses against your stomach, it almost hurts him. He needs relief now.

"On yer knees," he utters. "Wanna put yer pretty mouth to use." Straight away you're sinking to the floor, sweet eyes filled with mischief. His thumb rests on your lips, gliding over them before he dips the finger inside. You don't hesitate in wrapping your lips around it, relishing the way Atsumu's mouth gapes at the sight.

Hurriedly he tears his towel away to reveal his erection, flushed pink, covered in protruding veins, thick and intimidatingly long. He takes his length in his hand, pumping it a few times to smear the precum that dribbles from his tip along his cock. Then he brings it to your mouth, tapping it against your lips like he's trying to make this moment last as long as possible.

You curl your nimble fingers around his dick, gripping his muscular thigh with your other hand for leverage, and bring his tip to your mouth. Your tongue darts out, kitten licking at his head while you move your hand up and down slowly to tease. For a second you pull back only to spit, using your hand to coat him with your saliva before you wrap your lips around him. He hisses when you do, his hand flying to your hair to push it out of your face.

There's so much of him. You're barely halfway to the base before he hits the back of your throat and your waterline swells with tears. Despite how much you fight to open your airway, you just can't.

"What, can't take any more of me?" he asks, tantalising. "Surprising, considering how much of a slut I can tell ya are."

You wish those words didn't spur you on as much as they do, but soon you find yourself bobbing up and down rapidly on his cock, fuelled by spite as you jerk off the rest of what you can't take with your hand, determined to prove something he already knows. You press your tongue forward, feeling smug when he twitches in your mouth.

"Oh, fuck," he whispers, low and raspy, his hand tightening its hold on your hair.

Before long you're running out of air, so you pull off of his cock with an exaggerated pop, letting a string of saliva follow you as you smile innocently and bat your lashes at him in a calculated manner.

Despite the fact that you're on your knees for him, he's the one that looks like he'll do anything for you.

Your head dips back down, but this time your mouth envelops one of his balls and for a moment you think he's about to pass out. He braces himself on the locker in front of him, letting out a low groan as you jerk him off and mouth at his balls simultaneously.

"Jesus, fuck," he breathes, swallowing hard. The praise makes your heart soar. Seeing him slowly come undone like this because of you sends you on a power trip. It's the strangest adrenaline rush you've ever had.

The noises your mouth makes are nothing but obscene. You let your spit slobber all over him with intent, twisting your hand as you work him quicker and quicker. Atsumu stutters out an endless stream of swears, falling apart slowly above you like it's his first time having his dick sucked. Experience comes in handy sometimes.

"Keep suckin’ like that ‘n’ I'll come all over yer face– fuck," he groans and you don't realise it's a threat until he yanks your head away from him. "Is that what ya want? Or do ya want me to fuck ya?"

Truth be told, Ken would lose it if he found out you so much as flirted with someone like Atsumu. If he knew you sucked his dick, you can guarantee some damage will be done. But if he knew you fucked him?

Without hesitating, you bring yourself to your feet, to your pathetic height compared to his, watching him devour you with his eyes. His hand moves to the space between your legs where he grazes fingers grazing over the fabric of your panties.

"Bet yer soaked already, hm?" he says. His eyes are half-lidded as he stares at you and your mouth drops open as he presses his fingers gently against you. Like a sadist, he smiles a little at your every reaction to his touches that are never quite enough, but that's just what he wants.

"Knew it," he says. He’s grinning. It’s terribly condescending. "Ya are soaked. And I haven't even taken yer panties off."

"Atsumu, please," you manage, but it's more of a whimper than actual words. He presses a little harder and you jolt, curling your hands around his biceps and giving a pathetic whine.

"What? Tell me what ya want." He knows exactly what.

"Need you..."

He laughs, low and patronising. "Sit on the bench for me, baby. Gotta prep ya first."

You do as told, settling on the bench a few feet away with your legs shamelessly apart for him. His massive hands are rough against your inner thighs, but still he manages to raise goosebumps all over your skin. His fingers find the band of your underwear, pulling lightly.

"Want these off ya," he rasps. You raise your hips a little as he tugs the fabric down your legs, leaving you entirely exposed and growing hot. "God, yer body is fuckin’ gorgeous."

His fingers move to your clit, and a moan slips out of your mouth once he starts to draw circles against it.

"So sensitive. What, yer ex-boyfriend never touch ya?"

He did. He wasn't bad, per se, but he was nothing mind-blowing in bed. Perhaps it's the rush of energy, the thrill of this entire ordeal that amplifies even the most gentle touches for you.

Atsumu's finger circles your hole, never quite dipping in like he's purposely testing your patience. His mouth curls into a devious grin as he gathers up your arousal and spreads it all over your clit, drawing a gasp out of you. "Yer dripping."

Still you physically don't care enough to feel embarrassed, even though you should be at the effect this man has on you. But when he slides two of his long fingers inside, with complete ease of course, your mind switches off and the only things that occupy it are Atsumu and the flicker of warmth growing in your stomach.

Slowly he pumps his fingers in and out of your hole, but his movements are filled with restraint. As much as he wants to fingerfuck you into oblivion, he needs to get you worked up first. Already your pussy clenches around him, sucking his fingers in subconsciously. He chuckles and you burn up.

"Needy little whore," he whispers, before his fingers curl upwards until they find that sweet spot within you with practised ease. Your head falls back then, a quivered moan leaving your mouth as he starts to stimulate you there.

What starts off steady turns into Atsumu dragging his fingers in and out of you with haste. His bicep flexes as he moves his wrist, thin veins popping up on the skin of his arm. He fucks you with such force you're shifting up and down the bench, crying his name as he pushes you towards your climax.

Your thighs tremble. Eyes rolling into the back of your head, your hands grip the edge of the bench so hard you might snap the wood. The pressure in your abdomen builds, but so does something else, something deeper at the same time.

Atsumu notices. He sees the desperate arousal in your eyes and speeds his pace even more to something almost unbearable.

"C’mon, be a good slut ‘n’ cum all over my fingers," he says with a grin.

His word is all you need. A few more pumps of his curved fingers and you're hurtling towards your orgasm. Your muscles go tight, and you're clenching around him, and everything is wet because you're gushing as you come.

Atsumu looks ridiculously proud, even more so than when he won today's game. He's got a shit-eating grin on his face, and it takes a few moments for it to hit you that you just squirted.

"Holy shit," you breathe. "I didn't... know I could do that."

Next thing you know, he grabs you by your waist, drops down to the bench and pulls you into his lap like you're nothing but a rag doll, giving you no room to breathe. You're still dizzy from your first orgasm, and now Atsumu drags the tip of his cock through your folds, making you flinch when he glides it over your sensitive and puffy clit.

"Ready?" he asks, letting his dominance crack momentarily to be replaced with subtle concern.

"Yeah," you breathe, tightening your grip on his shoulders as you brace yourself. Truth be told, you’re not ready. Your limbs feel as though there are weights strapped to them and if it weren’t for Atsumu’s thick arms holding you upright you’d probably flop right over. But the look on his face, the hungry gleam in his eyes fills you with greed.

A second later and that concern slips away completely as he pushes himself in, grabbing your hips to sink you down onto his cock slowly. He's barely inside you when you hiss out. The more he presses in, the bigger the stretch, and soon you feel as though you're being split in half.

"F-fuck, you're too big," you gasp, nails digging into his skin. It's a conflicting sensation, the sting as he splits you open and simultaneously the delicious feeling of him filling you up.

"Ya can take it, can't ya, baby?" he says, but it's not a question. It's a demand disguised as sympathy because moments later he pulls your hips down and buries himself to the hilt inside you, leaving your head spinning from the mixture of pain and bliss.

He's so, so much bigger than Ken and God, can you feel it. You think he might be reaching your cervix with how deep he is inside you.

With his hands clutching your hips, Atsumu begins to guide you up and down his cock. He's slow as he moves you, which shouldn't be too bad, but the strength he uses has you near gasping for air after only a few seconds. The backs of your thighs smack against his every time he brings you down, cutting through the silence of the entire locker room.

When his hips start to thrust up to meet yours, that's when you black out for a second.

"Oh, my God," you moan, so shameless it almost surprises you.

"Yeah?" Atsumu grins. Bronze eyes beam with enthusiasm, his hips spurring with speed. "Feels good?"

You start to reply, but a particularly hard thrust has you yelping out, an airy whimper that in no way helps the way that Atsumu fucks you with near-rage.

"Fuck, yer fuckin’ tight," he groans through gritted teeth. His fingers on your hips are turning unholy with a force that guarantees you'll have marks there to match your neck. Deep in your abdomen, a knot forms, tightening with every stroke and every breathy noise that Atsumu makes. "So wet too. God, I could cum right now."

He's pounding into you without relent. Your sweat-slick skin is flush against his as his cock drives into your sweet spot effortlessly with every merciless thrust. It drags against your warm, plush walls so nicely that you quickly find yourself becoming addicted, mind hazy with a craving to be fucked like this forever.

Out of the corner of your eye, in your fucked out state you can just about make out a figure at the entrance to the locker room.

Ken stands frozen, his face expressionless except for the way his mouth hangs and he blinks rapidly. You don't tell Atsumu to stop. You don't even think about it. He's far too taken over by a primal urge as he fucks you to even notice that someone's there.

You make sure to gaze directly into your ex-boyfriend's eyes as you give an obscene moan, grinning as you watch him stumble to leave, and everything becomes more sensitive as the success of your plan settles.

"Fuck, Atsumu," you whine, high pitched and needy, making his cock throb where it's inside you. You drop your head to his neck, nipping softly at his skin while his hands move to your ass and use it to keep you bouncing on his cock.

"Such a slut. Walkin’ in here and beggin’ me to fuck ya," he grunts. "All to get back at yer bitch of an ex-boyfriend, hah? Bet he never fucked ya this good. Bet ya never took his cock this well."

You're gripping onto Atsumu's toned shoulders for dear life, moaning desperately into his flesh as he pounds away at you. Your arousal drips down your thighs and there's a squelch with every drag of Atsumu's cock in and out of you. The knot in your stomach grows tighter and tighter until you're clenching all around him.

"I'm– ngh– I'm close," you warn him in a muffled, broken whimper. It's all you can manage right now with your brain nothing more than a fuzzy mess.

"Yeah? Gonna cum on my cock like a whore? Come on, baby. Cum on my fuckin’ cock." Atsumu is breathless too. He sounds out of it, his accent growing stronger in his ferocity as he coaxes you towards another orgasm, words mingling together as he speaks.

All it takes is a couple more thrusts of his cock until that sensation is back, before the heat in your belly erupts and spreads through every muscle in your body. Everything goes tense as the overwhelming bliss washes over you and it feels so good you're yelling, eyes rolling into the back of your head. You cling onto Atsumu as a surge of liquid from your pussy rains over his thighs.

Again. You squirted again.

"Good fuckin’ girl," he groans, baring his teeth with triumph, his hips never slowing their relentless pace. In fact, the way his cock throbs against your walls has him fucking into you with even more abandon as he chases his own climax.

"Gonna fill ya up, a’right?" he says. It's more than okay.

"Please," you whine despite the way the stimulation borders on painful now, and exhaustion starts to settle in from your two orgasms in a row. "Want your cum."

Atsumu gives two, three more rough thrusts before it's game over. Then with a guttural moan from the depths of his chest and a throb of his cock, he releases his load into you, hips twitching as he stuffs you full. The warmth as he fills you up brings a wave of fatigue, leaving you trembling in Atsumu's arms.

For a few moments, you're both entirely still as you catch your breaths and drag yourselves back to reality. Slowly and eventually, you regain enough strength in your limbs to move, to climb out of Atsumu's lap and land on your feet, but you feel like a baby deer when you stand because your legs are next to useless.

"Woah," Atsumu laughs, reaching out to steady you as you stumble forward. He stands too, helping you stay upright by your elbows. "You good?"

"Yeah," you giggle. He looks pretty, with his flushed cheeks and swollen lips, his golden hair a matted mess on his forehead and his pupils blown out.

"Think I gotta shower again," he says, chuckling. "Also think ya should join me."

There are a few things he could be implying with his proposition, and really you should probably say no. But you're reckless. Drunk off of him. Somehow you still haven't gotten enough of him. The wink he gives you doesn’t help.

"...Okay.”

#atsumu smut #atsumu miya smut #atsumu x reader #atsumu miya x reader #haikyuu smut #hq smut #atsumu fanfic #atsumu miya fanfic #atsumu imagine #atsumu miya imagine #haikyuu fanfic #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu x reader #꒰ lovers. ꒱ — atsumu

[kaleidosouls]

SU reclaimed pearl rambles

im gonna use some annoying comments i got on my reclaimed pearl as a springboard for what i think could be interesting discussion because i think its good to engage with criticism/different opinions. but also if you talk to me like an asshole i want you to fuck off and i promised i wouldnt engage in that kind of stuff bc its not good for me and it doesnt Look good for me either.

so i can talk about my thoughts but not engage directly, win win. its been months but im still really fond of the pearl i made specially this art. like it coudl be better but i like it well enough. just a little header so this isnt a boring post with only text

i think like, its good to establish ground rules that like, i think most of the poor reactions ive seen towards my art were missing, mostly in bad faith probably but in case theres ppl who earnestly want to understand. actually maybe i can format it like a little FAQ even though theyre not frequent or asked lskdjg just for outlining my points. ill put it behind a cut but ill frontline w this: if youre a fan of pearl in the show, this content is not for you. youre allowed to like whatever you want and so am i. if you like her, we probably wont get along and you probably will feel very personally irritated by how i FEEL about her, so just walk away now. im not gonna engage with petty shit taht juts boils down to 'im mad you dont like what i like'

onwards to more rambling / sorta responding to some criticism

i scrolled back and i guess i sorta never have actually done a proper full explanation post about this AU have i? or maybe i have and deleted it, i forgor

why did you change pearl?

because i hate her, simple as. i went from a huge SU fan to hating watching it (i did finish) and pearl is probably The biggest reason why, as like issues with her character seep into other aspects of the show that i also hate. like i mean i Realyl hate her. she makes the experience of watching the show really irritating and miserable for me. if you dont feel taht way about her thats totally normal and whatever but no one is gonna change my experience and feelings that i had watching SU since the 1st season was coming out.; anyway answering. there is a Lot i love about SU and want to engage with, so i had the idea of like,maybe ill just change pearl, cause i wanted to delete her, really, but she is one of the main characters and she hasa function as a character that you cant just do away with. essentially im just like, some guy, who draws, coping and trying to reclaim his teenage investimetn in this show. literally its just for ME. but if anyone else feels like i do, then they can enjoy it too. if somoene doesnt feel like i do, go watch like pearl fancams or smth. like ill never be able to literlaly change the show as it is, like its happened, and its a tragedy im trying to move on from (begrudgingly)

why do you hate pearl?

the long laundry list of reasons are probably apparent in the ways i remade her lol (theyre not i can tell ppl are gonna project whatever worst bad faith reason for any change i make) but tbh the core of it is this, which is like, beyond whatever traits she has and whatever: she reminds me of my abusers. always had, from season 1, but like it became worse as the series went on. its like really infurating and upsetting to watch SU bc of her. had my abusers been a different kind of person, maybe i wouldnt hate her so much (kinda doubt tbh). like her personality and behavior are like hough disgosting!!

why did you change (some physical trait about her design)?

i dont really necessarily have a PROBLEM with canon pearls design. over the years ive come to like SU's style less and less but like, gestures, whatever. like i didnt like it or anything but its not like a bit deal compared to the actual offender that is her personality and behavior. the reason i redesigned her at all is bc like, if i hadnt, i would still be thinking about the way she is in canon all the time. like ive visually associated her like, appearance with all the shit about her thta makes me upset so i had to so she didnt look like the same person anymore, and i can try to let go of some of the hatred in my heart. like i want to think about the thigns about SU that i loved and also the potential i always saw in it and canon pearl is like, an active obstacle to that, to the point taht i cant even see her without getting like irked. i tried to keep enough similar traits so from a glance youd be like, who the fuck- is that pearl? rather than like. completely change her entirely to whatever i wanted. i do want to like, its a creative exercise. i want to try and change the things that would make me happy to see gone but try to work within the constraints of the SU we Did get as much as i can tolerate. bc like.... if the sky was the limit then at this poin wed just have to throw the whole thing away and start from scratch. like its kinda not really very salvageable, like im not rewirting SU to be like a Good show or fix Everything, its kinda too broken. im just chnaging enough so i can look at the actual show, screenshots, songs etc, and not feel overcome wtih like the grief and irriatation of how much it sucked ass. its just so i can enjoy more of it again

i dont like your redesign for (insert reason)

cool. thanks for your input. youre welcome! eat my asshole. seriously though, like, shrugs. i didnt make it for anyone other than myself. tbh im not fully satisfied with it either bc i think the SU style is kinda ugly, so im at a crossroads. should i mostly abandon the SU style? ive like, tested out tweaking things, it mightve been noticeable in screenshot redraws. drawing within the SU style is to create that coping 'oh it was totally like this haha' vibe but maybe im old enough to not need that anymore lol. like ive heard ppl say shit like shes ugly, or like sneakily trying to imply im like, got some agenda over beauty or racism etc. like whatever, think whatever you want, its not for you. go back to sucking up to rebecca or smth like i cant take the og pearl away from you still i am open for like that kind of criticism like, do i have personal biases affecting my design decisions? probably. i do try to keep aware of why im choosing certain things, but really in this case i cant emphasize enough how like, irritating it is that i have to change her design at all. like its hard to come up w smth else when the rest of the cast ahs already been design to balance off the og pearl. i probably wouldnt change almost anything if the sight of her didnt piss me the fuck off! most of all i kinda wouldve preferred to keep her hair short bc it messes up the sillouete but it makes me think too much of canon pearl so i made it long :/ i was like let me tell you my design thought process: -im gonna try to keep as many recognizable traits about her design while taking away bit by bit until she doesnt look like the og pearl to me anymore and i dont feel angry seeing her. pearl is lanky, tall, spindly, with a gem on the forehead, blue white pink yellow pastel colors, large pointed nose. i kinda tried to keep these traits while slightly tweaking their design until she looked different enough. is it a good design? eh idk. like the purpose is to make me not hate her and it does that job

now this hate comment im gonna grace with keeping it intact except removing the person bc its not about them. its like, a very stupid ass headed comment but im actually kind of interested in like,jumping off of it to ponder some things

im not heterosexual or cis enough to know what exactly wife bate means in this context so im gonna like guess, that maybe i could extract this q from that reply (also not looking like shes from steven universe is a compliment thanks)

you took away her personality and made her boring

the only thing i can assume is that like, some people must interpret the absence of an assholey personality or like abusive behavior is 'boring'. i know thats a really bad faith assumption but like, if ive written down a bunch of personality traits and you still come out saying thats 'no personality' what am i to make of that lol. based on my experience like Existing online, people tend to often call nice characters 'boring', like dude ive done it before, but i think im kinda over that edgy phase. also again, its for me and not for you so if you think shes boring, thanks for your input i dont care. but thinkign about it earnestly, i dfeintely dont want to make a character thats just no flaw and not interesting ofc, i havent done that with reclaimed pearl. that being said i havent like, probably written a lot demonstrating what i want her to be like instead of the canon pearl so, maybe ppl just are feeling lost with the lack of information.

personally, if i hear someone thinks a character is boring bc theyre not abusive anymore like, nothing of value has been lost. but characters do need flaws in order to create conflict and cause things to happen, like in a way canon pearl is like All flaw, which wouldnt be a problem except she gets away wtih all the horrible shit she did. heres some traits i want to explore with reclaimed pearl, some are similar to canon i just wanna go about it a different way: being overprotective/possessive to steven in a smothering way, projecting abandonment issues, not reaching out/communicating her emotions properly, lacking indepedence/self worth, depending on others to avoid confronting her own issues, being very passive and insecure and lacking initiative (this being the totally opposite trait that canon pearl has), stunting stevens development due to her not being ready for him to grow up and not need her anymore. and more, this is just from the top of my head. maybe thats still too 'boring' for ppl because shes not being selfish and inconsiderate enough to others so you can relate to her but i dont care :p

gosh how do i go about like, presenting the content i ahve in my head for this AU).. i cantjust remake the whole damn show. i would if i could, tbh

i have concerns about racist implications wrt (insert thing here about my redesign)

imma be frank. i dont know how to compltely 'clean up' any possible bad associations wrt pearl as a character given how like, rebecca has literally like, made her to be a slave in love with her slave owner and made it to be like, an uwu ideal lesbiab thing for most of the show until they tried to pretend no we understood the flaws in this dynamic all along and its bad actually , uhh, anyway shows over haha

ill say the main reason i changed her skintone is, bc that would be the like most instant way to make her look differnt from canon (which is vital for me for the reasons said above), and i did consider like, does this make the whole thing worse, or, ?? like, as they made it in the show, techincally All the gems are slaves to the diamonds, arent they? including all the very totally progressive poc based gems including and specially the ones who are made to be understood as black women. bruh like idk what to tell you this show is just fuckig bad sdlgkj like its just way too like, pervasive in my teen years forme to throw the baby w the bathwater entirely. and ill just straight up say it, like, im not a specialist on these topics nor do i hav ea position of authority to speak on about it. like the pearls read more clearly as slaves (very intentionally by the showrunners) bc they are meant to be subservient to gems Other than diamonds. and also bc they like fit in the stereotype of housemaid servant. like the rubies being made to just be forced to go and fight like they are slaves too, they have no rights and no like, authority to disobey or autonomy. but fsr like, slavery as in physical labor just doesnt immeidately set off ppls alarms as much as housework slavery does fsr.

i can only rly like change the canon so much and try to like, tweak things so it doesn feel as gross but i think for it to be cmpletely not insneistive at all youd have to throw away the whole show. and like i said, this isnt like me saying like im making the show good or as it shouldve been, im making it so I (and ppl who share my feelings about the show) can feel less shitty just thinking back to it. its just an exercise. im not like mass media im just one independent artist and shit will come out insensitve sometimes and im sorry but im also like, my art isnt meant to be representative and like, responsiuble for fixing all of society and racism like i actually cant do that. ill just do the best i can as an asian dude but like, if my work makes you upset, im sorry, but also just block me. like i cant please everyone. or like, even better, make YOUR take on pearl taht you feel would be better, like make the art you feel should exist.

this post is too damn long and id be surprised if anyone reads all of it but if you do, tahnk you! i felt kinda like ready to fight tonight so im triyng to redirect it from aggression to like, thinking. i cant guarantee im making new content for su reclaimed anytime soon but i would really like to, tbh

#su critical #steven universe reclaimed #ranting whatever blah blahb lah sdkjg

[starsapphire]

4 and 16

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

ummmm hm. i don't really block people for being annoying tbh... i know i have at least once but i don't remember what it was for. or wait no actually i blocked someone yesterday cause they made an annoying comment on my post

16. you can’t understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

SO MANY ANSWERS I COULD GIVE U........ but i think my biggest one right now (changes frequently depending on how annoying people r being <3) is jack and janet drake being bad parents. or i guess janet in particular. there's SO MUCH fanon content where janet is emotionally and even physically abusive, she hates tim's guts, she neglects him, et cetera et cetera. but there is no evidence of janet ever even hurting tim's feelings. in fact, janet hardly shows up at all. janet drake has 19 appearances in pre-flashpoint comics. at least three of those are as a black lantern resurrected corpse; even more are as a hallucination; half of the rest are as a background character at haly's circus. the most we see of janet is when she is 1) about to die or 2) already dead. so how the fuck do you know she was an abusive parent??? i have complicated feelings about jack drake (and his — and only his — emotional abuse) that i'm not going to get into but at the very base level, neither jack nor janet ever physically neglected or physically abused tim. and frankly there is no evidence that janet ever even enabled jack's abuse; we never really see jack as he might have been before being poisoned and watching his wife die. tim drake has enough actual problems that i'm sure you people can turn into woobifying nonsense without you making up total lies to showcase how pathetic and abused he is lol

#also like. it's great that people don't understand emotional abuse. i don't want anyone to ever have to #but if you don't understand it why are you writing shitty fanfiction about it of all things. girl #anyway #p #ask game

[hisui-cotton]

I'm about to vent about something that people probably wouldn't care about but the longer I think about the more I'm upset by, and tbh I think other people should atleast keep in the back of thier mind.

Crunchyroll moving to a subscription only model, removing free viewing containing ads. That sounds crazy right? How can I be upset about that? Not to mention I am subscribed already so it's not like it affects me! And it's probably to assist in all the pay distribution that people have been pointing out regarding translators and such right? I don't know. But I am super sure it's not a great idea and that the pay problems could be better solved without affecting the viewers especially with the influx they'll recieve from Funi closing down.

My main problem with it is that they'll have one of the biggest and most accessible libraries of anime. Except they'll quite literally be closing it and making it less accessible. I'm not worried about people turning to pirating anime from there, if you're someone who is willing to pirate anime already there's no reason you'd be watching anime on crunchyroll. But to people who cannot safely browse pirate sites or those who are looking for something secured under crunchyroll's belt, then they have to pay for the subscription. Then if you're younger and have no money to get a subscription, it's dependent on you convincing your parents to get you one.

It's really had to explain but let me put it this way...Netflix was once the only streaming channel. They has a market as being able to provide high quality steaming for movies with no ads because they were the only ones. Over the last few years they've finally gotten competition, raised prices several times, and are confused why people are willing to drop them for other services.

While Crunchyroll is not offering an extreme variety of entertainment, the focus is anime and anime adjacent content. However, with the merge of Funimation and Crunchyroll there is literally no doubt that they have some of the greatest selections of anime now. It's a service that also brings anime internationally, providing anime to regions that would otherwise be even more at risk when pirating or just have no access to be able to pirate in the first place. But even more so there's some extremely devoted fans internationally that want to be able to support anime as directly as possible and Crunchyroll is the only place they can do that and get decent quality subtitles or video.

The fact that the free viewing, though it includes ads, is just going away entierly is pretty disgusting. In a time where people are less and less willing to deal with ads but you want to be able to be as accessible as possible, to have that option is crazy. By eliminating it you're effectively removing a group of people that was so happy to just be able to see anime, that they're willing to watch ads. That they're willing to sit through whatever garbage is being pushed to them to watch thier favorite show or something totally new. And you may think that you're just cashing in on new subscribers coming from funimation or who picked up watching anime over the pandemic, but you are targeting a very specific class and age range by saying that your platform will no longer provide a free option.

It's just very "grabby hands" in my eyes to be like "Well we now have no more competition. Let's cash in and make the niche even harder to get a grasp on!" I'm sure there's plenty of people at both Funi and Crunchy who are aware of it and disappointed it "has to happen" if that's what they're told. But to also be fair the company is vastly underpayment them and if gating the content entierly is the only solution that can be offered they will likely take it. Maybe the number of free viewers is pretty low to begin with and they don't feel it'll be a loss to cut it entierly. On the other hand if most if the free viewers are watching the most content overall, even as a minority of the viewership, then it could end up being a blow to them later down the line.

But I'm not a part of crunchyroll or funimation. I'm someone who has been subscribed to both and enjoyed the content they've brought. I really enjoyed the collaboration they had a few years ago and thought how interesting would it be to see the two merge. But at the same time recognized it'd be really really devastating to consumers if that happened. Which ever came out on top (in this case it was Sony choosing Crunchy) they'd effectively be able to lay the field and call the shots for anime price or availability even for the most minor of shows, limiting literally any possibility of a consumer or fan finding the show anywhere else or being able to see it in the first place.

Overall it's just upsetting to think that those who can't afford to put it in thier budget or kids that can't pay to watch thier favorite content won't be able to do so as easily as I could growing up. Crunchyroll was a great place to see good anime and not have to pay because it came with ads. There was decent quality and subtitles that always worked. The subtitles thing is honestly one of my favorite minor features in crunchyroll, where when your video quality goes down, the subtitles get a bit larger to ensure they're always readable. They literally made the foundation of accessible viewing by originally being a pirate site! Yet now that they are the only competition when it comes to supporting anime directly (bc let's be honest Disney and Netflix are not pulling anime fans at the rate Crunchyroll probably does) they decide its not worth it to keep that general sense of accessibility.

Just disappointing to think about.

#long post #text post #crunchyroll #my opinion #anime #not to say that im sure this will be terrible but this is pretty sucky #apologies for this being loke outta nowhere i just watched the g word and considered that the idea of voicing my opinions is importabt #especially when the topic is important to me

[katatonicimpression]

Thoughts about the Iceman mini series a few weeks on:

I'm surprised by how positive I still feel about it. I was expecting my enthusiasm to be at least 70% "new content finally omg" and fade a lot over time, but actually I still feel really good about it.

Thinking about what other people have said:

A lot of the backlash I've seen is from people who just really don't vibe with the art style which is a) completely valid but b) not really a complaint I care about. Like, for instance, I can't watch Rick and Morty - the animation makes me feel physically ill idk it's so off-putting - but I couldn't use that as an argument for or against the overall quality of the show. It's not bad necessarily - it's just a style I don't like. It's just one of those things.

I've seen some people complain about the Romeo thing, and tbh I really don't care. Some people have made it out to be problematic, but I don't buy into that, which I've talked about elsewhere. And I've also seen some people complain that Romeo isn't really an independent character and it's bad for that reason. This is funny to me because Bobby's last love interest was Christian and that was the biggest non-event let's be real.

It's fine if Bobby goes on dates with a side character. Like, I cannot stress enough how much it is not a problem that he has a random love interest that isn't a pre-existing major character. And it's weird to see people suggesting "fixes" to this that are just ludicrous ideas narrative-wise? Maybe people need to stop viewing characters' relationships as their assigned endgame ship, and instead see this storylines as what they are. i.e. stories.

Some negatives:

I think my biggest worry about this in general has nothing to do with the mini-series itself, and has more to do with Duggan, and Bobby's writing outside of his solo appearences.

I can't imagine anything from this series being revisited or continued by Duggan in a way that isn't just plain awful. I think Vecchio's done a good job of filling in the void left by Marauders, but what good does that do if he spends another few years in limbo? I can appreciate the series as its own, standalone thing. But still - I have very low expectations going forward.

The global warming thing is a funny thing to bring up, but idk maybe it would be funnier as a tweet. I do like the ever present implication that 616 earth just has way worse pollution and eco damage than the real world, and that's why the Storm and Bobby can't fix everything. Maybe whatever Tony Stark is up to is just environmental poison. Maybe the human torch's carbon footprint really is that bad.

Another thing I've thought of is that there are aspects of Bobby's character that didn't get explored here and maybe could have been. Bobby's dad is Catholic, and his mum is Jewish. This didn't get brought up in this comic at all, and it's not like it had to be, but like. Ok, so the way I interpret it is that the mixed nature of Bobby's heritage is less about his own beliefs and lifestyle (you never get the impression he's particularly religious in the first place, or that he has any angst about fusing the two different cultural traditions), but more about the way he feels inadequate and out-of-place. Like, he's got all these insecurities and imposter syndrome, and his childhood experience of "I don't belong anywhere" is a part of that. I bring it up because THIS IS TOTALLY RELEVANT to the themes of this series and could have fit in seamlessly.

Some positives:

Related to the last thing, I did really appreciate how the series directly confronts the "living up to your potential" thing and calls it out as a false and harmful way of understanding his life. Yes, this was the original unsubtle theme of the 90s storyline, but seeing as Duggan seems to not understand it, it's worth repeating it. Bobby does belong, he's not an imposter. I really appreciate this.

I also think Vecchio is good at handling the omega mutant thing. Like, ok so if you're writing Storm or Magneto or whoever, you know that it's never a question of whether or not they can do The Impressive Thing with their powers. It's a matter of when and how, and what their internal journey is like. This is not super complicated by hey, Duggan struggles with it so I guess it's worth spelling out. It's not inherently impressive or interesting for Bobby to get really big, or survive an injury, or freeze a lot of stuff. And it's weird for him to brag about it when he does. It's about putting something creative on the page, and about feeling feelings.

I loved the bit about being distant from humanity. That was on point for the character.

He should get to keep the facial hair.

He's being drawn too blue in other comics. Vecchio goes for mostly white with blue accents and that's fine, but not the only way of doing things. There are tons of good blue Icemen out there. But he shouldn't be looking like Dr. Manhattan. Just move that cursor up a little bit on the old colour diamond. Please. For me.

#i love how much of this is just me complaining about one man #you know who #iceman (2022)

[kpopmakesmequestionmylifechoices]

Kingdom Round 3: "Plagiarism", rigged voting and fanwars.

[Disclaimer: It is possible that for fans of certain groups I'll come off as offensive. I like each of the groups, I possess albums of TBZ, SF9 & SKZ, and I watched HOURS of content/debut programs of ALL the participating groups. Nevertheless, I will ALWAYS say my honest opinion. If you want to fight me, you're ofc allowed to do so but I hope you're all mature enough to not feel offended by opinions.]

Act 1: Tbz, where do your ideas come from?

So what I've noticed is that there's a massive difference between tbz behind the scenes and other groups'. Not only in this episode. So far, tbz simply DID NOT show how they create ideas, stages, how they practice. They picked a song, fooled around, and then met up with RTK members. It was cute sure, but it had NOTHING to do with the stage. The other groups showed practice scenes, showed their ideation process, showed who taught them and how. The boyz didn't. No practice, no ideation. Only song choice. We didn't see them practicing the choreo, we didn't see how they even got the idea for this stage. Their behind the scenes footage sadly has NOTHING to do with their performance. I really wish we could see them practicing and coming up with ideas.

Another big problem I see with this, is that they literally don't explain where their ideas come from. Now for people who know Game of Thrones (GoT hereafter), it probably appears rather obvious that the previous and also this stage was inspired by GoT, right? The white walkers? Ice and fire? The throne? The freaking red wedding??? I can't be the only one who sees a connection between their stages and GoT. ATEEZ said they were inspired by Pirates of the Carribbean. SF9 said they were inspired by film noir and showed how they worked with an actor on their storyline. iKON explained how they associate inception with dreams and put together their ideas. But TBZ didn't freaking talk about any of this. Either it was never recorded, or it never was aired. In any way, it's extremely suspicious in my eyes. Moreover it's just pretty shit to not say where your idea comes from. Especially not when you even name your stage after the iconic red wedding... Now IF they were NOT inspired by GoT, then it would be some... extremely huge coincidences... especially the stage title is just a bit too much tbh. But more to that stage later.

Edit: It came to my knowledge that according to deobis, Cre.Ker will post the content after Kingdom on tbz social media. Whoever took that decision needs to be fired tbh. If the content will be released, I'll link to it and add some few words to it.

Act 2: The good, the bad, and ... All hail king Juyeon?

Let's talk about the performances now.

SF9: What I dislike is the fact that as I stated in my previous Kingdom post, they are forced to do such dramatic musical/movie stages to even be recognized as part of the show. Moreover, I found it weird and unfitting that they held guns during the group dance parts, to me it seemed a bit off. Also, at times, their energy level seemed a bit low.

What I liked is that even tho it was a MASSIVE set, the performance still was extremely easy to understand and follow. They all looked insanely good tho, SF9 simply is mature and manly. I liked the concept, it was fresh because it for once had no fantasy vibe but actual criminal mafia energy. My favourite parts were Jaeyoon's fighting scenes because they were very well choreographed. Altogether, I really enjoyed it and also found it interesting how they referred to the Boyz crown scenes on RTK.

The Boyz: In my eyes, this is already the second GoT inspired concept they did. Not a fan of this. Moreover, I'm a bit pissed that it looks as if they are selling all that as their own ideas. As I said before, I believe this is GoT inspired, the name at least definitely was - but it's never said that the inspiration comes from there, because we literally have no information about where their ideas come from and if it's even their own ideas. To me it has the bitter aftertaste of wanting to hide sth the viewers aren't supposed to see. But this is not tbz fault but the fault of whoever writes/directs/edits their footage.

With the title of the stage given, I actually thought I'd see a wedding. But what I've seen was a woman in a bird cage. And then many more women. I failed to see what this all had to do with a wedding, and I moreover failed to see the connection to "THE" red wedding. And I failed to understand the plot once again, and because they didn't explain it beforehand, I'll never understand it.

What I liked is that the performance was way less dramatic than it was ever before. It didn't seem like a stunt show anymore, it didn't seem overdramatic anymore. It was easier to focus on the performance. Sadly, I noticed that this "downgraded" (aka slow-paced and less dramatic) stage was unfortunately underwhelming in comparison with what they did before - which was sth I predicted from beginning on. At some point you can't go bigger anymore, and if you tone it down it'll automatically seem underwhelming.

Edit: It's sad that they have this pressure to outperform themselves because they've won RTK. But honestly, it was clear that the winner would have this pressure on them. I don't see why I would pity them for this, after all, each of the groups feel pressured anyways and I rather feel sorry for ALL groups together because this whole ranking/competition thing is just unnecessarily stressful. But once again, I don't understand why you all blame MNET for this. Don't forget that the companies have contracts with MNET and knew that shit would go down. If you blame any bigger instances, then please also the companies who put their idols on the show. It's not like they got forced to make their groups participate.

My biggest criticism this time however is the fact that they give the most screentime to Juyeon (and Sunwoo because of the rap parts), and the rest of the members barely appear, or basically aren't shown at all. I already felt before that there was a strong focus on Juyeon, but now it's srly showing very clearly. I really like Juyeon, but I don't find it fair. I think that doesn't do justice to the other members, which deserve screentime as well. In conclusion, tbz on kingdom is an extreme mess in my eyes, with lots of communication- and management flaws.

iKON: I belong to the group of people who heavily prefers THANXX over inception, so I was a bit sceptical about the song choice. They really made a YG version out of this tho, I was pretty impressed. The stage concept was pretty nice, iKON surely knows how to use light. Now the stage seemed very inspired by Inception (the movie) which makes a lot of sense - but wasn't communicated either. Just mentioning this because I critisized tbz earlier, so I think the same applies here to some degree. I didn't recognize the song anymore tho but I found it pretty refreshing. In my eyes they did the best so far in making another group's song their own. This could have been an iKON song for sure. As always, a fun stage.

My personal ranking will follow after the other stages.

Act 3: About cheating and faking.

The Voting looks as follows:

Views: 1. SKZ 2. iKON 3. ATEEZ 4. BTOB 5. TBZ 6. SF9

Online Voting: 1. SKZ 2. SF9 3. iKON 4. BTOB 5. ATEEZ 6. TBZ

Btw if anyone knows the overall voting, please comment or send a message, because I somehow missed it?

I said it before, and I say it again, this entire voting is rigged and I totally don't care about it anymore at this point because it's absolutely not trustable. Experts didn't know about the budget differences, who even are the experts, why did SF9 get zero on-site votes, and then ofc the fans who created 50 accounts to vote...this voting is a joke. What I can totally not understand is how ATEEZ and TBZ can rank last for online voting. Sth seems off here to me, especially the fact that SF9 ranks last in views but ranks 2nd in votes? I'm sorry to say this but I think that's the result of the ZZZ fanwar. My assumption is that there must be a big mass of people who purposely voted NOT for TBZ & ATEEZ, and my guess is - no offence - that those were stays. In accordance with the fanwar, they didn't give their 2 other votes to the other ZZZ groups but to whatever other group. Or in general the ZZZ fandoms purposely not voting for each other. That would explain extremely well why SF9 could suddenly rank 2nd. I'm tired of this voting, of fanwars and all this drama and I decided to not care about the official voting anymore.

If you got to this point, I wanna let you know that I feel very blessed that you made it through this long post hahaha. Thanks! And for the next week, I expect BIG THINGS. I'm the most excited for BTOB. Them covering back door is the most absurd thing I've imagined for a long time hahahaha. But Eunkwang with tattoos really is a good sight, isn't it ;)?

#the boyz #sf9 #ikon #kingdom legendary war #mnet kingdom #btob #ateez #stray kids

[dallonm-archive]

[image description: a wideshot of the san francisco skyline, tinted orange by a sunset. Above the skyline, in a white serif font reads "REVELATIONS, REVELATIONS." in all caps. below, in lower caps reads "update #2" /end id]

Revelations, Revelations | Update #2

Hey besties! I've got a funky little RR update

I've had a little bit of a love hate relationship with this book in the last two months but I am loving it right now! I think my struggles came from how I didn't really accept that this book is Hard to write. like it's complicated! and it's set in another country in another era like idk what to tell you! And accepting that was such a weight off my shoulders because I'm not putting the blame on myself. I also was really stuck in part one's problems and I had to be like <3 bestie <3 abandon it til post draft editing. So right now it's like:

Part one: I see it as a little stray cat in an alleyway that I kneel down in front of like pspspsp :) and then it hisses and bites me because it is actually a feral raccoon. Definitely not where I want it to be but like I can fix him

Part two: super fun!! A lot of deeper (and messier) elements are introduced here and I feel like the story's ~vibes~ have clicked. It's a lot of fun and it's getting complex. Whilst there's conflict going on in part one there's definitely this false sense of stability and then part two hits all of them like a baseball bat

My drafting has been much more chill and non linear too, just writing the scenes I want to and then connecting them together. I've been focused less on rich prose/descriptions and more on prose that explores character and it's been very refreshing! I love my flowery prose but I think it's easy to get caught up in. I'm also no longer going to do chapter by chapter updates, both for plot privacy but also because this story is very delicate both in content and the drafting process and I don't just want to expose the bare bones of that, you know? So I'm just gonna do some sectioned rambles and talk about a couple chapters under the cut!

also no longer doing multiple taglists because i can't keep up so! general taglist, ask to be added or removed! ; @kowlazovdi @avi-burton-writing @ryns-ramblings @kitblogsthings @ezrathings @aetherwrites @radiomacbeth @bijouxs @bookphobe @haldimilks @alicewestwater @bookpacking @shaelinwrites @onlyganymede @theelectricfactory @write-like-babs @oceancold @veiliza @sidhewrites @wolf-oak @oasis-of-you @coffeeandcalligraphy @cecilsstorycorner @howdywrites @keira-is-writing @flip-phones @svpphicwrites

Only major change to report is I switched to alternate POVs instead of multiple chapters at a time in one POV because I'm insane <3 I had a lot of fun braiding POVs in Life Cycle of Massive Stars and wanted to try it here and it works much better! Though at this point I am simply ignoring the existence of part 1 because it really was the guinea pig part LMAO i experimented so much with structure and form and now it's a mess but it's <3 a future problem <3 i'd rather have one messy part than a whole first draft that's behind on my growing ~vision~ of the story.

[image description: a slightly purple tinted photo of two arms extending from the top and bottom of the photo, cropped to only show their hands. Their index fingers touch. in the middle, in a white serif font reads "dorothy" /end id]

Not a chapter, I had a lot of trouble with Dorothy in part 1 but I still love her so instead y'all are getting a mini character ramble! I felt really bad about her for the longest time because I've only been writing her since last summer whereas I've known Felix since like 2018 so there's naturally an imbalance, but I Do Not like that!! And she's really taken her time revealing herself, but I am ~fascinated by her.

I feel she's best summarised by this disillusionment for her life but mostly herself, because she's framed her whole identity by illusory perceptions of other people: a mother she doesn't remember, a girlfriend she breaks up with every six months but still shares a bed with, a twin brother she hasn't seen in person for four years and still sees as a teenager drenched in religious manipulation. It's a lot! She assumes that she feels dissatisfied with her life because she's without her twin, but then Felix returns to her life and shockingly this does not fix all of her problems??? She also doesn't know how to be alone, which definitely will not get better after Felix returns oop

The day her brother decides to leave, Dorothy is home alone.

Her San Francisco apartment is hollow like a hungry stomach. Three days ago, she drove Jolie to the airport then came home to cover the bathroom mirror with towels. On the first day she took an extra shift at the book store, drove through Sea Cliff at sunset, bumped into Mona on the stairwell and joined her and Margot for wine and slipped out when they began arguing over rent and office interns, started then discarded a portrait of a fictional girl and slept from two to five in the morning. On the second day she worked and spent an extra hour designing a window display on science fiction that she put together on the third day. Cut and painted a rocket ship on cardboard that she’ll have to scold kids for tugging, then get scolded herself by their mothers.

The day I finalise a design for their apartment it's over but I call this trick Trying To Get Around The Fact I Made Characters In Their Earlier Twenties Live In San Francisco (cw: drowning)

The apartment is nicer than her, but it’s been home for three years and they get $100 off rent each month because Jolie tends the garden and looks just like the landlady's daughter that drowned in the Pacific.

I don't think I've talked about Jolie much here which is funny because she is probably the most well-received amongst my friends! They love her so much and it's because she's a hot but slightly toxic lesbian smh, I'm like no seriously she does some fucked up things and they're like you promise?? Some funky facts:

Her real name is Jolene and she hates it except when the Dolly Parton song came on, that gives her a god complex

We are going to ignore how I accidentally named two characters after words for beautiful and pretty in French we are going to pretend it was intentional because when this gets published a uni student could get some good analysis out of that in their Intro to Literature class

She joined the cult with her mother at 13 and left as soon as she turned 18 LMAO. She was Dorothy's only connection to the "outside world" and the only reason she was able to leave

Her dream job is gardener/florist! We get it I watched Bly Manor last November. She's also a bartender

would probably have this on her car /j

[image description: a close up of a car sticker of a frog above "MILF" in green caps. below "MILF" reads "Man I Love Frogs" /end id]

Dorothy and Jolie have always been on and off and building tension but Dorothy realises this can't keep going when Jolie gets into a barfight at work and Dorothy feels Insane because she's the only one concerned?? (cw: blood, mild violence)

“You’re lucky it’s not broken.” She angles Jolie’s face, hand under her chin. Even with red blotted around her nostrils and lips, mulberry lipstick smudged, she still smiles like her bruises are a trophy. It’s a surprise she doesn’t dwell on it: it’s just some blood, doll, nothing to worry about. She didn’t even strike that good. Her technique was all off. If she shows her face back here I’ll just teach her how to punch properly. The worst part is over and I’m a big girl. Do I look upset? Am I crying? When they drive home, she’ll ask to stop and see if she can get free cigarettes or beer by holding her nose and making herself cry. She’ll probably ask Dorothy to hit her so it starts bleeding again. But she’s quiet, leans against the basin and lets her dab damp towels on her face. It doesn’t take long to clean up. It was just some blood.

“Nursing,” Jolie says.

“What?” “You keep saying you want to go to school but don’t know what for – nursing. You’re too good at taking care of people.”

That ending is like Top Three dialogue lines that made me really Concerned for how this character arc is gonna go :) but don't worry about it y'all. I do think Jolie genuinely loves Dorothy but that does not mean! the relationship is healthy!

Basically I love her a lot now that I know her better and I am excited to see where she goes! I think the biggest part of her arc is motherhood/daughterhood and TBH as a recently realised trans dude it took me a Minute to feel entitled to write her story? But being a cis woman shaped my life for two decades and getting to navigate that and being a daughter from a perspective that's totally distanced from myself is very helpful. It's about the inherent admiration and pain that comes from being a mother's daughter! (cw: blood, diet culture/disordered eating)

She lies next to the table and presses her forehead to the glass corner and imagines what would shatter first: the glass or her skin. And she imagines being a girl again, with French braids and too much baby fat in her cheeks and being picked up by a mother before the blood stains her hands and then her dress. She’d tell the mother she just wanted to read her magazines, the dog-eared articles about divorce and top tips for menopause and the benefits of eating half a grapefruit before your calorie-counted meals. And the mother would just brush the bangs out her face, press a pack of thawed peas on the wound and let her choose between the band aid with hearts or the band aid with flowers. And maybe the mother would know she did it for attention because they both know a daughters cry slices oxygen like glass to skin, but she’d still detangle her curls in the evening and kiss her forehead goodnight and serve her breakfast in the morning with half a grapefruit – the other half on her own plate, untouched and left to rot.

[image description: an orange firework exploding against a black sky. across the photo, in a white serif font reads "the last 10 hours of 1986" /end id]

This is technically two chapters, one in each POV and they close part one! Title is v explanatory and they're meant to be framed like a countdown - my plan was for the scenes to get shorter as it gets closer to midnight and that didn't really work but? The twins def get messier as the countdown goes down and THAT is what we like to see. This is also the only end of a part where the twins are separated but don't worry about it hehe :)

Dorothy

This chapter is like the First Time Dorothy does something for herself and. Good for her!

She’ll publish poetry under a pen name and horror short stories under another. She’ll paint indigo mountains and magenta oceans and not care when the colours stain her clothes. She’ll teach Felix how to blend acrylics and he’ll teach her how to remember piano notes and they won’t argue about who abandoned who. When Mona and Margot break up, she’ll go down to comfort Mona or Margot and then kiss Margot or Mona. She’ll move out and tell neither of them. She’ll find a landlady with a dead daughter and get a discount on an ocean view apartment with wall-length windows. Isaias will move in next door and they’ll have weekly dinner parties with wine that costs more than $10. She’ll go vegan. She’ll be so in tune with herself she won’t need to read magazine horoscopes or pay $50 for a psychic reading that assumes she knows her grandparents. She’ll know when she’s happy sad angry and why. She’ll take portrait commissions so she can afford a therapist. She’ll love her life and ignore that there’s no space for Jolie because she wants there to be. She’ll need nobody except herself. She’ll try and make things with Jolie work. She’ll kiss a random girl at midnight to see if it’s any different. She’ll go home after the countdown.

I had the revelation (aha) of Isaias and Dorothy as besties and I am OBSESSED! I love Isaias but struggled with his role so I'm really happy about this. Like he practices calligraphy and writes poetry titled after his favourite plants is he not the ideal character!! Hoping this will make it easier to learn about him so we can get that fun content

Felix

Felix's is fun because he makes the best decision of his arc but also the stupidest fucking decision of his arc. He truly has the range NOBODY is doing it like him. Here's a part that mirrors the excerpt above because even when they're apart Felix and Dorothy are like hmm we Will Be Intrinsically Connected (cw: drug, vomit and sex mention sorry he's going through it!!)

Two hours before midnight and Felix is alone in the bathroom. The party he abandoned synths through the ceiling. He plays Love My Way on his Walkman. Highest volume. Eyes closed. Imagines 1987 and decides he’s going to be honest about everything and nothing. He’s going to tell strangers at bars that he studies Literature at Stanford. He’s going to date a girl and pretend he has parents to introduce her to, that he grew up on a farm in Ohio and was secretly raised atheist, lie about what lies his parents told him. He’s going to grow out his hair and and blend cyan on his eyelids and send polaroids to his father with no return address; burn his fingertips on a candle flame like Michael will burn the photos of his son. He’s going to adore himself. He’s going to quit smoking and start jogging. He’s going to fuck Pacific Heights husbands whilst their wives sleep in the master bedroom and maybe they’ll angrily call him when they’re served divorce papers and hang up when he laughs. He’s going to get promoted to Assistant Manager and not care that his job is dead-end. He’s not going to kiss anyone at midnight because he doesn’t want to. He’s going to flush the cocaine because he doesn’t want it. He’s going to stare at his reflection until it moves for him. He’s going to vomit in a minute. He’s going to pierce his right ear with a sewing needle.

Felix at the end of part one: I give no more fucks!!! I am going to do whatever I want!!! Life is too short!!!

Felix at the end of part two:

[image description: screenshot of a tweet by @/idksomedumbshit. the tweet reads, "i can't mansplain manipulate manwhore my way out of this one boys" /end id]

I do think it's iconic that this time last year Felix was a repressed Christian boy and now his dream is to be a homewrecker THAT is growth. I also got to write Felix and Jolie which was fun because they do Not like each other <3 but they respect each other <3 but only sometimes <3 They have their first little bonding moment where Jolie pierces his ear in their bathroom but then Felix says something to piss her off so Jolie is like hmm okay time to chose Violence. This dialogue is funny because Felix does not really hate himself at this stage Jolie just knows she's gonna fuck him up by saying that !! My life would be so much easier if these twins had a normal relationship with the concept of being a twin but also this story would be very boring

The needle pierces his skin and he doesn’t feel it. Only the tequila swirling behind his eyes. The sting of the light-bulb. Jolie speaks again, “but she looks just like you, doesn’t she? Not the same of course, but enough to see each other in each other. That’s the worst part, right? To see the person you hate on the face of someone you love?”

[image id: a photo of the ocean with cliffs in the background, tinted orange by sunset. in the middle, in a white serif font reads "1/10/1987" /end id]

This chapter is so CUTE and also my first successful attempt at a different form that I can consistently keep in the narrative <3 I really like the idea of a fluid novel form that's adaptive to how the character's perception of the world would change which? Idk how much I can maintain that but this definitely follows it. I need to fine tune the execution but the concept is shots and transcript from a camcorder recording and playing with what the camera sees/doesn't see. The title is what the tape would be labelled, and on 1/10/1987 (american dates throw me off omfg) Beau takes Felix to a seaside town for his birthday and yes it's gay <3 but it's also just a lot of stupid dialogue which was very refreshing because I overthink dialogue so much I always think it has to have deeper meaning when sometimes its like....characters can sometimes...have Fun together. They are simply displaying Relationship Dynamics!

BEAU: Okay, give me a second…(the camera zooms on Felix) There we go! Right, okay, so it’s Saturday, January 10th, 1987, what’re doing out here today?

FELIX: What is this, an interview or something? You sound like a TV host on those morning shows.

BEAU: Oh my God no they’re so annoying, don’t compare me to those.

FELIX: No but I can imagine it perfectly. You’d just be all (holding a pretend microphone) Gooood Morrrning from sunny San Francisco! My name is Beau Teixeira and—

Beau: (laughing) Shut the fuck up!

I love this chapter a lot because you can definitely tell that their dynamic has Shifted but also! They are still just friends being friends and I really want them to just kiss already but also I love the natural progression of friends to lovers....falling in love and not realising it and then suddenly it all makes sense...

BEAU: You wanna try filming? It’s easier if you hold it on your shoulder. Like this. Put your hands where mine are.

[How their fingers whisper against each other. How Beau’s cologne smells of lime and tangerine. ]

Beau steps back into view, runs a hand through his curls. Leather jacket flutters in salted wind. Behind him the sunset flickers over waves like a candle flame. He smiles at the camera.

BEAU: I think you’re a natural! You’re definitely gonna be first choice for cameraman on my shitty morning show.

[How Felix smiles at him.]

(cw: next paragraph talks about the AIDS crisis)

Whilst this is a Fun And Cute Chapter there is more depth to it since the last time we see Beau and Felix before it is the first time they open up about the AIDS Crisis and their fears surrounding it. I have a lot of complicated thoughts about writing this part of history that I could write about all day but it boils down to the fact that "so many queer stories are centred around queer trauma and tragedy and queer people deserve to read stories centred around love and happiness" and "with a queer novel set in 1980s SF it'd be just as bad to completely ignore what happened" are two things that can coexist. I definitely think stories centred around the crisis are necessary (recently read The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels and highly recommend! Also has a similar camcorder function and an emphasis on preserving. Also made me cry) but shouldn't be the default, especially in a story that if published would have a queer readership, so whilst it's something I want to explore I want to do it in a way that ultimately celebrates queer happiness, love and life. Definitely way more that could be said about this and the function of queer trauma in queer narratives but! Both Beau and Felix feel a need to not only capture as much as possible, but to capture it specifically with the intent to look back in the future, as well as a general We Are Going To Try And Find Happiness Wherever We Can. Also feel like a lot of Beau's character clicked whilst writing it which was very fun!

[How Beau wouldn’t say where they were going but cracked before they left San Francisco because he had too many stories to tell: five year old burning his tongue on café tea, six year old falling into waves and being unbothered, seven year old plucking chrysanthemum petals from stranger’s gardens. How Beau has an orange car freshener and missing headrest on the passengers seat. How Beau drove a longer route because it was closer to the coastline. How Beau played Pet Shop Boys’ Please and knew the words to every song. How Felix realized that he did too.]

[image description: a man and a woman sit next to each other on a bench. the photo is taken from behind them. in the background, you can vaguely see water, hills and the golden gate bridge. across the image, in a white serif font reads "everything the same about dorothy and felix" /end id]

Little title explanation: part 1 has two chapters, "Everything Different about Felix" and "Everything Different about Dorothy" which introduce their relationship + impression of each other after not seeing each other in person for four years (and also how they have images of each other in their heads that are false but they're attached to and it's really not helping the whole complicated twin relationship thing but don't worry about it) and I'd like to expand on that in part two so! An attempt was made. This takes place the day after the above chapter on the twins' actual birthday, the first one they're celebrating together since they were 18 and the first one in the "outside world" so it's a moment!

I'm not happy with how this chapter came out but I think it's just because it's an important one to me! Partly because it helps cement the idea that in spite of their complex relationship, Felix and Dorothy never stop being twins and they never stop loving each other even on the days they dislike each other. But mainly because: these are two adults who lost their childhood to trauma and they finally have the freedom to live their life and! Sometimes that means living for the inner child that never got to be a child. As a certified Adult With Childhood Trauma having a chapter like this was v important because trauma never leaves you but that doesn't mean you can't be happy!! Also it's just. cute. They run around San Francisco, bake a really shitty birthday cake, talk about whether or not San Francisco is real, I want what they have. There is underlying conflict because hoo boy there is Shit simmering rn! But it was nice to have this and the previous chapter as just like. Two little golden moments you know. Calm before the storm if you will

Midnight. Dorothy lies on a mattress on the floor in an apartment in San Francisco. Her brother’s head in her lap. “You know what’s crazy to me? Nobody ever asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. That just wasn’t something we were allowed to think about. I know it’s depressing, I just think about that a lot.”

Felix keeps his eyes on the ceiling. The clock ticks. “Well, what do you wanna be when you grow up?”

“Astronaut, of course.”

“I was gonna say astronaut.”

“You definitely weren't,” she says. “Besides, I already claimed it.”

He looks at her. “I was thinking it. Before you said it, I claimed it in my mind.”

“That’s not how it works. I can’t read your mind.”

Felix sits up. “Wait, you can’t? Gee Dotty, some twin you are.” He grins. So does she.

Usually I am like. I don't think they would care too much about the twin thing. But I also think they would definitely joke about it, like if someone asked a stupid question Felix would be like "well of course we can read each others minds, dont you know how twins work?? like right now my twin sister who is my twin is thinking about giving me, her twin brother, $200" But lets end this on an excerpt where Dorothy doesn't give him $200 but she does think Oh How Did I Spend Four Years Without My Brother

(cw: death mention + missing persons mention, plane crash + boating accident mention)

Dorothy is used to his presence, has been for a year: coffee stains on the table, cupboards left open in the kitchen, clustered ashtray in the living room, hair gel and Jazz aftershave behind the bathroom mirror, Queen or Bowie or Alphaville sifting from his room. His voice. How he always knocks on her door to say goodnight. How he weaved himself into the ecosystem like air but tonight she watches her brother do nothing but breathe and she remembers waking up every January 11th in 1983, 84, 85, 86, and chucking a towel over the bathroom mirror. How she told strangers at bars that she’s an only child; or that she had a younger brother, but he died in a plane crash or a boating accident or went on a hiking trip and never came back, was likely immortalised as a John Doe in Oregon or Nevada records. How she went four years without coffee stains and open cupboards and goodnight knocks and Queen or Bowie or Alphaville renditions when he forgets that she exists in this space too. How hollow those four years were.

And that's all I have to share! I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I much prefer this format of talking about the story! If you read this far I love u <3

#revelations revelations #atlastracking #writing update #i wrote most of this update at 5am so ignore any typos god bless

[kitkatopinions]

Accidentally deleted my Tyrian and Watts asks while I was trying to fix a mistake so... Sorry about that, everyone! Here they are! Tyrian and Watts for the RWBY character asks!

Let’s do Tyrian first, because I have less to say about him, I feel like.

My top three ships for the character

Tyrian/Watts. Dysfunctional villainous romance of the century, no one knows how they’ve managed to make it to their tenth anniversary without killing each other, including them. Tyrian/Salem is my second top ship for him. Major Bellatrix/Voldy vibes with this one, but I could see it. Tyrian/Hazel is my third ship for lack of options. Does this one make sense? No. But I can at least see Tyrian being super flirty and Hazel being endlessly tired, but never really stopping it. (Also I hate Hazel so much lol.)

My three least favorite ships for the character

Tyrian/Qrow sucks for me. Like... I kinda feel like two people fighting each other just gets shippers, which is fine and totally understandable. But for me, Tyrian poisoning Qrow and almost killing him and calling his beloved niece a bitch and then killing Clover is a big no from me, dog. On that note! Tyrian/Clover is also one big no from me, since Clover murdered him. And Tyrian/Ozpin is another really big no from me. Tyrian and his crazy Salem worship can stay five hundred and fifty feet away from my son.

My biggest criticism for the character

They went a little too much on the crazy in the fourth and fifth season and it made him feel annoying. Like, I don’t mind the Bellatrix vibes, but I do mind the movie version Bellatrix vibes, sometimes. It just got kinda annoying. I wish his crazy was always more on the dangerous side and less on the kooky side, but that’s just personal opinions.

My favorite thing about the character

The way people are so uncomfortable around him. Whenever Tyrian talks to Emerald or Mercury, he’s honestly freaky. Like both me and the characters are waiting for him to snap. That’s a great quality in a villain that we’re meant to hate or love to hate. He has a real presence and it’s enjoyable.

A headcanon I have about them

Tyrian doesn’t often try to act normal, but he can, and he’s got a great ‘respectable, cool guy’ act that’s actually a little reminiscent of Qrow or Clover. He’s even passed himself as a Huntsman here and there.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

More involvement in volumes 4 and 5, and I’d treat him a bit more seriously and make him a bit more dangerous. Maybe I’d have him wound a member of Team RNJR in his attack as well as poison Qrow (maybe give Jaune a reason to unlock his semblance in season 4 and in response to the pain of a member of his team. Also, his ‘Tyrian purple’ color should be more than just the color of his eyes. Like, how come so many RWBY characters season 4 and onward have such boring colors? I’d give Tyrian some strong purple and pink.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Tyrian alludes to the animal fable ‘the Scorpion and the Frog,’ and that’s... really in name only, I think. A part of me wants to give them some kind of points for having Qrow work with him against Clover, only for Tyrian to kill Clover, which lines up with his ‘its just my nature’ scorpion stinging the frog so that they’ll both drown and die. But they didn’t mean for Qrow to really be wrong! They didn’t mean for the lesson to be ‘Qrow shouldn’t have trusted the poisonous villain’ it was ‘wowza does Qrow’s semblance hurt him. :( Too bad Clover got himself killed.’ Which makes the whole allusion kind of suck.

Now for Watts, the single best villain in my opinion.

My top three ships for the character

Tyrian/Watts. See above. This ship would be a dysfunctional mess, but it’d be a wild ride. Watts/Villain!Ironwood. I kind of hate this ship when it’s ‘fallen hero turned villain’ Ironwood. But if he actually had been written as a secret villain or obviously headed that way from the start, I can see him and Watts also being a dysfunctional mess of a wild ride ship, only with way more ‘evil power couple’ vibes than Tyrian and Watts would have. Also my favorite version of this features Watts having been the one to build Penny (maybe by stealing the plans from Pietro) and him and Ironwood raising a still bright and cheerful, still innocent and trusting, villain Penny who will attack to kill with a smile on her face and a ‘it was nice meeting you!’ And this is very weird and niche but Watts/Evil Stepsister (specifically the one with the sharp bangs and highlights.) Someone sent me an ask saying the Evil Stepmother and stepsisters should’ve been connected to Salem and gotten Cinder involved and I totally agree with this. I then started envisioning a world where the step sisters competed with Cinder and all three of them were raised in Salem’s circle. In this version of things, I could totally picture one of the step sisters having a romantic tension driven connection with Watts and the two of them subtly flirting sometimes (and bonding over their mutual hatred of Cinder.) I picked the sister with bangs for no real reason except that I like her look more.

My three least favorite ships for the character

Watts/Cinder. Watts thinks of her like a bratty little girl, and Cinder kills him. Watts/Lionheart. Kinda really hate this one because of how clearly Lionheart was terrified of him. Just a bit uncomfortable for me to see that in a relationship. Watts/Hero!Ironwood or Watts/HeroTurnedVillain/Ironwood. Sorry, but Ironwood in canon got such a bad, bad portrayal in season 8 and the end of season 7, and I just can’t help but blame Watts for quite a bit of it. I only like them as a ship if Ironwood is an antagonist from the start.

My biggest criticism for the character

They shouldn’t have killed him! He was one of Salem’s best followers and one of the best villains and it was such a big mistake to kill literally one of the only actual loyal followers. It threw off any character development for Cinder and it was a big mistake. I really wanted the Cinder / Watts / Neo team up to keep going! I’m so disappointed it got thrown away.

My favorite thing about the character

Watts is an entitled, petty bastard, and I think that’s so good for a villain that isn’t meant to be social commentary (because tbh, RWBY never should’ve tried to be social commentary.) Watts isn’t sympathetic, he’s an Atlas born and raised guy in a three piece suit, he’s posh, he’s upset because he wasn’t given exactly what he wanted. Most of the villains in RWBY are either victims of abuse, systemic oppression, or poverty, and that’s... Not fun in a show that’s never handled social commentary well and is about magical girls destroying Voldemort/Satan with the power of friendship (Ruby literally never says anything about Faunus rights iirc.) Watts is refreshing because he’s exactly the type of villain that you can expect in a show like what RWBY should’ve been, and he flourishes as that. Why would we be sympathetic to Watts when he’s just doing this all because he wasn’t picked first for his tech? Why would we feel soured towards conflicts with Watts and Team RWBY? He’s just a petty bastard being evil because he was snubbed. Why would we be frustrated that incredibly significant problems are being shoved to the side with Watts? He’s a fun villain, he’s not meant to be more, he’s not meant to make you emotionally invested only to then be gutted for it. You can hate to love him without it feeling bad. Maybe that’s why he’s just my favorite non-kid villain (other than Roman.)

A headcanon I have about them

Watts has been trying to build his own AI robot like Penny, in his spare time. He wanted it to be done in time to become a Maiden, but it wasn’t, and Salem gave that slot to Cinder and got after Watts for not contributing enough. He of course thought this was deeply unfair (especially after being made to contribute a lot to Cinder’s Beacon success without getting any credit for it.) And this just fueled his hatred of Cinder, his hatred of Pietro and Ironwood, and by extension, his hatred of Penny.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

I would keep him freaking alive and keep up the pair up he had going on with Cinder and Neo! But also I’d increase his relationships with Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, Hazel... Just some more Salem’s Inner Circle moments to flesh out their characters. Other than that, I wouldn’t change much. He’s a pretty good character.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Okay, I’ve talked about his character allusion in a very long post awhile ago, but I’m not scrolling down that far to tag it. To sum it up... I hate his allusion. XD I loved the Sherlock Holmes books and read most of them, and I didn’t realize he was supposed to allude to John Watson until I read someone else’s post saying so, and I started freaking out about how awful it was. Watts has so little in common with Watson, he’s essentially the anti-Watson. Which basically means he’s Sherlock Holmes, the opposite of Watson in almost every way, up to and including freaking faking his death which is one of the most iconic Sherlock Holmes thing ever. Watts is everything Sherlock Holmes is on his worst days, arrogant, callous, consumed with his projects, petty, smug, over the top - as well as being hyper intelligent and a genius who often just gets passed over. He has rivalries with his colleagues like Holmes did. And like I said, he faked his death, only to reveal himself to an old friend later on the cusp of carrying out a scheme. He’s evil Holmes! He has nothing to do with John Watson - caring, humble, down to earth, not brilliant like his friend but content to be ordinary and special because of his emotional depth and devoted heart, medical former doctor who spends quite a lot of time chronicling the successes of someone else because he’s content to live in the background. Don’t get me wrong, a ‘Watson’ character who is evil could work - Watson himself indulged in crime for the sake of Holmes sometimes in the original works and if he worshipped Salem or one of her followers and did everything for her while still being a more humble, more friendly, not brilliant person he could be good - but Watts is not that person. Even the gimmicks Watts is given are stupid and don’t make it obvious he’s Watson. Boy’s got a moustache and a revolver and they thought that’d be enough. Idk why they thought 'we’ll make him Watson’ when he’s clearly a Holmes! Also, he’s supposed to be ‘Watson if he’d met Moriarty instead of Holmes,’ and to that I say boo! Watson wouldn’t turn into a super genius just because he meets a different mastermind!

...That’s summing up my feelings, yeah. Because I have so many feelings about his warped, weird character allusion. If I was changing it, I’d just make him Holmes like I think he was clearly supposed to be.

[radioactivereactions]

How it is to kiss the FO4 Companions??? Like the thing you wrote for how it is to hug them! I love that ask sm ;;;;;

There will be 2 categories on the majority of them (platonic and romanced), both because I love them all and to make up for the lack of content :^)

Cait

Platonic; Cait isn't a huge fan of kissing unless it's a bridge into much steamier situations, especially with people she isn't romantically interested in. In fact she has a bit of a distaste in them all around, rolling her eyes whenever she sees a couple kiss or make out around the wasteland and punching any snarky asshole who dares to ask for one. That form of intimacy just makes her feel queezy.

Romanced; Kisses still aren't Caits strong suit even when in a relationship with Sole, finding them awkward to initiate and even more awkward to receive since she's not used to them in a traditional sense. She does attempt to incorporate them into her relationship, as long as Sole doesn't make a big deal about it. The only time she feels as if kissing is needed, if not required, is during sex. Though she does try to use them more, mostly to get out of verbally expressing her admiration for them.

Favourite spot to kiss; collarbone

Codsworth

Platonic; His lack of a mouth is the downfall of when he wishes to reassure Sole with a peck, resorting to gently tapping one of his eyes against their cheek while making the sound of a kiss. Sole more often than not returns the gesture with a small peck on the mainframe of his body, which fills his little body with a warm sensation which he finds completely unmatched.

Curie

Platonic; Much like hugging, kissing becomes a big part in Curie showing her affections for those she meets. It takes a few moments for her to finally understand the concept that if done in the wrong way, kisses can be seen as highly inappropriate and should be left for those she knows personally or others with similar tendencies. But not many people complain about her affections because it's impossible to get mad at her for long.

Romanced; when reassured she's allowed to kiss Sole whenever and wherever after they begin their relationship, she exploits it, while maintaining a professional-ish standpoint to avoid embarrassing them too much. But who could hold back from showing their lover just how much you love them?! Definitely not Curie. Her kisses are short and sweet, just like her and often taste like sweets, which she has a mild addiction to.

Favourite spot to kiss; cheek

Danse

Platonic; He used to believe kisses to be an activity done strictly between a romantically intimate couple, and is therefore taken aback immensely when he's gifted a kiss on the cheek from Sole as a token of thanks after he assisted them with building up a small hut in sanctuary. He reminisces on it much longer than he'd care to admit, but grows fond of the expression. The only place he's only give Sole a kiss though would be the top of their head, mainly as a reassurance that they did good.

Romanced; Still few and far between. He's a professional and puts a lot of importance in his outward appearance as someone who should be respected, but still be able to be interacted with in a kind and big brotherly manner. This means kisses are reserves for secluded areas only, which he only deems to be their house in sanctuary. But when receiving a kiss from Danse, you have no reason to complain about the gap between, because the man makes sure to make each one count. His lips are surprisingly soft and warm, making Sole melt immediately while their breath is SNATCHED.

Favourite spot to kiss; forehead

Deacon

Platonic; He's never much of a kisser, much more of a hugger. Though he will acquiesce to keep in character whenever on missions for the railroad. Aside from that, he simply finds kissing to be something done mostly for romantic purposes. Though he does joke around with kissing Carrington whenever he (begrudgingly) helps him.

Romanced; As opposed to his platonic nature, the man loves giving and receiving kisses, taking every chance he can to surprise Sole with a peck or two throughout the day. While keeping his mischievous nature by aiming a lot of them on Soles neck and jaw, disappearing as quick as he appeared once he achieved in making them all hot and bothered.

Favourite spot to kiss; neck/jaw

Dogmeat

Loved (because we all love dogmeat and dogmeat loves all); German shepherds aren't the slobber-ist breed of dogs, but don't underestimate dogmeats affection or you will be in a very messy surprise. Kisses can be expected every time you hug him, as well as being his method of waking you up. He also loves receiving kisses just as much! Turning into a giant wiggly worm of excitement whenever Sole even makes the sound of kisses, which never fails to grab his attention.

Favourite spot to kiss; all over the face

Hancock

Platonic; John is a very affectionate person and has no qualms in showing it. Though hugs are his go-toos for any new comers. Once he gains a personal connection, kisses are almost always garaunteed. Most of them land on the cheek and forehead, and often leave the area he kisses warm to the touch. It's also just super convenient for him to kiss because there's no problem with a nose getting in the way.

Romanced; if dating the John Hancock, one must simply be ready for a lot of affection, regardless of the setting. And his biggest show of affection that's deemed suitable for public areas, is of course, kissing, which Sole soon finds out. His lips are textured, as is his tongue, which only works in his favour to make Sole a hot mess by the end of it. Kisses with him also have a small taste of whatever chem or drink he had just had, giving Sole mild effects each time.

Couldn't figure out how to input this in but he'd totally take a huff of jet and blow it into Soles mouth while they kissed.

If Sole was into that.

But who wouldn't be tbh.

Favourite spot to kiss; lips

MacCready

Platonic; Mac is a big kisser! Mostly on the forehead, to signify his approval or a non verbal way of saying "good job" to sole. The only time he'd refrain from it is whenever hes in the presence of a tough looking character, not wanting to come off as someone who should be taken lightly.

Romanced; Once again, he's a softie for kisses. Give him one and he will without fail return the favour. Still being a child t heart and unable to contain his pure joy, he often has spurts of complete admiration and puts a ton of small smooches all over Soles face, especially if they had to leave for a period of time. He's a bit of an amateur to the whole deep make out sessions and is pretty messy when tongues and teeth get involved, but he tries his best!

Favourite spot to kiss; between the eyebrows

Nick

Platonic; He's rather cautious of letting anything get near his face, the missing metal casing on the side of his head being a concern and the risk of accidentally cutting someone causing him to be cautious around any physical contact. To circumvent this whenever he wishes to grant Sole with his approval, he puts a gentle kiss on the top of their head, if they were comfortable with it.

Romanced; ever so the gentleman Nick Valentine is, he asks Soles permission to kiss them whenever he wishes, their answer always being in his favour. His lips are cold to the touch, sending shivers down Soles spine each time. More often than not his hand would cup the side of Soles face to anchor them in, wanting the moment to last as long as it possibility could.

Favourite spot to kiss; back of the hand

Piper

Platonic; As a big sister she loves annoying Nat with big smooches, but aside from her she never physically kisses other people. She does have a huge habit of blowing kisses, usually out of spite to disapproving townspeople and the Mayor. It's also one of her only methods of successfully flirting. But aside from that, she never turns to any shows of affection to get information, and before Sole, she had no interest in dating.

Romanced; Pipers kisses leave an impact, her lipstick marking Sole regardless of how quick she makes them out of hesitation. She gains confidence quickly with her kissing though, her firey passion showing by the way she pulls them by the collar to catch them in a kiss, this confidence only appearing if someone else shows interest in Sole.

Y'all can't change my mind that she is a jealous baby who will go above and beyond to show that Sole is hers >:^(

Favourite spot to kiss; lips

Preston

Platonic; Though raised in a household where there was no shame in giving platonic affection by the means of group hugs and the occasional peck on the cheek (mostly by his mother), Preston has a great respect for people's personal space, so unless initiated by someone else he refrains from hugging or kissing someone regardless of the situation. He refuses mouth to mouth kisses however, uncomfortable with he thought of doing an act such as that with someone he's not romantically interested in. His go-to is the cheek, the forehead for younger individuals.

Romanced; His kisses always taste like coffee, since the man practically lives off of it, making each kiss pack a small punch. He reserves heavier sessions and the more passionate kisses to the solitude of their own quarters, resorting to small kisses in various places on Soles face to 'boost morale' as he calls it.

Favourite spot to kiss; nose (He finds their little nose scrunches adorable)

X6-88

Platonic; absolutely not. While he has little to no comment on if someone were to greet him with a kiss on the cheek, one should not expect anything of he sort to be initiated by him. The only exception is when it is customary, in which he as required to place a kiss on the back of someone's hand, but he has no motivation or reason to do any other form of physical affection.

Romanced;

He grows a fondness to kisses when he begins them with Sole. Though at first unsure on the purpose, mentioning the health risks. But when Sole begins gifting him small pecks, specifically on the mouth, he feels this... fascinating warmth run through his body, quite intoxicating. He quickly begins to return them, seeing Soles reaction bringing a similar warmth.

Favourite spot to kiss; temple

#paladin danse #danse #preston garvey #companions react #curie #cait #fallout 4 #fallout #fo4 #deacon fo4 #fo4 maccready #fo4 companions #john hancock fallout #john hancock #deacon #fo4 nick valentine #nick valentine #fallout nick valentine #x688 #x6 88 #fallout x6 #fallout piper #fallout 4 piper #piper Wright #robert joseph maccready #maccready #codsworth #fallout codsword #dogmeat #fallout danse

[scatterpatter]

Some expanded thoughts on FF7R under the cut [SPOILERS]

So! Overall I freaking LOVED the remake and I can’t wait to see the rest! Midgar feels so alive and expanded, you really feel attached to everyone, it’s... muah! Honestly a lot of the points I’m gonna make are more nitpicks than anything. I won’t make any commentary on the gameplay because I watched a let’s play instead of playing by myself(im broke and cant afford a PS4 and $60 game >_>)

So the designs are GORGEOUS... no, the entire GAME is gorgeous. Midgar looks so good and detailed, there’s so much great implementation of color theory! Cloud is sooooo good looking!!! Barret and Aerith and Sephiroth are all GORGEOUS! Reno Rude Tseng and Rufus.. AAAA!!! The only slight complain I have is that- okay so Tifa looks AWESOME, but I honestly wish she wasn’t so skinny. Like she’s a melee fighter, but her waist and arms are so thin! I wish they gave her a bit more tone and muscle, but, oh well. I honestly can’t stop staring at the character models they look SO good

Plot-wise, I really like most of the changes/additions they made! Especially with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. They’re wonderful and I love them and did I mention that I love them because they’re just so dorky!!! And good!!!

Honestly, I like that Aerith is actually written to be likeable. I know that doesn’t seem like much but a lot of games fall into the trap of telling you that you’re supposed to like the female protag(looking at you, Breath of the Wild) or tell you that she’s a strong character, but they fail to show that, so the player feels like they’re just being told to get attached. Aerith, though, is actually really likeable in this game!!! She’s cute and down-to-earth, really dorky and even snarky, easily seeing past Cloud’s tough-guy act, and she can fight! It’s just so nice to see a game that shows a strong female protag instead of just telling you.

Legit everyone is horny for Cloud and I’m so here for it

Okay so like. I love Roche. I didn’t at first but he quickly grew on me. He’s so awfully chaotic and I just- I love him. I’m mad that he was just kinda forgotten, though. Like! He could’ve shown up at the ending chase!!!

THEY REALLY WROTE HOJO TO BE AS CREEPY AS POSSIBLE HUH. Like I’m not complaining because like he’s basically the reason why everything happened, but! Ahhhh he makes me squirm he’s a creep with a gross science fetish and I wanna stab himmmmm

Okay so. President Shinra is a little bit TOO stereotypically evil? Like having a gold statue of himself and not even caring about sabotaging one of his own reactors when one little console gets destroyed??? Like it’s almost comical how evil he’s written to be. Though, I do like the scene where he calls Barret out on his ideals, that was neat!

Nowww, Heidegger Scarlet Palmer and Reeve? MUAH. Heidegger and Scarlet are written so sadistically but like in such a likeable way, especially Heidegger. God I hate them both but you just love to hate them!!! Palmer is HILARIOUS- I love how he’s written to be the spoiled kid whose parents forced the other kids to include him so he’s just there even though he doesn’t do anything. And Reeve? Well...

SO REEVE IS MY FAVORITE ATM SINCE WE DON’T HAVE VINCENT YET, AND REEVE IS JUST... <3 <3 <3 Okay so first off, his design is perfect. He doesn’t really stand out in the same way that Heidegger Scarlet and Palmer do. He just has a normal build, normal suit, normal hair slicked back- he just looks like a normal employee, totally inconspicuous... which is very fitting considering how he ends up being undercover and needs to look inconspicuous ;)

Though Reeve shows clear signs of overworking himself and being emotionally abused by his coworkers which... sucks. I mean it’s good writing but I feel so awful for him- Like you know it’s bad when someone just has to hold up a hand to get you to shut up and sit down. I like that he tries to do good things but steps down when he’s told to, that he’s empathetic but cowardly. It does a great job at setting up his character arc in future chapters <3

Okay so one thing- I thought the build-up for the plate dropping was amazing, but honestly... the plate itself falling was slightly underwhelming, to be completely honest. Like- I just didn’t feel the impact that a plate falling would have! Mainly because, you don’t see a single death which is interesting. Like you see people running from falling debris, but legit not a single death is implied. Honestly? I thought the scene would have been far more impactful if they showed:

Seventh Heaven actually being destroyed

The people topside reacting to the ground beneath them collapsing and them falling to their deaths(They only tried to evacuate Sector 7 slums! Not the topside!!!)

More people actually being implied to have been crushed(No, Im not counting Wedge). Like in the original FF7 there’s a scene where someone’s watching tv and you see the plate falling from outside the window- and there’s a reporter just doing his normal shit before he suddenly looks up and things go to static- like- thats an intense scene and I wish the remake did more stuff like that!

They do great showing people REACTING to the plate falling which is why its so appalling to me that they dont show much of the actual devastation DURING plate fall

I LOVE that Cait Sith shows up at the plate falling! It shows that Reeve actually tried to warn people(something he asked to do and was denied earlier), even if he was too late. The only problem I have is that new players who dont know who Cait Sith is will be horribly confused as to who and why he’s there???

Also, when the crew goes back to Sector 7, you don’t really... feel the impact right away. Keep in mind, an entire section of city just fell onto another section of city WITH the supports holding it up, there should have been way more rubble. Yet, the area where Seventh Heaven is just... looks like it was hit with a major earthquake. There should be way more rubble, like mountains of it. It’s weird since the opening cinematic really captures the scope of how huge Midgar is, but the plate falling just doesn’t really show the scope of how much devastation there was to losing an entire plate.

The scope of it is done a bit better when climbing up Sector 7, but I still feel like the weight and scope of destruction isn’t lived up to its full potential.

Okay so- Wedge and Biggs. ... Yeah, it takes away from the impact of their deaths to have them not die. I mean, I can’t make a total opinion on this just yet, because the other parts haven’t come out yet, but... if FF7R is gonna keep them alive, they better have a good reason for it tbh.

They might have done a little bit too much foreshadowing with Cloud and Aerith? Like I like Cloud having memory issues, it’s kept pretty vague... but him going “Mother?” with Jenova is a little bit too spoiler-y. Like yeah you gotta tease his whole thing but like- don’t give it away this soon!!!

I also don’t mind Seph showing up as much as he does. Like, in the original, you don’t even hear about him until close to the end of the Midgar arc. Obvi since the remake ONLY covers the Midgar arc so far, I totally understand bringing him in sooner. Again, having the clones existing might be a little too spoilery for the big twists later on, but I can let it slide since it’s still treated as very “wtf” and I’m sure anyone new to the story hasn’t put it together yet.

Did I mention how much I love Seph he’s so creepy and his eyes are gorgeous and he’s so intimidating by just being there

And the Whispers... I honestly didn’t like them. I kept forgetting that they existed honestly. They just feel so... detached from the plot. I don’t mind adding new content/story, but the Whispers just... didn’t feel well-implemented. They also felt really campy towards the end. Like, the fact that they could un-stab Barret and shield Avalanche from car accidents while they were escaping? They were legit like “no you can’t die even if you tried because fate” and takes away any tension of the scene because... well, they know they cant die.

That being said, the ending was interesting. I uh. It was interesting! So they actually defeat fate itself in order to change... who knows what. The future, maybe even the past??? I’ve got many thoughts on this

If the future is changed, that can be exciting since people who know the original’s plot won’t know what’s gonna happen next so like- okay!

If the past was changed... y’all know I’m talking about Zack. Was fate changed so that he could live? Keep in mind, we see Whispers surrounding Midgar before they dissipate and Zack’s like “ohey did I get all of em?”, implying that fate would have forbade Zack from ever getting to Midgar. Having the team defeat fate means... Zack may have now reached Midgar. 

Is alternate reality/timeline stuff going to happen now???

Cloud’s character revolves around Zack dying. What’ll happen to Cloud now???

I feel so bad for people new to the plot who don’t know who Zack is.

Nomura... you madman.

So with the ending... Nomura and Squenix is setting something up. They’re going for something huge. I uh. I fear, honestly! Because this could very likely get WAY too ambitious and WAY too confusing(Think Dream Drop Distance’s bullshit plot), and could totally fall on its face and end up being Squenix’s biggest flop of all time. But... if this succeeds and they actually pull off whatever they’re trying to pull... holy shit. I would be floored.

I honestly am a bit afraid that the plot will be too confusing for new players. Like- no one would know whats going on with Zack unless they knew the original plot, so like while this would be a great game for FF7 fans, I’m really worried that it won’t be a good game for people new to the series.

Cloud in a dress is the greatest thing and I’m so happy they kept that scene I love him so much the entire scene is so queer <3

But overall, despite some nitpicks, it was a SUPER SOLID game and I’m soooo hype to see where they go with it! I wanna see Cait and Yuffie and Cid and Vincent!!!!!!!!!

#ff7r #I RAMBLE A LOT #ff7r spoilers

[tanstar]

Rambling about RE2R and RE3R’s cut content part 2

Read part 1 here.

Part 2: RE3R

So I’m gonna be honest, I really like RE3R. It’s narrative and characters are 10/10 for me, something I haven’t been able to say about RE in a long time (honestly my biggest gripes with re5 and 6 are the complete wasted potential of their narratives and characters). I’ll go more in depth about it later but yeah I’ve got no complaints about the story or characters. My problems with RE3R come down to it’s length, level design and the utilization of Nemesis. So let’s get started.

spoilers ahead 

Cut/altered/new content:

Live select options were cut in favour of a cohesive narrative and characterization (which have been expanded upon greatly), Jill’s apartment is now explorable, Nemesis ambushes Jill at her apartment and her escape is now playable, the graveyard is gone (though there is a nod to the graveyard at the start of the rpd section), the clock tower interior and its puzzles are gone (it’s exterior is used for the boss fight against Nemesis form 2 like the original), no water puzzle, the gravedigger has been merged with hunter gamma as a common enemy type, Uptown is now a linear setpiece that cannot be revisited, there are fewer Nemesis encounters, Nemesis item drops aren’t as worthwhile as the original,  there’s a new boss fight with Nemesis as he wields a flamethrower, tram has been changed to a subway train, fetchquest for the tram has been cut, Mikhail is now fully conscious for his entire appearance, new character Dr Bard included with new vaccine subplot, fetchquest for the gems has been made optional instead of mandatory, Mayor Warren’s statue is no longer fetchquest related and can be found before crossing the bridge to the clock tower, battery fetchquest for the construction site elevator has been changed to fuses for the underground storage facility elevator, Nemesis destroying the helicopter has been moved to the beginning of the game, Brad is still bitten at Bar Jack but heroically sacrifices himself rather than act like a huge coward, Brad is not killed by Nemesis, Brad infects Marvin (which ties in well with both og re2 and RE2R surprisingly), Racoon city in general has been redesigned to look like an american city instead of a japanese one, Stagla still explodes but cannot be entered, the zombie horde at Stagla has been moved to the hospital in a tower defence sequence, Drain Deimos and Brainsuckers have been merged, no leeches, no spiders or crows, new enemies the pale heads and parasite zombies, construction site and power station have been merged, once Jill has been infected Carlos takes her to the hospital instead of the chapel iside the clock tower, likewise Carlos doesn’t wait for 2 days before deciding to find a cure instead it takes him around 12 hours to find Jill and he immediately looks for the vaccine, hospital has been expanded, underground storage facility replaces the park, dead factory is merged with a new lab area, Tyrell is now an actual character and dies to Nemesis intead of an explosion, final boss is now reliant on Jill operating the rail gun herself rather than coercing Nemesis in front of it, iconic STARS line has been moved from the final boss fight to a chase sequence, the confrontation with Nicholai has been moved to the climax of the game, Nicholai is implied to be working with Wesker instead of Umbrella and of course the alternate ending with Barry was cut.

So RE3R does cut or alter the content of the original but in most cases it does try to replace whatever was cut. Also regardless of cuts, re3′s narrative has been expanded upon with character arcs and lore tying it to the rest of the series, that alone justifies this game’s existence for me. As much as I love the original, its bare bones plot and narrative structure (a result of being a sort of choose your adventure game) as well as the fact that it started as a spinoff game and the fact that its last three levels were added last minute (hence the vaccine plotline coming out of nowhere) really don’t do it any favours. I still enjoy the original story and characters but I think the remake did a better job at both these things. 

So I had some major problems with the writing for RE2R in both terms of the overall narrative (there is no cohesive overlapping narrative between our two leads) and the portrayal of certain characters (Leon and Ada), so what did I think of RE3R? It’s good. It’s really good actually, the acting is probably the best in the series tbh. Jill’s ptsd from the mansion incident and how it has made her distrustful but also self sacrificing is so interesting. This is perfectly displayed when she agrees to help the UBCS, she knows she shouldn’t help them, that Umbrella is out to get her but with civilian lives on the line she decides to fulfil her duty as a STARS officer and help out. But she isn’t just abrasive or snarky, she shows she is still a very caring person too, this can be seen in her interactions with Brad, Kendo and even Dario, she wants to genuinely save all three of them but things just don’t work out that way. Carlos is great, way better than his original incarnation and I say that as someone who likes that version too. He’s a great support character for Jill and also acts somewhat as a foil for her character and his arc about learning of Umbrella’s wrongdoings is handled well. I think everyone can aggree that Carlos and Jill’s dynamic is fantastic, the growth of their relationship feels very organic and genuine. I never expected to care about Brad so much, in the original he’s just a huge coward who exists to be killed by Nemesis but now he actually feels like a person and someone who Jill valued. Also holy shit that scene where he bites Marvin is so much more narratively fulfilling than his death by Nemesis. Mikhail’s expanded role as captain is great, as is his death. Tyrell actually gets to be a character this time around and I actually hoped he’d somehow survive. Dr Bard is a total scumbag and his inclusion finally explains the vaccine’s creation as well as adding to the overall corruption of RC via Umbrella. Nicholai’s a total ham and a dickhead, I mean this in a good way I would describe all my favourite RE villians this way (the Weskers, the Ashfords, Salazar, Carla Radames, Jack Baker). And form 1 Nemesis has some fun dramatic flair that I enjoyed. Also I will defend the choice to remove Barry from the ending, I really like Barry but it was the right decision not to involve him as it would really work against the game’s narrative and Jill’s character arc.

Now onto RE3R’s level design and structure and in my opinion it should have borrowed more from the og re3′s level design way more. What we have isn’t bad but it could’ve been much more. The streets being redesigned was inevitable to me, I really enjoy the aesthetic of the original but it looks very Japanese and RC is supposed to be a US city, so this change doesn’t bother me. The linearity does. The streets should have been more open and you should have been able to return to Uptown to explore (adding back in a fetchquest would justify this), this would give way more opportunities for Nemesis to stalk the player. What’s strange is there is a mod that opens up Downtown to be almost completely explorable and Nemesis’s AI can actually track you throughout it’s entirety, why bother programming him that way if the intention was to make the area more linear? When Nemesis does show up in the remake he’s great but he should have been present way more, he’s like the opposite of Mr X in RE2R. Mr X follows the player semi randomly around the RPD for a while but he is pretty toothless as a threat (seriously, you can out walk him), Nemesis on the other hand is a genuine threat but is only semi random for an incredibly short portion of the game. Expanding the streets would fix this issue. The park could’ve been an explorable area before the RPD, I personally don’t mind the park being cut but i know a lot of people do. They should have implemented more puzzles. I also think the clock tower should have been explorable and if I’m being honest I think it was supposed to be, it’s referenced in the subway and then we get the pamphlet before crossing the bridge, I think it was cut for time.  I think a lot was cut for time and I don’t think it’s M2′s fault, i think Capcom is the problem here and all you need to do is look at RE2R and all of its cut content for proof. 

Honestly if this game had just reintegrated some more of the original games levels and structure I think it would have been a 10/10, I still enjoy what we got I just want more! I hope we get DLC in the future and there’s certainly ample opportunity, we could have a ghost survivors scenario with Brad escaping Nemesis, we could play as Nicholai as he collects data on the outbreak before the main game, a dream sequence of Jill exploring the clock tower, Tyrell could cut through the park as he makes his way to the hospital and of course I hope we get Mercenaries mode. I guess time will tell.

#resident evil #resident evil 3 remake #resident evil 3 #re3 #rant

[neonnhoney-rec]

Kim Taehyung

Here are a few taehyung recs, most of them I’ve read and love, some are in my TBR. Tbh most of them are smut, but some are fluff and angst mostly angst. I will keep updating this woop woop.

I hope you enjoy tehee!

Buzzed- @junqkook

you spend weeks sulking after having sex with your best friend, but a party changes everything.

863 tokyo centre-  @becomingbts

Not much of one, just Taehyung fingering you on a bus at 2am

Hush, hush- @becomingbts

Taehyung makes sure you don’t focus on your insecurities during your first time. To do this he blindfolds you, leaving you slave to your now heightened senses so you ignore your racing thoughts.

Headcase- @becomingbts

Movie night, blankets and hands. What more could go wrong? Oh right, possibly getting caught and all. Well, too bad Taehyung couldn’t care less about that.

Request: taehyung wants to cuddle but you leave- @minyoongimakesmefeelthings​

Of lace and lust- @hobidreams

friendship rule number one: don’t imagine how amazing your best friend’s cock would feel inside you. except that’s all you can think about after accidentally discovering taehyung’s kink for panties. specifically, the lacy ones you’re so fond of wearing. 

Cheeky- @guksthighs

“Want some vanilla?” Taehyung groaned before he pulled you up by the hand you were offering and took a bite of it, his gaze piercing yours before his hand was on the small of your back and he pulled you into a kiss tasting like vanilla and salt.

Tae gets jealous when you go on a date- @minstrivia

says it on the tin

Let’s marvin gaye- @minstrivia

it’s valentine’s day. and it’s due time he shows you how it feels to make love.

See you- @gimmesumsuga

Taehyung notices you at a concert, and can’t help but want to see you again.

Slowdance on the inside- @floralseokjin

Taehyung has liked you as long as he can remember. He’s unsure when the line blurred from friendship to romantically, but it’s about to get a lot worse when he’s forced to watch you date his friend, Jungkook…

Under the taeble-  @functioningishardforme

getting a little handsy under the table

Four’s a crowd-  @guksthighs

As a birthday present your boyfriends Jimin and Taehyung take you for a special stripping show, little do they know how attracted you’ll be to the officer and the acts you’ll be performing to win this new man’s heart and cock.

Playing to win- @tayegi

Taekook friends-with-benefits threesome/porn without plot nonsense

Sapphire- @writingseoul

playing video games with tae ends up a little differently then you thought

A freindly favour- @baeseoul

you help tae out before his date 

baby,baby- @hobiwonder

When you’ve run out of savings to continue on to the last semester of your Bachelors - you take an unorthodox route. Helping a desperate couple have a child and getting paid for it? Heck yeah. But what do you know - it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

Talk- @taehyungforreal​

Finals week is kicking your ass, thank goodness you have a friend to help you relieve some stress. It’s a great arrangement, as long as no one finds out… as long as you don’t catch feelings. What could go wrong?

Clair de lune- @taehyungforreal

being rewritten at the moment

Sore loser- @kingsuckjin

It’s game night with the maknae line. You team up as always with Jimin and Jungkook to beat your best friend and crush, Kim Taehyung. It’s all fun and games until this time he gets mad and decides to play a little game with just the two of you alone in his room.

Plan V- @taesbetch

When y/n can’t seem to find love she turns to her playboy best friend to help her find someone to lose her virginity too. However, fate has other plans 

Breath of spring- @cupofteaguk

he works with color all day, but you just might be the brightest thing he’s ever laid his eyes on.

Corruption- @95boysbe

DOM tae takes your virginity 

Laundry day- @hobidreams

taehyung discovers the surprise you left for him.

I belong to you - @jessikahathaway

you have rare blood, a deadly secret in the world that's run by vampires. Your family learns the risk the hard way and when your taken away to the highest ranking vampires in the world, your shocked at the decision you have to make, but its okay as one vampire in particular takes your fancy.

Obsidian- @kpopfanfictrash

The world of magic is divided into dark and light, witches and warlocks, choice and fate. You’re a prodigy of light, a witch who works within the police force. You’ve heard of Taehyung in passing, spoken in whispers as the warlock of dark who has the world holding it’s breath.  All this changes on the night you’re assigned as security for a mysterious singer named V and you come face to face with Taehyung himself. What happens after that might be fate. (so good guys)

Silk and skin- @kpopfanfictrash

You and your boyfriend, Taehyung, are playing a game of truth or dare when a very distinctive kink emerges from the fray.

Drawing darcy- @kpopfanfictrash

Tae loves taking random photos of you secretly, and one day when you’re looking through his phone you find out 

Impatient- @bxebxee

You are honor-bound to do your duty as a princess and marry for the good of the kingdom.  Marriage, like many things in your life, is meant to serve a purpose.  But you know you should be grateful because there are far worse fates than being engaged to marry Prince Taehyung.

Coming home- @taetaesource

Taehyung as a single parent. He was looking for a babysitter to help him raise his kid and then he met you. 

Heart is where home is- @gukyi

somehow, 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.

Can you see my pulse- @rohobi​

You fell in love with Kim Taehyung during Medical School. Now living totally different lives in completely different hospitals, you’re pulled together again as if by fate during a code black when someone plants a bomb in your hospital. 

when you least expect it- @johobi

You’re in love with your childhood friend, Taehyung. The problem is, you treasure your friendship with him far too much to ever risk losing it. Oh, and he’s quite the Casanova. At your wits’ end with feelings you can no longer hide as diligently as you once did, you ask him to set you up with someone, anyone, in a last ditch attempt to avoid a heartbreaking conversation. 

Electric lovers- @submissive-bangtan

An epidemic breaks out. The world is plunged into chaos. One giant corporation seizes its chance and puts you into quarantine, promising to heal the symptoms you begin to show. Just before you agree to undergo the crucial surgery, an android named Taehyung reveals the truth about the illness to you. A truth that makes you want to escape with him.

Babysitter- @kz-i-co

You were visiting home for the weekend to find out that your parents have hired a new babysitter. (jjk version aswell)

Shy lover- @squishyjiminnie

You’re popular and he’s painfully shy, he acts like he hates you but what if he thinks a lot more of you than you think?

Tempting- @kinktae

Y/N is an angel and a good one at that. She steers clear of the seven deadly sins, especially lust. She is out performing her duties when she runs into a demon. Luckily for her, that demon, Taehyung, doesn’t seem to buy into that whole “Angels and Demons are sworn enemies” idea. But unluckily for her, Taehyung just so happens to be the very embodiment of sin. Especially lust.

Or, “For someone who is meant to be so pure, you sure are dirty, angel.”

Who cares- @floralseokjin

what happens when Taehyung falls for someone who’s already taken? Can he control his feelings or will they take over and render him powerless? In the end is it all her fault or his…? 

Wings- @bangtangurlarmy

He tells to nobody in particular as to why he is on Earth.

Third boy is the charm- @sangsanghaebwa

With Namjoon as your sweetheart roommate and Jimin as your adorable bestfriend, who you openly crush on, things still somehow remained easy, until Taehyung entered your life.

Fifteen minutes- @btssmutgalore

you don’t do dates - all you give guys is fifteen minutes to see if they can impress you, and Taehyung’s fifteen minutes have just started.

The counselor- @dom-joonie

You’ve been feeling a bit…depressed. At your friends recommendation, you go to see a counselor, but…he’s a lot more than you expected.

Enemy- @btssmutgalore

Taehyung may be cocky, but he has every reason to be. After all, he never gets turned down by women – at least not until he meets you.

Pluto- @katobobato

y/n has always had a knack for getting herself into trouble. She is no stranger to danger, what with being a member of one of the biggest gangs in the country. Not only is she a member but she is dating their leader, Jeon Jungkook. Things get heated, however, when she is abducted by a rival gang that hopes to use her as a way to get to Jungkook. Will her kidnapper, the ruthless Kim Taehyung himself, be able to subdue the snarky gangster or will she put up a fight to the end?

“134340?“.

Begin again- @writtenyoongi

things had been tough since your divorce from yoongi, you were still heartbroken over losing him whilst trying to balance being a single mother and providing the best you could for your daughter. when kim taehyung enters your life you start to learn how to love again, but the beautiful man is not without his own source of heartbreak.

Curious- @honeymoonjin

Taehyung confides in you and your boyfriend Yoongi that he might be bi, and the two of you offer to let him experiment with you to find out.

Upstream colour- @honeymoonjin

welcome to the first Upstream Colour drabble! please do not read this until after you finish UC, which is available to read here. Word count of this is 426. Mentions of sexual content, non-explicit. Otherwise it’s just fluff. Taehyung x reader

Somebody else- @jamaisjoons​

yoongi doesn’t want you anymore. but he can’t stand watching you with someone else.

Multiverse- @jungkookiebus

what if…what if you found a tear in the universe? in a world where parallel universes seemingly don’t exist, there appears to be an overlap. what you had previously believed to be a haunting has now turned into something else, something tangible. everything you thought you knew about reality is about to be upturned and crumbled like a house of cards. 

Stealing the bite- @wildernessuntothemselves

In a world populated by the supernatural, witches were the most despised and mistrusted of creatures. Everyone desired to make use of their powers but no one was willing to be seen openly conferring with them. And so there came to pass a heinous practice: Small covens of witches were isolated and kept under wraps in every kingdom, to be utilized when needed, and kept under close watch to prevent them from rebelling. Growing up in a kingdom ruled by werewolves, abuse and scorn were a fact of life, but you were determined to put an end to it. You devised a devious plan to gain power, and it involved a certain prince.

Clandestine- @ditzymax​

As a professional assassin, Kim Kinsoo has many shrouded secrets in her life. Some of them she shares openly with her loving boyfriend, but there are other things he must never know…

Insomnia- @hobiwonder​

this is being rewritten

Dirty dishes- @jaysdimples​

when your boyfriend can’t seem to keep his hands to himself so he stirs up a little trouble in the kitchen while everyone else is a few feet away in the next room

Dalliance- @jvnghxope​

The Association sends you to your first mission alone and you encounter a Pureblood ⎯a race you believed were extinct⎯  who is in the mood to play.

Freak- @kissmetae​

your crush on your best friend was obvious and so was his. but as you took the next step together things turned out completely different. an accident caused an unbreakable bond and you found out about the secret he had kept from you for so long. a secret that put you in danger, forcing you to run away from him. 

but the bond brought with it more than you both thought... to put it charmingly, your blood thirsty lover was thirsty for far more than just blood and the world you once knew turned into something completely different

Lavender flowers- @kissmetae​

it all started when your boyfriend starting showing weird and abnormal behaviour...

at first it wasn't anything beyond the ordinary but as it gradually got worse and worse you were getting really worried...he couldn’t sleep and kept waking up in the middle of the night. but one morning was worse than others... and it would be the start of new encounters and a big change for both you... 

Freedom- @tayegi​

fleeing form your wedding you get into a little trouble with a certain vampire

Hung, open the door- @gotmetalkinginmysleep​

You’ve been keeping the boys awake with your moaning for months thanks to Yoongi. Tae and Jungkook want to find out why.

The doms next door- @tatertotthethot​

in which you unknowingly accept the offer to become a tattoo model for the two, sexually-crazed men next door.

Once bitten, twice shy- @pbandjk​

You met Taehyung in college and he convinces you to move to his hometown with him. The town is nice, Taehyung’s friends are great, and you get along with everyone except Jungkook. You can’t seem to figure out what you’ve done to make him not like you, and why did you care so much? Also, why did none of them ever get cold?

Push your buttons- @littlemisskookie​

You return to your childhood home in an attempt to uncover your past, despite the fact it seems as though everyone’s determined to keep it hidden.

Sehebon- @httpjeon​

you find yourself on izo huen, home to the sehebon. luckily for you, you’ve arrived at an interesting time.

Thursday night- @sinsforjeon​

You do a lot of things on a Thursday night but what you were doing right now was something you weren’t used to, not that you were complaining.

Flower arrangements- @iq-biased​

From the moment you met Taehyung, his flourish for life drew you in completely. It wasn’t long before you fell head over heals for the tattoo artist who was so wrong for you, it felt right. But your story hasn’t always been an easy one, and just recently it’s become a whole lot more complicated… 

Overworked and sequel- @iq-biased​ 

A stressful weak teaching has you turning to your colleague for help. 

Wrapped around- @jjkfire​

Freshman year was a mess and sophomore year doesn’t seem to be looking too good either. You know boys like them are no good for you but maybe they’re just your kind of type

Summerboy- @koyamuses​

In the mid-July heat, you find yourself unable to tear your gaze from the pool boy, whose skin glistens beneath rivulets of water as he sets about to clean your pool.

The talk- @kittae​

A drabble series where Taehyung is a successful artistic erotica actor but has to expand his areas of expertise in the rapidly evolving world of adult film. Lost and inexperienced in everything that doesn’t involve classy settings, flattering lighting and romantic scripts, he basically has to start from scratch to make it in the online porn community. As a highly demanded A-lister in that community, you take him under your wings (or better yet, between your legs).

Always together- @kittae​

having a romantic night with your life long lover and friend

New tricks- @geniuslab​

When your newly adopted puppy turns out to be a lot more work than you expected, a cute dog trainer comes to the rescue. You soon become friends, but you begin to realize friendship might not be all you want.

Try my luck- @drquinzelharleen​

When your sister passed away a few years ago you took in her two kids, Yoongi and Jimin. You were happy to do it. Now Jimin was going into kindergarten and you were so worried. But when Jimin comes home talking about his new kindergarten teacher, Taetae everyday. You start to wonder who this man is. Turns out he was just what your little family needed. ​

Slip through the seams- @deerguk​

your locomotion is not that of a normal human being, rather it is to extent of physically being able to transport from one place to another. normally, your seams slip you into locations that you are familiar with, but when you unexpectedly happen upon the apartment of Kim Teahyung in Seoul, south korea- your ability that you have always deemed a curse begins to feel more like a blessing in disguise

Lucy- @gamerguk​

after reading a few more titles of the videos you’ve uploaded, taehyung has come to the conclusion that you’re the hottest fucking dumbass he’s ever seen and so desperately wants to fuck.

The roommate- @jjungkookislife​

y/n is desperate to find a place to live in her city when her best friend, jimin suggests she moves in with his friend Jungkook (poly au)

Addicted to your touch- @jjungkookislife​

spending valentines with your boyfriends

change- @junghelioseok​

a kind, handsome stranger makes you question your deteriorating relationship

Heaven- @pjm-com​

Being an angel who is dating a demon wasn’t easy in your community especially when everyone weighs in. 

​Petals- @katobobato​

Every day the same boy with fluffy brown hair steps foot into y/n’s flower shop. He never buys any of the flowers, no, he just takes his time inspecting them all, taking in the heavenly scents. One day, however, he doesn’t come in. y/n wonders what happened to him until she bumps into him on her way home, surrounded by dying plants.

“The flowers get sad when you don’t look after yourself“.

Dick and go- @jeonggukingdom​

It was all shits and giggles when you and Taehyung were desperate seniors in High School, having no idea what to do with your lives, wondering if you’d ever find a decent job or even graduate in the first place. It is not so funny anymore when you come home from the big city to enjoy your vacation time and you find his sex-shop right in front of the house you grew up in when you were a kid. “If nothing works out I’m just gonna open a sex shop and call it something obnoxious like ‘Dick on the Go’ or something with a stupid zucchini logo flashing on top of the building.” He had said one time. Shit, you had no idea he actually meant it.

All that is gold- @winetae​

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.

↳ or : Taehyung is a sugar baby and somehow thinks he can keep this a secret

[nighttimepixels]

I just read through your Red HCs (you've persuaded me v v successfully), and I'm just that much more curious! Which house are you, and the rest of the boys? I'm a slytherin myself, so I wonder who I'd have to share a dorm with.

Persuasion success! (ง •̀ω•́)ง✧ And ahhhh the headcanon button, it’s been pressed in me, I’m all too happy to dish a little more :) Personally, I’m a Hufflepuff! I’ve always considered myself one, tbh, which is probably why I’ve done a lot of analysis on more ‘accurate’ characterizing for the houses for a long time. Also, I heckin’ love Slytherin-Hufflepuff friendships and the hilarity that absolutely ensues, so high five there~!

As for the other guys, here’s the list:

UT Sans: Slytherin

His form of leadership isn’t the obvious kind; he’s the group-project leader who while cracking jokes subtly steers everyone away from disaster, and manages to get the slacker to pull his own weight. He may look and act like a slacker himself, but underneath it all - ambition of all kinds is still ambition. Sans is a guy who can do whatever he sets his mind to; in the past, he worked as a scientist, later, he got himself and his brother their house in Snowdin, then found a way to keep them stable while Papyrus chases his dreams. He’s cunning as hell, more resourceful than most realize (hotcat, anyone?), and it literally takes murder for him to break a promise made to a loyal friend.

UT Pap: Ravenclaw

Pap is one of the wittiest characters in-game (everyone forgets his wordplay game, somehow), not to mention his dedication to his craft - puzzles - and his dedication to learning anything that will help him be a great Guard are key hints here. He’s extremely into coming at things with creative solutions, and you’re in for one hell of a shock if you don’t expect this Tall Friend to run laps around anyone literally with his clever insight and knowledge-hungry approach to life.

UF Sans: Hufflepuff

See this post for the full details ;) but to copy my summary: He’s a big toasted marshmallow, not looking to show off guts or to gain glory or ultimate knowledge, but to have a good time with good company, and’ll occasionally make sure the little guy isn’t being taken advantage of if anyone makes that mistake around him.

UF Pap: Gryffindor

Tall Dark and Spiky is the bravest, most daring, and secretly absurdly chivalrous skeleton you’ve ever met. He takes action on honed instinct, and each day around him is an adventure of some kind - he gets a rush from breaking into the unknown, is resolutely and brashly himself without shame, and no matter how many people he rubs the wrong way, no one can deny the guy’s got the courage worthy of a whole pride of lions.

US Sans: Gryffindor

Blue’s one of the few that can put Edge’s courage to test, let’s be real - just in the sense of comparison. He’s a charmer, bold, and will always tell people what he thinks - and won’t hesitate to step in the line of danger to do the right thing as he sees it. He’s smarter than he looks, but craves adventure and exploration - even when he’s studying/learning, you’ll half the time find him out on the rooftop, soaking in the sun, or chasing after adventure under the guise, or perhaps motto, of applied learning. Nothing holds this skeleton back.

US Pap: Hufflepuff

Not unlike Red, Stretch isn’t going through life for guts or glory; above all else, he wants to share good times with good friends. He’s a smart one, too, and while he’s laid back and easy going nearly to a fault on a lot of things, the things he’s interested in or the people he cares about will receive the full force of how hard he can work - and man, if you’re able to witness it, it kind of blows you away. He’s dedicated to the core when he’s got his soul set, and too… isn’t above a bit of mischief to level the playing field.

SF Sans: Slytherin

Now, this isn’t because Black is some sort of ‘ultra evil’ - not in the slightest. No, see, Black is perhaps the most cunning, most resourceful skeletons out there- with the scientific inclination of a Sans and the energy and dedication to his pursuits of a Papyrus, he readily and capably takes charge of many relevant endeavors. He’s proud because he knows he’s good - but he’s also willing to get better. He wants to be the best in what he does, plain and simple; but he’s also fiercely loyal, and if you manage to get close enough to earn his, then you’ve got an ally who’s ride or die. He’s always got a grasp on what’s going on, as intel is one of his strongsuits - frankly put, he’s the guy who knows the latest and knows how to get a job done. Any job. And if he doesn’t know, he’ll figure it out through and through. Black’s the true jack of all trades.

SF Pap: Gryffindor

While Russ may not always be ‘brave’ for what society views as the ‘right’ reasons, he’s bold. Certainly less outspoken than others, he has a better eye for observation, and knowing what’s on - and perhaps that’s why he’s always around when the best, most interesting and fun mischief is going down. He’s unapologetically himself, even if he doesn’t open up easy; he knows he won’t change, but he’s got a love of the rush of new and the feeling of being true to your instincts that has him fitting right in among the lions… especially with that sharp grin of his.

HT Sans: Hufflepuff

He’s nothing if not patient. Whether by necessity or nature, he’ll wait it out- and out, and out. Loyalty’s his brand, though for the longest time it was lost to anyone but his brother - with less reliable magic and a spotty memory, hard work - however slow - is something he’s used to. Frankly, in a surface scenario, he’s a sweetheart under all the dangerous jagged edges, if only he could be given a proper chance and enough stability to feel like this all isn’t going to end up a dream. In the end, a sunny afternoon catnap with a late lunch, maybe some chill music in the background and laidback jokes with a friend… that’s all he wants.

HT Pap: Ravenclaw

The tallest, biggest of all the sweethearts here is the type of Ravenclaw that’s in love with creativity and learning period. Sure, Underground - he also proved how deadly smart he could be even in a famine, how clever he truly was - but in a better place, he just loves trying new things. His favorites tend to involve puzzle-like thinking, any crafting/creative pursuit; and he may or may not be world-record-skilled at Rube Goldberg machines. In the end, though, he just has a clever, creative way at approaching everything in life, and a knack for challenging the assumed ‘best way’ of approaching anything. Whether for fun or in genuinely seeing a better/more interesting way of tackling an issue.

and I’ll copy/paste my previous post’s quick breakdown of how I breakdown the Houses for easier reference as to why I made these decisions ;)

(in italics = the main canonical descriptions from the books, and below those are my expansions based on better/accurate characterization & analysis.)

Gryffindor:

brave, loyal, courageous, adventurous, daring and chivalrous

prioritizes: instinctive action, exploration of the unknown, the rush of doing something exciting/new, boldness, being true to yourself

what they aren’t: the only good guys, knights in shining armor, complete idiots that only rush in without thought, the only ones willing to Get It Done

Ravenclaw:

wisdom, intelligence, creativity, cleverness and knowledge

prioritizes: seeking new knowledge (of any preferred field); creative solutions (absolutely including MacGyver-ing); challenging the presumed standard/status quo whether boldly or quietly; their preferred topic over others

what they aren’t: super geniuses, jack-of-all-trades, the only ones holding the single brain cell the whole group shares, aloof holier-than-thou types

Hufflepuff:

valuing hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play

prioritizes: bonds with those they’re close to; Good Food, Good Drink, Good Company, Good Times™; the journey over the destination;  a ‘fair shot’ (which may not look like ‘fair rules’ but could include questionable ‘levelling the playing field’ - a fair fight may include hair pulling or putting a brick in your purse…)

what they aren’t: the extras with nowhere else to go, total duffers/bland goody two-shoes, only here because they aren’t brave/smart/cunning, necessarily the nicest person you’ve ever met

Slytherin:

cunning, prideful, resourceful, ambitious, intelligent, and determined

prioritizes: clever approaches to a problem, leadership & being goal-oriented (large or small),  speaking their mind (but holding their tongue if absolutely necessary), wit, cultivating personal interests,  doing what it takes to get the job done, keeping a promise made, being aware of the lay of the land (real or metaphorical)

what they aren’t: … going to do is put up with This BS (whatever it may be); Evil™; the only ones to ever make questionable choices; completely content to live in a dank evil cave???; smooth charmers to a T (they definitely have niches)

#night answers #hp houses #hp ut #hc variety hour #(that's what i'm gonna start tagging my hc posts - i'll go back and add them later) #woo! <3 #hope these were fun to read for you guys #and omg thank you for asking-! #i'm so excited you liked red's post <3 #yes-virtualcollectorofpeace

[lovingnikiforov]

2018 Fic Writing Round-Up

Total year-long word count: 632,603+ words…..that’s about double what I wrote for 2017 omfg

Word count by fandom: ~ Bungou Stray Dogs: 461,813+ ~ Yuri on Ice: 166,925 ~ Kuroshitsuji: 3,865

Fics completed: 33

♥ Drabbles: ~ 5 twitter prompt fills - bsd

♥ Oneshots: ~ All Dolled Up - bsd, soukoku, pwp, wyll companion ~ Workaholic - bsd, ranpoe, canon -compliant ~ Kids Again - bsd, soukoku, bartender au ~ like a moth - bsd, soukoku, mafia boss chuuya ~ Five Steps - bsd, soukoku, royalty au ~ Writer’s Block - bsd, soukoku, sugar daddy Chuuya ~ What About Trust? - bsd, soukoku, dark era ~ On the Clock - bsd, soukoku, secret relationship, au ~ A Warlord’s Conscience - bsd, kousano, feudal era au ~ No-Show - bsd, soukoku, canon-compliant ~ Sorely Missed - bsd, soukoku, hogwarts au ~ what a pair - bsd, soukoku, sugar daddy Chuuya, Writer’s Block sequel ~ Propriety - bsd, soukoku, royalty au, Five Steps sequel ~ Something to Lose - bsd, soukoku, wyll companion ~ Perfectly Pleasant - bsd, soukoku, college au ~ Shattered Glass - kuroshitsuji, gen, canon-compliant ~ A Phone Call Away - bsd, higugin, canon-compliant, manga spoilers ~ hide the truth - bsd, soukoku, amnesiac Chuuya au, canon-compliant ~ Playing Human - bsd, soukoku, pwp, incubus Chuuya, vampire Dazai ~ Unplottable - bsd, soukoku, hogwarts au, Sorely Missed sequel ~ Closer to Home - bsd, soukoku, established relationship, canon-compliant ~ A Stupid Question - bsd, soukoku, dark era (patreon exclusive) ~ Private Lessons - bsd, soukoku, pwp,  like a moth sequel (patreon exclusive) ~ New Normal - bsd, soukoku, secret relationship (patreon early-release/coming soon!)

♥ Chapter Fics: ~ Shared Gravity - bsd, soukoku, college au, joint fic with ZODIACHUUYA ~ Equivalent Exchange - yoi, viktuuri, magic/fantasy au ~ where your loyalties lie - bsd, soukoku, arranged marriage/yakuza au ~ Rent a (boy)Friend - yoi, phichuuri, fake dating au

Works-in-progress: ~ even on the darkest night - bsd, gen/kyouka-centric, dystopia au, dyetyd sequel

This year I wrote and posted: 34 fics in total: 4 completed multi-chapter fics, 1 wip multi-chapter fic, 24 oneshots, 5 drabbles.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? So, so much more. I almost can’t believe how much I managed to write this year.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Kuroshitsuji. It’s not a fandom I’ve ever written for and the fic I did write was a gift fic and a prompt fill.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? Ahhh that’s hard, there are a handful of stories I am really happy with. I suppose I’ll have to go with hide the truth it was a beast of a story to write and I had a lot of fun working through soukoku’s dynamic in it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Big time! I’ve been using my fic writing to really challenge myself in terms of my stories. My biggest risk was just in terms of quantity, I spent much of the year juggling four wips and a patreon with additional content. Getting through everything month-to-month was hard but it really helped my efficiency and increased my writing speed.

Your best story of this year: Hmm, this is a hard one. Honestly, I’d have to say Equivalent Exchange. It was a massive undertaking with a lot of characters and plot lines to keep track of. As a fantasy piece, the worldbuilding was extremely intensive. 

Your most popular story of this year: By a slim margin with EE, my most popular story this year was where your loyalties lie.

Story of yours most under-appreciated by the universe, in your opinion: Any rare-pair story is going to have a hard time getting views, but I honestly think A Warlord’s Conscience is one of my best stories of the year and it was my third least popular fic. 

Most fun story to write: The Hogwarts AU verse  (Sorely Missed and Unplottable) was a lot of fun! I was a big HP nerd growing up so it was enjoyable to dive back into the universe. 

Story with the single sexiest moment: Playing Human. By a long mile. Easily one of the most explicit stories I’ve written for bsd. Honorable mention goes to All Dolled Up.

Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: This honor also goes to Playing Human. I grew up really religious and they’re in a church and I did not back away from any form of sacrilege. 

Story that shifted your own perceptions of the characters: Hmmm, I can’t say I had any real shift in character perceptions this year.

Hardest story to write: where your loyalties lie. There was a lot going on in that story and the character development/journeys were really delicate, especially for Chuuya. 

Biggest disappointment: tbh...I don’t think I feel disappointed with any of my stories this year. Progress!

Biggest surprise: Writer’s Block, I wasn’t expecting people to like it as much as they did, much less to the degree of requesting a sequel.

Most unintentionally telling story: where your loyalties lie. Anyone who read the Author’s Commentary of the fic probably has a good grasp of how many of my personal struggles over the course of the year got projected into the fic. There were also a few other personal things from years past that also get referenced. 

Favorite opening line(s): ~ There was something that came alive when the sun went down. - Playing Human ~ Sometimes Dazai finds it hard not to think that the person responsible for making text cursors blink just had a sick sense of humor rather than any practical reasoning for the programming decision. - Writer’s Block

Favorite closing line(s): ~ It felt like a dagger in the gut to know that he’d already made his choice. - What About Trust? ~ And if Viktor is imagining the way the moonlight seems to shine brighter when they pull back from their embrace, well, he can’t quite see a problem with that. - Equivalent Exchange

Favorite 5 line(s) from anywhere: ~ He can trace the features of the figures depicted, all wholly inaccurate but it’s not as if the religious painters would bother to consult a vampire on matters like the faces of the figures they exalted to sainthood. - Playing Human ~ The very idea is absurd but it is the only explanation that explains both his pain and the fact that he is holding a building in his hands, lifting through dense fog to float in mid-air and stare at…at…Is that a fucking dragon? - hide the truth ~ It takes a bigger effort to get to his feet than it ever has, and for a moment Chuuya wonders if his ability is working against him, if gravity has decided to press down on him in retribution for every time Chuuya has ever felt weightless - wyll, ch. 13 ~ A dependency on alcohol is gradually self-destructive, a dependency on a person is instantly debilitating. - wyll, ch. 11 ~ Just as Viktor said, it's nothing like a duel, but Yuri wishes someone had told him that a real battle was as close to hell as a living human could get. - EE, ch. 18

Top 5 scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated: ~ Yuuri showing up on the battlefield - Equivalent Exchange (ch. 18) ~ Chuuya’s tattoo - wyll (ch. 20) ~ Kouyou standing in the garden - A Warlord’s Conscience ~ Drunk Phichit and Yuuri dancing salsa - Rent a (boy)Friend (ch. 8) ~ tbh any bit from All Dolled Up

Fic-writing goals for next year: Hmm, I’ve been toying with trying my hand with a new fandom. It’s been a while since I’ve taken that jump with new characters so I’d like to do that in 2019!

#dessa.txt #fic tag #t: my fic #t: fic review #long posts

[96percentdone]

Anon if you’re wondering why I’m doing it like this it’s because I don’t want this showing up in the shi//rog//ane searches. I am going to rail very hard on her character. If you like her, you were warned.

To be quite frank I think literally anyone would have made a more interesting ringleader. Okay, that’s a lie. Except for Ouma and Harumaki and Yonaga, I think anyone else would have made a better ringleader. I’m gonna explain why, first starting briefly with why I think Ouma and Harumaki would have made worse ringleaders.

Ouma is quite simple: his entire character gimmick is “pretending to be an obvious mastermind only to end up NOT being the mastermind and is fundamentally against the killing game to begin with.” This is is just too good to ruin. Harukawa’s is less complicated in that she’s an assassin, so making her the ringleader would be boring and obvious. Like yeah okay of course the surprise assassin was the organiser of the killing game big fuckin whoop. And finally Yonaga, and the big reason for that is her character gimmick is “scary exotic foreigner” and cults and it’s a lot of racist shit and tbh I think even if you took a lot of that out, making the one foreign coded character (in a Japanese environment) your ringleader is asking for trouble. Don’t do that. 

The biggest reason I think shi//ro//gane fails not only as a DR mastermind, but as a character, is because she’s boring as shit and has no personality. It’s not even an accident she has no personality. in v3 characters tend to revolve around a gimmick, and her gimmick is literally being a non-entity. She constantly talks about being plain, and for most of the game her big thing each chapter is just...going with the gimmick of the chapter. That and she makes anime references that feel kind of forced and personally not how people tend to make references. And then in her big chapter, where she was the revealed to be the mastermind, she spends most of it pretending to be other pre-existing characters with more personality. 

Some people think the center of her personality is on fandom, and it’s a commentary on it, and on passion. To which I say: fucking where. Okay, I understand exactly where that potential lies, and in her free time events there’s definitely more of that. But I personally think that if I need to read the free time events (which are entirely optional you could play v3 without ever doing a fte, nevermind specifically hers) to feel like a character has a personality, then you didn’t write a well written character. 

What is there in the main story to suggest this? She makes constant poorly done anime references, and there’s one forced fanservice consplay scene. I’m blown away by this. It never feels like this is important to her, because it’s always played as like a joke or an event where her talent is just the excuse for fanservice in the ch1 scene. What else is there? Does she talk about her love for fandom and cosplay? Is she looking for excuses to dress people up in her various cosplays in the main story? No! Fuck I mean we even unlock her room and the mandatory conversation you have with her with that weird ass cg is about her bar life, not her fandom life. Like they go out of the way to not talk about it meaningfully in the one place it would be more than apt to do so. Seriously?

Chapter 6 is better at making her fandom commentary. You could argue that her constantly shifting into previous characters and rambling on and on about her love of dangan ronpa is fandom commentary. And yeah I guess it is. But it’s weak as fuck. It’s backed by like jack shit from the earlier chapters, and she has to talk about this because this is the big plan for ch6. It’s the ch6 gimmick! And then ch6 is an inconsistent mess of lies and contradictions that canon can’t explain, and she says some things (like the cosplaycat killer line) that imply she faked all that too so like. More following the chapter’s gimmick? would you believe? I would!

That’s the big problem with Shi//ro//ga//ne. Her gimmick is her entire personality, and that gimmick is not having one. That’s why she just does the big thing of every chapter, that’s why she’s so forgettable and doesn’t stand out and is “plain”, that’s why she constantly cosplays as other dr characters, and that’s why at the end of the chapter she goes “haha I pulled another great trick” without elaborating. Her thing is having no existing personality. Just being whatever the story needs. And maybe someone out there will be like “but that just shows her passion for DR and--” no. No what it is is just cheap and lazy writing, and again possibly not even true. 

And this has bad effects on writing a meaningful mastermind, particularly since we spent the entire game with her. She does nothing the entire time and doesn’t stand out, and particularly with v3′s writing where characters generally only become important in the chapter they die, by the time you get to ch6 it’s so obvious she’s going to be the ringleader. Harukawa’s had an arc (albeit a shitty one), Yumeno had an arc, Saihara is your protag for realsies who had an arc (albeit half-assed and not focused on what would have made it strong), and Kiibo is clearly having his big moment right now, so that leaves Shir//o//gane being saved up for something huge. Like the ringleader. She becomes obvious because she’s nothing. And then her reveal means nothing because she had no personality to get invested in because her gimmick was having no personality. And also they do nothing with her and chapter six is a poorly written garbage fest that makes no fucking sense.

She’s a bad mastermind because she’s a bad character, and she’s a bad character because her personality is a nonexistent thing that’s entirely up for grabs since she’s faked it all and her gimmick is just not being an interesting person. 

And this makes effectively anyone else a better ringleader, because anyone else in the game has more to their personality than she does. I’ll even explain why everyone excluding the previously mentioned three will make better antagonists before getting to my main ideal pick. In order of deaths!

Amami: he’s a mystery man right? that kinda seems to point against him but like play up the he died first trying to stop the killing game angle and it turns out he faked it or something just to get it started. He could take or leave killing Akamatsu off, but she chose trial, so she had to go. revise his videos a little so he looks a little sketchy, but even more like a victim trying to do good.

Akamatsu: if you just take out the fuckin “she has a twin bit” in ch6 and have it turn out she faked like her entire execution just so she looks like she’s entirely uninvolved, only to turn out she did kill Amami but with entirely different means, would that be cool or what? like it’d be the triple Akamatsu twist whammy. also wouldn’t waste her as a character cause she wouldn’t die for manpain to be your wife.

Hoshi: so yeah he’s kinda got the “I’m depressed because i’ve killed” shit working against him but you can easily rework that into a big old lie (hey look it’s the themes of the game some more wild). he’s still depressed in real life but his outlet for that was violence, so killing game.

Toujou: literally she gets power hungry and sick of constantly having to tend to the whims of everyone around her. her loving serving people was the big lie. she’s more interested in serving herself and the audience. Simple. Effective. Subverts her character in a meaningful but still relevant way.

Chabashira: she’s super honest and open about her emotions right? To an almost childlike way? fuck yeah you could make that ringleader shit. She wants to bring out the best in people emotionally, except she actually thinks the best way to do that is trauma. But she doesn’t really actually care about your emotional wellbeing, and that becomes apparent throughout the trial. her big fuckin lie. amazing.

Shinguuji: see this is tough and i’m tempted to put him in the not-mastermindable category because of chapter 3 which was. eugh. But okay see we’re just gonna take out all the weird incest serial killer shit. shinguuji’s gimmick anyway is that he’s detached and more interested in observing the people around him like an onlooker than he is partaking. smart but doesn’t give much a shit. this is easily played up to ringleader levels just. “I wanted to put humans in a society I made myself to play god and observe them to my heats content” simple. not as thematic, but hey it’s consistent.

Iruma: okay so canonically. Iruma is kinda a bitch. I mean this positively she’s kinda funny even if the sex jokes gross me out. She’s paranoid and kinda narcissistic and super weak to criticism and bites people in an attempt to make them not bite her. So what if it turns out like that’s just...fake. she’s actually just rude mean and crude not as some kinda backwards defense mechanism (we’re taking out the kink) it’s just because she likes being mean and crude. She seems so weak willed as a person but it turns out she orchestrated and “invented” the killing games just to keep attention on her and put people through hell. I’m not totally confident in this one I’m sure others can come up with better but fuck I mean it’s not shi//ro//ga//ne.

Gokuhara: this is easy he’s not actually a gentleman at all! it’s a big lie! a ploy to make him sympathetic and likeable! He went along with Ouma’s shit just because he thought it was amusing! The world at large decided he couldn’t be a gentleman, so he decided to be the biggest brute you can find and run killing game where he makes himself look good in comparison to everyone else. you’d have to rewrite ch6 a lot but it’d be better than canon anyway lmfao

Momota: now Momota’s my second favourite ringleader choice not gonna lie. This is just because the narrative plays him up as your shsl best friend and you get very invested in him (despite his uh....glaring toxic masculinity problems which we’re taking out because they add nothing to his character). His big thing is being a supportive believer. a shounen protag. but it’s all bullshit! Have the real Momota be the audition tape asshole. Or he doesn’t even have to be that it’s just his big thing will be that huge punch of betrayal that won’t compare except for with my #1 pick. But we’ll get to them very soon.

Kiibo: Y’know those posts that talk about how AIs are actually going to be very pure with their best interest in being serving humanity? I want that for Kiibo, but in a super warped and twisted way. Kiibo in his desire to be seen as a human and respected by them, starts feeding the twisted desires of the masses with the torture porn they crave in the form of a killing game, because this will make him be accepted as one of them. But he still ends up being a kind of subservient AI who never escapes that role, so now the killing game runs partially on hate, and partially on the thin remains of hope he has. I think this is kinda fun.

Yumeno: Yumeno is great because she has that whole arc where she learns to be open with her feelings and honest with herself right? Well we’re gonna make that just. a big old lie. She just doesn’t give a shit, so fuck it she’ll do this killing game shit too.

And finally, top pick: Saihara. Saihara would be the literal best option. Keep the protagonist switch. Akamatsu dies, we take Saihara as protagonist now. He gets played out basically the same. We play thinking we’re playing an insecure detective with some issues with the truth (and some issues with lies that aren’t capitalised on as well but hey that’s not actually entirely necessary for this scenario). We think Saihara is trying to carry on Akamatsu’s wish, because he says he would, and he solves all the cases and seems to be interested in saving everyone.

But...it’s a lie. Like in chapter 1 we were playing with an unreliable narrator the whole game. Saihara’s focus on the mystery versus trying to guarantee their lives in the game now gets played for “of course he’s focused on those this is his show. It’s what he lives for.” Saihara created a killing game to have an endless set of murder mysteries to solve, and he doesn’t really care about the people, but their potential in creating a good story. Maybe he’s even the pre-game fanboy too if we’re keeping that trick. And the narrative insisting on framing him as good through the use of the cast becomes a clever trick to hide his motivations.It’d be another unreliable narrator, and the best way to capitalize on the themes of the game. More lies. 

Not to mention it would make the Akamatsu thing especially brutal, because you play as him to frame her for a crime it will turn out she did not actually commit. The replay value of the game at LARGE would be through the roof, all because of this trick. It’d be fucking fascinating, and it would just destroy dangan ronpa formula. We’ll have not only a murder protagonist, but a mastermind protagonist. Listen. LISTEN. This is the best possible ringleader selection. I will fight you. dkgjrngdjkn

Okay I went on long enough we’re gonna call it a day. I hope this more than answered your questions!

#hope.txt #dangan ronpa #ndrv3 #saihara // #my meta

[bizarre-dollhouse]

Yana Toboso’s Writing Style: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I’LL STOP WRITING LONG WINDED KURO POSTS WHEN I’M DEAD.

I do my best to stay out of Kuro discourse because...I just hate it and find it’s usually about stuff that’s pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. But within the past several months I’ve noticed a new point of contention is the author herself, which I think is an actual good point of contention because it opens up an interesting conversation about the work as a whole and how/why Kuro is the way it is (aka good, bad, and...tonally confused to say the least). 

And just to make things perfectly clear, this is an opinion piece about Yana Toboso’s strengths and weaknesses as a mangaka. This is not me telling people that they’re viewing the series all wrong and that I’m right. I just want to open up a discussion (in fact, I welcome people disagreeing with me, I just want it to be clear that this is not an attack on other people’s opinions, it’s just my opinions).

Lots of text under the cut.

I’m going to start with what I like about Kuro, since I’ve been reading it for like, 5 years and own 25 volumes of it (including one I just bought like 2 weeks ago). 

The Good:

What I think is by far Yana’s biggest strength is her characters. They all have very distinct personalities, but aren’t just one note. There’s also a lot of them; one thing that struck me when I reread all of Kuro was just how big the cast is and how it feels even bigger because a very large portion of the cast have their own arcs, whether it be during the course of the series or in their backstories (or both). 

Even the villains are a really good variety of comedic, evil/scary, and sympathetic (except maybe the first mobster guy but the first arc kinda sucks anyway and is mostly just for plot establishment. And I guess the curry contest guy kinda sucks too but that arc is all about Soma and Agni so I can give it a pass). Baron Kelvin is piss-your-pants terrifying in his appearance, actions, and behaviour, but still has a backstory that isn’t at all sympathetic but makes you understand his motivations. 

I think that’s the key for all of the villains/characters in general; everyone has motivations that make sense even if they’re not relatable. 

I also think the fact that most people in the fandom want spin-offs (about the reapers, Vincent and Dee, the servants, the season 2 cast, etc.) is indicative of how good these characters are. There’s a sense that most of them could hold their own story.

I also think that the characters interact well with each other, whether it be in a fun way or a more serious way. Narrowing it down to the 2 mains, one aspect of Kuro that keeps me coming back is how Ciel and Sebastian work off of each other with their dialogue and general attitude towards each other. They’re both in a weird position where they kind of hate each other (Seb finds Ciel annoying and troublesome while Ciel is always a little afraid of Seb) but also need each other (Ciel needs protection/a weapon of mass destruction, and Sebastian needs food). Due to this weird situation, they’ve developed this comedic dialogue that’s kind of born from their repressed emotions. TBH the way they work off of each other has made them my favourite sherlock/watson duo.

The only flaw with the character writing I think is Sebastian, who’s kind of inconsistent. But chapter 137 served as a kind of reminder that his human personality is 100% an act (aside from maybe his cat fascination...). But yeah, for the most part Kuro has a top notch cast.

Another thing I think Yana is really good at is foreshadowing. This might be a touch contentious, but I maintain my earlier stance that a big reason people hate the 2ct being canon is because of expectations and the fact that it’s a cliche is western culture (and personal taste, of course). Rereading the series was unbelievable because there were so many “AHA” moments and “how could I have been so blind?” moments. I think any plot twist that makes you go back and read a series and say “ooooh thaaaat’s what that waaaaas” like 90 times had some good set up to it. (Actually rereading the Campania and the Green Witch arcs made me feel like it might have even been too obvious...but a lot of people still didn’t catch it so, kudos). 

Even in the Curry arc there’s tidbits of foreshadowing for the servants backstories, and I’m sure other speculation that’s going on right now will have some pay off in future chapters (some of it, anyway). All in all, the series made for a great second go because of all the little hints that can be caught once you know future plot points.

Yana Toboso also has a lot of really good ideas. The execution can go either way, but the concepts of most (definitely not all) of the Kuro arcs are like...really great. Some of them are these alternate spins on history that come from these creative supernatural elements (side note: I like how the zombies in the kuro-verse bite people because they want to consume a soul, but can never succeed. It’s both creative and a little fucked up). Or then there’s something like the Green Witch arc that plays out like a Scooby Doo episode but it’s got all of this weird stuff about war and poison and psychology and dreams and other good shit. Even though I think the cricket match went on for way to long, I’ll admit that the idea of this evil genius murderous noble achieving his goals by cheating at the worlds most boring sport is kind of funny.

I hate the boyband arc though I’m sorry that was not a good idea i hat--

Despite some fan-servicy bits (which I’ll talk about A LOT later) Kuroshitsuji feels like a passion project. This is pure speculation, but if you read the extra behind the scenes bits in the manga volumes, Yana talks about all of the books she read to prepare for this, or how she actually took cricket lessons with her editor despite the fact that they were awkwardly old to be in beginner lessons. She also did a shit ton of work for anime-only character designs and other promotional stuff while still publishing a chapter every month.

Even without the “behind the scenes” stuff, the amount of references that can be found in her work and the fact that she never misses a month even when she’s publishing bonus chapters gives off the sense that she cares about this.

Though again, 100% speculation.

I also hugely appreciate the mixture of comedy and tragedy in Kuro. (It opens up some problems, but we’ll get to those later). It’s not a slog to get through but it also doesn’t feel...pointless? I guess?? It’s mostly a dark comedy with action-y moments that then becomes a genuine horrific tragedy. It’s kind of hard to explain why I like this combo, but if it helps anyone relate to what i’m saying, it’s like the tone shifts in Angel Beats and how that show is both enjoyable and a total cry-fest. Same with Kuro except with different genre trappings. There’s a sense that anything could happen since it’s not all tied to one tone. Tone pieces definitely aren’t a bad thing, but I like the huge variety that can be found in this one series.

That being said...

The Bad:

I’ve said this approximately 37359767 times on this blog, but I’ll say it again.

Kuroshitsuji has a pacing problem. A really bad pacing problem.

There’s literally an arc where Ciel goes to a school, makes some enemies Mean Girls style, plays sports, and then finds out the bad guy is the same bad buy from the last arc who’s plans have changed only slightly. This is one of the longest arcs in the series.

This. Strikes me as a bad idea from a structural standpoint. The arc isn’t really a bad idea, but it’s like...a 2 volume idea, y’know?

I’ve already talked at length about how bad the pacing of the blue cult arc was so i won’t repeat myself but, yeah. Unbelievable waste of time also huge missed opportunity for a Phantom of the Opera spoof like are you kidding me ALL OF THE PIECES WERE THER--

A lot of people complain about the Green Witch arc’s pacing since it’s really long and has a weird act structure (which it is and does respectively). This is something that doesn’t bother me at all but I feel like it’s worth bringing up since it bothered a lot of people, so maybe it’s something I just don’t see.

Also even though I like the mix of comedy and horror/tragedy, sometimes it doesn’t flow very well. This is especially apparent in the boyband arc, where the jump from stupid to serious is break-neck, and the lack of interesting events that happen in the school arc.

Kuroshitsuji is also at a disadvantage being a monthly publication instead of a weekly one, which makes the stretched out parts feel even more stretched out. It isn’t tailored to this release schedule (although I wouldn’t know how to fix this particular problem other than to just...tighten things up pacing wise). 

Yana also has a tendency to expect her readers to read her mind. What I mean by this is that she’ll say things on twitter/her blog like “Sebastian is the main character of Kuro” or “Ciel and Sebastian have no emotional connection,” and like a million other things.

....She says it like it’s obvious but if you go on tumblr or forums or anywhere...clearly not everyone sees these things and will often ask questions about her posts because they seem so not-obvious. 

Which is super weird because (if I remember correctly), she once said that people can interpret her work however they want, but she seems to be actively discouraging that.

This is another thing that makes me think Kuro is a passion project. It’s like she feels the need to make sure everyone sees everything that she’s thought of...but it doesn’t work if it’s not actually weaved into the narrative, then it’s just confusing.

This bothers me a lot because as a university English Major I’ve had “Death of the Author” drilled into my brainstem and Yana’s actively fighting me on it. Please make things more obvious in your story if you want readers to understand them.

Of course there’s a bunch of supernatural inconsistencies like “if Sebastian/the reapers/this supernatural thing could do this, why couldn’t they do this? how does this work?” (like, it’s implied that the reapers can make themselves invisible to humans if they want...so why do Grell and Ron show up to the Campania in full visibility? All the time?). Stuff like this is a problem with literally every supernatural story ever, so I try not to harp on it, but it’s there.

Tiiiiiiime for the most contentious topic.

The Ugly:

I’ll say this a bluntly and straightforward as I possibly can: Kuroshitsuji is kind of perverted. 

It is.

While the rumour that Kuroshitsuji was supposed to be a yaoi has been thoroughly debunked, Yana did used to draw BL staring young boys under the name “Yanao Rock.” 

....Yeeeaaaah it unfortunately comes through in Kuro. The unbelievably infamous corset scene is played as a joke, but it is the most perverted joke in the history of the universe.

One thing that blows my mind (in a bad way) is that one panel where Ciel’s having an asthma attack (you all know exactly what I’m talking about) and it can be so easily seen as looking pornographic when out of context. There’s also that recent cover page (I believe for chapter 136?) where RC and OC are lying in a kind of state of undress and they look really pretty even though the context is horrifying. 

Also that scene of RC swallowing the ring is drawn really pretty which is...a weird scene to have drawn really pretty.

i’ve heard people say that this all means nothing and we’re all reading too much into it, which I don’t buy for a second. I’ve also heard people say it’s for fujoshi fan service to which I’m kind of like....maybe?

This is based on 100% speculation, not at all fact, but I think the most obvious explanation is Yana is drawing beautiful boys in weird positions because she’s good at/likes drawing beautiful boys.

I’m not saying this is a good thing or an ironclad excuse, because it’s noooot. It comes across as pretty tasteless, especially given recent developments. It reminds me of the snake arc in Bakemonogatari or the weird shit that’s in the Made in Abyss manga; like this sexual shit feels very odd in these stories but there’s a sinking feeling that the author threw it in for their own enjoyment, like they were maaaybe trying to be sneaky and failed.

That being said, in that one particular scene in chapter 135 that actually deals with legit sexual abuse, I...didn’t think that sexualization felt perverted outside the context of the narrative (IT DEFINITELY WAS PERVERTED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE NARRATIVE, DON’T GET ME WRONG). And this isn’t just going off of Yana’s bullshit tweet because, like I said earlier, these things should be clear to the audience within the work itself. It was nasty as fuck, but I could see a scene being portrayed similarly in something like Berserk or Game of Thrones or any grim dark story, and no one being as mad at the creator BUT

BUUUUUUUUT that’s the issue! Kuroshitsuji is not Berserk or Game of Thrones! The issue with the series being a tonal cluster-fuck is that scenes about explicit sexual assault don’t fit in a black comedy formula so it feels weird. THIS ISSUE IS EXACERBATED GREATLY BY THE LACK OF TACT DISPLAYED IN OTHER SCENES THAT CAN BE READ AS/ARE SEXUAL. Yana made it really hard for this scene to be okay by being all loose with tone and the visual presentation of younger male characters earlier in the series.

Huge problem. Very unfortunate.

Conclusions:

I felt compelled to make this post because Kuroshitsuji is a series where the artist is not abstract. With most shows or movies people say “that movie was good” or “that show was bad” or whatever. But in Kuro discourse it’s always “Yana Toboso did bad” or “Yana Toboso did good.” 

I’m not saying this is bad....(in fact it’s probably good since Yana (and K-san) are being rightfully complimented/dragged based on the merit of their work) It is interesting, though, that Kuro discourse made a sliiiight shift from the work to the author. So, this was me trying to tie the author and the work together.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #Yana Toboso #text