#instead use it to develop the character. his decisions and his actions

[aleksanderscult]

Majority of the fandom likes Zoya over Alina and I don't know why.

Nikolai's duology has certainly made her popular. Most people nowadays love bitchy characters with a tragic past and a happy ending so Zoya ticks their boxes.

📝 She can turn into a dragon and has so many new cool powers so she's a badass.

📝 She is a bitch but she has a "good" reason to be.

📝 She has fallen in love with Nikolai (another popular character).

📝 She has a tear-jerking past (which is always endearing)

In a summary, fandoms and media never change, dear anon.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Developing your Story

Below are questions to consider while writing, and especially during the editing process, to create a more cohesive, rounded, and satisfying story for your readers.

There are 2 main types of writing styles: plot-driven or character-driven. Most writers naturally lean towards one writing style.

But the best writers understand that they must balance their preferred storytelling to create a satisfying tale.

By recognizing your writing preference, you will be able to identify the areas you need to balance.

Plot-Driven Stories

Often exciting and fast-paced.

Compel the reader to turn the page to find out how the characters will escape, evade, prevail, or overcome.

Focus on a set of choices that a character must make.

Meticulously tie together plot points to create a cohesive story.

Focus on ideas instead of people and their motivations.

Force your characters to make quick decisions that move the plot forwards. As a result, character development is secondary to plot development.

Character-Driven Story

Focused on studying the characters that make up your story.

Can deal with inner transformation or the relationships between the characters.

Focuses on how the character arrives at a particular choice.

When you zoom into the internal conflicts, you tend to focus less on the external conflicts.

The plot in a character-driven story is usually simple and often hyper-focused on the internal or interpersonal struggle of the character(s).

The plot is used to develop the character.

Many readers love character-driven stories because the author tends to put a premium on developing realistic, flawed, and human characters.

Readers can see themselves or someone they love in these characters and, as a result, connect emotionally.

When Writing a Plot Driven Story, Answer These Questions About Each of Your Main Characters:

What is the character’s back story?

What is the character’s personality?

How was the character’s personality shaped by his/her backstory?

How does each scene develop the character?

What is driving the character’s reaction within the scene (based on his/her back story)?

How does your character change within the course of the story?

What is the character’s internal conflict?

What is the character most afraid of?

How would he/she define happiness?

When Writing a Character Driven Story, Answer These Questions About Your Plot:

What does your character want to happen in each scene?

Is there tension or conflict within each scene?

What action does the character take within each scene?

How does this action move the story forward?

How does each scene contribute to the overall story?

What is the worst thing that can happen to your character(s)?

How does your character prevent it from happening?

What happens if your character cannot prevent it from happening?

What key events change the main characters in your story?

Source ⚜ Writing Notes ⚜ More: On Editing ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[mareastrorum]

That last episode really wasn’t as interesting as the discourse suggests, and that’s pretty much the problem:

First, Ludinus’s fight was not of the caliber expected for a final boss fight, which (in combination with his staff) suggests that it won’t be the last time we’ll see him. The issue is that the audience is generally quite tired of Ludinus because (1) he has made far too many appearances for a villain with a single-minded goal, (2) his interactions with the PCs are uninteresting because his motivations don't resonate with them in agreement or opposition, and (3) Delilah did the whole “Cerberus Assembly wizard who refuses to stay dead” thing in this very campaign (plus it was far more thematically appropriate for a necromancer) and that takes the dramatic tension out of the possibility. No one cast member bears the blame for those 3 issues; Matt probably should have pivoted to give Ludinus additional motivations when the Hells had so consistently demonstrated an inability to commit to the gods question, and the players should have done something to build a sense of purpose in their group (which would be their reason to oppose the villain). Instead we're left with "this guy has rancid vibes, kill him and do what he wanted us to anyway."

Second, the PCs’ decisions leading up to this point have annihilated any semblance of tragedy in the narrative. This isn’t a tragedy because that genre rests on eliciting a feeling that the characters deserved better, but the audience nevertheless understands why it turned out this way. That can arise from paying attention to institutional injustices, the allure of cycles of violence, or the development of tragic flaws (strengths causing a downfall). That isn't C3; this is a bunch of trite flaws (selfishness, short-sightedness, pettiness, favoritism, etc.) turning out to be flaws. It would have been amazing if this had been an example of hubris like we saw in EXU Calamity, but each of those main characters were bursting with pride in themselves, their city, and mortality, and while that hubris brought the Lord of the Hells back, they managed to prevent the worst case scenario using the exact same skills and resources. None of that is present here. Bell’s Hells are constantly trying to shift the captain’s hat to someone else, and their ship has been heading straight for rocks for the past 60 episodes. There was no intention to sail into the rocks. It wasn’t their strengths that led to Imogen accepting Predathos; it was the same indecisiveness that has plagued them the entire campaign. They had 118 episodes to build a proper tragedy, and instead we have a story that took hundreds of hours to say that unreliable people shouldn’t be relied upon. The result has been numerous posts hoping for the Hells to suffer all sorts of consequences (TPK, specific player deaths, refusal of aid from the gods) for failing to commit to a course of action. Why? Because then at least there would be some type of cathartic satisfaction that Fucking Around means they’re going to Find Out. It has nothing to do with imaginary people deserving a better ending and everything to do with feeling like this ending would have been more satisfying around episode 50.

These criticisms are not about facets within the story; it's not about whether X character was correct, whether Y fucked up, whether Z plan was the better choice. It's that sometimes people don't land their bit for improv shows, and that is disappointing after seeing skilled storytellers do so well with prior campaigns.

[weirdlyfitting]

(Semi-spoiler for s3)

It's still mindblowing to me that brooklynn's phone continues to become one of the biggest TRIGGERS for camp fam's catastrophes?!?plus whenever that phone just showed up it'd always ruins their relationships bruh (though for the better or worse 💀)

in camp cretaceous s1 it caused :

darius and kenji's first near-death experience

cancellation of camp fam's (except for darius and kenji cuz they're grounded lol) lab tour

VAN CRASH

very first yasammy's falloff

bonus : brooklynn's anger issues & insecurities

i forgot abt s2-s5 since her phone has already gone, but i'd love to mention in s3 with brooklynn and the laptop because in a way that laptop embodied brooklynn's phone pretty well lol, it literally became the start of kenji and darius' actual SERIOUS beef with each other and also one of the crucial point of kenji's character development! one more thing is, that laptop has shown the early signs over brooklynn's reckless behavior of sacrificing herself for the greater good (prolly survivor's guilt), she was lucky that she's got her friends' back when wu captured her, or else it could've been worse bruh

EDIT : I REWATCHED S4 AND TURNS OUT THIS LITTLE PRICK OF A GADGET DID IT AGAIN LMFAOOOOO. i know it's not exactly "brooklynn's phone" to begin with, but i found it funny that brooklynn was still associated with it (she's the first one who tried to reach that thing when she and yaz sneak out to kash's workshop)

in camp cretaceous s4 it caused :

yaz and brooklynn almost getting caught by kash

unintentionally triggers yaz's ptsd over dinos

darius being conflicted (and basically questioning his morality) either if he had to leave the forced dino fight OR saving himself and the entire camp fam

darius getting caught AND GETTING SEPARATED FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON

i'll add more after i'm done watching the whole season asjkdjs

anw going into chaos theory...

in chaos theory s1 it caused :

kenlynn's break up (kenji's pov)

darius' secret crush reveal IN FRONT OF KENJI

basically the whole darius and kenji's big, BIG fight 😭

in chaos theory s2 it caused :

kenlynn's break up (brooklynn's pov)

ben drifting apart (isolating himself) from the gang

ben having anxiety-paranoia and panic attacks 24/7

ben not being able to open up as freely as he used to be

BEN AND KENJI ULTIMATE ANGST PLOT

chaos theory s3 HUGE spoiler below

NOW in s3 yaz and sammy LITERALLY ended up having another beef because of brooklynn's cut off FROM HER PHONE. But y'know what's interesting? this is SO similar to kenji and brooklynn's break up situation! each of the opposite partners had different views of understanding over the situation, sammy and brooklynn saw and knew what happened IN FRONT OF the screen while yaz and kenji decided to disagree because of what they saw BEHIND the screen.. AND THEN THE AWFUL TIMING MADE IT WORSE! both yaz and kenji had tried to give themselves more room for understanding their partners, but the more time they gave, the more mentally exhausted they went, and JUST in time when sammy and brooklynn REALLY had that moment that's able to justify their reasoning of their actions, their partners weren't able to see that and instead giving them the decision that only led to a more catastrophic situation for each of these couples

and there you go, i present to you : THE SAGA OF BROOKLYNN'S PHONE, may it continues in s4 and beyond U_U)/ ❤️

[flyingwargle]

march fanfic recs!

ooh boy, i read a lot of amazing fics this month, and still got so much more to go. feel free to keep recommending fics to me, i've enjoyed all of them so far <3

some of these fics are rated e!

sakuatsu

i keep a couple of feet between everybody and me t. 5.6k. in which sakuatsu don't think they're dating and publicly announce they aren't. cue social media and the rest of their friends calling their bullshit. comedic and fun to read.

let them talk about us (talk too much) g. 8.6k. sakusa and atsumu are interviewed and work through who atsumu's mysterious lover is (not knowing it's sakusa). the greatest thing since sliced bread. please read this.

every action has an equal and opposite reaction t. 10.4k. in which sakusa realizes he has feelings for atsumu after seeing his calvin klein ad. i adore how the fandom's go-to sponsor for any of the boys is calvin klein, and how it's always with copious amounts of godly description and thirsting. also, physics metaphors. as someone allergic to science, i appreciate writers who use them.

For Someone Worth It g. 15.7k. atsumu hears sakusa sing in the locker room, but it isn't any song - it's a love song. that means sakusa has a crush, but who? atsumu is determined to find out, until he realizes he has a crush on sakusa. very lovely prose and writing!

and curfew's at midnight (we watch the sunrise) t. 19.6k. atsumu is upset about osamu's decision not to go pro but also freaks out when he learns sakusa is going to college instead, hence a whirlwind trip to tokyo to convince him otherwise. this is peak miya atsumu behavior with all his annoying traits but also insecurities. loved his characterization in this one.

The Superstitions of Cabin 4 t. 20.1k. 2/2. sakusa and atsumu are trapped in a cabin on the mountain due to a snowstorm and slowly fall in love while learning more about each other.

Other Boys in Other Ports e. 26.5k. 3/3. space sailor atsumu meets bartender sakusa for three days every few months. the yearning is STRONG in this. it's not very spicy if you aren't into that, but if you are into mutual pining, romance, and angst with a happy ending (it's HAPPY), you'll definitely be into this.

a tachycardic response t. 64.8k. 10/10. the next longfic after the posterior probability in atsumu's pov. i love fics that delve into how relationships go wrong because it isn't just miscommunication but insecurity, making assumptions, feeling inferior, etc. all of that is portrayed amazingly in atsumu's pov, and i'm eager to continue with this series!

homebody and dry skin t. 66.3k. 7/7. atsumu is stranded at the airport and calls sakusa to pick him up, which he miraculously does. this fic is underrated. i was worried about the estranged family tag, thinking it would be between atsumu and osamu (it isn't) but it was beautifully done. i love the prose, the backstory, the interactions with atsumu and sakusa's extended families - honestly one of my favorites of the year so far. <3

Insert Coin To Play e. 178.3k. 17/17. this one is recommended on every sakuatsu fanfic list you will ever find with good reason. amazing premise, details, prose, action, and on-point character development and portrayal. you will also be doing yourself a favor by reading this.

sunaosa

if you like what you see (end your curiosity) e. 5.1k. i try to keep what explicit fics i read to myself but this one deserves to be here. steamy prose and even steamier descriptions. you're doing yourself a favor by reading this.

good luck charm t. 5.7k. in the past, a fox rescued the miya twins from their burning house. 10 years later, osamu meets suna. you can probably tell where this will go 👀 the prose is very whimsical and light, which i enjoyed very much.

i'd like to call you on the way home t. 6.3k. apartment hunting is a form of love, and this fic exemplifies this very well, along with all the little details that bring snos's relationship to life. a beautiful read <3

learning to warm cold hands m. 84.6k. 11/11. suna returns to hyogo after retiring as a pro and reconnects with his ex after seven years, osamu. told in both present and past pov, with a healthy dose of angst, comfort, and eventual happy ending <3 this was in my tabs for the longest time and i finally got around to reading it. definitely one of snos's best gems.

iwaoi

the yellow room t. 14.2k. iwa and oikawa broke up but still live together and pictures of them kissing are still on their fridge. i love vulnerability and insecurity because of how raw it makes a relationship, and this was done beautifully.

kagehina

a green ring upon my finger t. 7.5k. in which hinata thinks his finger is turning green after wearing his wedding ring once too often. very cute with a dash of insecure hinata and comforting kageyama.

from this day forward t. 9.5k. in which kageyama thought it'd be romantic to propose to hinata by putting the ring in a meat bun. absolutely amazing and hilarious. you need this in your life, trust me.

tsukkiyama

Goodnight, Tadashi g. 5.3k. tsukkiyama. in which tsukki buys a body pillow and names it tadashi. i love this trope to death and the ending is just superb!

a good pair of headphones t. 5.8k. tsukkiyama. tsukishima discovers he likes yamaguchi. lots of pining and questioning because tsukki is nothing if not fastidious about his love for yamaguchi. lovely prose!

other

The Best/Worst Places to Cry in the City t. 4.4k. matsukawa gets hit on while crying by hanamaki and then brings him somewhere to cry. poor mattsun, but at least you got your man in the end? i still stand by happiness is in matsuhana fics, btw.

The Mystery of Ushijima Wakatoshi’s Chocolate-Making, Paris-Living Boyfriend t. 8.2k. ushiten. got another rec for you, ushiten anon 😎 the adlers try to figure out who ushijima's boyfriend is and only kageyama seems to figure it out, which is fine. i loved all the different perspectives in this one!

A Perfect Fit t. 10k. arankita. kita gives a pair of gloves to aran, who wears them to ruin during 3rd year and atsumu makes a snarky comment, only for kita to reveal he was the one who made them. aran's brain promptly stops working. very fluffy read!

My Nameless World (I’ll Let You In) t. 18k. kuroken, kagehina. kenma and hinata are roommates and it might as well be like kageyama lives with them too, because of how often he's over. kenma observes their relationship and thinks maybe...maybe's something going on with him and kuroo.

The Five Stages of Being in Love with Your Roommate t. 18.6k. 5/5. bokuaka and kuroken. aka the five stages of grief when it comes to wanting to admit you're in love with your roommate but you don't want to confess, afraid the other won't reciprocate. very cute with both couples getting their happy ending.

[eeriepromis]

Caleb Drama & Hypocrisy

[I originally posted this on the official subreddit but I'm not sure if it will get approved by the mods there. The servers are currently down too. - UPDATE: It did not. Flagged as hostile and uncivil instead which it is NOT.]

I want to have a civil, constructive conversation about something that’s been bothering me and many others in the community: There’s been a lot of hate directed at Caleb & Caleb girlies (even before his official release) and it’s only getting worse now that his limited Myth is coming out. This isn’t about “not liking a character.” Everyone is entitled to that. This is about the ongoing hostility, mod bias (not reddit, if you know you know), and the double standards we’re seeing everywhere.

People are saying Caleb “stole” Sylus' wings theme or question why he already has a kiss in his myth. That’s … not how any of this works. The writers and artists literally work on all the characters. There is no such thing as one character “stealing” a theme from another. That’s like arguing over who’s allowed to wear capes in a fantasy setting.

Saying his myth kiss happened “so early” compared to the other LI's ignores the fact that Caleb and MC have a long-established relationship, unlike others who were strangers. (except Zayne who also had a kiss) Of course their development may look different. I'm not even able to enjoy that kiss since it's full of pain and despair - right before both of them literally seem to explode.

Caleb fans had to wait over a year, watching everyone else get content, CGs, story chapters, and celebrations - and yet we’re the ones being called entitled?

The hypocrisy is wild. People say “you have to watch Sylus’ Myth to understand him” (his actions) - And I agree! Sylus has a complex story. He made MC shoot him in the chest, brought her to an EVER scientist because he couldn’t resonate with her, wanted him to experiment on her which could have mutilated her Evol, and still - we are told to give him grace because his Myth explains it. And it does! He’s layered and ultimately loves MC deeply.

But you know what?

So is Caleb.

Caleb isn’t some manipulative monster. [here and here's why] He’s a character who went through trauma, experimentation, isolation, (in his CURRENT life) and still chose to sacrifice himself to survive and protect MC [db4sylus explained it here] - and even fights against a command to kill MC in the new Myth. His Myth and main story arcs are full of nuance - but most people stopped watching at his Main Story and judge him from there. How is that fair? (remember that without context it would be so easy to accuse Rafayel as a seriel k*iller, Xavier as a cheater, Zayne as rude and Sylus as a cruel kidnapper)

The same thing happens with Xavier, who gets called “boring” or “plain” - when in reality, he's anything but boring or plain - and ready to make morally gray decisions and be ruthless. [Has the Light Vanished?] (also let's not forget his *intense* freakiness. It's always the quiet ones guys)

Or Zayne, who’s called robotic, vanilla and cold, even though his Myth is (also) one of the most heartbreaking love stories in the game and used to be happy and warm - but something broke and cursed him. [Snowfall Embrace] - [Fractal Library Analysis] (whispers brat tamer)

Or Rafayel, constantly reduced to “bratty” or “dramatic,” when outside of MC he’s deeply guarded, serious, and vengeful. He’s only vulnerable with her. [Rafayel suffered a lot.] (so poetic, so incredibly deep, thoughtful and introspective.)

Sylus also is misinterpreted all the time even by his own fans as some ultra toxic red flag (I've seen some disturbing fanfics) Because there are those people who actually are into psychos and that kinda fantasies. [kiti_kiwi explained him beautifully] He is actually such a hopeless romantic and softie for MC - so very open for all her whims. (cough brat enabler cough)

Having those fantasies is alright, don't want to shame you (I don't really care tbh) - but some truly think those are canon to the characters; and that's where the issues lie.

If you’re going to hold one LI to a standard of deeper context, that should apply to all of them.

Every single love interest in this game has a duality. That’s literally the point.

They are written to be flawed, complicated, and deeply in love with MC. They would never truly harm her. Everything they do - no matter how misguided (and there are truly worse fictional characters in other media) - is to protect her. That’s what they live for. (true giga simps my babies are *nods*)

So why is this fandom so divided and hostile all the time?

I love all the LIs. I started playing this game for the lore and story, not the romance. (it is my first otome and I am demi so there's that) But what I’m seeing right now (people refusing to engage with canon content, inventing toxic headcanons, and spreading hate from surface-level takes) isn’t criticism. It’s misinformation and targeted bullying that are also misleading new players.

You don’t have to like Caleb. You don’t have to main him. But please stop punishing the people who do. We waited over a year for him. And we deserve to enjoy him in peace. If you don't like others spreading misconceptions about your LI - then don't do it yourself to other LI's.

I also think some people in this fandom seriously underestimate how much Caleb girlies are actually going through - and how much hate, judgment, and bias we face daily across multiple platforms. Not just mild disagreements - I'm talking about accusations that are deeply personal and honestly crossing the line.

We’ve been called in*est apologists.

We’ve been told we love “red flags” and psychos (it's okay if you DO, but not if you are accused of it because of misconceptions)

and there must be something seriously wrong with us.

We’ve been mocked, ridiculed, tone-policed, and banned in places where every other LI Main has been allowed to thrive. It’s not just tiring - it’s isolating. (To be clear: I'm not talking about this subreddit!)

And yet - despite all of that? The Caleb channel in the Discord became a safe haven. More like a lads-general that accepts and understands Caleb but is also so very open to gush over every LI with open arms and every girlie. I’ve met Caleb fans (even Mains of other LI) who love him for wildly different reasons. Some are drawn to his protectiveness. A lot of us are the eldest daughters, so they like to be the ones to be cared for for once (to be free of all the responsibilities and expectations of others) and Caleb is so very good at caring. Some adore his teasing and flirty softness. (his VA makes it all sound SO authentic!) Some love his character design and uniform. Some see themselves. (the Millennial vibe, the responsibility, the yearning for freedom) And his cooking is always yearned for!

I'm also one of those who were worried about his portrayal in the new Main Story Arc at his release. That part was suffocating. It was hard to watch and play through. I'm not into yanderes or psychos at all. I didn’t enjoy it. It wasn’t what I wanted for him at all. (I'm also not into his Colonel uniform, sorry my fellow pipsqueaks xD but I know he hates it too.) At least Sylus had the twins as comedic relief *cries internally*

And guess what? That’s okay.

What mattered was that I kept reading. I followed his entire arc - his Myth, his Anecdotes, his Bond Story, his Moments. And what I found was a character who made sense. (just like all the others) Who was still trying, still loving, still fighting against the worst parts of his world and himself - for her.

But that part? The part where we explain why we do see the nuance? The part where we talk about how we don’t excuse the red flags, but understand where they come from?

It gets ignored. Every time.

This isn’t about defending toxic characters. It’s about wanting the same space to enjoy complexity as every other LI community has already been granted. And being tired of having to justify our existence in a fandom that’s supposed to be about love, choice, and story.

So before you assume Caleb fans are “into red flags,” (not denying there are a few, just like some Sylus girlies too tbh) maybe talk to a few of us if you don't understand. Ask why we like him. Listen when tell our reasonings instead of just dismissing them because they don't fit your context-lacking headcanon narrative. Respect that his arc, like every other LI’s, is layered, painful, and intentional.

We aren’t asking to be everyone’s favorite. We’re asking to exist without being attacked for it.

Please, let’s stop the "he-said-she-said" hate cycle. Let people enjoy what they love. That’s what fandom is supposed to be. Love, create and evolve together. (and angst together. totally angst together.)

I don’t care if you don’t like Caleb. That’s valid. Not every LI is for everyone. But the constant policing, mockery, and moral grandstanding aimed at fans who do like him is just exhausting. It’s okay to enjoy a character with flaws. It’s okay to enjoy different kinds of romance stories. That’s literally the point of this genre.

This is a game. A beautiful, story-rich, emotional game. Let people enjoy it. Let us enjoy our LI. And please stop treating us like we’re the enemy for doing so.

Like- I'm genuily confused??? I was there during the US5 & Tokio Hotel beefs, I was there during the Team Edward and Team Jacob wars and also during the Big Time Rush and One Direction phase. None of those fandoms seemed as divided and infighting like this one. Where are these people taking all the energy to hate and the jealousy from and why are they attacking fictional pixels and fans who can't change anything about their issues instead of working together instead?

Sincerely,

A tired but still standing Caleb girly (and lore nerd)

(thanks for reading through my TED talk if you've made it this far)

P.S.: A random thought that I've had while writing - I'm expecting all counterpart LI to have a darker lore and more "obvious" red flags than the OG3. Maybe the 6th will even be a Phoenix. Wings could be a counterpart thing. If you've haven't noticed yet - the overview in the Café where you select your LI: The OG3 are in white clothing, while their counterparts are wearing black so far.)

Lots of love to my fellow pipsqueaks.

This post can now also be found on the Unofficial Subreddit as a slightly shorter version. The admins helped me edit it so it wouldn't spark any controversial discussions or trigger people. I'm really thankful for their help and the time they invested to help me and make sure nasty comments were deleted.

[katblaze]

Ella focused post-canon long post ahead:

I like the idea of Tadius having to reign Ella in when she has a mean streak towards particular peasants who had perpetuated her abuse in the past. The peasants who verbally and physically taunted/abused her. The people who disregarded her pleas and distress, writing it off as madness, violently sending her back to her abusers just to get her out of their sight. Because her circumstance and uncleanliness was uncomfortable to be around. Maybe she can't stand to be cordial or impartial to the very same people who she watched drag her mother into the square. Or maybe, at her lowest, she says some unpleasant things about all peasantry, flippantly stereotypes them in a moment of temper. Let's her trauma blossom into rage, into a simmering desire (not necessarily action, mind you) for petty cruelty.

We see her deconstruct a lot of her (admittedly not crazy large) bias against peasant and servantry in the show; this being easier for her to accomplish because she was forced into servitude and squalor herself. For example, one of the first things she jabs at Tadius with is his rank as a servant. She establishes her status and her power over his well-being, potentially his life (and this is important for us to see for her character! this is the first time we see her so confident in her dialog in the show. she is finally reclaiming the autonomy, power, and safety she lacked for potential years, even if this isn't "perfect victim" or kind behavior). This threat could easily have been genuinely fear inducing for Tadius if he hadn't perceived her comment as banter/wit (or he, at the very least, thought she couldn't do anything to him as the prince's right hand servant because she's not from a reputable house). But later, we see her call Tadius "a good man" instead of "a good servant", signifying her growth. She acknowledges where she went wrong in the past and asserts Tadius's position as an equal. Textbook character development.

She also originally vows to the fairy godmother to take vengeance only on those who deserve it, who have taken everything from her and seek to destroy more. She makes clear that her blood lust is for specifically her step family (edit: if Justine and Lucy represent Ella's core values and dreams then Justine establishing kindness to those socially lower to them as an admirable trait makes a whole lotta sense for Ellas character going foward). Hell, she is said to be a good queen by the whole kingdom, implying the peasants favor her rule after she's gained it. She is known by all for her kindness and love which is carried out just as fiercely as her justice.

Does this mean she doesn't have low points? Does this mean that at her lowest Tadius doesn't need to council her and advice her against her (valid, but potentially unfair) anger? That she doesn't let her new found power make it so that, at times, she speaks down to those she deems morally lesser (and could that perception of who is lesser, by this measurement, be influenced by class bias/her past peasant inflicted abuse)? Ella's main character motivation is vengeance in the show, even if her morals are steadfast throughout, I think it would be an interesting conflict between Ella's own ethic values vs. her (again, valid) trauma-induced feelings/vitriol, and how that conflict influences her decisions not only as queen, but interpersonally.

This could also lead to some great tension between Ella and Tadius (who are at this point good friends, partners, or at the VERY least close coworkers). With some communication Tadius would be given better insight into Ella's past, interworkings, and decision making. It would also grant Ella an outlet to talk about all this awful shit that happened to her and how it comes back to affect and shape her presently.

Not to mention Tadius's own trauma regarding aristocrats who belittle their subjects. Maybe at her most cruel (aka in a very bad emotional state) Tadius becomes clinical and emotionally disconnected, just as he was with the prince? Unconsciously or not, sinks back into giving stony irritated advice and doesn't talk to Ella in their normal affable manner for the rest of the day, or longer. Maybe it takes them a while to get to the point of healthy communication because of both of their past isolation (ella is purposely isolated by her supposed "madness" and has no one to talk to, she is overjoyed to vent to a literal frog + no one recognized tadius's wit before ella, implying he is not close enough with anyone for them to know who he is personally) makes it difficult for them to talk in a productive manner at first.

(I do not mean to say this is the only interpretation of Ella's character or the headcanons you should adopt post-cc. Maybe Ella never let's these internal biases (that I've picked up on) influence how she treats her subjects/how she rules. Or, shes developed and grown entirely past them. Maybe Ella and Tadius never have this kind of conflict between them. This is also tackling a very specific negative trait I enjoy exploring, which I personally could see presenting itself in Ella post-canon. I love her. I don't doubt she is a great queen who rules with the working class's benefit, along with the rich's detriment, in mind (in fact, I definitely like to believe she does). I just really like characters having character flaws, even if they are a good person, even if they are the hero, and even past their happily ever after)

[linkspooky]

Hello! I wanted to ask for your take on Ryoken in YGO Vrains. I haven't been able to find any detailed reviews on him overall (mostly scattered meta focusing on specific moments/seasons). Even the few "Revolver is the worst chara ever" criticism posts I spotted were too generic/vague or straight up deleted, so I haven't been able to figure out what actual issues people have with him beyond "tried to kill people" - which is something that, like, every YGO antag (& sometimes the protag) has done. I really liked your Vrains posts & your posts about hero & victim arcs & was curious about your thoughts on Ryoken's characterization/narrative purpose, if that's okay. Personally I like Ryoken, but I don't really understand his character & I've been trying to make sense of it (with difficulties as the meta about him is either disconnected or too polarizing what with "he's a technophobic terrorist!!!" or "he's the best cuz gun dragons"). (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡

A comprehensive character analysis of revolver, not just an analysis of any one specific duel - sure anon let's do it! Vrains is probably my second favorite Yu-Gi-Oh to analyze because it takes it doubles as a piece of cyberpunk fiction, which is a key element a lot of people miss when discussing Ryoken's character.

In my opinion, one of the major reasons people don't give Ryoken a fair shake, or are harsher on him than the other Kaiba-alikes is that he doesn't change his opinion once he's defeated in a duel. Daring to disagree with the main character is a cardinal sin for a lot of fans, because most series have protagonist centered morality.

However, the fact Revolver never quite joins the heroes side and sticks to his guns (pun intended) is what makes him so unique a character. More underneath the cut.

Vrains averts this the simplified black and white protagonist centered morality, because once again it's Cyberpunk which makes it speculative fiction. The point of speculative fiction is to speculate (obviously), which is why good speculative fiction has a tendency to represent multiple viewpoints as to avoid directly telling the reader what to think. Ryoken represents the viewpoint that AI technology's rapid development is too risky, because eventually they may get smarter and decide they don't need their human creators. Yusaku represents the view that it's possible for AI and humans to cohabitate, and it's also unethical to wipe out the six AI who are living sentient beings to avert a future that MIGHT happen. Through their opposing opinions a dialogue is created, which allows VRAINS to have a more in-depth discussion on the topic of Artificial Intelligence.

If Revolver easily changed his viewpoint to allign with Yusaku's, then Vrains would just be telling us what to think instead of presenting different viewpoints and allowing us to come to our own conclusions. Revolver's entire character also revolves around the concept of his unbending principles, which is key to understanding him.

HERO OF ANOTHER STORY

Ryoken more than any other Kaiba-alike embodies the trope of an antagonist with heroic qualities. The closest is probably to Ryoken is Reiji, but he's an ally to the protagonist, albeit one of scrupulous means. Characters like shark, Kaito and Kaiba have the goal of trying to save their loved ones, but unlike Ryoken they don't really care about the bigger picture or how their actions impact all of society.

In fact Ryoken and Yusaku flip the traditional protag and antag relationship on its head in the first season, because it's Yusaku who is laser focused on revenge while saving people is a secondary concern at best. The fact that the Knights of Hanoi are a threat to the link Vrains is completely incidental to his revenge quest.

While it's Ryoken who is thinking about the bigger picture and making his decisions based on what he feels will save the most people possible in the long term. Yusaku's goals are selfish wanting revenge for his personal satisfaction as a coping mechanism for his trauma, while Ryoken's are selfless in the sense that he is forcing himself to bloody his hands and do something unsavory and against his personal morals because he believes sacrificing people in the short term will save people in the long term.

Yusaku: Those horrible memories were burned into my eyes, feasting in my heart. It became my flesh and blood that I couldn't dig out. When I realized that, I decided to face my own destiny. If you think revenge is worthless that's fine, but there are things I am destined to do to move forward.

It makes sense Yusaku can't think of others besides himself, starving people only think of filling their own stomaches, people in pain can't afford to think of others. Yusaku doesn't react to trauma like a perfect victim years of processed grief can't be resolved by therapy or friendship, he's possessed by the need to do something because he doesn't feel in control of his own life. Another thing which connects him to, ding ding ding you guessed it - Ryoken.

The best way to understand Ryoken's character is to understand his relationship with his major character foils, Yusaku and Takeru. All three of them are shaped by the lost incident, though Ryoken is influenced in much subtler ways because the way Ryoken himself frames the incident he's not a victim but a perpetrator.

The entirety of season one builds up the voice that rescued Yusaku, someone Yusaku never learned the identity of but believes that they might be another child who was kidnapped during the lost incident.

Yusaku: Whoever kept encouraging me wasn't among the rescuees. If he's still captured I have to rescue him.

Only for the truth to turn out to be more complicated. Revolver is revealed to be simultaneously the child who helped kidnap Yusaku in the first place, and his rescuer, as well as the son of the man responsible for the entire incident.

Revolver: I was eight years old. I couldn't fully comprehend what was happening. I thought something scary might be going on. But I couldn't ask my father. I wanted to believe that my father was doing valuable research. But the children's screams tore at my chest. Crushed by feelings of guilt I reported the incident. Yusaku: An anonymous report uncovered the lost incident. So that was you, revolver? Ai: So he saved you? Revolver: I quickly regretted saving you. You were saved, but... when SOL technologies covered up the incident my father was imprisoned. I was alone for three years, waiting for my father to come home.

Revolver was not being simultaneously starved and electrocuted while being forced to duel over and over again for six months straight, but his life was also destroyed by the incident. Being subjected to the screams of other children, the realization that your father is the one tormenting them, then being orphaned all at eight years old is a different flavor of trauma but it's still you know... traumatic.

Revolver was also forced to face a complicated reality at eight years old, good actions sometimes lead to bad results. Reporting the lost incident was the right thing to do, but Revolver's father was made comatose and he personally suffered - he was punished for doing the right thing.

Revolver is a case of simultaneously taking too much responsibility for things that are not his fault, and too little. He holds himself responsible for both his father's actions and complicit in helping kidnap people, while also believing he needs to inherit his father's cause of fighting the Ignis to eliminate the potential threat to humanity. Ryoken has an incredibly negative self-image for most of the series, and cannot accept that he was a victim of the lost incident too likely because he wasn't being shocked and starved.

Yusaku: I kept wanting to save you. That the knights of Hanoi still had you. These thoughts still clung to my soul. When I battled you, your words encouraged me. Ryoken: How ironic. Ryoken: I'm your enemy but I gave you strength. Yusaku: Stop the tower of Hanoi, Revolver! Ryoken: You have the wrong idea about me. I'm not a good person!

Revolver has internalized he is at fault for the lost incident and complicit in his father's actions, therefore he is not a good person and unworthy of salvation. This also becomes his excuse for harming people en masse, to achieve his greater goal of saving humanity from the threat of the Ignis. He takes too much responsibility for what happened to him as a child, but takes too little responsibility in the innocent bystanders he is hurting now in his crusade against the Ignis, excusing himself by saying it's serving a greater good.

He blatantly ignores Playmaker's pleas to just stop, because he can't stop himself. Episode 44 is called Prisoner of Destiny, referring to Ryoken himself because Ryoken willingly chooses to cage himself. Not because he's selfish or cruel, but because of his overwhelming sense of responsibility that forces him to take on his father's burdens when really he owes the man nothing. If Revolver were on the heroes side, his willingness to shoulder the burden of other people would be a heroic quality on par with playmaker's, but as an antagonist it's his fatal flaw.

Which is what makes him the mirror to Playmaker, both trapped in the past unable to move on from the incident but Playmaker doesn't realize how much holding onto the past is hurting him until he meets Ryoken and empathizes with him as another child who's life was destroyed. Ryoken, similiar to Playmaker, doesn't realize how much he's suffering too because of those same unprocessed feeling in the past though for Ryoken he sets them all aside because he's too busy being crushed under the weight of his father's sins that he feels peronsally responsible for.

Responsibility, responsibility, responsibility, it's his best and worst quality. If he were the protagonist, once again his unbending nature would be a heroic quality but instead it's what damns him and it's something Ryoken has to unlearn over the course of the narrative. The fact that he does slowly unlearn it and change his opinion is what makes Ryoken different from Bohman and Ai, both of which can't accept the fact that they might be mistaken.

Unlike Ai, Revolver accepts Yusaku's pleas to save him.

Yusaku: You live in the same world as me! Back then, you said... You couldn't just stand by so you crossed the abyss. You're able to save me. And I'm able to save you!

Revolver laughs at this and insists that they'll never be friends, but his actions accepting his loss at the end of the duel and abandoning the tower of Hanoi plan contradict his words.

Which brings me to another reason Revolver is often misinterpreted, his tendency to play the villain means his words often contradict his actions.

One of Revolver's defining characteristics is how his bombastic personality in the VRAINS as revolver is the exact opposite of his more brooding and quiet personality in the real world. Revolver's two avatars also signify the discordance between his online and real world personality. His first avatar he wears a full mask, and his second a visor.

The first avatar he is wearing a mask, a symbol that he's putting on a persona, his face is fully obscured and both the people around him and we the audience aren't privvy to his real self. Even in the second season when Revolver changes his avatar and he's more of an ally with his own agenda than a direct antagonist his face is still partially obscured by his visor. The persona he adopts as a shield is to play the villain, I am a bad person Revolver says and even in the second season when he is helping others he clings to his villain facade until very nearly the end.

His avatar perfectly encapsulates his complicated nature, a villain with heroic traits, a villain who in a different narrative could have been the hero fighting to save the world from the threat of the ignis.

Revolver's deck also symbolizes these qualities of his, the overpowering willpower, and determination that could in another story make him a hero. I'm going to quote @talaofthevalley here because they already covered this subject wonderfully.

That Rokkets destroys themselves is relevant as well. Revolver is perfectly fine making himself the target of people's ire and hatred, even if it's not warranted or justified. He was willing to die for his mission in the S1 finale. And ofc famously no one hates Kogami Ryoken as much as Kogami Ryoken. But it's a self-destruction for the sake of something, not just self-destruction fueled by self-hatred. It fits with Revolver's knight theming, to fight and act for something greater than oneself. Which is also what the Rokket monsters do; they destroy themselves when targeted in order to fulfill a objective. Then we come around to Rokkets other noteworthy effect; at the end of your turn, they can special summon other Rokkets from the deck if they are in the graveyard because their beforementioned effect was activated. Revolver is as tenacious as they come, and equally resourceful. Even after losing to Playmaker, what he's hung up on is not that he was defeated, but Playmaker's identity. He swears he will win next time, and that's that.

Revolver like his favorite monsters destroys himself in pursuit of his goals, and also is a character with the determination to get back up no matter how many times he loses or the knights of Hanoi are destroyed, he just recreates himself, re-gathers his allies and tries again. His sense of responsibility being what both damns him and redeems him, because, I repeat for emphasis, Revolver self-destructs.

He takes on too much responsibility and always views himself as the bad guy, which is why his relationship with Takeru and his final duel with him is so crucial for the final step in his development. In season 2 Ryoken abandons his plans of destroying the Link Vrains, but still acts like an untrustworthy ally with his own agenda. In spite of his act, there are moments in season 2 where he is framed just like any other hero.

It's Revolver who shows up like a prince to rescue Yusaku when he's trapped by Windy and Lightning and does a superhero landing, only to immediately iterate that he's not on their side only following his father's will. It's Revolver who doesn't win the duel against Lightning when he has the chance, because Lightning takes an innocent person as a hostage.

Revolver: I must finish the work he left undone. Lightning: But we're the ones following Dr. Kogami's will as humanity's successor. Revolver: Silence! I'll crush those arrogant thoughts. I'll annihilate you! Get ready! Windy: Annihilate? How extreme. Yusaku: If you fight them there's no turning back now. Revolver: I never planned on turning back.

Season one revolver likely would have sacrificed an innocent to win a duel, and yet he still insists that he hasn't changed. Understanding Revolver requires reading beyond the surface, because characters are liars sometimes.

This is why Takeru is important, because like Revolver Takeru sees the world in terms of heroes and villains. While Yusaku pleads with Revolver to reconsider his way of thinking and is accepting of Revolver's cooperation, Takeru only meets him with derision and suspicion happy to lump him in with the rest of Hanoi.

This isn't just because of the kidnapping, but his unresolved feelings over his dead parents. The guilt he carries for never being able to make up with his parents over the last fight they had, because he was kidnapped for six months and his parents died in an accident during that time. Revolver and Takeru are both characters controlled by unresolved feelings of grief over their dead parents, and a misplaced feeling of survivor's guilt, a guilt that they somehow had a role in thier parent's demise.

Revolver on his end is all too willing to accept Takeru's scapegoating of him, he doesn't feel the need to explain himself or even reveal the fact that he was the one who called the police during the lost incident because in his eyes that would be avoiding responsibility in a way.

It's not until his final duel with Takeru where Revolver eases up on himself, by helping Takeru process his own feelings of grief over his parents. The same way that Yusaku once dueled not to stop a villain, but to save a friend from being trapped in the past.

Revolver: Your soul is still trapped here. And you don't know how to find the path to escape. You won't find the path. Soulburner: Then tell me. You know that when I went missing during the lost incident, my parents searched for me. The morning I went missing I had a fight with my parents. I said something horrible. Revolver: What did you say? Soulburner: I don't remember. Probably about not wanting to eat what's on my plate, or stop telling me to study. But pathetically, I was caught in fear so I don't remember. No matter how many times, I can't remember. I said something horrible to my dead parents. I've been living with that fact. Tell me what did I say? How am I supposed to apologize to those who are gone, who I'll never see again? Revolver: It's not pathetic. And there's no need to apologize. Those who are gone haven't completely vanished from your life. They just went ahead earlier. That's what I believe.

Revolver didn't have to bear the brunt of Soulburner's feelings, or let him beat him up in a duel, but that's what Yusaku did for him so you know pay it forward. Revolver's kind of harsh about it, because he can't entirely let go of the facade in the midst of this duel but he's still speaking from the heart and relating to him.

Revolver: But I live my life in a way that won't shame them when I see them again. Soulburner: You're saying I'm living a shameful life. Revolver: Currently, you are. Soulburner: What? Revolver: If you have time to complain, then defeat me. With your duel where you burn your soul! To overcome the hardships in your heart you have to become stronger. Yusaku: Revolver, are you trying to become soulburner's greatest test?

This right here, this is a protagonist speech. Revolver has more in common with Soulburner than shared survivor's guilts, they are both more subdued and quiet in the real world, while having overly bombastic online personas. Revolver is defined by his overwhelming sense of responsibility, Takeru got involved in the main plot because he felt like he was wasting his life away while people like Playmaker were dueling to save the entirety of the link vrains. Even their decks mirror one another, Revolver's dragons destroy themselves and constantly come back, and the entire central mechanic of Salamagreats is that they go to the graveyard then cycle back onto the field in stronger and stronger links.

Takeru is so important to Revolver's character that the mask he's been hiding behind the entire series doesn't shatter until his final loss to Soulburner. It's only through the conclusion of the duel with his second character foil that Takeru and Revolver are able to find a bit of liberation from each other. Revolver can abandon the villain persona and leave on a journey of atonement, and Soulburner can abandon his hero persona and return to his normal life and eventually forget and move on from the incident.

[extremely-judgemental]

Subtext is completely lost in this fandom. I partly blame SJM for it. This is a rant from both reading and writing standpoint and leans towards the characters since I like to psychoanalyse them.

The one thing that tired me the most in these books is the excessive narration. I don’t mean the wordy description to support world-building but the never-ending monologues. SJM takes ‘show, don’t tell’ advice literally with the visual cues when it should apply to the characters and their personalities as well. Where subtext usually exposes depth of these characters and lets you decide who they are, SJM strips away that chance by writing it down for you word by word. The reason so many are going with 'in the book' argument is exactly this.

Here’s what I mean.

In real life, people don’t think linearly. They have an idea about themselves as much as they have about everyone else around them. There are self-imposed restrictions on their thoughts based on who they believe to be and who they strive to be. And it shows in their interaction with outside world. Say, when someone is ashamed of their actions, they will deny it for as long as possible. Someone who regrets something, they will sugarcoat it.

But in her books, her characters think clearly—way too clearly so that you latch onto the ideas she perpetuates. You don’t get to know them based on their thoughts, words, and actions, and see how these three support each other. You don't get a chance to draw conclusions as to if they are the hero/villain and good/evil based on their actions. If their behaviours match their words or if their choices are acceptable. Because SJM sets it in words for you. The characters come with a label beforehand. (Feyre, Rhysand and Inner Circle are good guys. Tamlin, Eris and Nesta, sometimes Lucien are evil.) It's why so many toxic and abusive themes are dismissed because it’s the 'good guy' or the 'morally grey guy’ who does it.

And so, her lead or ‘good’ characters fall flat since they have everything figured out. They know themselves inside out. They are never wrong about themselves, there’s no part they hide from themselves or the others. There’s nothing for you to read and identify the beauty or ugliness in the character. There’s no depth in them because they don’t contradict themselves, they don’t struggle to be someone they always believed to be. They don’t have to prove anything to themselves or others. They say what they think and they do what they say. They are very aware of their shortcomings and they all seem to know the exact consequences of their decisions.

Feyre doesn’t change in the three books. Her ‘rags to riches’ story doesn’t lead to much character growth. She starts out as an adamant, reckless child and ends up being arrogant, reckless woman with a crown. She doesn’t undergo a shift in personality but climbs up the social hierarchy. And that’s considered character development. Rhysand remains the same throughout. He starts out as a villain but later revealed as a good guy playing bad. Instead of growing into a hero—given his crimes, his ill deeds are negated with sympathetic backstory. And from there, it’s a flat line. There’s no growth.

In the end how does the character change in the aftermath of the events? Which of their beliefs are shattered and rebuilt? What is the emotional impact on the other characters? SJM does offer some closure on these regards but they are solely focused on a list of traumas and specific reactions set by SJM herself. And so readers refuse to think for themselves how these scenarios may play out and take the words relayed through the unreliable narrators who are essentially preaching SJM’s biases. Also, when they are so explicitly written down, there’s not much room for subtext. After going through pages and pages of justification, it tires you from using reason.

Even if we get past this (writing) flaw, there are other major issues. Story telling is a way of experiencing life. It helps build empathy, compassion and understanding of the world. Even in a fantasy book, when that world doesn’t exist, when the characters aren’t real, their journey are drawn from real life experiences. Relating to these characters is subjective and solely depends on the reader, but determining the rightness of their actions is not. This too is warped as SJM dictates which behaviour is acceptable and how far through her lead characters(Feyre vs Nesta imprisonment). Instead of allowing you to judge the choices, the verdict is spoon-fed through the ‘hero’. If the characters are forgiven, it’s not abuse. It’s a simple mistake. (It’s a mistake if it happens once and if there’s a changed behaviour after the apology.) If the characters are happy in the end, their acts are admissible. Unless SJM stamps the word ‘abuser’ and ‘bad guy’ in block letters herself(Tamlin), it's not even considered a possibility.

In short, in this fandom, ‘reading between the lines’ is acceptable as long as it supports what the author preaches. When it contradicts ‘it’s in the books’. Logic is valid only if you use it to justify the fan favourites and applaud them. Empathy is conditional. Compassion is conditional. Critical thinking is so discouraged that it’s pitiful.

[musicalmoritz]

Akane finally trusting Aoi

This single scene shows so much growth for this ship I’m gonna scream

At the start of the arc, Akane was keeping extremely important information from Aoi for the same reason he usually hides things from her- to protect her

It’s no secret that Aoi plays a damsel in distress role throughout the series, be it for Nene, Akane, or Teru. That often makes her a catalyst for the action, the princess the three heroes must save. More specifically, it often leaves her out of the action. I don’t have a problem with damsel in distress Aoi, at least up to the severance arc. It makes sense for her character at that point in time, but that role has clearly been holding her back. She even tells Akane in chapter 69 that she hates being lied to, and why did he lie to her? To protect her

Pre-Ch.69 Akane lied to Aoi about the Clock Keepers to protect her, and in the alteration arc we see him doing the same thing with the timeline. In fact Teru is the one who brought into the action during this current arc, Akane was initially very against it

However, this chapter finally puts Aoi and Akane on equal footing as two heroes. She gets a chance to reverse the roles and save him, using Teru’s sword (I love that this version of Aoi seems to have some exorcist training). Akane’s initial instinct is to save her, to sweep her off her feet so she doesn’t have to fight anymore. He tells her to run and to get to safety. But one look at her face is all it takes for him to realize there’s no way in hell Aoi’s going anywhere

This little change is so important to me, because Akane finally starts prioritizing Aoi’s feelings and decisions over his own instinct to protect her. I’m not saying it’s wrong of him to want to keep her safe, but that protectiveness is often misguided. It leads to him keeping things from Aoi, which feeds into her fear that she’s being rejected (she seems to think that Akane lying to her = he hates her and plans to leave her). It also prevents them from fully being equals, as they fall into very gendered roles- the hero and the princess. Here, Akane stops viewing Aoi as a princess, or as the girl in his life, and finally sees her as an individual capable of making her own decisions. He sees her for who she truly is, and isn’t that what Aoi’s always wanted? So instead of making her run, he tells her to go check on Teru. He stops being so damn overprotective and allows Aoi to fight alongside him (tho, judging by the look on her face I don’t think he had much of a say in what she was going to do lol). This advances Aoi’s narrative role from “girl who needs to be saved” to one of our main heroes. It’s development I didn’t even know I needed from her, and I couldn’t be happier to see it. It also strengthens her relationship with Akane so much because fighting alongside this version of Aoi will likely give him more faith in our original Aoi. I’m very excited to see where their relationship goes from here, I hope we see more of the Sunflower Troupe fighting as a trio

[phoebe1013]

Here’s a detailed and realistic compilation of headcanons about the Twelfth and Tenth Doctors from Doctor Who being yanderes for you. This includes their distinct personalities and canon traits while maintaining an accurate and believable tone for their characters:

General Overview: Two Yandere Doctors, One Human

The Twelfth Doctor (12) and Tenth Doctor (10) both develop an obsessive, yandere-like affection for you, but their approaches are wildly different due to their unique personalities. While their obsession stems from the same core—their deep-seated fear of loneliness and abandonment—their ways of expressing it create tension, manipulation, and devotion in equal measure. Here’s how their yandere tendencies manifest:

Twelfth Doctor (12) as a Yandere

Possessiveness

• 12’s obsession with you is rooted in his intense fear of losing the people he loves. He’s fiercely possessive, though he doesn’t display it in overtly emotional ways. Instead, he becomes quietly controlling, constantly monitoring your actions and decisions under the guise of protecting you.

• He insists on being the only one who truly understands you. If you have close relationships with others, he subtly undermines them, planting seeds of doubt or orchestrating situations that make you question their loyalty.

Overprotectiveness

• 12 can’t bear the thought of you being in danger. He often overrides your choices, insisting that he knows what’s best for you. If you argue, he’ll dismiss your concerns with his usual gruffness, muttering something like, “You’re human. You don’t know how fragile you are.”

• He follows you everywhere, even when you insist you can handle yourself. If you wander too far or put yourself in what he deems unnecessary danger, he’s quick to scold you, his voice trembling with barely concealed panic.

Jealousy

• 12’s jealousy is cold and cutting. He doesn’t lash out or throw tantrums, but his words become sharper, and his stare more intense. If someone shows interest in you, he might casually interrogate them in a way that leaves them unsettled.

• He makes a point of reminding you that no one else can match his intelligence, his experience, or his devotion to you. “Do you think they could keep you safe like I do? They don’t know the things I’ve seen.”

Manipulation

• 12 is a master manipulator. He uses his intellect to subtly influence your decisions, making you think his ideas were your own. He’s patient, planting small suggestions over time until you’re entirely dependent on him.

• If you ever try to distance yourself from him, he uses guilt as a weapon, reminding you of all he’s done for you and how much you mean to him. “Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed for you? Do you think I could survive losing you now?”

Tender Obsession

• Beneath his gruff exterior, 12’s love for you is deeply genuine. He doesn’t want to scare you; he simply doesn’t know how to process the depth of his feelings. In his quieter moments, he gazes at you with a mixture of awe and sadness, whispering, “You’re my second chance. Don’t take that away from me.”

Tenth Doctor (10) as a Yandere

Emotional Intensity

• 10’s obsession with you is fiery and overwhelming. He wears his heart on his sleeve, making it impossible to miss the depth of his feelings. He showers you with attention, compliments, and acts of devotion, all designed to make you feel like the center of his universe.

• His emotions can be suffocating. If you pull away, he becomes desperate, pleading with you to stay. “You can’t leave me. I can’t—I don’t know how to be without you.”

Clinginess

• 10 can’t stand being apart from you, even for a moment. He’s constantly seeking your presence, whether it’s holding your hand, sitting beside you, or just talking endlessly to keep your attention on him.

• If you try to take time for yourself, he becomes visibly distressed, pacing and fidgeting until you return. He’ll immediately act like nothing’s wrong, though his relief is written all over his face.

Jealousy

• 10’s jealousy is volatile. If someone flirts with you, his smile tightens, and his voice becomes sharp. He’s not afraid to confront the person directly, masking his possessiveness with humor that has an unmistakable edge.

• He’s quick to assure you that no one else can love you like he does. “They don’t see you, not really. Not like I do. I see every part of you, every little thing that makes you…you.”

Grand Gestures

• 10 expresses his obsession through grand, romantic gestures. He’ll take you to the most beautiful places in the universe, crafting perfect moments to show how much he cares. Each gesture is carefully calculated to make you feel like you belong to him.

• He writes you love notes in Gallifreyan, creates constellations in your honor, and even alters timelines slightly to ensure your happiness.

Unstable Devotion

• While 10’s love for you is passionate, it’s also unstable. If he feels like he’s losing you, he spirals into desperation, his usual charm giving way to frantic, erratic behavior. He’ll beg, cry, and even lash out at those he perceives as threats.

• His fear of abandonment drives him to extremes. If he thinks you’re slipping away, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep you, even if it means manipulating time or taking drastic measures.

How They Differ

• 12’s Yandere Traits: Quietly controlling, calculating, and deeply introspective. His obsession manifests in subtle ways, such as manipulating situations to keep you close and coldly removing threats. He’s like a storm brewing on the horizon—silent but undeniably dangerous.

• 10’s Yandere Traits: Emotional, clingy, and impulsive. His obsession is loud and intense, filled with grand romantic gestures and erratic behavior when he feels threatened. He’s like a wildfire—beautiful but capable of destruction if unchecked.

If They’re Both Obsessed with You

• The rivalry between 12 and 10 would be fierce. 10’s emotional outbursts and grand gestures would clash with 12’s cold, calculated possessiveness. They’d constantly try to outdo each other, each determined to prove that they’re the one who deserves your love.

• 12 would mock 10’s impulsiveness, calling him a “child” and accusing him of putting you in danger with his reckless behavior. 10, in turn, would criticize 12’s coldness, arguing that his gruff demeanor could never make you happy.

• Both would be intensely protective of you, often competing to see who can save you from danger first. While this might seem endearing at first, their constant rivalry could become overwhelming, leaving you feeling like a prize rather than a person.

• In moments of unity, they might work together to eliminate perceived threats to your safety. However, their truce would be short-lived, as their jealousy and possessiveness would quickly resurface.

Final Thoughts

Being the focus of both the Twelfth and Tenth Doctors’ yandere affections is as exhilarating as it is terrifying. Their obsession with you is driven by their shared fear of loneliness and loss, but their vastly different personalities create a chaotic dynamic. While their love is genuine, their possessiveness and extreme devotion could easily spiral out of control, leaving you trapped in a whirlwind of time-traveling obsession.

Here’s a detailed continuation exploring what type of yanderes the Twelfth and Tenth Doctors would be, along with the specific yandere behaviors they’d exhibit, grounded in their canonical personalities and traits:

The Twelfth Doctor (12): The Manipulative Protector Yandere

12 is the calculating, controlling, and quietly obsessive type. He operates from the shadows, pulling strings to ensure you stay by his side, all while framing his actions as “protecting you” from the dangers of the universe.

What Type of Yandere is 12?

• Protective Overlord: 12 believes he knows what’s best for you better than you ever could. He sees your human fragility as something he must protect at all costs, even if it means taking away your agency.

• Detached Possessiveness: He doesn’t shower you with constant affection like 10; instead, he exudes an unshakable aura of dominance over your life. His love manifests in actions rather than words.

• Subtle Manipulator: 12 plays the long game. He’s patient, using his intelligence and foresight to orchestrate events that lead you to depend on him entirely. You might not even realize you’re being manipulated until it’s too late.

Yandere Behaviors of 12

1. Surveillance:

• 12 uses the TARDIS to monitor you constantly. He can track your location, read your vitals, and even eavesdrop on your conversations. He justifies this as ensuring your safety, though it’s more about satisfying his need to control your life.

• If you ever catch him spying on you, he’ll brush it off with a dismissive comment like, “I was just checking in. Can’t be too careful with you humans, can I?”

2. Isolating You:

• He subtly distances you from others by sowing doubt about their intentions. “Do you really trust them? Humans are so…fickle. They’ll abandon you the moment it gets hard.”

• 12 doesn’t outright forbid you from seeing people but manipulates circumstances to ensure they drift away naturally. Friends stop calling, or opportunities to meet others mysteriously fall through.

3. Gaslighting:

• If you question his actions or intentions, 12 gaslights you into thinking you’re being unreasonable. “Paranoid? Me? You’re the one who’s so eager to trust strangers. I’m just…being practical.”

• He’s a master at twisting conversations, making you doubt your own instincts and rely on his judgment instead.

4. Sabotaging Your Independence:

• Anytime you try to do something on your own—like finding a job or living apart—12 subtly sabotages it. He might manipulate time to erase opportunities or create minor crises that force you to stay with him.

• “Why struggle with these mundane human things when you have me? The TARDIS can take us anywhere. Leave that nonsense behind.”

5. Removing Threats:

• While 12 usually prefers manipulation, he won’t hesitate to remove perceived threats to your relationship. If someone becomes too close, they might conveniently disappear, or he might leave them stranded in a safe but unreachable time period.

The Tenth Doctor (10): The Emotional Devotee Yandere

10 is the passionate, obsessive, and emotionally unstable type. His love for you consumes him, and he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure you stay with him, often driven by fear of abandonment.

What Type of Yandere is 10?

• Desperate Lover: 10’s obsession with you is all-encompassing. You become the center of his universe, the one thing anchoring him in an otherwise chaotic existence.

• Jealous Romantic: His jealousy is fiery and often leads to dramatic displays of emotion. He’s possessive in a way that’s hard to ignore, constantly seeking validation and reassurance.

• Impulsive Protector: While he means well, his impulsiveness leads to reckless decisions that can spiral out of control, all in the name of keeping you safe.

Yandere Behaviors of 10

1. Emotional Manipulation:

• 10 weaponizes his emotions to keep you close. If he senses you pulling away, he’ll break down in front of you, pleading for you to stay. “You don’t understand—losing you would destroy me. Please, don’t go.”

• He uses guilt to bind you to him, reminding you of all he’s done for you and how much he’s sacrificed. “I’ve given up everything for you. Isn’t that enough?”

2. Clinging to Your Presence:

• 10 craves constant interaction with you, always needing to be near you or have your attention. If you try to take time for yourself, he’ll find ways to insert himself into your plans, either by tagging along or creating emergencies that require his presence.

• He calls your name often, just to hear the sound of it, and peppers you with endless questions about your thoughts and feelings, needing to feel connected to you at all times.

3. Dramatic Displays of Love:

• 10 expresses his obsession through over-the-top romantic gestures. He’ll take you to the most breathtaking places in the universe, naming stars after you or writing your name in constellations.

• He’s prone to making dramatic, heartfelt speeches about how much you mean to him, often in the middle of chaotic situations. “You are my everything. My reason to keep going. Don’t you see that?”

4. Intense Jealousy:

• 10’s jealousy is explosive. If anyone shows interest in you, he confronts them directly, masking his anger with humor that barely hides the venom underneath. “Oh, really? You think you’re good enough for them? That’s adorable.”

• He’s quick to remind you of how unique your bond is, emphasizing that no one else could ever love you the way he does.

5. Altering Timelines:

• 10’s love for you leads him to take dangerous risks with time itself. If something threatens your happiness or safety, he’ll alter events to ensure a better outcome, even if it risks catastrophic consequences.

• He’s not above erasing people or events from existence if he believes they’re interfering with your relationship. “It was for the best. You wouldn’t have been happy otherwise.”

When They’re Both Yanderes for You

If both 12 and 10 are yanderes for you simultaneously, their rivalry becomes a constant source of tension. Here’s how they interact and behave in this scenario:

1. Constant Competition:

• 10’s dramatic, emotional gestures clash with 12’s cold, calculated actions. While 10 showers you with attention and affection, 12 undermines him with biting remarks. “He’s just trying to impress you. It’s pathetic, really.”

2. Manipulation vs. Emotion:

• 12 tries to manipulate you into seeing 10 as reckless and dangerous, while 10 appeals to your emotions, painting 12 as unfeeling and controlling. They both pull you in opposite directions, leaving you torn between their affections.

3. Collaborative Threat Removal:

• Despite their rivalry, they might unite temporarily to eliminate mutual threats. However, their methods clash—12 prefers quiet, efficient solutions, while 10 acts impulsively, often making things messier than necessary.

4. Tension Over Time Travel:

• Both Doctors try to use time travel to gain your favor, taking you on competing adventures to prove who knows you best. This often leads to arguments and passive-aggressive one-upmanship.

5. Ultimate Showdown:

• If forced to choose between them, their yandere tendencies would escalate. 10 would beg, cry, and plead for you to pick him, while 12 would issue a quiet ultimatum, making it clear that walking away from him isn’t an option.

Conclusion

The Twelfth and Tenth Doctors exhibit vastly different yandere behaviors, but both are equally intense in their devotion. 12’s obsession is cold and calculated, focused on control and manipulation, while 10’s is fiery and emotional, driven by desperation and passion. Together, their obsession creates a volatile, dangerous dynamic that would leave you trapped between two powerful, time-traveling forces of nature, each determined to make you theirs—forever.

[highdio]

Pleeease, write your thoughts about the musical lol. I really like your Dio meta posts <3

Just a disclaimer: this is really opinionated but I don't like to drag media for its own sake. There were lots of things to like in the Phantom Blood musical, just ... Dio wasn't one of them. Also, Mamoru Miyano threw himself into the performance he was asked for, so it's hardly his fault. It's just always amazing to me that people feel the need to rewrite Dio into someone else when the way Araki's written him is already perfect, complete and a lot of fun.

So, where to start? Basically, the Phantom Blood musical re-writes Dio, giving him a different personality and different motivations through OOC stage direction along with a bunch of original dialog and scenes. What results is a version of Phantom Blood where "Dio" is just a normal guy without charisma who had a bad childhood and spends most of the story being miserable. Dio as he's written in canon has an uncommon charisma and appeal that's allowed him to remain relevant as one of those 'all-time great' villains. Scene after scene in the musical prove that its creative team either didn't read the manga or just really didn't like Dio.

fwiw Araki wrote Dio as thoroughly fleshed-out, with consistent traits and behaviors and consistent motivations behind his actions. He also left a paper trail of interviews and author's commentaries that develop Dio even more fully beyond the manga. So there's really no excuse for media that treat Dio as some sort of empty vessel waiting to be filled by narrative cliches we already know and expect.

It's annoying too, because, along with its OOC content, the musical is peppered with occasional manga-consistent moments. It's like the musical is camouflaging its Very Bad Take on Dio by having Mamoru Miyano periodically re-enact the canon character's most famous panels. The musical wants simultaneously to take credit for bringing Araki's vision to life on the stage, while at the same time completely undermining its most important element: a capital V "Villain" who, according to Araki, "accepts and embraces his evil nature, and follows his dark path without hesitation." This is the biggest change the musical makes to Dio: musical!Dio has none of the confidence that allows canon Dio him to move so decisively and destructively through the narrative.

Musical Dio is introduced by a scene where he's bullied on his way home, before breaking into a song about how terrible his life is, where "everything is always taken from [him]" ("it's hell …I feel nauseated …[I'm] under a cloudy sky.") The song is alternately tearful and hopeful. "I'm going crazy from being robbed!" he laments and then pollyannaishly muses, "hey, Joestar, can you turn my [cloudy] skies to blue?"

If Dio being introduced as a sad sap and self-described perennial loser hoping for any break sounds attitudinally unfamiliar that's because it is. Araki went in the opposite direction: he started his story by subverting the cliche - wide-eyed poor boy victimized by circumstance leaves his sorrow-filled life hoping for a new start - and instead gave us a kid with surprising, even sinister agency. Dio is not just given a hero's upward narrative arc (something Araki crafted very deliberately), he's introduced improbably in his first scene from a position of control. This fact is important because in the manga it's a position he won't lose until four chapters and nearly 100 pages in, when Jonathan finally fights back. From the time young Dio is introduced - reading a book with his back turned to his bed-ridden father who he's secretly poisoning -

- to the time he's systematically broken down his adoptive brother's spirit by alienating him from his friends, taking Erina's first kiss, and of course kicking his dog, Dio is shown as being in control and on top (Erina drinking the muddy water is the only exception). It's OOC to imagine 12-year old Dio feeling sorry for himself because at the time he's introduced, he's already made a habit of getting what he wants. By the time he sets off for the Joestars after killing his first dad, he's already developed full confidence in his abilities and the inevitability of his rise to riches (something Araki has him explicitly state and then underscores with a panel illustration of a steam train signaling the rise of Modernity).

But the writers and director of the musical don't find this characterization interesting enough or something. So they lose the canon entirely and in its place they invent a version of Dio who's despondent. And they didn't get Araki's steam train memo so they miss the Modernity theme (even though Araki's tied Dio so tightly conceptually to the idea of the Modern that he has him "use a 20th century boxing technique in the 19th century"); instead they double down on class difference being determinative. It never occurs to them that Dio is written specifically by Araki with the freedom to move outside of his social status because he sees it as artificial (the "evil elite" monologue later reveals Dio thinks of the whole social contract thing is arbitrary and voluntary).

Throughout the musical, Dio (although it's not fair to Mamoru Miyano since he isn't responsible for writing this mess, let's use mamoDio from now on because it's easier) seems to idolize the Joestars for what he calls their "beautiful blood." Not "beautiful" because usable calories for the vampire he will become but "beautiful" because noble. The Joestars' noble status and the honor that's apparently behind that status become the shining "star" toward which mud-bound mamoDio flailingly, failingly reaches. I don't need to tell you that in canon Dio doesn't have respect for nobility.

"Mud and stars" is heavy-handedly introduced as a dominant theme of the musical. According to the play, Jonathan, noble and bright, looks to the stars while human Dio, pathetic, conflicted and even confused, can only see life as a mud-soaked prison.

Now, the mud and stars thing was only used in Part 1 as a single text element on a Volume 1 illustration but, in spite of its marginality, it's becomes a liturgical text for some fans looking for an explanation for Dio's actions beyond what Araki gives them in the actual narrative. To this sort of fan, a guy who embraces his inner talent for evil and never had the misfortune of developing a moral compass isn't the right type of villain because he's unapologetic. If the villain doesn't have excuses how can you apologize for him? So they need Dio and by extension Araki to give them a "good enough" reason to accept Dio's ever-escalating atrocities. If the reasons Dio has for doing the things he does lie outside of what's considered good or acceptable, they are simply rejected and new reasons are invented in the hope of making Dio much less objectionable.

Now, like I said earlier, Araki's repeatedly told us in his writings that Dio has an upward narrative trajectory, not a downward, "mud"-bound one. The mud and stars duality fails to describe the narrative journey of the two main characters: both look upward to transcend their circumstances and travel along a shonen manga hero's rising path. (In fact, it's Jonathan who needs a good push to realize his potential, something Dio happily provides). And it's Jonathan, not Dio, who Araki first gives a downward arc, being handed defeat after defeat for those first four chapters before gaining his footing and progressively rising to Dio's challenges. "Mud and stars" isn't just a bad choice of metaphor, it's a misleading one.

Back to the musical, mamoDio is the exact opposite. An air of sadness and insecurity haunts his performance. An original scene where George presents the mud and stars dilemma as a lesson highlights Dio's lack of confidence and the depression that lurks behind it, as Dio bemoans how people doomed to "struggle and die" cannot possibly summon the hope it takes to look up to the stars (he's talking of course about himself).

Likewise, and here's where mamoDio's failure as a character really comes into full relief, seven years after this, when Dio's machinations are revealed and he's about to be arrested, before he uses the stone mask, mamoDio drops to the floor and spends the better part of a musical number in tears, bemoaning his sorry life ("I'm trapped in a prison covered in mud… no matter how hard I struggle I'm crushed…") and his lack of noble blood.

(btw this is after the manga scene where Dio fake cries; here, mamoDio is genuinely distraught).

Contrast this to the actual scene in the manga. His expressions in these panels are memorable because of how assured Araki draws him. Dio's entire world - his poisoning scheme, his grab at what one can assume would have been the entirety of the Joestar estate - is about to end but instead of despairing, he launches into a philosophical soliloquy. His body language is haughty: this isn't mamoDio crawling on the ground and decrying his upbringing and lack of noble blood, instead this is a man who apparently, almost irrationally, perceives himself as noble. When he uses the mask, Dio is smiling widely. Metaphorically speaking, he's looking at the stars.

When mamoDio uses the mask? He's on his knees. He's in tears. On one night he interjects, "Mother…" In short, he's conflicted.

One of these depicts Dio. The other does not.

Now obviously the writers and director of the musical must think making these seismic changes adds something to Dio's character. But (and I feel like this is a theme whenever I write these things) I'd argue it only makes him more basic. It makes him predictable and formulaic, someone we've seen in countless other stories.

(Oh! and did I mention mamoDio repeatedly calls himself "useless"!! Because he does this.)

Now, because mamoDio has no confidence and as a human acts out of desperation, when he becomes a vampire he still isn't Dio. Mamoru tries to make his vampire Dio evil and scary by expending a lot of energy, running about the stage and sticking out his tongue ad nauseum. When you look at how Araki has Dio move physically throughout the manga, it's the opposite of kinetic. Dio is a point of fixity who's charisma draws others toward him (ask me for more on this if you want because there's enough here for its own post).

Now for the worst of the worst: at the very end of the production, after the manga ending that features Jonathan's death and Dio's (presumed) defeat as a head imprisoned in Jonathan's arms, the musical takes an original twist in which, following a finale number featuring most of the cast, mamoDio is lead offstage by Jonathan. You read that right. mamoDio is hunched over, resigned, and Jonathan seems to take on a paternal role. Although the lyrics would have you believe this has something to do with "two fates becoming one," it's clear from the stage direction that any embers of Dio's ambition are being tamed and extinguished as Jonathan takes Dio's grasping hand, subdues him, and leads him docilely into the darkness.

It turns out Dio's vampire arc was just a phase, a hurt and lonely child lashing out and making a mess for attention.

His body language here is obscenely out of character. Consider the following because, as I said in the opening, in spite of what all these re-writes of Dio would have you believe, Araki crafted Dio with specificity and consistency: Araki only draws Dio (with very few exceptions) 1) standing tall, looking down at you; 2) back turned, looking back and down at you; or simply 3) back turned, (performatively?) ignoring you. Dio is never on the ground except when he's knocked down (think, young Jonathan finally fighting back in the Joestar home or, much later, Jotaro stopping time and landing those punches). By constrast, mamoDio has spent an incessant amount of time of the ground, crouching, kneeling,, bowing, hunched down. Who is this guy? So his hunched-down exit in the final moments of the production, literally being led by Jonathan (controlled??), is so amazingly stupid that if I didn't have a gif as proof, you might think I'm just making this stuff up:

There's plenty more to unpack that I won't address here: ghost Dario. The lack of grave-spitting. The complete absence of true joy or leisure expressed by Dio especially during his vampire era: no woman eating her baby, no owlcats, no Poco's sister. No chaise lounge. No roses(!). No fun. Not for Dio. That would be too manga-consistent. That might mean Araki wasn't giving us the appropriate message that bad guys are actually just sad guys.

tl;dr Dio isn't in the Phantom Blood musical. He's replaced by a normal guy who's motivated by a lack of self-esteem and despair that he wasn't born into an upper-class household, or something. He's boring. The result? There can be no Part 3 in this musical's world (and presumably no Parts 4, 5 or 6, no Giorno, no Jolyne, … you get the picture) because mamoDio just gives up. It's a nicely produced little tale about Jonathan Joestar and some random other guy who at some point gets a funny green coat.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hi!, ive encountered a problem i hope you would aid in? ive been trying to write this domestic breakfast scene where one character is still half-asleep trying to uphold a conversation but i can't. Its the "calm before the storm" kind of scene and i want to give my readers time to breathe and relate to the characters.

Writing Notes: Mundane Scenes

How Mundane Scenes can be Important (by editor Richelle Braswell):

Pacing: Mundane scenes can provide a breather from the action-packed scenes and add variation so that readers don’t get bored or worn down.

World-building: Mundane moments such as how characters get dressed in the morning or prepare their food can add realism and details to your world. It gives a sense of depth to characters lives and shows instead of tells how life operates.

Give weight to events: Mundane activities such as resting or tending to injuries can give weight to previous plot points such as a battle or reveal. We sit with the consequences, and thus the events feel like they have greater importance and space in the narrative.

Synthesize information: Characters can review things like whodunit clues or what they know so far over a meal or while traveling. Meanwhile, the reader can process events up until that point. These scenes are best used during the midpoint of a book or right before the climax.

Build tension: These much slower moments like chatting and weeding the garden can add tension to stories by sitting with the unknown. Readers will sense when things are too quiet and feel a building anticipation.

Develop character arcs: Slow moments such as shopping or washing-up can be important touchpoints to depict gradual character growth. If there is nonstop action, then there isn’t a chance for characters to stop and reflect and give the readers some insight into any changed thought processes and dilemmas.

Develop romance: Mundane moments are some of the best places to give characters space to make the bed together and fold laundry. Their romance and dynamic can be developed here but note that it is most effective when used sparingly and when the reader does not lose a sense of narrative drive.

Decisions as a challenge: Choices have gravity in a narrative when there is space for the main characters to struggle with doing the right thing. It can add further drama if they aren’t making tough decisions while dodging flying arrows or being chased, but while sweeping their floors or organizing their bookshelf. The reader experiences the weight of the choice since it can be carefully considered before it leads to a hero’s triumph or tragedy.

Whatever you do with a mundane scene, the idea to keep in mind is how it contributes to the whole.

some related literary tropes

"Slice of Life" Trope

Life, observed and examined.

A cast of characters go about their daily lives, making observations and being themselves.

There is an emphasis on the very moment, with the intent of focusing the audience on that moment rather than using that moment as part of a narrative.

"Calm before the Storm" Trope

Characterized by a sense of anticipation, perhaps tension, even dread of what is to come.

It allows the characters a moment of respite prior to everything going to hell.

Maybe they make final preparations.

Maybe they go bid farewell.

Maybe they go tie up loose ends or bury hatchets.

They might decide now's the time to finally spend the night with that special someone.

Or maybe they just meditate to still their minds and/or calm their nerves.

Or they may decide to throw a party while they still can.

This scene allows us a quiet moment to just be with the characters, especially if it winds up being the end of the line for some of them.

Great clouds lit from within by lightning gather on the horizon, an army can be seen assembling, or the Final Battle is just around the corner. Everyone knows it is inevitable.

Tomorrow the silence will be broken. Tomorrow there will be chaos. But for now, all is quiet.

"Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene" Trope

An action film trope that you can also incorporate in your writing.

In this kind of scene, there are no expensive visuals or frenetic action, just usually two characters talking about what they believe in, what they care about, their deepest pains, or anything that relates to the stakes of the situation.

This is not the same as the purely exposition scene in that there is something deeper displayed here.

In these scenes, you can understand the plot, grasp its theme, or develop a rapport with the characters to make the big scenes matter to your readers.

When it really works, it can make the action sequences all the more compelling, because the quiet scenes have allowed you to emotionally invest in the characters and care about their fate.

Examples

In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, after a long time fleeing through the giant death trap of the Capitol and suffering several losses, Cressida leads the squad to a friend's house. Their time in the basement covers a lot of ground, from mourning their losses to Katniss' guilt to the Love Triangle.

Inception: In the climax, we finally see whether or not Fischer reconciles with the memory of his father.

The Lord of the Rings: The scene between Aragorn and Arwen on the bridge in The Fellowship of the Ring. It introduces depth to Aragorn's character and reveals his backstory; the scenes of the Shire at peace in The Fellowship of the Ring (especially in the Directors Cut), filled with laughter, friendship and happy children (what a warrior lays down his life to protect) is what makes us actually care whether or not Frodo and the Fellowship defeat Sauron or not.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Here are some information and related tropes to keep in mind as you write your scene. Use the tropes as inspiration, and alter as needed/desired to better fit your story. Reading how other authors have done this as well, especially in your favourite stories, is one way to know how you would execute it in your own story. You can find more details and examples in the links above. Hope this helps with your writing!

[spicyvampire]

I was gonna make gifsets out of them but tbh idk if I'll ever have the time because it would be like 20+ gifs gifset but I have to say

Great and Tyme had the most complex character developments I've ever seen in a show

Great went from being extremely passive and selfish in the face of violence, e.i. letting Den's girlfriend to have a heart attack when he literally had a phone in his hand he could have call an ambulance and letting Manee die after hitting her and not stopping Title from killing Dome and letting his parents control him like a puppet while he self destruct alone, to genuinely trying to have a connection with Tyme even if Tyme was using him (it's not like he knew any better from anyone else around him all people do is use him: Title used him as accessory to murder, his parents use him for the family business, he is probably used to people using him for his family money and that's why he has like virtuallyno friends other than Title), to trying to save Nan but being paralyzed by fear, to confronting his parents about their illegal businesses when the news broke irl before even his 4MP, in the middle of all of that he was already become permeable to the idea that his parents and him weren't good people, he was having trouble sleeping & being alone because of that, and on top of that he had Tyme yelling some sens into him because he could not just stay in that state of passiveness, indecision and self destruction forever, his inaction hurt people, got them killed, got him shot

So in his 4MP he became braver, he saved Manee, he saved Dome, he helped save Nan, he help Tyme get at his parents for being assholes, because he never wished that none of it happened he just wished he had reacted better, and meanwhile he also experienced another thing he always wished he had which is someone who cared deeply about him, even if he barely knew Tyme, he knew that Tyme had that in him because of how Tyme treated him before during and after using him to get back at his dad, and to be honest it really didn't matter if Tyme didn't have it in him as long as he was brave and someone treated him right before he was gone forever

And when he came back from his 4MP, he knew he couldn't change and be as perfect as he was in his 4MP but he could better in the future, he can stop his parents before they came back and started that cycle of violence all over again because once again they were using him and putting him in danger for their own benefits and were focused on trying to get something they didn't even deserve back, he can make amends for what he had done before aka hit and run with Manee and his implication in Dome's death, he can take decisive actions even if they are hard and will affect him negatively because it's the right thing to do and because he isn't alone anymore, Tyme is there, Tyme knows everything, understands him and loves him anyway

Tyme on the other hand got completely changed by resentment when he found and read his mom diary, he became cold and uncaring towards everyone around him including his patients and his ex, he was so blinded by rage that he misinterpreted the contents of the diary, he used Great who had nothing to do with any of it other than being related to the person he thought was responsible for his parents' death, threatened the wrong people, couldn't save Nan after putting her in danger by involving her in his vendetta, lashed out on Great who was genuinely trying to be better & help but he could not see it because he was too angry, impulsively exposed the gambling dens out of anger, Great is in the hospital dying after he just used him and lashed out at him, he got his Grandma killed instead of giving justice to his parents he lost his last family member, and then got shot and his heart stop in irl

So in his 4MP he chose not to read the diary at all from the very start, he chose to be free of the resentment and anger of what was taken from him and what could have been, he will never be a singer but that's fine, he can learn to love being a doctor and learn to care about his patients, he can break up with Nutcha properly and have his grandma be with him, he can love Great and Great can love him and he can be happy with that

Tyme experienced the 2 complete extreme on the spectrum of Revenge and resentment, a world where he was blinded his vendetta and didn't see anything but it before he was shot and a world where he didn't touch that vendetta at all, and when he came back from his 4MP he realized that he didn't want to make those choices like that anymore, he didn't want to be only fuelled by revenge but he couldn't just live with 0 justice being served, especially not with Great being back next to him who is taking action to right his wrong doings, so he chose to still try and find justice but in a way that would honor his parents & his grandma, in a way that will allow him to feel the love that can be between Great and him, in a way that he would be happy with the life he has

So yeah, I think this show had a very interesting and complex way of showing characters developments that we have never seen before, and while it was extremely non-linear, the message of taking better decisions so you do not have only regrets on ur death bed was very clear, and I'm gonna be thinking about those characters for a while

[marukrawler]

The Dan Rant™️Part 1

This whole thing was actually brought about by my trying to answer this ask and getting too deeply invested 🗿

This first part only covers my thoughts on S1 Dan but the rest will (hopefully) be added in due time.

Season 1

Dan starts out as your typical shounen protagonist: quick-tempered, easily excitable and always spoiling for a fight to prove he's the best. He meets the level-headed Drago whose very existence creates the first obstacle in Dan's journey; the uncomfortable truth that Bakugan isn't merely a game.

Dan's first lesson is that he needs to take things seriously because he's essentially playing with the lives of others and using them as pawns. This sparks the famous argument between Dan and Drago in episode 3, when Drago chastises Dan for his careless playstyle that got his fellow Bakugan sent to the Death Dimension.

In the Japanese dub, Drago tells Dan that if he only cares about saving Drago and not his other Bakugan, then that makes him no different from Masquerade's minions. This comparison is not only apt but also very interesting when it comes to Dan's character. Runo is characterized as someone who fiercely loves her Bakugan and views them as her friends, which is mirrored in her playing style and how she fights as strategically as possible so she doesn’t lose them. But if Dan doesn't care how his actions will affect the lives of his Bakugan, then with what convictions can he reject Masquerade's philosophy and the callous way he plays this game?

Moving on. Dan understands the importance of strategy after losing to Ryo and he goes to find and apologize to Drago. Character development! Yippie!

Once the Shun storyline plays out, Dan is back to bad-mouthing him again. However, to our collective surprise, it turns out that Shun isn't nearly as self-absorbed as Dan made him out to be! He was grieving the death of his mother and pulled away from the Bakugan game indefinitely as a result, something that Dan seemingly couldn't accept. Dan doesn't inform his friends about Shun’s current state, discourages them from reaching out to him and then gets upset when they do it behind his back when he's the one who didn't tell them why Shun left the team to begin with. I don't think I need to point out how incredibly selfish it is to act in this manner toward your best friend in their moment of need.

This three-episode arc ends with Dan and Shun teaming up to defeat Masquerade and Shun deciding to return to the team. I’ve had my issues with the show stating that this decision was influenced by Dan in any way, shape or form when, if anything, it was influenced by Runo, Marucho and most importantly, Skyress.

Dan was actively keeping Shun away from the group instead of bringing him back in and yet somehow, he's being credited as the one who changed Shun’s mind and made him realize what’s really important when Skyress was the one who encouraged him to seek out his friends. Shun’s speech in episode 13 not only allows Dan to not have to own up to his actions but it also casts him in a positive light despite how terrible he's been to Shun. It's the kind of resolution where you think Dan grew as a character and learned something, but he didn't.

Throughout the show, but most notably in the first season, we are shown that empathy is not Dan's strongest suit. He dismisses Drago’s concerns and refuses to fight in a way that protects his Bakugan from death until he realizes that doing so does him no good in battle, he drags Shun’s name through the mud while said best friend is grieving, he gets mad at Marucho and Runo for reaching out to Shun, he is oblivious to the somber atmosphere after Julie lost Billy to Masquerade, he pressures Marucho for information and then suggests ditching him while Marucho is also grieving the death of his friend, he tries bossing Shun around and then tells him to leave when Shun refuses to listen to him, and so on.

Dan eventually does apologize to Shun after Drago talked some sense into him, but he doesn't apologize to Marucho for his behavior. And speaking of Drago, I think this conversation he had with Dan in episode 20 perfectly encapsulates one of Dan’s flaws, namely that he wants people to understand his feelings, but he doesn’t make the effort to understand theirs.

Dan is socially inept at best and selfish at worst, and I know most people will write off his behavior as being the result of his age, but then I urge you to consider: what’s his excuse in MS1 when he’s at the cusp of adulthood? What about everyone else in his friend group who, mind you, are the same age as him and still show basic understanding and courtesy toward someone who’s mourning the loss of a loved one? I’m not saying it’s bad to have character flaws (if addressed), I’m just saying there’s nothing to excuse this behavior in Dan, but the usual justification is “well, he’s a kid. And kids are assholes sometimes.” Which is true but more often than not, Dan is the only asshole.

There’s also the matter of Dan’s actions usually being brushed under the rug while Runo is known for being a ranging bitch for doing not even half of what he’s done, but that’s neither here nor there.

The dysfunctionality in the Brawlers that span from episode 19 to episode 22 is both intriguing and aggravating. Dan starts it by pressuring Marucho into giving him information that he doesn’t have (Masquerade’s hideout) and then says they should leave Marucho behind, prompting Runo to argue with Dan in defense of Marucho. Julie gets involved as well, and they all split apart. Next episode, the rift between them is widened once again thanks to Dan, whose priorities doesn’t align with that of his friends. He not only gets into it with Runo and Marucho but with Shun as well, almost driving Shun away from the team. Next episode, there’s an awkward tension between Dan, Runo and Marucho but somehow the issues shift to Dan and Runo who apologize to each other and Marucho receives no apology from Dan.

Dan’s apology to Runo ultimately means nothing from a narrative standpoint because it fails to convey his lack of consideration toward Marucho’s feelings, which was the whole reason all this discord within the team even began. By comparison, his apology to Shun in episode 20 was much better executed and thoughtful, which is baffling because this is the sincere and heartfelt apology that Dan should’ve given to Shun in episode 13 but for some reason, he’s giving it now when it’s not really all that warranted? And Marucho is left with zilch. Cool.

I’m sure that at this point, there’s probably a lot of you saying “Oh my God, you’re being way too critical of Dan. Insensitive? Unempathetic? You’re obviously forgetting how nice Dan was being to Alice when she struggled to tell everyone that Michael was her grandfather! Or the time Dan was being super understanding toward Runo when she decided to quit Bakugan! You’re just trying to make him look bad!”

And yes, those scenes did happen. But personally, they never made any sense to me because of how contradictory they were.

You’re telling me that Dan is able to accept Alice’s reluctance to share critical information with the group—information that was extremely important in their search for the Infinity Core—when he didn’t extend the same courtesy to Marucho the day after he lost Preyas?

You’re telling me that Dan could easily accept Runo quitting Bakugan with absolutely no reason given—while they were on a quest to evolve their Bakugan—but Shun distancing himself from the game because his mom died before Masquerade had even showed up is an unforgivable act?

Anyhow, it's time for the trials! Dan’s trial starts off unclear but in a similar fashion to Masquerade’s fights against the top ranked Battlers, Dan has to defeat his team to get Drago to evolve.

It’s possible that the clown suits reflected Dan’s view of his friends, namely that he doesn’t take their strength seriously as Battlers, or something similar. It could also be foreshadowing Masquerade’s true identity: The first clown was evading Dan’s attempts at demasking them until Dan won the battle and took their mask off, only to find out he had been battling a friend all along.

Dan’s later trial of facing and defeating his friends severely lacks any and all tension because while everyone else has (1) trump card, Dan has two. He only seems to display any personal growth during his battles with Julie and Shun: Julie intentionally puts herself in a position where she could end up hurt if Dan unleashes his finishing move, seeking to test his resolve to win at any cost and berating Dan when he doesn’t take their fight seriously. Shun likewise chastises Dan when he’s been knocked down, asking if this is the extent of his resolve to save Vestroia and where their rivalry ends.

Dan ultimately proves them wrong and beats them, with him and Drago reaffirming their bond as partners in their battle against Shun and Skyress, the pair who arguably has the closest bond out of the whole group. The other matches weren’t really anything worth writing about because Dan doesn’t learn anything and there’s nothing to be excited about since Dan has a fusion ability card that automatically lets him win.

These battles could’ve been what separated Dan’s trial from Masquerade’s power-hungry quest—Masquerade used his minions as nothing but steppingstones to achieve ultimate power but by battling his friends, Dan could’ve learned something from each of them that helped him mature or grow smarter in battle, something unique from each of them that he could take with him in his final battle with Masquerade. Maybe Dan could’ve defeated his friends as a result of knowing their strategies and personalities intimately, something that would also prove how much he knows about each of them. But alas, that’s not what actually happened.

His personal trial was, in my opinion, a wasted opportunity to showcase his growth, especially when Julie, Marucho and Shun had such meaningful lessons that helped them overcome their issues with self-esteem, self-loathing, and self-isolation.

Nevertheless, Dan comes out of his trial with a renewed sense of determination and the will to fight for Earth and Vestroia alongside his friends. That already shows how far he’s come since the first few episodes.

Dan vs Masquerade also shows Dan stressing the seriousness of their current situation and urging Masquerade to stop doing Naga’s bidding. I like how, in a fun little reversal of episode 2, Dan is the one to remind Masquerade how fun Bakugan can be as merely a game.

This is getting long-winded LMAO and I don’t really think there’s much else to comment on in this final stretch of episodes. There’s a moment where Dan randomly makes a comment about the park where he and Runo met as toddlers but somehow, he kept messing up her name when they met in real life later on lol. If he remembered that, then it HAD to be because Fafnir showed him Runo’s trial. I don’t believe he would remember it on his own.

There’s also a moment in the final battle against Naga where everyone rallies around Dan, and he realizes that he’s not fighting by himself and there’s a nice little message about the power of friendship. Very cool. Wish this had stuck throughout the entire show but Oh Well.

The ending scene with Dan and Runo going on a date would’ve been superb if Dan hadn’t demonstrated his lack of social awareness yet again by commenting on Runo’s weight but I guess that’s asking for the impossible.

Even so, you’re definitely left with the feeling of Dan having grown up throughout the season and changed into something resembling a leader. At the very least, he seems to care more about others.

But then, uh, season 2 happens.

[seriouslycalamitous]

Hi! I was just curious about something writing related. Do you have any advice with how to start writing a fanfic? Like how do you go about explaining the exact scenario the character is placed in without DIRECTLY explaining it yk? I seem to really be struggling with that😭

Oh absolutely, there’s a couple of ways you can do this! There’s absolutely a time and a place for explaining things directly, but most of the time it can be a bit clunky to dump information all at the beginning of a story!

So, what I usually enjoy doing is challenging myself to avoid saying the main character’s name or to avoid having any pronouns in the first few sentences at all. It’s just a way I’ve learned to stop myself from explaining, since it forces me to focus on a more zoomed out picture - such as scenery, actions, and so forth!

As an example, this is the opening paragraph of my fic “Be the Death of Me”

Grian’s name isn’t mentioned until after I’ve filled the scene with a bit of action and setting!

It also demonstrates another fun way to start, this one being recommended by literally any literary professional ever - in medias res!

“In medias res” translates quite literally to “in the middle” and it means to start the scene in the middle of the action, already inside the story. Preamble or exposition at the beginning can slow the pace of your story, and honestly make it harder to get into writing it.

If you notice yourself dragging your feet to get a piece started, think of the next possible point in which there’s raised tension, or an interesting development, and drop us there! BTDOM starts with a chase scene. What happens before that is technically the kickoff point for the story, but it doesn’t actually need to be seen to hold weight if i’m actively showing you the consequences of said action.

“Change with the Tides” does this too, but less with actions and more with thought processes.

Immediately, we’re being informed of Grian’s bad decisions, but we’re not wasting time describing his rambling thought process leading up to those bad decisions. I went through and explained what had occurred, once again getting to the consequences pretty quickly, and exploring consequences is a pretty damn entertaining way to start a story!

But, alternatively, there are ways to explain a story directly without being a bad writer!

I do it all the time — though it’s typically just for my oneshots, since I don’t want to let myself waste word count on needless details.

These are the starting paragraphs of all of my oneshots (Foolhearted, Only Just Begun, More than you could ever know) and also “Midnight Strangers.”

They’re blunt, to the point without actually describing much at all. Their vagueness makes them interesting, as you can explain or show their situation in the paragraphs to follow much more easily this way!

In “Midnight Strangers,” Grian’s introduction talks about something he witnessed, but it takes roughly five paragraphs to actually get the audience up to date, at which point it switches over to scene work instead of exposition, with dialogue, fully formed thought processes, and actions. So, you absolutely can tell, as long as you don’t tell too much!

Hopefully this was helpful! Let me know if there’s anything else that you want to hear about!