#super excited for backstories in chapter 6 especially!

[otakween]

Head Start at Birth - Chapters 1-10

This one popped up on MAL suddenly because the JP title begins with a "0." Always excited to read/watch something new for a change, but this looks kinda bottom tier. Not only is it an incredibly generic plot, but its adaptation is a short episodes anime 😬

ALSO, this manga is being sold in the west as chapters and in the Webtoon style? I'm old school and kinda hate this. Why can't I just buy volumes?

Ch. 1

Oof this is so generic. I'm trying to give it a chance but the cliches are too much. The art is...fine but not very memorable. At least it's in color.

The mom got over her 3 year old making land management recommendations waaaay too quickly.

>_> Is that much older looking dude the love interest? I'm gonna throw up.

Lilia was 30 when she got isekai'd so I guess I'm supposed to be the target audience here? I feel like if I was in her position I wouldn't be like "YEAH, LET'S LEVEL UP!" I'd be like "YEAH! A CHANCE TO BE A KID AGAIN AND GOOF OFF!"

I feel like they vaguely implied that the mom is an evil capitalist (monarchist?) since she won't give people tax relief. That could be something interesting to explore...

Ch. 2

Reslar (the dragon) sounds suspiciously close to Rizzler lol

They introduce 3 age appropriate boys and then she immediately falls for the older guy. I get that she has the mind of a 30 year old but it's still weird. They'll probably go the "he waits until she's older" route. Whatever -_-

I was pleased that Lilia's parents stayed on her side as she was slightly rude to the royals. Their loyalties are in the right place at least.

Why does every shoujo isekai gotta be fixated on otome games and villainesses? It's honestly so bizarre how keyword obsessed media is these days...

Ch. 3

Yeah so, this is a romance isekai where the MC is 5 and the love interest is 15 🙄 I get that it's kinda based on the olden days when engagements like that were normal due to political marriages, but still. We don't really need to be romanticizing this stuff nowadays, right? Especially when it's a fantasy world where everything's made up and the points don't matter. Oh well.

This situation reminds me of The Familiar of Zero when Louise had a much older fiancé. Although in that series I think it was kind of portrayed as a little creepy/unsettling. Wow never thought I'd be praising The Familiar of Zero as a more progressive option 😅

I do appreciate that the dad (Guy) is ride or die for his daughter, but the joke about him thinking she'd been raped was a little tasteless.

We have yet to see what the plot of this series is going to be. Is it going to follow the romance angle mainly or is it going to be more about Lilia's personal development?

Ch. 4

Lilia's mom looks a lot like she stepped out of Umineko no Naku Koro ni. It's probably just the cravat lol.

We learn about Elrich's tragic backstory (his parents were executed for treason). Unfortunately, it didn't really make him a more interesting character. I had hoped he'd have at least some sort of reaction to the engagement but he's pretty much just "bland perfect husbando" so far.

The sex fantasy was something I could have lived without. Straight to jail.

Hopefully we can get an Elrich chapter here and there to flesh him out. I don't care how much he looks like Lilia's fave otome game character.

Ch. 5

I was wary of the parents at first, but they seem to actually be really good parents? Also, Lilia's mom is super politically smart too (girl boss lol). I guess the doting dad thing is basically just a stock character, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Glad the spirits get to show some actually emotion for once (well, Reslar does anyways).

I do like that Lilia is more focused on her ambitions than Elrich. She just happens to also be really horny for Elrich lol (I'm sorry...that's how it's portrayed).

Ch. 6

Okay, I'm kinda getting into this >_> it's just shoujo isekai brain rot basically but the art is so cute and it's been a long time since I've read a manga in full color

Dressing in your fiancé's color is so romantic ;w; (although I guess people don't always have signature colors irl lol).

The dynamic between mom and Lilia both being badass boss babes gives me Yor/Anya vibes because of the ages haha.

That gothic look with the princess curls was serving (werk)

Ch. 7

Urgh my anime arch nemesis appears...head pats. I don't think they're cute at all, I think they're weird and demeaning. (Even if I was 5 years old I think I'd be like "get your hand off my head" lol). I still don't know if this is a thing Japanese people do IRL or not.

Lillia being instantly OP at everything she tries is pretty boring, this manga could use more conflict right about now.

Ch. 8

I like the princes' names (Isaac, Leonard, and Ferdinand). IDK if it would be better or worse if Lilia went for one of them instead. You can't win with rebirth scenarios lol

Ch. 9

Wtf, the spirits get ikemen versions? I can get on board with that actually. Some of my OCs are fantasy creatures with human versions actually...

"This is like having a sister" (file under: objectively weird things to say about your fiancé)

I can relate to Lilia's inability to relax. Productivity is fun to me 😅

Ch. 10

Still no ikemen Reslar, I'm surprised by the mangaka's restraint lol.

Wait how did people even learn about Lilia's dissertation? I thought they were keeping it on the down low.

The hedgehog spirit was cute. I'm glad they spared it lol

Lilia's spirits are just as OP as her of course -_- -yawn-

Well this was pretty forgettable, but it's a fluffy popcorn kinda read, so I'm not complaining. It's a bit unnerving having no idea how long a series will stretch to in these early stages. Hopefully this isn't a 100+ chapters one...

[m34gs]

For the character ask: Amaimon (Blue Exorcist), Trein (Twisted Wonderland), and Maki (Fire Force).

Thank you so much for the ask, friend!!! Super excited to answer these :D (related to this post) It will be a long one, so under the cut she goes!!

Amaimon

1: sexuality headcanon: I think Amaimon is either bi or pan. He just...doesn't strike me as the type to care about what his partner is in terms of gender. Amaimon likes what he likes and that's just how it is.

2: otp: I don't know if I have a pairing with Amaimon that I feel strongly enough about to consider it an OTP. I have pairings I like with Amaimon, but for those characters I almost always have another pairing that I like better for them. And I don't think Amaimon would do well with polyamory. He's very selfish.

3: brotp: This is not canon. This is most definitely not canon. But I am *obsessed* with the idea of Amaimon actually doting on Rin after they get past the "tried to kill Rin/Shiemi/other exwires" issue. Like, to Amaimon, a demon, he really just wanted some entertainment. Gotta remember, he's NOT human, and to him "playing" is something totally different. So, it makes sense in my little world that once he realizes how strong Rin is, and that he can get Rin to "play", he wants to more and more, but also becomes a bit jealous and clingy. Maybe even protective? Anyway. This is why when I write him, I most often like writing him as a doting yet teasing older brother for Rin. And maybe Rin warms up to him eventually and really starts to enjoy being around him and trust Amaimon.

4: notp: Lucifer. Not as a friend, not as a lover (Again, they are demons; so remember, demons play by demon rules and not human ones) and not as a brother or 'bromance'. Why? Mainly because I dislike Lucifer, if I'm being honest. But also because I just don't see them being on good terms. I feel like Lucifer would be like "Listen to me" and Amaimon would flip him off and scitter around on the ceiling or something. Which is like, his attitude with Mephisto, except then Mephisto usually has a good counter, where I just don't think it would give the same delightfully funny vibe with Lucifer.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: Again this would be the "Amaimon not so secretly dotes on Rin and the only one who doesn't realize this is Rin" because it makes me happy. That's literally the main reason. It just makes me so happy.

6: favorite line from this character: "I have a cousin with a penchant for the occult who collects eyeballs". I don't know if I can explain this one. I just find it funny.

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I think what I relate to most for Amaimon is his impatience. I try my best to be patient, especially given my work, but there are some days I just want to lose it because nothing is going my way, or because I really wanted something and I don't get it. It sounds a bit childish of me, but Amaimon is childish too. I think part of why I like him so much is because he acts out his childish urges freely and I wish sometimes that I could do that.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: His hair spike. Amaimon, sweetie, why?

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Oh, Problematic Fave, 10000%.

Trein

1: sexuality headcanon: honestly, I think Trein is gay. But he strikes me as someone who lost love once a long time ago and never tried to love like that again. I don't know, I just think sometimes there is a lot of sadness in his eyes. (I've played to the end of Book 6 Part One, so if there is backstory on Trein in the next part or chapters, I am unaware of it at this time)

2: otp: None. As I said, I kind of picture him as someone who did have someone, but then lost them. Maybe someday I'll write him a headcannon backstory about that love.

3: brotp: Trein is not 100% sure what this term means, but I like to think that some students saw him having tea with Crewel and now all the students know he's pretty close to Crewel and Crewel is his brotp.

4: notp: Crowley. Because I think Crowley would drive Trein into madness if they were anything other than colleagues.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: Well, friend, honestly it's our Bar AU headcannon of Trein Taking Care of Crewel By Sneakily Getting Him To Eat. I just like the idea of Trein realizes Crewel doesn't take good enough care of himself and is like "well, I guess I need to suddenly have a routine of having tea in the evening with biscuits or fruit as a snack and invite Crewel so he eats something". I also like the idea we had together that Vargas goes to Trein every time he tries to figure out how to interact with Crewel because he is Very Enthusiastic and Crewel is less so, and Vargas worries he is overwhelming his coworker. (Side note: Vargas = himbo is the best hc for Vargas ever! hehehe)

6: favorite line from this character: “Excellent. Keep up this hard work for the next time as well.” When Trein praises me, I am almost in tears. Getting his approval is Goals. lol

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Trein seems to like things done in particular ways and puts value in honour and tradition. I may not be so much for tradition, but I do get particular about how I like things done. And I get frustrated when I can't deliver to my own expectations.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Nothing, really. I don't find anything about him, at this point, gives me second-hand embarrassment.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? I don't know if I would define Trein as either of these...lol, though if I had to choose I guess cinnamon roll? He seems like the type of person to be a bit tsundere to be honest.

Maki

1: sexuality headcanon: I headcannon Maki as straight. I don't know why, I just do. (You're probably thinking "what??? But she's one of your anime wives???", and I know. I know, it's odd. But she's a fictional character so I try not to read too hard into it)

2: otp: I don't actually have one for Maki. I really don't ship her with anyone in the show at this point, if I'm completely honest.

3: brotp: Hinawa. I feel like Hinawa and Maki have a really good understanding of each other and have this quiet support for each other going on behind-scenes. I really feel like Hinawa is probably Maki's closest friend in Company 8.

4: notp: Like I said, I don't really like shipping her with anybody in the show honestly, so I suppose that makes them all notp's in my eyes.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: I think Maki was probably bullied as a child for being so strong. To me, this makes sense as to why she's so hung up on "not being feminine enough". Bullying is something that sticks with you long after the fact and preys on your mind.

6: favorite line from this character: I don't have a favourite line from Maki.

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I relate to Maki a lot about feeling insecure over my body/appearance. I also want to be seen as very feminine, so I get her discouragement and worry about coming across masculine.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: The way she misinterprets even compliments about her strength to mean she's an "ogre" or "gorilla"; like...calm down? Literally no one said anything like that...

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Cinnamon Roll! Maki is an absolute sweetheart!

Hope you enjoyed these answers, friend! I had fun writing them. (My computer started glitching out halfway through, though, so I had to save a draft and restart it, which is why it took me so long, lol!)

[arctimon]

The Beta Team That Never Was - Fanfiction Corner (BH6 Edition)

So all of this Peni Parker comic talk actually got me thinking about the process of her being included in my fanfiction.

I wish I could tell you it was a long and arduous process, but...

OK, maybe some of it was hard.  But when you have a virtually endless supply of Marvel characters that you can use for possible teammates for Big Hero 6, you have to go with your gut.

We all know that the team will be Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen (eventually), and Kate.  But there were six other candidates that could have been in the mix as well.

And five of them have their emblems here:

These were made before I actually knew how to make hero emblems properly.

Some of them you might recognize.  Some you may not.  But we’re going to go through them all, from left to right.

And to start...it’s really hard to draw tiny hearts.

1.) Riri Williams/Ironheart - Ironically enough, it was around the time that Hiro started chasing Sirque around the town in “Portal Enemy” that I started brainstorming her.  A teenage genius, stuck as to what to make, sees “Captain Cutie” and the chase on the news and gets brainstorming.

Thus, the Power Armor is born.

And she gets so excited that she bolts off to San Fransokyo to show her idol what she’s created.

And then, as per the Big Hero 6 Fanfiction Clause states...shenanigans ensue.

It was an interesting possibility, but the thought of Ironheart was really late into me doing the backstories of the people that I had chosen, so she was pushed aside.  I don’t personally see me revisiting her in the future, but who knows?

2.) Nadia Van Dyne/The Wasp - Back when Karmi had first been pulled out of SFIT, there was a young woman who wanted to recruit her into a special organization.  It was one that brought together the greatest female minds in their fields, and Karmi was on said recruitment list.

The organization?

Genius In action Research Labs, or G.I.R.L. for short.  And it was led by the Wasp’s daughter, Nadia Pym (later changed to Nadia Van Dyne).

Plot-wise, this was probably the person that I got the farthest with, since the story would’ve been more of a focus on Karmi than anyone else.  Also, the idea of writing someone with Bipolar Disorder (which Nadia was confirmed to have in her latest solo run) was intriguing if nothing else.

Unfortunately, it sort of dried up from there.  A lack of a central conflict, uncertainty as to how many of the other girls (Taina, Priya, Shay, and Ying) to have, and how to handle her actual powers stopped it cold.

But seriously, how do you write in the ability to shrink to microscopic size?  That’s not really a thing, even in a world as futuristic as San Fransokyo.

3.) America Chavez/Ms. America - The mere idea of a Superman-esque Latina teenager was enticing, especially because America, in her relatively short comic history, was with the Ultimates and the West Coast Avengers (meaning there was a possible Kate/Hawkeye angle).  Making start-shaped portals was the Silent Sparrow angle, and the all-around badass, headstrong attitude would be the counter to Honey Lemon’s more nurturing personality.

But being from an alternate universe (which has very recently been retconned in the comics in part because she will be appearing in the MCU and Doctor Strange 2), no real villain to play off of, and becoming possibly way too overpowered for the BH6 universe, she was scrapped.

It’s quite a shame.  I really like her in the comics that she’s in.  Perhaps there will be an opportunity for her somewhere down the line...

4.) Alison Blaire/Dazzler - A pop star with light-based powers?

Or better yet, a struggling artist with acoustikinesis?

Her power to convert sound into light was what originally drew me to her.  Something that could be made into a technological ability, unique enough to put a (pardon the pun) spotlight on it.

An actual blonde instead of whatever HL’s hair color is.

Heck, she even has a half-sister named Lois that could have been the antagonist (death tough, destruction waves, and the like).

But she quickly got lost in the fold.  Better ideas (like Kate and Doreen) got more of my brainstorming, and she was eventually given up on.

But funnily enough...

It’s almost like she’s already in the show.

(See, for the people who may be new, one of the many Marvel theories that I’ve touched upon is that High Voltage is actually this universe’s version of Dazzler.  Juniper is Alison and Barb is...well...Barbara London, Alison’s mom).

Hey, @baymaksu​ totally agrees with me kinda sort of.

5.) Cindy Moon/Silk - I knew right from the get-go that I wanted a Spider-person on the beta team.  I also knew that I didn’t want Peter.

No offense to Peter Parker.  He’s fine.  But there’s a billion other Spiders out there, and I wanted someone out of the normal vein of Peter, as well as even Miles and Gwen.

And in came Cindy.

Locked away in The Bunker because of her spider powers manifesting, she was eventually released by Peter and thus began her entrance into the main Marvel world.

Her “unique ability” is her improved Spider-Sense, which Peter has said is even better than his own.  That, plus her other powers, brought her the closest out of anyone to being a member of the Big Hero 6 Beta Team.

As we all know, however, Peni ended up getting the spot over Cindy (for the family angle with Hiro and the giant robot that she pilots).  On the other hand, Cindy would later make her debut in the stinger of the last chapter of Along Came The S.P.I.D.E.R., along with Miles, Anya, and Joey.

Unlike Riri, Nadia, America, and Alison, Cindy and the rest of Peni’s little Spider Society are going to be showing up in future stories.  And if I can get everything in order, they will be starring in their own story set in the Big Hero 6 universe.

Finally, I have no emblem for them, but the honorable mention goes to...

6.) Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Yes, there was a point in time where I was seriously considering putting a nine-year-old super genius and a giant red T-rex into my stories.

Ignoring the giant...”red flag” here, the reason why Luna never made it is the same reason why I haven’t put Rishi in anything yet.  It’s because I don’t really know what to do with supergeniuses that young.  Hiro is at least a teenager and thus has teenager-y problems to fall back on (like puberty and Karmi and all that jazz), but a nine-year-old?  That’s a little too extreme for me.

When I was nine, I was busy playing with sticks in my backyard with my brother, not solving unsolvable puzzles from Bruce Banner.

...All that, and the giant dinosaur.

But hey, at least Disney is jumping on the MG/DD train.  That’s good to see.

Crossover potential, perhaps?

P.S. - As I was finishing putting this post together, it occurred to me that I may get this possible question in the comments, so I’m going to head it off at the pass.

“You know that all of your possible superheroes are girls, right?”

First of all...sexist.

Second of all...true.

That was about 90% on accident.  The actual team (Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen, and Kate) has only one guy on it (two if you count Eli, three if you count Tippy-Toe).

I don’t really have a good explanation for that.  I like all superheroes, but I think that the girl and woman superheroes need some spotlight, you know?  I could have pulled people like Namor or Miles or the male Hawkeye into the mix, but to be honest, I find the characters I chose more interesting than a lot of the guy characters I was contemplating.

Of course, nothing is stopping any of you from using those characters in your stories.  Be my guest, not that you really need my permission or anything.

But you can’t take Aspen.  Aspen is mine. (Spoiler: Aspen is not mine.)

[isuckatreadinglol]

Six of Crows Review

Alright, first book review on this blog...here we go: *spoiler warning, duh*

Book: Six of Crows Author: Leigh Bardugo

My Rating: 5/5

First off, this is the first YA fantasy I've ever read so I have no idea what I was expecting...and I fuckin loved it.

Second, I binge read this book in three days and it usually takes me a month to read anything ever so that's definitely saying something. I came for Kaz Brekker after watching Shadow & Bone on Netflix and stayed for the amazing plot, diverse and intricate characters, the incredible action and twists, and of course Kaz Brekker. The one thing that I loved was how fast paced this book went, and I genuinely could not stray far from the book because of how addicting it was. There was something in every chapter and you never got bored. The last part had taken the most time for me to complete because of how much action Leigh crammed in the last 60 pages, which made it a bit hard to follow along but it was still epic.

The Characters:

Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Matthias

"“What’s the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet?” “Knife to the throat?” asked Inej. “Gun to the back?” said Jesper. “Poison in his cup?” suggested Nina. “You’re all horrible,” said Matthias."

The most diverse set of characters I have ever met. There were 6 characters, and the POV's were constantly changing and at some point, while I read someone else's chapter I was worried about the other characters and anticipating the next chapters. This was honestly an amazing decision to tell this story and I never got sick of the characters (except maybe Matthias, sorry).

Not only does Leigh do an excellent job portraying trauma in her characters (especially Kaz), she also keeps the character's as diverse as possible, from Nina being a plus sized character with badass confidence to Wylan overcoming his dyslexia and even Inej being a brown character. Every character had their own stories and the flashbacks/backstories were always a pleasure to read through.

Kaz Brekker is a stone cold, morally grey, manipulative, and terrible criminal which of course...makes him an even better protagonist. He definitely rocks the Hot Boy Who Is Mean To Everyone Except That One Chick Because Of His Tragic Backstory trope.

"There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken."

He is an anti-hero with his own plans and goals, while also caring so much about his crew that he would do anything for them. I'm very excited to see his character develop with Inej in Crooked Kingdom as well as his relationship with her because I am too obsessed with the two of them. I also enjoyed how Leigh allowed Kaz to fuck up and make mistakes, showing that he wasn't just some perfect character that knew everything about everything, and reading his inner dialogue when he realized his fuck-ups felt refreshing. His backstory was very well written and very tragic (we get it he's emo). It felt so personal knowing why he was they way he was when he sealed himself off from the world. He's also drippy as fuck.

Inej Ghafa just radiates bad bitch energy and when Kaz called her "dangerous" I screamed "DAMN RIGHT". Her mental drive was beautifully written during her chapters, especially while she climbed the incinerator.

"The heat of the incinerator wrapped around Inej like a living thing, a desert dragon in his den, hiding from the ice, waiting for her. She knew her body's limits and knew she had no more to give. She'd made a bad wager. It was as simple as that. The autumn leaf might cling to its branch, but it was already dead. The only question was when it would fall...

Should she jump now or simply wait for her body to give?

Inej felt wetness on her cheeks. Was she crying? Now? After everything she'd done and had done to her?"

Most importantly, she was a raw character who pushed herself throughout the book not just for herself but for the rest of the crew. She was selfless but she was also incredibly strong, driven by her future. Inej is the most inspiring character in the book and I have fallen in love with her more times than I could count. (lowkey carried the team imma be honest)

JESPER FAHEY Y'ALL. My queer sharpshooter king. I think I related to him the most and I loved every chapter with him. Though, I felt like Jesper was treated more as a side character than a main one, especially since he was stuck with Wylan for the entirety of the heist but BOY WHEN I FOUND OUT HE WAS A FABRIKATOR...I might have also screamed. He was definitely the comedic relief and he always kept me laughing at his little comments. Excited to see him and Wylan get together and also hoping for more of Jesper's character.

"Well, we’ve managed to get ourselves locked into the most secure prison in the world. We’re either geniuses or the dumbest sons of bitches to ever breathe air."

“If any of you survive, make sure I have an open casket. The world deserves a few more moments with this face.”

Nina Zenik...bro. She is so powerful. The moment she took parem was *chefs kiss* and it was the most badass scene I had ever experienced. When I began reading her chapters I didn't really enjoy them but when the heist actually began her inner dialogue won me over completely. When she was with Jarl Brum I could not stop laughing at the things she was saying in her head, and even when things were intense she always had something to say which made her character come to life. Her personality is hilarious, and sarcastic and she's also so HOT like my gay ass was swooning. She is who I aspire to be, that is all.

Matthias Helvar. Personally, I didn't really like his character so much because of how stubborn and he was (and how many times I wanted to punch his stupid ass), however he was still a pretty cool character with some good moments in there. He demonstrated religious corruption well, and he definitely faced a lot of inner conflict due to the pressure of what he was taught when he was younger. His POVs were a little boring but I loved it when he called Kaz a demjin.

Wylan Van Eck was a super fun character to have around. I definitely enjoyed watching his character grow as he spent more time with the Dregs. I didn't love him as much as the big three (Kaz, Jesper, Inej) and don't have much to say on him except that I admired his strength throughout the last part, especially when confronting his father after hearing all the horrible things he said about his own son. Jesper defending him made me melt big time.

"He's smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you."

I literally could not have asked for such a creative group of characters and to see them work together makes me feel like I'm part of a big, criminal family.

The Ships

The ships were a fun addition to the story and the best part was that they never overstepped the actual objective of the plot but rather worked with it to enhance the connections between each character.

Kaz and Inej: Let me just cry for a second.

"She'd laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him."

"I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all."

"I'm going to get my money, Kaz vowed. And I'm going to get my girl."

This one hurt me. I am in love with these two and their relationship with each other makes it so much better. They are not meant to be together yet they are connected in so many ways. I did not think I would fall in love so easy, but here I am.

Matthias and Nina: I was not convinced by these two, especially with how weird their relationship was. They constantly seemed like they hated each other (valid) and some of their romantic scenes felt forced. In the end, I enjoyed seeing Nina grow on Matthias to wake his stubborn ass up. I swear that man refused to have feelings. Anyway, I still have mixed feelings on these two.

Wylan and Jesper: They are so cute. Like insanely cute. Like even I was blushing during their cute scenes. Their relationship isn't as developed yet so I am excited to see them in Crooked Kingdom.

Final Thoughts:

Representation? Check

Map? Check

Two maps?!? Fuck yeah

Amazing plot and worldbuilding? Check

Hilarious banter? Mhm

Great writing? Check

Well- written characters? 100%

Overall, this story will forever be my comfort book and I was impressed by the YA fantasy side of literature. It's hard to believe yet comforting that these characters are my age, makes me feel powerful. I loved every bit of this book and now I kinda wanna grab some friends and pull a heist.

[skybird13]

Clover and Qrow (or: The Importance of Relationships in Fiction)

I started writing this in response to @fairgame-is-endgame​‘s post here, but I figured I hijack enough of his posts and this got rather lengthy (🤷‍♂️ it’s me, so go figure). Please do go see the post so you have context. It’s a super short but very meaningful observation that I’ve been wanting to address anyway, so here it goes.

What gets me about this particular complaint is the fact that apparently, in the minds of some people, relationship building isn’t multifunctional in storytelling. People constantly accuse shippers of caring about nothing but the romance (and I admit, there are some shippers who are totally in it for the enjoyment of the romance, and there is nothing wrong with that, just let people have their fun for god’s sake). But a good percentage of us are running around performing doctorate level psychoanalyses and writing what could easily turn into Ph.D. theses (if some of us were so inclined) on not only the interactions between these two characters, but the ramifications on the individual development for each of them, the implications behind their connection, and how all of that can work together to build a stronger story overall.

Yes. Qrow’s screentime in volume 7 has been all about his connection with Clover (outside of that beautiful scene he had with Ruby in chapter… 4, was it? I don’t remember but y’all know which scene I’m talking about where he actually reassumes the role of the adult in their relationship, so much love for him). You know what lies inside that connection?

His healing, for one. Volumes 3-6 took Qrow through one hell of a character arc. He went from having a purpose to losing it, to falling into a serious depression and a bad, bad place with his alcohol abuse, and finally to a place where he started to drag himself out of that hole. CRWBY could have taken him literally anywhere in volume 7. Hell, they could have left his development right there for the entire volume and had him present solely to support Ruby and the others. But what did they do instead? They carried on his arc by giving him one of the many things he needs to heal: a healthy and functional connection with another human being. He hasn’t just been some background shadow there to back up Ruby (which would have been poor writing); he’s had his own development, brief but very carefully crafted to showcase how the end of volume 6 changed him and what he’s trying to do to cope with his mental illness and addiction. He’s openly acknowledging his problems and trying to deal with them. He is working with another person without complaint or fear that we have seen, and we all know how huge that is for him!

Story possibilities run rampant because of his relationship with Clover. Qrow has always been one of the most interesting and dangerous characters in RWBY, and that was as a depressed alcoholic. Can you imagine his potential as someone who is actively working towards being healthy? I’ve brought up the possibilities of what we might see if Clover can somehow help him gain control of his Semblance, and I don’t think that can be overstated. I find it very hard to believe that two characters who, especially when together, can manipulate probability won’t be instrumental in whatever RWBY and JNOR have to do to take down Salem.

And that’s not even getting into the potential impact that Qrow might have on Clover’s development. Some of y’all complaining because we don’t have much on him yet, but good lord, he was just introduced! And his introduction came in a volume bursting at the seams with plots and subplots and a hundred different things going on. Give him some room to breathe and develop over the next couple of volumes. (I also argue that if you have any critical thinking skills whatsoever, we actually have quite a lot on who he is as a person at the very least, even if we still know nothing about his backstory. Speaking of which!!! Did we get Ren’s backstory in volume 1 or 2? No! It came in volume 4. How about Ruby’s or Yang’s? Nope. Their backstory was piecemealed out across the earlier volumes. Weiss’s? Same thing. Blake’s? Same thing. Qrow’s? … you get my point. If you want a straightforward biography, don’t watch fiction.)

*deep breath*

Anyway, my point is that I’ve seen more than one comment complaining about shippers and even romantic relationships in canon because, somehow in some people’s opinion, interpersonal relationships (particularly romantic ones) detract from the story. But do you want to know what story is built on? What the best stories absolutely revolve around? Character. Wanna know what you have to have for good characters? Individual mental and emotional development. Change. And yes, relationships.

The relationship between Clover and Qrow (or Nora and Ren or Blake and Yang or anyone else) doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s all a part of the tapestry of the story that is RWBY. Pull the relationships out and you have something threadbare and boring as hell. I love the plot. I love the fight scenes. You have no idea how excited I am to see Qrow in action in the next episode, particularly as a member of a team again. I want some Harbinger action as much as the next person. But that’s not what keeps me coming back every week. I want to see Qrow fight because I love him as a character. Because I want to see how he’s changed, how he’s developed, how he’s going to function in this team unit after being alone for so long. The fights mean nothing to me if I don’t care about the characters involved. And a plot not driven by character motivation and change (while possible) too often feels forced and contrived. You want a good natural, genuine feel to a plot? Then what you’re looking for is a plot that is character-driven. And what did I just say about the things needed for good character?

Look, if some of you are totally fine checking in every week just to see some combat action, that’s cool. Whatever works for you is what works for you and I’m not going to criticize you for it. But don’t you dare come after those of us who are here for characters and character development like we’re some substandard blight on the fandom. Can shipping get out of control? Absolutely. Are relationships written badly in fiction all the time and are thereby guilty of detracting from a story? Of course. But the relationships in RWBY, and particularly the relationship between Clover and Qrow, are not guilty of that. (Hell, this is a show all about relationships and the strength we can get from those we love and care about! What the hell do you think activates Ruby’s eyes???) This relationship, like every other one in the show, is there for a reason, and as much as some of us (myself unapologetically included) might screech about the eye contact and the flirting and the potential meaning behind the tiniest interactions, there is a depth inherent in their connection that goes beyond a surface level romance. It’s all about who they are, what drives them, what they have to overcome, what changes they might still need to go through, what roles they still have to play in the story, and how they might push each other in new and different ways to become who they need to become in order to do what they need to do.

And that, my friends, is what we’re actually here for.

[mysterylover123]

Top 10 Things I’m Excited for in My Hero Academia Season 4 (& 5 I’m not)

mysterylover123

SPOILERS AHOY.

Season 4 is now beginning properly! As a manga reader and a lover of the anime, I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, though with some trepidation - it’s not adapting my favorite portion of the manga, per se, so there are things I’m excited for, but also things I sit in dread of seeing. I figured I’d get all the expectations out in one list, so here it goes:

TOP 10: LOOKING FORWARD TO:

#10. RED RIOT UNBREAKABLE

Kirishima’s Ultimate Move made for a great and powerful scene in the manga; it looks plenty cool in manga form, but I’m really excited to see the movement of it animated - the way they animate his hardening quirk is already pretty cool, so watching it go all over him is just gonna be awesome.

Best Guess: Episode 4 or 5.

#9. FIGHTING FATE

This scene really makes me tear up a bit. All Might expressing his love for Midoriya-shonen and finally telling him just what he meant to him...I just...dayum, this one is gonna get to me.

Best Guess: Episode 3 or 4.

#8. MIRIO VS OVERHAUL

This one is great, not just as a super dynamic fight between two powerhouses, but just as much as a rather elagaic tragedy. The story of Mirio this season is gonna wreck people when they see how it all ends up. I actually cried reading this in the manga, so I know it’s gonna wreck me in the anime.

Best guess: No idea.

#7. THE #1 UA ROCK BAND (If we get to it)

Oh god I hope they get to this one. After all that angst we’re gonna need that joyful pick me up! Please, oh please, studio bones, please let Season 4 end on Eri’s dazzling smile and Jiro’s rock band. I don’t ask for much. Please just do this.

Best guess: The season finale I hope.

#6. "HEROES NEED TO CRY”

This is one of my favorite Todoroki/Tododeku moments of the series, and it’s so, so good. It’s a smaller moment, so probably a surprise to be this high on the list, but it’s a heartwarming one, so I’m really hoping it gets it’s fair treatment.

Best guess: Episode 6 or 7.

#5. TSUCHAKO BEYOND PLUS ULTRA

They may have screwed our girl squad out of being in most of the arc, but dammit they gave them one hell of a big moment to make up for it! This moment had better damn well get the full treatment in the anime: Detailed animation, heartfelt voice acting, You Say run, Plus ultra screamed at the top of their lungs, the works. I was fist-pumping this one in the manga, ya’ll.

Best guess: NO clue.

#4. KIRIMINA BACKSTORY

Given what this series was able to do with the Todoroki backstory, the Uraraka, Baku, etc Backstories, I have high hopes for this one. KiriMina had better get the full ST Origin works, is all I’m saying. The full on emotional soundtrack and dramatic voices and heartfelt performances. C’mon Bones!

Best Guess :Episode 10 maybe?

#3. NIGHTEYE’S DEATH (not in a good way)

Ugly crying. I mean I’m looking forward to the drama and story-telling effectiveness, not that I’m excited about seeing Nighteye die again, and this time in animation with voice acting. That’s gonna wreck me.

Best guess: No clue. 

#2. SHOJO TODOROKI  & THE BABYSITTERS SQUAD

Oh, TodoBaku. You may have left us for 40+ chapters, but you sure as hell ldid not disappoint when you finally returned. Never leave again, you RivalBros. Anyway, I actually do consider this arc the 2nd best moment this season will cover. I freaking love ever part of it, and seeing Shoujo Todoroki is gonna be worth getting through all of the draggy stuff the Internship Arc has to offer.

Best Guess: Episodes 17-20

Hon mentions: Everything the League of Villains does in every scene they’re in (too many to count), Animated Ryukyu, Deku meeting Eri

#1. 100% DEKU VS OVERHAUL

I’m pretty sure this was the entire reason this arc was written, just to get us to this moment. Not gonna complain, even. My bae is OP as fuck and I don’t care. Go Deku. Go beyond. I want to see that Absolute Madman moment crescendo into the absolute battiest thing my bae has ever done (so far). 

Best guess: 15-16?

NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO:

#5. OVERHAUL’S MONOLOGUING 

To be honest, Overhaul started out really cool to me, and then started to kinda drag on the story. He started as a clever villain, something different, and then just kinda became a bore. I’m not looking forward to how long some of those late monologues are going to take. I’m just hoping his fabulous English VA and that killer OST can save it.

#4. NIGHTEYE SASSING DEKU (probably next ep) 

OH NO YOU DIDN’T  JUST TRY AND CLAIM MY BEST BOY WAS INFERIOR YOU PRAYING MANTIS ASSHOLE. That was my first reaction, and I’m probably going to be similarly annoyed when it gets animated. I mean, I’m biased. Nobody bad-mouths Deku while I’m around (Except for Kacchan, I guess.)

#3. TEAM FATGUM VS PRECEPTS FIGHTS  

OK so I felt like these fight scenes were a real drag on the Internship arc. I like Kiri, Tamaki and Fatgum just fine, but they just aren’t interesting enough - and neither are these D-tier villains - to carry the plot for nearly ten freaking chapters. I like Kiri’s backstory, but these drawn-out fight scenes just don’t interest me, and I’m in expectation of great boredom from them.

#2. TICKLE HELL 

Yay we got this one out of the way nice and early! This was probably the weirdest scene in the entire manga, and I was seriously not looking forward to sitting through it again. Fortunately, it’s over now, and we can move on.

#1. MIA CLASS 1-A 

But by far the thing I’m least looking forward to in Season 4 is how Class 1-A, except for the main 4, is basically gone for a really, excruciatingly long time. Leaving them behind for what feels like forever is gonna be absolute hell, especially after waiting a whole year. The season had better make it to the Culture Festival Arc, is all I can say.

[wiseabsol]

3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing? 6. Favorite character you’ve written? 14. What does it take for you to be ready to write a book? (i.e. do you research? outline? make a playlist or pinterest board? wing it?) 15. How do you deal with self-doubt when writing? 19. How do you cope with writer’s block? 24. Do you remember the moment you decided to become a writer/author? 33. What’s your revision/rewriting process like? 34. Unpopular writing thoughts/opinions?

3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing? 

My favorite part is when you make discoveries about your world and your characters as you write the story down, and when you write something and go, “Oh, there we go, there’s the solution to this problem that was going to come up later.” For example, I recently had an evil mentor toying with a magical item while giving a lecture to his pupils. The magical item was mundane--essentially, just putty that you could mold into whatever shape you wanted, then solidify, then switch back to putty to reshape. And as I was writing that down, I went, “Oh, THAT’S what my protagonist is going to knock him out with down the line. That’s way better than her using a lamp. Excellent.” 

My least favorite part about writing is getting started. Once I’ve cleared the hurtle of the blank page, writing becomes much easier and more exciting. But getting myself to start has become much harder since I developed my editor/critic’s brain.  

6. Favorite character you’ve written? 

In one of the text-based rps I’m writing with my best friend, I’m playing a shapeshifter named Sparrow, who is charming, funny, flirty, politically-savvy, and super vain about his appearance (think a courtesan-type character). He also has one of the most gut-wrenching backstories of any character I’ve ever written, and is struggling with triggers from that backstory. His romance with my best friend’s character is also my favorite romance that I’ve written with her, and it came as a surprise to both of us, since we were just testing out the characters at the time.   

14. What does it take for you to be ready to write a book? (i.e. do you research? outline? make a playlist or pinterest board? wing it?) 

I do a lot of brainstorming and outlining, though my outlines aren’t plot-related ones so much as very detailed character summaries. I’ve honestly been struggling with plot lately, but I’ve been doing better character work, so I’m winging it more now. While I usually have a general idea of how the story goes, the actual writing of it clarifies the details and makes changes to my plans. On the bright side, the results are less stilted than my old work, since they’re not chained to plot outlines, but stem from the characters more organically.  

15. How do you deal with self-doubt when writing?

I’ve started telling myself, “Fuck it, let it be messy, I’ll fix it later.” Letting go of perfectionism is hard for me, but doing so has been helping.   

19. How do you cope with writer’s block? 

Honestly, the best way to cope with writer’s block is to just try something and see if it sticks, or leave yourself a note and skip ahead in the story to something you want to write. However, as I mentioned in an earlier ask, I haven’t been able to do much writing lately. And that’s hard, because I feel guilty for not writing, and I know if I just do it, I’ll feel better. Which is a bad mindframe to be in, especially because this year has been awful. I’ve been telling other writers to be gentle on themselves, because it’s hard to be creative when you’re stressed, but I struggle to take my own advice. So right now, I’m trying to give myself permission not to write, and to instead focus on other things. Editing. Reading. Playing videogames. Baking. Doing house/yardwork. Something to still ticks things off of my to do list, but also things that I can look at and see, “Yes, you did get something done.” It’s not a perfect system, and it does fall into the productivity trap, but it’s what I’m trying. When the stress passes, maybe then I can dive back into writing.  

24. Do you remember the moment you decided to become a writer/author? 

I think it was when I was applying for undergraduate college. I wrote in my application essay that I wanted to write stories that would show my readers that things can get better for them. I was writing as a hobby before then, but I think that’s when I decided that yeah, I wanted making stories to be a part of my future, and I wanted to write stories that I could publish someday. 

33. What’s your revision/rewriting process like? 

Mostly I end up rewriting the chapter or story in question. Draft one is for realizing and getting down the idea of the thing. Draft two is refining it to that thing and losing all of the flab that the story doesn’t need. Often I have another file on the side where I paste in what I’ve cut out, in case I change my mind and want to add it back in later, or in case I can use it in another project. I also save the original messy draft and do the cutting in a copied file. That way, I can reassure myself that the original still exists for me, and I can reread it when I’m feeling self-indulgent, but I’m also only giving the best version to my readers.  

34. Unpopular writing thoughts/opinions?

-- Writing every day is a good idea, and does work well for the writing process, but it’s an unrealistic standard to hold yourself to, especially if you have a day job, kids, and other adult responsibilities. Don’t feel guilty if you can’t write every day. The guilt is just going to make you freeze up instead of returning to the work. Be gentle with your expectations for yourself.  

-- If you’re including triggering or sensitive subjects in your work, and are planning to share that work with others (and ESPECIALLY if you’re planning to profit from that work), you should be doing your research about those subjects, portraying them as accurately as possible, and asking yourself if your story really needs that content to work. It is also a good idea to employ sensitivity screeners for that content, especially if you’re writing from a place of privilege and/or don’t have personal experience with the issues that you’re depicting.

-- Once the work is out there, no one has the right to ban it. They can be critical of it, yes. But not ban it.  

-- Writers of privilege must include diversity within their work, even if they’re scared of getting their depictions of people from other genders, races, classes, religions, and so on wrong. And they will get it wrong. When that happens, just apologize and try to do better in the future. But staying in your lane is a bad idea, for three reasons: 1.) You should be striving to have empathy for others, and you can’t do that if you’re only writing about people who are similar to you. 2.) Writers of privilege have an easier time getting their work published, and so should be trying to push the market/publishing industry into a more diverse direction. And 3.) You should be showing readers of privilege that the world is a diverse one, rather than catering to their narrow worldview.

-- Getting defensive when someone is critical of your work is perfectly natural, but it’s also dumb. It’s so, so dumb. You have made a product, and no product made by human hands is perfect, and every writer has blind spots. So when someone is critical of your work, try to keep this in mind: this is not an attack on you. Let yourself feel the hurt in private, and eat lots of ice cream, and when you’re feeling better, look at the criticism and ask yourself: What led the reader to this conclusion? How can I fix it? What can I learn from this? This is assuming that the critic is working with you in good faith, by the way; sometimes they’re completely off of the mark, or are upset because you didn’t give them the story that they wanted. But if someone is going, “Hey, this is a little racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist/etc.,” sit up and listen. And for the love of god, don’t fight them over it. You’ll make yourself look like an ass. 

-- Don’t workshop your story too early. Try to get a full draft down before you submit something for consideration. For one thing, you’re still figuring out what your story actually is. For another, writing workshops, while useful, have a tendency to pull your work to the middle / make it more acceptable to a general audience. Sometimes this will soften and even kill your bravest writing. Instead, use writing workshops as an opportunity to find writers who understand the themes you’re aiming for and the subjects that you’re discussing. Their input will be what you need.  

-- With the current laws about copyright infringement, getting paid for your fanfic is a bad idea. If you want that to change, then fight to make the laws more lenient. As if it, you’re risking screwing over other fanfic writers by doing that. Does that suck? Yeah. But that’s also the reality we live in right now, and you’re not going to have a good time if a corporation like Disney slams you with lawsuits.

-- Genres like fantasy, science fiction, horror, romance/erotica, and murder mysteries are real literature. Saying they’re not has its roots in classism. 

-- There is no such thing as apolitical writing. 

-- Poets are underrated. Support them. Most of the time, they’re doing braver and more socially-important work than you are, and they’re doing it concisely, too.     

-- Your first draft is going to suck. This is a good thing. You learn a lot more from bad prose than from good prose, more often than not. 

-- Having your work rejected by publishers really is nothing personal. Sometimes it just wasn’t a good fit for them at that moment in time. If they’re interested in seeing more from you in the future, though, keep them on your list and send them something else during their next screening period. They don’t say that unless they mean it.         

[sydmari]

“It’s almost like you’re… excited to do this.”

Finley chuckles and tilts his head to the side amusedly. “I’ve spending half of the day riding around in a van picking up other criminals, and the other doing a bunch of physical exercises, I guess you could say that I’m eager to kick some cheap-robber’s asses... perhaps show off a bit in front of you as well.” the assassin says, and gives me a wink.

•••

Hey guys! If you didn’t know, I’ve been writing a novel on Wattpad about a team of ex-criminals becoming MI6 agents, and taking down the disgusting warlord know as Vesper. The main character’s name is Raven and she’s a skilled thief, but I though that we’d take today to talk about the assassin in their group, Finley.

It seems that some of you guys are super excited to see what his backstory is, and whether he’s the one who’s going to be getting it on with Harper... wink wink.

So, the next two chapters will be coming this Saturday, and they will have a ton about his backstory and interactions with Raven! But I thought that I’d give you guys a little something to read while you’re waiting for those updates (if you haven’t read the book, here’s the link), and get you hyped up for it! So let’s get into these 10 FACTS about Finley’s character, and how I created him!

•••

1) He’s a badass... and he’s got a bad past: Finley, as you know, is a skilled assassin with a Scottish heritage. From a very young age, he had learned what it meant to be a part of the assassin brotherhood, and what sacrifices were required for him to truly join the group. He was required to change his ways, his motivations, his beliefs, and even his looks. But believe it or not, Finley did not join the assassin league just for the thrill of it.

2) What does the name Finley mean?  “Its meaning is of Scottish origin, from the Gaelic personal name Fionnlagh, composed of the elements fionn ‘white’, ‘fair’ (see Finn) + laoch ‘warrior’,” Basically, I gave the assassin a name that showed he was a warrior and that he had white hair 😂.

3) What was the inspiration behind Finley’s character? Honestly, I made him an assassin because... well... let’s face it, assassins in fiction are sexy haha. But I also made him an assassin because I felt that it would be interesting for him to go from a sweet and kind mama’s boy to a cold-hearted killer. I also looked to The Throne of Glass for inspiration, I love Celaena and Sam’s characters.

4) Why white hair? I’m not going to tell you the reason that’s in my novel for Finley’s white-hair color, but I will tell you my personal author reason. I just thought that it would be cool to have a male character with dyed/bleached white hair... I mean that’s super rare huh? And it makes his character 100% more unique.

5) What is Finley’s theme song? Ha! I like this question... I’d say that if I were to give Finley a theme song, I’d make it Long Way Down by Robert DeLong. I feel like the song demonstrates a relatable bad-boy feel, and I especially like how it talks about his lover trying to do “good”, but failing miserably. You’ll have to listen to the song to see what I mean.

6) What parts of yourself do you see in Finley? Hmm... definitely how he’s a flirt. The only difference between us in that aspect, is that he’s actually good and funny when he flirts, I’m neither 😂. But to be honest, we have wayy different personas. Finley is quiet and calculating, good at thinking before acting, and waiting for the right moment to take action. Me on the other hand, I’m reckless, like to act before thinking, and am very spontaneous... so in other words a I’m a lot like the MC.

7) Is Finley your favorite character to write? To be honest, at this point in the writing process he is my favorite. But I don’t think he’ll be my favorite later on in the book... we’ll see. I like writing about him because I like how different he is from myself. It’s really cool to see through the eyes of a character who does things different from me, and to see how they work out for him. I really admire Finley for some (not all) of his traits!

8) Why make him Scottish? My answer: Why the hell not? I feel like we get to see a lot of American, British, and Irish characters, but not really Scottish characters. Maybe that’s just me from what books I read, but I thought it would be cool to write about that heritage, especially since I’ve never written a character with a Scottish heritage... I also really like the Scottish Gaelic language, their words are beautiful!

9) How old is Finley in the novel? In A Twisted Deception, Finley is around 20 years old. I wanted to give him a two-year lead against Raven, who is eighteen. 

10) Any little hints or sneak-peeks you can give us with Finley? Well, I did give you a little excerpt of one of the upcoming chapters at the beginning of this post, so I’ll just leave you with saying that there’s more to Finley than what meets the eye... 

•••

Did you enjoy these facts? Are you even more pumped for the upcoming chapters? Looking forward to Finley’s character now? Be sure to comment what you thought and what surprised you! Want to see me write another 10 facts about one of the other characters in A Twisted Deception or even Rogue in Paris? Comment that as well, and don’t forget to leave a like! 😁😘

[sambart93]

2019.06.18 Touken Ranbu: Jiden Hibi no Ha yo Chiruramu [Review]

Hey guys!! I am sure this one was highly anticipated but I am seriously in a slumb when it comes to writing these things now so this is going to be super simple! I hope you don’t mind!

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

CAST and CHARACTERS

Aramaki Yoshihiko as Yamanbagiri Kunihiro Wada Masanari as Heshigiri Hasebe Kento as Tsurumaru Kuninaga Maeyama Takahisa as Uguisumaru Kato Sho as Ookanehira  Kawakami Shota as Daihannya Nagamitsu Tanimizu Riki as Nansen Ichimonji Isono Dai as Oodenta Mitsuyo Iiyama Yuuta as Sohayatsurumaru Kizu Tsubasa as Hakata Toushiro Oosaki Natsuki as Maeda Toushiro Shitara Ginga as Gokotai Yokoyama Masafumi as Yamabushi Kunihiro Takeshi Naoki as Doudanuki Kobayashi Ryo as Tarou Tachi Kosaka Ryoutaru as Jirou Tachi Umetsu Mizuki as Yamanbagiri Chougi Aoki Jin as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

Location Cast Change: Naya Takeru as Sayo Samonji (for Tokyo First Round) Kitagawa Naoya as Honebami Toushiro (for Osaka Round) Shiina Taizou as Fudou Yukimitsu (for Hyogo Round) Wada Takuma as Kasen Kanesada (Tokyo Gaisen Round)

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: I did enjoy myself. There is a lot of comedy in this one. It’s at least 50 - 60% comedy so everyone is laughing from start to finish. It’s about 80% scripted comedy and 20% improve comedy. It was very entertaining and very enjoyable. We all laughed the entire time. So if you just want to enjoy, laugh, have a good time, you are going to LOVE this stage! It’s just one long Hanamaru (the anime) episode to be honest. My favourite parts of the whole stage were definitely Manba and co’s dynamics and relationship. I really, really loved Sayo and Manba’s relationship and body language and small gestures towards each other throughout the play which really shows how close they’ve gotten. It’s really sad that Sayo is only there for the first Tokyo run because the little things he did for and towards Manba just melted my heart. Also, I really, really loved Manba and Doudanuki’s dynamic in this show too! I absolutely adored how Douda treated Manba this time around. However, personally, that’s not what I want from Touken Ranbu. I want pain, I want fighting, I want history, I want conflict. That does not happen in this stage. So this is not what I wanted. I started to get really bored and I got over the jokes after about 45 minutes into the show (the show is 145 minutes long). They repeat the same group/set of jokes about 10 times, so obviously I got bored of them. I feel like this plot could’ve been done in about 30 minutes. The fact they take the entire 145 minutes for this one simple plot line (it’s a really simple story), it really gets boring in some spots. The lack of fighting (which is less than 10 minutes long for the entirety of the play), the lack of history, the lack of conflict (even between the Touken Danshi!) really got to me and this just wasn’t what I wanted. Like I said, I did enjoy myself and I did laugh throughout and I did have a good time. But when Touken has set this ‘dark, despair, historical, fighting’ theme for so long, you can’t expect us to not expect that this time around, AND when we don’t get it, you can’t expect me not to be bored and disappointed. Which is what I am. Disappointed. Again. Rating: 5/10 (if you enjoy comedy and lighthearted stuff then this’d be about 8/10)

*

SPOILER REVIEW

Story: The story takes place after the events of the game (see details here). So we follow Chougi joining the gang at the Honmaru, but a lot of the gang are against Chougi and Manbachan (Yamanbagiri Kunihiro) meeting because Chougi is the ‘true’ Yamanbagiri sword. So they try to delay and play tricks so they can’t meet. And we follow those shenanigans.

*

I am going to break this down into three groups: ☆ The Good, × The Bad and △ the Neutral/General/Both-Good-and-Bad Comments! So get ready! I’ll do Good first!

☆ It’s difficult to describe, but I loved Sayo and Manba relationship in this one. There was a lot of body language and actions that showed just how much Sayo cared for Manba. There were many moments when he would sit next to Manba and look at him worried, checked if he was okay. When Chougi was trying to verbally attack Manba, Sayo was right by his side, ready to kick Chougi’s ass. Just the small things Sayo did for Manba throughout this play were just so pure and so adorable to watch. It’s such a shame that he’s only there for the Tokyo Shows because I would love see this development between these two’s relationship.

☆ Another relationship I loved in this one was Doudanuki and Manba. If you remember back in Mitsu/JyoDen, Doudan and Manba were always butting heads, but in this one, Doudan wouldn’t leave Manba’s side. He tried SO hard to protect Manba from Chougi, and he tried to hard to keep Chougi away from Manba throughout the entire play, which just shows how much he care for Manba! It was adorable!!

☆ Dounauki on his own is just so great in this stage series! I love Naoki’s performance of him every time!!

☆ At the end of the play, Manba finally got sent off to be Kiwame’d!! So in the next stage we’ll be getting Kiwame ManbaChan!! I cannot wait!

☆ Being able to see Aoki Jin’s acrobatics again was so good! He’s still got it!

☆ Riki as Nansei was adorable! He was really good at showing the catish characteristics he has! And his cat speech was adorable too!

☆ The Manba VS 6 Touken Danshi fight scene was very impressive on MakiChan’s part and it fit completely. Both MakiChan and ManbaChan could’ve wooped all their asses after all the years of training they’ve both technically done in sword fighting.

△ This is a mix of good and bad but, we cannot deny just how amazing MakiChan is at this point when to comes to sword fighting. His movements and his choreography is so good and such a high level by this point! But this is also a bad thing because... it makes it super obvious just how beginner everyone else (especially Chougi’s actor) is at sword fighting when he’s against them. I could painfully see the difference in their choreography levels, especially when MakiChan had fighting scenes against Chougi, and when he was fighting against 6 of the swords at the same time. Their movements and choreography just looks so mediocre and so clumsy and just don’t flow naturally at all next to him. 

△ There were mentions of Ookurikara, Yagen and Jiji throughout the play, so definitely hints they’ll come back in future plays(?). I am excited for Ookuri and Yagen but we all know how I feel about Jiji -_____-

△ Ginga as Gokotai was.... fine. He definitely got the voice and intimidated body language right but... boy’s pretty tall... would’ve been better to find a shorter person?

△ There were no ensemble this time at all.

△ There are no set changes at all. It all takes place at the Honmaru. The set is really big actually! I like how they used all parts of the set, even the upper levels!

△ The umbrellas this time have no names on them! It’s all projection mapped (their names) onto white umbrellas instead this time around.

△ Why are they performing an Autumn/Winter themed play in the middle of summer? The play constantly talks about how Autumn is coming to an end, so why did they perform this in Summer?! That’s hella stupid.

△ I really did enjoy a lot of the comedy parts and I did enjoy my time BUT this isn’t what I wanted from TouStage; this isn’t what I expect from TouStage.

△ What was the point of Maeda playing the narrator in this? And why was it split into chapters throughout the play?

× Because it’s just a comedy that is heavily scripted and nothing major really happens, I see no rewatchability value unfortunately. Once was enough.

× The Opening is very long. It’s a ten minute VIDEO of them fighting and finding Chougi. Why they made it a video instead of actually on stage, I don’t understand. Why it was such a long video? I also don’t understand.

× I strongly feel like they expanded and stretched what could’ve been a 45 minute story into 145 minutes. There was no need for this Chougi vs Manba conflict to go on for the entirety of the the stage. It got very repetitive, and it dragged quite a bit. 

× Also the second storyline about Gokotai? It felt very unnecessary and very much a throw away. It wasn’t needed for the point it was used for. It was used to reintroduce and set-up Jiji into the series and how they all miss him and want him back. But we really didn’t need Gokotai for it. In fact...

× ...50% of this cast is entirely unneeded and unnecessary! I have no idea why half of them were there! When they were all gathered on stage, I could easily look at them and pick out who could’ve been straight up removed. 

If you had to ask me who actually brought something to the story, I would say: Manba, Chougi, Sayo, Doudanuki, and Nansei. Kento was good for the comedy parts. So literally everyone else you could’ve cut out.

× It bothers me that once again, Suemitsu is just stealing from another idea. The Gokotai storyline is basically from Hanamaru, and of course the Chougi backstory is taken straight from the Game Event (which is not the point that bothers me). He seriously cannot make up his own ideas. He hasn’t written a good stage since TRUMP seriously (K Stage doesn’t count because it’s just a carbon copy of the anime). And WHY is he even back?! Hiden was supposed to be his last one! Everyone said! So WHY is he back? Give other writers a chance!

× It really infuriated me how they waited and expected the audience to applause at certain times. One or two times where it’s expected is FINE but the fact they pause and wait SO many times for the audience to clap was just cringey and ewwy. I understand that some jokes are positioned so the audience claps, but when it’s the amount that it is in this play? No thank you. Just makes the actors look cheap and egotistical.

× The soundtrack is completely forgettable this time around! I cannot remember one single tune that stuck to me. I’m a huge Soundtrack lover so the fact nothing caught my ears and nothing caught my attention nor stayed with me is just.... bad.

× This play seriously made me hate Chougi! I like Chougi in the game but in this? He’s just a pompous, ignorant prick. I walked out absolutely HATING him! How dare he treat Manba and the rest of them like that! Motherf-ker.

× Personally, I found no moving, no emotional, no sad moment in the play this time. That’s bad and boring writing in my opinion.

× I’ve said this many times already but, they repeat the same 4 or 5 jokes about 10 times within the first 75 minutes of the play. That is total overkill. It got old fast, I quickly got bored (the 45 minute point was when it was starting to grate on me).

× There is all of ONE fight scene the entire play, and (I timed it) it takes up less than 15 minutes of the entire play.  And it was glaringly obvious to see the skill level difference between MakiChan and everyone else (in all honesty).

× Another personal thing for me, but I find Kato Sho completely exhausting. He’s so damn loud and so over the top as Ookanehira. He just exhausts me. He’s great as himself but as Ookane? Just no thank you.

× Chougi and Manba don’t meet until the 75 minute part. Which is excessively late. You could’ve had them meet up about 30 minutes in. It really was stretched out too far.

× The theatre itself was freezing as FACK! Absolutely freezing in there!

*

And that’s all! In conclusion, it could’ve been much better and wasn’t what I wanted. But I feel like I say this EVERY TIME. Maybe I really should just stop. Why do I even say I like TouStage when it’s evident I’m disappointed like... every time! *sigh*

[kryptsune]

🌼Just a little update for you all! First of all happy 4th! Second, I just wanted to give you all kind of what I am planning on working on and the AU building that is happening behind the scenes. I got such a positive reception for all my takes on the other universes and I honestly could not be happier. Thank you all for your encouragement. It gave me the courage to compile my multiverse fic that is still underway. so here is my little to do list!  I would love to hear what you all think! 

THANKS FOR READING! 💙

Multiverse Related: 

1. I am compiling all my universes into one document and that is what I have been working on for supplementing my drawing. I need a break sometimes. 

2. The Lore builder. I have taken every single AU and I have written comprehensively about each of them and expanded on others. I will post that list. 

AU that are in the works as of current: 

1. OuterFell

2. MafiaFell

3. Danceverse 

4. UnderSwap ( I wrote down all the notes for this one)

5. REIM (My Ink and Error verse and their backstories)

6. Eden (My Dream and Nightmare story)

7. Anomaly Sa-14- S (My Geno/Error story)

AU that are all polished up:

1. WTU {My Underfell as you all know} (obviously)

2. Felldritch (Horrorfell)

3. WonderFell

4. YokaiFell {Red X Frisk} (I did a lot of lore building on this too so it’s not just all Frans for those that are interested in the world. The main story is just going to go that way.)

5. Welcome to Hell (this actually includes two fics. One is Tender Love and Care a Red X Frisk fic and the other is a Reader X. It is basically all the Hell lore I created for both of these with a mild variation.)

6. WiccaFell {Red X Frisk}

7. Fellswap

8. Horrortale {Frisk X Sans} (This is my boy Blade)

9. Outertale

WTU Related:

The fic is heading into its Finale chapter for Waterfall but don’t worry. It’s going to be continuing. I am sure some people are concerned especially after all the stuff above. WTU will continue. I actually have to postpone the Finale a week or two extra just due to work.  

Merchandise Related: 

So I am planning a few different merchandising projects because I was so surprised by the demand for them. That makes my day by the way. There is no better feeling than that. (these are not in a particular order) If there is something you are dying to see let me know. If the idea catches me I may just add it!

1. The WonderFell enamel pin set (this will be more graphic based not necessarily character based)

2. Chibi Charms of all the multiverse boys

3. Sugar Skellies enamel pin set (this will be the boys chibified and represented with their sweet of choice

4. The Dakimakura project (The first one is Cheshire)

5. Possible prints of the WTU Terrariums

6. Just prints, in general, be it WTU or just fanart. 

Commission {OPEN} Related: 

1. My commissions are still open. I have only 1 1/2 left to finish so I am super excited to post those. I post everything including my progress on the above on Trello so if you are interested in what I am up to just check there! I will provide that invite link for both of my boards. 

FRISKYS COMMISSION TRELLO 

WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD/PROJECT TRELLO

2. I am also planning on opening little icon commissions! These will be more affordable and it gives me an opportunity to jump back into my more graphic style. I was planning on announcing that today but I got caught up. It will be in a few weeks at the most. 

[nekoabi]

On the Verge of a Heartbreak - Prologue

I wanted to wait until I had this and the first chapter done, but I decided to just share it right now. This is only the prologue, just some backstory and explanation. I am super freaking excited to write this fic.

It will be Moxiety soon enough, I promise. It will feature angst at some point down the line, but I’ll be sure to point it out in the description beforehand.

Thank you to @frustratedwaffle​ for the title <3

Pairings: Eventual Romantic Moxiety - nothing in this chapter though. Words: 1043~ Warnings: Mention of anxiety issues, Roman being an asshole. If there’s anything else, please just let me know.

Summary: Two families used to be close, but a one-sided grudge was it took to separate them for a long time. Their youngest children grow up with no knowledge of the other family, but that all changes once they meet on their first day of school.

The Mortensons moved into the new neighbourhood with the intention of being closer to their son’s schools. While Logan was still only in preschool, they still felt it was important to have a close proximity for later years, allowing him to walk to and from on his own or with fellow classmates when he was old enough. Doing this early also allowed them to become familiar with other parents living close by.

They made good friends with the Ashworths, who just happened to live in the house opposite. Both of their sons were in the same school and so they met quickly..

For the first few months after moving, everything was peaceful. The two families frequently talked and shared time together. Simple chats at front doors or in kitchens or at the entrance to the preschool were more than enough to foster a good friendship.

Roman was usually the first one to come to his parents, so he’d met the Mortensons on multiple occasions and he was perfectly lovely with them. Both families were expecting second children at the same time, which just provided something else for them to bond over. Roman was ever so excited at the idea of being a big brother that he was constantly asking questions to both families about their soon-to-be-born children. Everything was going well.

Until one day.

Neither family know the details of what happened. But both of their sons came out of the preschool, bickering heavily. Well, Roman was practically yelling at Logan, while Logan responded with short comments and looks. Both boys made their way to their families. Both mothers went to find out the details, but Roman’s ungodly screech stopped them in their tracks.

“You’re his mom?!”

No one knew what to say. Logan’s mother flinched as Roman’s rage was sent her way. He didn’t say anything, instead he sent her a particularly venomous look, before grabbing a hold of his own mother and walking away.

From that day onwards, Roman was incredibly unreceptive to anyone in the Mortenson family. If he left the school and found either of his parents talking to them, he’d immediately find a way to stop the conversation. He sabotaged several more conversations in the street, sometimes even blatantly lying to the Mortensons if they came over to his home.

“My parents aren’t home.” He’d say.

Roman, just past reaching his 5th birthday, was already holding a grudge against their entire family.

Logan did his best to explain what he thought about the situation to his parents, but it didn’t seem like a situation that would cause such a hostile reaction.

From what had been explained, Logan had simply made a comment about Roman’s drawing he’d been doing, which had then spurred Roman on to critique something about Logan. It had turned into a circle of both just throwing comments back and forth, with Roman getting increasingly more aggravated while Logan remained calm. This then repeated the next day, with Roman making yet another sly comment. And then the next day with Logan pointing out something in one of the stories Roman was telling.

The days went by with both families attempting to keep up contact, while Roman’s vendetta against Logan was still simmering away. But the whole situation was quickly buried under the excitement of new arrivals to each family.

The Mortensons greeted their new baby a little over a month after the Ashworths. What would have been a time of shared joy had become two separate experiences. Both families mourned the fact they were no longer able to truly share time with each other, but still cherished their newest family members.

In the background of this all, Roman’s vendetta against Logan was still going strong. He frequently stoked his own fire, always trying to prove himself or his family better. After finding out that Logan also got a brother around the same time, Roman found himself getting even more mad. He began to brag frequently about how much better of a brother he was going to be compared to everyone, especially Logan.

Logan learnt quickly to not respond to Roman. Instead, he simply brushed off all the comments. It didn’t make Roman stop completely, but it did mean that Roman left him alone for the most part. Roman wasn’t getting the response he wanted, but he still hadn’t won. Logan could always hear the other boy talking about him behind his back, but he ignored them for the most part. He also ended up keeping them from his parents as the years progressed. Logan felt they didn’t need to hear every piece of information, especially with his brother taking up so much of their time.

The years passed, everything staying relatively the same. The families stayed cordial with each other, but never truly regained the friendship they’d had in the past. Both of their eldest continued to attend the same school as each other. Roman’s quest to get under Logan’s skin persisted, just growing more and more elaborate as the years passed and his friendship group evolved and grew. Logan focused on his school work, making his own friends and taking on more responsibility whenever he could. He always attempted to ignore Roman’s efforts and not respond in kind, but when something just happened to inconvenience the other boy, well, Logan couldn’t exactly say no. 

Meanwhile, Patton became the embodiment of purity and kindness. He would be trying to help his parents or brother around the house, even if that just meant keeping their dog busy and out of their way. He looked up to and attempted to copy his brother in several ways, he enjoyed spending time with everyone around him.

Virgil, on the other hand, was preferring to keep to himself. He loved his immediate family, his mother in particular. He followed her around in his early years, just wanting to be closer to her than anyone else. He bonded with Logan after a day of babysitting, finding his brother to be so interesting. They worked as a team when they needed to, but also understood each other when they needed to be away. It was early on that Virgil would display signs of intense anxiety, which the family learnt to help him cope with.

Both boys grew up with no awareness of each other, with little awareness of the family they were supposed to be close to. Small snippets of conversation would reach them at times, but due to their young age, it didn’t exactly seem to mean much. They both continued their lives separately. That was until they began school.

Chapters: P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

My other stuff: http://nekoabi.tumblr.com/myworks

General Tag List: @not-so-innocent-bi-sander @didsomeonesayprince @llamaly @justanotherpurplebutterfly @iaminmultiplefandoms @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @lowkeyvirgilobsessed @louisthewarlock @fangsandrainbows @xxladystarlightxx @sleepyssnail

[fenrirgodspeed]

ikemen revo questions!

by @emeraldtawny || original post

thanks for the tag @day-chan xoxo

1. Why do you like Ikemen Revolution?

it has some good ass world building, varied characters (i feel like there’s someone for everyone), and the art style is my jam. i think the event stories especially are well-written and engaging, and the app itself is easy to navigate and very pretty.

2. Top 3 suitors and why?

1. y’all know it’s fenrir. i love his look, his demeanor, and his backstory (it’s not sad but i do think it’s interesting and honestly i wish we got a lil more info about it!). i love that he’s so layered, that he’s this total goofball on the surface but behind that he’s one of the most passionate, fierce suitors in the game when it comes to the people he loves. i love that he’s strong and can protect alice but that he lets alice protect him too. i love that he treats her like an equal. i love that he tries desperately to hide his feelings and that everyone can see right through it. i love how he talks and his charisma and his chivalrous gestures. i even love his stupid ass guns and the bullets that make people hiccup for 3 years straight instead of killing them. no one will ever beat him

2. sirius was gonna go here but i’m on his route and he’s pissing me off so. kyle ash gets this spot because i want him to raw me

3. ray. his route didn’t wow me but boy hOWDY do i love his character. i love that he can be stoic and standoffish but that he is every bit as intense as fenrir when anyone in the black army is threatened. that scene in his route where he interrogated the red army soldier has always stood out to me. his duality is so good

3. Suitor you relate the most to?

does it have to be a suitor? i relate to chutney the most rip

4. Favourite route?

fenrir’s! it really does focus more on the romance than worldbuilding/plot which i am okay with because it is done so. well. the pacing is perfect, and it really resonates with me as someone who loves slowburns but not the no-action-until-the-end kind. i love the relationship that alice builds with him and the pining/angst is to die for. it just pretty much hits everything i love about love stories in general.

5. Favourite moment/chapter in a route?

this definitely isn’t going to be the most profound answer to this question but i really really adore the scene in fenrir’s route where alice and fenrir are out in the field at night. they both know how the other person feels, and their faces are so close, and though they can’t bring themselves to close the distance, they can’t pull away, either. the writing is phenomenal in this scene and you really can feel the pining and how magnetized alice and fenrir are. it makes my heart clench up every time.

6. Favourite suitor pet?

chutney!!!!!! love that mischievous bratty lil raccoon

7. Least favourite suitor and why?

hmmm probably. luka??? not because i hate his character, i’m just not romantically or sexually attracted to him like at all. i think he’s cute in other routes but i’m kinda eh about doing his route when it comes out. idk maybe he’ll surprise me

8. Most disappointing suitor/route?

ugh so far i hate to say it but ray’s. it just fell very flat for me; there was no development it just went from ray makes me mad and i want to go home to i love him and i’m going to risk my life for him and stay with him forever. they spent like 3/4 of the route avoiding each other and talking to others about things they should have been discussing themselves. it upsets me bc i really do adore him i just wish his route was different

9. Favourite event so far?

the snowflake fantasy event!!!! let me shake every writers’ hand who worked on those cute as fuck stories/spicy ass epilogues. this was the first event that really blew me out of the water, and i hope future events are up to par!!

10. How do you like decorating your avatar?

unfortunately i don’t care that much about my ikerev avatar. i like the aesthetic of midcin more and so any and all avatar cash i’m willing to spend goes there.

11. Accessories you can’t live without for your avatar (eg. chibis, backgrounds)

i’m just gonna answer this for midcin since ikerev isn’t my priority in that department. i really adore backgrounds!!!! ugh and little suitor-related accessories like cheek hearts and pet chibis. also i’m a sucker for hair. i see pretty hair and i WANT it

12. Route you’re anticipating the most?

KYLE’S!!!!! BINCH i’m so fucking excited for his route let me fuck the doctor

13. If you were a suitor, what otome trope would you embody the most?

ugh probably the cynical/tsun type which is weird because i’m not a fan of them myself. i wouldn’t want to date me lol

14. What would your pet be if you were a suitor?

a white-tailed deer! they’re my favorite animal.

15. How dedicated are you in competing in every event/getting every birthday story?

i’m not at all. i stick to my favs.

16. Do you spend money on Ikemen Revolution or play free?

rn i’m playing for free. i’ll spend money on gacha and stuff but yeah the past two routes haven’t made me want to spend money on premium stories or extra chapter tickets. kyle can literally steal my wallet tho idc

17. How much has this game consumed your life on a scale of 1 to 10?

hmmmm. probably an 8. i’ve made a lot of friends through ikerev and have dedicated a lot of my writing to it, and both of those things have changed my life a lot!!!! midcin and a couple of animes i’m super into rn have also aided in that, so that’s why it’s not a full 10.

[not-poignant]

21 and 26 (for Fae Tales). Thanks:)

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Nele, who isn’t super active in writing anymore because they’re super busy irl (as it often goes).

But I found their writing for an extreme rarepair in Avatar: the Last Airbender. Jee/Zuko. Who’s Jee, you ask? This dude. The People in the Mirror series is one of my favourites of all time, and I go back to it frequently. The level and depth of worldbuilding re: the firebenders in particular, from the philosophy and martial arts attitudes towards the firebending itself, to more - er - unconventional uses of firebending, to cultural touchstones that Zuko misses from his homeland, or participates in on different ships.

The characterisation is so on point, especially as you see Zuko maturing as the story goes along, but he’s sometimes one or two steps behind the maturity the events of the plot need from him (which is true to the show as well). Jee steps in as a guide (and eventually a lover), but there are a lot of things working against Zuko, from his own crew, to Zhao (there’s awesome backstory there which is twisted and delicious and dark and explains Zhao’s obsession with Zuko) etc. The hurt/comfort is amazing, but I always sink back into this for like, very on point characterisation, solid plotting, and worldbuilding that just makes me wriggle in excitement because it’s so rich and thought out.

Nele’s other work is brilliant too, and you’ll see they’ve written some Dragon Age. But for me, the People in the Mirror series will always be it. I don’t even think you need to care about the pairing to read this, this is one of those stories that you could almost change the names of the characters and the worldbuilding is so solid it stands on its own, and that’s some of my favourite writing to read.

Nele was one of the first authors - who I discovered before making my own AO3 account - who helped me realise that ‘long and rambling’ is not a bad thing for a fic, and is sometimes this incredible asset that the trad publishing world doesn’t allow for. Definitely influenced my writing, in a positive way.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write? (Fae Tales)

For Fae Tales, it was easily starting The Ice Plague. I believe I said there would be something like a 6 month hiatus between the end of The Court of Five Thrones and The Ice Plague, but it ended up being almost two years, I think, and like, that is a solid chunk of me not being able to write something or get started on something.

Like it was tempting to say ‘ensemble chapters’ or ‘action chapters’ but no, it was The Ice Plague. I had a major case of nerves over introducing two new characters to people who loved Augus and Gwyn, and even I had problems falling in love with them, so it was like ‘how can I expect anyone else to be on board with this story?’ There was also the fact that it was just so radically different to anything I had done before in the sense that it’s just very much more like a quest story, it’s faster paced, I can’t have as many ‘they sit and talk in a room’ chapters, and there were a lot of different elements to be dealing with that terrified the shit out of me.

I mean obviously I eventually got over it and did start writing it. But that level of writer’s block for me was a whole new thing. I just had no idea how to deal with it, and I’m a little bit scared I’ll encounter it again when I have to start plotting book 2 of The Ice Plague, so I suppose soon enough I’ll find out! Lol. At any rate, it won’t take nearly two years, but that is why I’ve said there will be a month’s break between book 1 and book 2.

*

From this writerly meme

[thevictoryofthepeople]

HELLO! TODAY MARKS MY SIX-YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON THIS BLOG ( 6/1/2018 ) AND TO CELEBRATE HERE IS A FOLLOW FOREVER ( I haven't done this in a while so excuse the lame graphic ). I honestly cannot believe that I've had this blog for so long. I've had a lot of downs here but I've also had my fair share of ups. After my year hiatus, I had honestly thought I would be shutting this blog down for good because a lot of things were going wrong but I'm so glad I didn't because I got to meet more amazing people along with the partners who've managed to stick by my side for so long. Besides having a follow forever, I wanted to do something special but I'm honestly clueless so I was hoping you all could help me out. I was thinking a Q & A video for the muses and mun, a voice recording of what my muses would sound like in a drabble, a promo/shoutout, a gifset/graphic/photo edit of your muses and mine, and/or drabbles for your muses and mine. You guys can choose which one you want me to do but I will be closing requests by June 8. Anyways, below the cut are people I just want to thank and people who I wish to interact with. I may have forgotten some people so I do apologize. I'm very scatterbrained at times. Okay love you all. Stay wonderful. ~ local smol bean, MC <3

OLDIES BUT GOODIES ( MY WONDERFUL LOVES WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR SO LONG )

@qceensofkings - Such a kind person with great muses.We don’t talk much out of character but it doesn’t stop me from loving Nicholas and Isabelle together. They make my heart happy especially during their little cute moments ( like fighting over if pancakes or waffles are better ). You are a wonderful human being and I love seeing you on my dash always. I can’t wait to keep writing more with you

my starlight bestie { @eternallydreamingstar } - BEST FRIEND HI. OKAY SO FIRST OFF I LOVE YOU OKAY YOU’RE SUCH A GREAT FRIEND! MORE THAN I CAN EVER ASK FOR. You were literally the first person after my hiatus who reached out to me again and started to write with me. You gave me the push and motivation to keep on going despite me wanting to give up. I love our plots, I love our characters, and I love the world we’ve created. We’ve been together for so long and I honestly cannot stress how much you mean to me. I love you so much. You’ve have always been there for me and I will continue to always be there for you too. I LOVE YOU STARLIGHT

the longest love { @drew-a-tanaka } - Okay....listen....I think by this point this is going to be repetitive because you’re literally my longest partner ( it’s been like five years ) so you’ve been with me for such a long time and you’ve heard me tell you I love you all the time. I love you okay. I care so much about you more than you could ever know. Thank you for truly caring for me and for helping me. Thank you for writing with me. Thank you for pulling me out of the darkness countless of times. Thank you for cheering me on. Thank you. I love you and I’m always here for you. I will always be here for you. 

the wonderful inspiration { @ribbedxgloves } - Um listen, even after all these years I’m still intimidated by you. Like you’re so amazing and all your characters are great and don’t even get me started on your writing. I will never cease to thank you for giving me a chance because without you I don’t think I would have actually grown and improved as a roleplayer. Thank you for being such a wonderful human being. I miss talking to you a lot. But thank you for being a beautiful soul.

SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE ( MY DARLING CUTIES WHO ALWAYS MANAGE TO MAKE MY DAY BRIGHTER )

@hadesrebelofadaughter - You honestly are one of the kindest people ever. I don’t think you understand just how much you’ve made my days when you sent me all those encouraging messages and were genuinely interested in my characters. I apologize for my slowness because we don’t get to interact a lot but I do read your threads and you’re such a wonderful writer. You are a bright person so please keep on shining. 

@district-one-beauty - Hello, my love. First off, I want to apologize for being the slowest person ever when it comes to replying. Second off, thank you for always messaging me and trying to talk to me. You’re such a kind person. I know things get rough but I’m always here if you need anything. Thank you for blessing my dash and threads with your presence. And thank you for simply being my amazing rp partner. I will do my best to be more responsive, I promise. 

@humansxfox - Okay first off, I actually never thought you would actually want to roleplay with me because I am a mere potato who knows nothing and yet you sent me asks and now here we are. Katherine makes me super happy because I love how she just interacts with Nicholas. It gives me a chance to be more creative with him without having to change his backstory or who he is ( this means a lot to me honestly ). You’re honestly such a blessing on my dash and just your presence makes me happy. I wish we could talk more out of character but I’m really shy and weird so I do apologize.

pink candied sky { @leenxna​ } - MY LOVE MY WONDERFUL HONEY MY DARLING! DUDE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OKAY. LIKE I TRULY LOVE YOU. YOU’RE SO FUCKING AMAZING I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO ME. Thank you for putting up with me and thank you for talking to me and just being an overall great person. I love being a dork with you and just talking about everything. You make me so happy. I love that we’ve pretty much established a whole story and it’s pretty great. Thanks for introducing me to great people and thanks for loving my spams. I can honestly write a whole chapter about how amazing you are but I’ll stop for now haha. Okay LOVE YOU. 

@hxpxfm - YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON. Like the first time you hopped into my IM, not going to lie, I was really startled because no one has ever truly done that before but DUDE I’M REALLY GLAD YOU DID. You’re so sweet and caring and I just love having conversations with you. I know we haven’t roleplayed yet [ I’M SORRY I’M SO SLOW ] but I’m already excited for our characters to interact. THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A BALL OF SUNSHINE. 

@killyouhimself - Your presence on my dash makes me so happy. And even though our threads have not progressed yet ( I’M SORRY I’M SO SLOW. Please forgive me. ) I honestly already love them. I love your character so much which is why I’m always reading your threads. You’re an amazing writer and your creativity is truly astounding. I love the interaction between Charon and Sungmin. Thank you for being on my dash and for being such a blessing. 

the argentate heart { @atrociity​ } - OMG SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU. You make me so soft, okay? Like you’re so cute and adorable and so nice and caring and it’s just like how was I blessed ??? I love Eris so much and the way she interacts with Mak ( also thank you for interacting with him ). Thank you for checking up on me. Honestly if anyone ever fights you, tell me. I will fight them for you. I will literally lay down my morality for you because you are a person who deserves all the love and protection. I love you so much! 

the sweetest honey { @busanbunnie​ } - ANOTHER PEACH. ANOTHER SWEETHEART WHO HAS MANAGED TO MAKE MY DAYS BETTER. YOU ARE SO ADORABLE AND CUTE AND I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU - FROM YOUR BLOG AND TO YOUR PERSONALITY. I love our interactions so so much and I just love talking to you. Thank you for being such a bright light. 

@painterlyjongin - HIIIII. Okay listen, I’m actually very intimidated by you and I’m really grateful that you’re writing with me. I love plotting and talking with you always. Your characters are beautiful and you’re a wonderful human being. Every time you appear on my dash, I get very happy. Thank you for giving me the honor of interacting with you.

@beavtiful-liar​​ - I’m always blessed to see you on my dash. I’m always happy when you’re online. I know we don’t interact as much but I’m still grateful that your presence is here. I’m always happy when I read your threads. You’re such a kind person and you deserve so much love and happiness. I don’t know how you managed to keep so many muses and how you manage to be super creative but it’s honestly awe-inspiring. Thank you for being a blessing. 

@nobxdyshome​​ - You are such a beautiful soul and I’m really sorry that I’m very slow with replying but with the interactions we’ve had so far, it’s honestly great. I loved plotting with you and talking with you. I always read your threads and you’re so creative and such a great writer. I will always be in awe of you.

@jinxednature - Hiiiii. First off, you are so so so so so so nice. A very, very sweet soul that I have the honor of talking and interacting with you. You are so beautiful and kind and I love your blog and your characters and your creativity. You give my dash a little more sweetness and I will forever be grateful for that. 

the bby love { @aroixs } - Will words be enough to convey how much you mean to me? Will it ever truly encompass all my emotions and thoughts? You, my dear, are such a true blessing in my life. You genuinely are such a caring and wonderful person and every time I see a notification from you I honestly get incredibly happy. You care so much and you’re always so kind and thoughtful. Even when you have your own problems to deal with, you manage to have time for me and that is an honor. I love you so much bby. I’m always grateful for you.

my baby doll wife { @moonsiim​ } - There are too many things to say about you. I can write a whole novel trying to detail out all of the thoughts I have about you but I won’t go overboard. One day I will but not today. I always tell you this: I love you. Every time we talk I always have a smile on my face. Every time you send me something or talk about something you’re passionate or interested about my heart swells with joy because I’m honored that you can share it with me. Your writing leaves me breathless. Your characters leave me gasping for oxygen. You, just you, leaves me in awe. I love you so much and I don’t know how to convey that truly because let’s face it I’m pretty awkward and weird and yet you’ve given me a chance to be part of your life. I will always be grateful for everything you’ve done. I will always be here for anything you need. I will always try to be your ball of sunshine. I truly love you so so much. 

ADMIRATION FROM AFAR ( AMAZING BLOGS I WISH I GOT TO INTERACT WITH MORE OR HAVE A CHANCE TO INTERACT WITH BUT I'M TOO SHY AND AWKWARD AND SLOW ...and just a little busy which sucks but one day )

@meirise || @dcpression || @xtaem || @prvttyliars || @elvctrickiss || @sierrcr || @monkeydjong || @boyccld || @divinexlovers || @kingpvns || @nxcturnes ( quick note - I’m honestly in admiration of your writing and you very much intimidate me but I enjoy reading all your threads ) || @lostavra || @strawbxrryblxssxms ( quick note - YOU’RE HONESTLY SUCH A SWEETHEART AND I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T REPLIED YET ) || @seaxofxstrangers || @malvdo || @deitius || @whyhasthemadnessoccured || @130mo2d || @witch-saebyeok ( quick note - I’m sorry for being slow and ALSO I LOVE WINTER’S AND SAEBYEOK’S FRIENDSHIP ALREADY ) || @fatedtobehunted || @survivics ( quick note - I always try to send you an ask or a request to plot and then I get really scared so I don’t but I really wish I could interact with you ) || @ilatiisms ( quick note - I love your character so much and you’re such an amazing writer and I’m very intimidated but one day I will muster up the courage to ask to interact ) || @nocturncx ( quick note - I miss you and I love our interactions and I’m so sorry that I’m really slow with replying. You’re beautiful ) || @telekineticdivinity || @tenxthreex || @orientalskies || @alnowicki || @curious-x || @fclklre || @rousepalette 

[drowningauthor]

Thank you @forlornraven​ for tagging :)

1. Which writing advice do you dislike the most?

I don’t dislike any writing advice, I absorb as much as I can! HOWEVER, I absolutely cannot stand any advice that states “This is the only way to write, if you don’t do this you’re shit and will never get anywhere.”

2. How do you create your characters?

That varies a lot. like Elsie, I had a name and her backstory come to me and then I built from there. Blaze came to me basically a fully formed character, complete with personality and mannerisms but he had absolutely no backstory so that’s where I’ve had to fill him in (This is my preferred method, but it rarely happens). Ismazud being his mate was built almost in tandem with him, because she’s his perfect match. Vivas... Vivas was more difficult. He did not come to me at all, I literally had to make him from scratch. But now little quirks of his just appear to me throughout the day which is lovely, he’s kind of building himself now that he’s more solid hahaha

3. How long does it take you from getting the idea to actually writing it down?

Again, that varies a lot. I came up with Elsie while we were living in a hotel, so I didn’t have a way of writing it, but even when I did it took me almost a year of pondering and notes etc to actually start considering that what I had could actually be a solid foundation for a book rather than a half assed idea. But I would write little scenes in that time if I was really excited about them, like for example I wrote Blaze’s entrance scene before more than a vague idea of Vivas even existed.

4. What’s the most you’ve written for a story (aka word count)?

My word count for Elsie is currently 6k, and it’s the furthest I’ve ever gotten tbh. I’m terrible at sticking with things, I have about 7 different books with like 2 chapters written before I’ve given up because I didn’t think it out properly.

5. Do you have a headcannon which you haven’t told yet for your current story? Which one?

Umm... honestly I haven’t shared a whole lot of my story yet so like all of them? Lmao, I couldn’t pick just one. But I’m putting a little headcannon I just wrote for Vivas up in a second in a Last Line Tag :)

6. With which of your MC’s would you get along the best?

BLAZE. 100%. Didn’t even have to think about that one!

7. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Literally everywhere. Books, dreams, documentaries, nature, photography, I take inspiration wherever I can get it because it strikes so infrequently for me.

8. Do your wips (If you have more than one) fit together? Or if you only have one: Do you plan on having fitting stories?

I only have one, but if I ever actually finish Elsie I have a few ideas for different stories in the same world. One about 60 years previous to Elsie, one in a Medieval time setting, and one for a like WWII kinda setting. But I haven’t decided on those yet.

9. Which of your characters do you like the most?

Blaze is my favourite to write just bc he’s so... him. He literally leaps off the page, writing his own lines, larger than life. But I also love Vivas and his depth.

10. Would you like to get published?

Getting published is my dream. Especially if people loved the book enough that I could tour and sign things and answer questions and just in general make people happy.

11. Do you prefer to schedule your writing time, or go only whenever the creativity strikes?

Oh man. I PREFER trying to schedule (Preferably when it’s only me, or me and my uncle home) BUT I’m absolutely useless at that. And things that I absolutely need to write right this second come to me very sporadically, hence why Elsie only has 6k words. I’m a mess lol

12. Home, coffee shop, or library for writing?

Ready to be shocked? The most I’ve ever written in one time was in the airport in a Maccas dining room. I get too easily distracted at home, coffee shops are too small and people are there for hours and I feel like I’m getting judged. I haven’t tried a library but if I could find a secluded place that would probably be your best bet. But in a super busy place where people are coming and going and no one even cares that you’re there or notices you is my ideal place tbh.

13. Would you ever collaborate with another writer on a story?

Yes yes yes, absolutely. I actually collabed with a guy to plan out most of Elsie (And he’s still a lifesaver when I have meltdowns over things like missing a MILLENNIUM of time difference between the two concepts that originally kicked off Elsie. Yes I’m aware I’m useless.) and he reads everything I write to help me see if everything is in character and I haven’t missed things, etc. It was actually super fun, planning it out with someone and having both of us getting psyched for a thing!

I don’t really have anyone to tag that hasn’t already been tagged but I’d love to hear if any of you decide to do this :)

[kimmysfandomblog]

Ohh, 6, 9, 11, 19 and 25. For all the games, but if it's too hard to pick, you can have one by game :p

Thank you, Serahne!!! ^ v ^

From here: https://kimmysfandomblog.tumblr.com/post/170470327942/lafumiko-hi-people-i-was-searching-for-a-good

Spoilers for V3, so these are under the cut!

6. Favorite plot twist?

DR1: Gosh, it’s a tie between Sayaka being the one killed and even planning to kill to escape the game and Naegi escaping execution!!! Bot of them realy threw me for a loop! I will say that discovering Sayaka was murdered left the greater impact, though, and was the reason I stuck to Danganronpa early on. It blew my mind at the time!

DR2: Hajime being Izuru/the “mastermind” was the most shocking thing to me! I really wasn’t expecting that??? I really came to love Hajime a lot by this point, and was feeling incredibly sorry for him already. When we were exploring the school for the last trial’s investigation and the Hope Cultivation Plan came up, I kinda figured it out. I don’t think I connected the dots completely though, ahaha. Also, just the fact that all of them were evil and responsible for spreading Despair worldwide was such a great plot twist, in my opinion!

DRAE: There weren’t many plot twists in this game, but I guess the most shocking was that Monaca was not an invalid. Like, she was pretty obviously the one running the show, and she was obsessed with Junko, but her faking being handicapped to control both her family and friends for sympathy and to get what she wanted was a genius plan on her part!

V3: I honestly didn’t like them all that much, especially Kaede not being the protag. The ending one where Tsumugi reveals everything is a lie (literally) wasn’t bad or good in my opinion. Like, I wasn’t necessarily disappointed by the ending like I thought I would be (that one was spoiled even before the game released in Japan because I couldn’t blacklist on PC and thought going through Hajime’s tag would be okay :( Damn you, dataminers!!!), I kinda just accepted that this was it. Also the trio being alive was not an exciting plot twist in the least (I love you Himiko and Maki, but your survival kinda makes me go ehhh with how the game ended). I guess that only leaves Kaito being ill and dying before his execution killed him as my favorite! I really liked how that last execution (not counting Danganronpa’s execution) was the reverse of the very first execution we see (Jin Kirigiri’s), and I already loved Kaito. It was nice that Kaito’s final goodbye was a middle finger to Danganronpa’s theme of killing the blackened with an over-the-top execution!

9. Favorite Ultimate Talent?

These are all very tough decisions…

DR1: Ultimate Biker Gang Leader! I honestly would never expect such a talent to exist, and I gotta wonder how HPA was able to gather data for that talent, hahaha. It helps that I found Mondo endearing even if he swears a bit and reacts with violence. He hast a golden heart full of regrets, and I liked his backstory! Also the talent itself is just… really cool.

DR2: Ok, so this is kinda weird, but Ultimate Lucky Student. Makoto was a totally different kind of Ultimate Lucky Student than Komaeda’s, where all-in-all he is an average guy and his luck only affects him sometimes. While that is an interesting talent, it’s not as interesting as Komaeda’s. Komaeda is probably the truest definition of Ultimate Luckster! His luck is tragic. It takes away any personal relationships and turns it into materialistic fortune. It is so powerful it warped Komaeda and his view of the world drastically. Gosh, it is very interesting and gets me wondering what could possibly happen around Komaeda because of his luck in different situations and with different people. Truly, a fascinating talent that I wouldn’t bestow on anyone!

DRAE: There were only a few people with an Ultimate Talent here, haha. I liked that Kotoko was the Ultimate Li’l Drama who actually will not perform for anyone (understandably) and the Fighter of the Group! If that counts, haha. Otherwise we only have Byakuya, Fukawa/Syo, Makoto, and Komaeda (and technically Izuru but he is on the screen for, like, 5 seconds and has every talent, so that would be boring anyways). If I had to choose between the four talents without Komaeda repeated, I think the most interesting would be Syo’s Ultimate Murderous Fiend! It’s really interesting to me that she’s a split personality of Toko. I kinda have to wonder how Toko can get exhausted easily, but Syo can slash and dash, even hurling herself several feet in the air, without breaking a sweat!

V3: It is a tie between Ultimate Anthropolgist and Ultimate Mage Magician! Unlike with the previous installments of the series, I was able to just see the talents before knowing the characters, though, so Ultimate Magician was the one that really caught my eye since I’m obsessed with Fantasy AUs, especially of the RPG kind with that class system! I’ve also always been really fasinated by Magic and magicians in general, haha. After playing the game, though, Kiyo really sold me on the Ultimate Anthropologist talent! I was a Cognitive Science major in the school within the university that focuses on the humanities, so not only am I very interested in human cognitive thinking as individuals and as a group, but I took a lot of history and some anthropology courses. I really nerded out with Kiyo and Shuichi during those FTEs! History/Folklore is truly fascinating! 

11. A character you’d revive?

Alright, this is a tough one for some of these because most of the ones I liked who died died “well,” as in their story was finished and satisfying. I’d surely love to see them alive again, true, but if we are going by canon and I could only bring back one, then it almost feels cheap. Kinda like “DR3 cheap.” That makes most of these characters not my favorites, but ones i felt deserve a second chance/should have survived.

DR1: Ishimaru. He isn’t my favorite character (I’m honestly gonna place him in the “he’s ok!” range), but he clearly didn’t have any satisfying development. You can’t get FTEs from his Kiyondo form, and he dies having done very little as Kiyondo other then some inconvenience regarding Alter Ego! It would probably be super interesting to see what he would do in later chapters, and if he ever snaps out of it in the chapters after.

DR2 (assuming the DR3 anime never happened): Saionji died for nothing, let’s be real here, lol. She was just barely going to reform herself and become a better person, and then she dies, offscreen, on accident. A friend also helped me realize that we never come across her murder weapon. I think that what would have been the best solution was not having a double murder. Plus, it would make it interesting to see whether she is able to forgive Kuzuryuu at all or not, how that affects the groups trust in each other in later parts of the game (since it is really hard to get close to her since she doesn’t trust people easily), and especially her reaction to being Ultimate Despair, as well as her growth spurt.

DRAE: Chihiro’s dad Taichi. He and Yuta died for shock, but how sad would it be if he was alive and found out his son was killed? And that his son’s legacy, Alter Ego, survived? Man, what a tragedy! It would have been nice to see him tag along with Toko and Komaru to the adult’s base and maybe try to hack into devices, or slowly give upgrades to Komaru making her life a little easier. He could also join Togami and leave Towa City.  He’d be an incredible asset to Future Foundation, but he would either refuse out of grief, or he’d take time to warm up to the idea, before accepting and becoming the head of any project regarding the Neo World Program/Alter Ego Chihiro, working closely with Miaya, and keeping close to those who had been Chihiro’s friends.

V3: hmmmm, this one I don’t know for sure. It’s between Hoshi, Miu, Kiibo, and… this may surprise you, but Angie as well.

*** Angie Negativity, you can skip it ***

I hate Angie, but she honestly needs the story development. She got the most abrupt ending, another offscreen death, and no resolution. Honestly speaking, if she had a better story and some form of redemption/questioning of her actions, I would like her a lot more. She just never learned that what she did was wrong, and unlike in her FTEs, telling her “no” made her stick more to her own opinion. Like, initially I didn’t like Celeste in CH3, but I actually grew to like her because she had that backstory that made her want to be more than she was, and she anyways accepted her death in the end without being spiteful and ruining the secret of Alter Ego, even giving the others a hint of where she kept him. She was leagues a better character than Angie. Angie, I was starting to kinda accept her after finishing her FTEs when I was still in CH2 (even if I hate the racial stereotypes, what with orgies, sacrifices, etc). She really made me mad when she refused to listen to anyone else and manipulated others to agree with her (I have an extremely soft spot for Himiko and Gonta, so my bias didn’t help her at all). I’ll give her that she’s really sly and a lot smarter than she tries to let on, but  her cutesy personality combined with manipulation to convert to a religion, suggested by light brainwashing using her paintings (and the fact the others were converted overnight), all so that she can get whatever she wants, and then not seeing any kind of downfall: no backlash or consequences because of what she did? It makes me mad. I’m sorry. I hate her and yet, she is one of the people I’d revive, hahaha. Geez, I honestly tried to like her despite my initial feelings I would dislike her, lol.

*** End of Angie Negativity ***

Kiibo dying while the other three survived is something that rubs me the wrong way since he almost never got respect until he was destroying the school, even when he was one of the few character that were actually helpful during the trials. Honestly, if the others survived, which, given the ending, was kinda pointless, then him surviving as well wouldn’t detract from the impact. Seriously, if anyone deserved to survive, it would be him or Maki.

As for Miu, her death felt like a cop out, for some reason. I can’t explain it exactly… I know that her being killed was because they needed her to go after Kokichi, so that they could get him to trick Gonta to kill her, but it feels wrong somehow? Like there was unfinished business? She had the electrohammers, electrobombs, a remote control, and a bug catcher, her more amazing inventions, made after her death. All her upgrades to Kiibo were very useful, but not as amazing. A drone and the camera set up are really simple, too. Her working with Kokichi on these amazing inventions feels like a plothole instead of plausible. It would be really nice to see her survive since, despite being vulgar, she’s really entertaining! And I wonder how she’d react to being told she wasn’t real, nor was she actually a genius inventor.

And I can’t forget Hoshi! He died horribly for no reason. Kirumi could have bashed him in the head with a tennis racket, or against the wall or something, after she knocked him out. There was no need to pin the blame on anyone. The second trial p*ssed me off so much because it was unnecessarily convoluted and cruel for no reason and anyways made no sense. My heart truly goes out for Hoshi. He had a horrible life! He was imprisoned for killing the Mafiai, was a true hero, and I wish he could have learned that he could find something to live for.

So yeah, V3 was the hardest for me this question, hahaha. I honestly can’t choose between these four. BIG SIGH

If this was bot the answer you were hoping for and you just wanted to get a list of my faves who dued, it would go like this: Sakura, Komaeda, Taichi, and Kaito! Priority goes to Sakura since Ko lives post-canon, hahaha

19. Favorite Free Time Events

DR1: Alright, honestly I need to actually play this game myself. I’ve only seen LPs of the game, and the anime does not have FTEs. The only FTEs I recall are Sayaka’s, Chihiro’s, Ishimaru’s, Kyoko’s, Sakura’s, and Asahina’s. I don’t think I can really say which is my favorite, but I really like Sakura’s and Kyoko’s. I just… can’t remember most of their backstories ^^

DR2: DR2 had too many good FTEs. Komaeda’s are probably the ones I liked the most, though? I didn’t care much for Komaeda initially. He was an interesting character, and I didn’t hate him (I was very neutral). I felt like there was more to him, so when I played the game myself after abandoning the LP I was watching, I went after him first and it changed my mind completely! I like it when a character’s background is explained and matches consequences and actions the character makes during the main story, and DR2 did this really well for my taste. Komaeda’s helped explain everything and made him a sympathetic character and helped me to understand him. Of course, it also sparked the Koma/Hina shipping, hahaha. If I had to come up with a runner up, it would be Souda’s for a similar reason! His also ties really well to the main story, especially with not being able to finish his FTEs until like after CH4, after he is done doubting Hajime.

V3: I’m stuck between Kiyo and Maki’s. Kiyo’s had more of an impact on me, though, because it flipped my initial suspicion I would hate him. Him being fascinated with anthropology and teaching Shuichi about it made me seriously love him as a character even though I was sure at the time I would hate him since I was spoiled about the incest plot twist. Maki’s was really well explained and tied nicely to the game’s story. She is kinda like Komaeda, in a way, hahaha. She had a tragic backstory because of her talent, been through hell, lost someone very precious to her, and her talent makes her actively try to avoid people and trust them. And, like I said before, I like FTEs that help explain why a character reacts the way they do (although in her case, a small part of her FTEs do land up in the main story, so I say they were slightly less effective, but tied better to the story)

DRAE doesn’t have FTEs, but there are explained backstories of the kids, and I loved Nagisa. His was the most relatable, with all of that pressure to succeed, never feeling good enough.

25. Saddest Death

DR1: 100% Sakura’s!!! She’s a real gem of a character, and I wish Danganronpa had more female characters that were like her! Anyways, she was so interesting, and not just for how she looks or her talent, but that she was the traitor torn by family duty and her loyalty to her friends. She thought that the best way to end this killing game was by sacrificing herself so that the group would not be split. She was so selfless and loved so much, yet she was treated horribly in her last hours because Monokuma made sure to make her as disliked as possible. And then he spits on her death further by stealing her last letter and will so he could use Hina to make the trial more interesting. My heart goes out to her more than anyone in DR1.

DR2: My gut instinct was to say “Komaeda” or “Nanami”, but truth be told, CH2 wrecked me! Peko’s execution really got to me because, firstly, I never suspected her, and secondly, her backstory with Fuyuhiko and the fact she killed and died to save him made the execution 10 times worse to endure! I hadn’t seen her FTE’s all the way through the first time, but I saw most of them and while she hadn’t been a favorite, she had a cute personality! I really did like her!. What made her death worse was Fuyuhiko’s reaction and him trying to intervene. I’m getting shills remembering it ^^;

DRAE: Most probably Taichi! Though it is hard to choose between him and Yuta, Taichi’s was the one that was most tragic, because up to his dying breath he was so excited to be able to have the chance to meet his son again. I mean, even if he did survive, his son would still be dead, but somehow it just felt worse than Yuta’s since we seemed to get to know Taichi better (he worked at Towa for the company, we talked to him more and his love for his son).

V3: Another hard one, and it is between Kaede, Hoshi, and Gonta… I feel like none of these three should have died, or at least for Gonta and Hoshi, not the way that they did. Gonta’s was the one I felt the most emotional over leading up to his death because of the present feeling of how Kokichi betrayed him and the feeling of how it wasn’t even his fault, really. Kaede’s I felt the angriest at because she was 100 times a better protag than Shuichi and I loved her. It doesn’t help that her death was especially tragic and her execution was gruesome (not that Gonta’s wasn’t gruesome, but it was too weird for me to feel much). Hoshi’s I felt the saddest over during the trial because of just how not-fair this was. I don’t even hate Kirumi, I really hate the writers for the trial because of all the pointless and illogical parts of the case and how Hoshi was murdered, but I ranted enough about it.