#JADEN ANOTHER CHARACTER I COULD TALK ABOUT FOR A WHILE IT SEEMS.....

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

Blaire Hopburn: My Favourite Character From My Least Favourite Piece of Media

So there's this webcomic called Lease Bound. It's set in Australia in 2017, and it follows Jaden and Riley, two lesbians forced to share an apartment after a mix-up with their leases (hence the title).

It was promoted as a lesbian love story, but it soon became pretty notorious for transphobia.

Jaden works as a bouncer for a female-only lesbian bar, and in Chapter 3, she refuses to let in three trans women, who don't take it well. The webcomic was heavily criticised for the way the trans women were drawn and how they behaved.

Years later, Lease Bound is still being updated regularly - in fact, Chapter 11 introduced a load of trans men and enby characters.

I've been following the updates for a while. The webcomic expresses a lot of views that I do not agree with - namely, that trans women are dangerous perverted men, and that trans men and enbies are either attention-seeking straight women or queer women too scared to question the "trans ideology cult".

And yet I keep coming back. It's partly out of morbid curiosity, to see what on Earth is going to happen next. But I think it's also because of one character I actually quite like.

Blaire Hopburn.

Blaire is Riley's bisexual girlfriend. She works at the same shop as Riley, in a slightly more senior position. She's also studying cosmetology at university and is part of its LGBTQIA+ club.

In a comic that's been so heavily criticised (and rightly so), what makes Blaire so appealing to me?

It's partly because of her personality. The Cast Page describes her as "a passionate, bubbly woman, who always strives to do what she believes is right… Even if not everyone else agrees." I generally like characters with those traits. I enjoy watching people who try to be good and make an effort to help others, but don't always do it in the best way.

And another reason I like Blaire is because I read her as autistic.

Blaire Hopburn: Accidentally Autistic?

Quite a few of Blaire's personality traits are things that I, as an autistic person, relate to a lot.

The author has described Blaire as, "So good at picking up when someone is upset, or not looking after themselves, so bad at reading the room regarding how to act." That could resonate with any autistic people who are high on empathy but low on social skills. You feel other people's pain, you want to help them, but you're not sure how. And what you try seems to make things worse.

This aspect of Blaire is present in Chapter 8, on Pages 2 and 3, when she and Jaden make conversation while erecting a bunk bed:

Blaire: So Jaden, is this your first move out of home? Jaden: I know it's a little later than most people... Blaire: Not judging! My 'rents insisted I stay home until I finish studying. Jaden: Oh nice. What are you studying? Blaire: Cosmetology! I tried early childcare and psychology too, but I couldn't handle that sort of selfless responsibility, haha! Jaden: Oh man, I feel that. My mum's in aged care, and takes care of my Nana now. I could not do what she does for a living, haha. Blaire: Do you think you took longer to move out because you felt guilty leaving your mum with your Nana? Jaden: How many years of psychology did you do...? Blaire: Sorry, that was a total guess! I didn't even last a full year!! Jaden: Could've fooled me, haha.

Thankfully, Jaden is nice enough to let that awkward moment pass, but she could have reacted to Blaire's psychoanalysis in a much worse way.

We also see Blaire being bad at socialising on Chapter 9 Page 17. Riley and Blaire have witnessed Jaden having an argument with her mum, and after her mum leaves, Blaire asks Jaden about it:

Blaire: Did you want to talk about what happened with your mum, Jaden? Riley: BLAIRE...! Jaden: Hey, it's okay. I have been a bit of a downer... Sorry. Riley: No, you don't have to apologise! Blaire: Yeah, it just sounded pretty upsetting. Jaden: You could say that, haha...

That feels very much like something a person would do when they sense something is wrong and zero in on one way of dealing with it. "Come on, let's talk about our feelings! A problem shared is a problem halved, right? Right?"

There's even a point in Chapter 8 where Blaire muses, "Sometimes it feels like Muddles [Riley's pet cat] is able to comfort Riley in ways that I just can't..." Can you imagine how galling it must feel, knowing that a pet, a creature that can't even speak English, is better at helping your girlfriend than you are?

Ouch.

In addition, Blaire's desire to learn about trans topics and be a good trans ally reads a lot like a special interest to me.

Especially the fact that she randomly brings up trans people in conversation, seemingly apropos nothing at all:

Blaire: Sorry I ditched you, babe. Auntie's keen for me to learn stock ordering. Riley: As long as you don't forget about me when you're a fully fledged store manager. Blaire: Never! So how'd the bunk end up treating you? Riley: Big upgrade from being on the floor. Blaire: And did Mudz approve? Riley: She was up there with me by morning. Blaire: Damn, that is good! Do you think Jaden could be trans?

That conversation with Riley had nothing to do with trans stuff, so Blaire's question is a bolt from the blue. I suspect the thought of Jaden being trans had been playing on Blaire's mind all day, and she was eager to grab the first chance to discuss it with someone.

She does something similar in a reply to an Anon question from when the author still had Tumblr:

Anon: Compared to others of her demographic, I gotta give Blaire props for dating a butch gal and treating her well. Blaire: Of course! Butches deserve nothing but love! And that goes DOUBLE for trans women!

Again, that Anon didn't mention trans people at all, but Blaire still brought them up. She was just itching to infodump about trans rights, I just know it.

But Blaire's connection to trans stuff leads to the issues I have with the way she's being written.

Blaire Hopburn: Pretty Problematic?

I really don't like how Blaire is currently being utilised in the story. Mainly because she's made out to be kind-of an idiot. She doesn't notice when she's making her girlfriend feel uncomfortable. And she's quite bad at picking up on social cues more generally.

This is demonstrated in Chapter 11 on Pages 31 and 32. Blaire is conversing with Violet, Jaden's coworker, about Violet's daughter Faith. The view Blaire expresses is the strawman argument often used against trans people and their allies - the supposition that we believe that not conforming to your expected gender norms means you must be trans.

Violet: Oh, and thanks for being patient with Faith. I know she's a bit of a handful! Blaire: It's like you said: they're just very passionate. Just not about dresses and skirts, huh?

Violet's response is interesting, as is Blaire's train of thought after the exchange:

Violet: NOPE! And I couldn't be happier! It makes buying HER clothes so much simpler! I hope SHE will steer clear of razors and makeup in HER teen years too, haha! Anyway, I best be getting my DAUGHTER to bed. See you at Ballroom Night! VROOM! Blaire: ... Blaire: (thinking) Dang it... It looks like Violet needs more help than I first thought... The sooner I get these [leaflets] to her the more time little Faith will have to choose what kind of body they want as an adult...!

Blaire didn't realise that Violet was emphasising the gendered ways to describe Faith because Violet already knows about trans stuff and rejects it. Instead, she just assumed Violet was ignorant and needed some educational leaflets.

(And Blaire also didn't notice the insult hidden in Violet's words. Blaire clearly shaves and wears makeup, so Violet was basically saying she hopes Faith doesn't turn out like Blaire. But Blaire has no reaction to that.)

Blaire is clearly not the best at detecting what people are implying. But that's being written in an exaggerated way, to satirise belief in "trans ideology" as stupid and in denial of reality.

It can almost feel as if Blaire is being portrayed as bad because of her autistic traits.

The author has addressed this in a comment on one of the bonus comic pages that came out after Chapter 11:

Important to keep in mind that none of the characters are written to be autistic. So Blaire isn’t being made into a villain or singled out for being autistic. In fact, a lot of her "social missteps" are a positive side to her character. Like she's pushy about gender nonsense, but she's also pushy when it comes to making sure her friends take care of themselves (making sure Jaden was getting her share of pancakes, pointing it out fully). She pushes because she cares. It has both positive and negative outcomes.

The trouble is, just because it wasn't the author's intention doesn't mean that's not how it looks. I know I'm not the only one who sees Blaire as autistic-coded.

And when Blaire's difficulties with social interaction are being played up in conversations about trans people, she isn't being written as a character. She's being used as a tool to poke fun at "the trans cult".

That's what annoys me about her portrayal. She isn't allowed to just be a character in a story - a nice, well-meaning but inexperienced girlfriend who happens to take an interest in trans rights. She has to be an extreme strawman of a trans ally, to push the author's anti-trans agenda.

Blaire Hopburn: Vicious Villain?

One of the webcomic's extra features is an "Actor AU", which includes this interview with Blaire's "actress":

Interviewer: Your character is quite controversial isn't she? Lots of people want her killed off and others are holding out hope for some sort of redemption. Which camp are you in, haha? Blaire's Actress: Neither. Interviewer: Oh...? Blaire's Actress: I actually like evil female characters. There's all these memes about deranged women, malicious women, heartless women... But when one does come along they want her removed or fundamentally changed before she's even spread her wings. Interviewer: Do you think fan opinion might change once Blaire ... takes flight? Blaire's Actress: I hope so. Realistically, both extreme camps will probably end up disappointed. But there's plenty of other great stuff to watch for. Will just have to burn the "Blaire bridge" when we come to it.

The funny thing is that the fans who comment on Lease Bound act as though Blaire is already a horrible person, but ... she really isn't?

At her worst, she's so focused on being a good trans ally that she neglects to check in with how others feel. But that's hardly "deranged" or "malicious" or "heartless", is it? Unless you already believe that supporting "trans ideology" makes you at least one of those things.

The closest thing I see to Blaire being villainous is in the first of the "When Riley Met Brick" bonus pages.

Blaire: Exploring your femininity in a non-traumatic way might help make things clearer too. Riley: O-okay. Blaire: Why don't we go dress shopping later this week, then? Riley: U-uh... I'm not really... They never feel good. Blaire: Cute plus-size options have come a long way in the last few years. It won't be frumpy like the stuff from your old congregation, I promise! Riley: O-okay... *** Blaire: Well, what do you think? Riley: It's... I feel like I can't breathe... Blaire: Huh? But it's so loose and flow-y... Do you need a bigger size? Riley: N-no, please, get it off. OFF! OFF!! Blaire: Riles! Hey, hey! Don't thrash like that, you'll rip it! Here' I'm untying it, see? Riley: ... Blaire: So, no tie-arounds, zippers or buttons... How about this one? You just pull it straight over your head! Riley: I can't... Please, no more... Blaire: Hmm... I think we need to talk to someone who has a bit more expertise than me, baby...

Blaire is forcing Riley to try on dresses and do something she's really uncomfortable with, until Riley is screaming and thrashing about. That does seem very, very bad. But I wonder if there's more to this than meets the eye.

Riley's backstory hasn't been shown in the webcomic yet, but the author has said that she grew up in a religious cult where she was only allowed to wear dresses, never trousers. Blaire presumably doesn't fully understand how bad Riley's past was, as she assumes the issue is with the style of the dresses Riley has tried so far.

In an extra cast reply (and it's debatable how canon it is), Blaire does seem to grasp that what Riley has gone through was traumatising:

Blaire: Riley's discomfort with femininity is from being forced into it as a kid. That doesn't mean she HATES girly stuff, she just has internalised misogyny to work through at her own pace!

Yes, Blaire is going about things in the wrong way. But ... she kind-of has a point? I certainly wouldn't call it "internalised misogyny", but it is trauma, and that needs addressing.

Not wanting to wear dresses isn't a problem, but the reason for it can be. Riley's discomfort is clearly rooted in pretty serious trauma, and she needs to be able to sit down with someone and work through that. Sadly, she's not yet confident enough to open up fully about it.

And even if she could, Blaire isn't the right person to do this with. Blaire did study psychology briefly at university, but she didn't last a full year. Her idea of helping Riley is taking her to see Brick, a non-binary person ... who's training to be a veterinary nurse, not a human therapist. Blaire is nowhere near qualified to give Riley the help she needs.

I don't see this as an evil trans ally preying on a poor little lesbian. I see this as two flawed women talking past each other, trying and failing to understand each other, ill-equipped to cope with each other's issues.

And then the other "villainous Blaire" moment is at the end of "When Riley Met Brick", as Blaire criticises Riley for the way she talks to Brick:

Riley: Maybe I'm just feeling a bit confused because I've never met a trans person befor- Brick: THAT is an assumption rooted in transphobic bias! Trans people aren't a monolith! You can't tell who's trans just by looking at them! Riley: Sorry, I didn't know...! Blaire: You know what they say about assuming babe... Riley: I swear I didn't mean to... Blaire: You need to choose your words with more care. Riley: Right... I'm really sorry...

The dark colours, Blaire's body language and ominous words, the top-down perspective on the scared-looking Riley ... this page is trying to make us see Blaire as in the wrong and Riley as her victim. We're meant to judge her for putting her zealousness for trans acceptance before her concern for her girlfriend's feelings.

That's the last time we've seen Blaire in the webcomic so far, but she's due to reappear in Chapter 13. It seems as though the author is planning to do something big with Blaire - something that will cement her as the villain of Lease Bound. But it hasn't happened yet. And I'm curious to see what it is.

I suspect it's something to do with Blaire being in a more senior position at Riley's workplace, as well as the fact that her aunt works there. There's a risk that Blaire could use her influence with her aunt to force Riley out of a job, after a major disagreement over trans rights or something.

But based on what we've seen so far in the webcomic, I can't picture Blaire doing something like that. She just doesn't seem like the kind of person to do something so extreme.

Basically, it's going to take a lot to convince me that Blaire Hopburn is an irredeemable monster.

TL;DR Lease Bound is massively problematic. The one bright spot for me is Blaire, the nice, eager-to-help, slightly autistic-coded bi lady. Unfortunately, she keeps being turned into a caricature to mock those who support trans rights, and that bothers me.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

my bestest boy, blorbo of all time Jaden for the otp ask plssss

YEEEAHHH JADEN oh i do have them Jaden Relationship Thoughts, oh boy

My NOTP for them: just not really into jaden/yubel romantically tbh..... i'm much more interested in a platonic soulmates sort of read on their situation. fuck what da canon said. the thing that trips me up most with them really is like...it's shown that yubel has been there since jaden was a little kid and has like. lovedh im since then. a romantic read on that is a little too "jacob imprinting on and falling in love with bella's vampire baby in twilight"core for me, sorry, lmao. thats jaden's cool big sib in my eyes

My BROTP for them: god i really love his friendship with both Truesdale brothers ;__; Jaden Yuki honorary Third Truesdale/Marufuji Brother. syrus is his BEST FRIEND i stand by this i wave my sword in the air!!! Also love him being besties with Alexis, it's so cute.

My OTP for them: big fan of jaden/aster, jaden/chazz, and jaden/jesse tbh..... jaden's a rare character where it's hard for me to pick one singular OTP?? Largely because I genuinely like his dynamic with so many characters, but ALSO I, uh, think jaden would perhaps be a bit of a dogshit boyfriend until he works some personal stuff out, so I feel like his potential for accumulating Exes is..... high. Perhaps all Jaden pairings have a chance, but whether or not they stick for more than two years is the real question. Anyway push comes to shove if I must pick one (1) I do think heroshipping is my favorite... it snuck up on me and i just like him and aster together a lot

My second choice pairing for them: After hero I gotta go with him and chazz for second place.... I'm a sucker for rivalshipping and also their relationship is just a delight. i believe in t4t jaden and chazz. I think they would get together and break up like 14 times. I want to play PMD explorers of sky as shinx!chazz and eevee!jaden

My fluffy pairing for them: man, him and jesse is just Toothrottingly Fluffy to me, I do like them very much..... theyre just goofy teenagers having a good time up until things get Incredibly Real.

My angsty pairing for them: yeah woooooof actually him and jesse also very much has Some Large Degree of Agony to It. tfw youre in love with a boy buy the demon that snatched up your free will for a While is also living in his brain. how do you work that one out

My favorite poly ship for them: ok actually I do think my jaden ship endgame is him and chazz and jesse and/or him/chazz/aster sharing a house together. Whether or not they are all romantically involved in dealer's choice. who fuckin knows. i think jaden would thrive in a communal roommate situation as an adult.

My weirdest pairing for them: not really even a ship but i think him and yuma from zexal would get along. i think they should play video games together. astral and yubel can supervise

[artificialqueens]

And Everyday: When Life Gives You Lemons, Put Some Vodka in Your Lemonade (Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode, Jaida Essence Hall/Jan Sport) - Campvanjie

AN: This was originally written for a fic exchange, and posted to AO3 under my now deleted account there on May 1st, 2020. Reposting here, because I’m proud of it, and am clearing old S12 fics from my Google drive. I’m the original author of this work, and there’s absolutely no plagiarism going on!

Summary: Gigi needs a soft place to land after her quarter-life meltdown, and Crystal realizes the happily every after she gave up on, might not be totally out of reach. Meanwhile, Jaida and Jan work on restoring an old barnhouse; because marriage begets home improvement.Prompts: Parenthood AU, Enemies to Lovers, Idiots in Love, and Angst all used to varying degrees.

CW: conversations around divorce/child custody and (past) bullying behavior, character mentions (non-specific) mental health issues as the reason for a past breakup.

-

“- Ugh, anyway, it’s like 3:30, he’s almost an hour late and I don’t know why the fuck I even got all dressed up just to sit at court being looked at like I’m some cheap bitch-”, Gigi grumbled into her phone. It was pressed against her cheek as she tried her best to juggle her purse and a extra-large coffee held in her other hand, her livid glare captured perfectly in the harsh, white light of the bathroom mirror across from her.

“I dunno, maybe because you have to be there? Kind of the mom thing to do.”, Crystal told her, static edging into her voice.

It was a long-distance call after all, and Gigi had fought against her fingers dialing the number almost by muscle memory. She had only relented once she had gotten through the packed hallway of the courts complex, and almost collapsed into what seemed like the only empty bathroom.

Call Crystal, had been the only thing she could think of do, in between beating her palms against the cool, brick walls, and shaking with sobs she refused to shed for fear of ruining her makeup.

Without missing a beat; Crystal had picked up, her voice always high and slowed, syllables enunciated in a way that had trained Gigi into asking for coffee, like it was spelled with a K, calling her son’s name, with the E in the middle a sharp, upward spike.

Crystal, Gigi realized with a start; was who had taught her to gulp in her breaths to hide herself crying, and shove her fist into her front pocket, to keep herself from shaking so much.

“I know. I know you’re right. I just- God, I’m so sick of it. It just want this all to be over so I can go back to what’s important, and stop feeling like my entire world is crashing down around me."

Crystal laughed, a little too dry for it to be genuine. "Hey, Gigi?"

"Hm?"

"If you- if you wanted, maybe you and the little munchkin could visit? Come see me in Missouri, maybe it’ll get your mind off things."

Gigi’s hands stopped underneath the stream of lukewarm water flowing from the faucet, her eyes meeting her reflection in the mirror. She looked like shit, no matter how much her carefully applied façade remained in place, her gaze jittered around the small room and she had never felt so truly tired in her entire life.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I mean, me of all people should know something about everything falling apart."

Less than an hour later, Gigi found herself dialing Crystal’s number again. She stood outside the courthouse, her glasses misted from the early- evening rain shower as she waited for her car.

Relinquished. She didn’t know whether to laugh, or cry, or take her parents up on their offer to live in their Florida timeshare and disappear off the face of the planet, too.

"He’s not coming because he filed paperwork to relinquish parental rights two weeks ago. In the eyes of the law, it’s just the two of you.”, her lawyer had told her, after finding Gigi just outside the bathroom. Jackie Cox was always dressed in tweed, pastel, pantsuits, dark hair coiffed in buttery smooth curls at the top of her head, her lips pursed in a thin, straight line, as though she was perpetually exhausted.

Gigi supposed that, being one of the city’s longest-serving family court attorneys would do that to you.

“I don’t know how I missed it on the dockets, but I should have told you first.”, Jackie apologized; her hand warm and steady at the small of Gigi’s back as she walked her client back up the hallway.

Gigi grunted, shrugging her shoulders underneath her jacket. “It’s fin- It wouldn’t have changed anything, Jackie. Really, thanks for everything."

She let herself lean against Jackie, letting one of her oldest friends wrap her arms around her, breathing in the scent of Jackie’s honeysuckle perfume on the courthouse steps.

"I’m sorry this happened-”, Jackie started, and Gigi could feel her heart sink to her stomach.

She had never done well with pity, least of all when she truly deserved it.

“Don’t be. Please, just don’t.”

“What are you going to do now?”, Jackie asked, as Gigi stepped out of her embrace, surveying the street before them that was quickly filling with cars and bikes and buses as the work day finished and school let out for the day.

“Right now? Get in an Uber and hope they don’t charge me triple for being late at daycare again.”

Crystal picked up on the fourth ring, and Gigi could hear the sound of a sink running in the background. Water splashed against metal, and the distinct sound of another woman’s voice, screeching with laughter, buzzed through the speakers of Gigi’s phone.

“Whoo- chile, I’m telling you if you come any closer with that flour, I’m gonna-"

"Shit. Sorry.”, Crystal had muffled the phone against her chest, the static only cutting out when Gigi was sure she had ducked into another room.

“How quickly can you get that guest room set up? I’m pretty sure we can make it for tomorrow if I drive through the night.”

-

“Mom- Mom it’s twelve-thirty-five. It’s way, way, way past your bedtime!”, Destiny crowed from his carseat, kicking at Gigi’s back. His blonde curls were plastered to the side of his face, lips dusted with salt from the bag of chips that Gigi had let him pick out form himself at their last rest stop.

Their entire lives had fit neatly into the sickeningly suburban five-seater that his father had insisted on, the largest luggage case filled with her son’s clothes and bedsheets still having enough room to jostle under his bare feet.

She knew it was impulsive, and stupid, and half-expected the police to pull them over several states away, but as the highways emptied to nothing bur a ribbon of white lines that kept them on the right side of the road, Gigi became more and more convinced she was doing the right thing.    

“My bedtime is five-thirty, kiddo. Yours is eight, so you get to stay up so much later.”, she joked easily, never having had Destiny for so many hours, all by herself in the years since he had started preschool.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense! It’s eight at night and right now it’s morning! Nobody goes to sleep at five in the morning!”, he shrieked, and giggled at his own reflection in the rearview mirror.  

“That’s when the garbage truck wakes up!”, he added. Gigi didn’t remember, if he had ever talked so much, his voice jarring and so different from the toddler babbles she had recorded, and kept on her phone to watch on her worst days.

Her textile studio had taken up her days, until her partners had grown tired of Gigi stumbling in at eleven in the morning, unable to force herself to care very much about their bottom line, and the grey, dull world outside until Destiny had come to kick her out of bed.

Afterwards, his father would take her nights, the pressure incessant that they be exactly what they looked like- a family that belonged in a catalog, with a perfectly dressed, perfectly quiet child, money to burn and success in spades; drinking from matching flutes of champagne while Destiny was left alone in his basement bedroom with a baby monitor and his collection of stuffed animals.

Gigi faltered in a sea of plastic smiles and shallow conversations, and at the end of the day, all of her friends who had warned her off marrying her senior-year rebound, giving her life over to the promise of a bright, empty future, had been right.

He wanted to live in a dream, where she was only ever a sidekick; their son nothing more to him than a prop to parade, an filled-in item on a checklist that he had given up without a second thought.

Gigi had named him Destiny, because she liked it first, but second, because it had sounded so good with his last name; that she had never even considered having to change it.

Destiny Goode was a name that sounded like a motivational quote from a caveman, and she briefly wondered, merging on to the next interstate her GPS system highlighted- if a six-year-old would remember his name if she changed it right now.

He could be a Garret, or a Jaden, just like every other boy at school.

A fresh slate with no more questions to be asked, and nothing left to tie her perfect boy to Gigi’s worst mistake.

“-So, she’ll be here at nine-thirty, and we’re all going to be nice as fuck and not make it weird, okay?"

Crystal smoothed down the pleats of her skirt with her palms, her legs crossed in front of her at the breakfast table, as her eyes flitted between Jaida and Jan, who both had forks in hand as they enjoyed the chilaquilles that Crystal had set out for their meal, knowing this was going to be a big conversation.

"Chile-”

“Okay, go back to the part where she broke up with you and then ended up married to darksided Warner-"

"Guys!”, Crystal protested, glaring down at her friends.

Jaida and Jan had bought the barn on her family’s property not even weeks after Crystal had agreed to put it on the market, the decrepit, white-washed wood tower an eyesore along the country highway.

They were the closest thing she had to neighbors, in the wide acres of rolling plains that separated everyone by miles along the road, and it hadn’t taken long for the three of them to grow close.

Together, they had carved a guest house out of the front entryway, laying water pipes and television cable; and were working on renovations to turn the barn’s hall into an event space, with glass lanterns hanging high along the rafters that Crystal remembered walking across like a tightrope when she was a child.

Jan drilled in heavy wood planks to form a catwalk that overlooked the barn floor, which you could reach from the outside fire escape, and Crystal had been thrilled to finally put her years of following behind her father to use, toolbox in hand as she sanded down the reinforced beams holding up the roof.

If Gigi hadn’t called her, Crystal and Jan had a day ahead of them of hauling the shingles from a pallet left by the side of the road, in Crystal’s truck up to the barn, while Jaida had her camera, and a full calendar of Senior Portraits to finish before the end of the school year.

“I know it sounds like a lot, but please, please, don’t make it weird. Gigi always…- She always needed everything to go perfectly, and I hate to say it but… I might be her only real friend. Like, ever.”, Crystal told them, biting down on the inside of her cheek.

Gigi, who for the past few years, had been nothing but  a collection of memories that would fire in her brain occasionally, like a slight twinge from an old injury, would be back in the flesh at her doorstep, at any minute. Crystal barely had the time to recruit Jaida’s help in clearing out her guest rooms for Gigi and her son, much less process how she truly felt about offering up her home as their refuge.

Gigi had never responded to the birthday cards she sent for Destiny after his third birthday; barely ever logging into her Facebook page that had been filled with photos of the two of them through college; and seemed to abruptly be cut off after she had gotten married. Occasionally, something would trickle through, a vacation photo of her little family, and anniversary note, a first day at school and a post that asked everyone to go and follow her business page.

For all of the refreshing Crystal did, Gigi’s studio seemed to never upload anything beyond its logo and business hours.

“Nah, listen, I get it, babe.”, said Jaida, a tortilla chip hanging from the corner of her mouth. “People grow and change and we gotta meet them where they’re at."

She nodded towards Jan, who was gulping down her orange juice, with a fond grin. "If you would have told my queen bitch ass when I was in high school, that I would end up married to Miss Team Too Much, I would have stole your man and told the whole school some dirty secret.”, Jaida laughed. “Everybody’s dealing with something, and I was so closeted and angry I was acting a fool for free."

"You were never closeted.”, Jan piped up, her voice rising an octave from normal, making Crystal widen her eyes as she looked to her side.

“Glass closet, honey. Besides, my point is, it’s water under a bridge, whatever we do when we’re young. I love you now.”, she said, pressing a kiss to Jan’s temple as she rose to go take their dishes to the sink. “You ended up turning out to be an amazing woman. I’m sure Gigi’s just the same."

-

The sun was high over the horizon line when Gigi’s car rumbled up the range road, rocks spraying into the grass as her wheels skipped over the pockmarked dirt.

She had taken Destiny to a hotel waterpark with a free breakfast, the absolute joy and shock on his face more than worth being several hours off of the arrival time she had texted Crystal. He was asleep now, only dressed in a pair of shorts and his sneakers, the buckles of his carseat starting to chafe red against his skin.  

Gigi turned left at the barn, towards the yellow-shuttered house she remembered visiting over so many spring breaks and reading weeks, surprised to see two workers, stacking pallets of shingles by the barn door. One was a gorgeous, darker-skinned woman, the sun glittering from the highlights in her hair as she waved over to Gigi, making her grin despite herself.

Crystal’s tiny town had always been welcoming, the huge open expanses of space seeming to make everyone all the more willing to seek a connection- though Gigi would have never guessed that Crystal and her family would ever do anything with the barn, which looked just a little less decrepit than she remembered, so many years later.

She parked by the balcony, just in front of Crystal’s truck, and shook Destiny awake, helping him into the first shirt which she could reach from his bag.

"C'mon, Des. We’re here. Are you excited to say hi to Mom’s friend? She stayed up all night to make you new room!”, she asked, watching as he took in the word around them.

“You have friends?”, he blurted out, so plainly that Gigi couldn’t keep a smile off her face, even if he had probably heard that from a TV show she probably shouldn’t have been letting him see.

“That’s not very nice."

Still, she kissed the top of his head, and helped him out of the car, his tiny hand feeling heavy in hers as they made their way up the stairs to Crystal’s door.

The balcony creaked under their feet, as Gigi raised her hand to press against the doorbell, Destiny tugging against her shirt, pointing up at the colorful strips of cut paper that still adorned the windows, the sun cutting what must have been a stained-glass glow inside the house.

"Snowflakes, like at school!”, he called to her, pressing his face against the windowsill before Gigi pulled him back.

“No, it’s called papel picado.”, Gigi corrected, remembering how Crystal had spent hours at her paper press in the basement of the art rooms in college, a mess of stencils spread across the desk, a chisel and mallet in hand as she studied the pictures her grandmother would send her.

Crystal’s tongue would poke out of her mouth, her pupils blown wide in concentration, oblivious to the darkening sky above her until Gigi would find her, at half-past midnight, standing still wide awake in the middle of confetti slices of cut paper piling around her.

They would kiss, exhilarated and young and alone together, and Gigi would never think anything was wrong until-

“Gigi! Geegs! Look who’s late to their own party!”, Crystal squealed, the door swinging wide open to reveal her; red-brown hair still as wild as ever, piled into a messy ponytail atop her head, and a smile so wide Gigi could see nearly all her teeth. Crystal sparkled with the same craft glitter that had always hung from her fingertips, her cheeks flush as though she’d run from one end of the house to the other.

Her eyes looked bright again, the memory of which was so foreign to Gigi that she took a moment to take it all in, Crystal’s bright skirt and her tight, sleeveless top looking all the more like relics of the summers they had spent together.

“Ahoy.”, she greeted, raising a hand to her forehead in a mock salute.

Crystal giggled.

Giggled, like she always had, and waved them inside with a flourish of her hand.

“Are you mad at me?”, Jaida asked, kicking open the toolbox that she and Jan shared.

They had watched Crystal let the storied Gigi into the house, and decided to occupy themselves with bolting down the side light fixtures in the barn, until whatever was probably going on between their neighbor and ex calmed down enough for Crystal to invite them in.

But, Jan’s temper had grown increasingly short through their day, her drill now clenched in a white-knuckled grip as Jaida held the ladder she was on steady below her, digging in the tool box for the next drill bit she would need.

“Why- the fuck- would I be mad at you?”, she said through gritted teeth, over the sound of the power tool in her hand.

“‘Cause you just said fuck, for one.”, Jaida muttered, her eyes rolling skyward. Her wife had always been a little dramatic, but there was nothing Jaida hated more than the silent treatment, far preferring a knock-down, drag-out, screaming fight to being frozen out for hours with little more than a sharp glance or a silent nodded sent her way.

Jan shrugged her shoulders, her favorite blue and red flannel shirt stretching deliciously tight across her back.

Was Jan teasing her? Was it all some kind of elaborate game that was intended to be finished in their bedroom?

“Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s killing the mood, babe.”, Jaida teased, hoping that Jan would get the hint.

Instead, she dropped the drill from her grip, clattering down the ladder as it bounced on the hard-packed ground. The battery pack popped from the tool’s back, not that Jan could be bothered as she stalked away, ignoring Jaida’s raised eyebrows.

“Hey- hey- you can’t just wreck stuff because you’re having a bad day!”, Jaida called after her wife, looking down at the mess of wires at her feet. “And I don’t know how to fix this shit so-"

She fell silent, as Jan’s steps echoed up the outdoor fire escape, her body disappearing until Jaida could only see the outline of her long, blonde hair, blowing in the wind from the balcony.

"Jan?”, she shouted, following her up the steps. “Hey, I know I fucked up, but you gotta tell me how otherwise I’m not gonna know how to fix it."

"Right.”, Jan scoffed as Jaida rounded the corner, the two of them facing towards Crystal’s house, where a second-floor light flickered on and off several times. “I forgot that everything’s so easy for you, I just have to spell it all out."

"Okay, what does that even mean?"

Jan glowered at her wife, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Why did you tell Crystal the reason you were a bully in high school was because you weren’t out?"

"That’s what this about? Baby-”, Jaida reached forward, her hand only barely touching Jan’s shoulder before her wife flinched away. “I was just trying to make her feel a little better about the whole thing, everything going on with Gigi. I don’t even remember if I was a bully in high school."

"Maybe I do.”, Jan snapped, her eyes flashing up in anger for a split second.

Jaida sighed, looking back over the horizon; where the sun was starting to dip at the back of scattered farmhouses and cottage homes littered accross the plains. “Look- I- I’m sorry and I shouldn’t have brought it up-”

“You’ve never apologized."

"You want me to say sorry?"

It had been years since Jan and Jaida had reconnected, long separated from the people that they had been as children.

Jaida had remembered Jan as an easy target from their first day in kindergarten, a tiny, loud girl who fell into a pattern that followed until Jan had left for college on a musical theatre scholarship, and Jaida had gone to play basketball for a small, comfortable liberal arts college in the heartland. When she had met Jan again; she was another person who shared the same name, at an alumni event where both of them had been invited to promote their respective colleges.

Where Jan had always worn her heart on her sleeve, the woman Jaida had married was confident, and passionate, witty and driven beyond belief.

She hadn’t had a second thought proposing to her, in the middle of the butterfly sanctuary at the zoo in the springtime, kissing her passionately without question at their Central Park wedding, their families both swaying together underneath the canopy of a white tent, to the music of the very first DJ they had found on Google.

"I just want you to- admit that it happened.”

“You’re acting like this was a big deal.”, Jaida groaned. “Baby, we were kids."

"It was a big deal. I thought about the stupid shit you and your friends said, for years after- and you don’t know what that was like."

"Okay- I-”

Jaida sighed, laying her hands on the railing that rounded the balcony, squeezing the metal rung tightly against her palms, the fight seeping out of her as she studied her wife, who looked on the verge of tears.

“Jan- baby, hey, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

Silence fell between them, the sound of the crickets the only thing that cut in between their breaths. Jan buried her face in her hands, elbows resting against the railing beside her wife.

“I know. It’s just, that stuff adds up sometimes.”

She pressed herself into her wife’s shoulder, letting her head rest against Jaida’s arm.

“It adds up the other way around, too. Don’t think it doesn’t.”, Jan whispered, and Jaida finally let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in, her arm snaking around to rest around her wife’s waist. “It’s just a lot of work.”

“Then I’ll work on it, baby. Just tell me what you need.”

Gigi was surprised, at how instantly familiar Crystals kitchen was, breakfast leftovers heaped on top of Destiny’s plate while she quietly accepted a Diet Coke, sipping at the flat beverage as she finally began to relax. Gigi could tell her son was starting to feel sleepy, his eyes losing focus even as he kept lifting his fork to his mouth.

“Cielito.”, Crystal cooed, as she ruffled his curls, passing by the two of them as she moved to shutter the blinds in the kitchen. Destiny clearly thrived under the attention, and Gigi wondered if he had always craved touch, or if he was only a child who was excited by all of the new things around him. The heat was sticky, and Crystal’s brightly painted walls made the whole house look even more like an eternal birthday party, the fridge covered with photos and magnets.

Crystal had never learned to speak Spanish, at least as far as Gigi knew, having begged Crystal to help her pass her class for months when they had been roommates, but she supposed, she must have picked up more of it, with all the time she must have spent with her family afterwards.

“Where are you Mom and Dad?”, Gigi asked, swirling her straw in her Diet Coke. “I should say hi, right?"

Crystal shrugged. "We could Facetime? They were back in Mexico for a while after my Dad got sick, but right now they’re travelling Europe, living the old people dream. I’m sure my Mom still misses you."

Gigi took a deeper breath, her lips pursed as she watched Crystal dump dirty dishes in the sink.

"Is um- are you getting the barn demolished? I saw a couple people working on it outside."

"Oh, that’s just Jan and Jaida. They live there. I sold it a few months ago, and they’re trying to turn it into, like, a wedding hall. You’d love them- they’re the gayes-”, she paused, looking down at Destiny as he tipped his glass of orange juice into his mouth. “They’re super, super in love, and so gross."

Gigi could feel herself start to blush, even though she had started having that conversation with her son almost as soon as he had started to learn to talk.

"I usually have them over for dinner, so you can say hi."

Gigi coughed, swallowing the question that had been at the tip of her tongue since she had spoken to Crystal the day before.

"So? are you seeing anyone?”, she asked.

Crystal shook her head. “I’m not really looking.”, she said. “Still putting the cry in Crystal!”, she laughed. “And you were right, I wouldn’t want to put that on anyone else."

"I- ”, Gigi bit back her reply, not quite knowing if this was a talk she wanted to have, with her son arranging chips on his plate not two feet in front of her.

“Hey- buddy”, Crystal tapped on Destiny’s shoulder, nudging him with her hip. “Go wash your hands in the bathroom. It’s the one with the fish on the door and Star Wars on the curtain."

He looked back up at his mother, Gigi giving him a curt nod of approval as he skittered up the hallway.

"He’s a cute kid, you know? You’re doing a good job.”, she told Gigi, pushing the boy’s chair back in.

“Yeah… mostly not my job, but I’ll pass it on to our last nanny."

Gigi had stood with their plates, following Crystal to the sink where she happily plunged her arms into the hot, soapy bubbles, not caring very much for how her shirtsleeves got soaked in the water, navy fabric clinging to her wrists.

"Seriously. Gigi- look at me.”, Crystal reached around her, shutting off the faucet with a decisive clicking noise. “I don’t blame you for being twenty-one and not sticking around after I flipped out because I didn’t know how to deal with college, and real life and everything. It’s a day by day thing.”, she shrugged, reaching to open a cabinet and put the glasses in the drying rack away.

Crystal’s body was almost uncomfortably close, pressing into Gigi’s side like she remembered them being like, when they had shared their first apartment, having barely enough room for two people in between the fridge and the stove.

“Some days are better than others. But it’s-”, she paused, and smirked, her lips curling into the same wicked grin that Gigi could never shake from her memories, no matter how hard she tried. “No offense, but you’re not important enough for it to have been your fault."

"Oh, that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”, Gigi couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head. “Kick a girl when she’s down?"

"Or, some people just have shitty brain chemistry, and other people are assholes. Stop thinking it’s all on you all the time, you absolute flaming fuck-up.”, Crystal told her, her words softening behind her smile.

“Maybe don’t say flaming, but I did fu-"

Destiny padded back into the room, rubbing at his eyes. "Is it adult time yet?”, he asked, his tiny mouth yawning open. “Everyone’s saying all the bad words."

Crystal snickered, turning her undivided attention back to rinsing out the sink, her back turned to the both of them as if to say Gigi was on her own with that one.

"Good night, I guess.”, she muttered, shuffling across the tile towards him.

“See you tomorrow, Geegs. Just don’t forget, there’s always that.”

-

Gigi laid in bed with Destiny resting half on her chest, her son not wanting to leave her side, once the novelty of their adventure had worn off, and he had started to realize that there was a certain kind of permanence, to Crystal’s rainbow-colored walls, to the laughter from the kitchen that came from Jan and Jaida, who had eyed Gigi with enough suspicion to let it be known to her that she was absolutely not welcome in whatever little world they had built.

Okay, maybe the last bit was just in her head, and she could just introduce herself properly at breakfast the next morning- but she had still jumped at the chance to lock herself in Destiny’s appointed bedroom, pretending that he would need her to fall asleep, even though he had only wanted to cuddle before passing out completely the second that she dimmed the lights.

She scrolled through her phone, mindlessly as her son shifted in her arms, the message bubble beside his father’s name still lit up red with unread texts, that she skipped through to flick past her Instagram feed, landing on Crystal’s profile at the very bottom of her following list. The very first account which she had followed, years ago, and the very last that she kept up with, the creeping intimacy of being under Crystal’s roof, trying to piece together the life she had dropped out of, thicker than the heat of the air around her.

Crystal’s photos were all filtered through something that made them look brighter, more vibrant than the rainy afternoons and damp wetlands that they featured in the background, the captions all long, effusive essays about the importance of showing up to vote, or the beauty of the creek behind her house in the summertime. The most recent photo, featured her lying in a bed of sunflowers, grinning up at the sky, eyes half-shut against the sunlight.

Don’t look right into a solar eclipse!, the caption started, followed by at least a dozen laughing emoji faces, alternating with bright pink flowers. Sometimes life just punches you in the face, dummy! And you just gotta deal with it anyway. Don’t waste a second!

Gigi chuckled, locking the phone and laying it back on the bedside table, trying to move as little as possible as she turned off what was left of the light in the bedroom, and drew herself closer to her son in her arms.

His breathing was steady, his hands reaching for her hair in his sleep.

“Okay, kiddo. I got you.”, she said to nobody in particular, sinking lower in the sheets so she could tuck them tighter around him.

There’s always tomorrow, she could hear Crystal telling her, her voice clear as the dream Gigi was starting to slip into.

The next morning, she would start putting everything back together again.

[silvershewolf723]

You’re Who’s sister???

@gxmonth this is my head Canon. Hope you guys enjoy!

"Alright class, we have a new student transferring in with us, so please make her feel welcome." Crowler starts the class as soon as he walks in with a young brunette woman wearing street clothes. "I ask that you overlook her dressing as her uniforms have yet to arrive. Now, please introduce yourself to the class." 

Green eyes like emeralds scan the class quickly before bowing her head. "Good morning. My name is Amber Anderson. It's nice to meet you all." 

"Now please take your seat next to Jaden Yuki." Crowler waves her to the only open seat left in the class next to a brown haired boy. 

Jaden waves a hand, helping her locate the seat while Crowler starts his lecture. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jaden." Jaden holds his hand out to her with a bright smile that brightens when she takes it. Pointing to his other side he motions to his friends. "This is Syrus, and that's Hassleberry." 

Both boys wave at their names. "Nice ta meet ya, ma'm. Hope ya don't mind me asking, but why transfer now?" 

"Hassleberry, that's kinda rude don't you think?" Syrus whispers. 

"It's alright. My paperwork got lost somehow so it took a while for things to get going even though I was already technically approved." Amber smiles. 

"Well, you're here now so welcome to Duel Academy. I can give you a tour after class if you want." Jaden grins. 

"You said your last name was Anderson, right?" Hassleberry asks before she can answer. "I know it's a long shot but do you know Jesse Anderson?" 

Amber's eyes widen, "You know my brother?" 

"Wait, Jesse's your brother?!" Jaden does a double take between them. 

"Quiet down up there!" Crowler scolds, causing the four to jolt and face forward. 

Class seems to last forever but thankfully it's the last class of the day so Jaden is wide awake as they go look for Jesse when the bell rings. 

Jaden points out the things she needs to know as they wander around. Amber ducks behind a wall when Jesse rounds the corner. 

"Hey, guys. I was about to go to the docks. Wanna come with?" Jesse grins. 

The boys look at each other. "What for? You expecting something?" Jaden tilts his head. 

"More like someone. I wanted to introduce you guys if that's alright." Jesse smiles fondly, not expecting Amber to poke his sides from behind. "Ack!! Amber?!?" 

The brunette doubles over laughing, wiping a tear from her eye. "I never get to sneak up on you! Oh man that's priceless!" 

"What're you doing here already? I thought I was going to meet you at the dock." Jesse hugs her tightly, shaking his head at her antics. "Right. Guys, this Is my baby sister, Amber." 

Amber rolls her eyes. "I'm only two years younger than you. And we've already met. We have the last class together." 

Jaden and Hassleberry snicker. Syrus tilts his head. "Wait, then how are you in our grade?" 

"Amber is super smart and skipped a year or two." Jesse ruffles his sister's hair. 

"Hey!" Amber laughs. "I'm not that smart, and quit messing with my hair!" 

"We should get you back to your dorm." Jesse smiles. "You need to rest after the trip." 

"He's right. We can show you around tomorrow if you want. And it is Friday so we don't have class to worry about." Jaden smiles, hands behind his head. 

"Then why don't we have a party? I wanna introduce everyone to Amber anyway." Jesse's grin is as mischievous as it is bright. 

"You can't be serious. Where do you plan on having it?" Amber shakes her head as she follows her brother and his friends. 

"Chazz has a room we can party in. I'll send the invites." Jaden's grin is infectious as he sends the message. His PDA beeps with a voice message. A nasally voice yells, "Not happening!!" 

Jaden grins and records. "Alexis is going to be there." 

A response comes quickly after. "Someone better bring the good stuff." 

Jesse and Jaden both laugh as Syrus and Hassleberry shake their heads. 

"I don't even want to know what that means." One look at her brother's face tells her everything. "I can't believe you managed to sneak that in. Actually no. I can." 

Amber follows the group to the unimpressive red dorm. She actually likes it better than the girls dorm, "Looks homey." 

"Truthfully, I stay here more often than my room. I hate how spacious it is." Jesse scowls behind him. 

"We all kinda just camp out here with Jaden. Even though we all have our own rooms." Syrus scratches his nose. 

"Staying with Sarg is more fun. And there isn't a professor here ta kick us out." Hassleberry shrugs. 

Amber tilts her head. "Wait, really? Is it alright?" 

"Who knows, and really, who cares so long as we aren't causing trouble. You can stay here too if you want." Jaden smiles at her. 

"Don't you think it would be a little cramped?" Amber eyes how close the rooms are. 

"So? Better with friends. Besides, cuddle piles are a thing." Jesse grins. "Right, Jay?" 

"You bet!" Jaden's grin is infectious as they head to a larger part of the dorms. 

The group is greeted by a bad attitude in black. "Took you losers long enough, did you bring--" he stops talking when he notices Amber. "Who's she?" 

"Chazz, this is my sister, Amber. Ams, this is Chazz Princeton." Jesse pulls her close as he introduces the two. "She's staying with us here in the red dorm." 

"Nice to meet you, Chazz. Nice place you have." Amber smiles brightly. 

Chazz blinks at her and smirks. "Well at least you have good taste." 

"Someone say party?" A coffee brown haired boy walks in with several bags, and an overly bright smile. "I ordered stuff thinking of having a party and what do you know-- Oh, who's this lovely lady?" 

"Atticus, this is Amber. She's Jesse's sister." Jaden grins and takes over while Jesse and Chazz chat about the best stuff to get for parties. 

"Nice to meet you. This is my sister, Alexis." Atticus introduces a pretty blond girl as she enters. "Alexis, this is Amber. Jesse's sister." 

"Nice to meet you. Hope you can forgive my brother. He's a bit of a flirt." Alexis rolls her eyes. 

"Guilty as charged." Atticus takes Amber's hand and bows to kiss it. 

Amber suppresses a giggle as Jaden shakes his head. Alexis gently whacks her brothers shoulder. "Hey now, I'm sure Zane wouldn't be too happy about that."

"Zane knows who I am. He's not going to stop me from flirting with pretty girls." Atticus grins. 

"Can't ya be nice ta lady without flirting?" a man dressed like a western character with-is that a crocodile?! "Hey there, Jaden. Thanks for the invite. Shirley, Axel, and I were just thinking this is a good day for a party." 

Atticus pouts as the man steps in with another man. 

Jaden shakes the man's hand and pets the crocodile. "Glad you could make it. Jim, this is Amber, Amber this is Jim, and that's Axel. Amber is Jesse's sister." 

"Nice ta meet ya, Amber. Hope ya don't mind crocs. Shirley is a good girl." Jim smiles and tips his hat back. 

"Nice to meet you too. And, no, I don't mind at all. It was just unexpected to see is all." Amber smiles brightly. 

"Hey, why don't we set up the bar. Axel, you mind grilling?" Atticus grins at the two. 

"Not a problem. Nice meeting you," Axel waves at Amber with little enthusiasm. He definitely seems the serious type to her. 

Amber mingles pretty easily with the others, glad that the people here are far nicer than she expected. 

[anurasally]

Formatting Error

(Hey so really been enjoying the multiplayer au stuff by @thecryptidcorvid​  so decided to write a quick little thing. I have more ideas and stuff plotted and this isn’t edited but just wanted to get some words on paper for the first time in a while. So, uh. It’s a oneshot for now. Fic under the cut.

big tw for unreality stuff, but I mean, it’s hlvrai fanfic, that comes with the territory.)

Benry woke up to someone shaking him violently. Hie eyes weren’t even fully open before he realized who it was. The orange gave it away. Not to mention the shouting.

“Benry! Wake up! I can’t find the others.”

 “Huhnh? Wha?” He slapped the AI’s hands away from his shoulders. He sat up slowly and blinked several times to dislodge the crust from his eyes. Normally, he’d make some joke, comment on Gordon touching his chest, but, for some reason… he didn’t want to. There was an odd, uneasy atmosphere, a fuzziness in his head, but Gordon didn’t seem to notice. He was flailing about like usual.

“I swear, if you–”

Benry wasn’t much of a morning person at the best of times, and right now, it felt as if he was getting lag in his own brain.

 “I don’t��What are you talking about?” Benry mumbled. Gordon groaned in frustration. Benry idly remembered that, at some point, Coomer had pulled up Gordon’s console to show him his train of thought. His neuroticism had made a lot more sense after that. Anyone would be anxious, with all that bouncing around their skull.

“The science team. I can’t find them.”

Awareness came slowly to Benry, in chunks.

“You woke me up?” Something about this fact made him sick to his stomach.

“Yeah, of course I woke you up—EVERYONE’S GONE. And I know you have some, some freaky powers, so it’s probably your fault. Where’d they go.”

“Wha?”

“YOU—”

Benry, not for the first time, regretted how often he feigned ignorance to piss feetman off. Sure, it was funny, but in moments like this, moments where he really had no fucking clue, it just made Gordon madder. At the moment, Gordon’s face had twisted into an expression of sheer close-to-crying frustration. His jaw was so clenched, teeth grinding… Benry could almost see his throat vibrate.

“—SO. I PROMISE I will get you those feet pics.”

Benry suddenly jolted. He’d been staring so hard at Gordon’s face he hadn’t heard a single word he’d said, but the phrase ‘feet pics’ knocked him out of his stupor.

“Oh, word?” His voice was joking, but his face felt hot, his hands sweaty. Somewhere far away, his gut rolled in discomfort.

“Yes. If you use your, your weird alien powers to find my–OUR friends—I will get you the feet pics.”

“…Yeah, okay. Fffucken. Gimme a sec.”

Benry suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was. But—No, this was Black Mesa. He was in Black Mesa. He had to be, right? Gordon was here. He was here. Black Mesa. There wasn’t anything else out there. Right?

Panic gripped at his throat. What the hell was the MATTER with him? He asked himself that a lot anyway, but right now, he really wished he knew the answer. Benry touched the floor. Yep, concrete. But somehow that just made him even more frazzled. He… shouldn’t feel concrete? Why not? It was right there. What the hell was going on? His hand went to his face, traced the lines around his eyes, yep, still shaped the same way he remembered, and—he could rub his eyes. That was wrong for some reason. He had no idea why it was wrong. It just was.

He was… there were crates. It was Black Mesa, of course there were crates. Yeah. And there was a pigeon in the rafters. There was a door, with a keypad scanner. Okay. Okay, yeah, that sounded right. It was there. He could see it.

“Hey, uh, didn’t think I’d be asking this, but—Are you okay?”

“Huh????” Benry startled. Gordon was staring at him. How long had he been staring? Even weirder, Benry’s response hadn’t pissed him off. He just looked… worried? Why? Benry suddenly realized he’d been rocking slightly, running his hands over, over…

His face. He wasn’t wearing a headset.

Of course he wasn’t. He never had? He had, had a helmet, yeah, but.

But.

 Static.

It was so hard to think. Worse than the usual fog in his head. Something was really, really wrong. He just wished he could figure out what the hell it was.

“BENRY.” Gordon’s shout briefly jolted him out of the rising swell of panic. Benry knew he should have been grateful for the reprieve, but instead, he just felt angry. Angry at himself, which made him angry at Gordon. He wasn't usually a panicky guy. He was a chill, cool dude. He didn’t freak out. And right now, he was acting like a big baby idiot in front of his bro. Cringe.

“Yo, shut up,” He hissed. Gordon flinched away slightly, but it didn't take him too long to set his jaw, cross his arms, and open his mouth for more yelling. Benry didn’t give him the chance.

“You, you shouldn’t—You shouldn’t have woken me up. We’re heavy sleepers. Yeah? Waking, waking me up. Not good. Very bad.”

“Benry–”

“Dddddddd. Don’t call me that.” Something about his name was making him feel worse and he didn’t know what it was. The whole not knowing thing was starting to get to him. Even though he had a lot of experience with it, he never was a huge fan of forgetting important things. He huffed slightly in frustration, a noise that sounded loud and crackly.

“Oooookay.” Gordon said, giving him a quizzical look. They stared at eachother silently for a few awkward moments. What?

“…So, WHY shouldn’t I wake you up.” Benry blinked. Oh, it was his turn to talk. Fuck. Okay. And now he had to figure out an answer. As usual when he didn’t know what to say, he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"'Cause it’s rude?”

Gordon looked like he wanted to launch into an angry rant, but he stopped himself. Instead, he stared Benry straight in the eyes. His expression made Benry squirm. It was… mad, sure, but there was more to it. Resignation? Whatever it was, Benry didn’t like it. Fuck, this was hard.

“No. What’s the real reason.”

“That’s—That’s the real reason.” Benry sounded more unsure than ever. Gordon’s gaze had him pinned. He squirmed in place. Why did he feel so guilty? That was the reason, wasn’t it? Or--no. Couldn't be. The actual answer felt like it SHOULD have been obvious, but it was slipping his mind. Gordon had been quiet for too long, and something about the awful, heavy silence forced more words out of Benry’s mouth.

“I, I mean—You woke me up, right?” Benry stammered. Gordon nodded. He was sat on the floor, legs crossed. And he was sitting still. That was wrong too. He was always so animated, like a clown. That was why Benry was always staring at him.

“A-And. I’m not supposed to be awake right now. So I think I can’t remember stuff right.” Gordon pursed his lips in thought, but nodded again.

“So. I’m in Black Mesa, which, not supposed to be here–” Gordon let out a little snort at the phrasing. Oh. Right. Passports were the last thing on Benry’s mind right now.

“Not supposed to be wearing this.” He pulled at the fabric of his uniform. The rough jumpsuit material felt the same as usual. Benry felt another pang of fear. Gordon said nothing.

“And I can’t, I can’t–”

Benry trembled violently. Gordon said nothing.

“I can’t break character?”

Gordon’s eyes were impossibly orange.

Then he smiled, and said:

“Hurts, right?”

 —

 Jaden woke up.

 Jaden did not show up for work the next day.

[3w-writer-with-wings]

Maybe Judai for the ask thing? (ㆁᴗㆁ✿) if that hasn't been done of course ^^

Why I like them/why I don’t

To be honest I didn’t like Judai that much at first. He was cute but other than that he was just an average overpowered character to me and his outgoing persona didn’t really help. The first time I watched GX it was in my native language dub and Judai happened to have the same voice as a character from another show that was extremely annoying, so I wasn’t that fond of him at all. Around the end of the first season, the airing stopped and I continued with English dub and while he was slightly likeable with a different voice I still didn’t like his character at all. But then season 3 happened… and it changed my mind. He felt like an entirely different person and the plot finally started getting interesting. It was like the new season made him start taking things seriously and with each new episode, it felt like he slowly started revealing his true self. And at that point, it finally started making sense why he was so happy and outgoing the first two seasons - he was lonely as a child and card games was the only thing that made him happy, so it makes sense that once he got accepted to school all about card games where he met new friends made him all excited. This was already hinted once in season 2, after his loss to Edo where he could no longer see cards and was convinced he has nothing else to do in Duel Academy so he just left. From all protagonists, Judai has by far the most unique development and from where VRAINS is now, Yusaku is likely to follow Judai’s journey of self-discovery. In a way, both of them are complex characters that are dealing with their breaking points in their own way. 

One other thing that I really love about Judai is his ability to talk with Duel Spirits. There have been several characters in other series with the same ability, but no one had as much focus as Judai had. I absolutely loved his connection to Yubel, about how obsessed she became with him to the point of hurting other people and how much she wanted to protect him at the same time. The fact that Judai uses Super Fusion in order to merge them together was a really nice conclusion and in a way, it symbolized the fact that Judai matured.

What I like about their appearance

The fact how normal he looks compared to other protagonists XD. Like seriously all protagonists are either embodiment of rainbows (Yuya and Yuma) or edginess (Yugi, Yusei, Yusaku) and Judai is just an ordinary teenager in a simple school uniform and a puffy hairdo that looks like a Kuriboh.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Judai and Jaden sound very similar so I tend to switch them depending on the situation because some of my friends are not familiar with his original name. In my fanfics I use his original name most of the time, but honestly, both versions sound okay and are not that different compared to some other dub names.

OTP

Spiritshipping all the way! Judai X Johan is not only my favourite GX OTP but my second favourite OTP of all Yugioh series! (they are just a little behind Keyshipping and Puzzleshipping). From the first episode where Johan showed up when Ruby and Winged Kuriboh played together and when Judai welcomed Johan to the Duel Academy, I knew there was something special about to happen. And boy was I not ready for this! The way those two dorks interacted with each other, how others described Johan as “Judai with a southern accent” and just every scene where they showed up together - it was a blessing! And when Judai went to look for him and how he sank deeper and deeper in depression while trying to find him was absolutely heartbreaking. And when Johan came back and Judai was instantly better was just so wholesome to watch. In my headcanon they really are more than friends, they just don’t show it that obviously and I’m completely fine with it. Their personal lives shouldn’t interfere with the plot and deep down I believe that they settled down once Judai returned from his travels. In my perfect reality, they founded a school for people who can also talk with the Duel Spirits and the two of them help others control their abilities.

NOTP

I’m not really sure about Fusionshipping… It just doesn’t feel like a ship at all. I already hate Ryou’s overall character since really, he duels just for power. To him, Judai is not even a rival, just a mere opponent that might pique his interest if he is strong enough. Even in the show, he appeared only when the plot demanded him to do so and had little to none motivations other than power. I completely lost respect for him when he said he wanted to duel Supreme King aka. Judai’s alter ego ALL WHILE JUDAI WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND SUFFERING FROM TRAUMA INDUCED FEVER JUST A FEW METERS AWAY FROM HIM. Like dude chill out, not everything is about power. I was so glad Edo called him out on it cuz seriously this dude would be the worst possible boyfriend. It was even worse when he tried to “help” Judai overcome his trauma cuz really he had zero empathy to help someone as traumatized as Judai. If those two were to date, it would either be over fast or would result in a really unhealthy relationship. 

OT3

Competitorshipping or Jun X Judai X Johan is actually something I didn’t know I liked. I do ship Judai with both Jun and Johan, but I’ve never really seen all three of them together. This all changed when I got a request as a secret santa to make a story with three of them as a functioning relationship. I wanted to change a request at first since I’m not keen on writing threesomes, but the more I thought about it more I thought it could work. So in my story, I made Jun and Judai into childhood friends that befriend a transfer student Johan and together they become roommates during their college years. After graduation, they separate for a few years, Judai travelling overseas to pursue his career in acting and coming book illustrating, Jun marrying and getting a son and Johan opening his own clinic. Eventually, they all live together again since Judai gets a new job nearby and Jun divorces and gets custody of his son. Johan and Judai help him raise his son and the story continues with Johan and Judai adopting a child (my OC). If you’re interested you can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16790146/chapters/39405268 I still have three more chapters to go. While I was writing it, I realized just how much the three of them interact in the anime, especially with all bonding over the fact that they can talk to Duel Spirits. It’s a relationship that could as well work and I’m sure they feel the same way about it.

The favourite card they use

It might be useless, but Winged Kuriboh is by far my favourite monster in the whole GX. It’s simple but gives away just enough nostalgia to make it work. I love how much Judai interacts with it and in a way Winged Kuriboh is his constant companion, providing him comfort whenever it can. I also love how it used to belong to Yugi and was given to Judai because “something was telling him it belongs with him” like Yugi could hear its voice. In my headcanon, Yugi knew Judai was a reincarnation of the Supreme King and gave him Winged Kuriboh so the spirit could help him control his power. Winged Kuriboh is not just a spirit, it is Judai’s partner.

The favourite moment they were in

When Judai merged with Yubel it was like Judai made a huge step in his life. For the first two seasons, he approached his problems with confidence and a grin on his face. He was having fun, not really thinking about his actions. This was all a mask to run away from his past of loneliness and fear. With season 3 the past finally caught up with him and he was forced to face it. Yubel wanted him back after she was discarded and Judai knew it, afraid she would find him again. After seeing his friends fading away, succumbing to Supreme’s King power and being scared of using Fusion, Judai is literally lost of what is he supposed to do. In the end, he finally faces Yubel, claiming all responsibility on himself. It may seem like Judai succumbed to his yandere stalker when he played Super Fusion, but from what I’ve seen it, he did it as a way to apologize. It’s true that it was his parents who sent Yubel to space and he couldn’t do anything about it, but for someone who has a superhero deck, this was Judai’s heroic sacrifice. He was scared and unsure of what could happen, but in that single moment, he made a very mature decision. He knew Yubel would only stop once the two of them are together again and he did it so his friends would be saved. This was when he truly acted as a hero, giving everything up to save someone who has been putting him in so many dangerous situations, because when he forgave Yubel he was ready for the true battle.

Least favourite moment

A basically entire first and second season when he acted like the way overpowered character. I know this was necessary for his later character development, but some episodic plotlines and duels were just plain stupid and completely unnecessary considering how many of them were there already. 

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

How about if he adopts my child OC? XD Yeah I would definitely marry this dork. He is sweet, childish and full of energy and at the same time he is mature and knows how to handle the situation. In my slice-of-life headcanon he is an actor and comic book artist, living with his partner Johan and together they raise their shy adoptive son. I think he would make a great dad and would be great with kids in general, like organizing birthday parties, babysitting and having art workshops with children. 

(Here’s Judai with my OC from my fanfic Safe in Your Arms ;) I used several references for this drawing )

[skylar-lei1634]

Ranting About Boruto And Naruto...

Alot of Naruto fans, especially the older ones who remember watching this anime on TV, are not too happy about Boruto existing. And this isn't even about the character but as the story as a whole. I was one of those fans even before I finished the Naruto manga (anime is still unfinished). Even hearing the name was a strange concept and it didn't help that the name Boruto almost sounds like Naruto!

But Boruto as a character just pissed me off. Everything I heard about him irritated me to the highest level. A genius boy, living in a loving home, in a peaceful village and yet he was unsatisfied? He was so confident about him being the best and never having to truly train but yet thought that his father was useless? He does know that his father stopped the war almost single handedly right?

It got to the point whenever I talked about Naruto and someone brought up Boruto I kinda glossed over it and usually ended the conversation with a "I don't like overconfident op character straight out of the gate".

I couldn't understand why there was another series. How could you continue with this when Naruto himself achieved everything he wanted. How do you make a more sympathetic character than Naruto who was abused physically and mentally by everyone around him and this kid still had the balls to be overconfident while knowing that his dream was practically unachievable because everything was against him? HOW DO YOU TOP THAT?!

Byyyyyyy... making that kid be compared to his father over and over until he hates his father while loving him and looking up to him. It was to gain profits. Anything with the name Naruto usually will sell no problem so why should this be different.

I can say that I saw Boruto as a continuation of Naruto. And this, is the wrong mindset to have when getting into Boruto: Naruto Next Generation.

My gateway anime was Yu-Gi-Oh! I adored the plot and story line along with the interesting characters and their contributions to said story. And, when I heard about another series after the one i finished watching, I went into GX with the wrong mind set.

I saw GX as a continuing story from the YGO! World instead of it's own narrative. I watched it purely to see how Yugi was fairing. Was he devastated by Atem's absence and how was his friends now? Not for the story it was giving me. When I realized that it wasn't Yugi's story but someone else's I refused to continue watching.

Fast forward a few months I finally got into a different mindset. I saw GX as a stand alone tale from its predecessor about a boy named Jaden and his way and life through the antagonists around him. Watching the story without wanting to see Yugi's influence on this story, honestly made me kinda hate the first season since that was were most of the hints about the DM series showed up in.

Now GX is one of my favorite series through about the whole YGO! World. Closely followed by Arc-V.

Boruto is the GX of Naruto. It's a separate story about a boy who has to make his own name and leave his own mark in a world that his father before him made, which is kinda hard to do when the pressure of being the kid of the strongest ninja in the world is kinda weighing him down.

Most fans compare the two characters as if they are one persona. But here's the thing. Boruto and Naruto have their own stories.

Naruto grew up in hate. He, himself, hated. He grew up with different experiences and emotions than that of Boruto. He had no friends. Came home to an empty house. Didn't understand the idea of love. Family and friends were an unknown concept. Romantic love was an entire different ball of wax that he couldn't differentiate between since he'd never been shown it before. He played pranks to gain attention from anyone. He didn't want to be shouldered to the back of the herd. He may have had people he pulled pranks with but it more partners in crime. He didn't know where he came from. Why people hated him. Why he was alone.

His story was about becoming someone. He craves being noticed so he made his goal to be hokage. His story was about showing all those that scuffed at his dream that will power and precerverence was enough to achieve it. Hell he's still genin as the Hokage.

Narutos story was easy to understand. He was the underdog of society. Not even his own teammates wanted him or even believed in his dream. He wanted to be the best of the best and did so by ...bullshitting his way through because 9-Tails and prophecies. But basically at the end of Naruto he had everything. Found the love of his life, has two great kids (while possibly having a crisis because he doesn't see himself as a good father (which does not really help with boruto and his thing)), became hokage, essentially achieved god status, made his mom and dad proud, and took down 3 bad guys that tried to destroy the world with the help on his best friend.

Boruto... Boruto's tale is actually just as easy to understand and empathize as Naruto's.

I can say that theres one person in our lives that we get compared to. Hell for some there's more than 3. It could be a friend. A family member or even a co worker. And it sucks. Like fuck is it emotionally draining and psychologically breaking never hearing your name but as someones achievement.

"Naruto's son", "Son of Naruto's", "Hokage's offspring". God would that get annoying really fast.

Boruto's coming of age story is embracing that he is his father's son but also has his own title. That he's Boruto Uzumaki and his father's achievements are not his own.

Boruto reacts like all kids do when not being noticed as their own person (you guys forget that he is 12). But all his pranks aren't to get anyone's attention. It's to gain Naruto's attention. When he tries to cheat in the choujin exams he did it so that his dad could finally see him. He wanted to be known as his own person.

I don't want to say that he wanted to be seen as an adult because he still does want to be treated as a child and be doted upon. But being raised to hear all the stories that Naruto did, Boruto wants to make his own just as his father. Naruto has does some insane things at Boruto's age so Boruto wanting to do the same is not that hard to realize.

Honestly its refreshing to see the main character try not to be the best but just wants to float through life. It's like Borutos story is saying that you can be you and you don't have to become part of the crowd.

And I like Boruto and the hidden different themes that it brings while twisting around on past ones that haven't been exploring yet in the Naruto universe.

I don't see Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki as a twisted former Team 7 but as their own team that steps out in it's own shoes. Boruto isn't Naruto just like Mitsuki isn't Sasuke and Sarada isn't Sakura. Sarada's an actual character relative to the plot!

And the biggest difference in Boruto and Naruto is Naruto himself.

In Naruto, Naruto seems like the goofy dumbass kid in the back of the class that gets called out on for causing mischief. He's the kid that stares at the notes on the overhead and looks down at his own and wonders how the fuck does his notes have information on history when he's in Physics. He's the kid that doesn't know jack shit about the subject at hand but somehow passes all his classes just enough to make it to the next level. He's the one that's doesn't get dates no matter how hard he tries but has mountains of chocolate on Valentine's Day from multiple people he's help in passing. He's dumb as a brick but is some how on the top 10 list of hawtest guys in school, just barely winning against kakashi and sasuke.

Naruto in Boruto is entirely different. He's the goddamn soccer mom, bringing all the snacks and embarrassing his son as he screams from the stands with his daughter on his shoulders as she does the same and his wife tries to calm down both of them. He's the wise teacher in your school that says all the right life lessons at the right time and genuinely cares about each and every student. He's the friend you call last during an emergency, when no one else answers, and shows up with chocolate and warm hugs. He legit has a fucking sword go right through him, scaring the shit out of Sarada, and just pulls it out without flinching and laughs as it heals instantly when he sees Sarada almost hyperventilate.

So I like Boruto the anime and the character. Boruto himself has come along way from the first episode. And I really was invested in this character in the beginning.

Yeah I did loath him. Most of the time I had to walk away when he talked about his dad or told him off. Though I did route for him and agreed with a few of his shit.

Like Naruto not showing up for any of his kids birthday? Bad parenting. But I do get where Naruto was coming from.

I got Boruto (even if I didn't want to). He was more than a genius asshole. He loves his mother and his sister. He fights for his friends without hesitation. He faces the mantle his dad has and is ready to throw down at anyone who thinks he's anything less than he actually is. He's beyond ready to do some good and really wants to help, even if it's his father (especially if it's his father).

I legit laughed when he turned to Sarada and said her father was awesome. It was a nice callback to when Sarada said the same to him about his father and Boruto just called her crazy. Boruto was beyond endearing when he interacted with Sasuke (when his idol kicks his ass and tells him he's weak will forever be my favorite thing ever).

Yes Boruto is fast to judge other people's feelings about him. But that actually says more about how he views the people's thoughts about him. He sees himself as ...pointless. He's shackled by the mindset of having a parent that's a war hero. That every achievement and/or goal he puts his mind to is futile against the numerous badges Naruto has under his belt.

And I'm beyond hoping that this kid does some wicked shit that scares his father.

The pacing in Boruto is actually slightly better. Like instead of entire 5 arcs about a war. This series kinda shows you the bad guy and then just goes until a new one shows up. Though many others do like having a set bad guy from the beginning and the fact that Boruto has now killed two of the three bad guys introduced in the beginning 66 episodes through...is slightly bad. But at the same time Naruto didn't have a set bad guy in the first one so hey.

And this series has a long way to go. As of today it has 102 episodes. And I'm going to be reading the manga soon too.

All in all, Boruto doesn't really deserve all the hate that this series gets (I haven't even touched on my favorite characters).

I didn't like Hinata, still don't, but I adore their children. I still ship Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura and Ino, Naruto and Sakura, and Sai with Sakura/Naruro but I enjoy the interaction between the parents and their children. Its endearing.

I wouldn't have even watched this series if I wasn't so invested in Himawari. I love my sunrise child.

[sassy-skyler-rose-blog]

my oc skyler rose(hit me up if you would like to rp)

About Note The changes I made to skyler was not only to further develop skyler's character in figured I'd try something new for 2018

Side noteSkyler has been in delovpment since December 27th of 2016 and thanks to all my amazing Roleplay buddies and friends she's gone from just a name to a character I'm proud of thank you guys

╭─━━━━━ ☆ ━━━━━─╮

{skyler rose }

╰─━━━━━ ☆ ━━━━━─╯

«wounds may heal, but the scars will remain with you forever »

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀☆⠀⠀⠀              ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀⠀☆

⠀⠀          ⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀                  ☆

ɪ - General

ɪɪ - Appearance

ɪɪɪ - Goals + Preferences

ɪᴠ - Allegiances

ᴠɪ - Personality

ᴠɪɪ - History

───── ☆ ─────

ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ

───── ☆ ─────

☆ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ☆

➵ skyler rose

☆ ɴɪᴄᴋɴᴀᴍᴇ/ᴀʟɪᴀs ☆

➵ sky, little lamb,

☆ ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ☆

ɪɴᴅᴇɴᴛɪғɪᴇs ➵ female

ʙɪᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ➵ female

☆ sᴇxᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ ☆

ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ ➵ straight

sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ➵ straight

☆ ᴀɢᴇ ☆

ʟᴏᴏᴋs ➵ 15

ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟ ➵ 20

started training to hunt vampires ➵ 15

☆ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs ☆

➵ human with elemental magic (the last of her kind)

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

« I spent so much time wishing someone would come and save me then I realized I had to be strong and save my self because no one else was going to »

───── ☆ ─────

ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ

───── ☆ ─────

☆ ʀᴀᴄᴇ ☆

ᴇᴛʜɴɪᴄɪᴛʏ ➵ white

ɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ ➵ American

☆ ʜᴀɪʀ ☆

ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ ➵ was originally black but was dyed white to symbolize the change from helpless prey to vampire hunting predator

ᴛʜɪᴄᴋɴᴇss ➵ thick

ʟᴇɴɢᴛʜ ➵ short

☆ sᴋɪɴ ☆

ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ ➵ porcelain

sᴄᴀʀs ➵ bite marks up and down her arms and neck from being a blood bag

☆ ᴇʏᴇs ☆

ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ ➵ pale blue

sʜᴀᴘᴇ ➵ oval

sɪᴢᴇ ➵ medium sized

☆ ʙᴏᴅʏ ☆

ᴛʏᴘᴇ ➵small, and lean

ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ➵ 70 pounds

ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ ➵ 5'2

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀☆⠀⠀⠀              ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀⠀☆

«"That's what you think, there's nothing you can do to me that i haven't had done to me before " »

───── ☆ ─────

ɢᴏᴀʟs + ᴘʀᴇғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇs

───── ☆ ─────

☆ ɢᴏᴀʟs/ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍs ☆

➵ to save as many lives as possible and to find happiness once more in starting a family of her own without having to worry about losing them to a nuther vampire attack.

☆ ʟɪᴋᴇs ☆

➵helping others in any way possible, because she knows all to well what it's like to be helpless.

➵ writing she feels it helps her express her self and further put all events of her tragic passed to rest.

➵ sparing because she feels it helps her take out all the anger she feels inside

☆ ᴅɪsʟɪᴋᴇs ☆

➵ talking about her past,because it's something that is still difficult for her even after four years of working through it

➵ having to retreat from a battle And getting chased while doing so it makes her feel like weak prey.

➵ seeing others get hurt

☆ ғᴇᴀʀs ☆

➵ failing in her lives mission in saving innocent human children from vampires, becoming prey once more,the dark, being alone

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀☆⠀⠀⠀              ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀⠀☆

⠀⠀          ⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀                  ☆

« that vampire wanted to make his prey, so I kicked his ass »

───── ☆ ─────

ᴀғғɪʟɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴs

───── ☆ ─────

☆ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ☆

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ Sarah rose

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵ dead

ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ➵ skyler and her mother were very close and skyler could tell her pretty much anything

☆ ғᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ☆

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵James rose

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵unknown

ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ➵ skyler and her father's relationship was strained because he wasn't around much when skyler was growing up and when he was home he often compared skyler to katherine telling her she needed to be strong like her to survive in the real world

☆ sɪʙʟɪɴɢs ☆

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ katherine

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵ dead

ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ➵ complicated to put it simply one moment they were fighting and the other they loved each other, they fought mostly because katherine held skyler to a higher standard then other people demanding only the best from her

————

☆ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs ☆

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ faith Anderson

status ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ

name: dylan jones

status unknown

————

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ Victoria clare

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵ undead

☆ mentor ☆

(ᴡʜᴏ ᴛrained ʏᴏᴜ)

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ Jaden

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵ alive

ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ➵

☆ ᴘᴇᴛ/ғᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ☆

ɴᴀᴍᴇ ➵ ethan

sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs ➵vampire

ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ➵ undead

ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴏʀ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ➵ current

☆ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ/s ☆

➵ the midnight hunters

☆ ᴊᴏʙ/s ☆

➵ vampire huntress

☆ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ☆

➵ none she jumps to from place to place hunting vampires and trying not to be caught the wolf brothers or her former ferid bathory

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀☆⠀⠀⠀              ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀⠀☆

⠀⠀          ⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀                  ☆

« how does it feel to know you just got your ass handed to you by your dinner »

───── ☆ ─────

ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ

───── ☆ ─────

ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ as a normal kid

before skyler was aware of the existence of vampires, she was trouble maker who often snuck out of the house at night to reck havic with her best friend faith.so it was almost impossible to get her out of bed in the morning so she often missed the buss and if she did manage to get her to school on time she would sneak out the back door after the first period with her best friend faith and they would spend the whole day in the woods behind the school.besides being a trouble maker skyler was over all was kind and caring always going out of her way to help her mother in anyway she could even if it ment stealing.

☆ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ as a vampires pet☆

after being taken in by ferid bathory, skyler fell into a depressed state often times blaming her self for the death of her entire family because she some how believed she could have prevented it.thanks to ferids mind games she also at one point believed that she deserved everything she got, however despite all this she stayed determined never full submitting to his will eventually realising she had to save her self

☆ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ vampire Hunter ☆

after four years of intense training skyler grown into a confident vampire huntress who has become known for her bravery and ruthless.she often times was seen as stoic and cold because she was tough from the very beginning to take vampire hunting very seriously because if she didn't she would die and all her hard work would be for nothing. She still struggles with the loss of her family and hates talking about it with others and can sometimes lose control of her powers and go insane if she pushes her self to hard but if you can get past that tough exterior of hers she still as caring and loveable as she was in the beginning

☆ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛs ☆

➵ dependable if she promises something she will come through no matter what

➵ patient it takes alot to truly piss skyler off but if you do I'll I have to say is look out your in for one hell of a fight

➵ caring she loves looking out for others and keeping them safe

☆ ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛs ☆

➵ stubborn when her mind is set on something it's almost impossible to change it

➵ sassy she has a big mouth and isn't afraid to speak her mind

➵ protective she will risk her live to make sure those around her are safe

☆ ʙᴀᴅ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛs ☆

➵ paranoid she is often afraid some is out to get her, or that she will lose a nuther person she cares about,or more likely something is gonna go wrong.

➵ stand of ish she oftentimes has trouble trusting others

➵ cold she for the part shows no mercy to those who try to harm her. Or people she cares about

☆ ʜᴀʙɪᴛs ☆

➵ bites her nails, forgets to bring weapons to a battle,messing up other people's hair

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀☆⠀⠀⠀              ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮⠀⠀⠀⠀☆

⠀⠀          ⠀⠀ ☆⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⋮

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀                  ☆

« I maybe a hunter now but I'm still me »

───── ☆ ─────

ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ

───── ☆ ─────

Skyler’s life took a turn for the worst, the day she witnessed her sister’s murder. At the hands of her supposed boyfriend Austin Wolf (whom never really loved Skyler, he was just toying with her for information about her mother's whereabouts so he could destroy the rose family once and for all. Also to make his hunt more entertaining.)

In raged like never before Skyler decided to strike back at Austin, and avenge her older sister’s death. Skyler of course couldn't complete such an impossible task alone, so against her better judgement she inquired help from her uncle Blade (an arrogant ammeter vampire hunter, with a short temper) They spent whole evenings carefully plotting the downfall of the wolf brothers, when Skyler finally came to her senses she started having doubts and questions if she really want to go through with it worried about the outcome if their plan failed. With some effort Blade somehow managed to put all Skyler’s fears to rest, somehow managing to convince her they could win all she needed was a little faith.

Unfortunately for Skyler, Blade’s arrogance and therefore lack of information on vampires was to be their downfall. Austin’s well informed younger Nolan wolf quickly learned of their plans, through nameless informants whom had been observing Skyler’s every move since her sister’s murder had occurred and was quick to put his own plans in place. Nolan ambushed Skyler and Blade while they were taking a midnight stroll through town, wanting to get Skyler alone Nolan snuck up behind Blade swiftly snapping his neck before he knew what happened. He took a moment to clear his throat drawing Skyler’s attention to him, before she could scream he had her pinned down onto the pavement enjoying the fact that she was at his mercy.

Nolan decided rather than take Skyler to his brothers like Austin had ordered him to, he decided to toy with her a  little bit then kill her.  After all Why should Austin be the only one to who gets to have all the fun it just wasn't fair to Nolan that is, so he sunk his razor sharp fangs into her neck listing to her cry for someone to come and save her as he drank her hot sweet rare blood. Just when things seemed bleak for Skyler, her feisty best friend faith sprang into action to save her. Faith gave Nolan a good in the back of the head with her baseball bat, foolishly thinking it would knock him out. Unfortunately   for Faith this was not the case, it just pissed him off, he dropped Skyler on the pavement quick wiping around to face the pink haired troublemaker who laughed in his face taking off running

Hoping the hot headed vampire would give chase, which he did without a second thought now wanting faith’s blood on his hands for ruining his meal. While this was going on Skyler’s other best friend Dylan came and

picked Skyler up off the ruff cracked pavement which now  was stained with her blood carrying her back to her house wedding style .Making small talk of the great adventures  they had together as children and all the trouble they had caused, along the way. To keep her awake because he figured she was probably a bit sluggish and fatigued from the shock of yet another death in her family not to mention the blood loss she had suffered at the hands

of Nolan wolf. When they reached the house, Sarah rose was waiting for them

on the front porch looking beyond frantic. Almost as if she already knew, what

had happened without any explanation from Skyler or Dylan,

practically out of nowhere Sarah rushed forward taking her daughter from Dylan’s

arms insisting that she could take it from here and Dylan needed to get as far

away from the house as humanly possible. Of course, Dylan being himself

protested refusing to leave his childhood best friend and the women whom had been like a second mother alone to fend off all manner of beast; however, Sarah ignored him rushing her daughter inside without another word leaving Dylan alone to his thoughts on the porch.

          Once inside Sarah gently laid her groggy daughter on her bed, frantically packing their things insisting they leave town immediately and that Skyler was their last hope refusing to let the wolf brother get her too. After Sarah had finished packing, she helped Skyler to her feet ready to make her escape like she had done eighteen years earlier with her oldest daughter Katherine whom had been but a newborn infant at the time. Unfortunately, for Sarah this time she would not be so lucky, just as Skyler and Sarah reached the bottom of the stairs their front door shattered into a million pieces like a thin sheet of glass.In its wake stood three smug hybrids, Sarah wa quick to react pushing her daughter behind  her with fists clenched at her sides looking rather dangerous she was ready to protect her daughter with her life.

Austin decide to distract her by making a grand speech full of empty threats and jabs, And while he was doing so riley slipped behind her at inhuman speed grabbing skyler by her shoulders and forcing her to what watch sarah struggle to fight both Austin and Nolan. Thought sarah gave her all it wasn't enough to save her from a slow and painful death,of course Riley didn't want to miss out on all the fun so he foolishly let go of skyler rushing to join his brothers. Skyler Got light headed collapsed on the hardwood floor luckily for her a blue haired of women in a shiney crimson cloak came and peeled her off the floor(note skyler sees faith laying limply blood and beaten with Dylan by her side on the pavement outside assumes they're both dead , victoria leaves  her alone in the middle forbidden forest hoping she would be safe there, however the forbidden forest was a place of many mysteries and dangers, will skylar be able to escape it before it's too late or die trying.

 she ended up running into a clever vampire by the name of ferid bathory he her gave her two choices   become his pet or he would make her into his meal. She unwilling became his pet and still is to this day hoping praying that someone will come and save her.

After several months of physical and emotional torture soul came to her rescue, taking her back to his own mansion conforming her and trying to no only restore her self confidence, but her heath she was very thin and filthy at first because ferid often didn't take care of her like he should have.when she was healthy enough she insisted that she wanted to go off and train with Jaden to become a vampire Hunter no longer wanting to be prey and save people from suffering the same ordeal . Soul reluctantly agreed to let her go.the night before she left Ferid came to her in her dreams and told her that she only had four years to get stronger then he'd come for her

So the next morning she went off with Jaden into his world to begin her training,though Jadan was hyper and a little strange at times. His training methods were effective,on of the things he taught her was rather then use brute force on Enemies she needed to use her wits and out smart them first and also that vampire hunting was very seriously business if she played around she'd end up dead.so after for years intense training she grew up into a ruthless and clever vampire Hunter, returned home to face what ever came her way next.

Theme songs

"Save Yourself" by Claire De Lune (feat. in "Mad Max: Fury Road" Trailer) [OFFICIAL]

"Not Alone" Lyrics - RED - Until We Have Faces

Shattered lyrics

The Light Behind Your Eyes

Adam Lambert - Runnin (lyrics)

Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow (Lyrics)

╭─━━━ ☆ ━━━─╮

☆ Template By ᶠᴬᴰᴵᴺᴳ ᴱᶜᴴᴼᴱˢ ☆

☆ #EchoTemplate ☆

╰─━━━ ☆ ━━━─╯

[authoratmidnight]

GX Month-Day 3

Reason you started watching GX

Time to play catch-up cause rl got in the way.

The reason why I *started* is really as simple as ‘because it was there and I was curious’ but that’s going so this is more of a ‘why I kept watching’.

The characters.

Yeah, I may have started with the dub, but when it’s 2005/2006 and the dub is all you have and know, you have nothing to compare it too, well it doesn’t seem like the worst thing ever. So I stuck with it as best as I could.

So, the characters(atleast the ones that stood out the most to me), let’s start with Jaden (gonna use dub names b/c I’m talking about the dub)

He was, nothing like Yugi. He was budding with confidence, excited about everything and anything, cracking jokes and just, fun. Also he did things, one of my peeves about DM was that Yugi was constantly overshadowed by Atem, despite the fact that he’s supposed to be the main character.

Jaden did not have this problem, his spirit partner was a fluff ball with wings, it can’t take over him when things get tough. Jaden was the one doing things, for himself. And it was awesome.

I loved Jaden as a protagonist. Also, being the same age as him made it easier to relate. Yugi was 16, I was a lot younger than him when watching DM. Jaden was 14/15, I would have been the same age. And we’re both going into highschool, so, it’s more relatable even though it’s a show about card games and magic.

Chazz (Manjoume)

So, he’s the typical rich kid, jack-ass rival, the Kaiba stand in basically. But this guy, I loved him. A lot. Couldn’t stand Kaiba(still don’t really like him), but this dude, was great. And even in the dub you could see his character growth, how things like ‘slacker’ or ‘loser’ went from insults to, odd terms of endearment, that he gets from disliking Jaden to liking him(though he loathes to admit it).

The scene that stood out the most to me demonstrating this growth, was the beginning of episode 60, after Jaden loses to Aster and can no longer see his cards, and Chazz is concerned for him. Actually, legitimately concerned, and even tries to comfort him(in his own, round about way). His words come off as harsh, but you can tell his intent.

And like, having gown up seeing rivals like Kaiba, this was HUGE! A rival, caring about his rival, and being worried(you’d know if Kaiba said the things Chazz did, the meaning would not hold the same) it felt like, in one season alone, Chazz had more character growth than Kaiba did in the whole series.

also whoops cartoon crush aha

Bastion (Misawa)

Full stop I loved this dude pretty much as soon as he introduced and the fact that the writers basically, wrote him out before the first season ended.

He was, an unapologetic NERD ok? A huge one. And more than that, the show didn’t make fun of him for this. All to often shows will have that one friend character that’s a total nerd for a topic(or topics) that they find interesting, only to have them teased about this, often by their friends. And the show never did this(not that I can recall really).

And as someone who is like that irl (if it interests me I tend to absorb knowledge like a sponge), that trope hurts. And then Misawa was dropped into my lap, this unapologetic nerd, who was allowed to be so and revelled in it! And his friends were cool with it.

Plus, he was so friendly! Like, he’s a dorm level higher than Jaden and crew, but he’s like ‘naw you’re totes cool’ while everyone else was like ‘ugh reds’. And his rivalry with Jadne, ugh, I loved it so much. How often do we get rivalries where they’re BOTH friends and rivals, where they don’t make every little thing they do about their rivalry? Not a lot from what I can think.

And he wasn’t locked into the ‘shy bookish nerd’ stereotype that’s everywhere. It was just such a breath of fresh air.

and then they wrote him out smh

Alexis (Asuka)

Another breath of fresh air in the trope department. Alexis was quite clearly the pretty, popular girl type character, which usually end up being (pardon my words) bitchy towards the protagonist and friends.

Except she wasn’t, she was nice, and she ended up one of Jaden’s friends (I could have done w/o the really forced crush though) and it was, great.

She was a top tier duelist at the school, who befriended a lower ranked duelist(several really given Jaden’s friend group). That generally never happens, the popular, pretty girl never befriends the unpopular crowd(and esp not in a highschool style setting).

Duel Monster Spirits

The concept was first introduced in DM and I liked it. Then it came back in GX and I was like ‘tell me more’.

I love this aspect of YGO canon and I constantly wish more would be done with it.

[polandspringz]

I Started Trying To Replicate “What’s In A PV?” and I Ended With An Essay Comparing “Neo Yokio” and “Children of Ether”

I wish I could post this on /r/ anime but I’ve never posted on their before and after a brief rundown of the rules it seems like this would most likely be removed for not fitting their definition of anime. Still, I’d like to make everyone aware that when I call this property an “anime” I am referring to the fact that it is a part of the anime-inspired movement as defined by Mother’s Basement. (See his video titled “Avatar is an Anime: Fuck You, Fight Me)

So, “Neo Yokio”, a very obvious and not so clever allusion to Neo Tokyo. Where to begin? Well, within two days, this trailer has not received much attention, and those who have been talking about it are split on not whether it will be terrible, but whether it will be terrible in a good way, or terrible in a bad way, and by that they are referring to being nonredeemable, even through memes. After jumping into this two days late, I was only able to scan the comments underneath the trailer on Youtube, and I saw this split very prominent. However, I was surprised to find a few people who saw some worth in this series, that it may in fact be good- in a trashy but comedic way.

I think the main thing many people are missing from this show is that it’s a parody. If you do any few seconds of research, hell- even simply typing the show title into Google- you’ll instantly be shown several articles that all include the word “parody” in the title. So, we should already be aware the show won’t be taking itself seriously, which I think is good. The last time Netflix tried to make an anime inspired thing, which was less than a month ago, it turned out badly, almost as bad as everyone fears this series will be, un-memeable (I tried to avoid typing that, I really did) However, with what the trailer shows, I think this series will offer plenty in terms of comedy, as I don’t think the lines of dialogue we heard in the trailer in context will be as similar to Jaden Smith tweets as we are being led to believe. At the very least, there is hope that when put into context, they won’t intentionally sound cringey and forced as if to replicate the hilarity of his most famous tweets.

So, now I’d like to jump into the trailer, stealing a bit of Mother’s Basement’s “What in A PV?” format, although I am not as eloquent as him, and I’m not being sponsored by the network this series is being hosted/licensed on. Now, if I’ve learned anything from the Anime Youtube community, it’s that sometimes one shot can encapsulate a whole show. In Made in Abyss, the opening scene that drags the camera vertically up from the bottom of the abyss has been analyzed by many this season as a key example of this. The shot right before the title drops, I believe is this show’s rather crude version of that. When we are shown the two girls playing tennis, the reaction of the girl breaking her racket is supposed to be seen as strange and over dramatic to the extent that our curiosity is awakened. We are immediately supposed to be led to believe that the rest of the trailer will show us a rather over the top reactions made by characters, and the entire show will be similar in nature. But, when the shot freezes and starts playing Studio Ghibli like music over top the brush stroke stylized title drop, the contrast is supposed to leave us with more questions than answers.

This show is a parody, so it’s going to be packed with references. These two contrasting shots that follow one another are very much that, references. The mecha robot seen throughout the trailer does not imply that the show will be attempting to invoke the mecha genre in anyway, but it exists for purpose of being an allusion to that genre, as well as a spin on the robot butler trope. When I found people stating that they thought this show had no direction and was plain cringey, I was a little surprised. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was a passion project, as I am not familiar with Ezra Koenig’s works or interests, but another Google search has revealed to me the show’s intent is to be “a postmodern collage of homages to classic anime, English literature, and modern New York fashion and culture”, as stated by Netflix themselves. This explains how we got from Neo Tokyo to Yokio (New York + Neo Tokyo, although some of the narration about the city reminds me more of New Orleans, but I digress)  But, I feel as though people are fearing this is going to end up being like this season’s “THE REFLECTION” in nature rather than something like a comedic “Children of Ether”.

For those of you who went to Anime Expo this year or attended one of the Anime Movie Night screenings or encore screenings during the summer, I can hear some of you finding disgust with my comparison there. For those who are unaware, “Children of Ether” is a Crunchyroll original series created by LeSean Thomas and animated alongside the help of Japanese studio Satelight. An ONA is available on Crunchyroll and was premiered at the aforementioned events, and it too pays tribute to classic animes, but ones close to Thomas’s heart in terms of their animation, storytelling, and representation. The most notable and prominent influence on the work being Michiko & Hatchin, a series I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be a beautiful action and crime road trip story. Now, I would like to make it clear I am in no way saying that I think “Neo Yokio” is going to be an equivalent to “Children of Ether”, but I am saying it is possible to pay tribute to anime in your story in a multitude of ways. (Once again, see Avatar is an Anime, Fuck You, Fight Me). When I watched “Children of Ether”’s ONA short in theaters, I found it to be a rather interesting story that I looked forward to seeing more of. It had an art style similar to the works it had been influenced by, as the character designer was the same one from Michiko & Hatchin, and it’s voice acting for the main cast was well done and the world was fleshed out enough that it distanced itself from every other post-apocalyptic story we had seen in both eastern and western media. The only fault I had with the real short was the way the character’s mouths and bodies moved in accordance with their voices was always slightly off, both in mouth flaps and general motion. It ended up making some scenes very awkward to watch. Now, that can be explained away by problems with mixing Japanese animation and English voices, but the strange thing is, “Neo Yokio” doesn’t have that issue.

To be more precise, I understand that’s not enough to give Neo Yokio a leg to stand on or to place it above or on par with “Children of Ether” in any way. (I just figured it would be a good way to break paragraphs) “Neo Yokio” might have a better production team than “Children of Ether”, or at best one that has more experienced animating for another language, and as it would seem, that is Production I.G. But if you’re confused on why “Neo Yokio”’s art style has turned so many people off at the same time, it is being co-produced with Studio Deen. (So…) Yet, I feel it is unfair for people to treat “Children of Ether” so well when one can hold hope for “Neo Yokio” in the same way. The art style certainly does not have the same realistic edge as “Children of Ether” does, nor does it have KyoAni or A-1 Picture’s eye candy animation or anything like you would expect to see in “Ping-Pong: The Animation”, “Mob Psycho 100”, or “Tatami Galaxy”. In many ways, I think many people are forgetting what a lot of children’s anime or even mediocre anime looks like- it looks like “Neo Yokio”. It’s not trying to be anything special in that regard, and the typical art style one might see in a Pokemon episode is expanded upon by its western edge, which makes it into its own little mish-mosh creation. I understand it may not be pleasing to some, but it’s not trying to do what “Children of Ether” did where the production company literally was able to snag the exact designer of the work it was influenced by to create something equal. If anything, I think if “Neo Yokio” was given any sort of mainstream style (yes, at this point, I’d say even the oddballs with mixed media styles have enough to be grouped as a collective mainstream style decision) it would be worse off, because then it would be seen as trying too hard to be an actual anime. It would come off as obnoxious and be insulting.

“Children of Ether”’s purpose is to be its own work that visibly shows off the works that preceded it and influenced it in hopes of creating a compelling action and adventure story in a fresh post apocalyptic world. It also hopes to inspire more works to help increase the number of stories in anime that include diversity and representation amongst its cast. The tone of the serious is going to be serious but not melancholy, being able to build exciting suspense in fight scenes without ever falling too far away from the ability to turn a sad moment into a hopeful, but not heartfelt scene. “Avatar: the Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra” both are established in Mother’s Basement’s video essay as being a part of the anime community for their obvious art style and storytelling. While western media is meant to make people laugh first, Japanese media is always meant to make you feel for characters before you laugh at them, and although these two series often are known for their comedic scenes, they never break their emotional moments for comedy, they let them set in and simply be emotional and heart wrenching. Even shows like “Steven Universe” can be seen as not a direct western-anime equivalent, but have its moments where it allows itself to replicate Avatar and Korra it’s emotional scenes, but it plays more to the western cartoon art style. Yet, the idea of the story itself is not far from what would be found in Japanese media. And then there’s “Neo Yokio”.

Even though it is true that Japanese animation aims for emotion over comedy, there are countless animes that exist for the pure purpose of making you laugh. “Neo Yokio” is going to be much different than any other western anime purely because all of the aforementioned ones ended up following two main things: art style and storytelling. “Neo Yokio” is a parody though, so both of these are actually secondary. If it were to try to follow the storytelling style, it would end up being “edgy” with all its references being seen as though it was trying too hard to replicate anime that it would be cringey- as many proclaim it will be. The lines hashed out by Jaden Smith should be enough to explain away that, but the main point is that because this series is trying to include a variety of anime references (mechas, demon hunters, etc.) the story is going to be certainly original but not original enough that it can survive in a serious tone and not been called out as a blatant copy. By taking the parody route, the series will most likely be able to be consumed as a sort of an anime abridged video, but not to improvisation level and chaoticness of “Ghost Stories”. I deeply believe that by deciding to make this series a parody instead of your typical western anime, it will be much more successful and much less cringey than it is being expected to be.

(Here are two of the articles I referenced for some of LeSean Thomas’s comments about “Children of Ether”, besides my own viewing of the ONA:

https://goo.gl/NDeUub

https://goo.gl/UZRk7P

Thank you for reading this! Let me know if you want me to ramble/review about any series in particular!)

[recentanimenews]

Defining Moments In Anime: Goku Goes Super Saiyan

  Defining Moments In Anime is a new series from Crunchyroll that looks at various scenes in anime across all genres to showcase why they are special, fondly remembered, have become popular due to memes, or are just fun. We'll break down the moment itself, provide the context leading up to it, discuss the aftermath of what this moment did for the show and its fans, and figure out why exactly its worthy of being a Defining Moment In Anime!

  A terrifying, golden aura has enlightened Planet Namek as Goku's rage has boiled over and he's on the verge of an astonishing transformation. On June 19, 1991, fans of Dragon Ball Z were able to witness a turning point for the series with episode 95, "Transformed At Last!! The Legendary Super Saiyan, Son Goku." At the time, people probably didn’t have a clue as to how this episode would change the course of the Dragon Ball Z series, much less how it would become an iconic part of popular culture for the next three decades. While that moment became one of the first things people think of when it comes to Dragon Ball Z, how did we get to this point in the series? To find out, we need to explore the context of this scene, its generational grip on anime and media with more parodies and references than you can count, the trend of athletes and celebrities themselves becoming Super Saiyans, and why it’s been so fondly remembered.

  So, how do we get to this point? What led up to Frieza pushing Goku to his limits emotionally, which causes the transformation? A significant amount of time has been spent on Planet Namek as Krillin, Gohan, Bulma, Piccolo, Vegeta, and now Goku attempted to track down a new set of Dragon Balls. The Ginyu Squad has been disposed of, and all that stands between Earth’s mightiest warriors and the Namekian Dragon Balls is the one person who destroyed the Saiyan home planet: Frieza. By this point, Frieza has transformed into his final form and wreaked havoc on everyone. Goku has even managed to pull out a Spirit Bomb, but that wasn’t enough to take Frieza out. Instead, Frieza gets really mad and tries to finish off Goku once and for all, only for Piccolo to sacrifice himself to save Goku. In order to really show Goku who’s the boss in this fight, Frieza lifts Krillin, blows him up, and threatens to do the same to Gohan. This is the ultimate catalyst for Goku’s forthcoming transformation.

    The episode makes this moment into a big deal, as it should, although it's unlikely that anyone knew how big of a moment this would end up becoming. The change in demeanor that Goku has, the (literal) electricity in the air, and how emotional everyone is within the episode makes it seem so memorable. None of the other initial Super Saiyan transformations match this in terms of intensity and how they’re remembered. Vegeta’s transformation (which happened thanks to nearly dying from a giant meteor) is almost an afterthought in the Androids Saga. Even when Gohan is able to do it, it’s more of a given that he would be able to pull it off, and it’s not seen as a show-stealing moment that will shock fans.

  Despite the fact that this episode took eight years to come out overseas, the concept of Super Saiyans is something that is still talked about to this day and is a moment that really took Dragon Ball Z on a different trajectory from the original Dragon Ball. The series became, in a sense, an arms race for power as each new villain would be more powerful than the next, which would cause our heroes to find some new way to match that via more elaborate Super Saiyan transformations or through the help of fusions. Essentially, power levels weren’t quantifiable by numbers (but more on that later) and instead were just feelings that people had that made them know if someone was truly dangerous or not. The idea of Super Saiyans has continued to grow exponentially through Dragon Ball Super and will keep going if the series moves forward.

    I don’t know if many of you were around when Dragon Ball Z was huge in the late 90s/early 00s and could have predicted that Super Saiyans would still have this much staying power to this day. There were so many people during that time that had “SSJ_(insert user name here)” instant messenger IDs, emails, message board handles, you name it (myself included). You’d read about these fabled Super Saiyan 5 transformations and a post- Dragon Ball GT story called Dragon Ball AF because people needed more. Years later Super Saiyans would still be parodied in shows such as YuruYuri or the moment itself would just be referenced, such as in NARUTO Spin-Off: Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals. Or, in some cases, you'll just see edited gifs of celebrities going Super Saiyan like Michael Phelps, Miguel Herrera, and John Cena (with subreddits and meme pages archiving and creating even more). Jaden Smith practically had a whole song about it. 

   Source: "Jaden - GOKU"

  When I first watched this episode, there was such a fever pitch of excitement for where the series would go next. It's strange to think that the idea of spoiler culture really wasn't a thing, so my friends and I would try to devour any information we could get for the arcs that hadn't been dubbed into English yet. What would you do with all of that time where you're stuck with re-runs? Find Dragon Ball Z fan sites, of course, read about the Androids, Cell, and Buu sagas and have your mind blown. Plus, you could also find some strange fan-subbed images of Goku cursing up a storm and totally believe that's what the dialogue actually was. I can vividly remember reading up about The Great Saiyaman before it aired in America and rushing to school the next day to tell my cousin about it. Knowing about these new levels of Super Saiyan didn't diminish their magnitude when the series finally got to them. In contrast, when Dragon Ball finally aired in America, seeing Goku change into a Great Ape didn't feel as impressive. On the other hand, you could come up with your own original Dragon Ball characters to placate the downtime. There's certainly something nostalgic about this time period where I wanted to know everything I could about new Super Saiyan levels, new characters, new stories, and anything new that pertained to Dragon Ball Z.

    I can't exactly remember if I saw it when it premiered or caught a reairing of the episode later on. Regardless, the episode really felt like a turning point for the series when watching this moment for the first time. Sure, Super Saiyans were hinted at, but this was still a huge deal to witness. When I reflect back on Dragon Ball Z, this is easily on the shortlist of top/best moments from the entire series and something I will always want to go back and watch. Back then, home video releases were inconsistent and then you'd have to wait an additional couple of months to see them on TV. It was excruciating. But despite that, this moment is probably the catalyst for me wanting to just find out everything about the series as soon as possible, rather than wait another six months for the next set of episodes to come out. If I somehow could travel back to when I first watched this episode, I'm sure 9- or 10-year-old-me is just sitting there in awe with what transpired and mentally saying "holy crap" a lot.

  What makes this moment so fondly remembered by fans and makes it such an iconic moment in anime? One easy answer is that big transformation sequences are, to put it plainly, really cool. It’s one of the reasons why the magical girl genre has thrived for nearly 60 years. It’s also an extension of the power fantasy where you want to believe you have something that’s untapped and hidden within you that can help you out of bad situations.

  The Saiyan's distinct look also stands out from anything else that was happening in Dragon Ball Z as super spikey blonde hair and blue-green eyes makes more of an immediate impact. You might think that was a choice to make these characters truly look different, but in reality, Akira Toriyama just wanted to cut back on coloring Goku's hair black in the manga, so he decided on something that could be represented in an uncolored way. And even though Toriyama would also try to quantify Saiyan power levels with S-Cells almost 21 years after the debut of Goku's transformation in the manga, the feeling and emotion behind turning Super Saiyan is still in the forefront of the cultural memory, as opposed to some other Sci-Fi series.

    There’s also a distinct shift in Goku's demeanor when he first transforms where he takes on an even more serious approach that borders on cockiness at times. Something that might not be as well remembered from this part of Dragon Ball Z is that Goku’s hubris nearly comes back to bite him after not being prepared for Frieza's full power. Goku had to learn quickly that having a higher level of power doesn’t always mean you can take it easy. Goku was serious in big time fights before in both Dragon Ball and Z, but here he was bringing a different level of intensity that fit more in line with an edgier culture that was beginning to take hold during that time. 

  As Goku’s rage begins to envelop him after the death of Krillin, lightning strikes and his power starts to terraform the ground around him. His hair stands up in a way it hasn’t before and begins to flash with a golden radiance. Soon afterward, his power skyrockets as he’s enveloped in a yellow light that transforms him into what many thought was just a legend, a Super Saiyan—a defining moment in anime that won’t soon be forgotten.

  What do you remember most about the first time you saw Goku become a Super Saiyan? Is it something that's stuck with you? Let us know down in the comments below, along with any other moments in anime you'd like to see featured!

---

Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup where he can be found always wanting to talk about Love Live! Sunshine!! or whatever else he's into at the moment. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.

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

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[atlasifyllm]

Because yes (Part 2)

21. Your most artistic OC

Not counting the various singer OCs, I’m gonna go with the obvious one and say Nio in Chrisis. She is a personification of my creativity, after all!

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

In all honesty I can see people getting Ruby Raleigh (DOTS:DD) wrong. She does seem like the typical anime protag (well, maybe she kinda is ^^;) but I feel like she’s not as... annoying, per say. I feel like she’s always had some sort of heroism in her this whole time that she’s never noticed before, but seems covered by the “gluttonous punk rocker” sona she has.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

I actually may or may not be posting about this later in the evening ^^;

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

I’m sorry I love Cobalt too much, but I wanna say him. I wanna give him a big hug.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

...Tigerlily, aha- We’re both short, have short hair, pretty gay, and honestly pretty useless. And we’ve both done bad things and felt those bad things, but I want to change Tig to be a positive character, so I can be positive too! We’re also both very picky eaters, whoops-

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will?

Emphasis on against my will. I changed a bunch of my OCs from a previous time into the DOTS characters everyone knows now because I was afraid from all the backlash I had recieved from them, especially from someone I don’t like talking about now.

Although it was a tragedy to scrap something so dear to me, I made not one, but TWO different stories because of that!

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

First off, Yang Blake (DOTS: DD) was based off of Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance! I was pretty blank on his personality at first, but the second I heard Bulletproof Heart while making his character he just sorta ended up as an embodiement of that song! I can never actually talk about Yang’s personality without mentioning the song!

This next one’s pretty recent actually! I haven’t drawn her digitally yet, but the song Valiant Heart by Nyxtheshield featuring Melodiva inspired my OC Princess Orlene from Dragon Destiny! I imagined the song to be her singing to Storm Gray, another character in the story, and I ended up getting the sweet and calm and flowing voice as inspiration for Orlene’s personality! I had already made her basic concept and design, but the song definitely helped with her personality.

28. Your most dangerous OC?

First off without spoilers, Ater from DOTS: DD. She’s never actually meant to be a main villain during DOTS: DD, but in all honesty she’s the most dangerous that I can actually say.

Going off of non-spoilery territory... - Dark from Last Light! He’s the unofficial “king” of the Darksiders in the story, he’s manipulative and will get EXTREMELY enraged when something doesn’t go his way. Did I mention he’s like part butterfly monster? Yeah. - Ringo from PSG! Although he’s an anime parody character, he’s solely meant to become bloodlusty in the story, nearly wiping out all his friends with the exception of Momo, who isn’t present during said scene - Ventus from AuAg. He’s not particularly evil, though a bit lacking on morals and therefore ending up with The “King of Switchblade Fights” title. If he puts his all into a fight, you’re either dead or about to be sent on a very urgent hospital trip.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

Zephyr from Sky Games is the ONE that comes into my head. I admit he’s technically a game character model, but he’s less talk and more action. Also he acts typically emo without even wearing black. Weird.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

Rose Morganite from DOTS: DD and Nimbus Fulmen from AuAg. Both are sweet kids that honestly get put through too much to handle at their age, emphasis on Sweet. Nimbus is sorta akin to Steven in SU which is why I imagine him to love them, Rose just happens to love stuffed animals since she’s honestly a bit more childish 

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

These two sounded the most funny to me so here ya go:

Ruby (DOTS: DD) reblogs a bunch of neon lights and rock bandom things, she’s probably obsessed with red/black color schemes so anything with that too. Also maybe even a sword or two, can’t go wrong with some cool-looking weaponry!

Ventus (AuAg) is... so terribly edgy tbh. He reblogs a buncha lyrics to the song “Lights Out” by MSI (PUNCH YA LIGHTS OUT, HIT THE PAVEMENT, THAT’S WHAT I CALL ENTERTAINMENT), knives, knives, more knives, that kinda shit. But also he’d reblog soap carving videos until he reaches post limit. He’s honestly not in love with killing 24/7; the guy just loves knives

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

Erin from Beyond Repair. She’s already mostly alone throughout the story, which already in itself seems on the border of horror. Also she reacts to things much less, she’s not really afraid of anything so it’d just be the video that goes “In the name of the father, the son, and holy spirit, fuck off please”

33. Your shyest OC?

Rose Morganite from DOTS: DD, definitely. As youngest of the paladins, especially of a pink soul, she’s overall shy around adults and other people. She likes being alone if she can, but rather than Tig’s crippling social anxiety she’s more of a shy kid than anything else.

34. Do you have any twin characters? 35. Any sibling characters?

Note: NO SHIPPING ANY OF THEM. EVER. 

Twins: -Yin and Yang (DOTS: DD/DOTS: SF) - Arke and Iris (DOTSverse) - Turquoise and Zetto (DOTS: 5x5) Technically they are like one day apart or so but they see themselves as twins and age at the exact same rate. 5x5 Paladins are weird in that way - Roman and Remus (Dragon Destiny) - Ultra and Aqua (Dragon Destiny) - PT and Prince Azurite (SOTGC) - Pandia and Cynthia (DOTSverse) - Robin and Roxy (Zero Percent) - Nox and Pax (My newest story, Empiretale: Starlight Speedway)

Siblings: - Tig and Cobalt (DOTS:DD/DOTS:SF) - Alba and Ater (DOTSverse) - Prince Helios and Princess Selene (DOTSverse) - Quinn Magenta and Pink (Dragon Destiny) - Ventus and Nimbus (AuAg) - Caligo and Luna (AuAg) - Chris and... whoever they are (D.EXE) - Lux, Nox, and Pax (ET: SS)

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Nahh... actually I don’t remember if I ever did. I’m gonna say no though.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

I’ve talked about the paladins before, and the meme says an OC and not a whole race, sooo-

Storm and Chai are half dragons! Though the dragons are more based off of wolves since I suck at lizards right now O_O; whoopsie. They’re part of a science experiment, so they’re only two people out of a semi-big population of half-dragons. I drew Chai and his dragon form last night! 

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

I want to say Yang from DOTS: DD since he’s the one I jokingly said took ballet at one point in his life. Also I say jokingly because the dude was obsessed with rap music as a kid which probably doesn’t go too well with ballet. Aka kiddo Yang is based off of Abridged Jaden Yuki

39. Introduce any character you want

This is Omega!Nature. He’s a nature fairy from A Story Told and 100% done with everyone’s shit. He really hates humans but hangs out with two of them because he failed at doing a Fairy(tm) Prank on them. He’s an asshole and it’s charming because he looks like Tinkerbell’s emo phase mixed with the Onceler with the voice of Fidget from Dust: An Elysian Tail. 

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

I have very fond memories with Blake, Ruby, Cobalt, and Tigerlily from DOTS: DD, because they were my first original four characters I made back in 5th grade from a story I ended up continuing till this day! They had a lot of name changes, their first names have been Jaden, Jade, Chris, and Onishi, in that order. Because they’re my most developed four OCs, I have fond memories of seeing them grow into the characters they are now. Even if Blake somehow kept getting scrapped them coming back as an entirely new character. Huh.

[2-xv]

Listen, Don’t Hear

      There was a knock on the door. It was first period, the end of the semester. Class would be starting in 5 minutes. What could be waiting on the other side of the door this early morning?

     “Sorry to disrupt your class.” said the principal.

     Being in high school, they say that if you know any of the staff of the school besides those you have to associate with, you must be a troublemaker, and I was not one of those people. She was with a two police officers. Going to a pretty average school, seeing them in school wasn’t very odd, but to have them come to our class was surprising. Whispers started to float around the air.

     “Yo! Who snitched?” said one of my friends making us all laugh, and the class’ volume started to grow.

     “Okay, class settle down!” said Mr. Smith, my data management teacher for the semester. The class settled down a bit, still with whispers. For a moment, it was light fun time until I heard my name be called.

     “We need to speak to Roy Chandler.” said the officer. It wasn’t just my name that made my heart drop, but her tone. She said it in a way a doctor would tell a patient that they had a week to live.

     “My guy, what did you do? What’s going on?” my best friend, Noah, asked me.

     I shrugged. I had no clue what was happening. I got up and started walking from the back left corner in the class, where my little group of friends had huddled up for the semester, but as soon as I took two steps the principal stopped me.

     “Please gather all your things.” the whole class, already staring at me, looked at me differently for a second. For some reason, even I thought I did something wrong. Am I getting arrested? Did I do something illegal? What do they know about me? What’s going on? The worst I’ve done was get high once, and it wasn’t even mine. Could I go to jail for that? Charged with consumption of illegal substances- is that even what the charge is? No, I can’t be going to jail for that, everybody smokes. Can’t be downloading illegal music either. What did I do to get me into a mess with the police?

     I put on my jacket, get my backpack, which was filled with barely anything since it’s basically a free period due to exams coming. I dab up my boys and proceed to walk to the door.

     “Free up Roy!” all my friends start chanting, basically implying that I was going to jail and needed to be released. Chuckling out of the room, the two officers, male and female, both around my height are the same eye-level, looking at me with barely any expression. Still smiling, I look at the principal. She looks at me with eyes of pity, also seeming to be on the verge of tears. What is this? Are these eyes of disappointment of having one of her students at her school being arrested on school property? The male officer beings to speak in a clear, very deep voice.

     “I’m sorry to have to tell you, during a time like this, and at school, but your father has passed away this morning.”

     The school bell rings.

       Numb. If that was a feeling, that’s how I feel. Blank. My mind is empty. Broken, torn, damaged, shattered, crushed. Those are the best ways to describe what’s coming. My dad, not just my father, dead? 

       “Since you’re still a minor, what we...” says the woman police officer, but her words just fade in and out. Everything just goes slow. I’m stuck in my own mind.

      “...with us, because there aren’t any relatives that...” in and out her sentences flow. The three of them continue to look at me. They see that I’m empty. The principal starts to cry. Why the hell is she crying? She doesn’t know me, she didn’t know dad, she cries for what? Pity? I continue to look down at the male officer’s boots. That’s all I’m focused on right now. The salt stains that haven’t been cleaned in weeks, the small trails of dirt and water they made through the hallway. I can’t right now. I can’t give into what they’re saying. I don’t know. There’s nobody left in this world. My mother’s relatives all passed away. Dad was an only child and my grandparents are gone too. Oh, but they don’t even mention Chris. I don’t want to hear them trying to hunt him down anymore. He left when I was born. Either way, the only way we’re related or have any sort of “relationship” is that we have the same parents. I wouldn’t even consider him family, but some guy who has the same blood.

      “... will be fine, so don’t worry.” says the male officer.

      “Why?” I say. 

      That’s the first thing I say to the three of them in this five minute talk that feels like a complete hour. They all look confused. They all look at me while I solely focus on him. I look up at him, looking at him dead in the eye. I step up to his face with this subtle aggression. We’re only centimeters from touching. Nobody stops me. He looks into my eyes as well. He tries to find me, he switches back and forth from eye to eye. Nobody pushes me off or tells me to stop. He can see it in my eyes that there’s nothing. No feeling, no family, no filter, no excuses, no love,- nothing. I feel drips off my chin. I feel a ball in my throat and my face growing warm. I realize that I’m crying. In the officer’s face, you see what he sees. He sees a kid, who’s just lost something so important to him. He sees a kid who’s life just fell apart in his face. He sees the effects of words, the chain of events that can just break somebody. I can see it in his eyes though, he shows me no pity. He knows what’s coming in my life, he knows that I’m going to remember this day for the rest of my life. He knows that I’m out for a long ride. I can see the other officer in the corner of my eye, just looking at us. She understands this moment we’re having. Despite being strangers, the three of us are standing here, sharing an atmosphere. The sobs of the principal can’t be heard in this little bubble. It’s completely silent between us. You can only hear the drips of their wet boots and the tears dropping off my face. Sounds that can’t be heard.        A break down. Grabbing onto his shoulders, my legs just disappeared from my body. The officer trying to hold me to stand. I’m screaming.       “WHY?” I’m screaming like I’ve never screamed before. I become a mess. Already drenched in tears, I’m on the ground with the small puddles I was just looking at with no feeling. I’m asking him an impossible question.        “What’s going on?!”       “What happened?”       “Roy!”       Four of my boys rush out of the classroom talking all at the same time. My back towards them, seeing I’m on my knees gripping onto this officer with the other one trying to help him to keep me standing. The principal starts to cry again. They take about ten seconds to analyze what’s going on while Noah, my best friend, doesn’t even take a millisecond to run up and help the two officers hold me up. Noah has never seen me like this. He’s completely shocked. We’ve been friends literally our entire lives. In a split second, I see his nervous and completely confused face. He just holds me. He holds me like I’m dying in his arms. The rest of my friends don’t know what to do. The officers back up a little while looking at me and each other. We’re sitting there on the wet ground. I don’t even notice the amount of people around us. Some people come out of their classrooms while the teachers try to hold them back. The officers command everybody that there’s nothing to see and to go back to their classrooms. My friends join in and the officers let them.       “What the hell are you looking at? Go back to class you idiot!” says Kendrick.       “GWAN.” says Jaden in his deep loud voice, scaring some people back to class.       In these moments the hallway starts to clear. All classroom doors are shut. 

Plot

Followed music career despite the complications of losing their only relative and having their love interest cheat on him. Was adopted by a person 10 years older than they were.

Time

January 2020, end of first semester of grade 12.

CHARACTERS

               Roy Chandler

Protagonist, 17 years old

Born January 1st, 2002 to Raymond Chandler and Caroline Chandler (deceased when giving birth). Has an older brother who is 10 years older, moved out when he was 16, named Chris Chandler, whereabouts unknown. Has a best friend named Noah Graham. Moves ever so often due to father`s late payments on rent. His father works in a factory. They live in apartments across the GTA and he has only been to few outside events such as traveling to New York every New Years. He's been writing music since he was a kid. Self-taught himself to play the piano, drums, violin, and bass guitar. He has never been inside a studio, nor know how those things work, barely uses software. He met his girlfriend at a party and in grade nine in his math class. Later, he witnesses his girlfriend, Tina cheating on him with a guy she has actually been talking to for two months. After a month of severe depression, he comes back to his music and starts to take opportunities that change his life for the better.

            Tina Smith

17 years old, Roy’s love interest

Born September 28, 2002. Has a year older sister and divorced parents due to her mother cheating on her father. She does good in school, recently moved from Montreal to Toronto from her father's house to her mother’s due to the fact that her father needed to travel for work. She meets Ernest at a party and eventually gets with him while still being together with Roy.

           Ernest Ravera

18 years old, Tina’s new boyfriend

Born August 9th, 2001. Met Tina at a party and tries to court her not knowing that she has a boyfriend. He knew that she was talking to another guy (Roy), but didn’t know that they were exclusive until Roy eventually confronts him casually asking him what his intentions were. He thoughts that Roy and Tina were best friends and didn’t know that Roy was the same guy Tina was talking about when she mentioned that she was talking to somebody else.

          Raymond Chandler

Husband of Caroline Chandler, father of Roy Chandler and Chris Chandler

Born and raised in Toronto, met his wife in the fifth grade and eventually married at the age of 20 in 1993 since Caroline was pregnant with Chris.

         Chris Chandler

27 years old, Roy’s brother

Born on May 22nd, 1993. Later finds Roy and tries to patch the non-existent brotherhood they missed out on.

         Lovell Woods

27 years old, adopted parent, secretly a music artist and mechanical engineer

Was an orphan, born and raised in Rexdale until he was 20 years old and able to move into Toronto to pursue his masters degree in mechanical engineering. He is also a very popular anonymous artist. He sees a lot of himself in Roy, thus tries to be his life mentor and gives him underlying music tips through life lessons.

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[kuriboo]

Turbo Duels and Accel Synchro Summons

So, I just got done with a final, I want to take a break from studying, and I’ve been thinking about this for a week. So I hope you all won’t mind if I indulge myself a bit as I pour out some thoughts comparing and contrasting different aspects of Yugioh GX, Yugioh Arc V, and Yugioh 5DS (up to episode 72 of 5D’s; i’ve finished the others). I’m not going to be talking about the plot, here (not much), and not really the characters, either. What I’ve been thinking about and what I want to talk about here is comparing the actual card game itself, as it stands in these three series. I’ve been into the card game for probably about 15 years now, so watching these shows I’m just as interested in the card game as I am the characters. Definitely throwing a readmore on this one to spare you all, sorry in advance.

Dueling itself has evolved quite a lot over these three series. Yugioh GX didn’t really bring much new to the table in terms of evolution, but it certainly expanded upon what Duel Monsters already established. There’s a lot of Fusion summons (the main character’s main strategy), there’s a lot of Ritual summons (the main strategy of another major character), we see a lot of long chains, different ways to defeat your opponent, and tons of new cards. Yugioh 5D’s brought the addition of Synchro monsters, which were very difficult to take down at the time unless you had them yourself (or at least, I know I had a lot of trouble). Yugioh Arc V took all of this, including the XYZ summons from Zexal, and added Pendulum summons and monsters, which really turned the tides. We all know all this. We’re all very well aware of these different summons and monsters. I am, I’m sure you are, this is all nothing new. But this isn’t all these series do. There are some aspects of the card games that are anime exclusive, and that’s what I really want to get into. 

See, something about 5D’s has been bothering me, since way back when I started watching season 2. And I couldn’t quite place it since what seemed to be bugging me had really similar elements in GX and Arc V, and I had no problems there. So what was with this double standard? But first, let’s step back a bit.

The anime exclusive part of dueling in Yugioh GX is nothing new, because we see it in Duel Monsters as well: the heart of the cards. The heart of the cards isn’t bullshit, and it’s not luck, not in the anime; every card contains a duel spirit, and the cards will respond to their duelist’s wishes and feelings. You’re backed into a corner, about to lose, and you have one last draw and one last turn and you’re desperate for something to turn the tides in your favor, and your cards respond and you draw exactly what you need. Duel Links implements this somewhat with certain skills characters can unlock. But it’s far more than just drawing the card you need at the right time. Cards themselves can even change their name and appearance, add themselves to your deck at will, remove themselves if need be. We see this in GX, 5D’s, and Arc V. Jaden’s deck changes to include Dark Fusion and Evil Heroes when he’s possessed  by the Supreme King. (Although, personally I would’ve liked the name Elemental Villains over Evil Heroes, but I digress. The point is, there’s no card shop selling Elemental Hero cards conveniently hanging out in Hell) When Jesse Anderson is possessed by Yubel, the names of his Crystal Beast cards change to reflect that. In 5D’s, the Crimson Dragon responds when a Signer is in danger, and adds a tuner dragon to the top of their deck to let them Synchro summon an even stronger dragon than before. In Arc V, the best example of this is towards the end, when Yuto takes over his shared existence with Yuya when he’s about to duel Ruri, and Yuya’s deck changes to become Yuto’s deck. Later on, when Zarc is revived, the names of his dragons change to reflect this, though they are otherwise unchanged. This…does not happen when you’re physically holding the cards and playing the game, trust me. If it did, I’d definitely not have so many loses and so few wins. Other than that, we see some of the dimensions duel monster spirits live in, and we get to see duel spirits in our own through our protagonist. Heart of the Cards is the only real major anime-only dueling mechanic here, at least from what I remember. 

In Yugioh Arc V, what we’re given is a lot more obvious; Real Solid Vision gives cards real mass, so monsters can really be touched and card effects can really be felt. In addition, we’re given Action Cards. These function differently in the anime and manga, but the basics of it is: action cards can be found on the field during an action duel. These include Action Magic cards and Action Traps. Action Magic cards are added to the hand, can be used in either player’s turn, usually provide a benefit to their user, but only one can be held at a time. Action Traps are more rare but activate as soon as their picked up and usually cause damager to their user. Combining these aspects we get Action Duels which are a lot more…active. Instead of watching two losers stand around and play a card game, we see duelists ride their duel monsters around, use their field to their advantage, and it’s really entertaining, leading to the rise of Entertainment Duelists.

Now, a lot of this is weird bullshit, but it doesn’t really bug me at all. I actually like all of this and like that it’s all in the shows. The heart of the cards itself kind of eliminates bullshit, in a way. Yeah, it usually serves to help our protagonist, and yeah, it’s not fun seeing the protagonist win all the time, and yeah, the heart of the cards leads to more wins than loses for the protagonist. But more than anything, it serves the plot really well. It leads to a majority of duelists respecting their monsters and cards, rather than seeing them as a tool of some kind. It allows for the symbolism of a duelist becoming evil and their cards reflecting that. And for a game that can really be luck-based at times, it makes apocalyptic situations seem less, oh the hero got lucky, and more oh, the duelist believed in themself and their cards which lead to their win. 

Action Duels themselves really serve the viewer more than the plot or the characters. Sure, the show bases itself around that idea, but for the most part it could probably stand without Action Cards and Real Solid Vision with some tweaks. Yuya doesn’t need Action Cards to have struggle in his duels; at first, his win-lose record is a solid 50-50. He only really improves after the introduction of Pendulum Summons, and if we didn’t have Action Cards, he has plenty of monster effects and spells and traps that would negate attacks instead. Honestly, not a lot would have to change. But really, they only make things better. Someone explained really well once why Action Cards help the show more than harm it, so we’ll ignore that. But Action Duels themselves? Fun as hell to watch, man. We get to see people riding their monsters, hiding behind traps, runinng around the field, and just moving everywhere, and it’s all part of their strategies. Watching Action Duels and then going back and watching duels where people just stand around is rough. Even the part of Arc V where we switched to Riding Duels for awhile was a lot more boring than the rest of the series (we couldn’t leave that part of the show soon enough). Action Duels are really fun, and suddenly you don’t really mind when duels run really long.

This anime-only shit in Arc V and GX really serves to help the show in all these cases. This is not the only thing GX and Arc V have in common, so this really comes as no surprise  to me. But in multiple ways, 5D’s has aspects that are the complete opposite of these shows, and this is one of them. 5D’s anime-only shit kind of….harms it a bit, and breaks immersion for me a bit while I’m sitting there wondering what the fuck they just did.

First off, Turbo Duels. I like Turbo Duels. I like card games on motorcycles. It’s a little ridiculous, sure, and probably not the best thing since it’s definitely not safe (look at how many crashes there are in the series), but it’s a step in the right direction. People are riding motorcycles, and it’s more fun to watch than a regular duel. High speed duel chases by Sector Security are thrilling. I’m a Sonic fan too - I have a need for speed, so I just really like the motorcycles in this show. But Turbo Duels can be a bit much. Speed Counters and Speed Spells are largely unnecessary, honestly. Speed Spells, like Action Cards, could easily be replaced by regular spells and traps, but the difference between Speed Spells and Action Cards are that Action Cards are more thrilling and fun for the audience, while Speed Spells are just a huge inconvenience for everyone. Speed Spells are explained poorly, for starters, and it took me at least one season to figure them out. And there’s not nearly as much tension with them as Action Cards, because either you don’t have enough Speed Counters to use them, which is rare tbh, or you just slap them on the field and it’s literally no different from regular Spell Cards. The only thing Speed Counters really add is with the effects of Speed World 2 letting you like, draw another card during your turn, which is easily replaced by Jar of Greed or whatever you happen to need at that second. Speed Counters and Speed Spells mostly serve to just make the game more confusing, to be frank. And that’s not a good thing in a Turbo Duel: you already have to worry about driving your motorcycle, staying upright, not losing any of your cards, the cards in your hand, the cards on your field, the cards on your opponent’s field, and life points. That’s a lot of multitasking, which not everyone can do. Turbo Duels essentially don’t have Speed Counters or Speed Spells in Arc V anymore, if mostly thanks to the field spell Cross Over, and I don’t miss them. It gives duelists a lot less to worry about. They’re not horrible. I don’t hate them. I don’t mind them at all. But they don’t really add anything super great or useful so they’re not my favorite.

And then we have the anime-only summoning methods. Alright.

We've got Dark Tuners and Dark Synchro Monsters to start off with. This one isn't actually that bad. The symbolism of the monsters devouring each other or whatever is kind of...weird, and I wanted to keep vore out of my card games, but alright. It has the symbolism, which isn't subtle but still there. Dark Synchro Monsters, they're the bad guys, yeah we get it. The speech of "when shadows devour shadows the curtain pulls back to reveal a world without light" or whatever it is, it gets really repetitive when used in every episode for an entire season, but I actually like that! It's a lot like Arc V, actually - usually when a duelist is summoning their ace monster, there's a small speech to go with it asking the monster for their help. Duel Links also has it to a much smaller degree. It's a minor thing, but it's a sweet gesture and I like it. It's just a little bit over the top for me honestly. Monsters with negative levels, Dark Tuner Monsters, Dark Synchro Summons, Dark Synchro Monsters, we get it you're evil. You start choking on the symbolism a bit. Dark Synchro Monsters don't do anything Synchro Monsters can do. GX didn't need to create Dark Fusion monsters to get the symbolism across that someone had turned evil. I'm not stupid and kids aren't stupid. And these things weren't even anyone's ace monster. I like them other than that, but other than in name they're just Synchro monsters my man. I like the Earthbound Immortals. 

No problems with them for me. Moving along.

Accel Synchros are the worst offender. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not very far into season 3 so they were only just introduced to me, but they’re probably my least favorite thing to happen in Yugioh ever. See, I liked the plot line of the Synchro Solution. Synchro monsters are great, but it’s good to have other strategies too, and I was really hoping for someone to bust out a strategy that didn’t involve Synchro monsters. Fusion monsters? Using special summons to bust out a level 7 or 8 monster in one turn? It’s all very much possible. I don’t know what I was hoping for, but I was really looking forward to seeing what the show came up with. Accel Synchro Monsters aren’t...really what I was looking for, what I wanted to see, or anything. There’s no reason to even really give them a name. Sure, they’re monsters summoned from Synchro Summoning Synchro Monsters, but we’ve already seen that, why’re these different? Just call it a Synchro monster, slap the effects on it, and call it a day! I think I would’ve liked it better if that’s what they had done, honestly. Yusei finds a Synchro Monster immune to card effects. Simple solution. Doesn’t even have to have over 2500 attack points, power it up with a trap or a spell, or hell, its own effect. Accel Synchros can be done during the opponents turn. This is absolute bullshit, honestly. This is the only summoning method that can be done normally like this. Pendulum Summoning, as overpowered as it is, can only be done in your turn. I’m not counting Special Summons from a Spell/Trap or ranking up your XYZ monster with a rank up Quick-Play Spell (or anything similar) because these are from Quick-Play Spells and Traps, which have always been around and are different from just summoning the monster. That’s very much bullshit. It’s like, go back to Duel Monsters, Yugi’s dueling Pegasus, and Pegasus decides he can Ritual Summon Relinquished during Yugi’s turn and it’s legal. It’s, stupid, and it’s a rule they never break and they never should break. Plus, the whole speeding up to use them, thing? Disgusting. There’s a reason Sonic never runs at top speed. Driving a motorcycle that fast is super dangerous and you shouldn’t be fucking doing that. It also breaks the idea that was introduced that your speed is determined by the number of Speed Counters you have; even before Accel Synchro Summoning, I think they might’ve just forgotten this. You can Accel Synchro Summon after you have, what, two Speed Counters? But by their already established rules you shouldn’t be able to do it unless you have 12 or whatever the max actually is, and then it’d be less broken and awful. It’s repetitive, unnecessary, breaks the rules, and it’s dangerous as shit. I do not like this.

Plus, I really want to stress that they really aren’t necessary. Fusion monsters or Tribute monsters or hell, even Ritual monsters could have done the same thing the plot required without adding a new thing for everyone to learn. You want to still have Synchros involved? Fine, fuse some Synchros or something. We don’t really need to add new rules and make everything complicated, especially for something that really shouldn’t even be new. You can agree or disagree with me if you want, I don’t care, but this is bullshit and Yugioh 5D’s ruined a perfectly good plotline with this, so fuck you Yugioh

Arc V had a similar thing, where instead of finding something beyond Synchro monsters or just as powerful or whatever, but with Pendulum monsters. But they solved this with the tools already available - overlaying Pendulum monsters, tuning Pendulum monsters, fusing Pendulum monsters, even do it more than once. Arc V handled this idea way better than 5D’s. I know everyone hates Arc V now and all and yeah I still like it, but Arc V very much handled this type of plot better than 5D’s and there’s no reason to hate Arc V anyway?

Fuck Accel Synchro Sumoning, basically, to sum up this all. This is the worst anime-only aspect of dueling I have ever seen and I doubt they’ll give me anything worse from here on.