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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

Text

The duty of a servant

Liar96

Notes:

Inspired by a post I once saw on Tumblr, if I find it again I'll leave the link here.

Work Text:

Petter and Wendy were adults trapped in the little bodies of an infant, they were malicious and served their dirty and evil interests of Mr. Kelvin. They had helped prevent many children from ever seeing sunlight again, and they did not regret it.

However, Maylene knew neither of those things when one of her bullets, accurate and deadly, had pierced from side to side the head of what appeared to be a girl not much older than her young master.

He didn't waste much time looking at her or watching her do those graceful and agile pirouettes in the air. As soon as he had her in his sights he had pulled the trigger on her.

He tried not to think too much about it. That was one of the things they taught her when they made her a murderer, not to write her epitaphs, not to try to figure out who hers were, how they got there, in front of the barrel of her gun, they were targets and nothing. plus.

But sometimes she did, who doesn't, right? Who is able to look at the inert body of a stranger he has just killed without asking?

It's like reading the last page of a book…

Imagination begins to work on its own. But that's when you get distracted,

careless, let your guard down, and then it's someone else's turn to wonder what happened to you. He tried to put it out of her mind. Instead, he began to wonder how many more there might be in the mansion, how many more were seeking to disturb the nocturnal peace of the house, and how many more shots it would take to finish them off.

After all, delivering a clean mansion is the duty of the Phantomhive house maid.

Series this work belongs to:

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Malaise Airs

Bipey1Berry

Summary:

Sebastian Michaelis has a lot of experience with children. As a former teacher at Lockwell Private Academy, Sebastian knows all about troublesome brats. At least- he thought he did.

When Sebastian's life-long friend Agni offers him a new job opportunity, to which he reluctantly accepted, Sebastian finds some children can be a lot more interesting- and annoying, than he was once lead to believe.

*Trigger Warning- for about chapter 6 onwards*

(Fluff, non-sexual boyxboy Pairings, rape (mentioned), pedophilia (mentioned), mental illnesses, Ect.)

Chapter 1: Welcome To The White Queens Private Academy~

Notes:

(A/N: please read trigger warnings in the description, this will apply for future chapters mostly, thank you! *flashbacks are in bold*. A/N at end)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

En•nui ( noun) /an-we/: a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of occupation or excitement.

Welcome to the White Queens Private Academy, we look forward to your working here. Below you will find the necessary information for your employment.

-All luggage will need to be dropped off at your provided housing before your first workday. (be prepared for introductions with the owners of the surrounding units)

-Please report to the main office (Mr. Tanaka or Mr. "Undertaker") to get a workday schedule and information after breakfast.

Breakfast is served at 7 am sharp. Please do not be late.

{Sebastian's POV}

As he exited the train, he was greeted with a cool breeze of autumn wind. The air wasn't necessarily cold, but the blowing wind served as a reminder that winter was fast approaching. Struggling through the crowds of people hurrying to their own affairs was much more difficult than he first had anticipated. Of course, it should have been expected of England's capital.

Finally seeing his cab from the corner of his eye, he headed straight towards it eager to escape the bustling crowd. Only just saving himself from falling straight into the back seat, he set his luggage in the trunk and was on his way.

The drive was only about an hour from the station and had quite a few local shops and tourist attractions along the way. A deep irking feeling infiltrated his head about twenty minutes into the trip. "What was he even here for" he had nearly convinced himself that this would a wonderful change to his normally mundane life teaching spoiled rich brats. How had he even convinced himself that he would have an even remotely nice time teaching traumatized or otherwise messed up spoiled rich brats, who are locked up at some boarding school waiting to re-enter society like normal civilized human beings?!

Calming himself down after that sudden inward display of anger, he thought of the meeting that caused all of this nonsense.

Sebastian was having tea at a famous cafe in town with that person. Being quite good friends ever since college they tried to meet every couple of months as to not drift too far apart.

"Agni..." Sebastian sighed, "I'm perfectly fine being where I am. There's no need to try something different." "Sebastian please, I promise it won't be the least bit boring. Besides we're short on actual teachers. The school is still in primary trials, you would only have to look after 9 children."

"Even still, I can't just up and quit my job." He answered, "We don't need you right away! You can come in a few months." Agni was desperate.

"I would be leaving spoiled brats to go take care of needier spoiled brats, not exactly what I call entertaining of any sort."

"3 weeks."

"I-"

"Not even a full month. After 3 weeks you can do whatever your heart desires, but please help me out for 3 weeks! As a favor from an old friend.

How could he refuse? "Fine. But only for 3 weeks."

"Why did I even go through with this?" He thought just as his new (and temporary) home came into view. It seemed like all of his woes just kept adding up.

Paying the driver and retrieving his luggage from the truck, he finally looked up at the two brown, castle-like buildings.

The main building; At least that's what he assumed would be the main building because of the size difference, Was big and elegant. Like a smaller version of Hogwarts or a rightful Victorian manor. The courtyard was teeming with red, orange, and yellow leaves giving off a warm yet chilling aura.

On the side of the school enclosing the courtyard was the dorms. It was the size of 1/3 of a Victorian manor, not reaching the height of the width of the academy.

Deciding that was his destination, he ascended the few steps leading to the entrance. He took a deep breath and opened the door. "It can't possibly go as terribly as I think it will."

Notes:

(Authors note: Don't be so sure sebbyyy~ haha I enjoy putting my characters in misery. Thank you for reading the first chapter! This is my first ever fanfic. I plan to make about 10 chapters? More, much longer than this, please look forward to it!)

Chapter 2: Welcome To The Dining Hall~

Notes:

(Authors Note: Slight warning for Grell being...well, Grell)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Fraught (adjective) /frot/: a situation or course of action; filled with or likely to result in something most undesirable.

{Sebastian's POV}

When one usually enters an unfamiliar building, one's first instinct would be to look around. And well, he did exactly that.

After the first 7 minutes, he was starting to have doubts that he picked the dorm building. Although the more he explored the more certain he was that he picked the correct building. The large structure was separated into two parts by a wall on the right, the second part not being accessible by the outside. When Sebastian first entered, the floor looked like an office building. To the right was a large doorway leading to a sitting area made for children. Deciding that was most likely the student quarters he felt no need to enter that threshold.

Continuing his search through the left side of the building seeing no signs of human life, he ascended the large staircase to the second floor. This floor unlike the previous, had many doors filling up the long hallway. Opening a random door felt like his best option, so he did.

This was most likely the best choice he had made in a while considering the circumstances. Behind the door was A maroon haired lady standing no-so steadily on a step ladder trying to reach for several plates in a large china cabinet.

"Excuse me, Miss?" He suddenly called, causing the maroon haired lady to lose her balance dropping all those plates during her fall. Luckily Sebastian was able to catch both the plates and the maiden before they fell fully unto the ground.

"O-oh hello! so sorry for that just now, I'm very clumsy you see." She rambled, obviously distracted by the man holding her up. "I'm glad I found you, I almost thought I had gone to the wrong building. My name is Sebastian Michaelis, pleasure."

"Sebas-...M-My name is Mey-Rin! I'm a maid here, very nice to meet you." She bowed her head slightly embarrassed of the way she stumbled over her words.

Sebastian let the maid stand back up and stepped away, giving her enough room to regain her balance. The step ladder that had been teetering back and forth finally fell with a loud 'BANG!' due to the added weight on the uneven floor.

Looking around Sebastian noticed this was actually a supply room for plates, napkins, silverware, and the like.

Snapping out of his thoughts he heard footsteps approaching the room. The door was left open due to Sebastian's rush to save Mey-Rin, The two people only had to poke their head through the doorway.

Just to his luck, he recognized one of the two intruders. "Agni.." he sighed slightly relived "There you are, I was starting to wonder if I had entered the wrong building." "Ahh, Sebastian?" Agni checked the time on his watch. "I completely lost track of time! I was having a meeting and-" "It's fine." He interjected.

"We should head to the dining hall. There is no need to be late for supper." The other person stepped a bit more through the doorway, checking his pocket watch. 'I can already tell that one has a horrid attitude; And, who even uses a pocket watch nowadays?' They ended up walking in silence, well, mostly silence aside from Mey-Rin's quiet murmurs of who-knows-what. The group passed most of the doors in the long hallway leading to what seemed like the dining hall.

As they arrived, once again another load noise was heard from what he assumed was the kitchen. Angi rushed in yelling "Was that you Baldroy? Don't worry about cooking haha, I'll do it!" in a slightly panicked manor. Once again Sebastian was alone, of course, with the company to many strangers.

'Sadly, I'm getting used to clumsy workers and strange noises. Is that bad?' He thought. "Before dinner is served you introduce yourself to the other workers. After dinner, I will take you to meet the children." Claude interrupted. Again, barely glancing at him.

The dining hall was one of those places which, when you think about it in your mind was a very large, extravagant place. It was not. And, while it did look nice, it was more homely than anything. It was a large but not too large rectangle room. Part the room was cut off because of the half wall separating the dining part from the kitchen part. Inside you could see Agni running around trying to prepare dinner whilst being pestered by a tall, bulky, blonde-haired man smoking. Well, if you could call it smoking if the cigarette wasn't lit.

The dining part of the room had wooden walls with windows on one side, tile floors, and wooden tables. It reminded him a little of a smaller version of an off-brand harry potter dining hall. There were 4 tables, all rectangular, and fitting for the space they were in. The lights in the room were bright yet gave off a yellowy-orange glow. Comforting.

As one would assume there were in fact other people working here. And, based on their appearances; all had very colorful personalities. Only four people were in the room, occupying two of the tables.

At one, a flamboyant red-head was annoying a stern-looking man with glasses. The man looked almost ready to punch the red-head halfway into space. At the other table a blonde-haired boy, who looked young enough to be attending the school was talking to a lilac haired young woman. One of her eyes was covered by a bandage.

He opted to introduce himself to the lilac-blonde-haired duo first. The other two gave him a bad feeling.

Claude and Mey-rin trailed behind him as he walked over. "Ah! 'ello Mr. Claude, 'ello Mey-rin! and umm, who are you?" "I'm-" "He is Sebastian Michalis, the new teacher here. And, the one whom you were supposed to greet at the door, Finnian." Claude interrupted, glaring wholes into 'Finnian'. 'Does this man have a personal vendetta with everyone?'

"So sorry Mr. Claude, I was helping Hannah change her bandages and lost track of time!" You could've seen a halo floating near his head. "The Names Finnian, but you can just call me Finny!" He said holding out his hand. "Sebastian, as you already know." he took the handshake. "This here in Hannah!" Finny said gesturing towards the lilac haired girl. She bowed her head slightly at him then looked away.

Sebastian could feel a piercing glare at the back of his head. It was, of course, Claude. Sebastian assumed he was telling him to 'Hurry up and move on, we don't have all day.'

"Well well well, you never told me that our new addition was coming today did you Claudey~?"

All-day the greatest thing on Sebastian's mind was, 'what did I get myself into?' And right now, he regretted not listening to the little voice in his head more than he has ever thought possible. Really, he contemplated walking out of the building and straight back to his regular life, away from whatever it is he had originally agreed upon.

The red-head in question. The one who made Sebastian truly regret his decision was walking towards him. Or- more correctly, strutting towards him. Sebastian, of course, had nothing against them. It was the way they basically screamed. 'I'm going to completely ruin your calm life because I'm a chaotic walking bar.'

"Sebby~, is it? My name is Grell. I hope we can be very close." they said huskily, as they held out a hand. "Pleasure..." Sebastian replied bitterly, leaving Grell hanging. "Stand down Sutcliff, your already an annoyance."

"I love it when you talk down to me!~" Grell moaned, their voice going at least an active higher.

"I am William T. Spears, Sebastian, isn't it?" William nodded. "Yes, looking forward to working with you."

While Sebastian couldn't quite place a finger on Williams's personality, it seemed they had an unspoken agreement on how to handle the eccentric red-head.

"w-well Sebastian..." Sebastian turned around to face Mey-rin. He had almost forgotten she was behind him. "You can sit with us...o-only if you would like of course!" She stuttered gesturing towards Finny and Hannah. "That would be wonderful," he replied politely smiling. Mey-rin turned a deep crimson.

a bit after introductions Agni and whom he now knows as Bard, or Baldroy, came out from the kitchen and sat down with them.

"Dinner is served"

Notes:

(Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading this chapter! I was really procrastinating about writing the introductions. I actually have up to chapter 5 in drafts right now but I kept changing the concepts midway. They will be out soon.)

Chapter 3: Unexpected Awakenings~

Notes:

(A/N: Just a small surprise chapter that still relates to the story. Oh I just 'wonder' who pov it is.)

Chapter Text

In•som•ni•a (noun) /in'sämnēa/: habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.

{??? pov}

It's dark .

The sound of crying children rang throughout the night. Yet, their location; so far, so isolated. No one can hear them.

It's cold.

One by one, they were being slaughtered like cattle, dispensable objects moved around by the will of others. Used and then thrown away.

No one is coming to save us, are they?

"Hurry up there coming!" "Quit down ya' little mutts!"

Gunshots.

"Keep the ones who'll fetch the best price! We can only take a few."

Banging.

You were right.

He hugged on to the limp body in his arms tighter. The large cage was covered with a cloth cover and loaded unto a truck.

You're always right.

"--------" "They caught up!" "Just drop them here, we gotta run" "But what if they-" "The kid has been lifeless ever since we gave him the body back. Good as dead I tell ya'."

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry.

I'll protect you.

The men fled the truck leaving them stranded.

So please, wake up?

Lights could be seen, even under the thick cloth covering the cage. They approached. He held on to the body tighter. 'I won't let them hurt you anymore.' The strangers started uncovering the cages. "I found some!" "Hurry over here!". He could hear footsteps approaching.

'Go away.' 'Don't hurt us anymore.' An officer pulled off the cover to reveal one eye looking up at him fearfully. "That undertaker...I've found them! The Phantomhives, they're alive!" The officer looked in the cage again. He saw the limp body. "No..." The officer opened the cage door and reached inside to check the body's pulse. The boy shrunk back into the cage. "It's okay now. We're here to save you." The boy made no movements in response.

"Go away..." he responded quietly. "GO AWAY! I won't let anyone hurt him anymore!" Tears streamed down the young boys face.

"Please, I can help. I can save him. Trust me." The officer was pleading.

'Never again'

Please, Ciel?

Chapter 4: Welcome To The Children's Area~

Notes:

(A/N: Hey so this chapter is going to be a lot shorter and might have a few mistakes. This is because I'm basically writing this with no draft and in a 3-hour time slot. I start school tomorrow so the update schedule will be once a week- every Saturday or Sunday. I posted 2 chapters over 2 days because I either had them already or they required very little editing. Thank you for understanding!)

Everyone: "Chutzpah?" I know you like using big words but did'ya have to go with that one?

Author: Well I'm sorry, I couldn't find the right word to give a feeling of annoyance towards the impertinence of children.

Everyone: Come' on you just found it funny didn't-ya?

Author: Fine! I spent 5 minutes straight laughing it the word, it's funny right!?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chutzpah (noun) /KHo͝otspə/: shameless audacity; impudence.

{Sebastian POV}

Dinner- made by Agni with bards help, of course, was wonderful. Agni's curry was always the best. A refreshing end to an otherwise chaotic day. except- it wasn't quite over yet, after dinner he and Claude descended the staircase and headed toward the children's room he had noticed when he first arrived.

The doorway was pretty large and didn't impede your ability to see the entire room, even from a fairly large distance away. The only difference from then and now was that magically, children occupied the space. Looking closer the room was divided from a colorful sitting area with toys to a dining area with a small kitchen. As of right now, the children were in that sitting area. A nameless maid was clearing away the remains of their dinner, while they chatted happily.

"Children..." Claude's entire personality was demanding and cold. One could help but to shut up and listen when he entered a room. A complete mood ruiner.

"This is Sebastian Michaelis, your new teacher. He is in the same position as Mr. Agni. Please introduce yourselves politely." Claude's words came out more like a command than an instruction.

A boy with orange hair went first, he seemed like one of the oldest. "Nice ta' meet ya', I'm Joker."

Claude didn't bat an eye. 'Joker? who would name their child joker?'

He continued. "This here is Beast." he pointed at a girl about the same age with wavy black hair. He kept pointing each one out individually. "That's Prince... Wendy and Peter... Dagger... And last but not least, Doll."

'These have to be nicknames...' Wendy and Peter were the most normal names Sebastian had her in "Joker's" little introduction. "Nice to meet you all..." he replied.

"Oh, uh, and Smiles up in his room. You probably won't see him for a while. And there's only one more he'll uh..." Joker glanced at Claude. "Nevermind."

"We'll see you in the morning. Good night children."

Notes:

(A/N: haha, I've made it my personal mission to make Claude as creepy as possible. In reality, I write all of my stories on Wattpad because I prefer their options for publishing, then transfer them unto ao3. So please point out any mistakes that might occur and I will do my very best to fix them.

Let's have a poll! what should Alois's circus nickname be (Comment what you think)?

-Spider

-His highness/majesty

-psycho

-Other(Comment)

Chapter 5: Welcome To Your First Day~

Notes:

(A/N: School is really taking a toll on me and it's only been 3 days. Is it possible to have senioritis as a freshman????)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hel·lion (noun) /ˈhelyən/: a rowdy, mischievous, or troublemaking person, especially a child.

{Sebastian POV}

...Before Sebastian knew it he was waking up in a bed considering if all the ludicrously he went through yesterday were all just a bad dream. Of course, it wasn't.

Sebastian looked around the room, a bit confused from the grogginess of the morning. 'After I met the children...' He really, really couldn't remember. It was like a hangover after your dog just died. Just, without the headache or nausea.

He decided if his mind didn't want to let him remember he probably shouldn't remember. And got dressed.

His bed chambers- a medium-sized room with a small bathroom attached, accompanied by a wardrobe, desk, and bed. Was extremely simple. Obviously meant for more suitcases and personal touch than he cared to bring with him.

Exiting the room, he was greeted with the lovely image of William trying to pummel Grell out of his room. Something clicked in his brain.

(Last night- after they got back to the dining hall)

"Please report to breakfast at 7:00 am sharp- or earlier, do not be late." And just like that Claude disappeared out of the doorway.

And again- just like that he was attacked from behind "Oh sebby~ you disappeared, I was sad you didn't spend more time with me!" Grell was literally hanging off of Sebastian's back. he looked to William only for him to look away.

Grell swung around to his front and- "Mwa!~" A kiss, right on the lips.

He was in a daze of pure anger. he could hear Finny, Mey-rin, and Bard all laughing. Yet all he could see was red.

"Well then! It must be time for me to make my grand exit! Ta-ta~" Grell said as they scurried off in a panic.

Angi came up to him, almost as dumbstruck as him. "Are you alright?" "I will be." Sebastian cracked his knuckles loudly. "hah~ Please don't be violent Sebastian." Agni sighed...

Some things should stay forgotten.

His anger flared up again.

William spotted Sebastian exiting his room and grabbed Grell by the collar. "No liability." William said to Sebastian, holding Grell at arm's length. Sebastian knocked them over the head once and proceeded downstairs to the dining hall followed by William. Grell, still clutching his head and spouting tiny wines, stayed.

'6:55 am, just in time.'

Breakfast was especially wonderful today.

As soon as Sebastian walked trough the large doorway leading to the children's area, a shiny dart whizzed past his head. 'We haven't even spent one hour together and these brats are already out to get me!' Sebastian's eyebrow twitched.

"Really Dagger! you almost decapitated him!" Said Wendy sitting on the floor. "It's not my fault, really! He just spooked me...walking through the door ya'know." 'Dagger' shouted back. He was met with a symphony of eye-rolls. "Ah. I'm really sorry. Good thing it missed!" 'Dagger' turned toward Sebastian who was still standing in the doorway. "It is a good thing, it wouldn't just be his head if he got hurt." Said 'Joker'. "Really Dagger, be more careful." 'Beast' sighed. "Yes, Miss Beast." 'Dagger' pouted.

Agni, who had been walking with him peaked through the doorway. "Please be more careful, we already had to confiscate your darts before..." Agni sighed.

"Really! I'll be more careful."

The children's area had not changed from the events of the last night. Only one person was missing from the troupe of children, that 'Prince' character. "Is Soma still sleeping?" Asked Agni. 'Soma?' No one Sebastian had met last night went by the name Soma. "Ya' know it, boss!" Said 'Joker' with a laugh. "Really that child. He would sleep forever if nobody was there to wake him up! He really needs to learn..." Agni rambled on as he ascended the stairs.

"So! ya' meet everyone, Black?" 'Joker' turned to Sebastian. "Are you referring to me?" Sebastian questioned. "Who else would I be talk'in to?" 'Joker' smiled. "You've worn almost all black every time I've seen ya' and you have black hair."

"You give everyone nicknames, correct?" "Almost. Mostly just the kids. But you seem nice, so I'll make an exception." Joker's smile got even wider. 'So there all nicknames. hm.'

"Joker a nickname then?" Sebastian asked. "Yep! so is everyone else's, 'sept for Wendy n' Peter." "Then what is your real name?"

Silence.

Agni came just in time dragging a tired-looking 'Prince'- or what from what he knows- Soma, down the stairs. "Just a couple more mintueeeesss." "You've slept long enough." "But Ciel gets to stay in his room all day..."

A sigh.

"Hmm? You're the new teacher, right?" Soma questioned, spotting him from halfway down the stairs. "Ha! you meet em' last night Prince, do ya' really not remember?" Dagger sighed.

"...Right! I remember now! You came in with Claude, You remind me of him. But a more smiley, better version. Your also more good-looking." Rambled Soma.' This child really doesn't stop talking...'

"Don't bother him too much Soma,..." Agni's voice wasn't heard among the children's sudden conversation about- who knows what.

"Not everyone is here as of now... There are actually 9 children in all." 'Oh great. Considering how 'colorful' these kids are, I wonder what the other two are like.' Sebastian sneered at his thoughts.

"Then where are the other two?" He questioned. "Ciel is in his room...You won't see him for a while, I think."

"And- hm. Do remember meeting Hannah?" "The lilac haired woman?" "Yes- the other child- Alois, is on leave for...Attacking her." Agni looked away.

"Attacking her!? And he's just on leave? Shouldn't he be headed to an asylum?"

"It's...complicated. I'll explain later." Agni fully turned away. Signaling the end of their conversation.

'What is wrong with this place?'

Notes:

(A/N: I'm so, so sorry for the well... 3-week delay. I said I would post every week but school really roundhouse kicked me in the gut. I will work hard for future updates. And sorry for the short chapter...I only proofed half of it, *The half that I wrote 3 weeks ago*)

Chapter 6: (Update!)

Chapter Text

Hey everyone! It's Author~ I am officially changing my update time to every 2 weeks!

Just wanted to let you know the rest of this will just be ranting and explaining why- I kinda explained in my last post.

Ok! so for some reason I just really enjoy overworking myself while somehow still remaining lazy. Because of online school (I'm full time online) I working on the computer all day! Then I have club meetings and then dance (for about 2-3 hours Mon-Thurs + Saturday) so only have about 2 hours to myself. I figured I would only write on the weekend to save myself from the unnecessary stress that I love to put myself through.

Also, it seems like I want to write everything except "Malaise Airs"! During these few weeks (Before and after the last chapter I posted) I created an entirely new story* And even wrote 2.5 chapters of it in a few days. I have fallen off of that as well but it keeps coming into my head.

I will not be abandoning "Malaise Airs" Just extending the time when I update it I'm not quite so popular yet so it won't leave to many people waiting on me.

*{Info on the other story}: I actually wrote a story that kinda qualifies as an Au- it was originally a DEN-NOR story. But if I change the names to something different it would be a completely different story- for some reason I really enjoy AU's like that.

If you could tell me if you would rather it be an original story or a den-nor (Hetalia), Au, I would really appreciate it, and I might even post it. But- for now, it will stay in my google docs- never to see the light!

Chapter 7: Welcome to Interrupted Routines~

Notes:

(A/N: I started this on 9/29/20, 5:49 pm. I swear future me if you don't finish this within 2 weeks as you promised- In all honesty during my little break last time, I forgot everything about this stinking fic, I had to go back over the last 4 chapters!!)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ma•laise (noun) /me'lāz/: a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify.

The next few days were unusually normal- definitely a matter of concern. There were no sudden attacks (Aside from a few stray darts)- nothing serious had happened.

The children, as children do, tried to test his patience time- and time again. But if he couldn't handle a few mischievous children- What kind of teacher would he be?

The only thing that was bothering him now- accept for the unexpected peacefulness- are the two children he has yet to meet.

He hasn't even seen Ciel- the boy who never leaves his room- go out for lessons or food. He tried- of course, to knock on his door one or two times but to no avail. 'Don't bother...' Agni had always said to him.

It seemed as though he should bite his words.

Today was like a miracle. He hadn't seen Grell or Claude all morning, Agni seemed to be in a good mood talking to him about something or another- No darts were hurled at him the moment he walked into the children's area, and most of all; a dark blue-haired boy was sitting on the couch, curled up with a book- whom he had never seen before.

He was petite- smaller than a thirteen-year-old should be. (assuming on the information Agni had blurted out-) He could guess this was Ciel. The boy had a black eye-patch perfectly covered by his dark cerulean hair.

He also 'didn't seem like the type to poke someone's eye out' in Sebastian's opinion. But of course, looks could be deceiving.

The child barely spared a glance at the new faces.

The little girl- Doll was sitting by his feet, talking to the air. "Ciel! you've come out- does that mean? I forgot! this is Sebastian, you haven't had the chance to meet him yet." The child ignored him, opting to look at the clock instead.

'What a brat'

"Smile- Alois is coming back today right?" Ciel nodded "So that's why you're out of your room! I might've thought you just wanted to see the new guy." Doll laughed.

"You seem like you in a worse mood today- did you sleep?" Ignored. "You should ask doc or Claude for more of those pills-" "would you shut up, you're giving me a headache." He spoke and then proceeded to bury his head back into the book. 'most definitely a brat.'

'Maybe all of the calm days were compensation for having to deal with him later- these were the brats that he was so tired of.'

Doll didn't look like the comment bothered her at all, but shut-up all the same- the other kids in the room moved on as nothing happened too. 'Was this a common occurrence of something?'

She started to search through the pockets on her jumper and pulled out two lollipops. "Sorry...Strawberry or chocolate?" the boy glanced up with furrowed eyebrows- seemed like his head really did hurt. He pursed his lips. "Chocolate."

Sebastian sighed, 'children really are just children.'

Sebastian turned to Agni, "I'll go get Souma, he should have learned to get up by now!" He said with a sigh.

A few more minutes passed before Claude came through the doorway, a blonde...something clinging on his waist.

This time, Ciel was staring intently. He got up from the couch leaving the book in his place and reached out toward the blonde, shooting an annoyed glare at said dark-haired man.

"You're much too soft on him" Claude muttered. Ciel scoffed and dragged the now-seen blonde boy into his room, slamming the door.

Claude gave a side glance to Sebastian then proceeded to turn around and leave.

Just as soon as commotion had started everything seemed as calm as they had been just a few days ago.

"You must'a been surprised, eh black? Don't worry not usually like that. Just in a bad mood." Joker smiled while patting the elder man's back.

"The blondie there was Alois- just came a few months back. Smile n' him are...close?"

"So Alois doesn't get a nickname but I do?"

"Cause he's a little' jerk! No idea why Ciel likes him so much." Dagger butted in.

"Oh come on! We gotta all gotta try and get along here." Joker scolded.

"Truth is he gets a bit violent when something annoys him- almost poked my eye out for giving em' a nickname!" Joker half-whispered to Sebastian.

'Oh great. A glaring brat and a violent brat. What a wonderful combination.'

"Joker is correct! You are all friends here!" Agni smiled. "You never know what someone has been through." 'what a saint.'

In these normal days, Sebastian had almost completely forgotten this was supported to be an institute for spoiled-rich traumatized brats. And that Alois-kid just reinforced that fact. The only strange thing is why they didn't have someone that violent somewhere more...suited.

"Ciel told me Alois reminds him a bit of someone else. Maybe that's why they're so close?" Doll said, interrupting Sebastian's train of thought.

"Not like we really know anything about either of them." Peter huffed, turning back to his board game with Wendy.

"Is Ciel new here too?" Sebastian thought aloud.

"Come 'ere I'll tell you a story black!" Joker guided him to the couch where Doll was sitting.

"What kind of story?"

"The lore of this place of course!"

"You're exaggerating' joker..." "I'm just tellin' a story Lil' sis!"

"Ciel's been here since this place was built! It was only 'bout 3 years ago but still! Me and the gang only came about a year back."

"Some of us think this place might'a been built for 'em!" Doll laughed.

"...Built for him?" 'Why would an entire school be built for one person?'

"Do ya' know Ciels last name?" Joker asked.

"It seems you kids only use nick-names here." Sebastian was slightly frustrated.

"It's not like we don't have 'em. His names' Phantomhive! The family was in the papes' a few years back."

"Phantomhive. The Queen's 'Guard Dogs'?"

"Correct! People were sayin' someone set the estate on fire with everyone inside- near Christmas too! No one was seen for months so the entire family was confirmed dead." Joker scratched the back of his head.

"The only one to come back was Ciel. He told me his parents had died and that he's been 'ere ever since." Doll looked down at her hands, Dark bangs covering both eyes. "Never said what happened or how he got back- or anything. Mr. Undertaker seems to know him well though."

"That's all we really know! hmm...He likes chocolate! And candy- basically anything sweet, haha. He's allergic to cats too!" Joker said trying to lighten the mood.

'The Phantomhives. The Queen's guard dog, London's underground family. Anyone would be stupid not to know them.' Sebastian smirked.

"This was going to be...Interesting"

Notes:

(A/N: Would you look at this! imagine me actually getting something done on time- or even early. I never would've guessed!)

Chapter 8: (Short Haitus Notice)

Chapter Text

I really should've posted this earlier but stuff happened and yeah. I going to take a short hiatus to focus on school until about... thanksgiving break. Which starts 2 weeks from now. So sorry- I'm just really tired.

I will be continuing to update this after my hiatus with the regular schedule of every 2 weeks- hopefully. Thanks for the support- byebye for now.

Chapter 9: Welcome to The Children's Area Pt.2

Notes:

(A/N: The descriptions may or may not get a little crazy this time haha. I've been reading and analyzing Ray Bradbury books for literacy and now my mind Is filled with making crazy metaphors for everything just to make it hard for the readers to understand. You can tell I'm upset huh.)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

De·spond·ent(adjective) /dəˈspändənt/: in low spirits from loss of hope of courage.

The next day, Sebastian walked into the children's area to find- Suprise, both boys out of hiding.

Instead of lounging on the couch like yesterday, Ciel was sitting in the corner occupied with playing a game of chess with that blonde boy, Alois.

Alois however, looked like he would rather be anywhere else. He was half-sitting in the chair opposite of Ciel, half-laying on the table between them. Paying no to mind to the chessboard in the way.

"Cieeeeelllllll" Groaned Alois. "Can we just do something else? Anything else? You always win and we've already played like, 500 games. Let's I don't know, go outside or something?"

"We've barely played 2 games before you started complaining. And you can't beat me because you're not even trying. Also, we can't go outside because classes start in an hour." Ciel sighed resting his chin on his hand. Alois frowned.

Sebastian drew a bit closer to the pair when Alois suddenly turned his attention away from Ciel and to Sebastian. "Your the new guy right?" Alois mumbled just loud enough for Sebastian to hear. "Sebastian Michalis." He responded, "You must be Alois? Pleasure." He added with an obviously fake smile. "Right..." Alois glanced away, paying no mind to him in the first place.

Alois rose from his seat. His face brighter and smiling sickeningly sweetly at him.

"Oh! New guy! Sebastian right? How would you like to play chess with Ciel, hm? Isn't it just a fine idea? You would love to wouldn't you!" Alois said as he grabbed Sebastian by the arm, sitting him down at the chair he once occupied. "You're the only one who hasn't, so now it's your turn. It's almost like a tradition. Right joker?"

"Wah? a-ah yah, everyone has lost to 'em including students and staff..."

"And! If you win against him, he'll give you a prize! No one has ever won though..." Alois interrupted, moving around the table to sit on the arm of Ciel's chair.

"Care to play a game?" Ciel said looking at him, a small frown still attached to his porcelain face. "I'll try my hand." Sebastian responded.

Interestingly enough the boy was gracious enough to participate in small talk. "Sebastian isn't it?" "That is I." "Sebastian was the name of my dog." The small boy moved his knight.

"Is that so?" Sebastian's forced smile twitched. "It was a big black one- he was quite annoying." The conversation paused. The silence surrounding the table was defending, even with the ongoing chaos surrounding them. Strangely enough, even the eccentric Alois was quiet, only a mirroring frown adorning his small face.

The silence continued for a few more moves. Sebastian moved his king. "Wrong move." Alois's frown deepened. "You were doing so well too. Thought I was finally gonna see what that prize was. How utterly boring." Sebastian realized the blonde boy wasn't just talking about the game with that final line.

"Checkmate." Ciel announced. And with that their short game was completed.

"Everyone should start getting ready!" Agni informed the room. School for them was getting ready to start in the main building in about 20 minutes.

Ciel left his seat, Alois following close behind. Not sparing even a glance at the man behind him.

------------------------------------

The week went by in a flash, and not once had Sebastian beaten that boy. His days looked like this.

Get up, go to the children's area- and enter just in time to hear Alois complaining loudly about whatever game he and Ciel were playing, Get roped into playing one game, lose, then rush everyone out to the main building for lessons.

They never played more than one game. And that brat always had something snarky to say.

The first time they played together he had said "My dog's name was Sebastian." A statement. However, in the following days, it seemed the little boy was merely there to leech at him. And whilst the insults were akin to little bug bites, barely puncturing his skin...Bug bites are exceedingly annoying.

"He looked like you too." Are you saying I look like a dog to you!?

"He was so annoying, always barking and trying to bite me." What are you even trying to refer to!?

And while one could mistake this absent-minded mumbling for a boy reminiscing about his childhood dog. The barks of laughter coming from the boys' side- Alois. Assured him otherwise.

"I didn't know you had a funny-bone in your body Ciel-y!" He would say in between his never-ending stream of giggles.

And while this wasn't the worst week Sebastian had experienced thus far, he couldn't get over the nagging suspicion that he was forgetting- or missing something.

Notes:

(A/N: Lucky I had a snow day and finished nearly on time! Regular 2-week interval updates are back! Also happy holidays!!!!)

#black butler fanfiction

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reactionimagesdaily · 3 years

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Bionicle sounds like a cool concept to me but I have a co-worker who recently told me it's too corny for his suspension of disbelief. I have a distinct feeling he is wrong. Please confirm that he is wrong by telling me about Bionicle's strong points.

Ooh, there are probably a few ways I could go about doing that!

The most prominent thing that comes to mind for me is the fact that Bionicle's cheesy features are there, but there's a whimsical edge to the cheese that makes it feel more like a fantasy epic than anything else. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn leads the Army of the Dead to save the besieged Minas Tirith from Sauron's Orcs, and in Bionicle, Jaller leads the Ta-Koro Guard and the Gukko Force to save the Chronicler's Company from the Rahi. Ya get me? There's a lot of weird and crazy stuff, but it's played straight, internally consistent, and 'cool' enough that I don't think it'd bother people - unless, of course, high fantasy-type stuff just isn't their thing! :P

I'd also add that there's like. a lot of the weird things in bionicle go more down the path of mind-fuckery and disturbing concepts than they do down the path of being 'corny'. I mentioned Mata Nui turning a guy into a snake in my last post, but that's just honestly just scratching the surface. In one story, the main villain dies when a trans-dimensional portal closes while she's halfway through and cuts her in half. In another, this guy called Karzahni rules over a bunch of Matoran (civilian characters) and basically forcefully mutates/Frankensteins them into horrific new forms on the regular. Characters are mind-controlled, and stuck in illusions for years, and de-evolved, and turned into living tapestries. There's a lot of stuff that I just can't remember, but many of the stories - especially the serials and extended pieces of media - have this real weight and darkness to them. It's out there, but it's out there in a way that makes you softly go "what the fuck" as you turn the pages, if that makes sense.

(Of course, there is a decent amount of corniness and one-liners and big damn hero moments as well. It was technically a line marketed towards children, after all! But if that's all you reduce Bionicle to, then I think you're really missing out :3)

#not sure if this counts as the 'strong points' but I feel like this is the best way to develop the idea that it's not too corny for anyone #Sorry this took me a hot minute! writing is hard #not a pic #someone asked me a thing!#ask mood: Don't Get Me Started #bionicle #bionicle lore

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sepublic · 3 years

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New Hagah Elements (And Colors)

In Bionicle G1, there were a couple of elements that I felt were underrepresented, and others, specifically one (Fire) that was overrepresented…

With YaBr changing the list of Matoran elements, this means that some characters, such as Varian, need new elements to compensate… But I also figured; Why not change the elements of pre-existing characters, such as the Toa Hagah?

Changing the Toa Hagah’s elements would help them stand out more, since every other complete team we’ve seen has the typical six, standard elements… It’d help to introduce the other elements into the story with new characters, avoid the repeat of the same ability and color scheme, diversify and add variety, etc.! Plus, I don’t think the Toa Hagah are characters who are so ‘sacred’ and iconic that changing their elements would be blasphemous… And I could get away with it VS the Toa Metru or Inika, who were also present on the island of Mata Nui, and thus need to adhere to just the six elements present there.

With the Toa Hagah, I can expand the skillsets of our protagonists, which again- Helps them stand out more… There’s a reason why I couldn’t remember if it was Norik or Lhikan who used to be Varian’s friend, alas. Besides, the main reason why the initial Rahaga had the standard six elements was because of toys and marketing; The standard six colors were the status quo, they were former Toa and mentors to the Toa Hordika.

Thus, they needed to have the same colors and elements… But because we’re not constrained by set depictions and marketing for YaBr, this means new elements! Besides, it’s not like the Rahaga were able to use their elemental abilities during the 2005 arc anyhow… And Bionicle has messed with the elements and/or colors of set waves, with the green Lehvak having acid, none of the Rahkshi being elemental, and the replacement of Brown with new colors! So the same happens with the Rahaga/Toa Hagah.

So to start;

Iruini- Jungle

Gaaki- Lightning

Bomonga- Gravity

Pouks- Magnetism

Kualus- Sound

Norik is missing, and that’s because there’s only five additional elements from the main six, which messes with each Rahaga being a new element entirely- There just aren’t enough! And while I could just repeat one of the new elements with Norik, this actually gets me towards the idea of either retaining a removed element, or adding a new one entirely- Which would mean two sets of six, which is a nice number to round things out! I’ll cover this suggested twelfth element in another post of its own…

For now, let me explain the choice of new elements for the Toa Hagah;

Iruini is simple. He (or she, I’m changing up genders to further diversify the cast because there are no gender restrictions to elements in YaBr) is green in the source material, specifically a dark green that also fits the color scheme of Bo-Toa. Plus, Iruini specializes in climbers, which fits a Jungle elemental… And Jungle and Air are intertwined, which matches with Iruini being Matau’s mentor.

Gaaki is Lightning because in the source material, Lightning was the only other Female element, and was also Blue like Water! Although funnily enough, I’m doing away with the gender restrictions and probably turning the color for Lightning into Yellow… But it’s a fun meta nod to the source material. Plus, Gaaki’s Rhotuka as a Rahaga might still allow her to shock aquatic animals, being extra-effective in her environment, with her shocks meant to only subdue and not kill.

Bomonga is Gravity, because one of Gravity’s colors is Black. This is of course changed so that Gravity is mainly Purple now, because I like the idea of streamlining YaBr’s take on the elements so that, for the most part, each Element has its own color, with certain exceptions such as Jungle due to the fact that you can’t really think of anything else. Plus, the colors aren’t going to be a strict rule for me, either.

But, back to Bomonga- He’s Gravity because again, the original colors. But also because Gravity deals a lot with weight and heaviness, a topic befitting a Toa of Earth, how ‘Earth’ is a planet with its own gravitational pull… And also the dude can turn gigantic, so it makes him an even more overwhelming force, like he has a center of gravity of his own, fittingly; And I imagine this applies to Bomonga’s overall presence and personality, if we’re going by elemental motifs factoring into character traits.

Pouks is Magnetism, in part because I think Stone and Metal can sort of go together if you squint, not to mention process of elimination with the others… And it’s a fun callback to my other project Bionicle RaE, which melded Stone and Metal into one. Technically Magnetism isn’t Metal, but as I said it’s the closest we’ll ever get to a Metal Toa. Plus, I wanted to do character motifs, and I think that Toa of Magnetism could have different personality options to reflect their power…

Some have a magnetic personality, are just drawn towards others and vice-versa, really likable… But others are the opposite and actively repel and reject people. Considering Pouks is the mentor for Onewa, who himself is the most abrasive of the Toa Metru by far… I think it’s fitting, to have Pouks explain his own situation as someone who used to ‘repel’ others, and in present-day may now be the reverse; But it’s possible he’s still both, being really close to a select group, while wary of all others, being an extreme black-or-white in that he either really likes or really hates you, etc.

There could be conflicting polarities, a paradox going into his personality… But ultimately, whatever flaws he still has, Pouks is nevertheless grown and self-aware enough to call out Onewa over the Hordika’s issues, and compare them to his own. Basically making Pouks the Yondu to Onewa’s Rocket Raccoon, with a whole scene where Pouks explains that he knows everything about Onewa, that he’s right, because he IS Onewa, or once was, a little bitter youth.

And then Kualus is Sound, because process of elimination, I think she (yes, another gender change because again, Bonkle really needs to balance its gender ratio) fits the element better than Norik… And likewise, I remember that particular scene where Kualus rescues an Ice Bat, which echolocate. Not only that, but Kualus talks a lot about communication and speaking, with involves noise… And she herself can mimic the calls of birds, being able to hear and recognize them- Which fits as a Sound elemental, and someone who passes this skill on to Nuju.

As for Norik… Again, I’ll cover him with my other post about my potential twelfth element for YaBr. But for now, I also want to clarify colors for the Rahaga and their elements as a whole by extension… In the end, colors for a Toa –and their secondary ones- aren’t a hard and fast rule, I have a Ko-Toa OC who is predominantly light-blue for example. It’s more of a guideline based on the idea that the color doesn’t clash too much from the concept of their element, especially if their appearance still points towards it, because I like the idea of YaBr Toa having more colorful, elemental appearances akin to the Glatorian, who ironically had no powers themselves.

So to go over the general (but not strict) coloration for the other elements;

Lightning- Yellow

Jungle- Green, with secondary colors like dark blue or red being common

Gravity- Purple

Magnetism- Dark Gray or silver, and almost always have opposing red and blue accents

Sound- Light Gray

I might also consider Orange for Vo-Toa and/or Fa-Toa… As well as my twelfth element, perhaps. It feels sensible to go through the most basic colors when filling out the list of Matoran Elements and their corresponding traits. Of course, Orange might be a color for Stone if Pohatu Phantoka is any indication…

But then again, I am considering changing the designs of the Adaptive Armor to better match the original Toa Nuva, so maybe Pohatu won’t be orange? Maybe it’ll still be an option, just as Yellow is for Hewkii, because color overlap is always possible and as I said, it’s not a hard, set-fast rule. There is also Pink to consider, which might be another overlap color… Again, colors aren’t strict for Toa, especially not for combinations and additional hues- I’m legit considering a Ko-Toa OC who’s basically Santa Claus and thus has red as a major color.

But yeah, that’s pretty much everything… There is the idea of discussing what the koros and wahis for each of these new elements might be, actually- But I’ll discuss that once I explain my twelfth element and why I’ve given it to Norik, instead of Lightning.

#bionicle #YaBr #Rahaga #Toa Hagah #hagah #toa #iruini #gaaki #kualus #bomonga #pouks #elements #matoran #fanon #worldbuilding

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downtofragglerock · 3 years

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ATOM Kaiju contest submission

Name: Saroguana

Alias: “The Shark of the Skies”

Date Discovered: December 26, 1956

Place of Origin: The Pacific Northwest

Stomping Grounds: The Pacific Northwest, Typhon Island

Height: 60 feet

Length: 90 feet

Wingspan: 110 Feet

Biology: Saroguana is a rather interesting look into the evolutionary process between the Tiny Tyrant and Flying Tyrant Retrosaur clades. Whereas evolution gradually transformed the arms of some species of Tiny Tyrants into wings, Saroguana seems to belong to an offshoot where the opposite occurred, their forelimbs remained relatively unchanged, but their hindlimbs became great sets of wings. Because of this, Saroguana’s center of gravity and the maintaining of that center is more complicated than that of most Flying Tyrants. Their bright orange body naturally leans forward more, on account for the fact that their forelimbs are being used for support. Saroguana has a rather flexible neck to compensate for this so they can still have a full field of vision. Saroguana also has various structures to help maintain balance, mainly their tail and backfins. The tail, while long, acts more like the short rudder tail seen on some Flying Tyrants, rather than the lizard like one seen on most long-tailed Flying Tyrants. The backfins are a more interesting case. They’re lime green, much like a lot of the accents on Saroguana’s body, and have an odd, hockey stick-like shape to them. They stand straight up on the kaiju’s back when grounded and during takeoff, but during flight, they collapse on top of one another, creating a fin-like shape that makes the body more aerodynamic, especially during Saroguana’s divebomb descents, the source for the creature’s moniker of “The Shark of the Skies”.

Personality: Saroguana is seemingly scatterbrained kaiju, never being able to focus on one thing at a time for very long. While the way they dance around in the air is oddly graceful, they’re quite clumsy when it comes to walking on the ground. Most of the time they waddle around wide-eyed like a confused toddler. They’re a bit of a kleptomaniac, taking seemingly random things either because said things are shiny or just interesting in the kaiju’s eyes. Researchers are still trying to figure out what qualifies as “interesting” to this kaiju, as there is almost no legitimate correlation between items. Saroguana is quite friendly, although they have a somewhat hard time befriending other kaiju due to their klutzy and slightly random nature, and despite being in the size range to get some sustenance out of human meat, has no record of actually eating humans strangely enough. And despite their scatterbrain-ed ness, Saroguana is quite curious, investigating even seemingly innocuous things. Of course, these fixations are quite sporadic, quickly moving from one thing to the next and back again, but the dedication seen in those periods is actually quite admirable.

History: It wasn’t too long after Christmas that reports came in about missing… well, just about everything past a certain size. Cars, cattle, roofs, even lampposts where there one moment and seemingly taken the next. A few years prior, this would had left authorities baffled, but the world was now firmly in an age of giant monsters, and the now-reasonable assumption that a kaiju was behind this was quickly assumed. But what kind of monster and where it was were questions still up in the air. A couple days later, a nearby thermal power plant reported disturbances, and several hunches where proven (as well as several bets won) when those assigned to investigate saw two large deep blue eyes staring right at them. The kaiju went on a brief rampage, surprising some with its leg-wings and besting various fighter jets with its dive-bombing prowess. However, during said scuffle, the creature spontaneously retreated and was later found resting in the same plant it was found in. The beast’s motives were realized when a crude cow carcass-ridden nest made up of wrecked cars, building pieces, and lampposts was discovered in one of the hotter areas of the plant, with the kaiju nestled in there like a bird. The creature (which would later be dubbed Saroguana for unknown reasons) was a large reptile in the height of winter, and simply trying to find a nice warm place to rest for the season, like a family during the holidays. Saroguana would later be shipped off to Typhon island where they have acclimated rather well to their new warmer surroundings.

---

At first it was a bit challenging trying to come up with an idea for a kaiju that fit within the parameters of ATOM’s fictional universe, since I’m more of a fan of the “ancient quasi mythical” aspect of kaiju rather than the “giant creature products of the atomic age” that ATOM’s kaiju are more inclined to. My original idea was a heavily mutated deranged crow, as sort of a reference to the infamous knife-wielding crow of Vancouver and the Giant Claw, but it didn’t really feel right. Considering a majority of ATOM’s kaiju are a reference to some distinct type of Mesozoic reptile, I decided to go from there. I wanted my kaiju to stand out, so I looked at the Triassic, and its menagerie of somewhat unappreciated reptilian oddities, for inspiration. I remember a majority of the dinosaur books I had as a kid, during the obligatory “before the dinosaurs” bit, had various stock species shown off, and two creatures that where often featured together where Longisquama and Sharovipteryx, mainly because of the outdated belief that they were connected in some way to pterosaur evolution. I had also been playing around with a speculative evolutionary concept involving the latter animal, wondering if the hind leg gliders could have evolved into full blown wings, said concept was also partly inspired by Sebulba from Star Wars. So, taking a page out of Toho’s notebook of prehistoric chimera kaiju, I decided to combine them, taking Longisquama’s quills and the main body plan of Sharovipteryx. The name is also a combination of the two as well, though I did change “guama” to “guana” to make it sound more like iguana, since the retrosaurs are tied to the old belief of dinosaurs being “big lizards”.

While the color scheme wasn’t featured on the illustration, (I’ve grown more confident in my drawing skills over the years, my coloring abilities, not so much) I decided to base Saroguana’s colors off of the Nui Rama from Bionicle. One was bright orange and the other was lime green, so much like with the design and name, I combined the color schemes into one.

The discovery date is the original Japanese release date for Rodan. It was the first kaiju film I ever saw, and seeing as how I was creating a flying monster, I decided to give it a little shoutout.

For @tyrantisterror and his kaiju contest

#The ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest 3D #Kaiju

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fanfictrashdump · 3 years

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Universe in a Jar - Phase 4 fic

OK. I did something. A few days ago I reblogged this post about the magical trio. And then my brain went off on a monumental tangent and this happened. It’s not my fault, really– Loki is my all-time fave, Wanda could murder me and I’d thank her and Stephen is a smart, sassy bitch... all wins.

So, here, y’all can have it. I might leave it there or I might continue depending on my mood.

Characters: Stephen Strange, Loki, Wanda Maximoff, OC

Rating: T? Language!

Summary: Baby-sitting beings arguably more powerful than him goes awry for Doctor Strange. He knows one person who can possibly keep them isolated and out of trouble. Well, he knew someone who could... he hasn’t seen them in decades and for stupid reasons.

"Wait here. No funny business."

Doctor Stephen Strange half-dragged himself upright to deliver the warning. The portal-hopping and timeline clipping involved in the last twelve hours–if he could even call them that–of his life had really taken it out of him. Who knew fixing tears in the time-space continuum was so exhausting? Doctor Who made it look like a breeze!

Setting his companions with one last threatening glare, he walked up to a faded, run down apartment door with a crooked six hanging just above the knocker. In all honesty, the place looked even worse than what he had anticipated when the hospital directory gave him the address. Still, he knew he had made it here for a reason, despite the fact his stomach was roiling and begging him to reconsider. This was his Hail Mary. Tightening his jaw and frowning himself into another set of early wrinkles, he pounded the wooden entrance so hard the six righted itself.

A minute or so later, the door swung open, a woman filling the empty frame just long enough to lay eyes on the doctor.

"Nope."

The door slammed shut with a noisy shudder just as Stephen opened his mouth. He swallowed the dozen or so expletives that were threatening to wriggle themselves free from his throat. Instead, he straightened his hoodie, loosened his neck with an audible crack, and took a deep breath before the side of his fist struck the door four times.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

Silence.

Stillness.

His companions beginning to titter in the background because for all his pomp and attitude and the timelines are not to be meddled with–I am the Sorcerer Supreme, he could not get a single human to open the door.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

His teeth ground together harder in annoyance. "Seph! I have absolutely no problem in staying here all day. Making a fuss. Screaming at your door. Waking the neighbors. Being a nui–"

The door swung open, then. Stephen was met with a frown and eyes dark as storm clouds and for just a second he forgot why he was doing this. "What the fuck do you want?"

His expression softened under her glare, if only minimally. There was a reluctance in his frame that refused to give up even as he said the words. "I need help, Seph." His eyes flittered briefly over his shoulder and it was just long enough for the woman to notice that the sorcerer was not alone.

Standing on her tiptoes, she looked over his shoulder. Just down the harshly lit hallway, two figures–woman dressed in dark red and a man in an all black suit–stood watching the interaction and chattering among themselves. Her expression lightened just a fraction. "Who's the cutie?"

Stephen looked back, furrowing his brow and taking careful inspection of the other two before directing his attention back to the woman at the door. "Which one is the cutie?"

"Take your pick," she challenged back and even though his initial instinct was to roll his eyes and scoff, a little smirk tugged at his lips.

He whistled, gesturing the door with his head. His companions perked, if only due to sheer curiosity about this new person. "Wanda, Loki, meet Dr. Persephone Hale." He sighed, shoulders slumping in anticipation for what was to come out of his mouth. He gathered the most sincere look he could muster and held her gaze. "Please?"

A million expressions fluttered through her features, including a peculiar twitch of her nose he knew only happened when she was about to do something she really didn't want to. He tried not to celebrate the victory too soon. She was, after all, making him wait for it. After a moment of internal deliberation, she stepped aside and Strange signaled in no uncertain terms that the two needed to step inside.

"Thank you for having us. I'm sorry if we're intruding." Wanda looked tense as she spoke, like they had already had plenty of doors slammed in their face. Or perhaps she was just sensing the thoughts and emotions of their host and fearing the worst.

Seph waved her in. "It's not a problem. I am glad to help an Avenger and… an alien god." She offed them both a forced smile. "Where'd you leave the horns?"

Loki chuckled, straightening his suit. "They didn't go with the outfit. May I?"

"Of course. It's him I'm not crazy about."

The smile on Loki's face grew as he sidled past her, leaving Stephen to glare at them both. "Seph–"

"I don't care. I don't care about whatever excuse you're about to give me–"

"I'm sorry! I can't do anything else other than apologize."

"Yes, you're right. Why would the Sorcerer Supreme even bother with the lesser mortals?" With an icy glare, she turned on her heel and stomped into the apartment, though she left the door open in invitation.

Drawing a long sigh, Stephen reconsidered turning time back just ten minutes and foregoing this whole disaster before realizing he had no other choice, and so he followed her in and closed the door behind him.

The entrance hall of the tiny Bronx apartment melted away after a few steps, replacing stale summer air with a crisp country breeze. Faded blue flower-patterned wallpaper was familiar at first sight, as was the well-loved wooden stair banister, worn in places where the steps were squeaky from nights of trying to sneak in after curfew. Knick-knacks and pictures crammed into every possible space brought back memories that he had long since locked into the back of his mind and forgotten about. Everything within his line of sight brought with it a prickle and tingle of a life past but still haunting him, and he loved and hated it in equal measure.

"Who devised this portal? The work is rather formidable," Loki remarked, breaking the silence, in the closest thing to awe that any of the others had ever heard.

"Oh, i-it’s nothing impressive." Seph quipped, brushing away the compliment.

"So you studied alongside Strange, then?"

"No. Not magic, at least." Persephone gestured with her index around the room. "This is the only thing I can do."

"A feat like this without any of those silly rings that he needs? Impressive." He paced around, touching invisible seams and humming to himself. "With a little training you could do very well for yourself." Neither doctor could decide whether the tone he was using was encouraging or threatening.

"I don't think so," she replied, fidgeting in her oversized cardigan. "I was put off early on."

Despite the fact he was pointedly looking out the window, Stephen could tell Seph's gaze had fallen onto him. There were a million other things he would rather do than have that conversation–a root canal with no lidocaine, for example. He, instead, forced his focus on staring at the house sitting a couple of hundred meters away. The red trim of the roof was looking faded and the gutters were a little loose but it did not seem like the house was in total disrepair.

"I haven't been home in ages," he muttered, off-handedly.

"Oh! Weren't you born and raised in Manhattan? At least according to the Times, anyway." The sarcastic tone Persephone used made an uncomfortable weight press down into his stomach. He opted to count how many missing shingles there were on the roof.

"Ah, so there's history. That explains the dread at having to come to her door," Loki announced genially, clearly in need of some entertainment. "Wanda, you've lost our wager."

"Loki," Wanda warned, taking the time to fix him with a look before gesturing at the other two. They seemed to have been fighting a war entirely through stares.

"Which door leads outside?"

Seph rolled her eyes. "Which fucking door do you think leads outside, Stephen? I thought you were this hot shot genius doctor!"

"I am asking because that door," he gestured at the front door, "leads to the middle of nowhere in the Bronx."

"Then maybe don't take the door that leads to the Bronx, then, jackass. Or better yet, do. Until now, you've never had a problem finding a door away from me."

"That–" He killed the retort before it had a chance to meet the air and instead pivoted his questioning. "Is the key still under the mat?"

"I don't fucking know. Where did you leave the key twenty-whatever years ago you last graced your own doorstep?" With that last remark, she stormed off and up the stairs, cardigan billowing behind her, while Strange wrenched the back door open and threw himself into the field between the houses.

Wanda and Loki shared a look before making themselves scarce, elsewhere.

About an hour later, Wanda opened the door to what she presumed was the main bedroom and peeked inside. Persephone lay with her limbs splayed out, dark curls smushed on one side, blinking blankly at the ceiling. With a sigh, she opened the door a bit more and let herself in.

"I hope you don't mind. Loki and I made some tea. And he might have eaten a whole sleeve of Oreos."

Seph laughed despite her gloom and shuffled to sit up against the headboard. Wanda smiled, offering her an extra mug in her hand, steam billowing from the top invitingly. "Sorry. I've been a terrible hostess."

"You're more hostage than hostess at the moment. I don't blame you." Wanda sipped at her tea for a minute in tense silence. "So, when did you and Stephen date? And how did he fuck it up?"

The responding snort was heartfelt and led to a long laugh. "No. Stephen and I have never dated."

"But there is history."

She ruffled her curls back into shape, out of nervous habit more than concern, and sighed. "Hard not to have when you've known him all your life. He grew up in that house across the way."

"I assumed as much." She gave her an encouraging smile, like a mother coaxing her teen into conversation. It worked exceptionally well on Seph. "Come on. We were neighbors growing up does not cover the level of tension from earlier."

Seph shrugged. "We both wanted to be doctors. I followed him to the same schools, undergrad and med school. We were pretty much our own support system. His sister passed, and his parents, my mom. We always figured it out together–"

There was a bit of confusion in the witch's face. "OK. That sounds really sweet, though."

"–and then one day I told him a secret. I told him I could make doors go to other places and I showed him, and I haven't seen him since."

“Ah, right.” Wanda winced. "That… sucks."

"Yep." She popped the 'p' before sipping at her tea.

"But when he got into magic, surely he–?"

"Nope." She swallowed at a lump in her throat and pushed away the ball of emotions that thinking on that day was dredging up. "That day he said I was crazy, that I drugged him. I've never heard an apology but he somehow gets to be Sorcerer Supreme."

Wanda sighed, taking a long draw from her tea before adding. "Jeez, what a dick."

"I'm assuming this scrawny, little thing is him," Loki remarked from the door, startling both women. He held out a framed picture of four children. "I am assuming he was bullied on that haircut alone."

"No worse than being the only Black kid in school in a small town in rural Nebraska," Seph retorted with a wry grin. Loki considered and shrugged, sitting at the bottom of the bed with what appeared to be a pack of saltines. "That's his little brother, Victor. He's the taller kid. The girl is his sister, Donna. That's the last picture we took before Victor died."

"Didn't his sister die, as well?" Persephone nodded. "So, they've all died. Seems like he's a harbinger of bad luck. Maybe we'd do well to stay away," he quipped, tossing the picture onto the mattress.

"Yes, tell us about harbingers of bad luck, Mr. I've Died More Times Than I Can Remember," Wanda sassed back, much to the other two's amusement.

"I have a question, Lady Hale."

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Seph is fine, Loki."

"These portals, can you make them go anywhere?"

She shook her head. "Only places I've been to, sorry. Can't send you back to whatever planet you want to run off to."

He tsk'ed. "Well, it was worth a try."

"What did you two do to get stuck with the magic police?"

"Created a whole new reality by escaping my first arrest" "Held a whole town hostage in a fake TV show." They replied simultaneously.

"Fuck. No wonder he's desperate," Seph muttered to herself. "Why doesn't he just keep you in the fancy sorcerer place?"

"Too many artifacts to play with." "Too many books with dark magic."

"OK. He's clearly in over his head. No wonder he came here. There's no way he could keep you both controlled and contained without the..." She gestured around the room to signify the magic of her bubble.

"It's nice to let him pretend." Loki offered with a wink. "It's endearing."

Persephone laughed, sparing a passing thought to the idiot who didn't know what he got into. "Well, if you're stuck here, anyway, there's plenty of bedrooms. The bathroom is down the hall. Make yourself comfortable and relax. I'm going to go get dinner started."

Wanda smiled, stretching happily. "I'll take you up on that. I need a shower and some sleep."

Loki smirked. "I'll join you in the kitchen, if you don't mind."

When Stephen returned, a long while later, he was immediately drawn to the familiar smells permeating the house and warming him from the inside out as much as the soft, honeyed whispers being exchanged in the dim light of the kitchen. He found Loki and Persephone at the stove, speaking in hushed voices, closer to each other than he would have deemed appropriate–definitely flirty. Loki had changed out of the black suit into a pair of joggers and a dark green tshirt and seemed downright at home bantering with the human over the simmering pot. His ease made Stephen's left eye twitch immediately, some long-forgotten jealousy roiling in his chest and clenching his fists on their own accord. He cleared his throat loudly to pull their attention.

Seph rolled her eyes and turned back to the pot to stir, though Loki lingered close for a few extra moments before taking half a step back.

"I guess the fun police is back," she muttered under her breath and Loki chuckled.

"Loki, could you go check on Wanda, please?"

"Wanda is sleeping, so no." He turned back to his companion, whispered something into her ear that made her giggle and turn to face him, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

The way his eyes trailed from her lips to his gaze made something snap inside the sorcerer. "Just get lost, will you?"

Seph craned her neck, fixing him with a glare. "Leave him alone. This is my house." Loki grinned, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek with a smug glint in his eye.

"I need to talk to you."

"Funnily enough, I heard all I needed to two decades ago, so…"

"Persephone, I am not playing here, I–" His demand was cut short by the flickering of the walls. Invisible curtains dividing this world from the little ratty apartment in the Bronx were faltering. Just beyond the constraints of the space, a whole new area, neither New York nor Nebraska, was reflected for just a second before it flashed back.

"It's alright, darling. He knows he has no authority here. Settle down, dove," Loki cooed cautiously, eyeing their surroundings with caution. "Do you want me to give you a moment with him?"

Seph sighed, studying Loki’s expression before nodding reluctantly. "Like I have a choice with this idiot."

"Very well. I will make myself scarce." He inclined his head at her, a gentle smile attached. Once he turned, he gave Strange a dirty look with a multitude of silent warnings and retreated to the living room.

Stephen snorted. "What did you do, bribe him?"

Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the stove. "Nope. He was hungry. I fed him. You'd be surprised how much less surly he is when he's full."

He frowned. "We ate before coming here."

"Hm… what's your excuse, then?" After a minute of silence, she glanced over her shoulder to check he was still there. He was. Unfortunately. "Besides, he eats three times as much as you do. Whatever you had wouldn't have made a dent."

"How do you know that?"

She let out a single laugh. "It's this revolutionary practice called talking. You wouldn't know about it, scalpel jock."

"Here’s a thought. How about you let your disdain for me go long enough for us to have a conversation."

The spoon in her hand slammed into the pot with a splash, driving bits of stew everywhere. Reality flickered within the portal and time dilated just long enough for him to notice before everything went smashing back into place. She was good at repressing these feelings, he knew. She must have spent their decades apart trying to control herself, unaided, and now it was his fault that she was losing control.

"How can you pretend that the single worst day of my life is just water under the bridge, Stephen?" She turned from the stove and he noticed her eyes glowed faintly in their intense hazel. "You accused me of drugging you, of deceiving you! I was grieving, my life was a mess, and I suddenly opened doors to places I hadn't been to in years, entirely by accident." She began to close the space between them, rounding the kitchen table. He felt like he should make a hasty retreat but found he lacked the ability. "I was terrified. I needed you! And you left me! I had no one!" Her voice cracked at the end, eyes filling with tears as she did all she could to retain the glare she was directing at him. "And after all that shit, you find magic and you–you didn't even have the decency to come and talk to me until you needed something."

"I didn't understand what had happened, OK? I opened your closet door and stepped into my childhood bedroom, Seph! How was that logical?"

"How did you think I felt, fucker? I was the one doing it!" Her voice rose to a shout and Stephen was quick to match it.

"I'm sorry! OK? I am sorry. I shouldn't have left. I should have reached out to you sooner. I should have helped. I am sorry. I'm s o r r y, but I was a dumb kid and the girl I was in love with could make distances shrink into nothing and I panicked!"

"You should've stayed gone, then," she replied, icily. "Because the boy I was in love with died when you left me alone in that room."

Cold filled his veins, and his spine quivered at her words. This was pure hatred, plain and simple. He couldn't find it within himself to blame her, to logic his way out of his role in her misery. Every excuse he could offer could be countered with 'yes, and it was happening to her, too'. She had been his one support through every bit of rotten luck he ever had. And he left her to her fate in a strange city without a lifeline. He never imagined he would be back to have this conversation, to pick at the scabbed-over wounds he had inflicted long ago.

"Persephone… Seph…" His hands tentatively grasped for her shoulders and gave a squeeze. She flinched, but did not pull away. "I am so sorry." With a little more coaxing, he had enveloped her in his arms, his nose pressed into her hair and inhaling the familiar scent of coconut. "I'm sorry. I am sorry," he chanted, feeling the front of his shirt dampening with her tears as her shoulders relaxed and molded into him. "I am going to make it up to you. I swear."

Persephone sniffled, pulling away from his frame. "I've waited a lifetime for you to come back for me." She blinked and tears streamed down her cheeks. "But I don't want that, anymore.” She made distance, wiping at her eyes and steeling her resolve. He wanted to pull her back to him. She needed to understand his point of view, though it suddenly occurred to him that he never bothered to understand hers. “You're welcome to stay as long as you need. But this isn't fixable, Stephen."

After a tense moment of staring at each other, she skirted past him, ignoring his protests and pleads to talk, opened the pantry door and disappeared through it with a ripple.

“Stellar job, Strange. Now we’re stuck until she gets back,” Loki commented as he slipped into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl of stew and sneaked back out.

For once, Stephen did not argue.

#Stephen Strange #loki mcu #wanda maximoff #original character #marvel phase 4 #we're making it up as we go #marvel #MCU #MCU fanfiction #mcu fanfic #doctor stephen strange #scarlet witch #multiverse

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wall-of-history · 4 years

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BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Beloved as Fans Remember: A Response to Comic Book Resource and Matthew Attanasio

Hey everyone! I’m James, the guy behind Wall of History. I know I rarely drop the facade of my brand on official Wall of History accounts, but today, I’d like to make a more casual, opinionated post on something that’s been getting a lot of attention from the BIONICLE community on Twitter.

Last night, Comic Book Resources posted an article titled “BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Pointless as Fans Remember,” and if you have even a surface-level familiarity with the BIONICLE community, I’m sure you can guess the reaction we had — CBR’s tweet was pretty quickly ratioed by fans, drawing comments like, “Comic book resource [sic] once again proving you do not require a brain to type,” and, “We think that the Vahki would like to have a word with you guys." BIONICLE fans generally agree that Legends of Metru Nui is the best film in the franchise, so claims that we universally “remember” it in such a negative light are completely baseless — I’d like to move past the inflammatory title, however, and analyze the actual contents of the article.

LEGO's decision to focus on prequel material was received as a slap in the face. While fans were ready to see the story press forward, it instead fell backwards to tell stories that held little significance to the ‘present day’ plot of the franchise.

To say that the story of Metru Nui held “little significance” to the plot of the franchise is ridiculous. For three years, fans had been given only vague legends about the origins of the Matoran and their struggle with the Makuta, and after Makuta’s defeat, “pressing forward” meant returning to the world they had left behind following the Great Cataclysm. To introduce us to that world and show us how the Matoran came to be in their present situation was an obvious next step for the story.

That's not to say the various comics and novels didn't deliver interesting stories; they did.

That’s true, they did! However, the rest of this article gives me reason to believe you didn’t actually read them (or, at the very least, didn’t pay attention when you did).

They just weren't what fans craved at the time. Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table in this regard, with a sloppy story, terrible pacing and forgettable characters.

There are numerous claims and implications throughout this article (we’ve already glossed over one) that BIONICLE fans generally felt certain ways about this film, as well as this story arc as a whole, but none of these claims are backed up. To blatantly misrepresent the feelings of the community like this is rather poor journalism.

Regarding your claim that Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table, I’ll reiterate my point from above — the ending of Mask of Light saw the Matoran take the first steps toward reclaiming their home, a home that had been hidden from us, the fans, since the inception of the franchise. Showing us why and how this home was lost in the first place proved to be a vital step in expanding the scope of the BIONICLE legend. Makuta’s actions in Legends of Metru Nui ended up being the inciting incident for the rest of the story, a story that was largely set in the Matoran Universe introduced by this arc.

Your claim that the film has forgettable characters is, like your claim that fans generally remember this film negatively, demonstrably false. Vakama is widely regarded as one of the best characters, if not the best character, in the franchise (the last post on this very blog is evidence of this), and Nidhiki proved to be so popular that his origin story was later relayed to us twice, in the short story “Birth of a Dark Hunter” and the novel BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil.

These new heroes are Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua and Nuju, Toa of Fire, Water, Air, Stone, Earth and Ice, respectively. Whereas Mask of Light's Toa Nuva were already fan-favorites, the Toa Metru were a mixed bag, and this film did nothing to help their image. In truth, all three of the main Bionicle films failed to highlight how awesome the Toa could be, which is a shame.

BIONICLE is not the story of the Toa. It’s the story of the Matoran.

In the behind the scenes featurette on the Legends of Metru Nui DVD, the narrator makes the odd claim that both Mask of Light and Legends of Metru Nui are “all about the Toa.” This claim is odd not just because Mask of Light literally isn’t about the Toa (it’s mostly about two Matoran), but also because the Matoran have always been the heart of the franchise — a fact that Legends of Metru Nui comments on.

Many fans feel that Mata Nui: The Online Game is the best BIONICLE media, and it’s a story that largely focuses on the Matoran. You play as a Matoran, you primarily interact with Matoran, you solve Matoran problems… and until the very end, the Toa are mostly off doing their own thing. This makes for a really compelling story, precisely because the Matoran aren’t “awesome” like the Toa. It’s cool when the Toa unite their elemental powers to make the Makuta explode into a pile of scrap metal, but it’s compelling when the Matoran armies, whose leaders previously seemed preoccupied with their own problems, unite to save the ragtag Chronicler’s Company from what would have been a deadly Rahi attack.

The Matoran have always been the emotional heart of the BIONICLE legend (the Toa’s stories do focus on saving them, after all), and Legends of Metru Nui understands this. When Lhikan tells Vakama to “save the heart of Metru Nui,” the Toa Metru immediately assume he’s talking about himself… and that kind of makes sense! Lhikan is, after all, the last Toa, a fearless, noble hero, and the last bastion of light in a city being consumed by shadows. Of course he’s the heart of Metru Nui! The Toa Metru spend most of the film searching for Lhikan, but when they find him, he’s not the hero he used to be anymore — he’s a small, frail Turaga now, and he berates Vakama for seeking out him instead of saving the true heart of Metru Nui, the Matoran. This is a great twist, not only because it finally delivers on some of the spooky foreshadowing from earlier in the film, but also because it sends a clear message to the audience that the Matoran are the heart of this legend.

The plot revolves around Vakama's (voiced by Alessandro Juliani) inner struggle to realize who he is. If that sounds familiar, it's because that was basically the plot of the first Bionicle film, which handled these themes in a much stronger way.

While it’s true that Takua and Vakama both struggle to accept their destinies as Toa, I feel Vakama’s struggle is the stronger of the two, as his is based in the very relatable anxiety of impostor syndrome.

That's largely because Vakama, along with just about every other character in the film, is incredibly boring.

This is one of the comments I mentioned above that makes it hard for me to believe you actually read the comics and novels that tell the rest of the Metru Nui story. Vakama’s character arc is undoubtedly the most complex in the franchise, based in relatable anxieties, and actually has a clear beginning, middle, and end (contrast this with the more repetitive character arcs of the Toa Nuva, who have to learn about the importance of unity several times over before they finally internalize it).

Despite being the protagonist, Vakama has an incredibly erratic and unfocused arc, while Whenua (voiced by Paul Dobson) and Nuju (voiced by Trevor Devall) receive next to no development at all.

This latter statement regarding Whenua and Nuju is true, but I don’t think it works as a criticism of the film, which is clearly meant to focus on Vakama, Lhikan, the Matoran, and the Makuta. Rarely does a film with an ensemble cast give a complete arc to every single character, and if it keeps the film more focused, that’s a good thing.

And whereas the antagonistic Makuta had a consistent, threatening presence in Mask of Light, he's an absolute joke here.

He eats people in this movie!

However, much like Mask of Light, Legends of Metru Nui maintains the problem of poor editing to the point of being laughably bad. There are transitions and cuts that make absolutely no sense. The movie struggles to let scenes settle and develop, with many in the middle lasting no longer than a minute, which is extremely jarring to watch.

Alright, I’ll give you this one — the editing could stand to be a bit more polished. It’s a film that’s trying to juggle quite a few plot threads, though, so I think its ambition makes its editing shortcomings forgivable.

For example, in the comics, writer Greg Farshtey explains why Vakama experiences visions of the future. But in the film, there's no explanation for this at all, making it seem like Vakama has clairvoyant powers out of nowhere (not that his vision [sic] do anything substantial in the film).

This is an extremely odd comment, because it’s just not true on either count. Vakama’s visions are never explained in the comics, but they are explained in the film, barely fifteen minutes in: “Visions can be a sign of madness, yes, or messages from the Great Spirit.”

The claim that Vakama’s visions contribute nothing substantial to the film is also objectively false, since his visions are what compels the team to go after the Great Disks, from which Vakama crafts the Mask of Time.

There are plenty of other small lines and instances that ignore the continuity, like Whenua commenting on how he went from being a Matoran archivist to a Toa fugitive in a day. That's obviously not how it works -- the disk hunt alone takes a while in both the comics and the film, so Whenua's statement makes no sense.

Whenua’s line is, “When I woke up, all I worried about was cataloging.” He does not explicitly claim to have been a Matoran when he woke up. All this line does is show that Whenua thought he’d be able to return to his life as an archivist now that the Morbuzakh and Krahka had both been defeated.

Of course, nowadays, many Bionicle lore scribes have properly allotted the film in the larger Bionicle timeline. But at the time of release, it felt like Legends of Metru Nui was blatantly going against everything that was already happening in the canon, which was upsetting and/or painful to watch.

Do you have a source confirming that fans felt this way at the time? As I briefly discussed earlier, this article is filled with implications that BIONICLE fans in general feel the same way about Legends of Metru Nui that you do (this is even made explicit in the title), but none of these implications are backed up, and this is simply not the case.

For the true fans out there, revisit this film if you want. Just don't expect anything special.

I watched it just the other day and had a great time! And the last time I hosted a stream of it, we all had a great time! And this brings me back to the core issue with this article: the baseless claim, in both the title and contents, that BIONICLE fans generally dislike Legends of Metru Nui. Perhaps it’s odd to write a response like this for what’s probably a pretty harmless article. Perhaps it’s an overreaction. But to see a huge site like CBR publish an article like this, that's not just full of factual inaccuracies, but also misrepresents the feelings of most of this community, is upsetting. To ascribe this kind of negativity to a generally friendly community, a community that so genuinely loves what we love, flaws and all, for some clickbait ad revenue… is upsetting.

#BIONICLE

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ri-translates · 4 years

Text

Translation: Itaru Chigasaki SSR [Fully Enjoying Nostalgia Park] - GAMER in NY Part 3

The game tournament comes to a conclusion! And Itaru’s prize is...

NOTE: Italicized text indicates spoken English.

Part 1 || Part 2

Sakuya: There’s space in the back of the shop where you can play games.

Citron: These are the Japanese fighting game cabinets!

Itaru: Still, the game at today’s tournament is a series I’ve already played quite a bit….

It’s got my main, the Kuudo, and my opponents are elementary school kids. I’m at an overwhelming advantage.

Shop Owner: “Are you up for it?”

“Today, we’ve got a boy who’s experienced official game tournament matches, undeafeated, participating!”

Citron: Ohh, it looks like there’s a champagne [1] participating in the game tournament too.

Tsuzuru: You mean, “champion”ー Wait, seriously!?

Sakuya: I-Is that true!?

Tsuzuru: Are you gonna be okay, Itaru-san….?

Itaru: Well, keep watching. With the power of the Kuudo on my side, there’s no way I can lose.

Masumi: Is Itaru using the swordsman?

Izumi: Yes, looks like it.

Chikage: And the one his child opponent’s using is Roger, the character Chigasaki was talking about earlier.

Tsuzuru: The Kuudo’s weapon is a katana, while his opponent’s weapon is a gun. You’d expect him to be at a disadvantage since he brought a sword to a gun fight, though...

Itaru: …..Whoops.

Young Opponent: “Haah!”

Itaru: Too easy.

Izumi: His attack and defense is amazing….!

Chikage: They’re neck and neck.

Sakuya: You can do it, Itaru-san!

Citron: Finish him, Itaru!

Young Opponent: “Hmph! This is THE END!”

Itaru: Don’t look down on me, you shitty little brat.

Game Announcer: ーーYOU WIN!

Itaru: Hell yeah!

Citron: You did it! Itaru won!

Izumi: Amazing….!

Young Opponent: “Dammit! What’s with that technique!”

Itaru: The Kuudo’s grab-to-killing blow-from-behind combo. You can’t escape the chain sequence.

“But you were pretty strong yourself. It was a good battle. Thanks.”

~~~

Chikage: To think you’d be the winner overall. I truly am surprised.

Itaru: Are you seeing me in a new light?

Chikage: As if. I meant that otaku are scary.

Itaru: So harsh.

Masumi: You really are immature. I feel a little bad for that kid.

Itaru: Another huge blow to my HP.

Tsuzuru: Well, we can say this or that, but it was pretty entertaining.

Sakuya: There were so many different kinds of merchandise! It was interesting!

Citron: I bought some comics! Let’s all read it together when we get back~

Izumi: Congrats on winning the tournament, Itaru-san. I’m glad you were able to get the figure you wanted too!

Itaru: Ahh, um….I guess.

Izumi: ?

Itaru: Here, Director-san. I’m giving you this.

Izumi: Eh? This is the bag you got earlier for winning the tournament.

…..It’s the mini-figure I said I wanted!

Itaru: Actually, I thought I’d buy it and give it to you since you wanted it that much, but knowing you, you’d absolutely refuse it.

But if I just won it, then it should be fine, right.

Izumi: But, Itaru-san… You really wanted that one game figure, though….

Itaru: Yeah, but it’s fine cuz I can always buy the things I want myself.

Izumi: When did you… Wait, so which one did you end up buying?

Itaru: Ta-daaah. Both.

Izumi: T-That’s the power of money for you…

Itaru: Well, we work in order to use it for our hobbies, right? An adult should be allowed to buy this, at the very least.

Izumi: Geez. But... Thank you very much.

CHOOSE:

-> I’m really happy.

Izumi: I didn’t think I’d be able to get this mini figure….I’m really happy.

Itaru: You’re welcome. If you’re that happy to have it, then it was worth getting.

And when you opened the bag, you made a cute surprised expression.

Izumi: Please don’t tease me…..

-> I want to give you something as thanks.

Izumi: I want to give you something as thanks.

Itaru: You don’t have to. I just gave it to you cuz I wanted to.

Oh, but actually, if we’re talking about something I’m interested in…

I’ve been wanting to try New York-style pizza since we came all this way to America.

If I order some, will you eat it with me?

Izumi: Of course!

Itaru: Then shall we go eat together while I talk about the Kuudo?

Itaru: My Roger and the Kuudo figures, your mini figure…..

We were able to get matching mementos of America.

Izumi: Hehe, you’re right. I’ll treasure it!

TL Notes and Comments:

[1] Citron says ピョンピョン which is basically hopping noises LOL so I played off of Tsuzuru’s correction, “champion.”

And that concludes GAMER in NY! Thank you so, so much to Nui for sharing Itaru’s stories with me and letting me use them for translating! Another big thank you to Mae for proofreading and tl help!

MY ITAIZUS...THEY’RE THRIVING...Itaru being such a big dork who doesn’t care about beating little boys in video games for a prize, only to use it for someone else...HHHHHGH MY HEART. STOP BEING SO CHARMING DAMMIT I’M NOT IMMUNE

If anyone wants to yell with me/at me, you can always hmu on Twitter!

That said, I’m not a pro translator or localization staff so please take my translations with a grain of salt! If you spot any mistakes or translation errors, please don’t hesitate to let me know! Thanks for reading!! 💕💕💕 I hope I’ll have another translation out soon! (And hopefully it’ll be something you’ll all enjoy too!)

Part 1 || Part 2

#a3!#a3! translation #itaru chigasaki #chikage utsuki #masumi usui #tsuzuru minagi #sakuya sakuma #citron #chigasaki itaru #utsuki chikage #usui masumi #minagi tsuzuru #sakuma sakuya #spring troupe #harugumi #ri translates #the itaizu agenda #itaru speaks english #itaru: GAMER in NY

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niccolocraxxi · 4 years

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❛ A FOOL NEVER LEARNS ❜ — JULY ‘64

Why Nick had decided to share his bad news with his wife before their flight, he couldn’t remember. Over the last few days — yes, he’d held onto the news for that long — he’d thought long and hard about how he was going to break things to her and every scenario he’d played in his head had him doing it after their short flight back to Los Angeles. They’d been in Vegas for the past week drinking, gambling, screwing, just having a good ol’ time. Whole weeks like that were few and far between for them these days, what with his work, her work, and the fact that they had two small children always waiting for at least one of them at all times. All things considered, that last week together had been a lot of fun, a huge success, if only Nick hadn’t fucked it all up at the end. ❝ Baby, you know I would go if I could, ❞ he said, breaking the long silence. It was a calculated lie on his part. If it were up to him, she knew, he’d miss as many of her premieres as he could. Faye, of course, was now seated as far away from him in that rented ’63 Cadillac Fleetwood as possible. She’d been cuddled up with him, basking in the glow of a week well-lived, at the start of the drive. Now, she was pressed as close to the opposite rear door as possible. He knew if it were safe enough for her to go right through it just to get farther away from him, she’d do it. Part of him — the foolish part — thought that this was partly her fault. Thought, but didn’t say. Originally, he thought to tell her later that day, when they were finally home and she was surrounded by happy things, like her children, and Rudy, her loyal golden retriever. But then she started talking about the premiere to her next film, a romantic-comedy he couldn’t remember the name of, which was just under two weeks away. Plenty of time, in Nick’s view. She started talking about her plans, what she was going to wear, how excited she was, etc. That’s when he let slip that he might not make it as her date. Of course, might was the word he used in situations like this to soften the blow. Faye knew just his mention of it all but guaranteed he wouldn’t be going with her. As usual, Faye’s silence was deafening. Usually, after making a mistake or having a spat, he could retreat to the garage and pretend to work on one of their cars or his motorcycle. No matter what, she expected him to stay on their property and God help him if he left it without telling her, even if it was just to run an errand. She could be mad at him. Furious, even. But she still wanted him close. Even on those very rare occasions where she sent him to sleep on the couch, he’d have to scoot over and make room for her in the middle of the night because she’d eventually come to cuddle and be held. That’s just the way she was even after five years of marriage. Now that he’d fucked himself, Nick knew that that short flight from McCarran back to Van Nuys was assured to seem like a long one. He had to hide the relief he felt when they finally rounded the last corner that would take them onto the most private part of the airfield. He could sense the relief coming from Tommy, too. Nick didn’t know for sure, but he could swear the man hadn’t looked back once since overhearing his boss drop the bad news to his wife. This was wise on Tommy’s part since he and Faye had known each other long enough now that he was no longer a stranger and thus no longer free from her attitude and scorn. By the time the white limousine came to a stop, McCarran’s main terminal and the wide runways for commercial flights seemed far behind them. Ahead was the twin engine Beechcraft Nick usually used. Part white, part yellow, with green trim, Nick had been using that same plane for years now. He didn’t own it, of course. Together, he and Faye were rich enough, but this one was free and always available, so there was no need to buy their own. He couldn’t remember who actually owned it, or under which dummy compnay it was registered to. It didn’t matter. Even the pilots didn’t know. They just took the cash and kept their mouths shut. Despite the scorching heat he knew was waiting for them right outside, Nick couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. Tommy couldn’t blame him, but he still did his job and made sure to tend to Faye’s door and wasn’t surprised when she gave him the silent treatment on her way out. Lucky for him, he wouldn’t be on the flight with them. His boss would have to endure that all on his own. Nick knew this, too, which was why he quietly watched as she headed for the plane on her own, in a huff, practically stomping her high-heeled feet up the folding stairs that led in. Unable to help himself, he stared at her toned legs as she went, which were on display thanks to her tiny, checkered shorts. Once she was out of sight, he decided to help Tommy with their bags. Although the pilots already had the engine going and the propellers spinning, Nick was more than happy to take his time before joining his angry wife onboard.

#╟ ❛ a fool never learns ❜#╟ july '64 #╟ v.#026

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lekorojams · 5 years

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Okay, Let’s talk about Kongu Mahri

The thing that always gets me about how Kongu's mahri transformation turns out is that it's so different than the quintessential image of a toa of air that Lewa and Matau represented. He's big, broad shoulderd, and he looks very tanky and heavy with solid armor. Not to mention that instead of having a normal toa tool he dual wields rapid fire rocket launchers (two hands). Given the environment of Mahri Nui this all makes sense; being a toa of air, his tanky armor is probably a mechanized drysuit that serves to better seal him off and therefore keep him more comfortable, and given that it's difficult for his elemental powers to be of any use miles under the ocean, the heftier armor and higher firepower makes sense to compensate for that. But what does he do about all that bulk and stability when he returns to land? It’s not a great body for flipping around in midair.

I’m willing to bet he pretty much invents a new style of Le-Toa fighting, which boils down to being an unstoppable living tank.

Imagine this. Some poor unsuspecting Bone Hunters or something are about to raid a jungle village on the outskirts of new Tesara. They’re charging up the main path, thinking they’re striking fear into the hearts of all the villagers. And all of a sudden they get slammed in the face by gale force winds and fall off their rock steeds.

They take a few seconds to get up and reorient themselves, and they suddenly realize that they are facing off with a literal tornado that just materialized out of nowhere. And standing in the middle of that tornado, calmly and slowly advancing on their position, is Toa Kongu. Both Cordak blasters out, firing wave after wave of rockets on them. They try to fight back, but nothing can get through the wall of air he’s created around himself. He just keeps walking towards them. Oh, and did I mention that his Cordak rockets hit their mark perfectly every time because of course the toa of air can course correct his projectiles on the fly?! The bandit’s ammo is gone. Their escape route is toast. Dropped your sword when you fell over with that first airblast? It’s in pieces now. He doesn’t kill anyone of course, cause he’s a toa, but the places he aims makes it frighteningly clear that there’s literally nothing but the code stopping him from blowing their heads clean off with every shot at 3 rounds per second. The bandits have no choice but to drop everything and scatter to the hills.

Post-pit Kongu gives no ground and takes no shit.

#bionicle #headcanon #kongu #cordak blasters #toa mahri

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supernova1us · 5 years

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Bionicle G3 needs to be different

So while I originally came up with my own idea for another bionicle reboot, it was essentially the same basic thing we got twice before now(team of elemental heroes arrive on island and face new waves of enemies). Then I realized, while they may have worked before, we need something new and different to make the franchise fresh again. Using the same formula is what made G2 fall flat. So here is my new idea and basic outline for a reboot.

The island of mata nui, once a great city, is in ruins and has suffered under the threat of Makuta Nui, the spirit of shadows, for a thousand years. One day, as prophesized, a toa hero washes up on the shore; Takua, toa of light. Having lost his memory, he is befriended and guided by the chroniclers company, a band of matoran from each of the 6 elemental tribes(jaller, macku, hewkii, matoro, unepu, and kongu). Though he does not know them, they seem to know him well for some reason. He and the company, guided by the turaga elders and with aid from the rogue adventurer hahli, crusade with across the island, having adventures and battling the corrupted rahi beasts and warrior minions of makuta. They also battle the shadow titan beasts who guard each regions temple and meet the ancient rahi speaker keetongu.

In the course of his trials, takua would learn that he was previously a matoran inhabitant of the island and founder of the company. Hidden amongst them as, supposedly, the last of the matoran tribe of light and shadow, he was chosen by mata nui; makutas brother, the spirit of light and the islands name sake to be reborn as a toa to fight for the disembodied spirit. Also confronted with the other survivor of his tribe, akmou, reborn as a toa of shadow by makuta, takua sees his companions transformed into toa themselves to stand against the dark forces with him and battle makuta himself.

Wrongly believing the makuta to be defeated and the island safeguarded by the reawakened vahki sentinels, the toa, and hahli as new chronicler, leave to visit other islands. They must find toa of the other previously lost elemental tribes, as each element is needed to unlock the key to restoring mata nui himself. Unknown to them, makutas influence has spread wide over the years and his agents and sway are a constant threat to the toa on every land they visit. hahli is separated from the rest and in her own journey is transformed into a toa and finds the legendary mask of life. makuta is also forced to contend with a coup by his general icarax.

the main toa force face many adventures, from fighting makutas allies to searching for the other tribes and toa to stand with them and even rescuing a turaga who is revealed to be a disguised makuta. the bolstered toa team make for their final island destination and, with a captured akmous aid, use the mask of life as the key to reawaken mat nui himself. Makuta returns and fractures the mask, stealing the broken fragment of it. Using it, he bonds his spirit to a titan sized body he has been constructing for many years. Abducting the matoran as captives within his body, he lords over them while devastating the many islands and capturing their residents. Mata nui is revived by the incomplete mask, but as a mortal toa. While traveling by sea in pursuit of makuta, the toa a briefly drawn into the red star, where the spirits of the dead go, and both the toa and mata nui find revelations there.

Arriving to find makuta at mata nui island, mata nui himself and the original toa are given a distraction as the other toa and the allies they have made in their travels clash with makutas own army on the ruined island. The toa manage to infiltrate the titan, and after destroying the mutated form of makutas consort roodaka, the great spirit sends the toa away to lead the matoran to safety while he battles his brother. The toa lead the matron out and into battle and turn the tide of war. The two great spirits battle to a stalemate and mata nui instead merges the two into a new spirit of light and darkness. Using his power, he restores the destroyed lands and connects the many islands with bridges. Presenting the toa with the mask of destiny, a fusion of the masks of life and shadow, the new god declares the name of the collective races as the bionicle and vanishes into the stars. All the beings come together and begin rebuilding mata nui into a new city paradise.

#bionicle #g3 #toa #takanuva

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marshmallowgoop · 5 years

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Goop Plays Kill la Kill the Game: IF (Satsuki Episodes 1-4)

For those playing Kill la Kill the Game: IF on the PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch, you might be blissfully unaware of the many numerous glitches and bugs present in the Steam port of the game.

Some folks certainly had it better than others, but I was definitely one of the unluckier ones. I bought and downloaded IF the moment I could, but it always ended up crashing before I could even play. There was a lot of uninstalling, reinstalling, program closing, and joking about how my not-even-a-year-old, $1,500 gaming laptop can’t handle even one game, but finally, I found my way!

rhys000lightning, you are a lifesaver. The feeling that I could finally experience the story mode, for real, is just, like. Indescribable, y’all.

Things aren’t perfect, of course, which is why this post’ll have some pretty low-quality images. But simply being able to play is more than good enough for someone who’s been as hungry for new Kill la Kill content as I have.

Anyway, I plan on making a few of these posts as I play through! Major spoilers ahead!

Episode 1

I already wrote about my thoughts on episode 1 right over here!

Episode 2

From early reviews and comments about the story mode, I kinda got the impression that the game is mostly a rehash of the anime from Satsuki’s point of view and that there are minimal differences until the end.

But, um. Just seconds into episode 2, and there is already a huge change.

Ragyo: The naked fools never showed up. Pity.

Satsuki: We raided the areas we believed to be their bases, but they had already fled.

I mean. The whole purpose of Satsuki’s Raid Trip failed?? How did Nudist Beach anticipate the attack and flee?? Is this explained in Ryuko’s story?? We totally miss that big fight in episode 15 between Ryuko and Satsuki?? And Ryuko isn’t interrupting the raids to put Senketsu back together because he hasn’t been torn apart, right? Because she didn’t go berserk after the Naturals Election because she didn’t find out there that Nui killed her dad?

When I saw this, I was just, jeez! We are going fast through this story!

But also, I wondered what Satsuki’s reaction to the Raid Trip failure is, for real, when her mother’s not around. Since the game was promoted as Satsuki’s story, I really wanted to see more of her inner thoughts and what she doesn’t show the world. But I guess this is only episode 2.

I also have to say that I was a little disappointed at the lack of new world building information in this episode. Ever since the first trailer at Anime Expo last year, I’ve been so interested in possible Life Fiber and Kamui history because of Satsuki’s proclamation to Ryuko that she “hold[s] all the secrets, behind the Life Fibers and the Kamui legacy.” But... we just get stuff we already knew here.

Ragyo: That is where the Kiryuins come in. We are the spokespersons for the COVERS’ will.

Just. I’m really curious about how the Kiryuins found the Original Life Fiber and why they’re so down with the Life Fibers’ goal. C’mon, the glossary even teases about the history here....

But anyway, early disappointments aside, I couldn’t stop smiling while watching this story play out. Ragyo giving her speech here is just so over-the-top and ridiculous.

And my brother watched me play this episode, and now I can’t look at Rei’s reaction to Satsuki’s backstab without thinking about the Surprised Pikachu meme.

I do have to admit that the backstab isn’t nearly as shocking and powerful as it is in the anime, but it’s satisfying to actually fight Ragyo. I’ve seen some reviews say that they’d rather just watch the scenes and not interact, but I’m in complete disagreement. I love being able to engage in the story.

And, you know, I’ve only played Satsuki like once in the demo because I’ve been focusing on Ryuko, and I’d maybe played her a handful of times at conventions, so I think I did pretty hot on three-star difficulty, lol.

One thing that is really interesting about the episode, however, is what it implies about Satsuki’s past. How does she know what Mind Stitching is, for example?

Seriously, I’m scared for the poor girl. Ragyo and Nui both use Mind Stitching, after all....

On a lighter (?) note, though, Satsuki getting defensive about her Elite Four is really, really sweet.

Nui: Tee-hee! I’ve never seen you freak out before, Lady Satsuki! Were these kids really that important to you?

Yes they are Nui shut your face.

But I was kinda surprised at having to fight the Elite Four as Satsuki, which is maybe a bit silly in retrospect. It took me a sec to figure out exactly how the battle worked, but I think it says a lot that Satsuki can just take on all the Elite Four at once. Ryuko at least had breaks!

(Well, at once in theory, anyway. I wanted to fight them all at once!)

This was also the first time I looked at Satsuki’s command list, and I gotta say: I appreciate the justification behind Satsuki having the lowest HP in the game:

Episode 3

The Elite Four are really cute in how they hated that they were forced to hurt Satsuki. I kinda wish we got a similar reaction from Ryuko after she takes off Junketsu in the anime, but at the same time, I can’t complain that much about the most romantic moment in Kill la Kill.

But, um, my ridiculous biases aside, the Elites lost their uniforms? Do they get identical ones made, since they seem to be wearing the same uniforms later, or...?

Also, this line struck me as quite intriguing:

Houka: She can stitch Life Fibers into the brains of anyone wearing a Goku uniform. How terrifying.

So, people have to be wearing Goku uniforms to be Mind Stitched? And Satsuki knew this, which is why she knew to destroy their uniforms?

Hmmmmm.....

Speaking of “Hmmmmm,” Ryuko’s storyline with Nui in this game still makes no sense to me at all. As I’ve written in the past, “[W]hy would Ryuko be willing to trust Nui? She would have to know—or at least be able to easily find out—that Nui is the Grand Couturier of REVOCS. Will Nui disguise herself as she does in the anime? Is the possible training image simply an actual fight between Ryuko and Nui? Or is there some more severe trickery at foot?”

Here, it’s clear from Ryuko’s reaction that there ain’t disguises happening. Ryuko knows Nui on a personal level—personal enough to use her first name rather than the “Harime” that Ryuko tends to use in the anime.

Ryuko: What in the blue hell’s going on, Nui?!

I think Ryuko asks a good question, too. What in the blue hell is going on? Nudist Beach still wants to stop the Festival, right? So Ryuko would presumably be on their side, maybe? But then again, can we be sure that she got the info dump from Nudist Beach that would convince her to be on their side and storm the Festival? After all, Aikuro only spills the beans once he sees Ryuko “beat” Satsuki in battle, and that doesn’t seem to happen here....

Gosh, I’m sorry, but claims that this is just a simple rehash of the anime are totally unfounded.

I’m sure Ryuko’s story will get into everything I asked, but I’m just... wow, watching this. What in the blue hell’s going on?

I do feel really bad for Ryuko, though. Maybe she considered Nui a friend. And, just. Especially when Maiko and the Mankanshokus have already betrayed her, assuming episodes 4 and 7 still happen here, which I presume they do based on info in the glossary...

Ouch.

And speaking of “ouch”...

Nui: Your dad was way tougher than you.

OUCH!!!!!

Now, I did admittedly find Ryuko’s decision to fight both Nui and Satsuki kind of strange. Like, gurl, didn’t you just see Satsuki chop her mom’s head off? Didn’t you just see Satsuki about to kill the chick who killed your dad? What do you think you’ll accomplish by fighting Satsuki as well, exactly? Isn’t it kinda clear that she’s not really against you anymore? I know you want answers, but maybe you’ll have a better chance of getting answers if you don’t try to beat up the person who’s actually on your side?

I know you’re probably not gonna make the best decisions when you’re that upset, but my goodness. Senketsu, I hope you’re at least trying to talk some sense into this girl.

Ryuko: Nui Harime and Satsuki Kiryuin... I’m gonna take both your asses down!

And speaking of talking sense, I really liked Satsuki playing the Senketsu role here, telling Ryuko to calm down.

Satsuki: Calm down, or you’ll be possessed by the Life Fibers’ urge to destroy!

Sniff... they are so alike, y’all. Can they be friends? Can they please be friends?

More seriously, “the Life Fibers’ urge to destroy” is mentioned in the anime as well, I’m pretty sure, but I’d love some more exploration of that later in this game.

Episode 4

I’m a sap for my kids, so I gotta say it hurts to see them lose.

I also main Ryuko, so in these battles, I keep looking to her as if I’m playing her. Whoops.

But it makes sense. Ryuko and Senketsu probably haven’t done a lot of bonding yet without the Raid Trip developments, and Ryuko’s obviously not in the best state of mind.

And while it was already implied in a screenshot on the game’s official website that Satsuki is the one who tears up Senketsu rather than Nui, seeing this actually happen opened up so many possibilities in my mind.

Senketsu still gets torn up due to a failing on Ryuko’s part, but it’s far from the same situation as the anime. There, Ryuko becomes afraid of her power after she loses control and hurts Senketsu, and so she struggles to fight again later, ultimately hurting him even more. Here, Ryuko also loses control and hurts Senketsu... but this hurt has the intensity of the second hurt in the anime. This time, Ryuko can’t mope about how she’s no good for Senketsu and how they shouldn’t be together. Senketsu probably can’t save himself, so if she wants to make it up to him, she has to act, not retreat. It’s a much different approach—and one that most folks will probably like better, given some reactions I’ve seen to episode 13 of the show.

I’m also (of course) curious about Senketsu and Satsuki’s relationship after this. If the two end up working together, will Senketsu still be sore about how she kinda, uh, tore him up?

And on that note...

What is Ragyo gonna do with Senketsu’s piece??? Use him to power up Shinra-Kouketsu??? Does Senketsu play a part in the final boss?! Is that why the final boss has been described as “cute and grotesque”?!

What is this story.

Anyway, it’s kinda sloppy to me that it takes Ragyo forever to regenerate here when she’s very quick in the anime...

Ragyo: Finish what you start... for as long as a single strand of thread connects my head to my body, I can always regenerate.

I mean, obviously this is just for plot convenience. It’s not a big deal to me, but it definitely... yeah.

But I was literally cracking up about how Ragyo seemed like she was just gonna walk away from Satsuki. Like Sats just a little kid throwing a tantrum.

Ragyo: I’m sorry, Satsuki. You were saying...?

...Actually, this is really horrible.

But what’s not horrible is that Satsuki gives a “My friends are my power!” speech. For real. Legitimately. I never thought I’d see such a thing. I am at a loss for words.

Satsuki: Junketsu and I did not defeat you with our power alone. Gamagoori, Sanageyama, Jakuzure, and Inumuta are in Junketsu. They are the reason I have the strength to beat you now!

I guess I just have to ask... are you speaking metaphorically or literally about other people being in Junketsu, Satsuki.

I really, honestly can’t tell with this series.

Like, I mean:

Ragyo: Actually, the Life Fibers can transcend space.

I always say, “Life Fibers: ain’t gotta explain shit!” as a joke, but it’s kinda totally true.

I dig it, though.

Glossary

This post is already long enough, but me being me, I of course couldn’t resist reading every dang entry in the gallery like as soon as I could. I have a lot I could say, but just some standouts:

✄ Senketsu is in both the “Characters” and “Clothes” sections!

✄ I don’t like that he’s referred to as an “it” in the “Clothes” section, though.

✄ The “Kinki King” trophy makes a lot more sense now.

✄ Dat last line.

✄ And this one...

✄ “He is one of only a few people that Satsuki opens her heart to.” My heart.

✄ Wait what. “He was in the process of inventing a weapon that could withstand the Life Fiber weapons like the Scissor Blades and Senketsu”???

✄ I think Mako has the longest entry LOL. Trigger, your favoritism is showing.

✄ WHAT TRAGIC WOUND WHAT.

✄ LOL. Does this actually come up in the plot.

✄ What the what when has Guts ever saved anyone. Citation needed.

✄ Tsumugu is definitely like the over-protective big brother who wants to “save” Ryuko from a “bad” boyfriend.

✄ It sounds mean, I know, but I really didn’t want Junketsu suddenly having a personality in this game. I’d love for that to happen in a reboot or something of that nature, but I just don’t think there’s time to pull that off well here. It doesn’t seem like Junketsu’s getting any of that, so I hope that development goes more towards our already established characters instead.

In Sum...

I’m not sure where things are going, but I’m enjoying it so far! All this new Kill la Kill content... I still can’t believe it....

#kill la kill #kill la kill the game #klk spoilers #klk: if spoilers #goop plays klk: if #shut up goop #'i'll just make short posts' she said #'they'll just be little and quick' she said #yeah right.....#ramblings

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