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pellicano-sanguino · 1 month ago

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Random Thoughts about Kamitsuki Academy, Chapter 2

Chapter one introduced an interesting dystopian alternate universe of human blood slaves owned by vampire overlords and gave a rather memorable and shocking (and then cute) blood drinking scene. Where will we go from here?

I should mention that the vampires in this world call themselves Epicureans. Strange choice by author, maybe by the misunderstanding that Epicureans are a type of Hedonists (they're not). At least to me it seems like the name must be because of not knowing what Epicurean philosophy really is about and thinking it's just about enjoying life and good food, since food seems to be all that the vampires think about and donating blood is all the hosts have been brainwashed to think about.

There are many images like this in the manga, where humans are depicted as food. Symbolism is as subtle as a truck falling from heaven. Also, I get a feeling that this is something the author is into.

A week has gone by since Shizuku started her classes. One morning, when enjoying breakfast, Creepy Eyes remarks that it's nutritionally imbalanced for Shizuku to drink blood only from her arm – she recommends the belly and the thigh. (...are we back to Four Humors levels of understanding of circulation in vertebrates? It's all the same blood, Creepy Eyes, you idiot.). Wouldn't you like to take a bite at my neck some day, to drink my blood until I fainted, Creepy Eyes whispers while looming over Shizuku on the bed, all intimidating and seductive. Shizuku looks like she's not sure if she should be tempted or scared (..me too, Shizuku. Chill out, Creepy Eyes. ”Drink until I faint.” Listen to yourself.).

Shizuku pushes her parter away, saying that this is enough lesbian subtext for one morning. She voices a concern that since she's still an inexperienced blood drinker, she doesn't trust her ability to keep things safe if she fully gives in to her blood lust. Creepy Eyes is all, aww how cute, you think your patheticly tiny fangs can hurt me. Shizuku changes the subject and asks can't Creepy Eyes drop the -sama from her name since they're they're both first year students. Creepy Eyes refuses, saying that in this world the food chain can't be ignored. Even if equal in every other way, a human will never be equal to a vampire. To me, this was yet another glimpse to the dystopian world, but Shizuku doesn't argue that she wants to be equal with her partner. I really wish she would, but I suppose I have to accept that the protagonist is not a human rights activist. I would love to see a vampire defending the dignity and humanity of her host but this manga is more interested in creating suggestive blood drinking scenes. Which, yeah... blood is magical.

”Your scarf is a mess, you sloppy apex predator.”

At school Izumi tells Shizuku how she took her partner to a date in a cafe. It's fascinating that in this world where humans are raised on ”farms,” there's still regular food available in cafes, restaurants and stores. I somehow assumed that the humans would be eating kibble pellets that contain the ideal amount of nutrients and vitamins to keep their hair shiny and blood delicious. This makes it seem that humans were once the dominant species and developed all these dishes, which vampires decided to keep around after they took over. All these little details just raise more questions about the world, questions that are never answered. Izumi goes on to explain that taking your human out for a walk is a chance to train them. She then adds that her partner's weak spot seems to be the thighs. Overshare, Izumi.

Concerned that she doesn't really know much about her partner, Shizuku asks her out for some tea, hoping to get to know her better. Creepy Eyes is confused. Vampires don't drink tea so why would you want to go to a cafe. But eventually she agrees to go. On their way to the cafe, Creepy Eyes mentions, that she hasn't really ever been outside the ranch before being bought by the school, so this is all new and strange to her. Shizuku, for once, looks shocked at hearing this, as she should be. She wonders if being outside is scary for a human. Is it dangerous for a human to be walking outside? Tell me manga, are the vampires allowed to attack any human they see, even ones owned by other vampires? Shizuku rushes to her partner's side and takes her hand. I should be touched by her wish to protect her partner but this just reminds me of men who ”chivarously” protect their girlfriends from other men.

At the cafe, Creepy Eyes orders some tea and parfait, having never tasted strawberries before. Shizuku just sits there, looking at her partner eat and admiring how cute human food looks like. I would be weirded out if someone came to a restaurant with me and stared at me the entire time without eating anything themselves. But I suppose the humans of this world have gotten used to the fact that vampires and humand don't eat at the same table (because vampires eat in bed).

This is the first time we see Creepy Eyes show interest in anything that isn't related to donating blood and taking care of her partner. She seems to genuinely enjoy her meal. She looks less creepy, even smiles and asks if Shizuku would like to try the strawberries, even though they might not be suitable for vampires. Watching Creepy Eyes eat got Shizuka a bit excited, especially seeing her throat move every time she swallowed. Such handsome neck, very tasty, much blood inside. So, when the offer to try a bite came;

Oh for fuck's sake, what a waste of a perfectly good parfait and tea.

I admit, Shizuku being suddenly blinded by blood madness and leaping at her partner's neck like a wild animal did surprise me. Not quite as much as the wrist slicing, but still, I didn't see that coming. Until now, Shizuku has controlled herself just fine. This does bring up a subject that this manga brought to my mind – the contradictory nature of civilized vampires. Byronic vampires often like to think of themselves as regal, aristocratic creatures with fine tastes and manners but it's all just a facade to hide the ravenous beasts they turn into when it's time to have dinner. Sure, some may try to appear more dignified by drinking blood from a wine glass and such but as someone who has actually handled blood, let me tell you: there is no way to consume blood without making a mess. Contrary to movies that use red wine or black currant juice as blood prop, real fresh blood is thick and sticks to every surface it touches. Vampires are all just animals, but they're pretentious animals who like to play pretend at being classy. The vampires in this manga may refer to themselves as Epicureans and claim to be the superior race but at the end of the day they are all blood-obsessed ravenous beasts.

The other customers are shocked at seeing someone biting their human so boldly in public. Creepy Eyes also seems to be startled into silence for a moment. When she recovers her voice, she can barely whisper her partner's name. The embers of blood-fire still scalding her veins, Shizuku recovers her senses and releases her host. She is ashamed of the scene she has caused and shocked at seeing the dripping wound above her host's collar bone. She had voiced concerns that an inexperienced vampire like her might lack self control, but even so, she was shocked to see that she'd go that far. Well, Creepy Eyes did invite her to enjoy her neck earlier in the morning.

Pure, Proper, Beautiful

On the way home, Creepy Eyes scolds her partner for doing the suggestive blood drinking in public. Shizuku didn't end up learning much more about her host, besides that she likes strawberries. Then a light bulb sparks above her head and she announces that starting this moment, Creepy Eyes will be known as Ichigo. So, finally I can stop calling her just Creepy Eyes. Ichigo is like, what is this punny nonsense. Shizuku explains that since Ichigo doesn't have a name and was concerned about proper honorifics this morning, she will give her a name. Names are just words given to tell things apart, Ichigo philosophises, but her eyes tear up as she accepts her name.

I feel so fucking sorry for Ichigo. We know very little about her but I feel like part of it is because she has nothing in her life, because she's just livestock, just a blood slave, so something as simple as receiving a name was something she wasn't expecting to happen to her. As nice as Shizuku has been to her, I feel like Ichigo deserves better. She needs a human partner, one who is truly equal to her. I know, sacrilegious words to someone who loves human/donor pairings. I don't think Shizuku is a bad person for, well, being a vampire with the needs and desires that come with her species, and I know that she too is a victim of propaganda. But still, it bugs me that she doesn't truly set her host free, just allows her as comfortable a cage as possible. Maybe I'm expecting too much. What can one high school girl do to dismantle an entire system based on slavery? I suppose at the very least I wish her to acknowledge the unethical nature of their relationship. But she's too immature, brainwashed and blood-obsessed to make that discovery.

#vampire #kamitsuki academy

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hibisha · 5 years ago

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Hello, a friend of yours said you might be able to recommend some radiodust fanfics, and it can be anything im not picky

RadioDust fanfics you say? Alright *cracks knuckles* here we go.

1.) The Charismatic Cannibal’s Guide to Self Care

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor chuckled around a hand. Angel would never get over how shark-like he could look. Fangs were the norm here, but Alastor’s had a certain animal quality that fit strangely in a humanoid face. Too big and too many. And right now they were tinged with a hint of red from his choice of drink.

“So what,” he said, “would liven up the place for you, sport?”

You might assume that Angel Dust is the bad influence in every situation. You would be wrong.

The Radio Demon has plans for Hell, and plans for Angel. And they aren't pretty.

Will contain gore/cannibalism/murder and plenty of fun, bad people. Please read the tags and content warning. Plot now, smut to follow.

Personal thoughts: It only one chapter so far but I really like the premise.

2.) Their Arrangement

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust have come to an agreement after Angel pushes the Radio Demon's buttons a little too far and inadvertently awakens the long forgotten urges buried under decades of bloodlust.

Personal thoughts: One of my literal favorites. Alastor and Angel’s evolving relationship from sex friends to ‘oh shit I have feelings’ *chef’s kiss*.

3.) Absolute Territory

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust is an absolute terror for Absolute Territory.

Alastor never knew he had a thing for stockings until Angel decides to flaunt a pair, matched with a pleated skirt and an oversized sweatshirt.

Personal thoughts: Have some good ol’ smut.

4.) Heart Between His Teeth

Rating: E

Summary: So maybe there are better things to life than being drugged and fucked so hard you can't even think for yourself.

Personal thoughts: OMFG. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS FIC.

5.) Angel Dust’s Not So Illustrious Life

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor isn’t sure why he’s become Angel’s primary target, but the more he attempts to dissuade Angel’s advances, the more fervent they seem to become.

And maybe Alastor likes that...maybe...Yet it seems there’s more to Angel than innuendos and a quick romp.

Personal thoughts: I kinda love this fic a lot where Angel and Alastor respect each other’s boundaries.

6.) Caught In His Own Web

Rated:E

Summary: "So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never. Because the dance with the devil might last you forever."

Redemption is hard when you don't want to do it. Redemption is even harder when a certain Radio Demon keeps enabling your sinful behavior.

Personal thoughts: My favourite trope, bad people being worse together.

7.) I Thought I Knew You

Rated: M

Summary: Angel Dust can't ruin the hotel's reputation if he can't go outside. Or, at least, that's what Alastor says. Of course, it's all a ploy to torture Alastor's least favorite spider demon, but maybe he doesn't know Angel Dust as well as he thinks he does.

Personal thoughts: I really like this one especially since it feeds into my “Alastor is a dick in all AUs.”

8.) Sex, drugs and radio host

Rating: E

Summary: For some ungodly reason, Alastor decides to keep Angel safe and sound - meaning no sex, prostitution and certainly no drugs. Of course, this wild idea is met with more than a little resistance. But... no one ever cared if Angel was safe. And sometimes, all he would like is a hug. Sex sure is nice, but he is more than willing to explore the possibilities.

The trouble is, it doesn't seem like Alastor is offering anything specific. Keeping things strange and vague is not helping, especially when a new guest catches Alastor's attention.

Personal thoughts: Its cute and theres feelings involved is all I’m saying.

9.) Gentleman's Wager

Rating: None

Summary: Sick of listening to Angel Dust's crass and vulgar language, Alastor makes a bet with him. If Angel Dust can remain absolutely silent for one whole week, he'll give in and kiss him.

Personal thoughts: *inhales* JVKJGCHJCHJCVJHVJHGCJHCJHCGFD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH PLEASE READ IT.

10.) Triggered

Rating: None

Summary: Angel Dust had never really thought too much about the static hum surrounding Alastor wherever he went... until now anyway.

Personal thoughts: It's a very good fic about ANgel dealing with PTSD. Def check it out.

11.) Dinner and Drinks

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust can barely tolerate each other and Charlie seeks to fix that.

Personal thoughts: Again, a slow development of Angel and Alastor’s relationship.

12.) You Do Something to Me

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor's radio signals go both ways, and for the past few decades he's tuned into the most beautiful voice. What a surprise to find the source in the Happy Hotel right under his nose.

A relationship that grows through music.

Personal thoughts: AGAIN, PLEASE READ THIS IT IS CUTE HECK AND WILL CLEAR YOUR SKIN. Also, its part 2: No One Knows Anything But Us

13.) 1932

Rating: M

Summary: The 1930s are the for perfect time to nurture any up-and-coming radio host or serial killer alike. Alastor is no exception.

Set in New Orleans in 1932, Alastor is living his best life. Broadcaster by day and home chef by night, he's learned that Jumbalaya is best served with a side of human liver and a still beating heart. That is until he brings the wrong meal to his table, a member of the Italian mafia, and ends up biting off more than he can chew.

With his latest meal escaping the table and his identity running the risk of being found out, Alastor faces his biggest hunt yet. The streets of New Orleans are his forest and this time, it's his head on the platter.

AKA Alastor screws up and now has to fix his mess in Dixieland while balancing his day job, cannibalistic hunger, and learn how to be a decent human being for once along the way. Should be fun.

Personal thoughts: I absolutely adore this fic. Please give it a shot.

14.) Contracts and Deals Series

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust, Hell's number one porn actor.

Alastor, Hell's most renowned overlord.

The two cross paths.

Angel makes a deal with Alastor to get out of his contract with Valentino. One thing leads to another.

Personal thoughts: It’s a good series that eventually gets really fluffy.

15.) Good Management

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor thought he had Angel Dust filed away into his niche box in the Hotel. He was wrong. But he's a good enough manager to fix his responsibilities.

Personal thoughts: Its AngeliaDark. You know it’s good.

16.) Anything for you

Rating: M

Summary: Valentino faces the consequences of hurting someone that Alastor deeply favors

i.e. Val fucking dies

Personal thoughts: Any fic where Val dies is a good fic.

17.) Predator and Prey

Rating: M

Summary: Every couple of years, Angel Dust goes through a change that makes him a lot less tolerable to be around, for many more reasons than one. The staff of the Hotel are about to learn that the hard way, none more so than Alastor.

Personal thoughts: Okay so, slight dubcon, would recommend checking the tags before going into it. Though I love how it tackles on the story of Alastor being a deer which is technically a prey animal and Angel being the predator for once. Absolutely love it.

18.) Good Tidings

Rating: T

Summary: A Christmas party in Hell isn't the big selling point for the Happy Hotel (For Hazbins), but Charlie feels that the holiday season is just what her friends need to open up to and help one another.

So what better way to do it than with a Secret Santa?

When Angel Dust draws none other than his crush, the Radio Demon, he knows he has one shot to not eff it up.

Personal thoughts: Really fluffy, a good read. Highly recommend it.

19.) Vanilla Bean

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor decides to try his hand at pet names and inadvertently offends Angel Dust. Rated T for swearing and there's suggestive content if you close one eye, tilt your head, and squint.

Personal thoughts: Okay so i loved this one because of how badly these two handle communication.

20.) For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor's solitude is interrupted by Angel Dust who has just escaped a rough client and the two spend the last moments of 2019 together.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. I just love Angel and Alastor dancing together okay.

21.) I Like It Better When I'm With You

Rating: M

Summary: Angel deals with feelings. Alastor deals with feelings. Just a whole lot of pining.

Personal thoughts: Summary says it all.

22.) Technical Difficulties

Rating: M

Summary: The hotel is running relatively well. Relationships between Alastor and the rest of the staff are budding surprisingly smoothly. And then the rainfall starts up, threatening all of it.

Alastor's out of tune.

Personal thoughts: I love how this is written. Slowburn but worth it.

23.) Lurking in the Shadows

Rated M

Summary: 5 instances where a curious and head-over-heels shadow follows Angel Dust around and 1 time where Angel decides to follow it instead.

Personal thoughts: It’s very cute how Alastor’s shadow pines after Angel.

24.) Crossroads

Rating: M

Summary: A mafioso’s and a murderous radio star’s paths collide in New Orleans in the winter of 1933.

Personal thoughts: OKAY SO I REALLY LOVE THIS BECAUSE HUMAN AUS ARE MY JAM AND THEN ALASTOR AND ANGEL BEING TERRIBLE HUMANS TOGETHER IS EVEN BETTER.

25.) Needle Through a Bug

Rating: E

Summary: Angel wakes up in a hospital after a party. His doctor is very strange, worryingly so. Still, he can't help but be intrigued.

Personal thoughts: Doctor AU. Alastor is insane. I love it because Alastor manages to be as creepy as possible while saving lives.

26.) My Roommate's a Demonic Deer

Rating: M

Summary: Don't you hate it when you "accidentally" summon a demon to fix a problem within your home, only to find out that they don't do that, so now you're stuck with a cannibalistic demon that constantly tracks blood onto the floor, brings other unholy beings into your apartment, and makes amazing jambalaya? It's amazing insanity!

Personal thoughts: Lmao I love demon summoning gone wrong so this was really an amazing read. Angel being a true himbo is always the best.

27.) Human Hazbin Roommates AU series

Rating: E, M

Summary: A series of porny RadioDust one-shots depicting modern human AU roommate life.

Notes:

Glimpses into the human lives of insufferable roommates.

(AKA This was supposed to be a practice at writing present tense smut and it devolved into sex and feelings)

Personal thoughts: Dive in for the smut, come out with the feels.

28: Darker Side of Hell series

Rating: E

Summary: Follow Charlie and later Alastor as part of my Story for the Hazbin hotel... It ain't pretty, so enjoy!

Personal thoughts: Not everyone’s cup of tea so i suggest reading the tags but I really love this series a lot. Angel being awkward and in love is the best shit ever. Its an amazing series.

29.) Scorched, Uninhabited, Rejected

Rating: M

Summary: When Hell suddenly loses all working functions, and angels start dropping from their overhead perches to attack the underworlds population, Charlie has no idea what to do before she's suddenly face to face with a Archangel. Though something, clearly, isn't right about the air the angel assures her to keep those who are dear tucked tightly by her side as the disaster struggles to fix itself.

But nothing is as it seems, Overlords' powers are dwindling and even her own is becoming strained as she struggles to protect her beloved hotel and friends from the Exterminators outside.

Personal thoughts: *vibrates* Can’t say much without spoilers so I’m just gonna beg ya all to read this.

30.) The Thin Line

Rating: None

Summary: Studies say it takes fifty hours of interaction before you consider someone a casual friend and two hundred to be a close friend. Alastor and Angel Dust manage to skip right past close friends to something more without either even noticing they've crossed the line.

31.) La Vie En Rose

Rating: G

Summary: Alastor learns that Angel is afraid of thunderstorms, and Angel in turn learns about the Radio Demon.

32.) falling

Rating: M

Summary: "You're hot as fuck, be my boyfriend."

That was perhaps the worst thing he could've possibly said from that standpoint.

A college setting where Angel gets suddenly awful at flirting when it comes to the face of his crush, a cute library assistant that goes by Alastor.

Personal thoughts: COLLEGE AU COLLEGE AU.

33.) Old Habits Die Hard

Rating: G

Summary: Angel decides to bring back a little habit of his after having a rough time.

Personal thoughts: Hella soft, please read.

34.) Handwritten

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor imagines Angel must be lonely in heaven, he writes to keep him company.

A series of letters addressed to Angel.

Personal thoughts: Hi, do you like crying into your pillow at 2 AM? You do? The look no further, this is the fic for you! Now, with extra heart wrenching feels!

35.) Relapse and Recovery

Rating: T

Summary: Going clean was never going to be easy, but easy was something Angel Dust never expected going into this anyway. At least he has a good support system to help him along the way.

Personal thoughts: I just really like AngeliaDark’s fics okay.

36.) Catalyst

Rating: T

Summary: All couples have their downfalls, and an event that should have been celebrated only drives Alastor and Angel Dust apart.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. It’s very well written, reads easy and you’ll feel fluffy for days.

37.) Dinner Date: A RadioDust Tale

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust finally finds a way to get Alastor to agree to a 'date'. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Sometimes literally.

Personal thoughts: One of my favourite stories about RadioDust.

38.) This One's Dedicated to [static interruption]

Rating: M

Summary: A couple of years since the hotel's opening, the residents have settled down into a fairly tolerable routine. Recently, some of them have begun experiencing peculiar symptoms which become more noticeable as time passes. To his dismay, the Radio Demon finds that he is not immune.

A chance encounter with Angel Dust propels the two demons together as they attempt to answer what's behind the unusual phenomena, while rediscovering all the things they thought dead and buried along the way.

Personal thoughts: Slowburn but definitely worth it. I love the story and how it’s progressing with a certain mystery surrounding the whole plot.

Also slight self plug I guess:

39.) 14 ways to say “I Love You”

Rating: T

Summary: Just a collection of small drabbles I’m writing on based on single word prompts.

Please check it out if you’re a fan of odd AUs.

Wowee, that’s a lot. I’m gonna call it a night and say that’s all for today. I hope you enjoy these!

#hazbin hotel #radiodust #alastor #angel dust #fic rec #ask

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aros001 · 4 years ago

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First time read through light novel vol. 5.

STOP BITING YOUR DAMN FINGERS!!!

“—If you have decided to fight, fight with all your body and soul. Forget all pretty words that lead to defeat. Hunger and thirst for victory using any means necessary. If you can still stand, if you can still move a single finger, if your fangs have not yet been broken, stand. Stand. Get up, get up, and attack. So long as you live, fight. Fight, fight, fight!”

In my last post I commented on how Subaru, if he wanted to be closer to Emilia, had ironically already learned the way during one of his previous loops; that instead of grandstanding and white knighting for her he could have just been her friend like she wanted. This reminds me a little of that, because we have seen Subaru fight with everything he has, not even entertaining Return By Death as an option for if he should fail. The fight against Elsa applies but I'm mainly thinking of when he faced off against the Shaman. He did everything he possibly could in that battle, fighting and struggling until the very end even when it was clear he couldn't win, not even allowing himself to think of failing because of what could happen to Rem and Ram. That's the interesting thing about Subaru. He has already had times where he's proved his worth and his value to others. But he's so caught up in the fantasy that he either doesn't see it himself or it's not enough for him.

This has nothing to do with anything, just that after reading Wilhelm in this book I love it so much that he and Sebas (from Overlord) are friends in Isekai Quartet. I want to see Wilhelm gushing about his wife and Sebas gushing about Tuare to each other.

As was typical, there were few that Emilia could count on, and she had enemies numbering beyond reason. In such circumstances, who would take her side without some kind of ulterior motive?

The answer was no one. After all, there was nobody currently at her side who would be her staunch ally.

She had left behind the one who would have.

No doubt, when Emilia realized that, she would regret what she had done. That was why—

Subaru lifted his head and murmured with determination, “I’ve...got to go save her, don’t I?”

....

In the carriage, he silently let the time pass, alone.

With the exception of Rem in the driver’s seat, he was isolated in that place, unable to sense the presence of any other.

—And he never noticed the faint twisting of his lips.

Oh ho! Ominous! But in seriousness, I do like what the narration is doing throughout this book and showing how somewhat twisted Subaru is becoming, to the point that he's happy something bad might be about to happen to the woman he loves just so he'll have an opportunity to try and save her again. Or that he can't be happy that Otto approves of Emilia trying to become king, because at the moment he sees his value as being the "only" person truly on her side; a mindset that's threatened by others who believe in her. Subaru, I believe, is a good guy, but obsession and entitlement can easily turn a good man bad. And yes, I am thinking of Star Wars.

I think I remember seeing fanart that made fun of how little of season 1 Otto was in.

All at once, the figures faced Subaru and reverently bowed their heads to him.

“—Ah?”

Subaru’s brain was unable to process the scene before him.

The incomprehensible band that had emerged was paying Subaru respect for reasons unknown, and leaving him behind in his confusion, they began sliding out of sight.

Given the narration implies they went after Otto after sparing him, I'm curious what specifically they noticed about Subaru; the witch's scent or his mental state?

If he could voice the possibility that he’d lost the girl he cared for and the possibility his own heart could break, then why not offer up a sacrifice so that he wouldn’t have to?

As much as I ship Subaru and Rem, I do like this bit. Him saying Rem's name and wondering over her fate because he can't bare to think about what might have happened to Emilia. He cares about Rem but clearly it'd be easier for him to accept something terrible happening to her over Emilia. Naturally though, I do like his horror at finding Rem's dead body, the narration talking about everything he'd come to like about her and that she was just starting to like herself.

I remember in the anime the scene that scared me the most was when Subaru gets flash-frozen. Obviously being frozen that much would kill you but this is a world of magic, so for all I knew it was going to be a Medusa situation (only with ice instead of stone) and Subaru wouldn't be able to RBD because he technically wasn't alive. It's a weird sensation, feeling relieved as you watch a man's body shatter like glass.

Thanks to Rem’s tireless efforts, the store had sold its merchandise nicely, and the shopkeeper, in quite high spirits, seemed inclined to give them a souvenir. He was asking how many abbles Subaru wanted to take with him, and she remembered him answering, “How ’bout all of ’em?”

The very next moment, his demeanor abruptly changed, and he fell limply onto the street. When Rem sat him up, he seemed so overcome by sadness and tears of joy that he kept laughing.

Beyond his own constant deaths and seeing the deaths of everyone he loves, the thing I felt the most sorry for Subaru for is how his RBD looks to everyone else. For us the audience we know what he's been through but for them it must look like he's either a whiner or completely crazy, with only his harsh emotional state giving them any reason to believe anything is actually wrong and that he's not just fragile.

So is it because the witch cult attacked her village that Rem is so sensitive to the scent of the witch or is it something else about her? Because she says even Ram can't catch the smell like she can, so I'm assuming it's not just a demon thing (though I suppose Ram doesn't have her horn, so maybe it could be), and she even says very few beings can detect the presence in general.

There are even more good parallels between Subaru and Rem in this book, but also some nice contrasts that come with them. She also wants Subaru all to herself and is jealous of all the others in his life, like he's starting to be with Emilia, but she keeps herself from being too possessive over him, even finding a lot of things she likes in his relationships with others. She even toys with the idea of running away with him, which I like given what I assume is going to be happening next volume. It's something she's considered and wanted even before Subaru's offer and shows that such a thing is very tempting for her. But she turns herself away from the idea, both to not abandon her sister and for Subaru's own sake as well.

I do like that any issues Rem has with Emilia are not just because Subaru loves Emilia. It's a factor, certainly, but there were issues before he ever even came into the picture because of Emilia's resemblance to the Witch of Envy. Even Rem acknowledges to herself that her feelings are irrational and unfair, because Emilia herself has done nothing wrong, but the witch cult still made any connections to the witch such a personal thing to her. I helps me understand the rest of this world a little better, given how near everyone is prejudiced against Emilia because of the witch. While it's irrational, that's exactly what great pain and tragedy cause.

I think the implication with Subaru's madness wasn't necessarily that he was faking it but that he willingly dove into the madness so that he could escape from reality and was actively fighting against returning to sanity. Not only were his reactions too genuine most of the time but I feel like either Ferris or Wilhelm would have called him out if he was completely faking it. Someone besides just Petelgeuse would have noticed. His experience from the first loop caused him to crack and he chose to stay broken so that he could be pitied and not have to deal with the world anymore.

Even though their hands were together, their hearts were at opposite poles.

Subaru Natsuki’s heart was tempted far into that deep, deep, dark abyss—

Holy shit, I love that line and image.

Nothing much else to say other than that I am SO happy Subaru and Crusch's talk over drinks seems to have been before the save point, so RBD didn't erase it. She might be one of my favorite non-mansion characters so far and the small relationship the two have built I don't want to see lost.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Re_Zero/comments/gq1uao/novels_first_time_read_through_light_novel_vol_5/

#re:zero #random thoughts #reddit repost

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spiced-ciderr · 4 years ago

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Dearly Departed Chapter 2;

May 17th, 1991

Walking into the backroom, eighteen year old Dawson wondered around the dark area. It had to be here. They had to be here. Judging from the tapes Scott had left her, she was in the right room. He'd specifically asked her to look in the spare suits.

Scott Cawthon had been her babysitter growing up. On the nights her father was too drunk or her mother was out at every strip club in town, he was there. He'd been a security guard for her Uncle Will's establishment. He'd always known, though, that something was up. She hadn't noticed it at first, but the suspicious glances he'd shoot at her Uncle, the way he'd never let her or her sister alone in a room with him, the way he'd instructed Dawson to never let Keyla out of her sight when they were at Freddy's. She knew something was...ill. Wrong. Not right. Something was wrong with William Afton. Regardless, she knew she could trust Scott. He was always there for her and Keyla.

Right. Her sister was still back home. She prayed that she'd be okay. A part of Dawson knew that she wouldn't be returning home from the pizzeria tonight.

Lifting the head of the original Fredbear suit, she inhaled sharply, dropping both the costume head and the flashlight she'd taken in with her. The smell. Long-rotten meat. She gagged. The-The kids- He was the one who killed Charlie! A-And Gabriel, and Jer-Jer! All of her and Keyla's childhood friends-

She gasped, her thoughts interrupted. Eyes widening as she felt the large, cold metal blade penetrate her stomach. Choking, she shakily looked up at her Uncle. He grinned sadistically, yanking the knife from her torso before plunging it in again, and again, and again. She screamed, her voice ringing out through the pizzeria. His eyes widened, quickly glancing to the door of the Parts and Service room. He growled, lifting her by her long hair and dragging her away. He snarled at her, before her world finally faded to black.

And with that, Dawson Lynn was dead.

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Falling. She was falling. It was hot. The stink- What was this smell?

She hit the ground with a thud. Ouch. She groaned, opening her eyes. She was- whAA-

Quickly rolling onto the sidewalk, she gasped as her heart raced. She nearly missed being hit by a speeding car. On her back as she gazed up at the bright sky, she realized something was off. Oh, yeah, it was red. Why was the sky red? And why wasn't she dead? She literally just bled out on the floor-

The sun was replaced with a large, bright pentagram. Oh. Oh.

'I'm in hell. Not surprising, honestly.'

She got onto her knees, looking into a nearby puddle. Her large, wolf ears twitched-

Wait.

"large, wolf ears" ?

She froze as she took in her new appearance. Sitting atop her head, were two large wolf ears, both a dark brown and fading into a golden ombre near the tips. She felt behind her, only to find a large and fluffy tail, the same color scheme as her ears. Her eyes had also changed-

Instead of the milky brown they once were, they were now heterochromic. Her left eye, was a beautiful golden color, while her right was pitch black, a small white pinprick at the center. She also had a set of fangs, along with sharpened nails that almost resembled claws.

Shakily standing up, she searched for any scraps of money. She needed to find shelter.

After a few hours, and a lot of gambling, she'd successfully gained a small house somewhere near the 3rd circle. She'd rather not think about just how she'd obtained it.

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A few months into hell, she'd already risen up and proven to be powerful. Taking down any demons that stood in her way, she started pondering in sorcery and magic.

She soon started to call herself "The Witch"

She was surprised when she was officially elected as one of the most powerful Overlords. Though, she was excited to meet the rumored "Radio Demon".

But she hadn't know how soon she'd find him.

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It'd been about two years since she'd arrived into hell when she was summoned out of nowhere to an overlord meeting.

Everyone, including the king of hell himself, had been gathered around a large, rectangular table. She'd been sat across from the infamous Radio Demon, and she couldn't help but shudder at the white noise that filled her senses, making it harder to focus. The static dancing across her skin, she could hardly even concentrate. And from the looks of the other overlords, she could tell that he had been targeting her. It wasn't effecting the other demons.

As the meeting adjourned, she quickly made her way to the exit. But of course, not before being trapped in the elevator with the radio demon.

Damn.

She tried her best to ignore his stare, even though she could feel his eyes boring into the back of her skull. Finally, she turned around.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, exasperated, finally facing him.

His large grin, from ear to ear, somehow stretched even wider. "Why, whatever do you mean, dear?" he asks, feigning innocence. She growled. "You know damn well what I'm talking about." Instead of responding, the elevator suddenly went dark. Lights flickering on and off, he cornered her quickly. Grabbing her face roughly, it was his turn to growl. "Now, dear, that was quite rude, wasn't it? Since you are fairly new, I'll let you off with a warning this time. Do not. Speak like that. To me." he finished with a whisper, before the elevator dinged. Composing himself in record time, he gave her his most stunning smile before walking out the door. "I look forward to working with you, witch!" he calls back.

She glared. She was angry. But why was she flustered, as well?

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She later found out she'd being seeing a lot more of him. Every time they seemed to cross paths accidentally, the more it happened She started to learn things about him. She learned he loved to cook. He absolutely adored music, song and dance. Even in death, he'd still do his weekly radio shows, broadcasted to all of hell.

They eventually became business partners. She supposed that was the closest she'd get to him. Although, 'business' mostly involved going on bloody rampages with Alastor and gathering territory for him, while he'd return the favor. She also learned, that under any circumstances, never touch him. He had to initiate it first, or else there would be a second death in her future.

She eventually decided not to mess with him, not wanting to lose a limb for 'accidentally' shoving past him.

As she strolled down the streets in one of her cities, she suddenly became very aware of the loud screaming and shouting not too far from where she was. Using her shadows to travel quickly towards the scene, she was met with an odd sight.

Said Radio Demon was currently genociding half of her city.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, her orbs scanned the area, bodies littering the streets. It was here when Alastor took notice of her presence. "Ah! Dearest! How nice of you to join me on a lovely evening such as this!" He cheerfully exclaimed. She rolled her eyes. "Alastor, come on, this is-" "-Your territory, yes I'm aware! I thought it'd be courteous to pay you a visit!" his smile grew in size. She raised an eyebrow. But before she could protest, he took hold of her wrist, swiftly pulling her against him, before adjusting his grip. "Isn't it a lovely night for dancing?" he asked, tone just a bit softer. She pulled back slightly, before giggling. "Fine, fine. But just one dance, alright? As much fun it is to dance through blood-soaked streets with you, I've got places to be, Al." she chastised. He scoffed.

They danced until dawn.

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She wasn't expecting to see a dog standing atop a large building.

How the heck did a dog get into hell?? Dogs were so precious!

Using the her shadows to transport herself behind the pupper. Though, right as she appeared behind him, she almost fell off the roof when he turned into a human, in front of her.

Holy shit-

She noticed him approaching the edge.

Oh. Oh.

There's two things she could do here- She could walk away, or she could try and stop him. She decided in the long run she wasn't that shitty of a person, speaking up.

"Hey. What are you doing?" she asked, gently making her way closer.

Glancing behind himself, the man looked back out to the city, lights reflecting on his face. "Escaping this hell." he replies, coldly. But she can hear a small hint of something broken in his voice. This poor soul.

Coming to stand next to him, she sighed. Running a hand through her hair, she responded. "It ain't that easy. Believe me, I've tried." She says tiredly. "What's got you wanting to end it?"

She was surprised by his next words.

"Everything. I was hoping to see my parents for the first time when I originally died, but instead I came here. They were murdered in front of me by Slenderman." She was taken aback. What the hELL? Slenderman was real? But she knew this man couldn't be lying. He continued.

"He just came to my house and killed them both in front of me, leaving me alive on purpose." He sniffles, and then continues his story. "I had to live for the next 12 and a half years without them because of him. Scrounging around for food, stealing, even having to kill just to survive myself."

"..Wow." is all she can reply with. She feels something bubbling up in her chest- is this guilt? Sorrow? Emotions she hasn't felt since she was alive. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. I know what it's like having a lot of fear, and pain, and hurt stemming from your childhood. But trust me, it isn't worth your life. You're here for a reason, and you have to overcome this to be stronger." she pats his shoulder.

"What's your name?" she asked.

He hesitates before saying, "My name's Ski. What's yours?"

She smiles, for once, someone who doesn't know who she is.

"Most call me The Witch. You can call me Dawson."

And thus the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

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When Alastor told her he'd be gone for a while, helping the princess with her "passion project" for his own mere entertainment, she was surprised. Dawson was even more surprised when he asked her to come with him.

Of course, she had nothing better to do, and it did sound like some quality entertainment.

When she agreed to go with him, she wasn't expecting to be held at spear-point by the princess's love interest, Vaggie, as soon as she walked through the door.

"Why are you here? We KNOW what your game is! You AND that-that Radio demon!" Vaggie growled, pushing Dawson up against the wall. She merely laughed.

"Of course, I'm here to help!"

Ski, in dog form, huffed out what suspiciously sounded like a laugh.

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That night, when Alastor made Jambalaya for the hotel, she wasn't expecting for them to receive a new guest, in the same night.

She most definitely wasn't expecting it to be her own sister.

#alastor the radio demon #hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin #hotel #alastor x reader #charlie #charlie magne #radio demon #vaggie

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monsters-and-mystics · 5 years ago

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Help: Fanfic vs Smeyer Canon

Okay, so I need some help. I’m thinking of changing some things about vampires from Smeyer’s canon for my fanfic but I need some input from other people because I’m a big baby who can’t get out of my own way.

Basically, I’ve added a whole slew of other supernatural elements to the world already, like witches, magic, spirits, etc., but I’ve always tried to keep it “realistic” by keeping within the canon’s realm of possibility (mainly by leaning very heavily on the “it wasn’t part of Bella’s story” idea/meme). But I haven’t actually changed the existing supernatural canon itself. and I’m worried that doing so might be too much and will pull my readers out of the Twilight Universe.

So please, whether you read my story or not, please please please keep reading and let me know your thoughts on these ideas I have:

Fangs

The Sun

Old Superstitions & Magic

1) Having Fangs.

Why do I want the Twilight Vampires to have fangs? Because vampires. Duh.

No but seriously. According to my 8th grade level understanding of evolution, any animal that needs to pierce flesh in order to eat/get nutrients needs sharp teeth to do it. And Edward/Smeyer is always saying they have razor sharp teeth but... no fangs.

Honestly, I think I just feel robbed of the inherent sexiness/allure of vampiric fangs and want it back.

They wouldn’t have to be hugely exaggerated or anything either... More like that one kid you knew growing up who had sharper canines than anyone else, but like.. even sharper/more noticeable. Or maybe they only get sharp when they’re hungry or when they smell humans or idk please help.

2) Sunlight Burning Them

Okay, real talk, the idea that vampires only stay hidden from the sun because they sparkle and humans will figure out what they are has always been such a dumb concept to me. Like, so what if humans figure out you aren’t human? They’re hella weak and most of them have no clue how to actually kill you. Just eat/kill them and take over the world. Problem solved.

So, to realistically keep vampires from becoming overpowered/unstoppable human overlords, there should be something that threatens them, right? Something that makes hiding from humans and the sun actually important? Like oh i dunno... the sun hurting them?? Like, c’mon! At least a little bit! A sunburn or something!

Except... vampires going out into the sun is such a thing in Twilight. It’s literally weaved throughout the story. The Cullen’s in particular, who are the main vamps in my fic, genuinely enjoy the sun: a large portion of their house in Forks is floor-to-ceiling windows, they go hunting on sunny days, they enjoy outside time together in the sun, they literally own a damn island in the tropics...

So it almost feels like I can’t – and shouldn’t – mess with the sun. But that still leaves me with the same problem. Vampires like Aro, Caius, or James realistically shouldn’t give two shits about staying int he dark or stupid humans finding them out. They would only care if there was an actual threat to their wellbeing that made them pause. Which brings me to my third idea...

3) Old Superstition Weaknesses and Magic

Smeyer canonically dismisses nearly all traditional vampiric weaknesses as Volturi propaganda. The only true weakness her vampires have is fire; and in the films they make this even more difficult by requiring the vampire be beheaded first for it to actually kill them — which for Normal Humans is just flat out impossible.

Which brings us back to my main issue: why don’t vampires just become human overlords and slaughter us like cattle? There is quite literally nothing stopping them beyond the occasional werewolf or shapeshifter.

However, my story has something that could stop them; something Smeyer occasionally teases at but never really sinks her teeth into in the canon: Magic. And not that “hur dur these native boys can turn into wolves because Exotic Mysticism™” magic. No, I’m talking a world teeming with magic, full of invisible but powerful forces pulling all kinds of strings; spirits, demons, fae, higher powers (Gods/Death/Fate), shapeshifters beyond the Quileutes, and – of course – witches.

In my story, witches are humans who live amongst Normal Humans (what I call “Norms” or “Normals”). They have hidden their magic since the Burning Times/Witch Trials/Crusades/etc. but have nevertheless passed their knowledge on from generation to generation. Maybe even hidden it from their husbands/wives/children, but found other ways to safely protect and share their knowledge with new witches.

So, in this world that I’ve created... Wouldn’t it make sense if all those traditional tools used to hunt/kill vampires – garlic, silver, wooden stakes, holy water, etc. – worked, but only if used accordingly? aka with magic?

And since most humans don’t believe in/use magic anymore, any Norm who actually tried one of those tools probably didn’t use them correctly and died or got turned themselves. Either way, it further fuels the whole “nah that’s bullshit” narrative while ALSO explaining why humans used these tools in the first place. Beyond the whole “oh the Volturi made it up so vamps could fool humans” because. Again. Who. Cares? JUST EAT THEM!!!

Also, in my world, all humans have the capacity/ability to preform magic. Being a witch just means one actively studies and intentionally uses magic. And, like all things, the more you practice magic the stronger/better you become with it. which is just a roundabout way of me saying holy water is 100% magic and the only reason the sewer vampires Carlisle and his father were hunting didn’t eat/kill their hunting party right away was because Carlisle’s father was a clergyman and totally had a jug of holy water at the ready

...

hm. now that I’ve written all my thoughts out, I think number 3 is something I could definitely get away with.. But please tell me your thoughts regardless, cuz like i said im a dumb baby

and thank you!!💕💕

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aweebwrites · 5 years ago

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Allies Ch10

Garmadon chuckled as the Horns of Destruction blared loudly the sound able to be heard from miles and miles away, the golden beam of energy from the clock reaching across distances to create his Ultimate Weapon. Yes… Yes! This age of war was fastly coming to an end! He lifted his head once he heard the familiar sound of wing beats. Dragon wing beats. He grinned triumphantly once he saw five dragons, one of which was radiating with green energy similar to their scales. The dragons landed one by one in the courtyard, his generals sliding off of their backs as Garmadon headed directly for his son.

“Lloyd.” Garmadon says with palpable relief, seeing his son unharmed.

“Dad…” Lloyd smiled, accepting the hug his father offered him. “We got them dad.” He told his father, pulling back so he could reach for the weapons and Garmadon looked over them in awe.

It’s been millennia since he had last seen these weapons. He took them as Lloyd handed them over then chuckled.

“Finally. After thousands of years. The end of the war is in sight!” Garmadon yelled, holding up the four Golden Weapons and the gathering of Soldiers and Servants cheered. “You did well, my son.” He told Lloyd as they cheered around them still.

“I do what I can. For my Kingdom and for you.” Lloyd says with a smile, unable to hold back a grin as he hugged his father again.

He couldn’t wait for this all to be over at last.

_____

“I sense a shift in the balance.” Wu whispered, looking out at the balcony from his throne room. “The Knights have failed… Our greatest fear…” He says solemnly before he turned away to prepare for the last battle.

_____

“I can’t believe the Green Knight is nothing but Umbrian scum!” Kai growled as they raced their horses back to Fulgor to deliver news of their failure.

Luckily, the Forest of Tranquility was not very far away from the Castle.

“Race isn’t what matters here.” Zane says as he gripped his horse’s reins tightly, his face plate still off and tucked into his bag. “Garmadon must have convinced them that we were the bad guys. They must not know we’re actually fighting for the good of Ninjago.” He told the others.

“That’s gotta be it.” Jay says with a frown, eyes on the path ahead. “The Prophecies are never wrong!” He yelled, urging his horse to jump across a small but deep stream.

“But how do we even convince him before Garmadon gets to the Golden Peak?” Nya asked as she held on to Kai tight.

“That’s the hard part. We’ll have to figure something out and fast. He can level all of us on his own but this time no doubt he and the Generals will come with the rest of Garmadon’s army.” Cole says as they broke through the forest, dashing across the plain before them, the tip of the castle visible on the horizon.

“Let’s just hope we get there before they do.” Zane whispers, hoping they really could stop them.

_____

“Why are we here? Shouldn’t we be leaving for the Golden Peak?” Lloyd asked his father as he closed the double doors to the throne room behind them.

“We first have to wait for the Ultimate Weapon, the Garmatron, to arrive.” Garmadon told his son, guiding him to his throne and Lloyd frowned.

“The Ultimate Weapon? Why would we be using Dark Matter as a weapon? I thought you said you wanted this to be a fair war, to not stoop to their level?” Lloyd asked him, confused.

“I don’t intend on firing it.” Garmadon told his son, resting the golden weapons on his throne then walking behind it. “I prefer to use it as an intimidation factor.” He explained but Lloyd still looked unsure.

“After thousands of years, we’re finally arriving at the end of this war Lloyd. The people of Penumbra are starved of peace, of not fearing for their lives, of not fighting every day. I have to do whatever I can to make sure we succeed at doing so. I myself, am not comfortable with firing that cannon but I will if I must.” Garmadon says firmly and Lloyd looked up at his father then frowned but he understood.

They had to do what they must. And it wasn’t as if he was killing even more people by using Dark Matter. It was a means of safety, for those infected and for those who used it. Like Ultra Violet and the Earth Dragon. Lloyd looked at his hands at that. Yes. He could cure Dark Matter infection, so it was fine.

“There is also another reason why I brought you here, son.” Garmadon told him lightly, standing before the stained glass portrait of three people, one clearly being outcast.

Lloyd looked at his father curiously.

“It’s time for you to hear a story about the family the First Spinjitzu Master made for himself.” Garmadon says, his voice barely above a whisper as he kept his eyes on the portrait.

Thousands of years ago, when the war was young, there lived one who held the power to create an entire realm. He had no true name able to be said with Ninjagan tongue. Instead, he was known as the First Spinjitzu Master. And what was Spinjitzu you asked? An ancient fighting technique developed by the First Spinjitzu Master himself to be used as a means of fighting the Overlord and his Indestructible Stone Army only passed onto his sons as a means of protecting themselves. But this story is not about the fighting art. Rather, It was about the First Spinjitzu Master and his two very special sons. The eldest was Garmadon. He was a cautious yet peculiar child who would do whatever it took to not earn his father’s anger. It was a trait that made him seem cold, heartless even.

Then there was Wu. He was more adventurous than his brother and held a far bigger heart than he. Together, they would naturally get into all sorts of trouble but they were brothers who loved each other and who loved their father. They grew together, fought together, laughed together. There was no Garmadon without Wu and no Wu without Garmadon. The friends they had made of the children of servants in the castle knew and expected that of the princes. All was well throughout their childhood… But as both brothers began to mature, they began noticing some… Changes in Garmadon.

“Have your teeth always been that pointy?” Wu asked his older brother after noticing him yawn the canines he held much more visible and pointier.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Garmadon asked, reaching a hand inside his own mouth- only to yelp and pull his hand back.

His own tooth had cut his thumb…

That made Garmadon so much more aware of his own body. He was getting paler with each passing day. He could see it. He wore as much clothes as he could to hide it, withdrawing from his brother and friends out of fear.

“Did I do something to make my brother mad?” Wu asked, looking up at the back of his father.

“Why would you think so?” The First Spinjitzu Master asked as he turned to the blond that was his younger son.

“He moved into his own room and he hardly comes out to play or talk anymore…” Wu says with a pout, the preteen fiddling with one of his father’s blank scrolls.

“Hmm. It may be that Garmadon is growing older. He might want independence, to appear more mature. But I will talk with him, just in case.” He reassured, placing a comforting hand on his younger son’s shoulder.

“Really? Thank you father!” Wu grinned wide.

The First Spinjitzu Master did visit Garmadon’s room later that day… But it wasn’t to talk.

Garmadon stared at the closed door in confusion and trepidation as he pulled his hood closer. His father had walked in, taken one look at his very pale skin and had walked out with an expression on his face he’s never seen before. It made him… Worry...

The incident had Garmadon venturing outside again, to talk with his brother- but he had started to keep his distance- and so did their friends. He was now the one being isolated. He didn’t understand. He hated whenever they got quiet the second he walked in, hated that his own father refused to look at him anymore, hated that his brother looked fearful whenever he so much as glances at him. He didn’t understand at all. Was he becoming a monster? He missed his family. He missed his friends! Even the Elemental Masters stopped smiling at him and greeting him. No, they had started walking with their hands on their weapons, gripping them tighter still whenever he was nearby. Things finally boiled over on his 20th birthday he spent almost all of being ignored.

“I’ve had it!” Garmadon yelled in his father’s throne room after he had came for so little as a happy birthday, only to have them look away from him. “I’m sick and tired of being ignored!” He yelled, dark energies gathering unknowingly in his fists as his eyes glowed red, putting everyone on the alert.

“All I wanted was to have my family back but you two treat me like I’m some kind of monster waiting to happen!” He growled, fangs lengthening as his hair began to sway and blacken. “I don’t even know if I did something because neither of you won’t even so much as look at me! I don’t know what’s happening to me and it’s scary!” Garmadon’s voice broke as his skin started to darken, his claws lengthening as he began to grow taller.

“Talk to me! Yell at me! Do something other than pretending I don’t exist! Give me some kind of sign that I still mean something to this family!” He yelled, fire bubbling up in his eyes. “I just… I just…” The First Spinjitzu Master placed a protective hand before his youngest son who watched with wide fearful eyes as his brother became the monster his father warned him of.

“What did I do wrong?” He asked them quietly, flamed tears falling down his cheeks as he dug his nails into his palms- only to wince at the pain that flared in his hands.

He looked down at them- and felt his whole world grind to a halt. His… His hands… Why did they look like this? He looked up his dark arms, seeing white markings on them.

“If I had known you would turn out like this…” Garmadon looked to his father once he spoke over the silence filling the throne room. “A creature of darkness and destruction… An Oni, cannot take the throne…” The First Spinjitzu Master, his father says firmly and Garmadon’s eyes widened.

An Oni? He was… He looked down at his hands again, seeing them shaking from the revelation as his breathing picked up from his increasing panic.

“... Or be my son.” That had Garmadon’s head snapping upwards.

“... W… What?” He whispered breathlessly, not sure, not wanting to believe that he heard what he had.

“I left your kind behind once and for all in the First Realm. The Overlord already is a constant reminder of that place, even though he is Ninjago born. You will only strive to bring about nothing but destruction and chaos in this place I have made my home and I will not stand for it.” The First Spinjitzu Master spoke with cold, gold eyes, pulling a familiar crystal from his robe that had Garmadon’s eyes widening further. “You will return to where you came from.” He says, holding up the Realm Crystal, opening a portal on the ground.

Garmadon stared down at it, hearing the sound of dragons from it, feeling his blood running colder and colder. He… He…

“Fa… ther…” He whispered in his disbelief.

This couldn’t be happening. This must be a dream… This can’t be real… And yet, his palms still throbbed in pain from where he had stabbed his claws into them. This was no dream.

“You are no longer my son.” The First Spinjitzu Master says without a hint of emotion and that was like a physical blow at Garmadon.

He looked at his father, then at his brother with his downcast, slitted, golden eyes, looking just like their father… He… Garmadon, slouched. Was this really how he lost his family. All for… All because… Garmadon gritted his teeth, anger returning in an inferno. All because of genetics he never asked for! All for genes he got from him! A dark purple aura billowed around Garmadon and the First Spinjitzu Master gathered Golden Power in his other hand, prepared to strike him down if necessary.

“No! No!” Garmadon yelled, all out sneering at his father with bared fangs. “This isn’t fair! I never asked to be an Oni! I’m not like them! I deserve to stay just as much as Wu! We both got our blood from you, father! The blood that runs through my veins is a result of you!” He all but roared, the polished white marble floor cracking beneath his feet.

“That may be so and for that, I am sorry. But your faith is already decided. You cannot stay.” The First Spinjitzu Master says with narrowed eyes. “Leave on your own or I will be forced to make you. This realm already has enough darkness and destruction.” He warned, gold eyes glowing brighter and Garmadon sneered.

“Ninjago is the only home I’ve ever known! I won’t leave it just for your fragile sense of security!” He snapped at his father.

“... Then you leave me no choice.” The First Spinjitzu Master says quietly, taking a step forward.

“Father, please wait!” Wu says, running before his father. “Let me talk to him.” He pleaded and the First Spinjitzu Master looked him over before nodding once.

“Do not go near it.” He warned and Garmadon growled.

“I am not an animal or creature! I live and breathe and think as you do, father!” Garmadon spat the word with bitter resentment, his eyes fully opened to the true person his father was.

He was not the kind, peaceful man the Kingdom of Fulgor saw. No, he was no better than the Overlord himself! He was a hypocritical, fiendish man who would rather let others tackle his problems for him than facing them himself!

“Garmadon-”

“What? I no longer deserve the title of your brother? Is that it, Wu? Did the years we spent growing up together mean nothing for you to throw them away so quickly? Have the memories we’ve had together meant nothing to you?!” Garmadon yelled, cutting Wu off.

Wu pressed his lips together in a thin line as he looked at him.

“Say something!” Garmadon snapped at him.

“You’re an Oni bent on destruction! You always have been!” Wu snapped back. “You always did and say things I always questioned but they all made sense once father realised you were Oni! A monster! You’ve shown us your true colours now Garmadon! There’s no going back from this! It’s better you leave before you hurt someone!” He yelled and Garmadon took a step back, eyes wide at his brother- his own brother called him a monster.

He wondered for a moment, if things would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut and endured their ignorance. Garmadon straightened his back. No. He would not be a mat for them to only remember existed when they have mud on their feet.

“A monster, huh?” Garmadon says to his bro- to Wu, his voice eerily calm, lacking the panic, desperation and fury he had just moments ago.

He then walked forward, coming to a stop before the portal, glaring down at it from the bridge of his nose then at them.

“You want me gone? Fine.” He says and the First Spinjitzu Master vanished his Golden Power though he never took his narrowed eyes off of him. “But.” Garmadon spoke again and they tensed as he gathered his destructive powers in his palms, eyes overcasted with red as he floated off the ground.

“He’s unlocking his true potential!” The First Spinjitzu Master yelled, gathering his Golden Power.

“I’ll decide where I go!” Garmadon yelled and before his father could attack, a huge wave of destructive energy escaped him, destroying everything in its path, breaking apart the ceilings of the throne room and throwing both the First Spinjitzu Master and Wu back, the Realm Crystal shattering into fine dust like pieces as they were.

Garmadon landed on his feet after the sudden surge of power, looking down at his hands emitting smoky purple energy before he clenched them tight, ignoring the sting of pain. He then looked around at the chaos around him, spotting his brother as he pushed the rubble off of him with a golden wing, half transformed into a dragon. He hadn’t even known he could do so. He narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll show you a monster.” He promised him before he turned away to leave the palace, using his new found powers to throw aside those who stood in his way.

There was only one place he would be accepted now and it was a place he was looking forward to go to. Ninjago was being fought over by two sinister beings. It was doomed from the start. He hadn’t known that until today. But since his so called father and brother insisted on treating him like an Oni, a monster… He’ll be just that.

And he had been. The Overlord was more than happy to take him in under his wing, nurturing the darkness inside him and encouraging him to grow. Garmadon felt twisted pleasure as he struck down the First Spinjitzu Master’s soldiers before his brother’s eyes once news of his presence on the wrong side of the battlefield caught his ears. Just for him, just for them, he had become the destructive, heartless monster they made him out to be. There were days when the weight of what he had done, of what he had become weighed him down but those days were far in-between. That was until he met her. Misako. The Umbrian that had stolen his black heart. She made him want to change, made him want to do the right thing. He had even started planning on taking her and running away from this place, perhaps to a whole nother realm if he could, even more so when she was bearing his child… But then her betrayal had brought that part of him, ugly, bloodthirsty and hateful. He didn’t regret taking her life. But he did swear hers would be the last he took out of spite. He had a son who would depend on him now. And once the Overlord had left Penumbra to him, he knew he had a chance to fix this. To truly end this war and to give his son a place worthy of being called home. He may not be able to change the past but he could make a better future for everyone.

And his brother, who ruled Fulgor in their father’s leave could not be the one to do so. He was so faithful to the facade their father had shown him that he could not see that good intentions didn’t make a wrong action right. He didn’t know better, but Garmadon does and it is his duty, as Emperor and his older brother, to bring the peace Ninjago is starved of.

Lloyd… He didn’t know what to say. He never imagined that there was ever a time his father wasn’t the man he knew today. Never thought his father was outcasted from his own family for something like that. For having Oni blood, something he couldn’t control. If he was in his father’s position back then…. He didn’t know what he’d do. He couldn’t even imagine his father throwing him out. Not after a childhood filled with his father's utmost love. He looked up at his father, seeing calm, seeing wistfulness, seeing pain and regret all present on his face. Lloyd walked before his father then and he looked down at him, red eyes meeting red. He gave his father a look filled with several emotions, empathy, pain, anger… He pushed forward, hugging his father tight as he squeezed his eye shut, willing all the love he held for him to reach him. His father changed, that’s what really matters. He was still proud to call him father, regardless of his past.

Garmadon’s breath caught at his son’s tight embrace. He then hugged him back, giving a small sigh but that sigh held years of intense emotions, always flickering in the back of his mind like the flames of his tears. The burden of his past was lighter at least. His son, his reason to keep going down the right path and he had not rejected him because of his past wrongs. It gave him even more strength to keep fighting. For him.

______________ (Garmadon's past revealed! Next on the list is Lloyd's but before that, a moment of calm before the final fight to decide the fate of all of Ninjago! Thanks for reading!) ______________ Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9

#ninjago #lloyd ninjago #kai ninjago #cole ninjago #jay ninjago #zane ninjago #nya ninjago #Sensei Wu #Lord Garmadon #first spinjitzu master ninjago #aweebwrites' work

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blooddrop-palace · 5 years ago

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4, 8, 14 for the muse game!

Thank you for the ask!!! I love these but I also like to share a lot so I hope the long answers are okay :'D also due to the nature of number 8, I will warn that I’ll be showing a bit of “fang” for it... but I already wrote porn twice so like... today I have no shame!!

4. how many muses did you have when you started your blog? how many do you have now?

Oh my god that’s hard; I’ll need to list out all the ones that I think about a lot, eh?

There’s Roy, and Evan, my twin muses who are my MAIN muses of 10+ years.

Vero (Aegis/Lance) and Ralthawar are intrinsically connected with Roy and Evan but not always as the same entities. (Reincarnation, fate, family, etc. etc.)

Kassandra! Kassandra used to be named Elizabeth/Liza. Her appearance and age changes depending on the setting, but she’s always Roy and Evan’s “baby sister.” And currently, she is “Queenie.” =P

Zyra/Arysesyra (Aryse or Esyra.) was my main Seraphim/Angel muse. Except she’s... not fully Angel. She’s more like what Dante and Vergil are in the DMC reboot? Angelic devil hybrid lol; except I’ve had her way before I played DMC. She has a counterpart whom I can’t always decide if he’s her brother or her mate. His name is Zivonenoviz. Yes I was a bit crazy with the names.

Seraphina Valkyrie is new and I’m loving her! Sera is a character who wants to prove her worth, and be recognized for it... and she’s at the very least a good “aunt”...? But a debatable role model, if you were hoping for someone who follows all the rules. She also, most definitively, will say “fuck it” when she’s had enough.

I have an amnesiac Knight-character named “Heart” who is a bit showy but his main trait is a heart of justice. (And he is totally Seraphina’s mentioned father~ )

And then there’s my baby, Snow!! Snow is totally new and so far she’s this poor sweet girl who loves her family and everything about her is that she has a big heart and loves too easily and too deeply!

Annnnd unrelated to what I’ve been writing for, I have one Yerentai Angura, my Final Fantasy 14 MMO main; 7 foot tall lizard/dragon man, my Warrior of Light who is very good with his hands (for crafting!! *shot*)

So I guess the answer is... I had 9 before I started. And then I made Sera and Snow! So now I have 11! 12 if you count Photographer!Reader.

8. do you have a muse who is a terrible person, but very fun to write?

No specific muse of mine is terrible, but I have a few whom I sometimes think of for “mirror verse” themes. I never write them because I don’t feel the need to post that kind of stuff so far, but Roy can totally get to be 7 levels of nasty if I put him in an unchecked dark setting. When I need to be moody and edgey I have all sorts of stupid fantasies with my “Prince of Seven Sins”; need a demonic Overlord? Or an evil king? How about an off-hinge warlord? Oh he can get pretty terrible... and the perfect muse for dub-con :'D

And then there’s Aryse, who can sometimes fill the role for “sadistic bitch” (annnnnd then she bullies the hell out of Zivon, who has a masochistic streak...)

Yeah, the most terrible I get apparently is just me being raunchy, huh?

14. which of your muses is the most friendly to strangers? which is the least friendly?

Heart. Heart is the most friendly to strangers because becoming an amnesiac means he doesn’t have a lot of options lol. And on that topic, his daughter is much the same... Sera didn’t think twice about giving Vergil a place to stay, after all!

Roy is probably the least friendly, because he prefers peace and quiet and being in control, and he absolutely hates being interrupted when doing something! Yet despite that, he very easily warms up to people who impress him... and also especially if his brother trusts them. He has a soft spot also for children, and is GOOD with childten. why do you think Snow has 7 cousins? =P

#ask meme

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sibillascribbles08 · 6 years ago

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⭐ for hmmm... Something involving Max?

Here’s let’s have one of my favorite bits, under the cut for length reasons

Cryptor got up, shaking the cup himself as he headed out of the room. Max wasn’t far behind him, and part of Cryptor cursed himself for going through the door first. (How can I build this tension up as much as I possibly can let’s find out.)

Relax. Calm down. He’s Toby’s friend. If nothing else he wouldn’t risk doing something that would upset Toby, right? (HAHA RIGHT?? Fun things about writing Cryptor is he’s obviously a huge logic person, but by this point in his life he has enough emotional experience that sometimes he just has that... gut instinct toward something, but he tries to reason it away.)

He tried to check for warning signs without being suspicious, listening for elevated heart rates or unsteady breathing.

He couldn’t hear either, at all. (I wasn’t sure if I should mention Max doesn’t have a heart beat but like? Doesn’t hurt, doesn’t spoil anything so you know.)

No, that wasn’t right was it? Cryptor wasn’t unaware of the dark matter on Max’s scars but did the material really extend that far? (Oh Cryptor if only you KNEW.)

How was he alive? (This is an ironic question because I do not actually have an answer haha!)

Well it certainly wasn’t something he could ask. (Yeah, you can’t just ASK people why they don’t have a heart beat wtf.) Cryptor stepped into the empty lobby and around the counter. He dumped out the leftover ice before refilling it, wondering if he should just go through with what he said and get water or allow Toby to have a little more sugar. (Cryptor, internally: Do I show him I love him by watching after his health or by spoiling him with more sugar?)

Something thumped against the counter. He looked back to see Max’s arms crossed, leaning on it. His eye was fixed on Cryptor.

“Seems he’s got you tamed pretty good, huh?”

The warnings in Cryptor’s head were screaming louder than ever, but he pushed past it. “I’m sorry?” (Cryptor is pretty sure Max is being rude but also the phrasing of that question has him a little confused.)

“Guess my question is, why bother keeping it up this long?” Max’s gaze didn’t move, didn’t flinch. “Toby said he knocked out the overlord when he was sixteen. You’ve had plenty of times and chances to finish his work.”

He tried not to be offended by the accusation. Max came from a very different place, likely one where the road to recovery wasn’t an option like it was here. All his impressions of nindroids had been nothing short of traumatic. (Honestly Cryptor’s patience is something he taught himself and he taught himself well because boy howdy.)

“I have no desire to do so.” Cryptor tried to turn his focus back to the row of sodas on the machine, but he was panicking far too much.

“And why the change of heart, or lack there of.” Max seemed to spit. “Because you wound up in a city that’s mostly made of robots? Or because you knew Toby could have crushed you under his thumb and you just go with whoever the winning team is?”

Cryptor’s fangs tried to emerge as he pressed his lips together. (He angry.) God, he’d love to argue about this but that was the worst thing he could do. He was trying to make an ally, not an enemy.

“I’m not stupid.” Max continued. “The Overlord being deleted doesn’t do a thing to your programming. You had the option the entire time to turn away from him and you didn’t. Not until he’s gone, huh? Because you’d rather just follow orders than be put down.”

Cryptor put the cup down and turned around slowly. “Just what are you trying to accomplish here? If it’s just to take your anger out on me, then so be it.” (I feel like this didn’t come across fully but what Cryptor means when he says that is he’s 100% okay with Max just blowing steam at him if that’s what it takes to make this better. Unfortunately...)

Max smirked and shook his head. “Tell me something else, do you remember everything? All the stuff that happened while working under that bastard?”

He did, though he sometimes tried not to. “Of course. It would be an insult to erase it.”

Max stepped through the counter, through it. The whole motion made Cryptor blink, trying to figure out how he even did that. Toby’s arm could phase through objects, sure, but not his entire body. Not like that. (Funfact, I had to write this paragraph twice because I tried to do it right in the middle of Max’s dialogue but it was FAR too long and it made it sound like Max paused mid sentence for like a solid 20 seconds)

“Well then,” Max kept walking until he was close enough that Cryptor realized he was taller. (Max is 6′4″ btw, at least in his normal looking disguise asldkfjslf) “In that case you should know damn well that you don’t even deserve to be in his line of sight, much less in his company.”

This was a threat. Cryptor wasn’t foolish enough to ignore it this time. Max was telling him something hypothetical, but his stance implied that he was giving an order.

But it was one Cryptor refused to follow. (Fuck you binch I didn’t spend almost ten years pining after this idiot so you could come tell me no.)

“You’re right.” He agreed at first. “It’s not something I deserve, but that’s hardly relevant.”

Max narrowed his eye. “What?”

“What I deserve is irrelevant. Toby wants me in his company. He wants to be friends. He made the decision to forgive me. I deserve none of it but he offered it all the same.”

Cryptor dared to take a step forward. (Cryptor is logic man who leans into his emotions too hard and sometimes makes dumb decisions.) “I knew I didn’t deserve it. I know all I deserved was to be shut down and scrapped. But no matter how much I insisted on that kind of fate, Toby refused. So, in the end it doesn’t matter what I deserve. That was Toby’s decision.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m certain as his friend you respect that decision.”

Max somehow seemed even less amused than before. Was his eye getting darker? “You know, I really don’t know what made him grow up so foolish.” (This is supposed to be the part where you realize Max is just straight up delusional.)

Cryptor blinked. “Excuse me?” (This is the part where even Cryptor realizes Max is delusional.)

“Does he really think he can trust you? The rest of these nindroids? As soon as something stronger comes along you’ll all turn heel.”

Cryptor let his fangs out this time. “I would never–” (Insulting Cryptor’s personality? That’s okay. Suggesting Cryptor would betray Toby? That’s too fucking far.)

He couldn’t finish the statement. Before his systems could even register what was happening he was spun around and slammed against the counter. He reached up, expecting to find Max’s wrist, but whatever he tried to grip was too hazy. His vision kicked back in, revealing dozens of tendrils of that purple haze, slivers of gold running through it. (How do you describe MaxI don’t know) Cryptor followed them over to Max, all of them stemming from his arm, distorting the skin. The dark matter slowly crawled over his face, gold slipping through his skin like oil on water. (This is an image I can never quite manage)

“Sorry, let me speak in a language robots like you understand.” (By this he means violence) Max grinned at him, all his teeth turning gold. “Keep away from Toby, or I’ll rip your empty heart out like I did last time.”

Right, that’s why that power core looked so familiar. “And what do you think Toby would say to that?”

“Oh, I’ll figure that out.” As Max moved closer more and more of his body was distorting. Extra eyes appeared on his face. The gold fangs in his mouth started to grow out from his jaw. “Maybe I’ll start by reminding him of all the shit you’ve done.”

“You think he doesn’t know?”

Max was glaring again, hair turning to smoke. His other arm snapped out, grabbing Cryptor’s chin tight enough he could feel the metal trying to give way.

“I think he must have forgotten, because if he remembered he wouldn’t let you anywhere near him.” (This was the part where I was like “Oh god no do I have to write this it’s going to hurt me”) Max clearly wanted to shout, but was keeping his voice low to make sure they weren’t heard. “But I remember. Want me to remind you as well?” (Please don’t)

Only now was Cryptor’s panic hitting levels he couldn’t manage. “Don’t–”

“How many orders did you give, General? How many kids did you drag screaming from their cells, sometimes boxes. You kept us in fucking boxes.” (Why did I make this AU thinking about this always makes me feel sad as shit)

Cryptor squeezed his eye shut.

“How many more did you toss in the basement? How many more to the furnace? How many kids did you drop a kill order on when all they were trying to do was break free from that hell pit?”

“Stop.” Cryptor felt his voice distort. (Yeah Cryptor remembers all of this oof sometimes it haunts him more than others)

“And you did it. You followed every order. No one was forcing you to do that and you did it anyway.”

What could he say to that? There wasn’t a damn thing. Max wasn’t wrong.

Cryptor did nothing. He just followed orders. He had the option to defect at any time and he never took it, because he was ignorant, because he never actually saw the options were there. Because he never considered anyone could stop the overlord. Because he never considered that a better world was in the realm of possibility. None of it crossed his mind until some kid came along and did the impossible. (Impossible is a simple way of saying “Punched god”)

And then extended a hand, simply asking Cryptor if he wanted to take the opportunity to do better.

He never thought he could, but he wanted to try, he owed Toby that much for sparing his life.

But despite all that it didn’t change what he did.

“You ever go in that memorial hall?” Max was whispering now. “You ever count how many of those names are there because of you?”

“You made your point.” Cryptor growled. (He just wants this to be over with ouch)

With that, Max let go of him. The tendrils snapped back into his arm. His face slowly returned to normal.

“Good.” Max smiled at him. “Glad we could have this chat. Now scram, before my good mood leaves. I’ll tell Toby something urgent came up. You run security or whatever, right?” (He does pay some attention)

Cryptor stood up straight, checking his chin for any damage.

“I wouldn’t bother telling him either.” Max shrugged as he turned to the soda machine. “Unless you really think he’d believe something like that about an old friend of his.” (Yeah about that lol)

Cryptor could argue, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t need Max thinking he might be wrong. The sooner he could warn Toby the better. He simply shot the man a glare before turning on his heel to head to the exit. He ignored the ache in his chest, the anxiety trying to claw it’s way up his throat.

Toby would come find him. Toby would trust him.

Right? (HE WOULD CRYPTOR HE LOVES YOU)

He glanced back once more, watching Max study the labels for a bit, his hand hovering over one.

“Oh, Max.” Cryptor spoke.

The man flinched, as if he hadn’t expected it. He spun his head to glare. “What?”

Cryptor tried not to smirk. “Toby doesn’t like lime soda.” (I didn’t elaborate on his thoughts during this but this is him being a smug little fuck because despite Max claiming Toby would believe him over Cryptor, Cryptor’s the one who knows Toby, because he’s been around him for all these years. He doesn’t like lime soda.)

His smile wound up on his face anyway as he flicked his cape when he turned and strode out the door. (Bye bitch.)

He’d retreat for now.

But this wasn’t over.

#scribs speaks #fanfic commentary #I got another one of these to do but it's gonna be tomorrow #cause it left it up to me to pick and I am tired #amuseoffirebane

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thetygre · 7 years ago

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30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #10: Favorite Goblin/Orc

1. Uruks

I wanna’ tell you a story, folks. It might sound a little familiar, but stick with me. Once upon a time, there was a farm-boy. A simple lad, who had high hopes for a life of adventure beyond the town. He wasn’t the brightest, but what he lacked in brains he made up for in bravery. One day, as you do, farm-boy was working out in the field with his family when a monster attacked. The local guard piled on to the monster, but they just couldn’t bring it down. It tore through soldier after soldier after soldier, just for the fun of it. Our farm-boy knew he would probably die, but he didn’t care. He had his chance and took it; he picked up a stick, ran at the monster, and brought it down. Our farm-boy became a hero.

That farm-boy’s name was Kravitz the Marked One. He was an orc slave working in the fields the first time he killed me. The warchief promoted him on the spot and gave him a set of armor. The second time he killed me they gave him a caragor to ride. The third time he was given command over a company of hunters. I got him on the fourth time, though, and recruited him to the Bright Lord’s army. I was going to make him Overlord of Nurn, and raise him up to sit at my right hand, a real rags-to-riches story. He helped me take the Overlord’s fortress, riding with me at the siege. But poor little Kravitz took a mortal wound there, one I couldn’t save him from. And as he lay there, dying in my arms, he looked and me and he said, “Remember this moment, Tark. Remember it for as long as you live.” And I always did.

There’s a lot of other stories I could tell you. About Ugakuga the Maddest One, who saved my life, or Kellec the Tree Killer who communicated only in screams, or Flug the Ghul Lover who would track a matron across Mordor just to protect her. Uruks are rambunctious, and violent. They fight with each other even if you get them on the same team. They’ll betray you at the drop of a hat for the smallest slight. They pick fights with warriors and monsters that can kill them in one hit just to make a point.

But when they’re your own, you love them.

2. Greenskins

The greenskins are the puncline to the grimdark joke that is Warhammer. While they’re in both the fantasy and 40k settings, they really stand out in 40k. Warhammer fantasy still has halflings, dwarves, and typical fantasy shenanigans to pick up the slack; 40k NEEDS some comic relief. The Orks aren’t concerned about empires or Chaos or the greater good. The Orks, pure and simple, are in it for the fun. They’re work is at its finest when its fast, loud, and in flames. Put together, they can generate a kind of psychic field that makes their beliefs a reality. This power is not used to reshape the fabric of the cosmos, but to enforce much more important principles like ‘things go faster when they have flames painted on. In the grim darkness, the orks are a pie to the face filled with C4.

3. Order of the Stick

The goblins in Order of the Stick are kind of different from how they’re commonly depicted, but not too unrecognizable. They’re a monster race, living in the wilderness, trying to eke out a living, though they’re a bit taller and smarter than standard goblins, about on par with humans. But the thing that makes them stand out is Redcloak, and Redcloak is pretty great, both as an antagonist and a character in his own right. Redcloak has made decisions, bad decisions, decisions that he could have not made but he did because he felt he had to. And it’s interesting to watch him now, filled with regret, committed to this course, and wondering what will happen next.

4. Nyambe

Nyambe-Tanda was an African campaign setting for 3rd. Edition D&D that not a lot of people remember. They should, because it was pretty great, both at representing an underexplored area of fantasy and also for its own setting features. Somehow, it blended West African mythology and post-modern tabletop fantasy masterfully. One of the best examples is its orcs.

You’ve got your standard narrative; at the beginning of time, there were the various races, and each of the gods favored one race over the others. Originally, the gods only divulged so much to the races because they wanted to keep things fair. But the orcs were having a hard time of it, living in badlands and scrounging for food. So their god, Ogun, the god of war, decided to give them a little boost. He made them stronger, faster, tougher than other races. But Ogun wasn’t just the god of battle; he was the god of blacksmithing. So the orcs of Nyambe learned how to mine and forge metal while the other races were still wearing leaves and furs. And by the time the other races figured out bronze, the orcs had iron.

From there, things went about as well as you would expect. The orcs swarmed out, conquering the continent one region at a time. The other races barely had metal, much less iron; any resistance was like bring a stick to a gun fight. Even after Ogun withdrew his patronage from the orcs, they turned to worshipping dark gods and demons, adding sorcery to their arsenal. The orcs set up a dark empire across Nyambe-Tanda, and it took nothing less than an alliance between all the races, the dragons, and God to stop them. The dumb orcs of Nyambe today are the cursed remnants of that empire, and their demon-haunted ruins still litter the continent.

Just think about all that. Look at how much the orcs did in this setting. And they did it for themselves; not for any god or Dark Lord, but because they wanted to. The Evil Empire that the plucky last-ditch rebellion had to stop didn’t use orcs; it was MADE by them. They fundamentally shaped the setting. In Nyambe, orcs are legendary and feared. Even the few remaining half-orcs are watched closely and with fear, looking out for any sign that the old powers might return. And that’s just such a massive departure from the norms of fantasy while still staying true to certain elements; I love it.

5. Pathfinder

Pathfinder’s goblins are clearly descended from Warhammer’s; cheerful, incorrigible pyromaniacs who enjoy arson, butchery, and singing adorable little songs about how much they hate horses. Even their designs are cute; oversized head, constant grins, beady little eyes, big flappy ears, and a shark-like nose make them look more like gangrene bats than monsters. When Pathfinder was first released, it was decided by the Paizo team that they wanted their monsters to stand apart from the standard D&D variants of monsters, remaining true to certain aspects while inventing new ones. Goblins were the first example, and are still the most beloved. They became mascots of the system, and even a playable race. So much malevolent charm has been poured into Pathfinder’s goblins that you feel almost bad for killing them. You’ll have to though, because they really don’t feel bad about killing you and then burning your house down.

6. Eberron

Eberron orcs are another attempt to experiment with the standard formula, seeing what can be retained and what can be changed. An orc on Eberron can still be a wild berserker, but they’re more likely to stick to one of the villages they live in as a farmer. Orcs in Eberron are the oldest species on the planet, predating humans and all the other races. It gives them this kind of grouchy veteran persona that pervades the whole race, and they tend to look down on the younger peoples. Eberron orcs are also a lot more spiritual, trying to live in tune with the land and spirits. It was the orcs’ druids that saved the world from extradimensional horrors long ago, and most of them stick to that tradition. They don’t want any praise or to be raised up as heroes, though. They mostly just want the young races to listen to them when they say important things like, “Don’t poke the fabric of reality” and “Don’t trust elves” and “No, ma’am, I would not care to do that with you.”

7. Warcraft

It was inevitable that Warcraft orcs would be on here. There’s no escaping them; by now they’re probably more popular than Tolkien orcs. They actually have a fairly complex history and lore; addicted to demon juice, tricked by an evil shaman, warring with the goat-people. Thrall is still the coolest shaman in anything ever, even if it is kind of hard not to just call him ‘orc Moses’. Even their explanation for the green skin is cool; an eternal curse for drinking demon blood in wars past. Honestly, though, I loved the orcs best in Warlords of Draenor. The Iron Horde is what elevated the orcs from ‘kind of cool’ to full-on ‘Metal’. It was a shame to see them go, but that’s just how it is.

8. Rankin Bass

My first orcs. I watched the Rankin Bass Hobbit films when I was a kid, so these were the first time I met goblins who didn’t come out of a fairy tale. They were scary more than cool, but they also had a kind of dorky charm to them. The original Hobbit goblins with their gaping mouths and giant fangs are still a classic. They seem like perfect fairy tale monsters to me, and fit right in to the Hobbit’s original tone. Also got to love those classic goblin hits like ‘Funny Little Things’. The orcs in Return of the King had way more variety in shape, and there was even some blurring between them and the trolls, but no particular design stuck with me. You know what did stick with me? The best damn song in the entire world, that’s what.

9. The Wolverines

Stan Nicholls’ Orcs series is more in the vein of the Black Company or the Golden Age of Berserk than it is any other kind of orc story. It follows the exploits of a mercenary band of orcs while they traipse around first one fantasy world, then more. By the second trilogy, they’re freedom fighters for orc supremacy on whatever world they can find them. All the while, they never stop being just unapologetically bastards. You get a feel for the commanders and the soldiers, while taking in that whole mercenary life pastiche. Not anything groundbreaking yet, but still a good band.

10. Goblin Slayer

Credit where credit is due, Goblin Slayer tries its damnedest to take goblins and make them horrific, intimidating monsters. Does it succeed? Ehhhhh... I don’t want to keep saying ‘Berserk did it better’, but it really is hard not to compare the goblins to the trolls from Berserk. Still, there’s stuff to applaud here. These are some nasty goblins, even in terms of design, with jagged shark teeth and dead frog eyes. If nothing else, it’s interesting to see the kind of hierarchy usually reserved for higher-powered monsters like dragons and demons given to the ‘cannon-fodder’.

#30 Day Monster Challenge #30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #orc #orcs #goblin #goblins #lord of the rings #warhammer 40k #world of warcraft #pathfinder #dungeons and dragons #long post

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shadowofthelamp · 4 years ago

Text

Behold, some context for this, specifically Bella’s part. I’ll add more when I actually write more about Kit’s bit.

Wordcount: 2075

The second she saw the airship soaring through the red-tinted sky, shooting anything that looked at it funny, Bella knew she had to get inside of it. Let Kit flirt with their host (or, if she was honest, fail to flirt with, man, she didn’t even like flirting and even she knew that he turned into a pile of goopy mush when he was around a guy he thought was cute) and let Vee attempt to kidnap yet another animal to try and smuggle home, she wanted to find out who the heck made a steam-powered airship in the twentieth century.

Or maybe Hell was actually stuck in the year 1900, who knew? Time probably passed funny in the afterlife, but the fact that nobody had shot them out of the sky yet said that there was something else afoot- the pilot had to have some way of warding off attacks considering rivals probably had, like, grenade launchers, and she wanted to find out how. Style merged with substance, ruling the air with confidence- and she wanted in.

“Hey! Hey you!” She flagged down somebody with four arms and purple fur who looked short enough to be less likely to punt her into orbit- Mom had warned that most people down here were mean as, well, Hell- and pointed up at the ship. “What’s the deal with those?”

“You a newly dead?” The demon raised one of their four eyes, and Bella nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, newly dead. Anyway. Story?”

“They’re made by Sir Pentious, one of the Overlords. He’s some kinda inventor, I’unno. Never blew up anything that mattered to me, so I never cared that much.”

“Sir Pentious…” She rolled the name around in her mouth, plucking the ‘T’ in the middle thoughtfully along with the rubber bands wrapped around her braces. “Got it. Thanks!”

“Er- you’re welcome.” They darted off, but that was fine. Now it was just a matter of actually getting onboard.

____________

She couldn’t find a rocket pack anywhere- lousy Hell lagging behind Earth technologically- but ended up stumbling across the next best thing in a warehouse that had an extra ship that had clearly been in some sort of accident. This one was only partially-reassembled, and there was a lot of burn damage sustained to the aluminum and copper outside, but that just meant that she could see the skeleton without having to slice through a lot of layers, so it was almost better- and a lot easier to crawl in one of the big holes in the front window via a pile of parts in front of it.

The interior was decorated like a mansion, with vivid yellows, reds, and blacks- she could respect the commitment to the aesthetic, especially with torn-open snakesheds and red eyeballs plastered everywhere. It looked like something out of Mom’s old comic book collection, toxic and yet intoxicating, every detail chosen for maximum dramatic potential. It must look even better with all the lights on and more than her phone’s flashlight illuminating bits at a time.

It was the best playground that she could imagine- nothing but her and a massive ship the size of an apartment building. Oddly enough, there wasn’t much dust- maybe it had crashed recently and was being held here for repairs? It was certainly of a similar design to the one that she’d seen from the ground, so she couldn’t imagine that it wasn’t just an iteration or two away.

Her fingers ran over the sleek machinery like it was sacred- some of it looked like it belonged in a museum, but the rest was cutting edge, and the seamless way they blended was like something out of a dream. A genius indeed- if she’d been born a hundred years ago and was suddenly thrust into the modern day, she could only hope that her tech would look this good. There was room for improvement of course, there always was, but it was loads better than most of what she saw digging through the junkyard, and a lot closer to the stuff she made with Grandpa Zim using his irken tech. Impressive for someone who’d clearly been dead for some time, considering he’d made enough of a name for himself that some rando off the street knew it.

“Genius inventor, huh…?” Bella pulled out her screwdriver, starting to work on freeing the control panel. It had a touchscreen and levers, what was that about? She had to know what it looked like underneath- did Hell even use cables and wires or was she going to need to drag Kit in to do his magic business here?

It took some doing- whatever had taken this particular ship down had welded the panel into place and it took a crowbar to pry off, ha, take that Venus for saying she ‘didn’t need to bring it’- but eventually she got into the guts of the thing. Sure enough, it was wiring, spiraled all into itself in a knot- it must have gotten all messed up at some point, maybe that was what caused the crash on top of whatever burnt the outside?

She was about to start taking it apart when she heard a pitter-patter behind her.

“I’ve got a gun and I know how to use it, ya know,” she said, rummaging around in her pocket before pulling it out. “Mom insisted I bring the one that can vaporize people since apparently half of you can’t even die the normal way anyway? Bunch of freaks.” Her finger twitched towards the trigger as the pitter-patter became a shadow as the thing scrambled up towards the same hole she’d come in. “I’m warning you, I’m a great shot. Won’t take two to blow your brains out.”

“Whoever you are, bossman says you gotta go!”

It was an egg. Not like some kind of insult, it was literally an egg, and probably a third of her size. It was also wearing a little hand-tailored suit and top hat. She stared down at it, and it stared up at her.

“Who’s bossman?” Bella asked after a few very long seconds of silence.

“You know… bossman!” It blinked. “He doesn’t like people pokin’ around his cool, cool stuff and you tripped the motion sensor. Hey, is that a ray gun?”

Bella’s finger eased off the trigger. “Yeah, it is. It can probably scramble you.”

“Oooh! Fun! Not as good as boss’s, I’m sure, but-”

“Hey, what say you take me to this boss?” Bella crouched down, knowing this was incredibly stupid but also already entirely committed to it. “Then he can decide what to do with me in person.”

“Hmm… alright, but no funny business!” The egg looked her up and down before turning heel, starting to clamor down the pile of parts. She had to hold back a snort when she saw that it had ‘#69’ written on its back.

Some things never changed no matter where you went.

____________

The egg blabbered on all the way back to the ship, mostly about jazz music oddly enough, but soon enough they were nearing a different ship that had settled behind a building. It was either the one she’d seen before or a duplicate, and she felt a shiver run up her spine as she got close- it looked a lot cooler in one piece and lit up bright yellow. Her phone buzzed, and she discreetly pulled it out as the egg launched into a diatribe on the importance of the saxophone. It was a text from her sister.

dolittle 🐭: bells where ARE you

dolittle 🐭: kits distracting clove so I could grab one of those bugdog things but moms gonna be asking how were doing soon, what should I say

Bella thought for a moment before sending back a reply. ‘im checking out that airship we saw earlier. have weapons. ill be fine. meet you back at the cafe later’

dolittle 🐭: be careful ok? know you can handle it but still

Bella smiled a little at that, sending a thumbs up before tucking her phone back into her pocket as they ascended the bridge.

“And then, then he saysss to me, he sayssss- Ah, there you are! Good, good.” She heard him before she saw him, voice booming as he welcomed his hench-egg back. “And what was poking around the warehouse?”

“This, boss!” The egg tugged at her jeans by the knee around the corner before pushing her forward with surprising force. “They said they wanted to see you!”

“Well well well!”

Bella’s antennae twitched as her eyes widened. The man in front of her was a jet black snake, with fangs, a top hat, a bowtie, and eyes on his face as well as nestled on the open space on his chest and hood. Best she could pin from Venus’s nature lectures he was a cobra of some sort, and there was a smug fang-y grin on his face as he slithered up to her, taking advantage of the height that his tail gave him- he’d probably be seven feet easy to Bella’s mere five foot one.

It took her only a moment to shake off her awe. “So you’re the famous Sir Pentious!”

His grin widened. “Ah! You’ve heard of me, little tresssspassser?”

“Obviously, considering I knew your name, right?”

“Er- yes!” He faltered for just a moment, and she went in for the kill.

“Your work’s fantastic, but you really need a way to keep the gutty stuff in order in case of a hit- that’s probably part of why that other ship went down, y’know? But your sense of design and how you mold your century-old designs with the new stuff- it’s fantastic, I just want to cut it all open and see how it works.”

“What did you do?” His hood flared, and she twirled the gun in her hands.

“I only touched the control panel, and your little egg boy got at me before I messed with anything, but I’d give anything for a couple of days working on the interior of this place- I bet I could make it run faster and with less fuel.”

The eye on his hat rolled itself as he narrowed the eyes on his face. “Who are you to come in and think you know better than I about my own shipssss? I should end you right here for your insolence and your trespassing!”

Bella folded her arms, glancing around. “Hmm… far left column, the one with a yellow eye instead of a red one.”

“What about it?” He folded his arms as well, waggling his head. “Are you-”

“It’s welded weird. Something went wrong with the metal when it was being forged, so you put it in the back so you wouldn’t have to look at it. You didn’t want to waste a perfectly good column because somebody screwed up one little part. And that’s just what I see looking around in, like, five seconds- gah!” The end of his tail had wrapped around behind her while she’d been talking, and struck before she finished her sentence, lifting her up to his eye-level with her arms pinned to her sides.

“Little wrench! How dare you?”

“I’m…” Her legs kicked a little, ribs feeling uncomfortably bendy at the moment as his scales pressed against her chest and back. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

His tongue darted out as he hissed, just barely brushing her nose before sliding back into his mouth.

“What do you really want, missy? I don’t like competition, you know.”

“You to let me breathe, for one,” she wheezed, fingers turning to try tickling what she could reach, and his cheek twitched funny before she dropped bodily to the floor, only managing to roll in time thanks to muscle memory from combat training. Thanks, Grandpas. “I really do just wanna see how all your stuff works. The ways I could improve my own inventions if I just could figure out how to blend different functionalities the way that you do…”

“I am quite impresssssive, aren’t I?” He puffed up his chest a bit. “And you have no intention to-”

Bella drew an X over her chest. “Cross my heart. You’re the bossman.”

He looked her up and down. “Hmm. Get back to me when you have a proper uniform and not those ragssss, and I suppose I could show you around a bit, if- if!- you show me something of yourssss. ”

Bella’s grin slipped into a smirk as she gave a bow. “Bella Donna at your service, then, Sir Penny.”

#hazbin hotel /#bella #shadow writes stuff #iz #aip #iz blogging #hellkids

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