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fictionfixations · 2 years

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Brainstorming 4 School thing (I went overkill)

THIS IS THE EXAMPLE PROVIDED \/

and then mine is

1.Opening/exposition:

A young teen awakes in the Camarvan (Misspelling intended), alongside his friends. The leader of the revolution awakes them to a quick meeting over how they shall act to the Greater Essempee, and then they arrive to discuss peace.

1.5 Inciting Incident (the event that starts the story’s conflict):

The leader of the Essempee laughs, calling them stupid for thinking that they could demand him of land that he owns, and that no, he would not be giving them freedom. The teen wants to fight back, cursing at him for lying about the peace treaty and about giving them peace, but the revolution leader stops him, a dark look in his eyes but calm composure, saying that it’s not time yet, and that they shouldn’t incite a war, not when they come here without armor, no protection compared to the Essempee, wearing full netherite.

2.Rising action:

They return back to the van, conflicted, and thinking it over. What do they do? The leader insists on fighting with words and not weapons, but they all know by now that the other thought it was a game to them, that L’manberg was a joke. Dream (the Essempee leader) was amused, and would never give them land if they didn’t fight for it, and even then that was unlikely, as that side had more experienced fighters.

As they make preparations (but with a certain clingy duo [Tommy & Tubbo] sitting on a bench and listening to the discs to ease the stress – they talk briefly about it being Tommy’s prized discs, and the origins, previous conflicts of Dream stealing them for leverage due to Tommy being a ‘problem child’, and about if someone had taken his discs. Foreshadowing), a fellow soldier is missing. They’re making the walls bigger (as L’manberg is a secluded nation) when Eret, a fellow member reveals that they have been grinding for resources, having a secret weapon against the Essempee. The others are ecstatic, and Eret leads them there.

3. Climax:

Eret leads them to a room, calling it the Final Control Room, filled with chests with signs on the front of who it is for. There is a button in the middle that piques the interest of the teen, and just before he presses it, Wilbur (The revolution leader) says that there is nothing in the chest. Before that registers, the teen presses the button, much to Eret’s surprise, which then leads to the Greater Essempee to bust in through the walls, leading to their demise. Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur, and Fundy all lose a life (Niki and Jack are not there). Eret says the famous line, “Down with the revolution, boys. It was never meant to be.”

4. Falling action events:

In despair, L’manberg tries to plan what to do now, enraged and yet hurt about the betrayal of Eret. With this, comes the final proposition from the Greater Essempee. Either L’manberg gives white flags and surrenders, or their hand will be forced to fight to the death.

The others are surprised, unsure how to act. Surely they couldn’t give up now? They talk it over, mixed, and yet there is one member who isn’t ready to let it go, not after all their sacrifices, not after their hardships.

TommyInnit.

Tommy leaves before anyone can notice, heading straight in Essempee land and demanding to see Dream. Sapnap and George are suspicious, not letting him just yet until the man himself heads over, getting the two other members of the Dream Team to leave them alone, and asks Tommy why he wants to meet him.

Tommy in a fit of rage demands a bow duel. It would be to the death, though they would both be on half a heart so it would only take one arrow to harm. If Dream had won, L’manberg surrenders, and Dream is given Mellohi (one of the discs). But if Tommy had won, L’manberg would be given independence.

Dream agrees, and they decide to have the duel the next day to ensure no time for cheating or for trapping anything, and to do it on top of the prime path, which stood above water, meaning if someone walked off they would be hindered by it, and would be more easier to hit then if it was just on flat ground because that could last for a long while.

With these news, Tommy heads over to L’manberg and admits what he did. Everyone is shocked of course, a little horrified even. Would they stand a chance?

Wilbur tries to help Tommy practice aiming with mixed results, and then head back to bed nervously. The day was quite eventful, after all, and everyone by then was too exhausted to do much.

5. Resolution:

The day of the duel comes. They stand across from each other on the prime path, a path made of wooden planks. Surrounding them are the Greater Essempee on Dream’s side, and L’manberg on Tommy’s side.

Wilbur is in the middle, the one to count down from 10.

The two turn around, facing the opposite side. When the counter reaches 1, then they turn around and shoot. With a heavy heart, Wilbur starts to count.

10- They draw their bows

9- They load an arrow and start drawing the string back

8- Tommy’s hands are a little shakier, while Dream’s is completely calm, though the mans true thoughts are hidden behind a mask

7- Deep breaths.

6- They aim the bow up

5- Tommy’s heart feels like it’s beating out of his chest and vibrating through him

4- He tests his grip a little, making sure that it’s pulled back enough and that he hadn’t done a weak pull. After all, a weak pull would not make it to Dream at all.

3- He quickly redraws, loosening before pulling it back tighter in a firmer grip so it doesn’t slip mid-countdown

2- His hands feel sweaty.

He prepares himself to move

They both turn immediately. Tommy shoots before he can even think, ducking to the side to avoid an arrow from Dream. He miscalculates and ends up falling into the water. He pushes himself farther down and underneath the bridge so Dream will have a harder time trying to aim from land, and moves to his left. He takes out his bow and aims, quickly scanning for Dream before being shot to death by an arrow from Dream, who found him faster.

L'manberg is devastated, dealing with this loss. Tommy respawns in his bed, disoriented and in despair. That was his one chance to prove something, and he failed. He takes out his discs from his ender chest, and leaves the camarvan.

He meets up with Dream, and gives him Mellohi, knowing that was the deal. Before Dream leaves though, Tommy offers up something else before he can stop himself, telling Dream to wait.

Dream, interested, does just that.

Tommy thinks real hard, looking into his inventory and staring at Cat, the other disc. He knew what Dream wanted, and what Dream had wanted was his disc. He tried to see if that sacrifice was worth it, if it was worth it to give the discs for L’manbergs independence, before he thought about Tubbo, Wilbur, Niki.. It was their dream, and if he could do something to help it, then maybe he could give the discs, even if they meant so much to him. After all, what did it matter if he wouldn’t be able to play them with his friends? After all, he knew Tubbo might stay with him, but he didn’t know about the others. L’manberg was the single thing that brought them all together, but with it gone, then they might never talk again.

So begrudgingly, he offered Dream his other disc. ‘You get both the discs for L’manberg’s independence.’ The other thought for a moment, before granting L’manberg technical independence.

Tommy, ecstatic, gives the disc. The disc that had been with him since the start, one of the first things he ever got when he first arrived at the Essempee.

He dashes to L’manberg, sharing the news, much to their excitement, having a celebration. Wilbur especially thanks him, knowing that that must’ve been hard to do, and Tubbo calls him a sap when he reveals that he couldn’t bear the thought of being without him, and if that meant giving away the discs, then that would be what he did.

DO YOU SEE HOW MUCH I DID WHAIUDAHID ^

#brainstorming

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calamitydaze · 2 years

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every time i think about how ctubbo is older than ctommy i start chewing through logs like a beaver

#like i know we all love the older brother/younger brother dynamic #but there’s something so ……….. about older best friend/younger best friend #and i know it’s only a few months but still #when you’re young it’s significant #i think there’s always that element of wanting to protect them #to lift them up so they can be brighter than you #i think about ctubbo always bragging about those few months he has on tommy #and throwing himself in front of the crossbow without a second thought on doomsday #and being so ready to sacrifice himself in the disc finale #he’s older he’s his best friend that’s his job #IDK…. maybe i’m just projecting #bella talks

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lazyliars · 4 years

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Tubbo’s current trajectory is a completely sensible leap from where he was left in the aftermath of Doomsday.

Tubbo made New L’manberg to be an open, safe place, welcoming to all - no walls, built with wood, and a heart on the flag, just in case it wasn’t clear enough. (To be fair, Ghostbur did most of the building, but it was under Tubbo’s administration and with his clear approval, so for the sake of this analysis I’m counting it as being made close to Tubbo’s original vision.)

New L’manberg wasn’t perfect, but Tubbo’s vision for it was very close to what Snowchester is now, minus the nukes. Even the building scheme is similar.

Tubbo’s original idea for the governing forces of New L’manberg were an extremely equal one; the first thing he did when the dust had settled over the first explosion of L’manberg, was to assure Quackity that he would have a say in the future of L’manberg - same with Fundy. He also asked Philza to be a guiding force of earthly wisdom. He even granted Karl a token position - even after he had just fought against Pogtopia. Tubbo took every precaution to make sure he would not be a dictator.

Tubbo didn’t want to have control over the others, and tried to make sure decisions were made by the group and not just by his whims. Unfortunately, the pendulum would end up swinging too far the other way, and his own input ended up getting shunted aside, and resulting feelings of frustration would put more and more tension on Tubbo -- until he snapped, and exiled Tommy against the wishes of the cabinet.

After this, Tubbo clearly regrets going against his advisors, even if he still believed at that point that exile was the best choice. He steps back in most of the decision making.

The cabinet, mainly Quackity, took over controlling the flow of momentum. (Fundy was also culpable, but to a lesser degree - he spent more time supporting the other two, in line with his characterization; “seeking approval from an authority figure”) Quackity, compelled by the desire to hold control in a world filled with people who could kill them all on a whim, took to creating the butcher army. This is completely in line with his character, too; Quackity despises tyranny, a trait he’s had since before the election, when he opposed Wilbur’s one-party system.

(It’s ironic, then, that he finds himself as Techno’s foil in a lot ways - they both hate Tyranny, and see it most strongly in each other. Techno, the Tyranny of Government, rulers who control their citizens through ill-gotten power, exacting laws and punishing any who stand to challenge them. Quackity, the Tyranny of The Powerful, of individuals who believe that only the strong are worthy of walking in the light, while the weak are left to struggle and scrap in the darkness.

But that’s a topic for another day.)

It’s worth pointing out that when everyone started leaving, Tubbo did not try to stop them. Quackity with Mexican L’manberg/El Rapids, Fundy with Dry Waters, and Philza only owning property in New L’manberg.

I truly believe that this is the best example of how Tubbo was never Schlatt. Schlatt would have tried to stop them - violently, or manipulatively, or would have lashed out. Tubbo just sadly watched them all leave him, and earnestly wished them the best.

The only time he ever tried to stop someone leaving was with Philza’s house arrest (which Tubbo was comically bad at. Like, looney toons levels of bad, goddamn) and that was more a move of national defense, as Phil was known to be working with Techno at that point. They also didn’t try very hard, or at all really, to catch him after he escaped.

^^^And all of the above was Quackity’s initiative. Tubbo cannot escape all of the blame for trying to execute Techno without trial, but it wasn’t his idea, and he was originally against it (to the point of threatening to demote Quackity iirc). He only gave in after making the snap decision to Exile Tommy, a decision made under extreme duress, with the threat of another pitched war looming over them like the sword of damocles, but one made against the advice of his cabinet, and one that netted him a lot of comparison to Schlatt.

Tubbo did his best with New L’manberg, and it blew up in his face. Every decision he made was under the blazing eyes of Dream, and every decision he delegated was into the hands of someone who’s ideals were steeped in a power grab.

So. A nation built to be open, peaceful, and welcoming to anyone. A cabinet full of strong-willed individuals who had their own desires and machinations to contend with. A god of chaos and destruction with his eyes set on this fledgling nation. And a first time leader fresh off the failures of the last two.

I’m not gonna say the line.

New L’manberg started conflicts with no means to defend itself against the repercussions; a conflict of interest between peace and control.

Tubbo learned from his mistakes, clearly, when he made Snowchester.

Tubbo started innocently, like he did with New L’manberg. A new place, a safe place, hidden away from conflict and violence. Supposedly safe from Technoblade, as it would have no standing leaders to become to Tyrants. It would be a peaceful getaway from the Dream SMP, and from the memory of his failures.

But Tubbo couldn’t forget - not with the final battle for the discs hanging over them. While Snowchester didn’t come into play in the conflict with Dream much, these plot-points intersect in meaningful ways, most notably in how Tubbo was ready to die for Tommy with zero hesitation, and how he now wants Tommy to come live in Snowchester more than ever.

Tubbo is terrified of losing what he cares about far more than he is of dying. Sacrificing himself for Tommy, or for the discs, it means more to him than living. But he knows that even his life wouldn’t be payment enough for the things he loves.

Sacrifice, giving, preservation. These don’t matter to gods.

Paranoia and fatalism, a feeling that something would come along and crush this new home, too. This is what fueled Project Dreamcatcher.

Tubbo was taught a lesson very effectively when Techno and Phil destroyed New L’manberg, but it wasn’t one they meant to teach. They meant to teach that power corrupts, that hierarchy is cruel, that cruelty will breed it’s own downfall.

What they taught instead was that Might Makes Right. They taught the strong will crush the weak. They taught that to build with wood, you must be able to stop the fire before it starts.

So Tubbo has taken those lessons to heart and decided that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - there wont be another war because the next war will be the last war.

Nuclear weaponry is self destructive - it’s poison to the land, to the people, to even those it is not aimed at. It’s not preservation. It’s a threat of taking, taking life and land and everything else too. It is the promise of an eye for an eye. Of mutually assured destruction.

Tubbo will protect what he cares about.

Or nobody will care about anything, ever again.

#Tubbo #Dream SMP #Technoblade #Quackity #dream smp analysis #Lazytext #long post #i got these asks like a week ago im so sorry it took so long to respond anon(s?)#idk if ur one person or two with similar writing

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zeta-in-de-walls · 3 years

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when people say things like "tommy is holding tubbo back from moving on, if he wasn't around tubbo probably would've done it by now" i genuinely question how they characterize tubbo... tubbo throwing himself into new projects and new relationships without ever thinking about the things that upset or traumatize him isn't "moving on", it's distraction from his past because he isn't stable enough right now to process it all. @shrugofgod made a good post about it i think

like, if anyone's to blame for tubbo not being able to move on, it's dream and techno and the people who haven't apologized for hurting him! tommy has apologized and doesn't want to keep hurting him!! dream killing and then reviving tommy had a negative effect on everyone, it probably would be easier for things between tubbo and tommy to fully mend if that hadn't happened!!

Hey, cheers for the asks!

Yeah, others have talked about this more than me, I think. @shrugofgod ‘s post was great, and I’d highly rec anyone check them out! Tommy may be loud and attention-seeking, but he doesn’t walk all over Tubbo. They talk and communicate and sometimes fight and have been through a lot together. I hate the idea of painting Tommy as some toxic influence Tubbo needs to cut out of his life in order to be better.

Indeed, Tommy’s not bad at trying to coax answers out of Tubbo. I remember when Tubbo was first building Snowchester shortly after Doomsday, Tommy was visiting him and was deducing how he was in denial about things. And on their way to Dream’s bunker to confront him, Tommy kept asking for Tubbo’s feelings, how he felt about all this, was he ready, what if they died? And when the confront Dream, Tubbo reveals how little value he was placing on his own life, how he’d rather Tommy run and be free and sacrifice him to Dream. And Tommy tried his best to affirm how important Tubbo was, how much he believed in him, how he felt like he was nothing without him. You have Tubbo feeling like he’s not important and Tommy trying to tell him that his life is so important! Knowing others care about him is something Tubbo needs to hear. His life matters. And they both have things they care about, plus so many other friends who care about them as the disc saga finale makes clear.

Tommy’s character needs a lot of help right now. And that’s not his fault. It’s almost victim-blamey to suggest Tommy’s a problem for being traumatised and coming to his friend for help. Yes he’s more to handle when he’s at his worst but he’s trying to get better too and he’s not trying to drag his friend down. He needs patience. He’s had the odd emotional outburst, yes, but he’s an emotional person and he values the support. But yeah, he’s more than just a burden. (And who knows how canon its supposed to be, but its wonderful to see them able to just hang out and be themselves around each other after all that’s happened when they rebuilt Tubbo’s old house together.)

Yeah Tommy’s pulled Tubbo into wars before but don’t think that Tubbo didn’t want to be pulled in. He’s not one for a quiet life either! I remember Purpled’s first stream of the SMP where he and Tubbo were talking and they discussed how they both joined SMP Earth really late on and Tubbo talked about how he tried to get into conflict and wars as much as he could to make the most of it. It’s pretty meta, but yeah Tubbo wants to be included in the wars too, he wants to be involved. That’s the streamer but I do see the characters as extensions of the streamers in some sense so I’ve always seen Tubbo’s character as one who may complain but loved the wars and mischief just as much as Tommy, his character loved to cause trouble too.

Tommy and Tubbo are good friends for how they stand by each other through thick and thin. Sometimes they fight, they makes mistakes and things get strained, but ultimately they mend things and want the best for each other. There’s nothing bad about moving on and making new things - I’m glad Tubbo can do that - but reconciliation and repairing the old stuff is great for healing too.

Uh, don’t know if all this was coherent. But yeah, I really want both of them to heal. They care about each other and want the best for each other!

#replies #cheers for the ask!#meta #analysis #sorry that felt veyr rambly

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theonlygamergost · 4 years

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As long as I’m with you - Dream SMP

This fanfic came up in my head a while ago, finished it recently and I’m pretty happy with it, the inspiration is how much I love the Techno/ Tommy brothers/friends dynamic.

This fan fiction was corrected by the lovely @im-default

~~~~~~~~~~

Techno has never been good with human interactions, so when pushing Tommy’s buttons too far, he decides that seeing the boy like that was never gonna happen again under his supervision... but is he willing to broke the alliance with Dream to save Tommy?

~~~~~~~~~~~

Warning! Angst, past trauma, a bit of fluff

Enjoy~

Waking up in the hole that was his room underneath Techno’s house was… Rough, it was always cold, and getting out of the blankets wasn’t the most pleasant experience, that's why Techno usually shouted from upstairs to wake up when the warmth of the fire had taken over the cold of the night.

But Techno was always wide awake when Tommy entered the comfortable home above his room, so, out of curiosity, he decided to fight the freezing cold of the morning and get out of bed earlier than usual, hoping to see what Techno was up to before he was awake.

Carefully climbing up, he peeked out the top of the stairs to see the candles and the fireplace were already lit, the dancing shadows on the walls upstairs made Tommy realize how cold it truly was, so after following the trail of warmth, he found no one home.

“B-big T?” he called out, finally getting to the top floor of the house, “Techno?” no one answered, the blonde boy looked around to find the man’s bed already done, like it was never slept in.

As he looked around, his eyes got distracted by the view outside the window: there was a blizzard raging on.

But if there was so much snow coming down, why wasn’t he here? Did Techno go out in the cold?

Getting closer to the glass, he couldn’t help but think about how pretty the snow was, everything was white… soft… cold and… a human?

A figure covered in blue was walking towards the house, the strong wind would reveal hints of red underneath the coat. Not to fret, it wasn’t blood, Techno never went outside without his red iconic cape, it was big, fluffy, and super warm, perfect for cold climates.

Tommy had the privilege of sleeping inside of it once and he had never slept better since.

Though, why was the man walking in a blizzard? And why was he so slow?

A surge of panic rose in the back of his mind when the figure started approaching the door, he wasn't supposed to be there- he was supposed to hide, he was supposed to-

“Good morning Theseus” the freezing air made the fire sway, serving as a dramatic entrance for the half-man half-pig. Closing the door with a bit of force, he snapped Tommy out of his trance: Wrong person, he wasn't supposed to hide from him, was he?

The smiling mask and the green hoodie of his warden still haunted his thoughts, as much as the big man he shared the house with ease the sensation of fear and depression he had felt, that creepy still smile was always watching from the corner of his vision. Yes, it was an illusion… and yet…

“I wasn't expecting you to be up so early “ Techno’s deep voice snapped him out again, bringing him back to the warmth of the fireplace, “Want to have breakfast since we’re both up? I don't mind eating earlier” taking off that huge and wet cape, he minded the blonde no attention, directly passing onto preparing a meal for two.

These moments of the two of them alone reminded him of how much Techno trusted him. When with others he was always on high alert with a sword at hand, ready to strike. But now? He had his back turned, focused on something else, his shoulders were also visibly more relaxed… He acted the same around Phil… And…

Wilbur…

“So are you gonna help me make breakfast? These eggs don't cook themselves y’know” Techno briefly looked over his shoulder to see the blondie froze in place, he wasn't good with people and emotions but it didn't take a degree to see that his thoughts weren't the most pleasant, the boy looked like he saw a ghost.

Tommy shook his thoughts away and started looking for the pan, grabbing milk, cookies, and some bread to toast.

The two had very different breakfast habits, Techno prepared toasts with eggs, no bacon tho, he wasn’t a cannibal, while Tommy ate anything sweet: cookies, cakes, anything goes.

One thing they both agreed on was milk, only because Techno couldn’t cultivate coffee beans himself due to the freezing temperatures.

“Thanks, big T” Techno nodded his head when handing Tommy his warm cup of milk, the sizzling of eggs getting cooked made the walls feel warm, comfortable even.

Taking a sip of the warm liquid, legs close to his chest and arms hugging them, he recalled how the day prior Techno had taught him to milk the cows he was breeding, with the number of inappropriate jokes he had made, Tommy was shocked Techno didn’t kick him out. People underestimated the man’s patience and kindness, of course it was for few to see the sight, and Tommy was grateful he was the lucky one in a million.

They ate in silence, Tommy didn’t go down a rant and talk for the whole breakfast, this time, the boy was happy with the silence, even if his mind was as loud as ever.

Techno took a bite and placed the plate aside, opening the front door to grab some firewood, explaining why he was walking so slow in the storm. Throwing it in the fireplace made sparkles and dust fly around for a few seconds, the man sat down and took another bite, “Why do you still trust Tubbo?” the out of nowhere question made him almost choke on his milk, “He has exiled you and clearly doesn’t care about your feelings nor well-being…” he munched on some more food, covering his mouth before speaking, “Why do you still want to see him?”

The blonde boy stared at the dancing flames in the fireplace, why wouldn’t he trust Tubbo? “Tubbo is… e-everything I have left...” Techno looked over him confused, “After Dream got my discs, losing the election and Will lost his mind… he is all I have left” dipping for a bit too long a cookie in the warm milk, he slowly munched, thinking back at when he, Wilbur and Tubbo lived in those high black stone walls, before Eret and Fundy, before the war…

“Are you sure you’re not lying to yourself?” It was Tommy’s turn to be confused, “I’m just saying, Phil, Fundy, Quakity, Ranboo, Niki, they were all there for you too…” Techno counted the people on his fingers, making Tommy’s eyes widen a bit, “But they all did turn their back to you” he pointed out, making a tightness appear in the boy’s chest, “… So are you sure you aren’t holding on to a lie? It doesn’t look like Tubbo cares that much about you-” “HE CARES ABOUT ME!!!” Techno raised a brow at the tone, “Are you sure he truly does?-” Tommy covered his ears, his body crumbling into a ball.

“SHUT UP DREAM YOU DON’T KNOW ME OR TUBBO!!!”

The room stood still, even the fire looked like it stopped moving, Techno shifted in his seat, eyes looking down in front of him. He didn’t mean to push that deep, he didn’t know this was a scar still open … but what preoccupied him the most was:

…

What in the hell did Dream do to this poor kid?

Even if Techno was silent, Tommy heard a million voices shouting nonsense right into his head. Squinting as hard as he could, he started feeling cold, the same humid cold he felt in his tent when he was alone waiting for him to get his items, his creepy smile… his harsh voice… his-

“Theseus...”

He snapped his head up at the man kneeling in front of him, Techno figured that by calling him Tommy it would have only made it worse, so using the nickname only he used seemed a better option…

And it was.

The shadows on the edge of his vision started to disappear, the braided pink hair and the preoccupied gaze made him realize, it was simply Techno… Wait- Techno? Didn’t he just say Drea-

Oh...

The tightness in his chest lightened meanwhile the knot in his throat thickened.

“I- I… I…” Techno’s reassuring smile beamed with light and kindness he had never seen before, “It’s alright Tommy, I’m here” he extended his hand toward the trembling teen, who instead of taking it, threw himself at him, hugging the man tightly.

“I’m sorry Techno!” Tommy buried his face into the soft fabric of Techno’s shirt, staining it with tears.

Techno wasn’t good at this comforting people thing, nor used to physical touch, hell it took his whole being to not jump at the hug. He was still kinda stiff, hesitant of what to do, but for Tommy, even if he was an annoying gremlin, Techno was willing to push all of this aside.

He hugged the blonde boy, caressing soothing circles on his back, “Shhh... It’s ok Tommy, I’m here” he looked up at the ceiling, thinking of how Dream had come searching for him...

~~~~~

“Do you know who killed Theseus, Techno?” he looked at the man, keeping a high guard, “I don’t remember the whole story… but he was killed by the king of the island he was taking refuge in after getting exiled” Dream’s masks tilted to his crown, and then his red cape.

“Either way” he swung his axe on his shoulder, shrugging at the other man, “I’ll come to collect the favour soon, farewell”

As Techno looked over the green figure walking away, something in the back of his mind started to sound an alarm, this wasn’t going to end well

~~~~~

Tommy’s sobs became quieter, the grip on his white shirt loosened, but the hug was far from over.

“As long as I’m here, Dream won’t hurt you…”

If the admin of the server ever came back to use the favour, it probably will be for Tommy, Techno’s guts were right most of the time, but oh boy did he wish they were wrong right now. He wasn’t sure he was willing to sacrifice the already delicate alliance with Dream for Tommy, he couldn’t decide what to give up, not now, not never.

“... I won’t let him…“

Techno wanted to promise him, but he prefered to stay silent instead of giving half-hope, instead of lying and backstabbing…

...Just like many did to him…

… Just like Tubbo did to Tommy...

#technoblade #tommyinnit #dream smp #dream smp fanfiction #writing #my writing #fanfiction #my fanfiction #sleepyboisinc #mcyt fanfiction #mcyt

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itsbigdangofamily · 5 years

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i’ve been waiting all my life for this morning

A/N: OjiTooru fluff, because OjiTooru deserves more love. You can also read it on AO3.

The first thing Mashirao sees when he wakes up is sunlight streaming through the wide glass windows, whirling dust motes caught in the golden glare. He can feel an arm draped over his chest, and, under the sheets, a leg tangled between both of his, resting against his tail.

Mashirao smiles as he turns over, removing Tooru’s hand from his chest and gently kissing the center of her palm. She murmurs softly, the sunlight striking the pillow where an indentation marks the position of her head.

Levering himself up on his elbow, Mashirao leans over Tooru and presses a kiss to the general location of her face, his mouth touching her cheek. His next kiss is aimed better, grazing the corners of her lips.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Mashirao says softly, fondly stroking her hair as she groans drowsily. After a second, the indentation on the pillow changes shape as she rolls her head in his direction and pulls Mashirao down for a proper kiss. Their mouths move languidly against each other, sweet and slow and loving.

“Good morning,” Tooru says when they pull away from each other, a smile in her voice. As Mashirao reaches down to cup the face of his wife—the thought sends a giddy rush through him, conjuring up a thousand images of the previous day—he can’t help but return her smile.

Mashirao is six years old, laughing as he sprints through a wide sunny field.

In front of him, his friend Haruto holds a model airplane over his head, making flying noises with his mouth as he races through the grass.

They end up at the base of a giant oak tree. The two small boys collapse gratefully under the cool shade of its leafy branches, chests heaving and lungs gasping. But small boys are an inexhaustible source of energy, and soon Haruto is back on his feet again.

“Planes are the coolest!” Haruto yells, holding his model plane aloft as he runs around in the shade. “When I grow up, I’m going to become a pilot!”

“That’s . . . That’s great,” Mashirao heaves out, still trying to catch his breath.

“What about you? What are you going to be when you grow up?” Haruto asks, feet in a perpetual state of motion as he races circles around Mashirao.

“I—” Mashirao starts. What does he want to be when he grows up? The question leaves his mind completely blank. Mashirao likes things, sure, but he’s not like Haruto, with his obsession with planes and jets and pilots. Mashirao doesn’t have anything like that, nothing he’s so single-mindedly devoted to.

“I don’t know,” Mashirao admits finally. Haruto makes a disappointed noise, unsatisfied with Mashirao’s response. He moves on quickly enough though, as small boys are wont to do.

Mashirao tries to do the same, tries to let go of this strange curdled feeling in his stomach at the thought of the future and growing up and being an adult and having a job.

He tries.

“We should really get up,” Mashirao says as Tooru peppers his face with kisses, one arm wrapped around his neck while the other gently strokes his tail.

“Why?” Tooru asks. “Staying in bed all day sounds far more appealing.”

“Work,” Mashirao replies with a smile. He presses a final kiss to Tooru’s lips before sitting up and sliding out of bed, his bare feet hitting the hardwood floor with a soft thud.

“You’re no fun,” Tooru complains as Mashirao rummages on the floor of their closet for clothes. Behind him, he hears Tooru reluctantly get up, grumbling and yawning as she makes her way to the bathroom. A second later, the shower starts up, the sound a soothing background noise as Mashirao finally manages to locate a pair of relatively clean boxers.

He soon joins Tooru in the bathroom, hovering over the sink as he spreads shaving cream on his face. To his right, Tooru hums quietly as she stands beneath the spray, water droplets seeming to hang oddly in midair as they cling to her skin.

“Want to join me? I’ll let you scrub my back,” Tooru says sultrily, but it’s the tone she uses when she’s only half-serious about what she’s saying.

Mashirao doesn’t look away from the mirror, carefully dragging the razor along the line of his jaw. “If I did that, we wouldn’t leave for another three hours,” Mashirao comments as he tilts his head to inspect his cheek.

“I fail to see the problem with that.”

“Work.”

“You know, no one really expects us to come to work the day after our wedding,” Tooru says half-accusingly, but a second later, she’s stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around herself.

Truthfully, Mashirao doesn’t really want to go to work today either. He’d much rather laze the day away in bed, cuddling his wife—happiness fills him at the thought; he still can’t quite believe they’re married—in his arms. Or better yet, take a week-long vacation to Kyoto, or Venice, or Paris. He’s always wanted to go to Paris.

Alas, being a pro hero requires certain sacrifices, among them giving up honeymoons.

He and Tooru took the entire day off yesterday for their wedding, and they’re already late getting up today—at the insistence of their sidekicks, who had all but ordered them not to show up before at least noon—but their agency is still less than a year old, and they truly can’t afford to take any more time off.

Not that he minds too much.

Mashirao is fifteen years old, in his last year of middle school, nervously fidgeting in his chair as his teacher asks him what his plans for the future are.

“I’m planning on applying to UA,” Mashirao admits, a ball of nerves tightening in his chest.

His teacher blinks once, surprised, then tries to cover it up with a smile. “You want to be a hero, Ojiro-kun? How wonderful. I’m sure you’ll be great at it. You’re such a kind boy.”

Honestly, Mashirao isn’t sure this is the right decision at all. He’s talked to other people who dream of becoming pro heroes, people who want it more than anything. Their rooms are filled with hero merch, and they watch news segments religiously, and their eyes shine like stars whenever they talk about their favorite heroes.

And it’s not that he doesn’t want to be a hero—he thinks pro heroes are really cool, and having a job that lets him help people doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend the rest of his life. It’s just that sometimes he looks at all the other hero hopefuls, and he thinks, I don’t care enough, I’m not devoted enough, I’m not certain enough that this is what I want to be. I’m not like you, I’m not like you, I’m not like you.

Sometimes, he can’t help but remember Haruto, his friend from years ago. He remembers that day running in the grass, remembers collapsing in the shade, remembers Haruto’s innocent question.

He’s still haunted by that question, by the realization that he doesn’t love anything as much as Haruto loved planes, doesn’t want anything as much as Haruto wanted to be a pilot.

It’s such a stupid thing to hold on to, after all this time.

It’s such a stupid thing, but he still hasn’t learned how to let go.

Mashirao’s phone dings as he leans against the wall beside the front door, waiting for Tooru to finish getting dressed. He opens his messages to find two texts from his older sister. He’s typing out a reply when Tooru comes into the room. She’s wearing her hero costume, which makes her fully invisible, but Mashirao has long since become familiar with the sound of her footsteps.

“Ready?” she asks as she pulls on her custom-made shoes, just as invisible as she is.

“Yeah. Just got to finish this text to Tsuyoi-nee really quick,” Mashirao responds, hurriedly finishing his reply before putting his phone away.

“Oh? What she’d say?” Tooru pulls the door of their apartment open and steps into the hallway, Mashirao following as she presses the call button for the elevator.

“She said they’re just about to board the plane. She also berated me for not taking more time off.”

“See! Tsuyoi-nee agrees with me,” Tooru declares triumphantly as the elevator doors slide open. Mashirao laughs, barely looking behind him as he jabs the button for the lobby with his tail.

“That doesn’t really prove anything. You and Tsuyoi-nee agree on everything.” It had been a little disconcerting, at first, to find out just how similar Tooru was to his older sister. The two women, by contrast, had gleefully jumped at the opportunity to double-team him into doing whatever they wanted.

“I’m just saying, you’re supposed to be married to me, not your job.” Playfully, she tugs on the hem of his costume.

As the elevator descends, Mashirao wraps his tail around Tooru’s waist, bringing her in closer. “Why can’t I be married to both?” he asks, lightly kissing the top of her head. It’s at times like these that he can’t help but appreciate the difference in their heights.

He feels sure Tooru is rolling her eyes, but she leans up for another kiss anyway.

Mashirao is eighteen years old, just months away from graduating high school, and the thought of the future still sets his insides churning furiously.

It doesn’t help that all his classmates seem to be so sure of their post-graduation plans.

Everywhere he turns, he hears people talking about job offers and agencies and renting new apartments and finding roommates. Sometimes, it all just makes him feel like he’s drowning, like he’s the only person in a roiling sea who hasn’t found anything to hold on to keep him afloat.

He and Tooru still haven’t talked about what they’re going to do after graduation. He’s thought about bringing it up to her so many times, but every time he does, his nerves sew his mouth firmly shut.

They’ve been dating since their first year, and the thought of breaking up with her sends a physical ache through him. But at the same time, the idea of spending the rest of his life with her fills him with an unspeakable uncertainty.

It’s the same uncertainty he felt when he first decided to apply to UA—misgivings over having made the wrong choice, doubt that this is something he can actually do.

During his three years at UA, he’s discovered an enthusiasm for hero work, a joy in being able to save people, delight in everything that a pro hero does. He loves it, loves every damn second he spent here, loves all the people he’s met, loves all the skills he’s honed, loves all the friends he’s made.

And he loves dating Tooru too. He cares for her so, so deeply, more intensely than he thought he could ever care for anyone.

Yet the thought of forever, of being a hero forever, of being with Tooru forever—it scares him.

Forever is a long time, and he’s scared that somewhere down the line, he’ll run out of passion for his job and his girlfriend, and then he’ll be stuck. Stuck because he didn’t have enough love for the path he tread.

Twelve years past, and he still can’t forget Haruto.

“I cannot believe you guys actually came to work the day after your wedding,” FX says as Mashirao and Tooru walk through the doors of their agency.

“We’re pro heroes. No rest for the wicked, and no rest for us either,” Tooru responds. Mashirao kindly refrains from mentioning that Tooru had been complaining about having to come to work less than five minutes ago.

The sidekick shakes her head in disbelief, her green-tipped ponytail swinging back and forth. “Well, if you want to work so bad, be my guest,” she says, making a grandiose sweeping gesture toward the elevator to Mashirao and Tooru’s office. “I’ll get Kaze to bring over some reports in a bit.”

“Oh, joy. Paperwork,” Tooru mutters under her breath as they step into the elevator.

Just as the doors are about to close, FX calls loudly through the gap, “You two better not be fucking when I send him up!”

Mashirao sputters, feeling his cheeks turn a dark shade of red, while Tooru laughs. “That mouth of hers is going to get her in trouble someday.”

“Isn’t that why you hired her?” Mashirao asks archly.

“You bet!” If Mashirao could see her face, he’s sure Tooru would be grinning broadly right now.

The elevator doors open, and they make their way down the short hallway to their office. Tooru pushes the door open and steps inside, humming. However much she might have protested getting out of bed, Tooru loves hero work. She’s just as happy to be at the agency as he is, he can tell.

Without warning, his mind flashes back to his third year at UA, right before graduation. He remembers the anxiety he felt then, the uncertainty about his path in life. God, he’d been so young—eighteen years old, and feeling like the whole world was riding on his shoulders.

He’ll forever be grateful to Tooru. Tooru, who encouraged him and reassured him and pushed him to be a hero despite all his misgivings, despite all his doubts. Tooru, who’s been at his side all these years, through good and bad, through thick and thin.

He won’t lie. It hasn’t been easy. Being a pro hero isn’t easy, after all. There’s been injuries and hospitals and far too much blood. There’s been sweat and exhaustion and fatigue clawing at his soul. There’s been tears and funerals and enough grief for a lifetime.

But somewhere along the way, sometime during the years of daily patrols and emergency calls and disaster relief—Mashirao stopped worrying. He stopped being uncertain about life and started living it.

And now, standing in his very own agency in Shizuoka, in the office he shares with his wonderful, amazing wife, he can’t imagine any other life he’d rather have.

Stepping toward Tooru, he wraps her in a hug. She reciprocates, folding her arms around his neck. “I love you,” he says softly, leaning down to kiss her. He can feel her smile as she kisses back, her tongue teasingly tracing a path along Mashirao’s lips. He opens his mouth, and her tongue slips inside.

Things are just about to get heated when a knock interrupts them, and Tooru pulls back with a disappointed sigh. She opens the door on a short boy, fresh out of high school, with unkempt silver hair and half-lidded golden eyes.

“Reports from FX-senpai,” Kaze says emotionlessly, holding out a stack of files. Tooru takes them from his hands with only minimal grumbling as Kaze slowly scans the entire room, gaze seeming to brighten as he takes in Mashirao.

“Thank you, Kaze-kun,” Tooru replies as she sets the stack on the desk with a heavy thud. “You can go now,” she adds when he remains standing just inside the doorway.

“FX-senpai said to tell her if you two were doing anything naughty,” Kaze continues in his monotone voice, ignoring Tooru’s command. Mashirao feels his face start to heat up again.

“Well, you can tell her that we weren’t,” Tooru replies, calm as ever.

Kaze blinks once slowly. “You’re lying,” he says baldly. The statement is directed at Tooru, but his eyes are fixed on Mashirao—specifically, his lips. Mashirao’s cheeks rapidly increase in temperature as Tooru lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“You really should be going now,” Tooru says, giving the boy no choice as she quickly ushers him out of the office and closes the door.

“FX is really such a bad influence,” Tooru remarks, but her voice is fond. Mashirao lets out an embarrassed groan, his head falling into his hands. Tooru laughs, walking over to him and lifting his head up, her palms cupping his cheeks. “Oh, relax. It’s not like she hasn’t caught us kissing in here before.”

“Remind me again why we hired her?”

“Because I like her.” There’s a grin in Tooru’s voice, and Mashirao can’t help but grin back, even though the blood has yet to recede from his cheeks.

This is his life, complete with irreverent sidekicks and monotone newbies and all.

And he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

#my hero academia #bnha #ojitoru #ojitooru #ojiro x hagakure #boku no hero academia #ojiro mashirao #hagakure tooru #my writing #my posts #mha

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teddystrap · 5 years

Text

Drama CD: [幽幻ロマンチカ・真骨頂] ≁Bakeneko Arahagi・Inugami Toneri≁

No audio track this time sorry! But anyway, I’ve made sizeable progress on the Yuuroma series: Hifumi + Utashiro’s Hatenkou, Zakuro, Toneri, and a bunch of tokuten for everybody (/*^-^)/. I’ll do the 2nd Shinkocchou first, for continuity.

And I haven’t listened to the two individual discs before this, so I had no idea who they are... or that their names are actually Arahagi (cat demon; cv. Kaji Yuuki) and Toneri (dog deity; cv, Hirakawa Daisuke) until about 3/4 into the story, since they kept calling each other ‘Stupid Cat’ and ‘Stupid Dog’. Orz

Obvsly this time there is no bromance like in the 1st disc and they fight like... err... cats and dogs (for lack of a better description XD).

As before, hidden messages from the both of them:

１．壱、都市伝説『二次元カレシ』２．弐、手が<か>りはどこ？３．参、そこは見せか<け>の幸福世界４．四、ここにず<っ>といよう５．伍、意地でも負<け>られない６．六、この世界が壊れ<る>としても７．七、都市伝説『二次元カレシ』看破８．キャストトーク

Arahagi: bold⋆ spells 「どこにでも」 (‘No matter where [you are]...’)

Toneri: <⋆> spells 「かけつける」 (‘...I will rush to your side’)

...うれしいィィ！！ありがとね、二人とも～^^

[The Second Rumour: Urban Legend ‘2D Boyfriend’]

All the girls at your school are addicted to a mobile otome game app. Rumour has it that players can end up getting trapped in the game world, and their bodies are found in sleeping position holding their phones in one hand.

Toilet Guy has again asked Arahagi and Toneri to investigate. This time your team name is: the Pitch-Black Executors ~DARK (K)NIGHT MESSIAH~. Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪」∠)_. And both your animal manservants have the good sense to hate this abomination of a name. But it will come in handy later on...

So. First order of business is to throw *you* into the virtual world. It’s been rumoured that collecting a full set of accessories from one game character can accomplish this, so your animal bfs possess your body and go shopping.

They push a bunch of bling on you (Toneri makes you wear a choker that reminds him of a dog collar XD), and eventually you can’t take it anymore and run out of the store because you don’t wanna turn into the lovechild of Katy Perry and Flavor Flav. And anyway it didn’t work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ RIP Operation BringTheBling1.

Plan #2: There is another rumour that players get sucked in when they access the app at midnight. So Catboy and Dogman (henceforth ‘CatDog’) camp over in your bed, and sure enough, when the clock strikes 12, you fall into a deep sleep and enter the game world.

The game is set in a high school that’s an *exact* replica of Nanagiri, with two characters who sound (and look) exactly like your Cat and Dog bfs. [Hirarin is the senpai and Kaji is the kouhai, ofc.] You are shocked by this unfolding of events, and the two of them think you have a cold and need to go to the nurse’s office to rest.

You take this as an opportunity to escape, and as you are running you hear Arahagi and Toneri’s voices from the other side. They successfully possess your sleeping body and enter the virtual world as well.

Senpai and Kouhai can see the demons possessing you. They forcibly exorcise the duo and drag you away. As the exorcised duo come to, they find themselves turned into their chibi forms XDD. Meanwhile, Senpai and Kouhai have taken you to the nurse’s office. As they are trying to approach you, you spray the fire extinguisher at them and make your escape. Niceee.

You manage to find Arahagi and Toneri hiding in the courtyard. They repossess your body to regain their powers and apologise for not being able to protect you. But you have come up with a battle plan: Operation LoveLetter1. Dun dun DUNNN.

The plan is to put a love letter in their shoe locker asking Senpai and Kouhai to meet with you next evening. Being in an otome game, they can only do as they are told to unlock the love event. (Also what is with this 3P-harem setting where you can confess and unlock event for two characters at once?? I need to get in on dis yo. ¬‿¬)

You and CatDog stay up all night to discuss the battle plan, and Arahagi thinks this whole game reeks of the work of a human being. He figures out that they can rob the game characters of their powers by stealing their phones. (Why do even the characters have phones inside the game??) And to power-up themselves, CatDog trade hugs and kisses with each other (I WISH!!) you to feed off of your human energy.

Next day, Senpai and Kouhai show up at the arranged meeting time, and CatDog appear to start a riot. They throw out your team name Pitch-Black Executors ~DARK (K)NIGHT MESSIAH~, which confuses their opponents and gives them the perfect opportunity to steal the opponents’ phones.

Toneri ties the two characters up with chains and Arahagi drops a bunch of machinery and shit on top of them, but dis ain’t ovah ya’ll. The two of them go into *dark mode*. They change the backdrop and damage the data of Arahagi and Toneri’s bodies. As they bury CatDog alive and take you away, you tell them that you believe in CatDog, which gives them the power they need to free themselves from entombment and destroy the game characters.

...When the smoke clears, they see a student that was sucked into the game world. Strangely enough, *it’s a boy*, and they figure that he must be the human that the game monster is possessing and feeding off of.

It turns out that the boy offered himself as a human sacrifice to the urban legend and created this game world to shield his younger sister from the harsh reality. The game world begins to disintegrate, and Toneri tells the boy to face his sister properly instead of doing this stupid shit in the name of ‘protection’. To Toneri and Arahagi, who come into this world all alone, every little detail of the familial bonds and ties between humans seems magical and deserves to be treasured.

The three of you wake up in your bed, and CatDog wonder if the boy’s little sister is going to be alright. You devise a plan... for the two of them to appear to her in a dream pretending to be the two game characters. Toneri flubs his lines and gets beaten up by Arahagi XD. They tell the girl they are relieved that she has finally awoken from her slumber, and invite her to play the game again whenever she is feeling down.

Now a new urban legend has arisen: that whenever a girl gets sucked into the game world, her 2D boyfriend tells her to get out or else she won’t make it to her own wedding in the future. (#meirl XDD.) What’s more, CatDog have erased the oniisan’s memories of the whole incident, and both he and his sister have returned to school as usual.

*Meanwhile*, YOU have become addicted to this game app XD. After unsuccessfully trying to snatch your phone out of your hands, CatDog tease you with kisses and promise to make your real life more exciting than any game ever... yes please Hirarin and Kaji the two of you can come and possess me any time I don’t mind fufufufu~~~ (´┓`*)

[Thoughts] ⋆敬称略⋆

Ok so this was my first introduction to both characters (Arahagi/Toneri). I kept thinking as I was listening to it: wouldn’t it be great if Kaji and Hirarin switched roles? Doesn’t it feel like Kaji has more of an excitable puppy-like personality (or quality to his voice, rather), and Hirarin has more of a slow, cat-like temperament??

In fact in the Free Talk when Hirarin said that he is 100% a Cat Person and he thinks Arahagi is really cute, I was all ready to jump out of my chair all like, ‘I KNEW IT!!!’ #notoverreactingatall._(:3」∠)_. ...I guess Rejet wanted to switch it up a little? Or maybe Kimura Ryouhei was busy, because Toneri [yandere + dog ears] sounds like the job for him. Also I can’t help but wonder how perfect Hirarin would be as Utashiro lulling me to sleep with his soothing voice...

(*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*)♡

But all this fantasy casting aside, every time I hear Toneri’s adorable grumpy/growling noises that he makes when he’s dissatisfied, I feel like they made the right casting choice after all. #omgWANT ლ(⁰⊖⁰ლ)

What else, what else... HmMMmMmm, the story and characters/pair dynamics this time round is a bit more childish and less ‘tight’ than before. So idk, I didn’t feel as much of *Deh Romantic Feelz* towards Arahagi/Toneri like I did for Hifumi/Utashiro. Although I still enjoyed it because I am immature.

The doppelganger bit was pretty kewl though. Although the battle scene kind of got resolved in a very #WTF kind of way and left me wanting more. Also the overprotective older brother story would’ve benefited from a better explanation/backstory of why he did what he did, no? Overall just kind of #わけわかんない, and not a very tight story, like I said.

The otome game theme was kind of relevant and interesting, esp the senpai character in the game who kept emphasising the use of this kind of romance fantasies as a form of escapism. ...Which got a bit philosophical/personal in a way, although I’m not sure if Toneri was the best person to expound on this because he’s so... erm... simple-minded XD.

Nonetheless, the overall message was clear: that it’s always better to face things head-on, and you have limitless potential as a human being. +++

But *then again* this series isn’t meant to be analysed very deeply. It’s more just for ya’ll to enjoy the cute huggable chibi things and the powerful demons protecting the fuck out of you. Yeah? Yeahh.

Although!! From the cast commentaries it seems like the seiyuu themselves can’t/won’t actually protect you from anything in the event of an actual urban legend/haunting. It’s funny how they voice all these powerful/scary demon and spirit characters, but when they see an actual horror programme or whatever on TV they quickly look away and change the channel!! (-_-|||) SENSEI I AM DISAPPOINT.

The only exception so far is Sakurai Takahiro, who spouted off a bunch of kaidan-banashi from his old high school enthusiastically when asked. Like, everyone else is a wimp and he is the One True Hero. He even has ‘he[/i]ro’ in his name!!

#otome #drama cd #yuugen romantica #shinkocchou #yuroma #rejet #arahagi #toneri #seiyuu #kaji yuki #hirakawa daisuke #supernatural #youkai #kaidan #mystery #otome game

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superjennysunshine · 5 years

Text

My favorite stand from every part (except 8) of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Part 3 Stardust Crusaders: Star Platinum

Star Platinum is my favorite stand in part 3 for a lot of reasons but I’d like to talk about the biggest reason first.

Star Platinums’ Powers and moveset are deceivingly simple. In summary, It can punch REALLY good, like the best a stand can punch, but that’s about all it can do (especially since Jotaro forgot star finger somewhere along the way). Yeah I know it can stop time but honestly that’s cool and all but Star Platinums physical abilities are way cooler!

Take the Anubis fight, where Jotaro is outmatched by Polnareffs speed and gets stabbed by him/Anubis. Jotaro takes the sword to the stomach and proceeds to use Star Platinum to break the sword piece by piece all the way down to the hilt, before breaking it. That’s what I love about Star Platinum.

@swaggytron-prime and I we’re discussing a while back about how the hulk is a really interesting hero because he’s just really strong, and he has to solve all his problems with the-again-deceptively simple powerset of being really strong. Star Platinum carries with it the same feature. Jotaro has to take the ability of being really strong as far as it can go and it’s damn fun to see.

It’s visual design is iconic, it’s sound design is iconic (seriously the sound of Star Platinum landing a punch is cathartic) and It’s power is incredible.

That’s (partly) why Jotaro Kujos’ Star Platinum is my favorite stand in part 3

Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable: Crazy Diamond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGE9Gi0bB0

One of if not my favorite stands belonging to one of if not my favorite characters in all of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Josuke Higashikatas’ Crazy Diamond is Jojo at it’s zenith.

There’s a lot I love about Crazy Diamond. It’s visual and sound design, it’s power, it’s relationship to Josuke and the way it informs us of his character, hell even the song it’s based on is incredible.

From the first moment we see Crazy Diamond we know everything it’s about. It’s fast, loud, aggressive, and powerful. It assaults Jotaro and would’ve landed a hit on him had Jotaro not used Star Platinums’ time stop. Stands are often referred to as the personification of the fighting spirit and i feel like Crazy Diamond represents this perfectly. Crazy Diamond represents Josukes’ determination, willpower, drive, and above all, selflessness.

Selflessness is really accentuated in it’s power to heal. Not only to mend objects but people, animals, anything. But Crazy Diamond can’t heal everyone, it can’t heal the dead, and it can’t heal Josuke. Yet despite what some would see as a fatal flaw Josuke rushes into deadly fight after deadly fight without second thought. Because Josuke cares, and he’ll fight for his friends and family till his last breath.

Josuke IS Crazy Diamond.

That’s why Crazy Diamond is my favorite Stand in part 4.

Part 5 Vento Aureo (Golden Wind): Sticky Fingers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59K2kF6o9Tk&list=PLhdPK-ltXSXtqfwmvkWqKaDvjGiT2ELb_&index=1

Bruno Buccellatis’ Sticky Fingers is an absolute masterclass.

Sticky Fingers once again shows off just how well Araki is at taking a simple concept and extrapolating it as far as he can.

Sticky Fingers ability is to put zippers on things be they people, objects, buildings etc. But Araki takes this to every level he can, from Bruno Unzipping parts of his body to avoid attacks, or unzipping walls or other terrain to create openings. To zipping severed limbs back together using the zipper to extend his own range, or even in once instance possessing another human being.

Bruno is our Passiones Capo, the leader, the father, the man everyone looks up to when things go wrong and Sticky Fingers mirrors this perfectly. Bruno has control in his battles, even when he doesn’t he does. His stand allows him to create and close openings, to access or deny anything he wants to anyone, and that’s exactly how he likes it.

A big theme in part 5 is determination, the ability to acquire change through perseverance. Bruno and Sticky Fingers are the kings of these ideals. Bruno never gives up no matter the cost to himself he will never back down and if he does, theres’ a strategic reason for it.

a great example is during Vento Aureos’ (arguably and in my opinion) best fight : Grateful Dead and Beach Boy. It’s come down to the wire, Pesci is the last one alive, filled with cold calculating, murderous intent, with Bruno on his line, dragging him through the corridors of the train. Bruno will die if he doesn’t act fast, so he uses Pescis’ own ability against him. He uses Sticky Fingers power and punches the wire (which reflects any attacks back onto the attacker) to unzip himself into pieces. and he lays there on the ground in pieces the blood left in his brain starting to fill in what’s left of his chest as he plays the waiting game with Pesci. Bruno has made grave bet, he can’t reach the other part of his chest that contains his heart. but this isn’t a mistake, Bruno had to this, to pit his determination and life against Pesci because Bruno wants to acquire change.

And then the train stops, Pesci had broken, doubt had gotten the better of him and he stopped the train to find his partner knocking Brunos’ chest back together, allowing him to, in the end, achieve victory.

This aspect of willpower, determination, confidence, and control is exemplified in every way within Sticky Fingers. It charges in like a shining knight ready to fight for what Bruno Believes in, and will not stop until it dies.

And even then for a little while afterwards.

That’s why Sticky Fingers is my favorite stand in part 5.

Part 6 Stone Ocean: Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is a special case when it comes to stands in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Most stands as said earlier are manifestations of a human beings fighting spirit. But Foo Fighters is not this at all. Foo fighters is a stand made up of plankton, given life through a disc containing intelligence and a singular mission and sent forth to stand guard at a treasure horde.

Foo FIghters orginally starts off as a villain, working for the main villain of the part out of fear that the main villain will take away the disc that gave it it’s intelligence, it’s life. But through meeting the protagonist of part 6, Foo Fighters discovers it’s own identity, it creates it’s own self, molds itself into something all it’s own and in the end (SPOILER) dies a complete being, with a soul, created from nothing but itself and it’s desire to be truly alive.

It’s this process which makes Foo Fighters so lovable, getting to watch it grow from some user-less stand imitating a dead person into it’s own being. Watching it learn how to feel and think for itself.

You feel so connected to Foo Fighters as you watch it grow and change and adapt. The process of finding itself, herself, before finally becoming her own with the help of her friends. Foo Fighters is beautiful.

That’s why Foo Fighters is my favorite stand in part 6.

Part 7 Steel Ball Run: Tusk (Act 1-4)

https://youtu.be/R7U7XtYeq8c

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Johnny Joestars’ Tusk is one of two very special stands in Jojo being that is in an act stand. Tusk evolves. When Johnny first receives tusk it is in act 1, and over the course of Steel Ball Run evolves into Tusk act 4.

Tusk is also special in the fact that it works somewhat independently from Johnny, the stand being a guardian of the corpse part that is contained within Johnnys’ arm and not simply Johnnys’ stand.

We meet Tusk much like we meet Johnny, at its weakest. Starting out as a small and weak being, granting Johnny the power to shoot his fingernails like bullets.

As Johnny learns the secret technique of the infinite spin he and Tusk face challenge after challenge and through these challenges, Tusk evolves into Tusk act 2. Which grants Johnny the power to leave large holes inside his targets which can destroy their vitals.

When Johnny faces a stand known as Civil War he comes to terms with his sins both mentally and physically, and through a message from Jesus discovers his greater purpose in the Steel Ball Run, to complete he holy corpse, and for this he is granted Tusk act 3 which granted him the ability to spin himself into an infinite point and reappear somewhere else.

It’s at this point during steel ball run the full pontential of not only Tusk but Johnny as well is begging to realize itsel Johnny is close to mastering the secret of infinite rotation, his dream of walking is within his grasp but a greater task inserts itself.

That task being Funny Valentine, the main antagonist or Steel Ball Run.

Johnny and Gyro continue to fight, now in battles far greater than they could imagine. Tusk realizes itself as a true guardian of the corpse part, and Johnny realizing himself as a guardian of the corpse parts. Which allows them to work in better together than ever before.

In the final moments of the battle against Funny Valentine Johnny uses the power of infinite rotation to achieve his full pontential.

And for it he is granted Tusk act 4.

Tusk act 4 is a crescendo, a finale, the grand culmination of entire parts worth of trials tribulations, lessons, fights, losses. It is hope and determination incarnate and with and it’s power of mastery over infinite rotation he defeats Funny Valentine.

Tusk is so special because of the journey we see through it. The journey of not only Johnny Joestar, but the journey of everyone in the Steel Ball Run, the journey of Johnny, Gyro, Hot Pants, Diego, Lucy Steel. The journey of these individuals, their victories, their sacrifices all reflected in every atom of Tusk act 4.

Tusk act 4 is a gift from god.

That’s why Tusk is my favorite stand from part 7.

Ps I love how Star Platinums was like “I just think he’s neat” and then it slowly devolved into a deep character study shit that’s classic my ass for you!

#jojos bizarre adventure #stardust crusaders #diamond is not crash #vento aureo #golden wind #stone ocean #steel ball run

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randomfandomimagine · 7 years

Text

Sunshine in the Moonlight. Chapter 9: Weakness

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Prompto x Alexandria (OC)

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Wattpad - AO3

I woke up startled by an odd an unexpected dream that showed my subconscious knew me better than I consciously knew myself. Yet that didn’t make the dream less shocking.

“Bad dream?” Ignis’ voice asked as he watched me shake myself awake.

“No” I replied, staring at the roof of the tent. “Just… an odd one”

Feeling movement next to me, I looked to see Prompto rolling to his side so he was facing me. He was still completely asleep. His arm had fallen over my stomach, yet I was not surprised. Prompto did subconsciously seek us in his sleep and would often let an arm fall over us.

For the first time I felt flustered to have chosen to sleep next to him every time we camped out in the open. Even if I based my decision on logic as he was the smaller and calmer one that wouldn’t bother me as much in my sleep.

“Is everything alright, darling?” Ignis asked me as he took out his phone, probably to wake the boys up with the alarm clock.

“Of course” I sat up with a sigh, unable to get that dream off my mind. “I’m just still sleepy”

My friend didn’t insist, and he didn’t even glance at me as I got out of the tent. I was received by the beautiful sound of birds chirping and a sunny yet slightly cloudy weather. Quite lovely.

I absently poured myself a glass of Ebony –which Ignis always insisted on having around, as he adored it so much –and sat in one of the chairs we left last night.

I blushed as I mentally went over my dream, in which Prompto made a great appearance. Probably due to stargazing together and sharing such a nice moment last night. In an attempt to belittle the events that took place in my dream, I told myself that I had only dreamt about him because we spent so much time together and because he was the last one I talked to the other night. That was all. But my logic lacked realism due to the nature of the dream. We could have been doing anything, but in it we cuddled and laughed together and were extremely close, always hugging and being intimate. All deeply affectionate and adorable.

The worst part? Dreaming about that made me crave it, made me want to have moments like that with Prompto. Whether it was an actual desire or the illusion of it due to that strange dream, I didn’t know. Objectively speaking, I did have a growing need to be beside him. I enjoyed his company and adored the feeling of warmth that engulfed me whenever we spent some time alone. In spite of that, did it have to imply I sought something more than friendship?

“Mornin’!” A hand softly fell on my shoulder, but it nearly gave me a heart attack, because it also was his voice. I had been far too deep into my thoughts to sense his presence next to me. Especially taking in consideration that bubbly voice spooked me, as I was thinking precisely about Prompto.

“Ah!” I jumped, nearly spilling the entirety of my coffee onto the ground.

“Whoa” The blond quickly walked to stay in front of me and leaned forward to take a good look at me. “You okay? Didn’t mean to scare you there, Alex”

“I…” Ignis was walking out of the tent as well, eyeing me in astonishment. “My mind was elsewhere, that’s all”

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, Alexandria?” The man asked, making Prompto turn to him too. “You’re hardly ever as distracted”

“Alex’s in the clouds?” Gladio came out with a big yawn. “That’s a first”

“I only need to sober up” I scowled at them, taking a sip of the coffee that had not been spilled.

“She’s probably still exhausted, Gladio” Prompto defended me, plopping down in the chair next to mine. “I told you training during the night wasn’t a good idea”

I was definitely sore from our training last night, and it could perfectly well be used as an excuse for my odd behavior. Yet I shrugged in response to such accusations.

Iggy kept eyeing me, however, aware that the training was not the reason for my absent mind. As usual, though, he preferred to wait until I spoke to him about it whenever I was ready.

“What’s all the fuzz about?” Noctis’ sleepy voice announced he was awake. Even if, as he exited the tent, his drowsy expression told us that it would take a while for him to be completely awake.

“Alex” Prompto replied simply, motioning over to me. “She’s-“

“Ugh” Noctis doubled over in pain, holding his head again.

Alarmed, I stood to my feet and observed him in concern. Everyone had similar reactions of alarm seeing as the headaches became more frequent. Gladio moved in an instinct, always ready to protect him from anything, and placed a protective hand over Noct’s shoulder.

“Another headache?” Ignis guessed, observing him closely.

“What should we do? We need to put an end to this” I frowned as I glanced at the latter, worried. “Perhaps we should go to the meteor? If Noctis keeps seeing it…”

“We could go to the outlook in Lestallum!” Prompto suggested. “See it through the viewing things!”

“I suppose it’s the rapid and simple solution” Iggy replied, thoughtful. “We must investigate Noct’s condition”

“To Lestallum it is then” Gladio softly shoved the prince to encourage him.

As Noctis groaned in displease, rubbing his fingers against his forehead, we all followed. Exchanging eloquent glances between us.

The outlook didn’t seem to be giving us any more hints. More likely, we needed to be actually there to learn what was behind Noctis’ odd headaches.

The five of us kept our eyes glued on the horizon, as though staring at the Disc of Cauthess from a distance was the answer to all our questions and problems. Even if it certainly wasn’t.

“What a coincidence” A certain voice spoke up, giving me goosebumps in a very nasty manner.

“I’m not so sure it is” Gladio was the first to speak up, taking a few steps forward to stand between that man and Noctis.

“It’s that man again…” The same one that we encountered in Galdin Quay, the ‘man of no consequence’.

I still didn’t trust him, there was something eerie and unsettling about him even if I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

My first instinct was to look at Prompto, and I got troubled when I couldn’t find him. Until I realized he had shielded behind me, agitated by the man’s presence as well. When he noticed me staring he frowned with determination and positioned himself next to me instead.

“Aren’t nursery rhymes curious things?” The man asked us with a perturbing smirk.

“What’s he talking about?” Prompto whispered to me.

“I never know what this man is saying” I said to him in the same tone.

“Like this one: ‘From the deep, the Archaean calls… yet on deaf ears, the god’s tongue falls, the King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls.’”

“So…” The blond piped up, finding a similarity to our friend’s affliction. “How do we keep him on his feet?”

“You need only heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea” He turned his back to us briefly before facing us again. “I can take you”

“Oh” A gasp of dread escaped my lips as I immediately glanced at Ignis.

“Got something to say about it?” Gladio invited me to speak up.

We distanced ourselves from him a little to discuss it, even if we kept a low volume so he wouldn’t hear us. In spite of the fact that, judging by his smirk, he sensed our reluctance.

“Why on earth would we go with him?” I whispered angrily. “Can’t we visit the Archaean on our own?”

“It wouldn’t be so simple, I’m afraid” Ignis said, speaking up for the first time. “Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to pass through the control posts alone”

“And with him, we can?” My instinct played a great role in being an advisor, and it was screaming for me to stand away from that man. “I don’t trust him”

“We don’t have to trust him” Noctis argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We can let him take us there and still be careful” Prompto suggested, staring at Noct.

Surely, he was willing to suffer being uncomfortable with that man just as long as his friend felt better. It was definitely a sacrifice we needed to make.

“I suppose it’s a necessary evil” I gave in, exchanging a glance with Ignis. He merely nodded, remaining silent.

“We’ll watch our backs” Gladiolus said to reassure us.

“Fine” Noctis said to the man. “We’ll go”

He just grinned a little, pleased by Noct’s response and started walking.

“I’m not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction” The man told us calmly. “Please, call me Ardyn”

“Ardyn…” I repeated, disgusted. Even the name tasted bitter in my mouth.

As we followed him to where our cars were parked, my mind burned with thousands of questions. Why would he help us? What was on his mind? With what end would he offer his aid? And why was he following us? Surely, it couldn’t be a coincidence we kept meeting each other.

I sighed in resignation and frustration as I took my seat in the middle spot of the back seat, back in the Regalia. Wondering what awaited us at the Disc of Cauthess.

As we arrived, we shared our restlessness about this ‘Ardyn’ man. My friends also found him to be creepy and suspicious, no matter how much we needed his help in order to find answers.

We followed his car and were surprised to see that thanks to him the doors to the Archaean were opened to us. A man of no consequence wouldn’t have such influences. With every passing moment, I grew warier of him.

What was important, however, was that we were there. And that he had left.

We walked alongside the path, once we left the Regalia back. However, we were surprised by an unexpected finding.

“Is that what I think it is?” Prompto pointed a finger up ahead, there where a tomb lied.

“Didn’t expect to find a royal tomb here” Ignis observed, pausing to observe it.

“You and me both” I was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole situation.

“Wouldn’t be a shame not to grab that power, eh, Highness?” Gladiolus told Noctis.

“Let’s grab it and go” The latter began walking toward it, determined.

As soon as he was close enough to it, Noct reached out to it. Even under the powerful sunlight, the blue light emerged from it as he was granted the power of yet another royal arm. The heat was also quite present, adding to the brightness of the sun.

Almost to confirm that my hunch was correct, something happened. All of a sudden, the earth started shaking. Yet another earthquake, which inflected an immense force over us.

“Here we go again!”

Not strong enough to stand on my own because of the tremors, I was pushed toward the ground. Gladiolus, who stood next to me, held me up by gripping my arm. Prompto, at my left, fell to the ground as I wasn’t fast enough to hold him up.

“This one’s huge!”

“Get away! Quickly!”

I was about to heed Ignis’ order when I realized that Noctis was kneeling down on the floor. He suffered from another headache at the most inconvenient moment.

“Alex, run!” Prompto noticed my hesitance and grabbed me by the wrist, but I easily freed from his grip.

Gladiolus was already going to help him, always his sworn Shield, but I impulsively followed. It wasn’t a conscious impulse either, but I found myself joining him.

The ground collapsed under our feet, and we were thrown downwards as we fell to a lower level. I slid down a slope without remedy, being pushed by inertia.

As I made it to solid ground, my body rolled without control yet I managed to stop myself before I reached the edge. Noctis, however, wasn’t so lucky.

“Noct!” I screamed as he barely hung on. I was about to try and stand in order to pull him up when Gladiolus intervened and did it himself.

“Noct! I gotcha!”

I threw myself to them, offering another hand to assist them as Noctis pulled himself up with us. I tightly held his arm until he safely lied down on the ground.

“Everyone alright?” I asked, ignoring my racing heart.

“Swell” Gladiolus replied bitterly.

“Noctis?”

“I’m fine!!”

“I had everything under control” Gladiolus snapped at me of a sudden. “You do your job and I’ll do mine”

I was left dumbfounded with his senseless comment. Was he actually mad at me for looking after Noctis? I knew Gladio would jump at him being his sworn Shield, I by no means implied that he was failing at his duty. Gladio was just irritated, perhaps put under too much pressure and being intimidated that we were facing a deity. Otherwise, why would he behave like that?

I opened my mouth to reply just when a very loud rumbling sound started behind us. At first it seemed like merely a cluster of rocks and lifeless objects. Until a creature emerged from the depths of them, raising them under a cloud of dirt and smoke. The Titan, echoing with a penetrating guttural voice.

“Goddamn… This is the Archaean?”

“Seems we woke the big guy up”

We observed the deity in awe, too dazed to say anything else, until someone caught our attention.

“Noct!” Prompto’s voice unexpectedly sounded above us. “You okay?”

“Guys!” I called them, relieved to hear from them. “We’re alright!”

“Thank heavens you’re safe” Ignis replied. “Is there a way back up?”

“There’s a path” I observed, pointing towards it.

“We’ll see where it leads” Gladiolus agreed. “You two look for a way down”

“Very well, stay alert” Ignis warned us, preoccupied.

“What?” Prompto snapped with a high pitch in his outraged tone. “We’re going where?!”

Leaving them to their own and resolute in our own endeavor, we started following the path.

“Are we good?” Gladiolus checked grumpily, not happy about being separated from the others. I wasn’t either. I had left behind the two I felt closer with as Ignis was my best friend and Prompto was the boy I related to the most. While I was friends with Gladiolus and Noctis, the situation was a bit more distant than with Prompto and Ignis. Our relationship was more of a work in progress. Yet I was glad that I wasn’t alone, the three of us would protect each other.

“As good as we can be” Noctis sulked, going on forward along the path.

“Nothing serious” I rubbed my ankle, as it seemed to have been affected by the violent earthquake and consequent fall.

“No time for whining” Gladiolus said to my surprise. “Are you hurt or not?”

“No” I scowled at him, offended by his sudden rude tone.

“Good” He defied me fiercely. “Because you should be up there with Iggy and Prompto instead of being stuck here with us”

“What are you implying?”

“That you would be even more of a burden if you really were hurt”

‘Even more of a burden’? ‘Even more’?

I silently fumed as I glared daggers at him. He had no right to say those things, to actually call me a burden. As though he was implying he was stuck with me there, having to look after me or else I would end up dead without his guarding.

“You sure you can continue?” Noctis feebly looked from Gladiolus to me.

“Positive”

“Let’s go then”

We continued walking and found that the heat became even stronger as we approached the Archaean. I followed as closely as I could, even if I was limping a bit and noticing a sharp pain in my sensitive ankle. I was also irritated by their continuous banter, probably due to the poor mood I was put in. The heat, the anxiety, the separation, the tension among us, our recent encounter with Ardyn… I felt extremely susceptible.

Earthquakes still occurred, which didn’t facilitate our efforts. Noctis also struggled with his head throbbing in pain, causing Gladiolus to having to keep a constant eye on him.

As we walked, we found it to be extremely tiring and distressing. Gladio’s glare on me also showed me that he wasn’t happy with my pacing.

“Hurry the hell up, Alexandria!” He shouted at me, extremely angry.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” I yelled back at him, irritated.

Furiously stomping his feet on the ground, he walked closer to me and I noticed he was about to pick me up and save himself the bother of putting up with me. I refused, too proud and mad to allow him.

“I’m fine!” I pushed him away, rejecting his alleged help. “I just need my time”

“We don’t have time” Gladiolus rebutted, still glaring at me. I defiantly held his glance, challenging him. The man just scowled and turned around, carrying on following the path.

I huffed, drying the sweat off my forehead, and pushed through the pain to go with them. Noctis was also dragging himself around, sluggish and grouchy.

“I’m sick of this endless walking…”

“And I’m sick of your endless whining” Gladio had snapped, taking him by the collar. “Calm the hell down”

“Gladio…” I intervened, but the glare he gave me next was enough to quiet me. I had never seen him so angry. Not him not anyone, for that matter.

I distanced myself from the argument, as it was between Gladiolus and Noctis.

“Get off my back” The latter complained, trying to be released from his grip.

“Are you a man or royal blood or aren’t you?”

“Of course I am, I couldn’t forget it if I tried!”

I just kept walking, leaving them to it. It was a private conversation that I didn’t want to meddle in, and most importantly, I also wanted to stay away from Gladio at the moment.

I looked over my shoulder and noticed that their angry expressions had softened and they were merely talking instead of arguing now. Even if I was still upset with Gladio, I tried to see his perspective.

It surely wasn’t easy being Noctis’ Shield. Constantly looking after him, willingly risking your own safety in order to assure his. Giving your best to turn him into a fair monarch even if he was merely just a spoiled and whiny prince, rendering your effort useless.

However, it was the first time I truly clashed with Gladiolus. Ignis was trying to do the same for Noctis in a way, and his tactic was different. Not to say that Ignis wasn’t accomplishing anything, but his methods were much softer. Gladiolus didn’t have to be so aggressive. His temper got the best of him.

When I noticed they started to walk, I did too before they caught up with me. Being slower, I needed the advantage not to hold them back.

Their glances were directed to me yet moved to the sky, and as I followed them I realized imperial forces were arriving to complicate things even further. The three of us summoned our weapons, prepared to withstand the battle, and faced the MTs as they approached us. Noctis and Gladiolus ran before me to get to them first, already slaying some of the soldiers.

Trying not to lean my weight on the injured ankle, I swung my sword until it collided with the closest MagiTek’s armor. I moved on to the next one once the other was defeated, but stopped at the sound of Noctis screaming and turned to the sound. When a MT attacked me, I fell to the ground trying to avoid the attack. Too worried for my friend, however, I weakly kicked the enemy and stood up while trying to reach Noctis as he clutched his head in pain, suffering from another potent headache in the middle of the battle.

“I’ll look after Noct, you look after yourself” Gladiolus actually pushed me, accompanying his gesture with a harsh glance. “You’re having enough trouble with that already”

I clenched my jaw, deeply hurt by such accusations. As if having to put up with everything else wasn’t enough, he had to remind me of it.

I let him run off to help Noctis, feeling useless and worthless. My ankle was hurt and I wouldn’t be able to catch up with them, and my battling skills wouldn’t serve much against the MTs nor against Titan, who had awakened and stomped his enormous hands against us.

At least they had finished the imperial army quite easily and we were just concerned with Titan now. I stood back to give them some space and avoid being a nuisance for them. I just remained there, seething in silence and hoping they would be okay when this ended once and for all. Heeding Gladiolus’ orders in spite of myself, I occupied myself with staying alive and letting the other two take care of each other.

I groaned in pain when I had to dodge Titan’s attack, hurting my ankle even further with the intense movement, as it started screaming in complaint. I also had to block a MagiTek attack with my sword, struggling in the ground while I wondered where it came from. I thought they had all perished.

“Bloody MagiTek!” I jumped to my feet and sunk my sword inside its armor, causing it to malfunction and wither.

I let out a loud grunt of pain and frustration as I clutched my very sore ankle.

Two pair of feet suddenly hurried my way, making me look in that direction.

“Alex!” Prompto was suddenly there, resting a hand in my back. “You doing okay?”

“You’re injured” Ignis joined him too, noticing my limp.

“I’ll be alright” I carelessly brushed off what was but an inconvenience. “Noct and Gladio…”

“Let’s go with them” Prompto didn’t think twice to wrap an arm around my waist and serve as a support for me.

Ignis walked ahead, rushing to reunite with our friends. To check on them and back them up in the battle.

“How’d you get hurt?” Prompto didn’t complain as I rested my weight over him, nor did he eye me as I grimaced and grunted from the effort of leaning on my bad ankle every two steps.

“I landed poorly when I fell” I sped up, causing him to do as well, and refused to meet his astonished stare.

“No biggie, you can still fight” He said to comfort me, taking importance out of it. “And we’ll also protect you”

But I didn’t want them to protect me. I wanted to be able to protect myself, it was something I should be able to do without help. Even though I wasn’t a Crownsguard like they were.

“I’m sorry, Prompto” I felt the need to tell him, finding it easier to open up to him.

“For what?”

“For being a burden”

“Come on, you’re not a burden! You’re just a bit bruised!”

I got quiet, letting the sound of our panting and the background noise of Titan’s attacks to envelope us. We struggled and strained when the deity caused yet another earthquake.

As we joined our three friends, we embarked in the great battle against the titanic Archaean.

Prompto let go of me and patted my back before summoning his guns and neatly shooting at the target. I summoned my own sword, not willing to give up completely in spite of it all. They were all too focused on the fight to pay attention to me, so I shouted to get the adrenaline pumping as I launched at the Titan. My poor attack was merely useful, it bounced right off him. In fact, the own force of my hit was enough to make me wobble and fall to the ground. That did bring the attention of my friends, who briefly looked at me and called me in despair before getting back to the battle.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Gladiolus shouted at me, too busy fighting to look my direction.

“Alexandria, stand back!” Ignis exclaimed. “Get to safety!”

‘Stand back, get to safety’ was a euphemism for ‘stop getting in our way and leave before you get yourself killed’. Even Ignis’ composed persona was angry and urgent in his warning.

I was suddenly realizing how blind I had been to believe I would be able to defend myself and others with my poor sword skills. They were more basic than I expected, barely enough to save myself. Yet definitely not enough to hold a fight against such an enemy like it was Titan.

I sighed, feeling yet another insecurity building up inside me. I was never supposed to go with them in the first place, I was just slowing them down. I had thought I could hold myself in battle, but what I didn’t realize was that it was true to a certain degree.

I was fighting alongside three prepared men. Even Prompto, who wasn’t as experienced as Ignis, or as big as Gladio, or as trained as Noctis. Prompto too was stronger than me, as he was a Crownsguard after all.

Crestfallen and compliant, I dragged myself away, not even bothering to stand to my feet, and anxiously observed the battle from a distance. They were doing great on their own, even better once they didn’t have to worry about me.

Noctis gave the final blow, ending the Archaean. Triggered by his demise, everything around us collapsed again. Heated lava exploded from the ground, which also shook violently. I was forced to drag myself away from there and shield myself as my friends ran to me.

We were trapped in there.

“You okay, princess?” Gladio’s words only made it worse, even though I was aware of the fact that he didn’t intend to hurt my feelings. With the last remark, he might have been playful as usual, teasing me a little. He might not have meant any harm that time even if before he had definitely said some hurtful things.

“I’m alright” I proudly said, rejecting the hand he was suddenly offering me and standing up on my own despite my injury.

“Alexandria” Ignis surely noticed something was very wrong with me, like he always did, but I deliberately ignored him.

“What are we gonna do?!” Prompto stared at us, scared as we had no way of escaping.

Just then, a wild rush of wind overcame us, along with a loud noise that we had become familiar with. An imperial craft flying over us.

“The Empire! Now?”

The ship came closer and closer, opening to reveal a tall figure that looked down at us.

“Fancy meeting you here!” To top it all off, Ardyn appeared to worsen things. “It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself. Izunia, Ardyn Izunia”

“Imperial Chancellor Izunia?” Of course Ardyn was with the Empire.

“At your service. And more importantly, to your aid” He gestured in a petulant and self-satisfied bow. “I guarantee your safe passage. Although you’re always welcome to take your chances down there. Buried among the rubble, is it?”

I grinded my teeth in pure hatred, having the sudden urge to look away not to even glance at him out of despite. My pride was screaming at me, saying I would rather die than give him the satisfaction of helping us when he was the one who put us in danger on the first place.

“Dying here is not an option” Ignis stated as tough it was a fact. “We have no choice, Noct”

We all observed the aforementioned expectantly, waiting for a response.

“I know” Noctis replied in the end, resigned to comply.

“I’m not going with that clown!” I was shaking with rage, closing my fists so tight that my nails were painfully sinking in my palms. I was fed up. Sweaty, injured, exhausted, apathetic and furious.

“Alexandria!” Ignis scolded me, angry and adamant.

“You’re gonna have to” Gladiolus sternly grasped my wrist with an iron hand and took me with them.

We accepted our fate and reluctantly accepted Ardyn’s help. The aid of a man that had been following us around and toying with us ever since we left Lucis. A man from the Empire.

Tagging list: @prince-of-wind, @toranyx

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circular-time · 7 years

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Spare Parts Liveblog 8 - Disc Four

In my liveblog, I’ve been posting links to Spare Parts on Spotify for those who haven’t bought it (I have; it’s so cheap). For what it’s worth, it’s even CHEAPER this weekend -- 99p. Big Finish is having a Mondasian Cybermen sale.

Also, I forgot to mention: Just as new Who adapted Big Finish’s Jubilee to make Dalek, it also borrowed (although not quite as extensively) from Spare Parts to make The Age of Steel / The Rise of the Cybermen, for which Marc Platt received an acknowledgement.

So anyway. I’ve been kinda beat today and have only just gotten to Part IV. Let’s whip through this; I still have to watch this week’s new Who.

I’d mentioned that it sounds odd to me now when I hear early Big Finish, before they got the rights to all the classic Who themes, and all the eps start with what I think is the 1970s theme. @ironic-disingenuous-sadness pointed out the earlier-classic-Who theme fits this story rather well.

Track 4.1: “Shelter”

We’re back to the Doctor very much nonconsenting a medical procedure, and the cyberized Committee declaring WE WILL SURVIVE. Scary cybermen are scary.

(here we go again...)

Oh, Pete’s doing awesome speechifying again. The ranting BEGINS while he’s being scanned.

“Only cold logic stifles their natural urge to SCREAM IN AGONY!” (as he’ll be doing again shortly, I’m sure. Always do what you’re best at.)

And this is where Sally Knyvette was needed: she can give it right back.

“How can you do that to your own people?!” “Because we’re dying! That’s why we’re screaming!”

She goes on a long rant too, the first time we’ve really heard what she’s feeling behind the wine-deadened mask of indifference.

Jeng and the Committee argue over priorities: the Doctor made them promise to keep the city going, but it’s a choice between activating the propulsion system to move Mondas out of the nebula that’s shaking it apart, or shutting down the city.

“Sacrifices must be made,” the battlecry of those not making the sacrifice to save themselves.

Even now they’re divided in what to do. They finally decide to process all the citizens into Cybermen to save them. Of course. It’s then end.

The Hartleys discuss Nyssa being taken away, doubtless to be processed (aieee!) like Yvonne. They’re watching the iceflow envelope parts of the city. Is this establishing something in a classic Who ep I haven’t seen (missing eps/recons?)

The Palace broadcasts that all citizens should go to the Palace. “Shelter will be provided.” Mr Hartley scoffs; he knows it’s a lie.

Although in a way it isn’t— they’ll be well protected in their cyber-suits. Just dead.

Track 4.2 - “Logical Deductions”

Nyssa gets dragged past the Doctor, who tries to save her by (to her horror) suggesting she can help Allan with the cyber-process since she’s so good at bioengineering. Which, apparently, she is. Allan decides to requisition her, but Jeng barges in to say all citizens are being processed. Including Allan.

Who freaks out with the classic Mad Scientist line: “I CREATED YOU!” “And I am superior. Be proud while you still have the capacity.”

Ah, there we go. Of COURSE the scan means the Doctor has to scream. Agony Acting Peter is off again.

And in between screams, fighting the Committee in his mind, one of the best Who speeches ever.

How did this start? Just a few hip replacements and breast implants - vanity's a killer, isn't it? And where will it end? Sleek, heartless scavengers cobbled together from space junk and other people’s bodies— but you’ll look ever so STYLISH!! *screaming*

There’s a long pause when they ask him to evacuate Mondas using whatever means he used to get there. It’s too late for that... isn’t it? But it would’ve been one way to save the people. Except it’s a means he almost never uses; the TARDIS is never a lifeboat. (Seriously considers it in Equilibrium though.)

YOU WILL BE LIKE US. I will never be like you!

Again, this is the real horror of the Cybermen— Assimilation, in a form even worse than the Borg (which came several decades later).

oops, more screamy Pete.

The Committee finally achieves consensus (”disjunction means extinction...”) and all agree to join as one mind. “We are the future... we are the future...” the voice changes. It is now the “Cyber Planner” which appears in early classic Who.

Track 4.3 - “We will be like you”

I wish recent Big Finish still had track names like chapter names; they’re so creepy.

Anyway poor optimistic Nyssa is waiting for the scan to finish and the Doctor to come back. Allan’s being cynical and fatalistic again.

Out in the city, the civilians have woken up to their doom but it’s TOO LATE; they waited while their neighbors were rounded up and their rights curtailed in the name of Security until they have no power left.

They’re having an angry protest in the city’s main square, burning the tree. Mr. Hartley and Frank are there, refusing to submit, even though it’s bitterly cold. Then they try to storm the Palace — only to be captured. The Cyber-planner puts their own security ahead of the propulsion system, overriding Jeng’s wishes. “Resistance must be crushed.”

Back in the palace, the scan finishes, door opens— no Doctor! A moment later a new, improved Cyberman comes out.

Nyssa thinks it’s him. The Doctor is now a Cyberman like the ones who killed Adric! Her voice— ouch. Poor Nyssa. She has been through such HELL since meeting the Doctor.

And here’s another of my favorite moments.

Allan’s given up and is drinking heavily —Knyvette being awesome again— trying to get Nyssa to join her in toasting the end of the world.

Nyssa’s gotten over her shock, like she always does, and gives a pretty damned good speech of her own.

[We must do something] “Who cares?” “The Doctor would care!” “Anything to encourage oblivion.” “Please, listen to me!” *breaks the woman’s bottle* “You STUPID little—” “He’s gone. The Doctor’s dead. Worse than dead. And Adric’s dead too. So many people killed because of your Cybermen. So where’s the Committee? I have to stop this once and for all!”

I love it when Nyssa lays the verbal smackdown, and I thumb my nose at those fools who think Sarah Sutton can’t act. She’s better now than she was when she was 19, of course, and even then she was pretty good.

And there Nyssa goes again, once again ready to take the Doctor’s place and finish his work when she thinks he’s dead. She is too damn brave for her own good. And she never gives into grief while there’s lives to save.

But before she can get herself in worse trouble...

“The Doctor was a gift... he was our last resort.” *door opens* “Oh dear, you make me sound like Southend-on-Sea.”

I love the Doctor’s stupid quips at the worst possible moments. (And happy reunions.)

Allan belatedly informs them (she was mocking Nyssa) that the new Cyberman was Dodd.

“Where is he now?” the Doctor says. “Oh? It’s a he when it’s someone you know.” Good point, Allan. She doesn’t approve of what’s happened, but she’s still proud of her “invincible” creations.

Team Nerd reunited— Doctor needs something to sabotage the Committee, Nyssa suggests using Allan’s wine store, much to her annoyance.

Track 4.4 - “Consider the Grape”

I think the Doctor gave that grape-quote earlier in the story?

Ouch. The roof’s falling in, and the citizens have no choice but to rush into the arms of the Cybermen.

Nyssa’s still furious. “You’re PATHETIC” she tells Allan and clops her one when she tries to stop the Doctor from numbing the Committee’s nutrient bath with alcohol.

The Doctor and Nyssa wonder again if they can change history. Ironically they’ve switched sides of the argument— the Doctor’s so determined not to have himself used as the template for the Cyber-race that he’s considering changing history after all, while Nyssa wonders if they should since it’s the only way to save these people’s lives. He wants to have a hand in steering the creations based on him.

Another irony: Allan’s so proud of her Committee, her “children” that she’s willing to sacrifice the planet to save them (?) Jeng disagrees.

The Hartleys rescue Nyssa and the Doctor from being collected. Alas, Frank holds Nyssa back to apologize, and they get caught for processing. *whimper* (And everyone’s being rounded up for processing in the palace.)

This story doesn’t let up.

Track 4.5 “Death is Just a Bowl of Cherries”

The Cyberplanner sends Allan for processing, of course. They grow up and turn on you.

Allan’s finally gotten angry. The Committee are directing all power to processing to make more “walking dead”, rather than saving the city OR the propulsion. And when she’s stuck in line she’s defiant. Embraces her end with a bit of courage.

The Doctor’s keeping the Cyberplanner busy while Mr. Hartley summons the cybermats to save the day. And screaming again. They override Jeng when he tries to activate the propulsion system.

Track 4.6 “Logical Conclusions.”

Nyssa’s just about ready to be processed OF COURSE while the Doctor’s chitchatting with the Cyberplanner. DOCTOR SHUT IT.

Finally the cybermats overwhelm the Cyberplanner, allowing them to divert power to the engines and send Mondas back towards Earth.

The Doctor and Nyssa think they’ve put Mondas on better footing: the Commitee’s out, Jeng is out, and the Cybermen are helping repair the roof. Hartley is in charge of the reconstruction.

But sadly this story, like Genesis of the Daleks, can’t actually do a damn THING to alter the monsters’ future. The ending is horrifying: Jeng returns, and the processing will begin again— all the survivors the Doctor and Nyssa helped will shortly be converted. At least the Doctor and Nyssa leave before they’re caught or even find out that sad truth.

And I’m still not 100% sanguine about an EU story where the ONLY thing that changes is that the Cybermen are now based partly on the Doctor!

But it’s a hell of a story, dealing with some of the heart and soul of the whole “Can we/should we change history?” problem of Who, some fine speeches, some incredible courage on the part of both Doctor and Companion, and a little side commentary on organ harvesting/human rights/universal healthcare/cost-cutting/”sacrifices must be made.”

#spare parts liveblog #come on tumblr stop losing this post #big finish

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teddystrap · 5 years

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Drama CD: [黒吉原メランコリア] The First Night: Agumo Hibari - Part 2

[Disc 2]

[Prologue] A sober Hibari apologises for his drunken behaviour and waxes poetic about the sweetness of your lips. Since that night, you have exceeded his expectations and made a name for yourself in Yoshiwara - mastering all the basic skills from tea ceremony to literacy..

He regrets his own myopia in using you as a chesspiece in his game. As the #1 male oiran, he thought that he could resist the charms of any girl. But the human heart is unpredictable, and he has developed real feelings for you...

⋆

Hibari visits your room and informs you to get ready to make your debut. You're all like (ಠ_ಠ) ,... but before that, he has an important announcement to make:

Once you take your first client, the Game would officially begin. He confesses the whole setup and rules of the game to you, as well as the rumours that led to its conception.

Legend has it that a race of mermaids with the blood of the Happyaku-bikuni [link] possess superhuman life force, and their tears can bring eternal life and prevent death. However, the mermaid saviour has to pay the price of losing her voice forever. (Now where have I heard this idea before⁇ *cough*TheLittleMermaid*cough*)

During the Normanton Incident [link], a merchant vessel capsized near Kishuu-oki (present-day Wakayama). All the foreign passengers were saved but the Japanese passengers perished. This was chalked up to racial discrimination, but insiders claim that the ship was overturned by mermaids plotting to rescue *one of their own* who was aboard the ship.

After you floated ashore to the fishing village where you grew up, rumours spread among the locals that *you* are the passenger mermaid who caused the shipwreck. Out of fear of further angering the mermaids, they avoided publicly discussing the subject.

A local fisherman, your step-father, noticed that you are a good-looking child. He took you in and raised you, planning to sell you off to some brothel once you reach a suitable age and fetch a good price. This is where Hibari comes in: he found your step-father after much investigation and sent a pimp his way to acquire you.

Hibari planned and joined in his own game for the purpose of raising Yoshiwara's profile in the public eye and bringing in more business. His efforts have attracted five other participants from wealthy and powerful backgrounds. Hence, he himself has no interest in the veracity of the legend nor in eternal life. His only aim is for the other players to fight over you and create a tabloid-worthy sensation.

As such, your best bet now is to end the game a.s.a.p. and find one of the participants (excluding him) to marry yourself off to - in this sense both of you have a common goal, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to help you.

...After hearing all this, you are visibly shaken and can't even concentrate on your flower arranging lesson anymore. Hibari is all like 'SON I AM DISAPPOINT' and sends you off to bed. He's all confused because he thought you would be happy to be leaving Yoshiwara soon...?

Next day, he gives you a pretty dress and sends you to some steak restaurant to learn how to use a knife and fork... with Sakurai Takahiro('s character). Meanwhile he stays behind to see a client. Having to part with him for a day makes you a #sadpanda, so he decides to come and cheer you up when you get back.

You come home late, and he feigns cheerfulness when he hears that you got along well with Ta-kun. 'Everything is going according to plan... but why does it make me angry when I imagine her smiling at some other dude?' *punches wall RAWR*

The time has finally come, he announces that you will receive your first client: Sakurai Takahiro('s character). BUT... his announcement gets hijacked by a gang invasion - it's the shady characters from an earlier episode, here for the mermaid tears. Hibari beckons you to run and tell the guards, while he stays behind and buys time for your escape.

He trash-talks the bad guys, and they slash him with their katana and flee. (I imagine their thought process was something like: 'OMG does this guy EVER shut up??? *stab stab*) As he lay dying, he mocks himself: for giving up his own life to save you, yet not being able to confess his feelings to you directly. 'And so it is. My mad skillz are useless when faced with the woman I truly love.'

Later, you come back and tell him that the gang have been captured by the guards. With his last breath, he confesses that he's always loved you. He's glad to have protected you and confident that you will do just fine on your own. With trembling lips, you grant him one final kiss... and your tears touch his mouth. In that instant, he became... THE HULK!!!!

...No srsly. After a month-long sleep, he wakes from a dream where his body is getting dissolved by the waves of the ocean. To his great shock, you've lost the ability to speak. He becomes emotional and laments why you made such a huge sacrifice and chose a scumbag like him, instead of the other more eligible game participants.

He confesses his love for you and says that he can't imagine continuing his job as oiran and embracing other women ever again. He proposes that the two of you to escape from Yoshiwara and start a new life somewhere far away. Of course, you agree, and he makes a pinky promise to spend the rest of his life making you happy.

(He also takes your virginity,... but never mind about that XD.)

And thus, with his life savings as Top Host, the two of you begin a semi-nomadic life, skipping town every time rumours/scandals of the Yoshiwara escape start to spread. At the end, Hibari says that the day you saved his life was a rebirth for him. 'While I may not have a hometown, I will always have a home - which is wherever you are.'

‘Mermaid’ by Toriumi. Hot dayum.

[Thoughts] Let’s be real here, Hibari is kind of a dick. I mean, I would’ve accepted if he had believed the legend and sought Nanami out in order to obtain eternal life. That would have been a more excusable reason than ‘creating a scandal to attract business’. He almost forfeited Nanami’s future and *whole life* purely for his little publicity stunt. In that sense it’s not too much to ask that he almost sacrificed his life for her.

That said, the scene where he was dying and asking for a last kiss really got me. Toriumi sounded like he was really dying XDDD. (Noooo Sensei pls don’t die T_T) His emotional outburst after waking up and finding out that Nanami has lost her voice is also really touching and almost made me forget that IT’S ALL HIS FAULT.

On another note, I took the time to research a bit into the historical accuracy of the story, because (1) Nanami seemed a bit old to be a trainee, and (2) she was allowed to stay in Yoshiwara for many months without receiving any clients or making any money. Fwiw, trainees had a wide age range, although after the Edo period they were generally expected to serve clients during their training period. So... thanks Rejet for protecting your chastity, I guess?

Although there’s still the question of convention - a male oiran taking on a female shinzou - and the way Hibari talks: referring to himself as 「俺」 and using informal speech (あんなもんじゃねぇ, etc.), which does not seem to match the high-class etiquette and prestige of the oiran.

(To be fair, ‘high-class’ isn’t exactly a concept that I would associate with Toriumi’s characters - they usually give off the impression of being dignified cool on the surface and perverted wild at heart, kind of a 「裏腐設定」 if you will XDD.)

All things considered, this is still one of if not the best story I’ve come across of recent note. I will definitely be looking into the other discs of this series - esp. Guy #4 voiced by Shimono Hiro, the (psycho?) dollmaker who wants to make a lifelike replica of the heroine.

*fingers crossed* Please let him be yandere, pleaseee let him be yandere...

#rejet #otome #drama cd #kuromela #kuro yoshiwara #melancholia #seiyuu #toriumi kousuke #supernatural #ningyo #meiji #wafuu #historical

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