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aphroditelovesu · 6 months

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Hi! I don't know if you are taking any requests, if you don't, just ignore this

Can you do headcanons of platonic yandere hannibal (2013 TV show) with a darling that looks like abigail hobbs? Can you add will Graham as well? Thank you!

<33

❝ 🍽 — lady l: I should have posted this yesterday but it ended up not being possible as a practical class in the laboratory, but here it is! I hope you like it, anon. Forgive me for any mistakes and good reading!! ❤️🥰

❝tw: obsessive and possessive behavior, manipulation, kidnapping, forced cannibalism and mention of death.

❝🔎pairing: platonic yandere!hannigram x gender neutral!reader.

After everything that had happened between them and Abigail, Hannibal and Will had no plans on trying to care for someone else anytime soon, if ever. They were starting their life together after Red Dragon and in a calm place where there was no danger of being found by the FBI when they met you.

When Hannibal and Will first met you, they initially kept a cautious distance. Still reeling from the events with Abigail, they were reluctant to make room for someone else in their lives. However, over time, you proved to be a comforting and intriguing presence. It didn't help that you remembered her in some ways. Maybe it was your looks or your personality, but they couldn't help but find it refreshing and bizarre at the same time how much you reminded them of her.

As the days passed, you showed a unique understanding of the complexities of the human mind, something that fascinated them deeply. Your calm presence and ability to adapt to your surroundings intrigued them. Will felt comfortable around you, something few people had the ability to do and Hannibal found himself drawn to the way you thought more and more.

Your presence brought a sense of normalcy to them, something they had long lost. You brought a good feeling to them, something they had lost along the way. It was Hannibal who convinced Will to "adopt", to bring you to live with them. Will, although a little reluctant to take you away from your family, eventually accepted. That was how you became part of their family and they had no intention of letting you go.

Hannibal was the one who brought you in and Will covered for him. Although they wanted to make you part of their twisted family in a "normal" way, plans quickly changed. The initial plans were to get close to you and manipulate you, make you hate your family so that you would realize that they were the only ones who could truly care for you.

But when it became clear that you didn't seem to respond to the manipulations, they decided to take another course of action. During one night when you were walking alone, much to their disapproval, Hannibal quickly knocked you out and brought you with him. You would finally be safe with them. Will placed you on the bed prepared for you, covering you as he tended to your sleep.

You would have to accept your place quickly or there will be consequences. Hannibal is a psychiatrist, he knows that what they did can inflict trauma on you and he will be patient with you for as long as you need, but if you are too stubborn or don't respond to the mandatory therapy he will give you, he is not against using other means to make you accept your place.

Hannibal will try to be patient with you and he will, will tolerate stubbornness to a certain extent, as he understands that it may be due to the stress of being taken away from your old life, but if you are too stubborn and even rude, he will have to teach you good manners. Hannibal does not tolerate rude people at all.

Will is more compassionate towards you, he knows and understands that it may be difficult for you to accept this new reality, so he will try to be understanding with you and he is. Will will always be by your side and although it seems like a kind action to him, in reality it becomes overwhelming. There will be no privacy, because he wants to be close to you and he believes he is helping you by not letting go of you.

He will try to cheer you up, spoiling you and even making you escape punishments that Hannibal might try to apply to you. Will is no saint, but he cares about you, a lot, and he doesn't want to see you hurt, whether physically or emotionally, so he will try to help you as much as he can. But he has his limits and if you don't cooperate, Will won't interfere with Hannibal's punishments.

As the days passed, you found yourself trapped in this new reality, surrounded by Hannibal and Will, each with their own motivations and methods. Hannibal, with his sharp and manipulative mind, tried to shape your perception of the world and your own identity, while Will, with his peculiar empathy, sought to comfort you amid the chaos that had become your life. It wouldn't be long before you gave in to Hannibal's manipulations, he'll be sure of that.

They like to think that they are great parents to you, better than your family ever was. Hannibal and Will love to spoil you and take care of you, the former being the one who buys you the most material things and the latter being quite clingy. Do you want something absurdly expensive and ridiculous? You got it, but only if you are a good child to them.

You will follow the Hannibal diet and there are no arguments about it. If you are vegetarian or vegan, however, he will not force you to eat meat but he will try to induce you to do so. He might cook separate portions for you, but there's disappointment evident on his face. But if you eat meat, you will try his favorite delicacy, lamb. Will isn't exactly the biggest fan of Hannibal's eating habits, but he has no problem eating and is pleased to see you eat. It makes you more close to them when you eat human flesh, you know?

They are extremely overprotective and possessive of you and will not tolerate potential love interests. Hannibal doesn't believe there is anyone good enough for you and Will hates the idea of you being taken from them. Friends they can tolerate, but only if they are thoroughly analyzed by them and if they are a good influence on you.

Any injury that would be inflicted on you by someone, even if it is a chipped nail, will not be treated lightly. Hannibal will make sure whoever dared to hurt you is dealt with slowly and painfully and perhaps served to you later and Will will stay by your side, comforting you. No one can hurt you, no one other than them.

Once you became their child, someone they truly cared about, you would be doomed. They may care for you and even love you in their twisted way, but in the end, you will truly find yourself trapped. Hannibal and Will believe that the best way to take care of you is to keep you trapped, safe with them. And you can't run away because they will catch you and if that happens, you will never see the light of day again.

It's in your best interest to get used to them, to your new family. Hannibal has no problem breaking you down for this and Will will be there to pick up the pieces. After all, family always takes care of each other, right?

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phantom-sleuth · 8 months

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Wanted to make a rec post about a bunch of random sci-fi manga i like and hope that others enjoy as well.

Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction:

A story about 2 young women in their day to day lives as a giant alien ship looms over Tokyo. A fair bit of the story focuses modern social political issues in Japan and the mystery surrounding the mothership and the aliens and why they are there.

The series will get two movie adaptations later this year.

Dai Dark:

The story mainly revolves zaha sanko and how a legend exist that if one gets ahold of his bones they will have any wish granted to them, and so sanko needs to search through space in order to find whoever put this curse on him and kill them. The manga is made by Q Hayashida and features a very gritty world with very goofy and fun characters.

Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm:

A story mostly about a cyborg with a sense for battle wanting to fin her origins after crashing on earth. The series has 3 entries so far with the third being on hiatus sadly, the 3 series being Alita battle angel, baa last order and baa mars chronicle. However the series has excellent art a very good story and great action.

It currently has a 1993 anime and a live action movie

20th Century Boys

The story revolves around a group of adults who in their youth created a symbol to represent their friendship which is then used by some malevolent character called friend in the future for his own cult and his goal to take over the world. With most of the story being about trying to recall who he may be and how to stop his plot. Its a VERY story and dialogue heavy series, but its all worth it once everything starts clicking.

it has a short sequel series that contains the ending of the actual series called "21st century boys"

Pluto

Made by the same person as 20th century boys Naoki urasawa, its an adaptation of "the greatest robot on earth" story with its own unique spin. Its about the ongoing murders of the seven most powerful robots on earth. It deals in a lot of stuff about the sentience of the robots and their rights.

It currently has a full anime adaptation on netflix.

Planetes

A lot of the story mainly focuses on the struggles and relationships of the main characters with space mainly being a backdrop. Its a very interpersonal story and i can't really do it justice by just describing it so i recommend reding or watching it yourself.

It also has a full anime adaptation.

10,000 light year binoculars

This one is just a oneshot but i enjoyed it so much that i really had to rec it. Its about an alien girl with binoculars that allow her to spy on a boy on earth from her own planet and wanting to meet him someday. The entire oneshot is in color, the art is great AND its short.

Star tripper: Planetarium Ghost Travel

A very comfy manga that only recently stared to get fantranslated. Its about a guy called 303 going to "ghost planets where most of the inhabitants have gone into a deep sleep and turned into trees.

Heavenly Delusion/Tengoku Daimakyou

And finally Heavenly, it has two concurrent plotlines with the first one being about a boy and a girl going through a post apocalyptic Japan looking for "new heaven", while the second is about a group a kids in a sterile facility wanting to go explore outside the walls of said facility.

It has an anime that covers the first 5 volumes.

And those are all my sci-fi recs for the moment!!! Hope someone finds something new to enjoy of these here. apologies if the writing ain't the best i wrote this at like 3 am.

#manga #manga recommendation #dead dead demon's dededededestruction #dai dark #battle angel alita #gunnm #20th century boys #pluto #pluto anime #planetes #10000 light year binoculars #star tripper #star tripper planetarium ghost travel #tengoku daimakyou #manga recs

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lookingforhappy · 2 months

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Hi! I just wanted to say I really like your blog and the ideas you have for TUA. I have a question if you don't mind? If you've read the comics (I just got to read You Look Like Death and....my head hurt alot after) is there anything you wished they had kept from the comics for the show or vice versa? Personally I wish they had kept Luther and Five being twins in the show. I get why they chose not to do so but come on.

Five doesn't get his dog and then he also doesn't get his biological brother? I love the Pub scene from season 2 and it would have fit really well for them to learn it (just my opinion)

Thank you and I hope you have a lovely day! :)

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy my ideas!! I love asks lmao so no problem at all!

I have read the mainline comics and a few spin offs (the Diego & Vanya band AU one comes to mind??) but I'm a show main sadly. I like the comics as an informant to the show, so generally I prefer how the show depicted things.

I do want to briefly (edit: it was not brief... i am so sorry) talk about the Five DNA thing because that's one of the things I love in the show.

in the comics Five is genetically altered by the commission

this only works in the comics for me because every character is an asshole, Five especially (he literally prefaces this moment by bragging that he's fucked a lot of women). So for Five to have this excuse? to show horror at the very idea? that's a redeeming quality.

but in the show, they make every character likeable to an extent (recall that in the comics Allison rumours Luther into loving her), so this wouldn't have the same impact because it just makes Five less of his own person - removes the agency from his actions.

Five in the show is someone forced into a corner, and his actions in accepting and carrying out his job as an assassin, as well as his willingness to kill innocents and his own brother throughout s1 show how his experiences have made him desperate and ruthless in his pursuit of love and happiness.

it's a psychological exploration/study.

which to me, is infinitely more interesting. Five doesn't kill the board because his DNA dictates he will, he kills them because he chooses to. He is not cruel because his DNA dictates it, he is cruel because his experiences have made him that way.

and I think overall, this approach is adapted very nicely to fit the tone of the show, as all the same beats are hit. Five has been made into the Commission's killing machine against his will, and he is resentful of it,

but that doesn't mean he can undo the damage done, his psyche is forever attuned to this line of thinking no matter how much he hates it he doesn't know how to break the cycle of violence inflicted on him,

but because Five hasn't been genetically altered, he is fully responsible for his actions and he has to live with that.

the DNA altering in the show would feel like a cop out to me. and also the interesting aspect from the DNA altering is that he is essentially made into a psychopath (most famous serial killers are - Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, etc.), which means removing his empathy.

because despite his dislike of the non-consenual genetic surgery, comics!five doesn't have empathy.

and show!Five is interesting because he has so much empathy, yet he remains a killer. he is never given the opportunity to use that for good.

without that empathy we wouldn't get scenes like this where he admits guilt,

and in all honesty, isn't it more interesting that the best and most prolific killer in the show possesses a large amount of empathy?

idk sorry I got sidetracked - I've seen a lot of people who say they prefer the DNA plot of the comics and I just feel like it's very contradictory to what a lot of people love about Five.

anyway, the only element of the DNA plotline that i'd want to see adapted further is the non-consenual surgery itself

largely because I love Five!whump and despite comics!Five claiming it was painless it's fairly obvious to see that it wasn't (and I love when this is expanded on in fics so much - no time, no time, dear brother o' mine is an amazing read because it deals with this)

but I also think it would do a good job at reinstating the commission as the villians they are rather than the weird, nebulous thing it currently sits as (Five would never entrust Herb or Dot to the Commission it's so ooc and it's canon??? Dot and Herb were both 100% in support of the commission's ethos, even if Herb was a bit shit at his job. Dot literally was in charge of the apocalypse and saw Five arrive & at no point thought that this was fucked actually).

plus, we already know they waited until Five was hopeless, alcoholic potentially passively suicidal, weak both physically and mentally, desperate. all likely to better control him.

what's to say they didn't also pick up him just in time to prevent his death? 45 years in a polluted wasteland can't be good on the body - and I don't about the general population, but most of the people I know in their 50s aren't fully grey. the stress was probably killing him all on its own.

they could have seen his death and gone back a few years/months/days to recruit him. but then that would mean they still have to fix whatever illness was killing him, and how do you do that? surgery.

perhaps that's how they recuit all of their agents. maybe that's how they get away with it not disturbing the timeline, take someone who was going to die anyway, and then force them into a debt of gratitude for saving their lives. idk.

I also think AJ was criminally underused. He's supposed to be the big bad of the commission, his character was originally adapted into the Handler but then they decided they wanted his design in the show or something.

I think his role in the comics is much more interesting, as a person who selected Five from a line up of assassins already in the commission and gave Five personal training, and assigned him to the JFK case,

I think he could have been adapted a lot better than he was, and like the surgery, he could have steered the commission back towards the villains they were always supposed to be - instead of The Handler (as amazing as Kate Walsh is to watch on screen I love her) we could have had AJ manipulating Five throughout s2.

as for Five & Luther, I don't mind them not being twins, because honestly their genetics are so different (Aidan is 20 something and he's probably going to stay at 5'5" while Tom is like 6'5", plus hair colour, skin tone, bone structure etc.) and we already know that they weren't planning on making them twins from the pilot script (Five is born a singleton to a polish teenager I believe).

I do think it would have been fun to repurpose this plotpoint for another pair. of the Umbrella's I actually think Five and Viktor pair quite well as they both have similar heights, hair colour, they both have that square jaw too. but I also think that this could have been an interesting way to give depth to the sparrows - Jayme and Alphonso could have been the twins.

Pennycrumb was... a let down? I don't think he should have been a big part of Five's character, but I also don't think he should have had 0 affect on it either.

otherwise??? honestly Hotel Oblivion was wayyy more interesting in the comics than in the show. I would have preferred something more in line with the comics but I think they were afraid of the classic horror elements and the classic superhero elements.

like the faceless bus boy guards

the hotel rooms, seemingly ordinary, being prison cells

the prisoners having enough freedom to move around the hotel and have relationships with each other but not enough to feel safe hanging around the hotel

i just.. i wish more of this had been incorporated into the show.

also.. art deco buildings.. my beloveds

this could have been the hotel Oblivion..

like ik they planned to go to japan to film s3 and that got fucked over by covid but like.. art deco is such a good aesthetic for a horror setting compared to the japanese style hotel we got (i've heard it called hotel orientalism as well so, theres that too).

if I had been in charge I would have had s3 focus on the mothers, develop their stories & why the umbrellas were given up for adoption & then linked this all to the 43 being the 16 instead. have the reveal be not that theyre dead but missing, non existant. because the children were taken by hargreeves to power Oblivion. if we somehow keep the kugelblitz then we use that as a distraction as to where and why all the sparrows keep going missing, and eventually the umbrella's numbers start to dwindle. until Oblivion is discovered and we find that every hotel room corresponds to a member of the 43 - maybe even have the brellies/sparrows numbers correspond to their door numbers somehow, or floor level.

idk I'm not a good writer but thats a bit of how i feel about the comics being adapted into the show..

sorry idk if i even answered your question? thank you again for the lovely ask!

#tua #the umbrella academy #ask

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angel-eyes05 · 2 months

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only until midnight

pairing: prince charming!opla!sanji x cinderella!afab!reader

summary: after reaching your limits with your life at home, your outlook on life changes after meeting a certain stranger in the woods. your paths are destined to meet again at the king's ball later this week, but he seems to be more than what meets the eye. lucky for him, you are too.

warnings/info: nsfw (thats later in the fic though, so i'll mark it off when to stop reading, and when you can continue if you still want to read. the smut isn't integral to the plot i was just feeling horny lmao), THIS IS AN AU!!! if you dont like that this fic isnt for you lol, cinderella au, slight angst, lots of fluff after the smut, smoking (pipe cause its like the 1700s), first time/virgin reader, unprotected piv (wrap it up guys), reader's been through shit, no use of y/n (it kinda works cause he's not supposed to use her name and shit lol)

word count: 6.3k words

notes: i got this idea cause im playing grace in rodgers and hammerstein's cinderella and i was like ykw this would be really cute with sanji. i picked live action sanji because of 1) im more attracted to him than animated sanji lol 2) the british accent feels right for a prince 3) i dont know enough about him post time skip to like feel good enough to write for him (im only on sabaody). also ik the obvious look here is just to make the kingdom germa kingdom but again i don't know enough about post time skip one piece to write about it in confidence so im doing just a random kingdom in an au. the kingdom isnt even the main focus of this so it doesnt matter!!! also i didn't proofread, i didnt have the energy i finished this at 1 am my bad chat. lol enjoy

dividers by: @cafekitsune

It seemed as if the dirt was superglued down to the floor. As a part of your daily chores, your stepmother had ordered you to scrub the entire house floor until it was spotless. This one speck of dirt had decided to be particularly devilish with you and your consistent scrubbing. You let up from the brush, leaned back, and wiped the sweat brewing on your forehead. Some days were harder than others. The past eight years had been more of the same ordeal. Your father had married particularly quick after your mother’s illness took her, always leaving a sour taste in your mouth when you would linger on the thought. The woman had an interesting demeanor to her. She was sweet yes, but always with a twinge of condescension. She brought with her two young daughters, about your age. They were less deceptive of their malice, teasing you whenever your parents weren't looking. It wasn’t picture perfect, but then nothing was now without your mother. This was just your new reality, and you accepted it with grace and humility.

Then it happened. News came back to your house about a carriage crash involving your father. The image of your stepmother crumbling to the floor as the news was delivered was burned into your mind. Your family had to adapt fast, the house was in a vulnerable position now without a patriarch. The house staff was fired due to lack of funds, materials downsized, and tensions were thick with your new family. Drowning in grief and head of house duties, your stepmother never found the time to clean, and your stepsisters? Well let’s say they weren’t involved in that conversation from the start. You found yourself naturally taking the duty up on yourself. First it was just cleaning the dishes. It slowly grew as time went on, you had gone from daughter to maid. When your stepsisters would make your job harder for you, you would attempt to reach out to your stepmother for a glimpse of hope. Her beginning response was just ignorance, but as your chores became larger and larger, she turned into gas to fuel her daughters’ fire. As if matters couldn’t get any worse, your name was soon taken, along with your dignity and freedom. Bored today, your stepsisters found themselves brewing a new nickname for you.

“I got it!” The short one shrieked from the cushioned chair. The other quickly turned face her in excitement. “Cinderella!” There was silence for a bit, as taller one looked at her confusedly. The short one groaned. “Because shes always covered in soot and cinder from the fireplace.” The tall one took a second to think about it. “That’s too confusing. Plus it doesn’t have anything to do with her name! It has no ring to it.” “Well I’d like to see you come up with something better!” The short one retorted. “You don’t think I can do it?!” The tall one stood up in anger. You tried to block them out as you mopped the floor of the room around them.

“Watch it! You’re going to get my shoes wet with your dirty mop water!” The short one shouted. Blocked them out too much now. “My mistake,” you said, dully. “Ugh, you would think she’s a zombie or something,” the tall one groaned. You could tell your day was about to get worse when you heard the click of your stepmother’s heels entering the lounge room. “What’s all this ruckus you girls are making?” She asked, annoyed. “Oh mother I’ve got it! I’ve got her nickname!” The short one bounded out of her seat. “Don’t listen mother, it’s dreadful there’s no melody to it!” The tall one intruded. They began throwing hands at each other and yanking on the other’s hair. This was almost a daily occurrence when they began arguing. The shrieks had dulled your ears. Almost on routine, your stepmother raised her hand to cease the show. “Continue my dear,” she gestured to the short one. “We should call her Cinderella! Because she’s always around the fireplace!”

The fire brewing in your stomach grew to a burst. “Stepmother please, they’ll only stop if you tell them so!” You exploded. The stepsisters gave an almost comedic gasp at your rare outburst. All your stepmother needed to do to get you back to your work was give you once glance worth daggers. She cleared her throat after the ordeal. “Girls, please try to keep the bickering to a minimum if you can, I’m trying to work out arrangements to the ball later this week.” Your sisters immediately started cheesing and cheering after hearing the news.

You had almost forgotten about the event. The king was growing old of age, and with all his daughters married off to other kingdoms, his last hope for an heir was his unmarried son. The prince, the youngest of the king’s children, and the only son: Prince Sanji Vinsmoke. This ball was open to all the women in the kingdom. A playground for him to pick his new bride. Everyone and anyone had the chance, so of course the entire kingdom had been gushing about it over the past month.

Why bother though, you were most likely just going to be stuck in the house again that night. Your stepmother always found new ways to keep you busy on ball nights. “If you two keep quiet for the rest of the day, I will ensure you have the most beautiful dresses among the crowd,” your stepmother promised her daughters. They cheered and jumped into their mother for a hug. You couldn’t help but turn away from the sight, an ache growing in your heart, longing for your own mother back. “As for you,” she turned to face you and look you straight in the eye. “I need you to go into the market immediately and pick up some silk and lace to give to the seamstress for your sisters.” You nodded compliantly. “Yes stepmother,” you managed to speak. “No. It’s ‘Yes Ma’am.’ We’ve discussed this. Is that understood?” You nodded again. “Yes ma’am.” The woman smirked. “Thank you, Cinderella.” She exited the room, her daughters snickering to themselves and following her out.

You dropped the broom by instinct, hands too shaky to keep it steady in them. You covered your mouth to conceal the incoming sobs. You moved swiftly through the house out to the back where the horses were rounded up. You ripped a basket off the shelf outside, flopped on top of the horse, and whisked off into the backyard woods. You couldn’t help but let out your sobs. It was too much for you to take. You were trapped and things were only getting worse. You pulled on the reins of the horse to slow down. Once it slowed to a halt, you dismounted and tied the reins to a nearby tree branch. You walked to the center of the woods, and let out an ear piercing scream. You screamed until your vocal cords began to itch. It was the only way to let out your anger. You couldn’t explode on your family. The results of that were already clear. You didn’t want to explode on yourself. So the woods had become your sanctuary. A place to let it all out. After the noise could no longer physically leave your mouth, you flopped down to the floor and pulled your knees into your chest. Sobs left your mouth as tears flooded your eyes and pooled down your face. You just wanted your old life back. Your parents. Your freedom and dignity. Your name.

The rustling of leaves nearby woke you from your breakdown. You lifted your head from your knees to find a man approaching from about 30 feet away. You immediately shuffled to your feet and looked at him bewildered. You picked up a sharp rock from the floor in self defense. “Woah, woah, woah! I mean you no harm I swear! I was just passing through!” The man defended, putting his hands up by his chest. The two of you circled each other at a safe distance for a little bit. He didn’t seem to mean any harm, dressed as a simple farm boy. His golden hair was too long, his bangs covering his left eye. He was fairly tall and skinny too, just enough meat on his bones, especially near his toned legs. What stuck out to you the most was the kindness in his eyes. Well, the kindness mixed with current fear. You were so enwrapped with observing him, you forgot you were currently threatening his life. You dropped the rock to the floor, and walked over to sit on a fallen tree log. He watched you for a little bit before you signaled him over to sit next to you.

He wandered along over and took a seat down next to you, still keeping a safe distance though. “I was out riding when I heard a scream, so I decided to follow it. It went on for a while, so it was easy to track. I thought someone was in trouble,” he explained. “I’m fine,” you shot out. “The red in your eyes and your horse throat suggests differently.” You sighed and cupped your face in your hands. It stayed silent for a bit. Eventually, the man went into his pocket and pulled out a box of matches and a pipe filled with tobacco. Your head lifted up from your hands to watch his process. He struck the match and lit the tobacco, waited for the smoke to form, and then sucked it out of the stem. His eyes closed as he blew out a beautiful puff of smoke. He then turned to look at you and held out the pipe. With some reluctance, you took the pipe from his hands, held the stem up to your lips, and sucked out the smoke. Of course holding it in for too long, you coughed the lingering smoke out.

The man smiled and scooted in closer to you to hold your back as you coughed and took the pipe away. Once your lungs calmed down, you turned to look at him as he was admiring you. “Better?” He kindly asked. You nodded softly. He smiled and took another inhale of smoke before putting the pipe away. “And what would such a beautiful maiden you be doing out in the woods all by herself?” He inquired. You smiled at how cheesy the compliment was. “I could ask the same thing about you.” You both chuckled. He was the first one to explain. “Well I was just out for an afternoon ride, when your shriek took me off my path. And now, here we are I guess.” You nodded slightly and turned to look at the floor.

“You still haven’t told me why you were screaming,” he mentioned. You sighed. “Just that sort of day I guess.” He nodded. “It just…gets too much sometimes.” As you felt your eyes welling up again, you also felt his hand rest upon yours. You turned to look up at him, a soft smile resting on his face. Naturally, your head fell onto his shoulder, and his head onto yours. You two spent a while like this. “Well, a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be using all her voice up like that. Whoever it was that hurt you like this doesn’t deserve that much energy from you,” he consoled. You couldn’t help but blush a little bit. You had no idea who he was, yet you felt so comfortable with him. “You know, you still haven’t told me your name,” he said, lifting up his head. You lifted up yours as well to look at him. “Oh, um I-.”

You were cut off by the sound of trumpets coming increasingly closer. “Shit,” he said under his breath, scampering up off the log. You looked up at him confused. Was he in trouble with the palace law? Before you could ask any questions, he asked “Are you attending the King’s Ball?” Damn it. You would become a laughing stock to him, most likely being the only girl in the kingdom not attending. “Can’t we just see each other in the market tomorrow?” you suggested. “No, it has to be there,” he shot out. You thought to yourself for a second. Maybe with some extra chores, your stepmother would finally allow you. With hesitation, you finally answered. “Yes.” He smiled to himself. “I hope I shall see you there.” He seemed to move back towards you again, but halted as the trumpets began to blare again. “Have a good day madame!” he exclaimed, bolting off into the distant forest. You stood up as you watched the mystery man escape from your life.

The woods seemed to disappear around you as your heart fluttered. The first person to show you kindness in eight years and you didn’t even catch his name. Stupid. You were snapped out of your daze when the sound of approaching horse hoofs stopped behind you. Three palace soldiers on horses stood behind you as you turned and curtseyed to greet them. “Good afternoon men,” you greeted. They bowed their heads in return as a sign of respect. The Captain of the Royal Guard was the one in very front. “Pardon the intrusion, but we’ve been in search of His Royal Highness. He seemed to slip away from his fencing lessons earlier this afternoon and the king has been worried sick. Villagers said they saw him passing by through the woods just a moment ago. Have you seen him?”

Oh my god. It occurred to you that you had been so cooped up in the house you had no idea what the prince looked like. That couldn’t possibly had been him back there though. He would have no business around some low life like you. “Do you possibly have a picture of His Highness?” You asked. One of the guards in the back searches through his satchel and pulled out a portrait of the Royal Family. You walked up and took it, examining the prince’s face. You would’ve thrown up right there and then if it weren't for the fact you were trying to help him escape. But those eyebrows in that photo were unmistakable. It was him alright. You just smoked off of the prince’s pipe. “No, I do apologize, but I don’t recognize him,” you said. The captain simply nodded. “Thank you ma’am. As you were.” He bowed his head as him and his men rode off.

Shock pulled your heart from out of your chest and into your throat. You could hardly believe yourself. That must have been why he was so insistent on you attending the ball. But why? What could he possibly see in someone like you?

There was only one way to figure out. You went over to your horse, untied him from the tree, and rode off into town, with a new goal. You had to attend that ball.

The week had practically zoomed by. You had the house to yourself most days, your stepmother and stepsisters always out at the market place trying on dresses for the ball. This time was mostly spent either practicing dancing, or sewing up your own dress. There wasn’t much material in the house, and god forbid you take one of the dresses from your sisters, so you took scraps of fabric from your mother’s dresses and pieces of fabric in drawers around the house to make your own. It took about the rest of the week to make, spending laborious hours towards its construction. The final product was a pink gown. It wasn’t nearly nice as your stepsisters’ gowns, but it would suffice for the evening.

The night came and your stepmother and sisters could be heard shuffling downstairs preparing to get into the carriage. “Wait! I’m coming too!” you shouted down to them. They turned around and looked at you in shock. “Mother you can’t let her!” the tall stepsister shouted. “Yes it’s too humiliating to be seen with her! You can smell the soot from a mile away!” her sister rebounded. Their mother held their hand up, shushing them up immediately. “Now girls, if she would like to join us, that’s well up to her to decide. She’s a grown woman just like the two of you.” The girls looked at her in shock. Your eyes glimmered in hope. It was finally working, all your hard work had finally paid off. Your stepmother smiled at you. Something felt off though. Her eyes had that glint of malice in them. That glint whenever she was about to do something truly horrible.

“Now Cinderella, where did you get this dress from?” she inquired. “Oh, I used materials from my mother’s dresses and some fabric around the house,” you hesitated to reply. “Hm.” She stared at you, circled you like a shark for a moment. “Darling, come here.” The short one stood next to her mother, looking up at you. “Isn’t her dress lovely?” the woman asked. Your stepsister rolled her eyes a bit. “Yes mother,” she groaned out. “You can really see the attention to detail.” She traced her finger along one of your chiffon sleeves. “Like these sleeves. This beautiful pink fabric. Darling, don’t you have a fabric like this in your closet?” Your heart dropped. You could see where this was going fast. Your sister took a moment to observe the sleeve. She gasped. “You little witch, I bought this fabric its mine!” She ripped both sleeves off your dress. All you could do was stand there, mouth agape and watching in horror. The tall one walked up next. “And these pearls were in my drawer!” She ripped them off your neck.

Within the next 30 seconds, your sisters found some excuse to tear of each piece of fabric off your dress. You tried desperately to get them off you, but it was no use. Through the chaos, you could see your stepmother smirking by the door. Your eyes welled up with water as you could do nothing but watch. “Girls, girls!” your stepmother called out. “That’s quite enough!” The girls stopped, hair ratted, looking at what they had done to you. The tall one was smiling. The short one had the slightest bit of remorse in her eye. But it disappeared as soon as they collected themselves and walked out the door to the carriage. Their mother was about to follow them out the door. Before, she stopped. “Just as I said. Going to the ball is up to you. You’ll just have to decide if you want to go with a dress or not.” You couldn’t even say a word to her. “Goodnight, my dear.” She closed the door.

The silence of the foyer was choking you. You mindlessly shuffled to the backyard. Disassociated beyond belief, you took a seat on a bench outside. The tears came out naturally, without you even making a sound. It was all gone. The chance at a normal life. Just go to outside and feel like a human being for the night. To see him again. He wasn’t even at the front of your mind for once. You just wanted to curl up and disappear.

Out of the corner of your eye, a silver glimmer could be seen on the other side of the yard. You wiped your eyes and looked up to see a tall woman, in a beautiful white ballgown, a glowing wand in her hand, and..were those wings? You must be hallucinating, theres no way. Still being dissociated during the ordeal. The woman explained she was your Fairy Godmother, and that she could send you to the ball. She created a carriage out of one of the pumpkins in the garden, coachmen and horses out of the scuttering mice, and a magical light blue ballgown for you out of thin air. The finishing touch were a pair of shimmering glass slippers. You couldn’t believe your eyes. The woman explained the details of the spell. “While the spell lasts, no one at the ball will recognize you. This will give you anonymity.” That was a relief. You were worried over your step family. Prince Sanji probably wouldn’t either. You didn’t mind though. This was just an opportunity to get out there. “The spell will also wear off by midnight. That means all of this is gone by 12:01,” she continued. You accepted the terms, and next thing you know, you were off to the ball in your pumpkin.

As you stepped out of the carriage and onto the stairs for the castle, you felt like a little girl. Living out your dream as a princess. It was too good to be true. The other girls with their husbands walked gracefully up the stairs. You seemed to have gotten there a little late, everyone in the ballroom already. You gathered your courage, and your dress, and made your way up the stairs and into the castle. The beautiful golden accents and stone pillars were a marvel for the eye. The orchestra playing was more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

As you scouted the room, you could see the row of women lined up to greet His Highness. Sanji sat bored, more cleaned up from the last time you saw him and in a white coat with gold accents, and red dress pants. His hair still covered his eye, and you could see the king swatting at him to tuck it away. Embarrassingly, you caught yourself staring at him from up upon the balcony. Get a grip. It was stupid to spend your time fantasizing over a prince. He wouldn’t even remember who you were. But your heart couldn’t help but skip a beat when you made split second eye contact with him. Before you could see him go back for a second glance, you had already made your way to wander about the rest of the palace.

Ironically, you found yourself too nervous to dance with the other guests. You instead spent your time admiring the architecture of the castle. The grand piano in the center of one of the lounge room caught your attention. Your mother had taught you how to play when you were young, and wanting to see how well you remembered, you pulled out one of the sheets of music and began to play. Music filled the room as you became so wrapped in the passion of playing. It seemed as if hours had gone by when it was only mere seconds.

“No one’s played that old thing in years,” a familiar voice spoke. You could tell it was Sanji before even needing to turn around. You immediately ceased playing and jolted up from your seat. “Oh, I do apologize!” you shot out, frazzled.. “No, no, I’m sorry for startling you, my lady!” he interjected, walking closer to you and raising his hands up in defense. “I was just admiring the piano, Your Highness.” Remember you forgot to address him properly, you curtsey, your big dress laying on the floor, and lower you chin.

You hear his footsteps move towards you, then feel his finger as it rests underneath your chin and pull it up to face him. “Indeed.” You feel his hot breath on your face as your stomach swarms with butterflies. He’s closer to you than he intended to be. He looks at you with comforting eyes and a familiarity. That wasn’t possible though, the Fairy Godmother said the spell forbade anyone from recognizing you. You couldn’t help but wonder though what he was thinking right about now. All you could think about was how beautiful his lips looked right about now, spending moments to stare at them, as he did yours. Before anything can get too messy, Sanji clears his throat and steps away. “You played beautifully.” “Thank you, Your Highness.” “Please, call me Sanji, Your Highness is too formal.” You smiled at his suggestion.

“Do you know how to play it?” you asked him, trying to break the tension. “My father tried to get me lessons, but I had a hard time paying attention,” he said as he took a seat down on the piano bench. “I can try though.” He stretched his fingers and begun to play the melody on the sheet of paper. You took a few steps back and rested your head on the base of the piano, watching him hypnotically while he played. The was his fingers graced the keys was mesmerizing to the plain eye. Once he finished, he smiled and look up at you. “You’re blushing, my lady,” he teased. You immediately snapped out of your daze, lifted your head and cleared your throat. “Oh, my apologies.” “It’s quite alright.” Sanji looked out behind the door and noticed the music being played in the ballroom. He then bowed, reaching out his hand to you. “Would you give me the honor of joining me on the dance floor?” Your blush grew even hotter. “Oh, I’m afraid I’m not much of a dancer.” He lifted up, and took your hand in his. “Well then, I suppose we will just make the rest of the castle our ballroom.” You stared at him confused. “We can’t have anyone else see you fumbling on your feet, can we?” You both giggled childishly as he took your waist and you rested your hand on his shoulder.

Sanji’s feet seemed to glide across the floor as he took you into a dance. You tried to match his movements, but your feet couldn’t help but stumble as you twirled along the floor. Your breath got slightly heavier as your embarrassment grew. “Are you alright, my dear?” Sanji asked with concern. “I’m sorry, I’m not very well versed with this dance,” you replied. Sanji smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to teach you.” He began to call out the movements you needed to make for the dance. “Left foot to the right, right foot forward…and twirl,” and so on and so forth. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see how hypnotically his eyes were watching you as you twirled, eyes low and tracing your figure. “See, now you’re getting it sweetheart,” he said, voice deep and low, putting butterflies in your stomach. The two of you continued to dance throughout the halls of the castle, eventually making your way to the balcony you had spotted him the first time.

It had taken a bit to remember, but it suddenly struck that you were dancing with the prince. This thought was brought back to you when you noticed every guest at the party staring at you and Sanji up on the balcony. “Sanji?” you whispered. He hummed low in response. “Everyone’s looking at you.” He chuckled under his breath. “Trust me my dear, I’m not the one they’re looking at.” You couldn’t help but blush. As you scanned the crowd, you spotted your stepmother and stepsisters. The look of jealousy in their eyes couldn’t help but make you smile. “We should go somewhere,” Sanji brought up. “Where?” you asked confused. “Away from here.” “But what about your guests?” Sanji smirked an evil look as he put his mouth just up to your ear. “I don’t think they’ll mind darling.” The butterflies were back.

It felt as if the two of you had been dancing for hours. You had no idea what time it was, or even where in the castle you were. All you cared about was being here with him. Little girls always dream about finding their prince. They never expect it to happen when they grow up. But here you were. Swaying on the outside terrace of the castle in the moonlight. Your head rested up against his shoulder, him looking down at you, as if nothing else mattered. You and your prince. Without another word needing to be said, Sanji straightened up, took your hand, and led you into the the darkness of the yard. The two of you came across a lone gazebo in a field of tall oak trees, lit only by the moonlight and a single candle lamp. After leading you inside, Sanji shut the glass door and lit a second candle in the gazebo with a nearby match. You took a seat on the bench wrapped around the building, flattening out your massive dress as it poofed up.

Sanji walked over next to you and took a seat, smoothing your face with his thumb. He gazed into your eyes as you smiled lovingly towards him. “My dear, may I ask you something.” You nodded softly, eyes slightly closed. “Where did you manage to get this beautiful gown.” Shit. You didn’t know what to tell him. He would never believe you if you told him the truth, you’d look like a fool. “One of the tailors at the marketplace,” you made up. He hummed and moved in closer to you. Your heart started pounding.

“I wasn’t aware your family could afford such fine fabrics. With the clothes you were wearing in the woods and such.” Your heart froze. “How did you know?” you stuttered out. It couldn’t be, there was no way. The Fairy said this was part of the spell, how could he possibly know? “I could never forget a face as beautiful as yours,” the words falling off of his tongue like honey. Before you had the time to comprehend what he said or how he could know it was you, his lips had interlocked with yours. They must have been laced with something, the way you simply seemed to melt into his touch.

His hand wrapped around your waist as he pulled you closer into him. Your hands found their way into his hair, entangling fingers between the locks. The kiss was long, sensual, as Sanji explored your mouth for the first time. All you could do was let him take the lead, your hands tracing down his neck, humming as his tongue slipped into your mouth. In a swift motion, overtaking your dress with him, he slides you on top of his lap, where his aching erection becomes noticeable incredibly quick. You could feel him throbbing, begging, beneath you. His hand fumbled down the poof of your tulle skirt, and up your bare legs as he went to feel your ass.

As his hands went up, his mouth went down, leaving wet, sloppy kisses along your neck, sucking and marking as he went. You couldn’t help but make noise as he played with your ass like putty and sucked the essence out of your skin. “Oh could this really be happening to me,” you lowly moaned out. You could feel Sanji smiling against your neck, grabbing your ass harder in response. You could feel his cock growing bigger and his breath getting more frantic by the second. He suddenly moved his hands out of your dress, and separated his mouth from your neck, leaving a trail of saliva.

“May I?” he asked, desperation in his eyes. You froze up a little bit. “I’ve never done it before,” you warned. He paused for a moment, then nodded gently. “It’s okay, I’ll go easy.” You thought about it for a moment, then gave him a nod. With this, he effortlessly lifted you up in his arms and carried you to the gazebo floor. He laid you down gently on your back, then leaned back and unlatched his belt. He pulled his pants down ever so slightly, allowing just enough room for his cock to spring up in an almost comedic fashion. Sanji then pushed the fabric of your dress to the side as he searched for your underwear, getting closer to you.

You see him come and lean over you, kissing the top of your slightly exposed breast as he guides his tip across your hole with his hand. He had barely inserted himself into you and you were already mewling like a wild animal. You only got louder as more of his shaft entered your dripping cunt. Your fingers dug into his back as he braced and let out a few groans of his own. “God you’re so tight…” he groaned. Once he was finally inside of you he began to slowly rock back and forth, sending waves from your cunt to your brain.

His mouth moved back to yours as he absorbed all of your moans as his pace picked up. “So lucky I ran into the woods that day,” he gasped out between kisses and thrusts. “Your pussy’s so good. Molding perfectly to my cock.” You couldn’t even fully process what he was saying, so enwrapped in the experience at hand. You were sent into further delirium as he picked up the pace even more. Desperate for more of you, Sanji hiked up your leg onto his shoulder to get even deeper into your pussy. The bliss was overwhelming. “Go harder Sanji,” you managed to moan out. “I can take you.” Sanji couldn’t help but chuckle, but he still accepted your request, shoving more of himself into you as he slammed his tip into your g-spot. Your hand shot out to the side, grabbing at nothing but the concrete floor. Your back arched and hips buckled. This man had you at full disposal and you hadn’t even known him for a day. “Best pussy I’ve ever had,” he grunted. “Want to keep you with me forever.” As he picked his pace up again, you could feel something brewing in your lower stomach, no idea what this feeling was, but knowing it was coming fast. “S-Sanji, something’s happening,” you moaned out. He smiled and kissed your lips sloppily, like it was the last time he would. “I know my darling, just keep going for me.”

The sounds of your ass cheeks hitting across the floor, your moans and his groans mixing into each other’s mouths, the dim lit gazebo, everything felt straight out of a porno. Your hips began to buck further as the heat continued to grow. You could tell the same thing was happening to Sanji too, his thrusts getting sloppier by the second. With the last final thrusts of his converging into your g-spot, the white heat finally rushed up the rest of your body as you experienced your first time of pure bliss and ecstasy. Your moans turned into mewls as your hand ripped at your dress for any sort of stability. As the orgasm died down, you felt Sanji’s aching cock slip out of you, as he turned away and finished on his own.

A sort of numbness scattered across your body. The experience left you exhausted, barely noticing Sanji crawling up and laying down next to you as he cleaned himself with a handkerchief and redid his pants. He planted soft, gentle kisses into your neck as he fixed you up and brought your dress back down to cover your legs. “Oh my darling you did so good,” he praised you. You looked at him, pure, unadulterated love in your eyes. “Thank you…for giving me this,” you choked out. His lips laced into yours as he hugged your hip. “I would give you all my love if you simply asked. This was just a treat.” You giggled like a little girl. He smiled back and continued to kiss you.

In between kisses, you tried to talk to him again, but couldn’t keep from giggling as he shut you up before you could continue. “Sanji.” Kiss. “Sanji…” Kiss and giggle. “Sanji!” This time he slipped in a little bit of tongue. “Your father will be asking about you, we need to get back now.” Sanji let go and groaned like a little school boy. “Alright, fine. But only because I can give him an answer on who to marry now.” You turned to face him. “And who would that be Your Royal Highness.” The silence and the look in his eyes spoke for itself. You took a deep breath and begun to sit up, but not before Sanji could pull you back down into him for another makeout session. Your giggles interlocked with his kissing only made him fall deeper in love with you. “Alright. We can go. IF! You tell me your name finally,” he suggested. All you could do at him was laugh, his childish behavior hitting all your soft spots. “Alright,” you began “It’s-.”

Before you could finish, you were cut off by the sound of the bell chimes from the grand bell tower at the front of the castle. How many times was that? Shit. “What’s wrong darling?” Sanji asked, sitting up. It was twelve times. You looked at him, frazzled and upset. “I’m so sorry,” was all you could manage to say as you ran out of the gazebo doors. Sanji’s face after you told him will be forever burned into your brain.

You ran and ran and couldn’t seem to slow down. You couldn’t possibly, you had no idea how much time you had left. You made your way through the castle, Sanji close on your trails and sending guards to chase after you. You made your way down the entrance stairs and into your carriage, which you could see rotting away by the second. As you jumped in, you couldn’t help but turn around and watch the castle as you drove away. You could even see Sanji, staring longingly out for you.

This was only for one night though. You needed to get that into your head or you would run straight back to him. You had a life to live. And you needed to go back to fulfill your duty. But this one night. This one perfect night. This was one you hoped to never forget.

a/n: you know how this story ends TRUST HE FINDS HER THROUGH THE SLIPPER AND EVERYTHING ENDS UP OKAY i just really didn't feel like writing all that lmao. hope you enjoyed (i sure did lol)

#sanji #vinsmoke sanji #sanji vinsmoke #opla #op #one piece #one piece sanji #x reader #sanji x reader #one piece au #au #alternate universe #cinderella au #fanfic #fanfiction #one piece fanfiction #one piece fanfic

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azulock · 7 months

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Sae x disabled female reader? The reader has a disability that makes her body extremely weak because of this the reader has weak legs so she couldn't walk without support. She uses a cane while walking. One day Sae meets the reader and he falls in love with her. He spoils her so much and is overprotective of her.

Hope this is good nonnie!

Sae with a disabled reader

Sae, who never thought he could care about anything more than he cares about football, getting proven terribly wrong when he meets you

He falls fast and he falls hard not long after meeting you, it was completely by chance really, and if you ask him he can't properly remember how chance became habit, until habit became love

You are so different and he struggles to understand your world, especially with how his whole life spins around his supreme physical abilities, while you live with something that hampers your physical abilities so much

It's a struggle to adapt in the beginning, not walking so fast as he usually does, not walking on the side of your cane because he'd accidentally hit his foot on it, rearranging the furniture in his home to let you move around with more ease

He is protective of you too, sometimes even overprotective, getting into annoying territory at times

It's a fine line to walk and you are gonna have to remind him at times that while you appreciate the concern and help, you can still do things by yourself, you aren't incapable, after all you had been living your life without him so far just fine

He's still a good boyfriend tho, he really is trying his best and despite his unreadable face he expresses his feelings through actions, by spoiling you with his time, money and effort

He'll find time for you, whatever you want he buys for you, and more importantly he is willing to change and adapt aspects of his life to let you into it

sponsors: @tinnaagine @loser-vxbez @kiurona @bentolover @bevernats @weirdbutpr3tty @ada7201 @vollereix @rinitosh @kum1ko-chan @romanticizemai @oneandonlykuronacuddler @borisbq @priv-rose

#sae x reader #itoshi sae x reader #bllk x reader #blue lock x reader

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innocent-cat · 6 months

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Hello darling! Is it okay to request a Vax x F!Reader x Percy (love triangle) one-shot? Where the reader is a human sorcereress from a noble family and somehow ends up with Vox Machina, only for Percy and Vax to develop feelings for her (or them, if you are more comfortable) a year later and become rivals and try to impress her.

I hope this isn't too weird! And it's fine if you don't want to do it! Have a wonderful day/night! Stay safe! 🤗💖

OH MY GOD YESSSSSSSSS i actually love this idea so much

Sorceress and noble????? OF COURSE SHE HAS TIESSS WITH THE DE ROLOSSS AND THATS WHY SHE JOINSNSMNNSNS

It's awesome you clarified gender! i only do non-b pronouns when someone doesn't specify the gender. Otherwise I am happy to write for male or female!

sorry im getting excited

Vax'ildan x Reader x Percival

Warnings - idk probably gonna lean towards my bbg percy, not so obvious love triangle, swearing, im literally gonna be using f/n and shit, I'm literally rewatching to remember how to write them as I write this so good luck reading my poor memory of characters, I will use she/her, FUCK I HAD TO USE [name] IM SO SORRY, timeskip because oh my god this is so long,

"Vox Machina's (least) favorite Sorcerer.", Vax x Reader x Percy

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

[F/N] - Family Name

Lady Mystra - Goddess of magic/The weave

[Name] - I was too embarrassed to use y/n

Envonium - The name of the city you are a noble to (Sorry, couldn’t avoid it)

Twinned spell - A sorcery thing that allows a sorcerer to make one spell turn into two to attack two targets, never the same one twice in a row.

You come from a very rich cultured, religious, well mannered, prestigious and otherwise very dependent on magic kingdom. It only makes sense for such a huge part of the culture surrounding the beautiful city known as "The city of the weave", purely for its well known prestigious academies of magic, to have a generally magical culture. Many everyday tasks require magic, or it is commonly frowned upon to do some actions without it.

As a noble sorcerer yourself, your parents couldn't help themselves but give you the education you needed to become stronger as a magic wielder. They began your education at a young age, which proved a struggle for you to connect with companions and school partners who surrounded you. You were always disconnected from the reality of the lives of non-nobles. Other students seemed to feel the same way, and instead of adapting for you or explaining culture to you, they excluded you, making you an outcast in your own kingdom.

Lucky for you, your parents had many allies and peace treaties with those they were more powerful than or equal to, which happened to include the de Rolos. Once they learned of their children, one of which happened to be your age, Percy, they urged them to allow you, their only daughter, to meet Percival and his siblings.

Sadly, your exclusion in school made you awkward around him, and the two of you had trouble holding conversation for a very long time during your visit to Whitestone. It wasn't until your parents mentioned to Lady and Lord de Rolo the education they put you through so you could become a stronger sorcerer, that Percy warmed up to you and began to ramble about sorcery and wizardry, of which you knew much of both.

His curious personality led to conversations that lasted hours only asking the weave, which was tiring. When you began asking him questions back, he could not help himself but go on rants about science, history, and anything he remembered learning, which was a lot. The two of you had a rivaled education.

"That's... not really how the weave works. Where did you even hear that? That's absurd." You'd quip back at his stupid questions(At least, to you, they were stupid.), that you assumed were common knowledge.

"Well- in this book- it speaks of manipulating and changing the weave to cast spells." He was always defensive, quoting books directly and going as far as showing you the page.

With a sigh, "That book is decades old. You don't manipulate the weave, you pull it. Not even pull! It is a very delicate process." You knew it would be hard to explain, because you didn't quite understand it yourself yet.

Every summer, you would visit Whitestone until they suddenly stopped responding to letters, in which your parents cautiously chose to cut ties with the kingdom, without telling you. Whenever you'd ask about it, they'd hush you or change the topic. It confused you, but deep down, you knew they knew something about it.

Of course, this lets you down. You had begun to develop feelings for the boy who showed you kindness and bonded with you over something you were very prideful in. However, you eventually had to give up asking your parents questions about this, and continued your education in the weave.

Of course, your demanding parents practically begged you to practice your magic in real world experiences so you could be truly prepared. When you showed hesitation in doing such a thing, they only pushed harder- in fact, they packed your bags for you. They gave you a lot of gold for the road, a magic bag to hold everything needed, a change of clothes, food for a few days(Bread, cheese, water.), and a map. Not much, but they knew you were more than capable of making due.

Obviously, being a noble of the [F/N] family gave you a target on your back, but it wasn't much of a problem. It seems people underestimate you because you aren't armed with anything but a quarterstaff, but it takes no less than a chromatic orb or a fireball to kill them within seconds.

With background check over, you sit in a tavern.. :3

A group of loud, drunken, lowly mercenaries are shouting across the bar and asking for trouble with several strong looking city dwellers. You can tell they have no real experience in fighting other than bullying people for their money based on their muscles and lack of scars.

You try to ignore the banter, trying to get lost in a pint of beer as you sip on it, the woozy drunk feeling freeing you from an emotional state you get late into the night when left alone to think of your family, your people, and more importantly, all the books you had to leave behind to come here.

You're brought out of your thoughts as a table goes flying over your head, followed by a mug that hits your head, wetting you with the remaining alcoholic liquid left in the cup.

You quickly snap around, rubbing your now pounding head. You ready yourself to cast a spell strong enough to rival the sun against the dirty drunken party, but you realize it was one of the burly men who like to pretend to be tough who threw the table at you. You quickly change the direction of your twinned spell, making quick work of both of them as they fall stunned to the floor. The bar fight ensues as you knock the two of them out, an elf with dark and long hair defends you as another drunken man swings at you with a makeshift weapon. It seemed like it was a leg to a chair, but you couldn't tell in the blur of the quick paced fighting.

Once the quick turned fight ends, a female ranger announces to the barkeeper that 'Vox Machina' will pay back their tab in due time. You roll your eyes, and with a groan, you begrudgingly hand up a small bag of gold to cover their tab and look at the elven woman with an extremely annoyed face. She looks back, surprised you paid their tab, and even more so surprised you have the audacity to look at her with such a face.

A white haired, taller man looks at you with extreme shock. His face is familiar, but you know better than to stare, something he must have forgotten. Your face shifts into a less disgruntled face as the barkeeper speaks to you, thanking you for kindly paying the group's tab.

With the showy smile you were taught, you give him a soft and polite 'You're very welcome. Thank you for your hospitality.'

Your conversation with the barkeeper is cut short when the brunette, elven woman loudly asks you "And who the fuck are you?"

It sounded much more like actual curiosity than impoliteness, so you choose to not respond with the same tone, instead introducing yourself.

"[Name] [F/N]." (Guys im actually so sorry for having to do that, it feels taboo bc no one likes it) One side of you hoped they knew your family name for the sake of fear or authority, but the other hoped they didn't for the sake of having new beginnings.

Their gnome cleric seemed to be working your name out, familiarity reading on her face. You can tell it clicks when she looks up at you thinking of what to say, but she instead introduces herself and the rest of the party.

"Hi.. I'm Pike, this is Grog, the two similar looking elves are twins, Vex and Vax. The druid is Keyleth, and.. Scanlan is the guy pissing on the sign right now." As she speaks you can hear the encouraging smile on her face in her voice, her friendly introduction and personality persuading you to not judge or speak ill of Vox Machina.

You smile at all of them as she introduces them, except for Scanlan, your face rests in disgust watching the half nude gnome piss on a sign, then accidentally piss on a guard of the kingdom.

You turn expectantly to the one Pike seemingly forgot to introduce, the look of disgust still on your face. He seems startled you gave him the sour face, and you quickly fix it. You wave a beckoning motion at him to introduce himself.

"My name is Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III'' You finally realize who he is, and your face contorts to curiosity, but there's a small amount of disgust evident in it as well.

You have no clue what his family might have done to your’s for them to cut ties with his, but it couldn't have been good. Your mother always fought your father to keep as many allies as possible, and it was very rare for them to both agree on cutting ties.

Rolling your eyes at his long introduction, you cross your arms. The wisp of cold night wind swishes through your hair, as you feel it on your neck. You look up at him like scum under your foot, standing a distance of around 4 feet away from him.

"Do.. you guys know each other?" Pike asks you awkwardly, the rest of the party staring at the two of you awkwardly as well, noticing your repulsed face and Percy's face of surprise.

You scoff. "Know each other? No no.. we're only childhood best friends of neighboring kingdoms." Your voice seethes in sarcasm, your gaze not leaving Percy.

A new voice enters the awkward situation, the elven rogue, Vax, who protected you earlier.

"Yeah, you two really seem to be bonded to the core." His sarcasm matches your's, and you laugh softly, finally turning away from the silent Percy.

Walking towards him to converse, your face changes to a more smug than angry expression, your eyebrows still turned downward. The two of you banter for a moment before Scanlan awkwardly reveals a request for mercenaries.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I joined you, right? It's been a long while since I've been part of a party, and even longer since I’ve seen Percy." You ask Pike, who you assume is the leader of the party as she seems most responsible.

"It never hurts to have a few extra hands!" You can tell she's still dwelling on your interaction with Percy, as her tone is sensitive and her words practically dance around what just happened.

(Timeskip because theres literally a gap in writing in the show BECAUSE I DONT FUKCING KNOW WHAT TO DO HELP)

Waking up in the morning and climbing the stairs up to the ruler of Emon was a struggle, and you couldn't help but cast an ice spell to soothe the headache you currently had. Percy had tried to talk to you a few times, but you had shrugged him off at every opportunity. He opted to walk in the front of the group, conversing lightly with Vex and Keyleth.

It was nice talking to Vax so casually, as it wasn't an opportunity given to you often to speak informally. He gave you a few confused glances whenever you slipped up and started speaking formally, and you'd let out an awkward laugh and wave your hand in front of your face to try and get him to ignore it.

"So- what brings you to Emon?"

"My mother and father pushed me out of the kingg..domm.. I just want to practice my sorcery. I haven't really used it outside of learning it in practice." You trail off, when he gives you a weird look after mentioning your home.

"Oh. Really? That sounds.. wonderful. You seem a truly powerful sorcerer." He replies to you with an awkward smile on his face, trying to keep the conversation flowing with you as best as possible.

Once the party reaches the doors, Trinket, Vex's pet bear, stays on the outside of the doors with the guards. The party all make an awkward introduction, and you attempt to quip that you aren’t part of Vox Machina perse, but Scanlan quickly spoke over you in song, and went over you quite quickly, introducing you as “The sorcerer princess of the city of the weave!” And honestly? You had to admit it was better than anything you were expecting him to say about you, even if he had gotten some facts wrong.

A ‘punch in the gut’ feeling washed over you as you remember that you are a high status noble walking among a group of barfing, hungover mercenaries, and you look just as hungover as the rest of them. You quickly straighten yourself out and push around Vax with a soft ‘Sorry..’ and stand next to Percy, hoping to look better next to him, another noble. He seems surprised but ignores it, letting Scanlan bullshit you guys through the ‘meeting’ you had interrupted by walking in. Eventually, Emon’s ruler and a few advisers approve of your group saving the kingdom, in exchange for a very large box presumably full of gold coins.

You all quickly board the boat like aircraft, shuffling to stand near the railing, you find yourself standing next to Percy after not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on between Vex and Vax, opting to not seem rude or nosy. You of course, keep your space between you and him, and lean on the rail, debating on starting the conversation.

And you do.

“So.. what could the de Rolos have done to have angered the [F/N]s?” You ask, sarcastically, but genuinely curious.

Percy turns and looks at you with a face of bewilderment. “What did we do? What are you talking about?” Percy’s voice has anger lacing through it, and he wasn’t trying to hide it, but it’s not like he was trying to show it either.

“I mean, what did you guys do? Lord de Rolo stopped responding to my mother’s letters, and one day both mother and father refused to speak of Whitestone. It was like you guys did some horrible offense against lady Mystra, or, I don’t know, maybe betrayed one of our stronger alliances?” You dig deeper under his skin unknowingly, your face only showing confusion.

Percy’s stance changed, and he turned his body to face you. “My father stopped responding to your mother’s letters because he was murdered. They.. were all murdered. I ran from my kingdom, barely escaping my attackers, and I assumed you did your’s?”

Your mouth drops ever so slightly in shock, but you quickly close it. “I’m so sorry, Percy. I had no clue. I wish I could have convinced my parents to do something.. And no, I didn’t run from Evonium. My parents sent me away to become stronger.. I finally graduated from my academy.” Your eyes are glossy, as if hurt for Percy for what happened to his family. Your expression was soft, and pitiful. It almost completely contrasted the look you gave him at the bar, if it weren’t for that same pitiful look that knitted in your eyebrows as the wind blew against your face.

He turns away, unwilling to think about the look you had given him. He sighs. “It’s quite alright. I don’t blame you for assuming our families crossed one another. If I was in your position I would have done the same.”

You scoot closer to him, but leave room to breathe. You felt selfish for wanting to heal your relationship so fast, so you would let him choose when the wound was closed.

You felt eyes burning into the back of your head, but you tried ignoring it. Unaware it was Vax, you choose not to turn, and hope it was nothing. It seems he doesn’t want the wound to close at all, and he has a face that reads jealousy. He turns back to Vex, continuing their conversation and trying to shake off the feeling he had about you and Percy.

The ship shakes, and quickly levitates to the ground, a small wooden town ahead of you. The tents were torn, and burns were evident in the wood that kept the cloth up. It didn’t look like the work of a reckless wizard or sorcerer, and it seemed like it came haphazardly from above. You slowly walk down the aircraft beside Percy in silence. Scanlan makes some kind of sexual comment to the woman who brought us here, to which she ignores and promptly leaves without a word. You can’t help but roll your eyes at him.

You and Percy walk awkwardly behind everyone else, as Vax walks beside Keyleth, Pike next to Grog, and Vex next to Scanlan, which she was visibly upset about. However, she didn’t seem too upset as the two bantered sarcastically back and forth. The trail to the tents begins to go down hill, the path muddy and slippery. You try to hold onto Percy’s shoulder as you walk down, in which he drapes an arm around your waist in response to, trying to help support you, but it only brings you flashes of your childhood crush on him, and you fail to pay attention to the floor, despite having a staring contest with it.

You slip, falling backwards for only moments before Percy’s hand grips your hip, his arm already behind your back to support you, and pulls you back up. It was a pull with quick strength that was more of a reflex than an action, and it pulls you nearly face to face. You blush, and mutter a quick ‘Thanks, Percy.’, and he looks away with a quickly spoken, flustered, “Yeah! Yes. Of course.” as if he was trying to pull himself together. You pull away, but keep your hand on Percy’s shoulder until fully down the slope.

Vax turns around to look at the commotion, and he catches a glimpse of you blushing at Percy. He can’t help but scoff at it, and turns back around to talk to Keyleth, only really half talking to her, and her only really half talking to him.

#x reader #percy de rolo #vox machina #percival de rolo #percy de rolo x reader #the legend of vox machina #vax'ildan #vex and vax #vex'ahlia #pike trickfoot #scanlan #vax x reader #vax #vax'ildan x reader #critical role #female reader #love triangle #percyxreaderxvax love triangle #percyxreader love triangle

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artist-issues · 1 year

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Screentime For the Prince

You know how in the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, each character's true nature is revealed by what they choose to treasure?

You know, Grumpy treasures safety because his true nature is vulnerable, the Queen treasures beauty because her true nature is ugly, and Snow White is the only one who's treasure is as true as her nature: pure love?

And how the Prince only gets around 5 minutes of screentime, and in those 5 minutes, proves that he A) treasures Snow White's true nature of pure love and B) keeps his promises?

Well, I was thinking. In the new Live Action, they're basically writing in a different male character in place of the Prince and not focusing on any kind of love story. So it's not actually "Snow White." But what would a good, faithful, beautiful adaptation of Snow White look like? (You know, one that actually does adaptations correctly--like Cinderella 2015?)

What should they be doing with the Prince?

I have a general idea below.

I mean, they can't introduce him in the same way they did in the classic animation. Obviously modern people aren't used to so much nuance in their big-screen fairy tales anymore; 5 minutes of screentime isn't enough, we prefer Mr. Darcy & Lizzie Bennet-levels of couple-building interactions, at least. And that's okay.

But it means we have to fill in a lot of the blanks about where this Prince comes from and why he values Snow White's "pure love nature" so strongly.

So I figure, in my head, it might look something like:

The Prince (let's call him Walther, German for "Walt," since basically everybody who worked on the original movie agrees that it was Walt's big brain child, and the popularized "Ferdinand" is not only fan-made but makes me think of a kindhearted bull) is the heir to a neighboring kingdom's throne.

Prince Walther isn't King yet, not because his parents are still King and Queen (they're dead,) but because tradition states he can only take the throne once he's come of age. Prince Walther's like 17, turning 18. So instead, his kingdom is essentially run by this council of busybodies, with one Regent holding the throne until he's old enough to take it. Something like that.

(the picture is of Dean Stockwell who's the son of the original voice actor for the Prince, I think someone who looks like him ought to be cast.) Prince Walther experienced pure love from his parents, who treated him like a normal boy and didn't place much emphasis on courtly manners or politics when raising him. But then they died tragically, leaving their honest and innocent son to be raised by a bunch of old people who put way TOO much emphasis on those things.

Because everyone in Prince Walther's court has had to handle being next-door neighbors to the Wicked Queen's country. They're all super political, and afraid of appearing weak, and therefore, very insincere. That's what I'm saying.

Everyone he interacts with on a daily basis never comes out and says what they really want. Nobody is genuine. He lives a life of hearing words like, "good morning Your Majesty, I hope you slept well. The Grand Duke could certainly stand to sleep better; the poor fellow looked run down at breakfast." but learning that what they actually mean is, "The Duke is getting old and ineffective and when your birthday passes you should decree that he give his land and resources away to me."

And he misses the genuine love the court used to feel from his parents' kind, simple way of ruling. No political games, no complex feuds. Plus, he misses the personal love they shared as a family, genuine, uncomplicated. He missed the days when people just say what they really want, unafraid, so that their rulers can take care of their needs.

Then there's the problem of why Prince Walther's in the Wicked Queen's realm in the original movie--that's not his territory, if he has his own kingdom.

So I think it would be neat and interesting if the Queen wants Walther's land. Maybe she invited his parents, way back when, to a kind of audience to negotiate an alliance. Then she got jealous of his mother's beauty, maybe even tried to seduce Prince Walther's father, and assassinated them both when he rebuffed her. Oo, maybe even the Huntsman (her FAITHFUL Huntsman) helped her do it all those years ago.

But she didn't realize they had a young son, so she couldn't just raise her hand and say, "Hey Neighboring Kingdom, it's too bad your monarchs both mysteriously died--don't worry, I'll be your new leader" because Prince Walther's council suspected foul play (they always do, they're suspicious people) and were preemptively like "NO NO WE HAVE A PRINCE, WE HAVE A PRINCE! We're fine, we don't need help, everything's fine."

So she sort of had to stew on that. Maybe she even tried a couple more halfhearted attempts to get their throne, and they just never worked out--then eventually her attention was occupied by how much older her stepdaughter was getting, and how much prettier.

Anyway, Prince Walther asks for an audience with the Wicked Queen; he's about to become King, and he knows that the council fears their neighbor, and he sort of wants to go over and size the next-door ruler up for himself. So he rides over with a little delegation of the members of the Court he can actually tolerate the best, and is visiting.

It's not fun. They're only there for a day, but the Wicked Queen is definitely scary. For one thing, she's unnaturally beautiful and everyone he brought with him is either stupefied in her presence or terrified. He himself is very confused by her; he's an open-hearted guy, with a touch of naïveté even though he was raised with good intuition and doesn't trust the Queen. All audiences with her are full of all the formal, double-and-triple meaning conversations that he hates back home; except worse, because she makes everything seem more sinister.

So after a particularly weird conversation with the Queen where he can't decide if she was flirting with him or threatening his kingdom, he goes for a ride around the courtyard to clear his head. And what should he hear, like a breath of the freshest air since his parents died?

A pure, beautiful voice. A young girl singing--and not just singing about anything, but singing about what she really wants. Genuinely. Her heart's fondest desire--and it's not power, or land, or even freedom. Just love. She's singing loudly, like she doesn't care who might hear such a vulnerable longing.

And he climbs over the wall and sees this scullery maid. She's absolutely beautiful, even though she's dressed all in rags, and he loves the picture of her: sharing her heart with doves, who feel completely safe with her, and not having to worry about what anyone thinks of her.

He sort of eavesdrops on her for a little bit, and in this part of the movie, maybe we learn how impulsive he is. He just jumps over and tries to join in. Maybe it's even a little funny. And we can stretch out the feelings behind the part where Snow White runs from him--that feeling of her being unsure of a stranger, not because she worries about what he thinks, but because it's so surprising that anyone is taking notice of her so abruptly at all. And she doesn't know him.

Maybe he asks to extend his stay at the Queen's palace and keep negotiating or whatever, but he really just wants to get to know the scullery maid better.

Then the romance is sort of still fast, but built in a way that the audience can sink their teeth into. The Prince and Snow White have a few more mutually-agreed-upon meetings, not necessarily hiding them, but just in breaks between courtly audiences with the wicked Queen. They're both enamored with each other: she's never been treated so kindly by anyone and his whole faith in pure, innocent love and uncomplicated, genuine people is being restored just by talking to her. They bond chiefly over missing their parents.

Eventually he learns that she is the Queen's daughter--maybe from the Huntsman, maybe from Snow herself in an innocent way. He's stunned that she's treated so poorly, but the second he learns it, he confesses that he loves her and he wants to take her away from there. Plus, this solves the whole "will my kingdom go to war with the Wicked Queen or be allies even though we can't trust her" diplomacy thing--Snow White is her heir, so it would be a beautiful twist of Providence that the girl he has fallen in love with can also be the alliance of peace for the kingdoms through marriage.

Snow White accepts his proposal, but she's afraid for a moment that her stepmother won't allow it. The Prince urges her not to be afraid: he'll take her to his castle and they'll be happy no matter what: he promises it, he gives her his word, he encourages her not to worry because he won't let anything stop him. It's lovely. She finally has someone she can gift her superpower of pure love to, and someone who can treasure her like she deserves.

Problem is, the Queen overhears this last conversation, right after learning that Snow White is the new "Fairest of All" from her mirror, just like in the original film.

So while the Prince is convincing his council that he's proposed to Snow White, the Queen's largely-unknown secret stepdaughter, and is going to reveal the fact to the Queen tomorrow, the Huntsman and the Queen herself are plotting the assassination attempt that eventually leads to Snow running for her life and living with the Dwarfs before she ever gets the chance to see her betrothed again.

Then the movie unfolds largely the same way it did, but with more dialogue and nuance strengthening the original's main themes: Snow White is pure love in nature, and that's everything the Prince has been missing, and he fulfills his promise which she has total faith in. And along the way, the Dwarfs learn to care more about protecting an innocent girl than they care about protecting themselves, and treasuring a person over jewels. Grumpy in particular. And the Queen dies because she's a jealous witch who's self-love has twisted her into something ugly.

Basically, what I'm saying is, there's a way to make the Prince compelling for audiences who are now used to more fleshed-out interactions in movie couples. Just give him a background that is longing for pure, uncomplicated, innocent love. Then when he runs into Snow White, who's never been treasured and valued since her parents died, they give each other everything they've been longing for--and then they have faith in one another when circumstances, both funny and sinister, force them apart.

It's like the Notebook (just in story structure)--you build up romance in the first act through a few poignant scenes, but then the rest of the movie is about waiting for that romance to be fulfilled.

Anyway. I guess I could've said all this more succinctly, but I was kind of making it up as I went. 🤷‍♀️

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lurkingshan · 20 days

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Hello! I’m a Hidamari/Sunspot lurker and I am SO sorry you’ve been getting so much backlash and heat from other fans of the series. I’m honestly extremely ashamed that my fellow “fans” of the series don’t feel any remorse in outright shaming someone for daring to have criticism with the pacing. Even going as far as outright encouraging gatekeeping! So much for love and tolerance eh?

I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I really do hope you’ll check out either the live action movie or the original manga to compare and contrast. It’s one of my favorite coming of age stories and I think the slow burn in the manga is super rewarding! Plus, who knows? You might see a side of Maya, Sei-san, Chiba, etc that you’ll enjoy~

But that’s just my recommendation. I hope you’re having a good day :3

Hi anon, thank you for the kind note! Don’t worry about your fellow manga fans; I post criticism (and plenty of praise but weirdly that never seems to get as much attention) of lots of dramas and there’s always somebody mad at me, I am unphased and I am well acquainted with the block button.

I have actually watched and enjoyed the live action film! Silhouette of Your Voice is great and it’s on Viki now so I echo your suggestion for others to watch it if they haven’t yet. One of the reasons I was so excited about the drama is I thought they’d have the space to do more of the manga story justice. I do think that’s what they’re attempting, but they’ve made a few poor decisions in the adaptation IMO. Showrunners need to think about not just the arc of the story, but also the arc of the audience’s emotional experience of the show, and the way they chose to structure the material they wanted to cover interrupts and destroys that emotional arc to the extent that some of the audience is left feeling nothing but apathy heading into the final episode. And that sucks because there was so much enthusiasm in the first half. I’m hoping the final scenes will be solid enough to give folks some of the joy this story initially inspired back.

#i hear the sunspot #hidamari ga kikoeru #japanese bl #shan answers

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luminousdryad · 7 months

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to make things brief cause I suck at organizing what I have to say, the live action was definitely Something™.

Cast: 10/10 kinda biased personally but yall can't take this from me

Gordon as Aang and Dallas as Zuko were the standouts imo. Gordon needs some direction on line delivery and the angstier scenes but overall he's very charming and I'm so proud of him for getting so much exposure!

Ian as Sokka was great, I just wish he was allowed to be more...messy? like Sokka pretends to be chill and all that but he's actually dramatic so I hope that gets improved in the next season if there is one

speaking of improvement, Kiawentiio as Katara brought out a softer side to the character but sadly diminished her spark and passion. I like that Katara now actually feels like a younger sister, it makes sense within the context of the story that Sokka and Gran Gran would shelter her after what happened, but as someone said, her anger is so central to her character and I just wish that got shown more. It's more of a script and direction problem tbh, if you look at Kia's interviews she has the sass and feistiness Katara needs

Lizzy as Azula is great, the writing is a bit clunky though so she did the best she could with it. Can't really comment on Mai and Ty Lee yet because they're kinda just there but it's a nice setup

Maria as Suki? perfection show stopping never the same she is a queen and I love the tidbit of Suki backstory which she never really had in the og show. I love her being such a loser around her crush we love to see girlfailures girlfailing. I wish the writers didn't make them KISS though 😭 slowburn ftw

the adults were great

Writing: 6.5/10

There were genuinely good moments and I love the concept of mixing up certain plot points to condense the story

But they just suffered from too much Telling instead of Showing WRITERS PLEASE LISTEN TO THE CRITICISM YOU HAVE TIME TO IMPROVE PLEASE

Omashu, mechanist, and Jet plot mixing as a concept was fine, but it dragged on and my friends and I got bored of it. I like it in theory but if it was going to take THAT long couldn't they have just separated one of those storylines for a different episode?

I appreciate that they tried to develop the water siblings' relationship by making them the stars of the Secret Tunnels, but I would've changed the way they "conquered" the problem (really? badgermoles respond to love? cute in theory but like why). If anyone's watched Barbie: A Fairy Secret there's a part where Barbie and her frenemy accuse each other of why their friendship failed, and it helps them make up and breaks the curse put on them. So that's what I would've done, force them in a life or death situation in which they have to say the unsaid things, maybe hug it out and boom

The way they handled Koh and the Spirit World was a Mess™ but the effects were decent

Zhao meeting horrible ends in every incarnation is so deserved

Yue having more agency was a welcome change AND I LOVE THAT SHE WATERBENDS. Then waterbends even when the moon is gone. It's such a nice visual nod to the fact that she has the moon spirit within her

That said, the show could definitely use more visual storytelling, less weird dialogue. Like it's so strangely common for shows or adaptations these days to exposition dump. Like they did not have to make Yue say that the ocean spirit was angry, literally just show me the dead moon fish and I'll get the idea. Then Iroh says "That's Wrath" that's just redundant now isn't it

I like that they saved Katara bringing Aang out of the Avatar State until last even if it could've been done better

HOW DARE THEY MAKE ME LIKE HAHN HE WAS A JERK IN THE SHOW BUT THEY MADE HIM A GENUINELY GOOD CHARACTER. Yes to brown men not being portrayed as jerks but also in the original it was a nice contrast to how far Sokka had come because Hahn reflected who he used to be. But live action Hahn </3

I like that they showed the deaths and blood. I wanted a live action that was both lighthearted but more realistic when it came to the injuries and death, and that'd kind of what I got

Other thoughts + overall

You can tell they put so much heart into this show, watching the bts, the bending boot camp with the correct martial arts, the easter eggs, the nods to the comics, the beautiful adaptations of Cabbage Merchant and Secret Tunnel nomads, there's so much passion behind the show it's a shame it suffered in its writing

which is why if they read reviews and criticism from the bigger name fans (TheAvatarist, HelloFutureMe, etc.) it would really help them improve for future seasons! The cast is stunning already and they have great chemistry (hopefully gets improved too!)

The live action is just a different angle to the show. And I'm saying this as an Avatar fan–the original wasn't perfect, either. I had some problems w it but the overall show was genuinely so good and heartfelt, those problems weren't glaring enough to put me off (unlike The Dragon Prince, sorry). The live action definitely wasn't perfect, but it tried to give us a new look into Avatar. Again, no adaptation will ever be a 1:1 remake and none should be. Where's the fun in that? But while the show is so full of heart and with actual fans working behind the scenes, I doubt if they listen to any criticism that they can't pull this off better next season.

#atla #avatar the last airbender netflix #avatar netflix #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender #netflix atla #avatar live action #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #iroh #azula

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bonezone44 · 2 months

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The Hollow, prologue (18+)

Dave York x afab!Reader

tags for the upcoming story: stalking, manipulation, panic attacks, anti-american military sentiments, pacifism vs. violence debates, the "assassin life", control issues, smut.

Reader Immersivity: No skin tone or hair is mentioned. Reader is able-bodied, can sit in Dave's lap, and has a big butt. Reader is recovering from narcissistic abuse.

A/N: Due to the current political climate, I thought 'why the hell not?' and decided to get this first little bit published.

-masterlist- -story masterlist-

+++++

“One day, you’re an asset. The next, you’re a fucking afterthought.”

Dave used to love his time in the Marines. It was birthed from naivety and camaraderie. Driven by hormones and hopeful ideals about what the troops were doing to rescue the world from self-annihilation. As if the United States was the father of the globe and all the other countries were his children. And the American armed forces were his right hand–beating the ungrateful ignorants into reverent compliance.

Dave had been honored to follow in the footsteps of the star-spangled patriarchy. He had been taught that war and discipline were his duties as an American and as a man. That all those who could, absolutely should. And the country’s naysayers and protestors were a nagging thorn in his side. ‘How can they be so ungrateful?’ He had wondered. ‘How can they spit in our faces when we’re out there sacrificing our lives so that they can live in peace?’

Even then, Dave knew his years in the Marines were temporary–he knew it was only a stepping stone towards something greater for himself. He climbed the ranks quickly and it wasn’t long before he was recruited for more specialized operations.

Dave had eventually found a home in the Defense Clandestine Service. He had found purpose. He had found a family alongside his partner, Robert, and his teammates, Kovak, Ari, and Resnik. Their missions were dauntless and dangerous–and just as crucial to achieve. Every success gave Dave an invincible, god-like high and every failure, though rare, had his mind and body plummeting into anguish and disrepair. (High risk, high results and all that.) McCall had been there for all the good days and all the bad weeks and months. He had been a guiding hand for Dave. A trusted companion. A friend.

McCall's death had cleaved a cavern inside of Dave’s chest–something hollow, tender, and exposed. And three months later, when his team was disbanded, he blamed himself and split in two. A schism dividing him into what he was before and what he would become.

He wanted to start from scratch. He wanted to reset his existence back to day one and leave his mother’s birth canal with wiser, shrewder eyes. But there was no ‘scratch’. There was no way to blank his slate. He had spent too much of his childhood idolizing soldiers. He had had too many experiences in the military to completely rewrite his path. And once he was able to find perspective on his choices, he realized that some of those naysayers and protestors had been right all along. The thorn in his side had been a seed and instead of plucking it out, he watered it and let it grow.

For better or worse, Dave had acquired a particular set of skills. And without nationalistic ideology coloring his point-of-view, he created a personal philosophy to ease the ambivalence he suffered.

‘There is no sin. There is no virtue. There are only actions and consequences.’

Dave left the world of government and went private. He earned his license and began working as an investigator at a prominent law firm in New York City. His life had lost much of its intensity, but he was determined to adapt to a softer existence. He was determined to experience this so-called ‘peace’ he had spent the first third of his life fighting to preserve. And he was finding it, in bits and pieces over time. And the taste was euphoric enough to keep him wanting more. He was no longer working towards some hypothetical greater good. He was simply out for himself and whatever satisfaction he could find.

Then you decided to show up.

----

#dave york x reader #x reader #dave york

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lupincentral · 1 year

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Have you heard the news?

Lupin III is diving into the world of live action once again, with Jigen Daisuke ‐ a spin-off film releasing “worldwide” on October 13th, 2023, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video!

Tetsuji Tamayama, who previously portrayed the character in the 2014 released feature film, will be returning to the role of Jigen.

Yoshimasa Akamatsu (BD ~Akechi Tantei Jimusho, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows) has produced the script for the film, and Hajime Hashimoto (The Detective Is in the Bar franchise, AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo, Shimauma, Signal) is directing.

In preparation for his reprising of the role, Tamayama states in an interview with Natalie that he has watched the Lupin the IIIRD spin-off film Jigen’s Gravestone, and hopes to bring this cooler, more mature version of the character to television screens come October.

Details on the plot are currently scarce - however, the Natalie article mentions that it involves Jigen searching Japan for the world’s greatest gunsmith, after his trusty combat magnum is in need of some TLC (and said gunsmith just happens to run a rather curious watch shop)…

More details on the film are to be revealed closer to its release date. For now, you can check out the films first trailer embedded below, and its announcement over at website Natalie.

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After Lupin ZERO wrapping up at the end of last year, and VS. Cat’s Eye releasing in January, a live action Jigen spin-off is not where I expected TMS to go next with the Lupin franchise. It is, however, in my opinion, a welcome diversion from the norm.

I would be lying if I did not first meet the announcement with some scepticism, though, mostly due to the series’ less than stellar track record of live action adaptations (the amazing 2017 Inspector Zenigata spin-off drama aside). Taking a moment to think back, I quickly realised that while the live action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura did not win the hearts of fans back in 2014, it did do one thing right - the casting.

Shun Oguri as Lupin III and Tadanobu Asano as Inspector Zenigata were big gets for the film, and both appeared to take their appearance throughout it seriously. Meisa Kuroki played a gorgeous, cunning Fujiko, with Go Ayano trying his best to bring the stoic samurai Goemon to life. It was Tetsuji Tamayama, however, that best looked the part. Fans on social media were swooning over his Jigen as soon as the character portraits were revealed, with some saying he was made for the role.

Despite issues with pacing and its overall narrative, all of the main cast members represented their anime / manga counterparts well, and if there is one positive to take away from that film, it would be their performances.

This gives me hope for Jigen Daisuke - with fresh writing staff and a keen new director to the franchise on board, with an actor we already know can do the character justice, both Amazon and TMS may be on to something special, here. Now slightly older and more experienced, I have full confidence Tamayama will exceed that of his already good performance as Jigen from 2014.

I’m looking forward to finding out how this comes together. Keep an eye out for a full review of the film come October, which I will aim to post up on lupincentral.com a few days after its release.

#lupin iii #lupin the 3rd #lupin the third #anime #lupin #manga #lupin the iii #lupin 3rd #lupin sansei #Youtube

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scarabjewels · 9 days

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Why is No One Talking About The Hellboy Animated Movies?

This is probably a very specific cult following, a niche niche if you will. But let me tell you, if the 2D underrated classics such as Atlantis, El Dorado,Treasure Planet and Anastasia have a strong cult following, why not this?

Every one of these essays, I always have some short origin story of me discovering it and OF COURSE THIS IS ALSO HAS ONE.

I came across one of the movies in a DVD of a mix of different cartoons, such as Static Shock and maybe 70s/80s Fantastic Four episodes.

It was The Sword of Storm movie, where my love of dark mythological action animated movies continued. I was already a mythology enthusiast as a kid. My past times were reading encyclopedias and watching my mom's extensive collection of documentary DVDs. As for dark animated action movies, DC and Marvel had a lot, and it slipped into pirated DVDs back in the day.

Anyway, it was AMAZING. Hello, JAPANESE AKUMAS, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE LORE.

Fast forward to some years later, I found out that there was another movie and one that was unfortunately cancelled. Loved it too much that I went ahead and tried to read the comics, specifically the ones produced by Dark Horse, as it was related directly to the animated movies.

I craved those kinds of genres in animated media at the time, but I couldn't find ones that I really stuck to, the DC animated movies were good, the old Marvel ones were great and then Trese came, and it was just perfect. Then Castlevania and Blood of Zeus followed after, I have yet to watch it.

So again, why are these so underground niche.

I don't really have qualms or analysis about these movies, I just want to write just how much I appreciate it.

The Dark Action Comics Feel

I am not a comic reader at all by the way, I barely read them. I like manga a little more, and I like my action in moving pictures more than in panels. That said, I appreciate the art of it.

Western dark comics hit a lot different. The simplistic animated styles work well with suspense.

Though Guillermo directed the animated and live action of Hellboy, I would argue that he got the feel of it best in Hellboy Animated. I have yet to see the live action movies, but I recall seeing a glimpse and was very dissappointed. I liked the costumes but I didn't like the brightness and the subplots. It felt like Fantastic Four (2005) with Chris Evans and Jessica Alba (no hate to the movie, I actually really like that one). It wasn't dark enough, but these materials getting adapted into live action are difficult already. That's why a lot of superhero animated movies surpass the action in live a lot of the time.

Hellboy Animated was the best way it could've been adapted. Do note that Hellboy was not an original idea of Guillermo. It existed way before, and it was even darker.

It was dark enough, not too cringey. It was serious but not taking itself too seriously. it was the right blend of dark action, witty, and visually appealing.

The Dialogues and The Characters

Okay, this is one that really sold me on the movies. Somehow, the lines were humorous and short. SHORT.

I also loved that Hellboy was a character who didn't give two shits and just done with the world, yet does his job anyway and is kind. He is like a broody cool but drunk 40 year old man who just exists. WHICH IS BY THE WAY A PROTAGONIST TROPE USED IN A LOT OF LIVE ACTION MOVIES. I don't know if it's the same in the live Hellboy movies, I am really hoping that his lines are just "Crap" and have simple fun expressions.

Also, I find that Abe is a lot more ...attractive in the animated ones? I have seen the costume of him in the live and I think it also inspired a project of Guillermo after, "The Shape of Water". It's not bad at all, just...creature like than humanoid creature. If anything, maybe the creature in The Shape of Water was closer to Abe's hotness. Guillermo has so much of these characters that ...he just might be a furry (HAHAH). Anyway, Abe is like a hot fit nerd action hero, which I think a lot of us wish would even go to that level.

Okay now, Liz. First of all, why is Liz Hellboy's gal? HE HAS HIS OWN IN THE ANIMATED. Her name is Kate, and she has known him a lot longer than Liz. She is also a hot nerd ( opposites attract a type of deal). Liz is similar to Hellboy, but younger and getting used to her powers. Hellboy sees her like a younger sister, too, and is affectionate to her like one. Liz is more of the action hero that Scarlett Johansenn could play her. Her lines would be sarcastic, and her voice was very Megara, just under your breath sassy. Also...her chemistry with Abe...you can not tell me it's not PLANTED.

The other characters are also perfectly voiced and don't drag on too long in a scene even when they are the focus. Again, their "budgetting" with visuals and dialogue in a scene were straight to the point. They say a little bit while saying, just perfect in Show, Don't Tell. Other than the main trio, I found a few more characters memorable: Kate and The Professor.

I already mentioned Kate, she is this quirky girl who is hot, rocks a blonde bob undercut and dangling earrings, and almost always appears 5-10% in the movies but always memorable. Her relationship with Hellboy was told through her dialogues, without even telling us too much. It's not "We've known each other for so long" it's "He could be a big grump and he's even older than he looks", that's how you do dialogue people. Ehem, I'm looking at you. "Truth or dare." She does appear little but is clearly significant either to the plot in the story (in the Sword of Storms) or by the characters (in Blood and Iron). I just think she's cool too. She is so excited with going on about the scientific details related to missions, and the characters adore her.

Professor Trevor, aka Hellboy's adoptive father and one of the founders of BPRD (Buruea of Paranormal Research and Defense), is definitely one of the more important characters in the Hellboy Universe. He was the one who raised Hellboy, as well as doing operations at the same time. They showed me his importance with just dialogue and the smallest cutscenes ever. The mastery of that technique was evident in underrated comic movies.

And HELLBOY, the titular character was the best one ever. He is probably Sleeping Beauty because he has the fewest lines in those movies. That man is stoic, unbothered, laid back and incredibly CHILL AF. I see these characters aa side characters a lot, so seeing a character like this as the main character is so fun to watch, like he does not need development yet it's his world and we're all living in it. That man is zen to the max, yet is sad to be destined to lead the world. Reminds me of older Kratos (God of War), just 100 times more chill and more swag, out of the two, he is that gentle giant you can hang with in a bar and maybe even get high with, Older Kratos is way too intimidating but you'd feel very safe around him more.

The Mystique Tone weaved with the World Building

The dialogues already brought out the world building, how the organisation of paranormal defence is a serious thing. See, taking something so fantastical so seriously can counter its intention, when done correctly and properly, you can hone a cult following, which is why DCU, Marvel and the X-men evolved from comics for the children into basically modern art and literature for its niche. That's also why I am wondering why Hellboy is not as beloved. The comics before Dark Horse are pretty hard-core. The world building is pretty good in movies alone. It's like a contemporary take on supernatural noir. It's mysterious, dramatic, and (this is specific to me, I dunno why) smooth.

Trese (the filipino horror/thriller comic that had its show adapted during the pandemic in netflix) reminded me of Hellboy, and even Trese too, small cult following when I think it does deserve do much more.

Now, the world is building specific to the movies.

I'm referring to the inadequate tone with the existence of the BPRD, the people who work there, and that they are literally like a private organisation with connections to the government. Think S.H.E.I.L.D from Marvel. Only the organization is not dramatically futuristic and really in your face about it. It's super chill and like an underground organisation, too. They are literally normal anywhere and everywhere. Also, they feel so much more mysterious because, again, they don't say what they are doing in detail like blockbuster movies. They do it straightforward, and you figure it out quickly. An example is in Sword of Storms, Hellboy disappeared into another dimension, the BPRD is looking for him. What's so funny and awesome about it is that dimensions aren't new to the BPRD and that Hellboy's disappearance is also not uncommon. They literally casually said that he was not on the planet. The reactions are just "great, looks like we'll wait this out again." That's a subtle node to the world building of this universe, the inadequacy.

The Sympathetic Aspect and Humanity of the Story and Characters

I watched a video essay about the movies and he pointed out two stories of how much it has humanity and sadness in it. I think this is what somehow makes it separate from grandiose epic tales of the hero vs the monster.

In the Sword of Storms, the first scene is a mission in a Mayan Temple where they had to fight with a giant bat worshipped as a God in that particular setting. Long story short, the bat rose an army of the undead, and Liz, Abe, and Hellboy had to fight them all. Liz, having pyrokinesis, unleashes her powers like hellfire, burning the bat and the undead army. The score of Liz's powers feels exactly like hellfire, which is to cleanse the soiled. The sad part is that the bat may have been monstrous, but it was shown glimmer of complete sadness when it looked at its army and accepted its gruesome fate to burn with them. It reminded me of Shen's last scene in Kung Fu Panda 2, where he fought Po with everything he got, in the midst of the fight, a pillar was doomed to hit him, Shen sees this and he just closes his eyes, accepting his defeat.

The other one is a fleshed out subplot in Blood and Iron. It was about a priest the professor had met years ago in a mission. He was once a young and proud priest but faced an existential crisis, losing faith in God as he witnessed the acts of a vampire, later became a servant of that same vampire. Professor Broom and him met again, a little after the former priest killed a man as he was ordered to. The professor gave him words of wisdom and gave him a crucifix, a symbol of his faith restoring. However, it was not to be a happy ending, as he was transformed into a werewolf to become a hindrance of the BPRD succeeding in their mission. When he was eventually killed, we got a small shot of the crucifix in his transformed hand. It was incredibly a sad and dark ending, which was sort of beautiful and came full circle for him.

The point of these kinds of comics is to not glamorize the formula of epics but to emphasise the protection of humanity. Trese also did the same (Man, I should make an essay about this). Professor Broom is pretty much the character that really showed my point. He acts within reason, and even at a younger age, he was very wise beyond years. He didn't come in a monster killing hero, but at best consultant. In Blood and Iron, Erzebet, the serial vampire, was beyond saving and needed to be killed to save countless lives she plans to take. When he met the priest again, he witnessed that the priest murdered and his words alluded that he did it many times before. Yet he urges to forgive himself and that it was never too late for him as he hands him the crucifix. The professor literally adopted a demon boy and raised it as a son, to whom we know as Hellboy. He doesn't believe that everyone is inherently bad, as he chose to believe the good can be taught and redeemed again. He is probably the most beautiful person in this universe, damn to stay true and grounded with those kind of values in that kind of work, reminds me of a quote from the Emperor from Mulan : " No matter how much the wind blows, a mountain cannot bow to it".

Most of the members of The BPRD are not fully human, similar to mutants of X-Men. Hellboy is literally a demon, raised as a human, Liz is pyrokinetic, and Abe is a humanoid amphibian. Yet they are incredibly human. They would casually have a conversation about pastries they tried when they were out on a mission.

Conclusion:

While I was researching about Mignola and Del Toro, I had just found out that a new movie live action Hellboy is coming out, with an indie film feel!

Honestly, I don't think it's going to go on par with the block buster films, but what I have seen from the trailers so far, it just might do Mignola's Hellboy justice. Though, I do have a comment on the movie's filter and lighting, I want it to be close to Egger's "The Witch" if that makes sense. Just a tad but darker, like a small nod to the aesthetic theme of the comic, the noir feel. But the effects are amazing 👏 . The indie-ness of it is perfection.

Now it's obvious that I love this, and for some reason, I think my love for the animated films manifested this information of a new live action instalment.

#hellboy #hellboy animated #blog #opinion #movie review #film #movie opinions #mike mignola #guillermo del toro

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