#i also wrote a small paragraph about way he be a good villain to take to prom

[shiloh-game]

I keep thinking about the time I post a picture of Manfred in a Everskies competition chat and some said he would perish from a Popeyes biscuit and McDonald's Sprite

I COULD HAVE NEVER AGREED MORE WITH SOMETHING THAN THIS

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Hi! I hope you’ll answer this question bc it bothers me quite a lot.. https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-now-that-BTS-are-partial-owners-of-Big-Hit-Entertainment do you think it is true what the second person (Christine Herman) said? After reading this, i started to wonder…what if BTS does really have only profit in mind while doing new projects these days? Maybe they don’t really care anymore about creative and meaningful lyrics and sound? With Butter and PTD…all this generic music sung in English. Of course they say “we wanted to make fans feel good”, “butter and ptd represent who we are” and all these things fans want to hear but.. do you really think it’s true? moreover, don’t get me wrong, i don’t find product placement in their reality shows as something terrible, i believe this is a normal thing, however, nowadays the members really film ads and do marketing a lot. so yeah, for some reason i began to question their integrity dhsjjss i hope you will understand from where my concerns come from and won’t find this ask stupid sjdjjdjd

After reading that persons answer I can immediately tell you that I basically don't agree with an overwhelming majority of what she said (even more so since a lot of it just makes her sound like a manti that hates the company and basically would want them to make music for free or something). Generally I don’t agree with most of the opinions this person holds, and also Quora really isn’t a good source for info or good opinions, most of it is written by mantis, haters, and toxic shippers with an agenda so most ARMY will tell you to stay as far away from that website as possible.

Anyway, her focus in that answer was on money, since BTS are shareholders (and how that’s a conflict of interest despite other artists doing the exact thing but no one really cares or ever thinks about it), but what she failed to consider and note was that Big Hit Music, so BTS' label, isn't part of HYBE in the sense that shareholding has no baring on it since BHM is private. So while BTS profit off of HYBE doing well, and have a small percentage of a voice as shareholders, that has nothing to do with BHM in the classical sense, even if BHM's earnings reflect well on HYBE numbers and the shareholder money. 

BHM was made private to ensure their artistry would remain untouched, that was the whole point of that.

Even if they weren't HYBE shareholders, take Namjoon as example. He has more than 170 KOMCA credits, is among the top 3 Korean artists with the most credits and is also the youngest of them all. It is said that his earnings from that alone can sustain his family for 3 generations over. Look at Hobi and Chicken Noodle Soup, that song was a hit and he paid the original creator of that song 2 million dollars upfront and earned a lot back due to how successful it was. Same goes for Hope World which, again, was and is still immensely successful. Look at Yoongi and his work both as prod. SUGA, featuring artist SUGA, and as Agust D, as well as the credits he holds for his work on BTS songs (giving him as well a total of over 100 KOMCA credits, just like Hobi). Bangtan have worked and continue to work extremely hard for their music, put their heart and souls into it, and it shows even if their style changed as they grew older and more mature.

Yes, money is a major motivator, but looking at the above paragraph, do you really peg the members as these corrupt money hungry sellouts with no music related integrity? Who would need to sign major deals and would throw away their passion to just release empty shells of music for the sole reason of money? Am I naive enough to believe that they don't care about money? Of course not, we live in a capitalist society and even if BTS wouldn't care about money anymore at this point, HYBE very much does, and yet still I can't find it in me to agree with any of what was said in that answer that person wrote.

More below the cut:

And that point about how Hyundai cars were sold out because of BTS, isn't that the point why literally any company ever hires celebrities to advertise and endorse their product? And sure, again, I'm certain they earned a lot on these deals, they aren't the first or last or only ones in the history of ever to do so. Besides, look at JK and what he's done for small companies, or Tae who wore a brooch made my a small creator at the airport which catapulted that creator into the eyes of millions of ARMYs enough so that they could move to a proper studio and earn money with their work. Or the modern hanboks JK wore which led to the brand being able to move into actual stores in malls because of their sudden new popularity and demand. Or him wearing a bracelet that helps whales with a percentage of the money from the sales of said bracelet. And for all of that JK and Tae didn't earn any money at all. JK himself said that he's more conscious of the brand he wears now because he wants to help smaller businesses in these trying times, not because they pay him to do so (especially since they would never be able to afford that), but because he's aware of the influence he has and how he can use it to help others. Sound very much like a capitalistic villain, right?

As for the product placement bit, have you been on YouTube recently? Have you noticed that many, if not most, YouTube videos by “bigger” creators (and by that I mean even people who are around the 100k subscriber mark) begin with them thanking whoever sponsored that particular video and give you a scripted minute to two minute long ad before getting into the actual topic of the video? And In The SOOP featuring Chilsung Cider, FILA clothes and the random mention of how good Samsung phones are isn’t much different from it, though really, if you’re not someone interested in fashion much, would you really notice or care that they wore FILA? It’s just...clothes? If it weren’t a BTS related show, would you even notice it much? And it’s not even like they mentioned those brands every five minutes or anything, just a few times, which sure sounded a bit out of place at times, but personally I thought it was easy to look past. That’s just how things work nowadays and it’s odd for people to behave like somehow BTS are the first and only ones to use product placements despite literally every movie and show doing it in subtle and less so manners.

The answer by that person you sent also mentioned the Hyundai song for their car IONIQ and, unsurprisingly, that person wrote it off as just some commercial jingle but I’d actually disagree with that. Not to sound like a Hyundai and Samsung stan, which I am neither of, but I actually think those two knew best how to utilize the artist they have spent millions on signing a deal with. Hyundai didn’t just write them off as pretty faces with a millions strong fan army behind them and that’s it, they remembered that they are musicians so they gave them a song and made a whole music video for it as well. And say what you will, it is a good song. Then, just a few days ago, Samsung stepped up their game and we were given Over The Horizon Prod by SUGA of BTS. For those who aren’t Samsung users, Over The Horizon is their signature ringtone and basically their company sound, and over the years different artists were asked to make their own version of it. And this time they reached out to Yoongi and asked if he’d like to do it as well. It’s kind of a big deal. Sure, Butter is used in one of their commercials much the way Dynamite was last year, but that’s beside the point. Would that person make the same claim about Imagine Dragons whose song Believer is also part of the ads for the new Samsung phones? I have my doubts.

Furthermore, and I don't want this to come across as mean toward you but, I think it is uncalled for to question their artistic integrity based on a total of 3 (three) English songs when last year alone we received 50+ songs, most of which were in Korean, among them the entirety of BE which was, according to the members, the album they were most involved in ever when it comes to both music and everything around it.

You can dislike their English songs, that’s more than fine, they have a very extensive discography you can listen to instead, but questioning their integrity based on them doing something that most, if not every, artist on their level does (as in sign ad deals with brands etc) is a bit much if you ask me. Does that mean indie artists whose songs get picked up for commercials (or for Netflix shows or movies) and thus it catapults them into the mainstream are also just money hungry people with no integrity and ones who don’t care about their music? Or is that, again, just a standard Bangtan is held to (as in that their integrity is questioned based on everything, even the most trivial/normal things) that only applies to them and no one else?

In the recent Weverse Magazine article about how Permission to Dance came to be there is a lot of talk about not only that song but also Butter and Dynamite, among the things being discussed and talked about they mentioned how the original lyrics for Butter were much more materialistic but that the members didn't like that so they asked for that to be changed. Likewise the original lyrics for Permission to Dance, as you'd expect from the penmanship of Ed Sheeran, were much more romantic, almost proposal like, which wasn't what the members wanted either so it was, again, adjusted in a way that would fit what they, as well as the A&R team, wanted. While you may not like these songs, they still had a say in them to a certain degree, could say yes or no and ask for adjustments. Why else would PTD take eight months?

While they might outsource their English songs, their main focus, so their Korean (as well as Japanese) discography is still centered around them, their lyrics, their songs, their sound. Of course you’ll also find outside producers and some lyricists on those as well, because that’s how music works these days, as in collaboratively, that doesn’t change anything at large. Their integrity is still very much there, their hearts are still in it, what other reason would any of them have to say that they want to continue for a long time, for Yoongi to say they want to figure out how to make their career last as long as possible, for JK to say that he wants to sing forever?

Admin 2 also wanted me to add that in their opinion, to a certain degree (though not fully of course), their English songs are like a way to laugh at and expose how shallow the English-centric music industry is. As in, while they made music in Korean with deep and meaningful lyrics, the US industry didn’t care but once they switched to easy to listen to sound with easy to understand English lyrics, they suddenly paid attention, are played on the radio, and even received a Grammy nomination which they wouldn’t have gotten for a Korean song ( A1: regardless how much Black Swan or Spring Day really would’ve deserved it...). 

[lassieposting]

Bit late and random but it's the anon you leave food out for here to give away I am also bi and I think exactly the same as you about bi val pretty much, every time Derek offers me representation my reaction is to slowly, hesitantly take it and say "thaaaaaaaaanks..." while rolling my eyes, in much the same way one accepts their least favourite flavour of sweet from an annoyingly enthusiastic uncle-type-individual. Ironically I feel I had more in common with her before the bi shit started up.

What I find really amusing is that Landy actually did reasonably well at representation when (and only when) he wasn’t trying. 

Oh god, this got long, anon, my ass rambled.

tldr; I'm glad actual bi people dislike bi val (or how Laundry handled bi val) as much as me, this will probably offend at least one person but i don't really care, Dirty Laundry wrote better rep when he didn't mean to write rep at all, and if he ever starts trying to "represent" groups I'm part of I'll take him out back like a dying horse and shoot him.

Like, yes. He had stupid and potentially offensive shit - I say potentially because what offends one member of a group won’t necessarily offend all of them. His attitude to mentally ill people is, frankly, disgusting. We’ve had “Skulduggery can’t be abused, he doesn’t have feelings”. We’ve had “eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY”. We had Ping, who seemed to be pretty much universally offensive. And that's what's always going to happen when a straight, cis, white, wealthy, male author tries to write marginalised groups he doesn't know shit about, because inevitably he's going to fall back on stereotypes.

But we also had:

SEXUALITY REP: Phase One's nonstraight characters were treated like the straight ones, and like, isn't that the whole point? There was no need for a massive Coming Out Story TM to grab for those sweet sweet Woke Points, because sexuality isn't supposed to be important to mages. I never understood why Val needed that whole Coming Out Panic storyline. Like...Des and Melissa are ridiculously supportive, encouraging, loving parents. They accepted you dating a ~19 year old when you were ~16. They accepted you revealing you could do fucking magic and that you'd been lying to them for like seven years. They took your undead buddy in stride and the most pressing question your dad had was whether magic toilets exist. There is zero reason to think that "I'm bisexual" is gonna be the thing that makes them flip and throw you into the streets in disgrace, Valkyrie. Come on.

Tanith had girlfriends and it was just mentioned casually, because it's normal.

China had massive UST with Eliza. That was an opportunity right there to not only include a f/f relationship, but also to bring back one of the few precious surviving characters from Phase One, using characters and a relationship that already had several books' worth of setup and tension and interest from fans.

The Monster Hunters have a casual conversation about which one of the Dead Men they'd date.

Ghastly has a conversation with Fletcher about the pain he's been through being in love. He never uses any pronouns.

It was confirmed at one point re: the Dead Men that at this point, after 300-odd years, everyone's been with everyone else at some point.

Thrasher is gay, and while Scapegrace's...everything...is treated as a joke/comedic relief, Thrasher's love for him isn't. He's completely devoted to Scapegrace, and that in itself is not played for laughs, even though the rest of the scene usually is. Thrasher's description of their first meeting is essentially a love-at-first-sight situation for him.

"ABNORMAL" RELATIONSHIP REP: Age gap relationships are normal for mages. Off the top of my head, using only canon, canon-implied or almost-canon ships:

Ghastly/Tanith (~350 year age difference)

Tanith/Sanguine (~250+ year age difference)

Tanith/Saracen (~350 year age difference)

Caisson/Solace (~250 year age difference)

China/Gordon (~400 year age difference)

Kierre/Temper (~500+ year age difference)

If you include fan ships, there's also things like Mevolent/Serpine or my Mevolent/Vile, which are both ~600 year minimum age gaps based on the timeline, or Valdug (and its variations) which is ~400 years.

Now, whether you consider this kind of rep positive or negative is up to you, but it’s there.

MENTAL ILLNESS REP: more like "Which characters in this series don't have a mental illness or a personality disorder?" I have some of these issues, but not all of them, so this is just how I read it, but:

ADHD: Skulduggery

Dissociative Identity Disorder: Skulduggery & Vile

Dissociation: Skulduggery again, most notably in DD and DB

Schizophrenia (or similar): Valkyrie & Darquesse, Valkyrie "seeing" Darquesse's ghost thing in Phase Two

Impostor Syndrome: Reflectionie

Autism: Clarabelle

Trauma/PTSD/CPTSD: Skulduggery, Valkyrie, China, Ghastly, Erskine...pretty much everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. People struggling with trauma are spoilt for choice of characters to see themselves in.

TRAUMA REP: This series is a trauma conga line, but everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. I see little bits of myself in more than one Phase One character.

Childhood Abuse (of varying degrees & types): Skulduggery, Carol & Crystal, Omen, Fletcher, Ghastly, China, Bliss, Sanguine...

Estranged Family: Skulduggery abandoning his crest, Fergus & Gordon, China & Bliss

Bad Romantic Relationship: Skulduggery is also very clearly an abuse victim. He’s got a solid history of romantic attachments to women who manipulate, use and gaslight him for their own agendas.  There's a whole paragraph in SPX about how Abyssinia broke him down, isolated him from his friends and preyed on his desperate need to be loved, all classic abuse tactics.

And I’m personally a huge fan of this backstory for two reasons:

1) Society likes a plucky victim in media. The "My suffering made me stronger" type of victim. And it's not always like that in real life. Not all survivors come out of their abuse stronger or kinder or more understanding. Some of us come out cold and fucked up. Some of us end up as emotionally stunted, bloodied-nails-and-bared-teeth survivors, broken in ways that can't be fixed and sustained by enough rage to power a small sun. But society doesn't like to tell the story of that kind of survivor, because we're not usually a likeable protagonist. When we're shown in media, we're usually the sympathetic villain, or maybe the antihero. But Skug is someone who's done awful things and lost pretty much all his faith in humanity and been burned more times than he can count, and he still makes the conscious choice to try and be the good guy when he could so easily go Evil Supervillain on the world, and I don't know about any of y'all, but I've modelled myself on him in that. I've made the choice to do something good when all I really want to do is just become a horrible, shrivelled ball of nastiness and revenge. And that's because I saw him do it and realised that I could do that too.

Skug is an incredibly capable, strong, masculine Man's Man. He gets in fights all the time, and he usually wins. He's military, an industry that's Really Bad for stigmatizing weakness and mental illness, and he's right up at the top of the hierarchy. Almost everyone is afraid of him. He's a straight up cold-blooded killer. Skulduggery Pleasant is precisely the type of person who's not normally portrayed as a victim of anything. Nothing about him screams "victim" at all. But his abuse history is insidious. He's so conditioned to respond in a certain way to abuse from the women in his life, probably from a very young age, that despite all that strength and capability and stubbornness and ego, he just goes along with it. And it's an established pattern going back hundreds of years. He keeps going back to China, even though he knows she's bad for him and his friends keep telling him to stay away from her. Abyssinia latched onto him when he was traumatized and vulnerable and weaponized it against him to make him easier to control - and when she reappears, hundreds of years later, she jumps straight back into using, tmanipulating and gaslighting him and not only does he let her, he doesn't even seem to realise that behaviour is abusive. He thinks it's normal! That's how he's always been treated by his long-term girlfriends, with the notable exception of Wifey. Even when Val is being fucking nasty to him in the first couple books of Phase Two, sniping and lying and blaming him for everything under the sun, he just takes it. There's no attempt to tell her she's being unreasonable, no telling her to fuck right off and give her head a wobble, no defending himself even when she's bitching over something that isn't even his doing. And this is a man who has an absolutely gleaming steel spine the rest of the time; Skug has no problem saying no to anybody else, but he can't get past the way he's been taught to treat the important ladies in his life. Skug is a walking reminder that anyone can be a victim of abuse, even the ones who seem least likely to be susceptible.

GENDER REP: This one is the most iffy out of the bunch and definitely was not done very well in the eyes of the people who matter most, but I'll include it anyway because it mattered to some.

So there's Nye, who's...agender? Genderless? And uses "it" pronouns? Nye was generally considered horrible rep because it's also a war criminal and experiments on people and I've seen people say "Well I don't want to be seen like that" but? It's still possible to be a war criminal and also genderless. I never saw the two things as being related or relevant to each other.

There's also Mantis, who's in exactly the same gender/pronouns boat as Nye and always seems to be forgotten about, which sucks because Mantis is a war hero. It fought for the Sanctuary during the War and they never lost a battle when it was in command. It's called out of retirement to fight for the Supreme Council in LSODM, ends up fighting alongside Skulduggery during the Battle of Roarhaven, and ultimately dies attempting a very brave, very risky strategy. Mantis is, unreservedly, one of the good guys. It was also my introduction to sentient beings using "it" pronouns, and did it in a way that felt natural, so when I met my first person online who used "it" pronouns and hated to be referred to as he/she, it was...weird, but not as weird as it would otherwise have been, because I was like, "Oh yeah, like the Crenga. Okay."

And then there's the Scapegrace sex change plotline, which...I might have an unpopular opinion on this one. From what I’ve seen, trans people don’t seem to think was handled well or with any sensitivity at all. I’m not trans, so if the trans community says he was being offensive to them, I’m not going to claim otherwise. But...I first read the Scapegrace plotline as a young teenager in a tiny rural school with zero diversity, going through a period of being deeply confused about my own gender identity. He was more or less my first introduction to the idea that genitals =/= gender. I was relieved, at that point in my life, to read someone having a lot of the same thoughts I was having about being in the wrong body. So while it may have been badly done and yeah, the series would probably have been better without it, it did make at least one kid suspecting she might not be cis go “Huh! So there are other people who feel like this.”

Thrasher is also implied to be legitimately trans/gender-questioning, and that's not played for laughs either.

So? Phase One, while it absolutely had faults and issues and things that were just "Oh god why", was actually full of rep, at least compared to the other series that I read as a child/teen. But? As soon as Dirty Laundry started trying to be woke? He fucking sucks ass at it. Aside from confirming Phase One's hints that Skug has a background of abusive relationships, every single attempt at shoehorning rep into Phase Two is Bad.

The painfully OOC, forced, badly-written awkwardness of Val suddenly being rabidly horny for women out of fucking nowhere. The stilted, forced cringiness between her and any of the women she's flirted with - contrast that with Sorrowscorn's interactions, full of natural chemistry that had us all like 👀 I mean, I never shipped Val/Melancholia, but I could always see why people did - they had miles more chemistry than Val/anyone in Phase Two.

The fucking mess that is v*litsa, because if someone says "I'm really not interested in friendships/relationships right now", clearly the route to true love is to bulldoze their boundaries and forcibly insert yourself into their life and proceed to treat them like a delicate soft uwu flower, completely ignoring the horrible things they've done, while gleefully damning their best friend as an irredeemable monster for the exact same things, which is. You know. Gonna affect your so-called love's self-confidence and self-esteem because she knows she's no different to him. Y'all know I love an angsty ship, an unhealthy ship, a ship with fucked power dynamics, but I literally cannot roll my eyes any further back in my head at this shit. I never read Demon Road, but from what I've heard from friends who did, it does seem like every time Laundry tries to write an f/f ship, he comes up with a cringey abusive/manipulative caricature and tries to call it rep, and he needs to Stop.

Val's Mental IllnessTM arc. It's funny how he wrote Skulduggery as a wonderfully complex character with deep-rooted psychological damage and long-lasting trauma, but believes he wrote a character with "no feelings" - but when he tries to delve into the damage the world of magic has done to Val, he turned her into a weak, whiny drug addict who treats everyone around her like garbage and is so selfish and dislikeable that I? Honestly can't even reconcile Phase Two val with Phase One val. They're two completely different people. He's shown on Twitter that he doesn't have any respect for mentally ill people, and it shows. Other mentally ill people might see it differently, but the whole thing just makes me go "yikes".

Never, who has no personality outside of being genderfluid, and whose pronouns make no sense. I'm sorry, I have never met an nb person who insists that you change from male to female pronouns multiple times in a sentence, every time you refer to them. It's confusing as fuck. Now I have been told that Never has apparently received some character development in the last couple books, and if so, fair play, but I quit reading after Midnight, and Never and the rest of the personality-less new characters introduced in Phase Two who just seemed to be 2D Stereotypes to snag Woke Points were a big part of why, so. Development too late, I'm afraid.

(Now, if anyone is looking for a well-written genderfluid character, I recommend the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. I have a lot of issues with her as a writer, and unfortunately I hate her POV character which puts me off the series as a whole, but she wrote the Fool/Amber/Lord Golden and their gender identity/approach to sexuality with so much more respect and realism. That is the kind of rep nb people should be getting: 3D, complex, realistic characters whose gender is only a tiny fragment of their personality, not the be-all-and-end-all of their existence. You know. Like cis people get. Nobody wants to be represented by a 2D cardboard cutout stereotype.)

Anyway idk how much sense this makes it just really amuses me that Laundry would include all this rep completely unintentionally and then go on Twitter and remind us all that actually he's a massive asshole via insensitive/offensive tweets about the groups he'd actually done a fair job of including (i.e. Skulduggery has no feelings, mentally ill people should find another series to read, the bullshit about Val being "heteromantic bisexual" on Twitter and then spouting all the "the woman she loved uwu" shit in the books (proving he has no idea what he's talking about), eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY. He can only write half-decent rep when he's not trying and he inevitably outs himself as having a really shitty attitude towards those people anyway, proving that ultimately it's all either unintentional rep or performative wokeness.

[heraldofzaun]

Hi. We’re doing this again. I’ve already spoken a little bit (well, a great bit) about how old lore Viktor wasn’t a stereotypical evil villain, but I keep seeing this interesting trend crop up - especially in the comments of analyses on Viktor’s character - and so I’m going to write about it. That trend is the fact that people seem completely and utterly convinced that only old Viktor “augmented without consent” or “didn’t respect free will” or similar mad-scientist-adjacent claims. This isn't true. The inverse is true, actually.

What follows is the entirety of Viktor’s old lore (I’m using the first - the second variant is the one that snips out his going to the Institute of War, I’m not trying to pull a trick on you or anything), his lines upon release (which are still technically canonical, even if many people believe them to be outdated - whether that is due to Riot still believing that they’re accurate to his character or, more likely, Riot not caring to replace them, I don’t know), and the accompanying blurb to his release comic. I am also including Jayce’s second lore, the one which Riot wrote after Viktor fans pointed out that Jayce’s original lore was contradictory to Viktor’s character. (Which is mentioned in the post I linked above. TL;DR: Viktor fans made such a fuss that Jayce’s lore got changed to paint Viktor as less of a villain, which again points to the fact that old Viktor wasn’t necessarily perceived as villainous by his fans. Of course, fan perceptions can be wrong - but canon was changed, so...)

This screenshot is missing his pick/ban quotes (“Join the Glorious Evolution.”/”Inferior constructs.” - ban quotes were added after his release, so they recycled one of his attack lines) and the quotes for Chaos Storm (“Obliterate!”/”Consume!”/”True power!”/”Behold!”). This is because it didn’t fit on my computer screen nicely.

This was written alongside Viktor’s teaser comic. (I personally really like the teaser comic, even though I’m concerned about Viktor cutting a hole in his laboratory wall.) It is, technically, non-canon material as it was posted on the now-defunct forums rather than anywhere on the client, but as we’ve seen a recent trend of Rioters Word-of-God’ing facts about canon, I may as well include it. There may be more Word-of-God confirmations on those forums as well, but the backup site that they’re currently hosted on doesn’t allow for searches as the original site didn’t either. You can find this on the “Development” tab of Viktor’s wiki page, if you’re curious.

Is there anything in here, besides “Submit to my designs.” and a few other of his voice lines, which should be taken with the context that they were a) written in 2011 and are thus not the highest examples of character-focused writing and b) written under the context of these being things he is saying to opponents on a battlefield, that says “Viktor augments people who are unwilling”? I don’t see it. He isn’t an angel, sure, because he wrecks Jayce’s lab after the man doesn’t want to work with him, but… He’s mostly alright, at least when it comes to the claims I’m investigating. (Also, note that his acolytes are not specified as being under his control or anything like that - they very well may just be people he’s helped, who don’t want a strange man smashing up the lab they were helped in.)

An interesting side-note: Jayce’s first lore does seem to imply that Viktor murdered people, as he “staged a deadly raid on Jayce’s laboratory”. This is concerning. There’s still somewhat of that implication in the second lore, considering the whole “incinerating the lab’s meager security force” line, but I’ve never seen anyone in fandom over the years use that as evidence for Viktor being a murderer, which is interesting. There’s actual textual evidence you can point to to say that Viktor’s a morally awful dude, and yet no one pointed to it when it was canon...I’ve never seen it cited in any character analyses for Viktor, nor have I ever seen anyone make the point that it’s people that Viktor’s incinerating. Food for thought, I guess. Anyways, my personal take is this: it’s security systems, not people. It doesn’t quite make sense, in-universe, for Viktor to murder a bunch of redshirt security guards but only blast Jayce aside - and leave him with no lasting injuries, obviously. Out-of-universe, you can say that it’s because Jayce is a champion, but still… It really doesn’t fit. Of course, I’m an old lore Viktor fan and this is entirely me trying to justify that he’s not a bad guy, so you can definitely take my words as biased. As we’ll see later, even if you take this as proof that old Viktor’s a killer, it doesn’t mean new Viktor is morally spotless.

Also, if you speak a language other than English and want to kill time, feel free to write in with what Jayce’s old lore says he did if you can find a translation of it. (If you go to the League wiki you can find other language versions of it, and from there you can poke around on Jayce’s page to see if it even has his older lore at all.) The Polish version apparently doesn’t imply people, but the Russian version uses “guards”... or so I think, my knowledge of Russian is pretty small so it was me and Wiktionary against the world. I think that League lore translations, especially from 2011, aren’t exactly the best material for textual evidence, but it’s an interesting curiosity. (I’m genuinely fascinated on how this was never a point of argument, and also to the fact that it was made much more ambiguous in Jayce’s post-outcry lore… but not removed.)

Anyways. Of course, you can take his lines and general character to a logical endpoint and say that it is implied that he doesn’t care much about whether or not people consent to the Glorious Evolution, but at that point you’re arguing interpretation and need to say as such. The cases I’ve seen in which people say that old lore Viktor was lopping people’s limbs off without consent or what-have-you just say that, without citing any textual evidence or saying that it is possibly implied by his character and lines. It’s pretty hard to take those claims seriously when there’s much more textual evidence that current-canon Viktor doesn’t seem too keen on respecting autonomy. Let’s begin with his own lore, which is written to favor his perspective.

Please keep in mind that this Viktor got his start selling automative technology to businesses in Zaun. The Zaun that is full of corrupt chem-barons. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he only sold to good businesses. (Also, fascinating that a common complaint about old Viktor is that his status as a pioneer of his field is that he’s “unrealistically accomplished”, and that other people would have figured out the same technology - just as it seems to be the case in current lore, with the Church of the Glorious Evolved existing pre-Viktor (except that it probably didn’t at the time of this lore’s release, as there’s a paragraph later on in his lore that talks about a “quasi-religious cult” that is unnamed but… Who else would it be?) and augmentations being common on the NPCs on the Universe page. Yet someone who’s 19 having their inventions be commonly used in Zaun long enough for the term eventually to be used in reference to the next stage of their life is perfectly acceptable. Anyways…)

What we see from this is clear: even if there is a “good” reason to control the divers, there is no mention of them consenting to the procedure. Considering the previous quotation, Viktor seems to deal more with the bosses than the workers and doesn’t seem to consider the potential job-removing impacts of his work (how many people lost jobs due to being rendered obsolete?), which doesn’t bode well for him caring much about what the workers think. But of course, this aside about dealing with bosses is all interpretation, so you can ignore it if you’d like. There still is, however, actual, textual evidence that new Viktor does not care about consent if he believes his idea is what’s best for you.

Ignoring the writer misusing the term “psychotics” - par for the course in fiction unfortunately - here’s Viktor kidnapping people “for their own good”. Nothing is said in his lore if he’s contracted to do this, or if he’s just Zaun’s version of a Good Samaritan out and about chloroforming people. While I’m not saying that the moral choice is to not intervene, he is drugging people here and performing brain surgery on them. Please note the “in a manner of speaking”. What does that mean? Is it in reference to them having permanent brain damage? Or is it in reference to him being all well-and-ready to transfer their bodies into robots that presumably weren’t designed for them? (Speaking of, if Viktor can transfer the consciousnesses - or at least brains - of people… why is he still in a fleshy mortal body? Yes, it would require a VU to update him to be fully robotic, but none of his written media seems to imply that he’s on his way. His color story has him integrating technology directly into his arm, for example. Why aren’t you getting into the robot, Viktor?)

Anyways, two options here: either the automatons had enough of their former programming to react to Viktor giving a kill command, or the consciousnesses of the people Viktor is “saving” are in these robots and are under his sway enough to commit murder. Either is bad (and negates any moral superiority over old Viktor’s maybe-implied-canonical-murder), but the second is horrifying. And, obviously, non-consensual. (Because the damage is reversing, I don’t believe there’s room for a justification of the second option in which these people are still violent and dangerous.)

Anyways, last bit. It’s pretty bad when your ethics are panned in Zaun, the nation host to rampart corruption and also people like Singed. Let’s now move on to his color story, which is what a lot of fans point to as evidence for new Viktor having a heart or a moral compass.

Yay! Moral win: your cyborg isn’t cutting off the head of a child without his consent. (Also, again, is this proof that Viktor can put brains or consciousnesses in robot bodies? Admittedly, he might be joking since this Viktor is a little softer than he is in his biography.)

Moral… win… your cyborg is augmenting a child… Anyways, joking aside, this is unethical. How’s Naph supposed to consent to something like this? I know that we can’t expect fictional characters in a fantasy setting to abide by modern ethical standards, but I think we can critique them from an out-of-universe context. This is bad. Viktor gives very little context, could very well be lying (he isn’t, hopefully), and sends the kid off with his version of a pat on the back and tells him to come back if he wants more. (The “Oh yes” is also… creepy.) A kid’s decision-making abilities aren’t developed to the extent that they can be reasonably expected to understand or consent to a procedure that removes a pretty crucial emotion. If Naph comes back and wants his fear gone permanently, will Viktor oblige?

Also, fear is something that is very important to survival and judgment calls. Without fear, a kid in Zaun might take dangerous risks that could end up with them dead. I can’t really see how people interpret this as a morally sound decision - Viktor’s pretty much giving mood-altering drugs to a child and telling him to come back if he wants another hit. Just because he got Naph’s okay doesn’t mean that he got informed consent.

Let’s now turn to the black sheep of Viktor content: his Legends of Runeterra lines. There’s two of interest.

Armed Gearhead’s card art is of a man whose only augmentation is his arm, which he says he broke in another line. (I suppose he didn’t want to wait for it to heal?)

Viktor is talking about messing with his head, here, because Armed Gearhead is… too emotive, I’d guess. He is “not yet complete”. A statement which Armed Gearhead seems rather apprehensive about, if you listen to his response.

I know that LoR Viktor is one of the more “comically villainous” depictions of Viktor we’ve seen, so if new Viktor fans would like to ignore his lines I have no issue with that. But these lines certainly seem to imply that what Viktor sees as Armed Gearhead’s end state isn’t necessarily what he sees as his, and should be considered if people want to take them as canonical.

Not necessarily needed, but here’s Jayce’s present lore. One of them is definitely lying - Jayce’s lore says that he doesn’t strike until after Viktor gives the kill order, and Viktor’s says that he gave the kill order in response to Jayce smashing up the lab. Either way, Viktor is ordering automatons (that, in this version, are outright stated to be housing the brains of the people Viktor is trying to keep alive) to kill Jayce. Not a good look.

Viktor’s new lore gives significant textual evidence that he doesn’t care for whether others willingly consent to his ideas, so long as he believes that his ideas are for the greater good. This is in contrast to the vagueness of his original lore, meaning that any individual who speaks about how current Viktor is someone who cares for consent in contrast to the “unethical mad scientist”ness of old Viktor is unfortunately mistaken. I have to imagine that general fandom interpretation, combined with the fact that his bio and color story are very tonally different, have made it so people believe that this version of Viktor is much more ethical than he canonically is.

Interpreting Viktor as sympathetic and actually morally grey is fine, of course! Riot wrote his narrative very poorly when he was updated, which is why I’m still finding bones to pick with it in comparison to his original and more open-to-interpretation lore. The issue is stating that this is canonically the case, which it isn’t, and/or stating that the current iteration of Viktor has the moral high ground over his previous incarnation, which he doesn’t. I think that much more interesting character conversations can happen if people acknowledge that Viktor as he’s currently written is roundly unethical - how can that be improved upon for a more complex character, does that mean that Jayce’s behavior was right, etc. For all my dislike of new Viktor, I’d be genuinely curious to read a take that actively acknowledges his pre-college work in automation and how that affects his standing in Piltover and Zaun. (Is he well-known in industry? What do workers think about him? And so on…) And, well, on a personal note: I think that acknowledging current Viktor’s moral failings would be nice, because it would mean that people would stop using old Viktor as a strawman.

Anyways, I suppose that’s the post. Thank you for reading!

[random-mcrandom]

Feral, Baku-centric fic idea

So I already tried to write this once but then my computer decided to shut down on me and I didn’t save it so here is attempt two. Good golly, I hope you guys like it. So this is going to be me tell you the basic idea for the story in slight vague, but detailed detail. Got it? I hope so. Here we go. (And I swear I’m going to save after every paragraph.)

So the story starts off with Pro Hero Dynamight doing hero stuff, patrolling, begrudgingly assisting people with not really hero things, and stuff like that. Then he gets an alert of a villain attack a little while away involving Pro Hero Red Riot. Dynamight blasts off to assist in the fight, but when he gets here, all he sees is Red Riot rampaging through the streets, flipping cars, endangering the lives of several civilians and injuring several heroes in the process. Dynamight asks the other heroes on the scene what happened and they say that they don’t really know what happened. One moment, Red Riot had the villain pinned and was getting ready to handcuff him and the next he was attacking everyone around him.

Dynamight tries to restrain Red Riot but is severely injured in the process. Suddenly, Deku shows up, after also being alerted of the need of assistance, and he quickly subdues Red Riot and puts quirk-resistant cuff on him. Bakugou is taken to the hospital, meanwhile Red Riot wakes up and is immediately interrogated. Kirishima says that he has no idea what happened and that he doesn’t remember ever attacking anyone else other than the villain that he supposedly caught. The interrogators inform Red Riot that not only did he let the villain escape, he also caused extensive damaged to public property, endangered the lives of many citizens as well as injured several other Pro Heroes that were on the scene, including Dynamight. 

Deku believes that Kirishima wouldn’t attack without reason and that something had to have happened in the fight to make Kirishima act that way. Deku asks if they could do some tests on Kirishima to see if there was some sort of drug or quirk activity that caused Kirishima to act the way that he did. There were a few tests done, but all of them came back to show that there was no drug or quirk induced anything that made Kirishima act the way that he did. Deku and Kirishima couldn’t believe it, but without further evidence to prove Kirishima’s innocence, Red Riot was officially arrested and sent to a maximum security prison.

Bakugou wakes up in the hospital about a week after Red Riot is arrested and learns of Kirishima’s fate through the Bakusquad, who all have been denied when asked if they could see Kirishima. Bakugou is pissed. After leaving the hospital, he also tries to get in to see Kirishima but is denied entry. After refusing to leave until he see Kirishima, Bakugou is forcefully escorted off the premises and is met outside by Deku who was called to take him. Bakugou and Deku head back to the hotheaded one’s apartment where Deku tells him everything about the interrogation before Kirishima was arrested. Bakugou is convinced that there must be some way to prove Kirishima’s innocence and that the first thing that they should do is find the villain who attack Red Riot in the first place. 

After a day and a half in the agency office (ignoring requests for him to go on patrol), squinting at security feeds from the area surrounding the villain attack with Red Riot, Bakugou finally got a general ID for the villain, who seemed to be an average Joe that had no previous criminal record. Bakugou searched several more security feeds before he found a recent one of the guy in the next city over. Bakugou packed a small bag and went to hunt the guy down.

It was fairly simple to find the guy. He was wandering from alley to alley, avoiding major streets when he could. Bakugou stopped him and after a moment of Bakugou convincing the panicking man that he wouldn’t arrest him if he told him all he knew, the man immediately started to give him details of what he last remembered before the fight with Red Riot. 

The man claimed that he was just having a drink at his local hangout when a lady bumped into him when he was on his way out and she accidentally blew some of her make up powder at his face. He described the woman to Bakugou before he told him that shortly after the woman left his sight to go into the club, he tried to brush the powder off his jacket, but then blacked out and when he woke up, he was half naked in an alley in the next city over. Bakugou asked where the club he went to was located and the man immediately gave him the address. Bakugou told the man to stay low for right now and that he was going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. 

Bakugou returns to his apartment where he finds Deku who doesn’t look happy. Bakugou tries to ignore the man, but Deku starts asking him what his problem is. Bakugou gets mad, telling Deku that his problem is that Kirishima is obviously the nicest guy on the face of the planet and that he wouldn’t hurt a fly and something had to have happened to make Kirishima act the way that he did. He tells Deku that he may have a lead to what caused the rampage. He says that the guy that first attacked was possibly drugged at a local club by a woman. Deku asks Bakugou if he arrested the man who attacked and got a little more mad when Bakugou told him that he didn’t. Bakugou explains that he doesn’t think the man is guilty because the man was probably drugged by this woman and if he found the woman he could figure out what the drug was. 

Deku tried to explain to Bakugou that Kirishima was tested to see if there were any drugs in his system, but everything came out negative. Bakugou countered that if the powder that the man was attacked with and that Kirishima may have accidentally inhaled were actually quirk based, that it may not appear on any test. They would need a specially made test to figure it out and in order to get the test made, they would need a sample of the powder first. Deku wasn’t convinced and told Bakugou that he needed to take some time off because he was obviously stressed and was just going to work himself to the bone. 

Bakugou told Deku to feck off and that he didn’t care. He needed to get Kirishima out because he knew that he didn’t belong in prison. Deku left Bakugou’s apartment. The next night, Bakugou left to go to the club that the man had told him about, undercover. Bakugou went up to a few people who worked at the establishment and asked them if they knew of the woman that Bakugou described to them. Most of them said that they didn’t know anything, but one man told Bakugou that he should keep his nose in his own business. Bakugou insisted that the man tell him where he could find the woman. The man grabbed a napkin and a pen and wrote down and address. Bakugou looked at the address and found it barely legible, but when he went to clarify the address with the man, Bakugou was met with a cloud of dust in his face instead. 

Coughing, Bakugou quickly left the club out the back door and nearly ran face first into none other than Deku. Concerned, Deku asks Bakugou if he is alright. Bakugou quickly tells Deku to feck off and not to breath in the dust on him. Deku takes a step back before he goes to take off Bakugou’s jacket, but before he could, Bakugou blacked out.

When Bakugou woke up, he found himself in Deku apartment in quirk-resistant handcuffs. Bakugou started shouting at Deku asking what happened. Deku explained to him that when he tried to carefully take the jacket off of Bakugou, the hotheaded one started attacking him. Deku had quickly lured him away from the busy street and into a large parking lot that held very few cars where they spent almost an hour “sparring”. Bakugou tells Deku that he doesn’t remember anything and Deku believes him. Bakugou asks what happened to the jacket and if it still had any of the powder on it. Deku goes into his office and grabs a large evidence bag that held Bakugou’s jacket with traces of a light powder on the collar and shoulders. Deku says that he is going to ask Hatsume to take a look at the powder and see if she would be able to make some sort of blood test that specifically looked for the chemicals in the powder in the blood stream. 

Bakugou asked Deku what should they do now. Deku suggested that Bakugou go to the agency to explain what he has found out and that he would take the jacket to Hatsume later that evening. Bakugou didn’t think it was a good idea to go since the last time they tried to prove the innocence of someone under the influence of this specific drug, Kirishima had gotten arrested. Deku understood, but told Bakugou that if he kept keeping things secret from the agency, people were going to start getting suspicious. Deku told Bakugou that people were already thinking the worst about Bakugou and that his current attitude as of late was just making things worse. 

Bakugou was very against the idea, but eventually Deku practically escorted Bakugou to the agency where they immediately took Bakugou in to question him about some social media recordings of a very recent fight between Dynamight and Deku. Bakugou said that he was at a club nearby, trying to relax and that when he decided to leave, he saw Deku and told him that he wanted to spar. So the two of them decided to go to a parking lot and they fought. 

Partly lying, but also partly the truth, Deku told a similar story that he went to go find Bakugou at a local club and when he stumbled out, he was covered in dust and was suddenly itching for a fight with him. The interrogator with Deku asked him if either him or Bakugou still had the jacket with the dust on it. Deku told him that he did have it in an evidence bag in his apartment and that he was planning on taking it to a lab to have tests done. The interrogator asks that Deku immediately give them the evidence and that they would take care of it. Deku was hesitant, but after a short conversation about how they were all on the same side and that no one at the agency wanted to think about what would happen if Deku started withholding evidence from them. 

Feeling slightly threatened, Deku agreed to give them the jacket and left to wait outside for Bakugou. The interrogator with Bakugou was convinced that Bakugou didn’t spar with Deku, but instead attacked Deku. However, Bakugou had evidence from years before from working with Deku that sometimes he and Deku would just fight and spar spontaneously and that it was normal behavior and it didn’t give them a good enough reason to try and arrest him. 

Agreeing, they let Bakugou leave and he quickly met up with Deku. The two of them left the agency to return to the apartment where Deku almost immediately grabbed the jacket and tried to leave. Bakugou asked him where he was going with the evidence and Deku quickly explained that it would be better off if they were to leave the evidence in the hands of the agency. Bakugou asked him what about Hatsume? Isn’t she supposed to make a test to look for the drug in victim’s systems? 

Deku sighed and looked tiredly at Bakugou. Deku explained that they were all on the same side and that they would have better luck hand it over to people who were better at investigating than they were. Bakugou was not convinced. Bakugou tried to get Deku to give him the jacket so that he could just take it to Hatsume himself, but Deku quickly refused. Deku said that if he were to withhold evidence from an investigation then it wouldn’t be good news and people would start to think ill of him. Bakugou quickly shouts that he doesn’t care and that the jacket could actually prove Kirishima’s innocence. Bakugou needed the jacket and he didn’t care what he had to do in order to get it. He needed to get Kirishima out of prison and he was going to do everything in his power in order to make it happen. 

Deku looked at Bakugou worriedly. You’re starting to sound like a villain, Kacchan. Bakugou stopped in his tracks. He was bewildered at the accusation. He shook his head at Deku. He doesn’t sound like a villain. He’s just a man who is afraid that his friend is going to spend the rest of his life in prison for something that he didn’t do. Bakugou wasn’t going to just let that happen. He wasn’t going to abandon his friend in his time of need. He had to help him. After everything that Kirishima has done for Bakugou, Bakugou needed to help prove his innocence. He needed Kirishima back. 

Bakugou remembered the address written on the club napkin and stuck his hand in his pocket. It was still there. Bakugou shoved his way past Deku, ignoring the jacket now. Instead, he was going to go to the source and figure out what was going on, once and for all. Without letting Deku know where he was going, Bakugou started running, heading towards the general direction of the address. Though he was quickly stopped again by Deku who shouted at him to stop and to think about his actions. 

Bakugou stopped for just a moment to look back at Deku, but the moment was long enough for Deku to tell him that if Bakugou kept going down this path he had chosen, he would never be able to become the Number One Hero. That stopped Bakugou. 

Heart pounding, Bakugou thought about it. If he kept going, he wouldn’t be able to become Number One? If he stopped, he could still become Number One, but at what cost? Kirishima and the possibility of other innocent people rotting in jail because of an untraceable drug that made even the kindest people go feral, when he had the chance to prove their innocence. Bakugou steeled himself and look Deku in the eyes. All the hard work that the both of them had put into their work, each of them trying to surpass the other. All of it. It was going to come to an end that night. 

Bakugou let out a shaky exhale before sharply inhaling. FINE! He yelled out. He doesn’t care about that stupid title. Deku can have it. If being a hero means he has to leave an innocent man to rot in jail, then he doesn’t want to be a hero anymore. Immediately turning on his heels, Bakugou runs from Deku and uses his blasts to propel himself into the sky. 

With Deku out of sight and Bakugou’s destination nearby, Bakugou takes a moment to calm himself down. This is what he has chosen. There is no going back now. 

Bakugou quickly finds the address and finds it somewhat familiar in a way that he doesn’t quite remember. Marching right up to the front door of the rich house, Bakugou bangs his fist against the door. Shortly after, a butler opens the door. Bakugou immediately described the woman with the powder and asks the butler if she is in the house. The butler tells Bakugou that the lady of the house is indeed in and if Bakugou would like to wait inside, he would go get her. Bakugou says that he is alright waiting outside. 

The Butler closes the door and walks away to get the lady. Bakugou looks around him at the environment. He notices a small camera above the door bell. He lightly wonders where the feed goes and if it records all the time or only when the doorbell is rung. A moment later, the door opens again and Bakugou finds himself looking face to face with the woman that drugged him at the club. 

Bakugou glares at the woman. The woman smiles up at him and coyly asks if she can help him with something. Bakugou immediately asks if she is the one that has been using her quirk to make people go feral. The woman blinks, gently surprised at the bluntness of the man at her door, but she quickly grins widely. She says that she is indeed. She says that she is surprised that he isn’t in jail for attacking a fellow Pro Hero. Bakugou quickly explains that he already has a track record of attack that specific fellow Pro Hero. She giggled. 

She asks Bakugou again if she can help him with something. Bakugou asks why she is drugging people and making them act the way they do. She shrugs. She says that she only dusts people that don’t pay her. She explains that she protects people and expects them to pay her but when they stop paying, she gives them a little powder and then she looks forward to hearing about it the next day in the news. Bakugou glares at her and says that he is going to arrest her, but another voice chimes in, telling him to be careful.

Another man walks up to the door behind the woman and Bakugou suddenly remembers why the rich house looks familiar. Its owned by a higher up at the Hero Public Safety Commission. And the woman with the powder quirk appears to be his wife. Bakugou practically glares at the man, asking if he knew about his wife drugging innocent people and getting them arrested. The man admits that he knew. Bakugou asked why he let it happen when he was sworn to protect people under the same oath that all Heroes did. The man laughs, claiming he is protecting people and when people decide that their protection isn’t good enough, then he shows them a world without his protection. 

Bakugou tells them that they should both be arrested. The man puts his hand on Bakugou’s shoulder and leans in close to talk to him. He tells Bakugou that if he were to walk away now, there would be no harm that came to him or his Hero name. He told Bakugou that if he wanted to, he could pull some strings and make Bakugou the Number One Hero he wanted to be. He could have anything and everything he ever wanted, as long as he forgot about the feral powder incidents. 

Bakugou thought about it for just a moment before he looked back at the man. Bakugou had the guts to ask about what would happen if he refused the conditions. The man’s face morphed into a deep glare. The hand on Bakugou’s shoulder tightened. He said that if Bakugou refused to listen, then the man would make it so Bakugou could never become Number One Hero. He could make it so that practically over night, Bakugou would become the most wanted villain in all of Japan. Bakugou’s eyes widened and his breath hitched quietly. 

The woman chuckled from behind her husband. Pulling out a small make up kit, Bakugou quickly recognized it as the Feral Powder. Bakugou swallowed and looked back up to the man. The man smiled at Bakugou, but it was anything but friendly. Bakugou tried to take a step back but the man grabbed the front of Bakugou’s shirt and pulled him close, warning him that if he were to reject this proposal, he would regret it for the rest of his days. Bakugou took in a deep breath before he yelled fuck you at the pair. Bakugou rushed forward to grab the make up kit, but the woman quickly blew it in his face before he could grab it. 

Bakugou exhaled sharply before he quickly turned around to run away, but before he could get away, he felt the man grab him from behind. Acting on instinct, Bakugou reached up to gran the man’s arms and sent a few explosions down his arms, enough to leave small burns, but not enough to severely require a hospital bill. The man yelled in pain and immediately let go. 

Keeping in mind the powder, Bakugou tried his hardest not to inhale as he made his way away from the house. He propelled himself into the sky and only then did he take a short breath. Processing what happened, Bakugou made his way safely to the ground where he removed the powdered shirt and folded it up so that the dust stayed in place. 

In the dark of the night, Bakugou quickly and quietly made his way to Hatsume’s workshop. She was still working, burning the midnight oil as well as burning a few other things probably. Bakugou made his way inside and quickly grabbed Hatsume. She wasn’t all too surprised to see him. She had been expecting Deku, but was pleasantly surprised to see Bakugou anyway. Bakugou quickly explained what happened to her and asked her to make the test with the powder. She agreed, excited about the potential challenge.

Bakugou asked if he could shower since he still was at risk of inhaling the powder that was still lingering in his hair. She told him where it was and told him to lock the door. If he did end up inhaling the feral powder and started going wild, the handmade bathroom would definitely be able to hold him. Not questioning her and her decisions, Bakugou quickly showered, making sure to scrub himself raw to get any type of dust off of him. 

When Bakugou got out of the shower, Hatsume was almost finished. She just needed to test it on someone who already had the powder in their system. Bakugou offered himself as a test, knowing that he already had his feral attack earlier that week. The test went through and came back positive. Hatsume immediately tested it on herself, only for it to come back negative. She grinned wildly at Bakugou and asked now what?

He took a deep breath. They needed to test Kirishima to prove that the powder was what made people go feral to begin with. They also needed proof that the couple was actually doing this to people. Bakugou asked Hatsume if she would be able to hack into a specific camera that may have caught the whole confession, thinking back to the camera by the doorbell. Hatsume’s face folded into a thinking expression. If she was able to access the camera manually, she could but it would probably be near impossible to do it from far away. 

Bakugou sighed. He didn’t want to go back to the house without having some sort of back up plan. He looked at the test that Hatsume created and asked her if she could send it to Deku to just hold onto. She nodded and prepared it so that she could safely deliver it to the Pro Hero. Bakugou wrote a short note to Deku, telling him that he figured out who has be drugging the innocent people and that the stuff to do the blood test was going to be in the box that Hatsume gave to him. In the note, he asked Deku not to hand it over to the agency until he knew that they weren’t going to just do a whole cover up on the whole incident. 

He hoped that Deku would listen to his letter. Hatsume told Bakugou that she was going to go take the package and Bakugou’s letter to Deku immediately and that Bakugou should rest. She pointed him to a small room under her workshop that served as a kind of storage room/guest bedroom. It had a lot of shelves filled with junk and in the back was a couch. Bakugou laid down, but didn’t really get a lot of sleep. He was planning on how to get the camera footage so that they could get the confession of the pair that knew exactly what they were doing. Bakugou wondered if he could get a picture of the woman to ask witnesses of other feral attacks if that was the woman who dusted them before they blacked out. 

Bakugou fell asleep partway through planning. He was woken up by Hatsume who immediately was pulling up a news report on her phone. Bakugou’s breath was practically punched out of his lungs as he listened to the report. The man from the Public Hero Safety Commission was explaining to police and reporters that Pro Hero Dynamight had attacked him in his home last night, leaving his several burns on his arms. The man’s wife was nowhere in the report. Hatsume looked slightly concerned at Bakugou. Within a few hours, word was going around that Pro Hero Dynamight was now a wanted criminal and that if anyone hears from him or sees him, they need to call the police or a hero immediately and do not engage him. Reports claiming that Dynamight was now a villain and was deemed extremely dangerous. 

Hatsume suggested that Bakugou should get out of town and hide for a little while. Bakugou took in a deep breath before letting out a loud curse. He stood up and started pacing the small room. Hatsume suggested he lay low somewhere remote. She said that she could easily get the footage from the night before. Bakugou swallowed before he hesitantly agreed. He explained to her what the plan was on how to get the Feral pair arrested, telling her to get the confession video from the doorbell camera, to use the blood test to prove that the innocent people that were arrested were indeed drugged and under the influence of the woman’s quirk, and hopefully, after all was said and done all the people in prison would be released, including Kirishima. 

Donning a full body disguise created by Hatsume herself, Bakugou managed to leave the city, undetected by police and other forces that were intensely looking for him. By the time Bakugou had made it to a small town in the mountains, it had been almost two months since Kirishima had been arrested and this whole mess had started. Feral attacks were happening all over in the city and at this point, Bakugou couldn’t do anything to stop or help. He waited weeks for a news article to pop up saying that they caught the people responsible for causing the feral attacks, but day after day, he was disappointed. It was almost to the point where he almost believed that Hatsume and everyone that he once believed to be his friends may have actually accepted the bribe of “anything and everything they wanted”. 

Then one day, while walking around the small mountain village, still in the disguise, he saw a news report on a small diner tv. Bakugou immediately paid the closest amount of attention as the reporter detailed the cause of all the Feral attacks in the city and that it was all due to an ex-employee of the Public Hero Safety Commission and his wife. Bakugou grinned at the sight of the couple being handcuffed and driven away to a maximum security prison. The report continued to explain that the individuals who had gone Feral and were arrested had all been tested and it was confirmed that those individuals would immediately be released and reimbursed for time in prison. 

Bakugou’s breath caught in his throat as he saw Kirishima walk out of the prison gates and into the arms of the dear quote unquote Bakusquad. Bakugou swallowed a lump in his throat as he wished that he could have been there to greet Kirishima and to hold him with everyone else. But he knew that it was better this way. The report continued, explaining that the man-hunt for Dynamight the villain was called off after reports of the alleged attack were disproved and no longer valid. Bakugou laughed as he made his way out of the diner and made his way back to the city. 

By the time Bakugou had come back to the city, the first place he went to was back to Hatsume’s, to return the disguise and to also thank her for what she did. Hatsume was over joyed to put the man and his wife behind bars. She managed to find a lot more dirt on them than just a confession to the attacks at the door. Bakugou was slightly amazed and promised to make it up to her somehow. Hatsume nodded, saying I know and then she quickly ushered him out, telling him that he needed to get home. 

Bakugou made his way home, making a point to avoid heavily crowded areas, still hesitant about the possibility of getting arrested just for being Dynamight. Bakugou made it back to his apartment in one piece and was surprised to find everything exactly how he had left it almost a month ago. He grabbed a clean pair of clothes and immediately took a shower, delighting in the feeling of being clean after so long.

Once he got out of the shower, he walked into his living room, heading for the kitchen, but was surprised to find Kirishima and Deku standing in the room. Bakugou stopped in his tracks and gaped at the sight of the two of them. Kirishima was the first to react, tears welling up in his eyes as he quickly made his way over to wrap his arms around Bakugou. Bakugou let out a shaky breath before he brought his hand up to grip Kirishima’s shirt and pull him closer. Kirishima let out a wet laugh as he held Bakugou. Bakugou felt his own tears beginning to fill up his own eyes as he looked over Kirishima’s shoulder at Deku. 

Deku was standing sadly, tears freely running down his face. Bakugou took in a deep breath before he pried himself away from Kirishima. He walked slowly over to Deku and they just stood there looking at each other. Deku tears quickly turned into heavy sobs as he collapsed to his knees in front of Bakugou. He was trying hard to let out long strings of apologies, that Deku should have believe in Bakugou more, he shouldn’t have doubted him, he shouldn’t have said all those awful things to him. Bakugou grabbed Deku’s face and told him to shut up. 

Bakugou told him that he didn’t care about any of that anymore. He was just happy that Kirishima wasn’t in prison anymore and that he wasn’t being hunted down. Deku smiled half-heartedly at Kirishima. The redhead looked at Bakugou and told him because he had been in jail and because Bakugou had been considered a criminal, both of their Hero Licenses had be revoked. Bakugou swallowed and let some more tears tread quietly down his face. 

Deku quickly added to the conversation saying that if they wait the 6 month waiting period, without getting arrested or breaking any laws, then they could reapply for a Hero License and pick up right where they left off. Bakugou looked over at Kirishima, who looked at him smiling happily. He shrugged his shoulders and asked Bakugou what they should do for 6 months. Bakugou smiled at said that he spend some time in a cute village in the mountains and that there were a lot of good hiking trails that could keep them busy for a while. 

So Bakugou and Kirishima spent the next 6 months up in the mountains, hiking and living a casual life before they returned to the city to renew their Hero Licenses. Later that year, Bakugou was given the title of Number One Hero for sacrificing everything he had in order to do the right thing.

Yaaaaaay the end.... also could do a follow up of what Bakugou and Kirishima did during the 6 months up in the mountains but I don’t know. This was the idea. It was stuck in my head and now it is here. Lemme know what you think. Love this fandom. 

Good night, everybody!

[cytarabi]

Hey! I've become a huge fan of your fics on ao3. I wanted to know how do you push out so many beautiful chapters so quickly? What's your writing process like? I'm working on a big JB fic, which I'm trying to finish timely, but high quality. Always like to see how other writers do their thang! Thank you!

Hi! I remember your name!! <3 Thank YOU for the question and praise, that’s so sweet!!

I love seeing how other writers do their thang, too! And I’ve found it can be very, very different for each author.

TLDR I write a lot of my fic ahead of time. I outline the entire fic, chapter by chapter before I start writing. I use several tools to speed the process and/or to make it more artsy fartsy.

I’ve found that I’m a “plotter” and not a “pantser” (two main ways of writing, unless you hate being labeled lol.)

Plotter means that I prefer plotting out most of the story before I write the details. Here’s been my process for my multichapter fics:

1) I come up with an idea and let it brew! I think about key scenes or dialogue I love and I jot them down in my phone on Google notes. Write down your ideas, you’ll probably forget them.

2) During this brewing time, (for As Black As Thunder and my next fic) I take the time to read, read, read. I read works and jot more notes! I have an entire Google doc for Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier where I wrote down her tone usage, figurative language and summary of each chapter. I can’t tell you how much this has helped get me in the write TONE for the work. Tone is SO important. Readers reading a thriller will expect thriller beats! Deep Fried Drinks was a rom com, so the verbs, adjectives etc are very different from creepy Gothic. When I started As Black As Thunder (ABAT), wow, it was hard to nail the tone at first. But by the second half of the fic, I’m fully immersed in it and it’s much easier to create the tone naturally. Without using inspiration, I don’t think it would have turned out as well. For ABAT, I think I took two weeks of no writing, when I’m used to writing every day. It was hard not to write, but wow, was I ready when I started!

3) When I’m ready to outline, I do! I open a google doc for the fic and start throwing everything I can think of in there. My ABAT doc was only like three lines for 6 months... lol! I’ve only just started looking into story structure, so my older fics are all wonky. BUT for ABAT and Deep Fried Drinks, I tried to follow story structure for plots. First act, second act, third act, character arcs, etc. My longest fic, Time Stops, dropped a bunch of readers in the middle and I think it’s because my middle SAGGED majorly. I didn’t try to follow a structure, just sort of plotted it out how I wanted to, and it was probably very repetitive and boring. For ABAT, I plotted a mid point turn to spice things up, chose things to make the character more proactive, etc. I highly recommend Ellen Brock on Youtube for any plotting advice. She’s an editor, and I’ve learned so much!

4) Organize plot into chapters, write key notes for chapters and fill out background info. The first two are self explanatory, but the third is my favorite! One thing that speeds my writing (I have no idea if people do this or not) but I have lists. So many lists! For ABAT, I have lists of common outfits for characters (I usually hate writing about outfits but I’m glad I wrote more for this work). I also write the character arc for each main character. For ABAT, I have the following for Brienne:

Brienne 

Symbols: white crocus flower (purity, youthfulness, sensitive to rain), White begonia, Small birch saplings struggling for light

Goal: serve public, be idealistic, honorable

Lie: (hidden for spoilers)

Truth: (hidden for spoilers)

Flaw: stubborn, idealistic, watched her father get fame and respect for his engineering, wants to do the same thing and do it perfectly, doesn’t understand systemic racism 

Motivation: serve people, be accepted by the public, belonging, abandonment

Stakes: public rejection, Tarth name on the line, mockery, insanity, failure

So when I think about a curve ball for Brienne at any point of the story, this character section helps me stay true to character. I have a section for Brienne, Jaime, Cersei and Missandei. Cersei has a larger section because she’s a villain... ;)

In addition to this section, I also write down their personalities and strengths. You know, like if they went to an interview lol. For example, I have Missandei have the following strengths: 

Missandei

Adaptability: able to adapt

Intellection: introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions

Consistency: all people should be treated the same

Futuristic: fascinated by future

Learner: loves to learn

I ALSO have an emotion worksheet and this is SO USEFUL. They say in writing: show that the character is angry, not tell the reader. WELL, IDK about you but I can’t keep track of all the little quirks characters do and yet, I want them to be consistent. If while writing a scene, I sometimes think, “Hmm what is Jaime doing if he’s in awe right now?” I search for “awe” at the top of my fic, and bam, I have options, more or less. For a lot of emotions, I brainstormed ideas based on character traits, arcs, Gothic tone etc. I fill all of this out before I write the first chapter. 

Here’s an example of some emotions I have for ABAT:

Emotion List (remember to have introspection, unique perspective) 

Awe:

B: wrinkle deepened between brows, parted lips, fixed gaze, stands still

J: arched brow, open mouth, stare, goes closer

C: lowering chin or raising chin, goes closer

M: adaptable, quick to react

Deceptive:

B: looking away, walking away

J: scratching ear

C: smiling, neatly placed hands

M: long blink

Thoughtfulness:

B: staring off, quiet, daydreaming

J: staring at object important to him, twisting pencil or object in his hand, squeezing his hand

C: squeezing hand, staring at object she wants to get rid of or improve

M: daydreaming, staring off at her own outfit—it’s foreign

5) Now the fun part: writing! I used to write with scene structure outline, but I think I’ve grown off the training wheels. But it really helped me in Deep Fried Drinks to plot out the chapter scenes ahead of time, and I used Ellen Brock’s proactive and reactive videos to help me out with that. I throw on some music to get me in the mood of the story and I write during my kid’s nap, about two hours every day. Sometimes I’ll write at night, but lately I’ve been too tired to do that. My tip for this part is to try and figure out what you want to improve. What are you good at, and what could you improve as a writer? My first fics had like zero figurative language. Awkward. This takes a level of awareness that’s hard to reach but watching or researching creative writing technique really helps me. For example, I used to NEED to write all five senses out for each chapter ahead of time. Now it comes naturally to me! I would say now my main issue is phrasing? Pacing? And I need to tone down the melodrama for my next work....... lol! I write, write, write--and usually, I write 60-90% of the fic before I start editing!

6) Editing. Fun fun fun. I don’t mind editing, I just don’t think I’m that GOOD at it. I try to read through my chapter twice and edit as I go. I look for things I want to take out or add, look for show vs tell, formatting, etc--do things make sense? Did I miss anything? In ABAT, I’ll write something in chap 20 that I need to start in chap 18, so I’ll go back and make a quick note to “add part about document somewhere in this chapter” so I don’t confuse readers. When I edit chap 18, I’ll add that line or paragraph in. It’s all an intricate web! I also have a list of vague words I try to eliminate or replace with stronger words (I have more words if you want them). I found that I have certain words or phrases that echo a lot, like “while”, “turned around”, “turned” or “did not”--now I search for these phrases/words and try to change them:

Get rid of vague words, fix by explaining more:

Some 

While

Thing

Stuff

Very

Really

Big/small

Good/bad

Simple verbs: had, was, went

Got/get

Few

Several

What

Do/Did

It

Like with all writing “rules”, they can be broken, but it helps to know why they are rules. I steered away from adverbs, and I think it improves my writing. Other writers have different prose and adverbs work so well--it all depends on your style! If I find these vague words in dialogue, for example, I almost never change them because dialogue is usually freaking vague lol!

7) Beta reader(s)! I honestly think this work is better than my other stuff because I have a newer beta reader, theunpaidcritic!!! *I bow* She’s literally an expert so it’s SO helpful for me in every way--I can’t fangirl about her enough. If you’re struggling to get a beta reader, I recommend joining a JB discord (transformative werk is my favorite discord, and there is a beta read request thread) or post a request on reddit!

8) Post! Once you’ve edited and gone over beta reader notes, it’s time to post! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

For time reference, I started this process around mid-May for ABAT, and I will be done by early September. Maybe I’m just a fast writer? Compared to angel-deux, ha, I look slow. Everyone is different! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I am ALL about helping out! :) <3 <3 <3

[nearly-theyre]

Kaminari Denki fic recs

“Hard” (T) by Silver_Sterling

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525128

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kirishima has never been to Kaminari's house and he doesn't know why. Denki says his parents won't allow any visitors but other than that he knows nothing about them. When he finally gets to go his whole world gets turned upside-down.

“No one is truly ‘stupid’ without a reason” (Gen) by Mov_Kai

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16323209/chapters/38184812

Warnings: N/A

Ships: erasermic, gen

Kaminari Denki wasn’t stupid, Shouta noted.

He was far from it, actually.

Kaminari might not be academically smart, but hell if he wasn’t people smart. His vocabulary was extensive (even if he preferred not to use it much) and he read pretty difficult English books. He could read people just as well. But not everyone could see past his usual antics of small sparks and forced laughter. Shouta could though. Shouta was an underground pro, after all.

Or, Aizawa Shouta notices everyone's favorite idiot isn't actually as dumb as everyone suspects, and discovers that something might be holding the otherwise intelligent student back.

“No More Fragments” (M) by Ischemia

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16057748/chapters/37489790

Warnings: N/A

Ships: Kamishin, kiribaku, tododeku, erasermic

Shinsou Hitoshi has finally gotten his wish and is now officially a part of Class 1-A. It was everything he'd wanted, but all of these obstacles keep finding him.

Sometimes this means a cute blonde boy he doesn't know how to talk to and other times it means possibly losing the trust of the class he so badly wants to be a part of.

Cue awkward dates, Shinsou having the best dads in the world, and learning what friendship means.

“A Bit Too Late” (NR) by malfunctioning

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832983

Warnings: Major Character Death

Ships: kirikami, bakudeku, momojirou

Denki should’ve known better. He shouldn’t have thought of going through with this ridiculous plan of surrendering himself to the police and narrating everything he knew just because Kirishima suggested it.

The whole scenario seemed like walking towards the circus tent with Denki was the inexperienced lion tamer expected to put on a show for the audience, without prior training and past the point of no return.

“Loss” (T) by rainbowturtle2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15010256

Warnings: Major Character Death

Ships: kamishin

“Why didn't you tell us before?”

Denki thinks for a minute. All the usual lies are at the tip of his tongue and he opens his mouth to reassure them and-

“I didn’t want to.”

Also known as "Denki makes terrible decisions."

“would you watch me as i fade away?” (T) by Zyzzyva

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15513666

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Denki found out he could charge things when he was ten. At this point, his quirk was remarkably out of control for someone his age.

“Lichtenberg Figures” (T) by Q_loves_you

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15496764

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari Denki has a very powerful force of nature running through his body. Kaminari Denki doesn't want to hurt anybody. He doesn't always get what he wants, and "anybody" does generally include himself.

“Days go slow” (E) by SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17381381/chapters/40905449

Warnings: Creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: bakukirikami

Kaminari Denki has a secret. A secret he's keeping from his boyfriends, and can't bear to tell them. So he flees to America to spend a week with his pro hero cousin, while they have time to process it. In that week, he learns more about being a hero than any time in class could ever teach him.

“How to save a life” (T) by anxioussailorsoldier

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379239

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Shinsou doesn't expect to find Kaminari on the roof of UA.

“My Best Mistake” (T) by SammyD

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17374055

Warnings: Major Character Death

Ships: kamishin

Shinsou takes a secret to his grave

“Kiss Me Through the Screen” (M) by Ischemia

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17289734/chapters/40664117

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, erasermic, (minor) kiribaku, tododeku, tsuchako

Shinsou remembers when he first saw the ad for Ch4rgeb0lt’s services. He was just messing around online when a pop-up appeared with his smiling face, one eye winking and the other brightly flashing with happiness.

“Lonely? Tired of coming home to an empty apartment? Can’t find anyone to listen to your problems? Say no more! For the low cost of $10 per stream, you can have all the company and love you ever wanted. Get a best friend for the best price!”

His first reaction was, “what kind of depressing loser needs to buy a boyfriend?” before he looked around at his empty home and realized he might be that depressing loser.

“Chargebolt not Bioshock (M) by Sissytobitch10seconds

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17242589/chapters/40548050

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Ships: kamisero, kiribaku

Kaminari Denki knew he didn't belong with his family.

She knew she didn't belong in her body sometimes too.

Hopefully, they could find a way to figure out a place where they did belong.

A place that was called UA High.

“One Shock, Too Many” (NR) by RoughGem

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865500/chapters/36960420

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Ships: gen

Electrical shock can cause neurological and psychological damage. Depending on the shock, people can die. Kaminari has a higher resistance to the electrical shock due to his quirk, and it's evident he isn't immune to the after effects of electrocution. His limit of 1.3 million volts makes his cognitive abilities decrease dangerously low. What happens when it goes higher?

aka. Kaminari's kidnapped and discovers he has another limit of his volts, just the after effects is, less than pleasant for everyone in close proximity to him.

“As You Wish” (T) by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16301087

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, ojirou x sero

“Be sure to wake Sleeping Beauty with a kiss,” Kirishima said with a knowing grin. Hitoshi considered stabbing the captain, but that would just get him on Commander Bakugou’s bad side, and it would only break his blade because it was Kirishima and Hitoshi was pretty sure no normal weapon could hurt him.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Hitoshi said, pointedly adjusting the position of the blades concealed at his wrists while holding Kirishima’s gaze. “You know I would never do such a thing.”

“Eventuality” (T) by KikaTouka

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15895002/chapters/37042446

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Shinsou learns more than just hero lessons after being transferred to 1-A.

 “That Boy is a Problem” (T) by friedgalaxies

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14787077

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

No summary but basically Present Mic becomes Kaminari’s mentor and “comforts his small insecure electric son” (according to the tags)

“Untitled” (T) by awakened_treepanda

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099039

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Denki's not feeling too well and the Baku squad step in (more like charge in, really) to help.

“Lighting Scars Can Heal” (T) by XTrllfix (ChibiKame)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097776

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Heroes are good and Villains are bad; that's the general belief in a society that sees things only in black and white.

Kaminari knows better: heroes can be just as bad or worse than the villains they fight. Heroes can also be terribly stubborn and deluded. He could either play along and pretend to conform to their ideology, or face prison and let down the people that still need him.

“Pickup Lines for the Soul” (T) by MustardSoup

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18925678

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamshin

Denki is twelve when he is flicking through the TV channels and lands on an old RomCom movie about soulmate marks – specifically the same type that he has.

“I can’t believe I’ve had to walk around with a cheap pickup line written on my ankle my entire life because of you!” The leading lady yells at the leading man as he stares at her in awe.

Denki laughs.

“Oh no.” His mother says, watching him.

“Oh no, indeed.” His sister repeats quietly.

“Caught in my own web” (T) by anxioussailorsoldier

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19037812

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Shinsou needs some help after getting caught up in his capture weapon. Kaminari enters from stage left.

“Get Tased” (NR) by HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008565

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Panda’s Notes: I originally wrote this almost two years ago in late 2017; I still can't believe it's been so long. A little while after the community Discord got started, it was mentioned there that Kaminari hasn’t gotten much attention. To remedy this, have a collection of paragraphs where Kaminari sparks up trouble. I believe it’s the first story I’ve ever written without dialogue, so I hope you enjoy it!

“Parents Day Can Suck My Giant Lightning Sword” (T) by ConnorProject2k17

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18840073/chapters/44711098

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, kiribaku

Denki Kaminari thought he kept his ASD pretty well under wraps. No one suspected a thing; not even his teachers. Until parents day came around and his world fell apart.

“don’t think twice” (Gen) by dreamtowns

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18723295

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

What does it take to break the internet?

A slip of the tongue, apparently.

“paging dr. oblivious” (Gen) by dreamtowns

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18770095

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Hitoshi, slowly, delicately, puts his fork down and squints. Denki regrets maintaining eye contact, but, also, he doesn’t because damn, Hitoshi has pretty eyes – and focus, Denki, focus! “I’m sorry,” Hitoshi starts, quietly, almost threateningly, and tilts his head. “Would you like to repeat that? People think we’re what?”

“Pining,” Denki bursts out, almost too loud in the hospital gardens, and then he hunches forward and continues much more quietly, but no less heatedly: “They think we’re,” he swallows and finishes, almost lamely, “pining.”

Hitoshi says nothing. Waits.

“They have a betting pool,” Denki practically wails.

(or: the entire hospital staff has a betting pool on when Denki, resident trauma specialist, and Hitoshi, the neuropsychologist, will start dating.

The punchline is that they are married.)

“Electrical shocks and brain chemistry don’t mix” (T) by LillaJoba

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18183314

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Ships: gen

Kaminari has a lot more setbacks to his power than he originally let on. His brain can get far more seriously hurt than just being dumbed down. He wished he didn't have to experience it in front of his class, but things don't work out the way he hoped.

“rock’n’roll, buckaroo” (Gen) by Origamidragons

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17221628/chapters/40497176

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari walks up to Todoroki in the hallway after class and says, “Dude, I need your help.”

Todoroki checks over his shoulder, twice, to verify that Kaminari is indeed talking to him. “Why?”

“Yesterday you asked Shinsou-kun if he was Aizawa-sensei’s son,” Kaminari says, as though that explains anything at all.

“...yes?”

“Make a hero conspiracy YouTube channel with me.”

“fuzzy memories” (T) by ettea

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18567835

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

At first the league said he should get someone to fall in love with him, or get into some sort of relationship. No one who came looking to betray a group would get into a relationship, so Kaminari had targeted Jirou but had been rejected harshly when he found out she was a huge lesbian, which yeah was a bit of a blow but whatever.

He turned his eyes to the kid who was bunked up to 1-A after being in general, after the grape dude was kicked out.

“Pinned, Trapped, Stuck” (T) by galaxy_warping

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905686/chapters/44878096

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari gets pinned under a collapsed building after a villain attack. How could it get any worse?

“a lesson in ancient greek mythology” (T) by Ellieb3an

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19719598

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari, Kirishima, and Bakugou are teamed up again for a final exam that pits them against creatures of Ancient Greek mythology, and Kaminari proves his usefulness against the Sphinx.

“How Many Cats Is Too Many?” (T) by TheSpaceAceTM

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19418521

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Hitoshi and Denki live together, and progressively get more and more additions to the family.

ShinKami Week 2019!

“Your Name In Paper” (Gen) by xemrox (Roquel)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18355292

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

There are two people in this world who orbit at the opposite ends of Denki's spectrum of love and he never thought he would have them sitting at the same table at the same time.

“Lost But Always Found” (Gen) by gringle

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17869784

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

He can remember. He can do things. As long as he has his lists.

“not so summer love” (NR) by nataliya 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19182886

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Class 2-B’s common room, although typically quiet, was currently filled with five students—three slowly giving up on homework, one bitching about noise and another that rushes through the front door.

“We’ve been waiting for you—” Mina starts, but Kaminari’s vaulting over the back of the couch, eyes wide as he practically buzzes out of his skin, emitting light like crazy as currents dazzle across strands of hair.

“I have a big ugly crush,” He steps off the couch and onto the coffee table, much to Bakugou’s chagrin, “On big ugly Shinsou.”

“Storms” (T) by SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815934

Warnings: N/A

Ships: bakukami

All quirks have a cost. A price or a drawback, something which makes the user suffer. It’s the natural order of things.

“Blamed” (T) by coldandhotsoba

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16644668

Warnings: Graphic Descriptions of Violence

Ships: kamishin

This was not how the day was supposed to end. They were supposed to end the day like they do most nights. Kaminari clutching onto him like a koala as he slept, wrapped in the millions of tacky blankets Kaminari had bought. Warm and safe in their bed. It was not supposed to end with both of them tied up in some cold metal room.

“Lighting Scars” (T) by Present-Mics-scream (write_your_way_out)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17720768

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

It's hard to be confident in your abilities when you're surrounded by people with incredible quirks. Shinsou Hitoshi would know better than anyone. Sure, he was admitted to the hero course in his second year, but being admitted to the hero course, and keeping up with the rest of the class are two different things.

Lucky for him, Kaminari is there to prove that the flashiest quirks come with the largest drawbacks.

“weak silence and loud ticks” (NR) by bluedevil18

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17168447/chapters/40366943

Warnings: Creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: gen

He knows those looks, the looks of pity. He keeps his head down, keeps his eyes averted. Why couldn’t he have a breakdown on a Friday? Where he could hide out in his room for two days and have this whole thing die down? Why did it have to happen on a Tuesday?

“Write It Down For Me, Would You?” (NR) by Nuclear_Equipped_Walking_Battle_Tank

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638824

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Denki Kaminari's quirk is as much a curse as it is a blessing.

“Weight of Words” (T) by PoorUnforunateSoul

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20974619

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kirikami, shindeku, bakuchako

“I know you targeted Kaminari with your little ‘r-word’ comment because of his autism, and that alone makes you a worse person than Bakugou,” he continues, making the boy in question turn his murderous gaze to Shinsou, “but I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you don’t truly understand the weight of that word. Allow me to educate you, would you?”

___________________

Monoma's attempts to rile class 1-A up go too far, and BakuSquad and DekuSquad combine to teach him a lesson.

“You Seem Familiar” (Gen) by PoorUnforunateSoul

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21673501

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

You have an affinity for Black Magic?” he asks, sounding unbelieving.

“Yeah!” Denki says, and it feels so surreal to argue for it, instead of promising that he doesn’t. “When I was younger I figured out that Black Magic just sort of feels, I dunno, alive? To me? I guess? I don’t really know how else to explain it, it’s a little electrifying almost. I dunno. But, when you look at me, I get the same feeling? So that’s why I thought you had an affinity for it, I’m sorry if I-”

“I do,” Shinsou cuts him off. “I’ve known since I was six. I just - can’t feel it on you, like you do me.”

Denki feels himself deflate immediately. Is this one of those unrequited soulmate things? It’d be just his luck, honestly.

_________

Shinsou Bowl Week Day 7: AU

“Holy Shi- YoUrE gAy??” (NR) by seizethosegays

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21780742

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin, erasermic

Holiday, fight, blood, Eri, hair clips, aizawa

“I’ll be here for you” (T) by orphan_account

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16877226

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: gen

Sometimes, thoughts creep into your mind. Sometimes you can't block them out. Sometimes you need a distraction. And sometimes, the right person finds you at the wrong time.

“Megalixir” (T) by dreamtowns

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14439228

Warnings: N/R

Ships: gen

Kaminari Denki packed his belongings, packed his past, and moved into his new apartment the day his life ended. He integrated himself into the human world seamlessly, and ignored everything related to magic. When a remnant of his past reentered his life, there are dire consequences of his past decision, however, and the ignorant façade Kaminari donned threatens to shatter when the Lord of Demons begins his reign of terror on the human realm.

“Rain Makes Good Background Noise To Fall Apart To.” (Gen) by daisiesandstars

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21306695

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin

Kaminari's family isn't always the kindest to his mental state, thankfully he has a support system. Enter : Kirishima Eijirou.

Bonus: Shinsou Hitoshi.

“taking control” (Gen) by wolfcrunch

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20526899

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

The walls closed in as the figure at the end of the dark, scary 'tunnel' made itself known. A grin, stretched across scarred tissue, a face much too old and no face, no face above the mouth--

Denki slapped a hand across his own mouth as fear crawled up his throat, his parents paying no mind to their child's reaction. Instead, they both bowed, eyes averted towards the wooden floor as that man -- that thing -- regarded their presence with a single nod.

"Master Shigaraki," his mother spoke first, her yellow eyes void of any possible fear or misplace she may be feeling. "We...we brought the boy along, just as you requested."”

“See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (T) by Randomfan188

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20304415

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari Denki is legally blind. When he forgets to wear his contacts and breaks down during math class, comfort appears in the strangest of ways.

“Draconic” (NR) by RoughGem

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18986632

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kirikami, kiribaku

The Bakusquad are a group of good adventuring mages. After defeating some bandits and dark mages, they discover some cargo, who would soon become a dear friend in their team.

Aka. they rescue Kaminari from bandits who kidnapped him and attempt to get him back home.

“paradise will remain” (T) by oredatte

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21535585

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin

Denki was so close, and yet he still couldn't save her. It hurts like a gaping wound, but as always, Hitoshi is there to help him through it. As always, Hitoshi is there to kiss him better.

“Saving you from Yourself” (T) by SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815445

Warnings: N/A

Ships: bakukami

Class 1-A is having kidnapping training and Kaminari helps Bakugo through his traumatic recollections, even at his own suffering.

BakuKami week, Day 1: Training.

“Kaminari did what?!!” (T) by Vash20

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005657

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: gen

It is always interesting to see how a story will change if a few small details are altered. What would have happened during the USJ attack if Iida was a hair bit slower, and if Kaminari's quirk was a little different than canon. Well i guess you will have to read this to find out.

“Electric Storm” (NR) by silver_lily

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824490

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence

Ships: gen

The storm raged overhead as static prickled its way through the air and freezing rain slammed into the muddy earth. There was barely any light, sans the gentle, comforting glow coming from the dorms despite the late hour. Kaminari smiled slightly as he wiped his soaking wet fringe out of his eyes and tilted his head back to face the thundering sky, listening to its rumbling roars and feeling the patter of droplets on his skin. It was a beautiful night.

He was happy it was going to be his last.

“A Mindless Pawn” (NR) by miagirl3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20898866

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: gen

Summary: The U.A. traitor has been discovered and is in the process of being interrogated by Pro Hero Eraserhead, the only problem is that something is a little off about the teen.

Written for Inktober: Day 2 Mindless

“Never again” (T) by SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882410

Warnings: N/A

Ships: bakukami

What happens when Kaminari has three cups of the most caffeinated coffee teenagers could get their hands on?

“how not to enjoy the weather, an article by kaminari denki” (Gen) by dreamtowns

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943929

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

If there was one thing Kaminari hated the most in a world wth villains, it would have to be thunderstorms.

“One step at a time” (Gen) by soulstring

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502171

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

“We don’t know how bad your situation is… but if it’s making you so depress—”

“What are you talking about?” Denki quickly interjects. “I’m just… taking it slow, y’know? That’s what Recovery Girl said I should do.”

That’s not the only thing she told him, but Denki has tried to bury her words under a pile of procrastination. Although it works, they still form ripples inside his head. Some days they’re small and barely noticeable. Other days, they’re big enough to form waves that are close to drowning out his will to become a hero.

Kaminari Denki Appreciation Week Day 4: Comfort

“Fluency” (Gen) by GothicPixi

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22389154

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Kaminari Denki doesn’t test well. Sometimes he has too much energy and reads too fast and some characters look like other characters. Sometimes he forgets which language he’s supposed to write an assignment in, and he turns in his history exam written in Korean. Sometimes a teacher is lecturing and his brain translates what they’re saying into every foreign vocabulary Denki knows and suddenly he’s too overwhelmed to finish his notes or answer the question.

By the time he entered UA, Kaminari knew Japanese, English, Mandarin, JSL, and Korean. Language and vocabulary came easy to him because people came easy to him.

“Christmas Comes Late” (T) by Amethystfairy1

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138522

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Jirou? Check.

Tsuyu? Check.

Yaoyaorozu? Check.

Kirishima? Check.

Midoriya? Check.

Kaminari had everyone covered.

He'd never been as excited about Christmas as he was during their first Winter in the dorms. He'd saved his food allowance and cut back on spending so he could afford gifts for all his friends. He'd gotten everyone together to decorate the dorms. Everything. Yet when Winter Break began, everyone trickled away, and he was left alone.

As usual.

And honestly?

What else had he been expecting?

Not like it really mattered. He just had to make it through the season, without letting himself get too disappointed.

Little did he know, while disappointment might be his only company come Christmas Day, perhaps he could still count on the holidays arriving.

They were just a little bit late.

“Always Smiling” (NR) by Cryingaloneinmyroom

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22126954

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, erasermis

There was no way that Kaminari Denki could be depressed, he was always smiling.

OR Kaminari decides to end his life, but Aizawa stops that from happening.

Trigger Warning: Suicidal Thoughts/Suicide Attempt

“Sunshine” (T) by Rosey_Note

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22252345/chapters/53136115

Warnings: N/A

Ships: bakukirikami, erasermic, tododeku

They didn't deserve to put up with his crappy mood.

Because Denki Kaminari did not feel like Sunshine right now.

And they deserved sunshine.

In fact, Denki didn't feel much of anything right now.

“To See Without My Eyes” (Gen) by corbeod

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298883

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, implied tododeku

Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me

The first time that you touched me

Oh, will wonders ever cease?

Blessed be the mystery of love

 Five times Denki falls in love with the future and one time he falls in love with the present.

“I can’t be trusted around you.” (T) by Pwyllxiety

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624837

Warnings: N/A

Ships: erasermic

No summary / Kaminari angst and erasermic teaching kami to trust in them 

“baby let me ride your wave” (NR) by beelue

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21893185

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, kiribaku, tsuchako, tododeku, erasermic

Kaminari Denki's days are filled with summer sun, laughing with his friends, and occasionally saving lives. He knew he was Bisexual- He had since he rescued a (smoking hot) guy from drowning and two seconds later asked for his number.

But he truly realized he was a disaster after seeing Shinsou Hitoshi for the first time.

title - wave by blanks

“Vibe check” (T) by orphan_account

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21905614

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kiribaku, momojirou, kamishin

He’s yellow. He’s got one braincell. Most of all, he’s gone mad with power. Class 1-A soon realizes that no one is safe from Kaminari Denki’s painful vibe checks. Not even his closest friends.

“Knight of Thunder” (T) by Tauri_fic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21959068

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin

"Young man Denki Kaminari had been jinxed with the unbreakable belief that he would never have a soulmate. In a society where soulmates were the hot topic 24/7, he almost felt like a quirkless child in a quirk-filled universe."

A visibly exhausted Denki rolled up his sleeve as he spoke, revealing a clean printed "Kaminari" on his wrist.

-Like, how many people have called me by my surname until now? It could literally be anyone of them and I wouldn't know.

Nothing after that would ever be okay again.

He didn’t know why or how, but he felt that it wouldn’t.

Because there was something inside his soul that was violently itching and screaming back at him, and Denki didn't know how to shut it up.

-We need to do something!

-It's too late.

-But we can't let them take our stu-

-It's too late!

****

Aka the angsty shinkami soulmate fic no one ever asked for but that's okay, I guess. Also it's rated T because some descriptions may be too gory so I'm not risking it

“‘Studying’” (T) by emmyrox22

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21744931

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin, erasermic

Shinsou and Kaminari have been “studying” together for a while (but not for school). Shinsou gets stopped by his dads on the way to another “study” session and mistakes are made

“Mistlet-Oh?” (Gen) by AbithaLynDrakonclaw

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21759316

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

"I think we're in a stable enough place to adopt one, if you'd like."

Hitoshi's heart stops.

Denki brightens and leans down to kiss his forehead.

"Merry Christmas, 'Toshi."

(aka it's christmas so Denki lets Hitoshi adopt a cat and accidentally makes him cry)

“Electric Connection” (Gen) by Onlymostydead

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22012375

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Kaminari's quirk has always had... Weird side affects. Like his ADHD. And his constant energy.

And his insomnia, which wouldn't leave him be right now, when he really needed to just get some sleep.

But, thankfully, he has good friends.

“Holding Onto You” (Gen) by IcyHotHeart

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21025529

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Pikabitch: All I want is for someone to hold me close and pet my hair until I fall asleep, is that too much to ask?

Denki whines to the group chat and gets more than he bargained for.

“Wait a minute, who are you?” (NR) by BlueGhostCat

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21237392

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

Who was he? What was his name? How old was he? Where did he live? What was he doing here?

Why couldn't he remember?!

---

AKA a fic where I put the child in a terrible situation because I love him.

“denki is smart as fuck change my mind” (T) by wonhaebunny

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21624229

Warnings: N/A

Ships: gen

bakugou can be a really great tutor (and maybe an even better friend) when he tries

“Impromptu Surveillance” (T) by DinoGraveyard

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19429963

Warning: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Every Saturday without fail, Shinsou would sneak off to god knows where and come back in a remarkably good mood. He’d have a spring in his step, soft smile on his face, and a faraway look in his eyes. As if he was thinking about someone special.

Denki is determined to find out what or who his crush is doing.

“Mind Defibrillator” (T) by DinoGraveyard

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19470070/chapters/46345510

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, kiribaku

For reasons Kaminari Denki couldn't understand, people enjoyed watching him die repeatedly and shit talk NPCs as they owned him. What started as a joke evolved into a surprisingly lucrative career as the game streamer Chargebolt. By some miracle, he was one of the most followed gaming channels on the internet.

He knew that streaming an indie queer game by the unknown developer Shinsou Hitoshi would be a change of pace for his channel. He didn't expect to start re-thinking certain aspects of himself as well.

“Weaknesses” (T) by sunflowerstorm

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551517

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Kaminari's quirk and storms compliment each other in the worst way, but he's convinced he can deal with it on his own... until he really can't any longer.

When Shinsou accidentally overhears Aizawa confronting Kaminari about recent changes in behaviour and hears about the hell his quirks been putting him through, he can't just pretend he never heard. He wants to help.

“For You Even Chocolate” (Gen) by xemrox (Roquel)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18396866

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

When Hitoshi Shinsou receives chocolates on White Day, Denki panics.

“it’s hurt denki hours” (NR) by memeingfultrash

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22525795

Warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings

Ships: kamishin, (minor) momojirou

“Certain members of our class are...under the impression that...you’re the traitor.”

Denki’s body went cold and felt like he was going to short circuit.

~

some of class 1a believes that denki is the traitor and avoid him

“Irrationality And Comfort” (Gen) by MinzeySparkleIsPerfect9

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22392550

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

After settling into 1-A, people don't seem to notice how Eri suddenly began growing fearful of the boy with a certain lightning bolt in his hair.

But the said boy does notice.

Or

Eri grows afraid of Denki Kaminari out of fear of that one Shie Hassaikai member.

SERIES

“Its just a spark” by pixiegold

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1172012

Ships: kamishin, tododeku, kiribaku

Currently: 8 works and still in progress

Summary of first fic: Hitoshi can't sleep alone, and Denki comes to the rescue.

But they are just friends, and that's completely fine.

Right?

“Never Was a Story of More Woe” by DomineeringScarves

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1170170

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, erasermic, kiribaku, tododeku

Currently: 4 works and still in progress

Summary of first fic: Kaminari finds himself head over heels for the newest addition to their class, Shinsou Hitoshi. Normally the flirty blonde would just present himself with open arms but there's a major problem with his infatuation. There's unspoken rules in 1-A and Kaminari is part of the Bakusquad...whereas Shinsou is a part of the Dekusquad. The two can't be together. It's just not possible. There's no way Bakugou would ever allow one of his extras to date Deku's friend.

There's only one thing left to do, give up and move on. Too bad Kaminari can't seem to escape Shinsou.

Aka the fic where Kaminari is Romeo and Shinsou is Juliet and they have to secretly date so their squads don't fall into an all out war.

“Flaws” by an_innocent_cactus

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1141982

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamisero, kiribaku

Currently: 2 works and still in progress

Summary of first work: The moment he touches the water, he’s screeching and shaking, his electricity struggling to get out, and he clamps down on it, teeth grating, eyes leaking, the only thing he can hear is the sound of her screaming in his ears and 'not again please not again I didn’t mean to'

Kaminari Denki has a lot of drawbacks with a quirk like his, and nobody can know them all.

“Chargebolt’s Nightcare” by blueslove

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1001946

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamijirou, (minor) tododeku, ojitooru, kiribaku

Currently: 7 works and still in progress

Summary of first work: It wasn’t rare to find someone disappearing into Kaminari’s room late at night, shivering and seeking solace from their own mind. Kaminari welcomed them all – he’d named it something stupid like ‘ChargeBolt’s Nightcare’, which was meant to play on words but had quickly become an inside joke in the dorms. Even so, everyone had paid a visit there at least once.

Except Kyouka.

She’d scoffed at the idea because there was no way she’d ever come to Jamming Whey’s dorm for comfort. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

But – but tonight was different.

~

Or, Jirou has a nightmare and decides to have a sleepover with Kaminari. Except it’s more drink juice, braid hair, raid the kitchen and play Just Dance than actual sleeping.

> CONTAINS MANGA SPOILERS <

“Soundtrack of a Betrayal” by anonymouspotato

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1251266

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Currently: complete w/ 2 fics

Summary of first work: When Shinsou finally found Kaminari, he was on the roof of the dorms, leaning against the railing. He almost didn’t want to interrupt him. But he had a job to do.

“Creme eggs” by MustardSoup

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1334767

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin, kiribaku, tododeku

Currently: 2 works and still in progress

One day, Denki presented Hitoshi with an assortment of British candy he got from one of his cousins.

"This is the one I wanted to show you! Look! It has our color scheme and everything!"

Hitoshi eyed the creme egg being shoved in his face, unimpressed.

"It's also red, though."

"Well, duh. The red represents our love for each other."

"... And the icing center represents how sickeningly sweet that was?"

"Nah, that represents how soft you are on the inside despite your hard, edgelord exterior. Keep up."

The shove that Denki received in response only widened his grin.

“Denki’s Hero Academia” by StrayKatgirl

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1328678

Warnings: N/A , Graphic Descriptions of Violence

Gen

Currently: 2 works and in progress

Summary of first work: Breathing heavily, Denki wiped the sweat off his brow, giving a feral grin towards his opponent. He laughs, spreading his heavily sparking arms wide. "Come at me Bakubro! Give me everything you got!" With a laugh of his own, Denki’s friend launched himself toward the blond, hands crackling. As they met in the middle, the crowds roared in excitement.

Aka

In which Denki goes up against Tetsu for his first match, hides way too much from those who care, and proceeds to wreck everyone.

“Thus With You, I Smile” by Kawayls

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546096

Warnings: N/A

Ships: kamishin

Currently: 5 works and in progress

A bunch of ShinKami centered One Shots, that are set up in the same universe. Each one can be read as an individual work, though I order them chronologically.

“Brain Damage”

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555762

Warnings: N/A, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Ships: kamishin, tododeku, kiribaku

Currently: 2 works and completed

Summary of first work: A casual meeting at the supermarket strikes a realization, that perhaps should have hit Shinsou sooner. However, everything isn't as sweet as it seems.

(A prequel to Brain Damage)

[fruitlupsthings]

SENSE OF SMELL - PART SIX

{REVISED TITLE ON THE BACK OF THIS THOUGHT LOL 17/08/21} There really isn't much of July left and tbh this has become a much wider project, so I may have to revise the titles of this blog, maybe just call it the writing challenge or the writing project or something. I'll decide that if I'm not done by the time we start heading into August (highly unlikely lol, given the expansion this little universe has received recently). But just thought it would be good to keep you updated. SO This post is a bit of a brief explanation of the experiment, what happened to make it go wrong and an accident occur to release the gas into the environment, a brief guest appearance from our main bad guy, Huxley, and a short timeline of the aftermath of the descending of the fog. Confusing? A little. but once drafts start coming in of the actual writing, and maybe if I explain connections and actual write a good canon lore document to show you guys, then it may make more sense :)

If you wish to read my work before getting into the nitty gritty of its creation, just click this link to hop straight to it, and then pop back here when you're done if you'd like to get into it more. I may even be editing or writing in real time, so you can always keep refreshing the document to track my progress. As always, any comments or feedback you want to give to me will always be more than welcome, and you can reach me on any of my socials (links are in this blog's bio, though the handle is always fruitlupsthings) or my email fruitlupsthings@gmail.com. _____________________________________________________________

So there is a lot to unpack here. There are also major spoilers so if you skipped past the first disclaimer paragraph because you see it on all of my posts and you want to skip to the fresh content just be mindful that this will contain major spoilers (seriously) for the entire book, not just the sample available for the challenge, I really do mean the whole thing. So please just be mindful of that before you read on. Thank you. _____________________________________________________________

Anyway, I decided I wanted to link this book with a larger universe I had already mostly world-built, as it was advantageous to both works as each had questions answered by the others, which was an awesomely rare literary revelation for me.

So I’m going to pretty much unpick the mini blurb thing I wrote, as I think it’ll be a good way to answer all the questions for this to-do list and also will keep me reasonably on task and structured throughout this post (it’s going to be a long one). “An organisation were experimenting with a weapon in the form of a lethal gas which, upon inhalation, triggers a hallucinogenic response, causing you to experience your most treasured, happy and safe memory, including all of the sights and SMELLS associated with making you keep calm and happy, This causes you to inhale more of the gas which (remembering it is lethal) ultimately kills you. However, there was an accident in the building which was hosting these experiments, and the gas was unfortunately released into the atmosphere.

The population must now wear filtering masks to protect themselves from the gas, lest they should be forced to hold their breath if they are maskless should they wish to live. Down the line, "safe zones” were created, which resemble domes or bubbles where a filtration system generates safe air, providing sanctuary for a small community within each bubble or dome, Within these “safe zones” you are free to be maskless.“ So the organisation is The Hive Foundation (big gasp). This was just one of the many shady operations that Martha ended up carrying out during her reign of the company. It’s kind of a weird one to be writing, but it helps with the general push of the main series I drafted, and it saves me having to world-build a whole entire extra villainous world or something. It also helps with the world design of the world post Martha, (in bigger universe, this blog hasn't met her yet) as i knew i wanted the rest of the series to take on a more apocalyptic role (think district 13 from the hunger games) but i didn’t really know how to go about it. So now that’s solved too which is awesome !! Huxley (villain for this story) was one of the people they were testing this gas on, and when the organisation collapsed (main story) and everyone went into hiding, he escaped from the lab as the whole building went up in flames and crumbled, but suffered near fatal injuries. As he was being experimented on, he was almost completely mentally broken and insane, repeating the things they had told him - that the gas was going to cure humanity, and that he was part of something special. During the building collapse, no one was really thinking about one of the many secret labs in the place, and the gas canisters burst, and the gas leaked into the atmosphere, mixing with the gases in the air, and then descending onto the world in the form of a fog/mist.

There were many tragedies, as no one knew how to handle this new threat at first. The wearing of masks outside of homes became mandatory. Windows and doors were closed permanently, unless absolutely necessary. Eventually, the development of “bubbles” became commonplace. Cities who couldn’t afford these changes were relocated to those who could and had space for more, many communities often separated to avoid overcrowding. We join the story after these have become commonplace, and people have begun adjusting as best they can to this new way of life, and are finding their roles in their new lives, grieving over those lost, and hoping they survive the deadly fog. _____________________________________________________________ That's about it for this section!! It feels so good to get another thing ticked off my to-do list!! I've been slightly ill for a little while since I hit you all with a flurry of posts, and I think this has been a good way for me to speed up my recovery, as having something I love to focus on is a fantastic healer, and I hope I can keep up a regular rate of posting from now on... I may even get some regular posting times in the future!! As always in my long posts, if you made it this far, thank you so so much. Your support means everything to me, and I couldn't be happier to be hearing all your feedback on which posts you find interesting and whether you're enjoying the plans so far. So it goes without saying that you all MORE than deserve this kitto gif :)

Thank you so so much for reading, I hope you're all taking care of yourselves. fruitlups <3

[plounce]

tma fic recs? i went into ao3 and it was a mess

yeah it’s been slow-going for me too because of the amount of freak shit people post/have posted, as well as the fact that a lot of the high-kudos’d jm fics are from before s4 really ramped up their relationship development. and i’ve found i can get pretty picky about martin’s characterization. here’s a couple i’ve read and liked

(now with a read more because it’s gotten long) (updated 2/15/20)

the umbrella (4.6k) - mag160 fixit, probably my favorite fixit so far. includes canon-level non-graphic blinding. but it has a happy ending. it’s tma, i don’t need things to be light and fluffy all the time, i’m good with canon level darkness yk? as long as there’s a happy ending and the gays’ love for each other is pure.

feel the done days and you’re pulling through (1.8k) - jon deprogramming from being an avatar. living a very domestic and idyllic life. it’s adorable

all resistance wearing thin (4.7k) - ok this is the ONLY web!martin concept ive ever liked. bc it doesn’t make martin a crazy villain hes still himself and hes just NICE he LOVES people (aka jon). and we all like to indulge in a bit of mutually obsessive love. happy ending :)

some invitation of light (4k) - i love the joke that “martin is proof that playing hard to get works,” and this fic is in line with that. i’m picky about jealousy in fics but this one was enjoyable

ways to save the world (19.3k) - oooooogh urghhhhh jon gets trapped in the lonely and martin communicates to him through passages of poetry… im a total sucker for epistolary fics and this one was so GOOD

*

above all shadows (4.3k) - canon divergent from s4, written before the finale. very fairytale esque. theres some paragraphs in this that made me go HAM

catch and release (2.3k) - pre canon divergence au where theyre both avatars being spooky and doing a back and forth. martin is full lonely and jon got RAISED BY SPIDERS. somewhat edgy but in a fun way. we love creepy shit

agate, amber, amethyst (994) - short sweet and soppy. magpie jon is so utterly charming to me.

reciprocity (1.9k) - short and sweet caretaking stuff. both these bitches need to sleep.

always a reason (1.7k) - we love jon taking care of martin!! as he deserves!

pl: nuclei; but you only need one, anyway. (1.1k) - s3 phone calls with jon asking martin for research help. timezones. jon trying to stretch those “i care about you” muscles

1. can’t be helped (5.3k) 2. rituals (8.4k) - two fics in a series. very monster boyfriend. the first is martin losing his emotions to the lonely. the second is martin getting them back, but jon has been subsumed by The Archivist, which is figuring out what martin means to it. there was a moment in the second that made me go a little whoa hey! it was the archivist compelling martin. but it wasn’t anywhere near enough to make me stop reading. they were good, heartrending reads.

misshapes, mistakes, monsters (7.9k) - jon takes martin as his plus one to an oxford reunion. an enjoyable read, along with an almost cartoonishly villainous posh man. pining! “it’s nice to feel like i’m something worth protecting” arrrghhhh

small things, simple acts (6.6k) - post-159 fic. bookmarked this one! because they LOVE each other and TRY SO HARD for each other!!!! jon buys martin a stuffed cow because he saw martin looking at it and theyre TRYING for it. “There are a lot of things that Jon can’t give him, like safety or a normal life. But he can absolutely get him a stuffed toy just because he looks like he wants it.”

i’m almost me again, you’re almost you (12.9k) - you know when you try to feel feelings and it’s like touching a hot stove? that’s what martin does this whole fic as he’s recovering from the lonely and jon is being so achingly sweet and good with him, but martin can’t 1. deal with it just yet 2. believe that jon loves him back. post-159 fic. god. READING it felt like touching a hot stove, or stepping into warm bathwater with cold feet. jesus christ. excellent

fate, or something (107.8k) - this is that 100k blind date s1 canon divergence au, and i tried it out and i LOVED IT. martin has a spine! it’s just so sweet. they’re friends! martin works with melanie for ghost hunt uk! a great read. it’s that sloooowwww burn shit.

forever is composed of nows (5.9k) - jon meets martin (a single dad) and martin’s daughter (agnes! who had good writing for a child in a fanfiction) in the library and things grow from there. this fic is SO CUTE. it’s wonderful. i literally had to take breaks while reading it to make wild animal noises because i couldn’t deal with it. god. it’s so good. UGH (thanks to @infernallegaycy for the rec!)

and i won’t pray for an unfilled grave (5.9k) - daisy after coming out of the buried. daisira and daisy&melanie bonding. WOMENNNNN I LOVE WOMEN

*

hello my old heart (15.8k) - jess @thedistortion, the person who got me into tma and a dear pal, wrote this, and their brain is utterly huge and good. i love this so much. a deeply excellent post-159 fic that i would also say is pre-160. so many parts of this make me gasp and clutch my chest! but it also has an excellent realism to it. spiders that enrage me. please read.

yesterday is here (26.6k+, WIP) - post-canon jon and martin travel back in time and hang out with the pre-canon crew and attempt to make everything better. guaranteed happy ending. it’s so sweet watching jon be so kind and gentle and Better At People with his coworkers and make things right - and the s1 jon and martin fumble at seeing their extremely married and Knowing counterparts.

a measure outside the lines (22.9k) - i looove post-159 fics that show that martin hasn’t been completely severed from the lonely and still really struggles with it. this one is EXCELLENT at it. there’s some moments in this one that just made me totally ache because oh… oh martin. it’s so wonderful and has such excellent emotional catharsis

*

interlude (7.8k) - s3 au where georgie meets martin over facetime with jon! makes me wistful for the friendship they could have had without all the coping mechanisms in the way. the fond teasing is very cute. the pining! the banter! the slips of the tongue! very, very enjoyable.

skin deep (3.1k) - another s3 au where georgie meets martin on better terms - she calls him for help after jon’s meeting with jude (as jon’s locked himself in his room). the way jon leans on martin and lets him in and just… the way he behaves around him. very sweet.

bury my heart on the coals (3.6k+, WIP) - au where martin was one of gertrude’s assistants who is now a ghost haunting the archives. i’m enjoying how he’s so judgmental of jon and all the little signs of Haunting that jon and the assistants are experiencing.

nor any more youth or age than there is now (6.5k) - outsider pov of jon being a primary school teacher in scotland post 159!! so, so sweet. i LOVE outsider pov stories and this one is so good. jon using his powers to protect his students and displaying all that character growth he’s had… the glimpses of his domestic life with martin… it’s adorable. please check it out.

take sides in divided cells (3.4k) - in an idyllic domestic post-canon, martin’s father tries to reconnect with him. from jon’s pov, so it’s a lot of him worrying about martin and then being protective. oof! oof! emotional hurt/comfort.

pieces of you stuck on me (1.9k) - spy au. a little snapshot - i enjoy all the implied backstory going on. the thrill! the longing! the suspense! and i’m generally a sucker for spy aus, i’ll be real.

be kind, i beg you (14.9k) - post 159. oh this one is so achey… i love it. jon obsessing over “loved is past tense” and trying so hard to be Good to martin, while martin deals with mood swings from his recent emotional traumas. they try really hard and are very domestic, talk about gardening, and clean up the safehouse. LOVED THIS.

[chaoskirin]

Book Review -- The Heartstrikers Series

This is a book review about the first three books in the Heartstrikers Series, which starts with Nice Dragons Finish Last.

I liked these books, but I didn’t love them. It's definitely a solid three stars, and I'll read the last two books to see where it goes. Overall, if you like fantasy with YA elements, you will probably enjoy this series.

This review will contain some minor spoilers in order to justify my rating, with some MAJOR spoilers at the end.

First, the good. The plot is absolutely solid and it's clear the the author had a good idea of what she was going to do before she wrote it. It has a very mobster-type feel which I would expect with the way the dragons are characterized. The writing is occasionally clever and the main character is likable, relatable, and I'm able to empathize with his situation. The author may be projecting a bit as Julius' situation can get a little heavy-handed, but the theme of a found family is definitely present and well-executed.

I love the world that's been created. I'm originally from Detroit, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the entire first book takes place in a sort of ghost-town version of it. I can picture the descriptions of the houses (I used to work in an old mansion converted in to an office, in fact!) and it's pretty clear that the author is from Detroit, or at least spent a lot of time there. Sometimes it got a little name-droppy as far as locations were concerned, but I kept hoping the author would namedrop the place where I'm from, so it's a fair trade. XD (She did not, sadly, but it was still fun to read about.)

The spirits and how they exist is also very interesting. Algonquin is an amazing villain in the second ant third books, and I can't wait to read more about her and the other spirits in the last two books.

There's also a great amount of action interspersed with the narrative, so that kept things interesting! Some books tend to either get lost in endless exposition or endless action sequences, but this book balances them very well.

Now for the not-so-good.

I picked up the first book expecting dragons. The title is "Nice Dragons Finish Last," after all, and while it's very clear from the description that the main character, Julius, is "sealed," I had hoped that there would be at least some mythological creature action. This is kept to an absolute minimum, though, in favor of dragons in their human shape. It's even a rather contrived "rule" in Detroit that dragons aren't allowed to be there. This trope has become outright cliche... I've been reading books for years and this was a common theme way back in the days of Dragonlance--take an incredibly powerful being and shove them into human shape, but add a coolness factor by calling them a dragon. (I wrote this part after the first book: there's much more ACTUAL dragon action in books 2 and 3. I still wish there was more.)

But they aren't really dragons. They think like humans, they act like humans, they seem to have the same emotions as humans... Except for another fantasy trope, which is taking every member of a species and shoving them into a single alignment (lawful evil in this case). Julius is the one exception, so it's a very Drizzt Do'urden situation and it's always been odd to me that every member of a species could be evil/good just because of what they are. (this is especially a problem with goblins and rampant antisemitism, but that's another discussion entirely.)

It's a problem that allows justified racism. If the entirety of one species is mean, it's really easy to make everyone hate them, and you lose the nuance of what real racism is. I would suggest that people not write about racism unless they've either experienced it or they've consulted with members of their community who have been the target of it. This becomes more of a problem in the second and third books when Julius is trying to prove that Not All Dragons Are Bad. And it becomes clear that both humans and spirits are very racist against dragons, but it completely lacks the reality of what racism really is. As one poster on tumblr said, "racism isn't just one species being mean to another."

Essentially, it puts all dragons on an uphill battle against everyone else, fails to become a proper allegory, and discards depth and warmth.

A small problem that I should mention is that sometimes plot points sort of fade? There was a situation where Julius' mom visits and he was very mean to Marci, and she was very upset about that, but it's never actually addressed. It sort of fizzles and ends and then everything moves on. It should have at least been mentioned and tied up.

Another problem is repetitiveness or filler text. When I'm going through beta reading for my books, I ask my readers to tell me ANY TIME they skim over text. When your readers are skimming, what you've written isn't interesting, and it has to be changed. I found myself doing this a lot in this book. I forced myself to read back and see what I've skimmed over, and it was usually information I'd already read being presented in a slightly different way. My advice would be to allow the readers to infer information without explaining it into the ground. One thing I would avoid is the discussion of plans before executing said plans--even if they ultimately go wrong. It's enough to say that your protagonist HAS a plan, then let the text speak for itself. These planning phases were what I tended to skip the most.

I can supply one sample of repetitiveness without spoiling the story too badly: One of the main characters is talking with a dragon character about a plan at the beginning-ish of book 3. And breaking the text down to its basics, it goes like this:

Amelia: You have to. Marci: I don't know... Amelia: But you have to. Marci: I don't know... Amelia: You really should do this. Marci: I don't know... Amelia: It's a good idea. Marci: Okay I'll do it. Amelia: Are you sure? Marci: Yes I'll do it. Amelia: Are you sure???

And the argument became VERY spread out over the whole chapter, interspersed with the same explanation of why Marci Should Do The thing, most of which I ended up skimming to the part where Marci ultimately accepted Amelia's idea.

Another chapter I skipped was in book 3 where two human characters had lunch with Marci. And as soon as it became clear they were discussing stuff Marci basically already knew, I just skipped the whole chapter. It was an unnecessary bit of writing that could have been summarized in one or two paragraphs instead. I went back and actually read it later. I didn't miss anything.

(my examples are from the third book because I just finished it and it's the freshest in my mind, but this is an issue in the first two books as well.)

I think there's a certain amount of realism in conversations like this. The problem is that your readers have already figured out where something is going, and they want to get there. If the author reads this, my suggestion would be this: Sometimes it's okay to cut events out when they're uninteresting. If you hate writing it, and your beta readers hate reading it, it can go. I wouldn't follow the advice that you should cut out EVERYTHING irrelevant to the plot, because sometimes it's fun to have fun, but the extra boring tedium can be safely summarized.

Next, Marci.

I first want to state here that my PREFERENCE is writing female characters. Most of my characters are women. And I understand there are a lot of readers who outright dislike all female characters, but I'm not one of them. I feel like that's an important thing to state before going into more detail about my issues with Marci.

I wanted to read more of the series before posting this review, because I felt Marci was a shallow character after book one. She felt like a female character who was STRONG, but NOT a strong female character.

And through the first book, she felt like a prop to the other main character, Julius, instead of a character all her own. (And to be fair, her ENTIRE story from the first book is sort of... hand-waved in books 2 and 3.)

In the first book, Marci isn't really written with a story arc. She's a sort of deus ex machina for Julius; she appears into his life mysteriously as he's looking for a mage, first of all. And while it SEEMS that she does have her own arc, it becomes clear by the end of the story that she's only a catalyst for the dragons' stories. The thing she's protecting eventually ends up in the hands of the dragons; she's essentially just a walking suitcase for them. She's a roadblock for the villains. And there's not even a true explanation of Why She Has The Thing They Want except that it's really cool and she wants it.

This alone may have prevented me from reading the rest of the series, but I'm VERY glad I did--While Marci has a slow start, her story does pick up in the second and third books and she becomes much more likeable. She still feels like a prop at times (other characters refer to her as a "weapon" even) but within that description, she's fighting her own battles and has become much less shallow.

I do wish she had more agency. I wish her decisions truly felt like hers, instead of the manipulations/machinations of those with higher power. But she's not the worst-written female character I've ever read, and the author makes it clear in the second and third books that she knows how to write good female characters (cough chelsie cough) so I can forgive Marci's shortcomings.

There's one Bad thing that I want to address, too, which mostly came up at the end of book 2 and throughout book 3. And this is a fairly major spoiler, I'm sorry.

You don't give a tyrannical dictator power after you defeat her. You just don't. Julius could have banished his mother if he refused to kill her. He could have let someone else kill her. He could have done any number of things. But the first thing he does is give her a seat on the new council and is just like "yes you still get to make decisions." And as you can imagine, this goes very wrong.

And book 3 is FULL of Julius refusing to let his brothers and sisters kill anyone, even when it's justified. This has always been a trope that rankled... You can't write about a coup and then have nobody die. It suggests that genocidal dictators Can Change If You Give Them The Right Opportunities, and we all know from real life that that doesn't happen. Tyrannical people in power will fight to keep that power. They don't learn. And props to the author for showing that these people don't learn, but... seriously, you don't keep people around who actively want to kill you.

I was so annoyed with Julius by the end of book 3, and the hoops the writing had to jump through to show his decision was good and right. He felt naive and almost stupid. And (VERY major spoiler here, just stop reading if you don't want the end of book 3 spoiled!)

...

...

...

...

...

...

Julius' mother had enslaved his sister for hundreds of years. When the sister was released, she immediately tried to kill her mother.

This would have justified ALL of Julius' actions up until that point if he'd just LET HER. Bethesda hurt Chelsie the most out of ANY Of her children. It would have been a PERFECT way to allow Chelsie to get her well-deserved revenge AND end the problem of Bethesda (who REALLY deserves to die.) And Julius made her stop, because That's Not How We're Doing Things Anymore.

I don't like that Bethesda is effectively not paying for the thousands of atrocities she committed over the last thousand years because the main character is a pacifist. It just doesn't sit right. And IDK if the author is building to Bethesda's death in the last couple books or not, but letting Chelsie kill her would have been the PERFECT end, and I'm really disappointed. No end for Bethesda would have been better than that.

Anyway.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I still recommend reading the series. It's a really interesting urban fantasy-type book, and while it crosses into YA territory, the fantasy aspect is interesting enough to keep me reading.

[singingcookie]

HELLO YES CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT ADORABLE CARRY AND HOW THEY DIDNT REALIZE HE WAS STILL HOLDING HER AT FIRST PLS AND THANMK

Ah yes. So like, fun fact: this chapter also turned out really different from its outline. Well. Everything but the last scene turned out really different. But I have fun stuff about that and pretty much everything else so...another outline comparison?

Obviously spoilers for chapter 21 of DoJ under the cut

Back to Ochako’s pov

This should start up incredibly chaotic. The sound of screams, being bumped into from people scurrying either to or from the where the flames are congregated. Ochako’s nose is burning from the smoke, and she has to cough to even take a deeper breath in.

Details are hard lol! I tried writing down notable sensory details to get me going but it still took ages to write the first page or so. Finding ways to word the images in my head and have them come across so hectic was really hard for me 😩

There’s a question of what they should do when Deku’s phone rings. It’s Todoroki. Ochako stands close to Deku’s side to try and listen but she can barely make anything out with all the commotion going on. She almost contemplates asking for speaker but, all things considered, that obviously wouldn’t fare any better. Deku mostly just seems to be agreeing and listening until he finally says that they’ll do their best and hangs up. Todoroki said that Iida had called Aizawa immediately. They were closer to the havoc and they’re helping lead the effort to get civilians to safety and any possible need for triage. Luckily a decent number of the class was already nearby so some are fending them off and other are helping with the effort to grab civilians.

So as you can see here things............deviated. A lot. I had a really hard time actually planning out how this chapter was gonna go and I pretty much wrote up this part of the outline going “okay this is probably gonna change but these are the basics. The basics I have to get across.

So as you can see, originally I thought of having izuocha like....idk too far away? Too in shock? To jump to action. Which was, honestly, very dumb on past me’s part but they were quick to say “fuck you we’re helping” like of course.

They wanted to rush over to deal with the trees and help but I was standing there like these guys are so far away how tf is this gonna work. And that’s when it was like “omg, bridal carry.”

I think I had to break from writing after deciding that though. And I was telling my little sister about it while we were in the car. And we kind of mutually came up with the scene. We played around with the scenario a little bit, and it was originally a jokey thing. But after we talked about it, and she agreed (as a Tododeku shipper) that she thought it flowed well and made sense, I decided to include it. It was so vivid though we could both imagine as a scene in the manga so a day or two later I decided I had to commission it.

I’ll be forever grateful that @jellojolteon was up for the task and did it so so wonderfully. 💖💖💖

We also were joking around about the Momo thing and after telling @savetheirhearts-midoriya about it but saying I thought it was too goofy to include, she told me I had to include it. And who was I to refuse? Lmao

Looking back on this though idk how I thought that that it was gonna be chaos but still chill enough to be able to have a phone call smh. Luckily I’m not super strict on my outline being the end all be all lmao

I definitely like the way it turned out a lot better though. Did a good job with showing the class’s self reliance. Especially considering they’re in third year now. It shows off that they have this kind of thing down pat now. Kinda like how the Big Three came off in canon.

They decide they should try to tell other civilians where to go (maybe check how long the street usually is in Kanagawa for the festival) in the midst of that, they see Toogata and Amajiki with Eri. They explain they were with Aizawa but he felt it might be best if they go to safety with the others. They didn’t want to leave Toogata and Eri alone but Amajiki will go back into the fray once he’s guaranteed they’ve made it safely. They explain where to find Aizawa and they take off.

Maybe include a conversation with Ochako saying that, all things considered, at least this attack is happening where a handful of pros and a majority of the 3rd year hero course were out tonight. Deku wonders if that’s really much of a relief. “Was it just a coincidence or…?”

Ochako blinks in surprise, about to stew on that thought a little more when there’s a scream just up ahead. A little further ahead, there’s two girls, twins from the look of it. One is on the ground, unconscious and disheveled as well as a bloodied arm.

ooooooh right, again, more differences here. I never altered the fact that I changed the setting in my outline LOL. Mostly because I knew and it seemed pointless to change something so small when I already know lol. I wanted to include Eri a little here but when I thought about it it just felt like it would slow down the pace of the scene. And it just felt too....pushy? Idk something about it just felt off. So I decided to cut it. I also changed where Aizawa came into play but I’ll get to that in a few lol.

Second and third paragraphs though are the same. I knew I wanted to highlight the fact that is was very likely targeted.

Aizawa arrives right as they do and they ask what happened. The sister explains that they were wandering around the festival looking for her boyfriend who was further down. She started to go off ahead, but some crazy girl popped out of the alley and attacked her sister. She ran off before the twin could come back over. She tried to stem the bleeding but--

Ochako says they’ll take it from here as she goes to join the girl on the side with the bleeding arm. She says that she feels bad doing this since Inko worked so hard but she tears off some of the bottom of her yukata, to wrap the wound.

Alright so, I changed where Aizawa came in mostly because I felt like, upon, writing it, he would be coming from further into the festival than they were. And they’re up toward to front, so it only made sense to have him show up late....not to mention that he might notice that the girl (Toga) was acting a little off. So I had to limit his exposure LOL

The story was pretty much the same and, real talk, I wanted an excuse to free up Ochako’s movement since a yukata is a little limiting. But I definitely wanted to feel the ache that came with messing up something that we spent so much time waiting for. I went ahead and added some details about Toga looking a little too long before this next part just to drive home that something really doesn’t feel right about this girl...

The twin watches her, seemingly entranced, an unblinking expression on her face. “You really know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

“Oh well, I’m a hero in training!” Ochako’s a little embarrassed. “It’s all in the job.”

“We should get both of you over to triage,” Deku notes, looking toward Aizawa. This seems to snatch the other girl’s attention from Ochako’s deftly moving hands. “They can help check on her properly there.” The sister suddenly jumps to her feet, suddenly remembering her boyfriend’s further ahead and alone. She has to go find him and takes off

“Ah wait!! Eraserhead, Uraraka-san, I’ll go make sure she’ll make it okay, be right back!” He takes off too.

Pretty much the same, as far as what’s conveyed, I think. Especially highlighting that something’s wrong with this twin and that Ochako’s uncomfortable. Though, here I didn’t spell out the latter as clearly as I felt it during outlining.

Main difference is who’s saying what and--again, tbh I like how the final result came out better. Toga pretty much dips as soon as Aizawa shows up. Because 1) Aizawa’s caught her in the act before (during Overhaul arc with Rock Lock) and 2) his quirk immediately takes off hers. So she knew she had to get out ASAP once she saw who it was. I also changed Deku’s “be right back” because what the point of coming back if they’re taking the passed out one to where triage is? Dumb lol

Ochako wonders if she should maybe use her Quirk on the woman to help make it quicker for them to transport her. Aizawa says he’s not sure that’s necessary. He doesn’t want to send her or Midoriya off alone because it sounds like a lot more of the League than what they’ve actually seen. And...yeah, it’s awfully weird that they haven’t really seen a lot of them. Did they really concentrate their attack closer to the entrance? But then there’s the person who attacked this woman--

Her thought is cut off when Aizawa continues, “And if I go to take her, you won’t know when to release your Quirk. It’s probably better not to”

The first part of this is confusing--likely because originally I planned on Deku coming back but once I realized that was a little futile I had to rephrase how this was worded lol. But no matter what I didn’t want anyone to think too hard about who was doing the attacking yet (I figured people would get it by then but I still wanted to keep it low profile).

The girl between them suddenly wakes up, startled, and they assure her that they’re heroes on the scene. “It seems you were attacked and passed out from the fall or possibly received a blow to the head.”

“And you guys got rid of her?”

“No, the villain seemed to take off when your sister came over to help.”

“What? But--”

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s okay! She went to go find her boyfriend but she and our friend’ll be--”

“No, that’s.” She looks between them seemingly more dazed and confused. “I don’t have a sister.”

Aizawa says that she received a blow to the head. It’s possible that she has a concussion and she’s a little confused. “No, I’m telling you I don’t have a sister!”

“I’m an only child, and I came here alone!”

This whole exchange was more or less the same. To be honest, most of this last scene is lmao. This scene (unlike the rest of the chapter outline) was super vivid when I planned it out and whenever scenes are vivid, they almost always play out exactly the same as my outline lol

That said, chapter 22 is incredibly vivid so. Prepare yourself 👀👀👀👀👀

“But she looked just like you…” Twins. A crazy girl. She happened to be unconscious and...had a blood wound. Just like her.

She pales. No way. She doesn’t want to believe it. Not even a little. But her body moves before she can think, taking off with no heed to Aizawa calling after her.

Deku-kun!!

This was, again, near exactly the same because it was such a vivid image in the planning stage that it carried over well into actual writing. For a little bit I debated whether I should actually name drop Toga but ultimately I was like “the readers are smart, I don’t have to hold their hand about it!” So I trusted yall to put two and two together lol

But yeah, that about sums it up!! The notorious scene actually only happened because of Izuocha wanting to help and me and my Tododeku shipper sister sitting in the car in the BK drive thru if I’m not mistaken lmfao

[musicalidiotthe3rd]

A bit of a rant, more of a concerned fan asking other fans to look at their behavior.

Before you read this, please bear in mind that I do not think these musicals are terrible, or the actors are untalented, or that anyone in the fandoms are terrible people. This is simply about something that has bugged me for a while and I’d like to bring to the attention of people.

I have loved musical theater from the moment I watched Idina and Kristin as Elphaba and Glinda from the computer screen at my grandmothers house. Since then I have inhaled Broadway like it was crack and I was an addict; my mind was full of POTO, Wicked, Sound of Music, Annie, Les Mis, White Christmas, Hello Dolly, Funny Girl, Mary Poppins, Cinderella and so much more. I fell in love with the storylines and the harmonies and especially the characters. I loved them so much I tried to emulate them; I drew them, I wrote about them, I fawned over them. But I also understood something vital that many people now tend to forget; my heroes on stage were not perfect.

Glinda wasn’t totally good, she sold out Elphaba for fame. Annie wasn’t a saint, she could be annoying and stubborn. Mary Poppins wasn’t a flawless woman, she could be stuck up and arrogant. Cinderella wasn’t totally a bean, she lay down and allowed her sisters to walk over her. Characters are people, they have flaws and dark sides and quirks that are not meant to be ignored, but to humanize the powerful and to open them up to be relatable to the audience.

Who would want to be so perfect, no one could ever stand to be around you? Who could ever relate to someone who could do no wrong? Who would want to be seen by everyone as a small child in need of constant protection? Nobody. To be held on such a pedestal or viewed as such a child holds stress and anger over the image you must keep and the chains you can never break.

And yet, that is what Broadway Fans, more specifically, new Broadway Fans have done. When I say New Broadway, I’m really referring to fans of musicals like DEH, BMC, Heathers, Hamilton (though my thoughts on Hamilton will be discussed in a later paragraph), and Mean Girls. These fandoms are notorious for many things, but the one I’m talking about today as you can guess, is glorify and deify characters.

Take for example, Evan Hansen. Many people in the fandom paint him as a smol uwu cinnamon roll who made one tiny mistake bUT LoOk hE JuSt wAnTEd tO hELp, or He GoT ScAreD, or hE diDnT mEaN tO hurT eVeRyOnE. Let’s dismantle that. One, Evan Hansen is not a childish, beanie, naive character. He very clearly understands what he is doing, and he knows what he’s doing isn’t right. Two, anxiety does not make someone a bean. It does not make them cute. It does not make them a child. Stop romanticizing Evan’s anxiety now. Three, he is manipulative. Don’t fight me on that, it is very clear and very not ok.

Then Heather M. She is often made to be a bean, portrayed as sensitive, fawned over as the kind one. First, she is not a bean. She is as harsh and cold as any of the Heathers. Second, depression and anxiety doesn’t a sensitive child make. No, her character is not a sensitive soul, she is a bitch with mental disorders all of us have witnessed or experienced. Third, she is not kind, she is cruel. She set Veronica up to be raped.

Our last example, Michael. I’m not going to be elaborate here, instead I’m going to get to the point. Michael having a panic attack in the bathroom doesn’t make him cute or smol or a bb. It makes him a stoner that is carefree and loud and supportive that has anxiety. Period.

One aspect of a character does not define them. To do so erases their relatability, their message, and their meaning. It vilifies characters that shouldn’t be vilified. I’ve seen so many people call Jared a dick or a douche for turning on Evan, seen people hate on Jeremy on account of Michael, seen people ignore Heather Duke’s pain and humanity in favor of Heather Mac. But that’s not the point these characters are trying to make.

Heather Mac serves as a reminder even cruel people can be hurting, everyone hurts. Evan Hansen is a lesson, you can’t undo what you did, and you damn well should not use someone’s pain for your own gain. Michael Mell is a glimpse at how someone’s actions can hurt others, with or without meaning to. To take these characters and define them with only one instance or trait is to ignore why they are the way they are, and not only is it ignorant to do, but it’s really annoying. And when someone romanticizes anxiety, or depression, it can be harmful, as then people start to think it’s cool or a minor inconvenience or even what defines people.

Then these new, deified characters are taken and eaten up by the masses, and people form unhealthy attachments or become extremely protective of them. They protect the idealized version, worship it and go to war if someone dares to challenge that. It’s not healthy.

Now I said I’d speak about Hamilton. Hamilton is almost an exception. It’s characters are difficult to take and make perfectly good or perfectly bad, and most people do recognize that Burr isn’t actually always a dick and Hamilton wasn’t the ideal husband or person. But still some people do tend to put the characters into boxes, and that also defeats the story Hamilton is telling you. None of these characters were heroes or villains. They were people. They were complex. They were walking oxymoronic statements. To put them in a box is to erase half the character.

In conclusion, the romanticization or in some cases vilification of characters in the mainstream musicals is not only annoying, but ignorant and unhealthy.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or concerns or comments, please reach out.

[adreamofspring-archive]

Hi! I read a post by someone explaining why Dany won't go mad in the books. I think it might have been you, or might've been reblogged by you? I just watched the Game Revealed and they said "When George told us he was going the mad queen route with Dany..." that's not good. What do you make of it? I mean, they couldn't outright lie, could they? I mean it's... super convenient that that's the first dialogue in the entire thing, but... now I'm scared. I had hope the books would go differently. :(

Hi!

So I’m pretty on the fence about two things.

If she will go 'mad’ in the books

If that’s necessarily a bad thing

I haven’t watched the Inside the Episodes because I really don’t give a fuck, but if they really said that then I’m not sure how I feel. If this wasn’t how GRRM intended for it to go, why did he allow for it to happen? I also know that D&D have changed things from ASOIAF DRASTICALLY to the point where it’s literally not even the same series / characters in some cases. D&D can say literally whatever they want and to me it’s complete and utter bullshit because in the BTS of every episode they’ve said she’s not her father, she’s not a sadist, ect. Take a look at how they’ve supported her over the years and are now saying it’s wrong of us to support her the whole time? So I take everything they say with a grain of salt.

I personally don’t think that this is where GRRM is taking her character.

Here are some good metas about why she won’t go mad in the books.

x. x. x. x.

Here is a small paragraph from this post, written by @goodqueenarya​ and @snowstcrm​

Dany won’t go insane. Why? Because nothing she has done is any worse than what her male counterparts have done. Like Arya, her journey is about finding her home. Daenerys’ pursuit of the throne is something she sees as a duty to the people she is told are waiting for her. She supports other claimants whether it’s her brother or her son over her own claim. For herself, she wants a simple life. But she puts the needs of her people above personal goals. Also, the vision of the destroyed Red Keep is a show only invention. She has more complicated visions in the book, none of which suggest she is insane or will be.

The Others are way bigger threats in the book than the show made them seem. Prophecies being taken much more into account in the books than the show + daenerys’ rules of threes. Grrm once wrote that his main 5 characters will survive the books which includes daenerys. The guy has known the ending from the start and hasn’t changed it. His biggest story beats have also stayed consistent, with the first third being about Lannister vs. Stark, Daenerys’ Westeros conquest, and then finally the giant threat to humanity which is the Others which will unite the characters to fight.The show completely prioritized her goal for the throne when Daenerys in the books has a more earnest, secret desire for a simple home.

Beyond that, I don’t think that the Throne is going to be the end goal for Daenerys. She literally dreams about being a common woman, not being Queen and having a lemon tree outside her window. She craves a simple life.

Here is something I think it’s important to remember what is actually book!Daenerys

“Yet Your Radiance has found the courage to answer butchery with mercy. You have not harmed any of the noble children you hold as hostage.” “Not as yet, no.” Dany had grown fond of her charges. Some were shy and some were bold, some sweet and some sullen, but all were innocent. “The Shavepate would feed them to your dragons, it is said. A life for a life. For every Brazen Beast cut down, he would have a child die.” Dany pushed her food about her plate. She dare not glance over to where Grazhar and Qezza stood, for fear that she might cry. The Shavepate has a harder heart than mine. They had fought about the hostages half a dozen times. “The Sons of the Harpy are laughing in their pyramids,” Skahaz said, just this morning. “What good are hostages if you will not take their heads?” In his eyes, she was only a weak woman….What good is peace if it must be purchased with the blood of little children? “These murders are not their doing.” Dany told the Green Grace, feebly. “I am no butcher queen.” - ADWD

Why do the Gods make Kings and Queens if not to protect those who cannot protect themselves? - ASOS

“I told you, I know our little queen. Let her hear that her brother Rhaegar’s murdered son is still alive, that this brave boy has raised the dragon standard of her forebears in Westeros once more, that he is fighting a desperate war to avenge his father and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen, hard-pressed on every side … and she will fly to your side as fast as wind and water can carry her. You are the last of her line, and this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer. The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?” - Tyrion, ADWD 

"It is such a long way," she complained. "I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl." - ADWD 

In terms of asoiaf, if Daenerys doesn’t make it to the end of the series, I personally think that she will die fighting the army of the dead. She is the mother of dragons. She is the breaker of chains. Her entire arch has been revolved around her using her power to free slaves and punish those who would harm them. It is her destiny to destroy the Others and break the chains that death has on them.

With all that being said, if this is where he’s taking her character... I’m over it. I think the hero falling into the villain trope and dying tragically is pretty... boring to be honest? It would be such a better message and a much more interesting story if after everything she’s suffered and endured and survived if she stayed true to herself rather than falling to the dark side. As Kristen said, I’ve had enough of the mad woman trope. I’ve had enough of it. It isn’t original or interesting. I don’t care what path he takes to get there. It’s not a destination we should be going to in 2019 or later and calling it subversive or good writing. And up through ADWD Dany is, to me, one of the less grey characters. Not someone I could see conceivably doing what Dany did in 8.05. If that happens, even if it takes her years and a slower and more carefully constructed descent into madness, I’m out. Women don’t have to be mad or villainous to be interesting. Their trauma doesn’t have to strip them of their humanity or turn them into hardened badasses. Dany staying true to herself to the end would be a lot braver storytelling and a lot more interesting to read. I personally think it sends a terrible message to every woman out there who’s ever moved past their abuse and became their own hero. I can’t stand it, honestly.

[blackjack-15]

Staying Tuned for a Soap Opera — Thoughts on: Stay Tuned for Danger (STFD)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: STFD, FIN, RAN.

The Intro:

Stay Tuned for Danger is another short game, though it owes its runtime more to the limitations of 1999 than anything else. Full of wacky, overwrought characters and hilariously over-the-top threats, puzzles, and ‘incidents’, STFD isn’t a smart game, but it’s a mildly fun one, and definitely improves as the second in a series.

STFD relies heavily on constantly rising action, meaning that things never calm down — the game escalates and escalates until it’s over, which encourages the player to finish the whole thing in as few parts as possible to get the full effect.

It does have its problems — way too many things to click on that are pointless, an obvious villain, frustrating and out-of-place puzzles, and the clunkiest interface known to man, but it saves itself from the scrap heap by embracing, rather than avoiding, its own campiness.

The Title:

Funnily enough, this title is actually straight-up ace. It’s a snappy take on soap opera clichés, and is the only game to have a four-letter abbreviation, lest we take Nancy into the world of sexually transmitted diseases.

Er…considering how Rick looks, make that further into the world of sexually transmitted diseases.

Plus, this game puts a heavy emphasis on the continually rising action of its events, so the “stay tuned” part works really, really well. A+ work here.

The Mystery:

Fresh off of the success of finding a killer in Miami, Aunt Eloise once again hears of trouble and sends Nancy Drew barking after it. This time, it’s off to New York to investigate some death threats that a soap opera star is being sent.

Hold the presses, I know.

With everyone working as hard as they can to be unhelpful, it’s up to Nancy to massively invade everyone’s privacy and discover who’s writing the threats (and making the bombs, and dropping the lights, and…) before Rick Arlen actually gets seriously hurt or killed.

Through a lot of snooping, after-hours sneaking, and clunky interrogations, Nancy manages to “figure out” the culprit when he presents himself at the end despite 90% of clues pointing to him, has to solve a puzzle in the nick of time, and treats the audience to a hilarious-looking “capture” of the culprit.

The Suspects:

Mattie Jensen is the one renting Aunt Eloise’s apartment, and the person Nancy first encounters. Not only is she the (co-) star of the show, but she’s also the only one who stuck with her original agent, Dwayne Powers. 

Her mother is too involved in her life, she moves like a plasticine doll, and is a Horrible judge of character, employing Dwayne Powers and having dated Rick Arlen, but Mattie seems genuinely concerned for Rick’s life, asking Nancy to help by snooping around, and offering her aid to the amateur detective.

Mattie’s not short on motive, having been dumped by Rick and having her career endangered by his anticipated contract-breaking in order to get into films and out of soaps, but she’s not really a “suspect” once you’re 1/3 of the way through the game.

This is one of Her Interactive’s favorite tropes — a suspect cleared early on so that Nancy can have a helper — and it shows up for the first time here. In this case, Mattie helps Nancy go undercover as a budding young actress in order to help her investigate more fully.

Rick Arlen is the other co-star of the soap opera (“Light of Our Love”), playing the male main lead. Tired of the small soap opera notoriety he has right now, Rick longs for the big screen, leading him to try to break his contract with Bill Pappas and leave the show.

Rick is a blowhard egomaniac who’s willing to flirt with any woman he sees — even the young amateur detective Nancy Drew — but that’s pretty much all the depth that he has. He dates a lot, but he’s too shallow to keep any relationship for long, either dumping them (Mattie) or being dumped (Lillian).

There might be a moment or two where you think he might be behind his threatening notes to give him an unimpeachable reason to leave…but then you remember that this is Rick Arlen, and he has No Shame, and doesn’t see anything wrong with breaking his contract.

He does send the first few notes, signing them with an anagram of his name (which somehow Her thought was brilliant enough to use twice in one game), but that’s it as far as his involvement goes — he’s not a man with a death wish; he’s an egomaniac. Pure and simple.

The only other thing about him in the game is that he ditched Dwayne for a better agent, which is treated as, like, the Height of Disloyalty. However, knowing that Dwayne is balls-to-the-wall nuts, not a great agent, and hates Rick for dating Mattie….I’d switch to a new agent as well. Sure, it’s not super kind, but it’s not at all an immoralmove to make, and it’s the best thing he could do if he wants an actual enduring career in showbiz.

Dwayne Powersis Mattie’s agent, Rick’s ex-agent, and all around bleeding psychopath with delusions of grandeur. He’s also one of the most obvious villains in the whole series (tying with…well, RAN), blames Rick for his failing business (when the truth is that he’s just not very good at it and has stopped trying at this point), and casts his Cool Alter-Ego Owen W. Spayder as his crimesona.

Dwayne isn’t diagnosably medically insane like the culprit in FIN, but he’s crazy all the same, from his Loud Speeches about hating Rick, to his skulking around the set in a hat and beard, to his ridiculous bombs and light-droppings, etc. etc.

He’s upset that he couldn’t make it as an actor himself, and resigned himself to helping others with their natural talents. Not only does he let this turn him into an attempted murderer, but he also gives this Huge Speech at the end…which lets us see, yeah, he wouldn’t have made it as an actor (and as if RAN needed to reinforce that point, it does anyway).

Dwayne is interesting in that he’s the only suspect to escape twice and the only villain to be the villain in two games, but…quite frankly, he’s not interesting enough to deserve those distinguishing characteristics. Dwayne isn’t enough to carry one game, let alone two, and it shows.

Lillian Weiss is the snappish, cold director of “Light of Our Love”, who is suspicious of everyone and has the clout of being one of the only characters who can fire Nancy without it resulting in a second chance.

She also happens to be the smartest and most likable character in the game (except for Bill Pappas, of course), willing to accept when she’s been wrong and call Nancy to come back in, who figures out who’s pulling these “pranks” around the set, and poured a pitcher of water on Rick’s head while dumping him. 

She also sent him poisoned chocolates which, knowing the guy, I fully condone. She gets to live out Rick’s dream by going to Hollywood, so that’s nice and karmic as well.

Lillian isn’t ever really nice to you, nor does she lose her snappiness, but she is a good guy, and she’s allowed to be smart and capable without being warm and fuzzy, and I personally think that makes her more multi-faceted than most early ND characters were allowed to be.

Millie Strathorn is the elderly owner and founder of WWB and prop master for “Light of Our Love”. She’s also not quite sane, mixing fantasy and reality at any given moment.

Her “motivation” is that she hates Rick and tries to keep submitting scripts to write him out of the show, and this show apparently doesn’t have a Writer (we’ve got a producer, director, and two stars + talent agent, but no writer?), but her scripts keep being rejected anyway. 

Probably because, once again, she mixes fantasy and reality, and definitely wrote a scene where Rick Arlen and “Rory Danner” face off and mud-wrestle, stabbing each other in the face.

Either that or a ménage àtrois between Rick, Rory, and Yuri (Rory’s “evil twin” in the show”. Which would be Very Tricky to shoot with 1999 technology.

Anyway, Millie makes you solve a few middling riddles and then pretty much effs off for the rest of the game, making her a crazy memorable (not to mention straight-up crazy) character despite her lack of screen time (and overall pointlessness).

William Pappas is the never-seen yet always entertaining producer of “Light of Our Love”, who is super pissed about Rick trying to break his contract is “Light of Our Love” and says that he’ll kill Rick before he let him walk out on him. This threat, of course, is just Bill venting, and after Nancy defuses the bomb in Rick’s dressing room, Bill is more than happy to help her out.

As a suspect, Bill sucks, wholly and completely — to the point where he’s just not a suspect. As a character, however, he is a Delight and a Treasure, bursting with pointless personality. I aspire to be Bill Pappas.

Ralph Guardino is the twice-seen security guard at WWB who gives you access to the building, then promptly effs off until he appears to arrest Dwayne at the end. And yes, his name is just “Guard” with “-ino” added at the end. I guess Her used up all their imagination on weird and wonderful pictures to photoshop their characters into.

Ralph, like Bill, isn’t really a suspect at all; he exists because the story needed a job done, so they created a character to do it. He’s also Bill’s cousin, so there’s some added “meaning” that’s actually pointless as well. There’s nothing offensive about Ralph, per se, but there’s nothing good about him either. He’s just kind of…there.

The Favorites:

The general soapy tone of this game makes it fun, and Dwayne’s villain reveal/speech is only matched in its dramatic campiness by…well, his speech in RAN.

Bill Pappas is my Hero and I wish he’d gotten more screen time (though I love that we never see him), and Nancy’s delivery of “Prop Master of DEATH” alone is worth the price of admission.

The Un-Favorites:

First off, the fact that they forgot to put in the desk key really bothers me. I know that the only stuff in there are fake fan letters to Rick from Mattie, encouraging him to stay (which doesn’t point to guilt at all, and so is pretty pointless), but like…it’s locked. It must be important.

I know Her Interactive wanted to advertise their 100+ “close up shots”, but it drags the game down to look at everything — especially since hidden in those 100+ are 5-10 that are Super Tiny and that you have to click on, even if they don’t tell you anything new, or you’ll get stuck and be unable to progress.

Nancy’s inability to see Dwayne as the villain even when it’s patently obvious is a pretty serious knock against this game. Neither Bill nor Ralph are considered actual suspects, Mattie is cleared early on, Lillian is too snappish with you (too obvious, to Her Interactive’s way of thinking) to be it, and Millie is too old to do the physical stuff (and, with her wanting Rick’s character killed off, is also too obvious) and so as early as 1/3 into the game you’re left with Dwayne and Rick. As Rick needs himself to live so he can go on to Star in Movies, you’re just left with Dwayne, who all the clues point to anyway.

The Fix:

Fixing STFD would require totally re-coding it to fix sound and playability issues on newer computers, updating the graphics, fixing characters so that they don’t look like blow-up dolls…all those Quality of Life improvements are super important and vital to a fix.

But fixing it would also require some re-writing. I realize that Millie is in the game as a nod to the original writer of Nancy Drew, and it’s…well, definitely an homage, if not a good homage, but taking her out would go a long way to streamlining the game.

There are simply too many culprits for Her Interactive’s general ability to write multiple fleshed-out characters who are all plausible suspects (especially with Nik being gone), and so the result is that the incidents, character traits, and character appearances are spread too thin for anything but blatant caricature. Millie is simply the easiest character to remove, along with Bill Pappas and Ralph (who only appears twice anyway).

You could fold Millie into Lillian without too much trouble, get rid of Bill (though it breaks my heart to say it), have Ralph’s name appear early but have him only appear at the end to arrest Dwayne, and it would lighten the load that the story breaks under considerably. I don’t think this would make it an A+ story, but it would at least be less cluttered, and STFD is cluttered enough without needing extra help.

[mumpkins]

Private OC Rating

Done by @cho-rates​, I just decided to have the balls to make it public and answer questions! (as well as fix some things)

cho’s comments and questions will be in BOLD. 

My answers and fixed places will be in ITALIC!

Name: Shotaro Kaneda

Hero/Villain Name (if applicable): N/A

Age: 24 ( An aged up verse, he’s a couple years older than 1-A. Though sometimes I will portray his teen years as well, I have more information on his adult verse. I do want to flesh out teen years at some point though lol )

Birthday: September 5 (a virgo eww)

Gender: Male

Orientation: Bi-sexual

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 133 lbs

Hair: ear-length, fixed but slightly unruly, black

Appearance: Athletic agile build, Asian descent, brown eyes, red tinted hands and feet, small red horns on his forehead, long spiked / devilish red tail

Body: Athletic agile build

Quirk: Steam – Kaneda can build up and blow a hot steam that can potentially burn (or even melt depending on the force) his opponents. (Ahaha, the quirk fits the body appearance. I bet this one is going to be a hot head or really sweet)

Weakness: Building up and releasing too much steam at once can cause overexertion to the point where he can and will collapse and not be able to move for a while. Also his fucking ego. (LMFAO, I guess we’re dealing with the former and not the latter!)

Personality: Kaneda becomes the main symbol of defiance, expressing anarchy behavior towards authority and absolutely does not accept blatant disrespect. Kaneda values loyalty and becomes vengeful when trust is broken. He is impulsive, hot-headed, egotistical, and maintains a tough exterior; however, he is brave, independent, and highly empathetic. As a leader, Kaneda will look out for the safety and well-being of his allies, and will throw himself in front of a bullet for them if need be. (This!! I like that you didn’t make him a straight jerk and that you gave him good traits as well!)

Do they work well with others?: You are either with him or against him. By default he will work well if not negotiate unless you have a badge stating your authority.

Family: Parents deceased; family is his gang of brothers, all misfits and loyal to the bone

Friends (other oc’s or in BNHA universe): OC’s; his bike gang

Enemies(other oc’s or in BNHA universe): literally by default does not trust the cops or heroes (LOL)

Romantic Interests: by happenstance, Izuku Midoriya (LOL pt.2)

What do they think about heroes?: Oh shit oh fuck uhhhh

A couple of things about heroes. He sees the rise of fame being motivation for pro-heroes lately. They seem real fake to him, and it runs along the lines of Stain’s idea of “false heroes”. But he also sees them as a bunch of buzz kills when he’s trying to ride out and do his own thing that happens to be illegal. (LOL this guy is so problematic in a very headass type of way and it’s really entertaining. He’s a really fun character to read about.)

What do they think about villains?: They’re somewhat easier to work with, but he does not associate himself with hardcore villains either. As much as he himself could easily be considered one, he considers himself more in a grey area. He won’t kill a hero – actually he hesitates to kill anyone – but he won’t turn on a villain either if only because any of them could either arrest him or kill him. (Ah, he’s smarter than he lets on. I wonder how much of this is empathy and how much of this is him saving his own ass,,)

In terms of villains, he’s very much along the lines of “snitches get stitches”. At this point it doesn’t matter what his views are with a villain or a rival gang, he’s not gonna call the cops or any heroes as that is a lower blow than trying to either run or solve the issue on his own. He would rather risk his dignity than call the authorities. 

Is their first reaction to danger: flight or fright?

Depends on the danger. If he knows it’s an even match, he’ll throw fists. If he knows he has no chance, he’ll turn tail (heh) and run. (i’m actually laughing omg stop)

If they had to be stuck on an island with one BNHA character, who would it be and why?

don’t don’t ever give him the option (brO TELL ME)

Favorite holiday and why?

Halloween. As a child he always loved to dress up as his favorite hero. As an adult, he’s more attuned to the day before Halloween as “Mischief Day” and takes “tricks” to the extremes.

Do they have a certain way of dressing/ style?

His wardrobe is casual and lazy punk clothes. He does occasionally sport a bright red jacket with his gang’s logo on the back.

Pet peeves: Assuming his character for his looks (I mean you right but he hates it) (LMFAO I’m trying to give a serious review here and you hitting me with all this lolol)

Favorite food: shrimp tempura and rice

Favorite drink: Pepsi (ayyeee, pepsi > coke)

What is their favorite season/weather?: Summer

What is their sleep schedule like?: Whenever (mood)

Introvert, Extrovert or Ambivert?: Extrovert

Quickest way to upset them?: Pull his tail (I….I’m so tempted)

What type of student were they/are they?: Given that he only went to school so he didn’t have to do community service… he did the bare minimum, still got held back once (got mightily pissed off about it), and left as soon as he turned 18. Will also add that the school he went to was one step closer to juvie.

Superlative that fits them best (class clown, teachers pet, etc): Most Likely Will Be His Own Boss

A song you associate with them: Survival of the Fittest - Robert DeLong

What’s their diet like?: He will inhale anything in front of him, but he has a real fast metabolism

What’s the last thing they ate?: McDonald’s burger combo

Hobbies: riding his motorcycle and sometimes play video games

Guilty Pleasures: I mean. If you got the dokis for a hero and you’re a real anarchist……..

When and what was the last thing that made them cry?: laid in bed one night. like you do. thought about where his life was. wondered where it was going. you know just one of those fun nights. (this got too real too fast and i feel mildly attacked)

General Extras: In general, he is a real neutral guy that doesn’t play sides unless you’re on his specifically. He doesn’t take being talked down to and will even argue his side to keep himself above it all. Even raise fists. But he is impulsive as shit and does not always think his decision through. Definitely not book smart, but strongly street smart and highly confident in his actions. (I get that vibe from everything you’ve said, you summarized it really well and took the words out of my mouth!)

Do you plan on filling out a roleplay form(No pressure if you don’t want to do it, this is more for me so I can keep your forms together if you send in both): nah I’m just curious about this one

Creator Name (that’s you!): Mumzy

Blog name where I can contact you: mumpkins

Did you have fun doing this?! (pls just say yes so my feelings don’t get hurt): I REALLY DID and eventually there came a point where I was literally like “well shit he’s kind of a dumb bastard what else is there”

PLEASE JUST SEND THE ANSWERS DIRECTLY TO ME I DON’T NEED THIS POSTED 8’D

I’ll post it private and send you the link!

*deep inhales* BOI. Shotaro is such an unintentional meme?? Like big crackhead vibes from him like…he’s really just a lil misfit goin around and doing as he pleases,, so much angst in this one like??? (i hope you dont take any offence to this,, i just really like his character lol) he seems pretty factious to me LOL. I like his quirk, simple and easy and his weakness is plausible, no OP oc’s here! His personality really shined through and you portrayed him well. That little paragraph you wrote summarizing him was a really solid description and would be perfect for a character sheet. The only inconsistencies were, at the top you put his age as 17 but in the “what type of student were they” you mentioned him turning 18 but otherwise he is a really solid character! I’m 20 something so I can’t crush on anyone younger than 20 but he’s really… *deep breath* …moving on. I love his personality and the fact that he’s this punk but in reality he’s an impartial dude who is chill unless something offends him or opposes him but he is also very loyal and empathetic, two qualities that I love!

Idk if you wanted questions since this is a private rating but i’ll put some either way and u can choose to fill em out or nah,, i mainly do it to help develop character and its just fun to talk abt oc’s sooo,,

What job do you see him having in the future? He’s not really here no there so i’m interested!

After he drops out of high school, he flat out does not know what to do. As he is familiar with criminal work, he stays to what he knows with his bike gang... and incidentally gets picked up by mob members. He begins as an errand boy for one organized group, but never is he ever initiated as a member. After having been exposed by a variety of assignments from various villains, by the age of 20 he’s doing all kinds of illegal work. He becomes a man for hire in the undergrounds, helping with drug trafficking, enforcement, body guarding, petty thieving, etc. You name it, he’s probably done it.

But that’s only in the dark. To keep himself balanced, he’s also a bar back for a local bar in the sketchy side of town. An honest job when he meets people and can tell them what he does for work without putting off any red flags.

A couple of reasons why he does shady work is not due to enjoyment. Actually, he wishes he never got involved as everyday feels like he’s at risk of getting killed for angering the wrong person. He doesn’t plan ahead of his life only because he could step outside one morning and breathe his last breath. For one thing, his best friend who grew up with him and is part of his gang is in rehab at this point and Kaneda is the only person who he can turn to for help -- by this, Kaneda opts to pay those hospital bills with the quick and astounding amount of money he receives from criminal work. Another reason is plain and simple: once he has done work for one organized criminal group, once his name is spread around the underground as a reliable hire, there’s no way of suddenly dropping that life without risking it all.

Is there anything in particular he does to relax?? Tv, music, hobbies, etc,

The best way he can relax is riding his motorcycle in the late hours of the night. He loves the city, and will speed through until he finds open road where he will just continue to ride until he feels calm again.

If he’s especially frustrated and the steam has built up in his lungs, he will hold it in until he finds a safe spot (preferably home) to release it all and collapse for a while. Yes, his apartment would be a sauna if he doesn’t open his windows.

Sex also helps.

Is he a pessimist or optimist? He’s very unbiased it seems so I wonder what his personal mindset is,,

More of an optimist, but in a way where he prefers to mask sorrow and tension with humor and a lighter perspective. He can’t afford to not be confident, and he tries his damndest to pass that on given the circumstances. “This will work” he would say to an idea he briefly thought of, mostly trusting his gut and hoping that if he passes on the mindset and convinces others of his confidence, then yes in some way things will work out.

But I also say that he’s not very optimistic of his own future (sorry to bring this back). He lives for the moment, but given the life he lives, he does not trust it will be a long one. 

So it’s hard to explain, but he’d more say, “nothing matters in the end; do whatever the hell you want now”.

[lady-d-ac]

Voltron Legendary Defender Deserved Bette

Dear Voltron Fans Voltron Legendary Defender Deserved Better now I say it's the writer's fault or that it's DreamWorks because frankly, I have no idea at this point.

But I will say is that starting Voltron with the very first season I thought it was tremendous, but I slowly watched it go from third to two thirds from bad to worse.  In the beginning, you could tell that the writing was focused clear and neat and you could feel the rush after us being more rushed after season three. And yes after reading, ... Comment link in the description below that they did lose some decent writers for the series and they were also rushing it out towards the middle to final parts of the seasons. I particularly felt they were out of ideas by season seven, That was the worst season for so many other reasons than killing off Adem, But I'll get to that further on. In the meantime, the big disappointments I feel happened, are the many missed opportunities they could talk but didn't, lack of world building and lack of character development and relationships.

Particularly in lance's character development, in the beginning, he was going to laugh more a lot more but that was left out.  I just shame because he really had some good foundations for a strong character. Lance acts arrogant and cocky but beneath that he's insecure, scared but is brave and willing to sacrifice his life for others, Lance is the kind of person who put aside his fears it and wants for the good of others and frankly I just feel like his character potential was wasted throughout the series. Not to mention how his" friends" Pidge and Hunk treated him but that's a topic on the whole other level.

Mainly the character relationships between the teammates, Season 1&2 were all we really got with development between the characters and their relationships, and really was a light touch on the subject but not much.

Of course, we were all curious what was Keith's relationship with Shiro?

What was Lance's rivalry with Keith really about?

Would Pidge and Lance developer brotherly-sisterly relationship with one another and the loss and separation of their family members, and what kind of relationship with the be like?  Would blossom into a small romance?

Would lone Wolf Keith eventually become comfortable with his teammates and open up about his traumatic past with the other members about his life and becoming a better team player?

Would they ever find Matt Prof. Holt alive, and if so what with their feelings beyond the aliens after being violently abducted versus their dreams of meeting intelligent life, how would this affect professor holds you on the universe after this?

Who's Keith's mother and whatever happened to his father? This is disappearance have something to do with the galaxy Garrison? Where is Shiro? And what happened to him? would Shiro and Allura have a relationship with what few tender moments they had on-screen? We ever get to see Allura is passed on Altea?

And what happened to Shiro during his time as a Galra prisoner. Why was Hagger trying to make and so strong, and how much experimenting did she do? Was he so similar to Altans was she trying to infuse his genetics with what Altan DNA she had left? Why Shira going to be an experimental hybrid between human and Altan DNA?

Did King Alfor secretly build a six lion, the white lion?

What was the galaxy Garrison really up to, especially Commander Irvington and he seemed to have so many secrets and want to keep a lid on them?

Did the galaxy Garrison had ulterior motives? Was there something more nefarious going on there? And how much do they really know about alien life? Was there it a secret organization behind the whole thing. Was Dare I say, the ancient villains Galactor somehow involved in the now globalized government military system, pushing things forward for their own benefit behind-the-scenes, and with this lead to the legendary team-up of GForce with Voltron, and somehow the Macross consortium.

(Though I know this last paragraph is fan wishing)

All these questions were answered never because most of them never happened. Yes, we got Shiro and Keith's backstory. We got to meet Keith's mother and find out the fate of his father which in my opinion was sad but not really what I was led to believe based on the episode the Blade of Mamora, in which keep this up to see his father, but is not shot that he's alive again considering he's compound dead in the later seasons. We also at least get to see how case parents met but it just doesn't go into too much detail about that either. For instance we seek will only as reaction was she being saved from the shuttle that's good, but what about a reaction after she regained full consciousness, her reaction to her pregnancy, her spending more than just a few minutes of screen time with baby Keith, all this would have a lot more depth to the relationship between Krolya and Keith's father's as well as their son. I'm not saying they should have done a whole relationship thing throughout the episode, but a bit more than what they gave us would've been nice.

As for Lance and  Pidge's relationship, it completely disappears after season three. We seen Pidge still getting jealous over Lance is flirting and self-idolization with beautiful girls in the first episode of season three, but after this, we really don't see much more of it leaving the question what happened. We know that Jaquam De Santos and Lauren Montgomery of specified that while all more rise the girl Lance wants she's not exactly the girl Lance needs and with the way the relationships were going we could assume that Implied the back girl could be Pidge. Yet after all of this, we just see them growing more and more a part as the series progresses and not in a good way. Later in the season it's obvious he feels bad the Laura's going after load tour despite the fact he claimed in his “ unquote” interview” that there are plenty of fish in the sea and that is by not settling for one girl, (yes I know there are many inconsistencies in the script) yet here he is moping and clearly upset about it, while Pidge and His Best Friend, Hunk Rob into his face that the Prince and Princess will be getting into a relationship together. And they do nothing to lighten his mood a little bit about it, that just basically making fun of him without any remorse or empathy for how he feels. And this is supposed to be the team that is supposed to have such a strong team bonding can take five mystical lion robots and combine them form a super giant robot? What the heck!

Of course, Keith gets more distant from the team instead of getting close to them. While yes it was the fault of a fake Shiro, Wouldn't he have a stronger bond with Shiro after the years he's known him to know that there was something off about this Shiro? I'm just saying the relationships for a long time tend to notice problems even small ones. But then again the two producers have shown they can't really write relationships well. 

That aside, I really think that during Shiro's disappearance this was a great opportunity for the team to get know each other better and bond more, 

Allura could have gotten to know Pidge better than what her life on Earth was like. Her past experiences with her not so great male classmates and teachers. How page feels about herself, what she likes what she dislikes, and in turn, she could learn a lot about a Laura and how she had to deal with things, what life is like to be the Princess of the entire planet and the responsibilities that came with it. How they dealt with things and how they could learn from each other how they could handle it in the future.

Lance hunk and Keith could've all gotten to know each other a little better. Lance could've learned Keith despite being the best in his class did not come from perfect life. He lost his only family member at a young age and had basically lived from foster home to foster home, dating a distrust of people and a cold distant Attitude because of it. Keith could've learned about both Lance and hunks families, how even though they came from big families they still have their difficulties as well as their joys. How being the younger sibling can be somewhat adult indulging but being the uncles that they are, is a big responsibility. And it could warm up to Keith by offering him to come to spend not next holiday with their family when they return to Earth. This would also really be a great opportunity for Lance because despite his rivalry with Keith he sees a twice been hard for him and he reveals that he's insecure about his status at the Garrison because his older siblings are much more accomplished than he is. And he Felt he should be just as good as Keith, in order to prove that he was worth something not just everyone but himself. And this helped break down a lot of barriers between him and Keith's cold relationship. As well as hunk having a better time understanding Keith knows how to relate to him better and is able to form a better bond.

Keith and then Pidge could have a bonding moment because they were both disrespected by their teachers one for being a bit too smart and the other for being a bit too brash. It also would've helped that they had a bonding moment with a Laura over the missing she wrote as a Laura had obviously befriended him, and page knew him as a friend of the family and how we both meant something to each of them.

Instead, most of these potential ideas were pushed to the sidelines in favor of moving on for Rush plot with some not so good episodes will step away from that for now and explain what happened to Shiro in the meantime. What we don't learn much about the experiments that were done to Shiro, we do know that his owner was used to make clones of him. How when why was this done? we have yet to get an answer!

We also learn that Shiro was, in fact, gay, and a former lover on earth but broken off because of his drive for the stars which is understandable, but we also learn that he has a terminal illness that is slowly shutting down his muscles and going to eventually kill him at the beginning of the seventh season. And it would great if we had this all the way back in the know the second season when he disappeared and apparently DIED! But also apparently there were three more episodes edited each season that were cut after certain riders left the show makes you wonder doesn't it, what they really did have a plan for the reveal. And it's not that I don't have anything against Shiro being gay it's just I like I said earlier, I would have loved for them to show signs of that earlier. according to what I've heard from the writers they had planned to make him gay and kill him off before the execs told them it wasn't a good idea. And frankly I agree with that, as it was not obviously the best writing idea to kill off a gay character in a supposedly positive modern action cartoon, if anything that shows that you're still stuck in the 70s and you're not with the times if you're going to be killing off the LBGT characters.

Frankly, I would've loved that Shiro is bisexual, and have a lightly explored relationship between his love for Allura in his former fiancé Adam. Heck even a Laura Adam having a conversation about top issues behavior is a leader and how I felt it was just too rash for him but that's what Allura loves about Shiro, how she's not so different from him herself and how need this strength from each other to push forward for the better.

But I think the biggest missed opportunity, especially from how they set it up, was not making the galaxy Garrison and enemy or at least a threat. There were hints in the first season that they were hiding something, they knew something was wrong on the Kerberos mission and it wasn't the pilot error. And it went through great lengths to hide it, even going so far as to ban the future grapevine that would've been a great asset to them from the base merely because she wanted to find out what happened to her family. They could have secret ulterior motives to try to steal some of the alien technology to push their own to make later expansions to the universe for the human race. Maybe they could've had their own ideas for Galactic conquest, or better yet had a secret agreement with the Galra military or possibly even connections thought Price Lotor himself. True there could've been some who wish to just protect the planet but it was so much more interesting having them as the bad guys. That's why was hoping the Gallactor was secretly running the Galaxy Garrison. I mean what else would you have a militarizing space program conveniently located all over the world. Conveniently making the galaxy Garrison the only world defense it's very suspicious.

All and all there was so much room for this kind of development but in the end of for one reason or another, they just didn't do it. I don't know why they did it this way and not 100% sure if it was the rush, executive pushing deadlines, saying some things were unnecessary, but what I do know is that the show could have been great. The show could really been something amazing, something different from all its predecessors,  something unique, something special. But in the end all it seems to me is that it's going to be a spectacular flop. Season eight debuts tomorrow and I don't know if any of you viewers will have the strength to read this beforehand as I know some of you will stay up late watching midnight (me I'm waiting till the morning). But I just hope your first and final viewing experience of this series isn't total garbage. But if it is, there is one solution find out all we can about the series before and after it was written, and do a rewrite of the series. We can do a crowd funder, signed petitions, right our own fan fiction and make our own comics of the series. Let's just remember even if it's not what we wanted we still have the fanscape to express how we feel about the series and how it made us feel. Happy viewing to a season eight