#only time i ship myself with twinks is if they have an interesting design and personality

[gritsandbrits]

Speaking of disney i have a couple of f/os 👉👈

[ask-the-crimson-king]

What’s your honest opinion on Darius? What do you like about him? Dislike about him? And do you have any tips for me?

[I’m going to be honest. I am going to give the criticisms and things I personally have problems with, and you’re free to write all of them off as simply my opinion and change nothing. Darius is your OC, and you can do what you want with him. I also have nothing against you, the mun, and if any of this comes across as snappy or mean-spirited, know that is not the intent. 

Now. That being said. 

Darius is an interesting character for several reasons. I think his base concept is pretty cool. Having a character survive a virus bombing and still living among the Imperium and even founding his own Chapter in order to serve it is a neat concept.

However. I do have several qualms with him. I’ll get through those so this can end on a much more positive note.

One of them is how he feels written like a Creepypasta OC from 2014. He feels like, if he HAD been built for that fandom, he’d be the stereotypical ‘everyone bullied me and I killed all my bullies and I killed my abusive parents too’ Jeff the Killer clone who was always broody and nigh-invincible.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against powerful characters. I’m playing one myself. But it feels less natural with Darius. If that makes any sense? I don’t know how to really describe it. It just doesn’t feel right to me. 

I think one of the reasons why it kinda rubs me the wrong way is compounded by how the Revenants feel like they were made only to hype up Darius and were given personalities as an afterthought. I think there’s a bit too much of ‘oh Darius is such a badass that he does this and this and has survived this’ and also ‘oh but he’s also so broken, so so broken, and we’ve all tried so hard to fix him but he refuses to let himself be fixed’ coming from them. I think those vibes are the biggest reasons why I equate him to the 2014-era creepypasta OCs. “I’m so broken, but I can also kill you so easily heh heh.” 

Also I have a bit of a problem with the ‘you call me lord and you get my fist in your skull’ thing he has going on. It just feels like a bit much. You can have a laid back leader without them going ‘address me casually or else I’ll maim you’. I wouldn’t mind if it was jokingly, but it just doesn’t feel that way.

With my criticisms out of the way, let’s get onto the good stuff.

Darius definitely still feels like a son of Mortarion who was still loyal to the Imperium. I don’t know too too much about the Death Guard, but they still seem like stubborn stalwart bastards (I don’t mean that insultingly mind you) and Darius would definitely fit in with them. 

He also has that Chapter Master vibe about him. He feels like a leader. Even if you never introduced the rest of the Revenants and had them as cardboard cutouts instead, I could still see him commanding and bringing together an inner circle and maintaining a chain of command. He has that sort of veteran vibe, like a ‘alright, y’all are fucking kids in comparison to me, but I’m gonna lead you and teach you the good shit anyway because we need to help protect people. You signed up for this bullshit, and now we’re gonna wade through it together’ sort of thing. 

Another thing, the twink “bell”. I think that’s a nice way to bring a bit of humor to Darius’ character. Hide yer twinks, kiddos, else Darius is going to come screaming out of the Immaterium looking for them. Nice little touch. 

Also also he seems to be very loving with his boyfriends off the few things I’ve read, which is also nice. A good way to balance out the humors. 

Now, advice & improvements:

I’ve seen you use ‘Darius’ mask shows no emotion’ several times. It feels moot and pointless. I get that you’re trying to juxtapose that with what he is saying, but it feels kinda... obvious? None of the Astartes helms show much emotion past that portrayed, like Kharn’s snarling helm or the “standard” emotionless design. I would probably advise either finding a different way to provide that juxtaposition or trying to find a way to describe that exact thing differently. Maybe something more like;

“Fucking bastard,” he spat, his anger apparent despite the unmoving expression on his helm.

Another thing that feels a bit repetitive; the size of the Revenants. I think there are better ways to say ‘my fleet will fucking crush you’ than to state ‘we break the Codex Astartes by having about 2,000 marines in our Chapter’. Hell you’d think, with Darius being as old as he is, him and his Chapter would have gained a bit of renown, wouldn’t they? For an alternative, maybe try:

“Do you really want to try and make threats? I could wipe you out with only a fraction of my fleet. I’ve conquered star systems with fewer ships and companies than you can count on your fingers. So would you like to say that again?”

Do you see how that feels like it’s a bit more weighty than simply ‘my fleet is huge and we have 2,000 Astartes’? 

Basically; diversify your language. Try to show, don’t tell. People can go to your profile to learn the precise size of the Revenants, Darius doesn’t need to tout it each time he’s threatened.

Another thing that’s just something I’ve carried over from other sites and rp’s; try to avoid the one line or three word replies. I am sometimes guilty of this myself, especially when I’m burnt out and stressed and I’m like ‘oh fuck I need to get a reply out NOW this person has been waiting for a fucking WEEK, D A M N I T’, but sometimes I’ve seen people send four+ lines and get two or so words back. Try describing how the character in question is speaking, or try to describe their body language, what they’re thinking at that moment in time. Add just a bit more flavor.

IN SUMMARIUM: Darius is a character who definitely has potential, but isn’t without his major flaws. He does have some good and interesting aspects about him, but they feel weighed down by the fact that I can’t shake the vibe of a JtK clone from him. Your writing is pretty good, but a few things feel repetitive and you need a bit more work with show don’t tell. 

I hope this is helpful, and I’m sorry if any of this seemed antagonistic or ‘I am holier than thou’. I’m simply a nerdy dumbass who likes to analyze writing and try and point out the flaws while giving a few ideas on how to fix said flaws and make other writers better. I usually ask for others to provide similar feedback, and this is the type of feedback I’d get from teachers grading my papers throughout my school life.]

[thirteenthspirit]

Not a Very ‘Organized’ Organization (XIII)

I thought hard about this week’s topic of choice. Brexit was on my mind - I pondered about doing a comparison between parliament’s never-ending struggle with delays and failed agreements, vs Harvest Moon’s unending gameplay, farming and shipping and eventually marrying and digging in the mines and COLLECTING ALL THE DAMN SPRITES in that DS one. But that’s as far as it goes… I didn’t think I’d be able to milk it like those cows (hey!).

Speaking of Hey, I still want to get Space Channel 5 in there somewhere, those Chu’s and Hey’s have been on my mind like crazy…

So I settled on writing about one of my favorite topics – Organization XIII!

Organization XIII was always one of my favorite parts of the Kingdom Hearts series. They are cool and mysterious and (debatably) heartless, ranging everywhere from the mute heavyweight champions (*cough* Lexaeus *cough*) to the twink rockstar wannabes.

So, Organization XII is, like the name implies, a group of 13 nobodies – wait, scratch that – a group of 14 nobodies (eyeroll) who have banded together to… um… depends on who you ask. And in which game. Their primary goal was to be whole, to be granted a heart/soul, even if practically EVERY ONE OF THEM had a different agenda and there was a whole underlying separate reason for the creation of the Organization. NO WORRIES, let’s stick with that, because it’s more fun.

Ok so, breaking down the members, should we go by number? Order of appearance? Relevance? Element of choice? Maybe click (you know, high school clichés)?

Well – first you have the Mains. Roxas (no. XIII), is the counterpart of Sora, the main character in the whole series. So you know he’s gotta be pretty high on the list. The most interesting thing about Roxas is surprisingly NOT that he’s voice by Jesse McCartney, but the duality of elements he controls. Light and Darkness are everywhere with this guy – his outfit has chess squares on it and he wields both Oathkeeper and Oblivion, not to mention having an incredibly sad and traumatic origin story! He’s like, a slightly smarter and moodier Sora. I like Roxas, I’m sad they didn’t give him anything to do in KH3. Dual-wielding keyblades is pretty awesome and his light attacks can hit pretty hard. One of my favorite moments of the series will always be his fight with Riku in the secret ending of KH1, over 10 years ago! Seeing Roxas clash with Riku in mid-air in front of that clock tower (not to be confused with the one from Neverland – I mean England) really made my heart race as a kid. He can also boast to having shared quite a couple of awesome struggles (go Vivi), with Sora in that “Station of Awakening” place where Destati usually plays, and then with both his best friends - while trying not to be kidnapped by his “Flurry of Dancing Flames”, best friend Axel, and when dispatching Xion.

Xion (no. XIV) is a “puppet”, made to take over Roxas’s place and role in the Organization, should anything happen. She is an interesting character, tragedy befalls her and her journey with coming to the realization that she must sacrifice herself for Sora’s behalf (in order for him to become whole again) is a beautiful one to see. Vector to the Heavens plays when you’re fighting Xion for the last time, ending with Roxas effectively killing her and is a beautifully crafted piece. Xion suffers a bit from that ‘unintentional retcon’ where she didn’t really have a place, story-wise, and was created solely for 358/2 Days. So she was effectively written-out of the main storyline until the later games, with every character practically forgetting about her (literally losing their memories of her).

Rounding out the trio is one of everyone’s favorites – bad-guy good-guy Axel (no. VIII). Axel’s portrayal changed throughout the series. In CoM, he is responsible for unmasking a conspiracy and dispatching rogue members of the organization. He is the de-facto assassin. With not a hint of remorse. As his friendship with Xion and Roxas builds, he regains access to some degree of emotion – perhaps it’s caused by the (stick with me on this one) Lea-Ventus-Sora-Roxas-Axel connection, or perhaps he grows a heart, sitting on that clock tower overlooking the (ALWAYS SETTING) sun of Twilight Town and eating sea-salt ice cream. Eventually he turns on the organization, proving his loyalty is to his friends and even joins the main cast as a Keyblade wielder, turning the tides on some occasions (he really makes the end of DDD worth it). It helps that he has a wicked-cool design. His element is Fire and he wields twin Chakrams, boasting two tear tattoos and incredibly spiky hair. His relationship with Kairi is a cute element to the story, I wish (aside from some more combat or like ANY AT ALL) they had more scenes together and overall relevance to the main storyline. My favorite moment, aside from him rescuing Sora from his peers in DDD, has to be when he executes Vexen in Castle Oblivion.

From Axel, the most closely linked member, aside from Roxas and Xion, is SaÏx (no. VII). SaÏx is a warewolf. The moon sends him into a trance and he is often plagued with anger management issues. Berserk is his Nirvana. Him and Axel go way back and there is still a storyline to be uncovered there, judging from the secret reports found in KH3. In the end, his motivations aren’t really clear and fully explored, so his presence is not much more than Axel’s right arm, who happens to have a big “X” scar on his face. Sorry SaÏx – maybe see a therapist. At least you got a happy ending! SaÏx was one of the last Organization members to fall, in KH2. One of the last defenders of the Castle in (one my my all-time favorite KH worlds), The World That Never Was.

Another of the final defenders and members of the Organization to be vanquished at Sora’s had is – *drumroll* arguably MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL, the incredibly hot and suave Luxord (no. X). Now – this guy is blonde. Has facial hair. Earrings. A British accent (maybe that’s just in my mind) and makes me look up his voice actor just to drool over that sweet sweet voice. He is the “Gambler of Fate” and shows up in the POTC world to basically taunt you and play a few games. Everything’s a game to this guy, even fighting. Which I can’t say he is great at… For someone able to control the element of Time, he’s kind of a pushover. But he’s still got a place in my heart – and maybe we’ll get to see him again, since he was the one who gave Sora that “wild card”… “Parlay!” more like “Let’s play strip poker pls”.

Who next… well let’s round out the oddballs with this guy. Ladies and gents, fans of the underground metal, garage bands and mohawks – I give you… Demyx (no. IX)! The Melodious Nocturne! …although there is nothing ‘nocturnal’ about him. This guy irradiates happiness and excitement and joy. I suppose he is just pretending, since Nobodies can’t really feel, rather they remember what it was like. Dem-dem too is a fan favorite. He is very young and has a different disposition than the rest of the members, he’s just your lazy, average Joe that just wants to spend his days jamming out on his Sitar. He is the first Organization member to fall in KH2, and is considered “not much of a fighter”. I would obviously disagree with this BECAUSE DANCE WATER DANCE MOTHERF***** is hell. Hell! Still, Dem-dem brings some lightheartedness to the game and the entire group, so he is a welcome addition. He is shunned even in KH3 but that’s just a side note of his… personality traits, I suppose. Never forget when he ‘drops the act’ just before turning on Sora, before what would be his final battle. Demyx controls the element of Water.

And since when it rains, it pours; and when it pours, usually it thunders (at least here in Portugal), that seems like a decently-crafted segway to the next member – Larxene (no. XII). Larxene is… a bitch. I don’t say that lightheartedly, I consider myself a feminist and I never forget that quote “when a man is assertive, he’s called a Boss. When a woman is assertive, she’s called a bitch.” But Larxene is just MEAN. She’s the mean girl of the bunch – together with her GBF Marluxia. Larxene poses some of the hardest fights in CoM but sadly, and like most female characters in this series, she’s shunned in favor of other members. This is a critic I have with the entire KH series – Aqua is virtually my favorite character but she’s really the only female character that is given storyline, relevance and overall strength. And like most fans I was DYING to see Kairi kick ass in KH3, but… we all know how that went. Not much to say about Larxene, her lightning-fast attacks and knives give her a pretty sharp demeanor and she’s not afraid to play every trick to her advantage. Standout moment is, unfortunately, her demise in CoM, fading into darkness. Oh and that laugh.

Larxene’s ‘somebody’ appears in KH: Unchained, together with Marluxia’s somebody. Marluxia (no. XI) controls the attribute of Flowers.

Yes.

Flowers.

He also boasts pink hair and – the best part – a huge pink scythe. His nickname is “The Graceful Assassin” but aside from plotting to overthrow the Organization and posing as the main antagonist in CoM, he doesn’t really do a lot of killing. The fights against him in KH2: Final Mix are among my favorites, especially with that countdown as he swings about the field. It seems he has quite a role in the Mobile game, so maybe we’ll get to see more of his backstory in the future. His final parting words were somewhat mysterious. Together with Larxene and a sneaky Axel, Marluxia betrays the Organization and his fellow members in Castle Oblivion, for his own agenda.

The assignment to Castle Oblivion introduces us to 3 other members of the organization – Vexen (no. IV), Lexaeus (no. V) and Zexion (no. VI). And 3 character tropes. The mad scientist, the jock, and the emo kid.

Vexen, aka “The Chilly Academic”, controls my favorite element, Ice. He is, ironically, killed by Axel in a flurry of flames, in a very dramatic moment in CoM. Vexen merely wants to conduct his experiments in peace – he doesn’t care who rules, what happens to the worlds, even who might or not be possessing him. He only cares about his “Replica” program. The Replica program consists on the creation of “puppets”, bodies able to function who are only missing a heart. He plays quite the role in KH3, effectively redeeming himself. Vexen is one of the creepiest characters around – he has long blond hair and green eyes, but really that ‘mad scientist’ vibe is all that transpires. Shout-out to his English voice actor, Derek Stephen Prince, for giving him a creepy vibe. He’s not much of a fighter, with his weapon of choice being an icy shield called “Frozen Pride”.

Zexion is one of the younger members of the Organization – perhaps even younger than Demyx. He is also arguably one of the smartest. Like Vexen, he cares mostly about his research and specific topics of interest *cough* Riku *cough*. However, his young demeanor reflects some innocence – he is the only member you don’t fight against in CoM, ending up murdered at the hands of Axel (with a little help from a Replica…). I really like Zexion, to battle he wields a book (the Lexicon) and would rather dazzle the opponents with some crafted illusions than hit them hard. He is one of the most prominent figures in KH3 and his reunion with his Master, Ansem the Wise, is very touching and reveals once again his innocence. He is often accompanied by Lexaeus, who is essentially a shadow of Zexion, a silent guardian to the smaller member. It is suggested he has been protecting Zexion since the latter was a small child.

Lexaeus fights Riku at one point, effectively forcing Riku to unleash the darkness in his heart just to defeat him. The Organization member is a towering figure and barely ever talks – he is just muscle, but emanates a safe and caring feel outwards, especially in his interactions with Zexion. To battle he wields a huge hammer-like weapon (which totally reminds me of Rikku’s weapons from FFX) called the Skysplitter and commands the element of Earth.

These 3 members are one half of the initial 6 apprentices, who formed the Organization. These founding members all worked together under the tutelage of Ansem the Wise and range from the scientists like Vexen and Zexion to the guardians like Lexaeus and Xaldin.

Xaldin (no. III) is very much… wasted. His virtually only appearance is in KH2, in his vain attempts to turn The Beast into a heartless. His most evident feature is his sideburns. Xaldin’s sideburns are thick, dark and intimidating. He also wields a lot of lances – like, more than 3, which he uses his wind powers to attack you with. He has a really cool attack where he forms a dragon out of wind and blows you to pieces with. Other than another “werewolf” look, that’s pretty much it. Mickey to the rescue!

Then we get to Xigbar (no. II). Xigbar, or Braig, or Luxu, OR ONE-EYED PIRATE, I’m not sure there is much of a difference, became a usual presence throughout the series. Apparently he’s been around for a loooooong time, ever since the forgotten time of the mobile game. He is a cool dude. His “As If” will go down as a pretty cool quote. Xigbar’s nickname is The Sharpshooter and he immediately stands out from the bunch. We are still unaware of his agenda and interests, not knowing to what extent he is controlled or, rather, he is controlling the narrative. He is overall an awesome character, essentially sniping you from afar with his stylish gun-like weapons. He even fakes his own death in KH3! In what is one of the best moments from the final act. His interactions with the rest of the Organization are always funny to watch, especially with his on-and-off younger lover, Demyx. The standout moment against him is undoubtedly that moment during his fight where he corners you and forces you to run around trying to avoid the millions of blue bullets being aimed at you. One of the best members overall.

And then there was I. Mr. Xemnas (no. I) aka “The Superior of the In-Between” (seriously bro, that’s the nickname you’re gonna pick?) aka “MANSEX” among the fans, aka “Xehanort’s nobody”. He is the man behind the Organization, the one really pulling all the strings. I’m gonna skip the part behind his motivations, they’re murky and the writers decide to change them between games, and I’ll get right down to the cool bits – THE SWORDS. Yes, Xemnas wields two red lightsabers. No, he is not Darth Maul, just a fan. He is calm and has a raspy voice, never really getting too flattered (that one’s yours, Axel). The coolest interaction with Xemnas is the final battle against him. Besides his black and white coat, he eventually summons a plethora of red projectiles which surround Sora and Riku, as they (in a very realistic, grounded and believable moment), deflectem with their respective keyblades. Xemnas ends up falling a bit short when compared with Ansem, Seeker of Darkness… He was just never that menacing of a villain, especially with his always calm behavior.

And that’s it. That’s the full list of the organization members. This turned out to be more of an exposé on each of the members, than anything else. I thought about trying to find real-life personalities to match each of the members, but eventually came up short on that. Organization XIII’s struggle to “be whole” and regain the part of their humanity they had lost – their soul, the ability to feel, always struck me as a really interesting motivation. For quite some time, the idea that you could shed the part of you that is able to “feel” struck me as something good, something to be envious of. I was, of course, wrong – even the dark feelings within us are what gives us the ability to connect and empathize with others.

So be sure to deflect those projectiles, and someone PLEASE give my number to Luxord,

                                                                                               -João A. (Pachiren)  

[mikiruma]

✨ 🎥 💕🏳️‍🌈 with saints row!

✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it?

viddy game.... Fun..... i like the plot being linear enough so its easy to follow but juuuuust batshit to allow comedic potential... and also ik some ppl would say flat-ish characters r bad, but i think enough is provided abt characters already so u can expand on them urself... that & the fandom in general is VERY creative!!! so if theres somethin u didnt like in source, chances are like 20 ppl have reworked it in 20 different ways and theyre all pretty appealing. not canon specific but im puttin that out there :P

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

hard tie between “dex & troy,” “a romantic dinner” and “of shipments and skee-ball”.... those cutscenes make me go nuts ive rewatched em so many times

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

ONLY ONE>??

johnny is the easiest choice so of course i’m gonna go off abt him.... he’s the designated badass & i love his whole “surviving mortal wounds” schtick, but like. listen. he’s a doof??? listen his love for dumb sci-fi??? taking shit from nobody except the boss??? his sr4 loyalty mission??? or just anything he does in sr4???? also im repressed twink so when i see a bear/hunk i heart eyes

oh yeah i have also been in a pierce mood, i’m so mad he’s just the funny haha butt of all the jokes bc he honestly seems like one of the best friends u could have... going out of his way to try and lift everyones spirits in sr3??? as much shit as boss talks abt him he’s genuinely fun to be around and i love when u get to hang out with him???? yeah he’s kind of the meme too but he’s also real and i would die for him

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

i don’t have TOO many hard-set hcs but like... johnny & pierce bi rights & boss is trans/nb.... also idk if i saw this somewhere or just thought of it but trans lin?? thank you. WAIT ALSO johnny/aisha/boss good end ot3..

for neuro hcs.. autistic matt miller of course....

but yeah all my sexuality hcs are basically “vaguely het’nt” bc i dont focus too much on ships, but if i like it & think abt it enough & have it in my peripherals often enough i just might hop on... same w gender hcs, like as much as i joke and jest abt everyone being trans, in the end it comes down 2 projection or considering other ppls hcs. yes i think for myself

no race hcs bc i honestly don’t do as much homework as i should on this front & don’t wanna be a jackass