#plus it lets me work with canon lore! my beloved!

[the-rotunda]

Meet Scooter Algenon - yes, related to Sir Algenon, creator of the park itself! And though they haven’t inherited their uncle’s spirit of adventure, they care about Alton Towers just as much. Now serving as the watchperson of the Power of the Towers, Scooter’s made it their life mission to keep the magic of the park alive - hopefully without much fuss!

[utilitycaster]

In the course of a couple of conversations I think I have hit on some of the fandom weirdness this campaign, and it's notable because I realized it when it was my answer to both a question about why the fandom response to "Party of NPCs" was pretty negative at the time but I don't think it would be now; and someone pointing out to me how there was a sudden massive spike of enthusiasm for Ashton and Fearne as a ship without a particularly large corresponding boost in any sort of fan works.

I suspect that many of the people who came to C3 as their first CR campaign came through the avenue of shipping; either because Shadowgast and Beauyasha both broke containment to some extent; because of TLOVM (which as a scripted TV show where they know the relationships and how they shake out, there can be foreshadowing), or because of the influxes of people shipping Imogen and Laudna circa May and September 2022. This is in contrast to Campaigns 1 and 2, where a lot of the fanbase came via D&D fandom, fantasy fandom, voice acting fandom, and more general word of mouth. This time, people showed up to ship; of that segment of the fandom, shipping is a major if not the primary way in which they interact with fiction.

Here's the truth: this is a terrible campaign for shipping, and indeed, one of the worst shows for shipping I've seen in a while. This, to be clear, is not a critique of quality. It's merely an observation that this is a terrible campaign for shipping specifically, but a great one for many of the myriad other reasons why one might watch long-form actual play. It's plot-heavy, with a pretty intricate network of laid groundwork over eight years of storytelling, two past campaigns, and two miniseries finally paying off. It's been heavy on showing the unexplored corners of the world in Marquet, rural Issylra and the Shattered Teeth. It's taken risks with the typical D&D campaign structure and with party composition and splits, to varying degrees of success. It's allowed a revisiting of beloved NPCs and locations from the past. It's the lore campaign! It's extremely not the shipping campaign.

I think most people have picked up on that by now, even if it's only subconsciously, and so those who watch with the express intent of shipping, are grasping at the most tenuous of straws because that's pretty much what they have. Two canon ships and one noncanon but hinted-towards ship are with guest characters who are not present and so are necessarily very quiet. Chetney and Fearne is a lot of fun but it does not fit the usual shipping-above-all preferences of monogamous love to marriage/partnership to babies, plus Chetney is weird and old. (This has always been an issue with this mentality, incidentally; for all I think the popularity of Shadowgast is why some of these people are here, the fact of the matter is that many of the people who like Shadowgast like a completely foreign to canon concept operating under that name that erases the frequent long-distant nature and the almost certain lack of children and the deliberate choice to end the relationship amicably due to different needs.) However you may feel about Imogen and Laudna it is incontrovertible that there's been little to no movement in what is now a calendar quarter. And so: two people doing something that is not explicitly romantic while two other characters say "emperor and empress" is a paltry, miniscule - and I hate to use the word but no other will do - crumb; but it is a crumb to a starving populace.

In case my feelings aren't abundantly clear...I say let them eat cake. I enjoy ships and shipping! I enjoy seeing characters recognize themselves through the other and develop over time as they fall in love with another character; I enjoy seeing a deep romance unfold slowly so that I can savor it. But this campaign just doesn't really have that, and that's never been the most significant reason I watch, let alone the main one. I'd rather have no romantic relationships in a work than rushed ones that strain credibility or lack chemistry, and those who do want romance can either find other shows, or focus on transformative work. For those who came to Campaign 3 on the basis of rumors of the great romances in Campaigns 1 or 2, those are still there for you! And while I think we're too far in for a campaign-length romance, there are plenty of ways for the existing ships to become something more interesting. But I think this explains a lot of the weirder patterns in the fandom conversation as of late.

[sailorgundam308]

SPOILERS of BG3 Epilogue (Karlach’s, more specifically).

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So we learn that while in Avernus, Karlach found the location of Zariel’s infernal forge and some blueprints that might allow her to get a new engine or fix her current one.

This is awesome in itself, but I thought it was extra cool because this was so close to my headcanon and is neatly connecting to DnD lore about Avernus!

Zariel wasn’t the only Archdevil of Avernus. Before her, a devil called Bel was the Archdevil of that hell. Bel still lives and actually works for Zariel now - BUT he still schemes and patiently waits for a chance to reclaim his rule.

Do you know where Bel works now? The forge.

… >>

You see that, right??

“After being deposed, Bel made his home in an iron fortress carved out of a volcano. The bastion acted as a forge for Blood War weapons and armor and was protected by infernal legions and dark magic that divined intruders.”

“Bel oversaw the production of Blood War arms and armor while scheming to retake his throne after Zariel supplanted him.”

Both quotes from the Forgottten Realms wiki.

SO. Bel is the ‘owner’ of Zariel’s forge, and he doesn’t like her very much. In fact, he wants to depose her and is waiting for an opportunity to fuck her up. And Karlach is going to the forge to get her heart fixed. I always imagined in my head that Karlach and Bel would end up meeting and joining forces (temporarily) to take on Zariel - or at least take a swing at her. And what better swing than to get Karlach a new engine and let her loose on Zariel’s forces for a bit - or even at Zariel herself? Seems perfectly canon compliant to me! Plus, Bel is a devil that is known to honor his promises and one that sometimes doesn’t request a soul in exchange for a contract or deal - he often requires other types of contributions (kicking Zariel’s ass or sabotaging her efforts might fit the bill perfectly!).

If before I was inclined to headcanon this sort of deal with Bel to help Karlach, now I’m pretty much sure that is the path implied by the canon story. I can see it not being easy and Zariel lashing out but… as Astarion said to Karlach, her just never being able to return to Faerun “is not fair, not after everything we’ve been through”.

So, for me, this is what happens: Karlach and Astarion go to Avernus. She won’t burn, he won’t burn there. They fight and struggle, but pick on cues and plan to infiltrate the forge with the help of Flo. There they find Bel who proposes a deal to give Karlach a new, more powerful and Faerun-proof engine - in return to sabotaging Zariel. It’s rough, difficult, but they manage. She gets her engine. And then it’s time for Karlach to return the favor to her beloved vamp - to turn Faerun inside out in search for a way to get Astarion to be in the sun again!

[aroaceleovaldez]

comp of your favorite jason panels maybe?? or maybe an octavian doodle?? i was hit with the silly beam and now i need more blonde roman boys content. mayhaps add any other blonde romans boys you have crafted. i desperately need rick to flesh out camp jupiter the potential is insane - @argoii-official's mod erratum 🤭

MOD ERRATUM!!!!!!! i blow a little kiss to your askblog one mun to another. Tumblr decided it absolutely hated me putting images on this post so I will make a separate one for the favorite deadangelos Jason panels later. A little tiny Octavian for you though (he's grumpy):

and i will dig through my romans to see if there's any other interesting blond boys in there (i still have like two and a half cohorts to design plus messengers and medics, so there is still plenty of opportunity). let's see... oh yes I do indeed have some funky lil blond boys.

Lore for them below the cut:

okay, starting with the canon boys: Jacob i've made a son of Venus and i've decided is best friends with Terrel and Bobby. He's a shy and quiet kind of guy but he's doing his best. Also insert my hc about 5th cohort being more likely to be direct descendants versus legacies here (cause something something lack of letters of recommendation). Also because of a mistranslation about his job title my group chat has decided his demigod weapon is a gun. Julius i made a legacy of Indiges (deified Aeneas) based on his name. I haven't decided too much for him other than I think it would be interesting if Jason used to have a crush on him at some point.

VES okay Ves is fun. So first things first: scene kid my beloved. Scene kid with a bee theme. The joke is the hair stripes. His lore is that he's a legacy of Mellona (goddess of honey/bees) and he has a big ol' crush on Gerard, because Gerard is emo and they have similar music tastes.

Gerard i am going to be completely honest is 100% themed on MCR. I like listening to music when I design characters and I thought it'd be funny also i realized the name Gerard works thematically for a Mars kid. It all came together. Anyways he's emo, he's an MCR fan, no he does not know Ves has a big ol' crush on him. Ves is dying, squirtle.

Edgar is a son of Lua, a goddess to whom weapon spoils of war were sacrificed to. He's just kind of a cool edgy guy. Not pictured is his bestie, a girl named Felicity Pace, who is a legacy of Abundantia and Pax, and is also in 4th cohort. They're opposites-attract thematically (war vs peace, low energy vs high energy) but also they're both fashionistas and extremely dramatic.

Anton is my extremely self-indulgent pointing at Mars and how to the Romans he was also a god of civilization and ideal Roman life, which included him being an agricultural god, so legacy of Mars and child of Ceres. He's grumpy but he's very passionate about plants.

They're all mostly just meant to be background characters fleshing out Camp Jupiter for Deadangelos so they don't have a ton of meat to them, but I like to try and give them all at least something. At the very least a hobby, theme, interest, or relationships. Something along those lines.

[synonymroll648]

Listen here, if Fintan isn't dead, then Kenric isn't dead. I am in a constant state of denial

Theories

- Kenric was "protected" by the Neverseen and is now probably a pale, beaten thing on the floor

- Kenric was brainwashed by the neverseen and Oralie's true loves kiss saves him or something cute like that

- Kenric did light leap out of there, he never went back to the council because he decided that the council is Bad™️

whaddup i am over a month late to answer this :D anyway. i am not necessarily in denial about kenric being dead but i am sure as hell in denial about a lot of other things in life so. i get that. let us vibe in elf hell mostly under the cut because i know myself and my response is going to be long. warnings for mentions of immolation, torture, etc that tend to come with talking about kenric!

response to theory one:

there are a lot of fascinating potential implications with the use of quotations around protected. obviously, the implications are most likely under the umbrella of 'taken by the neverseen and isolated from the public and its knowledge'. but there's a lot of different ways you could do that! my first thought is that fitnan somehow managed to get kenric out of the fire before he burned to a complete crisp.

and then kenric was taken as a hostage. maybe they told him that if he told them council secrets, he could go free. he probably didn't give in, and that's why he's a pale, beaten thing on the floor. but who knows, maybe he did - sooner or later, your pick - and they kept him beaten and pale on the floor anyway. sounds like something they'd do. sure would hurt as a reader :')

response to theory two:

kenric being brainwashed by the neverseen is another interesting concept!! interesting and o w on the emotional scale. i'd like to think that gethen's the one that does it. so it's a character we already know and we can have connections to crescent bite marks and frostbitten ridden nails and other things associated with gethen that could contrast with kenric as we used to know him and/or who he is now. it'd also be nice to come back to kenric in person, someone who was a huge comfort - almost father-like - figure to sophie before everblaze and what went down at oblivimyre, but twisted. well, not nice, it'd hurt like hell, but that's the fun part! taking a beloved character that's become more relevant through the opening of his cache in stellarlune (and legacy? i don't think so. but i can't really remember) and seeing him again would make me go :O (/pos or /neg depending on execution, but i'm leaning toward /pos)

as for the part about oralie - first thought, incredibly cheesy but i love cheesy. plus, considering the series we're talking about, i can see it working and being in-character and lore-compliant. kenric and oralie weren't ever together, but they are like. undeniably canon. and important to canon, because the nature of their dynamic was ultimately the catalyst for a lot of aspects of the series. i mean, like, sophie probably wouldn't exist biologically in the way we know her today if it weren't for her being close enough to kenric for him to consider her as a moonlark dna donor and for her to trust him with something like that.

so having oralie, someone who was incredibly important to him before he supposedly got roasted at oblivimyre for many years, kiss him? something he wanted for so very long but never got in canon iirc? that might snap him out of mind control. not just 'cause he's like head over heels in love with her but also because he has so many memories that are important to him tied to her, whether it's like. romantic or council shit or something else. considering the lore in kotlc surrounding the idea of triggering memories and/or resurfacing a form of someone's consciousness through things that are deeply tied to their past, big or small, this seems like a solid solution. and some fluff and/or hurt/comfort that shannon would probably lean into. also the consequences of a current councillor kissing a former councillor would be fucking DELICIOUS. probably angsty. still very scrumptious

response to theory three:

oooooh i'd never considered that! i'd always thought of kenric as the kind of guy that wasn't necessarily loyal to the council first and foremost - considering how much he cared about sophie and oralie and possibly/probably the black swan or at least certain members of its organization - but cared too much about the elvin population to abandon his post as councillor willingly. though i do suppose there's always been an element of longing for a different life with his character, isn't there?

this is largely expressed through his love for oralie, but i'm sure there's more layers to it than that if you look close. i never really fixated on kenric, so i can't think of concrete evidence from the books off the top of my head that doesn't involve oralie, but you could probably pull from moments between him and sophie. she literally asks - forkle, i think? - if he's her father. and, y'know, she's wrong (unless shannon decides that was a lie), but. to stand up for a kid enough that she asks if you're her dad? definitely can be read as wanting a family at one point. which isn't a stretch, considering how oralie literally tells sophie that she gave the black swan her dna for project moonlark because she'd always wanted a kid but she couldn't as a councillor, and that was her one compromise available. and kenric is, as previously mentioned, infatuated with oralie. them secretly wanting a family together makes sense.

also, like, the entire series makes a point of him being a lot more mysterious than he looks on a surface level. some parts of the mystery of his character compelling him to leave the council behind when he gets the chance? understandable. heartbreaking, to know that he left sophie and everyone else he swore he'd protect behind instead of coming back, and unknowingly leaving them all to deal with the menace (/neg) that is alina as a councillor, but alas. it could work. i'd want reasons, though. lore as to why, lore as to where he went once he disappeared, what he's done with his new life.

random side note: it's an interesting thought to muse about whether or not kenric saw keefe while he was hiding in the forbidden cities. if he decided to get closer or further. if it was closer, it was probably in disguise. but chances are, he probably walked off as soon as he could.

if you read through to the end i'm proud of you holy shit

[kits-ships]

💕 seraphina!!!

SERAPHINA MY BELOVED....... her lore is ever-changing and confuses me but its ok bc they are so pretty <3

warning: im free-balling everything here. g/ood o/mens lore and the biblical canon are simply suggestions to me. also bonus asmodeus (oc) lore.

tws for abuse, self hatred, and slight eye horror

angel!seraphina:

as an angel, their first job was to design animals to put on earth! she wasn't the only one with that job, of course, but she had the most fun with it! she's responsible for most of the mammalian carnivores that lived around the garden, such as cheetahs, leopards, lions, jackals, hyenas, and wild dogs. because of her enthusiasm, their next assignment was to watch over the aforementioned animals and to make sure that nature was in balance. she was named the angel of the southern savanna at this time :) sera loved her job so much that she may have ignored god's orders to leave the earth during the expulsion of lucifer + his cohorts. unfortunately for sera, a banishing of this size sent waves of horrific energy cascading over the earth and it scrambled their mind. they were essentially hit by the residual energy(?) that makes demons into demons and it put her into a constant state of pain. it also led her to extreme internal conflicts, as the demonic energy was a bit fucky on their angelic body. because she had disobeyed god's orders and wound up hurt, they essentially became a seraphim-turned errand boy. she was not permitted to visit earth, other angels would get mad that she couldn't properly preen herself, and she felt like she was constantly letting others down. in a split-decision, she sneaks off to earth to visit her animals :) and gets kidnapped by the demon, asmodeus.

asmodeus:

asmodeus personifies lust. he always gets what he wants, and he wanted sera (maybe a reference to the book of tobit?). he took them as his supposed 'bride' and kept her around like a glorified doll that he would bite, claw, and toy at all he wanted. imagine like. a dog and its favorite chew toy. asmodeus kept sera for seven hundred years(?) before getting bored of them. she had no fight left in her and it wasnt fun anymore smh

fallen!sera:

heaven was pissed. seraphina hadn't listened to them AGAIN and now she's like, a half-chewed pen cap. whats up with that? was she working with asmodeus? why'd he call them his bride? she isn't trustworthy anymore. the fall changed them and we cant keep her here anymore. bye girl. after this, depending on how im feeling, she either wakes up in a field alone- surrounded by embers from her fall- or cro/wley/azir/aphale find her. she's initially totally blind (it appears to be traumatic glaucoma), theyre covered in blood(??), and is all dirty. plus, her wings are grey now?? seraphina is, understandably, very confused. how could she be bleeding? why arent her wounds healing? and why didnt they sink into hell once she'd fallen?? turns out, hell did NOT want her. she was still too sweet and icky. i like to think jobs family or someones family end up caring for her. whether they just found her or cro/wley + azir/aphale were like "wow u did so good for god. here's an angel pls watch it for us' and sera essentially becomes an heirloom. she's like jemimah's personal barbie doll. sera will eventually get up and leave to figure stuff out, but theyre mostly a hermit until the 1800s.because human life is scary and feeling like a mortal is weird!!! what is she supposed to do?? luckily, having an angel and a demon around is nice. she finds them and gets in on their shenanigans here and there until the azir/aphales magic show. at that point shes like "woa. these guys are silly ;)" and returns to land they'd bought in mayfair a lil bit ago. sera also eventually opens a plant nursery beneath her house, but no one knows how it stays open since her chronic pain makes her hours super erratic

demon!sera

i don't know how demon!sera becomes a thing. maybe they just fall straight to hell like they were supposed to. as a demon, sera either changes their name to abaddon or baphomet. abaddon because theyre said to be tied to destruction and chaos, which would result from sera's anger towards everything, and baphomet because i think theyre cool :) baphomet also represents social order, which id say is fitting for someone who, in an au, is stuck between heaven and hell. they also kept nature in balance on the savanna, so demon!sera, like their newly, fallen-angel self, is mostly blind. they see light and darkness and very blurry shapes. as abaddon, their irises are split and look like splotches, and, as baphomet, they have horizontal slit irises like a goat's. maybe horns, too. they are also much angrier and prone to outbursts when compared to their angel self and is disgusted by themselves. they hate being a demon and they hate everyone who has. abaddon would use this rage to mostly create natural disasters, and baphomet would use it to insist on forcing things into balance- even when it would cause lots of people pain. i dont know if that makes sense they are also represented by the komodo dragon :) and they tear asmodeus to shreds. demon!sera may also be venomous.

[borreloadsavagedragon]

for the "send you a character" your beloved onion boy

Onion posting...... my favorite

First impression: Ok so Some Jay lore Deadass I thought I was gonna hate him I was so sure Ryouga was where I was gonna go if I had to pick a favorite and, with a lot of the bits I got before actually watching, Kaito just did not fit the characters I was drawn most towards at the time. I used to stick to more light-hearted, sunshine characters, like token dumbasses with hearts of gold with a few exceptions to which Ryouga was gonna be because I IRL am such an aggressive fan of sharks the animals, plus he was the ~bff~ trope character in my eyes and this was someone who lived breathed and died Takeru Homura and Katsyua Jounouchi And while I love Kaiba and Ryoken, it took some time to find love for them

Impression now: Uh. He's alright. Just ignore my social media, how I took Photon to 2 YCSs despite the very poor matchup conditions(AND WENT 2-2 FOR FOUR ROUNDS WITH IT IN PEAK KASH FORMAT!!! SIMPLY BE BUILT DIFFERENT), and the near 10k and growing character analysis oh and like majority of the fanfiction I've written for the last 1.5 yrs now plus this tweet:

sweats profusely To say he's impacted me quite a bit would be an understatement. Everytime something photon related happens in the tcg, I wake up to 10 different DMs and it's all this twink's fault

Favorite moment: omfg how does one pick a favorite when the character has become your entire life for a minute LOL Uhhhhhhhhh I will say I have the clip of him jumping into the cockpit saved on my phone for chuckles ajgkdlsj I love his duel against Ryouga, it's very showing of his character and his impact, also love how they banter His rematch duel with Yuma at the end of Part 1 is also really good, love to see him encounter his own uncertainty and let himself be inspired by Yuma I love that he stares at the footage of Mizael in the monitors in his lab like a freak after their first duel His duel with Shun in Arc V is always a rewatchable one

Idea for a story: Every story you could imagine!!!!! The one I'm currently most actively working on between upcoming ship week work is a semi-complicated post canon AU that has a past life subplot to it because lord I'm just gonna fill in the wasted potential subplots for Kaito myself at this rate ALLEGEDLY Have an OC I'm working on that ties back to him too, that's also lowkey in that lore also Stay tuned :)

Unpopular opinion: UH, the one I wanna say I'll wait for another ask that's currently in my inbox gjdsal So here is another from the analysis from another take I saw awhile ago:

I also think one of the long forgotten truths of Zexal is Yuma rarely sees anyone as a true villain. There are a few exceptions to this of course, Don Thousand and Mr. Heartland both come to mind, but Yuma manages to find compassion in just about everyone he faces and uses dueling as a way to bridge the gap between him and them, even ones who arguably don’t deserve it like Faker, Tron, and… well, beloved mothman Vector. If Kaito was ever supposed to look like a terrible person when he’s at the height of his crime spree, we would have seen that from Yuma’s perspective. Instead we see Yuma's fear, his intrigue, and ultimately, his motivation. Motivation to protect Astral from what’s to come, and then following the conclusion of the Kaito vs Zexal duel, motivation to help Kaito, and finally, the motivation to get to his level. Instead of the same treatment we get for other unforgivable types, we get to see Kaito for what he is beneath the snark, the beatdown strategies, and the unconditional love for his brother: he's lonely, he's incredibly desperate, and he's dangerously selfless for those who are the most important to him, so much so he initially struggled to find his next purpose.

I'm also on record for considering Kaito the strongest of all of the rivals lmao

Favorite relationship: Honestly all of them, family, ships, friends, I love how Kaito is written with others both in the shows(Zexal and Arc V both), the manga, and even Duel Links gives some of his lesser shown rivalries and connections more depth Kaito and Ryouga's rivalry is proooobably my favorite though? Especially including Duel Links moments, they've got so much in common but just will not connect unless it's to show the other up, but you know it's game over when they can find a strong reason to remain on the same page Also the card Photon Emperor exists, which is one, named very suspiciously, two, has a similar cape design to Nasch with the shoulder gems and the cape being attached by those pieces, and 3, very notably resurrects itself when it's sent to GY from hand, deck, or when it's detached as material from an XYZ At the same time, I LOVE Kaito and Mizael's entire story too, both as a rivalry and a relationship, god they're so good and it's truly so hard to put into words how much I love their dynamic, the parallels, how they match each other's crazy, they have my longest ship playlist gjkldadas For Arc V, I'm also a sucker for Kaito and Shun as well as Kaito and Edo Shun went back for him and wasn't going to quit until he convinced him,,, and Edo and Kaito have such strong chemistry for no reason, it's not unwelcome at all-- they just threw men at him for some reason and I'm all for it

Favorite headcanon:

I ALWAYS write him as both touch repulsed and touch starved because he's almost never shown without his jacket during canon except for a handful of flashbacks and exactly that one examination scene, and even in the flashbacks, all you get is his forearms from his one collared shirt

He'd rather die than sacrifice his aesthetic, an icon

[mwolf0epsilon]

First off, before everyone comes after my butt with their "No Fun Allowed" and "Cringe" signs, this is in no way something to be taken as gospel or insightful. It's not a prophetic enforcement of canon. It's literally a theory done for fun, and to try to piece the Bendy Crack up Comics into the general and messy lore of the BatIM franchise. 

Most of you get this and don't need a big wordy warning about fanon interpretation, but a lot of peculiar people tend to show up in my ask box hoping to start a fuss over my headcanons and AU ideas, so I thought to be nice and leave a polite and diplomatic "Kindly Fuck Off" sign at the door for them.

With that said, there will be mild spoilers, carry on of your own volition, down below under the cut that will definitely show up because Tumblr mobile is a functional app that's never given me trouble!!!

---

[[MORE]]

The Bendy Franchise has an established issue with cohesion in its lore. We all know what I'm talking about, we all have reservations about canonical character discrepancies (game vs novel vs guidebook) and we all have been racking our brains with a few holes in the timeline, as well as how BatDR (which is neither prequel nor sequel) will fit into this, since it's connected to BatDS and that's an established prequel to BatIM.

Granted I myself am missing a lot of pieces, having to scrounge around for info since I can't really get any of the reading material myself and rely heavily on @british-hero (who owns the novel plus got her copy of the comics yesterday), a very incomplete wikie, and analysis and theories from SuperHorrorBro's Bendy videos.

Heck, I also rely on a lot of gameplay footage, because BatIM has a bit of subtle storytelling through visual design of its levels, and hints of how certain characters work through a few game mechanics.

Through this mishmash of collecting puzzle pieces for the greater picture I even have a few notes on my phone to piece together certain events in established dates, something which comes very in handy for this theory since it talks about two particular characters, the Projectionist and Brute Boris (and I guess Twisted Alice to some extent but it's more of a note on some interesting thoughts I have of her).

Without further ado, here's what this theory is all about: Why did Norman become the Projectionist, and why did Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris?

If you think about it, there's only two creatures in the studio that really seem out of place in the world of BatIM, and that's Prophet Sammy and the Projectionist. Neither are inherently similar to any of the cartoon characters, nor are they considered to be Lost Ones. They're certainly not Searchers, but while we know Sammy is unique because his method of transformation was different, we never got an explanation for Norman's. It could be that it's a process similar to BatDR's new enemy type that's larger and seems to have bits and bobs stuck to it, but then those big guys seem like the equivalent to Swollen Searchers for the Lost Ones. The Projectionist doesn't really fit the puzzle.

Or at least he didn't.

With the introduction of the Crack up Comics collection, we get three new characters that were definitely designed in the same manner that the Butcher Gang was. Beginning with a corrupt monster forms and then giving way to perfect and pristine rubberhose toon forms.

I'm talking about Miss Twisted, the Brute, and Cameraman.

The villainous trio from the Souper Boris comic strip.

To us it's obvious the artists created them in parallel to Twisted Alice, Brute Boris and the Projectionist, but to the actual canon this actually has a bit of an impact on the Projectionist's existence.

Why, you ask? Because those characters were introduced between 1936 and 1940.

Bendy Crack up Comics table of contents, showcasing the publishing dates of the strips.

For anyone who doesn't know (either from not paying attention to the Joey Drew Studios channel audio logs, or from not owning the books) the Ink Machine wasn't conceptualized or installed until 1942/1943. Putting that into perspective, the only other thing that happened in Joey Drew Studios in 1940, was the conceptualization of Bendyland (which is likely the origin of the idea for the Ink Machine itself).

This means that Cameraman existed well before the Projectionist ever came to be, and that made me think about another thing: The Ink's apparent sentience.

I'll be frank, the Ink is very hard nut to crack. I consider it a form of alchemized entity, others consider it pure black magic, and I'm pretty sure Joey Drew himself had no idea what he was dealing with when he began using it. The fact of the matter is that the Ink is alive and that it has its own agenda. One that coincides with Joey's, out of mutual interest.

In the novels it seems to want to be free, but it can't exactly do that as a formless liquid, so it tries to body-snatch people (ex: Sammy and Buddy's grandpa).

When Joey tries to use it to give life to Bendy through nothing more than using the Ink and a template (likely a character model sheet) the Ink tries to follow the model but immediately becomes a distorted humanoid version of it (which honestly rings so many fucking alarm bells on its own). Things… Escalate there on out, with Joey trying to perfect the method and only managing to succeed through Daniel Lewek (and many other nameless Boris Clones), Allison Pendle and Thomas Connor.

An important thing to take from this, however, is that by trying to perfect this method Joey not only taught the Ink to reshape things into viable referenced material, but that he had to have lost control of just how many souls were being pumped through the Ink Machine for him to monitor and keep up.

Sammy started killing people when he completely turned, and it didn't seem to take long for him to cut down people in likely both the music and art departments. At this point he had no self-restraint and was completely wrapped around inky fingers and Joey's lies. 

Norman is one such potential victim, and Dot and Buddy even passed by his ink-wrapped body while fleeing.

Now, the thing about trying to follow a specific guide and not having the actual means to make it exactly the same thing, is an easy enough notion to get (as shows like "Nailed It", and years of trying to perfect visual style mimicry, have taught me).

The Ink likely had the template it needed (maybe a printed copy of Souper Boris that got thrown around in the chaos), the insight of what Norman's role in the studio was, the amount of mass it needed to consume and transform his dead body, but not exactly the right sort of… Centerpiece for it...

Cameraman using his lens to light up his path.

But what's a projector besides a bigger fancier camera? Both blink, both take film, same thing right? The ink doesn't see the difference and just stitches together this humanoid bootleg cameraman with the pieces it finds that are similar enough.

Mechanical blinky head? Check.

Strange round disc near the belly? There's a speaker. That's round! Check.

Film? There we go, a nice big round reel full of film in it, let's put it near the head, that's how it works right? Check.

Lastly, no Joey to actually direct this artistic recreation of a one-off character. The Ink did it all by itself while he was off getting his hand broken by a rightfully upset Buddy Boris.

If you look at it objectively it makes sense that being the projectionist tasked with not only recording and maintaining the projectors themselves, that the entity in the Ink would pick Cameraman as a template for Norman's transformed self.

It also makes sense that the Projectionist is so off-putting in the studio. He's almost perfect, but not quite because there just weren't the right materials. He's stuck in between Twisted Alice and the Butcher Gang clones as another failed recreation.

Moving on to the next question on why Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris, when she hadn't done the same to any of the other Boris Clones.

It's hard to say really, but I think it all comes down to who Twisted Alice really is. It's very likely that, as Susie Campbell, she would have knowledge of the comic strips. A few were most likely made into cartoon shorts even (which isn't an unusual assumption to make), and maybe Susie voiced a few background characters for said shorts.

Susie may have lost her role as Alice, but before Joey came to her with his proposition for the "special project" it's very likely that she remained in the studio, forced to do the voices of characters that weren't noteworthy or that she felt completely disconnected from (talking chairs and singing hens really don't become beloved fan-favourites) . Maybe if the Souper Boris story was made into a short, she might have voiced Miss Twisted (which honestly would be personally insulting considering she once had the role of the main heroine).

Point is, Susie knows her lore, and that translates to Twisted Alice's repertoire of insightful knowledge on the abominations lurking around the studio.

She never did turn other Boris clones into brutish lackeys because at the time she didn't need to. But it doesn't mean she hadn't considered it. Henry's disruptive behaviour is just what she needed to put that plan into motion.

There was already a "Cameraman" walking about, one that could easily rip apart anything it came across, so acquiring the means to recreate the "Brute" would have been benefiting from her point of view. The Projectionist doesn't take orders and can't be reasoned with, so if she could make something just as strong that took her orders she could, theoretically, be safe from most terrors in the studio. If that didn't work, she would still likely send others to their death by simply sending them down to Level 14, or maybe lure the Projectionist to them herself (just because he doesn't take orders doesn't mean she can't use him to achieve her end goals).

Miss Twisted, the Brute and Cameraman in their evil swamp lair.

But why Buddy Boris specifically? Why couldn't she have used any of the bodies laying around? Freshness most likely. Rigor mortis is probably still a thing, even for living cartoons. Easier to work a fresh dead body than a bunch of stiff wolves.

That's at least why I think Brute Boris is a thing. Susie's knowledge of most Bendy cartoon/comic strip characters, taking inspiration from the Projectionist's presence, and honestly a very twisted sense of humor and irony. In her quest to become a Perfect Alice, the heroine of the show, she ended up becoming just as antagonistic (although more sadistic) as Miss Twisted, a Bendy comic strip villainess.

[rivalsforlife]

Additional, what's your thoughts on AA6, then?

Oooh okay I know that AA6 is generally better received than AA5, but I didn’t really like that game much either, for somewhat similar reasons why I didn’t like AA5?

Like not only did it abandon most of the plot threads of AA5 -- which they have even less of an excuse for, since this game came out three years after DD and on the same console -- but it had a similar problem that DD had involving pushing back major characters. Namely, Athena, who was kind of hyped up in DD as someone who was going to “revolutionize” the courtroom, but then barely had a major role in SOJ aside from the fourth case (which only had the one trial day and no investigation time, and was completely disconnected with the plot.) And yeah juggling three protagonists at the same time is a bad move, but if you had to pick a protagonist to give a smaller role... I would not pick Athena.

I guess the thing about Spirit of Justice is that it’s an Apollo game which tries to be a Phoenix game. I can’t really see any reason for Phoenix to go to Khura’in and stay there. Sure, he wants to hang out with Maya, who he hasn’t seen in a few years -- but she was supposed to come back in a couple of weeks. Also, and this is one of my bigger issues, one of the biggest shows his daughter was ever going to perform would be in the time he was gone, but he didn’t seem to particularly care about missing it. And, and, and! He didn’t even get to SEE Maya for two weeks after he arrived! So why go that early?

I know the semi-canon prologue kiiind of touched on that with Phoenix thinking Maya was in danger, and I can definitely see him rushing over there if he thought she’d been hurt and/or accused of murder somehow. But... the prologue isn’t really CANON canon, it’s not ever stated explicitly or shown in the game. Instead the game just has him say he was worried about Maya for no particular reason, so he... abandoned his daughter just before her big show... and then didn’t even go back after she was accused of murder? I know that he couldn’t have made it back in time for the trial, but he didn’t even go back to comfort her? For two weeks? Where he was in Khura’in and couldn’t even see Maya? 

It just strikes me as a “we need Phoenix to be in Khura’in for Plot Reasons and not because it’s something his character would ever actually do” kind of thing. And, you know, there is that one interview where they say that Phoenix had to be in Khura’in because they needed to “challenge” him more, but this isn’t really much of a challenge. “He needs to win otherwise he’ll die”??? Big deal, we all already KNOW Phoenix would die to defend his friends! We’ve played Bridge to the Turnabout and seen him run across the burning bridge because he thought Maya was trapped with a murderer. Like, the stakes aren’t that much higher. Phoenix wouldn’t let something silly like death get in the way of doing what was right. That one concept about an “underground court” where Phoenix couldn’t trust his clients was a MUCH more interesting concept because it actually challenges one of Phoenix’s core beliefs. Instead, I can’t say that Phoenix has grown or changed at ALL before and after Khura’in.

And aside from Maya Being There and a general intolerance for injustice, Phoenix has no personal stakes in the general conflict of Khura’in. You know who apparently does? Apollo. But his connection to Khura’in isn’t even really explored until the last case, where they shove all of the Dhurke and Nahyuta development in at once. Of course, his beloved childhood friend he was so distraught over in the last game isn’t ever really mentioned, nor does his loss seem to have any long-term effect on Apollo beyond DD.

And speaking of Dhurke and Nahyuta... another issue I had with Turnabout Revolution is that it was trying to do SO MUCH that it didn’t give much focus. Also the severe delaying of Nahyuta’s character arc: he’s pretty much in Second-Case Prosecutor Mode until the very last case, where we only see him for the last part of it. It makes his development feel a little rushed, I think -- it’s been a while since I played SOJ though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Also I want to say that I really love Maya and I’m glad to see that she’s okay, but it doesn’t feel like she had a huge role in SOJ despite the game pretty much existing to bring her back in a big way. She comes back, and she’s still not the Master, inexplicably, despite it having been nine years since T&T. The game says it was because she could only channel spirits 30% of the time or something before, but... that never really came up past Turnabout Goodbyes? After that she’d pretty much always been able to channel whoever, whenever she needed to (including channeling Dahlia for several days) so I don’t really buy that excuse. My fear is they didn’t want to risk changing Maya Too Much so they just kind of tried to keep her as close to original Maya as possible. Plus, she only shows up for two of the five cases, in which she spends almost all of her time accused of murder, kidnapped, or channeling someone. And all of her important interactions are with Phoenix, or sometimes Rayfa, and like maybe an offhand comment to Apollo? But she doesn’t ever bond with Apollo or Athena or even Trucy -- she and Trucy never even ACKNOWLEDGE each other, which is SO weird, because this is her best friend’s daughter, why is she acting like she doesn’t even know her? 

There’s more with Trucy -- the game tries to claim Trucy has a bigger role because she’s accused of murder, but the entirety of that case irritates me for how it completely disregards previously-established Gramarye lore to add in This Random Dude (who does have an awesome theme song, but still), and then perfectly sets up the opportunity for a sibling reveal only to completely ignore it. (You’ve got a guy who knew Thalassa and should have known about her perceiving power + bracelet, and has a huge complex about being defeated by a Gramarye, coming face-to-face with Apollo with his perceiving power and bracelet and... nothing! Not even acknowledging it!)

oh and the civil trial. the civil. freaking. trial. is SUCH a cool concept that they ABSOLUTELY fail to make work. Because instead of it being about Phoenix’s ideals failing him, or him believing in his client until the very end but his client just turned out to be a terrible person, it was yet another Farewell, My Turnabout but worse, with Phoenix only defending this guy because Maya’s kidnapped again... and he learned absolutely nothing from last time, where the only reason he got through the trial safely was by trusting Miles and teaming up with the other side to delay the trial for a rescue, instead he just decides I’m Not Telling Apollo Anything and struggles like he did in the second game. Plus it takes any victory of Apollo triumphing over Phoenix away, because Phoenix wasn’t actually trying his best. It had the opportunity to be an exploration of “what would Phoenix do if his trust in people actually went wrong”, but they abandoned it because Phoenix Wright Is Never Wrong. Instead it was just so weak!

Wow this is ALL OVER THE PLACE I’m sorry about that anon. ending with a bit of positivity, I really like that Final Big Twist at the end of the game, I think that was a super cool use of spirit channeling! And getting a little more spirit channeling lore was nice (though I would have liked to see more about the structure of Kurain Village -- you expect me to believe this random dude has a major role as the mayor of what has always been described as a matriarchal village?) I guess my main issue is... a lot of potential for cool things (in the civil trial, in Maya getting to know and bonding with the New Generation, sibling reveals and spirit channeling lore) and it doesn’t really deliver on most of it.

[beck-a-leck]

Fanfic Writer 20 Questions

Tagged by @thychesters Thanks Kate!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

56 on my main page, plus 5 others that are secret (aka Anonymous and don't show up in the count)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

772,412

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

~10, I have a lot of sub-fandoms as part of a larger fandom. Including but not limited to: Star Wars, Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, MCU, and many moons ago Voltron, Transformers, and Harry Potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by Kudos?

[Redacted Anonymous fic] at 1218

Aggressive Negotiations at 312

Wells of Silence at 287

[Redacted Anonymous fic] at 280

Weekend Guests at 209

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! Or at the very least, I try to respond to as many comments as I can. I love being able to strike up conversation with my readers, and wallow in angst with them for a while. At the very least, I like letting them know I appreciate their feedback.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm... that's probably the fic where I gave Anakin Skywalker an almost happy ending; twins, husband, you know the drill. And then I violently took pretty much all of that away. Killed Obi-Wan, killed the twins, left her with a heaping pile of survivor's guilt. That's probably my angiestiest fic.

But also, I write rather a lot of angst, so...

There's also the one where I gave a child 23 older sisters, and then had them slowly and painfully die off, leaving her alone as the sole survivor. (Star Wars)

And there's the one where I detailed how an 8 year old accidentally killed his brother, thus screwing up everything so badly, the whole timeline had to be erased. (Loki)

And, well, Wells of Silence IS a canon compliant AU. And we all know how Revenge of the Sith ends.

Writing angst is fun okay!

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not really, no. Usually only when I'm messing around and being goofy, or if I'm combining a lot of sub-fandoms from a larger fandom group. But I don't really count those as true crossovers.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nothing specific comes to mind. I'm pretty sure years ago (and I mean like well over a decade at this point) I got trolled/hate on a fic by someone who was out to attack me specifically. I remember deleting the fic, and beginning to distance myself from the fandom. but obviously it didn't stop me from writing so... jokes on them. 😂

Otherwise, more recently I can only think of instances where people have used my fic comments as an excuse to vent about canon things they hate thinking they'll find a sympathetic ear, or got 5+ chapters into a long fic before saying 'it feels unrealistic that this character would do these things' to which I'm pretty sure I just shrug and don't respond.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't really write fanfic smut, no. It's not really my thing, and I'm happy cutting things off at an M/PG-13 rating for sexy times.

That being said, I have written non-fanfic smut before. No I'll never share it. It is well and truly laughably terrible.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To my knowledge, no I haven't.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Many, many, many years ago @jessi-08 and I co-wrote and absolute crack fic for Jak and Daxter. It was deliriously fun times. But in a more ""serious"" capacity, no I have not.

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Nobody? I guess?? I'm not much of a shipper, really. I enjoy reading and writing ship-content, but I've never really felt devoted to any single ship in any fandom. I'm a multi-shipper? Omni-shipper? Basically, if the fandom can bring its A-game to a ship, I'll probably quite enjoy it.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I mean, there are a couple dozen unfinished WIPs in my writing folder that I keep around with the intention of maybe finishing them, but deep down I never will. But also, none of those are posted.

Thinking of where I am and how my fandom interests have shifted, I'm probably never gonna finish Weekend Guests. And I stubbornly refuse to admit that Dust and Ashes is dead, but also, I haven't touched it in years, and kinda forgot what I wanted to include in the story. 😬

15. What are your writing strengths?

Oh gosh... (what is this question? I can't say nice things about myself)

I guess I would say my scene setting. I love spelling out descriptions and providing the sensory experience when I can in the scenery. Otherwise, probably my ability to sink my angst claws into people and hurt their feelings with words about fictional characters while I torture them worse than canon does (usually)

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sticking to a goddamn regular posting schedule. I try not to get too wrapped up in writing regularly, so as to not punish myself for doing (or not doing) something that's supposed to be fun and relaxing for me. but damn I look at those WIPs that haven't been updated in months and I can't help but feel guilty.

Also, tied in with the above, starting too many projects before finishing up something else.

Also action scenes. and romance.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

It can work, I think, if it's done well. But usually, it's not done well, and it just feels clunky or tossed in for "spice." But like... pet names/nicknames in a native tongue, I am so weak for those! And it can also be a fun way to drop hints/foreshadowing, but as a bonus for the people who speak the language.

Idk, I'm not fluent enough in any language to feel like I have any definitive voice in the matter. I typically don't add other language dialogue because I don't trust google translate.

And if I'm writing for Star Wars, and it's an alien language anyways, I'm not digging that deep into the lore to construct a fictional language. That shit gets Universally Translated babey!

18. What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Jak and Daxter my beloved! I'll never let you go! Every five years or so, I'll spit out a new fic for you 💜

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh no! I can't pick favorites! Don't do this to me!

Wells of Silence still sits up in my top 5, for a number of reasons.

Another of my tops is actually one of my Anonymously posted fics, so I will not mention name or fandom, but it is very beloved.

And they've been on the forefront of my mind, so I've got a soft spot for Earth and Rebirth and Our Dear Empress

20. Who do you tag?

Hmmm, let's see. @durotoswrites, @jake-marshall, @lookforaspoopynewangle (I know kate tagged you, but consider yourself double tagged), @jessi-08, and... I have all of a sudden gone completely blank on which of my mutuals writes fic 😂😬 (i only slept for 3 hours last night. leave me alone. my brain is swiss cheese.)

As always, if you want to play along, you are more than welcome to say I tagged you!

[darksaiyangoku]

My dream team of writers for RWBY

It’s no secret that RWBY has been getting criticism of its writing in recent years. Many fans are either disappointed or downright upset at how far they think the show has fallen in terms of writing quality.

To be honest, I can’t say I blame them. Volume 7, though I didn’t hate t, didn’t impress me nearly enough as it should have and I consider it to be one of the weaker volumes alongside 5. It has this weird pacing of somehow being incredibly slow but also very fast, where nothing has time to fully develop. When it came to the plot, it felt like there was a lot happening and not a lot happening at the same time. Overall, Volume 7 was a mixed bag.

Now I could harp on about Volume 7 until the cows come home, but instead, I’m going to talk about the writers that RWBY should have had on board. Even though I got into the show much later than most, I knew that Miles and Kerry alone wouldn’t be enough of a creative force and that more writers should’ve come on board. It isn’t just about having more writers though, it’s also about the quality of said writers and what they can bring to the table. Since Rooater Teeth is owned by Warner Bros, I thought it would be appropriate if they had some of their writers from DC work on RWBY.

I’m sure some of you are having bad memories of the terrible, terrible comic adaptation that came out last year. But when I say that RWBY and DC should work together, I don’t mean this:

I mean THIS:

The DC Universe has had some incredible writers for past decade or 2 and having them on board would’ve been amazing. They could’ve taken RWBY to new heights and then some! But there’s a whole host of writers to choose from. Who would be appropriate fit to work on RWBY? Well before I get into that, I want to make something perfectly clear:

Miles and Kerry should not be removed from RWBY

Look, I know they’re not the best writers out there, but they are the ones who created RWBY alongside Monty. They’re the architects of this whole universe and should definitely stay on board. If not as writers, then at least as creative consultants. Plus, they have done some solid writing in RWBY for a while now. Volume 6 was pretty good and The Lost Fable is stand out episode for me, detailing the backstory of Ozma, Salem and Remnant itself. It was also Mile’s first big contribution into the creation of RWBY.

So yeah, regardless of what you think of them, I think they should stay on board.

Now for the DC writers, I have narrowed it down to who I think would be the best fit for the series. Here they are:

Gail Simone

Even though she doesn’t work for DC anymore, Gail Simone is still a beloved writer among DC fans and has had a solid career with them for long time. Her run on Birds of Prey, Secret Six and Wonder Woman are considered classics and I think she would make an excellent fit for the writing RWBY, especially if she was writing the main team herself! Plus, her Wonder Woman story arc Ends of the Earth reads like a classic Sword and Sorcery, and I think Simone could bring a lot of that energy with the Maidens of the Seasons and magic in the RWBYverse.

Kyle Higgins

Kyle Higgin’s run on Nightwing during the New 52 era of DC is fondly remembered and his work on Boom! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic is a fantastic read. He has a knack for taking characters and developing them in new and exciting ways, while still keeping to the core of who they are. His run on MMPR was also surprisingly mature, resonating with many longtime fans who grew up with the series and I think that would’ve fit right at home with the Mistral Arc, especially with developing each characters’ personal arcs.

Grant Morrison

Ah, Grant Morrison. He’s... definitely something to say the least. For every good story he has, he also has an equally bad story too. I know that can be said of all comic writers, but Morrison has managed to anger longtime fans with the kind of stories he’s written (Final Crisis) and even with his good stories, his writing style can be VERY hard to follow. That said, he is a creative person at heart and does have a solid resume of good stories under his belt. His work on the New X-Men is insane to say the least but it’s also beloved among many longtime Marvel fans and who would be a better fit for the Faunus subplot than someone who’s written the X-Men? To me, it’s a match made in Heaven.

Geoff Johns

Geoff Johns is one of my favourite writers in comics and it’s not hard to see why. He’s a DC fan at heart and really understands the characters well. He also has a solid grasp at writing teams. His run on the Justice League during the New 52 is what got me into the greater DC Universe in the first place. Johns has also had hits with the Teen Titans and even the Avengers at one point! His story and characters feel like a true ensemble, and that is something that would fit right at home with RWBY! Greater still, I feel like he can expand the mythology and lore of Remnant even further. To quote from Paul Levitz;

"One of Johns' sharpest additions to DC mythology is the notion that the Green Lanterns are but one color within a rainbow spectrum, and that the other hues have their own champions. Folding in old concepts and inventing new ones, Johns has established limitless story possibilities."

E.C. Myers

Okay, this one is cheating. I know E.C. Myers doesn’t work for DC, nor has he written any comics. However, he is well regarded in the fandom and while I have yet to After the Fall, many agree that it is a solid addition to the canon. If that’s the common consesus and if Miles and Kerry trust him to write for their universe, then I see no reason as to why he shouldn’t join the team.

And there you have it! My dream team of writers for RWBY. A fun little ‘what-if’. If I missed anything out, let me know in the comments. Also, let me know what you guys think of my choices and who would you have for your dream writing team. Have a good day, guys!

[nofliight]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

tagged by: stole it from @sternenteile​ and honestly others tbh tagging: TAKE

my muse is:  canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [ for better or for worse, he’s THE face of kid icarus, after all. he’s a dork and funny and likeable and even if the fandom tends to get him WRONG (thanks smash bros) there’s no denying his popularity ]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ i don’t??? think so??? most people are too busy talking about how they think he’s like 5 ]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ EVEN THE FANDOM AIN’T GONNA MESS THIS UP. MAN FIGHTS GODS. CALL THAT WEAK. ]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. [ make no mistake - pit’s got fans and plenty of them but he’s so MISTREATED by the fandom. his character is a lot more complex than he gets credit for and smash bros in particular is a big reason people think he’s just Big Dumb Baby Man ]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. [ HE’S THE MAIN CHARACTER, THE CENTRAL FIGURE UPON WHOM THE NARRATIVE IS STRUCTURED AROUND, YEAH HE’S PRETTY RELEVANT. Uprising is literally made to tell the story of a war exclusively through the perspective of a single side and Pit (and Palutena) are the EMBODIMENT of that whole side. ]

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [ and a perfect one at that. he’s literally a perfect protagonist don’t tell me i’m wrong cause i’m not ]

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. [ pit is beloved by humans... and mocked by the Gods. seen by most as a spineless extension of palutena’s will, most “respect” of any variety goes to palutena while he gets treated as a joke 99% of the time... and it’s not like Palutena gets too much respect either ]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. (????) [ Uhhhhhh... it’s an odd one. Short answer is that Pit’s a good samaritan who’s done a lot of good BUT most of the gods think protecting humanity is a Folly and a Joke and that Pit’s just a pawn of Palutena’s and while the humans do hold a lot of respect for him, uh............. let’s just say, some humans on the surface have reasons not to be too happy with him. ]

How strictly do you follow canon?  —  about as much as I need to to respect one of my favorite video games of all time. while kid icarus uprising is a comedic game most of the way through it has a lot more nuance and depth to itself, its world, and its characters than one can see at first glance, even after a full playthrough. if you let yourself get invested in the characters, take a closer look at the dialogue it provides, and acknowledge the central, core storytelling message of the game for what it is, there’s a lot more to pull out than one would think. that being said, it’s still a comedic video game and one that I think could use some more expansion. though the game is inconsistent there seems to be the consensus that pit is like a child and I’m not into that, mine’s a bit more showing in his cynical and snarky side after all he’s been through and overall there’s a lot of expansion on the base while building it into something unique.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  imagine your typical bootstrapped anime protagonist. someone who, when younger, was a runt who couldn’t meet the expectations of others, was looked down on, and found himself crushed and hurt and near-killed by a great tragedy that he was forced to claw his way out of to make himself stronger. Now imagine all of that with a character who comes out still able to have a very real smile and ultimately comes out of it a self-assured, chipper goofball with a good heart. now put that together with all of the darkness and depth you would have expected to be there, but scattered realistically throughout the attitude of someone who does genuinely want to keep a positive attitude. someone who is sincerely an optimist who’s grown past his weaker days, but isn’t quite so simple as he’d like to believe. all of that combined with someone who can’t read, is willing to eat ice cream off the floor in times of duress, is extremely easy to fluster and can channel his goddess’ power to slay GODS? you got one strong man.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  his positive attitude is what most people will see when speaking to him, because for what it’s worth, he’s not actively lying about his depth. he’s a cheerful, jovial man with a big smile and a love of the world around him - which is all well and good, but his depth is something you have to find, even if it is reasonably clear if you’re willing to look. he’s also portrayed as a bit unreasonably dumb at times, and though I personally justify the worst of it with proper explanations, I can understand reducing some of the value of the character in favor of seeing all of his Jokes

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  i made my original pit blog, flightlesswarrior, on a total whim after playing kid icarus uprising. cute character, fun premise, why not? but over time, and with numerous plots I was able to take part in exploring the serious, not so serious, shipping, tragedy, and going back through the game to keep my muse rolling, it occurred to me more and more with time just how nuanced and interesting pit and co. really are. pit embodies many of the things i really, truly love in a protag, falling firmly on the side of good, having a heart of genuine gold, and having nuances and parts of his personality that are less than savory without making him seem like a contradiction. he’s got depth, he’s got story, there’s a lot to explore and flesh out... and he’s also just a nice, friendly guy who gets along well with others. plus, i’m drawn to dorks.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  a) love for Kid Icarus: Uprising. a game that helped me gain a deeper and more insightful understanding of character development, subtle storytelling, optimism still tinged with legitimate and healthy cynicism, and overall something that changed my understanding of character development and storytelling forever. and b) spite. the fandom treats him like an idiot baby and smash DOES NOT help matters so i have to remind others that he is a veteran of a war, a socially inept loser with few real friends, and someone who’s kindness and optimism was shaped and molded by its hardships in a way that doesn’t require a near-breaking point or a reminder that “this guy could be evil you know” to show how someone can still keep a positive attitude in spite of all the shit life throws at him.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO [ i’d like to think i have?? but i also acknowledge that he’s become something of his Own in some ways that do intentionally diverge from sakurai’s intentions. ultimately though, even though i may not play him completely true to text, i try to be as loyal as i can be to the spirit of the character. ]

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [ when i can!! but??? the problem is my mind really, really likes to reiterate the Same Damn Points i have to make with characters that draws me to them - and you know, writing the same hcs over and over is generally considered poor form?? ngl i also prefer to let the writing do the talking unless it’s something that’s not gonna show so 90% of the time pit’s open enough that all but the darker sides of his mind are lain out before you. ]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO [ maybe??? once or tWICE???? but i need to write more ]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO [ I REALLY DO, HOO MAMA. i have a lot of thoughts about him, his depth, potential relationships, goofy thoughts, more serious fanfic ideas im never gonna write and don’t get me started on how many SHIPS i have to think about for him ]

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO [ my portrayal is made out of spite for portrayals in the fandom and some supplementary material that gets him wrong - it’s kinda hard to do that without the confidence ]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / ??? [ it’s uhh........ complicated??? i don’t think writing is my expertise, tbh. but it is the best way i have to show the passion i have for characters, by putting their nuances into actions, by allowing them to shine from who they are their core, by exploring relationships and scenarios and struggles and hope and everything that can flesh a character out. whether or not i’m a good writer is something i’m still sorting out - but i’m proud of my ability to develop a character, and to that end i feel like i’m doing fine ]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORTA. [ on one hand......... very. i have a tendency to overthink everything i do and look back at moments i made an ass of myself that keep haunting me throughout my day - they haunt me. i only have two fears: what my immediate friend group thinks of me and the crushing existential weight of worrying one day i’m gonna ruin everything i am SOFT. that being said, i’m also hardheaded and stubborn and i’m not afraid to go off on someone i don’t have much respect for if it comes down to it. i’m easy to anger when it comes down to it you know i guess that proves the point huh i’m not stonefaced at all ]

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  i try to? it’s a bit touchy for me I admit just because I do take portrayals and try to make them my own, but i am willing to listen if someone has any points they’d like to make that i haven’t acknowledged properly. if criticism IS had, lemme know, i do wanna hear it!

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —   Y  E  S

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  not that everyone who disagrees with my opinions has to explain themselves of course, but i do sincerely like the chance to learn if something i’m doing doesn’t quite feel right. even if it’s one-sided and i’ll come to disagree, i’m happy to listen! even if i don’t agree with the disagreement head-on, i like to keep them in mind and see what i can shift around to acknowledge them if necessary

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  — neutral?? i mean don’t be mean about it, but if you just think my pit doesn’t seem right or it doesn’t click right with your muse i’m not gonna throw a fit about it. everyone’s allowed to view a character in their own way - and even if i may get salty about those who oversimplify him, it IS anyone’s right to view him how they will.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  — agree to disagree tbh. i can’t pretend it wouldn’t disappoint me, but it’s not like, worth ending a friendship over or anything. everyone’s got their own viewpoints to run on

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  sure, within reason! i take pride in my grammar but i know that with my fast typing and often running on only a few hours of sleep some problems do slip in through the cracks. while i generally either catch them or just Die with them i’m all ears if i mess up

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  uhhhhhhhhhh well i’m?? kind of a socially anxious mess honestly which DOES make being easy going a bit difficult BUT i do try and be friendly and sociable as i....... can. i’m too scared to talk to people and CAN say some dumb things but i’m not a hardass or anything!! i like to talk and Yell and shitpost and pretty much do anything but write tbh DHFLKSJDF

[ngame989]

Starco Fic Recs

Disclaimer: This list is largely curated to my own personal preferences (minimal feelings angst, minimal AUs, character development >>> plot) and has a fairly high bar for quality in characterization, etc. There will likely be many popular/beloved fics that I really don’t think highly of at all and therefore don’t make the cut. Feel free to DM me things you think I should consider adding, but I make no promises.

And of course I’d be flattered if you gave my own works a chance - stop by my About Me section for links! Thus far I’m particularly proud of the post-canon series I just started in collaboration with an awesome team, The Greatest Gift.

(Updated 9/26 - I decided to redo the list since people might appreciate seeing it in the tags again. To anyone whose own work is featured here that I haven’t personally responded to - I’m a tough critic with a lot of strong personal preferences so PLEASE do not take my gripes as condemnations of your skills - if they make the list at all, I think they’re worth a read!)

See below for the very thorough list!

Bolded titles indicate must-read.

Italicized titles indicate work is incomplete (in the case of continuous stories).

Asterisks indicate new additions from last update (3 for brand new, 1 for status update).

I’ve VERY loosely organized the categories by personal priority order this time around, but read the descriptions and decide for yourself!

Must-Reads

Forevermore - A Starco wedding story (with a bit of Jantom as well). Simply one of the best fics I’ve read in the fandom. I have no meaningful criticism to give it, and that’s the highest praise I can possibly give something.

Monarchs of Mewni (+ Traditionally Lovingly Yours) - A series of chronologically disconnected oneshots set years after the show. The backstory is very dated given how long ago it started (Jarco was kinda serious for a few years, Tomstar v2 never happened, etc) but overall it’s lovely. Has a bit of plot, a bit of Jantom, a lot of other character interactions, and a boatload of Starco - plus a Starco kid who is a decently developed character but also doesn’t just take over and crowd out Star and Marco themselves! That alone deserves merit.

Ruined - Aftermath of a hypothetical return of Monster Arm. Angst with a happy ending (and one of the few angsty fics that gets my seal of approval), so read this extra early if that’s more your schtick than mine.

study buddies - Y’know what, fuck it, I’m putting this here. It’s a short ball of Starco fluff but it’s one of the sweetest and fluffiest fluffballs I’ve seen in a long time and it’s very emotionally immersive and y’all needa read it.

*When Two Worlds Collide - One of my favorite postcanon series thus far. I admit I’m really not big on “magic returns!” plots in postcanon (which this has), and the sections that focus on that are hit or miss for me, but overall it has some of the funnest and cutest characterization and gags I’ve seen in any SVTFOE fic, ever. Absolutely worth following (and it has a fair amount of art to go along with it!)

***Star Chef - Oneshot (two chapters, so twoshot technically?) set in the same universe as Starlight Justiciar (see below) and is just a day in the life of Star and Marco. Goes absolutely above and beyond at emotional immersion and little nuances and details to bring the world and characters to life, which elevates it to something special to me.

Light of the Sun and Stars - (Promoted to Must-Read!) One of the few heavily divergent AU fics I care for. Marco is an orphan raised by monsters, and meets Star after running away. Just finished its “first season” and I've loved the recent chapters, am very excited to see where it goes.

*Don’t You Let Me Go - Wonderfully fluffy post-Cleaved Starco, one of my favorite oneshot “epilogues”.

i want to tell you (but i don’t know how) - Post season 3 fic detailing the growth of Star and Marco’s relationship. It’s spectacular writing and shows off a lot of the true depth of Starco beyond just being cute.

Adult - NSFW warning, non-explicit (aged-up characters). It’s a story about the journey towards Star and Marco’s first step into adulthood together -  it’s not graphic and way more focused on the emotions involved, but it still is definitely more explicit than your average FFnet rated-T fic. If sexual themes ain’t your thing, I totally respect that, but this is a charming and funny piece of writing.

Lawchan’s various oneshots - There isn’t a great compilation for them right now so the best I can do is give you her tag for it and you can comb through it yourself. I like some more than others here, but they’re all very well-written - my only gripes with some of them are my own tastes in subject matter, so have fun perusing this on your own.

I Will Always Be There For You - A really pure and wholesome Starco oneshot. Very well-written.

Post-Canon Series to Follow

I figured with the show being over, and so many people starting their own series, I should include a lot of them here even if I’m personally not the biggest fan just to help gather them up so people can decide for themselves. Little bit looser on judgment here.

*Life on Earthni A to Z - Non-chronological postcanon slice of life oneshots, Starco and some Globclipsa and Jantom. Overall really good so far, one of my favorites in terms of direction.

*When Dimensions Cleave (sequel - Unforgettable Getaway) - Another postcanon series hellbent on bringing back magic queen lore, but it has some solid Starco fluff still. Credit where it’s due, the “Star constantly freaking out over what a horrible person she was” bit that I called preachy in the prior rec post gets somewhat less preachy and does end up actually going somewhere as part of character development, but I’m left scratching my head at how they all act sometimes. The good parts are certainly good, though, and in terms of quantity of lovey dovey Starco, it really can’t be beat (especially the sequel) and that’s worth something by itself. 

We’re a Miracle - Extra adorkable postcanon fluff. Lighter on the “but ACKSHUALLY MAGIC IS BACK” stuff compared to the others, but it’s there, like almost every postcanon fic in existence.

Star vs the Sands of Time - Heavy politic/lore postcanon fic, not my fav but if that’s more your thing then great. Has some casual Starco too.

Goodbye Isn’t Forever - More POV dives into Cleaved.

Fake Proposal - Some decent jokey but cute fluff

The Stars Above - Some exploration of Earthni

New World - A bit over-the-top meta, but fun fluff

The Starlight Justiciar - Four years after canon, some social change plot stuff and some decent Starco. Not the biggest fan of some of the plot stuff but check it out for yourself!

Starco vs the Forces of Evil - Another collab fic/art thing. Fair warning, I really am not personally a huge fan of a lot of the characterization and plot decisions here (see my notes on Sign of the Moon waaaay down below) but decide for yourself, don’t let my pickiness dictate your own preferences!

Ready For The Future - Technically a oneshot (with some Starco) but sets up some Mina plot, if you’re interested in more give it a follow/review.

Worlds Together - Some Starco and exploration of Earthni.

Epilogue -  Some Starco and exploration of Earthni.

***A Dark Horse - Has a few really nice lovey dovey Starco bits but also lots of superdrama with politics stuff. There’s a lot of fics here that I honestly just windowshop the scene I like for a quick fix of dopamine every now and then and skim at most otherwise, and this is one.

Revolution - end of canon AU where Moon is as anti-monster as Mina, dark as fuck. Only putting it here cuz some of y’all angstlords might like it.

Shorter Works/Oneshot Collections

I’ll Carry Your World - Big ole’ ball of wonderful Starco fluff with an important moment between them (written before end of show so a bit divergent).

***LoveIsTheStrongestKindOfMagic - Very short and basic fluff.

Starco Week 5 (Hugs Included) - Some of it is postcanon Earthni oneshots and others are from the Light of the Sun and Stars AU (see above). Great author, fun as hell writing style.

Fragile - Star worries about keeping her boyfriend Marco safe.

Complete - An older Star reflects on her past and present. Short and sweet.

Knighthood - Simple fluff piece on if Star and Marco got together after Storm the Castle.

Too Hot to Move - Star and Marco try to survive a heat wave on Earthni. Also funny fluff.

Marco Make-out Mayhem - Star really likes kissing Marco. Funny fluff.

Cleaved Together - NSFW warning, non-explicit (aged up) - Star and Marco’s first time. Very very overly focused on the whole purity/sacredness of first time thing, but still pretty cute.

Like Us - Really nice, sweet casual reflection on her life with Marco from a future Star’s POV.Toothpaste Kisses - Short fluff about its title.

A Friend’s Memento - Starco fluff with some reflection on the results of destroying magic

Plum Pie - Some goofy antics and hurt/comfort.

Not Losing You - A little dive into Marco’s POV at the end of Cleaved. Also adds a kiss.

We Belong Together - More speculative slightly angsty comfort/fluff.

Enough - A nice study of the emotions and thoughts during the last scenes of Cleaved, adds some depth to it.

Heartless - A bit of angst over magic going away with some sweet Starco comfort.

Together - Post-Cleaved Starco megafluff.

My Prince - Starco fluff set in a world where they were together before Cornonation.

Dancing with a Star - Starco fluff from alt S4.

Love in the Time of Pancakes - Written hours after my last update of the list, another little ditty based on the pancake promo.

Pancakes - Fluffy S4-promo-based little oneshot.

Hers - Hurt/comfort/confession-y fic, has some really nice moments and shows off a lot of how much they care about each other. Nice to see after such a drought.

Someone to Stay - Another hurt/comfort fic, nice and simple.

A Viola, a Violin, and a Butterfly’s Sword - some nonlinear oneshots about Starco. Some kinda weird directions gone in with the “plot” but it’s pretty good overall.

Falling - One of many, many fics from throughout the fandom’s history about Star and Marco getting together. Short and sweet.

forget about white horses & once upon a time - Drabble collection of various moments scattered throughout Star and Marco’s lives. Cute fluff.

The One Where I Thought I Lost You - Post-BFM fic where Marco realizes his feelings for Star earlier. Very wholesome.

christmases when you were mine - Established relationship fluff.

lightning in your veins, thunder in your heart - Post-season 3 established relationship fluff (slightly divergent, written before 3B).

once upon a december - Established relationship fluff.

Flags - Alternate rendition of the episode “Flags” with Starco.

Spells and Hot Chocolate - Wintry fluff.

5 Ways to Say ‘I Love You’ - Post BFM with some events in Star and Marco’s lives.

You’re My Wish Come True - This is just indulgent Starco trash. I won’t even argue for the characterization/writing quality, this is just a straight-up guilty pleasure.

Wands and Nachos - ^

The Princess and the Safe Kid - ^

A Day in the Life of Starco - ^

A very Starco Xmas - ^

Could It Be -^

All the times Star wore Marco’s hoodie - ^

Protect Me, Squire - ^

Crushed - Star and Marco both get turned down by their respective crushes and find comfort in each other.

Stay - Cuddly fluff. There’s another Stay out there which I frankly can’t stand with will-they-won’t-they melodrama out the wazoo, so don’t get confused.

Longer Series

*The Inescapable Us - Really tropey miscommunication will-they-won’t-they type of thing. Not my fav, especially now that the show is over and finished that leg of Star and Marco’s story once and for all (I’m personally WAY less interested in things that redo something canon already did). However, where it’s at now has some really good Starco moments. Fully admitted that I hella skimmed most of it until the parts I enjoyed, but And if you’re more fine with that type of thing then you’ll probably really like it, it’s well-written otherwise.

Together We Fall - Throwback S2 AU fic where Star and Marco go to the dance together instead and Toffee makes moves earlier. Gets kinda dark but has a lot of nice Starco along the way.

Safer, Sorrier - A recent rewrite of an older fic, Better Safe Than Sorry, where Star has to leave early to become queen and Marco is alone for a few months before they reunite. A very dated premise (post season 1 ish) but quite good.

Sugar and Spice - NSFW warning, non-explicit (NOT aged-up characters). In this fic, Star and Marco have gotten together after BFM, and a spell gone wrong leads to Mewberty relapses with obvious consequences. This fic has adorable Starco moments, but what I love this for above all is the other character interactions (especially Glossaryck and Star’s parents). This is probably a controversial add-on to the list, but I stick by my decision - if the subject matter isn’t your thing, then by all means avoid it.

Beyond Dimensions - Plotfic + established Starco where some ancient sorceress has to trap Star to escape and try to take over Mewni. Maybe y'all are more into plot stuff than me but the Starco that’s there is quite good regardless.

Starfall - NSFW warning, explicit (aged-up characters). Probably the most popular one to make the cut. Star and Marco are forced apart and have to find their way back together. Very old fic, lot of dated stuff here, and the narration and plot itself can get kinda questionable sometimes, but it has a lot of good Starco and some interesting plot elements that make it, in my opinion, worth a read despite a lot of flaws. A few epilogue chapters contain rather explicit sexual content, so be wary of that (and the epilogue itself after Ep 6 kinda transitions into a nextgenverse, so maybe just skip that entirely).

The Star Butterfly Effect - The sole fic on the list that is purely plot-based, with very little actual Starco development whatsoever. I can’t even really explain it, just give it a shot and see what you think; I was rather engrossed by the plot, and that’s rare for me.

The Princess and her Knight, Return of the Empire The former fic in this series is way more character-based, while the latter is very heavy plot stuff. Pretty decent character writing with some fluff. There’s a third that I honestly can’t recommend because I completely dropped it because it was just a nonstop war story.

Experimental - REALLY heavy, dark AU where Star and Marco are tortured and corrupted. It’s pretty decent.

Blood Moon Blitz - Alt BFM fic of Marco going to fight Toffee with Star. unfortunately dropped without completing, but what’s there is pretty solid.

Read at Your Own Risk…

The Sign of the Moon, The Dance of the Stars - Starts post-3A, involves the growth of Star and Marco’s relationship as they take on foes in and out of the castle and learn more about the Blood Moon. This series is rather… melodramatic, and there were some chapters and character interactions I flat out did not enjoy reading. But some people aren’t as strict on character interpretations as I am and would love such a long plot-based Starco fic, so overall I still will at least list it and let you decide for yourself. There might be a third entry in this series now, but I dropped it before then.

Photos - I hesitate to include this one here because the “Tom is a perfect angel who must sacrifice his love for Star” thing pisses me off. But just skip all that (and ignore the random “a part of me will always love Tom” line) and it’s a really nice post-s3 confession fic.

[fgodestinyawakenings]

Rank the Limited servants(Knight class edition) best to worst: Sabers(Okita , Nero Bride, Void Shiki , Musashi , Proto!Arthur , Sigurd , Beni and Astolfo) , Archers(Gilgamesh, Summer Artoria , Ishtar , Moriarty , Summer Jeanne , Superhuman Orion and Sei Shonagon) and Lancers(Scathach, Brynhildr , Summer Tamamo and Eresh)

…….. I’m not sure if I’m the one to be answering this……. And I can’t vouch for ALL of them because RNG hates me, and depending on who I managed to get. And I’m basing this all on the current Lostbelt difficulty, so opinions may varied which before you kill me if I don’t agree with your waifu and husbando…

Please by all means ignore this post and continue using them

Sabers:

Art ST Spamming: Nero Bride > Beni > Medb. 

Maybe Beni is better, but from skillset I feel Nero bride wins both support and using for herself. 

Medb I put lower due to every FUCKING MSQ Boss fight is having a debuff immunity, but her other 2 skill is decent to help. Spamming not sure, since my criteria for this is based on Lancelot Saber in both CRIT hell and charging of NP

Quicks ST Saber: Astolfo => Okita > Fran

Unless Okita is getting an upgrade, Astolfo for now wins. Excluding stun most are good for both damage and surviving long for Lostbelt hell. 

Okita as I’m still using her… Still Ok with Skadi’s support, which both are. 

Fran… Not sure why to me, tricky to use and her demerit outweighs more… Which extremely dangerous to survive in Lostbelt situations

Buster ST Saber: Musashi=Sigurd

Both are situational to me. Musashi is more for general Bosses while Sigurd is more towards Boss with Dragon-traits. 

But Musashi may be more preferred, since Sigurd you’ll need to bring best boi George to debuff enemy with Dragon trait. Both have good surviving skills of invincibility and guts respectively

AOE Sabers: Arthurs > Void

Because everywhere in every Lostbelt will at least have one fucking Large-trait monster to deal with. And Arthur having a now crit strengthen, hits enemy real hard without his AOE NP. 

Void, unless she get one more buff for her AOE damage… You can still bring her mobs to insta-kill, but you’re going to time when to heal because her third skill drains quite an amount of NP

===

Archers:

Arts ST Archers: Orion => Artoria

Both are good at spamming their NP… But let’s face it, it’s a Grand Servant vs normal Servant. His whole skillset + NP outwins King Golden Asshole says pretty much how wanted he’ll be when his own banner returns again. And GSSR will be hell to get him among all the other Archers. But if you have, you’re a lucky bastard to have them and I want your luck right now!

Calamity Jane: I haven’t got the chance to use her… But if your team isn’t the kind that generates 30 stars minimum per turn, you can still get up to evasion from her skill. She’s very situational because it all dependant on the turn you want to use of how many stars you have. Otherwise, NP skill of ignore evasion is more than welcome on those evading bosses

Buster ST Archers: Fujino > Moriarty > Anne & Mary

Fujino: NP gain not much of an issue if you have her first skill up, good survivability of defense and mainly guts, NP also hit hard with main focus on buff block on the turn when enemy boss buff themselves like ignore invincibility before using their NP… But now can be dependant if the boss is not permanent buff with debuff immunity

Moriarty: After his strengthening, it’d be best for 2nd skill > 3rd skill to fully utilize his support buff in the team. But he’s dependant with a min of 10 stars to activate his skill. His NP hits even better with his first skill, helping to generate stars along the way. But has a problem of surviving so you’ll need support to keep him alive

Anne & Mary: Unless you have guts buff on them via third skill/support/Mystic code, LB’s situation ain’t that welcoming in terms of enemy doing higher amount of damage to them before they could use their NP. Glass canon with decent NP gain similar to their Rider version… I’d say not impossible if you have the relative Servants, but it’ll be very risky to be able to utilize to their fullest

AOE NP Servants: Gilgamesh = Ishtar > Osakabehime = Sei Shonagon = Jeanne > Helena

Gilgamesh: As the oldest king got dethrone on damage output for overall limited Archers… You still gonna need him, which unless really been datamined, as majority of the Servants are weak to Enuma Elish, including himself. Still a strongest hitter for AOE output like Ishtar. And getting him signifies you wasted this year whole luck, and subsequent SSR after him are just you selling your soul to the devil

Ishtar: The goddess which Archer Gil no doubt want to have her head. And with her strengthening and good support team, she can hit real hard as Gilgamesh. Just remember to time her 3rd skill well before the usage of your NP preferably too

Sei, Osakabehime, Jeanne: They are mainly used as a support with a decent hit of their NP. 

Jeanne: Jeanne onee-chan with self invinciblity, Arts + NP damage + Crit if your field waterside and attack buff to Good Alignment Servants if your roster is them mainly. Plus Onee-chan beam can give crit stars by overcharge for 3 turns.

Osakabehime: A bit tricky by 2nd skill, if you’re running with a ST NP servant in, you’ve got 3 turns to deal with that one target, unless said target remove the debuff themselves. Decent damage dealing, but otherwise she’s your good support Archer to have

Sei: She may be higher than both Jeanne and Osakabehime, with decent amount of Servants who are Neutral and/or Man Attributes. A great support Archer for both her party and herself with all three of her skills and decent NP damage.

Helena: Similar to her Caster version, she’s got NP charge to support your team. But unfortunately she’s got low NP gain and damage, which many other Archer outclassing her. Slightly better in terms of cooldown, but unfortunately her most important 1st skill takes the longest cooldown. You’re probably better off with other AOE NPs Archer for farming

===

Lancers:

ST NP: Scathach > Raikou > Tamamo no Mae = Brynhildr > Ibaraki > Kiyohime

Scathach: Together with her Caster version, she’s definitely one of the most welcome ST NP against Divine Enemies. While insta-death is obviously useless in MSQ fights, her stun is useful but situational if debuff immunity isn’t there. Her first skill may be RNG, but evade is still there for surviving in boss fight

Raikou: A strong case of Glass canon, but her damage outweighs over her lack of defense buff. With strong support skillset for self and both party, she’s definitely one of your best general-trait boss killer against their insane stacks of defense buff. With Summer BB in for support + star generator CE, her whole self is fully otmpized for a painful buster brave or just brave chain itself to the enemy boss

Tamamo no Mae: Strong hitting Anti-male NP with decent support skill set. But in regards to her demerit, you’ll need to time right of when to use unless you have her up on debuff immunity and debuff remover ready. And for her second skill, make sure you have your defensive skill ready if said enemy Servant are near to full NP bar

Brynhildr: One of the good supports for star generation and skillset wise. NP damage while it hits hard, it’s situational because not every Servant we’ve seen is Brynhildr’s Beloved trait

Ibaraki: With SO MANY GOD-DAMN-FUCKING-HELL Servants having defense buff, she’s one with the most welcoming ignore defense to beat shitless out of them. Decent skillset but third skill is really your RNG hating or loving you. Especially worst if you’re facing an enemy who enjoys throwing debuff at your team. Demerit of her NP I feel isn’t that much of a problem, unless you’re also relying her to do star generation. But she does make it up with overcharge of crit stars, which if you’re a whale, best to have it at NP5

Kiyohime: Despite a strong hitting NP, she’s got a problem for NP gain and debuff kit is really dependant… Which now not in her favor again: Debuff Immunity. And lacks of defense and survivability for herself… Especially most mobs are Berserker or mixed class mobs

AOE NP: Romulus Eresh = Melt

Romulus: Yep, our lord and savior. Even with his release.... He’s actually tied with Eresh. Both have the same strong support + defense + overkilling NP with their own support with them (especially pair with Boudica ironically, but gender buff don’t work on Roma via datamine and lore reason). Romulus mainly boils down to his Roman trait debuff stacking on his enemies... But both Eresh and Romulus shares the same problem in current Lostbelt hell: 

Ignore Invincibility

Buff Block

Buff Removal

Debuff removal

Debuff Removal Success Rate (ask DW fucking why)

Debuff Immunity variations

And both play a different role at the end, depending on which you prefer. If you’re looking for a more support-oriented SSR Lancer, Ereshkigal is your girl. If you’re looking for a more AOE ROMA Overkilling Stacking NP, the lord and savior will answer your call.

Eresh: By far still the best AOE NP Limited Servant to have, with both strong party support, surviving yet decent AOE Damage dealing NP but mainly enough for farming. However, she’ll need support on NP gain if you’re planning to do spamming out of it. Though once she do get an NP damage buff by chance… She’s going to become one of the most wanted limited SSR Lancers

Melt: Again, her second effect NP is one of the more welcoming to have in LB hell hole: ignore defense. Her first effect is only activated if you have her 2nd skill active, which is really crucial. Skillset is pretty good, and with NP being Arts, you can have it both spamming and crit hell to your enemies. But do note when you use her third skill, your other 2 Servants’ NP is drain quite a number as she charged herself… So her on double Tamamo team or Tamamo + Casgil + Paracelsus… You get your catch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9tJH9HDEyc

[destinycaught]

hi adoring fans && beloved companions, thanks for the patience with how spotty my activity is going to be as i get adjusted for this semester! however, to tide u over i semi-coherently explained my canon divergence backstory for molayne on the pokenews discord, so here’s a little blurb + some neat hcs to go with! tw: sibling death, semi-unhealthy coping mechanisms, kinda identity theft? oh also referenced hospitals && illness. i don’t mean 2 be like, ooouhg read my lore but i just like.. explaining thangs... 

quoteth from the server:  he’s trans! And I was either thinking abt making him twins with his brother, who ive been affectionately calling Brolayne so they’re not like uhh, identical but fraternal I think? They basically looked identical tho?? It’s either that or brolayne was his older brother who he idolized!!!  things were like fine and they were planning to become scientists together!! But uh then stuff kinda changed when brolayne gotta interested in UBS ?and he suddenly went from nerd to hell ent on helping the world capture and be protected from em!he left home to do that and was basically?  An agent who tracked me down. That was uh until tw death during a field mission he was Really fucked up by one. 

was in a coma for a bit until (  edited a bit context wise ) he just kinda passed? it was hard, but overall they had a strong family unit so they adapted. 

this was by the time molayne was 17?? he had started being called the name his brother had by mistake so he just kinda. Took it? && REALLY compartmentalized what happened? But he became obsessed w/ studying UBS and space

he did heal though!! Mainly bc the birth of Soffy!! And becoming a trial captain? But he did sorta... push away his friends not in a mean way but in I’m devoted to my work way? ( on a more positive note ) his trial is neat bc it was super spaced base?? A  bit smoke and mirrors tho? U never actually could tell where he is during the trial? Which is. Not fun to have someone popping up behind u and being like “Ehehe u look a little SPACED.out “ He also has semi ties to aether and interpol but it’s all rlly messy Bad relationship w/ lusamine based on the fact he projected on her husband as?? A pseudo brother and?  When he finally healed from his bro he tried 2 get her to accept, yanno he’s gone? And he might have been called a coward who abandoned people he loved but it’s Ok ( because she was just suffering. he sometimes wonders if things would have been less bad if he had been more proactive, but then again he was trying to heal himself && there really isn’t much he could have done you know? )

a bit more info, because this is very general. 

the reason his brother became interested in the UBs was actually because he was a bit of one of those kids that always wanted to find something more interesting in the world?? so his obsession became something that combined his two greatest loves: cool ass monsters && space. he also was more of an electric type trainer, but both of them shared a very fond love for magnemites! molayne had originally handled the incident really poorly. he sort of didn’t know what to do, so he just, curled into himself? became more devoted to science && being a better trainer. this wasn’t really good though given that guzma was going through really rough times at the moment, && the sorta... friction between both of their homelives made? it hard to be friends. a lot of things were said that both really wish weren’t. kukui was a stubborn man && refused to let molayne close in on himself from him. it’s basically why if kukui said, “Go find me a shiny legendary” molayne probably would try 2 do it for him? he was in love with kukui for a bit, but kukui didn’t really want to... do anything with it because he had this fear that mo was just saying that because he was sensitive from what happened? all very confusing teen stuff.

i think like! molayne has healed from it! he values the people he’s close to more than anything? like, the other trial captains on ula’ula! and nanu! they’re basically his family && he has, undoubtedly, done that “name a star after someone” thing with everyone there. plus ofc, kukui, burnet, && guzma as well.,

[secretsbehindthenine]

Question: what ever happened to your ninjashow fanfic, Secrets Behind the Nine? Is it on hiatus? Cancelled?

Hoo boy, I knew I was gonna get this ask eventually…

Context for my followers, if you didn’t know already. (Warning, this is gonna get pretty long, so more under the cut.)

Long time ago, I wrote a ninjashow fanfic series called “The Story of the Warrior in White”. It was basically like every other fanfic about giving Randy a female partner that would eventually become his girlfriend, except the female ninja’s history was heavily involved in the backstory of the Norisu Nine and the Sorcerer. As of now, SotWiW has been deleted and the files for the story I’ve lost while transferring my writing files to a new flash drive. I deleted the story off my FanFic account because a) I found them horrifically cringy and poorly written, b) the whole thing was just a hot mess that my middle school mind conjured up before I took writing seriously, and c) I didn’t want the story to be around anymore since I had much better stories for others to see. I’ve rewritten this series twice, first calling it “The Dark Reality: Secrets Behind the Norisu Nine” and then dubbing it “Secrets Behind the Nine: The Shadow Warrior”. In both rewrites, I decided to make the story more serious and darker, focusing on the lore of the Norisu Nine and how the Sorcerer came to be. I also remade the female ninja character, no longer making her Randy’s love interest but rather his and Howard’s best friend that had moved away prior to them entering high school. Her family still had strong connections to the Norisu Nine and the Sorcerer, though.

The latest rewrite, SBtN, I’ve struggled writing because of the lack of ninjashow content and me focusing more on my original stories. When I announced that I wasn’t going to do fanfics anymore, I was relieved because I didn’t want to continue writing a story that I lost my muse for. After all, when you lose your passion for something, it shows in the work you put into. However, I was angry at myself because I was abandoning so many good ideas and plot lines.

SBtN was basically going to be a reimagining of the whole show, where the characters stayed the same but the backstory and lore of their world would be completely revamped. The history of Norisu Nine would’ve been fleshed out and explored, as well as the Sorcerer and Norrisville itself. I was even going to feature my version of human!Nomicon.

But, unfortunately, I lost my drive to make fanfics and wanted to focus more on original content. Which really bums me out because I wouldn’t be a writer without RC9GN inspiring me. With it not getting a third season, I was so ready to just go ham in my fanfics. I wanted to explore a world that the ninjashow never got to, to show a side to the characters we know and love that we’ve never seen before. I am a storyteller, and not being able to tell a story really gets me. I wanted to continue SBtN, to not let it be another unfinished story that haunts my profile on FF.net. But, how was I gonna do it?

If you guys followed me since my start in fanfics, you would know that there was another ninjashow fanfic in my fanfic account that I was working on alongside SotWiW/TDR/SBtN, called “The Dimension Walker”. If any of you follow me on my main blog ( @thegirlwiththecrimsoncloak ), you would know that I turned this little blurb about a fan of the show that traveled to its dimension into an original urban fantasy series that’s currently being posted on my Wattpad. And, ever since I made it into an original series, I’ve been having a blast writing it.

TDW has come a long way from its initial state way back when. And, I thought that maybe I should turn what I had planned for SBtN into an original series. After all, all the stuff I had planned is not canon whatsoever and largely just headcanon-based. Turning SBtN into an original series may be what it needs.

And so, “Secrets Behind the Nine” became “The Yokai Seven”. It’s basically about seven teens that have been chosen to protect their town of Kazuya, Japan from an ancient sorcerer that’s trying to break free and wreck havoc in the world. As they battle against the forces of evil, they also have to deal with hiding their secret identies whilst navigating through the troubling fiasco we know as high school. Much like our beloved ninjashow, except it has a more serious tone (but still retains the humor and lightheartedness I loved about RC9GN) and filled with a diverse cast of Asians (from the Middle East to the Far East). Plus, it also takes place in the future, so there’s that!

In short, SBtN is not coming back as a fanfic but is being rewritten as an original series. I’m currently working on the outline for it. So far, I have about four chapters outlined. I might make a blog for it in the future, but only when I start writing the chapters out.

I’m sorry to those that were looking forward to more chapters of SBtN, but I hope y’all will follow the development of Yokai Seven! If you love and miss Randy Cunningham, you should definitely check out Yokai Seven. It might not be exactly like the ninjashow, but it still has elements from it.

Till next time!

~Ari