#(also: i have multiple potential uses for them so it's not *just* nostalgia)

[markrosewater]

The G/R color identity beast legendary (Baloth by the looks of it) in Foundations/Jumpstart, Slinza, screams "this could have been a legendary Kavu" in a way that whispers "WotC isn't ever giving us Kavu support, they're going to get the same treatment as Cephalids and Viashino as WotC culls most of their unique creature types in favor of generic types and any statements to the contrary are dishonest".

In years past, when you were asked on your blog about Kavu getting more print and being fleshed out as a kindred mechanical identity in addition to their clear lore/flavor identity, you pointed out correctly that they only exist on Dominaria and we'd have to return there to see more.

When we did go back Kavu were clearly shown as being present on the world still, even integrated into Yavimaya Elven society. But there were more cards showing/mentioning Kavu than there were actual Kavu cards; the Kavu that were printed in Dominaria were direct call backs to popular nostalgic Kavu from Invasion block like Titan or FTK, so it's clear WotC knows they have an unique identity and were popular/impactful when first introduced. And yet they still felt like afterthoughts, and their presence on Dominaria in the lore included just as a nod, or maybe a hedge so they were set up as being present if WotC wanted to tap them later.

The next time we went back to Dominaria, people asked about Kavu again and again there were ~3 printed, none with any intra-type synergies or support and no legendary. I think this stung a bit more because the plot of story at the time involved another outright Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, which canonical was the reason the Kavu kicked into high gear and started flooding the surface of Dominaria. This is also true of following sets covering the Phyrexian multiverse invasion. So the fact they weren't a prominent creature type in multiple sequential sets that presented clear in world rationale for them being not just present, but everywhere, felt disappointing and felt like Kavu were just going to be ignored in favor of more generic fantasy creature types with wider appeal and better profit potential.

Given the near completely lack of Kavu printed when you had the opportunity to, and the lack of *any* kindred synergies on any Kavu that has been printed since returning to Dominaria, it feels like w/e you've said in your answers here before, the truth is WotC just isn't interested in fleshing out Kavu mechanical identities or designing legendaries for them. That WotC would prefer if players just forgot about them because you're just going to print beasts from now on. I have loved Kavu since seeing them in Invasion and I know I'm not the only player that feels that way. I personally think WotC is overlooking a free win with long time players in terms of nostalgia and food will, etc, by repeatedly making the conscious choice to not flesh out an existing Magic IP unique creature type.

And that's disappointing. But I'd rather have someone be *honest* with me about something and be disappointed with the answer than be strung along with dishonest or misleading "maybe :)"(s) and "we'll see te-he"(s) because you don't want to deliver a feel bad answers. Being told maybe when the answer is no, over and over, is far more feel bad, and only adds to the overall player perception of erosion of good faith and good will by WotC.

We're not anti-Kavu. We're just not looking to make every slot that could possibly be a Kavu, be a Kavu. We will make them now and then when appropriate, but it's something we do in moderation. There is no Kavu ill will.

[wildpeachfarm]

Ok anyone else reading this who doesn't know me as well as Moku; all of this is the opinion of someone who's been watching Jacksepticeye and Markiplier since 2012/2013, and is also incredibly loud themselves. We're talking ultra stan, I've been to both of their youtuber liveshows and have signed merch.

Jack lost a little bit of relevancy. It's (mostly) not his fault, as time passes some youtubers fade or quit and while it's sad (thumps fist against chest then raises it to sky, Matpat Game Theory) it's the cycle of life, and the life of youtube is not something that can be kept up forever. Jack is not pulling the same views he used to- and to be fair to him he's not the only one, Mark also sometimes doesn't pull the same views, its the cycle of life. Not all of it is Jack's fault.

HOWEVER.

Jack did also shoot himself in the foot a little bit. He started doing less collabs, something that always helps with combating less relevancy. For comparison, Mark still does collabs all the time (tbf with the same two/three people, bob wade and ethan, but he still does them). Jack also started changing his content a few years back. Instead of just gaming videos, what he's always done, he started adding in react andy content- meme time reddit reactions, tiktok compliations, cringe comps, epic fails, that kind of thing. There's no harm necessarily in reaching out to try new content but it always does come with risk.

He also changed how he posts videos. Idk about yall but 30min to 1hr is my golden zone for videos. 1.5hrs max (or 3hrs max for a vod). He was/is uploading full games as 1 video. 4hrs plus. Saw one even that was 12 hours. Clickbait titles. Or titles that are just "(game name)- full game". For me this was a personal turnoff. I don't have the attention span for content that long.

He also, and this is the potentially upsetting part to people as I know my comments will butt heads with Irish culture and stereotypes, but like, he didn't "get with the times". The way he yells and overreacts in videos is very 2010 youtube era. Yes some of his volume control is due to being Irish, I get that, I also have volume control issues, but sometimes it's reminiscent of like. Jake Paul videos. Ricegum videos. Even with a nostalgia bias it's hard to swallow sometimes and I'll click back off a video.

For comparison, Mark still does (although limited) collabs, and interacts with other youtubers in the community. Mark has stuck to similar/the same content he's been known to make, and although he does branch out (A Heist, In Space, Iron Lung, sponsered videos, or other video game genres) he usually still sticks to what he's known for- horror video games, and has stuck to the same video lengths with only a few variations for reasons that are usually extremely understandable. And this is less of a fair comparison because Mark was never "loud" to begin with, so while he did tone himself down he did not have to tone himself down as much as Jack in theory would.

My speculation is that Jack is taking the "lost a little bit of relevancy" a little bit too hard, a little bit too personal, RSD style (we know for a fact he has ADHD). Whereas Mark (and again I'm trying to make this as fair a comparison as possible, Mark is also ADHD) hasn't taken it personally because he seems to recognize any loss in viewership is not his fault but rather just a fact of times changing and people growing older. While I can't recall if Jack has ever said anything on the same lines, I can recall Mark on multiple occasions saying he could never quit youtube or making videos, because even if he's "only making one single person happy with his videos, that's still one person he's making their day better". Less of a views thing for Mark, and more of how Dream sees videos and content creation- trying to bring joy and happiness to people. Idk if Jack has ever said anything like that, or if he has it's not something I can currently recall so it was likely a once-off, whereas I remember Mark and Dream saying those things because they've both talked about it multiple times.

Essay Andy Echo out.

This is so interesting, thank you Echo 🫶

[tadbitsketch]

I haven't done one of these in forever but welcome back to Sketch Rambles About MCSM Stuff at an Unreasonable Hour of the Night 🎉🎉🎉

Tonight, I'm gonna discuss one of my favorite songs from the Minecraft: Story Mode OST, "Redstone Baby," and the potential lore that it holds. And why that's very Sorengaard related.

Disclaimer: this is me interpreting silly block people. Unless otherwise stated (or in the game), it ain't actually canon. Also, I am a teenage girl. I am not versed very well in the specifics of how music theory works and how it's used in media. Also also, I wrote most of this like two months ago and completely forgot about it.

(In case you needed a reminder of how it sounds)

This song appears twice in the season 1 episode 3: when you arrive in Soren's lab area, and again in the end credits. It can also be heard through the closed secret entrance wall in the Wool World™, and it gradually becomes clearer as you approach the door to Soren's lab, where a music disc is playing the song inside.

The instrumentation of "Redstone Baby" consists of guitar, piano, and violin. It feels comforting and cozy, whilst also giving a sad, longing sort of vibe. According to a comment written 6 years ago by Antimo on the linked video, they were going for a sorta "Fallout: New Vegas" vibe when they wrote it. The song holds an air of nostalgia, of better times. An idealized dream of how the world could be.

To get to the point: it's cute, it's cozy, and it's a love song in a game where they weren't allowed to explicitly write any canon ships (if I'm remembering correctly). Also one of the few songs in this game to be given lyrics. So, of course, we're gonna talk about this. Or rather I'm gonna write about it and you're gonna read it.

The lyrics go as follows:

In a marshmallow world, you're my sweetheart.

In a marshmallow world, you're my sweetheart.

You're the bed to my rock,

The flint to my steel.

My redstone baby doll...

My redstone baby doll.

(music)

In a marshmallow world, you're my sweetheart.

In a marshmallow world, you're my sweetheart.

My sugar baby...

aaaah ladada, awoah...

The lyrics are pretty strange, right? It seems nonsensical at first, but I (and many others) believe that it has more meaning than meets the eye.

This is a love song addressed to a someone proficient with redstone. Funnily enough, Soren's old friend group did have one of those. A brilliant Redstone Engineer: Ellegaard. And quite interestingly, these two were pretty close, as is said multiple times in canon. I think Magnus mentions their little "Nerd Club," in episode 3 at some point. Another fact to back me up on this: Soren calls the song "Symphony in E" in-game on the little radio-disk-program-thing.

And for whatever reason, Soren and Ellegaard didn't stay close or end up together. There's not really a way to know for certain what went down between them. All we do know is that Soren wishes it was different.

The "marshmallow world" that is talked about in the song is Soren's perfect world. It's safe, sweet, and fluffy. I am of the opinion that it could possibly be an indirect reference to the wool world that Soren built. It's bright. It's safe. No monsters can get him there. He can just build things and be happy. In a perfect, marshmallow world, Ellegaard is with Soren.

The metaphors Soren uses here, "the bed to my rock, the flint to my steel," they're both iconic, inseparable duos: bedrock, and flint and steel. In Minecraft, bedrock is the unbreakable foundation beneath all else in the Overworld. Flint and steel is used to set things on fire, and is most often used to light Nether portals, which is way less symbolic (unless someone can find something? maybe the whole flaming heart being a metaphor for love thing?) but still iconic and the phrase has a very nice rhythm to it.

When we first hear the song, it feels like normal wishful thinking. It's more just fluff and poetry than full-on wants and desires.

But when we hear it in the end credits of episode 3... We just saw someone die after sacrificing their safety for Jesse's. The monster that they died to help kill isn't even dead. Someone we thought was dead is actually alive and doesn't remember anything. It's loud, dark, and burning. A sickening storm of death and destruction. Anything but the marshmallow world.

Without considering which of the two died, this song is already quite jarring in comparison to what was just witnessed. This "marshmallow world" that seemed somewhat close just a moment ago now feels implausible, and thus it'd be worth so much more if it were real.

I will never not love when something in a piece of media is treated as a good sign or motif or something and then it gets recontextualized and hurts ya right in the feels.

And with Redstone Baby combined with Ellegaard dying, it's just that extra brutal.

Because now it's not just, "in a perfect world, we'd be together." It's "in a perfect world, you wouldn't be dead, and we'd be together."

If only Soren wasn't so much of a coward. How differently things could've gone.

[perseidlion]

This is probably gonna rub some people the wrong way but...I think two things are true, re: The Acolyte:

Some Star Wars fans were hostile to The Acolyte because it starred a woman and most of the supporting cast were women and/or POC so they were never going to support it.

AND

The Acolyte was not a very good show.

SPOILERS BELOW.

If the show had starred a white man and had more nostalgia bait, it probably would have been renewed, let's be honest. But that doesn't mean it was a good show or it would have been better with those changes. It just would have meant the hardcore complainers would have supported it just because it was Star Wars.

A lot of Star Wars stuff is getting multiple seasons when the shows themselves are lacklustre. And don't get me wrong...this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think the networks cancel shows WAAAAAY too fast these days. How many great shows can we think of that had kinda shitty first, second, and even third seasons that went on to be classics and huge hits? So when I say the show wasn't great, that doesn't mean I think it deserved to get cancelled. But also we aren't stuck between a binary of "a great show got cancelled unfairly" and "an awful show got deservedly cancelled." There's nuance here.

Full disclosure: I am an extremely casual Star Wars fan. So on the surface, I was the perfect potential audience member for The Acolyte. It was a show that tried to stand on its own merits without a dozen callbacks and references that only appeal to hardcore fans/fans with nostalgia feels. I was fully willing to accept it as just a solid science fantasy show that happened to be set in the Star Wars universe.

Frankly, I was bored through most of it. I like Amandla Stenberg, but I don't think she did a very good job differentiating Osha/Mae and she didn't do a great job getting us to root for her.

The show also set up tension only to immediately diffuse it, or the tension they teased all season turned out to be no tension at all. The mystery of what the Jedi did on Brendok should have been central to the story. It should have been kept secret and concealed. And it should have been darker than it actually turned out to be. That's what had to happen for that to work. Like, the Jedi were ordered by a corrupt high council member to purge the coven or something. THAT would have been interesting and worth the narrative stakes. Instead, an accident, impossible choices, and bad circumstances were at the heart of the whole show.

The show also wants us to root for Mae after she straight-up murdered a bunch of Jedi masters in cold blood in the first few episodes. That's a hard thing to ask Star Wars fans to come back from, especially when the Jedi's "crimes" were revealed, which for most of them ended up being "were present when an injustice occurred."

Qimir had so much potential as a villain and Manny Jacinto's performance almost justified the whole show's existence. Unfortunately, his introduction was fumbled. Everyone figured out very quickly that he was the mysterious master. Again, zero narrative tension.

There are a lot of good ideas in The Acolyte, and a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it fumbled a lot of those ideas and the whole thing just ended up being a mess. It is a shame because if a certain segment of the SW fandom hadn't been so hostile to it for even daring to exist, we might have seen those problems ironed out in a second season and beyond. But it'll never get that chance, and that's a shame.

I would LOVE to see more exploration of the hypocrisy of the Jedi and the imperfect nature of their philosophy. I think that's something baked into the DNA of Star Wars, especially from the prequels onward. It's a rich bit of story fuel, and it was refreshing to see a show that wasn't just crammed full of stuff to make you do the Leo point at the screen or go "I got that reference."

Two more things are also true:

The Acolyte was not a very good show

AND

It deserved the support of Star Wars fans and a second season to try and do better.

[cerberus-new-owner]

Had this stuck in my head all day (I lied the past 2 months) but

how do the brothers deal with like ptsd and stuff after the fall and losing their sister (I'm pretty sure it is brought up in the games but idk)

ngl I almost didn't post this

TRIGGER WARNING/CONTENT WARNING - Big boy Spoilers (can't remember what lesson/s) and Topics, Angsty, Mentions of Antidepressants, Depression, Eating Disorders, PTSD (like everyone in this has it), Anxiety, Probably OOC (Please tell me if I need to add anything to this)

About 1476 words in this including the intro this part and the end notes

If you feel like you need help or are going to do something overly drastic that could potentially harm yourself or others please contact

lifeline: 13 11 14

beyond blue: 1300 22 4636

or any other services similar that can help that apply to your country, region or area I am unsure as to whether or not these numbers will work in countries outside of Australia

These are just my headcanons that I've formed over the course of the past few months. If you feel I should add something or edit a part that I didn't do well on I will gladly take on any constructive criticism and edit this as i do not personally have expreience when it comes to most of these topics.

Lucifer

after the fall and the whole having to see his sister on the brink of death and having to hide the truth from his brothers he 100% has PTSD he hates talking about anything to do with it and has done as much as he can to erase certain things about the war from his mind and he 100% feels guilty about dragging his brothers down with him this caused him to try avoid them making up excuses to not have to leave dias side or offering to take on extra work for dia (leading him to overwork himself like he does in the og and nb timelines) and domino-ed into mammon having to deal with the others. he does eventually get better at managing his feelings and talking to his brothers and the other characters (as seen in the games from what i remember) but it'll always be to a certain extent before his stubborn pride takes hold.

Mammon

medicated depression, lucifer was like never there seeing as he would've been busy with lord diavolo leaving mammon to try to look after his five younger brothers as they all grieved whilst he was also grieving and trying to control his sin he had to (somewhat) pull his shit together somehow and it wouldn't help that his brothers are constantly referring to him as a scumbag and blaming him for stuff disappearing suddenly, mams only choice was to get diagnosed officially and start taking the meds he was given so he could help look after his family, (and if i remember right mamon says multiple times that he does care about his brothers and wants to help them) he has blocked out as much from the celestial war as he can the main parts still stick with him but over time the affect the memories of the war had on him faded, it will forever hurt him to remember just not as much as it did in those first few months/year.

Levi

chronic social anxiety the amount of demons talking about the fall and not trusting the brothers caused him to become more cautious when talking to others he focused only on the good memories from when he was in the celestial realm like watching anime with his brothers and sister re-watching said anime for days on end eventually he'd branch out and try something new just not whilst he was grieving. he just wants to feel the nostalgia/feel like he's somewhat honoring his sisters memory by watching the shows they used to watch together, he likes reliving the good memories with his sister thnking of the good things that happened rather than the bad. he does take therapy sessions through chats and such when he feels he needs them (more so in the past than in the 'present' idk what to call it)

Satan

as much as he hates to admit it at the beginning of his existence he had separation anxiety. lucifer disappearing and reappearing being the main trigger purely because he would've been confused (imagine spawning with memories and a feeling of wrath that's not yours seeing the guy who you spawned from and watching as said guy disappears leaving you with his younger brothers who are trying to grieve) like he despises lucifer sure but i feel like it would've been something like a baby duck and its mother (aka the first thing it sees) so whilst tan was constantly trying to hurt luci in the early months of his existence underneath that hatred was some kind of f-ed up 'as long as i stay here with my brothers i am looked after and cared for' or some kind of 'if i stay here long enough i can put these memories to stories and experiences' it's also kind of a rebellious teenager type thing like sure he rebels against lu but it's not necessarily pure hate (if it were a pure hate he would be trying to kill lucifer instead of mildly inconvenience him daily) other than that i don't think he would have depression or anything just PTSD from how he came to creation.

Asmo

as much as i don't want to say it i feel like he had an ED at some point after the fall along with depression the ED mainly from the sudden shock of change from chastity to lust feeling the constant need for some form of connection causing self insecurity to sink itself into him making him feel a strong need to look good on the outside to find people/demons to help satisfy that need for 'connection' sure he had his charm but i don't think he would've really known how to use it properly (i don't think any of the brothers would've had control of their sins like they do in the present timeline) and he would've felt bad making someone he didn't know to do that sort of thing against their will (back then he felt a lot more guilty, now he's just a shameless flirt).

Beel

PTSD he blames himself for her death and binge eats from both his sin and guilt he did eventually find a healthier outlet most likely being exercise knowing his sister wouldn't want him to feel so upset he doesn't try to block out the memories knowing that nothing can be done instead he tries to ignore how guilty he feels when his sister is brought up in conversation, he does his best to go through his normal daily routines he is probably profesionally diagnosed for depression (mammon probably got at least him and maybe belphie get diagnosed, he figured if anyone out of the brothers is gonna have a depressive episode of sorts after the fall it would've been them).

Belphie

PTSD, and as much as he hates it he does partially blame beel for the death of lilith the first few months he spent seething silently occasionally killing a few humans to extract his 'revenge' on them and ignoring his brothers unless it was beel. i also think he has a bit of depression, he lost his best friend and sister, had to watch her pretty much die in front of him and then didn't even get to say goodbye to her body when he fell because her body was gone (from what i know/remember) and he was the youngest other than lilith (again from what i know/remember) who fought on lucifer and liliths side of the war thats 100% gonna fuck someone up (like i mentioned with beel's mams tried to get him diagnosed as well he probably either declined or slept through the appointment).

Holy sugar that was a lot to type, I don't think I was quite able to write as well/freely as I normally would between making sure my facts are straight about certain mental illnesses and such but I hope I did some good in writing about them.

These are just my headcanons that I've formed over the course of the past few months. If you feel I should add something or edit a part that I didn't do well on I will gladly take on any constructive criticism and edit this.

None of this is any sort of recommendation or saying 'you should do this to fix your mental health' as I do not have personal experience when it comes to a lot of the things I talked about here nor am I a professional (getting a diagnosis is probably a good thing to do but it is purely what you believe is best for you) I did as much research as possible on how they affect different people (and did my best to transfer that into demons).

I went a bit darker than I would on a regular day/months of writing/typing for a fandom and I thoroughly apologize if this made anyone uncomfortable in any way but there was a warning at the start.

Again, if you feel like you need help or are going to do something overly drastic that could potentially harm yourself or others please contact

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

or any other services similar that can help that apply to your country or area I am unsure as to whether or not these numbers will work in countries outside of Australia.

Have a good day/night/marshmallow (I promise the next thing I post isn't gonna be angsty)

its just a hop skip and a jump to the masterlist

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I’ve been reading through you J+P analysis and love it! I hope you don’t mind but I wanted to add my two cents on the idea that Paul’s statements and mentions about John have potentially gotten over effusive to please the press and have fed into him over romanticising his relationship with John. I think this is somewhat true but I believe the reality is a lot more complicated and symbiotic.

 It's undeniable that Paul is on a bit of a bizarre post-mortem honeymoon with John at the minute due to nostalgia and the pro-lennon/mccartney stuff coming out. There’s no way that isn’t colouring his thinking and you’re right, there’s a discrepancy between Pauls more contradictory statements closer to John’s death vs now. People pleasing does have something to do with it, but it goes both ways. In that 1987(?) interview with John’s sister Julia, Paul says that he tried to downplay his relationship with John as people didn’t want to hear it, which partially explains his scrambled ‘oh we were the best of mates but you don’t get close to mates’ 1980s interviews. That interview is also important as Julia allows him to voice the belief that he skirted round in other interviews, which is that he was the person who knew John best. That’s a bold statement to make, and puts his tentative ‘one of the closest people to him. I can’t claim to be the closest, although it’s possible …  but I wouldn’t… I don’t need that credit.’ in a different light. Linda was also talking about the intensity and depth of their relationship early on (deeper than any of us will ever know, like the mirror image of each other etc) and pre-breakup Paul was casually describing he and John’s extreme closeness to a friend and their telepathy. So some of Paul's more effusive stuff he’s coming out with in interviews in the last decade or so is probably partly to do with the shift in narrative validating all of these feelings that he always had about John but felt unable to say/reckon with at the time of his death. It could be a bit like a pressure valve releasing slightly and all of it just flooding out.

Like the soulmate thing, it could be Paul rambling and getting to an extreme point but also he would never have been able to say that in the 80s/90s without backlash (I do find it telling that Paul’s PR guy also openly called John a soulmate to Paul, sure its good for brand image but also he would be more conscious than anyone of what Paul is okay with being put out there. Also the Howard Stern one where he reacted badly to the LOML question was likely due to the romantic connotations/Howard’s lack of boundaries). We also shouldn’t caricature-ise Paul’s people pleasing tendencies when it comes to his feelings and emotions. Sure he leaves harder stuff out and likes to focus on the positive, but he’s also Fort Knox possessive/private about his feelings and downplays them or shuts off (he’s done this recently like when he refused to tell Colbert about his dreams about John in detail). He fully owns to the press that the situation was complicated and his feelings aren’t straightforward. That he tends to downplay intensity as a general rule DESPITE greater intensity feeding better to the press should throw starker light on the strength of his feeling rather than doubt.

The more extreme statements also match what he’s saying in his personal life to friends and family (multiple people have said he constantly brings up the Beatles even when they themselves are asked not to and Julian mentioned that when he discusses John he talks about it as if it was a great love) and his personality. Paul was never getting over John because he loves profoundly and its not in his nature to let go. He’s the man who spent £70,000 in the 70s doing up a car that had fallen into a lake for ‘sentimental’ reasons, the man who bought the railings from Please Please Me to install in his studio and the man who, according to some reports, turned his whole house into a Linda shrine after she died. He’s also the man shattered by his mother’s death to the point he’s still agonised over laughing at her over something silly.  The press have exacerbated the situation and his uncertainty over their relationship to the point that he has to prove it to himself which is horrible, but in all likelihood he was always going to fill his houses and studios with John’s items and over 40 years later privately mull over if hugging John more would have helped, especially given how John died.

 Paul is not creating a narrative that didn't exist but zooming in on an aspect that was already there and choosing to focus on that. It’s become a bit of a feedback loop, ie Paul watches Mclennon videos on youtube then sends them to producers as inspiration as to how they should present their relationship in a documentary which again pushes a narrative onto fans which they embrace and so on. Ironically, I see the interviews and press as not just a perpetuator but also an outlet for Paul’s grief and trauma that was going to exist regardless of media involvement. Media is the thing that tore them apart and kept them apart initially but now its the medium where again Paul gets validation for his relationship with John as well as an outlet to speak about it in a way which he would normally be too repressed to do. Is his view on John different now than when he was alive? Sure! Is it romanticised? Probably? But likewise, was the petty bullshit that clouded his judgement during their worst period the true snapshot of their relationship either? It’s a whole messy question of whether there is ever one true version of something as shifting as a volatile relationship and if our relationship with the dead ever really ends/our views on the dead become more or less valid with paradoxical clarity/obscurity of distance.

Essentially what I’m trying to say is that Paul romanticises and creates narrative through omission, not exaggeration and that his more extreme statements are likely true to him. Love is a conversation and sometimes becomes an echo when the other person isn’t there yada yada yada.

Thank you for taking the time to write all of this out :)

I agree with a lot of this actually! Though I do also think that we shouldn't ignore the fact that Paul still regularly reveals his feelings towards John to be kind of mixed at times when he talks about the breakup specifically. But on the whole, your thoughts really align with mine and if I at times seem more cynical, it's probably because I find the specific way people talk about Paul on here can get very reductive.

You summarized the nuance of it very well here:

It’s a whole messy question of whether there is ever one true version of something as shifting as a volatile relationship and if our relationship with the dead ever really ends/our views on the dead become more or less valid with paradoxical clarity/obscurity of distance. Essentially what I’m trying to say is that Paul romanticises and creates narrative through omission, not exaggeration and that his more extreme statements are likely true to him. Love is a conversation and sometimes becomes an echo when the other person isn’t there yada yada yada.

[therentyoupay]

Hi, just wanted to say I really love you and Callimara's work on the the fic "More than you know" so far (I have watched Callimara's video multiple times, I AM OBSESSED) and now I am actively reading your other work. I am loving it so far, I am currently reading "Frosted Sea Glass". I wanted to ask a question. Since I saw a few others ask you about Jelsa headcanons, I was wondering if you have any relating to how either of them interact with children, or someone younger than them?? I am currently writing a fic where Jack has managed to gain himself a little helper spirit with his work, so I've been trying to think of some ideas to help them interact with the little spirit. Though we all know Jack would have the upper hand than Elsa, with his job as a Guardian of Childhood after all..

HI, and THANK YOU SO MUCH. 🥹💕🙏 it seriously means so much!! (i remember calli saying a few weeks ago that she wasn't sure how many people would end up seeing the video, and the two of us wondering if there was still anybody out there 🤣🥹 THANK YOU FOR CONNECTING HERE ON TUMBLR, and sharing your love an support 😭😭😭😭🙏 it feels like it's been so long since there has been this much activity in the jelsa tags, and it feels so good to see so many people this active again ✨💕) thank you for your lovely ask!! (and thank you for reading my beloved eternal-summertime-sadness!mermaid!au fic 😂🙏😭💕)

regarding your question, i have a few more for you!! 💕💕💕💕

in your story, re: Helpers:

to what degree does jack in your story consider his Helpers as: his children? his friends? His Fancy Professional Colleagues? his Annoying Co-workers? extensions of himself, his soul, his very being? (are they are part of him? when they hurt, does he hurt?)

how mischievous are these Helpers, and does he encourage/enable their naughty behaviors?

how does he manage their training or, perhaps if needed, discipline?

how does he express gratitude for their help, or pride in their accomplishments?

readers of at the center may remember that i gave jack three different Helpers (jackie, the frost bunny; jacqueline, the frost fox; jax, the frosty owl) in my story, and each Helper had their own personality, so his relationship (emotional, working/professional, etc.) was different with each! in that sense, it was really fun to explore jack's role as guardian not only as a Newbie to the A-team and as a low-key Guardian-in-Training for elsa, but also to see how he would fare "managing" a team of his own. like you, i LOVED playing around with how he'd connect with different Helper personalities! so, the questions listed above are just a few points that came to mind while writing this post, as i was sat here thinking about what questions i asked myself while i was exploring jack's behaviors in working with his Helpers in atc! 💕 i hope they're helpful!

general headcanons, re: interacting with kids:

here are some BIG questions that come to mind!

what do children represent to elsa, in your story? does seeing small children bring her nostalgia, bittersweet feelings, regret, happiness, hope for the future (of her kingdom, for herself?), memories of when she and anna were younger (and the childhoods that were ripped away from them when elsa was forced to isolate herself)?

does seeing small children bring up Old Fears about losing control and potentially hurting someone? (most people who have never held a baby before are going to be Anxious when someone thrusts a baby into their arms, but for elsa, who has all these additional supernatural worries on top of natural discomforts, how does that manifest in her reactions and behaviors?)

does seeing small children bring elsa a sense of hope and joy, remind her of some buried-down desire to be/curiosity of being a mother (to be like her mother, to be so much better than her mother, to do all the she can to be a parent who honors her mother), which for so many years felt like an impossible, impossible hope (which she pushed so far down inside herself she forgot the wish existed)?

do children bring up, regardless of her hopes/plans to physically bear and raise children, her maternal instincts? (how might you show that her maternal/older sister instincts/caregiving tendencies are at least partially rooted in—and in many ways connected to—her duties, honor, and obligations as the Mother of Arendelle, the Queen, the ruler over an entire family and kingdom of people) that feel natural and familiar? something new?

what do children represent to jack, in your story? at this stage of development, does jack still carry any resentment? fear of rejection or abandonment? excitement and security over feeling connected, feeling a sense of belonging? to what degree do the Helpers/kids fulfill his Need to be Needed; make him feel like he is helping someone, that someone relies on him and needs him?

to what degree is jack able, willing, and ready to manage the responsibilities or behaviors of someone else? for someone who has made a point of shirking responsibility and duty, and who (at the time of the movie) only recently started to change his preconceived notions of what it means to be a part of a team and to take ownership and accountability or to willingly submit oneself to a higher order of moral codes and rules and high-stakes responsibilities... how does he handle the emotions, decision-making moments, and physical strain of witnessing someone else take on such a role, especially with being higher up in the hierarchy of leadership? does jack consider himself a leader? (do the others consider him a leader at this point?) what do the other guardians think of jack's growth and progress (or lack thereof), at this point in the story? (do their perceptions change, throughout?)

to what degree do jack and elsa see these Helpers, or younger individuals, kids, etc. in ways that remind them both of their respective younger sisters? in which ways do jack and elsa see their sisters in these young individuals/Helpers? how are their behaviors toward, dialogues with and about, and perceptions of the Helpers/kids shaped by the relationships they have with their own sisters?

although jack may technically have more 'experience' (using this term loosely here lol) in watching kids behave (while he was invisible, or after) and knowing what circumstances allow kids/teens to engage in fun (a la the rotg movie, in which the other guardians were initially completely out of touch loololol, as you suggested), this experience as a guardian of the children may or may not entirely transfer to leading, managing, coaching, training, disciplining, or interacting with a Helper spirit under his care (or his jurisdiction). in your story, to what degree is jack naturally adept at being responsible for 'staff' under his leadership?? this could be a REALLY fun place to explore (which is what i really wanted to dive into in at the center!!)

also, consider: although jack may have had more years of working with younger kids, who has more experience leading? how might elsa (in her role as queen, or as a member of the Older Sister Syndrome community, or with her exceptional perceptiveness and observation and anxiety-driven need to constantly Read the Room and be prepared for Any Outcome) be able to teach jack? in particular, how might elsa be able to teach jack means of navigating difficult decisions, difficult conversation? how might elsa be able to share what she has learned from being a queen and a ruler with jack, so that he is able to fulfill his role as a mentor while still being true to himself?

before elsa was cut off from the rest of the world, she was undeniably a natural at being a fun, loving, caring, and protective Older Sister to anna; depending on where you are in elsa's development after she was cut off from the world and/or (potentially) found her way back, which elements of that core, buried, uncovered(?), Natural piece of her personality remain? how would they come out in interactions with kids now, at this point in your story (whether they emerge naturally, or are coaxed out by jack or the Helpers themselves)?

also, peacock that jack is, i wouldn't doubt it for a second that jack might, at first, be led to believe that he is more adept at handling Helpers/kids than he really is. 😂 ("piece of cake!!") he might feel emboldened by his 'years of experience' as a(n invisible) guardian, and he might further take confidence from his restored Memories of his human life with his sister and the village kids; but to what degree do these Memories actually translate into and help prepare him for the new responsibilities, dangers, and emotional connections with his Helpers/these kids ahead? how does jack handle the confusion, frustration, surprise, and shifting worldviews that occur when he realizes the depths of the differences between his old experiences and the new situations he faces? (how does jack handle struggling with learning something new? especially when he'd thought that it was going to be so much easier than it is...) how does jack handle taking advice from others (guardians, elsa, anna, Kristoff, etc.?) how does jack handle it when things don't go according to plan, especially when he expected a smoother ride? (😂)

how does elsa support and teach along the way (to jack and to the Helpers themselves)? what does elsa learn from the Helpers, from jack, through jack's navigation of these new challenges and how he overcomes them? how does jack learn from elsa as he watches her face these challenges beside him?? what do they (and do they not) learn from each other???

I HOPE THESE ARE HELPFUL. i suppose you can kind of see some hints of little headcanons i have popping out through these questions, haha!! wherever you are in your story, i hope that you have a lot of fun thinking through and exploring these different layers!! 💕💕💕💕 good luck with your writing, and please feel free to drop a link to your fic in the replies for anyone who might like to read it! 🫶💕✨ thank you, lovely!!

[kingluffy5]

Playing Detectives Pt 7 (Wednesday x Male Reader)

After investigating the Gates’ mansion Wednesday finds herself more alone then ever and Y/N contemplates how much he can trust those around him and how much they trust him, when Mayor Walker thinks he’s cracked the case he’s suddenly hit by a car, and after putting her friends in danger the Sheriff has forbidden Wednesday from investigating the case.

Last night in the hospital someone killed Mayor Walker, pulled out his breathing tube thingies, and I would bet my life on the theory of the person who ran him over was the one who killed him. Now everyone is in attendance at his funeral. It’s raining, me and Wednesday are sharing a black umbrella. Despite our fight it’s not my place to be mad at or to forgive her, it’s Enid and Tyler’s, we’re in a mature healthy relationship so we don’t fight over petty stuff like this. And also despite our fight we have a case to solve and a monster to hunt down, my chest still hurts from the wounds the monster gave me, but Wends’ stitches are holding up alright. During the night Wednesday discovered a music box that belonged to Laurel Gates which contained many pictures of her, I’m not saying I want a stalker taking pictures of me but it feels kind of inconsiderate that only she got stalked.

Me and Wends look over across all the people here, all the potential suspects. Bianca and the mayors son share some glances and Ajax is there for Enid, the Sheriff and his son look at each other.

All of a sudden a shadowy figure is hiding behind some trees, he runs off and me and Wednesday share a quick glance before we run after him through the trees. We lose sight of him and slow down, he then drops down behind us and Wednesday grabs the sword hidden in her umbrella and jabs it towards him.

He then holds the blade between the palms of his hands and he sends an electric shock through it causing Wednesday to quickly drop the sword.

“Still as sharp as ever, my pig-tailed protégé.” The man says, wait what, he knows Wends.

“Uncle Fester.” She says as she gives him a big smile. I’m sorry Uncle who now.

The man takes off his hat to reveal an incredibly bald head.

“Uh, hi.” I greet him.

“Who is this?” He asks.

“Y/N Barron, Wednesday’s partner.” I answer.

“Barron, oh I’ve met a few of you in my lifetime, whenever one’s around you know it’s going to be a good time. And might I inquire what kind of partner you are to Wednesday?”

“A few different kinds.” I answer causing him to laugh a little.

We start to walk through the foggy forest.

“How long have you been stalking me?” She asks.

“Just blew into town this morning and was hit by a wave of nostalgia.”

“I thought you didn’t go to Nevermore.”

“I didn’t. Your dad got all the brains, but I used to drop in on him. Usually from the ceiling with a dagger clutched between my teeth, just to keep him on his toes.”

“Of course.”

“He filled me in on what’s been going on. Monsters, murder, mayhem. What fun! I told him I had a job in Boston, but I’d be checking up on you.”

“What kind of job?”

“The kind that means that I need a place to lay low for a couple of days.” I love Wednesday’s family more every time I meet them.

Me and Wednesday take him over to the bee hives.

“This place belongs to a friend.” She informs Fester.

“You actually made multiple friends. That poor kid will be going home in a body bag.” Wednesday looks down in guilt and I do the same. “I like a hideout that comes with snacks.”

“Those bees are hibernating.” I tell him.

“They’re practically Eugene’s children.” Wednesday says.

Fester opens one of the hives to try and get one.

“That means do not eat them!” She yells at him.

He looks disappointed but puts it back while Wednesday glares at him.

“You know, when you give me that death stare, you remind me of your mother. Speaking of scary things, you know what kind of monster you two are dealing with?” Alright that was just hilarious.

“We haven’t been able to identify it.” Wends says as she shows him the drawing of it.

“It’s called a Hyde.” He says handing back the paper.

“As in Jekyll and Hyde?” I question.

“Hm-mmm.” He confirms.

“You’ve seen one before?” Wednesday asks.

“Oh yeah. In ‘83, during my vacay at the Zurich Institute for the Criminally Insane. Where I got my first lobotomy. But you know lobotomies. They’re like tattoos. Can’t just get one.”

“Tell us about the Hyde.” She cuts him off.

“Ah. Olga Malacova. Jeez, she had it all. Beauty, brains, and a penchant for necrophilia. Olga was a concert pianist, until one night she transformed in the middle of a Chopin sonata. Massacred a dozen audience members, and three music critics.”

“What triggered her? Or did she just change on her own?”

“No idea. I only saw her in group electro-shock therapy.”

“There’s never been any mention of Hydes in any outcast book. And Nevermore is reputed for having the best collection.” I point out.

“You guys try Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary?” He asks us. “Before he founded Nevermore Faulkner traveled the world, cataloging every outcast community.”

“How do you know this?” Wends asks him.

“You think your parents can’t keep their hands off each other now, oy vey. I showed up unannounced one night in Gomez’s dorm room. Let’s just say I wasn’t interrupting a pillow fight.” NO NO NO NO NO, I did not need to hear that now, I did not need to hear that ever, I need to pour bleach into my ear later so that way it will wipe this memory from my brain.

“Uncle Fester. The diary, where is it.”

“The Nightshade’s Library. Your dad parked me there and said I should settle in for a long stretch. And that’s when I found this nifty little safe, I was hoping for a stash of cash or jewels but instead I found a diary.”

“We’l sneak into the Nightshades Library tonight. In the meantime lay low. If you are discovered I will disown you and collect the reward tied to your capture.” Wednesday warns him as we turn to leave.

“I’d expect nothing less.”

After a second Wednesday barges back into the shed and shout at him to leave the bees alone.

— — —

Apparently Enid went to go find something from their room while she’s bunking with Yoko and they got into an argument, she ended up saying that Wednesday endangers everyone that she comes into contact with, which is honestly kind of true.

We are currently heading down into the Nightshade’s Library.

“Uncle Fester?”

“Who’s uncle Fester?” Xavier says appearing from the shadows.

“What are you doing here?”

“Since I’m an actual Nightshade, I don’t have to explain myself. What’s your excuse for creeping around in the middle of the night.”

“Research.”

“On the monster? I’ll save you two some time. There’s nothing in here matching that thing.”

“Isn’t that convenient.” Wednesday says.

“You know what your problem is Wednesday?”

“I would love to hear your piercing insight.”

“You don’t know who your real friends are. I’ve been on your side since day one. I literally saved your life. I believed your theories when nobody else did. And what do I get in return? Just nothing but suspicion and lies.”

“Fine you want honesty? Here it is. Every time the monster’s attacked, you’ve been right there. Starting with Rowan at the Harvest Fest. Then on Outreach day, you arrived just minutes after the monster disappeared, yet you say you didn’t see it.”

“I didn’t realize proximity was a crime.”

“Then there’s your drawing obsession. You have drawn the monster dozens of times yet you’ve never seen it. Or so you claim. You even drew where it lived. Then when Y/N and Eugene went to investigate, you tried to kill them so they wouldn’t spill your secrets.”

“You think I would hurt Eugene? Y/N, you think I would try to kill you?” He asks us, I remain quiet, I haven’t know what to believe over the past few days.

“Let’s not forget your oh-so-convenient appearance after Y/N and Tyler had been attacked at the Gates mansion.”

“If I am the monster then why haven’t I killed you?”

“Because for some reason I cannot fathom or indulge you seem to like me.”

“What’s to like?” He says.

“Dude just back off, she doesn’t owe you blind faith, she deserves to think for herself about who she trusts.” I tell him.

“And your problem, your a psycho. Be honest here, your not trying to stop this monster to avenge it’s victims or to bring peace of mind to their families, you’re just bored and want something interesting to do. You have no empathy, you don’t care about anyone, you are just as heartless as that monster.” He tells me.

This may have started as me being bored, but after Eugene got attacked this was personal. I care about him, he’s my best friend, I care about Wednesday and I don’t want to see her be the monster’s next victim.

Wednesday looks angrier then I’ve ever seen her. “He has to go through more pain then you will ever know.” She says spitefully, her words laced with venom and I smile at her.

She could be talking about my panic attacks, or she could be talking about her vision of me, what did she see, what was so bad that it would garner this kind of a reaction. I’m glad she defended me though, it’s nice to remember that she likes me too despite not showing it much.

With that Xavier leaves and Fester jumps down behind us.

“How long have you been lurking?” Wends asks him.

“Long enough to feel the tension between you guys. Yowza. Seriously, you could cut it with an executioner’s axe.”

Thing comes into the room and Fester hears him. “I’d recognize the patter of those fingertips anywhere. Hello Thing.” Thing taps angrily at him.

“You can’t still be mad about the Kalamazoo job. It wasn’t my fault.” With that Thing lunges at Fester and starts to choke him. “ You said you could crack that safe in 30 seconds. Five minutes later we were still standing there, you’re all thumbs.”

“Enough.” Wednesday says commandingly like a mother breaking up two kids. “Let him go. Show me the diary.”

Fester walks us over to a portrait of Ignatius Itt

“Here it is. Iggy was Faulkner’s right hand. Trained a generation of Nightshades. And behind Iggy Itt.”

“Wait you guys know Ignatius Itt?” I ask them.

“He’s my cousin.” Fester answers. Ok, cool, perfectly normal that my girlfriend is actually related to my personal hero, not like I am freaking out right now. Maybe Wends can introduce us.

“Do I have time for a snooze, or can you crack this quickly?” Fester remarks as Thing begins to try and crack the safe.

After a few times Fester says that this is turning into a replay of Kalamazoo. Finally he opens the safe revealing the diary.

— — —

We make our way back to Wednesday’s room as Wednesday begins to look through the journal.

“These are some sweet diggs. How’d you swing your own single?” Fester asks her.

“My former roommate couldn’t handle my toxic personality.”

She finally lands on the page about Hydes. “Faulkner describes Hydes as artists by nature, but equally vindictive in temperament. Born of mutation, the Hyde lays dormant until unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis. This causes the Hyde to develop an immediate bond with its liberator who the creature now sees as its master. It becomes the willing instrument of whatever nefarious agenda this new master might propose.”

“Artist by nature, doesn’t that sound like someone we know?”

“Anyone willing to unlock a Hyde is a next-level sicko.” Fester says.

“That means we’re not looking for one killer but two.” I point out.

“The monster and its master.” Wednesday says.

Someone knocks on the door, me and Fester go to hide in Enid’s pile of stuffed animals.

Ms. Thornhill walks in and begins to talk with Wednesday about how Enid is going to room with Yoko for the rest of the year, how she cares about Enid, how she’s becoming a better person, and that she clearly misses Enid. Stuff like that.

“Uncle Fester, Y/N.” She shouts looking for us, he accidentally knocks over one of the plushies causing Wednesday to walk over and uncovers us.

“Hey! Being a solo lobo has its perks. You get to live by your own rules, do whatever you want. Just look at me.”

— — —

We went to Xavier’s shed.

While Wednesday distracted him me and Fester put a tracker on his bike.

“Did you two place the tracker?” Wends asks us.

“Don’t worry we got you covered.” Fester answers, handing her the device to track Xavier.

“Okay. Let’s hit the road.”

We walk over to the transportation Fester has arranged for us and reveals it to be a dog walking company’s motorbike with a Dalmatian pattern. We look at him for a few seconds.

“What? I picked it up on my way out of town. You know me. I like to travel incognito.” He hands us a couple of helmets with a matching pattern.

Fester drives the bike as Wends sits in the passenger car and I hold onto his back.

We follow Xavier to a secluded spot by the lake where a car is waiting.

Dr. Kinbott’s car. Kinbott’s the master.

— — —

Me and Wednesday go to Weems’ office to tell her about the doctor.

“Principal Weems, it is imperative we speak with you about Dr. Kinbott.”

“Wednesday, Y/N. We were just talking about you.”

“Speak of the devil.” Kinbott says behind us with a tray of tea.

“And she shall appear.” Wednesday says.

“Dr. Kinbott was just discussing your assessment Wednesday. I need to sign off on it before she can send it to court.”

“Well, what’s the verdict, Doctor? Am I cured?” She asks Kinbott.

“I’m glad you find it amusing. The judge assigned to your case won’t.”

“I’ve explained to Dr. Kinbott that you’ve recently been taking small but meaningful steps towards embracing your new Nevermore family.”

“Yes, I think I’ve actually reached the half-hug stage. I’ve been reading about hypnotherapy. It might be a good technique to unlock my inner Wednesday. Are you a devotee?” Babe I love you, but dropping hints that we know that a serial killer is a serial killer isn’t the smartest move.

“Yes, very much so. I applaud your new willingness to delve deep into yourself. We see each other on Monday, we can start then.”

“What did you so urgently need to discuss?” Weems asks us.

“It can wait, now if you excuse us we have homework to finish.”

— — —

Me, Wends, and Fester sit in the Weathervane to discuss our approach.

“Kinbott has to be Xavier’s master. The Hyde lays dormant until unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis.” I say.

Fester starts, I don’t know how to say it, drinking, chugging, slurping, the ketchup.

“Are you listening? She must’ve figured out he’s a Hyde and used hypnotherapy to unlock him. That would explain their secret sessions.” Wends says.

“I think the kid behind the counter has clocked me. Yeah, he’s walking over. I’m going to put him in a Romanian sleeper hold. Cover me.” Fester says referring to Tyler. Oh dear god, I would love to see that.

“Relax. He’s not interested in you.” Wednesday tells him. Cmon Wends, it would only have been a few seconds worth of Fester choking out Tyler.

“Uh, made you a quad. On the house.”

“Hey, thanks kid. Need a refill on this puppy too.” Fester thanks him. This man is my idol.

“Tyler, this is my uncle Fester.” Wends introduces right when Tyler started looking confused.

“Oh uh. Hi nice to meet. Ow!” He shouts as Fester zaps him chuckling.

“Is that?” Tyler asks recognizing the monster from when it attacked us.

“It’s called a Hyde.”

“That’s it, from that night.”

“Your father gave you explicit instructions not to be near me.” Wednesday tells him.

“Yeah, my dad’s not here and I’m on my break.”

“Well, apparently a Hyde needs to be unlocked by someone. It’s master.”

“Holy shit.”

“Tyler! What did I say?” The sheriff shouts from the entrance way as Fester disappears again.

“Uh. For the record Wednesday was trying to keep a distance. I was the one that sat down with her and Y/N.”

“All right. Putting these up around town. It’s a bank robbery suspect and he’s a real creep.” He says handing us a wanted poster of Fester. “You haven’t seen him have you?”

“No.” Wends says.

“Yeah, he’d be pretty hard to miss.” Tyler chuckles. “I’ll pin it on the bulletin board.”

“Barron, how’re the stitches holding up?” He asks me.

“They’re alright Sheriff.” I tell him.

The sheriff shakes his head at Wednesday before turning to leave. “Why do I waste my breath.”

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah your family’s very colorful.”

“Ironic considering Fester’s the black sheep. He’s harmless.”

“So about rescheduling our date.” I’m sorry, what?

“Between the monster and my uncle.” Yeah she’s busy, she doesn’t have time for dates, believe me.

“Hey, no excuses. Figure after what happened last time, you owe me.” That entire sentence was just one big red flag. Plus you got off light compared to me.

“I can’t sneak off of campus. All eyes are on me.”

“You won’t have to, I’ll come to you. 9:00 p.m., Crackstone’s Crypt.”

After that he goes back to work and me and Wends leave to head back to Nevermore.

“I don’t have to go.” She tells me.

“I know but I think you should go.” I tell her despite hating the idea.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I know we’re pretty certain that Xavier’s the Hyde but until we’re one hundred percent sure, we shouldn’t rule out anybody else. I don’t trust Tyler and if we make him think you actually like him then we can keep him from knowing we suspect him. I reason.

She smiles the tiniest smile ever at that. “I knew there was a reason I picked you as my partner, for the case and for life.”

“And believe me Wednesday Addams, when this case is over I will take you on a lovely picnic date in a cemetery.” I tell her, causing her smile to grow.

— — —

While Wednesday is on her “date” Me and Thing are going to watch over the diary.

We are sitting around talking about random stuff, favorite movies, favorite books, opinions on Mondays.

“Look, I understand that you enjoy the consistency of hatred that Monday provides but I personally only find comfort in knowing a grumpy orange cat that enjoys lasagna agrees with me.”

Me and Thing argue a bit more before I go out to get a breath of fresh air.

I wonder how Wednesday’s manipulation of Tyler is going right now. Why did I suggest this plan, it’s stupid, damn it.

Suddenly the door swings open and a hooded figure barges in, before I can reach for my sword they stab me in my back several times and I feel a sudden pain in my head before everything goes black.

— — —

I wake up in the bee shed. Me and Thing are lying on the table both of us seemingly having just woken up. Wednesday seems like she’s about to cry and Fester is standing over us having used his shock powers to save us.

“For a minute we thought you picked your last lock buddy.” Fester tells Thing.

“Who did this to you two?” She asked us.

“They covered their face, it was my own fault, I didn’t keep my sword with me.” I answer.

“Cowards.” Wednesday spits. “I promise that whoever did this to you will suffer. An dit will be slow, long, and excruciatingly painful.”

Thing and Wednesday pinky promise on that before we do the same.

“I’ll stitch you two back up. They found your motorbike so the sheriff wont be far. You need to go.” She says getting up. “Maybe next time steal something a little less conspicuous.”

“Where’s the fun in that? All right I’ll lay low here tonight, keep an eye on Thing, and I’ll skedaddle in the morning.”

“I guess I’ll see you at your arraignment or the next family reunion.”

“You’ll always be my favorite Wednesday.”

“Be sure to tell Pugsley that. It’ll give him a complex.”

While she stitches the wounds on my back she notices my frown. “You’re sulking, more then usual.”

“Scars on someone’s back are their shame.” I answer.

After saying that she kneels in front of me. “I promise I will give whoever did this much worse.”

“I am sure you will.” I say smiling. We kiss and she goes back to stitching me up.

— — —

After stitching me and Thing up Wends went to go report her room being ransacked to Weems.

Turns out she knew of the monster being a Hyde and revealed that they were banned from Nevermore 30 years ago and that she didn’t tell the Sheriff to protect Nevermore. The two of them argued, noting really different from every other interaction they have.

We are now walking to our next class when Bianca walks up to us.

“Come with me. I have information about Mayor Walker’s murder.”

We walk with her down to the Nightshade’s library to find the Mayor’s son handing us some papers.

“Printed these off of my dad’s computer. Seems he was trying to track down someone. Laurel Gates? Looks like he started right after Outreach Day.”

“Must have recognized her there.” I remark.

“According to British police Laurel was presumed drowned, but no body was ever recovered.”

We look through the files.

“The gates mansion was purchased a year ago by a 90-year-old candy heiress. She then mysteriously died and gave all her belongings to her caregiver, Teresa L. Glau. It’s and anagram for Laurel Gates.”

“Laurel secretly buys her old house and then comes back to Jericho as someone else. Why?” Bianca questions.

“Revenge on all the people she blames for her family’s misfortunes. Your father. The coroner. My parents. Most of all, Nevermore.”

“How exactly does the monster fit into all this?” Bianca asks.

“The monster is a Hyde and it’s doing Laurel’s bidding. She controls it.” I answer.

“You know who Laurel is, don’t you?” The Mayor’s kid, Lucas that was his name, that was really bugging me shit, gotta remember that next time.

“Yes, but the real question is how are we going to get her to see us?” Wednesday asks.

“I may have an idea.” I respond.

— — —

“I’m sorry, you two want couple’s counseling?” Kinbott asks.

“Yes, despite how perfect it may seem our relationship has a few problems.” I say.

“Um. Okay, sit down, I guess. What seems to be the problems?” She asks us.

“He doesn’t appreciate my cello playing.” Wednesday said quickly. Okay I asked her one time through factime on Enid’s phone to keep it down because I was trying to sleep.

“She forgot to feed my pets the one time I asked her to.” I retort.

“He has an unhealthy obsession with anime.” She says. Unhealthy is a strong word, do I watch a lot of it yes, does it take up most of my time, yes, do I sometimes ignore other tasks to watch it, yes. Alright I might actually have a problem.

“She doesn’t tell me everything that I need to know.” This gets her attention.

“What?” She asks.

“The night Rowan died, when you touched my hand you had a vision. What was the vision Wends?” I ask her.

“It was nothing important, can we get back to our plan?” She asks referring to our plan to lure Dr. Kinbott into a false sense of security and tricking her into confessing.

“No, it’s about me isn’t it? What did you see?”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“Bullshit. What was it that has you so rattled that not even you are willing to tell me?”

“It wasn’t anything!”

“What was it Wednesday!”

“You’re going to die!” She reveals.

“What?” I ask hoping I misheard her.

“You die fighting the Hyde.” She says again.

I remain silent for a moment before sitting back down. “Ok.” I simply said.

“Aren’t you scared or angry?” Wends asks me.

“No, not really, I mean, I’d rather die fighting then being killed without putting up a fight. Besides I never really believed in fate or destiny to begin with, and if it comes down to a fight between me and the Hyde, I think I’d win, I got great swordsmanship skills and now that we’ve narrowed down our list of suspects then we can stop them before they kill me.” I explain. Honestly even if I die fighting, it’d be good to know that I died protecting everyone I care about and that I’d die as a hero.

“I think this is a little above of my pay grade.” Kinbott says nervously. Understandable, not every day you find out a teenager standing right in front of you is destined to die a horrible, brutal death. Also she probably wants to remain as far away from anything involving the Hyde since it was her who awakened it.

Wednesday gets up looking angry. “This is your fault to begin with. We know you’re Laurel Gates, we found this in your childhood bedroom.” She says handing her the music box from her bag. “You’ve come back to Jericho to seek your revenge. And so did Mayor Walker, which is why you had to kill him. Who better to slide in and out of the hospital undetected than a psychiatrist under the guise of visiting another patient?”

“Wends, what happened to the plan?” I ask. She really has a problem with just explaining to our suspects that we know that they might be killers.

“You’re not actually accusing me of murdering the mayor?”

“The roses you left in Eugene’s room were your mistake. They’re the same variety I found near your childhood bed.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“There’s only one reason an overqualified psychiatrist like yourself would settle in the inconsequential backwater that is Jericho. It allowed you to crawl through the troubled, young minds of outcasts until you found one that you can manipulate to exact your revenge.”

“You know what. I don’t have time to deal with your delusional fantasies. I have a patient emergency.”

“Who? Xavier?” I ask.

“We know all about the secret sessions you’ve been holding in your car. I also found the cave where you’ve been holding sessions to unlock his Hyde.”

“And even if you guys aren’t the killers, it’d still be kind of weird that you hold sessions in your car.” I point out.

“You are so out of line.” She tells us.

“Do you know hoe violently unpredictable a Hyde can be? It was your plan to have Xavier committed before he could turn on you too.”

“Wednesday, Y/N, you two need help. More help than I can give you.”

She reaches for her phone. “Who you calling? Xavier?” Wends asks.

“Judge Reynolds. I’m going to recommend that you two stay in a juvenile psychiatric facility for observation.”

“Oh, please. We all know that we’d be running that place in a week.” Wednesday says. “Times up Laurel.”

We both leave the office.

— — —

Me, Wednesday, and Weems are sitting in the Jericho ER. Turns out Kinbott just got attacked by the Hyde while calling Weems to talk about our recent visit to her office.

The Sheriff comes out of the room and walks up to us.

“She’s gone. Dr. Kinbott’s dead.” He tells us.

“This ends now.” Wednesday says dramatically.

We both leave the hospital.

— — —

We both go to Xavier’s art shed with an ambush planned. Wends waits inside for Xavier while I hide outside with the cavalry.

We can hear faint talking inside when Xavier goes inside as he and Wednesday argue about the case.

The Sheriff and I barge in seeing Xavier holding a knife.

“Freeze. Drop the knife. Down on your knees.” He says arresting Xavier. “Cuff him. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you. Appreciate the help Addams, Barron.

“You framed me! I shoulda let Rowan kill you.” He shouts at us as he gets dragged out by the cops.

— — —

Me and Wends go back to her room to find Enid putting all her stuff back.

“Hey.” She greets us.

“You’re back.” Wednesday says.

“I’m gone for a few days, the place gets trashed, and Thing and Y/N almost die. Someone’s gotta look out for you guys.”

“What happened to rooming with Yoko?” Wednesday asks.

“Yoko’s great. I just decided I needed a few more boundaries.”

Enid starts to put down a line of tape to separate the room in half which is apparently something they’ve been doing.

“Skip the tape.” Wednesday tells her.

“Don’t tell me Wednesday Addams is mellowing out.”

“Never. More like evolving.”

“Well, one inch of duct tape at a time.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Because we work. We shouldn’t but we do. It’s like some sort of weird, friendship anomaly. Everything you’ve said about me is true. But I don’t apologize for it not anymore. It’s just who I am.”

“Thing said he missed you.”

“I missed him to. I’m sorry about Xavier.”

“We’re not. He’s a liar and a killer.” Wednesday says

“Besides there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being proven right.” I say as me and Wends smirk at each other.

“OMG, I ship you two so hard. I was honestly expecting you to get with Tyler at first but you two just work so well together.” Oh shit, right, Tyler.

“I still need to tell him about us and how he and I won’t be together.” Wednesday says.

“Well I heard he’s working the late shift.” Enid says.

“Alright, you go talk to Tyler, and I’ll leave so you guys can catch up.” I say before leaving.

— — —

I make it back to my room. I feed my pets. I lay down on my bed.

I look over to Eugene’s empty one. “We got him buddy. I can’t wait for you to come back.”

I start to contemplate the future. Now that the case is over me and Wednesday can go on a few dates, the Nevermore Hummers can get back to it’s usual routine when Eugene get’s back, Wednesday’s made peace with both Enid and Bianca. Everything feels perfect. It’s never felt this way before. Why does it feel like this won’t last, I’m probably just being paranoid but it feels like there’s one piece missing.

Suddenly I get a text from Enid, or at least Wednesday using Enid’s phone. When I read it I’m shocked, it makes so much sense yet I can’t believe it.

Tyler’s the Hyde.

[zukkacore]

could you explain the 8 jaces thesis I'm not sure I quite get it

OK SORRY THIS SAT SO LONG LMAO. 8 Jaces thesis is just what I jokingly call like. My personal internal logic on how many jaces there are are exist with both fantasy high and within the minds of the characters. However, for any of this to make sense, once we get to like. The conceptual Jaces. You HAVE HAVE HAVE to buy into the internal logic that Porter cared for at least some version of jace, maybe even loved him. A logic I buy into readily bc of Porter's need to look to the future and see a version of someone that doesn't exist in canon with Gorgug, but also Porter's need to look back to the past with nostalgia and grasp onto something that he views as glorious and true and already gone. Whether Porter looks to the future, or the to the past, he covets what he can't have. There is a future version of jace he wants. There is a past version of jace he wants. He is failing to hold onto either while also having encircled both and made them his. AGAIN. This is not canon, this is an INTERNAL LOGIC you just have to buy into that is extrapolated from the text. And with that, we can get into 8 Jace theory.

It's probably best to work our way up.

CANON

PART 1: JacePrime - the original Jace which I usually call Jaceprime to distinguish him from his 3 clones. There are two versions of Jaceprime

Pre-JacePrime - The canonical Jace that existed before he was shatterstarred. And we can guess that he may have been the jace that we saw in Freshman year. This is the First Jace

Post-Jaceprime: The canonical Jace that existed after getting shatterstarred. I feel like it's valid to compartmentalize these into two different Jaces even tho they are not like. Physically different like the clones are. This feels fair bc in the narrative his personality is pretty different in Junior year, so much that it makes the old jace seem like a nonentity by comparison? There's also the fact that he died and came back to life and is being on some level controlled by Porter. (I think on some level there even is a form of potential possession as well? It's very up to interpretation. Like ruben doesn't remember anything and Porter can definitely call upon shatterstarred people to Do Stuff for him n follow commands)

However, these two jaces are like. Two different versions of the same Jace. But they are Canon

Pt 2. Jaceclones

3. 4. 5. Jaceclones - These are like. Fully people. That jace summons in the final battle. They are not a hivemind and to not share a consciousness. They are not really mirror images. They are like. People. Tbh based on the way the spell acts it kinda seems like if Simulacra could be used to make multiple people instead of one. I also feel comfortable calling these all Jace, they are just a different Jace. Because they are people they have the capacity to basically be him. And they are all canon.

Before I continue. I will say that the original stemmed from ppl making Jokes about 4 Jaces bc of Jaceprime and the jaceclones. But 4 Jaces thesis became 5 Jaces thesis when I was like. To be fair tho the jace we see in JY is not the real jace. There's a fifth jace, freshman year jace, who is dead. Who haunts the narrative (i know overused phrase but idc)

Pt. 3 Jaces that are Conceptual - or exist in a character's head.

6. Porter's Idealized Post-Jaceprime: Technically, Idealized Pre-jaceprime existed first bc it was suggested by @adaines-furious-feast but we're gonna skip to Post Bc I think you need to understand Idealized Post Jaceprime. Idealized Post-jaceprime (I think is an @italicized-oh special? Sorry if I got this wrong. P sure it was a message from them in my inbox) is the version of Jace in porter's head that he thought he would get when he killed jace and brought him back wrong. In my mind, this ties into my whole thing abt Gorgug MCAT Thesis, which is a different thesis on Porter's relationship to Jace. IMO, A lot of the perceived flaws that Porter sees in Gorgug are real flaws in Jace. Porter percieves Gorgug as noncommital, not very bright, timid, and afraid to embrace his natural gifts. Porter wants to actualize Gorgug. This is similarly, the perfect, actualized Jace that Porter thought he would be getting. Making plans with. Being his darling little acolyte saint stardiamond. This is also a fantasy that the real post-shatterstar jace can only fall short of.

7. Porter's idealized Pre-Jaceprime: Again, this is an AFF special. This Jace is the old version of Jace that exists only in Porter's head. Ok. So this is a whole thing that includes having to buy into the internal logic that Porter misses the old Jace. I've made the argument that he has that capacity. he is a nostalgic guy who years for a return to a glorious past. So AS jace exists in his post shatterstar state, the nostalgia Porter has for the old, glorious jace sits alongside his nostalgia for a past that no longer exists. This version in Porter’s head is inherently distorted by nostalgia. Again he covets what he can’t have bc at the time. He could not accept Jace as-is. But now he wants to recapture it. It was perfect as a moment in the past. It is no longer his. It was never his bc it was always in his head.

Outlier Jace who is also a concept but in a different way

8. 25 Year old Green New-Hire Jace: 8th jace is technically an anomaly in that he is both the 8th jace, but also he is a double of all the old jaces. Hence the "this is the 8th jace b/c i'm being generous to your sanity when in reality this is actually 14 jaces. 7x2 = 14) unlike the other jaces, whose ages are kinda indistinct but tend to be interpreted as slightly older, this jace is straight up young. I jokingly call him 25 year old green newhire jace b/c i was just like. Shocked rewatching freshman year how young and inexperienced Jace sounded as a teacher. I think this is a jace we sometimes shy away from confronting, but this Jace is also pitiable in my mind b/c of the sandra lynn connection in which he was exploited by an older person who uses religion as a tool to acrue power, which makes Jace's canonical denial of justice feel very strange and out of place. I actually have kinda come to accept that I do think Jace is canonically probably pretty young and the older middle aged chainsmoker we all make fun of is actually more something we think is funny as a fandom. (And I love cunty middle aged chain smoker Jace. I will never give him up <3)

And there you have it. We have infinite multijace theory. I'm so sorry. Please submit all onceler jokes to my inbox promptly

[des2dream]

Winx Club Nostalgia!

The First Dub You Were Introduced To:

The Nickelodeon Dub when it started off as four 45-minute animated specials with the first three being just a shorter/reanimated version of season 1 with the last special being extremely shortened/reanimated for season 2. Season 3 was kept in full, but re-dubbed.

The Dub You Favor The Most:

Personally, I enjoy the 4Kids dub! I know it's flawed and it made a few changes, but there's this certain charm to it that I adore very much as well as the voice acting and the soundtrack. It's very nostalgic and special to me!

Which Character Is Your Favorite?:

I can't choose one! There are so many enjoyable characters! Though, I'd have to pick Bloom, Stella, and Flora. Bloom is a good protagonist who went from trying to find her identity to becoming a proud fairy who protects those she cares for! Stella is a diva princess with attitude, but she is always there for her friends no matter what! Flora is a sweetheart through and through! I love her! She cares for all life including plants...she is the fairy of nature!

One Thing You Think This Show Can't Be Without:

The fashion! If there is one thing these girls know, is how to look good while doing good! I love the art style and their many MANY outfits are so beautiful! There are days when I look at my wardrobe and think "I wish I had one of their outfits!" They have many iconic looks! So eye-catching and astonishing!

Favorite Season?:

I'm stuck between 2 and 3. Season 2 gave us the one and only Layla/Aisha, The Pixies, Musa's first stage performance, Charmix, and The Dark Bloom arc. But, then there's season 3.....SEASON 3!!! That season gave us more world building, multiple arcs, the continuous threat of the fan-favorite villain Valtor, and ENCHANTIX! I love them both equally!

Seasons Ranked:

Season 3/Season 2

Season 1

Season 4

Season 5

Season 8

Season 6

Season 7

Transformations Ranked:

Enchantix

Magic Winx/Charmix

Believix

Harmonix

Sirenix

Bloomix

Cosmix

Tynix

Butterflix

Mythix

Honorable Mentions: Lovix, Sophix, Dreamix, Onyrix

Any Other Thoughts?:

Roxy (the new Winx girl from season 4) deserved more than just one season and should've been more involved in the group!

I like the inclusion of The Pixies but I'm not too keen on watching the PopPixie spinoff show.

The Specialists are enjoyable, but I wish there was more to them besides being love interests for the girls. I would've liked more lore into their work as being potential Heroes without having magic.

I don't know why season 8 decided to give the cast a whole new art style that doesn't capture much of what made Winx Club so unique. Also, the look of The Specialists is DEFINITELY a downgrade in that regard!

I appreciate how even though the animation and art style got changed around, the music remains to be good and fun to listen to.

I wish we had more lore with the students from Cloud Tower and WHY there seemed to be this Witches vs. Fairy tension in the first place!

I am very upset that the Netflix live-action adaptation hardly gave us any iconic outfits OR good-looking fashion from transformations. How do you do Winx Club WITHOUT the fashion?!

I didn't finish the other spinoff, World of Winx but I like to think that it takes place when the girls are much older taking care of who they can save while they star in a television talent show undercover.

Conclusion:

After all these years later, this show still holds a place in my heart and it's something I love looking back at whenever I feel like watching something nostalgic. It's been 20 years since the show aired and the fact that it's STILL relevant makes me so happy! These fairies deserve the world....well, they deserve the whole Magic Dimension!

[abhorrenttheorizer]

PART 1 OF ???

Special thanks to my dear interwebz buddy, @skullmalice, for helping me out with the naming and biology of these little muppets!

Long post/textwalling warning.

Well fellas, you know what they say:

Another day, another downward spiral.

Lately I have been on a bit of a nostalgia kick, looking at some of the things I've been into as a child, and speaking to other people that have been spelunking in the same caves, per se. I met a friend who showed me a piece of my childhood that I had almost completely forgotten. Like a wild animal being reintroduced to its natural habitat, I have been all over this shit, reliving everything I once did as a young maggot. Since that fateful reintroduction, that childhood memory has since become one of the most dangerous hyperfixations I have possibly ever had. /j

Said childhood memory? The Mr. Men and Little Miss franchise. More specifically, The Mr. Men Show, because I am early 2000s old school All American™ zoomer scum. (besides that, the only other thing about the franchise I remember is reading some of the books in 1st grade)

So because I got that dawg in me (read: autism), my naturally inquisitive nature leads me to territories that I should never have even considered for the sake of my own sanity.

Namely one question that's been chewing at the few neurons I have:

Just what the hell even are these things, anyway?

I know the canonical answer. They're stylized, abstract humans. But that's not satisfactory.

Call me a stubborn mule, but you simply cannot convince me that a pill, circle, bean, or rectangle shaped technicolor abomination is in any way, shape, or form, a human being.

Not happening.

Especially not when (at least in every version but the 2000s one) these things have been shown next to and interacting with actual humans on multiple occasions.

These fucking things look like muppets, so I will make them muppets.

It has to happen.

Being the fiend for speculative biology that I am, I simply had to pounce on this opportunity, and promptly tear it a new asshole.

With that being said, Mr. Men speculative biology? Mr. Men speculative biology.

The funny little shape people we all know and love belong to a species of chionophilic, semiaquatic, faerie-like pseudomammalians.

The figure on the far left, is a frog. More specifically a common rain frog (Breviceps adspersus)

reference source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breviceps_adspersus#/media/File:Breviceps-adspersus-adspersus.jpg (forgive me, this is literally, and I don't use that word lightly, the first time I have ever drawn a frog)

The figure in the middle, is a hamster. More specifically a Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

reference source: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/cute-funny-syrian-hamster-gm1019886932-274048800

The figure on the far right, is a frog's sad attempt at being a hamster's sad attempt at being a human. (Mirabilis phasmafigura)

One of the main things that separate Mirabils from other animals they may be morphologically similar to is their bright, vibrant pelage. Unlike animals that utilize certain structures within hairs, scales, or feathers, Mirabils have genuine green, blue, and purple pigments. But why is this? Such unnatural coloration doesn't work well when you're a small cotton ball in a big world of both predators and prey, that is, unless you're an aposematic species.

Mirabils exhibit vibrant fur colors with genuine rare pigments for the purpose of warning potential predators that they are exceptionally poisonous. And venomous. At the same time.

The inside of the Mirabil's mouth also displays a high amount of contrast, a black inner mouth with a vibrant, pink, hot pink or red tongue.

As shown by the image above, there are multiple different ways for mirabils to assert to potential predators that they are not to be reckoned with.

The "Poisonous" warning (as modeled by Mr. Nervous, on the left), involves arching the back, raising the tail either straight up or curling it over the back (if it is long enough), and exposing the front and hind claws (unless they've got kicks on). All parts of the Mirabil are exasperatingly poisonous, so even accidentally sharing food with or ingesting a few hairs from one can and will lead to a 20 minute lifespan with no hope for any antidotes that would work.

The "Venomous" warning (as modeled by Little Miss Bossy, on the right), involves standing straight or with the front end lowered (preparing to strike), spitting their toxic saliva (Unlike with venomous snakes, the venom glands on a mirabil are their salivary glands, so their saliva normally adopts a greenish-yellowish tint (it's not bad hygiene, it's neurotoxins!), and baring the teeth. Mirabils are capable of opening their jaws up to 90 degrees. Similarly to snakes, the bottom jaw is loosely attached by soft ligaments, which aids them in getting a good hold on either potential predators, prey items larger than themselves, or on rivals for mates (they're immune to their own venom, but the pain of being envenomated for a mirabil is similar to that of a yellow jacket sting). Their venom is just as powerful as their poison, and if bitten the lifespan also shortens to about 20 minutes. Also no antidote for magic hellvenom lol.

It is hypothesized that specimens of M. phasmafigura were first discovered in the late 10th century by populations in Northern Europe/Asia, and the far south of South America respectively. Since then, they were first hunted for their luxuriously soft, silky, colorful pelts, then promptly domesticated and assimilated into human society.

Mirabil domestication has a very complicated history, especially with the fact that they as a species were always, and still are in affiliation with wizards, witches, and other alchemists (though usually unwilling on the Mirabil's terms). They were first utilized as hunting and fishing companions, then taken by wizards as servants and laborers (due to their small, nimble hands, swift movements, and magic properties ofc), then as pet-like companions by both wizards and the general populace, and finally as their own independent, sovereign "people" between the late 1970s to early 1980s.

While the species is currently global, existing in many different cultures, elevations, and climates, the natal habitats of the mirabil lie in freshwater polar regions across the world. When freshwater is not available, Mirabils prefer coastal regions where they can hunt in the open sea, but these sorts of populations are relatively uncommon. Populations living in the Southern Hemisphere generally prefer to stay near freshwater regions in the far south of South America, and South Africa, though there are several populations of Mirabils in Antarctica.

Despite the wide birth of location between Arctic and Antarctic populations, Mirabils have highly variable appearances, and are extremely difficult to categorize into any specific groups besides certain trends in sexual dimprohism, though even those contain many traits that are highly variable, and thus difficult to determine.

Similarly to other animals such as the puma, Mirabils have many names based on the regions they are native to.

Some of the names this species has received in it's respective locations are as follows:

BRITISH ISLES - Dillies (for their somewhat immature, "dilly-dallying" nature)

NORTHEASTERN EUROPE/EURASIA - Poumpoffs (puffy creatures)

NORTHWESTERN EUROPE - Eba (onomatopoeic for the paternal calls of most males)

SOUTH AMERICA - Mirabils (for their magical properties)

SOUTH AFRICA - Sagtmense (literally "soft people")

While some gravesites in their native range contain Mirabil bones, or Mirabils buried with human owners/companions, their skeletal and bodily structures have not differed from prior "feral" forms. This is mostly due to the species as a whole actively resisting human advancement in terms of domestication, meaning they have kept almost all of their wild traits.

My lawyer has advised me not to tell you how these things reproduce, so I won't.

Not on Tumblr, anyway. /wink

But that doesn't mean I can't show you what these hellspawn look like as babbies, and how they develop.

Mirabils are an ovoviviparous, holometabolous species, meaning they lay eggs that hatch inside the body, and go through complete metamorphosis with a larval and pupal stage.

The lifespan of the larval mirabil is as follows:

Unfertilized egg

Fertilized egg

Embryo

Mature egg (Eggs hatch within the body anywhere between 6 and 4 months before the larva are born. The growth process of larva quickly damages the egg membrane and splits it open, freeing the young inside.)

Newborn (They have no limbs and a very underdeveloped notochord, so physically they're basically a kitten-maggot. They're completely blind (eyes covered in skin, with just a barely noticeable fold to where the eyelid would separate), but not deaf (though the ear isn't developed, and is still covered over with skin.). They will respond to auditory input by writhing in the direction of sounds they are familiar with, but are unable to produce any noise themselves, besides forcing air out of the nostrils to "squeak" if they are disturbed.

Oral anatomy of the baby mirabil (As well as having no limbs or bones besides the skull, mirabil larva are jawless. The mouth is designed to form a seal while feeding. Larva will stop suckling to breathe, but they will remain attached for several years).

5 year old infant. As the mirabil reaches around 5 years, they will detach and their mouth will start to seal itself shut, leaving only a small hole for wax to exit from as it prepares for pupation. Before the mouth completely seals itself shut, they may swallow liquified regurgitated materials, usually of heavily chewed plant or fungal matter brok the parents. Once the mouth is completely unuseable, what they have eaten as their "final meal" will repeatedly cycle back and forth from what would be the end of the digestive system, similar to chewing cud except there's no chewing and it's far nastier. Mirabil larva from birth to pupation are unable to defecate, the divet on their rear ends is meant to produce a glue-like substance so they can properly anchor themselves while feeding so they don't dangle, so the stored milk and regurgitated matter that remains in the body will ferment, getting pushed back into the esophagus to be cycled again and again until pupation occurs and the entire internal body digests itself.

Mature infant of 9 years, just about to pupate. The mouth is completely sealed shut, and the salivary glands are modified to produce a brown, waxy substance that the pup envelopes themself in prior to pupation. Eyelids are more developed, but still completely sealed shut until pupation is complete.

Completed cocoon of the baby mirabil. Pupation takes an extra 9 months as the infant produces extra bones, a completed digestive system, and extra organs they did not previously have.

What finally emerges after 9 long months of gross shit, is a variably-sized cotton ball with legs and a face.

Mature babies emerge from their cocoons when they're about 10 years old (our human equivalent to a newborn). Their eyes are open, and they are somewhat mobile, able to shuffle around on their stubby legs and "sit" upright. They don't have any teeth, instead clawing their way out of the cocoon, and will continue to suckle until they are weaned at about 11 years old. Mirabil aging is around 10 years behind their human equivalent (a 21 year old human and a 21 year old mirabil are not the same, the latter is developmentally on par with a human 11 year old).

Their lifespans are also quite long, with an average lifespan of 210.5 years for females and 215.5 years for males.

Baby mirabils will begin to develop a personality and thus recieve their titular names once they are able to move around more independently. Names for physical characteristics are usually given immediately after the baby leaves the cocoon. When named for a personality trait, the most emotionally significant (or lack thereof) moment in a mirabil's life that occurs before they are able to walk upright becomes their strongest personality trait, and thus their name.

Not all Mirabil larvae are a solid white, however. Some larvae have slight indicators as to how they will look like in adulthood, though some indicators of traits present in adulthood do not present themselves until after pupation.

Such indicators include:

Nasal spotting (for Mirabils with noses that are different to the base fur color, their larval forms will almost always have a colored nose with a ring of differently colored fur surrounding it. The bottom larva in figure 2 and the yellow pup in figure 4 are the same, with the larval form indicating that the pupated, and finally adult form will be a yellow individual with a purple nose.)

Brow spots (This indicator does not show itself until after pupation. The pup in figure 3 has dark spots above the eyes that, after puberty will form a bar or 'unibrow' in adulthood.)

Dipsticking (This indicator also does not show itself until after pupation. Dipsticking in Mirabil pups, like the individual in figure 5 have a spot of differently colored fur on the tip or most of the tail. This implies that the pup will grow up to have "hair", or a differently colored mane and tail from the rest of the body. In this case, this individual will grow to have a mane and tail that are a dark purple in color.)

And so that concludes my first of probably several Mr. Men specbio posts.

Uhhhh ermmmm thanks for reading i guess 😳

[fonulyn]

So Death Island and how bad it is in expanding on the lives of our fav RE characters beyond just the games/movies in a believable organic way (like seriously Chris not even mentioning Piers to Jill before this???) - I'd love to hear your thoughts on what Jill and Piers' relationship could be. Like give me your thoughts on Piers desperately working or communicating with Jill on how to find Chris pre RE6. Maybe even what their first meeting was like. What do you think Jill felt at first about this puppy who I imagine to be so similar to STARS Chris before Wesker betraying them.

I don't at this point headcanon her to be overly involved with Nivannedy happening in comparison to Chris but I'm happy to be educated 👀👀

(also omg bonding and support following Piers' recovery from the C-virus and how she could relate from being Wesker's puppet and experiment)

honestly, DI was fun, I enjoyed it, but mostly just the Jill & Leon parts if I'm honest and okay some of the Redfield siblings interactions. the main villain was weak, Maria was completely wasted, and idek I wanted more. but SERIOUSLY. "THIS GUY CALLED PIERS"???? FUCK RIGHT OFF. there is no way that Jill didn't know who Piers was. even if they didn't have a personal relationship, she would've known OF him and I absolutely refuse to believe otherwise. insinuating otherwise is a damn insult to Piers, and the movie lost SO MANY points from me with that. it could've been a lovely callback and a nod to him but they ruined it. RUINED IT. assholes.

coughs. anyway.

we canonically know that at least Claire was in some kind of contact with Piers pre-re6 so to me it'd make perfect sense if Jill was as well. I know it's a bit vague where Jill was actually recovering, but i doubt she was somewhere completely cut off from the rest of the world, so she would've still been in contact with her friends. and when Chris disappears? there's no way she didn't know. remember how Chris moves heaven and earth to find Jill, multiple times? Jill would do the same for Chris. Jill would not necessarily be in the thick of action if she wasn't yet cleared for it but she wouldn't stay completely out of it.

and in that vein I actually kind of like the idea that when Chris goes missing, Piers is charged to find him, communicates with Jill, and Jill then directs him to Leon, who could potentially help. since, you know, you mentioned nivannedy 😇 she might not necessarily make it happen lmao but she could be the initial point of connection, potentially!

but like. we all know Chris is the type to act without thinking, and both Jill and Piers have had to be the person to rein him in and try to talk sense into him. so post-re6 it would be amazing if they could bond over that. they'd only need to exchange a single look and they'd both know what it means. they would have this camaraderie, all "what did he do this time?" and "yeah that's him" and "oh i knew it". not in a mean way lol, in an affectionate way, but still very frustrated :'D

and I genuinely think Piers would look up to Jill so much. he already respects Chris greatly, as we know, but I think he'd think Jill is even more badass tbh :'D he'd be all heart-eyed over her in the "oh my god she's so cool i want an autograph" kind of way, until they'd get to know each other better lol. but even then, some level of admiration would remain, 100%.

as for the other way around, I think that Piers would remind Jill of young Chris in more than one way. there's the determination, the drive, the temper too. I bet she'd first keep secretly giving him these bewildered looks at moments when he does something that REALLY reminds her of the past lol. she would get used to it, but i think it'd be a learning curve at first. and it doesn't help her mind has been fucked with tbh, these blasts from the past would be equal parts sorta nice nostalgia and actually disturbing because of everything she went through.

if they'd made Piers and Jill work together to find Chris that would've been such a dream team. they'd both do anything to find him.

and you're so right, damn, once Piers recovers from the c-virus infection they'd have even more in common. granted, he wasn't exactly being puppeteered by anyone like she was, but there'd still be enough common ground for understanding each other on a level not everyone can.

and since I'm obsessed and my brain is never far from Leon lol, that is one thing I wish was around more; Jill and LEON bonding over their experiences. Leon was infected with the plaga and although it only took over very briefly he knows the feeling, he knows the sensation, firsthand. and Jill spent so long being controlled, doing things she didn't want to do... they'd understand each other on a deeper level others couldn't.

damn this makes me regret i've written Jill so rarely. but honestly, i love her, but i'm also a bit intimidated that i wouldn't get her right so I've been a coward 😅

ANYWAY I rambled. I don't know if I actually answered anything you asked :'D

[ssaalexblake]

Out of curiosity, do you think anything in particular will cause people to come around on 13, or it’ll just be that their perspectives kinda soften with time?

Hm. I don't really think there will be a particular event that'll cause people to suddenly change their perspective, the only way I see any kind of ~catalyst to changing opinions on 13 in a dramatic way is if RTD really does Whedon himself, and to be fair even thought I said i doubt there will be a catalyst, I genuinely think there's at least a chance he will actually do this because fandom is a fickle beast that will turn on people as if a bird on the wind. The fatal mix of hero worship and nostalgia, the time gap where fandom has had More than enough time to become attached to their own view of things were back in the day even if that view doesn't entirely mesh with what actually transpired. The passage of time leaving viewers nowadays far less forgiving of the type of things rife in his work that can be written off on 'product of its time' for 2006 but will not be if they show up again in 2023. The expectations being So high. People only have So much ability to write things off before the straw breaks the camel's back.

I have seen this pattern in fandom before, and yeah it might not happen, but this is also potentially whedon after the first avengers movie being everybody's best buddy straight to being their most disdained after aou.

Generally speaking, when shit like that happens, people tend to reassess preconceived notions. a 'why did we think that one was ever bad?' as a result of the above eventuality is the only way i see some kind of Thing happening that softens people on 13.

But, also, those tags was me kind of responding to the op's tags on their gifset, because despite the fact that the people on the internet have been sipping the nmd's misogynistic koolaid light without even realising it for years, the vast majority of viewers Not being chronically online haven't been doing that and were fine with her era. Judging her popularity only from the people obsessed with the show on the internet is absurd, and i include my positive views in that. I am not the average viewer lol, neither are the weirdos being hateful, no matter How much it benefits them to make people think Everybody hates it and that they're peddling the Bestest Opinion and that it's not cool to like the girl doctor.

So with the caveat that I do not think she's actually unpopular (radiotimes favourite doctor poll my beloved. 10 & 13 coming in highest with 21% of the vote each. Over 50,000 votes in total and he received only abt 90 more than her. There was no way to victimise anybody on this poll with strategic voting, no amount of block voting to support one doctor could dent her total and she came second out of all the doctors by a few measly votes. The general public Like Her.)

In time, it will soften. The misogynists will stop spending all their time talking about how uncool it is to like her to peer pressure people and the ones who don't eventually stop will be marked as losers obsessed with insulting her not worth listening to, so people will just watch it with no one sitting on their shoulder telling them it's bad. People will rewatch it with an open mind instead. I literally have had (multiple times) people in my activity page saying once they stopped listening to people saying how bad 13's era was and went back to it with an open mind it was good! This was a few different people! This has already happened and will continue to.

The nmd squad, quite successfully, were allowed to make it uncool to like her. They were open that their reasoning was misogynistic and even if they didn't use the word, anybody who knows what that means knows they are, but it was not called out as such and it poisoned the well because it gave them legitimacy they did not deserve. It won't stay that way forever, though. People will watch it and judge it Fairly without their influence. Let it have flaws without using them as an excuse to express hatred they already felt for no reason. Let it shine where it shines. Discuss its issues analytically instead of as a gotcha. Talk about themes. Discuss the characters.

This bullshit shall pass, basically.

idk how long we'll have to wait, but i'm willing. I got through being in the fandom and open about my love for it when it aired, and i sure as hell am not missing the moment when people stop being weird and can just be normal about it. I earned that sense of peace through suffering and i intend to collect. I'm not letting it go though. Being an active fan Really Really Sucked.

(shout out to my man colin baker who told the misogynists to get over it from points A to Z. Had everybody had the balls to do what he did they'd never have gotten a foothold and would have been booed out of the room as they should have been.)

[dazzlerazz]

Three Hopes DLC Wishlist

A masterpost of things I wished for in the past for a Three Hopes DLC

Subject to be edited and is admittedly half finished cuz I realize I left this in the drafts and then forgot and I did not proofread lol

--------------

Gameplay

A bit for myself, but a paralogue betweeen Byleth and Shez where they test their strength against each other, like training, where you switch to playing Byleth halfway through. It eventually comes out to a tie regardless of how well the character played

Alternate training grounds maps. I mentioned it in another post, but Constance as a unit is SPECIFICALLY hindered by the current training yard map, as its always sunny. There's also so many times you can train in the same small rectangular boringly-brown place before you just stop trying to use the training feature. Here is the aforementioned post

Easier S Rank Cycles of Nostalgia Paralogue. Possible other units to play as, potentially other nameless soldiers, like a gremory, a wyvern flier, and an armored unit. It is grueling to run around the entire battlefield as a single unit, I spent lots of time trying to get S rank, something I've complained about in multiple posts

Story

Azure Gleam - Fix Edelgard's role in the story

I went into this in multiple posts, but I don't like how Edelgard was dealt with in Azure Gleam. It felt like the developers intentionally took her out of a villain role and put her into the role of "trapped heroine", a clearly right vs wrong storyline with Thales instead of moral gray between routes like it was in Houses. I know this is something a dlc would not be able to fix, but I'm putting it in here anyway cuz I can

A return to Abyss. Sitri is absent in Hopes, because of course she is. Maybe there would be a paralogue if Byleth and Jeralt survive that bring them back to the monastery to find Sitri. I don't have any ideas for this at the moment

The return of the cut Blackened Embers

Characters

Post timeskip outfits for most church members. Hopes had the option to do this, as it was a complaint in Houses, but it was never done

Playable Hanneman, Gilbert, Anna, Alois, and Cyril, who were all playable in Houses

Hanneman and Manuela both can be recruited outside of Scarlet Blaze, whereas in the game they're both route locked to SB

Caspar and Ashe support chain

Little Things

Change a unit's outfit to their post timeskip Houses outfit

The return of dlc costumes. Make costumes able to be worn by any gender, unchanged to how they look in Houses (ex. suits for the girls and maid outfits for the boys)

More interactions with characters of your choice that feel more personal. We have expeditions, and to four locations at that, it would be nice to have something else just like it. Also the ability to go to a fifth location, tho I'm not sure what. I mentioned this in another post, but possibility the ability to leave off of wyverns instead of horses (inspired by Yuri's being allergic to horses)

Outfit accessories, such as glasses, bows, or other hair accessories, similar to how it is in (base) FE Engage

Alternate Lighter Asura outfit. The original looks bulky, more like a tanky unit, where Shez's original armor looks lightweight and easy to move around it. This is just a me thing, but maybe an alternate Asura outfit. it is possible to use Shez's lighter armor while in the Asura class, but cmon, that's no fun!

MORE SAVE SLOTS

Shez

Alternate hairstyles for Shez. More specifically, a longer hair alt for M!Shez and a shorter alt for F!Shez

Camp

A return of fishing. Please. I really liked the fishing minigame in Houses.

[calowlmitygoddess]

Answering that ask meme i rebloged earlier with Meira, Orick and Teri. Under the cut so it doesnt clutter yalls dashes ; )

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Meira: Not long at all, her tail is always sort of moving even when the rest of her body is completly still

Wisteria: A loooong time, girl can be a statue if she wants, has mastered staying still.

Orick: a few seconds, after that he starts to fidget with his sleeves or leg bouncing TM

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Meira: easy to make her chuckle, but hard loud laughs are rare

Wisteria: surprisingly hard, you can never be too sure if her laugh is genuine or not

Orick: Also hard, hes a very dead pan person, tought not entirely humourless, he just usually doesnt show it.

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Meira: doesnt have any rituals, she just lays in bed and sleeps, she had no access to books before, and would likely get punished for making too much noise in the night.

Wisteria: Overthinking more like it. She has an habit of staying up into odd hours working and will likely just collapse out of exhaustion.

Orick: he likes to read before sleeping, but doing so under candlelight hurts his already bad eyesight, he does it anyway.

How easy is it to earn their trust?

Meira: Hard, is wired to think everyone is out to get her + bad self esteem few relationships come off as genuine in her eyes

Wisteria: Once again hard to tell, in the past she used to be very trusting of others, but nowadays she keeps herself at arms leght to almost everyone

Orick: Only hard if you have already wronged him in some way. Hes willing to give some amount of trust to anyone

How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Meira: have any amount of power over her.

Wisteria: After becoming queen she has started to see everyone as a potential enemy, and thus just being a noble or involved in politcs makes her suspicious of a person

Orick: Wrong him or a person he cares for.

Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

Meira: Flexible to some degree, she's more concerned in doing good than following any law

Wisteria: Stricter, she is the law in a sense, and she wants people to obey it, so she must set the example

Orick: Flexible, has used banned spells multiple times in the past.

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

Meira: dragonroot, a Hielegharrdian delicacy she rarely ate as a child, it was the happiest memories of this time. It represent a time she wasnt burdened by guilt and responsability.

Wisteria: Anything to do with her parents, there's many paintings as well jewelry she inherited from them. She dislikes it for the pain their loss caused her but it reminds her why she must keep going.

Orick: Just walking down the city, visiting places he used to frequent before becoming king. He enjoys it, as well seeing old comrades.

What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

Meira: Raised as a soldier/builder she was told most to stop playing and start training.

Wisteria: Start paying attention to her responsabilities instead of running off into the woods to play hunt with the other kids.

Orick: Stop staying locked inside his room and to go start palying with the other kids at the orphanage.

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

Meira: Meira used to swear a lot, she still does but knows when isnt appropriate

Wisteria: rarely swears.

Orick: Also tended to swear a lot in his teenage years, still let it slip sometimes

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Meira: She would lie about being tougher than she was, like saying she had killed and eaten humans before. She cringes at this now.

Wisteria: she lied about her identity for a few months while in hiding. Not really.

Orick: No large lies, hes a very honest and blunt person

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Meira: has become a lot more curious about things in the current years, still will sometimes default to pretending to understand things she doesnt.

Wisteria: She will seek clarifications, hates not knowing things

Orick: Seeks clarification as well, often many times.

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

Meira: roll on the ground like a horse, or back up against a surface like a bear.

Wisteria: deal with it, she has more important things to focus on

Orick: probably get something to scratch it.

What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

Meira: As is Hielegharrdian tradition, she usually wears neutral colours. Looks very good in yellow/red

Wisteria: purple/yellow are her colours

Orick: white/light yellow are his colours

What animal do they fear most?

Meira: fears no animal, is a little intimidated by horses tought

Wisteria: Wolves.

Orick: Insects

How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Meira: Very rehearsed, also has a very thick accent when speaking silenian

Wisteria: also rehearsed, very polished speech

Orick: blunt and tought on the spot.

What makes their stomach turn?

Meira: in the figurative sense people using others they have power over. In the literal sense she cant handle milk.

Wisteria: Betrayal in the figurative sense. In the literal sense carriage rides

Orick: In the figurative sense ignorant people, in the literal sense going to fast.

Are they easily embarrassed?

Meira: Yes

Wisteria: no

Orick: yes

What embarrasses them?

Meira: usually herself.

Wisteria: failing social interactions

Orick: public displays of affection

What is their favorite number?

Meira: never tought about it.

Wisteria: Also never tought about it

Orick: 22

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Meira: has a hard time, as she was never shown much love growing up, as such she doesnt know what familial love feels like, and confuses platonic and romantic love.

Wisteria: Familial love is something youre so used to you only notice when its gone. Platonic love is a comraderie where everyone has eachother backs. Romantic love is like you share a soul

Orick: Familiar love is unity, is a group of people eating and playing togheter. Platonic love is sharing of ideas and ideals, romantic love is always waking up next to them.

Why do they get up in the morning? 

Meira: She wakes up and immediatly stretches, she never sleeps well while in Silenia.

Wisteria: Always gets ready for the day, prepares her hair, dresses up, and checks her agenda.

Orick: Similar to Wisteria.

How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? 

Meira: Possessivness, she always had to fight for whats hers and if jealousy strikes she becomes quite possesive

Wisteria: Passive-agressive.

Orick: Represses it.

How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? 

Meira: Resentful, once again she never had much.

Wisteria: Takes what she wants.

Orick: Represess it

 Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? 

Meira: Yes, unless its related to her, the idea someone could want her like that is alien to her.

Wisteria: Yes, in private with Orick

Orick: Not as much, unless Teri brings it up he doesnt really think about it.

 What are their thoughts on marriage? 

Meira: Marriage is a concept that doesnt exist in her culture, so she's quite curious about it

Wisteria: She always saw it quite cynical, being princess heir and then Queen she always believed it would be political. The fact she married out of love is still something she gets giddy about it.

Orick: It was something he never tought he would have, being of a poor background and socially awkward. Also gets giddy when he things about the fact hes married.

 What is their preferred mode of transportation? 

Meira: flying, flying all the way

Wisteria: Horse riding

Orick: Carriages

 What causes them to feel dread? 

Meira: So much, shes almost always on edge.

Wisteria: The Council, having to deal with the other politicians and never solving any issues

Orick: Having to do the politicing by himself.

 Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? 

Meira: Truth all the time

Wisteria: She wants the truth, but she will lie to others

Orick: also Truth.

 Do they usually live up to their own ideals? 

Meira: she tries, doenst think she does

Wisteria: No and she knows she doesnt but pretends to.

Orick: likes to think yes

 Who do they most regret meeting? 

Meira: Wisteria

Wisteria: Darian van Silas

Orick: Meira

 Who are they the most glad to have met? 

Meira: Wisteria

Wisteria: Orick and Meira

Orick: Meira

 Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

Meira: No.

Wisteria: old gossip from the court

Orick: funny story about a failed experiment, is very niche and only funny to people familiar with arcane theory

 Could they be considered lazy? 

Meira: by Hielegharrdian standarts yes.

Wisteria: Absolutely not

Orick: as a king, yes, as a researcher no.

 How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? 

Meira: always guilty, this girl can fit so much guilt

Wisteria: Its for the greater good dont worry about it

Orick: Very defensive, will blame anyone else before he blames himself.

 How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? 

Meira: mild interest, will actively listen and make questions

Wisteria: excited interest, will cheer you on

Orick: Will be blunt about wheter or not he thinks its interesting. If he thinks yes you two could spend the entire day discussing. If not then you lost him.

Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap? 

Meira: She doesnt but she does, shes so down bad but shes so in denial about it

Wisteria: She goes for it,once she realizes the feelings

Orick: He was willing to go to his grave in eternal pinning.

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? 

Meira: No

Wisteria: Just associating people with things they are responsble for.

Orick: he looks like the kind of guy who would do some king of convoluted system to remember stuff

What memory do they revisit the most often? 

Meira: The few weeks she and Wisteria spent togheter in their youth

Wisteria: The few weeks she and Meira spent togheter in their youth

Orick: Doing magic for the first time

How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? 

Meira: Easy, she's used to it

Wisteria: easy, she needs to make things work

Orick: hard, he will clash with peiople

How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

Meira: Very, she will lower her head and admit to anything

Wisteria: Says she's very aware about them, continues to do nothing about it

Orick: Very but in the oposite sense, he gets defensive

How do they feel about children? 

Meira: Doenst know what to do with them

Wisteria: She knows she will have to have a kid soon to protect the bloodline but also she's quite scared of them, too fragile, too needy and too streesful.

Orick: Beloved by children, also enjoys interacting with them because of their curiosity.

How badly do they want to reach their end goal? 

Meira: Willing to die for it

Wisteria: People will start dissapearing misteriously if it will help her

Orick: He will do many things, but will try to avoid causing harm

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

Meira: confused because her species has no gender and thus humans sexuality concept doesnt really apply to her. After being explained she likely would self identify as bisexual

Wisteria: Something basic like 'oh im Bisexual, that means i love more than one gender'

Orick: would get flustered as to why you need that information and then say hes not interested.