#But Beast? Which not only explains how how the book works

[shinkei-shinto]

Let's see if I can add MORE confusion in with my previous close reading of every single book in the series so that I could write my own Redwall novel!*

I see that you OP have heard of The Cookbook but for everybeast else: there's a cookbook! Most of the recipes are extremely simplistic but we'll get to why I think that is in a second.

WRT dairy: they make mention of "greensap milk" and I don't think any of their cheese comes without nuts. In ahhhh the one with the badger and his hawk, they talk more deeply about how cheeses are made (after you have the cheese) including wrapping them in nettles. So I Guess So since it apparently acts Just Like Dairy Cheese.

Yes! We are! Society doesn't exist yet! If you look at the books in chronological order, they move from using spears and sharpened stakes to swords and daggers and simple bows, and - in the last couple of books - crossbows. There's only one smithy and it's made in a dormant/dead volcano. They're literally just not that advanced at this point (although who knows where this would have gone if Jacques had been able to continue!) In earlier books, he refers to various tribes of species all living together in groups, such as squirrels in bands of trees, or the molehill of the Longladle family. Actually circling back to this there *is* one society that sort of rises up as a "city" -- in the Rogue Crew. There's a group of peaceable beasts who all live (mixed!) together in an enclosed sort of fort. It's one of the only other mixed-species places that exist, besides the Abbey and technically Salamandastron. (does Martin's temporary home have other species? I can't remember.) So this is also why I think recipes are a little simplistic. While they have so many vegetables (and don't UTILIZE THEM why are potatoes ONLY USED IN DEEPER'N'EVER PIE!? HUH??!) I think we're given to assume those are local and grown in their own ground, and they don't. have. spices/trade/etc yet.

*I* think the only idea of 'currency' is 'the currency of goodbeasts to do slave labor'. I think this one I would lean more heavily into "he was telling these stories to children" as an excuse; kids don't want to hear about money and capitalism they want to hear about pirates and heroes. But I also find this aspect of society confusing so I was mostly glad we didn't have to deal with money.

There's a bread dimension. That's my only excuse. As far as we know, the Abbey is very large - the front gates are tall enough to admit a full sized ship on wheels (a casualty of one mast) which is able to roll fully into the Abbey, hit a tree, and stop, without ever coming within weapons range of the front doors. We know there are lawns on either side of this path, a graveyard, a small-to-medium-sized spring-fed-lake, and a generous orchard. I assume Jacques was modeling this after abbeys in Europe/England, which I don't know jack and shit about, but that they did live there year round. shrug? I will note that there is a scene in a book (no I don't remember which one) where a gardener explains to a peer that 'we don't plant or harvest it all at once because then we'd have a bumper crop of parsley and what use is that? by planting some seedlings now, some later, we will have parsley throughout the season instead' so he was thinking about it, at least, even if it doesn't quite work out to reality terms. but there's just a fucking bread dimension, there just has to be, there's not enough room to grow the plants needed nor mills to grind them nor processing or ever making or even mention of flour. I GUESS we could talk about nutflour and other flour-like-flowers which the mice would have access to but BREAD DIMENSION. This was my one concession in my writing, I gave myself an out here because it drove me NUTS.

I don't think Jacques ever thought about this. We get ONE instance of a mouse adopting a. rat? what the hell is he. I think he wasn't the same species, I don't remember that one well, but there's him and Tagg, and that's "otter adopted by vermin" which isn't quite this either. I think this is probably another "kids story concession" which isn't an answer I like to give but it's the best I've got.

ha! ha! he actually retconned this! if you read Redwall the first book, he makes mention of several species (beaver? horse) which are WIPED FROM EXISTENCE in the rest of the series. There is a cart drawn by a horse which makes it seem like the mice and rats are living in a world with humans & human-sized equipment but that is RETCONNED. I do think the trees vary in size because we have various scenes of "two maidens bound hand-to-hand around a tree to keep them confined for the night" and "tied all [4-6?] of the vermin together with their belts, around a tree" in various locations in Mossflower and its environs. I don't? think? we ever hear of trees large enough to be giants to mice like they would in our reality. an addendum to this: I have never bloody been able to figure out the size of the fish. shrimps are the size of shrimp to us because otters eventually 'Skipper popped one in his mouth' in the kitchens which gives us an idea of how large they are to otters, at least. but fish??? ha. HA! we have the feast-day fish catching where multiple beasts are needed to reel in a huge trout or carp. we have pike, which are enormous man-eaters (mice-eaters?) but can also be beat to shit by a big otter and his rudder (Lord Brocktree iirc) and there is one kept as a tame uh, "pet", by an otter tribe. there is ALSO the wolf question. Gods know I don't remember which one this is but there's a book where a ... big fox? i think he is? is up far north, and he finds a dead wolf? and takes its skull and pelt and puts knives in for the claws? or some such. so we DO have extra-large-predators like wolves and wolverine, but then when we get. to the wildcats. oh the wildcats. they drive me NUTS. by rights they should be as big as badgers? when Martin fights Verdauga it feels like Martin is half the size of the cat? but then in every other way the cats seem to be as big as otters! or hares! uugghhh. BIRDS TOO birds are WILDLY inconsistent in size, I don't know how a mouse helps an osprey re-set his wing nor how a mousebabe rides on a flying eagle's head without disappearing.

do I have any burning questions still. hmm. OH I want to know what they make! their clothing! out of!!! WHAT IS IT. I also want answers about the far west, the scorpion??? and lizards??? as well as what the other side of the continent towards the east looks like, because in Martin's history we get to visit that coast AND we learn of several locations (TM) like Noonvale, which are never referred to again.

which BLOWS MY MIND because he made Brockhall + Castle Kotir literally affect the landscape temporally throughout his books. Brockhall is discovered and rediscovered and lost again and again, and Kotir eventually rises from the dead to menace the Abbey wall because fucking Germaine built a wall over the top of it when it sank into a mire. MA'AM. Even when we get to Doomwyte, the cavern they are in is a cavern mentioned in earlier texts! this is not our first interaction with the deep deep fissure in the earth that emits green gas!!!

oh and The Tapestry. I have so many questions about the tapestry. canonically the image of Martin was sewn by his (mother? wife? someone) and preserved through many things to eventually be set as the 'cornerstone' for the tapestry. And it "depicts vermin fleeing from him in all directions" and his "calm easy face" which seems to smile at Redwallers etc etc. but then. the SWORD. sometimes it it set next to the tapestry which to me makes sense; held vertically along the side it is accessible to many but not to babes. I don't think it is ever placed below the tapestry. but it IS placed ABOVE and there is a part where a goodbeast does acrobatic parkour to SNATCH IT FROM THE NAILS and I want to know HOW??? how big is the tapestry. how did you get that. is it landscape or portrait. what. WHAT. also where did the shield go! where did the sheath go! those were so important aaagaggghhhhhh.

Okay that's it I think I'm done. I hope any of this was useful or amusing, or better yet caused more chaos and questions 👍

^* I did in fact write most of this, 50k/100k words over two NaNos, but I could never get anyone to fucking read it or give me any feedback, despite handing out the first fifteen chapters to like seven people, so I lost steam. So if you're reading this and going "wow! I sure would like to read even more Redwall content and I would LOVE to get into in-depth discussions of shit in a fanbook, this sounds like a great way to build community," HI PICK ME.

hobbies include: close reading the Redwall series to answer my most burning questions. such as:

- can I replicate any of these delicious-sounding foodstuffs and would they in fact be delicious if I was able to

- corollary to the above: are we just supposed to read “oat cream” and “nut cheese” every time we see the words “cream” and “cheese”? I think so. bc if not, what tha hell are their livestock animals

- what is Society like? I don’t think we ever see a Mouse City or even Mouse Town though we do see castles and obviously an abbey. are we supposed to believe that most creatures are either in wandering bands or these societies based around a single structure (castle/abbey?)

- they appear to have an idea of what currency is (the bad guys always want treasure — maybe just to have, not to sell? but less ambiguous is some dialogue I just read, “acorn for your thoughts?” “you can have them for free”) but again, we never see anyone using money or making goods for the market. is this after the fall of Mouse Capitalism? are the bad guys (the idea of rat pirates gives me a headache, vis a vis the political/economic systems needed to power piracy) raiding preindustrial mouse societies for treasure/meat?

- corollary to the above: the abbey creatures have oats and wheat but we don’t see anybody farming or trading for farm goods on a large enough scale. is the abbey “orchard” really a like an indigenous forest farm of mixed foodstuffs? is that possible if you live in the same place the whole year or only if you travel each season? I have to do some googling

- both the lack of mixed-species families and the idea of mixed-species families give me a headache. has a squirrel never fallen for a handsome otter? what is the culture shock like if you marry into a subterranean mole family?

- this is the least “important” question but this read through I’ve been desperately trying to figure out What Size Everything Else Is. i’ve come to the conclusion that everything other than animals are at mouse scale, given that they can make seaworthy vessels their own size (a mouse sized vessel with real-world-sized waves seems impossible) and pick and eat apples and plums. but so far it seems like they’ve avoided mentioning how tall trees are — like a person compared to a tree or a mouse compared to a tree?

[flaresanimedump]

People keep talking about Bones doing Stormbringer as a movie or at the start of the inevitable upcoming season 5. And while I can see that argument (and I heard something about stormbringer being hinted at in the OP), I think it would be very funny if Bones did Beast instead.

Just imagine the fandom rage if Bones veers out of 5 episodes of Chuuya backstory for the Odazai love letter.

[er-osion]

Stumble In(to my life)

pairing: Jason Todd x gn!Reader

summary: You tend to Red Hood after he’s mildly injured on patrol, he then sticks around a little.

word count: 2.6k

warnings: none, fluff

author’s note: you can find part 2 here

∾∾∘⋅∗⋄⋆⋄∗⋅∘∾∾

You looked up from your books to the soft thump outside your window. A normal person wouldn’t have heard the noise at all, but your ears had become accustomed to listening for it. It was late, far later than you should be up, but tonight was a night filled with studying and anxiety, so sleep evaded you. You put a bookmark in your textbook and closed it, being careful of your notes, and got up from your couch. You just reached the window as a large armored figure clamored through. Backing up, you gave the beast of a man space to gracefully tumble through your window and into your apartment. The sound of sirens off in the distance became muffled once again when the man closed the window tightly behind him.

Red Hood never said much. A man of few words you supposed, at least when he was injured —which was the only time you saw him. You couldn’t recall when this little arrangement between the two of you began, maybe around a year ago. The Red Hood crashed and stumbled into your life one fateful night, and had been doing so ever since. But only when he needed a patch job, and he never took off his helmet. Even when you could tell he had a head injury that needed tending, he wouldn’t remove the red helmet. You knew he trusted you, clearly a lot more than he trusted others, but a part of you was still a little hurt. You'd known him for so long and still yet to see his real face or hear his real voice unmodulated. Oddly enough, you’d call Hood a friend. Even if you didn’t know his real name along with many other things about him, and even if he knew very little about you other than the basics, you’d consider him a good friend. And deep down you’re sure he thinks the same.

Hood slumps down on the couch, but you notice he’s careful to avoid being anywhere near your textbooks and notes. You silently appreciate the move, since last time he got blood on your papers and you had to come up with a believable story for your professor explaining why there were blood splatters on your homework.

“Rough night?” You ask jokingly as you get out the first aid kit. Hood gives a ‘Hmpf’ in response and rests his head against the back of the couch. You move your school stuff off the coffee table and set out the supplies from the first aid kit. You let your eyes roam his figure to try and find the injuries you’d be taking care of tonight. You slyly take in Hood’s toned muscles as you look for wounds, taking the action as a less obvious chance to check him out. However secretive he may be, you can’t deny the man looks good. Actually, “looks good” is an understatement, his abs could cut diamonds.

“How many bruises are you gonna have in the morning?” You ask as you help him take off his leather jacket which is crusted with dried blood here and there.

“Too many.” He’s short with his words but by now you can hear the underlying exhaustion in them. His voice sounds robotic from the mask, but it still brings you a wave of comfort to hear.

“Anything I can’t see?” This phrase has become your way of asking where his most concerning injuries are, and whether or not he’s comfortable with you dealing with them.

“No, tonight’s just the obvious stuff.”

“Not any less painful I presume.”

“And as usual, you’re right, angel.” Your lips quirk up in the ghost of a smile at the nickname. You’ve started cleaning the gashes on his arms and wrapping them with gauze and bandages. Hood relaxes a bit more into the couch, tensing only when you start cleaning wounds with the cold water and saline solution.

As you’re working your mind drifts into thinking about the nature of your relationship with this vigilante. Part of you is proud, honored even, that the elusive Red Hood trusts you enough to seek you out for medical care. But another part of you, the part you don’t really want to acknowledge, is angry he only ever visits when he needs fixing. He doesn’t tell you anything about himself, not even ice-breaker facts, and he doesn’t really ask about you. He doesn’t drop by anytime he’s not injured and he never tells you when he’s coming, he just shows up at your window injured without warning. Your heart stings when you think that you might be dead last on Red Hood’s priority list, especially considering he’s first on yours. Does he really only think of you as a patch job? Someone who will treat him without asking any questions? Does he even have any interest in your life at all? Does he ever think about you when he’s not around, like you think of him? By now, you’ve lost yourself in the spiral of your thoughts and are blankly working out of muscle memory. You don’t even notice, but Red Hood does.

Jason watches you work through the eyes of his helmet. He can see the distance in your eyes and can tell you’re thinking hard about something else. But even as your mind wanders, your hands do not. You work efficiently and effectively on cleaning and wrapping his wounds. You take care to check for broken bones and remove any debris you find in his skin. He appreciates you. He’s certain he appreciates you more than you’ll ever know. He didn’t realize how lucky he was when he stumbled through your window all those nights ago. He didn’t realize that night that he’d gain a safe haven. He’s never felt more secure than when he’s with you in your apartment. Jason’s never felt more comfortable than when in your presence. He thinks it’s a little odd. You don’t know what his face looks like, hell, you don’t even know his real name, but his trust in you is an ever flowing river. Jason trusts you more than he trusts himself sometimes. Jason blinks out of a trance he didn’t realize he was in and focuses back on you. The lamps in your apartment provide the only measly light for you to work with, but right now they aren’t crummy. No, the lamps have painted your figure in a warm glow that has Jason’s heart stuttering in an unusual way. The homey furniture melts into the dim background and you're the only thing in focus in Jason’s vision. It’s moments like these when Jason is hit with a flurry of emotions he doesn’t understand. You finish wrapping his last bandage and look up at him with the most gentle but curious eyes he’s ever seen and Red Hood suddenly feels like he’s about to choke. His chest swirls with feelings and he can’t even begin to grasp what they are or what they mean. He wants to say “thank you, thank you for always looking after me even when I don’t deserve it,” but the words get caught in his throat. There’s a tranquil silence that follows where you just look at each other, of course, you can’t tell exactly what Red Hood is looking at but you can feel his gaze on you. When a minute passes you get up slowly and start to put the first aid kit away. Jason watches you from behind the safety of his helmet and moves to help you package everything back up.

Hood’s gloved hand picks up a roll of gauze and brings it over to the kit, but you quickly —albeit gently— put your hand over his to stop him and take the gauze yourself. “You don’t have to do that. You’re injured, rest.” You say with quiet authority and go back to cleaning up the table. Hood doesn’t say anything but leans back into the couch and doesn’t continue to help, though deep down he wants to. He feels he owes you, he knows he owes you. He wants to do something, anything to pay back the kindness you’ve shown him but he can never think of the right thing to do.

“You’re welcome to sit here for a bit, regain some energy before you head to wherever it is you hide during the day. I’ve just got some notes to finish for class.” You provide as you sit down in the chair next to your sofa, repositioning all your textbooks and papers. Hood just nods in reply. “Oh, and you can turn on the tv if you’d like, I don’t mind.” There’s a pause before you see the vigilante move to grab the remote and turn on your tv. You smile a bit at your papers, finding a small happiness in the fact he’s able to settle into your home so well. You secretly wish he’d come and watch tv with you just for fun, not because he needs to recover from a stab wound.

Every once in a while, Jason’s eyes drift from the tv screen to where you’re seated taking notes for your class. Jason does his best to memorize this moment and neatly pack it away in a safe little box in his brain. He wants to remember this quiet moment of togetherness forever. He wants to say something, he wants your beautiful eyes back on him but he also doesn’t want to disrupt the pleasant quiet that swirls around your living room.

Red Hood clears his throat and shimmies into a straighter posture. “Thanks by the way.” You look up at the vigilante and tilt your head in confusion at his remark.

“For what?” You let out a small chuckle, the confusion is evident in your voice. Jason’s lips quirk up in a small smile under his helmet at your confusion at his thanks.

“For all this to start,” Hood motions to himself “and also just for letting me in here. For letting me into your home without fair warning. Your patience with my bullshit seems to know no bounds, you deserve an award merely for that. So… thanks.” Thank you for letting me into your life and making me feel cared for, Jason wants to add on, but that seems a little too open about his feelings for the moment. He hopes you’re able to pick up on the subtext of his words, he hopes you can put together the puzzle pieces of his words that form the colorful picture of his appreciation for you.

You smile lightly, “Of course, Hood. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy having your giant smartass around.” You took a deep breath and let loose a shot in the dark. “I just wish you’d stumble in here when you weren’t injured sometimes, just to hang around.” You awkwardly divert your eyes to the floor and take a major interest in the small stains in the wood. Hood is quiet and unmoving and you can’t tell if that’s good or bad, you can’t tell if you crossed an unspoken line. Jason’s mind is reeling, trying to catch up with the implications of your words. Do you mean you want him around more? Do you mean you want a deeper friendship with him? Do you mean you truly enjoy his presence so much you want more of it in your life? You risk a look back up at Red Hood and when Jason sees the genuine look in your eyes he hopes the modulator in his helmet doesn’t give away the deep breath he had to intake to try and calm his heart.

“Well, maybe I’ll have to drop by more often then, angel.” Hood tries to play off the deepness of the moment with suave teasing, he has to retain at least a little dignity in front of you.

You smirk at his clearly playful comeback, “Just make sure you show up with takeout or some groceries. I can’t be providing everything for you all of the time.” Hood huffs out a laugh.

“I think I can manage that.”

“Good.” You smile warmly at him and Jason mirrors you beneath his helmet. There’s a soft silence that follows where the two of you just look at each other. Then you go back to finishing your notes with the smile still plastered on your face. Jason is already planning out his schedule so he can drop in just for fun as soon as possible without seeming desperate to hang out.

“My cuts are pretty sore by the way and I’m quite fatigued so I might have to stay for a bit longer.”

“Hm, well if that’s what you need to do then I can’t deny you. I’m not going to kick Gotham's hero out of my apartment while he’s down.” You know he’s not really that sore or fatigued. You can tell by his body language or his tone of voice when he is. You know he’s just saying that to ask if it’s okay if he stays a bit longer than usual. Of course, you’d never say no. You’d offer him to stay the night but you don’t want him to get uncomfortable, though deep down, you’re desperate for his prolonged presence.

“Tch, that’s a relief. However, I’m afraid I might also need some moral support, as you can see, your poor hero of Gotham has had a rough night.”

You smirk and raise an eyebrow but don’t deny him. You get up from your seat and move to sit next to him on the couch. Your finished notes are left forgotten on your previous chair and you dial into the show Hood was watching on the tv. “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing my hero of Gotham and I have a similar taste in tv —it makes giving moral support easier.” You feel Hood’s quiet chuckle through the vibrations of the couch, a feeling you want again and again. Jason tries not to think too hard on your use of the word ‘my’ or how it’s echoing in his head like a tantalizing mantra.

“A good thing indeed.”

“I didn’t realize vigilantes had time to pick favorite tv shows.”

“How else do you think we pass the time waiting for a store to be robbed during patrol?”

“I figured you just brooded the entire time, seeing as you costumed weirdos can never get over anything in your entire lives.”

“How rude, us weirdos do get over things, like buildings or cars when chasing down our enemies.”

“Hardy har har, I bet you think you’re clever for that one.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think, I know I’m clever for that one.”

“So arrogant.”

“Not arrogant, confident.”

“If that’s what you want to call it, sure.” The lighthearted banter between the two of you fills the room with the warmth of familiarity. Neither of you seemed to notice how close you’d gotten to each other on instinct. Your shoulders are just brushing his and you can feel his body heat seeping into your skin. You’re fighting the urge to press closer and unbeknownst to you, Jason is doing the same. Your body and heart is begging you to rest your head against Hood’s leather-clad shoulder but you push the thoughts down in fear of making things awkward or scaring him off. Jason’s mind is running rampant with internal pleas for you to rest against him, he wants nothing more right now than to feel the comfortable weight of you against his side. But Jason doesn’t act or speak any of these thoughts into reality, worried he’ll cross a line or make you uncomfortable. So the two of you sit there on your couch for who knows how long. Mingling on the side of cuddling but not quite reaching the threshold. Both of you sit contented with the closeness and security of spending what had been a rough evening together, but silently desperate for more. But more is for a different evening, another night when Red Hood stumbles through your window.

[foone]

So Robert A. Heinlein was an author who, much like Star Trek, was praised early on for their progressiveness. Much like Star Trek, he then went on making stuff and didn't change many attitudes but society changed around him and suddenly his stuff was a lot less progressive.

But bless him he tried, and it's hilarious how weirdly it went at times.

So how about the time he decided one of his old characters was trans, and how he went about that?

(readmore just because this is a little long)

So Methuselah's Children was a serial in 1941 and a book in 1958. In it, a group of super-long-lived humans (thanks to eugenics!) decide to end their masquerade and reveal themselves to humanity at large. It goes badly, and they have to flee the planet, and have various adventures before eventually returning to a changed earth that no longer hates them for their immortality.

There's no trans characters in this story, as written in 1941 or 1958. But there is Andrew Jackson Libby: a mathematical genius who invents a Warp Drive to help the immortals flee the planet.

And in 1980, Heinlein writes The Number of the Beast. It's a deeply weird and contested novel involving a conspiracy to murder advanced mathematicians by interdimensional lobsters, and they manage to visit both Oz and Wonderland (as in "Alice In"). But Libby reappears! And she's a woman now!

It's explained that she always wanted this but couldn't get it for the usual reasons (debatable: her timeline in Methuselah's Children had flying cars and space ships, but no HRT?) but what's really amazing is how the author explains how she ended up a man:

It involves her death, intersex genetics, cloning, time travel, and psychics.

See sometime after Methuselah's Children, she (still presenting male) gets killed by an alien polar bear, and her body is left in orbit of some alien world so that a friend can come retrieve it later when it can be buried on Earth. When the friend returns, the body is gone. Someone stole the corpse of some dead egg. Weird.

Later it turns out the friend stole the corpse: he just used time travel to do it. Shortly after it was left in orbit, he came back in time, grabbed it, and returned to the future.

They're planning to use advanced Future Tech to revive her: they clone the body, then pull memories out of the frozen-by-space brain and stuff them into the clone. But then the cloners realize something: it turns out Libby has XXY chromosomes! In reality this is called Klinefelter syndrome.

But in the story they seem to think this means Libby could be either male or female, so these advanced Future Scientists What With The Cloning And Time Travel And Such do the sensible thing: they call in a psychic.

The psychic somehow does something to Libby's brain where they push her to imagine herself as a man, then as a woman, and try to figure out which one makes her happier. Obviously, it turns out to be the woman version, so they modify the clone's genetics so that they only have the XX part, and thus are born (well, grown) female.

They then stick the brainwaves of this dead (supposed) man into the empty brain of a female clone and she's like "oh neat I'm alive again, and a woman? Cool!"

And the story just carries on and none of this is ever mentioned again. This is apparently how Heinlein thinks trans people work, and we needed a little side story to explain why the fuck one of his characters from the 40s came back in the 80s but she's a woman now.

[sorcerersandskillusers]

Card Meanings in the new, The Day I Picked Up Dazai art.

Ok so im currently still in shock that were getting new day I picked up dazai content so bare with me, but onece again Asagiri has included playing cards in his art so of course I have to break down what they mean.

Lets start with side A (the right side):

First we see a joker:

While Gogol is the obvious fit for the joker, the card also describes Dazai extremely well. He is almost always acting like the fool in any given situation, even in the mafia he loved to be as weird and funny as he could as well as tease and annoy the people around him, something jesters famously did.

In fact, his dynamic with Mori is very close to how a king and a jester used to work, where the jester was the only person who was allowed to openly mock the king and would usually heckle him. They also played a key part in psychological warfare, which we see Dazai specialises in.

I think the whole; wit, intelligence and unpredictability kind of speaks for itself.

Next card is the four of spades:

This one is also really fitting, it shows how after the day I picked up Dazai side A, Dazai settles into his little routine of going to bar lupin with Oda as well as how he finally has someone who he can trust and be comfortable around. Finally, it is a clear message of optimism, something Dazai never shows before he meets Oda.

Next the two of hearts:

This one is pretty obvious, it's Dazai and Oda spending time at bar lupin. It actually fits so well, there's not much I can say about it other then how it shows the love and care Dazai and Oda had for each other (platonically)

Now for Side B (prepare to cry)

The first card is the three of spades:

Whyyyyyyyyyy... why Asagiri. This one is also fairly obvious but it has multiple meanings. It most clearly represents Dazai suffering in side B as he has to run the mafia without odasaku and live in utter loneliness while destroying all the connections he never got to have for the sake of a friend he never got to meet.

“It was hard,” muttered the young man. “It was really hard fighting Mimic without you in the organization. I had no choice but to take over for Mori and make enemies of everyone around me to expand the business. Everything I did was for this world’s—”

It also represents the moment on the platform where he nearly tells Odasaku the truth and goes with him to bar lupin, the horrible decision to abandon everything for Odas future

The next card is... the ace of spades:

The ace of spade has many meanings, most of which involve change or transition, but by far its most famous meaning it death. I really don't think I have to explain this one, Beast Dazai having the card of death has a pretty clear meaning.

But the ace of spade does have a secondary meaning, and this one is a little more hopeful, as it shows Dazai passing the safety of this world onto Atsushi and Auktagawa.

Finally, (it's a bit hard to see) we have the ten of diamonds:

I want to focus mostly on the highlighted part because it's what really applies to BEAST Dazai, he lived his whole life to create a world where what matters most to him, that Oda gets to be happy and write his books, becomes real. This card doesn't apply to Dazai directly, more to the fact that he made succeeding in his mission his only priority and discarded everything else.

Bonus round Odasku card; the king of clubs

the only card thats seen on Oda's section and one that clearly represents Odasaku as a character.

"King of clubs represents a dark man, who is loyal and kind. He is a good businessman, shrewd with money and investments, but isn’t selfish. In fact, the King of clubs is a very devoted father, husband and citizen. In a broader sense, the King of clubs encompasses idealized qualities of a fatherly figure. This card is universally considered as a very good omen."

I feel like this sums Odasaku up very well, the devoted father and loyal friend parts are just him to a t.

(this is also the card I think best represents Fukuzawa)

Right, I think I got everything, if you disagree with this or find something I missed, please reblog or comment with whatever you want to add, or send me an ask. I love discussing, and hearing other people's views as long as they're respectful.

If you add something, please add it in the post not the tags, so I can reply to it (or in the tags if that makes you more comfortable)

[sanctus-ingenium]

Another one of these since i haven't done it in a while! Sketch -> finished illustration

Thoughts & process below the cut :>

Out of Bounds: i deleted the sketch of this off my ipad because i didn't like it, and for months it only existed as a screenshot on discord. finally in january of this year i was like Wait Actually and decided to keep working on it. I didn't achieve the look I was going for (kind of foggy and vague. It came out too sharp and high contrast) but it was fun to throw the kitchen sink at it for an afternoon and then call it done finally. I don't remember which horse this was originally supposed to be, I think Macha?

I reused the pose, you'll find the same one in my Pascal sketchbook from the section on gait studies. That's the cool thing about doing 30 sketches at once, you can finish them up any time you like for a different drawing

The Fool ft Islin: the original concept for this is from [takes a moment to decipher the american date system on discord] January 2022

It wasn't dynamic enough, but I've had this on the backburner for sooo long. I think I completed like 4 cards in between this sketch and the final version lol. But, for a bit of background, this is from my series of major arcana based in Inver, and in particular the events of the 1860s-era book series, Moth Viper Foal (a demo of the first book, Said The Black Horse, is available for free/pwyw in my shop). This scene is a companion to Said The Black Horse, depicting the aftermath of the traumatic fight that caused Islin to storm off. He had been working at the mill as a semiprofessional back alley surgeon when he received an offer to join the church and work as a trained surgeon in their hospital. But when he brought the good news back to his friends it was met with utter rejection, driving him to basically run away to join the church. while gay and trans. thus the card.

he didn't actually bring a bag with him when he ran out but for the sake of the card i drew him with one

Gryfon and Pantera: This is how 99% of holy beast drawings start out, even the super stylised ones. I struggle a lot to draw them in procreate so they start in sai and then i transfer them over. The story of this is already explained in the caption of the original post so I'll just talk about the process which was... honestly torturous. I actually don't like too much textures and effects on things (wild, I know) and this one and Out of Bounds are ones where I kind of preferred it pre-texturising.

The text on the side is the official in-universe report of the event, detailing the casualties, the valiant actions of Gryfon's knight before he died and so on. There's also spoilers in there :>

My main struggle with this art style is how it always ends up slightly TOO sharp and crisp in a way the just a blur filter never can correct. There's not a lot of immersion to break, to be fair, but I think this still does it a little. I need to get more comfortable doing the lines with larger and softer brushes, and allowing imperfections.

[pond-froggie]

When Ford was living in the shack alone, he came across a creature that towered over him with lanky limbs, protruding bones, and antlers coming out of its skull. He of course dedicated a page to it in his journal. He realized the creature was trying to communicate with him but he was never able to understand what it was trying to say. He then kept discovering other anomalies and moved on from it. 

However, it would knock on his windows and door and be especially persistent when it was raining. It always followed Ford around whenever he was in the forest, indirectly chasing off other creatures. He got fed up with it keeping him awake at night so he set traps, nothing to hurt it but just to get it suck in a way that it can get out on its own so it stays away. And it works. Ford only ever saw it in the corner of his eye. Ford then meets Bill, builds the portal, realizes he made a mistake, Stan comes, Ford goes through the portal. 

Stan has journal one which he can't fix the portal with on its own so he goes searching in the forest for the other journals. He can't find them. He breaks down and yells and sits in the middle of the forest and cries where no one can hear him. Or so he thinks. 

He somehow hears rustling of leaves through his sobbing and he looks up from his hands and finds a beast towering over him. His breath catches in his throat and he tries to scramble away but he's too shaky from his breakdown. 

The beast looks at him curiously before going down on all fours and showing its neck. That seems to calm Stan down. He thought that all the weird creatures in the journal were just some form of creative expression but he remembered seeing something like this. 

Stan pulled the journal out and flipped through it eventually finding the page. He showed the creature, feeling silly for a second until it nodded and pointed to itself. The creature slowly reached towards Stan, closing the journal before pointing to the six fingered hand on the cover then to Stan's five fingered hand and making a confused trill. 

“Ohhh buddy, you're not going to believe this.” 

Turns out he did believe it. 

Stan explained everything, the creature looked sad but not all too shocked. Stan asked if it was close to Ford. The creature made a pained grunt and showed him with leaves. 

It took one red leaf and had it move around from leaf to leaf before stopping at a leaf with a pebble on it. The red leaf moved away from it but the leaf with the pebble followed. The creature made angry grunts and growls before leaving the leaf with the pebble behind again but the leaf with the pebble still followed, just out of sight. 

“That makes two of us… Wait! So you know where the other journals are!” 

The creature nodded. 

“I need them to fix the portal. Can you show me where they are?” 

The sun had set by the time Stan had all three journals in his possession. He rushed back to the cabin but stopped at the door, looking back at the creature standing just at the edge of the treeline. 

“We’ll talk more tomorrow, I promise.”

The next day, Stan found him in the clearing behind the cabin. He brought along the three journals, books he thought might be relevant, and notebooks that were filled with Fords equations. He plopped it all on the ground and threw himself down along with it.

“Buddy, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm never going to get him out of there. I never even graduated highschool, how the hell am I supposed to understand all this?” Stan pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes till spots formed. 

Stan listened to the papers rustling and figured there was no harm in letting the creature look. He then felt a tap on his shoulder. He pulled his hands from his eyes and looked up at him. 

“What.”

The creature tapped his finger against the pages so Stan looked. He pointed to different topics in the textbook then to different equations and sections in the portal drawings. 

“You saw him do all this?” 

The creature shook his head. He pointed to himself, then to his head, then to the pages. 

“You KNOW this stuff!” 

He made a ‘so so’ hand gesture.

Stan's excitement slid off his face and was replaced with sadness. 

“You weren't always like this, were you?”

The creature shook his head sadly. 

“Is there a way I can cure you?”

The creature's eyes went wide before he nodded. 

Stan pushed the pencil and paper towards the creature but he just shook his head. After some back and forth they figured out a communication method. It was slow, but worked. The creature would point to words in all the books and Stan would figure out what he was trying to say from that. 

The cure was simple. Gnome spit, fairy dust, unicorn snot, and manotaur sweat. Mix together and wipe it on his forehead. 

Yeah… Simple.

The gnomes were more than happy to give some spit if it meant getting the creature out of their forest. They also gave a discount on fairy dust for the price of one pb&j. Stan found the unicorns and started insulting the mane of the first one he saw, making it cry. He watched the Manotaurs for a while and his first plan was to challenge one to arm wrestle until he saw one snap a small tree like a twig. So he challenged them to stand on hot coals. Good thing they aren't well acclimated to humans and dont know that human feet don't look like Ford's temperature proof boots. 

Stan hiked back down to the cabin and gathered all the ingredients together. 

“You better be a cute human.” Stan groaned, glaring up at the beast most only have nightmares about currently sitting and grinning like a dog about to get a treat. 

He smeared it across his forehead and nothing happened for a few seconds until he collapsed on the ground and started writhing in pain. Stan watched as his bones contorted and skin grew in places where there wasn't before, but where there was supposed to be. 

He was turning human. 

After an agonizing minute of Stan listening to the pained growls turn into groans and yells into words and pants, a human is left lying on the ground. He holds his hands in front of him and stares at them, smiling. 

“Ugh, spit, snot, ‘n sweat? Really?!” The man wipes the mixture off his forehead. “Thank you Stanley.” He smiles up at him. 

“Uh, yeah, ‘course.” Stan rubs the back of his neck. The two smile at each other for a little bit before the man startles out of it. 

“Oh! I’m sure you have questions and now that I can talk, I’d be glad to answer them.” 

“What about your name?” 

“Oh good golly how could I forget. Fiddleford McGucket.”

“Well Fidds, how about you get settled and some real food in you that isn’t whatever you were eating out there, and then we can get to the questions.” Stan gestures to the cabin behind him. 

“That would be nice.”

When they manage to get Ford out he asks Fiddleford who he is. He grabs the journal and opens to his page and explains the curse. 

“Im surprised someone like Stanley could figure out how to communicate with you.”

“I opened the portal once to get you out, I could open it again to shove you back in, again. And I know how you treated Fidds when he was cursed, you were too stupid to see he was trying to talk to you.”

“I had more important things to work on. Besides, I would have gotten it eventually.”

“Ya barely even tried…”

~~~~~

LORE

Fiddleford told his wife he wanted a divorce and she conveniently has a witch friend that she got to place a curse on him. He wasn't able to make the cure himself or be there when the ingredients were collected. When he was cursed, he was told how to make the cure and its impossible for him to forget it. He was unable to talk or write. As for how he got to Gravity Falls… something something weirdness magnet- I don't know. 

[seffyriath]

okay here is my weird take about what emet-selch might have done regarding zenos and whatever "experiment" was going on

Joke answer: he's a dragon stuffed into a human body

serious answer: it's the same as the joke answer but longer and explained in an incoherent way.

i think we've been given hints about what the fuck was going on with Varis's Large Adult Son even after endwalker, but i need to reference other things to do that, so let's break it down:

-We have been given more insight into how Memories and Souls work and interact in this setting, especially after Dawntrail. We know that it's possible to implant memories onto a soul that didn't originally have them, and it works fine if you have the technology to do this

-Emet-Selch's whole job involved souls and the lifestream

-We've seen Athena also bring back ancients, in a temporary way, by reconstituting soul stuff and grabbing the memories for those ancients, since souls and memories are essentially different kinds of aether. if you've played FFVII at all, you already know this. one would assume that Emet-Selch would manage reconstituting souls a lot better

-there are some memories that are so powerful that they are blasted or etched into your soul, which is why some faded memories can stick around from past lives

-We know that Emet-Selch was seriously thinking of a way to bring the ancients back without rejoinings, and this was probably attempted via his literal large adult sons and their descendants.

-dragon's souls, as far as we know, are unsundered.

-fitting with the Sephiroth and Jenvoa parallel, they are also canonically aliens

about Zenos:

-the devs have said that he was "born wrong" and that's why he's like that. this seems different than "born evil" because Lyse assumes that this wasn't the case, and that's not the normal philosophy for the game. characters have been wrong before, but if he was experimented on, this is likely referencing Sephiroth, who was also born wrong on purpose, as a joke, via tampering in the womb

-people in the world still have vague, ephemeral memories of the ancients, but Zenos is different. Zenos has upsettingly visceral memories of the final days but he also views the world like the ancients do, particularly regarding accomplishing your life's purpose and then dying right after as a positive thing. this is why his actions at the end of stormblood do not read as suicidal to not just me, but the characters. they're really confused about why he does this! Zenos acting the way he does seems to be the answer to why the ancients tried to emphasize a more communal existence, because what happens when the most powerful motherfucker on earth is also a prince in an extremely hierarchical society? you get Zenos

-However, Zenos also follows the rule of beasts and is much more beastlike, similar to dragons. Dragons aren't evil, but they have extremely different cultures and views than humans, because they're functionally immortal and don't need to reproduce. they are power manifest, and can easily take over an ecosystem. Midgardsomr's covenant with Hydaelyn most likely prevents this, but the point is that dragons are pure power, and that's what they respect the most. like Zenos, although being raised as he was probably made this even worse

-Zenos seems pretty dysphoric, but it doesn't seem to be directed at any gender. he's stated that he doesn't care about his name one way or the other, and that he only wants his body back from Elidibus because of how powerful it is. he otherwise doesn't seem to care about normal human experiences, like human food or sex, or just companionship in general with other humans. as far as food goes, he's the only villain to do this, as the writers tend to get into what foods the characters like in the lore books, even the villains. you can't really say that this is just the product of being a royal or someone in power. even Thordan has a favorite food, and even Varis had a childhood friend, who we've actually met.

-both in The Hunt Begins and in general, Zenos actively wants to be able to use and manipulate aether. this is odd, since Garleans are constantly told that magic is evil and bad, but Zenos goes out of his way to try to do this, including piercing himself with a crystal where the aether exchange could kill him. this could be because his great grandfather is a sorcerer of eld. it could be because dragons not being able to use magic would feel extremely unnatural to him. why not both?

-He seems. REALLY excited when he transforms into Shinryu. like, weirdly excited. i get it, it would probably own being a dragon, and you could say that he was just really excited about fighting the wol the first time, but this has happened twice now, and every time he almost sounds like Susano with how excited he is. it's a total fucking mood shift. also in his last fight he still keeps the Shinryu attacks. since it's in a place that's ruled by emotions, one has to assume that he's attached to them

-He literally has a horde (of weapons)? i know we don't see a lot of FFXIV dragons do this, but Vrtra has a horde that he uses as a bank. what's up with that.

-He doesn't really have a coda yet, and while i don't think he's going to be brought back, or that he NEEDS to be brought back, the wol seems like they're just starting to be comfortable with thinking about what Zenos's deal is with enough time and distance

-how d. how did he know that dragons can just lay eggs like that. yeah he could have READ about it but like. how did he figure out how to do that in the fight. and why. why did he just doooo thaaaat.

IN CONCLUSION i think that in a bid to try to bring ancients back into the world through unnatural means, Emet-Selch took the closest recently dead unsundered soul he could find at the time (a dragon's), imprinted some of his memories onto it (as one would do when making the convocation crystals) and put that shit in a baby. thanks.

[araksi413]

System SQQ thoughts (as in plural system, not SYSTEM, that comes in later)

- SJ is a trauma holder and host for most of their childhood, discipleship and then during their peak lord years. To him this is his life, their system is covert, and he's not aware of it.

- SY is a normal part, fronted sometimes during their childhood and life, in the calm moments. Especially during their disciple years when they were studying flora and fauna (SJ just thinks he zoned out.)

- The SYSTEM is the overseer and persecutor. It doesn't front, doing its job in the headspace and keeping the two from realizing they exist.

- But then The qi deviation happens, and SYSTEM decides that SJ is just not handling it properly anymore, putting their existence at risk. It pulls SJ into the headspace and shoves SY to the front.

- SY creates the "this world is a book i read" as an explanation as to why he doesn't have memories but knows how this world works (especially flora and fauna, must've been the only interesting part of the book!)

- The SYSTEM cofronts with SY a lot of the time, especially at the beginning, doing its job as a persecutor to keep SY in line. (None of the possession detection tests work, because it is the same soul. Just not the same person)

- SJ sometimes gets to see what's happening at front, especially when the SYSTEM is there and can't entirely block him out. SJ passively influences SY sometimes, especially when his Qi-ge is present.

- SJ hates SY at the beginning. SY stole his life, and is ruining it, and just doesn't understand what he's doing!

- Eventually SJ gets to cofront while they're teaching or doing paperwork, reluctantly helping SY. SY explains this to himself as just a kind of grumpy inner monolog. ("That form needs to go to An Ding right away, put it on the right pile idiot." "Right, right of course, right away me.")

- SY manages to save LQG in the Linxi Caves bc he has less of an emotional attachment to him then SJ, and it doesn't get in the way of stopping his qi deviation. Also he still views everyone as characters, which is an additional distance that helps him that calm enough in the moment.

- It's SJ fighting during the demon invasion. SY just doesn't have that much control, he has just enough to get by + muscle memory, but not enough to fight Like That.

- And of course, it's SY that gets them poisoned with Without A Cure. Of course. Life gets back to "normal", just with additional visits from LQG.

- Then the Immortal Conference happens. While standing at the edge of The Endless Abyss, SY heavily disassociates, only going through motions automatically, and only because the SYSTEM is there.

- Only when LBH is gone, he comes back to himself and breaks down. Collects the sword shards and disassociates some more, only getting back thanks to his martial siblings.

- SY is rarely not disassociated for a long time after LBH is gone. He stays at the sword mound most days, far away from the body.

- SJ hates this new development. He might even.. care.. for SY, though he'd never admit it. Eventually SJ starts fronting at night. Just to get them to eat something, to do their work, to help them live.

- When they get sent on missions outside of the sect, its usually SJ fronting. This becomes very confusing to LQG, who often comes with. SJ does try to act like SY, but it is a little off-putting.

- SY fronts during the missions when there's interesting beasts, or when it's something he needs to know to not get fully lost on what's happening.

- During succubus mission SJ comes to front, pushes LQG into the pond and runs away as fast as possible.

- When they're about to go to Jinlan city, they've got a pretty good system (hehe) down. SY is still mostly unaware, just knows that... something... is going on. Suspects its the "previous soul of this body" leaking through. He let's everything happen because he just doesn't care much anymore.

- Jinlan city is awful for both SY and SJ. Neither of them can handle seeing LBH, both of them are in a panic, blurring together. It's hell and terrifying and then they're in the Water Prison and it's so much worse.

- Those moments when SQQ doesn't say anything in the Water Prison? Noones fronting. It's all a mess. The SYSTEM tries to help, but it really doesn't work.

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

that's as far as my daydreaming got me! since idk what SQH deal would be here (is he an actual transmigrator? is he the original SQH? is it smth else?), idk if the Sun and Moon Dew Mushroom bodies would even be here?

so they probably wouldn't try to escape without a backup plan, SY's pseudo-suicidal tendencies would be kept in check by the other system members.

i dont know how the plot would continue.

additional thought: Luo Bingge splits after they push LBH into the abyss. He was a fragment before, psrt of a little nightmare here and there, but after the abyss he fully forms. He's a persecutor, doesn't front (SYSTEM won't let him), but he does uh, torture SY in headspace. maybe SJ doesn't realize for a while? maybe he sees it happen and that's why he's also terrified of LBH in Jinlan ? idk. what do they do with Bingge afterwards? also no clue. He's a fun thought but too much of a complication i think.

if anyone else has thoughts please please please please share them <3

[horizon-verizon]

Now I did not watch the new S2 episode. I'm hearing abt it from people who have. And pretty much all the leaks were authentic regarding B&C.

I wrote abt the Sophie's Choice of bk!Helaena in the bk!B&C HERE, when someone asked me abt it. The other unserious things abt Blood & Cheese of HotD is that in the bk:

the psychological torture Helaena goes thru could either be Cheese trying to have fun (unlikely, they were on a "timer") OR it is Daemon reverting, perverting, etc. Rhaenyra's loss--Rhaenyra was not there to witness Lucerys or even be able to have his remains....Helaena will participate in her own son's murder, so to speak

bk!Cheese was very knowledgesble abt where to go and how, which tunnels to use...which is why he was chosen in the first place and why his "job "profession" (ratcatcher) is so important, bc these guys know where to lay traps in hidden places for rats -> to make as if Cheese is ignorant as to how to lead Blood into the castle makes as if Daemon was more incompetent and careless than either have been canonically shown to be, even when they are angry or aggrieved

also, regarding show!Helaena giving offering her necklace and very quickly pointing out which kid was a boy as if she could not wait to abandon Jaehaerys while bk!Helaena offered her very life before she was forced to choose any kid is just disrespectful not only to her intelligence but neurodivergent people. Esp since if we argue she had some sort of autism or what have you. To rely on one's neurodivergence to explain why they--compared to the book where she was more active--didn't take that action is a cop out and is almost a generalization. Please. Again, she's supposedly a dreamer and has had access to such dreams since her preteen yrs in the show, so it's likely she had known what was going to happen in this moment if she also had known abt "beast beneath the boards", "spiders (the war)", etc. No HotD didn't show us more moments exactly proving that, but since they also had her do absolutely nothing with those visions like the original Cassandra actually tried to do, no one can tell me it didn't happen. In fact, I can say it's bc she never actually does anything with her dreams (and therefore we'll never really know if she had B&C "dreams" so I can cont with this hypothetical, as its likelihood is stronger than it should have been) that I can say that even her own kids dying doesn't seem to faze her enough to make a plan of sorts to herself? Or to be able to think as she tried in the bk when they forced her to choose. Show!Helaena has "dreams" (they aren't even dragon dreams) but unlike Cassandra, she does nothing with them. Again, it very likely B&C appeared to her in her so-called "dreams", she does what she always does--nothing...but not only does she finally decide to do something, she thought a fucking necklace would help her or her kids and this is as much as we get for her in this show? We had the opp to display a fuller character apart from her emotional remove and suggestion of prophecy, and when we do, we only see her like this? They traveled all this way, risked getting caught and viciously executed, to kill ONE mutherfucking child, and these writers really thought that it was a good idea to have Helaena do this, think this would work even an iota? No, all this was such lazy, cheap writing bc the writers decided that her just having visions made up for her small character in the orig tale and that they didn't have to do else for her--they started and left her half done, it seems. Let's say the B&C dream never appeared to her; this is till the writers taking away the agency I already described above in the link---Helaena is a nothing character whose dreams still mean nothing to no one expect people who want to feel smart the way it exists in the show itself. Helaena has always been a victim, but they made her more abominably victimized...as I already said they do HERE & HERE. She's just around, waiting to be abused by the script and those around her for plot convenience's sake. There is no substance or personhood to her, she is only a purpose.

So, love that for Ryan. Seemed lukewarm.

But what did anyone expect, seeing as the same writers responsible for Aemond's "accident" (having tried for months to convince us that this was exusable even with it not being his intention to kill), for Alicent sincerely forgiving Rhaenyra after she had been on her ass and abusing her and her kids (and threatening their lives) for years and almost stabbing out Luke's eye, for Rhaenyra somehow being so affected by a stupid ass page of Nymeria (of all people!, you made Alicent pull out this page of a woman who lead armies to conquest as a consummate leader in her own right, who lead said armies to make sure her people survived, in order to dissuade Rhaenyra from fighting for what she sees as her birthright/designated seat of power and to also make sure her family/unit survives?!) to derail her from really confronting any of them in battle...🤷🏿‍♂️

[dxscxndxnts]

My Thoughts on Descendants Canon

I was thinking about it and wanted to share. I’ve noticed everyone from screenwriters to this fandom over the years has brought a LOT to the canon (including me) and this last movie…kinda doesn’t fit that canon.

We’ve always perceived these characters to be continuations of the OG Disney Movies. Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, etc all happened as they did in their animated movies and the next thing was Descendants. It’s likely Descendants Canon doesn’t even consider sequels (Little Mermaid 2, Cinderella 2 and 3, etc)

Now, lots of us (myself included) do nitpick some other Disney canons for fanfiction or theory purposes. For example, I roll with The Little Mermaid: The Musical Canon that Triton and Ursula and Poseidon’s kids. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that’s never mentioned in the OG cartoon movie. Another example I’ve seen is folks accepting Maleficent (2014) as canon, which led to a lot of King Stephen is Mal’s father theories. Also, Greek Mythology? We all love discussing the complexities of D3 Hades being…D3 Hades.

Then there’s the books, by my guess written retroactively to the movies. I love them, I love the depth De La Cruz gives to this world. Unfortunately, I’m not sure book canon is heavily considered when writing the script (tho shoutout D4 for making Castlecoming a thing).

All of this to say: the Descendants Cinematic Universe (yes, this is DCU now) was originally thought to be based on JUST The original animated films.

Except now all those characters are in High School together? What?

I’ve said this once already, but it reminds me of The School for Good and Evil. All the Heroes and Villains went to school together and then after graduation went off to be in a fairytale. I think the DCU could be interpreted as something similar. Hear me out:

First thing: Let’s assume for a minute DCU is separate from the original movies it’s based on. The blue-haired Ella and the blonde cartoon Cinderella are different characters. A little trickier: Teen Maleficent and Maleficent (D1) are the same person, but not the same as Sleeping Beauty (1959) Maleficent.

Second thing: Take exact copies of all those Original Animated characters and put them together in the same place at the same time. Now they all go to high school together. This part is the SGE-like part, but the difference is there isn’t such a strict distinction of heroes and villains. Merlin teaches everyone. Their fairytales are their choice.

Which brings me to the third: ALL OF THE PLOTS STILL HAPPEN, and in their world it’s just common place and also translated differently. Ella still has an Evil Stepmother, a dance to go to, and a prince to see, but it doesn’t look like the cartoon at all.

Other examples:

Hades is indeed a teenager, and just casually a King of the Underworld and a God. That’s just how this place works.

Jaladdin. JALADDIN. If they’re together, their story already panned out, but maybe in a way that’s more DCU-like. Maybe Princess Jasmine needed to have a date to a certain royal event (instead of picking a suitor). Maybe good ol Vizier Jafar sent a skater punk in detention to a pawnshop for the lamp. Yes, Genie was a Genie, but maybe also a thriftstore owner who helped Aladdin get the girl with some thrifty style and a dusty magic carpet. I’m spitballing here.

My point is: all the fairytale stories will still take place, and all the characters are the same BUT separate from Original Animated Disney Canon. Aladdin already happened. Cinderella is currently happening. Alice in Wonderland is SO FAR in the future. Peter Pan may happen soon. Captain Hook already lost his hand, so he already blames Pan for that. (Can yall imagine its his twerp cousin or something, lol)

(I can’t explain Morgie. Morgana La Fey is from Once and Future King (King Authur’s story). She was not in Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, which is only 1/4 of OFK. The main villain in Disney’s movie was Madam Mim.)

This explanation also makes it a little easier to digest the fact that Beast was able to unite the kingdoms and banish the villains. If DCU was straight outta Disney canon, he would have to unite 1920s Louisiana (Princess and the Frog) with Aladdin’s Agrabah (just not real).

So yeah, that’s how I’m somehow wrapping my brain around all this. What do y’all think?

[star-boi0720]

Giant lore dump here, basically they're the seven deadly sins, in my version to become one you commit an act to break a seal that Irene made to contain the devil within and their punishment is to become the new host for said devils. so I'm gonna go person by person and explain how they became a sinner

(the concepts aren't complete, still needs work but I just want to have it written down)

Aaron-Wrath, has a similar backstory to the OG, but I added a thing I remembered from Emerald Secret of the Utltimas backstory (this was solely from my memory and might not be exact) and took Zane out of the equation, basically Aaron had a hobby of hunting and he without knowing killed this holy wolf that Irene created, and as a punishment he was combined with it and in the foggy haze of his transformation he murdered his whole village and his family.

Lucinda-Gluttony, Her hunger for knowledge killed her best friend(/ maybe girlfriend aka Sasha don't 100% know yet) and sealed away her mother to the cursed forest. Hyria used to have like a coven/school for witches she made after Irene left. Lucinda was a prodigy and wanted to just keep learning to the point she was so desperate she stole a book her mother told her never to even touch (which had sin inside and was trusted to hyria by Irene) which made Lucinda's magic go crazy and destroy the school and seal her mom away and kill Sasha.

Travis-Lust, so his mom dies to seal his dad away all that's the same but Travis is just super lonely right, but then a girl comes to visit him and he eventually falls in love with her but she actually is a member of his fathers cult to break him free and Travis is so obsessed with her he doesn't notice, and before he can stop her fully she partially freed him and travis in the struggle to stop her he kills her and breaks his mothers necklace(which had lust inside) but right after he kills her a bunch of villagers burst into the chamber the demon warlock was locked in and it looks like Travis just sacrificed some girl to his father and they try to kill him so Travis hides deep in the mountains

Katelyn-Envy, her entire life in her village of dragons she was treated as lesser compared to her brothers Kayden and Cain cause she wasn't as strong as them and she pushed herself but wasn't enough, her jealousy boiled over and in a fight with her brother Kameron she broke a statue that had the sin inside she didn't kill him but burned him beyond recovery

Garroth- Pride, He was the cocky prince troupe kinda like Hercules from the Disney movie and he liked to play hero, and vylad always went with him like Garroth's little sidekick. but one day they came against a monster they couldn't beat and Garroth refused to back down and in which the monster which was a huge lion killed vylad garroth killed it but it had the sin of pride inside it Garroth returned home and when he told his mother of what happened she hid him away knowing the world would see garroth as a threat and kill him. So Evelyn(Aka Zianna I changed a lot of the parent's names cause it seemed repetitive to me, so mom is now Evelyn and the father's name is now Adam) sent Garroth to hide in Phoenix Drop and claimed the beast killed both of them.

Zane- Greed, Zane was always a good man the whole kind young priest get up. but after the sudden deaths of his brothers, his faith was shaken, and in a desperate attempt to bring them back he began to research black magic and corrupted his mind and he opened a box deep in the catacombs of Okasis which was Pandora's box which held the sin of greed and became and the once kind prince became a true monster.

Nana-Sloth Nana is the eldest daughter of a duke of the Tula Kingdom, her mother died when Nana was young and her father was very heartless about it, like had a new wife in 2 days and all her other siblings were only her half she tried to be close to them but her father kept her away from them to the point she stopped trying after so long but on a night a raid happened she was only able to save one of her siblings her youngest Juno who was only like 7 but as she was escaping she broke a mirror that had the sin of sloth inside and possessed her and nana escaped to ruan and made her little cafe with her sister. (Nanas I don't fully like it yet but it is something ig)

So that's pretty much just some tragic mfrs sorry for any spelling mistakes

[the-east-art]

IDK if this counts as a Hagstone ask, but what is Hagstone? Could you give me the rundown? Or do you have a post where you explain the basics already?

Yes!!! It definitely counts!!! Let me tell you about my OCs and their story!

Hagstone is a story that I've been working on with @browniefox on and off for about seven years now! We've made at least one or two complete drafts of the first book, and I'm currently going through and rewriting the first book for (hopefully) the last time! and then it will be done! Hagstone is intended to be a duology, so just two books long.

enjoy this seven year old art when I was first developing the characters! The tag is Hagstone, but to find ALL the art I've ever done on it check the tag wtgp - it had the temporary title of 'Way to go Paul' for like... four or five years, referencing a Vine which I can't remember why we did that haha. There aren't any characters named Paul in it.

The story is about Kyle - a recent college dropout - who has to find new housing after an Event at his old place. He moves in with the eclectic Eldan - and over the course of the book gains new housemates (none of who are actually human) and discovers a dark danger lurking under the town.

(are by @browniefox) The story itself focuses on themes of struggling to let go of the past and face the future, dealing with grief, depression, and combatting loneliness.

One of the reasons I wrote this story was that I was really tired of stories that constantly have a 'normal' character who later realizes they're Secretly half witch or a fea or whatever so a big part of the story is the fact that Kyle is a very Human person with no magical abilities and how he interacts with the magical world.

The main characters are Kyle (of course) an anxious, depressed, and self conscious guy with a special interest in bugs and anger issues.

Eldan - the oldest living Fae who always seems to know more than everyone else and has been reportedly 'in a funk' (didn't leave his house) for many decades leading up to the story.

Marion - An acerbic vampire only a century or two old with trust issues and a secret soft side. He has been ostracized by the local vampire covens for reasons not yet known.

Ollie (Oleander) - Hailing from a family of monster hunters, Ollie is a sweet boy who can transform into a giant beast. His family are technically a line of Gargoyles but many centuries ago Eldan blessed them, hence the furriness of the transformation and the lack of being made of stone. However, something has happened recently causing him to go to Eldan on behalf of his family for help.

and Jonah! - Jonah is the ghost that haunts the house with few memories of his time alive whose death is connected to the darkness that lurks under the town.

(if you look you can see that Jonah and Ollie were recently renamed. Ollie was originally Leander but that read and wrote too similarly to the name 'Eldan', so we changed his name to Oleander and have him go by 'Ollie'. But THEN that was too close to the name Odon, so we changed Odons' name to Jonah. I'm much happier with these names and I think they are now distinct enough from one another, but it may be confusing if you're looking at old stuff)

That's the basic so please feel free to ask questions about the story, the characters, or if you want to meet some of the side characters in the story!

[asofspades]

I've seen a lot of people trying to get into the BSD light Novels and quite frankly you can read them in order but I do have a recommendation about the order I think makes more sense chronologically regarding the story.

So:

1. LN 3. The Untold Origins of the Armed Detective Agency.

2. LN 1. Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam.

These two take place prior to the beginning of the main timeline and are actually a great way of understanding Ranpo and the partnership between Dazai and Kunikida (also recommend LN 1 to anime only watchers because they mixed the first chapters of the manga with Dazai's entrance exam which takes place 2 years prior to the manga and they royally screwed up on Kunikida's characterisation by doing that)

3. LN 7. Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen

(the manga was good but I feel like you might understand Dazai and Chūya's dynamic and the difference of their relationship to both Mori and the Mafia once you read this)

4. LN 8. Stormbringer

(you might actually understand Chūya as a character after you read this one, dives a bit deeper into his relationship with Dazai, explains who Verlaine actually is and talks about stuff that's mentioned afterwards in the manga, like singularities)

5. LN 9. The Day I Picked up Dazai side A

(this happens at some point between LN 7 and LN 2, and helps you understand Dazai and Oda's relationship prior to reading LN 2, how Oda ended up in the Mafia and also a bit more dive into Dazai's character)

6. LN 2. Osamu Dazai and The Dark Era

(better than shown in the anime, allows you to see how Oda sees Dazai since it's written from his pov, a good dive into Dazai's character while in the mafia and why he actually left )

Once you finish The Guild arc

7. LN 4. 55 Minutes

8. LN 5. Dead Apple

(so, the first one is a bit crazy but actually dives a lot into Atsushi's character, explains weird phenomena in BSD regarding singularities and how Dazai isn't affected by certain abilities even without touch, how Yosano can actually use her ability on Dazai and I find it quite interesting, HG Wells is an interesting character as well)

(Dead Apple is entertaining and dives once again into characters and their abilities but also explains weird singularities again, also the bond between Dazai and Chūya, it also gets a bit weird towards the end in regards to things happening that might be hard to understand but the rest is easier to understand than in the movie adaptation)

9. LN 9. The Day I Picked up Dazai side B

(it's set in the alternate universe of LN 6. Beast and a great point to understand Dazai's actions and motivations in said light novel)

10. LN 6. Beast

(it should come with a warning that it's going to ruin your mental health for a while, an alternate universe of BSD, brings in the Book so you might one to read this during/after the cannibalism arc because it kind of explains a bit what the book does or how it kind of works, definitely needs a bit more explaining but it is good info before starting with the vampirism arc and all that stuff, the book is important and there's talk about singularities again. It's also cool to see how the same characters adapt to a different lifestyle, Akutagawa in the ADA, Atsushi in the PM, kyouka in the PM but with Atsushi, Dazai if he stayed in the PM, the ending will fully rip your heart out if the rest of the novel hasn't done it before that and I really recommend the manga adaptation of it because the art style is *chef's kiss* and heart wrenching)

Done with my rant now, you can still read them in their publishing order this is just my recommendation. Also, LN 9 is not out on paper yet and I think we only have fan translations online but it is definitely worth it, @popopretty has a really good translation of it.

And LN 7 is getting a manga adaptation which is also looking really good so you can check it out.

LN 5 has a manga adaptation as well as being a film and this one is not written by Asagiri but is still canon so you have that.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi there! Can I request Female Mihawk Reader with Yandere Lu Bu, Jack, Raiden, Buddha, Qin Shi Haung, Thor, Poseidon, Hercules, Loki, Hades, Rudra, Indra, Hajun and Sasaki?

Reader comes from another World and is revealed to be the ‘Strongest Swordswoman in the World’ with her God opponent being the God of Swords (Reader has Yoru, her Black Blade on her back) and has her Valkyrie Partner transform… to everyone’s shock into a small crucifix pendant, that’s actually a small dagger, which her God Opponent demands in annoyance what exactly is Reader’s game, only for Reader to explain “I’m not the the kind of beast who uses all her might when hunting down a mere rabbit” then has a condensing look as she ‘pitifully’ says “Unfortunately, this is apparently the smallest blade my Valkyrie Partner can turn into, so this will have to do”

Which makes all the Gods and Reader’s Opponent FURIOUS, believing Reader is to arrogant and stupid… until she proves them all wrong by DESTROYING her opponent (The fight ends similar to Zoro and Mihawk’s fight, but the only difference is Reader doesn’t use Yoru, as her calls her opponent ‘Too Weak’ and a ‘Disappointment’ to her, when she kills him, stabbing God’s heart with her tiny blade as he starts to disintegrate) and to add more salt to the Gods’ crippling egos, Reader admits this fight was just like every other fight she’s had “Boring and Unsatisfactory” as she leaves, just as stoic as she fought

However, to everyone’s surprise, Reader shows interest in Sasaki and tells him how he’s the only man worthy of her time (Reader can tell Sasaki is strong, especially since can adapt in battle) and even tells him that she’ll wait for him, no matter how long it takes for him, until he can surpass her, since both are Swordsmen with Honor (Everyone is jealous of Sasaki getting Reader’s attention) and she even asks him every day to spare with her

Reader even tells Sasaki that he should be honored that she uses Yoru when they spare (Sasaki feels honored that a woman like Reader gives an old man like him attention like this, and he could ‘Die a happy man’, which causes Reader to laugh, which is a shock to everyone since Reader is always stoic with a resting bitch face)

-You were regarded as the strongest sword user in the world, even as a woman, you were the strongest, your skills with swords were legendary.

-You enjoyed your time in Valhalla, able to live in quiet comfort, drinking wine, reading books, and meeting other legendary humans, one that you didn’t know, but that was because you were from another world entirely.

-When you died, being caught in a sudden explosion, you were brought here to Valhalla by Brunnhilde.

-This new world was unlike your own, the only people with unique powers were the gods themselves.

-You didn’t fuss with the gods much, getting your own quiet room and plenty of areas to choose from to train in.

-Many of the warriors you faced while training, both humans and gods, were very strong, giving you a challenge, but only for a short while.

-Your skills were too much for them, easily able to overpower most anyone who would challenge you.

-When Ragnarok was announced, you were one of the first people that Brunnhilde approached, asking you to fight against the gods themselves.

-Hoping for the challenge you were finally looking for, you agreed.

-You were fighting first, something you requested and Brunnhilde arranged it for you, and your opponent was announced first as the god of swords himself!

-You smirked for only a moment as you walked out, a massive sword strapped to your back, carrying it with ease.

-Your sharp golden hawk-eye like eyes pierced into your opponent as he was holding two large swords with ease, but everyone was stunned as you made no move to grab your massive sword.

-You touched the cross-shaped pendant hanging around your neck as your Valkyrie partner appeared beside you, “You’re sure this will work?”

-You glanced at her as she was hugging you around your neck, looking like a child, but you instantly pulled out, the tiniest sword that anyone had ever seen, more like a baby dagger!

-Your opponent’s eyelid twitched before he pointed a sword at you, “What the hell is that?!”

-You held your blade, your Volundr, ready to strike, “A weapon that is more than enough for you.” His eyelid twitched again before the gods were quick to yell at you, calling you a cocky human and that you should know your place.

-He shouted at you, charging you with his swords, demanding to know why you weren’t using your big sword, as he wanted to take it from you, seeing the quality.

-You looked almost bored, dodging his strikes before kicking him away from you, your foot in his stomach before you spoke, your voice cold, “I’m not the kind of beast who uses all her might to hunt down a mere rabbit. A pity-” as you looked down at him as if he were dirt, “-that this is the smallest blade my partner can transform into.”

-More shouting from the gods while the humans were in awe of your confidence.

-You rolled your eyes as he shouted out his most powerful attack, trying to take you out and you took a step to the left, dodging it completely, much to his shock as he had turned white, his eyes wide as he gawked at you.

-Your eyes narrowed slightly, “Such a disappointment.” You then slashed at him, cutting him down with an X shaped slash, winning easily.

-Gawking faces filled the arena before the humans went wild, seeing that you had defeated a god and you made it look so easy!!

-You sighed as your partner returned to her normal form, holding onto your hand, making her look like she was your child before you turned, looking up at Zeus, “Was that really the strongest god you had?”

-You ignored the fury of the gods, many who shouted at you, but they couldn’t argue that you did handle your match so easily, it was almost embarrassing for them!

-When Heimdall approached you, inquiring about your thoughts of the match, your words resonated with so many people, “Boring and unsatisfying.”

-The rest of Ragnarok came and went, wins and losses on both sides until humanity was standing in the winner’s circle, and to further prove they deserved their salvation, as you all got to choose one wish together, those who had been killed were brought back to life, both humans and gods.

-The smallest shade of a smile appeared on your lips as your arms folded under your chest, seeing the reunions all around.

-Many gods and humans now had more of a healthy respect of each other, knowing that humanity was indeed stronger than they had thought.

-You were unaware you were now being stared at by both gods and humans, who were taken by your power, wanting a chance to fight you themselves, to test your strength.

-The more they stared as you were speaking to your Valkyrie, Goll, and Brunnhilde, the more they wanted to know about you.

-You were a stunningly beautiful woman, intimidating almost, something even Aphrodite had to admit, but your strength paired with your beauty made you a truly highly sought after woman.

-However, you stunned all by stopping after you had been walking out of the arena, when you saw Kojiro approaching you.

-He offered you a bright grin, “Hey there Y/N! I haven’t seen you since your fight! You were amazing! I would ask for a fight but I would probably lose.” As he said this he scratched the back of his head, laughing lightly.

-You put a hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes which widened in shock, “No- you’re wrong. Your adaptability in your own fight was very impressive. I’d be honored to spar with you, to see how strong you are now. I would wait centuries for you to surpass me, Kojiro.”

-He was stunned that you recognized him as strong, while many of your other self-proclaimed rivals, were seething with jealousy, as you hadn’t paid them any attention, at least with fights; you would talk with them, but as far as actual fighting, you refused, only willing to fight other sword users.

-You sparred with Kojiro every day, allowing him to train against someone very difficult, and your matches always drew a crowd, not that you minded, mainly because you couldn’t care less.

-As Kojiro laid on his back after another intense session, for him at least, he spoke, “I’m honored a woman like you would give an old man like me any attention. I could die happy.”

-A grin instantly appeared on your face before you threw your head back, laughing warmly, which everyone stared at with huge eyes, as you always had a RBF! You were absolutely stunning when you smiled.

-You reached a hand down to help him up, giving his own a soft squeeze as you spoke with a soft smirk, “It’s a special type of man to grab my attention like that.”

-The glares Kojiro received were well worth it. He had no regrets.

-Lu Bu- When he finally convinced you to spar with him, using his halberd against Yoru, he wanted to see who had the stronger strike, his Sky Eater or your Strongest Slash in the World. The damage as the two strikes hit was so immense, even more so than when Lu Bu fought with Thor, you both had to help clean up the arena after you trashed it. When the dust cleared, both of you were still standing, unharmed and you had to give him a small grin, seeing that he withstood your attack. He became another you fought on a regular basis and he always fought with such joy fighting you, saying you were the only woman he would respect. Thor and him were both strong drinkers, as they would invite you out all the time, which you didn’t mind, finding their antics amusing. It was nice to be able to fight without holding back.

-Jack- Was one of the few who actually didn’t want to fight you, more interested in just conversing with you, sharing tea or wine, playing chess together, and having intellectual discussions. You had to admit that you were a bit curious about his ability to see into your soul, describing the colors you displayed at any given time, it was unique as you had never heard about something like that before. Jack enjoyed his talks with you, never wanting you to leave, as he found you entrancing, from your looks to your strength to your complex personality. He wanted to see more and more.

-Raiden- Raiden was very enthusiastic in trying to convince you to fight him, to the point of chasing you down, running after you until he had you in his arms, like it was a children’s game of tag. You always refused him, as you weren’t a combat fighter, you only used your swords and if you fought him, either you would get hurt from his physical attacks or he would get cut to ribbons. Your words and reasoning did little to deter him as he kept seeking out, asking for a fight, carrying you around in his arms like you were a princess. He was very jolly and loud, but also pushy and sometimes annoying, but you felt like you couldn’t bring yourself to dislike him.

-Buddha- Buddha was another one who was quite pushy, not as in he wanted to fight you, as he was quite laid back, but he was always coming into your house, uninvited, bringing all sorts of snacks that he was willing to share with you. You could enter your home at any given time and find Buddha lounging on your couch, welcoming you home like he lived there. He picked up after himself so it wasn’t that big of a deal to you, and he was quite amusing when you gave him wine and got him drunk, he was a funny, cuddly drunk, which you teased him mercilessly about, but he didn’t care, as you were giving him attention.

-Qin Shi Huang- This cocky little shit irritated you, at first, when he tried to make demands of you like he was in charge of you. As time went on and you learned that was how he was a person, due to him being emperor, you gave him a bit of leniency. He was almost like a child with you, acting spoiled, wanting you to dote on him. He didn’t really want to fight you, although he was curious about your strength, he just liked your icy vibe, as he had seen you smile so brightly, he wanted to see what other sides there were to you.

-Thor- The god was respectful but also quite persistence, in getting you to fight him, as he wanted to see your strength for himself. He would ask you on the daily to fight, but would accept your no, unlike others who would keep asking, but then he would be back the next day to ask you again. You only accepted after you fought Lu Bu, willing to give him a match. Brunnhilde left a lump on your head, Thor’s head, and Lu Bu’s head, scolding all three of you after you and Thor destroyed the arena again. Thor respected your strength and loves to spar with you and Lu Bu both, as you could give them a challenge and they give you a challenge. Plus, they were fun drinking buddies as they were both very strong drinkers.

-Poseidon- Your strength and beauty was unrivaled, or so he thought, when you smiled and laughed, it was like he was being born again, seeing the world with new eyes, but only with you. Poseidon couldn’t stand that you were giving Kojiro the most attention, fury filling him that the older samurai had your attention. It made him want to do even more to get your attention on him. You weren’t bothered by his fancy gifts when he would try to give them to you, refusing them, but his tenacity is what caught your attention, not willing to give up and you finally accepted one of his gifts, a bottle of wine, but you made him sit and enjoy it with you, showing him that there were more sides to you than he originally thought.

-Hercules- This man- this god, was like a giant puppy with you, smiling so brightly when he would call out your name when he sees you around. He’s so respectful of you and your power, not taking anything lightly, which you appreciated, but he’s also super sweet with you, taking your groceries from you, “Let me carry those for you!” he treated you like a lady, but knew for a fact you could probably kick his ass easily, especially if you used Yoru. You enjoyed seeing Hercules, as he showed you all around Valhalla, and he would always be willing to fight you, if you wanted to spar, as he knew he didn’t need to hold back against you.

-Loki- This MF!! He is such a little gremlin and a tease, popping up at random places to try and scare you, wanting to see more emotions out of you, calling out your name so cheerfully. Loki was complicated, if you needed a word to describe him, he was annoying, teasing, perverted, loud, and obnoxious, but as you hated to admit it, if he hadn’t come around for a few days, you found yourself missing his antics. It was sometimes too quiet without Loki’s obnoxious self, popping up at random times. He nearly melted when you patted his head when he came back, asking if you missed him, and you patted his head lightly, adoring your affections.

-Hades- Was very impressed with your skills when he saw you fight, wanting to test you himself, and laughed warmly when you refused to fight him, instead offering him a glass of wine. The two of you became fast friends, as you were similar in personality, usually so serious and stoic, but you did have your soft sides, him with his siblings and you with children. Hades usually got jealous when someone else would try to take your attention off of him, but he was calm about it, choosing instead to just glare harshly while pouting, which you noticed, poking his cheek when you came back, teasing him which he tried to deny that he wasn’t pouting.

-Rudra- Was very soft with you, acting like a gentleman, asking to walk with you, taking anything that you might be holding other than your swords, it was amusing, but appreciated. You found Rudra relaxing to be around, as he was mellow, but you could sense his strength, his determination. You laughed warmly when he asked to hold Yoru, wanting to see how heavy it is, as you were carrying it around like nothing and swung it with such ease. Even with holding it with all four of his hands, Yoru fell to the ground as he could barely hold it up and he gawked before showering you with praise for your strength.

-Indra- Quite and cool, you found solstice with the Hindu god, as he was relaxing to be around, as he didn’t ask you for fights on the regular, only about once a week or so, and he would just sit with you, enjoying spending time together. You did dislike when he smoked, as you didn’t like the smell, but he always made sure to sit downwind from you, so you weren’t overly bothered. You did, however, find out that he was a weak drinker, after you offered to share your wine with him. You couldn’t help but poke his cheek, teasing him as he was nursing a headache afterwards, finding it amusing while he found your teasing side to be rather cute.

-Hajun- You had to discipline him when he tried to grab Yoru, wanting you to fight him, easily taking him out with your unsheathed sword. He was shocked with how easily you were able to take him out, impressed with you while you sat on his chest, but he was unbothered, finding you light, as he asked to fight you again. He was rather territorial with you, if he were to see you, he would hug you and try to keep everyone else away, not willing to share such a strong opponent with anyone else. As time went on however, he grew more territorial, not wanting anyone around you at all, which was more of a headache for you than you thought.

-Kojiro- Kojiro was the only man you gave any physical attention to, mainly because he was your lover now, something he still couldn’t believe. The swell of happiness that would fill his heart when your arms would encircle his neck, hugging gently could warm him all throughout winter. He never asked you for fights, you were the one to ask him, which you didn’t do for anyone else, something he noticed but wouldn’t mention as he would let you curl up in his lap, being doted on by him so gently, your arms around his neck as you both basked in your quiet affections with each other.

[the-owl-tree]

reading the star excerpt (link here)

i quite like the prologue. i like curlfeather taunting splashtail, i like his insecurity being exacerbated. i think it actually hammers in how young and out of his depth he is

which....sucks the rest of the books portray him as this manipulative mastermind. he's much more fun of a villain when you can see him scrambling for power (and losing it)

which makes the whole riverclan as poor victims kind of suck. icewing rightfully calls out her clanmates for being cowards for uh- *checks notes* using mothwing as target practice?? sorry we're going over the top evil i see. anyways, my point is....yeah, riverclan IS complicit in this, they DO have a choice to say no. splashtail doesn't even have enforcers like brokenstar and tigerstar did, it's literally just one guy - heck the warriors themselves are the enforcers.

fear becomes a limp excuse at this point. you guys gotta unionize or something.

i think the book is really struggling to make splashtail's NO MISS OHKO X9999 ULTRAKILL ATTACK an actual credible attack. look i get it they think he has nine lives, but the three of them could take on a teen i believe it.

i think because this arc won't acknowledge that riverclan is complicit in letting this fester, that they wanted this kind of leadership, it makes him fall flat. how much scarier would it be, more gray it would be, difficult, and so and so on if the clan rallied behind their leader because of the prior events? i get it, they're playing into the fear angle, but there NEEDS to be some more willing participants or this doesn't work.

the closest we get is this exchange but like. guys. the gathering exchange was stupid as hell.

also, you'd think every brit was the worst dog owner in the world LMAO these boys are screaming and straining on their leash while the owners chatting away. every dog in brit is some cat mauling beast i guess.

i was so ready for repetitive "why should we do X??" let's fight about it for the next few pages that it was a fucking relief that cloverfoot was just "yep bring them in!". fucking uh flashbacks from bramblestar's leadership lmao

the phrasing on this made me snick. "behaved so badly" makes it sound like she was kind of unruly, not plotted to overthrow her leader lmao

i dont wanna nitpick, i am actually enjoying that the plot is moving and that things are happening but like....minor waste of a shadowclan pov. you'd think with how often they like to make references to past events, sunbeam being a shadowclan cat could absolutely come in handy in this situation (considering they once had nightheart explain shadowclan history to a shadowclan cat) but when she wonders if riverclan can ever repair itself, it really doesn't come up. idk, i guess i think she could've had a more optimistic perspective but ultimately it really isn't the biggest of deals.

uh oh guys something ELSE happened?? wanna know what happens??? well go buy IVYPOOL'S HEART ONLY FOR 25.99 AVAILABLE NOW AT RETAIL OUTLETS CLOSEST TO YOU. BUY NOW BUY NOW BUY NOW BUY NOW. DON'T YOU WANNA KNOW WHERE ICEWING IS GOING???? OOOH BUY OUR BOOKS!

Oooh the Gathering trap is actually good, ignoring how a lot of them get thrown the idiot ball a little bit to make it work. I figured it out quickly (even though this arc loves having shit happen offscreen), it's nice to see some trickery for once! only real drawback is the books once again going "what did splashstar do to riverclan??" as if he's mind controlling them. I'm gonna actually hold out on hope that this is a set up to Frostpaw realizing her Clanmates haven't been mind controlled or whatever, they're doing this because they want to, because splashstar's ideals appeal to them after everything.

it probably won't happen but i wanna hold out hope.

tentatively interested! preparing for status quo disappointment!