#Cunning vs Adorable

[jhsharman]

"Dandy Dude"

[bunnwich]

A bit of controversial post maybe??? (feel free to skip)

Not to be controversial but I keep seeing how ppl are reading the “Leona is kind to Sally” situation and just thinking how my perspective is bit…different.  (if you don't care about my opinion ofc you can always skip)

SPOILERS FOR EVENT

When I saw it, these were my thoughts:

"Oh I love this so much!! It's adorable for one, and I’ve been saying for years that Leona is only mean to ppl he doesn't like/finds annoying or doesn’t care about. Like he HAS the ability, like everyone else to be polite and nice but we only see him interact with ppl who annoy him etc. Which is...um most of the cast. AND we rarely get a peak at how he would be with someone he likes.

I hope that this helps ppl see that he can be gentler to act toward someone he's SUPPOSED to like as a friend or even like romantically. 

Banter is one thing but I don’t believe he'd ever act straight-up rude to someone he was true friends with, dating or had a crush on?" 

So, a lot of ppl loved this scene I DO TOO! However…

This whole “Leona said men ain’t shit” joke is worrisome. Like…do you guys think that Leona would in fact be ruder or less gentle to a masc or nonbinary S/O vs a femme one? Some of these remarks…feel uh not really nice to those who have nonbinary/masc pairing with him.

He grew up in a matriarchal society, he respects women NO DOUBT.

I just think it would be nice to for us to be kinder in how we phrase things like this. I know they are jokes but still Yumes and ships mean a lot to ppl and I think it's just another catalyst for masc and masc-leaning fans to feel further alienated in the fandom space, yk?

Do I believe he respects women OFC, but much like those who had the “consent king” take about the voiceline of him being offended at Scully kissing the MC's hand I ONLY agree to an extent. WHY? Bc Leona is a big-ass hypocrite! Leona, for all I defend him, is not always keen on physical boundaries himself and can be quite rude. I think that line is more him being annoyed at Scully than genuinely worried for anyone's virtue, yk?

And to bring it back to the Sally/Leona thing I think it's not just bc Sally is a woman he is nice to her, bc she is SMART and cunning and was quickly underestimated by the rest of the cast. She was able take care of herself. He liked that about her. I really don't think it was just cause she was girl by itself.

Idk thats all I have to say, this is just my opinion as usual but it just didn’t sit right with me from a fandom perspective and I genuinely feel the “Leona is the feminist king of all time” is not a full reading of the character when we’ve seen him be nice to others and neutral to other women. Plus, he’s IS a hypocrite about the manners thing! The cast even call him out on it.

Leona is still flawed just like any other character in twst and I don't think him “bowing down at every women's feet” is something I subscribe to. Not in the way some ppl are acting anyways.

And frankly how some ppl are wording themselves in their tags and reblogs of these posts about Leona “drinking respect women’s juice bc he dislikes men” feels alienating toward those who have nonbinary/masc ships with him.

This is meant as no offense to anyone's fun I just thought I’d give my perspective on it. 

TLDR: I do think that it is genuinely funny and endearing to see the juxtaposition of how Leona treats everyone else VS Sally HOWEVER I don't think it is purely a gender thing and making that just doesn't sit right with me.

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere brynden rivers vs aegor rivalry hcs? Hopefully this is okay since you're still accepting asoiaf requests

Honestly, considering their rivalry over Shiera, makes sense to me! There isn't much I could find of them as I think their tale is primarily in A World of Ice and Fire (Although Brynden/Bloodraven is technically in the main books). So this is entirely speculation and HC about the little I know of their rivalry. I apologize if some things are wrong.

This is more focused on Brynden Rivers than Aegor. If there is ways to write them both better, I'd love to hear them.

Yandere! Brynden Rivers vs Aegor Rivers

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Violence, Blood in two lines, Murder, Manipulation, Possessive behavior, Mentioned/Implied Targcest, Mature themes, Mature language, Stalking, Imprisonment, Dubious relationship.

If you think about it, a similar thing has already happened in the books in canon.

Not the yandere bit, but the rivalry over a woman they both loved.

In canon, Brynden (Bloodraven) and Aegor (Bittersteel) fought over the love of Shiera.

All three were known as the great bastards of King Aegon IV.

Shiera was known to love Brynden, although Aegor loved her too.

The two ended up fighting in the first battle of the Blackfyre rebellion, both out of different allegiances and possibly jealousy.

How I'd write this idea is this;

You'd definitely take the role of Shiera (Regardless of gender for this concept, I'm just covering potential behavior for now).

I'm not saying you also have to be a great bastard, but somehow you take the role regardless of your relations with the two.

We can assume Brynden is very cunning, speculated to have planned everything to set up The Prince Who Was Promised.

He can put together plans well, he's also a known sorcerer who utilizes spies and spells.

Brynden is an albino with a birthmark similar to a raven, earning him the nickname "Bloodraven".

Aegor was another great bastard like Brynden, one who never got along with Brynden in the first place due to their mothers being part of warring families.

Not only that, but Aegor's mother was replaced with Brynden's mother for Aegon IV.

Safe to say Brynden has... reasons to be bitter.

Even more so when the two meet you.

The two become very fixated on courting you.

Something that only opens the rift between them larger.

The two have little interest in getting along.

They are rivals when it comes to the Iron Throne due to their blood, but that matters little to them.

All they seem to care about is fighting for your hand in marriage.

Drama would only increase if you actually loved one of them and not the other.

For example, going down the Shiera route, you love Brynden... which causes Aegor to grow more bitter and try even harder to show he's the better option.

Ever since the two saw you in the Red Keep, it was like there was a spark.

A spark that ignited adoration... and a raging fire that brings dangerous ambition that soon came after.

Aegor was a skilled warrior that became a hired mercenary in his time alive before being killed in another battle for the Blackfyre Rebellion.

Brynden is a sorcerer or spends most of his time planning and spying, he lives for a long time due to his magic and always makes sure things go to plan

I feel, regardless of if you love Brynden or not, he'd win you.

His experience in sorcery and his spies would certainly be enough to get rid of Aegor, if he didn't get rid of himself first.

I can see Brynden still adamant on you being his, yet he takes his time more.

When he was younger, before the Blackfyre rebellion, Brynden always felt jealousy towards Aegor.

Aegor felt the same, determined to take you for himself.

Aegor seems like he'd use brute force, while Brynden thinks more about planning.

The two often fought over you when they were young, yet they didn't try to kill one another until the first Blackfyre Rebellion.

Aegor sided with Daemon Blackfyre, while Brynden sided with Daeron II.

If you still wish to go down the Shiera route, Brynden probably joined Daeron II because you sided with the king.

If you sided with Daemon, then he probably would still try to pry you from Aegor's grip.

All while Aegor aims to slaughter the Bloodraven.

It doesn't matter what side you choose, or if you even pick a side, their first attempt on each other's life is with the death of Daemon Blackfyre.

It's in this fight that Aegor flees and Brynden comes back with one eye.

Blood is shed for the both of them, the red liquid coating one another before they part.

A nauseating sight for everyone involved.

If Aegor took you with him, Brynden plans ways to get you back into his own arms.

If Brynden took you, Aegor plans ways to drag you into exile with him... yet Brynden is more clever with his plans.

If you side with Aegor, he keeps you with him and founded the Golden Company.

Aegor would keep you safe beside him, promising to keep you from the Bloodraven.

Yet... even if you loved him... he still perishes in the end.

During another Blackfyre Rebellion battle, Aegor would pass in battle.

It's never specifically said, but I like to think Brynden planned this (for this concept) in an attempt to remove heirs to the throne... and take you back in this case.

You'd have men, spies, keeping an eye on your every move.

By the time Aegor dies, you're scooped back up and dropped at Brynden's feet with the help 

of Daeron II.

If you were with Brynden from the start, Brynden would just plot Aegor's demise before Aegor can make a move.

Truthfully, you were never intended to be Aegor's.

Not in Brynden's plans you weren't.

Brynden hopes you'll see that, especially when he tells you Aegor took his eye.

That outcast never deserved you in Brynden's thoughts.

Brynden makes sure his plan goes through, that you're his.

And you are his... for years.

No kidnapping needed, not if he plays his cards right.

Even then, it won't be hard to frame you... especially if you sided with the Blackfyres....

Brynden would imprison you if it meant you two could be a pair.

He's a convincing man.

You'd be Brynden's until he himself is exiled by King Aegon V.

Even then he'd still want you by his side... he'd keep you alive with magic just like he does himself...

Before you even know it, Brynden has planned out everything between you...

He won't have anyone take you from him, everything must go to plan, and in the end he knows he'll have you someday... not Aegor.

[st-danger]

For the character questions, Sister Imperator?

SISTER IMPERATOR MY BELOVED. Let me just start by saying I love her, and Maralyn Facey, if you're reading this, PLEASE RESPOND TO MY DM, NOT JUST MY COMMENTS PLEASE RESPOND

WELCOME TO MY SISTER IMPERATOR MANIFESTO THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR EXCEPT YOU DID SO NOW BUCKLE UP, JAGOFFS (RESPECTFUL)

How I feel about this character:

Sister Imperator is shrewd and certainly cunning, and comes across as severe and even cold at points. I think part of that is because she has to be; the movie gave us some really humanizing insight on Nihil, and between that and the MoaC stuff, I walked away with a very different view of his character. With that said, Imperator clearly was bearing the brunt of the responsibility, and between that and Nihil being awful at times (though I think it's born out of immaturity and not knowing how to handle the spotlight vs intentional maliciousness), she kind of has to be. She is shown to have a sense of humour, and I think she really adored Copia beyond measure.

For everything she had to do, everything she had to take on, and the difficulty of still having feelings for Nihil and needing to work with him after what happened, as well as care for him- Imperator is a character with a lot of dimension. She's been through a lot, she overcame a lot, and, you know, when push comes to shove, she made sure they weren't enemies. Even at the end, she showed love and grace (though her wit and sarcasm will never NOT be at the front lines).

All the people I ship romantically with this character

One time I got super high and turned into an Imperator/Dew truther. I think Dew would find her authority and power attractive, and I think she would revel in being revered the way the ghouls look up to her (evidenced by the way they surrounded her in the movie). I think they, to different extents, understand the pressure that comes from being an important member of the clergy, and I think both of them have the acerbic wit to deal with one another.

Otherwise? Now I see a lot of value between her and Nihil. An argument could be made for her and Swiss, though I'm not 100% set on that. I think she would find the tenderness of Cumulus as a pleasant escape.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Aether. I think she appreciates the care he shows Copia, and his general commitment to the clergy.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I feel like she doesn't get enough attention, and, uh. Well. I think older women are overlooked in fiction and in real life. I don't get it. Is it unpopular to say I think she's the hottest woman in Ghost canon? I love my Ghoulettes, don't get me wrong, but I think Imperator is gorgeous and insanely smart and MARALYN FACEY PLEASE RESPOND TO MY DM would not only be a great lay, she might be the best lay in the clergy and honestly this is a hill I am willing to die on. She would absolutely pick you apart and you'd beg for more, change my mind you can't.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I can't imagine we won't continue seeing her, she's too ingrained in lore, but I would have loved to see the official story of how she came back to the ministry after leaving Nihil.

[adarkrainbow]

To explain a bit more the Bluebeard situation I talked about in my previous post:

Perrault always placed Moralities at the end of his fairytales (there was a strong influence of La Fontaine’s Fables, which Perrault adored, even if the two guys were on opposite sides of the Modern VS Ancient feud). And while some of his Moralities were “serious” and helped reconsider the fairytale in a different light (for example the Morality of “Little Red Riding Hood” makes explicit the sexual meaning of the tale and how the wolf is supposed to represent a predatory male seducer), others were very clearly parody of moralities, or rather little jokes added in the end (again, Perrault’s fairytales were supposed to be like dark comedies, horrific and funny at the same time). 

And the best example is Bluebeard. I don’t think I need to tell you the story, you all know it by now. What’s the Morality for Bluebeard? Given the nature of the story it might be “Don’t just marry a guy because he is rich, ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS TON OF MISSING WIVES”. Or it might be “Maybe if a guy has a blue-beard it is because THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM, RUN GIRL GIRL”. Nope, the Morality basically condemns curiosity as a very bad thing, and as the typical, archetypal vice of all women, that they should work to fix. In the context of the story this is clearly meant as a joke-morality, since this whole “Curiosity must be punished” is the very logic used by the serial killer-antagonist of the story (who ends up defeated in a shameful situation while the curious protagonist gets rewarded). It is clearly a joke...

... and yet many people read it first degree and bought into the whole idea that somehow Perrault was a total misogynist who used his stories to teach women to be docile beings accepting everything and never questioning anyone. These people clearly didn’t pay attention to the story, or have very little knowledge of who Perrault was.

What is made even worse is that when you read the rest of the Morality, it becomes clear it is all a joke... Because the Morality basically goes “Well, we can see this is a story that happened a LONG TIME AGO. A Bluebeard case couldn’t have happened today. Why? Because nowadays it is the women that are in charge of everything, and that are the boss of the house, and who terrorize their husbands into submission, and so Bluebeards would have been faced with some dragons of a wife in modern days.” I mean... Perrault is literaly mocking the people that go “Oh darn, where are the good old days where the men were in charge of everything in the house, and when women just shut up and did as they were told? Oh sure, this Bluebeard fella might have been a killer..; BUT AT LEAST HE WORE THE PANTS IN THE RELATIONSHIP! At least he had the natural order of things in his house, and if we had more people like him to punish those rebellious women, the world would have been better today.”

This is literaly Perrault mocking this mindset by parroting them in his dubious morality. A morality that is need to be seen as dubious since Bluebeard is - I think I need to insist - expressedly depicted as a ugly, terrifying, hard-hearted, brutal and savage serial killer that is ultimately a whimp easily defeated by actually brave and noble men. And I can’t stress enough how Perrault stood on the side of the “Moderns”, and was a fervent enemy of the “Ancients” and their glorification of the “ancient ways”... 

I know that, when I read the brief Perrault section Jack Zipes had placed in his book about fairytales, this was my main problem: he painted a very dark portrait of Perrault as a sort of brainwasher of women precisely because he read the stories first-degree and completely missed the jokes spread everywhere and how Perrault’s stories are fundamentaly ironic (I mean come on... in a society of absolutism where the king is everything and nobility a sacred thing, he wrote “Puss in Boots” that heralds as heroes a stupid miller son and a cunning cat who basically steal all the belongings of an ogre-lord and then fool a drunkard of a king, faking a nobility title till they make it... That’s definitively not supposed to be a first-degree story). Apparently Jack Zipes is excellent when he deals with other topics - the Brothers Grimm for example, or comparative fairytales as a whole - but he is part of those people that completely misread the whole “French fairytales” part of fairytale history. 

[italeteller]

Undead Unluck Week Day 5: Favorite Arc

I had a lot of trouble with this one, cause there are so many UU arcs I adore. But if I had to pick one, it'd have to be

The Spring arc. It just has so many excellent moments

It's the first time Fuuko and Andy are apart for an extended period of time, which gives us cunning planner Fuuko and Andy staying up for three days waiting for her to reach them, plus both Andy and Fuuko realizing and accepting that they're in love with each other

It has Top's backstory, Chikara development, Haruka presentation + backstory + development, Yusai's first proper appearance, the excellent Andy vs Billy fight, Andy trolling Rip, Latla drinking from a giant ass bottle of sake with Bunny's help, and of course, the main dish:

Fuuko versus Spring is such a beautiful fight. It puts Fuuko front and center as a strategist, gives us the reveal of a phase three, and ends with the most bittersweet finale one could possibly think of. Truly an amazing arc

[ac-liveblogs]

I gave up on Genshin for now to focus on Samurai Remnant.

Up to Ch2 notes:

Story

As usual, I love the Master-Servant dynamics when Fate goes really hard on them. Iori & Saber are a fun duo so far - I like their personality clashes. Iori's character has a lot of callbacks to Shirou, which is nice.

I Am Not Immune To Saber. Saber is adorable. Love Saber so far. I know who they are but not how Fate plans to write them; spoilers on Servant identities don't bother me, bc I'm not too familiar with a lot of historical figures anyway.

Iori's sister assuming Saber & Iori are in a relationship and like, fucking constantly, is hilarious given this is the one Fate entry where romance ISN'T a major component.

Not sure how I feel about Rogue Servants. On one hand, they should be involved in the main story if they're here... on the other, that's a lot of Servants to manage. And Tamamo Aria is like, her own thing. Do not like. Having Gil as a neighbour though, christ.

I don't know if I trust Zheng Chenggong yet. He seems friendly, but he's gotten a lot of information on us that could backfire in our faces later, and he's.... so generous...! Maybe I'm just suspicious of friendly prettyboys after Oberon and Takasugi.

I'm also unsure of what to make of Takao Dayu; I don't actually think that Iori being Musashi's disciple is going to protect him in the long run if he becomes a strong enough enemy for Musashi to consider, and she seems fairly cunning. On the other hand... Musashi... hmm.

Chiemon is cool. And pathetic. Love him, 10/10 design.

Gameplay

I love the way they manage human vs Servant combat. The gap in strength between Iori and Saber, and Iori and any Servant you happen to pick a fight with is extremely well-conveyed. I wiped out against Rogue Berserker a couple of times because of it.

The combat has much more depth than any other Warriors game I've played so far. It's a lot more enjoyable than FE Hopes, even though there's a lot less playable characters.

Unsure how I feel about Grail Front being transferred here. It certainly works better than in FGO; I think I'll have to wait until I've unlocked all aspects of it to make a judgment.

I just want to recruit Arjuna, man.

[msfbgraves]

I recall you mentioned once that as he gets older, Daniel thinks more about the plight of his people (omegas), and their rights. Terry of course seems to think that omegas proper place is at home with their Alpha and pups, he’s very traditional head-of-the-household like that. And quite frankly, Daniel seems very content as a homemaker, and excellent in that role. His kids and mate adore him! 

That also seems very natural, because even in CK, he’s so nurturing, affectionate, and caring; Amanda seems to run the car business more than he does, and he doesn’t seem particularly ambitious—though he can be cunning and shrewd when he’s not busy being hot-headed and clueless lol. He also seems very happy at home, and tends to his children’s emotional needs rather more than Amanda (who by most accounts, is a female Terry). I think even in canon Daniel would like to, and would make, a great househusband. 

Back to Mobland though, while Daniel doesn’t come across as wanting to have a paying job, and didn’t care for school (again, KK/CK canon!)—does he want the same for his omega children, or want something different for them? His Alphas will go on to have jobs and careers and have paying jobs, his Beta boy Robby will as well. But Anthony and Luna…? And the two youngest, whatever they will be. 

I wonder if there will be some sort of omega-rights movement, like the feminism movements of the 60s, or the Suffrage movement of the 1900s in the States. I wonder if Daniel would take part in that—I’ve a feeling Terry would strongly dislike it if he did so. (Again: traditional.)

It’s hard to say, because omegas in general naturally seem to like to cater to their family and be homemakers and have their Alphas/betas take charge for the most part—after all, they fulfill the stereotypical role of “happy wife happy life, a woman’s place is at home” role. Maybe some want to earn money or have to, but by nature, do most actually want to go out and earn a living? 

“Weirdos” like Amanda are exceptions, while omegas like Anoush and Apollonia are played straight. Daniel seems to fit in rather better with the latter two, especially when he’s ever so soft and lovely and radiant with his first six puppies, vs. being like Amanda who is an Alpha in everything except gender (and someone I see as being Alpha-coded in CK). And then there’s Johnny who looks like an Alpha, but here is an omega (something I personally find odd, but it’s just because I always see Johnny as 100% Alpha), and Betsy who (again, to me) is so omega coded in canon due to her sweet and gentle nature (especially in contrast to someone like Kreese who is always 100% Alpha) but is a beta in Mob! 

I always go back and forth in Omegaverse: is it something ingrained in their natures, is it something dictated by society, or is it a mixture of both? Such an interesting world. So many questions. 

I think women invented Omegaverse to grapple with these questions. What is nature? What is nurture? Am I acting like this because I want to, or because society makes me? I feel I have been strongly judged for acting unfeminine at work, which means not taking it lying down when being expected to do more work for less pay and making people,mostly men, comfortable - not by refusing to do it, but simply by pointing out that was going on, to the discomfort of everyone around me, because I was naturally supposed to want the taking minutes and getting coffee and cleaning up after and agreeing with men who were demonstrably wrong. Was I unfeminine for that? But if women naturally like doing shit jobs why would they complain about it to other women? And yet - some people really seem to be suited to certain tasks and behaviours...

Johnny isn't Alpha to me because all that manly stuff doesn't come naturally to him. He's always pontificating about it. His aggressive response to Daniel doesn't seem proportionate, either. And when he relaxes, his love language is acts of service, specifically making things - baby proofing his apartment, Miguel's physical therapy, building things. Feels to me like someone masking - and who better to mask than an omega who doesn't want to be, as he feels it, trapped?

And Daniel, I'd want him to live that nurturing side without constantly getting flack for it. Because indeed: he doesn't seem to be particularly ambitious, even when it comes to running a business. First I thought, going by young Daniel, that this may be his path, given how enthusiastic he was starting Little Trees. But when you see him in LaRusso Auto, he really is not very committed. The one thing that seems to excite him about it is sales, and then only to not have to go into work! Daniel, you slacker! That is no way to run any business. Amanda is right that she's been doing it all herself. And I'm sure she knew that beforehand, and used Daniel as a strawman. And it works because she needs him for that and he does know his business and does what she says 100% of the time but it was him taking care of Sam and Anthony and only coming in to be the spokesperson on business deals.

So I let him have his home. As an omega, nobody would force him. Even here the problem is sometimes that he does less Mob work than he has the brains for. Terry really has to push him sometimes.

What would he want for his children? A sense of safety and choice. Anthony even in canon probably wouldn't want to hold a job! Lazy sod, he'll totally set up a pyramid scheme or ransom existing ones. Anthony will do well as a socialite with mob ties. And Luna with her sweet bleeding heart; she will want to go into activism and social work and then break down from the pain she encounters. They're very worried Terry and Daniel, about keeping her secure. Anthony wouldn't want a job, but anything other than hostess work or some kind of daycare would probably break Luna. She's very creative though, and given a safe bubble could make beautiful things. There's more omegas like Luna, but there's also those who could go out and live happy independent lives. Daniel could, but he wouldn't like to. I think generally omegas like to contribute, but taking complete care of themselves would feel like a huge burden. And that's fine if the world did function the way Terry thinks it should, namely with all omegas well protected. But Terry knows from very personal experience - all those kitties whose heat he took - that this is not the case. It's partly why he supports Daniel's outreach groups. If there were an omega movement (set up partly by Alphas and betas no doubt), that would not fly with him, no. Daniel would be very hesitant to get involved officially but he would not object to the rethoric. It would have to be very hush hush as the Church would oppose it (they're very strongly about "An omega's place is with their Alpha", as if other pairings don't exist!). I think, strangely enough, that Anthony might become very involved as soon as he is away from under his Daddy's thumb - no way he is marrying an Alpha that stops him doing what he wants to do. Daniel's groups could function as a gateway: "You didn't hear this from me, but there's people you can talk to in Midtown." Still Daniel wouldn't seek it out, partly because he's comfortable.

As for betas feeling like omegas: roughly there's 40% betas, 40% Alphas and 20% omegas. Omegas nearly all pair off with Alphas initially, so the other 20% would look for omegan traits. John wouldn't have fallen for Lisa LaRusso or Lucille, but Betsy? Sure. Some Alphas don't even try going for omegas, though, as they need partners in business. Some are not into omegas, feeling that they're too sheltered. If they're very rich they may end up with one and take beta lovers. But of course there are beta women who want to marry Alphas and especially in poorer communities, the Alpha may prefer that as well. Omegas nearly always marry out of poverty, but betas rarely do. But those betas going for an Alpha will want to be as soft as possible.

Beta couples are often the most lively, as they pair off based on personality the most.

[the-broken-pen]

First of I absolutely adore your writing prompts, you have really helped me with my writing projects. I do have some questions for you. I have a character in my book, she’s the main villain in the story. The story takes place in there Era’s, medieval, seventh century America (Salem Witch trials) and present time. My main villain was born in Salem Town, her father was a judge. She discovers she has powers and has to end up leaving her family and her town for fear of her being a witch. Her family is part of a ancient prophecy, and she believes that she is the girl it speaks of. Her powers have the ability to influence her choices and thoughts. I often think of it as Mr jeckle and the Hyde. The good vs evil. She ends up giving in to her selfish desires and becomes evil. The hero in my story is her ancestor; and she’s the girl in the prophecy. But I wanted to sort of use her as a sort of “cautionary tale” if that makes sense. My often think of my Villain, Alice her name is as very much like Lord Voldemort. She’s very clever and cunning. Manipulative. I’m on the part where my hero is learning about her, I want to make her infamous (sort of like when Harry asks dumbledore if he knew he had met the most evil wizard when he was just a child. And he replies with, no. If the monster was there it was buried deep within) do you have any dialogue that can help set the tone of how evil she is? ❤️❤️ ❤️

Anon, my love, I truly appreciate you, and you have no idea how much joy it brings that you both like my writing and it’s helped you. Absolutely wild.

Your story sounds absolutely delightful, and I adore the idea of a split timeline world building concept. I’m absolutely intrigued by it. Wether or not it’s simply flashbacks or short scenes that look back on the villain, or dual POV, I think it will be wonderful.

Now to actually answer your question:

I have a few suggestions, and you can shape them to what you want—I don’t know underlying motivations between the characters or actually events/scenes, so I’m going vague here.

“It was like walking into the ocean, surface calm and smooth, sun on your back. Until you step too far, too fast, and the current rips you under. There’s no escaping from that kind of hold—and eventually, you don’t want to, either, surrounded by such power. That was her. She was the sun and the riptide and the victim; and she was willing to drag us all down with her when she went.”

“People didn’t live through her—they survived in the aftermath.”

“It was never about forgiveness, or righteousness. At some point, she was a girl, scared and alone. All she had was herself, and her power, and at some point, one of those things won. And it wasn’t her.”

“Power is a thing you can love. It curls up in your heart, your mind, your soul, and it’s a beautiful thing. It’s easy. It gnaws at your bones until you forget the absence of it. She loved her power to absolution, and at that point, right or wrong didn’t matter to her. It just mattered if she was capable of whatever she wanted to do.”

“She didn’t hurt people because she craved their pain—she hurt people because they were in her way. They were casualties to her. A person who sees human beings as obstacles is no longer a person with humanity. And she saw people as obstacles.”

I hope that helps!

This next stuff is just general advice about dialogue, because I went off on a mini tangent while stuck on an airplane. I want to preface that my advice is based solely on how I write and other advice I’ve received—anything I do may not work for you, or go against something you prefer in your writing style. I’m not a professional, simply an individual who likes typing things.

When I’m writing dialogue, my main goal is to get it to flow well, which is my favorite part. Half the time when I start a scene, I have one very specific line fragment that I want to use, and I’m figuring out how the characters would naturally get there. For example, the lines “I need you to hang up,” “No, love, I’m going to turn you into another me,” and “Your brother isn’t alive, but he is living,” were big drivers for me within those scenes, but I have to get to them for them to make sense.

That being said, to write a good “evil” sounding dialogue/villain, don’t make it too outright, unless you’re going for, on some level, unhinged. Your villain lost the internal battle between good and evil, and is driven by her powers. So essentially, an outside force is pushing her to do these things, think these things, say these things. And since she’s manipulative, when she talks, you’re almost going to agree with her, and that’s what will make it more convincing. For example:

“I finally stood up and did something for myself for once—is that such a horrible thing?”

Which, depending on the situation, can be a gross oversimplification—but that’s what your villain would see it as. She did something she wanted, for herself, after leaving her town in fear. And anyone who has been pushed down by other people will relate to that, and the fact that they relate to it will make them uneasy.

Along with that, power dynamics. Not magic, but the way the characters interact. In improv, you need to have two characters on different levels. You can have a boss and an employee, a king and a joker, a mom and her child. There’s engrained power dynamics between those groups, and they make it interesting. If your main character isn’t at least a little bit afraid of the villain, it won’t be believable. Our main character isn’t afraid, why should we be? If Hagrid/Dumbledore/other adults weren’t at least slightly shaken by Voldemort, it wouldn’t matter. He’d just be a bad wizard—not someone who strikes such fear that people cannot say his name.

However, you can have people on the same level within writing, but it can sometimes make a scene lag. It all depends on the situation. But someone, somehow, will always have an upper hand. More resources, more power, less morality, ancestral sway, etc.

Woah, that got long. Anyways, I hope that helps, and if you need any more ideas, feel free to send me another ask, especially if it’s for a specific scene.

[no-psi-nan]

OP, this is a fantastic question, actually!

You can go a few different directions with this one. Like what animal would suit Akechi the most vs what animal would Akechi pick for himself.

As for what animal suits Akechi the most, I do like @desitenya's hare headcanon. The wild, uncanny energy of a hare along with a Watership Down kind of feel (be cunning, and full of tricks), matches Akechi well, I think.

Before the harekechi propaganda, I had been leaning toward African wild dog, because of their social nature, successfully hunting strategy and adorable round ears lol. Akechi just seems very much to me like he can do well for himself but would very much like to be part of a pack, y'know? Actually I wanted to do a triad drawing of Akechi overlaid with stylized African wild dogs but considering that this sketch was from October 2021 and I still haven't gotten around to it... The chances are not good that I'll ever do it, so here's the concept lol:

(Akechi on the bottom is my older version of him btw)

Honestly, if you asked Akechi to pick what animal he wanted as a fursona, I think it would highly depend on what cool animal he most recently learned about lol. He'd definitely pick out some niche beasts.

But if you held a gun to my head and told me to pick ONE animal that Akechi would reasonably make into a fursona though, I'd say a velvet worm. Not actually furry but you know a pedantic bastard like Akechi would definitely argue that villi are analogous to fur lmao. Plus, hunting with slime is just such a neat concept lol.

Thanks for the ask! 💜

[dualnaturedscientist]

So I had a funny idea for you based off your Duality of a villain fic. What if while working on an invention, Dr. Two Brains accidentally gets blasted by it malfunctioning and separates back into Steven and Squeaky. Only with a twits. Squeaky is now fully human while Steven is a tiny brown and white mouse. No personality swap just species swap and both still have their minds. So Squeaky looks a bit like Two Brains and still has white hair and red/pink eyes, but no whiskers, mouse teeth, or any other mouse features. He still has his high-pitched voice. But poor Steven can't speak only make mouse sounds. Becky can hardly understand her dad and begrudgingly can understand Squeaky now. But irony is still in play here. Squeaky can't enjoy the taste of only cheese and has to eat other human foods for his body to function long enough until things turn back to normal. He can't even commit Two Brains' crimes that well. Squeaky is smart, vicious, and cunning, but he doesn't have Steven's intelligence and gadget building skills. Wordgirl easily grabs him by his shirt and takes him away with no issue. Squeaky now has to pull his hair back because his long, spiky, hair keeps getting in his eyes. Steven does not have his cheese urges anymore and can eat berries and other mice foods now. It upsets him that he can't talk like a human anymore or hug his child like he used too. He does curl up on her head or in her pockets to comfort her. Steven deals with mice instincts still while Squeaky deals with human instincts. Becky and Bob stay with Amazo Guy since Steven can't take care of them and Squeaky can't even take care of himself well enough let alone a little girl and her monkey. Becky makes up a temporary lie that Squeaky is her uncle who is staying with them while her dad is helping with a family issue. Those who don't know who Squeaky is believe her. Even some of the other villains who just feel that human Squeaky is different from Dr. Two Brains even though he looks like him but they don't know why? Jenkins, Tubing, and Doohickey work on trying to fix things for Steven.

@melodythebunny

Yesss. Oh this would be so good and so cool. Absolutely loving this. So much. Poor Steven. ...Squeaky still has the voice. 😂 I strongly believe that.

I adore this idea so much. Oh the shenanigans that could happen from this. Imagine Steven accidentally getting lost in the city and has to navigate his way home on his own.

I need some human Squeaky in my life. Yes. Wait.

Human Squeaky vs Calvin. In a boxing match style. xD

[leapdayowo]

oh I really love this so much :OO The beginning is really effective setting up how Welsknight thinks in good vs evil

And the cloak oh noooooo! DD:

Okay OKAY THIS PART??:

“{Subjectively, it felt very, very bad when someone stared up at you with blind panic, and, in a snap decision, figured out they would rather drop to their potential doom than be caught by you. Which was exactly what Tanguish did.}”

SO GOOD I’m amazed how much is packed into this short paragraph! We are told what is happening but I just love how it’s told while also describing how Wels feels about it! And the word choice here is just so precise and visceral! Like DAMN. We’re getting Wels’ mounting guilt (he’s also calling Tanguish by his name👀 it’s harder to try to kill a demon when you call him by his name) and Tanguish’s terror

It’s a small thing, but I like the mention of the monsters when they enter the cave so that when they become relevant again it doesn’t feel like it comes out of nowhere (I’m also eyeing that part where Wels makes the connection he’s no better than a monster right now… and conveniently stunts down that train of thought. It’s that or he realizes Tanguish is not behaving like a typical monster. Or both)

Tanguish is the little beast (derogatory) and the little pest (affectionate) :3

poor tanguish is just so miserable and terrified! Utterly pathetic to look at. I love Wels grappling with his guilt over trying to kill someone who refuses to fight back like hk would

I’ll keep saying it, but Silver I just love how you write action and emotions <3 they blend together at times and I’ve noticed how much I enjoy you writing how a POV character interprets the emotions on another character’s face :3 I just feel so immersed with your writing and invested!

tanguish might enjoy flying (something I believe Tamgo had made a comment about), but to not be able to find joy because it with Wels, one of the people actively hostile towards him :( also got us thinking about the sky and sun here so it can get brought up later👀

and there’s Tanguish being so smart?? Refusing to heal until he gets confirmation of his safety . I really like seeing that shift from scared to cunning form another perspective and how uncomfortable it makes Wels :3

the end really breaks down helsknight’s and tanguish’s relationship and to see tanguish break it down just hits really well (especially because he’s explaining it to Wels. I like when the hermits are faced with the realities of hels as a place and what the helsmets go through). Also Wels not being immune to the protect Tanguish instinct when Tanguish starts picking at his knuckles :3 love that

also ya know what, I will bring up how I adore this bit:

“‘When we found each other, I was a bright living thing that wanted to die, and he was a defeated, dying thing that wanted to live. We were not good or kind. Not in any way either of us could recognize.’” So so effective and powerful this is, I love it <3 and the part about being puzzle pieces to each other after time of going through things together <3

“Everyone deserved the sun.” I love that line <3

Enemy caretaker, but Wels helping Tanguish this time!

Maybe something along the lines of, Wels getting Tanguish to tell him what he sees in Helsknight in exchange for the help, if you’d like a slightly more specific prompt ^^

When it comes to the whole Hermits vs helsmets thing, Welsknight can, nine times out of ten, say with confidence, he's the good guy. The Hermits are all, barring a few hiccups from time to time, objectively good people. Helmets are the opposites of Hermits. Ergo, helsmets are evil. And if he didn't have logic to prove this, he had Helsknight. Helsknight who, as soon as he had the wits to start making his own identity, immediately started orbiting Welsknight like the most destructive, malicious moon might tear up the atmosphere of a nearby planet. He was mean, vindictive, cruel, heartless, brutal, and worst of all, perfect. Perfect form with the sword, with his knightly duties and tenets, hels, even when their fights were more philosophical, he always seemed to have the perfect argument. There was something uniquely insufferable about fighting a perfect enemy. Grinding.

{This wasn't about Helsknight.}

Anyway. Helsmets. Everything their Hermits aren't. And if the Hermits are objectively good, well, it follows they're all pretty evil. And a good person fighting an evil person -- the good person is in the right. That's what good is all about, generally speaking.

So, chasing Tanguish through a strip mine: Objectively Good. He is Fighting Evil. Sure, that evil is terrified of him, and keeps scrambling away like he thinks Welsknight is the devil incarnate, but... Objectively, Welsknight is doing the right thing, the good thing. Fighting evil. Fighting Evil Is Good.

{Subjectively, Welsknight admits to himself, begrudgingly, it doesn't feel good.}

They ran into each other by accident. Welsknight was mining. He wasn't wearing his good armor -- just some old chain beneath his tunic, so nothing would maul him. He'd been digging away mindlessly and broke through a wall into the bottom of someone else's strip mine -- probably Tango's. He came out of the wall right beside a pile of chests, and right beside the little helsmet sneak thief pilfering from those chests.

Welsknight and Tanguish made eye contact. Welsknight drew his sword in the time it took either of them to blink, and swung it. Tanguish dodged. The vertical slash that would have pretty neatly bisected the little helsmet missed by less than a fraction of a hair's breadth. It was so close, in fact, that it cut through the chain chord that fastened his cloak to his shoulders, so when Welsknight lunged forward and grabbed that cloak in his fist, the pins tore free, and Welsknight was left standing with a bundle of cloth while the helsmet escaped down the hall. Welsknight sheathed his sword and sprinted after him.

It was a long, dark, relentless run. They didn't shout at each other. There was no epic chase music playing. There was only the pounding of feet, the wind in their lungs, and the echo of their movements bouncing off the tunnel walls. Tanguish turned a corner, and so did Welsknight. Tanguish leaped down a drop, Welsknight followed. The little creature was nimble and quick, but he had no idea where he was going, and all Wels had to do was follow. They burst out of strip mines into a mine shaft, splintering the depths of some cave somewhere. The sound of feet on stone turned abruptly to the hollow thrum of old, rotting wood. The place was only half-lit, and the glittering red eyes of spiders high in the ceiling glinted with watchful malice. Far below them, amidst the old beams at a bruising drop, the clattering bones of skeletons started pulling themselves together, warned awake by breath and sound.

Tanguish did a snap turn on the wood, a quick dart off a side path -- or what would have been, if his claws hadn't slipped. The caves were humid, and the ground stayed just the barest amount of slick. Momentum caught him in its fist and he tumbled, only saving himself from rolling off the edge by digging in with long claws. Welsknight slowed his sprint, pulling to a stop before he could make the same mistake. He and Tanguish made eye contact again.

{Subjectively, it felt very, very bad when someone stared up at you with blind panic, and, in a snap decision, figured out they would rather drop to their potential doom than be caught by you. Which was exactly what Tanguish did.}

The little helsmet gasped, bright yellow eyes flashing fearfully. He let go of the wood, plummeting off the mine shaft's boardwalk to the hard stone below. It wasn't a killing fall. Welsknight knew that because, when the helsmet hit the ground, he let out a cry of pain. Welsknight stepped up to the edge, paused long enough to make sure he wasn't leaping into a hazard, and then stepped over the side himself. He landed safely, his momentum dampened by the splay of his elytra, and the feather falling enchantment that sparked off his boots when they touched the ground.

Tanguish was curled up on the ground not far from him, hands grasping at his ankle, a painful grimace on his face. When Welsknight landed, Tanguish snapped his gaze to him, breath coming sharp in his chest.

Welsknight swallowed hard, steeled himself, and drew his sword.

For every one of his steps forward, Tanguish scrabbled back away from him. He didn't stand -- maybe his ankle was broken. He kicked away with his good leg, and pulled himself with his claws and elbows until he backed himself against a stalagmite. Welsknight continued forward. He reminded himself to be relentless. He reminded himself to be steadfast. He reminded himself that this would not be the first time he killed a disarmed enemy, someone completely at his mercy. He had done it to Helsknight a few times before, and Hels had done it... several times to him.

{But Helsknight didn't show fear. Helsknight didn't cry out. He growled. He snarled. He spat. He did grandstanding. He spoke quiet, seething oaths. He vowed to do awful things, threatened, and made good on those threats sometimes. Helsknight didn't show fear. He did the thing that monsters did: when he felt pain, he made himself dangerous.}

Tanguish did not make himself dangerous. He didn't make himself monstrous.

Tanguish pressed himself against the stalagmite like he thought, if he leaned hard enough against it, he might fall through it into safety. He didn't watch Welsknight. He watched Welsknight's sword like it was a snake, waiting for that fatal strike, as though, if he could only see it coming, he might be able to better prepare for it. He shook, shivers that gripped him so violently they made even his breaths shudder. He would probably cry, if he weren't too scared at the moment to remember what tears were.

And then, as though all of that weren't bad enough, he begged.

Welsknight closed the final distance between them, heart hardened as much as he was able. He drew up his sword, laying his free hand across the blade to better steady it. He was going to do this right. One swift, well-placed stab, somewhere the little thing wouldn't suffer.

"Please. P-please. Please--" Tanguish hiccuped a terrified breath and stammered with every exhale, over and over, like a prayer. "P-p-p-please."

Welsknight felt something cold wash down his spine. His determined scowl twitched.

{Just be done with it.}

Welsknight drew his sword back an inch more, tilted his shoulders--

"P-please don't," Tanguish gasped louder. Quicker. Words tumbling out of him like a flood. "Please d-don't--! Don't--! Please don't--!"

By the time Welsknight had moved into his lunge, Tanguish was screaming, his voice echoing loud and terrified off every wall in the cave.

"--d-don't kill me! Please don't--! Please--!"

His shriek cut off abruptly against the ringing crash of steel on stone. Tanguish choked, peering at Welsknight wide-eyed through his crossed, shaking arms he'd thrown up to shield himself. He was crying openly, hiccuping gasps that shook his whole body. Very slowly, he glanced to his side, to the gouge in the stone where Welsknight's sword lanced against the stalagmite at the level of his neck. Welsknight could see in the helsmet's eyes the fatal arithmetic of where that sword would have gone if it hadn't twitched to the side.

Tanguish lurched for Welsknight's sword. It was a motion that seemed almost as surprising to Wels as it was for Tanguish. Welsknight managed to draw the blade back before he could grab it. He cursed himself for his moment of weakness, pulled the sword high over his shoulder to bring it down on the treacherous little creature--

"Wait wait wait!!" Tanguish shouted, curling up small, arms over his head protectively. "I'll-ll-l l-leave! M-my ref-flection I'll--" he looked up at Welsknight beseechingly, begging with every inch of his terrified posture. "Y-you d-don't have t-to kill m-me I'll g-go. Please. I d-don't-- I don't-- I d-don't--"

Tanguish hiccuped, and swallowed, and bowed his head. It was by far the most miserable, defeated thing Welsknight had ever seen a person do. Tanguish curled up on the ground, face buried in his arms to save himself the view of the sword, and shaking and crying, he whispered. "I don't want to die."

{There is nothing, objectively, subjectively, abstractly good about killing someone begging desperately for mercy. Even if that someone is Evil. There is nothing good about bringing someone so much terror, they sob at your feet, would rather fall to some terrible end then meet whatever justice you have in store.}

{And, on that note, there is nothing just about relentlessly pursuing and killing someone for... what? Rifling through some chests?}

{Well, it was more than the chests. It was the fact that he was a helsmet. But the chests had kicked this whole thing off and... Well... It just seemed a bit stupid.}

With Tanguish cringing at his feet, Welsknight felt uniquely ridiculous. It was all very dramatic and harrowing, and surreal. Wasn't this thing, effectively, a demon? Wasn't this thing evil? Why then, did he feel like such a monster doing what was supposed to be right? Why wasn't right easier to do?

Somewhere further in the cavern, some mobs groaned. Welsknight was almost relieved to hear it. Zombies and skeletons and creepers were simple, straightforward evils. So simple and straightforward, they were almost benign. They hurt, so he killed them before they could hurt him. They were merciless, because they had no reason not to be. There wasn't enough sentience or thought in them to be any way else. They did not cry or run or beg. They didn't look at him like he was...

... A monster.

Welsknight had lowered his sword at some point. He didn't know when. Probably around the same time Tanguish had buried his face in his arms and stopped begging, resigning to his fate. Welsknight sighed. He suddenly felt very, very tired.

An arrow fired from a skeleton in the dark sailed wide and rattled off some rocks somewhere.

"Can you stand?"

Tanguish flinched at the sound of Welsknight's voice, but didn't answer.

"I said, can you stand?"

Tanguish cracked an eye open and looked up at him hopelessly. He sniffed, and swallowed, and rasped, "N-no." His gaze flicked to his ankle. "It's-- it's broken."

Welsknight sighed and sheathed his sword. The barest flicker of something like hope sparked in Tanguish's eyes. It was a look that nearly guttered out when Welsknight shoved his hand forward. Tanguish flinched away from him again, and then watched his outstretched hand like he feared it would suddenly lunge forward and strangle him.

"Well, come on," Welsknight snapped impatiently. That look, distrustful and scared, angered him. He didn't know why, other than it galled him to know someone thought he was more likely to harm than to help.

Hesitantly, Tanguish reached out and took Welsknight's hand.

Welsknight forced himself to be gentle, to not rip the infuriating helsmet to his feet. He pretended he was a squire again, and there was a knight over his shoulder telling him gentle when you take a lady's hand for a bow, you don't want to hurt her. Tanguish was not a fair lady at court {quite the opposite, in fact}, but he had the fragility of someone whose wrist might break if Welsknight squeezed too hard by accident. He tried not to be too bitter knowing he'd inspired that, made the helsmet breakable with terror.

Tanguish had to lean on him heavily to stand. He refused to look at Welsknight, an expression of misery etched into every line of his face, a wounded animal forced to take shelter by a starving wolf.

Welsknight decided abruptly that he'd never felt so guilty in his life.

{This is ridiculous. He's an enemy. He's evil. He should be scared of you.}

Welsknight stamped down the little voice in his head. He reached down and scooped up the helsmet's legs. Tanguish screwed his eyes shut and hugged himself, an action that made Welsknight scared he'd drop him. His elytra flared out behind him, splaying into a shape like eagle's wings. Welsknight leaped into the air, hovered briefly, long enough to figure out where he needed to go, and swooped off down into a nearby tunnel.

It was cramped. The wind whistled by his ears, and his wing-tips brushed the walls and floor when he flexed them. It was an act of immense concentration not to lose his balance and send them both hurtling into a wall. Yet somehow, he still managed to be disconcerted by the fact that Tanguish barely clung to him. He had one hand pressed against Welsknight's chest, almost restraining more than it held, like he anticipated needing to pitch himself from Welsknight's arms at any given moment. The other hand had found Welsknight's chainmail where it peaked out from beneath his sleeve, and the clawed fingers tangled in the links, like only the metal was safe to touch. His expression was grim death, someone offering trust not because they wanted to, but because they had no other choice. Someone who was convinced they weren't being saved, but were instead only prolonging the inevitable.

Guilt like nausea bubbled up in Welsknight's stomach, and he stubbornly told himself it was the motion of flight that made him feel so wretched.

At last, Welsknight burst from the winding tunnels and into the bright day. He soared skyward, reveling for a moment in the feeling of stretching his wings without fear of crashing. There was a brief moment where, high in the sky and warmed by the sun, Welsknight felt some relief from his guilt. He even dared to wonder if he might impress the helsmet he carried -- surely he'd never flown before, or if he had, never on Hermitcraft, where there was only sun and wind and endless horizon, and not the twisted, smothering red of hels. But when he looked down, Tanguish's eyes were closed, that same look of mournful patience on his face, waiting, perhaps, for Welsknight to make the fickle decision of dropping him to his death.

"The sky is beautiful today," Welsknight said before he could stop himself. A peace offering. Look. See. I'm not a monster. A monster could never admire the sun. The sun, something of Light and Good. The sun, which burns away the darkness. The sun, which seemed to glare down at him like a great, judgemental eye, and make stark the deep, creasing lines of fear and strain on Tanguish's face. The helsmet didn't respond, besides a very quiet and appeasing whimper of agreement.

Whatever you say, if it means I'll live.

There was a very nasty, vindictive anger in Welsknight that wanted to drop the little beast. Expect the worst of me? Fine! Have it then!

The much louder voice of his guilt replayed for Welsknight the image of Tanguish curled up on the floor begging for his life, with a sword aimed at his throat.

Welsknight swallowed another sigh. He angled towards the earth in slow, gentle circles, spiraling to a landing outside of his tiny castle home on its distant shore away from all the other hermits. He carried Tanguish to the door, then stood in front of it awkwardly, trying to remember if he'd locked it. Tanguish cracked an eye open, glanced between Welsknight and the closed door, and then slowly, like he was scared Welsknight were under a spell that sudden movements might break, he reached forward and turned the door handle for him.

Welsknight awkwardly bundled them both inside. He dropped Tanguish as gently as he could manage onto his couch, and meandered to his brewing stand. He set to work on a healing potion, moving with practiced ease throughout the different barrels and boxes. Behind him, he could feel Tanguish's eyes boring into his back. He did not move from the couch. He didn't even move from the position Welsknight had dropped him in, except to curl his tail protectively around his injured ankle.

Finally, Welsknight's guilt and irritation got the better of him and he snapped. "Calm down, jeeze! If I was going to kill you, I would've done it in the cave."

Tanguish didn't move. He whispered a very obvious lie, in a voice that, rather valiantly, only just barely shook. "I'm calm."

"Then stop staring at me like that."

"When you change your mind," Tanguish whispered again, "I think I would... Rather see it coming."

"Change my mind?" Welsknight turned to face him, scowling. "What in hels is that supposed to mean?"

Tanguish didn't answer. He only watched Welsknight with that lamplight stare. It was deeply distrustful, and deeply unsettling. For a long moment, neither of them moved, or made any sound. Only the birdsong outside and the rolling bubble of the brewing stand reminded them that, while they both froze and watched, the world kept moving. Welsknight had to force himself not to fidget.

Eventually, Welsknight had to give up... Whatever weird little battle of wills they were doing. The imp was clearly better at his terror-stricken statue impression than Welsknight was at abiding it. He turned to his brewing stand, now finished, and quietly corked a bottle. He tossed it -- it was a bad throw -- and far nimbler than Welsknight expected, Tanguish caught it out of the air. He clutched the little vial to his chest, but didn't drink it.

Welsknight gave a scornful snort. "You know what a health potion is, I assume?"

Slowly, Tanguish nodded.

Agitation bolted through Welsknight like the liquid heat of a redstone charge. "Then take it."

Tanguish looked down at the potion in his hands. His eyes narrowed at it just slightly, the very first hint since this whole escapade started that the helsmet was calculating something.

"It's not poison," Welsknight said. "You watched me brew it. You'd know."

Tanguish glanced up at him again, cunning glinting in his gaze somewhere. It was striking. Glimpsing it sent a titter of unease through Welsknight. All the pathetic groveling had made him underestimate what he was dealing with, apparently. Tanguish was still a helsmet, after all. Though Welsknight couldn't imagine just what anyone would plot with a health potion of all things. He straightened slowly from where he leaned against the counter.

"What?" Welsknight demanded, when the silence grew long and uncomfortable, and the little beast still didn't move.

Tanguish watched him for another long second, braced himself, and said, "I am trying to figure out what happens when I drink this."

Welsknight frowned, pure, untarnished confusion pulling a snort from him. "Your ankle heals. It's a health potion."

"Then what?"

{... Then what?}

"Then you go home." Welsknight sniffed. "Wasn't that what all your dramatics were about?"

Tanguish, for the briefest of moments, managed to look insulted. But he was evidently still too scared of Welsknight to argue about whether those were just 'dramatics' or real fear for his life. Welsknight was quietly thankful for that. He didn't need to be convinced the panic was genuine. That look on the little beast's face would... Probably stick with him for awhile.

"Give me your word," Tanguish said very quietly, apologetically breaking the silence, "that when I drink this, you won't find a reason to kill me."

"I don't need to find a reason."

Tanguish's expression got just a little bit tenser around the eyes. He leaned over the side of the couch and gently deposited the health potion on the floor. Welsknight felt another flicker of irritation.

"Are you serious right now?"

Tanguish blinked at him.

"Just take the stupid potion, and scamper back to hels," Welsknight snapped in explanation, when all Tanguish did was stare.

"Not until I have your word," Tanguish insisted, not looking at him.

"Why do you need my word? If I was going to kill you I would've done it by now!"

"You stayed your hand out of guilt and pity," Tanguish murmured. Welsknight had to marvel at how well his voice made space for itself when it stayed so small and contained. "If I'm healed, there's nothing stopping you from deciding I'm a threat that needs dealing with again."

"Coward."

"Obviously."

That took Welsknight off guard, set his mind a little off-balance. He wanted to argue about that, needle at the comment and make the little pest angry. You admit it so easily. And then he had to remind himself that Tanguish was a helsmet, but, again, he wasn't Helsknight.

"I am not a knight," Tanguish murmured, apparently doing his best impression of a mind reader. "I'm allowed to fear for my life."

Welsknight tried a different tactic.

"You would seriously rather sit there with a broken ankle?"

"I can survive a broken ankle," Tanguish informed him. "I c-can't survive a knight."

"You survived Helsknight just fine." It wasn't supposed to be an accusation. It definitely, definitely sounded like one.

Tanguish squinted at him and said with equal, accusatory venom, "You're not Helsknight."

"You're right," Welsknight snapped indignantly. "Helsknight would've killed you. And probably told you all the reasons you deserved it while he did."

"He would have spared me," Tanguish said with a galling amount of conviction.

"No he wouldn't," Welsknight snapped. "If the tables were turned, and it were one of us Hermits caught wandering around hels--"

"He would have spared me then, too," Tanguish stated, with all the faith of someone dedicating themselves to a god. "He wouldn't have liked it. I'm sure he would get big and loud, and pace like an angry tiger, but he would find a line and would not cross it. He would make sure I knew he wouldn't hurt me. If I was truly lost and scared in hels, he would even try to help me. If I was being attacked, he would intervene. And he-- he d-definitely wouldn't come s-so close to killing me, that only his l-last m-minute guilt made him flinch. And I wouldn't have t-to cry and b-beg for that mercy. He-- h-he would g-give it f-freely."

As Tanguish spoke, his eyes narrowed and his frown tightened. His hunched shoulders squared themselves into something a little stronger. It was the look of someone committing to some great bravery. Someone who knew what they said or stood for might get them killed, but who believed it so whole-heartedly, they accepted whatever grim consequence came from it. It was a startling difference from the cringing helsmet on the floor of the cave, shaking and begging. So different, Wels was half convinced it had all been an act, that he'd been made a fool of, his emotions manipulated for some unforseen end.

{The other half of him looked on that conviction, that ride-or-die belief, and felt no small amount of envy. Welsknight wouldn't fool himself into thinking he was friendless. Even on his darkest days, he knew he was loved. But he didn't think any of his friends, when faced with what they believed to be imminent, unpleasant death or torture, would speak about him with such obvious adoration and conviction. He had no doubt, if he drew his sword right now and aimed it at Tanguish's throat like he had in the cave, and demanded the little devil take what he said back, Tanguish, cowering and crying the whole while, would stubbornly refuse.}

{That kind of faith and belief in anyone was awe-inspiring. That kind of faith and belief in Helsknight specifically was unthinkable. Helsknight, the most perfectly black-hearted knight Welsknight had ever met. He almost couldn't believe they were talking about the same person, if he hadn't seen the two helmets together before.}

When Welsknight finally managed to puzzle through the mire of his own thoughts, he said, "You have so much faith in him."

The helmet moved minutely, folding his hands in his lap. One of those dagger-sharp claws dug into his knuckle, drawing blood.

"I do."

"Why?"

It had not been the question Welsknight intended to ask. In fact, he hadn't intended to ask anything. But the question slipped past his teeth unbidden, driven by envy and curiosity, and the surrealness of the situation.

Tanguish blinked at him, that mask of grin determination slipping off into something markedly more nervous. The claw he had sank into his knuckle removed itself, found a spot slightly above the knuckle, and started scratching at an old scab. He did it without flinching -- nearly unconsciously. Welsknight had to wonder how Tanguish didn't spend his days finding inventive ways to get bloody fingerprints out of everything he touched.

"If it's because of some misguided sense of duty, don't bother," Welsknight prompted coldly, fishing for more of that conviction. Tanguish watched him warily, stiffening just slightly. "He was made to be a perfect knight. If he's protected you, it's because he has to. If it's because he's risked his life for you, he has no choice. He can't even swear he'll die for you -- he'll die for anyone his tenets demand he make a sacrifice for. It's how we-- it's how knights are."

Tanguish frowned at him as he spoke, the kind of grimace that implied he'd eaten something bitter. His claw made quick work of the scab, and he glanced down at his hands long enough to find a new scab on another finger to pick. Tanguish sat like that for a long time, studying Welsknight, bloodying his knuckles, lost in meditative self-harm, thinking. Watching him turned Welsknight's stomach. He wanted nothing more than to cross to the other side of the room and grab his wrists, force him to stop hurting himself. Maybe he could find some oven mitts to tie on the helsmet's hands to discourage the habit.

{Gloves. He would benefit from a very thick pair of gloves. The kind Keralis wore when he gardened maybe, with the rubber pads on the fingertips.}

"Do you love the sun?" Tanguish asked.

Welsknight blinked, perplexed. "What?"

"If the sun disappeared today," Tanguish said, "blinked out for no reason. No other consequences. The grass still grew. The seasons still changed. You could still see. But the day and night cycle, the sun on your skin. That bit stopped. Would you be sad?"

"That's a stupid question."

"You're probably right," Tanguish hummed thoughtfully. "Something less important to you then." Tanguish looked around the room. His gaze settled on a picture frame hanging on the wall, a sketch BDubs had made of all the hermits together near the end of the last season. "Have any of your friends ever died for you?"

Welsknight scowled. He didn't like the implication that he had more emotional attachment to the sun than his friends. He answered regardless. "No."

"Do you want them to?"

"No."

"When you first made friends with them, did they imply they would only like you if you were willing to die for them?"

"I would be."

"But would they ask you to?" Tanguish pressed, fixing him with a severe sort of glare.

Welsknight hesitated. "I don't know."

"Would you ask them to."

"No."

"You're certain?"

"I get it."

Tanguish had the audacity to raise an eyebrow at him.

"I get your point."

"You don't."

"You're making a stupid point about how obligation and duty don't matter--"

"Have you ever wanted to die?"

Welsknight stiffened. His stomach did a complicated cartwheel, something that knocked uncomfortably at the bottom of his ribs and asked his heart if it was home. Asked if it was listening.

"That might be hard for you to answer," Tanguish admitted for him, his gaze sliding back to the picture on the wall. "Or maybe, you don't want to answer it in front of me. I'm. Uhm. A helsmet, after all. I might use it against you. Right? But. Humor me." Tanguish started picking at his knuckle again, bloodying a new spot away from any other scabs. "Hels is... a hard place to live. I don't expect you to understand why. Uhm. S-suffice it to say that, a lot of people living under the shadow of greatness, all striking out at each other to prove their existence is worth the space it takes up in the universe... it is very, very hard. Between hels, and, between people like you, who think we are only obstacles to overcome... finding a single bright spot is... so, so important. You know, there are helsmets who can't leave hels? There are people alive out there who, outside of a very lucky, almost unattainable set of circumstances, can never see the sun?"

Tanguish swallowed. His voice was getting hoarse, a symptom of someone, normally quiet, forced to speak too long.

"You make your own light in hels. You try to do it without m-making anyone else's life worse. Or, most people do. Some people don't care, as long as they can capture some light but. But. You have to have something. The universe hates us too much. Without it, living is..."

Tanguish's brow creased, the kind of inward scowl that involved picking apart complex emotions, attempting to lay them to order in the most succinct and useful way.

"When I found Helsknight, I was in a very dark place. I was lonely. My world was becoming dark, and isolated, and cruel. I was cut off from light and heat and warmth. I thought I had lost everything. I thought, if I could die to set things right, I would. And I knew the universe wouldn't let me."

"Death is a temporary inconvenience," Welsknight said quietly.

Tanguish's expression twitched, something like irony.

"When Helsknight found me, I think he was defeated. He had given up on a lot of things that made him... him. He was holding onto the only thing he had left, spitefully, and angrily, and violently. And yes. He was terrifying. And yes. He was hard to like."

Tanguish swallowed.

"When we found each other, I was a bright living thing that wanted to die, and he was a defeated, dying thing that wanted to live. We were not good or kind. Not in any way either of us could recognize. I thought he was dragging me around hels, forcing me to solve my problems. He thought I was a coward wasting precious time. Time I should be grateful to have. We were incompatible. We hurt each other. But we needed each other. The spaces we carved for ourselves into each other's skin, we fit into like puzzle pieces."

Tanguish's claw felt along his knuckle, found a sore spot he'd already worried, and only then did he wince. He looked down at his hands. When he refolded them in his lap again, his hands were balled into fists, an attempt to keep the bitter habit at bay.

"You're right. Helsknight probably doesn't have a choice about who he dies for. He's a knight. You get weird and stupid and noble about things like that. I hate it. I've grown... fond of the space he takes up. I would be incomplete if he left -- all open wounds. And I do not want to know if, or how, they would heal." Tanguish took a breath. Then another. "But when I was at my darkest and most desperate, I hurt him as hard as I could, and still, he helped me. And when he was at his darkest, and he hurt me back, he remade himself to be more harmless. Let him have his duty. Let him be a perfect, insufferable knight. But I think, if his every tenet demanded sacrifice, and I stood in front of him and demanded he live instead... I think he would."

Tanguish offered Welsknight a thin smile. "And what is faith, if it isn't first trust, and trial and error?"

They sat in silence for a moment.

Eventually, Tanguish shrugged. "I don't know. The sun is a lot of things. It burns. It brings life. But I think, most importantly, it has yet to suffer a sunset, and refused to rise again."

Welsknight's chest was a complicated tangle. It occurred to him he should say something. Argue. Maybe point out Helsknight's many flaws. He found he didn't have the heart to. There was something withering about that much faith. He found himself wanting to believe, for the briefest moment, that Tanguish was right. That Welsknight's terrible other half was worth something -- worth living for, for someone at least. He thought, on a fundamental level that had nothing to do with Good or Evil, or his own grudges, that everyone deserved that.

Everyone deserved the sun.

Not knowing what to say or do, Welsknight found himself moving. Tanguish tensed on the couch, convinced, for a moment, he might be moving to violence. Welsknight made sure to keep his hand far away from his sword as he passed.

"Heal yourself," Welsknight said, "and be gone by the time I get back."

He left.

[trolagygirl2022]

Min Heejin VS HYBE

The Emperor rev, 2 of Cups, King of Swords, Ace of Wands, The Magician, 9 of Swords, Judgement.

I see a lot of validity in HYBE's statement. I think I've also gotten some of MHJ's energy, someone that veryyyyy authoritative. Like very masculine and fiery energy (she's supposedly a Sagittarius so it all makes sense). So I see that the 2 of Cups represents contracts, so I see that she was displeased by the way ADOR's shares were being distributed. Something about creative freedom? I wouldn't be surprised if HYBE may have turned down a lot of her ideas, she feels like she cannot fully express her ideas with people.

King of Swords and The Magician represents her and her team manipulating the media's perception of HYBE groups. I see that definitely happening. Very nasty work. I wonder if MHJ has Virgo or Gemini in her chart because she's very cunning but also pretty cut-throat and fake. I'm also getting that NJ's concept is a watered down version of what they were supposed to be but HYBE didn't like her ideas.

When it comes to the ab*se allegations, I don't want to be accusing anyone but the Emperor rev tells me all what I need to know.. A rude, condescending boss that abuses their power. I feel as if she's feeling pretty enraged at the moment.

9 of Swords and Judgement are how the rest of the HYBE artists feel (wouldn't be surprised if NJ were part of this too). They feel betrayed and such, this has really affected them and it's causing lots of stress for them.

[petnews2day]

Hilarious Cat Vs Puppy Battle

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Hilarious Cat Vs Puppy Battle

🔔 Don’t forget to hit the bell icon to never miss a hilarious moment! 🐾 Welcome to the laughter-filled world of Riki kitten shorts! 🤣 Watch adorable and hilarious moments captured in bite-sized videos that are sure to brighten your day. From playful puppies to cunning cats, our collection showcases the lighter side of the […]

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[visualtaehyun]

Wa & Rine

Let's talk about my favorite girls:

I've been excited for this show ever since it was first announced and we found out it would have both BL and GL. Then at some point I happened to catch Aya and Kate live on MMY's IG and fell right in love with these two! Even though we only caught a glimpse of them in the trailer, the amount of outfits they were wearing in the Fitting Day video had me assured that we'd be seeing more of them in the actual series so now here we are. Let's get into it!

Disclaimer: I'm still learning Thai so feel free to correct me on anything 🙏

The matching necklaces

Ever since spotting Yiwa's necklace in episode 1, I was sure that Marine had to have a matching one - I just wasn't sure if Yiwa's was supposed to be a W for Wa (which is what Lom, her mom, and she herself call her) or a sneaky upside down M for Marine. So when Marine showed up on screen wearing a matching R for Rine and we hear how they talk to each other- 🥹 Here's the breakdown:

Yiwa calls her Rine and refers to herself as Phi (พี่)

Imagine my delight at finding out she's the older one (Phi is a polite pronoun for someone older) when she's this adorable, just look at her pouty little face up there! I totally didn't screenshot it because of that or anything... solely for the necklaces...

Marine calls her Ter (เธอ) and refers to herself as Rine

The fact that she doesn't refer to Yiwa as Phi Wa/Phi but as Ter (a friendly but not really respectful/formal 2nd pers. pronoun that you hear in Thai songs all the time) could indicate that they are on equal footing and disregard seniority, to a point, or that Ter might just be more personal and romantic to them. They have probably talked about how they want to talk to each other at some point (if you've seen a few Thai QLs, you've probably seen these 'pronoun negotiations/ changes' before).

The matching slippers

The domesticity of it all, be still my beating heart! I also love their shared color palette of beige, soft pink, and neutrals.

The height difference

This is right on the heels of Marine calling Yiwa คุณหนูยี่หวา (Khun Noo Yiwa, = young miss, can imply Rich kid/Spoiled kid, as is the case here, hence it being subbed as "Princess Yiwa"), which is interesting to me. In the Makeover VLOG P'May described the look she envisioned for Kate/Marine as Khun Noo but from what we've seen so far Yiwa seems to be the one to come from a rich family. A family that she-

is not out to

has been faking a relationship with Sailom for

doesn't seem close to (compare her meddling mother snagging her phone to talk to Namnuea vs. Yiwa telling Marine that she's the one who understands her the best)

The cheek™ or: weaponized cuteness

Before I get into this, let me just point out how easily Yiwa shares Sailom's well-guarded secret with Marine - loud and clear, no secrets between these two.

So! Throughout this episode Yiwa is called:

คนขี้โกง (by Marine) = trickster, tricky person, subbed as "Sneaky"

นิสัยไม่ดี (by Marine) = bad behavior/habit, subbed as "Meanie"

เอาแต่ใจ (by Marine) = selfish/self-centered, subbed as "Stubborn"

...all of these in one breath, mind you, hence Yiwa's cute pouting (you may want to scroll back up, just to see that adorable expression again~) and subsequent flip of who ngon's (งอน = sulk) and who ngaw's (ง้อ = coax, make up with)!

นิสัยเจ้าเล่ห์ (by Marine) = cunning/sly/wily behavior, subbed as "Your Slyness"

ตัวแสบ (by Sailom) = troublemaker, akin to You Little Devil, subbed as "This cheeky girl"

ติงต๊อง/ติ๊งต๊อง (by Marine who lightly knocks her on the head) = silly, crazy, subbed as "Don't be silly"

...which is directly followed by:

Affection :)

Just look at Marine's fond smile and Yiwa cutely touching her forehead!

...That's it for my aimless ramble about these characters and their dynamic. There's so much to love about this show, it's such a fun romp. But these two make me want to bang pots and pans together for everyone to go and look at how cute they are! Hopefully, we'll find out more about Marine as well in the next episodes. And fingers crossed that Marine's wish of seeing Yiwa in a wedding dress ("But not like this") is gonna come true in the end. 💕

[hazbincalifornia]

Hmm, how does Alastor’s demeanor act with Stella in public vs in Private?

In public, they're partners! They never clarify if they're dating or married or what, but they're clearly in a relationship and often play that up- he'll often get all over her physically by smacking at her ass or squeezing her tits to accent a joke in a way that he'd probably never do in private because it's just part of the bit for them. Part of the reason they ended up friends is that they're both obnoxious gossips who adore knowing everything that's going on and stirring the pot when they can, so she's just someone to play off of like his Microphone is, and 'Alastor and his girl' eventually becomes part of his image. (Lots of people think she's just a trophy, picked purely for how she looks and her status. They find out just how dangerous she is if they ever test that theory and realize she was raised as an assassin.)

In private, mostly he's somewhat similar to how he is publicly, but he does let his guard down around her a bit more! She nearly freaked out one day when she saw him smile without teeth for longer than half a second, but realized that meant he wasn't keeping the mask up and was honestly pretty flattered.

Mostly it's in the little things- choosing to sleep in the same bed as her (they do have separate rooms and sleep separately a lot of the time, but he'll slip into her room sometimes when he'd like to share) or allowing himself to be quiet for more than a minute or two or dialing the echo down on his voice. Being able to see the 'character' drop a little and see the man underneath is nice, not to mention his general attitude and touches tend to be softer when there's no one else around that they're playing up their personas for.

He's still the same obnoxious chatterbox a lot of the time because that's just his personality, but the little moments here and there where he trusts her enough to not keep up the exaggerated version of himself for public consumption… it's nice, and he thinks the cunning, cutthroat woman with a soft heart for her loved ones that rests behind her public image is fun as well.