#Glorious Masquerade spoilers

[terristre]

AZUL-SHI HAVE YOU EVER READ HOMESTUCK

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Someone told me they weren't a fan of Silver because he's written too heroically good without any flaws. To be fair, you don't have to like Silver at all; to each their own, but I don't understand how someone can go through Book 7 and not see the blatant flaws the writers gave him.

If I had to pinpoint why his flaws aren't as well seen, it is likely because he's not intentional about any harm he causes at all. It's not as shown in Book 7, but he's like Kalim where he is known to be naive, oblivious, and blunt to an almost painful degree, lacking total social awareness in most situations. In Book 7, specifically, we see that he has total self-worth issues, where he feels like he needs to repay Lilia for raising him (he doesn't) and constantly apologizes for things outside of his control (like Malleus's overblot). Poor self-worth is still a character flaw, even if it doesn't necessarily have a negative effect on other characters, and it manifests itself in Silver in a different way than how Sebek's issues with his self-worth are shown. I know that they aren't the most obvious character flaws, like how other characters are seen as arrogant, petty, or quick to anger, but they're still flaws regardless.

It's probably harder for the writers to write flaws for a character whose main inspiration comes from a Disney prince and princess, who are often characterized as paragons of good morality (most princesses' main character flaws are naivety anyway). But just because he's more stereotypically good than the rest of the cast does not negate the flaws he does have. What are your thoughts? Off-topic, but I really enjoy reading your character analyses even if I don't agree with them sometimes; it helps me look at the story from a new perspective.

dhjwekskskn Very quickly, thank you for the feedback! That’s always my goal with analyses—not to necessarily change minds, but to hopefully expose others to + get them thinking about perspectives beyond their own.

This is the first time I’ve heard of someone claiming Silver doesn’t have flaws 🤔 I would sort of get it if this was pre-book 7, as Silver content is quite scarce before then. Mmm… even so, he has opportunities in various vignettes and event stories to show us areas where he’s lacking. For example, in Leona's Ceremonial Robes vignettes, Silver believes that Leona and Malleus are friends, despite Leona's very blatant hostility towards Malleus--which indicates denseness and a lack of social awareness. He's also unaware of how he presents himself to others, leading to peers thinking he's unapproachable (his Dorm Uniform vignettes) or to otherwise be stiff-faced (something Vil comments on in Fairy Gala: What If and in Silver's P.E. vignettes). Those can, however, be easy to miss, especially if you weren’t already on the lookout for him to begin with.

I think we readily overlook Silver’s flaws (even when they’re on display) because 1) he’s not as loud about it like Kalim is and 2) he’s a “good” guy in a cast of characters that usually act like assholes or take it a step further and come close to committing actual crimes. It’s hard for a normal nice guy to stand out against that crowd. Another part of it is, I think, how Silver's greatest shortcoming is easily conflated for something "good".

A consistent theme for Silver is feeling as though he is not enough. This can cause him to train intensely in order to rectify the situation. For example, in the aforementioned Dorm Uniform vignettes, Silver immediately seeks help learning how to appear more friendly to his classmates. Similarly, in Azul's Halloween Dress vignette, Silver assumes extensive training to help him be more intimidating so that he can get the other Diasomnia students to obey him. (As it turns out, they actually don't listen to him because Silver has a tendency to fall asleep mid-conversation.) He also drinks coffee, invests money in clocks, and does whatever he can to help himself stay alert, as he cites his inability to stay awake as a personal shortcoming rather than a health condition he has no control over. He’s frequently apologizing to others for falling asleep on them and even apologizing for others (like Sebek). In short, Silver is always pushing himself to "be better" (something typically regarded as positive), which is a LARGE contrast to the majority of his peers, who are resistant to change and slow to acknowledge their faults. The key thing to note here is that Silver is doing all of this out of a lack of self-worth. He believes he's not worthy, not good enough.

This all culminates in the events of book 7, in which we learn that Silver has deep-rooted insecurities about being "enough" for Lilia as well. As he tells Malleus in 7-28:

"17 years ago... Father found me as a baby deep in the forests of Briar Valley. Father is fae. I'm human. I'm not related to him by blood, and there's no other reason for him to be responsible for me. Yet he took me in. He raised me as if I were his own. He fed me, he trained me, he stayed with me all night whenever I was sick... Humans and fae are different in every way, from our constitutions, to how fast we grow—all of it. Barely anyone in Briar Valley knows how to care for a human. And Father lived alone there. I can only imagine how hard it must've been for him to raise a human baby with no one to turn to for help... I can never thank him enough. I was ready to spend the rest of my life repaying him... But I haven't given back a single thing... And now he's planning to pass on in a faraway land. Even if Father loses his magic and grows frail... Even if he forgets everything, I still want to be at his side, supporting him... I'm far from a fine son! I can't grant my father the one thing he wished for. He wanted me to send him off with a smile on my face..."

Silver is incredibly hard on himself, and even moreso once he learns the truth of his bloodline. Not only does he tell himself that he's undeserving of Lilia's love or even calling himself his son, but he also convinces himself that Malleus and Sebek would also despise him now + tells himself he deserves this:

"Father, don't... I... I don't deserve your love." (context: he's telling past!Lilia to not taking in his infant self)

"Stop that! Stop crying! You have no right to cry!" (context: Silver berates his infant self for sobbing when Lilia takes him in)

"What worth could a bunch of shriveled up old acorns have? Why would you lie like that...? *sob, sob*" (context: Silver learns that the acorn bracelet Lilia considers his "single most valuable possession" was a gift from child!Silver)

"It's pitch black everywhere... Maybe this place is what I deserve. I can just stay here, alone...forever... *sob* (context: Silver is astray in his own darkness)

"What must Sebek think of me now...? ...Does he hate me? I don't want to think about it... I don't want to think about anything."

"Father, did you know that this ring originally belonged to the Dawn Knight...? The Dawn Knight, enemy to you and all of Briarland... Vanquisher of Malleus's parents... And I'm... I'm his... *sob* *sob* *gulp*I... I... How will I ever face you and Malleus after this? *sob, sob*"

"Even though we aren't related by blood, I've always seen myself as your son. But...I can't call myself that in good conscience any longer." "You could never truly love someone related to the Silver Owls... Let alone the Dawn Knight's son! You could never... *sob, sob*"

"Was that voice another vision I conjured to comfort myself?" (context: Silver is greeted by a vision of Lilia praising him; he rejects that image, but accepts a hostile version of past!Lilia who sees him as the Dawn Knight and moves in to strike him down)

Silver is only pulled out of his swamp of darkness when Sebek reminds him that he is so strong only as a result of Lilia's love. Even after this point in time, we see Silver's penchant to be a little too self-sacrificing putting him in danger. He throws himself in harm's way to shield Lilia from a blow in the Eastern Fortress, does the same at Mallemom's lightning, and when confronting Malleus multiple times throughout book 7. (This isn't even limited only to protecting his father; Silver is shown to jump into action in other instances, like protecting Idia in GloMasq from what is basically a party popping handkerchief. Sebek doesn't do the same; his protective behaviors primarily relate to Diasomnia.) Silver is, quite literally, willing to lay his life on the line for others--and that, in part, comes from being a trained knight, of course. However, part of it could also coes from a place of thinking of others as having more worth than he does, or feeling as though he must "repay" the people important to him.

This is why it's sooo satisfying seeing Silver formally take on Lilia's surname at the end of book 7. This entire time, he has been struggling with his identity and self-worth. By finally becoming "Silver Vanrouge", he's affirming that his father does love him, and that he is worthy of having that love. Everyone there at the party is even there to bear witness to the completion of that character arc.

[twistedtrashposts]

Deuce: Uh, not to make things worse after clearing those flowers, but has anyone seen MC?

Malleus:

Malleus: WHERE IS MY CHILD OF MAN????

MC:

[ravenpunkofficial]

Yeah let's go! Sixty Spins!

[amoeba05]

the class trying to get the teacher to talk about his life so we don't have class

nah, but fr tell us your lore I'm interested

[twistsandturnsroundwonderland]

From a writing standpoint, how Malleus is incorporated into events is a fun exercise in in universe vs. out of universe reasoning.

Malmal is stupidly, absurdly, (importantly) disproportionately strong relative to the other characters. We’re both told and shown that consistently- the coconuts in Al’ab Nariya come to mind. It’s also (presumably) important in the writing of chapter 7 (I’ve only played en and thus can’t verify).

This also presumably makes the incorporation of Malleus into other events complicated. How do you have or maintain a specific plot having specific challenges when one character could blast through it without even blinking?

Which comes back to the out of universe reasoning: Malleus’s firepower cannot be a direct solution to the problems faced, whether that’s by nerfing him in some fashion (Glomas, Beans Day 2); not being present in problem solving (Vargas 2, Fairy Gala, Halloween 2); or having the problems be something that can’t be solved by blowing it up (Halloween 1, Al’ab Nariya).

So then it comes to seeing how the in universe reasoning is built into the need to match this out of universe reasoning:

Glomas- firepower is actually the solution, but alas, for Malleus has been temporarily nerfed after the first incident with the flowers and does not have the reserves to do this alone- time to climb the bell tower!

Beans Day 2- Malleus is too busy battling Lilia to have the capacity to get to the harp and then oh, ope, he’s out of the competition cause he ran out of beans

Vargas 2- Malleus (and Lilia) was asked to step out of the challenge specifically because it would have made it too easy for the others

Fairy Gala- the other fae find him intimidating and magic can’t be used as a solution, so let’s have a heist episode instead!

Halloween 2- can’t solve problems; he’s too busy creating them on purpose

Halloween 1- murder is frowned upon, Malmal

Al’ab Nariya- relatively relaxed event in terms of problem solving, but then no, please do not blow up the marketplace; catching the thief has to be done manually to avoid any kind of collateral damage

So ultimately you can see why things play out the way they do from both the in universe and out of universe sides.

[corduroyserpent]

[shroudbud]

💥 GLORIOUS MASQUERADE STORY ENDING SPOILERS!!!

‼️‼️‼️‼️

I was not anticipating to hear Idia singing in that final twistune 😭😭❤️ ;;

[twst-the-night-away]

[ninisanchu]

out of context idia time ft malleus

slight scene spoilers for glorious masquerade below

icantbreathe

[cloudcountry]

azul shenanigans because he's the only one that matters in this event

IM TELLING U HE WOULD BE SUCH A GOOD DAD. ITS SO CUTE SEEING HIM INTERACT WITH HIS UNDERCLASSMEN :(((

OMGGG HIS STOMACH GRUMBLED smh let's get some food in you love <3

ME I AM BREAD PICK ME

he really knows his food C: ugh his mama would be so proud!!

deuce did you even READ his school uniform vignette??? UGH!!

AZUL YOU DID NOT HAVE TO COME FOR HIS LIFE LIKE THAT HOLY SHIT

azul is so MEAN and i love him for it <3333

GDHSKDJJD GATHER INTEL ON ME NEXT PLEASE (FLIRT FLIRT FLIRT FLIRT FLIRT)

FOMAING ATH THE MOUTH HE KNOWS MY BAME LETS DITCH LETS GO ON A DATE

OH AZUL YOURE SO FUNNY I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU

DOES AN ENGAGEMENT RING COUNT

li

like matching wedding ri (gets slapped)

ugh he's so sweet and so cute i love azul so much what even are ulterior motives

DAMN OKAY COME FOR THEIR LIVES AGAIN WHY DONT YOU

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

i cant really tell if yuu's involvement in ace's character is more for fanservice reasons or because they really did play a part in his character development.

like in nbc we have malleus choosing to focus on finishing the task at hand as quickly as possible so that they can then find the prefect rather than drop everything there at that moment and prioritizing finding yuu. (iirc) and compared to that we have ace who does put a lot of emphasis on finding yuu especially when no one seems to remember it during the halloween event it feels very traditionally fanservice-y ? and i cant really tell where the line is drawn for ace anymore. and you did mention a lot of other points in another post that you made esp with ace's dream recently dropping and the fact that hes the only guy whos dream yuu was actively involved in idk its a little confusing for me i hope im making sense TT no shade to the shippers im just a little slow in comprehending it all bvbvsjdj

your posts are always really neutral and accurate it just helps to clear up a lot of my confusions and questions i have when playing so thank you for your hard work!

[Referencing this post; you might also find this related post useful in the discussion of Ace and Yuu's relationship!]

DISCLAIMER: I do not mean to invalidate or detract from Ace x Yuu or Malleus x Yuu shippers or anyone who may interpret their relationship as romantic. You should ship what you like and have fun doing it. My reply aims to be more objective, but that should NOT impede on your enjoyment or whatever it is you choose to ship.

iufipaerasfeao Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you find my posts helpful. I try my best to be objective when it comes to analyzing the story and characters, but there's no true way for someone to be completely neutral. There are definitely times when I have an aside to insert my two cents on a situation or I get super heated about a particular topic. Hopefully I still leave enough space for everyone to come to their own conclusions.

I think it's both fanservice and because Yuu actually plays a big part in Ace's character development? Like, it's technically fanservice but it does not feel egregious because it fits Ace’s teasing nature and Ace's bond with Yuu has been established from the start. He was the first student we met at NRC and we spend so much time with him since then; there's no way Yuu wouldn't have had an impact on him, especially when book 7 is now paralleling the two as people with insecurities about being weak/unable to do anything + not contributing enough and Yuu encouraging him when he finally gets his UM.

I commonly see people joking about Malleus having "missed the meeting about Twst not being a dating sim" and holding him up as "the main love interest". (And to be clear, Twst isn't a dating sim, nor do all Twst fans see the characters romantically; I am only speaking about this in a romantic lens in the context of this post.) However, I think there's a very strong case to be made for Ace as well. The thing is, I also feel that Malleus and Ace fundamentally appeal to two different groups of yumejoshi. Malleus is the tall, dark, and mysterious type you can "fix", the type of guy that would burn the world down for you. Ace is the teasing and approachable boy-next-door that has your back and supports you even when the entire world is against you. This is also evident in the ways they're set up in the main story; Malleus is introduced in a way that encourages much more "filling in of the gaps" due to how little he actually shows up in front of Yuu in the main story. It gives the player a lot of space to imagine what their relationship with him is like because there isn't a ton of interactions in canon to go off of. Meanwhile, Ace has many more canonized interactions with Yuu (eating lunch, doing homework, watching movies, playing video games, etc.), so the effort of thinking about what they actually do over the course of their relationship is already done for you. There is an established friendship and connection with Ace, but you barely see Malleus enough to truly have a strong impact on him or to change him. Does that make sense?

IADUPADF9A9FSBdb I do find it sort of funny that Malleus is basically like, "Oh, something unexpected happened (ie Yuu is missing). We'd better solve this." Not really showing much emotion about them being gone in Nightmare. (Malleus only gets annoyed when Leona begins to take charge; he is not mad at the fact that Yuu is gone.) Meanwhile Yuu is missing in Endless Halloween Night and Ace is the FIRST person to excuse himself to check Ramshackle for them.

If you consult the fandom and the fandom alone, you'd think the situation would be reversed. Edit: Malleus does have his moments of intimacy with Yuu (which I won’t be getting into here because then I fear this post would veer into shipping wars), but the English speaking Twst fandom has a VERY strong bias for Malleus x Yuu. Because of that, there is a tendency to misinterpret or misattribute every little thing that Malleus says and does to support the idea that "Yuu is his most important person". (For example, even though Malleus provides no reaction at all when Skully kisses the back of Yuu's hand, many Malleus fans claimed that he would be very jealous or would harm Skully for doing such a thing. In another Halloween event, Glorious Masquerade, people believed he was angry at Rollo for harming Yuu even though this was not the case; the event states that he was mad because the invitation he had been extended was a fake one.)

It is because of thinking like this that a lot of English speakers genuinely believed Malleus would OB in book 7 in a desperate attempt to prevent Yuu from returning to their original world. Misinterpretations, headcanons, misattributions, and personal projections were conflated with canon, leading to many people to believe that Malleus was closer with Yuu than they actually are. Instead, Malleus ended up OBing because he feared Lilia leaving and he barely even considers Yuu after he OBs. And, ironically, Ace is the character whose dream prominently features Yuu and a scenario in which Yuu doesn't have to leave them forever. It was always Ace that we had a strong relationship with, not Malleus.

Ace is often overlooked even though he has far more canon interactions with Yuu in the main story. I think this could maybe to chalked up to a combination of him being "boring" compared to the literal DARK FAE OP CROWN PRINCE M. Draconia over there and the fact that so many of those "gaps" are already filled by the main story. There's less room for imagination because the game has already defined what Ace and Yuu's relationship entails. Malleus is just so much more appealing when it comes to intrigue and mysteriousness. When you look at it objectively though... Yuu only meets Malleus face-to-face like 5-6 times for brief conversations. (Edit: I’m not counting voice lines because those are arguably directed at the player, not Yuu, to endear the character to you and/or all characters get similar voice line fanservice. The canonicity is questionable since the same familiarity in voice lines is not carried over to the main story.) 5-6 times… That's not nearly long enough to make a huge impact or change in his life (unless you as the player extrapolate and imagine more Malleus and Yuu interactions outside of the ones we see in the main story). At best, I think you could say Malleus is glad he can have a special little friend who doesn't know of his name and status? He doesn't really change because of that relationship though. Malleus doesn't even show up until book 2. But Ace has literally been there since the beginning, canonically spends tons of his free time with Yuu, and has been through several near-life experiences with them (several OBs). He has the chance to bond with Yuu. Malleus does not. (He has given Yuu advice once, sent them a card once, and reassembled a stage for them once; all other interactions in the main story are short talks.)

It makes a lot of sense that Ace would be the one "touched" by Yuu's influence, whether you see it as romantic or platonic. Both he and Malleus (and all the other characters, really) get their moments of fanservice--but very few characters' development is directly impacted by Yuu's presence. Yuu might be there for most of the main story, but they actually get only a few moments to engage with the other boys in the cast to the point of actually changing them. It feels like the changes that occur are more often the result of the other boys (Trey standing up to Riddle and holding his hand afterwards, Epel and Deuce bonding on the beach, the twins telling Azul he's lame but also being the first to check up on him following the OB, Idia finalizing his farewells with Ortho, etc.) Ace just so happens to be an exception to that, as Yuu very clearly plays a big role in his development.

[twistedtrashposts]

Bruh the way I would have STORMED those stairs to beat that twink's ass once it was shown that the firelotuses don't affect us at all.

No hesitation. He wouldn't have gotten the chance to send us into the waterways.

I'm unaffected?

ROLLO FLAMM WHEN I GET UP THERE I'LL SEND YOU TO GOD MYSELF.

[rolloollor]

Hey, I was wondering what made you like Mallerollo?

Sure thing, I can explain! There'll be spoilers if you haven't read the event in full, but I can't really get into the nitty gritty without spoilers, so… get ready for rambling.

I was hooked from the first time Rollo screamed "Malleus Draconiaaaa!" in the prologue to the event.

Malleus is isolated as a character aside from people in Diasomnia, but their relationships with Malleus have always felt very familial to me and I can't ship any of them with him. I can't really picture him in a relationship with anyone in NRC, either. He just floats about, helping people sometimes, bullying people other times, but he's not super close to them. I have no interest in Yuu, shipping canon characters with OCs, or self-inserting, so that's also out for me. Leona and Malleus are probably the closest in terms of relationship dynamics that I like, but any 'feelings' (mainly negative) seem strong on Leona's side, but not on Malleus' side. It's too unbalanced for me.

So, when Rollo was announced, I thought that he would be a great opportunity for not only a Malleus ship, but to also present Malleus with someone who would antagonize him. And that's exactly what he did.

When Rollo finally deploys his plan, Malleus gets super pissed and yells, "I'll never forgive you, Rollo Flamme!!!" and that got me doubly on board. Rollo had tricked/outsmarted him. He didn't win in the end, but he had triumphed over Malleus more than any other human. That's pretty big considering I don't remember Leona's plan impacting Malleus at all. The event really improved Malleus' character in my mind since we got to see him struggle a little. He couldn't solve the problem with another show of overwhelming strength.

With Rollo, it seems like he was created with Malleus in mind. He hates magic, thereby making him conflict with Malleus. He invited Malleus to the event, he's old-timey, he has a connection to gargoyles (something Malleus has to be wildly jealous about), and he's a genuine threat. He made Malleus feel fear! With all this, of course Malleus is going to be curious about him. So, Malleus has strong feelings about Rollo and obviously Rollo fucking hates him at minimum, so there's intensity on both sides.

At the same time, Rollo's kinda more isolated than Malleus is, but by choice. People gravitate to Rollo and he spurns them. People avoid Malleus even though he would like to make a friend or two. Just an interesting contrast between them.

Another thing, Toboso knows what she's doing. She didn't have them dance together and promise to rendezvous beneath the bell just because. Obviously nothing will ever be canon, but come on. I legit could not believe they actually danced and talked for so long tbh, that is some crazy ship bait.

Malleus is an insanely powerful fae. Rollo is a cunning human with immense willpower. I think they bounce off each other really well and could make each other better, if given the chance. Malleus almost is magic in a sense--if the relationship developed to a certain point, I think he could ease Rollo's guilt regarding his brother and help him get over his hang-ups about magic. Rollo would act as someone who challenges Malleus (which he sorely needs, he is way too coddled) and maybe he could help him develop some empathy.

But them being toxic with each other is fun, too… Malleus is really fucking good at being toxic and I like exploring that side of things.

There are a lot possibilities for pining, for jealousy, for angst, for development, and just... all sorts of things.

Basically, I think both characters bring out what's interesting in the other and, as a pairing, have a fantastic potential for either growth or festering in toxicity. They also fit into tropes I like (lifespan differences, royal problems, lots of magic, enemies to lovers, etc...)

[oha-yuu]

Was about to fall asleep but then the image of Rollo saying "May all your bacon burn" while in his flame form in Yuu's fireplace popped into my head and now I can't stop thinking about it.

[snakech4rmer]

(ooc warning for spoilers for glorious masquerade kinda? Only vague mentions)

Hey sorry for being gone a while! Was busy nearly getting murdered by some fire flowers lmao

Luckily I have survived the catholics /derogatory and have officially returned!! I'll be back to me regular bullshit now <3