#I Can't Lose (With The Stuff I Use)

[menphinaswhitemage]

Shine and Radiance

Reference Photo:

[redvelvetwishtree]

So Israel spent the last month lying and making up fake self-victimising stories and expect us to believe that they didn't kill their own hostage, showed tunnels in Sweden and said they were under Al Shifa, put their own laptops with labels and passed them off as belonging to Hamas somehow fully charged with no passwords, showing us the days of the week poster and saying it was a list of Hamas people, lining up weapons neatly against a wall and ughhh I can keep listing the kindergarten level setups they've done to convince impressionable people but please use your brains.

[dnangelic]

like it's just the way that outside of the BATB/POTO 'love what's ugly and ostracized' narrative itself cocteau was gay and everybody hated his gall about it, howard ashman was gay and had to conceal it and died of aids after finishing his work for disney's batb.... rather than have dark be homophobic and spitting in the face of his inspirational roots (the sole canon detail i can't stand) it's much much much more interesting for me to both read and write not someone who's meant to be a pervert (in humor) and an agape lover (in serious contextualization) only to turn and say 'no homo' to the crowd every single time but rather, instead of all that, someone who, simultaneously taking daisuke into account, is both extremely firm yet simultaneously insecure in the struggle to establish their identity not only in regards to themselves but also around others.

that applies to a lot, but i've been considering it especially in regards to dark's gender and daisuke's attractions. dark in my portrayal (while overall 500% nonbinary) is closer to someone bi-gender rather than agender; the feminine aspect to him isn't just theatrics, it's actively also part of his entirety to him, (compared to daisuke's passivity; the ten thousand canonical princess allusions,) and even if nobody ever recognizes it in a cognizant way, it is always, always there, the same way that erik blurs and obscures gender in leroux's novel (my second enormous inspiration, sugisaki's outright admitted primary) and sakurai occasionally discusses his relationship as both a performer and a person as well (my third enormous inspiration and sugisaki's secondary,) (see 1, 2.) simply put, the tragedy of (my!) dark does not ever derive from his being able to choose and sit comfortably and confidently with this sort of identity (in fact, it's one of the few things he can stubbornly, viciously decide for himself [alongside daisuke] as essentially a non-human, autonomous 'angel',) it's instead the way that his personality is so strong and 'anti-feminine' in the eyes of convention that said aspect of himself often gets disregarded for strictly masculine (and regardless, further self-contradictory and therefore isolating,) expectations.

dark himself alone does not care if others do not understand him; this is meant to be one of his far more admirable and impressive traits. he's staunchly independent: he knows who he is, what he's supposed to be, and he knows that if he actively presented himself more femininely (crossdressing to 'pass' essentially,) then people's behaviors WOULD be very likely to change around him, but he doesn't even do that because it goes against his overwhelming sense of pride. he never contorts, he never twists himself, what matters to him is that he and he alone understands himself and knows what he is, what he isn't. but he is, without proper support or acceptance, still alone. even bearing a strong character, the stifling loneliness and inherent, underlying self-sense of broken/wrongness of the 'other,' (god's luciferean problem child, the black sheep, the black-leather wearing punk,) is still inflicted on him. dark exists solely for himself, he exists solely for daisuke, which is simultaneously wherein the inversion and insecurities lie: if dark is canonically the live metaphor for all the aspects of daisuke's self that he attempts to and yet cannot possibly, conceivably repress, from his loves to his faults to his shames and his criminal sins as a thief, then the likes of daisuke's own personal confusions in regards to himself and his attempts at intimacy/socialization with others is the other, hidden side of dark's absolute self-confidence; it's every fear of perpetual isolation, misunderstanding, and abandonment for things outside of daisuke's own control.

queerness in relation to the self (transgender allegory) queerness in relation to others (non-hetero-romanticism) mental illness (depression, anxiety,) etc, etc, dark's thematic basis may at its most general simply be "a secret that feels wrong and that you feel you can't really tell anyone or else you'll get in trouble/won't be as liked as much" but it feels much better to give due respect to each of these primary roots.

[forestgreenlesbian]

.

[quaranmine]

the amount of math i put into figuring out my PTO is honestly so funny. i've probably spent like 2 hours this week and last week just playing with the leave calculator spreadsheet my coworker gave me. this morning i added a sheet for 2026 so now i'm calculating my PTO out that far. i basically already have a plan of how i'm taking time off for 2025 so as to maximize my time off in 2026. i dont think this is a normal level of attention to detail but at least i'm having fun

[kazbiter]

[rebelontherocks]

With all the relevant criticisms irt Larian's treatment of Wyll, I still won't leave people off the hook for completely ignoring him, though. He is a very interesting character, with a fascinating story. 'He's too good' so are Halsin and Karlach, and that doesn't seem to stop anyone from engaging with them. Halsin as a non-origin character has way less content than Wyll, and it's not as if his personality particularly evolves or if he has a very nuanced arc. Karlach may have more content than Wyll but has a very flat arc, with no development, so the most interesting outcome for her narratively is dying, but people hate engaging with that, because they're allergic to experiencing any emotions that aren't puppies and doggies positive. So, people aren't even getting the most out of her story, and she's still a fan favorite. Much in the way I know I'm not getting the most out of Wyll's story and he's still my favorite.

You have no excuses, saying 'he has less content' is no excuse because you love characters with equal amounts of content that are just as 'good' with no problem.

[xenomorphicdna]

Flames,, blanket boy, my beloved

I gotta draw more art like this of him, he's such an odd creature I love him so much

There's so much to his character that I never talk about aaa I'll make a lore post eventually

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

Spill out your Quiet One Au Jesse Thoughts now

Reffing to this in case anyone is like whuuuuut

SO when the Great Devourer first starts wreaking havoc at the rally, Harumi manages to convince the Fuchsia Ninja to assist her before they all can see the snake heading for the hospital

Antonia runs to the beach for safety with the rest of the evacutees, Fuchsia follows Harumi, and none of them meet Lady Iron Dragon for a very important pep talk

Fuchsia and Rumi make it there just in time to call for an organized evacuation, with Harumi and her parents getting out nice and safely, while Fuchsia takes it upon himself to get the rest of the inhabitants out of the apartment building

But while doing that, The GD (having already destroyed the hospital) loops around to the east side and sets its sights on the buildings. This drives the crowd into a frenzied panic, with Jesse getting caught up in it, and he winds up herded into The Elevator against his will

Elevator drops and shatters, Jesse is the one that winds up with the face scar, and Lloyd winds up pulling himself from the rubble instead. Despite the injury, Jesse's still present to assist in officially taking down the GD...

...but then upon returning to his family, discovers Miranda's ultimate fate due to the destruction of the hospital (wherein which she wasn't evacuated in time because Jesse wasn't there), which, y'know, breaks him

During the following guilt-induced Outburst (which freaks out his already grieving family who know nothing about his powers), Jesse manages to redirect all his self-blame unto Lloyd instead, as none of this would've happened if he hadn't released the snakes, yadda, blablabla, nothing new there. (But, it's all mainly to stop him from blaming himself)

Winds up running away from home because a) can't handle the guilt and b) can't control his Outbursts anymore

Harumi, meanwhile, is doing great! Remains the same girl she'd been throughout S1, keeps her parents, doesn't get tangled in her uncle's web, and doesn't ultimately feel betrayed by each and every one of her friends!

Jesse, meanwhile, seemingly vanishes off the face of the earth, with everyone in the friend group worried since they all knew he was at least present for the battle (Antonia may or may not be present for his ultimate Outburst though)

(he actually crashes with Mystake, who winds up sharing all her Surprise EM secrets + what Miracle Make is + her own backstory being an Oni and everything), wherein is how Jesse ultimately learns of the Oni Masks

He eventually returns to school, charming his way out of answering any and all questions about where he's been or what happened. And with little left to lose, he starts acting aggressively confident towards everyone (acting like Bess, his Garmadon-created clone anyWAY–)

While biding his time, he searches for what remains of Miranda's Elemental Compendium and combines it with Mystake's intel, helping to build his future plans...

But beyond that, he plays his role basically the same, keeping all his resentment buried. The only real difference is that he never gets together with Cole because of his "new" and technically worse personality (though both probably still have lingering unresolved feelings, woop)

Fast forward fourish years, Jesse doesn't directly form the Sons of Garmadon—instead, he convinces the others that there's a (fake) group out to capture the Oni Masks (which he creates the illusion of being real via his After Image ability, sending most of group on wild goose chases while gathering all the masks in one place), and successfully manages to get Lloyd alone to hunt for the final mask

(Which, while ofc needs someone with Oni blood to remove from the pedestal....there's also the added caveat of it only being able to be wielded by a Descendant of Surprise. Which, while Jesse is an Inheritor, he technically isn't a Descendant)

Which is where Baby Wu comes in, as he and Lloyd both still fit that criteria (but Jesse certainly isn't going to give the mask to Lloyd to wear) but ofc Cole is in Dad!Mode about Baby Wu which leads to a probably emotionally-charged confrontation accumulating with Jesse committing a kidnapping whuh

Shenanigans happen and Jesse begins the resurrection ritual—but instead of trying to bring back Garmadon, he's going to bring back his sister—

...except Harumi interrupts and/or sabotages the process, which winds up summoning Zombie!Garmadon anyway, which enrages Jesse but decides to roll with this and manipulates Zombie! Garmadon in order to get everyone out the way so he can attempt the ritual again

More vague shenanigans, he once again gets Lloyd alone, reminding him of how everything always stems back to his actions. Lloyd points out that Miranda wouldn't have wanted him to do this, which ofc sets him off into a Outburst and forces Lloyd to watch as he attempts to kill the Core Four + Baby Wu (in which they get sent the First Realm)

(...Miranda actually gets sent with the guys to the First Realm in S9!Legacyverse proper; here it would be Harumi instead)

Extra angst on Lloyd, woo! But, this finally makes Jesse question his own actions. Not enough to stop, but, y'know.

Then as Zombie!Garmadon leads a legion to protect Jesse as he struggles to begin the ritual again; it's a race against time for the Resistance to snap him back to his senses + not summon the dead again

Zombie!Garmadon starts getting a little too high on power as Jesse starts getting more and more desperate—he just needs a little more time, a little more prep—but the less and less he's able to distance his fault from his actions and it starts to eat away at him

...which the Resistance uses to their advantage, using Mystake's shape shifting abilities to get close to Jesse to cuff him with Vengestone (at least on one wrist) and calm him long enough to get through to him. Jesse then tries to call off Garmadon, but Garmadon takes this as a betrayal and goes on the attack, destroying several buildings in the process.

The group attempts to escape the building they're on, as Garmadon attacked that too, but Lil Nelson (who is also here because Antonia's here and Antonia's here because I say so) gets trapped/left behind. Jesse goes back for him, managing to get him to Antonia and save him in the way he couldn't for Miranda. But then, ofc, the same exit is cut off for him, forcing Jesse to run to the roof so he can attempt to fly/warp/escape that way.

...except, he's still got that Vengestone cuff on that he can't take off, soooo—

Jesse dies, crushed by a collapsing building, ultimately meeting the same fate as his sister. Spooky parallels, uh?

Bonus if Lloyd digs through that rubble trying to find him too

[forestshadow-wolf]

Hey, that part of people's brains that make you think clutter means messy? Yeah fucking KILL IT WITH FIRE

[tenrose]

So you're telling me in the US they put their ballot votes in a box in the streets????

Learnt that because apparently they are being sent on fire which is exactly what I'd expect with that kind of system...

[i3utterflyeffect]

It takes so much effort to convince stick!Alan to play Minecraft

all of them are begging him to play minecraft with them and he's just thinking back on all the times they fucked up his computer by doing things that seem perfectly harmless and innocuous. and they have to fucking PROMISE they won't try any dumb shit on the computer because it's not going to be as easy as a restart if they fuck something up

[il3x]

"Mannequin's trial demands that a candidate changes themselves, and that it be hard."

here [throws a S9!Toga lore snippet at you and runs]

[maegalkarven]

I'm thinking about Isobel who came back from the dead a hundred years later, who came back to the lands cursed and her father fallen into madness.

Who eminates a barely indistinguishable whiff of rot and Myrkul's power. Who was touched by the forces so repulsing she wishes she has never come back.

And who still has Moonmaiden's favor and her blessing.

Like by all means Selûne had every right to punish Isobel for her father's sins, esp considering what Isobel is, undeniably, the cause of Ketheric turning into the villain he became. Or rather, her death is.

Instead Selûne grants her enough power to battle the curse and create a small safe harbor amidst darkness. More power than the most have, as priest of Selune!Tav might comment.

Instead Selûne favors her, loves her.

Isobel is the indirect reason Aylin is enslaved and the lands are dying under the curse, and Selûne never turns her back on her.

Idk it just makes me emotional

[chronosbled]

"oh. what is with the... new look?" ( she's curious she's curious !! )

☣ — Oh, how he wished he had seen the side effects that would come with succumbing to so many experiments. If only he had been smart enough, had been confident enough to go against his grandfather's wishes. If only had hadn't been so terrified to do anything that would get him thrown right back into that dark, horror inducing darkness. Perhaps he could have been able to prevent such an unfavorable outcome? Perhaps he wouldn't have to hide himself away from all the people he once called his friends and family out of fear for what they'd say, what they'd do, what they'd end up finding out about him that he had tried to hide for so long. His body had been suffering for years, yes, he'd known that much... but for him to discover that his body would change for the worse within the span of a few years? It was more than he could stand.

☣ — Hair that was once as black as the darkness he'd been forced to endure was now as pure as freshly fallen snow, royal blue irises once as deep and mysterious as the darkest depths of the ocean were now as bright and clear as the ice from the glaciers of Alaska. Even his once somewhat pale skin had become even paler, making him look almost akin to a walking corpse. Just like all the ones he'd seen since childhood. He was going to end up looking just like them. Being just like like them.

☣ — No. No. Nonononononono. He couldn't be like them. He couldn't be just like them. He couldn't be. He just couldn't. Hecouldn'thecouldn'thecouldn'thecouldn't— HE CAN'T BECOME ONE OF THEM!

☣ — Strands the color of pure untainted snow bounce ever so slightly as he turns to face the other, mind mulling over the question that he had been asked, an intense burning sensation welling within his very being as if his entire body had been lit ablaze — being forced to acknowledge his sudden drastic change in appearance... it was more than he was prepared for, but he chooses to keep his usual smile present — ice blue irises slowly coming to a close before placing a singular hand against the back of his neck, fingers appearing as if he was lightly rubbing the tender skin (when in actuality he was digging his nails into the flesh).

☣ — "Ahaha, do you like it~? I was thinking of giving something new a try." A lie. Everything that had come out of his mouth in that moment was nothing but one big lie fabricated in order to keep the other from worrying, in order to keep himself from having to admit his suffering aloud. He couldn't bare to tell her something like that. He had made her a promise, after all. This might forsake that promise. "What do you think? Do you like it? Think I should keep it this way from now on~?

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

If there is at least one thing I can credit FE for doing better than Tales in localization, it's not trying to actively go out of their way for an entire game to avoid subtext or direct text between two men that is romantic or implied romantic. Funny when it's so present that the attempt doesn't even work; infuriating that it was attempted to begin with.

So as much as I often have issues with some of FE's localizations, at least they have a leg up on loc Tales for that.