#I DONT EVEN KNOW IF IM MAKING SENSE AT THIS POINT BUT

[nemainofthewater]

Two days left, and currently Mobei-jun is in the lead with 29.6%, followed by Yan Wushi at 23%, and then Hua Cheng and Zhou Zishu in joint third with 7.9%.

Part one of tag propaganda under the cut, part 2 with the write in candidates will be in the next reblog

Yan Wushi

#yan wushi your tits are iconic. to me by @web-novel-polls

#the trashcan speaks#he spends the entire donghua swaggering around like this. evilly.#world's chillest man goes on a nonconsensual road trip by @mu-qingfang-stan-account

#im sorry but yan wushi literally has his tits out 24/7#its canon#just look at him#i dont think he's the necessarily the hottest out of this selection but tits are out#polls by @antique-forvalaka

#no no the typo is perfect#it's th👀usand autumns forever now#obviously had to give this one to yan “tits out for the jianghu” wushi#mobei jun is also a strong contender but ultimately lacks the sluttish energy that puts yan wushi in the no 1 spot#poll#cdrama poll#official boob poll by @woolasaur

#thousand autumns#yan wushi#😄🥰#though anyway it's more like the donghua yan wushi than the novel but still... 😉 by @eaion

#yan wushi just somehow feels the most tits out#despitr the fact that there's more tit visible for some of thebother choices#i just can't explain it#he has most tits out vibes by @tinypinkmouse

#YAN WUSHI#PLEASE#😂 by @angelicapocalypse

#yws duh by @kagesu

#yan wushi's tits are always out in the spiritual sense even when they are physically covered by @verlaines-ex

#I was torn between Mobei-jun and Yan Wushi but I decided on Yan Wushi and here's why:#Mobei-jun has his tits out because the hamster god designed him to have his tits out#Yan Wushi has his tits out because he wants to have his tits out by @randomseacucumber

#yan wushi vs zhou zishu ???? dont make me CHOOSE#(i chose zzs bc i accidentally skipped over yws and didnt see him)#(also. thoosand autumns lmao)#ALSO. why is mbj winning. yws is more tits out by @ashes-onthewind

Mobei-jun

#mobei jun was tits out even in the freezing cold that means something#also shoutout but not mentioned- the entire female cast of curse of the golden flower#all that crying and running down stairs while breasting boobily the entire time by @bitterfrosts

#at this point i can't even remember if it's canon or fanon#but in my heart it's mobei jun by @gege

#mobei jun's tits are legendary by @highwarlockkareena

#its literally not mobei jun if his tits are not out. in this list he's the most consistently tits out character#+in 80% of his google search images. its on the donghua cover. blindingly so#& the way that in the fandom the coverage/cleavage also truly is adjusted according to the occasion so that atp its a recognisably#integrated part of his wardrobe. half the time also serving a plot purpose if its a slash fic <3 no surprise in seeing him winning#AND he's a demon... seeing all the character designs of demons in svsss.. its almost like a point of pride and tradition#not to say the other characters are not out tho.. yan wushi or sm good others.....i just love mbj ok by @chord-assassination

#mobei jun by @kanronotatsu

#Mobei-Jun's chest is a defining feature of his creation!#I remain loyal to my king 😤#Lemmi hold those tits my liege 🤲 they look heavy by @livingmeatloaf

#normally so dissapointed in the scum villain ratio of these polls but im so glad this one is right#a defining part of mobei jun is that those thangs are thanging#they bounce when he goes down stairs by @theunconsecrated

Duke Su

#i know he's an underdog but i have to vote my heart#duke su your no shirt sword practice in the rain will always be famous to me 😔 by @noswordinourlake

Mu Sheng

#mu sheng#love game in eastern fantasy#guide to capturing a black lotus#feel so robbed that we didn't get any bath scenes in the drama#it's like a kdrama that doesn't have the ML brooding in the shower scene by @notacatdown

Whether full shirt off or with a cleavage low enough to tantalise, these characters are causing nosebleeds right, left, and centre

Write-ins, propaganda, and images are welcome!

ÉDIT - that moment when you see the typo in the poll options just after posting but you can’t edit a poll 😭

[midnight--sadness]

you are so right about everything!!! thanks so much for replying to that and sharing your opinions. i love that you are very levelheaded about the show but also like to enjoy fanon. :)

I get so mad when people say Jun-ho ruined everything/ was a bad person for not telling Gi-hun about In-ho being the frontman. Thats his brother! That is his big brother who he doesn’t know what will happen to if Gi-hun finds him. He doesn’t know what Gi-huns reaction to that information would be or how the other people in charge of the games will react if someone were to expose his brother’s identity.

And god the theories, accusations, and comparisons of Gi-hun being a new frontman/becoming evil really disappoint me. Maybe I am just in denial about my favorite character, but i just dont see that happening. He is supposed to be the character the audience roots for and his actions are meant to be seen as how they would want to react in a situation like this. (for the most part) I just think the approach of making Hi-hun just like In-ho is lousy and not satisfying at all. I think squid game might give us a more satisfying ending for gi-hun even if that means his death.

Gi-hun certainly is not perfect. no character is and i will always admit that, but the way some people react about these two? crazy

and i don’t want to be more of a d-rider than i already am when it comes to gi hun, but the way people act about him not getting on the plane is ridiculous. how do people expect him to lead a normal life after all that had happened plus him figuring out it will all continue and happen to more people?? also lets not mention how he probably doesn’t feel like he will be an adequate enough father with all his trauma and flaws. AND!!! would you go to see your daughter after knowing these psychos have been tracking you? that would risk her life if they ever wanted someone to use against you? (which they very much would do. ive seen theories that jung bae was placed in the games not just by coincidence)

These two characters are good men and we can’t forget what causes them to make these decisions or the fact that they are meant to have flaws!!! It’s infuriating how they are treated compared to actual villains.

also i would like to see in ho not be forgiven as well. if there is some kind of redemption for him, i hope we still see people he’s hurt so badly be angry (which i dont think will be depicted as a real redemption, just him making a good decision) i agree that jun ho may be more forgiving, but gi hun deserves to be infuriated with what happened to him. seriously in ho didnt have to go as far as he did with gi hun. luckily i dont see him ever doing that because he has no reason to. he was never close to in ho, only young il. he can come back with a lot of heat and vengeance if someone does what in ho has done. (re: gi hun trying to attack sang woo after he killed sae byeok)

this is way too long, im sorry. im just passionate about these characters and their dynamics with in ho. i hope you dont mind my ramblings and i dont feel like looking over it so hopefully they make sense. i really appreciate you talking about this with me!

i so glad u liked what i had to say!! i'm very protective of gihun so my instinct is always to say that he's innocent and does no wrong but in real life people make mistakes. also pls never apologize abt rambling in my inbox i love it so much!! 💖💖 i'm really liking talking to you too!!!

about junho not telling gihun, i once made a post wondering what junho's endgame was. if gihun and his team was successful, then that entire ordeal at the club was to kidnap inho. eventually, gihun was going to remove inho's mask and junho would have to tell him that inho was his brother. gihun finding out was inevitable, so i think junho didn't do it because, like u say, he didn't know what gihun's game plan for inho was. he probably assumed gihun was going to kill him since gihun pointed a gun at junho just bc junho said he was at the island during the games.

yeah, him being front man would be disappointing. in general i have no faith in the writers of shows, but director hwang seems to have a good head on his shoulders and in s1 the fact that gihun "won" that battle with ilnam i think is a good indicator that director hwang is trying to say that gihun is in the right in this situation and he won't abandon his ideals even if he has suffered for them.

the plane thing 😑 it is so irritating!!! why would gihun get on that plane? to see his daughter who is safe with her mother in another continent? so that gayeong can forgive him? gihun is too selfless to let 400+ die for his own safety and comfort.

and omg, that theory abt jungbae is so good! i'd never thought abt it but them placing jungbae would ensure inho has someone close to gihun that he can kill if gihun steps out of line (which he did). it's like how he combed his hair to look like sangwoo's so he could appeal to gihun's love for him.

i completely agree with you that inho isn't going to be fully redeemed. he'll make a good decision - maybe he'll sacrifice himself to save junho or gihun, or he'll decide to abandon the games so the players can escape, or he'll stay behind to blow up the island while every leaves (the last theory is kinda valid but i have to rewatch s1 to see what they say exactly abt the explosives).

i think junho is actually getting closer to not necessarily forgiving junho but accepting his fate? i was remembering his talk with his mother, about how inho made his own choices regarding taking money from a criminal to pay his wife's treatment. and he tells his mom that it wasn't her fault for not giving inho attention or for not trying to help him. he knew they were there and he never went to them. i think junho is, subtextually, saying that they aren't to able for inho becoming the front man, that he made his own choices on the matter and that nothing junho did would change his mind.

this is something that gihun will also have to learn. he can't help those who don't want to help themselves. i can see gihun at first trying to redeem inho, to get him help by appealing to his humanity and this failing. this would confirm to gihun that inho is without "salvation". he's not the devil but he's made so many mistakes, so many bad decisions, that gihun can't help him even he wants to.

[ducks-and-teapots]

The Great Wave Chapter 15 Review!

This is my review of the new chapter(i've never done a review before so dont expect much lol)

Spoilers under the cut!

Well, this chapter was great! from the art and all of the little details in each panel to the suspense that had me in the edge of my seat, truly amazing

I'm not really familiar with the Dofus lore(I havent finished Aux Tresors or seen the movie yet) but i have a general idea of what happens

So when i tell you that I ALMOST EXPLODED WHEN LILOTTE APPEARED I mean it

If you haven't read the chapter and/or dont know who Lilotte is, allow me to explain;

This chapter beggins in the city of Bonta, showing the crowded streets, until Kerubim's Bazaar(i wonder if its still called that?) appears, showing Kerubim and Atcham napping in the front.

I think its something curious how these two ended up being a rather lazy version of their former selves(again, i havent finished Aux Tresors so what im saying probably doesnt make sense but idk), in fact even Joris points it out in season 4 and in this chapter, which takes me back to the baazar.

A costumer appears and asks Kerubim if they are opened, and he responds that yes, she can enter and his "little salesman" will assist her, before he can finish, Joris can be heard(he actually can't be heard because its a webtoon, but for the purposes of this little review he can) shouting, calling both Atcham and Kerub.

Inside of the bazaar, Joris can be seen hilariously, although not unjustifiably, panicking over the many clients and questions he's being asked at the same time.

Which leads him to calling his "sons", and seeing that they didn't come, having to go outside and suggesting them(or rather yelling) that they come to help him(their dinamic is so funny

kind of doomed tho)

Atcham and Kerubim, instead, tell him that its the rheumatism, which, quoting Atcham, "hurts a lot". Joris, unbothered(or amused??? idk you tell me what this expression is

At least he wasnt possesed lmao) asks them the rheumatism??? yesterday it was the gout, the day before yesterday arthritis and when it isnt digestion problems, its the motivation(damn, they rlly dont want to help 😭)

THEN, A HOODED FIGURE EXITS THE BAZAAR FAST, JORIS NOTICES IT AND GRABS THEM BY THE ARM, AND TELLS THEM THAT HE DOESNT REMEMBER THEM IN THE CHECKOUT SO I GUESS YOURE A THIEF, AND TAKES OUT OF THEIR HAND A RING(? idk it was a round small thing) AND TAKES OUT THEIR HOOD, AND ITS LILOTTE????????

BUT THAT CANT BE BECAUSE SHE DIED??????? WHAT IS HAPPENING????(btw, Lilotte is Joris' childhood friend, she was there when all the stuff with Julith happened, but i haven't seen the movie so thats what i know[feel free to put info about her in the comments/reblogs!], and the reason bc she's dead is because all of this happened in the Dofus era, meaning before Ogrest flooded the world and CENTURIES AGO)

SO SHE SHOUTS LET GO OF ME AND POOR JORIS IS SO SURPRISED THAT HE ALMOST DOES SO, BECAUSE IMAGINE THAT ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS, THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE DEAD UNTIL TODAY, APPEARS IN YOUR HOME, TO ROB YOU??? WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS IMPOSSIBLE BC SHE EVEN HAS DESCENDANTS??? AND ALL OF THESE THINGS MUST HAVE PASSED THROUGH JORIS' MIND SO QUICKLY, AND MAYBE HE REMEMBERS OTHER FRIENDS HE HAD, AND ALL OF IT AND AHHHHHHH

SO OBVIOUSLY HE IS CONFUSED AND SHE TAKES THE OPPORTUNITY AND TAKES THE RING-THING AND RUNS AWAY[Though, now that im thinking abt it, Louis(the house/bazaar which is a shushu) must have recognized her too :( ]

AND JORIS IS THERE STANDING WITH THE HOOD SHE HAD AND LOOKS ALMOST SCARED, BUT THEN KERUB AND ATCHAM ASK HIM IF HES OKAY, AND THEN THERES A CLOSE UP OF JORIS AND HE LOOKS SO SADDD

BUT HE QUICKLY CHANGES HIS EXPRESSION(or tries to) AND TELLS THEM ITS OKAY KIDS I JUST GOT THE IMPRESSION OF GOING CENTURIES BACK... ATTEND THE CLIENTS I WILL RETURN WHEN I CAN, HE SAYS, WHILE HE LOOKS AT THE HOOD IN HIS HANDSSS!!!!

AND THEN HE LEAVES RUNNING!!!!!!

AND THEN WE SEE LILOTTE RUNNING THROUGH THE STREETS UNTIL SHE GOES TO THE SEWERS AND SHE ARRIVES TO A UNDERGROUND ECAFLIP SHELTER???(or something like that) AND SHE GOES TO THIS FIGURE WHO I GUESS LIKES SHINY STUFF BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF SHINY STUFF AROUND THEM!!!!

AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS!!!! IM GOING CRAZY!!!!!

Sorry for writing most of it in all-caps but i wanted to convey the suspense lol

Here are the theories I made so far!

1- Lilotte is not Lilotte(obviously) its actually Julith or

2- She is that ecaflip/ouginak from the thumbnail of chapter 17, who apparently can change form???

3- Or maybe she is just a random ouginak who looks a lot like Lilotte(a descendant?)

4- The guy that likes shiny stuff is a dragon(bonus points if its one of the primordials)

They are all BAD theories but oh well

Overall, this is the chapter that enjoyed the most(though last chapter was really pretty visually, and it showed the relationship between Dathura and Amalia greatly)

And i think thats all! I hope that you liked it, and maybe i will write another one for the next chapter :)

[dykedvonte]

You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

[dairyfairyy]

20 years isn't that old.

18 (and 1/2) is only two years less than 20. At eighteen, Two-bit lived in his laughs and jokes as the world around him deteriorated. The two kids he once babysat would be torn apart. He would say his goodbyes to one without knowing it, leaving the other dead inside.

17 is three years younger than 20. Dallas Winston and Steve Randle would have been in their last two years in high school. The two, instead of worrying about their futures, were forced to run, both taught how to keep their hands visible and keep their heads low when sirens passed by them on the street.

16 is four years younger than 20. Johnny Cade and Sodapop Curtis, the second youngest group in the gang. One dead in an attempt of being a hero, the other working to the bone to be the other pillar of support to help sustain a household. Sixteen is much closer to twenty, but still not far from ten.

14 is six years younger than 20. Ponyboy Curtis, not even fourteen for over two months, living through the unthinkable. Nearly burned alive, five people dead in less than a year, all but forcing him to live a nightmare.

20 isn't far off from 18. 18 isn't far off from 17. 17 isn't far off from 16. 16 isn't far off from 14. 14 isn't far off from 20.

Darrel Shaynne Curtis Jr. was 20 years old.

[mrmeepsmadmind]

i love when ppl draw bumblebee like the happy little creachure he is but also i love when people draw bumblebee like he's had 500 beers in the last 1 hour and still the pain won't even ebb

[lacystar]

it wouldn't even matter if he did "shit on you behind your back" when you "never say anything back." the thing it absolutely boils down to is that you knew him when he was a minor and he has come forward saying that because of your influence and power, he felt uncomfortable around you. any POSSIBLE comeback other than an apology ends there. slur or no slur, any other response to that is bad. or, is it just that someone underage you've hurt in the past telling the truth about you only scares you when you know they have the public influence to protect themself?

[oatmealcrisp-freak]

"shipping saiki is aphobic because he's aroace!"

stares at you with my demiromantic asexual in a committed relationship eyes then looks at the camera like im in the office

[ganondoodle]

(Original art) Xaror, any pronouns, species (?), age (?)

short summary about them; they act as both an antagonist and an ally since they are only really interested in what they want or whats fun to them, they are immortal and call themselves 'death itself' since they have a special connection to souls (being the only one able to communicate with them) and the ability to seperate souls from their bodies in such a way that nothing can harm the soul afterwards their main goal is to .. bother and disturb the 'celestials'*, which they hate, as much as they can, breaking into their palace, freeing prisoners, destroying research, destroying the place, and most importantly, making as many souls unusable to them as possible-

they dont want to destroy the celestials though, they cant fight them anyway and this game of doing 'good' only with the goal of annoying them is their most treasured activity, so Xaror doesnt intend to stop them from killing or hurting anyone, only from harvesting what they are actually after (though Xaror doesnt actually care as little as they think they do about people, and has a soft spot for demons)

most of their appearance is later into the story; Zaphira (the empress) had been in coma and the medical facility she was treated in was destroyed by Shargon (orange eyed demon who acts as her bodyguard for the first part) in an attempt to save her from her estranged relatives taking over her country after they heard of her decline in health, she is believed dead but washes up on the shore of the mountain Xaror resides at years later (it has a reason, too much to write here) and they slowly nurse her back to health, the reason they give for it is that they found their first encounter very fun, thats all (is it?)

(more lore under the cut bc this is already so long .. im trying to keep it short q-q ......... this is stuff i have been working on since i was a kid so uh, some things might be cheesy but i cant change them anymore ..)

just to get some basics out of the way; theres three worlds, the celestials palace, human world and demon world, each are their own planet connected via different gateways

*celestials (possibly not final name, loosely based on angels) are the last remaining "survivors" of their planets demise, when their world died the most powerful among them cannibalized the weaker to sustain themselves until there were only less than 10 left, who each turned into different beings from it and dont resemble their own people much anymore, they built a palace from what was left on their world that protects them from space as its atmosphere collapsed shortly after- however they still needed something to live off; they discover the human world and are delighted to find rather short lived people with powerful souls, the best kind of sustenance for them (now), they aim to herd them like cattle, but a problem arose when it turned out another world has long been in contact with the human world; demons

demons are semi immortal creatures that act as protectors for their world, protection they extended, more or less secretely, to the human world ensuring them a long and secure life- the celestials need them to die at their whim though (demons are few in numbers, hard to kill and rarely have offspring, not an ideal target); as they worked out a plan on how to get rid of demons one of the celestials, Xanthriel (time) grew somewhat fond of people as they spent alot of time in the human world to observe and research them; in the end turning on their own completely, but losing the fight against Uriel (knowledge)

Xanthriel was supposed to be executed for their betrayal, but it doesnt work, instead they are splintered into many parts after a lot of struggle, most body, memory and most strength is one part (ending up as motionless forever bleeding corpse kept locked up in the palace), the rest is some time later gathered together and reforms as a seperate, weak mockery of them, they embody Xanthriels emotion- Xaror, without memory, strangely cut to pieces (hence all the missing limbs and broken halo) but driven by an unstoppable desire to disturb the celestials (they live seperate long enough to each become their own person, at some point Xaror discovers Xanthriels body after all and they merge back together, though as they are now two, Xanthriel only takes over once directly after merging, stays silent for a long time and lets Xaror be themselves, only later revealing that they are there at all .. hiding perhaps- i rarely have specific ideas for voices, but Xanthriels is like, like coarse rocks being violently rubbed against each other, less voice more noise)

(also, the celestials use Xanthriels blood from the day of their execution to create a plague that nearly wipes out all demons, only the youngest of them survived, effectively robbing them of everything, culture, history, knowledge etc- as demons rarely have children, like a complete restart of their society, they disappeared from the human world, and over time being largely forgotten as actually existing- the celestials wanted them all gone however, so they kept kidnapping them to try and find somethign that would work similarly against the young ones too (and then in general, bc the only usable blood of Xanthriel was from the day of their fall, and that has long since been used up) one of the young ones was Shargon, he was the only one still alive from his group

(also, the celestials use Xanthriels blood from the day of their execution to create a plague that nearly wipes out all demons, only the youngest of them survived, effectively robbing them of everything, culture, history, knowledge etc- as demons rarely have children, like a complete restart of their society, they disappeared from the human world, and over time being largely forgotten as actually existing- the celestials wanted them all gone however, so they kept kidnapping them to try and find somethign that would work similarly against the young ones too (and then in general, bc the only usable blood of Xanthriel was from the day of their fall, and that has long since been used up) one of the young ones was Shargon, he was the only one still alive from his group (he wasnt the strongest or special, he was jsut the last in the row and always got the lowest dosage) when Xaror found them in yet another break in into the palace and got him back to the demon world .. where he was promptly blamed for the others that were taken and treated like a pretender/fake/spy bc what he got put through changed his eye color (something that demons cannot change in any form) to one that does not exist among 'real' demons (orange ... notice the inner color of Xarors broken halo? :) ), some even suggesting killing him, but none of them were brave enough to do it (they were all kids still) .. except Eadrya (the big blue-ish one, largely regarded as the strongest demon alive) but Shargon managed to escape, and since then lived largely in isolation- this is part of why he is so hated, and why he starts to spend so much time in the human world after rediscovering the pathway there)

[not-equippedforthis]

really love characters who have varied panic responses. kirk stating himself that he does not panic outright, externally, not in high-stress dangerous situations, but instead becomes tense and level like a wound string, on-guard: mostly because his role as captain necessitates that he maintain level rationality even when facing potential death as his training as 'the guy who tells you what to do when shit hits the fan' requires, but also because his childhood experiences taught him early that drowning in the desperate haziness of panic won't help you survive. especially as kirk already follows his intuition so deeply. he learned to grasp and contort the feeling. spock is the main person who represses his emotions, of course, but kirk does it to those deep-set, personal ones (this includes how he doesn't reveal anything truly personal about himself willingly 90% of the time, only what others already know/shallow anecdotes) in a much more subtle way that's really interesting to me. certified expert at avoiding the subject as long as he isnt caught out on the lie. professional bluffer.

in terms of past or parents we dont know much!!! hes known as the heart-on-his-sleeve guy!!! like yes he yells, he gets irritated, excited, hes a whirlwind of quick-thinking and plans and intuition, he goes out of his way to connect with his crew and shows it, when he puts on a little act or bluff he puts his heart into it and clearly enjoys the dramatics so much, at times he wears his heart on his sleeve, he laughs openly and is honest to spock about what he means to him, he's very sun-coded to me in a burning, passionate way, always intertwined with the stars and seeking them out, but when it comes to genuine deep-set turmoil? we dont actually know all that much about him??? hes so full of emotion and character (i love fics where spock characterises jim's mind/bond as a whirl of colour and sensations, hes a quick thinker!!! intuitive!! lively!!!) and yet its still so outwardly surface level. tarsus iv gets mentioned like twice? so especially here where kirk gets briefly jumpscared by the creature, because like:

its subtle but his eyes. his eyesss!!!!! kirk commands with his emotions but there's always some sort of level of control to it, or he transforms them into something that spurs on others or uses them to ascertain a goal: seeing unguarded fear/distress in his eyes even if its faint and brief (in this instance) makes me go insane every single time. like!!! its such a small moment!!! he isnt even panicking!!! really, he just got jumpscared!!! its insignificant!!!!!!! but seeing a two-second flash of actual, naked apprehension is just...oughhh,,,,,,,,,

oh god, and dont even get me started on the galileo seven episode where he assumes a tense level-headedness throughout the whole thing, irritated and apprehensive but not panicking, making sure he maintains intelligent rationality, even when he has to leave them behind, but when spock and the crew are confirmed safe and the bridge is occupied the camera pans to him and his eyes look like they're fucking watering and he's so achingly relieved. don't even talk to me. im. fuck.

he shows so so much but at the same time reveals so little.

[harbingersecho]

grif's surgery but just a little more... obvious?

I actually rly rly ADORE frankengrif but I don't have an in-show reason why he'd have extensive long-term allogeneic skingrafts on his face 😔

[forbiddentaako]

more monochrome practice I suppose

[mousemannation]

serious post time. concerning some thoughts ive had about zverev at LC. nothing too heavy but under the cut in case u just wanna scroll past.

i was talking to my mum about this and i think most of tennisblr share the same sentiment towards him so im not gonna be saying anything too radical. Its also not going to be super concise because im mostly spitballing here.

I was just thinking about how we talk about him and how we as a community navigate his presence on tour. I know that there's a vindictive joy that comes with seeing him lose that's especially potent since he basically got away with domestic violence scot free.

Seeing him lose is a good feeling because he clearly cares a lot and it feels like winning that he's upset, but it also doesn't actually mean anything in the scope of things. Obviously on some level if he lost enough he would no longer be relevant but it's inescapable that he is, unfortunately, very good at tennis. He's number 2 in the world. Call him a choker all you want, he's still vastly more successful that 99.9% of all tennis players.

But it's also just sport- a game. It's not the outcome of the match that amounts to anything outside of a very small community of people; its the celebrity, the money and clout and hero worship. The fact of the matter is it doesn't make a difference to the women he abused if he wins a match because he still abused them and he is still famous. He will always have been famous, even if he retires tomorrow. They will still interview him, laud him in press, put him in ads.

I just sometimes think- what right do I have to feel vindicated by his losses? To weigh his literal actual crimes against the outcome of some silly ball game? In a perfect world he would not be playing, he would be banned by the ITF and shunned publicly by his fellow players. He would not be invited to Laver Cup.

I won't say I don't look at tournament draws and hope for his early loss, but at least at tour events that means an early exit. I can't find it in myself to care if he wins or loses at Laver Cup, not really. Because he will still be there, he is still part of the team, he is still on the bench. It doesn't matter if he wins because he's still an abuser people paid thousands of dollars to watch play a game.

[radioroxx]

What do you think Odile does for a living? She feels teacher like to me. What do you think she would do post canon?

HMMMM THIS IS GOOD QUESTION…

ive seen a lot of people hc her as a teacher / professor so i!! think that suits her pretty well. specifically as someone who studies + specializes in different types of craft (that would be why shes so proficient in multiple craft spells. also how she was able to figure out the loops stuff, AND to find something that could prevent siffrin from looping back).

post canon i am not sure… i am always torn between how the party would handle things post canon. obviously they would keep travelling for a bit, odile alongside her family without the stress of. constant sadness encounters + a king to kill lol. i think maybe she would get to take her time, reeaally get to know vauguardian culture when not within. a crisis. as was her original intention.

eventually. EVENTUALLY. when the family settles down somewhere (i am a “they all get a big house together” believer lol) she would get back into craft stuff. maybe go back into teaching too—surely people would be eager to hire a saviour. especially though i think it would be neat of her to try looking into wish craft etc, as a long forgotten form of craft. to satisfy her own curiosity, for siffrins sake, or just as a way of preserving the countries culture in whatever ways possible.

[apuff]

thinking about love in danger days

this is part of my conspiracy theory that that album is aroallo, but i've always gotten the sense that romance and romantic attatchment is much less important to danger days than any other mcr record. with bullets&revenge it's quite obvious as the demolition lovers take up like, everything, and the black parade has a heavy focus on a romantic relationship as well. 

while i do think there are lines in it that are romantically coded, there is a definitive lack of emphasis on it- like it's nowhere in the plot at all. 

i do think danger days represents a very familial type of love though. while other albums visit a sense of "i want you, i need you, i miss you, i hate you,", this is more like…"i love you, i want to protect you, i'm sorry"

i find this especially strongly in s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w:

"Nevermind about the shape i'm in, I'll keep you safe tonight"

"love, love, love won't stop this bomb"

"run, run, bunny, run"

and other songs: 

"i'll find you when the sun goes black"

"just save yourself and i'll hold them back tonight"

"how long until we find our way in the dark and out of harm"

relevant things i can't cover with just quotes are planetary go, oft-theorized to be about party poison and kobra kid, as brothers, leaving battery city together; sing, about the killjoys' last message to the girl while saving her; goodnite dr. death, phrased as him saying goodnight to children; and summertime, which i can't discern the meaning of but seems more like a family type of love. 

i think it makes sense that danger days is like this, seeing as it features main characters that take care of a child main character as opposed to main characters that love other main characters of the same age/ability. 

another thing i noticed while re-listening to the more sentimental songs for this essay is that there's just a distinctly different vibe to it. So much of it is focused around wanting to protect people, keep them safe and out of danger (<- ha that's the name of the album) and loved. i think this also makes sense, because the killjoys live a very, well, dangerous life without much security, and they'd want to provide what they lack the most. another semi-related thing i noticed is just how much of an emphasis there is on childhood in this album. i feel like there's a vibe of youth or teen-hood throughout the earlier ones, but this is just VERY strongly about kids. again this makes sense cause not only are the killjoys teenagers (a type of kid!) they also have a proper little kid to watch. 

also, i wonder how much of this stuff was due to gerard becoming a parent. just something to think about 

[reco-obsessed]

we know that Reko's father forced her into the industry at an early age, but it's not entirely clear what genre. The idea of it being an 'industry' definitely implies she was more of a pop idol since there isn't really a 'classical' industry in the same vein, though there is still definitely heavy competition and a lot of notoriety to be gained through being very skilled at classical music, especially at an early age, so I wouldn't be so quick to write that off, either. Even so, the plot line of her being 'forced to make music she didn't want to make' and her father being blinded by money definitely feels like it makes more sense in the context of a popstar. In my personal opinion, I like the pop idol route because it really emphasizes the distinction between her current views and aesthetic and the one her father would've been trying to get her to be. A sudden stark rebellion by going super edgy and emo in middleschool contrasts with her needing to be seen as nice, innocent, happy all the time (and probably a fair bit more feminine than she actually felt, too, since alt styles are heavily associated with androgyny). Its also worth noting that she mentioned crushing multiple huge industry offers throughout her later years, which further implies she had a strong reputation already. However logic is pulling on my sleeve and it's telling me that it honestly feels weirder for a 10-13 (this age range being chosen with the logic that it would've had to been *before* or she entered middle school, as per her personal account) year old kid to be a super successful pop idol than a highly successful classical music prodigy. Though, I guess there's the possibility her father actively lied about her age to get her in the idol industry.