#I SAID IT ONCE WHEN I POSTED THE ORIGINAL DRAWING AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN

[iamtrashboatsworld]

I came prepared for absolution, if you’d only asked…

[iikisa]

heres more teacher rin au!!!!

ill have some more deets under the cut about this hehe

Welcome back aoex fandom… I’ve decided for this AU to be called “Tightrope”!!!! Haha,, yeah it’s definitely not what i was saying earlier in that ask..

But yeah!!! I’ll be tagging any post related to this AU under a tag from now on! ;)

(The rest of this will contain spoilers from the manga, but then again this whole AU has been spoilers..)

Alrighty, this time we’re going over the reason for Rin’s appearance… Just as in the manga, Rin becomes “unstable” through Yukio breaking his sword, except in this tightrope au, their relationship was much more rockier than it was in the manga. So much stuff that wasn’t cleared up, lots of avoidance, not so much emotional stability.. There’s a whole background to how Yukio and Rin’s upbringing would’ve happened in this AU because of their little aged-up situation— some events are interpreted differently to fit and others are just completely new, you can assume— so obviously things happened differently between them without Yukio being the cram school’s teacher and Rin actually attending said school to begin with…

So, now that Yukio left Rin for Illuminati, leaving him completely lonely and without a proper purpose to live for in life… Rin’s demonic nature is left in a “tightrope-like” situation.

See how the title relates? And boy does it apply for many other things too.

Where is Mephisto to help with all this you ask? Oh he tried to offer Rin help by going into the past, but even after learning of his origins (I don't think it helped his self-esteem much tbh) Rin still finds himself unable to "restabilize". Like in the manga, it's not until Rin truly accepts both sides to himself is he able to truly stabilize. This AU is obviously more heavy on the twins terrible communication and relationship, so obviously this will be harder for Rin.

For as long as he can remember, Rin's always thought of himself as a nuisance to his family. And with Fujimoto's death, everything seems to be Rin's fault and he's not stupid enough as to not notice the pattern. Unfortunately, this really eats away at Rin, especially with how distant Yukio was with him. So until Rin can learn to accept the uglier parts of himself, he won't be stable. And Yukio is the most important part for him to realize that.

Now… time for the appearance explanation.

When Rin first "unstabilizes" his hair, ears, and eyes change (other smaller details like his canines as well as the newest addition of little nubs on his forehead). The more "unstable" he is, the more prominent these features become—his hair is wholly whitish-blue, his ears and canines are pointier, his eyes are sharper and more vibrant, and his little horns get bigger.

After becoming a not-so-substitute-teacher for the cram school, these features start to become smaller or fade away!!!! Depending on Rin’s emotional state—negative emotions lead to instability and positive emotions leads to stability— his appearance changes. The happier and healthier he is, the more his black roots take place (his original hair color) and the duller his other features become!

Now as for his flames.. I think some logic may be off canon for this but it’ll be fine! He can freely use his flames like he does during the final war-against-satan arc, however, his state of stability changes how precisely he can use them. The more unstable he is, the broader and rougher the attacks. When he’s more stable, his attacks can be more precise and controlled, such as shaping his flames into weapons and other uses.

Anywho, I’ll have to start on making these differences more noticeable for the Rin’s I’m drawing out, because I do like to draw him at different times of his life (if you take note of his hair,,, its one of his best indicators ahah). But yes. Now that I’ve written this concept out (after I drew these sketches whoops) I’ll be showing off a little more of the story once some heavy inspiration hits me. I hope you guys enjoy hearing about this AU as much as I love writing and drawing it!!!!! I’d love to hear feedback or any fic recommendations..! They are my fuel.

Thank you for listening to the end, much love <3

[wszczebrzyszynie]

I think you once made a post about polish creatures/folklore, but it was a while ago. What are some of your favorite folklore stories or creatures?

Hmm. This is a fun one. The more i think about it, i think i like the slightly harmful demons; the ones that cant really fight with what they became, as a lot of slavic demons were normal people durning their life. First demon that comes to mind when i say that is strzyga (one of the vampire-like demons). According to the silesian version of strzygi (written by Dorota Simonides), they were born with two hearts and two souls, and they live their first life normally, as people, often unaware of their fate. Its only after they die that they realize what they really are; to survive they have to feed on living people, so that their bodies wont decompose. The reason why strzygi and other vampire like demons are interesting to me, other than the tragedy, i suppose, is how the belief in them affeced the real world at that time? Strzygi, like all other vampires, had different "origins"; in some cases they were born this way, in some they became one early in childhood (not getting baptised/getting baptised unproperly), by other actions of their parents (not being breastfeed, being born to unmarried parents), or later in life, by the choices they made (being greedy or cruel was mentioned there somewhere, and, obviously, suicide, the main thing that turned people into demons). So when someone died and was assumed to be a strzyga (or an upiór, or another vampire like demon, really), to ensure safety of the people around, they would be burried face down, or their body would get beheaded and the head would be burried in between their legs, or they would have a wooden stake stuck in their heart; if they would be burried at all, because according to advice for dealing with Strzygi from 1772, best way to kill it is by either ripping its heart out, put pig excrement in its mouth, or just burn the body. Theres also a mention of, hm, taking the blood of an assumed Strzyga, mixing it with beverage and drinking it. Im not a vampire person; i find them quite boring in most stories, personally, but i like all kinds of upiórs a lot because of the burial precautions taken againt them, as well as the idea of two souls, one of which keeps on forcefully reanimating the body. I think its more fun than other (popular) vampire media ive seen. I could talk a lot here about the nature of demons like strzyga and upiór because the thing about vampires is that they existed in different versions not only all over the world but also in different regions, meaning different parts of poland had different ideas and beliefs, but its such a long, complicated and vast topic im not really sure if i want to tackle it myself

Like i said, a lot of demons are created out of human souls, and there is often some tragedy to it... there was one very interesting read about Rusałki and how they try and fail to imitate human lives, but i dont remember how it was called and how to find it now. Theres also just a lot of joyful or hm, semi justified murder, which is very fun as well. Ive said so much about strzygi already i feel like i should leave it at that, so ill just mention; i like beboks of all kind (child eating boogeyman demons) błedne ognie (fake lights that guide people further away from the path), płanetnicy (cloud demons; id love to draw them one day, as theyre one of the more well described but still vague demons poland has to offer. I say vague, because they were described as older men, young but very tall people with tiny wings on the sides, androgynous looking beings, people with child bodies and heads of old men, normal looking people but with big heads, or people with black skin. The fun thing about them from an artist perspective is that they usually looked like people, so much so that they could step down from the sky and live among them again, but had long strings that reached the sky, that they used to arrange the clouds. A lot of the times described with giant hats, too), and skarbnik (most well known polish mine demon). I like nature related and house demons too, especially protective/neutral ones; something about living along with another being in either a mutual relationship, or not bothering them - they wont bother me kind of thing. I like it

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What do you think about this take? Do you agree? https://www.tumblr.com/zuko-always-lies/764888302529757184/cobra-diamond-had-this-very-interesting-take-on?source=share

Half agree, half disagree. I'd say that's what BRYKE wanted people to see Azula's arc/ending as, a tragic "death" of her very spirit, leaving just a hollow shell behind. It's impossible to redeem or heal her, not because "she's too evil", but because she's just not there anymore. And obviously the opinion of the guys that had THE final say on the show affects the narrative since they decided what would or would not be part of it.

But they still allowed things like Aang saying "EVERYONE has the potetial for great good and great evil", Zuko looking at Azula with pity in the finale and even saying he believes even Ozai could change. And the head writer, Aaron Ehasz, REPEATEDLY pushed for a redemption arc for Azula, with a reconciliation with Zuko, and the seeds for it are all over the original show. It's not that difficult to look at all that and wonder "What will happen when/if Azula recovers from her breakdown?" because since the story stops just a few days after her fall from grace, it is not set in stone that she will stay like that forever, even if that's indeed what Bryke wanted us to take from that scene.

Most importantly, as of this moment, everything else Bryke approved of post OG series leaves Azula's fate far more open-ended.

The Yang comics disrespected her character horribly and made the heroes go from witnesses to her tragedy to people directly causing said tragedy - but Azula is also far, far, far more "alive" than she was at her ending scene. She's sick and evil, yes, but she has goals that she's actively working towards (even if they make no sense because Yang is bad at his job). She's not just in constant agony, crying and screaming and unable to even talk, or completely catatonic. Her soul is corrupt, but not gone.

Same for the recent (and much better written) Spirit Temple comic, in which Azula resigns herself to constantly repeating the same cycle of getting new people to boss around, pushing them too far, being abandoned and then replacing them, she is making the CHOICE to stay in that cycle. It's a bad choice, but it's hers. Once again, Azula is corrupt, not dead.

Korra is where it gets a bit tricky because, well... Azula is not around and is not spoken about ever. Since the comics happen before Korra and Azula spends 90% of her time in them disappearing into the woods and confusing the main characters, it's very possible that she's not mentioned because she fucked off from their lives years ago and they have NO IDEA what she's been up to, if she's even alive.

Is she commiting petty crimes just to get by and bitching constantly about no longer living in luxury? Is she plotting her vengeance against Zuko in some weird cult she's been the leader of for decades? Is she living happily on some remote island with tons of children and grandchildren? Did she die young after tragically jumping off a cliff or stupidly choking on food? Is she the drunk, mentally ill philosopher that ruins the day of every pretentious intellectual and acts obscenely in public, Diogenes style?

Who knows? Not me. And I don't know because Bryke, at some point, clearly decided that Azula did NOT "die" in the finale. It makes sense. They wanted the story to end after the three seasons of Avatar, but they've turned it into a full on franchise now, and Azula is one of the most popular characters AND a main villain, so bringing her back inevitably draws people's attention, regardless of if they want her to recover or to just be defeated by the good guys again.

Maybe they'll "kill" her again at some point, but considering she got a solo comic and is mentioned by name in the announced comic of Kiyi, her sister/replacement, going to the very school she used to go and how Zuko worries about what that might lead to, it's pretty clear that she will be affecting the narrative(s) for a bit more time, be it directly or indirectly.

Basically: I think I know what Bryke originally intended, I have no fucking clue what their current plan is (assuming they have one) and I don't care because I basically only take the original show into consideration and it left PLENTY of room for my headcanons.

[cwarscars]

i do love how much more militaristic heid is in the remake universe. and how he's got much more valor / honour. it's obvious my portrayal of him is entirely based on the remake / rebirth version of him. however, my lore is a mix of the original / rebirth. i love the original so will draw from it a LOT.

but one thing i appreciate massively in rebirth with heid is that everything we see of him is actually good. like, they've actually added the nuance i wanted to his character. though he's in fewer scenes than i'd like, it warms my heart to see his character expanded on in a way that isn't entirely negative.

in remake, we see him as a bully. he's brutal and cruel - he's a villain in every sense of the word. but, since writing him and analysing his scenes - i told myself 'no, this character is a WAR veteren - he isn't just a moustache twirling villain as people like to say', i tried my best to write him as a character with flaws, good and bad. i wanted to portray a sadistic, brutal man who holds grudges and scars. who is as capable of being loyal and brave as he is a monster. and i do appreciate rebirth for giving us the humanity that i wanted so desperately to portray in my portrayal -

like; i love his interactions with the soldiers. as @ivory-paragon said on my last post; that pride he gets from his soldiers doing a good job in his own seeking approval from his new boss. like, if they do a good job - he does a good job ( at least, he sees so ). it's nice to see him appreciate them, even for a second. and its good to see him pine for rufus' attention. he wants rufus to know that he's competent and doing a good job. at a later point in the game, when rufus demands his directors prove their loyalty. admittedly, i found it a little odd. heidegger has already given his blood for the company and for him specifically. this is a post ill make another day, im sure.

and during the ceremony, we see both a much more professional conduct from him AND a more heroic side of him. i made a post analysing his actions and suggesting they could be a mix of valour, self preservation, bravery or kindness. i see it as all of the above.

in later scenes, we see heidegger openly berate a traitor / show disgust over someone being a traitor. he resents it. i love that because it once again shows us his code of honour. his thoughts and feelings toward the military and how passionate he is to those he serves. heidegger is a low of things but a coward is not one of them, i love that rebirth has confirmed that.

idk, i got a lot of feelings. im sad that i didnt get more of my boy. of course i am, i played the game watching dyne and dio and thinking how tempted i am to try and take them up but also, heid has such a strange, special place in my heart.

since writing him, i lost my dad and my best friend - nina. i've grieved so much and been through so many life changes from graduating uni to changing career all while writing this character and idk, he's always been a consistent place for me to channel emotion through writing / analysis. so, it's nice seeing him again and even nicer having some of my own theories confirmed to me.

[everl0v3r]

so i watched the fnaf movie and i have some thoughts. mostly not good but certainly some thoughts!

(FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT THEM)

unpopular opinion but the fnaf movie was frustrating to me because i didn’t feel like it followed the lore at All. like i appreciated all the references (kicked my feet and scream whispered in the theater to my mom when i saw the racing game print on the shirt of the guy who dies in the kitchen) but like the overarching plot made no sense to me. here are some rambling points. long post incoming

Plot Fails IMO

why did afton kidnap garrett (who is nonexistent in the games afaik) from a Campground? this is completely unrelated to the typical afton kidnappings and seems like a major stretch

why is vanessa his (afton’s) daughter? this feels like they tried to smash steel wool lore and scott cawthon lore together and failed worse than steel wool failed at making security breach have a point

why do we care about the mike schmidt namedrop if it isn’t an alias for afton’s son like in the games? why does afton recognize the last name and specifically get mike to work the job, then say he didn’t want mike to even get involved. my brother in christ YOU INVOLVED HIM

yet another piece of media where afton randomly dies. except Different. i don’t understand what is going on here this isn’t how it happened it’s a literal rewriting of the canon lore

the drawings thing was also very odd. the whole point of the animatronics coming to kill you originally in 1 and 2 was BECAUSE they knew an adult had killed them and they thought mike was william. there was no special drawing mind control. felt once again like a steel wool lore transplant, extending control over vanny (vanessa) to the animatronics

Springtrap For Fanservice™️. god im so tired of this stop jamming him in places he wasn’t in to start with

when would this take place even? i estimated somewhere between 1 and 3, clearly fazbear’s shut down but it’s obviously not to the point of fnaf 3 yet? why do they need a guard then? idk

abby schmidt? who

Other Odd Stuff

there was a weird split between horrifying fates and drawn out gore and people being cut in half in impossible ways and….. cutting the tension in half by building a table fort and tickling a child to death. really? every single climatic buildup in this movie felt like it was followed by comedy

my mother pointed out watching this movie that it continues a trope “autistic child provides key help through special connection with main plot problem, and then is immediately cured”. i have to say i kind of agree because why else call her mentally ill at the beginning? go out of the way to show her being by herself drawing (which is FINE! it’s OKAY!!) and then socializing with other kids after the ghost deal is over?

mike schmidt dream plotline. why

what was the point of aunt jane???

vanessa throwing the pills away was probably illegal in multiple ways lmao

sigh… as a long term fnaf fan i really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a whole lot of fanservice and diluting the story for mainstream while blending the new owner’s lore in poorly. i liked fnaf when it ended at fnaf 6!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaahhhaggagah!!!!!!

if you want to contradict anything i said here (or if ur another big fan and you know smth i said is wrong lol) absolutely feel free i love lore and talking about it and if you love lore like me come chat and talk abt this w me!!!

tldr don’t get me wrong i enjoyed it for the references and the little details, matpat and cory and the living tombstone made me giggle, but i really thought they messed up the plot a Lot..

might add more in reblogs as i think of it

yeah anyways ill probably make another post rambling about all the references and stuff lol

[seethingvortex]

hiiii i figured now's a good time to make a pinned post

im ryker, but once upon a time like 10 years ago i was @/toki-draws aka moderface

i follow from @waynekiller and my main art blog is @thundahouse , i only post OCs over there, MTL is the only fandom i am active in

my pinned got kind of long oh well it's going under the cut

im now 23 y/o and back again, army of the doomstar hype got to me

im also trans (he/him), bi, white/tsalagi o7 so my blog is def gonna be full of indigenous nathan headcanons i live and breath that shit. i do have Mento Illnesses but I'm not gonna list them, you'll have to use context clues

despite loving MTL & dethklok & brendon small's work in general i am sometimes pretty critical of the show so . especially with it's treatment (and lack thereof) of black/brown & female characters. i do still love the show but it does sometimes annoy me. the way i engage with most media is through analysis and critique, if that makes you uncomfortable then you don't have to hang out, it's ok

general DNI - bigots of course, as well as any pro ship people, these are instant blocks. im really just here to have fun, i'm not here to make waves or anything. of course since there are a lot of crossovers in different adult swim fandoms, DNI if you like south park

i dont really think i have a specific DNI in regards to the MTL fandom. <- scratch that lol, now i have to make a big directory

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MTL DNI / SHIPPING / HC

if you hate Abigail DNI. i can understand hating how she's written, i also hate how she's written and the fact that she was basically only a learning tool for nathan/only used to cause drama between him and pickles. i will always declare this as a misogynistic writing trope (because it is) and her character got done really dirty (because she did) and ill drum up a big fuss about it every chance i get lol. i can also understand disliking her character, it's whatever, she's not for everyone, especially considering how bland she ended up. but if you hate her and constantly trash her like it's her fault she got written badly, i won't engage with you. Brendon truly fucked me up giving fandom misogynists and fujoshis a black woman for fodder

same thing goes for Magnus, if you absolutely hate him and trash him DNI

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if you sexualize Toki's age regression DNI. if you ship Toki with Rockzo DNI. i'm dubious on MagTok, but it doesn't appear to be that popular these days anyway

i headcanon Nathan as being Miccosukee & pickles as being trans. these are really the only constant & recurring headcanons i have, otherwise im open to a bunch of stuff

the only constant romantic ship i have is Nickles, they are truly It for me. as far as the rest of the band goes, i prefer a family dynamic for them. you won't really find any romantic Skwistok, Skwisface, Murdertooth, or any other ships with Nathan or Pickles here. that being said, if you ship all of them or mix n match them up that's okay 👍👍👍👍

nathan fictive (fiction kin? other hearted? i don't know the difference, he's the only character ive ever "kinned")👍 i originally wasn't going to say anything but everyone seems to be pretty open here so (cartoon slide whistle noise). you can also just call me Nate or Nathan, that's okay 👍

i am a-ok with doubles & i don't have any current canonmates 👍

if there are any MTL discord servers out there i might be interested, they don't necessarily have to be fictive or kin related i just cant stop talking about this show & i need a place to inflict my thoughts on people. i am however extremely wishy washy when it comes to meeting new people and i might flake out so. tell me or don't tell me, let the tide decide

[rayplaysotomes]

ok!! noritsune route post!! my silly! i have GOT to draw this guy. idk when ill get around to it but. i love his design sm.

as usual, spoiler warnings for noritsune’s route in birushana under the cut!

okokok!! first off, i wanted to talk about how much hes matured as a person and how his character develops throughout his route because i feel like thats the thing i thought of the most. like, he started out only seeing things through the lense of the heike, the towards the end he has a much broader perspective of the world and really considers his place in it. and like, he grew up being compared to shanao a lot because they were the same age and in similar positions in their respective clans, and bc he is very competitive, he was determined to fight her and sorta prove his worth in a way. atleast thats how i read that bit. 

then when he DOES fight her for a moment, and later gets to talk with her for a minute, he really sees their similarities and grows to like her, even if he still wants to duel with her. then of course theres how once he hears shanao talk about wanting to be seen as herself, and not only under the guise of genji or heike, he understands how she feels, and later accepts being disowned very easily and just leaves. then after seeing shanao again in hiraizumi and she saves him, he returns to the heike and takes care of his responsibilities. 

plus!!! when they met again in battle he wanted to fight her and there was that whole scene where he says shes running away from fighting him. interesting i think. and after that, when they were in kyoto trying to help the villagers while yoshinakas army was looting everything, and he said he wouldnt let her die until he could properly duel her. im sobbing. or in that same scene how he was explaining how hes ever felt so close and so similar to another person????? it really seems like at this point, he cant admit to himself that he actually just really cares about her, so he justifies the duel as a way to stay near her. 

then of course theres the last fight on the boats, he was fully ready to die during his fight with shanao before they had left. 

idk, i feel like his whole dynamic with shanao is super interesting where he originally didnt like her because of how often they were compared to each other, then he realized how similar they actually were, how much he could relate to her, and how she was actually a very good person and he cared for her a lot. i feel like this especially helped him mature and develop. 

and not only was noritsunes dynamic with shanao super interesting, the romance aspects of the route were really sweet. like!!! when the children wanted to dress up shanao like a princess!!! and noristune comes back and gets all jealous cause other people got to see her like that before he did!!! and he asks her to stay and live with him after the war!!

also!! shanao has become one of my favourite mcs idc if ive only finished one route so far she means everything to me. like she starts off only sorta seeing things from a black and white perspective, then once she sees yoshinakas army looting kyoto, and the heike children, and grows to really care about noritsune, she sees that there are bad people who are part of the genji clan, and that there are good people within the heike. and she comes to realize that all she really wants is to help people. she really just wants everyone to be okay. idk this is just such a well written aspect of her character imo, and i really respect this. 

[skyartworkzzz]

@auravs YO IDK WTF IS UP WITH TUMBLR BUT IT SOMEHOW DELETED UR ASK SO IM PINGING U TO ANSWER,,,

Heres my replies Ive tried more than 3456789 times sending, hope it didnt spam or smtng and the site was actually trolling me 😭:

OKAY SHIT FIRST OFF THANK U SO MUCH!! Rlly appreciate ur support,,! 😭💜

NOW, My Personal guide for begginer artists:

1. Try to copy arts u find online or even from medias u enjoy! (comics, cartoons and etc)

On each drawing u copy u will notice u have learned smtng new! So from there, try to draw an image by urself without any reference, and once u have an idea of how the artstyle u want works Personally, Id copy many anime images with similar art styles to then try and make pieces of my own!

NOW ITS IMPORTANT TO NOTE: it is not wrong to redraw images for PERSONAL and LEARNING purposes. What Would be wrong of u is to post it around claiming that You were the original creator of the image and not crediting the original one/the artist responsible for it

So as long as u aint stealing anyone's work, ure fine!

2. Use guidelines and shapes when drawing!

They are very important when beggining to understand anatomy! Ofc u dont have to draw All the lines detailed-ish, but at least to an extent in which u can see what is going on

So les say for example u want to draw a human body: u will have to understand that the top of the head is a circle, that the neck has a cone-ish shape, that the chest follows the form of a ribcage and so on It may vary from artist to artist, but if ure struggling to draw smtng specific, try seeing a shape on it to then make ur job easier! The body has to become a literal puzzle to ur eyes

However, I will advise u to plz not let these limit u. Indeed, as a begginer u have to learn how normal anatomy works, but its totally fine to change that depending on what artstyle u choose!

3. CONSISTENCY IS A SCAM!!!!

DO NOT WORRY IF UR ART DOESNT LOOK AS RECOGNIZABLE ON EVERY PIECE, I myself have only learned this recently and seen many other artists getting unmotivated cuz of this, but consistency truly does not exist. Whatever u do with ur art is nothing but ur RANGE. Its all the knowledge u have on it which makes u produce many pieces in different styles, and that is awesome!!

As an artist, u will always be learning smtng new, and what u learn cannot be un….learned (if that word exists IUSDNJKADLS) so its bound to show in ur work

4. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACT-

NEVER STOP DRAWING!!!! Like Ive said beforehand, u are ALWAYS learning smtng new!! Everything u draw is progress!

So no matter how bad u may think the things u do look, just remember that theyre likely looking MUCH better than the thing u drew yesterday

Art takes time to reach a level in which u feel comfortable and proud with how u do it, so its important to be patient and keep on practicing if u rlly want to get better at it!

Since u are a begginer, and if u have the time/motivation, Id suggest doing a doodle here and there to start picking up the habit to draw often. It is much easier to learn and less tedious once ure used to it and, ofc, enjoying it!

HOPE THESE ARE HELPFUL,,,, once again, they are based on my own experience thus far and some things I wish I knew back there………

AS FOR THE AU: ILL ANSWER THAT IN MY NEXT POST CUZ TUMBLR IS BEING A BITCH, amma ping u for my response if u dont mind so heads up,,,

[vampkomori]

short add-on abt the stellaron hunters that i couldnt fit into the original post ⭐

consider this a little side venture that vaguely ties in with my other theory post about Elio and the Stellaron Hunters and their strange connection to Harmony. first lets talk about Kafka.

Kafkas name obviously comes from Franz Kafka, whose most famous work is The Metamorphosis, a story about a man suddenly waking up as a monstrous beetle. This beetle is metaphorical and its species is irrelevant to the message the author is trying to convey, but the appearance of the bug is still based on a specific species: the Coleoptera.

Tayzzyronth’s species is also oddly specified to be Coleoptera, directly tying Kafka to the Propagation. Though there isnt explicit confirmation that the monstrous bug in The Metamorphosis is a Coleoptera, theres another reference: when choosing the Propagation path in Simulated Universe, the ability for Propagation is called Metamorphosis.

Swarm Disaster conveys the idea that normal humans are “transforming” into bugs, and vice versa, this is primarily observed in the Bounty Hunter: Crimson Cleansing Chronicle chapters, where said bounty hunters are no longer able to trust one another because they believe anyone could actually be a swarm monster in disguise, vaguely paralleling Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Though one interpretation is that the bugs are evolving to the point of imitating humans, i believe whats actually happening is foreshadowed in Argenti's Companion Mission (Night of Universal Hallucinations) where the bugs never actually change form, but cause hallucinations and illusions that make you see them as something else in order to lure you closer. Their blood is hallucinogenic, after all, so it makes sense for them to have this ability. This is incredibly similar to Idrila the Beauty, whose appearance is said to have “varied depending on who saw THEM, showing the person who the beholder found most beautiful.”

Kafka’s spirit whisper isnt quite that, but its in the same category as manipulating ones mind, though in her case shes controlling/subliminally messaging you. This is somewhat similar to the abilities of Sunday and Robin, whereas Robin can soothe your mind and manipulate it to make it feel more at ease, while Sunday is able to outright control it. 

Once again tying Propagation to Order, Beauty, and Harmony.

Kafka’s banner name Nessun Dorma is also the title of the achievement for Harmony Trailblazer. 

Firefly’s first appearance being in Penacony is also interesting, because her backstory is directly tied to the Swarm. The lore for SAM can be found in the Glamoth's Iron Cavalry Regiment planar ornament set. Roughly summarized, it narrates the story of the Welkin Empire, who employed an Iron Cavalry (which SAM is part of) to fight the Swarm, which was at war with Glamoth. This is why her design is insect/fairyesque. 

The theory that Sunday will join the Stellaron Hunters is based on a readable called “Death of the Crow” which references “The Raven”, a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. 

A word consistently used in the poem is “nevermore” which is also the title of SAM’s battle theme. Ive already talked about Elio in my other post so to avoid repeating myself ill link it here again. but to summarize, if Ghost Trick black cat references arent enough to identify Elio as Cecil Simmes (author of the readable) then SAM’s theme directly referencing the Raven is at least enough to tie it to the Stellaron Hunters.

and lastly, it is still unknown which path the Stellaron Hunters follow. We know theyre pathstriders, because the loading screen blurb about them says “An organization that travels between worlds hunting for Stellarons. It is unknown which Aeon bestows them with their power.”

Its possible that we just dont know their path yet (Finality is a common theory), but this reminds me of the Swarm, the Knights of Beauty, and the Beyond the Sky Choir/Oak Family, who all draw power from “unknown sources” because the paths they follow (Propagation, Beauty, Order) are all leaderless. This baffles people, because a dead Aeon would cause their pathstriders to no longer receive any power, which implies that those three Aeons are not dead, but not quite alive either (since those are our three components of Xipe, they likely exist in a Schrödinger's Aeon situation). This sounds like it could potentially be what the Stellaron Hunters’ path situation is, too.

Also curious is that their entry links to Emanators — despite having no mentions or currently known relation to any Emanators. Its pretty obvious to me that Elio is an Emanator, especially due to his powerful ability, but the entry being linked confirms it (if it wasnt mistakenly linked, that is). i theorize that Elio is an Emanator of Order in the post I linked above, but i found a little mention in 2.2 that makes me want to change my tune ever so slightly:

Pathstriders, and by extension Emanators, can turn their backs on the paths they once followed. This is further back up by the entry about History Fictionologists:

Note that this entry is said to have been tampered with, so we cant fully trust it, but it says that they are Emanators blessed by Aeons, plural. If this isnt a typo, the implication is that History Fictionologists are all Emanators of different paths who turned their backs on their previous path and now follow the Enigmata. This is new territory so we have no idea what that means or if theres any consequences, if they retain their abilities, etc. But its possible that Elio is an Emanator of Order who turned his back on the path of Order and now follows a different path. This would match Sunday’s situation especially since they have parallel imagery with regards to Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven and Black Cat.

Hm ultimately i dont have a conclusion to this train of thought, the Stellaron Hunters have a lot of parallels and presence in Penacony but its difficult to say what it really is until we find out more. i wanted to compile them though since this stuff is really fun and interesting :)

thanks for reading again!

We know where Idrila is, Xipe is an artificial Aeon, and Sigonia is in the Lepismat star system [theory]

interesting thing about Penacony is that it has a lot of symbolic ties and imagery relating to Aeons that have, frankly, no business being there. or do they? having a bit too much fun reading too much into text.

tinfoil hat territory though bc this is for funsies

this will be a bit longer than usual (and the usual is already very long) beause im combining multiple trains of thought. it all started with bees. ahh, bees. were getting to the bees later though. lets start

Transmutation

When the Swarm Disaster began, Ena sought out Qlipoth and called them the "dreammaker that pulls and influences the will of transmutation." Essentially, seeking them out specifically due to this transmutation ability.

To help with understanding, this is the definition of transmutation:

The act of changing from one form, nature, substance, or state into another; synonymous with transform, convert.

heres where things get highly subjective and interpretative, because the moment of Tayzzyronths "fall" is described very, very vaguely.

- Swarm Disaster, Chapter: Preservation II

this is kind of tough to parse, so ill explain how i interpret this event:

During this.. "execution", multiple Aeons are present, "more than three voices". We know that Qlipoth (giant hammer), Aha (subtle laughter), and Tayzzyronth (whimpering) are present for sure. Ena is also likely present if you presume the "symphony" to be their sounds, but there are more Aeons that are left undescribed. 

Interestingly, Tayzzyronth being repeatedly struck (?) by Qlipoths hammer is described as "diluting". just for funsies, heres the definition:

dilute /dī-loo͞t′, dĭ-/ transitive verb 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. 3. To decrease the value of (shares of stock) by increasing the total number of shares.

To describe Tayzzyronths "death" as them being "diluted" is strange. Also, whats diluting them? Heres were we come back to the idea of transmutation.

Theres no direct evidence for what im about to say, so take it as me just offering a viewpoint and you decide for yourself if you vibe with that idea.

I propose that Tayzzyronth is being diluted by other Aeons. Drowning out their voice, so to speak

After this event, you discover a "white cloth" and "several puzzle pieces that sway in the wind”. The puzzle pieces are a clear connection to Xipe, implying that theyre present, but whats the white cloth?

Ena's puppet body is covered in a white cloth, and it being "tattered" is likely to showcase that they, too, were subject to Qlipoths hammer of justice transmutation.

Xipe is said to have assimilated Ena, so its interesting that they seem to be already present here. Itd be an insane coincidence if Xipe just happened to mysteriously absorb Ena at the same time as Tayzzyronth was "killed", but what if these two events are the exact same thing?

To put it bluntly, Qlipoth combined Ena and Tayzzyronth to become Xipe.

The entire thing is brought up again in 2.2, showcasing once more that any information on ancient history is unreliable because things are told to us very differently here.

Thus far, the events of the Swarm Disaster are vague at best and a complete mystery at worst. the most trustworthy telling of this story comes from the Simulated Universe, where we learn the truth surrounding this event. and as explained previously, during SU:SD we learn that Qlipoth was the one who "diluted" Tayzzyronth while other Aeons watched, and the only detail concerning Xipe was puzzle pieces swaying in the wind after this supposed "execution"

In short, Acheron and Black Swan are completely wrong here. At least Acheron prefaces this by saying "Legend has it" meaning that this is what normal people came up with after millenia of uncertainty. But we are intellectuals, weve played Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster, and we know better

what comes after is fascinating though. stories have limited time to tell the things they want to tell, so theyre not going to waste time mentioning something thats genuinely irrelevant. Boothill being written to say that "the two leaderless Paths are working behind the scenes" is purposeful, because they couldve made him say anything else, but they chose to make him bring up the possibility that the Propagation is involved in Penacony.

Dan Heng going on to say that he doesnt see any "descendants of the Propagation in Penacony" is similarly interesting, because this is a simple, obvious surface-level deduction. yes, we dont see giant bugs in penacony.. do we? Again, they couldve made them say anything else, but they specifically chose to explore the idea of the Propagation in Penacony, even if the characters ultimately discard the idea.

Lets veer off a little for a couple of small tidbits to back this idea up a little more:

Path Symbols. The red symbol in the middle is whats used to represent the Swarm Disaster, theres clear similarities to the symbol of the Propagation (left), but its arranged in a strangely familiar, Harmony (right) way?

Theres a fascinating description at the very beginning of Swarm Disaster that, when i was replaying it, immediately reminded me of something:

Soulglad.

This text essentially describes the blood of Tayzzyronth, and by extention, the Swarm, as orange and colorful, smelling of oranges and other tropical fruits, evoking the feeling of an ocean of soda. Additionally, it seems to have hallucinogenic properties. This is consistent throughout Swarm Disaster. The various descriptions of Soulglad(tm) match the traits of Swarm Blood very, very closely, once again subtly tying the Propagation to Penacony.

basically, theres a lot that connects Tayzzyronth to Xipe, really hammering home that Propagation and Order were combined to create Harmony.

but hold your horses.

Xipe has, as we know, three faces. If they were made from two Aeons, their imagery surrounding the number 3 wouldnt be making a lot of sense now, would it?

This might be a bit of a leap, but they dont half-ass their symbolism. if Xipe is associated with threes, then why would it be..two? That doesnt add up. Theres Tayzzryonth and Ena, so, based only on this logic, who could possibly be the secret third Aeon that got roped into the transmutation?

but first, lets return to Swarm Disaster for a bit, and meet Xipe!

Xipe's dialogue is very, very unique, because it has three colors: blue, red, and white. although only red and blue seem to be "clashing". One of them is clearly Ena, but its hard to imagine Tayzzyronth being able to make coherent sentences.

Whats interesting though, is that Xipe knows Akivili, even though this is (potentially) the first time Akivili has met them (because Xipe was born very recently). Yet, Xipe talks to them as if they were an old friend.

Even more interesting is that Aha knows "Xipe" and says something curious about them: "changes happen rapidly"

"We were still negotiating last time, but this time, Ena already became you. It's a shame, my friend! But I must say Ena makes you look even better."

Xipe is a new existence, and the way Aha talks to them is as though theyre talking to who they used to be, and that someone is not Ena, because Aha specifies that "Ena makes you look even better", so who is this "you" that Aha was so familiar with, and whom they were negotiating with, before their "change"? Its not Tayzzyronth, because they were certainly not friends.

We know that both the path of Propagation and the path of Order are considered "leaderless" or... "dead but in a weird situation" if we want to be complicated. so, hypothetically, the secret third Aeon would have to be in a similar situation.

The only Aeons this applies to are Long the Permanence and Idrila the Beauty, both of which have "disappeared under mysterious circumstances" so they check off our requirements! However, we can write off Long, because according to Kafka, "After the disappearance of Long the Permanence, Tayzzyronth divided the Aeon's Path" meaning that Long had already disappeared before Tayzzyronth became an Aeon. This leaves only Idrila as our third candidate and component for Xipe.

So, was Aha friends with Idrila? Itd make sense for them to comment "Ena makes you look even better" if their whole thing was Beauty, and Ena made them "even more beautiful", right?

Fun side tidbit: Kafka says that "when the Swarm Disaster began to take hold, Tayzzyronth was attacked and killed by multiple Aeons." hm! anyway, moving on

Idrila

So, Idrila might be somewhere in our Xipe-flavoured slushie of divinity. Is there...any other evidence except the vague notion that, because Xipe is associated with threes, there must be a third Aeon?

Well, this is a theory for a reason. theres very vague implications, but nothing concrete to really support the idea. But heres a list of circumstantial evidence that could mean something:

All three Aeons (Propagation, Order, and Beauty) can be considered "leaderless paths", yet pathstriders still seem to be able to draw power from their path, which shouldnt be possible if their Aeon were really dead. Idrila is considered to only be missing by the Knights of Beauty, Propagation-bugs still exist despite Tayzzyronths alleged "death", and Order...well, you saw Sunday.

Beauty has connections to music, just like Ena (symphony) and Xipe (song), this is primarily observed in the Sidequest Clockwork: Larose where she talks about a Song of Beauty. Additionally, the Knights of Beauty also "chant ancient beautiful songs/hymns" as they roam the universe. Xipe and Ena, too, have "ancient hymns".

Although all Aeons are referred to with THEY/THEM, Idrila and Xipe are occasionally referred to with feminine terms, Idrila is called the "goddess of Beauty" and Xipe is called "the mother of all stars". This doesnt have to mean anything, but theoretically in a slurry of genderless Aeons, two of which are a giant bug and a robot puppet/floating eye, the feminine aspect of Xipe has to come from somewhere, and it couldve been Idrila.

Idrila doesnt have an entry in the Simulated Universe (which is a trait they share with Long and Terminus, a strange bunch) and we dont know their appearance yet. A bit suspicious, it could be possible that their appearance is similar to Xipe, which would give away the fact that theyre one of their 3 components. Its also implied/speculated that the silver hair in Argenti's Lightcone An Instant Before A Gaze belongs to Idrila, which happens to have the same shade as Xipe's hair.

This is again, highly interpretative, but Xipes ideal cannot be created solely with Order and Propagation, youll have a united Hivemind with those two, but Xipes whole thing is the beautiful dream paradise that the hivemind wishes to live in, which would only be complete if you threw Beauty into the mix.

Origin Universe: "I have seen wonders beyond the scope of human imagination... I have seen dozens of insects intertwine and give birth to entirely new offspring, which in turn weave themselves together like a shape-shifting rose with countless interlocking petals. The reproductive cycle of the Swarm is akin to a flower emitting pheromones and various scents... a breathtaking combination of monstrosity and beauty..." - Swarm Disaster: Sand King: Tayzzyronth, Part IV

Swarm Disaster has a lot of repetitive keywords and imagery all of which represent certain Aeons and their presence/influence. Mentions of roses/flowers, duty and beauty are Idrila’s, which are present in Swarm Disaster. In this case, in tandem with the Swarm. 

Speaking of the Swarm Disaster, we are first introduced to Idrila and the Knights of Beauty through Argenti, who was released alongside the bugs of the swarm and the Swarm Disaster expansion. This is very pointed, because it narratively ties the Swarm to Beauty due to their simultaneous introduction.

In 2.0, theres a dream sequence shown to us by Samporkle that feels incredibly out of place, and weird, and we have no idea whats going on. But theres clearly a hidden meaning there, especially because Samporkle tells us so

Were told that theres a truth behind this dream and that it contains a hidden meaning, its likely an allegory to Penacony as a whole, but even now, in 2.2, we cant really make heads or tails of it. Likely, this will be covered in 2.3, when Sparkle’s buttons come back into play. But the thing i want to focus on is the beginning of the sequence where we encounter three trashcans. 

Now, this could be a stretch, but you have to split something for these three trashcans perfectly evenly, balanced, and theyre each referred to as Serious (Propagation, wealth symbolizing excess here), Wise (Order), and Beautiful (Beauty), i just feel like thats a little on the nose, isnt it? “But why would they parallel Aeons?” you ask, and i hear you, its mosty because the text refers to their watchful gazes a lot, and Aeons.. gaze upon you. A stretch, again, i know, but i felt it was worth mentioning regardless.

And lastly:

The Mirror Holders are a faction following the Beauty, and its said that

"When the God of Beauty died, THEIR fragments were scattered to the cosmos. The wandering Mirror Holders tried their best to find clues and recapture these fragments, hoping to one day piece everything back together and let Beauty return to the world."

This seems to say that Idrila died, but keep in mind that its entirely unknown what happened to Idrila. Whats interesting is that, for some reason, their "fragments" (mirror imagery) were "scattered" when they "disappeared". this would add up if they were subject to Qlipoths ol' magic hammer and turned into Xipe-mush. The process isnt exactly pretty, if Enas "tattered white cloth" is anything to go by.

This isnt the point i was going for though, the point is that theres a rather interesting character in the Clockie Cartoon that fits this description to a T: the Mirror Princess

We know that every character in the Clockie Cartoon represents a person from the past: Clockie is Mikhail, Boss Stone is the IPC, Captain Revolver is Tiernan, and the Mirror Princess is thought to be Razalina, given her involvement with Memoria and her disappearance in the memory zone.

But symbolism is symbolism and a role can fulfill multiple purposes and represent multiple people, especially considering the very pointed imagery of shattering.

They fight against an intangible monster called "Unknown" and we know these events are not what happened 1-1 in the past because everybody here is present for the Mirror Princess' "death", and Razalina disappeared in the memory zone while doing research and we technically dont know what happened to her (personally I think this will be covered in 2.3 but this is unrelated)

Anyway, the shattering of a mirror is extremely evocative of the shattering of Idrila:

When the God of Beauty died, THEIR fragments were scattered to the cosmos.

and particularly they point out that despite the Mirror Princess' death/shattering, she is still watching over "Dreamville" (Penacony) with her radiant glow. That, in turn, is evocative of Xipe, because what else is an intangible entity that watches over Penacony with their radiance? This doesnt sound like something a regular person like Razalina would be capable of

This is just to tie in parallels and connections between Idrila and Xipe though, theres a lot of very circumstantial things connecting them, but again, nothing explicit or concrete. this is a theory. im not expecting to get anything 100% right here.

The mirror-holder gazes into the mirror, but recognizes not the face staring back.

Plus, if Idrila is now Xipe, they wouldnt recognize their Beauty in the face of the Harmony.

So, weve established that Idrila is a pretty good candidate for the third component of Xipe in Qlipoth's act of transmutation. The evidence is circumstantial, but there is this interesting little discovery i made when revisiting our favourite goddess: Gaiathra Triclops

Gaiathra Triclops, Sigonia, and Lepismat

We know Order was "assimilated" into Xipe, this is pretty much fact. but theres some more things that tie into Propagation that ill mention here.

ive established before that the goddess Gaiathra Triclops is Ena (or at least has strong ties to Ena) pretty irrefutably, but the ties go a little deeper, i just didnt have reason or context to make anything of these ties yet. i do now! yippee

Avgin is repeatedly mentioned to mean Honey, seemingly for no reason

"Avgin" means "honey" in the Sigonian language. It's a conventional term irretrievably lost in the long arc of cosmic history. - Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation, Planar Ornament Set

Clearly, theres a reason its always brought up, and why its pointed out, and why they emphasize that theres a reason that one of the clans is named "honey". In tandem, "Katica" means "shellslasher". This will be relevant

ive tried tracing the etymology of Gaiathra before, and although this is highly subjective, i ended up with "gaia" and "kerithra": mother gaia the greek personification of the earth, and kerithra which is greek for "honeycomb"

Sigonia is also shown to look like a beehive in the planar ornament set.

Honey evokes the imagery of Bees, which ..are insects. obviously. The hexagonal shapes of the honeycomb are also often used to indicate structure, control, and orderliness in general media. orderly little worker bees, hives, hivemind, you get the idea.

although physical depictions of Gaiathra dont exist, we know shes considered to be a "left palm with three eyes" which is un-insect-like. Thats just a side point though, most importantly is the entire honey-bee-insect association they seem to be going for here.

So, Gaiathra has ties to Order and also Propagation. But we cant forget the second part of her name, Triclops, once again bringing up the imagery of threes, similar to Xipe. Gaiathra has 3 eyes and may thrice close her eyes for you, and is also the goddess of three domains: fertility, travel, and trickery, so...whats up with that. Is Gaiathra just Xipe after all?

Yes and no, i think its simpler and more complicated than that

Origin Universe: "The formidable army spawned by the self-replication and division of the Sand King originates from the Lepismat system. Some units of the Swarm have transformed into ground combat units... They have sacrificed flight for colossal size and hardened carapaces... These units often serve as the shock troops of the Swarm Invasion, using their massive bodies to break through defenses..." - Swarm Disaster: Sand King: Tayzzyronth, Part IV

Before we go into that though, lets establish some ground: Tayzzyronth was born in the Lepismat System, on a Sand Planet later known as Elydichna. The entire planet was home to these insects, until one day an unnamed man arrived with the goal of establishing a civilization there, and subsequently caused the extinction of these insects, leaving only one behind: Tayzzyronth. Being the only remaining survivor, their loneliness made them ascend to Aeonhood.

The way the unnamed man is described is…. very familiar.

“Always managed to succeed against all odds”, “his triumphs have filled him with avarice, hubris, and an unwavering belief that he can conquer [anything]” and “He can get whatever he desires but never discovered what he really wants” Sound familiar? 

Why, that sounds like our good friend Aventurine!

I know, that sounds ridiculous. But also so, so on point, this is hardly a coincidence. Why describe this random, unnamed man in such a way? We follow this guys journey throughout the chapters of Lepismat System: Massacre Saga and it is all a heavy parallel to Aventurines story: Hes afflicted by Nihility, but became a self-annihiliator in search of his lost self, successfully built a civilization yet had to watch its collapse and everyones death while he remained alive throughout it all, until he eventually succumbed to Nihility after finding his lost self and became a Sin Thirster, unable to let go of his regrets.

To my knowledge, this is the first mention of Sin Thirsters by name, tying this to Penacony even more intensely due to Acheron. 

This unnamed man is such a heavy “what-if” parallel to Aventurine that i can hardly even believe it. Whats funny is that theres an allusion to the man being guided to Lepismat by Aha, and coincidentally we know Aventurine was invited to the Tavern, too. Ridiculous, right?

Well, this is getting a little into conspiracy territory again, but I believe this is an iteration of Aventurine in an earlier Samsara. We know Hoyo LOVES samsaras and theres plenty implying that such a thing is happening, especially when we look at the chapter of the Beyond the Sky Choir which ill add in at the end for anyone curious about it. Regardless, the man that founded a civilization on a sand planet in the Lepismat system and caused the ascension of Tayzzyronth is a parallel to Aventurine. 

So, lets just go a little crazy: What if that sand planet is just Sigonia-IV? After millenia, the original name of the planet (Elydichna) was surely forgotten, causing it to be rediscovered at one point and re-named Sigonia. “But theres no basis for this assumption!” There isnt, but im having a blast. Let me point you to something funny:

Aventurine, completely unprompted, brings up the idea of the Intelligentsia Guild digging up the remains of the Sand King Tayzzyronth from the sands of Egyhazo.

What a weird thing to make him say, bringing up Tayzzyronth in relation to Aventurine, his remains no less. It was a lie and he was mocking them, but the mention is interesting nonetheless. Theres also just a mountain of questions here: Does the Guild not know which planet Tayzzyronth originated from? Does anyone? So much knowledge is obscured or lost to time, how do they know Tayzzyronth even died on the planet they were born? How does Aventurine know? Hes talking about a place called Egyhazo here, evidently not Sigonia, unless its the name of a desert in Sigonia? We just dont know. The details dont matter, the fact that Tayzzyronth, and indirectly, the sand planet they were born/died on, is brought up by Aventurine, whom weve established is a parallel to the man who was inadvertently the reason for Tayzzyronths ascension in the first place… is crazy.

But lets focus on this: Tayzzyronths remains. 

According to the scholar, such horrors have not completely disappeared. The Imperator Insectorum's descendants remain, and THEY could return at any moment. This scholar once showed me his collection — A dull yellow piece of amber with moving flecks and a buzzing tremor. I was absolutely gob-smacked to hear him say that it is part of the "Imperator Insectorum's Prison Cell." The omniscia implanted in my forehead could not see the future of this item, which only serves to corroborate the scholar's claims. All I can do is pray in silence to the Reignbow that such a day will not come soon. - Glimpses into the Beyond: Swarm Author

In this text, Fu Xuan narrates that there are pieces of amber containing “remains” of Tayzzyronth. The “amber” is a clear pointer to Qlipoth, and amber is a pretty classic thing to preserve insects in. 

With the release of 2.1, we also got a new ascension material: Divine Amber. Specifically, its “the amber that rains from the Amber Lord's body when THEY swing the celestial hammer.” Curiously, Aventurine is currently the only one to use it. Its clear that this whole thing seems to refer to the moment that Qlipoth swung their hammer at Tayzzyronth to transmute them, and similarly to how a white cloth from Ena and shattered mirror pieces of Idrila were found after the fact, pieces of Tayzzyronth were likely also left over, which were then encased in Amber by Qlipoth.

This is, once again, circumstantial because there is nothing directly tying Elydichna/Lepismat to Sigonia, except for a few common themes and references from Aventurine. Both places, however, are consistently described as desolate to the point that thats a clear keyword to look out for. Also, they make a point to say that Sigonia is “located in an unclaimed zone”, meaning that it could totally be the Elydichna Starzone/the Lepismat star system. The lack of confirmation is valid, too.

The Tear Crystal of Glorious Death synthesis material has a rather interesting description, because it describes a Mourning Actor taking a Gondola to a “silent world of barrenness” which was the site of a “doomsday battlefield”. This is a direct reference to Swarm Disaster, specifically the Gondola: Helping Gods! chapter.

Origin Universe: The gondola set sail, and the drowsy Mourning Actors lay at the bottom deck, carefully guarding the glittering Memory Bubble. But soon, the ship vanished eerily, like a ghost fading into the stream of the universe.

Meaning that the “silent world of barrenness” is Elydichna in the Lepismat system, Tayzzyronths sand planet. Note here that “barrenness” is a synonym for “desolation”, a word consistently used to describe Elydichna, as well as Sigonia, whose Planar Ornament set is literally called Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation. (mic drop) 

I jest. Anyway, the fact that Tayzzyronth was fated to “die” in the same place they were born implies the transmutation took place on Elydichna, and that the planet was not destroyed despite everything, considering that the Mourning Actor arrives to the aftermath. 

To focus on the Tears for a moment, they could be anyone’s, ranging from Tayzzyronth’s, Ena’, or even Idrila’s. Due to their crystalline nature, im inclined to believe theyre Idrila’s tears, though. Actually, Idrila’s imagery is very similar to that of Fuli the Remembrace, mirrors, crystals, gems, etc. Herta says that the Enigmata’s birthplace is the Remembrance, and I can see that being the case for Beauty, too. “Beautiful memories” and all that. What a wild family.

Going back to Sigonia, we know there are at least 3 tribes present on Sigonia, once again following the rule of threes. Theres the Avgins (honey), and Katicans (shellslashers) and an unnamed third faction which are only ever referred to as Sigonians. This unnamed third tribe are the ones who established the Sigonian Sovereignty, though “this unity and progress did not extend to the Avgins and Katicans.”

Personally i believe the three tribes to be the descendants of the Elydichnans, each possibly paralleling a variant species of the Swarm, theres a curious part in the Lepismat System chapter that lists three bugs:

Look around while making the record. — You're curious as to what kinds of insects he's caught during the process. Origin Universe: At his feet lie a few *Larnoli Worms*, characterized by their soft bodies and exquisite color hues... reminiscent of jelly drops. Origin Universe: On his table, there are tiny *Fisgerald Bugs*... ruthless and elusive assassins... Some of them only reveal their true form under certain lighting conditions. Origin Universe: He is toying with... a *Tagger* in his hand? No matter how you move around, his gaze never meets yours as he always keeps an eye on your back. - Swarm Disaster: Lepismat System: Massacre Saga, Part IV

These bugs are only ever mentioned here, meaning there is more to them than meets the eye. The tagger is implied to have affected the unnamed man that established Elydichna, while the other two are seemingly irrelevant. This is by and far the biggest stretch thus far, that these have anything to do with the tribes on Sigonia, but the Fisgerald Bugs being “ruthless elusive assassins” is evocative of the Katicans, who are described as “bloodthirsty, cruel, and ferocious”. Additionally, Katica means “shellslasher”, which could refer to the act of slicing through the carapace (shell) of a monster from the swarm. This is wholly and genuinely only based on vibes, though.

Another little side note, throughout 2.1 theres a theme of wondering what the Sigonians (or perhaps, specifically the Avgins) did to deserve “living in a world like that” (one of tragedy and despair). If they intend to imply some sort of “collective sin” that the Sigonians must repay (for the actions committed by their ancestors?), i can imagine the “sin” being the very ascension of Tayzzyronth and as a result, the entirety of the Swarm Disaster. Especially since the unnamed man, who could be blamed as the catalyst, is a parallel to Aventurine. 

Anyway, lets go back to Gaiathra Triclops!

Now that we have this whole context, what can we say about Gaiathra Triclops? Theres ties to Tayzzyronth, but theres evidently ties to Ena, too… Sooo whats up?

What with this whole spiel about remains and there being pieces left over after the transmutation of all Aeons involved (Tayzzyronths remains in amber, Ena’s cloth, Idrila’s shattered mirror), I believe Gaiathra is just that. The leftovers of these 3 Aeons combined, not enough to form an Aeon or resemble Xipe in any way, but enough to be its own entity. A left palm is pretty “thats all thats left over of them?” to me, especially since the Sigonians believe that “the earth, the mountains, and all that exists on the land are a part of the Mother Goddess' divine body” so theres a body, but its the very earth itself, and whats left is only a left hand. 

Gaiathra contains references and imagery to all three Aeons, the eyes of the Avgins being a reference to Ena, the history of Sigonia being tied to Tayzzyronth, especially Kakava: 

The Avgins view the world through the body of the Mother Goddess — the earth, the mountains, and all that exists on the land are a part of the Mother Goddess' divine body. And at the end of each calendar year, her divine body will perish. On that significant day, her divine essence ascends as a resplendent aurora in the night sky and is reborn in the following day. Hence, Avgins celebrate the first day of the new year through their grand festival called "Kakava." During this festival, they weave sacrificial vessels known as "Knots of Cyclicality" and toss them into bonfires to commemorate the Great Goddess' birth. - Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation, Planar Ornament Set

They celebrate the “death and birth of the Great Goddess”. To me, this sounds a lot like Tayzzyronths history, born and died on their home sand planet. There is consistent implication of cyclicality in Swarm disaster, as well as rebirth and the foretelling of their return (likely a reference to the samsara). Incidentally, The link rope in the Sigonia planar ornament set is called Knots of Cyclicality, and the Kakava festival is about the annual death and rebirth of Gaiathra.

So how about references to the third Aeon, Idrila? Well, the Avgins are blessed with “attractive facial features, beautiful eyes, and an innate wealth of emotional intelligence.” Interesting thing to point out about them, isnt it? They couldve just been emotionally intelligent but they chose to emphasize their beauty, too. Also, they seem to “have an appreciation for intricately patterned fabrics, as well as a penchant for jewelry crafted from precious gemstones” which i personally believe to be attributes of Beauty as well.

Theres another thing: Gaiathra is said to “reign over all matters related to fertility, travels, and trickery”, which is a very strange bunch of domains to be a goddess of, as they all seem very unrelated to each other and have nothing in common.

This is likely a reference to Propagation, Order, and Beauty. Propagation is clearly fertility, as they reproduce endlessly. Order is most likely trickery, given that Ena was the one who orchestrated the transmutation and people believe its puppet body to be the Aeon when its actually the eye, and travel potentially refers to Idrila, since the Knights of Beauty “fearlessly travel from planet to planet, extolling the name of Idrila to the beings of the universe.“ They have Idrila’s blessing, so in a way, Idrila is blessing their travels. 

So! Thats just about the end of my very longwinded way of conveying the idea that Xipe is an Aeon made of Tayzzyronth, Ena, and Idrila through Qlipoths transmutation by request of Ena, likely to suppress the Propagation and keep it under control so another Swarm Disaster doesnt happen again. With added bonus speculation that Sigonia is Elydichna, the birthplace of Tayzzyronth, and that theres a samsara going on. 

Heres some cut bonus content that is unrelated to the theory, which I thought were fun. They support underlying ideas, but didnt fit into the overall structure, so im adding them here at the end like a bloopers gag reel.

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

In 2.1, when Aventurine and Ratio are doing puzzles in Sunday's mansion they come across statues of "nightingales", and Aventurine strangely points out that they actually look more like Torment Eagles to him.

This is a really, really weird remark to make because this goes nowhere. So, i thought, clearly, this is foreshadowing, and these statues are not nightingales, they really are actually torment eagles.

and lo and behold!

2.2 brings up Torment Eagles again. they tied torment eagles to Sunday and Robin and basically answered, yes, these statues were torment eagles, aventurine. and im the only guy excited about torment eagle mentions. i delight in the simple things in life.

this is just to illustrate that they dont bring up things for no reason, and they will elaborate on them.

In Swarm Disaster, theres a chapter about the Beyond the Sky Choir, which focuses on a pair of two twin brothers: the elder twin is made crown prince, while the younger twin is referred to as a singer. Sound familiar?

These are likely incarnations of Sunday and Robin in an earlier samsara, just like how the unnamed man is Aventurine’s. 

Their story ends with a sacrifice. The younger twin drowns, and is said to have the “most moving and holy of voices that ever harmonized for the gods”, extremely evocative of Robin. Remember that in the dreammaster’s original plan, Robin was going to sing at the Charmony Festival and summon the Order, likely intended as a ritualistic sacrifice. 

I didnt manage to fit this into the screenshot, but the text continued like this:

Swarm Universe: ...His sacrifice marked the end of this farcical dispute. Swarm Universe: And a crowd was kneeling by the shore, expressing their thanks for the drowned, even if they still don't know *which one* of the twins it was. - Swarm Disaster: Beyond the Sky Choir: Anomaly Archives, Part II

This is extremely curious. The people witnessing the sacrifice were not able to tell which one of the twins it was that drowned. A strange mention likely intended to mean that the roles were actually reversed, and that it was the crown prince elder twin who ended up drowning, while the younger singer twin is the one that lived. That is what happened in 2.2. Most likely the truth is that in the earlier samsara, it was the younger twin that died, but the implication of reversal was a hint that, in a later iteration, they would swap roles. 

To further hit home that Sunday and Robin are explicitly tied to these twins:

The dreammaster calls them “twins of the Order”, despite them not being twins. Clearly echoing that the “destined path” one of them needs to “follow to the end” is a consistent cycle of siblings being separated.

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

/theres another bit of speculation surrounding the Stellaron Hunters which also ties into my other post about the theory of Elio being an Emanator of Order but this post is very long and i cant add any more images. boo. so youll find it in a reblog from me somewhere.

Anyway thank you for reading ♥

[bimbosupreme]

mephistopheles love post

the equivalent of a mental breakdown tangent is all going under a read more

yes believe it or not that freaky ass literally not even human clown in fgo gets love, and love from who? me and like 3 other people

first off

ok and with that out of the way,

i’m not even familiar with their lore. Reason why i stopped caring about the lore behind faust and mephistopheles is that an interlude happens that shows that mephistopheles is just some homunculi made by some mage nobody named faust. and even then the interlude doesn’t talk about the lore behind the novel, its just you helping mephy kill faust

that being said though i would hope the developers expand on their origins more and potentially even release a “true” mephistopheles (a girl can dream)

So, they’re not even the real deal demon known as Mephistopheles in the first place, and i can hear u going “well that’s lame” and like, no, we just need to redirect our feelings from appreciating a demon to appreciating a homunculi who has a weird characterization in the fate universe

Design tangent:

Fgo was actually my first gacha, and so when I came across this servant I kinda instantly fell in love with their design, I love the colors used in their final ascension and overall appearance. The hat that has horns but they're not quite horns, theyre these weird colorful pointy twisty things, the large garish butterfly ornament on their chest (which isnt ugly at all and somehow works so well with their everything on them) is cool, the tights are so cool to look at, i mean look -- a checkered pattern with golden lining on the shorts portion, the tits out look like yes we get it youre insane, the gloves??? purple and also cool, plus theyve got this gradient thing going on? and the fingers have this line going through them, thats so cool. actually the only other servant that comes close to this in terms of “out there” colorful designs is probably final ascension kama and qsh ( i love them both). Also, mephy has this scissor weapon?? thats so cool lol i dont see any other servant wielding giant scissors (for the love of god give mephy an animation update i need to see them use the scissors while doing flips) and they also have this bomb obsession going on? cant relate, but the bombs designs are so so cool i mean its a fucking centipede -- no idea if centipedes are a thing in the original faust but thats something Ill have to look up at some point. ALSO mephy is wearing heels oh my god anytime people wear heels is an automatic win. No clue whats going on with the hair but its kinda cute (dont question me on that) and it has curls and the hair colors are cool i mean its like a lavender thing with darker purple highlights? i love colorful things and i love people with wacky personalities so. Oh my god their tail how could i forget that its so cute and dumb i almost forgot it was there, like what is that even a whip? i dont.. but its got these little purple tips to them that are kinda cute/cool but more cool because tails are fucking up there alongside heels in terms of cool stuff on characters. and of course their fluffly cape -- again no idea what the designers were going for i mean look its a mess of a design i have no fucking idea what any of it means and i hope they explain it someday because that hair and the butterfly and the tail and the hat and the fluffy garb and a bomb obsession?? and this got the go ahead - yeah lets add that to the game like what

ALSO LETS TALK ABOUT THEIR EYES

appreciate these with me for a second

god.

oh and the blue lipstick and face paint god thats a cool design ugh

they can be normal too or at least as normal as possible i mean they even trimmed their eyebrow here lol but you can see the not so well hidden insanity/goofiness peaking through with the inside of the suit at the bottom being highlighter purple and a green shirt with gold accents underneath the black coat at the front <3, fuckin hate that hairstyle tho bro we gotta get that middle part hairstyle outta hereeeee--

TAKE A DETOUR AND LOOK AT THIS LINK THOUGH THIS IS THE MOST NORMAL AND BEST IVE SEEN THEM IN FANART. THE POTENTIAL IS THERE. WE CAN HAVE NICE THINGS AND THEY LOOK GREAT ITS POSSIBLE. I HAVE TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE FROM THAT DRAWING.

anyways this is me going off all about why i like their design! but we haven’t even touched the nitty gritty of it all. their personality! what personality you may ask? havent they always been some weirdo laughing a lot and saying dumb shit all the time? well yes and no

Characterization:

True to their dumb little clown design mephy also acts like one.

Some servants bond 1 lines are like “fuck off” and some actually talk to you, nah this bastard mephistopheles’ just laughing. and for the second bond line it seems to imply theyre fuckin with you more (showing up and dissapearing and saying ‘afterimage’) so thats nice that theyre actually making some effort to mess with you in a way? some servants take a long time to actually interact with you so this shows theyre not afraid of interacting with you and thats just at bond 2. and of course the third bond line implies they were probably trying to betray you, its stated in more than 1 place that mephistopheles (actually isnt this a caster class thing?) will betray you or attempt to do so. So the third bond line seems to imply that their attempts have been stopped by you and that’s what they say after some failed attempts. So after stopping this freak from doing some shit their next bond line is actually doing a confession! a jester being honest who couldve seen that one coming but theyre 100% not lying, they really arent a demon but a homunculi made by faust

speaking of faust we’re going to backtrack a little into their interlude that i brought up at the start of this post, its one of those dream interludes and it starts with mephy asking you to help him plant bombs for their eventual reuinion/showdown with faust -- in the meantime faust keeps sending golems in an attempt to kill both you and mephy

When you track faust down, it’s shown that faust was your typical mage, inhumane and uncaring. It’s also pointed out that this faust killed innocents, but this typical mage behavior is boring to mephy, and they say that boring typical behavior is why they wanted to kill them

 so i really cant blame mephistopheles for being the way they are, being raised by this type of guy, even if mephy was always messed up and wacky from the beginning its no reason for faust to attempt to kill him.

Mephistopheles also shows up in salem, cu alter’s interlude, and of course the knk crossover event, and some other things im most likely forgetting but those 3 are ones that i find notable

anytime they show up theyre actually helpful, in salem mephy points out that the nature of the being responsible for the salem epic of remnant is something alien rather than a typical foreign god, mephy also tells you that time is also being sped up and in their weird way they try to cheer you up by spouting some nonsense at the beginning (guda needed some kind of distraction from the grim events that had just transpired at that point in the story), i cant quite remember what mephy did in the knk event but they were a part of your group and were helpful the whole time, actually @/zeravmeta does an amazing analysis of their role in the knk event as well as some extra character analysis here

mephistopheles is kinda cryptic in a weird way though,

like overall i mean theyre a jester homunculi in appearance so yeah its to be expected but come on i love morally gray characters, despite their supposed betrayal hints scattered around here and there

they have this one line that always gets to me

and this line is said with a completely serious face too

the rare serious mephistopheles face! its kinda grim to see that line, no laughs, no nothing, their voice is kinda serious and monotone too. of course this could be just to get you to lower your guard but its still kinda out there that they have this rarely used portrait and that line, so i like to take it as being said to you when youre by yourself and with sincerity

and at least sei (with her wacky outfit and all lol) seems to get along with mephy and thinks theyre nice woohoo

so at the end of the day you have this guy that laughs a lot and gives mixed signals

and they fuck with you

and will most likely try to kill you more than once but hey thats just another tuesday at chaldea

Before I finish last thing I want to point out is this snippet from the fgo source material book which provides more information on servants, and this specific translated bit under mephistopheles

at the core of it all this homunculi....can be your friend! you just need to not go into despair i guess

of course this entire post is an overanalysis into an underwritten character, quarantine + all online college classes have done this to me, i have a douman icon what did you expect

OH...BEFORE I REALLY SIGN OFF AND FINISH THE POST HEY CLOWN LOVERS CHECK OUT THESE FANARTS AND FANARTISTS...

THE FIRST ONE IS HASENDOW YES THE DOUMAN DESIGNER... <3

i cant believe they drew mephy

twice !

and for those of you on twitter check out @cuz_pb and @L0VEYAMA003

[sgtjbbhasmyheart]

Drunk Texting Is(n’t) Bad for Your Health- Chapter Three

Series Summary: Talk about your unconventional meet-cute! Bucky receives a text by mistake requesting he prove he's not Reader's sister. The easy dialogue between Reader and Bucky sparks a natural friendship, but could it lead to more? Bucky still deems himself unworthy of any form of affection or love. Reader is hellbent to prove him wrong. With the help of some (meddling) friends along the way, Bucky may get his happily-ever-after after all.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 1740

Warnings: Nosy (and well-meaning) friends acting like nosy siblings, angst, bad language words

A/N: After I originally posted this chapter on AO3, I got some comments that exacerbated the beginnings of a year long depression. Please be kind. I intended this chapter to come across as the gang being like siblings...always being in each other’s business. Is there a breach of privacy? Yes, but without the ill-intent. 

DO NOT copy or replicate without permission

Bucky clutched his phone in his flesh hand as he made his way down a long hallway to the communal kitchen and eating area. A soft, crooked smile rested at his lips as he entered the space. Natasha and Sam were sitting at opposite ends of the rectangular table separating the kitchen from the lounge, enjoying a late breakfast. Steve was at a kitchen counter fiddling with the Keurig machine. He pulled another mug from the cupboard when he saw Bucky approach. “Mornin’, Buck. Sleep well?”

Bucky’s grin broadened as he leaned his backside against the countertop. “I did, actually. Thanks for asking,” he answered, looking to his phone at the incoming text.

(Y/N) Would you rather have skin that changes color based on your emotions or tattoos appear all over your body, depicting what you did the day before?

He missed the way Sam and Nat looked at each other in suspicion at his answer to Steve. He was too busy pressing the keys on his touch-screen.

Bucky The tattoos would be awkward, speaking from a male’s perspective, so I think color changing would be better. Not by much, though.

Bucky Would you rather have edible spaghetti hair that regrows every night or sweat maple syrup?

Bucky saw Steve slide the new mug, now filled with coffee, across the granite-top toward him from the corner of his eye. He glanced up quickly from the screen and nodded. “Thanks, buddy.” Steve answered with a smile.

“What, no grunted thanks or mumbled acknowledgment?” Natasha quipped, standing from her seat to place her plate in the dishwasher.

“Yeah, man. You have been using way too many words lately. I miss the grumpy dude that would brood in the corner,” Sam added, crossing his arms at his chest. “Are we even sure this is the right Bucky?”

Bucky’s phone vibrated again.

(Y/N) I love me some spaghetti! Can you imagine sweating sticky, gooey maple syrup during a humid New York summer?? Your clothes would be toast.

(Y/N) Mmmm, french toast.

Bucky chuckled at the reply, drawing the attention of three sets of eyes.

Sam wasn’t wrong; he wasn’t the same Bucky.

It had been five days since (Y/N)’s first drunken texts. Five days. He couldn’t believe so little time had passed. Somehow, (Y/N) had wiggled her way under his skin.

He had noticed after only a day or two; he was smiling more, less volatile. He felt lighter, happier. He wasn’t skulking about the compound like usual, trying to avoid the rest of the team. Some might go as far as to say he was friendlier than usual.

It felt good to have someone, a friend, learning about the real James Buchanan Barnes, for once, without the threat of The Soldier clouding their perception of him.

“You’re freaking me out, man. Straight outta Invasion of the Body Snatchers or some shit,” Sam declared, rising from his chair.

“Hold on, Sam,” Steve placated, lifting a hand to the advancing man. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to Bucky’s good mood lately.”

Bucky set his jaw in frustration, the muscles ticking. He wasn’t a Pod Person. He was just happy, for the first time in seventy-five years.

His phone went off again.

(Y/N) Would you rather sneeze once every hour, on the hour, or burp every time you saw an attractive girl?

A wide smile split his mouth as he scanned the screen.

Bucky Am I sneezing in my sleep or just when I’m awake?

When Bucky brought his gaze back up to his teammates, he noticed Natasha’s own eyes flick down to his phone. The slightest smirk curved the corner of her lips.

“It’s curious,” she said, a perfect eyebrow inched higher to her hairline. “All the people you text are in this room, yet, you haven’t been able to pull yourself away from your phone.” Her eye contact never wavered from Bucky’s face. “Don’t ya think that’s odd, fellas?”

“Natalia,” Bucky warned, his voice gruff. He knew she was fishing.

Sam laughed boisterously. “Yeah, I noticed that the other day. It’s glued to your hip nowadays.”

“It could be anyone from the team, guys,” Steve reasoned. “I bet it’s Tony.”

Bucky became increasingly agitated as the redhead slinked closer, passing his phone back and forth between his hands.

Natasha shook her head in the negative. “Nuh-uh,” she said, leaning against the counter directly beside Bucky. A hair’s breadth of space separated their shoulders from one another. Tipping back, with her elbows propped against the hard surface, she kicked her legs out casually and crossed her feet at the ankle. “Those two have barely said two words to each other since the good Sergeant here was welcomed back into the fold. It’s not Tony.”

“That still doesn’t prove anything,” Steve replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I bet it’s a girl,” Sam said in a sing-song voice. “But, where would Ice Man here meet a girl?”

Natasha smiled while looking at Sam as he stepped closer to the trio. “Let’s find out, shall we?” She nodded to Sam and, without batting an eye, lunged at Bucky.

She tapped the underside of the hand holding the phone, causing the device to flip up into the air.

Though he hadn’t seen the attack coming, Bucky’s reflexes were cat-like, and he easily caught the phone in his opposite hand.

Unfortunately, Natasha was just as quick and knocked the phone from his hand again. She effortlessly swatted it out of the air and into her hand. As Bucky clamored to retrieve the cell phone, she swung her arm behind her back and tossed it into the waiting hands of Sam.

By looking at Sam’s broad smile, Bucky knew he was having a field day at his expense. He pounced on his teammate, grappling for possession of the device. He wasn’t sorry for elbowing the other man harder than he ever would if they were sparring each other. He needed his fucking phone back!

Sam managed to flick the phone over his other shoulder in the process of Bucky grabbing ahold of Sam’s wrist and twisting the same arm behind his body. It clattered to the ground at Steve’s feet.

As everyone stared at the cell phone lying prone on the tile floor, Sam backed Bucky into the cabinets, trapping him with his body. “Let me go, Bird Brain!” Bucky huffed.

Steve bent to pick the phone up, holding it in his hand. Bucky could see the war playing within Steve’s blue eyes as he struggled against Sam. Steve was just as curious as the other two but didn’t want to betray his friend.

Natasha quickly snatched the device from Steve and started thumbing at the screen.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Steve protested.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to put a passcode on your phone, Barnes?” Natasha tsked as she navigated to the messaging app.

Bucky knew the exact second she found what she was looking for because her eyes became comically wide. A feral, shit-eating grin crossed her mouth as she raised a brow again.

“Tell me about (Y/N).”

“What?” Steve questioned, crowding the red head. “Lemme see.”

Bucky felt his cheeks go aflame as Natasha angled the screen so Steve could see the message thread. They burned hotter as Steve looked up with his own shit-eating smirk.

“Well, well…” Sam piped up. “If your faces are anything to go by, Vanilla Ice’s still got game.” Bucky twisted his arm back further in retaliation causing Sam to grunt in discomfort.

Bucky watched as Natasha’s thumb skimmed along the screen to delve deeper into past messages. Her thumb stopped as she read a passage; her green eyes rapidly followed the lines of text.

“I always kinda figured you’d be into someone that would call you out on your BS. She sounds fun,” Natasha said as she continued to scroll.

“No one’s into anyone. We’re just friends,” Bucky murmured.

Steve’s head shot up to stare at his best friend, sorrow painting his features. He edged away from Natasha. “Does she know who you are?” he asked.

Bucky shook his head no. “And she never will.”

“Aww, but you guys sound so cute together,” Natasha pouted. Bucky frowned at the insinuation. It couldn’t ever happen.

“There aren’t any rules saying we can’t date,” Natasha mentioned. “Hell, you know how many times I tried to set up this big lug?” She motioned to Steve with her thumb.

“That’s different,” Bucky said after a few moments. He eased up slightly on Sam’s arm.

“How so?”

Bucky rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, the blush starting again. “He’s Captain America, and well, I’m not. Not exactly everyone’s favorite.” He downcast his eyes to the floor.

“Buck, you know that’s not true,” Steve said woefully. “It’ll just take some time.”

“I know, Stevie. Until then, though, I’m still a pariah.”

The super soldier serum couldn’t have been given to a better person, but Bucky always felt like he would be trapped in Steve’s shadow, no matter the amount of good he did. He would still feel weak for what Hydra did to him, or not good enough to be labeled Captain America’s best friend.

Feeling the room take a considerable turn toward somber, Natasha called out, “Holy shit, Barnes! You used Wilson’s toothbrush to clean your toilet?”

“What?!” all three male voices cried out.

Sam rushed forward, trying to see the proof for himself. “You’re a dead man!”

Freed from the weight of Sam’s body, Bucky leaped forward toward Natasha and Sam. Slamming into Sam’s back, he snaked an arm around the other man, reaching frantically for his phone. He was done with them spying on his non-existent personal life.

Bucky smacked against Sam’s hands and arms, trying to dislodge the device.

“Stop!” Sam bellowed. “You’re hitting me like an eleven-year-old girl!”

“Gimme back my phone!” Bucky shouted.

Suddenly, the sound of ringing filled the small space of the kitchen. The scuffling stopped in an instant as everyone tried to figure out where the noise was coming from. Sam glimpsed down at his hands and jumped apart from Bucky as if he’d been burned. He looked horrified!

“Oh, shit!” Sam exclaimed, shoving the phone back at Bucky.

“What did you do?!” Bucky screeched when he realized the ringing was coming from his phone on speaker.

The sound ended abruptly, only to be replaced with the gentle tinkle of a woman’s voice.

“James?”

Chapter Two | Chapter Four

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[gwendeeagain]

How I wrote the Demon fic

Don't draw devil's traps in janitors' closets is one of my longest fic series I’ve ever written, the most notable of which would be my Demon Gakushuu fic, if you’ve seen it. 

In partial response to an ask post (link here), I’ve decided to revisit my writing of this fic series! It was quite a long journey for me and I think it might be fun (?) sharing it with everyone. It’s rather long, so I’ll tag it under “keep reading”. 

FYI this thread contains major spoilers for the fic (and would honestly make no sense if you do not have prior knowledge of it).

I'll just refer to the first fic in the series as Books because it has an insanely long title. Subsequent fics are in order Burgundy, Potential, Illuminate, Illuminate rewrite, and Addendum. The main series is linked here.

Addendum is not linked in the main series for reasons I'll explain below. (link here)

Books

I think one of my biggest mistakes writing Books is my lack of plot planning, and subsequently how thematically inconsistent it became. I start off most my fics with a rough idea of how I want the story to end, and a few good themes to carry me through the plot as I write, but for Books I started off with the first chapter and nothing else. If you followed the notes of my fic you'd probably have witnessed my gradual descent into uncertainty and despair as the fic spiralled out of my control due to how wrong I felt it was becoming.

The fic took a surprisingly hard toll on me. I absolutely hated it. I refused to mark it as complete because I was dissatisfied with how it ended. I thought that everyone was out of character, that I lost the original ending and goal in my head, that it was thematically messy such that I couldn't justify any ending I tried to come up with, and I was just grasping at straws trying to make it work. 

The three things that bothered me were Gakushuu’s wings, Koro-Sensei and the introduction of Aina. When I started this fic I had plans to kill off Koro-Sensei at the end, however as the fic went on it became a celebration of life and learning how to live, and I knew I couldn’t bring myself to have any death in this fic... but at the same time I had Gakushuu find a lot of meaning in Koro-Sensei’s (to-be) death and I didn’t want to undo that. The wings were on a similar note, because Gakushuu spend 50k words finding out who he is and accepting that he was different. Turning that message around and making him go back to being “the same” ate me up inside, but at the same time I set-up the Demon Society in such a way that they would kill Gakushuu if he didn’t have his wings, and it’s supposed to be a happy ending, dammit! Aina was a particularly egregious case because I threw her (and Ikeda) in without any prior warning at the very last minute. I already had a whole world and setting planned for them which I never got to expand on in the previous chapters because I was so anxious about the other two points, and when it came down to the last chapter I realized I had no set-up for these two, who were supposed to be major players in the finale. Basically I was bad at writing.

Even now I cannot fully articulate why it was terrible for me, but compounded with my real-life stressors, I suppose it just became a bit too much to deal with. (This is a piece of fiction that I am creating from scratch. If I can't even get this under control, what hope do I have for everything else?)

((For come disclosure I was never formally diagnosed with any mental illness, but my parents are the sort of people who don’t believe mental illness exists anyways. I would say that I’ve had depressive episodes when I was younger and sometimes even now, but I’ve learnt my ways of dealing with them!))

Burgundy

Four days later I published Burgundy, a short sequel to Books, very shortly after only because I had already finished writing by that time. I actually do still have several half-finished follow ups at that point, but I couldn't bring myself to complete any sequels because I couldn't even come to terms with the ending of the main story. (Those wips are lost to me now.) I think I was hoping that forcing myself to publish the sequel would show me that it was "no big deal" that the main fic didn't end the way I hoped it would, but it succeeded in making me feel worse.

Potential

About one month after that I wrote Potential. It was a three parter, somehow a fifth of the length of the main fic, that followed Gakuhou's perspective prior to the events of Books. It was a prequel which imo made it easier to write, because I still couldn't move on from Books yet. I think writing Potential was me trying to remind myself why I wrote Books in the first place, to perhaps reignite my original passion for the series. It's kind of funny to think about in hindsight, and a little meta, because Potential was a lead up to the events in Books. It worked... a little bit, I think. I still couldn't reconcile my feelings for the whole thing, but through it I got to revisit the original premise that I fell in love with and expand more on worldbuilding it. I could reprise Aina and Ikeda and finally write about the world I planned to introduce them in in the first fic and give more context and insights to how the demon society was supposed to work.

Illuminate

Six months after Potential, I ran into a comment that said, "what would Gakuhou have done if Gakushuu had died?" And for some reason it struck an epiphany in me. After that I wrote Illuminate in one night, cried myself to sleep, waited one more night to proofread it, and then published it. Illuminate was an AU to the first three fics in the series, and it was a fic about grief and mourning. Spoiler alert: I straight up killed Gakushuu in that fic. And somehow that was what I needed.

I quite literally killed my first fic - I upended the terrible ending I hated from Books - everything I had been uncertain about at first? I killed it. Plot points didn't fit my original plans? Killed it. (When I reread the death scene, I... honestly think I was unnecessarily cruel. I must have really been out of my mind when I wrote it, hah!)

And then I wrote myself a love story about missing it, grieving it, and finally letting go of it. It was heart wrenching for me - I made Gakuhou cry about what he lost, what could have been, what he realized he loved, and at the end of it all he could say "I love you and I can move on from you." And I did!

Illuminate (Rewrite)

Illuminate Rewrite, one year later, was me revisiting Illuminate to reflect on myself where I've come with this series. I actually just swapped the places of two paragraphs to change the mood at the end for something more contemplative. I elaborated a bit more on this in my notes for Rewrite, so I won't repeat them here.

Honestly, I still have a hard time coming back to reread Illuminate even after the whole debacle has happened. I attached a lot of emotions through my journey with this, and revisiting it each time takes quite a bit out of me.

Addendum

Addendum was just me having fun! After Illuminate, I managed to reconcile my feelings with the fic series. I was finally able to mark Books as complete and move on from it, and afterwards I wrote a fun little au sequel to Illuminate so that Gakushuu can live again. I could creatively expand on ideas and just do... whatever! It's more of a loose connection of plot points than a real fic, honestly.

Addendum follows Gakushuu in a future hundreds of years later, after every human who he's once known in Books has died. And... he moves on! Gets a job, makes friends, lives his life, and most importantly move on.

I chose to publish in a separate collection, however, because it was an incomplete story and I didn’t want to have a half-complete fic tacked on to what I have settled in my heart as a complete fic collection.

And that’s about it! <3

[rum-and-shattered-dreams]

Anxiety is being vocal...

And I’m trying to be patient with it/kind to it because beating it up and calling it names is basically doing that to a part of me and there’s no point in adding more fire to the fire. (Plus I know it’s partly because I had to stop my meds because I needed to find out if the latest health issue flare up was a side effect or just my body saying “fuck you and any progress you’re trying to make” again. “No you are not allowed to be an adult! I will make you bleed internally any time you try!”).

It’s telling me that I’m being annoying with everything about The Man Downstairs. It was hard to type the title because it’s telling me that people are tired of hearing about it. Logic says I should write it and post it because I want to but anxiety based on past experience is telling me “this is why people don’t want to be around you for long. They get tired of hearing you go on about the same things.” Logic argues back that there are plenty of comments that say otherwise. Anxiety says people are being patient and kind and I shouldn’t push that. Logic says I’m doing my best to not talk about it or post about it nearly as much as an uninhibited (cough cough younger cough cough) version of myself would and that I’m trying to focus more on reblogging other people’s works. The volume of reblogs to original posts backs that up. Anxiety says “no, you need to shut up and go hide before people see how horrible, inexperienced, uneducated, spacey, and selfish the ‘real’ you is.” Logic says at least I’m trying to be better even if I feel like it’s not good enough.

Anxiety says not to post this because it doesn’t want any input to prove it’s wrong and is afraid that it’s right. Logic says I should talk about it and get input from outside of my own head then deal with the results for better or worse.

So honestly, should I stop saying anything about it? I’ll probably still write it and update AO3 but is it getting annoying? It’s also perfectly fine if anyone wants to block it. I tag it all with the title so blocking that should hopefully work fine.

Anxiety is also telling me that my art has an inherent wonkiness to it that I can’t fix (despite 30+ years of trying) and I should just give up. It takes forever to draw anything and it has a weird look no matter what - that being the same sort of uncanny valley look my face/head has. It’s ugly and awkward looking the same way I am, the same way that makes me avoid photos and mirrors and the same way that has historically made people act grossed out by physical contact with me (hugging everyone else in the group but not me then giving an awkward hug if I bring it up, batting my hand away if I ever want to hold hands with someone who seems okay with it with other friends, telling me which people they think are hot but I’m “not their type”, people hitting on everyone around me but not me, my friends being asked to dance but all I’m good for is watching their bags, being left alone on the dance floor more than once when I asked other people, getting re-traumatized because I told a friend no, I don’t dance because it’s never ended well then giving in and as soon as we got out there, the DJ said switch partners and he did along with everyone else and the one person left walked away and sat down when I asked if he wanted to dance, basically being the friend people bring along so they can say we’re together when they don’t want to be hit on, having people literally say they couldn’t be paid to go out with me, having a friend say I ruined a photo because my face was in it, having a blind date say no on sight, trying different fashions and styles and makeup and hair color and NOTHING MADE A DIFFERENCE and it just made me feel more uncomfortable because sensory issues. I get it. I don’t deserve to be loved because I’m inherently gross. Whatever. Can my hands at least make things that are less awkward. Please? Can I be useful in some other way? Oh no. I can’t. Having a chronic illness that’s considered gross by many makes me a burden who can’t survive alone makes sure of that. It’s not so much that I want to not be alive anymore. It’s that I want a new start in a body that isn’t this one and a life where I’d get to have more experience by now. I’m already too old to consider having kids and even with the improvements I’m trying to make and sustain, I have zero belief that anyone would want me.)

[besanii]

shattered mirrors 63

WangXian ; 1431 words

[set before #20]

“Wei-gongzi, your attendance is required in the main hall.”

Both Wei Wuxian and Mo Xuanyu look up in surprise. The servant at the door is an unfamiliar one, tall and stony-faced, even though he wears the dark blue robes sported by all male servants of the Imperial Family. Behind him, however, stands Bai Hongsheng, Lan Wangji’s chief steward, who nods almost imperceptibly when their eyes meet, his mouth set in a tense line.

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian says, masking his wariness with an easy smile as he stands. “Please tell Wangye I will be there promptly.”

Lan Wangji had departed for the Imperial Palace less than one shichen ago—there is no way he would be back already—but neither the servant nor Bai Hongsheng correct him. They also make no move to leave the doorway. Wei Wuxian exchanges meaningful glances with Mo Xuanyu as he dons his thick winter cloak, a gift from Lan Wangji made of the warmest, finest fur.

“Come, A-Yu, we mustn’t keep Wangye waiting,” he says, nodding to the servant and then to Bai Hongsheng as he passes them. “Bai-zongguan.”

“Wei-gongzi.” Bai Hongsheng bows, and falls into step behind him as they walk towards the main hall. He lowers his voice to a murmur. “Taishi is here.”

Ah.

The wariness that had been lingering in the back of his mind grows. There is no way Lan Qiren does not know Lan Wangji is in the palace, and yet he is here, in Hanguang Manor, requiring Wei Wuxian to attend him. He has not seen the Imperial Tutor since he left Gusu in his youth, but he remembers the man as austere and unyieldingly principled, the paragon of the morality and values of the Imperial Family. He also remembers that the man had held no great love for him back then, as a ward of a neighbouring kingdom and a gentleman in his own right; he imagines he would love him even less now that he is not.

“Does Wangye know?” Wei Wuxian asks quietly.

“I have sent word to the palace already,” Bai Hongsheng replies. “Wangye should be home soon.”

“Thank you, Bai-zongguan, I owe you a great debt.” His breath forms a cloud of steam as he exhales. “I suppose there is no point in putting off this encounter any longer.”

Lan Qiren is seated at the front of the room when they enter the main hall, the place Lan Wangji usually occupies as the master of the house. He makes no move to stand or greet Wei Wuxian, does not look up from his tea or acknowledge his existence until Wei Wuxian sinks into a bow.

“Wei Wuxian greets Taishi,” he murmurs. He does not rise.

Lan Qiren sets down his teacup with a clink and a grunt.

“Raise your head,” he orders. His eyes are hard and flinty when Wei Wuxian complies, and he studies Wei Wuxian’s face closely. “So you are the one who claims to be Wei Wuxian.”

He doesn’t wait for Wei Wuxian’s reply before he continues.

“I have had people look into your past,” he says. “You made a name for yourself in the brothels of Qishan near the end of the war, becoming the most sought after courtesan—” he spits the word like a foul-tasting poison, “—in the kingdom before relocating to Runan. You stayed there only three months before relocating again to Baling, where you stayed six months. From there, you have worked in brothels all over the kingdoms until you arrived in Gusu one year ago.”

Wei Wuxian bows his head. “Taishi is correct. But as Taishi should be aware, I am originally from Yunmeng.”

Lan Qiren raises an eyebrow. “Even so, there is no record of you before Qishan. How can you prove you are indeed Wei Wuxian? Or if you are simply an imposter assuming his identity to get closer to Wangji and the Imperial Throne?”

Wei Wuxian raises his eyes to meet Lan Qiren’s.

“It is clear Taishi has already made up his mind about my identity,” he says. “What can I say to convince Taishi that I am Wei Wuxian?”

“Insolent,” Lan Qiren barks, slamming his hand down on the table. “A person of such low moral standards dares show such disrespect to a member of the Imperial Family?”

Wei Wuxian inclines his head, his own irritation simmering beneath the surface of the respectful gesture.

“Taishi would remember that I once argued that morality lies not in the action but in the circumstances behind it,” he says. “And that we should not be too quick to pass judgment on others if are not aware of the circumstances.”

Lan Qiren is the foremost scholar in all of Gusu, with an impeccable memory, and he instantly recognises Wei Wuxian’s words. He shoots to his feet, face pale and mouth falling open in shock; his hand clenches and unclenches where it is poised in mid-air, trembling as it points at Wei Wuxian’s face.

“You—you—!” he splutters. “You dare—!”

Wei Wuxian smiles grimly. “Taishi seems to recall something now.”

He watches Lan Qiren’s face change from ashen to puce as he draws himself up to his full height. Wei Wuxian is not a small person by any means, but he is not as physically strong as he used to be, and Lan Qiren has always had an imposing presence about him. The servants still in the hall—presumably from Lan Qiren’s own staff—immediately stand at attention on either side of Wei Wuxian, ready to move with one word from their master.

“I recall an impertinent child who spouted dangerous views that deviated from the good moral teachings upon which this Empire is built,” he says through gritted teeth. “I also recall him showing no acknowledgment of wrongdoing despite his punishment. I see this has not changed in this slightest.”

Wei Wuxian inclines his head, the smile never leaving his face.

“Then perhaps Taishi would allow me to be impertinent once again,” he says, which earns him a huff from Lan Qiren. “Is Taishi’s concern for Lan Zhan, or the Gusu Lan Empire?”

“They are one and the same,” Lan Qiren returns, tucking one hand against the small of his back as he looks at him. Wei Wuxian sees his own wariness reflected in the crease between his brows, in the tense set of his jaw. “Wangji is a pillar of the Imperial Family, the Emperor’s right hand, the very backbone of the Empire itself. Any harm that befalls him strikes at the heart of the Empire. I will not have him ruined in the hands of a courtesan.”

Wei Wuxian is glad for the heavy cloak and its fur lining that hides the way his hands begin to shake. The words, the sentiment, are not new—he has said them himself, many times, told Lan Wangji the very same thing over and over again—but somehow, hearing it now, does he truly appreciate the weight they hold. Lan Wangji has never just been Lan Wangji. He has always been, will always be, the Second Prince of Gusu Lan, the Emperor’s younger brother. His very existence, his choices, his actions, have a direct impact on the stability of the Empire, on the people’s belief in the Imperial Family. One wrong move could be used against them by their enemies, one moment’s weakness could destabilise centuries of peace.

“I hold no ill will against you, only the danger you present,” Lan Qiren says. “If you insist on staying with Wangji, you leave me with no choice but to take matters into my own hands.”

He raises his hand, and the servants close in on Wei Wuxian. Two of them grab his arms while another holds Mo Xuanyu at bay; their hands are rough, their grips firm and unyielding, and Wei Wuxian gasps at the sharp sting of pain as they wrench him backwards.

“Taishi!” Bai Hongsheng exclaims. “Perhaps it would be best to wait until Wangye—”

“Bai-zongguan,” Lan Qiren says sharply, cutting him off mid-protest. “You served the Imperial Family faithfully for over forty years. I trust you would know the clan rules better than anyone else in the room. Take him away.”

Wei Wuxian catches Bai Hongsheng’s eye as he is led away by the servants and shakes his head; the steward falls silent in understanding. A message has already been sent to the palace. Lan Wangji will be home soon. He bites back a hiss of pain and allows himself to be lead outside.

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master post linked on sidebar!

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buy me a ko-fi: ko-fi.com/besanii

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This was originally meant to be more about the punishment, but this scene also begged to be written, so I’ll do the punishment scene next!

[sl-walker]

All right, since I’m in the middle of a flare and have to work manual labor for the next four days despite it, I figured I would make myself -- and hopefully other people -- laugh by talking about one of my favorite OG Captain Marvel stories. Namely, from Whiz #50, with a cover date of January, 1944, meaning it was probably produced sometime in late 1943.

I want to share it because why not, this is some absurdly charming stuff.

I’ll get more into why it’s one of my favorites as we go, in the form of running commentary. So, full story (with said commentary) under the cut. If you wanna just read the story without my commentary, stick to the pictures. XD

First, let me say that the cover and splash page definitely live up to the story, though the cover’s a bit more sensationalized. But the premise is pretty damn simple: Our intrepid hero and his newsboy alter ego are on vacation. Cap decides to go swimming. It goes hilariously wrong and thus ensues a bit of a madcap adventure, no puns intended.

Second, the fact that Cap and Billy are depicted as essentially different entities makes what Billy does next the ultimate trolling:

Gee, airing out the stolen laundry on the radio? Really? I’ll leave it up to you, gentle reader, whether Billy actually was trolling his own alter-ego for ratings or whether he was just innocently sharing the story while his other-self winced quietly in whatever ether-space he exists in when not front-and-center.

Either way, I love it.

Continuing on...

I get a kick out of the fact that Billy’s monologue is that he’s no dare-devil. One, because that’s so obviously not true in any way -- (that kid is awesomely, sometimes recklessly brave on the regular even without Cap) -- but two, because the bridge is actually named Dare-Devil Bridge. We aren’t given any reason why this dangerous potential death-trap is there, hanging without so much as a gate or a warning sign or anything, because we don’t need one. It’s there specifically for what happens next.

Which, of course, is Billy calling in Captain Marvel, who does some light complaining about the situation Billy left him in. There’s no bite to it, which I find adorable -- Cap actually does get frustrated once or twice in other issues with Billy calling on him for mundane stuff, though he’s never mean about it -- but there is a bit of the sense of being put-upon there that’s just-- I dunno, cute. It’s something I miss a lot in the various post-crisis takes on the character: That duality, that difference in personality, and the way each of them responds to different situations. Often, they’re on the same page, but notably, sometimes, they aren’t.

Someday, I promise, I need to sit down and write how I think that works between those two without being a truly frightening mental illness manifested, what with them being the same person but not the same person. Because I have so many ideas, and I’ve only had since the early-2000s to percolate them. LOL! But until then, just enjoy this.

Here is another reason why I love the Golden Age Captain Marvel books and why I love this specific story: This is an absolutely normal, mundane thing to do. It’s the human thing to do. These aren’t the actions of some super-serious superdude. These are the actions of a pretty shockingly normal guy doing something mundane. And a whole story is built around that normalcy.

It’s cute. It’s funny. It’s the reader already knowing that he’s getting himself into a situation that he absolutely could have avoided, but also completely understanding how it happened anyway. It’s pretty brilliant writing: I say this as a pretty damned good writer myself.

So much of the reason why, I think, Cap was so endearing as a hero is that humanity. He’s got pretty much god-tier power in the Golden Age, once his powerset is established. He’s utterly invulnerable to all physical harm while powered up. But-- he’s human. He knows he’s human. He acts like it, and decides, “You know what? I’m going skinny-dipping.”

He and Billy are both characters it’s so easy to empathize with.

Also, a reminder that the art under Chief Artist C.C. Beck is really, really good. (He had a whole stable of artists to help produce this stuff!) Ignoring registration issues on the printing press, the actual line art is amazingly good; proportion and perspective and consistency.

But anyway--Cap does get to enjoy his swim. But, then, oh no.

I love the idea of a world where the prime hero -- and he definitely is in that world -- can take off his suit and go swimming, and where someone else is bold enough to steal the damn suit off of him. The first time I read this, I started laughing here. Not at him, but at the situation he’s found himself in. At the idea that some random passer-by saw Captain Marvel’s costume and went yoink!

Another thing I love about this particular story is how much Cap and Billy have to work together, just by necessity. Like-- it’s just really good. But anyway, thank everything Billy Batson is on the ball, coming to the rescue.

Sheer bad luck via the weather keeps this story rolling along in hilarious misdirections. Realistically, that uniform probably wouldn’t be all buttoned together (we see Cap take off pieces of it aside the pants in other issues, including socks!), but who cares? The point of the story is that giant bear rug on the floor’s gonna get put to use.

Man, when have you ever seen Superman creeping naked through some stranger’s house wearing nothing but a random polar bear because he went skinny dipping? No wonder these comics sold so well. This next panel is when I start wheezing, though, and pretty much keep wheezing.

“A lady, too! I’ve got to get away from here!”

I’m dying at this point. That’s such a characteristic response, and yet, I think that’s why it’s funny.

Anyway, because this is an excellent story (I mean this without an ounce of irony, too), our dynamic duo stumbles across a plot in play to rob the hotel they’re staying at.

Here’s a big part of why this is such a good tale: Everything fits. Even when it isn’t explained, like Dare-Devil Bridge, it still fits. Why is the tree down? Because there was just a thunder storm, the same one that blew Cap’s suit into the room with the gangsters.

I don’t know if this is Otto Binder’s story, but I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. It’s a complete story told in relatively few pages that accomplishes everything it’s meant to.

Anyway, using foliage as cover, Cap gets to be heroic----then Billy gets to get back to the business of trying to stop the robbery of the hotel and get his heroic alter-ego dressed again.  Which leads to a rather adorable and funny scene of Billy not only trying to describe what Captain Marvel wears, but what size it would need to be tailored in.

(Cap is supposedly a 44 for a suit coat, we find in some earlier appearance, which would refer to his chest size.  So, an XL for shirts and suit-coats.  He’s a big guy, but he’s actually not a hulking huge guy.  But more on that later.)

I love the fact Billy tries to like-- use himself as a model.  Maybe in another ten years, kiddo.  Billy’s actually pretty buff for like a 12-14 year old, he’s not a scrawny kid at this point, but yeah, no.  LOL!

Another thing I also really, really love about this style, though, is that they draw Captain Marvel as being strong, as having a powerful build-- but not as a dehydrated body-builder with deep cuts. He’s got human proportions, regardless of his strength; he’s got a human build, not a superhuman one.

C.C. Beck had a lot of things to say about superheroes who were just muscles on top of muscles, all clearly defined, and he didn’t like it.  As someone who first got into comics in the early 90s with Jim Lee’s X-Men--

I do get Beck’s point.  I not only get it, but I really highly approve of it.  He maintained to the end that he drew (and oversaw) the Marvel family to look like high school and college athletes, and I can see that.  I think the one person who’s gotten it right in the modern era is Evan “Doc” Shaner, who did Convergence: Shazam!  He not only nailed that strong-but-not-hulking build for Cap, but also how young he looked.  College-age, in fact.

But anyway, enough digression into art and why I like this better than most modern takes on the character.  Also, that’s just a cute set of panels.

I also like that there wasn’t an easy fix there.  Cap’s still in his not-birthday suit, and Billy’s still stuck running around trying to solve the issues at hand.  Next comes some other really good panels:

-snorts-  He’s locked in.  Yeah, that’ll hold him.

Anyway, what I really liked here was again that tandem working; Billy can’t punch through a wall, but Cap can.  Cap can’t crawl out while he’s au natural -- well, he could, but he’d probably rather die first -- but Billy’s got no such issue.  It’s just fun when you get to see them doing something like that.  You have to really think for a minute about the trust each of them must have in their alter-ego.

ANYWAY, we get the rare treat then--

--of Captain Marvel not only yoinking a dude into a dark room, but then stealing his clothes.  Except, not his underwear.  Because that’s nasty.  LOL!

I love that in this series, you do actually get to see him wear other stuff.  Go incognito.  Get his red suit messed up enough to take it to a dry cleaner’s, wherein he ends up dressed like a musketeer after.  Jerry Ordway’s series is, I think, the only other time we see Cap not wearing his famous suit, but it happened enough in the Golden Age that it wasn’t a shock.

Like, I hate to be the one to say this, but I do think DC drops the ball often on just how much you can do with Captain Marvel (or Shazam, depending on timeline, but that’s the wizard’s name to me so mostly I’ll stick with the original name) if you unbend enough to.  It’s not just the costume change, or the duality of him and Billy being the same but not, but also his inherent, essential humanity.

But I am digressing again, sorry. XD  I just feel strongly enough about these versions of these characters to spend hours writing this.

Anyway, only a single panel later:

And that’s that!  Billy Batson has just outed his own alter-ego’s most embarrassing moment to whomever’s listening to WHIZ radio -- thank everything podcasts and the internet weren’t available then, ha! -- and we get to see a recounting of a very fun story.

Like I said earlier, I love this one for its essential humanity.  The hero got himself into this mess, he and Billy got him out of this mess, and stopping the criminals was actually just kind of a lucky stroke thrown in there.  But even though Cap got himself into this, the story never treats him like he’s stupid.  It never treats him like he’s some kind of idiot.  You’re laughing, but-- not in a mean way.

I love how human it is.  How complete it is.  How genuinely funny it is.  It’s a thousand times more funny when you genuinely love and respect Captain Marvel and Billy Batson, too.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this dissertation on a skinny-dipping hero.  LOL!  I enjoyed sharing it with you.