#I have a lot of respect for nuns! I'm just... Very much not one? I am married with two kids!

[stellaluna33]

So, I just had an Experience... I was getting gas, and the card reader at the pump wasn't working, so I went inside to talk to the employee, who was a young man. When he saw me, he said something that I couldn't quite understand, and when I asked him to repeat it, it sounded like he was saying, "Charge?" which I took to mean that he was asking me if I'd be paying with a card or not, so I said yes... And then he said, "Oh, good! You remind me of a teacher of mine! I went to a convent school back where I'm from, so I know all about that stuff!"

And, guys, I still don't know for sure what he said or what I accidentally agreed with, but it kinda sounds like he thought I was a nun? Which, I have to say, is a new one for me. 😂😭

[misti-chan]

Hello! I saw your requests were open so I have to ask >:) Can you do headcannons for Doflamingo and Kid taking there s/o shopping? Do they care for shopping? Do they try to pick out outfits? 👀👀 I can’t wait to find out 😋😋

Doflamingo takes care of his own appearance and does care about your own. So yes shopping is a must with him. He would take everything that suits you and everything that you want after all you are his king/queen. 

However since Doflamingo is quite a dominator and manipulator he would like to dress you like he wants not how you want even though he lets you have your own way when he is in a good mood. Otherwise he’ll sometimes go shopping all alone to choose your clothes. 

Something else that he takes great pride in is putting his coat on you, to show the whole world that you are his and that no one can take you away from him. So naturally he’ll buy you your own pink fluffy coat to be sure that everyone knows better than trying to mess with you since he cannot always let you wear his.

Doflamingo is a control freak and will always try to make his way into choosing your clothes and will not be pleased if you said no. After all, you are HIS. So he can do whatever he wants with you right? Dressing you up like a little doll seems completely normal to his eyes and he won’t let anyone change his mind, even you. 

So know that you cannot go around wearing whatever you want without having Doflamingo on your back. He NEEDS to choose what you wear. For his own ego and appearance. You need to be perfect and if he says so well you’ll be. Nothing that looks  like a nun, but nothing too revealing too, something sophisticated and bold, something to his image. 

He won’t let you have your own image, no. You have to look exactly like he wants and how he is. Everyone needs to know who you are and who you belong to from the first sight. So overall, yes shopping is very important to Doflamingo, maybe even too important for your own good.

Just like Doflamingo Kidd cares about shopping, but he is no control freak. He lets you have your way and dress like you want even though sometimes he likes to pick one punk outfit so you would match the two of you. 

In terms of matching he loves it if you do. It’s important in his eyes, and makes him very happy to see that you match outfits. For him you look like the most powerful couple in the world. But saying there’s no need for appearance it would be lying. Kidd wants just like Doflamingo, people to know who you belong to.

But unlike Doflamingo, Kidd respects you and puts you on the same stage as him. You’re his equal, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t jealous at all. Kidd is the most jealous man in the world, more than anyone.So to see you wearing clothing he chose or that match with his own style, makes his ego stronger and his trust in you would actually go stronger too.

Matching outfits with him means that you trust him and that you are willing to do some compromise to make your relationship work. And that touches Kidd’s heart to know that you support him and love him that much. Kidd is ready to blow everything up and to destroy your enemies just for you and you only. 

However if you’re more on the sweet side and love lolita and pink outfits it wouldn’t bother Kidd at all, even though he wouldn’t like the idea that you wouldn’t match. Because the man won’t wear pink I'm sorry. But he likes you for your personality and not your outfit or your aesthetic so he doesn’t really care as long as you are with him.

He would just willingly go into a shopping spree with you even if that means going into girlie shops. The man is a sucker for you and will do whatever you want to keep you happy. (But not wearing pink, he won’t, he loves red and black too much for that).

BONUS

Misti loves taking you out shopping and seeing you all happy about trying on outfits and choosing what to wear. Normally she doesn’t like getting out a lot but for you she’ll do whatever you want and seeing you swirling around in the shops makes her heart go soft. You’re her little sunshine and she wouldn’t let you hide your shine. 

Misti is usually someone very straightforward and hates lying so don’t worry if something doesn’t fit you she’ll tell you nicely and try to find with you something that fits you well. However if she feels like you love the outfit she wouldn’t say anything and lets you have your fun. 

She also loves matching outfits and since she loves every style and aesthetic nothing would be a problem. You want goth? Okay. Cottage Core? Fine. Lolita? You got it. Everything you need is tell her you want to match and she’ll be on her way to find something cute to wear with you.

Unlike Kidd and Doflamingo, Misti isn’t really the jealous type, so go off and show everything you want; she won’t care if it’s too revealing. The girl loves when you slay and you always do.

[darlenicy]

Light Rock Driven AU

I only wanted to reply shortly to ren's @redfountainpostin 's question under her post:

which was about my previous tags:

but it turned out longer than I thought:

So, in the Light Rock au, Darcy stays there when Darkar shows up because a) she has endured enough instability and sees the time at Light Rock as a chance to start new. Part of her simply wants a normal life. Power is nice, but she just cannot live as an ostracized. And b) because she doesn't trust Darkar? She's a bookworm she might have already read about the legends of the Shadow Phoenix. There is no fucking way she'd go with such a shady guy. It hurts leaving her sisters, but as I said before. She can't life like this forever. She regrets so much. She regrets using Riven as her pawn. She regrets that she couldn't get enough. She regrets that so many people had to die because of their mad plan. She has nightmares of the old times. She hates how the excellent student she was has turned into a criminal because of an idée fixe.

So long story short. She stays and Icy and Stormy leave with Darkar. Icy is pissed that Darcy wants to through "everything away". Stormy is fkn sad, that her bestie leaves them. She gets very emotional later on and cries later when Icy isn't around. But this au is not about them. It's about Darcy and Riven. So what happens next?

No, Darcy doesn't warn anyone. In fact all the guardians of Light Rock saw Darkar in his phoenix form. It's reported straight away. (So Faragonda knows again and DOESN'T TELL THE WINX LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES). She simply stays. Of course she gets interrogated but it turns out that she really doesn't know anything. The fact that she stayed makes the gurardians and monks more favourable towards Darcy. But they also make sure that she gets no informations from outside Light Rock. They make sure that she can't read her sisters under any circumstances to support her redemption. It's hard for her and her mental health suffers a lot. When it gets worse and worse, she is invited by the nuns (yes they live there too, I decided that) to visit the big library of the monastery. Darcy is a bookworm and she is also an excellent researcher. So she helps the nuns researching important texts and historic documents. She loves doing something she is really good at. In fact she is brilliant not only in researching but also in interpreting. This gains her the respect and fondness of the nuns who actively support her. These activities helps her a lot and also firm her decision to stay there. That is also when she decides to cut of her hair. She wants to become a new person and leave the old Darcy behind. So in the end she wears a short bob and becomes a novitiate of the monastery.

This process took about a year. And then suddenly one day she meets Riven again. He doesn't know shit and just came there to visit the library, because it contains important ancient old scrips about a material art he wants to research.

The scene is like this: He comes into the library and Darcy is there too. On a ladder to reach some books of the higher shelves. She looks at the books as she hears footprints. Not the silent ones from the nuns and novitiates. Firm steps. And then he hears his voice, asking her where he can find the books XYZ and ZYX. He only sees her back and doesn't recognize her. She also wears a light veil. She recognizes his voice immediately and oh the overthinking is back: It's Riven. What is he doing here? Why did he come here the moment I am here? What will he do if he recognizes me? How will he react? Will he be mad? Will he be embarrassed? Does he hate me? He should hate me after all I have done. So she stiffens and says: The XYZ books are over there in the other part of the library.

Riven: "Wait, I know you."

Darcy, whispering: "I doubt it."

Riven: "I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude to a novitiate... But your voice..."

Darcy: "You know my old self, Riven." And turns around.

Riven gasps. He gasps because he didn't expect to see Darcy here. Because he didn't expect Darcy with her beautiful hair cut short. Darcy with a veil.

Darcy, embarassed, brushing a brand of her now short hair behind her ear: "The books you are looking for are over there." She points in the opposite direction and wants to pass by. But she stops. He is reaching for her hand at the same time.

Riven: "Sorry... I just didn't expect you here like..."

Darcy: "Like this?"

Riven: "I mean surrounded by books is totally your thing but..."

Darcy: "I know. It's okay. We can just pretend that we never met. You go research your things..and leave again."

Riven: "Darcy - "

Darcy: "But before you go, please." She faces him, her eyes blurry. "They don't tell me anything from outside. What did happen to Icy and Stormy? Are they... alive?"

Rivens, stiffens too. Firstly because he knows where they are. The Omega dimension. Bad news and secondly…because she didn’t ask about him. But in the end what could he tell her about himself? Hey, I’m dating Musa now. It’s hard because I can’t forget me and you did so much shit to me that I can barely heal…. So he just says: “After Darkar was defeated they were sent to Omega Dimension.”

Darcy steps back, her eyes widened in shock. “Omega dimension…”

Riven: “Darcy, I’m sorry but they’re probably –“

Darcy: “No it’s okay.” She brushes a tear from her cheek. “That time is over for me anyway.” They are not my business anymore and still… they were my sisters. She rushes to the door. “Farewell.” She doesn’t want he to see her crying.. again. Darcy hates being weak. And yet Riven was one of the few persons she showed weakness towards. The other two were freezing to death in Omega right now.

Riven, yelling: “Wait.”

Darcy stops at the door but doesn’t turn around.

Riven: “Are you here often?”

Darcy, shrugs: “Every day.”

Riven: “Then we’ll meet again.” A spark of a smile on his face.

Darcy doesn’t know how to deal with it and leaves, trying not to burst into tears. Once she reaches her cell, she breaks together crying. Over the missed chance she had with Riven and the possible death of her sisters. The sisters she had given everything up for. Even Riven.

When Riven returns to Red Fountain after their first meeting he is pale and serious so Brandon jokes: “Did you see a ghost.” And Riven replies. “I did.” And then he tells them about their encounter. And the boys are: Don’t you dare see her again. But he can’t help it and returns to Light Rock from time to time…more and more regularly. They will meet more often. And each time they get closer again. But by bit.

Maybe after I finish “Our abyss” this will come next! <3

[ginsengkitten]

༺ Beautiful Dangerous ༻

༺☆༻

Chapter Eleven

Written in Plain Sight

A/N:

Tysm for your patience with this one. May is a difficult month for me for personal reasons. I’m still writing and I’m so excited for you guys see where this heads. I hope you guys enjoy <3

Dear Slash,

Im sorry I didn't write you sooner. Things have been a little crazy since I got home. Well, not home actually. My parents have turned me in to this special all girls Christian school that specializes in "troubled young women". Apparently they can legally do that even though I've just turned 18! I never agreed to it, they just left me here. In the middle of nowhere- with these weird nuns. They haven't told me how often mail is sent out so I'm not sure how often I'll write, but I promise I will.

I'm sorry how I left things. I didn't know they were coming to take me home. I tried to say goodbye but they gave me no chance. Please forgive me. This summer was the best time of my whole life. Because I met you.

I know letters are a little prehistoric these days, but I've no access to a phone here. Again, I promise to write often. I'll call you as soon as I'm out.

Love, Foxey.

-

Dear Slash,

I'm not sure if you are receiving my letters. If you are and just don't want to speak to me, I understand that. I know mail can take a while... anyways. I figured writing to you helps me pass the time here. This place is awful. It's been 2 weeks of hell. I was forced to detox from everything. It's been so hard. I hardly sleep at night. But when I do, I am so happy because I dream of you. I also daydream a lot. It helps me get through the day. The days are long and boring. There's not really a curriculum here. Even though they call it a school. The nuns are mean. They took away all my clothing and I have to wear a white dress everyday and every night. It's cold and uncomfortable. Each day consists of the same thing. They wake you up at 6 am every fucking morning. It's barely light out. Then you have to clean your room. If you can only eat breakfast if you pass morning room inspection. I've failed 5 times so far...

Anyways. Sorry. I don't mean to complain to you. I don't have anything exciting to write about. I hope you have having very exciting experiences in LA still. Please write me when you can... I want to know how you are!

Love, Foxey

-

Slash,

Today was horrible. Just horrible. I'm sorry to write you only my miseries, but it feels like that's all I have left lately. Turns out, if you don't comply with every single whim and precision- even making the wrong face, or the tone of your voice, the nuns will be violent with you. They carry rulers, books and at times, even their bare hands- are weapons. I can't exactly remember what I did first to step out of line, all I remember was sister Agatha (she's a total bitch) slapping me so hard across the face, the stinging lasted for hours. I cried a little but only in private. I don't think I want to let them see me cry. I don't want them to know they have that power!

I still wait for your reply. I hope you are well.

Love, Foxey.

-

Hi There,

It's been a while. Sorry for that. I don't have much different to say to you. Or much at all. I think I get your message from your silence. If it all meant nothing to you after all, then so be it. I think maybe I belong here anyways. It's best for everyone. I want to let you know it really hurts me to accept that you are done with me. With us. Just like that. But I respect your decision- even if it's shitty. Maybe that's all rockstars are is shitty. So there. You're shitty and I wish we never met. I hope you're happy.

Best of luck with everything. I love you.

Y/N.

-

And just like that. It was over. The silence from Slash over the past two months was only an added pain to the hell you already endured. For your own sanity, hope was crushing you and you had to give it up. Your parents had called once, but the nuns ensured you weren’t telling them the truth of what it was like there. As quickly as it all unraveled, you sank into your new reality. Pushing out thoughts of escape as the former attempts were futile and had only ended in harsher and harsher punishment .

It was colder now into early November. Other girls had come and gone periodically, none staying long enough for it to be worth harboring any sort of relationship. You spent your days in the day room, a dim, sulky living room type space in the center of the building. Empty tables with broken chess pieces and puzzles with missing pieces scattered. You took throne to an old green chair by the large window.

One person you had managed to form any sort of connection with was the oldest nun in the practice, Sister Graham. She seemed worn down and tired of it all, due to her age, and lack of violence and stern, she’d been demoted down to a secretarial duty. She’d find reasons to come and talk to you when she could. Small but meaningful conversations. The two of you formed a secret bond of hatred for this place. A mutual understanding that this was all that was left for both of you. She’d share bits of her life before she became a nun. She had been sent away at the age of 16 after running away from an arranged marriage to a man 20 years her senior at the time. You felt sad for her, sorry for her, confused as to why she remained here. You told her about your past, how you ended up there. You even opened up to her about Slash and the magical summer you had. She seemed to appreciate the glimmer that became of you when you spoke of it all. Like she understood what it meant to feel young and in love. What it felt like to feel misunderstood and suffocated by the normalcy of the world. She made you feel special amidst it all. And then, one day, she was gone. You waited all week for her to show.

You prodded at nuns all morning as to where she was, “did she die?” “Did she retire?” “Is she sick?” You skipped around. Each question was met with harsh and rude snaps of silence and threatening looks. The confusion and hurt flatlined you again. Back to nothingness. You shifted in bed, staring at the ceiling, images of Slash, summer, everything, bleeding through your mind like a movie. The anger of his silence, the hurt, the betrayal, all of it stung within you so badly. Allowing it to get to you, you angrily chuck your pillow to the other side of the room with a frustrated sob. Feathers bust out of the pillow, completely ruining it. You came to your senses quickly with regret and knelt over the pillow to pick up the discarded feathers. You hadn’t changed your pillow case this week, and now you’ve broken the pillow altogether. Great. It was sure you’d get punished for this in the morning. Your hand brushes against a piece of paper as you sift through the feathers. That’s odd- where did this come from? You pick it up and it appears to be a small folded note. You take a precautious look at your door before unfolding it.

“R. 308

Nov. 21. 8pm to west wing parking lot.”

What the hell? You don’t recall writing this down. This was clearly stuffed in your pillow case. When? Why? What does it mean? Did someone put this here? Your heart beat with confusion, apprehensive to feel any sort of excitement at fear of being disappointed again. It was late, and there was seldom to do with this new information except to sleep on it. So you did.

Surely enough, as you had predicted, the nuns took notice of your destroyed pillow and sentenced you to janitorial duties for the entire day. You scrubbed away at the hallway at the end of the wing. Dragging your bucket of dirty water like a gross companion. You grumbled to yourself as you mopped. Suddenly a sister enters the hallway from out of a room and almost slips on the fresh wet floor. She gives a stabbing glare.

“Well hurry it up and get it finished so you’re not such a hazard girl.” She snarks as she walks away. You want to bark back but you know better. The room she had left was left cracked. You stared at the door with curiosity before noticing the room number plaque before you .

“Room 308”.

Wait a minute. R308? Like the note? You take yet another precautious glance behind you to the empty hall to ensure no one would see you now sneak yourself into the room.

Surely there’s something of importance in here? It appeared to be some sort of administrative office. Piles of papers decorated the entire room. You strolled around carefully eying everything. This is a mail room, this is all mail? This is all patient mail, no? It is. How interesting? Why’s there so much in here? Your eyes scan and roll over a large stack prominently sticking out of a box on the desk. You recognize the stationary and realize it to be some of your own letters to slash. What the hell? You start shuffling through the box in a greater panic and confusion. These were all supposed to be sent out, sent to Slash! Were none of them ever mailed?! Your heart dropped to your stomach and your chest tightened.

You wanted to stay longer, to further examine and investigate this, but the reality was clear. No letters written had been sent to anyone. They lied. You hurriedly skimmed through the pile to see if any had come in from Slash but you only saw the ones you wrote. All of them opened too. They’ve just been reading them and keeping them….

Before you could sulk, you quietly exited the room to ensure no one saw you sneaking in there. Clearly you were not supposed to know this. Rage, Hurt, Confusion, coiled inside you once more. All this time? Out of all the emotions rushing through you at that moment, the scariest one was now hope. Hope again filtered into you. Maybe Slash had never ignored you. Maybe he just didn’t know where to write!

After returning to your room that evening, you re read the obscure note once more.

“Nov 21”

That’s tomorrow. Nov 21st is tomorrow. Someone wants me to go to the west parking lot at 8pm tomorrow. But who? And why?

[mae-i-scribble]

Since I am entirely too unwell about Ancient Magus Bride at all times of the day I have decided to break down the latest opening because I cannot do so for the friend I am watching season 2 with since she hasn't read the manga. Hands down this latest opening, Nemurasareta Lineage by Junna, is the best in the series to me. And I don't make that claim lightly, the first opening is iconic on so many levels from the visual to the lyrics, we ignore the 2nd opening bc it sucked (sorry to the fans out there I just do my best to pretend this one doesn't exist, no i have not moved on from my bitterness at its reused animation since 2016 next question), and season 2's first opening is also incredible.

However, what this latest opening brings to the table is some of the most spectacular visuals I've seen in a hot minute- and I don't mean from purely visual, I mean thematically, this opening is fucking spectacular. Every single moment has purpose and meaning behind it.

I will be putting the rest under a read more as to not clog anyone's dash bc this is gonna be l o n g

Starting off from the very first shot we already have so much thematic meaning crammed into this.

Firstly, the shot of Elias opening the book has many connotations, alluding to how he has read the Testament of Carnamagos while also alluding to the fact that him reading that book is ultimately what lead to this story happening at all. If Elias had never read it to try and transfer Chise's curse, Chise would not have done what she did and Elias wouldn't have learned how to let Chise be independent, and then Chise never would have gone to the college. In that respect it's a perfect opener for this "play," as it was the prelude to this act.

Then we have the next shot of Elias hanging like a puppet, showing us an empty vessel-like appearance before being pulled upwards. There are a lot of different ways to interpret this, personally it drew me back to how the Wil O' Wisp described a magus as "someone bound to their fate." Elias, a tried and true magus, is bound to his fate like a puppet on a string while Chise, someone who is not yet fully a magus is free to walk around the stage as herself. Elias' removal from the set, and subsequently the way he claps to bring forth the next "acts" in the show, I think speaks to the way he is largely removed from this arc. Of course he is there, watching over Chise and pushing her along as best he can, but he has very much taken more of a spectator role in this arc. He guides his pupil the best he can but lets her make her own choices.

Now, onto Chise's entrance.

With the college/the sorcerer's society as our stage, the protagonist enters. Chise walks in and looks around confused, just as she did when first entering the college and when she first learned of the dark politics lying underneath it. She is the only one not a part of the performance, the one factor that ultimately destroys the narrative the Sargent and the Rickenbacker families were trying to create.

At first, I thought these cardboard figures were a representation of the 7 powerful sorcerer families we are introduced to, but then I realized there were actually 8 figures so that theory is thrown out the window. This is something I'm not actually that confident in so if anyone else has interpretations I am so down to hear it. Obviously the woman in red holding the spider alludes to Lucy. The wolf next to her is most likely then the werewolf mother. The hooded man with the hammer I think can reasonably represent Isaac. While the knight beside him I honestly see as Rian (his sort of knight in shining armor attitude when it comes to Philomela, his very straight-laced straightforward view of things). The nun-like figure with the owl is mostly likely representing Philomela/Lizabeth Sargent. I can see the jester with the snake wrapped around him to be Zoey. For the last two figures though, I am absolutely stumped. The two women with the songbird remind me of Veronica, from the way she was raised up by her family to be a bird in a cage while simultaneously holding Philomela in an even smaller cage. For the family on the far right though I have absolutely nothing. However, I know there is some meaning behidn it, this opening is too packed with symbolism for it not to.

Speaking of symbolism, the sequence that follows is chalked full of it.

Elias ushers in the entrance of Philomela, trapped in her cage. The design of the cage and the flowers around it make it seem extravagant, exactly what Philomela's life might look like to someone not aware of what's really going on. But a cage is still a cage, and this one comes with a guardian owl, keeping watch over Philomela in place of actually showing Lizabeth. The toys lining the bottom are representative of one of the key moments that made Philomela realize just how tight the bars around her were- that she would never have her grandmother's love, no matter what she did.

Then we cut to moments of Philomela's childhood, again deceptively happy with what we know of Veronica and how she treated Philomela. The baby bird hatching from the egg, Philomela when she was still young and innocent and far too fragile. This association of the baby bird with Philomela also comes back later in a heartbreaking way so :')

Then Chise reaches out with the potpourri, and Philomela becomes alive. It's so fitting, in that Chise's kindness to Philomela, the understanding she has to exactly the pain Philomela is going through, is what touches Philomela so deeply, reminds her of the time where her life was not structured in this way. Chise gives her hope that it doesn't have to be, Chise pulls her out of it and gives her a perch to stand on, and it all began with one fateful meeting.

The shot we get of Chise smiling and swaying in the breeze is all too perfect, in showing that this desire for connection is mutual.

Fittingly, we then see Chise reach out to her friends one by one. Lucy and Zoe's each have a bit more meaning behind them, as we're still somewhat in the dark when it comes to Rian and Isaac's histories, but it still examplifies the ways in which Chise tries to help those around her as best she can. It also makes it abundantly clear why Philomela, and subsequently everyone else, are presented as children in this sequence: a direct reference to chapters 86-87 in which they all are mixed up due to Chise's influence and Chise goes around helping them regain themselves. It marks the turning point in which Philomela tries to take a stand against her grandmother and start believing in the people who have come to try and save her.

There is one gaping hole in this in that Zoey is in fact, not present at all in the whole mind melding thing, but I'm taking that as the animators/directors wanting to include him in this sequence as another main player. Plus the shot we get of him is very cheeking in showing a broken shell- in the way Chise figurative helped him break out of his shell and very literally revealed him to be a gorgon/human mix by accident.

In that interpretation it is also crucial to think about why Chise was kept as her teenage self and not also scaled down to baby form as in the original chapter. But overall keeping her as a teenager flows with the story of the opening itself better while still keeping those same allusions and thematics.

The next big shot to talk about is this one right here.

Many have already pointed out how it is an homage to the classical painting "The School in Athens." Which is very fitting for the college setting of this arc. More so than the reference itself, the way in which the characters are placed is so meaningful.

We have Chise in the center of it all as the catalyst of course. But we once more get that repetition of Elias as a bystander, observing the situation while remaining more in the background when it comes to Chise. Parallel to him is Lizabeth, who is similarly an outsider but with none of Elias' good nature, she is an outsider in that she wants to watch this scene burn to the ground (and probably why the choice was to then introduce a werewolf who leaps forwards on the attack, still under Lizabeth's control.)

Ruth and Alcyone are also parallel to one another, highlighted in a shot mirroring the two of them. This is interesting in that Alcyone is far more often paired with Elias when being given a point of comparison. While she is quite literally an artificial familiar, her presence is what sparks the idea that Elias might be something similar to her, and yet here she is paired with Ruth. They do have their similarities in the way they would do anything for the person they live for. A thought that struck me was in this mirroring there is also a contrast, Ruth shares his life with Chise, if he dies she is to die as well. However Alcyone's death was meant to be a way for Philomela to live- it was crucial in ensuring Philomela's freedom from her grandmother.

Also notably, Veronica is given a long, lingering shot. As a child, she is far more innocent looking, but the shot stays just a moment too long, as if trying to confirm the suspicions surrounding her (which manga readers will know are true). We also have Jasmine and Violet prominently featured, a very interesting choice considering how little a role they play in this arc, but I feel that current suspicions about how they will have a large role in the upcoming arc might be supported by their presence here. There actually isn't much to say about the shots with the werewolf and our first glimpse of how the show portrays the Testament as it gains a physical form.

While gorgeous there's just not much to say about them from an analytical standpoint. Besides for the way in which everyone is turned back into their play forms upon being killed, as if that was their original fate before Chise's interference with the story.

We then see Chise look devastated, the carnage of her dead friends behind her on the stage. It truly captures just how terrified she is of losing people she cares for. But then she looks at the thorn rune- plot relevant in the way her rune charms protected her friends from being killed. But it's also Elias' symbol, and yet another reminder of how he is still watching over and protecting her throughout all of this. It's only after she activates the magic that she looks up, determined to carry on and change this fate.

The start of our final action sequence for this opening is a bang, giving us this chaotic shot.

We see both bits of the classical painting and of our original stage figures being tossed around in the background referencing how the Testament literally rips its way through both the college itself and the students/teachers there. It also, notably, is not contained within the story, instead existing on the same plane as Chise. It's a being far too powerful to be contained in such a way, so it makes perfect sense for it not to be confined to the theatrical setting of this opening.

The next flash of shots is perhaps one of the most hearbreaking ones in this entire opening. First we're shown Philomela and her grandmother, then we cut to this:

Y'all the layers to this, the l a y e r s. We've already seen this bird represent Philomela in the opening itself as a hatchling. However the adult form of this bird is exactly the same as what Alcyone's base is, it is the only thing remaining once Alcyone dies. However we see all 3 stages of life here, lying dead on the ground. The Sargent family is a family of abusive cycles. Lizabeth passes down her abuse to her son, having been doomed to this path from the moment she was born. It's Adam who tries to break the cycle but ultimately fails, choosing to end his own life rather than return. This dooms his baby daughter to the same fate, nearly killing her as well. It's Alcyone, the last remaining gift Philomela has from her father and the one way he thought of to keep her safe even if he was gone. It's both about the cycles and about how they are broken and how Philomela will never truly escape the violence of the family she was born into, even after her grandmother is gone. This is then followed by the 1 picture of her parents that Philomela tries so hard to remember but cannot. Anyways I am going to be physically ill, next.

While the last sequence is just a build up to the final fight (cool as fuck but again, not much to say analytically), I do want to point out that when the Testament pulls in all the surrounding settings, it pulls in both the theatrical characters and the actual representations of Chise's friends with them. Which is such a cool little detail my jaw in on the fucking floor.

And after a brilliantly animated scene of Chise running to try and save Philomela from the jaws of this monster, everything abruptly comes to a close. Leaving us unsure of whether or not Philomela was truly saved, as the last set piece to fall away is that gilded cage, the angle making it unclear if Philomela is still inside before our title card appears. The quiet, peaceful shot of the classroom the title lingers over in favor of the chilling set pieces of the opening before it is an excellent place to end, leaving that sense of urgency and notions of the sinister lying in wait at the college.

All of this, and I haven't even touched on the lyrics- which I won't do so here. I am not a qualified translator and frankly this post is long enough as it is. It isn't as if this opening needs anything else to explain how fucking fantastic it is- the visuals themselves are stunning on a level few openings are these days. Not only does it tie into already existing thematics of the show, not only does it go through plot points we have seen and those yet to come in unique and engaging ways, the opening *itself* brings forth its own thematic reading of the college arc and Chise's place in it while telling its own story of events. Truly a masterclass piece of animation all around.

[buriedknight]

sister Frida

Thank you for asking!

Favorite thing

Friede is a tall nun with scythes

Friede is one of my comfort characters! And by that, in her case, I mean that I really love drawing her because it comforts me. I was going to give you a longer lore-wise answer because I enjoy her story a lot, but if I'm being honest, as an artist I just love working with Friede, and that's my favourite thing about her.

Least favorite thing

I like pretty much everything about Friede but I don't entirely get her deals with Ariandel. It is intriguing but still too vague for me, I'd like their relationships to be defined a bit more clearly.

Favorite line

Tis only the flame, quivering at misguided Ash. Please, avert thine eyes. I will snuff out these ashes for good.

brOTP

Of course Friede's weird relationships with her sisters, especially with Yuria since we don't know much about Liliane. I believe they used to be the most important people to each other, and built their church not only based on their faith and old traditions, but also on their sistership, on combination of their strenghts. They relied on each other a lot and worked together in a really effective way. So the day Friede saw another aim was very bitter. From their dialogues I got the impression that it is still painful for Yuria, since she uses unusually personal and emotional vocabulary (she literally called Friede "poor wench"). As for Friede, I think she still respects her sisters' work and aim, but sees herself somewhere else.

OTP

I'm pretty basic but sir Vilhelm. BUT almost one-sided and doomed. I think he knows that and pretty much accepts. Friede has certain feelings for her knight but her aim has always been more important to her so she never answers to his longing.

nOTP

I don't have any? In general I just don't follow headcanons in which romantic/erotic love means a lot to her. But beside that I don't care about most of the ships 🤷

Random headcanon

I headcanon Yuria to be a master swordswoman, Liliane the scholar (Hildegarde von Bingen of Londor if you would), and Friede — the leader. Her was the first idea to gather the Church of Londor, and that's why her leaving was so painful. It was only natural for her to take the mantle of the Lady of the painting.

Also i'm putting all my comfort characters somewhere on the aroace spectrum and she is there too!

Unpopular opinion

Same with Ludwig, I haven't interacted with Dark Souls discourse for a while so I don't know what's the popular opinion of her now. From what I've seen I don't like her tsundere-ish reading, I think she is just very determined and tired.

Song i associate with them

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas — Dusk And Void Became Alive (vibes of her in the Painted World)

Favorite art

I think I've lost my fav art so here's another cool art of Friede

[graciouswings]

OKOKOK explain to me pretty please who is cass i am so curious!!!!!

HIII HIII!!!! hes my player character for my friends dnd campaign !!! he's a kalashtar oath of devotion paladin & a prophet of the god of trust, unity, and respect, ozymandias.

THIS GOT SOOO LONG so im putting it under a readmore !!!

he was found 40 years ago by the church (he was roughly in his 20s at this point), very weak and injured. they nursed him back to health and quickly learned he had rather significant amnesia and was also a prophet. he was taught a lot about the church and ozymandias in this time, and has spent the last 40 years working as an echo in the church (basically, there are 3 sections of the ozymandian church. the sepal sect maintains order and ensures everything runs smoothly, the anther sect is the faith section with priests & nuns & etc, and the narcissae sect is the one that deals with divine will. these are the prophets and miracle workers, with echoes being the truest of divine prophets). he trains styles (while knigjts fall under the sepal, styles are instead knights who are taught to utilize divine will and holy magic), and is a very close friend of corasis ameinia (corasis is basically the ozymandian churches pope, appointed by ozymandias himself). shes also um. cass' only friend? in the last 40 years?

cassandrias' memory of his life before being found by the church is very spotty. he had a terrible terrible ex boyfriend (who i cannot name because his identity is secret from other players, so i just call him the pervert. this is in part because one time cass scraped his knee and the pervert LICKED THE BLOOD OFF. LIKE A FREEEEEAAAAAAAK), and his parents were also um. pretty terrible. his father (iasus) was cold and abusive and his mom (ceridwen) was pretty permissive of it. cass is deeeeeeply afraid of his ex and his father, but he doesnt actually. hate them? hes too scared to. there is exactly ONE person cass hates, and they are also one of the only people who care about him. sorryyyy i have to ne vague because of spoilers for other players

cass himself is a complete and utter sweetie pie. when he first started as an echo he was like "oh you can pay me however much you want :)" and ameinia was like NO. NO. NO. PAY HIM A LIVING WAGE HE NEEDS MONEY TO SURVIVE IN THIS FUCKING CITY. he has a little house on the waaaay outskirts of the city (his commute to work is terrible) where he has a nice little garden. its a small house and its very important to cass. every day at 6:30 pm on the dot, cass has the same dinner. tomato basil soup & pesto grilled cheese. he loves soup. its his favorite.

now. heres the catch with cass. he IS genuinely a sweet guy, and he cares a lot about the people around him. but he is also, objectively, not a good person? there's a lot of shady things happening in the royal family, church of lexan (the father of his god & the like. main god), and even in the ozymandian church itself. but because of his endless devotion to trust and respect, cass REFUSES to question authority. he is endlessly, obnoxiously deferential to it. in the case of the king making people go missing, cass is the first to shut down any rumors about it because he finds it disrespectful and unbecoming of ozymandians. it doesn't matter how much evidence there is, or how serious it is: if it's done by someone in authority to him, cass will not question it, nor will he tolerate anyone ELSE questioning it. i'm sure this is fine !!!!!!!!

the campaign hasn't actually STARTED yet, but basically. the other three party members (orion myerdız, moxie squall, and calyx . rosch. roshchoil. roscheil. hold on

ANYWAYS. the other party members (orion myerdız, moxie squall, and calyx roschoill) were all (somehow) made to help the king collect some stolen artifacts. originally, king jame delevis asked ameinia to join them on their quest, which she declined because she has. a whole fucking church to run? so instead she sent cass. he's essentially their chaperone & protector. he literally asked 0 questions about this quest and accepted immediately (much to ameinias dismay because she desperately needs him to have Some self preservation).

ummm what else do i want to share. the ozymandian church is basically a lovechild between judaism and what i think catholicism is probably like. aside from the main continent we're on (leaxondria), the ozymandian faith is actually fairly persecuted? violence isnt like. Commonplace (though they really arent protected against it either), but its moreso a situation of just generally being viewed very poorly & being heavily discpursged from practicimg openly. even within leaxondria, the ozymandian church being an official branch was mostly just to appease them, not put of any real recognition or protection. also, ozymandias has a twin brother (prihektor, god of family, community, and loyalty), and the two are worshipped in tandem so often that at churches for one, there is almost always a place to pay respects to the other.

here are some holy symbols of ozymandias!

and here is my doc that explains a lot of the hierarchy and a couple customs! sorry if anything is contradictory to this post, i havent updated the doc since making it.

finally. the cassandrias stormsight images.

the ref is going to be remade sometime soon, whenever i have the energyyyy.... i made it at a point where i was struggling a lotttt with drawing (still am... i just drew the first thing ive drawn in a MONTH the other day for a campaign im dming), and im not super happy with it. i made his arms and waist way skinnier than i wanted to but i also didnt want to fix it because i was so sick of drawing it 😭

ANYWAYS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING IM SORRY I TYPED SO MUCH!!!!!!! cass is sooo important to me and this truly doesnt scratch the surface. id loove to explain more but i cant do it here... but if anyone ever wants to know EVERYTHING about cass........ i am so happy to explain in dms or on discord or something. hes my everythingggggg

[travllingbunny]

Hi! I don't know how much you're interested in the subject today, but considering how i really adored a lot of your opinions/views of the Wars of the Roses and some people involved, especially Richard III, i was wondering how you think a scenerio where Richard remained King for more time or simply won Bosworth would be

Thank you for the teresting question.

Contrary to historical fiction works that portray him as desperate at the Battle of Bosworth, I think it's more likely Richard was hoping to get rid of Henry Tudor quickly and saw him as just a temporary nuisance. If only the battle had happened a couple of days later, when Richard got reinforcements from the North, or if William Stanley had not made the decision to definitely switch sides to Henry, the battle would've probably gone completely differently.

Below is my speculation of what happens if Richard wins:

The immediate outcome seems relatively clear - we know now that Richard was in the middle of secret negotiations with the royal family of Portugal for a double marriage between him and Infanta Joanna, and Elizabeth of York and King's 16-year old cousin Manuel, Duke of Beja, which were apparently going very well. It seems unlikely that Joanna, who had been refusing to get married for so long, would accept, but supposedly the negotiations were going well. We know Richard had sent her a personal letter, so it's fun to speculate what he said that would make her reconsider. I'm thinking he may have talked about religion (as they were both known to be pious) and pitched the marriage in terms of a partnership, and how she could do good for peace and the people of England through charity work (which she was known to do) and maybe even assured her that she wouldn't have to keep having children after she gave birth to an heir? Richard was expected to remarry and have a son after his only legitimate son and his wife died, but going by his choice of bride, he was looking for a great Queen and political partner above all, and not a broodmare - I can't imagine Joanna, who wanted to be a nun and was against marriage, agreeing to keep popping up a child every year or two until she hits menopause. He also may not have been two concerned because he had an heir and spares already, even though not 'of his body'- - his adult nephew John de La Pole and his younger brothers William, Edmund and Richard. The Portugal double marriage would've been a genius political move for many reasons: it would allow Richard to claim that he was ending the York/Lancaster rift for good by marrying Joanna, since the Portuguese royal family were through the female line the main surviving Lancastrian branch; it would fulfil his promise to Elizabeth Woodville that he would find good matches for her daughters in spite of their new 'bastard' status - and how! a Portuguese royal marriage was worthy of a princess* - and could be seen as healing the rift between the Yorkists too (and would at the same time make it impossible for Henry Tudor or anyone else to try to claim the throne of England by marrying her); and it would give England a great, intelligent and respectable Queen, who had experience in ruling as regent and could rule in RIchard's absence when he spent time abroad in wars, and whose reputation for piety and charity for people would help restore his tarnished reputation.

One interesting consequence of his marriage alliance is that Elizabeth of York would eventually have become a Queen Consort, but of Portugal, as Manuel eventually became King.Manuel I in 1495.

Once the situation became more stable, Richard would've probably focused on the things he had already started to do during his short reign - legal reforms aimed mostly at bettering the judiciary and the status of common people, and he would no doubt also want to curtail the power of major noblemen of questionable loyalty such as the Stanleys - and things he is known to have enthusiastically talked about planning to do, such as trying to convince other European countries to mount a campaign to stop the Ottoman Empire's conquests in Europe. (France would be an unlikely ally, Portugal and Burgundy would be obvious ones, and he'd no doubt try to pitch it to the Holy Roman Empire.)

I don't know whether he'd be successful at that, or how long he would live, but a few most obvious historical consequences would be:

the way the previous few decades were remembered in history would be very different, and no one would ever call them the "Wars of the Roses" - which was a name given by Walter Scott in the 19th century based on the fact that Henry VII used the red-white Tudor rose as his sigil, promoting it as a sign of supposed unity between the Lancaster and York dynasties - in spite of the fact that the Lancasters didn't actually use a red rose, or any kind of rose, as their sigil. Henry VII also presented the conflicts that had gone on as a part of one ongoing conflict that he ended with the Battle of Bosworth and by marrying Elizabeth of York. In reality, these were a few conflicts separated by years or even decades in between, and before the battle of Bosworth, the last actual armed conflict fought over the throne of England had been 14 years earlier, when Edward IV won his second and decisive war over the Lancasters. The conflict between the two Yorkist factions after Edward's death did not result in any actual battle (in 1783, Buckingham failed to ignite a rebellion, and his ally Henry turned back to France, realizing the war was lost before it began), so Henry basically 'ended the Wars of the Roses' only after he restarted them in 1485. (Not to mention that Henry had to fight another battle two years later against the Yorkists led by Jon de la Pole, which is always conveniently left out in history books, and had to catch, exile or execute various Yorkist pretenders throughout his reign.) If Henry loses the battle, he becomes only a footnote in history. Edward IV remains considered the one who ended the Lancaster-York conflicts with his decisive victory in 1471. Richard probably manages to be popular and respected king (much more than Henry was with his notorious tax laws) and would likely have claimed to have 'united the York and Lancaster branches' with his marriage to Joanna (though he probably wouldn't have made a huge deal out of it as Henry did, since Henry was promoting himself as the founder of a new dynasty that would start a new era). But what of the Princes in the Tower? Well, we don't know what happened to them and Richard may be suspected to have murdered them, but Henry definitely did imprison 11 year old Edward of Warwick and keep him locked up in the Tower until he was 25 and then executed him on trumped up treason charges just because he was another pretender to the throne, but barely anyone talks about it or cares, so... (insert something about history being written by the winners)

Scotland and England remain separate independent countries. It's very unlikely that the same chain of events would happen where the daughter of a king of England marries a king of Scotland, and then a century later her descendant becomes not just the king of Scotland but also the heir to the throne of England because the ruling dynasty of England died out. There is never a Tudor dynasty, never a Stuart dynasty, never a Hanover dynasty. And there's never a United Kingdom.

There is never such a thing as Anglicanism/the Church of England, with the monarch as its head. Mind you, this doesn't necessarily mean that England remains fully or predominantly Catholic - Protestantism was gaining popularity not just in England (even when Henry was still a devout Catholic) but also in Scotland, which didn't have a Henry VIII splitting with the Pope so he could annul his marriage. It's impossible to tell how exactly the Reformation and Counter-reformation would've affected England under different monarchs and a different dynasty, since so much of the religious strife in the 16th century was linked to Henry's decisions, his break from the Pope, his marriages and annulments and his succession issues, and then with the personalities and backgrounds of his children: Edward as a staunch Protestant (just like his mother's family), Mary as a staunch Catholic (completely unsurprising with her background and the fact that her father broke from the Pope so he could annul his marriage to her mother, proclaiming her a bastard), and then Elizabeth, who couldn't be tolerant to Catholics even if she didn't care about religion, since the Pope and therefore all Catholics considered her a bastard and an illegitimate monarch. How would elderly Richard, and/or his heirs, treat Protestants? What would they think of Martin Luther, or of William Tyndale? It's impossible to tell. He was a devout Catholic, but Protestantism didn't exist at the time, and would he (who was the first of English kings to publish official state documents in English) hate the idea of translating the Bible into English so ordinary people could understand it without the help of clergy? I really don't know, and it's even harder to tell what his heirs would be like in that regard. Would there be more religious tolerance in England? For all we know, it might even be less if a particularly fanatical monarch ended up on a throne... but at least I think I can say with some certainty that English monarchs of this hypothetical York dynasty would have no personal and dynastic reasons to persecute either Protestants or Catholics the way monarchs of the Tudor dynasty had due to their specific circumstances.

[pidovespost0519]

hi, Birdy! how about 🕊️ and 🦅 for a s/i of your choice? :3c

Hello Seraphine my dear!! thank you for your patience and the asks!! I'm sorry it took 3 days to answer uwu

🕊️. How well does your self insert get along with the cast of the media they are for ?

Answering this for Prim, because I feel like I brushed over her while answering about Mei and Calypso.

so let's go over the LI list and see who she likes shall we? (in this case all the Li's are men just cus it's easier and more drama)

Robin: Because of her relationship with Avery and making Robin uncomfortable their relationship is rather strained unfortunately. They're still friends though and she can count on robin for anything, She uses Avery's money to save Robin too so he ends up having begrudging respect for Avery.

Eden: Prim thinks Eden is very hot, and can appreciate the contrasts between her, Avery and him. She's concerned about Eden being lonely than anything though. He doesn't appreciate her concern, because she never follows through and stays with him. She gets kidnapped by him. They play a little game where she goes and cleans the place for him, forages and make grease. And when she's done, she breaks out and runs. wants to get this man a duck or perhaps a goldfish.

Kylar: She doesn't really like Kylar much, finding him creepy (poor dude) And since she's constantly wearing expensive heels and fights off people she doesn't often find use in Kylar's protection. Still stands up for him though when she can because she's never had a lot of status to begin with and losers stick together.

Whitney: Doesn't like Whitney much but she doesn't fight his dominance much either. Calls him a prick but doesn't beat him up when he humiliates her and it drives Whitney insane that she has an "Avery's trophy" on her pubic bone. Very hot and cold relationship.

Sidney: Likes Sidney! sits with him and Robin often, though she often gets written on because she forgets to return her books. Doesn't corrupt him and sometimes goes to church with him while the nuns and priests glare at her.

Alex: She sees Alex as her boss, hasn't had a lot of interaction with him or Remy though as she hasn't needed the money (thanks to her sugar daddy) (hates remy though because at one point she got kidnapped and it took forever to get back, bit Remy as much as she could)

Black Wolf: Doesn't like Black Wolf very much, as she doesn't have much experience with him other than getting annoyed when he and the pack kidnap her.

Great Hawk: Has not had a reason to go to the moor so she also doesn't have much experience with Great Hawk and doesn't have a strong opinion.

Bonus: Prim also is concerned about Bailey and feels bad for him. Has tried to seduce him when she didn't have enough money and failed miserably and can't look him in the eye anymore.

🦅. In what ways does your self insert's strength(s) show ?

I'd say Prim's strength is her physical strength (thx swimming lessons!) and uhhh her craftiness regarding her circumstances. Because I didn't do any sort of skullduggery in my playthrough there were a lot of things I had to do to get around the uh... bad consequences. She's manipulative too, understanding people's weak spots and exploiting them. She exploits Avery's insecurity of strength for more money

absolute monster I say

[beautifulpersonpeach]

is so cute how jm keeps promoting and supporting jk bpp! they love and support each other, jk even said how jm promotes 3d on live. it makes me scratch my head how pjms say they want jm to stop promoting other members. i saw their pages in the tags. all they do is talk about jk and other members dragging them. all the time. they don't even talk about jm a lot, only jk and scandals and hoping bad things happen to jk and they want jm to stop promoting him. don't they know jm? you know how ppl say like idols like fans bpp? i've never seen fans so not like their idol like pjms and jm. they act like everything jm says he hates. how can they be like this?

*

Ask 2:

bpp i'm the same anon for pjm and jm. one pjm even said if they were jm's friend they want to tell him to not promote jk. why are they like this? can you pls explain this to me? i'm trying to understand them.

***

Hi Anon,

Are you asking me to explain akgae psychology to you?

Because if you are, I want to preface this by saying you're wasting your time observing people like that. Akgaes are just awful people who happen to develop a superficial hyper-fixation on an idol. Their attachment to their idol is superficial because it's so narcissistic. Their behaviours are more a reflection of their natural states than anything to do with Jimin or even how they see him.

It's why a PJM can think Jimin, who has said on camera more than once that he cuts off real-life friends who talk badly about BTS, why that PJM can unironically think they, a random 'fan', would get a listening ear from Jimin to tell him he should stop posting Jungkook on his Instagram.

Like, it's not even that they're delusional. It's that they're just really shitty people.

It's why they worship and idolize Jimin so much, putting him on a pedestal for being oh so selfless. The reality is that while Jimin is generally a very considerate person, he's not Mother Theresa (as she was known in her lifetime not the reveal afterwards lol). Most of what PJMs place on a pedestal is just Jimin being a decent human being and acting in ways other members have done at some point in different circumstances. But for them, it's the pinnacle of altruism because they can't relate. They can't imagine themselves being that kind or that decent, they can't even begin to picture the sort of relationship Jimin says he has with BTS members because they've got no analogs in their real lives. Akgaes are like judgy old nuns who pick people apart over the smallest human slights, and they actually enjoy being hateful. Hating is 90% of the reason they're here. Their happiness for Jimin stems from him introducing them to a world of six other people in the group plus their millions of fans for them to hate. Jimin has practically supplied them with a lifetime of hate fuel.

For an akgae, there's no bigger jackpot.

Nobody has to like someone because someone else likes them. It's fine if they (or anyone) dislike Jungkook, other BTS members and/or anyone Jimin says he respects. But the difference with an akgae is that their dislike of BTS members is tied to their love of Jimin, shown by the amount of time and attention they devote towards hating, disparaging, and actively looking to harm those members, while in the same breath imagining they're Jimin's friends and buddy buddy enough to tell him to ditch the members. Ditto for the other member akgaes because they all think the same way.

It's frankly kind of hilarious but also a bit psychopathic because all their actions show is that they don't actually like Jimin. They don't like who he is and what he does. They tolerate him because associating with him helps them achieve other goals through him, plus because they don't actually know him, they're more than fine believing that their own version of him is true to life.

This is also how shooters within ARMY approach BTS as a whole, relative to the wider music industry. The common thread that connects people like this, is that they aren't here for the right reasons.

But, as with all things in fandom, c'est la vie.

Jikook will still keep jikooking because nothing - not rain, not shine, not hail, not tornadoes, typhoons, droughts, floods, or tsunamis, will ever stop Jimin from gushing about Jungkook. And vice versa.

Jikook are just built different. And everybody else will just have to deal.

[shiraishi--kanade]

Also can I ask. About KWKO. How did you first come up with them? Who was the first oc to come to mind and who was the last? Which one would you want to be roommates with?

I've had a few pjsk fan units before KWKO, so I wasn't exactly new to the concept when I first thought of them (Vanguard!! you will always be famous or something). I also used to be an author for pjsk shuffle unit AU that had a classical music unit, so that was my main interest at the time.

Long story short, some things went down, and additionally I've partially lost interest and partially noticed I'm too musically immature in regards to classical in most of my portrayals; that unit shuffle is currently on re-write list, I think. But aside from that, a lot of pre-set character backstories were more stifling to me than I expected, and I don't consider myself a particularly good writer, so... I just kind of wanted to get away with more, and from it. And also do classical music justice, this time. Everything else came pretty naturally.

Karin was the first character I've ever created, her first "solid" draft version was made March 12 this year - and frankly hasn't changed that much on the surface while her backstory and inner workings have definitely been revised since then. My first thought was like, "Hm, I want to create a character that has fox-like hair and has a fox surname, and is also mean, that would be fun" (it doesn't show much because everyone has their personal hcs + picrews are very limited, but Karin's design actually has the tips of her hair fade into brown-ish red and then black - hence the fox. I have a photo reference of what inspired me but no actual drawings!).

She was also originally supposed to be the unit leader, but not for long. I've realised very early on that Karin is unfit for that role both narratively and story-wise.

I can't exactly say who was the last - I think Akari? But honestly I made them all on the same day, so I think more fitting questions would be whose personality was established last and whose design? In that case, Suzuka and Maki, respectively.

Maki was briefly supposed to have blond or brown hair and blue eyes, then she had gray hair but still blue eyes. I don't know why I settled on purple/lavender color later - fits her nicely though!

Along with said fun fact: Kairi was originally supposed to have hazel eyes and either blonde or white hair. Currently he has light cyan eyes and off-white hair. Suzuka was supposed to have twin-tails, similar to Kohane's early main story haircut; it was since changed, but it remained her Junior High haircut.

Also, for the roommates... I feel like Reishi or Maki. Reishi is the sweetest guy and I feel like we'd get along well in how we like to keep our stuff organised and chores distribution; Maki would be a horrible roommate all things considered but she's also the most nun-judgemental person alive, which, considering the absolute state in which my room always is, would be a nice change of pace.

[mydysfunctionalvampirefamily]

The title makes me very worried!

Lmao not me being confused that parents come to pick up their kids at night when Lex says there are vans outside the school. 😂😂 I'm so stupid.

This underworld storm sounds very bad and really gross.

Something that is dormant, but does not sleep. One of those Zantosa house gross antedeluvians?

I forgot about the raven feathers.

Lmao Wynn keeps forgetting she is an archon now and people respect her.😂

Red death?? 😂 I'm sorry, it's judt so funny that they get to pick their own names and they pick them like they're edgy 13 year old gamer boys.

Why the fuck would they go to hell house?!?

Wynn just casually throwing out weird ass occult names.

Wow. Justicar Lucinde being well not kind but practical, giving guidance and not being unnecessarily cruel. I didn't think she had it in her.

Wynn is a necromancer??? I feel so stupid, how did I not know this? Or is this Wynn's ghost stuff?

NO!!! Noooooooooo!!!! Lex, don't do it!!! Not the bloodbond 3 please! 🙏😭

Fucking lady lucinde farquad.

Fuck the camarilla.

What??? It's still the same fucking night???? These nights are endless!!!! But I'm relieved! There still is a chance. 😭

The masquerade is failing in new York where they are fighting and diablerising in the streets? Oh no. Who could have for seen this unlikely turn of events...

Lol pendragon being scared of getting diablerised.😂

I know Wynn hates this, but it sounds like she's doing a good job at being an archon. Fighting ghost stuff and being a badass is kind of her thing.

The sabbat doing their weird fire ritual stuff? Yuk.

Serpentine? Is he a settite??

A nun? FLAYED OFF FACE???? what the fuck. 😭 (the painted bone with flowers and stuff is kind of cool, but very gross)

Well I guess this explains the desecration of graves cw.

Archon Cabot. Sounds kind of hot, sorry not sorry. 🤷 Wynn having someone reach out to keep the coterie updated is much appreciated.

I totally forgot they hadn't talked about the ritual yet. 😂

Zofiel is being channeled by Pendragon??? This sounds like the worst idea I've ever heard.😂

So either Zofiel has taken over Pendragon, or Pendragon is fleeing diablerie?? Either way he is facing some deserved consequences of his own actions. 😂😂

Britta tiny voice: I stepped into the circle and kissed him. Lmao

Johnny is cracking me up this episode. First with the phone and now with the mirror and Britta. He doesn't give a shit.

Johnny 😂😂 gping full dad! 😂😂😂 So angry, yelling he's turning this combat suv around.

Miles just so tired and annoyed, and no one is listening to him.

Lil baby Neil needs Wynn with him. 🥺 I grt yiu baby Neil, I also need powerful Wynn with me to protect me with her claws of doom!

13 levels of damage? That seems like a lot???

So if corpses are running around eating people, I'm assuming the masquerade is also breached in new haven?

No not Rufio and his dogs 😂😂 I know this is all super serious but I cannot take anything seriously when they are around.

Wait why do they need to heal? Am I forgetting something?

Not me thinking my phone broke but it is just sound editing week of nightmares effect. 😂😂

Also yaaay Wynn!!!! Is this part of Neil's new power he got for ascending?? Dope af.

Oh no. Lex saying Miles, Miles Miles Miles in that specific tone cannot be good.

Zofiel? He sounds kind of scared or smth? Wheres your fucking power when we need it?

He's hitting Rufio with his sword and it's like killing a child, he's just a teenager pretending to be a badass but he's actually just got 3 down hairs on his lip and doesn't know how to properly smoke.

Tim rolling a lot of dice! Yay!

Wow sword bisected and torpored though, nice job Miles. That sword is badass.

Whoooo baby, Johnny omg. You're so badass. I need to fan myself like Al middle aged Southern woman on a hot day.

We can say all we want about Neil, he might not be the raw damage dealer that the others are, but he got Wynn here, and his hiding stuff is clutch!! Also I know it's been a while but remember when he made it easier for Johnny to resist frenzying for like 3 months. That was clutch! (I know there's no point in me defending Neil here, we all love him, I'm preaching to the choir)

Oh no. Lex is letting them have freebies, I don't trust it. Bad stuff is coming. If not this fight then the next one.

Weeping bear???? Wtf. I'm almost there on my relisten too. 😂

Beserker merit? Reduce by 3??!!!?? Holy freaking fuck. That is so good!!!

Ohhh we're basically getting canary mode? Damn. So cool.

The blood is so bad it hurts the special armour? That's not Good.

The bullets are consumed by an en tropic field??? They're just freaking dusted like in endgame? Damn that is not great.

He feels sick??? No! Not my baby sweating!!! Hell have to throw away that suit!!!! 😔

They fight so well together now! Like it's almost instinctual. Love that for them, hopefully it will keep them alive.

I feel like I don't know enough about combat and vtm lore to know how bad this fight is. Because honestly it doesn't seem that bad, they keep killing folks, they're all laughing and it doesn't sound like the panicked hysterical laughter yet (I could be wrong though) but then we have them running and throwing dead bodies at a nun with an entropy shield, and that sounds very bad??

Okay that is a lie, I know it has to be bad, but the vibe isn't that bad!!

That no did sound very panicked. And bone rafting has to be bad right??? Isn't that what Vito did??

Fuck yeah Wynn!!!!

They were all so good!!! 😍😍😍 (Neil did his best, you guys!)

Lmaooo I clearly didn't understand how bad this fight was until the after credit scene. 😂😂😂 Holy hell!!! "Are you touching your weapon to her?!?" it would just be gone??? That's crazy! He hardly got to swing it at all!!!

I know he's going into torpor within 24 hours but it feels like a fair trade.

[alatabouleau]

Musings on celibacy

So.... I've been thinking a lot lately, after coming back from the Roman-Catholic pilgrim trip in France I go to every year, about rooms for queer people in churches, as I often do.

And why I, a bisexual probably-woman who never had a romantic relationship and doesn't plan to have one soon, feels so much more at ease over there than in my original congregation.

And it's simply because I feel a lot less pressure about that fact in Roman-Catholic circles than in New-Apostolic ones, even though these two churches have very similar opinions on my "life choices".

Because as much as I'm hating on obligatory celibacy for clergy (That should simply not be the only way to enter priesthood, how will families ever be heard with their needs if decisions are made by a bunch of dudes who never had any familial responsibilities?), there is one thing I really like about it: It presents an actual and respected alternative to the married life. And that is something I really miss in the ""Protestant"" world.

How often do I have to hear in my circles something like "Oh, when are you going to stand at the altar??? :D :D" and me internally going "Well Janet, I would first need a partner for that and even if I had them, there would be about a 50-80% chance that we would not even be allowed to stand at said altar because we happen to have the same set of genitals. 😃"

And of course, in the Roman-Catholic world, I would be even less allowed to do that (If you can maximize "not-allowing") and yet, I experience a lot less pestering with that question from my Roman-Catholic friends. Because they see me participating in prayer with the priests, monks, nuns and sacred virgins (that's basically a nun who doesn't live in a coven but works for congregations instead, don't ask me why the call them that), they see me having theological discussions with them and for some, it makes sense that because of this, I am not in a romantic relationship. Maybe never will be. Maybe "am not called to marriage."

Of course, some simply leave me alone because I am not in their denomination, therefore work on different rules. And some may just be relieved that they have not to deal with a sapphic couple in their direct contact.

But it is just so relaxing to find other people, even older than you, who do not live a "romantic" life. Whose closest persons are also "just" friends. And who are happy when in my church, I was always told that this is impossible. Meeting persons who are even respected for that.

Am I neglecting the very sex-negative aspects of Catholic belief that led to this institution? Oh by G*d, no. Some of my very real sexual intrusive thoughts come directly from that environment.

But when I think about the big entourage of queer nuns, monks and priests, who could escape the burden of a heteronormative life through celibacy, I find myself the tiniest bit glad that it exists.

Even though there are of course aro-/ace people who experience discrimmination in the Roman-catholic world because not everyone feels drawn to become ordained. And even then, they still have to hide what makes them different and this hurts my heart. This is not how you help Christians to "Let their light shine"

In the end, I would just wish for us to find an actual and respected alternative to the married life in our modern world. To let people live the life they chose for themselves. To see friendship as just as valid and crucial as romantic relationships.

That's all.

Any thoughts?

[rubberchickeny]

Daryl Dixon and Last of Us

I don't want to be negative, but I can't help it. As a fan of both The Walking Dead and Last of Us (games and show) this lack of humility, respect and common sense baffles me.

Last of Us is about the connection of the two main characters, like I said in my previous post.

I almost want to call Joel broken, and some of him is, but mainly he has been frozen. He has a couple of people in his life that he cares about, but even with them he has put up a thick, cold wall. He can't ever let himself care again, not like he did for his daughter. (Sound like someone we know?)

Then he meets Ellie.

Ellie is a teenage girl, both a bit bubbly and edgy. She won't take anyone's shit, and she isn't a wallflower, satisfied to keep silent while grown ups make decisions for her. In the show Bella Ramsey takes it even a bit further, doing an amazing job. Pedro Pascal plays Joel as emo, and it's breathtaking (and heartbreaking). All these years Joel hadn't been able to let himself feel, and now he is drowning in his love for Ellie.

(This clip of Last of Us shows as much.)

The very height of AMC's stupidity is that if they really wanted to use LOU and it's success spirit as inspiration, they were already more than half way there, without stealing the LOU plot! TWD was always at its best when it was a show about people, and how they deal with horrible circumstances (both as individuals and as groups), how some of them welded into a family and how others... didn't. Like LOU, there are people resorting to cannibalism, different factions fighting for power and resources, and people trying to keep at least some of their humanity intact.

As for TWD, we have Carol and Daryl, both of whom have been through Hell, both before and after the apocalypse. Their connection has been strained at times (lots of angsty plot), but there is nothing they wouldn't do for each other (like Joel *cough*). Why didn't AMC use that? The depth of their feelings and their connection was already there, as was their capability for levity to ease the hard subject matter.

Truly, there are not enough words to express how disappointed I am at the mere stupidity of this whole thing. You didn't need to bring a group of nuns (!) and put Daryl in a bath (which in itself feels like it's taking this "whole new Daryl" approach a tad too literally; just saying) before taking The Chosen one in hand.

I truly don't know which would be worse; DD show copying LOU's ending too or trying to do it differently.

Will this (imposter) Daryl save the world, instead of conquering his own saviour complex?

That's not a story I'm signing up for. Nor is this blatant plagiarism, AMC.

[alligaytorswamp]

Can we get a bit more about Lutz's story? What are his relations to he Wansheng funeral parlor? Does he have any unique interactions with Barbara or any other members of the church? What about with Venti?

UADHSAJKHADSJKH THANK YOU FOR ASKING THISSSS AUGH !! okay okay i will uhhh spam it under the cut, because god knows i have a yapping disease-

re: more story- i could probably write an essay on exactly how his life went. however. that is definitely too much info, so i have to ask which part are you talking about ? 👁

his life is split up in somewhat okay parts on here, maybe that helps akjdhaskljhdsjka

re: wangsheng funeral parlor i dont think he has been to liyue... at least for now i havent created any canon event that would involve that but! he knows about it, i think some characters from liyue who visit mond would maybe talk about it ? he is The Cemetery boy, i feel like it makes sense and Lutz thinks it's coolest place! Like it just sounds very impressive to him, he thinks to have such a place that's been running for so long is just a nice thing? Openness about death is also smth he respects. And I'm sure he heard bits and piece about Hu Tao so he thinks she is cool too LOL Maybe makes a joke that like if he ends up dying in Liyue he will make sure to get a deal in wangsheng

idk if mond has a funeral parlor... is there none at all, or there is it's just smaller/has a different name? either way Lutz wishes Mond had smth like Wangsheng lol

members of the church: he is close to a lot of nuns in there, mostly because they were the ones taking care of him, after his family died i think he is a Known Character to all regular church goers (he works there, he is a church boy himself, after the tragedy i think it would be impossible to miss an entire child with bandages over half of his face)

Barbara... hm.... i think they are on friendly terms and act more like colleagues? I dont think they ever got super close... I believe Barbara is a bit younger than him, and given her popularity and all.. yeah Lutz just doesn't wanna bother her too much? She seems busy already lol But he does have a very good opinion on her

Rosaria... i think Lutz is scared of her. LMAO. there is just weird spooked respect he feels towards her. He is also lowkey impressed with the fact that she isn't even that devoted... he can... understand that 👁

Venti... are we talking just some bard dude? I don't think Lutz has a strong opinion on him. He likes his music that's for sure... thinks he is oddly young looking.. but dats about it

Venti as in Lord Barbados and just Anemo Archon? Oh Lutz has a mixed feeling on him he is a church boy, so being mildly religious was smth put into his brain from the young age. However. After losing his entire family and also getting hurt like that..? I feel like it's understandable he became doubtful.. when someone promises you that gods are looking out for you and then THIS happens? Yeah idk i think Lutz definitely had a moment where he became a total non-believer/hater as he was going through the motions of dealing with his grief. Like he definitely blamed all the archons for it at least once. Over the years tho... i think he just.. calmed down? Like he isn't a total believer still, but he isn't against it. He just no longer puts too much faith into 'powers above'. and he thinks archons are unlikely to care about fates of some random people... which is understandable to him...

[dzvagabond]

Self insert asks: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7 for the self insert you’re currently thinking about/fixated on at the moment! :3

Thank you for the ask 💚💜

So I'm gonna talk about my main RE inserts right now so please forgive all the lore I am about to dump at you friendo.

1. What is your s/i's name & pronouns?

Ezio DiAngelo, they/them (RE4R)

Dr. Reneé Howell, but goes by Ren, she/her (Main RE insert)

2. How similar is your s/i to you? Are they a carbon copy, completely different, or a mix of the two?

Ezio isn't really similar to me, but they do carry ✨trauma✨ from my childhood. But that's pretty much it. They are their own person.

Ren, however, is very similar to me. Very caring and motherly, has my huge fascination for science and virology, and my intrusive thoughts about dissection of the human body.

3. Does your s/i have a full back story yet? Or is it still in the works? If it's done, can we see it?l

Ezio does have a back story and here's the gist of it: They were a human experiment at Umbrella Euro who received the prototype of the NE-α Type parasite that fully fused to their brain stem but never fully reached maturity to mutate them. Luis was brought on board to the project and seeing how they were treating subjects, specifically Ezio, he vanished with them in tow back to Valdelobos (RE4 Village). Then, Saddler employed him to discover the abilities of the Plagas under the guise of helping Ezio get back to normal, but ends up infecting them with it instead. Hence the reason on why Luis developed those lasers in the first place to destroy both parasites. But he couldn't since NE-α Type had already fused to their spine, and the Las Plagas was mutating with the already existing parasite.

Ren has a fully fledged back story (it's a lot) that you can read here!

4. How did your s/i feel when they first met your f/o(s)? How do they feel about them now?

Ezio was very skeptical about Luis at first considering they were an experiment he was assigned to monitor and he was an Umbrella scientist. Now, they are very much head over heels for him, and trust him completely. We're just gonna ignore Luis' fate for a sec haha

Meeting Wesker, Ren thought he had a complete stick up his ass but grew to respect him as a scientist. Now, Ren was/is disgusted on how he changed, on what he wanted to do. Very big divorced couple energy between them.

7. Give us 3 random facts about your s/i!

EZIO:

Born and raised in Italy, but moved across Europe quite often when they were younger. Resided in Spain when they were older.

They can speak 4 languages fluently: Italian, English, Spanish, and Dutch (the last one was for fun when they were in college).

Due to having both a prototype Nemesis Parasite and a Las Plagas parasite residing in their body, they can feel other Plagas around them and can almost "hear" the hive mind around.

REN:

Ren was an orphan, discarded by her parents to a Catholic run orphanage in her hometown. The nuns who ran the school were the ones to encourage and help fund her schooling, despite aging out of the system. Without them, she wouldn't have become a scientist at a young age.

She was killed and infected by her own project: The Nemesis before the events of the third game. Due to having been bonded with the progenitor virus as a fell safe thanks to William Birkin, after being infected the parasite bonded with her as well.

Ren always wanted a family, so before the events of the game (and spending a lot of time at the RPD), she eventually adopts the autopsy tech August (@valentinesparda 's insert).