#I was listening to it and then thought it would be a good Aaravos song so here we go

[kilfeur]

Le chemin vers l'isolation (the path to isolation)

"It starts With the unexpected loss Of something dear The warmth That comforted and cradled Just disappears"

Aaravos avait perdu sa place parmi les siens, il a ressenti de la tristesse mais aussi de la colère. Pour ce peuple arrogant, il sera témoin, témoin de l'humanité capable de faire de la magie primale. Et si ceux d'en haut refusent de le voir, eh bien, il y a toujours une autre solution.

"And in its place there's nothing Just an endless empty hole The light that showed the way is gone And darkness takes control Bitterness and anger Are quick to fill the void The path to isolation Is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed"

Aaravos se sentait vide car bien qu'il était le sauveur de l'humanité, il n'avait vraiment personne à qui parler. C'est alors qu'il fit la rencontre d'une jeune fille, elle a la peau marron, les cheveux en dread marron foncé et ses yeux aussi. Portant une écharpe bleu et le reste de sa tenue est marron et blanc. La jeune fille était curieuse à son sujet, partageant une pomme avec lui, discutant de tout et de rien. Aaravos se sentait peu à peu attaché à elle, est ce que c'était ça l'amitié ? La jeune fille était une orpheline mais elle a survécu par sa volonté de survie et de caractère. Il la trouvait fascinante même si elle utilise pas la magie noire, elle trouvait toujours le moyen de se relever. Il espérait que cette amitié perdure encore longtemps !

"Enemies surround me but The worst appear as friends Liars and pretenders Only seek to reach their ends Everything is breaking Right before my eyes Looking in the mirror I see someone that I don't recognize"

Oui Aaravos avait ses ennemies mais ce n'était pas un problème, il était confiant. Il savait qu'il allait s'en sortir. Mais la dernière chose qu'il souhaitait c'était que son ami découvre ses machinations, elle avait fini par lui tourner le dos et ça été déchirant pour les deux amis ! Devant maintenant se battre l'un contre l'autre pour accomplir leurs propres objectifs.

"The joy That my heart used to know Is eluding me Removed And the one thing I feel is alone Memories escaping As my heart begins to drain Scars that cover wounds Can't hide the self-inflicted pain"

Le combat avait été rude et au final, c'est son ancienne amie qui avait gagné, les années passent, Aaravos ne supporte plus cette solitude, essayant tant bien que mal des solutions pour s'échapper. Mais est coincé ici pour l'éternité et le fait que le miroir, lui permettait de voir l'extérieur. Le faire languir pour quelque chose qu'il aura jamais, est d'une cruelle ironie.

"Mirror what's this thing I see? Who is staring back at me? A stranger to my heart has filled my mind Mirror Help me Who am I?"

Il y avait des jours où Aaravos oubliait qui il était avant de se rappeler quelques minutes après. Mais au fond, était il toujours le même ? Son ancienne ami lui manquait terriblement mais il se doutait que celle ci n'était plus de ce monde. C'est alors qu'il sentit quelque chose près du miroir, un homme assez âgé, il ne sait pas qui il est. Mais il n'arrêtait pas de regarder le miroir ou bien criant sa frustration. Ce qui agaçait Aaravos. Bien qu'il avait trouvé une opportunité pour enfin sortir d'ici. Lorsque les deux accomplissent le rituel et que la chenille est passé de l'autre côté du miroir. Aaravos peut enfin entendre une voix. Il va revenir, ce n'est qu'une question de temps.

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

"It starts With the unexpected loss Of something dear The warmth That comforted and cradled Just disappears"

Aaravos had lost his place among his peers, and he felt both sadness and anger. To this arrogant people, he will be a witness, a witness to the humanity capable of primal magic. And if those above refuse to see it, well, there's always another way.

"And in its place there's nothing Just an endless empty hole The light that showed the way is gone And darkness takes control Bitterness and anger Are quick to fill the void The path to isolation Is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed"

Aaravos felt empty, for although he was the savior of humanity, he really had no one to talk to. Then he met a young girl with brown skin, dark brown dread hair and eyes. Wearing a blue scarf, the rest of her outfit is brown and white. The girl was curious about him, sharing an apple with him, chatting about anything and everything. Aaravos gradually felt attached to her, was this what friendship meant? The girl was an orphan, but she survived by her will to survive and her strong character. He found her fascinating, even if she didn't use dark magic, she always found a way to rise again. He hoped this friendship would continue for a long time to come!

"Enemies surround me but The worst appear as friends Liars and pretenders Only seek to reach their ends Everything is breaking Right before my eyes Looking in the mirror I see someone that I don't recognize"

Yes, Aaravos had his enemies, but that wasn't a problem. He was confident that he would get away with it. But the last thing he wanted was for his friend to find out about his schemes; she'd finally turned her back on him, and that was heartbreaking for both friends! Now they had to fight each other to achieve their own goals.

"The joy That my heart used to know Is eluding me Removed And the one thing I feel is alone Memories escaping As my heart begins to drain Scars that cover wounds Can't hide the self-inflicted pain"

It had been a tough battle, and in the end, it was his old friend who won. As the years went by, Aaravos could no longer stand the solitude, trying as best he could to escape. But he's stuck here for eternity, and the fact that the mirror allowed him to see outside. To make him long for something he'll never have is cruelly ironic.

"Mirror what's this thing I see? Who is staring back at me? A stranger to my heart has filled my mind Mirror Help me Who am I?"

There were days when Aaravos forgot who he was, only to remember a few minutes later. But deep down, was he still the same person? He missed his old friend terribly, but he suspected she was no longer with them. That's when he felt something near the mirror, an older man, he didn't know who he was. But he kept staring at the mirror or shouting his frustration. This annoyed Aaravos. Although he had found an opportunity to finally get out of here. When the two of them completed the ritual and the caterpillar was on the other side of the mirror. Aaravos can finally hear a voice. He'll be back, it's only a matter of time.

La chanson utilisé (the song that have been used)

[sarasade]

Since I've been complaining about YouTube criticism a lot lately here is some positivity for a change: Here are some of my fave TDP YouTube videos. These creators would probably appreciate getting more eyeballs on their work. (listed from newest to oldest):

The Genius of the Dragon Prince

by wordswith dragons

A GREAT analysis of the the over all themes of TDP with an unique and well thought out perspective.

Viren’s Dream Analyzed: Claudia Witnessed Viren Seal Kapp’Ar - The Dragon Prince Theory

by Angeles Lunamoth

a really fun & cute theory channel. I'm not a lore person so I don't know if the theories are correct per se but speculation is fun anyway. (Also it's funny to me that this person didn't know what Twin Peaks is. Like yeah it's not the most relevant thing to reference.)

The Dragon Prince Is an Amazing Mess.

by XeroLmao

Don't let the title fool you it's mostly a very positive and humorous video. This is the most genuinely funny long-form TDP commentary video I've seen so far.

The Music of The Dragon Prince - Season 1 (themes & analysis) &

The Dragon Prince Music Analysis - S2 and S3

by Spelonberry

As someone who doesn't get music at all I didn't expect to like these videos this much! It's rare to see someone analyse a non-musical show's OST in such detail. it made me appreciate TDP's music even more. I can't believe I didn't notice that the Mirror theme/Aaravos' theme sounded so diffenrent because it's the only song in the OST that has piano in it.

The Dragon Prince: Why Fans Love Aaravos But Hate Viren

by Cartoon Junkies

the title made me giggle :)

How The Dragon Prince Captures the Spirit of ATLA

by Mother's Basement

A great video essay about the themes of grief and death in TDP. Once again a very unique perspective to analyse the show from. It's just so satisfying when someone puts together a really good argument, you know? I'm kind of tired of the ATLA comparisons after hearing them for over 5 years though. TDP itself really leans into them so what can you do.

----

I love VogJam too but he's VERY critical so his channel might not be for everyone. I'll gladly listen to any negative crit as long as the person doing it is funny and he's pretty damn hilarious. I don't mind hearing harsh critique of TDP at all like people do make good points.

[goodstuffexe]

I gotta gather my thoughts after the first watch of season 4 omg !!SPOILERS!!

First and foremost I don't think this season was bad at all but I do think that it indeed could be better and doesn't quite hold up with seasons 1-3. I recently rewatched (and with recently I mean the days before thursday) the previous seasons and oh my I really forgot how much I loved them and OH how good the pacing was in season 1 and 2 especially.

For example I got the feeling that 4x01 to 4x03 kinda dragged on and made the impression they want to delay the main plot for as long as possible. (What could be explained by the fact that they have 3 whole seasons to fill still) While the first 3 1/2 episodes of season 1 play out during one whole day and you don't even notice it. Kinda a bad example tho since it is the beginning of the series soo another good example would be the first two episodes of season 2 which handled continuity of the plot and problems our babies still needed to solve on the way SO good while also staying at the Moon Nexus and goofin' around for almost 2 whole episodes.

Buuut I'm definitely gonna rewatch this season because I binged it on thursday quite harshly and that's usually a bad idea and not the way I like to watch my shows lol. I just missed them soo much o.O

Okay now with that out of the way..

OH MY GOD RAYLA, my poor children.. So much sadness :( Okay I understand that Callum and Rayla indeed had no time to talk and A he didn't want to (which is legit and def understandable) and B they had more important things to talk about but I'm SO dissapointed that not one of them asked what Rayla did in this 2 years?!? Like huh?! Not even Ezran. I'm so baffled about this it blows my mind. Did she went to see Ethari at some point? (I don't think so because she said when she gave her blades to Rex that she thinks she's not going to see Runaan or Ethari ever again soo) Did she travel the whole of Xadia all on her own until she found Stella and just came to the realization that she wants to go back and stop her search out of the blue?? What the fuck happend in two years that's a damn long time gurl

I LOVED Ezrans speech and the song played by Corvus. So powerful while Claudia and Ibis fight to the death omg very epic

Aaravos straight up possesing Callum through the heckin mirror OMG and the dragons needing to beat him at his own game because he's too strong and they couldn't risk a direct confrontation aah

Makes me wonder if he is going to be a flat evil villain like the Fire lord 🥴 now that Viren has half a redemption arc lmao

OH Viren omg that realization about how he wants to spend his remaining 30 days with what he has left aka Claudia was so natural in my opinion after seeing him having a full on panic attack and being afraid of heights after falling to his death. It was out of character buut still kindaaaa maybeee felt more believable than Callum and Raylas meeting uhmm

I said it it was realllyy awkward and not the 'normal' kind of awkward it just wasn't very... it was not the way I expected them to react I'm surprised Callum actually kept his shit quite good together and Raylas lacking apology and her reaction also felt rly out of place. Tho I think she will find some words, some better words than just sorry, next season. And I hope we will hear from her what she did and where she went and she hopefully reflects on what she did and why she went away and how she hurt Callums feelings badly and aaaAAAAAH

Terry is a pure baby

He's also quite sus

Did you hear how he called Viren legendary!? What the heck is wrong with this boys morals? Calling someone who brought down the capitol of the sunfire elves, killed their queen and almost raged a huge war on all of Xadia legendary? I love how he talks with Viren about his childhood and I rly like how Viren himself starts to listen to him more seriously but I'm concerned about this little elf :(

Did you notice that the human girl who revealed Aaravos' treason has only one arm? Quite the detail but I thought it was nice tdp goes every extra mile for representation

I LOVED the conflict in Lux Aurea between Janai and her brother. Best subplot this season. How they talked about their people worrying and then they showed us an actual conflict and the consequences it brings and how Janai deals with it in her own and a modern way. I love that they take their time and give reasons behind the actions of the characters and how they continue to make the world feel more alive by showing us how humans and elves manage to get along with each other. Janai's brother (sry forgot his name) portrays that typical traditional worldview and I love how it stands in contrast with Janai who takes on being queen, a role which she didn't even want to have, with a fresh and open mindset influenced by the humans they now live with. Hehe influenced by Amaya hehe *blushes*

I also love the symbolism of the sun seed as a new start a beginning of an era in unity *cries*

The only problem I have with this is, that no matter what, if Janai's brother would have won the duel between him and his sister, he also couldn't bring back their old capital city, which he used as a reason at some point. And if he could he would have tried surely by now? Or is that just me?

Seeing the gap widen between Soren and Claudia BrEAks mY HeArT but it also feels very believable the way they interacted when Soren found and briefly captured her. Claudias villain arc is certainly undeniable and it makes me sad :(

OH AND SOREN!! Ah the best boi (ofc next to Callum my dork and Ezran being the most reasonable -now SO grown up O.O- best boi heh) he really shines this season in my opinion with some nice jokes as always but also with being a great friend and protector of the king. I love how he tells Rayla how Callum felt when she left him. He has indeed made the jump from "only" being the funny and strong goofball with the evil dad to the lovable and just friend who does everything in his way to protect and help the people he loves and it makes me SO happy omg.

Someone thought the others don't appreciate him enough for what he does and I gotta agree a bit. The look on his face when Zubeia appreciated his moves aah he was so proud x). But they were very worried about him when they found his armor, so yeah I guess more interactions with the boys pls \ o.o /

Sooo these are *most* of my thoughts I think for now. Correct me if I got something wrong- it was a wild watching session. Ofc I'm very much loving Rayllum smiling at and hugging each other after 2 years being apart :') and I'm very excited which direction the story will take. I'm now gonna rewatch the season and go cry some more about it yaay

I HOPE THEY DON'T TAKE 3 YEARS TILL THE NEXT SEASON AGAIN

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 3

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.

Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.

When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.

Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!

Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?

Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!

But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.

There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!

Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.

Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.

Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?

Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.

Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.

But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!

Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.

And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.

But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!

Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.

When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.

Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?

LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY

This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)

I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!

[alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice]

the song "pet" by a perfect circle as a theme for aaravos... thoughts ??

Hey hey hey

How dare you make me feel things

(btw sorry it took so long I wanted to be able to sit and listen to this without distractions and whenever I remembered this it was never a good time)

But anyway this is a little too perfect for Aaravos's dynamic with Lyra/The Astronomer in TAATM part 1 so I've got to appreciate that. The blend of gentle singing with the harsher elements of the accompaniment were VERY fun. Damn. All the lyrics, the kind of condescending love, the repeating motif of "go back to sleep" because he put her under a sleep spell or would wipe her memories in her sleep I just.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Also I listened to this with my noise cancelling headphones and with my eyes closed to get a better synesthesia experience (I have sound to touch synesthesia) and I got a lot of metallic sensations. Necklace chains, wires, and some tingly sparking feelings too. There was one point though where it almost felt like a hand on my throat so that was... Um... I forgot that I can get the synesthesia in places besides my hands when I get really immersed.

Anyway, not an Aaravos song overall necessarily. TSATS Aaravos is a much healthier individual. An early Lyravos song though, definitely. 10/10

[neuxue]

Who are some of your favorite villains?

Oh man, that is a question, anon. This is not a comprehensive list, because if I started listing every morally corrupt character who owns my soul, we’d be here all night. I’ve also taken a somewhat flexible definition of villainy at times, because…it’s complicated.

Also, spoilers for uh…most of the things listed; I’ve tried to keep it vague where possible, but the nature of villainous arcs means sometimes that doesn’t work. I’ve listed the work before the commentary, so if you don’t want spoilers for the thing, skip that section.

In no particular order…

Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter (His Dark Materials): okay, so arguably they’re not villains, per se, but they each serve as antagonists at various points, they’re ambitious and proud beyond belief, and their morality is…well. Complicated. (Did I lose my mind at the ‘corruption and envy and lust for power. Cruelty and coldness. A vicious probing curiosity. Pure, poisonous toxic malice […] you are a cesspit of moral filth’ speech, from a corrupt angel to the one deceiving him? Abso-fucking-lutely. Also ‘I wanted you to come and join me. And I thought you would prefer a lie’). They’re also on this list because they were my Formative Villain Faves from the age of 7, which probably tells you something about who I was as a child and who I am as a person.

Nirai Kujen (Machineries of Empire). You really…could not write a villain more My Type if you tried. I’m not sure I could write a villain more My Type if I tried. Immortal, immoral mathematician who traded empathy for the ability to act on it, reconfigured a universe, and has lost most of his humanity but not his sense of beauty? I am but a simple woman. It helps that there is one hell of an enemies/allies/lovers dynamic going on between him and another character who is a different sort of my type, and it’s precisely my kind of Fucked Up Power Dynamics.

Moridin (Wheel of Time): ’Your logic destroyed you, didn’t it?’ I have a whole…thing about villains who see themselves as a kind of anti-Chosen One. I’ve written about it slightly more coherently elsewhere, but it comes down to a particular kind of despair and perception of inevitability, that they have no choice but to fight and that their role is always to lose, and that they will be cast and remembered as the monster, and so there is not reason not to be monstrous, but that doesn’t help with the self-hatred.

Semirhage (Wheel of Time): I could pick a lot of the Forsaken, and one or two other characters from WoT but I’ll stick to two here. Semirhage is all about pain without emotion, and I’m into it.

Malkar (Doctrine of Labyrinths): okay, he’s sort of in the category of scenery-chewing villain you love to hate, but I do love to hate him. And he causes so much delicious pain for the major characters; it’s almost like he’s running a charity service for those of us who like watching our favourite characters hurt.

Aaravos (The Dragon Prince): Listen. Listen. Trapped in a mirror, lost and alone and yet only letting that show in glimpses, possibly a Prometheus figure, graceful and beautiful and terrible, and that voice. Also the entire aesthetic. He is awful, and he is a delight, and he has that kind of cruelty that you can almost forget about - it’s as though he’s so into the villain aesthetic that you almost think it’s just an aesthetic, almost forget how capable he truly is of horrors, and so when he commits them it’s all the more thrilling.

Astrid & Athos Dane (Shades of Magic): The Dane twins deserved better. And by better I mean more screen time. They were criminally underused as villains and they had such potential. Vicious and cruel in a world where to be otherwise is to die, holding power by blood and pain, and chaining another …well, if not villain then certainly antagonist to their will, forcing him to serve the world he wants to save? Which brings us to…

Holland (Shades of Magic): Holland is…arguably not a villain but as an antagonist he is absolutely my type: powerful and ruthless and broken, and yet somehow still fighting; a character whose defining trait is his extraordinary will (and also self-hatred); a character who, literally in canon on the goddamn page, is told ‘no one suffers as beautifully as you’. (Plus he gets a redemption arc! That lets him remain complicated and doesn’t undermine his competence! And while it falls into redemption-equals-death, his death doesn’t come at the turning point in his arc the way it does for so many villains - he gets a whole road-trip first!)

Melisande Shahrizai (Kushiel): oh man. She’s such an interesting character, and the narrative does an excellent job of creating that link between her and Phedre - a really, really compelling and beautiful form of 'you know it’s a terrible idea but you can’t help yourself’. Also, she and Marisa Coulter should never be allowed to meet (by which I mean, I would read that fic). I’m also always here for a female villain who gets to be complicated, who has depth beyond just the typical 'femme fatale’ (though Melisande could certainly claim that title), and who is truly central to the story rather than there to look pretty.

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender): For all that I love Zuko, he doesn’t belong on this list, flexible as my definition of 'villain’ here is. Azula, on the other hand…sharp and vicious and a void of anger and fear inside, and if she has to feel that, then the world should too.

Zhao (Avatar: The Last Airbender): It’s at least 85% the voice, and the other 15% is the way he looks at Zuko (I know, I know, I’m sorry).

Rhaegar (A Song of Ice and Fire): Rhaegar’s villainy is…complicated, but he gets a spot here anyway. I have a niche subtype that can be defined as Sad Harpists (Rhaegar, Maglor, Deth, Morgon, Asmodean), so that’s part of it, as is the way he sets that aside out of what he perceives as necessity. But also most of his draw is how he’s this shadow hanging over the entire narrative and yet is himself a void in it; we see so little of him, know so little of him in truth, catch only glimpses and will never know what’s behind them, and every character sees him differently, and he has defined all their lives but we know almost nothing of his. I’m all about identity and choices, and the fact that his are so thoroughly obfuscated but have such a lasting impact on the entire world really does it for me.

Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade): Does she count as a villain? I suppose it depends entirely on whose point of view you’re watching from, which is kind of the point. Regardless, she is so much of what I want from a character, from an author who doesn’t do things halfway. Intelligent and ambitious and utterly ruthless, to both herself and the world she wants to burn down around her.

Delilah Briarwood (Critical Role Campaign 1): any character whose cry of agony and despair takes the form of 'I broke the world for us!’ is a character I’m going to like.

The Lone Power (Young Wizards): mostly because the traditional greeting, upon encountering them, is ’fairest and fallen, greetings and defiance’, and I am a simple woman. But also because they’re the Lucifer figure, in all senses - evil, perhaps, but mostly a necessary embodiment of entropy, one who must exist and must struggle and must always lose, beautiful and bright and terrible, and oh so proud.

Judas (Christian Mythology): He betrayed a guy with a kiss. What more do you want from me?

Rin (the Poppy War): By the end, she makes a very compelling case for herself as a Villain Protagonist and I, for one, am into it. Also, 'genocidal’ gets tossed around a lot when villains are discussed, often without cause, so uh…points to Rin for actually deserving it? (This book is strongly in the category of Not For Everyone, but if it’s your thing…weaponising gods.)

Loki (Marvel franchise & Norse Mythology): so, I have a complicated relationship with 'trickster’ figures and characters, in that I like the idea of them, but tend only to actually enjoy the ones who fall on the darker side of that line they all dance around. Loki, in pretty much all his incarnations, fits that mould.

Achilles (Greek Mythology): Is Achilles a villain? Depends who you ask. But he’s powerful and proud and doomed, and knows it. I just…heroes who go out in a blaze of glory are all well and good, but villains who step up to the flames of their own damnation?

Ruin (Mistborn): It’s funny; I really enjoy a lot of Sanderson’s stories, but by and large he tends not to write my type of villain (which I will forgive him because he gave me Kelsier). But Ruin…starts off like just another godlike semicorporeal villain with absurd power, as you do, and then gets significantly more interesting – and tragic – when you learn the full story. I have a thing for villains who chose their villainy out of necessity (with a side helping of hubris) and become that which they most hated or feared. The ones who look at a razor’s edge and think 'I can walk that’. Who look at power that will consume them and think 'I can control it’. It’s a very specific kind of… arrogant sacrifice, I suppose, and it never ends well and I’m into it every time.

[booker-and-boo]

Ok so, because I know if I don’t do this now I’m gonna forget to do this when I wake up. And because I’m wide the fuck awake and in the void once more, Imma just put my thoughts out there on everyone’s favourite Startouched boyo: Aaravos! Particularly I'm just gonna be putting into words my personal thoughts and feelings towards this guy because hoo boy I got some weird vibes and feels. To be perfectly clear, this isn’t in any way meant to be a theory of the character, show or direction of this character and his significance to the plot. This is purely just me putting words to my experience over how this character is speaking to me because I finally made sense of my own feelings towards this guy. For the sake of saving peoples dashboards (hopefully) this will become a read more post. 

I recently (and by recently I mean literally four days ago) got into the Netflix series The Dragon Prince by Wonderstorm. And binged the entire two seasons in one sitting and one night. Since then; I have been hyper fixating on this show and its wonderful story, characters and overall world. However; one character keeps sticking out to me, and I know for a fact, he sticks out to a lot of you as well. Aaravos, you either love him, don’t know how to feel about him or straight up wanna fuck him. While that doesn’t mean I don’t love the other characters and trust me, I fucking love all of the characters. Even Lord Virgin. Aaravos has remained a strange constant and overall mystery to me; because I don’t know how to feel about him. I can’t tell if I love him or if I feel threatened by him. It’s a weird emotional dissonance towards him that it’s hard to make sense and put into the proper words of how exactly I feel towards him. And I’m enjoying it. 

In a sense, Aaravos to me is like listening to a Billie Eilish song, it’s haunting, it’s beautiful. It’s threatening, but it’s comforting. He’s everything that contradicts itself. His voice is smooth and low like he’s a telling a story to a child just before bed. But he carries himself with intimidation and charm that only a devil would have. He’s a serpent, and right now, you’re his prey.  In the same way, I described listening to Billie Eilish to my friend on Discord, the same things can be brought to how I feel towards Aaravos. (For the sake of not rewriting everything I simply copy pasted and edited small bits.)

“ It's like...a seductive hypnotism. And it's one you don't try to fight because it's comforting but threatening. You know there's a danger lurking in the depths, but you swim in the tide because it's calling you, pulling you closer and closer to this strange climax. But at the same time, you're floating, stuck in a void. Sucking and pulling, and tearing but in a way that you don't feel. It's...like your body and nerves have all gone deaf and mute. They're blind to the danger because the mysticism of his voice draws you closer and closer to the edge of this abyss and you wanna find out what's on that other side. It's contradictory in its own essence because it's dissonance makes it both beautiful and haunting. That it resonates and it leaves you feeling hollow, but in a way that's good. 

 It's like you're standing in front of a metaphorical serpent. You know you shouldn't trust him, but you can't help but be drawn in by his charm, because his voice makes you feel a sense of security and safety despite all the warnings telling you to run. “

So there. Those are my thoughts on this character, how he affects me, and my emotional response to him overall. Sorry for this posts length, it wasn’t meant to get this long, it just sort of happened. 

[bumskulls]

F/O List Updates and Info

Since I’m participating in “To My S/I” I wanted to add some info about my S/I’s and their relationships to my F/O’s, as well as make two (2) additions to said list! Without further ado, here we go!

Romantic: Sans from Undertale (Hopeful Lovers) (Main Romance) S/I: Lexi, Human We’ve been dating for a while now, and we love each other very much. We try to help each other keep going, even when we feel like giving up. We don’t talk as much as we should when something is bothering us. At least not to each other, so I know we’re both hiding something. One day I hope we can trust each other enough to break that wall between us.

Serana from Skyrim (Till Undeath Do Us Part) S/I: Dria, Nord Dovahkin After our adventures together we settled down. We’re married and living out our days in Lake View Manor with our children Lucia and Hroar. Serana has been cured of her vampirism.

Scorpia from She-Ra and the Princess of Power (Love Stings) S/I: Flamera, Princess of Fire It’s hard to love someone on the other side of the fight. But we have managed to keep it secret so far. We hope one day we can live in peace, without the war getting between us.

Aaravos from The Dragon Prince (Twinkling in the Night) (Newly Added~) S/I: Aurora, Human Mage We first saw each other through a mirror locked away in a dungeon. Not the most romantic of first dates, but it was worth it to meet such a marvel of magical beings. He is interested in me, in an almost scientific way. We have managed to communicate through writing.

Semi-Romantic: Damara/The Handmaid from Homestuck (Time Immemorial) S/I: Lexi, Human Damara and I met each other due to the machinations of Doc Scratch. Over time we became very good friends and she asked me to be her Moirail. I accepted and we keep each other safe from Doc as best as we can.

Doc Scratch from Homestuck (Reduced Autonomy Privileges) S/I: Lexi, Human Doc is a bastard and I hate his stupid face. But there are moments that walk the line between venomous and sensual. And I hate that I like it. Damara calls it Kismesitude. I guess that’s what it is? (This is a deliberately unhealthy ship.)

Alduin from Skyrim (Destiny Binds Us) S/I: Dria, Nord Dovahkin Alduin was returned from the grave by his father Akatosh in mortal form, as a punishment for forsaking his duty. Akatosh believed that Alduin needed to walk among mortals in order to understand them. As Dovahkin, I pledged to keep an eye on him. Serana and I make him unruly and envious. He is fixated with capturing my attention. Serana thinks it’s funny. I think it’s adorable. He thinks it’s just a phase. Paarthurnax thinks Alduin has found a soul mate...

W.D. Gaster from Undertale (Existance is Futile) S/I: Lexi, Human He haunts me, obsessed with me. He’s never harmed me, but he appears in my dreams and in the darkest corners, beckoning me to free him. But I don’t know how. Or if I want to.

Platonic: Alphys from Undertale (Karaoke Kweens) S/I: Lexi, Human Alphys and I bond over trashy anime, cooking shows, making fun of Sans, and weekly karaoke nights.

Asgore from Undertale (Flower Crowns) S/I: Lexi, Human Asgore is someone I can always go to for a good hug, a warm cup of tea, and friendly advice. He’s a father figure to me, and he’s trying to help me reconnect with my own dad.

Flowey from Undertale (Nip It In the Bud) S/I: Lexi, Human Flowey is a pain in the rear sometimes. He doesn’t know what to do with himself most of the time. Even if I show him something new, he tires of it quickly. I promised him something that I don’t know if I can keep. I promised that I would make sure he had a soul. He confided in me, I feel it’s the least I can do after what he’s been through.

Frisk from Undertale (Determined Humans) S/I: Lexi, Human Frisk is a tough kid. They are sometimes hard to communicate with, but they’re intelligent, brave, and kind. It’s hard to get them to open up, but I’ve been doing my best when I tutor them to help them understand that they’re allowed to talk about whatever is bothering them. It was Frisk who showed me I wasn’t alone in having a soul so red.

Grillby from Undertale (Quiet Quality) S/I: Lexi, Human Grillby is a pretty cool dude for a fire elemental. He’s a little wary of me, but I think it’s because he’s worried about Sans. Apparently the two of them used to date. But Grillby is a sweet man and he’s never spit in my food, so I call it a win. Besides we can bond over our mutual love of cuisine.

Mettaton from Undertale (Sexy Shapes) S/I: Lexi, Human This asshole cannot keep his competitive streak under control and neither can I. It helps to have a thing for glamor when dealing with him, so I may or may not have gotten into the hobby just to one-up him from time to time. I like to consider him a rival in that regard. But he’s a good friend and has always stood up for me when people are unkind about my body. He really does see the beauty in everyone.

Muffet from Undertale (Pastry Activists) S/I: Lexi, Human Muffet and I love to bake, even if I’m not the best at it. Sometimes her spiders scare me, but I would never hurt one of them. Especially since I can at least talk to them and tell them when they’re invading my space. Muffet loves that I’m nice to her babies. We’ve also attended rallies together in order to fight for monster rights. We bring snacks and hydration for events that need it.

Napstablook from Undertale (Easily Spooked) S/I: Lexi, Human Blooky shares a love of cool jams with me. We’ve worked on a lot of tracks together. Their company is soothing.

Papyrus from Undertale (Loud and Proud) S/I: Lexi, Human Papy has been the best wingman a person could ask for. He constantly tells me how proud he is of me and Sans. And he and I enjoy puzzles together. He’s a very good friend and I’m so happy to have him in my life.

Toriel from Undertale (Pie Babes) S/I: Lexi, Human Tori and I get together for lunch often. I want to be a teacher at the school she works at when I finish college. I get to be an Aide in her class and she has me tutor Frisk from time to time. She’s a wonderful mother figure to me, and she reminds me to keep fighting for my own happiness. She also really likes my mom, so I’m glad they can get along, even if my mom is a little confused by all the monsters suddenly in the world.

Undyne from Undertale (Just Desserts) S/I: Lexi, Human Undyne is hard to keep up with, to say the least but she warmed up to me after seeing how I interact with Alphys and Papyrus. She’s trying to motivate me to work out with her, but I think I’ll stick to the couch for now. At least until she agrees to take me to a normal gym and let me do my own thing. Her workout routine is a little intense for me.

Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto (Noodle Buds) S/I: Minyou, Kunoichi I work a lot of long nights helping Naruto on his path to become Hokage. He’s practically hand-picked for the job when Kakashi retires, but he’s still slacking off. You’d think saving the world would change that attitude of his, but at least he tries to listen to me when important topics come up. He came to me to learn what he needs to know to run the village, but often our study sessions turn into noodle night at Ichiraku. Not that I’m complaining there. He’s really something else.

Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece (Gum Song) S/I: Siren, Captain of the Shanty Pirates It wasn’t very long ago when I met the Strawhat crew. They’re a unique bunch. I’d never been interested in the kind of goals they’re after, least of all King of the Pirates. But Luffy changed my mind. After his stand against the Marines, I was emboldened to chart a course toward the One Piece. Maybe we’ll find it, maybe we won’t. But won’t it be a fun adventure along the way? Besides. I’d like to see him again, and thank him for reminding me why I became a pirate in the first place.

Trunks from Dragonball (Partners in Time) S/I: Rugala, Saiyan I was summoned for one reason, to assist Trunks in saving the universe from collapse. I never thought I’d make friends with someone like him, but I’ll stand by his side until the end of time. Which for the two of us, may not ever come, but I digress.

Mallek Adalov from Hiveswap: Friendsim (Semicolons Are for Smart People) S/I: Lexi, Human I miss Mallek a lot. We are able to text each other sometimes, but I have to be careful when it comes to doing so. Doc could take him away from me. Mallek is one of the truest friends a person could ask for.

Steven Universe from Steven Universe (Shooting Stars) S/I: Lexi, Human Steven is a great kid! He’s helped me do a lot of things I didn’t think were possible. He helped me build confidence in myself and taught me how to play the ukulele. I’m going to chase my dream, and I owe it to him for encouraging me.

Flash Sentry from My Little Pony (Flashy Flare) S/I: Doodle Flare, Unicorn Flash was charged with protecting me on my journey across Equestria. He stands up for me when I am unable to do so myself. He’s thrown himself into freezing water to save me. He’s made me feel like my mission is important, even when everypony else thinks it isn’t. I owe him a lot, and I should be sure to thank Prince Shining armor for assigning him to guard me.

Phew, that should be everyone. If any get added to this list, I will update it accordingly.