#Kept them in the dark long enough IMO

[telanadasvhenan]

thinking more about the psychological aspect of solavellan, and before I start, I'd like to stress that this is NOT CRITICAL of it, I actually think it's what makes part of the dynamic interesting. My word isn't the be all and end all, however, this is just my musings on the topic :] Also, REALLY long post! so, more under the read more lol

From Lavellan's point of view, I would personally struggle to see her trusting another lover or close one again for a long time, if ever again. I don't really think people ever talk about the real impact of the things she goes through, or what solas put her through, and the hurt as a result of it. The relationship is never defined between the two of them, it's always spoken about in vague undetermined words from their companions and poetic elvish between the two of them. Are they lovers? companions? partners? it's really up to the player. Leliana says that "you were close", Sera says Lavellan is "in it." Vhenan means home, heart, it's not a word said lightly imo and he tells you he loves her by their second kiss. It's never an official thing, so how secure can Lavellan truly feel?

This could go both ways when it comes to the break up. Crestwood, as a scene, is so interesting to me because the first portion seems like a man brought to his knees by weakness for the woman he loves. The two of them never cease to touch, fingers entwined, shoulders brushing, skin to skin. It's so reminiscent of how Lavellan matches his Hallelujah cadence. They're two parts of a song singing together. It's a gorgeous scene and it's understandable how so many are angry at how it ends because the whiplash between how it starts and what it leaves you with is severe. Imagine this from lavellan's shoes.

You're desperately in love with someone at odds with your people, who is wonderful and enticing and smart. Loving solas feels like loving the whole world, like being free and connected with the stars. But you don't know what this is. And, if you thought you did, how far can you presume? Is Lavellan always on edge, scared to love him deeper and richer than he loves her? or is she in a false sense of security, assuming his affection is forever hers. So when he not only breaks away your faith and trust in your history, plus potentially the vallaslin, she is clearly deeply upset. This isn't a minor fact that simply can be swept aside. The vallaslin is important. And Solas, even with the best intentions, has hurt her. He knows it and there's a reason why he apologises (bc he wimped out on the real truth). How much more does he know about her people that he has refused to tell her or kept from her by omission? Can you imagine the embarrassment, the utter humiliation of that secret? how many memories of them together where she replays his distaste for her people in her mind, knowing that he has access to knowledge that could change her perception of her past? Its ALOT. and thats even before the breakup.

Solas is not kind about the break up. It's rushed (impulsive to me) and doesn't do their connection justice. His composure cracks in places and it's very unlike him. It absolutely blindsides the player, so imagine being in Lavellan's place, AFTER THE VALLASLIN? personally, I wouldn't have been able to function. I half suspect that a sad, calm Lavellan is also in shock or disassociation. Because how else do you cope? The lack of communication between them alone is enough to raise my eyebrows. He promises answers. He confides that she saw through his mask and doesn't tell her what was real, and what was fake. He has given her a kernel truth whilst keeping her in the dark. Everything he told her could be a false, imaginary polite mask or it could be the truth. Where does it end? Where does he begin? Where does she stand?

I don't know if everyone has experienced what it's like to be ghosted or for a friend to simply disappear one day, but it changes you. I say this as someone who has both been avoidant as well as anxious, but you never recover. Someone disappearing like that makes you doubt any reassurance that people won't just evaporate from your life. So when Solas just disappears, the game's single conversation with Leliana feels a little lacking to me. I understand that they can't really dedicate a lot to it, I get that, so I'd like to fill it in. At first, it's search parties. Solas wouldn't just leave her like that. He promised her answers. He started another mural just before they left for corypheus. He didn't intend to just leave, surely.

Days, weeks and months pass. The question is worse than the truth. Is he dead? Did he use them? Was he being truthful when he spoke to her in those ruins, or another polite mask he could hide behind? Is it better if he's dead or better than he didn't deem her worthy enough to even say goodbye? We, as the players, obviously know this isn't true, but she doesn't know that. Does your lavellan assume the worst and be overcome with grief that her one love, her heart, her home, was nothing more than a lie of omission? or is there anger there at his betrayal of her trust once more? I seriously doubt it was easy to forget or dismiss. That kind of disappearance ruins your trust with people. Something. Anything would have been enough.

Again, this is all my opinion on how these emotions would play out and DEFINITELY NOT canon nor do they have to be! But I seriously struggle to see how Lavellan could even come to heal from these wounds within even a two year time skip. By the time of trespasser, almost everyone has left her side. She's almost entirely alone again, save Cullen and Josie (and leliana if she's not divine). And thats okay: they all have rich lives to return to. But that must just reaffirm to her that no one will stay. She is alone. How does she trust again?

And then there is Fen'harel. Lavellan's reaction to fen'harel has always lacked the fear I kind of hoped would be there? I mean this isn't just a minor deity, this IS THE antagonist of her entire faith. I'm assuming that she's lost hope in the gods, even though it's confirmed to her that they're real, but that message has been a part of her since childhood. So learning that he is the dreadwolf, again not from him, but from the fragments of his past must cut her deeply.

Her love was never who he said he was, she knows this, but who is the real man? She's never known him in a context where he can truly show her. Her love is fragmented between each identity he holds. Her trust that he is who he said he is fragments with it. The knowledge that not only has he been watching the inquisition, her, for years without a single hint that he lives or is okay must destroy her. Could you imagine how insignificant you must feel to him? And he essentially affirms to her that yes, in the greater scheme of things, his love and hers are inconsequential. They cannot matter to him because he cannot strive from his path. His indulgence was a mistake. And it's undeniably cruel. I love solas and I cannot argue that he was kind to Lavellan because he wasn't. To me, there is no way to see his actions as kind. Understandable, absolutely and definitely without malicious intent.

Lavellan learns that he loved her just as deeply, if not more. He loved her with all his heart and it did not matter. She changed him and it has only brought him more pain. He loves her too much to even allow her near him, to even give himself that weakness. They are apart from each other in an endless distance, only the two of them in the world. No one else.

Obviously, each Lavellan is different, and I've made a lot of assumptions, but I think it's worth considering. How do you love someone again after all of that? How much can you rebuild your faith after what you have learnt. Lavellan has loved a "god" (I know he's not a god, but for all intents and purposes, he has the power of a god and wears an evanuris crown.) and in turn, a god has loved her. And he left her with one last embrace that will leave its mark on her forever, then he leaves once more. Lavellan is alone.

Each love after is met with suspicion, distrust and comparison. Lavellan is entirely changed. How many pieces of her can be taken away until she is no longer herself? Each person wears a new mask she cannot determine. Where do they begin? Where can she find herself?

How lonely it must be to love someone like Solas and be at the other side of an endless distance.

[mimikyuno]

🫧🎀🎨 ENA5 WISHES AND PREDICTIONS🎀🎨🫧

ena meets yuuki. I genuinely always found it a bit strange how in the latest New Year’s event yuuki meets kanade and mafuyu and not ena. when ena has been the person closest to mizuki in niigo (as she’s the one who is waiting for mizuki to open up, while knmf have no idea mizuki is even hiding anything). so like. i genuinely think yuuki will be involved, to an extent. maybe she comes back bc mizuki’s parents are worried and call her back to japan and she meets ena, or maybe ena somehow manages to contact her and the two have a chat. idk. anyway i think yuuki will be involved in ena5, or at least in the resolution of mizuki’s struggles.

ena goes absolutely insane. i rly want to see ena lose her mind lol. like we know she’s obsesses with mizuki and loves her so so much. she saw her looking sad one (1) time and has been on her ass since. as established in the escape room, she knows her so well. when they were going up the roof, she kept making jokes trying to ease mizuki’s anxiety. she loves her so so so much. and she probably currently hates herself for not being able to stop her. so yeah, i cant wait to see her go on a one woman mission to get her mizuki back. i want to see her desperate. sorry not sorry

kanamafu struggle in the dark. this is connected to above, but i feel like ena would be too scared to ask anyone for help. mizuki was outed to her, she wouldnt do the same. and while ena has asked for help about mizuki in the past (for example, asked shizuairi and meiko), i feel like this time she’ll keep quiet, or ask just meiko. and kanamafu will know something is very, very wrong. and so they’ll try to reach out and understand what’s wrong and meet walls of silence. i want them to finally see that mizuena have had this secret hanging between them for so long, and i want them to also be there for mizuki after the main resolution. i want cozy niigo loving and accepting each other 🥺.

meiko is a key figure. i ena knows meiko suspects/knows about mizuki. so meiko is literally the only person (outside of yuuki) that ena can go to for advice. i want meiko and ena and kaito to talk and maybe even fight a bit and try to find a way to reach mizuki and fix the situation.

mizuki is acknowledged as a girl. this is more of a hope than a prediction but i hope that mizuki’s transness will keep being handled with care. i would be happy to see them avoiding cliches such as “i care about you no matter what gender you are” bc mizuki’s crux is the fear of change, change in niigo’s perception of her as just a girl, and not a “trans girl” or “not rly a girl”. so i want ena to acknowledge this directly. somehow. idk how but i need her to tell mizuki nothing’s changed in her perception of her. she’ll always be mizuki.

nov. 28th edit: putting the rest under read more for legibility

DATE. okay like. i know many think that SEGA is gonna drag this out for storytelling + financial reasons. for example, i saw ppl speculating that kanade5 might happen before ena5, so that kanade and mafuyu can learn what is happening. at first i lowkey agreed but tbh i dont think they’re gonna drag it out this much. like, not only is mizuki is a fan favourite and keeping her in this state for so long is… a bit questionable, but also there’s concerts coming up? and they cant keep her depressed much longer when that means they won’t be able to use her or ena AT ALL in any mixed event, which doesn’t make much sense imo. i genuinely think they might wrap this up before the movie drops tbh. it probably wont be wrapped up super neatly and there will still be stuff to discuss (maybe in kana5 or in the niigo 6th rotation) BUT things will be fixed enough that mizuki can go back to smile and appear in the real world and have a spark in her eyes BEFORE the movie (january 17th, 2025). i genuinely thought we would have ena5 BEFORE the 4th colorful live (bc like. how can mizuena be so depressed in game and sing on stage together? like yeah the lives are not rly canon but the VIBES. the VIBES!) which will be held december 13-15 and again january 24-26 (2025) but uhmm. i feel like we would have gotten an announcement by now if ena5 was rly coming in the first half of december idk. still possible since there’s an upcoming livestream in like 19 hours but. uhm. idk. sega PLEAS-

CARDS. I remember someone pointed out how mizuki has had zero 4* cards in any ena focus event, to show how she's keeping her distance. as such, i really think that ena5 will be The Event in which mizuki will finally feature as a 4* card. honestly im hoping for a very gay matching card (anhane style in an4... pls sega...) but that's just me coping lol. anyway my card prediction is ena 4*, mizuki 4*, meiko 4*, kanade 3* and mafuyu 2*. though tbh there was already a VS 4* in mizu5 (kaito), so maybe they'll make meiko a 3* and have a 4* of kanade or mafuyu. honestly, even luka might appear in the lineup. haven't seen anyone mention her but she and meiko have been the two VS closest to mizuki when it comes to her secret and her tendency to run away. so maybe a luka 3* or something.

COMM. okay i have no idea about this imma be honest but. i am hoping for a producer who can put forward heartfelf lyrics and melody. lowkey hoping for mafumafu (as he has already proven he understands mizuki and ena's relationship with cellphone lovestory). copium in immense quantities but niigo has covered quite a few pinocchiop's songs but have no comms by him... he's one of my favourite producers and his lyrics always kill me so i know his ena5 comm would be devastating. but honestly both mafumafu and pinocchiop feel quite unlikely, so maybe TOA (who already composed IDsmile and twilight light and has made tweets during mizu5) or wotaku (since gehenna is so intrinsically connected with the mizuena storyline). or imagine maretu... iyowa... eight... teniwoha... aaah... endless possibilities... but yeah it could be anyone lol, the names i mentioned are more hopes than predictions, i'll be fine with anyone as long as the song fully captures mizuena's relationship.

[illicien]

What drew you to winterbaron as a ship? What kind of content do you read? Is it different from the kind of content you write? Would you like to rec a few winterbaron works? My friend is into the ship and I'm trying to see if it's something I might like but all the fics they've recked me are kind of the same in tone so I'm looking for others opinions for some variety.

Hmm! I've sort of answered some of this in the past so sorry to my moots getting this rehash.

A friend of mine dragged me into WinterBaron (kicking and screaming!!!) rather simply, actually, though what kept me here was the more grand implications of her simple origins. I'm kind of a sucker for a true power bottom, and fanart my friend kept sending me implied the fandom saw Zemo as such, and I was at least a little bit intrigued there. Enough to take a deeper look, at least.

The better discovery wasn't that the fandom had decided he was a power bottom, but that there was a strong push and pull of power in their dynamic. Bucky has all the physical power between them, it's a big thing, he's strong as hell. On the other hand, Zemo is just a guy, and yet despite that Bucky should logically have all the power between them, Zemo's intelligence and knowledge tend to leave him with an edge. That continues to be the fascinating concept about Zemo to me, but that's a different matter.

So for me, it's the manipulation, the push and pull of power, it's Bucky trying to break free of being the Winter Soldier and Zemo trying to decide if Bucky's just like every other super soldier. But it's also about understanding that Zemo knows Bucky in ways most people alive don't. He knows and understands Bucky's history as the Winter Soldier both through his research, and as a man who did horrific things on behalf of his country. And that thought can sometimes lead to softer moments of understanding, I think, that can be enjoyable in fic.

As for content I read vs write: I generally gravitate towards dark fic with these two, though there's plenty of really good stuff that isn't. There are some excellent explorations of kink in the fandom for them which is refreshing. I don't really write them as dark as I read them, since I enjoy writing the power dynamics more than the overt manipulation, but if you're looking for more tonal variety I'm sure I can make some recommendations! (Under the cut!)

** Please make sure you read all of the tags thoroughly. What I enjoy in fiction may not be to your taste, and I respect that, but the best I can do is to link to the site with the tags. 💜

Recs (under 20k words)

Just A Little More by @six-demon-bag epitomizes a lot of what I've said above, and if I didn't start out with it on the list here I'd be doing myself a disservice for how often I reread this.

Bucky goes into a painful rut and Zemo seizes the opportunity to sink newer, more subtle hooks into him.

Breathless by @zsparz is one I like to return to whenever I'm looking to feel sad but don't have a lot of time to read. I can't explain why this one hits me so hard but holy smokes does it make me weepy. Sparz is great at making me cry, though, so like - anyway.

The water kept rising. Bucky could hold his breath a long time underwater, and he remembered vividly how he’d acquired that knowledge. Sam might find him in time.

But Zemo would be long dead by then.

Past Indiscretions by @sagegarnish makes me laugh, genuinely. The whole idea of it brings me a lot of joy, and the execution is delightful.

Bucky and Zemo are trapped in 1941.

Unfortunately Bucky's past self is the only one who might know where the missing Pym Particles are that they need to get home.

When young!Bucky pulls Zemo into an alley, Bucky is forced to watch as a drunken forgotten night from his past becomes a lot clearer.

Recs (20k+ words)

That Which You Fear by @spintwinwb is a trilogy that starts off feeling like an AU and turns into something really fascinating imo. Lots of extra goodies here for comics fans, too.

Instead of freeing the people of Westview, Wanda pushed out across multiverses to get her brother back, and the entire world was caught in the crossfire. Cast in a new, peaceful life in upstate New York in a world with mutants, no Avengers, and no HYDRA, Bucky Barnes struggles to reconcile memories and dreams that no longer make sense with what he thinks he knows about himself.

One Two Many by @six-demon-bag is sweet and fun and complicated, and I really did try not to double-up on authors here but agh. What am I supposed to do??

Bucky and Zemo meet on an anonymous dating app and find a deep connection in each other. In the meantime, they grow closer in person without realizing they’re falling in love online too.

Too Good To Be True by AnadoraBlack is really one of those fics where the tropes are used so well, imo. A very enjoyable read.

Bucky wakes up with no recollection of where he is, how he found himself there, and what the heck is going on. There's also a ring on his finger, and time lost. What the living FUCK?!

The Original Sin by @zsparz because I might as well completely fail at the "only one per author" in spectacular fashion. This sits here because it sits on a very peculiar line between canon and AU and just... like I said. Sparz makes me cry. This isn't a departure from that fact.

Bucky and Zemo keep meeting over the course of several lifetimes. Zemo remembers everything. Bucky doesn’t, but there’s an eerie impression of familiarity he can’t shake — an old pain he can’t explain, with roots too deep for him to reach.

AU Recs

Removing Bucky and Zemo from the context of their complicated history in the MCU can highlight different aspects of their characters that are really interesting to explore, as someone who finds their unique characters quite interesting as well, though I also know it isn't for everyone. Neither of these recs are short so if you don't mind an AU, set some time aside for these ones.

It Started Out With a Curse by Thorny is a fun AU I never really expected to find in this fandom. I personally have a history of writing in fantasy settings so this one has a special place in my heart.

What happens when the King and Queen of a human kingdom slight a powerful fae Lord known only as "The Baron"?

Enter a world of FairyTale/Fantasy Shenanigans as Prince James navigates his deadly curse and his confusing feelings for one (seemingly) cold and untouchable fae Lord. Meanwhile, something sinister is afoot trying to gouge a rift between the feywilds and the human kingdoms...

A Gentleman and a Scholar by EternalBeta is a no powers exploration of their dynamic that's... Beautiful. It also tackles a lot of things about kink that it feels like most fic and stories generally seem to ignore. There's also an amazing sequel series.

(this series doesn't have an easy summary available so I uh... I'll give it a go here: college student Bucky has a thing for his professor, and a whole series of bad decisions behind him. The trouble is, Bucky is impatient, and Professor Zemo doesn't fuck students. So Bucky better hurry up and graduate.)

Many of the writers above have at least a few WinterBaron fics, and I do highly recommend checking out their collections. Sparz and Six-Demon in particular have some really widely varied concepts and stories they tackle, and if you're curious at all I'd also recommend checking out Sholio who has some excellent Sam/Bucky/Zemo fics! I didn't toss recs here because they weren't the heart of the ask, but I gobbled those up easily for some very sweet treaties.

[ronanxing]

please how do you pick colors 😭 I'm trying to learn how to color and I am obsessed with your comics (like your ivantill ones lol) and how do you pick such a cohesive color palette and choose where to put what????

Your art is amazing like actually :) happy holidays!!

😭 tysm anon and happy holidays to you!! i did my best to explain some of the process behind my color picking and choices for the ivantill comics under the cut, i hope its coherent cuz quite frankly it also takes me a long time to decide what colors to use

a little disclaimer: i tend to just put base colors, before i start adding shading or lighting. i also dont usually start off with a fixed color palette in mind, because my process is pretty much figuring out as i go along, and playing with all sorts of colors; however whenever i do end up with a fixed idea on the color palette the process is still applicable anyways so hopefully its helpful for u too :’]

ok so i usually decide colors by asking what kind of mood or tone im going for. for example, the recent ivti comic i did

the comic imo is pretty playful - theres a romantic element ofc but i think the focus is rly on how ivans being kulit / annoying as usual so i thought a spunky, albeit warm color would rly fit. theyre also chilling in tills house so i thought a home-y, comfy feeling would be good

i was still playing around, so for the first attempt at realizing that tone, i added a hot pink multiply layer to see how it looked

(first attempt vs final colors) (also im sorry for the low quality procreates timelapse is wack)

ironically enough it actually created a really cool looking color palette which was not what i was going for. so i kept testing colors for a bit; the shadow is hot pink, and i ended up going for a bit of a desaturated green as a base / overlay because it mellowed out the pinkness. i also put both the base and the shadow on a darken (50%) layer so that the og colors peek through a bit more compared to a multiply layer. in the end tho, i ditched pink and went for a saturated red

the green also makes for a nice complimentary color to the red, and it overall has that home-y, warm but playful feeling i wanted to include ⬇️

i added a highlight layer (color dodge, 82%) so that it pops a bit more, and also bc i knew i was gonna draw a big lamp on their right in the bg. speaking of the bg i made it a green/yellow hue so that the base for green on ivan n till make sense, and it ended up working for the best cuz the red acts as a nice contrast

(admittedly i think if the lighting of the room is green the shadow should also be green, but tbh i tend prioritize contrast as much as possible regardless cuz it looks nice 🤡 even if it fails to make sense realistically its for the vibes)

^ i ended up remedying this a little bit by adding bits of green to the shadows on ivan n tills hair and clothes, and also because its fairly complementary to the pink palette i have going in for the shadows and even the highlights (esp on ivan)

i also decided to shade in dark parts in the lineart so that it pops a little more

looking at the values also really help! esp in comics, where each panel can have its own lighting depending on what angle ure drawing. u can do this easily by adding a pure black layer above the entire piece, and setting it to color (100%)

for me the values actually made me realize things that may look too similar, which usually leads to me changing the color. for example, the couch and stuffed animals behind ivan and till were actually a lot darker before i changed it. bc it kinda blended into ivti a bit, it also got the eyes’ attention away from them. i ended up adjusting their hue and values so that it matches the bg, and ivan and till stick out more (alongside other color adjustments) ⬇️

changing the lineart also helps quite a bit! i made the lineart for ivan and till a little darker, while the bg elements got a darker green instead so that the bg elements dont take as much attention

looking at b&w values also helped me realize that the og pink i was using for the panels was a little too dark, so i made it significantly lighter so that the panels stick out more (esp bc they take huge precedence in the second page)

(og panel color vs final)

and finally when i pick all the colors and am satisfied with them, i merge everything into one final color layer for easier rendering :> procreate (and im sure other programs) allows for color / hue adjustments so you can def play around with those!

as for the harana / first ivantill comic i made, it had all the similar steps of the recent comic so ill just talk a little bit about the palette

so im ngl this comic was a bit of a struggle to color for me,, cuz i wanted it to be romantic but it was set at night. usually that dictates cooler tones and colors, but i was aiming for something warm. thats when i figured i could just let tills room wash an orange color, which would help with making warm lighting but also help till and ivan stick out again from the surrounding darkness / blues

i went with a purple base, cuz i thought it was a nice warm ish color at night and it makes blue and orange pop. i also figured that i could make the base both purple since the highlights are the most attention grabbing / contrasting colors

also used the moonlight as rim lighting so that ivan sticks out a little more,, i also figured that tills room would be projecting harsher lighting over the moonlight

lighting it this way also allows for nice color contrast regardless of what character is in the center: ivans outside but awashed in orange lighting (from tills room), and tills inside but hes sticking his head out a little so hes noticeably purple. it allows for characters to stand out while also being pleasing to the eye

and im ngl i cheated a bit again 😅 i think till shouldve projected a shadow on ivan a couple of times and the highlights might be too harsh but again i just prioritized making their facial expressions seen LOL

for this one i didnt use any layer modes aside from (if i remember correctly) a purple multiply layer and overlay for shadows and base respectively

and thats pretty much my process for figuring out the colors !!

TLDR; i look for the mood or tone im going for, try to make interesting contrasts / complimentary colors and i also double check if each character sticks out by checking values :> it really helps me too to play around a LOT, i think it takes me like an hour or just 30 mins to figure out what colors to use and also adjusting it significantly when i merge everything together

[crow-of-paradise]

I finished The Way of Kings and IIII'm feelin' it!!! Yo girl is going THRU it!!!

This book is great for the saps. The Sentimentals. Dare I say cheese-lovers. Moved easily to tears by acts of goodness and humanity. (<- all me) Maybe bc it is so lacking in our real lives - and this from someone fortunate enough to have some amazing people in their life, I still think we can all want to be better for ourselves and others, because it's the right and good thing to do. In the end, it's the heart of the book, imo, that stays with me the most. Kaladin, Dalinar, Bridge Four, struggling to do the right thing, keep hope alive in the face of despair like a small sputtering candle in the dark (or highstorm, as it were). When I finished and was gathering my thoughts, there's a lovely quote by Mr. Rogers that immediately came to mind:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

And this book has plenty of both (the scary and the helpers). It’s a very hopeful story at its core, despite realizing some people felt put off by the “depression simulator” (as the first review, of all things, I watched called him!!) that is Kaladin during most of the book, lol. But hey! I'm into that shit! I was deeply moved by his struggles and how he kept finding reasons to care, despite himself, like a wild instinct he’s unable to control. He’s gotta be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THIS MAN IS INSANE. So I'm hoping that the story continues with its main philosophy and theme centering hope prevailing in the end. I'm locked in, so I guess we'll see soon enough lol.

Also I fucking love beginnings. Some people loathe them - they’re too slow, there’s not enough happening, there’s too much to learn. When it’s done WELL, I eat that shit up, and TWOK does it sooooo well. When I first started reading it, I was constantly praising its accessibility, how easy it was to understand and visualize and keep up, as someone who does NOT read a lot (particularly not a brick like this). That is a constant throughout the rest of the book! I personally really meshed well with Sanderson’s writing style, and that was besides his amazing skill with a large and compelling cast of characters, all of whom have their own subtle arcs and development which were satisfying to read and I value most in the media I enjoy.

I found out about Sanderson in the most random way! I was RPing in Final Fantasy XIV lol (2022/23 was... a time) and I really wanted to work on my combat writing skills. I think I looked up recommendations for this and Brandon Sanderson’s name came up more than once (and yes, this book is a war epic, and the battles are long and brutal, and so captivating to read), along with The Way of Kings being the most recommended, so I filed away his name and the book in the back of my mind. I would see his work out in the wild and pick it up, balk at the size, but it wasn’t until earlier this year when I bought the mass market paperback that I actually decided to try it out - read a few pages, then bought the larger trade paperback bc I am Old and my eyes suck, also there are gorgeous illustrations to appreciate. I just wasn’t vibing with any of my attempted reads at the time (ACOTAR, Emily Wilde tho I do wanna try this one again, among others). I think I was craving something Epic, and I was fresh off season 2 of House of the Dragon and the latest FFXIV expansion and I wanted a book to take to Iceland with me (this massive tome did indeed travel with me lmao, and I didn't get far what with the long exhausting days of that trip, but I did manage a few pages and even more scuffs and dings along the way). So yes, this did largely scratch that itch and then some! I’ve said it 100 times but I’m not a good reader - it’s so hard for me to maintain the focus required for it long enough, though I do try. To me it’s nothing short of a GENUINE ACCOMPLISHMENT that I not only conquered this monster but did it relatively quickly during a stressful time of the year, and LOVED it. Books as a storytelling medium is such a large untapped well for me, so I mourn not being able to devour them like other bookworms do because I know there are some gems out there (audiobooks are worse for my focus to grasp onto funnily enough lol).

In light of that, this book really just feels like a small miracle that happened to me. It means a lot and I’m so grateful. (told you I was a sap!!!) And I'm so sad Words of Radiance is still being shipped to me. But I have another lovely book I'm reading (The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields) for book club with my bestie (shoutout to @bisummers I'M STARTING MY PAGES TOMORROW) so I will be occupied until then... and hopefully it gets here soon. :)

[yandere-fics]

Raffie being into Theanna's sister would be top tier imo.

maybe reader is a shunned sibling? am illegitimate child forced into the darkness, often hidden away from prying eyes, the talk of gossip at every turn? someone who's become bitter and plans to use Raffie's amicability with her family to her advantage?

or a golden child, sweet and cute that everyone adores. she'd have so many suitors, of course. the fact she (elegantly, kindly) shuts down each one is a blessing. but what if one day she doesn't turn them down? that would be terrible.

♡ Raphael With Theanna's Sister ♡

(Here you are, I hope I do not disappoint my mutual.)

You'd given up on the throne basically as soon as you could speak which gave you a lot of privileges the others didn't necessarily get to receive since they were too busy fighting all the time, but you weren't part of the fight therefore you got to be everyone's precious golden child sibling, you could reject as many marriage proposals as you wanted, you didn't need alliances, whoever won the throne would make sure you were afforded any luxury you asked for, though you spent most of your time with Raphael, someone else who was neutral in the fight for the throne since no one had asked her for help.

Raphael saw you as the perfect princess and adored every second she spent caring for you in your youth, if she wasn't at the king's side giving advice, she was watching you, killing your nannies on occasion as they never did a good enough job. It was purely platonic your entire life until... the marriage proposals came rushing in. While it was definitely wrong for her to lust after someone she practically raised, it was also wrong for those bastards to covet you when the only one who is even capable of coming close to deserving you was the one who cared for you forever.

Thankfully you had the common sense to burn all letters, she had raised you to expect only the best for yourself after all until you started hiding letters from her, planning to elope and she knew she had to take drastic action, the crown princess certainly wouldn't stop her when everyone still only saw her as your caretaker and there couldn't have been any ulterior motives to her requesting Theanna give her your hand in marriage, plus she did so much for the kingdom, she was only doing the right thing and ensuring everyone's favorite princess wouldn't get married off to someone who wouldn't protect them, Raphael was smart enough to ensure your safety and thus your fate was signed over to her.

"I hate you." You told her staring at her in the vanity mirror as your maids placed the veil elegantly on your head, normally it was against tradition to see your bride before your wedding but she wanted to ensure your maids were taking extra fine care of you on what she was sure was a very difficult day of your life. She'd have to put them in a dungeon and perhaps feed them to you later when you allowed her to turn you if they didn't do a fine job.

"You'll understand later Sunflower, come it's almost time for our ceremony." You stood up, huffily taking her arm as she escorted you down the aisle, the ceremony was a bit of a rush job, while she would have liked a longer one, the one that you deserved, you made abundantly clear you just wanted it over with, perhaps on day she could give you the proper long vows you deserved. And then the wedding night....

She wasn't sure where it had gotten out of hand, she'd planned on sleeping in a separate room, leaving you to enjoy the bridal chambers on your own but you'd pulled her back in with a snippy remark of "First you force me to marry you and no you won't even let me have a proper wedding night, gods you are the worst."

Which lead to you on your back the skirt of your dress bunched around your waist as your forced her head firmly against your pussy as she ate fervently as if trying to make up for all her sins, as if doing this would finally earn your forgiveness. She kept sobbing about how beautiful you were allowing her to do this even though she would understand if you never wanted to even speak to her again.

"Shut up, don't speak while you're eating." She nodded and tried to tone down her babbling but it was hard when she just couldn't stop crying about how beautiful you were, how wonderful it was she got to serve you, how you were right she didn't deserve you but she'd try her best. Eventually you just got sick of it and tried to push her off but she wouldn't budge. "Just forget it, you can try again tomorrow night when you're being less weird about it."

You squealed when she just pulled you close instead though mumbling something about how you deserved to have a great wedding night. Great so apparently your new wife also sucked at taking orders and being quiet.

[soo-won]

Hi!! I’ve been following your tumblr and Twitter for a while now and I love all your akayona analyses. ❤️ I remember your rambles about headcanoning Suwon as transmasc/transfem? Could I hear more abt that? It’s rlly cool cause I feel he’s portrayed in an incredibly gender neutral light, in comparison to many other male leads :)

Thank you so much for wonderful ask! I'm glad you like my analysis :') Idk who you are but thank you for the support!!

And yeah! I headcanon Suwon as non-binary and there is a lot to unpack about his gender imo...I very much believe akayona has a lot to say about gender especially through Yona and Suwon's characters, and in that Suwon being a man and Yona being a woman is thematically important. But the way the story presents this theme in Suwon's character in his struggle (or lack of) with balancing between "masculinity" and "feminity" can make him easily readable as trans. Transfem or transmasc and every nuance in between.

I've also been headcanoning him as non-binary from before the manga truly explored these aspects only because I'm non-binary and I related to him too so it's not that deep. But as you said he is portrayed more gender neutrally than most male characters of the cast from the beginning and I think it's worth exploring. Whether he's gender non confirming in universe is interesting to discuss too, because you have other characters like Joon-gi for example, but he's at least not really traditionally masculine from our standards when you first see him.

(Long post under the cut)

But as much as it doesn't have to be that deep, I'm also convinced it actually is and that's why I'm entering character analysis territory here, so please stay with me ahah. When I think about Suwon's gender, I just can't not think about his parents and what they represent to him and how that ties to his overall character arc. Yuhon and Yonhi are pretty much the "ideal" symbols of traditional masculinity and feminity we have in the story in their gender roles and the values associated with them. Suwon is one of the rare character we have a glimpse of both parents that lived long enough for him to remember and be impacted by both. This sounds silly but basically Suwon's gender is like,, if a man and a woman had a baby to me fnbkjhbgkjhbgh.

In universe, Yuhon represents strength, courage and reason. He is the traditional and ideal male. He is bold, brash, dominant. He is the parent Suwon deeply admires and longed to be like, and that he then took upon himself to replace after his passing. He's the figure everyone in Kouka remembers positively as a competent and strong leader. He's the parent that taught Suwon to see people as pieces on a chessboard and to always be pragmatic, to make the most effective and straightforward decisions. Suwon inherented some of these traits himself, but the entire struggle of his character is that he isn't and cannot exactly be his father, that he can't follow in his father's footsteps (or what he thinks they are) as much as he and the people around him would like. This ideal masculinity represented by Yuhon is not something Suwon is able to achieve and that we should wish for. The other side of the coin is dominance and violence, it's stealing the agency of others with no regard to their person, it's causing a chain of pain and more violence. Suwon, ultimately, cannot and shouldn't respond to all these expectations. They're not him. Because he is also Yonhi's son, which he tried to cover as much as he can as a King.

Because in contrast, Yonhi represents the "ideal femininity" that is passive, sentimental and kind. Her assigned role was only to serve Yuhon and Suwon, and had no power for much else. In appearance, she's the ideal wife and mother. She is conventionally very feminine, we see her with different garments, accessories and haircut in every scene, hinting that it's something she likes (especially when you compare with Kashi)... She's kept in the dark about Yuhon's secrets and all he does when he leaves the castle and fights on the battlefield. She has no agency. She is the parent forgotten by all, never mentioned even by Suwon, who died with nothing to her name. She is the parent that didn't want Suwon to kill Il but to think about Yona, she is the one who taught him about kindness. (i also mentionned yuhon and yonhi's respective legacy here)

And the irony is, physically Suwon is almost a copy of his mother. At first glance, Suwon is in general much more like her than he is like Yuhon. Suwon is pretty and cute, and is assumed to be weak, passive, and lacking in general as a warrior. Suwon, who wishes he was like his father, looks "nothing" like him and actually looks like his very feminine mother. And the thing is, what makes him so gender ambiguous is that he actually embraces that. Suwon uses his appearance and plays with the perception others have of him so they underestimate him (Geuntae, Soojin, Li Hazara,...) he has a very similar haircut as his mother, is interested in swordfight, tactics, but he's also into flowers, tea and sweets, he wore clothes with flower and butterflies patterns before his coronation (which is not supposed to be only a women thing of course but in universe I don't have any other example of male characters having those so I take it into account), he interacts with other female characters like a peer that share the same interests, too. He is first perceived the same way as Il and the opposite of his father or warriors like Geuntae, Mundok or Hak. He isn't like Il or Yonhi though, and that's what makes him not entirely feminine either, he actually proves himself as a man to these people after all.

But even as a child, Suwon took up the role of a mother for Yona like it was the most natural thing in the world. And in a similar fashion he also took up the role of Yuhon to "take care" and "protect" his mother, and to lead Kouka. Suwon is able to navigate both feminine and masculine roles depending on what is the most fitting to the situation at hand, and he achieves that with little struggle. This is probably the point that makes him so gender fluid? He's fine with both, it feels natural to him, this is what differentiates him from his parents' image shackled by very stereotypical gender norms. It's definitely what makes him so unique and himself. Suwon is always described as having equal interests and curiosity for everything and everyone, and it plays a part in this as well. In a world where interests are gender divided, where women are encouraged to have interest in love, fashion, luxuries and where the men are rather into sword training or studies, Suwon who can jump from one to the other with ease, like gender doesn't matter feels especially liberating.

But Suwon is actually still shackled and not immune to patriarchy and it all ties to the meaning behind the position of a King. Suwon loved his mother, and he sincerely loved Yona before the coup just like she was for being cute and kind and bringing him warmth. "Feminity" isn't a sin or bad to Suwon, he even values it. However, for him and many others in universe, all these things are unfitting for a King, like...he likes it, but he thinks he doesn't need it for his goal. Which leads us to King Il.

Suwon values "feminity" and is aware of that part of himself, but rejects it when he has to act as a King. "Masculinity" is about being strong, strong enough to protect, and being "feminine" puts you in a position of weakness and powerlessness. I don't think it's a coincidence that he inherited his illness from his mother either, which literally puts him in a position of vulnerability and weakness that he absolutely hates and tries to cover up. Feminity is fine for women and the roles assigned to them, they are lovely as they are, left behind but where they can keep being kind and sentimental while the strong men go to battle and manage affairs, basically. Kouka is a patriarchal society with all these norms being continuously enforced, and where being King was exclusively a masculine position until recent development. Before Suwon ascended to the throne, Yona was the first heir, yet the position of next ruler after her father wasn't to be given to her, but whoever would be her future husband. Yona would have been only a Queen, not one with particular ruling power, but in the sense of being the wife of the King, the same way Kashi was.

So then, Il appears as a failure as a King. He's the example and proof to Suwon that "feminity" is not compatible with the position and that he has to differentiate from him in every way. Suwon liked Il for his kindness and believed in him until he killed his father and proved to be uncompetent as a ruler. Il's kindness and reliance on the divine are unreasonable and based on emotionalism for Suwon. His refusal to use any weapon makes him a coward and weak, and waiting for the gods to save them makes him passive...It's what led Kouka to the sad state it was at the beginning of the story.

To Suwon, feelings, kindness, traits associated with feminity as we've seen, make him weak. He doesn't need it. It's what makes him reluctant and risks to deviate him from his goal and duties as a King. He can't afford to feel for Yona or anyone, he has to take the most efficient decisions with no remorse for people's feelings and especially not his. This is why Yona is so important and the lead of Akatsuki no Yona. Yona redefines what we associate with either masculinity and feminity. Strength, kindness, sentimentality, reason...They're all needed, they don't have to, and they shouldn't be divided so strickly and imposed on people based on their gender and roles. (Especially when it's obviously girls and women suffering from it the most). This divide between Yona and Suwon doesn't have to be, Suwon takes time to accept it, to accept Yona to enter his chessboard and value her as an equal and not just because she's kind and cute. And in doing so, it opens the door for him to also accept his own feelings, his own "weaknesses". Feelings and kindness actually hold so much power, they can actually make you stronger, that's what made Yona and Hak so bright to his eyes from the start, even if it took him long to fully realize it.

I feel like I deviated from the initial topic, but it's all important I swear. It doesn't mean Suwon gave up all his old ways either, he still embraces what he learned and admired in his father, not everything was forced upon him and I believe he genuinely connected with his father's vision. But it's about balancing this with the things he was convinced he had to reject and discard all this time.

That said, here are some examples of how it opens the door for transmasculine and transfeminine interpretations of Suwon's character arc, there can be others of course, but those are the ones I naturally came up with thinking about all this:

If you read Suwon's story as a transmasculine experience, it clicks. From how he was "cute as a girl" in his childhood to the experience of feeling like to be a man, to pass as a man, you have to reject everything that is associated with feminity and force yourself to accept masculine values that are just not your real self, to then realize you don't have to do all that to be a man and it's fine to embrace your "feminity" too. (Btw I really encourage you to read the Requiem of the Rose King manga that is explicitely about this topic!)

If you read Suwon's story as the transfeminine experience, it clicks too. Suwon feeling like he has to and being pushed to follow in his father's footstep when that's just not his real self. The way that he represses his self, the metaphor of closed box and how he locks his true self and feelings into them, until it becomes too much and he can't ignore it anymore. That being a man is not for him, and he doesn't have to be.

Of course, you can also read him as a cis man that is more or less gender non-conforming, or in any nuance of non-binarity in between, but in conclusion, that's what makes Suwon so gender to me. (and again, you don't need any of what I wrote in this post to headcanon him however you want)

There is also something to say about how he's "lacking as man" in how he has no romantic or sexual interest in women, if you take into account all the junctions between gender and heteronormativity that I didn't really bring up here. This point always made him really stand out to me, but Suwon's sexuality is such a Topic I didn't want to adventure myself into today ahah.

[lovebillyhargrove]

Harringrove Seasons au. All credit for the idea belongs to @akioukun ❤️

Billy's not the only one who doesn't want to let go. Inspired by "Summer moved on" by A-ha, listened to on the loop (the only way to listen to great songs imo). 08/09 are my most fav months and if I could wander the August/September woods forever, I would

Song lines are italicized

***

Summer's moving on, Steve knows it is. He can feel it slipping away with every passing day, with every leaf turning its colour, with every colder night and every flock of birds leaving for warmer places. Summer is losing its hold, and the more power he gets, the less he wants it.

Bright joyful green is fading,

And the way it goes you can't tag along.

Steve's meeting Billy on the brink of the forest, where the fields spread wide, rolling down the hill like a vast canvas.

He has come prepared.

"Remember the flower crown you gave me? I kept it until the flowers wilted and then I put it in the river and let it be taken away by the current."

Billy is looking at Steve, a question in his deep clear blue eyes

"I want to give you a gift as well."

Steve is holding a necklace made of orangey red rowan tree berries

"It will look beautiful on your tanned skin. Let me put it around your neck."

Billy lets him, and it does look good.

"I love the fiery colour. Thank you."

Steve can see that Billy is pleased.

"I'll keep it. The berries will dry up, and I can still wear it."

"You are right. But wait, that is not all."

Steve gets down on one knee and picks up a big crown of red and golden leaves

"A crown for a crown. This will look wonderful on your sunlit hair."

He puts it on Billy's head, and they both smile because summer looks beautiful and just a tiny bit peacocky.

Steve's pointing at a large leaf pile, a bed of yellow, red and orange

"Lay down with me, summer."

They are laying in the heap of crunchy leaves, where it is so warm and cozy, Billy's eyelids immediately turn heavy with sleep. It's quiet and peaceful all around.

Billy doesn't fall asleep though.

They are watching the clouds sail by, slowly drifting to faraway alluring lands

The clouds are distant and silent. They have seen it all. One might think they are indifferent to the things they witness, and one might be right. Or wrong. Maybe all the rains that accumulate themselves in those dark gray thunderclouds are from all the sorrows the skies have watched unfold, and all the storms are tears, shed in compassion and anguish.

Summer and autumn have come together.

Lost in the moment.

Moments will pass.

Memories will remain as long as we keep them.

Billy is shuffling and huffing in slight annoyance.

"The silly bugs are tickling my feet."

Steve laughs and hides his face in Billy's chest, inhaling that sweet sweet summer smell

"Stay,

He's whispering

Don't just walk away."

And Billy answers, tree branches swaying and meadows singing

"I'll stay.

I'll stay another day.

A day just like today,

With the sky the bluest blue,

And forests all shades of yellow."

This is enough for Steve.

Everything around them is whispering

☀️🍂 E t e r n a l f o r e v e r e t e r n a l 🍁☀️

It echoes in Steve's uneasy heart and dulls the yearning.

Seasons can't stay.

But they always come back.

Also this and this

As always, a huge thank you to @dragonflylady77 for being the absolute best 💖

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

this girl one time wanted to have sex with me and when i asked to use a condom she laughed it off and said it wasnt cool, and began to chip away at my boundary until i gave her what she wanted. she kept trying to get me to do things and i would say no, and she would continue asking anyway. in bed she said something like “you said you would” and that legitimately scared me, because it seemed like she was just blatantly lying to my face, or just forgot. then she called herself a succubus (A DEMON) and my gut screamed at me to be careful around her. sorry this may be TMI, but im anon so whatever, she said i could nut in her, which is the complete opposite of my original boundary. she was so sweet otherwise and communicated really good. except for when i texted her my concerns about being manipulated. she just became really defensive. im really happy im not “under her spell” anymore. i dont know what she was trying to do, but she could have hurt me really bad

its not tmi, its ok, you know me :p <3.. im sorry your boundaries were disrespected :( ill put my answer under read more cus its probly gona be long , this message had me contemplating some things..

IMO : sex is so tricky its been a struggle my whole life to understand how i feel about it & where my boundaries lie + allowing myself to express them so i understand the struggle u present here altho it's a different perspective.. some people use sex as a vehicle to gain power over others, by way of luring their partner into a state of vulnerability, i dont think that's something demonic necessarily i think it's usually more surface level than that. however

you do see a huge rise in the amount of ppl kind of, trying to personify the succubus nowadays? ppl have always wanted to be sexy but it's like different than the way ppl wanted to be sexy when i was younger. it got rly mainstream to have kind of a demon aesthetic if that makes sense? when i was younger this stuff was reserved for the relentlessly bullied & punished Goth and Emo kids.

but ok when i worked at spencers gifts in 2021/22 they had all these shirts of anime succubus girls getting choked and in bondage n shit, and these shirts were their best sellers they were outselling most the band tees and franchises like naruto.. and im telling youuu it was like, the youngest girls always buying these shirts, it made me so uncomfortable!! sometimes i would walk away and get my coworker to ring them up cus i was like nah im not selling a child that shit...but it really made me think like wow if i was in 7th grade and wore this shit to school it wou;dve been like wearing a giant KICK MY ASS!!!! target on my back but it's like, a popular thing rn.

and im not saying the bullying should return ofc, not the point. but it lead me down the string of thought wondering why this stuff is being pushed into the mainstream so heavily. sex sells i guess $$$ but yeah i think right now it's especially common to refer to yourself as a succubus if you're trying to feel a sense of power as a woman. because as a woman there are very few ways to gain power other than using sex. and many people want power! but i dont think most of them are demonic. just lost..

still its good u followed ur instinct to stay away from that girl because it is really cruel to manipulate someone in a moment where they've trusted you enough to be close to them like that.

yeah i think its rly rare for someone to be in some true demonic possession shit but i feel there can be dark things that linger *around* people who have weak spiritual armor and sort of, feast off their energy & create misfortunes around the person that generate bad energy for it to feed off of. but i dont think they have too much control over your actions like i would imagine for someone who's truly possessed. i feel a lot of ppl have these sort of ambient malignant attachments especially if they keep a lot of dark imagery & symbols around thinking it's just an aesthetic.

thas just my thoughts....really bored tonite so im typing a lot.... i love sex i think it can be so beautiful and restoring, it helps me feel so much happier in life to have good sex regularly i dont think sex or sexiness is evil. i just think its easy for ppl w bad intentions to turn it into this whole twisted ass mind game when it shld rly b so simple and natural and a loving connection that sets u free......be safe out there anon be discerning! protect you heart..<3

[piracytheorist]

OUAT-style heart-ripping headcanons!

I swear this is gonna go into Spy x Family territory don't worry read on.

So until some years ago I was very, very into the TV show Once Upon a Time. It's a show that went off the rails so many times and so poorly, but it had this concept where you could remove other people's hearts (or your own) via magic. Doing so will not kill your victim (as long as magic is intact) and apparently won't have effects on their way of life, but by holding their heart in your hands you can either hurt them, control their actions, or kill them.

In rare cases, depending on circumstances and intentions, removing one's heart dulls their emotions. There was a case where a character removed her own heart (and kept it safe and protected in a box hidden away) to stop herself from feeling emotions so she could focus on her ambitions instead.

It may or may not be inspired by Kingdom Hearts, I haven't played those games so I don't know for sure but I have heard about it over the years of watching OUAT.

In any case, it was a very interesting storytelling device which unfortunately the writers didn't use as much as they should have imo, and one of the things that have stayed with me since I first watched the show up until now, more than ten years since.

And I was thinking... this would 100% be something someone like Twilight would do. You can pretty much keep the story as is, only have it so that magic users are very few and have enough weak spots that they decide to hide instead of using their powers to take over the world.

And in this scenario, WISE has a few such magic users, employing them for their deep, dark secret: all of its spies that work on the field have agreed to have their hearts removed, for three main reasons: First, so that their emotions won't get in the way of their work. Second, so that if they're captured by enemies, the enemies won't have a heart to control and force them to spill their secrets. And third, in case they're compromised and captured beyond salvation and have no ways of killing themselves, WISE would do it for them by crushing their hearts.

Fully prepared to lose all sense of self in the name of peace, Twilight agrees to have his heart removed and joins their ranks. For quite a long time, it's an actual relief to not feel the pain of his past, to forget his grief and despair and loneliness.

But what they didn't take into account for this is what motivated Twilight. He wants to create a world where children don't need to cry - that's a very empathetic motive, one that shows how sensitive he is to other people's feelings and how much hope and trust he has for the next generation, that he wants to create a peaceful environment for them to grow up in. And those were his thoughts when he stood in front of WISE's magician and allowed them to bury their hand into his chest and pull out his heart.

And so, against their knowledge and planning, a part of himself stays intact. For most of his missions, this doesn't prove to be an impediment or cause any issues. He never has to work with children, so his buried feelings about them don't resurface... until he's assigned Operation Strix and he has to adopt a child and get married.

Story proceeds as in canon. Anya sometimes hears Twilight's thoughts about how WISE spies are "heartless" but she doesn't take it literally. Heart-ripping isn't a technique known to the wide public, and only a few elite crime organizations employ magic users to rip out the hearts of enemies and hostages to abstract information.

So Anya doesn't realize Twilight literally means he's heartless, until Nightfall's visits the Forger household the first time. In Nightfall's case, her main thought while getting her heart ripped out was to prove her worth to Twilight so they could end up together, so her feelings for him have stayed intact, and she doesn't bother about telling WISE that their heart-ripping plan has flaws.

During that visit, Nightfall thinks about all that and Anya for the first time realizes what her papa has meant all along; he literally doesn't have his heart in his chest and is unable of feeling anything... and a few minutes later, she hears Nightfall's thoughts about how his smile has an inkling of true emotion hidden behind it.

That's enough to console her and believe that her papa is Special™ and can actually feel things.

Now, WISE does indeed have gaps in their knowledge about heart-ripping. Since it's established that magic users operate in the shadows, there's no actual evidence or research about how that whole thing works. They've just noticed how more robotic and cold people act without their hearts, and they've drawn the conclusion that it's an effective means of making their agents more professional as well as ensure they won't ever reveal any intel against their knowledge. Plus, all agents give free, full and informed consent for the procedure, so WISE doesn't care about the moral implications of the whole thing.

Twilight does the same... until the Realization of Feelings™ hits. He spends, of course, a lot of time denying it, and then he has a huge dilemma of whether he should tell WISE that despite their efforts, "heartless" people can still be influenced by their feelings. Yor, who'd heard before about the so-called "heartless" spies, finds out that her fake husband (whom she's in love with by that point) is one of them, and that makes things even worse and shatters her trust of him. At the same time, Twilight finds out about her, they fight, enemies attack, Yor is heavily wounded and Twilight for 2.07 seconds thinks "I should let her die"... but then he picks her up, brings her back home and nurses her to health. Yor trusts that at least he cares enough about Anya to not want her to lose her mother, so she agrees to a reluctant cohabiting for Anya's sake.

Anyway, full Identity Reveals ensue a little later, Twilight has the Shock™ of his life when he learns Anya knew everything all along... and after a mission blunder where WISE wants to remove him from the operation he tells Handler that the heart-ripping plan didn't work, and he doesn't want to be removed from the family until absolutely, life-threatening necessary.

Handler (who is also "heartless") reveals to him she knew he was growing feelings but didn't have the heart (heh) to do anything that could disrupt the happiness he'd been due all along. She agrees to pass on an excuse to her bosses so Operation Strix can be continued, and everything stays stable... until Twilight hits her with the question of whether he can have his heart back.

Now this worries her a LOT because a spy getting their heart back basically equates to a resignation letter, but Twilight wants to stay in the field. She refuses, saying it's either one or the other. Twilight is conflicted because he's realized he loves his family a TON but feels half of a person and wants to be whole for them. On the other hand, he doesn't want to resign and stop fighting for peace.

And well, I don't know where the story is going or how it's going to conclude (I don't read the manga either so please no spoilers about it), but I think he'd only be satisfied with a secure peace treaty between the two countries... but there would need to be Angst™ about him wanting his heart back to give his family the same amount of love and dedication they're giving to him.

That's all I got for now lol. Thought I'd share since I wrote it all up :D

[kachikirby]

If you’re willing, uhh, ♟️🐛🌙🦋🥀 or Kurabe and/or Fetty (and/or anyone else)?

I'll do whatever I haven't answered for them and probably add... hmm... maybe Mikuto? Yeah, I'll do Mikuto too. I have fun writing these answers out for him!

Putting these under a cut.

-

Does your OC get possessed easily, or do they have the willpower to fight back against any possible attempts? Have they been possessed before?

Kurabe: Generally, she does have the willpower to fight back against possession. There will be a time where she gets possessed in GranEssex Chronicles, but that will be when she's already mentally weakened due to certain events.

Fettuccine: She has the willpower against mental possession, but if it's more physical, she might struggle more. She's in the middle when it comes to her strength as a Limet because she's a non-combatant and most of her fighting ability is for self-defense. Thankfully she's never been possessed before.

Mikuto: In the past, he might have been easily possessed, but after he meets Kurabe, he wouldn't be so easily possessed. Basically he'll at least put up a good fight against the possessor if he does get possessed.

What are your OC’s greatest fears, and why? How do they act or react when they’re afraid?

Kurabe: Other than the usual "losing people she cares about, and she couldn't do anything about it", her most interesting greatest fear imo is that she's afraid of the dark. While it might seem silly for a powerful warrior like her to be afraid of the dark, it makes sense in context. Kurabe was originally an orphan born on Nightfall, a planet covered in eternal darkness that was full of terrifying monsters who lived in the darkness. One day, the lights in the city that kept the monsters away went out and they descended on the citizens. Kurabe was one of the few who survived thanks to her mentor and father figure saving her, but it resulted in her developing an intense fear of the dark.

Normally, if Kurabe is afraid, she won't show it due to needing to not show fear as a commander, but you'd be able to tell she is a lot more on-edge than she normally is. Of course, this is unless you put her in a completely dark room. In complete darkness, she has a panic attack where she hallucinates being surrounded by the monsters of Nightfall.

Fettuccine: Her two fears are pretty simple actually. Losing the people she cares about and being haunted by the ghosts of those who were led to death by her interrogations.

When she's afraid, she does her best to hide it, but you might be able to see her hand trembling slightly or small signs like that. She's the chief interrogation officer of Task Force Zetta, she kind of has to be good at hiding emotions. However, she will discuss it to someone she trusts like Risotto, Pandoro, Meta, or Raita in private if she needs to.

Mikuto: His greatest fear is losing friends because of his innate Crash Ability. In my AU, it's extremely rare for a puffball to just naturally have the Crash Ability without needing to inhale something, and Mikuto is one of those rare people. Unfortunately, it means that it can activate if he gets particularly angry, so that's why he's so laid back.

If he gets frightened, he does slightly jump and cringe, but he then calms down quickly.

Is your OC a particularly light or heavy sleeper? Somewhere in-between? Do they take naps?

Kurabe: Kurabe is in-between because sometimes she has to wake up ASAP due to missions or meetings. Though I will say an interesting fact is that she can sleep just about anywhere due to her training. She only really takes naps if she's been awake for a long time or just feels tired due to stress.

Fettuccine: Fetty is also in between. Like Kurabe, she's observant enough to notice if something is wrong when she's sleeping, but she also can quickly fall back asleep if needed. Similarly to Kurabe, if she's particularly tired, she'll take a nap. (She does it a lot more after Sieg and Freya are born, actually)

Mikuto: HEAVY sleeper. He also tends to take naps a lot because of how laid back he is. The funniest part is he's actually really observant of his surroundings even when he's asleep, so he can sometimes respond to questions while he's sleeping or drag Kurabe back into bed if he senses she's still tired when she wakes up.

Does your OC ‘fear the reaper’, so to speak? If they fused with Morpho Knight, what sort of form would they take on?

Kurabe: As a soldier in the Organization, Kurabe is not afraid of the reaper and knows that it is simply part of her job that he will come for her someday. Just not any time soon even if she should be dead because she has survived insane odds, leading to her being called "the Unkillable".

As for what form she would take if fused with Morpho, I imagine something similar to Galacta Knight, maybe with a more transparent veil running down her back that could transition to being butterfly wings. Lots of Ice and ESP based attacks too.

Fettuccine: Fettuccine is the same as Kurabe. She understands that death is part of her life as a soldier, but that doesn't mean she's not afraid of it. Though this fear has lessened in later years, especially as she's started to do many of the things she's dreamed of (i.e. retiring and settling down with Meta) and she's not as afraid now.

As for what form a fusion would take: there is two options. If it's her humanoid form, I'm imagining something akin to a fairy knight. Maybe most of the attacks are psychology-based because Fetty isn't exactly a fighter.

The second option is if it's blob mode. Just imagine a metal blob with Morpho's mask and butterfly wings and that's it. Probably one of the worst forms for Morpho to be stuck in if they want to do anything.

Mikuto: He just doesn't think about it too much if I'm being honest. He understands that death is inevitable, but he doesn't make a big deal about it.

I think for MIkuto's fusion with Morpho, there would be a lot more nature-based attacks due to Mikuto's affinity with the Leaf Ability. Overall, design will likely be the same as normal Morpho.

Do they have a Soul form? What would it look and act like? How much control over themselves do they have? Is it still possible to save them, or are they too far gone?

Kurabe: She doesn't have a Soul form, and it's the case of why would you want to make her more powerful than she already is!? /j

Her Soul Form would likely be more armored, and she would throw out Crimson Shadow Spike like it's nothing because I feel like if she did gain one, it would be for the purpose of defeating an enemy. even stronger than her.

I feel like the amount of control she would have would vary. Just have Mikuto with her for best control.

Fettuccine: She does not have a Soul form and I think the closest I can think of hers looking like if she did have one is something like one of the Ashen/META ships from Azur Lane.

I feel like it depends on how she gains a Soul Form, but I think that the most guaranteed way to save her is to have Meta talk to her.

Mikuto: He doesn't have one either and I think it would be another case of "too horrifying to think about" because he could potentially spam the Crash Ability if he has one.

Thought I think he has the easiest solution of "just have Kurabe freeze him".

[wiltedprayers]

e, j and p for the hbo war ask game!

thank you so much for the ask! <3

e — what was a character arc in any of the shows that you loved?

answered here! but to add to that, I enjoy leckie's arc so much so that episode 4 of the pacific (gloucester/pavuvu/banika) is my favorite of the bunch — I love that the show took the time to explore in-depth the effects of warfare on the soldiers' mental health instead of just going 'well war sure sucks.' it's portrayed very well, and it's always stood out to me the character of gibson and his chat with leckie, which is incredibly interesting: how hopeless it is, how dark, the impact it has on leckie (who's already in a pretty bad place) and how it shapes his already thwarted view of life. so basically it's hard to talk about leckie's character arc without going off about banika's psychiatric hospital and its importance/effect on his psyche, since it's a key aspect of his story imo.

j — do you read fic for any of the shows? if so, rec a few of your favorites.

yes, of course! I mainly read winnix and hilldane (predictably...) and im putting together a list of hilldane fic recs, so I'll leave some of them here:

Lifer by reservoirbetweenus — hilldane. I can't explain how much I love this fic. it's post-war, with eddie going through the korea war and andy having a hard time adjusting to civilian life without him. can't recommend it enough!

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Skew — hilldane. god oh god. so good. i love hilldane before-peleliu fics and this one is amazing and has great andy characterization!

when our history's told by seabright — hilldane. I've said it before but i really enjoy it when andy's disability is explored in fic. this one's amazing (and also post-war!)

Things He Cannot Lose by churchkey — winnix extra. paris/aldbourne angst my beloved! key moment in the winnix fanon.

p — what's a headcanon you have for any one of the shows?

im gonna be honest, im not one for headcanons — not because I don't enjoy them but basically because im very passionate about the source material, and whenever I think about a hc i chastise myself and go 'he would never say that.' but these are limitations for myself mostly, I love seeing everyone else's thoughts! for band of brothers, though, i do like to think about winnix going together to Harry's wedding — as friends, of course. for the pacific, I think it's fairly obvious eugene was a bit in love with andy/eddie, and also I love the idea of chuckler/runner/hoosier/leckie all finding each other at some hospital after peleliu (they did meet again irl, so)

(this ask took me so long to write I kept going over my fic recs and the whole thing got deleted, so I had to start over. damn you tumblr.)

[ectonurites]

No hate meant towards him at all, but ngl I really kinda didn’t think Tim and Bernard would make it this far as a couple or like, last this long? I’m not even sure Meghan Fitzmartin thought they would, because I remember an interview or something where she was asked why she chose Bernard and rather than it being something about his character or relationship with Tim, she said it was because he was from the time period in comics she wanted to evoke, iirc. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Ah yes, so first of all I do know exactly which interview you're talking about, I had gone and transcribed the section you're referencing myself a while back! I'm not gonna copy & paste all of that, but here is a link to the post where I did it so you can see her exact phrasing.

One thing I do want to note is that Bernard's relationship to Tim was at least kind of part of her reasoning—specifically that Bernard was a friend of Tim's who existed outside of the hero life: "[...] it really was important for it to be like, ya know, not in a superhero space but like in a- in a very Tim personal space. Like, this is who Tim Drake is and this is a person who knows Tim Drake."

Also, funnily enough your paraphrasing ("because he was from the time period in comics she wanted to evoke") actually kind of... sounds more like it's based on a line in the commentary I made where I was explaining how I interpreted what she said ("A seemingly big factor in why Bernard was chosen was to evoke feelings of that specific time") rather than her actual words ("I, um, I really sort of wanted to get back to that particular emotional space for Tim.") Maybe we just make similar word choices though lmao.

But anyways: I did specifically link the version of that post where I had made that additional commentary talking through my thoughts on the reasoning behind picking Bernard—tldr being that imo the story of Sum of Our Parts was about 'Tim figuring out his identity' above 'Tim finding the ultimate romance', so picking Bernard as a supporting character from Tim's old solo run to solidify and support the theme [rather than an extensive history with Tim being the deciding factor] made plenty of sense for the story being told and worked effectively.

Now, that post was written in 2021 so obviously things are in a different place now—but I do say something there that I wanna bring up, because I think it captures what my opinion on the future of the relationship had been back when it was new:

"From here on they could either further develop the relationship to be something with a lot of romance, or maybe Bernard just serves his purpose as the guy Tim realizes he likes guys with and they part ways to go on to date other people, either thing could work and make sense depending on what stories future writers (either Fitzmartin if she gets to continue with Tim after Urban Legends #10, or anyone else who picks him up for content focused on him in the future) are trying to tell."

I was always in a 'this could go several different ways' camp! Kept an open mind, lmao. And I do think that like, from the ending point of Sum of Our Parts, that was probably the intent—while having one bit to continue the story in Urban Legends #10 was obviously secured by the time of publication for #6, the vague end note of #10 (which just states the fact that Tim would get content in 2022, not specifying what) definitely implies that beyond that/at that point in time things were less certain about his upcoming direction. Having things end in an open enough way where if Meghan didn't get to continue with Tim there would be a complete story, but that if things did get to continue with her she'd have a plan/path to go down, yk?

And I think it's clear now that they did end up going down the 'further developing it' path since Meghan stayed on as Tim's writer for a while (between Tim Drake: Robin and Dark Crisis: Young Justice). And frankly, despite the reasoning behind Bernard being chosen seeming more theme-related than anything else, I think it's also clear Meghan just had a fondness for him/that timeframe he came from, hence why she took the opportunity to explore things further with them when she was given it. Like, idk maybe this is just based on Vibes™ but I feel like Meghan's intent was always to keep going with the Tim/Bernard thing as long as she was the one writing Tim.

I do feel like if anyone else had ended up as Tim's primary writer after the Urban Legends story, things may have turned out differently and the relationship may not have lasted the way it has—but it's hard to truly say since that's not what happened.

Now that she's not currently slated for anything upcoming with Tim (at least not that I'm aware of, frankly Tim doesn't have much coming up at all aside from a general 'he'll likely be showing up in some capacity in batbooks' sentiment) I think the future of the two of them is a bit less steady. Not that I think they're immediately doomed or anything, but just that next time Tim gets solo content it could easily be from someone who doesn't want to deal with a civilian boyfriend element, who knows. But now that they actually do have some content under their belt in Tim Drake: Robin, it could be something someone else wants to pick up and explore even more, too. It's simply... hard to say!

But basically: I definitely understand being surprised they've lasted this long, because a part of me is surprised about that too/didn't expect it to last this long—but another part of me is less surprised based on some factors of the situation (namely just: who has been doing the majority of writing of Tim).

[edelgarfield]

Have you ever thought about durge sibling angst but as the younger sibling? Idk much about bg1 and 2 but in bg3 it's cannon that that protagonist was morally good and a bhaal spawn and was the previous ruler of the gate before wylls dad but died when bhaal came back to life 20ish years ago. If your durge is old enough and has been in the gate for long enough, why didn't bg1 protag notice the cult to their father under their feet? Why didn't they save their siblings? Why didn't they care?

I actually don't think I have and I'm not sure why now that you mention it.

as far as the timeline with respect to bhaal's resurrection, it's a huge damn mess that I'm pretty sure the game just handwaves for convenience, I don't think theres an actual answer. So the "canon" protagonist of BG1 & BG2 is "Abdel Adrian" or "Gorion's Ward" on the wiki.

And he died exactly 10 years before the events of the game in 1482. the dark urge is mostly left up to the player, BUT the "canonical" version of Dark Urge was operating under Bhaal's influence by 1477. the ARG where Durge was revealed has them committing a string of murders in Baldur's Gate in 1477.

this part is just my headcanon but it's also the closest we ever get to a "canon" age for Durge; iirc Sceleritas says he was sent to serve Durge when they reached the "age of maturity," meaning Durge has to be at least 18 by 1477, meaning they have to be at least 33 by the events of the game. If you assume the string of murders from the ARG is Durge's first outing as a Bhaalspawn, which is my personal hc, that would make them exactly 33.

As for why Abdel Adrian doesn't notice the cult, that's an extremely good question. also Durge & Abdel Adrian being alive at the same time kinda throws a whole wrench in the resurrection plot in the first place, but you can potentially handwave it by saying Durge is special.

But ignoring all the timeline weirdness, there's a tweet thread from one of the creators of the Forgotten Realms that basically says even after choosing to reject Bhaal, Abdel Adrian was still under Bhaal's influence to some extent, so you can potentially use that as an explanation;

basically "abdel adrian rejecting bhaal was actually part of bhaal's grand plan all along" & you could theorize that Bhaal's remaining influence over Adrian kept him from discovering the cult's operations. (and i have no idea what exactly this means for Durge post-game but I have thought abt it)

imo it makes the most sense for the Cult of Bhaal to have been operating largely in secret before Bhaal's resurrection. For what it's worth, they are technically STILL operating in secret during the events of the game. Even though to the player their involvement is extremely obvious & blatant, narratively the average citizen of Baldur's Gate isn't aware of the resurgence of the cult. and even in the game, even though you KNOW the Cult of Bhaal is involved, you still have to jump through a ton of hoops to get into their temple, and that's during a period of high activity. Hell, Orin literally invites you there and you STILL have to do a bunch of bullshit to get in.

Like obviously the parts of the city we get to explore feel very dense & crowded, & people joke abt the temple of Bhaal being three feet away from Cazador's dungeon, but I think you have to chalk some of that up to quirks of the genre. It would be much more realistic to have a giant empty city with all the points of interest spread out, and a giant empty sewer with the temple of Bhaal hidden super far away. but no game is going to make a bunch of assets just to fill space & it would drive players absolutely nuts if the map was filled with Empty Warehouses 1-49

all that is to say, I think if the Cult is actively trying to lay low, especially during a period where they're, say, planning for the resurrection of their dead god (and obviously they're only going to have a handful of very devoted worshippers at this time, bc their god is, y'know, dead) I think they're capable of more secrecy than we see in the game. especially since they're known to use changelings & doppelgangers.

additionally, even if you know the Cult of Bhaal is back in business, I think knowing they're around & actually being able to find and enter their temple without getting yourself killed are two different things.

while abdel adrian's involvement/knowledge of Durge is up to speculation & honestly i would love to see more people delve into the game's lore & answer these questions. did Durge look up to gorion's ward as a hero when they were young in baldur's gate? did they always feel a connection to the story of The Hero of Baldur's Gate & not know why? how did they feel abt Sarevok in the legends? did they cross paths with Abdel Adrian once like two ships passing in the night, not realizing they were actually siblings?

my personal take is that abdel adrian just didn't know abt the Cult's resurgence or Durge. Or even if he did know abt the Cult beginning operations again, IMO he was under the impression that Bhaal's divine power was hidden away beyond Bhaal's reach & he shouldn't be a threat, so even if his cult is acting up again, I doubt it's the first time they've tried to convince people Bhaal is definitely for sure coming back this time believe us. He probably had people keeping an eye on it, and tried to counteract the cult when he could, but it wouldn't be the most pressing issue on his plate bc he had a whole ass city to run. and again, exactly how much influence Bhaal still had over Adrian at this point is up to speculation, but he had at least SOME.

[nilboxes]

Kaleb Cross comes home to you in the middle of the night after completing a job and wakes you up for his needs.

Kaleb Cross/Gender Neutral Reader. Explicit. PWP, throatfucking and more.

Extensive notes and ramblings below.

Haha. Looking through all the Kaleb Cross art while really sleepy and I'm like yeah let's use my limited brain power to write something extremely horny. No regrets tbh👍

What with being a PWP and very trying to be gender neutral, I couldn't insert much in here, but I have thought long and hard, a lot of times, about how Revrev was like before he was uploaded into a bot.

Idk but there's two lines that give us a glimpse into how he was before "he used to need a reason to kill, but now he's not that man anymore" regarding Revenant and "Kaleb Cross has no morals" so they are kinda contradictory but I'm trying to wrap my head around it

IMO I think as a human "he needs a reason" is just... "Hammond said the guy should pay" is a reason enough (and as Rev he just kills indiscriminately if/when he can). I also feel like he's sadistic with adults but the kids of his targets he offs quick and painless, sparing them the anguish of having their life flipped upside down, also it just reduces revenge-plots on him down the line (Loba lmao) considering he was rather old for a hitman (44?!?!?! old man) I do really believe he excelled in his job in all manner of aspects. I imagine he'd do stuff like social engineering (ding dong hello it's ur cable guy) and thus would be a rather well-rounded individual capable of a range of human emotion.

That's a long-winded way to say I do imagine Kaleb Cross kept some manner of relationships with others, probably a lover, or a bunch of them even. I don't think he'd commit to one and if it were only just one it wouldn't be sunshine and roses. Sex would be amazeballs, but he'd be toxic in all the other ways. I hc in this he doesn't remove his clothes during sex, especially when he's in his handsome hitman gear (the suit) kinda like his equivalent of a leather dom gear lmao but it's mostly a demonstration and immersion of himself in his element of power. That's how I imagined him here in this fic, he just completed a kill and he's sooo on top of the world and he's full of horny. Suit's on, dick's out.

In the Revtane fic I imply he did have a relationship too, and when I was writing this I imagine the "reader" and the relationship he had bittersweet memories of are the same. I always imagine if he were to have a relationship that the person would definitely know he's a hitman, would also be a part of the syndicate in a way or another (therefore somehow Outlands upperclass with a significant backing/power) and be familiar with the kind of sociopathy it takes to be on top. So, def it's a toxic relationship on both sides, but it somehow works. There's love there I GUESS but it's not a normal, domestic bliss kinda love... also yes I do really think he's gay af (even if a femme person dressed him he wouldn't look like that I s2g) but for delulu purposes I made it gender neutral

Anyway yes all that for a 1.7k word fic haha. I have so many ideas for the revtane fic I'm writing but I'm letting that one stew even more.

[det2x-fanfic-dump]

OBEY ME/ TWST MC HEADCANON

My Twisted Wonderland Yuu-sona and Obey me Yuki-sona for my fanfic

Basically my OC of my own Yuu-sona or Yuki-sona for these two games. Mostly based on Obey Me Lore since I thought...hey...they both started with "Yu" so why not...and im kinda lazy to do OCs since they're basically the same imo.

Name: Yuki Hitsuji 

Obey Me’s default MC name [Yuki] is used instead of Yuu is because they both began with “Yu”. So it can be Yuki or Yuuki.  Hitsuji is used as her last name because I like to have words like what Twisted Wonderland’s characters are named. Hitsuji is Sheep in Japanese and since Obey Me MC is a sheep…yeah

Alternative Name that I thought of in the middle of writing my long series crossover: Yuuki Lambert (Reason: Lamb-ert hehe)

Age: 15 years old

Pronoun: She/her/them

Physical Description:

Hair:  Long slightly curly black hair

Eyes: Dark blue eyes with purple gradient

Height:  5 feet or 1.52 Meters

Accessories:

Often wears a cat bell tied in her ribbons ;

Will often wear a magical black ribbon during her time in the Devildom. This ribbon often changed color depending on which demon brother she's near with. It will turn to black if they’re a lot.

Has a sheep horn headband in the Devildom but forgot when she got isekai'd to Twisted Wonderland.

Personality:

Playful

[She likes to tease others and jokes around. She’s a sorta go-to-the-flow person if there was no conflicts or problems in the situation.]

Adaptability

[Arriving in the Devildom and the brothers often taking her to unimaginable places makes her open to accept any unexpected situations and events.  Hence, her arriving in the magical world of Twisted Wonderland didn’t bother her that much except for wanting to go back home at first.]

Empathetic

[She always likes to help and understand feelings of those who she encountered and interacted with. However, she doesn’t want others’ to worry when it comes to problems regarding her so she often kept it to herself]

Reckless and Nosy 

[Because of her empathy, she has this sense of obligation of finding out the truth in order to figure out someone’s worries. She would be nosy enough to check on things she has nothing to do with in order.]

Inspiration: MC in both fandoms are pretty much involved in the plot, either having a role or just a spectator during overblots

Tactical Thinker

[Yuki had developed herself into having a tactical mind for survival during her first few days living in House of Lamentation and the Devildom.]

Reason: I imagine living in hell is a nightmare no matter how attractive the characters are. It’s still hell. So even tho, it's stated that MC is very adaptable...I imagine her first days in the Devildom and has to quickly think ahead to survive.

Has trouble at lying (Based in Obey me wiki)

[Yuki had a pet peeve of avoiding eye contact with the person she’s lying to and blinking continuously whenever she told a lie. She would often speak before she thought hence she would jumble her words in an attempt to hide her secret.]

Inspiration: Luci said so somewhere in the game so why not.

Oblivious to Romantic Feelings

[Yuki has too much on her plate to think of Romance. She often gives the benefit of a doubt to everything unless someone straight out say it to her face their feelings for her.]

Inspiration: It’s an MC and Author is indecisive and loves/likes every character. both TWST and Obey Me are not an otome game with specific  romantic routes so what’s the point of having a specific ship. 

Affiliation in Devildom/ Royal Academy of Diavolo:

Student Council Prefect (Where she has to enforce discipline to the Student Council)

Attendant and Babysitter in House Lamentation (Yuki had to go to House of Lamentation to check on the brothers and basically serve under their needs)

Solomon’s Sorcerer Apprentice (Yuki had special lessons from Solomon about using Magic and other sorcery things)

Affiliation in Night Raven:

Ramshackle Dormitory’s Official Prefect (Prologue)

An Unofficial member of the Heartslabyul Dorm (where she is obliged to attend to the unbirthday parties at the end of  Heartslabyul Arc)

Savanaclaw’s Voluntary Assistant (where she volunteers to take Ruggie’s errand boy job in exchange for Savanaclaw members to help her in her contract with Azul)

Voluntary Maid Waitress in Mostro Lounge (Where she has to ork at Mostro Lounge to pay the damages she committed during Azul’s Overblot)

(Tba cuz idk yet, fanfic's not done)

Powers and Skills: 

1. Forming Pacts and Contracts:

[Yuki developed a knowledge of formings pacts because of her exposure in making pacts with the seven demons in her time in the Devildom.

Yuki and Azul might make bond over this similarity but unlike Azul, who is an expert to contracts in paper form, Yuki used verbal contracts and use of blood if necessary. ]

Summoning Creatures

[Because of her pacts, she can summon the demon she makes a pact with the use of a magical item or blood.]

Elemental Magic, Curses, etc.

[She learned this while studying in RAD and Solomon’s tutelage.]

Whatever Lilith’s power is supposed to be

[Reason: She’s a descendant of a supernatural being so she probably have them in her blood.]

Additional Skills Acquired under Solomon’s Teaching:

[ I added this section because I think Solomon influences Obey Me! MC a lot. Being the other human exchange student in a world that's filled with supernaturals, I HC'ed that MC seeks human comfort in Solomon even though he's not human anymore cuz immortality lol]

Potion Making and Culinary Arts

[Yuki had developed a knack of Potion-making because of Solomon’s guidance and exposure. She had also developed her culinary skills because of her months of living with Solomon under the same roof. 

Flying with Brooms

[Yuki is pretty decent at using a broom for flying. Solomon taught her for a week after a random discussion about magic transportation however she prefers using teleportation magic or items instead]