#Some are obvious but now i am thinking other characters might be other entities as well

[lolgamer2309]

You know what i still sometimes think about ? TMA x FableSMP stuff. It would be so neattt but i don't have the motivation to write stuff about it.

[r3dkn0ts]

I'm somewhat curious because everyone has their own perception of killers in dbd before they came into the realm. Out of all your faves (like Caleb, Tarhos, Billy ect..) do you think any of them are still....well virgins?? Most of them were either too focused on revenge and bloodshed to even think about ass or coochie (lookin right at you slinger also I LOVE UR BLOG SM)

I have other stuff in the drafts I'm working on atm ( do not worry followers! it will be posted! eventually! ) but Man this just. rattled my brain so hard that I had to start writing Immediately

I'm just gonna pick the guys you listed or else I'd be rambling way too much and also idk what the hell to categorize this as so ummmmm just putting it under the cut. I guess these are more like character studies than anything?

SEXUAL HEADCANONS FOR THE DBD KILLERS Featuring Caleb Quinn, Tarhos Kovács, and Max Thompson Jr.

Themes: Smut, smut, and a little bit of fluff at the end. Honestly, what did you expect? Warnings: Mentions of canon-typical violence

The Deathslinger / Caleb Quinn - I'd imagine Caleb is around his mid-to-late 60s ( if you don't think too hard about the time-fuckery that is the Entity's Realm ), so the man definitely has some years under his belt. - When it comes to sex, though, he might've fooled around with one or two folks in his younger days. Like most other cowpoke of his time, he didn't really care what gender he was laying down with. - Yes, I am saying that Caleb is pansexual. All cowboys are at least a little bit gay. I don't make the rules. - He definitely didn't see any action after nearly killing Bayshore and being stuck in a penitentiary for 15 years straight, that's for sure. - Plus, there's no good reason to be horny in a place like that. - That being said, he knows the basics and maybe a trick here or there, so he's not a total buffoon, but he's not a floozy either.

The Knight / Tarhos Kovács - Being taken from his home and put into slavery at such a young age, he didn't exactly have a normal childhood. - Tarhos didn't have the time to be concerned with anything remotely romantic or sexual, constantly going on campaigns with his men and killing everyone that stood in their way. - He would never admit it to anyone, even himself, but this man is so touch-starved and needy that just hugging him would probably give him a boner as stiff as his claymore. - Tarhos tries to ignore sexual urges until they go away, but that doesn't always work, so he might have to rub one out once in a while. He feels guilty about it every time. - Yeah, he's a virgin. No experience at all.

The Hillbilly / Max Thompson Jr. - Oh, this poor boy. We all know his story by now. It's pretty obvious that he never had any physical contact, much less that of a romantic or sexual nature. - Back in his time, television shows weren't nearly as scandalous as nowadays. There was no way of accessing pornographic material unless you got special magazines, which he of course never did. - Going through puberty, he would feel strange and uncomfortable, just trying to ignore the weird feelings he had. It made him want to crawl out of his own skin. - Those habits stuck with him into his adulthood, constantly fighting his own body and trying anything to get the strange feelings to go away. Eventually, he figured out that friction was the easiest method. - You could say he's "innocent", but I prefer "clueless". - If someone were to truly earn his trust and explain to him what erections, masturbation, and sex are, he'd get super flustered and cover his face in shame. - His first time would need to be slow and more of a tutorial than anything else. Dude's probably gonna cum as soon as a hand touches him. Just be patient.

[justatalkingface]

I saw your post about Black Whip and I wanted to get your opinion on something that to me, is so damn obvious, but maybe I am looking at it differently than others.

When Midoriya is explained how Black Whip works, why isn’t the first thing in his head is, “Hey, I should talk and pick at Tokoyami’s brain to get some insight from him on how to keep it under control!”? Because when Banjo explained Black Whip, my mind immediately went, “That’s literally Dark Shadow, just not sentient.”

And it would have been a perfect segway into Tokoyami possibly becoming a more defined character if he’s hanging around Midoriya and they chat and Izuku gets to know Tokoyami better. Because for the most part, Tokoyami is around Hawks a lot, but he acts a bit like a blind fanboy to him and we never explore Tokoyami more, it’s always about Hawks.

Then it could have started a trend. When Midoriya unlocks Float, then introduce Uraraka into the meetings. And both her and Tokoyami can replace Bakugou because he was absolutely useless and obnoxious in Midoriya’s “training”. And for the other quirks, Midoriya will gradually gain his own circle of trust with OFA and the stored quirks through their help of similar quirks or advice from other brainy students like Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Todoroki. Such as how All Might had his own circle that knew the actual truth about OFA when he was it’s wielder.

I don’t know, I just think Horikoshi squandered an opportunity to flesh a few more prominent characters and instead stuck to the boring, tedious BakuDeku scenes.

*tilts head*

That... that is actually a really good point? I never thought of it, probably because he wasn't really even a character at that point, but it makes a lot of sense.

Both of them are dark, shapeshifting energy, and both of them require self control... somehow. Not quite sure how that works for Tokoyami since they never really got into how he 'self controls' a separate entity, but, damn. This would have been a great way to get into it. I mean, hell, in the war arc Izuku uses Black Whip to get past his body's limitations by supporting himself and cushioning impact of OFA (which I'm... eh on), but that's really similar to how Tokoyami uses his Quirk later on in the story with Black Abyss. That being a collaboration idea between them is great character development, and makes these newer power ideas feel more organic than they are when a big fight rolls around and Character X deploys New Power Y seemingly out of nowhere.

And using that as a segway into introducing OFA to the rest of the class, rather than just finding out in a note (I mean, considering how disconnected all of that felt by that point, I'm kind of confused to why Izuku even told them at that point, you know?)? Using Izuku as the glue to bind 1A together (like he was implied to at one point, before they stopped being relevent)? That's honestly inspired, it really is.

So much of the drama thus far in the Final Arc is built around 1A, but they're so out of focus, so undeveloped, and such strangers that it makes it all fall flat...er. But if we get an arc or two of Izuku binding them all together, making them relevent again, then the stakes would feel that much bigger to us (and you know, we could avoid the Dark Deku arc all together, or at least make it feel more... anything, really. And less dumb.)

Hori squandering opportunities to waste them utterly, or drop some fraction of the idea on someone else isn't a new thing, but damn, now I'm really regretting this was never a thing.

[erstwhilesparrow]

might make a longer post later about more details from the video, but have been thinking especially about how delighted i am at the ways characters are categorizing and drawing lines around things in owen's newest new life ep? careful about the cut; there's spoilers in there.

i think... in other series, or watching videos created by other ccs, if someone monologued at the audience about how they think the mechanics of the world work, i would just take that at face-value and move on? this is a thing people do. minecraft is pretty open-ended -- the things that happen in it and the mechanics players interact with can have many interpretations, and probably the person holding the camera is telling you their interpretation so we have The Intended Way To Understand The Rest Of The Video. or at the very least, those interpretations don't tend to be characterizingly wrong? i'm thinking of pixlriffs in empires season two, who posits a theory in-character about how dreams connect different worlds. i'm thinking about scott literally in his most recent new life video saying to us, "oh, that bolt of lightning must be my light snare, one of my powers." these things tell us more about the world and its mechanics, smoothing over the gap between game and interpretation, than about the people sharing those understandings.

so it's. really really fun to me that owen is playing with that? sparrow newlife is just straight up wrong about a bunch of things, but he also has a really obvious stake in maintaining the distinctions and categorizations he's had in place so far. i'm thinking particularly about how long he goes on insisting that the sculk is good and the warden is bad -- it's something he's been saying some variation on since he first became sculk, and it's also increasingly evident that it's just not true! sure, it's in the warden's mind that he find the otherside and the memories therein, but those flashes of memory are about the sculk spreading. he's been saying himself that the sculk wants to spread! and at the end of the episode, sparrow, despite insisting he's a sculk hybrid, hears scott's heartbeat and literally sniffs him out like a warden. there's not really a perfect separation between sculk and warden even on the level of sparrow's hybrid abilities, but he's so lonely and scared, and he's been so convinced for so long that being a hybrid is the best or only way to be wanted and liked -- he needs the sculk to be benevolent, to have welcomed him into the fold because it wants him just for being him. thinking about his final monologue: he's so deeply hurt that, specifically, the sculk used him! he hasn't been upset about being sculk; he's upset that it didn't ultimately mean anything!

and speaking of self-interested drawing of lines, i'm also delighted that scott in his perspective of this episode's encounter does this thing too? as he runs away from sparrow, he mutters to himself something like, "i don't think [sculk sparrow] is the sparrow i used to know." it's... not completely wild to interpret that as scott telling us the viewers that sculk sparrow is genuinely A Different Entity and that this is something that is now just true about the world, but i like thinking of it as scott, the lightmancer, the character, terrified (that heartbeat sparrow hears is going so fast??) and frantically trying to reconcile the image of sparrow covered in sculk and pulling a knife on him with the pilot he befriended all that time ago. it complicates sparrow in interesting ways! it complicates scott in interesting ways! there's a mismatch, on both sides of this falling out, between who each person thinks the other is, and who that other person actually is, and scott saying this gives us a glimpse of another angle to that mismatch. the sculk is deeply a part of sparrow, yes, and is affecting him, but that well of incredible insecurity in sparrow has been here this whole time. he's always had that tendency to curiosity-cruelty and he's always been holding onto the belief that being a hybrid would make him worth something. this whole encounter is more interesting to me if Yeah, It Is In Fact The Same Guy In There. struggling against something terrible, for sure, but still the same guy! sparrow did that. he burned down those structures. he pointed a crossbow at that villager. he, hurting in a million different ways but still doing it, jumped into scott's head and killed him.

[demonsfate]

FINISHED THE TEK8 STORY. Under the cut, I will be saying how it affects my blogs and changes i may make to my own depiction, as well as how my blog will be canon divergent (for some obvious reasons). under the cut will contain MASSIVE SPOILERS. so, do not peek unless you don't care or you've finished the story already. if you've already completed the story, I highly recommend you look as it will be crucial to my blog and depiction as well as writing with me in the Tek8 verse. thank you.

I liked the story but I was also a little disappointed by a few things. I will disclose that later, for now I want this to focus on primary the depiction and what will change or stay for this blog and how this blog handles Tek8.

-JIN STILL DIDN'T START THE WAR. Honestly this is something that made the story so hard to really really like is that Jin's just good again and there was no real explanation as to why he is back to his old self. Before his character episode, they said he was consumed by the devil's blood ... but it still felt so unclear to me. Regardless, Jin didn't start the war nor was he responsible for it. DJ still started it in hopes to do what Kazuya did, awaken Azazel and take its power. Jin's guilt and suicidal tendencies are still there. However, his guilt, as always on this blog, comes from his weakness, his body being used, and feeling as though he should've killed himself and DJ sooner.

-DJ AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JIN. Holy shit. This is definitely gonna be the hardest for me - as I am struggling to even know how to push forward with this. As yes, I didn't expect DJ to be precisely what I believed him to be, but MY GOD, the story basically went against almost everything I've written. So I'm gonna do my best to make it work with my own concept. So there will be a lotta points regarding DJ and their relationship, starting with -

-DJ AND JIN KNEW EACH OTHER SINCE THE END OF TK3. Tek8 seems to imply that it's Jin's first time actually meeting DJ. This blog strongly rejects that notion. Why? This blog's biggest focus has been on Jin and DJ's relationship and how they live with each other. It's actually the most fun about writing the two. So, to say they never actually really knew each other would just destroy a lot of fun and love I had for this dynamic. DJ's been talking to Jin ever since he woke up after Jin was killed by Heihachi. Not only do Jin and DJ know each other, they know each other better than anyone else.

-DJ IS NOT IN ANY WAY JIN, HE'S HIS OWN ENTITY. This is pretty self - explanatory, but no. Jin and DJ may share the same body, but they are not the same person. I'm never changing this.

-DJ REGARDING JIN. Okay, as sweet as Jin looking to DJ and saying "you've always been protecting me..." and DJ saying with a small smile, "I'll go anywhere with you" or some shit. But... that does go against my whole depiction. Y'know... DJ did attempt to kill Jin and came close to it before he started the war. So this is something I'm struggling with the most. I THINK I might have an idea of how I can better fit this in my depiction, though. Since whenever I write his Tek6 verse especially, I always strongly imply that DJ misses Jin. However, I'd make it unclear whether or not DJ genuinely misses Jin and thus cared about him to an extent, or if DJ is just uncomfortable by the change and new silence in his head. Because of the "you've always been protecting me" line, I suppose I'll just go completely straightforward and say yea, DJ does care about and genuinely likes Jin. However, as I've also stated many times on this blog - even if DJ likes somebody, when it comes down to it, he'll always put himself first. But DJ liking Jin is also one reason why he's so possessive of him. It's his own fucked up way of expressing that like - so a very toxic relationship.

-DJ'S JOURNEY IN 8. DJ is still mad at Jin for taking away his chances during the war. DJ still tries to gaslight Jin and isolate him as a means of getting back. Jin ends up defeating DJ regardless - like what happens in the story. However, Jin learns that DJ is something - no, someone that will always be with him no matter what. Perhaps using his Kazama powers, or Jun's influence, he/she "purifies" DJ and brings out the best in him. DJ admits his true feelings to Jin, and how they both do need each other if they want to take down their common enemy. Jin, of course, can't so easily forgive DJ for y'know... the selfishness and war crimes. But he also learned from his mother to show mercy and give second chances, as he felt he's been given a second chance. And plus, with a more purified mind, Jin feels DJ in a different headspace than he once was. DJ willingly gives his powers to Jin to fight Kazuya. In a way, DJ and Jin's relationship has improved and they've reconciled.

-DJ'S FATE? Since Jin seemingly lost the ability to activate the devil (or angel's lol) powers. I, uh... I don't know what this means for DJ at all. I really don't know if this means DJ is "dead" or just "dormant." At the point of writing this, I don't know if I'll say that DJ is dead - therefore he can't be interacted with during post Tek8 verse. Or... if I'll say he's still around, but Jin only hears him in his head, and there's no way that DJ can actually take over. Therefore, still kinda hard to interact with DJ in this verse :')

-JIN'S FATE. I'm still unsure what I wanna say Jin's fate is. It seems like he's going off with Xiaoyu, but... I don't think he's necessarily becoming a hermit like many think? For now, I'd like to think he's making up for loss time with Xiao and they're exploring the world together. Jin is absolved of his crimes due to Victor getting to actually know Jin, seeing how Jin has helped saved the world, as well as choosing to believe that Jin was indeed not the one to blame for the war. Jin's also learned to forgive himself for his mistakes, and learned that with friends - he is stronger. Jin is at his happiest, and is no longer suicidal. He wants to live!!!

-JIN ACCEPTING HIMSELF. Yes, Jin is willing to use Mishima-Style again, but NOT because of Heihachi or that Heihachi was actually a good guy (I swear this game felt like it was doubling down on Heihachi actually being noble - barf). Jin accepts Mishima-Style because he realized not all Mishimas are as bad as he originally thought. (See Lars, Jinpachi and himself, - even if Lars doesn't practice Mishima-Style)

[ocean-flharr]

Undertale's usage of wordplay in the key phrase of 'Determination' is something which fascinates me in its complexities of interpretation.

First of all, we have the most standard definition: 'firmness of purpose; resoluteness.' This is the most obvious of the meanings. one's sheer willpower. and the ability to inflict that will upon the world.

Next, we have a secondary definition: 'the process of establishing something exactly by calculation or research.' This may seem to be rather unconnected to the concept of determination itself, other than perhaps tangentially by the extensive research of Determination and the subsequent formation of the Amalgamates, but I would posit that it may also refer to something different, something I was reminded of by the exact phrasing:

this secondary definition could also refer to a pattern of behavior which seems to arise when a given entity has reached the tipping point of Determination needed to create a Save Point- namely, the need to 'see everything that can happen'. To establish it exactly, by way of experimentation.

Next, there is 'a judicial decision or sentence.' This one is barely anything, nothing more than simple neuron activation against the scene within the Hall of Judgement. Moving on.

Now, we come to something very interesting indeed. 'the controlling or deciding of something's nature or outcome.' It can definitely be said that the player character, the possessor of the highest level of Determination within the underground, is the one responsible for the outcome of monster society- after all, this is the entire reason the Routes exist to begin with. This is likely not an aspect of Determination itself, but more of a consequence of its holding almost always resulting in one being powerful. However, there is a much more significant aspect to this choice. Or rather, to the fact that it is Choice. To summarize, this definition is essentially a statement that Determination is a synonym for Choice. And, extrapolating from this, if this line of dialogue is as important as people seem to think...

It might be interpreted to mean that Determination or the possession of such may hold ultimately no importance within the wider story of Deltarune(which, seems relatively obvious so far, but you never know what might happen).

And this serves as a great segue to the last item I have here to present:

Determinism:

'the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions.'

This has some fascinating implications about The Player as an entity within the context of Undertale and Deltarune, primarily Deltarune. What those implications might be, however, I shall leave to others- I am content to simply point out the existence of the link.

Whether any of this has true meaning or not, I genuinely do not know. Confirmation bias might have conjured this out of thin air. But, I felt it was interesting enough to post nevertheless!

Addendum:

I believe this particular bit has been pointed out somewhere before, but it is worth cataloguing nevertheless: De-Termination, or, the undoing of death.

[babiebom]

Ranking the relationships in my fics

A/N: I have so many requests right now and no time to do them and I’m kinda burnt out on the one I’m doing so here’s something easy for right now :) both platonic and romantic as long as it’s a main relationship also half of these Fics have been either deleted or never posted but might be in the future!! I will include links to those posted :)

Tw:some nsfw? Some cursing, some angst, mentions of murder and suicide mentions of abuse (physical mental verbal) lmk if I should tag anything else!!

Bc at least 4 for each pairing

Misc Masterlist

1) Denali x Naomi (Escape the Fog)

From a deleted fic that I am currently rewriting its a dead by daylight fic with two original main characters

The reason this is number one is because out of all of the relationships this is the one that is strictly platonic

Like yeah romantic relationships aren’t bad but

Out of all the relationships this one is the most demanding and pure

I mean not to spoil but Naomi is literally taken to the Entity’s realm and Denali is taken there simply because her need to find her friend is so strong!!!!

Like she doesn’t care that she’s being killed every single day

She’s just happy that she’s found her friend that went missing

And loves her friend so much that she’s willing to be permakilled to get her back home

2) Sebastian x Reader (When You Fall)

From When You Fall which is a Stardew Valley fanfiction

The least toxic out of the romantic relationships

And by least toxic I don’t think they’re toxic at all

Like even if there’s a little angst (there’s gonna be a little angst btw) they’re a strong couple

Actually makes each other better rather than making each other worse.

They love each other for who they are including all of their flaws and they would be number one if Denali and Naomi didn’t have a relationship that goes above and beyond.

Like what kind of person would help you through your depression?

A person that loves you that’s who.

Like 80 years from now the two will be old and grey and still acting as if they’re in the honeymoon phase

3) Eden x Eleventh Doctor (The Garden of Eden)

From an unpublished Doctor who fanfiction that I am in the process of writing

Here is where we’re getting into the ohhhh this relationship is kinda toxic really

And it’s a shame they’re number THREE on the list lmao what does that say about my writing?

They are constantly arguing (90 percent not in a serious way)

And Eden sort of sees the Doctor as a God due to how they met which puts him on a pedestal

BUT the relationship doesn’t start off romantic which I think is healthy for them

And they are both fiercely protective of one another due to how long she’s spent traveling with him

So while she does see him as a God it isn’t in a very obvious or serious way unless you can see inside of her head as she doesn’t treat him as such at all.

Also a very goofy relationship overall

4) Grace x Seth Clearwater (unnamed fic)

It’s an unwritten and unnamed Twilight Fic that I might post when I’m done with the whole thing lmao

The only reason they’re number four is that I think that him imprinting on her is taking away his choice

Like yes they would probably still end up together regardless of if he had the ability to imprint or not because they’re soulmates

But him having the trait does take away the ability to actually choose

Like it’s literally a one look and that’s it thing. It forces you to live someone platonically or not so he doesn’t have a say in the matter

BUT the two do genuinely love each other so so so much that after their angst is done they’re inseparable

Which again sorta toxic when it’s a codependent relationship but they actually RARELY argue

Seth is actually so sweet that again after the angst is done they might have an argument once every like 5 years.

5)Quinn x Spencer Reid (Baby Blue)

From my Criminal minds fic that is currently posted on ao3 that I am debating on posting here.

Actually they argue so often

If he hadn’t have gotten her pregnant in a one night stand they would have still met and would have a love hate relationship

Like without the baby they would be an enemies to lovers trope but instead he immediately and accidentally got her pregnant so now they’re stuck with each other

Do genuinely love each other and after they finally figure out that they have feelings for each other everything calms down

But with her being pregnant and them not being in a relationship and then the jealousy and miscommunication everything is just toxic

Like could they tell each other that they accidentally fell in love with the other and they wanna try to have a relationship?

Yes.

Will they?

No.

But again after the drama they’re actually a very affectionate couple that manages to keep their passion into their old age

6) Ashanti x Cárter Walsh-Kim (unnamed fic)

From my deleted twilight fic

While he isn’t a main main character he serves to be the Jacob of the plot but they actually date and he doesn’t force himself on her or fall in love with her future child :)

They’re a healthy college age couple?

Kinda boring but not toxic at all until Emmett enters the mix

They’re stable and comfortable and honestly would be endgame if it wasn’t for Emmett

She loved him and he loved her not much else to say. They’re low because they break up lmao

7) Ashanti x Emmett Cullen (unnamed fic)

From the same deleted fic as above I might rewrite and repost

toxic because they can’t figure out if they wanna be together or not

Like actually they have a really good relationship when they’re not arguing and he’s being a wannabe Edward with his angst

Like when they’re not fighting a great comedic duo

And he’s her biggest supporter and she’s his.

And while I know I just compared him to Edward they don’t have the whole turn me I don’t wanna turn you drama like it’s a very easy discussion and decision

He’s literally just hung up on Rosalie and that’s where the drama comes from

And the arguing kinda makes some of his old human traits reappear

8) Fawn x Johnny Slaughter (Accidental Prey)

A Texas chainsaw massacre fanfiction that isn’t finished

Would be lower because he’s actually a murder and is keeping her hostage????????????

Like he’s forcing her to live with his murderous cannibalistic family

And he kinda abusive

But he’s genuinely in love with her (more like obsessed)

And hes the only reason that she’s alive

I can’t spoil the end but dude LOVES her more than Johnny in my other fanfics loves their partner more than just being possessive and obsessive

9) Bucky Barnes x Reader (Mr.Right)

From a deleted marvel fic that I haven’t finished and probably won’t until I get the urge

These two just absolutely JUMPED into a relationship without thinking about it

And tbh idk if they’ll last or not but they do currently love each other

It’s super middle/high school vibes but they do have a good relationship

He’s an assassin though

And has gotten them almost killed

And has taught them how to murder people

And is actually kinda a fucked up guy AND relationship because they kinda lose their mind.

10) Evangeline x Danny Johnson (Between a Rock and a Hard Place)

My dead by daylight x Texas chainsaw massacre fic that only has like a single chapter posted

Is higher than Johnny because he isn’t physically abusive like Johnny is

But still low because he’s actually insane

Is a serial killer but isn’t a cannibal

Is obsessed with her and probably wouldn’t kill her

Loves her I guess if obsession counts lmao

Is willing to take care and love a child that isn’t his if she chooses him

11) Evangeline x Johnny Slaughter (Between a Rock and a Hard Place)

From the same fic as above

Physically, Emotionally, and Verbally abusive

And while you’re thinking IM HOW IS HE NOT LAST

He did leave his family to go find her and does somehow love her that he hasn’t murdered her yet

And even though he threatens to kill her he never actually would unless he has a breakdown and kills her and himself

12) Corinne x Johnny Slaughter (unnamed fic)

From an unnamed unfinished unpublished Texas chainsaw massacre fic that will be posted when I’m done with all three chapters

Actually one of the WORST relationships and probably should be last

But the reason why it isn’t is because Corinne is no longer stuck with him

He physically, verbally, and emotionally abused her

Forced her to kill their child because the police were close to catching them and a child would slow them down

Constantly cheated on her with victims after he kidnapped her and forced her to live with him and his family

He doesn’t really love her (he thinks he does) he really just sees her as a possession.

13) Peter Parker x Reader (the Beauty of You)

A marvel fanfic that I deleted that is a You AU so Peter is in the role of Joe lmao

While he isn’t abusive he is VERY manipulative which is mentally abusive

Has murdered people to get to Reader

Has threatened to kill them

They’re lower than Corinne because Reader is stuck with him like until they die

Isolates them from literally everyone and uses his powers to keep them isolated and needing him

Loves them I guess lmao

14) Rasmodius x Reader (the Wizard and I)

From the stardew valley oneshot

Reader is also stuck with him for life

And this relationship is kinda romantic but the reader is being held hostage as some sort of slave

Like dude doesn’t actually love her just wants to keep his place

Like they’re literally his pet and is stuck like this

And unlike the other bad guys he literally has the ability to make them immortal

Like there’s no love at all, Reader is just possessed/enchanted to be okay with this.

Like their choice was no but this is still how they ended up unfortunately

[waffelteufel]

(Sort of Destiny 2 criticism, but also i love the game and it's not just hate, i'm just rambling lol) I'm honestly a biiit worried with Destiny's storytelling? I have been thinking about this and feeling this since a while now, but the seasonal story stuff we've been getting feels… Lower quality, than the previous dlcs, if that makes sense? When Destiny used to have a lot of reading in between the lines and surreal concepts and complex conversations/relationships, it tends to follow very obvious tropes lately, which feel on-the-nose and like they were written by people who are terminally online and don't actually read that many good books either. Ok this sounds very mean, and I don't mean it that way, but it is the way I feel lmao. As a result I find those seasonal conclusions to always feel rather.. Childish? and Hollywood-esque? Almost like Marvel? I will try to explain.

Season of the Haunted as an example here – instead of giving us plots and hints, the DLC spoon-fed us a therapy session every week, with a morale story at the end. That's nice and all but it didn't feel quite Destiny to me? It was a means to an end with your typical 2020s Hollywood morale story about mental health at the end. For any other series or game I wouldn't have a problem with it, but in Destiny it just felt… Off. Not bad, just weird and disjointed. I am sure they could have pulled it off much better if we didn't have this (honestly absolutely abhorrent) seasonal system that locks you out of story and content after each season. Season of Plunder ending was honestly ridiculous story-wise and felt like a means to an end to wake up Osiris – the plot we had felt extremely inconsistent and - unfortunately - like it was pulled out of Bungie's ass. As a bigtime Misraaks (and also Sjur, who has been conveniently forgotten by Bungie, even though Eido is named in honor of her) enjoyer, I felt let down. Season of the Seraph has been such an on-the-nose western trope with a very obvious ending, i mostly felt disappointed by it and, even though the cinematic was drop-dead gorgeous and the ending made sense (because AGAIN: it follows extremely obvious cinema tropes that don't leave you with big surprises if you pay attention and know a thing or two about narratives), it just felt… Silly. "Who needs war sats if you have each other" That sentence was so damn Hollywood to me… Again, I blame the seasonal system, because Rasputin's shift and whole development (and eventual demise) happened too quickly. I am sure this could have been amazing if this awful seasonal system didn't exist, but yeah. Narratively throwing away a big personality like that in a season instead of an expansion was ballsy, but not in a good way imo. It essentially gets rid of plot and drama the characters might have in the future, and Destiny's story conflicts have already been dumbed down enough so that Rasputin's death actually feels very sad to me, because it's drama we will never get to experience now! Also to the people saying Bungie must want to resurrect him at some point: Rezzing him after that, and also after Crow and Savathun, is objectively extremely bad and silly writing. Like fanfiction level self indulgent stuff that throws away established points that seemed important to the writers. Like they made a point, even if I am not a fan of it, and it seems kind of disrespectful to just throw it away again and nullify that. I just can't see it happening, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it did anyway, because it's tonally in line with Hollywood right now. Eris and Ikora have been such non-entities also – they are there but also they aren't, because their own stories and conflicts have not been a part of Destiny since a good while now. They are mostly means to an end for other characters. I used to adore these two, but I find myself not caring anymore.

There have been good seasons too! My favourite by far has been Splicer, where they somehow managed to make the shift between Misraaks and Saint-14 feel very organic. The themes about xenophobia and prejudices didn't feel wannabe-educational, it all felt very organic and genuine within the pacing of the plot to me. The season with Mara trying to get rid of Savathun's worm was very nice also. The sister-brother story with Crow felt complex and there was a good amount of subtle reading inbetween the lines. Also nice. In general I really appreciate how they handled Saint-14 and Osiris also. The Witness and Savathun are also great and feel much more Original-Destiny-Esque to me than the rest.

I don't know. it just feels kinda Hollywood to me right now? I honestly wonder how many of the original writers are still part of the team? People like Seth Dickinson used to write my all time favourite lore pieces, like the Awoken stuff, and they've not been part of the project since a good while. I don't know. I really don't like it when stories need to push your nose into something, it gives me the impression as if the authors assume you must be an idiot, and it's not been the vibe I had of Destiny as a franchise since the longest time. These wannabe mental health and friendship storybeats can work and I am sure they could make them work, but they just feel like written by terminally online authors. I don't want to use that term so negatively, but it feels like a self indulgent fanfiction (which is fine in itself!! but i don't expect fanfics from Bungo) or someone making a twitter post to educate someone – as opposed to a seasoned writer who puts a lot of effort into their craft and doesn't feel the need to over-explain every single thing and emotion because they are confident enough in their craft to not be scared about bad-faith-interpretations by toxic online weirdos.

Still, the story in Destiny is so complex, you cannot really compare it to most games out there, so I feel rather nitpicky about it, cuz it still ain't bad, you know? I am not hating on it, it's just criticism I have. Because I do genuinely love the setting. I understand if the seasons need to have different vibes, but the tone of the game shifts a bit too much for me. Or its complexity and matureness, that is. Makes me worry where this will all go, and if this marvel-approach will become more prevalent or less in the future. Maybe I worry for naught also, and it will go back on track again? I've noticed my interest fading toward the end of the seasons anyhow, but then at the start of the next expansion it is piqued again. Neomuna and the Cloudstriders seem very intriguing for example. This might also be a cultural thing. I am not from the US and I don't vibe with most of Hollywood cinema anyhow, so maybe I'm the problem lmao. Which is fine. Not everybody needs to agree with me, I am just sharing some feelings here and I wonder if others feel similar, or don't agree at all? Would be interesting to hear!

[kimeow7]

Eternal Shadows Ch.6

Eternal Shadows (m) Chapter 6. The Bargain

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Rating: Mature (18+) Please do not read if you are underage.

Shorter chapter.

Warnings: Hospital. Talks about death. Mentions of gods, angels, demons, and souls without meaning to portray any specific religion. 

Again this chapter hasn't been revised. The grammar might be off and certainly, i am not a medical professional so the descriptions of the procedures and the hospital itself are simply based on watching way too much Grey's Anatomy. ¯\(°_o)/¯

Enjoy, :)

Disclaimer: All members of BTS are used as inspiration for the characters in this story. However, this is a work of fiction and should not be seen as a projection, representation, or judgment of the real-life individuals. The scenarios and representations depicted in this story are entirely fictional and do not aim to convey any aspects of real life.

Tests, discussions with doctors and nurses, interactions with friends— the entire day passes by in a blur of activity. From medical appointments to conversations about fantastical scenarios with your friends, it's difficult to distinguish what is real anymore. On one hand, you are grappling with your health issues, and on the other, you are contemplating a counteroffer to a god.

It all feels absurd, nonsensical, and surreal.

Now, you yourself alone find once again. Visiting hours have ended and Doctor Kim has retired for the night. Before leaving, he informed you that your platelet count is improving, which brings some sense of relief. Yet, in this solitude, a wave of nervousness washes over you. You need to talk to Yoongi, but how? Rin advised you to simply let it unfold naturally, even if the week passes without seeing him to present your counteroffer. However, you're not entirely comfortable with that approach. Yes, he gave you a week, but if you have insights into his deal, shouldn't you see him sooner?

You let out a sigh, feeling conflicted and uncertain.

Maybe if you search online for how to summon a god, there must be something out there.You can't be the only person on this earth to have encountered one. With a quick reach for your phone, you open Google, of course.

"How to summon a god," you type, feeling a bit silly even as you do. If someone were to stumble upon this search, like an FBI agent, they would probably laugh at how ridiculous it sounds.

Numerous blogs and websites appear, mostly catering to those interested in the mystical and the occult. There are guides on summoning angels, demons, and even ghosts. But nothing specifically about summoning a god, even though Yoongi did mention that he embodied all of those entities.

You read through a few blogs and browse several web pages, but they all seem to suggest the same rituals, most of which involve candles. Glancing around your hospital room, it becomes painfully obvious that you don't have any candles, nor can you light them in this environment.

What is it with gods and their affinity for candles, anyway? Do they enjoy the faint light?

"Not precisely," a low voice interrupts your thoughts.

"Shit!" you exclaim, startled by the sudden sound. Your hand instinctively rises to your chest as you turn to face the source. "Yoongi can't you just... I don't know, announce your presence?"

Yoongi chuckles, sitting comfortably on the small couch in your room, legs crossed and resting arms on the back of the couch. "You seemed too engrossed in your reading," he teases. "I wouldn't dare to disturb your research little doll"

You roll your eyes, feeling a sudden wave of foolishness. Did you just roll your eyes at a god? Isn't that disrespectful?

Another chuckle escapes the god's lips. "Ah, little doll, you don't need to worry so much about disrespecting me. Denying my deal, however... that's a different story altogether."

Now, nerves begin to creep in. "I'm not—" you clear your throat, trying to compose yourself. "I was just thinking."

"You were considering," he corrects you, and you nod in agreement.

"I was considering that there are certain aspects I need to fully think through before accepting the deal."

Yoongi chuckles again. "And pray tell, my dearest, what are these aspects?"

"Well—" you glance over at the bedside table and reach for the piece of paper that Rin left for you. "My friend... she's—"

"A lawyer, correct?"

You furrow your brows as your nerves dissipate. Now, you feel a twinge of annoyance towards the god sitting before you. With a raised eyebrow, you turn to stare at him and ask, "If you already know, then what's your answer?"

"I want to hear it from your lips, my dearest. Go on... let me hear your offer for my deal."

"Will you consider it?"

"If you are appealing enough," he shrugs.

You scoff at his words and posture. He seems overly arrogant, but then again, he is a god. Still, it's a bit much.

Shaking your head, you begin reading the numbered points on the paper. "I need to know how long you plan for me to judge these souls."

"Indefinitely," he retorts immediately.

"Well, that seems unfair," you cross your arms. "How can I regain my life if I'm bound to serve you for eternity? It would only be fair to set a specific time frame, no longer than a year."

He chuckles. "Alright, what's your next point?" He gestures with his hand, encouraging you to continue.

"Are you agreeing to—"

"No," he interrupts, and you pout. "I'm considering it."

You think it's fair. "I must know the guidelines for judging these souls. What are the parameters? What defines good and bad? What is it based on?"

"It depends on the soul. I shall not disclose the parameters until you decide to accept the deal. I cannot divulge this divine information."

"Well, that's rather vague."

"Indeed, my dearest. What else do you have?"

You let out another sigh, feeling the weight of confusion and apprehension settle upon you. The words written on the paper now seem meaningless in the presence of the god beside you. Lowering the parchment, you take a deep breath, gathering your thoughts.

"What would I have to do?" you ask, your voice tinged with both fear and uncertainty. Yoongi furrows his brow, appearing somewhat perplexed. "I mean... I'm scared. The thought of suffering for eternity is terrifying. But I'm also confused. How am I supposed to judge a soul? You haven't provided me with any information, and yet you expect me to simply agree. I just..."

Yoongi interrupts you with a loud sigh, his hands tapping impatiently on his thighs. He slowly rises from his seat and begins to approach you.

"Five souls," he says, standing beside you, and you furrow your brow in response. "You will judge five souls, no more, no less. five."

Your jaw clenches, and you gulp harshly. "And how will you decide which five souls?" you ask, locking your gaze with his. His eyes hold that same dangerous yet strangely comforting intensity, adding to your confusion.

Yoongi sighs, briefly glancing around the room before focusing his attention back on you. "There will be souls that are in contention, viewed by some as good, by others as bad, and by some as nothing at all. The power to judge such acts lies in my hands. I will select those five souls, I will choose these individuals who teeter on the delicate precipice between good and evil. They will be the five souls for which you shall determine their fates."

Five souls. Could you truly do it? Could you bear deciding the fate of five individuals just to save yourself? Selfishly, you're tempted to say yes. After all, Yoongi is offering you a chance to reclaim your life. Yes, there's a glimmer of hope that Doctor Kim's surgical skills work miracles, but Yoongi had also told you that your time was running out, that you would die within hours... and he granted you more time, which means...

"Would I die if I were to refuse?" you ask, a tremor of fear in your voice as you lock eyes with Yoongi.

"Yes," he responds without hesitation, his voice laced with an enigmatic tone. "Your path has been set, my dearest."

"And you can alter my fate, just like that?" you inquire, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation in your voice.

"If I so desire, I hold the power to intervene," Yoongi asserts, his words dripping with an intriguing mystery.

His words send a shiver down your spine. There's no miraculous prowess of Doctor Kim's hands, no chance of survival, only a perplexing pact with a god. But could you live with the constant nagging doubt, forever questioning if you made the right choice? If you saved the right souls? Could you bear the burden of uncertainty in your actions? Could you—

"My dearest, our time is slipping away, and I require an answer," Yoongi interrupts, his tone carrying an air of urgency.

"You promised a week, and only a day has passed," you respond urgently, feeling the mounting pressure.

Yoongi smirks, his expression veiled in inscrutability. "That was the initial agreement, my dearest. However, as we reshape the course of our initial arrangement, I believe it's only fair that if we alter one aspect, I can alter the rest."

"It sounds unfair. I need more time to think... grant me some time to—"

"One day, my dearest. I shall return on the eve of tomorrow to collect your answer, or to claim your life," Yoongi interjects firmly, his words cloaked in a mysterious aura.

Your eyes widen, the weight of his words sinking deep into your soul.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow, you will die...

Yoongi smiles at you, his presence captivating, and delicately takes your hand in his larger ones. For a fleeting moment, you're spellbound by the ethereal beauty of his flawless skin, the ornate rings adorning his fingers, and the enigmatic allure he exudes. Then, Yoongi brings your hand to his lips and kisses your knuckles causing a shiver in your body.

"This is your final opportunity, my little doll," he whispers to your skin, his voice tinged with an enigmatic allure, as the lights flicker and Yoongi vanishes from sight.

[oliverwolfboy]

Bsd x tma crossover au idea

Both plots go as normal, but the bsd plot breaks up at when the eyepocalypse happens, now most of the bsd characters are trapped in different fear domains, there are a few that become or were already avatars. Now this au would obviously be whump, angst, and probably dead dove. The real question is who would be avatars and what fear domains would the other characters be in? I don't really see Ranpo being an avatar in the canon plot, the only time he had a chance would be when he was younger, but then i feel like he would have been more of a victim of the stranger or the lonely, then being an avatar. Dazai could have some chances with the end or the spiral, but i also don't really think he would be an avatar. Verlaine could definitely be a desolation or slaughter avatar, whatever the fear of calamity or worldwide destruction falls under, so he could definitely be an avatar. Rimbaud could probably also be an avatar, of the lonely maybe, and the plot wouldn't change that much since he would probably just be mist in Verlaine's basement. Poe might be an avatar, of the eye perhaps, maybe he would be the archivist of the usher foundation, probably one of the more active too, maybe mix some Hunt in with that too, i don't think it would change much. Chuuya i don't see being a avatar. Lovecraft is something probably. Onto domains. I think Dazai would be in a lonely domain, same with Chuuya, they have both lost so much, maybe a lonely domain mixed with some desolation. Nikolai is very obvious, he would be in a web domain. We don't know enough knowledge about Fyodor to say what domain he would be in. Ranpo is most likely in a lonely domain mixed with some stranger and desolation, he is afraid of losing the agency he doesn't want to be alone again, alternatively he would be in a spiral domain, because what is more terrifying for the world's greatest detective then his own mind turning on him?. Fukuzawa is in a slaugther domain, because what is more terrifying for an ex assassin then being back in the crossfire, killing people again. Yosano is probably in the medic camps in a slaugther domain. Atsushi, the lonely 100% there is not one thing this boy is more scared of then being alone again. I don't really know about kunikida, maybe he is afraid of being helpless as he watches others suffer, but i am not sure what entity or entities that could be, maybe the desolation. Tanizaki is probably the same as kunikida except replace people with Naomi, so maybe a mix between the desolation and the lonely. Kyouka is probably afraid of having to hurt people again, so the slaugther or the desolation most likely. I am not sure about most of the port mafia, and Verlaine probably has his own domain to rule over. Akutagawa is probably in a corruption domain. Ango might be in a buried domain. Poe is probably just wandering the hellscape, hunting for people he knows. Lovecraft is somewhere, with stainbeck probably, perks of having an eldritch boyfriend i guess. Lucy is in a lonely domain somewhere. Francis is in the buried domain of debt. Bram is being a Hunt avatar and taking a nap. Sigma is in a lonely/stranger domain, the poor boy. I have no idea about the hunting dogs, except Fukuchi is probably in a slaugther/desolation domain. Rimbaud is manning his own domain somewhere probably close to Pauls. And poor Aya didn't get to go to the dark domain and instead went to the buried domain of parental pressure.

[eri-blogs-life]

Fire Emblem: How Engaging Really Is It?

Fire Emblem: Engage has been out for two weeks now, and I just finished my first playthrough, and I figured it captured my attention enough that I wanted to write up some of my thoughts about it on my blog. And that’s what this post you’re reading now is! :o

So, first off, I am not gonna avoid spoilers, if anyone cares about that, just as a heads-up.

Second off, tl;dr: if you don’t wanna read what’s probably gonna end up being a lot of paragraphs about this game, then here’s my short answer: It’s a good game! Probably one of the best games in the fire emblem series... in certain respects. But it’s also got some big issues which may not be issues for everyone but which did cause me to have a hard time getting into the game at the beginning. If you want to know whether I’d recommend it, I’d say it’s absolutely worth picking up if you have liked any other FE games before, but as an entry to the series I think Three Houses is probably a better first pickup on the Switch.

Alright, so let’s break it down. Broadly speaking, I think the game is really good. It also serves as a nice love letter to past fire emblem games without overdoing the callbacks

But let’s start with probably the most obvious aspect of the game, the aesthetics:

(Alear, the protagonist of FE: Engage)

The main character of FE:E is Alear. Alear has very striking features. And mind you, there is an understandable story reason for it. (As you might guess, basically she lies halfway between two states of being in the story and so that’s represented by her blend of red and blue.) (Also, you CAN play as a male Alear instead but I play with female avatars and will likely continue to refer to Alear as a she throughout cause that was my primary experience with Alear in my playthrough.) (Also also, my friend mentioned they might’ve colored her red and blue specifically because as a reference to the switch’s default joycon controllers? But IDK about that.)

Toothpaste-chan, as Alear was affectionately called by the community after her original reveal (among other nicknames), has a very striking design with those two colors mixed like that. It looks weird as heck at first glance, and continues to look weird as heck throughout the game. But you get used to it.

As I understand it, the Fire Emblem team hired a notable japanese visual artist who’s done a lot of vtuber designs before, so when Alear was first revealed people were all “oh you can TELL this was made my someone into vtubers” (said in a derogitory kinda way), which does kinda suck. It’s a real offputting design at first, but it also is a design that kinda works in a nice way to capture a big part of what Alear IS. Alear is the bridge between Good and Evil within the setting and story of Engage, at least to some degree - the bond that draws together people from all over the wartorn world to unite together and work as one.

Though, if we look at that as a piece of political commentary it gets kinda weird. Alear unites all the people of her world to fight against a common threat, the evil Lord Sombron, but that threat is revealed to come from outside the world. He’s a foreign entity and Alear as the hero units the people of her part of the multiverse to kill that guy who came from elsewhere. But I guess they do also ally themselves with the Emblem, people from other worlds, so it probably is more intended as a story to be about fighting for the world alone vs together.

(Vander, one of the early characters, when you speak to him in your hub area)

The other characters of Fire Emblem: Engage range from being relatively mundane in their appearances, to even more out there than Alear. And a lot of the really weird designs are front-loaded, and relegated to story-significant characters (looking at you, Timerra).

And... I get that. From a character design perspective, you want your main characters of your story to really stand out and stay in people’s minds, as well as making them easy to identify what they’re all about at a glance. And Engage’s designs certainly do stick in your mind! BUT not all for good reason.

The game also puts a lot of the weirder characters early in the story, and the story early on really isn’t all that strong, being a kinda generic forgettable adventure until about a third of the way through the game, but I’ll get to the story later.

I REALLY dislike a lot of the character designs in Engage (and I really like a lot of the others), but I’m absolutely willing to put up with the weird ones. Because...

(The greatest Override I have ever or will ever accomplish)

Fire Emblem: Engage’s gameplay is AMAZING. As a long-time Fire Emblem fan, who’s been into the series since it came to America in the GBA era and has played every game save for a couple of the older ones, I have to say... FE:E may be my new favorite game in terms of gameplay. There’s a decent variety of maps, lots of mechanics both old and new that blend together really well, lots of different objectives on maps both required and not, which push you in different directions and do what I think any good strategy game should do - make every turn its own puzzle, custom-built by the decisions you and your opponent (the computer) have made over the course of a fight.

The big new mechanic is obviously Engaging - there are twelve Emblems (kind of? There are twelve main ones, but then there’s also like some shenanigans late in the story that change it up, plus you can also get extra emblems from the DLC too). These Emblems are heroes from previous Fire Emblem games, though within the world of Engage, those emblems are known to be something like effigies of the spirits of heroes from another world - not the hero themself, but a representation of them. During combat, characters who have an emblem’s ring equipped can Engage.

This mechanic lets them fuse with the emblem to become something new, getting a new costume and new abilities. The new abilities a character gets depends both on which emblem they’re using, and how strong their bond with that emblem is, with bond being mostly built up from fighting together in previous fights. Bond can also be built up with training in the Arena, or with another new mechanic you can do in your home base area, the Somniel.

You know that mechanic that got cut from Fire Emblem Fates where you would invite allies to your home base and you would have to pet them with the touch screen and that would increase your relationship with them? Engage has something like that, but it feels even creepier somehow, and this one didn’t get cut for censorship reasons

(Technically, there’s nothing perverted about this scene, but it still feels off)

You can have different characters polish the rings, thus increasing their bond. But it’s a mini game where you have to move the cursor around and press A to polish, and the emblem gives you words of encouragement along the way and it just feels... off. It feels perverted somehow. I don’t know that I can elaborate how or why, but it is one of many Somniel activities I just stopped doing entirely like 2/3 of the way through the game.

There were a lot of those.

Like in a few recent FE games, you have a base that you can run around between missions, called the Somniel. In the Somniel you can eat meals with your team to increase your supports and get buffs for the next fight, work out to get Alear temporary buffs for the next fight, farm animals to get eggs and stuff (or exclusively ingots once you realize putting dogs on your farm gets you ingots), and all kinds of other activities. Honestly, it just got to be too much for me. I was spending way too much time in the Somniel and not doing the fun strategic puzzle gameplay that I WANT to be getting up to in a game like this.

So eventually I just stopped polishing rings, eating meals, and just about anything else. I’d just come back to the Somniel between missions to restock on healing items, inherit any emblem skills I had finally unlocked for a character, and check out any new Bond and Support conversations.

The Bond conversations, between characters and emblems, are all pretty lame. They’re usually a two-sentence back-and-forth, with just some pleasentries exchanged that don’t really say much about either character in the exchange. Supports are better than that, at least. A lot of them feel really light, though, in my opinion. Short. And they are REALLY poorly animated, using a lot of repeat stock character animations that don’t feel like they fit the mood of the scene at all.

But, to be fair, there are definitely some cool characters in the game, and even if the support conversations feel kinda short, and even if their designs visually sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

(one of the bests of the bests in terms of characters in this game)

One big appeal about the Fire Emblem formula definitely is digging into the personal lives of all your characters and learning about what makes them all tick and what they get up to outside of the ongoing war, and even if most characters will appear on the surface to be pretty tropey and one-note, being just a class and a gimmick, supports usually flesh those characters out into being much stronger characters overall. And Engage certainly does a decent bit of that, in my opinion.

One aspect I really liked about a lot of older FE games was seeing how a character’s supports you’d built over the game changed their ending in the epilogue. Unfortunately, Engage doesn’t seem to have any characters pair up if you max out their supports in the ending, at least as far as I saw on my first playthrough, which is a bit disappointing. Like, I think Celica and Alcryst would make a great couple, for example.

But you can get a special relationship with a character of your choosing and your protagonist in this game, which is pretty cool. And you can be gay!

(i obviously married best girl Yunaka. my assassin wife <3)

(there’s even unique CGs for which character you marry, apparently! which means I’m going to have to replay a bunch of times to see all of them I guess lol)

And that’s cool. Cause relationships is definitely a big part of Engage. Not just romantic relationships, though. Bonds, Supports, the Pact Ring (the marriage item), they’re all part of trying to tie into what seems to be the narrative core of the game:

At least, that seems to be the narrative core of the game once you get up to the final battle. Before that... well, I didn’t really pick up on any specific themes that really felt strong up until you get to that last third or so of the story.

But yeah, let’s talk about that story a little.

Fire Emblem: Engage’s story is definitely FUN, I’ll say that. It starts off really weak, though. The first third or so of the game is fairly slow, mostly just introducing you to the world and a lot of the major characters, but having a fairly generic story about going to fight against some guys who stole your cool rings from you. Which isn’t necessarily a bad story on its own, but its execution does feel like it leaves a lot to be desired.

(Also, quick side note, in like the second chapter Alear’s mom dies, but because of the way the story’s set up neither us nor Alear really got much time to spend with her, so what feels like it SHOULD be a big dramatic moment in the story rings REALLY hollow as the player. Like, why is Alear crying over someone she basically met, like, yesterday?)

But things really pop off about a third of the way through the story, when we start getting some good character development from Alear. Alear starts out fairly bold and confidant, but gets her ass handed to her about a third of the way through the story, and we get to see her rebuild up her army and her confidence.

And about two-thirds of the way through the story, we get some reveals about the nature of the world, and things really start to pop off. This is when it goes from being a solid story that’s enjoyable as a backdrop for the amazing gameplay, to being a point where I was REALLY invested in the story.

And then we go to what is basically a fucking meteor in space and fight an epic final battle against a dragon and it’s amazing

(Sombron, the big bad, summons Dark Emblems that represent the big bads of previous games, but they’re subtle enough as references that it feels like a nice nod to past games while still letting Engage do its own thing. This also makes the final fight into a really cool puzzle challenge of its own that isn’t just all about wailing on a lonely old guy)

(Also, if you do Game Over during the final fight - which is hard to do since you can normally use your Time Crystal to reset to a previous turn of the fight - you actually get a Bad Ending, which surprised me when I was expecting to just go back to the title screen)

So... I think that sums up most of my core thoughts. Here’s just another fun set of screencaps I took. I started the game taking like <10 minutes per map:

Then through the midgame I took roughly 30-50 minutes per map, until we get to the final fight:

Almost 2 hours. Damn.

Anyway, I think I gotta wrap this up. I enjoyed the heck out of my time with Engage, even if it felt really weak at the start. I’m looking forward to my next playthrough, just gotta decide what to do with that playthrough (maybe if I can do the new tumblr polls I’ll make one of those).

I’ll just end it with one last screencap. My feelings for Engage overall I think:

[the-phantom-ender]

okay serious entity assignments time now because i said i might yesterday and i am better rested now.

first off, ill say that like... i dont know everything about every empire, i might be a little off base with some of the members i know less about.

second, the thing about aligning characters with entities is that it doesnt tend to be as easy as just something they fear. they also have to thrive in it. if all it took was fear, there would be lots of people marked directly by the web, if all it took was the ability to thrive, most introverts would be marked by the lonely. it takes a careful balance of both (unless the characters hand is forced, which we do technically see in t.ma canon at least once) for someone to be effectively marked by a fear, much less be an avatar (which is... a loose term at best but i digress because the explanatory bit is getting long dfjkhdf)

stuffs under the cut because it got. long. and feel free to share your own thoughts about them!!

shelby: an interesting case where my gut said corruption but upon reflection i think aligning her with the eye makes more sense? she definitely is shaped by corruption, but her arc thus far has mostly revolved around her desire to learn and her fear of what that knowledge might reveal. after her encounters with xornoth, she also seems very nervous about the idea of being watched.

lizzie: the vast is obvious for her, but it does make sense. its the fear of heights and deep waters and human insignificance, infinity. lizzie absolutely thrives in the depths and holds no fear for the waters but she does show hesitance when it comes to leaving. the danger comes from the outside, the other. which seems more like the lonely, sure, but the vast and lonely link greatly.

joel: im a little biased with the desolation alignment for joel because of 3l. i still think it could work for empires, but... the stranger might work better. i dont think theres anything quite as 'stranger' as filling your home with statues of yourself, giving workers your face, but everything is just slightly... wrong. be it that they dont fit quite right or that their limbs are leather and wood. Unfamiliarity, the uncanny.

gem: so id originally said eye for gem but @loganprobably (i hope the tags cool sjgkhdfh) mentioned the lonely and... both work i think. gem has an appreciation for knowledge, for awareness and learning. but shes also in a position where she both isolates herself and gets overly involved. being one of the people to try to ally with everyone but having a clear side picked. the welcome and the shunning. whats a girl gotta do for some peace and quiet?

scott: scott is... hard. itd be so easy to just throw lonely or eye at him because he stays to himself and knows a lot. id wager the web might work better, though. he keeps his distance, keeps an eye on all that goes on, and... makes no moves. he waits, plans ahead. if war brews he needs to be able to side with the winners. he shows a distain for the idea of being controlled and avoids situations where he could be. hes careful with his choices when theyre made.

jimmy: jimmy. lonely, but for a different reason than gem would be. he is friendly and kind and cares deeply for others, yet hes so clearly... the outcast, even within his own circles. hes the picked on, the betrayed. a friend to all but loved, respected, by none. in his times of need he is forgotten, silenced. yet he doesnt seem to hate the loneliness, just the fact that no one came.

joey: oh god here we go. joeys hard to pin down. the hunt might work? he could fall into the lonely but being lost doesnt inherently mean lonely (it actually ties more in with the vast). i say the hunt, though, because he refuses to back down from his stances, even if theyre objectively wrong, and will do so by whatever means necessary. hell instigate the death of others for the sake of getting what he wants.

fwhip: the slaughter. sacrifice and destruction follow him in everything and he thrives in it. his violence isnt entirely mindless but he has a penchant for war and the things that go into it. heres where my stuff starts getting less cohesive as i watch these members much less ;^^

sausage: the corruption and the desolation lay equal claim on sausage. in everything he plays tricks and feigns niceties and makes himself out to be the one in the right. all the way he makes it seem as if hes kind and just in his actions even if his motives are chaos and destruction. he still holds a fear for things going wrong and holds tight to his alliances.

pixl: the end. his vigil is very very 'end' to me. death, to him, is inevitable, a fact of life, and he choses to honor it and give it respect. in all things he does he knows death to be a cause and an end to the means. even if his trickery may just be a signal of the spiral... whos to say?

katherine: okay. bear with me for this one, yeah? the flesh. no im not only saying this because of the bone garden. the fear that we are just meat and bones, the realization that animals go to the slaughter. i believe its a fact that many involved with the flesh become vegetarian after encounters and her whole thing is plants. she shows a distaste for killing animals but a desire to use them in projects.

pearl: the dark. yes, this is the obvious choice, but i do have reason beyond it. pearls character in empires is directly contrary to her name. she revels in the light and lives around sunflowers and growth. despite this she will let herself work into the night, she will let herself turn a blind eye to damage being done. what she cant see cant hurt her.

bonus:

xornoth: the extinction. i know there are no actual avatars of the extinction in the source, however: it makes sense, right? more than this creature is corruption or the end it wants mortals gone. it wants mortals gone and to be released and freed to do this deed.

[hideawayintheimaginationworld]

I've gotten a bit into Dark Deception lately too, and I was just intrigued by the idea of one of the Lucky the Rabbit Joy Joy Gang clones being a Nice defect of all the others with no homicidal tendencies whatsoever who hides away in the maze to avoid being bullied by the others. A similar idea for a Nice Trigger Teddy scared of people and warning them because he doesn't want to blow anybody up. It's another shameless 'these evil characters are cute, i want a Nice One to make into a woobie' situation, which I am guilty of doing a LOT.

I hope you don't mind but I wrote a short story about this concept—

Lefty picked up his feet, hearing the maniacal laughter getting louder and the loud thumping behind him. It wasn’t easy, but he had to outrun them if he wanted to survive.

He skidded around the corner, jumping slightly when he heard the wall break behind him which meant only one thing: Hangry was now pursuing him also.

“Get back here! You will join the Joy Joy Gang! Joy! Joy! Joy!”

All that did was prompt Lefty to push harder to run, he was terrified of being captured and reprogrammed, knowing they would likely completely wipe his memory, meaning he'd forget everything— his family, his children, his friends, and his love.

He saw a door ahead and ran towards it, almost jumping towards it as he felt pain shot up from his leg where Hangry had grabbed him before and bit him, luckily he managed to escape but his ability to run was kind of hindered.

He grabbed the door knob, pushing it open and immediately slamming it behind him, he quickly looked around the room to survey the location and spotting items such as a desk, chairs, and lockers, which he could use to barricade the door.

He limped over quickly, pushing the desk forward towards the door and turning it down so the top part of the desk was facing directly foward. He heard the familiar “Joy! Joy! Joy!” taunting chant which prompted him to hurriedly pushed the desk against the door.

As soon as he did that, he was startled to see the door handle rattle violently.

“Hey! You're cheating!!” Lefty heard Lucky scream, “Open this door!!”

He backed away slowly, half expecting Hangry to break down the door as he had seen the pig break down countless walls while chasing him, which that was scary to Lefty, as he couldn’t tell where the pig would come from, he could be sneaking away from Lucky and Penny but running straight towards Hangry, who would be waiting around the next corner, ready to smash down the walls to get him.

For some reason, Hangry appeared angry that Lefty was “inedible” as he described, which Lefty guessed it meant that Hangry would probably eat people and he was terrified for a moment that the pig had killed his kids but he remembered that Hangry commented that he hadn’t eaten anything for “so long” and Lefty breathed in relief, realizing that Alec and Hazel were still alive.

They weren’t here, but they were still alive somewhere else.

“You can't delay the inevitable!! This isn’t the end and I won't lose to someone like you!!”

Lucky viewed this as a game, Lefty shivered, he pressed himself against the wall, raising his injured leg, trying to think of what he could do to fix it immediately so he could continue to search for an exit.

He didn’t know how he came here, only recalling that he was walking downstairs with Fetch by his side to make breakfast, then he woke up, face down on the concrete at the entrance of this twisted amusement park. He didn’t care at this point how he got here, he just wanted to leave immediately, he had a sick feeling this was a trap, a trap designed to separate him from his family and friends so they were defenceless.

He hoped that Alec and Hazel were okay, he knew in the past that he had instructed them as well as Matt and Stanley that if he was unable to protect them, they had to, they had to run to protect themselves and hopefully Lefty would find them later. He didn’t care about being rescued, he did care about what they might do to Alec and Hazel, as well as his other friends.

So far it didn’t appear that these awful machines had Alec and Hazel, Lefty was sure if they did, they would have mentioned it as a means to get him to cooperate. It could mean however that Alec and Hazel were held by someone else, as he had heard Lucky mention an entity named “Malak”, which that completely disapproved Lefty's initial suspicions that Nightmare was behind this, with yet another plan to bring harm to Alec and Hazel.

All he wanted was to get back to them as soon as possible.

His heart leapt when he heard something behind him, he immediately turned his head around to the source of the noise. He saw a locker door had pulled itself backwards.

His suspicion level rose, he slowly marched over, walking to the side of the locker that he saw had opened.

And he roughly pushed it to the side.

The locker easily tumbled down with a loud bang and Lefty heard an audible “OUCH!” from inside it

“I know you're watching me!” Lefty exclaimed, “Come out! I'm sick of you horrible Joy Joy gang members tormenting me!!” He kicked the side with his good leg, hearing another “OUCH!” from inside.

He stood still, prepared to attack, watching the locker door rattle before it swung open.

Lefty backed away, seeing a large gloved hand reach out.

A Lucky robot pulled itself out of the locker, laying on the floor for a moment before standing up straight.

Lefty immediately curled his fingers and delivered a swift punch to his face.

“OUCH!” Lucky exclaimed, holding his nose, “You're hurting me!”

“That's the idea dipshit!” Lefty snarled, “Now let me leave! Call off your gang and all your doppelgängers, let me walk out of here!”

It shook its head, “I'm not doing it!!”

“I don’t care if you’re the leader or the underling! I will keep fighting despite being injured! So it's better if you just stop!!” Lefty grabbed his ears, pulling him down.

“BUT I'M NOT HURTING YOU!!”

“Are you playing reverse psychology?”

“LOOK AT ME!! DO I LOOK LIKE ONE OF THEM??”

Lefty froze, looking over this particular Lucky model. He did notice it didn’t look “show ready” as he would describe it, as it had several missing suit parts, particularly on one arm, from the lower arm to the finger tips, it was just an exposed robot arm. The suit also looked dirty, with obvious mud caked on the feet, dried up black oil around its eyes, the fur at some parts looked matted, like he hadn’t been cleaned in a long time.

“I'm hiding also,” The rabbit explained, “I'm hiding from them.”

“What are you? An unfinished prototype?” Lefty let go off his ears.

“Malak said I'm a defect!”

“A defect...?” Lefty said skeptically, he knew that “defect” could mean anything, it didn’t necessarily mean this one was good, it could mean that it was missing some important programming. He was also a little confused about the tone in which he had said “defect”, like he didn’t understand what it meant.

“I don’t like them... they're mean... so I've been hiding anywhere I could basically!” Lucky exclaimed, “The concept of killing people doesn’t appeal to me.”

“How do I know you're not lying through your teeth right now?” Lefty frowned.

“I know why you wouldn’t believe me... I know you aren’t one of them... one of the Joy Joy Gang, I mean.”

“Indeed,” Lefty answered, “I just want to go home, to my family... I don’t know where the exit is though and I’ve been chased around in circles by those three,” Lefty exhaled, overwhelmed.

“Maybe... Maybe I can help you to escape! I have a map of this place installed in my memory!”

“As if I'll blindly follow you,” Lefty knew he couldn’t just blindly trust anyone in a strange place.

“How can I...? Oh! I know! Your leg!” Lucky pointed at it, “Looks like you've caused some damage to the main connection on the knee joint... you need a replacement if you want to run as fast as you can... I don’t have a replacement part on me right now, but rubber bands can help hold the joint steady temporarily so it won’t break further! Hopefully long enough for you to escape and get back to your family!”

Lefty tilted his head, “Why would you help me?”

“I want to... I've seen too many people being killed... and hearing you have a family... I know they'd be devastated if you died!” Lucky shook his head.

“I... I don’t know if I can trust you...” Lefty admitted.

“How about I tell you what you need to do with the Joy Joy Gang? You just need to electrify them!” Lucky replied, “That'll stun them long enough for you to have a chance to escape!”

“Is there anything I can do about Hangry? He's a real big problem for me right now.”

“Hangry... you can try roaring at him... he doesn’t like animals like lions or bears...”

Lefty frowned, that seemed too simple and he knew there was likely a catch, “Suppose I could... Alright... so...”

“Lucky.”

“For personal reasons, I'd rather not call you Lucky, I've had a bad experience with someone named Lucky and what's going on right now isn’t helping... can I give you a nickname instead?” Lefty suggested

“Okay!” He seemed happy at the suggestion, “What do you wanna call me?”

Lefty thought for a minute, he didn’t want something too silly, or something too unusual, but he wanted it to be distinctive.

“How about... Jai?” Lefty asked.

He saw his eyes lit up, “Ooooo Jai! That sounds so interesting!”

“It means victory.”

“Wow! I finally have a name, maybe I can stop associating myself with... that other guy...” He frowned.

“Well...” Lefty extended out his arm, “My name is Lefty.”

“Hello Lefty! I'm Jai!” He proudly introduced himself, shaking Lefty's arm, “Wow! That felt amazing! Just to introduce myself like that, as someone separate from the Joy Joy Gang!”

“I apologize also for attacking you,” Lefty shook his head.

“Oh I understand and it's forgiven... now how about I find those rubber bands and you can tell me more about yourself in the meantime, I wanna know about your family! If that's okay of course...”

Lefty chuckled, smiling at Jai.

[hotdemonsummer]

Obey Me! and Angelology and Demonology

 alternatively titled Lets Get Into Lucifer

This is yet another long, long post about the lore of Obey Me! from the perspective of historical and theological angelology, and demonology or the study of angels and demons respectively, because I think it’s neat. I also talk way too much. I’m scared to check the word count on this.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on anything, and certainly not on religion. I just like comparative theology. Also, spoilers for lesson 43/44.

What is an angel? And what, in turn, is a demon? It depends on who you ask. All religions that have angels have a general consensus that they are spiritual beings, intermediaries of some kind of higher power. Demons, on the other hand, are much more vague beyond general malevolence toward humanity. Any connection between the two is entirely dependent on the culture and religion in question. Some have angels but not demons, and many have vice versa.

There’s generally four kinds of spirits that are considered demons:

Dead people with extremely bad vibes (think mogwai, yuurei, and other revenants)

Neutral-to-malevolent energy, physical form optional (think djinni or yokai)

Cult subjects (including foreign gods and ancestor worship)

Corrupted angels (either fallen or Nephilim)

The word demon comes from the Greek δαίμων, or daimon, but the concept of a demon is much older than the Greeks. The original daimon had none of the malevolent, evil associations that we now think of. Instead, daimon just described a kind of powerful spiritual entity (for example, δαίμων is the term Euripides uses for the new god Dionysus in The Bacchae). What we think of as demons now didn’t exist in Greek culture, and the negative associations came when the Tanakh was translated from Hebrew to Greek, but even then shedim aren’t identical to the contemporary depiction of demons that we see in Obey Me!, which, like everything else in Western society, came about through the domination of Christianity.

Shedim, the precursor to the Christian demon, was more or less a term for false gods, a title for the various Levantine pagan gods (see: origin of Beelzebub, Belphegor, and pretty much every demon that starts with Bel- or Bal-). 

Obey Me! pretty much canonizes Type 2 and Type 4 demons, with characters like Diavolo, Barbatos, and Satan as Type 2 and the other brothers as Type 4. Historically, Beelzebub and Belphegor are Type 3 (Beelzebub and Belphegor being Levantine gods), Mammon being Type 2 (a general personification of Wealth, although Milton did write him as a Type 4 in Paradise Lost) and Asmodeus being somewhere in between Type 2 and 3 (being heavily derived from a Zoroastrian daeva of wrath). Lucifer is, historically, the only consistently Type 4 demon.

I don’t think I have to explain what a fallen angel is to any OM! fan. But I will. 

Let’s talk about these guys. We’re all familiar with Satan’s weird complex about Lucifer, and I’m sure we’re all equally familiar with how Satan and Lucifer are terms used interchangeably for whatever being is The Big Bad of Hell. However, they’re not synonymous.

Satan derives from the same Proto-Semitic root as shayatan, which... should be pretty obvious, but nonetheless has a pretty analogous role as a tempter of men in the Abrahamic religions. Beyond that “tempter of men” title, though, the actual details of what Satan is is incredibly varied, including whether or not “Satan” is a name or a title. In Christianity, the view of Satan as an extremely powerful and evil corrupter of man, wholly opposed to God, came around the Middle Ages, when witchcraft hysteria spread.

Lucifer, on the other hand, is simultaneously a figure originating in Christianity and much, much older than it. The term of course means “light-bringer”, and is heavily associated with the morning star, aka the planet Venus. To make a very long story short, many Mesopotamian, Levantine, and Mediterranean cultures saw the lowering of Venus toward the horizon at night and thought, “hey, thats a pretty neat image!” and created stories about heavenly beings falling toward the earth. Of course, they didn’t use the ‘term’ Lucifer, that’s Latin, and came from the Vulgate Bible.

The term Lucifer does not exclusively refer to The Evil Fallen Angel™ in Christian texts (some very sacred things like the Exsultet explicitly refer to Jesus as Lucifer), but it sure is the most popular interpretation. In works like Paradise Lost or the Divine Comedy, the general idea is that the angel Lucifer rebelled against God in some way and was cast out of Heaven, then becoming Satan, and thus the two are one and the same.

(inb4 some Quora-type chews me out for accuracy’s sake, the “lucifer” mentioned in Isaiah 14:12 refers not to any angel, but to a Babylonian king. The whole fallen angel thing, much like the beatitudes or Bethlehem or Christmas, is a fusion of pagan influences.)

In other words, Lucifer is always and has always been a fallen angel. Satan, on the other hand, doesn’t have those connections to angelhood, and the two figures have an undeniable connection despite their clear individual differences. Sound familiar?

The next question is then what kind of angel is Lucifer anyway? to which you might be thinking, wait, there are different kinds? Yes, holy shit, there are so many kinds of angels and very little consensus on what they are. In terms of Christian angelology (because again, Lucifer is a uniquely Christian/derivative Christian figure unless you exclude Leland’s Aradia which I don’t because lbr they were Italian anyways), most hierarchies are based on the work of this guy:

This man has the incredibly succinct name of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and sometime in the 5th century he wrote a book called De Coelesti Hierarchia. It orders the *WTNV voice* hierarchy of angels into three levels called spheres, and each sphere has three sub-levels called choirs. Many, but not all, of the choirs are adopted from various Jewish angelic hierarchies. If you thought that it was just angels and then archangels were, like, the middle management version of angels then you are very wrong. I’m sorry that television lied.

You know who also lied? Tumblr dot com and any post that implies that the true form of angels is a big wheel with a bunch of eyes. That is, in fact, a descriptor for only one kind of angel: ophanim, or thrones. The depiction of angels runs the gamut from winged humanoids to multi-winged humanoids with multiple animal heads to burning snakes to vague heavenly mist.

Archangels and angels are the eighth and ninth lowest choirs of angels, respectively. Angels, or malakhim, are the default messengers of God and the choir from which guardian angels come from. Generally, if someone claims to have a message from God delivered to them, it will be an angel doing it. If it’s really important, it’ll be an archangel. Everyone else literally has more important things to do. No one’s getting visions from dominions.

Lucifer’s (the theological one) actual designation is kind of a mystery. Depending on the text, Lucifer has been described as a seraph (the highest), a cherub (the second highest), or an archangel (the eighth). According to Thomas Aquinas:

Lucifer, chief of the sinning angels, was probably the highest of all the angels. But there are some who think that Lucifer was highest only among the rebel angels.

Not very helpful, but hey. The question remains: what kind of angel is Lucifer, and this time I mean our Lucifer. 

We know that Michael, just like his namesake, is an archangel. We also know that (SPOILERS) Simeon, unlike his namesake, is an archangel as well (Simeon is a saint, not an angel.) Lucifer likely was at their level, if not higher.

However, Lucifer was also a six-winged angel, a depiction generally reserved for seraphim (and cherubim, but far less frequently).

Moreover, in terms of role, an angellic Lucifer fits well with that of the powers, the sixth choir. Powers are in charge of moving the heavenly bodies, and are depicted as powerful warriors dressed in beautiful armor. It's fitting for a being so closely tied to the morning star to be a power, after all.

So, with all that considered, what is Lucifer? 

Well, he’s a seraph (or saraph, technically). Why? Because Simeon is somehow a seraph and an archangel (I have already written too much to unpack that bullshit), and Mammon was a throne (remember those wheels with eyes?) and Beel was a cherub and therefore Lucifer had to be higher than both of them (interestingly big brother Mammon is in a lower choir than little brother Beel). This makes Michael kind of, well... weird, given the archangels’ low rank.

Some like to differentiate between archangel the eighth choir and Archangel, with a capital A, as a term for any high-ranking angel. While this is likely what Solmare is doing, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this has zero basis in any religious text whatsoever and is solely done for the convenience of not remembering anything besides angel and archangel. Which is like, fine, but I’m a pedantic jerk who I found claims to the contrary while researching and I felt the need to correct that.

Anyways, the more you know.

[strifesolution]

so sorry if this exists and i just cant find it, but might you have a post or something similar where you list the specific songs you associate with each of the songs in your 3rd life playlist? i am listening to it right now and quite adore analyzing it, but i am curious about a fair few of the songs and what lens you viewed them with. you listed a couple on the playlist post reblogs, but i am not sure about the others.

ayy sorry this is a late reply, i kinda forgot to get around to it :P i know i talked about them somewhere but i’ll do a quick analysis. with some lazier than others. this got long lmao.

do it all the time - idkhow

where the playlist name comes from! now we're so young / but we're probably gonna die. it’s the vibes of getting stuck in a game you don’t want to play but embracing it anyway, and the selling lies/trust fund lines tie into the scamming themes

great vacation - dirt poor robins

this song is along the lines of a telling of the rapture. i associate with the idea of the 3L cast being taken from their home servers into a new world.

the other side - the greatest showmen 

desert duo. need i elaborate 

six feet - patent pending

a very 3L/LL song. ain't nobody coming when you make the call, cause every man's gunning for the first to fall // so it's left, right, left, down, the trail of the dead, and only six feet between me and catching my breath, only six feet between me and getting some rest. basically a hardcore minecraft song.

people i don’t like - upsahl

kinda associate this one with scott or etho specifically? but it’s the idea of disliking the players around you, ‘i’m surrounded by idiots who don’t know how to survive.’

it’s tough to be a god - the road to el dorado 

early session renchanting. ‘nuf said

i can’t decide - the scissor sisters

your classic villain song. pick your fancy of who you like it to fit

the fine print - the stupendium

this is a scar song.

bang! - ajr

session 4 lmao

nicknackatory - mr b

early renchanting, again

crazy=genius - patd

desert duo

revolution - queenpb

ren song ren song ren song. start a revolution and watch your body decay from head to toe / start a revolution, and laugh as you think that you have control. the arc of the red king’s fall into blood lust.

anti-hero - sekai no owari

an etho song, imo

cops and robbers - the hooisers

blame simon, 'cause he said, you've got two lives down and one life left / blame simon, 'cause he said, you could think better with a hole in your head

wolf in sheep’s clothing - set it off

joel song!

the ballad of sara berry - 35MM

scar as sara and ren as julie, or swapped, depending on who you wanna view as the villain in the series (these two are morally gray parallels, which is the point of them swapping places depending on perspective)

brutus - the buttress

power hungry red lives.

the wolf - siames

red life vibes, specifically ren or joel for obvious reasons

misery fell - tally hall

the denial of early game, where it was supposed to be cooperative, and their was still hope they’d survive...

business man - mother mother

scar, again. he’s the most common character across POVs, what do you want from me? :P

come along - cosmo sheldrake

mysterious new world with a magical energy that comes with it of the lives system and blood lust vibes

off with his head - jack conte

ren, ofc

curtain fall - area 11

A11 PROPAGANDA!!! there are some ways to win, the primal games we’re in // cling to me and my scars that prove it all, don’t let the curtain fall

those who carried on - ghost

a 3L into LL song. the players are unique entities that will continue to be reawakened to play the game again.

i’m gonna win - rob cantor

fun fact, i said this would be a grian song if he ended up winning long before the finale. i was very right. i'll be bloody and bruised, i'll be breaking my bones /  i'll be paying my dues, i'll be laughing alone

send them off! - bastille

ren and martyn because i love crying

terrible things - april smith

about the unreliable narrator phenomenon in the series.

from the ground up - laura shigihara

if you watch the music video for this song, it’s about a couple playing in a hardcore minecraft world, living for literal centuries in it, and choosing to play again once they die. still gives me chills.

viva la vida - coldplay

damn i wish fallen kingdom was on spotify, anyways, ren

solider poet king - the oh hellos

a classic. you know the deal

two birds - regina spektor

red/green duos

skulls - bastille 

when our lives are over and all that remains, are our skulls and bones, let's take it to the grave / and hold me in your arms, hold me in your arms, i'll be buried here with you / and I'll hold in these hands, all that remains

no children - the mountain goats

again, another one i don’t feel i need to explain.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Yeeaaah… so this ended up turning out longer than I intended… but it’s a theory I felt like sharing nonetheless. Hopefully tumblr doesn’t eat this & if this is too long or odd to answer… don’t worry, I understand. I just wanted to share while it was in my head, ya know? So: Long Post Warning!

I am not 100% caught up on every chapter yet, but I do have a brief understanding of all the events up til now. So please forgive me if this has been revealed and I just don’t know about it yet.

Bell 🧚🏻 = wind spirit🌬🌪

Salamander (who honestly looks more like a dragon than a salamander so he’s gettin’ the dragon emoji) 🐲 = fire spirit 🔥

Undine 🌊 = water spirit💧

As far as I know, we don’t yet have an inkling of who the earth spirit will be or to whom he will “choose” to contract with.

Tbh, I have a some of feelings about possibilities surrounding the earth spirit…

Bell and Undine are both obviously women and I’m 96.8% sure that Salamander is a boy… but who knows, I also wouldn’t be the least bit freaking surprised if Tabata threw that back in our face and Salamander ends up being a girl like in Shrek (and on that note, I just need to ask, in Shrek 2 when Shrek and Donkey drank the Happily Ever After Potion, it’s described as “"Happily Ever After Potion maximum strength. For you and your true love. Drink of this potion and bliss will be thine, happiness, comfort, and beauty divine.” This stuff turned both Shrek and Fiona human while it turned Donkey into a pure white stallion… am I the only one that still gets peeved we never got an answer on wtf that stuff did to Dragon??? Or how it would’ve affected their dragon donkey hybrid babies??? That’s the only thing that irks me about Shrek 2… okay, whew, now that I’ve gotten that out, back to Black Clover theorizing)

Going by the assumption that Salamander is most likely a boy, it would stand to reason that the earth spirit has a good chance at being male as well like 2 female spirits, 2 male.

Salamander’s inspiration obviously comes from dragon lore, I can’t find one singularly specific mythology reference Tabata would have based Salamader on so I’m guessing Salamander is based on dragon lore.

Bell has, for the most part, 2 inspirations Tabata based her on. The main one being Sylphs have power over the skies and air. They've been delineated to have control over the wind and the clouds, and even have the ability to purify the air and control the weather itself. Sylphs are not officially from a specific type of mythology, but if they were to be categorized they’d qualify as European folklore, same as Undine and Gnome which will be explained a few bullet points later. The second and most obvious (my fav of the 2) inspiration Tabata drew from for her character is Tinkerbell; from the blond hair, green dress, gets pissed when male partner pays attention to any female that isn’t her, yeah no denying she’s based on tinkerbell; my guess is Tabata combined her with Sylphs wind magic because it was Tinkerbell’s pixie dust that Peter, the lost boys, and the Darling children used to be able to fly. “Faith, trust, & a little bit of pixie dust” (Which is even more perfect because, even if he doesn’t show it, there is no one else in the series that has more faith & trust in Asta than Yuno does… Yuno’s infinite faith/trust in Asta both drives their rivalry forward and, by this logic, is one of the very reasons Yuno can sore so high🥰).

Undine is the only spirit character, for now, that is directly based off of a real water spirit in European folklore (again, even though Sylphs technically qualify to be categorized under European mythology, as far as I know, they are not officially categorized as such which is why I say Undine is the only one) - “Undine, also spelled Ondine, is a mythological figure of European tradition, a water nymph who becomes human when she falls in love with a man but is doomed to die if he is unfaithful to her.” Being that Undine is described as being able to take human form when she falls in love with a man *cough cough* Ariel *cough cough* Black Clover’s Undine’s background states that she made a contract with the first queen of the newly formed Heart Kingdom and has thus stayed loyal and made a contract with every Heart Queen since. Maybe she fell in love with the father/brother/husband/male-figure associated with the first queen and since the queen is the predominant ruler of the heart kingdom - Undine made a contract with her to be close to this man while knowing he could/would never be hers… she wouldn’t die if her love is one sided… if her love is unsaid and unrequited then anything this man does with another woman isn’t considered being unfaithful.. and maybe she’s maintained contracts with every Heart Queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love to that original man whom she took human form for. Or she was in love with the first queen and has made a contract with every queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love not on just for that first queen but every one of her descendants. Who knows?

Tabata’s mythological references (demonology excluded because that a whole other thing) for the most part mainly circulate around Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and European folklore.

Going based off of Undine (and Sylphs) , there’s a strong possibility that this yet to be named earth spirit will possibly directly based on, even if only slightly, someone of those three categories above.

Greek mythology, I find somewhat unlikely seeing as there’s no official male god of earth in Greek mythology. There are deities that have roles related to the earth yeah… but no god surround the earth itself or the element itself. The closest thing to a god of earth in Greek mythology is Gaea - goddess of earth. Simplify it to god of dirt and still the only result is Demeter goddess of agriculture (which seems similar to Mimosa in some ways but I don’t think she will obtain an earth spirit because I think the earth spirit will have more to do with mineral earth than plants and agriculture). If there is to be any inspiration drawn from Greek mythology in terms of an earth spirit, but even this seems a little unlikely, my guess would be possibly some characteristics from Satyrs seeing as they are the male equivalent of nymphs - what Undine is technically classified as.

Norse mythology seems a bit more, but not by much at first, plausible in terms of gathering reference for an earth spirit. It probably wouldn’t be the Norse God of Earth Jörd because she is still technically a goddess and mother of earth like Gaea. However, Norse mythology does have a deity of rocks - Hrungnir is a jötunn (a type of entity contrasted with gods and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves. The entities are themselves ambiguously defined, variously referred to by several other terms, including risi, thurs and troll). There is also one more Norse aspect that goes along these lines - Dvergar or Norse dwarves are entities in Norse mythology associated with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology, craft, metal work, wisdom, and greed.

Norse mythologies depictions of both jötunn and dvergar tie into the third category of European folklore’s depiction of earth deities/spirits. In European folklore, Gnome, is a dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures hidden in the earth. He is represented in medieval mythologies as a small, physically deformed (usually hunchbacked) creature resembling a dry, gnarled old man. - this description is similar to that of jötunn/dvergar and also ties into Charmy being revealed as part dwarf which will most likely be explored in a later arc.

Tbh, I picture this guy’s personality being somewhere between Grumpy from Snow White, the grumpy but well-meaning and wisecrack Lorax, and Phil from Disney’s rendition of Hercules… (not only does imagining this type of personality have me laughing… imagining the 2 most whom I find most likely to be chosen by this earth spirit… imagining them being partnered up with this personality has me near cackling😂)

As for the 2 whom most likely might be the “chosen one” of this earth spirit?

Even though he is technically described as being Arcane in terms of his magical attribute, Mercury is by definition “a naturally-occurring chemical element found in rock in the earth's crust, including in deposits of coal.” So mercury is naturally occurring, derived from earth, and the fact that it can come from deposits of coal ties in perfectly to the hypothesis of this earth spirit/deity being along the lines of dwarves which (not JUST in Snow White) are heavily associated with miners in various mythologies and folklores. So even though technically classified as being arcane, I do think Nozel has a strong possibility of being chosen by the spirit of earth (+ it would make for an EVEN MORE epic rivalry between Nozel and Fuegoleon if they both have an elemental spirit) (++ based off of how dwarves are depicted in mythology and based on how I decribed how I think this guy’s personality will be, I can see this guy as wise/rational but also getting grumpy/irritated easily with a short fuse and just imagine him getting irritated and kicking Nozel in the shins when when he doesn’t communicate his feelings properly & almost always kicks Solid/Nebra/Augustus in the shins when he says something he shouldn’t have - omg this guy’ll be a hoot!!🤣)

The second possible “chosen one” of this earth spirit could be Sol. Not only is she 100% raw earth magic but I also feel like it would balance her out a bit having a male spirit attached to her and that’s where the wisdom side of the Lorax/Phil could kick in and help her not only improve as a mage but also as a person helping her not see things so one sided. You notice, even though the Blue Rose Knights are an all girl squad… Sol is the only one that goes to that much of a degree in despising men; everyone else on the squad detests men on the surface but for the most part not truly. Charlotte keeps up the façade of detesting men to both appear strong for her squad ladies but also to mask her own insecurities. Sol, while she has gotten a little better since her initial introduction, is the only one who barely tolerates men… the only one who’s depicted as not having a façade and genuinely detests all men with a few exceptions. Having a male spirit like character who does not take her BS (*shin kick💥*) but also offers her wisdom and guidance that helps her grow as a person would be phenomenal for her character overall.

I find Nozel to be the more interesting outcome (NO! not just because I’m a Nozel simp… who told you that? They lie) but either of these characters would be interesting and could improve drastically in character development and as a mage having someone like this joined at the hip.

What are your thoughts?

– Grimoire_Girl📚

OKay, okay *takes a moment* (Also: did I just stop what I was doing, just to read and reply to this? .... Maybe)

I'd like to platonically kiss you on the mouth (with your consent ofc, because consent is a big thing on this blog), because I love this. Okay the Fue simp in me was hoping to have more of him, but in the end I didn't even mind. And can I just say that I love, lovelovelove the idea of Nozel getting the Elemental Spirit of Earth.

The theory is made *so* *much* *better* by the mental image of him (supposedly 'him') being a Lorax/Phil (from now on, let's call him Phorax). Because can you just imagine this duo?! Nozel, our lovely tsun-tsun who is in need of a big, warm hug and therapy. (Like Nozel, sweetie, I know that there aren't many therapists around, but you need to talk to someone.)

I'm also thinking that since it's probable that there'll be the 2-2 divide between boy/girl spirits, because I kinda agree with you on Sal being a boy (I'm aware of Shrek 2, but unfortunately I have no answers, but I laughed *so hard* while reading that), if there'll be a divide between the Spirit forms that have wings. Because I can't see the Earth Spirit giving a flying Spirit Dive form.

I mean, what, everyone else, aka the rest 3 spirit owners can rise to the skies and then Nozel is left behind like a plucked chicken? (I'm so, so sorry for that comparison, but ain't no one leaving him behind! Nozel. Needs. To. Be. Included.) I don't think that's fair. So, it could very well be that the two else give a "grounded" Spirit form, and Bell and Undine give a flying form.

Aaaanyways... I do like your theory/thoughts on how Undine came to be. And I could very well see that to be canon.

I, honestly, have nothing further to add at this point. Because this is brilliant. I love this.

But Tabata please, give us a tiny bit more lore. Please? A pretty please