#also adam adam seems like the obvious choice here but also adam is ADAM so it feels kind of ooc

[wander-wren]

i’ve found a hole in the market

[hypnos333]

The Garden of Eden

Adam x Angel Reader

Synopsis: You were in the garden alone growing flowers until Adam came and fell in love with you first sight

Warning:Smut

Your palms wrapped into a glowing gold around the rose ready for the flower to grow and it did. Your long hair was flowed around the garden not getting up any time soon to go back to heaven.

You loved earth, the seven days god made it you watched all seven days, to see the beauty of it all.

Little did you know a naked man was peeking behind the tree, observing you, and fascinated with you. He watched as your long hair flowed through the winds and how you eyes were fixated on growing the flower.

“I know you’re back there, Show yourself human” You said without looking up, Adam continued hiding swallowing his pride to correct you. “I’m sorry that a bit rude of me, What’s your name?” You asked him making step out of the tree now standing behind you.

“Adam, What’s yours?” Adam said confidently and pridefully as hum running your hands through the rose.

“My name is ___ I’m am an Angel taking care of Eden” You replied to him with respectfulness and gentleness in your voice. Not even Lilith talk to him like that all she does is sass back at him and just gives out a full attitude but you were different. You were submissive and you always seem to listen with pretending too.

“Why do you want to work here? Or were you forced to-“Oh heavens no, this is all by choice I pleaded God to let me even step foot here” You interrupted him

He nodded standing there awkwardly before you turned to him gesturing him to sit next to you.

“Lemme show you something” You said as he sat down, you took his hands into yours then you put your hands on top of his before wrapping it around another dying flower this time it was a Sunflower.

His hands glowed a golden as it heals the flower. When it was over his face was full of disbelief and shock you didn’t pull your hands away and neither did he. “What the fuck did I just do” He said making you chuckle and his cursing.

“Well you healed a flower of course” You said stating the obvious.

“Ohhh well fuck me” He mumbles to himself making you playfully push him finally letting go of his hand, Adam was a little disappointed but ignored the feeling anyways.

He laid down on the grass making you follow suit as you both continued getting to know each other.

Days past and before you knew it Lilith and Lucifer got banished to hell, so God gave Adam a new wife but before he even gotten a new wife there was a secret that you both will forever keep.

Moans could be heard throughout both your secret spot as his dick abused your cunt in and out multiple times. You were moaning against his ear as he fucked you against a tree. “A-Ah Adam f-faster” You moaned out making his thrust faster as one of his hand moves to squeeze your breasts making Moan louder. “F-Fuck I might as well milk my cum into you and fuck you a baby angel” He whispers into your ear as you moan even louder at that. “Yes Adam fuck a baby into me” You moan out and that when he cummed deep into your pussy making it leak

Yeah but since Adam and Eve as a new wife you both can’t secretly fuck anymore, it goes against the bible and when Adam fucked Eve you haven’t talked to him when he had three children and got banished of Eden for trusting Eve and eating the apple.

You were also pregnant so you could definitely not see him anymore.

Later you gave birth to beautiful boy, Isaac a name fit for an Angel when he was two that’s when Adam died.

A baby Giggling could be heard coming out of your house, Adam was nervous to see you and maybe thought you moved on to someone else. But he had to at least try and make it seem like he’s a pussy. So he knocked it took few minutes but then when you opened the door he was shocked.

It was you as beautiful as ever but holding a baby angel who had his hair and skin complexion, but your eyes and smile. “It’s either you fucked someone who looked like me or that baby is mine” He stated bluntly making you roll your eyes.

“Lemme put him down for a nap, come in if you want” You said opening the door wider for him making him come in and close your door as you went to put Issac in his crib.

“What’s his name?” Adam asked realizing the baby was actually his.

“His name is Issac” You said simply before sitting on the couch across from him. Making Adam move to sit next to you and pull you on his lap.

“Why were you so far away from?” He whispered in your ear before kissing and sucking your neck making you moan quietly. “A-Adam the baby is in the other room” You said as he slid his hands into your dress groping your breasts.

“He’s sleeping anyways” Adam stated bluntly making you thankful that Issac is a deep sleeper. Next you knew your bouncing on Adams thick cock, cum thirsty, Your moans were loud as the skin clapping of you bouncing on his dick naked.

Adam was squeezing both your breasts as you bounce “Yes take as much as you want you dirty whore” He said before he grabbed your hips thrusting even faster. As you almost scream at the pleasure you came hard at the same time Adam came inside you again.

You laid tiredly on his shoulder as he put you to bed but then the baby started crying making him rush to Issac to see reaching out to his binkie on the counter. Adam gave him the pacifier making Issac put it in his mouth before smiling at Adam one more time before falling asleep.

That is definitely yours and his child

[showtoonzfan]

Also yeah this new Hazbin cast is not it man. I’m sorry. Most of them either sound flat, don’t fit with the character design, or are just not as good as the original. Angel and Alastor I especially don’t like, Alastor sounds so nasally and Amari just can’t top Bosco’s performance, with Bosco not only was he good but when Alastor was threatening, he SOUNDED threatening. I may have made fun of Al’s design, but Bosco’s voice is what made the character interesting and threatening for me. With Amari’s voice he just sounds beyond silly and I can’t take him seriously.

Blake Roman is literally just intimidating Kovach, except this time Angel just sounds forced and awkward. It makes you wonder why Viv just didn’t get Kovach back since it’s obvious she wanted to find someone so similar to him, and then you realize…oh yeah, Kovach wasn’t on Broadway or is a big singer. Micheal was really good at what he did as Angel too as everyone has already said so Viv fumbled the bag SO hard with these two it’s sad. I’m especially pissed about Alastor cause Bosco was the reason he was my favorite character and now he sounds so cringe.

Husk and Vox are played by two very talented actors/singers but their voices just don’t fit with the character design, though I’m not that against Christain Borle as Vox, the voice doesn’t fit the twink design but at the very least they got a man who sounds like a full grown adult playing a full grown adult lmao. Husk is a different story however, because it feels like Keith was picked to play him just because he was famous and nothing else. Back in the pilot, Viv had a specific voice in mind for Husk and she found it, aka Mick. He perfectly came off as an old washed up grumpy alcoholic, and Keith’s voice kinda just…erases all that personality. Sure Keith’s voice sounds cool but that’s it, it’s style over substance.

I wish I could say more about Charlie and Vaggie but I’m not sure what to say other then they kinda sound forced and awkward too, and I hate saying that cause they’re also played by two very talented actresses. Stephanie B played Mirabel from Encanto, she’s had voice acting experience before so I hope she ends up sounding good in the actual show. Erika meanwhile…I hate to say this but other than her singing voice there’s nothing really special about her as Charlie compared to Jill Harris, though even with Jill I never felt any strong feelings towards her performance.

Adam meanwhile, dear GOD I was right about him looking bad in animation form, his design sucks so fucking much. Fans were right, that’s Alex Brightman’s voice, he seems to be using his normal voice but just a tad deeper. He’s the only one who’s a fine choice, though I really wish we got to hear him as Pentious here!

But yeah in terms of the voice cast I’m just disappointed man, really disappointed. It makes you really realize how talented the pilot cast was. They were so good cause they were all chosen for a reason that wasn’t just “they’re famous” and it fucking sucks how bad Viv fumbled everything.

[lnkedmyheart]

can you name every time in which dazai has expressed care for chuuya?

Sure, I can try. Dazai has a unique brand of care and it shows less as the more obvious show of affection and more as an interest in people. Lets go chronologically

Dazai's irritation at the meeting with the sheep in 15. He has imo already started his own weird bonding ritual with Chuuya by that point and wants him as his personal friend, his dog in Dazai lingo cause he is a moron. He gets irked at the way Shirase, and by extension the sheep, make demands of Chuuya. That being said, this is still early and he more or less just uses this info to exploit for later.

Dazai's fascination from the GSS squad vs Chuuya fight develops into Dazai wanting to keep living. And I think that is some kind of care because Dazai legit is vibing with the guy by this point. Him wanting Chuuya to be assigned to him and not Koyou and printing out newsletters about him etc all seem to point towards some weird way of wanting to be on talking terms with him.

In stormbringer Dazai carrying Chuuya all the way across the city to the Old World so he can see Albatross and hear his final words is very important to me.

Dazai's growing agitation at them not getting to Chuuya in time during his capture. Its not as noticeable but he was uncharacteristically insistent.

Dazai's insistence on Chuuya's humanity in general.

Dazai's entire plan in sb was so he could get his hands on details about Chuuya. Like he flat out admits that Mori and the mafia dont really matter to him here and Chuuya even understands that.

That one scene when Guivre first appears and Dazai whispers to Chuuya to not look. An underrated scene imo.

The very well known scene where Dazai gives Chuuya a genuine choice and was willing to put the entire city at risk because he believes Chuuya has a right to his humanity and past. Also him explicitly laying out everything in front of Chuuya.

Obviously him catching him as he fell and holding him or whatever. But also another underrated scene where when Chuuya feels lost at the care shown to his person by Adam in the epilogue Dazai has the softest most fond reaction.

In the day I picked up Dazai he talks about Chuuya to Oda. I think its cute.

Onto dragon head now: Dazai completely flipping from completely unbothered about the war to deciding enough was enough when Chuuya calls him out with a punch and is genuinely mad at him. He is very subdued throughout the manga panels. He doesn't evem tease him. Him quietly accepting that Chuuya needs to use corruption and despite him telling Dazai not to stop him he nullifies corruption by touching his face and then letting him rest on his lap and even puts his hat on his head. Hell Dazai's entire perception of events changes because of Chuuya, from making light of the colonel's death to angrily telling Shibusawa that he had crossed a line with that act. Also Dazai's "get shot and die" line is explained to be a code warning Chuuya of an incoming grenade.

Onto the manga timeline: Dazai is generally far nicer and more civil with Chuuya than any of the mafia members post defection. He gives Chuuya a choice with Lovecraft again, he is very gentle with Chuuya when nullifying corruption, not letting go of him till he knows Chuuya would be able to handle his own weight unlike with say Atsushi. He folds his clothes and brings his hat back. Note that the hat is very important to Chuuya.

Dead apple has Dazai's face when he touches Chuuya to nullify him and then holding him down post corruption. And the sheer trust he has in a Chuuya to follow through on a plan that was never discussed. And Chuuya's hat magically appearing in his line of sight when he leaves. Also you can't tell me he doesnt care when he makes that face.

Dazai's anger at Fyodor bringing Chuuya to Meursault is self explanatory, his bond being questioned is too but particularly his whole speech in 101 where he starts thinking back on their moments is proof enough that he genuinely cares about Chuuya in some weird obsessive way.

[scekrex]

Hiiii💕💕 me again I really loved your story and writing style<3

But any way I have a other idea, here it goes when Adam meet male reader for the first time and when he first saw him quickly thought of Eve and Lilith? But he tried brush those thoughts out of his mind when they start to know each other more but Adam can not stop looking at him this time y/n wanted to make a joke so he says.

"Do I look like your girlfriend?"

"No.. My late wife (or something else)... I cannot believe it"

"You could've been her twin!"

"Your face.. Your voice... Just your hair and clothes are different-"

"My name, is y/n l/n"

If you can thank you 💕💕

You'll be from now on known as "💕💕", also really love that idea!! So here ya go babes xoxo/p

Pretty baby with the sun in his eyes

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language

note: not beta read bc fuck you I don't have beta readers

You had first met him when Sera had introduced you to him in her office. It had been a little weird to meet the first man to ever be created, not because you had been nervous but because he hadn't been able to stop staring at you. It had seemed as if his eyes were glued onto you, no matter what you had done, his eyes had been onto you, drinking in every tiny little movement you had made. His expression had been blank, though, there was no way you could've known what had been going on behind those eyes of his.

To Adam it had been quite the shock to lay eyes on you for the first time. Your facial features looked so similar to Lilith's, your voice reminded you of Eve’s, it made him feel home. He shook that thought out of his head immediately, Eve wasn't supposed to sound like home and your face that could've been the face of Lilith's younger brother made his stomach feel heavy and his heart skip a beat every now and then. Fuck no, he wasn't seeing his ex wives in you - at least he told himself so, he was very aware that was a total lie.

And that was something that never really changed. Because once the first man had found out that you were a fellow rock enjoyer, he had been quick to give you calls every now and then, inviting you for jam sessions, the concerts his band played and sometimes even for small things like grabbing lunch together or getting ice cream. You two had been quick to figure out that you enjoyed a lot of the same things, you were quite similar. But Adam's eyes never managed to truly leave your body, one way or another they were always onto you, always putting you in some sort of unique spotlight.

Three months after first meeting him you were on the way to his apartment, he had invited you over - why you didn't really know, he had simply sent you a text that read ‘Pull up, bitch’. And given the fact that you had nothing better to do for the day, you went.

Arriving at Adam's place was surely something, he was living in that huge flat, of course he was. The first man seemingly only got the best of the best. You snorted as he swung open the golden door that you had just knocked on, he was wearing an oversized band shirt - of his own band, no way that dude would wear any other kind of merch than his own - and a pair of white sweatpants with golden stripes on the sides. His mask was somewhere, it was definitely not covering up his handsome face this time and you thanked God silently for that gift.

“Sup, babes,” he smirked as he stepped aside in order to invite you in. The second you set foot inside his home his eyes decided to never leave your body again.

This time you made the choice to address it, you were low-key sick of dodging the topic even though it was as obvious as it could get. “What’s with the staring, big guy, do I remind ya of your girlfriend?” your lips had curled up into a small yet cocky smirk as you raised an eyebrow at him. The brunette rolled his eyes at that, you knew he had no girlfriend, that well you knew each other at this point. Yet he couldn't deny that you did remind him of Lilith and Eve. “Nah babes, no girlfriend in this guys life, you know it,” he casually hummed as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder to guide you to the living room, “However, your ass reminds me of my ex wife.” You raised your eyebrow even higher, giving him a side eye, “What, you're saying you're staring at my face all day because my ass reminds you of some bitch you were married to?” That didn't really add up to you and you called bullshit on it. It simply made zero sense. But Adam was quick to clarify, a sigh left him before he explained, “No man, what I mean is you remind me of both my first and my second wife. Your face looks so much like Lilith's, in the name of the holy spirit, you could be her fucking twin brother,” he paused a moment, then continued, “And your voice, fuck, it reminds me of Eve’s, it sure sounds fucking deeper, duh kinda obivious, but… it holds the same warmth as hers.”

Now it was for you to stare at him. He had just told you you looked and sounded like two women he had been married to, that you could be their brother - twin brother even. How were you supposed to react to that? Was it even meant as a compliment?

“Well, quick reminder that my name's Y/N Y/L, I'm neither fucking Lilith nor Eve, get that shit inside your head.” Adam raised his hands in defense, “Nah, trust me I know. You look and sound like them but your personality is so fucking different from them, they were whores.” It really didn't surprise you how he talked about them because from what you knew, he wasn't wrong and had every right to be upset. “Good,” you crossed your arms over your chest, “Because if you ever fucking dare to moan their names, I'm fucking out.” It was a joke, clearly, but yet you saw a faint brush on his cheeks.

Oh you would definitely continue to tease him like that.

[chatonarya]

This will probably come across as exceedingly petty, but I'm a little disappointed with some of the word choices in the official EN translation of Keen-Edge, Silver Blade. I think they leave out some small but important nuance to some of the dialogue that is oddly present in the JP translation and seems to capture the spirit of the original CN dialogue better.

Both in CN and JP, Gnosis specifies that Enciodes "was insistent" upon the investment, which adds an extra layer to the whole thing. While it's already implied in chapter 1 when Gnosis snaps at Enciodes for blowing all that money on Degenbrecher, this line further underscores that it was a point of disagreement between them but Enciodes was adamant about it, and Gnosis is now reluctantly admitting that Enciodes was in the right. It also underscores that Enciodes was very firm on his desire to buy Degenbrecher's freedom and bring her aboard.

I also have to raise an eyebrow at Degenbrecher using the word "succor" in such a casual conversation; it doesn't really sound like her. While I appreciate the effort made to have the dialogue throughout the manga sound very Victorian in a real-world sense, that is, reminiscent of that historical time period, this doesn't really mesh well with Degenbrecher's more laidback and casual speech pattern. While I absolutely believe she would use it during the ball itself, right now when it's just the three of them, she should be lapsing into something a bit less florid.

This moment, however, is the most egregious one, because it's so important to the story and spells out part of why Degenbrecher is so loyal to Enciodes.

In CN, he says, "I knew the people I brought [with me] will not let anyone hurt me."

In JP, he says, "I knew those who I brought with me would never let me get hurt."

Yet in EN, he uses a rather more nebulous and modest word: anyone. It makes it sound almost as though he was worried about Viscount Walden or Baron Stuart, when that's not the case.

While it's obvious that he's referring to himself primarily as Degenbrecher is asking him why he made no move to dodge the Baron's sword, and the same sentiment is there, namely that Enciodes trusted her to keep him from harm (and this vagueness and implied meaning is actually likely quite appropriate for the real-world Victorian Era aristocratic manners), it doesn't hit quite the same as him explicitly and earnestly admitting that he placed his life in her hands with total faith... particular as it's this faith that so startles Degenbrecher and wins her over. This is also the final emotional denouement of the story, where Degenbrecher decides to stay with him despite having repaid her debt, and the entire conversation from the point where Gnosis passes out onward is between Enciodes and Degenbrecher discussing the events of the party and emotionally reinforcing their relationship. For him to throw out "anyone" here just feels kind of wrong. It diminishes the sincerity of the moment.

Much like the first comment, I'm not sure why this choice was made, as it seems to detract rather than add to the narrative. He should be saying, "I knew that someone/the person I brought along wouldn't let me come to harm."

[deer-carcasses]

"Great Alastor, altruist, died for his friends"

a deeper look into Alastor's solo part of the final song

The entire soundtrack has been stuck in my head since the show ended, but Alastor's part of the final specifically has been playing on a loop in my brain since I first heard it.

The slow downward pan from the Vee's feeling like they are now finally able to take over the city to the upward pan with Alasto's song starting was a fantastic choice, the contrast in their emotions, in the music, and still it all fit perfectly together.

"This place reeks of death," is such an underrated opening for this song in my eyes. We know Alastor is a cannibal, we've seen him eat a dead deer before, [^1] which would point toward him not having a problem with the smell of death and decay, but he goes out of his way to mention it smells of death. I don't think he truly meant the smell of death in this scene though. He might be talking about the death of his career if he had gotten killed in his fight with Adam. The line "Great Alastor, Altruist, died for his friends" is not him referring to himself as an altruist, it is the headlines he already sees if he truly would have died, seemingly for his friends, for the hotel. The way he follows it up with "Sorry to disappoint, this is not where it ends" shows this. It's him stating how absurd it is, but that this would be the story everyone would be thinking should it have happened. But I also feel like he says it because he knows there's the tiniest of truths behind it. Why did he fight Adam alone? Why did he fight in the first place? For the hotel, for his friends. As much as Alastor hates to admit it, he has gotten closer to the people in the hotel for sure, especially when we look at how he interacts with them all. He seems friendlier, even if it's just for show and to keep up his facade, but he truly does act like he at least cares a little but about them. The look he has while even saying it speaks volumes, he looks truly terrified of the implication that hell could see him as an altruist in this fight.

At first, his smile was an angry snarl, aggression about being humiliated by losing this fight clearly written all over his smile. But then it turns genuinely afraid like he fears the mere concept of being seen as a decent person, not even a good person, just decent enough to fight for the people in the hotel.

He digs his nails into his scalp, dragging his hands down the side of his face, but not at the prospect of dying, but at the idea of what would've come after he had died. [^2] At the idea that all of hell would know he not only died but died for someone else. Before this thought of what other people in hell would think of him, he looked more angry, enraged that Adam even dared be an opponent that Alastor had to run from in order to get out of there alive. His reaction is surprisingly human considering how Alastor normally holds himself. Sure he was alone ignoring the eyes following him around his destroyed radio tower, [^3] There's no one here that he would have to lie to, but he knows better than anyone that you're never truly alone in hell, so it still surprised me how honest he was with the viewers in this moment. It's the most we see of him that doesn't seem to be a character, a facade.

His whole persona is this blatant mask he wears constantly, obvious to everyone who knows him. He even admitted to Charlie that his smile is not real in the slightest. But it works. Every scene where Alastor was talking before his Breakdown Ballad in the finale, I second-guessed every single word that left his mouth. Wondering if it all is a performance. I see a lot of people online with the same thought, looking at everything he says twice, trying to see any hidden meaning, any clue as to what he truly wants to say behind words that, if said by any other character, would've been the least interesting thing ever. And even then, his fake smile keeps in place, even if the actual emotions behind it are clear as day, while alone in his destroyed tower. It might be to fool himself like he fools others, but I think his smile is not able to be dropped, let it be part of his deal or part of his punishment, Alastor will never be seen without his smile. [^4]

Overall i feel like Alastor does care about the Hotel staff and guests to a certain extent. I can't fully trust it, and I'd be less than surprised if I were to be wrong, but there are scenes where he seems too much like he cares.

Moving along on the song, the next lyrics are rather straightforward forward "I'm hungry for freedom like never before. The constraints of my deal surely have a backdoor" circling back to what I mentioned above. His current goal is to escape this deal that is constricting his powers, powers that would most likely have saved him from the injury he sustained. The next and final lines"Once I figure out how to unclip my wings. Guess who will be pulling all the strings?" strongly point towards how he is unable to use his full strength, that his full potential can't be reached while he is still under this deal he made. The thought of Alastor not being at his full potential in his fight with Adam is on some level truly terrifying, a Sinner can reach these kinds of powers in hell that he is able to fight someone like Adam, the first man, someone with approximately the same amount of power Lilith must have? I've just today talked to a friend of one about it. Yes, Alastor lost the fight, but he held up quite well and was a worthy opponent to the point that Adam had to seriously take a second, stop joking around, and concentrate on the fight to get a single hit on Alastor. All of this while Alastor also got a few hits in, not as strong as the ones he had to endure later on, but still. They were hits.

Regardless, in the end, Alastor came very close to dying, and that was for a cause that wasn't just for himself. Seeing what Adam did to the Hotel (or Sir Pentious while we're at it), Alastor has to honestly be glad he even survived that blow directly to his chest. There surely was some plot armor behind this decision, but it's still believable when we trust the theory that Alastor made a deal with someone far more powerful than anyone expects.

This show, and Alastor specifically, has taken over my thoughts completely.

[^1]: in my eyes his being a cannibal points to how he has a need for superiority. To always prove his worth. In his days alive he was a serial killer, a hunter, and now in hell, he has aspects of a deer, a prey animal. The cannibalism is purely to show that he is still on top, that he is superior even to those similar to him, to those that are the same as him. He might have characteristics of a prey animal, but he stays the hunter.

[^2]: this strengthens my theory that Alastor is also afraid of dying whiteout escaping the deal he is currently still bound to. I touch on it in this post a bit more clearly, it's almost at the end of the post.

[^3]: I'd like to link everyone to this post for some thoughts on the eyes in this scene. It's incredibly well written and I couldn't have phrased it better.

[^4]: the closest we ever get to not seeing him, or more part of him, not smiling is shortly before he vanishes from the fight with Adam. His shadow can be seen frowning in the background before quickly correcting itself. It's a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of situation.

[emmys-grimoire]

The Nightbringer, how lesson 9-A tells us everything, and why it’s (probably) not Barb

I’m working on lesson 3 summary, but now that a good portion of the fanbase seems to have gotten through lesson 10, I feel it’s timely to get my thoughts out there ahead of covering lesson 10 because the story will likely continue before I’m done.

And I think a lot of you are ignoring some of the contextual clues.

Don’t read this if you don’t want lesson 8+ spoiled yet.

Ahead of the game releasing, most of the fanbase thought the prologue was a peek into how Barbatos met Solomon because it matched up with the lore in the OG game and Solomon was narrating. There were also other hints that Barb was behind things via promotional media and art. Pair that with his well-known time travel abilities, and it all seems very straightforward and obvious.

We learn in lesson 8, though, that the boy in the prologue video isn’t Solomon -- it’s Adam, and it’s heavily implied that he’s Lilith’s lover.

This fact alone doesn’t actually change much beyond the implied relationship between the Nightbringer and Solomon. It is relevant that Solomon is narrating, though, because they do have a significant relationship.

In lesson 9-A (and the node in lesson 10 that’s a continuation), which I have not gotten to myself yet, Solomon has a telling conversation with the Nightbringer after being confronted with illusions of Diavolo and Simeon meant to test his resolve. They’re squabbling over him, the obvious metaphor for humanity.

Solomon chooses neither, because he believes humanity doesn’t need either demons or angels guiding them. This is meant to mirror a choice he made in the past, as the self-appointed steward of humanity.

And furthermore, back then... the Nightbringer was likely one of the advocates of one of these sides. Furthermore, whatever this agreement he made with the Nightbringer is meant to ensure his “freedom”, even though...

The Nightbringer clearly wanted him to choose one of the presented sides, not neither. So which side was he on? He reveals his hand here, too, if you read into it far enough.

Why on earth would Solomon make this retort if the Nightbringer was actually a demon? If he was a demon, of course he’d be acting like one. It’d be no surprise, and certainly not considered an insult.

We got an angel who acts like a demon. This conversation doesn’t make any sense otherwise.

The Nightbringer is an angel? But that’s CRAZY!

Is it?

Is it really?

There’s one angel in particular who has a similar connection to Solomon as Barbatos, who has also had a significant role in his past: Michael.

We find out in the dream sequence flashback in S3 that Michael was eyeballing Solomon before the Great Celestial War. We know he’s the one who fished us out of that sequence, and warned us that the effect we had on the brothers past selves will carry on into the present (though admittedly this never manifests later). We find out he approached Solomon when he was lost and confused and we know he gave him his Ring of Wisdom, which grants the power to control demons. We find out in Nightbringer that Solomon waged war against the entire Devildom in an effort to leverage his newfound power to better humanity’s position. We learn that war was ultimately inconclusive. At numerous point in the story, Michael is referred to as a “demon in disguise” and a sadist like Lucifer.

We don’t know why Michael would give his very powerful ring to Solomon, but it likely was part of some agreement.

What doesn’t line up with this theory is a lack of motivation. I have no idea why Michael would want us to fling us back to this point of time, after the war. It sounds like he’d want to prevent the war entirely. Adam also meets the Nightbringer in the Devildom, and I can’t see the Devildom allowing Michael to just waltz in and meddle with things, particularly after the Great Celestial War. I’m not sure why they’d let any of them in, but I digress...

The other small details

There’s other small details strewn throughout the story that point to an angel, or at least someone that isn’t Barb.

Adam says he heard trumpets heralding the Nightbringer’s arrival. The king in the prologue also blows a trumpet.

You know what trumpets are associated with? Angels. According to this wikipedia article:

“In Christian Eschatology, all the first six trumpets are used to serve as a wake up call to the sinners on Earth and a call to repentance. Each trumpet blast brings with it a plague of a more disastrous nature than the one before it. The trumpet is used to build anticipation and tells the reader that an alert, announcement, or warning is about to take place. The seventh trumpet does not bring a plague with it. Rather, it is sounded so that glory is given to God and His kingdom is announced.”

There’s a bunch of other biblical associations, too. Barbatos has no trumpet symbolism in any point in the story. His callsign is portals.

Additionally, Barbatos interacts with time via doors.

The Nightbringer sees time as mud, which just might be the liquid swirling around in the Nightbringer trailer.

Who is the king?

The prologue implies that the Nightbringer is summoned via trumpets, and the trumpet is blown by a king. The Barbatos puppeteering art implies it’s a human king, but I’m not so sure.

Understanding who the king is may be instrumental in figuring out who the Nightbringer is. Is it a human king? Is it King Solomon? Is it the Demon King? Is it God? Is it someone completely different? It implies the Nightbringer acts at the behest of someone else, but so far it doesn’t sound like he is right now. And if he’s acting against Solomon, it would be quite problematic if he was tethered to him via a pact like Barbatos clearly is.

My conclusion

It’s either Michael and his motivations are simply more complex than I give him credit for, or it’s another angelic being that has gone rogue without falling somehow. I’m leaning towards the latter, honestly. I’d be really happy if we got a multi-season big bad.

It could still be an alternative timeline Barbatos if Barbatos was once an angel, and this is an angel Barb which has managed to avoid falling and doesn’t have the door motif thing going on. 

This is kind of why I hate time travel shenanigans. You have to account for so many damn possibilities that it gets tiresome having to sort through it all.

[taradiddled]

I might end up spoiling this chapter with sneak-peeks, but I genuinely do love sharing snippets.

So, here is a snippet where Ada helps put things into perspective for Lucifer about how he's communicating with Charlie.

--

Heaving all her remaining frustration out in one big sigh, Adam reached out and pulled Lucifer half-way into her lap. Her belly made it a bit difficult to seat him, but Adam managed thanks to Lucifer’s smaller size.

“Okay, goony. No weeping. You didn’t do anything really wrong. You’re just…making some dumb choices." She sighed. "What parent hasn’t done that kind of shit?” She pulled his head towards hers and pressed her lips to the side of his head. Almost instantly, Lucifer’s misery seemed to freeze in place. He leaned into Adam, closing his eyes, soaking in Adam’s touch. Pulling her lips back, Adam took told of Lucifer's chin, turning his head to face hers. His eyes opened, and red eyes once against stared into gold eyes.

“I get that you want to be Charlie’s friend. It’s not a bad thing. But you need to work on being her father first. You can only go up one level at a time, and right now it looks like you’re trying to skip a level.”

Lucifer released a miserable sigh. "I just want us to be able to bond." He put his hands, shaking them. "When we had our Big Talk together months ago, she told me that she appreciates that I'm taking an interest in what she's passionate about. But I'm finding it hard to talk to her without seeing her as that cute little girl who just wanted to spend time with me." He clenched his hands into fists, the expression on his face entirely stuck in uncertainty. "So I thought that, maybe if I talk to her like other kids her age do, then talking with her would be easier."

Huh.

Adam had to admit, Lucifer's thinking (though erroneous) made sense. If Charlie was receptive of Lucifer communicating with her in that manner. Obviously, Charlie was not. Lucifer might have isolated himself for seven years, but his estrangement from Charlie had definitely started long before Lucifer and Lilith's separation. To Adam, Charlie and Lucifer were still in the process of reconnecting, and getting to know each other as they were now, as opposed to who they had been before their estrangement. They were different people. Well, Charlie definitely was a different person, and though Adam hadn't been there when Lucifer and Charlie first reconnected, she could deduce that Lucifer had tried far too hard to appeal to the person Charlie had become in their time apart.

Must have been an absolute shit-show, Adam mused. She could just picture Charlie's unease and uncertainty, and though Charlie and Adam weren't close, Adam had already witnessed how Charlie seemed to struggle-buggle her way through awkward situations. Adam had seen that strained smile, the tense shoulders, and the underlying hesitance and borderline reluctance. But where Adam would have said "fuck this" and bowled her way through if she were in Charlie's place, not caring how the other person in the situation felt, Charlie seemed to not want to cause any hurt feelings. Even if her own feelings were inevitably in forfeit.

Lucifer probably didn't see how his obvert, awkward attempts to connect with Charlie were actually making Charlie uncomfortable. Though it was obvious to Adam, Lucifer had never really been able to see take in the full scope of a situation, when he was setting his entire attention on something. He'd been like that since Eden, when his desire for Lilith had caused him to push Adam to the side, and even ignore Adam's own feelings. He'd been like that when he'd wanted Adam to join his and Lilith's campaign for Free Will, believing that everything would be all right in the end if he could just get Adam to see things how Lucifer saw them.

It was selfish thinking, but it was also...so human.

In Eden, Lilith had been encouraging Lucifer's behavior, so of course he hadn't seen how what he'd been doing was never going to be acceptable, even IF it could have produced the results Lucifer wanted. However, now, unlike Eden, Lucifer had Adam to give him a second point of view. To help Lucifer step back, take a second, third, fourth look, and see the things that Lucifer was missing.

Adam stretched her tail out to wrap about Lucifer's waist, giving him an affectionate squeeze. "She doesn't need you to change yourself, Lucifer. Just talk to her like you would anyone else. Don't baby her. Don't try to be a Cool Dad. Just be yourself. That's the person she is getting to know again, just like you're getting to know the person she is now."

She'd had to learn this her own way, when she'd first reunited with her children in Heaven. Things had changed so much since she'd last seen them on Earth, and they'd also grown even more after Adam had died. Adam had to relearn how to communicate with her family, and adjust how she interacted with them. Shared interests had changed, and Adam learned a thousand new, wonderful things about her family, and came to appreciate them all the same. It'd taken time and effort (as most things do) but it'd made Adam so happy to be able to be with her family and know them again.

Her heart ached as she remembered that they were still in Heaven, most likely still unaware of Adam's true fate.

It's for the better that they don't know, Adam told herself, sucking back her dour emotions of longing. If Michael suspected that they knew anything, he wouldn't hesitate to hold them against me. Or worse. Adam wouldn't put it past Michael to consider Adam's family as acceptable collateral if it ultimately helped him achieve the results he wanted.

Her worry must have been apparent, because she felt Lucifer wrap his own tail about her torso, and his hands gently holding her face. When she focused back on him, his eyes were looking into her own, filled with concern.

"Are you okay, Ada?" he asked, voice soft and gentle.

[novastarrart]

Banban/Devil Headcanons

Just wanna get my thoughts out there so here goes. It's a lot so, there's your warning lmao

*Note: For simplicity's sake I’ll refer to normal Banban as Uthman and the actual researcher/genome donor as Dr. Uthman*

Banban/Uthman:

All the mascots seem pretty tall so I hc him to be like 6'5"?

His tongue hangs out of his mouth constantly, it was done this way to make him more appealing/cute to kids.

That being said, When he's aware, he can keep his tongue in his mouth, usually to talk. But absentmindedly it just sorta lolls out.

He has a form of body dysphoria, being that he sees himself as a human, even when looking in a mirror.

This is why he hates being called Banban and not by his "true" name Uthman (or Adam if he knows you well enough).

However, he doesn't get too angry if you don't know about all that in the first place. Still, he'll correct you with some annoyance (Like he did with Bittergiggle in part V).

He has some memory problems, due to his own memories mingling with Dr. Uthman’s. Sometimes he’ll forget who another mascot is (Like when he referred to Nabnab as “That thing down there”. Or when Sir Dadadoo first appeared: “Hey is that a friend of yours?”)

The party hats hide his horns, this was partially his choice, and partially the researcher's. They were worried the horns would scare the children, so they decided to hide them with something “fun”. He doesn't mind them though, he wants to look as human as possible.

His voice is very apathetic and monotonous, he doesn't have much control over this, it's just natural at this point. Whether or not his donor, the real Dr. Uthman, spoke like this, I haven't decided on. He definitely has an accent of some sort, which he picked up from Dr. Uthman.

He's actually a lot more emotive than he is in the game! Although he does usually default to that goofy smile

He doesn't really blink! He can close his eyes, and has eyelids, but for some reason he just cannot blink. He does not realize this at all, and it unintentionally  scares others.

Thanks to his donor, he's very intelligent and can actually perform a lot of different surgeries and has a vast knowledge of medicine. He obviously uses this to his advantage to uhh open up victims.

He can consume human food and drinks, but it really doesn’t do anything for him nutritional wise, this is more than likely why he feels consistent pain near his abdomen

Hellish Banban/The Devil:

So comparing the models, bro is taller than regular Banban, so he's probably like 7ft tall

Definitely more muscular and stronger, has better endurance too

VERY FERAL. He relies on pure animalistic instinct in this form, although he is still capable of speech if he needs to speak.

Loses his "human" side and gives in to his more monstrous side. Any human memories are probably just gone at the time.

Speaking of which, If you call him Uthman, he'll probably just laugh and rip you apart. He does answer to Devil/Demon or just Hellish for simplicity's sake.

As said before, this feral side is triggered by adrenaline. Usually triggers when Uthman is about to die or is severely hurt (sorta like a Bruce Banner/Hulk sorta relationship).

His horns grow longer and sharper in this form, as well as his teeth. This is... probably pretty obvious why.

He seems to lose his pupils in this form? Uthman's eyes turn all white when he's turned or about to turn.

And that's an indicator you should start running!

Relies more so on his sense of smell, then his sight to find his prey. I like to think his tongue is like a snake which he uses to pick up scents/vibrations (another reason it hangs out).

He can DEFINITELY smell human's organs/blood/etc.

He can probably also pinpoint if something is medically wrong with their organs too (Diabetic, kidney failure, heart problems, etc.). This would be very useful, however he's not really thinking of helping you right now.

He's a lot tougher and can handle being banged/smashed around (Like that fight with Jumbo Josh). He’s VERY hard to kill.

He'll eat any organ honestly, Pancreases are just his favorite! (Maybe they're sweeter due to them producing insulin? Who knows!)

Still has some intelligence, but this is mostly overridden by adrenaline and instinct to eat and kill others. Overall, he doesn’t think correctly when in this form and will do things that are harmful to himself and others without much thought.

Aaaaand that's about it for now? Let me know what you think if you want!

[lured-into-wonderland]

Continues from [x] with @asinusxdomi

“I don’t make friends with this kind of journalists…if you can even call them that…And I was hardly of any interests to them…so far” – until you appeared. Her voice was calm and cold; but there was a clear hint of contempt in it. All her life she tried to protect her privacy as much as she could; with her father being involved in politics, it was a difficult task. But Nunnally usually managed pretty well, trying to appear as boring as she could. Klaus’s accusations were ridiculous, but she was not to cause commotion in this building. With all these people around. Though he'd surely like that. That's why he's provoking her.

“Do I appear to be laughing?” – that was a rhetoric question, but obviously the man in front of her believed in his own delusions. Or perhaps he was playing some sort of a game with her. Pretending to be a victim? How ridiculous!

“Yes, this is exactly why I did that…” – Nunnally complied immediately with his idiotic statements; her voice dripping with irony – “Oh, wait…why should I care…? Would you mind explaining it to me… I remember you were so good in telling me what I should think and feel…”

A pause, when she sharply breathed some air. Her irritation was growing.

“Oh, well so full of yourself as usual, aren’t you?” – she said that in a quiet, almost tired voice – “Don’t flatter yourself. The only person that has anything to gain about this whole situation is you. Are you trying to get your fame back? Have you grown bored of being a high school teacher and decided to take your chance? Or did you and that man at the cashier actually frame me?”

She turned away and looked through the window. There was already a pretty big crowd around her car. She should have come by taxi, but if she was to be photographed, it might have tuned out even worse. But Klaus’s last words made a quick thought run through her mind that perhaps he didn’t do it, either. But since he was rude (he was actually rude almost all the time since they had met), she decided to ignore it for the time being. Instead Nunnally shrugged her shoulders: --

“Grow up yourself. I am not going to put myself into any further mess because it would serve you well. I can already see you in the spotlight talking how poorly I treated you…”

But she didn’t really have any plan. Coming here, she hoped she could convince him to leave her alone. That they could make a reasonable plan to deal with the situation. But it seemed he was adamant on using her to gain back public attention. And that was the last thing she wanted.

“Why me?” – she suddenly asked? She was sure there were more women that would serve his cause better. Or perhaps that was precisely his choice, because she was not obvious? And therefore more probable? No-one would accuse her for having this romance for publicity. And then it would also make him safe. And she was warned so many times not to trust people.

[applecherry108]

Your Cherub choices for the Deadly Sins are interesting, would you mind explaining who is who? Some are obvious but for others it is confusing.

Totally!

A bit of preface: I based these cherub designs on the forms Lucifer took during his fight with Adam, so I was limited by that. Also, I’m obsessed with the rings of hell being color coded, so they’re also color coded lmao

(also what a great excuse to post the cherubs individually. Thanks!)

Satan: Sin of Wrath, Virtue of Patience

Since we haven’t seen Satan yet, he’s a bit of a wild guess, but of the forms I had to choose from, I thought Horse fit him best. We know the Wrath Ring has a western/cowboy aesthetic, and we’ve heard Bee say he’s hot without a shirt on, which made me think of the phrase “hung like a horse.” 😅 Plus, I think horses are a great representation of the dichotomy of wrath/patience—it takes a lot of patience to keep one calm, and they can do a lot of damage when riled up.

Also, the icon for his app we’ve see kinda looks like a horse skull, so here’s that next to Bombproof as a comparison:

(side note: for no other reason than Because I Can, I gave him the coat colors of Epona. Because orange. 😂😂)

Beelzebub: Sin of Gluttony, Virtue of Temperance

Only at this moment do I realize Lucifer never took the form of a bee, but because we’ve seen multiple bee cherubs before it felt like a no-brainer. 😭😅 I made her the smallest of the cherubs because, as Temperance, I felt she should be the smallest/least of the virtues. I also headcanon that she’s the largest of all the sins physically, because why shouldn’t gluttony get to take up the most space lol. Also, while trying to adapt her more canine features into a bee cherub, I realized her shirt as a sin looks a bit like a bib as a cherub and I thought that was cute. :>

Mammon: Sin of Greed, Virtue of Charity

I know there’s a ton of debate about what Mammon’s true demon for is (whether of not he’s a spider), but personally I think he’s a centipede. Also, apparently some male centipedes can spin a web, which is cool. But as a visual metaphor, I think snake fits him really well. What better representation of charity than a creature that has no hands to hold on to things? And I would consider (within hellaverse lore), Lucifer giving Eve the apple an act of charity. Also, once banished to Hell, he’d sprout arms with which to grab lol.

I would also like to point out that I think his design is partially based on the sandworm from Beetlejuice, as a nod/inside joke to Fizz’s voice actor playing the broadway version of the character.

(Sources: https://www.deviantart.com/highvoltage-art/art/Sandworm-Beetlejuice-891922450 and https://sinnawii.tumblr.com/post/732544584927870976/caught-trapped-in-his-web )

Asmodeus: Sin of Lust, Virtue of Chastity

Alright alright—I know Ozzie’s extra heads are *technically* a ram and a bull, but I chose to base him on a goat. They’re all hooved animals. So…tomato, tomato. 😅 I also sorta liked the idea of “chastity” being a sort of “completeness” in heaven, which is why he has both sets of horns (like demon goats are sometimes depicted as). I imagine once fallen, there’d be a sort of…splitting, or ripping effect, creating the torn face in between, forever separating the two sides and creating the desire to “reconnect” them. (Yes I think Ozzie has every bit. All the bits. It’d seem silly not to lol)

Leviathan: Sin of Envy, Virtue of Kindness

Given that we’ve never seen Leviathan, and the Von Eldritch family is probably not Leviathan, I have very little to go on other than: a) ocean. octopus. b) virtue of kindness = many arms to hug with. 😅

(I’m really hoping Levi ends up being Cthulhu. Just. A Captain Davy Jones mf with an octopus for a head lmao)

Belphegor: Sin of Sloth, Virtue of Diligence

SHE’S A NIGHTINGALE. GET IT? FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, FIRST LADY OF NURSING? BUT BIRD? 😂😂

Aight, but for real, I think it’s either confirmed or heavily implied that the baphotmet hellborn (the goats w candles on their heads) are native to Sloth, and I think that’s a really funny pun about “burning the candle at both ends” as a representation of Diligence morphing into a melting candle with excessive wax buildup. That sounds random, but I originally intended to draw Bel with a candle. But that…clearly didn’t happen. But I felt it was important to know. 😅 Also I envision cherub Bel was being that hyped up on caffeine, doesn’t sleep more than 2 hours, assistant that’s always on top of everything. The divine scheduler of heaven. 😂 And once fallen, her scheduling scroll burns to ash and she can finally relax. 😌

All in all,

I had in mind that all the cherubs actually enjoyed becoming demons, that they were finally able to shake off the constrictive and stifling demands of heaven and just get to be themselves. We’ve already seen that becoming demons didn’t make all of them shitty people (or at least, there was probably a learning curve that some/most of them conquered), because most cardinal sins on their own aren’t inherently selfish. Mammon almost by definition is selfish, which is why he sucks so much, and based on the pre-series lore Viv has mentioned about the Von Eldritch family, I think Leviathan is going to be a shitty or at least very toxic person, but I think Satan is going to have similar character traits as Tom from svtfoe. Like he has a short fuse, but he also does the workout app, so he’s clearly trying to channel that rage into constructive outlets lol.

[kikokus]

Sanji Since the Time-Skip, Part Eight (Chapters 810-813)

…So it’s been almost nine years. I’ve recently gotten back into One Piece and am caught up with the manga again, and since I’ve had some requests to continue this series (and there’s obviously been a lot of Sanji content in that time!) I thought I might as well go and do that!

This covers the few chapters of Zou but there’s actually a lot of great Sanji character moments within those four chapters so it seemed to make sense to keep it as its own section. As before, standard disclaimers apply.

[Part One] // [Part Two] // [Part Three] // [Part Four] // [Part Five] // [Part Six] // [Part Seven]

Let’s see if I still remember how to do this...

So not only does everyone seemingly accept that Sanji’s the obvious choice to fill the position of captain in Luffy’s absence, there’s actually an entire chapter named after ‘his’ crew which really emphasizes the point that we’re supposed to look at him as taking that leadership role for the time being.

And, because of that, most of the examples in this part have something to do with Sanji stepping into said leadership role, and that starts here once they can clearly see the city’s been destroyed and Sanji’s first reaction is to leave the others behind where it’s at least relatively safe and go off by himself to make sure he doesn’t put them in any danger.

Chopper threatens Caesar a lot during this part as well but with Sanji here you can tell how much emotion there is behind his words and how angry he is because at this point it’s not even a request anymore, it’s just an order. I really do like how this is set up because the reveal with Sanji’s new wanted poster being ‘only alive’ is before this, but there’s really no other indication as to what that means and once you find out more about his birth family it makes sense why he’s able to take charge as easily as he does. 

But for as emotional as he’d been with Caesar, he recovers very quickly here and is the only one to point out that they shouldn’t let their guards down just because it seems like the enemy's gone. Caesar also tries to deter him from deciding to help the Minks by painting them as hostile towards humans and really, all Sanji has to go on right now is Law’s word that his crew is there so he has to make a decision on the spot as to whether trying to save them is a good idea.

Sanji being observant is nothing new but at least in this case we really don’t see what Wanda’s holding until he warns Nami so it’s revealing it to us as readers, too.

I like that this is stated so plainly because the last time we saw Sanji he was very adamant about escaping with Caesar and not letting Big Mom get her hands on him since that was the promise he made to Law, but now that Doflamingo’s been taken care of he sees that as going along with the fulfillment of said promise. He’s also obviously weighing the option of whether or not Caesar’s worth all of the potential trouble both to his crew and to the Minks (and being snarky while doing it, which I always appreciate.)

Though I think he quickly realizes that it’s not quite that simple as just handing Caesar over and being left in peace, and I feel like by this point it’s probably hard to keep track of all the people Luffy’s picked a fight with but Big Mom’s obviously a significant one and Sanji’s not ignoring that.

This is about the most authoritative we see him when it comes to giving orders and it’s very brusque while also keeping Nami and Chopper safe and shutting down any sort of wild ideas Caesar might have. The focus on the panel of him looking down at Bege and giving that little cocky nod is also some pretty great foreshadowing but has another purpose in showing us how easily he can slip into that sort of role when it’s needed.

Sanji doesn’t really have to say this because conceivably this negotiation doesn’t involve the Minks outside of Pekoms being there but once again it speaks to his inherent kindness that he doesn’t want to cause them any more trouble after what they’ve already been through.

This is more just about how well Sanji knows Luffy and knows that he would never agree to becoming a subordinate of one of the Yonko, but at this point I think he’s still trying to find a way for all of them (except Caesar) to get out of there safely. It’s also interesting that earlier we get Brook talking about vaguely about the Vinsmoke family and Nami remembering that Sanji had told them before he was born in the North Blue so it wasn’t as if he was afraid to share that part of his past, but that was as much as he was willing to divulge.

Sanji’s expressions in this chapter are so telling, and I think it’s very effective considering that we don’t know exactly what’s happening but we can tell from his reactions how serious it is and because he’s not saying anything one way or the other that’s all we have to go on. But this is where it turns from him wanting to escape with everyone to him realizing that, now that he’s been told Zeff’s in danger, that’s no longer an option and it’s more about getting the others out instead. There’s a panel directly after where he lights a cigarette which is a very classic ‘I need some time to think’ move from him as well.

That little sad smile says so much…he’s accepted his fate and is saying goodbye in the only way he knows how, and I think he’s being honest here: he never intended to hide anything because, for him, he’s left that part of his past behind and cut all ties with his family so he didn’t consider it a factor or something to dwell on but now circumstances have made it impossible to ignore.

His dialogue goes with what I was saying earlier but I really put this here because it shows him using Observation Haki again and while he can’t say for sure that it’s the Minks, he knows they’re likely the most powerful beings left on the island and he’s willing to take that chance if it means getting the others to safety. I’ll also point out that through this entire section he never even tries to frame it as just ‘getting Nami out’; he wants all of them out of there and goes so far as to hug them (even if it’s with the excuse of making it easier to toss them all out at once).

Sanji’s definitely taking a chance here but even with the little he’s been told about the current situation it’s one he can afford to take because it’s not as if he doesn’t know what Judge is like and he can already infer that Big Mom has some sort of use for Caesar so threatening him is about the easiest way to make his point and gain the upper hand for just long enough to do what he needs to.

And I think Sanji’s also banking on Bege being smart enough to realize that, too (which he does) so while there was a lot that could have gone wrong he’s managed to accomplish his goal of making sure the rest of the crew is safe. If you look closely at some of the panels in this section there’s these little double curved lines around Sanji which are usually an indication of trembling/shivering but even though he’s obviously emotional he’s still holding it together enough to at least make it seem like he’s in control.

I’ve seen some comments that after so long Sanji should know the crew would back him up regardless of what trouble he’s in but Sanji’s nothing if not consistently self-sacrificial and this time, because it’s dealing with a part of his life that’s existed since long before he met any of them, I think he truly does see it as something he needs to do on his own. His smile still hurts me, though.

…And that’s the end of this section! That…probably went on longer than it needed to but I guess it proves that almost a decade later I still have a lot to say about Sanji so please feel free to like/reblog if you found this interesting at all and we’ll…see about working on the next part…

[kay-elle-cee]

Hello there! I just finished And The Roar Will Rise and I'm speechless (okay maybe not really speechless because I have a lot to say about it) but anyway, I'd love a director's cut of this fic. What drew you to it, why and how you changed some things, et cetera...

Also, while I'm on the subject, I left a comment on AO3 but totally forgot to mention how incredible the kiss and the moment at the pub later on (including Sirius' perfect reaction) were, so please please tell me more about that too.

Much love ❤️

🙈 A director's cut for And The Roar Will Rise? Prepare yourself, Leda, because I have a LOT to say! (also thank you so much for asking, I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic!!!!)

Alright, let's go point by point:

What drew you to it?

I LOVE Newsies. Like, as someone who listens to musicals on Spotify on a daily basis, as someone whose top genre on Spotify Wrapped is Musicals/Showtunes every year, Newsies is one of my favorite musicals. (The others being Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and Hadestown, if you're interested in that tidbit of trivia). I love the music, I love the choreography, and I love the push-and-pull of Jack and Katherine.

While watching the pro-shot on Disney+ for the umpteenth time (because yes it's available to watch whenever you want and features Jeremy Jordan with a comical NY accent but the face and singing voice of an ANGEL) I was deep into a particular wave of Jily Brainrot and maybe it's because Katherine has red hair and that helped spur me on, but I just thought "oh my god it's Jily." Not to mention the whole fighting-against injustice plot and the ragtag crew Jack is so embedded in.

Fun fact, I worked so hard on including nods to the lyrics and lines from the actual script without just, like, dropping them in clunkily. It was my first time doing something like this and I really enjoyed the challenge of at least trying to make these things seem natural. I didn't want them to feel out of place, but noticeable to people who are familiar with it (like James telling Lily to "Give 'em hell, Evans" in place of Jack telling Katherine to "Write it good." or James shouting to the newsies "All for one and one for all, we newsies are on strike!" in place of the lyrics "No one can make us quit before we're done/one for all and all for one" followed by chants of "strike!") I actually color-coded and annotated my doc last night and you can see that here.

Why and how you changed things.

*cracks knuckles* alright SO. A few things happened during the planning process that brought it all together:

The World

I knew off the bat that I didn't want them to be in New York, so I needed to move them to London. But with this came the complication of the entire plot—namely, the history of labor unions in England. I looked at that and thought "I don't really want to do that research and get something wrong" so I needed to find the new crux of the Newsies issue.

Sometimes I regret not adding magic into the world of my other AU, restless waves rise and fall, so for this fic, I was like hmmmm what if there is still magic, and there's no statute of secrecy. How would that work? (I went through a few different iterations of this, if they still went to Hogwarts or not, if they all lived and schooled across England but came to London for the summer, etc) This also helped firmly establish a fictional world instead of it being more historical.

The Characters

And honestly first and foremost, I quickly identified the direct ties to the Newsies characters. I have been so adamant from the start (you can ask @alittlebitofeverything23) that Sirius was my Crutchie, even though Remus was probably the obvious choice. And Remus still would've been a good choice! But Remus is so Davey to me, and Crutchie being caught and sent to the Refuge very much felt like Sirius being caught and sent back to live with his parents for whatever reason (which I then changed to Azkaban, for ease and also canon-related reasons).

Picking my Pulitzer was hard for me.* I waffled endlessly on if it'd be Petunia or Vernon, but knowing it was them meant that there was kind of a clear canon-adjacent issue for the Newsies to face. It also made the reveal tricky, because if you know Newsies, you know Katherine's father runs the paper, but when you see it for the first time and she's in the office during that confrontation with Jack, it's a complete surprise. To kind of draw out that suspense a bit in Roar, I name dropped Mr. Mason as the owner (who the Dursleys have over for dinner in CoS), then you get Vernon, and THEN you get Petunia barging in with Lily at her heels. I'm calling it "the slow release reveal" 😂.

*On the subject of Pulitzer, I did briefly consider having it be an old wizarding family, or someone like Umbridge or Voldemort trying to sow division but that was too complicated to pull off so we just kept it simple.

The Plot

Now as for the plot (oh god this is getting so long, I'm sorry!), not only did I have a different central premise for the strike (which meant I had to find a new solution), I also had the fallout of Lily's article happen before the act break/chapter break, so that left a lot of questions for me while writing the second chapter. I had to adjust a bit, and I think finagling that is why it took me longer than expected to update. So I brought in a ringer, and that ringer was a nod to Katherine Plumber from Newies, and once I introduced her and other publications, the ending solution seemed a little more clear to me.

I didn't intend to get too in-the-weeds with press and prejudice but that's what I get for not wanting to do research on labor unions, haha. But it was really nice to write something just hopeful about everything, and I really loved writing how the Muggle newsies stood their ground and supported the wixen newsies.

The kiss and the pub.

Listen, the kiss scene in Newsies makes me absolutely FERAL. The anger to kiss speed does something to my brain, and I was SO EXCITED to write it! I've had the line "God you're so infuriating! I’m about three seconds from hexing you, you know.” written since like last summer, lol. James grabbing her wrist to place her wand under his chin, feeling like he deserves it, to have her GRAB his FACE and kISS HIM?!?!?!?! I'm unwell.

And I'm so happy you enjoyed the end scene at the pub and Sirius' little quips. I missed him in this chapter and wanted to give him some of those lighter moments after I rudely put him in jail. The end was a little tricky, I won't lie, because as I had the Newsies script up, I realize Jack's decision not to go to Santa Fe is pretty....abrupt? Like his friends are just like 😔 and Pulitzer offers him a job that he doesn't even seem excited about and he's like ALRIGHT NEWSIES HIT THE STREETS! So I really wanted to make James' decision a little more fleshed out....he's still getting out of London, just not leaving everyone halfway around the world, which seemed like a pretty good compromise to me.

Additionally, in Newsies, Katherine is very much a "wherever you go, I'll go, too" type of person in the finale, and while Lily has her own plans, I wanted her to have that same sort of encouragement for him. She encourages him to go to Australia if he really wants to, because she wants him to be happy. She listens as he talks through his thoughts, even gently offers her own thoughts on it all. It's been a whirlwind week for them, but she helps offer him clarity for his next big step.

*breathes* Wow I'm....so sorry. This got SO long. I hope you at least enjoyed my ramblings? Could honestly talk about this fic for hours probably. Thank you again so much for the ask and I'm so happy you liked this fic!

[basingstokemercury]

Thought experiment for when you need to clean out your brain:

Those Bonanza Boys playing DnD. What sorts of characters do they build? What are their play styles? Who DMs? Who should ABSOLUTELY NOT ever DM again?

This should be fun! Let's see...

Ben isn't too keen on the idea at first, but the boys convince him they need another player and he warms up to it. My own character based on him is a dwarf druid, and I think that's likely close to what he'd play; a cleric or maybe paladin, with personality and motivations similar to his own. I think of dwarven characters' connection to the earth as including land and therefore agriculture, so my reasoning for choosing the race might not make sense to others but it's become inextricable in my mind at this point. In play, he also tries to assume the role of the sensible, protective one - to his sons' annoyance at times, as they do enjoy some chaos to varying degrees. Of course, that just makes it more fun when he does pull a wacky but successful gambit. Which he definitely does every so often.

Adam... Well, Adam is a paladin. He just is. But he's playing a game here, and I'm not a loyal soldier, cagey spy, or percipient cowgirl, am I? He'd probably be drawn to the artificer class: the most complicated to play, and the one based around engineering and mechanics (except for the alchemist subclass). It's also the only official class not in the PHB, so he gets to buy more sourcebooks and be extra nerdy. I think I get high elf vibes from him? In play, he's all about the puzzles and strategy. I tend to zip through puzzles while the other players are still putting things together (my area of skill, of course we have all kinds of playstyles at the table), and I imagine Adam would be the same. He's solved the riddle, but Joe already burst in with a wild guess and set the trap off (again true story, why table communication is important). Oh well, time to show the kids how it's done. He never trusts NPCs. Just as a matter of course. Insight checks everywhere and a Wisdom score far higher than his class really needs. It doesn't particularly matter because the others keep walking into ambushes anyway. And, of course, he loves figuring out sneaky ways to cause trouble for the rest of the party when there's nothing serious at stake.

Druid feels like the obvious choice for Hoss (horse Wild Shape, anyone?), but I'll go creative and say bard could be his thing too. He could have fun as a centaur for the bit, or just plain human and rely on other things to make his character distinctive. He doesn't really have a specific style of play aside from trying to keep the group good-aligned (JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT, ARSON IS NOT THE ANSWER), preferring to go with however things are progressing and have as much fun as possible along the way.

Joe is a rogue. Specifically Arcane Trickster, for maximum troublemaking potential.

Adam: You should be a halfling. Joe: Why? Adam: Well, it just seems to make sense, Little Joe. Joe: I'm 5'9! If you guys were normal height- Hoss: Yeah. He's puny. Joe: Just for that, I'll play a goliath.

(I'm 5'1 playing a 6'5 yuan-ti. Height envy is not fun.) As a player, Joe is chaos incarnate, stopped only by the DM forcing consequences on him and other players getting fed up. He'll find the most creative solutions in combat, somehow bypass puzzles without anyone being quite sure how, and flirt with every remotely interesting/interested NPC. Yes, including the very obvious femme fatale who the DM never expected anyone to actually trust.

As for DMing... I think Ben wouldn't be interested, finding it enough work to wrangle his sons in the real world. Adam is a meticulous planner, setting up intricate traps and fights that require perfect use of environment and abilities for top performance. He keeps making attractive young woman NPCs who are definitely up to no good, just to see if Joe keeps falling for it (he does. nobody's sure if he's doing a bit or really that naive.). Where he struggles is when things go off-script, dealing with improvisation and players who mess around for the sake of it. Which means that while I'd love to have him as a DM, his style ends up just not suiting the rest of the group. Hoss is the best DM. Five stars, knows how to set up a story and keep it flexible enough for player agency. He misses being on the player side though. Joe comes up with just about everything half an hour before the session, turning up with a page of half-developed ideas and adapting them on the fly. He does it fairly well, but it's a hard thing to keep up. After a few weeks of "PLEASE JUST PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGN AHEAD OF TIME YOU'RE MAKING IT HARDER ON YOURSELF", they mutually agree that maybe it's not the best role for him.

[rjmhereunderprotest]

Elora & Cynder: A Triangle in the Mind

Shipping in Fandom seldom makes any sense. This coming from someone who hopelessly follows the relationships of far too many fictional people. For one, we all get way too invested in a romance that is even more out of our control than usual. We also tend to overanalyze, project onto and impose our own values concerning romance onto these characters.

And then of course there’s always the big fight that crops up, the quest to be canon. To see our choice of a pairing validated in the actual story. Because it’s the big win, it says the creators listened to you, that you had a hand in either creating this outcome or you solved the matchmaking mystery for the franchise. It’s literally people chasing after the fabled Marvel No-Prize, all you get is momentary satisfaction that your romantic preference won out.

Frankly, as time has gone on, I’ve found the desire to be canon more and more silly on its own merits. Is it nice to know your ship is confirmed? Of course! Is it extremely satisfy to watch said ship either finalize or progress? Very much so. Is it worth screaming at people on the internet over or harassing creatives on twitter or writing revenge and fix fics if it doesn’t go your way? No, never. That's the sign of a very insecure person. I was personally shocked to find out some fans of “Road to El Doraldo” hate Chell and write her as a conniving two-faced thief who betray Tulio and Miguel the first chance she gets… because they want the two dudes to get together. And my first thought upon learning that was, beside the semi-racist connotations of turning the lone native character in the main cast into a villain, a very simple question. One that YouTube Shit Poster come Professional Voice Actor ProZD, SungWon Cho, asked… “Why don’t they all just F--k each other?”

That never seems to be the answer doesn’t it? Despite the obvious resolution of just making some throuple or threesome or polyamorous/harem situation, most fans reject that option. They gravitate to singular ownership, a traditional coupling regardless of gender orientation. Mainly because that seems to be the socially acceptable dynamic. That romantic love cannot be shared and must be exclusive. Anything else is a fantasy. Not say no one likes stories that feature non-traditional relationships, it’s just the majority of fans prefer romances to be between two people. Despite all the toxic crap they cause, no one seems to want to resolve a love triangle in what appears to be the easiest method that makes everyone a winner.

I think it’s this natural affinity towards competition that gives shipping such a weird dynamic within fandom. I’ve always found it odd that no one can just be happy with their romantic preferences, they have to be made canon. If not, well, sometimes the most extreme reaction to that is disowning the whole IP and declaring it ruined forever. I can name more than a few people who didn’t just go down with their ships, but wished to torch the whole franchise as they sunk. So strong is the feeling of betrayal it seems among fans that creatives going a different way with their characters romance wise can result in such explosive reactions from the fanbase.

However, some shipping wars have an easier resolution than the threesome option. Ever since the multiverse opened up as a mainstream concept in storytelling, pretty much anything is possible now. You could just have either side of the shipping war win in one timeline over the other and vice versa. Everyone gets to win, I’ve argued this point myself, that it honestly would not hurt anyone for Felicia Hardy and Peter Parker to be a canon pairing in at least one universe within the Spider-verse. But even here, people are adamant. One ship must reign supreme across all worlds. Anything else is breaking the canon.

I just find it strange, that in this one area, it seems everyone agrees with Miguel O’Hara concerning Canon Events. Everything else is authoritarian dogma, but don’t you DARE let Peter Parker marry anyone else but this specific hot redhead!

And the Spider-verse is not alone, it seems that even the expanse of the multiverse and alternate timelines cannot stop people from putting their foot down. One Ship to rule them all and that’s where we finally discuss our subject for today, well, subjects to be more exact.

The “Spyro the Dragon” franchise is probably not the most explicit example of this sort of shipping war, but it is the most blatant in this aspect. The famous 90s mascot platformer wasn’t always an example of this, but circumstances arose to create a love triangle that exists nowhere save inside the minds of fans. The tip of the triangle, Spyro himself, the spunky purple dragon who flies, headbutts and torches his enemies while being too cool for school. The romantic rivals in question? Elora the Faun and Cynder the Black Dragon. The former, the defacto leader of a forgotten realm fighting against a vile usurper. The latter, a kidnapped dragon twisted into a villain only to be saved and thrust on a quest for redemption. Two romances for one dragon hero. There’s just one thing…

They don’t exist in the same timeline or even universe.

Elora is from the original timeline of games developed by Insomniac, primarily appearing in the second entry, Ripto’s Rage. Cynder is from the “Legend” Timeline of games, a more serious minded reboot of the Spyro series that did away with a lot of the cartoony aspects of Spyro’s world in favor of a more mature epic fantasy story. These games were published by Activision after they acquired the rights to Spyro long after the original games and their timeline were shuttered. Elora does not exist within the Legend Games, as in she does not have a variant of herself in that game’s story. Cynder did not exist period within the original games as she was made specifically for the Legend series. And she still does not exist within that timeline post its revival by “Toys for Bob” through the Reignited Trilogy. There is no reason for a love triangle to exist between these three because there are two different Spyros, two different worlds, and neither of the female characters exists within the other.

This should be simple then, Elora has original-recipe Spyro (Voiced by Tom Kenny), Cynder has Legends Spyro, (Voiced by Elijah Wood) and that’s that. They don’t even need to SHARE Spyro! They have their own continuities within the canon each with their own variant of the purple dragon hero. And yet, fans have created a rivalry between the faun and black dragon regardless.

Why? Why do something so pointless? There’s no need to fight here, even if just for fun. These are two separate timelines within the same franchise. No one has to win or lose, right? Well, not according to fans it seems. As far as they’re concerned there is only one Spyro and only one of them can have him. So again, why? What’s the end goal? What’s the psychology behind this?

Well, I’ve given it more thought than someone should for a platforming game about a wisecracking dragon. So here are my thoughts on it. It revolves around a few points, story tone preferences, character dynamics, missed opportunities, the shifting tides of copyright ownership and simple good old fashioned nostalgia, combined with the hope of seeing one direction for the series reign supreme. So let’s get cracking on sorting this out then. Starting with who these characters even are.

Spyro: The Purple Burniating Hero

In the vein of mascot platforming heroes in gaming, Spyro is fairly atypical. He’s a too cool for school wisecracking little fireball, ready to jump in and fry any bad guy or bully in his way. Also sheep, he kills a lot of sheep. The commercials said so. His personality and character is pretty just what it says in the manual. Like Sonic or Crash Bandicoot, he is perfectly fine with just chilling and taking a load off. He only throws down when given no other choice or when others are being treated unfairly. He’s not so much a reluctant hero as he’s the chill hero. He accepts responsibility, but he’d rather be relaxing. He won’t shirk a fight, but he doesn’t actively seek them. And when the fight does come he’ll have attitude and cracks to spare. He is the prototypical 90s hero, he even skateboards because presenting these characters as cool was in now.

Of course, that’s Insomniac’s Spyro. Legends Spyro is indeed a reluctant hero, a chosen one sent on the hero’s journey through three games to defeat a great evil. Over time he comes to terms with who he is, what he is and grows in power as he does so. He finds allies, he conquers foes and challenges, he reaches a point of no return and a lowest point, the whole Campbell shebang. And the fact he’s voiced by Frodo only reinforces this characterization further. He’s been called to save the world, coming from humble origins as the adopted child of a dragonfly family to the true hero of the realm. Spyro therefore has to grow in confidence, overcome his fears and doubt, decide what kind of hero he wants to be and make harder choices. Legends is a more serious story and relies more on fighting mechanics than the original games ever did. So while he’s also easy to explain, he’s not the same character. If he didn’t look like Spyro, you probably wouldn’t recognize him. He’s that different.

Keep this in mind going forward. There are two Spyros, with different personalities, different journeys and different overarching goals. Their games aren’t even really in the same genre or have the same aesthetics. Legends is very clearly a fantasy setting whereas the Original Games did whatever they wanted to do as time went on. These two different Spyros therefore require entirely different love interests if they have any at all. Because, and I can’t keep stressing this enough, they aren’t the same Spyro and their stories are vastly different in tone and style in general.

With that in mind, let’s actually look at the two girls vying for two different Spyros.

Elora: The Doe Next Portal Door

She’s a faun, you dorks, a nature spirit in the shape of two-legged deer girl. Her original look had her possess a fox tail. The Reignited trilogy decided to go full deer in her new design. Elora is a kind, caring and cheerful person. She is also the de facto leader of Avalar, and she is no push over. She does not take the invasion of her realm by a pint-sized tyrant lying down. She is proactive in finding a hero and in assisting Spyro to defeat her enemy. She is not at all in distress. She is doing her best to lead her people through a period of upheaval and support the hero she summoned as best she can. She’s also a bit of a snarker who’s capable of telling her own wisecracks when needed. Overall, like the Insomniac Spyro, she is not a fairly complex character. She accomplishes her role, being an expository character to push the plot along.

Despite this though, she’s endearing. She’s a friendly face who is more than a little sympathetic to Spyro for interrupted his vacation. And she’s fairly chill with him overall. She might have been a bit underwhelmed by his size, but she quickly got over that and became a firm supporter. Not just because Spyro was their only option for a dragon, but because he proved himself.

Elora in this respect is a very easy going love interest. She isn’t annoying or pushy, she doesn’t chase after Spyro, but she does support and admire him. She can stand on her own two hooves and she is not personally in need of constant saving. A change from most female leads in games at this time, because you’d think we’d have to save her at some point in Ripto’s Rage. Not so, she’s, once again, never the Damsel and surprisingly a competent leader among her peers.

This is what made her a well-liked character, even if there wasn’t much to her. And her affection for Spyro, while never explicit, was evident. Without getting too deep into this for now, they looked cute together, even more so post-Reignited makeover. Regardless of anything else, that was probably the biggest appeal for Spyro being with Elora. It was cozy, safe and chill. Perfectly matching Spyro’s attitude and the game’s tone itself. Insominiac’s Spyro games aren’t exactly action-packed bareknuckle stories that keep you on the edge of your seat. They’re fun cartoony platformers that are easy to pick up and play. So a romance that is fairly easy going makes sense for this sort of game. It’s the same dynamic behind Mario and Peach, except it’s a dragon and a deer-person who never gets kidnapped. It works, but it’s not going to get more complex than it already is.

Cynder: The Tortured Ex-Bad Girl

If you want a story arc with some meat on its bones, Cynder is your gal. A Black Dragon stolen from her nest by villains and raised to be evil, Cynder became a terrible horrible countryside burning dragon of death. Until Spyro defeated her, she shrunk to pint-size, and she was left regret over all the years of being a brainwashed servant of evil. Cynder has a lot to atone for to prove she’s not the same dragon that caused so much pain and she is a constant element throughout the Legend Trilogy as a result of this.

Her relationship therefore grows with Spyro alongside her character. She starts as an outright villain, only to become redemption seeking loner and then a fellow playable hero trying to save the day. While not the most complicated of journeys, it is fairly compelling in the respect that it’s a solid character arc. One that she sorta shares with Spyro, as it turns out. While she was brainwashed into being evil, Spyro potentially could be turned to Evil just by his nature alone. So they both have to face temptation and doubt concerning whether or not they can resist turning to the dark side, although in different ways.

This commonality creates a sort of bond between the two and the chemistry between them grows considerably. Cynder’s personality takes a while to develop though as its always shifting as she grows. Her final characterization, a sassy, sarcastic and moody dragon doesn’t really come into full display until the third game. But the path to getting there is at least believable and earned. Once Cynder fully emerges as herself, it is a rewarding element to her arc. Combined with her fears of turning evil and hurting those she cares about, as well as her tragic backstory, it makes her a very easily sympathetic character that players quickly grew attached to.

And it didn’t hurt that, by the third game, you could play as her and she had some cool powers to use. Fairly unique in fact from Spyro’s regular attacks, which made for an interesting dynamic between their playstyles. Overall, Cynder was just a pretty cool character with a lot of depth to her.

Given the changes in tone for Legends it only made sense that any romantic subplot would be more involved and detailed. Cynder having to overcome her fears of upbringing alongside Spyro’s fears that being a purple dragon might mean he is innately evil are interesting twists on the genre conventions. Cynder, the one in need of redemption, ends up being Spyro’s support a lot, while also having to constantly prove to herself and others that she’s not the monster she used to be. While Spyro does believe in her, the problem he faces is believing in himself and the hero he’s prophesized to be versus the villain others claim he’ll become. In their end, theirs is a shared heroic journey, which explains why the final game basically has a co-op function for two players. They are shared protagonists and their end goal is to find peace with who they are and what they are before they can finally admit to their feelings for each other.

Which they do, unlike the original games, Cynder very explicitly states her love for Spyro by the end of the trilogy. No cute little fireworks date, no unspoken glances, no ambiguity, just outright declaring your love for someone as the world goes white around you. A serious story, with serious stakes requires a greater sense of closure to be satisfying. And no one was going to be satisfied if the game did not end with the obvious chemistry between these two dragons paying off.

Looking at both of these characters, it kinda makes sense while people would gravitate to Cynder mostly. Her’s is the romance with a better payoff in the end. And yet, Elora still has her fans who still support her with Spyro. And again, there should be no problem with that anyway since Cynder does not exist in any of the Insomniac Games and Elora has no counterpart in the Legends games. Fauns don’t even exist there. So both ships should just not bother with one another, right? They have no reason to actually fight. What’s up with the rivalry?

Again it comes down to a number of factors, but a major one is very easy to explain. It all has to do with one of the fundamental forces of our reality.

Time

In terms of gaming, there was a long stretch between a lot of these titles. By the time Legends came out, the glory days of Insomniac Spyro were long gone, usurped by a number of Vivendi Universal titles that were far from beloved classics. But we’ll get to them in another topic. The point is, when Legends came around to breath new life into the franchise there was little room for the old stuff in people’s mind. The old continuity was gone and the new canon was here. Best to just jump on board because you weren’t getting any other kind of Spyro game other than this. And when Cynder is the only game in town romance wise, people just go with it.

However, Legends ended. Cynder stuck around of course, through the Skylanders era, but Spyro itself was far from its roots by that point. When the Reignited Trilogy hit though, the Insomniac Timeline had a huge re-surge in popularity. Cynder wasn’t gone from the public consciousness', but she wasn’t IN the new games at all. Because they were total remasterings, if not complete remakes, of the original games themselves. So Elora’s new cute design took center stage alongside its more romantically framed cutscenes.

Once people remembered that Elora was a thing, liked Spyro and she was a pretty neat character in her own right, people gravitated back to her. However, even though Legends was over, that didn’t make people forget Cynder. For a long while people wondered if she’d be added to the game as a skin or something. No such luck. But the point was clear, fans didn’t want to see Cynder lost in the shuffle to the ravages of time. So they had to keep her relevant in the face of Elora, who had suffered this fate originally.

And the only way to do that, especially if she didn’t appear in the games herself, was shove her into the continuity fanon-style and enact the oldest romance trope in the book! The Love Triangle, in all it’s bitchy, argumentative, petty glory. All because time’s passage flip flopped which girl got the most screen time with the titular dragon hero. Which brings us to the next reason which, more or less, is similar to time in that it deals less with its passage and more with its memory.

Nostalgia

Spyro’s games have two distinct nostalgic eras, Insomniac and Legends. And there is a bit of argument over which folks prefer. For a lot of fans, Spyro’s REAL games were his Insomniac days, a belief reinforced by the Reignited Trilogy. Platforming, puzzle-solving, collect-o-thons with diverse gaming mechanics and sections. Ripto’s Rage in particular is considered the best game of that era, the one where Elora first premiered. Like the Faun, this style of game evokes a more innocent period in gaming, before micro-transactions and battlepasses and overpriced DLC. When you could sit down and have a simple enough adventure with a fun character and that was it. That’s the era of gaming that engenders a lot of good feelings in folks. Insomniacs Games were cozy, light-hearted, funny interactive/playable Saturday Morning Cartoons. While certainly not perfect, Spyro’s original adventures remind fans of a fantastic point in gaming history that has, more often than not, been forgotten and left by the wayside.

Is it any wonder that when Reignited brought the games back, fresh and mechanically updated, alongside Elora herself, that all those memories flooded back in? So in that respect, Elora is not just a part of that era in gaming, she herself is representative of it, alongside Spyro. On some subconscious level, they’re both part of a legacy that still gives fans, old and new, warm feelings.

Legends is a different sort of nostalgia, less about games and more about story-telling. The Legend of Spyro Trilogy hooked fans into it with an epic quest, high production values and earnest attempt at evolving the character and the franchise. It was less of a simple platformer and more of a full born action-adventure title. One with gravitas, pathos, legitimate stakes, all the good stuff that makes these sorts of titles compelling. People came back to Legends mainly for the story, even if the gameplay was rather atypical at times. Not to mention it was something fresh and original. After years of franchise stagnation, of games that failed to hit the high marks the first three managed, the Spyro franchise was in a rut. Many thought it was basically dead. Then the Legends Trilogy came along to breathe new life into it, mature it out of its roots and do something different.

That’s all very admirable, but there was one inevitably problem, good stories know when to end and The Legend of Spyro had a very definitive ending point after three games. Factoring in its final entry’s mixed reception from critics, the writing was always on the wall. No matter how much fans engaged with the story, the Trilogy was going to end eventually. It couldn’t stretch on forever, the big bad Malefor would be defeated and Spyro and Cynder would have no one left to fight or torment them about their fates.

The thing about that is, once something is over, it’s very easy to grow fonder of it in its absence. Even easier when its replacement is… well Skylanders which was less of a Spyro game and more of a marketing to sell toys. Lots of toys. Toys with designs that frankly weren’t very beloved. So yeah, Legends was very quick to get re-evaluated among any fans with doubts as a result of Skylanders being around. Which only further exposed them to a game series that was attempting to do right by Spyro even if its gameplay wasn’t as interesting or timeless as the originals.

Cynder in this way represents this bold attempt at more mature storytelling, with conflicted heroes, epic fantasy quests, highly sought after vocal talents, emotional pay off and true investment in a relationship with long-form chemistry. Cynder is a hold over from a period of the Spyro franchise that was trying to be more than another Collect-O-Thon Mascot game. So it makes sense fans see Cynder’s relationship with Spyro as the one with more meat on its bones. The romance that actually goes somewhere, made you care about it and wasn’t just odd to the side in ambiguity just to seemingly give Spyro a girlfriend. Cynder was more involved, deeper and complex, and so were the games she was from, at least storywise.

If I could explain this any simpler it would be by comparing the two timelines to another pair of franchises. For many people, Spyro’s original games are like Pokemon, a solid title that was light on story that was easy to pick up and play. So what if it wasn’t always the deepest most complicated plot, what mattered was that people could have fun with it. The Legend of Spyro Trilogy is Digimon, a game that’s not going to stand out much, but its story is awesome! So what if it was just a brawler for kids like Digimon was a Tamagotchi for boys? Its story drew you in and offered some truly great characters, just like Digimon’s Anime.

And knowing that each love interest more or less represents their respective timeline in this regard this brings up us to the next reason fans have for this rivalry.

Future Direction

Spyro 4 is not exactly announced, but it is anticipated, and there’s a clear idea of where fans think it should go. Most seem to believe it will be back to basics, just like Crash 4 turned out to be from the same developers. But it’s clear some people kinda want their Legends era back, or at least Cynder. While it’s not clear how Cynder would adapt to the less serious Original Timeline, it’s obvious a little of her being a more tragic hero figure would lend the game at least SOME of Legend’s flavor to the proceedings. The thing standing in the way though is Elora.

It’s very obvious that Toys for Bob has no intention of leaving their design for Elora by the wayside. Her appearance alongside Spyro in the Crash Team Rumble game is evidence enough of that. This isn’t like last time when Vivendi Universal and Activision took over and shoved Elora to the side (We’ll get to that in a bit), no the fan response to Elora’s new design and the reinvigoration of her ship with Spyro have clearly had an impact of sorts. If there is a new Spyro game, chances are she might end up being playable. But if that’s the case, why bring Cynder along?

She’s just another dragon. Sure, she might have different and new powers from Spyro, but won’t a lot of her gameplay just be the same? That might fly for switching between Coco and Crash in their game, but Spyro? Shouldn’t fans expect, given how you could play different characters for some levels in Year of the Dragon, a bit more variety? Sure, people complained about some of those characters’ mechanics, but no one seems to outright hate them enough to wish they were gone. Elora potentially has a different moveset entirely, magic powers, different skills Spyro couldn’t do, maybe they could adapt some of her moves from Crash Team Rumble in fact.. What can Cynder really offer but just being another dragon?

Well, likely something actually. Any of her powers from the third Legends game, Dawn of the Dragon, could easily be adapted into a new mechanic to encompass her role in the platforming and such. Shadows for one could make for some interesting platforming tricks if properly utilized creatively. Perhaps she could jump from shadow to shadow so she has to find a way to destroy lights? That’s just one example, but you could do a lot with a shadows-based gameplay mechanic.

The question is less about gameplay then and more about story. Does Cynder really fit in a world like the one based off the original games? Can she work in a Reignited storyline from that timeline? Reignited brought back the chill, fun vibes of the original games. Does Cynder really belong there or is she just too foreign? It’s an ultimate question of will Toys For Bob evolve Spyro as a franchise or just replay its greatest hits? Does Cynder get to come along for the ride or has Elora already taken her spot?

That’s where the real core of this rivalry may lie. The fact that Cynder may be facing canon extinction as a result. That at best, she’ll get a cameo in the next game and be cosigned to her last appearance being in Skylanders, a fate worse than death. So the love triangle is a way to keep her involved, keep her relevant, keep her from being forgotten. Even if it makes no sense since she already HAS a Spyro and the one in Reignited acts nothing like the one she’s in love with. But that’s the issue in the end, does the series move on without Cynder because Elora gets to comeback despite not being in nearly as many games as Cynder has?

Fans wanting to impose their vision for the direction of a Franchise is nothing new, but in this case it’s about Cynder’s future within the Spyro IP itself more than anything. Cynder should be involved, in their minds, because Spyro shouldn’t forget Legends. It shouldn’t forget he had a longstanding romantic partner over the course of three games! Whereas Elora comes back in a remaster and suddenly she’s the Soulmate? How is that fair? Worse, how is it fair the faun gets to play a role in these new potential adventures while the black dragon gets left out in th cold?

Honestly, Cynder fans DO have a legitimate concern about her character being forgotten and Elora fans should know this better than most. It happened to the faun herself after all. And it was far more sudden. She didn’t even really make it to the third game in her trilogy.

Deer Crossed Out

After her prominent role in Ripto’s Rage, Elora appears one more time… in the closing cutscenes for “Spyro: Year of the Dragon.” As nothing more than a glorified cameo where she hopes Spyro will visit her and then watches fireworks with him. Elora doesn’t even appear in the special bonus stage unlocked afterwards as a character. In fact, much of her position from the second game, an expository support agent for Spyro, is replaced by Bianca instead. A magical rabbit sorceress apprentice who starts off bad and then goes good because her boss is horrible and she falls for Hunter the Cheetah. A key criticism of “Year of the Dragon” was its overabundance of new characters, taking the focus off of Spyro too often when Insomniac probably could’ve just used the ones they already introduced.

It didn’t help that, for a lot of fans, Bianca just wasn’t interesting as either an opponent or ally, as her story, in contrast to Cynder, is rather cliche in how it unfolds. To clarify here, no one "hates" Bianca despite all this. In fact, fans quite like her relationship with Hunter. But she still basically replaces Elora in the game and spends a good chunk of it as the obvious reluctant villain who will switch sides eventually. Leaving no room for Elora to develop or appear beyond her cameo just so the hero's sidekick can get a girlfriend.

Worse was yet to come, as Bianca stuck around, but Elora did not. As Bianca’s affinity for magic made her ideal in Vivendi Universal’s eyes to play the role they needed for the next game. Enter the Dragonfly is regarded by many as the worst Spyro game. Terrible graphics, stale gameplay, unexciting story, it just did not go over well with fans. So sadly, Bianca is associated with a huge low point in the franchise. Which probably doesn't help her popularity score.

Elora also didn’t appear in the game following that, Hero’s Tail instead introduced a new love interest, Ember. A pink girly dragon who constantly chased after Spyro like a more annoying Amy Rose. With an even more childish voice and even less use to the story than other companions in past series, Ember did not gain many fans for herself either. She has never appeared since and many do not miss her.

But why not bring back Elora for either of these entries? Where did she go? Why the decision to kick her out of the franchise despite her introduction being in its best game? That’s hard to pinpoint, but there are some reasons.

Mainly, as stated before, Elora’s function just kept getting filled. Either gameplay wise or structurally. Bianca became the de facto quest exposition giver, whereas Hunter is already Spyro’s friend. Year of the Dragon had so many characters taking up time that any chance for her to be playable was overridden.

They also might have decided to keep romance out of a primarily boy-centric action game. Ember becoming an annoying girly dragon that tries to force herself onto Spyro was probably a means of appealing to that aspect. And rather than have Spyro reject Elora, who people like, it was easier to introduce a love interest that was made to fail instead.

The simplest answer could be that it was a major oversight and they couldn’t work her into the plot. Elora is essentially ruler of Avalar, at the very least the only person there with any sense. The Professor is smart, but he’s a bit of a scatterbrain and lacking focus. Hunter is… well he’s Hunter, the less said on that the less I’ll have to insult him. So Hunter can show up to be the screw-up sidekick but Elora can’t play Bianca’s role and Ember fills the anti-romance angle that they don’t want to tease anyway. It was easier to just not use her and claim she’s in Avalar if anyone even bothered to ask.

So why wasn’t she in Legends? Hunter was in Legends, Sparxs was in Legends! What prevented Elora from showing up at all? Perhaps it was to cut down on fantastical creatures elements. Most of the denizens of the Legends timeline are anthropomorphic animals. Elora probably didn’t fit the aesthetic and by the time Hunter shows up the Trilogy is wrapping up. He also takes over Elora’s traditional role, given that he’s more competent here. And the typical expository mentor role is inhabited by older dragons as well. Lastly Cynder plays the role of love interest and its likely the creative team did not want to do a love triangle period. Also probably why there’s no Ember here either, although that’s probably because no one liked her.

The most likely reason for all of it though is fairly simple, as we keep coming back to. It wasn’t just that Elora’s role was filled, but it’s because they couldn’t figure out a new one for her to take. She was actually going to be playable in a Handheld game, but that part of it ended up getting scrapped for time. It wasn’t until Crash Team Bash that the very prospect of Elora being a playable and fighting was ever explored again. Elora was essentially stuck in a box because no one wanted to expand her role. And the only other thing they probably could’ve done would’ve regressed her, turning her into a damsel in distress for Spyro to rescue. While the trope hadn’t been completely eradicated yet, the early 2000s and subsequent years saw the rapid decline of “Distressed Damsels” as a story element. For good and ill, this meant Elora didn’t get the chance to find a different role and all the ones she could fill as is were suddenly taken.

It’s honestly a shame, because it feels like it would’ve been really easy to make Elora more than just an NPC. There were opportunities, but no one really took them until recently. So Elora missed out on being a bigger part of this franchise, purely because she wasn’t offered the chance she probably deserved. Much like Cynder getting locked out of the story going forward feels like a looming prospect for her fans now. Elora’s revival as a mainstay in the franchise was cemented by Reignited and the response to her redesign. Will it be Cynder’s turn any time soon?

This is also all another unfortunate reason for the rivalry. Taking it all in, Elora barely had any time with Spyro. Two games, and one of those is only by technicality because she shows up when the main conflict is over. While there certainly was chemistry and relationship building, compared to Cynder it was minor. There was a whole story arc involving Cynder redeeming herself and conquering her fears and confessing to Spyro as the world potentially ended. But Elora gets to come back because her game got a remaster and suddenly her cozy romance trumps that deep whirlwind love story?

Cynder in that respect does not deserve to be forgotten anymore than Elora. And if that means shoving her into the new game, whenever it comes up, as a love triangle option, so be it! That’s the mindset that seems to be at work here in the end. A desire for both girls to get their due, with the dragon they chose, even if he’s a singular variant from a singular timeline.

Let’s then consider, how does this love triangle manifest within the fanon and why does it even have to be this way to begin with?

Black Dragon vs Forest Faun

Depictions of Spyro’s life with either of his love interests is both similar and different. Both rely heavily on being cute, loving and adoring one another. The key difference is in the tone. Cynder and Spyro have always had a mutual hurt/comfort vibe, both needing one another for the support they bring the other. Elora and Spyro? It’s a dating your best tomboy friend scenario, a clear mutual friendship of two buddies. The ship isn’t devoid of drama, but it isn’t fed off of it. It’s not the same romance if you switch the Spyros because they don’t need what the other love interest offers.

We won’t even bring Ember into it, since her existence as the annoying one-sided crush chasing girl doesn’t offer much in the way of interesting dynamics. So let’s just focus on what each pairing brings to the table on its own. Rest assured, we’ll spare you some of the more “graphic” elements of the fandom, analyzing that won’t get us anywhere.

Elora and Spyro as depicted go on a lot of cozy romantic engagements. Sometimes with Spyro more grown up so it doesn’t feel like we’re watching two kids get together. Spyro is often depicted like one of the older dragons from this timeline, standing on two feet with articles of clothing signifying his adult identity. Mostly utilizing a red scarf I find because it goes good with purple. A lot of depictions of Elora in these scenarios have her mostly the same, perhaps a different hair style or wearing a crown to better signify her position as leader of Avalar. But even here, regardless of content, these get togethers between the two are fairly atypical dating material. They’re dancing, looking up at the stars, snuggling beside a lake or in a field or valley of flowers. Picturesque romantic postcards I’d call it.

Some people would probably call this Vanilla. But that’s not fair as it denotes a level of averageness to the content. I’d call it what it is, functional. A healthy, aspiring relationship between two people who love each other, regardless of their extreme differences is not exactly a BAD thing. I imagine a lot of people would kill for that sort of love. That level of closeness. Elora and Spyro aren’t together because they NEED each other, they genuinely WANT to be together, because they enjoy each other. That’s why it resonates, it is… once again… comfortable! A warm blanket feeling, because Spyro is a chill hero and Elora is perfectly chill right back. They get each other.

Cynder and Spyro get each other too, but because they share their pain and trauma with one another. And instead of destroying each other, it made them stronger. Both have brought the other back from the brink, pulled them away from their darkness, more than once! Both never stopped believing in each other even when they didn’t believe in themselves. The most poignant moment of their entire relationship happens when Cynder has fallen to evil once more and is attacking Spyro. He does nothing to defend himself.

Cynder: Fight back! Fight Back! Why won’t you fight back!? Spyro: Because you’ve left me nothing to fight for.

This confession instantly brings Cynder back to her senses, standing by his side in the final fight to say “There’s always something.” That is a sort of deep love that you can’t walk back. It was inevitable that she’d say she loved him after that.

As a result, Spyro and Cynder’s content, mostly set post-game itself, is about both of them coming to terms with their trauma and learning to just be happy with one another. The war is over, the battle one, they can be together now, supporting the other whenever they feel weak or helpless. Their relationship is one of a deeper bond, forged through an epic quest. One they didn’t always share together, but inevitably walked along all the same. It just presents so much more juicy stuff to work with for a lot of people who like seeing hurt and broken people fix each other. Isn’t that what love is meant to do?

So their relationship has a lot of snuggling and touching as well, but it feels more intimate. Clearly they were friends, but through different circumstances. It’s the draw of their dynamic, as redeemers of one another, Spyro of Cynder’s past, Cynder of Spyro’s legacy as a purple dragon.

But if Cyder is to go forward this can’t exactly be the same. The dynamic is lost because Spyro’s Insomniac Timeline, continued in Reignited, is NOT a world that supports this high stakes epic romantic shared healing journey. The edges are sanded down, the trauma non-existent. Not great destiny, no forces conspiring to turn our heroes to evil. How does Cynder fit in when the core of her dynamic with Spyro is forced to be altered?

It’s possible for Cynder to be a bad girl that turns good and tries to prove she’s redeemable, but we’ve already had that story, Bianca. She was bad, she flipped back to good when she saw what she was doing was wrong, and she just became a more boring Elora that was dating Hunter. Cynder would be treading familiar ground. Her reintroduction could be interesting, but it would feel samey. And even if done properly, why would the more chillax, happier, less troubled by epic destiny and temptation to his darker nature, be interested in this version of Cynder romantically? She doesn’t seem his type.

There would have to be a lot of rejiggering to make it work and prevent her from ruining her personality. You don’t want Cynder to CHASE Spyro, that would make her like Ember. Cynder and Spyro fell in love through shared experience, not competition. It would probably be better off for everyone if Cynder had a different sort of dynamic with Spyro overall. Something along the lines of Princess Luna from from My Little Pony learning to understand fun again after her tragic turn to evil. Less about recovering from trauma, and more learning how to let go of her past and chill. The end result is probably never going to be like Legends, but it’s worth a try if only to allow her to stick around in future titles.

So in the end, even if Cynder did show up, maybe it would be better if they just made her less of a romantic rival and just another friend Spyro has to help teach how to loosen up. Anything more dire and it just doesn’t fit the world we see in the Reignited Trilogy. Honestly, if people WANT the dynamic they claim to crave from the Legends Trilogy, they should be asking Toys for Bob to remaster that next, rather than try to recreate the same circumstances in an environment that doesn’t support it.

Of course… there’s always MY way.

Why Don’t We All Just F##K Each Other?

Yes, I’m reiterating this solution again. Why not just let this be the default in our minds? If we absolutely must have only one Spyro, then its easier to just enable the Purple Dragon to BE like a dragon. Why can’t he just be ambiguously dating both girls with their shared consent? One could do that without making it too explicit. I admit, the solution is unorthodox, but dragons would likely not be held down by one perspective mate. They are generally seen as hoarding creatures, Spyro himself loves collecting Gems, probably has several giant piles of the stuff by now. Why not hoard other things too? Not as possessions so much as mutual partners? It would work! No one loses, everyone wins!

Well, more or less. We still face the ultimate problem that Cynder original dynamic doesn’t fit here in the Reignited Trilogy. We will never get the same thing that draws people to the Legends Trilogy. So even in this scenario, we don’t exactly get everything we want.

Ships Passing in the Night

The truth is one can’t really solve shipping, even when the obvious answer is presented. Elora exists in one universe, Cynder another. There are two Spyros, each can have one. Perhaps if the Legends Trilogy is remastered this point will become even more moot as both timelines will have their modern day comebacks. That is a longshot though. The rights to the Legends series are a tangled mess, even if Cynder might not be. Toys for Bob has the games that were made under the Insomniac Team. They can’t exactly just do the same thing they did for it with Legends. Especially when those games were a mixed bag critically and the demand for them is relatively niche.

But that won’t stop the rivalry, because it’s deeper than just who gets to be with Spyro, it’s how people will be able to experience future games with Spyro. It’s about the direction the series intends to take and the fear of some things we love being left behind. You can’t really fix that scenario in any sense, even with the perfect solution already presented.

I think I’ve made it obvious I mostly stand with the idea that both ships work in their own way. Both are valid choices narratively. Both present different opportunities. Cynder for deep enriching storylines. Elora for a chance to take opportunities her character was denied. I can’t fault either aspiration and frankly I love both of these characters a lot. And I don’t think I’m alone, because I’m not the only one who realizes this sort of thing. Sure, there are plenty of pieces of fan content with Cynder and Elora going at it for Spyro’s affections. But the drama is low key and more than a few people don’t actively seek to defame the other character.

It’s why I mostly call it a rivalry instead of a war. The Shippers ultimately know neither side can win because there’s nothing to really lose. Not as long as the two characters remain in opposite continuities. So that’s where it will remain ultimately. Even if another game comes out because the dynamic that made people enjoy Spyro and Cynder being together won’t be the same. And it wouldn’t be fair to cast Elora aside again just as she’s gotten a second chance.

Perhaps we can learn something from this. Maybe not just turn every love triangle into a big ol’ F--kpile, but at the very least that we can be satisfied in the reality that not everything is win-lose. Sometimes, there’s not even a thing to win. No one is losing anything, because those games remain, the memories remain, and what they meant to us can carry on. Not every rivalry has to dominate the other. Sometimes, they just need their space.