#also can we talk about the power of indulging your child self?

[harpywritesfic]

WEXTER i would swear loyalty to you <3

I was walking through the toy aisle at Target when I found this thing and had a VIOLENT AND IMMEDIATE FLASHBACK to when JP first came out and they had a bunch of REALLY COOL T Rex toys that I would have sold one of my scrawny small-child limbs for but my mother wouldn’t get me one because they were “too violent and also ate people” :(

[lizzychanstuffss]

i’ve had this fic prompt floating around in my head for while now and can’t stop thinking about it hnnngg

okay so i’ve seen a couple fics of Astarion being protective of the reader, but what about the reverse? i wanna see Star’s durge/former durge partner—if he lets them—go full guard dog mode on whoever is stupid enough to pick a fight or be rude to him. both of them know that the other is fully capable of handling things on their own but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to protect each other.

gender neutral tav/durge/reader please? if you decide to write it that is ^-^

have a nice day/night!

So the very large fic I am still working on has both of these in it but because I am also a sucker for fics where Astarion gets scary dog privilege from durge I will also do a shorter one for that! :3

Atarion x Durge!Tav GN

Spoilers for act 3 (also be warned this is super self-indulgent in regards to a certain drow scene)

CW: canon typical violence

BOOM

The explosion was jarring to say the least and startled everyone in the party. Although that was quickly shaken off by seeing who exited the house causing your eye to twitch with anger.

"HOT! HOT! HOT!" The drow spoke as she casted a healing spell along with brushing off some of the ash staining her clothes, you had hoped to never see the bitch again but here you are staring at her face to face...and wanting to rip it off.

"Oh my silks-" 

"No no noooooo! We are leaving. I am done with your bullshite woman" You say and begin to walk away, your party stared at you slightly confused. As it wasn't like you to just walk away like this even with people you hated. Although Astarion caught on to what was happening rather quickly.

He grabs your hand before you can walk off whispering in your ear. "If you are doing this for me...well thank you but just talking to her won't kill us." You looked at him, your brow darkened.

"And if it does?" Voice no more than a whisper as you two had the private conversation.

"Well death never stopped me before. I don't know why it should now." He says slightly teasing you, as it seemed like this wasn't as serious to him as it was to you. 

"Astarion....I just think this might not be wise for me to be around her." You gave him a knowing look.

"If you do anything stupid I will simply pull you away before you hurt anyone....besides maybe she'll actually have something useful to tell us who knows." His words gave you pause, but the man knew you better than you wanted to admit. You could tell in the back of your mind that if you didn't at least ask about it then it would continue to gnaw at the back of your mind, so without further ado you turn around and step up to Araj.

"Alright sorry about that...are you okay?" Sighing as you speak, there is a noticeable amount of disgust behind your words. 

Brushing off your reaction to her, "I'm fine, but I think you'll like what I discovered...your blood has proved to be the breakthrough that I have needed in my research" She smiled, a shiver ran up your spine, and it wasn't pleasant.

"Oh and I see you brought the heartstop-" 

"If you say anything about Astarion or ask him to bite you again I will gut you." Your gaze is intense and shocks her a bit but all she can do is laugh.

"Why do you care so much? He's just your charge." At this point you had heard enough. "Besides I was just going to offer, not ask, what's the harm in that?" You could tell she was taunting him as well as yourself.

"Listen if you want to keep talking about him like he's not here then we’re leaving" You crossed your arms and she just pouted like a child who was told that couldn't have any more candy.

"Fine- Let's discuss your blood then, it's quite powerful and is exactly what I need to continue my research, but there is one more step I need you for actually...if you would come inside we can discuss it more." Turning away before you can give her an answer, just rolling your eyes before starting to walk to her door and feeling a particular vampire's hand squeezing yours. 

You give him a smile and step inside her destroyed home, looking around at all the wreckage. Carefully stepping around the destroyed surrounding as you were now all inside she then turned to you. 

"Alright so what was so important you needed me to come inside, and make it snappy my patience is wearing very thin Araj." 

Giving a fake smile she continued "I have a potion that will be able to unlock the latent potential of your blood. I admittedly have no clue what it will do to you but it should be very powerful." 

You think about it, but Astarion pipes up a disgust in his voice, "If that is her potion I am smelling, say no, all she's offering is pain and I don't want to see you hurt" Taking his words into consideration you answer her.

"I'm going to have to say no, I trust him more than I do you." You give her your own fake smile and then start to walk away from the obviously annoyed woman.

"You're listening to a vampire spawn really!?" She scoffs "First you defend him and tell him he's his own person...then you refuse to convince him to bite me" You could hear her rolling her eyes and you stop walking to the door. At this point it's just you and Astarion inside the building and you can feel an anger rising in Astarion, and yet he’s just trying to walk out of the building, but you can't take it anymore.

Turning to Araj you look her over, "If you say what I think you're about to say I highly suggest you rethink it...." Your threats are not thinly veiled in the slightest, not that you really intended them to be.

"What, he's just a sl-"

You grab her by the throat silencing her, causing Astarion to turn back, staring at you. He doesn't say anything, but you manage to catch his eyes with your own and then in a few moments there are words exchanged but nothing is spoken and it's simply ended by a nod on his end. That simple yes was enough to know what you were asking but also giving permission to do this on his behalf. He didn’t need you to do this for him, but he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t like when you got like this so without further ado he stepped back to enjoy the show.

You produce a knife from your pack and without a thought you shove it into her stomach, twisting it causing the drow to cry out in pain. You're enjoying this more than you want to admit. Yet it doesn't make you feel disgusting like the other times you've enjoyed violence. Your hand stays steady on her throat squeezing it until her cries were nothing more than gasps for air as she slowly faded away in your terrifying grasp.

Soon enough though she was nothing more than another corpse. Astarion placed his hand on your shoulder, it was a gentle touch as you slowly came to your senses turning to him after dropping the corpse of the drow.

"I'm sorry...I just couldn't stand how she was talking to you, I tried my best to hold back but" 

He kissed your forehead gently with a smile on his lips, "It's alright, my dear…besides I enjoy a bit of occasional bloodshed in defense of me." His lips are a soft comfort to you, you almost looked away back to the body but his hand directed your chin back to him. He keeps his hand there for a bit and you fall into his touch kissing his palm a little smile making its way to your lips. 

"We should probably clean this up shouldn't we?" You ask him, and he gives you one of his classic smirks.

"Well, we don't have to do anything~" He gets a little cheeky with his words and you can't help but roll your eyes playfully. Taking a note from him though the two of you walk out of the house closing the doors behind you and looking at your other companions you give them a smile.

Shadowheart and Lae'zel just look at you deadpan saying nothing figuring it was better just to not ask at this point. You shoot Astarion a smile as your group heads back out into a city.

[allwormdiet]

@yugonostalgia2019 Heehee your lb is really fun to read! This is extra funny to me bc on my first Worm read I HATED coil almost as much as you, but when i reread it he grew on me like very slimy mold haha. Fun things to notice: Leviathan seemed to be targeting Coil's base & the Travelers - perhaps the reason for coming to BB entirely? Second - remember how arc 7 Taylor goes on a paranoid rant about how conflict & shit always seems to go down at lunchtime? Notice how Coil asks Dinah about problems before lunchtime & drops his realities then? Not a coincidence :)))

Oh also want to self-indulgently talk about Coil's biggest personality trait/flaw: Hypocrisy. You noticed during the interlude & his speeches that he seems pretty self aware - he knows he's a bad person who enjoys torturing people, wanting power for his own sake right? But he has a self-assuredness too, that he views himself as a good employer, one who provides for his underlings & makes them want to work for him. A very stratch-your/mine-back mentality. Except… what happens when there's someone too valuable a subordinate & too dangerous independent? And if there's nothing Coil can offer them? What can he provide a middle schooler with decent parents to make her want to work for him?? Nothing. So, the mask comes off, the good employer self-image vanishes, & all that's left is power-hungry cruelty……

There's so many things about Coil that make me despise him, not least of which is the way he's an absolute goddamn creep about Dinah, but even if I didn't know that about him I think the foundation of the character, the thing that sends me into a gnashing fury, it's that he's uncool.

Coil is a goddamn criminal mastermind, a supervillain whose organization is held by everyone in the know to be one of the Top Three big dogs in Brockton Bay's underworld, and he doesn't even seem to have his mercenaries committing that many crimes out in the open. I actually don't even know why he's on the books as a supervillain, what crimes he's got on his head that put him in the same caliber as Lung and Kaiser and standing head and shoulders above the Merchants, or whether it's just the resources at his beck and call. He's ambitious, scheming, ruthless, with an air of sophistication. He's got a power that, while limited in certain ways, can be monstrously effective with careful planning.

...But then we get a good look at him and it turns out that all his grand ambitions are for petty greed, cruelty, and an obsession with control, an obsession he can't even blame on being a parahuman because his power is store-bought. His sophistication is a facade, he's incautious the moment it doesn't involve a threat of direct harm to himself. He has no guiding principles, he has no patience or loyalty or humility or anything that could be considered a redeeming feature.

Also, man has no taste and no passion. His costume is weird and he doesn't even bother coming up with a name for his organization, there's no aesthetic flair within a single inch of his soldiers' uniforms or in his underground lair. He's like if a box of bran flake cereal could defraud the stock market and was creepy about middle schoolers.

Like it feels almost even more insulting to me because I love the shit out of criminal mastermind types, I love the plotter in the shadows who pulls the strings and crushes their enemies without even being exposed, I have like multiple OCs who pull that kind of shit and one of them is even a supervillain. It's like catnip for me.

So I guess if we want to extend the simile, Coil is like if I went in for catnip and caught a mouthful of bleach, and also the bleach locked a child in its basement.

(Disclaimer: my stance on Coil in no way reflects how I feel about people who actually like him. If you get a kick out of this guy, that's fine, I don't get it but that's not for me to get, I just want to bite down on him as hard as I can and shake until his bones snap)

[wazzappp]

Ok @moosemonstrous here we fuckin go.

OK SO. I apologize if it comes off more Evangellion than Pacific Rim but I thought that making The Charger more slender would help to differentiate it and allow for a focus on agility (also helps it to look more skeletal and unsettling).

The Charger is built in layers. An outer layer that constitutes the armor, a thinner covering, metal scaffolding, secondary thin covering, and then finally the essential wiring that makes the 'nervous system' of the Jaeger. Most of the damage (corruption scars, nicks, paint chipping) is just cosmetic, and the structural nature of the Jaeger is intact.

HOWEVER. The same can not be said of the reactor core. At some point (maybe during Eli's death?) corruption made its way behind the main fans of the outer engine and into the main reactor that powers the Jaeger. In theory this should lead to a catastrophic failure, but in this instance Im thinking there was a chemical reaction that essentially stabilized the corrosive nature of the Corruption (were gonna circle back to that).

For the most part my version of Robbies suit is fairly standard. I added an orange tint to his helmet screen for flavor because hey. Why not.

The spine of the suit is probably newly integrated to allow for an updated interface, I imagine theres at least a little development in the technology between the time Eli dies and Robbie comes into play. That would make the suit a weird mishmash of past and new technology which could be VERY fun.

Also I LOVED the white accents @cicada-candy added for their design but I didn't want to steal ideas so I just added it in my own places. Your art fucks severely bro I just wanted to make sure and let you know that <3

TIME FOR MY FAVORITE PART: SPECULATION ABOUT THE CORRUPTION AND ITS THEORETICAL GENETIC EFFECTS IN DOSES ON A SUBJECT!!!!!! (AKA self indulgence part 2 electric boogaloo)

I believe you mentioned the Corruption being a Neurotoxin which would be Very fun and VERY cool but I also have a suggestion. Mainly because you also referenced an increase in Robbies strength, as well as another person who got fuckin deaded shortly after.

A rapid growth in muscle density to allow for this strength would be very interesting, but why would the Corruption cause that? Simple answer; it isn't. At least not intentionally. Whats actually happening is a kind of nerve damage that changes the brains regulation of muscular exertion. Our brains really only let us use a certain percentage of our real strength, because if we just let loose and used it all we would cause significant physical damage to ourselves. Like. ripping your own tendons free from their anchors. you could break your own bones. you would die SO fast bro.

Now it is POSSIBLE to access this strength in situations of extreme stress and thats how you get people lifting cars off of loved ones, but this does still cause damage. It also gets more complicated when you consider Fast Twitch muscle reactions but for the sake of simplicity: You Would Die.

So a release of cortisol and other stress hormones, combined with a lessened ability to control strength. This means they would be USING that strength A LOT against ANYONE AND EVERYONE. But maintaining this sort of metabolism is not reasonable. Someone suffering from Corruption would likely also suffer from Hypoglycemia fatally. So extremely strong, extremely scared, and extremely short lived is the kind of deal we would be talking about here.

SO. Having said ALL OF THAT. WHAT IS ROBBIES DEAL. Well heres my proposal: The Corruption is a virus that causes neurodegenerative disease.

If Robbie was exposed to very small amounts of it as a child, it's possible it was inactive or defective, which would have allowed for an immunization point. Its also highly possible that this is a virus that can not survive (well i say survive very lightly. theres significant debate as to wether viruses are actually alive at all but I digress) outside its usual area AKA Inside a demon. He could have been exposed through contaminated water, direct contact, maybe even breathing burned version through the air. Either way, he came into contact with a weakened version of the virus and it helps him later on.

As he comes into DIRECT contact with Corruption via plugging into The Charger this is when we would start to see some more interesting effects. This Corruption would still be different though because of the aforementioned stabilizing chemical reaction in the reactor. Also, because I think Eli's DNA would be integrated into it. This provides Robbie with genetic compatibility for the virus to jump off of. Remember, viruses don't want to kill a host, they just want to reproduce as much as possible (which does end up killing a host but still). And a fun fact about viruses is that we never actually get rid of them, we just get rid of the symptoms. Once you have it its in you forever.

SO. 1. Immune response from Robbies body begins to cause the nervous damage that would allow for his rapid increase in strength. 2.Immune system recognizes the genetic material is familiar (Eli doing something good even inadvertently I guess). 3. Immune system neutralizes the virus and incorporates it into Robbies genetic coding. All good right? Happy ending? WRONG.

BECAUSE WHEN THERE ARE COPYING ERRORS IN YOUR DNA (SOMETIMES FROM VIRUSES) WHAT DO WE CALL IT?? DING DING DING 10 POINTS TO THE MUTUAL THAT SAID ✨MUTATION✨

This virus still carries genetic material from demons, this would also be getting integrated into Robbies DNA. Places like his spine which would have the most regular contact with the Corruption would probably take the brunt of these changes. It's possible that the nerve damage never truly goes away and he continuously tears and then rebuilds those muscles, resulting in overall increased strength thats technically?? stabilized?? Also I could totally see his body going 'oh shit were finally growing with decent access to fuel? BET' and just. Reactivates the growth plates in his bones ('Look! I've fixed his runt of the litter insecurity!' 'YOU FUCKED UP A PERFECTLY GOOD PILOT IS WHAT YOU DID. LOOK AT HIM. HES GOT ANXIETY ABOUT THE STATE OF HIS HUMANITY').

Oh yeah its also worth noting that this would be like. Pretty painful. We're talking constant soreness, cramps, deep aches that just won't go away. General suffering <3

Of course tapetum lucidum OF COURSE TEEF obviously as if I could go without it. You can get funky with mutations because hey. fucky wucky demon genome integration whoop whoop. Also could be interesting to see damaged areas on the Charger manifest on Robbie as damaged tissue. His skin says 'AH. Damage' and copies itself as scar tissue instead of the usual.

Oh god Ive been writing for a solid hour and a half I was supposed to be asleep a while ago ok. Moose I love this au and its making me unwell thank you for sharing with the class I hope you will consider my virus proposal for body horror purposes.

[thegreymoon]

The Story of Minglan

I am so upset about Buwei's death but very curious about what is coming next. Since this is a c-drama and they can't have an immoral Emperor on the throne as an endgame, I suppose that the Yong family is going down one way or another. Let's hope they take the Qi household with them, especially Princess Pingning.

Team Prince Yan!

***

Yawn.

My lack of sympathy for this woman and her whole family cannot be overstated.

***

Did any of you care whether other people lived or died?

Fuck you both.

And the best part is that his stupid ass thought that if he was to whine in front of the Emperor about Minglan, this useless man would grant him the marriage 🤣🤣

***

He has already forgotten that she beat Buwei to death because of him, smh, and they are back to business as usual.

Human lives literally mean nothing to either of them. I wouldn't be able to forgive her if she murdered a pet hamster to hurt me, let alone a whole human being 😡😡

***

Hopefully, he will be lucky enough not to meet you in his next life.

***

Oh, boo-hoo.

How terrible for your mother and you that your delusions of grandeur are just that. Delusions. Classism is hell of a drug.

I hope you get squashed.

***

Do it!! Please! Make my day!!

***

LMAO, WHAT HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP?

You have literally had people raped and kidnapped, and very likely murdered. And here you are, threatening to murder more. The cognitive dissonance, I cannot 🤣🤣

***

Oh, yes, your daughter is going to be so happy in this marriage 🙄

Sooooooo happy!! Everything a loving parent would want for their child 🙄🙄

They are all literally insane. Unlimited power and wealth have rotted their brains.

***

That this needs to be spelled out for him is just 🤯🤯

And, like, we don't even go as far as Consort Yong. His own shitty mother could and would do this if he was to somehow elope with Minglan. This is also why there is absolutely no chance the Sheng family would allow this marriage to happen without the Duke and Duchess of Qi fully onboard and Minglan would never do anything that would jeopardise her entire family, such as run off with him without their permission.

***

MTE, Qi Heng, I fully agree with you on this.

Why anyone would bother to even cross the street for your worthless ass, let alone bloody their hands to get you, is very much beyond me.

***

LMAO, YOU ARE A USELESS MOTHER!

He is not a "thing", he is a whole human and you are talking about marriage here, an entwining of lives. How happy is she going to be, married to a man who resents her? Who married her only because you threatened to kill his parents and the woman he loves? Are you serious? OK, I can buy that an endlessly indulged princess will have the brain power and impulse control of a toddler and may not be able to see the full consequences of this, but what is your excuse? Moreover, what is your husband's excuse? All of you have worms for brains.

***

I'VE BEEN SAYING!!

Why must you make me agree with Qi Heng, smh?

Anyway, I can't wait to watch Zhu Yilong in something else. No love for this particular character but he's really fantastic, very subtle and very expressive.

***

Oh, thank god.

Hopefully, now Minglan can let him go and go back to being her usual intelligent self. This doomed side ship has been getting on my last nerve.

***

What the absolute fuck are you talking about, Gu Tingye? I thought you were supposed to be smart and looking out for Minglan!

Yes, please kidnap a fucking Imperial princess and see how well that works out both for the House of Qi and Sheng!

Why is everyone stupid all of a sudden?

***

How is Yuanruo the one speaking common sense all of a sudden?

Gu Tingye, what the fuck is wrong with you?

[1000sunnygo]

🦉👒The Influence of One Piece in The Promised Neverland (A very self-indulgent post)

The straw hats worn by the girls in The Promised Neverland ch. 47 color cover were a tribute to One piece's 20th anniversary. It has always been Shirai sensei's favorite tpn illustration ever since.

An entire generation in Japan grew up following One piece. Many of the young readers from late 1900s are now the newgen mangaka currently working in Shonen jump.

Kouhei Horikoshi as a high schooler (15yo) sent a one piece fanart to Oda in 2002. Twelve years later, he starts his own manga, now promoted by One piece author Eiichiro Oda himself.

One piece got Shirai into JUMP manga.

I started reading Jump Magazine for the first time when I was in Junior High. One Piece was the trigger that made me subscribe to it like a machine, and then I thought “other manga are fun too!”, and thus became addicted.

-Kaiu Shirai (2020), The Promised Neverland artbook.

Suguru Sugita, the person Shirai submitted his og manuscript to, was Toriko's editor in charge. The following year (2014), Sugita became One Piece's manga editor (later its media editor in 2017). Sugita retired from One piece altogether in 2019, while working as TPN editor from 2016 to 2020.

The Promised Neverland + former One Piece editor, Suguru Sugita. On the right is a doodle drawn by Eiichiro Oda sensei introducing him.

"O-Sugi. This is the media editor, Sugita. Well natured, romanticist. Throws in random onomatopoeia. So drippy from head to toe that the girls avoid him. Compliments juniors on an annoying level. Has a strange dream -> ("I'll get myself a Kansai-ben speaking gf within this year!") Has lots of friends, but daydreams too much so he might not be able to get hitched soon."

From TPN's pre-serialization stage to its final days, Sugita was closely involved with both One piece and The Promised Neverland. Regardless of the difference in genre, One piece's influence in TPN is evident, many of which were suggested by editor Sugita.

Following are a compilation of details discussed in the The Promised Neverland fanbook where the author-editor duo noted the influence of One Piece in its creation.

🦉 The food, the biology

(The Promised Neverland Search for Minerva + final arc spoilers)

In One Piece, the characters can obtain special powers by eating cursed fruits called Devil Fruits (Luffy's elasticity, for example). This served as a basis for The Promised Neverland's demon biology. During early stages of TPN first arc, there was no specific concept involving demon's diet (thus we hear two demons casually talking about eating cats). Post escape, editor Sugita suggested to add the concept of 'becoming what you eat', stated to be directly inspired by One Piece (fanbook ch. 2). It was decided that the demons in TPN would be heavily dependant on human meat to maintain their sentience.

One piece x Toriko official crossover spread, two manga in JUMP where food meant a lot more than simply filling your stomach.

"Food" both a narrative and thematic tool behind One Piece, so much so that a recently popular theory is that (avoid if you want) the protagonist's secret dream at the end of his journey is to throw a massive party that would connect different races together in a brotherly bond. Each arc ends with a scene of partying and singing, a musician was one of the first crewmate positions Luffy wanted to fill in his ship.

Yugo's refusal to eat and join the table subtly hinted his refusal to partake in such bonding. It's another detail pointed out in the fanbook (ch. 3). The food scenes in One Piece had not only inspired Shirai but also Haikyuu author, Furudate Haruichi (stated in Haikyuu databook).

🦉 Characters as Inspirations

[Romance Dawn + Goldy Pond spoiler] One piece character Helmeppo was the inspiration behind Goldy Pond demon, Luce. Helmeppo was one of the earliest characters introduced in One Piece (ch.3), a weak but spoiled child of a marine officer who'd exploit his father's influence to get about anything. Luce, the youngest hunter in Goldy Pond, was the son of Dozza. Helmeppo was redeemed eventually, unlike Luce.

[Shabondy Archipelago + TPN final arc spoiler] The World Nobles in One Piece are arrogant slave-owners hailed as gods on earth for their ancestry. Lord Pupo's flashy appearance and simple-mindedness were inspired by them.

[Dressrosa + TPN final arc spoiler] Bartolomeo, an in-series fan of the protagonists, was introduced in One Piece manga at the time of Sugita's debut as One piece editor in 2014 and instantly became popular. In The Promised Neverland, Lambda kids were supposed to obey Norman in a normal manner. But editor Sugita wanted to lighten up the mood and make them goofy fanboys, inspired by Bartolomeo's success.

[Arabasta spoiler] One piece's first major antagonist Crocodile served as a base for TPN characters, mainly antagonists:

When I was drawing dignified characters for TPN, Sugita-san gave me a piece of advice called the "Crocodile Line". Whether or not Crocodile from One Piece would say such a line would determine whether or not the character (I made) was dignified enough. It was a good method. I love Crocodile so there's that too.

-Shirai in The Promised Neverland fanbook (pg. 196)

(continues in reblog 👇)

[blackjackkent]

Now that we're out of Moonrise, we can bring Minthara into the party, and she has a LOT of camp chat for Rakha to catch up on. Moving this into its own post from the other camp stuff, because there's a lot of it.

Annoyingly, we can't have the usual Durge onboarding conversation that we've had with the other companions, about Rakha's murder urges and bloodlust and memory loss. She also has a dialogue node labeled, "I need to talk to you about a private matter," but when I select that item, there's no dialogue options in it, which is weird.

We do, however, have the option to ask her about her opinions regarding the other companions, which is always fun.

"I'm curious to hear your thoughts about our companions."

"A disparate collection of vagabonds and strays. Did you have anyone particular in mind?"

-----

"I'm curious to hear what you think of Shadowheart."

"She is tolerable, but her faith in the Lady of Loss is poisonous."

"What do you have against Shar?"

"The Nightsinger has some admirable qualities - far more than her insipid sister - but her followers are repressed. Take the child, Shadowheart. She does not even know who she is, but still manages to pity herself. The very concept of Sharran worship is self-indulgent. They would have you think every whispered word and hidden thought is of value, but it is not so. I have performed a thousand interrogations, squeezing out the most-guarded secrets held in heart, mind, and soul. I can tell you this - when the trivial parts have been whittled away, and I have sifted through what remains, in most cases a person amounts to nothing at all."

This is a rather novel angle on philosophy for Rakha - but it echoes her own lack of interest in the religions that her companions are so invested in.

Somewhere in her past, she too has tortured people - she's had flashes of memory of it. Nothing concrete - but enough to know that her own experience was about pain and death, not about digging out information.

She wonders a little about the interrogations Minthara describes. What would that look like? Would Minthara, perhaps, be able to wrestle out the secrets hidden in Rakha's head that she herself cannot access?

Or would she, too, amount to nothing at all in the end?

-----

"What do you make of Astarion?"

"He's been deprived of freedom and strong blood for so long that he is addicted to both. While those addictions have their hold on him, he is still a slave."

"He'll be a slave to his blood-thirst as long as he lives."

"And while you live, you'll be enslaved to *your* appetites and hungers. We all feed on something, and if we are deprived of it, we will fight for it. But Astarion is not only bound to his needs and desires, he is still bound to something more powerful - his Master. He will only be free when Cazador is dead, and that is as it should be. When the time comes, we must hope that he does not only take Cazador's long life, but the power that has sustained him as well."

Fascinating.

The line about "appetites and hungers" obviously hits different for Rakha as a Durge, although Rakha has already long since equated her struggles with the Urge to Astarion's bloodlust.

More than anything specific about what Minthara is saying, I think Rakha is kind of just fascinated listening to her talk. In a way she is as blunt and direct as Rakha herself is, but still manages to project an eloquence and a sense of her words being informed by long experience in a way that Rakha simply isn't capable of.

-----

"How do you and Lae'zel get along?"

"I have encountered few githyanki in my life. Those that I did were raiders - they croaked out please for mercy in their alien tongue as they died. Meeting Lae'zel makes me wish I knew more of their culture."

"Why not ask Lae'zel to educate you?"

"I did. She told me she has nothing to teach that cannot be learned through observation of her prowess in combat. Perhaps she is right - she certainly cuts a striking figure in battle. There is a precision to her ferocity that I admire."

"It seems a rather brutal culture."

"To one who only sees the surface of things, perhaps. You should look deeper. In spite of her youth, there is a patience and precision in Lae'zel's thoughts and actions that I admire. Those qualities will strengthen as she matures."

I do like this quite a lot in the context of the drabble I wrote about Lae'zel and Minthara's initial meeting in Rakha's worldstate.

Minthara definitely sees a lot that she respects in Lae'zel and also sees that she is terribly young but has potential to be much more than she is currently. Clearly she sees right through Lae'zel's attempts at bluster. In this case, Lae'zel refusing to teach her directly was absolutely another bit of trying to puff up and look big.

Continuing to be fascinated by how Minthara really feels like a refined and sharpened and experienced version of Rakha's own thought processes. I feel like Minthara is in many ways a vision of what Rakha might have been like with a more solid amount of perspective and education to draw on.

-----

"Have you spent much time with Gale?"

"The wizard? No."

"Don't you like wizards?"

"Don't sulk. I admire your mastery of the Weave, but I have known many wizards. In my experience, they do not usually live long enough to make the effort of befriending them worthwhile. Either the enemy recognizes they are a threat, and kills them swiftly, or their curiosity leads them to combust while experimenting with the limits of magic." [Here she pauses and squints sardonically at Rakha for a moment] "Present company excluded, of course. I am sure you will live to a *ripe* old age. Gale, however, is already in a state of suspended combustion thanks to that orb between his ribs." [a humorless laugh] "I suspect it is only a matter of time before he goes up in smoke. I will reserve my social graces for those who might live long enough to appreciate them."

LOL. OK, it's official. I love Minthara.

I briefly thought this was sorcerer-specific dialogue but then I remembered Rakha has a couple levels in wizard; luckily it works regardless, because Rakha was definitely about to get sulky about he implications. I think she's gathered that the nuances of distinction between wizards and sorcerers tend to be lost on most people.

Minthara was absolutely being WILDLY sarcastic about Rakha living to a ripe old age. She's only seen Rakha in combat once so far, but she already knows her new traveling companion has a tendency for, to put it mildly, recklessness.

Historically, Rakha tends to be a little sour towards people who are mean to her companions. However, Minthara now is a companion as well, which in Rakha's eyes gives her a little more room to speak her mind. And, deep down, Rakha has to admit she has a point; after all, Gale himself insists that he has no choice but to let the orb do its work in the end.

-----

"You and Karlach seem to be friendly."

"I have never known anyone so ferocious and unassailable in battle, and yet so fragile and impermanent in their very being. I often think of mortality as a curse. In time, all that I am and all that I have known and learned will be lost. In time, our cities will be dust. Karlach does not seem to have such anxieties. Perhaps because she cannot afford to. She exists in the moment, and she will burn out and be gone in a moment. There is something very beautiful about that."

<3 Everyone loves Karlach.

Rakha didn't have any further comments to make about this one. I think she's just kind of listening quietly. This conversation has already been enough to show me that Minthara just utterly fascinates her. Everything she says feels like something Rakha might have thought but would never have been able to find the words for - a blunt and pragmatic view of the world touched a deeper understanding and near-poetry. Her words are informed by history and memory, where Rakha has none.

She wishes she could speak like this to Wyll.

Speaking of which...

-----

"Any thoughts on Wyll?"

"He is exceedingly self-righteous. Amusing, considering he bound himself to a devil."

"Wyll is a good man."

"I will take your word for it. I only care that he is a good soldier, and he has not disappointed me on that front."

Hah. This absolutely reads to me as Minthara getting herself revved up to roast Wyll like nobody's business, and then belatedly remembering Rakha's obvious feelings for him and just deciding to keep her mouth shut. XD

I don't think, at this point, Minthara could talk Rakha out of caring for Wyll; he's had too much of a formative impact on her worldview. But it would have made her uncomfortable, certainly, to listen to Minthara talk derisively about him.

-----

There are a few other quick dialogue options outside the companion discussion; most of them are things we already know. Ketheric is invulnerable, which she witnessed in person in battle, and while her oath of vengeance on Lolth's behalf is now broken, she has a new one - revenge against the Absolute and all those who follow it.

But one bit was particularly interesting to me as part of Rakha's story:

"Do you remember all that you did in the Absolute's name?"

"I was the Absolute's dagger. I remember every throat that it held me to, and every drop of blood it forced me to spill. I take no responsibility for the lives I took. I did nothing in the Absolute's name - I was merely a weapon that it wielded."

This is the first jarring note in the conversation, really. Rakha, too, has felt at times like her body is merely a weapon for the beast in her head... but she is all too conscious, especially lately, of her own feelings of guilt at what she has been made to do. "I've lost control of myself before," she mutters harshly. "I hate it."

Surprisingly enough, Minthara's expression softens slightly. "You have my sympathy. The tadpole... the Absolute... they work together like a drug. I did not feel I was compelled to act against my will. I felt ecstatic to serve. Every action seemed a deliberate choice - the best choice - even though I could no more have resisted its commands than flesh can resist decay."

"Even rational minds like ours cannot reject such a powerful influence. The Absolute can make the impossible seem inevitable."

Rakha remembers the moments where the beast has won. It is not exactly like what Minthara describes - more like watching her body puppeted from a distance while she is torn out of her own control. But it is still close enough that it makes her shudder.

Then again... with Rakha's help, Minthara has found a way free of the compulsions that the Absolute drove through her. Perhaps, with Minthara's help, Rakha may yet find a way free as well.

[badwithten]

camping with skz hyung line - delulu head cannons

PAIRING SKZ hyung line (Bangchan, Lee Know, Changbin & Hyunjin) x fem!reader

GENRE fluff

WORD COUNT 1.6k

this is very self indulgent but it is 11pm on my 18th birthday when i’m writing this and my mother is sleeping and we are in the middle of no where camping/staying in some cabins with no power or reception so i’m writing this on notes app bc i can’t sleep early so i am just up and i want to be delusional and go camping with skz (changbin but lets give them all a chance ig 🙄) 

in saying that its self indulgent its more of a warning that i’m writing this reader based on me! usually i don’t do this and try to keep everything as neutral as i can (ik i still only write fem!reader but still i try make it as inclusive fem as i can be!)  but for this y/n is def based on how i am camping which happens to be kinda stereotypical girl “omg im scared of bug come save me” which i know isn’t true for all fem people but it is for me and its my birthday so let me be delusional! 

with that in mind, if you still decide to read these i hope you enjoy! might expand onto the maknae line if this is something that is received well? i’ve never really written headcanons so we’ll see!

also also, i know since lee knows camping vlogs theres be a lot of camping with skz stuff but once again, idc bc i am camping now so this is what i want lmao

chan 

chan is definitely the ‘i am prepared, I’ve got you babe’ which quickly turns into ‘omg this fire isn’t staying lit and its cold af right now”

like he comes well prepared, buying and packing the best gear money can get

but no matter how fancy the tent, it is no use if you can’t put it up!

using the limited knowledge the two of you have, you manage to wrangle the tent up just before dark

although this wasted all of the time you had to do any hiking or adventuring for the day. you can’t say you’re to mad to skip to the cuddling

once again, he purchased a whole lot of fire starters and fancy lighters, but the two of you still struggled to get a stable fire going

eventually though, you’re both warm and feed by the fire

he bought his guitar and plays your favourite songs for you

you’re lucky that you’re out on such a clear night, able to watch the stars and listen to your partner sing for you

after a long day of getting lost in the endless pages instruction pamphlets, its finally time  to call it a night

chan thought it would be cute to get matching animal sleeping bags

he got a wolf and when he asked which one you were gonna get you chose a regular adult one

he was disappointed in your lack of humour but now he regrets not doing the same

the child size sleeping bag not even fighting one of his legs

“room in there for two?” how could you say no

lots of cuddles and late night talks, its the first time its truely just been the two of you for a long time

no sounds of the city, no loud neighbours and none of the kids disturbing the peace!

when you wake up though its a sweaty mess, tents get so hot in the sun and waking up to a warm body pressed against you is the last thing you want!

minho

ok this one is a bit hard to be crazy for bc we’ve seen him camping

but that doesn’t make it any less,,, writeable? 

if we saw a chart of “thinks their prepared, is not prepared vs thinks their prepared, is prepared” where do you think chan and minho would sit??

the camp site we’ve seen in his vlog and then his bubble messages is his little get away when his life gets too crazy

its just him and nature (plus some cats. that man is a legit cat magnet and i am so jealous!)

he doesn’t even want to bring any of the members or his friends there

its his place, all he has to worry about is himself

and its not even a worry! he enjoys cooking so feeding himself is a simple task,,, and thats all he’s sorta required to do there

but not long after he started dating you, he realised he wanted to experience the peace of his camping with you

if he was stressed and couldn’t get away, he would turn to you. both of his stress relievers in one place would be a dream come true! (that sounds sexual, i promise i didn’t mean it like that 😭*turns 18 and writes smut right away*) 

despite being there bc he’s currently stressed to the max, he can’t help but care for you still

he cooks the most delicious meals for you

lets you shower first and for as long as you want, not minding the cold water for himself if you use up the supply of the hot

and then when you’re out, makes sure you’re comfortable and warm in bed to ensure you don’t get sick on him

but its not all him caring for you! he knows this as well, loving the way you look out for him

yes he does all the cooking but you’re right by his side, helping to prepare any food he needs to create his dishes

he knows how long you shower for at home so he knows you’re conscious of him by only taking short showers despite how much he insists he doesn’t mind the cold

you’ll wait up for him while he showers, sometimes stealing his side of the bed to make sure its warm when he gets back

you even made sure to pack cat treats incase he attracted anymore strays

needless to say, camping with lee know is a break from your busy lives where you can look after each other

recharge together before heading back to work

changbin 

the man of the hour! why im writing this for hehe (he’s my boyfriend and you can’t change my mind on that idc)

biggest baby!

i’ve been having to boil hot water for drinks over a gas stove

and can you imagine doing that for him while he holds the light and just makes commentary the entire time

like i imagine it going how that one vlog went with his sister where she’s cooking for him and he’s standing there pretending to help but really is being more of a nuisance than anything

but you love him for it

you’re setting up the gas tanks and dealing with fire, he can’t help but just be impressed

not only can you hold your own, but you look after him!

he always is expected to be the caretaker in relationships, being a big strong guy and all, surely he wears the pants in the relationship

but both of you have one leg each in these pants, both of you struggling to walk in the pants. its like a three legged race but worse bc now there’s 4 legs, all out of sync (in the best way possible)

you will make him hot chocolates and deal with the gas stove top

you’ll rub his head in the spa while the two of you soak in the hot water

but he’ll carry you across the river when you two go exploring, not wanting you to get your shoes wet

he’ll make sure to watch out for any mosquitos in the area, swatting them away before they get to you

hes a bit like minho, both of you looking out for each other but a lot less prepared to do so in a campsite 

“yo binnie you know how to set this thing up?”

“y/n i’ve even seen one of these before today” he says as he swings around a tent pole and almost takes you out with it

but its ok bc both of you end up getting the tent up after a long while

he’s just a big baby and i want to give him a hug and make him a hot chocolate ok! it’s all i’ve been thinking about

you two wouldn’t be able to sleep so early into the night so you sneak out to go make hot chocolate’s and sit around the dying flame of the fire pit

its like your teenagers sneaking out despite having paid your bill to stay at the camp ground, knowing you can come and go out of your tent as you please

but that excitement is always something you’ve felt throughout your relationship with changbin and you can’t see it ever leaving

hyunjin

mr dramatic over here would be so distraught at the sight of any bug in the area

and news flash you’re outside in forest, there’s gonna be bugs

all jokes aside though, camping with hyunjin would be such a freeing experience!

he’d definitely use this time to unwind and really get into his painting, with no distractions he’s able to get the creative flow going and create some beautiful works of either you or the landscape around him

and if you’re a writer reading this, then you can do what i’m doing right now and take your boredom in the fact that there’s no power and write as well!

or really if you create anything (art, writing, knitting, any creative outlet!), you’d be right by him doing the same

you’d also do lots of exploring with him!

you’d set of on the hike only to stop every five minutes to look at something

if its somewhere you’ve been before or the two of you are camping somewhere you are knowledgeable about (like camping near your home town or something) then he’d ask lots of questions about the wildlife and plants around you!

but if its new for both of you then it would be so fun discovering everything together

i just imagine sitting by the river bank with him, watching as small fish and other strange water creatures swim through the rock pools

pointing to each and every little movement to make a comment about it

“yo that fish kinda looks like you though”

the comments soon lead to a water fight which ends in the two of you swimming

unlike any ocean or pool the two of you have swam in before, the current drags you down the river

you allow yourself to float for a bit before you’ll both swim back up to where you started

just chatting and relaxing against the river and all its sounds

eventually though one of you remembers all the fish/insects/creatures you saw swimming in there just moments ago and freaks out thinking about it swimming against your skin

so you retreat back to shore, having to hike back to your campsite soaking wet and cold

lots of cuddles to warm up in the tent though

both of you so exhausted you just crash

but it was such a good experience with him. like the two of you are so comfortable with each other that being in by yourselves camping in the woods is such a amazing time 

(but both can’t wait to get back home and enjoy the comfort of your own bed again)

[starburstfloat]

Opening Sequence Lyrics Analysis

I recently spiraled anew revisiting TXT's discography like an analytical madman (a real treat!), and wanted to spew my thoughts on minisode 2: Thursday's child into the void of tumblr because nothing brings me greater joy than deconstructing naive self-destructive protagonists who place themselves into a pit of despair. If that sounds like something you want to indulge in too then hey hey welcome for the ride!

When revisiting minisode 2, it was impossible to ignore the genius that is the first track, Opening Sequence, and so I'm dedicating an entire analysis post to just this song.

One of the reasons that Opening Sequence is phenomenal is because it establishes the tone for the rest of the album and sets the stage for the following songs (you could think of it, like I do, as a powerful opening chapter for a book).

The main reason why I am so impressed with this track is that we get to witness our narrator shift from a point of mere sorrow and despair to full on disillusionment and resentment. Classic unreliable narrator and a chef's kiss to deconstruct.

I've already talked extensively about unreliable narrators in past analysis posts but if you don't know, unreliable narrators provide a perspective to the story that isn't wholly accurate. This isn't necessarily an advertent choice. Perhaps the narrator does indeed think that they are telling a story truthfully, but often their anger, sorrow, or heightened emotional state reveals cracks in the narrative. Something is missing, and it's usually honesty.

What's really creative with Opening Sequence is the narrative structure of the song that highlights just how disillusioned our protagonist grows to become (txt villain era woot woot).

Let's break it down!

At the beginning, Soobin talks about a breakup and how he is caught up in that painful moment. He is looping this moment in his head like a never-ending sequence:

These opening lines are critical in establishing our protagonist's mindset. We see someone who is grappling with change, and with a heavy heart at that.

A scene like this typically evokes empathy, and indeed on first and second listen you do genuinely feel sad about his pain.

The narrator goes from cycling through the pain of his breakup to then entering the first chorus with a repetitive cry begging for a second chance:

It is here that the audience recognizes the first signs that this narrator may not be a reliable lens to see the story because he's a little unstable.

How can we tell? The repetition here is the giveaway.

Repetition is a rhetorical technique that acts as a hyperbolic device to accentuate feelings. He could have just said all of that one time, but saying painfully and stay for me several times adds an emphasis and undeniably centers the audience on the emotions captured in each line. In this case, we recognize a pleading tone - a boy facing rejection and attempting to negotiate.

It's hard to trust characters whose account of events are so intricately tied to their self esteem and self worth. Does he really want a second chance? Or is this now something personal that he needs to vent to an audience, unaware of how self pitying he actually looks?

As the song continues, we witness the narrator slowly losing his composure. Soobin's line in the chorus hints at this tonal shift:

You in the faded film, your gaze that erased me

Here he frames the ex-lover as the reason for his plight: you are the one who erased me . Moments before he was begging for another chance. It's classic manipulative ex material: projecting sadness and weakness into bitterness and resentment - anywhere to place the blame than acknowledging the reality and finality of the breakup.

The second half of the song carries over with the tonal shift when Beomgyu asks:

Why'd you laugh?

His voice is more assertive now, hurt and scathing. It's also at this point that we notice our protagonist is becoming more scattered and less focused. He mentions a calendar that's taking a step backwards and that it's "driving me crazy". Even our narrator recognizes he's sort of spiraling and yet he feels he cannot stop it. If this wasn't enough, we see Soobin contriving a narrative that his ex deceived him:

He's trying to make sense of his pain but in doing so he's simply creating a story that alludes to his ex-lover being at blame.

The song reaches an absolute highlight during Taehyun's bridge:

The transformation from hurt to disillusioned is complete here. Taehyun goes from being in pain to fully evolving that pain into anger and resentment and reaching an epiphany: fine, if you want me to be the bad guy in this situation, I'll be your bad guy. If it weren't clear enough just from the vocals, he emphasizes this point even more by repetitively saying blame on me.

We know he doesn't actually think he's done anything wrong. It's all rather caustic and bitter.

And the chef's kiss? The choreography here. Right as Taehyun starts to break out of his despair, the members collapse on the floor around him, scattering lifeless before curling in on themselves, seemingly in pain.

As Taehyun finishes his part, they lift themselves up like from the grave, reborn into a new persona. Might I add that even Yeonjun's closing "oh yeah" has a devious ring to it.

Our narrator has accepted his fate, that he cannot get his ex lover back, but he can destroy the previous version of himself to escape from reality a little longer. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, guess what the next track on the album is: Good Boy Gone Bad.

Do y'all see how insanely clever this narrative setup is? It flows with such ease throughout the album. And that was literally just me rambling about ONE SONG!! THERE'S SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT HERE IT DRIVES ME CRAZY anyway I hope any of this made sense and I'd appreciate any insights you all have from this album or this song!

[hurricane105]

King Rhoam's journal

The Writings of Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

First entry: Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her...Zelda. I am not a man accustomed to frivolous musings, but now seems as good a time as any to begin my royal memorandum. [calling a journal for self reflection 'frivolous?' not a good move rhoam]

Second entry: Reports keep arriving regarding the excavation of relics. The fortune teller's predictions seem to be coming true. Calamity Ganon was not a figure of fable, or even of legend. He actually existed in our great land of Hyrule. We must investigate all the relics, learn as much as we can. But understanding the Divine Beasts alone will take time... Zelda's eyes lit up like a wildfire when I told her about the relics... I must admit, she has a knack for research. [she's 6 yo or younger - what a bookish kid. How early did she learn to read?]

Third entry: My queen has left this world. Her death was so sudden and unexpected, I awaken most nights unsure if she is really gone. Zelda never cried, never faltered. Not even during the royal funeral or later when she and I were alone with our grief. I must assume her strength is a result of us repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. For a child of merely six years of age, her conduct was truly that of a born leader. Her strength gives me hope. From now on, I must raise her all alone... Now, only I remain to prepare her for her difficult future as princess of Hyrule. [option 1: Zelda doesn't feel safe enough to show her emotions around her father. option 2: she hasn't really realized that her mother is dead. Also rhoam, strength does not equal not showing emotion. that's a demerit on the parent sheet. Also also, you're raising her 'alone' in a castle full of servants? hmmmmmm]

Fourth entry: Zelda finally reported back after her visit to the fountain. It seems her sacred sealing power has still yet to awaken. It has been a year and three months since her mother passed. Perhaps she is held back by heartache too deep to heal. If the Ganon prophecy wasn't looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time... To wait until she is ready. But our situation is dire and leaves no room for weakness - even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act as a king, not a father. I must order her to train relentlessly at the fountain. [ok i have seen so many posts about 'rhoam talked about caring for Zelda, he must have loved her! folks, he knew he was SUPPOSED to care for her, and because [in his own mind] he's not a bad person, whatever he does is caring for his daughter]

Fifth entry: I was told Zelda went off to research ancient technology so I had no choice but to confront her about it. [no choice? Really rhoam? You always have a choice in how to act. Way to not take responsibility for your actions] She claims she was simply using her day off from training to indulge in a bit of research, but still I scolded her. She won't get it through her head... Forcing me to tell her the same thing I have been repeating ad nauseam. The reason her sacred powers still won't awaken is because she's spending all her efforts playing at being a scholar! [ah yes. 'have a day off!' oh but you can't spend it doing fun stuff, it's back to the temple for you!]

Sixth entry: In truth, I understand Zelda's feelings. Painfully so. She lost her mother, her teacher, before she could learn from her. Ten pointless years of self-training, without so much as a book or note to help her find her way... Those in the castle talk behind her back. And I, her only family, scold her for her shortcomings. No wonder she wishes to hide away in her beloved relic research. I'd love nothing more than to console her... But I must stay strong. She MUST fulfill her duty, just as we all must. Even if she comes to despise me. [a tiny bit of self awareness, immediately trampled by self righteous 'but i've got to treat her like trash!']

Seventh entry: I have been told my Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom... [you didn't even see her in person? coward. she won't even share her travel plans with you now] This will likely be her last chance. If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. [contrast this with Urbosa's saying 'it's not like your last chance was up there on the mountain, we'll figure something out'] If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced 10 years of training on her... and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can't provide. For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a king in this moment. I sit and await my daughter's return. [it's about time you decided to be an actual father]

[beevean]

hector for the bingo of course because its nice to see you talk about your blorbos... maybe also joachim? and for fun, julius belmont

It isssss <3

Hector:

the one, the he, the him of all time <3

this edgy bitch got my heart in a chokehold for more than a year now. send help pls

I don't know what else to say, I explained over and over why I fell in love with his character, his story and his character development, how you can see a story of a groomed child who realized that he deserves better and so he went and reclaimed his own freedom and identity, no matter the pain he went through. He's flawed, he's a war criminal, he is easily manipulated through his emotions, but he's also noble and kind and full of love to give and with impressive mental fortitude. And it's all canon! It's just a matter of reading it! :D

Yes I am aware he's basically a smoothie of Alucard and Guts with a sprinkle of Shadow on top, but I don't care, I love him and he's so cool and it helps that his swag is part of the reason I find CoD so fun despite its flaws :P

Joachim:

I will never be over how Joachim got such a lovely design, a slapping theme, and a tragic elaborated backstory that ties him with Walter, only for him to be a random boss on the same level as a damn parasite.

Joachim is cool. He's super fun to play as: his powers turn LoI into a joke, which would make him a force to be reckoned with in-universe. He's a believable anti-villain, and a potential anti-hero were he allowed to live. He should have been allowed to live :( I'm currently going insane with AUs where he became the Lord of Walter's castle while Leon still did his thing. I have fun imagining his personality after he stops being an angry teen tortured to the point of insanity. I'd love to see his chemistry with Leon, Walter and Mathias (and, in a self-indulging way, Hector and Isaac - he'd relate to them :3). But alas, it was not meant to be...

Julius:

tfw i'd have more to say about christopher and soleil than him

Julius for me was the victim of hype. He's pretty much the Chuck Norris of Castlevania, but his reputation hinges on something we never got to see. His boss fight is certainly awesome, but when I think of a Belmont that thoroughly kicked my ass, I think of Trevor :P and playing as him... I don't know, it didn't give me the feeling that I was playing as the strongest Belmont in history.

I don't know, I'm sure one can get lost into the potential of the Belmont who finally broke the cycle of Dracula, but I don't think much about the Sorrow games, sorry.

[tsukikoayanosuke]

My Manga Yuu Wish List

With the appearance of Yuuka Hirasawa in Savanaclaw Manga replacing Yuuken Enma from the Heartslabyul Manga, it's safe to say that we might expect more Yuu in future manga installments. So, today, I have a wish list for the next future Yuu.

Now, to premise this: This is a wish list. Thus, this might sound very self-indulgent. These are just my opinions and you guys can agree or disagree with them. I'm open to further conversation. And because this is very self-indulgent, I realized after writing this that I may or may not make Yuu the main character. What I'm saying is that I may or may not give my choices of Yuu a bigger role than in the game. Like, some have an entire character development for a one-off mc. This is what happens when you daydream about the plot too much lol. All the Yuu here are first-year age, or at least around that, like Yuuken and Yuuka. So, unfortunately, there are no adults or tiny children.

So, without further ado, here's my wish list for future Manga Yuu for each Episode.

.

.

.

Octavinelle Arc

Once the Discord group I'm in is talking about some reader expectations on future Manga Yuu. Someone sent an ask to my friend saying that they (the asker) want an overweight Yuu to show that you can be happy even if you're overweight. Now, there is no problem with this and it is a good message. However, I don't think it suits the story of Octavinelle.

Like, if I have to guess this Overweight Yuu plot, is that Yuu was also bullied because of their appearance but managed to come out as a happy child. This is a great message. But, here's the thing: Azul is already happy. Yes, he's no longer a chubby octopus, but he's now a happy teen. If this is about self-acceptance, and both Overweight Yuu and Azul are comfortable in their own path of happiness, then what is there to challenge? What does Overweight Yuu bring to the table other than representation (and possibly pandering wokeness)? Again, I’m not saying Overweight Yuu is bad, I’m all support. It’s only the matter of execution. And we’re living in a timeline where “representation” in media being more important than storytelling, you can’t blame me for having fear of the worst.

We need to go back to Octavinelle Arc. The main story the Octavinelle is Azul scamming many student is signing a contract, making them his servants, and it's up to Yuu to save them (well, mostly your close friends). While body image is a struggle for Azul, that's not the main conflict of Octavinelle. Azul was bullied as a kid and that resentment kept growing along with his skill. When he becomes, basically, above everyone else, he uses that power to scam people. In short, Azul is a bully victim who becomes a bully.  And that's the key. Azul is doing all of this, working hard to be better not because he wants to be better, but as an act of revenge toward his bullies first and foremost.

That's why I don't think the Overweight Yuu and the self-acceptance theme might work in terms of narrative. 

But that’s not saying we can’t have an Overweight Yuu. However, the overweight-ness is not the main focus. What I think might be a good theme to challenge Azul is revenge and redemption.

So, I offer a Former Bully Yuu.

Just like how Yuuken is the calm leader compared to Riddle being easy to anger, and Yuuka hardworking compare to Leona's laziness, I offer someone who switches roles: Azul previously was a bullying victim now become a bully, and Yuu who was a bully once but now defends those in need.

I imagine Former Bully Yuu as someone who looks tough, maybe part of a gang once, but turns out to have a heart of gold. Maybe something happened that made them stop their bullying and actually try to be good. Or maybe they're still struggling to mend their mistake but people still see the bully in them. Going to Twisted Wonderland might be a blessing because they can start a new leaf with a brand new image. They might even have a closer bond with Deuce for their similar past. And if Deuce said he can relate to Azul, the Former Bully Yuu can do too.

When Octavinelle Arc starts, Former Bully Yuu knows the signs almost immediately and maybe even call out at Azul's behavior. Thus, there's a conflict between the two main players and Former Bully Yuu becomes determined to save their friends.

This actually might also open the possibility of having Yuu that's not a good kid in the beginning. Yuuken and Yuuka are good kids, but having an actual (albeit former) bad Yuu as an MC gives a chance for an unlikable protagonist who actually grows through the story even if it's just in one manga.

For this Yuu, I actually prefer if they're a female for a few reasons. One, because Yuu can be any gender, and two, I just really want a really bad bitch. I've seen so many good girl Yuu in the fandom, so why not a former bad girl Yuu. And just, really, I want to see a woman make mistake and actually own it unlike many modern 'strong female characters'.

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Scarabia Arc

Same as the previous section, someone sent an ask to my friend that they (the asker) want a hijabi Yuu. However, once again there's nothing wrong with this request, like before, what does this bring to the narrative? What does Hijabi Yuu bring to the table other than representation (and possibly pandering wokeness)? Also, Najma doesn't wear a hijab, so why not Yuu too?

When we talk about hijabi, we often connect it with religion. But Scarabia Arc is never about religion. Scarabia Arc is about rebellion and freedom, of a servant challenging his fate and authority, to topple down he who basically owns you. What can Hijabi Yuu challenge from this?

But there is another, more disgusting, way. That Hijabi Yuu is struggling with their religion, thus wanting to break free just like Jamil. I sincerely hope that this is not the route they're taking. Going down this route feels like you're mocking us. While I'm not a Muslim myself, growing up in the country with the largest Muslim population, I know how important religion and tradition are for us. My friends are not oppressed by their religion. They are proud and this is their act of being fateful to God.

The bottom line, like Overweight Yuu, I don’t want Hijabi Yuu to be there just for representation brownie points, but has a bigger role. We can still have Hijabi Yuu, but their hijab or being Muslim is not their main trait.

Going back to Scarabia Arc, I think we can play around with the idea of freedom. Technically, we're not challenging Jamil's concept of freedom directly but opening another window. However, I do admit that this is a tricky arc to tackle. So, I kinda offer two routes.

Going down the classic route, the first one is the Rich Kid Yuu.

Listen. I'm not a rich kid myself, so I can get this wrong.

I actually imagine Rich Kid Yuu is born into a prestigious family, maybe even a billionaire. Rich Kid Yuu is the heir of this company thus they're raised to be the next leader. They attend the best school, has many tutors, and is living to their parent's expectation. However, the stress finally caught up to them and they realized that "Wait, when can I take a break?" and seeing other kids their age they wondered why can't they be free like them with no rules and responsibility. Going to Twisted Wonderland is their escapism and dream come true.

Yes, this is similar to Riddle's story, but that's why it might work. If Jamil wants to be free from being under Kalim's shadow while Rich Kid Yuu is freed from their family ties. They understand where Jamil is coming from for while they don't share the same background, the longing for freedom is mutual. However, I also imagine Jamil sees Rich Kid Yuu the same as Kalim, albeit less annoying. So how do we challenge Jamil?

I think it might be more efficient if Jamil meets someone from the same level. That's when the second option is here. Coming from the opposite spectrum is Poor Kid Yuu.

Now, this is closer to home. While I myself is not living in poverty, my family once went through some financial trouble. But I might get this wrong as well.

Poor Kid Yuu might be similar to Azul but at least they're not doing it out of spite. Poor Kid Yuu was born into a poor family or a working-class or family with lots of debt, thus money became sacred to them. They're the type who would count their blessing and a hard worker in school, the top of the class because they're aiming for the scholarship. I think they might be the ones who would actually panic and try to find their own way out of Twisted Wonderland, every day wondering what's their family's fate.

This is where Jamil got challenged. Jamil is tied to his role as a servant while Poor Kid Yuu is tied to their financial problem. Both want to be free from that, but Jamil picks the rebellion road while Poor Kid Yuu picks the peaceful hard work road. Maybe, instead of Jamil being challenged, Poor Kid Yuu is the one getting their ideal challenged. With force, Jamil can secure a brief victory while the years Yuu has spent these years and no result in escaping poverty. Being a good guy, Poor Kid Yuu proves their resolve, choosing the long hard yet truthful way than cheating their way to success.

For this one, any gender is fine. Actually, it might be stronger if we have a female Yuu for the Rich Kid Yuu. Mostly I want the "girlboss who actually does girlboss stuff and deserves the recognition" representation.

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Pomefiore Arc

Outside of Octavinelle and Scarabia Arc, I haven't really seen any hardcore speculation for Pomefiore Arc. I think the first choice would be a manager since we're entering the idol/school festival arc. I actually agree with this one. Having a Manager Yuu might actually give Yuu a chance to participate the practice even more than in canon. Like Vil giving Yuu the responsibility in the schedule, their diet, and the accommodation. Which means, we'll be getting a Yuu who is more mature than the rest, someone who has the skill and experience in group management.

But let's also see what Pomefiore Arc is about. Outside the school festival, I'll be taking one of the main elements, which is looking for (social) validation. Like, comment, subscribe, kudos, bookmark, and reblog. Everything us content creator is, like it or not, striving for. Our relationship with our followers is precious to us. But it can backstab you. You'll be looking for their validation and the parasocial relationship will grow. At least that's what I went through. Vil is also the same. He needs social validation, he needs that beauty rank to see what's his worth. The thing is, he knows his skill, he knows what he's capable of, but what is the use if nobody is there to support you? We often say that we draw/write/create content because we love it, but we also want to be recognized so it doesn't feel like we're talking to a brick wall.

I want to offer two Yuus. The first one is the Struggling Content Creator Yuu or maybe just CC Yuu for short.

This Yuu can either be an artist, a writer, a YouTuber, a Twitch streamer, a vlogger, a blogger, anything. They are a content creator on the internet. But note the 'struggling' part. Before going to Twisted Wonderland, CC Yuu is hitting rock bottom in their craft, like having a writer blog, a burnout, declining subscribers, anything. Or the opposite, they're striving in their craft and they're the internet darling, to the point of parasocial relationship with their follower and want to please them. Basically, Yuu is your young content creator. But, I'm going down the rock bottom CC Yuu.

Basically, CC Yuu has been wrung dry. They have no more content and the thing they used to love feels like a chore. Maybe they didn't get much like or reblog, making them feel like they're talentless. And going to Twisted Wonderland just make that feeling worse, because not only do you have a real celebrity like Vil, who seemingly can do anything perfectly, as the only magicless kid in this goddamn school, they're useless.

I imagine CC Yuu as someone who is bitter and jealous (once again going down the Yuu not being the best kid route), who looks down on themselves and wants to quit. This might be the only Yuu in the list who I think might actively hate a character, in this case, Vil, for a personal reason when Vil doesn't do anything wrong. Just standing next to him cause irritation in them because he's oh so perfect. I mean, don't we all when we first play TWST? Don’t we all hate Vil because he’s a mean girl?

The overblot was a slap for them, showing that Vil also went through the same struggles. Maybe post-Overblot, CC Yuu and Vil can have a talk and CC Yuu just vent and Vil understand them, maybe contacting people he knows that might help boost. CC Yuu is clearly not cures from their burnout, but the feeling is starting to grow. Maybe they could grab the pen again when they go home...

I know this is not every content creator’s struggle, but you can’t really just pull every artist problems and put it in a character. That’s why I’m more focusing of the burnout from the lack of follower response and jealousy of Vil who looks perfect.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the classic Theater Kid Yuu.

This Yuu is very loud, very obnoxious, sometimes overconfident, has an infectious laugh, looks like a goofball, and you'll either like them or hate them.  Theater Kid Yuu stands in the spotlight and likes to be at the center of attention. The theater has been a large part of their life, maybe to the point it's his basic personality. Their goal is to make everyone smile, to leave a lasting impression, so nobody forgets about them.

But I also imagine Theater Kid Yuu being the kindest of them all. Being in the theater can develop one’s attention to detail, especially subtle gestures. They could decipher when someone is sad, angry, or happy. If irritation appears on people's faces when they're around, then Yuu would slowly pull themselves away.

They're also very open to criticism since that's a way to grow in their craft. However, that would also mean they would also take hateful comments. Theater Kid Yuu would still take it with a smile. They will take those into their self-reflective moment and try to find a way to make the bonds less hurtful.

With this, I feel like Theater Kid Yuu will be the first one to notice Vil's struggle. Being in the entertainment industry is almost the same as theater, thus they vaguely know the routine. They would notice Vil keeps asking Mira and Vil first crumbles when Neige performs. Theater Kid Yuu will try to be friends with Vil, because they are kind and no actor can perform without their crew, thus Vil should have someone as well.

For these Yuu, I don’t have a preferable gender. I’m more used with male for Theater Kid Yuu, but anything is fine. 

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Ignihyde & Diasomnia Arc

Now you must be wondering why I lump these two arcs together. Well, not only because Diasomnia Arc is still ongoing, most of the Yuu that I pick for these arcs can somehow be switched around. One of the themes I decided to pick for these two arcs is the concept of time and family. Both Idia and Malleus struggle with the loss of (or in the process of losing) someone they are close. Idia lost his brother and to this day still being haunted by his death. Malleus is in the process of losing Lilia, who had been with him since he was a kid, and Yuu, while their meeting was brief left an impact on them. There's also the concept of time with Idia losing the time of being with human Ortho and Malleus racing against Lilia and Yuu's time. Because of these elements I'm focusing on, I'll combine the choices of Yuu I want.

Starting with the easy ones, we have Orphan Yuu.

Orphan Yuu is someone who had lost a family, usually parents. They're living with some relatives or are adopted. Maybe they have a younger sibling who is still alive and they take the role of the main caretaker. With this premise, Orphan Yuu is a kind, loving person who will take care of many they hold dear to their heart. They can cook and clean, a perfect house husband/wife. Their strength is their kindness. 

When they're transported to Twisted Wonderland, their first thought is "is my family going to be okay?" Similar to Poor Kid Yuu, Orphan Yuu is one who will do anything to get back home, but they're conflicted. After many overblot, they realized that maybe these kids need a friend who will take care of them. So, they become their safe shelter, opening Ramshackle's door for the weary souls.

Orphan Yuu understand Idia's grief and Malleus' fear. They might be the only one willing to be on Malleus side, even during overblot, but will try to save him as well. They adores Ortho and scolds Idia for his "not so big brother actions". They dote over Grim and is furious to the point of nearly punching Idia when he was taken, only to be stopped by Rook and Epel. "I don't want to lose him too," Orphan Yuu said and Idia gets it.

While there's no preferable gender, I'm leaning toward male for this one, mostly because I really like the kind big brother archetype. And come on, we need at least one very pure guy in this school of villains.

The next one is the classic Sick and Dying Yuu but let's just call it Ill Yuu.

This is actually kinda tricky so I'll keep it short. Mostly because this is also connected to the world-building of Twisted Wonderland. We know that Riddle's mom is a doctor, but can she cure an otherworld common cold? This can open a chance for exploration in in-universe healthcare. But, let's just say, they're no cure for whatever illness Ill Yuu and, as previously said, they're dying. Thus, I can see Ill Yuu as someone who cherishes every second of their life. They want to do everything they can before they die, especially in this other world. They're kind to others because they want to be remembered dearly. They never use their illness as an excuse for every inconvenience but takes full responsibility for their wrong action, making them a very admirable kid.

Ill Yuu might be more effective for Diasomnia Arc, but I don't know if we combine it with Lilia losing his magic, it'll be too repetitive for the plot. For Idia, maybe he can see Ill Yuu and think back to Ortho and his sudden death. Maybe Idia can help in granting Yuu's wishes and make sure Ortho become close to them because nobody should leave the world without anybody holding their hand and whispering "goodbye". Idia won't go through a painful loss again. At least this time, he can prepare in losing a friend. The grief can come later.

No preferable gender for this one.

Now the last two types are even trickier to pull off and can honestly make or break a story. 

The third Yuu for this is Apathetic Yuu.

Now this is actually pretty tricky to pull. There are many 'calm, cool, and collected' anime characters, we even have some in TWST in the form of Silver and Malleus. When I say it's tricky because I don't really want a badass Yuu. I want a Yuu who has a straight face. No witty comment, no secretly a genius, no manipulative attitude. They're just there, existing but without any emotion. Apathetic Yuu is struggling in finding their feeling again that once died. No hobbies, no interest (or maybe they have a special interest but they don't look like they're smiling). It's like they're an empty shell who is somehow still alive.

So, why put this type in a story where family love is strong? Well, like Former Bully Yuu and CC Yuu, this can be Apathetic Yuu's journey in emotional growth. Seeing how Idia and Malleus are willing to do everything to keep their family alive might stir something in them. Maybe the moment when Grim was taken and Ace and Deuce got hurt was the first time Apathetic Yuu ever widened their eyes in shock. At first, maybe they felt scared by this sudden emotion, but with reassurance from Lilia, since he's the most mature, Apathetic Yuu learns more. I don't have any preferable gender for this type since we can pull blank-stare characters in anime.

The last one is actually a type I'm actually excited about. I'll be calling it Desconstruction Otome View Yuu or Otome Yuu for short.

Okay. Hear me out.

You know about the whole "many people think that TWST is an otome game" and we often joke how "characters forget that they're not in an otome game"? Let's take all of those and put them in Otome Yuu.

This Yuu is ecstatic to be in Twisted Wonderland, especially for the hot boys. For every interaction they have with the boys, they take it as a romantic gesture. They're sighing and blushing. They're treating this as an otome game, knowing all the strategies and sweet actions. Heck, maybe make them an otaku, but I doubt Idia dares to get close to someone as forward as Otome Yuu. But really, they're just very naive and innocent. They mean no harm but can come off as annoying.

So, where does the deconstruction happens? Well, I can only see this work in Diasomnia. With Malleus being the poster boy, thus the main "love interest", Otome Yuu pursued him the hardest. It'll depend on Malleus whether he's comfortable or not. And when the a quarter way has passed, Otome Yuu (and maybe Malleus) think that love might solve their problem. So, they kiss...but nothing happens. Malleus is not cured of whatever crisis he's having. Lilia is not no longer dying. Everything is still a mess. And that's when Otome Yuu's rose color glasses started to slip off.

Like Former Bully Yuu, CC Yuu, and Apathetic Yuu, Otome Yuu has a chance to grow. To learn to read the situation and don't just carelessly see this as a romance game. Not everything can be solved through the power of love. I feel like they might get into an identity crisis and have heavy self-reflection. Looking back to many of their- interactions with the other boys and point out whether they are times when the boys are uncomfortable with them. Otome Yuu started to respect them, not as romanceable characters or potential boyfriends but as actual people who have a life outside of them. They become humble, more understanding, and less naive. And when Malleus goes overblot, Otome Yuu is there not to save him as the climax in their romance route, but as a friend who is ready to risk their life for him.

That's the deconstruction. The otome route is my biggest fear when Yuuka arrives. But at least at first glance, she doesn't seem to be someone who is overly romantic. So, if we ever have an MC who is very romantic, I kinda want to see them not getting the boy of the chapter. Again, TWST is not an otome game, so why are we treating it as one?

This Yuu has to be 100% female. While I don't mind male Yuu and taking the hopelessly romantic gay route, but as I said, this is a deconstruction of the otome genre, thus I'm leaning toward the female Yuu. But also, I really want to see a male-female friendship that doesn't end with romance.

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Conclusion:

Like many, I have a wish list of what I kinda want for future Yuu in the manga adaptation. A lot of you probably won't agree with this list, but that's the point of a wish list. It is something I kinda want to see, but I'm not sad if they don't come true. I'll be looking forward to Yuuken, Yuuka, and any future Yuu in the next installments. Remember, all Yuu matters.

[greengay]

whether it was deserved or not (it was imo lol), i think j**y getting canceled was traumatic for billie, on like... multiple levels

finding out his son is a sex pest

seeing everyone turn against his son and having his life ruined and being powerless to stop it. again, i think joey was/is a little entitled turd, but billie is still his father, and a parent wants to protect their child from as much harm as possible. tbh, joey probably is the way he is because he was spoiled and over-indulged

i think being labeled a "pedophile" was a little too far and too simplistic a way of looking at the situation. things can be looked at with nuance. lydia was underage, and the age difference and power dynamic was inappropriate, but let's bffr and acknowledge that it wasn't legit pedophilia. like, let's call him a loser who wouldn't date girls his own age, but that label makes him seem like a child molester. "but who cares? he deserves it!" maybe, but also words have meaning. and, again, coming at this from billie's POV... his son isn't a pedophile, so having him be labeled a pedophile was probably devastating.

just generally not being able to ever publicly be proud of or talk fondly about his oldest son again

realizing how many people's lives were affected by joey's actions and how he raised joey and how he probably had a hand in that

like, obviously the relationship itself was traumatic to lydia, but this isn't a regrettes blog so

ALSO.... there was a alternate universe where lydia made the post and shttrs weren't "canceled", but that would have required joey being able to have at least a minute of self-reflection. like... people were angrier about him just fucking peacing out with no explanation for his actions than the actions in the first place. i think if he was like, "hey i felt really entitled to have sex with you wherever and whenever i wanted that's fucking shitty" and "yeah i know the sway i have being the son of a world famous rockstar, especially in the genre of music we both played in and the difference in life experience we have and the poewr dynamic was whack" etc. etc. like.... yeah they probably would have still lost some fans, but people LOVE to give straight white guys as many chances as they can... it was just a PR disaster.

but i think it's one thing when bad things happen to you, and it's another when bad things happen to your child (again, even if it was deserved). i think the world just becomes a much, much darker place. and i think billie came out of it a lot more self-conscious and a lot more bitter about people than he was before it happened. idk.

[seirclys]

HIIII HELLOOOO IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I have so many questions but never got to ask you cuz guess what i am gonna go to collage soon

But that aside, here are the questions, now updated after your 4 part posts about OG!Penny and Shrike!Penny

The revived butterfly in the fic, it was presumed dead by Penelope, but after she removed the webs and turned around and walked back, it twitched meaning that it's still alive.

We know that butterflies symbolize life, death, and metamorphosis. But what of a "revived" butterfly?

Well not like revived, more like presumed dead but is actually still alive.

I've dug a little deeper (not that deep) about a butterfly's symbolism, it can also represent hope and faith.

Soooo, assuming you go with that too, does a still living butterfly that was thought to be dead meant there's still some—albeit very very slim chance to me—hope left for her even though it didn't seem like it?

As for the faith part, I really don't see that fit anywhere. She lost all faith in gods, the Eckharts and the MLs so, yeah.

And, and, Cassian,

I went thru the comments and you said he is gay and a sad boy.

Does he ever have romantic feelings for one of Penny's brothers?? Or is he sad about Penelope just pushing and burning herself out again that her health is just- shit. Like when she was still small and within her Empire?

One more question, I remember that Penelope said(?) that the Second Prince faction would pay for siding with Leila (memory fuzzy here but i remember it mostly)

Will she do it in the Eternal Ataraxia? Along with the Eckharts? :Eyes:

Probably not but, just curious.

ahh welcome back!

unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a roadblock with Shrike. It's the sad reality of having grand plans for a fic and then life chucking a brick at your window with you right next to it. It'll become a backburner fic, probably, but I really, really hope that it doesn't die off in my mind, even with the lack of interest it generally has. I'm glad you still love it enough to reread <3

I'm also going to college soon, so you aren't alone in the hectic mess.

I'm still churning out some of the OG! Penelope headcanon posts! a bit stuck on part 5, and the series might get added onto later if I ever get new ideas.

(I'm actually churning these out for a self-indulgent crossover I've been chatting about on Discord but shhhh)

Ooh, the butterfly was a while ago. I honestly forgot about it, but yes, it was meant to be a sort of rekindled hope, but also to symbolize someone. I had the idea for Rheiana to have butterfly powers similar to Roxana, but more like a butterfly-human hybrid but scrapped the butterfly part.

And... RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Cassian had feelings for one of Penelope's brothers. It won't be a big plot point in the story, so I'll just tell you now. He was in a semi-secret romantic relationship with Adrastus, Penelope's second brother. If you remember, Adrastus was also the brother that died in Penelope's arms, just like her mother.

hnnh bodyguard-prince relationship trope

In addition, he is pretty sad about how self-destructive Penelope is, especially since he feels like he has an obligation to take care of her in Adrastus's absence(the two of them were really in love with each other, and although there were talks of Adrastus marrying out for political ties, they were devoted to each other). He believes that it's his fault that Penelope was lost in the first place, that she became so reckless even as a child.

As for the Second Prince's faction, since they aren't as traumatically significant to Penelope as the Eckharts are, I was thinking of an end that was less horrific, but more public.

And for the "sheer clothing" in my OG!Penelope hcs series, it's actually not referring to Hanfu! Shrike!Penelope's culture/the Ancient Wizards were influenced by different IRL cultures(with how I mentioned that dimension travel is a THING that they used to do), which is why I mentioned Hanfu since China was one of the big ancient empires.

I'm thinking more manhwa-sheer, as in, like. Roxana(yep, here we go again), her sheer overskirts and sleeves. Maybe some more modern dress styles. Think haute couture. Sheer cutouts, satins, etc. Lots and lots of lace and netting.

Glad to see you in my notifications and my inbox again <3 keep yourself safe and healthy(super ironic since this dumbass just recovered from her 1st Covid... as in Sunday. I only tested negative SUNDAY.) edit: i forgot i queued this but dw kids I've been covid free for two days

[dollhouseirl]

'Magic'

I am thinking today of 'magic' as described in Umineko. It's a big inspiration for what I'm trying to do with my current visual novel project although that project also incorporates capital-M Magic as well. I won't spoil anything in Umineko but you should know that this is a way of thinking that the VN hopes you will pick up on your own and that it is a delight to discover for yourself so, if you plan on reading it (and you should, it is my favorite thing ever and could be yours too!), you ought to read it and not see me pick at 'magic.' Umineko is a story that is told on multiple layers. I want to talk about three: the logical layer, the 'magic' layer, and the Magic layer. Whether the third layer exists in Umineko at all or not is a subject of some real debate. My answer to that question would necessarily be a spoiler for pretty much the whole thing and what I think is going on in it. It does, however, present the third layer in order to make it clear what the three layers are and aren't.

The logical layer is pedestrian. We don't need to go into it much. It has features worth talking about another time, maybe, but you know it. You love it. It is the confines of specifically what can be explained by way of real world mechanics and what makes sense. It all has a perfectly rational explanation. Battler ostensibly fights hard for the logical layer: the idea that his family was killed in a perfectly rational incident by a culprit the way it happens in real life. The logical layer heavily rejects the Magic layer; as such, the one thing Battler won't accept is that a literal witch used magical spells to kill the Ushiromiyas.

The Magic layer is also not a layer we need to go into much. It also has features worth talking about another time. I like it better than the logical layer, to be quite honest. In the Magic layer, anything can happen. You can turn into butterflies. You can summon the Lance of Longinus with the right incantation. Your eyes can glow with fire. It is a very chuuni layer in places and a very transcendent and warm layer in others. The only unifying thing about all the things this layer can be is that it defies all logical explanation. Beatrice fights hard for the Magic layer: the idea that a witch with insane magical powers and control over Solomon's demons killed a family that had turned its nose up at her existence. The one thing she won't accept is what happened on Rokkenjima is explicable purely with logic.

The 'magic' layer is the interesting one. It is a layer with the premise that the logical layer can be reframed into something resembling the Magic one just by way of semantics and altering how you perceive yourself, others, events, your surroundings, etc. Umineko's culprit operates from the 'magic' layer; they fight for the idea that there is a genuine and real truth on what happened at Rokkenjima and that logic distorts it, makes it seem worse and more horrible. Maybe it really is horrible. There is only so much of it I feel we are genuinely privy to and I'd love to talk more about that some other time.

'Magic' in Umineko is telling a child to close her eyes while you fish around for a candy to replace her broken one with. She believes you when you tell her you are a witch and that you are about to magically repair the candy. Therefore, when she opens her eyes and there is a whole candy there, she concludes: ah, my candy was fixed with a spell. What is the utility in this internal explanation? What is its value? For this child, it is quite simple: the world is too hard to bear for her if there are not witches and magic in it. She wants to be a witch when she grows up and the nicest person to her in the world says she is a witch too. The world she prefers is the one where you can fix candy with a spell.

I have a similar 'magic' story in my visual novel as related by Lucia. If you do not mind the self-indulgence, here it is paraphrased in her terminology: the spell to turn a delicious meal into raw fish. What you do is simple: you designate the target and use their unvarnished trust in you as a supply for mana. Without mana, 'magic' will not work. You take them to a restaurant and order them a meal they haven't had before and you ask them kindly to try it first before you explain what it actually is.

This is the critical point. The unvarnished trust is the mana. Without it, there is no 'magic.' If the target questions you anyways or won't agree to this, the spell is almost assuredly not going to work. If they do trust you though, the rest is child's play.

When the target eats the meal, you say, that was raw fish you ate. Lucia's mom cast this spell on her to share her love for sushi with her; she knew Lucia wouldn't eat a meal if it was raw fish before she ate it. Once you define the meal, the spell is accomplished. You cannot guarantee the target will be happy to have eaten raw fish but that is why 'magic' is best cast from a place of trust and intimacy as it is employed in Umineko.

In truth, on the logical layer, this is just the story of Lucia's mom taking her out for sushi as a child and strategically waiting to tell her what sushi was until after she'd eaten and liked it. To Lucia, though, it's 'magic.' In some ways, it's 'Magic'; sushi is not literally 'raw fish' and telling her that it was made her an adventurous eater who figured, well, if raw fish is so delicious and safe to eat, anything is probably good.

In some ways, Purple Prose for Purple Hearts is a screwdriver for layers to me, the layers that Umineko uses to depict the world in. I hate having it be the only thing I want to talk about (I kinda love it) because it's not done yet, it's not finished and in its final form, but it comes from a place of having thought long and hard about the concept of 'magic.'

[optimisticstudentangel]

How side characters went through their teenage rebellious phase

Warning: mentions of alcohol, drugs?, teenagers being teenagers, except Luke’s rebel is more safe and childlike 

Diavolo

I see him as an obedient child. Probably because that’s what his father wanted, and Diavolo didn’t want to be a disappointment in front of his dad.

In lessons we see that he was neglected by his father, that’s why I think he would try to be the “ideal” son, who wouldn’t ask for much, and would try to meet the impossible expectations.

Thus, his rebelling phase would start pretty late, when his father lets Diavolo to take the throne. That’s when Diavolo loosens up, and becomes more open for new experiences.

He avoids reckless decisions, or if really interested tries something, but in a permitted level.

Let's be honest, during his youth he changed his style several times, did drugs, had secret relationships. It would be an impossible challenge not to use his opportunities to his advantage.

In conclusion, his phase is similar to a spoiled rich child’s life, who was denied to indulge in such things. But at least Diavolo knows about self-control, that’s why he was able to grow into a fine man.

Barbatos

In Barbatos’ situation, he was free demon, who could do whatever he wanted, until Diavolo made him his butler.

That’s just to say, he probably had a wild life, maybe like Asmo level-wild.

Also including the fact that he is a powerful demon, nothing could stop him at that time. He got what he desired, and no one dared to say a word.

The common canonical thing we know about him, is that he loves rock. I imagine him wearing black teared clothes and having piercings in his ears and tongue.

He would also be more blunt with his words.  And sometimes he picked fights with demons, who would bother him.

Even back then, he would avoid conflicts, and let them go away with that just this once.

Luke (teenage rebel, nothing bad. It’s more like staying up late watching TV or having ice cream for breakfast)

He didn’t have one. And he thinks he is far better than that.

Why would he want to be rebellious? It would make Michael sad, and he wouldn’t approve of that.

Celestial realm teached him other things, to be kind with a big heart and not to waste your precious time for foolish entertainment. It will be more useful to spend that time praying to God.

He takes pride in his behavior, believing that it’s what every angel should do.

But. Simeon would be supportive, if Luke had this phase. He would generally be invested and help Luke with some advice.

Then again we are talking about wearing something unusual (like total black, dying his hair, maybe using catching makeup) nothing to frank. Something that Simeon can allow to 10-year-old child.

Simeon

I think he somewhat had this phase, but in a limited way.

He sure doesn’t mind people going through rebel. Simeon also doesn’t judge anyone’s believes, because he thinks it may help to deepen one’s knowledge about themselves.

He mentioned briefly in one lesson, that the most fun time of his life was, when he, Lucifer and Michael got together and did some shit (Lucifer was angel back then). Also Luke was not created yet.

At the very least they drank alcohol, and in a more explicit scenario they tried crazier stuff. Who could stop these trio? They were well-known seraphs with a lot of power in their hands (in that very lesson, Simeon also said that Lucifer and Michael are both sadists, does he also count himself as well?).

He also doesn’t mind to join the fun from time to time.

Devildom gave him second chance to rebel, and do whatever he thinks will bring him joy. Well, not in front of Luke of course.

Maybe he even starts to question his future life in hell, just for the fun of it. And of course to become closer with his former brothers.

Solomon

Rebelling gives Solomon essence of youth. And sense of belonging.

He might jokingly change his appearance just to mess with people and to see their reaction.  

But mostly he thinks rebelling is more than finding new style just to annoy your parents. He finds it funny when people view it as plain as possible. It’s like fighting for your believes to be heard and known.

And it’s an important part of life to make the best or the worst decisions by doing what’s “condemned”, that’s what he thinks about whole rebelling thing.

He definitely often returns to this phase, despite his millennial age. And it’s always interesting to see him going through it.