#and i havent played royal yet so

[princekirijo]

My copy of Royal came today but I can't even play it til Wednesday this is ass 😭

[afterthelambs]

PLEASE spill the Makoto cop tea. I'm always down to hear people's thoughts on that

Thanks anon! I do my best to keep this blog positive-vibes only, but since you asked I will answer. Warning: DO NOT read this post if you do not want to see any criticisms about Makoto Nijima from P5 + discussions of police. This is not hate towards the character or her fans. It's just criticism for the writing choices and their implications for her.

Makoto Nijima does NOT want to reform the police. There's a mandela effect in the fandom where everyone seems to think she does, but rewatch her rank 10. Reform isn't mentioned at all. I'm so serious. What she actually says is this:

Within her confidant, the context is the host that was preying on her friend Eiko. Wanting to stop situations like that is good and makes sense 👍 The writers framed her decision to become a cop as a response to the most clean-cut black-and-white situation ever.

But here's the thing though: what happens when the lawless and the victims are the same people? Because in the real world, crime tends to concentrate among the poor and marginalized. The real world is not black and white. And I try to separate my personal experiences with the law from the media/art I engage with, but that doesn't work here because the game at large doesn't portray society as black and white.

There are a number of people in this game that do wrong because they have been hurt or are marginalized or did not receive proper help. A lot of mementos requests are about 'lawless' people and yet many are portrayed as 'due to systemic issues' or a lack of support or developing mental illness. It's also not a coincidence that Akechi is the most marginalized of all the phantom thieves and he was the one who did the most crime. There is deliberate social commentary here. People do not become lawless out of nowhere. They are shaped by their circumstances. And the game itself sympathizes with these people, focusing on changing/ helping them. The game's conclusion is that providing support and rehabilitation is the solution. Rehabilitative justice > Punitive justice.

Police wouldn't achieve that. Police in the game are framed as corrupt and incompetent at their core. Our protagonist is one of their biggest victims to demonstrate how they are weaponized against the weak. Even Sae Nijima at the end of the story has shifted to become a defense attorney rather than attempting to reform it (best character arc btw) because she recognized that the system is broken. And you can't even blame it just on Shido controlling the police because we see that the problems persist beyond him. By the end of the story they remain useless or outright harmful. The police do not help or rehabilitate, they only punish.

So no, this isn't me projecting my personal issues with cops onto the story because within the game's own story, law enforcement is not the solution. If it were a question of reform, we could debate about whether police reform is possible, but again: Makoto doesn't care about reform. It never comes up. According to the writers, she wants to be a cop because she thinks not enough lawless people are being punished. You can argue that her wanting to 'head an organization' means she wants to be in a position of power where she can reform them, but remember that police only enforce the law. They do not make the law. If reform was her goal she would be a politician. (I honestly thought that's what she was set up to be, since she was student council president and all but I digress)

Also a small detail, but notice how she mentions destroying the lawless before she mentions helping victims? It's super minor but I think it's indicative of the cop mentality. There's greater priority on punishing than helping.

I also dislike this conclusion to her arc because it's net zero character growth. You're telling me the character that was rebelling against corrupt adults' orders is now becoming a cop, the biggest bootlicking profession of them all? She started the story being a well-intentioned pushover, and she's ending her story being a well-intentioned pushover. And it doesn't matter whether she as an individual is a good person or not. All cops comply to be active participants in a system that is designed to hurt the weak and prop up the powerful.

TLDR: You do not help victims by punishing the 'lawless'. You help victims by helping victims. Period. Makoto becoming a cop is a contradiction of this and her own character arc. Either the writers did her dirty by not thinking this through or this is meant to be who she really is, and both those possibilities upset me.

[purrloinqueenyetagain]

i cant really see shuake as being romantic but like. i think theyre so innately connected that its impossible for it to just be a strong friendship. i dont know what they are but theyre strange

[kissryuwuji]

jay i just found out persona 5 is a turn based game so guess what i’m gonna play:)

NO WAYYYY IM SO EXCITED TO HEAR ABT UR THOTS ON THE GAME!!! ur gonna love the game and everything omg

which platform r u playing it on!!! and also it goes on sale pretty often so mayhaps u can snatch it for half off :0

also they have a spin off thats not turn based, but u should def play persona 5 strikers if u want more content :0! it def takes some getting used to but theres a lot of helpful guides

[fictionalcharacterlovetimes]

*loud sigh* another p5 crush

[shadowlinktheshadow]

ok fuck it im finally gonna write down ramble about the similarities between castle in the sky and spirit tracks rhghghrr

case #1: the characters

in my very private and running around inside my mind headcanons, I see a lot of close things between pazu and link

pazu is a sweet boy (maybe even naive) who helps those in need (like every protagonist) hes a very dedicated worker in the mines, and loves machinery

same could be said for link, who never talks in game but shows his shyness and and also sweet nature. (perhaps this is only around zelda,) you could take the fact that he doesnt even want to get up at the beginning of the game to take his exam because he dislikes the job, but this is where my headcanons come in. in short, hes a child genius and a perfectionist and works himself a little too much, and gets really eepy. so yes he loves machines (trains) as well

oh, and they are both orphans. (link is a bit difficult because hes usually always some type of parentless/guardianless child but anyways-)

and even other than personality and hobbies, their looks have similar parts too

of course, theyre not carbon copies of each other (such as colors being different) but the gloves and, especially to me, the cap is the one that sticks out. like. no other zelda game has him wearing a hat like that

(I just realized the gloves r the same color holy shit 💀) ((bruh and the posture lmao💀💀))

now I dont have much to say about sheeta and zeldas similarities (sorry) but they are both royals (well 1 of royal descent)

case #2: character relationships

spirit tracks zelink is what is keeping me alive so heres some similarities

I love love love the "hopeless romantic commoner falls in love with literal princess (she loves him back)" trope. which, pazu and sheetas relationship is a little different, but the vibes are the same

both couples? pairs? are so innocently in love with each other (maybe link shows it more) but just look:

they are so rhghghrhHRHFHFJJ HISS HISS HISS 💜💜💜💜💜😭😭🔥🔥💜

and finally the catching part in the movie

now you may ask "oh totk link caught zelda something something skyward sword falling blah blah blah" (im joking pls dont hate 💀) but this catch is different than those

they arent both falling, bro is already on the ground

you know who else is on the ground?

THIS BITCH

pazu may seem more.. graceful in catching sheeta compared to link, but (according to my dad) the whole joke of link dropping zelda comes from this movie (I havent finished it so idk) but I do know pazu struggles under the weight of sheeta after all the magic stuff goes away 😂

case #3: minor stuff

so I havent watched the entire movie yet, but heres some other things I saw

birds

they r both doves...... interesting....

though different, they also both play an instrument (link plays a panflute and pazu a trumpet)

also the design similarities in the robots and the phantoms, but ive run out of photos and time so that's kt

thanks for coming to my tedtalk (to the 3 people that will see this 💀)

[rolaplayor101]

This Valentines/Aro Day

I'm sharing my Arospec/Black/& Polyam book haul!! ft. Romance or Queer Platonic Relationships!

Legendborn(almost finished): black girl main character, interracial mf relationship, multiple queer supporting characters! YA fantasy with themes of racism and trauma

A Queen Of Gilded Horns(I've only read River of Royal Blood): Black main characters, black mf relationship, romance isn't the main plot which makes it very engaging for a romance tired black person like me! Focus is on racism in the fantasy world, multiple queer supporting characters!

Symbiosis (I haven't read Escaping Exodus yet): Black girl Mc, Sapphic relationship I heard! Mostly sci-fi plot I think! I'll recc it anyway cause I am gonna read it during this Black history month!

Ruin of Stars (only read Mask of Shadows): poc gender fluid main character in relationship with a woman, aromantic and black supporting character!! Fantasy with assassins and political commentary and trauma

Moonlight Love Witchcraft(havent started): Multiple Poc Mcs, polyam relationship, nonbinary main character, asexual werewolf mc!! Indigenous mc!! Comfy fantasy!

Silver Under Nightfall(haven't finished): Black Mc alongside Asian Mc and genderfluid southeast asian??? mc!! Polyamorous relationship! Paranormal vampire fantasy with great plot!! So far!! Tw for SA and trauma

Blasted Research(haven't finished): ace and nonbinary mc!! Polyam m/nby/nby relationship! Dystopia sci-fi and only on ebook!

Role Playing(almost finished): Asian American mc and bi demirose mc! Mf relationship but queer!! Video game romcom with themes about the harms of amatonormativity featuring 50 year olds!

The Bone Season(haven't really started): Multiple poc supporting characters, main character is demirose! Multiple queer characters! Fantasy dystopian setting! Love interest is nonbinary??? In second book.

Genesis of Misery(haven't finished): nonbinary southeast asian mc! Sapphic relationship! Religious political sci-fi plot with multiple queer and poc characters!

Most Ardently(haven't finished): trans and queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice! Gay relationship! Plain historical romance! Multiple queer supporting characters!

By Your Side(finished): a short queerplatonic story! Bi mc with aro mc! Polyam queerplatonic relationship!! Realistic college fiction that's like 38 pages!

Is Love the Answer (finished): aroace nonbinary mc and multiple aspec mcs! All poc cause they're Japanese. Possible queerplatonic relationships discussed! Realistic college fiction!

I Want To Be A Wall(finished): Japanese Aroace mc and gay mc married in a qpr!! Realistic comedic fiction! Full review here

If the authors have anything to add, I'll @ them here! @linseymiller @sshannonauthor @whatnowrin @coffeequills @thegabecole @themargherita-s @queerio-cheerios @itsneonyang

I also do art commissions if anyone would like to help me buy more queer and poc books 😢 😭

[mobblespsycho100]

tell me about your oc i need to absorb all the knowledge

WAUGAHH yayy yay thank u okay so

Surja Maharaja (not his real name. btw. he named himself "Sun Great King" rough translation lmaoo) is a wandering merchant (*cough* scammer *cough*) who is currently in Melini because he's heard that the rising golden kingdom is full of economic opportunities,,, has a low unemployment rate, and is generally very prosperous and ruled by a passionate king who loves food... and how Melini is mysteriously protected from monsters coming into the border ...

And he decides to research everything he can about the court and introduces himself to the King Of Melini™ as a foreign dignitary from a port city south of the eastern continent (sooo around the eastern archipelago i guess?? map for reference...)

Anyway, he proposes a diplomatic arrangement where the port city's government would help with export of marine goods as well as open up restaurant chains !!! that serve monster food, so . monster food golden opportunity high long term investment business!!! and Laios is ecstatic !

Kabru is not. Lmao. Kabru is instantly suspicious of this "charismatic" "mysterious" "foreign dignitary" that just strolled into the castle ... but he's gotta confirm his suspicions first . So he decides to not tell Laios that he distrusts this guy and decided to uhhh stalk him a bit

anyway Laios lets Surja stay in the castle because like yay alliances diplomacy !! yayy monster food !!! (like ... Laios cant rlly eat monster anymore but ... spreading monster cuisine to other continents??? spreading the joy of food??? hes all in baby!!!) and Surja quickly befriends basically everyone or at least everyone whos currently there (like senshi is visiting but chilchuck is like sometimes there sometimes not cuz like lol he got a shop to run!!!) and Izutsumi is currently there too. Anyway. yea Surja's rlly friendly n stuff ^_^ and it only makes Kabru even more suspicious as to what exactly this guy is hiding

Anyway, more under the cut cuz it might get wayyy too longv amdhskhdjs

Kabru decides the best course of action is to interrogate Surja directly after a few days (maybe the 6th day ? Surja stay in the castle? but Kabru's been watching him and asking the royal guards to keep an eye on him too) ok anyway Kabru invites him to his office (idk if he has one of those but like . whatever. his work quarters .) (they're like on a break btw . ig . so laios is like chilling and not sitting on the throne rn hes just taking a walk with falin and marcille or smth) right anyway Kabru mr. Nice Guy Kabru is like "ok we need to discuss something ... "dignitary"" and Surja is like ooo-kay?

Btw i havent mentioned but even b4 this , Surja kind of has a crush on Kabru already (hes infatuated... hes obsessed... down bad down horrendous and he hasnt even talked with Kabru all that much) so hes like the nervouser (lol. silly) hehe haha... anyway

Kabru tells him to state his true intentions with the king. Surja goes, "huh? what do you mean Sir? I'm just here to propose a trade alliance and business vent--"

Kabru goes, "cut the pleasantries. I've investigated you over the course of these few days and I've sent a letter to the magistrate of the city you claim to represent, and they don't even have you listed as a citizen in their records."

Surja (sweating)

Kabru continues with a simple yet genuine threat, "you do know lying to the king is an offense punishable by death, right?"

Suddenly what Surja thought was going to be a lil diplomatic discussion regarding how the proposal he's drafting up going is ... an interrogation. An uncomfortable confessional where Kabru holds the reins and is playing 5d chess mind games. And Surja takes it as a challenge... and tries to defend himself with the classic diversion of, "I don't know what you're talking about!! Why would I lie about such a thing!!! You must be mistaken!! ahahaha aha

ha.

ha."

Kabru who is unimpressed by the sweaty conman's terrible lying skills starts pushing more on the subject. "How could you lie to the king? what are your plans? I think I know your scheme is to steal from us and our kingdom's treasury, but what else are you hiding? Are you a wanted criminal? A stowaway? " and Surja slams the desk a bit . like "OKAY! OKAY ! I! I did runaway but I've been travelling for ages!!! and I just thought this place sounded amazing !!! this kingdom is a rising one and yet it's already found its foundation and already has a powerful magical defense!!! "

and then Kabru goes... as a test (he doesn't actually believe it) , he asks . if Surja isn't actually human. Maybe he's a monster, a shapeshifter of sorts... a walking corpse perhaps? One that's trying to take refuge in Melini and doesn't even realize that it isn't a real human being... just a monster wearing human skin.

And Surja has a mental breakdown (yay here's the toxic in the toxic yaoii!!!)

Surja on the defensive and Kabru on the offensive, Surja decides to try and bite the bullet and confess that yes hes been lying, yes hes kind of a scammer vagabond, yes okay yes . and then he tries to get some sympathy by spilling his tragic backstory and it catches Kabru off guard

Kabru just wanted to exile or imprison or execute this guy who could have ill intent (and is obviously lying abt a lpt of things) . but when Surja revealed that hes kind of like..

okay. lemme paste this thing I typed . Surjas #traumatic backstory

Just imagine ghis is Surja telling everything to Kabru . so quotation marks . yea this is him Speaking

In the beginning, there was a land shrouded in darkness. And then, there came light.

Where I'm from, what you all called the "dungeon" was the corpse of a dead god, the land we stood upon as well. The dungeon was a temple in my people's eyes... And what you call the "Demon", well. He was our Light. The god that my people worshipped. It's... pathetic, isn't it? We didn't know. We... we couldn't have known.

When I was born... I. I was loved, I think. However I... was never a child. My older brother, he. he had this ailment. He couldn't speak, and he acted like he was possessed by a spirit of sorts, at least, that was my mother's theory. I always thought that he was just different.

I was their light, in a way. I could speak, smile, in an eloquent way as other humans do. They loved me, they did. But I was a sickly child... my brother, physically stronger, mentally weaker, and I? I was their light. The saviour of their reputation.

And that's why... as I grew up I realized that . The ones who took care of me, only saw me as a chalice. And whenever I did something that was... not... in line with their perception of me, they saw a monster.

It was so easy. Claim that I was possessed, sacrifice me, the brighter one, to their god, and their beloved children could be cured of their respective ... deformities.

Ha... well. That's what happened. The demon could grant any wish right? My mo- ... my.... caretaker. Took me to the dungeon one day and said, "Let my child have her dreams come true... in return, give us your blessing of wealth and prosperity! Bring us honor, bring us glory..."

That's why... I'm like this now. I guess I'm a half-beast (you lot call that beast-man here?), a monster (I was always a monster. I think.) I... You're right. I'm not human. I'm just... a walking corpse... a shell of a man...

Now all I have left is my desire for money... and my elder brother... I haven't seen him for ... 15 years now.

so yea he had an awful time . and was effected negatively by a dungeon. Kabru stops. hesitates a bit. Shares a bit about himself and Utaya . to ease Surja from the mental breakdown (it works and Surja bounces back quickly. Surja age reveals that hes not even 20 yet (Surja is 18-19) and that makes Kabru feels like a bully a bit n he feels a bit bad n tried to like apologize and stuff even tho this conman is conmanning (hes not lying abt his age!! just hiding a lot of stuff still!!!) ) ANYWAYYYY like they part ways from tha office (also at some point in the middle a guard came in to try and ask smth from Kabru and the guard nervously asks "is like smth goin on here rn?" and Kabrus like "no its fine" while Surjas like "yea smth goin on rn" anyway the guard just wanted to ask for some instruction so Kabrus just like oh ok just ask Marcille its fine and guy goes on his way)

anyway yeah Kabrus like kinda stressed lookin so Surja goes "hey do u need like some stress relief" n boldly goes up to him anddddd gives him a shoulder massage (Surja flexing his 4 years pro masseur skills) and Kabrus like oh . ojh. uh . okay (is conflicted and doesnt fully trust this man but is now a bit more relaxed and less tense and stuff. unclenched his jaw and shit lolll)

anyway they part ways after this but this is just the beginning of insane toxic co worker yaoi because like uhhh lil bit of a timeskip but Surja becomes like the treasurer... or like secretary assistant in Melini or like . tha economy guy consultanter yippeeee #working in melini

also Surja's a catboy i havent mentioned that yet

kinda hit it off with Izutsumi and Senshi cuz of it yah

A LOT OF THIS IS SELF INDULGENT AND WISH FULFILLMENT BUT I THINK. POST CANON OC . IS FUN . also Labru is canon in this AU theyre basically like married . its set a year after the like last chap of dungeon meshi btw so Kabrus 23 Laios 26 (almost 27 not november yet basically) . etc etc. ANYWHO this is super long already but ty for indulging me and asking abt my oc yaaaay :333 this is a toxic yaoi tragicomedy. this guy is like if Mickbell and Izutsumi got mixed into soup . and was obsessed with Kabrus whole thing 😭😭 its so funny to me theyre funny (doomed by the narrative toxic codependent workplace yaoi)

[jeff-the-box-boy]

Found something of note. Would be cool to see you do this for someone in the Moonstuck (Citystuck?) thing.

Given the description of the Scorpio sign, I think this could apply to a lot of characters. Also do you have any more Citystuck (I like it better than Moonstuck) crumbs for me? (Not as in drawings, just like Classpecting stuff, why you chose a certain horn shape over another, blood caste and how it relates to the characters, etc.) (Sorry if I'm a little incoherent, I'm high RN.)

LOL ITS ALL GOOD

All of the sinners horns were based off of their icons in some way

Theirs were mostly just vibes LOLL

As for blood types I knew for a fact that I wanted heathcliff + rodya to be lowbloods and Hong lu + Faust to be highbloods. Used the extended zodiacs traits and their actual colors like speech colors also played a slight part in it.

Rodya: Rustbloods are lowbloods which would fit in via the caste/wealth divide being poor commonfolk, also burgundy is rodyas color

Gregor: Bronzebloods are often linked with the insectoid mutations more than other bloods (rufioh/the summoner having wings) and also brown is Gregor's color

Sinclair: I chose goldblood for Sinclair on a gut instinct with the duality of him between kromer and demian and also I think his blondness made me like the 2

Yi Sang: yi sang was one of the last ones I did so I kind of just gave him what was left, however I believe it was implied that limebloods manipulated feelings in some kind of positive way that fucked up the troll society hierarchy so his smarts and also being locked in a room and drugged and stuff like that seems somewhat in line with what could happen to a lime? Also having a lack of colors in t Corp or whatever

Heathcliff: olivebloods are very obsessed with relationships and romance which is perfect for heathcliff and cathy they also tend to be a bit more animalistic or violent but also care about others greatly and kinda alienated compaired to others

Outis: Jadebloods are often very perfectionist and rule follow-y and also Outis' color is dark green

Don: Tealbloods are very justice oriented and very social and opinionated over what is good and bad also I think this one was just kind of a no brainer

Ishmael: I was inspired by Vriska's sea history and pirate vibes mostly

Meursault: no brainer very obvious pick

Ryoshu: I think I mostly just wanted to give her the butterfly face paint

Hong lu: violetbloods are royal rich highbloods also Hong lus purple hair

Faust: Faust is a very mysterious and important authority figure and fuschabloods are the highest of the highest plus Faust's color is a (admittedly light) pink, mostly just kinda vibes tho?

Currently I don't have any other characters that I havent already drawn classpected or species-ed yet cause I usually just do it on a whim as I am drawing them

[spamlets]

iterator logs but make them

ROYALTY!!

with crowns ⬇️

without crowns ⬇️

individual ss, some doodles, + some actual (partially incoherent) info about the au below the cut!

rbs appreciated <333

individual ss:

DF

SL

AGS

TR

ATT

UP

small doodles i did for the au haha

more info:

the IL royal au is a silly little au i made up in my head!

basically it goes like this: the ancients created iterators to act as a new form of government in order to prevent govt corruption. cities or “kingdoms” were built around/on top of iterators and rather than them working to solve The Problem, they worked to govern over and make decisions for their people. the societies of these ancients were just as technologically advanced as in canon rain world. dont ask about The Rain (TM), i havent thought that far ahead yet.

cue mass ascension, i havent ironed out the details of that whatsoever but all the ancients die out leaving the iterators on their own (*cue fallen kingdom playing*). perhaps it’s on purpose, perhaps it’s a plague (this one could be pretty interesting actually)

distant frontier does his thing, creates an army of scavs or vultures or whichever else creatures he uses (i think he uses both but i could be remembering wrong) and breaks from his corruption-taboos, which is ofc a spin on the self-destruction taboo and would prevent him from expanding his domain/absorbing other kingdoms.

now the big thing here is that this was originally intended to be entirely centered around toxic yaoi (tr x df) which is partly why their clothes match (also because in general they share a lot of character traits and imo are kinda mirrors of each other in a way). that’s why i dont have much fleshed out—in the beginning it was just “king df and king tr marry and are gay forever” and whathaveyou, but then i thought about it harder and was like OH!!! this could actually be cool!!

if i go the plague route, perhaps tr had a colony of ancients still living inside his structure, but a new strain of the plague infected his people as he began to prepare for war against paradise. or maybe while trying to remove the corruption taboos he gives himself the rot like in il canon but it also ends up spreading to his citizens :headinhands:

this is all just vague ramblings for now, nothing coherent besides a few very striking mental images inside my head:

- tr lying on his deathbed surrounded by rot, the only shining thing in view being the gilded crown resting on his chest

- df on a throne wearing multiple crowns, tr bowing at his feet with a sword against his neck

- df with his artificial legs crossed at the ankles, his sword resting at his side with his karma symbols engraved into the blade

- unbroken promise with his forehead to the ground, surrendering himself and his kingdom to df after his queen ascends

- silent light standing guard in front of an endless library, only half-aware of what he’s guarding and what for anymore

- att practicing sword drills at dawn, falling asleep while standing up, leaning their chin on their sword pommel

but yeah! the basic premise is:

instead of creating iterators to solve the Great Problem, they create iterators to solve government corruption. each kingdom is built with an iterator as its ruler, with careful anti-corruption-taboos set in place to prevent them from acting maliciously towards their citizens, expanding their domain, or going to war. the entire kingdom and its walls are the body of the iterator, but theoretically worm off the string is possible because im a sucker for it and also i can imagine sometimes needing to meet up with other iterators in person for social gatherings because again im a sucker for classic royal au shenanigans 🤷

id like to personally apologize to daszombes sorry for being so autism over your characters i just think they’re neat

[suffarustuffaru]

actually here’s an interesting question that’s been in my head for a hot minute now: what do you think a crusch if/other faction if would look like?

one of my favorite characters has always been crusch (probably my favorite aside from julius?), and interestingly it was the moment after the battle of the white whale that sold her for me- her convo with subaru was so genuine and full of respect and it since then has stood out amongst my favorites since it’s one of the first times subaru outside of the emilia camp was recognized for his decisions ^_^

it also piqued my interest because there’s definitely implications/said somewhere that if subaru met crusch first he’d choose her, which makes me think about how that dynamic would play out, ya know? like we haven’t really gotten a huge expansion on crusch herself as we have with anastasia/pricilla and soon felt

also a crusch: if would toootally have different relationships defining wilhelm & felix too and basically everyone else lol

love ur analyses keep up da good work fam!!!!!!!

YO its cool seeing a crusch fan around :DD !! also thank you very much for liking my analysis posts pfft. also whew….. ive been writing my answer for this ask on and off for a while hah its super long oops wkdndnsn

but ok its super interesting to hear what drew you to crusch in the first place - crusch is a character im definitely interested in (i would LOVE to see her finally expanded upon!!) and shes such a respectable person for sure <3 and you definitely have a point that its one of the first time subaru outside of the emilia camp was recognized!! though i didnt know that there were implications that if subaru met crusch first he'd choose her - i suppose that makes sense in that subaru really respects and likes crusch, and hes such a moldable character - for lack of a better term - bc its sooo easy for him to go in all sorts of different directions. a crusch if is an interesting possibility and im sure it absolutely wouldve happened in some form in some other universe :O !!

alright. as for a crusch if - yeah youre right, thered be such a different dynamic between subaru, the crusch camp, and everyone around them. :o im not Entirely sure how a crusch if would go but i certainly have ideas!!! though im not sure if im entirely an expert on them given i still havent finished the wilhelm-centric ex novels or read many crusch camp stories, but i did read ex 1 and 4 and enjoyed them quite a lot <3 along with you know, the main route. but i do really like the crusch camp and i hope theyre expanded upon eventually.

gonna put More thoughts under the cut (note that i have a Lot of opinions on the crusch camp hah):

ok first of all. i think that the crusch camp Does have a little wasted potential in canon and i think that crusch if is the perfect opportunity to explore Everything with crusch camp. just in the sense that you know, crusch hasnt been expanded upon just yet. not that felt has been expanded upon much either but at least we get a lot of details about her and her whole backstory with being a member of the royal family + her relationship with rom opens itself up to a lot of possibilities (theres a lot of History going around in the felt camp regarding felt, reinhard, carol and grimm, rom, etc being in the same camp given their family connections, demihuman war history, etc).

and not that we Dont get details about crusch of course, but i feel that even in her Own centric content, shes a little overshadowed by Everyone else sometimes. like i WANT to focus more on crusch as a person!! she gets cool moments yeah, but as much as i enjoyed reading ex1 im forever gonna be salty that her plot in ex1 was like about people having problems with her gender expression (ill go into this again later bc i know its connected to that plot point of crusch as a noble leader vs crusch as. a woman.) for more than half the runtime and everyone around her was discussing about what to do with her. and then in main route shes put through the RINGER between being cut down by gluttony, having her memories erased, and the dragon blood in arc 5 - and yet it STILL feels like the story doesnt focus enough on HER own pain. how is SHE feeling about this????? shes getting her shit rocked left and right and her sense of identity is being shaken along with it (see: her becoming more shy and withdrawn after her memories are gone) and yet i feel like we STILL dont hear about her Directly enough T^T

and also i Dont like that in the main route, the crusch camps connections to the royal family (with wilhelm being assigned to aid the royal family and bc of that heinkel was assigned to the white whale and so theresia went in heinkels stead + ferris and crusch's relationships with fourier) ARENT that explored. esp when like felt comes into play publically in arc 3 and the crusch camp BARELY REACTS. YOU THINK THEY WOULD REACT MORE TO FELT BEING HERE AND REINHARD SPONSORING FELT. its especially kind of painful after you read ex1 and its like ?? so why didnt they react more to felt being there??? related to + looking exactly like crusch and ferris's dead boyfriend, nonetheless, esp when their goal is to kill the dragon bc the royal family all died as far as they knew and NOW theres someone in the royal family that actually lived???? whos a rival for the throne now??? also i feel like the potential of like. ferris and wilhelms dynamic isnt explored either. like i have to wonder how they seem like theyre on decent/good terms in canon when ferris is friends with reinhard, wilhelms role in the demihuman war, and also wilhelm fucking up his family (with ferris being Aware of a lot of reinhards family situation, of course). and also of course wilhelm has Things going on with rom and carol and grimm bc demihuman war... ex novel things...

so like i think that inherently the crusch and felt camps ARE kind of sort of intertwined in this way bc of ALL these reasons. so i think if youre exploring crusch camp content all of this SHOULD be acknowledged. or maybe thats the felt camp fan in me talking but i DO GENUINELY THINK THE CRUSCH AND FELT CAMPS ARE CONNECTED A LOT ☝️☝️☝️

and so ok back to crusch if things!!!! i have no idea how the Exact plot goes but like i think this is all very dependent on how the crusch if divergence even starts. which Makes sense but yeah :o i mean i feel like i can only see it happening right from the get go in arc 1. and also this goes with what you said - if subaru met them first he'd probs choose to join them. but tbh i also kinda sort of like the possibility that maybe at least Some of arc 1 still happened in another font so subaru can be like "yeah lol this blond girl with red eyes was there along with this giant dude and t -" and crusch and ferris are thinking "OK IT COULD BE ANY RANDOM GIRL WITH BLOND HAIR AND RED EYES THATS NOT A COMPLETE GUARANTEE ITS SOMEONE FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY RIGHT??" and also wilhelms gonna vaguely go "hey whats this giants name again....." anyway yeah gotta plant those seeds for future plot things???? yes. also its a good segue into subaru learning more crusch camp related history yes. maybe that (subarus arc 1 info) is what allows him to join crusch camp too????? yeah im having trouble brainstorming ideas on how he even joins the camp but im guessing its a “subaru accidentally stumbles across stuff and crusch camp is like well i guess we just Kinda have to let you in……. like taking pity on a stray kitten…… maybe youll be useful… and also we do pity you a bit yeah you seem very lost” thing. 👍👍👍

(or alternatively you could have subaru branch off into crusch camp at arc 3 or smth given hes like actually physically at their place and away from emilia camp now but at the same time i doubt that could even happen given the position he was in arc 3???? like post-royal selection drama?? yeah i dont really see it happening imo HAH)

anyway. yeah so its like. inevitably subaru is gonna figure out you know the history behind all of the others in the crusch camp. like whether thats by doing his own research - especially bc you know wilhelm, crusch, ferris are all very well known by this point and have all kinds of rumors and info on them flying around - and also like. by getting closer with everyone. i think that if subaru joined crusch camp early, either he knows hes got rbd bc of arc 1 and manages to avoid it for a while, is my guess, given crusch camp doesnt get involved in life threatening things until. the white whale.

but until then i think subarus probably not gonna die. and i think hes probs gonna be in Fear of that happening again, maybe he blocks out a bit of arc 1 some more bc ahhaah i havent died or anything in so long so surely that never happened. maybe he tries to tell crusch once he gets closer with her or maybe he doesnt try at all bc hahaha did that even happen???? or maybe he asks her about her dp and if its Only about truths from that persons pov rather than Fact and shes like "yeah no its personal truths only, so even if someone is completely wrong about a fact but Believes it wholeheartedly its still gonna register as the truth" and hes like FUCK ok. smth like that?? yes. gotta give him inner turmoil even when hes not actively in danger. bc he Would have that yes. but either way i think he’d be curious and wanna know the specifics of her dp anyway!!!

yeah so anyway the white whale happens and subarus whole shit gets wrecked oops.... and my guess is that you know hes gonna loop a whole shit ton of times and its gonna be complete and utter hell for him. but also this is kind of a little bit dependent on how exactly the royal selection goes for him - but i HIGHLY doubt itd go the same as canon. i doubt he’d even make a scene, tbh—i mean assuming subaru joins crusch camp very early somehow, between crusch and ferris and wilhelm the three of them are gonna Really whip him into shape. metaphorically beat his s1 flaws out of him. bc like—i mean in canon subaru Did learn and grow yes, but he didnt Have to learn everything so harshly (ok but canon subaru Did have to get beat in the duel though or he wouldve died skcbsnd but i still think that subaru can still learn the same lessons more Gently whenever possible. hes a normal teenage boy trying his best!!). i think crusch camp would be good for him in this way, i mean crusch is a very duty-focused person and ferris and wilhelm are blunt people. ferris especially is not gonna take any bullshit wkdndnd (ESPECIALLY when subaru could humiliate crusch and the entire camp) and wilhelm sees himself in subaru and is gonna go “ah…….. you should. not act like that. let me train you.” and ALSO im a firm believer and enjoyer in the reinhard-ferris-julius friendship and i think that reinhard ESPECIALLY must have communicated with crusch camp about felt before arc 3, otherwise crusch camp wouldve had a stronger reaction to felts grand entrance into the royal selection. also if subarus getting closer to crusch camp then of course he figures out stuff like the reinhard-ferris-julius friendship.

again not entirely sure about specific plot beats but depending on how things go emilia camp may or may not get royally fucked (as an emilia camp enjoyer im very saddened by this 😔) but i DO feel like subaru would still be sympathetic towards them in a crusch if. and also theres Definitely gonna be at least one loop during arc 3 where the white whale Does erase crusch and wilhelm and ferris goes insane (like how they end up in pride if. yeah.) so subaru gets to see the consequences if they lose to the white whale. but i DO think that the final loop should still have the consequences of crusch being targeted by gluttony and losing her memories. its interesting to explore!!! especially if subaru himself still becomes a victim of gluttony in some way—maybe they both become victims of gluttony there?? or it happens to subaru later?? and i feel like arc 5 is Definitely another opportunity for some crazy looping. for sure.

also roswaal may want to try some shit bc Why is subaru in another camp this is not according to plan. so more opportunities to torture subaru 👍👍👍 and also crusch camp in canon keeps taking one L after another so you know. familiar territory in terms of how subaru and co are doing 😭😭😭😭

but anyway. i think a crusch camp and felt camp alliance (or Almost alliance?) is in order bc. well we know subaru he tries to fix things. hes nosy. he learns eventually All the crusch camp history and is like ok so why arent we allies with felt camp at least for rn??? like urging wilhelm to make it up with reinhard and such, etc etc. and crusch and felt are the candidates that are both Very deeply unsatisfied with the current system of lugunica and want to remake everything to be better!! and also like. how does ferris even feel about wilhelm. i lowkey want crusch if to have a plot beat where ferris-crusch-subaru metaphorically beat up wilhelm for being Terrible. actually scratch lowkey i want highkey. and i think crusch is just like yeah sorry i do respect you in a lot of ways wilhelm and youre a very key member in our camp and i appreciate it but also fighting against demihumans in the demihuman war + being awful to your family was definitely. 😬 ESPECIALLY since she grew up with ferris too okay. she and her dad literally took in ferris after being stuck in a basement for the first nine years of his life. and while ferris and reinhards family situations are Very Different, the common thread is generational trauma and Passed Down abilities/traits that also relate to the trauma so. i feel like ferris at Least has some secret strong feelings about wilhelm ok i dont care what tappei has to say on this (actually i do care but i will care less if tappei has a bad take on this bc ferris and reinhard are FRIENDS + WILHELM WAS WRONG FOR THE DEMIHUMAN WAR ok ferris was horribly abused also bc of fantasy racism).

and alright ok im gonna talk about some more crusch-ferris-subaru dynamics bc subaru and wilhelm are most likely gonna fall into their weird grandson-grandfather dynamic again. especially now that subarus in crusch camp.

so—gender expression. the way crusch-ferris-subaru dress and their relationships with this part of their identities. personally i hc all three of them as nonbinary but of course u can have different hcs/opinions than me :o either way though, gender expression is Very important to all three of them and its given focus in the plot multiple times so im gonna try to examine how its handled in canon a bit!! theres this one bit from the arc 5 wn that i think about a lot:

so you know, subaru has his internalized issues, toxic masculinity for one, so hes struggling with like. being a man but also like he genuinely enjoys crossdressing but also hes been judged for it in the past and he has?? complicated feelings on it. hes struggling with his identity and who he is in many many different ways and gender is one key aspect of it. and then he comes along and crusch and ferris BASICALLY challenge him and his internalized ideas on it—crusch being a woman who dresses more masculine and ferris being a man who dresses more feminine. they challenge even the fantasy world’s society too—crusch more so, bc shes a woman and in the public eye due to her family and shes expected to dress and behave the way a noblewoman should. more feminine. but she refuses which is a point of contention in ex1 of course…

ferris seems to get less scrutiny from the public on this (at least for This exact reason, we only see subaru iirc judge him for it on screen) but my guess is bc he 1. can easily pass as a girl and 2. he has other more Noticeable traits to the public (having the Blue title and being demihuman for example). but also theres another aspect to ferris and its that he also dresses femininely to represent “the feminine side crusch lacks” iirc…. which. to be quite frank thats. that feels a little odd to me but anyway im gonna choose to look into it a bit regardless bc i think it could potentially be interesting maybe?? but also the fourier-crusch duel in ex1 already felt off to me wkfndnd it was such a fun scene but like??? why are we policing what crusch wants to wear??? but. anyway.

so about ferris being “the feminine side crusch lacks”……. ferris and crusch's gender expression are completely opposite, ferris being feminine of course and crusch being masculine. ferris and crusch are very much like each others equal halves in canon - you dont find one without the other, theyre basically a pair (especially given they fit together into this perfect trio with fourier and now fouriers gone :(( ). ferris and crusch balance each other out in a lot of ways, especially given ferris's mischevious yet perceptive personality and crusch being more serious but a bit airheaded with emotional matters. and also both of them being more blunt honest people. so like their gender expression balances each other out bc theyre opposites. ferris wants to keep balancing out crusch, whos so focused on duty that her needs and her desires and emotions sometimes go by the wayside (id personally attribute at least a tiny bit of her airheadedness with emotions to this too - when you have so much responsibilities to attend to, your emotions often take a backseat. especially when you take into account people judging crusch for how she expresses herself....).

but also ferris does note that "because crusch-sama said this suits ferris, what i am, i am, and this most suits the radiance of ferris' soul. crusch-samas words, ferris will repay with everything that i am". im gonna interpret this as crusch recognizing that ferris truly likes to express his appearance in a feminine way and providing ferris with the means and support to do so, especially since crusch herself growing up also prefers to express herself as opposite to her biological sex and also bc crusch and her family took in ferris so they grew up together. which i think is very sweet <3

and also more regarding crusch, in canon she expresses herself more femininely after getting her memories wiped by gluttony........... i think there might (emphasis on Might) be vaguely a kind of "feminine=weak and masculine=strong thats why crusch goes back to being feminine after memories gone" undertone if you choose to see it that way but im Electing to ignore it. i think crusch's change in expression post-gluttony though like emphasizes how her identity gets shaken after her memories are erased. she was a confident person before and now shes more timid and withdrawn bc she isnt sure of herself or her abilities anymore :(( which is definitely smth that should be explored in Any crusch camp centric content, i think.

anyway. yeah also i def think the ferris-crusch-subaru gender things should be explored. its already briefly touched on in canon with stuff like that arc 5 wn snippet i shared, but i do think subaru being friends with ferris and crusch will help him with confidence regarding how he likes to express himself as well. which i think would be very sweet to explore <3 (sorry this briefly derailed into a ferris-crusch-subaru gender expression analysis but this part of their characters is important i feel aljdlfjsldfj and its SUCH good parallel between them)

as for general dynamics stuff between the three of them. i think ferris is on the fence about subaru at first and goes from "hes an idiot..." to "hes an idiot <3" i have no specific thoughts on this at the moment thats just the vibe thats probably happening. maybe a bit of the same with crusch but yes im sure crusch and ferris of course grow to respect subaru, and im sure they notice pretty quick that subaru wears his emotions on his sleeve. hes an honest person in almost all things, or at least he tries to be, unless hes being held at gunpoint to keep things secret bc rbd lajdlfjl. and we Know subaru is a very respectable person whos Really good at heart, he just had all these hurdles to get through. and also - subaru is a tiny bit similar to fourier in terms of like Loud, Passionate, Determined, kind of an idiot in a few ways but a Lovable one, that sort of thing. of course ferris and crusch are VERY MUCH not going to be replacing fourier. absolutely not they would never in a million years. but fourier like Really fit in with ferris and crusch bc of the three of them having different personality traits, so i think subaru would fit well with ferris and crusch for similar reasons. if that makes sense. the energies just match up. ferris and subaru particularly bring a lot of fun and lightheartedness and ease weight on crusch’s shoulders, crusch supports them both, and all three of them reel each other in in different ways <3

ok also regarding any romance............ personally i dont see the appeal of crusch x subaru but thats just me lajsdlfjls and also my heart got stolen by fourier x ferris x crusch oops. plus i do enjoy the ferris and subaru + subaru and crusch friendship possibilities. but if anyones reading this and is a fan of crusch x subaru feel free to send me propaganda for it bc im very curious as to what makes you really like the ship <3

yeah so anyway. this has been my extremely long explanation as to how crusch if could maybe go and also all sorts of stuff id love to see explored when it comes to crusch if or crusch camp centered content in general <3 its hard to tell how a crusch if would go further down the line bc you know, the more that changes from main route the more things go Different, but i think its fascinating to think about. hope this kind of answered your question op? :O :D !!

ok but as for other camps. i have absolutely no clue how itd go but ana camp would Definitely have to involve subaru trying to invent things that carry on from earth and such and felt camp Absolutely involves more trying to solve more astrea drama. no specific thoughts on this yet (ALSO I STILL HAVENT CAUGHT UP ON ANA CAMP SIDE STORIES... ONE DAY. I SWEAR.) but you know, lots of interesting possibilities here!! :O

[rxttenfish]

In regards to your AU, what's Aaravi's relationship with Bellanda like? I feel like it's safe to assume she doesn't care for Laudanda and Amanda, so I'm curious as to how well she gets on with the sister Miranda's closest to.

(Also, thank you for opening my eyes to Miravi. I was pretty neutral on it until I stumbled across your art and ramblings about them, and now I have three fanfic WIP's for them and am currently naming their fankids)

ironically i havent been writing very much about bellanda yet, despite her having a fairly large role in the story regardless. mostly this is just me not being happy with how i write her just yet - i know WHAT i want to do with her and how she acts, but getting her voice nailed down in my brain is a different matter (and one that i always struggle with anyways)

the important thing to understand first about bellanda is that her and miranda are heavily codependent.

like. heavily, heavily codependent. its not necessarily healthy, no, but given their circumstances it is VERY understandable. bellanda and miranda are unusually close in age for the inheriting children of a royal (being only five years difference between them, though i might fudge this number a little going forward just to make sure the timeline works out, regardless theyre still extremely close in age compared to any of the other sisters), and for that they mostly got raised together. royals tend to be raised by a group of nannies and caretakers, with very little interaction with other merfolk at their same age (beyond other heirs from other families they might interact with when their families are doing business together, but they're discouraged from keeping these as anything other than temporary, since theres a fear of unfair advantages later in life, as well as the other family using their younger heirs as weapons against their own), so they all kind of grow up disconnected from themselves and their own childhood and have a harder time forging connections outside of the setting of the courts and royal business as an adult. it also keeps their social connections pretty intensely tied to their family in comparison, which helps form the basic differences between the community system for everyone else and the family system for royals.

however, as i've mentioned before, merfolk are hypersocial and will readily form social bonds anytime they can, so being raised together meant that bellanda and miranda essentially became each others entire social lives. they were the one person the other knew they could trust with 100% certainty and often physically relied on each other in a way that they couldn't with anyone else. in bellanda's case, since the queen died only a few months after miranda was born, she became the default adult and "parent" in miranda's life, far moreso than their actual parent.

so, within the merkingdom, they ended up intensely relying on each other with no other avenues for close emotional connection, which was only enabled by their respective roles, being that bellanda being head of military meant that she was a defacto guard for miranda and literally protecting her, in a way that was intended because she was the crown princess, but ended up being because she was literally bellanda's only friend, her sister, and the child that she was going to have to take care of.

and all of this mistrust of other people and intense closeness did come out of a place of necessity within the merkingdom, when backstabbing and blackmail and doing anything to anyone before they can do anything to you first was the norm (and still is, this stint on land is very brief, all things considered) and something to be genuinely feared and guarded against, alongside their connection being looked down upon already as them giving unfair advantage to each other in their court dealings. when multiple suitors have tried playing the loverboy card to get close to both of them, there's a very good reason they would mistrust anyone trying to get close to them and fear anyone coming "between" them.

but it stops being so reasonable and necessary once miranda was sent up to the land to act as ambassador for the merkingdom.

which, miranda absolutely still acted the same as before when she first came up. she was suspicious of everyone and mistrustful of any attempts to get close to her, and this generally contributed a lot to her being deep in culture shock and freaking the fuck out over how deeply out of her element she was and how (reasonably) terrified she was of experiences that she had never had in her life. it was a very rough, very hard time for her, and while that doesnt excuse how much of a massive, raging asshole she was during that time, it DOES explain her behavior and why it was so severe.

however, as you can imagine, the present does not take place during miranda's first year or two on land, and in that time, miranda's... gotten used to the land, basically? she's figured out she can have friends! she's figured out she can bond with people! she has more people who she can trust and who will defend her! she has people who she wants to protect as well! she's much more relaxed than any other time prior in her life, and that means she comes off as much more affectionate and open.

of which, ALL of this is vital to understanding why bellanda is the way that she is.

because bellanda didn't get sent up to the land during those first few years. bellanda was still inside the merkingdom, still overseeing business there, still dealing with the same things that she's dealt with for her entire life. she doesn't know miranda's friends, she's never talked to them, she has no reason to trust them beyond miranda's word, and miranda HAS placed her trust in people that she shouldn't have before, they both have. she IS still dealing with a deeper culture shock, and DOES come across as overprotective and stifling and even possessive over miranda BECAUSE she's so scared of being alone, and of someone hurting miranda, and of someone betraying her trust again. her entire life shes been shoved into the role of the single person who has to take care of miranda and ensure that the newest heir to the throne doesn't die, been told that's her entire purpose in life, been put into this role when she herself was deeply vulnerable, and that's not just something she can stop doing overnight. it's fucked up, but its what they're both used to.

which is why bellanda can also come across as. a huge fucking bitch, sometimes. she can be aggressive, and rude, and judgemental, and takes shit WAY too hard against miranda's friends and any landfolk she gets used to. and, to be fair, miranda gets this. she knows what bellanda's going through and she's not using it against her sister, especially because she is still deeply dependent and close to bellanda in the first place, but like. she's been through this too. she knows what's going through bellanda's head. she wants her to open up and to have a little faith in her friends, and she knows bellanda can go over the line, but she knows that bellanda can get through this too. she's known bellanda for all of her life, she knows what she's like.

still, she can be... incredibly harsh on anyone who isn't miranda, and aaravi ABSOLUTELY got a lot of that at first.

mostly it was due to the whole... monster hunter thing. as you can imagine, bellanda being told that her little sister was getting close to and toying around with someone who's entire job and life has been figuring out how to kill people who are quite a fair bit like miranda, did not go over so well. bellanda has a lot of reason to not trust people, and she had a lot of reason to not trust aaravi too. anyone coming around with live weapons around miranda is automatically something of note and something that bellanda has to take care of, and she wasn't too excited by the thought of miranda going down into a dungeon, full of things both capable and willing to kill her, with someone else who was fully capable of killing her or leaving her for dead, and with previously stated intentions to WANT to do that.

meanwhile, from aaravi's side — by the time she started actually talking to bellanda, she just thought bellanda was dope as hell. i mean, she walks around with a cleaver half the size that she is (and she IS something like 12ft long), and she has a cool spiky pauldron that she never takes off, and an eyepatch with huge scars on her face, and, entirely unlike miranda, bellanda is a brick shithouse of muscle and terror. bellanda is not only head warlord but she's damn GOOD at her job and cuts a figure that's equally as imposing.

of course bellanda was like fucking catnip to aaravi. how could she not be. miranda already was constantly talking up bellanda every time she got brought up, and she mentioned sparring with bellanda and her being where she learned to fight (and miranda does ABSOLUTELY know how to fight, to an impressive degree), so aaravi was already coming in with a high opinion of bellanda. bellanda was cool as hell. bellanda was someone that aaravi was looking forward to meeting and sparring with herself.

which is likely the sense that they first got especially acquainted with each other. bellanda's visitations already meant that miranda would be getting touched up on her lessons, and pulling aaravi in was natural from there, especially since aaravi already wanted to at least watch, if nothing else. miranda's schooltime castle DOES have an armory and a built-in training area, so this was something that was expected and fully planned for long ahead of time, and bellanda declining just wasn't an option with that type of setup.

which... she wouldn't have declined either, because bellanda might have initially been using the sparring as an excuse to be, as i've mentioned already, a total hardass on aaravi. as in, perhaps using this less as a chance to train and to teach aaravi some new skills, and more as a chance to have an excuse to beat aaravi up and have it be socially acceptable. it was not an honorable thing to start with, but it did help bellanda vent some steam and use it as an excuse to try and scare aaravi off, if not actually injure her and terrify her away from miranda and away from talking to miranda.

though, again, aaravi actually took this in stride? she's a slayer. she's used to the things she fights trying to beat the absolute snot out of her, and her training already was fucked up enough on its own, and to aaravi this was FANTASTIC. it was like a roller coaster ride to her, providing a HELL of an adrenaline rush that she didn't otherwise get when she sparred with people. she liked bellanda already, she thought she was cool as hell, and bellanda putting up an ACTUAL fight???

oh, aaravi LOVED it. it was GREAT. it was everything she was imagining and even more, and if she seemed like a puppy following along behind the elder butch, then she didn't notice it nor the fact that bellanda didn't like her very much.

(or, rather, aaravi did notice the fact that bellanda didn't like her and even outright hated her at times, but... again, miranda had already warned her that she was an asshole, but who was sweet and lovely if she did manage to get on bellanda's good side. and at this point, she's already started to hear some things about the merkingdom, and how fucked up it is, and likewise came to the conclusion that. yeah, she sees WHY bellanda is like this. she can't really blame her for that.)

which was all very good, because. well, bellanda isn't immune to cute things either. she's close to miranda, after all. she likes cute little bastards who don't know what's good for them and keep trying to pick fights because they think its fun. she IS still a big sister, after all, and there's only so long she can tolerate having a baby butch follow her around with stars in her eyes before she gives in.

just look at aaravi. look at aaravi's "FIGHT ME" attitude and lack of fear regarding people who are way fucking bigger than her. tell me bellanda wouldn't fucking adore her.

all of which likewise ends up giving aaravi an edge over miranda's other friends - as aaravi oftentimes DOES end up understanding miranda and bellanda and understanding where they're coming from and why they have to be cautious. like, she knows what its like to have siblings end up turned against each other. she knows the entire complicated tangle that is family and loving someone and hating someone and dealing with their massive pile of flaws and how much its fucked over your own life and yet still desperately being close to them. she knows the way this dance goes. after all, despite all the frustration she feels towards salil, despite the fights and despite him deciding to go and side with their dad, she still can't bring herself to hate him. he is still her little brother. she still wants to protect him, despite, despite, despite.

so... yeah! aaravi and bellanda actually likewise end up fairly close, and with several things in common (which gives miranda relief, since she wants to introduce her ul'kiha into her existing social bond with bellanda, as is the norm in merfolk society, and they're actually getting along and getting close to each other, as opposed to the rest of her friends who she can't fit into the same relationship hierarchy). bellanda gives aaravi an outlet for her energy and is someone who can keep up with her, and aaravi is someone who bellanda feels safe trusting and relying on, hence helping her slowly open up as well. against literally all of her in-laws, aaravi actually has a pretty damn good relationship with bellanda.

(and it's funny you should mention fankids - i have one fankid for miranda and aaravi already! their name is Virina Mishra, named after aaravi's mom.)

[lggy]

i think aphmau roleplays that are in the 10 episode range really beat out the long seasons other series have. Heart Point, Phoenix Drop Days, VOID Paradox, id say even MyS s4 and s6, flow a lot better and feel more satisfying to me

they dont play around that much. if MID was shorter, if Estorra was shorter... id love them more

FCU, some mystreet seasons, mcd s3, and estorra all suffer so much from the long ass runtimes and probably why estorra and mcd s3 were cancelled. unsustainable story telling thru the mcrp/mctv medium

(not counting mermaid tales, a royal tale, and ultra nova cuz i havent finished those yet. i like mcd s1 and s2 a lot since theyre more like lets-plays so idk if they count)

[pespillo]

I forgot to add on to my first ask dammit- Imma guess that Odalia won't be apart of the kingdom of the red sun the way she was "mamadalia" for the collector in the og series. But I'm kinda curious where she is

i think you might have misunderstood the premise of the kingdom of the Red Sun but no worries lemme clarify:

People dont get turned into puppets in this AU UNLESS they are seen as a threat to others (especially the youth) and havent gone into a trial yet , the kingdom isnt really Collector n King´s wholly pretend play of "the owl house" because Collector got freed with the intent of helping King get rid of the Trappers n reshape the Isles into something "new", their larping leans more into fairytale knights and princesses and kings and so on, the people get put into the Sun Court or the Moon Court , they move around and rotate between activities and sports and events of importance (for King) , King has built up the defenses of the Isles and is now overt alert of outsider threats because of a found distrust of Humans now.

All coven head members have gone through a trial at the start of the new regime, Kikimora has been loyal to King since the start and holds a position she actually enjoys being in, Raine has been essentially promoted to advisor because of their role in the past rebellion against Belos Empire, Adrian has passed the trial and went through some weeks at a dungeon but sent to be the Royal Jester as a way to prove himself and remain unscathed from further punishments, Odalia almost got killed off because Collector held a terrible grudge against her since he´s been around the Blights (mostly Amity) in this AU and she tried manipulating him into doing her bidding and almost go back to Belos that way, but Edric and Emira begged for her pardon (they really didnt wanna see that n they are still coping with the fact their family has been so abusive) , and she´s been stuck between low jobs ever since n being stuck in a dungeon.

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Wait wait talk about millynai version of the undine au

YOU DO NOT NEED TO ASK ME TWICE

SO squid here (@noaafishfieldguide) introduced me to the idea of an undine (sea creatures similar to mermaids) and an alternate mermaid au essentially to sea foam (WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD READ BY THE WAY) where vash is the mer,,,, and it dives more heavily into fantasy !!!!

so squids original version of the au involves amnesia and is vashmeryl centric AND it involves an unwanted engagement between Milly and King Nai (the story has Milivio as the end goal)

but me.... being me decided what if that engagement was unwanted but,,,,, then they actually spent time together,,,, and then they fell in love

soooo here are some fun millynai undine au ideas (a story squid and i lovingly call along the ocean floor)

Milly is a half-elf princess of a riverside kingdom

Nai is the undine king of the neighboring ocean kingdom

Milly, the poor girl, is the youngest of a bunch of siblings, so naturally most of her older brothers are kind of duking it out to try and win the crown

Milly just anticipated to live her life in semi obscurity because shes the youngest of ten and doesn't have shot at the crown or at being bothered

she just wants to enjoy her life with her friends, make the kingdom a better and safer place, and do right by those around her

that is,,, until her brothers get the grand idea to marry her off

milly's older sisters (and some of her brothers) were all married-- some arranged-- but milly never intended to be married to a royal,,, but at the most recent political meeting and discussion they announced her engagement to a foreign royal

milly wasn't consulted, informed, or even told WHO IT WAS GOING TO BE

and because they know milly will be unhappy with this sudden change of plans, they keep her essentially under house arrest

milly sneaks out to clear her head and is just,,, so frustrated !!!

the marriage isn't an awful prospect to her. its not that big of a deal because her whole goal in life is to help the kingdom, and if this is what it is then so be it,

BUT THEY DIDN'T EVEN CONSULT HER

they didn't talk to her or get her opinion on which arrangement might be best AND THEY HAVENT EVEN DECIDED WHO YET,,, JUST THAT THEYRE GONNA MARRY HER OFF

milly also knows if the marriage pays off and the kingdom benefits, whoever suggested the idea is guaranteed the crown

so on her walk to clear her mind on the river banks, milly is angrily stomping about and kicking dirt and water,,,,, only to see something in the dark of night

and its a body

she rushes over to help the man, but she is ill prepared !!! to do that !!!

milly is a princess not a nurse !! she's well trained in the political and diplomatic arts ! (and maybe some martial arts) but not saving a man

and yet,,, she does all she can anyway

then,,, she realizes she recognizes this man,,, he's the king from that undersea kingdom.... THE ONE THAT WAS COMING TO VISIT THIS WEEK

so milly tries her best to help him, blah blah blah she breaks his rib, he yells at her and passes out again, and Milly wraps him up in her dress and carries him back to the castle

CUE MANY SHENANIGANS

This is the main idea for the first chapter (which i have written lol) but here's the subsequent plot ideas

nai is trapped in the castle with an injury hes having trouble healing by himself (some dumb magical weapon that he was attacked with)

eventually he gets better (meryl drops by to fix him) and returns to the sea

and then promptly returns with his twin brother........ who turns out to be the one betrothed to Milly

Milly and Vash play nice but they both don't,,, they dont want this

BUT because of the engagement and new relations between the kingdoms,,, the twins hang around for a few weeks,,,

and Milly gets to see Nai

well,, she finds him in a variety of places

mostly her places,, but she doesn't mind him hanging out there. those secluded spots in the garden or by the river are nice for a reason

but milly is the only one nai kind of knows in the castle, so they subconsciously drift toward one another during boring meetings and diplomatic mounts

and milly ofc goes to visit the undersea kingdom and i have a whooooollllleeeee design planned out for undine milly do not worry

but yeah,,, milly and nai tend to hang out with one another,, despite the fact that milly and vash are the ones that are engaged...

and uhhh perhaps nai starts to develop some,,, feelings,,,

because milly may be silly and naive sometimes but shes strong and convicted and kind and she knows the ins and outs of her kingdom and she is incredible at those political meetings and her hair and her lips and... and.... oh no

and sooooo he decides to speed up the wedding process so that he can be rid of those feelings

but it doesnt work....................

and then theres a ball to celebrate the couple and the unification of the kingdom and oh gosh the wedding is so close and milly is just going to be out of reach and even though she'll be family it wont be the same and I-

Nai takes milly out into the hallway during the ball to talk with her

Milly,,,, is exhausted

the night has been long, everyone is trying to talk with her or dance with her or congratulate her and while she is a social butterfly, she has a limit for political pleasantries

and now nai is trying to talk to her but he seems so flighty and nervous and she cant figure out whats going on

and then,,, he says "Don't... don't marry Vash"

and milly is SO LOST because he is the one whos been moving up all the dates and insisting that they get married ! nai would have them married right now if he could but he cant and...

oh

oh

it clicks in Milly's brain

and she confesses, "I don't want to marry Vash"

and then nai kisses her

and suddenly all those previous moments where he was acting weird and she felt those strange flutters in her guts are all aligning and she cant believe how happy it all makes her

AND THATS ALL YOU GET,,, BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH ALREADY BECAUSE I HAVE A PROBLEM

but lets just say you can look forward to hidden relationships, secret pining, military coups and broken families, as well as Milly looking hot in a flowy white shirt AND as a mermaid

[minttsaltt]

Perhaps not a ship (queerplatonic relationship actually mmmmaybe) but,,, akesumi HEAR ME OUT

They're both ppl who had to live a lie because of an idiot who thought himself holy, they have most certainly met before, they're both, in some way, against the PTs way of justice (Sumi saying so in the 6/3[?] event, Akechi...y'know), they're 2/3rds of the trio that infiltrates Maruki's palace first.

I like to imagine they end up meeting again by some coincidence some months after Royal. Sumire is thankful for his help and sacrifice to save reality & she wants to keep him company in return. Akechi, feeling somewhat sympathetic towards her BC of their struggles (and also, why the fuck not at this point), receives her number in exchange for her not telling Ren that he's alive.

At first, they chat regularly, Sumire initiating at the start but Akechi texting her first sometimes too, then Sumire opens up to him about her current struggles with mental health and the like and he gives her blunt advice, and then they Both end up relying on one another some weeks down the line. Sometimes they show up at the other's house and watch Featherman together after crying because despite it all they are Not Well.

I'm sorry this is so long or if this is weird I just think their dynamic (friends or otherwise) is neat and we deserved more of it

im so fr right now I played vanilla, I havent played royal yet

so I can not give a solid opinion on anything royal 😭😭😭

from what I know of sumire she seems cute and can probably get along with anybody

im sorry 😭😭 call me 8ball cause ask me again another time