#and i think it would be really cool to sow doubt like that into their minds

[reikunrei]

one of my favorite cryptid/monster creation theories is that something, even if it was entirely made up, becomes real purely because people believe it enough, and I keep thinking about that in relation to henry's powers/the way he wanted to change the world

like, rather than it being actual timeline splitting or time travel in order to change things (thinking specifically of that shot of him rewinding the grandfather clock, literally manipulating time), it's just like... he wills these things to happen because he believed hard enough in it? if that makes sense?

like he still has powers, that's all real, but rather than it being actual time manipulation, it's closer to like... faulty or changed memories that then retroactively become real. as a tiny example, like brenner's hair inexplicably changing style or graying too fast is just bc henry remembered it wrong, but that doesn't mean it's not real

i just feel like it's an interesting thought since henry leaned so heavily into making false memories or interactions with his victims (chrissy's mom in the bathroom, the cop saying he recognized fred, max seeing her mom after leaving the letters for her family) but they all stemmed from the truth, and perhaps could have become real if the victims believed it hard enough and gave in to their pain and fear

idk! like... i feel like it would be a cool twist to have it be a manipulation of memories that retroactively changes stuff, but the old version still leaks through, rather than it directly being like time travel and stuff

[battlekidx2]

I want to elaborate even further on why I think Alastor’s breakdown in the finale was (at least in part) motivated by the fact that he has come to care about the people at the hotel. A few people have responded to me saying they don't believe he actually cares or asking me about my opinions on certain counterarguments against the interpretation that he cares and I figured it would be easier to just make one post in response. (this is just meant to expand on my thoughts. You don't have to agree. That's half the fun of media interpretation.)

The consistent throughline I keep being told is that his breakdown was purely motivated by pride and loss of control and I do think these were massive parts of the breakdown.

Alastor is very aware of the fact that the situation around him is spiraling out of his control. That the notoriety he had cultivated as an unchallengeable overlord is crumbling. His time away allowed the fear he sowed to dull. He keeps coming face to face with beings that rival or surpass his strength. People who wouldn’t dare question him before are banging on his door. His foothold in the world isn’t secure like it once was and that has him reeling.

Alastor's pride is a driving factor in his actions, but, like I said in my last analysis, I think this is only part of it. I think this breakdown is motivated by the fact that he feels like he’s losing control of himself on top of the situation around him.

I'm going to start with the points/questions I've been asked first then expand on my thoughts after.

The first one I was asked about is the interpretation that Alastor was mocking the very idea that he would sacrifice himself for someone else when he says "Great Alastor, altruist, died for his friends." and I think that would work if it wasn't for the visuals paired with this line.

He literally looks like THIS when he is speaking the line. This isn’t the face of someone mocking the very idea that he would do this.

It was actually this shot that convinced me there was some truth to the words he was saying because it looks like he’s beginning to have a breakdown over the fact that this is almost exactly what happened.

The second one that I was asked about was the idea that he was forced to fight and protect Charlie by whoever owns his soul. But if he was forced to fight in this battle due to his contract why not describe it this way when alone? How could he even leave if he was forced to fight and protect the hotel? I doubt there was a caveat that he could leave the fight if he was seriously injured if he was ordered to fight and protect Charlie and the hotel.

I do think he's at the hotel because of whoever owns his soul, but I don't think it's why he fought or why he helped Charlie get Cannibal Town to aid them through his connection to Rosie.

And the last one that I was asked about was the idea that the demons had to be fighting for love like Carmilla said to Vaggie to defeat the angels and the reason Alastor didn't win was because he was fighting purely for his own interests. Freedom, power, and control.

And, while I think the base idea of this is really interesting (This is a genuinely cool idea!) and could challenge Alastor's more selfish motivations, the show itself doesn't really back this up.

Charlie is the literal embodiment of fighting to protect those she cares about-- she has the biggest heart out of anyone at the hotel-- and yet she doesn't defeat anyone in this battle.

Before she faces Adam all she uses is a shield to protect herself and the other residents. She apologizes to those she hits, while Vaggie finishes them off. When she does face Adam she doesn't beat him. She gets in a good hit, but she isn't able to finish him off. She would have been killed if Lucifer didn't step in.

Plus, Alastor's shield killed multiple exorcists before Adam destroyed it, so I don't think this means he hasn't grown to care about the residents of the hotel or that there wasn't some part of him that was fighting to protect them.

Now to expand on my own thoughts now that I've answered the questions I've gotten, it's not just the final battle/fallout that brought me to believe he had come to care about the hotel and its residents.

The show itself seems to want us to think he is starting to grow “accustomed” (In Alastor’s words to Niffty) to the group with little moments that are played straight like when he sends Mimzy (possibly his oldest friend) away, telling her she can stay if she truly wants to try for redemption, but if she just wants to put the hotel in danger then she has to leave.

When he says he believes in Charlie and wants to mentor her in cannibal town. He even gives her his microphone which is a literal extension of himself to help her.

When he talks to Niffty (who he is clearly fond of) and admits he finds the group enjoyable to be around. He says he could grow accustomed to them after Niffty says she really likes them almost in agreement with her.

There is no sinister undertone or hint of the usual facade Alastor puts on in these scenes.

Like I said above I don't think that the fact that Alastor has come to care about the residents is the only factor in his breakdown or the only reason he fought in the first place (Alastor's blatant overconfidence in his fight against Adam makes it clear pride was a factor. That overconfidence is why he lost that battle). It's a combination of multiple things (his pride, loss of control, desire for freedom, etc), but I do think it's a valid reading that it was a part of it considering all the information the show has given us.

This isn't to say I think Alastor is going to melt and be a team player for the hotel from now on. In fact, I think he's going to lash out against this internal change.

Alastor has always put himself first and in the finale he almost died trying to protect this hotel and it's rattled him. It's challenged his entire self-perception. He doesn’t like that it’s being challenged. That he’s losing control of himself on top of the situation around him. So, he doubles down on his initial goals.

I think this internal conflict is fascinating. I wouldn't have written so much about it if I didn't. I genuinely can't wait to see what they do with it in season 2.

If you feel differently feel free to send an ask, message, or respond to this post. I'd love to hear what other people think! Differing views and connections to characters is what makes media so impactful and fun to consume.

[cupcakeslushie]

For the Brainwashed 3D Purple Printer-thing:

It makes total sense for the purple Dragons to not be on anyone's mind, especially since in the show they are the equivalent of nerdy high-school delinquent bullies, only with higher tech. Sure, they can hurt you, but not in any much worse way than the average bully. So ofc April wouldn't think about them. They don't seem like they'd ever do that. They most likely grew out of it and if not...well, they'd probs be in jail.

But Kendra specifically did show a streak of very mean manipulative and strategic behavior that with further growth and practice could snowball her role into a very viscous antag. Am antag with the facade of somebody innocent-

Because Kendras main strategy to take advantage of her victims in the show was accepting them into her group: Niceness. Inclusion. Acceptance. Praise.

Which could mean that even after discovering a lead pointing to the Purple Dragons Gang, they'd have pretty much nothing if the PD Gang established a "redeemed" facade first. "Oh, we don't really talk to each other anymore. Can't risk my scholarship for petty theft, you know? It was pretty stupid anyway."-

Sowing doubt. Covering their tracks. Learning from their mistakes. The Hamatos would be pretty much fucked.

And that is so cool. Honestly, all of your AUs are, always playing with super interesting concepts.

Anyway, sorry for the pointless ramble. Got really excited. Keep it up, you're doing great.

Have a nice day.

You basically nailed it! Pretty close to what I figured would be happening!

[photoniccyclone]

Crack Theory: Zym Will Be the One To Save Claudia

Sounds crazy right? But here me out, I may be huffing some major copium right now and it requires some other headcannons to come true but when you think about it... this could be a really cool thing for them to do.

Zym can talk now, which means he's gonna need to be a charatcer and do character things, what better way to do that then take a crack at saving Claudia and bringing a new perspective the others didn't? Picking up where they failed?

In order to be saved now, after all the damage that's been done to her, she's going to need two things in my eyes.

A lot of empathy. Those who try to save her need to have sympathy and empathy for her situation and while not agreeing with what she did, have the understanding of why she did them and what she's going through, and have the ability to be patient with her and help her when she's struggling. This is going to be hard for a lot of the cast. Rayla definitely can not do this because she just downright hates her (she spent the two year time jump trying to kill her) so she's out. The rest, their emphathy has been spent potentially after their failed attempts to save her, which were, not very successful for a variety of reasons i.e tricking her with a fake mom (diabolical) or straight up making her feel gaslit. (I'm referencing the "I think we have different bone feelings" it's important to note that I don't think Soren was gaslighting her because he truly believed in what he said, but to someone like her, it can come across as gaslighting.) Or not giving her the time of day, but that's not the point. The point is that the rest of the cast feels they've done all they can, even Soren feels that way, remember he begs Terry to let him kill her! While we don't know where Zym stands on this, we can start to sow some doubt in his mind about the dragaang's methods. This will not only help explain why Zym wants to try and take a crack at saving Claudia but also help develop him into his own character who isn't just Ezran 2.0. Maybe him and Ez can even have a disagreement over this at some point! Wouldn't it be cool to see an argument or a bit of a temporary falling out between these two? Zym has been shown to be extremely emphathetic so far, similar to Ezran and has a chance that he could feel like he could bring something new to the table that the gang hasn't tried before which I will get into later. (ANNNNDDDDD, if a certain headcannon holds true he might be perfect for the job)

A proper addressing of Xadia's crimes. Yes, she's definitely going to need this. What Xadia did in the past drives a lot of her character, maybe not as much as family but it's a huge motivator, and it must sting really hard when her own brother contradicts everything with "I don't have the same bone feelings". It could easily be going through her mind right now like "Are you crazy? after everything they did to us your just all lovey dovey with them? Like it just didn't happen?". Someone is going to need to acknowledge what happened, clearly and definitively and also apologize for it and deliver the promise that they will make sure it will never happen again. Now... who better to deliver this message to her than the literal King of The Dragons himself who literally has the power to make it never happen again? Could this cure her instantly? No, maybe not... Claudia is hurting badly and the scars run deep, but that could be the beginning to set off a chain reaction that Zym could help her through by instilling point 1.

Now, if a certain headcannon comes true which could make narrative sense, it would just make this all the more powerful. You know how Ezran is an empath with animals? Like he can basically talk to them to an extent and can also feel their pain (novelizations), what if Zym is the same, but for humans and elves. This is not entirely baseless either, other than providing cool symmetry it would also explain why Zym is able to communicate telepathically with Ezran to an extent. It's two empaths connecting to each other. If Zym has this power, he could potentially understand what Claudia feels on a deeper level then anyone else because he literally feels it too, and thus would easier be able to empathize with her making point 1 all the more plausible.

And on top of everything... I just feel it would be really sweet. I love Zym, I love Claudia and seeing Zym be a character by performing something so monumental and helping someone who clearly needs help would just be... kinda heartwarming to me if done correctly. That's why it's a crack theory at the end of the day. There's not hard evidence and it relies on some assumptions, but do I want it to happen? Absolutely?

But hey, if you disagree, that's fine too! :)

"But Claudia is pure evil and I want her to burn."

I disagree on that but to each their own, fine If you want that too I guess lmao.

[archivalofsins]

For Futa Jackalope really did just turn to camera and say chicken says what. Like he called the audience cowards. Too afraid to judge Futa because it would mean judging themselves.

Jackalope was on it. This end of trial report he hit all the right notes- He was in all the right places. He saw the audiences weaknesses and he hit them over and over.

He said you had your fun sowing lets chat before the reaping starts and he went in.

Like damn no remorse.

"Or……maybe you just couldn’t bring yourself to find him “guilty”, because he reminded you too much of yourself……I’m just blabbing."

Even down to highlighting the faceless Futa showing that he could easily be any of us as he said it. Jackalope said,

"I take no prisoners; you will see an ending before the end. It will be shaped like every door you did not open and every life you did not live. Then in the face of your doubts you will keep walking forward because where you came from no longer exists. Time has an insatiable appetite and we are all on it's menu. Hahaha I'm such a kidder."

Back to what he really said and the thing that intrigues me the most. Jackalope throughout the second trial report kept highlighting that despite finding Kotoko guilty we proved through our verdict that her actions do work.

By finding everyone who she attacked/threatened Innocent. This continues the trend of Kotoko jumping on any sign of agreement to get to the conclusion she wants to end up at. That being her methods are correct. So just because we found her guilty doesn't necessarily mean we found her methods wrong.

The way Jackalope interprets the guilty prisoners change in verdict may be exactly how Kotoko will view it herself.

"But, to put it another way, if this is because he showed remorse, you could also say his “innocent” verdict was thanks to the actions of Kotoko Yuzuriha, right?"

Cuz think about it…….who knows how he would have acted without the pain, right?

Q.04 Would you make the same mistake again?

Futa: I don’t think so. I don’t think I could take this kind of pain again.

Q.07 What have you been into lately?

Futa: Finding a way to distract myself from the pain.

Well next up Kazui~

He’s a self-admitted liar, have you been able to solve the mystery?

Well given the little amount of information provided in contrast to Jackalope's statement on Yuno... I would have to say we haven't. Instead Jackalope just reiterates things that Es brought to attention in Kazui's second voice drama.

Not mentioning anything about cheating or marriage in the slightest.

Again very interesting in comparison to Yuno who Jackalope admits told us what she did herself without ever really honing in on what part of what she told us should be considered.

Just stating,

"She said it herself, so her crime became quite clear, hasn’t it? And that crime didn’t raise to the level of murder to you, I take it. Interesting. I guess that’s how it is in your era."

Yet in Yuno's second trial interrogation she said a lot of things. Including dismissing the audience previous judgments on her and the guards desire to project a sob story onto her.

Yuno Second Trial Interrogation

This situations bothersome-ness has won out./I won't be bothered.

"So, I am extremely cooled off." (-273.15°C) "That is all."

"That’s the real Yuno Kashiki, you could say. Cold and logical. Practical and unromantic. Getting her to interact is gonna be a heavy lift, I’d say."

"You want to make clear the truth...huh? Fu... Haha!"

"The result of doing looots of sugar-daddying: ...abortion."

...!

"That's probably my murder. Well, please go ahead and partake of the truth."

...

"How is it? Satisfied? Then, can we be done already?"

Yuno...you...

"You don't surprise much, do you? As I thought, you knew it from the song extraction."

Cold and Logical

Well, yes. As one possibility, I thought it was likely. That, going by Milgram's scope of interpretation for murder, it was possible.

"I'm sure. Well, I generally got the sense that that's how it was. I could feel it."

You could feel it...you say?

"I can hear it, while I'm in Milgram. It's probably the same for everyone else."

Practical and unromantic.

"Voices peeking in, digging around, and discussing my sins."

Interesting that she uses sins plural here not singular. Didn't note this previously but probably should have.

Something like that...

"Are those not the thoughts you were having? Not that I would know."

But you get my point Jackalope's end of trial report on Yuno confirms that what she said in her second interrogation was in fact the truth and nothing but it. However, he speaks very little on how we interpreted what we were told in contrast to other prisoners.

Just making a sweeping statement,

Interesting. I guess that’s how it is in your era.

But he does ponder an interesting thing,

"I wonder though, what decides the worth of a life?"

Playing on the abortion debate that her trial turned into before plainly asking,

"……don’t tell me, did this murder seem smaller to you than the murders of the other prisoners? Thought-provoking!"

Again playing on the idea the fans have ran with that Yuno should not even be here because she hasn't committed murder like the other prisoners. He says a lot and not that much while discussing Yuno but Jackalope's statements on her can be used to further scrutinize what's not said about Kazui.

Like I said he basically confirms Yuno was in fact telling the truth throughout her second voice drama but doesn't mention any of what was brought up in Kazui's outside of reiterating Es' points.

Of Kazui being a liar and self-pitying going as far as to call him emo and even praise us for being so accommodating to him despite his woe is me routine.

Jackalope even comments that he can't bring himself to be interested in Kazui,

"It all feels very emo and I can’t bring myself to be very interested in him, but the fact that you’re so accommodating to him, is commendable."

However, he reiterates another point one that he brought up from the beginning that directly contradicts a statement that Kazui made in his second voice drama,

"He’s the only one who has the strength to fight off Kotoko and Mikoto after all."

Kazui states in his second voice drama that if Kotoko and Mikoto were to team up that would be the end of him and Milgram. Contradicting Jackalope's statement in Es' voice drama that if Milgram were an all out brawl then Kazui would come out victorious.

So Jackalope basically goes he's still lying have you figured out what the lies are and then just goes here's one of them for free.

Now onto the other interesting one- Amane.

Amane's is interesting because Jackalope basically goes her life would be this way in and out of Milgram. Showing that his focus with Amane is not us being tricked into going easier on her because she's a child but a desire for the audience to go harder on her because she is a child.

Coddling isn't going to prepare her for the real world but neither is being unnecessarily cruel to her either. Even admitting that he himself doesn't know what made the audience find Amane innocent this time around and stating he's curious about the judgement.

Despite how vocal people said Amane fans were being- This again highlights that no, they weren't. Amane fans weren't pushing super hard or really loud. They weren't going around shouting at people to vote her innocent or bribing people to. Hell, the staff couldn't even write a decent bit for her part of the video because they don't know what caused this.

"I remember feeling a sort of awe at your resoluteness to your duties, being a kid didn’t mean you couldn’t be “guilty”, right? So, what was it that made you choose “innocent” this time? I’m very curious. Is it her, or her beliefs, or her birthright, or her fate…."

Whatever the circumstances may be, she is the one that has to bear the blame. That’s just how it is. Both in and out of MILGRAM, isn’t that right?

They were wrong for highlighting the tasing scene like this again. They went I'm about to make you feel bad if you voted this kid guilty fucking suffer rip to you I guess- you are the problem. Like there was no joking here Jackalope looked at the camera and went,

Jackalope: This is just how it is everywhere. Your vote won't change that. It won't lessen the weight of the blame on her shoulders. In or outside of Milgram.

The “It can’t be helped”, from the scum that can’t be helped. That makes them doubtlessly, clearly, absolutely, unequivocally, beyond any doubt, categorically, emphatically, GUILTY.

Then just went to Mikoto like that shit was nothing like it didn't just destroy my soul.

That concludes my fucked up things from the end of trial two report.

[sergeantsporks]

I honestly always thought that Lilith's resentment of Hunter stemmed from her being jealous of his "close" relationship with Belos.

Lilith was a frigging teenage girl when she joined the Emperor's Coven. She had an estranged relationship with both of her parents at that time. She was also isolated from them. Belos presents himself as an affable authority figure to the Isles.

If she didn't quickly start viewing Belos as some sort of pseudo father figure, I'd be seriously surprised.

And Belos, given that his whole "thing" was manipulation, had to have picked up on that. I'd be genuinely shocked if he didn't outright cultivate it!

Especially since doing so would've assured him of Lilith's loyalty (Until, you know), sowed discontent within the higher ranked members of the Emperor's Coven (Since they all want to be "close" to Belos), and presented an excellent opportunity to cause pain to the Clawthorne family. (And we all know that he's not wholly beyond being petty like that, lol.)

In addition to giving Lilith one damn good reason to hate Hunter's guts from the day he set foot in the Castle for the first time. LMAO.

This random kid appears out of nowhere and he's somehow the Emperor's nephew?!? So of course the expectation will be that Belos is going to dote on him and give the little tyke whatever he wants, up to and including a powerful position within the Coven. Likely without the kid having to lift a finger.

XD Poor Hunter could've literally spent his whole childhood worshiping the very ground Lilith walked on and she still would've despised the poor child. There was literally nothing that he could ever do that would be "right" in Lilith's eyes. Because his mere presence is an affront to her!

As it also is to all of the other Coven Heads.

Which is, naturally, exactly what Belos wanted. Can't let his little child solider have other trustworthy adults in his life. No, Belos needs to be the only person he can 100% always trust and thus, turn to in times of trouble.

:( Poor Lilith, poor Hunter.

Yeah, I know I've talked about Lilith being like "Finally, I'm going to get out of the shadow of my sister, I'm no longer going to be second-fiddle in the eyes of an authority figure to a prodigy, excellent" only for a new prodigy pop up and take the spotlight and all the attention of her top authority figure 20 or so years later. Like. She must have been screaming.

But honestly? I think you're right. I don't think Hunter did anything, not at first, anyway. We see in Thanks to Them that a lot of his posturing and pride/confidence literally comes on and off with his physical mask. Underneath, he's just... kind of a dork loser who's pretty adorable. Sure, he's not PERFECT, it's not TOTALLY a persona; the "golden guard" does bleed into Hunter and vice versa, but I can definitely imagine all the other coven heads (and ESPECIALLY Lilith, who's already predisposed to feel threatened by people whose seeming "natural" talents exceed her hard work) coming in already expecting him to be a nepotism brat.

Hunter is nothing if not someone who tries very hard to live up to people's expectations of him. So even if he wasn't some annoying little twerp at first and was just a genuinely curious and excited kid who wanted to hang out with The Cool Kids (coven heads) (especially considering we know he wasn't really allowed near the other scouts), I have no doubt that he started leaning into their expectations of "bratty kid who can do whatever he wants because he's the emperor's nephew" after the first few rejections. Which would only make their perception of him justified in their eyes, which would only make him worse, etc. etc. So even if he was a perfect angel at first and worshiped the ground the other coven heads walked on, like you said, he definitely became/acted like the brat they all thought he was by the end.

[flame-shadow]

being a kid obsessed with dinosaurs while being raised christian fundamentalist (i think?) made for some very interesting moments.

books would say that dinosaurs lived hundreds of millions of years ago. my parents would say the earth was created 6000 years ago. so for a while, i thought dinosaurs were fake like dragons. and for a long while after that, i never paid attention to the estimated years because they were all clearly false.

books would say that dinosaurs evolved over their millions of years of existence, at some point some developed feathers, and that birds probably came from dinosaurs. the pastors and sunday school teachers would say that evolution wasn't real and that god created the birds as they are. i was confused and disappointed, because evolution made a lot of sense and sounded really cool to boot.

documentaries would show fossil sites and talk about how the rock can be dated. one time, i heard that god left dinosaur fossils for us to find as enrichment. another time, i was told that satan planted the fossils to sow doubt among god's followers. i thought it odd that some people thought god would want to trick his people with such an elaborate hoax.

years later, i heard someone say that god created the universe to look like it had always existed even though it was created relatively recently, and that's why the light from stars further than 6,000 light years have already reached us. i was reminded of the explanation of god putting apparently millions of years old fossils in the ground.

more recently (within the past decade and therefore i was no longer a kid nor a christian), i've heard the people who raised me to believe the things above reciting new "facts" that people have since come up with to explain away more recent scientific discoveries and conclusions. a few years ago, my grandmother had someone speak at her church, and afterwards she bought some of the books they were selling and shipped them to me. whereas twenty years ago, she'd have told me dinosaurs couldn't have existed, now she had sent me books about how actually dinosaurs were created 6000 years ago along with humans and all the other animals. these "facts" were corroborated by some other relatives next time i shared a meal with them.

they can't even keep their false facts straight because the old stories don't make sense anymore, even though the new stories aren't any better!

and i keep coming back to my early interest in dinosaurs.

the one that my mom was reluctant to allow me to pursue because of the perceived falseness of their existence. the one that i felt i had to carefully regulate what facts i expressed interest in lest my mom decide that dinosaurs were banned from being talked about the way pokemon was. and i was so so deliberate to pepper in the occasional qualifiers like "even though the bible says that's not possible, 150 millions years is a long time ago!" or "i know they're not actually going to turn into birds and this is just a drawing, but this one with the feathers does really look like it could become a bird someday."

thank god for dinosaurs (haha), because im not sure how long i would've been mired in such a closed-minded worldview otherwise. even though satan didn't sow the fossils in the earth, they did cause me to doubt the veracity of what i was taught.

[wander-wren]

wrt to the “adam shouldve been a visionary” dreamer trilogy/greywaren post i’ve seen a few times (possibly reblogged?)….well, maybe, but also no.

it’s not that i don’t have my own gripes with tdt (namely, yes, not enough adam), but i just…i can’t get behind visionary adam. not canon visionary, anyway.

like. you’re telling me ronan “the choice was death or hurting adam, which wasnt a choice at all” lynch would have handled it with ANY amount of grace if adam “i will be your hands. i will be your eyes” parrish was given the ultimatum “hurt others every time you have a vision and live, or turn the visions inward and quickly die horribly”??? no!!

and maybe in this alternate version of tdt that’s the whole point, yknow. if that’s what you want, ABSOLUTELY go ahead, dream on about it, write the fic, send it to me i’d love to see. etc etc etc

but the point of the dreamer trilogy is that it’s about ronan. so if we’re keeping with that vision (ha), and with the basic premise of the series, then no, i don’t think visionary adam is a good idea.

which begs the question…what WOULD i have adam do?

[disclaimer i read each book as they came out and havent done full rereads since so my memory is spotty, pls correct anything i get wrong]

in all honesty i would keep call down the hawk essentially as it is bc i think it was good. it takes place during november, no? so potentially add in/exchange a shorter adam moment for thanksgiving break. he can help scry and figure out psychic things and be distrustful of bryde.

have winter break be during part of mister impossible. seriously where are adam’s school breaks lmao. adam is relentlessly practical and cares about ronan and he should be here to sow doubt and try to curb some of ronan’s more ecoterrorist tendencies. ronan can sneak around and hide from him and there can be tension and worry and anger. but also a lot of good pynch feelings still, ofc, bc its Them.

but don’t worry! they can still have a big fight/falling out over the ley lines/bryde/the ecoterrorism before adam leaves for school again. as silly as it is that ronan freaked out over an unread text when adam was literally napping, maybe this time it’s deliberate. or maybe adam really was napping again, or driving, or whatever. the rest of mister impossible can play out from there, or a condensed/reshuffled version of it to accommodate adam being there for a while.

greywaren can start the same, but for the love of god let ronan get out faster it is HIS BOOK. i do like henessey helping him do that i think its an important part of her character, and adam’s part in all that was very good and angsty so i wouldnt change it, but i would have it happen in the first half. ronan and adam make up and go off to do whatever was happening by the end of greywaren tbh i got confused. or something totally different! who knows.

also i just want to see adam interact with the actual visionaries and with carmen and henessey more and with bryde i think it would be very cool. very fun.

i also think gansey/blue/henry shouldve shown up literally ever at all but idk how they fit in so shh

[fatuismooches]

Omg i'm so happy you loved my brainrot about Tsaritsa and Fragile Reader interactions 😭 and i'm back with more!

Pretty sure i saw your post stating you had finished Fontaine's AQ but just in case:

SPOILERS WARNING!!!

Alright. Can we talk about Freminet? About "Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don't cry!"?

After the AQ and all the hints presented, it has become more or less clear - Enkanomiya's prophesy turned out to be true and Neuvillette is the reincarnated Hydro Sovereign. Neuv may not be the Archon, but who is stopping us from creating wholesome headcanons?

So, if Neuv experiencing strong emotions such as grief, sadness or self-doubt causes a rain to fall in Fontaine... What about Tsaritsa's heartache causing sweeping blizzards that last days, weeks, MONTHS, sowing chaos in the nation of cryo?

What if Snezhnayans have a similar saying? What if House of Hearth children were taught a somewhat re-phrased saying to comfort their "Mother" - Tsaritsa? (I feel like if orphans call Arlecchino "Father", like Lyney did in AQ, then presumably, Tsaritsa should be "Mother". They are also given surnames of Snezhevich (male) or Snezhevna (female), which basically translates as son/daughter of snow!)

Tsaritsa is wholesome. Harbingers are wholesome. And hoyoverse is telling me i have to wait 2 more years to meet the rest of their family? They better feed me crumbs of official lore or else i will starve 😭😭

- 🐺

UGH YES!!! CANON!! Poor Tsaritsa though :( As much as she doesn't want her people or nation to suffer, she can't help the icy winds that howl through the land and pound against windows, or the snow that stands knee-deep. Yet many of the citizens still feel pity for their suffering Archon despite the situation.

I really like that idea! With her whole thing probably being the God of love it would make sense that she is looked on as a sort of mother figure who is supposed to be loving and nurturing to her people (despite Dainsleif saying otherwise.) And I actually didn't realize that part about the surnames until I looked it up, that's pretty cool!

And yup, 🐺 anon me and you will be waiting 2+ years to see her and the other Harbingers. 😓 Honestly I don't even know how going to Snezhnaya will play out considering we're the Fatui's enemies and I'm sure the Tsaritsa doesn't think very fondly of the Traveler lol

[rotm-channel]

RotM:Interlude I - Jamies Giant

The wind was taking Jack back home to Burgess. At this time of year there was no snow or ice,but it was still home to him regardless.He wondered what Jamie was up to and so he came to his house.

Jamie was reading the newspaper with intrigue. He was interested in what was going on in California first a meteor than alleged giants.While he was an older boy his childhood never left him and never will.He was still fascinated by the mysterious and supernatural world.He had fulfilled his goal of having yeti/bigfoot photos,autographed at that.And while these were his long term goals he did have several other ones…one of these was a giant.

“What you're doing Jamie” Jack asked

“I'm researching the Giant,Jack!”Jamie swiftly replied.”By any chance did you meet him or her?”

“Sorry,but no kiddo.And I'm unsure if it's real or not,which I rarely am…”he added

“Some general Monger said on behalf of the government that those reports had no evidence to prove it and dismissed it.But do you also think it can be real?”

“Well I'm real and people don't think I am so why not?”Jack said in a playful tone.

Jack also shared some of Jamie's interests,he even read his book “Mysterious Times" and found it fascinating.

“Where's the rest of the gang?”Jack asked.

“Oh?Well Pippa will be here any minute.She is also interested in it and I should call the others too!”Jamie said.

“Sure why not?”Jack replied

"Oh and Im Home alone Jack"Jamie added before going to the phone

A few minutes later

“So you actually think that giant is real Jamie?”Claude said it to Jamie in kinda an ironic, nearly sarcastic tone.While he and his twin Caleb both were firm believers of the Guardians and several other such creatures,they still were often in doubt of what they didn't see at least once.

“Like really if it is real where would it hide?And where would it go?Something that big can't just appear out of nowhere and then disappear just like that.”Caleb added he and Claude had also heard the official reports and took them as if it were all.And the fact that even Jack himself was unsure cemented it in their heads for them.

“Well then how do you explain it,many saw it and it's not like that one man saw bigfoot many saw it and it's hard to mistake a giant isn't it?”Jamie counterarguments in a serious yet also wondrous tone.

“Well believe it,when we see it” Claude and Caleb said in unison,but Jamie's argument did sow a seed of belief in them and while it was still small it was a little self-doubt to themself.

“Maybe it's one of those friendly giants like the BFG”Sophie said she remembered really liking the book after all the main character's name was Sophie too…she would often dream she was in her place.

“Or maybe it's one of those evil giants,”Monty added when he also read the BFG and was scared of the man-eating giants, the thought could just come out of the shadows, from under a tree or even just gobble him up while he was havin a dream, it made him shudder and gave him nightmares. It didnt help that recently he saw with the gang attack of the 50-foot women which really made his fear for giants grow…

Suddenly an Idea flew into Pippas head.

“Jack?”Pippa asked the frost spirit.

“Yes”Jack replied

“Did you see the giant after you climbed the beanstalk”She said

And almost as if by magic everyone commenced to laughing including Jack.

“Good One,but no I am not that Jack that climbed the beanstalk”Jack said still smiling.

“Did you jump over a candlestick by any chance?”Claude said in a comical tone.

“Or if youre Jack, where is Jill?”Caleb added.

“Did you slay Giants?Then if the Giant attacked you could fight back!”Monty said, referring to Jack the giant slayer.

Jack couldn't help but smile…

“It seems as though there are a lot of Jacks which were in fairy tale.I guess it was so cool they wanted more Jack”Jack said in a humorous tone.

JUST THEN THE DOOR OPENED AND OUT IT CAME!!!!!!!!

“HI JACK!!!”

Cupcake!

Everyone was surprised and relieved.

"What were you doing?"She asked

“We were talking about that giant,if he's real or not and about other Jacks”

"He?Why can't she be a woman?"Cupcake said she had heard some of the reports and while some did not specify some called her the collosoal woman,bridezilla or mega-maid and so she thought that was it.That she saw with the gang attack of the 50-foot women which she really liked despite being so obviously fake.She also found it silly that Monty could have nightmares of it despite the effects being so poor.

“You have a point there!”Jamie said contemplating the thought through his head.

“Hey,now that we're here…..” Claude said

“We can watch a movie!” Caleb said

“Right what are we gonna watch?” Jack said

"Why not something not so scary?"Monty said

“I want to watch the classic horror movie The Son!Of the Bride!Of the Ghost!Of Young!FRANKENSTEIN!!!!!!”Pippa said excitedly.

The BFG?Sophie said

Why not Earth vs the Flying Saucers?Jack said

“What about…”Monty said

Gulliver's Travels?Caleb said

“The Amazing Colossal Man”Claude said as a bit of a remark at Cupcakes ideas.

"The Chronicles of Narnia"Jamie said

“THE POTATO GROWING SHOW!”It was Monty's favorite program and wasn't scary and didn't give him nightmares…It was soothing to him like a nice lullaby to listen to when you're about to sleep and he also was a little interested in growing plants a few years back he did get for his birthday his own lawn and supplies and all those tips and tricks he learned helped it grow and become fertile full of life.Biology was his favorite subject in school and he loved it!

While the kids did find it funny and some snikered,they didn't find it funny anymore when they found out that today was Monty's turn to choose…

1/2 hour of boredom later.

While watching the show Jack was having no fun,he figured only mother nature would find this fun but he saw Monty enjoy it too which gave him second thoughts.He wanted something exciting not some long drawn out show about people growing spuds he wondered how anyone could.Suddenly a commercial break came.

Suddenly Jack took control and was looking through the channels.And hopped right through them as if he was bunnymund on a busy day!

“Oh I liked that one…”Pippa said

“Say how about this-”Monty said

“I've always been fond of-”Cupcake added.

“Nah,wait i saw this one before,about 3 seconds ago”Jack said

Meanwhile Jack had accidentally put way too many kernels of corn and left the microwave unnatended with the popcorn popping more and more it would soon show its disastrous results when a MIGHTY BANG OCCURED!!!!!

House Shuddered and the microwave relaease its contents out.

Everybody Jumped in shock and saw the corn poor into the room.............

"Wow that was so cool,this reminds me of snow"Jack said

"Oh Boy!"Jamie said

"Lets do that again" Jack said happily,this was just so enjoyable.

The Fun has only begun!

This was gonna be a long movie night…

JACK FROST IN:ATTACK OF THE MOVIE NIGHT!!!

(And also note this actually take place between Chapter 2 https://www.tumblr.com/rotm-channel/755724934649610240/rotmmeet-the-monsters-chapter-ii

and Chapter 3(Coming Soon!) )

This story takes place one month after the first prologue and two days before the third prologue.The kids are in their teens though unspecified this story takes place a few fears after the nightmare war or the events of the movie.

Im trying to make this like a little breather before the threat arrives kinda a last stop before the long road....

The kids are in their early teens or so.

Do you think the giant is real?While the Guardians are real even they are unsure and they know practically all but on the other hand just because you dont see it doesnt have to mean it doesnt exist!

[theburgessobserver]

Prolog Part 2:Jack in Attack of the Movie Night!

The wind was taking Jack back home to Burgess. At this time of year there was no snow or ice,but it was still home to him regardless.He wondered what Jamie was up to and so he came to his house.

Jamie was reading the newspaper with intrigue. He was interested in what was going on in California first a meteor than alleged giants.While he was an older boy his childhood never left him and never will.He was still fascinated by the mysterious and supernatural world.He had fulfilled his goal of having yeti/bigfoot photos,autographed at that.And while these were his long term goals he did have several other ones…one of these was a giant.

“What you're doing Jamie” Jack asked

“I'm researching the Giant,Jack!”Jamie swiftly replied.”By any chance did you meet him or her?”

“Sorry,but no kiddo.And I'm unsure if it's real or not,which I rarely am…”he added

“Some general Monger said on behalf of the government that those reports had no evidence to prove it and dismissed it.But do you also think it can be real?”

“Well I'm real and people don't think I am so why not?”Jack said in a playful tone.

Jack also shared some of Jamie's interests,he even read his book “Mysterious Times" and found it fascinating.

“Where's the rest of the gang?”Jack asked.

“Oh?Well Pippa will be here any minute.She is also interested in it and I should call the others too!”Jamie said.

“Sure why not?”Jack replied

"Oh and Im Home alone Jack"Jamie added before going to the phone

A few minutes later

“So you actually think that giant is real Jamie?”Claude said it to Jamie in kinda an ironic, nearly sarcastic tone.While he and his twin Caleb both were firm believers of the Guardians and several other such creatures,they still were often in doubt of what they didn't see at least once.

“Like really if it is real where would it hide?And where would it go?Something that big can't just appear out of nowhere and then disappear just like that.”Caleb added he and Claude had also heard the official reports and took them as if it were all.And the fact that even Jack himself was unsure cemented it in their heads for them.

“Well then how do you explain it,many saw it and it's not like that one man saw bigfoot many saw it and it's hard to mistake a giant isn't it?”Jamie counterarguments in a serious yet also wondrous tone.

“Well believe it,when we see it” Claude and Caleb said in unison,but Jamie's argument did sow a seed of belief in them and while it was still small it was a little self-doubt to themself.

“Maybe it's one of those friendly giants like the BFG”Sophie said she remembered really liking the book after all the main character's name was Sophie too…she would often dream she was in her place.

“Or maybe it's one of those evil giants,”Monty added when he also read the BFG and was scared of the man-eating giants, the thought could just come out of the shadows, from under a tree or even just gobble him up while he was havin a dream, it made him shudder and gave him nightmares.It didnt help that recently he saw with the gang attack of the 50-foot women which really made his fear for giants grow…

Suddenly an Idea flew into Pippas head.

“Jack?”Pippa asked the frost spirit.

“Yes”Jack replied

“Did you see the giant after you climbed the beanstalk”She said

And almost as if by magic everyone commenced to laughing including Jack.

“Good One,but no I am not that Jack that climbed the beanstalk”Jack said still smiling.

“Did you jump over a candlestick by any chance?”Claude said in a comical tone.

“Or if youre Jack, where is Jill?”Caleb added.

“Did you slay Giants?Then if the Giant attacked you could fight back!”Monty said, referring to Jack the giant slayer.

Jack couldn't help but smile…

“It seems as though there are a lot of Jacks which were in fairy tale.I guess it was so cool they wanted more Jack”Jack said in a humorous tone.

JUST THEN THE DOOR OPENED AND OUT IT CAME!!!!!!!!

“HI JACK!!!”

Cupcake!

Everyone was surprised and relieved.

"What were you doing?"She asked

“We were talking about that giant,if he's real or not and about other Jacks”

"He?Why can't she be a woman?"Cupcake said she had heard some of the reports and while some did not specify some called her the collosoal woman,bridezilla or mega-maid and so she thought that was it.That she saw with the gang attack of the 50-foot women which she really liked despite being so obviously fake.She also found it silly that Monty could have nightmares of it despite the effects being so poor.

“You have a point there!”Jamie said contemplating the thought through his head.

“Hey,now that we're here…..” Claude said

“We can watch a movie!” Caleb said

“Right what are we gonna watch?” Jack said

"Why not something not so scary?"Monty said

“I want to watch the classic horror movie The Son!Of the Bride!Of the Ghost!Of Young!FRANKENSTEIN!!!!!!”Pippa said excitedly.

The BFG?Sophie said

Why not Earth vs the Flying Saucers?Jack said

“What about…”Monty said

Gulliver's Travels?Caleb said

“The Amazing Colossal Man”Claude said as a bit of a remark at Cupcakes ideas.

"The Chronicles of Narnia"Jamie said

“THE POTATO GROWING SHOW!”It was Monty's favorite program and wasn't scary and didn't give him nightmares…It was soothing to him like a nice lullaby to listen to when you're about to sleep and he also was a little interested in growing plants a few years back he did get for his birthday his own lawn and supplies and all those tips and tricks he learned helped it grow and become fertile full of life.Biology was his favorite subject in school and he loved it!

While the kids did find it funny and some snikered,they didn't find it funny anymore when they found out that today was Monty's turn to choose…

1/2 hour of boredom later.

While watching the show Jack was having no fun,he figured only mother nature would find this fun but he saw Monty enjoy it too which gave him second thoughts.He wanted something exciting not some long drawn out show about people growing spuds he wondered how anyone could.Suddenly a commercial break came.

Suddenly Jack took control and was looking through the channels.And hopped right through them as if he was bunnymund on a busy day!

“Oh I liked that one…”Pippa said

“Say how about this-”Monty said

“I've always been fond of-”Cupcake added.

“Nah,wait i saw this one before,about 3 seconds ago”Jack said

Meanwhile Jack had accidentally put way too many kernels of corn and left the microwave unnatended with the popcorn popping more and more it would soon show its disastrous results when a MIGHTY BANG OCCURED!!!!!

House Shuddered and the microwave relaease its contents out.

Everybody Jumped in shock and saw the corn poor into the room.............

"Wow that was so cool,this reminds me of snow"Jack said

"Oh Boy!"Jamie said

"Lets do that again" Jack said happily,this was just so enjoyable.

The Fun has only begun!

This was gonna be a long movie night…

JACK FROST IN:ATTACK OF THE MOVIE NIGHT!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This story takes place one month after the first prologue and two days before the third prologue.The kids are in their teens though unspecified this story takes place a few fears after the nightmare war or the events of the movie.

Im trying to make this like a little breather before the threat arrives kinda a last stop before the long road....

AND NO!Giants are not the threat...infact do you think there real or not(maybe they arent and could be part of the threat or then again most likely not)

The kids are in the teens or so.

Do you think the giant is real?While the Guardians are real even they are unsure and they know practically all but on the other hand just because you dont see it doesnt have to mean it doesnt exist!

[zeemczed]

WRESTLEMANIA NIGHT 1 REACTIONS

I was hoping Rhea would win. She's a beast, she deserves to be treated as such. The best part of JD.

This is probably Truth's last run, so it's cool that they got the belts on him and Miz, and the other winners... well they make sense. Gotta have a heel team in the mix. Would have preferred NCR over Awesome Truth, but I can't argue it.

The Mysterio Family Feud match was kinda tepid. Dom needs to go over his dad at a PPV, this was the place to do it - kinda disappointed, really.

Was REALLY expecting Jimmy to win the Jimmy vs. Jey match. IT was alright. Not great, not bad. Coulda done more with the in-ring psychology. Strictly 'eh', but not bad.

I'm a LITTLE sad that Asuka and company are now suffering the Worf Effect, but I knew that Jade Cargill was going over. She's going to be dynamite eventually (pun unintended), and now she's pretty solid. Give her a year, she'll be melting faces. The match was what it needed to be, so overall no complaints (besides ASUKA LOSING).

Gunther vs. Sami... holy shite. Uh. Match of the night. Watch it if you haven't. Great psychology, great athleticism, great storytelling, satisfying all around, and I think I see what this is setting up for Gunther. Major kudos to Paulie for pulling the trigger here.

No surprises in the Cody/Seth vs. Rock/Roman match. Predictable ending. Was slightly surprised to see the announce team even MENTIONING the fact that Rock is kinda making this about him, which... yes, he is, 120%, and it'll be fun to see if that plays into Cody's win tomorrow. Rock can't really go quite as hard as he used to, the match was dragging in the middle (would have been better as a 35 minute bout instead of 50 with more intensity in the opening half) but the last 25% of the match was definitely worthy of the spot on the card.

PREDICTIONS NIGHT 2:

Final T beats Pride, giving us a reason to pay attention to Karrion Kross.

Styles beats Knight (Knight SHOULD win it, but AJ's approaching his final stretch, they'll go for the nostalgia pop to boost him before he calls it quits)

Orton wins US Championship and gives it a short run.

Bayley wins, goes 100% face again.

Drew beats Seth, selling the beating that Seth took last night and sowing seeds of doubt re: Cody.

If Cody doesn't win I stop watching WWE entirely. Like. I started watching again because Vinnie's gone. Because we CAN book well again. But if the payoff isn't there, why bother? Having Cody lose here would be like the theatrical ending to I Am Legend, compared to the original without the grenade.

[bluebudgie]

Alright looks like I'll be taking this matter into my own hands after all!

[Rolls up sleeves and starts opening a large can of worms] Thaumanova and the rats.

Neljje is the one I've definitely talked about the most in relation to the reactor meltdown so far.

Got caught in the middle of the actual explosion. Miraculously lived through it, but... it changed his life. "Ley-crazed" as Crystal Desert bounty hunters would later call it. He does not endorse that terminology.

It was a slow, creeping process. A constant humming in his head. Voices. Where from, the ley lines? The mists? Made up? He doesn't know. Sometimes they're friends. Sometimes they frighten him. A growing obsession to study, understand, and later control the ley energy took over his life.

By now he's spent almost a decade under constant exposure to ley energy for his research. If that's really the actual reason. He does feel like he's losing his grip on reality more and more. The world feels... warped. At times nothing make sense. At times absolutely everything makes sense. Does he hate it? No, not really. Some days he feels like he's losing control. But on most days he's content.

Chak excluded, he spends the majority of his time alone. Sometimes his old friend Khivvi comes looking for him in the jungle's depths. At the current time she's convincing him to leave the Heart of Maguuma for a while to come check out this newly discovered ley line hub in Cantha. She thinks he could like it.

He probably will.

Tvekks is probably the least directly involved character of all my witnesses. Was running errands in Rata Sum and just when he was on the way back - Boom. (If that's the noise it made. Probably not. I have a feeling the soundscape was undescribable.)

Naturally he didn't panic any less than anyone inside Thaumanova. Can you blame him though, he knew his then-partner was in there!

He helped set up some tents for the injured outside. Well, tried at least, with his hands shaking like jelly.

At least his boyfriend made it back out alive.

Witnessing Neljje's spiral down into morbid obsession over the following year was likely the most difficult part for him in all of this. Just to be clear – that was not the reason Tvekks left him. He was concerned for Neljje's health, yes, but ready to adapt and learn to live with the changes. He still loved him. But Inquest and Aetherblade related shenanigans ultimately made him flee, and that meant leaving his partner behind as well.

The whole Thaumanova ordeal wasn't the reason he actively started thinking about leaving the Inquest, but in retrospect it may have sowed the first seeds of doubt.

Lahpp was part of a larger team that noticed the impending danger early and managed to evacuate their labs before everything went up in flames. While still inside Thaumanova, they escaped the worst part of the explosion. But obviously other areas of the reactor weren't as lucky.

He mostly spent his time looking for survivors and coordinating their escape in small groups.

That is... until a particularly stubborn individual crosses his way. Luqqah, dead-set on retrieving all her research data out of rooms that have long gone up in flames. They're no strangers to each other, in fact they've been dating for a few years, are broken up at this point – still good friends though.

Lahpp was, relative to the situation, calm enough up to this moment. Stressed? Absolutely. Cursing his constitution? Absolutely. But he kept a cool head. Now losing precious time having to argue with someone he cares about over whether or not she should throw her life away while corpses are burning, walls are crumbling and literal reality is warping around them is not what he needed.

Ultimately they both made it out unharmed, a few bruises aside.

Looking back, the whole Thaumanova disaster just feels strange to him. The evacuation itself? Bad time, obviously. The overall greater event though... was cathartic in a way. He didn't hear about it until things started to calm down some time after the meltdown, but the team monitoring his entire childhood – dead. It didn't really make a difference anymore at this time but still the thought was... freeing. And moving away from Metrica Province to an entirely new place far away was another cut from his past he didn't know he needed. Obviously he could never escape it entirely, but it did help him create some mental distance.

So what about Luqqah? She's definitely not looking back on the events as favourably. She lost everything that day.

What, it was just research data? That data was the result of years of work. That work is her life. It defines her. She is nothing without it. And she's convinced that if someone hadn't gotten in her way she could have saved it.

The first days after the meltdown were bad. Incredibly bad. She didn't see any future for herself.

Of course she did eventually move on. Found ways to continue her work based at least on the experience she gathered – no fire could take what's in her head after all. She didn't move to the newly built headquarters with the majority of survivors but instead decided to travel to different places to start over.

"Time heals all wounds" they say, but a decade later she is still bitter about her loss. Even though she's come far since then – much further than she was before the disaster – she still believes it was a setback in her efforts that she'll never gain back again.

That reminds me I meant to make a "Who of your characters witnessed the Thaumanova reactor disaster?" post.

How were they involved? How did it affect them?

[kiyoominous]

casually cruel in the name of being honest

blurb: anytime now, he’s gonna say it’s love. he never called it what it was.

pairing: diluc/reader

genre: angst, hurt no comfort

warnings: self deprecation?

author’s note: i’m back, hi!! it just so happens that my inspiration for writing, the end of my situationship and the release of red (taylor’s version) all came together to create this! it’s very much a vent piece, my apologies if it is lacking. very reader centric, diluc is simply a prop here.

it’s been far too long since you and diluc… broke up? was it really a break up though? with the months of labelless intimacy and one too many fleeting touches, it might as well have been.

from the cold of january to august’s heat, there was an undeniable push and pull between the pair of you. diluc would offer to walk you home, you’d take his hand in kind. you’d gift him trinkets in gratitude of his walks with you and he’d only but give you a nod of the head. and after quiet gazes and the emptiness of his silence, then he’d pull you into a hug or drape his coat over your shoulders. every time it left you speechless, confused and all the other words in between. how befuddling.

to read into his warming actions or to lean towards his stone cold exterior was a choice to make. it was unfortunate that you let his hot hands melt the walls around your heart.

in letting diluc cradle your heart in his hands, you unknowingly walked into something clouded and blurry. each step of his was analysed under rose-tinted glasses, carefully watched so you didn’t lose your footing. and his movements were confusing! you believed for one moment that he was waltzing towards a sunny valley filled with grape vines and unwavering affection but he would take a sharp turn towards nothing. perhaps taking those rosy glasses off every once in a while could’ve done you some good but diluc looks far too charming with the pinks and reds colouring your visage. with fiery red locks and eyes that were equally as bright, it was far too easy to fall for him. 

between moments of doubt, you swore you would see a certain look on his face whenever he saw you. his sharp eyes softened and a rare curve of a smile graced his lips. was it adoration? was it longing? was it love unpronounced, like the things you read about in novels? whatever it was, it made it very difficult for you to look at your beloved friend without the aid of a pink tint. 

after weeks of tiptoeing around the line between “friends” and “significant other”, after fleeting touches that burned with longing for days, after conversations that slowly inched closer to ending in “i love you”, diluc finally decided to clear the fog of your relationship.

“i don’t think i can see us together in a long term relationship. i’m sorry.” he lowered his head, refusing to meet your eyes. the guilt in his tone was so sincere that you could almost touch it. his honesty, though very much appreciated, felt sickening.

“it’s ok.” you replied in kind, putting on your best smile to face him. it was foolish for you to even consider that he had one small ounce of love for you in the first place, right?

then why did offer it to you in fragile words under the moonlight? why would he preemptively invest in you without any intention to reap what he sowed? why would he declare such affections ever-so-casually?

“every time we speak, i feel like i might be starting to love you.” he confessed on a cool wednesday night, months and months and months before his bombshell — or perhaps jumpty dumpty might be more appropriate — of a revelation. his pretty words that he delivered to you in a bouquet of naive love that night? gone. the blooms that once whispered your name in gentle affections were then shrivelled up, desolate of any semblance of adoration.

he didn’t love you.

and sure, the truth stung like the burn of pyro but it was right there in front of you. in amongst hugs that felt too long and almost-kisses, it stood proudly, awaiting your discovery. you just weren’t looking.

as you dashed home after a rushed exchange of goodbyes, there was only one thought that ran with you on your sprint towards home.

“i regret meeting you.”

and it’d run with you to your grocery trips to mondstadt’s city, to your begrudging visits to angel’s share per kaeya’s persistent requests and to the few seconds on a friday just weeks after your fallout where you shared unwilling eye contact with him.

perhaps one day this memory would fade into the back burner of your mind, only to be glanced at with humour. one day it would be easier to look into diluc’s ruby eyes without the butterflies in your stomach falling into the pit of it. but as a caterpillar crawls into its chrysalis, so should you hide in a cocoon of your own, waiting and waiting and waiting until you’re ready to face the world — or whom was once your world — again.

[lalaurelia]

Gotham Rewatch 1x01

So... everything is kinda ugh lately, but Gotham always managed to immerse me, so it's time for a rewatch. I figure I'll be writing down my brief thoughts after each episode, because why not. It's fun.

Let's get started right at 1x01.

This is definitely not my first attempt at the full Gotham rewatch, so the 1st episode is... an old friend by now XD It really starts for me not at the Wayne murder scene (sorry, Bruce), but at the precinct, where Jim takes charge of the dangerous situation. It’s one of my favourite scenes. It shows how different he is from the other cops on many levels - quick thinking with consideration to the surroundings and everyone else involved. Like. Not only was the cop held hostage, they were up against the holding cells - if anyone started shooting it would’ve probably ended up wounding the detainees there too. Pretty sure the rest of the cops weren’t thinking of it, but Jim was. And he was effective in dropping the attacker, and then apologized at others for ‘barking’ at them, and tried to stop them from beating the guy up. All of it wasn’t appreciated, of course. The story of Jim’s life.

Then the scene with Bruce. I don’t particularly like it, it feels a little bit clumsy with introductions, but it’s nice to glimpse inside Jim, and why Bruce decided to trust him in the end. And Alfred was kinda cool there.

Montoya and Allen show up all abrasive. It’s kinda weird we don’t see other police departments at work outside of them, because in a big city like Gotham there have to be more precincts, actually, and a lot more police at work.

Gotham light is still something else. I just love it, I have no clever words about it, it’s just, it feels so poetic.

More friction between Jim and Harvey, Jim being all stubborn and resolute and sassy, love that for him. And when he answers Ed’s riddle, that was nice - quick thinking again, and adaptive, despite all Jim’s rigidity. Ed has such a funny look on his face then, like he didn’t expect anyone to answer, and then Jim did.

The scene at Fish’s club. The demand for familial loyalty is kinda terrifying. But then again, almost all of mafia dealings there are terrifying. And Oswald is so unassuming there - all until he gets the bat and unleashes his viciousness. It’s like he’s lashing out at the past wrongs, getting high on control rather than on violence against a helpless victim. One of the things you have to rewatch to understand.

The shippy part of me is happy at how quickly Oswald drops the bat when Jim tells him to, and how cheeky Oswald is. Jim’s face though. He just can’t hide how he really feels about the unfolding scene, and how their lies are not fooling him. Nor how Harvey’s closeness with Fish makes him feel, either.

Jim and Barbara were really cute together. There was something soft and real, and the affection was clearly there, and Jim wanted to confide in her, and she wanted to support him. Watching their scenes now is kinda sad though, especially when Montoya shows up and begins to sow doubts. Like... seriously, would she have acted this way if Oswald didn’t snitch about the GCPD framing Mario Pepper for murder? It’s amazing how this all intertwines - that Oswald’s plans push a wedge between Jim and Barbara, however unknowingly, and how in the end Jim saves Oswald and that allows him to become Penguin in the end.

The following scenes are kinda painful to watch too, because you know what’s coming. That Jim is going to get in trouble and Oswald is going to get beaten up so brutally. I do enjoy the gravitas of Don Falcone, apparent in his speech and how he carries himself, and how he speaks to Jim. And Jim gets the idea of how Gotham truly works...

But of course, it’s only when he gets to the pier and sees Oswald in the trunk of the car that it begins to sink in. And Harvey - another loyal cog of the machine then. Like Jim himself is expected to become, and help the machine to keep on moving.

The way he walks Oswald down that pier - Jim doesn’t look like he has a plan at all, he’s so trapped, but he probably keeps thinking how he could get out of that, and then Oswald keeps talking, of war, and of promises, and begging for mercy, and...

It’s probably the single most important decision Jim had ever made. Otherwise he would’ve ended up dead a little later on. 

Truly, the threads intertwine beautifully here. Jim’s and Oswald’s are very tight together, even if neither knows it by then, even if the viewer can miss it too. Action and reaction, vice versa, in a dance. It’s amazing how their decisions end up affecting each other’s fates, and the fate of the city as well.

I’m not a fan of Jim dumping his adult troubles at Bruce’s feet, and Alfred is right when he tells him off. But it was probably unavoidable, with how Jim was, and how he wanted to keep at least a bit of his integrity, and his promise to one of the truly innocent souls in Gotham.

And then Oswald emerges wet and cold and vicious, and bent on surviving no matter the cost. Too bad there was a witness. And while Jim’s scenes in the finale are soft and quiet, but with the underlying layer of bitterness and defeat and drive to make things better - Oswald’s scene is raw and risky and violent - the other side of Gotham, which is never too far away.

[eye-cri]

Ya I get being content with being preoccupied with one relationship, it's just addicting.

The story I have for Aidma's birth is just basically that her father wanted to prove that he was above human limits and decided creating a child himself would be the most universal way to do so. Through months of research he formed a ritual done at the shift of a season in a lake where he'd spill a lotta blood, probably some sacrifices involved too annnnndddd!!!!!!! Boom, Aidma born with identical genes (almost,,,????). It is a severe identity crisis causing factor to her. But you know, he has straight orange-ish red hair and eyes. Aidma was born with that too, but once she came to a strong magical energy land like Gedonelune her eye color, hair color, texture, body fat, and lip shape changed to what it is. Showed her that she's her own person too.

Aidma probably just doesn't want to feel the pain of her childhood again, and that's why her father set her off like that for. If she ever feels threatened like that she goes to whatever lengths to gain a feeling of security back. Her future greatest pride would be restoration of her homeland to glory from the previous ruin of her father. That and her kids and younger siblings. I think,,,, her greatest regret would be being not as strong as she is currently during her childhood, as she wasn't able to protect her friends, which cost them their lives (her closest friend's eye is on her ring. They gave their eye to her in their last moments).

Najlynn,,,,, kinda already knew that it was coming. Not any details but she knew Adi wouldn't back down and that her father was strong and manipulative. She just had to stay to the side and just hope Dima wouldn't die. She was worried, but if anything even if Dima was doing horrible afterwards she was glad she made it out alive, and she knew that with time Dima would get better.

Najlynn wasn't to upset, if anything she was on board. Aidma's siblings were more affected by the decision, they were all pretty sad about it and might've harbored some resentment towards her for a while but they would eventually have autonomy over their actions and come to their own conclusions of her decision. Zu was furious. He's still a bit paranoid of it but where the hell else does she have business? Only in her homeland, where they currently are.

I don't have any cemented friendship exactly but she's actually chill with Vain. He finds her funny to watch mainly and she uses that to her advantage to get info she needs. I think Glenn somehow got into the equation too, I don't know how. But he'd also find her funny. She likes pulling pranks with Gray and Lars. She's chill with the Day Class in general, thinks Leslie is fun to hang with and thinks Ted is cool too. Doesn't really interact with Clive but Aidma is fond of him and Lucious (aside from the color of Clive's hair). Though Lucious really does not fuck with what she does, he does understand her past wise (she hasn't told him about her past, but he can tell vibe wise she's been through a lot).

Najlynn still keeps in touch with those she left in Gedonelune through letters and occasional visits she makes as an ambassador for the homeland.

Aidma and Najlynn are the same age (though I guess right now Naj is older, but not for long)

Aidma snuck and stole her newborn baby sibling from her father's lab, though she's a deadbeat so her siblings and Zu tend to step up. I still don't know if I want to include this but I think Adi losing her memories would cause secrets to be slightly revealed which would sow the initial doubt of Adi in Zu (inspired by Meadow of Oblivion). Zu joins some missions here and there. Power hungry guy harassing them, ends up with her name being revealed in Gedonelune, and sets Dima off. Zu brings her to that ball in the Nobility to try and distract her, backfires bc her dad is there. Still she's calmed down by Najlynn enough that she doesn't scare Zu's little sisters when she meets them. When they get back Zu tries everything he can to cheer her up, over some months it works and they finally sit down so Adi could explain her background. Literally on Zeus's birthday Dima's father shows up which caused her to miss his parties, a few days later when searching for her finds her with several life threatening injuries with her father's corpse scattered around as well. Traumatized! ×2! Is extremely protective of her during her recovery and the reason she was able to mentally stay alive. How she pays him back? Bye! Spend some years apart, meet again accidentally at a masquerade and????

.......and that's the gist of it! I know it probably seems like Zeus supports Aidma way more than she reciprocates, but that's because she supports him in their mundane life. She really does barely get on his case, and if anything enables him. For instance when he joins a mission she makes sure to let him to take the lead and should any adjustments need to be made she pulls it off in a way that he appreciates.

I'd love to hear how their symbolisms tie into their morals! It already sounds like it has great potential to showcase really interesting concepts!!

Also I LOVE how even already you could step into gray moral area with Kajal, because what if someone has to hurt a loved one of hers to keep themselves afloat? Would she still find it necessary to make them pay?

Dw about not feeling like I should read the context, I'll always eat up things with Zeus and I'm low key already die hard for Zejal 🗣💯❗️ Low-key wanna draw them together sometime over the summer, we'll see when and idea pops at the right time tho.

(I don't have much to say about their dynamic, other than its super cute, and you've fleshed it out really nicely !)

I'm at least glad Zu took a step back to let her take a breath, bc depending on his insecurity level with a person (when it's high) he really gets clingy, wouldn't you say so? So it's kinda proof he trusts that they'll get through 🥹💙💜 with that said....... GIVBE INCIDENT PPPPPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLEEEESSSDDDAAAA

Tho some more questions I have after thinking about it, is how did they get the incident, that made Zeus steal the brooch in the first place, resolved if Kajal couldn't trust him anymore? I'm watching a part of his route again and Zeus and Liz did need to work together to ultimately put the Minotaur to rest. And they were time constraint bc Lucious would disappear if the labyrinth was destroyed. Is Willem still controlling the Minotaur (who is the headmaster at this time?) in this situation?

Also, to get a better understanding of what she considers the general level of payback to give someone who crossed a loved one, what did she do after she saw those girls shit talking? (You have no idea how much I love to play with morals)... Zeus needs to be barred from the spell bc he's gonna get even more messy 😭😭but has Zeus used the power in any incidents that directly relate to Kajal?

But if Kannu doesn't fw Piggy Caesar then what about human Caesar? On one hand it'd be amusing if she just doesn't rock with Caesar but the concept of her getting along with human Caesar and just bein like 😐🖕to Piggy Caesar for no reason is the funny asf.

And, it looks like Kannu agrees with me too regarding what I said abt him a bit earlier ❗️

You definitely gotta get back on how Scarlett and Lynn(Scarlett and Quinn,,,,,,, oh im OWUT of it) came to hate each other bc even if it's funny for my current perspective to imagine them bein like "I HATE THE WAY YOU WALK HATE THE WAY YOU TALK I HATE THE WAY YOU *DRESS*!" on each other I wanna see it in depth too.

Some even more random questions I'll throw, what flower reminds you of Kajal? Would you say it represents her or is there another flower that does so? What flower does Zeus associate with her (yes he would think about mundane stuff like that, I promise you)? What sound represents her? What animal represents her? What type of weather?

notes on safiya (one of my WH / multifandom oc)!!

anywaysss im answering a few questions i got from @eye-cri (eeeee bc im so happy to :3)

okie so yes!! safiya is a prefect (she becomes one around the same time as liz (so, after rem) when her friends convince her to try for it. honestly, she kinda is like joel TT. safiya is so fun bc she says whats on her mind and will sometimes manage to do it in the most unbelievably tactless way possible but shes rarely ever intending to be flat out rude. like she just says things sometimes, its great. she, like liz, got an acceptance letter, started off as a provisional student and then got her place at the academy (she and liz pretty much have the same starting tbh, they’re both from villages tho safiya’s family is still very much alive). also she’s pretty good friends with joel, luca, amelia, scarlett and augustus- she and liz get along but they tend to argue from time to time.

also about the boots omg what was i thinking looking back at it, it rly is smthn but honestly its so very safiya in a way i can’t fully articulate rn TT

additionally, i’ve decided i may ship her w/ elias :DD idk just think that’d be a cute pairing-

(also note: some of my oc lore does change from time to time depending on the characters and whatnot tbh but usually it doesnt- unless i forget stuff HELP-💀)