#astral-ninja

[leisi-lilacdreams]

Don reached for Raph's thread and tugged, and Raph materialized into existence just a few feet away. He raised an arm to offer a greeting hug, giving Donnie the opportunity to accept or refuse the contact, but Donnie leaned away and shook his head.

Shh, Donnie warned him, raising his free hand to place a finger against his lips, then deliberately glanced down. Raph stared at the shape snuggled into the crook of Donnie's arm. Wait- Don- what...?

Meet Dee, Donnie said quietly.

Raph's eyes grew so wide it looked like it hurt, and he reached forward without thinking, stopping before actually touching. 

don't mind me just drawing a scene from 'Cause Your Future's Ready to Shine by @languajix that i loved

[coldbrewblooded]

Everyone shut up and look at this adorable picture I just took of Ninja

[hoyotunes]

The Slumbernana Song (English Ver.) from Astral Theater Vol. 2 Dorah Fine, 谐乐蕉师, TSAR, HOYO-MiX

[brightlotusmoon]

And as @catbowserauthor and I prepare to work on a new 03 fic where Michelangelo faces new challenges as a Battle Nexus Champion, we're finding that 2003 never had Splinter praise him individually without a backhanded compliment, a comment on his intelligence and maturity, or a caveat. That's going to change. Leo says he's proud of him and Mikey breaks.

I love the way he does it 🤣

[edsonjnovaes]

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[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Mikey skeletal anatomy! Click for better quality

Box turtles are the kinds of turtles who can fully fit into and close their shells along a single hinge in their plastron, which once closed is extremely hard to break into for any kind of predator especially if they cannot get a proper grip on the dome of the shell. Box turtles are also usually found in plains rather than ponds, and while they need water to survive and keep hydrated and can swim well, they’re not generally considered aquatic. Box turtles do have an interesting adaptation due to their more northern range of being able to survive freezing temperatures for a short period of time by slowing their metabolism outside of seasonal brumation (similar to hibernation, but more of a dormant state) if absolutely needed.

After watching TMNT ‘03 where the turtles meditate to save oxygen and prevent suffocation in a broken airlock, I thought, why not mix their ninja ability to conceal their body heat and breath and mix it with a turtles natural ability to brumate? Perhaps the brothers could enter into a completely dormant state on command with enough training in order to survive extreme situations or astral project in some form. Just a fun thought to tie their strong mystic powers with their physical abilities!

Although I use the term heterothermy to refer to them being able to vary between generating their own body heat while active and relying on environmental temperature while inactive, the intricacies of understanding thermal regulation in animals eludes me. If there’s a term that fits better, go ahead! I’m not a biologist so you probably know better lol

These are all my personal head cannons! You can use em’ as reference or not, whichever you prefer :)

[General][Raph][Donnie][Leo][Splinter]

[burdigel]

So one of the most lore-indepth wildcards of Wild Life would be the superpowers that relates past seasons of the Life Series and acknowledges other series (eg. Hermitcraft and Evo) and their personal lore to attribute to each participant's power.

Starting alphabetically,

Bdubs power is essentially all related to time and his ability to manipulate the day cycle expentially. With the clock being his main motif across all Life Series, the ability to slow and speed time according to his will is easily solvable but with the inclusion of the Hermitcraft and Empires crossover event, his ability to speed time according to his sleep schedule becomes another layer deep. Besides the clock being a main symbol for Bdubs, the concept of sleep is another that has essentially been from the beginning of Hermitcraft. Always carrying a bed and sleeping whenever. The Empires crossover Bdubs was framed as a god of sorts of the Sun. Always bright and always there when the Sun remained as its brightest.

Bigb can summon creaking. He creaking. He is like a king or dimplomant to the players who invade their home and they view him as their kin so he has the responsibility and power to summon them.

Ethoslab based of Kakashi from Naruto is by definition a ninja. An escapee or fugitive at best. So with his ability to jump higher boosted by wind charges can be explained by his connection to the shonen series and the inclusion of the mace could be chalked up to typically stories of protagonists gaining resources or inventory to defeat the "Big Bad" or achieve some sort of goal that is to win the Life Series.

GeminiTay or GeminiSlay named by others intimidated by her, has slayed each participant brutally in the Life Series and on Hermitcraft rewarding her the reputation from her immense PvP skills. So with her power of astral projection, it acts retribution for the slayed to talk and apologise or instigate to those dead for her or others benefit.

GoodTimeWithScar is nortorious for being not PG friendly so the inclusion of one of his powers been the ability to ride people, it's self explanatory. Yet as Scar is commonly associated with and as a vex, his other powers of extreme knockback and thorns can be explained by the hostile and aggressivness of the mob.

Grian as essentially the grandmaster or orchestrator of the Life Series would have access to all the powers and mimic but not fully copy the others' powers. Yet because of his power chained by an omnipresent force, he's unable to fully copy the powers but imitate them for only short periods of time.

ImpulseSV and his teleportation powers could derive from his cyber-theme aesthetic for his Hermitcraft Season X base. With most series of fictions based around cyberpunk civilisations, technologies like teleporation and other advanced transportational devices are commonly utilsed. Resulting in Impulse's power of teleportation and the ability to swap the position of another with himself.

Martyn power is boosted hearing cause he's a Listener.

So Lizzie or LDShadowLady's inflicts blindless or a shadow upon the surrounding people in her radius and resulting her in temporary invisibility and blindess to others around her. But from her endless descent into the void in Secret Life, arises Lizzie with trails of the void clinging to grasp the light of the overworld. Causing the void remnants to spread to others and infect them with blindness in all for the hope to spread towards the light from the cold world of the End.

With the ability to fly, PearlescentMoon carries aesthetics relating to Greek mythology in both her powers and external design choices. As one of the Postmasters of Hermitcraft, Pearl is essentially the builder and additional redstone help of the trio for the postoffice and other aesthetic designs. Hermes the herald or messenger of the Olympus gods delievers messages to other celestial dieties and mortals similar to Pearl's jobs as a Postmaster. Other than the similar professions, both Pearl and Hermes wear a petasos which is essentially a wide-brimmed hat that is commoly adorned for shade and for Hermes, additional wings to the sides of the hat. Symbolising their shared ability to fly quickly and efficiently for a purpose.

As RentheDog is commonly interpreted as a dog-hybrid of sorts by the Hermitcraft and Life Series community, his ability to splice and copy the DNA of others to match their appearance could be an aftermath or positive side-effect from his hybrid mutation.

Similar to Ren, Scott has the capability to transform into any mob in sight and similar to Limited Life where he was depicted as a siren as part of the Mean Gills. His ability to shape-shift into any mob regardless if it's passive or aggressive could be similar to his mutliple origins from New Life SMP and Origin SMP and the reflect the changing nature of his powers.

So Joel with essentially triple jump could be hinting his slimely origins of his Shrek skin in the swamp. Where the swamp generally spawns slimes at a higher rate than other slime chunks and slime blocks harvested from the slimes can be used as jump boosts. Resulting in the triple jump.

After just breaking the Canary Curse two seasons ago, SolidarityGaming or Jimmy has the power to turn fully invisible until someone or something damages him. Ever since his debut to the Watchers back in Evo, Jimmy has been under constant surveillance by the Watchers as an object of their amusement. Always failing to reach even the finale and fumbling to keep alive. Yet when he broke the curse and relayed it too another, he was discarded. Seen invisible to the Watchers as he had become an object of boredom by reaching his resolution. So that's where his invisibility comes from.

Tango with his cowardly approach to things, has constantly ran away from situations but with this power, it supercharges his speed allowing him to become part of the fight and conflict instead of running away. And with his ability to frost-walk on ice, it could recall his Season 9's skin back when he was the Dungeon Master in Decked Out II and became an icy persona.

ZombieCleo and resurect dead people as she's a reanimated zombie.

----

part 32

im tired

[brightlotusmoon]

Anyway, the Mutant Mayhem movie will be in theaters in less than a week. If I don't go to a theater, it'll take me a while since a friend would need to upload it to Plex. But I plan on spoiling myself. It'll help motivate and inspire.

Leonardo the honor nerd, the good child, the solemn studious boy - the natural deadpan snarker full of dad jokes from the start

Sooo, there has been a lot of discourse about Leonardo, in all iterations, since Rise of the TMNT premiered. Arguments that this is what Leo is like without the burden of leadership, arguments that this isn’t Leo at all because he was always serious and intense.

Why not both? Both is good.

Leonardo was always a naturally studious, cool, collected, serious boy, eager to please, willing to be responsible and protective. Master Splinter noticed that Leonardo had instincts for leadership, command, commitment. Leo was great at strategy. Leo was gifted in being able to know his environment, his body, his clan mates. He was diligent and he worked extremely hard.

Leonardo also had a sarcastic streak a mile wide. Folded arms, rolled eyes, heavy sighs. He could deliver a devastating one liner that made others fall in line with groaning reluctance. He was making dad jokes back when they were uncle jokes. But as he grew up, he realized that he was a big brother and his family was rowdy and chaotic, so he began to hold his humor back more and more for the sake of being a leader and responsible brother. That snarky joking edge lord child sunk deeper into a rapidly changing mentality of honor, commitment, responsibility, a need to please Father and Master, the need to be The Best because Now We Are At War. A curtain of responsibility and self doubt fell over him.

2003 traumatized him and wrapped him in the curtain just enough to hinder him. 2012 pulled back the curtain just enough to let him crack jokes and laugh at himself. 2018 ripped off the curtain, erased the trauma, and yanked all that snark to the surface.

In Rise, Leonardo hasn’t been exposed to the things that really require his solemn studious side. He feels like a kid who can bounce around and fling himself at life without truly worrying. He is still determined, committed, loyal, studious, happy to learn, whip smart and ready to lead his clan and pull them out of danger while being totally assured that he’s doing the right thing, that he knows exactly what he’s doing, that if they would trust him he would help them become great. 2018 Leo is still Leonardo. He’s merely able be glib, flighty, arrogant. Because he does not yet need to constantly fight for the lives and wellbeing of his clan, he doesn’t need to prove he’s the best even though he still really wants to. He’s a good warrior. Right now he’s a teenager who knows his life could change at any time and he’s hoping to get as much joy out of it as he can. He’s valid. All parts of Leo are valid.

Let’s look at Leonardo and Michelangelo. In 2003, they’re each other’s foils. Mikey wants Leo to relax and lighten up because he knows he can. Leo wants Mikey to be serious and to exercise his potential because he knows Mikey can be so much better. Mikey may be holding back because he knows he could be better than Leo and there seems to be an unspoken deal about that. Leo may be frustrated because he wants Mikey to surpass him. They just want the best for each other. Mikey knows full well how easy going and silly Leo can be if he let himself go. In 2012, Leo has relaxed enough that he and Mikey automatically formed a tight bond, pushing and encouraging each other to just keep being their best, and Leo is clearly able to snark with ease, despite his insistence on responsibility and his own burdens.

2018 has turned the universe sideways for them. Leo and Mikey are partners in crime, they’re each other’s Person, they get each other automatically. This version of Leo is the only version who would be an honorary Michelangelo in the other iterations, as my lovely friend @kalachelone stated. It’s not because he’s suddenly the Mikey of the show, it’s because he’s embodying the spirit of who Mikey is.

He is a Leonardo in full, creator approved, Canon Divergent only as much as the original Mirage Tales of the TMNT by the actual creators, not to mention IDW, written by Kevin Eastman himself.

To deny and insult 2018 Leo is to scoff at a creator approved side of Leonardo that we’ve needed to see since the beginning, the rebellious, joyful, tactically intuitive, whipsmart, cool Leo with lightning wit, dramatic extra edginess, smooth confidence, and an instinctive ability to command teamwork. Validate him.

[artist-in-training-wheels]

Gemini + Castor and Pollux

For absolutely no reason in particular, here's a redesign of my version of Gemini!

Name: Gemini & Castor + Pollux

Job/Title: An Astral being

Height: 9’ and 5'2"

Pronouns: They/them (C: He/them P: She/them) 

Facts/Notes:

Gemini

Almost as Tall as Earth, short by 6 inches!

Hood down for potential future reference.

Depending on who is talking, the respective mouth would move (i.e., Pollux is "technically" talking in the ref)

Two sets of arms because yes :D

"Hair" is different lengths when compared from side to side

Castor & Pollux

Castor's limbs are split/separated and more "shape-like" (think PS1 graphics)

Pollux's body is more thin/ pointed as a reference to their wind abilities

Side Notes:

Saw a Gemini design that has a split face to represent who's talking (credit to 1.darkmushroom on Tiktok), and I loved it! It also reminded me of Ena, so I kinda played around with that idea~!

They don't have necks, their heads just float above their body!

Played around with some of the colors, instead of the deep purple, I made it brighter to match Castor and Pollux's brighter hair colors

While it's not shown (for simplicity's sake,) their hair and clothes WOULD have speckles (stars) on them!

Made Pollux more yellow instead of orange (cause it was mildly jarring IMO)

Also changed out their line colors cause having them ALL be (bright) yellow was a bit of an eyestrain!

Gave them little capes because yes :)

The names “Gamini”, "Castor", and "Pollux" are written in a way that I think they would write regularly!

OG design by @/ayyy-imma-ninja

[feroluce]

It's too bad the data archives seem to be local to the Astral Express, because man, can you imagine Dan Heng making like one little accidental misclick, one that uploads his own personal notes into the archives, and suddenly BAM!

Now everyone knows all of Dan Heng's...ahem, "personal observations" about Boothill.

He deleted it as soon as he realized of course, but well. All the people that like and respect the Nameless, and probably use their archives, and watch them for edits or updates closely? RIP.

Boothill discovers all this because he's out on some random planet, and he just happens to come across Rappa, and oh, it's been a while since he saw her last, he missed her!

Rappa goes bounding up to him, throws herself into his arms, Boothill catches her and they both go spinning round with her momentum, "Yo, Lord Silvergun Shura!" "Heya, lil filly!", Rappa happily butts her cheek against his, Boothill finally sets her down, and

"Or, should I call you Ninja Hiryu's Good Boy instead?" and Boothill's systems nearly crash BJSKXJDLSLDMF

[feshippingpolls]

Fire emblem Media

Official media!:

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden, Mystery of the Emblem, Genealogy of the Holy War, Archanean War Chronicles/BS Fire Emblem: Archanea Senki-hen/Satellaview spinoff game, Thracia 776, The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem, Awakening, Fates, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, Heroes, Warriors, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Three Houses, Warriors: Three Hopes, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore, Engage, Dynasty Warriors, Super Smash Bros(specially their Roy), Fire Emblem 64(canceled game), Mystery of the Emblem(anime), Fire Emblem: Trading Card Game, Fire Emblem 0/Cipher, Fire Emblem: One Hundred Songs of Heroes, Fire Emblem Engage (Manga), Fire Emblem: Hasha no Tsurugi, Fire Emblem Heroes - A Day in the Life, Fire Emblem Fates: Crown of Nibelung, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (Takanagi manga), Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (Ōsawa manga), Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (Hino manga), Fire Emblem: Wind Mage, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (Fujimori manga), Fire Emblem: Heir of Light, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (manga), Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light (Hakoda manga), Fire Emblem (Shimada manga), Fire Emblem Gaiden (manga), Fire Emblem (Sano and Watanabe manga), April fools videos,

Closely related series,

Smash Bros series(again), Dynasty Warriors series (and by extension Gundam, Mahjong, Samurai Warriors, the irl Hundred Years' War, Fist of the North Star, Legends of Troy, One Piece, The Legend of Zelda, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Berserk, Ninja Gaiden & Persona 5), Tetris, Dragalia lost, monster Hunter, Project x Zone, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Megami tensei(Shin Megami Tensei, Last Bible, Majin Tensei, Devil Summoner, Persona, Devil Children, Digital Devil Saga, Devil Survivor, Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku, Card Summoner, Shin Megami Tensei CG Senki: Dante no Mon, Successor to the White Blade/Heavenly Cage/False Millennial Kingdom, Maken X/Maken X Another, Catherine & Metaphor: ReFantazio)

Directly Inspired by fire emblem: TearRing saga series (Utna heroes, the canceled TearRing saga 2, Berwick Saga, canceled Holmes Saga, Canceled Vestaria Chonicle 687-693) Vestaria Saga (Knight of the Fallen Kingdom and the Star Priestess, Heroes of Lukka, The Sacred Sword of, Silverbirch, Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister, 3rd game), Inazuma 11, Dark Deity 1 & 2, Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, banned of the maid, Lawd record of the three kingdoms, Kitchen sync alohla, Mochi conquest, Across swords(canceled game), those who rule, Astral throne, & (MAYBE), Final Fantasy Tactics, Aoi Sekai no Chushin de

Popular fire emblem fangames/fics: Myrm emblem, Four kings, Last promise, Sacred echos, Vision quest, Andarom saga, Abyssal depths, Deity device, The Last Promise, Justice and Pride, Souls of the Forest, Iron Emblem, Chaos Mode, Generic War, Tower Defense Emblem 3,, Roguelike Emblem, Project Ember, Call of the Armor, Midnight Sun, Bloodlines, Road to Ruin, Elibean Nights, Fire Emblem: Remembrance, Shattered Songs of Faith, Riding Free, Aria of the Black Eagle, On Black Wings, Fire Emblem Fates Rewrite (Support Conversations)(holy fuck 1000 chapters?), Paean of the Sea and Sky, The Savior King, The Master Tactician and the Queen of Liberation, The Key to Your Heart, Festering Under Your Skin

very cool thank youu d(^^")

[starays13]

They’re awesome! You did a good job!

Soooo~

Now that the episode's been out for a little bit, I can now announce that I had the honor and privilege to draw the designs for the Lunar and Earth Show (Blackshore INC) our first introduced Astral Body-- GEMINI!!!

I did a lot of research to help with the design! Gemini's element sign is Air, so I have them hair that resembles a nebula cloud. The planet they rule under is Mercury, so I based their color palette off the planet itself! And the main color associated with Gemini is yellow. And ofc each of their eyes resemble the head stars of the constellation itself.

It makes me happy to see people are liking the design so far! It was really fun to do! (and to be clear I only did the design, I did not make the models/rigs)

[revserrayyu]

2.6 Penacony thoughts [part 2]

**Spoiler warning** for everything up until the end of Rappa’s flashbacks. I’ve already finished the story by now so just be mindful of that if I do mention something earlier than intended or anything that happens towards the very end if you haven’t completed everything yet.

Knowing now that this whole ninja idea is a big delusion inside her own head is kinda sad honestly. I would’ve been down to see an entire society with people just like her.. but nope.

It is so darn sweet how much Dan Heng cares about his Astral Express family, aaaaah. His voice sounded so tender too.

I may be stupid, but for the longest time I believed that there was only one Emanator for each path, which is why when I heard Dan Heng mention Dr. Primitive as one for Erudition I thought, nah, that’s Herta.. until I remembered the Arbiter Generals are all sorta blessed by Lan, so clearly there can be multiple Emanators, yea? Do correct me if I’m wrong on any account. I don’t delve too deep into Aeon lore often. Regardless, if what Dan Heng says is true (which I assume it is because he’s incredibly intelligent), then yeah, this doctor could be a problem.

I love and cherish every moment Rappa breaks out into a rap. I’m sure each one of her voice actors did wonderfully.

The speed at which I chose the swear option should be feared. I didn’t even bother reading the other choices and I don’t regret it one bit because each of these lines is beyond hilarious!

Looking back now and I noticed there was an option to get the Trailblazer to rap instead, which would of course impressed Rappa, but.. yeah, guess that’s something I’ll never hear.

I couldn’t help myself but choose the swears a third time because of how hard Rachael’s delivery and the constant *bana* censors had me completely dying of laughter. Boothill would be so proud of me.

Never once while watching all version’s trailers would I have ever imagined that all those monkeys running around would’ve actually been people.. oh dear. This patch when from silly to serious real quick.

I honestly was a bit surprised to hear Rappa talk without the usual ninja jargon. I’ve grown rather fond of it and her quirkiness by now. Just a shame it’s all mainly a result of the experiments she was put through.

Psycho. But I’ll give him a pass. It did amuse me how we in fact change scenes right after this.

Oh huzzah he’s not totally corrupt by siding with Profnana. He has some standards and I dig that for him.

I don’t know why but he gives me the tiniest Aventurine vibes here and the whole “unlike the house, the gambler knows exactly what they want,” quote comes to mind.. at least the part about Reca knowing his main goal and how he’ll do anything to achieve it perfectly.

This scene.. is doing things to me. I’m touched by how adorable young Boothill looks and yet I’m also trying my best to look respectfully at older Boothill’s.. um, everything. I don’t own our space cowboy so it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read his lore, but I thought his whole cyborg body transformation was done all at once, sorta like how it was depicted in his light cone instead of by pieces like this.. I dunno, maybe he was taken apart and put back together several times, but goddamn, he looks amazing. But are they saying there’s only ten years difference between these two versions of him? Talk about a glow up.

Thank aeons this patch exists and gives me all the Boothill action I originally hoped for when this man was first introduced. I still don’t think he did much in the main Penacony story, but he’s certainly making up for lost time now.

This. Him. Yup. That’s all.

I’ll be completely honest.. if Rappa was actually as serious as she appears here, I’d love her twice as much. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the goofball she normally is, but there’s just something about the look in her eyes and that no-nonsense vibe she’s giving off here that tickles my fancy so much more.

Not entirely sure if it’s a common trait for Memokeepers to be capable of teleporting people, but it’s definitely an interesting little trick. From Black Swan’s cards to Mr. Reca’s film reels, I wonder what other possible methods are out there. Oh, and goes without saying, but I hope he’s playable in the future.

The moment Rappa’s flashback begins inside a lab and other people were seen inside of tubes, I knew our girl wasn’t an ordinary person. I didn’t know if I should be upset or intrigued by this twist because it certainly wasn’t the kind of backstory I was expecting for her. I didn’t pull for her so I didn’t even think to read through her character stories, so all this came outta left field for me.

I did know that her E6 portrait shows the back of her neck and what I originally assumed to be a tattoo of three little dots, or even something like a curse mark, but hearing all this now has made it very clear that it ain’t no tattoo!

Bruh.. and we thought Rappa was the true weeb. Nah, it’s this dude. She’s only living in a Naruto themed delusion because this guy loves a manga too much.

Well, at least this all explains why her combat path is Erudition. Not gonna lie but I kinda love when there’s an actual valid reason behind a character’s path. Sure, it makes perfect sense why people like Gepard is Preservation and Feixiao being The Hunt, but someone like Jiaoqiu? A military healer whom isn’t Abundance? Yeah, we all questioned why but his past experiences with war and how that trauma changed him undoubtedly support his path of Nihility. Now we get Rappa who follows The Hunt due to being a Galaxy Ranger, but her combat path is Erudition because that’s exactly what she was created to be.

Well fudge, didn’t expect this dude to resort to such violence. That’s usually Boothill’s job.

Oohhh dear.. before we concern ourselves with the obvious, who even is this other Galaxy Ranger who showed up? You think we’re ever gonna meet them? And how long until this game finally allows someone to swear without any censors?? I eagerly await the day and still place my hopes on it being for Seele.

So, um.. yeah. I say those experiments were quite successful and Rappa is someone to be feared. She’s so unbothered by the dead bodies around her, but I guess after ten years of suffering, you just become numb to this kinda stuff. Thank aeons to whomever saved her and allowed her to join the Galaxy Ranger instead. Our girl definitely softened up since then.

And with all that troublesome backstory out of the way, I’ll leave the rest for one last post. Much less serious from here on out.

[hoyotunes]

Dream Drifting from Astral Theater Vol. 2 Jing.W, HOYO-MiX

[oryndoll]

i wanted to write about the House of Hope and how that plays into Knife's story since it is a pretty significant thing for him and the Emperor (and Shadowheart). basically Knife's story of his first time experiencing ego death because the Emperor isn't yielding and won't be manipulated/the story of this image

cut for length

Knife is pretty young during BG3 (around the same age as Wyll, but younger in actual years since dragonborn grow fast) and I think he's still in that stage of his life where things generally go his way and he thinks he's indestructible/infallible. He's never had anything in his life that he's truly afraid of losing. The things he really cares about are material, inanimate, have no will of their own; and he's never had a strong enough connection with anyone to care about losing them. Summarily I don't think he's ever had that big Ego Death you fucked up, buddy moment in his life - until the House of Hope.

When it comes to the House of Hope, Knife understands that this is a pretty big thing for a few key players (Lae'zel and Voss/the githyanki, Raphael of course, and the Emperor); that being said, he's not exactly absorbing the strong feelings surrounding the Orphic Hammer. He's there thinking/feeling - I want to break into the Hells- I want to see it - I want to kill Raphael. His approach to the whole thing is centered on his impulsive thrill-seeking, and he has a sort of "I'll decide when I get there" attitude to the whole thing.

When the Emperor is advising - warning - the party not to go to the Hells in the Devil's Fee, Knife is basically brushing it off. A kind of callous, "Relax, it'll be fine." I think what's running through his head is that he truly feels that the Emperor will have a "haha, oh, you" moment when it all turns out to be okay in the end. On the other hand, he's ignoring Lae'zel's passion for the whole thing, knowing that, in the end, he's doing what the Emperor tells them to if it ever comes down to it. He knows that this has existential importance to both of them, but he's still centering himself in what they're doing going forward.

The first moment of dread comes when the party can no longer hear the Emperor. It didn't occur to Knife that their connection would be cut - and, unlike the rest of the group, Knife enjoys having his brain invaded 24/7 - so this is where he starts to get spooked and realize something is wrong.

Returning from the Hells, the Emperor comes in swinging. He is NOT ABOUT IT AT ALL. Nothing Knife is feeling or thinking holds any sway over the Emperor - which is shocking to Knife to say the least, especially with how malleable the rest of the party has been. He's been able to convince the other party members of basically anything - he bullied past Lae'zel to get to the zaithisk first; he pressured Astarion to drink Araj's blood and somehow managed to be forgiven; ate an Astral Tadpole and had the whole party looking at him sideways but somehow still everyone fucks with him. So this is a very cold splash of water to the face, like freezing cold. He's always managed to play the game and get out of a bad spot, but Emperor is a far superior player to him and has him pinned, basically.

Knife tries to explain that he took the Hammer to mollify Lae'zel - nothing more - and that he won't use it. Then Emps serves the finishing blow:

The Emperor: I wish I could trust you, but that you felt you needed to have it at all tells me that you are not worthy of that trust. After all we shared…Nonetheless, our fates are bound. And in the absence of a happier union, I will accept a useful one.

A crushing blow for our teenage mutant ninja lizard.

This is probably the first time in Knife's life he's distraught. He's never felt that before, in quite this way. He doesn't cry about it, but he basically spirals in his own way. The way the story plays out in my head: the Emperor basically puts their whole fling on ice, and the silence is gnawing at Knife. And forget about tentacle time, no way Jose, that's off the table.

Knife does a bunch of impulsive things to get the Emperor's attention back to him, in a way - basically this culiminates with Knife giving into a drow fivesome extravaganza at Sharess' Caress (Shadowheart and Halsin couldn't stop hinting at it); and then Knife breaking things off with Shadowheart officially.

Seeing that, the Emperor relents (it was okay with being the other woman and it also feels that it's a poor decision to jeopardize the group's cohesion/emotional health so close to the finish line) and they resume the fling (but only for so long until the end of the brain and the Emperor is like 👋 see ya lmaoo).