#bg demon 1

[obey-me-but-bad]

4 : I am a student and I must scheme

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[scalproie]

bitch just jumped

[doodlboy]

They're just different flavors of the same guy

[voros-kiralyno]

Closed starter for @unsettledspirits [ April ]

Being the Alpha is a lot of work, a lot of constant work and most of the time its small shit that Nova didn't actually want anything to do with. Unfortunately, Celeste wouldn't do ALL of the small stuff for her, so there were times Nova had to suck it up and go handle things herself. One of those things were surprise raids on establishments her undercover teams found shady dealings going on. Especially revolving around D U S T.

Lots of places like to skate under the radar selling charged items just slightly above legal limits in hopes that the small overflow will go un-noticed. However those same people illegally sell in bulk. You can only have ONE charged item in your possession at a time, and even with a certified vendors license you can only sell them one at a time within a certain time frame. Logs are to be kept, records of levels, purchases. They're dangerous items in the wrong hands, and its Nova's job to keep her people SAFE. So that meant sometimes she went to bully people instead of sit at home in her very comfy chair with a book.

"The longer you try to deny it the more of my time you're wasting. Which isn't good for anyone involved. There was an investigation. There is documentation. You were CAUGHT, it's not an accusation, this is a seizure. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I sincerely suggest you choose the easy way and surrender all of your charged items. Quick, easy, and-"

A loud crash drew Nova's attention from the Demon trying to smooth talk his way out of being in trouble. The noise's origin happened to be a human girl looking very distraught at the fact that she had dropped a box of what looked like E X P E N S I V E merchandise.

The girl was clearly a slave. It wasn't uncommon in the underworld, especially for Demons. People often traded their kids or other various family members to settle a debt. It wasn't something Nova condoned, but it didn't surprise her that humans did that. She'd put in a law that gave them a high bar for care. Nova didn't particularly LIKE humans, but she refused to let them be starved, or strung up for show, cruel and slow deaths- none of it was allowed. And they all were required the chance to work towards freedom with a reasonable goal. Of course they had to stay in the underworld because exposure risk to the humans- even if most of the time they threw those people in loony bins and called them crazy. Better safe than sorry.

Something about the way this one was very skinny, and seemed to flinch at her OWN quick movements, told Nova she was not under the protection of those laws like she should be.

Nova crossed the room and knocked the box back out of the raven haired girls hands. Rude, but its Nova so. She watched her try to pick it up again and quickly spoke.

"Leave it. Stand up." She put her hands on her hips, really oozing that Alpha energy as she looked the girl up and down. The nearby demon oozing some very nervous energy in contrast.

"What's your name?"

[batbabydamian]

The Boy Wonder #1 by Juni Ba rambling about why every time i open this book, i stare in wonder...HAHA and ofc!! how cute Damian is!!

Juni Ba’s style is so absurdly effective in telling a fairy tale for the ages. It’s a stunning blend of simplicity and complexity I'M GRIPPING THE PAGES AGAINST MY EYES…

Before getting into the interiors, THE COVER!! It associates autumn leaves to Damian's Robin title through the iconic cape shape/color; and on top of that, for a Robin going through a big transition in his life...a season of change one might say...Juni Ba your brain...

Damian and the leaves being the only colored parts of this cover is nice in focusing on those elements, but i also like to think by not coloring the background it prepares you to expect impressive inkwork in this book.

On that note, the interiors!! Starting off with Ba's backgrounds of Gotham as it establishes the strange new world that our young hero has been thrust into:

We get a neat tracking shot following a champagne glass that gives us a glimpse of Gotham from the upper echelons to the downtrodden in "Underwell"

This opening sequence quickly lays out the environment Damian will be traveling through in this series! It also sets the tone for some silliness with the cute zoom on the champagne glass before it BOKs the robber lol. Along with Ba's inks, O'Halloran's colors makes every part of Gotham pop - especially love the golds of the higher society shifting into the blues of the underbelly!!

Besides Damian’s personal conflict, Gotham feels like its own entity that he has to contend with. The dialogue speaks for itself, but within the art as well!!

"This city of ours swallows and crushes everything it can" -> a gargoyle's beak over Damian, crowds of people, and walls of advertising

"You've seen it too...the way it coils around one's mind from below." -> bridges and a passing train on a rail viaduct towering over a civilian

"A dark voice calling as if to say..." -> literally, "FEED ME"

LOVELY SHOT OF MOVEMENT... and i love how Damian's venture into Gotham opens with him passing a tree - its branches and leaves are the most organic element on the page before getting into the gritty details of the city! Some yammering because the inks are. so cool: the delicate lines of the leaves in the tree to the thicker/bigger lined ones closer to the camera on the right; the background inks allowing space around Damian's form + the fine line of his grapple!! More O'Halloran praise - PRETTY, and love his coloring over Ba's bg lines, particularly here, keeping the leaves darker on the right.

It's not only a pretty page it's just a really clean layout!! Ba exhibits this throughout the book but i really enjoy it here - from Damian nyooming, we head into these last 3 panels. his cute lil "Robin" shape easily draws the eye to the tops of the panels as we take in Gotham's liveliness alongside the lettering/narration

and the "Robin" shape?? SO CUTE. it's instantly familiar to us as Robin!! bold outline and filled with yellow...it's a Robin in movement!!...AN AUTUMN LEAF IN THE WIND... yeah, still not over that 😭

Damian's inciting incident is introduced in the former panel with a gorgeous backdrop of Gotham in the distance (plus itty bitty Trinity cameo haha). The shot parallels!! beautifully!! in the final page!! Damian is now in the depths of Gotham, his objective out of reach. The colors are of note too, where the familiar yellows of Gotham are suddenly a startling green after the demon makes its appearance. The Gotham land looks even more unfamiliar, which prompts Damian to seek help.

Some speculation, but the green could also be associated with the more mythical side of demons and such (like the ghost?? of the thief), but it could even imply there's a connection to the Al Ghuls themselves as it's the only other time green is so prominently used.

Now that the land of Gotham is established, popping in other fav bgs!

More lovely mix of Ba's inks and O'Halloran's colors!! especially allowing some of the brush/marker strokes to show faintly as part of the twinkling sky...STUNNING!! 😭 i love this whole page but this panel gets me weepy, SMALL DAMIAN IN THE VAST UNIVERSE COMBINED WITH THIS LINE "He knew he could be great. How unfair of the world to make him feel so small." KICKS MY ASS... i need to lie down

YAPPING AT MORE WONDERFUL INKING: the suggestion of windows offscreen from the frames casting these thick lines over the walls and stairwell; the minute shadow details over the railing; the hatching on the suits in the portrait; the framed portrait being its own panel!! cute hooded Damian in the gutter space looking in on the portrait/panel!! CUTE HOODED DAMIANS!!

SPEAKING OF PANELS, along with general effectiveness and efficiency, there's more whimsy in others!! like this kickass page of Nightwing whipping his escrima from first panel -> afterimage lines going POWPOWPOW hitting demons from a distance to ones closer to the camera -> and back into his hand!! IT'S SO GOOD AND SO FUN!!

Ba's action employs more diagonal panels, and characters are less restrained within boxes - there's more energy and freedom across the page!

not necessarily focusing on the action for this one, but THE WHIMSY!! the border itself is goop!! Also gotta point out that looming hammer shape!!

Nightwing's critical hit spans the entire page!! from silhouettes of a flip -> flashy stomping pose/Clayface -> to a distant shot of Dick landing

and a smooth finisher page!! love the motion lines on Dick's arms and waist + his head and arc effects popping outside of the borders; then the smaller panels for quick activity, and the final WOOB WOOB WOOB LOL i can hear this sound effect just as much as i can see it

Along with O'Halloran on colors, Aditya Bidikar on lettering works seamlessly with Ba's vision!! The text boxes for the fairy tale narration are like strips of yellowing pages from an old storybook!! Had to look up the term for this lol, but also reminiscent of those storybooks, there's even a use of "drop caps" - the big fancy capital letter!

Smaller things of note, but the bit of "Weakness" text from Ra's has a kind of. grandiose feel to it. Then the cute B< Damian behind the window!! Love how the bubble and text are faded behind the glass too! The end of the bubble tail is a nice touch as it matches well with Ba's bg inking :0

Otherwise, it seems Ba has done a majority of the lettering - dropping a couple of my favs below!!

also just this whole page: the very loud AAAH! text draws both Damian's and the reader's attention to the panel below!! it's a cool transition to a new shot where you can see Damian's silhouette on the building! The final panel is cartoony violence off-page through the bold POW BOOM SLAM haha + DAMIAN'S LIL FIST!!🥺 and the guy's tooth RIP

Pure speculation - Juni Ba's concept art included Carrie Kelley, so i'm wondering if the hostage in the beginning could be her and we'll be returning to this moment in time by the end. The worn Robin colors are similar to the design + their head is conveniently covered.

In terms of story, I'm obviously heavily biased, but the initial read got me rolling in emotions with how it has you caring for Damian. Damian as a character is so fantastical in essence - it’s part of his individual charm in the batfam cast! an heir of two kingdoms, born and raised with great expectations suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar land. he has a sword. he has a dragon bat for a companion. he is haunted by the sins he has committed. he is two apples tall. he's truly fairytale material!!

LIKE...past the panels of only his silhouettes, this is our introductory appearances of Damian. It's laid out clearly in the narration, but this parallel is SO GOOD: from the powerful and ornate visuals of Damian and the Al Ghuls -> to a simple panel of Batman's shadow behind a boy littered in scars, stripped of his home and status

Damian is out of his element and proves himself in the way he knows how!!

just kick me down a flight of stairs why don't you. i don't know which messes me up more, the top 3 or bottom 3 panels. His facial expressions!! his expectations for approval dashed!! Damian's hand reaching for his father!! only to be left alone with the body. The page after this is the final nail in the coffin in feeling just how lost he is in the world before he acts on it. And you root for him the entire way!!😭

Despite Damian's fanciful background there's so much heart to be shown in his struggles and discoveries - and this classic form of a fairy tale lays it out so brilliantly!! It's shaping up to be an amazing balance of heavier elements and whimsy based on this first issue, and it leaves you wanting more!!

Besides being a thoroughly enjoyable read, it's inspiring work!! i've ordered Juni Ba's other books to consume more of his storytelling, and here's the ones i've found so far if you're interested in checking them out as well!!

Mobilis: My Life with Captain Nemo

Monkey Meat

Djeliya: A West African Fantasy Epic

The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber

okay shockingly, i didn't blab about how cute Damian is as much as i thought i would, but i think the collage at the top speaks for itself lol

this is all you need to know how cute Damian is in this!! his cheeks are so pinchable, it was done on page!! 🥺 these panels obliterate me

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Apr 7th

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1. Would have been Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian.

After the Sunshoot campaign and for some reason Wei Wuxian is in Cloud Recess and Lan Qiren discovers that they don’t have a core. But the lan clan had a technique to fix a lost core for others that had been attacked by others that could melt their core. @nikkiwhitecraft

I was the requester for #1.

I am sure that part of the story that Wei Wuxian and Lan Q had to travel, and that was when it was discovered that Wei Wuxian had no core, and Lan Q was annoyed he never said anything and the Lan Clan had a technique to restore a core that was lost/melted as the core melting clan was known.

Thats all I remeber

NOT FOUND Righteous at a Cost by thunderwear (G, 21k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, no one dies, LQR finds out about WWX’s core, WWX and LQR are friends??, In My Fic?, its more likely than you think, LWJ in the bg like whats happening?, Fluff, WWX goes to Gusu, Mutual Pining, Golden Core Reveal) Might be this? LQR discovers WWX lost his core, brings him back to CR & finds a way to restore it

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2. Hey! Im looking for a fic where the jins got the tiger tally, and that they wanted to 'flood the world with vermillion light'. I remember that it was post-the first siege of the burial mounds, and WY was maybe dead? After which the other sects had to fight the Jins, and there was also something about the people wishing that WY was alive. Please help me find it! Thank you so much!

FOUND! I'm pretty sure this is the deleted "When the World Comes Crumbling Down, you Will Call my Name" by pft_a_Frog22. The archive link was https://archiveofourown.org/works/35867848.

the deleted fic for #2 can be found at the wayback machine here

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3. Hi! I’m searching for a fiction on AO3 where Wei Wuxian is a Rogue cultivator, he founds Lan Wangji floating in a river/lake and saves him. Wangji don’t remember anything due to the trauma he has suffered and his core is damaged altogether. He had a severe injury on his back but when he recovers he starts to travel with Wei Wuxian, not knowing his brother is searching for him. Because of his poor health issues he breakdown with a fever in the middle of a hunt, far from everything, during this time Lan Wangji loses consciousness, Wei Ying is visited by a strange fox spirit, really creepy whom he made a pact with to save Lan Wangji life's. In the history, Wei Ying has an uncle that reach both of them to advise something, Lan Wangji discorver to be a really powerfull fox spirit, i think they call him Huxia or something like this, Wei Ying "dies" by the venom of a fierce corpse (most like become one of them) and is ressurected by the Jade Emperor himself, the Demon subdue palace is actually a palace and Wangji's mother was the previous Huxia.

I’m going crazy cuz I remember ALL the history, but not the name of the fiction.

I appreciate the help with all my little heart. ❤️ @myukisora

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4. Hi, could you please help me find a wangxian fic? I apologize for the inconvenience, especially because i don’t remember much of the plot except select few parts of it and i dont remember if it was a thread on twitter or on ao3.

The scenes i do remember are as followed: Prior to this scene, wangxian might have had an argument or were avoiding each other because i dont think they had spoken to each other in a while. The scene i remember is WWX going to JYL’s place where everyone is gathered for a get together, wwx dotes over JL, going on about how he’s the favorite uncle. When he enters the living room, he sees LWJ on the couch, and sitting next to him is JZX half brother MXY talking to him. He thinks they are sitting a little too close and he gets a bit jealous but doesn’t say anything. I’m not sure if I remember it right, but i think people or mainly nhs kept saying how MXY resembles WWX, worsening the situation. Wangxian and their whole eye contact happens and everyone in the room is tense because of their interaction or lack their of. WWX suddenly goes to the bathroom, leaning into the sink…waiting and LWJ follows him in. They end up reconciling.

Thats all I remember, I know its not much, and i have been struggling as well because of it going through my bookmarks on ao3 and twitter. I’m hoping someone remembers this part as well and can mention the fic. Thank you!

Hi, the fic you mentioned is not the one :/ i am so sorry for the inconvenience. I can try adding more context. It’s the fic about WWX entering JYL’s party at her place and finding LWJ sitting on a couch with MXY. The scene is towards the very end so MXY’s presence is more of a cameo, he wasn’t present for the fic. WX might have a fwb situation that went wrong or it might be a lwj fucks fic. Lwj follows wwx to the br, its tense as wwx stares at him through the mirror but they both make up

NOT FOUND Talk Hard by DeviyudeThoolika (E, 161k, wangxian, LXC/JYL, JZX/WQ, JC/MM, Modern, College/University, Roommates/Housemates, rare pairs galore, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Separations, Getting Back Together, BAMF WWX, Drunk LWJ, Protective WWX, Good Parent YZY, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Cultivation Sect Politics, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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5. Hi,

I’m trying to find a fanfic where instead of Jin Zixuan dying to Wen Ning at the pass it was Wei wuxian who pushed him out of the way and died instead? I’ve been trying for ages and still can find it. Thank you!

neither of these are exactly what you described, but it might be

NOT FOUND! A Butterfly Flaps, A Sword Stabs by RadAceFriend (T, 37k, JZX/JYL, JZX & WWX, JZX & LWJ, JZX & JGY, JZX & JL, Major Characted Death, JZX Lives, WWX does not, background wangxian, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Sect Leader JZX, POV JZX, Canon Divergence, the horrifying experience of killing someone you didn't like much, and finding out that you're one of the only people you know upset about it, Wen Remnants Live, LSZ is a Wen, WangXian Get a Happy Ending)

NOT FOUND! in this place where we don’t have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko (T, 42k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WWX dies at Qiongqi path, Demonic Cultivation)

FOUND! finding you always, all ways by BlueFrogs (T, 31k, WangXian, ChengQing, Reincarnation, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Romance, Memory Loss, technically there is character death, but he comes back lol, Age Difference, due to reincarnation)

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6. Hi, hope you are having a great day! Could you, please, help find a fic, which, I think, had a wangxian arranged marriage due to growing Wen threat, but honestly cannot remember the exact premise. But there was a scene where wrh manages to get wq married to lwj as a second wife, and wwx felt like he failed the Jiang-Lan alliance. And there was a big confrontation between wq and wwx, where she tells him the reason for the marriage was to save her family. And lwj might have been ill or cursed and wearing a mask (not sure).

FOUND? The deleted "A Price to Pay" by wangxianist.

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7. Looking for help finding the name of this fic on ao3 I’m have trouble hunting it back down. Burial mounds settlement days canon divergence.

Essentially the premise is that the people living in Yiling often see Wei Ying taking care of and teaching A-Yuan by the river and a woman one day who was also there to wash her clothes asked him to look after her son while she was busy. This snowballed into Wei Ying basically running a little informal school out of Yiling where he teaches and just looks after any child that is brought there, including orphans and prostitute’s children which is kinda illegal. Lan Zhan knows and regularly visits. If the children show aptitude for cultivation they usually get sent to the Lan or (later in the story) the Jiang. The rest of the Wens kinda accidentally become a part of the Yiling community so much so that they all move out of the burial mounds and into the town proper. Because they’ve all left the mounds and disconnected pretty hard from the cultivation community they don’t even realize that the Jin’s sent people to attack the mounds. They found no one and declared to the world that they had slayed the rest of the wen dogs alongside Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng only finds out his brother is alive because he’s been informed that a small school in the Jiang territory hasn’t been paying taxes and when he goes to investigate finds Wei Ying safe and sound. @coffeehousefanfics

FOUND? Just as the Snow Melts by draechaeli (T, 66k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, Everybody Lives AU, Canon Divergence)

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8. Hello, could you please help me find a fic where Lan Zhan finds a number to call Wei Ying which Help? to people at night and calls himself patriarch yilin afterwards They (wei Ying and lan Zhan) meet in the university library

FOUND? Maybe You’re the Reason by Clearpearls (E, 67k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Phone Sex, slight D/s, Secret Identity, Praise Kink, Phone Sex Operator WWX, he’s part-time though, slight internalized sexual repression, Fluff, Light Angst, Dirty Talk Orgasm Delay/Denial, Slow Burn, Sub LWJ, Bottom LWJ, Vibrators, Aftercare, Introspection)

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9. There's an au where Wangxian are like murder husbands and it has very dark themes. It's a series but I remember one of the fics in it had a scene where a woman tries to get their attention so the other cuts off her body parts or something like that? Would you be able to help me find it?

FOUND? So Full Of Love (Wouldn't Know Where to Start) by witchupbitch (M, 63k, wangxian, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Possessive LWJ, Protective LWJ, Blood and Violence, Killing, Idiots in Love, Humor, Mafia AU, Modern, Flirting, shameless WWX, Confident WWX, Explicit Language, Swearing, Mutual Sexual Tension, dark LWJ, Dark WWX, They're both twisted, Exhibitionism, Sex, Possessive Behavior, Unhealthy Relationships, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings)

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10. Hey!!! Love your work!

Do you know of a fic where jiang cheng's younger self sort of takes over his future self for some while before going back and this repeats for some time? I remember a young jiang cheng talking to older wwx. Older wwx doesn't believe that it's really the younger jc so he asks him to ask about why wwx dislikes dogs (i think). Young jc asks young wwx and it's because www had a pet dog named 'doggie' who had turned on him during the winter. Sorry that's all I can remember

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11. Hi, I dunno if my ask got lost in the mail but i was looking for a fic that had a line "lan wangji was a musician, he know how to make his hands do different things" in reference to one hand jackin wwx off and the other up his ass. if this sounds familiar lemme know please

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12. Hi! I really am looking for this story in AO3 and still can't find it. It was about Wei Wuxian who got married to Wen Chao but Lan Zhan couldn't take it so he plans to take Wei Wuxian back by claiming Wei Wuxian each time he got (even in the wedding night of WWX and WC) and destroying the company of the Wens. As they (LWJ & WWX) continued the deed, WWX ended up pregnant and LWJ is more than determined to take WWX back. I do hope you can help me find this story. Thank you in advance!😘

FOUND? 姻緣 | this marriage was always predestined by saccharinings (E, 43k, wangxian, Cheating, Infidelity, not between wangxian, WWX is married and LWJ persuades him to cheat on his husband with him, Dark LWJ, A/B/O, Feminizing Language, Exhibitionism, Size Difference, WagnXian Have a Breeding Kink, Stomach Bulge, Possessive LWJ, Manipulation, WWX Wears Lingerie, Rape/Non-con Elements, for one part, Hair-pulling Kink, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Mirror Sex, Vibrators, Phone Sex, Rimming, Edgeplay, slight choking kink, Light Bondage, Inappropriate Use of Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, LJY's Big Fat Crush on Milfxian, Pregnant WWX, WangXian Endgame, Spanish Translation)

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13. Hello! I've been trying to find a fic I lost on AO3 for a few days now so hopefully you can help 💚💚

It was canon-verse but an AU where lwj and wwx hadn't met and wwx was still the Yiling Patriarch. Someone has an idea to give wwx a "bride" and wwx picks lwj and he goes to live at the burial grounds with wwx and the wens. At some point lwj gets stabbed and almost dies and wwx reveals he picked lwj because he assumed lwj would be in on some kind of plan to spy on/hurt wwx and the wens but lwj wasnt a part of that at all. It had a happy ending but i cant remember exactly what it was. Pls help 🥺 i want it in my bookmarks soooo bad

FOUND? 💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it's gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn't begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27)

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14. For the next fox finder

Pls help me find this fic where wwx and lwj are night hunting and wwx gets hurt badly lwj makes a deal with a spirit/god but in exchange to save wwx he will lose his love/ emotions (he only acts on what’s needed not on the things he like or is want)

Wwx ofc suffers because of this but is able to re awake lwj love after 3 years while he’s playing wangxian (( he has already lost hope lwj would recover his emotions))

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15. hi! im looking for a post canon fic where jc sends a letter to cloud recesses saying that gusu lan owes him a debt since wwx married into the lan. lwj responds very angrily. it wasnt jc friendly and at the end of the fic, wwx finds a bitter letter from jc who dies alone. wwx and lwj live longer and happier lives. id love it if you could find it, thank you!

FOUND! The Price of a Golden Core by AshayaTReldai (M, 9k, wangxian, LXC & WWX, WWX & JC, Major Character Death, Angst, Tension, Aggression, JC pays the price for his choices, demanding letters, JC is a Brat, Supportive Lan Brothers, WWX deserves the best, Life Debt, Sad Ending, Sad Ending for JC)

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16. Hi! So, I’m looking for an AO3 fic, Lán Zhan/Wei Ying, that I read what feels like years ago and I can’t find it again. I remember it is a bit of a dark lan zhan or dark cloud recess fic, with Wei Ying being brought to this ‘hunt’ type thing with a group of people. I believe all the people brought are given Lán Zhans scent, so that he may track them. I also believe that it’s not expected that the participants will survive, and they’re being offered a reward if they do. Please help me find it! @diabolic17

FOUND? 🔒 Five Fifteen by 3neetee (M, 11k, wangxian, rape/non-con, modern, ABO, alpha LWJ, omega WWX, mating runs, graphic depictions of violence, dom/sub undertones, light bondage, rape/non-con elements, dark LWJ, betrayal)

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17. Hey mods! 💜

I’m pretty sure I found this fic on here but now I can’t seem to find it. I’m not sure if it was on a itmf or fic finder. But it’s the one where wwx takes a curse from some ghost in order for her to move on. It’s a curse where he can’t see or feel anyone that feels “strongly” about him. He assumes the juniors all either hate or fear him and I forgot what he assumed lwj. They say to break the curse he has to accept the others’ feelings. So he tried to accept the fact that jin ling hated him although jin ling did not mean what he said and was confused at how wwx reacted. I think lan jinyi was the one who figured out wwx couldn’t see them because he launched at him as if he was going to attack him and wwx didn’t flinch. In the end he starts seeing and feeling impressions of them until he can see them in full again. Please help? I’ve been through my history and bookmarks and all open tabs of ao3. No such luck.

Thanks for all that you do! @jikcf

FOUND! See Me, Feel Me (Listening to You) by Ghost_Honey (T, 29k, WangXian, POV WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, WWX’s Abyssmal Self-Esteem, Emotional Healing, Angst, The Juniors love their Senior Wei, Curses, WWX is an Unreliable Narrator, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling)

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18. Hi! I’m searching for a fic that I’m pretty sure was a threadfic on twitter... It was foxian and dragonji, and LWJ came across WWX while he was in heat in a cave and they mated. WWX went back to Lotus Pier not knowing who he’d been with only to find himself pregnant. He has hybrid babies and LWJ eventually tracks him down and he turns out to be a prince or something? WWX goes to visit Cloud Recesses, still unsure about LWJ. There was also a scene when one of the babies gets snatched by an eagle or some other bird and LWJ saves them? I think that’s as far as I got, as it was a WIP at the time and I lost track of it. Thank you!

FOUND? Twitter thread by cerbykerby (wangxian, cw: dubcon, mpreg, memory loss)

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19. Hello! Hope you're well! I've been looking for a fic like crazy and have not been able to find it, so hopefully you know it? It's a fic where instead of nie mingjue dying, nie huisang dies as a result of jgy and nmj attacks the cloud recesses because he blames Lan xichen in part due to him defending jgy. Please help me find this if you can. Thank you in advance!!! 🫶🙏🏼 @cherryblossom8

FOUND! Digging Graves by nirejseki (Not rated, 13k, NHS & NMJ, WWX & XY, wangxian, Revenge, Broken Moral System, Non-Graphic Violence, the masterless sabers)

~*~

20. Pls there was this one fic in ao3 , I was so looking forward to it but I lost it 😭😭😭I don’t know much about it but the summary was smth like Wwx getting pregnant and being in an island?? Shizui grows up and smth please 😭

FOUND? The Winner Takes It All by YilingSani (M, 46k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, Old Friends, One Night Stands, No Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Forgiveness, Second Chances, Inspired by Mamma Mia! (Movies) Teen Pregnancy, Mpreg, mention of miscarriage, Birth Trauma, amniotic fluid embolism)

~*~

[dreadfutures]

blue's apparently daily screenshot binge below (PART 1)

and fair warning. i love a texture. like look at the transparency on these glasses:

or like, the subtle embossing on the icons, and how they fill up over time:

i really need to get my DA screenshot server going again. I still have so many.

i think the person crouching is an elven beggar; consistent with Tevinter Nights stuff

does this person have red hair? can't tell if it's a hood instead. also i'm loving the distinct fashions

if you watch, this guy in the bg is JAMMING

is this a qunari hanging out

SORRY THIS IS SO ME... I KNOW THIS POT ASSET I HAVE STARED AT IT SO OFTEN LMFAO

we literally watch the npcs unblock the area by moving this box i find that so nifty

sorry but the veil rifts look so beautiful

these (rage?) demons are very wolf-like... solas, are you at influence ;-;

this was the moment when I felt my heart stop and went "OH. THEY ARE MIRRORING DAI. OH MY GOD."

i was so enamored that i didn't even notice the pride demon here LMFAO

i remember seeing the motion capture for this balancing act back in 2020... i'm so happy to see it and i can't WAIT to see HOW CROWS MOVE?

GUYS IS THERE CLIMBING.

HERO OF THE INQUISITION. HERO. THATS MY GIRL

look at this pot. i'm obsessed.

Rook: "Do you have my stuff?"

Lace: yeh

Rook has the VG symbol and the iconic purple gold already???

I LOVE THE NEW DEMONS. I LOVE THEM. SO MUCH IMAGINATION. buuuut i do miss the particular HORROR of despair's teeth-face.

whoa look at the glass textures

i believe this is different character art for lace. i'm hyped.

EVERYTHING IS BREAKABLE??? OH MY GOD

FROM DAY 1 I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET OVER THE SIGNS.

the venatori got a new look and they're the ones we saw in the tavern brawl companion trailer

i love the magic theyre using to block your way so you can't just sprint by lol... no salty dark souls runbacks huh

YEET

WE ARE STILL TOUCHING RED LYRIUM WITH OUR BARE HANDS.

NEVE BABY DID YOU MAKE A SNOWGLOBE

sliding

SLIDING

tevinter loves its demon statues

[twstinginthewind]

After more than two years, I now have a resident of Ramshackle dorm to add to my roster.

Introducing Thea Yuuni!

... although, you may have already seen her, in another world. Click through for her back story!

Age: Very Old, but she doesn't know it

Best Subject: Animal Linguistics

Birthday: Unknown

Class: 1-A, a "half student" attending classes with the dire beast, Grim.

Club: Mountain Lovers

Height: 5'5" (165cm)

Hobby: Gardening

Homeland: The Lilac Wood

Likes: Animals, singing

Dislikes: Mortality, feeling alone

Thea Yuuni has the appearance of an ethereally beautiful young woman with long snow-white hair and violet eyes. She moves gracefully, but hesitantly, as if she is thinking about every move before she makes it. She has a soft, musical voice. She very rarely smiles, and her eyes always carry a hint of sadness.

---

Thea came to Twisted Wonderland accidentally; she was part of a small party of adventurers who were seeking out some missing magical creatures. She was being hunted by a ruthless king and his demon, and her party's magician cast a desperate spell in an attempt to hide her from their enemy, changing her form into her current human one. However, the spell that was cast was too powerful, and not only transformed her, but also sent her across worlds, from her own reality into that of Twisted Wonderland.

You see, in her own world, she feared that she was the last of the unicorns, and was prepared to face down King Haggard and the Red Bull to bring the rest of the unicorns back... but the magician Schmendrick did not know the strength of his magic, and despite him and Molly Grue trying to hold the unicorn back, she was sent, transformed, into a different adventure entirely! Thea needs to return to her own world to be able to return to her true form, but the longer she stays human, the more likely it is that she will lose her connection to that part of her; the Unicorn may forever be lost.

---

Thea feels a connection with animals and other magical creatures, and may still carry remnants of her former unicorn magic. She is still getting used to her human body, and can be clumsy if she doesn't focus on her movements. She is both wise and naive; worldly and innocent; unlike any other, and yet, just another human girl.

"Twisted" somewhat from Lady Amalthea, the Last Unicorn. Info sheet bg from @/unfinishedprojectsgalore.

[luckyblackcatxiii]

So, given the CoS campaign is going full swing, I realized I somehow never shared a fairly important figure from Saverio's background (and current plot line) so have some rough doodles of the man of the hour: Allessandro Belmonte, Saverio's personal fighting instructor, master swordsman and #1 best (not) dad.

If you know Saverio's background, you might recognize him as the catalyst that eventually leads my fop getting lost in Barovia. The two were traveling together on Saverio's Grand Tour with Allessandro acting as chaperone, only for the man to mysteriously disappear without a trace one night, leading Saverio to attempt to personally locate and find him out of concern for Allessandro's wellbeing as well as not wanting to be blamed by his family for losing his teacher.

Allessandro is generally a humble, no-nonsense, serious type of man who keeps to himself and his head down, focusing more on his current life as a swords instructor and sharing nothing of his past, which he is intently secretive about despite his student's attempts at prying into it. Saverio looks up to Allessandro with great respect and admiration, seeing him as a role model, a hidalgo and thus makes up heroic stories to fill in the gaps of his mentor's hidden background (which Allessandro doesn't mind too much, not wanting to rain on Sav's creative parade but does try to insist not putting him too much in a hero's role).

I won't get into depth about his secret bg just yet (because I don't want to spoil my fellow party members and also, while providing our DM with some ideas, I can't say exactly what they might choose to do with said building blocks) but let's just say he's been running away from his own demons for awhile now and, after accepting them for a time, might now be aiming to tackle them head on :) (Also if you want, have his small WIP playlist)

[basil-does-arttt]

DMC Questions Anon here!

As we all know today is the 23rd anniversary of the first Devil May Cry game, and the series as a whole. So I want to hear you talk about DMC 1, what you love about it, headcanons you have about it, alternate scenarios you want to share, anything DMC 1 you want to talk about.

Hello again! This is gonna be a long post i have a lot to say lol

DMC 1 was my introduction to the series way back when as a little kid, when i watched an older cousin play it and eventually tried it out myself. This was also the PS2 version, and i was gifted the disc + console as well at some point.

The Alastor cutscene stuck in my head for literal years after i first saw it as a kid, that and DMC 3's mission 20 arena. Every so often it'd pop into my head as a memory, untill recently when i decided to get back into DMC fully rather than just occasionally remembering it.

DMC 1 holds a very special place in my heart because of that, its a huge nostalgia thing for me and is my favourite game in the series.

I love the setting and tone of the game, its so unique compared to the others, of course all in thanks to DMC 1 starting out as RE4. That whole gothic castle, almost horror vibe is something you dont really expect from hack&slash games these days, and even though it made for some real clunky and annoying moments in game (cough cough Nelo 2 and Griffon 2 cough cough...) to me, the good far outweighs the bad.

Oh and the soundtrack! Its so good, every theme works so well in the scene it's used for, even the abient tracks. I will say however, the bg music got real messed up on the HD remaster which is very dissapointing. (it sounds flat and doesn't have any echoing anymore, specicially the divinity statue room and Phantom's church arena in the start of mission 3). It may not be noticable to some who have only played the HD release, but i noticed it immediately coming from the PS2 version oof. I guess i have to be greatful that a HD release exists in the first place though, and it is a very old game. Still.

The combat also, (and this might not be an opinion shared by everyone which is fine) i feel is the smoothest out of any Dante in any game. All the attacks are so responsive, and although you're limited, you can still style on enemies pretty easily.

Finally the bosses. Arguably the best lineup of any DMC game, every boss is fun in it's own way and brings something new to the table in terms of mechanics. Phantom is a lot of timing correctly, Nelo pushes your fighting style to be more agressive and direct, Griffon challenges your dodging skills, Nightmare is a puzzle solving boss, and Mundus is all three. The designs are also amazing, and most of the arenas are perfect. Griffon 2 and nelo 2 aren't so great arenas but their 3rd arenas more than make up for it.

Okay enough of me gushing about how much i love the mechanics, some HCs i have for it!!

1/ That motorcycle Trish bust the door down with (and then throws at Dante) wasn't hers, right? We see it in the into cutscene before it cuts to Dante at his desk. Well, its my HC that was Lady's bike (she was not happy).

2/ (aside from gameplay mechanic reasons) The reason Dante cant use DT at the start of the game, despite having awakened it in DMC 3, is because Dante wants to push away from embracing his demonic side even more so now after his brother has been "killed". He always disliked being part demon and preferred not to tap into his demonic abilities because of that, demons are evil creatures after all and Dante is far from that, but that hate is even further exemplified after Vergil fell into hell.

3/ When Trish split off to fly solo as a devil hunter, she kept the name "Devil Never Cry" for her business. People do often confuse her for Dante's "Devil May Cry" especially when the names are abbreviated. Dante finds it mildly annoying, Trish finds it hilarious. (Sometimes she'll direct clients to Dante out of pity too when they call her number asking for Devil May Cry rather than Devil Never Cry, instead of convincing them she's the right person. Dante however always sends them over to Trish if they've called the wrong number.)

4/ Dante probably knew Trish was trying to lure him to his death on Mallet island, but he went anyways to avenge his family's death. We know he'd been searching for Mundus ever since DMC 3 (it says so in DMC 5's "history of DMC" cutscene), and he knows that finding and killing Mundus wouldn't be nearly as easy as Trish made it seem. Wether he came back or not, he was going to kill Mundus, or at least try.

As for alternate scenarios, i dont have much in mind. Maybe it would be interesting to see a scenario where Trish never betrayed Dante, and instead she tried to help him during the nightmare fight. It still would've ended the same way for her, but maybe also Dante wouldn't have gotten so angry with her when he saved her.

Ugh i just love DMC 1 so much, like i said before it holds a special place in my heart. I hope that answers everything :> <3

[katshelluvacritic]

Usually im not interest that much in redesign but wow your kiki's redesign is gorgeous! I love how creative it is. With her face being a keyhole.

Thank you! I was honestly really disappointed that her design was just “cat with cyclops eye” tbh, not only that just didn’t look that demonic overall despite her being a creature from hell.

Like this thing’s name is supposed to be word play of the word “key” and is supposed to “represent the hotel” but yet she barely has anything that makes her resemble a key.

I also noticed when I watched the series that besides her not getting as much screen time other than being a bg char, she also barely ever turns into a key or even does anything too.

Like the only times she’s ever turn into a key besides the intro was once in ep 1 and twice in ep 8

Which was also very disappointing to see since for a character that’s supposed to “represent the hotel”, I expected her to have a much bigger role in the series than what we got. Especially, when it was said in a livestream that this character has SPECIAL POWERS that can affect the hotel.

Which again, very disappointing that I had to learn that in both the wiki and/or the livestream instead of it being shown in main series.

[elizabethrobertajones]

While I'm busy making every other post on my blog about Wyll Ravengard...

I can't stop thinking about how utterly doomed he was as the Duke's son and the huge plan unfurling in the shadows of Baldur's Gate... Like, he would have been killed or imprisoned or seduced to the dark side thinking he was doing the right thing or just tadpoled immediately and been a True Soul that was a more subtle target than just snatching his father outright on Day 1 of initiating the Absolute Plan. Would have found out something mildly suspicious was going on and leaped right in and been overwhelmed, or been snatched off the streets by cultists... Whatever it would have been, he was dead meat.

Point is, I don't want to condone Mizora at all, but like, he was alive, and made a "choice" and had ""agency"" and """freedom""" and was allowed most importantly to keep his personhood and sense of justice and I guess Mizora just found it really funny to keep a pet hero and stoke him up and she could thrive on the irony of it all because he was never corrupted into being an edgelord who enjoyed the darker side of it... The fact his personality got through it intact is the most important part of his whole character as you start to learn about him and realise he actually is That Nice.

Since it got him out of the city and kept him away from the heart of the plotting, and even the situation that he'd been exiled and the generic [Balduran] conversation choice is either "huh I heard vaguely you'd gone" or "I literally did not know you existed" it's obviously not talked about much. Like, he's WAY under the radar. (Hilariously, later when you get to BG proper, not being recognisable because of Mizora devilling him up double helps with being incognito on top of him having not been home in so long anyway that some people forgot he existed.)

Just musing on how he did seem to get maybe the easiest and safest scenario possible by finding one of the only ways to pry him out of the otherwise destined life he'd have lead riiiight up until the Absolute stuff caught up with his family and he would have been defenceless, oblivious and right in the middle of it all. And like. Yeah, okay, don't do demon deals kids. But it is hilarious how Mizora airlifted him miraculously out of a destined certain death.

[chaifootsteps]

the only thing that would get me to dismiss the muslim people pointing out its disrespectful to have a demon wear a hijaab would be if they had been a animators sona. literally if it was a muslim (or someone who was raised to wear one and despite their religous views still does) employees sona it wouldnt matter as much that some muslims find it distasteful and potentionally islamicphobic to me because it would be someone who has experience with that specific religous headwear expressing it and not some random person with no personal connection to islam thinking that a chrisitian (hellborn) demon wearing a hijaab and thus being implied to be muslim. the only problem with me is that if im understanding correctly no one that personally wears a hijaab had anything to do with a imp character who has no reason to believe anything other than the religon written to be the helluva verses literal reality. that it most likely was someone who doesnt really have the footing to say shit on it.

not to mention there has been multiple episodes that have scenes on and bg characters on earth! there are more chances than the demon background characters and DORHK agents (i love them and they couldve totally shown a hijaab agent appearing to die only to turn out to be the one unexcepted survivour since agent 1 and 2 both survived, hell they can even recton the cut hijaab agent in to just not appear on screen in the first DORHK episode and be a surprise survivor maybe even to be out sick that day) to include that rep too. it feels like someone who doesnt know anything about being muslim doodled it and because they thought it was cute they refined the design and didnt think about the implications.

also if the person who designed them does have an actual reason to think the implications dont matter (i.e personally muslim or raised as such etc.) id looooooove to know if they are still a spindlehorse employee and if they arent if they have horror stories. are they at risk of being fired now that people are pointing out the implications of a muslim imp? who knows!

Yeah, if hijab imp is the impsona of a Muslim crew member then that puts the whole thing to bed for me.

[heca-teaa]

1, 5 and 12 for your Knight-Commanders!

AHH haiiiii thanks for the ask!!

1. Do they think they’ll make it out alive?

Rivers was at first mourning the fact she cannot catch a break, unsure of herself and her ability to lead, keep her companions and army alive, and keep herself alive(ish), but eventually becomes a bit more optimistic.

Laken is a (almost annoying) source of constant, never ending hope, so she thinks everything will be okay in the end no matter what happens.

Yulai knows she’s coming out alive, come hell or high water. She’s survived this much— a stupid war/demon wound isn’t going to phase her.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

5. Do they have a family, if so, what kind? Do they miss them? Do they have hope to see them again?

Strap in

SOOOOOO

Laken and Rivers are related! Laken is River’s great-niece.

But here’s specifics!

Laken has her whole family in the Kenabres area! Her father is a high ranking… soldier… I am unsure what to put him rank wise but he’s up there. She also has her mom, 5 other sisters, grandma and grandpa, and eventually Rivers.

Laken is lucky enough to have her dad with her as kind of an advisor during the campaign, but she really hopes to be able to be with the whole family again.

Rivers doesn’t actually know that her family is in Mendev at all, believing her kin is still in Ustalav, where the family originated from. I imagine she’d eventually get to see them all again though and meet the new additions. So I think she’d also hope to spend time with them and get settled back into being part of the family.

Yulai, I felt bad she didn’t get a doodle little tree so I just drew her and her mom when she was a lil baby :))

Yulai and her mom are Tian-Xia natives. Yulai had a rough background, she and a lot of the members of her village being trapped into slavery. They were smuggled into the Inner Sea Region, which is how she ended up in the area. Her mother was killed by their slavers, so Yulai doesn’t have any family left. Despite her being fairly cold towards most people, she sometimes tries to make connections with other kitsune, like Nenio or Konomi. She doesn’t get very far with Nenio but she and Konomi get along.

PHEW I did it

There

Some backstory + family for you! Onto the nexttttt

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

12: What’s their alignment and why? How to they feel about it? Do they change alignment at one point?

Rivers is Lawful Good! She believes the law/rules should be upheld but also should benefit the people that are under said laws. Rivers doesn’t change her alignment, being fairly steadfast in her ideals.

Laken is Chaotic Good! She wants to make her world a better place while also having fun doing it. So she’s a little chaotic in her decision making and actions, but she means well and has good intentions. She also doesn’t change alignment.

Yulai is Lawful Evil! Like Rivers, she wants things to be upheld to a standard— her standard. She doesn’t mind doing whatever she needs to do in order to get her way and run things the way she sees fit. Yulai has moments of empathy or remorse (usually accompanied by the spirit of her mother) that cause her to lean a bit, but it’s usually right back to her usual self.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

WaHhh I did it thank you guys for forcing me to finally talk about my bbs!! If something doesn’t make total sense or I have some mistakes/run on sentences I’m srry, it’s late and I’m vry excited/nervous about sharing my stories hehe

Feel free to drop me questions too if you’re curious— now yall got me yappin 🫶 I’m still writing up my masterpost + drawing everything for it so they’ll also have bgs there!

[longdeadking-moved-blogs]

ok hi guys i have. genloss thoughts.

so we've seen a few different "archetypes" for characters, right? we have the hero (ranboo), the side characters (charlie and sneeg), the antagonists (the puzzler and demon charlie), the background characters (niki, austin, etc), and who i'm calling the crew (the ghouls & rats, the cameramen, and the drones). (hetch is his own thing but i will Get to him, also security and squiggles.)

all these archetypes are very distinct, there's not a lot of overlap between them (the only exceptions i could think of would be frank, who doesnt really count since he's not. yknow. alive. and rat-rae, who has speaking lines, but is still obviously crew.)

i'm thinking, these archetypes almost seem like... a life cycle. let me explain.

first, showfall finds a Hero. they need to be naive, blinded by fear and hope. so the Hero needs to be the first step. and there are three directions the Hero can go after that.

if the Hero is just... boring, uninteresting, going through the motions, they become Crew. the masks (or the goo, in the case of the ghouls) control them permanently.

if the Hero goes the way ranboo did, there are two options. either they die, and stay dead (or restart, becoming a Hero again), or they live and move on to the next step - becoming an Antagonist.

Antagonists have more freedom than Heroes (squiggles outright says they let the puzzler do whatever he wants), but they're still under showfall's control. the freedom is helpful because it makes them more interesting, but it also makes them unpredictable.

once an Antagonist has run their course, there's three options again. if they're too complacent, they become Crew. if they're too volitile or if showfall needs some drama or a Hero needs a win, they die. but if they prove to still be useful, they move on. they become a Background Character.

seems like a weird jump, right? but we saw it happen, with charlie. he died as demon slime, then reappeared as patient charlie.

also, i think this is the reason neither Antagonists lasted more than an episode. they need a lot of Background Characters, so turnover is quick.

by the time Background Characters arrive, they have developed personalities. or, more accurately, a single trait that showfall can monopolize on. charlie was slimy. niki was nice. austin was gay (a nice nod to the token gay trope, btw). and Background Characters switch up the formula a bit.

i think, by the time you get to this point, you aren't at risk of becoming Crew. or at least, it isnt likely (i'm thinking rat-rae was a BG Character who got turned into crew, which is why she can talk). no, instead, your two options are as follows:

you can stay a Background Character, "dying" and being reset every episode.

or, if you're a fan-favorite, you get upgraded to Side Character.

again, we saw this happen with charlie, and also with sneeg. i believe sneeg became a Side Character between episode 1 and 2, which is why he was allowed to see beyond the 4th wall. gotta have your characters be a little haunted, right? it's a horror show, after all.

and if you become a Side Character, there's not a lot of places to go. viewers will recognize you in different shows, so the question is - what does showfall do when a Side Character's show ends?

once again, they have two options. death or promotion.

and this time, the promotion is a little different.

so. hetch. a villian for sure, but he's in a weird position. he tells ranboo - and the viewers - during the final scene that he's just following orders. he wears his own mask, same as ranboo. but why? why have this weird, semi-canon, rebel traitor figure?

i think hetch made it to the final archetype. a subsection of Crew that's picked out for a special characteristic. anything that makes them truly compelling. i think the wire monster made it here, too (they were so consistently rebellious that showfall had to strip away all of their humanity, leaving them a mess of wire).

hetch became a Mascot.

hetch, the wire monster, and squiggles went through every step, proved their worth, and what did they get in return?

knowledge, but not freedom. never freedom.

and i think if we'd voted live, ranboo would have made it all the way as well.

[batbabydamian]

The Boy Wonder #3 by Juni Ba rambling about how cool this series would be to read in a single sitting...it's all so connected!!

rambles for issue #1 and issue #2!

i don't have as much personal interpretation for this cover besides it being a solid piece of art in shapes and silhouette! ALSO. bi bg lighting lol. Damian's "X" posing of his cape and swords parallels with Tim's "X" chest straps + the Robin emblem in the center. Tim's closed Red Robin wings frames Robin's own outstretched cape wings; and on top of that, the shadows cast inside the wings nicely frames Damian's demon mask.

Joe and Merle's dynamic has been so fun, especially with the mutual enthusiasm over the storytelling 🥺 Joe also opens up about his circumstances that led him to this moment, which perfectly sets up the setting of this issue! Even his very first introduction becomes a relevant detail when a fancy rich couple drops a champagne glass, uncaring of the people literally below them, saying “some poor sap down there’ll appreciate it” when it bonks Joe’s head.

it all comes around!! and tbh this issue proves how much this series would slap to read in a single sitting (GET THE COLLECTED EDITION)

Going beyond first impressions seems to apply to the color palette in this series. From #1 in the first page of Gotham, we see the gold of upper society to the blue of the downtrodden → from issues #2 and #3, it’s the warm gold of inner Gotham to the cold blue of the rich. there’s a sense of community displayed among the poor - even part of Jason’s intro avenging Bill, a generous man mourned on panel by many. The rich gives off a sense of individualism, celebrating themselves and their excess.

With the change in scenery, this issue steps into the more civilian side of things through a spy theme - fancy suits and lil gadget intros! Going down the civilian route with Tim feels very fitting since it's what makes Tim's run as Robin so charming!

i love that Talia’s taught Damian to be conscious of the rich’s effects on society, especially in the following page of small panels zoning in on the details of wealth and overindulgence. but also LIL DAMIAN. HIS LIL ROUND EYES AND HANDS 🥺

Damian’s aware of the facts, and his disgust is clearer after having just been through lower Gotham and seeing firsthand the poverty directly caused by the wealthy (also not sure if that old lady is the same one from #1 with similar hair and clothes, but pls she can't a break…)

i mentioned Damian’s “inciting incident” for this journey to be the intro of a demon for Damian to prove his worth but i’m correcting the use of that term!! the intro of the demon is more the beginning of plot, whereas the actual inciting incident is beheading the thief!! it’s the main reason he’s in this situation where he felt the need to prove himself, and atone. Most notably is that the beheaded thief is a consistent character that quite literally haunts Damian every step of the way.

The statue of Batman’s head being popped off becomes a significant visual, because while Damian started this journey to prove something to Bruce, the only one that really seems to have (quite literal) eyes for Damian’s journey is the thief. Why does he make more of an appearance than the actual Bat? Even his statue’s head doesn’t make a figurative presence; whereas the only one looming over Damian is the thief. Guilt over killing him may be driving him just as much as his desire to be worthy. Alternatively, it could be that Damian needs to reexamine his motivations since the thief is really getting in Damian's face now.

Damian is proud to be a positive influence on Tim, but the moment is short-lived. It’s an ironic moment to me because Damian doesn't even know the impact he's had on Jason just in the previous issue!! 😭

Damian's so desperate to prove his worth, yet he's been making choices in every issue to help others!! Helping the old woman up in #1, being vulnerable with Jason in #2, and now sacrificing himself for Tim!

The Ra’s "Weakness" panel has been reoccurring since #1, but it's the first time Talia has been included. Being great figures in his life and mind, their silhouettes consume Damian's, similar to a few of Batman's appearances below. This latest disappointment was such a blow to Damian, that Talia (who he might have the most respect for) becomes an added voice in his head.

Final thoughts!!

Like Rok, does the thief actually have a connection to the al Ghuls or is this beard just in fashion at the moment.

Lex is clearly referencing one of the Underwell warehouses that Joe and Merle are presently, so wondering if whatever he and Tim discuss here will be affecting them later.

Ending with Talia’s cover for extra hype!! i’ll probably go back to this for the next ramble, but i’m already gearing myself up to wail about Talia just based on this cover. The Mary and Jesus imagery (more prominent with Damian’s lil crown as a “prince”) but most importantly Talia weathering the flames for Damian…her own shroud/shawl wrapped around Damian and burning… oh boy