#but I hope yall like them!! much more lore and many more characters to come

[katyspersonal]

some fake bitch in Soulsborne fandom: Lmaaoooo the take that [insert something that doesn't follow their very one-dimensional, nuance-less version] is so braindead and nonsensical, like did?? everyone??? just suddenly forget???? this this and that detail in lore?????? Yall I am begging you to understand what subtext is and also to actually read into the story! We don't have to put up with these blatant misinterpretation just because you 1) are all misogynists 2) lack media literacy 3) want to defend white male character #158254 (select what applies). Anyways lol let's see how many soulsborne weirdos will want to crucify me for having actually CARED to analyze the lore 😭😭😭

me, an ACTUAL lore enthusiast: Hey, I accept your challenge with the very weapon of YOUR choice - the meticulous focus on the presumed implication of the writers and commonly neglected lore bits! Here is my essay going into excruciating detail on why your point about lore is wrong and so your toxic behavior doesn't even have factual backup. I hope you can appreciate how I haven't missed a single obscure item and how much new information you have learned from it as well as my masterful use of Spongebob memes.

the very same fake bitch: *sweats nervously* Ummmm w-well, why do you think obsessing over lore gives you intellectual high ground in the discourse..... W-we can all have opinions and our own interpretations and be mature about it!!! After all, Soulsborne fandom is about having fun, not about seeking the One True Lore...... I-I for one don't even care about loredigging that much, I just do what makes me happy and so should everyone else <3

????????????

______________

So, NOW you condemn the hassle about seeking "truth"? So, NOW you want to respect different readings within the fandom, including those that neglect some details? After you got beaten in YOUR OWN game? Coward.

It is seriously not okay that it happens from time to time, and, I want to tell that you people should always watch out for this particular brand of hypocrisy. The more you spot such """changes""" and document them, the less you will be worried about discourse. There is really nothing to be stressed about when it comes from opponents so pathetic they don't even have set standards and just tell whatever makes them have moral high ground at the moment

[arcadia-of-pluto]

{I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS HELP + a sneak peek of my rafayel one-shot at the end}

Hey guys! Another random update, but not really a story update or anything. (Also sorry if I'm tagging my shit wrong, I'm still v new to posting on here—)

So I've come up with another banger idea for 'Twist of Fate' and I'm so upset that I can't even talk about it because it gives heavy spoilers for the whole story itself. But I swear it's a good idea. Since LADS isn't close to being completed, I've made so many embellishments to the story itself.

I guess it won't be a spoiler to say Astra plays a major part. I mean, he is a god after all. He's not prevalent in any other myths besides Zayne's but, again, he's a god. I think he'd be in every single timeline. Especially if he's known as a god on Philos and worshipped there. There's two other characters who play a big role, but you'd never be able to guess who! It just makes me so excited to finally get to that point in my writing that I almost want to rush to it– but I know I can't for the integrity of the story.

Just know that some of the things I write aren't actually in the games themselves; Like Lily and Violet actually having names, Sylus having specifically named flowers in the vase at his home, and other stuff like that. Because that kind of stuff will be happening more in the future and I'd hate for people to get confused and mistake it for actually being in the game itself.

To say something without it being a spoiler, there's some twists and turns coming up but also– how do you guys feel about the name Alexzanderus? It has no meaning, I just want to use it but I'm not sure if it works? It has a meaning within it, if you look in-between the lines, but I'm worried the name is kind of muddy and ugly. It seems pretty enough to me and it seems like it would be an old name. But I'd love to know if you could guess my meaning behind the name! It's got my own lore implications wrapped up in it.

And also, how do you guys feel about making your own religion—

By that I mean, gods and goddesses. I mean we already have Astra, who I'm saying is the god of destiny and divinity (destiny and fate ofc since Zayne was his foreseer). What's one or two more going to hurt, am I right? But yeah, isn't it sort of weird that Astra isn't specifically said to be the god of anything? I tried looking it up and found nothing so I just made up my own idea for it.

I also can't wait to post chapters fifteen and sixteen because that's when the real fun starts happening (not smutty fun but–). I really hope I'm not hyping this up so much only for yall to hate it

'Twist of Fate' aside, I guess I could also post a sneak peak of my Rafayel tropes one-shot!

"Ludus Love", excerpt

Word count; 275

Your life was always monotonous and unchangeable. You stayed in the same neatly decorated and ornate room; a room that felt more like a prison rather than your own personal hide-away from the world. Your only forms of solace being an elderly clergy member named Josephine, and the books you would get your maids and knights to procure for you. 

You were a princess, but only by name. You did not get the royal treatment, fancy dresses and extravagant balls. Instead, your purpose was to act as the pure and kind princess of the Philos empire, the one with a heart of gold…and that damn heart of yours was the only reason you were in this mess in the first place. 

You were originally an orphan. You had no memory of having parents, you had to have them at some point in your life. Your earliest memory was of you waking up on a blistering hot day in the shade of an alleyway. Clasped between your tiny little hands was a black Calla lily. As you grew older, you'd learn that this specific lily meant rebirth and the beginning of a transformative journey– but, on the same day you woke up, people dressed in purple and black came up to you to offer you a deal. Allow yourself to be adopted by the royal family, act as the princess of Philos, and you'll be able to live a comfortable life. Though, they didn't tell you what exactly they needed you for until much later. 

Your heart.

No, they didn't want to cut it out of you. Its power could only work with a vessel, after all.

Also I'm trying so hard to work this ^ in with my Rafayel one-shot 😭 I think I can manage it, but it's so hard to come up with a reason to hate Rafayel or fight with him. Besides maybe not understanding his joking and sarcastic nature, and getting pissed off at him; when in reality, he's just joking around and doesn't mean any of it.

[k-simp]

Which movie or TV characters do you feel like you can relate to the most?

I love you for asking me this bro, I just gotta say that I love when tumblr ask me questions that are literally the same fucking questions I be talking to myself about in the bathroom or in a private setting, and pretend I'm in a Q&A session, interview or podcast.

Thank yall for asking me questions

Anyway, there is a huge ass list I'm actually kinda overwhelmed about answering this question,

B U T

There is 2 characters in particular that sums up me PERFECTLY, these 2 characters are my top two "if you were a cartoon character would would you be?"

REAGAN RIDLEY & REN HOËK

Idk how to even go about it cause it's been a while since I've watched both shows and idk if i can go into detail about how these 2 are like me and I'm not saying it to be like

"Omg yassss there wittly just like me teehee^^"

No I mean these 2 are ME

There both psychos with logical anger issues, surrounded by IIIIIIIIIIDIOOOOTS, intelligent but stupid and silly at the same time, can get pervy sometimes, trauma, get or have no bitches, workaholics, and introverted and stuff.

Its been a while i said, but i remember when I started binging Ren and Stimpy and WHEN I SAW THIS SCENE, IM WAS SO HAPPY CAUSE THIS IS WHAT I SAY TO MY SIBLINGS ALL THE DAMN TIME

With Reagan, there's so many moments she shocked me hard as well, you gotta watch the show.

Heres some honorable mentions to the most relatable to the least relatable along with reasons why I relate to them

(There's more reasons why, i know there are, I just can't remember too well)

Squidward Tenticals: Artist, never in the mood, spoils himself, sick of everyone but has a heart

Spongebob SquarePants

2. Spinel: Got replaced without a care in the world, wants to be loved, silly, sweetheart, sad inside, looks just like my self insert OC

Steven Universe

3. Principal Scudworth: Very creative, silly, very fucking funny, miserable, wants to be appreciated

Clone High

4. Mojo Jojo: Pretty much like squidward, Spinel and Scudsworth with some OCD, intellectual neodivergent

PowerPuff Girls

5. Herbert West: Highly ambitious, devoted to his work, jealous bitch, asexual, neodivergent, loves his work and wants someone that can truly rock with him but everyone keeps fucking up, doesn't want people getting in the way of his craft

Re-Animator

6. Blitz: Horny af, miserable and lonely af, silly, wants love, accidentally hurts alot of people's hearts but helps alot of other people and have a good heart and just tryna get by.

Helluva Boss

7. Albert Wesker: I don't know much of his character besides his over all lore and stuff and I wanna play the games so I'm not spoiling myself too much but he's ambitious, wants to change the world, dedicated to his work and wears black all the time. But the lines that spoke to me were: "Every day, humans come one step closer to self-destruction. I'm not destroying the world, I'm saving it!"

"We shall meet again before the conclusion of this drama. Then you will learn of the history... I will write for this world."

Resident Evil 5 (specifically this version)

8. Dr. Nefarious: Got bullied for being nerdy by the people he works with, works hard for his group, silly, talks to himself/has dairies, workaholic

Ratchet and Clank the movie (this version specifically)

8. Hisoka Morow: Very mysterious, lonesome, kinda lonley but doesn't say it or show it, silly and giggly, laughs to himself and is happy by himself, indiffrent, chill but will tweak the fuck out, and separates ourselves from groups, both hyperfixate for people with great qualities, diffrent and has great potential, loves bubblegum, resourceful and both struggled in poor times.

Hunter x Hunter 1999 (the 2011 too, but I personally love and connect more with the 1999 version)

9. Ryuk: Silky, laughing all the fucking time, gothic, bigback

Death Note

I hope this sums it idk💀

[signiko]

oc art dump in honor of me apparently having this account for 6 years ? i'm sure a lot of yall are following me just for the jrwi stuff (and there's more of that coming!) but these are my favorite oc drawings i've done as of late <3

if you are curious about my ocs (thank u btw!!) here's some basic information since i don't want to make yall deal with a wall of text!

1: Rue (she/her/any) - the goddess of my universe! that's actually a drawing i've redrawn many times, the past versions are on my instagram :3

2: Nadia (left, she/her) & Natalie (right, she/her) - Natalie is the main character of a story i've been working on for 5.5 years! Nadia is a princess & is the twin sister of natalie's eventual girlfriend.

3: Suspiria (she/her) - a royal knight from before Natalie's time, her lore is pretty convoluted but it's cool & i love drawing her so so much <33

4: Peggy (she/her) - a widowed plague doctor who doesn't have too much plot bearing but i love her dearly regardless. this is actually the most recent drawing of this bunch, done for her birthday yesterday (may 26th) :D

5: giving them their own paragraph so it's easier to read !!!

Lorelei (left, she/her) is a D&D character of mine, my lovely lesbian bard <3 since this drawing i've given her a new hairstyle!! i've played her in a campaign that got canceled & im reusing her with the same DM very soon!!

Celeste (middle, she/they/any) basically boils down to my silly self-indulgent borderline marysue character, and is one of them that i draw the most despite having little to no relevance in my actual oc universe. She also got a full redesign like, a week after i made that piece

Penelope (right, she/her) is my outlet for my love of oc x canon and also just one that gets a lot of tropes i love!! not much to say but she's one of my beloveds and i hope to draw her more

☆☆☆

i'll probably keep the oc posting here pretty low & save it for ones i'm super proud of!!! if you want to see more of my ocs, my instagram is also signiko & i just generally have a lot more art on there as well :D ty for reading!!!

[angeliczelda444]

Hi yall! I wrote another one shot fanfic. This time, it's about a fan kid I made for Rauru and Sonia. Their daughter, Iyana, is the Zelda of the Ancient Hero's time. Please don't come at me for lore inconsistencies for this is just a sweet little fanfic I wrote because ugh, I wish Nintendo would give us more content for this game!!! 😭 Alight, enough chit chat here is a little love story I wrote about Iyana and Ancient Hero Link. Enjoy!!!

Sweet Sundelion

Word count: 1,439

A love story between Ancient Hero Link and my original character, Iyana. Daughter of Rauru and Sonia.

The events of the demon king back in ancient Hyrule were tragic. A tragedy that left the young kingdom without their beloved rulers, King Rauru and Queen Sonia. When they passed on, their people; thier world stopped. Hyrule's beloved rulers have fallen.

There is, however, a beakon of hope for the young kingdom. Before the King and Queen left this world, they left behind a gift. Their firstborn and only child. Their daughter Iyana. When she came to this world, her parents loved her to the moon and back.

Iyana is a 19 year old young lady who radiated beauty and grace wherever she went. She had such a charm, just like her mother Sonia possessed. And her natural born leadership were like father like daughter. Her physical features are mostly Hylian like. Most of these features she inherits from her mother, however, she has Rauru's silver, thick hair and Zonai ears. Lastly, she has her father's eyes that are blue as the sky.

During the events of the imprisoning war, she was away on a pilgrimage. She has inherited Rauru's light powers and has gone away to strengthen her a ilities without the help of her father. Sadly, she was trying to make her way home when she first heard the news of her fallen mother. She wanted to help......but it was too late. She couldn't reach her father. Her parents had left the world and she never got to say goodbye to them.

So much. So much Inara has missed. She never met Zelda when she had stayed here. Oh how she would have killed for one last moment with Rauru and Sonia. She never knew when saying goodbye to her parents before she left would be the last she ever see them. With all of this grief and to take on the role as queen at a young age was all too much.

But Iyana? As much as she was grieving, she still stood resilient. She became a great leader for her people and was loved by many. However, tragedy suddenly strikes again and the calamity hits. It is up to her to use her light powers to seal the calamity away. And she did this all with a brave hero; one of the last living Zonai. The Anicent Hero. The Link of her era.

During the preparation of the Calamity, Iyana was charmed by AH Link. Noble, handsome, never backs down from an adventure. At first she never thought she would catch feelings for him since they were such polar opposites. But eventually, Iyana realized that she loves it this way and AH Link would give his life for her.

One late afternoon as the sun was setting, they both were in a field of Sundelions by the castle. The golden hour had shined on the flowers creating such a golden, illuminating glow. Iyana was working with her light powers while AH Link was swinging the Master Sword haphazardly. He is practicing with these construct dummies that he made with some old Zonai parts, however, is swinging his sword a little too carelessly due to AH Link having much energy.

"Careful now!" Iyana exclaims as she looks at him with slight annoyance. "You're going to ruin these precious flowers if you keep over working yourself like this!"

"Haha, sorry Iyana. I just have so much energy today! Could be within these flowers." He then puts his sword away to touch a few Sundelions on the ground. "So, did you say that these were called Sundelions?" AH Link asks.

"Yes. They are indeed." Iyana then picks on and holds it up. "They were my mother's favorite. They're not only beautiful, but they served many healing properties! I remember my parents making these precious flowers into medicines thst could help our people. Haha, I even recall the one time where my father made my mother and I flower crowns with these."

AH Link looks at her with interest. "Wow! I never knew such a flower could hold many memories for you Iyana! Its pretty neat!"

Iyana then chuckles a little "It sure is. So many great times." She then sighs with a bit of sadness. As nostalgic as these memories get, she is also reminded of her late parents.

"Iyana..." AH Link then puts a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"I am. I just......" She takes a deep breath and then sighs again. "I....never got to say goodbye to my parents before I could reach them. Ever since their passing I had to take on the role as queen. Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of my people, but all of this responsibility; the preparations for the Calamity Ganon......I must have my sacred power of light ready for this."

AH Link looks at Iyana with empathy. "Iyana......"

She then looks at him tenderly "Link, I know I can do this with your help. You hold a sacred blade that seals the darkness. And with my power light, I can seal him away."

AH Link then smiles at Iyana and holds both of her hands. "Iyana, I promise you that I will fight by your side to the very end. We will not let the calamity come between us nor our kingdom. To fight alongside you, well, it truly is a dream come true to me."

Iyana then blushes hearing these words. She has.....been catching feelings for this young man for a while. She then confesses "Link.......I love nothing more than for you to fight along side me. To be honest, I never knew I would meet someone who understands me. Who cherishes me and....."

Iyana gets flustered with feelings. She wants to confess her feelings but is scared that he may not like her back. However, AH Link catches on and leans in closer to her. He feels the same "Iyana, do you love me?"

"Ok yes! I......love you Link. More than anything in this world. At first, I thought our personalities clashed too much. I overthink, and you dive head first into things, and we both serve different roles in this Kingdom! How could my people see me with a knight? What would you think of me? I...I....ugh look forget I said anything alright?! I could just be overthinking like usual-"

She is obviously getting lost into her head. Just like her father Rauru would. Before this poor young queen spirals into an anxiety attack, AH Link then pulls her in for a tight hug and gazes into her ocean eyes. She then blushes as her ears perked up.

"L....Link"

"Iyana, you worry too much. When I laid eyes on you, you were blinding me with your beauty and grace. You have a charm like no other and your love for your people is infectious. You.....are my sweet Sundelion."

Still blushing, Iyana then holds AH Link close. "Does this mean.....you love me too?"

"Iyana, I will love you until I can no longer breathe. Hah, even beyond the siritual realms I will keep loving you! With your light and my blade, we can seal way this Calamity. Tell me, my queen, do wish to be mine?"

Iyana then look at AH Link tenderly "Link, when this is all over, I will make you my king. I will make you my light!"

As the two come close and closer together, AH Link speaks softly and geness "It would be an honor. And just know, your parents would be proud of you. For fighting for your people and finding someone who makes you happy."

Iyana, being a tease, pulls away and grabs some sundelion petals. "Yes! And we shall have a ceremony!" She then takes the petals and throws the up for them to land on his hair. She then giggles. Despite her being queen, she knows how to have fun here and there.

AH Link brushes off the petals and looks at Iyana with a playful, devious look. When she notices, she becomes wide eyed.

"Oh that's it!" Link teases. "You better run!"

AH Link then chases Iyana down the field to catch her. As she is running she is squealing of laughter. As he catches her, he tickles her sides slightly causing her to laugh. He then picks her up and spins her around as the sun sets, creating a beautiful background of the sun and the field of Sundelions.

He sets her down, and the two come in for a passionate and loving kiss. Oh yes, Iyana worries have faded. She doesn't have to rule this Kingdom alone anymore. She has found her sweet Sundelion. Rauru and Sonia would be proud.

[faekishi]

Happy MerMay!

Sothis was very much experiment. I wanted to see how one makes space and gold. And I though, hey I have like a million ideas cause of HSR. Why not draw some of it? And which you have the creation here. Also gives me a bit of a break from MHA. Which is good to do to keep ideas flowing and prevent dem burnout. Anyway, I'm actually pretty content with this. Still got a lot to improve. But, I'm seeing my improvements which makes me happy and fulfilled.

ANYWAY AU TIME!

So I love HSR. And have so many ideas as we continue to proceed through the story and meeting so many characters. I especially love Caelus and the lore of Aeons. But, for the creation of this piece.

Caelus is basically Akivili child who managed to survive being killed alongside Akivili. Nanook is actually the one to save Caelus and bestow some of his power into him so that he could live after finding the young aeon critically injured. Which is why his tail glows gold along with his eyes. And why his outfit is like it is as it comes from Nanook's own clothes.

Nanook decides to hide away Caelus. Basically covering up the child's paths with destruction in order to draw attention away from him. Which is hard as the express senses Caelus's being and is actively making routes to reunite with the child of it's creator. Even though it mystifies everyone on the express why these routes are being taken.

Caelus, like their parent, creates paths to connect words together and has a need to travel across the universe. He's very curious of worlds and visits them in a more human form that looks like a normal child sides his golden eyes.

Aha later found out about Caelus. And Aha, who misses Akivili, decides to also help out in keeping Caelus hidden. Cause Aha finds it hilarious that the astral express and the trailblazers are looking all over for Caelus.

But, also I feel as though Akivili and Aha had a very fun friendship.

And while it's not really known if Aha is sincere when they says they miss Akivili and is sorry for all the pranks. I do believe that the aeon probably does sincerely miss Akivili. One does not travel with a person for a whole year without having some good relationship. Even if it was for shits and giggles.

Aha keeps an eye on Caelus via two masks. The whale was also a gift from Aha that's main purpose was to give Caelus a scapegoat. If the astral express finds Caelus or another aeon does. It would trick them into following it while Caelus makes his escape.

None of the other aeons knows of Caelus. Something Nanook wants to keep due to the death of Akivili.

Some other ideas I thought of during this.

Aha adores Caelus as Caelus has a bit of a prankster side to him. Caelus also finds Aha funny and often asks for funny jokes or stories.

Nanook literally has an army dedicated to throwing anyone off of Caelus's trail. If an aeon catches a whiff then he will stop them himself. He barely tolerates Aha, but sees the other aeon doesn't want to harm Caelus and leaves them alone for now.

Pompom can sense Caelus, but doesn't realize who or what Caelus is and it drives him crazy.

Nanook doesn't touch the worlds that Caelus visits until the child fully leaves. Then he destroy them. Or tries to as the trailblazers seem to come and stop that cause their literally going through the trails Caelus makes.

Caelus is hyper aware of the Astral Express and wants to go to it. But, doesn't as Nanook says no along with Aha and he listen to them. He's a good kid like that.

Eventually the trails Caelus makes draws the attention of more than the Astral Express and their trailblazers.

A few aeons start to wonder what Nanook and Aha are hiding. Specifically Yaoshi, which then causes Lan to try and figure it out. Which causes a headache for Nanook.

But, that's all I got. I hope yall enjoy this piece and the AU. Stay hydrated! Stay Kind! And take care of yourself!

[cloverpicking]

I blacked out and woke up with this OC lineup

these are the main characters in the first arc of my untitled story! say hello to O’Kelley University’s finest -- on a typical day you can find them goofing off in Wiley Hall’s fourth floor kitchenette. either that or investigating the Mysterious Unnamed Woods that reside a couple miles off-campus. here are some quick bios so you can get to know them!

Taylor “Bambi” Clements:

Age: 18

Birthday: March 26th

Height: 5’6”

Pronouns: they/he

Studying: architecture, music performance minor

Hobbies: Bass clarinet, bass guitar

Personality: Hey Arnold energy-- calm, dependable, the peacemaker, seemingly ready for anything. was a punk and a troublemaker in their early teens but did a 180 and changed their ways

Real name is Taylor, but people that knew him in middle/high school call him Bambi because of a mugshot of them that got leaked when they got arrested in middle school. they had a wide-eyed “deer in headlights” look

Younger sibling to Jericho

Cassandra (Cass) Dugar: 

Age: 19

Birthday: July 5th

Height: 5’8”

Pronouns: she/her

Studying: exercise science

Hobbies: Softball (3rd base)

Personality: Outgoing, Pushy, Rowdy, but emotionally guarded and #damaged due to a past toxic relationship

Violet Jones:

Age: 18/19

Birthday: October 10th

Height: 5’11’

Pronouns: she/her

Studying: Elementary education

Hobbies: XC, track (400), sewing

Personality: Loyal, nervous, sweet, nerdy

2nd fastest on the track team, and everyone assumes she’s rivals with Kristen over who should be the best on the team

Actually has a MAJOR crush on Kristen

Kristen O’Kelley:

Age: 19

Birthday: May 20th

Height: 5’5���

Pronouns: she/her

Studying: Public Relations

Hobbies: XC, track (400)

Personality: Hardworking, disciplined, “perfect,” lowkey but friendly

Fastest on the track team, and everyone assumes she’s rivals with Violet

Actually has a bit of a crush on Violet

Her mother is the president of O’Kelley University and her ancestors founded the school. Looks up to her parents but they ignored her for most of her upbringing, so instead she spent most of her time with Luva, the kind yet mysterious old lady who lived in the Mysterious Unnamed Woods

When Luva passed away she left Kristen her property and an old leather backpack that definitely has No Magical Properties Whatsoever

Jericho Clements:

Age: 20

Birthday: August 17th

Height: 6’2”

Pronouns: he/him

Studying: Sales/professional selling

Hobbies: football (runningback), wrestling

Personality: stereotypical dumb jock, nosy, likes to start arguments with Taylor and their friends, flirts with any girl in sight

Is rumored to be dating sorority girl Jenna Majewski, but it has not been confirmed

Older sibling to Aero

Julia:

Age: Unknown (approx. 14)

Birthday: Unknown (they assign her a birthday as the day she was made human)

Height: 5’0”

Pronouns: she/her

Hobbies: exploring/guiding the gang the Mysterious Unnamed Woods

Personality: Odd, unaware of some social cues, yet exudes confidence. Really leans into the fact that she knows more about the Mysterious Unnamed Woods than anyone else

Mysterious creature, reminiscent of a selkie, except instead of turning into a seal she can turn into a beaver when wearing her fur coat

Dresses like a middle schooler (more specifically how *I* dressed as a middle schooler lol)

[gunpowderdtim]

Talk to me about narratomancy? Just whatever you want to talk about it I'm deathly interested

!!!! Today today i had so many Thoughts. To many. It almost rivals March 2020 thoughts

So

My current running names for the four pillars of Narratomancy are as follows:

Universal Story

Narrative Role Filling/Casting Call

Story Echoes

Narrative Flow/Narrative Imperative

Each of these refer to VERY different things within the concept of Narratomancy. I will do my best to describe them. I have coined every term here but narratomancy, to which I believe the honor falls to @lucky-sevens

Keep in mind this is 50% theory, 20% headcanon, 30% canon, and that you do not have to agree with me.

Universal Story

Universal Story refers to the story of the universe, not stories in the universe, the story of the universe. In other words, the story of ‘Dr. Carmilla & The Mechanisms’

This section of Narratomancy is a tad more meta than the others, as it does in some form rely on real-world events to define it, as well as having little to no in story inpact on anything. Maki created the mechanisms universe, clear and simple. She founded the band, and hashed out the earliest lore. Dr. Carmilla is the main character of the universe, not of all the stories, but of the universe. Essentially, Universal Story refers to the fact that Doc C is the main character of the universe, and that the mechanisms are her side characters, in the story of the universe. I have taken to viewing it as doc carmilla stuff is the story of the universe, and the mechanisms is a spin off of that. Both are just as canon, but not specifically canon to eachother. Regardless, the universes story is Carmilla, from starting on Terra, to Aurora, through Loreli, into creating The Mechansims, all of that. All of that is the story of The Universe. The Mechanisms backstories are included in this, of course, because they are part of Carmilla's tale, not the other way around. Through this, I conclude that The Mechanisms are a spin off, focusing on the mechs rather than Carmilla. After all, The Mechansisms are a vessel for telling stories, for fleshing out the universe.

Narrative Role Filling/Casting Call

This refers to the mechs penchant for falling into narrative roles similar to troupes that they represent, or basically acting as a crutch for a story to continue. In OUATIS, Jonny acts as The Prince figure in sleeping beauty. He saves Briar. In being The Prince, he allows Snow's forces to attack cole, and win the war. Without that whole escapade, its likely the war would have stretched on years longer, and not have ended as it did.

Or, Ashes as Hades. What do mythological Hades and Ashes have in common? Hades was eaten by his father, Kronos, because there was a prophesy that told Kronos that his children would usurp him as king of the titans. Ashes figured out Mickey was the snitch, Mickey realized beforehand and lead Ashes into a trap. Killing them because he knew that they could ruin him. Basically, a parental figure betrays the child figure due to them knowing the child could ruin/destroy their position of power. As well as, if Ashes were not Hades, the Suits would not have met, and because of that the story of Ulysses Dies At Dawn would not have happened.

Continuing, while I am not nearly as much of an Arthurian legend person as I am a greek mythology person, some quick google searches revealed a similar similarity between Merlin and Brian. Basically, Merlin and the lady of the lake. She was basically his apprentice/a lady he was in love with? She basically betrayed and killed him after learning all out magic from him. Brian brought a priest back to life, only to have the priest betray and kill him. The tying together point here is clearly the "someone you helped betrays and kills you." That or, the fact they are both magical. Beyond this, If Brian were not on Fort Galfridian, Galahad would never have sought out the grail, and the entire plot would not have occurred.

In The Bifrost Incident, the Mechanisms do not take narrative roles in the way they did in prior albums. But this does not exclude them from being vital points in the story, after all, if Ivy were not present Lyf would not have been able to recover the data on the Black Box)

In all of these situations, (barring Jonny as The Prince) the Mechanisms have had some sort of connection point in the Roles they assume, as well as in their roles, changing the story so that it can continue to the ending presented in the albums.

Story Echoes

Story echoes are, to be blatant, simply canon. No argument, no theorizing, just canon. Refers to the fact that in the mechanism's universe stories 'echo' or basically repeat. In Kofi's fiction for HNOC, its shown rather blatantly that there are more Arthurs in this universe than just the one in hnoc.

In those burning instants, he’d feel the weight of it all, and know it was true. The golden age that never came; the city that stood at the dawn of a world instead of in its dying embers. And beyond – to a myriad of Camelots and a thousand thousand Arthurs, unfathomable worlds apart, each different, each fighting the same hopeless battle.

I know there are other examples of this, but they do escape me right now.

Lastly,

Narrative Flow/Narrative Imperative

This one is also directly canon. On the mechanisms blog, this post defines it rather well.

In the ask, the asker asks "...Do you heal injuries at an abnormal rate, or can you not be injured?"

In the reply, it is stated.

It depends on the narrative imperative - sometimes a Mechanism might die for a while, and only come back later when it becomes more fun, other times they’ll just heal/ignore wounds as they take them. It’s not something they can control, but tends to follow a rough logic of whatever works best for the story.

This is just canon, no arguing or stating otherwise. A mechanisms ability to heal depends entirely on what's best for the story.

Other examples in canon where this comes into play would be as follows:

GPTVTMK. In gptvtmk, Jonny's severed head is there. Is talks. It moves. In one of the fictions, it's stated Jonny cannot separate his heart from his body. Therefore, these are contradictory. Under normal circumstances, this would be a plothole. It is not here. Under narratomancy, Jonny was capable of being a severed head due to the fact that that would be best for the story.

OUATIS. Jonny walks through rounds and rounds of bullets.

HNOC. This example is a bit different from the rest, as it is not about a Mechanism. Galahad does something pretty fucking impossible.

And so Galahad stood and walked into the corridor. The guns trained on the preacher and opened fire. 

Say what you want about faith, but it can have powerful effects on those that have it. It can keep you from faltering as the bullets start to slam into you. It can keep you walking as your legs are shot to bloody stumps. It can keep you laughing as your lungs are filled with shrapnel and lead. It can keep you smiling as half your face is blown away. It can keep a man like Galahad standing tall until the guns clicked dry.

It is my belief that this is another example of narrative imperative. Under normal rules, Galahad could never have done this. But his faith, his beleif, kept him going. And that was good for the story.

So. That wraps up my narratomancy ramble for today. hope yall enjoyed.

*EDIT: Nastya does say it's nanobots. My opinion is: it's both. The nanobots are narrative driven <3

[dreamsclock]

I'm seeing a LOT of criticism/hate being thrown at character/smp!Sam about his actions durring the prison break stream and it's honestly really disheartening. Yeah some criticisms are valid but so many people are just like "He should have just SHOT DREAM!! He was yelling so much omg!?!?!"

And like- do yall know ANYTHING about Sam's character?? They're tossing a lot of shade around when they have no idea about Sam's character development up to this point and it's genuinely upsetting. :(

Can I get some words of positivity in this trying time?

hey anon !! i’m sorry that’s happening: my best advice is to unfollow some of the blogs (if you can) that are posting stuff like that, and also block the tag warden sam critical / c!sam critical (or negative) in the hopes ppl are tagging their negativity like that !!

as for words of positivity, i hope this helps — sam has put so much work into his character, and it’s very clear that it’s paying off !! his character used to be super likeable and his slow descent into corruption has been sooo interesting, and i do love it a lot !! there are so many interesting parallels between him and season 2 c!dream in this latest stream, which i also love, and it’s super clear how in tune sam is with his character :D people will come to realise this eventually, even if they don’t know — not only do some things genuinely have to happen because of plot (ie. c!sam couldn’t shoot c!dream because they need him alive for lore purposes lol), but also the characters are all so morally grey ?? c!sam is maybe the best example of this, and though right now a lot of the fandom seem to ricochet between calling him “good” or “evil”, i think season three will really be about dismantling those ideas and breaking them down, which will hopefully involve c!sam being understood more too !!!

at the end of the day, people are always gonna judge incorrectly at some points, esp. if it’s in favour of their favourite characters (in this case c!tommy) — but i am so confident that this will change in terms of seeing characters as good or bad !! and maybe then more people will understand how complex and interesting sam is as a character :]

[fandomgodmother420]

Okay so I saw

This post ^^

And I was like

Wait wait wait okay okay hang on wait a damn minute-

Because this is cursed rite we all know this is cursed but somethin about it got me thinkin it got me thinking quite a lot and it’s the idea of Callahans character being deaf and like obviously the way it’s done here is bad but it got me thinking okay well what if you did it well? What if it wasn’t garbage? What if it became a super important part of the show?

I think I have a new favorite au now?

Okay listen listen let me explain right-Callahan would still be a side character to the side characters but first things first he’d talk using sign language and literally the first thing that he signs when people try and talk to him is that he’s deaf. He also wouldn’t be able to understand people who talk to him, they’d have to either sign, write something down, or be super expressive. (Ik a lot of deaf people read lips but I feel like in media with deaf people almost all the time they like fully rely on lip reading and their almost superhumanly good at it and idk I think it would be cool for a deaf character to just not lip read-hardly ever) so now the fact that he’s deaf isn’t just something that you can drop in interviews for brownie points. Still, he’s hardly ever there and he’s not really a part of the story and that’s just kind of annoying and for a while it seems like that’s just how it’s gonna be, just one background background deaf character who’s pretty cool but who we almost never get to see...

But the explosions that went off during the pogtopia manburg war where pretty fuckin loud

And Quackity was right on top of them. He might’ve lost a cannon life to them-it’s kinda up for debate but for the purpose of the au we’re gonna say he did, because losing a cannon life affects your body. Your body changes to suit how you died-you get scars from losing a cannon life.

Here’s where it gets good

One of the next episodes post war is 100% Quackity focused and he wakes up in a bed and he’s like welp lets just hope I’m not as bad off as Tubbo was. There’s no rustling noise when he moves the sheets and blankets to look at himself, at this point the viewer might realize there’s no music in the background either, there’s no ambient noises from outside. Quackity sees he doesn’t have visible scaring anywhere and he’s like that’s weird but good for me? I guess? He walks outside and his footsteps don’t make any noise. Tubbo runs up to him and starts talking-except he’s not making any noise either. His mouth is moving but there’s no sound coming out of it. Both quackity and the viewer are currently experiencing what’s going on in 100% silence and Quackity starts to panic. A scar would’ve been fine, a limb he can live without, but this??? He can’t hear! He can’t hear anything! Fuck is he supposed to do now?

He runs to Sapnap and Karl, they’re not dating yet but they make him feel safe and he doesn’t know where else to go or what to do and Sapnaps like “I know a guy” but neither the audience nor Quackity hears him say it. His mouth moves but again, no sound. Nothing. Still he makes it clear that he has an idea and that he’ll be right back. Mans fuckin books it to Callahan and after a bit of frantic gestures and sloppy sign language because ya know of course Sapnap did try to learn sign to talk to Callahan at some point he just doesn’t practice nearly enough, Callahan comes over to Quackity and starts teaching him and Karl ASL and gives Sapnap a much needed review course.

That’s it. That’s the episode. An entire episode that’s 100% silent with no subtitles, that’s just Quackity learning how to function without being able to hear. In the places where Callahan can’t help Sapnap and Karl come in. Tubbo gets in on it too since he’s deaf in one ear ever since the festival. (Quackitys like damn cheif I didn’t even kno that and Tubbo admits to thinking it was just him being in shock for a long time until a bee flew around his ear for 20 minutes straight a week after the festival had happened and he didn’t know it was there until Tommy asked if he was gonna name it.) Quackity learns how to talk when he can’t hear himself speaking, how to read lips, what music is like when you can’t hear it, how to speak sign language, all that jazz.

One of the things about being deaf that scares the shit out of Quackity is not being able to hear people sneaking up on him and Tubbos like “oh you need a spotter” and Quackity makes it clear that he has no idea what the fuck that means. So Tubbo explains “a spotter, I don’t know if they actually have a different name but I call them that cuz they cover your blind spot. They’re like your eyes and ears where you don’t have any. That way nobody can sneak up on you.” If the audience is particularly observant they’ll realize that ever since the festival Tommy has always stood on Tubbos right, witch is where Tubbo had gotten scarred. (Later on after Tommy’s exiled Quackity and sometimes Fundy become the ones to cover Tubbos right, but Tubbo is more clearly on constant high alert than he used to be. On a few days like the one before the capturing techno and the one before the second festival he’s straight up jumpy and he hates it) So Quackity of course has a lot of questions is this is pretty important. “well how do I know who I should get to be my spotter? Do they need like training or something? Should I just get a service dog? ???” And Tubbos like “No. Well-maybe that’s the proper way to do it but I’d just go with someone I trust my life with-whoever makes you feel safest, go with that” and Sapnap and Karl start laughing like idiots because Quackity IMMEDIATELY grabs them-like Tubbos barley finished his sentence and Quackitys like ah yes

The hardest part is preserving Quackitys ability to speak Spanish, because he’s the only one who knows it so Karl Sapnap and Tubbo can’t tell him weather he’s pronouncing it right or not and none of them know Spanish sign language. Hell Karl and Tubbo didn’t even know Spanish sign language existed until that day. After a bit of panicking Sapnap is like “wait I know a guy” and Quackity can actually tell what he’s saying this time. (Woo parallels) So sapnap and Co. go to George who’s king now and has access to all of Erets king stuff. Turns out Erets castle has a whole shelf of translation guides for different languages and their sign language counterparts. She kept them for diplomacy reasons. It’s much harder to learn without Callahan teaching it, but progress is made and the gang decides they’ll keep working on learning it together. There’s still the problem of Quackity not being able to speak Spanish though, they end up going with does Quackity sound like how he normally does rn? for figuring out if he’s pronouncing things right. Karl and Sapnap are surprisingly good at being able to tell.

But here’s the best part rite:

So after this episode Quackity, Karl, Sapnap, Tubbo, and obvs Callahan all know sign language-they don’t all know it perfectly nobody’s gonna master it in a day but they’re working on it. And so now in later episodes in addition to the gang talking in sign language a lot when they’re the focus of a scene, you can make them talk to eachother in sign language while other stuff is going on!! No subtitles to translate or draw attention to it, some people might not even notice its happening, but if you watch them you can see them signing to eachother. You could add so many convos and lore and secrets and the best part is if the audience wants in on it they also have to learn sign language!!

Literally just-oh my god it would be the coolest thing okay like immagine:

Ranboos doing his dramatic speech to everyone. Y’all know the one-the one before doomsday after Tommy gets out of exhile. So like Ranboos doing his bit and Fundy and Nikki are arguing with him and :0! what’s this? Look in the background and Tubbo and Quackity are signing to eachother, Quackitys angry and Tubbo is somehow angrier and you watch them more closely to see what the hell is going on and realize (with your sign language knowledge)-they’re fighting about executing Ranboo.

LIKE HOW FUCKING COOL WOULD THAT BE HOLY SHIT

Anyways I have so many headcannons for this now I think it’s the coolest thing if there’s like a tag? Or something? For this thatd be so fuckin cool if there isn’t I feel like I should make one but idk what to call it ion know man I just think this is poggers as hell. To think it all sprung from someone making a DreamSMP as a garbage riverdale show joke

[theunconcernedembalmer]

Toko! I was thinking of creating an ask the character blog for IDV or Genshin Impact and wanted a few tips on how to start off. Anything you can share?

ey yo my dude!! thank you so much for this question, now im lowkey tempted (again) to make a genshin ask blog sjadhlkshgkahshglsaj anyway my 1.5 cents is under the cut, yall know how much i talk here HAHAHAHAH

uhhhhhh so i guess we start with picking a character u really Vibe with tm? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE BUT LIKE ive been considering making a genshin ask blog for a while now but i never really got to it cos i couldnt really decide on a character (plus the fact that their outfits are. so intricate. is also a hmm since i try to follow details to a t) (at first i wanted to do zhongli, but i feel like to be able to muse him well u need to know the lore super super well, which i dont n im too lazy to research on that aha. n u know how much i respect characterizations, especially for such a complex character like him. i also considered xiangling for a period of time mostly for guoba but also like i have 2+1 blogs here n having one more might not be a very good idea aha) (as for aesop he was my Hyperfixation Character tm also cos i looked at his kit n went Yep i could work with this. probably)

so assuming ur not a dumbass like me n u kinda know who u wanna pick, id actually say to snoop around here for other ask blogs n kinda get a feel of the... scene? is that the word? or like u know, other blogs that u can potentially vibe with. ive run a couple of ask blogs before this current one (both that have died for different reasons) n from my experience interacting with other blogs (if theyre okay with it, i think most should be) is pretty fun. it also kinda helps get ur blog around to other ppl on other blogs so they can go Oh whats this cool shit n check u out, n its also a reason why we kinda reblog promo posts for other blogs (also cos we’re always excited when someone new comes on, its really the more the merrier. we see all :eyes:). interacting with other blogs is also an option when ur inbox is looking real roomy too

another reason why i havent exactly done a genshin blog is that idk i cant actually seem to find genshin ask blogs around (i have seen rp blogs, or those that answer asks with mostly text instead of art, but thats. not my thing since i hate my own writing aha) (i did find one aether blog some time ago, but for some reason i hardly see them around anymore??? idk man i might be wrong). its not like im trying super hard to find them ask blogs, so im sure they exist out there (hopefully?? im not sure but im being optimistic). i mean theres nothing wrong with just starting an ask blog without others around, but for me i do find a difference when i interact with other ask blogs n when i dont, n i prefer when theres others to have fun with (unfortunately i couldnt find any ask blogs to interact with in my previous fandom. i tried, but the blogs i approached seemed to go inactive shortly afterwards...) plus u get to meet friends that way too :D (i made a lot of friends via idv askblogs n its really been a joy vibing with others)

as for the idv scene. gestures around me. unfortunately there are a lot of ask blogs that arent that active anymore, but theres still some of us who are alive n kicking empty inboxes, n im sure everyone would love to see a new face around. winks at u. also there seems to be a lot more blogs popping up lately, which is really heartening to see.

then u kinda just. make ur blog? n a starting introduction post so ppl can reblog it n spread the word XD n yay u have a blog i guess??? XD

i gotta say tho. dont expect ur blog to take off immediately (especially for smaller fandoms like idv, tvbh i didnt think my blog would even get half this far when i started cos of how non existent idv tumblr seemed to be) n ur inbox will probably be looking pretty empty a lot of the time (or at least filled with some that u havent quite thought of how to reply to yet aha) (but also like empty inboxes happen pretty often, im sure most of us here have experienced this problem)

in the case of the first ask blog i ever started, it never really took off at all. ngl it was kind of demoralizing n depressing but to be fair i had picked one of the more obscure characters in the series, so obscure that many ppl in the fandom would have never heard of this character before. if u wanted to know, i took a character that only appeared in the 2nd musical of the series, who also made a very brief cameo in the manga to acknowledge his existence within that universe. thats how obscure my character was, but i went with him purely because he was my favourite character. i will say though i did enjoy it while it lasted n i learnt a lot from the experience, n i think thats whats important really.

i guess this kinda leads on (not really but let me digress) to the whole uhhhh thing where if u choose a more popular character, u get more attention. which is fine i guess? if u really vibe with the character, i mean theyre popular for a reason. n choosing a more popular fandom (like genshin) would objectively also get u more viewers n numbers. but like honestly i believe that ask blogs are meant for u to have fun with, n like trying to get popular gets tiring pretty fast (this shouldnt be like a main goal, but u know sometimes u subconsciously also want that gucci follower count n bomb ass notes or something. i used to be guilty of this until i realized it isnt worth it) especially if ur not enjoying yourself in the process. (case in point: my previous fandom was considerably larger n my blog got about 700 followers within a year or so, but it got very tiring n stressful to maintain after my interest in it died, n no one was really interacting with the blog even though i tried which kinda made it even more depressing despite the so called success n popularity of the blog)

anyway on a less serious note, theres a lot of fun stuff u can do with the ask blog, like some ask blogs have really fancy tags that i really like n try to do but also like not really HAHAHAHA. i kinda just channel what i want to see in an ask blog into my own ask blogs (good art is one, i try very hard for it to be good :,DD another is characterization, n others is just extra miscellaneous arts n stuffs like au ideas or memes. these are also somethings u could work on during ask box downtimes perhaps)

uhhh another side thing is like a posting schedule i guess? like ppl would be more likely to interact (i think) if ur blog is relatively active, n this is usually determined by the last post u made (i think XD). but like generally for blog maintenence id say try to kinda find a frequency that ur comfortable with?? cos i know my once a day posting is kinda insane if i wasnt so hyperfixated on all of this n fight the urge to dump all ur replies when u finish them XD (though ive seen some blogs do that n they do it pretty frequently so its pretty nice to know once u see their post u can spend some time going through the latest batch of posts XD) the queue function is pretty useful here even though i truthfully have never really used it, i kinda just post from my drafts really but it also helps to space out ur content to seem somewhat active especially when u dont have the time to be working on replies sometimes. i hope u know what im trying to say here aha

ANYWAY that was like my 1.5 cents cos i dont even think its worth 2 cents HAHAHAHAH these are just my thoughts from running all my blogs up till now, some that are still running n the others that have just died a natural death. i wouldnt actually delete them (theyre still around actually XD) cos theyre kinda like archives n i can look back at what i did last time. cos ngl i made some high quality stuff back then, n i dont even know how i managed to do that aldhflhdsgk. also ppl do look at archive blogs every now n then for the content thats there yknow

BUT YES anyway if u do decide to join the idv ask blogs hmu, ill be sure to give u a lil shoutout here. winks

[fiovske]

can i vent to you just a bit? it makes me sad that the only thing that keeps me watching cr is the lore and caduceus. and it's so exhausting to be in some parts of the fandom sometimes when week after week there's talk about okay, if cad won't leave now, he will after they bring back molly, because he's "done with his arc". isn't jester also done with hers now after travellercon? she set out into the world because she couldnt stay at her home anymore but that has been taken care of already. 1/3

but there's never been even a word about jester possibly leaving the group. some will probably say that "but this is her family now! Caduceus still has a duty to fill elsewhere!" but when you have about 400 years of life still in front of you, I could argue that filling that duty is not something that needs to happen in the next month or even a year. to me this just highlights how easily cad gets brushed aside, almost like he still doesn't fully belong in to the group 2/3

despite everything that he has given to them. ep96 still gets my blood boiling. and i don't mean to be a jester anti, i'm just... tired i guess. also eeeverything else that feels off after the hiatus... I think I might do the sensible thing and clear cr from my thursday schedule. i can still catch the episodes from youtube and cheer for the firbolg boy by myself. it's just kinda sad that so many people that i follow don't seem to find the joy of cr anymore. I can't find it either. 3/3

I completely understand and I fully sympathize!! and also agree!! the way people sideline caduceus, and only acknowledge him as if his sole job is to be the emotional support of the group, to constantly give and to never get anything back. the way it is absolutely ignored that he’s been having terrible nightmares and the way people are on like: oh this means cad will leave and molly comes back!!

and I’m like: bro if cad leaves your group is statistically FUCKED. I know none of you like to check in on him emotionally or physically, if at all. jester isnt the group healer and doesnt like to focus on the healing, if your prime healer leaves then tell me who will null those nat20 attacks?? who will give you bless or cast bane on the emeny?? literally he is indisposable as a party member yall dont got anyone to pick you back up but him and yall have reduced him to that role only instead of ever trying to be introspective about him or engage with him on his trauma and self-destructive behaviors, despite everything he’s done for y’all and WILL continue to do, he’ll continue to give until there’s nothing of him left and yall are just real damn fine with taking from him and taking and taking.

like.. he’s died like, two times and had a really rough time on rumblecusp and we didnt see yall care for him like you would for someone you consider a main-character. I know caduceus has problems with acknowledging that he expecting love in turn isn’t something he should feel guilty about too, that he sees him being with the m9 as a “debt” a “duty” makes me infinitely sad and the fact that he always puts everyone before himself, always does THE MOST for every character, gives them affirmation and love when they need it... and gets almost next to nothing in return. not even a “how are you doing, buddy?” yeah.

idk i love the pink cow man and I hate how everything thinks he isnt interesting enough or “static” when caduceus has grown and changed and its been repeatedly shown that he struggles to balance how much he misses home and how much infinitely more would he miss the m9 if they ever part ways... like, he has so many issues that lurk under the surface, his inability to ask for love or to be cared for or even... idk, his inability to even ask for help.... it makes me so fucking sad. we got caduceus arc we met the fam but I’ll always be sad we couldn’t stay with them longer, that none of the nein really interacted with caduceus’ family or talked about him or asked what he’s like or just.. simply cared. it felt like they didnt really care and I dont care if I sound too salty right now but I love caduceus and all I can hope for is Matt probably makes an NPC who flirts with caduceus maybe or even simply cares, or even engages with him on a personal basis... i’d love to see the firbolg be the object of someone affection at least ONCE instead of bleeding himself dry by giving and giving and giving until he’s hollow and dry and there’s nothing left of him anymore and even then, he’ll continue to give and pretend he is fine. and i doubt, even then, that the m9 would notice.

[glowstickk]

i wish to know... about your zimverse ocs... they seem pretty neat...

anon u GOT IT i’ve been wanting to talk abt the gang for so long!!!!! when i saw this ask i lost my marbles!!! knowin that someone is actually interested in these guys makes me so happy!!! so!! here they are!!!  also!! apologies that it took me so long to actually answer, i wanted to be able to say all of the lore for lizzie (who hadn’t had her chara arc in rp at the time) and by the time i got her arc done i ran flat outta spoons nbfkgb,, but i got my spoons back and whipped up a few lil pictures to go with this so hopefully that makes up for it!!! oki here we go!! under a cut because talking about five separate charas is gonna get long ndfjkv

ZAPPELINE VOLTAIRE

she/he/they | genderfluid | somewhere between 25-37 y/o zap is basically my main character! she used to be a scientist who worked on interdimensional research, more specifically what the theoretical effects of interdimensional travel/portals would be on the human body and the safety of all of that. at one point the lab she worked at lost funding, but she decided to fuck around there before it got demolished because why not! she did a few experiments on herself, including changing her natural hair color and making it so that she could see an extra color. the latter of which did not work out entirely as planned, because the rods in her eyes didn’t grow in quite right. so! now she has red-green colorblindness in her right eye, and something similar to tritanomaly in her left, which is why she wears those funky glasses!

gonna be honest, i’m still working on a way to properly explain the next bit without it getting super boring or incomprehensible, but tdlr the new colors corresponds to a wavelengths that interdimensional rifts emit, so now she can see interdimensional rifts! she noodles out a way to build an interdimensional portal using some leftover notes from one of her co-workers, and jumps through! she ended up getting too excited about the portal and forgets to make sure it’s stable, and it ends up collapsing the second she gets through. so now she’s stuck in the multiverse! fun! after a bit of dimension-hopping, mad science, and the entire plot of polychrome (a game concept im workin on!!), she lands herself in zimcon!

SPARKPLUG VOLTAIRE

he/they | nonbinary | 5 y/o

sparkplug was originally built by zap to be her impulse control! this did not work! for context, zap used to be a really shitty supervillain before zimcon, so i kinda made sparkplug to be her sidekick/henchman? but in the way that’s like, supervillain is really nice and respectful to their “underlings” and basically treats them as equals and as friends, because i love that trope so fucking much. the original joke was “haha the supervillain has pack-bonded with the box!” but then the box turned into a kid and well! here we are. eventually after just. existing for a while they developed their own personality, and pretty much just became a regular kid! they arrived at zimcon as a box, but later on they end up asking zap for an astroboy-style body! as of writing this they haven’t gotten it yet, but that’s just because the rp’s kinda on pause right now. i do wanna say tho i have a special lil bit of art for it ready that hopefully yall will enjoy!!

ELIZABETH VOLTAIRE

she/her | cis (ew) | 4 years younger than zap

god just. i hate elizabeth! i really do. she’s another version of zap who is basically just an evil boomer who can’t even be fun or dramatic about it. in polychrome, she takes over as the big bad of the game. i feel like she works a lot better in polychrome just because that’s what she was made for, tbh. she and zap used to work together at one point, but due to a lot of arguing, many disagreements and some other Events(tm), started hating each other. she’s literally no fun at all and i can’t really expand upon her all that much without going into spoilers territory so that’s about it for her.

LIZZIE VOLTAIRE

she/they | trans gal | 745-748 y/o

lizzie is a ghost! she’s an alternate version of zap that died before she could ever leave her home dimension. after she died, she was quite literally chained to her death spot for over 700 years. when she died though, she was given a contract that said she could be freed if she got someone to sign it, the person signing it would be able to have her do whatever they want, but once she finished the task she could be free. if the person signing felt that she wasn’t doing a good enough job, they could rip up the contract and she’d be sent back to her death spot. it sounds bad, but it was all she had so she tried her best to get someone to sign! unfortunately though, in the few months where there were still people around, she hadn’t been able to figure out how to get herself to be visible again. just before she figured that out, the world underwent some kind of apocalypse, and all the people were wiped out. so she had no choice but to just kinda sit there and vibe for 700 years.

that is until elizabeth came along! liz signs her contract, and lizzie starts working as a henchman for her. the elizabeth arc happens (which is basically elizabeth helps lizzie possess zap and tells her to erase the con members’ memories, she does this, people are pissed, lizzie gets knocked out of zap’s body, zap dies, comes back, and beats the shit out of elizabeth and later sacrifices her to a crab) and liz decides to send her back for not doing a good enough job. so she goes back to her death spot, and after a night’s stay makes a deal with an eldritch blonde twink to gain her freedom.

REGINALD SPECTER

he/him | agender | a few thousand years probably (boomer)

bastard!! bastard man!! reggie is the one responsible for lizzie’s (and a few other peoples’) death(s). he has a job in the underworld which is basically just “take care of this huge monster that eats parts of people’s identity.” he found that feeding it souls worked best, so instead of finding lost souls he just decided it’d be easier to get some new ones. in order to kill people without getting caught, he disguises all his murders as accidents. lizzie’s happened to be a falling stage light that hit her on the head real hard. it’s not a cool or fun death and it makes her real mad ndjvkdf

lizzie was left there for so long because reggie pretty much just forgot about her. he left her the contract to give her some form of hope, which would keep her from fading away completely, but she was chained there so he could come back when he remembered. when liz signed her contract he got some sort of notice about it, and decided to come back to lizzie later for some shits and giggles. when they met up, he told her if she could find a soul to trade he’d give her her freedom. she accepts, and picks zap to trade, hoping that getting rid of her would help her earn liz’s approval (it didn’t). zap gets sent to this weird hell maze, and when a few others get in the way they get sent there too. lizzie eventually gets talked down from sending more and more people to the hell maze, and she lets them out. she’s tired of hurting people, and wants to give helping others a try! at the moment, reggie isn’t aware that lizzie let them out of the maze (and thus, isn’t gonna give him a soul to trade). if he finds out it’ll be bad, but for now she’s just vibing and trying her best to be nice!

reggie’s very much inspired by hate and dial from tpoh, and a lot of lizzie’s story is inspired by my personal theories on blondie/rgb’s death!! its basically “how many tpoh references can i cram into this: the arc.” it’s unbelievable the amount of shit i was allowed to get away with with nobody calling me out nfjdkvsf

aaaand that’s kinda it!!! i tried my best to make this short and readable, i wrote up something else earlier that was a LOT longer and im much more happy with this version. and if something i said doesn’t make sense or anyone wants to ask anything about these guys or polychrome id be more than happy to answer!!!! thank you so much for reading!!!! <3!!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Spoilers!!!! Charmed 02x04

Okay yall. I love this episode, but this one is actually my least favorite so far. I have a couple of, not concerns, but more than nitpicks, about some things this episode. Overall I'd still give it a 7/10. It was paced well and the added lore was top notch so far and cant wait for more. Anyways, again I will start with things I liked, then move on to the things I didnt, and end with some highlights.

Likes:

1. Mel! Overall Mel is a champ and even though she had big romance storylines, and they developed her character in small ways throughout the first season, I still felt we need more Mel. This episode not only did a good job if staying true to the mel that was built in season 1 but adding onto her. Mel seems to detest the idea of uselessness or at least of being powerless. Which makes sense not only as a minority and a woman but as a lesbian. She grew up not having to hide and with a mother who basically told them they were powerful strong and could do anything. Which is wonderful, but breeds that room for those types of insecurities.

2. Hacy

So actually not that much big hacy moments in comparison to previous episoded, but I love how they are the two interrogating abby and the moment they shared with the safe word.

That said I also didn't like the need for one when Macy said she would just know. Although I argue that the fact she even asked for the safe word was because she knew. Because she tells her sisters to go, trusting him, before she looks onto his eyes. Then when he leans in to touch her and orb them out, either she is put off by the over enthused smirk (he was too happy for the situation) or she wanted to get a look into his eyes. Because if you look at her facial expressions as she is looking into her eyes she seems to doubt that he is Harry and then asks for the safe word before he orbs them out.

I also think they missed a hacy opportunity when he warns Macy to be careful

Harry: she's half demon

Macy: so am I

Harry: but you are you

I'll explain further in the disliked section

4. Maggie and Jordan. Okay so I really like these two together. Hold up though. I like it as a slow developing relationship. Jordan is in a different life stage than Maggie imo. If he were single and went after her immediately or they started a romance I wouldnt like that. Him having someone and Maggie growing up and them building a solid friendship first is what I am here for. I'll talk about her powers later. What I was curious about was the ring on Jordand finger since the camera focus for a bit on his hand when he mentioned his family. I hope he doesnt come from a line of witch hunters or turns out to be some sort of creature later on. I mean on one hand that would be cool and a twist, especially if he remains the same (like doesnt change into a villian just turns out has some history) because I feel like it would be a way of doing the Galvin family history right. I mean I think that is what I enjoyed about Galvins storyline, him being able to help out because of his family history. But they didnt do much with it given the limited screen time. So if they could do something similar with Jordan and give it appropiate attention I would love it. But if they tried to use it for drama I wouldnt because it would be too much like parkerita. Let maggie grow up and have a healthy mature relationship without deception and scary families involved!

5. Dark!Harry as a Darklighter and a Hunter

So I mean we still don't know exactly what darklighters are. I mean we know that they are part of the whitelighter (one person split in half) but we dont know if the elders trained them for a specific purpose. I mean Darry got fighting skills and some resourcefulness. For to come from no where, but the fact he is after powerful beings (so far we dont know exactly why) and he has a connection with Harry is really interesting and has so many possibilities moving forward and I especially love the further similarities is draws to Macy.

Harry (unlike macy) has been split in two he has lived with this unknown part of him that differs from everything he was taught and believed about himself. Like macy this side of him appears to be "evil", although I have a feeling is probably more complicated than that since it obviously is for Macy. So harry has this "dark side". Which will be interesting if they ever have to or can merge the two.

Right now it appears that Darry has nothing to do with the Demon wars (unless you believe he and abby are working together).

Now onto dislikes:

1. Abby. Hold up y'all! I actually love this villainess. I just have some concerns about her background. And also have some thoughts about her possible future role.

So I love that she wants to bring down the patriarchy of the demon world. Her being Caine seems unnecessary, and brings up some questions.

Why didn't Parker ever mention her? He mentioned Hunter. She knew about him. So it would seem a fair assumption that Parker knew about her.

I don't mind adding lore to the previous seasons as long as they make sense. So far what they have added doesn't negate what was established last season (season 1 contradicted itself a couple of times), but with Abby as a Caine they will have to make double sure they don't add anything that would contradict season 1.

Abby as bisexual. Like I love when shows give some bisexual representation! But I am always weary when bisexuals are the villians and they are the only bisexual characters in the show. I am not bisexual, so I can't really say whether the show is doing this well or not well. It is just something I try to be considerate of and so when it happens I am always a bit nervous about it.

2. The Vera-Vaugh sisterhood (mostly on Macy's part). Okay so I am treading lightly on this topic and also would like to point out that I am coming at this from my Latina perspective. But I feel that Macy sees her place and he relationship with her sisters from the "Good Mexican" perspective. Meaning she does crave that connection to her sisters but also views herself as the other. More so she view her sisters as thinking over her as "the good half demon" and for Macy that isnt enough. It still feels like a rejection of part of her. Which in some cases is, but I think for her sisters it isnt that way at all. They dont view her as "a good half-demon" they see her as Macy and as thier sister. But I feel that since Macy, given how she grew up and the insecurities we know she has from season 1, isnt getting the memo. She now knows that her sisters actually love her and will stick with her, but she no longer is craving acceptance, she wants understanding and commonality. Which for her, her sisters cannot give her not just because they are different but because they view the situation differently.

Abby is playing to that so well. I was upset that Macy would reveal the way she got her demon side. It seems not only like a bad move as far as trusting someone you claim not to trust but also just common sense given that I would thing you wouldnt want other demons knowing how to create more demons from humans. Anyways, abby's line of having more in common with each other was pretty brilliant given the little amount of time she has spent with any of them.

I think it is possible, from the patriarchy conversation, that Abby eventually would try to recruit Macy to join her in trying to take over the demon world. That said I am not sure so far if Abby would actually like to share power with anyone. We still dont know much about her character. So her development moving forward will be interesting.

Moving back to the sisters. I think if moving forward the show would do little things to address the issue it would help not only to further build the relationship between the sisters but the power of 4. Things like the line I added between Macy and Harry would show Macy that they are seeming the situation differently. It wont allieviate What Macy is feeling or the fact she still has to figure out what exactly it means to be a half demon or if it does have meaning out side the societal implications.

3. Whitelighter lore. Don't come for me! I love the added lore. I just have some nitpicks.

Alpha. So if the first whitelighter was from Salem then how is there and Egyptian hieroglyph for a whitelighter? Unless the elders just to a hieroglyph and decided to make that one the one for whitelighter? ("Hey what's that" other elder: "I combined two hieroglyph want to use that for our new whitelighters?" First elder: hell yah!)

Okay so if these two are one person made into two and are connected. Then how connected are they? I mean I assume we will get more detail as the show progresses so I am not made about it, but the alpha is always kept near the split part. So in the beginning was it that they couldnt be too far apart or else something bad would happen? Or is it that what happens to one happens to the other. Dark!Harry tried to kill Harry so we could assume that that isnt the case because it would be a death sentence for both (unless dark!harry didnt know and just lucked out be the fact that Harry and him are now immortal because Harry's tie to the elders was severed). Lots of questions regarding what exactly dark!harry knows or doesnt know.

4. Maggie's powers. Dont get me wrong, I love the foresight and its relation to premonitions and Marisol, but it is gonna need some careful explaining. They established that witches are traced through these powers and that the sisters were stripped of them. So then what is this foresight? It cant be a part of her old powers because those were stripped. But if this is a new power can it be used to track the sisters? Or is it something else? A power but unrelated to the powers and triggered by an outside agent (not necessarily a person). Will Mel start to develop new powers as well or again is there something going on with Maggie?

Highlights:

Mel chugging like a champ!

Maggie's constant touching of Jordan when trying to trigger her new powers. Not awkward at all Mags...

The satisfied look on Darry's face when he is about to orb Macy and him out (I still cant believe the girls werent suspicious of how Harry found orbed to them when none of them called for him)

(I was gonna give credit to the gif maker and had written down who it was but lost the paper and cant remember which of the people I saved this from. So if this is your gif let me know! So I can edit and give yah the credit you deserve! Sorry about that! If I find the paper before yah recognize the gif I will edit)

Abby's recount of being attacked by Darry. I was enjoying the steaminess.

Anyways that's all on my part! Comment, send asks or message me, if y'all want to discuss something I mentioned or didnt mention about this episode or the series in general! Not looking forward the the inevitable break that will occur but cant wait for episodes 5 and 6!

[cobwebsaint]

may i ask... for you to tell us more about domestic nightmares 🥺 ramble as much as you want

ANON I WOULD HAPPILY KILL AND/OR DIE FOR YOU 

okay idk how far off the chain i am bound to go here cuz these are my stupid baby gremlin children and i also have links and stuff to provide and also y’know. ion feel like getting hate so all the idiocy goes under the cut.

ALRIGHT so it all began when I got this awful idea for the beloved spit fic (aka BIG MOUTH, read here) back when The Gang and I were on.... That Bullshit. I love putting depth into stories and characters and developing them as people and the universes they reside in and all that (read: i have the too much gene something fierce) and I wound up working on that fic for a hooooot minute so I wound up falling in love with that dynamic and building on all these stupid little quirks and starting to create a whole world out of one dumb little fic I got roped into writing.

It actually started as two separate things. For Big Mouth I was just like I need me a long hair Corey and that’s it. Then I was watching that one TERRIBLE fuckin’ 1996 Stone Sour bootleg and I was like OH SMALL???? And they wound up smushed together. Now I Am Here. 

SO DN is the terrible little infant baby children of 1996 brought into this, the year of our lord 2020. I’ve put out a little bit of Official Canon Lore in my quarantine notfic (aka oh my god, they were quarantined, read here) but that’s just scratching the surface. 

Corey and Paul have been friends fooooor fucking ever. They became attached at the hip in middle school and have been wreaking havoc ever since. Paul’s a bartender and certified Baby and he’s basically the angel to Corey’s demon. The yin to his yang. The “don’t feed after midnight” to his fucking terrible gremlin. Corey’s a genderfucked himbo workaholic. He works nights at the porn shop and also does Fridays and Saturdays dancing at the local gay club and he’s also got an onlyfans and shit. He’s terrible and my life has not known peace since he made himself known. 

Those two have lived together on and off since they were like 16ish cuz Corey got bounced around a lot but now they’ve got an apartment together behind the movie theater and it’s a disaster. 

Also Chris is the manager at PetSmart and got Corey a job there once upon a time. Corey kept it for a couple years and promptly quit at 18 to pursue thottery. Also Joey works at Hot Topic.

Now Jim works at the little family owned guitar shop in town (Craig owns the place) and he’s just a simple creecher y’know. He’s just tryna live his life and play guitar and work on his shitty little beater pickup and hang out with his friends and daydream about asses and bikes and getting ripshit with Sid when he gets home from work and Vibe. He’s got a townhouse on the shitty side of town with Sid and Mick which is a fucking chaos pit of its own. 

Mick probably does some trade job and he’s definitely the family cryptid here. Nobody’s entirely sure what he does when he doesn’t Make It Known but he’s quiet and contributes and he’s a bro. He’s also a vulture and is the reason there are bones and pelts and shit Everywhere and a whole fucking maceration area on their goddamn patio which the neighbors love to complain about but nobody ever does anything about it so whatever. Also neither Jim nor Sid would have any fucking idea what a succulent is, were it not for him. 

Sid’s...... Sid. He is the babiest baby clocking in at barely 20. He works at the fuckin’ grocery store stocking shelves and when he is not causing every possible problem within his capabilities he’s hotboxing his room and chillin with his transformers and making sick alien beats like the horrible little cave creecher he is. 

Shawn’s the sketchy, ambiguously old weirdo that everyone knows but probably shouldn’t. Corey knows him cuz he’s a bouncer at one of the clubs he works and the three stooges know him cuz of Mick. He lives in some fuckoff location in the middle of the woods off all the major roads and they all tend to hang out there. Jim works on cars and whatever “projects” he’s got going along with Mick (who keeps most of his vulture shit at Shawn’s) and Sid just sits there and vibes and steals all of Shawn’s beer in the process. Everybody else starts hanging around when Jim and Corey get together cuz they’re BOYFRIENDS.

But yeah, it’s basically just a bunch of little dumbasses living their lives and having fun and being one big terrible family together. I love them all dearly. 

I’ve got at least a billion current WIPs in this universe. Some are little one off PWP type things like big mouth, but I’m also putting my time into building up the proper timeline for yall which I’ll prob wind up firing off in bits and pieces as they come, y’know. Lil nugs to keep the dopamine moving. I really hope y’all fall in love with these dumbasses like I have. Lotsa content to come, I hope! :D

Also FTR I love talkin’ shit bout worldbuilding and stuff and I have SO MANY IDEAS TO SHARE so if you or anybody else ever wants to come pick my brain, DMs and asks always brighten up my day! I’m friendly, I promise sdfbgskjdf 

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk this made me very happy and god this is all just baseline stuff. I have lots of Feelings okay djfbvksd

[jhindraven]

okay now that issue 6 is out and ive read the thing like 3 times, im gonna do my full review/breakdown of the zed comic and allll my thoughts on it.

no screenshots bc i dont want this to be longer than it is already, and also im not gonna talk about the art itself either. this is simply about the characters, the story, and how that relates to the lore of league itself.

all of this is my opinion, you can agree or disagree with me whatever, yadda yadda lets begin

ISSUE ONE

Probably the best one? In my opinion. The lack of expectations really helped this one not suck. Also the most consistent when it comes to characters personalities, comparing them to the in-game voice lines from league and the card game.

There are scenes in issue 1 that almost foreshadow, or at least reference, the events of Issue 6, specifically Zed looking up to the statue of Kusho, and how Zed kills Althon vs how Zed kills Kusho later on.

The dialogue between Shen and Akali is.. a little clunky? Shen’s dialogue is just a little. formal. but to the point that he sounds like he’s lecturing a stranger, not talking to a former student.

Jhin giving Zed his scalpel from 19 years ago is a neat detail that I wish they used more in the story. Sure, we can assume now that Jhin probably only got it because Kusho gave it to him at some point after releasing him- which means that the scalpel is one of the many wasted plot opportunities I’ll bring up here. Part of the appeal of that scene, if only just for me, was the idea that Jhin stole it from Zed while he wasn’t looking. I remember people pointing out background characters and being like “but what if that’s Jhin there! what if he was there all along!!”  But that has now been thrown out the window.

A thing I wish they did was shown more of Jhin’s ‘performances’, even if only in a montage. To show more of the impact this had on Zed and Shen, the strain it put on them mentally and emotionally, and how it affected their relationship. But I understand time and probably page restraints. So whatever about that.

Again, I think this was the best one. Set up the story well, showed why everything happening is important for the character. Neat, cool. Let’s move on

ISSUE 2

Seeing the bodies was pretty fucked up, but tbh? That shit vibed. It’s one of those things I hoped they were gonna do and they did. The bodies looking like porcelain with gold blood?? And the peacock feathers???? Thats fuckin cool as hell.  Then they never did it again.

In the flashback comes one of the worst fucking things in this comic. Yevnai.

Listen I adore Yevnai as a character, one of my favourites to come from the comic. You know, in the ONE ISSUE SHE ACTUALLY SHOWS UP IN????? She shows up as simply conflict between Shen and Zed (which never actually comes up mind you), as bait for Jhin, and for? Zed to show that he can sense magic from her kids to show that she’s been cheating on her husband with Quno the vastayan servant (bc we know Zed hates vastaya i guess?). oh and Guess What? the sensing magic thing also doesn’t show up again. 

Oh and Jhin follows Zed to Yevnai’s place. But nothing happens from that.

Issue 2 was good, but just a total waste imo. A lot of plot points set up only to never happen again. Best things about it were dead bodies, Jhin’s tiny Zed and Shen puppets, and the knowledge that Shen still writes letters to Yevnai :’(

ISSUE 3

I got so fucking pissed when this issue came out, no shit. They took the events of The Man With The Steel Cane and just. Threw it out the window. I did a whole other post about my issues with it so I won’t just rewrite the same shit twice. But I had to actually stop reading and pace angrily for a bit. I HATE issue 3 bro.

The scene with Kusho :) . Good to know that was now a waste of misdirection because EVERYONE seemed to call that Kusho was still alive. What bullshit. But I’ll get to that.

The inconsistencies in character really show in this one. And that connects to it being a shitty rewrite of The Man With The Steel Cane. They probably wanted a fight between Shen and Zed by this point, being halfway through the comic, and just shoved it in there. Doesn’t mean I’m not mad about it.

Akali and Kayn’s dialogue was probably the best thing in the entire issue. I don’t vibe with Akali/Kayn as a ship personally, but it got a giggle out of me im ngl.

Akali attacking Zed. I guess yeah sure she would. Fits her whole “fuck you i wont do what you tell me shen” vibe. But SHEN? calling off the armistice between the yánléi and kinkou due to the actions of one of HIS ex-students?? Shen would never. Let’s add another point to the ‘This Is Really Out Of Character’ board!

The sworn and witnessed scene was nice, it’s what Kayn deserves. Finally knowing the Kashuri Faction was nice, too bad they never get fucking mentioned ever again I guess.

There’s so many references to The Man With The Steel Cane that they could’ve implimented so much better, especially dialogue. I can’t read the original story without feeling cheated out of what it was before Issue 3. So more wasted potential I guess.

Issue 4

This was a big step up from Issues 2-3. My personal favourite, but not the best (if that makes sense). But there isn’t too much to talk about here? Jhin sets off his bombs from the last issue, it looks cool, but there’s no real story to talk about here. There is a lot of character stuff to talk about though.

Zed choosing to save Shen over getting Jhin is fucking HUGE for Zed as a character. For a character so hellbent on vengence throughout the entire thing choosing instead to save his "hated enemy and closest friend” ?? im sobbing.

This whole comic was emotional as hell, and the most character development we ever fucking saw in this thing. From Zed’s daddy issues to the realisation that Zed’s shadows are shades of Jhin and Kusho (which is now fucking hilarious and makes no sense after Issue 6).

There was a lot of setup for plotpoints that actually did show up later for once, like Kayn being the temporary leader and all that jazz. What it had in emotion, it seemed to lack in real story progression until the end. 

Issue 5

This issue was weird for me. Like there was a lot of plot and a lot of character shit that seemed so condensed that it felt like nothing. Zed’s confession in the cell-wagon and the information that Shen was out fighting Noxians too? Alright, sure okay. 

Shen still seems wildly out of character for me, since we mostly know him as this beacon of peace and calm- he’s so violent towards Zed all the time it’s strange. Like he points a sword at Zed while saying that he isn’t allowed to kill Jhin, wtf

The callback to Awaken is fucking superb. Really solidifies that video into the lore of the game. Camille being mentioned had me like :hearteyes: This is a nitpick- but I wish we knew what happened at the end of Awaken. Is Camille okay? Did Jhin get injured? It was a week ago, if he did get injured- where and how did he recover so fast? Little details  that I wanna know, not really for any real story purposes.

Rhaast finally showing up :hearteyes:, nothing else to add bc nothing else happened with him.

Jhin making the most of Piltoven technology is really cool, and its a scene that made me go “OH YEAH he was a stagehand for a good period of time!!”  That’s what we call Tying In Pre-Existing Lore fellas.

Jhin just really shined in this issue. Really set him up to be The Big Bad of the comic, like he had a monologue and everything! Once again, though, that gets absolutely wasted by Issue 6.

Issue 6

Where do I fucking start?

Let’s start with Jhin. I don’t know about yall, but since we spent a solid 5 issues chasing after him I expected more of a dramatic fight. More like the explosions in Issue 4. But uh we got. Some fancy prop work before he got punched in the face twice and thrown on the ground. It’s What He Deserves but like you know, he deserved worse.

As much as I didn’t want it to happen, I’m disappointed they didn’t unmask him at all. His mask was still fucking pristine by the end of the fight!! Not a scratch, not a chip!! But to be fair I think we got maybe 2 pages worth of a physical fight with Jhin so,, sure. Whatever. Out goes 5 issues of setting up? Not to downplay the conflict in that scene of course, I think it was pretty cool. It was just so anticlimactic at the end like wh-

Kusho! Haha they got us good!! The dead dude is actually still alive oooo~ [heavy sarcasm]. Why. It wasn’t a good twist! It was a “oh. okay yeah sure” twist. This might be my heat of the moment response but I have no words for how cheap and absolutely horseshit that twist is. Good thing we only have to think about it for 10 pages because HE FUCKING DIES AGAIN. WHAT A WASTE!!

Whatever, whatever, thinking about it makes me so mad because they set it up barely in Issue 5? I’m just tired this actually drained me irl.

At least we have baby Kayn and good dad Zed at the end to cleanse us of that.

HEY actually did you know that they thought that Good Dad Zed was considered contoversial by Marvel’s editors?? HUH????

whatever, whatever. i’m pissed. 

BONUS SHIT

So Jhin’s lore has now had an update to connect with the comic. And it’s fucking weird. Now suddenly Kusho didn’t care about catching Jhin after he found out it was just a human person murdering people? And that it was essentially Not Their Job anymore??? excuse me??

CONCLUSION?

This comic started with a good beginning and a lot of potential. It brought up so many new theories and so many new headcanons. But all that potential and all that interesting story got washed away with unconnected plot points, ‘important’ characters that show up once, and a cheap twist ending that simultaneously came out of nowhere and was easily predicted (in the bad way). It was a fun read for a while, but the ending has soured the experience I had reading it.

Some issues may come from time + page constraints, and the limitations of the medium. But those were mostly minor issues. I wanna give the artists and the writers the benefit of the doubt, maybe blame Marvel as I like to do. But...

6 months worth of waiting for an ending like this? I’m just disappointed.