#but it's a general verse with existing characters

[randomnameless]

I always appreciated them as two different things. What I THINK they mean is when it’s adapted in a way that actually disrespects what came before it. Cowboy Bebop is a genuine example of this, or the Monster Hunter movie. Unlike say the Wachowski sisters Speed Racer movie which is a cheesy honest adaptation of Speed Race with its own spin on some things…that people didn’t watch despite how great it is!

I've heard many things about the MH movie but haven't seen it, sadly (?) - I heard there's focus on a Diablos?

Maybe I was a bit too negative with this comment lol, but imo it's completely unfathomable to me to adapt something if you "don't respect" the source material?

Of course adaptations can't be a copy/paste and sometimes things are done to make a movie more acceptable/viewable for an audience, like Peter Jackson's Lotr where Arwen - well, just Arwen. But I don't think PJ "didn't respect" the source material. Ultimately, there's a difference between faithfulness (that can be edited/removed bcs a movie isn't 3 books) and the sheer "respect".

Like, for instance, you can wonder wtf happened and if the people really gave a crap about the source material or even respected it, I can think of Dragonball Evolution.

But back to Mario, if there is a movie based on the Mario franchise, I'd expect the characters from the Mario franchise, maybe the settings and nods to the games. If I want a discussion on capitalism, taxes, diesel or butternuts, I'm not going to watch a Super Mario movie. Of course a Super Mario movie can have themes and have a broader message than "and Mario saved Luigi and called it a day!", but at its core, it has to be a Super Mario movie, with mushrooms, Toad(s), Bowser, Luigi, etc etc.

but maybe it's a personal bias, i usually don't like live action adaptations...

[emeraldart]

TSE designs and notes (ft. Sammy)

[ripgray-moved]

            "...huh." he looks down at himself for a moment, am swayed from side to side gently. then, he shrugs. "eh. sounds like bs. i'm obviously real."

[unproduciblesmackdown]

they're so right about the diction of course

they're also soooo right about the breath control from william "holds that 'again' in (acoustic) loser geek whatever for fifteen damn seconds and long enough live that other jeremys just gotta be cutting it down a bit when they perform it" roland like my god the consistency in every moment of these lines. that lowest note being such a crisp & cool spritz & he's sometimes holding it too & it just never falters like my god....the mass effecties are having a great time w/this too, hope it gets around to someone official seeing it, which gets around to will. simply going tf off once again lord....

and the extra mile

[usagimen]

          I’ve been gently encouraged to once more post what was an extreme labor of love back in the day, but, if you were around for DMC!Sayuri, she is back as the verse is a catchall for anything witchy. The information prior is so heavy, you could legit write a short book with the lore, to simplify it quickly here is the need to know. One, her magic is fueled by fear alone, the entity inside of her eats away at it, thus she is the constant food source any horror she feels will be absolved. It regurgitates itself outwards into shadow magic, she is able to distort the darkness with ease, the drawback is the blistering light can scathe her / drain her of energy. She is condemned to the darkness && an outcast of her kind due to her family siding with Sparda during his rebellion. Her atonement is through the act of remembrance by keeping the legacy of the legendary dark knight alive, thus her ironclad devotion to him, unknowing to Sayuri - she too is becoming a fable like so many she has written.

      She is a deeply isolated woman that is referred to as the final mourner, for most of her kind is gone, without the twins or those she was sworn to protect; she is useless. In this verse, she mimics that of a knight who will do anything to fulfill her oath, she is unwavering && steadfast while harnessing a hunger like no other for might. In reality, she is a scared woman that must cling to her devotion for it is the final shred of hope she has. The love she embodies is of purity && holiness, it is selfless without ever asking in return, hence despite her negative view upon herself she is regarded strongly as a bastion of hope.

       Her services are more mercenary work, while occasionally taking on larger contracts to retrieve relics or tomes from bygone figures, all of which are neatly preserved. In the heart of humanity, she is deemed the darkdweller, darkling, one who was able to thrust herself into the torrent of the abyss for the sake of others. As she ages, she becomes rather soft around the edges but still otherworldly in her method of speaking. One can create a Faustian pact with her, amongst the magical kind, becoming entangled with Sayuri is worth envy - she is generous in her power but is a firm hand that will not be bitten. A beauty with a mean smirk && nastier mouth, her resolve makes her a formidable figure but it is her defiance that sets her truly ablaze - the desire to live despite being spurned for it. 

         In the reboot variation she was once a part of The Order of the Sword working endlessly to help Vergil’s revolution. When she began to feel his intentions were not as pure as they came off, she pivoted, thus undermining him to instead create a pact with Lilith. From there forth, she was co-owner of the hedonistic club the demoness ran, after Lilith’s death, she becomes distant showing the two may have been friendly despite them metaphorically holding each other hostage. Her oath to the twins still stands in this world as well, although she is less inclined to help as her devotion to Sparda has diminished, almost as if she is pained to speak of his exile as it alludes to deep humiliation. This variation is more ruthless in a sense she is far more upset about her own being hunted down by Mundus, she is easy to anger && tends to be more reckless in her actions, though she is still a terrifying witch that scoffs at any astral magic. 

[yellowocaballero]

i very much enjoy the extremely scientific analysis of the naruto verse in which there are three genders, aka naruto, sasuke, and Woman.

AM I WRONG? AM I WRONG? pulls down projection screen and plays powerpoint

Obviously let's give room for nuance. A ton of Naruto characters don't fall into these gender norms. This does predominantly apply to the rampant proliferation of the three-person dynamics that were assigned by the government and dictate your entire life. And, like, society. It does not end. Gender isn't a biological factor in Naruto, it's a social dynamic constructed entirely by your homoerotic tension with other men. And there are so many.

Madara (S), Hashirama (N), Mito (W). Izuna (N) and Tobirama (S) - tragically, Izuna died before women could be invented. Sarutobi (N), Danzo (S, horrifically) - see above about women not being invented yet. Jiraiya (N), Orochimaru (S), Tsunade (W). Yahiko (N), Nagato (S), Konan (W). Obito (N), Kakashi (S), Rin (W). Shisui (N), Itachi (S), that little deeply unimportant girlfriend (W). Um, fucking, Naruto (N), Sasuke (S), Sakura (W). Even - even, fuckin, Rock Lee (N), Neiji (S), Tenten (W).

And what do they all have in common????

(OT3. They're all OT3s. Is what I'm saying).

There is some room for alternative gender expressions here, like being butch or femme. Naruto gender expressions: teacher, otouto, woman who you can't even tell is woman gendered because she has no backstory but you just have to kinda assume that she has a polycule-based backstory where she was Woman Gender. I feel almost as if 2/3rds of the Rookie 9 are liberated from this. InoShikaCho just doesn't fit (their chaotic cousin energy is just too strong and Ino's too much of a lesbian). Hinata's too busy being defined entirely by a different throuple's N to have codependent dynamics with her own N and S (and I'm hesitant to even say that, since I actually don't know if Kiba and Shino have a codependent rivalry - do they?).

I get, like, the reason for all of this. Curse of Hatred. Cycles. N and S Genders being sourced from demigods or something. Narrative parallelism. Sympathy points. It's not the bad guy's fault he's evil, his N and W gendered counterparts died :(. But an extremely strange side-effect of this is that all of the male characters are, like, Just Naruto or Just Sasuke. But the vast majority of the female characters are - like, completely defined by the men in their lives - but also they are more likely to be a unique person. Mito, Sakura, and Rin have actually nothing in common. Writing so sexist it creates more interesting characters?!?!

Unironically, this is why I'm always saying that Sasunaru is the ship of all time, nothing will ever top it, you will NEVER do it like Sasunaru, etc. Every important relationship in the series is meant to evoke Sasunaru. (Notably, none of the explicitly romantic ones. But we're beyond such paltry understandings of the most iconic pairing of all time as fundamentally based in romance. We're operating on a higher level than that). This unbroken chain of toxic yaoi has culminated at the end point of Sasunaru, and it exists to parallel Sasunaru and define their relationship by the dysfunction of generations of tragedy. That's why Naruto has to consciously break the cycle and free them from the generational hate - it was the only way to save Sasuke. This is also why I'm always saying that Sasunaru is the point of Naruto, and that the entirety of Naruto is about Sasunaru. Come back to me when your work has invented new genders in the all-encompassing pursuit of toxic yaoi.

This also means that the only truly gender non-conforming individuals in Naruto are its mightiest heterosexuals: Minato (W) and Kushina (N). Truly insane. The N/S/W configuration is the societal norm, it's bonkers to make a major good-aligned male character a wifeguy. By Naruto standards Minato and Kushina are the only queer couple.

[actuallysleepingrn]

Guys, guys, a planetary cycle on any planet in Martha Well's Murderbot Diaries-verse does not immediately translate to the same duration/meaning as 1 planetary cycle on Earth. As far as I can recall, Murderbot never uses actual ages, so we can only use the noted amounts as a general reference for difference in age or time. Eg. Person A is older than person B, but not necessarily by how much, since we don't know specifically what that amount means: 12 Preservation planetary cycles could mean 12 earth years or 12 earth months. This is evidenced by the question Murderbot poses to Ayres about whether the 20-year labour contract was in the planetary calendar or proprietary calendar. Explicitly, time, in Murderbot-verse, is measured in varying ways. There is no standard.

I know people like to speculate on characters' ages, but the whole point is that what we consider as time (Earth revolutions around the sun, etc) is not guaranteed to have carried over into Well's universe. The default time might be the equivalent of Mar's planetary cycle, or Pluto's rotation cycle. Also aging, in the sense of how our human cells process it, varies depending on exposure to gravity (gravitational time dilation - think Interstellar), so depending where Murderbot has been deployed and if It uses Company timekeeping only (an hour is the same because it is measured via Company location no matter Murderbot's the location), It may have counted >35000 hours without It's governour module, but physically existed without it longer.

TL;Dr - Time is a human construct. There is no standard unit that is guaranteed to be the same throughout the Murderbot universe

[ladyloveroll]

(These are my ACTUAL notes from my friends birthday party full of people who absolutely did not know who the fuck Itachi and Kisame were or how pairing names work or what a ship is.)

Writing kisaita (on and off) for 15 years

Never get tired of the ship

Excellent, friendly people in the fandom to keep making content (Cynni)

Presentation is less about the specific ship and more about the general qualities that make their ship S-tier. You may find this echoed in your own OTP, IDK.

Powerful, badass characters who can kick anyones asses no problem, as depicted where they are casually taking a stroll after Kisame (who still has his little fo-hawk) casually takes down the four-tails

Kisame is noted as the ‘tail-less jinchuuriki’

Itachi is clearly a fucking powerhouse, we don’t need to debate that

Working with strong characters means you are more easily able to portray their weakness and explore that side of them since that rarely gets screentime

Auxiliary, not main characters

Main characters are harder to write because they spend a lot of screen time accomplishing their goal and doing Plot

Auxiliary characters are more malleable, and morally gray ones especially so

Depicted here are Itachi and Kisame, separately, being ordered by their villages to kill their own people. They carry this order out, but do not particularly like it. Nor are they particularly loyal to their own villages, despite carrying this order out. It’s hard to say where their loyalities lie.

The answer is WITH EACH OTHER OBVIOUSLY

Any ship that has a timeskip has LOADS of canon-verse material you can work with, especially if it feels like the characters have changed or their dynamic has changed.

For Naruto especially, WTF are Kisame and Itachi doing for three years? Clearly neither of them are out capturing jinchuriki. They aren’t seen lounging around Amegakure or Akatsuki headquarters. They are just traveling the world. Probably doing hits. Probably hitting on EACH OTHER WOOOOOO

Long time skips mean a few thing: 1) Canon divergence, 2) Canon compliant, 3) pre-time skip, 4) during time skip, 5) post time-skip; and that’s not even the AU’s

They clearly haven’t made any other friends during this time either so lots of relationship to explore

The Naruto franchise is notorious for retconning. Probably because Kishimoto (the writer) was pushed to create at a pace that was impossible for any sane or healthy man to keep up with.

Fanficition writers can take advantage of this poor writing by interpreting the character in a lot more ways than if the character was solidly written.

There are a lot of different ways Kisame is written, and accepted as so

Itachi less so but we don’t have time for that

Retconning allows you to take a writers mistake and turn it into utter brainrot that ten other people (me) will reblog every 3 years

This one is kind of specific, but if you like angst then OH BOY this ship has a lot of potential for it

Any OTP that involves an angsty edgelord and a sadistic tagalong can indulge in either EXTRA ANGST and be able to balance out the angst with humor

The KisaIta ship has 4 great themes about it:

Redemption

Acceptance

Forgiveness

And Existentialism of course

Dynamic:

Sharkboy / lava girl

Edgelord / goof

Leader / follower

Maybe old? / a touch too young

Respect for each other

S-tier OTP because of strong themes and repeatable dynamics

Kinkfest here we come

S-tier OTPs must be able to withstand an intense variety of smut writing

Powerful level = able to handle pain and dish out pain

Body things? = more positions

The Shape of Water was one of the single best thing to happen to the KisaIta 18+ fics because (even though it existed before the movie came out) a lot more readers were into it now

Also, Kisame makes this ship work more than Itachi. He is fucking DEVOTED

at this point I was running out of my 10-minutes (THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO PUT ME ON A TIMER) so i just backfilled the rest of the presentation with fanart and memes i like

Why do I like KisaIta?

I mostly write smut

They’re great at smut

I also like angst

They’re always great for angst, either character

Also look at them they are hot AF

Beefcake service-top vs. ‘shaped like a katana’ masochist

Healthy dose of hurt-comfort

They’re extremely flexible to write and so there’s a lot of stories you can create

thank you for not reporting me to the powerpoint police

[sylviareviar]

She stepped back for a moment, blinking rapidly. Could he sense her Signer mark? It hadn't been long since the Crimson Dragon fully accepted her as a Signer and made her fake mark real, but for some reason, it still felt surreal to her. She was just supposed to go on with life normally after this? After a deathly battle with her abuser, who then vanished into the light after his defeat, never to be seen again?

She lifted her right arm to get a good look at it, though her glove covered it. Even though her mark didn't break or crack at the seams anymore, she still wore the wrist brace Yusei made for her. She treasured it.

"Y-you... can sense my power?" she asked, hesitant. He did seem like a powerful spirit, capable of showing himself in front of her like this when she had no prior connection to him. Was that why?

Rainbow Kuriboh appeared beside her suddenly, cooing happily. It floated past Sylvia and nuzzled up to the Dark Magician's shoulder, the rainbow crest on its head glowing faintly.

"Rainbow Kuriboh... really likes you," she mumbled, a little dazed.

@sylviareviar; ask cont.

-- He hadn't quite woke up immediately from her call; as it turns out, sound asleep. It wasn't all that rare for the wizard to rest, mostly in preserving his strength. Though to lodge in their world was a tad uncommon, if admitted.

Slowly, he opened his eyes; coming back to consciousness to meet the pinkette's confused gaze.

As his mind returned to, the Magician attempted to recollect his business. Was there a reason why he happened to be stationed there, in particular? -- For one as matter-of-factly as himself, there had to be.

For starters; he could at least feel some power emanating from the girl (enough to notice it simultaneously, as his eyes opened). Maybe, it had to do with that?

It's no good... Whatever recollected, seemed too hazy to discern...

--For starters, -- "...I suppose I am," He answered, giving a short moment of thought prior; elongated, possibly enough to make the living wonder if he'd heard her. He did take things at his own pace, if allowed...

"..." Little else was granted as the Black Magician's groggy eyes moved here, then there; scanning his environment. -- By all matters, he was definitely intruding upon this girl's personal chamber. That much, was fact, he presumed.

"... ..." --Actually. "I was right to presume you hold some power," He suddenly started.

[loredrinker]

Replaying Inquisition and actually impressed how much consistency there is with Solas DAI and Solas DATV. Lots of delightful things to revisit overall in the game.

I love how some of the companions just go at each other. Oh, we all think Solas is the ego, arrogant companion? Most of them are! I am eating the way Dorian and Blackwall go at each other. "Your kind, you people", so much mistrust in the beginning with most of the companions.

Noticing early on in the Hinterlands when you finally gain enough approval to meet with the Chantry, Solas is impatient. Hey, Seeker, shouldn't we go meet with the Chantry now? Hey guys, uh, surely we have caught their attention, let's go! He is so anxious to deal with his mess and fast. Solas my man, we gotta go kill some rams first. Chill.

Playing an Inky that is trying to play a balance of compassion and self-interest with each companion. Trying to create an inconsistency with approval/non-approvals. Fascinating the various responses.

Love seeing the Dread Wolf come out in Solas in moments in DAI. All New Faded for Her, his snarkiness with companions in the beginning, his response to the nightmare demon. But you also see the rebel leader. The moments he talks about war. On the way to Skyhold if the Inquisitior is an elf, talking about needing to be seen as allies, the way he talks with Sera about the Red Jennis. But I never noticed before how he is consistently giving approval when you help out refugees or those in need. And just how he is with Cole in general. Overall you just get a great picture of Solas with both games. I feel like Inquisition gives us a look at Solas before he is consumed by isolation, violence, war and regret - what he was like in his very early years of existence and ideals and DATV is the after affects.

Which, his voice in both games fits that as well. His older voice in DATV sounds tired, worn out - so controlled, I love it. Young Solas voice in DAI is filled with passion, emotion, even in his anger, or his excitement. Really great contrast.

Humble apostate? In clothing only maybe. Everyone's posture is shitty in Inquisition. All of them strutting around with hunched over shoulders. Talking to Solas in the Rotunda, travelling with him, his posture is ram rod straight like a broom is up his ass. Comparing it to DATV it's a very similar design. We see it again in Trespasser.

Paying especially close attention to Solas and Blackwall - their stories and cut scenes. Their lines - so much parallels. Blackwall's omissions are just as juicy as Solas'. I wonder how differently players might feel about Blackwall if he never returned after finding out he was Rainier and what he did.

The intro to Skyhold, the passage through the mountains, the music, it will forever remain one of my fave sequences. It's the combination of Solas guiding the Inquisitor, his narration - his planning to ensure this person can be in a position to fix his mess.

Cassandra. Cassandra is as bad ass now as she was when I first played DAI. What a phenomenal character. I love every scene with her.

Absolutely enjoying Vivienne this playthrough too. She is so intelligent, well versed in the ways of the world.

Will soon dive into Jaws of Hakkon - it's been a long time since I played that DLC so excited for some lore refresh and surroundings.

[thebiscuitlabryinth]

okay full confession everyone: I've been an OG Cookie Run player for over 7 years now, I know all the cast from ovenbreak and LINE by heart. So imagine my utter confusion, scrolling through this blog, and Plain Yogurt Cookie keeps getting brought up in asks and discussions. I legit couldn't figure out why the shadowvanilla fanfic writer had a huge fixation on the NPC older brother of Yogurt Cream Cookie, from ovenbreak. It took me forever to realize this was some AU fanfic premise using a pre-existing characters name 😵‍💫

OH I'M SO SORRY!! i'm not fully versed in ovenbreak lore so i knew about yogurt cream but not his brother 🥲 unfortunately for the au purposes i needed a really generic sounding name and plain yogurt is. a very generic sounding name

though tbh i wouldn't put it past shadow milk to steal someone's name on purpose just for shits and giggles

[spngraphics-archive]

Manips & Mock-ups March

We are excited to announce our first graphic-making event of the year, Manips & Mock-ups March (we couldn't resist the alliteration).

This won't necessarily be a daily challenge --though anyone is welcome to make daily creations if they'd like. Instead, the month will be broken up into general weekly "themes" with a few additional prompts for each week. You are free to use any or all of these prompts as inspiration for your creations, or disregard them entirely!

The goal of this event is to simply create any form of manip or mock-up. It can be as a static graphic or as a gif edit!

What exactly counts as a "manip" or "mock-up"?

For the purposes of this event, we are casting a wide net on what we consider "manips." We'd like as many people to participate, regardless of skill level, and "manip" often sounds intimidating. But it doesn't have to be anything elaborate.

A manip in its simplest form is the manipulation of images to create something new. It can be text messages between characters. A polaroid photo. A vacation postcard. A character given demon eyes or angel wings. Someone's hair changed. Two characters placed in a new setting. Characters meeting for the first time.

Check out our #manips tag for examples and inspo.

Mock-Ups are another option. For mock-ups we're thinking: Posters, VHS / DVD covers, book covers, album covers, magazine covers, flyers, prayer cards, etc. Basically something that could exist in the real world, but make it SPN.

You could make a poster for your favorite episode. An album cover for an AU were TFW are rock stars. Prayer cards for angels. A receipt from Gas 'n' Sip. A Biggerson's menu. The sky's the limit.

Check out our #mockups tag for more examples and inspo.

Use some of these, all of these, or none of these! These are just a guide / inspo.

📸 Week One: Memories 📸

Texts

Photograph

Mementos

Letter / Diary

Home Video

❤️ Week Two: Romance ❤️

Date night

Gift-giving

Suggestive ;)

Unlikely pair (Enemies-to-lovers / rarepair / crack ship)

Kiss (good ol' kissing manip)

🗃️ Week Three: Work & Play 🏖️

Vacation

Hobbies

Music

Undercover / Dress Up

Hunter's Journal / Bestiary / Lore / Casework

🤖 Week Four: AUs & Crossovers 🔀

Fantasy / Scifi

Reverse Verse (supernaturals are human, humans are supernatural)

Domestic / Non-supernatural

Historical / Different time period / Time-travel

"Superwholock" aka blending SPN with other media

In our poll gauging interest for upcoming events, a majority of responders identified as "non-creators" but interested. We hope to turn some of you into "creators" by sharing resources to make graphic-making accessible to everyone!

Check out our #resources tag for PSD templates to help you get started.

Some free editing programs (if you're not using photoshop):

Photopea (a free recreation of photoshop)

Canva (has many templates for mockups)

GIMP (an open-source program similar to photoshop)

Photoscape X

Where to get free stock / public domain images (some of these sites have now joined the AI wave but have options to filter out that content): Freepik, Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Flickr Commons, Wiki Commons

🚫 NO AI generated content. 🚫 NO depictions of incestuous or adult/minor relationships. 🚫 Goes without saying but, no hateful / bigotted content. 🏷️ Please tag any NSFW content accordingly. 🏷️ Please tag for any additional content warnings.

🌟 Additionally please @ us or use our tracked tag #spngraphics-archive so we can see and reblog your creations!

[waxn-wane]

Ok hear me out, Sebastian misses Ciel even a century later and he's reliving their contract through a new master

So I watched the Kuroshitsuji live action movie (2014), and people may have disliked it a decade ago, but I think it's got potential for sebaciel angst, and I'm not seeing anyone talk about ittt

The movie is set in the 2020s, 130 years after the events of Black Butler. Our main character is named Shiori Genpō (Shiori as in Shieru—Ciel, and Genpō meaning something like Phantom-bee, as in hive). She is a descendant of our Ciel Phantomhive and is the current Queen's Watchdog (also she presents as male in public by pretending to be her lost brother "Kiyoharu")

It was revealed in the movie that the bloodline of the Phantomhives has a "curse", which is that every Phantomhive/Genpō before Shiori created a contract with the devil, selling their soul.

This implies that ever since being under the service of Earl Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian devoted himself to serving the Phantomhive family, even following it when they moved to the East and changed their name to Genpō. By the time the movie is taking place, he has served 6 generations of the Phantomhive clan.

Now under a new master, he was once again named Sebastian (after Shiori's pet dog. What a coincidence huh?). Sebastian must've been shocked, felt nostalgic, and once again donned the name "Sebastian Michaelis". (A tribute to his old master and old identity perhaps?)

What's particularly interesting is that Shiori is very much like Ciel, from her cold demeanor and sharp wit to her love of sweets (which Sebastian smiles secretly at).

This similarity is even more emphasized by how Sebastian dresses her, addresses her, interacts with her. (You know where I'm going with this)

In the present contract, Sebastian addresses Shiori as "bocchan", a masculine and diminutive term. Our Ciel was called bocchan because Tanaka called him this as a child. Sebastian has no reason to call Shiori as such.

Sebastian could have called Shiori by any other term: "Aruji", "Goshijin-sama", "Danna-sama", "Waka",

But no. He chose to call her "Bocchan". A name he probably never thought he would ever use again. Or perhaps it's a name he calls all of his Phantomhive masters.

Additionally, Sebastian dresses Shiori in this stupid ass bow, despite her being 17 already. He probably even delights in the fact she wears an eyepatch.

This is because Sebastian placed the mark of their covenant on her right eye. And not just that, but in fact the mark of their covenant colored her eye a bright ocean blue.

The color of Ciel's normal eye. (An homage to his young master? 🥺)

Other than this, the movie contains scenarios and dialogue that Our Ciel has had with Sebastian before (the "I taught you how to beg" scene, the "this is how humans are" and "you are the one man who must never betray me" scene).

And I like to think that whenever Sebastian pauses and stares at Shiori after she says something frightfully familiar, he is reminiscing, performing lines he's said before to revel in this lost feeling of nostalgia.

In the Kuro musical, The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World, the song Hallucination has this verse

In the song, knowing that Ciel would one day die, Sebastian wishes that he and Ciel would reincarnate "somewhere" (with the kanji 異國 meaning foreign country), where they won't feel pain. And in the movie, Sebastian gains the opportunity to serve the Phantomhives—now the Genpō— in a foreign country in the East.

Even though Shiori most likely isn't a reincarnated Ciel, as Ciel's soul has already ceased to exist, this seems to be the closest he could get to having his wish fulfilled. He doesn't want to lose his Bocchan again, and it colors his actions at the end of the movie.

I'm eating this up though, as a "reincarnation" + the family demon type scenario. This creature served Ciel's family for more than a century and now his old master is back in the form of this trans guy.

He knows they're not the same people, but his mourning and missing of Ciel seems to have seeped into his treatment and service of Shiori, as if shaping her to become more like Ciel. (It's a selfish, secret thing, but demons are known to be selfish creatures)

He is reliving his life as the Young Master's servant. But in a way he's never done with his old bocchan, he lets himself be vulnerable, lets himself be affectionate, lets himself repeat the same familiar words he's said and heard lifetimes ago, but with a tinge of something more. A softer "Yes, My Lord".

This is a second chance. He lets himself be selfish.

And perhaps in this universe, he'd do it all over again. Loving Ciel in every form, even if he's no longer of this world. He'll serve and protect Ciel's bloodline, the last remnants of his Young Master. His greatest treasure.

"My Lord, I shall be by your side. Forever."

[hiskillingjar]

Since you were asking for questions to distract you:

What is one thing you have been DYING to share about Echo, Lawrence, Ren and/or Strade? Literally just use this ask to go on a rant about whatever/whoever you want 💛

*fiona apple voice* what the hell, sure.

long post so under the cut. general headcanon dump for ren/fox, law and strade be upon ye. echo is included.

ren + fox 🦊

can't speak japanese (think this is canon) and feels weird and traumatised about it. makes an effort to learn after strade's death, and by fox age, he's fluent.

(also) after strade's death, he attends community college (by fudging a high school degree and upping the sob story of an abusive boyfriend) and gets a degree in coding :)

really struggles to eat vegetables and dairy. would only eat meat and carbs if he was left to his own devices

both of these make his not entirely subtle ED habits flare up, though, so he's kind of a bad eater. don't take him out for dinner, he'll overthink it for days

has a pintrest where he collects outfit inspiration ^_^

sort of self-conscious about his height but knows it's an asset in his younger years. starts wearing heeled boots as he gets older.

lawrence 🥀

can't watch movies or tv shows without disassociating. it makes existing as a human being sort of exhausting

had a crush on their guidance counsellor at school and fantasised about her raping them. felt immediately bad about it and had an OCD doom spiral that made them stop going to see her

generally sex and romance repulsed, to the degree that they questioned if they even had the capacity to feel those emotions at all

turns out, just super depressed

when they do feel romantic or sexual, it can be very overwhelming and intense. which is why they prefer to just. not feel it lol

struggles gaining weight but develops a bit of a gut as they get older. they're a little self-conscious about it.

has a few hang-ups about masculinity, queerness, gender nonconformity. their dad put some fucked up ideas into their head as a kid (which also explains their OCD)

has two broken molars and crooked teeth from not looking after them when they were younger

strade 🔨

coffee drinker. likes it strong but with two sugars. won't drink tea, thinks it's a bad use of caffeine

not a picky eater but won't eat vegetarian "fake" meat. he has like a visceral reaction to it. real dad core energy in that respect.

on the subject of dad core, totally does that thing where he'll walk into a room and just stand there watching tv for twenty minutes. has done that when ren watches anime. no sitting, just...standing.

yellow teeth <3 from smoking when he was younger (with the occasional cigar in his older age) and coffee drinking.

never broken a bone, but has a fuck ton of scars and scrapes. his back especially (from fucking ren <3)

has a few masochistic inclinations. likes a punch to the face, likes to get scratched up and beat up. it gets his blood pumping

very comfortable being a verse, but wouldn't sub for love nor money. ultimate power bottom when he's doing it

acab. really doesn't like police. like he knows how to chat to them and put on the charm and all that, but he doesn't trust them. acab.

echo 🪒 (that's her emoji) (also just facts I feel like sharing)

echo was named and based after echo and query, the riddler's lesbian sidekicks in the batman comics. i developed the two of them into a genderfluid domsub lesbian couple for a batman 2022 fanfic, and got so attached to echo that she became her own character <3

echo's design was partially inspired by trianon serious weakness, but more so that I miss having black and green hair lol. she also has all of my piercings :)

characters who also inspired echo are vikki from what happens next and beth from manhunt by gretchen felker-martin

echo works at fictional cafe that's a stand-in for st*rbucks because of their gender affirming care benefits.

when she and law first met at therapy, she thought they were a clocky trans girl. had absolutely no idea they were basically cis until they told her

her favourite video games are metal gear solid (of course), silent hill and yume nikki

she'd never ever tell anyone she likes anime (because it's cringe apparently), but her favourites are neon genesis evangelion and berserk. has a secret fondness for madoka magica too

echo has one (1) other friend who's a detransitioned butch nb called matt (they/she). echo bullied matt in high school, and they eventually dated but broke it off amicably. they play call of duty together on thursdays.

echo has fucked every woman in law and her's group therapy, and she hates it.

[rwrbficrecs]

We’ll Invite Something In by @smc-27 (book-verse)

@dot524: This is a fandom favorite and for good reason. In this canon divergence AU, Alex is President, Henry is out, and they never got together in their 20s. Instead, they encounter each other in their late 30s and a very different type of relationship ensues. They still hide it at first, but there’s a lot of living that they both have done and need to work through. I really enjoyed the character dynamics here and how the premise changed both Alex and Henry, making them bolder and more mature. Definitely read this one!

Eyes Blue, Like the Atlantic by bleedingballroomfloor (book-verse)

@dot524: A Titanic AU! Adapted by an excellent writer, this one has suspense, action, romance, and intrigue. There is a MCD (Main Character Death) in here and some other tags to be aware of, but also vibrant scenes with dancing, chasing, art, and formal wear. I really enjoyed it!

Clean Slate by @smc-27 (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: This was just so excellent. I devoured it in no time, couldn't put it down. I love the way Alex just slips into Henry's life like a silk glove even though Henry has his hesitations. There's abslutely no angst at all other than "you're too young for me" "no, next question" I love it. I love Henry finally feeling young for the first time. I think that is something that Henry generally feels after meeting Alex, like he's never been able to, no matter at what point in life he is. ANYWAY I'm talking about Henry way too much again for a rec. Read this.

Most People Exist by @sprigsofviolets (book-verse)

@na-dineee: Henry, 30, is a nurse on a cancer ward. From the very first moment he feels an intense connection and attraction to his newest patient, the one who has a brain tumor and is named Alexander Claremont-Diaz. - The tags say it all: "Falling in love, Slow Burn, Angst with a happy ending, Hurt/Comfort". After reading this story I am a whole new person. I laughed and cried, had butterflies in my stomach, I felt it all. Hands down one of the best fics I've ever read!

after hours by @dumbpeachjuice (book-verse)

@na-dineee: How much can happen in a few hours? stutteringpeach: Hold my beer. 😅🤝 Reading this was truly a roller coaster ride, my stomach was doing somersaults non-stop: On his last evening in New York, poet Henry meets bartender Alex and the two spend the night together - in true "Before Sunrise" style. To sum it all up: enchanting, sweet, phenomenal, iconic!

No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue) Oil on Canvas by @captainjunglegym (book-verse)

@zwiazdziarka: This fic is so twisted and surprising in the best way! The summary did not prepare me for all the action that comes after the initial relationship drama and I'd really like to fawn over it some more but I don't want to spoil the fun of figuring out what really is going on and what are characters' motivations. Just give it a try.

Meet the Parents (series) by @14carrotghoul (book-verse)

@dot524: I really enjoyed these thoughtful character studies of Ellen and Oscar. The two short stories are a series of canon vignettes from Oscar and Ellen’s POV. These glimpses of the Claremont-Diaz parents add heart and depth to the RWRB canon, giving insight about how Ellen and Oscar think about parenthood, power, family, and each other.

Leave The World Better Than You Found It: A BONES AU by @treluna4 (book/movie-verse)

@myheartalivewrites: I really enjoyed this FirstPrince meets procedural TV show fic! With Alex as Booth and Henry as Brennan, they learn to work together, solve crimes--and fall in love, of course. Plus take down a very satisfying book villain.

No Laughing Matter by @inexplicablymine (book-verse)

@suseagull04: This fic is absolutely hysterical- a must read if you need something to cheer you up! It's also very relatable for anyone who, like me, has said things they've regretted in all the best ways!

in summer air by @acdsbff (book-verse)

@na-dineee: I need a vacation and vitamin D - maybe that's why this series (both POVs are covered 🥰) captivated me so much?! It is set on a Greek island, where Alex, just cheated on by his boyfriend, meets hotel owner Henry. What follows is a whirlwind speedrun romance against a beautiful backdrop. Really therapeutic for the heart on dreary days!!

here is a map (with your name as a capital) by @alasse9 (book-verse)

@dot524: What an incredible surprise to have this entire 50k story drop at once. In this canon divergent story, Alex and Henry start getting to know each other in Rio, when Alex helps him recover from a panic attack. Their friendship, and later their relationship, is a delightful slow burn with funny moments, heartbreak, and steady support of each other. I thoroughly enjoyed this start to finish — the characterization of both Alex and Henry is on point and I really enjoyed how the writer changed some of the scenes from the book while keeping key callbacks. A delight.

Claremont 2008 by @happiness-of-the-pursuit (book-verse)

@suseagull04: This friends to lovers AU is done so well! Having Henry and Alex meet as kids means we get years of their friendship before they even start dating, and it gives every aspect of their relationship so much depth through this entire fic. It also gives some events only referenced in the novel a completely different perspective, which makes them even better!

keep me in the moment (don't it feel so real?) by @anincompletelist (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: I absolutely love everything that comes out of Sarah's magic little fingers and this was no exception. Alex and Henry are best friends and pinning over eache other unknowingly and an accidental lil discovery turns their relationship upside-down (for the better) absolutely recommended. I honestly loved it so much.

you know i can't be found with you by @dumbpeachjuice (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: This was SO much fun. Alex was RELENTLESS and I absolutely love an older Henry. It was also very fucking funny. 10/10

the great duck fiasco by @alexclaremont-diaz (book-verse)

@suseagull04: A spy AU, dating apps, and Alex's Texas roots combine in the funniest way possible- definitely read this if you want a good laugh!

[weaselandfriends]

Have you written your thoughts in Infinite Jest anywhere? I'm interested in your thoughts on it and DFW's work in general, since you mention him alongside the classics as influences on you, and seem to consider him the most recent "Important Author" in the history of literature.

I've read all three of David Foster Wallace's novel, including the posthumous Pale King, but it's now been over a decade since I read Infinite Jest. It might be time for a reread.

Infinite Jest has a reputation, especially in literary circles, as "the book posers who don't read books read." The stereotype is your young, 20-something male, who has never read a book in his life, who either reads Infinite Jest or pretends to read it for the cred of looking intelligent. This has led to most of the literary circles I've frequented to hate the book, though it's always been difficult for me to get out of them what they hate about the book ITSELF, rather than this perceived demographic of people who read it. (At best, I've gotten some of them -- all of whom were drug users themselves -- to accuse Infinite Jest's anti-drug messaging as being akin to a Reefer Madness PSA.)

The Infinite Jest reputation has simmered down in recent years. I think Blood Meridian is replacing it as "the book young men who don't read say they read." I can fully imagine it receiving a similar backlash founded entirely on its readership rather than its merit as a work.

Infinite Jest itself is somewhat strange as a work. Despite being the foundation of post-postmodernism, it really has little in common even with people who directly knew and were influenced by DFW, like Jonathan Franzen or Dave Eggers. It is a work that borrows heavily from Pynchon, and its rejection of Pynchonian postmodernism is done primarily through rather oblique thematic and structural processes rather than through a difference in style or tone. Infinite Jest's grand trick is being played on the idea of the postmodern anticlimax, where a work ends abruptly and deliberately unsatisfyingly. Pynchon did this a lot, especially in Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow, where he refused to elaborate on the massive conspiracies that drive the plot, and where most characters simply ebb out of the narrative by the end. In Infinite Jest, the trick is almost so basic as to be facile. The book begins with about 100-200 pages of disorienting, contextless scenes, most of which makes little sense to the first-time reader. But after the book ends, with a Pynchonian anticlimax, the reader can go back to those first 100-200 pages and realize they are a flash-forward set after the end of the book that explains the results and outcomes of most of its major mysteries and plot threads.

I say this is basic, but the whole reason I know about Infinite Jest was because I was recommended it in college by a stereotypical "Only reads Infinite Jest" guy who was entirely unaware of this trick, and who wholeheartedly believed the story simply ended with no resolution and had no further explanation. He thought this was awesome.

Infinite Jest's structure rejects postmodernism while being, aesthetically, postmodern, and I've always found that to be a more sophisticated reaction to postmodernism compared to the myopic and inward-looking autofiction that has become extremely popular in the current literary landscape. DFW rejects postmodernism's cynicism and nihilism, its inability to find order in the infinitely complex modern world where no absolute truth exists, and does so not by sealing itself away from that infinitely complex modern world into a small-scale personal narrative that is blind to anything beyond the narrator's immediate perspective but by embracing it fully. In this way, Infinite Jest is similar to later works like 2666, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Spider-Verse, Homestuck, Umineko, maximalist works that nonetheless try to make sense of that maximalism (to varying degrees of success), and not similar to the insular family dramas of Jonathan Franzen, even though Franzen was DFW's personal friend and acolyte. And like most of those works, Infinite Jest has a pop cultural vibe to it, embracing so-called "low" culture without shame or remorse. (This was another criticism my literary circles gave of it, that it was too "middlebrow.") I am increasingly coming to believe that pop culture is the new domain of the avant garde, that the most unique and ambitious works are coming from that sphere. Maybe not the forefront of that sphere -- I'm not talking about the MCU here -- but in its fringes.