#but logic is logic and some things don't make sense if you headcanon certain things away

[leniisreallycool]

"Belphie was stuck in the attic for years!" "No he was up there for decades!"

bitch he was stuck in the attic for a few months at most. Lucifer sealed him there immediately before choosing MC for the exchange program (a week or two at most). If it had been years or decades since Belphie was locked up, MC couldn't have been in the exchange program because they would have been old or even dead.

Also, Solomon and the angels arrived in the Devildom the same day as MC. They left on the same day which means exactly one year would have been the day MC arrived. Which means the demons sent to the human world and the Celestial Realm also left the same day. Belphie disappearing years before the program officially started would have been extremely suspicious and Lucifer's lie would have fallen apart immediately

[stromuprisahat]

I love your takes on the grishaverse so I was wondering what you thoughts was on the theory/headcanon that Alina didn’t really lose her powers but unknowingly locked them as she did before the books’ beginning? Maybe there was a period where she couldn’t summon light bcs she was too exhausted and stressed out by the whole ‘final battle’ thing – banishing thee Fold, Mal’s ‘death’, Darkling’s death – so she assumed she had lost it. And then it was easier to unknowingly continue like that bcs it allowed her to remove herself from ruling and making any decisions and just have her simple co-depended life with Mal as she always wanted.

Personally, I don’t think that’s what happened in canon (certainly not what Bardugo meant) but I find it feasible as fanon interpretation, considering how depressed and deluded Alina appears post-RAR.

I'm more leaning into the explanation, that she intentionally, yet subconsciously rid herself of them (and maybe revived Malyen, when we're at it, since the second life bullshit is just that- bullshit that doesn't make sense, since no other amplifier's running around the same way. But then again- I'm very skeptical, when it comes to Malyen actually being one- he has no properties others do.).

Alina recognizes that as long as she's Grisha, she won't be able to be only with Malyen, and she already admitted she's trying to mould herself into whatever he seems to want from her.

Merzost doesn't seem to be random- it's driven by intention. Ilya "upgraded" mythical animals to have certain properties, Aleksander fucked up first, but then managed to find a way to actively protect his people, when in situation his powers weren't enough. Alina lost what made her special, but since her goal wasn't finished yet, other Sun Summoners sprang into existence and fucked up destruction of the Fold, because it's merzost-made, therefore logic tells us ordinary Small Science shouldn't be enough to vanquish it.

It's true the previous time Alina worked with merzost, her powers "disappeared" for a while, but the "magic" also isn't working from nothing. No matter what we're told, there is a cost, some input. It's not "pure creation". We can see it, when Sasha makes nichevo'ya- he's using his own essence, his life force or whatever want you to call it, to draw them into existence, so Alina would need ~something~ to distribute her powers among others, and the amplifiers are just that- they amplify, wider one's range, not give a new ability.

Besides- there's the question of what grandpa Ilya wanted. If he aimed at Grisha being accepted, instead of othered, why would he take away from one the give to more. It might look pragmatic, but the range is too limited and even if he created such "tools" over and over- he'd only make a new caste of "once-Grisha", instead of levelling the playing field.

One of my fellow fans also pointed out that if merzost is magic, perhaps Alina used it to become an ordinary otkazat'sya. I don't believe so. She might've made herself to appear as one, but after all those books spent reading how is being Grisha integral part of their being, something that makes them themselves... looking at post R&R Chapter 17 Alina isn't looking at slightly more traumatized Alina that can't summon the Light because it's not a part of her. It's looking at a husk of the girl, just like the ends of previous books, when she was suffering due to missing her powers on physical level.

And her lack of skill, when using merzost previous time would support it. She locked away her powers and her hair went white the first time. She got rid of her Light, but her body "remembers" it's missing something.

edit: Also- thank you for (positive) feedback, I'm not being rude, I'm just an social idiot with totally not ADHD, so I get focused on "the point", and forget the social stuff like greeting and replying to nice words, which ARE very motivating for me, but HERE'S THE STUFF I'm thinking about and my brain's coming up with coherent answers- LOOK!

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

TR is usually pretty grounded with naturally occurring hair colors, with any bizarre ones being dyed typically. I'm curious about Mitsuya, though. Do you think the silver-lilac tone is meant to be his natural color? If that's the case, I find it interesting he and his sisters all have different coloring (maybe they have different fathers? Not sure if that's meant to be an implication, but since we don't know what any of his other relatives look like, it's really just speculation we can't be sure about. Interesting to think on though). I know in some futures, we see Mitsuya with black or black-streaked hair, but it's kind of unclear if that's his true color or just dyed like certain future Mikeys. Even the youngest Mitsuya we see already has silver-lilac hair (though we see Draken of a similar age, already blonde (and I'm pretty convinced his natural hair is black at least), so it's not impossible or anything that he could already be dyeing it by then). I guess this is a long-winded way of asking what you think about various characters' natural hair colors. I know some of them have a lot of debate, like the Haitanis and Sanzu, and others are generally agreed upon (like Mikey being a natural blonde, even though that's genetically strange to me... we can probably assume Makoto Sano was naturally blonde, too (for whatever reason...) and Mikey got it from him, despite Sakurako's dark hair generally being more dominant. The other natural blondes we know are Emma and South, who are either implied or confirmed to have mixed blood, so it makes a bit more sense for them. At the end of the day, you could say it's anime logic and doesn't matter, which, yeah, but that's a lot less fun imo). But others, I haven't seen talked about as much (i.e., Izana or the Kawata twins - Izana's hair's been white since at least like,, age 7, right?? That doesn't seem normal... 🤔 and the twins still sport colorful hair in their earliest childhood flashbacks, so there's really no way of knowing what their natural hair looked like, assuming the orange and blue are not that. It's a bit funny to think perhaps they dyed their hair to match their eyes, respectively, lol). And it's not really so strange for these elementary aged kids in particular to have dyed hair when many of them come from families with guardians who might be absent or negligent and not care if their child is perceived as a social hoodlum (*wanna be clear I don't care if kids dye their hair, just noting its association with delinquency in Japan). This got all rambly and out of control, but I'd like to hear your hair analysis thoughts. Which ones do we pretty confidently know, and which ones do you have some theories/headcanons about?

See I'm sure that at the start Wakui was going to keep the colour's as natural as possible, with the more wild colour's being dyed. Then as the story went on he just kinda decided to go wild with the colour's. So I do think a lot of them are just anime logic now, like Sanzu and Senju both having pink and having very pink eyelashes and those colour's since they were kids. I think the S62 are pretty clear too since we see them in juvie with very short hair. I think Mikey's is definitely blonde, especially after seeing Makoto's blonde hair and seeing Mikey being so young with his light hair.

Honestly Mitsuya is the hardest one to say but I think he does have naturally lavender hair. Mainly because he had that hair since he was young and grew up in different circumstances to Draken. Draken knew he wanted to be a delinquent since young and would've likely had easy access to hair dye considering where he grew up. But it's definitely not set in stone, it's one of those things where both sides of the argument have valid points.

[noirvette]

kyle! comforting reader dealing w/ academic stress!!

another headcanons and scenario!!

so sorry for this being a couple days since u requested anon, i hope you're doing wonderfully <3 all the best to u!!

cws: none!

Kyle gets this a lot, he has a lot of pressure that he puts on himself to maintain high grades, a social life, and to do good in basketball. His parents don't help either with this.

He 100% gets you when you start getting stressed out and panicked over grades or even stressed out on maintaining a certain grade.

If you're stressed over upcoming things to turn in, he helps you organize by importance and then by date. What homework assignment is the most important to due and when is it due, is there an essay? How many minutes a day should you spend on that essay and/or how many paragraphs should you do in a day. That sort of thing.

If you're stressed by a recent drop in a grade, he'll help you figure out ways to improve your grade, even if that means typing an email to your teacher for you by asking for any offers of extra credit.

He'll even help you figure out what grade percent you need to get on your next exam to help boost your grade back up.

He then'll help you study for that exam or test.

He loves to help you study, not only does he get to hang out with you, he gets to help you.

It's a two birds one stone situation for him to be able to help you and spend quality time.

If you come to him upset, his first instinct is to just hold you and rub your back as you explain the situation to him. He'll offer to make you tea or coffee, (or even get water if neither of the other options are for you) in hopes of helping you calm down.

He's a bit awkward on the whole just purely listening to you, Kyle's logical, and finds it easier to give you solutions to help fix your problems. (He'll get better at just listening if you remind him about that, he'll still prefer to give solutions though).

Which, because he's logical, wants to absolutely help you if you need or want him too. He hates seeing you stressed over things.

Knocking at Kyle's front door, you pick at your nails, waiting for Kyle to let you in. As he opens the door, you briskly walk past him towards his living room and he immediately senses your distress.

"Y/n? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Kyle asks, closing the door shut and following you as you sit on his couch.

"It's.. it's my grades in physics and history. We have a project coming up in history and I just don't get physics at ALL and my grade recently dropped and now I'm near failing. I can't focus in on history and midterms made my grade update and my gpa is so low, Kyle what do I do?!" You stand up abruptly, pacing back and forth, the stress of school causing your emotions to boil over at an all time high.

You feel like crying, you are crying actually and Kyle gently wraps his arms around your shoulders, before his hands start rubbing circles in between your shoulder blades.

"Oh hon, it's okay. Shh, how about I help you with physics. I can tutor you and help you with that class starting tomorrow?" He squeezes you a bit, rocking you back in forth slightly.

He feels you nod against him and he kisses the top of your head, "perfect, you relax right now, I'll get you something to drink. The history project isn't due for a couple more weeks so let's focus on physics for right now. I'll help you with your project too if you need, okay?"

Afraid to verbally respond in case you cry even more, you just nod again. Kyle guides you to sit on the couch, "let's just watch some tv baby, I'll go get us some blankets and drinks."

[pro-depresanti]

~Valastor Week 2024~

prompt list by @valastorweekofficial

Day Two: Love Potion

Summary: Alastor tests out Val's new Love Potion. Valentino escapes within an inch of his life and with two less fingers. Alastor learns the hard way to not accept drinks from a pimp. With a pinch of my beloved Religious!Valentino headcanon.

Setting: Modern times a bit before the start of the show, Hell, Alastor and Valentino are dating

Word count: 2165

Warnings: drug use/overdose(?), unsuccessful induced vomiting, blood and violence

──────

As soon as Alastor heard the sharp clicking of heels, he knew something was up. Maybe a sixth sense, maybe the fact that Val would never ruin his persona by being in a hurry. Whatever it was, Alastor was certain he'd find out soon enough whether he liked it or not.

Valentino approached him to where the deer demon was sitting on the couch with a book in his hands. Smiled up so widely the corners of his mouth strained. "Heeeey, Alastor. Amorcito, baby, light of my life, my most precious–"

Alastor looked up from his book. "What do you want, my dear?" It was just now he noticed one of Val's hands was very carefully tugged behind him. No, Alastor did not like where this was going.

"Me? Wanting something?" The moth demon exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest in faux hurt. "Bambi, I would never–" after Alastor glared, Valentino finally dropped the sickly sweet facade. "I need you to test something."

That sentence coming from the mouth of the Overlord of all things sexual, was the last thing Alastor wanted to hear. Still, he hummed in acknowledgement, nodding to Val to continue.

The moth demon held out his hand, presenting to Alastor a glass bottle, about the size of a flask, pink liquid sloshing in it.

"And you need me for what reason exactly?" Alastor asked.

"If it works on an Overlord, then I'll know it will work on anyone, and I can't exactly try it myself."

"To my knowledge you work with two other Overlords besides me. Ask them, perhaps."

Valentino sighed. "You see... it's a funny story actually... but let's just say neither Vox, nor Velvette will take drinks from me."

Ha, who could have guessed. "I think I'll follow Vox's footsteps for once."

Valentino huffed, then instantly went to the almost pity inducing desperate persona, puppy eyes and all. "Come on, please. Pretty please? For me?" That obviously didn't do anything for Alastor, so Val finally straightened up and cleared his throat. "I transfer fifty of my contracts to you. Your pick, no limitations except Angel Dust."

Alastor involuntarily licked his lips. Certainly there would be some poor souls under Valentino that perfectly fit his high criteria for a meal. "And what's that thing you're so persistently trying to get me to consume?"

The hesitation was enough to tell the deer demon enough. Still, after carefully considering his words. "My saliva mixed with some chemicals to make the effect last longer." As soon as Alastor opened his mouth, Val interrupted him. "I've already tested it, but I don't know if those whores were exaggerating or not, but it's safe. I just don't know how effective it is. And don't look at me all grossed out as if I've never had my tongue down your throat."

Well, true, but there was a difference between that, and drinking spit from a bottle.

"Make it a hundred contracts," Val added quickly.

But, the grossness didn't exactly outweigh the possibility of some fresh meat. And, the non-physical powers weren't as effective between Overlords as they would be on a regular sinner. Hence why Alastor could kiss Val pretty much all he wanted and would merely get lightheaded afterwards. So, logically speaking, this concoction shouldn't have had all that much effect. Probably. Hopefully.

Alastor held out his hand, green tendrils coiling around him. "You transfer me two hundred contracts of my choosing. You would not speak of this to anyone, ever. And while I'm under the influence of this thing, you would not coarse, force, or otherwise make me do anything I wouldn't normally do." While yes, he and Val were technically together, they were still Overlords about to shake hands. Trust was there, sure, but Alastor also heavily relied on the fact that, under normal circumstances, he could fight off Val. Some habits died hard, and Valentino only respected safe words in the form of a carefully calculated kick to the crotch.

Valentino rolled his eyes. "As if I would even think about forcing the Radio Demon." What would have actually surprised him is for Alastor to just accept without a proper deal. So be it. He shook the deer demon's hand, pink and green light dancing around each other before dissolving into an explosion.

Now that there wasn't any backing out, Alastor reached for the glass bottle, opened the lid, and tipped it down, determined to take it like a shot.

Valentino realized that last part all but a second too late, instantly grabbing Alastor by the wrist. "No! Just a few drops!" Too late. Alastor had already downed half of it.

As unfazed as ever, Alastor smacked his lips. "This tastes like you and formaldehyde." Then he hummed, "not bad."

"Oh no, this is very bad," Valentino borderline shouted. "Fuck. Fuuuck." He started pacing around the couch, top set of hands holding his head, the other two waving around in a panic. "I should have clarified–"

Alastor just followed him around with his eyes, noticing the slight blur of his vision. Nothing much happened besides the expected drowsiness. Just a lingering taste and the familiar heaviness of alcohol setting into his stomach.

And just like cheap alcohol, a wave of dizziness smacked his skull. His ears started ringing, and his skin tingled uncomfortably, almost like a shiver, except for the fact that he was very much burning up.

He took in a deep breath and leaned against the back of the couch. He had dealt with worse things. It would pass. He just needed to keep his eyes open and try his best to ignore the disorientation. He wasn't even panicking, his head empty of thoughts.

Actually, this was nice. Peaceful almost. If that was how Val's pheromones usually affected sinners, Alastor could understand the appeal. The world around him felt distanct, muffled, surreal almost. The corners of his vision had dissolved to nothing but blobs of color, his head buzzing loud enough to cover up any other sound. His muscles tensed and relaxed in quick succession, something akin to a pulsing but painless headache through his entire body.

It was pleasant for a solid ten seconds, before his body jerked forward. No. He was getting moved. Dragged, more specifically. There were too many hands on him. One of them made contact with his bare cheek and he swore his face was going to melt off. Yet as soon as the brief contact was over, he involuntarily moved towards it, the leftover tingling, strong enough to hurt, much more unpleasant.

He tried to say something, realizing halfway that his mouth wasn't cooperating. Neither were his legs for that matter as his feet were dragged against the floor. Someone was talking. Loudly. Yet the words didn't register. He looked up, a red blob of color standing out against the blur of muted pinks.

Meanwhile, Valentino was absolutely losing his shit. He had no idea what that big of a dosage would do, but it certainly wouldn't be pretty. He practically dragged Alastor from the lounge room to the bathroom, quickly spitting out reassurance that fell on deaf ears.

"Al, we need to get you to throw up, okay? Then you'll feel better, yeah? It's not so bad, you'll feel fine afterwards." And no, Valentino was totally not saying that to reassure himself. "I'll owe you a favor, whatever you ask."

He let Alastor fall knees first to the floor, barely catching his upper body before the deer demon could hit his head against the porcelain. But Alastor was awake, eyes half lidded but open, scanning his surroundings. He slurred out something, and even Valentino with his experience with talking to drugged demons, couldn't decipher.

Slowly, he pried Alastor's mouth open, not meeting any resistance. "Take in a deep breath for me. Ready?"

No response. Great. Valentino haphazardly took off the gold caps on his index and middle finger, held Alastor's head to angle it downwards and got to it.

Alastor might not have been able to string a proper thought together, but his tongue easily recognized the feeling of skin. And bone. Two thin, long, bony pieces of meat. Fingers. Not his favorite, but Rosie had gotten him to like them as a light snack.

And he was hungry. So hungry. That must have been why his stomach felt so weird. He was hungry, and there was food in his mouth, there was only one logical course of action.

Valentino shouted so loudly he doubted the soundproofing on his entire floor could contain it. He yanked his hand out of Alastor's mouth, staring in shock at the space his two fingers should have been, now bitten clean off at the last knuckle. He cradled it to his chest, cursed under his breath, and was about to try again, this time holding Alastor's bottom jaw in place, but alas, the Radio Demon had other ideas.

Alastor snapped his head back 180°, staring directly at Valentino, eyes now fully focused. He chewed, loudly, then audibly swallowed, licked the few drops of blood that had spilled past his lips. "Hungry," he said, barely audible through the layers of static.

Valentino unlocked a brand new level of fear as he watched Alastor's magic swirling around him to form the familiar tentacles, his form growing taller with his head still twisted the wrong way.

The moth demon took a step back, all of his arms raised in surrender as he walked backwards towards the door. "Al? Al, let's talk about this. We can go fetch you someone to eat–"

Radio static echoed again the tiled bathroom, making Val flinch. But that was the least of his problems as Alastor, now at least twice as tall as the other Overlord, hunched over to fit under the ceiling, stepped towards.

And, stupidly of him, Valentino ran. Alastor, a bit clumsily followed close behind, more static frying every piece of electronic in the building, probably even the block.

Valentino had barely made it halfway into the lounge room before one of the tentacles had grabbed him by the legs and lifted him up. Alastor's mouth opened, lined with teeth as big as Valentino's palm, tongue lolling out as it uncurled.

"Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo," Valentino recited the Lord's prayer under his breath as he was brought towards the enormous chasm of a mouth. "Santificado sea tu nombre. Venga tu reino–"

Just as he was inches away from being bitten in half, Alastor froze. In the blink of an eye, the tentacles dissolved in thin air, dropping Valentino from a good thirty feet. The green magic span around Alastor as he reverted back to his regular form, the deer demon slamming face first into the carpet.

Valentino scrambled backwards until he hit a wall, panting and shaking like one of his unseasoned whores. He waited a moment, two, ten, until he realized Alastor was not moving. "Alastor–"

He screamed as a door slammed open. Vox. Of course he noticed all his tech short circuiting.

"What the actual–" Vox started, shouting, before he took in the scene – bleeding and cornered Valentino, Alastor laying on the floor like a taxidermy carpet.

"I'm under a deal not to talk about this," Valentino explained quickly. "You saw nothing!"

"Is he–"

"I don't know!"

──

Alastor hated getting petted. Absolutely despised it. But, for once, he found the playing with his hair soothing. Valentino and his touchy self. Typical. He peaked an eye open, and goodness, his head was killing him. More then that one time a whole building fell on top of him, which said a lot. And he was thirsty. And hungry. And the light was annoying. He groaned and tossed around.

"Al!"

"Shut it." His ears were ringing. He was not in the mood to have a conversation.

"Sorry," Valentino whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm absolutely dainty, my dear."

"I'll make it up to you, I swear! Fuck, I didn't–"

Alastor turned around to face the moth demon, trying to focus. "For what?"

"You– you don't remember?"

Alastor stared dumbly, until it clicked. Val wanted him to try some concoction. Then they shook on it. "What happened..."

"Long story short, you tried to eat me."

Alastor hummed, then licked inside his mouth. "Is that why my mouth tastes like rancid blood?"

Valentino nodded slowly. "Al, I swear, I had no idea you were going to down half the bottle! Next time–"

Alastor grimaced, letting static into the air. Valentino flinched. "There won't be a next time because I'm never, accepting a drink from you. And I better have a nice, lean sinner that's not ridden with opioids within an arm's reach in the next minute."

"On it!" Valentino exclaimed as he sprang out of the bed and ran like his life depended on it, because it most likely did.

──────

Author note: this was fun to write lol. Coming from a questioning asexual – I get horny when I'm hungry, so I thought, 'hey, maybe it works the same in reverse!', so here we are! Honestly, it was Val's fault to put his fingers in the mouth of a cannibal!

[scaryspears]

Mortal Kombat Headcanons

Frost

Frost is going through a teenage rebellion of some kind. Yes, she's a bit old for one, but hey every person in their early 20's has a right to be immature. She feels a bit confused, dismissed and disrespected.

Kuai Liang was always her father figure, so Frost internalised and took the Shirai Ryu rivalry very seriously. So when Kuai Liang started making peace with Hanzo she didn't take it very well.

Frost has a wrapped sense of justice and logic thanks to her childhood, considering she killed her own mother. Before becoming a part of the Lin Kuei she lived in a bad environment. (If her mother is truly like Sindel we can only imagine and guess what that was like).

Rain flirts with her all the time, and he is genuinely interested in her. (Can we get her a boyfriend?)

Her acting out is her way of getting everyone's attention, and she believes it's a great way of proving herself.

Mileena

Mileena is desperate for a relationship with Kitana, so she's willing to be an antagonist so long as it means having her attention, but there's still resentment. Even with that resentment Mileena is somewhat caring and protective of her, judging on how she doesn't want Kitana and Liu Kang to marry.

She wants love, and lots of it. She thinks that by having the throne she will be given that love, since Shao Kahn was given it.

Mileena and Frost can become friends.

If things were different, her and Skarlet would get along well.

(Skarlet should've been the Jade to Mileena's Kitana. Why Netherrealm Studios? Why?)

Skarlet

Even though it was Shao Kahn that introduced her to bloodmagic, it was Shang Tsung that taught her how to cope with it. (Since he created her in the flesh pits before her backstory was retconned)

Skarlet experienced racism and classism during her early stay with Shao Kahn, and she longed for Kitana and Jade's respect. Due to their shunning she holds a harsh bitterness towards them.

Based on Rain's intro she is partially Edenian, but is mostly Outworld-ian.

Mileena and Skarlet would never admit it, but they both have a bit of a sibling bond with each other. But it's one of actual rivalry thanks to their narcissistic parental figures. Her infatuation with Shao Kahn is a sign that bloodmagic is slowly and surely leading to her insanity, before she did not view him in that way.

Erron Black is the only person she's had a relationship with. Ever since Erron she hasn't been in a relationship due to the fear of being hurt again, but she has been getting a certain Shaolin's eye on her. (I think Kung Lao was genuinely flattered when he said "We hardly know each other.")

Shang Tsung

He does feel some kind of care for Mileena, but in the end she is like a dish to be proud of and served instead of growing a bond with.

He gets a bit prideful from her accomplishments, though.

"Mileena would never do that thereafter. Mileena did you do that thereafter?"

When Skarlet was much younger she used to follow him around just to see how well he would perform magic in order to improve her own skill.

Noob Saibot

Noob/Bi Han takes a lot of things people say literally. Because of this he is the least antagonistic towards Johnny Cage.

His soul is enslaved so a lot of what he does is not the actual Bi Han, but he is sometimes able to break out of it to deliver a few lines.

He has mistakenly gotten into a few debates with Shang Tsung about the use of dark magic vs soul magic.

Kitana and Jade

Very classist and a bit racist, on Jade's part.

Were mean to Skarlet during their upbringing and intentionally isolated themselves from her.

As much as Kitana doesn't want to admit it, she is much like Shao Kahn.

Kitana is 17-19 in human years. Jade is 21-23.

(I like Kitana and Jade but there's things about them that I don't like)

[onepagelovestories]

I made a discovery/theory that I thought I might share in case it's of use or interest to anyone else!

How big is Valisthea?

TL;DR - It's just Scotland, Cymru (Wales), Ireland, and England but flipped upside-down and photo bashed a bit.

These are just purely my observations, so I'm throwing them into the void!

So, for fan fiction purposes (and just general peace of mind), I really wanted to figure out exactly how big the twins were, considering how insanely quick everyone moves around. This is obviously true for video games in general but I felt it a lot more in FFXVI than other comparable games imo.

There's not a ton to go off of, just some throwaway dialogue lines here and there that give you the general sense that you can move from one location to the next in a day or two primarily by foot (chocobos are a whole other side tangent, as is the Enterprise or whatever the hell Dominants are capable of).

Some of those specific references include;

The trip from Rosalith to Pheonix Gate and back taking an expected 5 days total (with Clive, Tyler, and Wade arriving that night despite the detour through the marshes),

The boat ride from Port Isolde to Drake's Breath taking 3 days,

Someone from the hideaway referencing that they leave for Lostwing each day for work. (Couldn't find the exact example don't quote me on that one.)

Twinsides/Origin being "Hundreds of Leagues" away from The Hideaway

There's probably a few others, but most of the other examples I could find were open to interpretation, merely implying that travel took place in the same day but could be interpreted to have been spread out over longer were it not for 'video game logic and scale'.

That being said, I like things being a little more grounded for head canon purposes and wanted to know how much down time was reasonable in and between trips back and forth.

In general, I feel like the game should have been spread out over the full 5 years. But understanding game development limits, I get why that'd have been a nightmare! So the time skip makes sense practically, and I just choose to headcanon that events are a little more spread out. (Like them taking the full year in 873, from Clive and Jills rescue to destroying Drakes Head, rather than a couple of weeks like it seems in game.)

Shout out to this reddit post for doing an awesome estimate based on an average measure of the aforementioned "hundreds of leagues" quote. This was my starting point.

They concluded that Valisthea was likely closer in size to India or Australia, which I like a lot in terms of Valisthea being a full-scale continent. However, it does mess with the timeline a lot.

Also, I'm from a large country so my sense of what is a "reasonable" distance is pretty thrown off compared to a lot of other places. A 2-5 hour (200-400km) car ride to another city is nothing in my head until you realize that distance would take 1-4 weeks to walk or even ride (Horse metrics. Again chocobos are weird and probably a bit faster due to being all terrain and more robust than horses but are also birds so I don't know what endurance levels carrying heavy loads would be like).

Soooo, I began looking for European contemporaries since the game is very eurocentric (and all the criticisms that come with that).

Which led me to the realization that Valisthea is literally just the UK and Ireland, but flipped.

Now. Am I 100% certain this is what the devs did? Of course not. Is it so damn close that I'm 99.9% certain? Yes. Storm is Britain, and Cymru. The Northern Kingdom and the Iron Kingdom are Scotland but broken up. And Ash is Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Major cities or points of interest all have approximate real-world contemporaries and even follow geographical features on the map in that there are matching rivers, topography and even highways.

The biggest giveaway to me was Pheonix Gate just literally being London, as well as Norvant Valley matching exactly in shape with an upside down Bristol Channel (which would put Caer Norvent in Swansea). Even The Greatwood lines up relative to a major national park (forgive me UK peeps, it's hard to tell from a map alone if that's all one giant forest or several parks smooshed together).

So, if we're working off that assessment, with the quote from Tomes where he mentions that Valisthea is a small continent, then the time/distance ratio makes a lot more sense!

Of course, by our world standards – the UK alone does not a continent make.

But I'm honestly ok with that? I'd rather the land mass be small to match the timeline rather than warp the timeline to match the land mass.

So, here's a list of some of my estimated real-world contemporaries for all major landmarks on the Valisthean Map. Of course, they don't line up 1-1, and are not at all reflective of the locations themselves. It's all just for a relative sense of scale.

Rosaria;

Martha's Rest - Oxford

Eastpool - Reading

Pheonix Gate - London

Rosalith - Cambridge

Port Isolde - Peterborough (ignoring that it's not on the coast)

Deadlands

Cid's Hideaway - Stratford-Upon-Avon

Clive's Hideaway - Birmingham

Sanbreque;

Lostwing - Tauton

Caer Norvent - Swansea

Northreach - Exeter

Oriflamme - Kingsbridge

Kingsfall - Salisbury

Dhalmekian Republic;

Kostnice - Leicester

Drake's Fang - Sheffield

Dhalamil - Derby

Dravozd - Wolverhampton

Tabor - Shrewsbury

Boklad - Lampeter

Ran'Dallah- Tregaron

Waloed;

Shadow Coast - Belfast

Eistla - Kinnegad

Edge of Infinity - Westport

Ravenwit Walls - Wenagh

Stonhyrr - Cork

Other;

Twinsides - Fishguard

Kanvar - Chester

Drake's Breath - Ipswich

Dzemekys - Aberystwyth

Going off of those locations, I was able to get the rough time/distance of certain trips (using google maps metrics in pure walking hours not how long it took them because of *variables*)

Routes;

Rosalith to Pheonix Gate: 86km, 20hrs

Hideaway to Pheonix Gate: 172km, 39hrs (to Martha's Rest: 67km, 15hrs; +Eastpool: 41km, 9hrs; then to Pheonix Gate: 64km, 15hrs)

Hideaway to Oriflamme: 295km, 68hrs (Hideaway to Lostwing: 184km, 43hrs. What shortcut Cid?? +Northreach: 48km, 11hrs; +Oriflamme: 63km, 14hrs)

Lostwing to Caer Norvent: 199km, 46hrs (Benedika and Co were at that fort for days, not hours. Also, how hard did Cid knock Clive out if it took more than a week to get back to the Hideaway after the Garuda Fight?)

Shadow Coast to Stonhyrr: 755km, 171hrs. (Shadow Coast to Eistla: 169km, 38hrs; +Edge of Infinity and back: 181km, 41hrs x2; +Stonhyrr: 224km, 51hrs) meaning crew were gone in Waleod for WEEKS.)

So, all in all a bit longer than in seems in game but still well within range given that they probably shaved off arbitrary travel days for narrative flow.

That being said, I love the potential of more "down time" moments. And it really shows just how often/long everyone would be gone from the Hideaway at any given moment.

It puts into perspective Gav's side quest, "You keep sending me wherever you need to, I'll keep going. Safe in the knowledge that I'll have a home to come back to." And how they all remark that they never seen each other, or how much their trips away together were really meaningful.

(Also kinda excuses the fact it took Clive and Jill 5 freaking years to get together. They were too busy walking everywhere!)

Is it possible to just pop down to Martha's for a quick supply run? Yes. But unless you're on a chocobo, you're camping out at Three Reeds then staying the night at the Inn before heading back. It's more of a 4-7 day trip rather than an afternoon and back.

Anyhow, I hope this all makes sense!

Now, time to go write about Clive/Cid camping overnight in the Greatwood together on Clive's first real night of freedom. 😭😭😭

[cutebutalsostabby]

I'm thinking about Twilight's twili crystal shard thing, and I'd like to know what is it made of? Is there a reason why he's a wolf? Why is the Hero's Shade also a wolf? Why is Legend a bunny instead of a wolf? Does the twili magic have anything to do with the dark world from ALttP? Do you think the rest of the chain would also be wolves?

Oops, sorry! I saw this previously but missed responding at the time!

The in-game story behind Twilight's crystal shard is basically this:

People in the Twilight Realm are minding their business until one day, the guy (Zant) who really wanted to be king but wasn't chosen turns up with a whole bunch of new magic powers and uses them to take over the throne. We later find out that those powers come from Ganondorf.

Zant then proceeds to take over patches of the Light World as well. When he does, those patches turn into echoes of the Twilight Realm. Normal human turn to spirits in that environment, but Link turns into a wolf. According to the Light Spirits, this is proof that he's the legendary hero.

Link goes around dispelling patches of Twilight in various provinces, and completes the first three dungeons along the way. Then he runs into Zant, and Zant lays a curse on him that forces him to turn into a wolf even in the Light World. In this cutscene, you see a crystal embed itself in Link's forehead. This is the curse, in a physical form.

Link and Midna go off and find the Master Sword in order to turn him back. The Master Sword is a blade that can dispell evil, and when he approaches it, Zant's weird little crystal curse thing is driven out of his body.

Midna hangs onto the little curse thing. She seemingly has some kind of magical storage space where she can swap out the curse and the Master Sword, so you can change to a wolf whenever you want.

In-game, Link CANNOT turn into a wolf without Midna's help. For this to work in an AU, there's probably some offscreen moment where Midna teaches him a little bit of Twili magic and/or equips him with some sort of item that lets him safely store the sword and curse and to swap them out as needed.

As to what that crystal is and whether it has any connection to ALTTP: although TP's Twilight Realm and ALTTP's Dark World are technically two very separate things, they operate very similarly. And remember that Zant's power is based on Twili magic BUT is supercharged by Ganon's own magic. So it makes sense that certain elements of how the Dark World works would carry over! Maybe that's why our hero turns into a wolf.

Within ALttP, EVERYONE within the Dark World transforms in some way, rather than just becoming a spirit. Your transformation is supposed to reflect your true nature, so bullies turn into monsters while most others turn into animals, and our sweet lil hero who just tumbled out of bed in his pajamas, then went and watched his uncle die and then went off to save the world at like... 15 years old at most(?), turns into a little pink bun bun.

There are a few ways of reading that, and the rabbit does have some different inferences in Japan vs the Western world. But to me, it's like... he's trying so hard to be brave, but secretly he feels small, helpless and scared. Oof :(

Also did you know that hares are trans in Medieval lore? Now you do.

TP!Link is a bit of a different character. He is fiercely protective and loyal, and he also seems to be a bit older and more sure of himself. Wolf form makes sense for him, even going off ALttP's logic about how your transformation is determined. The Hero's Shade, aka OoT!Link, is the only other non-monster character in TP who has a transformation like that, and the fact that it's also a wolf shows the connection between the two of them.

I don't think the others would be wolves. I think they'd be whatever form matches their own hearts. I probably have a few headcanons, but that's for another day :)

Hope that helps!

[buffyspeak]

Craig Manning + 1, 2, 12, 18 & 23

ty for recognizing this as an excuse to talk about craig manning lol

why do you like or dislike this character?

a lot of it comes down to the fact that i think he has one of the best, most memorable introductions in the show, and he has some of the best, most intentional writing from s2-s4. largely because jake epstein is one of their strongest actors and they really played into that. i like that they are able to make us immediately sympathize with him, and that the abuse he suffered very clearly affects him even once his dad is gone, but it also ever feels like the Only thing about him. i think they did really well at establishing a mix of like... earnest awkwardness with a certain charm that felt really natural. and i appreciate that even when i don't agree with his choices, they (usually - as i've established, i'm not really a fan of the way his addiction story is handled in s6) make logical sense for the character.

2. favorite canon thing about this character?

i appreciate that he was largely portrayed as a really good friend? obviously there were issues in his Other relationships (***), but i really appreciate how this trait softens some of the harsher/more complex aspects of his character (which i do also enjoy, but i think helps with balancing out his character and keeping him sympathetic and someone you want to root for.)

ANYWAY, some examples of Good Friend craig manning behavior: generally very supportive of ashley in dressed in black, helps emma find her dad in father figure, is supportive of marco and tries to help him with dylan problems in moonlight desires. i also think he's the friend we see visit jimmy most often in the hospital after he's shot.

ALSO i just remembered: it's a really small moment, but when jimmy doesn't want to hang at joey's with them in drive because he invited sean, who jimmy still has Tension with, i really like that craig is firm in saying he can't uninvite sean. it would be really easy for craig to like, choose jimmy, who is more a member of the Cool Kids, over sean, but i like that he doesn't just write sean off because that would be shitty, and it's clear he remembers sean really being there for him in when doves cry.

(** stuff with ellie gets complicated because i guess they are friends and i certainly do think he's in the wrong for stuff between them but they're really written as romantic interests that the writers are keeping apart for love triangle drama reasons.)

12. what's a headcanon you have for this character?

the first time joey openly speaks about a fond memory of julia, craig starts crying and has to excuse himself. he was Not allowed to just casually bring his deceased mother up in conversations at his father's house, it is Weird and hard for him, but not bad? he wants to talk about her. it's just surprising the first time. (yes i think daily about the scene where craig says something like "remember how mom used to make - " and then albert glares at him with an implicit threat until he shuts up what of it.)

18. how about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

i really admire the relationship between craig and marco. i feel like they could have really played up the, "oh, look, craig is another dude that's totally chill with gay people and isn't that so heroic and awesome of him" in a way that was decidedly NOT chill or cool. and i really appreciate that they didn't do that. it was always just... no big deal between them. obviously it was played for laughs, and understandably, craig reacted with confusion/annoyance, but even the fact that marco kissed him in moonlight desires and craig was just like "dude wtf go talk to your boyfriend" instead of getting into gay panic mode, i thought was nice.

they have some really cute/funny back and forth. as much as i hate the general plot in weddings, parties, anything, marco teasing craig when he bumps into a door after being distracted by a pretty girl who was flirting with him was comedy gold. and i giggle every time craig is like "good thing you aren't the lead in the school play... oh wait, you are, it IS all riding on you" lmao. icons, the both of them.

and they just have such an... overall easy friendship? like of course there are rocky patches, but i honestly believe that these people like each other in a way i don't always with other friendships in the show.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

this smile is so soft and wholesome i'm sorry. i want to wrap him in several blankets. i am normal about this character. (< me when i lie)

[cellphishthekaiju]

Crackpot Theorycrafting: Prince Orpheus is the son of Gith and Zerthimon

I know I'm quite 'late' putting this out but I needed to let it ruminate for a while longer. To preface, there's very little evidence in Baldur's Gate 3 and even Dungeons & Dragons lore, as a whole about who Orpheus's father/sire was... so this theory is almost entirely conjecture and brainrot.

Don't take it as anything solid, this is just the ramblings of a lunatic with nothing better to do with her time.

Also, (obvious) spoiler warning cause it mainly uses stuff from Baldur's Gate 3's story. Most information is sourced from The Forgotten Realms wiki as it's the most 'decent' source of D&D info for me to find relatively quickly and be accurate.

Anyway, on with the show.

Baldur's Gate 3 establishes some 'certain' things about Orpheus's connection and role within the githyanki lore (and D&D lore) as it is nowadays.

For those who are not in the know, the 'gith' were a slave race to the Illithid Empire but thanks to the strength and collaboration of Gith, Zerthimon and Vlaakith, they fought and gained their independence and brought the Illithid Empire to its knees but were soon wrecked by a civil war, called the Proclamation of Two Skies, that tore the gith race into two distinct factions/culture; the Githyanki (gith who followed Gith and Vlaakith) and the Githzerai (gith who followed Zerthimon).

The first time you meet Orpheus, some interesting things are immediately noticeable about him, starting with the gith himself(ignoring the infernal chains, that's a different story). Orpheus exhibits attire, body art, and a beard that is characteristic of the Githzerai and even his in-game class is that of a Monk (as well as his honor guard). What's this have to do with his relation to Zerthimon?

Githyanki don't look and dress like this and, to be honest, Orpheus's whole 'drip' looks more like Githzerai 5e art than Githyank art.

However, Orpheus identifies himself, quite confidently, as a Githyanki (and BG3 gives further 'evidence' of this through some of the endings, when he departs on a red dragon), so I suspect he never actually spent time with the Githzerai yet has chosen to embody the philosophies of an important role model... which had to be Zerthimon, before the civil war. Very flimsy proof of fatherhood, I know, but it makes sense in my deranged mind.

But Lae'zel says githyanki reproduce asexually. Sure... as far as she knows. We have no real 'facts' if the information Lae'zel was taught (all controlled by Vlaakith, mind you) was right, wrong, or only partially correct. Perhaps they can but if that was their 'primary' form of reproduction, I feel like the githyanki would be nowhere near as diverse-looking people as we see them... but that's just applying logic for the sake of my own headcanon.

Anyway, given that we have no real confirmation of event timelines, I also assume Vlaakith I is the one who imprisoned Orpheus in the Astral Prism after he rebelled against her in retaliation for trading Gith to Tiamat. (a slate inside the prism itself states Vlaakith I was the one who commissioned it's construction and, assumedly, the shackles as well, given their infernal design), which would suggest Orpheus was around/existed before or during the civil war, at least. There's not reason I can think of Vlaakith, any of the Vlaakith's would permit him to persist to threaten her reign plus his useful ability served her greatly.

Well, I hope ya'll enjoyed my insane rambling. If you'd like more, just let me know. I'm always open to suggestions (doesn't even have to be BG3 related).

[hanszoe]

do you have any specific head canons? and what are your thoughts on self-shipping?

i have nothing interesting for headcanons, but i actually do have something to address about self shipping, since it's probably in question

looking on fanlore wiki and from my own impressions of self shipping, i think it's great and more people should do it. however i do not identify as a self shipper

i feel like there is a difference between "i love you" and "i think that we should be together". my impression of shipping is "i think that [some characters] should be together", thus self shipping would logically be "i think that me and [some characters] should be together".

definitionally self shipping probably falls somewhere between the two, personal feelings crossing with fantasy, especially because there is no consent to violate. but i get a strong impression from "shipping" that i don't feel is the same as just loving someone.

am i a self shipper by definition anyway? i wrote implicatively self insert about them, i think all the time about how i wish i could have done anything at all to change things for them. but it doesn't matter what i think or feel. loving someone, i think, means wanting the best for someone even if it isn't what you personally want. i don't mind if i'm not the one making hansi happy. i just want to see them happy.

i understand that self ship is totally wish fulfillment, so there's no reason to "hold back" in that sense, but it is impossible for me to pretend in this way. characters as i perceive them will always feel very real, and so there is an immutable sense of distance between myself and them, something demanding a certain form of respect.

i'm also reluctant to define how i feel about hansi as romantic love. i just struggle so much with existing categorizing language. i don't feel like the words "ship" or "romantic attraction" or "sexual attraction" were made to describe me or anything i will ever feel.

so self shipping is great, but i do not identify as a self shipper

[another-lost-mc]

How do you think time works between the three realms? I've been thinking that time moves slower in the human realm than it does in the Devildom and Celestial realms, but there isn't a whole lot that supports that besides the fact that Levi has anime and manga (and technology) thousands of years before the events of OG Obey Me, and even then it's pretty meh for evidence.

It's been rattling around my brain for a while and I hope you might have some more insight. :)

Love all your work btw. I find myself re-reading them rather often lol

Firstly, thank you so much for your kind words. <3

And I'll be honest, the flow of time in this game is a bit strange. Really strange. The wonky time travel stuff and whatever's going on in NB (and the weird timeline-related plot twists I'm sure we'll get later) are hard to follow.

You need a certain amount of suspension of disbelief too. The demons have all this fancy technology hundreds/thousands of years ago? Sure! Manga? No problem! Modern clothing? Why not!

(I assume angels have the same things the demons do, and my on-the-fly headcanon is that's due to previous attempts at peace treaties involved sharing/developing cross-realm technological advancements.)

I'm sure other blogs that focus on the lore/theories behind OM! canon have done a better job trying to pinpoint some of those answers than I ever could. I think the technology aspect is what bugs me the most though and I'm not sure we have (or will ever have) clear explanations for that, or ones that make logical sense, anyway.

Sleepy time ideas before I log off for the night:

It could be something to do with time travel or foresight that gives the Devildom/Celestial Realm access to these things long before the human world does, or...hm. I don't know, maybe we should think of them as if they're alien races in other realms that are more advanced (because reasons), and over time their developments eventually made it to the human world? Like a demon being summoned for a ritual dropped his D.D.D. and humans studied/replicated parts of that technology. (It sounds silly but my demon!mc would totally do something clumsy like that so anything's possible.)

[katyspersonal]

KATY!!

I bring snacks for the sleepover 🧀🍞🥐🥖🥨

Tell me your headcanons on beasts!! Anything from little observations to even your own little designs too!

BIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is such a good ask, dear god. You ask this, but I had a very elaborate Kin headcanons post some time ago ( x ), and I should have done the sibling Beasts one post, but I just never could compile thoughts as well. :') I have more ideas by now, though!

⚡ There was a Great One almost up to the level with Flora, named Fauna! Fauna is based off the name mentioned in cut content about “living livers” ( x ), as well as the cut content boss Great One beast ( x )! He is actually a very important element in my Bloodborne timeline and history of beasthood and Pthumerians, but the core of the conflict was their different views on how to handle the mortals? Flora was one control freak even before her corruption arc, embodying the light one should look up to for her guidance (Moon and Star); meanwhile, Faune embodied the sources of light that mortals could utilize and use to explore the world by their own means (Fire and Bolt)!

🔥 Most beasts will fall for very obvious sexual dimorphism, like actual animals! So: male and female Beast Patients, male Cleric Beasts (Laurence, Cleric Beast of the Bridge) and female Cleric Beasts (Amelia); male Loran beasts (Abhorrent Beasts) and female Loran beasts (Loran Silverbeasts), male Pthumeru big beasts (Blood-Letting Beasts) and female Pthumeru big beasts (Blood-Starved Beasts). I also don't know if you've seen this ( x ) post already, but I've tossed some theories on lack of assymetry in Amelia and Ludwig's beast forms!

⚡ Beast-Possessed Souls are pok3mon evolution next transformation stage of Loran Clerics!

🔥 I like the theory that Blood-Letting Beast is Laurence's restless corpse sealed in the dungeons, but by now I've chosen to not follow it. For me, they're to Pthumerians of Pthumeru Ihyll what Cleric Beasts are to Yharnam! And so, Darkbeasts were this type of beast to Loran!

⚡ However, I do like the idea that Laurence had the parasite within him further in his transformation, as my version of him still has Loran heritage. The parasite seen in Bloodletting beast, in Loran Silverbeasts at Nightmare Frontier, in the toxic cave in Forbidden Woods and in that pit near Cainhurst is, like... Well, you know how Phantasms could live within people with certain affiliation with the cosmos (Milkweed rune suggests it)? Parasite Larvae are roughly the same creation, albeit twisted. But remember that Fauna was a Great One himself, so beastly evolution could never be 100% separate from the cosmos!

🔥 I also do like the idea that in later stages, Laurence would be able to protrude the parasite from his mouth to consume someone's Insight like darn Brainsucker. I ALSO want it to be written in protocol that I think so because it makes sense and seems cool, and not because I am a simp.

⚡ In my headcanons, Laurence's fires and lava blood are not punishment of the Nightmare, but something natural to him. Watchdogs of the Old Lords have the same thing going on! His beast form has Ponyta logic, though, where his fires would not hurt a person or even feel THAT hot if he chooses to not harm them.

🔥 Fire is more natural for beasts in general... And that's why many of them will fear it! Loran Clerics, Beast-Possessed Souls (what an interesting name, huh!), Loran Silvebeasts and Watchdogs can use pyromancy on their own, after all! Overcoming fear of fire would mean giving into beasthood not only with body and mind, but with soul, like, truly succumbing to it. That's why the only beasts we see being like that are pretty 'ancient' ones. Their civilizations simply overcame the stage where they still held onto their humanity more!

⚡ Ludwig is a beast with Kin features, but Flora is a Kin with beast features. Basically, whether they're normally mutually exclusive, they CAN be combined in some cases!

🔥 All in all, beasts as reactive to what they're treated with as Kin, hence why there are types of beasts! Beast Patients are poisoned ones (the Old Yharnam ones received venomous blood of Blood-Starved Beast), Loran beasts come from.. well, Loran's equivalent of blood communion and consumption, Cleric Beasts have altered blood type in one way or another and they consume it in a different way than hunters, etc.

⚡ Interestingly, Loran Beasts seemed to have had branching between electric ones and fire ones! It was more common for them to pursuit one of the affiliations over the other. Abhorrent Beast is electric, but Beast-Possessed Soul is fire!! Yet they are equvalent. Darn pok3mon jokes everywhere again aaaaaaaa!!! Surviving Silverbeasts are caught in the middle a bit, using both but excelling at none, not to mention their missing guts, Arcane spills, parasites and dropping THIS ITEM:

That happened since 'Flora's curse' caught up with Loranites eventually. The sin against Flora happened within Loran, when Fort (another cut content name) helped Fauna to overpower Flora and consume her; you can see her abdonmen area missing, like Silverbeasts'! You recall that Great Ones do want to have children, that Flora no longer can, and since the very first communion carried not only Fauna's blood, but also the sin against Flora within it, the curse evolved in the end, striking those who were capable of giving birth. They've stopped messing with evolution entirely when the risk of their whole kind going extinct became too apparent, but in most cases, it was a bit too late.

🔥 Henryk's family is amongst survived 'electric' Loranites! Henryk was almost completely spared of the effects, but his younger brother (Afflicted Beggar) and his father (the "Night of celebration!" door NPC) were not. I think Beggar is his brother since they're both relevant to Loran, seem to be the same race and most importantly, share exactly the same slider data for the mole on their nose. This detail is so EXACT despite their faces being rather different, that there is no way I'll buy it was not an implication x) Here is the weird door NPC tho:

^ He is the only door NPC that remains not just alive, but eloquent even after Bloodmoon, and that lower area in Yharnam is strange in general! You kill a Beast-Possessed Soul on the way to it, and it is full of butchers of the same type that Madaras Twins were. I think it is a perfect place for the people who wanted to hide some sort of heritage.

🔥 Laurence, on the other hand, descends from fire Loranites!

⚡ I've noticed that some beasts show loss of 'hair color'. Look at the image below, like, you see that the hair (fur?) closer to the skin has no color, it is just dark grey?

This inspired me to elaborate it into my designs that one of the earlier worrying signs would be starting to lose color like that. Hence why my Laurence, who had dark brown hair at Byrgenwerth era, has simply black hair as a Vicar in later days, and why Amelia and Cleric Beast of the Bridge have the streaks like this:

🔥 Red eyes for beasts are indication of the blood getting particularly sullied with human dregs or other kinds of curse and "filth". The Old Hunters that drop Vermin have red eyes and Scourge Beast that deals poison damage has red eyes (there is only one in the game, in Old Yharnam).

⚡ Like I stated before, human(oid) body will be reactive to how the blood is received, and how often! So, left arms of Cleric Beasts and Huntsmen are bigger because this is where blood ministration is received, and superstition that beasthood creeps from the right leg appeared because hunters kept injecting blood vials in their right leg!

🔥 Cainhurst nobles, descendants of Pthumeru Ihyll, actually have not had transformations into "real" beasts for god knows how long; Bloodlickers are their equivalent of beasts!

____________________

Alright, I think I've got out the most of my ideas here so far! I am absolutely sure that I've forgotten at least something because it is 3 AM in my timezone and I do a little dying from coughing and sneezing dfsjhhdfds WORTH IT THOUGH xDDD Thank you for the ask!

[yonemurishiroku]

How do you feel about Will as bi rep (a major issue for me, a bi dude), is it okay or is it kind of the same as the rest of the book?

First, just let me apologize for the agonizing waiting time. This ask is from May 2nd. In my defense, it took me just that exact time to ruminate for the best answer and still I barely have any clue what I'm talking about. I'm not good at this. I'm really not.

Anyway. Back to the point.

At first glance, I think there's another thing we need to address before going into the details of Will as a bisexual. And that is the definition of what, exactly, is considered representation.

Because Idk about you but I have some criterias when it comes to representation.

Sometimes people just write/ draw/ talk/ etc... about something because they want to or they like, you know? It doesn't have to be representation all the time just because they mention it. They don't want to represent, they just want to... express themselves, so to speak.

Imo, if something wants to represent a concept, a community, whatever, it needs 1/ to be done with a certain level of dedication, knowledge, and awareness, 2/ have some focus on their distinctive traits, and 3/ leave a memorable impression on their consumers/ audience. As the main purpose of representation is to include and to show, you should definitely make your appearance count.

Now, do I consider Will's bisexuality representation?

Eh. I don't know.

Tbh I don't have much of an impression of that... I mean. I'm aware. And it's great that Bisexual Will is finally canon after so many headcanons. And that's all. The weigh of the fact is, well, that of a fact. It doesn't leave an imprint on me.

I, personally, don't have a problem with that. As in: I would understand if Rick just want to include a bisexual character (demigod. Bc we all know Apollo and the Greeks is the whole LGBT spectrum). It doesn't have to be something big all the time, really - Kinda like the way Malcomn Pace's, Paulo Montes's, or Jake Mason's sexuality is left up to interpretation.

So, let's just assume that Will is a bi rep. What do I have to say about this?

I'm assuming you're asking specifically about that part of Will and Persephone (since I don't recall anything else...), so I'm gonna follow that path. I just want to make it clear that:

-Whilst slightly baffled, I have nothing against Will being attracted to Persephone.

-I don't consider it a good choice as bisexual representation.

The first point I have explained in another ask that: as long as it makes sense and fits into the plot - as in, plot-wise, logically - I don't have problem with it, and Will's attraction to life as a whole isn't something new. The principle of what it means, however, is another matter which depends on how the events themselves progress.

The second point: I just... don't think being interested in your boyfriend's step-mother is a good choice for bisexual rep, you know...? Like. I mean. Gods this is hard. I mean you have to admit it's a little weird, to some extent. I have seen weird stuff my whole fandom life but even I were like. "Okayyyy hold up a little---" It's kinda funny, yeah.

Not mentioning blatantly admitting it to your boyfriend's face. And no, Nico's "bisexual chaos" does not help.

Of all the famales in a series and Rick chose Will's boyfriend's step-mother. Bold, really. I'd give him that.

In conclusion: I have to say that I'm not good at this, and I'm at no position to speak for the bisexual community. Though since you ask, I'd say that I, as a AroAce still trying to figure out myself, can't be happy with canon Will as a bisexual representation, and neither do I hold it against the author(s).

[ghoste-catte]

Any tips on writing giving Lee more powers without y'know. Erasing his disability. Was writing an unrelated fic and realised that by its internal logic, it would make Lee kinda "ooh your disability was actually a power in disguise" which. That's BAD. That's so bad. I reworked it but the issue remained in my head.

Hey! Oh my gosh, I have no idea how long this has been sitting here, because Tumblr does not do a good job of letting me know when I have asks.

I think the biggest thing with writing disability - Lee's or anyone's, really - is to make sure that you don't erase the drawbacks. It's okay to show that there are possibly some positives to having a certain disability ... I'll use the example of being hard-of-hearing: while not being able to hear well is definitely shitty in a lot of circumstances, there's also an amazing sense of community, strength, and solidarity that can come with being HoH/Deaf. That's not to say there's a "bright side" to every disability - certainly that's a matter of the individual's experience as well as the specifics of the disability. But many people are proud of their disabilities and do see both advantages and disadvantages; the neurodiversity moment is another great example.

So when it comes to Lee's disability, I think it wouldn't necessarily be bad to show that there are some upsides or things that he can do better than others as a result of it. For example, he's clearly had to train his strength and endurance much, much harder than anyone else, and as a result he's much stronger and has more stamina than most people (in my mind, at least). It's taught him perseverance and given him a mindset of constant improvement. I think the fact that he is frequently underestimated could be portrayed as a double-edged sword: while it hurts his confidence and the emotional effect is not to be understated, it could also potentially give him an edge in battle.

The main thing to keep in mind, then, is that even if you want to show some perks, that you not undermine the genuine limitations that are placed on him by his disability. Not being able to do ninjutsu and genjutsu are huge limitations in his chosen career and means that he has to work twice as hard as everyone else for half the payoff. We see that very clearly in the Sasuke vs. Gaara fight: Sasuke was able to learn and replicate Lee's moves in a fraction of the time it took Lee to perfect them. On top of that, he's more susceptible to genjutsu (can't remember if this is a headcanon or actual canon) and would definitely have a harder time breaking out of one than the typical shinobi. He's at a disadvantage in ranged fights. He's got a very limited moveset. He's not able to, like, call upon the elements to give him supernatural powers (however extraordinary his strength and speed are). His disability has led to a lot of shame and ridicule, particularly as a child, and that's something that sticks with you your whole life.

I can see plenty of ways that you could enhance his powers within the bounds of what he's canonically able to do, whether that's by being creative with the Gates, or using his speed with his weights off, or looking at the amount of force he's able to exert on an opponent or the environment (I could see him, for example, being able to imitate something of an Earth Style jutsu by kicking the ground with enough strength and precision, or punching air hard enough to cause a sonic boom). I mean, the dude did canonically kick a meteor in half; that's pretty impressive.

I'd be interested to hear what other people think on this topic, too! There's a lot of creative and thoughtful minds in this corner of fandom, and my word is certainly not law. Feel free to chime in in reblogs or replies, y'all.

[juuheizou]

Since taste is one of juuzou's most important senses;;; what are his most favourite foods(besides sweet things and candies ofccc) and what are the foods he doesn't like and what are your hcs of the foods he DESPISES and will absolutely NOT eat?

Ooh, I love this idea! Honestly I never *really* thought about it before, and there is NOT MUCH in canon for me to riff of of, but I think I took what little is there in moments where we see him eating actual meals (which he has to do to be a physically strong and energetic ghoul investigator for the multiple years the series takes place over, so I can totally see why you would wonder) and ran with it somewhat logically. ANYWAY!

Besides sweets, a lot of Suzuya's favorite foods are snack foods. Think chips, crackers, cheese puffs, things like that. Texture is just as important to him as taste if not more, and on top of him just liking them, part of his love for sweets is that the textures are often very same-same and easy for him to eat. Starchy snack foods also fit that bill.

As far as more substantial meals, finger foods seem like a good happy medium for him, being so on-the-go in addition to his texture sensitivities. Not to mention his enjoyment of cute things! I mean, one of the meals we do see him enjoy (at least in the anime but my memory has gaps after nearly a decade of obsession lmao) is a little café sandwich at Anteiku. Put something with pleasant textures to eat and lots of choices in front of him, whether it be little tea sandwiches, sushi, dim sum, anything like that, and he's one happy man!

When he does sit down for a full entree, one thing that has crossed my mind and I've put actual thought into, is I think he retains a taste for things that remind him of Madam's scraps. That's his first and longest-lived idea of what food is. So he loves a good raw, rare, or organ meat dish. Fried liver/animal guts, a barbecued head of some animal, mystery meat croquettes, or even simple old sashimi. With whatever things he knows and likes and has available to make it a square meal.

In a way, it's easier to headcanon things he DOESN'T like, because some of his canon sweet tooth, in my mind, is born from a degree of sensitivity to certain tastes and textures. They often have to be prepared in specific ways to make them edible, and I don't see him being perfect about it, but believe it or not, he does eat his fruits and veggies, especially in :re when he has his shit a little more together. He's creative and finds his way around things.

HOWEVER, the ones that retain the taste and texture he hates no matter what he does with them are a hard no for him. Some examples I can easily project pull from real life are most of your chilies and peppers, onions, citrusy-type fruits, cucumbers (common ruiner of those finger foods I mentioned him liking!), I guess anything that isn't leafy or a little starchy.

As much as I can see him liking to experiment and mix up things he DOES like, mixed foods with things he DOESN'T like are probably his worst edible enemy, because not only is there stuff he doesn't like, but it's even harder to avoid. Think salads, sauces, dumplings and things with mixed-up fillings, stuff like that. He'll pick them apart, but one bite of something noxious he missed, and he gives up.