#but with each return in time his influence grows and he will eventually become the most powerful king

[shampnikki]

Time travel AU, but Merlin doesn't succeed

After Arthur's death, Merlin, in desperation, masters a very complex spell that moves him through time. Merlin traveled back in time to when he first came to Camelot. He relives all the events again, but everything seems to become more complicated and all his friends die again, and Arthur dies again in his arms, but under different circumstances. Merlin doesn't understand what he's doing wrong, because he's trying so hard to fix everything. He comes back over time again and again, again and again. But everything is unsuccessful, each time everything becomes more difficult, something cannot be avoided and everything leads to death.

After many returns in time, Merlin became colder towards everyone, closed in on himself and became completely gloomy and taciturn. This time Merlin smiles through force, does not seek to make friends with someone, because he is completely desperate and has already seen the deaths of his friends dozens of times. Everyone is trying to get closer to him, but he himself is moving away.

He again becomes Arthur's servant, saving his life. Arthur looks at him strangely and doesn’t understand why Merlin is so gloomy, he unconsciously wants to get closer.

Arthur: Merlin, there is something about you, I don’t know what, but you seem very familiar to me, did we know each other once?

Merlin, realizing that Arthur unconsciously remembers him, because they are two sides of the same coin: no, we have never met, you must be confusing me with someone.

Arthur looks after him and protects Merlin as if he is the most dear person to him (he is), without understanding why he does this, but still loves Merlin very much, although he will never be able to understand why he does not want to get closer.

[sunset-sprinkles]

The theme of dual perspectives in modern k-dramas :

The idea of presenting stories from the point of views of both the male and the female protagonist sounds refreshing it also adds a layer of depth to understanding the dynamics of their relationships.

"Memories are unstable because some memories are only remembered by one person" - Serendipity's Embrace (2024)

This means that hidden feelings always make way for difference in povs. One might assume what the other feels , but in reality the povs always add a flavour to it. It brilliantly highlights the fact that one situation cannot be judged from the third person's perspective unless we hear both the sides of the same story.

The famous episode 2 of Lovely runner that presents with the pov of Sun-jae that he had always and always been in love with Sol just changes the way we see their love story. And the fact that writers have been continuously coming up with this theme screams that it's indeed the best when it comes to creating a tapestry of emotions and memories.

"Memories don't disappear, they're all smeared into one's soul" - Lovely Runner (2024)

The fact that all these four dramas have been not just plainly romcoms but also presents a source of "interest" in the characters who have known each other for a long time. Cause true feelings just grow and don't dissapear after some moments of staying away from each other.

“Everyone has unforgettable memories from a certain year of their life. They cherish those memories so much that it lasts a lifetime.” - Our Beloved Summer (2022)

All these stories have used "memory" as a tool for story telling. The use of memory as a narrative tool emphasizes the impact of time on relationships. The past isn’t just something that happened; it’s something that continues to live within the characters, influencing their decisions and emotions in the present.

The episode 4 ending of Love next door (2024) symbolizes this same idea when they show the transition from "past perfect -> present perfect continuous"

"Your memories don't mean anything. They are all in the past" - Love Next Door (2024)

By intertwining their perspectives with memories, the writer crafts a narrative that resonates with viewers on a personal level, reminding us of our own cherished or even painful memories and how they’ve shaped our lives. It’s a testament to the idea that we are all, in some way, a product of our past, and that understanding another person often means understanding their history as well.

Here , "First love" also eventually becomes a plot device for exploration. It becomes not just a memory but a recurring theme that influences the characters' actions and decisions. The beauty of exploring first love through two different perspectives is that it allows the audience to see how the same moments can be cherished, misinterpreted, or even forgotten by the two individuals involved. What might have been a fleeting moment for one character could be a defining memory for the other.

"I know all of seunghyo’s firsts: the first day he drank banana milk, the first day he started swimming, the first day he surpassed my height. the only thing I didn’t know was his first love” - Seukryu in Love next door (2024)

[We all know who his first love is though haha]

Therefore,first love, in these dramas, often serves as a touchstone for the characters' development. It’s something they return to, either consciously or subconsciously, as they navigate their current relationships.

[froot-batty]

happy hatter day to all those who celebrate >:]

Jervis Tetch seemed to one day just...appear in Gotham. Jervis simply popped into existence in Gotham's foster care system with an Alice in Wonderland book in his hand; no records of his birth or who dropped him off there, if anyone. Jervis himself can't remember where he came from before Gotham, but if you asked, he'd figure he just fell down the rabbit hole and ended up here.

Jervis was placed with many different foster families over the years. She never seemed to mesh right with any of those she was placed with, and spent very little time in each before being returned and shipped off to another. Being so young (and already pretty fragile, mentality-wise), Jervis' brain needed a way to cope with the ever-shifting, confusing mess that was her life.

In came Alice in Wonderland.

Imagining the homes she was placed into as the various places traveled to through Carroll's books made things a lot easier for him to deal with. It even became fun, after a while! He would slot the adults or the other children inside the home into specific roles within his mind's version of Wonderland, and would treat them and act out scenarios accordingly. Whenever he was pulled out of his Wonderland, he would become foggy, distant, and downtrodden - like the world had lost it's color.

(This growing disconnect with reality would only increase how many times she was placed in a different home.)

Eventually, Jervis outgrew the foster system, and shipped herself off to Gotham City University. While her first literature love would always be the Alice in Wonderland series, she had devoured anything that related to the mind and the influence of it. During her time in college, she spent her free time perfecting the act of hypnosis - almost to a scarily good extent. Though at first she only used this to make a little extra money from doing shows at parties.

Jervis graduated with a bachelor's in science and almost immediately joined the new, experimental neuroscience branch that Waynetech had begun developing.

Though most of the work there was doing research, Jervis loved his job, and stayed long enough to earn his Ph.D. in Neurochemistry and work his way up to directly working with the chemicals Waynetech was developing. Of course, the people working alongside Jervis weren't the best. She was funny-looking, and weird, and talked far too much, so that made her quite unpopular with just about everyone. All except for one Alice Hart.

Jervis thought he had long left Wonderland behind him, but suddenly it was back in full swing, invading every moment of free time with daydreams of tea parties with Alice in his lovingly-crafted Wonderland, all the roles filled perfectly so he would never have to venture outside of it again. A growing friendship with Alice herself in the real world did nothing but worsen Jervis' obsession.

But work had to continue, and Jervis had stumbled upon an idea that really captured her attention. A way to chemically influence the brain to do whatever you'd like it to do - like a form of liquid hypnosis. This had started with good intentions, but as Jervis gradually approached the rabbit hole, the development for it became...more unethical. Her first tests were on mice, and then on herself, which only proved to make her mind float even further from the real world. But it worked! When injested, it was less outright control and more suggestibility, but paired with her knack for hypnosis, she had invented mind control.

Her debut of what she'd found didn't go over well. Their creepy coworker, who seemed less-than-grounded on the best of days, inventing a way to control people's minds? That spread rumors around the branch, and eventually, Jervis' bosses made the collective decision to terminate him. While he was brilliant, they had been looking for an excuse to replace him with someone less, well....mad.

This devastated Jervis. But he at least had one thing to cling to - his dearest friend, Alice. She had supported her throughout all of it, and when Jervis plucked up the courage to ask her out for a night, she agreed. What she didn't know upon arriving at her home was that Jervis had long past gone over the edge, and the tea she offered had a little something other thrown into it.

]See, Jervis had concocted a plan. He gathered all of the people in his former company that he thought best fit the roles in his Wonderland, including his Alice, and took them to the Alice in Wonderland exhibit at the Gotham Museum. There, he forced them to reenact his favorite book series with him, the lines between reality and fantasy finally becoming one.

Batman came to the rescue a few hours into it, when Jervis had already been struggling to keep so many people under her spell. She fought back the Bat as best as she could, but it was actually Alice who put a stop to it. Alice, who had managed to snap out of Jervis' control and pick up a prop axe from one of the exhibits, caving in her captor's head with it when she wasn't paying attention. Though the axe was blunt and not made of actual metal, it was still a very heavy object, and before being taken to Arkham Jervis had to undergo extensive medical treatment that she'd never fully recover from.

Nowadays, Jervis drifts in-and-out of Wonderland once again. He is desperate to put all of the pieces back together and live his dream, but he can be patient. He's content to make friends with the other Rogues and help them out when his skills are needed, and in turn be seen as harmless to them.

For now.

[endofradio]

MEET THE OC: ANDREW HAIN

“walls have ears. doors have eyes. trees have voices. beasts tell lies. beware the rain. beware the snow. beware the man you think you know.”

ABIGAIL OC • INTJ • HE/HIM • 36 Y/O • 5’10” • FC: HUGH DANCY

Andrew was always a bit of a mysterious person, carrying a troubled past with him. He was born an only child in a particularly shitty neighborhood in New York, with two alcoholic drug addicts for parents. Growing up, he would always witness them fighting, and as he got older, Andrew had to sort of be his own parent.

After graduating high school (which he excelled at academically), Andrew decided that he wanted to work in law enforcement, perhaps influenced by his tough upbringing. He went to college to obtain a degree in criminal justice, and then went ahead to enroll in a police academy. When he joined the ranks of the NYPD, Andrew quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his high intelligence. Thanks to his stoic, monotonous demeanor, he was perceived as an intimidating figure, but… he was actually a good person.

Well, until he befriended Adam Barrett.

The two of them got to know each other while working as vice detectives, with Adam being what Andrew would consider his only friend. It was the same for Adam — Andrew was his only friend, at least the only person that Adam considered a friend. One could say that Andrew wasn’t the same person after becoming friends with him.

When Andrew and Adam started getting to know each other, Andrew took notice of the fact that he was definitely more of a morally ambiguous kind of person. When the two of them were working with each other during investigations, Andrew found his behavior intriguing. When dealing with criminals, Adam seemed to be fascinated by them just like Andrew, but in a… darker sense. When the pair were working undercover, Adam didn’t hesitate to dabble in a little criminal behavior himself. Eventually, it got to the point where he’d offer to let criminals go if they gave him a little something in return. It seemed like each day, Adam’s behavior grew increasingly questionable, and his morals became more corrupt. The more time the two spent dealing with criminals, the more Adam realized that he found lawfulness boring. He started to grow unsatisfied with working as a detective, finding himself sympathizing more with the people he was supposed to be arresting.

Understandably, Andrew became concerned. He had decided to join law enforcement with the intention of protecting people, not whatever the hell Adam had going on in his mind. It became more and more apparent that he was only in it for the power, not keeping the streets of New York clean.

When Adam wasn’t working as a detective, he was a part-time criminal himself, something that Andrew didn’t find out until the two of them were given the task to investigate Lazar. Now that he had Andrew as a friend, Adam saw the opportunity to try and persuade him to switch sides. He was a smart man, able to see right through Andrew. In a sense, he knew the man better than Andrew knew himself.

Investigating Lazar seemed to open some kind of metaphorical Pandora’s box, and Andrew wasn’t the same after that. The both of them became associated with him somehow, and it seemed to complicate their friendship. He took an interest in Adam’s interactions with a new inmate — Sylvia Halford. Sylvia had been on Lazar’s radar due to her history with a particular associate of his, Charlie, and it seemed that Adam was getting a little too friendly with her. Whatever was going on, Andrew took note of it. Even after Sylvia left the jail, Adam would talk to him about her in a rather “fond” way, and it had Andrew wondering…

Not long later, the pair abandoned their lives as detectives in New York, moving to Massachusetts and deciding to fully immerse themselves in the criminal world. Andrew in particular became involved with drugs and violence, ending up as a hitman. One night, he decided to snitch on Adam to Lazar about his little “crush” on Sylvia, and after that… well, Andrew and Adam quit being friends. Andrew didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, and it seemed the same for Adam. The times they did see each other, it was, well… awkward. Perhaps Adam just got tired of Andrew.

Fast forward to a while later, and Andrew had decided to try and start his life all over. He didn’t want anything to do with Lazar’s criminal underworld anymore, but it was clear that his former life had left its mark on him. Now, he was lonely, drinking and doing drugs… just like his parents. Little did he know that Adam — now Frank — and Sylvia had ended up in a kidnapping mission, and it turned out that Sylvia had been dragged into it not only because of her connection to Lazar, but also Frank. Andrew’s words had come back to bite him in the ass… and that was how he and Frank crossed paths again.

Upon returning to his apartment after the whole mess to nurse Sylvia back to health, Frank called Andrew on the phone, clearly pissed off. He didn’t care that Frank was angry at him. In fact, he had been expecting it. A few days later, Andrew encountered Sylvia while she was hanging out at a park. After learning that she had been staying with Frank for the past few days, Andrew had an idea. Perhaps he and Frank could try and make amends, maybe even become friends again. And so, at Andrew’s request, Sylvia brought him back to Frank’s apartment. Surprisingly, Frank didn’t seem to be enraged with Andrew anymore. The two of them ended up reconnecting, which would prove to be a very bad idea.

And so, it was back to old times, the two of them returning to being the fucked-up duo that they had once been.

[tsukuyomii45]

Obito Headcanons

(These are from my old blog).

These headcanons are usually about Obito being a shinobi of Konoha or as a Hokage:

-Obito is able to unlock Susanoo even with one eye. (If Shisui can do it in the game, so can he.)

-Even if he returns to Konoha from Madara's hideout and grows up and becomes the Hokage, Obito still suffers from PTSD. His PTSD is what fuels his desire to put an end to fighting and maintain deep bonds in the village.

-Obito is a Cat Dad. As we all know, it's the one-eyed black cat whom he names Tobi.

-Obito is one of the scariest shinobis that enemies have ever come across, because of how stealthy and unpredictable he is. Sometimes they call him "the cheater of death" because he always manages to fool his enemies into thinking that they got him, but nope.

-Obito would be a member of the Konoha Military Police Force in an AU where he returns to Konoha or if he survives the boulder. :)

-As he matures, his personality is more reserved and collected. There are times when he gets reactive, like when Kakashi gets all snarky on him, but other than that, he becomes less of the stubborn boy he was (depends on the circumstance, because he does get hardheaded at times) and more focused.

-This may not be a headcanon, but when I first saw that Obito is an Aquarius, I couldn't think of anything more right for him. I'm no expert in zodiacs, and I don't know if it's a coincidence, but honestly, I think Obito being an Aquarius is a completely fitting horoscope, especially for the type of character that he is. Ambitious, clever, and also rebellious - he refuses to be a sheep to the norm of society, in this case the shinobi world.

-Obito incorporates his Akatsuki leadership skills into his role as the Hokage. He is a good leader. He gives off a rather intimidating vibe (despite his friendliness), and he definitely cannot stand anything that falls out of order. He is ruthless when he needs to be. His enemies are definitely afraid of him, because once he's provoked, it's over.

-Obito would be the one to lead Danzo's termination (or execution) because he's the one that sees through Danzo's bullshit, and Obito would influence the Konoha Council and Hokage to see through Danzo and expose him as a traitor of the Leaf that wants to annihilate the Uchiha and overthrow Minato as the Hokage.

-Obito would actually be the bridge of peace between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha. At the starting, the Uchiha Clan considered him to be the "black sheep" because of the fact that Kakashi achieved more than he did. But Obito is simply a late bloomer. As he grows up, he would eventually surpass Kakashi. Hell, his Sharingan had 2 tomoe when he first unlocked it, and that's already a stepping stone to becoming a stronger shinobi of his clan. And when he does, Obito becomes more respected by the clan, and in a way, he can influence the underlying political tension between the Uchiha and Konoha. Obito would be the one who is capable of dispelling the unrest and allow the village and the clan to form a better truce.

-Obito loves to stay in shape, so he exercises every day. It's one of his best hobbies.

-Obito would actually be really good friends with Shisui and Itachi, and the three of them working together as a team makes them one of Konoha's strongest trio of the Uchiha Clan. They're the first people in his clan to acknowledge him.

-Most people would see that Obito would have a close relationship with Naruto, but he would actually have a close relationship with both, Sasuke and Naruto. He helps train Sasuke when Itachi is off on a mission, and when Sasuke gets upset with Itachi, Obito would comfort him and only tell him that his brother loves him very much and not take things too personally. He makes sure Sasuke understands the importance of comrades and teamwork. He and Naruto are too alike, so they tend to clash with their ideals. They are both hardheaded and stubborn, so they rile each other up. But Obito would usually be the one to treat Naruto to Ichiraku when Naruto succeeds in something.

-In a post-war AU, Obito would be a fun uncle to Sarada. He'd be her favorite person to spend time with. He's protective of her, and he's always there to comfort her when she starts to miss Sasuke, or if she starts to doubt herself, and he would train her regularly and teach her certain Uchiha techniques. Obito would usually tell her how much she is like her father, which makes Sarada happy and excited. He would sometimes teleport Sarada and Sakura to see Sasuke on the occasion that Sasuke is able to see them. There are times when only Obito is able to see Sasuke, and he'd update him on everything about Sarada.

-Obito's sense of humor only gets darker as he grows up. It just does.

-As the Hokage, he'd be the one to bring the 5 villages together and establish peaceful diplomatic relations with their nations. He'd also give Amegakure the support and protection that it needs, and it would be off-limits and no longer be used as a battleground. The original Akatsuki, the ones that Yahiko, Konan and Nagato established to strive for peace, would actually gain Obito's support when Hanzo starts to only chase after power and disrupt peace. Obito would be the first to establish proper diplomatic relations between Ame and Konoha.

-Obito sometimes brings out his Tobi personality during infiltration or spy missions. xD

-(this is sort of canon but it can be incorporated into an AU where Obito is a Konoha shinobi) Since Obito is a very intelligent shinobi, he's often relied on to read through enemies and he'd be the team's tactician. He has exceptional observational skills, which makes him reliable in knowing what's the best approach to pursue. He's good at predicting outcomes too, so the element of surprise doesn't get to him. He's a master manipulator when he has to infiltrate his enemies; he's the one that knows how to get closer without being harmed, and get the intel that he needs in order to complete the mission.

-Obito isn't afraid to get his hands dirty when it comes to extracting information from his enemies. His genjutsu techniques are brutal, and he scares them in his Kamui dimension, since they can't get out. Konoha's Interrogation and Torture Squad would rely on him sometimes when suspects want to be difficult and when there's no time to waste.

-His favorite weapon is anything involved with chains.

-Obito would take out his frustrations and emotional turmoil in his Kamui dimension, because he hates being vulnerable in front of anyone. He would cry alone over there if he has to.

-He stops being a crybaby after the age of 16.

-Even if he becomes the Hokage, he resides in the Uchiha compounds so he can be close to the Uchiha Clan. They all love him and respect him like crazy. Shisui would be his right-hand man along with Kakashi, even though Shisui is also Itachi's right-hand man (Itachi would be the clan head by the time Obito is the Hokage).

-The system of allowing children to choose a ninja life or civilian life would be established by Obito, and carried on later by Naruto.

-I said this before and I'll say it again, Obito has a yandere streak.

-Just like Itachi, Obito has a sweet tooth and loves desserts and dango. Sometimes he and Itachi would hang out together at the dango cafe or just by a lake or riverside with a bag of their favorite sweets. His least favorite food is anything liver-based.

[whateverisbeautiful]

🀄️reflecting on richonne

Rick and Michonne have had many similarities in their individual journeys. Some tragic, like both losing their firstborn sons and having to kill their best friend from the old world after that said-friend tried to take Judith from them. But one of the really sweet similarities is them both having an elder that influenced their lives. 

Both R&M had an elder figure that really believed in them and helped them hold onto hope, not just for the greater good of everyone but for their own life too. And both these elders passed down a memorable, powerful, and needed phrase that helped Rick and Michonne believe love was still out there for them. Which then helped advance Richonne’s exceptional love story.

For Rick, that elder mentor was Hershel.

I love Hershel and I believe he truly was the second-most influential character to guide Rick. (With Michonne of course being number one.) In that lovely scene tending to a plant during the s4 premiere, Hershel passes down a sentiment to Rick that could be the thesis of the whole show and also the exact message Rick needed to know for his own life. 

It’s when Hershel tells Rick, “Things break, but they can still grow.” 

After so much loss, Rick’s family probably felt like it would be broken forever, especially once Carl became the only person left that he knew from his world before. In s3, Rick also hit a breaking point after all the loss, stress, and pressure he’d been carrying. 

Yet, despite all that brokenness in his life, something beautiful and better than he could’ve imagined still grew. Hershel had to remind Rick that, even when things break, whole new plants are still possible. And by embracing that thought, it helped Rick to eventually embrace the love and fruitful life that was out there for him. 

That idea of broken things growing and becoming new and bountiful is beautifully executed in Rick and Michonne’s story. They restored so much in each others lives and a whole new healthy plant is exactly what Rick got through Michonne and their wonderful Grimes 2.0 family.

Imo it’s no coincidence that right after this farming scene between Hershel and Rick, we immediately hear Michonne riding in on a horse as Rick stands up like he’s been magnetically summoned to greet her. Michonne’s return meant a crucial part of Rick’s whole new plant had arrived. 😌

For Michonne, that impactful elder was Deanna.

The more time goes on, the more I become a fan of Deanna. Because I know a Richonner when I see one lol. 

I love how much Deanna saw the potential in Rick and Michonne and tried to get them to see what she saw in them. (I also feel like Deanna knew how special Michonne must have been to Rick right from the jump cuz I’d imagine Aaron told her that the only reason TF agreed to go to ASZ is because Rick does what Michonne wants 😋)

But I especially love Deanna’s deathbed scenes with Michonne. It’s so significant for Michonne’s journey and heart. I adore how passionately Deanna wanted to use her final moments to speak with Michonne woman-to-woman and be adamant that Michonne go after what she wants for herself personally. (Plus it’s a sweet way to set up Richonne, which would be canon just two episodes later.)

Deanna’s pertinent phrase during their chat is, “Someday this pain will be useful to you.”

Having endured so much trauma, it’s meaningful for Michonne to be reminded that valuable things can still come out of pain. And the pain isn’t just useful to others but “to you.”

As I reflected, I realized one of the first ways we saw Michonne’s pain prove extremely useful to her was when she first arrived at the prison. Because I believe Michonne being a mother, and especially a mother who experienced the pain of losing a child, is what even led her to TF in the first place. 

It hit me how a huge reason Michonne even chose to first pull up to that prison fence is because she knew a baby was in there. 

Michonne could have easily just kept walking after seeing Glenn and Maggie get taken by Merle. I mean she had very little reason to trust anyone after Woodbury. But Glenn and Maggie were talking about a baby and they had formula and I think that maternal instinct largely led Michonne to take the big risk of showing up to this new prison group. Because she had to get that formula to that baby. She has to ensure that baby would be okay. 

And little did she know it was her baby she was saving. Making this one of the hundreds of reasons I’ll forever love Michonne and Judith’s mother-daughter story. 

It was the pain of Michonne’s past as a mother that was useful in leading her to a whole new family, where she got to not just love again but be loved again by her kids and her husband. 

I appreciate Deanna for passing down her wisdom and having so much belief in Michonne, and in Rick. And I appreciate Deanna for being a Richonne stan to the end lol. Like I’m glad that in establishing her as a character who can really read people, they have her being adamant to pair Rick and Michonne together because she could tell they were uniquely cut from the same cloth and compatible in every way.

I also think Deanna saw herself and Reg in Rick and Michonne and wanted to pass the baton to the two of them because she felt they were the power couple most capable of building the future she believed in. Just like Deanna expressed how happy she was to build a life with her family from start to finish, she wanted Michonne to know she could have that too because it’s really what Michonne most wanted. 

But just like Reg and Deanna weren’t only leaders and builders together, Deanna wanted Michonne to know that the person you work so well with can also be the person you fall in love with and who is deeply in love with you too. 

I know Deanna would be celebrating when she saw Rick and Michonne finally realize what she’s been knew, which is that they’re perfect for each other. And even with Rick’s “Farmer Rick” era being short-lived, I know Hershel would still be so proud of the way Rick and Michonne grew a beautiful new plant together. 🥰

[slippery-domjot-balls]

DS9 S4 E14 Return to Grace - Slippy Analysis

There is an interesting dichotomy at play in this episode. Kira and Dukat actually work well together for practical purposes just as Dukat states. The reason behind this is they each represent a radical philosophy that compliments the other while being in conflict (Kira less so but once held more reckless beliefs. We will get into that).

Kira has developed and grown as a character over the past few seasons. At first she was a raw, traumatized soldier still fighting a guerrilla war on the frontlines. In her mind each instance of her life was a continuation of the fight against Cardassian oppressors and torturers. Her life was subjected to unimaginable cruelty and pains that break people down, even people like Kira. She was creative and imaginative, but her recklessness got in the way. Kira lacked the normal capacity for trust that most in a regular setting would innately have. She was in a dangerous state of self-preservation. Her life had one mode, survival mode.

This made her a potent influence for spontaneous solutions and problem solving under immense pressure and little time to act. A perfect source of utility for Dukat in his current fallen state.

We see these traits in detail as she explains the weaponry differences to Tora Ziyal (our lovely little adopted sister). Kira knows how to be lethal. She was once prepared to fight everyone around her because she never knew when the battle would begin, so she would just star a battle to keep things on recognizable terms. She was chaotic. These are not all bad things. These traits kept her alive and made her indispensable to the Resistance and the Bajoran Provisional Government.

But she was given security and love when she was stationed on DS9. She was given a place where she could safely open up to others, learn to delegate emotional dependency on worthy people around her, and finally begin to remove the walls that so viciously kept her from the kind people in her life. She could be loved. She could be vulnerable. She could be in a state of emotional peace that so many of us crave.

Eventually you need to set down the weapons. Kira learned this. She has been able to create relationships that sustain her and help her heal from years of trauma.

We need to take a detour and compliment these prosthetics. With each movement they seem organic and do not fold like plastic. They move with Marc Alaimo's body. It is incredible to witness.

Gul Dukat is the polar opposite to all of Kira's traits. He is violent by choice and not by external trauma, even though it could be argued that much of Cardassian society and history is traumatic. He expresses violence because of his overconfidence born of authority. He represents bureaucracy, extreme order, and an expectation that all things will comply with his desires.

When he becomes uncomfortably flirtatious with Kira we see that power struggle of his desire for control against Kira's will to be autonomous. He hides behind a controlled persona with the hopes that he can control Kira. He serves his own wicked ambitions.

Those computer designs are beautiful! Okay, detour over.

Together they both are what the other needs to transition into with some moderation.

Kira still represents the freedom fighter that Dukat now needs to become in order to regain his position as a military leader for Cardassia.

Dukat showcases the diplomat, the "traditionalist", and commander that Kira has been forced into becoming by the Provisional Government. Traits that Kira can learn and tailor into what she feels is genuinely her. She still rejects the pieces that do not fit, and rightly so, but she is growing into an iteration of herself that is happier, healthier, and more completely her.

And here is the glimpse of growth that makes Dukat particularly fascinating. Tora Ziyal.

From her perspective Dukat has given up everything that he finds important in order to be her father. He has sacrificed in order to love her. A parent is supposed to do that. Children thrive upon the love and sacrifices their parents make on their behalf.

The incredibly frustrating thing about Dukat is that Ziyal shows that Dukat has it within himself to be great. Imagine if his ambition was to be everything that Ziyal cherished. If he could become a figure of love, authority, and strength that was observable by everyone, and not just the perspective of his daughter, he could have become an incredible protagonist.

His denial of that potential and his descent caused by chasing his base, selfish ambition is the true evil of the episode. He had an opportunity and he threw it away. His lust for power, greed for authority, envy for sexual connection, and perverse obsession with Bajor is his demise. The loss of Dukat's potential is tragic for Ziyal and the rest of us.

Dukat in a Klingon Birdy of Prey is a recipe for disaster. But still a delicious recipe. I'd eat it.

Ultimately, Ziyal embodies what Dukat should have been but never could be humble enough to accept . She has what he wanted from Bajor- independence, untainted ambition, and a positive outlook on what life could be despite the ugly evils around her.

The fact that Dukat had the restraint to let her go is a credit to his potential.

Yet, Kira is the hero here. Don't mistake that. Kira never ceases to deliver as a character. I hope Nana Visitor received an award for her acting efforts as Kira. Her ability to lead someone as viciously authoritarian as Dukat displays her strength of charisma.

Imagine how fiercely protective Dukat would have had to become regarding Ziyal. He was committed to killing her before he decided to reject his inner evils and accept her into his life as a permanent fixture of his family. That is a huge change of character. He faced immense opposition and pressure from Cardassian society, his career, and his own family. Yet, he maintained the course and went all in for Ziyal.

Now Kira tells him that he must let her go to DS9 and be out of his care. Given his personality that is no small ask. Kira convinced him to agree because she taught Dukat that Ziyal will be condemned to turn into something like him if he refuses.

Well done, Kira! Well done!

Thank you for reading! Now take your sloppy kiss and keep scrolling!

[sixty-silver-wishes]

Reading Junji Ito's "Billions Alone" from a post-lockdown, culturally individualist perspective

Today, I met up with some local writers at a cafe/comic shop for some group discussion and writing. One of them is a fiction writer like myself; the other is a video essayist. Since becoming more involved in the local artistic scene, both as an artist and a writer, I feel like my mental health has been improving, at least when it comes to my personal life- I'm building a circle of like-minded creatives, surrounding myself with others who have similar beliefs and interests as me. As I'm finding community in the creative scene, however, I'm also realizing that many people I'm meeting feel much of the same way.

At the writers' meeting, while we discussed our stories, our goals, and our writing challenges, the idea of "third spaces" also frequently came up as well. My video essayist friend was talking about a new project studying how public infrastructure is designed to favor drivers over pedestrians, and we all agreed on something that I've been hearing many times in online circles- the internet itself is changing. Despite social media platforms supposedly promising to bring people together, they've only become more isolating as they've become more corporate, AI, and algorithm-driven. We talked how lots of online users are returning to the "old internet," forming their own blogs and seeking an escape from the increasingly stifling major platforms. We discussed how while everything is filled with SEO and short-form content, nobody actually likes TikTok or Instagram, but they've become so ingrained in online society that we tolerate them, using them to promote our small businesses or connect with others.

After the meeting, I decided to look around the comic store, and was drawn to a copy of Junji Ito's manga collection, Venus in the Blind Spot. I'd become a Junji Ito fan way back in college, and his art style has had a big influence on my own work. While I also take heavy inspiration from styles like Expressionism and New Objectivity, and artists such as Edward Gorey and Stephen Gammell, Junji Ito's painstaking pen-and-ink hatching, bulging eyeballs, and grotesque faces have played a distinct role in my artistic growth. However, I didn't own any of his mangas (having read some online), but I'd been wanting to get one so I could study his art style up close. I ended up buying Venus, and after my conversation with my writer friends, it was strangely coincidental that the first story in the collection was Billions Alone.

Junji Ito's Billions Alone tells the story of Michio, a reclusive young man who has a crush on his former classmate, Natsuko. Natsuko is planning a school reunion, and invites Michio to reconnect and meet her new friend group. Meanwhile, a mysterious series of mass murders have been taking place, as a group called "Billions Alone" appears to be killing people en masse and sewing their bodies together. As Michio and Natusko's friends are killed and the heaps of bodies grow bigger and bigger, the public is warned not to form gatherings, and to isolate from one another. Eventually, Michio sees military planes that he thinks are attacking Billions Alone aircrafts, but are actually dropping pamphlets about "coming together" onto the town. As he thinks the government is finally taking action against the murders, he goes to tell Natusko, only to see her sewing the bodies of her family together, implying that the murders have not been carried out by an organized crime group as suspected, but rather civilians being compelled or brainwashed into killing each other. I've seen analyses before that Billions Alone is a commentary on Japan's collectivist culture, and that many of Junji Ito's works critique different aspects of Japanese culture- for instance, Gyo has been interpreted as a metaphor for the Japanese government's denial of atrocities committed by Japan during WW2, such as in Nanking, China, while My Dear Ancestors has been read as a criticism of the concept of filial piety. While these interpretations are certainly fascinating, I admittedly don't know enough about Japanese culture to properly analyze Ito's works from that lens, and will leave that up to people more knowledgeable than I am. However, coming from the United States, which has a heavily individualist culture as opposed to collectivism, Billions Alone resonated with me in a different way, especially after the Covid lockdowns and the increasing isolation of people, ironically in part due to the internet, which has simultaneously allowed people to "come together" and drive them apart.

Before I get into my thoughts on Billions Alone from my own cultural perspective, I want to add a disclaimer- just because Covid lockdowns are over doesn't mean that Covid itself is over. People still get the disease, it's still contagious, and it's still deadly. If you're sick and going out in public, it's common decency to wear a mask; public health is still important. This analysis is not anti-mask or anti-lockdown, but does discuss the social and psychological effects of lockdowns. I'd also like to say that when I call myself "culturally individualist," I mean that I come from an individualist culture, not that I consider individualism to be a superior ideology; both individualism and collectivism have their pros and cons. That being said, back to Junji Ito.

One thing that stood out to me the most in Billions Alone is the way the concepts of togetherness vs. isolation are framed in both positive and negative ways. Natsuko is a very social character; she has a friend group, a fiancee, and is planning the school reunion. She's also the only character shown sewing people together at the end. Meanwhile, Michio is very isolated; he's spent the last seven years at home. He misses Natsuko at the beginning of the story, and while he wants to confess his feelings towards her, while he's been shut up in his house, she's found someone else she loves. Togetherness prevents social death, but it also means physical death. Isolation means mental anguish and loneliness, but it also means survival.

The characters in Billions Alone both crave and are terrified of togetherness. As they're ordered to stay separated by the authorities, many young people, including the main characters, ignore the orders to gather in groups. This definitely brought the Covid lockdowns to mind for me; like the characters in the manga, to protect ourselves and the people we loved, we had to avoid gathering with them. Michio thinks that by the end, the Japanese government "finally" decides to take action combatting Billions Alone, but only after the death toll has become impossible to ignore and increasingly large masses of bodies begin to appear in public spaces. Worse yet, the planes he sees are in the control of Billions Alone, dropping propaganda to even more people (this page points out they're possibly an allusion to Allied planes during WW2; the allusion to John Lennon's music on the radio also makes a possible case for an analysis of the Billions Alone group symbolizing western globalization, but that's a study for another time). Notably, the bodies don't appear in workplaces or the home, but rather in "third spaces"- public parks, hiking trails, and areas being used for parties, like the school reunion. To survive, people must avoid these places, leading them to become more and more isolated. Natsuko's desire for social connection leads her to continue with the reunion despite Michio's insistence, justifying it as a "memorial" for the members of her friend group. However, the auditorium is empty, and she and Michio are confronted with a large web of bodies.

Looking at Ito's (frankly amazing) drawings of the corpses (I found myself analyzing his use of hatching and texture in every single one), I was reminded of the discussion my friends and I had about the modern Internet. In the story, technology is shown as a way to keep people connected while isolating from each other; Michio watches the news on the television for updates, calls Natsuko on the phone, and reads online forums to see what people are saying about the murders. But, as in real life, technology is not a substitute for social interaction, and while people can communicate and receive information over long distances while being isolated, they still continue to gather, despite knowing about the murders. They increasingly rely on technology, but still crave connection, enough to risk their lives for it; even Michio, who is used to being alone, says he wouldn't mind being sewn to his crush Natsuko as he ventures to see her again despite the risks. It's a line that was probably intended to be humorous, but speaks to the fact that even for him, there's only so much isolation he can take. When he sees the military planes, she's the first person he goes to talk to- if not the only person he knows who's still alive.

Overall, I think there's a lot to analyze with Billions Alone, and while I saw some people on the internet also drawing parallels with the Covid lockdowns like I did, I think what we can interpret from it in terms of the long-term increasing isolation of society- while we paradoxically "come together" with the internet- and the disappearance of third spaces is just as interesting. Like my friends and I in the comic store today, the characters are desperate for connection, and lament not being able to have it. Even if isolation may help them survive, they ultimately fall victim to their desire to live.

[childotkw]

I’ve been obsessed with the ruination au! Omg!

I’ve been doodling all the dragons from hotd and the cannibal is excellent practice!

I imagine him to be this massive hulking dragon - a walk tank if you will - but having some interesting features:

the massive horns (thank you anon for the lopsided head idea), the heavily armoured body and I’m thinking that since he’s mostly a carrion hunter (rip baby dragons) he would have a thinner/longer snout (picture vultures). Not to mention the massive amount of scars this dragon would have, especially around the snout/ neck from all the little fighting dragons.

If and when Lucerys and Cannibal develop a deeper bond I would love to see how Lucerys reacts to these and how violently protective he becomes of his new dragon. Yes, Cannibal is more then capable of protecting himself but I would think Lucerys very much still harbours feelings of possessiveness towards his dragons (especially since Arrax was taken from him the way he was) and doesn’t tolerate anyone/thing trying to harm his new dragon.

As always love any and all prompts/ideas for these two, this au has certainly gotten my creative juices flowing and I’m loving drawing Lucerys and his new dragon!

The first chapter of ruination is fabulous and absolutely CAN NOT wait for more :)



Oh OH OH!!!! He’s BEAUTIFUL!! And little Luke next to him!! Stunning! 😍😍

Cannibal as a walking tank 😂 it certainly match his belligerent attitude towards life! I love your take on Cannibal’s design! It’s so intriguing to see how people imagine him (and the longer snout = bird of prey is so cool!)

And their bond is gonna be so awesome to explore. I genuinely love the idea of him eventually growing protective and possessive of Cannibal. The trauma of losing Arrax, and so violently too, definitely leaves it’s scars on Lucerys’ mental and emotional state. Once he and Cannibal bond and start to vibe and influence each other, Lucerys would murder anyone that endangers his new and not-so-shiny dragon.

Some enemy tries to shoot Cannibal down while he’s in the air? Lucerys would bodily hunt the man down and slice his limbs off one at a time and make him watch as he feeds them to Cannibal because how fucking dare you try and kill his dragon?

Some idiots paid by the maesters try and take Cannibal out with poison specifically crafted to kill dragons? Lucerys would return the favour tenfold by making each conspirator drink the worst, most excruciating poison he can get his grubby little hands on.

Anyway you look at it, Lucerys is vicious in the defense of his murder-dragon. Other than hurting his family, it’s the surest way to get your name on his hit list.

But regardless - thank you for sharing your art and for the kind words! I hope you enjoy the second chapter as much as the first! Cannibal’s arrival is inbound in the next two chapters, and from there it’s Lucerys and him being feral little bastards together!

Love ya 😘😘😘

[chronicsheepdrawing]

Here are some simple little mockup posters(?) for my 2001 A Space Odyssey AUs!

A rundown of each is under the Readmore.

The Messenger AU- As Discovery One makes it’s way to the Jovian system, Dave starts receiving visions that grow more frequent and vivid as they approach; Sights of distant galaxies and worlds take over his mind and he slowly becomes fixated on them ( possibly also an influence from the Monolith ), gradually changing his perception that these are just random thoughts into a firm belief that he’s being communicated with. He keeps this from Frank and Hal the best he can, though he noticeably loses focus in what the other’s are saying and will often draw what he remembers seeing as time goes on.

Once they are close enough to TMA-2 for an EVA Pod to make it there, Dave ‘goes rogue’ while Frank is asleep, shutting Hal off to keep him from interfering. Frank wakes up shortly after, just in time to find Dave, only in his flight suit, behind the locked interior door to the Pod Bay and about to take off. He shouts at him to stop and open the door, but it’s too late.

The next time Dave returns he has become a Star Child and has some explaining to do.

Imposter AU- ( Get all your Among Us jokes out now ) The trip to Jupiter goes without incident; Hunter, Whitehead and Kaminski are awoken from hibernation to begin studying the Monolith in orbit, however, Dave and Frank are kept awake for a short while to assist in their observations.

Dave is eventually sent out to inspect the Monolith, and to everyone’s surprise he is suddenly sucked through it; panic ensues as the crew try to contact Bowman and discern what happened, but he returns soon after unharmed. He’s of course given a quick physical once he’s back in the ship; everything appears to be normal so he’s then questioned about what he saw, to which he gives vague answers and claims he can’t quite remember.

A few weeks pass, and Frank and Dave are finishing up what they need to do and preparing for hibernation when something else exits the Monolith. It’s an EVA Pod- except it appears severely charred and worn. Then a voice comes over the communications system screaming to let him in, it’s Dave’s. Once one of them moves a pod out of the way and the mysterious extra one enters, Dave exits from it’s hatch. He’s disheveled, sporting some facial scruff and unkempt hair, he’s completely naked, and most worrying of all is that he’s covered in decently fresh surgical scars. As soon as Dave exits the pod he blacks out, hitting the deck’s floor.

The Dave that’s been with them seems just as shocked, but he’s ushered into a spare room or closet which is now very abruptly going to be used as a makeshift interrogation and holding cell- Hal is told not to let him out without explicit permission. Meanwhile the Dave that’s just returned is brought to the medical bay for examination and rest, when he awakes once more it seems he’s too shocked by his ordeal to properly communicate what happened.

It turns out the ‘Dave Bowman’ that had been sent back the first time was a fake made to keep the crew happy and to make observations/carry out tasks on the Monolith Beings behalf. He looks normal on the surface but the more you examine him the more ‘off’ and uncanny he seems. His wrinkles seem molded in rather than naturally formed, his teeth are too perfect, he has no scars, his fingerprints are far too uniform, his blood type is simply a mix of the most common blood types with no regard for how they’d work, and if you were to open him up you’d find that many of his organs appear to have no function than just filling space or have dead ends.

Imposter Dave hadn’t even known he was fake or that some of his actions were being influenced by The Monolith, after all he was given all the memories and experiences of the Real Dave Bowman, but of course no one believes him when he says he honestly doesn’t know what’s going on- but now he has to come to terms with the fact his memories are false and that he’s technically not even human. Meanwhile the Real Dave is having to recover from being used as an extraterrestrial science experiment and doubts if he even really escaped or if this is just a simulation to placate him, after all, the Monolith Beings tried to replicate a human hospital to their best ability while he was in there- but several small errors and inconsistencies in how the place functioned and Bowman’s memories of the Discovery gradually returning made it obvious that something was wrong.

2001 A Sky Odyssey- Instead of the Discovery One being a Spaceship, it is a fictionally advanced version of a Boeing 777, with Hal as it’s autopilot. Dave Bowman is the flight’s Captain while Frank Poole is his First Officer, and they’re tasked with flying the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean to a specific destination. Only three passengers are aboard, the scientists Hunter, Whitehead and Kaminski, and they’re actually out to study a strange artifact floating over the open sea, the Monolith.

Like in the main timelines of the book and movie, as Dave and Frank approach their destination- Hal becomes stressed about the fact that they may find out the true purpose of their mission, and so somehow incapacitates Frank, locks Dave out of the cockpit, and attempts to murder all those aboard in order to ensure the success of the mission.

Hal fails though, as Dave is able to reenter the cockpit and shut him off before substantial damage is done. It’s unknown what happens when they reach the Monolith.

[laugtherhyena]

Dagger fam!! I've been wanting to settle on designs for her mom and brother for ages and hey what a better way to do that than in this editing spree I've been having recently

Stella was originally one of Dahlia's bunny girls, proficient in everything firearms related and dedicated to her position in assisting Dahlia in her missions. This all changed when she met one of the men who worked more directly under Lorenzo's influence in the Medici mafia, overtime she eventually became his lover and was given a position as a secretary for higher up members of the mafia, effectively abandoning her post as one of Dahlia's helpers. (Which upset her, but she choose to not do anything about it for the meantime, just generally disappointed in how one of her bunnies turned out)

There's a lot I've put on the image already but here's a more in-depth run of the events for those curious.

It's from this relationship that Stella had her first child, Matteo, who she decided to raise on her own after realizing that her lover didn't take their relationship as serious as she did and most likely wasn't going to divorce his other family to be with her. Besides, Stella was well aware of all the dirth the Medici's are involved with, she wanted to spare her children of going down the same path as her.

He was a sweet boy, with a love for animals and a desire to help those in need, which led to him becoming a medic and later joininythe Feral recuers. Matteo loved his mother and knew she loved and was very proud of him, even if Stella wasn't the best at showing it.

When Stella became pregnant again, from a different, less serious relationship than her last, Matteo was overjoyed about having a little siblings and swore he would do everything to protect her. He was Alessia's role model and favorite person during her early childhood, picking her up from school and spending a lot of time together playing or watching their favorite programs.

When the Grand war started, Matteo and his crew left to help the people from No man's land. Aside from working as a doctor, he also served as a caretaker for the kids they saved there, since he was used to taking care of his sister back home. He helped many people during the 3 years he worked there before sadly passing away after being crushed by debris of a falling building.

His mother was devasted. Alessia was a little too young to fully comprehend what happened, especially with how messy everything became in the following months after Matteo's death.

The ongoing grief made her performance at work worsen more and more each day, especially with how inconsiderate the others around her workspace were of her. She earned less and began to struggle financially, she woule shut herself off in her room a lot, leaving Alessia to be alone most of the time now.

One night, Stella left to talk with Lorenzo, she begged for him to think about her situation and lend her some extra money, growing more desperate as he refused. In a spur of the moment , she threatened to tell the authorities and the Renoir family of everything she knew the Medici was hiding behind closed doors, Lorenzo didn't take that well at all.

She begged for mercy, swore she would do anything and everything the Medici ordered her to if she was spared.

The next day Alessia woke up to an empty house, she waited and waited but her mother never returned. She was startled when two strange men entered the house and went after her, one wore a purple suit and the other had a brown hat and a big beard. She ran away from them and into the busy streets of new Meridian where she quickly got lost and had no idea of what to do from now on.

It was then that she was found by a group of people that comforted her, promising that they would give her a new home and make her strong if she choose to come with them, she agreed and was taken into the Silent stalkers alongside several other children that had become orphans during the war.

She would spend the next 10 years of her life undergoing the organization's heavy training to become one of their assassin's for hire, being renamed Dagger for the weapon of which she had most proficiency using.

[clueless-fan-critic]

The Owl House Season 3 Review: Embracing Change

Season 3 of The Owl House concluded with an explosion of heartfelt emotions that no human has ever felt. Luz and her friends are sent into the Human Realm on the Day of Unity with Belos seemingly destroyed by the Collector. Now, with him/them free, the Boiling Isles just became a playground from the god child. As the three specials progress, we get to see how Luz, Eda, King, and many other characters are impacted by the story.

My overall impression was that Dana Terrace and the crew did fantastic with what they were given. This made it even more satisfying to how almost all loose ends were tied up. I loved every second of the specials right up til the end. Although that a fantastic show like the Owl House has left us, we won’t forget it for a very long time. Now, with that out of the way, I want to discuss in detail each special and what I believe their individual themes are.

Episode 1 “Thanks to Them”: Moving Forward

The first episode of Season 3 went off with bang, picking up where Season 2 ended with Luz and her friends in the Human Realm. Luz is grappling with the guilt of unintentionally helping Belos find the Collector while Amity, Hunter, Willow, and Gus adapt to their new settings.

What I love about this special is how the gang adapts to the Human Realm with Hunter thriving to become himself while Luz struggles with her own guilt. We get to see some levity for the gang before jumping back into the realm of chaos that will eventually come. Willow, Amity, and Gus acknowledge that their friendship took time to get there, implying their past experiences before. Halloween itself plays a roll in how we, as the audience, gets more backstory to Caleb and Phillip in the 1600s and their encounter with Evelyn. The holiday also has significance with how it’s a time where the veil between different worlds is at their weakest, thus playing into the gang finding a portal back to the Demon Realm.

Hunter has the most development with him finally accepting himself as his own person (due to being a Grimwalker) while letting people into his life. His confrontation with Belos possessing him makes more impactful about how he wants to learn to carve Palisman and be a normal student at Hexside. I liked that Hunter was given more agency to his character and flesh out how he’s adapting to his life outside of Belos’ influence.

Camilla gets more context to her reasons for sending Luz off to camp as she wanted to encourage Luz’s more eccentric traits, but felt that the people around her didn’t have their best interests at heart. In the flashbacks, it was revealed that the principle influenced her decision by bringing up that she had a hard time growing up and fitting in.

Luz’s guilt and trauma over what happened during the Day of Unity doesn’t exactly hinder her ability to enjoy her time in the Human Realm. In fact, she even teaches Camilla what she learned about Glyphs. But, she feels that she’s undeserving of her happiness and keeps messing things up. This prompted her decision to stay behind on Halloween. This is pushed aside when her friends encourage her to come with them to stop Belos. While not immediate, Luz does develop to overcome her trauma and not let that define what she does.

Overall, “Thanks to Them” was a fascinating and lovely beginning to the end of Season 3 and made me excited for what would happen next.

Episode 2 “For the Future”: Understanding Yourself

The gang returns to the Boiling Isles as the Collector “plays” with the residents as puppets while Belos tries to regain his strength. They are still reeling the previous events of “Thanks to Them” and still figuring out what happened with the Collector and the aftermath of the Day of Unity. We discover that the Collector is playing out “the Owl House” with King as a game of pretend using people transformed into life-sized toys. The gang find refuge in Hexside with other students under the command of Boscha manipulated by Kikimura. Belos is scrambling for a host to possess, resulting in taking control of Raine and manipulating the Collector once more. We get a cliffhanger with the gang reaching the Titan’s skull, Luz getting her Palisman, and the Collector starting a new “game.”

King and the Collector both stand out in this special as two different characters with almost identical lives as the children of god-like beings who grew up alone. Unlike the Collector, King found his own family in Eda and Luz, growing more mature and understanding before and after finding out his origins as a Titan. Now he wants to try reasoning with the Collector into freeing the people and without violence.

There are good moments of character growth from various characters like Amity choosing her own path against what Boscha wants her to be and Hunter learning to open up about how he feels. Also, Willow gets some growth (plant pun, ha) to becoming more open with her feelings after bottling her emotions for the sake of staying strong for the group.

Finally, we get to see Eda Clawthorne after recovering from her Owl Beast form as she trapped in the Collector’s castle by the Coven Heads as toys while reeling from Luz leaving the Demon Realm. She doesn’t have a lot to do, but it’s great to see her after a long time.

What I felt was pretty underwhelming were some characters like Odalia being a caretaker for King and the Collector, and even the main antagonist Kikimura felt like a one-off bad guy. I would of liked to see more exchanges between Kikimura and the gang about the state of the Coven system and Belos’ reveal as a witch hunter. Like Kikimura still wants to follow the system blindly and make herself the new emperor in spite of its failings, while the gang make their arguments against it.

Luz finally learns to overcome her guilt by having a heart-to-heart with her mother Camilla about how Camilla was much like Luz as a teen but wanted her to grow up without being bullied. This finally allows her Palisman to emerge from their egg after Luz realizes that she wanted to be understood for who she was and have someone know this and embrace her, flaws and all.

Sure, “For the Future” wasn’t the best overall, but it does get the ball rolling. Now, we finally reached the point of no return. Let’s talk about the final special and episode of The Owl House “Watching and Dreaming”.

Episode 3 “Watching and Dreaming”: Embracing the Future

Luz Noceda must face her greatest challenge as Belos possesses the Titan to destroy the Isles once and for all in the final special and episode of the series. Luz, Eda, and King are trapped by the Collector in nightmares surrounding their fears and guilt, but are freed because of the Light Glyph. We get a sort of victory lap around the Boiling Isles as Luz, Eda, and King show the Collector the places that hold the most significance in their lives while teaching him about making friends. Luz is killed and then revived as Titan Luz by the Titan themselves and defeats Belos once and for all. After a time jump, Luz is attending the University of Wild Magic in the Demon Realm with Eda as headmaster, as well as a glimpse into everyone’s lives as they gather for Luz’s King-ceanera. One final scene ends with the entire party saying “Byyyyeee” to the Collector and the audience.

One of the more impactful scenes comes from Luz’s nightmare created by the Collector when each of her friends tells her off about being the villain and everything happening to them was her fault. The ones that hurt the most was Gus saying Luz is a hypocrite for getting her back to the Human Realm while their families are missing and Hunter for how Luz got a Palisman while he lost his own. These details seem like the kind of ideas in Luz’s mind that she make herself feel guilty over. I liked the part that Luz recognizes the trick by hearing “Witch’s Battle” instead of “Witch’s Duel” to cement her fan girl nature of spotting small details from the Good Witch Azura.

Another scene is when Luz, Eda, and King tell the Collector about how they’ve felt alone, abandoned, and misunderstood, but now want to show him how they became friends and a family. They lead him all over the Boiling Isles to have him understand how to make friends without forcing people. First to the Owl House where Luz tells the Collector about meeting her friends and then to the Knee where Luz connected with the Titan. She finally tells him that people are complex and need some kindness and forgiveness. I liked that she tries to teach the Collector about her time because it really did make a great deal of change within her.

The Collector gets major development as we find out he doesn’t understand the concept of death and is using the games he plays as a way to “pretend” to have friends who won’t lie or trick him. Luz taught him about empathy and understanding in order to make friends, only to fail with Belos killing Luz. This leads up to The Collector finally understanding what he’s done as he breaks down in tears while Eda and King turn monstrous from grief. He tries to make up for it by saving the gang in the castle from falling. In the end, he returns to space in order to “grow up” but not before a farewell gift from King.

I loved that Raine Whispers gets a much more significant role in the final special by breaking free from Belos’ possession, trying to stop him, and as a part of the team who takes out Belos. This is great for nonbinary representation to go beyond and become more than just flat cutouts and more fleshed out.

We finally meet the "King and Queen, best of both things” themselves Papa Titan when Luz ends up in the In-Between realm. They explain to Luz, thinking she’s just like Belos, that their feelings to protect their families are genuine while Belos’ desire to save humanity stems from his need of control.

The final death of Belos caught my attention because he does the exact same tactics of manipulating people into getting what he wants and Luz basically being done with his games. This gives us that Belos hasn’t even tried changing his tactics even on the brink of death. We are also treated to the best scene with Eda, King, and Raine curb-stomping Belos to death, treating his death less epic and more hilarious.

“Watching and Dreaming“ was an epic series finale, the animation, story, and characters just flowed almost perfectly with a few nitpicks like the Light Glyph Deus Ex Machina. It almost felt like something that was part of an episode between specials. But that’s nothing with the incredible finale we got out of it.

Conclusion

After watching all of the season, The Owl House gave an uplifting end to its run. The ending was a perfect sendoff to all that Dana Terrace and her team did for the show and what it has given us as an audience. The animation was a major treat with Titan Luz fighting Belos with all the flashy blasts and the smoothness of the movements. That wouldn’t matter if the story wasn’t almost flawless with everything that happened behind the scenes, which is honestly a miracle with most shows that ended abruptly. Most of the characters feel as if they came full circle in their development. I loved every moment of this show (with some exceptions but that’s not important) and hoped for another show like this in the future as an example for years to come.

[fallenbhaalspawn]

some Coronach timeline/backstory stuff under the cut

They were created in Uktar of 1453 though Bhaal's blood in the winding river during a storm and taken in by the Berrows, a tiefling family (who had guessed that perhaps the child was abandoned due to their tiefling heritage). On their tenth birthday (at least, what they celebrated as such), they killed their parents and sibling—it wasn't the first time they'd ever experienced the Urge, but it was the first time it had been so devastating, and not like... the death of an animal or a minor fixable injury. Terrified, they promptly fucking book it before anyone can find and blame them. They're homeless during this period, the Urges are in full swing, and they have the impulse control of, well, a child, obviously, so it's a pretty rough time for them.

On their fifteenth birthday, they get cornered by people intent on revenge (something Sceleritas had a hand in) for the murders and turn into the slayer. They wake from the transformation to find their enemies in the form of mush and Sceleritas Fel praising them and explaining their heritage. Deeply lonely and by this point thoroughly convinced of their inherent evil, they decide to double down. Sunk cost it all the way! This is when they start going by the Dark Urge.

They spend a couple years looking into Bhaalist religion and at 17 during early/mid 1471, the Urge manages to find a deathstalker who they convince to train them as one. Granted, that "convincing" is mainly Bhaal straight up going "You have to do this btw" through them. At the beginning of 1476, the Dark Urge kills said deathstalker and heads towards Baldur's Gate.

In Tarsakh of 1476, Helena attempts to kill Orin, but gets killed by Orin instead. About a month after that, Coronach shows up at the temple. In Flamerule of 1477, they become a deathstalker and High Primate of the Heartlands. (This is what they were up to during Blood in Baldur's Gate!)

During the 1477-1482 period, they begin preparing for Bhaal's resurrection, eventually getting close enough (or in Ulder's case, getting other people close enough, as they never properly met him) to Duke Torlin Silvershield, Kingpin Rilsa Rael, and Marshal of the Flaming Fist Ulder Ravengard to poison each of them with the Urge's own blood, giving Bhaal some influence over them.

Bhaal's internal and the Urge's external influence lead to the extremity of the conflict after the death of the Grand Duke in 1482, such as, you know, the explosion of the High Hall and the illegal executions. They did do all that <3. The mass sacrifice on Bhaal's behalf and the death of any remaining Bhaalspawn* (...including themself, for a moment), was enough to bring Bhaal back to life. After he returns, he resurrects the Dark Urge and commands them to begin trying to take over the world.

*for my own sanity i choose to believe orin doesn't have enough essence to really impact this. technically she shouldn't have any at all, but evidently she does, but also i really can't see bhaal bringing her back if her death was necessary for the resurrection ritual so.

This is when Gortash becomes aware of the growing Bhaalist presence in Baldur's Gate. Unfortunately for Karlach, he starts finishing up some of his prior major business (such as his main deal with Zariel for infernal iron/engine designs) so if when he contacts the Bhaalists, things go wrong, he'll have the resources to deal with it.

In early 1483, Gortash begins arranging for his people to run into the Dark Urge's. They do some back and forth for a few months, before finally meeting in Kythorn of the same year and shortly after they rob the house of wonders. This is, finally, when the Dark Urge starts calling themself Coronach—it starts off as a made up alias they use specifically in their business with Gortash (and later Ketheric)!

They keep their alliance on the downlow enough that nobody outside their respective temple's notices it for a few years and proceed to spend several years doing crimes against humanity gaining power for their churches together, all the while avoiding being kidnapped by all the various people who want to research the gods' chosen during the Second Sundering (mostly the Red Wizards of Thay).

Then ofc Bane and Bhaal contact them and order them to ally with Myrkul's chosen for world domination and the like. In late 1491, they manage to break into the Mephistar, steal the Crown of Karsus, the Netherstones, and the book on the Grand Design.

The three of them crown the Elder Brain and begin experimenting with the tadpoles, to make them difficult to impossible to remove, not eat the victim, etc. while still allowing for complete control. During this phase, Orin attacks Coronach, tadpoling them with the first successful tadpole of the experiments and leaving them for Kressa to find.

[fanficsiwillneverwrite]

just a wip of my latest obsession

On a brisk autumn day Aziraphale sits quietly in what will eventually become a souvenir shop in an area not yet calling itself Soho, London. It is right now a growing settlement within the freshly named Kingdom of England. He very much enjoys sitting and watching humans get on with their impassioned—nathaless, very short—lives at a safe distance with little interference, and this place in particular brings something quite unique to the whole experience. Perhaps it is the song they carry inside them, despite their hardships. Or the natural friendless each person emulates around each other. Or the laughter coming from the bellies of nearby children playing beside the water. Whatever it may be, love and therefore God exists within it.

This observation is all in his first visit to the eventual town called Soho, for he knew he would soon return. On his third visit some years later, the people now know him as a little more than a stranger. Not quite yet a trusted ally, but nowhere near an enemy. It is the children who come to love him first.

“What is it you are doing?” asks a small voice one day while he is painting. A new leisure activity taken up to mimic human existence. His hobby of book collecting is still quite brand new and a headache to track in these early years of literacy.

His name is Eustace, the small voice beside him. A young boy of twelve nearly thirteen with innocent eyes and a mischievous look about him. He is very much the definition of adversity, somehow always stuck in the between stages of no good with his father no longer existing and his mother, a most notable adulteress. That is, a whore to the non-angels.

“Painting,” Aziraphale says placidly, though art is like literature in that it has not yet become itself. He uses minerals and organic pigments to revive the sight before him: overgrown strips of various greens blowing in the hectic blue wind with splashes of amber and crimson imitating the setting sun. The boy, curious, touches Aziraphale’s knuckle and follows along as the angel paints. He allows the moment to linger before looking up. “Would you like to have a go?”

Eustace nods, sitting. It is the quietest the boy has ever been. It is the quietest the boy will ever be. He splatters two wobbly shapes onto the wooden panel, exclaiming, “Us,” quite contently.

“Us,” agrees the angel, equally content with the extra additions to his painting.

Eustace—who was born about one hundred years too early to have a last name—is good natured at heart, but has a dreadful temper. “The boy needs discipline is all,” were the wise but drunken words of his father before his timely death just two weeks later.

It is a universal fact that all humans need discipline. Without discipline, they are at risk of becoming permanent pests to society. They are at risk of becoming a great many things, including flat earthers, loud chewers, murderers, Tiktok influencers and, of course, fallen angels.

Crowley’s shadow suddenly looms over them. Something inside Aziraphale bubbles, clearly a heightened angel sense to know when trouble is lurking. “Right now, off you go,” he tells the boy calmly but quickly as they stand.

Crowley half-heartedly—perhaps maybe even a little playfully—kicks the boy as he leaves. “You and your little human pets,” the demon says with a mephitic scent on his breath.

Aziraphale shrinks. “Humans… are not pets,” he insists. They are God’s children and he is to watch over them until his orders say otherwise.

“Hope you’re not too attached to this lot,” he continues, looking on at the growing community around them. “I’ve got direct orders from the big boys downstairs. They’re to all perish in three days time. No survivors.”

“Oh,” says Aziraphale, obviously distraught. He sees the young boy skipping along the path to his home, blissfully unaware of his upcoming death.

“I haven’t yet decided how I’m going to do it. Maybe an accidental fire, or yet another devastating plague. But all that’s very boring, isn’t it?”

“It’s all part of God’s plan,” he says with an unsure nod. “I’m sure of it.” He was given no orders to prevent it from happening, so it must be part of the greater plan. Where there is death, there is also rebirth waiting around the corner.

“Sure, sure,” agrees Crowley absentmindedly. He takes a short pause before continuing, “Do you think death by venomous snakes is a bit too much?” He turns to Aziraphale, but receives no answer. Only a look of worry. He waves the angel off. “Ah, I’ll figure it out. I’ve got three days.”

[queenofnohr]

Anywayyyyyy time to go back to Arvelle’s (chronological) beginning

Believe it or not, he used to be a sweet boy

I think he never stopped, but it all comes out…… twisted.

(I’m not listing out all the warnings but please be aware that anything involving arvelle contains potentially disturbing content)

Arvelle was born a bastard half-elezen to a hyur couple. Due to complicated circumstances that haven’t quite been hashed out yet (think Satoko’s Aunt and Uncle from Higurashi or Hanekawa’s parents in Monogatari) Arvelle was unwanted and unloved by his guardians with nowhere but his elder brother, Maronne, to protect him or even...... love him

This neglect and mistreatment by his guardians resulted in a shy boy with low-self confidence who hated what he was - hated being half-elezen - who clung to his elder brother as his only source of joy in his life.

For him, there was only Maronne. As the younger brother, he knew no life without him.

For Maronne, more and more was his life consumed by his duty to protect and take care of his younger brother. He was forced to grow up fast because of this, working odd jobs to earn enough money to support he and his brother living without their parents (again, think Satoshi from Higurashi). Arvelle, too, worked to maintain their life together when he got old enough to work, but more than that, he learned to keep the house, and welcome Maronne back from a hard day’s work.

Overreliance, codependency both physical and emotional......... Arvelle’s natural and learned shyness making him retreat from the rest of the world. Maronne being Arvelle’s anchor, always the one to reassure him that he is perfect exactly the way he is. An infinitely doting older brother.

All of this leads Arvelle to have certain feelings regarding Maronne. Forbidden feelings. Feelings he keeps locked deep within his heart, yet feelings that cannot help but influence his every action.

He loves his brother. Not as a brother should.

His every action, done intricately, immaculately, with purpose, becomes a silent prayer, a desperate plea for his feelings to be seen, returned. For their “I love you”s to mean the same thing. An impossible dream he knows will never come true.

He wishes they weren’t brothers. But then how could he love him as dearly as he does now?

He wishes to be rid of these feelings. But how can he disparage what has made his life worth living up until this point?

He can only wish for their halcyon days to continue on unto eternity, with each joy he knows dispensing an equal amount of anguished sorrow.

Life goes on for Maronne. He takes lovers, each one breaking Arvelle’s heart a little more each time. They all end eventually, each become fed up with how Maronne will always put Arvelle first.

He loves Arvelle. He really does. He thinks his brother deserves nothing but the best, thinks his brother should be whisked away by a prince on a white horse, to never know sorrow ever again. He dearly wants Arvelle to know naught but joy for the rest of his days.

But it isn’t the way Arvelle wants to be loved.

So when Emet-Selch makes an offer to Arvelle to become Azem, he leaps at it, ready to shed all he is and become someone else. In exchange, he vows to destroy his own world. He vows to destroy many worlds, end an uncountable number of lives. He thinks to himself, promises himself, that he will find his world’s Moros, will keep him by his side up until the very last Rejoining, and love him dearly as his own.

He asks Emet-Selch who his Moros could be, who the other half of his heart is, his dearly beloved.

Who could it be other than Maronne?

Something inside Arvelle breaks. He laughs and laughs until he can laugh no longer. After all, it’s a sad thing if a clown doesn’t get a laugh, even if it’s only him laughing at himself. He was ready to give up everything he was - is; willing to sell his soul to the devil for a long eternity, all to escape his own vile feelings only to end up exactly where he started.

He kills Maronne’s ex-lovers. He tortures them slowly, peeling off their fingernails, breaking each bone, dragging out their entrails meticulously, immaculately, with the same sense of purpose that infected all his actions, with the same love he used to pour into Maronne’s homemade lunches. He doesn’t do it out of jealousy or spite just...... retribution. For breaking Maronne’s heart. For having the chance to break Maronne’s heart. That they had the opportunity to confess their feelings, while he was destined to suffer alone, in agony. Even the torture was not out of hate, but rather propelled by the same feeling as a child has when plucking petals from a flower as they play “loves me, loves me not.”

Arvelle does not mean anything by these killings. He does not think anything will come about them. But Maronne sees the pattern in the serial killings and becomes paranoid someone is out to take everyone he loves away from him. He locks himself and Arvelle inside, and won’t let Arvelle out of his sight lest Arvelle becomes a victim. He shares his bed with Arvelle in a way they hadn’t since they were children, his taller younger brother chest to chest with him, tucked under his chin in the safety of his embrace.

It is enough to make Arvelle weep.

He never intended this outcome, but it would be a lie to say he is not pleased.

It’s just that...... the killings stop with Arvelle with him at all times. Arvelle sneaks away - another is found dead. Maronne is not a stupid man.

He wonders aloud about the safety of another man - only an acquaintance - lies about the nature of their relationship where Arvelle can hear.

As soon as Arvelle is out of his sight, that acquaintance is killed. Brutally. Horrifically.

Maronne can no longer avert his eyes to the truth.

Arvelle cannot lie to his brother. He confesses - everything. His killings, his ascension to ascian, and most of all...... his feelings for Maronne.

He ties Maronne up, string of apologies falling from his lips, promising to untie him in three days, that if he still wants to, he can leave and never see him again once time is up. He just wants to prove that his love is pure. He just wants to be able to prove it in a way he couldn’t before.

He doesn’t try anything like Maronne thinks he would. He leaves Maronne alone most of the time, only bringing him meals. Meals meticulously made, carrots cut into the shape of flowers, apples cut into the shape of bunnies. Maronne finally does realize it, that the way Arvelle lived, all of it, was pleading to be noticed, for his feelings to be acknowledged, to be loved in return.

Maronne thinks about where he went wrong. He thinks about what he should’ve done differently. He thinks that perhaps he should’ve pushed Arvelle away when he clung, and cannot find it in his heart to acknowledge such a solution.

If nothing could be done, if this was inevitable...........

He starts thinking about what he could’ve done, at least, so that there would be no bloodshed.

He thinks about what ifs where he returns Arvelle’s feelings.

Even though he held no attraction to his brother before, he can feel no disgust when presented with such feelings, and thinks perhaps that he is broken somewhere.

Alone with his thoughts, thinking of what ifs and solutions and preventions, thinking himself as broken, considering all the ways he spoils Arvelle, he gaslights himself into loving his brother.

He just.................. can’t bear to see him sad. He can’t bear to leave him alone.

After all, they always only ever had each other, didn’t they?

Still.

Still.

He cannot forgive Arvelle.

Not for loving him, but for killing.

As an older brother, he cannot let such a thing stand.

They go on with their lives as best they can, Maronne giving Arvelle the kind of love he so desperately craved, lamenting that his brother never could even have the joy of holding hands in public with his beloved and hearing the well-wishes of the townspeople. He loves Arvelle, not as a brother.

And still it pulls at him. That his brother needs to be punished. That nothing can be the same as it once was. That Arvelle’s dream can never become reality no matter how hard they pretend.

Maronne

who has always loved and protected his younger brother

who would never do anything to hurt him, to the point of returning his feelings

kills

Arvelle.

Maronne cradles the body of his beloved younger brother. He lies in bed and tucks Arvelle’s body under his chin, and squeezes his eyes shut.

Arvelle, of course, does not die. He body hops into one of Maronne’s ex-lovers, and asks if it would be easier like this. Maronne, disgusted, proclaims that he would rather love Arvelle as he was, as his brother, and is surprised to find he isn’t lying.

Arvelle tells Maronne he can kill him as many times as he wants, as many times as will make him happy.

And Maronne. Breaks.

He cannot stop his brother. He cannot make him understand. He........ cannot take back what he has done, not ever.

Time passes. The end of their world comes. Arvelle promises to save Maronne. Maronne agrees.

Maronne...... offers his body to Arvelle, as a vessel. So that they will never be apart, not ever again.

United as one, their souls grind and scrape together like broken glass. Arvelle’s anguish, his fear that he isn’t loved not really, not like he wants, that he’s forced his brother into something terrible. His fear that his brother hates him, wants to kill him. Maronne’s guilt at having not been a better brother. his cascade of what ifs and alternate scenarios and his real fake love.

Both of them loving each other so much, more than anything else in the world, but neither in the way the other wants, in a way that can only hurt other other on and on toward a long eternity.

[thealternatewanderingcotabus]

History of Bloodreaver: The Cursed Blade

Creation and First Wielder:

*Bloodreaver* was forged during the Age of Shadows, a dark period in the history of the world when the forces of evil and chaos sought to tip the balance of power in their favor. The blade was crafted by a master blacksmith named Kaldor the Cursed, a man who had long fallen from grace after losing his family to a plague. Driven by grief and a thirst for vengeance against the gods who he believed had abandoned him, Kaldor made a pact with an ancient demon, offering his soul in exchange for the knowledge to forge a weapon of unimaginable power.

In a forbidden ritual, Kaldor used the blood of innocents, blackened abyssal steel, and dark magic to create *Bloodreaver*. The blade was imbued with the essence of the demon, causing the steel to crack and leak blood—the very life essence of the demon’s countless victims. The runes etched into the blade were symbols of binding and suffering, their red glow a reflection of the torment within.

The first to wield *Bloodreaver* was a warlord named Morghul the Reaper, a tyrant who led an army of mercenaries across the land, leaving devastation in his wake. With *Bloodreaver* in hand, Morghul became an unstoppable force, the sword feeding on the blood of his enemies and growing ever more powerful. But the blade’s curse soon took its toll; the more Morghul used it, the more it whispered to him, driving him into a frenzy of bloodlust that eventually turned him against his own men.

Consumed by the blade’s influence, Morghul slaughtered his entire army in a single night, the blood of his soldiers feeding *Bloodreaver* until it dripped with an endless stream of dark, corrupted blood. When the morning sun rose, Morghul was found dead, his lifeless body surrounded by the corpses of his men, the blade still clutched in his hand. The sword was buried with him in an unmarked grave, but its evil could not be contained.

**Resurgence and Notable Bearers:**

Centuries passed, and *Bloodreaver* was forgotten—until grave robbers unearthed Morghul’s tomb. They were drawn to the sword’s sinister aura, but none who touched it survived the night. The blade eventually fell into the hands of a secretive cult known as the Bloodcloaks, who worshipped the demon bound to the sword. They believed that *Bloodreaver* was the key to bringing their dark master into the material plane.

The cult used the sword in blood sacrifices, each one feeding the blade’s hunger and strengthening the demon’s hold on the world. However, the cult’s plans were thwarted by a group of paladins who raided their stronghold and took *Bloodreaver* into custody. Unable to destroy it, the paladins sealed it away in a vault deep beneath a holy temple, guarded by powerful wards designed to keep its evil contained.

Despite their efforts, *Bloodreaver* found a way to escape. The wards weakened over time, and the sword began to whisper to the priests of the temple, sowing seeds of doubt and corruption. One by one, the priests fell to its influence, until a young acolyte, driven mad by the sword’s voice, broke the seal and claimed the blade as his own.

The acolyte, now a dark champion, spread terror across the land, the blade once again tasting the blood it craved. But like all before him, he was eventually consumed by the sword’s curse, his mind shattered by the endless whispers of the souls trapped within the blade. He was defeated by a band of heroes, who sealed *Bloodreaver* within an ancient crypt, hidden in a forgotten corner of the world.

**Modern Era:**

In recent times, *Bloodreaver* has become the stuff of legend, its true location lost to time. Some say it lies buried in the ruins of an ancient city, others believe it is entombed beneath a mountain guarded by spirits. Adventurers and treasure hunters alike seek it, drawn by the promise of power, but none who search for it return.

Rumors persist that *Bloodreaver* has resurfaced, its cursed influence once again spreading across the land. Whispers speak of a warrior, clad in dark armor, wielding a sword that drips with the blood of his foes. Whether this is truth or merely a tale to frighten children is unknown, but those who know the history of *Bloodreaver* understand that wherever it is, the blade waits patiently, eager to taste blood once more.