#contemplations and speculations

[scorchieart]

I sometimes wonder how the princes internally reacted to learning Leon's secret that day in the roundtable room. Particularly, do you think Chevalier was heartbroken?

*spoilers under the cut for Leon & Chevalier's routes*

[Note: Tread carefully in the comments section of this post as there are slight mentions of spoilers for flashback events and Clavis & Gilbert's routes.]

Because to Chevalier, what separates royalty from the commonfolk is duty. He makes it perfectly clear to Belle that the consequences of her decision of king lie entirely on the king himself, and that it is the job of the other princes and the nobility to upkeep the country should he fail. Add that on to the fact that Chevalier doesn't even fully consort with the idea of the Belle Selection. I wouldn't say this means Chevalier looks down on the commonfolk (he assigns value based on how useful a person is to him no matter their upbringing), but he definitely considers them in a separate world from his own.

And Chevalier's world is the palace and the nobles and his faction. He knows the work he and the princes do is a contract to the kingdom they are obliged to fulfill because of their positions. And remember, for much of his life Rhodolite was ruled by a "fallen beast", so who knows how early on the princes had to pick up the slack? [that's a theory for another day...] To Chevalier, nobles and ambassadors come and go, their preferences and alliances shifting over the littlest things, but the princes are honor-bound to stay on the side of Rhodolite; they are the only ones he can trust to act in favor of the kingdom every time. And we know this because even though Chevalier is aware the princes each lead their own double-lives (except Leon, of course...), he only chooses to intervene when their side-hustles actually start to pose a threat to the kingdom.

So when Leon is revealed to not only be a commoner but also not even Rhodolitian [edit: Leon's ancestry is still debatable], Chevalier's trust must have been shattered. The man he deemed worthy enough to lead the internal affairs of his kingdom, to act as his counterweight in politics, to be his rival was as far removed from his world as could be. And he was none the wiser for decades. Was it a bigger insult to the royal family or Chevalier's pride? Whatever the answer, it was enough for Chevalier to draw his sword on Leon the moment the truth was revealed, despite the clearly far more pressing threat from Obsidian on the table.

Chevalier has stated he doesn't care much about blood ties, a prince is a prince at the end of the day, but considering he and Leon were the heads of their factions and Chevalier respected the reputation Leon built upon it, he'd understandably be upset and betrayed. That's his bro, yo. I wonder how he truly felt about Leon ascending the throne here vs. when it happens in other routes.

Chevalier may always act in favor of Rhodolite, but I think it's more than coincidence that what's best to preserve the kingdom almost always aligns with what's best to preserve his worldview.

[This mini theory is brought to you by me staring at a blank wall and thinking about this card for 30 minutes straight.]

[scorchieart]

One of the aspects I enjoy most about Chevalier and Clavis's relationship is the way irony is just jam-packed in their lives, especially when in comparison to each other. They always say you shouldn't compare yourself to others, but these two take it to a whole different level, the conflict is so troubling it's addictive to watch (and sob over). The worst part is they both know the underlying truth about their issues but refuse to accept it (feELiNgS?? *yeets them away*), so they each craft their behaviors and surroundings to reinforce their misconceptions about the world, or perhaps their fear of accepting reality, and thus working through their deep-seated issues.

Just talk it out, you guys 🥺

Excellently done, Lorei.

Character Thoughts: Clavis & Chevalier #1

Brothers: The Cradle of Their Issues

Chevalier and Clavis' relationship is tense from the very beginning. Many may argue that it's all due to Chevalier's difficult attitude. However, is that all? In today's episode of Character Thoughts, we shall explore the topic.

[Contains game spoilers.] // ~ 500 words

Clavis' Side: Attitudes

Chevalier's Side: Envy

Clavis' Side: Attitudes

To see matters from Clavis' perspective, we must realise that both he and Chevalier are forced to play certain roles, on top of being assigned a set of pre-requisite notions from the day they were born.

For years, Chevalier is considered to be the king's firstborn. His mother comes from an influential family. He's exceptionally talented, but more than anything, he becomes aware of the expectations set out for him very early on. He grows while moulding himself into the embodiment of what royalty should be, with very little regard for anything else. Why does he do that? Because that is what he concludes to be the most beneficial approach, even at the cost of his personal feelings.

Meanwhile, Clavis? Clavis was not born within any legitimate union. Worse yet, he was not a planned child to say the very least. His family? Nobles in servitude of Michels. Even before he came to be, he could be seen as "worse", yet he is expected to face the same expectations as Chevalier.

Things do not end there, however. On top of all the expectations come comparisons. Clavis is younger, yet every aspect of him is meticulously measured against the older and exceptionally skilled Chevalier. (The age does matter, as even a year can make a huge difference in case of young children -- meanwhile, nobody seems to pay any mind to that). Wherever he goes, he can be sure to see people refuse to acknowledge him, simply because of being "just" himself.

If we now take a step back, we may notice that all -- all -- of this is prompted into being by external forces. Neither of the brothers chose to be born into this position. Even Chevalier's cold attitude towards Clavis and his ruthlessness, his choice to cast aside his feelings, could be presented as a resultant of their personal circumstances. (More on Chevalier in this context can be found here; Let's also notice that Belle is the first person to prove value of feelings to Chevalier -- this speaks volumes about what sort of things he must have seen in childhood in particular.)

Chevalier's Side: Envy

There is one thing Chevalier wants that he doesn't admit even before himself. It is the sole desire he held in childhood, but violently discarded in his adulthood: to be loved.

And it is the one thing that Clavis has an abundance of, while he is starving.

Chevalier can do everything right, but no matter what, no love follows. He thinks he was born a beast and thus accepts this role, with everything it entails. It does not mean he takes pride in it. All his perfection is completely irrelevant. Clavis, despite his flaws, is bathed in affection. Something Chevalier could never accomplish for himself.

Meanwhile, Clavis? He envies the very thing that made Chevalier's wish an impossible thing.

It isn't Chevalier's fault that no adults in his life could show him love. Likewise, it isn't Clavis' fault that his worth was only ever measured in relation to Chevalier.

--

As boys, they weren't in a position to understand each other's perspective. As such, in his struggle to be acknowledged, Clavis has overlooked a single thing: Chevalier did acknowledge him, and has continued to do so since.

--

@scorchieart , because we talked about this and I promised to put my thoughts on this to paper. :)

[cirrus-grey]

Contemplating the fact that if Chester and Norris were created from the full 200 tapes that made up the Magnus Archives, then they have just as much of Jon and Martin as all of us who listened to the show, and could potentially create a perfect facsimile of the characters we know and love while never being anything more than a highly advanced version of character.ai

[jelly-of-many-ships]

remember when Crowley suggested that Aziraphale could just kill Adam and then he said “i’ve never actually killed anything before” and Crowley responded with “not even to save everything?”

Aziraphale is totally gonna kill someone in s3 for Crowley heheheh

[bylerposting]

i feel like there’s a message here but i can’t quite decipher it. Maybe I’m just going insane

[scorchieart]

This is simply too precious 🥹🥹

Imagine Sariel walking through the halls over the years and knowing there are a pair of curious eyes watching him from behind the columns with every tinkle tankle 😊

Or Licht and Nokto stalking the gardens all morning waiting for the tinkle tankle signaling the start of Evie's tea parties 😊

Or Leon and Jin in the middle of a heated political discussion, when tinkle tankle— Clear the tables, boys! It's snack time! 😊

Or Chevalier heading to the library at the end of a long day, when he hears a tinkle tankle and changes course so he doesn't spoil Yves's mood 🥲

....that's enough of that, I want to keep this thought happy and wholesome

Everyone keeps talking about Silvio jangling but can we talk about how Yves tinkles as well??? Like, I know it's probably real quiet but he does have a bell attached to his belt.

It's so cute how it's designed similarly to collars that cats have around their necks. Clavis probably hears Yves quietly tinkling when he's setting up traps and laughs to himself knowing that his younger bro is going to fall victim again.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Some of the sapient species that aren't represented by the crew of the Little Bird. The majority of these guys are affiliated with the galactic governance founded by Enith, but a few of them are allied with Teth Tias, or their own governments. Also none of these are to scale :)

+ the plain lineart with some funny notes.

[thearunadragon]

All it would have taken for Eragon to learn the truth of what happened to the village was to scry it sooner. He might have seen it burn. He would never be able to forget that.

[a-heart-of-kyber]

Currently mentally playing with the idea of what if whilst dying Sol pulls a like "tell them, tell them everything" to Mae to kind of give her this blessing to tell her truth to the Jedi Council and grant him absolution. Accepting he'll be to blame for everything. And she'll fully take Osha's name/place and be able to walk free.

Because like to heal Sol needs to choose Mae and Mae needs the truth to come out and to be independent. I realize that the independence would be as Osha, but like...she needs the get out of jail free card while Osha takes her place as the Acolyte.

[scorchieart]

He is the intern-kun we needed but don't deserve. He keeps the fabric of the world in tact by preventing Clavis and Gilbert from discovering (and then attempting to break) the fourth wall. I bet he secretly holds meetings with Sariel and Chevalier about game updates, they're the only 2 he trusts with his secret. But he does it in disguise and under a fake name... Cyran. They'll never know it was him. We owe him everything.

(I love this art btw, he looks so contemplative...)

⚔🌹Cyril Rose Theory🌹⚔

Speaking of Cyril from Ikemen Prince, I've had this theory for a long time. What if Cyril was working for cybird? 🤔(There are no spoilers, just something random😂)

Cybird—Cyril

Both start with "Cy"

If you take the letters "ir" from "Cybird" and put the "r" before the "i", it becomes "Cybrid".

Then, if you take the letters "b" and "d" back to back, you'll get "db". Which later will create an "l", if joined.

So, if you match the letters from the beginning, you'll get "Cyril" 🤔

Thank you for reading, here is a random sketch I made a while ago as well😂 (This is what I think he may look like) :

[threewaysdivided]

The Shaper of Minds and its possible consequences for a certain character

I have finally joined the rest of the internet in losing my mind over a D&D Podcast - in my case, the wonderful Dan Jones & Dragons.  With Episode 26 due to stream on Dan’s Twitch this week, I really want to talk about some of the stuff that came up across the just-finished Gala sessions because the fallout from that has the potential to be incredibly fraught.

THE SHAPER OF MINDS

The relic the Flower Crowns were going after this mission – The Shaper of Minds – is a potentially fascinating narrative device that might as well have been lab-engineered to be my exact brand of personal nightmare fuel.   It’s a small, ornate brass key that can alter any part of the target’s mental faculties/thoughts/memories at will should the wielder touch it to any part of their victim’s skin.

Now, on one hand, there are a heap of interesting (and even benevolent) applications for a tool like that.  It could instantly grant access to skills, languages and knowledge that would otherwise take a person years of study to learn.  It could be used to sort through and resolve memories that had been faded by time, muddied by trauma or forcibly supressed by magical/medical means.  But on the other…

As described and used in campaign so far, the primary function of the Mindshaper is to alter memories (and the attendant personality) with the target having no awareness that their mind has been changed.  It’s basically gaslighting on steroids, except that where a gaslighting victim still retains their original recollection – and has to be manipulated by their abuser into doubting their own perceptions and instead accepting the alternate telling of events (a cognitive dissonance that can eventually lead the person to recognise the manipulation) – the Shaper of Minds entirely replaces the original recollection of events with the version the wielder wants their victim to perceive.  There is no internal conflict between accounts, no inconsistencies that could alert the victim that someone has broken into their head and rewritten their perceived reality.  The person they reshape you to be is the person you believe you always were.  And all it takes is a single touch.

That is a brand of existential horror that had me on edge all throughout Session 24 (basically from the moment it was implied the key was in play).   Reality may be objective, but each individual person’s internal reality is governed by their perception – their memories – of the events in their life, no matter how incomplete, biased or otherwise skewed that personal perspective may have been.  You have value just by being you because you are not replaceable, but the thing that makes you unique is, in large part, the sum total of those inimitably specific personal memories.  No-one else will perceive the world in exactly the same way you do, and even a few minor changes to just a few of those perceptions can flow on to massive differences in ideals, values, priorities and future choices.  In that regard, the use of the Mindshaper Key isn’t so much an alteration as an obliteration of the victim’s former self and replacement with someone new; even if that new stranger is largely indistinguishable from the original.  And, again, all it takes is a single touch.

[Sidenote:  This made Mister Wick an especially effective antagonist to wield the key, since his Galas functionally trap even targets who are aware of the threat within the rules of high-society behavioural expectations.  Otherwise-innocuous actions like a handshake or private conversation suddenly become incredibly dangerous, while being nigh-impossible for the Flower Crowns to extract themselves from without committing an atrocious faux pas and potentially tipping Wick off.  Perfectly designed stage for a psychological horror-thriller encounter.]

Which of course, brings us to a certain character who fell victim to the key in Episode 24…  [put under the cut for spoiler reasons]

MORENTHAL

This poor Drow, he can never catch a break…

Morenthal may not have been the most mechanically dangerous party member to fall victim to Mister Wick’s manipulations although, given that the key was revealed to let its wielder read existing memories during the alteration, and that all of the Flower Crowns were fully briefed on the locations and nature of the Eversteel artefacts, him getting a hand on any of them could have been very bad plot-wise but from a character point of view I think he’s the one who the key’s effects had the potential to be most personally devastating for.

The way things ended up playing out across Session 25 was precisely the nightmare scenario Gamb was fretting about out of game: Mister Wick forcibly implanted Morenthal’s mind with false memories of being his lifelong trusted confidant and supporter, then – before the Flower Crowns could reverse the key’s effect – Morenthal discovered that Mister Wick had been killed in combat with Coil and Preston, leading to the Party having to physically restrain him so they could use the key to undo the damage, thus confronting Morenthal with the realisation that not only was everything he thought he knew about Jonathan a lie, but in actuality Jonathan had committed possibly the most invasive violation he’d ever been subjected to in order to forcibly make Morenthal into one of his loyal tools.  That level of emotional and mental whiplash would be rough on any character, but for Morenthal it’s particularly brutal because…

Based on what’s been revealed in-game so far, the core of his character is that Morenthal is an abused child.  This most-clearly came up in his conversation with Gelnek in Session 14; he was a child who grew up with nothing, raised by the Bloodletter Mercenaries as a tool instead of a person, and taught to see faces only as targets – with him also mentioning to Hobson in that their “combat training” involved being relentlessly beaten down until he learned to fight back.  During his Session 21 visit with the Nightmother, he openly admits that “nowhere feels safe”.  From that it’s pretty clear to read that Morenthal has never felt unconditionally loved, safe or respected around other mortals.

(This also helps contextualise why he’s so devoted to the Nightmother.  From what little we have seen of his visits to her, Iris is a fond “adult” figure, who does not threaten, does not judge, asks nothing of him aside from his company, and cares equally for all the souls that pass through her domain.  For a child “growing up with nothing” but violence, that would have been everything.)

But then, enter Jonathan fucking Wick.  And now, just for a short while, Morenthal has all these “memories” of Jonathan being there to confide in, encourage him and support his escape from the Bloodletters.  Suddenly he believes someone was there for him and, while the memories might be fake, the feelings of unconditional safety they would have brought were very real.  Little wonder that he started acting like a Trilby-level naive goober around Mister Wick to the point of accidentally snitching on the rest of the group.  Only, then it turns out to be a lie and those memories are gone.

For me, I think one of the worst things Morenthal might end up dealing with in the aftermath of having his memory fixed isn’t the specific feeling of personal betrayal or the potential shame at having been caught: it’s the realisation that he was always alone.   That there was no mortal on the outside who cared or came for him when he needed them – just him and the distant fondness of a Divine.  That would be awful beyond words, and yet the Flower Crowns were forced to inadvertently inflict it upon him in order to restore his mind.  No wonder he wouldn’t look any of them in the eye before the session closed.

Worse still, the nature of the key makes it incredibly hard not only to trust others, but to trust your own mind.  The players and audience above-table know that Morenthal is back to experiencing and remembering reality as it happened, but the question could very well linger for him, bringing with it a hefty dose of paranoia.  Sure, Morenthal correctly remembers that Coil is a straightforward, loyal person who wouldn’t be tempted to tamper with his mind beyond undoing Jonathan’s manipulations… but he “remembered” that about Mister Wick too, and wouldn’t that be a beneficial thing for the Party to have him think?   To Morenthal, people were already Not Safe™, but now the one person he ever believed might be had actually violated him worse than anyone else in order to force and abuse that trust.  How is he supposed to trust anyone if he can’t trust the authenticity of his own recollections.  (I get the feeling that Morenthal probably isn't going to be capable of relaxing until the Shaper of Minds is confirmed to either be locked back safely in the Vaults of Eversteel or fully removed from the Mortal Plane by Six).

It makes it really tragic that all of this came directly on the back of Episode 23, where Gamb revealed during the above-table break chat that - even if Morenthal didn’t recognise why – he unconsciously trusted Trilby and Gelnek enough to jump off the airship without checking that his rope was secure, because deep-down he knew they would catch him.  To go from that high-point to the whiplash of him first thinking the Flower Crowns had killed the only person he was ever “safe” with, then them inadvertently subjecting him to the most painful realisation he could ever experience and potentially leaving him wondering whether he can even trust his feelings about them is absolutely gutting.

I think the thing that scares me most about how the aftermath could potentially play out is another trait that Gamb and Dan have established for Morenthal: he's a flight-risk.   He shies away from letting people get close and, if he feels unsafe enough, he runs.  It’s already been mentioned/implied that he’s considered fleeing the group at multiple different points across the sessions.  And with him likely not feeling safe even in inside his own mind right now, that risk is probably at an all-time high.  The poor lad is staring down the barrel of a potentially-impending multi-level emotional crisis, where a lifetime of instincts will probably be urging him to run hard and fast because People Are Not Safe™.

And the thing is, that instinct isn’t a good one for him either.  Morenthal might have gotten by on his own “just living to be” up until Filgrove, but that feels a lot more like surviving out of necessity than having an actual life.  It’s pretty obvious that he pushes people away as a defence mechanism:  if you don’t care about anyone then you can’t be hurt by them or have those people used against you.  But if you don’t let yourself care and feel things, you’re not really living.  The truly tragic part of his running being a potential foreseeable outcome is that the Flower Crowns are good for Morenthal.  (I doubt Morenthal realises it and can’t speak to Gamb’s above-table thought process but it’s interesting that one potential interpretation of Morenthal’s cynical, faux-apathetic, “stinky” behaviour is that of a former abused child quietly testing the boundaries of whether he’s allowed to exist in a way that’s inconvenient for others, to which the answer from the Party has largely been yes provided he isn’t actively encouraging Trilby to get himself killed, or killing people without explaining himself).  He survived alone before because that was all he knew, but I get the feeling he wouldn’t do so well if he tried to go it solo again after being with people (he’s already confessed that the idea of Feyli being gone makes him miss her).   That’s not a road to walk on his best day, let alone with his current headspace and tendency towards self-destructive choices. 

It reminds me a lot of this article:

“Still, it’s easier for us to keep blaming ourselves because it’s preferable to facing the unthinkable: the fact that our parents don’t love us. …  Most people would rather do anything than accept this as the truth. Not only is it painful; it’s humiliating.”

So yeah, suffice to say I am incredibly concerned about how Morenthal’s arc is going to play out over the next session(s).  Here’s hoping that Gelnek and/or Coil have enough emotional savvy to keep an eye out, and enough patience to stick to him even if he lashes out in attempt to drive them off.  Even if it all works out okay, I get the feeling that this one’s going to be ugly.

Can’t wait to see how everyone chooses to play it ❤️‍🩹

[scorchieart]

Has this always been a thing? Was it ever brought up or utilized before? I can think of a few instances in Clavis's route where it would have been useful, but I don't recall this particular detail ever being mentioned 🤔

Unless as part of the Phantom Thief AU aesthetic Cyran gets superpowers, in which case he totally got snubbed by Clavis 😤

Regardless... *spray bottle* Bad Clavis. *spray bottle spray bottle* Stop negatively comparing yourself to others. We've been through this.

This is from Clavis's Premium End of the Wildest Dreams event.

[ariadnesweb]

-Notes: -Gaster speaks like he can't breathe - single word pauses. (WELL, SO) -Often backtalks himself - happy new year - old year? -Unsure of time? Holidays? But it's presence is constant. -Aware of the nature of the game, talking to us more or less directly. -Importance of the all-consuming nature of love - regardless of the details of what love is. Seems to doubt his belief is shared - waits for the reader to understand. Unclear answer. -But regards valentine's as a poor celebration of love - itself trivial. -Awkward: struggles to make small talk, or transition to important topics. -'I WANT TO HELP! YES, THERE WAS SOMEONE I WANTED TO HELP.' -Redundant, confusing statements. General statement of alliance leads to more specific desire to help someone he personally knows. -Memory issues? Gaster pauses after this, as if he didn't expect to blank out. Clarifies that he did forget who. -Sardonic about it - it seems to be a regular problem. 'WAS IT MYSELF? NO... WELL, PERHAPS' seems to be a joke at his expense. -Pretty upbeat about the whole thing, regardless. -Mystery, ambiguous them. -Mystery knowledge 'I NEVER FORGET SOMEONE I DON'T REMEMBER'. A trait of being across space & time, or personal determination? -'WILL YOU HELP ME?' Backtalk. Opposite of 'I WANT TO HELP!' -Contemplative, doesn't seem to expect/know much of us. Or, our desire to help him surprises him. Extremely sans energy. -Thanks us eagerly, however. -Excited about our help, to the point that malapropiates an idiom. -Stumbles afterward, piling on malapropianism after malapropianism on it. -Sudden 'GOOD BY!' (Also mispelled)

-Conclusion: This is not the public-facing piece of Gaster, this is the awkward 'I need help' piece of Gaster.

[scorchieart]

This is a spoiler from late in Clavis's route, but it is revealed that his deep-seated motivation, as much as he tries to repress it, is...

he wants Chevalier to accept him. As a prince, as a brother, and as a person. It's a memory he's annoyed by, so I doubt he's ever told anyone about it. Not his mother, not Cyran, not Belle (at least not at this point of their relationship). And he admits Chevalier is the person who knows him best, so Chevalier is aware of this but doesn't bring attention to it, at least not in the way Clavis years for.

One of Clavis' major tragedies is that he was born too early.

In the era of access to information being limited, the intellect may be part measured by one's ability to retain and recall it. Once that requirement is easily met, however, the creativity and the ability to utilise data becomes much more valuable.

Clavis is a genius in his own right. It is only that it is much too early for people to realise it.

[orcelito]

ooooookay so i havent seen anyone on tumblr talk about this directly yet so i figured i'd make a post linking to ppl talking about it. im not personally involved, but since this is an artist i recognize & see around, i figure ppl have the right to know

so uh. long story short. @/valdrickvile on here is kinda uhhhhhh not someone you'd wanna interact with, maybe.

^ this thread goes into it

& in case anything happens to the tweets, here's the big document that goes into it. ive read thru a good amount of it and uh........... yeah.

im not sharing this as a call to harass the people involved (Please Dont) but just. people have a right to know. so pls just block and move on.

[designernishiki]

i rarely see people talking about the trans girl substory in y3 and like. yakuza may have its issues with iffy representation here and there but I’ll give them credit for that one, it was simple but it was sweet and kiryu was very in character. my only question is: where the hell did kiryu learn the word transgender