#esthelle-wanders

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Today was the first chilly day of the season where I live, and all I can think about is how hecking frigid your cursed TPN edits must be. Y’all we can’t stand for this, they are suffering.

Cozy hat donation box for fullscoreshenanigans’ victims below ⬇️

🧢🎩💂‍♀️

He still needs to see a doctor for the concussion while going up the ladder but this helps, thank you

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#emma is genuinely terrifying #shirai said that it would be dangerous for someone like her to exist in the real world #he’s right ya know #like looking at that manga panel makes me shiver #there are so many moments like that throughout #I mean ray was scary for literally five seconds and then suddenly everyone’s safer when he’s around #norman is waaaaay scarier than ray but not in a way that gives you chills? #like he scares my brain but not my nerves #emma triggers my fight or flight instinct (via @esthelle18)

Look at me straight in the eyes and tell me that’s a face of someone who’s ok

[sailforvalinor]

Tagged by @rainintheevening to make a poll of beloved female characters and see who everyone likes the most.

Tagging @kanerallels, @accidental-spice, @esthelle-wanders, and @braveheartstoryteller

[frodo-with-glasses]

For the “friendship ask” game: My favorite Middle-Earth duo, Pippin and Gandalf!

If you’re so inspired, I’d love to see your thoughts on 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, and 12 (methinks those are the right ones).

Many thanks for your time, wisdom, and humor!

Hello again, Esthelle! You're too kind, as always. =^-^= I would love to talk about Gandalf and Pippin!

1. “When I think they became friends”

I think it’s pretty clear from the book that their friendship had a rocky start. Pippin was always intrigued by Gandalf, and Gandalf was always annoyed with Pippin (in a grouchy grandfatherly sort of way), but they cared about each other from the very beginning. We can see that in Moria, when Gandalf is cross with Pippin, but—after getting over his own anger—gently tells him to go to sleep, and that he’ll keep watch instead, and Pippin falls asleep staring at the light from Gandalf’s pipe.

If I had to pin it down to one moment, I think their friendship really started to galvanize on that ride to Minas Tirith. Gandalf was finally answering Pippin’s questions, and Pippin was finally listening to him and beginning to understand, and there’s something about falling asleep against someone on a long journey that makes it impossible for any animosity to survive.

2. “My favorite scene of them”

In the movies? That part where Gandalf comforts Pippin and tells him that he doesn’t have to be afraid of death.

In the books? Definitely that part where Gandalf compliments Pippin and he loudly and vehemently denies it. Oh how the turntables—

3. “A random headcanon I have of them”

It is a life goal of Pippin’s to someday wear Gandalf’s hat.

Why? I dunno. He just thinks it’d be fun.

4. “What makes me like their friendship”

Oh, where do I start??

I think the charm of Gandalf and Pippin’s friendship really boils down to contrast: old and young, grouchy and cheerful, wise and naive, powerful and (relatively) powerless. Gandalf and Pippin are nothing alike, and the clash of their personalities is where most of the humor lies.

But also, they’re everything alike. They love their friends. They hunger for knowledge. They will do what’s right no matter what the cost. And I think that’s what bridges the gap between their differences and allows them to finally see eye-to-eye.

Pippin takes comfort in Gandalf as a familiar thing in a strange and unknown world, even as he discovers that Gandalf is a very strange thing himself. Gandalf considers Pippin his charge and his ward; an annoyance at times, but one to whom he would never see any harm come, if he can help it. Gandalf has always been something of a “Jerk with a Heart of Gold”, and nowhere is that seen more clearly than in how he warms up to Pippin.

7. “My favorite thing about their friendship”

They’re freaking hilarious LOL

10. “A song that reminds me of them”

I tried to come up with something new here, but let’s go with a tried and true favorite of mine: “Dear Fellow Traveler”, by Sea Wolf.

12. “A word to describe them”

Meandering, n.:

an act of following a winding or intricate course

an act of wandering in a leisurely or aimless manner

convoluted or undirected thought or language

Pippin’s real name, Peregrin, means “wanderer”. Gandalf is often called the Grey Wanderer. And we both know how much these two can keep taking if you let them. I think “meander” fits them quite well.

FRIENDSHIP ASK GAME!

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Adding the replies and because I also forgot to add the link to the 360° Demizu video.

Offhand I'm unaware of any interviews where Shirai specifically mentions the limits of Grace Field library's collection (and absolutely no word on Isabella's private one), but we do have this paragraph from the first light novel:

(TPN Light Novel 1: A Letter from Norman - “The Day Emma Cried”)

This is assuming "the house" is just the library and Isabella's study is off limits.

TPN Fandom! Do we know how big Grace Field’s Library is?

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What do you think would happen if Emma had been sent to lambda instead of Norman?

I like the tags on this art by @norman-ratri-truther:

#i cant tell what roleswap scenario would be interesting #Emma and Norman swap places in most ways. Emma wants to eliminate the demons / Norman wants peace OR #Emma goes to Lambda/Norman goes to Goldy Pond HOWEVER Emma still wants peace. and Norman still wants to eliminate the demons #like is their opposite views on demons more so a result of the things they experienced after leaving Grace Field? #or does it rely more heavily on just who they are and how they were raised AT Grace Field #would the experiments at Lambda be able to push Emma into wanting to kill the all the demons? #would meeting Yuugo/Lucas/everyone at Goldy Pond. would meeting Mujika/Sonju make Norman want peace? #i feel like it wouldn't. i think it would change things a lot but i feel like their initial goals could remain the same #i mean ultimately they fit perfectly in the spot of the story that they are in #but its fun to think abt #i just need to figure out how Ray would be changed. i thought abt it too much in the context of Norman and Emma (via @polychromatiica)

#possibly the most interesting direction I’ve seen for this concept #like— Lambda!Emma will have to face moral crises and quandaries that canon!Emma never did #but I don’t think that would be enough to break her idealism (it didn’t really break Norman’s either) #an Emma whose ‘nobody can die’ philosophy and leadership is genuinely challenged?? that’s terrifying to me #an Emma who has to decide whether or not to ‘mercy-kill’ the mass production children— but she’d definitely make that a group decision #in that way she’s healthier than Norman but also crueler and this idea is INSANE #and Goldy Pond!Norman will confront a wider range of demons—Sonju and Mujika but also the corrupt GP aristocrats #he wouldn’t hesitate to go for the kill with Leuvis #and he’d still be surrounded by kids who hate demons and have suffered because of them #BUT he’d have a far healthier adult figure in Lucas (if not Yugo) then he ever had in canon #and he wouldn’t be nearly as much of a ‘savior’ figure this time around #so there’s all sorts of ambiguity with that #and RAYYYYY #a Ray who escapes with Norman not Emma? #he definitely still gets better mentally but it would look so different!! #because I don’t think a Ray who escapes with Norman has been ‘shocked’ in the same way that canon!Ray has #because Ray already respected Norman as the ‘best’ of them #and without Emma’s victory allowing him to fall for the ferocious joy and surprise of her perspective he wouldn’t change as much or as fast #because ‘you don’t have to give up’ comes from Norman but Ray needed Emma to pull him out of his mindset #Emma expands Ray’s world and Norman transforms it (via @esthelle-wanders)

#LOVE THE IDEA OF THIS AU SO MUCH!!!! #it would be such poetic/narrative justice if they went through each others experiences with their respective worldviews still in tact #i can imagine Emma seeing her worldview justified because both human researchers AND demons are at Lambda #so both are equally capable of being human/horrible #while Norman has a much more hostile view of Yuugo like he originally had with wanting to leave Ray behind #it would be so interesting if Emma's mentality while seeing Yuugo suffer was “we have to save him with the kindness he never got but we did” #while Norman and Ray's would be “being kind didn't save the one person who wanted to save everyone so why should we save him?” #it would be SO interesting for Ray and Norman to have a more selfish/grounded perspective in Goldy Pond #prioritizing the info on Minerva and getting out to save their own family and not risking their survival for someone else's (via @graphx)

I'd probably opt for a nature-based perspective, even though with Emma and Norman switching stances along with their roles there'd still be a difference in how they interact with the people around them. This is something that would crop up in a Lambda Ray AU too, but neither he nor Emma would let the Lambda kids elevate them to the level of a god. There's less distance and more communication, even if they opt to keep the secret of suffering from Lambda illness.

What kind of seals it for me is Norman being the most ruthless out of the trio (he gets it from his mother) in addition to him having the most rigid, black-and-white morality. I talk about this a bit here too, but he's prone to placing those he loves on pedestals. It's why he's so devastated and angry when he discovers the truth about Isabella and Grace Field and when he discerns Ray is the traitor. He would have been content to sacrifice Ray if Emma hadn't interfered, even if he would have regretted it later, because Ray had firmly slotted himself as an enemy in his mind.

(Chapter 4 | Chapter 14)

Emma's perceived death further fuels his loathing for demons and enshrines her atop the pedestal he's placed her on, but now in even more of an ethereal way. Her ideals were just, befitting of one filled with a wellspring of benevolence, and in a kinder world they would have been the moral underpinning of the universe.

But the world they find themselves in is far from that, and surely her ideals wouldn't extend to demons, not even ones that seem as human as Sonju and Mujika. While it would be foolish to not take advantage of the help they offer, in the end, it isn't worth the risk, and Sonju says as much.

(Chapter 46)

It's more pragmatic to extend Emma's kindness and understanding toward fellow humans like Yuugo. Even if Norman and Ray would be much more quick to cut their losses on this or with anyone who established themselves as a threat to their family if push came to shove (and they would have a back-up plan before approaching him), there's still the possibility of appealing to their shared hatred of the demons and uniting over that.

Also unlike in a Lambda Ray AU, I think Ayshe's father would be alive, and he and Ayshe would be aiding Emma in her cause, if not the whole group of scrapped demon followers of Minerva that Shirai originally wanted to include.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 4)

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#i cant tell what roleswap scenario would be interesting #Emma and Norman swap places in most ways. Emma wants to eliminate the demons / Norman wants peace OR #Emma goes to Lambda/Norman goes to Goldy Pond HOWEVER Emma still wants peace. and Norman still wants to eliminate the demons #like is their opposite views on demons more so a result of the things they experienced after leaving Grace Field? #or does it rely more heavily on just who they are and how they were raised AT Grace Field #would the experiments at Lambda be able to push Emma into wanting to kill the all the demons? #would meeting Yuugo/Lucas/everyone at Goldy Pond. would meeting Mujika/Sonju make Norman want peace? #i feel like it wouldn't. i think it would change things a lot but i feel like their initial goals could remain the same #i mean ultimately they fit perfectly in the spot of the story that they are in #but its fun to think abt #i just need to figure out how Ray would be changed. i thought abt it too much in the context of Norman and Emma (via @polychromatiica)

#possibly the most interesting direction I’ve seen for this concept #like— Lambda!Emma will have to face moral crises and quandaries that canon!Emma never did #but I don’t think that would be enough to break her idealism (it didn’t really break Norman’s either) #an Emma whose ‘nobody can die’ philosophy and leadership is genuinely challenged?? that’s terrifying to me #an Emma who has to decide whether or not to ‘mercy-kill’ the mass production children— but she’d definitely make that a group decision #in that way she’s healthier than Norman but also crueler and this idea is INSANE #and Goldy Pond!Norman will confront a wider range of demons—Sonju and Mujika but also the corrupt GP aristocrats #he wouldn’t hesitate to go for the kill with Leuvis #and he’d still be surrounded by kids who hate demons and have suffered because of them #BUT he’d have a far healthier adult figure in Lucas (if not Yugo) then he ever had in canon #and he wouldn’t be nearly as much of a ‘savior’ figure this time around #so there’s all sorts of ambiguity with that #and RAYYYYY #a Ray who escapes with Norman not Emma? #he definitely still gets better mentally but it would look so different!! #because I don’t think a Ray who escapes with Norman has been ‘shocked’ in the same way that canon!Ray has #because Ray already respected Norman as the ‘best’ of them #and without Emma’s victory allowing him to fall for the ferocious joy and surprise of her perspective he wouldn’t change as much or as fast #because ‘you don’t have to give up’ comes from Norman but Ray needed Emma to pull him out of his mindset #Emma expands Ray’s world and Norman transforms it (via @esthelle-wanders)

#LOVE THE IDEA OF THIS AU SO MUCH!!!! #it would be such poetic/narrative justice if they went through each others experiences with their respective worldviews still in tact #i can imagine Emma seeing her worldview justified because both human researchers AND demons are at Lambda #so both are equally capable of being human/horrible #while Norman has a much more hostile view of Yuugo like he originally had with wanting to leave Ray behind #it would be so interesting if Emma's mentality while seeing Yuugo suffer was “we have to save him with the kindness he never got but we did” #while Norman and Ray's would be “being kind didn't save the one person who wanted to save everyone so why should we save him?” #it would be SO interesting for Ray and Norman to have a more selfish/grounded perspective in Goldy Pond #prioritizing the info on Minerva and getting out to save their own family and not risking their survival for someone else's (via @graphx)

kinda rushed and also a little bit of a wip, au concept, very half baked, cuz tryna figure out how ray would fit into it is my hugest issue but lil outfit/role swap of emma and norman, mostly just wanted to draw tpn fanart again as its been a lil bit since i have

[graphx]

tags from prev esthelle-wanders!

#THE LANTERN#we talk about ray’s VERY complicated feelings about his mom and we’re right to do so#and honestly the emma-isabella dynamic could stand to be discussed more because I rarely see anybody go beyond the larger narrative beats#to have a look at how the characters actually feel about each other#… but yeah ‘norman and isabella’ is my favorite branch of this particular tree#and i think about how we zone in on ‘norman got his facade and manipulation and sass from isabella’#which he did#but I think their relationship is built on kindness just as much as all of that?#Norman is the only one of her children who ever asked if SHE was happy#and when she says ‘yes’ it’s absolutely a lie#but like everything about isabella there’s nothing but truth there too#‘because I was able to meet someone like you’#norman HAS to think about that too right?#the last genuine conversation he ever had with his mother?#her last words that were exclusively for him?#and then we see that norman’s black-and-white sense of justice isn’t the only thing that drives him as minerva#but also a gradual poisoning of his kindness#his desire that no one else should suffer#his desire to be a comforting and inspiring figure for others#the part of himself that he actively smothers but still outs constantly even in masked and stilted ways#like Isabella’s kindness and her desire to deal out the longest and most beautiful lives she could for as many people as possible#and underneath all that they both want to live SO much#I can’t quite hit the nail on the head with them but believe me the nail is THERE#tpn analysis#tpn norman#tpn isabella

what if i told you that Norman almost certainly harbors a deep resentment and anger toward Isabella, one that festered so quietly he wasn’t even aware of it until he watched her bleed out on the grace field lawn

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#this specific side-comic took me by surprise #obliterated my heart #and settled down in the crater it left #they saw that happen #they saw so much #their big brother #these kids are ridiculously kind and strong #you’d better believe ray has an entire support system looking out for him #nobody’s going to overlook him #or take him for granted #because like op says they’ve seen him at his lowest point #which is so sad and scary #but they did and they’re looking out for him as much as he’s looking out for them #I’m disappointed some of this stuff didn’t end up in the manga proper (via @esthelle18​)

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2 Bonus Comic for Chapter 48)

In case anyone hasn’t seen it yet or needed a reminder of how much these two love their older brother and how much it hurt them to see him at his absolute lowest point.

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#ZACK BRO #my friend just finished cuvitidala yesterday and about lost it over the amount of skipped content #the timeskips just start coming and they don’t stop coming (via @esthelle-wanders)

Me reading chapters 98 through 103 during my initial three-day binge of the manga:

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7 - Series Timeline; edit originally from this post)

Me whenever I remember Don, Emma, Gilda, and Ray spent more time with Zack than Lucas or Yuugo but I rarely see any Big Bro Zack works of him interacting with them </3