#huntsman's were the most fun actually

[kiame-sama]

Not gonna lie, Drider!Rook made me think about the story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ and I can just picture him wanting to hunt Reader since he’s never encountered such an exotic and unique prey like a Human, as he’s vibrating from excitement about how his newest ‘Prey’ shall fair against him

He probably read stories about Humans in his youth and wondered before they went extinct, how they were able to survive without gills, scales, claws, wings, poison, etc or even without magic

Because Reader uses hidden traps and misleading tracks, Rook calls her ‘Mademoiselle Trickster’ (Mademoiselle is a title for an Unmarried Women in French) and felt his heart skip a beat seeing Reader use her intelligence, cunning and trickery to get the upper hand over him

Only he’s not going to eat or kill her, rather he just wants to feel the thrill of the hunt by chasing an endangered species (He has no intention to harm her)

But here’s a twist, the hunt is actually a common mating practice for his species of Drider (Or just his family) when it comes to finding a mate

There’s not really a lot of information about Rook’s family as he’s quite secretive about himself (Which I find ironic because he wants to know everything when it comes to his ‘Muses’)

(I know the shadows over his eyes don't make sense given the pose and the angle of the lighting, but I liked the way they looked all darkened and menacing, so I kept the eye shadows for my own aesthetic.)

(Rook waiting in his web on the Pomefiore ballroom ceiling. He does this to observe the other students and document their habits and will even do this web building around campus in heavy traffic areas/popular gathering spots to stalk others more effectively. Vil will often throw things at Rook if he sees the Drider has built yet another web on the Pomefiore ceiling. His dorm robes aren't well suited for the upsidedown life, but he makes due and uses magic to keep his favorite hat in place on his head.)

- Rook would absolutely love hunting the little Human Trickster if only to experience the thrill of The Hunt. He wouldn't dare harm a hair on his sweet Human's head, but he would absolutely love a back and forth of Hunter and Hunted with them just for fun. He may not tell the little Human it is just for fun, seeing as he wants an authentic experience and a good hunt. Once he eventually catches his Human- and he will catch them at some point- he will be practically bouncing from the thrill of it all and only then will he inform the terrified Human that this was a game and not an actual hunt. Were it an actual hunt, they would not have seen a single hair of the Drider before he struck.

- There is little as exhilarating to Rook than a hunt for prey that knows how to fight back and evade him. Any traps his Human sets, no matter how flimsy or obvious, will only thrill Rook becuase he loves the idea of being hunted by his own prey. To flip the tables on such a skilled Huntsman only makes the game more fun. There is nothing quite like the thrill of chasing down dangerous game and it certainly gets Rook's blood burning hot and pumping.

- As Rook is a Golden Huntsman Drider, he doesn't often participate in web-building in regards to hunting his prey. He will build webs for many reasons in many places, but rarely ever will he build a web to be used in an actual hunt. Huntsman are a spider species known for wandering, tracking down prey, and foraging when needed, Rook is no different and is a voracious predator when it comes to the true hunting and gathering of prey. Naturally, this does mean all of his family shares this drive to hunt. Hunting is ingrained in a Huntsman's DNA so naturally they will also hunt prospective mates.

- Like their spider counterparts, male Huntsman Driders- upon locating a suitable mate- have a tendency to lay their legs in substrate and shuffle them back and forth to make a rustling or rattling sound depending on the substrate. Usually a hunter would not be keen to reveal themselves, but this sound can draw in curious prey and curious mates who are seeking the Drider making the sound. Part of this mating display is hunting their mates down and drawing them in with the sound before springing. Naturally, when they have their mates in their grasp, they don't let go easily as Huntsman Spiders are known to cling tightly to prey and even predators to stop themselves from being shaken off or dislodged from their quarry.

[oddberryshortcake]

yap about the princess boys in twst

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED ANON

I think, to my memory, there are only three boys twisted from the princesses that we currently know (or at least have the names of) and that's Ariel, Snow White, and Aurora.

Rielle is extremely minor and only gets mentioned a few times in Book 3. I don't think we're told anything about his personality, but we do know he went to public school with Azul and the Eels.

It'd be cool to see him, but Idk how likely that is, now to the two who ARE seen and are living on Sage's Island, we have Neige and Silver.

I like Neige because I feel he embodies a lot of Snow White's character but with a twist. Working together with Vil on films a lot, he completely trusts him and believes they're friends, even giving him the nickname 'Vi'

He doesn't shy away from showering Vil with compliments and doesn't really have a competitive bone in his body. He just wanted to compete in the VDC to have fun with his friends.

I like that it's a nod to how Snow White never suspected the Evil Queen wanted her dead despite living as a servant for her until the Huntsman warned her. Neige also very easily accepting Vil's poison drink is just how Snow White accepted the apple, because he sees the best out of people as Snow White does.

I also like how they interpreted Snow White's bond with the seven dwarves with Neige and his little dwarf/fae friends, which is probably the dynamic I liked the most out of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Won't go too into the parts of 7 that aren't in English server yet, but his friends being very protective over him is sweet)

Snow White's willingness to help the Dwarfs as she hides there from the Evil Queen is shown in how Neige has been living with and helping his friends since they were young, an aspect of him next to his kindness that makes him stick out amongst the primarily villain cast of twst.

Now SILVER,

I love how he is very much Aurora. He lives her life, raised by fairies, living in a little cottage in the woods, being born with golden blonde hair (until Lilia changed it with his blessing) and carrying all kinds of fairy blessings with him (good and bad)

A lot of his dialogue is a nod to Aurora, with him believing he might've met someone in his dream. His signature spell is directly referencing the storybook ending of Sleeping Beauty.

Let's not forget how he's often described as handsome and his eyes are 'auroral' and he's friends with lots of animals!

I think what makes Silver really fun to me is he has all these princess aspects about him that I love, because it's fun, but they don't shy away from him being princely too.

He's an unconventional princess, in that he's actually a prince and he's got an athletic build but he also looks pretty and has many aspects that classic Disney Princesses have. He's something Disney as a whole has really been lacking (at least to me)

[yuurei20]

Strange question but!! Yk how the villains are treated as heroes? How on earth did the heroes stories work if they, uh, yk, dont have the villains? Like i briefly remember TWST!Jafar hijacking Aladdin’s plan to fake being a prince, so theres not rlly any more “aladdin” story, but im curious how other stories went if u know! Are the OG heroes still treated as heroes, etc etc, that fun stuff

Hello hello! Thank you so much for this question!!

The different interpretations of history that seem exist in Twst are fascinating, and one of my favorite things is the part in Book 6 where Lilia seems to insinuate that the Disney stories that we know might not actually be what really happened, because history is written by the victors:

These "classic" stories--were they, too, twisted to suit an agenda? Is the truth closer to what is taught as history in Twst, or is it somewhere in the middle? It is so interesting to think about!

For the most part it seems that the heroes from the stories we know are not turned into villains in Twst, and the deeds that are attributed to them were actually done by multiple characters from different folklore:

For example, Harveston has stories about miners and customs based on "a young lady who made a wish at a well," a "traveler" who cleaned a stranger's home and then a tale about "some princess who wished to fall in love right away," as if the young lady, princess and traveler are three separate people.

While basing their traditions on the miners, the lady and traveler, they also deify the Fairest Queen, as if they are all independent individuals with no overlap.

One of the more interesting parts of the Fairest Queen's history, in particular, is that there is actually a "dastardly villain" in Harveston folklore that stalks a woman who is then saved by forest creatures.

The huntsman is--just like the queen--not a villain in the Twst universe. Who was who, and what really happened? 👀

For the Scalding Sands, it seems that the unnamed princess and the sultan from local stories are just as revered as the Sorcerer of the Sands himself, with the sultan known to be the person who named the Sorcerer as his vizier and retaining their connection from the story we know.

Much like in Harveston, the history of the Scalding Sands seems to attribute what we believe to be the history of just one character to multiple individuals: Kalim talks about the Sorcerer saving his country from a street rat, who was a swindler/charlatan/usurper who tried to trick the sultan and princess, in a rare case of a "hero" being vilified.

But they also have folklore about "a poor but kind-hearted young man" who shared his food with children, and whose marriage to the beautiful princess they celebrate every year with a festival.

Whereas the Disney movies make the charlatan and the kind man into one person, in Twst's history it seems they were two different people.

Diasomnia is very big on the Thorn Fairy, and they also talk about the human king who feared her, the princess whose birthday she was not invited to (Silver: "Was their king raised in a barn?") and the three presents that the princess received.

Lilia talks about a trio of fairies that were not able to break the Thorn Fairy's curses and also put an entire kingdom to sleep, while Silver comments on how Lilia is consciously, intentionally emulating the three fairies from that tale with his cooking.

Silver and Malleus discuss "some faeries" raising a child for 16 years without magic, but they do not seem to know why they did so, and it is unclear if they believe that those faeries and the three faeries that put the kingdom to sleep are the same or different people.

Heartslabyul seems to separate Alice into two different characters as well, referring to a 1-km-tall giant that the Queen of Hearts tried in court and a child that got lost in the castle as if they were two people.

The only reference we get of the "heroes" of the Lion King tale are Jack referring to the King of Beast's "rascal of a nephew" and Leona mentioning that he deposed his brother "to build a better, wiser kingdom."

While the characters seem similar to the stories we know it's possible that the timelines are slightly different, with the rebirth of the pridelands being attributed to the King of Beasts himself rather than his nephew.

The history of the Sea Witch in Twst might be the most fascinating: the characters reference the Sea Witch taking someone's voice for a contract and making a shapeshifting potion to facilitate love between a mermaid and a human, but also turning herself into a human and being proposed to by a prince the next day, with no acknowledgement that the human from the first tale and the prince from the second might have been the same person.

They also talk about the eels flipping over a boat and a mermaid princess who had trouble walking on land, but there is no mention of the princess being in the boat in the eel story.

Octavinelle even acknowledges that the Sea Witch once made herself huge and sunk a ship with a whirlpool and "some even labeled her a monster," saying that she was later lauded as a compassionate figure after turning over a new leaf. (While the less-than-pleasant deeds done by the Sorcerer, the Fairest Queen and the King of Beasts in the stories that we know are never mentioned.)

Silver's tale from Halloween seems to be an exception to this rule. Everything done by the "hero" in the tale we know is still attributed to the hero in the story that Silver knows, and the enemy army is still the enemy army.

To the initial question: it seems that the heroes from the histories that we know are still being regarded as heroes in Twst (though they tend to get separated into multiple people), while the characters that we know as villains are also highly regarded. This sometimes includes their pasts (in the case of the Sea Witch and the Queen of Hearts), being separated from their pasts (in the case of the Hunter) or with no mention of their pasts (the King of Beasts, the Sorcerer of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the Thorn Fairy).

(Not a lot of information about the King of the Underworld when compared to the others! Idia mostly just talks about how charismatic he was. Ortho suggests something about "the truth" about him being closer to Idia's own situation than they have been taught, but Idia is not convinced.)

Also: there is a reference to a hero rescuing his ladylove from the Underworld in Book 6, so it seems the hero in that tale remains a hero in Twst as well!

[coralinnii]

Hello!

Do you take request??

If you do, can i request a reader who can mimic people's voices?

With rook, riddle, the tweels and any character you like!

MC who can mimic voices feat: Riddle · Rook · Floyd · Jade genre: mild fluff note: gn!reader, no pronouns used with reader, unspecified relationships,

I might be too outdated to understand that. I'm so sorry ^_^"

I typically just do up to four characters in a post so it's just the requested ones :)

At first he wasn’t impressed. I’m sure that there’s a spell that can alter someone’s voice to change or mimic someone else (like Floyd’s deep voice in Book 4). But, when he found out that was your own talent was when he realized how impressive that actually was. 

Being the son of well-owned physicians, he’s fascinated by your capabilities as you showed how you mimic voices he thought were beyond your assumed range. He watched you in awe as you parroted the voices of your friends, chuckling when you matched their mannerisms (it’s uncanny how you could match Ace’s voice while giving off that mischievous aura of his)

You smiled at Riddle looking so giddy with your vocal skills, like a child visiting a performance for the first time (you kept that thought to yourself though). 

Like the Housewarden he is however, he does warn you to not use your skills for any pranks on campus. He doesn’t want to see you get in trouble for mimicking someone and scaring someone you shouldn’t be. Definitely do not mimic his voice or it’s definitely off with your head. 

"I see the fruits of your effort. Some students could learn from you"

He’s definitely fascinated by your talents. He’s intrigued by your vocal prowess and if your mimicry is perfect enough to trump his recognition abilities, he’s absolutely floored by you. To think someone may be able to trick this huntsman, what a tricky lyrebird you are. 

Rook wants to observe you as you speak, he loves seeing the way you reach vocal capabilities that few can do. He watches your lips, your throat, your diaphragm, completely enamored by your voice

With your consent, he would like to see the limits of your skills. How well can you mimic animals? How about vibrating noises? How loud can you go with a certain voice or how high? 

Be sure to tell him you need a break because you have piqued the hunter’s curiosity. In all honesty, he could probably listen to you for hours, be it your acts of mimicry or simply your natural voice. 

“Marveilluex! How exciting it is to hone one's craft.”

You went ahead and showed Floyd something fun. Good luck to you. 

Floyd is going to have a field day with you and your skills, asking you to copy his voice, Jade’s, Azul’s, Riddle’s, everyone. He might even pull up videos of random people to see if you mimic voices from a video. He wants to see how high you can go or how low. This man is giving off “kid in a candy store” energy

Like with Rook, be sure to tell Floyd when you need a break. Also feel free to decline his requests, especially when he asks you to say embarrassing things in Azul’s voice for him to record on his smartphone. 

He would absolutely bug you to teach him your talents. If you choose to help him learn, you just created the most annoying thing on NRC for a few days before Floyd eventually gets bored. 

If you choose not to, Floyd will get pouty and would probably bug you for a while until you either give him or give him a good enough reason. He will still ask you to keep mimicking voices for the fun of it. 

“Whoa, how did you do that? Do that again!”

Color him curious, that is an unexpected talent you have there. 

Sound travels differently in water so seeing this skill is very intriguing to Jade, reminding him of those mimicking birds or seals he’s read in books before coming to NRC. To realize a human is capable of such abilities is a delightful surprise to him. 

A recurring pattern, Jade would also ask you to demonstrate your vocal range to him. He observes the way your voice reaches what was assumed to be ranges beyond you and pitches unlike your typical tone. It was very entertaining to watch. 

Jade wishes to talk more about your skills, how did you perfect your skills? Does it put a strain on your vocal chords? How long can you maintain a voice different from your own? 

This new discovery strikes Jade’s fancy. He can’t help but to compare you to the legendary sirens, of how they entice those who stray too close to them with their voices. 

“I keep finding myself surprised by the surface land. What an intriguing person you are”

[quitealotofsodapop]

LMK assorted Spider Gang LMK headcanons/theories

sequel to this post. Focusing on the Spider Gang cus I just finished reading that section of Journey to the West.

Spider Queen:

Spider Queen was one of seven sisters... seven sisters who fell to Monkey King's staff after trying to capture Tripitaka/Tang Sanzang for their master; Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord/Centipede Demon. Spider Queen was the only survivor of the fight besides the sisters' adoptive sons. She has spent the last countless years trying to rebuild the family and home she once had, accidentally becoming a "queen" of spider demon-kind in the process.

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord's current status is unknown. Spider Queen doesn't care. Her former "brother" refused to give up the Tang monk in exchange for the safety of his sisters. She views this as the ultimate betrayal from someone she had considered her mentor/older brother. She did steal his alchemy supplies though, hence her cauldron.

Spider Queen actually lost her legs in her and Wukong's original fight - hence why she uses a mechanical lower body. Modern mobility aids yall.

Spider Queen also has beef (accidental Pun) with Zhu Bajie for harassing her and her sisters when they were bathing. Homeboy really went so creepy that they predatory spider demons didn't even wanna eat him. Even Pigsy's brief lapse of braincells when he first met Spider Queen was more polite than what his predecesor did.

Spider Queen's motherly nature extends beyond her clan. It's why LBD deliberately possessed a child to approach her - she knew Spider Queen would think twice about hurting "just a little girl". Spider Queen even gets a little protective over MK once she starts talking to him on an equal level.

Syntax:

Syntax was once a scientist who worked at the Weather Station. When the station was damaged by Red Son and MK's fighting in "Bad Weather"; he got scapegoated by the company as it's lead programmer and was fired. This gives him mega resentment towards both the Monkie Kid gang and the DBK family specifically.

He ran into Spider Queen while trying to find work as a freelance programmer. She needed someone to design a delivery system for her venom that didn't require her biting every single victim's neck. Syntax scoffed and went "I could just program a swarm of mini-robots to do it for you. We use similar drones while cloud-seeding at the station." and the rest is history.

Syntax's name is not only a programming reference, but is a ref to a type of spider family called Synotaxidae - related to Huntsmans and Black Widows (family <3). His name in Mandarian is "Liù yǎn zhū"/六眼蛛 meaning "Six-eyed Spider", which could be a glasses joke from the rest of the spider gang (who normally have four eyes) or a reference to a species in the same family - a six-eyed sand spider, known for their reclusive natures, and having the most powerful venom of any spider species. Hilarious if Syntax ever accidentally bit someone and it was a 1-hit KO.

The antidote made by Red Son wouldn't have worked on Syntax. While it did cure those envenomated during New Years, Syntax getting the "first spin" of the refined venom meant that he recieved far higher a survivable dosage/damage from the spider-bot. He had to work out a few more kinks before the New Years parade or else Megaopolis would been filled with dead half-spider people.

Syntax is having a small crisis of humanity. Not as big as the gang expected, but more like "Oh dang. I could've just been a demon this whole time? This rocks!- Hey why do chickens freak me out all of a sudden?" There's lot of spider demon stuff he has no context for - Spider Queen probably has to give him the spider demon version of "The Talk" the first time Syntax drums his legs at someone he likes.

Has/had a very mild rivalry with Macaque, mostly cus the shadow monkey would poke fun at Syntax for being a magic-less former human, and the programmer could toss the criticism right back at him in words Macaque didn't understand. The hostility died down when Macaque got weirdly interested in an RPG Maker game Syntax was playing, and wanted to know how videogames worked. And so the development of the "Macaque VR game" began.

He def chose the name "Syntax" for himself.

Huntsman:

Huntsman is only slightly younger than Spider Queen. He was a fellow spider demon disgusted by what the pilgrims had done to her sisters. And was a little curious at how strong they truly were. Encountered Sha Wujing on the road when the river demon was foraging, and was immediately enamored with his strength. He knows Sandy is pretending to be a reincarnation, he could recognise his Blue from anywhere.

Hates being seen as weak. Will act out if he suspects someome is "going easy" on him. Even with spicy cooking.

Saw some Things in the potion-portal Tang accidentally sent him to in Laozi/Lao Tzu's lab. The "duck" label was a metaphor.

Beyond tracking devices, this spider is tech blind. Has no gotdamn idea Syntax is talking about half the time.

Goliath/Strong Spider:

Is a little older than Huntsman. But no one's really sure how old he is. Not even him.

Was a drifter from another clan before joining Spider Queen. He doesn't like to talk about what happened with his birth clan.

Deliberately trained his body so he could physically protect his friends/clan from harm. A lot of things can squish a spider, and Goliath wants to make sure that never happens again.

Goliath/Strong Spider has no idea how to make or spin a web. It's the folly of his sub-species. He can however, knit you a pretty good wool blanket instead. :3

Since he's based on a spider called a Goliath Bird-Eater; Goliath occasionally just plucks a bird out of the sky and noms on it like Hogsqueal in The Spiderwick Chronicles. If he ever saw Peng, not even the Buddha could stop Goliath from trying to take a bite.

Spindrax (sadly toyline only ;_;):

Has an obnoxiously black-and-pink colour scheme as a foil to Mei's white-and-green aesthetic.

Is Mei's equal rival in everything. Racing, pinball, arcade games, hand-to-hand combat, etc... Spindrax and Mei even go toe-to-toes when it comes to dancing.

Uses a stylized motorcycle helmet while driving, so much so that Mei honestly didn't know what Spindrax's face looked like until after a race/spider gang fight.

Youngest of the whole spider clan. She's barely considered a young-adult by their standards. Gets babied/underestimated sometimes by them and wishes to prove herself.

Would annoy Syntax while he's working by flicking rubber bands at him.

Bonus ideas+:

The original spider clan was once an actual kingdom, but it fell to silk-greedy humans during the mid Tang Dynasty when the empire began enforcing extreme measures to prevent rival nations from getting their hands on easy silk. When a few too many Roman and Greek tradesmen went to the Spider Kingdom instead of following the Silk Road - the kingdom was burnt to the ground. The Seven Sisters were the only surviving members of a very minor branch of the royal family - saved by a centipede schoolmate.

The Spider Sisters in Journey to the West had adoptive children in the form of other bug demons known as; Bee, Hornet, Cockroach, Cantharis/Spanish-Fly/Blister-Beetle, Grasshopper, Maggot/Wax-Fly, and Dragonfly, who came to defend their moms' after Zhu Bajie harassed them. However they were just little kids, so they could barely nip at the pilgrims even as a swarm of insects. Even the tallest of them was said to be "no more than two and a half feet". SWK simply scared them off by making his hair-clones turn into different birds. It's likely that Spider Queen had to care for her orphaned nephews/students in the aftermath of Jttw.

Would be cool if the seven niblings were still around, trying to avenge their moms and aunts. Hilarious if they were somehow more successful than Jin and Yin at villainy - if only a smidge. Then again that means at the end of canon S3 they're left without a family, if LBD doesn't see them as extra mech material that is...

MK: *driving home from a delivery* A voice off to the side: "Hey monkey-head!" MK, stops driving: "???" (MK turns, only to see seven scrappy-looking kids) MK: "Aww. You guys fans of mine?" Kid 1#: "No! We are sons of the Seven Spider Sisters! Sworn enemies of the Monkey King!" MK, tensing up cus arachnophobia: "S-spiders?" Kid 2#: "Yeah! Now you're gonnna get it!" The Kids: *transforms into their true demon forms* MK: *massive sigh of relief* "Oh thank the buddha! You're just regular bug demons. Sorry nothing personal, I just can *not* deal with a swarm of baby spiders right now. You guys get home to Spider Queen before it gets dark ok?" MK: *continues driving home* The Kids, briefly stunned: "HEY! Get back here!" "You're not suppose to run away!" "We're telling mama about this!"

Spider Demons are able to heal/hibernate inside cocoons similar to those seen in the cave system. Huntsman and Goliath were sleeping off the worst of the winter frost when New Year's woke them up. It could also give an explaination to where Spindrax and the seven adopted bug kiddos are - they sleepin'.

I leave you with this funny Gary Larson comic with a spider in it:

[notoriouslynoone]

HEAR ME OUT-

I have come from the abyss to make a proposition.

We all know the ikemen series can get admittedly a little interchangeable with some of the thems and characters. Not that there all the same by any means, but you could most definitely switch up the cast without sacrificing too much plot, or atmosphere. So, a little worm crawled in brain a while back and refuses to die so...I guess I'll pass it along....

You might've seen the Villains/Prince card gotcha colab they did a month or more ago with Jude and Liam. It was relatively well received, yet I'm servierly disappointed this concept hasn't been played around with much in the respective fandoms.

So, since Cybird gave us some princely villains, I've come armed and prepared with the alternative.

"But the princes are all to sweet to become villains!" you cry.

Oh, ho, ho~ How wrong you would be.

The curses of the Crown members actually correspond with the personalities of the Rhodolite princes quiet nicely and we must remember that they fundamentally change how one naturally goes about their life. It's an entirely different mental strain that I think in the cases such as Leon's (whose self righteousness is glorified in its own right) could bring out some juicey aspects of their character we wouldn't otherwise see. (Honestly Leon was too perfect, I kept wondering when he was gonna go savage, nope...never did. I really want him to go all William on some evil...if that makes any sense.) Not to mention we'd go from the "we care because we're family" group dynamic, to the "well, shit i guess we're sorta family" dynamic. (Chevalier and Clavis being begrudging childhood friends working as business partners? Yes please!)

So we got (as I see it)-

A monarch-Leon

Fox- Nokto

Mirror- Clavis

Fairy- Chevalier

Huntsman- Jin

Throns- Luke

Sariel fulfills the role of the tall, dark, and dominating leader. (Not that Victor is...wait, nope, wedding event. Epilog)

The only issue I had was with Yves and Licht. They just don't fit, right? I mean honestly-oh, wait....

These curses change their holders more than any of the others. Really-would Elbert be a normally traumatized dude without his obsession with beauty? And Liam...

Well, that something else completely- but back to Yves.

My conflict regarding him came from the initial comparison I made between him and Liam. They’re nearly opposites when you think about it, or at least not the neat squeeze the others were logically beyond them both being cat-coded, until...

The fits.

This curse is particularly sinister due to them and it was when I began to think of the fits it all came together, ish...it's not like I've really flushed it out or anything.

Yves can't kill.

It's a horrific embarrassment for him as a member of the queen's secret army, of course, one the others make do to point out early in Emma's stay as fairytale keeper.

"We know how to cover eyes, just fine. Don't we Yves-ie boy?"

He grunts, pout twisting into a snarl. "I've never closed my eyes! I can stand it all just fine, thank you! I just like to have a little control over myself, unlike some people!"

"Aw, but what's the fun in that? Don't you ever want a taste of the 'darkness'," Calvis snickered, fingers quoting the air.

"I taste enough as it is, thank you."

"So you really haven't..killed? Her guts lurched, rejecting the abnormality of the sentence.

"What-of course I've killed! I'm apart of Crown! You saw us murder a man, remember?"

"It was mostly Leon," Licht flatly chimed.

Yves shot him a glare full of daggers. "The point is that I have-"

"Not on purpose." The room stopped, turning toward Nokto and his silver smirk. "It's why you joined, isn’t it? How’s it going by the way? Any trouble with the fits?"

Not everyone is rude about it. Actually, there's an overwhelming amount of support working in the background. They give him important, granted safe, missions that allow him to explore and exploit his curiosity without fear of cracking under the weight of it. Our princey boys would be a lot more resistant to their curses than our villain babes. In Yves case, he is so repressive he lives in fear of zooting out everyday for a whole different reason than Liam.

Liam's fits are connected to anxiety, grief, depression, guilt...

Well for Yves it's fear primarily. Don't get me wrong, there's self-loathing in there, but it's almost like a defense. So, due to events of the past that would be drawn out over the course of 18 chapters, he is terrified to kill, yet has and certainly will, but avoids doing so at all costs. (Which some of the others secretly respect him for. )

He takes it upon himself to survey Emma as fairytale keeper-to ensure her competence, NOT because the situation sucks and she must be so scared and everyone’s so scary-

Then of course it becomes exclusive, because he's safe and the missions are easy...

Until it's not.

He wants a challenge, something really plump to sink his teeth into. (Emma has really done a number on his confidence at this point.) They give it to him and it goes well, that is until one of the left over thugs, (which ever one tried to have a monolog, you know) grabs Emma when he's distracted. The situation turns, some of the dudes are up. They rough him around, threaten her, that sorta thing, then one pushes him down.

"You might as well go home kitty, you can't do shit to us."

He gets up, hand grazing the touch of metal at his side. It slips from its leather bed. He approaches the bastard tormenting Emma and plunges his knife between his neck and spine. One guy tries to get him by the shoulders; he turns and stabs him in the gut. The rest back away, he steps forward, both hands clinging to the now dripping blade-

And lunges.

Emma doesn't even have time to breathe.

(Does it look like Yves? Probably not, but for a 15 minute 2am pen-sketch it's okay. It's actually what inspired me to write this whole thing.)

He twirls around to face her, so, so happy and it takes everything not to scream. She smiles instead, moving towards his open arms, her own broadly spread.

"You did it!" Her body collapses against him, trembling. "That man, he-I...thank you."

Something dark passed through his gaze, then sank into the crook of her neck. "You're welcome..."

So yeah that's what I got. Cool, ay? Come on, it'd be fun....

Still unsure abut Licht, kinda feel like you might have to make up a curse for him. Big bad wolf or something...more or less to match Nokto. They are twins after all.

Welp thanks for reading if did!

Peace~

[royalrebelpropaganda]

hi, hello, calling all ever after high fans! fun fact!

the Fandom wiki SUCKS.

I've known this for a while, and talking to people in the discord makes it more obvious. the Fandom wiki is unmoderated, unprofessionally written, chronically undercited, and often contains just completely incorrect information. if you want examples, I will be including SEVERAL under the cut!

essentially, I have been building my own wiki with several people from the server, but it is taking a LONG time to get up and running. is this something that you guys would be interested in helping me with?? most of the character links and pages are currently defunct, but I'm working on uploading and transcribing all of the diaries at the moment (because I really really don't want to steal anything from the Fandom wiki. this is our own project, so we have to find our own sources, links, and information.)

just looking for feedback !!! please reblog with tags or comments if you would like to work on this project. keep in mind it will HAVE to be source-based, so it's going to be a lot of reading and searching for information from various sources, not just the show.

thank you!! the "keep reading" below will be for EGREGIOUS examples of wiki running because this really is one of the worst wikis I've ever seen:

1)

Hunter Huntsman's diary

this is MADE UP. the last line of this DOESN'T EXIST. it ends at "My life... a fairytale come true." the rest of this is someone writing fanfiction and putting it in the official wiki.

2)

Braeburn

there's so many problems here I don't even know where to start. actually I do.

ONE: her name is Braebyrn. not Braeburn. this wiki doesn't mention it, but her name is NEVER MENTIONED in the show or in the junior novelization; it's on the official ever after high instagram, it's on the apple white dragon games doll box, and it's in the mobile app game that was released in accompaniment with the show. that's important information that the wiki didn't think mattered, and they misspelled her name!!!!

TWO: "braeburn appears to be able to control lightning" if anyone did ANY RESEARCH they would know that's not "appears to be," that IS her power. on the box that braebyrn the doll model comes in, it explicitly mentions that her dragon magic is "lightning bolt," so that's not an assumption. however, this fact is never mentioned on the page! because the wiki is non-comprehensive despite pretending that it is.

THREE: "Brushfire's sister" she's. she's all of the baby dragon's sisters. why is this one specifically mentioned. that's just a weird choice. plus it's written as "Brushfires" which is a typo that has not been corrected.

FOUR: "Her name is a nod to Braeburn apples." you have to say "seems to be." unlike the lightning, this one is an ASSUMPTION. if it isn't an assumption, if there was an interview where someone from mattel was talking about it, you have to link it!! it doesn't matter that it's a very obvious pun, wikis are built on FACT. UGH.

3)

Category:Dragons

I have searched far and wide, and as far as I can tell, these are straight up made up. I can't find any sources, and if I look up something like "felecity ever after high" the ONLY links that show up related to the dragons are for the Fandom wiki. there are no sources, no citations. I personally am inclined to believe these are made up names that are stated as fact.

4)

Characters/pets

ONE: NOT her pet pig. it's a pig that she brought to a party because they asked her to bring ham or something to the party and she didn't understand they wanted the pig not alive. I'm pretty sure it hopped out of her hat. it's never mentioned again.

TWO: the storyboard of legends. I. I don't even have anything to say.

5)

there's so many more guys but I'm getting tired. go find some yourself, the wiki is riddled with them, these were just the ones I could remember off the top of my head.

[anime-grimmy-art]

(woops forgot to post yesterday)

Day 8 – Comrades

Zet – Zet definitely prefers to hunt alone as it would just give her more factors to keep track of. This mostly stems from the fact that she had always hunted alone, since her quests were always ones nobody should know about. She was, however, pushed into a leader/teacher role later down the line to get hunters new to the New World accustomed to their new surroundings and the new monsters and it turned out she was a hella good teacher if she tried.

Mei – Mei hates being alone a lot, so she is always delighted to have someone accompany her. In most of her travels she had Ena by her side, which made Mei really happy, but having someone fight alongside her made her even giddier. It just felt like a safe blanket to have someone there to support her on a hunt.

Chidori – At first, she kind of preferred hunting alone, just for the fact she didn’t want people to know that she was a terrible hunter, but once Fiorayne had gone on a hunt with her, Chidori noticed how much more fun it was and how much more secure she felt. Chidori is also rather anxious, so she had a hard time getting to know the people of Elgado, but through hunting together she had an easier time growing closer to them. Once her family from Kamura started hunting with her to boot, Chidori developed to hate hunting on her own. Especially hunting with her master, Utsushi, is a blast because it just reminds her so much of her training days and she always eats up his abundance of supportive comments.

Day 9 – Bond

Zet – Don’t ask her how it happened, but yes, emotionally stunted Zet somehow found a soulmate in the FTL. Him and the Handler were the two people in the New World that slowly but surely cracked open Zet’s walls, so when in Seliana it was the FTL that was standing before a lifechanging challenge, she made sure to stand by his side and support him. They kind of morphed into the Commander and his ace, just like the FTL’s grandfather and the huntsman, and through this continuous cooperative work, the two grew closer until something shifted. Ofc it was the FTL that kinda sprang the idea of being “something more” but Zet was surprisingly okay with giving it a try and suffice to say, she rather enjoys the outcome.

Mei – Little does she know it yet, but her deep affection for Kyle might not just be that of a good friend. After they had finally sorted out their differences, Mei did everything to be good in his book, and when he joined her on the last stretch of her journey, Mei was really happy and giddy despite the looming danger. She highly enjoys their (playful) bickering and she loves to make him work himself up. For now, she only knows that she’d jump at any opportunity to spend time with him, be that out on a fun hunt or help him with boring paper work, but in time she’ll realize what those feelings really mean.

Chidori – Once student and master found themselves on even footing, so suddenly grew their relationship uncertain. Once her and Utsushi seemed to see eye to eye, it felt like some invisible barrier had vanished and suddenly there was so much potential floating around the air, it actually made their relationship a bit awkward for a while. But after the whole affair with Ibushi and Narwa, and Utsushi being surprised how much it actually scared him to lose his “favourite pupil”, these two tentatively tip toed closer to each other until the finally took the plunge. They didn’t really broadcast their new relationship to anyone and are not particularly affectionate in the open (they do basically act the same as ever), but really, everyone knows these two are a thing. Even the people of Elgado could tell after only knowing them for a little while, but both Chidori and Utsushi still think no one knows.

[howlingday]

Alright second lore dump same warnings as before. So his name is Bishop Purple(Up to other last name suggestions). Also know as Sir or Agent Boss after he faked his death. He/him pronouns. Bisexual with preference towards men. He still likes girls but leans more towards men.

So in a village of Vale a boy was born with eyes of grimm. Eyes that were pure yellow and the boy seemed to be born with Aura weak as it was. The boy would not hide his eyes even when made fun of.

At age five he would meet another friend who he would quickly grow a crush on which seemed to be recupriated. Everyone was sure they would grow up and be Childhood sweethearts. Bishop would learn at age 9 that his semblance let him command the Grimm itself. He would tell his best friend and get so excited he kissed him on the cheek. His parents took photos of him doing it.

The boys would grow up and start training to be huntsman and even start dating. But at age 16 his boyfriend and most trusted person Ozpin started acting strange. He would start talking about a greater mission to help all humanity and how his powers could change the world. The more time past the more he stopped looking at Bishop as a person and more of Ally of war.

Before he left for Beacon Ozpin would break up with him and tried to stay friends. Bishop heart broken would lock himself in his room for days. 2 years would past until Bishop saw Opzin on the news with a statement about his dating life and that he was straight and he knew that he lost the man he loved for good deep in his soul.

He ran away to forset where most figured he died but he actually met a old snow leapord fanuas man who called himself the Keeper. He saw what the man was capable of and wished to train him. He would even let the man have magic to use.

As the they traveled Bishop (hes about 20 to 22 now) would work at many strip clubs to make money to buy things he wanted since his teacher only payed for living cost. He make many friends and have plenty of future connections.

At age 28 he would be told the whole story of what happened and what Ozpin was. At first he blamed Omza, then Salem , but quickly realized the Brothers were to be blamed. The Keeper offered him to be the next Keeper but Bishop said no and left the same day. He sat alone in a taken and decided right their that he would destroy the relics so humanity would never suffer by the brothers hands again and maybe end this war. Theirs more but I think will let that be another ask. Thoughts? Questions? Criticism? Let me know

Previous

I'll start with my biggest gripe with this, just to get it out to the way because the rest of this is very interesting. When you were describing Bishop, it felt like you were putting to much emphasis on his preferences over what he does or where he's from. I feel like coming right out and describing him "he/him pronouns" and "bisexual with male preferences," it felt less like you were telling me about a person and more like you were trying to sell me a product. My personal opinion is that when you introduce a character, you let their actions speak for them, rather than have them or you say it from the start. Have him show us that he's more interested in men, then explain it if somebody asks, like "Oh, is he gay?" "Actually, he's bisexual with male preferences." Or heck, wait until you explain his relationship with Ozpin so that we get the gist of "Oh, he was dating Ozpin before he changed."

Also, speaking of Ozpin, I find it weird that Ozpin would be asked about his preferences, and he just straight up answers with "I like girls". It feels very disconnected to me. Like, Ozpin is being interviewed about his plans for Beacon, somebody asks what he likes, and it just makes me think of either tabloids or a daytime TV show like The View or Dr. Oz.

As for Bishop's semblance and eyes, it feels very weird to me that Ozpin, or rather Ozma, wouldn't try harder to keep him close if his semblance is controlling the Grimm.

I do find Bishop's backstory very tragic, though, in that the only man he ever loved was taken by the spirit of Ozma, and for that he swears revenge on The Brothers, but it kinda... I dunno, feels very light to me. Like, Ozma took Ozpin from him, I agree that he should hate him. Salem creates and controls the Grimm, which I can understand his hatred there. But seeking the relics to destroy them doesn't really make sense to me if he's trying to end the war. Wouldn't destroying the relics only make the situation worse?

I dunno, but I do like where this world you've built is going, especially since you've added a fourth faction from Ozma, Salem, and the Keepers. Might need a little polish, but until then, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[mylordshesacactus]

As of the end of that gorgon/stonecursed fight ages ago, all of my players have found, and unlocked the full potential of, their custom endgame magic items! Most of these will be recognizable as reskins, combinations, or other reworks of some base magic items from various sourcebooks. Dropping the statblocks here in case anyone can get some inspiration from them.

Max - Bard | Requiem Masterwork Violin (”Violince”)

Max was given this as a parting gift from his old friend and Trans Mentor TM, Ihava Naeme, as she confronted him before helping smuggle the party out of Requiem during a citywide manhunt. The particular aesthetic details were meant to imply she either stole or was gifted the instrument by the city’s wealthiest and most prominently kindhearted homosexual menace.

Nimbus - Ranger | Longbow of the White Stallion

Nim claimed and was claimed by this weapon in the midst of a desperate fight to hold the city of Suncrest. Originally crafted by a long-time member of the city guard, Nim lay a hand on it after his original handmade bow was sundered in the process of saving Max’s life. Despite initially having held complex feelings toward city life, he’s grown to love Suncrest dearly, and the intent and matching love etched into the bow (literally; the pegasus is the sigil of Suncrest) allowed him to attune to it instantly in the city’s darkest hour.

Farrah - Fighter | Vorpal Sword

RAW, the vorpal sword in the DMG is both grossly overpowered and, frankly, broken in a way that’s just not fun. I think this rework makes it rewarding and powerful while also being Fucking Playable. 

Farrah earned this sword the hard way--she was impaled by it! While fleeing the Wild Hunt, Farrah placed herself deliberately near the rear of the party to help provide cover for the more vulnerable casters and ranger near the front. This meant she was the Huntsman’s primary target. After a long running fight, he ran her through on his black sword and she went under--but the way she fell wrenched the sword from his hand, and after she was stabilized, she declared in no uncertain terms that she was keeping that goddamn sword.

Audie - Wizard | Lilac Guard

Audie actually found this shield-brooch in the antimagic/gargoyle chamber of the minidungeon under Requiem. At the time, it functioned purely as an ordinary enchanted shield--a very useful, but not particularly flavorful, magic item. It gave off an odd pulse when they entered the Faewild, but that was all. Only upon meeting Queen Eleaea of the Wild Court of Summer was the full history revealed, and the full power allowed to bloom.

Andromeda - Paladin | Avenging Dawn

This weapon was found half rotten, the bare hilt of a rusted sword buried in the back of a gorgon the party killed. When Andromeda, drawn by a powerful sense of urgency (but free of any magical compulsion), went to draw the blade, the pitted, corroded blade crumbled to dust the moment it was moved. None of the party can read the Celestial runes carved into the hilt, and an Identify spell nearly blinded the caster.

That spell revealed only that the hilt was not cursed, and that the reason the spell failed was that in this moment, the hilt itself wasn’t anything. It had been something once, and could be again, but right now it was.....waiting to become. To be shown what form it would take. Waiting to be given a new life. With the help of Farrah (a blacksmith), the hilt was reforged as the grip of Andromeda’s trusty, much-upgraded flail Morningstar, and rose to her new form like the sun.

There is a reason the Feathered Serpent would later greet our tiny book-dumb mid-rank paladin as “Pelor’s most beloved”.

[pretense-pence]

Remake Platinum Run: Part 2

I swear I’ll start getting through this run quicker. It’s just hard to find time as a college student. I’m literally always busy. And I swear I’ll start posting more too. This semester has been killing me. Anyways, time for an update about how the run is going.

Trophies Achieved:

Escape Artist

Music Collector

Gotta Start Somewhere

Trophies That I’m Working On:

Best In The Business

Disc Jockey

Intelligence Agent

Weapons Expert

I played Remake on September 29th from about 2ish hours, from like 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm. I completed Chapter 2 and am part way through Chapter 3. The run is going pretty well so far. All the battles are easy and don’t take much effort on my part. I didn’t even realize I fought the sorta boss of Chapter 2 and didn’t even realize it. At least, I think The Huntsman is the boss of Chapter 2.

I forgot how much I love the scene of Barret yelling at the Shinra Middle Manager. He’s so real for that. And, of course, I love Tifa. She’s trying her best. Also, admittingly, I don’t like Chadley. I avoided him during my first playthroughs of Remake and Rebirth when I could. I don’t know why, I just don’t like him. I always found him annoying. Though, I’m finding him less annoying during this playthrough.

Overall, Chapter 2 is a pretty solid chapter. It introduces Aerith, Sephiroth, and the Whispers. It begins setting up the main plot. It’s a little boring after the introduction of those characters but not bad. And it has the scene of Barret yelling at the Shinra Middle Manager so that’s a bonus. 

Chapter 3 starts good as well. I like how simple it is. It does a good job at showing what life is like in the Slums. It also introduces Tifa, who I love. And I really like the scene where Cloud attacks Marco. I always get so excited when it flashes to the scene in the North Crater. Everything that takes place at North Crater is some of my favorite parts of the original Final Fantasy VII.

Escape Artist: This is the trophy that you get when you complete Chapter 2. Another easy trophy. Chapter 2 isn’t difficult at all so getting this trophy was really easy.

Music Collector: This is the trophy that you get when you collect 3 music discs. It’s an easy enough trophy but does actually involve a bit of research. I had to look up where the music discs are in this game. That’s basically it. The discs I collected were The Prelude, Tifa’s Theme, and Barret’s theme. 

Gotta Start Somewhere: This is the trophy that you get when you complete 1 Odd Job Sidequest. The Sidequest I completed was Chadley’s Report since that gave me access to the Battle Intel Reports, which I’ll need for a later trophy. Chadley’s Report is really easy to complete so this wasn’t a hard trophy to achieve. 

Now, onto the trophies that I’m working on.

Best In The Business: This is the trophy that you get when you complete all 26 of the Odd Job Sidequests. So far, I’ve only completed Chadley’s Report and am about to get started on the rest of the Sidequests in Chapter 3. I have 5 more to complete. I’m also planning on doing the Discovery Quest for Chapter 3, just for fun. And, of course, I have the sidequests in later chapters to worry about but that’s a future worry.

Disc Jockey: This is the trophy that you get when you collect all of the Music Collection music discs. The music discs I’ve collected so far are The Prelude, Tifa’s Theme, and Barret’s Theme. I only have 1 more music disc to collect, which is Hip Hop de Chocobo. After that, I don’t have to worry about music discs until Chapter 5 once I get Hip Hop de Chocobo.

Intelligence Agent: This is the trophy that you get when you complete all of the Battle Intel reports. So far, the only ones I’ve completed are Monster Bio Pt. 1 and Magic Elementals Pt. 1. I don’t have the strongest ideas on how I’m going to get through all of these quite yet but I’ll figure it out eventually. I didn’t do basically any other than Monster Bio Pt. 1 in my first playthrough so I’m not the most informed when it comes to these.

Weapons Expert: This is the trophy that you get when you learn all of the weapon abilities. So far, the only one I’ve gotten is Focused Thrust, which you get from gaining proficiency with the Buster Sword. This is really easy to do because it is done automatically at some point in Chapter 3. I have no idea if this counts for the My First Ability trophy but I’m not going to count it just in case. I have a lot of work to do to complete this trophy. 

I completed what I wanted to for this part of the playthrough. My next goal is to achieve all of the trophies I can in Chapter 3. 

[bridgyrose]

It's kinda fun to see the kind of broken people Jaune and Ruby have been since vol 1, both hanging by threads.

Jaune we had a lot of insight to. He was the idiot stuck in a tree for someone to save, bullied for most of the volume, his parents didn't have a lot of faith in him, and he basically came into knowing nothing. And the fun thing is that he did start to heal and see himself better with Pyrrha. His training helped him improve, he was able to be there more for his teammates... and all of that came crashing down in vol 3 with Pyrrha’s death.

Ruby on the hand, hid everything that was broken about her behind optimism, smiles, and trying to be her ideal version of a huntress. And we didn't get any insight to how broken Ruby was until vol 2 with the burning the candle talk. We get more about the xiao long-rose household from Yang, about how Taiyang shut down after Summer’s death, that, as far as Yang knew, Ruby didn't understand what was going on, and it really starts putting the pieces together about Ruby when we look back to her love of books and weapons, the way she looks up at Qrow, keeps moving to try to help others, the stories she was told about Summer... all of her broken pieces hidden behind a mask.

And after Beacon fell, it pushed both to their limits. Ruby lost her friends, her team was split up, Penny dead, Yang was depressed and pushed her away, so she did the only thing she knew how to do and pushed her broken feelings aside and pressed on for answers. Jaune pretty much did the same thing, holding the last video he had of Pyrrha close, shoving feelings aside until he couldn't and he'd lash out in anger.

Jaune at least managed to start to heal again after Haven, going as far as reinventing himself in Atlas as a huntsman. And Ruby... didn't.

She spent her time in Mistral keeping her mask on, only letting brief glimpses into her thoughts when talking about Penny. Then, at Atlas, she continued to avoid actually talking about her feelings with Penny, going as far as trying to get her away from everything after Salem showed up. And when everything went wrong out of her control, it finally broke her.

Now, Jaune and Ruby and breaking further as they're constantly tested by the Ever After, Ruby finally showing just how broken she is now that she can no longer hide it, and Jaune from years of being alone. They have lost everything, failed where they thought it mattered most, and lashed out in ways meant to push others away.

These two were never prepared for this kind of fight, for the roles they were thrust into, and now they're breaking in the only ways they can as the burdens they carry press down on them. It'll be interesting to see how the healing process begins for them and how they become reforged, especially as Ruby struggles with her own identity.

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (07/24/23)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (10/10)

This book is pretty much perfect. The plot is engaging, the characters are all amazing, the writing style hits hard, and there’s really good social commentary that touches on, honestly, almost every issue out there. Rin has got to be one of my favorite protagonists of all time; she’s the underdog, she’s easy to root for, and our desire for her to succeed almost makes us overlook her glaring flaws. Kuang establishes Rin’s overwhelming need to succeed, to win, to be the last one standing from the very beginning, and it leads to her slow but steady downfall as she must decide how far she is willing to go for the sake of her nation. Rin’s time in Sinegard is an interesting and unique twist on the fantasy school setting, and the tone switch between the time at Sinegard and the time at war is done masterfully. Even the war takes an incredibly dark turn, goes farther than the reader would ever expect, as Kuang draws from real history to write horrors that should’ve been beyond anyone’s imagination. Perhaps the most technically amazing part of this book is that even when she has fallen so far, part of us agrees with Rin; which is the danger of it all, isn’t it?

Neverseen by Shannon Messenger (8/10)

I have now officially reread all of the KotLC books I got through previously. Going into Lodestar will be uncharted territory for me, and wow am I glad I refreshed my memory. I forgot a lot of stuff, so it was almost like I was reading it for the first time. Like I predicted, this was a slower one, mostly filled with finding out more about the Black Swan and the Council, and there was a lot of Sophie and her friends wanting to do things that were "too dangerous." I won't lie, it dragged a bit, but it really picked up once Sophie started attending Exilium. I think the twins are a much-needed addition to the main cast to help shake things up and keep the dynamic from getting too worn out. Also, Calla is a particularly strong side character. While I could predict the broad strokes of the story, the actual method of getting there took me by surprise, and there's a huge twist at the end that totally restructures how the rest of the series is going to look. I'm very excited to start Lodestar!

Half Upon a Time by James Riley (8/10)

I loved this series as a kid, and rereading it was like returning home. It's actually so funny that this book has tons of tropes I love today just in a middle grade format. There's a pretty good level of intricacy to the plot, and the fairy tale elements are tons of fun. There are plenty of familiar characters that each have a unique twist to their story, often intertwining their stories with each other. For example, the Huntsman from Snow White is also the woodcutter/hunter from Little Red Riding Hood. This book also has a fun twist by being from the perspective of the character who guides someone who has fallen into another world. In most other books, May would be the main character, so having Jack tell the story subverts some expectations. The way Jack, May, and Philip interact is a little typical for the genre and time period, though I appreciate that it is heavily implied that Philip has no romantic interest in May. Finally, Jack's mysterious involvement with the Eye and his sword is one of my favorite parts of the book, and it's a pretty fresh concept.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (CR, 20%)

I've barely progressed on this one, but I did make it to the end of the first trial, and I like how it was executed. Despite being a physically-based trial, there's a twist that allows Oraya to succeed through her wits, which makes infinitely more sense when she's up against vampires and demons. It also helps that Raihn is obviously gunning for an alliance with her, so he's more inclined to help her out. About the alliance, why Raihn specifically wants to team with Oraya is a pretty good one and honestly a more logical decision than I expected. However, Oraya turning him down made no sense to me. She's gonna have to team up with someone eventually, and Raihn seems like the lesser evil by far.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (CR, 3%)

I've only just barely started this book, but I'm excited! I'm reading it with some friends, and the beginning seems quite interesting. I'll have some more in-depth thoughts next week once I've progressed more.

[kelyon]

I'd love to hear your opinion on whether or not Goldenlace in the show has some dubious concent issues going on. Like do we consider Lacey (and by proxy everyone's cursed personas) some kind of a legally incompetent parasite without body autonomy? Or is it more complicated?

This is a fun conversation. I remember talking about this stuff in 2013. Really wish Screwballninja's blog was still up, she wrote great essays. I'm basically going to be repeating what I remember about her conclusions. In short, there are a lot of layers.

In the broadest possible sense, technically everything people do under the curse is nonconsensual. Snow White did not consent to be a teacher, Rumpelstiltskin never consented to driving a car, couples who were married in the Enchanted Forest technically have no say in whether or not they have sex with each other in Storybrooke. None of the cursed people are "themselves" or can be considered to be in their right minds. Regina is ruling over an entire town of brainwashed victims.

That being said, we can take the cursed characters on their own terms, as people with what they think of as free will and autonomy. The classic example is Mary Margaret having a one night stand with Dr, Whale. Is she doing what Snow White would want to do? Absolutely now. Is she doing what Mary Margaret wants to do? Yes. And in this case, since Whale is also cursed, they're on equal footing. Victor Frankenstein may or may not want to sleep with a married woman (we don't know his ethics), but Whale was all for it. Same if David happened to sleep with Kathryn Nolan when he thought she was his wife.

Those situations are contrasted with what Regina had going on with Graham. Regina was not cursed. She had full knowledge of her true identity and the identities of everyone else--including the fact that the Huntsman did not want to sleep with her. Creating a version of him who is willing to sleep with her is a violation of his consent. Rape by deception, if not physical assault.

Which brings us to Golden Lace. If Lacey had been around during the curse and had some kind of relationship with cursed Gold, it would have been as consensual as any other action in Storybrooke.

This is where it gets tricky. Rumpelstiltskin does not have power over Lacey. He did not create her personality with the intention of having sex with her. His motivations regarding her are twisted--he wants to get her to love him so he use TLK to destroy Lacey and get Belle back. But I wouldn't say he uses any knowledge about Belle to help with his seduction. For the most part, he presents himself as he is--a guy who wants to get to know Lacey better and pursue a romantic relationship with her. He even tells her about Belle! He tells her that she used to be someone else, someone he loved. Rumple is being as above-board as it is possible to be.

I also want to point out that, in the canon of the show, we don't know if they actually slept together. Unlike Belle, Lacey never wakes up in Gold's bed. All we have to go on is chemistry (which is, obviously, off the charts.) That's an interesting point of ethics too. Would it only be nonconsensual if the relationship was sexual? Is it problematic to try to get someone to like you?

I'd like to believe that if Lacey had stuck around, the relationship would have developed to the point where Lacey would consensually sleep with Rumpelstiltskin. The relationship would still be... fraught, because she would have to be told about, you know, magic and shit. Though Lacey in canon seemed to take that in stride! I think she sees herself as her own person, able to make her own decisions. If Rumple can accept her on those terms--and please her on those terms--I wouldn't call it nonconsensual.

(Might still be weird when Belle does come back, or if Lacey ever thinks he's thinking about Belle when he's with her. But those are monogamy problems, not consent problems. Belle couldn't even call him out for sleeping with someone else and then coming back to sleep with her, because Lacey is in Belle's body! He's not gonna bring back any STIs when he's only with one body.)

Now we get into fanfic theories. If cursed Gold and cursed Lacey had a sexual relationship and Rumpelstiltskin pretended he was Gold so he could continue that relationship, that would be nonconsensual. It would be the same as a stranger pretending to be your husband in order to have sex with you. Rape by deception, in the exact same way it is in the real world.

If, as in canon, Rumple found himself with Lacey--maybe this time a Lacey who had had a sexual relationship with Gold and was unthinkingly ready to be a sex object for him--and he wanted to develop a personal romantic relationship with her; if he wanted to treat her well and respect her boundaries and help her come into her own autonomy and then Lacey's autonomy lead her to wanting sex with Rumpelstiltskin...

Well that would be a interesting fic, wouldn't it?

[jeff-from-marketing]

So I've had a pretty extended amount of time to sit down with Baldur's Gate 3 and mull it over in my head, and I have some thoughts.

Up front, the game is still fucking great, however it's very telling that all of my problems with the game actually stem from the fact that it's a D&D 5e game. It's hard for me to pick what the "biggest" issue I have is, so this will probably be a little all over the place, kinda like my general thought process.

Something that sticks out to me a lot is to do with spells, namely "save or suck" spells like Hold Person or Hideous Laughter. These spells feel awful to use. Because you either get an absolutely game changing effect that drastically changes the tide of the battle, or you get literally fucking nothing but you've still wasted a precious resource (a spell slot). Damage spells for the most part at the very least still do half damage, so you're always getting something out of your resource expenditure. The thing that makes this stick out to me in particular is because I've already seen this problem be fixed in other games and systems, including Larian's other games. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is built all around different armour types and tactical usage of crowd control abilities, because you can guarantee when they'll go off. It's honestly a lot of fun for a combat system. Pathfinder 2nd Edition also saw and fixed this problem with its Degrees of Success system. It's very rare that you'll spend a spell slot and get literally nothing out of it, you'll often get a weaker effect or shorter duration on control/debuff spells against enemies who make the save, but you still get something worthwhile out of it. Compared to BG3/D&D 5e where you get literally nothing, that's a massive boost in not just effectiveness, but in terms of how it feels. Nothing feels worse than spending a very precious resource and getting literally nothing out of it. But again, this was a D&D 5e problem to begin with, so Larian are stuck between "do we make a faithful D&D game, or do we make a fun game?" Personally, I would've gone for the latter on this one, but I know how some portions of the D&D 5e community are.

The other issue I have is the disparity between martials/spellcasters, and across classes in general. Now, to Larian's credit, they have done a lot of work to bridge gaps closer together. The discrepancy between certain classes is massive in base D&D 5e, so it's actually rather impressive the amount of work that's been done to rectify that. Things like Rangers don't suck by default, Berserker Barbarians are not only actually playable, but also just fun now, familiars and summons have interesting uses in combat and don't cripple your character, etc. But it's not all perfect. Monks still have some very glaring problems, like why do they need to spend resources to do the exact same things Rogues can do for literally free? Martials in general, even with all the things Larian have done, are still lacking in options and tools compared to spellcasters. Mostly because so many of them are tied to once per short rest, so unless you're doing a short rest after literally every combat (which honestly, sometimes it feels like the game expects you to do that, which is another thing I'll get to) you'll often end up in a situation where your only options are "how do you want to hit the attack button this time?" Again, this is a problem that have been solved already, and by Larian. Divinity: Original Sin 2 had so many warfare, huntsman, and scoundrel skills you could learn without going anywhere near flashy magic if you wanted to. And they were all just as effective! Pathfinder 2e gets around this problem by not only giving martials a bunch of abilities they can use, but also just saying "yeah go hog wild with them, use them as much as you like!"

Another aspect of this, that I think is just personal taste, is that I'm not super big on the "here's your daily resources, don't spend them all at once, the game will make sure you have to burn through them though" gameplay style that D&D 5e promotes. With so many abilities only recharging on long rests, to me it promotes being overly cautious with resources and just simply not using them. It's the "I have 900 health potions because what if I need them later?" and then never using them problem. Though adding onto this: this can mean that some combats can swing wildly in difficulty. Because there's no guarantee that the players will be at full resources, or just about to run out of steam, the same combat can be anywhere between "this is piss easy" to "oh god oh fuck we're all dying." Which I find leads to a lot more save-scumming, because you often have no way to tell if you don't have enough resources for a fight until you're actually in the fight. Hell, sometimes whether or not something actually is a fight is right down to RNG, which leads to my next problem...

Larian, I get that you're trying to emulate a TTRPG here, I really do. RNG for dialogue choices is not fun. There's a reason other cRPGs moved away from them in favour of binary "do you meet the skill requirement, yes/no?" checks. There's a reason you used that very system in Divinity: Original Sin 2. Because it takes agency away from the player, and means you sometimes just simply may not be able to do something simply because the dice said fuck you. If you don't meet the requirements for a check, you can just say "ah I didn't build my character this way, that's fair, I'll have to try that out sometime." or you feel rewarded for having built your character for speech checks by being guaranteed new options and solutions to problems. With the dice rolling system though, you can invest as much as you want into those skills, but you can still roll low and get completely fucked, making it feel more like "why do I even bother investing in that skill?" The reason the dice rolling works for a TTPRG is because you have a GM there with you to talk things out and apply some reason. You may roll low, but a GM can still adjust things, or you may have a character specific reason as to why the outcome should be different, or you can employ my favourite TTPRG tool of "yes, but-" A computer game can't do any of that. So it ends up feeling a lot harsher and a lot less fair and fun. This leads can very easily lead to a lot of save scumming, and it also makes spells like Guidance feel damn near mandatory to have in a party. Which means: I hope you like Shadowheart or playing a Cleric yourself, because you can't just not have a Cleric in the party.

This also extends to things like perception checks as well. Sometimes these are progression blocking, or at least feel like it, but I also think a lot of the issue actually comes down to telling the player too much information. If everyone in the party just failed a perception roll, well... I still know there's something there. The game is just saying "but you don't get to see what it is :)" I know the game doesn't do fake perception rolls (and I also think those are bad practice as well) so I instead know that there's just something there that's probably either about to fuck me over like a trap, or something that's near vital to progress something like a secret door or button, but I don't get to interact with it. If I was never told that the perception checks failed, I'd actually have no reason to suspect there's anything there at all, and the feeling of "well I may as well go fuck myself then" would be a lot lower. Though I think traps would feel extra unfair. I don't have a good solution for that one. This actually leads into a big tabletop problem of "oh one person failed a roll, time to get everyone in the party to make the roll even if they have no reason to" just to game the system. If you're going to keep this as something random as well (I'd argue that it's probably better to have the same "do you meet the skill requirement, yes/no?" binary system that Divinity uses, but that's definitely a debatable thing) I'd actually steal from Pathfinder 2e and hide those rolls from the player entirely. Secret rolls are so good for preventing the "well I rolled low, so I still know something is up, but I'm not allowed to act on it" problem that D&D 5e has.

Going further is a little bit of spoilers narratively, so I'll put those under a cut. If you don't want to keep reading though, I'll just put my conclusion here: I still love the game, you can still tell a lot of heart and soul has been poured into it, and Larian has done a lot of work to make D&D 5e a much more fun and enjoyable experience. It's just unfortunate that it still has some of the same fundamental issues that D&D 5e has on tabletop.

Though I think the real conclusion is: Larian, how much do I have to pay you for a Pathfinder 2e based cRPG?

Going on a brief narrative tangent real quick, and bearing in mind I'm only up to Act 2: I'm not fond of how certain aspects of the world are handled.

I think the goblins at the beginning are the biggest example of where my issues lie. They are, nigh universally, portrayed as quote unquote "evil." They're all raiders, pillagers, torturers, murderers, cultists, etc. And... I don't like that. I don't ever like portraying a race as "this is the evil race." I think it's not only boring and unimaginative, but I also think it's problematic. I get that a lot of people go to fantasy to escape real life, but surely seeing "every single member of this race you come across is defacto a bad guy" has to be raising questions, no? Even ignoring that though, it just stifles narrative creativity. By saying all members of a race are evil, you're removing a bunch of possibly very interesting stories. It's why I love Pathfinder 2e gnolls and goblins so much. They're so fascinating because there's so many facets to them, they're not just all evil. Hell, even whole ass demon lords can find redemption and become forces for good in Pathfinder. D&D has the problem of "evil is evil, and always will be evil" with not much room for the grey area inbetween. Which is a shame really.

I could also get into the problematic nature of "the dark skinned dwarfs are all evil slavers" and "the dark skinned gnomes are all used as slaves by the aforementioned dark skinned dwarfs" but... let's not. That's a debate that's been had a lot already, and it's not one I feel like having here.

I do appreciate that Larian at the very least tried to not fall into that entirely. The hobgoblin and illithid you meet in the underdark in act 1 were actually quite refreshing, it's just a shame (at least so far as I've experienced) there's not more like that. I'd love to have little goblin friends that aren't just The Worst(TM) people ever. And so far I've actually been quite intrigued by Lae'zel's (and by extension the entire Githyanki) storyline, I'm actually quite fond of how that's turning out so far.

That's not to say the writing is bad. Larian are still good at what they do, and there's still some very damn good stuff in here. It's just unfortunately still got to deal with some of the inherent D&D issues by nature of it being a D&D game.

[glitchyko]

Given DBK was captive by the Spider Queen and Redson was in heaven getting the ingredients. What were your OC’s doing during the year of the spider??

So this is actually something I have thought of a lot (I like imagining ocs if they were in canon situations) and here’s what I have:

Huìdàn: She wouldn’t be in Megaopolis at this point, she’d be happily celebrating the new year with her friends and family, safely away from anything spider related

Xian: I’m still flip flopping on when in the timeline he’d show up, but if he is there during the year of the spider stuff, he’d be with mei and watching the parade, until SQ shows up, then he’s getting the hell out of there with the gang, probably ready to bite Huntsman and Goliath at a moments notice when the gangs trying to escape, and he jumps onto Red Son with Mei. During the celestial realm stuff (where Xian is like: “Get ‘em Mei!! >:D” when Mei bites Red Sons hand) and it’s ingredient getting time, Mei makes Xian stay with Sandy because he’s definitely not good at sneaking around and being quiet, and Xian isn’t happy about this >:(

Qingling: I imagined she’d want to be with DBK and Red Son when they’re doing the food stall because she wants to spend time with them, and she loves hot food (she eats those ghost peppers of doom like they’re candy), so when DBK gets nabbed, she books it out of there with Red Son, and when they’re at the Celestial realm, I’m torn between Red Son makes Qingling stay behind with Sandy despite her protests, or she goes with Tang and Pigsy to get the pills.

Tai: Now Tai would be with the gang during the parade, and he’s having a pretty fun time!! Until Spider Queen and her minions show up and attack, then Tai is having a major panic attack because Spider Queen has deeply traumatized him, and once the gang gets to safety, Tai is sitting by himself, panicking as he can’t stop thinking about the civilians screaming and getting attacked with the spider bots, the the spider demons chasing after them, Spider Queen’s cackles as innocent people get hurt, how she laughed when he was screaming, how painful it was to turn into a spider demon, his desperate pleas to make it stop repeating in his head, getting louder and louder

Until suddenly he hears a meow, and he snaps out of his thoughts, seeing Mo in his lap, Tai is confused, then notices MK sitting by him. MK makes a comment on how Sandy said petting Mo helps him when he’s not doing okay, so he thought maybe it’d help Tai too. Tai doesn’t say anything, but he gently pets the cat, slowly calming down as he does so, MK staying with him the whole time. Once Tai has calmed down enough, MK asks if he’s doing better, and Tai quietly says yeah, and thanks MK.

Tai would probably stay with Sandy and Mo while the others are getting the ingredients in the celestial realm because he’s not in condition to be sneaking around and such.

Yeah I thought the most about Tai’s experience during the year of the spider stuff, he’s not having a good time hhjhgdjdjdjsjsj