#i mean she literally refers to the Wild as a “shadow” of her

[phantombre]

You know, I haven't drawn the Princess in a while, so here's (in my opinion) the most intriguing lore wise:

A web of nerves laid upon a web of nerves laid upon a web of nerves...

[loveaurapearl]

Hey, I saw the new episode of Wild Life and it was amazing. I love how personal these choices are, even though Grian himself didn't choose who got what power. But seriously, it feels like all the powers were personally picked for each player. I've seen people analyze each ablity and their connections and I wanted throw my hat in the ring. (Okay, update. Watched Grian's video and it's clear that Grian did personalized the powers. He has a list of all the people who have what powers, he just didn't realize how dangerous some of these powers are with red names. He mentioned regretting giving Scar the sit command the first time Scar sat on him so yeah. Unlike the randomness of Soulmates in Double life, these powers aren't random. Just want to clarify that.)

The first one I want to mention is Joel's ability since it's the one that has stumped everyone. I mean, after all, what does triple jumping have to do with Joel? Well, at the beginning of his episode, he mentioned that he hears a slime sound effect when he uses his ability. I think his superpower was chosen because of the slime shop that Joel forgot to create for most of Season 10 of Hermitcraft. Now what do Slimes have to do with triple jumping? Well, slimes are bouncy and create momentum. Also, I think Grian put it in because it sounded like a cool power. Also, Also, it allows Joel to do a lot of PARKOUR! Which Joel is obsessed with.

Rendog got the power of masking himself as other people. This is amazing because he masked as Tango in Secret Life and the guy's an actor. He's always putting up masks like the Red King, the King of Hermitcraft, the Guard Dog of the Fairy Forte, and being part of the Gigaverse.

Gem has Astral projection which was given to her because she hates using freecam so it was a punishment to her for being so too good at the game. However, she was given the ability to give her more control over people since she was able to snoop on everyone. Kind of like a Watcher. (Or Listener in some people's headcannons. I've seen evidence for people to think this is a Watcher power or Listener power. I'm leaning on Watcher Power.)

Cleo was given the power to raise the Dead because she is a Zombie.

BigB is the power of the Creaking which is fitting since he became one of them thanks to living in their forrest.

Bdubs has the power of time because of his obsession with clocks and the power of sleep because the man is obsessed with sleeping in Hermitcraft.

Etho is an loof and sneaky man who likes to keeps his distance. He's also a coward so a quick escape plan by yeeting yourself with wind charges helps. Also, he did Frogger in Minecraft and that's a lot of jumping around.

Tango's ability is to flee like he never fleed before. Aka being a coward and also annoy people. (Someone mentioned the icewalker ability could be reference to Decked out 2. Also flee with extra flee.)

Ldshadowlady (Aka Lizzie) is just focusing on the shadow in her user name. It also represents her time falling in the Void in Secret Life. The void energy engrained in her.

Jimmy got invisiblity because the man is always sneaking around and the fact that Jimmy doesn't get this far normally. Normally he's not even alive at this point. So the narrative is kind of representing his unusual position. Also it feels like a very Listener kind of superpower.

Martyn's power is literally the power to LISTEN to people. Very Listener power.

Impulse's power is to swap places with people. It kind of represents how much of a flip-flopper he was in Third Life. Yeah know, traitor Impulse. Also, Enderpearl satis cambers and using weird glitches to find diamonds in Third life references.

Scott's ability of Animal shapeshifting is not only a cruel twisted torture made up by the Watchers because they hate Scott, seriously, it's the worst superpower, but it also represents Scott's kind and gentle nature. While the guy knows how to fight, most of the time Scott is a nice chill guy. He's friendly and charming like a passive mob. He does his best to support the team and he will sacrifice himself for the team. The guy is also soft with animals. Remember the cow and the pufferfish in Third Life? What about the Axolotos in Last Life? Also, the guy likes to get pets in Empires.

Pearl's ability to fly is the fact that she and Grian are Skyblings but also a more subtle connection to the watchers. After all, Watchers do have angel wings.

Grian's ability to mimic everyone else's powers is so Watcher-coded it's not even funny. It's like he's purposely making it clear to everyone that he's a Watcher now. And the fact that he made this Wild Card to get Skizz and Mumbo back is just icing on the cake. He just never realized how bad his wish to bring his friends back would bite him in the back so hard. Ah Grian, not thinking your plans ahead and thinking about the consequences. Just like always.

And finally Scar. Scar has wanted Super strength all season. He mentioned it in episode one and he's been testing it out every time a Wild Card has been activated except for when his teammates were on red. The guy loves the classic power to punch people and to yeet people off cliffs. It fits his namesake. And the power to sit on everything is just genius. Not only does it allow some very funny moments but it fits Scar's cowboy aesthetic. It's also the perfect fit for Scar because at first you think it's harmless. After all, you just get yeeted a bit and Scar rides on you. All fun and games. But once the fighting begins, this power shows how scary Scar actually is. Now you can't get Scar off you because he's sitting on you and you can't knock him off or hurt him. Sure he can't hurt you back, but it just means he's waiting his time. And the yeeting becomes more scary once your falling to your doom off a cliff. It's also a very protective power since he can make foes fly a million miles away from him, out of sword range and now the only way to hurt him is with a bow. A bow which Scar is way more skilled at using. After all, he is the HotGuy. Also he did mention HotGuy in his episode when he was trying to hit Tango. It's just that he missed it since Tango's so fast. (Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Scar got Thorns as part of his power set. Not only is it another defensive weapon since it makes people not want to hit him because they would be hurt back even with range attacks, but also it represents his connections to the earth. He is a terraformer. It also represents Double life since it kind of mimics the gimmick of if you get hurt, I get hurt of being soulmates. Just wanted to add this in.)

Anyway, I hope you like my analysis.

[pearlywritings]

Blade + the erhu, please and thank you!

(Miss pearly, is that another reference to the phantom of the opera? Just asking)

Crazy but this prompt was asked for Blade twice! And once again - yep, that's the reference! (hopefully you all are not fed up with me yet--) On side note - it's been always a challenge to write for this man and every single time I pray that I didn't fuck up his character,,,,,,,

Always there

pairing: Blade x reader

prompt: "I will wait for you"

word count: 812 words

~ The Music of the Night event ~

The ever-sullen Stellaron Hunter has always had a hard time understanding your reasons to stay by his side. It isn't obnoxious clinging or following him wherever he goes, or even intentional lingering in the shadows nearby like you are some kind of a stalker.

No, it is none of that. You are just… there.

Obviously you are always there - working for Elio at the base as the Hunter’s personal chef quite literally predestines it. Blade doesn't remember the details, but it had probably something to do with Kafka and her complaints about Silver Wolf’s eating routine. And his. And the fact you poisoned someone to the point of royally pissing the IPC, which put “Wanted” posters across the universe with your face on them and landed you in the care of Destiny's Slave.

What he means is…you are strangely there for him.

You notice the dishes he takes liking in (despite him dodging all your questions) and cook him those when you think he looks especially gloomy. Every time he departs on a mission, somehow you manage to send him off with a packed meal - either you slip it into his luggage, or pass it on through his assigned partner or simply distract with conversation and thrust the container right into his hands. Lately, as you two got closer, you also started adding self-made sedatives and sleeping medicine to his meals. Did he try to kill you for that? No, but he did suggest adding poison next time.

Which you never did.

Why did his sleep get better?

Of course, you’ve grown to be caring towards every member of the crew - making Kafka her favorites whenever she had a shitty day, gently but sternly forcing Silver Wolf to eat properly, coming up with ways to feed Firefly delicious food too and letting her help in the kitchen, and managing to fulfil wild requests Elio sometimes has.

But Blade feels like he is special to you. Even if it took him half a year to admit it to himself.

“I’ll be here as long as you need me,” you once told him, as you were stirring the pot and Blade came to the kitchen to hide from the girls who, led by Kafka, wanted to mess with him. Too focused on wrapping clean bandages around the fingers of his left hand, the man didn’t let the thought sink at first, but once he did, he said nothing.

Something told him these were not the words you said to everyone.

Why did they bring him an allusive sense of peace?

Later on he started spending time with you - in training. Being a chef and knowing your way with the knife is good, but, as you reasonably noted, you are a part of the Stellaron Hunters now. It’ll never hurt to learn to defend yourself. 

Blade has never been known to be gentle. No matter if you are a sword master or a newbie - he’d go hard on you anyway, putting you through a hell of a routine. He was honestly thinking you would’ve soon realized that such harsh treatment wasn’t for you and turned to one of the female members. However, every day he’s at the base, you come. You whine and huff from exhaustion, but don’t complain. You listen carefully to his instructions whenever he stops the fight to give them (and he does so rarely, preferring the learning through the ‘life or death’ combat). You lie on the floor of the training area every single time the training ends, look up at him holding his sword and boring his red-hot coals of the eyes into you, and promise with a shaky smile, that ‘ten more minutes, a shower, and I’ll go make us an after-workout snack’.

Usually it’s more than ten minutes. Occasionally he has to carry your body to the showers, and you go limp on his shoulder on purpose. He quite often waits for you after he’s done with his own clean up. He rarely misses your cooking afterwards.

When did he start standing close to you as you cook, looming over you, staring at your hands over your shoulder?

He also doesn’t know how you two ended up sharing a living space, a bed even. Once, twice, a week, a month… At some point he just accepted it as a part of his life now. After all, you are not making it worse.

He is sane enough to be honest with himself - it got a little bit better.

You kiss his scars and run your fingers through his hair to calm him.

He lets you.

You are not clingy though.

He turned out to be one.

“I want you to see me as the place where you can always return to.”

He…bitterly laughs, but doesn’t say anything against.

“I will be waiting for you.”

…

He chooses to believe you.

[soclearlytosee]

Stranger Things, Peter Pan, Mothers, and Wendys

Some Peter Pan artifact, I'd guess a Disney movie tie-in book, hanging out in Holly's room

I recently watched The Lost Boys and read Peter Pan (really Peter and Wendy in The Annotated Peter Pan but what version of the story is "the original" is infamously convoluted). 

The Lost Boys was a viewing experience that made me feel like I understood the Duffers’ whole deal in a completely new way - like watching Election finally made me understand what Ryan Murphy has actually been trying to do all this time. I know we’re always like Spielberg, King, Carpenter, etc but how much of this movie is in ST’s DNA is pretty wild, there even is a “barricading the house against a supernatural threat with everyday items as makeshift weapons" montage with a synth score. Joel Schumacher we gotta start giving you your proper due in this conversation, we do simply owe gay ppl everything (also as with any worthwhile ST reference to pull at @/threemanoperation has already been on this beat)

Anyways, The Lost Boys is a spiritual Peter Pan adaptation and one big current that shows up from its source text is a real preoccupation with the mother.

These aren’t the only ST reference texts with a lot of mom stuff going on. We’re getting probably the icon of genre movie motherhood herself with Linda Hamilton joining the show in s5, and pregnancy body horror is like the entire thing in extremely obvious ST creature design touchpoint Alien.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Linda Hamilton seems to be playing a female counterpoint to Brenner/Papa, so all signs point to them intentionally invoking that reference at least.

Joyce is our purest Spielberg mom: the harried single parent, doing her best, a bit eccentric. She’s taken a backseat in recent seasons, but a new maybe-Mama taking on Papa's mantle as s5’s primary human antagonist points to Joyce taking more of a lead again. 

Joyce seeming to spend a substantial chunk of s5 separated from Hopper gives me hope, as does her seeming to be the most connected with Henry of our ST-adult-cast-as-teens in The First Shadow. We heard Victor’s story last season, so turning to Virginia’s role in the tragedy of Henry might be another narrative element that pulls Joyce out as a foil.

One of our other established moms, Karen, also looks to be getting an expanded role in s5. If Holly is indeed taken by the military, she should join Joyce to take on Linda Hamilton (are we ever going to learn her character name good lord). 

If Joyce and Karen are our Mrs. Darlings, then we have the Wendy-coded among us: "mothergate" creator El, and Alienesque body horror victim/slug incubator Will.

Like Wendy, El and Will both have their own personal playhouses even within the broader kid kingdoms of Neverland, Mike’s basement, and the woods.

And, of course, once Wendy leaves Neverland and grows up, she has a daughter named Jane who eventually journeys to Neverland with Peter herself.

Wendy’s primary “power” in Peter Pan is storytelling, which lives with mothers in the book/play in a very fairy tale logic sort of way. Peter is initially attracted to the Darlings’ nursery window by Mrs. Darling’s bedtime stories. And that's the reason he is convinced to bring Wendy to Neverland (she "tempts him" with stories).

This actually convinces Peter to bring Wendy to Neverland even if he isn't so hot on the idea of mothers himself. "The Boy Who Hated Mothers" was a working title for Peter Pan the play.

There is an interesting relationship between storytelling and time in Peter Pan that probably deserves more exploration, maybe a topic for a later post. The residents of Neverland exist out of time, which means they can’t conceptualize beginnings or endings - and that's why they can’t tell stories and Wendy's ability to do so has such allure.

in Neverland, time has literally been killed

I still haven’t totally made sense of what this implies for our Neverlandesque-frozen-in-time Upside Down and El and friends’ preoccupation with stories in s5. But it feels significant in the final act of our coming-of-age story, especially considering why the Upside Down is stuck on November 6, 1986 is allegedly a driving mystery of what's to come, according to the Duffers.

[sun-undone]

okay continuing my case study of vanitas rewatch, i need to gush about the scene where noe drinks domi's blood in the carriage cause it is WILD

i mean first off, it's very clear on a rewatch that noe is thinking about louis when he is drinking from domi, which really sums up the tragedy of noe and domi's relationship, especially from domi's pov. cause she KNOWS, doesn't she? she has such a complex about her being the one to survive instead of louis, only made worse by her knowledge of just how much noe misses him and continues to suffer years later because of his death. she knows that noe wants her blood not because of any romantic or lustful feelings he has for her in particular, but because 1) she reminds him of louis, and 2) he doesn't have to face the burden of his power with her. not only does noe bring up domi "smelling good" RIGHT AFTER she mentions what happened to louis, but we even get a flash of louis tempting noe with his blood after domi asks if he craves HER blood, both of which really highlight noe's true object of desire in this scene. with that, knowing how the other blood drinking scenes are framed after this, it's striking how subdued this one is, and i do think it's because of those complicated feelings of unrequited love and regret and grief between noe and domi.

we only see domi's face as the actual drinking happens, and she does look like she's enjoying herself, but her body is tense, and there is no blush on her cheeks. on a first watch, this scene seemed incredibly sensual (and it still kind of is in a way) but taken in context with the other blood drinking scenes and with full knowledge of noe and domi's relationship??? it's SO detached and cold and even depressing. the focus is clearly on domi and her desire to be wanted by noe, which once again, becomes so much deeper on a rewatch because i genuinely believe that a lot of domi's apparent attraction to noe is simply because of her own guilt and self-hatred and desire to help noe deal with his grief. do i think she loves noe? ABSOLUTELY. as a brother! it's literally canon that she started dressing and presenting herself more like louis after his death BECAUSE OF HOW SAD NOE WAS, so i don't think it's a stretch to think that she would still have an urge to fulfill that role with noe by being sort of a stand-in for louis during this intimate moment. she knows that noe and louis had a "more than friends" kind of relationship, even if they never got the chance to explore it, so in her mind, allowing noe to drink from her (an inherently sexual act as framed in this anime) is a way for him to have a taste (pun intended) of what could've been. she knows she's being used, that blood drinking is supposed to feel better than this for both parties, but her own survivor's guilt and deep affection for noe are so strong that she's decided it's worth it.

AND THEN, as if that wasn't enough analysis, there's the fucking cut to vanitas outside the door. at the beginning of the scene, it's clear that he's lurking because he wants to know what he's in for when they get to the ball and how wary he needs to be of domi. and it could've just ended there! that one cut to vanitas as domi and noe are talking about him already told us something about his character: that he's much more cunning and calculated than he has presented himself so far. it's also important that he hears domi reference noe's guilt about "what happened years ago". that could've been it!!! but NO. they cut BACK to him once the blood drinking has started so we can see his face as he listens to the gasps of domi and noe. and it feels SO. INCREDIBLY. LONELY. that shot of him sitting against the wall with the slash of moonlight cutting into the shadows and all the purples and blues around him cannot evoke anything else but loneliness in my mind. they even go so far as to give us a close-up of his expression too, just in case we missed his sulking the first time. and he could move further away from the door!!!! but he doesn't!!!!! there's some part of him that is fascinated by the intimacy of the act, so he continues being a freaky little voyeur.

now obviously i'm gonna read this through the vanoe lens, so i find it incredibly pointed that this scene happens in the same episode as vanitas offering his blood to jeanne. CLEARLY, the two scenes are linked, right???? they're meant to be paralleled???? so since domi is a stand-in for someone else, it stands to reason that maybe jeanne could be a stand-in for someone else, too? perhaps the one vampire who vanitas can NEVER let drink from him, as per his self-imposed, self-destructive restriction? he can't have noe, so he'll use jeanne instead as a safer avenue for exploring whatever romantic or sexual feelings that are supposed to arise from blood drinking. and even if you don't read it as a vanoe thing, i think there's still something to be said for vanitas yearning for SOME form of intimacy that won't hurt him but also won't lay him bare. he lost (slash destroyed?) the only family he ever had and set upon this quest to save his soul under the guise of saving others, acting as if he doesn't have a care in the world, but he is DEEPLY lonely and scarred by what has been done to him as well as what he himself has done. even if he's not using jeanne as a conscious stand-in for noe in this episode, noe still represents the raw vulnerability that he is petrified of and also somewhere, deep inside of him, he desires more than anything else.

once i get to that scene i'll probably do another analysis properly comparing and contrasting it with the carriage scene cause i'm sure there's a ton to say there

EDIT after rewatching episode 5: okay i think i put a bit too much emphasis on domi not having pure romantic feelings for noe and i just think it's important to add that i don't think that's entirely true. she clearly had a crush on him when they were kids, and i think those feelings got irreparably twisted when louis died and domi found out the truth about their family choosing her over him. does she probably still have romantic feelings for noe and not see him as just a brother? yes i think so, but that desire can't be separated from the very complicated guilt and self-loathing she feels for herself as well as her belief that noe probably wishes that she had died in louis' place cause noe loved him more romantically than he loved her. the layers of tragedy really never end do they

[stromuprisahat]

Do you have any ideas/theories on what the ‘thisness’ vs ‘thatness’ mentioned in the first SaB book is? Or is it just one of those things we’ll never know because of the surface-level world building?

Some bullshit in pseudoRussian mentioned once to make it look like the author bothered with consistent, coherent worldbuilding?

The grounding principle of the Small Science was “like calls to like,” but then it got complicated. Odinakovost was the “thisness” of a thing that made it the same as everything else. Etovost was the “thatness” of a thing that made it different from everything else. Odinakovost connected Grisha to the world, but it was etovost that gave them an affinity for something like air, or blood, or in my case, light.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 10

And that's literally EVERYTHING we get on these "basics" of Small Science. Ever.

Or not?!

“It is not too far,” she sneered. “You are as much there as you are here. The same things that make the mountain make you. It has no lungs, so let it breathe with you. It has no pulse, so give it your heartbeat. That is the essence of the Small Science.” She thumped me with her stick. “Stop huffing like a wild boar. Breathe the way I taught you—contained, even.” I felt my cheeks redden, and I slowed my breathing. Snippets of Grisha theory filled my head. Odinakovost. Thisness. Etovost. Thatness. It was all a muddle. But the words that came back to me most strongly were Morozova’s fevered scrawl: Are we not all things?

Ruin and Rising- Chapter 7

Sorry, that's just repetition of the terms, but nothing else. :(

If I understand it correctly, the first one is basically "Everything is made of particles.". Even if it's so, it's worded rather poorly.

The second one doesn't make much sense to me. Especially since whatever affinity's described, doesn't really matter if you have enough power to push through any differences. Besides we have no idea how do Grisha manipulate matter to begin with...

I miss my physics teachers.

I've also seen people point out the linguistic nonsense in these:

odin - one eto - this

That's like... the same thing?! There's no obvious difference between meanings. If you're referring to something as "the one", you're basically pointing a finger at it, saying "I'm talking about THIS!".

[thecolourfulkingdom]

More tinfoil hat theories! What's the deal with Sally Starlet?

What's with her anyway? We have like +100500 theories on Wally, Home and Frank. But what about our favourite starwoman? Not enough speculations.

Let me bring you some tinfoil-y deliciousness.

Sally's colour is ORANGE as befitting, well, you know her being a literal Sun. But since Sun is also a Star it creates a strange duality.

Sun that is a star that is a performer? Oh my, dear Sally has many faces and wears many masks.

Sally's tarot card is obviously The Sun. Or is it? Let's see... The Sun is generally considered positive. It represents success, radiance, abundance, happiness, vitality, self-confidence and success. It represents good things and positive outcomes to current struggles. It also calls you to express yourself authentically.

The Sun in the upright position means: positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality.

The Sun in the reversed position means : inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic.

Seemingly, the description fits Sally, right? But it's only a half of it. Our dear Sally may have a VERY different side to her.

But first, let's have a look at the Sally's house from Welcome Home page. It looks like a chest or even a toychest because of it's orange-yellow roof of a specific shape and like a theater stage with it's orange curtains with yellow star pattern at the same time. Oh and don't forget the red carpet in the from of it. if you look at the roof again, you will see a spotlight hanging above the "stage" part. Fancy!

But the most interesting element is the door. It sort of made into Sally's image - it has the same triangle yellow-orange elements styled like her hair around the dark orange doorframe.

The door itself has two door leafs. On both of each a side of a smiling face depicted. The Left one seems to represent the day - sky is bright cerulean with soft white clouds. Left half of the depicted face is bright yellow with red blush and orange eyelid.

Right door leaf represents night - sky is dark blue smoothly changing into the purple at the bottom with shiny yellow stars. The right half of the face is also cerulean but of different, cooler shade.

Sally of Many faces? Very well, it fits her like a performer, because changing faces that's what she does all the time.

Let's have look at The Moon card too.

The Moon. Th card itself is all about duality: two towers, two animals and one of them is tamed and the other is wild. The doubles are visible all over this card. Everything seems to echo the other, as if to allude to two possibilities. And let us not forget the fine line between conscious and unconscious...

On one hand, the Moon card can symbolize your imagination is taking the best of you. You are taking a path that you are unsure of, there could be danger lurking in the depths of the night. But the moon's light can bring you clarity and understanding . Allow your intuition to guide you through this darkness. But does Sally even possess an intuition? Good question.

Reversed Moon represent confusion and unhappiness - one wants to make progress, but isn't sure what is the right thing to do. They must deal with their anxiety and fears by overcoming them, for fears are like shadows in the dark.

I was wondering what if Wally's remark in the guestbook refer to Sally doing something that ruined their neighborhood? I mean, she already left her home once to get an audience. What if she grew bored with the small town such as Home and run away again.

Yeah, sounds what human starlets often do: ambitious young woman goes to conquer the big city. Swap big city with a human world and you will get a receipt for a disaster. Silly Sally could get entangled in the illusions of her stardom. How dangerous can it get? Given how innocent puppets are I would say, very fast.

So what did happen? Did Sally betray Wally and everyone else for fame? Dang... It would make sense why Wally dislike her.

Maybe there is more to it. I will keep digging.

Oh, also I was trying to get a better picture of her house yesterday and when I accidentally zoomed in...

And what the actual fuck is this?! Is that a skull?!!! And a worm/snail shadow from the bug post.

Sally, girl, you owe us an explanation.

[intrepidacious]

ohmygod i have so many thoughts about the story so far!! I have sem finals starting in like 2 days but i literally cannot get TAT out of my mind😭 im so glad you gave me the greenlight to rant about it to you so here are my thoughts/observations so far(i havent reread the chapter yet but ill do it asa im done with papers)-

1. i think its the chapter before this when twelve freaks out about bucky not showing up to the gym, and in bucky's first loop he doesn't enter the gym and finds the reader outside his room later. does this mean bucky's time loop starts after twelve stops telling him about the loops, as a sort of consequence of her breaking her "promise" to him? also she loses her ring in the bathroom in that loop and in his second loop bucky finds the ring in his pocket, thats something which needs to be explained also, is it time bleeding into itself?

2. there was a chapter where twelve explains the whole time rewinding thingy to sam and bucky and although(i dont remember honestly) she doesnt mention it, there seems to be a little non linearity of time happening in the loops(me thinks). i'll have to do a full timeline comparison of the chapters but there's no clear mention that the bucky missing gym thing happens right after the Last Honest Loop(ill be referring to the loop where reader last tells bucky about the loop as this now). again, i'm not sure if this is correct, ill have to reread the chapters but IF this is true then the sequences of the loops post the Last Honest Loop(LHL) might not be linear for buck and twelve. there are a couple more incidents that solidify this for me like Lucy calling bucky reader's shadow. i think she says something along the line of how he always follows her on the coffee runs. and bucky does follow her in his 3rd or 4th loop i think. but lucy saying the shadow thing about bucky happens several loops AFTER the LHL, and not immediately(again, not sure). also Bucky getting Lucy's number to pass onto sam happens in the same loop for bucky but there is a loop before LHL i think where twelve notices lucy's number on bucky's cup and teases him about it. okay maybe the repetition is just him being a stupid caring wingman and doesnt support my theory but its so cute i love him

3. PETER PARKER WTF im not kidding my jaw was on the floor when that happened in the butterfly effect chapter its so crazy. im curious to know where TAT timeline lies in respect to NWH. its possible that the world forgetting about peter thing happens while sam bucky and twelve start working together and they forget about him, because i dont think its possible that they wouldnt have tried to work with him or atleast have some contact given how they were literally living in the avengers tower, or even tried to help him out during the identity reveal fiasco. or does the loop starts after NWH? could the loop thing be related to the events of no way home? IM SO CURIOUS ABOUT THIS

4. strange disappearing after the incident in astral plane could signify that the reader is making progress and has developed enough understanding of her powers that she doesnt need his guidance anymore? also is bucky's loop a result of this incident too? maybe twelve and bucky are supposed to be working this out together while BOTH of them are stuck in loop instead of twelve trying to figure it out individually, and thats why bucky getting reset after each loop had to be stopped

5. lastly, WHO is bucky trying to contact/ visit post his morning run? there are not a lot of people who call him buck so my guess it has to be someone we already know. could be it his sister? or maybe steve? im making wild guesses for this one

it took me so long to get my thoughts in order and type i hope this doesnt look like a braindump(it is) but im OBSESSED with the story nika, i cannot wait for next chapter to drop i know its going to be crazy. and im so sorry if i come off as overreaching and making things out of nowhere, as i said i cannot stop overanalyzing it. also i just went through the masterlist and what's up with the parts under each chapter ARE YOU COOKING SOMETHING NEW omg.

you sent me this over a month and literally two chapters ago so!! i hope your semi finals went well 💚💚 (again you can always rant to me about these chapters nothing makes me happier!!!)

i think most of that was already answered in the chapter after this one but i will say … time bleeding into itself is definitely a concern 👀

hoooly shit i LOVE that you think i am organized enough to put fully structured non linearity into this already confusing timeline 😭 absolutely obsessed with this idea tbh

ooohh this i can actually answer!! this is set after no way home. in fact, i rewrote chunks of my original draft after seeing no way home in cinemas because that's how long i've been writing this story lmao. peter featured a little more often in my very first draft but then canon happened and i thought this way could also be very fun

interesting … 👀

who indeed. if i recall correctly we're gonna ask that question again in the next chapter 🤭

you are absolutely NOT overreaching!! ooh yes the chapter parts!! i've been meaning to repost the chapters in smaller/shorter bits so they're a little easier to digest hahah. there will always be the full length chapters, but that way the story might be easier to navigate on here. i've just not gotten around to it

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Wolf Link & the Búralupán Race

Okay, new theory. I know that werewolves aren't technically part of the LoZ universe, but what if Twilight Link was descended from the Búraló-mná (wolf women; a type of wolf fae or spirit, which, the leader of is Twilight's mother, but he is unaware) of Ordona & turning into a wolf in game turns him into the first "werewolf" in Hyrule history?

Hell, maybe he had a Sheikah ancestor, thus making him capable of Twilight Magic &, judging by the Yiga, this could allow one access to shapeshifting. Which, when mixed with him having the Soul of the Hero (which I headcanon is actually the soul of the Fierce Deity, who I also hc created the Sheikah & thus would naturally have access to Twilight Magic himself, which is a mix of Light & Shadow Magic, & one of his sacred animals is the wolf), the Triforce of Courage reacted to the Twilight in Link's defense & used what was already present in his own biology to become something totally new.

I also subscribe to the theory that the Twili are actually a branch of Sheikah who called themselves "the Interlopers," turned against Hyrule, & when they were banished to the Twilight Realm, managed to adapt to it due to their Twilight Magic, specifically being more focused on the Shadow half here. The reason being that Twilight is very closely related to Shadow, being a mix of light & shadow, which allowed them to bridge the gap.

Unless those 2 Yiga (Fake Zelda Yiga & All-Seeing Cucco Yiga) were just masters of disguise. Or if it's specifically a case where the transformation is just an illusion, which could be possible. Though, considering the fact that the Sheikah are literally references to ninja, you could go full Henge no Jutsu from Naruto in which Shadow/Twilight Magic substitutes Chakra & allows them to actively transform their bodies physically.

I'm speculating all these things because I tend to come from a perspective of wanting there to be a biological basis for things. I mean, there has to be a reason he didn't just turn into a spirit like damn near everyone else. And it can't just be because he has the Soul of the Hero. In my mind, the Soul can't just do shit just because.

Yes, the Triforce of Courage, but it couldn't have just been the Triforce. If it was, then he'd be able to maintain his Hylian form in the Twilight like Zelda is able to before she gives the Triforce of Wisdom to Midna. (And it isn't just Zelda either. Ganon walks through that shit just fine & doesn't need to take on animal form.) Because isn't the whole point of the Triforce that no 1 side is greater than the others?

Like, yes, power, but just being powerful doesn't automatically mean you're gonna win, obviously. However, I can get behind the idea of the Triforce being the catalyst, but there must be something more going on beyond that.

Because why would Link's part of the Triforce react differently to the Twilight from the other 2 pieces unless there was something going on?

Anyway, once Midna takes the Twilight Crystal with her (which, I assume is what happened, otherwise it's likely out there somewhere in BotW & TotK if it really is a fusion of all 3 timelines like we're told or that the Wild Series is just an inevitable event no matter the timeline), Twilight Link begins transforming into what we in the real world call a werewolf with Wolf Link's coloration on full moon nights. The reason being that I see the moon as being a very direct & natural source of Twilight Magic (due to its phases), specifically Lunar Magic, & the full moon being when it's most intense.

Or, perhaps just the moon being out at night at all would be enough? That could also work.

Just BTW, in this instance, I consider being a werewolf to be having something called an active werewolf gene. But, here, they're called Búralupáns.

Having a Lupán gene means that when transformed under the full moon, they have thick, bushy, healthy-looking fur (so long as they eat a certain amount of red meat per day), a short lupine muzzle, being tulip-eared with them situated at the top of their head, a long, bushy tail, strong musculature, taller than when human (including Hylian, Sheikah, or Gerudo, though there have yet to be any Gerudo). This form is referred to as their Lupos(ian) form. They are forced to fully transform under the full moon & transforming is uncomfortable at first, but not painful & the transforming becomes less so with experience. And the danger sense or "vibe check" that most animals seem to have.

Basically, it's Wednesday werewolves.

And, much like the Wednesday werewolves, Búralupáns can also take on lupine features at any time, but not fully transform unless it's the full moon. Things like elongated & noticeable canines, longer canid claws (meaning that they aren't actually sharp like a cat's & their danger comes in the strength put behind them), also lucidum tapetum. Not to mention the improved senses that they generally have at all times, though not nearly to the same extent as when transformed. Lupáns with cuspated ears (Hylian, Sheikah, Gerudo) also have almost full range of motion.

Búralupáns can also eventually learn to turn into actual wolves whenever. Not a lot of Lupáns are able to achieve it though & it's considered a point of pride if they do. It involves embracing both Twilight & Wild magic; embracing one's instincts while still retaining one's mind.

Also, Alfa Lupáns grow bigger than other Lupáns in all forms, but only once they become the Alfa. Thus becoming giant wolves. (Yes, this is a Stephenie Meyer's Twilight reference. It's one of the only things I still actively like about it.) My thoughts are that this is the most difficult form to acquire & is the strongest. It's basically like how in the animal kingdom, some species of animals grow bigger than others when they become alphas. Similar to how the Zora seem to.

And even when in their human form, Búralupáns always have slightly pronounced canines, enhanced physicality (including strength & speed), enhanced senses (hearing & smell specifically), & wolf-like instincts, tendencies, & mannerisms. As well as being taller, more hirsute, men having incredible sideburns, & having more potential for muscle definition on average than regular humans. These things becoming even more pronounced when transformed & the more wolf-like they appear, the stronger these qualities become. Not to mention having naturally higher physicality.

Of course, you can also have a dormant Lupán gene, which means you don't transform on your own at all, ever. And if you reproduce there is a chance that those cubs may also have a dormant gene. However, with the right catalyst (whether it's a spell or something else), your Lupán gene can be activated.

One other thing, people descended from Lupáns, whether their gene is active or not, are completely incapable of becoming vegetarians, let alone vegans, because wolves are carnivores, this plus being a subrace of human, makes them obligate omnivores, meaning they can live without plant matter. Not comfortably or healthily, but they can. However, they absolutely require meat in order to survive. Not just be healthy! Survive!

Moving on, I feel like a fic like this could be cool. Whether exploring Twilight Link's life after the game as he navigates this new feature of his or Wild Link being a descendant of Twilight Link & the complications of that as he goes through BotW & TotK.

It'd create a totally new subrace in Hyrule.

Only those directly descended from the Hero of Twilight have his Mark of the Wolf on their foreheads. You know, the pattern that Wolf Link has?

Anyway, I'd make their inspired cultures Gaelic, Celtic, Welsh, & slightly Nordic!

---

LoZ My Fanfic Masterlist

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[meatriarchived]

𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐘. / breakdown on her abilities. based heavily on personal interpretation.

content warning for written examples of self injury, p.sychological torture, not being in control of ones own body, of insect references, self-c.annibalism, g.ore & fatal injury. do refer to THIS POST in terms of interactions with her as she's request-only.

the vast majority of this is highly personally sewn together and integral to how i portray her. anyone i write with is free to reference ANY OF THIS to respond to anything i either send you from my nancy or in threads, plotting, etc! i am leaning into the fact that her canon ability is not normal in the slightest, you can call it a type of witchcraft or pact with a devil of some kind - who truly knows what it is or how she obtained it but herself.

mutuals are free to take any example from here (or similar) and run wild with it in responses with my portrayal of her! this is more or less to provide ya'll some context & guide in a sense on how she works with how i write her.

and of course, subject to being continuously updated. :)

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆. nancy's capabilities of tracking are unnatural - she does not often use traditional means in order to follow her targets from the shadows. her tracking ability allows her, for a period of time, to see through the eyes of her victims, visualizing a rough image in her minds' eye of where they are on the vast sawyer property. her hearing in this state is HIGHLY SENSITIVE - she can hear noises from quite a distance away if she's able to concentrate without interruption.

𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. with nancy's tracking, she can only properly use this ability either when she is nearby her victim, or when they are within the confines of the entire sawyer - hewitt territories. by that i quite literally mean: every single inch, every acre, every building, every tree line, every field on their combined properties she is capable of tracking on. this is accomplished with a consistent schedule of, over the span of a weekend every so often, she must go around the entirety of the properties and re-mark rune-like symbols to encompass their land, re-strengthen those boundaries. if she does not freshen them up, its like a scent marker: it fades away, and the weaker it becomes the weaker her tracking becomes, the more blurred the image in her mind's eye shows her.

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 & 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑. her tracking does take a toll on her when she uses it - the drawback and deterrent from her overdoing herself. her mind becomes foggy, vision twisting and spinning the world around her. she becomes temporarily disoriented and must allow herself a few moments to recollect herself. she will often try to find one of sissy's wildflower poison stations scattered all over the properties to help regain focus and clarity. unlike the familys' victims, nancy has developed a high tolerance to venom and poison in many forms, something she does in her spare time. a hobby if you will.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐒. relatively minor in respect to when nancy dabbles in a bit of possession, victims to her tracking - upon her taking over and then 'returning their eyes' so to speak' - will feel a sense of disorientation and confusion, dizziness and a brief moment of uncertainty of where they are. it passes fairly quickly however, they will know something isn't quite right with what they just experienced. its unsettling, unnerving, to have someone seemingly take control of one of your senses.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍.

𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. proximity to or visual on a victim is crucial for nancy to be able to possess. the closer she is, the stronger her hold is to the host. HOWEVER, nancy is capable of possession in alternate ways, should the victim not be nearby or in direct line of sight. mirrors, reflective surfaces like water can be utilized by her - so long as she has a clear view through it. mirrors are claimed to be gateways to the soul / the dead, and for nancy's unnatural abilities, she can use mirrors as a gateway in order to possess someone long-distance if necessary, so long as they are within view of a mirror. for example: how she manages to possess thomas all the way from hers and the sawyer properties to the hewitts? because he spends most of his time in the basement of the hewitt home - where he has a mirror on one of the support beams. so long as he is in view of that mirror from her end? she can possess him. the distance, however, does make it difficult to bounce back to her normal self when she stops, so its something she does carefully.

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 & 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑. possessing someone for nancy is a far more daunting task than simply tracking them. it uses up more physical energy than she cares for, especially in situations where she uses the possessed to inflict harm - be it on themselves or others. should the host be injured in any capacity as she is actively possessing them, she will suffer mirrored internal wounds - not nearly as bad as the hosts', but enough to make an impact on her own body. it is why she will prefer to use stronger, larger, tanking types of victims to latch her claws into. it will also take a while longer for her to grow re-accustomed to returning to her own body - refamiliarize herself within her own skin and organ. ( this is usually the best opportune time to kill her, if i'm being frank about it. ) otherwise, mid-possession, the only way to stop her from using another is to directly attack her own body - doing so, with enough force, will knock her back into her own.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐒. those who nancy takes on as host during her possession are otherwise completely at her dispense, it is incredibly difficult for the host themselves to break free of her grasp once she's garnered control. many physically strong and strong of mind have crumbled under her control. as for side effects they may encoutner, it is a feeling of disconnect from their bodies for a period when she's ripped out of them. they feel lost, unfamiliar - radio static throughout their bones, waves of pain from any sustained injury hitting them in one solid blow. air feels sharp, cold, harsh and unnatural filling and expelling itself from lungs. it is like stepping into a skin suit that is not yours, despite it very much being so. it is relearning how your own body moves, feels things, sees things.

𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. unfortunately, the only limitation to this is her proximity to you. at least, initially. the hell basement below nancy's house is one section of the large, intertwined tunnels system the family utilizes to travel across the expansive properties, where only she keeps access to - no other family is allowed in most of it. it is where her special victims are kept - until she bores of them, until there's nothing left of them. for nancy's psychological torment to really take hold, she must have unrestricted access to the victims over a prolonged period of time. to allow them to settle deep within their being, soak into every fiber. she, however, can passively cause hallucinations so long as the victim is within range / barriers of runes she has around the property, in the basement, fields, etc. THIS POST talks about it a little more - but, main example of a place set up specifically for this is the Dire Field of Hell behind the tall overgrown trees and brush right behind car battery exit on nancy's map. maria in her main verses especially knows what this is like firsthand. and it is what heavily haunts her in her wilted flower / shine again verses.

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 & 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑. there are none.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐒. when they are actively being possessed: victims are fully conscious of the actions their bodies are forced to make. they are capable to feeling every little movement, every injury they sustain, every taste sight and smell that attacks their senses. they are fully aware of what they are being forced to do and yet they, physically and mentally, cannot do a thing to stop it. so, if they are alone at the time of possession? it will be very difficult to make it stop unless you can get to her. self-inflicting injuries not limited to: clawing at their skin, ripping off flesh with their own teeth / self-c.annibalizing, gouging their eyesockets, cracking their skulls open on any hard surface or with any blunt tool, d.isembowling themselves, repeated stab wounds, and so on. for an idea of what could happen. you are in charge of your muse - you may go as wild as you wish with any affects on them caused by nancy. :)

all to be added upon as she develops :

𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋. ie. seeing insects, animals, unknown creatures stalking up to you, crawling across skin, burrowing through each layer until hidden beneath. it is looking up at her ( or others ) and seeing skin rot as smile grows unnaturally across her face, slipping off bone and muscle, slopping on the ground between you or worse, on you if she leans close enough. it is watching as your own skin begins to decay before your eyes, before panic hits, and you find yourself having torn yourself apart to try and make it stop. it is seeing shadowed figures and creatures swarming all around you, peeking at you from behind and under and over objects. it is seeing people whose faces you know so well - and yet, uncanny, not them at all, and often appearing to you in horrific fashion: with head in hands, d.ecapitated, or blood spilling from deepened gash in throat.

𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. ie. distorted voices beside ears, whispers of curses, of taunts, belittlement, coaxes for you to plunge blade into gut, or to set enraged eyes upon another poor soul trapped across the way - restrained, while you are not; unable to move, while you can. it is screams - your own - echoing in your mind, forcing revisits of the moments that made them rip from your lungs in the first place. it is hearing scurrying and movement when there is nothing around.

𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐄. ie. of organs twisting and moving, unnaturally bulging as if about to burst, snaking about in abdominal cavity as if about to eject from throat. it is of tiny legs crawling over and under skin, pushing and settling between openings of wounds, burrowing itself inside. it is feeling skin ablazed and blistering in spite of no flame, of pain so unbearable you simply must rid yourself of flesh it originates from. to be added at another time:

𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄.

[thorntopieces]

Information Masterpost for Constellation of Hope (LU)

Since CoH is kind of a big mess of a universe (a lot of it currently being stuck in my head and refusing to be written), I decided to write a masterpost for it for those especially interested. I'll try to keep it updated as I continue to write for this series.

Last updated: September 26th 2023

Character information

Time: he/him pronouns, doesn't understand gender but presents typically masculine. He's in love with Malon and she's in love with him and that's all that really matters to him

Warriors:: he/him, cismale (for now...?), aro, technically pansexual but he's got ... issues with women at the moment that he has to work through

Twilight: he/him, cismale (for now...?), panromantic, pansexual. Not currently dating (subject to change). Is overwhelmingly supportive of the rest of the chain and will always listen to their thoughts and struggles

Sky: he/him, transman, in love with Sun but can't be bothered to label it. Sunsexual? Literally switched gender, pronouns, name etc with Sun. Has some thoughts about possibly being bigender, but every once in a blue moon or so. Struggles with chronic altitude illness which presents itself as fatigue, nausea and general GI issues. Also cannot drink cow's milk.

Legend: they/he, lived his life until TFH as a transman. The cheerleader outfit made them reconsider everything and they wrote a very panicked letter to Ravio (transman, he/him) about it. Is now out as genderqueer. Has rheumatoid arthritis and sensory processing disorder.

Wild: they/he/she, genderfluid, in a qpr with Flora. They barely understand gender on the best of the days. Was allegedly a transman before the Calamity and has the top surgery scars to prove it, but doesn't really care now. Autistic and learning to unmask (a result of her pre-Calamity life). The scars bother them from time to time.

Hyrule: fae/faer, agender, aroace. Every now and then fae will borrow someone's gender presentation. In some of the stories, fae will still be referred to with he/him pronouns as fae has yet to figure faerself out. Autistic.

Four: plural they/them, when split apart Red and Green (cismen) uses he/him pronouns, Blue (transfem) uses she/her and Vio (agender) uses they/them. Shadow (nonbinary) is dating Vio and uses xe/xem pronouns. Four is also not intended to be a DIDOSDD+ system, despite potential similarities in presentation or language. Overview of the colours' appearances here

Wind: he/him, then she/her, transfem. Wind is in a relationship with Tetra, but exactly what it is, she hasn't figured it out yet. Originally hesitates to transition because she doesn't want to upset Warriors (they talk it out). Cannot drink cow's milk.

Timeline - links are all to AO3

Prequels/pre-story fics

Indecisive - a fic taking place after Four's third adventures (a mix between Four Swords Adventures and the Four Swords Manga). Vio misses Shadow and talks to Blue about it.

Main story? (there's not really a main story, but anything including and after Dark Hair Significance is here). Disclaimer: The order you see here might not reflect the order of the AO3 series.

Dark Hair Significance - Intro fic to my linked universe oneshot collection. Teen. Mostly Four- and Legend-centric. This is where the Chain meets up (at least partially).

Course and Wale - Wind's never seen anyone knit before. Ravio shows him, and they both learn something in the process.

A Brief Respite - It's a new moon on the first night in Legend's Hyrule, which means that Shadow will be around to hang out with them. It's just a pity that things don't always work out according to plan.

The Wind Guides - Wind has some thoughts about gender and it takes him- her -some time to figure it out.

Sweet Tooth - Hyrule is a bit silly about faer needs. Time helps. Also known as the hypoglycaemic!Hyrule fic

Comfort - Wild can't seem to fall asleep. Hyrule keeps them company.

[loregoddess]

I beat Bigtits Sexiroth in 4 turns, I've hit the "everyone is too strong for their final bosses" levels I guess...(con't Octo2 endgame thoughts)

nothing wild to note about Castti's final chapter, although I think it's really funny everyone in Timberain is like "oh yeah, the king and crown prince becoming the new king suck, but we like to party soooo..." makes all the politics of Solistia even more batshit

forgot how fucking creepy Gravell is. Love that place. Absolutely haunted though. I have not been able to get that staff I like so much, but it's only a matter of time...

anyhow I did notice a few things for Osvald's final chapter. One is, he has an interesting banter with Hikari about the first ruler of Ku (can't remember the dude's name, but it's in Osvald's final chapter banter w/ Hikari for reference), and Hikari talks about how this first ruler of Ku fought against a powerful enemy who sought to plunge the land into darkness or...something along those lines. Anyhow, I'm wondering if this person Ku Prime fought against was D'arqest bc Osvald stated that D'arqest conquered a lot, and D'arqest fighting against multiple groups of people other than the Kal would make a lot of sense for...various reasons.

Hikari makes it sound like Ku Prime only won against his adversary (possibly D'arqest) bc of the power of his friends and allies, but it also makes me wonder how D'arqest's bloodline ended up intermingled with Ku's...and if the whole "accursed" thing doesn't have a double meaning (i.e. D'arqest literally cursed the bloodline of Ku, and also Ku is cursed by the shadow). Anyhow, gonna add this to my *slamming the gates of SE shouting "HEY I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SOLITIA'S TIMELINE"* list.

Also I think I noticed an interesting uh, sphere of light? In the cutscene when Harvey first tries to blast Osvald, but before Osvald figures out the One True Magic? Which is possibly Elena's power that protected Osvald and herself from Harvey's very first blast of magic?

Also Harvey totally references the fact that he owes Oboro something. Not directly by name or anything, but like, the reference is there, so that was interesting (didn't see a wild Ori, but I'm not expecting to at this point).

Throne's final chapter was fun. First off I guess I forgot Claude claims Father is his son, but he does, so I guess he didn't have all his children raised by the Blacksnakes, even if they inevitably found their way to the organization. This just leaves the question about whether Marietta was recruited to the Blacksnakes bc Claude wanted her to bear his child, or if he pulled a Ptolemy.

That mess aside, I did notice something interesting in the Gondola Man's story, in that the prince and princess of enemy kingdoms settled in Lostseed bc the princess was pregnant with a child. I'm thinking that child was Claude, and that the princess must have been D'arqest's daughter, and that he was able to get Vide's blood into the unborn Claude before she dipped. It would fit, given the whole "D'arqest did a lot of conquering" thing meaning he could have been leading a kingdom of some sort of other. It would explain why Claude was more interested in dying than being Vide's vessel, since if he had been the prince from the get-go, then D'arqest probably would have just turned Claude into Vide's vessel as a kid.

Regardless, Throne's entire storyline is still very MGS.

I'm still thinking about the fact that Elena was needed for Harvey's experiment to craft the Book of Demons and summon the shadow for his magic. Like the idea of needing an abundant amount of light to cast the deepest and most powerful shadows, aside from being very KH, is just making me think a lot bc like. Vide is the source of the shadow, and so wildly unique compared to all the other gods, and very not present in the Orsterran cosmology. And I can't help but think that Vide is somehow directly connected to the Sacred Flame somehow, like they're a new god or pseudogod who showed up bc of something that went wrong with the Flame at some point (unlike Galdera, who is one of the original 13 gods, and has domain over life and death, like Galdera very much has a place in the cosmology in a way Vide doesn't). I'm a bit familiar with some of the lore from CotC about how the Flame can be corrupted and people trying to ascend to godhood and screwing up royally, but I'm not sure how much of that is solid canon or if it would even apply to Solistia. But I do get the feeling that light is somehow important to whatever is going on with Vide.

Oh, and for fun, I really did beat Claude in 4 turns, and without even using A Step Ahead. I took two turns to break him, spent one turn whaling on him with Ochette, Throne, and Hikari (and Castti but I guess as a warmaster she needs DMD bc even at only two boosts, her poison axe hit the 9999 limit). Claude then spent the beginning of the 4th turn doing the mid-battle dialogue, the cool second-part boss music with Throne's theme started up...and he died of poison after smacking Castti with a chain. I completely bypassed him summoning Pirro, Mother, Father, and the Throne and Marietta puppets. Absolutely batshit wild for me, I've never cleared a boss fight that quickly.

[cizzle-freezy]

I think I'm well and truly loving Tempys! She has such a pretty design. Could you perhaps tell me more about her character/role in your story and if she was particularly inspired from anywhere...

OOOH okay so

First of all, let's start with inspiration! A lot of it heavily stems from Zelda games! A bit of A Link Between Worlds, a bit of Twilight Princess, a bit of Breath of the Wild, and a sprinkling of Phantom Hourglass... But, mostly A Link Between Worlds! Purely because of the idea of Lorule, which me and my rp group (mostly consisted of @juan-o-clocks, @hikaririnku-blog, and their S/O) expanded further upon as some sort of Mirror Realm!

Reason why I mention the whole Mirror Realm thing, she's actually Skylyn's mirror counterpart, and they're more or less besties in a sisterly way due to their shared role involving the Dream Realm (Skylyn being a lesser dream goddess, and Tempys being a lesser nightmare goddess) (Also to mention Skylyn having the theme of wind and clouds while Tempys has a general storm theme)

I do also like making Genshin Impact jokes with her, but truth is, she's existed with her storm formchange gimmick since... February 2019, according to my file explorer.

Her role in the (current) story is mostly taking on a sisterly or mentor role to the rest of the group she's been traveling with, and her arc involves her complicated feelings with godhood, where she outright rejects the title of being one, but uses the perks to take care of those she cares about over the thousands of years she's been around... but sometimes her methods are rather.... self-destructive? She'd much rather push herself well beyond her limits for the sake of finding the answer to someone's problem, than to take time to rest and recover. But she also behaves similarly for the sake of knowledge, so...

.... I mean granted, she is also the accidental driving force behind the main story of this particular RP, in her eyes, one of the antagonists is literally her fault. She tried to, for lack of better terms, "foster" an angel who was abandoned, before it willingly fell. A lot of this fallen angel's behavior and abilities is influenced off of her.

Buuuut also she does live in the shadow of a technically-deceased sister that "died" before Tempys was even born--

However!! There is also some notable AU Counterparts that dissect her for the sake of exploration! (This has gotten extremely long so I'll put a keep reading buffer!)

I'll start with Chimera first because A) She has the more obvious Zelda references + Lowkey was also inspired by Professor Layton: Unwound/Lost Future??? Except I completely misunderstood the plot due to a tangled the animated series animatic??? And then the Nickname came from a type of enemy in Mother 3???

Okay hold on none of that makes sense I feel like--

Anyways B) she was initially created for a particular arc in the Main Plot in which the Main Cast ends up fighting bad future counterparts of themselves, versions of themselves that went on darker paths for one reason or another, and Tempys's leaned into her near-obsessive interest in magi-sciences, and fear of mortals turning against gods once more, mixed with a desire for her loved ones to live long enough to see whatever answer they were seeking for their problems (+ guilt over blaming herself for the loss of a girlfriend she had prior to Jira). Which led to her experimenting on herself.

Then we have Nightterror's universe (which I had nicknamed "Inverse" Universe). The complete opposite to Chimera. Giving up her passions. Embracing her role as not only a Nightmare Goddess, but then also taking Skylyn's role as a Dream Goddess when Skylyn was... "incapacitated." Perhaps permanently.

Nightterror's goal was to trap everyone in an everlasting dream so that way everyone can be happy! No one has to die! The cycle could be halted!

Except if everyone could get what they wanted, then obviously that could cause a lot of problems. And when people start recognizing that they're in a dream... Well, she certainly tries to put a stop to those trying to stop it, even if it means bringing harm to her loved ones. Not hurt or kill them, of course, but... if she has to put them in a deeper slumber, just as she did to Gelum and Ignis, her dear sisters... but oh well! They're safe, they're protected this way! Nothing can go wrong!

She's probably the one who is the reason why Tempys has such a huge playlist compared to other OCs of mine. It's just so easy to imagine her singing these songs in some sort of musical format, and roping others in to join her (whether they want to, or not)

And then we have Supercell who is VERY underdeveloped since she's newer in concept, but she inherits what the other two don't: The storm formchanges.

She mulled over the possibilities and gave up everything except for the Storm aspect. No more passions, no more connections... and it make her a cold, uncaring, force of nature. She probably couldn't recognize her loved ones even if she tried.

[that-ari-blogger]

The Owl House And Introducing Character

So, everyone has a story that is special to them. For a lot of people, it is Avatar: The Last Air Bender, or the Harry Potter books. For me, this story is The Owl House. I have watched this series more times than I am willing to admit and I genuinely believe that the series holds up and is on par with, if not better than other stories that have gone down as classics. It’s definitely the best story about a wizarding school that I have ever read.

This series of posts will not be a review of the show, but an analysis of why I think it is so incredible.

SPOILERS AHEAD

“So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome.”

A Lying Witch and a Warden is the first episode of The Owl House, and it comes out swinging, thematically. The quote above is a thesis statement for the entire show. What makes you unique is what makes you special, and it’s rather telling that she’s telling this to prisoners in “The Conformatorium”, a place where people are sent to stamp out their weirdness.

I find it interesting that, at this point, nobody’s species or physical appearance is brought into question, the “weirdness” is the personality traits. This is a story about inner strength, not external appearance, so the character designers get to go wild. But there’s another thing about the character designs here that I love, in a story about being yourself, no two characters look the same (and even the twins are noticeably different from each other), in the boiling isles, you are free to be whoever you want, with the villain trying to impose conformity onto everyone else.

In any case, the point of analysis that I would like to highlight here is the three main character introductions and how well they set up the rest of the story, Luz, Eda, and King. I’m also going to mention Camilla, but that isn’t as dwelled upon, yet. (I will get there eventually)

Luz is introduced in a fantasy of her own making. She’s wacky and fun, and “Now eat this, Sucka!” is iconic, but she’s stuck in this world of make-believe because people in the real world don’t understand her. Or more accurately, aren’t willing to understand her. This entire episode is Luz’s introduction, but the self-indulgently nerdy opening sequence (the book report bit) is so quintessentially Luz.

It’s also notable that this sets up the fairly flat character arc that Luz has in season 1. I don’t mean flat as in uninteresting, I mean she starts off being quirky and the main point of the series is the message that you don’t have to change. She does grow as time goes on, but she stays herself.

Luz does have a character arc, but she doesn’t become someone different, she learns to embrace herself. This book report is such a fantastic introduction for Luz because it establishes the contrast between Luz and the tropes she is pushing through. The Owl House is tropey as all hell, Luz literally calls out half of the references in the story, and I don’t think it's worse for doing so. But Luz is distinctly separate from the tropes. She’s unique, and she’s going through her own path, but she needs to learn that she is doing that, and setting that up with a book report is awesome.

Eda is introduced as the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles and doesn’t really falter from there. What’s interesting is how she foils off Luz. Eda has embraced her weirdness but is exiled for it, or so we think. There is more under the surface, but we don’t really get more details on it, yet. I find it really interesting that the first thing Luz does to help Eda is fix a television. Changing it from a “box that reflects only sadness” to something that shines and gives off colour and noise. She brings something to life, and I think that’s what she does to everyone she meets.

Finally, there is King. King’s whole story is about his sense of self-worth and finding his purpose. As such, we are introduced to his shadow first, an inflated image that is terrifying and overbearing, and then it’s a little furball and a rubber ducky. He’s like Luz, with an expectation of how his life will turn out, only to find out later on that he will just turn out like himself and that’s okay.

There’s something fascinating that I haven’t touched on yet. These characters all have two introductions: an image, and a reality. Luz has the book report, we meet Eda and King’s shadows first. Even Warden Wrath has a mask and a true self. It’s a recurring theme that things aren’t what they seem at first glance. Each image meets a specific, very simple, trope, but then when we meet the characters, we find their complexities and weirdness. Then there’s Camilla. We only meet Camilla briefly, and she is an incredibly simple character. She’s the disapproving/misunderstanding parent figure. But, if everyone else has something deeper behind their first impression, I wonder what Camilla is like beyond what we see here.

Next

[theglitternet]

Justifications:

TO BE CLEAR: this is mostly based on their performance in the Life Series, not necessarily on their behaviour on other series or their personalities overall :)

It’s ok if you disagree btw! This is just what we were thinking.

(!ASSORTED SPOILERS BELOW!)

• Joel: suits the tenets of the Oath of Glory. Paladins are versatile (spellcasting) and very strong. Very much enters a blind rage when he fights. Viable multiclass because you can still use Divine Strikes when raging.

• Gem: great, strategic fighter. Feared combatant, deserves a notoriously strong class. Great addition to any team.

• Scott: strong fighter. Loyal to his team the end, to the point of refusing to betray his team to get a boogey kill in Last Life. Good at the social game, and paladins are charisma casters.

• Ren: literally assigns himself a bard in Wild Life, not that he needed to. Fond of roleplaying and dramatics. Very charismatic. Subclass abilities suit his role as the Red King in Third Life.

• Martyn: also fond of roleplaying and dramatics, but also storytelling. Literally The Lore Guy.

• Grian: roguish, judicious gameplay with a deceit sway. The Archfey Warlock class ties somewhat into the Watchers mythology, but also has a cheeky element (disappearing and reappearing) that his rogue subclass lacks.

• Cleo: rage-based fighting style, but not blind rage: more like incredible focus. Tough and hard to kill, especially with her multiclass. Druid subclass also has abilities that tie into her Secret Life superpower.

• Pearl: good fighter; a substantial threat even when she’s alone. Good at sneaking around and stealing. Ranger subclass references Tilly from Double Life.

• Tango: intelligence-based class based in creation; good at redstone. Other subclasses didn’t seem as appropriate even though he’s not necessarily known for robots; redstone focuses more on games than combat.

• Bdubs: artsy; in the universe of Fantasy High, a D&D setting, sorcerers are the art kids. Not particularly combat-focused. Charismatic. Clockwork Soul didn’t seem appropriate despite theme as the abilities sway towards order: Wild Magic reflects his chaotic personality.

• Etho: intelligence-based class based in creation; good at redstone. Penchant for a TNT cannon, which a kind of gun, we suppose.

• Impulse: good martial combatant, combined with intelligence-based spellcasting that suits his personality. Plays a spy in Third Life which is a rogue archetype.

• Jimmy: I said druid and my brother immediately went, “so he can turn into a canary!” Subclass abilities reflect his association with well known bases, two of which could be considered some form of grassland (Flower Valley, Ranch). Choosing Grassland also gives him two thematic spells: Invisibility (a reference to his Wild Life superpower) and Divination (a reference to the canary curse mythology). Very few environmental kills; those he has could be excused away as bad rolls.

• Lizzie: often plays a support role in the series, but not in a wholesome way. A trickster, and advocates for others to do the same. Shadow Alliance has a cultish lean (even though it’s not her creation, she is a member.)

• Scar: we went really hard into making him good with a bow. Rogue subclass does also have a deceptive element that means high charisma would not be inappropriate.

• BigB: spends a lot of time alone. In more recent series, often creates creepy theming to his bases and skins. Versatile.

• Skizz: by his own admission, charisma is his favoured skill, and he’s usually best at the social game. Basic class abilities, like Inspiration and Song of Rest, reflect his affirmations from Limited Life. Subclass abilities enhance the potency of his spoken word.

• Mumbo: took the most pains, and potentially the most controversial. Intelligence-based casting due to his Minecraft knowledge. Glass cannon: deals high damage (seriously, look it up), but very vulnerable himself. We considered his love of End Crystals to be magical.

(Sorry for formatting issues, I’m on mobile and typed my bullets instead of using the Tumblr feature. I can’t be bothered to rectify it lol)

Life Series DnD Classes

• Joel: Oath of Glory Paladin/Path of the Berserker Barbarian

•Gem: Battle Master Fighter

• Scott: Oath of Devotion Paladin

• Ren: College of Tragedy Bard

• Martyn: College of Lore Bard

• Grian: Mastermind Rogue/Archfey Warlock

• Cleo: Path of the Zealot Barbarian/Circle of Spores Druid

• Pearl: Thief Rogue/Beast Master Ranger

• Tango: Battle Smith Artificer

• Bdubs: Wild Magic Sorcerer

• Etho: Artillerist Artificer

• Impulse: Arcane Trickster Rogue

• Jimmy: Circle of Land (Grassland) Druid

• Lizzie: Trickery Domain Cleric

• Scar: Assassin Rogue/Gloom Stalker Ranger

• BigB: Phantom Rogue

• Skizz: College of Eloquence Bard

• Mumbo: Evocation Wizard

Thoughts? My brother and I spent ALL DAY on this and we’re really proud of it. Justifications will be in the reblogs!

[prof-peach]

:0 I've never seen the other Pokemon on your team, what are they like?

My perma-team is a vulpix, Valka, a 20+ year old heavy hitter, despite her small stature. She was my very first pokemon, through gritted teeth we bonded, and now I fondly refer to her as my shadow. I go no where without her. She puts everyone who resides on the island in their place with unnerving strength. like literally any comic she's somewhere in the background, if not underfoot. Not hard to find more art of her, she is quite menacing.

Then we have Booker, Teddiursa, silly old grumpy bear. He had a hard time with poachers when he was real young, and imprinted on me during my ranger days many years ago now. He doesn't want to evolve, wears an everstone bead on his tail. He's partially blind on one side but we hiked to a colony of Machop and trained with them in the mountains for months to help him regain balance and confidence! He seems grouchy but is actually sweet.

Then we got Minerva, a shiny lopunny i nabbed at an airport when i was quite young, from a bad breeder. she was a scabby weedy flea infested runt when we first met, hardly the pink colour you'd usually expect from her type. She is fierce and fearless, will jump head first into anything with confidence and style. Loves to dress up, steals a lot of my nicer clothes. Will smash you into bits if you cross her, a total diva and i'd change nothing.

you've no doubt recently noticed the posts about Boadicea, a CharizardXGarchomp hybrid who's the baby of the group. Needy, clingy, total idiot, lap pokemon despite her ridiculous size. Very fast mount for flying.

For ground travel i use a dear Stantler called Donut, he's rather docile if you're not a problem to his "herd", with a neck so thick and strong you can hold onto his antlers and be lifted with ease. He's very chill.

We got a delivery Noctowl whos been around the block with me a few times too, lil guys really friendly, no real name for him, we all just call him 'Fancy pants' or 'dude'. hes got fancy eyebrows.

Of course not forgetting Quintin, a Scizor, my first egg hatch ever, been with me since i was a real youngster, a gentle soft sweet boy with a heart of gold, and collectively about 4 braincells. We all adore him.

then theres the house pokemon, each of these has blurb in the blog somewhere, they're all rather naughty... except Bob and Rosco. They're a delight.

uhhh lets see, this rat is always under my feet.

And then theres the pokemon who are out and about. the team mates who do jobs around the island, usually maintaining the peace.

Theres also 3 Bronzong that hang about the island,

Some notable partners from my various travels and adventures would iniclude

Dutch - Porygon-Z (helps around the lab, very loving, bit mad)

Typhlosion - Propane (odd markings, a spicy meatball)

Grimm - Steelix (real docile, very into scratches)

Riot - Lycanroc/midnight (Fiery, naughty, likes to thrash)

Suneater - Golisopod (shy, kind and very smart, loves to be alone)

Jewel - Ribombee (mean tempered! fussy)

Wotsit - Vikavolt (real clingy and super curious, to a fault)

Hemlock - Heracross - (a total babe, really protective and jolly)

Potato - -Bulbasaur (strict but fair, very old)

Murdoc - Crobat (timid in the light, proud of his speed)

Sugar - Tyranitar (Soft baby lady, total gentle giant)

Summer - Meganium (variant lady, gentle, calming aura, healer)

Tobi - Dreadnaw (rare water type for me, he's always sleeping)

Moss - Stonjourner (covered in moss, aptitude for grass attacks)

Zeplin - Aerodactyl (old battle maiden, now retired to the mountains)

Madam - Eldegoss - (will try to poison you, shiny, total nuisance)

I must admit, i often am one to release pokemon back to the wild, but the ones mentioned here are pokemon who have had the option to leave, and have chosen to stick around (apart from Madam who is a liability if left to go free), at least for now. We've been on many adventures together, and now work side by side managing the island. I have yet to draw them all but theres at least some visuals here for you. This also doesn't include pokemon who are residents at the lab and its facilities, who like our company but are not technically registered to myself or any of the staff. We breed all kinds of grass types, and they're all pretty friendly give or take, so if we have a certain job that needs more hands, we can call upon the residents who suit the work. Many of them have been through treatment or rehab with us, and we've built up a relationship with them, enough to work well together.