#i am just rambling- i know lots of lore i just can't for the life of me bare to watch the real thing

[blizzardfluffykpop]

one of these days i'm going to lose whatever sainity i have left and watch chucky... 😔 i used to wanna watch sole-y for tiffany/jennifer tilly- and now with the changmin influence i'm so curious 😔 like as if i don't have bad nightmares after watching most horror content- but like- god- i wanna write changmin as chucky and tiffany as the reader so bad it's not even funny- (ik he views good chucky as his son *which i have been happily able to see most of it until it got too scary* but bad chucky! changmin 🫠)

[michi-beans]

I realized I haven't really shared what the overall plot for the sirens!AU is sooo excuse my rambling below 🤣

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Basically it used to be more zosan centric. Zoro is a guy who travels a lot and has no permanent home. He finds himself lost along a coast and stumbles onto a village. A fishing village he soon discovers it to be. Zoro ends up staying longer then he tends to in places and learns all about this odd place. He's not surprised they have tales of man eating monsters that lurk in the waters or bewitching devil's of the sea that sing men to their doom. What intrigues him more is Sanji, the son of the innkeeper. His father, Zeff is a well respected man, trusted and known for his cooking. Sanji however is the talk of the town. People say Sanji, while charismatic and kind, is a very strange man, they're weary of him. They say he tends venture past the rocks that no local dares to pass, that's monster territory they say. Always caring a large bag. Zoro questions the sanity of these people because he doesn't understand what's so odd about this. Monsters don't exist, this guy probably just wants to get away from the crazy ppl of this town. Unfortunately, he's proven wrong when he follows Sanji one day. There among the rocks sitting on an old beaten dock, is Sanji talking to two men in the water. Upon further inspection these two are no ordinary people. One is eating some peace of meat as blood drips from his chin while the other lounges beside Sanji against the dock. Zoro notices fangs, claws, pointed ears and scaled tails splashing in the water. He unfortunately loses his supposed hiding spot and ends up slipping into the water. Gets dragged up to the surface by one of the creatures and comes face to face with the bright blue eyes that have plagued his mind ever since setting foot in this village.

And this was pretty much my first thought process for this AU. A bit more on Sanji and lulaw | Sanji met them as a teen, as it turns out there were man eating things in the waters. He learned this newly mated pair were called Law and Luffy who only tended to attack the humans that ventured too close to their territory. He came to like their company, far better then the ppl from the village. He was able to convince them not to attack the boats anymore if he brought them food. Few sailed here anymore anyway but he can't help but feel proud of his cooking when two otherworldly beings seem to enjoy it this much, especially the smaller on Luffy.

And yada yada shit happens, Sanji hits it off with Zoro, Zoro stays in the village and life goes on. The angst lore about the lulaw baby happens after the Zoro thing. When they notice Sanji spending less and less time with them they decide it's finally time to try for guppies and well you guys know the rest ✨.

A bit more lulaw trivia | Law got his arm scar when he got so tangled in fish nets he almost cut it off until Luffy saved him. This was when they were courting so even more doki doki moments between the young lovers and more fuel to fire against humans. Luffy's chest scar was from another siren that happened after they became mates and met Sanji. That's how Law officially trusted him fully because he helped save Luffy from his injury.

Aannnd that's all I have now so far. Hope it makes sense I typed this all up like at 2 am lmao.

[acatinabox]

Incoherent rambling about Antiva and organised crime

Hello, you read it a bunch of times in my disclaimers: I'm Italian. I love lore. Again, I'm not claiming Antiva as Italian, I am just analysing the lore through that lens because it's my culture. I fully recognise that Antiva is a mélange of Spanish and Italian culture, but I don't feel comfortable speaking on behalf of something that doesn't belong to me, so I only stick to what I know.

I've been hesitant to write this up because I find it really hard to express myself coherently. I have very ambiguous but also very visceral thoughts about the way Antivan lore shifted in Veilguard.

On the one hand, I think a refresh of the lore was needed. To me, the idea that one of the most popular fantasy renditions of my culture revolves around the concept that the entire nation is governed by organised crime is... unpleasant. There are so many more interesting things in Italian history, like trade guilds, maritime republics, etc. that like, did we really need that level of stereotypisation? I don't know, I think we could have done with something more tasteful or interesting.

As someone who people in real life have asked if my country was really governed by the mafia, seeing it in my fantasy game is just another reminder that that's how we're perceived abroad. Not a fan of it.

Despite this, I really enjoyed Eight Little Crows and The Wigmaker Job because of the focus on family politics, which is something that is very culturally relevant. At the same time, I was afraid it would lean more and more into the epic narrative of the mafia that has been promoted by American movies that couldn't be further from the reality of organised crime.

But I frankly don't even know what to make of what they did with Antivan lore in Veilguard.

As I said, I recognise that a revision of the lore was needed, and it's hinted at in previous installations. It doesn't come from nothing. Zevran has been cleaning up the Crows via murder for decades now. It must have had some effect. The new guard of Talons is also presented in a more idealistic and politic/trade oriented way in Eight Little Talons, but nothing of that or almost nothing makes it in the actual game. It's handwaved away.

And that doesn't sit right with me.

The previous rendition of Antivan lore was painfully stereotypical, but sadly, it was at least a merciless and raw mirror to look at. It didn't shy away from the fact that it sucked.

What we have in Veilguard is... much more painfully surface level. I don't really know what to make of it.

Nowhere it mentions reform, or a revolution. I think that's the direction they were going but there is no text about this, only subtext.

I can't really come to terms with how the topic was banalised and emptied out until it turned with something so shallow that is more an aesthetic than anything. Like as if we're cosplaying the mafia. And that is unacceptable.

Let me tell you in no unclear terms. The mafia sucks. It's not an aesthetic to be worn. It destroys my country from inside out and I have a stomach ache every time I see it glorified.

It exploits and kills innocents continuously and it poisons my country.

Some real life examples of what the mafia did:

Heading reads: strangled and thrown in the acid. It's about an 11 years old whose only "crime" was to be the child of someone who was in the mafia and testified against it to the authorities.

In 1992 the mafia blew up a highway to make sure they killed a magistrate who was fighting against it. Four people died and 23 were injured.

To this day the mafia is an accomplice of real world slavery and exploitation on top of the plague of drug and weapon trafficking and its businesses are not even a local issue anymore, but worldwide.

As you can imagine it really hurts in a visceral way to see something that still causes a lot of harm to real people being trivialised and made into an aesthetic.

And this is where my semi-coherent thoughts end.

I don't know where to go with this. I enjoyed parts of the crows arc and the more intimate family drama aspect. My rook is unapologetically a crow. I write Antivan lore tidbits because I find it fun.

I just wish we could have had that in a more sensitive or meaningful way. Something that was thematically satisfying.

[nameification]

Anaxa(goras) drip marketing !!! lets disect !

(click images for higher clarity !!) (the first is the original splash image, the second is the version with my notes on it, the third is the caption that came with the image, and the last is a moodboard i made before his drip marketing that mainly contains my observations, some of his references, and some minor theories)

no leaks will be discussed, and i'd prefer it if none will be mentioned :) i'll start by talking about some of my own observations and then adding some observations i like that i've seen online

to get this out of the way: yes he does share a similar pose to alhaitham's splash art. it may be intentional, it may be unintentional, but the similarity to alhaitham's pose is not important to me rn. i'll discuss his pose later

full breakdown under the read more (trust me it was necessary)

caption: imma just say i love how much of an Asshat he is. i know for a fact it's gonna annoy a Lot of people but ive played these games before. ive seen these archetypes before. im gonna love him either way

one of the seven sages, the founder of one of the schools actually, and which is oh so coincidentally called nousporist. named seemingly after nous, which is not only a concept the real life anaxagoras talked plenty about, but also the name of one of the aeons.

we've known abt anaxa's connections to the nousporist school for a while (see image above) but we still don't really know what they do, yknow? each school of the grove has their own Thing but we dont really know what the nousporist (and nodist ig but theyre not that important rn) specialty is. (Although in bringing up the nodist school i find it interesting that we don't really know about both the oldest and youngest school of thought in the grove). i personally theorize that nousporist study things like the foundation of the universe, since the concept of nous was used to explain how chaotic matter was "ordered" into the proper universe (vast oversimplification but my point stands)

his rules might be respect things. as in he will respect you on some metric if you respect his rules (or if you are "lower" than him/not that close to him you must respect them?). essentially boundaries that are worded in a way that makes people wanna punt him in the face. maybe he just isn't comfortable with people he does not know too well calling him any shortened form of his name. and no one likes being interrupted while they speak lets be real. "silence is golden, remember that." referring to the person he is speaking to, yes, but he himself must believe it applies to him as well to some extent

"Demised scholar"...mildly upsetting considering the Implications. could be a metaphorical demise in the way his ideas have him "dead" to some people but honestly im pretty sure it has to do with the time loop/simulation theory thats very popular with ampho theorizing. theres speculation that he may know abt the "truth of amphoreus" and maybe the title of demised scholar makes me believe that this is to be his fate in a way ? this one is pure speculation

even the caption is ridiculing him. damn. also. "In a world full of lies, I am the only truth" sounds pretentious as hell but there ought to be some merit of truth to it. will get back to this later when i talk about the stuff others have observed

ALSO the question marks after the divine authority are odd and kinda sus. even if it signified that a character didn't have their coreflame, mydei didn't have any in his drip marketing, so chances are it can't be that.

anaxa himself: there isn't much rn that I personally observed with anaxa other than the fact that red gemstones feature a lot in his design and seem to play some significance to him in general. visually this makes sense (red is a good contrasting color for the blue-green color scheme he has going on) but lore-wise it probably means something. my two cents is that the red gems are related to nous in some way but those are my very Wild ramblings. also the pattern on his arm (the one hidden by his glove) looks the same as the pattern on the background. i saw someone say that it's the chrysos heir pattern but im not sure. also the blue flame coming out from his eye is very odd. i still hold onto those odin connections. will revisit later

midground: the splash art features six of the little green sprite ghost things. they may be a reference to the sages of the other schools of the grove because yknow theres six other schools and the head of each school is called a sage so we've got the whole gang in one splash but the explanation could be entirely different from what i suggest

the roots covering the bookshelves...im gonna be honest i didn't think there were book books in amphoreus before this just cause i didn't remember seeing any. i think the roots covering the bookshelves is a small peak at what the grove might look like in evernight state?

the background: THE GLASS IS CRACKED. his shadow is reflected onto the glass and there is a very prominent crack at the face of his shadow, specifically his eye. combine that with the odd flame that comes out of his eye, and im thinking there is absolutely a connection between that and the reason why and how he lost his eye. glass, mirrors, reflective surfaces, those are typically associated with the remembrance, so there again the glass cracking I feel connects to simulation theory

The translation of the secret message on his splash art is "The seeds you've sown are already sprouting" maybe any plans hes laid are already being set into motion. thats the most obvious way to interpret this imo

okay: again about the pose. this then moves on to other people's observations. on reddit it was pointed out that his pose has similarities with the most common design for The Fool tarot card. Anaxa was described as "The Foolish" in the golden epic trailer and the Fool tarot card is about new beginnings and is the first stage in the fool's journey

on twitter it was pointed out how anaxa's name graphic resembles nous. personally i think his connections to nous in general are Incredibly suspect bc. yknow. everything. gonna have to wait for the trailer ig until then

and also in general (not related to the splash art atp just me rambling) anaxa already has some natural vs artificial/mechanical themes if we add nous and cerces into the equation. the two deities of knowledge seem to manifest it/obtain it through different means (cerces' nature theming vs nous' mechanical nature) and anaxa seems to partake in both of those methods (stretch, but in the golden epic trailer there are diagrams of i think a cone and a sphere behind anaxa and those could be interpreted as either mathematics or blueprints. also anaxa uses a gun. in any fantasy setting a gun is the least nature-y weapon one could have). i think in general there's something interesting about the two contrasting themes of intelligence but if i tried elaborating on them further rn i...no.)

this is it for the most part esp since this is just his splash art. i might do this again when the trailer and livestream drops in...a bit :p

[beauty-and-passion]

TMA - Chapters 111-120: Best boys save everything

You asked for one single post. Even though you know how much I like to ramble.

And this is probably why you're the best readers ever and I am extremely lucky to have you all 💖

It's time to end season 3 and oh boy, there is a lot to talk about. Stuff happens, theories are born and, of course, we should take some time to show our appreciation to Elias.

So let's not waste any more time and jump right into it.

<< Main Masterlist < Previous post  _______________________________

MAG 111 - Family Business

My man Gerard Keay truly died. I thought they were joking, with their "ahahah Gerard is dead, sure". And we had Gertrude reading a book over his body, so I thought she was making some weird magic to bring him back to life.

But nope, he’s still dead. He’s just bound to a book now :(

At least he’s still a rebel and a sarcastic badass. I love him so much <3

And unlike Leitner and Elias, Gerard gives us very juicy answers! I said he’s the best and this chapter confirms it: he’s the best.

*

Next step for the Unknowing

I suppose Jon’s next step will be to visit that storage unit near Hainault. I even remember that key Jon found in the past seasons! Glad to see it coming back, can't wait to find out what it will open.

*

A stronger connection?

That’s intriguing. Despite her flaws, at least Gertrude seemed to not really enjoy her Eye powers. Jon, on the other hand, despite trying to save the world and being a good person, seems to like the persuasion powers a lot more.

I fear this isn’t a good sign. And I’m scared for his life, again. This man literally can’t stop worrying me.

*

Lore about the Lukases!

Let’s resume:

There’s no Fairchild family, only Simon Fairchild, the old man who wakes up and chooses violence - and he’s associated with the Vast.

The Lukases worship the Lonely. So I suppose the fog is just another facet of it.

These entities don’t care about the family, and we have already seen that multiple times. They always talk about “psychological profiles” and “being suitable.” Elias himself told Melanie her family was just one of the reasons he chose her, and actively used her background to his advantage.

*

The tragedy of Mary Keay (and Leitner)

While Mary Keay was obsessed with the Leitners and being close to these entities, poor Gerard just wanted to live a normal life and do normal stuff, but nope, spend your time with the supernatural, son.

My boy deserves a huge hug.

Also, this explains why he hated Leitner so much: if my mother kept obsessing over this guy and forced me to care about him and his stupid books, I would grow resentful too.

And it’s very telling that, once Gerard met Leitner, he let him go. In his eyes, Leitner was probably like a mythological figure, someone larger than life. But in the end, he was just a little man.

I can understand it, because that’s what I felt too: I also thought he was some kind of huge evil mastermind, but in the end, he was only a man blinded by hubris… just like Mary Keay.

I love the tragedy of these characters, who are clever enough to know about these entities, but stupid enough to believe they can be very close and trap/use them without repercussions.

Mary Keay basically died because she tried to… bind the book with her skin? I think? It’s a bit vague, but I don’t blame Gerard: that’s unsettling enough as it is.

*

Not gods, but fears

See? See? This is why Gerard is the best character. I know Elias is funny ahah killer and lazy and everything. But Gerard. My man Gerard.

Gerard gives us answers - including everything about the entities, so I don’t need to search for any list! Thank you, Gerard, for doing the job for me. And thanks Mr. Sims, for understanding that your readers would’ve been quite confused by the time they reached season 3, so it was necessary to make everything clearer.

So we’re not dealing with gods who feed on fear, but on gods who ARE fears. They take the shape of the primordial fears we humans have. Maybe because these fears mirror their real aspect, maybe because they got inspired by humanity’s fears and decided to take that shape.

And also, not all of them inspire fear, but “ooze into the world” without purpose. They just hang out. Or someone calls them.

… is this what Elias does with Peter Lukas? Does he summon him, just to play pranks? That’s why he’s “wasting each other’s time”?

Elias being a prankster was not on my bingo card, but now I really want to see him interact with Peter Lukas.

*

Positive god-like Powers?: A theory

The Powers change with our fears. So they’re not always the same, but evolve too. Super cool, super terrifying and it makes them even more fascinating.

But also, this:

I believe this sentence could have two purposes:

it’s a way for Mr. Sims to make his world even more terrifying and pessimistic, because there is no positive godly power that can come and help our heroes.

it’s the biggest Chekhov's gun ever made.

Honestly? I would love it if it’s a Chekhov’s gun. Also considering there is another series right after TMA… well, maybe there are positive, god-like Powers. After all, why should only the negative ones exist? Maybe the positive ones haven't appeared yet.

Or there’s another possibility. And to explain it, I would like to quote this part too:

Maybe it’s just me reading too much into things, but this conversation seems to imply something very interesting: the Power is based/shaped around a fear. However, the servants and avatars seem to control how this power should be expressed.

Think about Michael: he’s part of The Spiral, he’s The Distortion, he used his power to get people in and lose themselves inside it. Pretty standard “evil Power” activities.

However, he also used his power to “save” Martin and Tim in season 2 and bring them back to the Institute, without harming them.

If I am right, that means every avatar can control and direct the power bestowed upon them in more harmless, positive ways and not just to harm.

Sure, I have no idea how thin the line is and how much of said power the avatar can control/use in ways that are both convenient for their patron and normal people. But if the avatars have a certain range of action, this could mean a lot of things:

Gertrude’s choice to “sacrifice” Michael to The Spiral proved how much she trusted him, because she knew that, in the long run, he would’ve directed the power in more positive ways.

Gertrude’s final, hidden plan behind stopping all rituals implied giving each Power a trusted avatar - a human she knew would’ve directed that power for good.

If Jon becomes the new avatar for The Eye, he can direct the power differently and stop the ritual.

And finally: if a human becomes an avatar, if they have a wide range of actions and if the Powers evolve because fears are not always the same… then nothing stops them from switching into the positive god-like figures now missing.

I know this is a theory I’m making without the full picture - heck, I’m pretending to see far into something that, if I am right, would probably happen around the end of The Magnus Protocol. And I don’t even know what that series is about! But hey, that’s the fun of making theories ;)

*

A list of fourteen

Gerard, by being the wonderful man he is, gives me the list I was hoping and asking for: the one that includes all the most important entities.

Let’s all thank Gerard for his service and let’s examine Smirke’s list of fourteen:

The Eye: fear of being watched, followed, exposed. Hunger for knowledge.

The Spiral: fear of madness, of lies.

The End: fear of death.

The Stranger: fear of the uncanny and unknown.

The Lonely: fear of being alone.

The Desolation (the Lightless Flame): fear of pain, loss, cruel destruction.

The Slaughter: fear of pure, unpredictable violence (watches over wars).

The Vast: vertigo, agoraphobia, the dread of deep water/the universe, losing yourself in too much space.

The Buried: fear of small spaces, crushing, being trapped.

The Dark: fear of the dark (duh).

The Corruption (the Filth): disgust, fear of everything rotten, decay / infection.

The Web: fear of spiders, being manipulated or puppeted.

The Flesh: animalistic fear of being eaten / of the slaughterhouse, body twisted up.

The Hunt: predecessor of The Flesh, fear of hunting, killing each other.

Well, that puts A LOT of stuff into perspective. And it proves some of my points were right too.

As we already knew, The Distortion is part of The Spiral and the Spiral already attempted a ritual.

The Death is associated with The End.

The Stranger is associated with all the weird stuff we already mentioned (like the clowny dolls).

The weird fog is part of The Lonely.

Michael Crew and Simon Fairchild are both associated with The Vast.

The Hive was just another facet of The Corruption.

The supernatural meat is The Flesh. Makes sense, but I liked how silly “the supernatural meat” sounded.

The idea that those Powers can have a predecessor is very cool.

Now that I know all of them and their names, it makes me want to re-read all statements and find out to which Power they’re connected. Maybe I’ll do it once I’ll finish the series.

*

The rituals

So:

Each Power has a ritual

It takes a ton of time to build up to a level of power when they can try it and if it fails it’s back to square one

The rituals shift the world enough for the Power to come through

A Power that comes through can bring others akin to it

Now the Powers take what they get/the weak ones, but if a ritual succeeds, they can get all the fear/people they want

The people who help them do it for power, obsession or because they can feed on it

The rituals happen quite close to each other, so we got the Great Twisting, next is the Unknowing, then there's the Watcher's Crown

Well guys, here it is the final boss of season 5. I thought it would’ve been the Unknowing but nope, now it’s pretty clear the big final boss will be this ritual. And considering we have nothing by now, I suppose Jon will have to read a shit ton of stuff, before understanding how to stop it - hence why two more seasons.

I hope stopping the ritual wouldn’t involve Jon putting himself in danger, but considering everyone wants him dead and he’s getting closer and closer to The Eye… I fear for his life. Again.

*

GERRY!!!

GERRY

GERRY

GERRY

Sorry Elias, you’re still my favorite bitch, but Gerry has my heart. He got me with his rebel spirit, now he revealed he’s also a cinnamon roll. I love Gerard and I hope the fandom loves him too, because he deserves all the love of the world.

_______________________________

MAG 112 - Thrill of the Chase

So the statement is about… mmmh, my bet would be on The Slaughter, considering that it starts from a random guy who tried to kill this group of friends and this act of unpredictable violence triggered something inside each of them, pushing all members of this club to hunt and kill each other.

Uhm, but it’s also connected with The Hunt, so it could be about it. But the Hunt also shifted into The Flesh… my first bet goes on The Slaughter.

Statement aside, it’s nice to get more updates regarding Daisy and Basira:

Daisy is now Elias’ killer but also Elias’ chauffeur, considering he called her to pick up Jon. Elias using everyone to work for him will never stop being funny.

Jon came back to say hi and went to the storage unit - after picking the key, I suppose.

Tim, Martin and Melanie disappeared. Considering Tim has been plotting something since he found out the Circus is involved, I fear he’s building… I don’t know, some kind of bomb to put in the theater and blow the whole place up.

Basira and Daisy have weird dreams! They’re involved with some Power, aren’t they? Can’t wait to find out which one.

_______________________________

MAG 113 - Breathing Room

Oh, my bad: Martin and Melanie were not with Tim at the old abandoned theatre to put explosives everywhere. They were with Jon, finding explosives everywhere.

And Martin is, apparently, all for touching the C4. Maybe holding a knife is “out of character” for Peter Lukas, but this guy has a clear bit of insanity, considering he can’t stop putting his hands on something dangerous.

The statement is… well, okay? Random guy serves The End, by entering other people’s dreams. And guess what, this statement in particular comes right after Daisy and Basira talked about dreams. Will we see dreams come back too and become a main topic - maybe in the upcoming season?

Now that I think about it: what’s exactly the difference between servants and avatars? The two terms are both used in the statement - once by Adelard Dekker to talk about Justin Gough and once by Jon, who refers to him as “an avatar of The End”. So… are the terms interchangeable? I thought it was more like:

Servants: minions/slaves who can only obey and access a limited amount of the Power’s… well, power.

Avatars: figures with a lot more power, who are like embodiments of the Power (or their facets) on Earth. Like Michael for The Spiral, Elias for The Eye, Michael Crew/Simon Fairchild for The Vast and so on.

Maybe this will be clarified later on, for now, I’ll keep considering them like this.

_______________________________

MAG 114 - Cracked Foundation 

Hill Top Road is back! And I feel it will be back even more in season 4! After all, it’s connected to The Lightless Flame and that weird wooden box at the foundation of the tree with the apple and the spiders - which means The Desolation and The Web will come back and I can’t wait to meet the spider lady again.

Jon himself said Hill Top Road is “a thread that’s been nagging at me for a while” and even expresses his desire to visit the place himself… so I feel we will see more of it in season 4.

Tim and Jon finally talk! And Tim clarifies why he’s so weird and disappears! I thought it was for revenge reasons and revenge reasons only, but it was deeper than that: Sasha’s situation left a mark on him and, as he says, he doesn’t know the others well enough. And if we add the tape recorders who are literally everywhere and sometimes turn on on their own, how can he trust anyone? How can he be sure some other weird supernatural entity won’t listen and hurt him?

Fantastic, I can already see Tim jumping head-in and trying to kill the dolls by himself, because "how can I trust you all?" This man is more dead every second he speaks.

HOLY SHIT WHAT?! The clowny dolls took the skin of George Icarus (I suppose we’ll soon find out who this guy is) and Gertrude’s?! When I heard her name, I was aghast. These little fuckers! Since one of the Archivists wasn’t available, why not take the other? Holy shit, the final battle will be incredible.

And I was right about the plan! Even though I was joking, by saying Tim was going to blow up everything! But I can’t blame Gertrude nor Jon: why attempt to stop the dolls one by one, when you can just blow up the entire place and call it a day? Best decision ever, I suggest doing the same for every ritual.

_______________________________

MAG 115 - Taking Stock

Statement of Mikaele Salesa? We’re really calling back all the people we left aside in the previous seasons, didn’t we? And considering Salesa said he could’ve talked about how he started the business, because “that’s a story I haven’t told you yet”, I feel that season 4 will be all about exploring the backstories of other recurring characters.

Especially because this guy worked with Leitner in the past! This explains how he knows so well these creepy artifacts and how confidently he says the Institute wants a story (“You want to know how I came by this rule? I know you do.”): he knows about The Eye, of course.

Per se, Salesa’s statement isn’t particularly useful: The Flesh is here, this time in the shape of a meat grinder and Salesa’s cook gets a bit too attached to it. Hence why Salesa, being the perfectly normal, sane guy he is, kills the cook and successfully sells the creepy meat grinder. Good job, I suppose.

I love Jon’s take on it: sure sure, creepy evil meat-god and everything, but hey, a good meal is still a good meal.

And you know what? I. Absolutely. Agree. If there were a creepy pastry/chocolate/pasta monster out there, I would still enjoy every meal with a goddamn smile on my face.

Helen! The Distortion is back! And its conversation with Jon is very, very interesting:

HELEN: I took a man, wandering the halls of an old tenement. He’s dead now, he never even came close to finding me. It was nourishing, but… ARCHIVIST: But… HELEN: I didn’t like it. (...) HELEN: I just want… I just want to feel better. (...) HELEN: I have never told you a lie, Archivist. I wouldn’t dare. I, I just thought you might understand. ARCHIVIST: Uh… How could I possibly… HELEN: We’re both changing, Archivist. I had hoped, that together –

The Distortion/The Spiral changed. And when it changed, it tried to do the same thing it did before (aka killing a guy) and it was nourishing… but it didn’t like it. The Spiral did what all other Powers do and relied on fear and death and it didn’t like it. It changed - Helen’s words, not mine.

This could imply my theory about the positive god-like Powers is correct. This could be a huge hint about a very far future, in which the Spiral might evolve into a positive god-like Power.

It’s already changing, by its own admission: nothing stops it from evolving, by adopting a more “positive” approach - especially if this new approach proves itself more beneficial for the Power.

And if this is a hint and everything is evolving according to my theory, then what Helen is saying has the potential to become huge. It could be the beginning of a new way, for the Powers, to deal with humanity - not by relying on fear, but on something else, something more positive. Like, for example, a Power made of lies and madness can evolve into protection/self-preservation.

But let’s put my theory on the side: maybe this isn’t the beginning of a possible positive evolution of the Powers. Still, this is very huge! One Power (the only neutral one, as far as we know) is approaching Jon, not to kill him but to ask for help.

That’s Jon’s chance: he can easily make an ally out of Helen. He can have someone who, for once, is on his side and doesn’t want to kill him. He can even make his own crew of Powers and fight his enemies. So, what does he do? 

He sends Helen away.

Oh, no. No no no. Jon has been clever until now, he had made some good choices. But this? This is the worst choice EVER. And I fear it will come back to bite him: I mean, he had the perfect chance to get a powerful ally and threw it away only because he was angry?!

Sorry, Jon: I always support you, but this time, you did something very stupid and I fear there will be consequences. Huge consequences.

_______________________________

MAG 116 - The Show Must Go On

Awww, look at Elias. He wants to warn the others about how the Unknowing might take place. He’s a bitch, but he can also be helpful, when he wants to.

Speaking of the statement, it’s funny because I remembered the name Wolfgang von Kempelen and I remembered the Mechanical Turk. So I checked and yep, I was right: it existed in real life! That’s cool, I don’t know if all the other things mentioned here and there are also taken from reality, but it was fun to see one here.

So, the Unknowing itself is very trippy and crazy-looking and I love this kind of stuff. But I also loved how, out of the blue, this soldier comes out with a fucking cannon and stops the ritual just by shooting at the Turk.

That means rituals can be stopped by any other avatar - or anyone else in general. And this avatar of The Slaughter seems interesting: why did he stop the ritual? Was he trying to stop all rituals, like Gertrude? Or did he just have something against The Stranger? No idea, but I would love to know more.

It’s also very funny how the Unknowing can be simply stop by using violence. It turns out the women of this series were right all along: wake up and choosing violence can really save the day.

Speaking of rituals and Gertrude, she also says that “Disrupting the others has been successful largely because I was able to do so before they had reached any form of culmination”, which means:

Gertrude stopped other rituals before the Spiral’s and I want to know which ones

Jon & gang should be fast, before the creepy clowns start making everything weird and trippy

I love how Elias keeps running the Archives as if it’s a normal place. Sure, you’re doing a trip to save the world and we’re all servants of a supernatural evil god but hey, claiming expenses is important, so if you take a coffee, keep your recipe.

Oh no, Martin is not coming and Melanie not coming either, oh nooo- yes, yes, I know it’s all part of the famous plan mentioned in the previous MAGs and I can’t wait to find out what it is.

Tim, my beloved Tim! He will come because of course he will, fuck Elias who is trying to keep him alive: my man has decided he wants to die, so he will die and no one can stop him.

And NOW he just told us how he will die. Well, at least he will be happy. That’s the only thing that matters: I am devastated by this, but it’s Tim’s decision and I can only accept it.

_______________________________

MAG 117 - Testament

Oh, what a promising - and scary title! Well, it really conveys the feeling we’re approaching an end.

*

Jon’s part:

I am proud of my boy for finally trusting everyone, except Elias. Fuck Elias, even if he’s a funny bitch. And great job, Jon, you’ve learned from your mistakes and I am happy for you.

George Icarus was Jurgen Leitner?! Holy shit, that was NOT something I expected. Welp, it looks like The Stranger has very powerful skins, this time. I am scared for the Unknowing.

*

Basira’s part:

How did you end up saving the world? No idea, girl, but I get you: I would ask myself the same, if I were you.

Is there a subtle crush for Daisy or am I reading too much into things? Sure, they’re just very close friends, but the way she talks about Daisy, how she’s a fixed point in her life… maybe it’s just an impression.

*

Melanie’s part:

As every other woman, Melanie decided to wake up and choose violence. Or go to bed and choose violence. Same thing.

She wants Elias DEAD. And I fear she will succeed, sooner or later. Maybe during this plan? Who knows?

*

Martin’s part:

“This feels like an ending, or something, like nothing can go back to normal after this”. Well, now I fear for him too. Jon won’t die - he cannot die. But Martin? What will happen to him? Last time, it was Sasha who got “eaten” by a Power…  will something similar happen to Martin too?

Oh great. Martin is going to come in contact with The Web / become a servant of it. He’s calling it all day, every day, 24/7. I wouldn’t be surprised if the spider lady pays him a visit.

“I need them to be safe. I need him to be ok.” Martin is still down bad for Jon, good to see some things never change. I ship them SO MUCH.

“Also, I get to burn some stuff so that’s cool.” See? I said Martin is a bit fucked up and I was right: he’s a pyromaniac too. And I stan him, because I also like to set stuff on fire. Sure, I do it in my fireplace not on the job, but same thing.

*

Daisy’s part:

Very long, very explicative, maybe a bit too wordy. I would’ve cut out some parts, just to keep is short and simple.

*

Tim’s part:

Tim isn’t making his statement for himself or Jon: he’s making it for The Eye. He talks directly to the evil god and has no problem showing how much he hates it.

Tim has the biggest balls ever and I am so sad he’s going to die. He’s such a badass <3

Tim wants to reconfirm he’s going to die soon, but he won’t die in a corner: he will take inspiration from the women of this series, especially Gertrude, the woman who, more than any other, woke up and chose violence. Tim will also wake up but not choose just violence: he will go for ultra-violence.

AND THE SATISFACTION WHEN HE ENDS THE STATEMENT? You can literally hear the angry smile, the bitterness. He knows this is his last statement and he couldn’t be happier.

*

And then, the last part:

That’s so powerful - and fucked up at the same time. Jon didn’t burn Gerry’s page because he wanted to keep him around as his personal dictionary. He didn’t even mean to ask him anything. He didn’t do it, just because of the knowledge inside the page. Because getting rid of the knowledge was the real problem. And when he did, he felt physical pain.

And that, of course, made me think:

Is this one of the flaws of being a servant of the Eye? You cannot destroy any kind of knowledge, because it would physically hurt you?

Martin talked about burning stuff. Is this what he’s going to do, to get rid of Elias? Burn things until the bitch is writhing in pain on the floor, pleading for Martin to stop? If that’s the case, I agree with the plan. Elias deserves to suffer a little.

_______________________________

MAG 118 - The Masquerade

HOLY SHIT I WAS RIGHT MARTIN’S PLAN WAS TO BURN STATEMENTS!

Unfortunately for him, the bastard didn’t fall on the floor, crying in pain. But at least Martin managed to deal with him in such a badass way that made me fall in love.

He’s right, why do people keep underestimating him? Don’t they know that the most feral guy is always the quiet, calm one?

Martin’s crush is so obvious, even Elias, the magic lazy bastard, knows about it.

And since Elias is magic, lazy and especially a bastard, he deals with Martin just like he did with Melanie: by hitting him in his weakest spot.

And… wow. Just wow. I should’ve imagined Martin’s background was fucked up: it’s usually the kindest, calmest, quietest people to have the most messed up situations.

In his case, it’s especially heavy: just imagine, loving and caring about your mother and got only hatred in return. Hatred, because you’re the spitting image of your abusive father.

Damn.

And you know what? This makes me appreciate Martin even more. Just think of how fucking strong this man is:

he dealt with his mother’s hatred for all of his life and yet, instead of being bitter and angry at everyone else, he decided to be a good, friendly person.

Despite knowing about his messed up family, he elaborated a plan that included Elias torturing him about said messed up family. He put himself on the line and dealt with a huge trauma, only to let everyone get on with the plan.

He endured Elias’ mental torture like a boss and managed to calm down and keep himself collected and focused.

Even though Melanie’s suggestion of killing Elias was very tempting, Martin kept his focus on the plan and didn’t let his emotions get the best of him.

Elias, you’re still my favourite bitch… but I hope you like company on top of my list, because Martin is becoming my favorite character. Sure, I love Jon and I’m proud of him like a mother. But Martin… Martin is incredible. He’s amazing, he’s a badass, he’s so strong and so kind - UUURGH.

In the meantime, the “let’s blow up the Unknowing” gang, is dealing with said Unknowing starting. And I am so SO afraid of what will happen - especially because the gang includes “trigger-happy” Daisy and “death-wish�� Tim.

However, if Tim dies, because Daisy misses and shoots him, I will die laughing.

_______________________________

MAG 119 - Stranger and Stranger

Holy shit, we listened to the Unknowing! And it was… well, less trippy than I imagined, but more on the “everyone is very confused” side.

Still, it’s weirdly coherent: The Stranger is a Power based on the unknown and the stranger (ah ah), so of course its effect would include making everyone feel confused/unable to understand and taking away all clarity and knowledge from people’s minds.

And of course Nikola used the day of her victory, to diss Jon through the voices and skins of Gertrude and Leitner. Pretty basic torment, I expected something like this and I’m okay with that.

I hope someone made a fanart of this scene, because I need to see it. I need to see a lot of fanarts, once I finish this series. If my blog will turn into a photo album, you’ve been warned.

Loved how Daisy went in full “wild rage mode” and started to tear throats and kill everyone, while laughing hysterically. I already knew she was insane and radiating killing energy, so it was coherent with her character to contrast the Unknowing with blind fury.

And yes, "the hunter" is a pretty cool name.

Also, it took me a while to understand who the fuck Sarah was and then I found it out: Sarah Baldwin from MAG 28! Well, now I understand why she was peeling her own skin off and putting it on: of course she was a creepy doll too.

And then, just like the hero he is and will always be, Tim rushes in ready to kill, recognizes his old enemy (Nikola being Grimaldi is obvious and I’m pissed with myself I didn’t realize it sooner) and decides to go out with a bang.

TIM IS OUR FOREVER HERO. I love him so much and I am so sad but he’s also so badass…!

And yet, I don’t feel like it’s a shame he died. On the contrary, this is probably the best possible way for him to die. He dies by closing his arc, getting his revenge, like the great character he has always been.

_______________________________

MAG 120 - Eye Contact

What. The. Fuck.

Two seasons in which he did absolutely nothing, now Elias is making statements too. This man decided to do everything now, from showing how badass he is, to being a huge bitch. With every new episode, I fall more in love with him.

Jon’s dreams are a huge trip and I love that. I noticed all the references to previous MAGs and a lot of things I didn’t recognize, but oh boy, that was super fun. I hope some good artist made an animatic out of it, because Jon’s entire dream sequence is incredible and I would love to see it.

"All through it the shadow is above him, the shape that gazes down upon him, bloodshot and unblinking.  (...)  His only fear is that even here at the centre of the world, barrelling towards a lightless, infinite tomb, still he will be watched. Still he will watch."

So Jon goes around and looks at stuff and moves through this dream flow, all with a huge, unblinking eye above him watching everything? That’s terrifying, I adore it <3

"And at last, the Archivist looks up. At last, he looks into the eye that sees all, and knows all, and clutches at the secret terrors of your heart. The Ceaseless Watcher of all that is, and all that was; the voracious, infinite hunger the tears at his soul, invoking him to discover, to observe, to experience all, and everything, and forever. It stares into him, and it stares out of him, and he is falling into the devouring eternity of its pupil. He wants to cry out in horror, but he cannot. He. Is. Whole."

I said it the previous two times, I’ll say it again: I love how humans describe their relationship with the Powers. Fine, in this case it’s not Jon talking about it - it’s Elias describing what Jon feels in his dream. Still, it conveys very well both the terrifying power of The Eye, it confirms how it works (it truly is a Power hungry for any kind of knowledge) and it reconfirms how the avatars love the connection with their patron. The Eye terrifies Jon, he would scream and yet, it also makes him feel whole.

Beautiful, amazing, brilliant.

And, honestly, I like The Eye. It’s a voracious hunger for knowledge taken to the extreme. It’s not even a full negative, nightmarish force: the hunger for knowledge defined humans since our birth: The Eye is just an “overwhelming” version of that.

It also works pretty well with my theory of the positive god-like powers: something like The Eye can easily evolve from a horrifying force, to something that thrives on human’s push for curiosity and knowledge.

Wait, since when did Elias become Jon’s mentor? This man, who did nothing except now, suddenly decides he’s a mentor and talks like a mentor.

I love Elias, he’s so goddamn funny.

Oh, so that was Martin’s plan! See, see when I say that my man Martin is a good, kind guy? He could’ve done anything, but he chose to put Elias in jail.

Martin is too good for this world, hence why he deserves everything and to survive all this shit <3

ELIAS: I must admit I’m impressed, Martin. I knew you were all planning something, of course, but I didn’t believe you specifically would have the, ah, capacity for boldness that you displayed. Took me quite by surprise.

FINALLY! Finally, someone acknowledges Martin is bold and clever and amazing! Martin has my full support: I firmly believe that, by the end of this series, everyone will finally acknowledge how cool he is.

When I read this part, I stood up. I am not kidding. I fucking stood up and applauded Elias.

I am fucking serious.

I stood up and applauded, because even Elias himself acknowledged he’s lazy.

I said it since season one, when I was theorizing everything and suspecting everyone. I said it since his very first appearance. I made it my own meme: ah ah Elias is lazy and does nothing.

Now, Elias himself admits he’s lazy. We came full circle, people. I cannot be happier. This season finale is the best season finale that ever season final-ed.

Elias is such a boss: he accepts to go to jail with the calm and composure of a perfect Englishman. All while saying goodbye to Martin, like a friend who goes on a holiday trip for a while and says goodbye to his besties.

How can I ever hate this man? He’s fucking hilarious in everything he does, I adore him.

But Martin is a spoilsport, so he sends Elias to jail. I am sad, but I know he will come back. He must come back. I want more of Elias being a total bitch.

PETER: Oh! No, nonono, no – not in any metaphysical sense, no. He’s still very much the – how did he insist on phrasing it? – ah, yes, the “beating heart” of the Institute. But practically speaking, he can hardly fulfill his more mundane managerial duties from a jail cell.

“His managerial duties”? Which ones? Sitting on his ass all day and constantly watching everyone with his Eye powers?

And so, Peter Lukas steps in.

Now, I know I must be wary of this guy. He’s a Lukas, he’s Elias’ best pal, he has ties with The Lonely. He’s dangerous, I have no doubts about that.

But he seems such a nice guy! He’s so cheerful and nice and cute! Urgh, why is he so cute? I want to hug him, but I fear to do anything, because I feel like he will let his patron eat me if I do something he doesn’t like.

PETER: Well, if you could send Melanie and Basira up to see me, I’d like to introduce myself. After that, I’ll put through a couple of weeks of paid leave for you all – I think giving everyone some space to try and deal with the loss of Tim and Daisy might do everyone some good. [MARTIN SIGHS] Oh, and if you want to talk to a counselor, the Institute will of course cover any cost.

Oh gosh, why is he so nice and caring? I would’ve fully trusted him two seasons ago, now I am in paranoid mode and I fear what he has in store.

Also: Tim is dead and oh wow what a surprise, we already knew that. But Daisy? Daisy is dead?! Seriously?! I thought she was just trapped in the coffin! Are you telling me she died? Like this?! Are we really sure she’s dead?

I won’t trust it, until everyone confirms it. And even then, I will probably still not believe it.

Perfect, now I fear him even more. This man is dangerous. Elias is dangerous too, but he’s a funny bitch and he makes his evil aura evident to everyone.

Peter Lukas, on the other hand, acts all kind and nice and friendly. And so, it seems like he’s harmless. But deep down, who knows how fucking terrifying this guy is?

Now that I think about it, he’s a bit like Martin, isn’t he?

Oh gosh, please, don’t tell me Martin dies in season 4. Please no. Sasha died, Tim died, Martin cannot be next. Even if the whole series seems to imply that. Even if I had an old theory about how every series would end with the death of one of the main 4 characters.

I don’t care, Martin won’t die, I refuse to accept it. Because if it happens, I will have to enter the story with the sole purpose of killing Peter Lukas.

_______________________________

In conclusion

Best. Finale. Ever.

Elias has been a wonderful treat for the entire season and he became even better in the last episode. Every time he appeared, he made me smile. Everything he did, he made me giggle. I love this man and I am sure we will have more of him. This series need an evil bitch and that role is his and his only.

The other characters have been wonderful as well: Tim went out in a blaze of glory, just like he deserves. Martin had an amazing glow-up and showed, once again, how incredible he can be. Melanie went from “confused af” to potential killer. And Basira and Daisy have something going on we still have to know.

And yes, I still refuse to believe Daisy died like this, almost off-screen.

Jon has been growing… in more ways and not all of them are good. He’s more aware of the Powers, of what they’re going to do, of the challenges that are waiting for him in the future. He has a job to do: he must stop all rituals and save the world.

However, he’s also pulled towards The Eye. The more he learns about these entities and their secrets, the more he develops his supernatural powers, the more he interlaces with his evil patron.

Which of the two forces will win him over? The one who wants to save humanity or the one who wants to feel complete with The Eye? Will the first one be strong enough to help him stop all rituals (Eye’s included) or will Jon succumb to his physical need to be one with the evil god?

Once again, I fear for his life. And I fear for Martin’s life too, because they’re the only two left of the “main four”: Sasha died in season one, her replacement died in season two, Tim died in season three.

I refuse to believe Martin dies in season four and Jon in season five… even though the series seems to imply this. I refuse to believe it. They cannot die. They’re the protagonists, come on! And there’s a ton of things to do!

In conclusion, we learned stuff, but there are still many mysteries left, many more things to learn and a lot of statements to read. And there is a new shift in management, which both terrifies me and hypes me up!

Peter Lukas is right about one thing: they will surely do great things. And I can’t wait to see them.

-> Next post

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

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[normalenjoyer-png]

loose part 2 to this

just going to ramble under the cut cause as much as i'd like to lore dump via comic i simply am not a comic artist loll

OKAY SO. undyne wants to ask for sans's help tearing down the core and rebuilding it (aka: sans's original plan). if it works, sans gets his eye back and the core is working again and everyone's happy. if it doesn't work, well. it's not like sans can't just destroy it again. or destroy his eye, or threaten to destroy his eye to distract undyne and then destroy the core again. wink wonk.

undyne is genuine in wanting to try and fix things. she knows aliza is probably her best bet in getting sans to help, as she's actually managed to like. form some type of relationship with sans. admittedly it's largely through papyrus who would be happy to try and convince sans as well, but they both know that actually convincing sans is highly unlikely. and they're not willing to push it due to sans' instability.

ultimately i'm gonna say i don't see any convincing actually happening. sans is far too distrustful of undyne to actually be in her space, and wouldn't just give plans to aliza to deliver cause then he wouldn't be there to destroy the core if the plan didn't work but the core was still reassembled and just used sans' eye as the power source. also i just don't trust myself to expand on horrortale canon cause i think it would get out of hand+lose what horrortale's all about lol.

however if it did work out!! i think undyne and sans' relationship would be so cool to explore. undyne would be genuine in her wanting to repair it, but she's still harsh and cruel and sans is still paranoid and aggressive. i think if they were working on it together they could probably get some semblance of a good relationship back. i think that once sans had possession of his eye again tho, he would lose a lot of that paranoia and aggression because like. his life isn't literally in undyne's hands anymore yk. he wouldn't lose it completely given past events and like literal head trauma/brain damage. i think it's largely just part of his personality now. but it would be better. undyne would be too because the relief of actually succeeding as queen and being able to feed everyone would probably make her so much more fun to be around lol.

ANYWAY IM JUST THINKIN<33

additional notes

- i think sans's eye can still see when it wants to, that's how he knew aliza was with undyne. it's dormant most of the time just because it's useless to be on all the time, but he absolutely spies on undyne. when undyne finds out he stops (cause it's pointless to spy on things when you're not a spy anymore) but undyne still deliberately gets his attention to curse him out after a bad outing or something lmaooo

- "papyrus isn't home" sans's only form of emotional regulation isn't home and if we push it further he'll probably kill me lol

[meneliltare]

So I read this post earlier...

...and it led to a little bit of self-reflection. Not to be melodramatic or anything, but I think I may be what I will dub as a "repressed writer" for now.

So... not many people know that I write at all. I don't publish what I write, and I'm good at making excuses for it. Okay, yes, I do have actual reasons that keep me from it in my own mind, but apparently I might be wrong about some of them. So here they are:

- my writing feels very personal. My OC has been with me for over 20 years now. She IS me, to a small degree, she changed and grew with teenage me to adult me, and if I publish something about her, I publish a piece of my heart that means a lot to me. Vulnerability in a context where I'm not too sure I can handle it...

- I don't actually like reading about other people's OCs because I can't relate to them in 99% of the cases, so I assume others feel the same if they don't happen to be close friends of mine who have access to learning who exactly my OC is

- I'm a chaotic writer. My OC has a complex story, start to finish. Plenty of headcanon. I can't write cohesive things for the life of me, tho. I write random conversations, little snippets, one shots, some longer episodes about specific encounters I have on my mind, sometimes even just a page of the random thoughts another character has about OC or OC and her relationships, most often Thranduil. Nobody would be able to follow this shit without asking me what the hell it is about.

- I am a lore nerd who often doesn't follow lore when she writes. Does that annoy me when others do it? No, not at all. Am I still doing my own head in wondering if it would bother others? Well, yes.

So yeah. There you have them, my excuses.

Just so I didn't ramble for nothing at all..........here's one of those little snippets I wrote a while ago when I was trying to figure out a more active way of describing practiced magic in my stories, because my OC is half Maia and I didn't want to keep that vague anymore.

Thranduil Oropherion/Kahlan Laurefindiel

*** Like a firestorm ***

Her gaze snapped to him, locking onto his eyes with fierce determination. He read the silent question in her eyes, the split second that she gave him barely enough to grasp it. She was asking permission. He wouldn't deny her, not ever, not now – he saw the red blaze set sapphire pools alight in crimson, and that was the only warning he received as he gave her his consent.

He had expected her touch on his senses to feel somewhat similar to Galadriel's - the nudge on the edge of his consciousness, the gentle alert to her presence in his mind.

It was nothing like that.

As soon as he nodded, her power engulfed him, blazing through his mind in a roar of hot, searing flames. It was a merciless, burning invasion of pure heat, rushing through his entire being, soaring through every fibre of his body, scorching every hint of resistance in his very fëa, until she had taken control sweepingly, leaving him fully exposed to every flicker of the roaring wildfire of her essence.

His mind staggered for a moment, instinctively trying to push back on her, but the attempt fluttered uselessly against the blaze within him. He fell back a step behind her and the wizard, momentarily feeling vulnerable, and immediately, he felt her backing off, ever so slightly releasing the hold of the smoldering heat on his mind.

He breathed deeply.

Then, he opened his mind fully, willingly accepting her, and the rush of flames took hold of him again.

As he charged forward, he could feel her power interlacing with his every move, hot tendrils of blistering magic wrapping around his mind, his arm, the muscles of his thigh, his sword, EVERYTHING. It was an all-consuming sensation of raw strength, and he felt his own energy surge and reverberate with it, pulsing with its rhythm.

[sounds-of-some-day]

Sunrise On the Reaping Chapter One Thoughts

I've always wanted to do this for a book, chapter by chapter. But I struggle with having the patience to do something like this, because I can't put a book down once I start getting into it. But I am once again going to make an attempt. I'm on break this week, so I have time.

Let's see how this journey goes.

Caveat: I haven't read Catching Fire since before the movies came out actually, so I don't remember too much about what all is said about Haymitch's game, and I'm not fully up on all the lore. And I'm okay with that. I kinda like the idea of going into this mostly blind. This means that I may theorize about things that everyone else already knows/knows is wrong. That's okay. My predictions rarely turn out anyway, lol.

Obviously, spoilers through the listed chapter, as well as potentially some spoilers about the original trilogy and Ballad.

I'm very intrigued by Haymitch's voice in the narration. I don't think this is what I would have quite pegged for him, but in reflection, it's quite well done. He sounds so young. Not naive, but definitely young. Already jaded to a certain extent in the way that Gale was (and Katniss to a lesser extent), but also hopeful in the way that Peeta was, if that makes sense. Like there's a realism there, but there's still that underlying shimmer of hope. Contrast this with what he's like in the og trilogy and it's quite the stark difference.

It's impossible to not compare and contrast Haymitch to Katniss. They have a lot on common, obviously, which 1) they would have to, given that they both come from the Seam in District 12 and also 2) those commonalities are important, because we know that Haymitch sees at least a little of himself in Katniss (and I would think Peeta, to an extent as well).

So, Haymitch's father died in a fire in the mines, and he and his younger brother were raised by a single mother. Unlike Katniss, Haymitch's mother doesn't fall apart when she loses her husband, and so Haymitch has a little less responsibility resting on his shoulders as he grows up than Katniss does, though he does still work (doing something illegal, like Katniss) to help provide for his family.

Haymitch is slightly older than Katniss (was Katniss 15?) at 16 years old, in some ways feeling older but also younger than Katniss. Younger because he hasn't had the same level of responsibility yet, but older, or, I'm not really sure how to put this, older in the sense that his life seems more on track. Whereas Katniss seems to be in pure survival mode from the beginning, it's that underlying hope that sets Haymitch apart. He's got a girl that he's in love with, and you can almost feel the way he's shifting towards adulthood in a way that Katniss wasn't. Again, I'm rambling, probably not making much sense, but Haymitch is in the process of settling into a life for himself, with a job (with a potential future) and a girlfriend.

Lenore Dove. I love her. Won me over pretty much immediately. I really hope we get to see more of her. A member of the Covey, she of the Baird family. I won't lie, what with her mother being dead and the vagueness about her father, I had a thought for half a second that she was actually Lucy Grey's daughter, which, there would be a certain sense of dramatic irony if she was Snow's daughter, given what we know is going to happen to Haymitch after the games, but then I did the rather obvious math (lol) and clearly this is not the case, which is good. Dramatic irony aside, that level of plot twist is, I think, beneath a series such as this. But she is related in some way to Lucy Grey, which is purposefully done for some reason or another.

Speaking of Lucy Grey! At the reaping, there is no mention of listing out previous winners? Well, winner. It's possible this is just an oversight, but I'm hesitant to think that given that there's been a lot of discussion in the fandom about exactly how much is known about Lucy Grey and her victory in the tenth games. We know that the records of that game were scrubbed (? I think we know this? If I'm wrong, holler at me) but Katniss references there being two winners (only one -- Haymitch -- currently alive) in her year, so the fact that there was a winner from twelve before Haymitch is known.

Katniss' parents! Gah, I really like her dad. I actually really like the sort of easy camaraderie between Haymitch, Burdock. and Blair. Did we know that Haymitch was friends with Katniss' dad before? I didn't anyway, and it heaps another bit of tragedy onto Haymitch's story, having to mentor his best friend's daughter in the games.

There's clearly a lot of commentary in this first chapter about current events (and like, I'm not even trying to make this US-centric. What's happening in the US right now is not unique.) But the messaging is pretty clear, and what I find the most interesting (so far...) is the way the Capital touting it's strength is shown. Like, this was in Katniss' book too, so maybe I am just looking at this with the eyes of someone today instead of the eyes of someone whatever many years ago when I was reading the original trilogy, but it just hits different. Like there's something quite hollow about the way this messaging comes across.

Haymitch notices a capital friendly sticker in the apothecary window and gets a little judgmental, but then Katniss' mom (Asterid) explains that the peacekeepers made them put it there. That actually disappointed me slightly. I think it would have been maybe a little more interesting to see *some* pro-capital sentiment, or at least, Capital friendly sentiment -- even if it was only self-serving -- in the District, if only because every authoritarian government ever has always had it's supporters. And I think it would have given an extra layer of complexity to Asterid if that was her family background. I know we get some of that (a little) with the career districts to an extent, but keeping it as such starts to stray a little too close to Harry Potter good groups and bad groups, when it's often more complex than that, and this franchise has already shown that it's willing to paint in grey instead of just black and white, so I was just a little taken back by the near immediate retraction of Haymitch's perception.

The reaping!! Suzanne said "Oh, you thought! You thought you knew." Again, another way of twisting the knife in Haymitch's story. The overwhelming (even if guilt-ridden) relief followed by what hasn't happened yet, but is sure to come. A beautiful subversion of expectations -- I did not see this coming. I hope whoever directs the movie directs this with as much drama and drawn out anticipation as possible, just for those viewers who haven't already read the book.

Okay, there's my thoughts on chapter one. If anyone joins me in this journey, welcome. If not, I'll just shout my thoughts into the void. I just always thought bookclubs would be more interesting if people met and talked about it while they were reading it instead of after. Or maybe I just miss the days of weekly episodic tv.....

[snowave]

Happiest Birthday, Zayne. 🩵

Just wanted to greet the love of my life a happy birthday. Never been this such of a simp and invested on a character, but Zayne is different from all the characters that I've liked, and I literally am so happy to get to know him and the game this year.

These lines from his birthday event shows so much about Zayne as a person, and I just want to hug this man real tight, let him rest for a while, and let him be just "Zayne" instead of "Dr. Zayne" or "Mr. Zayne." If ever Zayne exists out there, somehow, somewhere, on whatever universe he is in, I hope he's celebrating his birthday with his loved ones, and is surrounded by people who genuinely loves him, and care for him.

And as much as he wants to bear the burden and the responsibility of his profession, I hope that he's letting himself enjoy life, that he's letting himself be vulnerable to people who would want to understand him and understands him, and let them take care of him. The role of being a caretaker/caregiver to others might be fulfilling, it makes us proud and happy to make us of ourselves to care and provide for others, but taking on the role of being cared for is something that is very foreign to the caretaker/caregiver, as it makes them feel like they're burdening other with their life.

I hope Zayne will let people care for him, especially the one he loves because it is what he deserves (and he deserves more than that, too).

It's our first year celebrating Zayne's birthday (Zayne girlies, and even other ML's girlies), and I can't wait to celebrate more birthdays with him (and with all the players) in the next few years (hopefully).

And I hope that every regret that Zayne felt turns into anticipation, love, and comfort that will make him happy for a long time.

Dearest, Zayne (レイ, 이서언, 黎深).

Happy Birthday. You may not be a real person, and you're probably just a bunch of pixels to other people, but I hope you know that a lot of people appreciates you, your character, your lore, and your story. I am sure that I am not the only one who feels deeply about your character and how it brought us comfort ever since your lore dropped in the game. Maybe it was my issues in life that made me feel deeply towards your character and how it brought me comfort, but trust me, you're someone or something that makes my day a little brighter, like the sun.

You may be just something that we see and interact with from the screen, but I'm pretty sure that everyone who loves you feels pretty much the same. I am no writer nor someone who knows how to use pretty words, but words really are not enough to express how comforting your character is.

If a universe has a Zayne existing on it, I hope that universe showers him with all the love and kindness that the man deserves. As he has a big heart which is a lot more fragile despite of its size. As the bigger the heart, the bigger the pain the bearer has to endure.

And to everyone who reached this post, and read this rambles of mine,

May we all look forward to slowly fill up our own respective albums with the ones we love and cherish. And that the past fewlings of regrets may be turned into feelings of anticipation.

Happy Birthday again, Zayne. 🩵

[justanotherblogger]

Random Rambles And Theories About Alastor Go!

Ok, so right now I am on a high with all the recent Alastor lore we've been blessed with in Hazbin Hotel, and this little murderer has been occupying my mind 24/7. I really need to get all my theories and rambles out that I don't see a lot of people talking about.

(BTW, before my ramble, I have seen many places say he was mixed race as a human, but if I am wrong, please let me know, because this delves deep into that with his human life.)

(Also be warned for a bit of gore/violence and that this thing is kind of long)

Now let's begin!

I'll start with the most talked about theory with Alastor: his connections with Lilith and why he reacted the way he did with Lucifer

The show has given us what many people think are hints to this with both of them gone for 7 years, the slight eye twitch in the pilot when he looked at liliths portrait, Alastor showing up right after Charlie finished voicmailing her mom also in the pilot, how he knew about Charlie's Daddy Issues before she seemed to have told anyone, the leash comment from Husker, and how Alastor reacted to Lucifer.

Now, all of these could be chalked up to Alastor having some sort of nice relations to Lilith, but some of these are a bit too far stretched to just be because he has interacted nicely with Lilith in my eyes.

I have seen many people talk about how Alastor must have gotten a bad impression of Lucifer because either him and Lilith are besties and talk crap about him after the split, or he listened to her complaints about him and got an impression off of that to dislike him this much right off the bat in episode 5.

But I don't think that's it. We see how badly Alastor reacted to the leash comment by Husker, which definitely isn't a good sign that he would even trust the words of whoever is holding that 'leash' against him. He seemed pushed over the edge, vulnerable enough to lash out, which is unlike himself. Whatever deal he made for his soul, was most likely under threat, a life or death choice.

This is why I think he despises (most likely) Lilith or whoever has that 'leash' on him. He lashes out, sensitive about the subject. After gaining so much power over the overlords, he suddenly gets toppled over again by someone of (most likely) higher status, being forced into an unwilling contract, now just another pawn that this demon(?) can use for their own desires, and he doesn't want to be that, he needs to make his own decisions. But he doesn't have any say in the matter.

So I think why he was mocking and teasing Lucifer so much was because of his connection with Lilith. Everyone knew how deeply in love they were (before they split) and how they are both the most powerful demons in hell. I think Alastor took a chance to use his pent up anger on Lucifer, trying to get him to hurt as much as he can because of what Lilith did, all the while Lucifer cant do anything too serious leat he upset Charlie. We know he is extremely petty, after all. (we can also see him (most likely) letting off some steam when devouring the loan sharks, with him getting unnecessarily big and just letting loose on a couple of low-tier goons)

I saw another person talk about how Alastor has no power over Lucifer/Lilith, no political power, and he can't beat them in games of wits either. But the one thing that he does have the upper hand on, is their daughter, and I completely agree with that.

Alastor has been there since the beginning, has helped Charlie out and talked with her more than her own Parents had in the last couple of years probably. He's seen how attached the parents are to Charlie, and decided to use that info in full force. Just look at the Lucifer/Alastor duet.

Now that we have my theories of the life and death contract with Lilith, let's go deep into what I think is Alastors character right now:

Alastor, a mixed child in the early 1900's most likely had it really rough. With being treated as less than from both sides for being to dark/light to the violence that he most likely had to endure during his childhood.

This could have been where his anger/obsessive resentment started to simmer up in sporadic bursts over the years and years of belittlement, abuse, and racism.

Like I said before, he was probably treated as less than human for his mixed skin, and Alastor most likely started to hate it. His skin, the people, everything seemed so wrong. Why should the people who beat him and his mother see them so vulnerable and weak. He decided he didn't like that anymore.

So the radio show started. I got this idea from when he said his face was only made for radio. Over the radio, no one ever knew what you looked like. Just your voice would be broadcasted, and no one would ever see who was really behind the microphone unless they stepped out. This seemed like a barrier to Alastor. Letting himself go with no worries about letting people see him vulnerable behind his broadcast. (Maybe that's why he hates TV and modern tech so much; people can see everything about you)

And when his radio show became a hit and people wanted pictures and news? What would protect him then? Simple: his unwavering smile. Reactions are what people want when they crush others. They want to see them wallow and beg cry from what they have done. But Alastor won't let anyone do that to him ever again.

He stands his guard, not letting any comments get to him, keeping charming smile and unwavering voice all throughout his career as a radio host. Keep the smile up, dont have your voice crack, never show weakness. If you stop, those that wait will sink their teeth in and never let go of you. That's what I think a part of his mentality is and is maybe a part of why his smile is stitched on in his demonic form.

Now onto why I think he's a serial killer/cannibal. Remember when I said he had lots of unchecked anger and obsessive resentment? All this now simmering even more while being pushed down by his persona?

This is when he'll break loose.

He usually goes for the ones with the least amount of defense: drunkards/ bar frequenters. I though of this when Mimzy said he used to always come to the bar she was performing at and how he could drink like a sailor.

He might've drank with people to let their guard down in addition to his non-threatening charm, and he probably built a tolerance to be at least a bit sober when the others are full out drunk so he can easily transport and kill them.

He probably enjoys killing/eating his victims because a) it shows how he has power now. How he isn't a helpless victim anymore and he's finally in control of his life or b) where he likes seeing privileged people beaten and bruised for once, the gratification of seeing someone taste their own medicine by his own hand, like revenge, even if that person hadn't been necessarily bad towards him.

His death ro me is the same that everyone else thinks, where he's burying some victims body and gets mistaken for a deer, then shot straight between the eyes. What I do think a bit differently is that he was chased by hunting dogs first, which alerted the hunter for him to get shot, which then led to his fear of dogs.

Then he was finally free to do anything. Hell had no limits, he didn't have to hide his carnage anymore. But now that smile he wore was engraved into his face, almost making it impossible to frown. But that didn't matter. Not right now. Alastor has so many emotions bubbling up that he just wanted blood to be on his hands.

And then he slaughtered the overlords and took their souls within weeks ( maybe months, idk how quick he killed them, but ima go with weeks), broadcasting it over the radio to show everyone what he's been up to.

Alastor had kept this routine for a couple of decades, occasionally getting a guest star on his broadcast by those who he seems fit.

But maybe he had become too cocky with this power high, as he had been attacked by holy weaponry right before the extermination he dealth with most of them, but a shot did make it into his shoulder, causing him to collapse in pain, unable to move. (a bit simple, but I imagine him getting badly hurt by angels/angelic weaponry to lethal levels and Lilith decides to save him)

He fought hard when the angels arrived, of course, but he could only go so far in being this injured. So when he was about to get stabbed in the chest by a holy spear, he was already tired and almost accepted his fate, before being pulled somewhere by Lilith herself.

This is where Lilith offers a beat and broken Alastor a one time deal: become her servant or she'll throw him back to the exterminators herself. And in a situation like this, there's usually only one option you can really take.

And so he was a ghost, leaving everything he had behind. His power, his respect, his freedom...

Now Alastor had become a pawn again. A tool useful for the right situations, and just a toy to be played with by Lilith. This is exactly what he didn't want from his human life. The humility, the disregard, treating him as some sort of street animal, no matter what he did.

And now she orders him to guard her daughters hotel, giving him back a piece of his power to protect the hotel.

Alastor had hated Charlie for how she misused her amazing power for something like redemption.

Alastor hated Lucifer, for having all that power, being the strongest demon in hell, yet taking it for granted while mocking him about his choices.

And Alastor hated Lilith, for trapping him again, and renewing his endless cycle of suffering.

So those are my thoughts about Alastor. I think you can tell he's my favorite. I just love his powers and lore.

[des-no9]

I'm going on Anon because i'm a bit shy about this but, I've seen a lot of Githyanki official art and fan made stuff and i was wondering if Githyanki can be fat? I supposed that since its a warrior race genetically engineered (twice!) to fight that they probably wouldn't have a high fat to body mass ratio However i *really* wanna make a fat githyanki oc Is there a way i can justify it in universe? Thank you!!!

Hey anon and thank you so much for messaging me about this. I'm so touched and happy to answer this!

I wanted to preface this first of all with:

you never need a reason to make, or have, a character fat. They just can be!! Because you want them to!! Fat isn't a bad word, just a descriptor. And I hope after this you can happily make a wonderful, gorgeous fat githyanki character who I can't wait to see!

-------

Okay. Now, moving on to lore and narratives and in universe reasons - it can absolutely be done.

As a detail orientated writer, I am a stickler for: consistency believability (doesn't have to be REAL or something 1:1 from our world just believable IN world etc)

NOTE: D&D has many different versions and inconsistences in lore, and my narrative consolidates in the BG3 5e verse, while taking parts from older versions I like and fitting them to make sense in my verse that I'm creating and expanding from BG3.

Much ramblings and answers under the cut :3 enjoy

TW: talk about bodies, fatphobia (kinda), genetic engineering

Okay so, we know at least in all verses that githyanki were genetically engineered twice (illithids first, then Vlaakith(s) with the change to eggs, and streamlining their race to become superior, powerful etc), and their race as has been documented and described by others in universe, and in source books, is tall, thin, long limbs, bony, and they seem in similar strucuture to illithids.

This makes a lot of sense in the way that the illithids were probably breeding them to become perfect hosts for their tadpoles and ceremorphosis, from what they see their bodies turn into. And we know that illithids have specific body types they seek out for their own perfection, whether we like it or not.

Vanquish is fat. It doesn't hinder her whatsoever. In-fact Voss is drawn to her a lot because of it and finds such beauty in her fatness and the softness of her skin. This does allude to fatness not being common in githyanki and something he likes about istik and her. And yeah, you can make it uncommon in githyanki! That's fine! But it still CAN happen in githyanki.

So for lore reasons to have a fat githyanki character I think there are many ways you could easily do it:

1: Independent githyanki. This githyanki could have, for example, been raised by non-githyanki, and therefore has not had a life subjected to their stringent training, diet, routine etc, and eventual life between Material and Astral which would and does effect things like their digestive system. Having their body adjusted from birth to a different environment could start to alter their body's stubborn pre-disposition to a low body fat %. Also, not constantly living in a kind of hypervigilance and violence the githyanki seem to live in may just let the body relax.

2: Different creches and planes Coming a little from the above idea - and from my genitals HC about variance in their bodies - I think that their can be and IS differences in their bodies depending on the creche they were born in, and also plane.

For example, being nearer to void magic, in a volatile climate, low gravity, colder climate etc. For a githyanki growing up in a colder climate, having more body fat would be better for them (if we take into account OUR biology, but they are aliens and their bodies probably work differently to ours. For instance they are SO strong even being so very thin dkfjdf etc). But honestly, it doesn't matter the reasoning. Some creches could just give variance in body type because they CAN and this is magic and magic does shit like this and for the past hundreds and thousands of years this is how the bodies of githyanki from Creche An'vak are, like the ears from those from Creche Ishk often split at the end.

They just are.

3: Genetic anomaly If you like the theory that their low body fat and frame is deeply bred and genetically engineered etc into them, this works. Because genetic anomalies happen all the time, so githyanki being born and retaining body fat and getting fat, much fatter than we see them as, could definitely just happen.

Depending on how cruel you view the githyanki as a whole, or that particular creche, or even if that githyanki wasn't raised in a creche etc (lots of possibilities), once the varsh sees that their body is developing different to how they 'should' be, then they may be discarded as a liability, or you can work many different and creative narrative ways into how and why they survive. (For example, once they see that their body doesn't hinder their ability to fight, then why dispose of them?)

I'm sure there are many, many other ways I'm not thinking about, but these are some of the main ways that I would probably write about and would come up in my narratives.

4: Wild Card! Githyanki/istik child. This also raises several other complciations and questions of how githyanki and other races could reproduce (that's for another huge post LOL) but, since in the future Vanquish and Orpheus have a kid (an heir, technically) it would be remiss of me to not mention this. And well, a mixed githyanki kid, too, could be fat!

Also, depending on the part of their timeline I'm writing in (for example, during their enslavement, directly after, now) the reasoning and frequency of fat githyanki can be different to me in the narrative.

I hope this helped a lot, anon. If you have any more questions or want to ask anything else, please, please let me know! This was a LOT of fun to write. Thank you! x

[not-kayvalencourt]

A recent post in the mumbo jumbo tag has me thinking abt my old dsmp x hermitcraft au from like. 2-3 years ago so here's some 4am rambles abt it!!! Reminder that it's c! not cc! yada yada you get it

Grian being Tommy is a given. Like they're an inch away from being the same person. It's so obvious. Grian is a generally very confident guy, though it's mostly a façade and he's pretty easily broken if you do/say the right things.

Mumbo fits pretty easily into Wilbur's role - not for any real reason, but I also fully believe Mumbo has the capability to go from definitely not a drug van to blowing up said drug van in the name of "captain goes down with his ship" because if he can't have it no one can

To continue with sbi I kind of struggled on who would be Techno, but then. Doc. Because who else??? I fully believe Doc would find some way to automate netherrite mining to make enough gear for an army (however small it may be.) Also the image of him kind of being brothers with Mumbo and Grian is so funny. Doc would 100% support Mumbo going on a villain arc and would also summon a wither while waxing poetic about heroes and villains and how everyone but him is kinda the bad guy because. That's kinda what he already does??

Scar. Scar is hard because I really like the image of him being Schlatt as a reference to s7, but I think he works better as Tubbo. Scar is underestimated imo, and I think Tubbo's whole arc meshes really well with Scar as a character. Also the tragedy in the "who am I without you?" "yourself." Really fits Grian and Scar??

I still haven't figured out Ranboo so. If anyone has any suggestions please lmk.

For Phil I think Xisuma really helps round out sbi. Again not for any real reason - out of everyone I've mentioned so far, I know the least about Xisuma - but I am feral for the very familial bond he and Mumbo seem to have and. Well.

I really like Cub as Quackity. It started when Scar was originally Schlatt as a reference to Convex, but I can totally see Cub in Quackity's casino arc. Otherwise I don't know a lot about him so if anyone has a better idea lmk!!

Pearl is Niki. Given the life series, I can totally see Pearl getting super attached to L'manburg, then feeling utterly betrayed by it and burning down the tree but she secretly never stopped caring about it. She's already lost her life for that country, and she's willing to die for it again, even if that country died alongside her in that control room. Unfortunately I still don't have anyone for Eret/Jack :(

Getting a little off topic, I think Ren would make a good Sam. I believe wholeheartedly that whatever lore Ren has going on that he would do a story where he literally is just Sam. Ren is another character I don't know too much about so again if there's any other suggestions. You get it.

I think that's everything I have so far tbh. I've been pacing in circles trying to figure out who would be Dream and I think figuring him out would help the whole rest of the au but. Yeah. Again suggestions are very much appreciated because this was originally a crack au when I first got into hermitcraft right after my dsmp hyperfixation lol

[tiredfoxtf]

top five favourite hermit aus? Either yours or someone elses

I HAVE to do mine, because I am not really overly familiar to other's. BUT!!! I ///have to/// mention the Hels To Pay AU by @/aquaquadrant and @/lunarcrown!!! It's so good, please. (((also not really hc aus, because I am more of a life series guy, I am not a fake ik ik)))

The Wicked Wild Hunt AU It's a new one, of course it's on the top of the list. sdfsdf Also it is on the top because I am making this au with my good mate @/thedeerus! There aren't A Lot of content that is seen for it... for now... *ominous organ* The name is actually composed out of three roles I gave to Pearl, Joel and Gem (The Wicked, The Wild and The Hunt) in the life series and they reminded my good friend about The Wild Hunt myths! And it initiated shared brain wormies and since then we've been slowly chiseling at it. >:)

Those Blue Skies Above AU I know, I know, but I can't let go of it just yet, I am currently rethinking a lot of aspects that should tie together better for it to actually function as a story and not just everything I like thrown together. sfsdf I really enjoy the lore I am slowly building for it! And it has probably some of the coolest ideas of mine thematically and concept-wise. I just need to polish it better, and work out all the Actual Story Parts That Are Beyond Vibes, and I will be so damn ready to draw more of it!1!! But the au is kinda fantasy during industrialisation and heavy inspired by Studio Ghibli! I guess specifically Howl's Moving Castle! And is centric to Grian, Mumbo and Scar. Although because I am obsessed like that I can't avoid making so many others very significant to the story. Like. Smalletho, Ranchers, PET, Cleo, Gem, hecking Martyn even. And I will probably complicate things even more! :D

Tested On Humans AU This is PURE self-indulgence. I can't begin to explain the reason why but from the very childhood I was soooo fascinated and in love with the concept of human experimentation for some reason??? I would often play pretend by myself (I had no friends, obviously) where I would lay down and imagine The Scientists TM picking me apart and other medical stuff my 10 year old brain couldn't understand. And yeah, the fascination didn't go anywhere so I get to torture blorbos with it! I don't want to have huuuge plans for it, because it's not the point. The point is to draw and imagine them having a mental breakdown from medical stuff and looking in the mirror. But it kinda just works itself out. Like I had the idea that the reason why Cleo was interested in specifically researching Scar's regeneration is because she knows she's terminally ill and is actively looks for a way to at least to prolong her life a few years. Or that Alpha and Beta subjects are divided on the principle of treatment. Aaaand I am rambling.

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions AU At this stage it's actually several aus that are sewn together, because they were too similar for my liking in nature, so I just took everything I liked the most from them and thrown them in the pot! And since you can't really tell from the name it's, yeah well, it's a superhero-ish au. Ik Ik everyone and their MOTHER made a superhero-adjacent au (especially because of ddvau, bless Maruu's heart) but I can't abstain when the thoughts!!! The au (at least in it's initial form) was originally made from a dream I had! Many peeps aren't really familiar with that, but I rarely have Normal dreams, it's either like anxiety/nightmare adjacent dreams or the most convoluted stuff with plot. In that dream, the french cartoon that shan't be named style, was a power system that basically meant that in the ring Grian (yeah straight up him) was some magical power that made him a superhero. But although he tries to be a hero, to do the right thing, he is more of the villain to everyone. This is how au got the name too!! Although not a lot of original points stayed, the name did.

Prying Eye of The Conversationalist AU Idkkkk how much of a fan of the au I am at the moment, it has a lot of stuff I REALLY like, but at the same time I am not sure how to made more coherent and horror-like, since it's. The Point. Heavily inspired by me being absolutely in love with Hermit Archives fic series by the way, which were inspired by The Magnus Archives, which I myself dropped at the beginning of season 4, because I didn't really had fun anymore. But my obsessed with classifications brain fell in love with the idea. Just to not use it in my au! sdfsdf The motifs are kinda there ig, if you squint, but it's like vague (as it can be after you familiarize yerself with TMA lol) and unimportant. Also kinda inspired by my old idea (not an au, original story that was also never meant to be) of Nothing Happened On June 15th where a group of people enter a small town on a roadtrip, which is anomaly in time and upon fixing it everyone who died get resurrected with no memory of it ever happening and as it should, because the more people know about it, the more likely it is to return and swallow everything.

Honourable mention: The Ancient Ruins AU, to which I am writing a fic, that is like an introduction and I am 7k words deep and I am so close to finishing it, I can see the finish line, but it's been literal months that I am writing it. 😭😭😭😭

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay have ramblings on Princess Bee but with the Sentikids plot. Because I /am/ keeping that somewhere in it.

Okay so. I do /in theory/ like the Sentikids plot and this is going to be part of a rewritten AU where that makes more sense. Things like Adrien /was/ rebellious but as Gabe got worse he tugged on the leash and Adrien was confused why it was so hard to go against his father and his friends were confused he wasn't sneaking out anymore and so on and so forth.

Anyway. Lore stuff first.

The Peacock does not make Sapient Beings by default. Trying to do so fucks things up and takes a part of the user's Life Energy and puts strain on the Miraculous itself.

The Tsurugis and Agrestes had some business deals, talked of their inability to make children, and looked into ways to fix that. They eventually found legend of an artifact that could create life. Tomoe hired Nathalie, a fantastic treasure hunter, to track it down. And she does, handing it over to the Tsurugis.

Kagami was made first, her father being the one to use the Peacock. It hurt him, a lot, but he did not realize the severity of his injuries before he handed it over to the Agrestes, where Emilie made Adrien.

Both Emilie and Mr. Tsurugi were succumbing to their injuries. They and their partners were frantic to find something to fix them. Gabriel tricked Colt into helping them, giving him the Peacock to make Felix without telling him of the pesky little side effects. In for a penny in for a pound, Colt was now using his resources to help fund this expedition.

Between the three of them one after the other, the strain on the Peacock shattered it. Now a danger to all who tried to use it.

While they managed to find ways to delay the inevitable, Mr. Tsurugi quickly succumbed. Whether it was because he was the first or just because his body was resistant to their solution, it's unknown.

Colt and Emilie were able to prolong their deaths for another decade, but eventually succumbed. Difference there is that while Gabe preserved Emilie on the brink of Death, Amelie was fine with letting Colt die. (Also she might be a touch in the dark on all this. Felix knows more than she does because Colt would rant when abusing him).

Yadda yadda Gabe going Hawkmoth.

I am changing like. I want at least one of these parents to be decent damn it so I'm letting Tomoe stay as good-ish. Not fully absolved but she does love Kagami. She gave the child her own Amok, and though never talking much about her late husband she didn't blame the girl for his death. A lot of her working with Gabe was either 'if he revives Emilie he'll revive the other two as well' and 'Gabe has the Peacock and can therefore snap Kagami out of existence if Tomoe doesn't comply'.

Post-defeating Gabriel, the Sentikids do find some way to sever the connection to their Amoks. Merging the Magic into themselves and making it so they can no longer be ordered by the Amok or hurt when its damaged.

Though Mr. Tsurugi and Colt can't be brought back from the dead, Emilie is in her cryo-chamber and the gang does manage to find a way to fix her.

[veveisveryuncool]

TOP 5 FAVORITE KIRBY CHARACTERS

GO

AUGHAHGSBABDH....I LOVE ALL OF THEM SOSOSO MUCH <33 BUT HERE'S SOME OF THE ONES I THINK ARE VERY COOL (plus my thought process when drawing them)

6. cmonn... its kirby. kirby from kirby. he's such a wonderful fellow and so awe inspiring and cute and manifestation of love and friendship. he's a bonus but how could you not love him.

5. pitch!!!!! i love him i love him i love him. og birb with g r e e n colors and squeaky little design. plus he's super fun to use in DL3 :] to me he is a 7 year old kid who wants to be included with the big kids, and tries to act all cool and tough to impress them (but he really just loves his mama). i like drawing him with giant ahoges/head feathers, as well as giving him that long side-beak that i'm pretty sure i got from pato from pocoyo??

4. susie is amazing and wonderful and has a beautifully complex character that more people need to recognize!!! she's a capitalist and constantly has a condescending sales representative demeanor, but at heart she's just a playful girl who loves pink and ice cream and her dad that never got to have a full childhood to experience them. ALSO cyborg susie! i like to think her father let her choose one body modification each year on her birthday, but after the portal incident, she's been giving herself so many alterations that she's barely organic anymore (her voice is very AI sounding to me). uhh i like drawing her with little stars on her cuffs, and as of late i've been making her hair very fluffy (it has the same texture of a barbie doll)

3. RIBBON AAAA!!!!!!!!! i'll admit as a kid i did not like her but god she is a joy. that is a little girl! look at her! i love the idea of her being just a weird little chihuahua girl who performs seances regularly and knows the entire history of weaponry. also her being the crystal knight/guardian of ripple star headcanon!!! 🗣️🗣️ she is 100% the queen's adopted sister prove me wrong. lastly, i try to draw her as heart-shaped as possible— wings, head, hair, bow, eye highlights all vaguely resemble a heart and that is my biggest rule when i draw her. her little coat thing is inspired by @//somethinginworl 's design <33

2. bandana dee is my heart and soul and we tolerate ZERO disrespect for him here. even in canon, he's got one of the most well-defined personalities and backstories for a non-villain character! (in my heart he is the waddle dee from 64 and you can pry this from me with my cold dead hands) he's grown sososo much and i love how hal recognizes his development :]]] he may never amount to the same power as kirby, but goddammit if he doesn't have a heart and will of a true warrior 💜 i don't have a lot of idiosyncratic design choices since he's such a simple character, but his bandana ears must always be HUGE you hear me.

1. um. if you can't tell. i am very normal about adeleine. her moves in SA are super fun to use (and challenging), and oh my goshhhh the angst potential here. i am begging hal to bring her back in future games, especially with the more ancients-focused lore being incorporated recently. at heart though, i just really adore seeing her draw and paint amidst all these magical creatures in her life <3 she's slightly shy but super passionate, and is definitely kirby's big sister with her advice (especially in the storybooks!) and nicknames for him (kir-kun/kirbs in the manga). i caved long ago and gave her curtain bangs, and i really like dressing her up and experimenting with different outfits! *breathes heavily* the happy little artist kid makes me a very happy little artist kid 🫶

thanks for listening to my ramblings! in all honesty all of the kirby characters are my favorites and choosing just 5 is very hard and thought-inducing! :]

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

I remember there was a headcanon about Luis attending a school that had secret connections with Umbrella. Now I can't help but think if Leon and Luis have a kid, they would do extensive background checks on schools their kid would attend, because they'll want to make sure none of those schools were associated with Umbrella/have ties to corrupt companies/organizations.

Thank you so much for sending in an ask!!!!!!! But yesyesyesyesyes I know the headcannon you’re talking about!!!!!! From memory I think either @geddy-leesbian or @hamartia-grander made some pretty extensive posts going into this idea??? Either way its really fascinating to think about!!!!

For those of you who don’t know, the headcannon/theory basically revolves around the fact that Luis was able to graduate school seemingly pretty quickly/was considered a ‘child prodigy’, and that in-universe theres a few characters who attended schools created specifically by Umbrella to essentially indoctrinate them; one of the most notable being the Umbrella Executive Training School that William and Wesker attended.

Umbrella has a few random facilities like this (like the Rockford Prison) And considering the fact that Europe seemed to be a relatively big hub for Umbrella, it DEFINITELY wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that they’d have a similar school with the intent of training/indoctrinating ‘child prodigies’ to work for them in the future, and it’d be even less pf a stretch to assume that Luis, who came from a VERY sheltered religious background, would be a very easy subject to pick (cuz! yippee!! capitalist grooming am i right or am i right!!) It’d also absolutely lend a hand to why Luis grabbed as many items as he could and just BOOKED IT immediately after finding out what their plans for Nemesis REALLY were (I could talk about that part of his life/that realisation for HOURS oh my GOD)

EDIT I FORGOT TO ADD: Umbrella on some level does work quite like a cult. I’ll link a post that does a MUCH better job explaining it than I could in the replies of this post, but creating facilities for the sole purpose of indoctrinating already vulnerable young people into being on board with your project and isolating them from friends and family is like. Cult behaviour 101 BFNEHENDJDJ which is VERY painful to think about how Luis got roped into cults THREE times. Valdelobos before Saddler showed up wasn’t EXPLICITLY a cult, but considering it was isolated from modern society and heavily Catholic theres a strong argument to be made- then of course theres Umbrella- then of course he was blackmailed into working with Los Illuminados. I’ll make a post going deeper into that SOMEDAY, but like,,,, just the tragedy of his life being one big cycle he cant break is just. So devastating man are you KIDDING ME

I’m not like. SUUUUUPER knowledgeable on super obscure lore stuff like locations/facilities etc, so if you have a question about that specifically @highball66 would probably be a better person to ask!!!!

But again we know like. NOTHING about the inbetween time between Luis running away from Valdelobos as a child and him popping up as one of Umbrella’s top scientists other than the fact that he was a child prodigy and he excelled in college- hell even the dates/ages get kinda wonky at times BHFNEHENEUDNSIS but also this is Resident Evil where things get wonky a lot of the time so!!! Eh!!!!!!!

I have my own personal theory on what he did during that time inbetween I would be SO MORE THAN HAPPY to ramble about HDNEHENDJDN

BUT TO THE POINT OF YOUR QUESTION!!! YES!!!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!! Plus just in general with Leon having a lot more enemies than friends, doing background checks on teachers or whatever would probably seem like paranoia to an outsider but to them?????? Nah you can NEVER be safe. Plus Leon’s like, a government agent- he obviously doesn’t have a TON of autonomy but I can imagine he at least has SOME power to dig up information on people. AND, the both of them literally went through hell and back to save Ashley, who was kidnapped right under the presidents nose- So like!! Hell yeah they’d be paranoid abt where their kids going man!!!!!!!! Rightfully so I think!!!