#i was looking for more examples of manifestations of the Dark but like. even though we got a whole dark sun arc theres NOTHING HERE

[danidoesathing]

for the latest fic asks: 11, 47, 58

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

For Self Fufilling Prophecy i had to do a ton of research into flower symbolism. each section of the palace had it's own unique flower to go along with the cognition, and i was pretty picky on which ones because it reflected not only the character but their relationship with Akira ie Tulips (depending on the color) means love (romantic or platonic), affection and innocence which fit Ann and her relationship with him far more than the obvious choice of roses, even if those are a part of her whole deal.

and the answer the second part of the question. as you can see. a lot.

47. what story are you most proud of?

ive said it once and ill say it again; It's Long Way Back From the Edge of the Cosmos is my best fic. idk what happened with that one but it just came out great. i wrote that thing in a WEEK and yet like. still my best work. i love it

58. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it?

"tma the dark". dont worry about it <3

[threebooksoneplot]

what draws you both to jalice/makes you so feral about them as a ship?

you should know we had an entire meeting in order to answer this ask. no this could NOT have been an email (unlike new moon) 🤭

Secretary G took notes. they are as follows (read the bolded parts for a tl;dr)

we kind of see it as though jalice got the traits that edbella weren’t allowed to have, either due to their status as protagonists or because smeyer's mormon background causes her to view these qualities as too sinful/negative for her wholesome Waiting Until Marriage main couple. (examples: alice's materialistic, "shallow," hyperfeminine qualities, her character flaws (especially her manipulativeness), and jasper's aura and history of fucked up violence closer to what you'd find in traditional vampire stories/horror/adult gothics/books not written by a mormon author)

in terms of how much screentime the non-main-love-triangle canon couples get, their relationship is kiiiinda given the next-most weight to edbella’s (examples: jasper's extreme overprotectiveness, the New Moon chapter 19 moment where alice prioritizes jasper and bella is like “yeah I get it, I would do the same.”) basically smeyer gives jalice's relationship a lot of the qualities she finds romantic/ideal, (and which are either similarly romantic to us or entertainingly toxic/a good source of drama), presumably because alice is like her 4th-favorite character after the main love triangle and she wants nice things for her

we both really love how, superficially, as presented in the books, jasper and alice seem to have this almost “courtly love” that smeyer has described as "spiritual." yet when you look closer, their relationship has so many darker undertones—the deep codependency bordering on obsessiveness (mutual, but especially the way it manifests on jasper's end—"I will kill this random teen girl who witnessed edward's jean valjean moment™ because any means are justifiable when the ends are Protecting Alice"), the dark sides of both of their powers, the idea that jasper is only a cullen and/or only a vegetarian for alice's sake, etc. hell, even the fact that they're the only Cullen couple who we know had (gasp) premarital sex 😏 (I mean we assume rosemmett did too, but alas, they don't have that hilarious "carlisle convinced jasper and alice to get married" quote from smeyer)

partially summarized: "jasper’s general desperate willingness to sell everyone to satan for one corn chip if it keeps alice safe (carlisle: I know this and I love you)"

we're forever smug that the movies gave us even more jalice screentime (especially remarkable in such a protagonist-centric universe), including jasper being in the same grade as alice/bella/edward, and the extra jalice kisses in Eclipse and BD 🥺

what we wrote down as the “who’s protecting whom" phenomenon, as coined by G in this old ask. (shannon: "jasper is the toddler you've given the PS2 controller that's not plugged in")

we also like the characters individually. jasper is for the girlies with competency kinks—a stoic caretaker who speaks little and mostly expresses himself via acts of service. we also both love the way in which he needs protection from his own uncontrolled violence (slipping up and killing humans, suffering the pain and fear he inflicts, etc.) he is, in the words of our beloved @liceparade, the "line cook trauma boyfriend"

“It’s hot when there’s a fictional violent man who wet babygirl 😌” —shannon

and alice, unlike bella, genuinely loves being spoiled and bossing people around. she's brat-coded, she's confident and secure in who she is, her god complex ("I'm close enough [to omniscient]") causes fascinating conflict, bella eats drywall from sheer horniness at her merest movement, she dresses like a slut in the Mormon YA Novels and yet somehow escapes authorial condemnation, she has a sickass gothic heroine backstory, she's "annoying," aro started a whole war over her (eat shit helen of troy 🖕), she spaces out in public and has to be led around by jasper, she's one of the most powerful vampires in the world, she's in high school getting a C+ on her precalc test 💅🏻

it's appealing that smeyer frequently puts alice in the center of the series' various conflicts (james' singer and "one that got away," the accidental cause of all the drama at the end of new moon, one of aro's secret True motives for starting the conflict in BD.) this is mostly as a consequence of smeyer using alice as a plot device and/or deus ex machina, but it is in fact interesting

is alice jasper's morality chain? we love pondering this question via fic, meta, etc (especially because...alice ain't exactly a model of ethical behavior herself)

together, the two of them exhibit lots of classic tropes. they're grumpy x sunshine, chatty x silent, opposites attract, etc. to say nothing of that height difference 🥵

we love the yin/yang symbolism of a character with a horrific past paired with a character with NO memory of her past, who is focused on the future and all about potential. not to invoke an ancient phrase but POETIC CINEMA

the next note just says “POTENTIAL in general.” I assume we meant how all of the above stuff creates potential for interesting stories, conflicts, metas, art, fic, etc

G has brought this up in the past, but we love the irony of jasper, a character whose chief desire is to be left in peace, being soul-alteringly in love with the one character who will always be a giant glaring target through no fault of her own. hilarious

[broomsick]

Self-care & connecting with nature deities during the wintertime

Is it still possible to connect with harvest and nature deities such as Freyr during the cold season?

Long answer short, yes. Obviously, absolutely. But you all saw that answer coming, right? So I’m here to give you some ideas, as the person who’s favorite season is winter and who made it their mission to help everybody like winter just a little more. And since I feel especially close to Yngvi-Freyr when it comes to the Gods, I will use him as an example throughout this post, though a lot of the following could apply to most nature deities.

Let us first examine a common misconception before we get to the bottom of this topic: the fields don’t die when the sun sets on the 31st of October. The earth still lives under thick layers of snow. The process of dormancy is absolutely crucial to the cycles of nature. And if, like me, you find Freyr to be a sort of guardian of these cycles, then you’ll know he manifests himself in so many ways, even where you might not think to look.

Have you heard about the holly and ivy tradition? It was common during the European Medieval times to decorate houses and halls using holly and ivy, because they were the two plants with leaves that stayed green, even in the dark and cold of winter. This type of practice is often referred to as "bringing the outside in", and it's something I'm quite fond of. I've no doubt it could be a great help if you're the type to feel depressed during the winter time. It's a way to remind oneself of how everpresent nature actually is. Lots of greenery remains despite the snow! And to ackowledge this fact and to work with it is such a great way to connect with nature Gods in general! It goes to show that you appreciate their blessings all year round, not just during spring and summer. While it's true that in many cases, the presence of deities such as Freyr may feel somehow "dimmed" during the winter time, I assure you, they don't disappear once the first snow falls! On the contrary, they are every bit as present and active as when spring comes! They simply manifest themselves in a different manner.

When winter comes, I love to work with evergreen spirits. I incorporate spruce, fir and cedar into my practice and in my offerings. I won't go into too much detail for this topic however, because I've written posts that pertained to it in the past (namely, this post on tree work and this one on land spirits). Since I don't have easy access to holly or ivy, I make due with evergreen! Not with any actual branches, except when I'm lucky enough to find some that were torn away by the wind. But rather, using representations of it. In the same manner, and in the spirit of "bringing the outside in", it's also possible to decorate using representations of the sun! Harvest deities such as Freyr are often associated with it due to its crucial role in the cycles of plant growth. Candles also make for great solar symbols, and to place them around the home is like lighting a handful of little suns to bring much needed light and warmth inside. What's more, lighting candles on the winter solstice night is a widespread practice among pagans today! It serves to symbolize the return of the sun, as the days start to grow longer again. Until then however, it can be soothing for one to light a candle every morning before school or work, and to call upon any harvest, nature or solar deity of their choice to ask for strength and motivation throught the day. Even when it's difficult for us to feel their presence, they always hear us.

Now, how to actually feel more connected to nature? Oftentimes, connecting with nature and connecting with Yngvi-Freyr are one and the same. And on a more personal note, a lot of the advice I received from him pertained exactly to that: I believe he's often urged me to go spend more time in nature when I am going through rough patches. I know the cold and the cloudy weather can make it depressing for a lot of people to go out. My advice on this is to take it step by step: no need to go on long, four-hour long hikes right away! After all, there is already much beauty to be seen close to home. And I can't put enough emphasis on that: dress warmly! Also, as a tool for motivation, prepare a treat for yourself to enjoy after you've gone out. Part of what makes me enjoy winter so much is the thought of the warmth and light which await inside after I’ve gone out into the cold. The home is as sacred as the outside world! So why not buy, or prepare a batch of cookies, a cup of hot chocolate or a spicy dinner! It's something I love to do as a way to motivate myself to go out more often. And I like to offer part of these to local land spirits and to the Vanir, to show my appreciation for the beauty of this season. Just as an aside, I find snow water to be a great such offering as well!

I know that I’m not revolutionizing the pagan scene with this post, as there’s only so many ways to connect with nature during winter. I think it’s important to keep in mind that the snow, rain and cold that this season brings is just as much part of nature as the greens and lively colors of spring and summer. For this reason, they are just as much a part of nature deities and what they represent. Deities have so many facets and depth, and it can be so fulfilling to explore these different aspects, and the way we perceive them. While it’s true that spiritually speaking, it often feels to us heathens as if Skaði is somehow “taking” Freyr’s place in the order of things for the time being— much like the Holly King takes the Oak King’s place in Celtic folklore. This doesn’t make it so he disappears! In my experience, he presides over the cycle of seasons as a whole, and he is every bit as present for his followers as he is during the winter. I can connect with Skaði during the summer in a similar manner. And I’m sure that the same can be said for so many other harvest deities.

[corrupted-nightshade]

List of things that point towards Gojo Satoru & Geto Suguru being kissers of boys with connections to eachother

(If they did kiss though is another story)

Note: the list will be divided into different sections with space in between. So don't go speed scrolling through if you don't want spoilers. :"3

Some of these are less serious, but are still included because all the more content for these two sillies.

--- Last updated: April 26th, 2024 Note: Make sure to check the original post if viewing a reblog version in case Tumblr does not update things under the "read more" like it used to be able to.

Various

572. This number is used frequently as a ship number for the two as "GoGe" the ship name can also be produced as "GoNatsu". Go means 5 and the rest sound similar to 72. These numbers ironically show up accross the series a few times and also in official merch. (Some examples being a clock in season 2 episode 1 stopped at 5 hours 7 minutes 20 seconds or a Gojo teddy bear priced at ¥57,200)

JJK official fanbook

"Q: Please tell us his first impression when he first met Geto. A: Bangs."

"Q: He seems to be aware that he is handsome, but doesn't he want a lover? A: I can't imagine Gojo being faithful to a particular woman."

"Q: Is there anything you are particular about Geto's character design? A: Bangs"

One of Gojo's songs & one of Geto's songs given to them. "Shame on you" by "Avicii" (a break up song) for Gojo and "Come back Home" by "Two door cinema club" for Geto. Stated in volume 3 chapter 24.

The sheer amount of times Geto shows up in MMVs for Gojo and how they display the impact Geto had on Gojo (For example, the latest MMV for volume 26's release)

Their birthday's solar terms tying in with parts. (Geto being "Risshun" beginning of spring & Gojo being "Taisetsu" heavy snow.)

Rings for them that were released on August 8th, which is "Pairing day" in Japan

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Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Geto's kesa is specifically a Gojo kesa

Gojo stating in 0 that

"I've always believed... ...Love manifests the most distorted curses." / "This is my personal theory, but there's no curse more twisted than love."

Even after 10 years, Gojo recognized Geto's smell. (The mall scene after Yuta & Toge fought the curse)

Geto renaming someone to "Sato" because

"That's what I've decided, so Sato is better."

This sunset scene

Gojo's veil is black & Geto's veil is white. Gojo's veil causes darkness, Geto's does not. [Peep who reminded me]

The song "This is pure love" not only plays over Yuta & Rika vs Geto, but also plays over Geto & Gojo's conversation

The way that Geto looks at Gojo & says his name, and how Gojo looks at Geto & says his name

Geto's blushing face at Gojo that we were robbed of in the anime

Some of the lines from the JJK 0 light novel lines

"Yet Gojo's bandage-covered eyes kept watching, kept following the shape of Geto's soul."

"But to Gojo Satoru, he was —— '————, ————' '...ha.' When he heard the words Gojo blurted out, Geto couldn't help but laugh. Such embarrassing [...] words. Even why they were students, those words had never been said before. 'You should've at least cursed me a little before the end.' December 24, 2017. The curse called Geto had been well and truly exorcised."

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Season 1

JJK Juju stroll

"Q: What kind of person is your type?" Gojo: "[...]The one who seemed nice. With the notable bangs."

yes, i know who he stated but the way he answered was so half arsed as he struggled to come up with an answer as an example of his type. 💀

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Season 2

Again, the way they look at each other and say each other's names (There's another picture with Gojo looking at Geto, but I'm missing it right now)

THE HECKIN GOJO & GETO VALENTINES CAKE??

They literally even have a themed honeymoon place???

Geto makes sure Gojo has his favorite soda. :3

Part 1 / volume 8 - 9

The intro for season 2 part 1

"Even after I got to know the smell of you, different from mine"

"In such a color as if it were a silent love"

"I've got a curse word for you stuck in the back of my throat"

The outro for season 2 part 1:

"Even trivial conversations are fine Show me your blushing face once more"

"It only exists here I want to touch you"

The fish in the outro

The flowers in the intro & outro. [Peep who reminded me]

The purple ones (Located on table in the part where older Gojo is sitting in a chair by a window) are possibly Primula/Primrose flowers. They can represent young love, beauty, desire, desperate, and can be a symbol of spring and renewal/new beginnings. etc.

The yellow ones (Located in the part where Gojo & Geto are sitting together with their hands & cans of soda surrounded by the flowers) are possibly osmanthus flowers. They can represent love, passion, happiness, beauty, etc.

[See here , here, here , here , here , here ]

Geto not answering Tsukumo Yuki's question of what kind of woman is his type more than once

When Geto is asked by Haibara if he would like a sweet or savory souvenir, Geto says

"Satoru will probably have some too, so maybe something sweet."

Part 2 / volume 11

This whole image (Geto in the glasses on the left, and Kenjaku's silhouette on Gojo's face on the right)

Season 2 part 2's "Specialz" intro hidden meaning

Despite the following about Geto's state, Geto's body still instinctively reacted to stop Kenjaku from hurting Gojo.

"Q: Fake Geto's arm was moving during the Shibuya Incident, but how much of Geto's consciousness remains in the body? A: Not much. He was moving like how a dragonfly whose neck was torn off can move."

Fun fact: Some owls pair/bond for life (Whether the owl is supposed to be Geto's because Kenjaku is using Geto at the time or it's not Geto's animal because that is Kenjaku is up to you)

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Volume 26

The Camilla flowers with snow. Not only do they represent Gojo well with their meaning, including one meaning being unchanging/strong love alongside modest love / beauty for pink, but flowers are given to different dates. The birth flower of February is this flower, said to bloom on the 3rd of this month. Aka Geto's birthday.

Chapter 236

Gojo actively chose to fight on December 24th (a day considered romantic for Japan) which is now the day both Geto and him have died on. Even Kenjaku acknowledges the days significance with

"Ha ha! How romantic. Isn't it gross to make plans with each other on Christmas eve?"

These lines

Both Gojo & Geto's volumes' numbers can have bad meanings in Japan. 4 can mean death & 9 can mean to suffer/agony. (I put this under volume 26's section because of the spoiler)

---

There's likely more, but this is what we could think of right now. XD If you have anything you want to add on, feel free to send it my way because the more help the better & easier this is. (^w^ ) Same for any corrections to the list (as it's just me writing up this post and I may make slip ups)

[probablyaseamonster]

I’ve been thinking, and the more I think about it, the more suspicious this whole “witching event of the century” thing becomes to me.

I mean, okay. 5 out of 8 of the witches selected for the competition had no grand motivation for becoming the next Supreme Witch (as far as we know). Eloise specifically seems to see this whole thing as an excuse to have fun, make friends and get more powerful on top of that.

But then you get into the people who actually have backstories revealed, and, well.

Scott was living alone in the woods, desperately trying to learn advanced necromancy with no teacher and stolen books he only half-understood.

Shubble was traveling alone in a caravan, thinking that nobody likes her for her powers and she just makes everyone miserable by just being around them.

Prismarina was on the run from “them”, and only became a Water Witch because she literally dived into the ocean to escape them.

Joey was disowned because he manifested a dangerous power that was opposite to his family’s, and he pushes himself to learn an incompatible type of magic that doesn’t naturally come to him in order to return to them.

And Lauren. Poor Lauren was living alone in the desert to escape bullies who picked on her for not having any magic, and she attached herself to the first person she met since then, even though he literally burned her first.

Actually, when you think about it, ALL of the witches were living alone, presumably. They were isolated.

And Joey, Scott, and Lauren especially weren’t just alone. They were desperate too.

Let’s analyze Joey for a good example. He’d just lost the people who loved him, his home, and his security. Thrown out into the cold because of who he was. Then, not long after he came to terms with the gravity of his situation, an invitation is sent to him in a beam of pure white light. An Invitation to a contest that will (hopefully) grant him the powers to return to his family and be accepted.

It’s a miracle. It’s just what he needed.

But that begs the question... Why?

I mean, of course we know why the witches want to compete. We know that the SW needs a successor.

But... why them?

Lauren and Shubble were literal nobodies before this. Scott was a common theif stealing important tomes from traders and librarians. Joey was a member of a powerful, prestigious bloodline, sure, but the “was” there is the critical word. Pris was a literal fugitive. And Cupquake didn’t even WANT to be the next SW, but Mother Nature sent her on the path to that destiny in order to become a sort of hero. And we all know heroes are most often forced to follow the plot of their stories.

Why, out of all the witches in the world, would the Supreme Witch choose them?

I mean, I guess you could say she was feeling charitable. Even the contestants who didn’t win would grow in power, reaching almost their full potential. The SW is of failing health anyway, and who knows? Maybe she was a former nobody who won her own contest. Maybe she wanted to give the new generation’s contestants a chance. Maybe she was a good witch.

But... what if she wasn’t?

Hear me out. The Supreme Witch is being secretive and vague for a reason. A dark reason.

Maybe... she’s a liar. And maybe all the NPCs are in on it.

Take Ogien for example. She’s a rather rude witch, saying in Pris’s second episode that she “doesn’t have feelings”. She seems to not like Pris right out of the gate, and yet she’s the only one who tells her assigned contestant the full story. I mean,, not to base characters off of appearances, but she does look like a dark and regal villainess to me.

Ogien. What if she was completely and utterly talking out of her ass? What if nothing she said was the truth?

And if Ogien was lying, then, what if Mother Earth herself was also?

“But she’s Mother Nature!” I hear you say, “What reason would a good spirit like her have to lie to one of her followers?”

Let me remind you of something from the Book of Origins. The section on Nature Witches.

“Maker of vines, teller of lies.“

Now, why would that be at the very top of the description? Why are lies so heavily associated with nature witches? Why would the author of the book put so much emphasis on deceit?

Maybe some liars among the Nature Witches gave the others a bad name. Maybe there’s a stereotype among witchkind.

Or maybe this is foreshadowing. Maybe everyone associated with Mother Earth is destined to become caught in a web of lies. Because Mother Earth herself, as a deceitful spider with vine webbing.

And poor Cupquake has no idea.

Here’s my theory. The great challenge that everyone’s been invited to, the race to become the next Supreme Witch... is a total scam.

The SW doesn’t want these people to succeed her. Maybe she doesn’t want anyone to succeed her. Maybe no one will end up getting what they were promised.

But what could the SW want with these inexperienced outcasts? To drain their power, perhaps? To sacrifice them to the mentioned demon, if they even exist?

I guess we’ll find out.

And if this ends up being true, then obviously Cleo will figure this out. I mean, she’s Cleo!

But I don’t think she’ll be the one to realize first.

I think the first one to Know Too Much will be Eloise. Because she is an Illusion Witch. She knows what it’s like to be blinded. She knows how to tell when witches are being misleaded.

But the question is: will the witches be able to save themselves from this trap?

And if things go south, if they’re found out in turn... who will die?

[allureasdiary]

Currently ppl I've been using as muses & inspos:

• Rihanna

• Aaliyah

• Nicki Minaj

• Beyonce (in 2000s)

• Kendrick lamar

• Sharpay Evans

• Marilyn Monroe

◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□◇□

The main take away from all these ppl listed above is that they embody a certain self concept that I've felt called to embrace this year. Key themes such as standing up for myself, following my intuition & calling more, tapping into my dark feminine, enter my heiress/queen era, embracing leadership qualities, reflecting on my influence/how my character may impact others, not going back on my word aka standing on business, use negative energy as motivation.

Recently I had an encounter with an anon telling me something negative, I didn't give it much energy only a little however that alone made me feel something inside. A form of power when I did that. It felt good to stand up for myself and not just take the disrespect. Ive found myself feeling more positive when i did things i wanted to do rather than settle on what others wanted me to do. For example, me cleaning my room I share my room with my little sister which I despise honestly 🤦🏾‍♀️(currently manifesting new family btw), i had held off cleaning it because i felt as though since the mess is from her she should be the one tk clean it which only made me more irritated because i knew she wouldn't. Well i finally took things ibto my own hands and cleaned it all myself, I found myself not only feeling more vibrant but happier when I cleaned it the way I wanted it really reduced my stress. It's the same with my self care routine, when I did it the way I wanted a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It's only when I feel like my decision of how I may feel best is overshadowed and trampled over by outside opinions is when things tend to go south. I've felt the need more and more to break from boundaries and social norms and do my own thing without everyone else in my ear telling me what I should and shouldn't do.

🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒

Rihanna:

○ When it comes to rihanna, recently I've found her rawness really drawing to me. Especially when she was younger. She isn't afraid to say what she wants. Recently she did a photosgoot and i was super drawn to it. She continues to embrace her rebel "bad gyal" image and I've found myself relating to it. As someone who has always been label the "good girl" the dark theme has been truly drawing to me. Even if it isn't just dark colors, but the regal sex appeal, the rawness, the unfiltered chaotic energy, it's very magnetic to me. She also falls in the vixen archetype, which is one of the archetypes I have from the feminine archetype quiz.

Aaliyah:

○Now...I'm gonna be 100% honest, Aaliyah definitely wasn't someone I'd think I'd relate to at all. I didn't know her 100% well celebrity wise since I grew up with ppl like nicki, Rihanna and beyonce. However after doing research on her here and there and taking notes on how she was as an artist and person I've found I've related to her more than anything this year. She carries a mystic air about her that in today's artists you can see many tried copying and replicating. She was quite literally the world's it girl and even now ppl still talk about how amazing and sweet she is. I love how she didn't tell everything but told alot about her. She respected her own privacy majority of the time. Also I connect alot with her aesthetic of having like a tomboy look but it still looks really feminine in a way. She was a trendsetter at its finest and was soft spoken as well which makes me like her even more.

Nicki Minaj:

○ Ms. Nicki minaj, nicki Lewinsky, nicki da harajuku barbie!! She has been my #1 inspiration and muse when it comes to a high self concept. Despite the things that's happen in her personal life and seeing how her career has transformed over the years one of the main takeaways I can see is that since day 1 she never stopped affirming that she in fact was the #1 queen and that there would never and will never be another one like her, after her, can't even replicate her. Even in her old songs she quite literally prophesied and solidified her position as the queen of rap for years to come. Regardless if you love her or hate her u quite literally can't deny it since no one in this world has done what she's done even the ones that's tried to, failed. She is the definition of having true passion in what she loves, having unwavering ambition and drive to keep going despite all odds going against her. She also had this motherly energy towards her fans that I appreciate especially in her early days. She's always loved the barbs and continues to show gratitude. Learning from that I could take away to always be humble but don't ever let anyone step all over u either. Also she's probably the best I've seen when it comes to self branding yourself. Literally the situation with ice spice is a perfect example with the wigs and flow she did. Nicki has curated her aesthetic and brand so well that literally even the littlest change on someone such as pink or bangs or ankle inched black bussdown hair is associated with her and her brand. Now nicki herself may not have created these things and yes there were ppl before her who have worn pink and long hair but none of them actually made it there BRAND their STAPLE PIECE it may have been a moment but it wasn't a LOOK and that's what nicki did. After learning from that currently I've felt to go in the direction of making my own "princess self concept", a smaller version of her "queen" like nature. (Since rn I don't feel like much of a queen at all and see myself as a baby queen, a princess. Its not time yet)

Beyonce:

As a fellow virgo she too has perfectionism and I myself am a perfectionist. I 100% respect her work ethic especially when it comes to her performances. She continues to wanna top herself and not settle no matter the heights. Another thing is her gold aesthetic that I've felt more and more drawn to. It just screams royalty, that's something I've felt more and more called towards as well. She literally turned herself into a star amd made sure she shined the brightest. I love older vids of her where she always wanted remain as honest as possible and u could even see on some of her facial expressions when she knew some stuff was bs or just wasn't up to par. For that I have to respect that and her heavy keen eye to detail. She tolerated zero room for disrespect and this could be seen in her bow down record and though she said no name all the hit dogs hollered.

Kendrick lamar:

○Now I'm ngl, after the drake and kendrick beef its made me have a ton for respect for him as an artist but it also made me do some digging back in his old music. After doing proper thorough listens, I noticed his humble character and down to earth nature. After the battle, I was really drawn to his straightforwardness. He didn't play any internet games and didn't sugar coat either. That leads me to my self concept. More and more I find myself feeling good when I just start telling ppl like it is, where my boundaries are, where I am with this and that person. Not only does it makes things less confusing for the both of us but it shows that there is just some things that I'm not ok with tolerating and I will say it as many times as needed until u realize that. I also took note of how in his music he tended to talk about actual issues especially within the black community. As someone who expresses myself through art, that is something we have in common. Using our forms of art to heal ourselves and those around us by connecting through our problems and fixing them. For example, his song father time was him talking about his daddy issues ans his wife telling him he needs therapy. Though the song was technically about the men, as a growing young woman with daddy issues I related to the song heavily. This is the same with his unreleased song prayer where he continually used examples of separating the art from the artists and how we as ppl shouldn't be idolizing the celebrity and then stop when we see them doing something bad, the main point is that they are no better than us regular folks and still do bad things and make mistakes also, however those mistakes shouldn't be a reason u should stop loving there art entirely because if that was the case then no celebrities should exist because they've all done something bad in there lives just like we have. For that, I can takeaways the power of not just being aware of others faults but our own as well. He even admitted himself he still has healing to do and that's something I can relate to. The value of not staying the same and growing into your highest self definitely adds to me working on a growth mindset rather than a egotistical narrow minded one.

Sharpay Evans:

○ I'm ngl when i was younger i hated her. I thought she was egotistical, arrogant and messy. Now that im older i can see that she wasnt 100% that way at all, she was confident in herself and knew who she was and was literally oblivious to anyone who didnt like it. She had her own signature to everything as well thats how u knew it was sharpay whether u saw cute kitten heels, glitter ink pens or fur. Even on graduation she stood out with her signature SE hat. And her fashion was always top tier and iconic regardless of how stressed out she was from gabriella she didnt allow herself to go a day without looking good.

(Honerable mentions to Regina George, Elle woods, Cher Horowitz. My fav blondie girl bosses)

Marilyn Monroe:

○ Last but certainly not least is Marilyn Monroe. I think I've connected to her on a deeper level not just because of her manifestation story but also because I have the best connection to her when it comes to the way I feel about beauty. Beauty and being in the spotlight is something I highly struggle with, simply because it's something I daydream about so much whether it's imagining me getting plastic surgery or just me waking up one day with my dream life. Knowing that even someone who's considered the most beautiful woman in the world felt insecure in herself as well made me feel almost more human with myself and how I look and act. I did research on her years ago and found old vids of how she would talk about how much she'd study herself from her mannerisms to the way her hands moves to how she sounds to her facial expressions and so much more to give off illusions of things, even in her iconic walk I think she trimmed one of her heels to give the illusion of her hips swaying. She literally studied and curated her entire persona until she became who she is known as today. Even then I saw a few later vids of her and how sad she seemed in the eyes. This not only taught me more on self branding but also the importance of self love as well. I have a feeling had she lived a bit longer she may would've grown deeper into that. However something I could take away was the importance of enhancing your qualities of yourself the best way you can and that's exactly what she did

■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■

Anyway that's all for now darlings I have so many things in store for the future and I can't wait to share them all with u guys!! Xoxo, Allurèa

[zarvasace]

Hello! This is the first time I have ever interacted with you and if it’s ok I would like to ask a question about your space au:) I’m just curious as to how some of the game mechanics would work in your fics. Stuff like mipha’s grace or the wind waker, basically the abilities that the links have

Hello!! Nice to meet you! Of course it's okay to ask questions, I love talking about stories. XD

And this is an excellent question. It isn't something I've considered TOO heavily before, especially for the examples you provided, but it's really fascinating to think about! Nothing is "canon" until I write it in a story but here are some thoughts...

Hyrule's abilities have been discussed a bit—they're not too unusual for his people and planet, though it is unusual to have multiple like he does.

Twilight's have been mentioned. He has used darkness to travel, essentially turning into a shadowy wolf to do it, which is a product of his half-Twili heritage.

Four is an android, and thus anything out of the ordinary that he does can be explained that way.

Sky is mostly Hylian, which is unusual, but he is also from many generations ago. He doesn't have many traits or internal abilities that people wouldn't be familiar with. Wars is the same, though his Hylian genes are sort of more "distilled" and thus a bit more uncanny. Neither of them have odd magical abilities that come as a result of anything other than items or friends (so they think.)

Legend is Sheikah, which in this AU have malleable appearances, and he's trained to take that to the limit, which explains his transformations. Other magic he does, i.e. the LBW painting thing, the LttP medallions, and whatever else, are mostly explained through clever use of technology, sometimes combined with his natural talents.

Wind is half-Zora and partially aquatic. I haven't quite decided how his wind waker abilities translate in this AU, but I think the chances of it being technology are pretty high. The "Great Sea" is a grouping of small planets (or asteroids? I don't remember off the top of my head) so I think it would make sense for his Wind Waker baton to either somehow control the weather on a few of them, or perhaps atmosphere between them, or even just his ship itself. Or maybe it is a kind of magic he was granted! That would be cool too! They're all fun options.

As for Wild and Time's abilities and magic... Well, Deities sure are mysterious, aren't they? ;)

Okay just kidding. Those elemental/combat abilities absolutely have to do with their heritage of Deity. Remember how Deities change to look like the people they grow up around? Their inherent abilities do something similar. Wild trained early on in a lot of high-risk, him-against-a-lot combat, so his blessings manifested as what the champion abilities are in BotW. He associates them with the champions because they resemble real abilities the champions had (coincidence?) Time didn't have examples quite as strong, and he didn't grow up as militant, so his blessings manifest with more blunt power on the elemental side. They're still refining and shifting, but they'll always be rather devastating.

...👀

And Sun's Deity blessings manifest very much out of a desire to keep herself and the people she loves safe. She is quite powerful, and can actually handle some time manipulation. How else do you think Skyloft station escaped the Calamity so cleanly? (Her Deity heritage remains a secret.)

[itsbebebrainrotting]

Analysis of qtubbo and qphils separate parenting flaws which might get me chased with pitchforks so im not tagging it:

(Long so under a cut)

Phils issue, when it comes to the other eggs, really boils down to his isolation. He only prioritises Chayanne and Tallulah (and he prioritises them by a lot) and only really knows Chayanne and Tallulah. And thats because he doesnt hang out with the other eggs often (and gets panicky when taking care of 3 eggs at once so never really gets to know them).

To him, dapper has cool shit, richas is just mischievous and sunny just likes money. This, as a start, just messes up his interactions with some eggs because he acts more familiar with them than he is and doesnt take a chance to know them better. This is worsened by how non serious and out of rp phil often is because when phil isnt rping the eggs still are. They will take his jokes srs. (And its especially bad with sunny cuz sunny is so defensive of tubbo, who qphil makes fun of a lot, and he also places that same relationship onto sunny, even if he doesnt know her well enough to have that relationship).

He also always prioritises his kids to the point of almost putting other kids down. It was RICHAS at fault in that argument over that painting he had with tallulah (cuz phil doesnt know richas enough to know he had an actual issue there). Phil didnt look for dapper when he was kidnapped and at risk of dying. Sunny and Leo fighting was none of his business. When sunny was sad their pa was gone phil compared it to his daughters loss and accidentally minimised their upset.

And the thing is, qphil isnt even perfect with chayanne and tallulah (enderking aside). He sees chayannes feeling of duty to everyone and encourages it rather than noticing how worrying it is. He also is seemingly unaware how deep it runs, considering how long it took him to notice chayannes hurt after tubbos death (and, may i add, chayannes egg bit with tubbo was way more heavily played into by phil than by tubbo). Hes seemingly a bit more attentive with tallulah (though notably i feel less knowledgeable on tallulahs woes nowadays than i used to - oh how the tides change). I know she struggles with loneliness and abandonment issues, and afaik hes very aware of that. But his own isolation therefore backfired a lot on her and he really doesnt notice. (Note: post reset i would also say qphil is probably less isolated but i cant really since i dont watch him and also most of the post reset phil has been enderking affected)

However, I wouldn't say qphil is a bad father to chayanne and tallulah. He just has one big flaw: He doesnt see the negative effects of some of his own actions and they suffer because of it.

Anyway, now to qtubbo, cuz im a tubbling and this analysis should be fair to both crows and tubblings.

Firstly, lets address post revival tubbo. Hes a lot more direct about his hurt and feelings, which manifests into him being mean and short tempered at times because qtubbo puts up with a lot of shit. This backfires at times onto his relationship with the eggs as he directs a lot of unnecessary anger onto them. He guilted both richas and chayanne for his death, for example.

That, however, isnt the only reasons he is a flawed egg caretaker.

See, qtubbo doesnt (always) have the same issues as phil. He babysits often and knows the eggs he regularly takes care of them really well, caring for them almost as much as he cares for sunny. The only egg id say he really didnt try to get to know at first was dapper (but he went out of his way to resolve the beef there). But, he also went to the end of the world and back for dapper so...

Tubbos issues with the eggs are more about his difficulty providing emotional comfort, than anything else.

For a start, both q and cc tubbo use humour as a coping mechanism. He will make poorly times jokes in dark situations because its his way of coping and dealing in those moments. That leaves eggs feeling hurt cuz he seems a lot less serious than they are.

Then theres the fact that while he lets the kids be kids, he also can struggle with telling the emotional age of the kids (he said sunny was 11 💀). This means he can sometimes act like the kids can handle a lot worse than they can.

Plus, his need for petty drama means he will accidentally upset the kids and not care that them fighting will upset them.

Not only that but he struggles at times to help sunny when she has issues (such as leo and tallulah disliking her at first) in part becayse he himself struggled with those issues irl. Of course he doesn't take the smart course of action there because he doesnt know how to fix it irl, let alone in rp.

Oh and all that also ignores the fact that tubbos suicidal tendencies are pushed onto sunny to the point where they literally have a suicide pact together

So, no, in short, qtubbo isnt perfect either. But that comes from struggling at times to be emotional support as well as his own poor mental health, which is entirely different to phils issues, which stem from his tendency to isolate (and a bit of a lack of self awareness).

[paragonrobits]

I was rewatching the 2nd episode of Hunter the Parenting and I was thinking about how Pyotr isn’t that weird looking for a Nosferatu and it hit me that all of the Sabbat group here are deliberately contrary to how their Clans normally function, both in the sense of stereotypes about them but also in the way the outlooks fostered by those Clans don’t apply to them in a way that doesn’t quite feel like the way Antitrubu (Vampires who go against the grain of their Clan’s normal political leanings by joining the Sabbat if they are normally Camarilla aligned) tend to do

Pyotr is the obvious one and the one who sparked this whole avenue of thought. The first and most obvious case is that he’s weird looking but not as much as expected for a Nosferatu. He looks odd, yes, but huge eyes, a somewhat skeletal face and exposed teeth is incredibly mild by the standards of the Nosferatu. The fact that he’s something of a sexyman here also adds to it, since the Nosferatu curse (whether in this setting or in Requiem) manifests as instinctive revulsion so its not the sort of thing that gets found attractive except through sheer charisma, and he’s so determined to be a monster that he doesn’t even bother to try that.

The second bit though is that he is the most loose-lipped of the vampires, barring Ape’s attempts to be a Sabbat speaker so much that he annoys the others. He doesn’t just drop terminology like Ape, he actively explains things to them and tries to win them over to the cause by just telling them all about the vampire condition, albieit from the Sabbat’s warped perspective. This is notable because the Nosferatu are widely known as the Clan of information brokers. They do NOT just tell stuff like this. They know everything. A Nossie just telling info like this is deeply subversive.

Additionally, he is the most overwhelming evil of the Sabbat and while that is expected for the Sabbat, especially someone as fanatical as he seems to be, the Nosferatu have a reputation for being more moral. Not that much in this setting, true; they ARE still vampires. But the rejection and being forced to live in the shadows tends to make the Nosferatu more inclined to notice the plights of others and feel compassion in a way other vampires often refuse to, and they can’t pretend they’re something better. They’re monsters, and acknowledging this makes it easier to be something more than just the beast that haunts the blood. Pyotr on the other hand is remarkably cruel and unpleasant to the point that of all the TTS characters, he bears the most resemblence to the DARK ELDAR of all things!

Ape is a stand out example. Firstly, while he’s odd looking its a bit weird that he LOOKS so human; its honestly hard to tell he’s animalistic and not just a weird looking guy if you don’t notice his teeth and claws. The Gangrel in this edition developed permanent animal features whenever they frenzied, and even a young would-be Sabbat should look absolutely inhuman, and yet he doesn’t ,which indicates he’s probably not quite as genuine about it as he tries to act. The second bit is that he’s kind of a dumbass; the Gangrel are genuinely a Clan of cagey, cunning survivors and they tend to be smart, since you have to be smart to survive as a Gangrel; Requiem goes a lot further with this. but a meathead Gangrel is a pretty big difference given that the signature Gangrel character was Beckett, who is a professional scholar.

On a more tragic level is Shitbeard; its been noted he was most likely a highly moral man who felt passionate enough about learning that he went to college later in life, only to have that mortal life taken from him when he took part in a blood drive. And this ties into his biggest grief, the feeling of losing his mortal mundanity and the pleasures of being truly human, when as a Brujah he should have the easiest time holding onto those feelings. The vampires of this setting are often depicted as creatively sterile and burned out, with difficulty maintaining genuine passion for anything other than bloodlust or darker pursuits, but the Brujah are deeply passionate to a degree that it can imbalance them into destructive rages. Not for nothing are they the ones that keep the Anarch Movement going; they can muster a raw passion most humans can’t match, let alone a vampire. (Werewolves probably have them beat, though.)

So for Shitbeard to so intensely feel and mourn everything he’s lost is deeply tragic, because he should have the easiest time keeping in touch with what once kept him human.

This brings us to Kevin, who is the most different from the usual expectations to such a degree I honestly think it’s likely Alfabusa and the rest sat down, worked out the Tremere’s normal stereotypes, and wrote a character that flaunts them at every measure. The Tremere are proud, arrogant and widely disliked assholes that are so broadly evil that the very concept of a likable Tremere is, itself, kind of shocking, given that they tend to be arrogant and disdainful to everyone and everything. Kevin, on the other hand, is a very likable guy.

Tremere are also tightly linked to heirarchy and the dictates of their sires; while Kevin has worked his way free of it, the Pyramid is such an integral part of the Tremere mindset that this is even more shocking on a huge level.

He’s compassionate and attached to animals, when casual cruelty is very common to the Tremere. He’s as human as a vampire can be while being in modest standing among the Sabbat, he tends to use his Dominate powers in surprisingly nonviolent ways (i meant he did try to stab Big D but in the world of darkness, a delaying tactic at all is pretty humane), and perhaps most noteworthy, it’s not clear if he can use thaumaturgy, the blood magic of the Tremere. He clearly knows ABOUT it and he’s very defensive, but he has very clearly not used it at all, which is odd for a Tremere, they’re very stuck up about it. This is possible given that since he has a clear low ranking among his fellows, its possible he was only given the most basic training in thaumaturgy before he cut his own way loose and finds it better to exploit Dominate rather than more bloody skills.

[elbiotipo]

could you have an equator going on a weird shape like a spiral or the infinity symbol?

In a literal way, no, since by definition the equator is the line that divides a sphere or spheroid in half. But you could get some strange shapes, even in real life.

I'll have to get back to you later on the spiral one, since it's a real interesting one to ponder, as I'm trying to picture how would a "spiral" world would look like. If you read my Flat Worlds or Disc Worlds post, in a (completely fantastical or ultratech setting of course) situation where the source of light are actually orbiting luminaries as in "spotlights", you could make the "sun" travel in a spiral or meandering path, where the most illuminated zones would be tropical and the less illuminated ones be cold, you could have a strange spiral pattern to your climate, though I have NO idea how would that work in a wider plane. Given that a flat world would be made of magic (or ultratech) material to begin with, there is also no real reason why it couldn't be shaped like say, a spiral, an asterisk or a flower instead of a disk, but I don't know how the gravity would work. In a world with so many strange edges, in real life, if it somehow manifested, gravity would try to push it into a disk and later a sphere. If it maintained itself stable, you would find many, many "edges of the world", for more info, see my flat worlds post.

HOWEVER, you might be surprised that toroidal, that is, donught shaped planets are enterily possible under the natural laws of physics:

Both scientists and science fiction authors have studied the possibility, and they have proven that with natural materials like iron and silicon, such a shape could be stable and it could have an stable orbit on itself. You would have an inner and outer "equator" (not sure of the right terminology) and there have been some speculations on how climate and such would work. I'm too busy to look for them right now, but I will try to make a mini-post on them.

The thing, of course, is that it's highly unlikely if not impossible that such worlds would form naturally (though an artificial one would behave exactly like a natural spherical planet). There are some possible toroid systems of planet formations but it's all speculative. However, the universe is so absurdly large that I'm very willing to bet that at least one exists naturally somewhere.

Now, I know what you're thinking, could you fuse two of these toroid worlds to make an infinite (or 8) shaped world? How would that work? I'm not a physicist but I'm willing to bet it "wouldn't", at least in a realistic way, and I'm having a hard time to picture how would day and night work there. I have this stupid idea of a sun going up and down in both holes, but that would mean the outer part would be in perpetual darkness, wouldn't it? Still, it's interesting for the noveltly if nothing else.

There is an example of such fused "worlds", Arrokoth, but this one is more of a pack of comets mushed together than an actual planet, it's about 35 km long. I doubt it could happen with larger worlds. Still, interesting.

There could also be some fusiform worlds or egg-shaped worlds, and indeed we HAVE found some like Haumea, as well as twin worlds (Pluto and Charon practically are one, as well as the Earth-Moon system) that could result in odd shapes. I might make a post about these and more strange world shapes in the future; for now, enjoy the flat worlds one!

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Hmmm.... chewing on the parallels between Miquella and Ralsei.

They're both childlike princes who are in part associated with dreams - Miquella through St. Trina, and Ralsei through the dreamlike Dark Worlds - and both are beloved figures, though in the latter's case it's more out-of-universe than in-universe. But what's causing my brain to go brrrr about it is the concept of eternal childhood and how their eternally-nascent natures might serve to "compel" affection.

This is long, so it's going under a read more!

As social creatures, we humans are predisposed to fawn over infants, not just of our own species but those of many animals. We associate early childhood with innocence, naivety and purity, Hearing a crying baby is particularly distressing to us, and in many people instills a compulsion to attempt to soothe, look after and protect these helpless creatures.

In Miquella's case, it could be that his eternally youthful state preys upon this instinct in people, and they are drawn to serve and protect him despite his standing as an Empyrean. Indeed, it's possible that he has learned to weaponise it, placing himself beyond reproach as a platonic ideal of purity and innocence, which he could potentially use as a veil to commit some questionable actions. And I think there's something to be said for applying this view to Ralsei, as well.

While the Prince from the Dark is assumed to be a teenager, and around the same age as Kris and Susie, a lot of Ralsei's characteristics are more typically childlike - his very large eyes in proportion to his head (accentuated by the huge lenses of his glasses); his general naivety of the greater world, the people in it, and even himself to a degree; his relentless optimism that no-one needs to be hurt or killed, not even the most monstrous of foes; and above all, his overwhelming need and desire for companionship, manifesting in an almost-religious devotion to people he considers his friends. It's clear that these traits are designed to play on those instincts to nurture and protect, in us players if not necessarily the characters in-universe. This isn't even going into the potential nostalgia of his associations with and connections to Undertale's version of Asriel.

I have often considered Ralsei to be a prime example of a "supernormal" stimulus - an extreme over-exaggeration of certain traits that provoke an equally extreme instinctual response in creatures susceptible to it. Think of herring-gull chicks who will prefer to peck at a bright red spot on the bill of a dummy adult, rather than an actual live adult with a less-bright red spot. Whether because he was designed that way, or because he's deliberately cultivating that impression, Ralsei's playing-at-childhood-innocence has a similar effect, serving to "compel" affection from players in a like fashion to how Miquella is able to "compel" the affection of characters in Elden Ring.

Where this gets REALLY interesting is when we take Undertale and Deltarune's incorporation of meta elements in their game universes into consideration. There is a compelling case to be made that Ralsei's main target for his affection, Kris, is actually just a proxy to his real goal - us. Considering all of the above regarding his childlike traits, it's hard not to think that at the very least, Toby and his team are trying to engender this strange pseudo-reciprocity of affection between us and Ralsei, even if the character himself is not actively trying to achieve that in-game. And it is when we look at Miquella, who serves as a template for how such affection can be compelled, that we can see just how Ralsei has managed to achieve such a vast and devoted following, despite his seeming lack of depth as a character and his being a literal expy of Asriel from another game.

Of course, since we don't currently have all the information to hand, we don't know to what end this potential angle could take us. But I find it extremely fascinating to consider that there is actually quite a strong case that we are being groomed by Ralsei - or his creator - in some way. Especially when you consider what Miquella actually ends up doing with his abilities, it raises some pretty interesting possibilities that just might make us consider our favourite fluffy little cinnamon roll in a more nuanced light, as opposed to the false binary of "uwu baby" and "diabolical villain".

Thanks for reading! This wound up being much longer than I'd initially planned for, and it's just a jumbled assortment of thoughts I had upon learning about Miquella in Elden Ring, and how the nature of his being might transpose onto Ralsei. Hopefully this made you think a little bit about that too!

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

You punish Bramblestar just enough. Enough to make up for all the times canon and its authors kissed his ass, putting an abusive tyrant on a pedestal over all other characters. It’s both satisfying, compelling, and kinda funny; a fitting end for someone so blatantly yet subtly abusive and corrupt, but somehow also petty and childish in a way no other character is. My favourite staple of Warriors rewrites to show how far their stance is from canon is giving Bramble actual, at times genuinely REALISTIC consequences for his actions. It’s a deserved spit in the face to the idea of hyping up some toxic fragile asshole as a noble hero, like the cognitive dissonance that persists in the books and the authors seem to genuinely believe. Did I mention the lightning is SO funny, it’s like a fire scene in terms of iconicness to me. Deserved. Bramble stans stay loosing, y’all can’t even form an argument.

In terms of the Holy Firestar Lightning Attack, I wanted something quick, "divine looking", and just strange enough that it crossed the border of possible magic. Something I feel fits into Warriors.

I'll never "over punish" a character. Thistleclaw gets a fitting end, ripped open like a bag of doritos by Snowfur, realizing his ideals have actually pushed her away, and that after all this time, Snowfur changed. He dies in complete shock and betrayal.

Tom The Wifebeater gets eaten by One Eye, mind you it was in front of poor Sparrow Fur, but afterwards One Eye uses his dark Sun God magic and consumes Tom's soul as well.

Clear Sky is pancaked on the side of the road by two Twolegs, his body left in the small ditch (respectfully, as they are humans who felt terrible for hitting a kitty and had no way of burying him) before they look out over what is going to be Skyclan's land, realizing how nice it would be to expand Chelford into that area.... Thus setting in motion the events of Skyfall. His spirit is used by Bright Storm to BECOME the Dark Forest barrier.

Gray Wing dies alone and bitter when he pushes away all forms of help, becoming a hateful spirit that perpetuates a curse that's timer has finally hit 0 on, resulting in the death/displacement of all 5 Clan leaders, starting with Riverclan. He also manifests himself through the unlucky offspring of 2 cursed bloodlines (Tigerkin and Applekin) Curlfeather. I'm not giving away his defeat yet though!

For Brambleclaw, I wanted that classic Warrior cats feel, and I think getting smote by holy lightning similar to Mudclaw fits that.

A lightning bolt during plain daylight is already considered a freak event like that has only ever happened once before in Clan history, to the magic user Ṣ̶̫̅n̴̹̯̾̒o̸̜͛ẁ̷͍t̵̰̎ủ̴̲͝f̷̙̳̆t̸̼͐ who got magic BANNED because he used it to ruin Sunningrocks and put generations of bloody wars and pointless fighting in place.

The only cat I've ever gone "too far" with is in an in-universe example of a cat who was punished for her mother's crimes, as her mother had murdered an apprentice. When her apprentice went missing later, she was blamed, and exiled. She also didn't go to Starclan, or the Dark Forest, but rather, somewhere much, much more dangerous.

[raayllum]

I’m not great at speculations or theories, this is just something I noticed— do you think there’s foreshadowing with Viren telling Claudia in ep 3 that the wave will “swallow you up”, and Aaravos’s “I swallowed her”? Idk man it’s the same word

I think there's a lot to be said for Claudia and Callum's dynamics with the ocean/water in S5 tbh.

I think the phrase of "it'll swallow you up" and "I swallowed her" is intentional repeat (why not have Viren say "you'll drown" for example? It'd even foreshadow her nearly drowning at the end of the season). Dark magic is inherently transactional and consumptive, taking the essence of not only the beings in the world around it but also of the caster (hence the corruption and fatigue). I don't think it's an accident we see both Kim'Dael and Claudia drink blood in this season, nor that Claudia drinks her own

If we look at how the Ocean is framed in S5, we see that Callum largely learns the lesson that both Claudia and Viren embody: you'll go to great lengths (or depths) to save the people you love, with Viren saving Soren (past) and wanting to save Claudia (present) diving into his dreams / water, and Claudia literally saving Viren throughout the season. In a lot of ways it's a literal manifestation of Callum's more metaphorical assessment; he'll go to those dark, deep places for his loved ones ("to love is simply know this"), even if that means resorting to dark magic.

However, Callum and Claudia do have different arcs, with Claudia being 'eaten' and 'spat out' (washing up on shore) by the Ocean in 5x09, whereas Callum is able to wield ocean magic. I think there's something to be said for the little inclinations though, too, like with Callum saving Rayla from being literally swallowed/eaten by a creature from the sea, him being the last one to get out of the boat in 5x09 (ensuring that Rayla and Ez go first bc he Loves them), and Viren turning his back on the water to go die in the forest > Claudia being carried through on the surf

[akumajoaurora]

Castlevania Games Do Have a Story (And Why It’s Important That It Stays Subtle)

Ok so this is basically an expanded writeup of some loose thoughts I posted to Twitter earlier today in response to the news that the God of War Ragnarok guy wants to do a Castlevania game, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, so I figured it deserves to be on a long form post and not just Three Sentences Per Post Dot Com.

A big criticism of Castlevania that I hear pretty frequently is “Oh, it has no story”. However, this is untrue- Castlevania games very much do have a story, they’re just not presented in the format that most people are used to. 

A lot of story-driven video games play out somewhat like a TV show or a novel. You get to watch the story play out from start to finish, with characters talking to each other, and often moving and acting as though you were watching TV. There’s nothing wrong with this format- I enjoy it a lot myself! Everyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of Devil May Cry, after all. But this isn’t the only way to tell a story.

With the exception of a few games (mainly Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness), Castlevania has a much different format. While there are some cutscenes, they’re generally much more limited and there aren’t very many per game; In some of the really old games, there really isn’t much dialogue at all, and instead the main plot points are given to you in scrolling text at the beginning and end of the game or in the game’s manual. This is important because it pushes you, the player, to engage with the text. The story is there, but how deep does it run? How does each game play into the overall saga of Castlevania? That’s what you have to discover for yourself, and clues can often be found in the level design, the music, and flavor text.

To give an example, let’s analyze one of my personal favorites story-wise, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. 

This game takes place 7 years after the original Castlevania. Our friend Simon Belmont, now 29 years old, has already killed Dracula. However, he begins to feel gravely ill, and fears he may be on his deathbed. He goes to the family cemetery to contemplate this, and a mysterious unknown woman appears to him, who tells him that he’s been cursed by Dracula. In order to save himself, he will need to collect five scattered pieces of Dracula’s corpse, use them to resurrect Dracula, and then kill him again, all within seven days or he will die. The mystery woman then disappears.

Simon travels the land in search of the Dracula relics. Along the way he, of course, fights monsters, and also talks to the ordinary people of Transylvania in search of clues; Some of them are nice or even flirtatious towards him, but a lot are openly hostile, and will lie to him or try to scam him. Every night, Simon’s curse worsens, and the famous words “What a horrible night to have a curse...” appear as more and more monsters start to come out. During this time the player is unable to go indoors. Depending on how long it takes you to complete the game, Simon either dies fighting Dracula, or survives and frees himself from the curse. He then is seen making a grave for Dracula. This is the text of the good ending:

"The encounter with Dracula is terminated. Simon Belmont has put an end to the eternal darkness in Transylvania. His blood and sweat have penetrated the earth and will induce magic and happiness for those who walk on this land."

So, what can we get out of this short, dialogue-lite game? Let’s take a look.

Even though Simon has already defeated Dracula, the fight is not over. He can’t truly escape his family legacy, and the ongoing battle between man and vampire. Simon, like many Belmonts, is trapped within a cycle of violence- Even when he does what he’s “supposed” to do. It’s manifesting in an extremely physical way that forces him to engage with the conflict- If he were to do nothing, the curse would quite literally kill him within a week.

Simon is a thoughtful and spiritual person who respects his family greatly. Rather than getting angry about his condition, giving up, or even asking a doctor, he went to his family cemetery to contemplate in the presence of his ancestors. The fact that he seemingly didn’t go to a doctor brings me to my next point...

Simon is largely disliked by his neighbors- Even though, again, he’s already killed Dracula. A common element of Castlevania games is that the Belmont family are feared and distrusted for their magic powers and their proximity to the supernatural, and this is certainly true for Simon. Still he continues to fight.

Despite this, he clearly still has someone looking out for him. Who is the mystery woman? Is she an ancestor spirit (Sypha, perhaps)? Is she a witch? An anonymous admirer? Either way, she cares enough for Simon to help him in his time of need.

Simon is, ultimately, a deeply kind and caring person. Even though Dracula caused so many people horrible suffering, including Simon himself, he still took the time to build a grave for Dracula. He showed respect even for his greatest enemy and went out of his way to provide him dignity in death.

In the end, the people finally recognized Simon’s good deeds, and he was hailed as a hero... But at what cost? It’s worth noting the specific phrasing, “his blood and sweat have penetrated the earth”. Simon had to give so much of himself, very much putting his life on the line in order to keep humanity safe. The burden of heroism is an extremely heavy one.

Simon’s Quest becomes even more poignant when put into place with the wider Castlevania timeline. Simon is one of so many Belmonts to be feared and hated by his neighbors, give everything in order to save them, and finally win their respect- But at a very high cost. Again and again this cycle plays out. It’s also worth mentioning that Simon’s Quest is the origin of the famous background music track, “Bloody Tears”. Interesting name, isn’t it? Whose tears are they? Are they Simon’s- Is the curse ravaging him so badly that he’s literally crying blood as he keeps fighting? Are they the tears of the Belmont clan, unable to escape their fate? Or maybe tears shed for, or perhaps by, the spirits of all those who have lost their lives to Dracula? Worth thinking about. 

Every Castlevania game has a story, and all of them come together to create a much wider tale of life, death, and rebirth, generational trauma, the cosmic battle between good and evil, the nature of humanity, finding light in the darkness, and why we keep fighting. Like the gothic novels it draws from, it poses many questions about the nature of life, death, suffering, and what it means to be human. The format in which this story is told is a unique one that encourages introspection and participation. If you’re someone who enjoys media analysis, I highly recommend the Castlevania series.

Ultimately, while I don’t think it’s impossible to do Castlevania in a more traditional format (after all, LoI and CoD pulled it off pretty well), I do think that the layers to the story are a big part of what makes it, well, Castlevania. I don’t think it’s at all fair to say that Castlevania doesn’t have a story- Many of the games don’t have a distinct linear dialectical narrative the way a lot of modern games do, but they very much have a story. Why not try experiencing it?

In conclusion,

[ladyhindsight]

So recently I fell back down the rabbit hole that is the Shadowhunters series about five years after I finished all the available books with City of Heavenly Fire. While The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices haven’t really stuck significantly in my mind until I stumbled across your critiques of City of Lost Souls, it is a different story with The Dark Artifices. In a very bad way. Trite writing, a weird focus on features considered “exotic” (Emma’s blonde hair, Julian’s blue-green eyes, etc), generally poor character writing, the standard faire of issues that come from CC’s writing. But in particular I remember having issues with Ty Blackthorn and how his autism was portrayed, as someone who was professionally diagnosed. From what I recall from his arcs (specifically in QoAaD) a lot of his actions felt steeped in vainglory, him being confused about Kit leaving with Tessa without saying goodbye after heavily hurting Kit emotionally during the attempt to resurrect Livvy is the foremost example I can think of. It honestly really fucked with me when I first read it and made my internalized ableism a lot worse, something I am still trying to get over even now, as it made me afraid that is how other people saw me due to being on the spectrum. All that aside though, I wanted to ask you, since you generally are more familiar than CC’s work than I due to reading it at a more recent time, if people do consider Ty to be good autistic representation, and why or why not that may be. I want to know if my malice for Ty and what felt like an extremely offensive and, dare I say, borderline stereotypical portrayal of autism is just me being a bitch or if it is a common complaint amongst those willing to criticize Clare’s work.

Sorry if that was a massive fucking word salad I’ve been meaning to ask someone this question for almost half a decade after reading QoAaD😭😭

THE BLACKTHORN EYES. You shan’t forget. It’s been five years since I read Queen of Air and Darkness and I haven’t.

I find it difficult to assess to some degree how good a specific representation is. As to Ty, I’ve seen readers being incredibly happy with him and then vice versa like you. The difficulty lies in the way I think it’s misleading to look for general assertions in characters like Ty. How could you possibly represent a whole group of people that exists on a spectrum with varying degrees of symptoms that manifest in wide variety of ways with just one character? Another facet to the difficulty in assessing the quality of representation (Ty’s or in general) is that I hardly, if at all, identify with or like characters based on some traits they possess rather than how the character is in general, how the character works within the story, and what their dynamic is like with the other characters. The impression of a character is created in interaction with all the other elements of the book.

Ty is just one individual, and I’ve never looked at him as anything other than him being a representation of who he is, not what other people with autism generally are. Ty was based on a son of Clare’s friend, so I’d feel weird completely denouncing Ty's character, especially as someone not on the spectrum. Then again we all know how badly Clare translates real life stuff into her works and her writing, so… That being said, there are certain characteristics—I mean there has to be for a diagnosis even to exist or to be made—that need to be present. And those present with Ty, as you said, seem borderline if not exactly stereotypical.

What I am trying to say is that in and of itself and completely separate from the other elements, I don’t think Ty is the worst written character. My issue with Ty’s representation lies in its utilization in the story. For years now, Clare’s inclusion of different issues (social, societal, psychological, medical, neuropsychiatric etc.) has seemed more performative than genuine, which is relayed by the fact that the stories do not really focus on these issues, but mostly sidesteps them in favor of some boring aspect to the main romantic relationship. What truly then infuriates me, is treating what is supposed to be that representation almost as the sole aspect to that character, completely over-saturating their existence with this one (in this case) disorder, and then use it as a tool to elevate other characters.

The problem is glaring when Ty doesn’t live outside of that fact that he has autism but rather becomes the embodiment of it (especially considering there are no other characters with autism included in the series). People are more than their disorders, and though they are massive parts of everyday lives and sources of serious struggles to some people, reducing someone’s existence to just that is not it. Ty was there for the purpose of elevating Julian’s devotion and care for his family, to emphasize the love he has and the lengths he would go to in order to protect them. Clare wrote in one of her answers that she was glad people picked up on Ty’s autism, but how could they not? It was pushed into almost every scene he was in just so the readers would take notice. Clare does not know subtlety or subtext or have any sense of proportionality for which the writing was excessive.

You’re not a bitch lol, and what you said here is a common criticism from what I’ve ever seen. I don’t think you really need my take on whether to hold onto your malice (just offering my winding perspective here, bon appétit), since here you have justified and reasoned your opinion and feelings about Ty completely appropriately. Though it’s been years since I’ve interacted with anything to do with Clare’s fans or their opinions other than book reviews, I’ve found that the readers who tend to praise her writing rarely have such distinguished reasons for why so.  

Word salads are always welcome. I feel like I’m offering you one in return. :’)

[pumpkinsouppe]

I love how different I treat OOT link vs taol link in my head

OOT link is a tragic character in OOT yes, but his story from Majora’s mask onward is not a tragedy. He relearns what it’s like to love and to live despite the pain and terrors. He is the ultimate symbol of hope and learning to cope with one’s own grief, to forge a bright future despite the past. Yes, maybe if link stayed in the future world of OOT instead of returning to the past he would have found more tragedy or even death, but his story in Majora’s mask is one of the most hopeful stories any link has faced. The damn game ends with a wedding!! The game symbolizes and cherishes love and happiness more than anything, link is NOT a tragic character during or post Majora’s mask.

TAOL Link is the ultimate tragic character in my eyes. Yes we get very little of his story since the games are very old but I would argue that the world tloz/TAOL link lives in is even more apocalyptic than botw/totk. You start as a child in the middle of nowhere, a sword thrust upon you and a destiny you’re forced to follow to save a strange princess from a monstrous pig. Myself and others even theorize monsters originally burned down link’s village and people and that’s how he ended up where he is at the start of the first game, from fleeing that horror. By the time of TAOL, he’s around 16/17 now so 6-7 years older than in the original tloz. He has been in possession of two pieces of the triforce all that time and is forced to find the third to prevent the resurrection of the same monstrous pig. Now this takes context from other games but if you’re familiar with Ganondorf from OOT, you know that his possession of the triforce of power for 7 years has physically altered his appearance. I personally view it as the triforce of power is physically altering him to look similar to the goddesses, more animalistic than human (even if it’s only been a slight alteration between the past and future). TAOL Link has had both the triforce of power AND wisdom in his possession since he was 10… who knows how that has changed not only his body but his mind. With his possession of the triforce of courage by the end of the game, who knows how that will affect his soul too. Most often when link has had the triforce of courage for long periods of time, he loses any sort of fear or care for himself. Albw is a great example of how his sacrificial desire to protect others can cause more harm than good, the same reason why link died in botw (even though I have more thoughts on that). Taol link, a child by all rights, thrust into a terrible world to protect two different princesses, and slowly turning into the perfect puppet of the goddesses. The triforce gives you the power to grant any wish you want, but what if the cost is losing your own free will the longer you have them? Link is harboring the triforce to prevent a resurrection and further ruin, surely that doesn’t come without consequences. OOT link was able to break free from his fate and was forced to confront his greatest fear: himself. The cycle of never ending grief… was broken. However similar to OOT link, TAOL link also had to confront himself. But it wasn’t to confront his trauma and fears, it was a test specifically designed by the former king and the goddesses. A perfectly designed test to prove to the goddesses that he is the perfect puppet and harborer of the triforce: dark link. I think shadow link is a more apt term because dark link is not an evil version of link, dark link is the manifestation and mirror of all of link’s strengths, fears, kills, deaths, and courage. He is a perfect puppet of link just minus his weaknesses, the link the goddesses want him to be. So TAOL link doesn’t confront himself to conquer his grief and fears, he confronts himself to fully submit to the triforce and the goddesses and the kingdom. He is the link who has fully fallen victim to the triforce and may never be himself ever again.

So all that to say, I will defend OOT/mm to my death bed about how link’s story is not a tragic one. And I will argue to that same death bed about how tloz/taol link��s story is.