#if anything seems to not fit with canon blame them

[lovesick-level-up]

Okay! You don't have to do these, but here are my three edit requests!

Hatsune Miku Gothic Himedere themed moodboard

Mukuro Ikusaba and Celestia Ludenberg friendship headcanons

General Headcanons for Tokoyami Fumikage

heya, those are all totally fine, and were a lot of fun to do. the first to come out will be the tokoyami headcanons, because we messed up the order, but everything else should be coming out the rest of today. we hope you like them.

~ moondust 😈🧷🎶

[knight-a3]

Heavenbound AU

Hazbin Masterpost

Charlie Morningstar: Daughter of Lucifer and Lilith

Here's a character sheet for my redesign of Charlie

Notes under the cut to minimize clutter

Family resemblance:

She has a mix of goat and snake traits from Lucifer and Lilith, respectably. I think I gave her a good mix so she looks like both her parents.

Because the biblical devil is associated with a variety of creatures, I wanted to lean into some of them. Snakes because of the whole Garden of Eden debacle, which Lilith was heavily involved with. Because Lilith was created by the angels, her demon form has doll cheeks. (I essentially traded Lucifer's cheeks for Lilith's horns. It just ended up more thematically relevant that way) Goats because Lucifer isn't actually "the Devil" like everyone thinks he is. He gets blamed for everything wrong, and is essentially the scapegoat. "The Devil" as humans know it, doesn't exist. It's a conglomeration of various demonic characters that humans thought was the same one.

Body:

Hair: In canon, she has long hair, long legs, long body, and it was a bit too much 'long'. There's a short, medium, long ratio in character design to help create visual interest. So I shortened her hair and body. And I saw this as an opportunity to give her a hairstyle that resembled a goat tail. So now she has long legs, short body(with the help of the vest), and the hair makes the head a medium ratio. At least, that was the intention.

I had initially thought about giving her a full head of snake hair, like gorgons. But that seemed too complicated, so I limited it to one. (I had the same thought with Lilith, but gave her seven instead, most of which can hide in her hair) His name is Hugh, which is short for Hubris(synonym for pride). And I love him.

Tail: I wanted her tail to be there permanently, instead of just in her full demon form. It just seemed fitting that way. I did the same to Lucifer.

Hooves: Animals that have hooved feet are called ungulates, and typically walk on their toes. The heels on her shoes don't really unbalance her like they do on human-style plantigrade(full foot on ground) feet. For her, running in heels is pretty natural. If anything, the high heels just provide her extra support.

Clothes:

She primarily wears her hotel uniform. Of the hotel staff, only her and Vaggie actually wear the them(Alastor and Husk would never, Niffty simply does not care). Angie already wears pink, but he's not staff. I liked the vest for her, because it felt like a good nod to the buttons on her canon battle outfit. I wanted her to wear something that looked like a uniform, but wasn't just a suit. Too many other characters wear them, and I wanted some variety. I made it pink because it's between red(color of hell) and blue(color of heaven), but also leaning towards hell's colors, since that's where the hotel actually is. And also because I could get it to look good on both Charlie and Vaggie.

Her battle outfit in the show was cute and all, but I didn't like that she would inevitably flash everyone mid-fight. A dress and thigh-high (boots? socks? tights?) just wasn't practical. So I gave her leggings. I also don't really like the use of crowns, because royalty in hell seems very...pointless, given nobody recognizes them as rulers in any way. I tried to reference her zoophobia design in a way that felt like it suited her current character, but also didn't hugely deviate from the canon battle outfit, and wasn't overly complicated(keeping animation in mind). But all I could really manage was the leggings and boots.

Her "full demon" design doesn't have a specific outfit; I just wanted to show her bare limbs. The forked tongue is true of her normal form as well, I just didn't draw an example of it.

I originally drew her in the dress to show off her hooves and put her in something cute while I was at it.

(I will include update notes here as necessary)

[astheworldgoesonitswickedway]

As the ASoUE fandom, we need to acknowledge the drastic differences between the books and show more often. I love them both though I do prefer book canon on this particular subject. The schism. The timeline can be confusing. And it's so important to recognize that while in the show, Beatrice accidentally killing Olaf's father incited the schism and Olaf's villainy, in the book, Kit tells us the schism happened when she was four. If we are assuming all our main generation of V.F.D. members are probably within a few years of each other in age, this happened when they were all young children. This changes a lot, but most importantly it means that the death of Olaf's parents and the great schism, were two different events. And also, this means they all grew up in schism V.F.D. essentially this environment of warring factions. They didn't get to experience a maybe healthier version of V.F.D. They grew up in an atmosphere where their lives would much more often have been at stake. Well I've been thinking about that night at the opera, since the schism had already happened, it could have played a part in the events. The show says it was an accident, but the books never clarify. To be honest, the books make things sound much more like an assassination...not saying it was but I won't say it wasn't. We see the Baudelaires themselves come to the conclusion their parents weren't who they thought they were. Why would they have poison darts if they didn't intend to use them? Kit says she snuck them past Esme to the Baudelaires. (Which is another thing. Seriously, if this was an assassination, Kit participated in the murder of her fiancée's parents...Olaf didn't seem to blame her like he did the others, did he not know, or did she not know what they would be used for so he didn't consider her complicit?) And for the record, the death of one person with a dart like in the show, could be an accident. Both of Olaf's parents died in the book and that's a lot harder to answer for. So why would the Baudelaire parents assassinate Olaf's parents? Would "noble" V.F.D. really condone something like that? I mean, I guess they were messing around with the medusoid mycellium...planning to use it against their enemies. Could the Baudelaires actions that night relate to their reluctance to tell the kids about their organization? As for why they would do that, is it possible Olaf's parents might have been villains on the other side of the schism? Were they planning something horrible? We are basically told that night is why Olaf switched sides, could he really have been on the noble side at a time when his parents weren't? What did Olaf see that night, how did he know who to blame? Did he watch his parents die? Could his parents have been planning to strike first? Could they have meant to kill his friends, an event which would also drive Olaf insane, just in the other direction, against his parents? Is there any way his parents could have been innocent? I have a really hard time believing that if the Baudelaires did what they did, though it was still not okay. This is all wild speculation I know, but the book canon just opens up worlds of theories, unlike the show which seems to sacrifice the plot a bit, in order to keep our important characters hands clean. But if Daniel Handler taught us anything, its that no one really keeps their hands clean, everyone participates in treachery at some point, and you never know how horrible someone's treachery was, you can't necessarily trust someone just because you care about them. Can I just say how absolutely gutsy it was for Daniel Handler to deliver a thirteen book series, the plot of which is driven by the great split of this secret organization, only for him to never tell us what happened? He never explains the schism? I know he loves to leave unanswered questions but. But this. Then again, it's written from the Baudleaires perspective and for many reasons, they don't get to know. It is fitting that neither do we.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Ok hear me out. Reader and Daryl go on a run for supplies with a few other people. Reader makes a mistakes and almost gets seriously hurt/ near death experience. Daryl gets pissed at reader, maybe yells at her. Reader laughs it off and acts like she doesn’t gaf. Daryl later finds reader all shaken up and crying by herself. Love if you don’t, love if you do!

I Might Change Your Life, I Might Save My World

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader (pre/early)

Setting: Alexandria

Warnings: Typical TWD Violence and Gore; Mentions of canonical character death; Some verbal aggression

A/N: I had them on the run alone. I hope that’s okay!

*gif is not mine

The run had so far been uneventful. You’d even dare say boring. That was a word that wasn’t used carelessly. Life in the apocalypse was rarely boring and usually consisted of running for your life while scrounging up anything possible to ensure you could just survive. At least you were out with Daryl. He was your best friend and could usually keep you at least mildly entertained whether or not it was intentional. 

You were a survivor of the Governor’s insanity at Woodbury. It had seemed safe enough, but he had fooled everyone. Or maybe he had at one point been a kind, reasonable man that was just pushed too far by the cruelty of the end of the world. Regardless, it was there that you had met Merle, the right hand man. You had always teased him about that. Right hand? Get it? To most people, it would have seemed cruel, but not to Merle Dixon. He would ruffle your hair with a gentle shove and tell you to get lost. 

You never did.

When Merle left, you had followed and he had allowed it. He even held your arm and dragged you out behind him. That’s when you actually met Daryl. You had seen him in the fight pit, eyes wide as the Governor revealed he was Merle’s younger brother. He had never mentioned having a brother. Maybe he had thought him dead. Most would say Daryl was everything Merle was not, but they just didn’t know the elder Dixon like you did. Merle was crass, sometimes downright unkind, but below that rough exterior, he had a big heart. He was learning, little by little. You would have liked to take some credit for that.

Daryl had left his group that day, following Merle, just as you did. You remained quiet, watching the younger Dixon watching you. He looked almost wary, but there was a naked curiosity there too. When the two butted heads, you trailed behind while Daryl led the way back to the prison. Where he belonged, he had said. 

You had fit in easily. Merle, not so much. It made your heart ache for him when you could see the poorly hidden love he had for his little brother. He was absolute shit at showing it, sometimes selfish, but it was there. When he proved it by trying to be better, trying to show Daryl that he could do the right thing, it had cost him his life. You blamed Daryl for the longest time. You knew it wasn’t his fault, deep down, but you needed someone to catch the fury of your grief. The archer had taken it willingly.

When the prison fell, you had tried and failed to save Beth. Grieving yet again, right on the heels of losing Merle and then Hershel and then your home, you found a way out with Daryl, leaving the two of you stuck together on the road, alone and with a dense cloud of animosity billowing between you. It wasn’t until one night in a rundown home that Daryl had said reminded him of where he grew up, moonshine was flowing and then so were the emotions. You had both yelled, thrown things, killed the walkers that the fight attracted while continuing the verbal onslaught. In the end, drained and resigned, the two of you had talked. 

And the rest was history.

Alexandria had been a saving grace. It had taken a while to adjust. For Daryl, he had never lived in a community like that. He slept on the porch most nights, fleeing the confined spaces that left his chest heaving and his skin damp with sweat. You felt as if it were Woodbury all over again, destined to crash and burn and leave the group nothing but ashes. So, you slept on the porch with him, if for no other reason than to keep a fellow outsider close. You both knew it was more than that. 

Months had gone by. You had both finally moved inside a house and were even closer now than you had once been to Merle, which was surprising. Rick was confident in sending the two of you out together. You got shit done. That day in particular, things just weren’t moving in your favor.

For one, it was cold. The seasons were changing and you hadn’t adequately prepared for the chill in the air, especially when on the bike. The two of you were scouting for places that could possibly still have necessary supplies. Daryl had—as always—been quick to notice your discomfort. Though he had usually sewn the sleeves of jackets right onto his sleeveless shirts, that day, he had actually worn a leather jacket. 

“Here.” He shoved the article toward you, prompting a raised brow in response.

“What for?” You queried. It was a stupid question, but useless banter always kept things light between the two of you, comfortable even if Daryl would always claim the opposite. The space that lingered was never oppressive, not anymore.

“You’re cold, idiot.”

“Daryl Dixon is being sweet to me. This is one for the record books!” You chuckled while slipping on the jacket. The hunter scowled and bumped you with his elbow.

“Stop.”

“Didn’t hear you disagree.” You would have continued to tease if he hadn’t held up a fist just in front of you, the signal to be still and silent. The telltale groans, snarls, and shuffling feet were growing closer, blocking the two of you from the bike. “Aw, crap.”

“Yup.” He agreed, leaning around the corner of the building just enough to see the sizable herd. “Need a plan.” He mumbled, unclipping the sheath of his knife for a quick draw when needed.

“Got one.” 

“What?” When Daryl turned, you were already rounding the opposite corner of the building with a quiet shout of get the bike. “That fuckin’ woman’s gonna be the death’a me.”

There were a great deal more undead than you had anticipated. “Well, hell.” You grumbled. It was too late to turn around, several of the milky yellow eyes already landing on you. As you walked backward, keeping a safe distance but close enough to hold their attention, you could see Daryl peeking out from the corner. You exchanged nods before you began to wave your arms. “Hey! Over here! Keep your eyes on me!!” The noise ensured that Daryl’s already near silent footfalls would go unnoticed. He would get the bike, circle the herd, and you’d jump on. Piece of cake. 

Until you bumped right into a walker that led the other half of aforementioned herd. 

“Oh, fuck!” Quickly grabbing its throat to hold it back, you pivoted, walking backward toward the open area at the edges of the corpses. Daryl was shouting your name, the bike roaring to life. You just happened to choose the wrong time to glance in his direction in an attempt to gauge the distance between you. The next walker had fallen somehow, levering clumsily to its feet just beside the one you were grappling with, your knife having just sank into that one’s skull. There was no time to react. You could only watch the blade slip free as the teeth came together on your arm. It was painful but nothing like you had expected, more pressure than anything. Still, it was too late. You were bit.

“Y/N!!” Daryl shouted, grabbing you away from the dead man, your arm slipping free from its jaws to throw it off balance. That gave you a chance to climb on behind Daryl, the injured arm cradled to your chest while the other wrapped tightly around his abdomen. “Just a minute, just hang on. We’ll take care’a this.” He was rambling anxiously, the cool wind whipping and stinging as the herd grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

“I’m bit. I’m bit. I’m bit.” You chanted against Daryl’s back, only barely holding back your sobs. The bike slowed to a stop, the kickstand lowered roughly before Daryl was scrambling off when you should have been the first to move. 

“Lemme see.” When your teary eyes met his, he growled through the sting at his waterline. “Lemme fuckin’ see!” He wasn’t as gentle as he could have been but he didn’t hurt you. Pulling your arm away from your chest roughly, he grabbed the shoulder of the jacket and yanked it down, ripping one of the seams in the process. You were both greeted with bruising flesh, the slightest indents of where teeth had vehemently pressed, but no broken skin. No blood. No scratches. While you stared in a shocked relief, Daryl wasn’t so graceful. His legs buckled and he went down hard to his knees. “Goddamn it, Y/N!”

“I’m okay.” You blinked, eyes transfixed on your arm. It hurt but it wasn’t a death sentence. You weren’t going to turn. “I’m okay, Daryl.” You smiled through the tears, now falling for an entirely different reason. “Daryl?” He was trembling fiercely, his shoulders moving in a way that suggested he might have been crying. You started to throw your leg over the seat to comfort him when he drew back his arm and planted his fist into the asphalt with a crunch that made your stomach turn.

“You’re so fuckin’ stupid!” He roared, barreling upright to stand with his nose nearly touching yours. You were too shocked to react properly. “Ya couldn’a waited for a actual plan, just had to go balls to the wall an’ run out there like a fuckin’ lunatic!” Your eyes followed anxiously as he started to pace.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to get us out there in one piece. I didn’t even see the—”

His uninjured hand grabbed your wrist, tight and firm but not without care. He’d never hurt you. Not intentionally. Not physically, at least. “Ya call this one piece? I woulda had to take your arm, ya fuckin’ useless idiot!” That sent you reeling. Daryl had been angry with you before, but for things like keeping the squirrel over the fire for too long or kneeing him in the groin while trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. But that? That was different.

If Merle Dixon had taught you anything, it was to never show how you really felt. When you began to laugh, Daryl dropped your arm and stepped back, eyes wide and full of disbelief. “My god, you’re dramatic. I’m fine, Dixon. Let’s just chalk this up to a shit day and get the fuck out of here.”

“A shit d—are ya fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”

“Stop it. Get on the bike and let’s go.” You pulled the jacket back onto your arm, your red flannel peering through the tear in the shoulder. Now adjusted once again and ready to go, you looked back to find him still staring at you with the same incredulous expression. You chuckled and shook your head. “Stop being ridiculous. Let’s go.”

“Nah.” He was stepping backwards with his own head twisting back and forth. “Take the bike and go home. M’gonna walk.”

“It’s at least fifteen miles and it’s cold. Now who’s being stupid?” When he turned his back, leaving his crossbow strapped to the motorcycle, you actually began to panic. You could drive the bike, sure. He had taught you a few months back, just in case. Still, leaving him behind with nothing but his knife was not something you would do without a fight. “Daryl! Seriously, please, let’s go.” He ignored you, stalking off into the trees until the wings of his vest disappeared. 

Chasing him wasn’t a good idea. You knew him well enough to know that much. Or did you? It had been a long time since an argument like that, one where both of you had shut down in one way or another. You started the bike, toeing up the kickstand before propelling it forward, your chest constricting tighter and tighter with every mile. 

It had taken him far longer than necessary to make the walk back to Alexandria’s gates. Granted, he’d stopped for several smokes to calm himself down. He’d slide down the nearest tree and sit there—flexing his throbbing fingers—until he had drawn the cigarette down to the filter or he heard the incoming growls of the walkers that had been tailing him. He had to take an extra half hour to put down the ones he could and lose the ones he couldn’t. By the time Sasha pulled open the gates, Daryl was bone weary and more than a little ashamed of how he’d reacted. 

“Seen Y/N?” He asked in lieu of answering when she questioned where he’d been.

“She came back a while ago. Haven’t seen her since. Sorry.” She patted his shoulder and returned to her post. You were back, so that anxiety was at least remedied. 

Still, he needed to talk to you. The way you had laughed in the face of his anger had unnerved him. It reminded him so much of his brother that it hurt. That type of behavior didn’t suit you. Then again, who was he to tell you how to behave? He had spoken to you so harshly instead of just telling you that you scared the shit out of him. He should have hugged you and been thankful that you didn’t lose your arm, didn’t lose your life. But emotions and Daryl weren’t exactly on speaking terms. When he didn’t understand why or how something made him feel a certain way, he lashed out at it. He was conditioned that way, it was in his blood. He had been trying so hard to be better. He actually thought he was getting better. Boy, he couldn’t have been more wrong. He was still a work in progress. He needed you to know that. He needed to apologize, even if it burned coming out of his mouth to admit he was wrong, to admit to feeling anything at all. 

Damn you for wiggling your way into his useless heart. He thought he had crushed and buried the thing years ago. Then you came tagging along on his brother’s heels and challenged everything he thought he knew about himself. He chose not to acknowledge it, even when people like Carol and Rick did. Often. 

Sighing, he stopped on the porch of the home he shared with you and Carol, lighting up a cigarette and leaning over the railing on his forearms. He would have assumed that you’d already spilled everything to Carol but when she didn’t barrel out of the house with a rolling pin aimed at his head, it was easy to figure out that you hadn’t. Maybe you hadn’t even been home yet. He trampled that worry down quickly, not willing to let it compound into another wave of anger he’d have to answer for eventually.

The streets were quiet with the sun now completely gone, replaced by the waning crescent moon. There was enough light for him to see, of course. His eyes were trained from years of hunting and surviving out in nature. He could hear frogs close to the pond, even hear the paper of his cigarette sizzling with each drag. But then he heard something else. Something that shattered him to his very core because he knew immediately what and who and why it was.

He didn’t bother to keep his steps light. It wouldn’t do to surprise you. You’d just be even more upset without time to even try and compose yourself. Even so, it was possible you still didn’t hear him approaching. Your sobs and sniffles continued, probably barely audible to anyone who didn’t know how to listen and not just hear.

You were perched on the bench beneath the gazebo, knees drawn up to your chest with your face hidden behind them. Even in the dark, he could see your shoulders shaking. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there watching you but once it was clear that you hadn’t noticed him, he cleared his throat. Had it been any other day, any other situation, the way you unfolded and nearly climbed over the back of the bench would have been comical. Maybe it still would be when the two of you looked back on this, but that was only if he could make things right.

“Hey.” He rasped, still rooted to the same spot.

You sniffed, wiping at your face with the sleeve of your flannel. The leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. “Hi.” All the confidence from earlier was gone, leaving your voice but a tiny echo of the woman that had called him dramatic. “I’m glad you made it back safely.”

“Ya alright?” He chanced a step toward you, pausing after one when your eyes darted down to his boots and back up. God, he felt like an asshole. Were you afraid of him now?

“Mhm. I’m okay.” You sniffed again and settled back onto the seat, pulling your knees against you once again. “I hung your jacket on the doorknob of your room. I fixed the sleeve.”

Great. You fixed the thing he tore. Now he felt like a major asshole. “Listen, Y/N, I—”

“It’s okay, Daryl.” You interjected, offering him a small, feigned smile while your eyes betrayed you. “Carol has dinner ready. I put your plate in the oven.” It was just getting better and better. You had still thought of him enough to make sure he had something to eat when he got back. And the award for Asshole of the Year goes to: Daryl Dixon.

You stood so quickly that he nearly flinched. “I should—I have a new job assignment tomorrow. Need to get some sleep.”

That threw him. “New—ya ain’t goin’ out anymore?” You shook your head.

“I’m gonna work in the pantry, dabble in the armory too. Give Olivia a break sometimes.” Your tone wasn’t cold but bordered on emotionless. You’d asked Rick to take you off the run list, and you’d done it because of him.

“Y/N, don’t do that.” He watched as you approached, your head down. If you hadn’t seen his boots when he stepped into your path, you surely would have slammed into him. “Shouldn’a talked to ya the way I did.” Even while you looked off to the side, he could see the way your face screwed up like you were about to cry again, but after a moment, you settled.

“No, you were right. I should have waited. Things could have gone a lot differently. I didn’t stop to think about how you would have felt if I had been bitten.” Daryl deflated at the utter dejection in your voice. “Anyway, goodnight, Daryl.” 

Watching you walk away, your arms wrapped around yourself so tightly, he let himself think about it; allowed himself to think about what he would have felt if you had been bitten. It wasn’t anger then. It was loss, despair, guilt. Whether he’d had to have taken your arm or not, the prospect of possibly losing you was more than he could even think to bear. What was more terrifying was that he realized that your loss would devastate him more than his own brother’s had.

“Y/N, wait!”

He couldn’t let you think he had acted that way out of anger alone. Yes, he had been angry but he had been scared. He couldn’t say you were his closest friend. That spot was taken by Carol. You were something else entirely. Something that he would never get the chance to explore or define, fear and awkwardness be damned, if something happened to you.

His feet were carrying him toward you at a brisk pace, your eyes wide at his approach but you didn’t move. You didn’t flinch or cower, even when he grabbed your shoulder and pulled in against his chest, wrapping both arms around you to hold you there.

“M’sorry.” He whispered into your hair. You weren’t hugging him back but that was most likely because your arms were pinned between the two of you. “Ain’t no reason for me to ever talk to ya like that. Ya ain’t stupid. You’re quick on your feet an’ it ain’t fair’a me to fault ya on that just cause m’too scared to lose ya.” He felt your sharp inhale while his face and neck flushed at the admission. “I—Christ, ain’t no good at this talkin’ an’ shit.” When your shoulders shook, he knew he’d made you cry again and took a step back, his hands sliding up to hold your shoulders. While that was true, the movement was from the laughter bubbling up from your chest instead of the tears falling down your cheeks. “The hell ya laughing at?”

“I like you too, Daryl.” Goddamnit, you had a pretty smile. He’d make a fool of himself ten times over if it meant you’d give him that smile just once.

“Ain’t a thing ‘bout likin’ ya.” He swallowed hard and looked away, the pink hue on his cheeks deepening. “Don’t know what it is, but, uh—well, maybe we can try to figure it out together?” He sounded like a lovesick teenager and was two seconds away from rolling his eyes so hard that they would relocate permanently to the back of his skull.

“I’d like that.” 

“Really?” He straightened, expression embarrassingly hopeful.

“Yeah. Yeah, I would.” 

“Right.” He cleared his throat and stepped back, not feeling like he’d entirely lost the right to call himself a man. “So, uh—Guess we should tell Rick that Olivia can get Spencer to help her. Maybe he’d stop oglin’ ya all the damn time if he’s cooped up in the pantry.” You reached for his hand and he let you take it. “Maybe I could talk her into lockin’ him in there for a while.” The walk back to the house wasn’t a long one and all too quickly, you were climbing the porch steps just in front of him.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want other guys checking out your girl?” 

Daryl almost missed the top step. “My girl?” He didn’t mean for it to come out quite so breathlessly. He was mostly definitely losing his man card that night. You were blinking at him, your smile slowly faltering.

“I—I misunderstood, didn’t I? Jesus, Daryl, I’m—”

“Nah.” He quickly derailed that train of thought. “Just liked hearin’ ya say it s’all.” 

“Are you—”

“Yup.” The smile was back and Daryl could breathe again. Somehow, standing there with you on the porch and him on the top step, just staring at one another was more comfortable than he could have ever imagined. 

“So,” you began, twisting your upper half back and forth, “you walked me home. Are you gonna say goodnight and kiss me now?”

Daryl’s face contorted in confusion, a dark brow arching. “I, uh—I live here too.”

“Does that really matter?” You asked, stepping a little closer. 

“Guess it don’t, really.” When you leaned forward, he didn’t stop you. Found that he didn’t want to. Even as new and undefined as whatever this was, this felt right and he’d be damned if he’d let a chance like that pass him by. 

Inside the house, Carol swirled the wine around in her glass, watching the kiss happen with a sigh of relief. “Finally.” Picking up her book, she took a sip and placed the glass down on the table before opening to the dog-eared page. “Now I don’t have to lock them in the pantry together tomorrow.”

[maxknightley]

Which Touhou Girls Can You Plausibly Read As Butch? A Comprehensive Overview

Earlier on Tumblr I saw a post complaining that someone called Hecatia Lapislazuli from Touhou Project butch. This is Hecatia Lapislazuli:

Obviously, like most Touhou characters, she is in fact quite feminine - she just shops at Hell Hot Topic. But it got me thinking: In a series like Touhou, with a cast overwhelmingly defined by feminine (if rowdy) ladies, how many characters could you say are 'butch' without sounding like a complete doofus or significantly redesigning them to fit your headcanon?

CRITERIA

I'll be using four main criteria to judge characters' butchness. In real life, of course, butchness is a multivalent and extremely personal thing, but I'm talking about funny cartoon women from a video game here, so I'm willing to be a little reductive.

These criteria, in order of descending importance, are:

FASHION. In a series where goddamn near everyone is in either a dress or a skirt, the mere act of Wearing A Dress Shirt can be enough to make a powerful statement. Hats may also play a role here, given how many Touhou characters have gay little hats.

HAIRSTYLE. Short hair is not the be-all and end-all of butchness. I, myself, am Decidedly Butch even though I've been growing out my hair since college. But the length and styling of the hair are still a valuable indicator of how someone thinks of themself and wants to be seen.

'TUDE. Could this character be accurately described as "kind of a frat boy?" How do they speak to others? Do they just kind of seem like a character who ought to be butch, regardless of their looks? Do they even lift?

COMEDY FACTOR. Self-explanatory. This will probably only come into play if I run into a weird edge case.

I'll also emphasize that we're grading on a curve here - butchness is being assessed relative to the characters who do not appear on this list. Nobody in this series has a buzzcut, you know what I mean?

THE TIER LIST

AS CLOSE TO CANON AS WE'LL GET

Fujiwara no Mokou. The girl wears a dress shirt, fucking suspenders, and trousers. Not shorts, actual full-length pants. She's also in a perpetual love-hate mutual-murder situationship with Princess Kaguya, who is femme as all fuck. Obviously you don't have to be butch to date a femme - I'm just saying it feels Fitting given their whole deal.

Yuugi Hoshiguma. Most of the time, her fashion sense is actually quite feminine - but her look in the most recent chapter of Cheating Detective Satori, with the one exposed shoulder and the sarashi and all that, significantly alters the balance. Her hair actually reads as more masc to me when she keeps it long and unruly - when she puts it up in a ponytail, she ends up looking very kempt, even elegant. The deciding factor here is 'Tude: Her sheer levels of butch swag are off the fucking charts. (Still, I wouldn't blame someone for arguing she should be knocked down a tier - especially since I'd argue the Comedy Factor works in reverse here. She's way funnier if she doesn't think of herself as butch in the slightest.)

Minamitsu Murasa. In his original appearance I'd argue that Murasa is in "Reasonable" tier - maybe even as low as "Kind of a Stretch." But her big gay Jotaro jacket in Sunken Fossil World, combined with the emphasis on the weightiness and solidity of his trademark anchor, put her over the top. One of the only Touhou girls I consider worthy of being He/Himmed.

Shinmyoumaru Sukuna. The other He/Him-worthy Touhou girl. Very short, slightly messy hair; wears a kimono, not a dress; inheritor of Issun-Boshi's legacy; wears fucking dinnerware as a hat. Why do you want to be Big so badly, huh? So you can pick up women more easily? So you can carry your awful wife through the upside-down threshold of your upside-down bedroom?

Raiko Horikawa. For the longest time I thought her skirt was a pair of shorts because I straight up could not parse it as anything else. Even now I'm like "that can't possibly be a skirt, ZUN just drew it weird. She has to be wearing a full two-piece suit." Skirt aside, her jacket/dress shirt/necktie are still undeniable, as is her short hair. Also, she is a taiko drum given life, and I feel like taiko and timpanis are naturally butch. Maybe if she was a tambourine or a set of bongos I'd rank her lower?

Momoyo Himemushi. Rough-talking miner. Wears a dress shirt, leaves the top button(?) undone. Tromps around a big weird cave with no shoes or socks on. Wears bows and bangles basically everywhere but in her messy, tangled hair. Also, maybe I'm stereotyping here, but I just can't picture a centipede as being femme.

REASONABLE

Wriggle Nightbug. The dress shirt, cape, and puffy shorts all paint a vivid picture, but I just feel like I don't have a strong enough opinion on Wriggle as a character to put her in the top tier. In other words, she's got plenty of points for Fashion and quite a few for Hairstyle, but I just don't think the 'Tude is sufficient for me.

Reisen Udongein Inaba. The skirts are a strike against her, but her whole "dress shirt + necktie + sometimes suit jacket" thing makes a big difference, especially given that we're grading on a curve. Her rumpled ears and (particularly in Inaba of the Moon, Inaba of the Earth) pathetic demeanor go a long way towards giving her a vibe somewhere between "overworked salaryman" and "Detective Columbo."

Aya Shameimaru. All you need to know about Aya is that her "human reporter" disguise looks like This:

Mononobe no Futo. Butch, but in a really weird, circuitous way, imo. Like. She's sort of wearing a dress, but it's sort of a robe - the contrast of the hemline with her big flowy sleeves makes it hard to pin down - and her outfit quite notably has tassels rather than any kind of frills. I don't know what the hell is up with her hat but it's definitely not femme by any stretch of the imagination. Then thou hast the wayes in which she speaketh all "faux-olde-timey," even though nobody else in the setting does that... she transferred her soul into a plate, but she also throws plates around as weapons... It's like she's constantly putting on a performance that only she truly understands. It's like she reverse-engineered "masculine womanhood" by hanging out with a bunch of queens and doing kind of the same thing but kind of the inverse. The more I think about Futo the more I think she's entirely on her own wavelength, but I think "Reasonable" tier is a... uh, reasonable... approximation for the sake of this post.

Sagume Kishin. She dresses like if Bill Nye were a woman, and I think that cuts to the heart of it - she reminds me of a professor who you're not ever sure is gay, but you kind of pick up on a vibe, and near the end of the semester she offhandedly refers to "her partner" and you're like HOLY SHIT I KNEW IT. I went back and forth between putting her in "Reasonable" and "Kind of a Stretch"; ultimately, the Comedy Factor decided it because I couldn't stop thinking about a scenario where she says she's a woman, accidentally upends her whole understanding of gender in the process, and ends up taking testosterone while still ID'ing as a lesbian. I don't actually know if her powers would work that way and I don't care.

KIND OF A STRETCH

Eiki Shiki. I don't have a lot to go on, here, because she hasn't had many official appearances and seems to spend most of her time lecturing people or tormenting sinners. Her uniform(?)/apothecary outfit(??) is pretty snazzy; combined with the hat, it gives her a vaguely "military officer" look to me. We'll call her "butch pending further investigation," which I think she would agree is the correct course of action.

Sekibanki. She's here partially because of the cape, and partially because being sandwiched between Wakasagihime and Kagerou makes her look way more masc by contrast. I know what I said.

Ringo. It's pretty much just the hat and the pants, though - as a butch woman who Loves Eating - I am also inclined to project my own experiences onto her.

Aunn Komano. She reads as more "tomboyish" than outright "butch" to me, what with her whole puppy-dog vibe, but at the same time... she's very much wearing shorts and the kind of goofy-looking button-up shirt that is central to my own wardrobe and the wardrobe of other butches in my life. I'm willing to count her.

Takane Yamashiro. A living testament to the power of small character design choices. I would never in a million years call Nitori butch, even with her gay little hat and all the pouches on her outfit - she just looks like a girl scout. Takane, though? Takane, with her little hair swoopy, and the fucking suitcase slung over her back, and her camo-print dress? I mean - ultimately it is still a dress, which is why I can't justify scoring her higher, but she's definitely chewing tobacco and riding around on an ATV on weekends.

Chiyari Tenkaijin. If she's butch, it's not really because she's trying to be butch, it's just because being femme seems too expensive and time-consuming. She's got better things to do (drink blood all day). Still, I think an argument could be made.

DEFINITELY A STRETCH, BUT I RESPECT IT

Renko Usami. ZUN is kind of inconsistent with how he draws her hat - sometimes it's more of a porkpie/fedora type thing, other times it's round-topped and looks a bit like Koishi's hat. To me, this is a crucial distinction. In a more general sense, I feel like Renko's outfit gets a little less plausibly-masc with each passing album, which says a lot about our society. Or her society, anyway, since she lives in the future. Still, the capelets and bowties...

Rinnosuke Morichika. I think it would be really funny if the only significant male character in Touhou wasn't actually even a dude. I'm not aware of any real textual support for this interpretation, though.

Shou Toramaru. Pretty much only on here because of the hair and because I think there's a certain je ne sais quoi to her whole deal of "she's not a real tiger, she's the idea of a tiger that pre-Meiji Japanese people came up with from secondhand accounts."

Seija Kijin. Not even remotely butch by any stretch of the imagination... But if she did consider herself butch, isn't that exactly what she'd want you to think?

POTENTIALLY NOTEWORTHY EXCLUSIONS

Cirno. "Tomboyish" is not the same thing as "butch," to me, especially if you exclusively wear dresses. Also, I'm not sure Cirno even knows what a lesbian is.

Saki Kurokoma. Not actually butch, just a horse girl. (And a horsegirl.)

Mike Goutokuji. Can't tell if she's wearing a skirt or shorts. She's got short hair, sure, but the whole "matching bell collar and wristbands that also have bells attached" thing makes her look more like a Very Online Trans Woman who just figured herself out and hasn't started hormones or bought any new clothes yet.

[gatorbites-imagines]

Astarion Ancunín x Bard Tiefling Male reader

Headcanons

I’ve been playing Baldurs Gate 3 little by little, and I’ve fallen for this vamps’ charms. I blame Twilight. Reader is a Tiefling Bard cuz that’s what my player character is. I also have only played DnD like twice, so I know nothing about races or canon. If you guys have any cool dnd facts, let me know, id love to hear them.

Heres just some light and overall headcanons, there’s no specific theme.

In the beginning like any relationship started with Astarion, it wouldn’t be romantic from his part in the start. You, being a bard, have met and experienced a lot of people, so you can read between the lines in his actions though.

You aren’t cruel when it comes to helping others, not one to fit the stereotype some people seem to have for Tieflings and bards. You are just perspective, and you’ll need a reason to do something, having been burned so many times in the past by trying to be good.

Early on, before you knew he was a vampire, the two of you could regularly be found sitting a bit away from the fire at night as the others slept. You would play your instrument at a low volume, as the sound helped your allies sleep, and Astarion would stay nearby since you guys were allies.

Overtime it would develop into something more, you two would flirt, and feelings would actually bloom. It even reaches a point where you might start writing poems or songs about Astarion and your feelings for him, though you’d never show them to anyone, especially not Astarion, his ego is already big enough.

Astarion would struggle with the feelings he is developing for you, as we all know he would. In the beginning he would deny it, and try to convince himself that it was just something going hand in hand with lust, or something about being free and in the sun.

As the story goes on though, we all know that Astarion becomes softer and finally accepts his feelings for you. The two of you being shunned in ways from society, him being a vampire, and you being a Tiefling, probably helps build some solidarity too.

After you guys officially get together, hed start making jokes about you writing ballads about him and his excellence, and you’d joke there’s no need for that. In the end he would figure out the songs you wrote about him before you guys even got together, and of course he preens like a peacock.

I don’t know if Tiefling blood tastes different or has different properties, but to Astarion, the first time you let him feed on you, he would never be able to feed on anyone else. You are perfect to him, from the top of your horns to the tip of your tail.

When you guys cuddle your tail curls around him, and it even seems to do it without you realizing during the day. It becomes a joke amongst your friends, much to your embarrassment.

You being a Bard and Tiefling also means higher charisma, you two are probably lethal when it comes to persuasion or anything involving your charms and lies, especially when you work together.

I don’t know if Astarion plays any instruments, since he wouldn’t have been able to do so for all the years, he’s been under Cazador, or I assume so. But even if he did, I could imagine him asking you to teach him how to play your instrument.

You being a Tiefling also means you are warmer to the touch, and Astarion being a vampire means he doesn’t have any body heat. So, he’s like a big lizard or cat when you guys’ cuddle, just curling up in your arms or melting against your chest.

[martinblackwoodhater]

Martin Blackwood never really changed.

His attitude changed, sure - he went from "everyone I care about hates me so I must deserve it" to "I am terrible but so are these people and since they've been so mean to me I should take revenge, I'm not as weak as they all think". But his way of thinking stays the same throughout the whole series.

What I dislike about Martin and what stays the same even after his "character development" is that despite claiming to be a carer, he consistently fails to consider things from other people's perspective, and his fans overlook that part. I've always felt like his attempts at caring for people (bringing them tea etc) were somewhat clumsy, and that he never actually knew what they even wanted - i think he said so himself when he was in the Lonely that giving people tea when they seemed down was easier than discussing their problems and actually finding out what's wrong. It shows when he just jumps to sacrifice himself when Peter Lukas took over the Instutute - he was so quick to sacrifice himself and give himself away and he didn't even stop to consider that it might be unnecessary, or that there might be another solution, like discussing with his team. His help is less about actually helping and more about punishing himself and not being useless. Since he hates himself, that kind of help is not only "making up for the space he takes up" in his mind, but it's also kind of like self harm.

It also shows in season 5 when he straight up refuses to listen to Jon's explanations of the apocalypse and the statements in general.

Despite being so set on sacrificing himself for others, berating himself, and generally always trying to fix everything for everyone by himself, Martin has only ever considered his own needs.

It actually makes him feel very real as a character, but unfortunately most of the fandom has dumbed him down to two versions - season 1-3 "cutie shy softie boy with a crush on his boss awwww" and season 4-5 "hot sexy man that wants to take revenge on everyone who has ever wronged him and he is so in love with his monster boyfriend uwu❤️❤️ jon and martin are so cute together ❤️ " no they're not. Maybe Martin was fine with Jon before the apocalypse - admittedly i don't remember the safehouse ep all that well, and that seems to be what got everyone to ship them, but after the end of the wold, when they're travelling through the Fearscape together, they are so very not happy and healthy. There are so many problems. And Martin straight up refusing to listen to anything that Jon has to say about the Eyepocalypse is just the cherry on top.

Towards the end of the story, they use each other more as anchors that help them keep the remaining bits of their humanity. They ground each other, true, and they NEED each other, but their relationship is messy and tainted with the feelings of guilt, loss, and blame. They barely communicate their feelings and intentions. They stick together in order to survive, but the only thing bonding them together is shared trauma. They are broken by what they experienced. They actually don't know each other at all, just the idealized, pre-apocalypse versions of eachother. It makes me quite upset that the vast majority of the fans missed that very important aspect of their relationship.

It was literally spelled out for them by Peter Lukas:

So yeah, maybe they are canon in the sense that they were briefly in a "romantic" relationship. But the fanon version is sooo romanticized and warped and twisted and changed and made to fit into one of those neat "workplace-enemies-to-lovers" boxes like tags on ao3.

To sum up: i don't like Martin as a person, but he's written well and realistically as a character. I despise fanon Martin and Jmart. Jmart is canon, but not in the way most people seem to think.

ily xoxo you're always right this is why you're my favourite mutual (alongside all my other mutuals. you are all my favourites.)

[alex-is-a-simp-73]

OKAY SO

Obviously we have The Lamb and The Goat from cotl

And like, idk how popular of an idea this already is or anything, hell for all i know it might just straight up be canon, or I may just be drawing lines where there aren't any, but The Goat always seemed to me like the version of The Lamb but for Shamura instead of Narinder.

What about The Lamb of the other 3 Bishops?

This idea might've been done before but I haven't seen it, so I'm gonna do it anyway.

I might draw them at some point but for now its just words lol

(aforementioned Words under the cut)

Heket- The Cow. Cows, based on a quick google search, (but Not the ai overview bc that thing is stupid) seems to be pretty widely accepted as counting as a Sacrificial animal, not to the same degree as lambs or goats, but the point still stands. ALSO, being that Heket is representative of Famine, a Cow seems like an obvious choice, as an animal that can provide multiple different types of food, Beef and Milk, by extension all other dairy products. I imagine they would favor the Gauntlet weapon, as a symbol of the almost Primal Desperation that famine and starvation can cause, particularly the Vampiric Gauntlet.

Leshy- The Deer. Deer can also be viewed as a Sacrificial animal, though admittedly it's not super common from what I found. However, I feel that a Deer ties into Leshy's forest/woodland theme well. Admittedly not a lot of symbolism with this one bc Leshy doesn't really embody one of the 4 horsemen, instead embodying chaos, however Deer can have, and are kind if known for, very unpredictable, thereby chaotic, behavior. I dont imagine they favor any particular weapon, in the name of unpredictability.

Kallamar- The Rat. Rats from what I saw are not Sacrificial animals, at least not in the way the rest of the animals on this list are. However, I feel a Rat is fitting for Kallamar given that he is the Bishop of Pestilence. Rats tend to be (often wrongfully) given the blame for the spread of disease quite often. They are also used commonly in lab testing, most often for medications, and when I googled whether they were a Sacrificial animal or not, I got a lot of results about Scientists having to "sacrifice" lab rats. I feel that The Rat would favor Curses over any of the normal Weapons, though I haven't decided which curse in particular.

[thekirammanjinx]

“I don’t care that you’re lesbians” - proceeds to be homophobic. Same shit with all of them they try to act like they are “class and racial activists” to justify/cover up their homophobia.

They cherry-pick the racial representation they fight for. They seem to only care about Ekko’s rep and how timeb*mb fits into it. Other interracial (canon) couples : Caitlyn/Vi andJayce/Mel, it’s suddenly crickets. Do they only care about the rep if it’s a man of color and not a woman of color?

They claim that season 2 was a poor representation for class division and any justice around it. They particularly blame Caitlyn and Vi for this, which shows their misunderstanding of classism and how to make sustainable changes. So it’s unsurprising that they couldn’t appreciate the depth of CaitVi’s relationship - the symbol for repairing the class division.

They act like Jinx is the face of all this, but she’s a (presumed) heterosexual white girl , who grew up the most privileged and protected in Zaun. Not that it’s on the same level of privilege as the lowest parts of Piltover but her “class standing” was a lot better than Ekko and Viktor and ESPECIALLY Vi. Moreover this straight white girl has terrorized her black love interest, who was fighting to survive and protect the innocents of Zaun. Ekko has always been for the people of Zaun. Not Jinx.

Going by their logic…shouldn’t there be some racial and class status issues there? There is no logic with their self insert white girl. She’s always the savior, (i don’t see them talking about the white girl savior trope but okay).

Rant over. This isn’t a slight at any of the characters but they need to stop acting like they are activists

But it is important to talk about jinx not only being at the top of zaun, but actively being a harmful figure at the top, actively creating a place that is barely liveable for some. Fandom is so hard pressed to say that only the rich of piltover and the enforcers are the oppressors... but they're not. (This got long and possibly side tracked)

(Plus remember marcus and, therefore, the enforcers are in silco back pocket. Silco actively is using them to make things worse for zaun under the guise that he's doing it for the betterment. He's just revenge seeking and self idolizing. But then people will call caitlyn an oppressor and spout this nonsense when 1, she's at the bottom of the food chain in s1 when it comes to enforcer business and 2, silco is literally doing the, non existing, things people want to pin on caitlyn.

It is not the same as ambessa, seeing as she chose piltover, who actively has the bigger boot, but it is so similar to ambessa, the things silco did. Using the enforcers to incite hostility, making sure that zaun cannot retaliate because of they do it'll look like a retaliation on piltover and not on him. Then again people can't even think critically about ambessa, so no shock there.)

People really do not care about ekko except to spout timebomb. Which in turn mischaracterize him.(ekko is the grudge holding one who just hates caitlyn for no reason... like get fucking real. Ekko wanted a better zaun. He wasn't just jinx yes man. He was never jinx yes man.)

Everytime jinx is involved people suddenly don't know how to characterize and view the reality of a character. Down playing anything caitlyn experienced, saying she used the grey "only" for jinx; she used the grey, yes to find jinx, but also to end shimmer because she saw how dangerous shimmer was, saw how fucking unchecked it was. They attack the memorial.

Not to mention jinx is literally a criminal, but people do not want actual accountability and reprimand for actions. People just want caitlyn and anyone born in piltover to suffer, no matter what, which is such an odd mentality. Some people genuinely are not mature enough to be going into this media when that is their opinion, they see nothing wrong with their opinion, and die on that hill.

Speaking from a narrative stand point, jinx really had no reason to bomb the council when she was the one sitting at the top of zauns throne. Silco had the enforcers in his pocket, so any hostility coming from enforcers was on his bill, so it really does not work when people try and say "now caitlyn gets to feel what zaun felt"...

(it doesn't make sense to begin with because punishing an individual who had no rank or merrit is not revolutionary. It is straight punishment for her being born. Punishing innocent in your conquest does not make your cause more just.

Viewing EVERYONE as liable to a corrupt system does not make your cause just. Viewing everyone equally accountable, simply because they exist on the other side, does not make your cause just. People are not born oppressors, that is a title you must earn through ACTION. Caitlyn doesn't suddenly become an oppressor just because she's a councilors daught or because she puts on the uniform.)

But trying to explain anything to these people is literally talking to a brick wall. They don't grasp the concept. Too busy applying irl to fiction instead of applying the fictional narrative to the fiction?!

Acab doesn't work for arcane. We see that through the way corruption is played with(Grayson vs Marcus) The way it's not on individuals, but on a system that guides them, but even within the system not everyone is bad(caitlyn vs marcus--but people like caitlyn are not given the room to show that things can change. Not everyone is bad. Instead she is targeted simply for being there despite not having been part of the unjust to begin with. Being born a piltie does not make you part of an unjust system.

And then people hate vi simply because she looked at caitlyn as her own person and not as an extension of a system???)

Plus jinx(fandom) treat caitlyn like the big evil(when she's not); target her and kidnapping her and killing her mother, then hey... maybe caitlyn will become part of the corruption. Maybe she has a reason to hate them. Like she said.

Caitlyn did have her fall from grace but I never will understand the way people exaggerate it instead of just WATCHING THE SHOW and seeing it for what it is. She also becomes something of the mediator between zaun and ambessa. But again fandom doesn't look at ambessa and noxus.

[buubonita]

You probably already talked about him like, A LOT, but i like to hear anything about epic sans, the sad guy has a lot of potencial

Qin! Haiii!! Dw I never get tired of talking about Epic, and tumblr is the only place that seems to listen to me.

I'm not going to get tired of saying this but I'm a little fed up with how the fandom literally decided to take Epic as a meme character and not give credit to the little but at least consistent work behind the character.

Can I say that Yugo also didn't help the character by using him for constant shitposts?? I can say it, they are partly to blame too, sorry not sorry.

I'm fine if people do stupid things with the character but it gets to a point where it's irritating to see for me personally. Sometimes I feel like he's a grumpy old woman for having these ideas. When I met him and said that I liked him I remember well that an online user called me stupid for liking such a dumb character and I felt really bad for a while and I didn't want to know about Epic until I found out that Epic is another character misunderstood on a large scale by the fandom and has the bad fortune of being hated by his creator.

Anyway, to the point. I love Epic, he makes up the trinity of my favorite UTMV characters, I love his design and the tragedy of his situation. I like villains more than heroes in general, but Epic has a particular charm, I wouldn't call him a hero because the poor guy wasn't meant to save anyone, he was conceived as a tool and died as such without too many contemplations, but he tried, he died trying and that is absolutely admirable considering ALL the shit he's been through for 20 years! I don't know, he inspires me to keep going, even if his canon isn't that deep and the au he comes from is a very basic story that takes elements from anime and manga.

It's funny how different Epic is from other favorite characters I have, but that makes him even more special to me.

And I love the idea that the fandom adopts him and gives him details that enrich his character because as I said, I love him so much! <3 and he deserves better.

To wrap things up because I don't want to overwhelm you, some headcanons of my boy to share.

* Epic has taken care of Chara and Asriel, they are his nephews and he keeps a picture of them in his trench coat (often showing it to others like the proud uncle he is).

* I don't want to think of him as a creep, he's a 45 year old man for fucks sake. But eh, he definitely watches that kind of shitty H content sometimes.

* The people closest to Epic I would say are Mettaton, Papyrus and Asgore (who is supposed to be his best friend but the fandom prefers Cross haha)

* I see him as the guy who would make a cookie review blog. I also like that he does reviews of any media and a lot of ironic consumption ("Getting Drunk on Undernovela Part 157"")

* Epic's eye has lost strength over the years (particularly after Gester's death) so his regeneration process is much slower than before. His body can be completely destroyed but the eye will remain intact.

Maybe one day, the eye will stop working and give Epic his mortality back.

* Epic keeps Cross' bandana from their first meeting together (in my one shot We Must Die In Spring something like this was supposed to happen.

Cross: I like your bandana.

Epic: Thanks. I used to be a royal guard.

But it didn't quite fit ahsuahs

Also Perfect Encounter, the epictale and xtale animated crossover, is supposed to be canon for this One Shot but Perfect Encounter hasn't come out yet so I had to fill in the gap with my imagination.

God i love Cross and Epic friendship so much)

And that's all for now... thanks for asking Qin 🩷🌸

[new-tella-us]

Seduce Me Situations(?)

Cause I'm bored!

You probably notice the question mark. That's because this technically isn't a Seduce Me Situation but more of just personality expansion in the formatting of a Seduce Me Situation and there is a situation at the end so I'm gunna keep the title.

The "situation" of the morning is: "What are the boys + Mika's toxic trait?" And I'm not talk about some small flaw like clumsiness, or nail biting. Nor am I talking about mental health issues like depression or anxiety (although personality traits that might be enhanced by mental health issues are still on the table). No. I'm talking about traits that would make the character unlikeable if it was too much of their personality.

Everyone has toxic traits, it's the amount of personality it takes up and how aware of it you are that determines if you are still a likeable person with that trait. (Also this post ended up longer than I thought it would be)

James- His condescension. If you asked James himself why he's so hard on his brothers, he would say that he simply thinks they can do better. And he's....80% correct but, that 20% and what you would see from the outside is a man with a superiority complex. To an extent, he thinks he's better than his brothers and people in general and that tends to show every once in a while. His brothers have learnt from early that if you ask James for any form of help for a mistake you made, a comment or a lecture is basically guaranteed. It's something he learnt from Istorae and it's very hard to unlearn.

Erik- His objectification. Erik is a notorious flirt and a lover of beautiful things. He had to be, it's all his mother ever taught him. He would flirt with any person that seemed susceptible to his charms and use them to get what he wanted, usually energy. But on Earth? That doesn't always work. Cultures clash with some of his more... raunchy comments and it can lead to him sounding like he only cares about their body. Women of today are more likely to catch onto that and get angry or scared, Mika being perfect proof of that.

Sam- His wrath. Stemming from the years of disillusionment he's had towards everything, he's gained a cold and angry disposition towards the world. He hasn't fully learnt to control his rage, blaming it on being more brute than the others. And why wouldn't he do that? Everyone else blames his brute side or just sees him as a brute. In actuality, plenty of full brutes know how to control their rage, Sergeant for example. He can get angry and speaks loud but he doesn't lose control of himself. It's really the fact that only Dracae has even tried to reel Sam's temper in that caused him to grow up so angry.

Matthew- His envy. (Now, according to Michaela, Damien would be more envy than Matthew so this is my Matthew we're talking about. Which is canon Matthew adjacent but not exact. Okay? Okay.) I think Damien is more jealousy but true ENVY is wanting what someone else has. Being angry that you don't have what you think you deserve whether or not you've earned it. And doesn't that just sound like Matthew? Or at least what Aezera was trying to turn Matthew into. Matthew held onto some of those teachings and became somewhat bitter that the others, mainly James, were seen as more fit for the throne. He always wanted to usurp James in something. And on the rare occasions he does, he might be a bit of a gloat about it.

Damien- His possessiveness. He might have a sympathetic reason for being so possessive but it's still a toxic trait. Growing up, he had no control of anything. Not himself, not anyone else, not even his mind reading. That might have been why, when he finally does get control, he at least feels the temptation to completely over step. His intentions are mostly pure, like James, I'd say maybe 90% but 10% might be just the love of control. Neither reasons matter, the result is the same, he crosses boundaries and isn't quick to trust or like anyone close to the people he loves. Though, to his defense, he is probably the most aware of his toxic trait and tries his hardest to quell his urges.

Mika- Her stubbornness. This sounds like a boring answer in comparison to the rest but it really isn't. There is, of course, a good to being stubborn. She's not a sheep that could be led into any direction with sweet enough words. However, when I say this girl is stubborn, I mean it. For if she had to change her mind or opinion, she would have to think about why. Introspection is this girl's worst nightmare as she has a natural tendency to spiral and a lot of inner darkness she hides under lock and key. If she was to think about why she believes something or if she should, she might unlock that darkness and be forced to think about more unpleasant things and she isn't willing to do that. Plus, she's prideful and has a love of being right (kinda like James tbh) so admitting that she's wrong might hurt her ego more than she's willing to take. This is a trait she got directly from her father.

Do these toxic traits ever clash? Of course they do! For simplicity sake, I'll talk about when each boy's trait clash with Mika's stubbornness and how they would eventually fix it while in a relationship.

James and Mika bickered occasionally even while dating. Their similar need to be right made both unwilling to yield. And sometimes, neither party is wrong. There was one argument where James's point was Mika being too reckless but Mika wasn't listening. Mika's point was that she didn't know how seriously to take James as he has a tendency to be bossy but James didn't agree. Both are correct but neither approached the situation right and eventually James backed off so things don't get heated. How they would eventually fix these fights was by having a genuine talk about what they did and didn't like about each other. Course neither of them liked to hear their own flaws but hearing it in a calm voice from a lover that clearly wasn't trying to hurt them made it easier to hear.

Erik overstepped Mika's boundaries in his route. In his culture, comments about someone's body were seen as compliments, but in hers it's sleazy and uncomfortable. To get his true ending, Mika has to tell him that but you do have the option to just make Mika leave. And sometimes Mika just does that. How they would fix that was by Mika admitting how Erik's comments make her feel. It would require her to put down her stubbornness and be vulnerable. And she's not good with that. She doesn't like "letting" a man's words affect her so much but, they do. And when Erik hears her honest opinions, the flirtation turns to a more honest personality.

Like James, Sam tends to butt heads with Mika's stubbornness as when she decides you're wrong, she won't listen. However, unlike James, there is no "walking away to cool down". Things have gotten heated before. Not often mind you and never violent but there has been at least one screaming match and it ended in Mika calling Sam a "brutish asshole", telling him to fuck off, and walking away. Then Sam punched the wall, leaving a dent. Needless to say, the solution was therapy for them both because they both realized how in the wrong they became. You don't use your partner's insecurities as an insult and you don't break your partner's wall! That dent is still there as a constant reminder to never let themselves go that far again.

Matthew has objectified Mika before.... but not in the way you think. Remember, Matthew's major issue is envy and he wants to usurp his brothers in anything so if he's dating Mika, he's the first of his brothers to have a girlfriend. (or I guess for them, he's the first to "start a courtship". I don't think they "date" in the demon world) And he would brag about it. It's one of the few goals that he got to first, even ahead of James. But when you do that enough, especially in front of Mika, it might come off less like you love her and more like you gained a "First Place Prize". It didn't make Mika feel good and put a dent in their relationship once Matthew finally figured it out. If Mika said something, this might have been fixed earlier. To fix this, Matthew stopped all the bragging and focused more on Mika's needs though it would take a while to break past her stubborn shell again.

Damien has tried to limit Mika's freedoms. Think of some of the things a possessive boyfriend might say or do. Encouraging getting one of those location trackers for your phone, being distrusting of all Mika's friends, asking her where she's going and for how long and "Is it really safe to stay out that late?", "Do you have to be gone for that long?", "We had something planned remember?"(No they didn't), "With those friends? Are you sure?", "Do you want me to come with you?" etc... Innocent questions individually, a little possessive when combined. Did this plan work? No. Mika knew what was going on. But it made her slowly take his words less seriously until he would mention legit concerns and she dismissed him. That got her in some trouble. Solution? Once again THERAPY. Especially for Damien. Not even for his possessiveness specifically, just his issues.

Now keep in mind, these events took up a small part of their relationship and were fixed fairly quickly. The Post Demon War couples are far more mature and unified than the Post Otome couples.

[bnhaobservation]

I don't understand why some fans, not all mind you, think that Shouto should be this abuse rights activist. I have seen takes about him not doing anything, how he didn't save Touya and Rei, and that he doesn't care. (He abandoned his family) but he spent most of his teen years trapped in that hellish family, so should he go back in? He never smiled that big around them, which sucks but he seems more happy with his friends. Which shocked some fans that his story ended with the class and not his family, I guess because his goal was to reconnect with them. Also it's Hori fault for putting Rei with Enji again, making her passive once more and it's his fault he is killed off Touya. I guess they expected the hero of the family to do more since that title was given to him but the family broke apart anyway and not even Shouto nor Touya could fix it. What do you think? I also hate how much was given to Ochako with her new quirk counseling program because now you run into people asking why Shouto or even Izuku isn't helping society like her. (Some fans do not like that Izuku is a teacher btw as this has nothing to do with Tenko I am told.)

Hum… you mean human rights activist, right? Because I don’t see how could a sweet and caring soul like Shouto promote or defend abuse…

Now… first of all sorry for the late reply but I lost count of how many times I rewrote my answer to you writing things in details about canons and interpretations but none of my answers felt satisfying to me so I’ll try again and I’ll try to stay short.

The reason why I rewrote my reply so many times is I’m not really sure what you want me to say.

I’ve read many meta from other people, people who has the same opinion as me and people who has the opposite opinion as me, I do reblog the ones that to me look the best even when I don’t necessarily agree with them because I do think their opinion is well articulated and interesting enough to be worth being read.

This gives me an idea of why they think the same or different from me… but I can’t really speak for all the fandom so I can’t tell you why person X thinks that.

My suggestion, if you really want to understand why people think differently from you, is to read their meta or ask them for explanations if they don’t write meta… or just accept that sometimes we’ve to agree to disagree.

If you want a list of the things I think can cause different readers to have different opinions, here it is:

You explains some things happening in the story using a Doylist explanation, as in giving explanations outside the story with particular attention to the author's intentions (ex: it’s Horikoshi’s fault if Rei goes with Enji) and others giving a Watsonian explanation, as in giving explanations in-story that function function within the logic of the narrative (Shouto shouldn’t go back to his family because he never smiled there while he’s happier with his friends).

Some people just prefer to use Watsonian explanations for everything (ex: Rei went back with Enji because she’s passive) or the Doylist explanation for everything (ex: it’s Horikoshi’s fault Shouto didn’t go back to his family).

Always in regard to Horikoshi, he wrote a story for Japanese readers meant to fit with his culture. He’s responsible of all the characters do, the good and the bad, having Shouto do this or Rei do that. Part of his message goes messed up because if you’re not Japanese you’re going to miss some important cultural bits that are tied to why he has the characters do the things they do. Also Horikoshi retconned the story plenty of times and was overworked so he was bound to make mistakes and create expectations he wasn’t going to fulfill.

This means who is trying to give a Watsonian explanation of why things go in a certain way (aka why the characters decided to do this or that) is going to crash into troubles if his culture isn’t the same as Horikoshi (ex: in Japan divorce is highly stigmatized, the woman is blamed for it and the shame will fall on the children too… never mentioning is very difficult to obtain it if the husband doesn’t agree and Rei would have risked losing custody of her children… hence her going back with an Enji who claims he won’t be abusive anymore isn’t her just being passive, or Horikoshi forcing her, it’s just divorce wasn’t a solution she could employ) or if we try to work a logical situation on things that were retconned (ex: Rei tells her mother she’s scared mainly of Shouto when it was Touya the one who creeped her out).

Also, as readers we also deal with translation problems that lead us to think differently from what the original text intended and, according to which translation you’re reading, you can come to different conclusions (ex: in the official English version Rei claims she wants Shouto to be happy, save people and continue his life without being tied down by anything. Another possible translation to that sentence is she tells Shouto it would be her salvation and happiness if he were to continue his life without being tied down by anything… as you can see the meaning chance as in the first version she’s basically telling him not to worry about her and live his life, in the second that he’ll save her by living his life).

We also have expectations that make sense for our culture but not necessarily for Horikoshi (ex: the fandom expected Hawks would be punished for killing Twice and that Enji would be punished after it turned out what he did to his family… but this wouldn’t be the case in Japan).

In addition to this there are narrative devices to which readers are or aren’t familiar with and that they end up expecting to be used in the story because if they aren’t the meaning of the story change.

The perception of the ending (Uraraka and her Quirk counseling project, Midoriya becoming a teacher, Shouto being a Hero and taking up how to make eating utensil) was impacted by the lack of use of two important narrative devices.

The first one for example is that when someone fails to save someone, this will have consequences on his life and change said character or his life and this is proof that he was effected by such death (and if this doesn’t happen it’s taken as a meaning he wasn’t effected) and, at the same time, that such death was necessary to generate such change.

Of the three over mentioned characters, only Uraraka seems to focus on something that’s connected to the death of her Villain, the other two don’t. Hence some fans don’t like it due to THIS narrative problem that influences they Watsonian explanation.

The second one is even more important and it’s foreshadowing. When a twist is not properly foreshadowed it’s often accused to be an ��ass pull’ (not my words this is the ‘technical’ name).

For none of the three it was foreshadowed what they would do, we’ve no idea how Uraraka figured out Quirk counseling had been one of Himiko’s problems, as when Quirk counseling was first introduced by Midnight she presented it as something positive that would have avoided Tomura to become a Villain, and it was only the MLA who criticized it, for Midoriya it was never showed he had an interest in teaching and to justify it Horikoshi had Midoriya claim it was Mawata Fuwa who inspired him in chapter 425… which is way too later, for Shouto it was never shown he has interest in something else that wasn’t being Hero or talent in making eating utensils and it was explained his sudden interest came suddenly while he was praying at Touya’s altar, as if Touya’s spirit has suggested it to him. So it’s not that what they decide to do is bad per se, it’s it feels like it came out of nowhere and this can upset many.

Then there are cases of fans not remembering canon right (ex: people claiming Natsuo was born BEFORE Touya started to burn or that it was solely Rei’s idea to have Fuyumi), using anime canon instead than manga canon (ex: in the manga it was said when Touya escaped from the orphanage his flames were quickly disposed by Sun-sun Haruaki and no real harm was done so that the police didn’t even notice it… in the anime the whole place seems to take fire and it’s hard to imagine the fire escaped to the attentions of worried neighbors, firemen and the police as well as that it made no harm to the kids inside) or deciding to interpret it in a way or in another when canon is vague (ex: the whole case of Shouto deciding to remain in the dormitories is due to people deciding to use the vagueness of canon to claim Shouto won’t return home).

There’s plenty more, of course, but I think this might give you a starting idea on why we have opinions about facts in the story that are often wildly different… and sometimes wildly different opinions might even be equally valid because based on tastes or on how canon is vague so everyone is free to interpret it as they prefer.

So again, if you want to understand why someone think differently from you, they’re the best source of that information… if their reason still doesn’t make sense to you, my humble suggestion is to just agree to disagree. We aren’t all the same and that’s what makes the world interesting.

Sorry if I couldn’t really give you the answer you were hoping for. If you want to pick up one of the topics you mentioned and know my opinion I’ve no problems sharing it, I’ve fun doing so but if you want me to tell you why other think this or that, I’m really at loss and not the right source for this info. Sorry again and thank you for your ask!

[killerpillar]

from your dearest historia.

[F/F] [G] yumihisu drabble/oneshot, post-canon, afterlife, fix-it (kind of), fluff, growing old, losing memories, reunited, requited love, undying love.

wc: 1176・ ♫ sailor song - gigi perez ・ read on ao3.

. . . . . .

Historia can’t remember the shade of her eyes anymore.

Whether they were the same hue of earth or a faint, chestnut hazel. 

Whether the sunlight made them glow like gold or umber.

Whether her freckles were something she imagined, or if the memory of lying beside her on a concrete rooftop and tracing constellations across her skin was really real.

Maybe it wasn’t real, and she’s just holding on to nothing and hoping it was something.

Maybe she wasn’t real.

(She had to be real.)

(Right?)

Historia names her daughter after her.

Her husband says he likes it. He thinks it's a beautiful name.

Historia agrees. Tells him she thinks it is, too.

But he doesn’t know anything. 

He doesn’t know just how beautiful that name really is.

(It’s not his fault he doesn’t know.)

(She knows it isn’t.)

(But it still makes her bitter.)

Reiner and Connie come to visit. She lets them hold Ymir. 

They ask for her name, and she tells them.

Their faces change. 

They look at her like they pity her. 

Like there’s an apology waiting on the tip of their tongues.

She hates it. 

She hates that look.

But she pretends not to notice.

Mikasa comes too, later. Jean is with her. There’s a ring on both their fingers.

When Mikasa hears her daughter’s name, she doesn’t give Historia that face. Historia realises it’s probably because she’s the only one that understands. 

There’s something else in her eyes. 

Something familiar.

Mikasa tells her the name is fitting.

She comes by more often now. Alone.

They talk. 

They listen.

There’s things they tell each other that they tell no one else. Things nobody else would understand.

Sometimes Historia cries.

Sometimes Mikasa cries.

Most of the time, they do everything they can not to start.

Their kids get along, too. 

Somewhat.

Her daughter is older now. 

Too rowdy for her to hold on her hip.

Historia can’t remember her face anymore.

It’s only her daughter’s face she sees in her mind when she hears Ymir.

Not her’s.

She still dreams about her, though.

It's always fuzzy like her mind can’t decide on whether her skin was always so tan or if her hair was always so dark.

She can’t remember her voice anymore. 

She just remembers that it was something she used to really like hearing. Her voice would wake her up in the mornings. Tell her goodnight before the lights went out. Whisper to her under the covers after dark. Her voice called Historia’s name in a way nobody else’s ever did. 

Historia wishes she could still hear her voice.

Still see her. 

Touch her. 

Feel her.

But she can’t.

She’s not there.

Her husband doesn’t know how to comfort her.

Why would he?

He didn’t know. 

He doesn’t know.

He’s done nothing wrong.

She has.

Historia’s done a lot wrong.

She must have done everything wrong if she can’t even remember her face or her voice or her touch anymore. All the things she swore she’d never forget. The things that she thought were carved and branded into her bones, from how often she’d think about them, replay them over and over in her mind. The things she’d beg and plead and pray she wouldn’t one day forget.

But maybe she can’t blame herself that much.

Even the skies seem blurry to her, nowadays. 

There’s roses in the yard. 

She can’t see far enough to make them out anymore.

Autumn’s colours are dull.

Spring’s breeze feels stale. 

Summer can’t warm her and winter makes no difference.

Historia’s always cold nowadays. 

She spends nearly all her time in that armchair on the front porch, behind a white picket fence her husband had built, and still the sun doesn’t seem to warm her skin like it used to. 

Her daughter came home to introduce the man she was going to marry yesterday.

Or maybe it was last month.

Or last year.

Or maybe it’s already been a decade.

Historia can’t really remember. 

Soon there’s another child on her lap. 

She thinks he looks like Ymir. 

But not her Ymir. 

… her Ymir?

She wonders who her Ymir was.

She remembers she loved her Ymir. 

Loves.

She loves her Ymir.

Yes. 

Her Ymir with the golden eyes and the sunkissed skin and freckled cheeks.

Her Ymir who wrote her the letter with the faded ink and the words she can no longer make out, but somehow still read.

Her Ymir, who wanted to marry her dear Historia.

Yes.

Historia remembers, now.

She murmurs something about her Ymir.

Her daughter answers. 

Historia can’t understand why it feels so wrong to see her daughter’s face and not her.

… Her?

Who?

Her… someone.

She’s forgotten again.

Forgotten…

Who?

Maybe it was nothing.

Or maybe it was her everything.

She doesn’t know. 

She can’t remember again. 

Historia’s eyes feel heavy.

Everything seems dark

Maybe the sun had set. 

Maybe that's why the lights had all gone out.

Maybe that’s why she can’t feel anything anymore.

Maybe that’s why her fingertips are so numb and cold.

Historia wishes she could see the sun again.

Her sun.

Something featherlight brushes her cheeks. She could’ve mistaken it for the wind, if it hadn’t been for the warmth of the touch.

Historia opens her eyes, and it feels like her first time truly seeing.

She sees colour. 

She sees light.

She can see again. 

It’s golden and beautiful and warm against her skin. She thinks she’s lying on a field of flowers. The grass under her fingertips is soft against her skin. Petals of all the most beautiful colours. The sky is the bluest she remembers it has ever been. 

… She can remember again.

She can breathe with all her lungs again.

She feels young and new again.

She hears a voice call out her name.

For a second, Historia doesn’t understand why her chest grows so tight and why everything seems to fade from around her, just at the sound of it. Why it feels like it’s everything she’s ever wanted to hear. Why there’s heat swelling in her eyes and why everything is going blurry again. 

She turns. 

Amber eyes meet hers. 

Dark hair sways in the wind. 

Freckles like stars pepper her cheeks.

Freckles.

Yes.

Historia remembers now.

How could she ever have forgotten?

Ymir calls her name again.

Historia feels like it's her first time ever hearing her own name.

It was her Ymir. 

Her sun. 

Her lover. 

Her every sin and every happiness. 

Her every mistake and every victory. 

Her Ymir.

Historia takes her hand. 

She tells her Ymir she’s never letting go.

Never again.

Ymir laughs.

Historia’s never heard a sound more beautiful.

She tells her ymir she’s serious and to stop laughing at her, even though Historia wouldn’t mind hearing that laugh on repeat even for aeons.

Ymir manages to stop laughing somehow, smiles, and says she believes her— yes, really, she did.

Tucks a lock of golden hair behind her ears and says she won’t let go of her, either.

Ever again?

Ever again.

.

[nalyra-dreaming]

It's probably going to be answered soon by the show itself (at least partly), but the whole behind the scenes that happened with the coven won't let me sleep at night. What do you think was happening? What were the choices they presented Armand with? There should be such a huge line of events with Lestat, because I feel it's all very complicated. And what is worse they'll probably leave it for TVL.

Did the coven find Lestat? Did Armand held him hostage or they did? My mind is spinning as I write and...what if they didn't know Armand had Lestat until they went to the attorney and then Armand had exchanged him for something? Make it make sense, please, I believe you might have solid theories :)

Okay.

So in the last moments we see the coven giving the "10 minutes" call to Lestat. Who is staring into the mirror, literally emulating "smoke and mirrors".

Which means, if we can trust what we saw, that the coven knew of Lestat. And that Lestat is part of the scripted performance. Then.

Now, he is not bound or anything, but he wouldn't need to be. What they have against him is not a threat to his own life after all, but the threat of hurting Claudia and Louis.

Of course they will make it seem as if Lestat is after revenge. But... given that Armand obviously knew about the plotting (here is a nice post on that)... and that we know that episode 5 supposedly is very important for what is to come... it is highly debatable. (Totally apart from later book canon.)

I do not think the coven found Lestat. I think they went to Roget's to confirm their suspicions. But there is a time gap, right there. Because Louis sent Claudia and Madeleine out of town after the turning... and by the time they return (and the coven naps them) - they have prepared the trial with Lestat.

So. Louis inviting Armand to the turning, Armand ... not coming. Well. Not in time. Which, given his powers, was very much intentional.

And, looking back... that must have been the final straw, Louis turning Madeleine. A direct blow against rule #1. Against Armand himself. That is when Armand must have revealed Lestat to the coven, that is when they must have set up the trial. Because he comes by Louis' apartment after, with the cuttings of the Magnolia tree prepared. Saying that the coven gave him a choice. And that he... chose. (Of course we are led to believe he chose Louis... when it later becomes clear he did... not.)

Armand is a stickler for the rules. Not even really by choice, but that's what a few hundreds of years of indoctrination do, I cannot even really blame him. A direct and announced breaking of rule #1 is something that would raise his hackles, to put it mildly.

I think he pretended that final few weeks? months? then that he had broken with the coven. Given that it is book canon that he influenced Louis to turn Claudia... I could see it that he influenced Louis to make Claudia and Madeleine return by longing for her. I am not sure if that is the case, but it would fit with book canon, imho.

The choices he was presented with was likely full mutiny... or becoming the coven master again - IF the coven actually made him choose. Because I can easily see this being Armand's own choice as well. Him making up his mind... for better or for worse.

And so he revealed Lestat then to the coven, imho.

As we have already seen in that one teaser that Lestat seems to be in some kind of cell at some point I do think he is in some kind of dungeon. IF it is Magnus' tower? Then there is no way in hell that he would stay there without force, or without subjugation. The same goes for other dungeons, like, we are talking about Lestat here. I know that the show only audience does not know him so well yet, but... for Lestat to stay locked up for months and then show up at a trial to take part in it??? He was locked up. Meaning he did go to Armand... and Armand locked him up. Because Lestat would have gone and confronted Louis and Claudia otherwise, if he had known where they are. But he can only feel them. And other than the weak Claudia and Louis... Armand would have known Lestat was there immediately. And Lestat knew that, too. And so he went to Armand.

And the tragedy unfolds.

I think the trial will go as in IWTV. Mock trial, Lestat will accuse. Louis will sense things are off. There will be things off the script, the line "you cannot script a hurricane" will come into play for the "scripted last play".

I hope my thoughts make sense? :)

[assemblyofoddities]

(Arcane: League of Legends) Linke's Interview, Viktor's Sexuality, and Online Discourse

Breakdown of the Event:

In a German twitch interview, Christian Linke, one of the writers of Arcane, stated that, "he talked to a group of LGBTQIA+-Rioters before/during the beginning of the creation of Arcane and asked them what is lacking good representation in media, and the answer was asexuality. He said that the problem is that oftentimes, asexuals are portrayed as people without any emotions at all, which obviously does not reflect reality. They've always seen Viktor as asexual, and his love - while Jayce and Viktor do love each other, in a way - is on another level, and despite people being mad about it, they didn’t change that aspect about him or his relationship to Jayce." *

Linke had also previously stated that he did not believe that Jayce and Viktor had romantic feelings towards each other, but instead had a brotherly bond.

The fanbase's reception of this news was mixed. There has been discussion about:

How Viktor's character arc, involving his feelings of wanting to be emotionless and wanting to save humanity from suffering, connected to his asexuality enforces asexual stereotypes.

How an asexual identity attached to a disabled character may enforce stereotypes about disabled people.

How his sexuality was never addressed in canon, even though the creators never shied away from explicit (literally) queer content.

How Linke's views of the fandom shipping Jayce and Viktor may have influenced his decision.

Here are my two cents:

Linke's timing (after the show is finished, with no other explicit mention of it in canon or by other creators) certainly does seem suspicious, but it could mean anything. He also says it right next to talking about the part of the Arcane fandom that ships him and Jayce. That also seems suspicious, but I believe we all should avoid making assumptions about a person we don't know's views, perspective, or purpose for sharing information. I have heard many people say that he must be trying to dissuade the jayvik shippers when he says that, and because he claimed that a disabled character was also asexual, he must be supporting ableist stereotypes, but I really believe that ignorance should be assumed instead of aggression when possible.

Queer Rep Via Confirmation On Social Media, which is basically what the Event was, is pretty common (in fact, the one trans character in Arcane was confirmed that way). It's a flawed type of rep, but flawed rep isn't inherently harmful, and representation is more complex than a sliding scale of good and bad. It involves the story's implications, the writer's intention vs the audience's reception, and other factors. It's also largely subjective.

In the world of Arcane, labels for orientations don't exist and neither does discrimination (as stated by one of the creators). Nevertheless, Caitlyn and Vi's relationship and queerness were conveyed through their actions. Asexuality is harder to convey than homosexuality, as it usually involves a lack of action, and confirming it without a doubt without using labels or a character arc (and boy were they already pushing how much plot they could fit into the show) would have been an effort. There are ways they could have, but I really don't blame them for not doing it, if his asexuality was the plan from the start. Sometimes, queer characters don't have to explain themselves, and that's the purpose of the QRVCOSM.

Also: It really doesn't matter if Viktor is canonically asexual. I'm not going to explain what it is, what's what google is for, but it doesn't exclude romantic or sexual fanon content from being made, even respecting his canon sexuality. All fanon content, even if it's 'canon compliant', including shipping, is outside canon. It's all interpretation, (and that is also why all interpretations of Jayce and viktor's relationship, platonic, romantic, queerplatonic, is valid).

*https://www.reddit.com/r/arcane/comments/1h1k9fw/lore_spoilers_viktor_was_always_meant_to_be/

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I'm the only one that thinks the more Dana shares information about Caleb the worse he gets? I mean the show stated that he never truly believed in witch hunting and only did it to fit in, but his little brother is to blame for believing a lie he was willing to tell him over and over. (I would be in denial too if someone close to me reveals that everything they told me they never truly believed) I mean what Phillip does is obv. wrong , but Caleb doesn't seem like a good person either.

Honestly, that was my impression as well. The show is extremely vague on what exactly Caleb believes because all we have are the Hollow Mind portraits and they show Caleb playing "witch hunter" with baby Philip and the two participating in what could be a real witch hunt with pitchforks. Caleb looks enthusiastic and determined in these portraits, so it's no wonder that Philip thought he actually held these beliefs.

But then Dana describes Caleb and Evelyn meeting as being like two dog owners bonding over animals and that Evelyn saw Caleb as the only decent human guy, so she shows him Flapjack. I guess this means that any preconceived notions about witchcraft vanished and he either rather easily disavowed everything he was raised with in order to get with the cute witch lady, or he was pretending the whole time and effectively helped indoctrinate his brother. Either option doesn't paint him in the best light.

Still, Dana does say that anything she says outside of the show are just her head canons and that the audience is free to ignore them. But let's be honest here, the majority of the fandom will latch onto anything she says because we're not getting further TOH content for the foreseeable future.

I find it hard to believe that Caleb never believed in witch-hunting because why encourage his brother--even playing games with him--when he knows it's wrong? It's more likely that he did believe in it, albeit half-heartedly and thought he was doing the right thing until Evelyn showed him the literal light.

The problem lies in the question: did Caleb ever tell Philip? Did he ever try to persuade Philip that witches weren't evil? Caleb and Evelyn used the rebus to communicate in code and according to Masha, would travel between dimensions. Did Caleb ever try to bring Philip along?

Unfortunately, we don't have answers to these questions, we only have Philip's reaction, which was to immediately go into the Demon Realm to kill Evelyn and "free" his brother. These don't sound like the actions of a man who has the full story. So when he discovers Caleb alive and with a family, he would more than rightly feel angry and betrayed.

And since Dana is okay with us ignoring any answers in the Post Hoot, I think that's what happened: that Caleb deliberately withheld information from Philip in the misguided belief that he would be better off in Gravesfield and never attempted to talk to Philip, effectively dooming them both.