#it may not be coherent but i will try

[blueskittlesart]

*sigh* thoughts on Nintendo's botw/totk timeline shenanigans and tomfoolery?

tbh. my maybe-unpopular opinion is that the timeline is only important when a game's place on the timeline seriously informs the way their narrative progresses. the problem is that before botw we almost NEVER got games where it didn't matter. it matters for skyward sword because it's the beginning, and it matters for tp/ww/alttp (and their respective sequels) because the choices the hero of time makes explicitly inform the narrative of those games in one way or another. it matters which timeline we're in for those games because these cycles we're seeing are close enough to oot's cycle that they're still feeling the effects of his choices. botw, however, takes place at minimum 10 thousand years after oot, so its place on the timeline actually functionally means nothing. botw is completely divorced from the hero of time & his story, so what he does is a nonissue in the context of botw link and zelda's story. thus, which timeline botw happens in is a nonissue. honestly I kind of liked the idea that it happened in all of them. i think there's a cool idea of inevitability that can be played with there. but the point is that the timeline exists to enhance and fill in the lore of games that need it, and botw/totk don't really need it because the devs finally realized they could make a game without the hero of time in it.

[tokutaiseichan]

You guys ever think about how the prophecy was talking about a "new moon" and how MC's almost-canon-name is "Luna"?

By the way, you guys know what happened on September 3rd? MC got cursed and sent to Darkwick as a result. Incidentally, (assuming Tokyo Debunker's story took place in 2024...) September 3rd would also be a night of new moon. 🌑

Coincidence? Perhaps it is... but!

I know this is a reach but what if the prophecy wasn't only talking about the ghouls but also MC?

There's also how MC got placed in / associated with the old Clementia dorm and Clementia is supposedly the Roman goddess of salvation and mercy.

Ringing any bells?

[ganondoodle]

okay i typed this in a reply but i need to say this more detailed here too, the way totk dealt with horses (and stables) is bad and worse than botw imo (yes i can rant about that too, these weird choices are in every little spot in totk, its almost impressive)

in a game that lets you build cars and stupid flying maschines, towers that shoot you into the stratosphere AND teleporting points all over the place, the chance is already low that you use a horse- though i would be one of them bc i love horses and hate building and didnt find it fun at all-

(also i almost never used any parts i had with me bc you cant put them back and your dumb vehicles despawn as soon as you dont look at them- also a negative thing about that system that reinforces the feeling of actually using it being more punishing than rewarding with the added bonus of the good ol saving your health potions forever problem)

-and something i DID like was that you can have more horses and the ... one.. new color (the lil spots but only AFTER you do that one quest in the spy post)

the stable points seemed like a neat idea, but like so many things, are utterly cheatable, imo the system should have only given you a point when you visit a new stable, so you actually have to go around and visit them all

(also .. add new stables, like mini ones or sth that dont offer beds- you dont need that anyway- so you have more places in which you can get them ... why did they remove some of them anyway, shouldn there be MORE now that the land is supposedly healing/being repaired? especially the one next to the big canyon, its so empty there it would have the perfect place for sth like a new settlement or a big boss arena but no its more empty than it was before, why?? and then putting yet another repeating annoying quest there in that weirld empty place?? i just dont get it)

letting you farm points by sleeping at a stable or bringing in a horse gives you LESS incentive to actually go around the world bc you can just farm it there

(and if that was done so youd 'discover' the malanya talks to you in your sleep 'secret' ... that is literally told to you, and if its bc you dont want to force players to go around and find every stable to get all those rewards ... why do you have 140 or whatver caves then with the majority of them being the literal same thing over and over ... to make people actually use the sleeping thing there? .. why, who uses that anyway, and farming points by sleeping there .. what the hell does that add? AND THEN the stupid sleep over tickets, probably the most nothign reward ever, dont count?? i dont think i ever used one- it just all doesnt make any sense, everything plays against each other)

the upgrading system for your horse is .. once again, a neat idea horribly executed, you have to go find malanya to upgrade them, and similarly stupidly like the fairies, they only tell you what food you need for what upgrade when you are there .. or when you are sleeping in the special tm bed at a stable, randomly, one food, bc the quantity changes too

which is just so ??????????? let me go and do a quest that rewards you with a lil booklet in which you can look up what an upgrade costs, or let the stables have that, either as a list or in the menu when selecting a horse or something?? (also why the hell is malanya in a different spot anyway, like, it feels like a modder just plopped them over there, their og spot is just empty now - except for yet again a stupid filler quest for .. another big horse and a yaaaaaaaaays crystal shrine quest- ... the spot is even still called spring of the horse god .... its so stupid, just like the fairy shuffling around, like you really couldnt think of a better way to reuse that concept other than to ... move it to a different spot in the same map and map level???? and not change anything in their og spot except idk, put a hole in the map ... for one of them like .. its like they moved them around last minute just to have the semblance of things being 'changed' with no regard what makes a change actually feel like one and what just feels like, pick up thing, click on random spot on map, drop thing- its like that for the fairies and shrines too, its so dumb and .. feels disrepectful to botw and how much thought seemed to have went into these spots that were clearly built about those things)

and like it couldnt get WORSE, they cut off the paths that horses follow automatically with one of those miasma buttholes (sorry its just a hole cut into the map, it doesnt even look like miasma burst through, it just .. cut out) a monster camp (that RESPAWNS, i thought those camps you clear with a quest would stay clear, but that would make sense, so of course it respawns and you can do the frame rate killer quest over and over yippieee) or otherwise like, with a big rock or a broken bridge-

and there is NO WAY to create a new path or fix or move anything in a game ABOUT BUILDING supposedly, like you needed more reasons to never use a horse????? i liked jsut hopping on and letting them follow a path and chill looking at the landscape, you cant do this here, and you cant even excuse it with 'its bc of the theme' as in, stuff is destroyed bc calamity 1.5 or whatever bc nothing in the game makes it feel like theres anything actually at stake, but the real crime is to make it not be fixable. WHY??? link moves entire buildings with ease but cant move one freaking rock that fell into a river?????? you swing around logs like a club but cant fix a bridge so your horse can get over it??????????????????????????????

[dusty-siltstrider]

Surely this is a safe place to say this

Random thought while struggling to find references for this fucking outfit THIS ACT 2/3 ACADEMY(?) UNIFORM IS FUGLY I'M GONNA SAY IT

The fuck is this mess. What is it. Why does it have like 5 layers. wtf is his tie tucked into. The color scheme. Vertical stripes. Tf are those weird strappy buckles for. What are the reflective bits. Is it a reflective vest. For all the forklifts driving around ofc. The only saving grace of this outfit is that it exists on Viktor's body and that elevates it from a 1/10 to a 2/10.

Is this specifically Viktor's wardrobe or is it an Academy uniform cuz it's a lot different from what he and Jayce wear in Act 1 (and they're not really involved with the academy in later acts iirc I guess but I'm in no logical state here)

Look at that. Comfy. Practical. Scholarly. A dress shirt and a thin vest. The kinda shit you can wear while hunched over at a desk for 15 hours straight. Easy to cosplay. Shit I wear this on the regular already.

Why'd they give him a goddamn sleeveless silver surfer ass parka later on. I hate the vest. Why it look like that. Is so fucking bulky. That shit looks heavy. My boy gonna melt in any decent summer. I worked up a sweat and a sore neck just looking at it. Spent 20 minutes trying to figure out the fucking act 2/3 fit for cosplay and drawing purposes and I'm like 90% sure he's wearing three separate tops not including the vest. Viktor if this is your own style and not like obligatory businesswear then this ain't it (you're still stunning ofc)

(im very sorry im rather drunk and have been spending too much time thinking about this)

[scribefindegil]

Thinking about the Presger as foils to the Radch. How in some ways the Presgar are to the Radch what the Radch are to the rest of the non-imperial galaxy: these bogeymen that could appear at any time without warning and destroy you and everything you love. How anyone who enters the Presger side of the station in considered to be legally dead--that they'll be taken apart and reconstructed--and how this parallels both the creation of ancillaries and the assimilation of empire. How the Presger train their Translators to act and speak like Radchaai. How Anaander tries to use the Presger as a scapegoat for her own dissolution (and how she's wrong, because the thing that makes the Presger terrifying is that they're completely incomprehensible. They don't destroy things for territory or resources; they're violence without motivation.) They're distorted mirrors of each other, so of course it makes sense that there are factions who believe they're actually all the same.

[remitro]

shuffle of shame. hi guys. i saw transformers last week and felt umm. So Normal about it. i have never drawn a robot in my life but this will not stop me

[mayashesfly]

When the RadioStatic obsession brainrot is so strong that you start overanalyzing every single frame in Stayed Gone and comparing it to the other duet Alastor had which is Hell's Greatest Dad so you could understand the similarities and differences between the two of them and how the visuals accentuate and allude to the idea that Alastor isn't taking his duet with Vox as seriously as with Lucifer based on the way the visuals was framed amongst other things.

The visuals is genuinely fascinating and leads to itself as to why we see Alastor's dynamic with Vox as different to Lucifer by the different ways they were framed against each other thanks to everyone who worked on Hazbin Hotel.

[rainbow-flavoured-skittles]

carry on pretending like we don't know exactly who he is and what happened to him please and thank you

Name: Cole [REDACTED]

Alias: Talon

Powers: Geokinesis, clairvoyance, enhanced healing and durability, enhanced senses

Age: 15

Backstory: While being trained by Yang, Cole regains some of his memories and learns that he used to be a vigilante. He completes his training and goes back to Ninjago City, creating the identity Talon. The ninja notice the new vigilante running around and seek him out, eventually becoming reluctant allies. During one of Garmadon's attacks, Cole is injured and brought to the Monastery, where his identity is revealed and a reunion occurs.

Additional notes: He was only dead for a few days before being brought back. After being resurrected, he gains the ability to see and interact with spirits. Yang was unaware of Cole's past and his connections to the ninja until Cole told him. He comes back during the time between Aspheera's release and after the oni invasion. Not all of his memories are able to be recovered due to the Rift's nature.

[mothbeasts]

hi. going to speak on something that's been bothering me for the past... however long, since it seems like complaint posts have been cropping up lately. putting this under the cut.

Maybe I'm reading too far into things. Maybe I'm wrong. But I feel like there is a massive difference in how this fandom treats the women versus the men.

Again. Maybe I'm wrong. I sincerely hope I'm just wrong. It's hard to think that, though, when I see the differences in how people treat the major antagonists of the series.

John Juniper is a fandom favorite. I feel like people have talked about him more than any other character I've seen, save for Agent Phoenix and perhaps the Handler. I see people come up with any reason for him to not actually be as bad of a person as we see in canon - despite the fact that he wants to launch nuclear weapons. He wants to kidnap and impersonate public figures. He's having a good time playing the villain. I've seen his actions excused in any number of ways.

Meanwhile... When people do talk about Solaris, it tends to be to remind people of very surface level information, rather than to do any sort of in depth analysis style posts. I see information that's incomplete or just not really true passed around a lot. The Fabricator is flattened down so incredibly often to just one character trait - her anger, typically exaggerated to be comical hatred of John Juniper in particular or just... Violence in general. And yes, she gets angry frequently, but I never see her given the same depth to that anger as John Juniper is given to his. And Prism? An antagonist that gets as much screen time as Juniper, if not more? I hardly see her mentioned at all these days. And even when she was talked about, I don't recall seeing many people analyze her character. Or talk about her motivations. Definitely not in the same way Juniper gets talked about, at the very least. All three of them are mischaracterized often, from my observations, flattened to pave the way for... John Juniper, mostly.

And that's not even getting into the background women who aren't talked about at all when compared to the men with similar story roles.

It's... Frustrating. I surround myself with people who enjoy the characters I do, who find it interesting to talk about the women in this game. I make the content I want to see. But the last time I said anything outside of those close circles, I was told to... Make the content I want to see. To engage with the content that's out there. And that frustrates me, too. Because I'm making it. I had been making it. I was actively working on Biomechatronic at the time. I was drawing, posting my art, and ever since I entered the fandom I've focused mainly on the women - The Fabricator, in particular. And I don't make art just for views or internet points or what have you, but it is discouraging to feel like the fandom doesn't care about what I have to offer.

Like whatever characters you want to like. I'm not trying to tell anyone to stop making the art or posts they enjoy making. But... I have noticed a trend, and it's one I find somewhat concerning. That's all.

[leveebreak-s]

"a stolen kiss" (from lullaby...and the ceaseless roar) HAS to be about Jimmy and i'm sorry there is litchrully no way that it isn't...

a song that will never die? the dichotomy between the gentle lullaby and the ceaseless roar (robert being the lion)

"how long has it been this way" about 45 years give or take

the recurring motif of time running out (if you haven't read the meta i'm gonna need you to get caught up

WHILE WE'RE AT IT let's talk about Somebody There, which makes reference fields of plenty (so long ago and out of sight), walking another mile (come one and dance another mile), call to me, guide me...DWYT and Somebody There are sister songs and I'm literally 5000% sure about this. FFS there's a cup mentioned...

I know this post is utterly incoherent to anyone who hasn't taken Jimbert 101 but just. take my hand. if you know what to look for it's as clear as day.

[fate-defiant]

something something rue who's been fed and sustained on blood since she was a baby something something two notable times we see her attempt to nurture her loved ones it's by offering them water

[catebees]

@eurekq I'm answering in a post on its own cause this got a bit long. First of all, thank you so much! I try to take inspiration from medieval and early modern fashion but in no way am I an expert. That's why I mix in a bunch of fantasy/anachronistic stuff as well. Most of the references I used I found on Pinterest actually, but it took a lot to make the algorithm understand that I was not interested in the "Halloween costume" type‬ of medieval costuming. A good way to deal with that is to search for a specific year for clothing (1450s is always better than late medieval), or even the name of a specific garment worn at the time (houppelande, tabard, hennin...). Wikipedia has some pretty exhaustive explanations of what people used to wear, century by century (example). You can also check out museum collections, some let you browse by era and location (the MET and the Victoria and Albert Museum are two that come to mind rn). Other resources I used for this were: Priorattire's videos on YT (they often show all of the steps to getting dressed, so you can see all the layers） CrowsEyeProductions's Tudor royal household video (same thing, especially centered on royal servants and nobles in early/mid 1500s England） Robinswords's shorts (big fan of the guy, knows a lot about swords, sometimes makes special vids for artists posing with certain weapons.) (For armor I mostly just look for cosplayers/reenactors who seem to know what they're doing, and try to find something that may look like a realistic version of the in-game ones. I'm also really partial to the ones from the Witcher III).

I also think a big thing I do to stay somewhat consistent is to pick an era of fashion for each region of Thedas and stick to it. Ferelden is 1300/1400s Britain and France (ironcally), while the Free Marches are 1500s/early 1600s depending on the city. Kirkwall is also a pretty steampunk place, so if an Amell is wearing accurate Tudor era clothes‬, a pirate or a Crow may lean more towards a bodice-ripping, audience-pleasing tight leather fit.

I think this is all, I wish I had a more exhaustive reference list but it's mostly stuff I absorbed through the years and pure imagination. Hope this was helpful!

[misstrashchan]

Mmmmm been having some thoughts on Ruby and Weiss rn

Ruby is set up to be foiled to Alyx, both in the opening, trying to retrace her footsteps in her story in the first couple of episodes, picking up Alyx's knife at the blacksmith's:

And in the latest episode, her lashing out being met with her intepreted as being cruel and selfish:

"Like Alyx, she wasn’t just a little petulant or inconsiderate. She was selfish, cruel. Like this whole word was simply make-believe and the rules didn’t apply to her."

"What about you? It's *all* about you!"

JWBY all seem to have different ideas of who and what Alyx was. She exists to teach a moral lesson, she's just a girl trying to survive and find her way back home, she was a mean little girl, she was the villain who rewrote the story.

But then we also have this line from the book said by Oscar in V8:

"She brushed off her bumps and bruises, for nothing hurt worse than the loneliness in her chest."

And... I'm reminded of Ruby's own loneliness, how distant she feels from her own teamates and friends right now, from the pressure of expectations to always be the one with a plan, with a smile and something positive to say to inspire everyone to Keep Moving Forward, put on her by both herself and the people around her. How Weiss is mourning her kingdom, Yang and Blake get to sort their feelings out, Jaune gets to have his breakdown, to the point his own over shadows Ruby's and her feelings are dismissed. And how the way she lashes out at them was both understandable and a long time coming, but also terribly cruel and messy. And that no one can be blamed for not seeing or reaching out to Ruby more when she refuses to let others know how much she's hurting and ask for their help. Ruby is still entitled to her own feelings. So is Jaune and WBY.

Which brings to mind a certain quote shown at the beginning of a certain someone's trailer:

"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or forms of measure. And all of it... irreplaceable"

Weiss's arc involves her looking outside of herself and learning to see and understand those around her, their own sorrows and burdens they carry with them. And of course, loneliness is a big reoccurring theme in Weiss's arc. Meeting her teammates and supporting them is what leads to her understanding their struggles, hence why Weiss develops from wanting to be the leader to instead dedicating herself to being the most supportive member in team RWBY, and thrives the most when she's fighting with them, but also emotionally supports them through their own struggles.

She's the one who notices something's off with Blake first in V2, and gets her to open up to the rest of her team so they can all work it out together:

"So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?"

She supports Yang when she's confronting Raven and dealing with her abandonment issues

"It's okay if... you're not okay."

Her own sense of self and relationship to loneliness is a healthy one at present, and is something she can use to relate to others.

She understands other people’s loneliness, that Blake in V5 needed space and in time she’d come back, and Weiss would be ready to be there for her when she did. And she also understands Yang’s loneliness in the same volume and that she needed someone there to support her.

“But you’re right. I don’t know loneliness like you do. I have my own version. And, I bet Blake has her own version too.” 

"When she's ready, I'll be there for her. And I know we're not as close, but... I'm here for you too."

Weiss understands that no one's version of loneliness is the same, and every individual needs something different to have their feelings respected and understood. And now in V9 Weiss has to reckon and come to understand Ruby's own version of loneliness after seeing Ruby snap and how much everything has been weighing down on her, and what she needs from her as a friend and teammate.

All the way back in V1, Weiss grew to accept Ruby as leader and promised to support her:

"Ruby... I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just know, that I am going to be the best teammate you will ever have."

And I believe she'll try to hold true to that as best she can for Ruby going forward.

[trickstarbrave]

yeah alright. another omegaverse au.

this one nerevar and voryn didn't know each other as kids. instead nerevar and his uncle went down south and a ra'athim clan noble took nerevar by force and sold him off to house dres because he was half nord. house dres then proceeds to bring nerevar up to kogoruhn in an attempt to humiliate house dagoth and have an excuse to retaliate against them

but jokes on them. nerevar and voryn are fated mates :^))) anyways enjoy

Voryn looked at the spy report given to him by Araynys, sighing heavily. He rubbed his temple, eyes closed, trying hard to breathe deeply to control his temper. He didn’t want to act like Gilvoth, after all. 

“I presume Mother has already looked at this?” Voryn asked.

“Of course.” Araynys replied. “She told me to bring it to you--you deserved to see it yourself.” 

“This is…” Voryn kept his voice level despite the anger coursing through him, “Infuriating.” 

House Dres had come knocking on Kogoruhn’s doors, claiming they were there for a “peace offering”. No one in House Dagoth had honestly believed them; there was bad blood between House Dres and House Dagoth that couldn’t be undone with mere gifts, especially ones given out of the blue. Their dislike of each other ran so deep they also didn’t believe Dres would attempt it at all, not unless they had ulterior motives. 

And their offering only made them more suspicious: they traveled across the mainland and Vvardenfell with an omega in tow as an offering to be Voryn’s concubine. Voryn was at the age where he would start looking for a mate or concubines, but he’d never in his life choose one House Dres of all people picked out for him. It was much more likely the omega was a spy or an assassin. 

They told the men from House Dres that House Dagoth had particular processes and rituals before considering an omega as a noble’s concubine or mate, just to buy them some time. There were proper rituals normally, but that was before said partner even got to the stronghold, but House Dres didn’t know that. Instead they used it as an opportunity to collect information on the omega and see how much of a threat he was or if they could use something against House Dres. 

The omega was a slave--and a half nord one at that.House Dres presented him with a slave to take as his first partner. House Dres might be able to make their case convincing enough that it was a completely innocent gesture--that nobles from Dres take slaves as concubines all the time--but to House Dagoth this was a slap in the face. The heir of House Dagoth has never in their recorded history taken a slave as their first partner, concubine or otherwise. 

And that wasn’t even the end of it. Already it was insulting enough that they presented him with a slave as their would be partner, but this slave was violent, aggressive, and dangerous. He’d had numerous escape attempts before he presented, destroying chains with whatever he could find before fleeing, only to be caught and returned because everyone in House Dres territory knew what escaped slaves looked like. After he presented, House Dres tried and failed to find alphas who wanted him. Plenty of sadistic alphas got off on the idea of breaking a rebellious and unwilling omega to keep as a concubine--except that was unsuccessful. Either the alphas couldn’t stand his scent, complaining it was unappetizing, or he attacked him before they had a chance to lay with him. The last attempt was one of particular note in the report as he broke out of the chains holding him down and attempted to strangle the alpha with them. 

House Dres no doubt was doing this as an alternative to killing the slave. They wanted him dead anyways, but they wanted him to be of use even if they had to kill him. They brought him to Kogoruhn knowing full well he was likely going to get killed. They were counting on it in fact, planning to use that as an excuse to go to war with House Dagoth. It would be an easy story to spin to the other houses: they just wanted to make peace with House Dagoth after so long of hostilities because House Dres values unity that much, only the insular, vile House Dagoth killed the omega they brought as an offering, spitting in the face of their kind gesture. 

They couldn’t kill the omega. They couldn’t even throw him out at the moment. It was clear that was what House Dres wanted--they wanted Voryn to be disgusted with his scent or be attacked by him like every other alpha. The men from House Dres had been insistent on staying for this reason, continually pressuring House Dagoth to accept him as a concubine for their heir unless they planned on refusing their offering entirely. 

“We’ll likely have to play along.” Araynys said, breaking the silence by speaking aloud what Voryn had been thinking. “Believe me, no one is pleased about this. Mother has her hands full keeping Gilvoth in line.” Voryn sighed again at that; no doubt Gilvoth was throwing a fit, wanting to scream at or physically fight the men who came to Kogoruhn. “Mother said she’d consider everything over the course of the day, but I cannot see a way out of this.” Neither could Voryn. While he would be surprised and delighted if their mother found an alternative, he knew that was extremely unlikely. 

“More than likely, we’ll start the courtship rituals tonight given he went into heat this morning.” Voryn barely managed to hold back gagging. Attempts to introduce him to omegas had gone poorly; they didn’t even move past the first stage of introducing them to each other’s scents. Voryn found most omegas cloyingly sweet, his stomach turning every time he tried to adjust to it. If he didn’t outright hate their pheromones immediately, he usually found them annoying and grating, before slowly irritating him more and more the longer he was exposed to it up close until he threw their article of clothing out of his room in a rage, thoroughly angry and disgusted, before running to the bathroom to scrub himself clean. 

He imagined he would only be able to stomach a few minutes of this slave’s scent. Not that it mattered--they said they would try to have Voryn court him. If he refused an article of clothing from him that night House Dagoth would simply pretend they were trying but Voryn found him unappealing, but that they would accept him as a slave regardless and kick House Dres out. In the end House Dres will feel like they won humiliating the young heir and getting the half-chimer off their hands, but so long as it got them out of the stronghold it was also a win for them. Maybe the slave could be of use in other aspects; they did have a common enemy, after all. The omega--whatever his name was, Voryn couldn’t be bothered to remember--no doubt despised House Dres after all they put him through. Some sweet talking and favors would no doubt quickly bring him over to their side. 

“... If that’s what is the best course of action.” Voryn made a mental note to have a servant prepare him some tea for nausea. “I’ll do my part.”

--

Voryn was reading in his room when a soft knock came at his door. He groaned softly, already irritated. He knew damn well what that kind of knock was based on the sound; his brother’s always knocked more loudly, and a servant doing something else would always state their purpose or a code word. The silence following it meant one thing:

Scent sharing. The courtship ritual where they prepared to slowly but surely introduce the two of them based on scent. Since the omega was in heat, it would be his clothing or bedding first, and Voryn would have to tolerate it as long as possible to see if he enjoyed it and even went into rut because of it. If he did and wanted to mate they’d send over something of Voryn’s and see how the omega tolerated it. 

Ha. Voryn doubted they’d get that far. At least it was lucky for the omega that he wouldn’t have to deal with some strange alpha’s robes being shoved into his room. 

Voryn went to the door after marking the place in his book and closing it. It was best to just get it out of the way. He approached the door, steeling himself, and then opened it. 

On the ground there was a simple tray with a neatly folded shirt on it. The shirt almost looked to be of decent quality, but the longer you looked at it the more easily you could see it had shoddy craftsmanship. There were a few beads on it and even some embroidery but it was lazily done. Voryn rolled his eyes; of course Dres couldn’t even dress the slave in a way that was fitting of a Great House heir’s concubine. 

He brought the tray in regardless, noticing the shirt was torn slightly. Either it tore on his journey or the guards had to practically rip it off him. Voryn didn’t know, nor did he really care. He was just going to throw it out anyways. He left the tray on his desk, bracing himself to gag, and brough the shirt up to his nose, inhaling. And the scent was….

Refreshing. Most omegas were sickly sweet and nauseating up close like this, but this was not at all too sweet. It was just the right level--the sweetness and musk from being in heat cut with the fresh and lively scent. It was almost like imported candied citrus or the herb infused cookies in Mournhold. It was bright, almost addictive even as it washed over Voryn, Voryn’s mouth watering.

He moved away from the shirt, confused. He’d never had a reaction like this in his life. Other people’s scents were tolerable at best, or in his family’s case, comforting and nostalgic. Being brought a foreign omega’s scent was something he always hated so why did he… Enjoy this scent? 

Voryn quickly brought the fabric back to his face, inhaling deeply as gooseflesh broke out across his skin. Azura’s mercy this was addictive. It was almost irresistible the pull it had on Voryn, and he quickly found himself getting aroused while he tried to commit the scent to memory. Had they sprayed it with perfume instead? It didn’t smell like bug musk, nor did it smell artificial in any capacity. But then why was he so drawn to it? It didn’t make any sense--Voryn hated how omegas smelled. He thought he’d never mate with one or take one as a concubine, instead just selecting a beta to have a child or two. 

“Fuck,” Voryn swore under his breath, before he began to pick up the subtle qualities of his pheromones that would give away his emotions. 

His heart lurched the second he realized what the omega must have been feeling. All over the shirt it reeked of anger and pure fear. The omega must be terrified being here, going into heat alone and defenseless, the men from House Dres dragging him against his will… Did he have enough bedding to nest properly? This fabric didn’t seem comfortable enough for him, he should be wearing something softer like silk, and he’d feel safe if someone was watching over him. 

Voryn quickly got up, shirt in hand, throwing open his door. He had to see him--he had to take him back to his room where he’d be safe and comfortable. He was in distress, terrified out of his mind, and Voryn needed to tend to him. 

“Young lord?” A servant asked, thoroughly confused. Normally if Voryn hated how an omega smelled he just tossed the fabric out of his room. He never marched out holding a shirt. 

“Where is he?” Voryn asked, his body tense. If the servant refused to tell him he’d search the guest hall until he could pick up on it. 

“I--who?” The servant looked even more puzzled. 

“The omega--the one House Dres brought.” Voryn needed to see him. He needed to. Not only did the omega need him right now, needed Voryn to tend to him and protect him, he felt like he was going to lose his mind if he didn’t see the omega right this second. 

“He’s in his room, is there something wrong?” 

“He needs me.” Voryn said simply. “He’s in distress--his shirt reeks of fear--he must be terrified out of his mind being somewhere completely foreign.” Was it too cold for him this time of year? It was much warmer down south, but here in northern Vvardenfell they were pelted with the cold winds from the Sea of Ghosts. Voryn’s room would be much warmer for him, not to mention Voryn had plenty of blankets and pillows he could nest in. 

Vemyn was just down the hall, his ears perking up before marching towards the two. Voryn sounded worried about the omega, something extremely abnormal. Voryn, much like everyone else in House Dagoth, didn’t really care for outsiders. By Mephala, he rarely even cared about the omegas in House Dagoth that they tried to get him to court, uncaring if he insulted them because their scents were too disgusting for him to stomach. It was his only flaw as the heir of House Dagoth but one Morvani was willing to overlook as he was otherwise perfectly suited for the job and she’d grown tired after having eight children. 

“Voryn, calm down.” Vemyn stepped in between Voryn and the servant. “It’s just a slave House Dres brought.” Why was he getting so worked up over him and suddenly acting concerned? 

“He needs me.” Voryn reiterated. “He’s alone, terrified--he might be cold, and is he even able to nest properly in there?” They didn’t usually provide guest rooms with excess bedding. How could he have a comfortable heat if he couldn’t even build a proper nest? “I’m going to take him to my room--”

“No you are not.” Vemyn cut him off, taking him by the shoulders. “Voryn, what in oblivion has gotten into you--” Vemyn was hit suddenly with a musky scent, something spicy and warm. “Are you--are you going into rut?” Normally smelling an omega in heat didn’t send an alpha into rut for several hours. They couldn’t have dropped off the shirt more than a few minutes ago. 

Voryn gripped the shirt in his hands tighter. “I need to see him.” He was breathing slightly more labored, focusing solely on getting to that omega--his omega. Oh gods, he already knew he needed to mate with him. He just needed to get him nice and comfortable, tend to him, and then when he was ready claim him properly. “I need to--”

Araynys was also down the hall, nervous about how Voryn was taking the scent, but also quickly stepped in. “Voryn,” Araynys motioned for the healer to go get help in case they needed it, “You can’t just barge in on an omega in heat.” Voryn opened his mouth to retort, before Araynys began nudging him back toward his room. “To him you’re a stranger--an alpha he’s never even seen before. It might only scare him more.” That seemed to get through to Voryn based on how Voryn was no longer trying to push back against him. He seemed much more compliant in fact, and Araynys planned to use it to his advantage. “He’s no doubt been hurt by other alphas, you don’t want to terrify him again, do you?”

“... No.” Voryn answered, his breathing evening out. “I…” 

“Don’t worry,” Araynys needed to buy them some time. “You’re going into rut and accepted him, right? Why don’t you scent one of your robes and we can bring it to him. Then after he warms up to your scent we can bring him to you or let you come get him, whatever he’s comfortable with.” At that, Voryn nodded slowly, retreating to his room and shutting the door to do just that. 

“What the fuck is wrong with him?!” Vemyn hissed, trying to keep his voice level as they moved away from Voryn’s room.

“Do you think I know?!” Araynys spat back also in a hushed whisper. “Voryn hates how omegas smell but he’s suddenly reacting to that omega’s scent.”

“He said he wants to take him into his room and tend to him.” Vemyn looked worried. “He wants to fucking mate with that omega, doesn’t he?” 

“Oh by the Three…” Araynys buried his face in his hands. “It’s bad enough House Dres wanted Voryn to take him as a concubine--why does he want to mate with him of all things?!”

“I don’t fucking know--he only had his shirt for what, half an hour at most?” Vemyn looked equally displeased. “He went into rut in that amount of time and then ran out here trying to shake down a servant for what room he was in.”

“By Azura, he’s acting like they’re fated mates or somethi--” Araynys stopped abruptly, eyes going wide. Vemyn’s quickly did the same, as they both stared at each other in horror. 

“Oh dear gods no.” Vemyn groaned. “No no no--not with him!” Vemyn was about ready to punch a wall in frustration. “He’s a slave! A half nord slave brought here by House Dres!” It was a cruel joke by the Good Three to have Voryn’s destined, fated mate be someone like that. 

“It could be a trick.” Araynys replied. He didn’t know how House Dres could fake it, but it was possible. Certainly more credible of a theory than the idea that the Good Three would do something like this. “We need to have the mages and healers look at Voryn. We can lie and say it’s to make sure he’s in good health to mate to keep him calm.”

“Yeah,” Vemyn tried to keep his breathing level. “We can figure this out. It must just be some kind of trick.”

[monster-noises]

I want! I want to be able to tell people i make art wnd write comics and have something to Point Too y'know?

Like sure i have art but it's not like... Art (not in a self-degrading way, just in a way that says a majority of what i've made is very casual and disparit, and lacks a cohesion of intent I see from many of the artists I admire)

And there's an embarrassment that comes with telling people 'oh yeah i'm an illustrator and I'm writing comics when i'm not at work' and then being able to show... Nothing of serious import.

(again not to degrade my work, I like what i draw otherwise i wouldn't habe drawn it. It's just most of it does not necessarily satisfy the set up of "I Illustrate and Write Comics")

[fivekrystalpetals]

@longagoitwastuesday (I think you and @jacksintention are the same person, your writing seems similar; jic I am tagging both of you)

ahfhghikl thank you so much for all your comments on my meandering rambling post! honestly I dunno how I got from point A to point B without losing track of what I was meaning to say in the first place lol but it all came together in the end so :D

I totally understand you not agreeing 100% with me (and you don't have to! as long as you are being nice to me about our difference in opinions, I don't have a problem!) and I am glad, despite this, you could enjoy the rest of it! If I have to take a wild guess, it must be about Jack where our views differ, and while I am very curious about your thoughts, i would like to hear them after i finish my lacie post bc i wanna write about her (and Jack) from my own first impressions of the story.

Part 2: Ah I understand being frustrated seeing the fandom jumping from one opinion to another with every chapter update (that's the problem with a serially updating manga, with tons of plot twist) and i can't speak for myself what i might have done had i been reading this serially as well. reading this altogether helped me form a more solid opinion about overall events happening in the series. Although I have to confess while reading Past Arc, I saw Oswald more as a victim of circumstances (as in, I sympathized with his depressed state at the time and I solely blamed Jack for taking advantage of his friend like that) but later reading on into the last Arc, I started to hold him responsible for a major part in the Tragedy as well as I explained in that essay.

Part 3 +

hmm, it's interesting to me that you feel that way from my writing. I won't say I like him (um, no, I don't think I like him as much as many other characters in the story. In fact, I like Lacie way way more than him) but yeah, I did pity him in the beginning when I thought he was struggling with last minute measures so the world won't come to an end bc of Jack's recklessness. I think the moment I started to.... dislike (i am so conflicted where exactly i stand on the love/hate scale for him) him was when he decided that killing Lacie was the only way to prevent the Tragedy of Sablier. That's just victim blaming at its finest. He already cast Lacie into the Abyss and killed her once. Now, he wants to drag her out out of it and kill her once again? for what? making one (1) friend in her whole life? please.

so yeah, I don't really think I like him, but I did try my best to keep my personal opinions out of this essay and keep it neutral (mostly) so maybe, that's the reason you feel like i like him.

Other than that, thank you for your words: "Even today, I'd say it's perhaps not super extended to find such a nuanced criticism of his character."

"suffering hero to Jack's villain" -> for me, this is not Oswald, but Oz. Oz (and even both Alices) is the ever suffering hero to Jack's villain. Oz never wanted to kill or hurt anybody; he agreed to become a chain for Jack for White Alice's sake. But then, he was forced to commit mass murders and even had to witness his dear Alice commit suicide right before his eyes. Like, it's all so, so, heartbreaking for a doll that got a spark of life and just wanted to do good for his two girls. Even later, when he was in Jack's body, he had to stand by and watch Jack hurt his friends until he, spurred on by Oscar's words, managed to take control of Jack's body. So, if you see Oswald and Jack, I hold his negligence partly responsible for the way Jack turned out. But Oz is a victim through and through.

Part 4: Yes, I agree with all of what you say here! Oswald had the power to end the cycle of trauma by stopping Lacie's execution (if you see Retrace 91/92, he even attacks one of the Juries there. He could have done that at his Succession Ceremony if the Jury tried to intervene in his decision or take away his title of Glen. Moreover, as I understand, there is only one Jury for one story and they are no big fighters or anything.) but in spite of having all the powers of the Abyss, he lacked the strong will to take a huge, game-changing decision and that turned out to be his undoing.

About Alice:

ahhh I am not sure if it is an artistic choice to give Oswald and Alice just enough interactions for us readers to realize that they had been on good terms once,, yet I find it super interesting that Alice has no other memories of him while she has tons of Jack. Like Jack taught her to dance, braid her hair, taught her to play the piano too (I think?) and I don't know whether that memory of Jack and Alice near Lacie's grave and listening to her music is real or manipulated, for Alice iirc was never let out of the castle. so where does that memory come from? Is it Alice's wish that she imagines to be real? On the other hand, White Alice and Glen seem to have had some small interactions after all, bc if you remember Break's teatime with her down in the Abyss, she does mention Glen telling her about chains and stuff and claims to hate him as well. again, with the context of Retrace 76/77, I don't know if I can trust those memories either because her own were already shredded and lost at the point.

And, I was not quite sure the reason she hated Glen anyway. Like, I have seen many different reasons floating around, from her knowing in some way that Glen cast her mother into the Abyss that the other Alice doesn't—to Glen not letting her talk to Jack (?) (uh, I am not sure what this exactly means, but I remember her saying the same to Break as well, I guess it's bc of her broken memories she remembers like that),, it's all very confusing—but.... I think your reason makes the most sense to me. Because, if Glen kept her caged in and didn't let her go out and that's the reason she hated him, then yeah, it makes a lot more sense, why Jack was easily able to sway her to his side with the promise of taking her to the Rose Gardens of Vessalius House.

But, on the whole, yes, I do believe Oswald dropped visiting Alices after Jack took charge of them. Because, artistic choice or not, in such a painful event as Alice witnessing her uncle getting beheaded right in front of her, she must fondly remember and regret all those other memories as well, right? but she still has flashbacks to just that one scene.... so take it as you will.

About Black Alice, it's sad if you think about it. She really loved her uncle, okay? yeah, she might be an idiot for being ok with remaining in a cage among other things, but i think of her as more of a lovable idiot. She loves everything and everyone around her without noticing faults in them. She is that impressionable and good-natured child. She even names her favorite doll after Oswald! In fact, (once again) it's Levi that realizes how Alice likes Oswald the best (and interesting how Levi does spend a lot of time with Alice up until his death in spite of her being a product of his experiments. he has his moments, i guess? lol. and idk if he ever told her that he was her dad. does Oswald know this? or, did he tell only Jack? I mean, like obviously after seeing Alice, Oswald must have realized Lacie had been pregnant when he cast her into the Abyss but does he know Levi is the dad? He might have assumed it's Jack or someone else? idk)

okay, I am rambling now but what I mean to say is Alice really did love her uncle. But Oswald was so drowned by his sorrow and regrets that he didn't open his eyes to what he could still protect, instead spent his days dwelling on what he couldn't. In the end, Alice took her own life.... and, in more than one way, Oswald failed Lacie all over once again. I know for sure, Lacie loved her kids bc she went all the way down into the Abyss to request 'her' to take care of them when they are born and hoped the plush dolls could be friends with them. So yeah. He just keeps hurting her again and again.

ahjfjshgj thank you so much!! about Lacie, I have tons to write about her but i think I hurt my hand a bit, so i am taking a little break from writing so both those essays will have to wait :(( i meant to write an analysis about Lacie separate and about Jack/Lacie (and both topics have soooo much to write idek where to start lol, but i will figure that out. rn, I must worry about my fingers more so yeah a break from fanfics and writing in general is necessary (cuz i can't avoid irl work anw :((( )

and actuaaaaally, I wanna write about Levi too. In spite of his few appearances in the story, I feel like I might have tons to write about him if I reread the series. Such as, he is the sole Plot Starter Flint for the Entire series: it's his experiment that led to the creation of the Will of the Abyss; the only standalone (sorta) arc—Head Hunter's Arc— happened bc of Humpty-Dumpty, the chain that was formed from Levi's body. He has the most fuck-around-and-have-fun energy of all characters, and yet, I think, I think, it might be controversial for this fandom, but I think he is deeper than what comes across. Especially, his expressions in the last few chapters did not.... seem of a person having fun with all this. although he did keep repeating that he was having fun and that's all that matters to him but.... unreliable narrator much? idk. i still hate to the core what he did to Lacie but i wanna know what made him so warped in the first place.

Finally, part 5:

Warning to anyone who likes Reim!!!! please, please, please don't proceed any further. You have been warned. If you read on, it's at your own risk!!! if you get upset by my views don't come @ me. If Reim is your favorite character, stop here, press the back button, leave this page.

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I have never written an analysis on Reim, but if you mean this post, then yeah i did rant about him. I didn't delete it, just took it off the main tag bc it was attracting Unnecessary Attention from the fandom.

(also please don't reblog the linked post, I didn't delete it but I don't want it to attract attention again)

My Opinions on him largely differs from the general Fandom Opinion from what I have seen. To put it simply, his character annoys me. Whatever I wrote in that post, I still stand by—two points as the tip of Iceberg Of My Opinions on him:

1] He didn't trust Break enough to reveal the nature of his Chain to him

2] I am sorry but I can never get behind his excuse for shooting a child as this:

He didn't even try to simply disarm/render her unconscious (like Break did for Zwei); no, he shot her. In the head. With full intent to kill. A child who was chatting merrily with him. A child who told him everything about the Baskervilles. A child who had wholeheartedly accepted him as her friend. In fact, the build up in the panels leading up to his shooting is… ominous, to say the least. Then he closes his eyes and tells himself that he is doing the Right Thing bc, ofc, he is The Good Guy. Nah, I can only see his selfishness here: he wanted to do something Useful for once, bc he is always called weak and useless. He wanted to go back to his people, inform them Baskervilles are here, but "oh, I took care of one of them all by myself." He (and the whole Pandora, for that matter) has this Black and White worldview: Baskervilles: Black: Bad and Pandora: White: Good. In spite of Lily telling him everything about herself, he still doesn't make the slightest attempt to change his view of them. At least, Break didn't have that kind of prejudice; he did "talk" to Lottie as he would to any other 'human enemy'—in the end, he even apologizes for being a jerk to her... and then goes on to being a jerk again lmao

Point no. 1 is..... I don't have words about how much I hate him for withholding such vital information. From Break. Break, of all people, who he knows is always looking out for him, thinks of him as his only friend, might engage in a fight for his sake etc. And then, says shit like this:

What. is. wrong. Xerx. what's. with. that. sad. face. While reading this chapter fresh, I uttered Shut Up at the same time as Break, you know. That's why I believe he was also, for once, really pissed off Reim didn't share something this important. Break would have died. Like D I E D if best boy Gil didn't arrive on the scene on time. Please. Why you look so sad. Go die in a ditch somewhere.

And, I loved Fang, okay? He might be a minor character and all, one that the fandom most likely doesn't care about but... I loved him, for all the small things that were shown to us, he was one of a kind of an honorable gentleman and a true warrior. He genuinely politely talks to his enemies—he even said he was honored to cross blades with a strong fighter like Break. He didn't want to use his chain bc he wanted to fight Break (who was using Mad Hatter anyway) one-on-one like.... what a strong warrior code! Fang died because of Reim, only and only because of him. Not only bc of all what I wrote here, but also—like what was Reim even trying to do by distracting Lily in the heat of the battle? trying to get her killed? Break was poised to kill her and she lets down her guard bc of Reim, that's why Fang couldn't even block his sword.

You know, what's sadder, Lily had no intention to kill him even if he shot her in the head with full intention to kill. See:

Yeah, the only reason he appeared 'dead' to Fang was bc he put himself in hibernation. Had Break known of this, he would have rushed to check on Reim's wounds first, instead of immediately giving him up for dead and jumping in to revenge him.

Eventually Break succumbed to his injuries from this very battle, because, you see:

Break has always passed out bc of his Chain (and he won't die from it) but he was unparalleled in his sword skills. Fang got an advantage on him bc of his underground attacks with his chain. This is the first time Break got injured. The first time Break got injured. With things moving so fast after this, his injury never heals properly; while in captivity, Vincent reopens that wound and finally, Break succumbs to it. I read a couple of meta about how time was never Break's ally that's why his time runs out,,, but I maintain he died bc someone he considered a friend didn't reciprocate his sentiment enough to trust him with vital information and that's what cost him his life in the end. and then, you wonder why he always wants to be a one-man army.

This is just the tip of Iceberg of My Opinions on him. Retrace 93 must be why he is so upheld as a beacon of diplomacy or something in this fandom but sorry to say, my views differ. I think people overlook Lottie's role there. Not everyone might agree with me, and might still credit Reim for doing something that Break already set in motion and Lottie brought to the finish line. All of his "bullet points" were nothing that couldn't have happened 40 chapters ago had he not blindly clung onto his prejudice. And, finally, happens in Retrace 93 with Reim and Lily becoming friends at the cost of one life on either side. Isn't it ironic that this 'friendship' that started off on the wrong foot thwarted the other that was actively pursued by both sides? the things that might have changed if Fang never died? Lottie might even have helped them in some way while Break, Sharon and Shirley were imprisoned. other than this, it might be bc I am already annoyed enough by him but I dislike his overall attitude toward Lily in this chapter. (annnnd if it is true, he proposed to Sharon within a year of Break's death..... well. idk if I can take it canon or it's just a non-canon sidenovel thingie buuut it rubs me in the wrong way for... reasons. or, maybe it's just me. i take those kind of things seriously)

Anyway, jic what you meant by Opinion on Reim was not this, and something in the lines of Good/Nice/Different/What a lovable character he is, isn't he? ^^

then let's just pretend you didn't read any of this and:

But in case, you wanna read more of My Opinions on him, I will have another 50-page rant ready lol; I can never possibly physically sit down and write a neutral unbiased analysis on him. No, I feel so strongly about him that I will always end up ranting. I might even attempt a neutral analysis on Levi, of all people, some day; can't on Reim. Sigh.

either way, i'd rather spend my time writing about characters i love than wasting my time thinking about those i don't. sooo, chances are I won't write anything more about him anyway; but yeah, to put it shortly, I don't have much of an opinion on him.