#kind of goes with my theory on elemental power.

[lloydlings]

FABRIC

by me (flyingdutchman on AO3)

A one shot about Lloyd’s importance in the universe and his element in the very life.

“Your place is in the Fabric of the Universe”

Lloyd has always known his role, tying into the closely knit threads. Threads that span all of Ninjago, and now the sixteen realms. For he knew it in his youth, where he clinged to the feeling in the air, the frequency of his friends, the glow in his chest.

The power he holds.

The power he holds is not a normal one. It is not easily describable, nor is it describable at all. It's living, breathing, competent, strong. It speaks for him when he has nothing to say. It burns a fire that nothing can quell, even not himself.

It feels un-attached, acting of his own force and capability. Making decisions for him that he'd rather control himself. But that is his power. It's not normal.

As the boy has grown older, so has his power grown with him. He knows himself to be a grandson of a godly being, no matter how harsh, or no matter how interceptive it can be. Sometimes he wishes that not to be the case. For when his anger rises like a fierce tidal wave that only his sister could rival, so does his power with it. Like the banging of bars on a metal cage, locked inside without a key.

His volatility is his weakness. Wu had made it clear time and time again, but now the wise master is all but a wisp. A forgotten memory. Someone that Lloyd has yet to make contact with, someone that Lloyd values so highly. Perhaps it is though because Wu, does not value his own power at all.

That on the other hand of it all, his father has depended on his power more than anybody. At least to the point of where his father is now, or the current form he takes. Lloyd remembers the soft, pinging-- but calm frequency his father radiated in the time where Lloyd was still harnessing his Golden Power. A thing dutily ripped away from him when push came to shove.

Instead he seems to lose the closeness, the memory. His father's power is cold. He's felt it, like a brisk poison rushing to all senses. Like a dagger to the heart. Like pain, rushing through his bones, and twisting-shoving-screaming---crying... His father's power is destruction, and yet he's felt these on the recieving end, he also knows the value in it in himself.

With this power passed down, before he swore to never give in to it again. It was a rush, like a cool rush through the air, a swift turning in his chest, a reason to keep fighting. Destruction is fleeting, but addictive, so addictive that he's felt it control him. Winding up like a broken toy, destroying all that comes forth. But it's the cool that quells the warm. It's the cool that makes his senses finally dullen to a point where he can actually breathe.

For it's been so long since he could actually breathe.

Because, "energy" might be life, but it's always running. It's the feeling in the air, it's the happiness, it's the pain. It's knowing everything, and feeling everything all at once and not being able to control it. To feel what you don't want to feel. For everything to be there, whether the sounds, whether the slight movement that would catch anyone in a loop. But with that is the slight knowledge that he cannot control it.

He will never be able to control the life that burns within him.

He is not like the others.

As it is, what it is, life cannot be controlled.

And his own life has fought like wildfire, even if he'd want it extinguished, even if he'd want to greet death like an old friend.

It's healed his wounds, it's lied, it's exclaimed his greatness, it burns.

Sometimes his friends exclaim the greatness of their powers, the calmness. Zane explaining to him one night for that he is calmed down, he is cooled by the ice that reaches his mind. Nya by the water, the rush in her veins. But Lloyd is not one and the same. His powers are volatile. They shift to one side, and sink, the other.

Lloyd, unlike the others, feels his power in his heart. Exhilaration, restlessness, like the tick of a metronome. The tick that his time is up, the tick that means sometime soon he won't have to fight anymore, but it doesn't stop. He hears it, in a low hum, a buzzing feeling akin to electricity, that makes him believe everything will dissolve into static. But it's haunting, knowing it in every waking moment. Knowing that one day it will stop, one day it will finally give in--- yet every he gets close it's restarted like a video game.

He feels it when he harnesses, and with it he's been overdrawn more than anyone else. He hates his power. He hates how weak it makes him feel, how weak and unassuming. He hates that when he over-extends it, he's not okay. He's not okay like the ninja. He's not okay, because it's tied to his life. It's intertwined.

"Your place is in the Fabric of the Universe." Master Wu says to the young child, blonde hair alight.

Lloyd underestimated his words at the time, but feels them now. Whether it be anything, for Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Ice, or Golden Power, or Oni Power, or Energy, or ---

Now he underestimates it even more. As his power fights within him. Fights against him. Warns him.

Becoming the Conduit to the Dragons wasn't easy.

Lloyd has known his mortality, his human nature, and that source Dragon knew it too. But becoming what he thought would save the world and did, is something he underestimated so much, much to the point where he'd been in a hyperactive state of coma, much to everyone's horror.

He had known when he stepped into that room with the Source Dragon.

Like a pang at his chest, the buzzing even more pronounced more than anything.

And then he'd given into it, and what he thought, every transformation, every fight, everything had become so miniscule, obsolete, unasumming, because this power, this thing he channels like a battery, is more powerful than anything.

It burns but it also brings warmth-- it stresses but it also guides.

But it's starting to take over his life, it's starting to mess with him, his powers, his life. He knows that possibly sometime when he steps into it again, he might not step out. He might not wake up. It may claim his energy.

But he is but the fabric of the universe.

[everyonewooeverywhere]

dj.... do you think you could make a list of yunho's kinks 🙂‍↕️ I like your brain (if you don't wanna pls ignore this ily)

.........

🙂 so um.....

yeah i think i can do that (this is literally my dream ask) and i like your brain too bc it compelled you to ask me this 😘

(CW for general kinky shit. and a brief mention of cnc. nothing to graphic or descriptive but everyone read at your own risk pls and MDNI‼️)

jeong yunho is a freak. a kinky freak. and i have been saying this forever.

there are a couple things i've mentioned before, but the biggest thing to remember: yunho is into anything that makes him feel like he has control over the situation.

so yes, he's obviously a dom, but it goes a bit deeper than that.

bondage is an absolute yes. he's not particular to any methods, but anything that has your hands restricted (and sometimes your legs) is perfect for him. he really loves the control. and i think on an emotional level he takes a lot of pride and feels a lot of fulfillment over the fact that his partner trusts him enough to give up all that control.

kind of along with that, he is definitely into somnophilia too. something about you being so helpless just really does it for him. and i think there’s a lot of free use elements in the way he might go about a sexual relationship, too. so his love for somno definitely stems from how much he loves to overpower you on his terms. kinda in tie with this, yunho’s definitely in to cnc, too. it’s a power play for him. something about the resistance of it really drives him crazy. and he just fucking thrives off the knowledge that he’s in full control of the situation, not you.

now…the hands….yunho is a choker. we’ve established this many times before. he loves choking because of your reactions to it. he loves when your claw at his wrist and how you get all loopy from the lack of oxygen. but he also loves shoving his fingers down your throat to because it really gets him going when you gag around them.

i also really feel like yunho’s into exhibitionism but only in theory never in practice. like he’ll tease and tell you to be quiet or call you names when you get too loud and ask if you want the whole house to hear, if you want the neighbors to know just how good he’s fucking you. but he’s not gonna let anyone truly watch. this is his treat and his treat only.

some honorable mentions: name calling, overstimulating (giving or receiving probably), could have a size kink but it definitely goes both ways i feel like, corruption (with the right partner), dacryphilia, degradation, bro def has a foot fetish, mind breaking…(yummy~)

i can’t believe cry for me is the kinkiest thing i’ve written for yunho 💀 i really want to write something more deranged but i feel like my brain is dry 😞

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! Have you seen the new Mickey Mouse Rebrushed trailer??? Twitter is goin crazy over it and how it’s related to twst 😭 just wanted to hear your thoughts on it

I did spot quite a few parallels with TWST from the Rebrushed trailer! I'm not familiar with Epic Mickey at all, so I'll just be commenting on what I noticed right away. You'll have to excuse my limited knowledge.

Firstly!! This design of Mickey is the exact same as the one we see in TWST. Most noticeable is his white face, which is a fleshy peach color in most modern iterations.

Mickey is reading Alice in Wonderland’s sequel, Through the Looking Glass. Of course, Twisted Wonderland has Wonderland in its title, and even opens with an Alice in Wonderland inspired dorm. Yuu and Mickey also connect via their dreams and through the mirror shared in their rooms.

The theme of dreams is very present and upfront here; Mickey wakes up from sleeping and then creeps to his mirror, which appears to be a portal into another world. Hmm... dreams, mirrors, and traveling to other worlds, now what does that remind you of? You'll also notice that Mickey's room is the exact same as Yuu's room in Ramshackle, right down to the "inverted" room that appears when Mickey passes through the mirror. Everything up until this point is very similar to what is depicted in the 1936 short, Thru the Mirror.

Next, Mickey spies on a wizard carefully using a magic paintbrush over what seems to be a diorama of a bunch of buildings on a plot of land. When the wizard leaves, Mickey fiddles with the paintbrush, causes a mess, and calls forth some kind of black ink monster with green light coming from within it. This seems to be a very close parallel to Overblots, particularly since the most recent OB has a signature neon green color. If we really are to connect Epic Mickey to TWST, this scene also seems to allude that Yuu, Mickey, and/or the "wizard" have parts to play in bringing these Overblots to life. And who do we know that is a powerful wizard that is aware of the corrupting power of blot and runs a large chunk of land... say, a campus? Crowley. This goes hand-in-hand with the theory that Crowley is intentionally allowing these OBs to happen or is even puppeteering his students into OBing.

I find this visual in particular to be very ominous; again, we have the colors that match a certain OB dragon fae but also the map itself reminds me of Twisted Wonderland's and the eerie visual of Malleus's thorns digging into Sage's Island and aiming to go way beyond it.

Anyway, the ink monster is temporarily contained while Mickey returns to his own world. We then get a montage of various Mickey media passing by, as well as a lot of imagery that would imply the passage of time (clocks, the date on the calendar changing, etc.). So... what? Is that implying not only parallel worlds, but also a time skip? Or maybe a time... loop? Like time loop theory???

The ink monster somehow eventually escapes and makes it to Mickey's world, with the blot dripping from the ceiling waking Mickey up from his sleep. It drags Mickey away into a hole drenched in ink. Kind of foreboding when you realize Yuu has also had prophetic dreams... Not of OBs, but of the events leading up to them. And being dragged away into an inky... opening? Like an... abyss? Like book 7, Ruler of the ABYSS?

That's how the trailer concludes!! Gotta say, there's definitely a lot of shared elements between this and TWST. If I recall correctly, Epic Mickey was a game that existed on the Wii waaay before TWST. It even has largely the same cinematic trailer (just with older graphics), so to me it feels like TWST probably took inspiration from Epic Mickey rather than the other way around. There are definitely too many parallels for it to be a coincidence. If that's the case, then we can probably pull some hints for what awaits us in the rest of book 7 from these cinematics. (This is a video comparing the two side-by-side if you think that might be of use!)

[makingspiritualityreal]

Visibility of Houses in Astrology

An often overlooked aspect of Astrological houses and their behavior in one's chart is their element of visibility and how it determines our life path. That becomes particularly important, when we look at the behavior of Nakshatras and their divine stories replicated in our human lives.

For starters, basic theory that is important as the premise of this post, that shows astrological houses linked to specific hours. Refer to the image above. Because of their positions relative to the time of day, certain houses fall "in and out" of the human eye at different times of day, aka certain traits of our personality will become more or less visible to others, socially, or in certain settings, and depending on which planets we have in these houses in our charts, we will end up with different results.

The obvious and most visible planets will always be those located in the 1st and the 10th house. Why? Because these houses are always illuminated by the Sun, either by the Sunrise or the blinding Sun of High Noon. These are the most obvious, unforgettable aspects of your personality, that will hit everyone in the face the moment they lay eyes on you, even if they don't really know you at all. You may have many other planets placed in all kinds of houses, your realm of thoughts and feelings may be something completely else, but whatever is in these houses will always be what people superficially identify you with. When you read into the mythology of the Nakshatras, you will see that the patterns of planets in Nakshatras positioned in these houses, and your ascendant Nakshatra if you have no planets in 1st or 10th, will be so much more visible to others and in your interactions with them than anything else in your chart.

To give you an example of how this works, my Ascendant and Sun in the 1st house are both in Vishakha Nakshatra, that is known for being charismatic and powerful to the point of being eccentric, especially with the Sun being the planet of authority. When people see me in my physical life, they tend to be intimidated and never suspect the depth of my inner feelings, and this went on even when I was so depressed I didn't want to live anymore. I also think most people would be surprised my main occupation is astrology and spiritual research and how deep and contemplative my interests are compared to my flamboyant appearance.

The other significantly visible elements of the chart are houses 4 and 7, as these are the other cardinal points of the day cycle. The 4th house is the Full Moon, the Mid Night, so everything in this house is going to be what shines the most during the night. It is less obvious, but still talked about. The 7th house, with the Sunset, or otherwise going away of the Sun, is visible as the projected element. In reality, the Sun never goes away, it only sets relative to our perspective. So the 7th house is where the Sun goes to shine "somewhere else" in a way that brings it to our attention the most, where we outwardly project the consciousness of Solar presence to its full extent.

The other part of this equation are the least visible houses in the chart, and these are houses 8 and 12, 12 being the most prominent. Why? The 12th house is what hides directly behind the Sunrise. While the Sun gets everyone's attention in the 1st house, the 12th house operates in the shadows of the 1st house's glaring light, doing the most important, but silent work during the day. It's the part of the chart, that gets taken for granted the most, yet is such an important preparational foundational element. The 8th house performs a similar function to a lesser extent, as it is also a preparatory element, that is taken care of in anticipation of the sunset and the day ending. So yet again, the house is so important but gets taken for granted, as the 7th house gets more focus even if it is through projection.

The other important side point is that whichever house the Sun is sitting in is supposed to be more visible, and Saturn makes any planet in a house it sits in become less obvious. It can only be found with discernment.

What is to be made of this analysis? Any planets we have in the 8th or 12th house will be taken for granted by most, or be more visible from a distance, only discerned by the most watchful eye. Any planet especially in the 1st and 10th house will stare everyone in the face, 4th and 7th will also get appreciation to an extent. As a result, it is easier to have certain planets in certain houses for maximum result. When you have fundamental, important planets in your chart in the 12th house especially, your real personality might be hard to understand for most, outside of your partner and close circle. When you have other planets in the 1st and 10th house to pair with it, you get a person who may have a completely different image compared to their actual personality and emotional world and egoic consciousness. It takes time to get to know them.

Notice, that no part of the chart is really "non existent". It's just that certain parts of you are recognised instantly, but others take time to really be explored, not just by others but also by yourself, as they take self discipline and commitment and refinement to appear in a polished form.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

I would love to hear your thoughts about the fucked-up turtle (Terapagos)

"Now let's talk about the turtle. Can we talk about the turtle please, Mac? I've been dying to talk about the turtle with you all day."

Ok so. Short Answer Re: Thoughts About Terapagos:

WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. WHY DID IT DO THAT. WHY DID THEY [GAMEFREAK] DO THAT.

Long Answer Re: Thoughts About Terapagos [SPOILERS FOR THE SCARVIO DLC naturally. i havent seen Horizons so i dont rly know whats goin on with this little guy in the anime, just what we've got in the games]:

When the last little batch of new Pokemon in Indigo Disk leaked, about 12 hours or so-ish before the DLC dropped, I was at dinner with my bestie and we were looking at our phones like we were reading breaking world news. And I was looking at this tiny ass png of Terapagos's full Tera (Stellar) form.

And I immediately blurted out "holy SHIT it's turtles all the way down."

If you're not familiar with the phrase, check out its wikipedia page; here it's most relevant as a saying thrown around with regards to the philosophical concept of infinite regress, i.e. a series of elements (or questions begging an explanation) that that goes on infinitely with each member producing the next. So let's say the world rests on the back of a giant turtle--well, then, what does that turtle stand on to keep it from falling into the void? Why, another, bigger turtle, of course! But what about that turtle? Well, you're not gonna believe this, but it's turtles all the way down.

And here's the other thing about infinite regress: it's a logical fallacy, it's circular reasoning--honestly it's a little bit of a cousin to the "which came first?" chicken and egg argument. The question in these cases never truly gets answered, it just goes on and on forever. Bigger turtles on top of even bigger turtles.

It's a paradox. :)

So Stellar Terapagos, just look at that thing. Even its dex entries talk about how it looks like a planet, how it resembles "the world as the ancients saw it"--it's very much not only trying to evoke the World Turtle concept, but the symbolism of a classic paradoxical saying. So we've already got that going on with it, that already makes me bonkers. AND THAT'S JUST THE SURFACE LEVEL.

Cuz when we look at how Terapagos behaves, things start to go from "well isnt this guy a little weird" to "oh. oh this thing is kind of fucked up and terrifying, hello, what the hell is wrong with it" REAL FAST. Its two most stressed features we see in Indigo Disk are A.) its crystalline nature and how its the progenitor of Terastalization, but also B.) it is ferociously powerful and borderline uncontrollable. It's violent. It bursts out of a Master Ball and almost kills Kieran for daring to try and control it. Heath's illustration of its Stellar form in the Scarlet/Violet Book looks so otherworldly and almost cosmically horrifying. It has Weird Fucking Powers the game does NOT elaborate on (but I will; see more below.)

And also, hey, yeah, its Stellar Form looks like a stack of world turtles, but why the FUCK does its Terastal form also look like a goddamn dream catcher.

Personally I've been a big fan of the 'imagination theory' re: the Professors and the Paradox Pokemon and Area Zero, and folks have been arguing that Indigo Disk debunks that, but honestly I feel like we're loitering around some untold explanation that's even more bizarre. Terapagos is at least on some level tied to dreams and existentialism, and I really feel like there's more to Tera Crystals and Terapagos's relationship with them than what we've been told. Hell, its cry is even the noise we hear all game when we Terastalize our Pokemon, which produces its own myriad of questions (Are the Crystals some degree of alive? The Tera Crowns all do have Terapago's little turtle head at their base, too--does Terapagos physically or spiritually connect with a Terastalizing Pokemon? And what about that weird crystalizing the AI Professor does during its big boss fight? MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.)

Oh, speaking of Crystals--yeah. I can't NOT talk about the Indigo Disk Crystal Pool Postgame Secret when talking about Terapagos. ONE MORE SPOILER WARNING FOR THAT--SERIOUSLY GO TO THE CRYSTAL POOL AFTER GETTING THE DLC CREDITS. IT WILL BLAST YOU TO BITS. anyway.

Yeah so that's what I mean with Why Did It [Terapagos] Do That. The fact that you dont even need to have it in your party for the postgame Crystal Pool cutscene to trigger and for Terapagos to just pop out of the PC boxes on its own accord and warp space and time (and maybe even reality itself) to irreversible consequence, implying once again some great and uncontrollable power within this beast. Crazy Ass Moments in Pokemon History for CERTAIN.

And the thing that makes me most insane, thinking about Terapagos twisting time to allow you to meet the Professor, the Real Live Professor, to swap notes with them so to speak, the way it facilitates all of that, is the position it now puts the player and Scarvio itself in. If the Professor's research rests on the back of a white book given to them by a child, then what does the research of that white book rest upon? Ah, well, the expedition of Area Zero spurred forth by the fallout of the Professor's research. And what did THAT research rest upon, again...?

Turtles. The whole way down. Chickens and eggs and a paradox you're now responsible for. At the hands of a Normal Type Pokemon that tried to kill a 14 year old.

Terapagos scares the shit out of me. I love it so much. Why Did They Make It Like That <3

[the-broken-truth]

Twisted Wonderland Nonsense [8]: Magical Core Meeting

[Note: This Could Be Made Into A Mini-Series & Possible Comic.]

[Genderless Yuu - Will Decide Gender Later]

[Headmage Dire Crowley called the Dorm Wardens to an Emergency Meeting.]

Crowley (Smiling): Thank you for attending this sudden meeting, Dorm Wardens.

Leona (Yawns): Just what do you want, Crowley?

Riddle: Kingscholar, show respect. (Looks at Crowley) What is the meaning of this meeting, Headmage?

Crowley: This meeting regards the current condition of the Ramshackle Prefect, Yuu [L/N].

[The mention of Yuu's Name causes the Dorm Wardens, even Leona, to set up in their chairs; showing that they are ready for any information.]

Riddle: There is nothing wrong with the Prefect, is there, Headmage Crowley?

Crowley: Nothing negative, no. However, this is a rather interesting phenomenon. It would seem that the Prefect of Ramshackle is becoming more like their peers.

Azul: What do you mean?

Kalim: Yeah, what's happening to Jewel?!

Crowley: A few weeks ago, The Prefect informed me that they were feeling strange; increased energy, speed, and strength along with other things. What they were truly concerned about was the occasional glow in their eyes when they were looking at a mirror. I was concerned for them, so I asked the Nurse to look over them.

Malleus: What did the Nurse find?

Crowley: Trace of Magic within them; it was weak, but still present.

Idia (Tablet): That's not possible. Sugar Skull is Magicless; how could there be traces of magic within them?

Crowley: I said the same thing, Mr. Shroud, and asked the Nurse if he was certain about his findings. The Nurse informed me that, upon conducting an examination of Yuu's Being, a Magical Core was forming within their body; it's currently small, but it appears to be growing as time goes on.

Riddle: Wait. Rose is 'forming' a Magical Core within themself? How is that possible?

Crowley: I am not entirely certain, but I have a theory: The Prefect unknowing has been absorbing magic into their being by facing the Overblots, coming in contact with other magical students, or the magic fragments loosely floating in the air. I asked the Nurse to record and document and the Prefect appears to possess more than one magic type.

Vil: What kinds?

Crowley: From what was documented: Fire, Lightning, and Wind.

Riddle: Interesting combination... What is next, Headmage?

Crowley: Currently, the Prefect is practicing with the Nurse to harness their new power; what's interesting is that they don't need a Mage Stone Pen to draw it out.

Leona: How?!

Crowley: Something about channeling the energy into the tips of their fingers as an outlet; how like Mage Stone Pens are Outlets for Our Magic. However, Crewel has convinced me to acquire a pen for them; so I am currently working on that.

Malleus: And the Child of Man's Dwelling?

Crowley: What do you mean?

Malleus: When the Child of Man arrived here one year ago, they were unable to be sorted because they were magicless, but now that they have acquired magic of their own; they should be resorted into a proper down. Diasomnia would be perfect for my Child of Man.

Leona: As if, Lizard! 3 Elemental Magics is power and the Powerful belong in Savanaclaw! The Herbivore belongs with us!

Riddle: Rose is more aligned with Heartslabyul, considering they follow rules while being allied with Ace and Deuce.

Kalim: Jewel is very smart! They should come to Scarabia! Jamil would be happy to have them there!

Vil: My Sweet Potato is far too lovely and refined to be in any dorm that is not Pomefiore.

Azul: I disagree. Octavinelle owes a lot to Pearl's Deal-Making Skills; they should join us.

Idia (Tablet): Sugar Skull would be best fitted in Ignihyde. They are as mysterious as ever.

Malleus: The Child of Man is more noble. They shall come to Diasomnia.

Crowley: Alright, enough. The Prefect's Dorm is Ramshackle unless they wish to be sorted by the Dark Mirror. If they tell me they desire to be placed in a dorm, I shall make the preparations; however, it's their choice. Now, the meeting is over. I need to get the Mage Stone Pen.

[All the Dorm Wardens leave the meeting with the same thing on their minds: The Prefect is coming to my dorm.]

[crepes-suzette-373]

This is kind of just idle thinking so I don't want to write up my usual big theory posts...

Combining my two alternate theories about the Germa mods (lineage factor spliced from Devil Fruit users or special races). It could be that that Ichiji, Reiju, and Sanji were modded with Devil Fruit user lineage factors, and Niji and Yonji had theirs done with splicing special race lineage factors.

Suppose Sora was only aware of the devil fruit ones, and maybe she tried to counter it by using sea stone in her medicine. If so, that might explain why it works on Sanji, and possibly explains why Ichiji is also seemingly displaying weird behaviour and his eyebrow might actually have been flipping too (exhibit 1, exhibit 2, exhibit 3). Sora's medicine possibly might have also worked on him just a little.

But it doesn't work on the mods that were spliced from other races, so Niji and Yonji are unaffected.

Though, since Vegapunk said that Kuma was able to override the "kill switch" in him because of some unique characteristic of the Buccaneers... If Yonji's mods had been from the Buccaneer tribe, that might be why he seems weirdly more like a normal person compared to Niji. Whatever was that special Buccaneer trait might have somehow reversed a little bit of the emotion mods.

In the manga, it was sorta shown that people used to think Bucccaneers were only good for their strength. In the SBS, sensei said that the body mods are matched to the suit power. The Winch Green suit is just mech and robotics based, so it would make sense if Yonji's mods is just the superstrength and he has no other weird elemental power stuff.

If this is correct, then Niji is the most screwed up one because there's nothing cancelling out the mods. And if I'm right about his mods being from minks, and he does go Sulong, it'll be a disaster (only Sanji can match his speed to catch him and forcibly cover his eyes, I guess???).

I know this goes the completely opposite direction to one of my previous theories where I said maybe the exoskeleton itself is made of sea stones, and oooooh it makes me feel so polarised. With so little info right now it could go either way, though.

[destinysbounty]

Huh. I just dug up an old fan-theory i came up with back when i was like 15. And while its definitely way too weak to hold up against any real scrutiny, it at the very least makes for some mildly interesting fanfic fodder so i thought id share it with the greater fandom hivemind.

(Dont come at me about the holes in this theory btw, i was practically a baby when i came up with this and it was one of my first attempts at theory-crafting. Trust me, ive come a long way since then)

Anyway, the theory goes like this:

While in the lighthouse, Dr. Julien builds a replica of his son. But try as he might to get it to turn on, it never actually works. Whatever special spark brought the first Zane to life is inexplicably absent from this one. So he locks it away in his basement, and never gives it the light of day again. This is the reason Dr. Julien never told Zane about Echo, or brought him with them - because at the time, Echo wasnt even functional. Wouldnt even turn on. Was nothing more than a lifeless shell collecting rust in the basement.

So how, then, did Echo become sentient by season 6? Great question! But uhh heres where the theory kinda starts to go off the rails. So buckle up, folks.

Basically the theory goes that when Zane died at the end of s3, his soul still lingered in Ninjago. And his disembodied spirit eventually found itself drawn to a vessel that was similar to the one he'd lost - one his father had built yet long abandoned. But his new body lacked the memory storage contained within his old one, and his resurrection effectively gave him almost complete amnesia. All he could remember was his name and his purpose (to protect those who cannot protect themselves).

Meanwhile, when Titanium Zane says hes a replica, hes actually completely right about that. Some fragments of his code left behind from his visit to the Digiverse gained sentience and inherited Zane's elemental power, creating the Zane we know and love today.

But the original Zane, the one that died fighting the Overlord, actually ended up becoming Echo Zane. Which then would have explained why Zane had so many holes in his memories after being resurrected, and why his sixth sense became much less active as well - he was only made from fragments of the real Zane's code, after all.

Now, as the big smart grownup i am today, i can look back at this theory my baby self had crafted and poke about a million holes into it. But...idk, i always feel nostalgic about this theory in spite of all that. Not just bc it was one of my first fan theories ever, but also bc it would have such fascinating narrative implications if true.

Like, the idea of Mr. E being Echo? Well, if we apply that to the concept of Echo being the Original Zane, then his hatred for Current Zane takes on a whole new dimension. It also gives me a lot of emotions about the whole Ice Emperor situation, as well as Zane's apparent discomfort towards his own statue.

And what kind of position does that put the rest of the gang in? If they had to choose between saving one or the other - the Zane who died for you, or the Zane who lives for you - which one would they choose? Could they choose? How long do you have to love a replica before it starts to feel more authentic than the original? And in that case, who becomes the 'real' zane? The one you love, or the one you lost?

Again. This theory has more holes in it than the Titanic. Cut me some slack, i was an idiot child and also a novice at making theories. But giving credit where its due, i do think it at least raises some interesting concepts. And Ive always casually wondered what would happen if it turned out to be true.

Like i said. Fanfic fodder.

[asylumdream]

Drawing project of my Hero Rosario (Nicknames Rosy or Ari) for every 10 levels I gain in Dragonfable-

Closeups and story under the cut

Rosario was from a poorer hunting family, just trying to get by. One winter was particularly harsh, and being the youngest mouth to feed… They saw the writing on the wall, and fled. Deciding that at least their memories of their family wouldn't get tainted. If they ran away themself there was a chance they wouldn't have been abandoned. They got spotted and picked up by a Guardian who had happened to be wandering about, and from that moment on was a kid of Falconreach through and through. They were thoroughly obssesed with books, burying themself in any they could get their hands on. They would spend days locked away in the library at the gaurdian tower pooring over history books, tactics books, magic books… they loved it. Their dayly routine was to wake up, go early to Cysero to beg him for any books he would sell them for their measly 3 coin weekly alownce (and some days he would have one he'd be willing to give up in exchange for a favor or two) then help serve breakfast in the messhall. After that they would jump head first back into their studies until they had to be guided away from their books for dinner. Then they would read until lights out. When they were old enough to venture outside the wall without supervision they would make the treck to warlic's tent to beg books off of him, and anyone else who'd be willing to spare some litterature for them. They became quite the shut in, so bad that they had no friends their age nor did they ever go outside save for the early monring. Their caretaker had had enough of it, and forced them to join the heros of falcon reach to 'Put all that brian power of yours to good use lad! You love your magicks so much? well learn to cast a spell out there!". And so kicked out they were, to face the wide open world of lore.

between doing random chores for the knights of the Pentaganol Knights and stealing the egg back from Drakath they are keen to keep up their studies…. But find that this whole 'adventureing' thing is kind of fun actually! Twilly isnt half bad company and will listen to them ramble on and on about magic theory without interupting them.

Their dragon egg has hatched! to their awe and amazment, an adorable little baby is introduced to the world. they name the dragon 'Sweetpea' after the flowers it enjoys burning to a crisp while it sneezes. And with Sweetpea born Rosario is off to the races, spesifically the race against Sepulchure to secure the elemental orbs and prevent his usage of them. They've heard of the orbs before and know the history and Awesome Power they hold- and though Rosario can't fathom why Sepulchure wants them it can't be for anything good.

With Sweetpea at their heal Rosario goes to convince anyone with any access to the orbs to help them keep the orbs safe- The Sandsea was horrible, they were picking sand out of there armor for weeks, but at least zhoom is a reasonable person with a respectable work ethic. Then he offers to teach them to become a ranger- To Teach Them??? Say no more. Rosario has always been a quick study, and having been banned from their library for the foreseeable future the next best thing is to get taught in the real world. At every opportunity then on they try and learn all that they can, trying to find this paladin they've heard of… And it turns out that paladin shares their love of clever puns and wordplay! Useing light magic to kill undead while learning the ways of a paladin (and necromancer, and deathknight) is a dream for them, and Artix makes surprisingly good company! He isn't patient enough for their lectures on the mechanics of magics, but at least he's polite to nod along. They find they dont mind it too much.

Being a veracious learner, is it any wonder they took to soulweaving like a duck to water? No mater their misgivings about Tomix's… Friend… They are honored to be taught a whole new skill they've never even Heard of before. Not to mention… It's fun being the one teasing instead of the one being teased for once- and Tomix is a bit of an easy target. The whole endeavor, as stressful as managing greed was, was a much needed break after the…. water orb….

Things were good! They had secured the orbs and backtracked to learn the ways of the Pirate and Ninja! things were looking up! Then Sepulchure got the orbs anyways. Fine! Sure! They'll deal with it! So they do. And it's great! the world is saved and they can rest! Not ten days later fire imps attack Falconreach with refugees pooring in from portals and Warlic is nowhere to be found but Fine! Sure! They'll deal with it! So they do. The spell that this Jaania was under… it is as facinating as it is terrifying to them, and they greet the girl who was broken out- a spite fire, but they feel a kindered spirit in her. They want to pull her aside and explain everything that's happened so far, give her the complete information they know they'd crave in her position- but then the professor is ushering them all to a grand battle without so much as a 'how do you do'. Wargoth by Rosario's observation seems to create mana when casting, rather then destroy it. So if they can provoke him to cast fast enough, they are sure they could burn him out, the only problem is the massive amount of free floating mana that would create- it would wipe out half the planet for sure. But they've not researched magicks their whole life for nothing, they know of and even collect the seeds of a spicies of plant that rapidly absorbs mana when it grows, if they can just- But no, the professor has a Better Idea. Fine! Sure! They'll deal with it. They sure hope their old caretaker is proud of how accommodating and understanding they are being. And they defeat Wargoth, with much collateral damage and close calls- but at least Warlic is back together and now they can focus on the Important Things of rebuilding after Sepulchure and this damage- as well as meeting with and learning from the people who fled from Wargoth's advancments. Sweetpea is safe and sound and all is-…

[thesharktanksdriver]

(I realize that all your resent asks have been about your determination series,, amazing series btw,, but imma bout to break that streak with a question about the magical girl 🤞)

So I was rereading basically every work you’ve written,, cause it’s my therapy,, and I saw that you made a post about magical girl y/n and that Justice League movie “Crisis on two earths” I was wondering what that would be like?

In an other universe where all the heroes are evil is the magical girl also evil? (<<<evil magical girls 😻)

I thought about how y/n is like on neutral grounds but leans towards the “good side” more. So is “evil” y/n the same she just leans towards the “bad side” more?

And I don’t know about you but I’d love to see others reaction to a y/n who is aggressive or is just wearing black,, lol.

A potential villain y/n as just been a brain rot for the past couple of decades.

But I’d like to hear your opinion about it! 😽🫶

I’m happy to be yalls therapists tho be warned u might need a second one after all my shit lol. I love me song angst and yall are the ones who pay the price.

But to answer your question it actually gets pretty interesting with crisis on two earths because something impossible happens. Cause, everyone in that universe has a parallel version of them. All of them for some reason except y/n.

It’s puzzling for them along with the other characters within the films because that shouldn’t be statistically possible.In every universe almost no matter the outcome there should be a version of you. Theoretically as you said an alternate version of y/n should be someone who maybe leans more towards the side of bad but retains some element of neutrality to them.

Something along the lines of maybe an informant or even some sort of back alley doctor of sorts. But there’s nothing.

While y/n knows that they can be the only magical girl (due to the fact Rigel can only pick one vassal per dimension/universe there should be a different version of herself. One she was actually quite excited to meet even if they were evil because she wanted to know if this life had been any different from her own.

But nothing

Not even Rigel seems to know why there is no different version of her. But to be fair it brings up another question for Rigel, what about the other girls? They’d never sought out to try and find any sort of alternate version of the other girls due to the guilt. But it now brings up the question that no matter the universe they had never seen a dopple.

But in that regard it catches the interest of the alternate justice league from this flipped world. Especially Owlman.

The entirety of the film is about his existential crisis that nothing matters because everything that could have possibly been done and said by you has been done before in a different universe. But here’s seemingly an outlier to this very idea, something that seemingly goes against multiversal theory in the form of a young girl of all things.

One that is moldable and malleable, something that in his eyes the entire multiverse deemed as important and literally one of a kind.

Someone with more power at her fingers tips than she could ever imagine with literal infinite potential.

Someone that could potentially shift any scale if she so deemed.

Someone they need on their side.

Yeah….his plan becomes less destroying every universe into first trying to manipulate y/n which failed and then into aight we doing this by force then.

Mind controlled y/n which I’ll call evil y/n for now is someone like you said that’s aggressive and most of all bitter. It kinda takes all of y/n stored away anger towards a society that left them to rot as well as the fact that they had to literally scrape by half the time and almost no one noticed nor cared. It kinda cuts off her memory at a certain point, the part where things got better for her, that she found a home and people who do care. As cliche as it is it’s that which is used to snap her out of it along with the general mental fog she has when not just focusing on her anger.

But anyway evil y/n is wholeheartedly destructive, using everything she can to essentially just destroy. Using that enhanced strength to good use, and while she can’t use her magical weapon on things that aren’t Shadowmites who’s to say she can’t find an actual weapon to do the job instead lol.

I feel like as well evil y/n would have a bit of not only a god complex but also simultaneously a lot of self-loathing. She uses being the only magical girl in the multiverse and being the only one to kill Shadowmites as a point of ultimate power, seeing it as things people should worship them for. But at the same time she hates herself, she so lonely and mad at everyone including herself.

Because why did the world abandon her? Why did it hate a little girl who dared to dream about helping people just like the girls in her shows?

Why did her parents leave her before she could even remember them? Was she not good enough? Is she good enough now for them?

Why did that little weasel who keeps telling her to “remember” choose her? Why did it place such a burden on her shoulders? Was it cause she’s expendable?

And lastly why does it tear her apart seeing people look at her in fear? Why does it hurt when those heroes go flying through walls when she hits them? Why do her eyes water when theirs do as well?

Her outfits would definitely be the typical evil magical girl wear black type of thing but I feel like hers would almost look in a way godly and ethereal. But then become more and more disheveled and dark as she mentally cracks more and more.

(Sorry this was a long response lol)

[p-receh]

I need someone to vent to. Incoherent rambling starts here:

So! From the season finale issue we all know hang kasa cared for ratna, right? (He's in love with her, HE'S IN LOVE WITH A MARRIED WOMAN, HE'S—) (the ship's doomed even before setting sail) We see how devastated he was when he came back to gurlatan and found that she's dead. WHAT IF their feelings were carried on to the next incarnation (boboiboy gempa and boboiboy halilintar) (not the 'in love' part per se, but the deep profound care especially towards hali from gempa). Then BAM! BBBMV2 happens. Hali is taken from gempa once more (to the same alien even). Then BAM! Gurlatan arc happens. If only gempa didn't change to halilintar, then perhaps halilintar wouldn't be stolen. If only gempa didn't trust kirana so easily. If only— DO YOU KNOW GUILTY HE FEELS THEN??? THREE TIMES THE LIGHTNING ELEMENTAL WAS TAKEN FROM THE EARTH ELEMENTAL! AAAAAAAAAAA the angsttt

FIRST OFF:

I AM ABSOLUTELY SORRY I JUST ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION TODAY.

SECOND—

WHAT KIND OF CONSPIRACY IS THIS ANON???? wwwwwww 🤣

Hold on lemme just digest your ask first. Be back in minute—

*reading the ask box thoroughly*

Waaaaaaaiiiit, but how's that even—

Lmao I am speechless, anon. No one, I mean no one even from many fans in my country had this theory. This one by far was really wild, and I somehow blessed what you came up with.

If that's what you say about Hang Kasa and Satriantar. I might want to add that Kuputeri shared the same bond with them. But in my perspective, I would think He cared about their partnership since one of his goals was to gather all elemental masters to become the "Guardians of the Galaxy" per se.

And I really reeeeeally love the interaction between Hang Kasa, Kuputeri, and Satriantar. I could almost see their resemblance in the Ori Trio. So it super duper makes sense if Monsta did that on purpose (even if it's unintentional).

Heck there's a fan who mostly draws these three and makes some headcanon to it(oh I really recommend this account if you are into these three :333)

WHAT IF their feelings were carried on to the next incarnation (boboiboy gempa and boboiboy halilintar) (not the 'in love' part per se, but the deep profound care especially towards hali from gempa). Then BAM! BBBMV2 happens. Hali is taken from gempa once more (to the same alien even). Then BAM! Gurlatan arc happens. If only gempa didn't change to halilintar, then perhaps halilintar wouldn't be stolen. If only gempa didn't trust kirana so easily. If only— DO YOU KNOW GUILTY HE FEELS THEN??? THREE TIMES THE LIGHTNING ELEMENTAL WAS TAKEN FROM THE EARTH ELEMENTAL! AAAAAAAAAAA the angsttt

To be fair, in my own selfishness. I'd rather choose either Gempa or even Angin's 3rd Tier, Beliung, as being the one who helps gain back the Lightning power from Ki'rana lol.

(Maximum angst right guys? 😏)

It goes back to their personal past and how emotionally affected they are by what happened throughout Gur'latan's arc!

OOT Gempa is the perfect candidate for being the angst ambassador of how much he witnessed such tragedy in front of his eyes. He is truly an embodiment of his original owners lmao😅

[evelynpr]

Arlecchino Demo Music Analysis

DISCLAIMER: I am no musical expert in any way, just a massive fan of the Genshin soundtrack and learned music theory as a hobby.

One of my favorite things about Genshin is its music. It is not just that it sounds amazing, but each element, style, and motif has meaning and purpose- while being orchestrated and mixed to create a truly magnificent and unique musical experience. It is no exaggeration that this soundtrack is one of a kind.

Arlecchino's Character Demo has just been released, so I want to make a musical breakdown of it because I think it is a stellar example of how Genshin uses music to signify its themes and present its story. Before we get into that, there are ideas that I must detail for you to get the full picture, so I hope you enjoy!

Genshin uses musical elements to signify certain ideas (places, characters, elements, etc.). For example, Chinese and Japanese instrumentation signify Liyue and Fontaine respectively, but it goes beyond this.

"Travelers' Reverie" — Behind the Scenes of the Music of Sumeru | Genshin Impact

You may have noticed that a majority of Genshin's environmental music consists of real world instruments. There are even videos showcasing the orchestras and instruments of each nation (Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine), and using orchestral/live instruments even applies to other regions such as Enkanomiya, The Chasm, Golden Apple Archipelago, and etc. This gives each region a distinct musical identity, but all together it establishes them as places that are grounded and real.

During the final act of Fontaine's archon quest, we have been introduced to a new musical identity. This is Genshin's dubstep, and it has been used to signify otherworldly power. This genre not made by a real orchestra or real instruments, but through sampling (using existing sounds/music) and technology.

This is the identity in its most blatant form: (Shadow phase of the All Devouring Narwal boss fight)

This entire track symbolizes this. No other track within Genshin's world sounds remotely like it, symbolizing its otherworldly nature. It does not belong here- not with the live orchestras and melodic symphonies of Genshin's world.

Simply put, hardcore dubstep = otherworldly

Note: I am aware that many character demos and other tracks also use dubstep/EDM, but for the purposes of this post I think it should be left separate. Only if someone openly disputes this conclusion then I would happily oblige in presenting more evidence to this thru a reply or rb. Essentially, dubstep IS used in other tracks, but only in Silhouette of Catastrophe and Arlecchino's demo is the dubstep used as a"main idea", while also accompanied by heavy bass and "smaller intricate" sounds. This specific form of dubstep is what signifies being otherworldly.

Another musical element is children's singing!

In terms of the in-game ost, children's singing is used most prominently in Dragonspine's soundtrack in Genshin's world- and I will admit that I am not sure why that is. Perhaps Dragonspine has themes relating to innocence? Childhood? Tranquility? Whatever it is, I am not sure of. (If you have an idea, I would love to know!)

Instead, we can look at a certain character demo:

Nahida's! The beatdrop of her demo begins with children's singing. I believe this represents her innocent nature, status as a young archon, and the children of the forest that surround her- the Aranara.

Not only that, but the only other people in her demo are all children. Suffice to say, Genshin pays very close attention to using their music to reflect the themes and attributes of their characters in their demos (I could make more posts about this- breaking down more demo music...I think that'd be fun)

It's fairly straightforward, but essentially children's singing = children, innocence, and childhood

Now let's (finally) look at Arlecchino's demo

Let's first review each of the main musical elements and what they represent:

Dubstep and distortion: Otherworldly power. For Arlecchino: her curse, power, and dominance. "A spark cannot shatter all shadows until it sets all ablaze"

Children's voices and music box: Children. For Arlecchino: a lullaby; possibly protectiveness/care or tainted innocence (depending on how you interpret how she sees her children)

The music begins with a solo piano- lonely, melancholic, and mysterious. This is how she is after the death of Clervie and the rest of the children of the HotH.

Afterwards, the piano gets distorted- then replaced with harsh artificial beats and musical turmoil. This may be reflected on how she defeated her "mother" using her otherworldly power- her curse.

Following this is the anticipated beatdrop. Fascinatingly, it is not actually lead by dubstep, but by a distorted music box with a creeping melody. Not only that, but it is accompanied by a children's choir and a drum beat together.

The dubstep then ramps up- completely overtaking the track. But one it has reached its height, it is interrupted by the music box and singing children.

One can interpret this as her children holding her back from unleashing her true power. When she is most ruthless and violent, she is reminded of their playfulness and innocence.

The choir ends abruptly- but afterwards, the children's voices and music box lead the melody, while the dubstep and distortions accompany it harmoniously to create one whole piece.

This is who Arlecchino is. A Father and Harbringer defined by "caring" for her children and her otherworldly power. A love that nurtures and neglects- a power that frees and destroys. A wolf in sheep's clothing, or a sheep in wolf's clothing?

However the demo doesn't end there- the solo piano returns once again.

"Its flame is no longer needed, for you have the strength to defend yourselves"

This is going into speculative territory, but perhaps after she passes on her title as "king", she is once again lonely, left without a family. After all, she may no longer be needed or wanted at all- not after all that she has done, not after all that she has failed to do.

Conclusion

I love Genshin's music from the bottom of my heart. One reason why is the attention, detail, and beauty put into each track. Each piece is not only an experience, but also a story, an idea, a character, a place, whatever the artists wish to portray.

Arlecchino's Character Demo is one but many pieces that showcase this. In this track, we are able to discern Arlecchino's two core ideas, her relationship with her children and otherworldly power, through an incredible combination of singing, a music box, and dubstep. One can even theorize the course of her story through its visuals and music, in the end creating a beautiful and encompassing display of "Arlecchino".

[soli-nepenthe]

On Abyssal Blossom:

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Sylus lore. After quickly skimming through a few shards that I've managed to unlock, all I can say is...it's kind of in media res (confusing at the onset as you try to piece things together) and some grimdark elements.

Sometimes I think MC is lucky in that she gets no sense of trauma/not so much self-preservation (even though she clearly wants to live and not be in the unlucky situation she is in).

**Spoilers**

I'm still confused as to why Sylus needs MC around (other than some mysterious linkage, bond born from when she freed him/pulled out the sword left from the guy who he battled with 1600 years ago--I forgot the proper title).

But maybe my crazy theory of Sylus being an usurped former ruler of Philos is somewhat true:

Anyway, I will probably have more thoughts as I try to make sense of it with only one card (would be helpful to have the two for myth shards...)

And if I understood correctly, MC is a 'princess' of the Ivory City in Philos (I think there are other cities, maybe other rulers of those domains, I'm not sure). I was kind of hoping for an underdog/someone who wasn't nobility that was accused of a crime or something along those lines.

Also, from the shard I read up to, it's not clear if Sylus was always a dragon/or if he changed into one because...giving into your desires/lust for power is a stepping stone for that? I'm not too sure.

All I know is, Sylus has to be older than 1,677 years old (Battle of Tarus event) and his name is an ancient name that the MC didn't quite catch, but calls him Sylus from what she was able to hear...

There goes the Roman god of forests and pastures theory as his namesake I guess ^^;

(n.b. unrelated but a little miffed that I got spoilered on a bit of the twins backstory because certain ppl did NOT tag for spoilers anywhere in their post; it's just etiquette.)

[theboombutton]

Spoilers Ahead

OK let's talk about the lore implications of The Magnus Protocol episode 4's statement.

Timeframe

The Mannheim School was founded in 1741-1742; and the Royal Court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778. This gives us a roughly 35-year timeframe within which which our violinist could have made his initial carriage journey to Germany - barring timeline differences.

This absolutely destroys my theory that the Fears arrived here from the TMA universe, found a universe without Fear, and broke through in East Germany during the Cold War. This episode firmly establishes that there were Fears in the Protocolverse in the late 18th century, and that they were well-established at the time - established enough to have a guy giving out cursed artifacts in the woods of Baden.

Were they the Archiverse Fears, that just happened to arrive earlier than I thought? Were they Protocolverse Fears? Were they Fears from yet another universe, escaped from their own Fearpocalypse?

The Fears

So this is a really fascinating statement because it seems to marry our old friend TMA Slaughter Classic, with whatever the fuck Ink5oul was doing in TMAGP episode 2, with just a mention of the Archivist-associated power to elicit an unintended confession.

The Slaughter connection I'm sure I won't have to argue - it's straight out of TMA. In fact, it's so straight-out-of-TMA that to me it suggests that this is almost certainly the Archiverse's The Slaughter. If we were dealing with an artifact of a different universe's Fear of violence, I wouldn't expect it to be so connected to music. There's nothing about music that inherently connects it to horrific violence, and yet Bardwell jumps out of a carriage and dashes his skull on the rocks because of what seems an awful lot like the Piper's Song. Violin Audrey Two goes full Grifter's Bone when it's unable to get blood.

The interesting part though is that these incidents are the exception to the rule of the violin's favor. At first it seems happy to make small, flesh wound mutilations of its player, which doesn't sound like the Slaughter at all. Yes, he moves on to serial killing, but it's a very methodical, planned kind of violence - not at all what I'd expect from the Archiverse Slaughter. And the theme of an artist mutilating themselves in service of their art seems very similar to Daria in Protocol episode 2.

Of course, the art connection might just be a coincidence. There is a disproportionate amount of art about art and artists, just because it's high on the list of things artists tend to think about. It's the same reason there's not a whole lot of art about septic tank maintenance*.

I doubt it, though.

Here's my working theory: I think there are at least two universes' Fears at work here, and there wasn't enough room in the Fear-Space for two full sets of entities to represent and feed on essentially the same fears. So they got smooshed together.

The Archiverse Slaughter got smooshed with a close equivalent - a fear that included Archiverse-style violence, yes, but also included a significant element of self-harm, and was culturally wrapped up with artistic performance in the same way that the Archiverse Slaughter was wrapped up with the sound, but not always the performance, of music. The Smooshed Slaughter teeters between its aspects, showing one face or the other depending upon the situation.

OK but what was with the Archivist powers?

idk tbh. I can think of two theories, neither of which I find particularly compelling:

The guy in the woods wasn't actually an avatar. Instead, he was a Salesa type, a distributor of supernatural trinkets. He had some kind of artifact of the Eye on him that gave him archivist compulsion powers.

All of the Archiverse Entities were changed by their time under the rule of the Eye, so being strongly-enough touched by an Archiverse Fear gives you mild Eye Powers for free.

Augustus

Yes I know everyone thinks this is Jonah, and I admit there is a good chance it is Jonah. But I don't like it, and I hold out hope that it isn't.

Personally, I like the idea that the Fears were specifically attached to the voices that told the stories in TMA, in which case Jonah wouldn't have been dragged along; but, if it was based purely on the physical presence of the people in the top room of the Panopticon, then yes, Jonah could have been brought along. To our knowledge nobody ever went after Jonah's body down in the labyrinth, so his eyes would presumably have been left alive in Elias's head for like, the whole episode.

I still hold out hope that Augustus is an Archivist-equivalent from another universe that also went Fearpocalypse and also released its Fears to the multiverse. While I'm pretty certain we're dealing with two sets of Fears here, possibly combined into one set of Smooshed Fears, I'm not at all certain that the non-Archiverse Fears are originally from the Protocolverse.

Conclusion

It's 3 AM and I have to go to bed. I think I've properly scheduled this to post an hour after the episode drops; if I'm wrong about the episode timing and accidentally spoil someone, I'm very sorry.

---

* yes I know there's septic tank dive fetish photos, I said "not a whole lot" not "none whatsoever."

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

Me: *Mentions an idea previously discussed on Tumblr about the connection between the Shiba Clan and Squad Zero*

My older son: *"Yes And..." my dumb shit...*

Because I was talking about how the transportation used by Squad Zero is the exact same as Kukaku's Flower Crane Cannon.

There was this headcanon that I really like that the Shiba Clan became one of the Great Noble Houses because of that specific contribution to the Royal Realm and Squad Zero way before the Reio's mutilation. (He was already the Soul King before Ichibei — And the Tsunayashiro Head — gave the idea to mutilate the Reio because they were afraid to lose their own power to him, I guess...)

So my son goes like:

"What if they'd started as the original Royal Guards?"

You know... Before Squad Zero starts being formed to the way we know them now...?

It makes sense that the Head of the Shiba Clan was the only one to oppose the mutilation and try to offer another way to keep the Worlds separated.

It also starts making sense that it was so easy to banish and pretty much destroy the Shiba Clan if, as another theory put it, the Shiba Clan was the only ones who tried to repeatedly try to find one amongst them worthy to become the vessel for the Reio's powers and therefore release him from that "existence"...

Let's say Ichibei held a grudge and took the opportunity to influence the outcome of events and take out the Shiba Clan almost completely...

But still, they need them. They need Kukaku and, even though the she keeps moving her house, apparently Squad Zero knows exactly where to find them to send the Tenchūren back to the Royal Realm.

Of course, because we always cannot stay on one topic... Or one aspect of the topic, I then was like:

"Hey! By the way... Have you seen Senjumaru's face?"

At first he was like:

"Her hair style kind of looks like Shinji's..."

Me: "No... Look at the face and the eyes..."

And that's when he arrived at the same conclusion I had...

Senjumaru kind of has the Kuchiki Resting Bitch Face™...

So,of course, I presented my dumb idea:

"What if she was a member of the Kuchiki Clan?"

My son: "Is that why she was the one who didn't kill herself? Because the Historian amongst the Squad Zero needs to survive to tell the story?"

Me:

I mean... Sure... It's really grasping at straws, but...

Putting it in the context of my Sunflowers And Cherry Blossoms series, it becomes even funnier...

Senjumaru was in the 12th squad — Maybe a Kuchiki...

Hikifune was in the 12th squad — The creator of the Ginkon and (in my series) the one who helped Sojun and Kaori create Byakuya through the Reishi Input Pod. A kind of Godmother figure for him.

And Byakuya fucking hates the 12th squad, mainly because of the complete lack of morals from Mayuri...

It's hilarious, actually.

There was also that thing about the Squad Zero's crest in one of the cour 2 scenes, which showed symbols for each element, and Senjumaru's needle and thread heavily evoked the Kuchiki Clan's figures of the cranes they have on their crest.

(I cannot find the picture of that Squad Zero crest... Anyways...)

I just find it interesting that there could be a possibility of Squad Zero, in its inception, having personal connections to the Great Noble Houses.

Ichibei could even be a part of that mysterious, elusive Other House we know nothing about.

My son also mentioned the hands Kukaku used to have "adorning" her house.

"Oh, like the chopped off arms of the Reio?"

And it reminded me that the Shihoin Clan became a kind of Guards Of The Heavens and the "arms" of the Reio.

Imagine if they'd taken over said responsibility directly from the Shiba Clan after their initial falling out with Ichibei?

Just you know... Random thoughts...

[mysticlongan]

okay guys hear me out. what if the dragons are equal to the elementals in that they all watch over a specific element/realm AND the flow of life. in legend of the red dragon pitaya says "taking napsss on my magma throne was my favorite passstime before I tried fighting a ssstrong cookie". kinda sounds like depression. what if pitaya got tired of their watching-over-the-life-force type duties and found it super monotonous? every element seems to have spirits OR some kind of "created by the legendary" little helpers. what if they gave the dragon's orb to fire spirit because they just wanted OUT so they could go do other, cooler stuff, like fight a pink shield cookie? assume fire spirit was just a minor, uh, well, fire spirit, by this point. he gets the dragon's orb and the "you're the boss now" from pitaya and goes CRAZY with power to the point where the balance starts getting thrown off. balance gets thrown off so bad that capsaicin, another spirit of fire, has his powers SURGE and parts of the dragons valley are just ??? cooling ??????? and capsaicin has no idea he's supposed to have any duties because fire spirit SUCKS at running this and he sucks SO SO bad that he doesn't do Anything about the lava dragon and roasts all of frost queen's mail pigeon carriers when she tries telling him he needs to stop MESSING UP THE FLOW OF LIFE!!!! that's the theory thanks guys