#made marion spoilers

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Will's Route Preview Stream

Now that the Storyteller's Festival has wrapped up, I'm posting our stream featuring our preview of Will's route! My first reader/editor Edhie and I got together to read through the first few scenes of the route.

Do you like bickering? Troublesome, handsome love interests? Rivals to lovers routes? Then check out Will!

[acourtofquestions]

Kingdom of Ash Chapter 61

Chapter; Highlights (okay the entire chapter is a highlight)🤣

As requested @mysterylilycheeta I NEED TO SQUEAL IN WYVERN FANGIRL WITH YOU NOW CAUSE OH M GOODNESS THIS CHAPTER ON SO MANY LEVELS I JUST AHAKWIHUHFEJLZXBKEKA

Agony was a song in Lorcan's blood, his bones, his breath.

Every step of the horse, every leap she made over body and debris, sent it ringing afresh. There was no end, no mercy from it. It was all he could do to keep in the saddle, to cling to consciousness.

To keep his arm around Elide.

She had come for him. Had found him, somehow, on this endless battlefield.

His name on her lips had been a summons he could never deny, even when death had held him so gently, nestled beneath all those he'd felled, I, and waited for his last breaths.

And now, charging toward that too-distant keep, so far behind the droves of soldiers and riders racing for the gates, he wondered if these minutes would be his last. Her last.

She had come for him.

Lorcan managed to glance toward the dam on their right. Toward the ruk rider signaling that it was only a matter of minutes until it unleashed hell over the plain.

He didn't know how it had become weakened. Didn't care.

Still Elide kept urging the horse onward, kept them on as straight a path toward the distant keep as possible.

No ruk would come to sweep them up. No, his luck had been spent in surviving this long, in her finding him. His power would do nothing against that water.

The farthest lines of panicked soldiers appeared, and Farasha charged past them.

Elide let out a sob, and he followed the line of her sight.

To the keep gate, still open.

"Faster, Farasha!" She didn't hide the raw terror in her voice, the desperation.

Once the dam broke, it would take less than a minute for the tidal wave to reach them.

She had come for him. She had found him.

The world went quiet. The pain in his body faded into nothing. Into something secondary.

Lorcan slid his other arm around Elide, bringing his mouth close to her ear as he said, "You have to let me go."

Each word was gravelly, his voice strained nearly to the point of uselessness.

Elide didn't shift her focus from the keep ahead. "No."

That gentle quiet flowed around him, clearing the fog of pain and battle. "You have to. You have to, Elide. I'm too heavy-and without my weight, you might make it to the keep in time."

"No." The salt of her tears filled his nose.

Lorcan brushed his mouth over her damp cheek, ignoring the roaring pain in his body. The horse galloped and galloped, as if she might outrace death itself.

"I love you," he whispered in Elide's ear. "I have loved you from the moment you picked up that axe to slay the ilken." Her tears flowed past him in the wind. "And I will be with you ..." His voice broke, but he made himself say the words, the truth in his heart. "I will be with you always."

He was not frightened of what would come for him once he tumbled off the horse. He was not frightened at all, if it meant her reaching the keep.

So Lorcan kissed Elide's cheek again, allowed himself to breathe in her scent one last time. "I love you," he repeated, and began to withdraw his arms from around her waist.

Elide slapped a hand onto his forearm. Dug in her nails, right into his skin, fierce as any ruk.

"No."

There were no tears in her voice. Nothing but solid, unwavering steel.

"No," she said again. The voice of the Lady of Perranth.

Lorcan tried to move his arm, but her grip would not be dislodged.

If he tumbled off the horse, she would go with him.

Together. They would either outrun this or die together.

"Elide-"

But Elide slammed her heels into the horse's sides.

Slammed her heels into the dark flank and screamed, "FLY, FARASHA." She cracked the reins. "FLY, FLY, FLY!"

And gods help her, that horse did.

As if the god that had crafted her filled the mare's lungs with his own breath, Farasha gave a surge of speed.

Faster than the wind. Faster than death.

Farasha cleared the first of the fleeing Darghan cavalry. Passed desperate horses and riders at an all-out gallop for the gates.

Her mighty heart did not falter, even when Lorcan knew it was raging to the point of bursting.

Less than a mile stood between them and the keep.

But a thunderous, groaning crack cleaved the world, echoing off the lake, the mountains.

There was nothing he could do, nothing that brave, unfaltering horse could do, as the dam ruptured.

Rowan made himself stand there, to watch the last moments of the Lady of Perranth and his former commander. It was all he could offer: witnessing their deaths, so he might tell the story to those he encountered. So they would not be forgotten.

The roaring of the oncoming wave became deafening, even from miles away.

Still Elide and Lorcan raced, Farasha passing horse after horse after horse.

Even up here, would they escape the wave's reach? Rowan dared to survey the battlements, to assess if he needed to get the others, needed to get Aelin, to higher ground.

But Aelin was not at his side.

She was not on the battlement at all.

Rowan's heart halted. Simply stopped beating as a ruddy-brown ruk dropped from the skies, spearing for the center of the plain.

Arcas, Borte's ruk. A golden-haired woman dangling from his talons.

Aelin. Aelin was—

Arcas neared the earth, talons splaying.

Aelin hit the ground, rolling, rolling, until she uncoiled to her feet.

Right in the path of that wave.

"Oh gods," Fenrys breathed, seeing her, too.

They all saw her.

The queen on the plain.

The endless wall of water surging for her.

The keep stones began shuddering. Rowan threw out a hand to brace himself, fear like nothing he had known ripping through him as Aelin lifted her arms above her head.

A pillar of fire shot up around her, lifting her hair with it.

The wave roared and roared for her, for the army behind her.

The shaking in the keep was not from the wave.

It was not from that wall of water at all.

Cracks formed in the earth, splintering across it. Spiderwebbing from Aelin.

"The hot springs," Chaol breathed. "The valley floor is full of veins into the earth itself."

Into the burning heart of the world.

The keep shook, more violently this time.

The pillar of fire sucked back into Aelin.

She held out a hand before her, her fist closed.

As if it would halt the wave in its tracks.

He knew then. Either as her mate or carranam, he knew.

"Three months," Rowan breathed.

The others stilled.

"Three months," he said again, his knees wobbling. "She's been making the descent into her power for three months."

Every day she had been with Maeve, bound in iron, she had gone deeper. And she had not tapped too far into that power since they'd freed her because she had kept making the plunge.

To gather up the full might of her magic.

Not for the Lock, not for Erawan.

But for Maeve's death blow.

A few weeks of descent had taken her powers to devastating levels. Three months of it

…

Holy gods. Holy rutting gods.

And when her fire hit the wall of water now towering over her, when they collided —

"GET DOWN!" Rowan bellowed, over the screaming waters. "GET DOWN NOW!"

His companions dropped to the stones, any within earshot doing the same.

Rowan plummeted into his power. Plummeted into it fast and hard, ripping out any remaining shred of magic.

Elide and Lorcan were still too far from the gates. Thousands of soldiers were still too far from the gates as the wave crested above them.

As Aelin opened her hand toward it.

Fire erupted.

Cobalt fire. The raging soul of a flame.

A tidal wave of it.

Taller than the raging waters, it blasted from her, flaring wide.

The wave slammed into it. And where water met a wall of fire, where a thousand years of confinement met three months of it, the world exploded.

Blistering steam, capable of melting flesh from bone, shot across the plain.

With a roar, Rowan threw all that remained of his magic toward the onslaught of steam, a wall of wind that shoved it toward the lake, the mountains.

Still the waters came, breaking against the flames that did not so much as yield an inch.

Maeve's death blow. Spent here, to save the army that might mean Terrasen's salvation. To spare the lives on the plain.

Rowan gritted his teeth, panting against his fraying power. A burnout lurked, deadly close.

The raging wave threw itself over and over and over into the wall of flame.

Rowan didn't see if Elide and Lorcan made it into the keep. If the other soldiers and riders on the plain stopped to gape.

Princess Hasar said, rising beside him, "That power is no blessing."

"Tell that to your soldiers," Fenrys snarled, standing, too.

"I did not mean it that way," Hasar snipped, and awe was indeed stark on her face.

Rowan leaned against the battlements, panting hard as he fought to keep the lethal steam from flowing toward the army. As he cooled and sent it whisking away.

Solid hands slid under his arms, and then Fenrys and Gavriel were there, propping him up between them.

A minute passed. Then another.

The wave began to lower. Still the fire burned.

Rowan's head pounded, his mouth going dry.

Time slipped from him. A coppery tang filled his mouth.

The wave lowered farther, raging waters quieting. Then roaring turned to lapping, rapids into eddies.

Until the wall of flame began to lower, too. Tracking the waters down and down and down. Letting them seep into the cracks of the earth.

Rowan's knees buckled, but he held on to his magic long enough for the steam to lessen.

For it, too, to be calmed.

It filled the plain, turning the world into drifting mist. Blocking the view of the queen in its center.

Then silence. Utter silence.

Fire flickered through the mist, blue turning to gold and red. A muted, throbbing glow.

Rowan spat blood onto the battlement stones, his breath like shards of glass in his throat.

The glowing flames shrank, steam rippling past. Until there was only a slim pillar of fire, veiled in the mist-shrouded plain.

Not a pillar of fire.

But Aelin.

Glowing white-hot. As if she had given herself so wholly to the flame that she had become fire herself.

The Fire-Bringer someone whispered down the battlements.

The mist rippled and billowed, casting her into nothing but a glowing effigy.

The silence turned reverent.

A gentle wind from the north swept down. The veil of mist pulled back, and there she was.

She glowed from within. Glowed golden, tendrils of her hair floating on a phantom wind.

"Mala's Heir," Yrene breathed.

Down on the plain, Elide and Lorcan had halted.

The wind pushed away more of the drifting mist, clearing the land beyond Aelin.

And where that mighty, lethal wave had loomed, where death had charged toward them, nothing remained at all.

For three months, she had sung to the darkness and the flame, and they had sung back.

For three months, she had burrowed so deep inside her power that she had plundered undiscovered depths. While Maeve and Cairn had worked on her, she had delved. Never letting them know what she mined, what she gathered to her, day by day by day.

A death blow. One to wipe a dark queen from the earth forever.

She'd kept that power coiled in herself even after she'd been freed from the irons. Had struggled to keep it down these weeks, the strain enormous. Some days, it had been easier to barely speak. Some days, swaggering arrogance had been her key to ignoring it.

Yet when she had seen that wave, when she had seen Elide and Lorcan choosing death together, when she had seen the army that might save Terrasen, she'd known. She'd felt the fire sleeping under this city, and knew they had come here for a reason.

She had come here for this reason.

A river still flowed from the dam, harmless and small, wending toward the lake.

Nothing more.

Aelin lifted a glowing hand before her as blessed, cooling emptiness filled her at last.

Slowly, starting from her fingertips, the glow faded.

As if she were forged anew, forged back into her body.

Back into Aelin.

Clarity, sharp and crystal clear, filled its wake. As if she could see again, breathe again.

Inch by inch, the golden glow faded into skin and bone. Into a woman once more.

Already, a white-tailed hawk launched skyward.

But as the last of the glow faded, disappearing out through her toes, Aelin fell to her knees.

Fell to her knees in the utter silence of the world, and curled onto her side.

She had the vague sense of strong, familiar arms scooping her up. Of being carried onto a broad feathery back, still in those arms.

Of soaring through the skies, the last of the mist rippling away into the afternoon sun.

And then sweet darkness.

[soullesssenpai]

collerty is so orpheus/eurydice coded. initially for me it started with marion giving orpheus vibes—the red flower, the vest, the soft-spoken bleeding heart—but then I thought about how readily sean throws himself into danger and seemingly has a death wish...

now I'm just thinking of the parallels between marion leading Sean through the war zone when his powers first manifested, and marion leading Sean out of hell—but not being able to stop himself from looking back to see if Sean is okay...

[hauntedfalcon]

Auntie Bee going down with her first scar, thinking about how she had told Jean to "be mentally prepared if he's too far gone," was not only Beatrix believing Jean was the only other one who could end Sean, and it was not only Marisha setting Zehra up for a We Saw This Coming that she would have had to use while Beatrix was unconscious and unable to help, but it was also Beatrix having believed the whole time that it was really Sean hunting them, even though Marisha didn't have confirmation until Spenser said the word blood. :)

[mochinomnoms]

Funfacts about PTM Characters!

Still chilling out from finishing my thesis, but I had a few fun facts about the side characters for PTM that I'd thought you'd all enjoy in the meantime! It's gonna include some of the canon characters as well as the ocs!

This includes some very minor, but not story defining, spoilers for PTM so proceed with caution! As a reminder, PTM takes place a school year after the current timeline!

Canon Characters:

Jade and Floyd made bets on who would get together with their crush first during their 3rd year. The loser has to let the winner(s) plan and execute the most humiliating way to confess. Neither twin is winning. Azul is currently winning with his bet of “neither of you will, you cowards.”

Ortho went to most of Idia's classes during his time at NRC, so he was allowed to “skip” repeating those years when becoming an official student by taking a competency exam. However, he is still staying for a year since the test only allows for core classes and not his electives. He's happy to do so, though.

Idia stayed at NRC to complete his internship with the school, much to his disappointment. He works as a Technomage Intern with the college's technology department.

The overblot cast got closer with each other and Yuu than expected over the summer due to Crowley and S.T.Y.X. requiring them to take part in a “summer camp” to monitor them and their health. Leona still hates Malleus though. Malleus is still mostly unaware of this.

Malleus still does not know how to use technology. Sebek and Yuu have a weekly call with him via a looking glass mirror that acts like a video call. Malleus enjoys it very much.

Kalim switched places with Jamil and is now vice housewarden, while Jamil is now housewarden. Neither's families were happy about this, but were shut down by Kalim being surprisingly firm about his decision. To everyone's surprise, Kalim does very well as a vice over a housewarden, though Scarabia has had significantly fewer parties since the switch.

Nearly all the clubs that had the 3rd years as captains/heads had one of the 2nd years take over into their 3rd year. Ruggie is now Spelldrive Captain, Azul is head of the Board Game Club, and the Gargoyle Studies Club is headed by Yuu. The Pop Music Club is also more formalized now, with Kalim as the head. The Science Club and Film Studies have an NPC 3rd year as heads.

Yuu isn't actually that bad at singing as everyone has (and will continue to do so) suggested. Most of the student body had classical training growing up as part of their privileged upbringing, and Yuu has to compete with that.

At least two pairs of canon characters will get together at the end! Guess who tehe.

OC:

Silas likes to eat bugs and regularly digs in the dirt behind Ramshackle to find something crunchy to munch. They did it once in front of Jamil and the poor guy screamed in horror.

Yev became the new Pomefiore housewarden due to being able to produce the best posion, as per tradition. However, he's actually quite bad at being a housewarden and his vice is the one that everyone tends to listen to.

The Salson triplets are from the TWST equivalent of Salem, and have a North easterner accent, similar to Boston I think. Wynfred and Marion mimic English, or Rosarian, accents, but Silas does not.

There are two more mermen in the school, minus the canon cast and two ocs. They aren't important to the story, but their names are Mariano De La Reyes and Benji (last name still pending). They're based off of Marina and Benjamin from the third Little Mermaid movie.

Speaking of mermen, Aspen is a squidmer and is based on the colossal squid. He's about 18 ft long and still growing. Tony is based on a tiger shark, but is the runt of his litter, hence why he's so small.

Tommy, the white rabbit beastmen that was introduced as Riddle's new vice, is notorious for always running late. He never has actually been late to anything due to parkouring everywhere and climbing the castle walls to enter the classrooms through the windows. Floyd learned how to parkour from him. Riddle hates everything about this.

Briefly mentioned in the last chapter was the botany professor, Kallpa. Kallpa is based on Kronk and the uncle of Yev.

Nurse Goethel has a wife and two daughters that she brings with her to family days on campus. The daughters are roughly age 11 and 13 and each time they've come have designated a student as the new person they want to marry. Two years ago it was Leona and Trey, last year it was Azul and Jamil, this year it's Jack and Ortho. There is no reasoning behind their decision, it's all based on vibes.

James has met Jade and Floyd when they were all very young. James was on his Great Aunt's ship, who was meeting with Papa Leech for unknown reasons. James only remembers them due to their heterochromia eyes, but the twins don't remember anything.

Marion has a really strong sense of smell that is on par with the beastmen. He hates Pomefiore because the dorm and students are heavily perfumed and it gives him a migraine.

Yaqub actually has a twin brother that goes to RSA. He thinks it's funny that it turned out that way and they like to shittalk their schools together on the weekends. RSA is much more chaotic and full of troublemakers than NRC realizes.

At least two pairs of the freshmen will get together at the end of PTM, but it will be a surprise as to who!

And that's all! I have more but I think I'll save them for another time!

[kimchiagustd]

one week post KOA reading and not surprisingly, i am still mourning... spoilers ahead but i need to let go of all these feelings.

i miss this new family i discovered, the excitement of the next chapter or the next book, the anguish, the tears, the cliffhangers, the surprises, the couples and friendships dynamics. i miss everything about tog!

my brain is still processing aaaallllll the events of 7000 pages and a lot of things are settling when i could not process everything while still reading the books…

but to me, this saga is a masterpiece for so many reasons. as a woman, there are so many things validating in these books, i don’t even know where to begin with.

the sorority in tog is still mind blowing to me, probably my favorite part of the whole saga, that we clearly don’t talk about enough. the ending with aelin walking to meet her people with her girlfriends, marching with them as equals still gives me goosebumps. aelin and lysandra friendship (bestfriends and soulmates), aelin and ansel friendship (free young spirits), aelin and manon friendship (rivals then equal queens), aelin and yrene friendship (sisters), aelin and nesryn friendship (admiration and role models), aelin and elide friendship (bonded by fate and a love for the same kingdom) are so precious to me... i could write entire essays about them. i adore how all the female characters just fell in love with aelin, saw her vision of a better world and just followed her to the end. and then, the thirteen, do i even need te explain myself? i think a part of me will forever mourn them. the heartbreak i felt after their death is unspeakable. i never read a book with such flawed and beautiful characters. asterin (her hunter and her whichling), sorrel, vesta, imogen, ghislaine, faline, fallon, edda, briar, thea, kaya and linnea have my whole heart.

marion and josefin are branded in my very soul. their characters had so few pages but gods, how their sacrifice still resonate in me...

then the different journeys of all the characters… chaol has a special place in my heart, despite everything, despite all these things being said about him. he had so many flaws, did so many mistakes, but what a journey, what a fight against depression and disability, what an end… he was so lost and tormented throughout thousands of pages, even while being passionately in love with celeana (not aelin!), and is so appeased at the end, married and soon to be a dad… i rarely felt so proud of someone, fictional character or not. i am convinced chaol is one of the best written characters of the saga.

i read a lot of mean things about aedion too and that just broke my heart because the man redefined loyalty all by himself. he lost everything he was taught to believe in, whored himself with the enemy for his people while believing he lost his entire family and kingdom, lost every men and women in koa as a general (his very essence as a person!) and still held the line for hundreds of pages like rowan told him to do so. I. JUST. DON'T. GET. WHY. he is so hated for some fights with lysandra (that i don't excused!) in a horrific context, in the middle a many battles and thousands of casualties. just reread aedion's arc during koa : the only thing he experienced for hundreds of pages is failure, death, grief, terror and guilt, believing he failed terrasen again. LEAVE. MY. MAN. ALONE. plus, aedion is a bisexual icon, and he slayed the whole books, period.

same thing with lorcan. oh my lorcan… i won’t even begin with him but gods, what awful things i read about him… i don't know why but i fell really hard for this character, despite knowing very few things about him. he was far from being perfect, we agree on that. but what a redemption arc. him being finally at peace at the end, after 500 years of wars, (self-)hatred and being used and fooled by a valg bitch queen, made me tear up as mush as sam's death (shocking, i know but i don't make the rules).

i think, surprisingly regarding our society, people were harsher with the male characters than the female ones. aelin, manon, lysandr and elide lied and did mistakes too, yet somehow, people forgave them immediately. i think we should reflect on that.

a few words about baby dorian too... i think his end was my biggest and bitter disappointment at the end of the whole saga. i can't even tell how his ending wreaked me. he is the one character not at peace at the end of this whole journey. his city is utterly ruined, he is alone in his big castle (the very place where he lost the first woman he sincerely loved and the very place where he was enslaved) with the thought he killed the man he hated his whole life but somehow wasn't the bad guy, his friends are all married or happily in love, even manon won back the witches and her lost kingdom... but dorian is lonelier than ever and that does not sit right with me. he was such a hopeful and loving young man at the beginning of the saga but is broken at the end... i NEED a sequel, he deserves one, more than anyone.

and rowan, oh rowan... i think "love" is not strong enough to define aelin and rowan relationship. the way they overcame depression together long before falling in love with each other is one of the most beautiful thing of this saga. they just saw each other. i love how rowan accepted aelin 1000000%, flaws, scars, fire and all. i love how he never overstepped. like many people, i read acotar before tog and thought no one could surpassed rhysand but how wrong i was... to me, rowan is the best for so many reasons. he never took decisions for aelin, always respected her every moves, respected her pace, never lied to her. i am emotional writing this because him saying "aelin is my heart... my fireheart"... *sob* aelin loves rowan with every bones and cells in her body but rowan's love for aelin? i don't know, there's something about it, i can't find the right words... i don't think i'll ever find an other rowan in an other book. rowan was intensity, hatred, heartbreak, depression, longing, guilt, pain, redemption, learning, harshness, softness, falling in love, crossing an ocean for the woman he loved, giving her an armada when he had nothing, tattooing wyrdkeys in her back to bring her back to him, waiting, loving, loving, loving again and again and again. rowan is suddenly the sweetest and most beautiful name i've ever heard. rowan is love and so much more. rowan is aelin's heart and soul and the key to this new world because aelin without rowan is fear and too far gone. rowan is everything. and what i am about to write seems crazy but i think because there's so much things happening in tog, so much characters loving each other, so many couples we rooted for, we took for granted rowan's love and actions and he somehow became a secondary character - crazy, right? i think we loved passionately his character (especially in hof and qos) but somehow forgot on the way how utterly incredible and unique he is. him saying in qos aelin must build a theater in terrasen after the war and then him offering it to her as a mate / wedding gift at the end of koa? i mean, our boy is a man of his word and i love him so much for it. WE TOOK ROWAN FOR GRANTED AND DID NOT GIVE HIM ENOUGH CREDIT.

anyway, i could write so many more things about so many characters and scenes that broke me in these books (my same is sam cortland and i am not afraid) but you got the idea.

tog is the best saga i've ever read and i am not the same person anymore after reading it. i'll take time to heal. but how grateful i am i have a good run with all these characters...

[daryfromthefuture]

Dary, I would very much like to hear about the angsty miitopia au unfolding. :)

*takes a deep breath* Okay. I shall provide you with the basic information. This will take forever but I AM READY (just transferred a bunch of screenshots from my Switch to my phone to give visuals lmao)

Under the cut because this includes massive spoilers for Miitopia

Marty is the hero of our game, just a regular guy from a place called Greenhorne. He came to Greenhorne town only to find it attacked by the so called Dark Lord (who I made Edna in this game). Edna steals the faces off Miis and plants them on monsters so they gain power and fight Marty. Marty agrees to go on a quest to find and defeat the Dark Lord. So far, so good.

On the quest, he meets other Miis willing to help him. Those are Jennifer, Paul (from the Pinheads) and Linda. They fight and stuff (and rescue King Sam and Princess Lorraine as well as help Lorraine convince her dad to marry her childhood friend George instead of the prince Biff that Sam wants her to marry. Guys those roles were PERFECT for them I swear. George was spineless in this game and had the perfect color scheme, and Biff ws absolutely useless. 10/10 casting from my part), but as soon as they get to the next kingdom, the Dark Lord straight up kidnaps Marty's friends and he's all alone again :(

Here's some screenshots from the castle before we move on

Marty watching his parents. Yeah.

I said Marty was left alone? Well, not completely. He's not alone in spirit - because in Greenhorne, he has had an encounter with the Great Sage Doc, who has saved his life with his magic (you can see where this is going). Marty meets him again in Neksdor, as well as his new party members - Dave, young Emmett, and 1986B Jennifer (I was legit running out of BTTF characters because I had a lot of the townspeople be characters like Seamus and Maggie. And Clara is my horse. She's a purple unicorn. Oh and my quizmaster is Bill Nye which, also, is 10/10 casting. I am proud of myself)

In this new desert land called Neksdor (pun of "next door"), Marty and team fight a pharaoh before having to move on to the next kingdom. Oh and unhinged versions of my OCs because, again, I was running out of BTTF characters. I even gave Western Union Guy and Terry the car mechanic roles.

Edward Cobra.

Citizen Valley Jen being possessed

An impression of Neksdor (ft. Clara)

Next up, we had to go through the Realm Of The Fey, a fairy/elf kindgom. Once again, Edna kidnapped all my friends so I had to cast my OCs as new party members.

(absolutely no context screenshot but welcome Helen, Anthony, and Marion)

I cast server friends as the Fab Fairies because I SWEAr Bobby G doesn't have enough female characters in this franchise.

@bg-sparrow was the eldest Fab Fairy and I had to fight her as an owl. I'm so sorry BG lmao

After finishing off this kingdom, Marty got to head to Krakaton, where the Dark Lord hides out. His friends are once again kidnapped, and - much worse - Edna stole their faces, too!!

Marty discovers his friends with no faces and is absolutely devastated.

Enter the Great Sage.

The best part began: Doc joined Marty's team! Yay! Together, they went to rescue Marty's friends and had some endearing moments along the way :)

Look at them. They're buddies. I love them.

In the end of this mission, they manage to rescue all of Marty's friends and Doc leaves again. And now, we are approaching the final battle against the Dark Lord in Edna's castle retreat.

That battle was surprisingly easy and BOOM, Marty wins!! Congrats!

But the game is far from over. It turns out that Edns was in fact possessed by the so called Dark Curse, and now the Curse is looking for a new body. Naturally, it attacks Marty, being angry with him for defeating the Dark Lord.

And then Doc appears and saves Marty once again.

Sacrificing himself in the process.

Yep - Doc is a villain now. And he's even more powerful than ever before, due to his Great Sage powers. This is heavy, am I right?

Marty is absolutely heartbroken :( But Jennifer hypes him up jsgfdjhs

Now, Marty, his team and this kind dragon named Dominic have to chase Darker Lord Doc and defeat him to free the Great Sage

After Marty had to do a bunch of side quests collecting jewels that open the entrance to Doc's hideout, the Sky Scraper...

(More no context images)

...he stood in front of its gates, wondering whether he was making the right choice...

(I clicked No. Marty, being the selfless guy he is, did not think about himself afer a moment of consideration. It's funny, Marty never refers to the Darker Lord and Doc as the same person. It's so wholesome)

And now, here we are. I'm on my way to the final FINAL boss of this game, but this plot is absolutely destroying me. This Mii RPG game has no right to be this angsty like. Why.

As a reward for going through all this, have a sketch of them I made yesterday :]

I can't wait to rescue Doc from his misery 🫡 Thank you for reading, this game has me in a chokehold lmao

And thanks Nikki for the ask! It was fun rambling about all this

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Playing Robin's route and is it bad that as soon as I saw Lord Geoffrey, I was like, "Robin who? I'm going back to my actual groom" 🙈. Marion may have sense, but I do not and in my defense... Geoffrey's hot. I can fix him. It's fine. A little bit of corruption and questionable choices has never stopped me, askdjasdj. (I'm genuinely excited for Geoffrey's route! Will was what drew me in and I'm still super stoked for his route especially after the preview, but I've always been a villain lover first and foremost, welp.)

I can't lie, when I first got the idea for Made Marion, my first thought after, "You know, I love the Robin Hood legends and there are a ton of possible love interests," was "The Sheriff of Nottingham must be romanceable."

But I didn't want the Sheriff to be the one-dimensional villain that he is in many of the tales (both past and present). One of my big rules as a writer is that everyone believes they're the good guy. There are reasons why Geoffrey is doing what he's doing and while I certainly don't agree with all of them on a personal level, the important thing is that Geoffrey believes they are necessary measures for the greater good.

We won't be seeing a ton of Lord Geoffrey on Will and John's routes, as these routes focus on different sets of antagonists (John's on those three guards you met during the carriage heist, Will's on... SPOILERS). So perhaps he will be a bit less distracting until the Nottingham routes come out. ;)

[wardensantoineandevka]

This bingo is a repost of the call list I posted on Wednesday morning; no changes have been made and, as such, it contains no spoilers.

The cast is finally making their London appearance, and the Nein are back! It's... actually really wild. I don't have the space here to be wistful because we have a LOT to get to here on bingo this week.

You can grab your own card at this BingoBaker link. The call list is 48 items long, all of which are listed below the cut.

"other item taken from Trent" is for any update on who has the Ring of Warding, the Rod of Absorption, or the Mantle of Spell Resistance. Naming these items explicitly did not fit well into a square. The Ring of Telepathy does NOT count, since we already know Caleb took that.

Appearances over Scrying or a vision do count. Sending is not working, but Sending also would have counted.

If a character is listed as just a mention but they appear, the square is legal.

"other multiclass" is if any member of the Nein who is not Fjord or Veth has multiclassed.

In the event that the Nein is at least level 19, "new feat used" is legal only if we absolutely know what the feat IS. Deducing they have one by their stats does not count.

"Counterspell against Counterspell" does not need to succeed.

Unless otherwise stated, a listed spell or ability does not need to succeed, i.e. the only square that needs a success to be legal is "successful Counterspell".

"Fjord short-range teleport" is under his own power. Him being taken along with someone else's short-range teleport, i.e. Dimension Door, does not count. His Arcane Gate does count.

I can answer questions about whether something is legal alongside the broadcast. As always, I can also answer questions about what a square means or intends ahead of the broadcast, but please do not send me asks that would spoil the show. As always, I'm really happy to see your bingos and almost bingos after, and feel free to send me any rows you're hoping will yield a bingo ahead of the show.

Good luck, have fun, and I can't believe it's the Nein again!

new magic item

Fjord's ship named

Yasha Sending

Beau and Caleb random teleport drop

Ludinus simulacrum

Desirat

sealing unsealed danger

Assembly politics

Sprinkle status

PC couple married or engaged

Rexxentrum

somewhere in the Coast

somewhere in the Greying Wildlands

elsewhere in Wildemount

animated opening change

Jester's paints

Cape of the Mountebank

other item taken from Trent

Artagan appearance

Astrid appearance

Essek appearance

Oliver Schreiber appearance

Luc or Yeza mention

Marion mention

Yussa mention

Ryn mention

level 20

less than level 20

Fjord: warlock 13

Fjord: paladin 7

Fjord: over warlock 13

Fjord: less than paladin 7

Veth: over wizard 1

other multiclass

new feat used

new spell

dunamancy spell

Commune

Counterspell against Counterspell

successful Counterspell

Polymorph or Shapechange

Sending attempt

Fjord short-range teleport

Divine Intervention

Divine Smite

Fjord Channel Divinity

Stunning Strike

Zealous Presence

[project1939]

200 Films of 1952

Film number 199: The Stooge

Release date: Dec 31st, 1952 

Studio: Paramount 

Genre: comedy 

Director: Norman Taurog 

Producer: Hal B. Wallis 

Actors: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Polly Bergen, Marion Marshall 

Plot Summary: Singer/comedian Bill struggles as a solo vaudevillian, but when his manager suggests adding a stooge named Ted to his act, they become a big hit. Ted is happy just to be a part of it all, but Bill’s growing ego refuses to give Ted any billing in the act. Bill’s wife and manager become increasingly horrified at his behavior. 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***¼  

The last Martin and Lewis film I saw was Sailor Beware, 189 films ago! (It was number 10 on my list.) I thought that was all I could take, given the fact that Jerry Lewis is an acquired taste for me. But I decided to watch one more film, because Martin and Lewis were simply everywhere in 1952. They were two of the biggest stars in the country- they had a television show, a radio show, and they released three films in just that year alone! Thankfully I liked The Stooge better than Sailor Beware- it portrayed the camaraderie and bond between the two more effectively and movingly. It made me understand why they were so famous and beloved. (some spoilers)

The Good: 

The chemistry and affection between the two was palpable in this. It was hard not to fall in love with them as a team. Dean Martin isn’t your typical cold and annoyed “straight man” in the act. He shows such warmth toward Lewis, it makes me a little verklempt!  

Dean Martin’s singing.

Both men are very natural on screen. They’re good actors with a kind of unaffected ease- to use the old phrase, “the camera loves them.” 

The film especially highlighted why each of them just wasn’t as good alone as they were when they were together. Even the scenes they were in separately lacked the same sparkle. That was exactly the point of the movie, which made the fact that they later split up even sadder. 

The final performance scene was nearly perfect. When Lewis snuggles into Martin, my heart melted, I���m not gonna lie. 

This film had more of an actual plot than Sailor Beware- it wasn’t just a string of gags loosely tied together.  

Aunt Bee! Frances Bavier played Lewis’ mom in this, eight years before her stint on The Andy Griffith Show. 

I wanna ride on an old train! Travel scenes in old movies where characters are in compartments like mini hotel rooms always seems so cool to me. Plus, I love the sound of trains going over the tracks. 

The Bad: 

Some of the schtick Lewis did was pretty predictable. The scenes that were basically just set ups for his gags were probably my least favorite part of the film. 

The first part was also too heavily weighted with these scenes. It felt like it got more balanced as things progressed. 

Bill’s character was not fleshed out enough. It was hard to understand both him and his choices, and the film spent virtually no time explaining or examining it. 

The first drunk scene with Bill just came out of nowhere. I don’t remember it ever even being mentioned that he liked to drink.  

Bill’s wife Mary got a bit annoying after a while- purely because of the way her character was written, not because of the actress. I liked Polly Bergen, but her character basically had a case of Classical Hollywood Good Wife Syndrome. It was a somewhat lighter case, though, because she was going to leave Bill before his change of heart- she wasn’t just a “suffering but loyal” wife. 

It maybe got a bit too maudlin at the very end. 

[purplekissinger]

You’re the entire circus

(guys english is not my native language, so this might look weird and im very sorry for any mistakes that ive made and the style in general. tw: it seems a bit a yandere)

Bunny Corcoran being sliiiiiiightly obsessed with you wold look like:

OH BOI that escalated quickly.

He noticed you first and took action immediately.

Let's be honest, Marion was not the brightest, although their relationship was kinda wholesome (up to a certain point). However, I think that, aside from the mother figure thing, Bunny is also desperately looking for a way to join that subculture that the rest of the club fits in so naturally. He kinda uses you as a key to this world; Imagine you two are in the library, you patiently explain something to him and oddly enough he listens carefully (whoever witnesses this is left in a slight shock).

Hungry for your praise. This vicious circle goes on and on, he plays on pity with endless whining, you give up and say something comforting or  affectionate, he swallows it greedily and asks for more, more, more. (Please validate him).

Steals your stuff constantly and it's a PROBLEM. Say goodbye to a bunch of your hair ties, lipstick tubes and earrings. You'd be willing to swear someone looked in the underwear drawer too.

Remember the period when the greek geeks were secretly watching Bunny, and he was not so secretly following them? Yes. He's too bulky and awkward to be an invisible stalker like Richard, but that doesn't stop him. His rabbit ears are always somewhere nearby.

If Bunny thinks that someone is pestering his baby, then he is right there, already wedged into the conversation, voice raised fists throwing. Actually, that's the reason why you don't get to talk to the guys on campus at all, because he always reads the situation as threatening. By the level of jealousy, perhaps, he can be compared with Henry, and that level is very high.

Being rather conservative person, he will most likely try to get you into a relationship as soon as possible. If he succeeds, he will become a little tamer (but also bolder at the same time). If his hand is not on your shoulder, then it is on your waist. Instantly starts going around calling you “Mrs. Corcoran” and introduces you to his insufferable family.

Oh so you decided to reject him? Well, it's time to find out just how annoying he can be (spoiler there’s no limit). Whatever unstable peace you had is over, he just can’t leave you alone. If for some reason you’re not in the greek class, Bunny skips his lectures shamelessly to follow you and give you another headache.

Tl dr Bunny is not that dangerous, but you have no personal space now. His stubbornness and energy are incomparable.

‘So it really seemed like a good idea to you?’ you ask coldly. ‘Steal someone else's breakfast and eat it in front of everyone? You thought I didn't recognize the box?’

At first Bunny pretends to not understand, and does not even stop chewing on a pancake generously covered with maple syrup. He looks at you thoughtfully (brows furrowed, Latin textbook is pressed to your chest like a shield), then lowers his gaze and suddenly smiles charmingly.

‘Ah, so it's yours. I should have guessed. You're from Montreal, you probably don't eat anything there without a couple of buckets of this slurry. Well, there's one more left, care to join me?’

He's lying. Not only he did know that it was your breakfast, he's been deliberately choosing your box for several weeks (he obviously takes some strange pleasure in thinking that you cooked this food with your own hands). You could have easily exposed his shenanigans, if there was even a shred of hope that this circus would stop.

‘Go to hell’, you wave your hand wearily and sit beside him. ‘Bunny, if you're starving, just say so. We’ll start a charity fund. I think it should be enough for you at least for a couple of months’.

He snorts, wiping the crumbs on his sleeve, and deftly puts his hand on the back of the bench behind you. That's it, you're now sitting like a cute couple, only a cocktail with two straws is missing. You pick up a a fork absentmindedly, then take a small bite. Perhaps the syrup was indeed superfluous.

‘How is your Latin? The last translation was a tricky one’, he asked casually, and if you didn’t know him so well you might have thought that he had actually done it.

You wrinkled your nose as you opened your textbook to a bookmarked page, and Bunny reached for it eagerly. Immediately, you lightly slapped him on the palm of his hand: ‘Hey, wash your hands first. The last one you say?’

‘Actually’, he coughed shyly, ‘the third one would also be nice to check’.

You open the first exercise without asking any more questions. You want to get mad at Bunny, and he obviously tries his best to help you with this, but in vain: he’s just too sweet in his spontaneity. Di immortales, if only he wasn't so annoying! Last week you caught him waist-deep in your locker, and five minutes later you forgave him from the bottom of your heart.

Luckily for him, that night Bunny was too busy breaking into your room while being drunk and then had a long argument with your roommate Anika, and then fell asleep peacefully in the hallway. 

He never knew what fatum had not befallen him.

[collectionofsinglefathers]

It is amazing to just watch two performers being so so so good at what they do. I’ve been trying to be spoiler free with my posts so I won’t be specific but god, that scene between Marion and Jean at the end of the second episode was on another level. I’ve documented my love for Luis on here before, you don’t have to scroll too far to find the clip I posted from LA By Night that made me fall in love with him in the first place. But this is the first thing I’ve ever seen Zehra Fazal in anything and she has quickly joined the list of amazing performers that I adore. I’ve been going feral for Sean Finnerty, but Zehra’s performance as Jean has been absolutely phenomenal and I’m gonna have to look for other things she’s done cuz I’m gonna need more after this.

And just, coming out of that scene and both Brennan and Marisha being like “oh fuck, wait what, shit we rolled oh god I don’t know what I was doing before, I forgot we were still playing” because of how enrapturing that scene between Luis and Zehra was? That’s so real cuz I felt it too, like I legit forgot about everything else going on, and Spenser speaking up again was truly like the breaking of a spell bringing me back to the rest of the show.

[barbaracleboy]

Etrian Odyssey Series: Compilation of Archetypal Town Characters

I really love the NPCs that show up in each Etrian Odyssey game, in the town you keep coming back to between dungeon visits. Unironically, I'm always excited to see the new shopkeeper, innkeeper, barkeeper, etc. of any given EO game. Because of that, just for fun, I decided to gather official art for all characters of the archetypes: guildmasters (whom you speak to when growing and organizing your guilds), innkeepers (whom you speak to when resting at an inn or storing/taking back items), shopkeepers (whom you speak to when buying goods and armor/weapons), barkeepers (whom you speak to to get and report sidequests), and...mission givers? (officials whom you speak to to get or report important story missions).

Now, some of this art was a bit tough to find, mainly for Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 and the Mobile game, since neither was released outside of Japan and the latter is more or less lost. For EMD 2 I went to some Japanese articles on 4gamer talking about it (https://www.4gamer.net/games/375/G037512/20170720039/ and https://www.4gamer.net/games/375/G037512/20170622014/) and for the Mobile game I went to this Japanese Article that that talked about playing it a little (http://dihyhi.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-47.html), which to my knowledge is one of the only documentations of that game, so credit to those sources for the art. I also machine translated those sites for info on the Characters' names and whatnot, so take it with a grain of salt. I know machine translations are rarely very helpful but it's all I had right now, sorry.

It should also be noted that there will be light spoilers for some of the games here, mainly Etrian Odyssey 3. Nothing too egregious, at worst it's for something you find when you beat the second Stratum, but I still feel I should mention it.

One last thing, I will be listing most games as EO plus their respective number (so the first game will be EO1), the Mystery Dungeon games will be listed as EMD and EMD2, for the first and second respectively, the Mobile game will written EOM, and even though in America it's called Etrian Odyssey Nexus I will write that game as "EOX", simply because that's more distinctive as an acronym. I've seen others on here do that so it's probably not so weird but I still felt I should clarify.

But enough talk! It is time to meet the guildmasters, some of the most important NPCs in any Etrian Odyssey game! Mostly rather well-armored looking (except for in EO3, EMD2, and Mobile), these tend to be pretty cool characters, and while we don't always get to see them fight much it's welcome when the chance does arrive.

My favorite of these is probably Marion, with Asuka and Egar as runner ups.

[The rest will be under the Keep reading, otherwise this post would just be way too long by default]

And now, for the group that, to be real, is a big part of why I wanted to make this post: the Innkeepers! Friendly, helpful folks that run the inns where your characters can rest, healing up and saving progress. As some likely remember, I already listed most of these characters in that meme I made some time back, featuring characters I like that have constantly closed eyes (https://barbaracleboy.tumblr.com/post/722662911985778688/forgive-me-if-ive-posted-this-here-already-but-i). I intentionally tried to list every Innkeeper from the Etrian Odyssey series (minus some whose eye aren't closed all the time, whom I will get into later), and I largely succeeded!...except it turns out that there's a unique innkeeper in the Etrian Odyssey Mobile game. Granted, I can't really get on myself for that, it's a Japan-only mobile game that barely anyone seems to have played or heard of and is also not available anymore. Still, that was a slight bummer for me. But look! They're all here now!

My favorites of these is probably Hanna, with Jenetta and Dalla as runner ups.

And now, I can truly have them lined up together.

Look! They're friends!

Next up are various shopkeepers! Fun fact! Napier is not only the Shopkeeper to have run the shop in two separate games (not counting remakes), but one of, if not the only one of these NPCs to have hosted a facility in two separate games.

My favorite of these is probably Shilleka, with Edie and Wynne as runner ups.

This group consists of characters in similar, if not identical roles to the prior group: if I'm correct, in Etrian Odyssey One medicines and equipment were sold at different shops, and at medicine shops you could also revive characters and cure petrification (EO2 brought medicine at the main shop but kept the revival at the hospital). Hoffman, Stiles, and Muse(?) here ran their respective games medicine shops/hospitals, Angie supported Dr. Stiles, Don Chano supported his daughter, Elizabeth (from the prior group), and Lizley and the Merchant of Darkness(?) acted as merchants you coukd run into within the dungeon itself. Also, apparently Hoffman, Stiles, and Angie are (based on) characters from Trauma Center, which is neat.

My favorite of these is probably Don Chano, with Lizley and the Merchant of Darkness as runner ups.

Another big favorite of mine, the Barkeeps! It's always fun chatting with these friendly types, hearing them cheer you on before many quests and compliment you for having completed one. They're so pleasant!...Though. yeah, Kvasir can be quite suspect with some of the things he says.

My favorite here is probably Kirtida, with Niralda and...either Missy or Mukkoran as runner ups...I love them too much, ha.

I don't know what to call this group really but they give the story missions and are about all in some position of power. Some are more involved in the story than others, but overall you will be seeing them often...Also, for some reason I couldn't find anyone that fills this role for Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2? Maybe I just did a bad job at looking but I don't know, I just couldn't find anybody. It's odd.

My favorite here has GOT to be the Outland Count (massively fond of his face, his moustache, and his dog), with Flowdia and Persephone as runner ups.

Last group here, being a variety of characters that act as alternatives or support for some of the other ones. This also has spoilers for Etrian Odyssey 3 (the thing being spoiled is discovered after you beat the second Stratum but still).

Visil is a character you'll occasionally see during tbe story of EO1, Quona is Hannah's daughter who will sometimes greet you at the inn instead of or in addition to her mother, Gradriel is someone you'll see a bit throughout EO2's story, Gutrune is the Princess of Armoroad whom you'll see and/or hear about throuought EO3's story, Seyfreid is the Abyssal King whom you'll speak with and get Subclasses from in the Deep City of EO3, Napier's Sister (who, unfortunately, seems to have no confirmed name) runs the shop of the Deep City in EO3, Angie (who I would presume isn't the same one from EO2 but is based on the same Trauma Team character? I think?) runs the inn of EO3's Deep City, and finally, Yobo is Traoré's brother in Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2, and I...think he assists Mukkoran in giving out quests?...Him being a recolor is pretty lame, tbh.

My favorite here is probably Visil, with Napier's Sister and Seyfreid as runner ups.

HOO! THERE WE GO! Hope you guys liked this little trip down memory lane I guess, ha. I love many of these characters, and if and when EO6 happens I can't wait to see who it introduces that'll enter my heart just like many of these have!

[ophelliate]

small bootleg!tmnt details/fun facts

from what i've seen nobody ever pointed them out so i thought it'd be nice to share ^^ spoilers ahead ofc

in 'who needs a vet', the stockman's remedy is actually a large contributor to the boys' recovery as the recipe was developed by superfly to aid his family/mutants

the intervention gag in 'sports! any%' and 'leon ardo alone' is inspired by the same gag in How I Met Your Mother

in 'pizza-nal economics', the only reason why leroy hired mikey (and by extension, keno) is because he knew he could fight/defend himself from the customers of their business

according to the boys' pizza tier list, Run of the Mill is an A tier

Raph-Bucks were inspired by the unicon bits from the las pegasus unicon incident

the episode's ending with mikey walking in to the raph-buck revolution is also inspired by the community pizza fire meme

as mentioned by casey in 'i thought YOU were sneaking out', raph had technically met them during his sports speedrun, as they were the goalie raph hit in the shin

bishop is actually teased as early as the episode 'fiend trip' by the principal

melissa is very heavily inspired by old friends of mine which is why she's Like That lmao

i mutated the general into scale tail for the sake of using the concept design before the mutant mayhem script released and revealed that his name is actually spider... oops–

lotus's background wasn't actually planned and was made during her introduction in 'leon ardo alone', the reason being is because i didn't want to actually make her last name blossom

the reason why klunk duplicates is due to the sea sponge dna she mutated with, as some sea sponges can create extensions of themselves if they feel like they are in danger

by extension, when klunk is scared, she hardens for defense, but when she's happy/relaxed, her entire body softens, including her organs

the person bishop is calling throughout 'green party candidates' and briefly in 'the devolution of turtle' is irma's mother, mrs. lynette knight, though they are close enough for first name basis

as explained in 'no paint no gain', keno is well liked by/has easy entry to the crime scene of nyc due to his cousin being in the foot clan

although not explored in season 1, angel has a heavy interest in film and has implemented tv systems in each room of hun's house

leo told bishop about the market incident, as he mentioned to casey in 'no paint no gain', which is why tcri (and eventually hun) knows about casey's involvement and relationship with the turtles

i did not know about the 03 nano episodes in depth before writing marion into donnie's tech circle and for that i am so sorry

in 'the psat', irma is supposed to act as the proper example of how to treat the psats: completely unseriously

i didn't know normani announced her album around the time of 'the psat' episode's release until a month after

'the devolution of turtle' was genuinely gonna be a lot more of a sillier episode but it really took a turn after bishop started being developed

the mutants in the cages is basically a gateway implementation for mutants introduced in canon tottmnt when it comes out

the reason the turtles turtle-piled in 'is mutant a heritage' is because it became a coping mechanism for them after the previous episode

and last but not least for the finale (and spoiler tidbit for s2):

miwa

[cr1ms0n4nd-ac3]

Okay, it's time.. for ACE ANGST HEADCANONS!!! Aka the moment you've been waiting for!!

Bad topics warning in undercut:

Enjoy!

Ace had....suffered some mental disorders he had during childhood nor post-missing, specifically Depression, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Verbal and Emotional and Mental Abuse. Few of them is him getting over it.. not some tho. He's still trying to get over it tho for everyone he knew.

He felt, so much yet too much guilt for leaving his only family members behind. His siblings, Ace knew that some will change because he left and got kidnapped. And he hate it, he wishes that he'll escape from the Marionette.. but what changes?

His full entire body had blue cracks on everywhere, like a fragile broken puppet. Obviously the fans thinks they are tattoos, but it's actually real cracks and yet it hurts.. so much.

Spoiler alert? Yes, Ace is a fragile puppet. So yeah.. he is once forced to kill everyone he knew. And The Marionette thinks of making him forced to kill Jasmine, who went from nice to abusive. Ace didn't want to, but since he found out what she is now... He had no choice right now, he is disappointed to her but also guilty for what he is forced to. It sadly happened on August 4,1 year ago before Sleep snatched the fragile puppet in order to save him. Ace cried a lot after killing his almost-abusive sister who is about to change!.. damn. ( Fanfic coming perhaps? 👀 )

Luckily, Ace did have a 11th ability to enter people's dreams.. so he went from Vessel first, then.. Jake. His younger brother, who had a lot of nightmares.. but, Ace was sadly once told by Marion that he is not allowed to see his own siblings. So, with no choice.. he either leaves him or, scare him off. (MIKE AFTON REF??)

Ace was about to do a sayori when he is 16, but his dad and Nora stopped him tho. And yes, he almost did a sayori like- literally 10 times. Poor him tho.. bro wants to die but cant at the same time.. :((

His blood was now dark blue and neon blue instead of red, why? When he was about to do an $H before the wembley tour.. he noticed that his blood turned blue for a long time now. He stopped doing $H after that because of how shocked he is..

At first, Ace thinks that Sleep is a very mean one because of what he researched as a journalist. But actually, Sleep was sometimes a kind, polite entity. It made him so emotional to the fact that they are the one who saved him from Marion.. he knew that Marion is still controlling him. But he cannot let him take the strings..

Ace can't remember some of his memories now during his human life, because Marion erased them all.. but he needs it back, really. Why did you do this? I need them back, I NEED THEM BACK PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

Ace and Vessel are indeed, trauma buddies. They empathetizes each other yet comfort each other a lot.. Vess is the second one who knew tho. Sleep is first to know.

For some reason, everyone didn't know this, yet... But Ace felt like he doesn't deserve love, while he gives everyone he knew and didn't knew some love. But he also didn't deserve one at all.

Ace is soooooo unstable yet unemotionally unwell because of the trauma he felt. He cried very much a lot when he had nightmares, he didn't want anyone to get worried.. so he instead cried on his pillow and closet.

That is all.

[folkloristico]

Spoiler!

I was responding by explaining how I reimagined the Dragon Flame lore, but it was turning out to be a terribly long info-dump, so I just had to cut that part out—and I still ended up writing a lot. Sorry about that!

Basically, roughly 1200 years prior Bloom’s birth, a civil war forced the Court of Domino to find another way but childbirth to pass on the Dragon Flame to another guardian.

They succeed, but the ritual they come up with is complicated. That is because, when transmitted naturally, the Dragon Flame grows with its guardian, but to inject such an amount of power into a person all at once would kill them.

The solution is to seal the Dragon Flame under many locks; there isn’t a precise number, it mostly depends on the situation. Based on how many locks you intend to create, there are people—I haven’t figured out their names yet—who help the current guardian to keep the power under check while it’s being transmitted to the next one.

Nobody has ever succeeded to pass it on at will alone.

Until Daphne.

The war is particularly hard on her. On one hand, she is the guardian of the Dragon Flame—Marion still has fire magic and shares a link to the Dragon Flame, but what remains in the past guardians is just a trace, a faint glimpse of it. Daphne feels it should be her, more than anyone else, to be fighting Valtor and the Coven. But on the other hand, she knows Marion and Oritel won’t let that happen.

Having both been raised by strict parents (Marion’s mother and Oritel’s father were especially shitty), Marion and Oritel try to not make the same mistakes. As a result, they tend to overcompensate, and Daphne can sense that. She’s a smart, receptive child. She doesn’t want to see her parents more hurt than they already are, so she always tries her best to not let them down. She tends to keep everything bottled inside of her. She almost never fights back, never complains.

But she knows to her bones that the war is getting close with each passing day, and she cannot let the Dragon Flame fall into the wrong hands. She starts researching any other way she may pass on the Dragon Flame to someone else (her newborn sister is her first guess) should anything happen, and she tells no one. (Griffin suspects something, and in the first draft I have Daphne openly asking her for help, but I’m considering whether I should cut that part out.)

The Coven attacks, and Daphne actually manages to pass on the Dragon Flame to her sister. Then Domino is destroyed, Bloom gets sent on Earth—you know how it goes.

When Domino is revived, everybody is happy and ready to party, but the sentiment doesn’t last long as reality soon kicks in. Daphne is made corporeal soon after that thanks to Bloom and Griffin, but Marion and Oritel find her… changed. She’s tired, both physically and mentally.

She and Oritel get into a fight when Oritel says something condescending and he’s literally shocked at Daphne’s response, she’s never acted like this. Like—Oritel realizes—a young woman her age.

Returning to life is hard on anyone, of course, but Daphne seems to be suffering in a different way than any of them. She has missed so much, like anyone from Domino has, but it’s not only that. She feels incredibly old and young at the same time.

When Oritel discovers how exactly she was able to pass on the Dragon Flame to Bloom, he is… many things. Shocked. Incredulous. That’s what their fight is about, and it’s like the pressure of constantly keeping any emotion under control snaps in Daphne all at once. 

Marion’s role in their conflict is complicated. Upon being revived, she barely feels like herself. It’s like she’s constantly on the edge of breaking into a million pieces, much like Daphne (and Oritel, too) is. Daphne’s current status is worse than she’d thought and she’s devastated. She feels like she has failed Daphne. It scares the hell out of Marion to think that she has tried so hard not to follow her mother’s example, only to retrace her footsteps backward to the same result—building a wall between her and her daughter.

Of course, having the Bloom situation to figure out doesn’t help. Instead of one, Marion is left with two daughters whom she can’t understand.

All of this happens around the same time Marion has offered Bloom to invite Mike and Vanessa to Domino, but it was before Oritel and Daphne’s fight, when Marion thought things were starting to settle down. There’s a lot of angst, but also some degree of second hand-embarrassment because they’re just standing there like 🧍

(I was actually planning to have Bloom walk in the middle of the fight, but having Marion being the one who does is even better. I love how the second part of my SotLK rewrite is basically family drama and suffering.)