#michelle's ramblings

[dxmichelle]

It's been a pretty rough time these last few weeks. I've started writing again but didn't make anywhere near the progress I would have wanted, and recent events have left me mentally drained.

Regardless, I'm still determined to get an update out by the end of the year. Not sure what it'll be just yet. I'd like it to be OLSSM but there's other projects I've been trying to poke at as well as the inspiration strikes.

Currently the WIP list includes:

Of Lost Swords and Shadow Magic CH57

Ghost in the Machine CH7

New Chapters CH2

Untitled Nerdship Fic (outlining)

The Collector (Nerdship oneshot? Multishot? It's been on and off progress for a long time)

Untitled Isono fic.

[daenerys-targaryen]

[layersofmania]

I love evil women that aren’t really evil 🙂‍↕️

[agenderhyde]

"I'm not sure she's capable of real love--unless, of course, it's with Peter Capaldi, because that guy, he was the best Doctor." -- Michelle Gomez in the interviews for Big Finish's "Bad Apple Brigade"

[aroacespacerock]

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES IN MY DOOM PATROL!!!

I’d seen some gif sets of these guys before, but I’ve loved seeing the doom patrol interpretation of dead boy detectives for myself. I’ve seen their own show, and while I prefer the cast in that one, Ty tennant and Sebastian Croft have been great in the roles as well!

obsessed with how Larry immediately clocked them as gay for each other

ALSO: “psh, I don’t need him to protect me” (Edwin)

“I’d do it anyway” (Charles)

screamed. Actually died.

[heartstringsduet]

If my significant other gave me my favorite flowers for every important occasion? How sweet. 🥹💓 If my significant other gave me my favorite flowers for every important occasion because his brain was too occupied with work and that's always going to be more important than thinking of a sweet gesture for me every few months? Bye.🙃

[galleyshusband]

Character Analysis : Mammons Court Gallerian Marlon - Sinner of Greed

I am going to analyse the sinners of Evillious Chronicles. And I will start off with Gallerian Marlon, as he is my favorite character and the one I am most familiar with. I shall try to make one of all other characters, though that depends on motivation and if this is something people enjoy. ->Firstly, who is Gallerian? For everyone who does not know. Gallerian Marlon is the sinner of greed from the series Evillious Chronicles by mothy, but specifically from his own part Judgment of Corruption (joc). He was a judge who fell into corruption by making a contract with a demon in order to save a doll which he believes is his deceased daughter. His story also clashes together with The Muzzle of Nemesis (tmon), which I will be analyzing by its own in another post. The analyzation will be divided into two parts as it is very long: this one about the music video, and another about the novel. ->Music video analysis Something I am going to delve into for the sin songs is the perspective of who is singing the lyrics. What is interesting is that Judgment of Corruption is sung from Gallerians own words. It is his way of showing us his deluded reality. ->The song is divided into four major parts Chapter 1: The corrupt judge and his sullied court Chapter 2: The girl of a miniature garden and the vessel of sin Chapter 3: The beginning of a civil war and the end of his judgement Chapter 4: Master of the hellish yard and the final judgement I am going to go through them one by one to break down the story in full.

->Chapter 1 We are introduced to Gallerian, immediately we see him with his evil smile. Gallerian will continue to wear such a smile and demonize himself throughout the entire video. This can be because of two reasons. 1: He wants you to see him as evil to intimidate you. He can be your devil or saint depending if you pay him or not. 2: He sees himself that way. He knows he is wrong for his actions. However, it simply does not matter to him, as long as he can further his goals. Money is a very common theme in chapter 1. After all, it is what is getting him forward to his goal. Almost all lyrics have something money related in them, and he makes a sign with his hand which means “money” in japan. Hell, the mv even flashes "money" over and over during one part.

This is however to hide his main goal. He makes you believe money is all he cares about to hide what is actually striving his greed, to fulfill his wish of saving his daughter. To him, his greed is less about money and more about trading the lives of countless people for the person he himself cares about the most. A wish that might seem selfless, but is the most selfish of all. He wants to prove himself to be above the gods (hubris) by resurrecting the dead. And therefore, he soon will be punished by Nemesis (I’ll talk more about this in my tmon analysis).

->Chapter 2 The only times we see the good side of him in the mv is when he is with his daughter. Or more so the doll, but it is always shown to be Michelle since it is from his pov. His expression is more soft and he’s smiling. The instrumental also gets noticeably softer and slower too from the pompous and grand instrumental the rest of the song holds as they hug. He does not want her to know about his demonic side. However, his silhouette fades to black in front of her, a hint of his true self being there despite him trying to hide it from her.

Another thing here is the words that pop up in between the lyrics. In chapter 1, all words were about something court related, or straight up just “money”. In this chapter however, we see words more related to his actual motives. "Accident - Mother and daughter" "Untreatable" "Hope - Magic" "Ma - Friend" "Contract - Devil" "Collecting - Vessels" "Revival - Regeneration" "Necessary - Cost" It explains the story as a whole. His daughter and wife dies in an accident and he is made to believe he can save his daughter through magic by contracting with the devil and collecting the other vessels of sin.

That is not what is the most interesting about this thought. Ma is a very important character to Gallerian's story and motivations. She does not appear in the mv, but she still haunts it behind the scenes. It’s sad that her name is also tied with “friend”, as she is the person who ruined his life to begin with. And even after his death, she uses their ties to gain his fortune (more about this in novel analysis).

->Chapter 3 Gallerian is eventually exposed for his crimes after accepting bribes from a war criminal. He is now going to be punished, his house is set on fire as he and the one he cares about the most are trapped inside. The scenery contracts the one from chapter 2. Michelle has her eyes open. His actions are on clear display and he feels as if she is judging him for having dragged her into his mess. Gallerian has his eyes closed, he is unaware of what she actually thinks about him. She watches over him with a smile.

Eventually they hug and their silhouettes burn away. Credits starts to roll, but they are abrupt by a gavel slamming into the words. While he is now dead, his story is not over. Even in death, Gallerian refuses to give up on his hopeless goal.

->Chapter 4 Gallerian is now at the gates of hell, faced with Master of the hellish yard aka satan (I’ll call her Gumillia though). It is a scene that directly parallels his meeting with Nemesis in tmon. Gumillia offers to show him mercy if he pays her his fortune, quoting his catchphrase “money is the best lawyer in hell”. However, Gallerian refuses this offer, believing himself to still be above the gods. He quickly shows her that he is irredeemable by making his evil smile. Then he sprints to the exits, but instead trips and falls into hell. But even in hell, Gallerian has not given up on his wish. He swears that he will one day rebuild what he lost and create a utopia for his daughter. Though the song eventually ends with the sound of a gavel. His fate has been sealed, whether he accepts it or not.  And that makes my analysis of the mv! Some stuff might be plain obvious, especially for people familiar with the story. Though I hope I could still provide some kind of new insight for someone. Since this is so long, I will make another post about the novel and delve deeper into how he developed as a character and how he ended up as such a horrible person. Thank you for reading all this yapping!

[ladyantiheroine]

Rewatching Batman and Batman Returns back-to-back and it's just reminding me why I like Selina as a love interest better than Vicki.

I mean, anyone who follows me already knows I'm a batcat fan, and I don't find Vicki that compelling outside of the TellTale Games version of her. But even beyond my own preferences, Selina is just a better match for Bruce in the Burtonverse overall.

The problem with Vicki is that she's so distant from Bruce's world. Just as Bruce explains in Batman Returns, she couldn't reconcile the two parts of him; Bruce Wayne and Batman. She had "difficulty with his duality," to paraphrase Selina. Part of it is Bruce's unwillingness to open up to another person, but I never got the vibe that Vicki liked Bruce being Batman. When she discovers his identity, she says to him, "I've loved you since I met you, but I don't know what to think of all this." It seemed like she wanted him to just be a normal guy, which of course, he can't be. Even at the end of the movie, she seems to accept Bruce as Batman begrudgingly, as something to tolerate rather than understand.

(At the end of the movie, Alfred tells her that Bruce will be "a little bit late" and she responds with "I'm not a bit surprised." It's meant to be a cute jab, but to me it just seems like she's passively accepted that Bruce's alter ego will always take precedent over her, and that's not very romantic to me)

On top of that, their date scenes are kind of bland, they don't really get to know each other that well, and they don't seem to have much in common. Overall, Vicki is written like a stock love interest, a damsel in distress to scream until Batman saves her. There's not much glue keeping them together.

But Selina on the other hand? She knows what it's like to have a darker alter ago. She knows what it's like to be traumatized and hurt by the criminals of Gotham (Max Shrek and Penguin). She knows what it's like to be a freak. Bruce himself says so in their movie: they're the same, "split down the center." When she finds out Bruce is Batman, she's upset not because she can't reconcile the two halves of him (like Vicki) but because it puts them on opposite sides of the law ("Does this mean we have to start fighting?"). They are perfectly matched but kept apart by outside forces and conflicting priorities, rather than other than lack of communication and compatibility.

On top of that, Bruce and Selina have way more chemistry (bolstered by Keaton and Pfeiffer's performances). On their date, they talk deeply to each other, about their pasts and their desires. They seem to innately connect in a way I never felt with Vicki, who seems to beg Bruce to be normal while he seems borderline bored with her half the time. With Vicki, it's like he's acting out a script. With Selina, it's an organic spark.

Of course, Selina does end up leaving at the end of their story, because she's been pinned down by men for too long and needs to go off on her own. Unlike Vicki, she's not built for the normal "fairy tale castle" life. And because he loves her, Bruce follows the old truth that if you love someone, set them free.

But despite this ending, I buy the tragic love story of Bruce and Selina more than the straightforward Hollywood ending of Bruce and Vicki. The former felt like soulmates torn apart by circumstances, the latter felt like two people who were never going to work in the first place because they weren't compatible.

If you ask me, Vicki was just a stepping stone for Bruce on his way to Selina. She taught him a lesson: He needs someone who will understand him fully and join him in the night, not simply wait for him to return and act "normal" again.

The big difference is this: When the bat signal hits the sky, Vicki is going to stand back and worry.

But Selina Kyle? She's going to grab her whip and join Batman on the battle field by his side.

And at the end of the day, I'd much rather see a badass power couple working together as a team rather than a worried wife sitting at home while her husband goes off and saves the day.

[dicenete]

Hey, I'm rambling about IkePri again

Okay, I just need to get these thoughts I have about Gilbert von Obsidian out because I enjoy predicting stuff and overthinking design and narrative choices even tho they might not be right. :P But there really isn't that much predicting other than me overthinking about narrative and design choices. This time there will be most likely spoilers of Gilbert's route so far, and route of Clavis and some thoughts I have just gathered while playing the game in general. I try to put these thoughts in cohesive order, but well... I don't know if I can really, because I just need to get these out of my head. These are my thoughts, ramblings and opinions. Feel free to form your own and certainly disagree with me! I apologize about the lack of art in this post. I'm busy with work currently so no fanart for a while. I'm also not native English speaker, so there might be grammatical errors and such. Sorry about that. Everything under the cut.

To start with Ikemen Prince is a romance visual novel first and foremost. That doesn't mean it can't be deep (and it certainly has been deeper than I initially expect, which left me positively surprised). I suppose there is somesort of thematic vibe that there is no prince whose ideals are the main thesis of the game itself. But that also kinda leaves that fact there is no huge catharsis regarding the world and it's state. Everything so far has been left quite open. And the more I have learned about lore of the world, I really feel like anti-monarchist here xd Clavis really sold me the idea for real. Or atleast throw away the absolute monarchy. That's where I think things should go, but that's my own belief. (really, the last king of Rhodolite... He umm... I have some opinions.) Chevalier and Gilbert First things first: I don't hate or dislike Chevalier as a character. There are just some things that give me Deus Ex Machina feels. But I know it is what they are going for with him. This genius that so far ahead of everyone that it is so alien concept to rest of the people. And well that is a very hard concept to pull off without being a genius yourself as a writer. Or that is what I feel like. But what I do love is what the writers are doing with him and Gilbert in thematic sense! (Hence why Chev x Gilbert sounds so juicy to me)

I really took steps to the deep end as I started to think about why I have enjoyed Gilbert's route or was interested in his story to begin with, but have little interest in trying Chev's one. Because they are so similar but they really aren't.

How I would describe it is that where as Clavis is the complementary to Chev, the purple to his yellow, the emotionality vs rationality, the heart vs the brain, Gilbert is more like right brain to Chev's left brain. If it makes sense like that xd Their color schemes are harmonious. Not opposite. Almost like how Nokto and Licht's color schemes are harmonious with each others.

(Nokto (Blue + white + gold) vs Licht (Blue + black + gold)) Not to mention that their names clearly are meant to mean light and dark. (Licht: variant for light, Nokto: comes form latin nox or noctis, meaning night = dark) But that is a rambling for another time.) Both their crests are tigers. White and black tiger. Chev's color scheme is White + gold and black. Whereas Gilbert's is Black + gold and white. But then the overall color that game devs use to signal about the characters baffles me a bit. Gold/Yellow vs Black/dark red. They don't seem to have too much connection or that of which comes to my mind quickly and without digging deeper. (because I believe that if you dig deep enough, you have digged yourself into a trap of overthinking about things. (Justifying things because you want to justify them, which I'm not big fan of. And sometimes things don't need meaning and we have to live with that. As much as it pains my overthinker brain.)) But here is my impressions about Gilbert so far. I'm at the point where MC has left the Clavis's party (I loved it btw). Gilbert really does give me toxic INFJ villain feels, but let's not get too hang up on terms such as that. But he is someone who is driven forth by his own ideals and desire to change the world better. He, like Clavis, seems to cloak himself in this idea that he is the villain and is okay, even happy, to take that role. He is the one who, like Chevalier, has thrown away emotional attachment out of the window (or so they say) unlike Clavis who makes his choices based more on emotion rather than rational thinking. Maybe that's why I like Clavis and Gilbert, they push MC out of their black and white thinking. That things are not so easy peezy as "choose a right king and everyone will be happy". There will always be someone who is mad about it. That's why I really loved the scene with Gilbert with the orphaned kids and the Clavis's party. He seems to enjoy the company of children (who are not morally corrupted or tainted) and he really empathically listens to those who are angry. He believes in the idea that "no one remembers what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel". (A quote with debatable origin, people say that it was coined by Maya Angelou. But I really love this quote, because I think it is the truth.) Gilbert isn't trying to rationalize against someone's choices with pure intellect. He uses empathy to guide him to the most rational outcome in that emotional scope. But he also uses this to manipulate people with fear. He uses fear extensively and he does it actively. Where as I feel like Chev just has that aura about him automatically. Hence my next thought: Action vs Stasis!

Gilbert and Clavis are action oriented. They shake the gameboard, they make the first moves. Gilbert probably more than Clavis. They both want change. Is it change for the better, we will see, I still haven't finished Gilbert's route but he really gives me this "I'm willing to become the greatest threat so that people unite to defeat me." or "I will conquer all so there will no longer be wars.". Chev, on the other hand, symbolizes stasis. His goal is to keep the kingdom of Rhodolite going. That's his duty and he is willing to take it. (even tho we can debate if that is something he really really believes in or even thinks about that much. I feel like it is out of obligation rather than of personal ideal. But alas, I have not played Chev's route yet.) Chev is reactive rather than proactive. He waits for the opponent to make the first move and reacts accordingly. (I'm not saying he is not reactive once game is on. More like "if there was not threat to deal with, he wouldn't create one".)

Chev doesn't care what you think about him. Gilbert does. He might seem like he doesn't but he is really there to prove a point. (I will pick up his dislike for lying later >.>) Chev is not. Chev knows that his way is the right way for him and that is enough for him. Chev also actively makes a "gettaway plan" for himself in Clavis. He knows that Clavis is the final thread that keeps him from going overboard because he understand that he has to be blind for "individual people" aspect to be a good ruler. Gilbert probably understands this about himself too, but he is trying to prove a point. So he needs to go overboard. Because masses of people need absolutes to react to. If it is something banal, it won't do. His evil actions need to shake the very foundation of ideas. The people have to face those things head on and see it for themselves. They cannot be sheltered. Gilbert gives me the vibes that he is willing to sacrifice himself not for the kingdom, but for the betterment of all mankind. He is happy to become the villain #1 if that means that other people will rise and take down the corrupted Obsidian or the corrupted idea. I would say that he is Lawful Good going on about things like Lawful Evil.

Gilbert asking questions means that he wants you to think, he wants to challenge your opinions and how you look at the world. Same as Clavis. They yearn for change. They want to change the world. Where as Chev wants to maintain things as they are. Chev "If it is not broken, we don't need to fix it" Michel. Where as Clavis and Gilbert want to improve the system. They are idealistic. Gilbert and lying

This is something very interesting. At first I thought that he was all "I dislike when people lie to me." but he really is "I dislike lying in all its forms." And he does say that he doesn't lie. And I'm starting to believe that is really the case. All the things he says are true. But because how other people see him, they are suspicious anyway. Like MC is. Like we all probably are when we start the route and think "So what is your trauma, baby girl?" When he is unsure or knows that he shouldn't say the thing he really thinks or that is true, he will deflect or give a very vague response. Which makes me quite happy to replay his route at somepoint with this in mind. In conclusion: Welcome to my TED talk, with no head or tail, just me overthinking about things about a otome gacha game. If you read this far, thank you for your time. Remember, if I ramble about it, it just means that I'm invested. Have a good day~

[scarletlove2]

The king of Rhodolite had a daughter between Jin and Chevalier who went missing how idk. No I will not take questions. But you can not convince me with how much a whore the king of Rhodolite was he never once had a daughter.

[lorei-writes]

Character Thoughts: Chevalier #1

Contents:

The Queen -- reasons for motherhood,

How did the beast come to be internalised,

Importance of Clavis,

Wish to be seen as human.

Vaguely non-descriptive spoilers for Chevalier's route and event stories may be present.

Do you know how the way one was raised influences their perception of themselves? I think that shows quite profoundly in Chevalier... and that it is possible to theorise about the Queen's intentions based on it as well.

So, Chevalier is born. The Queen's marriage is loveless, but she did bear a heir and that clearly is something the King wanted. He should be happy with her now, no? She has fulfilled her duty. She has done well. Maybe now, now that they have a proper family, he will forget about the Belle and will love her instead.

But this doesn't happen.

It may just take time. Maybe she is not good enough. Maybe just any heir is not good enough. So, Chevalier is taught -- and surely, now the King must be satisfied. His son is a genius, after all.

The King, however, remains different towards Queen's affection. Worse yet, he hurts Leticia. One question opens up: why?

Now, from the Queen's perspective, she has done everything right -- their child was conceived within the boundaries of a legitimate union; she gave birth to a son; her son was bright; her son was talented; her son was dedicated. All of those can be seen as crucial only in regards to earning the King's love.

Affection was mentioned nowhere on the list. Chevalier was means to an end -- and what does a child do under such circumstances? They try their best. Conditional love is still love, and he is more than capable of living up to her expectations. He is more than capable of becoming all that a perfect king should be.

So he does. And he takes it to the extreme. Killing that assassin? It only aligns with what he was supposed to be. And yet, the King still does not love the Queen. She has only one nugget of hope -- it is not her. It is him. It is Chevalier who is at fault. She has not done a single incorrect thing, so her failure -- through her faulty logic -- is not hers. She couldn't have succeeded with such a son. It's him. It's all him. It's his fault.

Chevalier does everything right. However, the outcomes of his actions only ever earn him fright. In fact, the more correct he is, the more everybody is terrified. His efforts? They are good. His results? They are good. Therefore, it can only be that he is the element that is faulty. That he, inherently, is a fearsome beast.

The belief sits at his core. It isn't a point of pride, however, but of disdain.

---

There were times I was tempted to say that "Chevalier is terrifying" is what every person thinks and acts upon. However, there is one consistent exception we know of -- Clavis.

Clavis' role in preventing Chevalier from fully embracing his status of a beast is immeasurable. As troublesome as he may be, for the longest time, he is the only one to make an effort to actually engage Chevalier on an equal ground. He does not cry when merely in his presence -- he challenges him, regardless of any failures he may suffer in the process.

Clavis nags Chevalier to be more social. He tells him to smile more. He argues with him. Clavis never gives up, and he surely never gives up on Chevalier. What is more, when he sees Chevalier give up on love after obtaining it in his Romantic end? Clavis does not give up on Chevalier's behalf.

Clavis sees Chevalier's emotion. He acknowledges it. He may be getting some enjoyment out of teasing his brother, however, as Chevalier himself says -- Clavis may not have the best logic, but his intentions are always good ones.

--

And lastly, there is one more thing. As I've said, "I am not a person; I am a beast" is one of Chevalier's core beliefs. It is not a neutral one, and as much as he might have buried this desire, all along Chevalier wants to be seen as a person. He just does not allow himself to even hope for it.

It is Emma's insistence that breaks through to him eventually. Her being scared of him after seeing him on the battlefield? It hurts. He'd rather never be considered a person to begin with.

I dare say Emma changing her mind about him is not a concern that disappears entirely. We can see it in True Love & Beauty and the Knight stories. After hurting people, regardless of whether it was justified or not, Chevalier instinctively puts distance between them. He reverts to referring to himself per "beast". He is worried.

This one thing is terribly hard to unlearn. It takes time, effort and tremendous amounts of trust... And trust he does, one awkwardly loving gesture at a time.

[dxmichelle]

1600 words written yesterday. Let's see if I can get this chapter done before the end of the year!

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

expanding on my tags here a lil bit, I do think ml Scala is meant to take inspiration from multiple different european places but it really is very very italian to me. Like there’s the battle theme and architecture and potential symbolism yeah, but…hmm. Maybe I’m partly pulling from personal experience. I’ve visited Rome before so when I look at some of the shots in ml, mostly the nighttime ones, I just remember walking around the streets the first night I was there and how soft and warm the lighting was. It just feels the same to me somehow, which, if anything, is a testament to the amount of care and attention that was put into developing this version of Scala (from the devs themselves and in-universe ;) )

[becausebuckley]

just thinking about the graveyard scene and how buck says he feels like natalia really sees him and implying that nobody else does, and then eddie replying that he's noticed buck hasn't been the same since then. and that buck doesn't have to be anything for anybody. and the pensive look on his face the whole time he's talking. thinking about how eddie never says that he sees buck too because he doesn't let himself see who and what buck is to him. thinking about how eddie tries so hard to be everything for everybody - the perfect husband, father, son - but is never who he needs to be for himself. he doesn't take his own advice. thinking about all the things eddie doesn't let himself have, but also doesn't let himself see, and how buck is one giant shining example of that

[eatyourmaker]

I know there's not enough Garcia ships out there (Beside FunnyBusiness and ComedicLaw), but I thought of 2 myself

Garcia x Bob (I don't have too much to say about this, but I feel like they might've dated in the past)

And a rarepair I made, Garcia x Michelle/ChubbyKitty (This one's outside of the whole "Garcia is the Clown theory", but idk, I feel like it would be a sweet ship. Also the idea of Garcia watching over Michelle's cats while she's away is just wholesome to me <3)

Garcia x Michelle....

That's so cute shut up.... /pos

Outside of the clown theory or even with it (I feel like it'd be interesting) that's adorable....

Michelle surrounded by the world's worst men God bless 🙏🏾😭

[cassandra-allegra]

you know what i want to see more of?

right person, wrong time

the absolute heartbreak of finally finding your soulmate yet knowing it was never meant to be

if things only turned out diffirently

in another world, in another time