#not to mention the hints in the base game that he's extremely manipulative

[skeleetrom]

I think I'm starting to understand her but in the opposite direction. Because immediately after the Charm of the dlc wore off, I want to kill anyone who says miquella being a villain is bad. Or that it's "character assassination" and that he should've been like ranni.

[sparkbeast20]

What are Unholyc's

This was brought to my attention cause I saw this post by the @thrones-of-buer

Now, Spoilers for Love Unholyc.

Unholyc's are:

Unholyc are the descendants of Asmodeus, an ancient demon king of lust that descended upon this land a long time ago.

Apparently, he fell in love with humans and gave birth to the first generation of Unholycs. They resemble Asmodeus in that they have the ability to charm and seduce others while being able to use powers like most devils.

In Love Unholyc (PrettyBusy)

Story:

The player is named Mir by default. Though an Unholyc, she isn't interested in anything other than games and isn't able to fully control her charm ability. However, she is always extremely happy and active. Her coming of age ceremony is approaching and she might become a decent Unholyc after that. (…Maybe?)

Mir lives alone with her butler, William, who takes care of everything in the house and is very devoted, despite his aggressive personality. We are hinted that she is from a great Unholyc lineage but isn't conscious of it.

To get successfully past her coming of age ceremony, she needs a lot of acme, vital energy she can get from a contract with another being. Following the instructions of a letter she received from a very prominent Unholyc, she goes to a tailor shop where she meets three very handsome men with an aura resembling an Unholyc.

She accidentally starts the contract ritual. Though she discovers that they are humans, they all agree on the contact anyway.

The whole story revolves around Mir/MC getting through the seven days to complete her coming-of-age ritual to become a full pledged Unholyc.

In Season 1 of the game Mir/MC is focus on growing her connection with the three main Love interests Jung Hi, Sol, and Leo.

(Using this cause I like their season 2 sprites much better then their season 1's sprites)

Through out the week, you will choice dialog with some are specific for a love interest. Beware there are comedic/bad endings in the game if you don't get Affinity(Relationship) Levels.

But on the seventh day, base on you're choses. The Li who has most affinity will be your main route in season 2.

However Season 1 ended with Eater (The main threat and you're other love interest for season 3) killing the three Lis and William (Your Butler/other love interest for season 3) use his ability to manipulate time, restarting the week.

And that where we start with Season 2, Mir/MC going back to Ripeato where she meets the three again, they remember what happened and promise to not let what happened on the seventh day again and promise to protect Mir/MC.

Unholyc's Ability

It seems that base on both games, Unholycs and Devils have specific ability.

In WHB each devils have a specific talent/ability and some like healer class would be affiliated to a certain region.

In LU, William has the ability to manipulate time how ever what happened with S1, his paid the price and his body reverted back into-

Anywho

There is a character named Pierce who has the ability into the future.

Eater has the ability to eat other Unholycs and take their abilities.

There are three others, Zenon, Shallote, and James Roger but I can't remember what their abilities are.

Can a human be an Unholyc?

The answer is yes... Though...

I want to mention cause my possible theory of Minhyeok doing this ritual and becomes an Unholyc lol.

There also this.

What William is talking about here, happened. This was Sol's Dark/Bad ending.

*I still what to see a DLC for each of the bad endings*

Connection to What in "Hell" is bad?

And that's it.

Hope this helps y'all :D

[angrytomatto]

Summary of random facts about Merman because I'm bore (probably will update with time)

We talk about this in a discord server and I just want to leave it here in case I forget

(Every fact here is based of what has been said in game, fan theories aren't canonically facts in this list) Last update: December 2023

(This list probably contain spoilers)

Not only they learn how to walk with legs, but also how to swim in human form (Stitch Event)

It takes them time get used to breathe air properly, walking their first steps feel heavy and painful and some of them still feel uncomfortable in clothes (Floyd's Beans Camo story / Jade's School Uniform voice lines)

The black carriage that picks them up to go to NRC is an amphibious magic coach (Floyd's Ceremonial Robes voice line)

Merfolks and Humans are aware of each other but is extremely rare to encounter an actual merman on land (Magicam Monsters event)

They aren't afraid of each other anymore, since Ariel married Erik merfolks commonly come and go from land to sea(Some adults even own some stores on the shores) (Floyd's Beach Wear story)

The institution or land boot camp that train merfolks to became humans was founded canonically by Ariel. They need at least one month there to get used to their new body and how to eat our food correctly. Deep under water they only eat raw meat (Floyd's Beans Camo story / Jade's School Uniform story)

In there also teach them about the fauna on land by taking them to the zoo (Floyd Platinum Jacket story)

Merfolks also have passports once they live in human society (Floyd Platinum Jacket story)

They can turn into their true form willingly (Book 3 / Book 4 / Azul's Ceremonial Robes story / Vargas Camp event / Magicam Monsters event)

However they drink potions to keep their human form. Those are really expensive and if they forget to drink it in time they turn back into merman really slowly (Book 6 Riddle and Azul's tower)

The potion itself is paid by the school and currently they drink an experimental version that allows them to keep their human form for a week or two instead of a couple of days. And it taste awful (Book 6 Riddle and Azul's tower)

None of them have good eyesight: Azul mainly use only one par of glasses because it helps with the ''Business Style'' he's aiming for, and even if he can see pretty well without them the lenses are prescript just as his lab glasses (Trey's Halloween Dress story / Azul's Lab Coat voice lines) Jade roam around the school at night because he feel at ease in the dark (Ruggie's School Uniform story) Floyd is always amused of bright colored things because they looked really dark under the sea (Floyd's lab coat story)

Their skin in human form is really smooth. That's because they are cover by slime in their true form that keep their skin moist and soft (Azul's Ceremonial Robes story)

Octopuses are a pretty exotic race even between merfolks, they are way bigger that the common merman. They are slow, so they are usually targeted by predators but they also are brutally strong and are able to manipulate all their limbs freely (Book 3 / Book 4 / Book 6 / Happy Beans event / Vargas Camp / Azul's Beach Wear voice lines)

Halloween under water have very ominous and respectful traditions, way opposite that Halloween on land. There's haunted ships with ghost that lost their lives drowned, so they play music to calm their sorrows and loneliness. There's many pirate ghosts wandering on rotten ships that could actually harm young merfolks if they are not careful enough (Jade's Halloween Dress story / Floyd's Halloween Dress story)

The Coral Sea is a really small community and merfolks don't hesitate to eat each other in order to survive (Many hints said by the octatrio to mention here. And yes, Floyd WILL eat any student if he have to (Azul's Beach Wear voice lines))

They live under a Monarchy and the current prince is called Rielle. Is implied that the prince assist in the same elementary school that Azul, Jade and Floyd (Book 3) **( The 14 one doesn't mention all the times the tweels bully Azul by calling him slow because I will lost count) ______________ That's it for now, I will add more eventually but this ones are the ones I can remember now, feel free to tell me what did I miss~

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Dee Vasquez

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“Turnabout Samurai” was always a case I skipped on my replays, because when I originally played the game I found it to be a tedious filler case loaded with bland characters and little plot progression. On my most recent playthrough, though, I realized how wrong I was; while the case is overly long and does require some obnoxious backtracking, it’s honestly an extremely fun and funny case that really helps develop Miles Edgeworth and flesh him out as a character, which kind of makes me baffled at my initial perception of the case as pointless filler. This is no “Turnabout Big Top,” that’s for sure, and that’s all the more apparent when we uncover who the true killer is.

Dee Vasquez marks a true turning point in the killers I the franchise. Frank Sahwit and Redd White are certainly not out of place in the series, but they are both one-dimensional goofballs. Not Dee; she’s an incredibly three-dimensional villain with motivations that go beyond simple greed and an actual sympathetic motivation for her crime.

Motivation/Goals: Dee Vasquez is actually rather interesting in that her motivation for murder has one of the first twists in the series: She had no motive. The murder was an accidental one in self-defense, as the victim Jack Hammer had come to her with the intent to kill her. When he did so, she shoved him off the steps and impaled him on a fence—something Hammer himself had accidentally done to another actor five years prior.

It’s pretty interesting to think that there wouldn’t be another killing in self-defense until Spirit of Justice, and even then there’s a big twist to that too—but that’s a story for another time.

Breakdown: Fitting her terse and stoic personality, Vasquez actually has one of the single most understated breakdowns in the whole series, followed by her sadly and graciously accepting her defeat:

That really is it, and honestly, it's all she needs. Someone with her demeanor losing her composure for even a moment like that is pretty impressive.

Best Scene: Vasquez actually gets one of the most unique scenes in the franchise, as at the end of the third day of investigating she lures Maya and Phoenix into her trailer, where she proceeds to call upon her mafia goons in an attempt to “erase” them.

It’s pretty notable because the mafia goons actually get art here, and this is also the only time Vasquez’s mob connections are really brought up in any capacity as they aren’t mentioned during the trials, only getting briefly mentioned in discussions while investigating. It’s doubly notable because it gives Gumshoe one of his first “Big Damn Heroes” moments when he bursts in and saves our dynamic duo’s lives.

Final Thoughts & Score: Dee Vasquez is a really solid villain, and her case is where the series really grew the proverbial beard.

I think what’s most fascinating about her is how you only get some vague hinting at the relationships that surround the crime she committed, and the true nature of her relationship with Hammer is based entirely on hearsay from biased parties—can you trust what she says in regards to Hammer, considering she was blackmailing him and clearly had a great disdain for him for killing her possible lover? Can you trust Oldbag’s account of it being a tragic accident when she’s a Hammer superfan? It all makes her the sort of character where you can come up with multiple interpretations of her and have different levels of sympathy depending on how you view her actions. Like sure, it was in self-defense, but it becomes a lot less sympathetic if you see Hammer more as a victim of manipulation for something that wasn’t really his fault (although his willingness to frame his co-star Will Power out of petty jealousy certainly doesn’t make him look very good).

Helping this is just how grounded and low-key she is. She doesn’t really get wild, over-the-top reactions like some of the other killers, and while that may seem like a detriment in a series as silly as this, it actually makes her stand out a lot more especially with how later villains would become even more wild and wacky. It also helps build her up as a genuinely formidable opponent in court, and she’s actually a pretty tough egg to crack when you get her on the stand.

While I’m not going to pretend like she’s the greatest, most complex, or most tragic of all the villains (how can she be when characters like Ini Miney, Geiru Toneido, or Acro are around?) but for a first attempt at a more complex villain that isn’t just killing for the money, she’s a really solid one. A nice solid 7.5/10, I’d say. I think really her biggest problem is that the case immediately following hers features perhaps the single most sympathetic murderer in the original trilogy, as well as another stoic hardass villain who has a far more glorious breakdown, which leaves her being a bit overshadowed. Still, for what she is, she's a remarkably solid villain.

[summersmithlatinxgyatt]

Childrick of Mort has got to be one of the worst episodes of Rick and Morty, solely because of the choppy character writing. This level of writing rarely appears, with the only example of this inconsistency I can think of being ‘Vindicators 3’ (sorry to any fans of that episode) It seems like to get Rick and Beth development (and even Jerry development), we had to give up any semblance of Summer and Morty’s character

Summer HAS been cynical to Jerry before, but she is so cynical for no reason in this episode. Meanwhile, Morty is reduced to a spineless child who only cares about gaming

A few notes I can give this episode

I actually didn’t mind Jerry. I’m not the type to completely hate him, but the problem is how they have to alter everyone else’s character

Beth squealing was also a cute note

The design of the little Rick and Gaia kids was also something small I liked

Overall, I did like Beth and Rick in this episode, but the pacing of this whole episode was extremely quick for my liking. Plus, I liked how they acted more in the first half. The second half feels so discordant and all over the place

The fight Rick has with…a literal god, isn’t that bad. I actually liked that they cut the music, made it feel more awkward in a good way

I will not just talk about Summer in this episode because they butchered Morty in this episode. Summer’s love for drugs and getting high is something I mentioned once, because they actually hinted at it in ‘Pickle Rick’. Any hate for her family is not connected to getting high, it’s something she merely wants to explore. As a result, basing herself around wanting to get drugs misses the whole point, especially when she goes off on Jerry because of it

The fact Morty can’t simply reverse-engineer the ship or Summer didn’t help other than getting high was so…out of character. They’re actually smart characters who could stand there own when it comes to these kinds of situations. While Morty knows about these space adventures, Summer is perfect for surviving apocalyptic or similar events. That’s why she’s consistently good at them. Furthermore, these situations need her to be there for her family. Completely tearing apart other people does nothing for her or their survival

The only times that Summer also goes wild on Jerry is when he’s directly using her love for the family as a manipulation tactic. You can argue that Jerry did it here to make himself feel important, but this is a passive and consistent part of his character. This is unlike ‘Look Who’s Purging Now’, where he specifically uses memories from her childhood to make her give him money.

The dialog is so on the nose that it’s counter-intuitive. If they just wanted Morty and Summer to be an afterthought, it really shows. Why bother at all when they both blurt out “Wow gaming/drugs are fun” or “This reminds me of my game/bong”.

Oh, and they just HAD to throw in one incest joke (two but I’m referring to one that Summer tells Morty). I was hoping I could call this the worst episode that doesn’t involve incest (because wow we have several to choose from), but since it’s not a plot theme, I might give it the title

Morty also seemed so meek and spineless, the way he also just wants to play games. Considering this is season 4, this feels like a trait that shouldn’t have popped up once more. At least with Summer we get hints that she loves smoking (Tricia’s bong ooo her future wife’s bong ooo) but again, it never gets in the way of family or is BECAUSE she hates her family. She doesn’t! That’s one thing the show keeps getting wrong when they write Summer. She loves her family because she’s the one who has to keep it together after nearly losing them from something she thought was HER fault (now that I think about it, that’s probably a trait that parallels Rick). She was just so pissy and quick to give up or give in, too. Where’s that version of Summer who’s tough as hell and wants to make sure everything goes right?

If this were more accurate, she would’ve reprise a role similar to GoTron, wherein she’d help out with building the city. Instead, that role goes to Beth. Morty also didn’t have any real traits. He’s just spouting science jargon sometimes which contradicts how he ends up acting

While writing this I also realized that Jerry consistently thrives in environments removed from usual societal norms or any structure. Curiously, he shares this with his dismantling apocalyptic daughter!

All in all, this episode is heavily weighed down by how they butcher Summer and Morty. It may not be the worst episode of the show, but it’s in my top fives. Quickly, my list for the worst in no particular order so far:

-Childrick of Mort

-Vindicators 3 (fucking awful pacing, basic character dynamics and conflict, some of the worst dialog ever written for Rick)

-Final DeSmithation (you know why.)

-Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri (the second worst cold opening besides Rickdependence Spray, this episode felt pretty pointless and forgettable. This is the one episode whose season I cannot remember every time)

-Rickdependence Spray (you know why.)

[bonnyskies]

deadly agenda ⇢ myg

min yoongi is a dangerous man. you’re a manipulative wife. together, you two are a deadly duo, and you both have your own agenda.

pairing — emperor!yoongi x wife!malereader ft. king-husband!taehyung

genres — angst, sexual themes, royalty!au, strangers-to-lovers!au

warnings — age-gap (reader is 20, yoongi is 28), swearing, degrading terms, mentions of death, feminization, descriptions of murder, sexual themes, infidelity, betrayal, slight voyeurism, yoongi is intimidating and reader is manipulative, basically they’re just plain evil

author’s note — i hate tumblr’s new update. i had more to write (not enough for a part two) but couldn’t because of the new 250 text box rule. but as for this story, this is probably the longest one i’ve written so far and the one i’m most proud of. anyway, hope you all enjoy and sorry for taking so long to upload this, took lots of planning and rewriting, plus i’ve been busy with school too.

word count — 7.4k

masterlist

Min Yoongi is a cautious, yet observant man.

Whoever steps foot in his palace, he makes sure to know everything about them. Who they are, they’re background, appearance, and how they approach him. Each and every thing can help him learn who he can trust, and who he cannot, who are his allies—and who are his enemies.

Yoongi stood by his palace’s entrance, accompanied with his guards and greeted his special guests, one by one as they walked up his home’s grand steps. He makes sure to take notes on each and every person’s facial expression, their appearance, chosen attire, and the certain way they walk up to him.

Anything could benefit him into knowing them. Their wealth and clan can be identified based on their specific appearance and choice of clothing. Their facial expressions help him learn what their true feelings and intentions are towards him that are hidden by their fake smiles and words. And lastly, the way they walk up to him can help him know the type of personality they have, whether that be obedient and innocent, or arrogant and untrustworthy.

The way he learns about his guests have never failed him. That was, until he met you.

Yoongi would be lying if he said he wasn’t astonished when his eyes laid on you for the first time. There were many things that left him utterly speechless when meeting you. For one, when his advisor told him that his guest would be bringing his wife, he was expecting a woman—not a man.

Another thing that left Yoongi speechless was your appearance, mostly your attire. You were dressed in feminine-like clothing, silk robes that were decorated with gold jewelry instead of fine material clothing with armor plating like what many men of royalty wear. And you also didn’t hold a blade like most men do too. Instead, you held a simple wooden decorative fan.

And lastly, your eyes.

Yoongi has a remarkable judge of character. Maybe not as good when it came to you, but still adequate. On the outside, your eyes were shining with gentleness and a kind greeting. But he could tell there was something else hidden behind them—something that left him intrigued by you.

You had an agenda—plans, and Yoongi was determined to find out what they are.

The welcoming feast was extremely dull.

Yoongi absorbed gallons of wine into his system, hoping that would help numb his mind and get through the rest of the evening without having to tear somebody’s head off from their body.

And apparently you thought the same as he did. Across the table, Yoongi watched as you fanned yourself out of boredom while everyone else were socializing with one another, an unamused facial expression shown on your face. Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle behind his glass when seeing one of the other wives say something to you and you flashed her a quick smile before dropping it back down into a straight line.

It seems his attention on you didn’t go unnotice because next thing he knew, your eyes were now on him. Yoongi was expecting hints of disgust or uncomfort from you, but instead he was met with sly smirk and a raised brow.

Yoongi watches intently as you leaned over and whispered into your husband’s ear. Your husband—Kim Taehyung then stood up from his seat and bowed his head, “Excuse me, your Majesty.”

Yoongi turned his head towards your husband, diverting his attention completely away from you.

“My wife is not feeling well at the moment, so with your permission, would it be alright if he can take his leave from the feast early?”

The entire dining hall fell silent, shocked expressions plastered on everyone’s faces at the table.

Nobody has ever dared to leave one of Min Yoongi’s feasts before. Who would want to, right? It’s considered a great honor for one self and their kingdom to be invited by the Emperor himself to attend one of his events.

Whispers began to spread amongst the guests.

“How shameless is Kim Taehyung’s wife?”

“Wanting to leave the Emperor’s feast early? Utterly shameless I tell you.”

“That Taehyung needs to discipline his wife.”

“Doesn’t he know how important his Majesty’s events are? And he wants to leave just because he isn’t feeling well? Unbelievable.”

“He needs to learn some manners—”

Anxiety swept across Taehyung’s face when hearing the gossips coming from the other royals, eyes wide and mouth gaped open with panic. “Forgive me, your Majesty, I never intended to—”

With just the clear of his throat, everybody fell silent once again and all eyes were now on him. Yoongi’s gaze would shift between you and your husband, curiosity filling his veins when noticing that there wasn’t any signs of illness presently visible on you. You weren’t trembling, your eyes weren’t red and skin wasn’t showing any signs of flushness. You looked fine.

That only caused more questions to form in Yoongi’s mind. Like, what do you exactly want, and what is your reason for being here? Because according to his advisor, you weren’t even part of the guest list until today. That only raised even more suspicions he had towards you.

And it’s not like he can just throw you out—actually, he can. It’s just that he doesn’t want to because now he’s curious, and he wants to see how things turn out.

“He can go,” Yoongi says a brief silence, immediately noticing the small smile creeping onto your lips. “But take him to see the physician and let him check him out,” and then it dropped.

“N-No, your Majesty,” you spoke up, lips parted. “You don’t have to do that—”

“You’re feeling unwell, right?” Yoongi then asks, smirking at the silence he got in reply. “Well, you should let my physician diagnose you then. Don’t worry though, you’re in great hands.”

One of his guards that stood by his side approached you and started to guide you to the physician’s office. And while you were leaving, Yoongi could see the glare coming from you and aimed right at him.

If you wanted to play games with him, he’ll play.

Wandering through the palace halls at night was something Yoongi usually does whenever he can’t sleep.

And apparently you had the same tendency too.

While mindlessly strolling through his palace’s hallways, Yoongi’s eyes suddenly landed on your approaching figure, the first thing catching his attention was your choice of clothing. You were dressed in golden inner robes, your sleep-wear, and the material was so thin and transparent that every feature about you was visible to him. The sight of your clear, smooth skin and every curve of your body and muscles made his mouth water. It was like you were purposely dressed like that to seduce him.

Another thing that caught his eye was the small, slightly torn grayish book that was in your grasp, which was where your complete attention was on because you still haven’t noticed his presence despite the two of you walking towards the other.

“Hello, your Highness,” you jumped out of fear, eyes wide and closing your book when your gaze landed on him. “May I ask why you are wandering around my palace this late at night?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” you simply answered, fingers tight around the cover the book, which only made Yoongi even more curious as to what you were exactly reading. “And it seems you are having the same problem as well, am I correct?”

Yoongi only hummed in reply, taking another small step towards you until you two now stood only inchest apart, him towering over you and staring down right at you. “Is there something wrong with your chambers? I can tell my servants to move you and your husband into a more comfortable place for you—”

“No no, your Majesty,” you were quick to interject. “Everything is perfect. It’s just that I’ve always had trouble sleeping at another royal’s residence, that’s all.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but find your reason funny, because he has always had trouble sleeping when there were other people staying in his palace.

A brief silence came between you two before Yoongi spoke up once again, “I’ll be taking a quick walk around my garden, you can accompany me if you like.” He didn’t wait for your reply before leaving, but when hearing the sound of your footsteps behind him right after, a smirk grew on his lips.

“You know, you never really introduced yourself when we first met,” Yoongi then brought up while the two of you made your way to the gardens.

“Forgive me, your Majesty,” you bowed your head apologetically before replying, “My name is ___, Kim ___.”

“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Kim ___,” Yoongi reached down and took your hand into his, pressing a soft, yet tender kiss on the back of your palm, smirking at the evident blush forming on your cheeks. “And I’ve got to say, you are looking quite well for someone that claimed to be feeling sick not even three hours ago,” and that is when your smile dropped.

“Must’ve been my anxiety,” you were quick to reply back, your eyes never leaving his. “After all, I am staying at the Emperor’s palace for the first time.”

Yoongi was impressed honestly, he had to admit. For everything he had to say against you, you had something say right back at him. There isn’t a lot of people who have that type of skill to think of words—believeable words right on the spot. Anybody would believe what you were saying—too bad he isn’t just anybody.

“Must be...,” Yoongi just says, eyeing you slightly. His gaze then shifted onto the book in your hand. “What are you reading there?”

“Oh this,” you held the book up, “It’s called Flowers of the Region—a guide to every type of flower that is grown and can be found in both the South and the North. It’s my favorite book.”

“Well, that’s fortunate,” Yoongi points out, “you like flowers, and we so happen to be going to my garden. What’s your favorite flower?”

“Lily of the Valley,” you answer with a smile. “Have you heard of it?”

“I have,” Yoongi replied, his interest towards you growing even more. Lily of the Valley, despite the beautiful features of the white flower, it is proven to be quite deadly when digested. “They are only found on top of the Southern mountains—but lucky for you, I happen to grow them right here in my garden.”

Your smile grew even wider. “That’s great.”

The rest of the walk to the gardens was in silence with you trailing forward while Yoongi stood back. And with your eyes focused on the path in front of you, Yoongi couldn’t help but send glances at you every once in a while, his eyes burning into your back, admiring at the clear view your smooth skin through the thin, transparent material of your inner robes.

He surely needs to give whoever crafted your sleepwear a raise—and a big one too.

When the two of you finally got to the gardens, you were left instantly speechless at the sight of the many plots of different flowers, ranging from beautiful, vibrant ones that were quite common to dark, mysterious ones that you’ve never even seen before.

Yoongi couldn’t deny how adorable you looked though when seeing his garden for the first time, eyes wide, shining with admiration and your mouth gaped open.

“This is beautiful,” you gasped, leaning down and running your fingers delicately over some flowers.

“Thank you,” Yoongi stood beside you, “I make sure my gardeners take good care of this place.”

Silenced filled the atmosphere as Yoongi stood back and silently watched you admiring the many flowers. Normally he’d be annoyed for someone touching his property, but for some odd reason when it came to you he didn’t mind so much. Perhaps it’s because this might be the only way for him to get close to you and learn about your true intentions—or maybe he just really wants to fuck you.

Yoongi found himself once again staring at you, watching as you bent over to get a closer look at one of the flowers, giving him a perfect view of your ass and hips, both in which he wants to grab and caress with his large hands.

“So,” Yoongi spoke up after some silence, “how exactly did you become the new Lady Kim?”

Yoongi instantly noticed the way your body tensed from his question. “I was his Highness’s personal servant. When his wife suddenly passed away, he was a complete mess and I was the only one that stayed by his side through the entire mourning process. I was the one that comforted him whenever he was feeling down, I made sure he was taking care of himself and helped him with his royal duties.”

Yoongi then noticed your shoulder slumping. “After about a month or so, he started seeking me for a...different kind of comfort.” Sex. “Soon later he decided to make his new wife—the new Lady Kim.”

“You don’t seem so happy about the change in position,” Yoongi commented, “I’m sure this is much better than being a simple servant. You’re a royal now.”

“Oh, I am,” you quickly corrected him, “But being a man and having a feminine title can sometimes make things complicated.”

“Well then, don’t make them complicated.” Yoongi suggested, “You’re not a servant anymore, you’re a royal. They may not respect you now, but you have the power to make them do so.”

“Don’t worry, I know,” you told him sternly. “They’ll learn to respect me. Whether that be the hard way or the easy way—it’s their choice. So you better watch out, your Majesty, or something bad might happen to you,” you laughed softly.

Yoongi released a forceful chuckle, eyes briefly squinting at you suspiciously. It may have sound like a harmless joke, but to him, he could hear the small hints of truth behind them. “Oh trust me, I will. I wouldn’t want you as an enemy.”

“And you as well,” you replied, eyeing him back.

Silence came between you two again, Yoongi leaving you to inspect his garden in peace while he stood back and watched you. It wasn’t until an hour has passed you spoke up again, yawning, “we should head back to bed, your Majesty. We have that conference in the morning with the other royals and we need the energy.”

“You’re right,” Yoongi agreed, nodding and stepping aside so that you could walk ahead of him and back inside the place with him following right beside you. “Let me walk you back to your room.”

You didn’t say anything, only held your head low to hide the small grin on your face as the both of you made your back to the chambers. And as you two got closer to your destination, you both were froze at the sound of moaning.

Yoongi was confused at first as who it could be, but when turning to you and seeing the hardened expression on your face, he knew.

“O-Oh, Taehyung—f-faster, please!”

Yoongi was speechless. He knew many royals took on concubines while being married, but he didn’t know someone could so shameless as to bringing them to another person’s residence alongside their spouse. “Your Highness—”

“Don’t bother, your Majesty,” you spoke calmly, eyes hard and emotionless. “I’m use to it by now and it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

“Really, it doesn’t?”

You shook your head. “At first it did, but after sleeping with my husband so many times I have learned that the only person he cares to satisfy is himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle. What kind of husband doesn’t have the desire to satisfy is own wife? Maybe he should take you to his chambers and show you exactly what you’re missing. “Well, I-I’m still sorry for you.”

You simply shrugged your shoulders, “it doesn’t matter, your Majesty. Have a good night.”

Yoongi watched as you then opened the door went inside the chamber, causing your husband and the woman to stop and look at you with wide eyes.

“Don’t mind me,” you said to them, not even bothering to glance at them, shocking Yoongi. “I’ll be on the balcony reading my book. Just let me when you two are done.”

Taehyung’s attention instantly went back to the woman that was straddling his lap when hearing your words, hands kneading her breasts and hips and started thrusting back up into her, causing moans to erupt from both of them. Yoongi didn’t why, but the sight of them made his blood boil.

Maybe he should go in there and fuck you in front of your husband? That’ll show him what he is missing out.

Yoongi continued to watch through the crack in the door as you walked past the couple and went onto the balcony. And once you were out of his sight, that’s when he finally got a clear view of the woman on your husband’s lap, and he instantly recognized her. She was one of the servants that accompanied you and Taehyung here. Yoongi distinctly remembered seeing her earlier today, serving you tea after you got back from seeing the physician.

Yoongi glared at the couple, scoffing at the sight. What did that Kim Taehyung see in that whore of a servant that you don’t have?

You are far more enticing than she is.

Taking one last glance at the shameless couple, Yoongi retreated back to his chambers. And while he did so, his mind suddenly went back to you. How did someone so...unique end up with a man like Kim Taehyung? He’s a weak person, a shame to royal blood. You deserve to be with someone with real power, someone who would never leave you unsatisfied, both physically and emotionally. Someone like me.

Yoongi could feel himself harden just from the thought of you.

Damn you for having this type of power over me, his mind cursed. Yoongi has slept with countless of other royals before, both men and women, and he has never encountered someone like you.

You are truly something else.

“Damn,” Yoongi mumbled out to nobody in particular, palming himself through his robes. “How the hell am I going to get rid of this?”

And right on queue, a young servant boy just happened to be walking right by Yoongi when the question ran through his head.

“Stop,” was all he said, making the servant boy freeze in his place.

“Y-Yes, your Majesty?”

Yoongi took slow, intimidating steps towards him until he was towering over him, using his hands to cup his chin and forcing the servant boy to meet his eyes. “How would you feel having the honor of spending the night with your Emperor?”

The servant boy couldn’t stop the small smile from forcing on his face. “I-I would love that, your Majesty.”

That was Yoongi needed to hear before leaning down capturing the servant’s boys lips with his, hands moving to his thighs and hoisting him up in his arms and carrying him into his chambers, lips never separating.

“You’re a eager one, are you?” Yoongi chuckled against the servant boy’s mouth, moving his lips down his neck and forcing a whimpering moan from him.

“I-It’s my duty to serve y-you, your Majesty.”

That brought a smile on Yoongi’s lips.

Yoongi couldn’t find you anywhere the next day.

He couldn’t find at you breakfast, he couldn’t find you during the conference with the other royals and their wives, and he couldn’t find you at lunch. Now as dinner was approaching, there still wasn’t any sign of you anywhere.

But he had no problem finding your husband. Wherever he saw Taehyung, he saw that whore of a servant trailing behind him like a pet—but you no where to be seen.

Yoongi thought about approaching him to ask about your whereabouts, but he couldn’t help but think of the consequences that would happen afterwards. But that still didn’t stop him from sending glares at the younger royal and the servant every now and then, which didn’t go unnotice by either of them.

“Is there something wrong, your Majesty,” Taehyung finally asks, breaking the tensed silence between the two of them. “You’ve been staring at me all day today and haven’t said a single word.”

“Oh nothing,” Yoongi simply replies, eyes still trained on him while twirling his glass of wine. “Just wondering where your wife is at right now, since everyone else is here. Is he still not feeling well from last night?”

For a very very brief moment, Yoongi could see panic glinting in his eyes before answering, “o-oh yes, your Majesty, he told me that he’s still feeling unwell so I allowed him stay back in the room.”

Liar, was Yoongi’s first thought, eyes glaring even more at the long, black-haired royal.

Everyone at the table could feel the tension between their Emperor and the young royal, and still no one chose to speak up about it.

Yoongi had a reputation. He is the first ever Emperor to achieve the throne through combat rather than family bloodline—and he is also the youngest ruler to ever be placed higher than a simple king. But that weren’t the only things he was known for. He was also generally known for being intelligent and quite reserved, and cruel if absolutely necessary, and also able to hold a grudge. It may sound simple, but everybody knew that if their Emperor had something against you, your days were limited.

So that’s why nobody chose to speak up when seeing the menancing glares their Emperor were sending at the youngest and only surviving Kim. Because they knew if they intervened, they’d only anger him and get on his list, and that’s the exact opposite of what they want to do.

“Your Majesty,” his advisor suddenly whispered right beside him. “I think it would be a good idea to continue the meeting. Some of your guests has some things to say about the...improvements you’re doing to the North.”

Yoongi clenched his jaw, eyes scanning over Taehyung once more before turning his attention to the other royals. “Sure,” he then says, “which one of you want to speak first?”

Not even a second later, Park Jimin, ruler of the Park Kingdom stood up from his seat and spoke. “Your Majesty, my council and I believe that the border that you have placed around my region is completely unnecessary.”

“How so?” Yoongi asks, leaning back against his chair with an amused look on his face. He had to admit that he was impressed that the blonde man was the first to speak up. He may not be the youngest royal out of everyone, but he certainly is the one with the least experience when it came politics.

“For starters your border cuts right through my kingdom’s river, slicing our water supply in half,” he starts, voice slightly raising. “And the amount of wood you required for the construction of the wall resulted in about ninety percent of the forests in my region to be completely cut down, forcing most of my workers into unemployment.”

Yoongi continued to listen closely with his hands laced together and resting on top of his chest, rocking back and forth in his chair with an intent glint in his eyes.

“I also find it completely unfair how your border only crosses over my kingdom but no one else’s.” Jimin continued to rant, jamming his finger repeatedly angerly against the table while keeping his eye contact with him. “I think it’s not for protection like you have claimed many of times, but as a prison, to keep my people in check. You’re nothing but a—”

Yoongi slammed his hand heavily onto the table, instantly silencing the young royal and causing everyone to gulp nervously. He may at times find it amusing when someone fights back, but he will never allow anyone to talk down against him, not in his own residence.

“You think I built that wall as a prison?” Yoongi asks, chuckling when the blonde man didn’t reply. “Are you forgetting what happened before I built that wall? Spies from the South would come right into our territories and would gather information on us, murder our people in their sleep—that’s how your parents died, am I correct? Some spy that sneaked into their palace assassinated them when they were asleep? It would such a shame if the same thing happens to you—after I take down the wall, of course.”

Yoongi smirked when noticing the seeing Jimin’s jaw clenching and hands angrily balling into fists. “So don’t you ever accuse me again? Because everything I do is for the best of my people, not just yours. The wall is only bordering your land because your land is the only one that connects with the South.”

Jimin’s head hung low, hands unclenching and lips dropping into the frown.

“So before you come at me, you should make sure that you have all the information, do you understand me?” Jimin nodded and sat down.

Everybody tensed when Yoongi then stood up from his seat and slowly, intimidatingly made his way to Jimin’s chair. And when placing his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle when feeling him jump slightly underneath his touch. “Normally I’d kill anyone who spoke to me that way,” leaning down, he whispered into Jimin’s ear, sending chills along his pale skin, “but I’ll let it slide for once since you’re new to this whole thing.”

“T-Thank you, your Majesty.”

With one last pat on the shaking man’s shoulder, Yoongi pulled away, and he was standing straight again, his eyes suddenly fell on your figure who stood near the entrance of the conference hall. But you weren’t alone, no, three servants that he couldn’t recognize was with you. The four of you seemed to be in a deep conversation, and with everybody focused on him, nobody noticed you.

Yoongi’s eyes slightly squinted out of suspicion when seeing you then bow your head at the three servants, a smile on your face before each of you went your separate ways.

Yoongi is definitely going to look into that.

“Now,” returning his attention back to his guests, Yoongi leaned himself against the table, keeping close to the blonde man that was still trembling. “Does anyone else have anything to say to me?”

“N-No no, your Majesty,” Jung Hoseok, another royal spoke up, gulping anxiously as he tightened his hand around his wife’s who sat beside him. “We have no complaints whatsoever, you’re doing an amazing job—the perfect ruler.”

Kiss ass, Yoongi rolled his eyes, pushing himself away from the table. He then shifted his attention towards your husband and asks, “what about you, your Highness? Anything to say?”

Taehyung shook his head. “No, your Majesty.”

“What a bunch spineless people,” Yoongi’s mind scoffed, and he couldn’t agree more.

His advisor then rose from his chair and spoke up, “okay everyone, thank you all for attending his Majesty’s annual end of conference feast this year. You may all now return to your rooms and get some rest before heading back to your own residences in the morning.”

Yoongi stayed back and bid farewell to everyone, and once everyone was gone he left the conference hall with only one thing on his mind—you. He was determined to find out what exactly were you and those three servants were discussing about. Yoongi was so rapt on you that he didn’t even hear his advisor calling out of him to come back.

He practically jogged to the chambers hall, heading straight to your room and when he got there, just as he was about barge right through the door he was then stopped by a sudden sound. Moans could be heard on the other side of the door—female moans. Yoongi’s hands were already hovering over the door handle before he opened it slightly to where there was only a crack, giving him the view of seeing your husband with same servant girl from the night before.

Yoongi watches as she claws his back, legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he place open mouth kisses along her bare chest and thrusted deep into her, causing loud, pleasurable moans to erupt from both of their mouths.

“T-Tae,” the young servant girl gasped, hands running up and down his sweaty back and fingers digging into his marked, glistening skin. “I’m close.”

“Me too, love,” he groaned back, leaning down and capturing her lips into a passionate kiss. “Together, okay...?”

Utterly shameless, Yoongi shook his head and pushed away from the door with disgust. Just as he was about to continue searching for you, he froze at the sound a voice behind him—a female voice.

“Are you looking for Lady Kim, your Majesty?”

Yoongi turned around and was greeted by one of your servants, hands laced together and hanging in front of her with a wide smile on her face. “No, I’m not,” he quickly replied, shaking his head. He expected her to just nod her head and leave, but instead she released a small chuckle and turned around, saying in a soft tone, “follow me.”

Yoongi was hesitant, eyes burning suspiciously into the servant girl’s back as she began to walk away. But he soon decided to follow her despite the constant warnings that were running through his head at the moment.

The servant’s gaze was trained on the path in front of her, not even bothering to acknowledge the glare she was receiving by platinum-haired man that was trailing right behind her.

The warnings that were consuming Yoongi’s head started to get louder as he continued to follow her deeper into his residence, parts of his home that he hasn’t even been in.

Yoongi stopped in his place when the servant led him to a room with dark, double doors. “What is this,” he asks with a cold expression, causing the young girl to chuckle and open the door without saying a word to him. He was about to question her even more but when he got to see what was behind the door, leaving him speechless.

Standing right in front him was you, along with over a dozen guards and servants that were from many different kingdoms. Some of the guards and servants were part of the Park Kingdom, some were from the Jung Kingdom, and others were from your own home.

“What’s going on here?” Yoongi asks, his eyes glancing across the many different pairs that were staring right back at him.

“They work for me,” came out of your mouth. “We are all part of movement that believes that the North needs a change in leadership—which is you. You’re the only that deserves to rule the North, not these cowards.”

Yoongi was speechless. For once in his life he didn’t know to say. For the first time he wasn’t the one that was planning in the shadows, plotting against somebody—but instead it was people who he has never even met before. “Why,” was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

“Because war is coming your Majesty,” you stepped towards him to where you stood only inches away from his face, staring up to meet his eyes. “My agents told me that the South is planning an invasion into our territory, and the way the other kingdoms are ruling their land—we won’t survive this war. You are the only one that is capable of leading us to victory.”

Yoongi turned towards your followers. “Do you all agree with him?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” one of the guards spoke up. Each and every person then stepped forward and began to speak loudly on their opinions of their leaders.

“Park Jimin is too young to be King—he doesn’t know how to rule.”

“He can’t even hold a sword properly.”

“Jung Hoseok is a spineless man!”

“Damn right he is! The moment the South comes barging intl his palace, he’ll do whatever it takes to save his own skin and not his people.”

“Kim Taehyung is shameless bastard who would rather spend his time fucking his servants than leading his own Kingdom.”

Yoongi could see you snicker at that comment.

“He spends our taxes buying whores instead of using it to improve our home.”

“None of them belong on the throne!”

“They are right, your Majesty,” you stared at him with a small smirk on your lips. “Out of everyone, you’re the only that deserves to rule us. You are the one who will lead us to glory.”

Yoongi stared down at you with such desire. He may have found you attractive before, but now he couldn’t help but find you utterly irresistible. “So this isn’t just some power trip? Doing all this just to get to the top?”

Yoongi had his suspicions already about the war. He has heard from his own agents that the South were planning on some sort of invasion, but there wasn’t any evidence that confirmed that. So sadly he hasn’t been able to do any preparations—at least, none without the other royals knowledge of it.

You shook your head. “I don’t care about power, your Majesty—only survival, and you’re the best way to achieve that.”

“I see,” Yoongi reached up and stroked his chin, “how would you all do this anyway? Kill the rulers of each Kingdom can be tricky, and what about their heirs?”

“It’s quite easy,” you answered with a small grin. “They all have their jobs,” you nodded at your followers, “once they are home and unguarded, that is when they’ll strike. And as for their heirs, well, that’s not really a problem.”

Yoongi raised a brow. “Jung Hoseok’s wife is unable to bare a child, and he also doesn’t have any younger siblings to take over. So once he passes, rulership of his Kingdom immediately goes over to you. Same goes for my husband and Park Jimin.”

“I see,” Yoongi hums, biting inside of his cheek. “So what’s my job then?”

You smirk. “The only thing you have to do is have your succession speech ready, your Majesty.”

“But I have another problem,” Yoongi added. “Many people already disagree with our war with the South. How will we manage to persuade them that this is necessary? It’ll be difficult since three of the four leaders of the North are dead.”

“Trust me, your Majesty,” you spoke with such clarity and a smile on your face. “Everything is planned out and you don’t have to worry.”

Yoongi didn’t replay, eyes briefly glancing at the people that surrounded him. You must’ve noticed his still cautious state because next thing he knew you were signaling everybody out, telling them to “get some rest and prepare for your departure in the morning.”

“Why are you doing this exactly?” Yoongi asks the moment you two were alone in the room. “Because there is no damn way you’re doing this just for survival. I mean,” he suddenly chuckles, “you are giving complete control of the North. What is your angle here? Are you going to kill me after all this is so that you become Emperor?” Yoongi was starting to get frustrated. He has never had trouble understanding someone before until he met you. And now because of you, his mind was a complete mess.

“That’s not my intention at all, your Majesty,” smiling up at him, you placed your hand on his shoulder, smirking at the feeling of him tensing underneath your fingertips. “All I want is for the North, my home—your home to finally come out of its shadow that it has been forced to hide in for centuries.”

“And you think I’m the one that can do that?”

“Yes,” you nod, fingers dancing across his chest. “I’ve read records of previous Emperors and you’re the only that deserves that title. Unlike the other ones, you are resilient, intelligent, ruthless if necessary, and you even fight alongside your men which no other Emperor has done before.”

As each compliment came out of your mouth, Yoongi couldn’t help but feel himself starting to get hard underneath his lower robes, and you running your hands seductively over his chest definitely wasn’t helping.

“How should I repay you for your kindness then,” Yoongi found himself melting against your touch, his hands finding their way into your waist. “Because someone like you definitely deserves an reward for their loyalty.” Yoongi then turns you around in one quick motion, causing you to gasp at the sudden action and feeling his strong chest pressed up against your back and lips brushing against your ear.

A tiny moan escaped from your lips when feeling his hard length suddenly rub against your ass, you yourself starting to get hard as well. “Should I buy you plenty of jewelry, or maybe a large palace just for you?” Yoongi then pushed you up against the wall, smirking at the small gasp that came from you. “Or perhaps,” another moan came out of your mouth when one of his hands slipped underneath your robes and caressed the soft flesh of your behind, “make you wife?”

Yoongi chuckled when feeling shiver against him. “Yeah, you would like that, huh? Being my wife, an Empress, ruling right beside me?”

“Y-Yes, your Majesty,” you stuttered out, tilting your head back from the sensation, giving Yoongi the opportunity to lean down and leaving wet, tender kisses along your neck and bare shoulder, leaving dark bruises that’ll be near impossible to cover up tomorrow morning.

“Good,” Yoongi left another mark on your skin, dragging his finger across your ass, teasing your clenching hole with his fingertip. “Then how about we—secure our deal, then? And when you nodded, that was all Yoongi needed before turning you around to face him and crashing his lips down forcefully onto yours. The kiss was rough, yet tender and filled with lust. With your hands around his neck, Yoongi’s slid down to your thighs and hoisted you up into his arms, deepening the kiss with his lips moving in perfect sync against yours.

The kiss was like a drug that neither of you couldn’t get enough of.

“Please, your Majesty,” you whimpered against his lips, which made Yoongi want you even more than he already did. “Can you please h-hurry?”

Yoongi smirked against your lips, pulling away. “Don’t worry, my love, just be patient.”

It was quite ironic though, because Yoongi was everything but patient when it came to you. He couldn’t wait any longer. Instead of carrying you all the way to his chamber, he laid you on the closest flat surface which happened to be a table and tore your robes completely off of you, leaving you bare and them in ruins.

Yoongi decided to take his sweet time with you, dragging his lips across your ankles, up your legs to your meaty thighs. He then began to leave open mouth kisses over your abdomen and up your chest, teasing your nipples with his tongue and grazing the wet muscle over your collarbone. Yoongi continued his assault on your body until he reached back up your lips, capturing them this time into a soft, passionate kiss which you gladly returned without a second thought, hands sliding up to his shoulders and helping him strip from his own robes, revealing his pale and toned body.

Your mouth watered at the sight of him, eyeing his define muscles, the way his abs clenched as he climbed onto the table and hovered over you, and the way his biceps bulged as he held himself above you. “Y-Your Majesty—”

“Yoongi,” he cut you off, pulling away and moving his lips to your throat. “Call me, Yoongi, my love.”

“Y-Yoongi,” you tried out, heart warming in both of your chests once hearing his name come out of your mouth. It sounded right coming from you. “Please—”

“Don’t worry, my love,” Yoongi reassured you, moving his lips back up to yours. “I’m here, I’m here. Let me show you how it feels to be loved by a real man, yeah?”

The night was then soon filled with nothing but the sound your combined moans, skin slapping and the shared whispers of sweet words between one another.

This was the start of something new.

“T-Taehyung, faster, faster please!”

The sound of the woman’s moans and the bed’s headboard banging against the connecting wall to your room made your blood boil. Your hands clenched into fists and teeth biting angrily down onto your lips.

“Be patient, my love,” you could hear your husband say through the thin wall, making the rage that flowed through your veins grow more. “Let me cherish you, beautiful...”

“Your Highness,” the sound of a man’s voice tore you out of your thoughts, “I’ve done what you’ve asked me to do.”

“Everything’s prepared and ready?”

The guard nodded his head once you turned around, “yes, your Highness. The only people remaining in the palace are your loyal followers. Everyone else has been sent home.”

“Good,” only came out of your mouth before leaving your chambers with the guard following closely behind you. You walked over next door and didn’t bother knocking before barging right in, your husband and the girl instantly jumping to cover themselves with the thin bedsheets.

“What the fuck?!” Taehyung curses loudly, staring at you with wide eyes and wrapping his arms around the girl’s waist, pulling her close. “What are you doing here? I told already you that I’m staying here tonight.”

“I know,” you replied with not even a single ounce of emotion heard in your voice.

Taehyung’s eyes then shifted towards the guard that stood beside you. “What’s going on here?”

You didn’t say anything, only smiled, and that caused fear to form in the pit of Taehyung’s gut. With just the simple nod of your head, the guard walked over to the servant girl and snatched her by her hair, tearing her away from his grasp and yanking her off the bed and onto the ground.

“Stop—” Taehyung tried to reach for her but stopped when the guard pulled out a dagger and held the sharp blade against her neck, tears shining in her eyes. He then turned towards you, eyes glistening as well, “why are you doing this?”

“Change,” was all you said before nodding your head again, giving the guard the order to slide his blade across the girl’s throat, killing her instantly and letting her limp body collapse into the ground.

“N-No no,” Taehyung didn’t hesitate this time to jump out of the bed, despite being completely nude and taking her now lifeless body into his arms, blood staining the ground and his skin, and tears spilling uncontrollably from his eyes. “She was pregnant...”

“Oh well.”

Taehyung’s head shot up from your heartless comment, his teary eyes shining with a newfound rage. Before he had the chance to say anything the guard approached him from behind and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He immediately began clawing at his arms, trying to gasp for air that was becoming harder and harder to obtain, eyes bright red and nearly bulging out, tears slipping from them and sliding down his cheeks.

The last thing he saw before he took his last breath and eyes slowly closed was you standing in front of him with a sinister grin on your lips.

“Your Majesty.”

Yoongi glanced up from his book to see his personal advisor standing right in front of him by his library’s entrance. He hummed in reply, signaling for the young man to continue. We’ve gotten word from Lady Kim—” Yoongi glared at him, causing his advisor to pause and correct his words, “—I mean, ____’s agents that they have completed their duties.”

“They have?” Yoongi asked with a raised brow. He knew you were more than capable of doing this, but he thought something this major would take at least a week to accomplish. He didn’t expect to hear about any success a day later.

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded. “The Jung palace is flames at this moment and there is word that Jung Hoseok himself and his wife were in their chambers when the fire happened. And as for Park Jimin, he was found murdered in his bed with a dagger in his chest. Some say it was one of his concubines that done it.”

“What about Kim Taehyung?” Yoongi found himself asking, his mind instantly thinking of you. “Was ___ successful?”

“Yes, your Majesty he was,” his advisor answered. “I was informed about Kim Taehyung’s death by ___ himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips. “Good.”

“Would you like to start writing your succession speech now, your Majesty?”

“Yes,” Yoongi answered. “We’ll have the succession conference next week, and make sure every minor clan leader comes so that they know who is in charge now.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded his head, and before leaving he turned back and said to him in a teasing tone, “oh, and someone is here to see you.”

Yoongi was about to ask him who it was, but he stopped himself when his eyes suddenly landed on you standing in his library’s entrance, his heart stopping in his chest at the sight of you. “H-Hey,” he stuttered out, cringing at the sound of himself. In all his years of living, nobody has ever had this type of power over him—but he wasn’t complaining either.

“Hello, your Majesty,” your reply sent tingles all over his body—and he loved it.

There was nothing but silence afterwards between you two because there wasn’t any need for words. The only thing you two needed to express the feelings you have for each other was your eyes—the passion, the lust, the want that shined in them.

This is just the beginning for you two.

would you guys like to see a drabble series of these two in the future maybe? emperor yoongi and his male wife.

TAGLIST:

@ben-c0c, @sombreboy, @theclawofsa, @joongtoons, @xavi-in-kpopland, @ephemeralkookie, @yoshiure, @illbeyournightmare, @sonderkook, @spaceisbigger, @catboygyu, @justqueerandhereforthetea, @xxminilah​

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN11 Outline

After reading Hamefura LN11, I have tried to list out all the events happening in it.  I have also made a quick translation of some of the parts, which is accessible by clicking on the links.

Previously on LN10

Katarina is taking dark magic lessons with Raphael so that she could use the spells in the Dark Covenant once she deciphers them

Katarina can use dark magic by using a skull stick she summons from her shadow

When the whole harem accompanied Katarina to an outing to an orphanage, Nicol had prepared boxed lunch for everyone. As Keith kinda acted like a mother when Alan dropped food, Nicol told him he would be a good mother. To which Keith replied he is a man.

Katarina met Liam, an orphan who kept trying to run away from the orphanage to return to the slums. She couldn’t understand why, so she asked advice to Raphael. Following Raphael’s advice, she could have a proper talk with the boy and persuaded him to stop running away.

When Katarina told the boy she would be there for him, Sarah, who overheard it, started to feel emotions, which highly upset her.

Sarah attacked Katarina by wrapping her into a black mist. Geordo and Keith also got caught in it. In the darkness, the three of them couldn’t see anything, and they could only hear their own voices. Since she felt relaxed to have Geordo and Keith with her, Katarina was able to break the spell by sucking the black mist with her skull stick.

Chapter 1: The King's summon

Discussion between Luigi and Katarina

Luigi asks Katarina about her plans regarding her engagement with Prince Geordo.

Luigi tells Katarina she is free to break off her engagement if that's what she wants, because he would like her to marry the one she loves.

He advises her to figure out her feelings sooner rather than later so that she won't realize one day that she has already lost the one she loves because he married another person in the meanwhile.

During the discussion, Luigi told Katarina he sincerely thinks she could be a wonderful queen because she is not wrong for things that matters, she has an eye for people and has a talent to fascinate them.

Katarina asks Sora how to pick locks (Raphael x Katarina 1):

Katarina would like to learn how to pick locks to deal with her jail ending.

Katarina asks Sora to teach her, telling him she would like to be able to get out of jail, just in case. Sora refuses, saying she doesn't need to. Raphael unexpectedly comes to Katarina's help and convinces Sora to teach her. Sora explains that given Sorcier's locks, her best bet would be to create a key by molding a lock, but she can't use this technique if she is arrested on the spot. Raphael suggests she molds the lock by manipulating darkness. Katarina is excited since this could work. After Sora leaves, Raphael discreetly tells Katarina that he knows she is hiding something. He decided to help her since she seemed desperate. He won't ask her the reason, but he just wants her to promise she won't put herself in danger. If she breaks her word, he will “punish her” *dark smile*.

Dark Magic Practice: Katarina molds darkness into a key.

Katarina succeeds on her first try

Katarina and Maria are summoned by the King (Maria x Katarina 1)

The King has summoned Katarina and Maria to talk about the covenants. On the way, Maria is highly nervous thinking she will meet the King, so Katarina tries to help her relax

Katarina meets a young man at the shut-in uncle's place

When Katarina went to the bathroom before meeting the King, Pochi jumped out of her shadow and led her to the shut-in uncle's quarters. There she meets a gorgeous blond young man who seems to highly dislike her, calling her " Villainess Katarina Claes" for toying with Prince Geordo's feelings. This shocks Katarina to the core.

Katarina and Maria meet the King

The King summoned Katarina and Maria to tell them about the succession struggle which happened when the previous king died, which resulted in dark magic being leaked. He then apologizes for it as a royal. Katarina and Maria accept his apology. He concludes by asking for their help in catching dark magicians.

Note: during the meeting, Katarina talks very formally, as she thinks it is an opportunity to put to use all she learned about manners. She also takes the lead in the discussion as Maria is nervous.

Geordo and Alan meet up with Katarina and Maria

Geordo and Alan were worried Katarina and Maria would despise them after hearing about what their relatives did. They also wanted to apologize to them as royals. They were deeply relieved when Katarina and Maria told them they don't think of them differently

Geordo and Alan escort Katarina and Maria back to their carriage. On the way, Geordo notifies Katarina she has forgotten her bag so the two of them go back to the parlor to retrieve it.

Geordo's post-confession talk (Geordo x Katarina 1)

When Katarina stiffens after Geordo makes a move on her, he asked her whether she is scared of his approaches. It is then that Katarina realizes that all this time she was scared of love. Upon realizing this, she decides to face her feelings and Geordo's.

Katarina asks Sora about his past love experiences (Sora x Katarina 1)

Katarina has decided to "study love" and so asks Sora about his past experiences, for reference.

Keith's post-confession talk (Keith x Katarina 1)

since Keith confessed to her before, like Geordo, she wants to tell him she is scared of love but has decided to face her feelings and his.

Chapter 2: Let's go to the castle's library

During her day off, Katarina decides to search for a memo at the castle's library

Since she found the memo in the romance novel she forgot at the castle, Katarina thinks (for a reason I don't really understand) that she might find one in old folktales books in the castle's library

Katarina meets Alan at the library (Alan x Katarina)

Alan makes fun of her which leads to them going on a banter

Once they finishes, Katarina asks Alan if he has ever been in love

Katarina meets Nicol at the library (Nicol x Katarina)

Katarina meets Nicol at the library and he helps her searching for old folktales

Afterwards Katarina invites Nicol to join her for lunch

She asks Nicol about his "forbidden love" he mentioned to her once at her 15th birthday.

FL2 Dream sequence

After collapsing because of Nicol's passionate confession, Katarina has a Acchan playing FL2 dream

She saw Geordo's good ending when he proposes to and marries Maria

She learns the game ends one year after Maria enrolls into the Ministry

Katarina curses each name in the credits roll

She wakes up and talks a bit with Sophia

Misc events

Katarina goes back to the library and doesn't find a memo even after searching all afternoon. She calls it a day.

Katarina remembers her meeting with the young man she met at the shut-in uncle's quarters and notes that he really seemed to hate her for some reason

Katarina meets Geordo before going back home (Geordo x Katarina 2)

Katarina notes that Geordo seems normal despite their talk yesterday and feels a bit let down that she is the only one feeling awkward

Geordo escorts her back to her carriage while telling she has grown a lot during the *6 months* since she joined the Ministry

he reminded her he is waiting eagerly for her to sort her issues, hinting he remembers their talk from yesterday

Keith's unleashed sexiness (Keith x Katarina 2)

Once back home, Katarina realizes Keith has become extremely sexy and she has trouble withstanding it

Despite Keith growing into a fine young man, his sexiness factor was still inside him.

Katarina now nicknames him "The Devilish Count No 2".

Mental Meeting

After going to sleep, Katarina feels like she is forgetting something and thus launches a mental meeting to review all that happened during the day.

Based on what FL2!Geordo said in her dream and what Geordo told her before she went home, she has 6 months left before reaching the end of FL2

Chapter 3: The town where Maria and Dewey grew up

Dewey is down

Katarina meets Dewey when she arrives at the Ministry

Dewey is feeling down looking at Cyrus and Maria walking together

Dewey feels like Maria is out of his reach

Katarina notes that despite being incredibly smart, Dewey seems to lack self-confidence

Katarina wonders if she should ask Sora advice about Dewey (Sora x Katarina 2)

Katarina wonders if Sora knows about feelings of love, and Sora feels insulted she considers he doesn't

They end up wrestling to mess each other's hair

Katarina asks Raphael advice about Dewey (Raphael x Katarina 2)

Katarina notes that Raphael has become for her a reliable teacher she fully trusts

After listening to Katarina, Raphael advises Katarina to let Dewey handle his issue himself

He also adds that Dewey's self-confidence issues might be due to his poor upbringing. It is also possible that he has been continuously rejected by the people close to him.

Katarina tells Raphael he really is amazing, which makes him blush

Katarina asks Maria about Dewey's family

Maria tells her Dewey has a lot of siblings who work to support their home while their parents play around. He also had to continue working while attending school.

Maria wonders if Dewey's parents said something to him for him to be so dejected lately

Katarina knows the real reason why Dewey is dejected, but she simply tells Maria they should just watch over him without doing anything

Katarina and Maria agrees to go out together in town during their next day off

As Katarina has trouble staying awake, Maria tells her about a tea which takes away drowsiness. They agree on buying it together on their next day off

Katarina has tea with Laura, Nathan, Nix and Lisa before going home

Her Senpai invites Katarina to join them for tea

They consider Larna is a good superior despite the overtime they get

Nix and Lisa are childhood friends and they enrolled in the Ministry through a recommendation

Laura could have been recommended but she chose to pass the exam.

Nathan also passed the exam since he doesn't have any magic. He was raised by peddlers traveling the country who taught him a lot, and thanks to that he could successfully pass the exam. He chose to work at the ministry instead of staying with the peddlers because it was troublesome for them that he kept getting lost.

Nathan adds that despite all the help he got, he found the exam extremely difficult. He can't imagine the efforts of someone who could pass it by their strength alone (like Dewey).

The Claes' maids can't work because of Keith's sexiness

Upon returning home, Katarina realizes that the maid can't work because they are distracted by Keith's sexiness

Katarina has somehow gotten used to it, but she feels like she should fix the issue

She tried to decrease Keith's sexiness by messing up his hair and tearing down his clothes. It had the opposite effect.

Katarina takes a mental note to ask the Ascart's maids how they can work around Nicol without losing their minds

Katarina and Maria's day off

On their day off, Katarina go fetch Maria at the Ministry

When she arrives, Dewey is with Maria. She considers inviting him to join them

Dewey must return home

Larna arrives to deliver an urgent letter to Dewey

Dewey's younger sister, Bell, seems to be seriously ill. Panicked, Dewey requests permission to go home right away

Katarina offers to take him home with her carriage. Maria and Larna will also tag along.

Sarah's day off

Meanwhile, Sarah's master allowed her to do whatever she wanted today.

She still resents Katarina for throwing her heart in disarray

She knows Katarina will go out today, so she decides to go mess with her.

This is the first time she decides something of her own free will.

Reaching Dewey's house

Dewey's house is a shack at the outskirts of the town.

upon arriving, Dewey receives an angry welcome from his older brother Ronnie who asks him what he is doing here

Dewey tells him he has received a letter saying their sister Bell is gravely ill. Ronnie is confused since Bell is fine

It was Dewey's father who sent the letter so that Dewey would come home and give him money for drinks.

Dewey has been sending money to his siblings to support them, but it seems like his father has been using all of it for his drinks instead.

Hearing this, Ronnie drags his father to the house and they are apparently fighting. He yells at Dewey to go home since their family issues are not his business anymore.

Dewey is upset and asks Katarina and the others to go home ahead. Maria chases after him while Larna and Katarina will go "greet" Dewey's family

How Mr. Percy treats his children

When Larna and Katarina enters the house, Dewey's father is violently beating Ronnie

Larna uses her wind magic to blow the father far off the back. He faints.

Katarina rushes to Ronnie. He is badly injured with lots of blood on his mouth. He refuses to use Katarina's handkerchief saying "it is too beautiful to be stained by 'someone like him'"

Ronnie departs to work despite Katarina protesting he needs medical care. Before leaving, he tells his younger siblings to go hide so that their father won't pick on them when he wakes up. He also asks Katarina and Larna not to come back here and to tell Dewey not to send money anymore.

Dewey's father wakes up. Katarina asks him how he can do this to his children, to which he replies it is none of her business how he treats his children.

He shouts at his children to come out of hiding else he'll hit them

A little girl comes out, resigned. As he was about to hit her, Larna uses her wind magic to stop him. "Let me tell you one thing, scum. Your children are not your tools. They are human beings. They are not convenient things you can use as you please!". Then she blows a violent gust of wind and the father is KO.

Katarina asks Larna if it is okay to use magic on civilians. Larna will go contact the Ministry regarding that.

The siblings can’t see Dewey because Ronnie forbade it

Katarina rushes to the little girls and asks if she is alright. After comforting her, she learns that in fact all the siblings want to see Dewey but their old brother Ronnie forbade it, saying Dewey is different from them now.

Katarina decides to go talk to Ronnie and heads to his workplace

Chapter 4: The brothers' feelings

Dewey's past

Ever since he can remember, Dewey had to work while his parents used all their money to play around. He was called worthless and beaten up when he couldn't do anything, and he was not even allowed to go to school

He admired his brother Ronnie who was always taking care of their siblings. He wanted to help him and decided that he needed to study to get a good job and ultimately escape poverty

He put his all into studying, putting up with all the hardships, and it paid off.

When he enrolled into the Ministry of Magic, he was finally able to move out of his house.

He has been sending money to improve the life of his siblings, but this was in vain since it had all been spent by their parents.

He never came home during days off because life was more comfortable at the dorms. So in the end, he threw away his siblings.

Maria comforts Dewey (Dewey x Maria 1)

Dewey and Maria both had hardships. But unlike him, she goes back to their hometown whenever she has a day off. Maria has overcome her hardships while he threw away his siblings for a better life.

Dewey tells Maria he is alright and that it is natural his brother would reject him.

Maria can tell Dewey is putting on a brave front and tells him it is okay to cry.

Dewey can't hold back his tears. Once he calms down, he realizes Maria is holding him against her chest. He gets off her, all flustered.

Maria convinces Dewey to have a proper talk with his brother

Katarina talks with Ronnie

After a while, Katarina catches up with Ronnie

She tells him she wants to talk but Ronnie replies he doesn't have the time since he has to go to work

Katarina tries to dissuade him from working with his injuries. As Ronnie replies he doesn't have a choice since he needs money to feed his siblings, Katarina suggests he asks Dewey for help.

Katarina confronts Ronnie about the reason he asked Dewey not to come back. From where she stands, Ronnie seems to care a lot for Dewey.

Ronnie explains Dewey is his pride and that's why he doesn't want him to be burdened with "scums" like them who are uneducated.

Katarina replies she sincerely thinks that Ronnie is a wonderful person since he works hard for his siblings.

Sarah attacks Katarina and Ronnie

Sarah arrives and tells Katarina she has come to mess with her because she feels pain in her heart because of her. As she said so, Sarah looks like a child on the brink of tears for a split second, before recovering her usual smile.

She attacks Katarina by throwing black snakes towards her. Katarina gets distracted comparing them to her snake toys, so Ronnie ends up shielding her and is hit on the arm.

There is a black mark where the snakes hit and Ronnie is trying hard to withstand the pain.

Katarina asks Ronnie to run away but he refuses to leave her alone in face of danger. However, he changed his mind when Katarina assured him she can defend herself and that she needs him to get help.

After Ronnie left, Sarah tells Katarina she hates how kind she is.

She then summons black mist and wraps Katarina in it. Katarina easily breaks the spell by sucking the mist using her stick.

Before Sarah casts another spell, Katarina rushes towards her and seizes her arm.

She tells her she wants to have a proper talk with her since, unlike her, she doesn't hate her and wants to know more about her.

Once again, Sarah looks like a little child. Sarah brushes Katarina away and runs away.

Sarah remembers her past

Katarina's smile reminded Sarah of the smiles her mother used to give her when her father still came home, and the ones the little boy gave her.

And then she remembered the night when she found her mother dead, killed by some men she didn't know.

At that moment Sarah awakened fire magic. She was then taken away by the men. As her consciousness faded, she saw the smiles of her mother and the little redhead boy.

After remembering, Sarah's emotions are in complete disarray

Katarina heals Ronnie's arm

Now that the incident is over, Katarina rushes to catch up with Ronnie so that he won't overdo it with his injuries.

Once she catches up, she thanked him and thinks to herself how amazing Ronnie is for frantically running in this state and protecting a complete stranger

The black mark is still on Ronnie's arm. She decides to try sucking up the mark by discreetly using her stick. She succeeds and Ronnie is alright now.

The Percy brothers’ talk

Katarina keeps trying to convince Ronnie to see Dewey again. She insists Dewey is probably proud of him and doesn't see him as a burden but Ronnie remains stubborn

Dewey arrives and confirms what Katarina said. He really admires Ronnie and feels mad that Ronnie thinks of himself as a burden to him. After all, it is thanks to Ronnie that Dewey could enroll into the Ministry, since all this time, he had carried out both his work and Dewey's so that he could study. Besides, even if Dewey started studying because he wanted to leave their house, the reason he kept making efforts is because they wanted all of them to leave their house. That's why he would like Ronnie to stop keeping him away so that they could all go out together. Ronnie finally gives in.

The Percy siblings will move to the Ministry's houses for employees

When they return to their house, the Percy siblings and Larna's subordinates are tidying up the house and Dewey's father has disappeared.

Larna explains that since Dewey's parents didn't work, she has introduced them to a live-in job and sent them there at once. The parents will work hard there for a while but she can contact them on their behalf if needed. Also, since Ronnie can't take care of all his siblings by himself, they will all move to the Ministry's houses for employees where the siblings can be looked after during the day.

Ronnie is livid thinking of the moving fees, but Larna assures him it will all be paid with the money the parents will make. As for the daycare, Dewey and Ronnie can split the fees among themselves.

Larna will introduce Ronnie to a job.

Both brothers thank Larna from the bottom of their hearts

Katarina reports to Larna about her encounter with Sarah

As Sarah said "she had found Katarina", it seems like Sarah can track her

Larna gives Katarina a magic tool which will enable her to contact her whenever she is in danger

She also asks her to use Pochi whenever she is in danger since he is strong

Wrap up of the Percy sibling's issue

Maria heals Ronnie's injuries

Maria invites Katarina to her house

As the Percys don't need further help, Katarina decides to go back ahead.

But it is still early, so Maria proposes to visit her house

To her surprise, Maria tells her her mother is out, but her father might be there

Maria wants to face her father

Maria tells Katarina she hasn't talked much with her father since she awoke her magic.

When she awakened her magic, her family became the target of rumors and then her father stopped coming home at some point

but after watching Dewey's family, she decided that she would also face her father and have a proper talk with him

Katarina gives Maria her support and they go to Maria's house hand in hand

Chapter 5: The father and the daughter's feelings

Maria and her father

Since the time Katarina visited her house, she could have a proper talk with her mother. Her mother changed a lot since then, going out of the house almost everyday, whether to work or to enjoy time with friends. But her father still hasn't come home.

Maria's father regularly sneakily delivers money to her mother for their living expenses.

Maria thought her father hated her, until she learned that he knew she had enrolled into the ministry.

She also noticed that the rumors have changed. The rumors about her and her mother have been replaced by bad rumors about her father drinking, acting violently and passing out drunk outside.

Maria is afraid to ask her father if she hates her, but after watching Dewey and his brother talking, she decided she won't run away anymore

Maria talks with her father

As expected, Maria sees her father near her house and calls out to him

She tells him she had always thought he hated her. Based on his reaction she is relieved to see she was wrong.

Then she tells him about the rumors having changed. She asks him if he had been behaving badly on purpose to redirect the rumors towards him. After all, this doesn't make sense. He falls asleep right after whenever he drinks, and he still properly works and gives them money for their living expenses. From her father's reaction she realizes she is right.

Maria tells her father he doesn't need to protect them anymore. Both her and her mother have friends who understand them. Maria introduces Katarina to him.

Maria finally says that both she and her mother are stronger than before, so they won't let any rumor bring them down.

Maria's father accepts to come back home. However he has to return to work, so he can't move back right away. Maria is looking forward to seeing him at home on her next day off.

Katarina is really happy for Maria. Maria thanks Katarina for giving her courage

Let's go eat some sweets

Maria leaves a message to her mother about her talk with her father.

Since they didn't have lunch, Katarina asks Maria if they can go to the area near the castle to have some sweets. Maria accepts

Upon arrival, Maria reminds Katarina about the tea which takes away drowsiness so Katarina decides to go buy it first

Stumbling upon the harem (Harem Shenanigans)

Katarina and Maria see Alan near the tea shop.

He and all the others have been waiting for them since they wanted to spend some time with Katarina

In addition to Alan, Mary, Geordo, Sophia, Nicol and Keith are also there. They all go shopping for tea and then have sweets.

At some point, Mary casually asks where Katarina and Maria were, so Katarina tells them about all the incidents that happened during the day

Hearing this, the harem lectures Katarina again

Susanna reports to Jeffrey (Jeffrey x Susanna)

They are both concerned about Katarina being involved with dark magic once again

Jeffrey notes that Susanna didn't keep her cool in regards to her using magic on Dewey's father

Susanna explains that she couldn't stop herself after seeing how horribly Dewey's father treated his children. After all, she can't stand parents who treat their children as tools, like her father, Marquis Randall, does.

She rebelled against him, but unlike Ronnie, she didn't protect her siblings from him. Her siblings are probably mistreated by their father but she can't do anything for them now, and feels powerless.

Jeffrey comforts her

Sarah sees her master with his associate

Sarah’s master’s associate is someone who knows Sarah

He has been greatly enjoying observing Sarah during experiments

Sarah’s master calls him with a “-sama” suffix

Sarah doesn’t like him

Dewey thanks Katarina and Sora

The next day, when she arrives to the Ministry, Katarina sees Dewey and Sora together

Dewey is cheerful and vehemently thanks Katarina, who feels embarrassed

Sora has helped with the moving of the Percy siblings yesterday, so he has also come to properly thank him

Dewey is pretty happy about his siblings' new home and feels grateful to Larna

Dewey asks Maria out for lunch (Dewey x Maria 2)

Maria arrives and greets everyone with a sparkling smile. Only Sora is unaffected.

Dewey asks Maria if he can invite her for lunch as a thank-you for what she did yesterday. He asks her in a cute way, like a shota character.

Sora explains to Katarina that since Dewey told him he liked an older girl, he taught him some technique to make older girls fall for him.

Maria accepts and then asks Katarina when she will be free. Because Dewey has invited "everyone".

Katarina awkwardly tells Maria she will check her agenda. Dewey is dejected and Sora can't help laughing.

Sora notes that Maria is dense like a certain someone

[creatorofchaos]

Dream SMP’s Pandora’s Vault - the Prison

I think it is important we theorize who could end up in the prison. We, of course are at a disadvantage as we do not know, even vaguely anymore, how the story will progress.

Notes:

Dream has said the prison is for someone capable on December 27, 2020.

He also said that it is NOT for Tommy.

It has been built in such a way that the prisoner would lose all three canon lives, as once again mentioned by Dream.

The last one is important because there would be no point in adding it if Dream did not want to put emphasis on the whole ‘three lives’ thing. If it was someone with less than three lives, then there is no point to mentioning this fact. Checkov’s Gun and all that fun stuff.

This eliminates a large swath of people just on the last point alone. Such names include: Tommy, Philza, Tubbo, Fundy, Quackity, Sapnap, and Schlatt (see Wilbur reaction to game theory video and him realizing that Schlatt still technically has one canon life left).

Another group can be quickly eliminated: the Badlands. They helped build the prison, have wanted to be allies with the Dream SMP, and will more than likely be the prison guards.

One other honorable mention is Dream himself. Although there was a chance he could have been tricked into being locked up in the prison by the angry L’Manbergians, Dream has eliminated such a threat.

So, who does that leave on Dream’s actual threat radar? Techno, Wilbur, Ranboo, Eret, George, and someone else (see below for possible individual)

1. Technoblade - Likely, but Predictable

He has been a fan favorite to be locked up since the prison started. He also fits the two actual requirements above. He’s capable in many aspects of the game and has all three of his canon lives left.

However! Dream and Techno have a oddly positive relationship. There has not been one hint of animosity between the two that wasn’t brushed over with new friendship in a near instant. We all thought Techno would protect Tommy from Dream but when Dream confronted Techno about housing Tommy, Techno said he and Tommy were business partners and he wouldn’t be handing Tommy over to Dream unless Dream wanted that favor turned in. Dream brushed it off and didn’t take Techno’s words as a threat.

Furthermore, why would Dream throw away an ally that shows every reason to side with Dream. Although Techno may be an immovable wall for Dream, Techno is a wall. If Dream leaves him alone, he won’t do anything to Dream. So Techno is no threat to Dream.

It seems that if it is Techno, it would be too predictable. The writing that has gone into this has largely been good at hiding the obvious by using Techno as a scapegoat. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d do the same here.

2. Wilbur - Unlikely, but Interesting

Why Wilbur? Isn’t he dead? Well, on Doomsday, Ghostbur wanted to be resurrected, which is apparently happening on the 10th of January. As shown by Jack Manifold breaking down death’s door, and regaining his three lives, Wilbur could do the same. (This last bit is based on various posts I saw about jack’s January 6th stream).

So what? Wilbur’s back alive. What’s the big deal? Well, he’d have all three lives back, he’s very capable (and can be quite manipulative), and all of a sudden, has figured out a way to escape death. The three canon deaths rule is something that separates Dream from the peasants of the server. He would feel threatened by someone figuring out how to overcome death, so it would be in his best interest to lock said person up.

Furthermore, Wilbur has always been a threat to Dream, being able to rally people to his side in a way that Tommy can’t, while having the morals Dream himself lacks. A threat to Dream Dominance, if I’ve ever heard of one.

3. Ranboo - Possible, but Pointless

Ranboo has a major drawback that he only shares with Ghostbur: his short term, emotion-driven, memory loss.

He seems like a likely candidate. He’s well liked and could rally the server behind him in a way that echoes of Wilbur’s L’Manberg. He’s highly capable in defeating Dream with those abilities, already allying Techno and Phil to a point where Techno wouldn’t even harm him during Doomsday.

However, Ranboo’s memory loss is his major drawback. If his memory book is altered, he won’t know, and will move on without having been the wiser. Dream knows this and has already proven he is willing to do it, having stolen Ranboo’s book to show his traitorship to L’Manberg. Dream can simply just manipulate Ranboo without ever needing to lock him up. It would be pointless for Dream to use the prison on Ranboo.

4. Eret - Unlikely, and also Pointless

Eret, like Ranboo has a drawback that Dream can easily manipulate: his kingship. Eret, time and time again has proven that he will sacrifice everything else to keep the crown, and thus remain subject to Dream. If he gets too rebellious, Dream can just put another puppet on the throne and wait for the steam to blow over before gifting it back to Eret, restoring their uneasy alliance. Dream doesn’t need to build another prison for Eret because Eret already willingly goes to his prison: the castle.

5. George - Extremely Unlikely, but Extremely Heartwrenching

George is Dream’s one and only weakness. George rarely logs on in the server, which makes Dream appear invincible. However, whenever George is active, he is a constant liability to Dream. He is constantly in danger solely because of Dream’s attachment to him. Any time George is active, Dream’s plans are hindered and have to normally be adjusted accordingly to keep George happy.

What better way to cover a liability than locking it up so it can’t be harmed. Not only is the prison in breakable to escape from, but it is also impenetrable to those who are not familiar with its intricacies.

No one can harm George - and thus, Dream - if they can’t get to him.

6. The Random - CaptainSparklez - Nearly Impossible, but the Most Story Driven and World Building Possibility

Sparklez is very much so a fan favorite for the next YouTuber to join the Dream SMP. He is also highly respected and connected to the current members. He has accepted the canon of Tubbo being his son and Tubbo accepting Sparklez as his dad. The only people who didn’t grow up watching Sparklez play Minecraft are BBH (25) and Philza (32). Wilbur, possibly, would not have been largely influenced by Sparklez as he is 24. However, many of the others have said they grew up watching Sparklez; they were born in Revenge.

More importantly, they all, more than likely, grew up watching Sparklez play Mianite, a role playing server that has many parallels with Dream SMP.

Furthermore, Mianitian Isles just ended before Christmas, right when the prison was finished.

There have been rumblings about the mysterious red egg being connected to the Darkness from Mianite (forgot the AU name) and what better way to actually pull it off.

Dream has a motive to locking up Sparklez for two different scenarios:

1. If Dream is actually evil because of the red egg - the Darkness - he would want to lock up a world hopping Sparklez so that the Captain couldn’t foil the plans of the Darkness.

2. If Dream is not evil because of the Darkness but some other reason, he still wouldn’t want someone with a just moral compass unconditionally allying Tubbo, and thus Tommy, against him. What better way than locking up the Captain the moment he joins the world, never able to even contact his son of his arrival.

Sparklez, even without his Mianitian demigod status, is more than a capable adversary. The mans was built around puzzle maps, parkour challenges, and escapes. He even has done adventure maps where he has escaped prisons, on many more than one occasion.

He also, you know, has three lives upon entering.

I’m not saying I have a clear favorite, but I have a clear favorite.

Melt me know what you think down below!

[imagines-mha]

Some Hope is Better than None

Description: Keigo is determined to infect you with Stockholm Syndrome after spying on you in college. You are extremely stubborn.

TW: bruises, mentions of shouting, dubcon, kidnapping, mindbreak

word count: 1.3k

based on: an anon ask

•❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥•

It started off as paranoia.

When you woke up to grab a drink in the middle of the night. When you sat, hunched over your desk working on an essay. When you came home from a night out, drunk and vulnerable. That's when you felt it most.

It wasn't exactly off putting at first. A nagging feeling in your chest, that was all. You broke it down to just your mind playing tricks on you. Because you had just moved into a new apartment, you were bound to feel uneasy. You were bound to feel something watching you. You were bound to find some odd coincidences here and there

To him, you were bound to fall prey.

So when he finally caught you, you could only blame yourself for not reading the signs

You weren’t an idiot, but you were oblivious. He would watch as your face twisted in confusion, looking around the kitchen as though you knew he was spying on you. You almost caught him a few times, but he didn’t need to overthink it. He loved the chase anyway.

He loved watching you walk home, your expression growing with more and more worry as the days went on. His hints were getting larger, more obvious, like finding your computer had already been started up before you logged in, or your kitchen lights seemed to be on when you were almost certain you had switched them off. But you shrugged it off, because giving into your paranoia would mean losing all hope. And some hope was better than none.

But to him, you were nothing but a fool. A fool he was going to win without breaking a sweat.

“Birdie,” he coos in the sickening voice he always holds when he wants something from you.

You know by conditioning that, if you don’t answer him politely, you’ll be punished. The first few days of your arrival- no, your kidnapping, you fought against him. The bitterness of your own stupidity mixed with disgust at his actions emptied itself in a wretched form of adversity. And then he had stripped you from your life, pinned you down when you were most vulnerable, and used you like you were nothing but a vessel for his pleasure.

You had no idea how long you had been down here now, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did. You were erased, barely even human. He had provided enough evidence to cover up your disappearance to the point it would be futile to even try to escape- because no one would know who you were anyways. That was the thing about being kidnapped by one of the most powerful men in your city: his connections outweighed your sanctity.

You take a deep breath.

“I’m here,” you say, tone dripping with honey

Of course you were here. Where else would you be? Since you came here, you had spent your days cuffed to the bedposts of a king sized bed, and your nights by his side wherever he chose to venture. You had no free will, no choice to go where you wanted. You couldn't even stand up for thirteen hours of the day

But at least he had given you a nice room

No. You couldn’t think that. That was what he wanted you to think. His goal is to have you in every way, shape and form. His goal is to make you love him. You know by the way he speaks down to you, the way he showers you in praise and affection in return for good behaviour, the way he rewards you with showers and your favourite music in exchange for your affection. He was conditioning you into loving him. And you weren’t going to fall for it.

You look up at the doorway for the first time, pushing back the tiny pang of glee in your heart. This is not a feeling of love. This is a feeling of excitement to be freed from your bounds, and they were not to be confused.

He appears moments later, face illuminated by the nightlight on your bedside, causing tiny stars and moons to decorate his right side. He’s wearing his work uniform, save for the jacket. Muscled arms cross over each other, and he leans on the doorframe, taking in your tiny, shrivelled figure in the corner.

If he wasn't holding you hostage and torturing you, you might have found him attractive.

You shrug the feeling off.

“I was thinking…” he trails off, stepping into the room, his boots making the floorboards creak.

You know by his voice that he is in a good mood, but it wasn’t guaranteed. When he elongated the ends of his sentences in an almost bargaining tone, you knew it meant his mood was good now, but could flip very easily depending on which side of the bargain you choose.

You don't want to think about the last time you chose the wrong deal, confidence in your voice. How the chains jangled when he sent you crashing to the floor with the back of his palm alone. How he took your nightlight and revoked your rights to dinner for the next two days. How he screamed.

Oh, how he screamed.

You gulp and straighten up, willing to do whatever he asked of you.

“Why dont we play our favourite game?” he asks, “i had a great day today, and you wouldnt wanna ruin it on me now, would you?”

You almost laugh. He said it as if you had a choice. As if he would actually listen.

You suppose it could be worse. Anything was better than what would happen if you said no. But you were hungry. He had forgotten to feed you breakfast on his way out today, and you suppose he was too busy to remember. It was best not to dwell too much on it, but you hoped he would at least remember dinner.

Maybe after the game, if you ask nicely

You feel his calloused hands undo your chains, and then softly rub at where they dented into your skin. You were used to that, more than anything. When he left you in for longer, your hands and ankles would swell, and then glow with bright red marks that made you feel limp.

They were pretty, though.

You knew this because he told you. Keigo wasn’t the type to call you pretty unless he really meant it, so you knew they were. They made you beautiful, so you didn't mind.

“Smile, baby” he coos again, taking out his polaroid and snapping all of three pictures, the harsh clicks making you uneasy.

You, leant against the bedposts in a tattered nightgown and bruised wrists, weak and malnourished, smiling up at him like he had just saved your life.

You, who did not realise how quickly you were playing into his court

“I’ll count to fifty this time,” he reaches out to pet your hair, and then swiftly retracts his fingers. You can't blame him. Your hair is beyond fixing, and you need a shower desperately. Maybe that would make him remember.

But not now. Showering was not a priority now. You needed to hide.

So you set off through the grand, three story house, taking into mind where and where not you were allowed to venture. The rules were easy. If Keigo caught you in under twenty minutes, he won and you had to reward him with something of his choice. Usually this meant letting him fuck you, or sucking him off until he told you to stop.

But if you won, it meant you could watch a movie of your choice! Anything you wanted!

You haven’t won before, and a tiny voice in the back of your head shouts at you for believing this was a genuine game and not another stupid form of manipulation, but you ignore it.

Some hope was better than none, after all.

[taurustony]

The True Mighty Bison - Season V edition.

Some weeks ago, I had a very productive discussion on twitter with Steven Mane about the subject of this essay, and he brought up very good points, an alternative theory (not as out there as mine) and reminded me I haven't actually added the ACTUAL Seth info from his story and Arcade endings to this text. Now that even Rose is on the game (although she didn't bring new info on this front), Let's update this very wild theory about our favorite psycho powered dictator. For the day you discovered the truth about M. Bison was the most important of your Street Fighter fan life. But for them, it was only Tuesday. HEAVY SPOILERS FOR SETH'S SFV STORY MODE AND ENDING. and in a lesser intensity, Rose's. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is M. Bison. Bison is one first class A-hole who runs the biggest crime syndicate on the world (Shadaloo), wants to spark global destruction if not given global domination and has a tendency to kidnap 16 year old girls.  Bison also wields something called Psycho Power. Through profane rituals (more of this in a bit), He is the biggest source/receptacle of it. this power is also destroying his body, which leads to the only thing he likes more than kidnapping 16 year old girls: Body Swapping. The body in the picture is not his original body, not even his first, but is the... model we are most used to see him using. This is how you would imagine him if one mentioned M. Bison. In SFV he finally got grey/white hair, but originally this body had black hair.

however...

These are Ed and Falke. They are CLONED Bodies of Bison, They are both spare bodies for M. Bison, created in a attempt to build a body strong enough to hold his power. They are both of the most recent attempt, the newer models so to speak. As far as we know, they are all biological (a point that will come up later) and since CAPCOM use the word CLONES, they share the same DNA as Bison. Physically speaking, they are around their late teens, although being much younger actually (both suffered from accelerated aging). They escaped Shadaloo due to the fact that an older model ended up destroying the base where they were being held. speaking of the Devil....

These are Seth and Abel.  Also, spare bodies of Bison. But (un)fortunately, they developed a conscience and independence. While Abel ran away and joined the french army, Seth created a splinter cell from Shadaloo called S.I.N. and planned a hostile takeover of the syndicate. One interesting fact is that both Seth and Abel are the SAME MODEL of bodies, but Seth installed the upgrade of the Tanden Engine on his body. So Seth was once like Abel and if given enough time and the proper modifications, Abel could become like Seth.  One recent release on Street Fighter V revealed the Seth was always more machine than man. If that is plainly due the Tanden Engine modification and what this means to Abel, its still unknown. both (Abel more than Seth) still have Bison’s DNA on them. Also, Bison considers this batch of clones a FAILED experiment Seth was the final Boss of Street Fighter IV, and Abel was the protagonist of that series. but, the older models are the more interesting ones.

These are Cammy and Decapre. Both are the oldest clone models player knew until recently. They are also fully biological and the first successful vessels for Psycho Power. Decapre is actually a “ Cammy Alpha“, a first attempt to create Cammy herself. Being fully biological, they ALSO carry Bison’s DNA. While Cammy became independent and joined the British Army, Decapre stayed brainwashed and a weapon for Shadaloo until recently (SFIV). Both Decapre and Cammy were part of a shadaloo project call “The Dolls project“: Most of the Dolls were the kidnapped teenage girls mentioned before, who were also test beds for Bison’s mind control via psycho power. There were 12 Dolls (Decapre and other 11), with Cammy being a 13th, codenamed Killer Bee. As of now, you probably noticed: 3 males, 3 females. We might be onto something here. But remember that profane ritual I mentioned? One of the results was this lady here...

This is Rose. In order to get full access to Psycho Power, Bison had to EXPEL ALL THE GOOD ENERGY FROM HIS SOUL. No joking. the good half of Bison’s Soul incarnated on a young Italian GIRL who was being born that moment and who grew up to be a incredible psychic and fortune teller ,plus the most powerful user of the SOUL POWER, the opposite to Bison’s Psycho Power. so Rose is the REINCARNATION of Bison’s soul, or at least half of it. After the events of SF Alpha 3, Bison even used Rose’s body as a vessel, to hide himself from the authorities. How she was freed and what happened to her during SFII is still unknown. Street Fighter V didn't really expanded on the relationship between Rose and Bison, as much as confirmed that as of the end of A Shadow Falls (SFV general story mode), Bison's is truly gone, at least as definitive as Rose can sense. Let's also remember that, until the interference of Rose herself, Cammy/Killer Bee was considered a succesfull attempt at creating the perfect body. If Rose hadn't freed Cammy's mind, which was as close to a blank slate and receptive as possible, its highly probable that Bison would be using her body instead. Still with me? STREET FIGHTER V: ARCADE EDITION added another point on this list: SETH was released in 2020 as a playable character, part of Season IV. HOWEVER, the FORM he appeared is quite the surprise.

THIS IS SETH! YES, THAT SAME SETH!! (a name tag on SFV confirms this is number 15, the seth that was at the center of SFIV events) After having all of his bodies destroyed during SFIV, his brain was placed by Juri on an old body known as DOLL UNIT 0. The interesting thing here is that Jury is doing this in behalf of a third party, identified only as voice on phone. This voice expected a male body, while Juri didn't even noticed (or cared) that Seth or DU0's had a gender. Doll Unit 0's body accepted Seth's biological brain without a problem. Seth's mind however, is on turmoil. When integrating with the DU0' original personality, something went wrong and Seth went completely batshit crazy. He only sees Psycho Power, and mistook Ed and Falke as being Bison himself, due to their Psycho Power energy. Some lines, such as this Seth is true perfection hints on a ongoing attempt of accepting the new body. The Arcade mode ending and an extra Seth on his Critical Art during his V-trigger 1 also hints that Seth's true power lies in the INTEGRATION with this new body. ALL OF THESE, ALL OF IT, are just canon facts from the SF series lore.  now for the speculation. Bison is not using the original body. And psycho power, specially the levels Bison desires, requires quite the strong one, which factors on why his current body is failing these days. why he had to abandon his original body? My only guess is that the profane ritual either destroyed it in the process or damaged it beyond repair. but at this point, Bison already had gained the power to posses other bodies. Doll Unit 0, the prototype for the perfect vessel, is female. Bison’s soul incarnated on a female body and until very recently, when his clone technology developed enough to create more radical deviations, the clones were all female. While there is several attempts of male bodies they are a late development and not only there is only one almost successful male body, it is the one that requires constant replacing AND Bison is trying to upgrade from, because it's not enough. But, the creation of a male body is stiil on the table and being attempted. Considering CAPCOM’s own words, that Seth is more machine than man, we can guess that Abel is probably just the biological basis for Seth, who is mostly the Tanden Engine and a biological brain. This is what was implemented into Doll Unit 0, who was completely female at that point, maybe even fully biological since Cammy, the earliest successful clone so far is fully biological as well. If we compare to real world cloning technology, cloning someone of the same gender is easier and more direct than altering the gender. Then there is the not-satated-but-extremely-obvious-fact that DU0 was the true first attempt at the tech that would produce Cammy, meaning, Shadaloo’s cloning tech was tested with HER. This also means that Doll Unit 0 IS EXTREMELY SIMILAR, IF NOT IDENTICAL, TO BISON'S ORIGINAL BODY. in conclusion: Bison’s original body is FEMALE and something close to this:

Thanks BbbSFXT from Deviant Art for the Mod and the picture. On the last version, I considered Mistress Bison being blonde, but thinking it through, it was more wishful thinking, trying to make them close to Cammy. Clones being a blonde is probably a side effect of DNA manipulation. Blond hair is recessive, and putting on the simplest, almost insulting way possible, it means blonde only happens if both sides of the DNA have the same code for hair. Since Bison is using the same DNA over and over, it makes sense clones would end up blonde. This also fits with DU0 being a very early prototype, with almost Bison's entire DNA intact, including the code for them hair. And now let's talk mysticism: There is the whole Yin/Yang theme surround everything Psycho Power, explicitly shown in Seth's design, but it was already there, at least as early as the Alpha/Zero series. In the balance of the Yin/Yang symbolism, Yin, the black part, can represent a “feminine principle” and also, can be a suffix/preffix meaning shadow. While Yang, the white part, can represent a “masculine principle” and also can be a suffix/preffix meaning light. these are parts in all living beings, be them male or female.

Psycho Power, the shadow, is feminine. Soul Power, the light, is masculine. There is a inversion of the symbolism here, with Bison, the male body, using the yin and Rose, the female body, using the yang. But the catch is: Rose is not a traditional reincarnation of Bison (obvious reasons) but received Bison's yang, on top of her natural one. This counts on why Rose is so powerful with Soul power. And while she doesn't seem to suffer a physical instability like Bison, as fortune teller and psychic, seem to be incredibly sensitive to strong emotions and energies around her (How the mind of G affected her on SFV being a exemple), I would argue that this extreme sensitiveness is the side effect of that extra yang energy. Let's also consider that while Bison wants MORE shadow and went way beyond what his natural body could hold, Rose stayed pretty much at her natural levels, as far as we know. So Bison's instability can be accounted as using insane levels of pure feminine energy inside a male body. Seth, the genderless one, will only find harmony in accepting his female body. Rose, the female body, is the only of them to have any kind of control and estability. This all points towards Mistress Bison, and that's the hill I'm dying on. this also ties to the idea proposed by Steven Mane: Psycho Power is closely related to the feminine and can't function properly, or at all, with men. Bison forcing that is the base reason for the physical instability. Which leads us to... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven Mane's alternative theory of Psycho Power

The main gist here is that there isn't really any indication that Bison's OG body is any different from the one he uses today (which is true. There isn't a single line about it on the canon sources). The initial lack of male clones is accounted simply as that we haven't seen enough male clones, and they might have existed since Killer Bee's times. In his views, everything so far points to Bison desiring a male body. However, Psycho power works better with women, or was meant to be used by women. There is another fighting game with a similar plot, Skullgirls, in which the main McGuffin for that story is a mystical artifact that only works with women, which is why most of the cast of that game is female. And after Rose's SFV ending, I wouldn't put behind CAPCOM to lift another game's plot point for their own, specially one that would fit well with the already stablished canon. However, Steven Mane's best argument for this comes from SFA3 itself, or rather, the PSP version of SFA3. But before we get to that, let's go down on the memory lane and remember the facts.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, also known as Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper in Japan, is so far the last version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 released and it is an exclusive of the Playstation Portable console. The Alpha/Zero Series is the main focal point when talking about Bison and Psycho Power, as it's the series where Rose first appeared and in Alpha 3, we have the only canon appearance of Cammy as Killer Bee (on the intro of her first fight against Rose) and the first playable Dolls, Juli and Juni. SFA3 MAX is also, up to the publication of this, the only game in the series to have a guest character (the jury is still out on SFV last season V character). "Wait, Tony" you ask "Don't you mean 4 guest characters?" Eagle and Maki are not guests: They were always part of the Street Fighter franchise, and are contemporary to the events of the game . Yun makes a non-canon appearance which is explained by time travel (in his own quotes), since the events of Alpha series happen way when he was nothing but a toddler. But he is still part of the franchise, so not a guest, per se.

Ingrid, however, is a conundrum wrapped inside a enigma and kept inside a locked puzzle box missing some of its pieces. That is inside a cave inside a volcano under the pacific ocean. On the mariana trenches.

Ingrid is from a failed, unreleased CAPCOM game called CAPCOM Fighting All-Stars. Her first playable appearance is the ill-received crossover game CAPCOM Fighting Jam, known in Japan as CAPCOM Fighting Evolution.

In All-Stars, she was kind of a regular fighter, with a special importance to the plot and final boss. The very little we know about the plot hints on her being something beyond human. She carried a code Isis, is nicknamed the Eternal Goddess, and is said to posses the power of longevity.

On Fighting Jam, she has to solve some issues she had with Pyron, the final boss of that game and an alien who is basically a living sun and is hinted to be what ended the dinosaurs (i swear this is Darkstalkers Canon) Her ending there is... weird.

I brought this up because it adds a tiny little bit of context to her SFA3 MAX ending.

Ingrid claims ownership of the psycho power. Notice that its the power itself, not the Psycho Drive Bison's uses. And Bison is aware of that. Roses recognizes both as users of Psycho Power, even though she doesn't recognizes Ingrid. Also note at 00:59 that the focus point of the psycho drive carries Ingrid's Seal, the same one on the cups on her head AND the one she summons on her Fighting Jam ending. Oh, and she is capable of time travel. but no mention if she was the one who brought Yun to SFA3 time, though. What this all mean? Speculation time: According to Steven Mane's theory: With Ingrid being the creator of psycho power, Psycho power works better with women. You can even explain Bison's obsession with 16 year old girls: They are the ones who closely resemble Ingrid, who he knows is the original source of that power. This also explain why Bison's desire of a male body directly conflicts with psycho power: It was never meant for such body. and why there is so much female clones: It simply the result of experiments to see what fits better. But Bison is trying to get around this: He has been experimenting on both, noticing that male bodies deteriorate way faster, confirmed that female ones fit better, but for reasons only known to himself, this was not enough. The genderless Seth, a sentient machine build to gather psycho power, was Bison's latest attempt of circumvent the body type limitation, but it still didn't work (as stated by Bison himself) This is where Steven Mane's theory ends. But from that, we can jump to other conclusions: Ingrid is a goddess and is the source of Psycho Power energy. Notice that she is not the source of soul power though, so behind her innocent face, behind those red eyes, lies something sinister and evil. (Or maybe, Soul Power is simply Psycho Power with another name? Rose might be the one hiding something...) [Small June/2021 update: After a lazy Sunday re-reading the SF30th's bios, its is clear that Soul Power is not just Psycho Power with a different name. So if you want to follow this line of thought through, you have to consider that Ingrid is EVIL, or at least deals heavily with negative energies (closer to Akuma than Bison). and it opens the possibility of a God/Goddess of Soul Power somewhere out there on the SF Universe. but that is speculation for another time.]

Ingrid is time-travelling to specific points in time to collect parts of her power. Bison was one of those who stole it. Pyron probably did it too, and in 201X, Ryu has something to do with it.

Oh, extra fact: SFIII, the last game on the timeline, happens in 1999. SFV, the game that was released on the 10's, canonically happens during 1998. So the Ryu she is supposed to meet next is YET to appear (maybe in SF6?).

And because she is a time travellng goddess, not a dimension hopping one this means a direct connection between the worlds of Darkstalkers, Street Fighter and Red Earth, the three franchises from CAPCOM Fighting Jam: Darkstalkers' Human World could be considered to be Street Fighter's Earth, and Red Earth is literally another planet on the same universe, hinting a bigger CAPCOM shared timeline then we expected. We can also speculate that Bison ultimate goal would not be just global domination but to replace Ingrid as god/goddess of psycho power. And she took Yun to 1989 just for the LuLz. Why I didn't mentioned Ingrid up there in MY theory? because of CFN Portal. The Capcom Fighters Network Portal is essentially the final word on who is canon in Street Fighter. Released together with SFV, its a well documented, weirdly organized and deep source of any street fighter or final fight character you can imagine. Those 2 guys fighting on the intro of SF2 got bios there. As well as Hakan's daughters and Elena's Family. Heck, CFN Portal is the place that finally settled Chun-li's father name as Dorai.

There is also relevant guest characters and characters who appeared in other games but that CAPCOM consider part of the franchise and canon, such as Blade from the Street Fighter: The Movie game (now part of the North American operations of Shadaloo) and... Ruby Heart from MARVEL vs CAPCOM 2 (a version of her actually, before the events of that game). Ingrid is clearly shown as a guest character and NOT part of the street fighter franchise, as she does not have the SF franchise standard background. the only ones who this happen are special guests from, such as the ones from Street Fighter EX and Street Fighter 2010. Ingrid is also described there with her bio from CAPCOM Fighting All-Stars, rather then her own story on SFA3 MAX or even CAPCOM Fighting Jam, in a way making her role on SFA3 MAX similar to Evil Ryu's: A what-if non-canon scenario of the events of the game, that has no bearing on the main plot. Evil Ryu's ending are always Ryu kills everybody and wants more blood, never really explaining anything. Evil Ryu is more important as a visual representation of the dark side of Ryu rather than a character itself'. and because of that precedent, when CAPCOM itself gave her non-canon status, it's better to err on the side of caution and not consider her direct influence and acts when speculating about the plot and lore, unless they are the only source of some kind of hinted information. And there is one very canon character who has a situation like that. Killer Bee. As I mentioned before, the ONLY time Cammy acts as Killer Bee in canon is on her SFA3 arcade/story mode: In her intro against Rose, her very first fight, She initially starts under control of Bison. Rose actually recognizes Bison's Power and frees her, even before the fight starts. The fight itself is actually framed as a violent reaction to being freed. but there is a game where we can see Killer Bee Cammy in all her brainwashed glory: X-men vs Street Fighter. Released before Alpha 3 and the first game where Cammy is shown with her Alpha design. Her quotes there shows a profound reverence to Bison AND some are mechanical in nature. Goddess Ingrid (to differentiate a bit from Code Holder Ingrid) could be one of these instances: Canonically speaking, we know very little about Bison: What are his motivations, why he desires such levels of power or anything that would elevate him from one dimensional antagonist. Sagat started as that and became one of the most developed characters of the franchise. Gill is from the straight go good intentions that will end up bad. Seth is the whole reason of this essay, so I don't need to show you anymore how he turned out a interesting character. and there is G, who is either a suicide cult leader still looking for followers, or the savior of mankind. Not to mention that most players thought as a good guy until Rose's ending. like, holy psycho powered cow... Bison is still just the dictator who wants to rule the entire world. And the only character that deals with Psycho Power in a way that is not just evil power for the evil dictator is a character that, as far as CAPCOM is concerned, is not even acknowledged as the relevant version.

[hellyeahheroes]

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales story and character review

So let’s state a disclaimer, I didn’t like the PS4 Miles character as it was blatantly clear that they never read a Miles story with the actual mistakes they made(Miles going to the wrong school, Rio being a science teacher, Jefferson loving vigilantes/supers, using MJ as an origin for Miles, the skin lightening of both Miles and Rio). It was insulting because they clearly researched and had a fidelity to Peter Parker as they had references from both of the 616 and Ultimate Universes but with Miles, they somehow missed the first thing about Miles: he doesn’t want to be Spider-Man. I didn’t like this version. Notice the past tense.

Miles Morales PS5 redeemed him. I am half-way as I’ve done all of the side quests and pretty much half of the main story. And I also seen the whole main story on YouTube. So yeah.

First off, the first thing I noticed about Miles was his fresh-cut. It was, to quote my brother, “a hot mess” in the first game. I was delighted to hear that the first thing the “black” consultant told the Insomniac developers. His edge was fucked up. Second thing was how social Miles was. Third thing is that they retconned Miles going to Midtown. Yes, in the first thing they did actually have kid in Brooklyn attend a public school in Queens. I am pretty sure in the remaster the changed it to Brooklyn Visions.

These changes along with the fidelity of the relationship between Miles and Ganke were what sold me on this version of the character. I get it. No one wants Peter to die and honestly, they probably should have just used Anya, but Miles is popular now and it’d be stupid to just not capitalize.

So let’s talk about a few characters starting with the actual main character of the game: The Tinkerer.

Let me tell you that at first I thought she was redundant. I am not going to spoil it, but it was obvious the moment she is introduced in the game and Miles mentioned her twice before she is formally introduced. It’s clear that she was the focus. I felt that she was redundant because there is a literal harem of morally dubious women who Miles has a close connection to that she takes aspects from. Tinkerer is an amalgamation of all of them. She is a girl leading a gang(Diamondback/Tomoe) who is a genius inventor(Ceres). She wants revenge against a company that is poisoning the city and killed her brother so she becomes a ruthless vigilante(Tiana). Her powers or devices are that she manipulates a metal to form any shape she wants(Tomoe). Her relationship of Miles is one that is really platonic with some romantic undertones(literally every single person that I mentioned) but it is torn apart because Miles lies and keeps secrets from her(Katie Bishop).

What sold me on her character is the work they did in her collectibles which I implore you to collect because they provide so much depth to her character and also, it doesn’t really bother to explain Miles’ character in this world but hers. This girl is hurt because her loved one was killed and she saw Miles as family or a second brother. They hung out together and as soon as Miles went to Visions, they drifted apart. I’ve always wondered about the kids Miles left in his whole transfer situation and Tinkerer was one of them. Her pathos and identity is very much tied to Miles. And I love her.

Look, at first, I was reluctant to want her in the main comic, but someone put in too much work to not include her in Miles’ main rogues gallery. I hope that Saladin sees it and implements a version of her in the MM: Spider-Man comic. She also reminds me of Gear from Static Shock except she is not a gay white man.

Ganke was spot on. This is the best adaptation of Ganke I’ve seen.

Yes even better than Homecoming.

Ganke is part of Miles’ Spider-Man. He is not just the fat Asian kid providing tech support. He is the motivation and is apart of it too unlike the thing they tried to do with MJ and Peter in the first game. This also shows the clear contrast of Peter and Miles. Peter never trusted anyone enough to be that involved in his being of Spider-Man. Miles knows that he can’t do it alone and relies on Ganke for information gathering and webs. Ganke is important and this game nailed it.

Aaron Davis is in this game and no one is surprised. This version of Aaron...is different. Okay in the comics, he is a foil to Miles in that while Miles is becoming more heroic, Aaron is becoming more villainous. It’s no coincidence that Spider-Man and the Prowler look similar but the gist is that if Miles didn’t get bit by the spider, Miles would have become Prowler 2.0. The game eschews this dynamic because it is hard to pull that off after the mangled Miles’ origin so they opted for the Prowler to foil Miles in a different way: keeping secrets from family and friends and being protective of family because fear of loss. Aaron, after losing his brother and never getting a chance to reconcile with him, is hurt and wants to protect Miles and subsequently Rio. Miles, throughout the game, is becoming increasingly worried about his mom running for city council and painting a target on his back. He shows his frustration and distances himself from his mother in his work as Spider-Man. Aaron does the same to Miles when he finds out that he Spider-Man. There comes a point where the two collide and Aaron goes further into the extreme which I won’t spoil. You get it.

This change, while different, isn’t terrible. It’s actually really well thought out. It accomplishes the same thing in that Aaron is not a good role model but he is a good person to Miles. It allows Miles to reflect on his own behavior towards his mother. So I’m with it.

Oh and before I forget, Danika being in this game sold me that they actually started actually researching Miles. They ignored the weird racial commentary that she became enamores and she became a foil to JJJ. A voice of youthful and helpful positivity vs Randian cynicism and skepticism. A social justice activist vs an arrogant self important commentator. And it was fun listening to her. Hopefully Saladin brings her back. I am currently on Underground base liberation missions where she teams up with Ganke and Miles in putting them down. Just started, but there was already some mild hint that Ganke is crushing on her(they are a couple in the comics). So yeah.

The cons because like Ganke, I love pros and cons list. Two things about this game annoys me. First, the move to Harlem and this forced narrative of Miles being Harlem’s Spider-Man made no sense because just look at the map. Harlem is part of Manhattan. There is nothing stopping Peter from visiting Harlem regularly. Brooklyn, however, would justify having their own Spider-Man. As, if you didn’t know, Brooklyn is emerging into becoming the next big city as the area is thriving. Also, gentrification. Point is there is a reason why Miles connection to Brooklyn is important. It is foil to Peter who is from Queens and wanted to move into Manhattan island because part of it was he saw it as a measure of success to get out of the old neighborhood and make it big. Miles loves Brooklyn and doesn’t want to move out. Trying to replicate his love for his city in Harlem just because it’s predominantly black and brown is lazy and honestly if they included Brooklyn in the game, it would have justified the price of this game. Which brings me to the second point.

This game is too short on content to be costing $50 dollars. Just to point out something, all of the DLC from the first game cost 10 bucks a pop and you had as much content in those three expansions as you do this game. Infamous First Light was the same exact thing in relation to Infamous Second Sons and it cost 30 bucks. Uncharted Lost Legacy cost 30 dollars. I could go on. Point is that it shouldn’t have costed nearly the price of a full game when in comparison to the previous iteration, it wasn’t. Now I’ve seen people say that hating because it’s short isn’t warranted or pull up this quoted fact that video games are too long. Anti-consumerist bullshit aside, the difference between the main storyline of the previous game and this one is not repetition. It’s the lack of variety in enemies and deesculating storylines. In the first game, there were a variety of enemies that had their own AI and attacks. And you adjusted accordingly to whom you were facing. There were classes of enemies within the variety. You had the rudimentary common criminal which had 4 classes and how to deal with them and from that point, each enemy afterwards were variations of those four classes and each provided a different challenge. The repetition wasn’t boring because it provided a new challenge. This game only gives you three types of enemies and while 2 are vastly different from anything in the previous game or it’s expansions, the need to limit the series to focus on narrative becomes unwarranted because you are still getting less for nearly the same price.

That’s all. Have a great day. It was a fun game. Really.

@ubernegro

[autumnblogs]

Day 2: Symphony Impossible to Play

Picking up from yesterday, we just met Rose.

https://homestuck.com/story/220

Right out of the gate, here’s something interesting - another one where a character interacts directly with her medium! I wonder whose eyes she feels on her. Are Rose’s Seer powers allowing her to detect us watching her? Later on, it turns out that Kanaya was watching her all along during her intro. Maybe that’s who she senses? I think it’s possibly both of those, and a third option - Rose is a paranoid girl who doesn’t feel very secure in her own home, or comfortable in her own skin.

More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/223

John does a lot of roleplaying, and this is one of the earliest spots in the comic where he does this. Specifically, John performs a lot of his favorite scenes from different movies, and no surprise to anyone, almost all of the times he does, he’s performing either the role of a lover, or of a father. Malo, who I respect a lot, talks a little about John’s appreciation for signifiers here, along with some of their chums. I was going to say something about other points where John’s inner voice comments on the necessity of signifiers to make a thing itself (OR ELSE IT’S A PRETTY PISS POOR EXCUSE FOR THE THING) yesterday, but I didn’t have the thoughts fully formed at the time. Luckily, Malo will call attention to it for me.

This is another one of those weird things about the way that reality works, and it might all retroactively work that way because John expects it to work that way. Homestuck is full to bursting with symbols - everything in Homestuck is extremely abstracted as part of the art style, and also as part of the storytelling, often rendered down to some basic elements that make it recognizable. An example of something Homestuck uses as a symbol would be like, Mustaches - a symbol associated with Grandpa. Swords, symbols associated with Striders. The symbol doesn’t have to have any kind of literal logical association with the thing it represents, but we associate the two things with each other because of cultural context.

https://homestuck.com/story/225

I always liked Rose’s house best out of the group. There’s something deeply romantic to me about the premise of a wooded retreat far away from civilization. I’m pretty sure the Lalonde residence is based on Falling Water but I could be mistaken. As long as I’m thinking about Symbols, by the way, Cats are a Lalonde Symbol. Their presence in the story always evokes Lalondes even when they’re not in the room (which is not very often, as it turns out!) and by association, witches. Both of the Lalondes are witches in the sense of being powerful women who attain to that power by consorting with dubious and transgressive sources.

Rose is up front and melodramatic about her not so great relationship with her Mom, and it’s pretty much literally always on her mind. (Rose’s Mom is an alcoholic, and I should be clear that her relationship has lots of reasons to be not great, but Mom Lalonde deliberately being spiteful to Rose is not one of the reasons). I like to think there are a lot of these misunderstandings between parents and children and if that we were just a little more open with each other, we’d find that we didn’t have as much to be afraid of in each other as we think. But I might never know. Another one of my favorite series that has the inability of Parents and Children to communicate with each other as a central theme is Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion and if you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend you go do so.

https://homestuck.com/story/231

The presentation of the Guardians is so unsettling that in my first readthrough, I thought they must be some kind of monsters artificially imposed into these characters’ obviously artificial lives to create difficulty for them. Clearly, I thought the story was going in a completely different direction than it actually ended up going.

https://homestuck.com/story/236

Rose does not always think her cunning plans all the way through, something she has in common with her biological father.

https://homestuck.com/story/271

I probably could have mentioned this funny little guy earlier than I did, but Wayward Vagabond is in the story now. I’m not totally clear on whether the Carapacians have any greater meaning, but they sure are charming, and like just about everything that isn’t specifically John and his friends, they exist on a layer of the story that is just a little further away from just the text, and a little closer to the audience - they can enter narrative prompts, much like you or I would have if we were involved in Homestuck’s earliest pages. As a rule in Homestuck, the more influence you personally have over the narratives which change the material conditions of the characters’ lives, the more sinister and ambiguous you become. Luckily, WV turns out to be a pretty benign guy, but if you’re the sort of person to be reading this, you are no doubt aware of the fact that most of Homestuck’s narrators don’t turn out to be nearly so friendly. The Carapacians introduce us to the idea that characters in the story are allowed to be audience members and narrators too. So I guess, really, that’s the greater meaning of the Carapacians.

https://homestuck.com/story/272

Always enjoy Rose’s long, outlandish metaphors. Any chance to read more of them is a good chance to. (Although the main one on this page is a holdover from some of the cringy stuff in MSPA’s early days - some of it slightly racist, some of it slightly homophobic.)

https://homestuck.com/story/287

Andrew’s insistence on having characters like Dave rap at us, the audience, actually reminds me a lot of JRR Tolkien’s tendency to pepper his stuff with songs that he wrote for his in universe stuff. And while both are legitimately talented at their craft, as one of my friends put it, “I’m not a rapper... so stop rappin’ at me!”

https://homestuck.com/story/293

Jade is another character whose first post I forgot to mention, but here she is having a bit more to say than before! I think I remember my initial impression of Jade being pretty favorable, and then gradually declining until she got a bit more exposition. Perky people bother me.

https://homestuck.com/story/307

Another one of Andrew’s cool prose poems. I don’t mind these as much as the rapping, clearly. Rain and Strings are another pair of symbols pretty strongly associated with Rose, although I hardly need to tell you that. This obviously alludes to Rose’s mythological quest. I think it also foreshadows a lot of her worst decisions. Rose overthinks and overthinks and overthinks, and then by the time she should have acted, it’s too late, and she overreacts instead, usually in catastrophic ways.

https://homestuck.com/story/312

Dave’s room isn’t nearly as messy as Rose’s, but his bed isn’t made, same as every other Derse Dreamer. This is also probably the first place that we get hints of Dave’s fascination with death (he collects dead things). He’s specifically fascinated with his own death, and fantasizing about self-sacrifice, something that he ends up doing twice over the course of the comic, is one of the ways that Dave experiences masculinity. Thanks for that, Bro.

https://homestuck.com/story/320

Dave almost immediately fails to uphold his irony schtick within just seconds of our getting to know him. For all that he pretends to the same extreme aloofness as his brother, I don’t think there’s an insincere bone in Dave’s body. Then again, maybe he’s just getting distracted by food, of which there is a significant dearth in his household. Thanks for that, Bro.

https://homestuck.com/story/326

I will never get back the time I spent reading Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. Was it worth it?

Yeah probably.

https://homestuck.com/story/332

I think this is the very first time I’ve noticed that Dave has a nifty gaming computer with the transparent glass pane and the interior lights and everything. Like, this readthrough, this panel. I’m sure I mentioned somewhere that I get more out of this webcomic every time I read it.

https://homestuck.com/story/333

Dave and Rose are another character relationship I just enjoy tremendously. Their verbal sparring is one of the highlights of the webcomic.

https://homestuck.com/story/344

Bro’s puppet fascination tells us pretty early on that this is a hands-off, manipulative kind of guy. While Bro isn’t in a metanarrative layer the way that the Carapacians are, positioning him as a puppetmaster, controlling things from behind the scenes, still gives him the same kind of sinister ambiguity as one of the comic’s actual narrators.

https://homestuck.com/story/357

Far from being the kind of chill cooldude who kills with a straight face and doesn’t look at explosions, Dave kills a random bird and immediately feels remorseful about it. Poor kid.

https://homestuck.com/story/360

There is almost nothing worse than having someone perform interest in something you enjoy to try and influence you. Unfortunately, that is not what is taking place here. Rose is quick to assume malicious intent as she does a bit earlier when she tucks her journals under her bed because she feels like she’s being watched.

https://homestuck.com/story/369

Mom, sadly, giving your daughter oodles of presents and showering everything she does in ostentatious displays of affection is sadly not a substitute for earnest communication with her and your emotional presence. These two need to learn each other’s love languages. (Note to self. Not everybody enjoys lavish presents as much as I do.)

Roxy is a giver. That’s something that shows up time and again, especially when we meet her in person much later.

https://homestuck.com/story/377

Mom Lalonde performs femininity.

https://homestuck.com/story/382

Jade sees right through Dave.

In other notes, I think most of these kids would be way happier if their Guardians were more emotionally available, and less badass.

I’m going to come back to that and write more on it at some point instead of just alluding to it repeatedly. Maybe after Dave Strifes with his bro.

https://homestuck.com/story/389

Is Mom’s compulsive gift-giving because that’s her love language? Is she performing capitalism by giving her daughter extremely expensive gifts as a show of affection? Is it both things? (Roxy is never exposed to Capitalism except by the awesome powers of Dirk’s cached wikipedia archives, and her gift-giving tends to be significantly less ostentatious than Mom’s.)

https://homestuck.com/story/404

John roleplays some more.

https://homestuck.com/story/414

Here’s where I’ll say one of the things that I think is like a big deal, because I guess now’s as good a time as any. A lot of the roleplaying that John does, and the one-upsmanship that he and Dave do with each other, and Dave and Bro do with each other, and Mom’s ironic housewife routine, and the burial of Jasper in a mausoleum are rituals. Like symbols, they’re cultural touchstones that are ultimately empty when they no longer point to the thing that they signify. Funerals are grieving rituals. When a funeral doesn’t functionally serve the purpose of helping with grief, it becomes an empty signifier. Maybe this is how Mom grieved for Jaspers - I’ll have to check and see what Roxy thinks about it when I get that far, because I forgot.

We do a lot of stupid things in a monkey see monkey do fashion because we’ve just always done them that way, even when they were built for a completely different society, and no longer serve the same function that they used to serve. Big ostentatious funerals are like that, I think. Ideally, they’d give big families an opportunity to come together in mutual support, celebrate the joy brought to them by the deceased, demonstrate compassion to the grieving, and so on and so forth. I’m not prescriptively saying “don’t have a funeral” here, my point is just that funerals are one of those cultural narratives that I mentioned in the first post.

This funeral does not serve the function of helping Rose to grieve. It’s just kind of fucked up.

https://homestuck.com/story/415

Oh hey, Rose has more fish language attached to her - she earlier makes reference to her knitting-needle tech by saying that she thinks she could probably filet a fish with them. Here, she talks about having bigger fish to fry. Rose is associated with Water through her planet, the Land of Light and Rain, and with fish through Cetus. She’s also attached to other deep sea creatures in the form of the horrorterrors.

https://homestuck.com/story/420

I’m going to pause for now and post this since I’ve read through another roughly 200 pages of Homestuck this evening on the fortuitous page of 420. It probably helps that I started earlier than I did yesterday. Nanna’s about to give some exposition, and I already wrote my big brain take for the day so for now;

Cam signing off, alive and not alone.

[stay4stray]

Map for Broken Compass and the Stray Kids Timeline

Recently, Stray Kids have been displaying a lot of performances with literary and/or cinematic themes - often 2 in one (Dead Poet’s society, Game of Thrones).  In the Intro to Levanter video, Chan mentioned inspiration from a book and also a poem, and of course we have the Road Not Taken, referencing Frost’s poem (oh and of course Kung Fu Panda!).  I think these are hints for us, that their MVs have similar allusions - namely, they allude quite a bit to Maze Runner.  After realizing this I did some more research and found that someone else had reached this conclusion long before I did, so watch their video here!  This really makes me want to reread the whole Maze Runner series ‘cause it’s been a while but that’s irrelevant.  Obviously I’m slow catching onto this so I’m not really gonna argue for this as its argument is already established, lucky me!  But understanding this allusion does help with how I’ve come to understand the SKZ storyline through the Map for Broken Compass that was recently released.

The main connections to Maze Runner that I’m concerned with:

dystopia

man vs. society; themes of manipulation

the plot set up as a series of trials, hidden one illusion inside of another (maaaaAAtryoshka? 👀 I kid I think)

the very beginning of the Maze Runner movie has extremely strong parallels to the Hellevator MV)

Note: This isn’t to say that the SKZ storyline is the same as Maze Runner!  It very obviously isn’t, in my opinion.  The villains seem completely different and the overall conflict is likely different (in MR if I remember correctly the overall issue was that the world had suffered from solar flares so it ended up being an environmental conflict?).  I don’t know what the overall conflict of the SKZ storyline is just yet but from Miroh they seem to be setting up a rich vs. poor conflict... Though that might not be the overall issue, just like how MR has multiple layers.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s go back to the Map.  At 3 am two nights ago, I made a super chaotic post about how I think it’s meant to be read, so check that out for details if need be but the main idea is that the motifs from different MVs and the way they reappear in different eras and places on the map is how we can find our chronology.

So in the map image above I’ve labeled various things.  The numbers are the motifs, in no real order, but vaguely in order of their visual placement on the map.  Some have letters, a and b, which are when motifs repeat on the map.  The circles draw attention to some things that I think are likely important but am personally still very confused about.  And then I’ve added some translated lyrics that I think are important to the storyline.

I don’t think Hellevator is the start of the timeline.  I think, like MR, it’s the start of the timeline the boys’ remember.  At that point, I think they’ve already entered their first “trial” or “illusion” - that being, they’ve been given a place to live “happily,” but they’re isolated from anyone except themselves.  The reason they haven’t left is because their way out is labeled Hellevator - in other words, they’re convinced to stay through a combination of contentedness and fear.  However, when they eventually leave, they end up in a field of flowers, which doesn’t exactly scream “Hell,” does it?

In my opinion, My Pace and I am YOU are directly connected and in that order - they almost have to be, based on the MVs, I think.  I believe My Pace is the start of the timeline as we know it - I think it is where the conflict between the boys and society starts, as the boys decide to do their own thing, go their own speed.  This is further confirmed when Jisung takes down the camera in I am YOU, which may be the significance fo the broken camera that I’ve circled in red on the map - even though it’s by the My Pace tunnel, it’s not actually broken until I am YOU!

Similarly, Miroh seems to lead to Side Effects/Yellow Wood based on the MVs.  What’s confusing is there’s a possibility that Side Effects actually happened more than once - that the part where the kids get on the bus did actually happen, but somehow they eventually ended up at the same crossroads and took the other path.  On the map, the elevator connects the two of them, which leads me to believe that Hellevator leads directly to I am NOT/District 9.  

Based on motifs, namely the shopping cart and the couch (both of which are in both IAY and the Hellevator MVs btw), Hellevator is up next.  Notably, the Hellevator motifs are placed near the District 9 bus, so we could reasonably say that I am NOT comes next, based on that as well as the elevator.  I mentioned before that their hideout in Hellevator is a place meant to make them complacent, which is supported by the fact that some of their things, the shopping cart and the couch, were taken from their initial I am YOU hideout.  It reminds me of when you move a pet from one place to another and keep their toys with them so that the new place still feels like home.

Based on the 1.5 moon motif, though, Yellow Wood is up next!  Either that, or Yellow Wood came before I am YOU, which I don’t think is the case.  My thought is, Side Effects represents choosing to blend with society or choosing to rebel, so perhaps at one point they chose to go with society, but they eventually realized they were unable to fit in and rebelled, ending up at Hellevator in the end either way.  That’s also why I think the I am NOT part of the map has the Side Effects drone - it’s another point at which they had to make that choice between society and freedom.

From Hellevator, as I’ve mentioned, we go to I am NOT, video-wise this means the I am NOT trailer and the District 9 MV.  From there, we have the bottle of flowers and the field of purple flowers from Hellevator replicated near Levanter... which we can’t say too much about until tomorrow!  But it should lead to Miroh based on the eagle motif and the walkie talkie motif there-- which, people have probably said this already, but the eagle itself likely represents SKZ while the lion represents society (think Young Wings for the eagle and for the lion, it’s attached to things like the City Jungle and the bus driven by the Miroh dude so that checks out imo for more than one reason).  My suspicion is that the use of so many previous motifs in Astronaut represents Hyunjin getting lost and having to remember the way back to where the rest of the group is... This could mean literally having lost his memory or it could be a more figurative form of losing his way.

Anyway, from Miroh we end up at Yellow Wood, based on the elevator on the map as well as the MVs, and this time it’s more literal than the previous encounters with YW - this time they chose a path and throw away the key, never looking back.  They won’t go back to Yellow Wood again because they’ve made their final decision to truly rebel, there’s no going back (which I think may be why Hyunjin was so stressed in SE).

We find ourselves once again at the Levanter part of the map, with the eagle representing running from Miroh’s City Jungle.  And that’s pretty much all I’ve got, at least until tomorrow!

I will say that I think it’s possible that SKZ infiltrates society a few times before fully rebelling, in order to free more people like themselves and build up their forces.  I think something similar happened in Maze Runner as well.  A part of me wonders if SKZ plays themselves, but also other like them in a sort of metaphorical way (if that makes sense?).

It’s also possible that someone else helped them escape from District 9 - the drone that broke in that Chan found, for example.  Where did it come from?  It could have been their past selves, who anticipated their being stuck with wiped memories!  It could also have been other “stray kids” who’ve already escaped.  Maybe it’s I.N’s “twin?”

Okay yeah I think I’m really going off the rails here so I’m gonna wrap up really quick with one final section here!

Things I don’t know what to do with:

keys - my suspicion is that they are part of yet another illusion set up by society (meaning, society wants them to think that the keys will help them escape but it’s all just another trick/trial), and that’s why SKZ has discarded some of them - for example, taking down Miroh will probably not grant full freedom, because freedom is outside of the map, so maybe they discarded the key to return there.

marbles - I’m guessing they have to do with memories somehow but thus far they have only showed up in Astronaut so it’s really hard to see patterns with these just yet.

elevators - I mentioned that they might show direct connections between MVs, but I’m very uncertain about this, actually.

“ghost” I.N who stayed behind in Astronaut - though I will note that he seemed to have a clone or a twin or something in District 9 so that could explain how one I.N went with SKZ and another stayed behind?

[youlooklikearealbabetoday]

the conversation between eve and konstantin in 2x03 is easily one of my favorite exchanges in the entire series so far. these two people, not adversaries but also not quite allies, with one singular person ultimately tying them together. sandra and kim owned this shit. of course the following are all just my thoughts, others may see this differently, but what stood out to me is konstantin’s gross underestimating the level of eve and villanelle’s connection. sure, he’s saying a good deal of these things selfishly motivated in hopes of he and villanelle going freelance without eve and mi6 breathing down their necks (and yes i think he was planning it since he was recovered by mi6 he’s a smart dude lol) and the rest of what he says is based on his understanding of villanelle’s previous relationships including his own. however one major way he underestimates eve — even villanelle to a point — is that what he’s describing of villanelle is actually something we see eve do(ne) or head towards in following events in the episode. they are far more similar than he knows; konstantin is simultaneously describing eve’s path in so many terms and a great deal of what we see further in is how eve and villanelle’s parallel paths are truly starting to overlap and cross in so many ways even beyond the near physical missed connections.

not to mention the key information konstantin hasn’t been privy too yet and that is eve stabbing villanelle. so much is about context and here sit these two people, the ones who care about villanelle the most, an mi6 agent and a former handler.... but the roles are far murkier than first appearances. konstantin deeply cares for villanelle, i have no doubt, but he’s ultimately fine with using villanelle for professional gain while supposedly abandoning his family (for now). on the other side of the pond we see eve systematically abusing and destroying those same professional avenues in the name of personal gain. it isn’t something konstantin sees and even eve completely recognizes. at least this point in time.

oh this line. THIS LINEEEE. what i love about it is that eve is saying it to dismiss konstantin and also unconsciously ends up singling herself out as a main differential to everyone else he references. no, eve hasn’t given up on villanelle and the extent to which i still don’t think we’ve really seen which is both frightening and arousing lol in all the ways that make sense and the ways they shouldn’t. 2x03 cements their mutual refusal to give up on each other — they’re obsessively, destructively relentless.

these previous relationships are complicated but for the sake of this post what’s interesting about anna from the perspective of villanelle, even though the full extent of their dynamics is still somewhat of an enigma, anna gave up on her. with nadia she really didn’t measure up to the game which transitions nicely to konstantin who understood it and both he and villanelle ultimately prioritize self-preservation. pour one out for the She’ll Love You To Death(TM) squad.

i still believe at the end of the day villanelle wouldn’t completely put eve before herself, BUT BUT.... we see villanelle risk a whole lot more for eve than we’ve seen before. not just her job but even her own life, more so than when she was in the good graces of the twelve. i believe villanelle knew how precarious her situation was as soon as she saw that VOHLVOH and of course when raymond strangled her, even before konstantin spelled it out for her in no uncertain terms about raymond’s particular role in putting out assassins to pasture. however similar to eve, villanelle was comfortable in living in a semi-denial state and sticking with the twelve.

just like eve playing happy homemaker and cooking niko what looked like ground up finding nemo, i’m sure there’s a level of comfort and stability in staying with villanelle in staying with the twelve and what she knows and what she thinks she’s always done best. i wrote some things here examining villanelle’s idea of freedom and control which ties into that idea. the past few days for villanelle have been upturning, to say the least, and in addition to being jealous of eve’s potential wandering eye towards the the ghost, it’s also the slightest hint that someone might be better than her at what’s given her a life’s purpose. 

it really is about “making space” for themselves and how those spaces are inextricably carved in each other for the other — if we talk about the apple as a symbol as temptation we can also think of it as one of knowledge. of possibility, of autonomy, of an existence beyond what is comfortable and safe in all its messy glory. funny how the hungry caterpillar starts its process with the apple cronch cronch. we see eve and villanelle completely push their boundaries to get closer to one another, much farther than before.

eve knowingly risks her relationship with carolyn, extorts one of the most important key witnesses mi6 might’ve had in konstantin, not to mention compromising his family by giving him their location. and kenny! my twink kid “i thought you were different.” going back to the beginning and konstantin’s line “you still have something worth having, don’t let her take it” one can’t help but start to see the similarities in eve’s relationships — a means to an end. and niko? an immediate, pleasant enough, boring distraction. sound familiar to a s1 distraction? *cue national anthem*

villanelle making those calls to the school to presumably have niko fired or arrested, giving gemma tips on getting niko’s attention, disguising herself to integrate herself further into eve’s personal world — this is villanelle’s love language. the manipulation, which is a form of her hatred of niko, is manageable and something she excels at. no doubt she believes she’s doing eve a favor, much like bill “he was slowing you down” pargrave and anna’s husband. when mi6 comes storming into the hotel and villanelle sees eve she knows that they can continue to play this game if she joined up with konstantin. that laugh behind the hotel door? villanelle re-invigorated and downright horny. she realizes there really is no viable option for her to continue this dance with eve in staying with the twelve which shows how “burrowed in” eve is with villanelle and vice versa. 

this is also why this self-realization eve has with kenny is so so so so incredible and important after villanelle and konstantin escape. she’s absolutely run out of professional excuses, there’s nothing left but the extremely personal. this is why the fact that eve and villanelle will have to come to terms with this obsession when they work together under professional guises to find the ghost is hilarious and that shit’s gonna be so tasty.... what will they bring out of one another when the outside playbook has been shifted? GOD i can’t wait.

i mean really it’s all about the potential, right? the inhale / exhale / nursing dual wounds synchronization a sign of their romantic-sexual-intellectual connection but also of respective epiphanies about their true motivations and inherent prospect the other represents — they’re actively fighting against the world, burning bridges and salting the earth for one another and that is something that no one expected. will eve get eaten up by villanelle? will villanelle be eaten up by eve? or maybe.......? i’d like to think the possibilities between these two are endless.

[gregellner]

Today, rather than writing a review, I will be going through an analytical approach to a certain element of Focus Home Interactive and Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Innocence.

Be fairly warned: spoilers follow regarding the latter half of the game.

The element being examined is the Prima Macula, known through the game as the blood-borne connection that Hugo de Rune and others before him have to plague-bearing creatures, most notably feral rats, enabling them to exert telepathic control over the creatures to manipulate movements in their frenzy, as well as being able to see into their minds on some level to sense them when they are near.

According to a brief exchange with Narrative Director Sébastien Renard, it seems entirely possible that while the Prima Macula in 1348 France has concentrated control over rats that spread the bubonic plague, previous wielders (and subsequent ones) may have had control over other creatures declared as vermin. To use his words exactly, "Well, swarms of animals have always be a tradition among plagues, such as in the Plagues of Egypt. I can only say that our version is the rats, and let you imagine what you'd fear more :) (yet in France today, it would definitely be mosquitos! :D)"

If taken to its logical conclusion, plenty of animals could be controlled, from birds to insects to much more. Similar to the plague rats of the original Dishonored being comparable to the bloodflies of Dishonored 2 in function for an epidemic-ridden society and how someone developing their powers in one era or another would be connected to their own time and place's source of infestation, users of the Macula in other time periods could utilize their power over infected creatures to perform acts like creating a temporary artificial darkness in the form of thousands or even millions of insects or birds (if they are not afflicted with the same light sensitivity as the rats), capsize and sink watercraft through fish, or even control larger land animals than the waves upon waves of rats encountered by the de Rune children and their friends.

Similarly, the locations where said animals live would be drastically different. The gore-filled tunnels of the rats are a hint of the kind of macabre living spaces these creatures live within, but what if they were in trees as nests, or otherwise lying in wait in places at a significant height that would make it harder to spot them until it is too late?

That said, all of this may be completely inaccurate. The main element that may make this speculation invalid is a look at the historical pathology related to the Prima Macula as known within the story. Research in-game places the earliest known account of the hosts for the Prima Macula at the time of the Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE) in the Byzantine Empire, a disease that has been since confirmed as originating from the same bacteria (Yersinia pestis) as the aforementioned Black Plague (1347-1351 CE), and thus all fitting under the collective label of "plague" in terms of epidemics.

If Mr. Renard's denotation of the Macula as for "plagues" rather than all epidemics is accurate and not just a general colloquialism, then the applicability of when and how this type of power is used would be greatly limited, mostly just to rats and perhaps fleas, as there does not seem to be direct control that bearers of the Macula have over species that are infected by said rats. However, none of this is to say that the spread of the Macula would be too inherently limited. There have been many plagues throughout history, numbering greater than forty.

The existence of such a significant element as the hosts of the Prima Macula give rise to the idea of how it could potentially alter the way in which society develops if it were to be known to higher authorities, as demonstrated by Vitalis Bénévent's goals within the game itself. First it seems prudent to go over what is known about how to control the Macula.

Control over the Prima Macula relies upon certain "thresholds" through which the host experiences a lot of pain until their body can become accustomed to the power, coupled with symptoms such as times of significant weakness and some rather high fevers. Certain alchemical concoctions are capable of controlling these thresholds, such as the ones used by Béatrice de Rune and her fellow alchemist Laurentius, but only with the help of the large book known as Sanguinis Itinera ("Voyages of the Blood") was such an elixir completed. Another component important to the Macula's progress appears to be internal, related to moments of intense emotion such as heightened fear or anger, but these elements can be worked through by having someone close by to manage said fears, and are much less important once the host passes the final threshold to the point of being able to control the rats, which also appears to allot a kind of passive immunity to the plague itself through rats' unwillingness to attack said host. Whether or not this type of issue would be a significant problem for people who are older than the five-year-old Hugo is unknown, but perhaps it is a recurring element.

As shown by the alchemical works within the Inquisition, some other scientific means have been used to transmit the Prima Macula. A blood transfusion from one who has a hereditary form of the Macula to someone who does not grants a connection through their blood. The artificial host is granted power over the infected creatures at the same rate as the natural host, even crossing the thresholds in tandem. Whether or not artificial hosts suffer from the same debilitating effects as those for natural ones is unknown, but as shown by Hugo de Rune's transfusion to Vitalis Bénévent and the eventual boss battle, not only is the natural host able to sense the Macula within the artificial one, but he or she is also capable of understanding if the Macula, which appears semi-sentient (unless Hugo is wrong) is "fighting" the artificial host in some way to prevent the use of power.

Certain elements, such as the "exsanguis" substance procured from rat-infested locations and the resultant "odoris" alchemical substance utilized to draw rats into one area or another, help to give the impression of non-carriers of the Macula having some defense nonetheless, albeit one that is rather dangerous to procure and utilize. Similarly, the specially treated white rats, which respond only to Vitalis and not to Hugo, along with being immune to bright lights or fire, show another way of controlling the use of the ability itself.

All of these elements come to a head when thinking about the implications for said developments going forward.

In terms of developments to society, such scientific works could be used to manage or even neutralize the effectiveness of potential hosts of the Macula, especially with the increase in scientific knowledge since the 14th century CE. For instance, if such a serum were created, it could help to keep such a horrific superhuman from emerging, or conversely be even worse and attempt to heighten emotional extremes to keep them down with their own sickness. Neither of these are benevolent options, to be clear, but both seem within the realm of possibility for the game.

Through the experimentation of Vitalis Bénévent, it is shown that while there are drawbacks (even excluding the difficulties with blood transfusions in general), it is entirely possible that people could create more carriers of the Macula while keeping the natural hosts safely away. Between the transfusion technique and the unusual white rats, plague-based officers are entirely within the realm of possibility for the later years or centuries of the story's narrative.

Meanwhile, elements like exsanguis and odoris show how society could develop other means to control the infected creatures through a variety of inventions to redirect or otherwise neutralize them even outside of common exterminators or plague vaccines. Together with the aforementioned officers, not to mention more positive uses such as redirecting plague vectors away from population centers to limit infection, there is an enormous amount of potential at work.

Of course, all of this could be for naught, as it is not clear whether or not A Plague Tale: Innocence will have any further stories in its universe, but much like another disease-related game published by Focus Home Interactive, Vampyr, all of this serves as an interesting thought for what could potentially exist moving forward.

[magaprima]

The introduction of Adam 2.0 has many effects, including narrative, but one of the things I loved the most was how it really opened the gates for showing us Lilith’s story, why she is the way she is, what her experiences are and, what I believe, is used as a metaphor for female victims of male and domestic abuse. 

This essay got hella long as it covers Adam 2.0, theories about First Adam, Lucifer’s abuse, Lilith’s story as victim, and one who encourages the abuse cycle as well as breaking it, how male abuse influence her and Sabrina’s relationship, the development of her relationship with Sabrina in general, freedom and self-worth....it covers a lot of stuff. 

I wish to note in advance that my analysis is here based on my qualifications in film studies, writing for performance, cinematography, my mother’s study into domestic violence and women in the home, as well as my own negative experiences at the hands of men, and therefore is still only an opinion/observation. I like analysing stuff, I enjoy it, but always remember it’s fiction, it’s TV, and therefore intended for fun, so please remember opinions can be shared or ignored, enjoyed or blanked. 

Firstly, we establish from her very visceral reaction to the mere mention of the name ‘Adam’ how much of a shitstorm her experience with the First Adam was. We’ve all had that person, be they male or female, who have had such a negative impact on our lives that even the name alone is enough to dredge it all up in our memories. For Lilith it’s so extreme, and also because she’s Lilith, she attempts to kill him from an armchair within hours of meeting him. 

Also, when she enters the cottage and Adam is there she immediately suggests a backrub, she expects that a man in a relationship with a woman expects the woman to serve him, to worship him. And then, later, Adam makes a comment on her appearance;  

Adam: You look so different Lilith: You don’t approve

When Adam comments that she looks different, Lilith immediately jumps to the conclusion that it’s a judgement, that he will disapprove. We can presume this is how First Adam was, how he told her to how to be, also the False God, and also Lucifer. These are three main male roles in Lilith’s existence and they have all tried to control her in one way or another, so much so that she expects it from Adam 2.0 as well.  

She also immediately presumes she will be judged, and he will disapprove, when he catches her about to spike the punch (admittedly she’s poisoning the punch, but he thinks it’s only alcohol). “Don’t judge me” she immediately says, a knee jerk reaction with how quickly she says it. She has only been with Adam 2.0 one day and yet she is already regressing to how she was in the beginning with the First Adam, and, we can presume, given what we’ve seen of their interactions, even with Lucifer. The fact she is regressing to these knee jerk reactions of presuming judgement, is really revealing of Lilith’s experiences.

Similarly, when he declares he has a gift for her, she’s already internally expecting something generic and what men typically give women-- more flowers like earlier perhaps, or chocolates or jewellery. Yet, she is genuinely surprised to find it’s not something generic at all, but something he’s bought specifically because he knows Mary will love it (and coincidentally so does Lilith. He inadvertently buys something Lilith adores. Which begs the question why Wardwell and Lilith have the same tastes). The fact Lilith is so surprised and delighted by this suggests no man has actually ever considered her so personally before, not even Lucifer. 

When Lilith declares she doesn’t ever want to get married and Adam 2.0 suddenly jumps up and marches over to her side of the table, she looks at him wide-eyed, there’s no anger, no defence, just surprise and also the markers of fear, however mild, as if she is expecting an angry protest or even a violent outburst. This is the marker of a woman who is scarred by her past, an abusive past. It can be implied here, I believe, especially considering her reaction to the Adam name earlier, that it isn’t just that she refused to submit to the First Adam, but that his reply, his refusal was a violent one, but primarily it’s that the Dark Lord’s replies to any arguments are always violent ones. She is not able to refuse him, and if she tries, she is punished. Hence, out of habit, she expects a violent reply to her refusal here too. 

She also avoids Adam’s eye when he says “I promise I’ll never hurt you”. Avoiding eye contact, the down slump of the shoulders, the way her hands remain out of the way, chin down, are all typical body language markers of a survivor of abuse, of someone who has learned to behave a certain way in order to minimise punishment/injury. And if we consider how much Lucifer abuses and manipulates her, in the mere scenes we see alone, to the point that she has been convinced all this time that she has free agency (and that she was simply working for a promotion basically) when she didn’t. 

“He was cruel to me, Adam; he was only ever cruel”

Again, this could be taken to mean First Adam or Satan, or it could mean both, that the only men in her life were both only ever cruel, but we know for certain, with Lucifer, that it has been cruel and it has been constant. Regardless, the way she leans into Adam 2.0′s touch is for comfort and reassurance-- she might be playing the game, doing what’s expected, but the way she rests against his hand does seem genuine, and this is supported by how, in the very next moment we see the first genuine kiss between the two of them. Previous kisses are all Adam, Lilith has her eyes open, surprised, and doesn’t return the kiss, but in this moment she kisses back, her eyes are closed, she’s enjoying it, giving back. It’s immediately followed by the forehead touch, looking at him, which is all very emotionally intimate. This is the very first instance of Lilith experiencing something non-abusive from a male. 

Later, we see  her leaving the bedroom, calling out ‘I’ll be right back, my love’, as she leaves Adam in bed. It’s very calm and post-coital, there is even an element of romance in the air. She’s casual, content, walking slowly, enjoying herself, pouring herself a drink, temporarily without a care in the world. We have never seen Lilith like this before. 

And then suddenly, Satan arrives, and Lilith drops the jug on the floor, smashing it, as she is so shocked and panicked by his sudden appearance, he breaks right through her calm and we see her tense again, on edge again. This is typical of someone caught by an abuser: she’s wide eyed, not blinking, heavy breathing with panic and fear, she whispers his name with that same shock and fear. These are all the very classic reactions of an abuse victim caught ‘in the act’ of something forbidden by an abuser. In a normal mundane environment, this would be her caught talking to someone or being out of the house too late, but regardless of the supernatural elements, it’s still the signs of an abuse victim.

Satan then says:

“Get rid of him, Lilith, you belong to me and only me”

This is very typical abuser language; you’re mine, you’re my property, you’re not allowed to be with anyone else, talk to anyone else, without my permission because you’re mine. The controlling language of this is obvious and immense and it’s paired with Lilith’s response. Her expression is not just wary of his wrath, but also resigned. She’s remembering what her life actually is. That’s it’s not the pleasant little house-play she had moments ago, where she was promised she would never be hurt, she is the Dark Lord’s Handmaiden, she’s his to do with as he pleases. This is in direct contrast to Adam 2.0 saying how he didn’t care whether they were married or not, just so long as they were together. She is, ironically, free with the mortal, but a prisoner with her Dark Lord, the one who was meant to free her. 

Now we see, shortly after, that despite realising how trapped she is, she chooses to defy him and protect Adam 2.0. She disguises it as ‘I won’t get to play with him’, but there’s something much deeper here; it’s as clear to the viewer as it is to her familiar. And it’s proven in how desperately and urgently she tells Adam to put the enchanted ring on and never take it off. This is the action of someone determined not to lose the one thing that is making her remember herself, the self that defied the False God, defied the First Man and became the First Witch. Someone who wanted freedom, to be equal. 

And the whole scene plays out like a real, genuine proposal. If you were shown the scene without any context of the characters, the setting etc you would simply see a ring being slipped on a finger and a man picking up a woman, the woman laughing (she actually laughs, genuinely laughs happily when he picks her up)...they look like a genuinely happy couple getting engaged. This is essentially a metaphor for a woman escaping her abuse cycle. We see it in life, and in dramas depicting life, as usually the woman running to family or friends, leaving the home and finally daring to try and make new links, new ties, beyond the abuser’s circle. For Lilith, it’s Adam 2.0. 

As she looks at him in that proposal scene, the way she bites her lip, looking up at him with...well, love, it’s incredibly sad, especially when you know it won’t last, because here we get a glimpse of who Lilith was before, when she was first created. Before she was abused and controlled and manipulated and any other number of things at the hands of the False God, First Adam and the Dark Lord. Just like long-term abuse victims lose who they were, lose themselves in the abuse, so Lilith has lost herself (We do see hints of her original self in the way she helps students at Baxter High, though it serves no true purpose beyond just simply helping them, we see it in the way she does become genuine with Sabrina upon occasion etc but this is the first time we start to see glimpses of it properly). 

Experiences at the hands of men, no matter who those men are in relation to you, can change you, depending on the experience. It can warp you, it can make you feel less than yourself, trapped, injured, disgusted, especially if it’s been constant as it has been for Lilith. And these feelings stay with you, they never go away. And they can make you hate all men and want nothing more to do with them, even if you love the idea of them, or even the concept of that perfect relationship, it’s prevented by how your opinions are now effected by your experiences. And I think we can safely say this is the case with Lilith when her origin story includes saying she is equal to Adam, she doesn’t ask to leave him, she doesn’t say she doesn’t want to be with him, she says she doesn’t want to be less than him. So we can presume Lilith would have been happy with a romance if it had been a partnership not a domineering dynamic.

Lilith is a female icon, and her dialogue and actions in this show often add to that, alongside many other reasons within the CAOS mythology as well as as Dianic, Witchcraft and revised Jewish mythology. But her story, particularly within the context and established mythology and narrative of the show (which does choose to take different pieces from all mainstream and modern religions and combine them) is also one that shows her as representative of female victims of abuse at the hands of men: what it can do to us, how it can make us unrecognisable to ourselves. As I said in my previous post, Adam 2.0 didn’t have to be a man for this new dynamic, it’s not about a man rescuing Lilith from abuse and making her happy, it’s about a person doing that, a person showing her there’s something else, another life. It’s simply poetic narrative to have it be a man named Adam. 

We continue to see her happy and content when she’s strolling through the woods with Adam 2.0, she’s the most relaxed we’ve seen her be with anyone (she’s certainly not relaxed in any of her scenes with Satan. I mean remember her first scene in part 1? Where she was begging forgiveness and kissing his feet? The first blatant clue that this was not a good relationship, and there was definite control and abuse in the dynamic) , she genuinely laughs at his suggestion about Tibet and then looks genuinely awkward when she realises he’s serious. She is falling into this relationship, and though I know other viewers will disagree, but for me personally, you are seeing someone falling in love. Even if she doesn’t quite identify it yet herself (she only says love once he’s dead, unfortunately). 

She has this gentle surprise when Adam 2.0 says he wants to show her the world. She’s freaking ancient, she’s literally been around forever, she has seen the world and everything in it, but Adam 2.0 wants to show her a world where she’s free, where it’s just the two of them, no arrangements, no deals, no promises, just two people, travelling together, equals. And she knows this. This is the moment where suddenly she’s awake. Adam 2.0 is making her realise that Lucifer has been as much a prison as First Adam and the False God were, and here is a chance to run away from all that, to finally have no prison at all.

 And so she says with genuine feeling ‘I will consider it’. This is very much the part where, in a normal drama about an abuse victim, the writers would typically having her finding a romantic connection and the partner begging them to run away with them, the victim trying to get up the courage. Narratively and cinematically we do start to see full on, direct parallels here. Especially when he tells her to make a wish, and she genuinely does so before throwing the pebble, smile on her face, then laughing with his arm around her. The way she looks at him when he’s not looking (which is something you do do when you’re in love), genuinely considering him, sort of bewildered for this is literally the first time ever that she has felt this way, with the person she’s with not demanding anything of her. He has asked her to go to Tibet, he hasn’t demanded, and he’s asked because he wants her to be with him, not because he needs her to do something. 

This all very much the set-up trope we see in those very serious TV dramas, where we see the victim planning to be free of her captor and abuser and we, the audience, feel so worried it will never happen. 

And just like the TV drama tropes, we have the scene where it all goes wrong. We see Lilith eating a meal with ‘Adam’, she’s relaxed, she’s enjoying herself, she believes she’s free, she’s found a path to choose for herself, something to do for herself. When she replies to ‘Adam’ suggesting she’s going to say yes to Tibet, she speaks firmly, confidently. ‘Yes I am’ is saying goodbye to her chains, it’s saying ‘Yes I am leaving my abuser’, ‘Yes, I am leaving and doing something for me’. 

But the way she looks at the ring when she pulls it out of her mouth, the confusion, the bewilderment, she was so certain of her escape, of her plans, that what the ring signifies hasn’t clicked yet, there’s a small delay as denial argues with facts. The entire cinematography of this scene really does remind me of basic murder dramas, when the person comes home and doesn’t yet realise that their loved one has been murdered, or when we see the person being happy and carefree and they haven’t yet realised it’s all about to be ruined by what’s behind the door. 

“Did you really think you could deceive me, Lilith? Our bond is eternal. Our bond is unbreakable. There is no escape to Tibet or anywhere else”

This could not be more obvious abuser language if it tried. It’s threatening, it’s possessive and it’s reminding the victim that there’s no escape, emphasising the idea of an unbreakable bond. Like, ‘did you really think you could just leave me?’ and we see the utter horror in her eyes at this, at the ring, at Adam 2.0′s head, at Satan’s words, all of it. She is utterly horrified in a way we’ve never seen before. She’s incredibly human in this moment. 

We see this type of scene in a lot of films and dramas where an abused wife believes she is finally getting away from the husband, but then he’s there, blocking the doorway, having discovered her plan, and she has no idea if he’s going to kill her for it. The way Lilith silently cries at the sight of Adam’s severed head, the way every time she looks at it she gasps for air, her shoulders heave, this is all very much a parallel to when the abused character in dramas realises all their plans were false hope and that they’re never getting away. Sometimes even in those non supernatural dramas, the lover, the friend, is still killed by the abuser just as Adam 2.0 was, in order to teach the wife/girlfriend a lesson. 

“Now clean your plate of the mortal,” only adds to this parallel, as it is so much like when you see, on screen, the abuser character beat the victim’s character senseless, before adding ‘now clean this mess up’ as if it is all her fault (Think of the way Bill Sykes behaves with Nancy in Oliver, until he does eventually beat her to death) and her whole expression is exactly what would you would expect. She looks trapped, scared, horrified; she is so broken by this she almost cries at the table. 

And even though we know she eats male flesh, we’ve seen her picking her teeth clean with delight, here we see her vomit it all back up, every piece of Adam 2.0 is expelled. This is partly to show us how the taste of Adam 2.0 is vile to her, because it’s not what she wanted (and supporting hints from Part 1 that it isn’t just any man that she eats. If she wants a real meal, it has to be the right choice, like the misogynist nightmare of a principal) and because of how she felt about him. But it’s also what we tend to see in dramas in post-abuse scenes; crying over the toilet basin, vomiting, before crumpling onto the floor. Out of context, she looks simply like the trapped abuse victim, the abused wife who has suffered this for so long she doesn’t remember it being any other way. Yet, she recently had hope for it all changing, but that hope is gone now, taken away by her abuser, and now she’s more trapped than ever and it makes it so much worse than before, because before she lived in ignorance and now she’s awake, but still trapped. 

A lot of abuse victims don’t acknowledge they’re abused because that’s worse, admitting it makes it more painful and more unavoidable (things are easier to live with if you don’t think it’s true). It’s especially true in Lilith’s case, because it would be admitting that she left one abuser for another. And when we consider a following scene with Sabrina in a later episode: 

Lilith: Promises were made Sabrina: And you believed him? Lilith: You don’t understand. He was kind at first. Gentle. We’d spend our days near the place where he’d fallen and hit the earth. The more time passed since the fall, the more he turned into this thing of darkness

This dialogue is so typical abuse victim dialogue. The ‘he wasn’t like this before’ is extremely typical as reasoning for his behaviour and the reason why they stay. No abuser starts off the abuser, they start off kind at first, engaging, drawing the victim in and by Lilith’s own words we see this is exactly what Lucifer did too. And so we see Lilith has lived in wilful ignorance of his behaviour, remembering how he was before, focusing on their promises, their lovemaking, how the relationship was in the beginning, as many abuse victims do, in order to remind herself why she stays and to convince herself she doesn’t want to leave. But now, with Adam 2.0 and Satan’s murder of him, and the way he made her eat his flesh afterwards, has forced her to wake up and admit the abuse, admit that he is no longer the same person at all. 

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand. How did the Dark Lord discover us?”

This is another abuse victim signature; questioning yourself, trying to figure out what precisely went wrong, to find the rhyme in the reason, an excuse for why it happened, why the escape didn’t work. This reasoning and questioning is so desperate and internal, because if a reason is discovered, an excuse, then it means that it’s not that she can’t ever escape, it’s that this time she did something wrong and was caught. An excuse means hope isn’t entirely extinguished. 

Yet, when she finds out the ‘thing that went wrong’ was Stolis, that her own familiar had been the one to tell Lucifer about her and Adam 2.0, is a direct metaphor for an abuse victim discovering that their friends are, in fact, the abuser’s friends rather than their own, the discovery that she has no supporters around her, that her social circle is a false circle. It is confined to simply Stolis with Lilith, but he is, admittedly, the only one in her intimate circle. 

But abusers do this: they surround the victim with people they believe are friends, people that they will share things with and talk to, treat as a confidante, when in reality, these ‘friends’ are false and in fact serve as spies to the abuser, just as Stolis was resurrected under the pretence of returning a companion to Lilith but in truth it was just so Satan could know everything she was doing. Eventually, with this abuse technique, the victim begins to feel that they can trust no one, reach out to no one. Lilith was betrayed by her own familiar; that is how deep the control and abuse goes in this relationship, that even that bond cannot be trusted. 

She then proceeds to put on the enchanted ring like it is a wedding ring while saying ‘He took away the one thing I loved’. This is an abuse victim who has lost the one person who didn’t use her, didn’t abuse her, he was the one person who was her escape and so, yes, she even grew to love him (and as I have said, it could have been anyone who treated her equally and had interest in her. That love would have grown with anyone in this situation, it is the way she is treated by the person rather than the person itself that makes this dynamic turn romantic). Because of this, because she had equality and free will with this person, she feels comforted by the feeling of the ring, not just keeping him close but keeping that feeling close. 

Now, when an escape route for a victim is entirely ruined, usually one of the following things happen. Either they resign themselves to this life they are stuck with, and give up the fight entirely, or they try to resist in one last do-or-die attempt. Lilith chooses the latter, even burning everything to do with Adam in order to give her the emotionless strength to destroy Lucifer’s love as he destroyed hers (the fact Lucifer’s love is his daughter, not romantic, is an interest point, because, in retrospect, it emphases the familial dynamic with Adam 2.0, as family, traditionally, means equality, everyone together).

“You did this to me; you made me weak, Adam”

She places blame entirely on Adam 2.0 because she needs to do this in order to survive. She calls herself ‘a grieving widow’, which is her admitting to herself she saw their partnership as legitimate, she had been making official plans around it, she had been making a new life for herself, away from Satan and now she is genuinely mourning not just that life, but the person she was going to make it with. But specifically the use of the term ‘grieving widow’ is especially revealing as it shows how much her dynamic with Adam 2.0 was more of a relationship than her ancient dynamic with Lucifer. Because with Lucifer it is just abuser and victim. And that’s all she has again. 

But being a ‘grieving widow’ is weak in her eyes and she needs to be strong. A lot of abuse victims need to cut out parts of themselves to survive; sometimes it’s the ability to feel things at all, sometimes it’s their empathy for others, something it’s their own goodness, their own morality, anything that they feel will help make the abuse more bearable. 

“I was getting very comfortable in this woman’s flesh suit”

Not only is this Lilith admitting she was starting to enjoy parts of Mary’s life, the line between them blurring a little, but by this phrase we see that Lilith is choosing to forget she was ever just a woman herself, ever just a witch. Being Mary was making her remember that, and this is another part of herself she needs to cut out to survive, she believes; her humanity (because remember, Lilith does have humanity, as that was what she was created as originally and, technically, that humanity is still there, it’s just been pressed down by experiences and abuse and time). Yet as she says this, she is stroking the doll, the gift from Adam 2.0, affectionately, which betrays her words. This wasn’t about getting comfortable, or forgetting she’s in a ‘flesh suit’, she genuinely felt something here, something unquantifiable, and something that can’t be so easily ignored. 

So, because she still has these feelings, all different ones for different reasons, but all very much making her feel things, which, right now, she is reasoning it’s something that will make her weak,  she literally tears them up and destroys them, physically burning them, declaring that she’s now remembering ‘who and what I truly am’, but this isn’t true. What she is remembering to be now is what and who Lucifer has made her into, it’s not actually her. Her is who she is when she’s free from him. 

She then says ‘time to burn the monster’, which with all this in consideration, could mean the monster she has been made into, or that the monster is Lucifer, or it could be the monster is Sabrina because of what Lucifer wants her to be. We, the audience, could even take it to mean all three. But, regardless, as she burns everything, we see a woman who has decided no one can save her, but she isn’t saying ‘no one can save me I’m stuck here’, she is saying ‘no one can save me, I’m going to save myself’. 

And what’s her first step in doing this? Making her own person to control; and this is where we see what can happen with abuse victims-- the abuse cycle begins, where the victim then becomes the abuser. Although, with Lilith it’s not with any actual person, it’s with a creature she creates, just as she was created, well...more specifically how Eve was created; with a rib. And it’s no small coincidence that she has to kill a man to make this creature.

Lilith: I’m your Mother. Do you love me? Adam 3.0: (nods) Lilith: Then you’ll do what I tell you to do. 

This is the only kind of love (With the exception of Adam 2.0, who, technically was loving Mary, not Lilith. Although he seemed to be really into the Lilith changes in Mary?) that Lilith has ever known. And we love from experience, the love we know is the love we show. And so abuse victims, to quote Regina Mills (another complicated character who has abusive and grooming relationships that dictate the Evil Queen she becomes) ‘don’t know how to love very well’. If all you have known is abusive, controlling love, then that’s what you think love is, and that’s what you repeat. That is an abuse cycle.

Now, we come to when we see Lilith with Lucifer properly for the first time. As in, it’s now him permanently here, and him as the man she recalls in her memories, only we discover despite his beautiful face, he just as dark and abusive as ever. 

Lilith: Those things you promised me are going to Sabrina Lucifer: It’s not your turn Lilith: Nor ever. Begging the question; why her?

Abuse victims who feel they have no escape, who have resigned themselves to this life, tend to get defensive against and jealous of other women coming into their life and threatening to take their place. It’s basically the feeling of ‘I put up with this abuse, but at least I reap the benefits’, but when a newcomer arrives, it’s now ‘I suffer the abuse but someone else is reaping the benefits’. It prompts irrational jealousy, which is, personally, what I feel we’ve seen with Lilith towards Sabrina throughout the series; her flip of emotions towards her, her erratic behaviour with her, change of vibes etc, is all linked towards this irrational jealousy caused by the fight for importance, for any kind of benefit,  within an abusive dynamic. 

“Self pity bores me, Lilith. And you know what I’m like when I’m bored”

Lucifer grabs Lilith’s chin forcefully, with a menacing firmness, as he says this, and lifts it, forcing her to look at him. The entire body language as well as the verbal language, the low, implied threat, is so demonstrative of extreme domestic abuse, so much so that it’s entirely impossible to ignore. He is controlling her, his menacing air is as blatant as is her tension, her fear. We see Lilith constantly strong against others, defiant, but here she doesn’t resist, she lets him lift her chin because she has no choice and she opens her eyes to look at him directly, because she knows avoiding him, refusing to look, will make it all worse, he’ll be even angrier, and then she immediately agrees to what he asks of her. If we only had hints and metaphors for abuse here, here we see it beyond metaphors and parallels; it is very literally demonstrated. Long time abuse victims, those who have suffered it constantly, repeatedly, over a long period of time, reach a point where they no longer have to be ‘controlled’ by physical abuse; the threat of it is enough, even the hint of the threat. 

“No good to run; believe me, I’ve tried....Come now, he doesn’t like to be kept waiting...and now you have to come to him or he will come to you and destroy everyone and everything in his path”

This language is extremely resigned-- we saw Lilith broken before, but still with fight left in her, but this time the fight is gone entirely. And we also see her resignation to another victim being made. Yes, Sabrina is her ‘competition’ and taking her promised place as Queen of Hell, but the entire dynamic here can also be taken as an abuse victim bearing witness to another victim being added and having nothing they can do to stop it. The only power they have is to try and lessen the pain of the transition, given them the advice they didn’t get. 

When we have ‘The Beginning’ scene, Lilith says ‘I was his handmaiden and he was my master’, so that we see from the off, from mere language alone, that he has always controlled her through the illusion of partnership, which is exactly what abusers do. They don’t arrive and abuse immediately from the beginning, it’s subtle at first, disguised as simply being caring and protective; ‘I just want to take care of you’, ‘You’re so small, I can protect you’, ‘you mustn’t do that; I’ll do that for you’. 

Sabrina: Why do you still serve him, even now? Lilith: It’s all I’ve ever known

This is very much a typical abuse victim answer, and the entire framing of the scene, the way Lilith and Sabrina are sat in the chairs, the luxurious surroundings, the waiting on the other side of a curtain to be called by the ‘boss’ echoes a human trafficking scenario, with the new ‘livestock’ being brought for presentation, the former victim, ‘promoted’ to assistant, and thus made to recruit the newer ones. This is especially emphasised when Lilith nods at Sabrina and she steps through the curtain to meet Lucifer who is sat there like the head pimp of hell. 

“He’s not a God. He’s just a fallen angel”

This quote is extremely important, because it’s a reiteration of her moment in the bathroom where she reminds herself that Lucifer isn’t everywhere and can’t see everything, but also because it’s her admitting aloud, to other people, that Satan may be powerful but he isn’t all powerful. She is admitting her abuser is beatable; this, along with sharing his weak spots with the Spellmans, is her breaking away from the abuse

But when it fails and Lilith is sent to prepare Sabrina for the wedding regardless, we see her crying at the dress, because despite everything, despite admitting he is an abuser, talking of gutting him, sharing his weak spots, she still wants to be his Queen (well, Queen in general, but at this point she believes he is going to rule, so Queen only exists besides him) because despite everything, abuse victims do often return to their abusers, or at least still want their love, especially if they know they are trapped with them regardless (a logic of making abuse easier if there’s love there, at least).

Yet despite this, despite this pain, despite still wanting his love, despite wanting to be Queen, Lilith manages to say to Sabrina ‘You’ll make a wonderful Queen’ and it does sound genuine, resigned, yes, but also genuine. This is partially because she knows Sabrina no more wants the title than Lilith wants to lose it. There is a break of the abuse cycle here (the cycle she did continue with her Adam-Monster) as she is broken, losing, but she manages to wish Sabrina well, perhaps even manage to suffer less than Lilith did. In the room we have two resigned women, two women abused by the same man, together, allied even if they don’t win. 

Sabrina, however, hasn’t been broken yet, she hasn’t suffered yet as Lilith has, she hasn’t known Lucifer as long as Lilith has, and that’s what she observes

“Plucky till the end. But you’ll learn. He always gets his way”

There’s something so entirely resigned and cynical about that, and it also implies that the rebellions we have seen against Lucifer in Part 2 are, perhaps, not Lilith’s only rebellions, that there had been times in the past when she has tried to win. We can imagine that after leaving the garden because she refused to submit to First Adam, and then agreeing to serve Lucifer because he promised to make her Queen, she must have realised, after time, that she was being to Lucifer what she refused to be with First Adam, that she has ended up with the same fate regardless. And Lilith is a strong person, she’s strong, she knows her own mind, she’s determined, we can easily imagine she began to push against him, to try and claim what was promised, to get her equality again, but like with abuse victims who fight back in the beginning, they are beaten down so many times, that their rebellions become smaller and smaller until they stop rebelling at all.

When it is the Masquerade scene and the coronation, Lilith is constantly tense, holding back a wave of understandable emotions, ranging from fear to jealousy to resignation to sadness to determination, but as she is feeling all these things, Sabrina looks back at her through her mask and smiles, she even looks at Lilith as the crown is placed on her head; there is an alliance here, two victims of abuse at the hands of the same abuser standing together and Sabrina’s gazes are showing that support. The fellow victim saying I am with you and I am fighting beside you.

And I think it’s as much this visual confirmation of alliance and support, as well as things that happened in the lead up to this moment, that prompts Lilith into her ultimate defiance against Lucifer. A defiance that is for Sabrina’s sake more than her own; she physically, by her own magic, holds Satan back, stopping him from attacking Sabrina physically. We can presume he has attacked Lilith physically before-- it’s evidenced in the way he grabbed her chin, the way she cleans his feet, the way she flinches when he gets angry or comes too close-- but she uses her power to stop him from ever even starting on Sabrina. Not a hair is harmed on her head. 

“Hold that nasty thought; I can’t restrain him forever”

The long-term victim is finally standing up to her abuser, calling him out for what he is, and she is doing it for herself yes, but she’s also doing it to help another victim. In a mundane drama, this would be the moment where the script would depict the abuser about to hit a young girl, the new girl, and the older victim would bash him around the back of the head with a bat. We’ve all seen those types of scenes, and this is what we’re seeing here as well...only magically. 

Before, even when Lilith advised them how to stop him, how to attack him, she stayed hidden, she didn’t risk exposing her rebellion in case it went wrong, she hedged her bets still out of fear and caution. But in this ultimate moment, it all goes, she doesn’t backtrack, she doesn’t go back to his side and beg forgiveness; she defies him openly and completely. She finally breaks free of the abusive relationship, and considering Lilith was originally created to be the ultimate symbol of womanhood and maternity, I think it’s incredibly important that she does all this in a moment of protecting Sabrina rather than herself. It’s Lilith returning to her true nature; she is the First Woman, she is the woman who said women were equal, she is the woman who would not submit to a man, she is the First Witch, the first to have power, the first to heal. 

And from this, it is extremely important that not only is Lilith crowning herself, taking power for herself without needing any man or any coronation but her own, but that it is Sabrina who hands her the crown. This is two women having defeated the man who had power over them and them each giving one another power in return. They restore each other. This is an entirely female moment. 

“I restore all your witchly powers, so now you may have both power and freedom. And may you never give up either again”

And for the conclusion of Lilith’s abuse narrative, this quote is so incredibly important. Not only is it Lilith restoring Sabrina’s powers and thus showing she no longer sees her as a threat or competition, she no longer views her through jealousy over the attention of a man, but she is also stating she has her freedom. Satan has always demanded they sign the Book of the Beast to get the most out of their powers, he demanded in exchange for power they must always do what he asks, that they belong to him. Lilith is Queen of Hell, but she doesn’t ask for anyone to give up their freedom; she took power for herself way back in The Beginning, and so the new witches can have power for themselves as well. It is very revealing of the type of ruler Lilith will be, a victim who has learned from her abuse rather than choosing to repeat it (giving Sabrina back Ms Wardwell, recalling that she was her favourite teacher, is also further evidence of this)

May Sabrina never give up her power or freedom again, yes, but it is, obviously, implied that Lilith is also speaking of herself and that she will never give up her power or freedom again either as she did that day when she agreed to be Lucifer’s handmaiden.