#potentially canon divergent

[corviiids]

based on how i approach plotting ive come to the conclusion that even if i were morally and logically okay with becoming kira i would get the death note and think "okay, im going to make sure i come up with the perfect plan so i can't get caught", spend several months on it, refuse to execute it because it's not foolproof yet, and simply never get around to it. if ethics and reason didn't stop me from becoming kira then sheer procrastination would do the trick

[crookedghosts]

I need a neo-canon version of valgrace that has all canon events BUT they get to reunite and they don't even need to be explicitly romantic they just need to have the insane levels of tension that they already do + romantically coded, they missed their shot right when they were about to take it tragedy. like, ruegard levels of undeniable "was it casual?" energy. and then I need a canon divergence from THAT where the tragedy barely grazes by them and they're shaken up but they're okay. they're reunited and they live and they're together and they're okay

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Part One || Part Two || Part Three (You're Here)

🌿•───────•°•💚•°•───────•🌿

"Well, no better time than now to hop on through, don't you think?" Morgana said with fake cheer, hands on hips as she just stared not taking a step forward.

Merlin frowned, running his fingers through his hair, sighing.

"We'll be leaving everything behind, our belongings, the friends we made, our home..."

Merlin looked down at the dirt in sadness. He's gotten used to living in the present despite having moments of missing his old life in Camelot, he also had never thought that he'd have Morgana as a close friend again.

What if going through the crystal gate changes all that?

Will they end up somewhere strange or familiar?

Will they still be friends wherever it is they find themselves in?

The Triple Goddess wasn't forthcoming with information as he expected, he's had centuries to get use to it he suppose since she's never given him a sign if Arthur would return.

Hope was an ugly and beautiful thing to have.

He thought he had lost hope until Morgana popped up out of the lake's surface during the 60's. It was a rough time for them both but eventually they did work it out.

It also renewed his hope that maybe this time Arthur would come back too yet it was not to be; it made his depression worse, however he couldn't let himself sink since he had Morgana to take care of and teach, for awhile that kept his mind from darker thoughts and wanting eternal sleep.

Shaking his head he looked over to Morgana as she returned his gaze.

"I don't want to leave either." Morgana puffed out a breath, her hands clenched tight.

"The Triple Goddess must have a good reason for leading us here," She sighed heavily, "I can only hope that by doing whatever she wants us to do we can return after we're done."

Merlin nodded in agreement.

Morgana turned her eyes to the gate, her head tilted up a smirk on her lips.

"Are you ready for a new adventure Merlin?"

"Yes, as long as I think of it as a video game."

Morgana smiles in amusement as she walks confidently towards the pulsing structure stopping just an inch from it as she holds a hand out to Merlin.

"Any idea where we might end up at?" She asked her companion.

Merlin shrugged as he grasped her hand.

"Hopefully somewhere that has food," He grumbled lightly, "We didn't get enough time to have lunch before the Triple Goddess decided we needed to leave asap."

He rolls his eyes as Morgana laughs, pulling him with her through the magical gate.

Destiny's wheel begins to turn once more. The tapestry of the past unravels slowly as a new image is sewn into place.

What changes will they bring with them to their new yet familiar life? Only the fates know.

[what-is-canon]

Post-Dance AU (because I hate how George decided to completely eradicate the Greens *cough* Alicent’s *cough* line)

Jaehaera survives the assassination attempt by Unwin Peake because that poor girl did not deserve that horrific end and that’s that.

She and Aegon III bond over time, because these traumatized kids deserve some happiness and you know what? Maybe they are the only two people in the world right now who understand even a semblance of what the other has gone through (Aegon watched his mother die, Jaehaera watched her twin brother be slaughtered) and maybe they both recognize that neither of them is responsible for what their families did to each other so why should they resent one another?

Over time they become a great comfort to each other. On the days where one is particularly gloomy, the other sits by them and holds their hand and they are content to sit in silence together and neither needs to say what they’re feeling because the other already knows.

They are both very close with Gaemon Palehair. He and Aegon are close for the same reasons as within canon, while Jaehaera believes that Gaemon truly is her half-sibling, her last remaining brother.

Eventually, Alyn Velaryon brings Viserys II home from Essos, but the boy comes alone (a 12-year-old boy married to a 19-year-old woman, yeah I think the fuck not, not in my history, and besides even if they had been closer in age Larra Rogare hated Westeros so let her stay in Essos like she wanted and live her own life there and be happy).

Like in canon, Aegon is somewhat neglectful of his wife and friend in the wake of his brother’s return, but Jaehaera and Gaemon understand his actions. Anyway, they still have each other for company. Viserys is incredibly distrustful of Jaehaera, and Aegon pleads with Viserys to be more understanding of their marriage and the comfort they have found in each other.

Aegon decides to hold a feast to celebrate Viserys’s return. Viserys spends most of the festivities with Baela and Rhaena, preferring not to fraternize with the daughter of the man who killed his mother. In the company of his sisters is Daenaera Velaryon (aged up in to be closer in age to Viserys because an 11-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl? It’s a no from me).

Daenaera manages to cheer Viserys with her happy nature, and he’s quite taken by how pretty she is. Unwin Peake, having never been exposed as the one behind Jaehaera’s assassination attempt (as is also the case in canon) brings his daughter to the feast in the hopes that she will catch the eye of Viserys, but Viserys has already taken a shine to Daenaera, ruining his plans once again.

The pair begin to exchange letters and (like Aegon and Jaehaera) bond over their losses. Viserys tells Aegon about his correspondence with Daenaera, and when Aegon tells Jaehaera, she decides to invite Daenaera to court as her lady-in-waiting. Viserys is delighted, and slowly begins to warm to Jaehaera.

As in canon, Aegon’s removal of the dragon eggs from the Red Keep causes a rift between the brothers. Unwin Peake continues to plot treason, conspiring to kill Aegon and Jaehaera so that Viserys may become King and take his daughter as his bride. But if his daughter is to become Viserys’s Queen, Daenaera Velaryon must also be removed. It is no secret by now that Viserys is very taken with the the girl, and intends to marry her.

Jaehaera and Daenaera eat the canonical poisoned tarts during a private dinner organized for the four. Aegon and Viserys narrowly avoid poisoning as they are delayed by a Small Council meeting. As in canon, Gaemon dies, devastating both Aegon and Jaehaera. The rift between Aegon and Viserys is mended as they help their respective ladies recover. Aegon and Jaehaera comfort each other through the loss of Gaemon, and Viserys proposes marriage to Daenaera, which she accepts. Oh, and Unwin Peake is finally exposed and executed (I still cannot believe this man escaped justice in canon, but not on my watch).

The four form a strong unit within the Red Keep and are, well, as happy as four traumatized young adults can be. They finally have the family each was deprived of at such a young age. Aegon eventually names Viserys his Hand, Jaehaera gives birth to Aegon’s five children, and Daenaera gives birth to Viserys’s three.

But unfortunately, canonical events must still come to pass. Aegon and Jaehaera pass away within months of each other in 157 AC; Daenaera dies some years later, and Viserys becomes his stern canonical self in the wake of her death. The crown passes from Aegon, to Daeron, to Baelor, to Viserys himself, to Aegon IV, who legitimizes the Blackfyres- who are now the descendants of both the Blacks and the Greens.

[destiny-in-the-universe]

Dealing with the Stank

Okay, so- I had this idea cooking in my head for a little while and decided I might as well share my thoughts as part of a little treat!

After reading "Dog and Phony Show", I began questioning why the show never alluded to Randy getting stanked- of course, this is likely only due to him being the main character, but in context of the canon - this is quite an interesting thing to not have included within the show. Do Ninjas simply not get stanked because the suit is protecting them? Of course, there's also the fact

Stanked! Randy Headcanons

So, genuinely this whole thing happens because Randy either gets distressingly overwhelmed with being the Ninja OR it has to do with a ridiculous feeling of inferiority- (think something like what happened during the whole Lucius O' Thunderpunch fiasco, but you know, if it had done a little more realistically)

He does try to fight off the stank, but ultimately the Sorcerer manages to take over and Randy remembers briefly blacking out before ‘waking up’ in a daze- of course, he doesn’t have the foggiest what’s happening and feels this overwhelming urge to break free, and run… so he bursts out of wherever he’s in

I do view Randy as being this quadrupedal creature and has this fluffy mane but okay- first things first…

Stanked! Randy Headcanons

🧣 Randy would be themed either after an oriental dragon, a lion of sorts, or even… some sort of cheetah-looking creature. For some reason, this just makes sense to me-

🧣 He's going to be fast and that makes him harder to catch, but at the same time- I feel he might be slightly uncoordinated, letting himself be governed by present emotions

🧣 Randy will have purple somewhere on his stanked form- at least to make sure that it's him and not someone else. If I remember correctly, Dog and Phony Show had it as a mane and I think it would be a pretty cool feature to have!

🧣 I also feel that Randy isn't going to be easy to be destanked, but he also did attempt to resist- purely because he knows that as the Ninja, him getting overpowered by the Sorcerer is not ideal

🧣 He obviously doesn't have any of his powers as the Ninja- apart from being agile and lithe

Additional Thoughts + Analysis

If we're speaking on the angle of him getting stanked because of being overwhelmed, and that is putting it mildly, I imagine he's just full of anger and frustration which means the only way to destank him is by convincing the boy what he's doing is important- that he's capable, that he's a good Ninja. I honestly think that if the show were done for a more serious angle, he would be a little bound by the mantle he carries.

At some point, he reaches breaking point- feeling he can't juggle his own career, so to speak, as the Ninja and his own life as a high schooler which is what leads to his own 'demise' so to speak. In doing so, probably the only people who have the power to reverse the stank are Howard and Theresa for reasons to say the least- one being more obvious than the other.

As a bonus! This idea was cowritten between myself and a lovely mutual of mine @just-animaxiz featuring a non-canon take on "Into the Ninjaverse" - in an alternate reality where Spike, the leader of the punk bots, is the Ninja and Randy's a regular human... our favorite boy deals with a certain ahems loss to keep from spoiling the story too much. Overcome by grief, he falls pawn to the Sorcerer and goes on a violent rampage to the point he nearly ends McFist. This AU of course, is a lot deeper but I'd hate to ruin the fun so early.

Out of curiosity, and a quick show of hands- would anyone be interested in me writing a fic where Randy's stanked?

I might honestly do both versions- the one where he's stanked in a canon divergent timeline, and one for my beloved (/p) mutual.

I'll be back later tonight with more! Until we write again, my lovely readers~)

~ Destiny & Erin (They/Them)

[hestiaflames]

i don't know if any of you were reading the niche in 2018 but today i i had a vision from god.

pynch are The Dynamic

[deus-ex-mona]

me rn:

[fabulous-fic-quotes]

Percy, who knew better, glared at his siblings. “Means don’t justify the ends, boys, this is precisely the wanton vigilante mindset that I disapprove of our father getting caught up in, in Dumbledore’s name-“

“Hey, he’s the leader of the entire side-!”

“-and what has he done for our family?” Percy demanded. “You weren’t there, you weren’t even self aware during the first war! I was! I saw our home being taken over by Dumbledore’s forces, and driving mum to despair. I saw dad willingly give u[ what little money we had in order to buy bandages in emergencies. I saw Gideon bleed into our carpet, and mum washing out her brother’s bloodstain, only to watch him die later!

“And what did Dumbledore give us in return? What did we get in return? Recognition? A thank you? Any recompense?” Percy was fairly shouting now. “Nothing! He ran us into the ground, took us for all we were worth, and now he wants to do it again, and our parents are letting him!”

Regulus Black and the Path to Parenthood - Living_Free

[surely-galena]

Changing the Status Quo of ToT

[WC: 2.1K]

I've been thinking about where Tears of Themis has been heading lately.

ToT is a surprising blend of otome and detective/mystery game, and because of this, it can be difficult to create a balance that satisfies both halves. By focusing too much on the main story, the game risks losing out on sweet moments MC has with the love interests. But on the other side of the coin, by leaning too much into otome, the main story risks being buried or being dragged out longer than necessary.

Am I saying that ToT is failing to hit this balance? Not objectively, because my personal nitpicks with the game could be reasons why someone else might enjoy it.

But I am saying that with the way ToT is created, I cannot help but feel they are building up for something drastic to happen. Something that shifts the way we see the story forever, something so that the characters are never the same again.

Something that changes the status quo permanently.

To be fair, if the developers have planned for this, it's a good strategy. Something absolutely bonkers happening in the main story that upends almost everything would get people talking -- and word of mouth means more people playing the game. Certain examples of massive events like these off the top of my head are Amphibia's season 2 finale and the Hatoful Boyfriend secret route.

There is a certain thing that cannot happen in ToT, of course, and that is killing off one of the four love interests: Luke, Artem, Vyn, or Marius. Although it's not impossible (and would certainly be gutsy), I'd argue that the decision would be too risky.

We all know Luke has massive death flags, but given the nature of an otome game, permanently killing any one of them would risk backlash -- especially from the players who are attached to the now-dead character.

While this decision might work out for the detective/mystery genre, it clashes with the otome aspect. Unless it's a deliberately tragic game or is used in exploration of a greater theme (see: Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly), love interests are basically contractually obligated to not die unless it's a bad ending. And ToT doesn't do bad endings, because that's what the AU cards are for.

Ultimately, Tears of Themis is an otome with detective/mystery elements. This is how I see it, and I'm pretty sure this is also how the game is primarily marketed. So instead of something like Danganronpa which is basically mystery solving with a side of dating sim elements, ToT is otome first, mystery second.

Arguably, there have been some turning points that have indeed changed the status quo we saw in Main Story Episode 1!

MC joins the NXX (Main Story 5)

The lack of a final court case in Main Story 6, and the ensuing hollow victories in Main Stories 7 & 8

But these events feel like they're building up to something. At this point, I don't think we're heading for an ending that waves a hand and tells us everyone lived happily ever after, because that would feel cheap. We can have a happy ending, of course, but it has to feel earned. And in order for a happy ending to be satisfying, the characters have to fight for it, not have it handed to them on a plate.

So that got me thinking. What are examples of events that could cause a drastic shift in the game?

1) One of the main five is a traitor

A lot of the time, revealing a mole/double agent (reluctant conspirator or not) is interesting because it forces us to change our perception of a character. A side character who turns out to be a traitor is fine because we don't care about them. But for someone who is currently part of the NXX -- including MC -- to turn against the group? That's interesting. That's something that will change the group dynamic for a long time. (Exceptions for Neil and Giann because they're a) already suspect and b) it's likely the player doesn't care for them as much as the main cast, because their primary value lies in their connection to the main characters).

Of course, care would have to be taken here if the traitor isn't MC, because you don't want to risk alienating fans of a specific love interest. In this case, the traitor would most likely be redeemed by MC or have second doubts about his choice to betray the NXX. This means all roads lead to redemption, because it probably wouldn't be a good idea to end a well-liked love interest's arc negatively.

In the same way, an important side character turning traitor would be interesting, but not as impactful as the main five. It would be a massive plot twist, of course, but on the whole, it doesn't affect the status quo as much. Unless, of course...

2) One of the important side characters (i.e. someone with a face and is positively linked to one of the main five) turns out to be the big bad

For example: Kiki Bennet is actually behind the whole conspiracy, but hides behind the guise of a cute, internet-savvy attorney-in-training.

If the developers were to go this route, it would have to be done carefully, with some foreshadowing so that the twist doesn't appear out of nowhere. It wouldn't feel earned if details about a side character were simply retconned and tossed aside. Similarly to the first point, this would recontextualize a character, but in a massive enough way that would impact the entire NXX group. Here, I used Kiki as an example because it would be fairly easy to twist her into someone who is at the law firm to keep tabs on MC, and her internet connections could be used as a cover for a hub of secrets and information.

3) The introduction of a fifth, secret love interest

We've talked a little about this in the ToT discord server I'm in (shoutout to @lukepearcing and @roshie-writes here). And yes, the character we've decided is most likely to be the additional love interest is Jerome.

This would, essentially, create a sort of villain route for MC, where she gets her true enemies-to-lovers plotline. While this may not necessarily impact the main story greatly, it would drastically change the otome part of the game -- especially if it comes with UI changes to suit the addition of a new main character.

4) The world of Stellis is not as we know it

The inclusion of Zangr is arguably enough to build on this idea. Of course, Zangr could just be comic relief, or the standard fourth-wall-breaking character. But if Zangr was right all along, and that there is a (fictional) world outside of Stellis, or that there's some kind of multiverse out there, that would change things no matter whether we liked it or not.

(I sort of talk about this idea in referencing the 2022 ToT April Fools' poster.)

Is this a good twist? Honestly, it would be very difficult to pull off. Tropes like "it was all a dream" or "all of it was fake" are extremely hard to execute well. With the main conflict currently linked to the NXX drug, though, I don't see this as something that is likely to happen. I won't rule it out of the picture, but as of now, it's thematically pretty unlikely.

5) Time travel / MC is looping and she doesn't know it

Is this a trope that has been done heaps of times? Yeah.

But it would change the story -- and would allow for love interests to actually die (e.g. if someone uncovers the NXX and assassinates each one of them, resulting in MC looping back to a certain point in time). I don't really have much evidence to support this apart from the prologue, which implies MC has been through some horrible things, and the continual exploration of memory as a theme. (I elaborate a little on the memory theme in my Giann sprite theory.)

For some reason, I always find myself returning to that prologue. Maybe it's metaphorical and has been all along. But I cannot help but feel that in some way, it was meant to foreshadow something that still looms over our main cast.

6) The group dynamic changes in some way

This is perhaps not as impactful as some of the points above, but would still significantly shift things. I've spoken about the potential for an NXX schism in my post about Vyn, responsibility, and trust. The NXX breaking apart, either as individuals or into groups would definitely make for a change in the main story (and would probably not affect the otome aspect as the game will probably let MC be an intermediary and not pick a side).

Alternatively, adding people to the group would also dramatically change things. Some examples of new people could be Darius or Vincent, but the additions also be old members like Neil and (just maybe!) Giann.

The current NXX has been slowly growing together over the last couple of team events. Perhaps something could happen to slow this growth, or something could happen to accelerate it.

7) MC isn't who we think she is

This is very similar to the MC is a traitor point above, but in this particular idea, she doesn't have to be a traitor. This time I'm thinking of something more akin to the twist in Bee & Puppycat season 1, or something connected to her identity or parents. Maybe she isn't just an up-and-coming attorney who believes in hope and justice. Maybe there's something in her memories that she's blocked out and can't remember, or something that she's deliberately hiding from everyone else. If something like this is done, it would completely recontextualize MC, and it would be significant because she's the protagonist. If there's anyone we think we know, it's her.

8) Protagonist switch

That said, is MC/Rosa truly the main character? I mean, she kinda has to be -- she's the girl the main four guys are in love with.

But imagine, even if for a single episode, we play as Ingrid Rosworth, or any other character that isn't part of the main five. If the NXX conspiracy is bigger than we think it is, it could be interesting to step aside for a minute and peek into someone else's perspective. Baldr is kind of a joke at this point, but what if they weren't? This is somewhat connected to the idea of side characters becoming more important, and seeing them influence the plot could impact the direction that the NXX takes. Is this something that will dramatically impact the status quo? Probably not. Is it still an interesting idea? I like to think so :D

-

When trying to break down ToT, I think it's almost inevitable to separate the slice-of-life romance from the main mystery at hand. It's pretty much a given that most of the card stories and solo/couple events branch off after the first anniversary, and maybe even before that.

What this means is that the romance cards/events cannot actively impact the main story, and the main story cannot select a 'canon' love interest for MC or do something that will impact the romance timeline(s) too heavily. And hence, if we were to encounter a significant twist in the main plot, the romance aspect is unlikely to be affected too much. This is probably why a lot of dramatic events happen in the AU cards, because they sort of test the waters -- and allow the developers to see which ones the audience enjoys and which they don't, because the AUs do not directly influence the story.

Overall, that means that the type of plot twists that are likely to happen are limited. This does not, however, mean that the potential to be interesting is lessened, because there are still a number of ways the main story could go down. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope the writers have a good ending in mind. Because there is a lot of potential in the threads that they have given us, and rather than continuing on for years with the general pattern of "culprit of the episode", I want to believe that the main, overarching plot they are promising is going to be satisfying, or at least carefully thought out.

There is so much potential here, and I wouldn't be rambling on this much otherwise. Even if the status quo never shifts drastically, I'd be happy with a good story. Maybe that's all I want from the main plot.

[beanmaster-pika]

Me when I get into a new series or game: hello! where are the tragic brothers

[mediumsizedpidegon]

thinking about Shang Qinghua as a calamity again...

[universestreasures]

Me when trying to enable people to add Arc-V muses...

[slash-aaa]

sam w.inchester is one of my oldest muses and i just have one thing to say: he's baby.

[fluffypotatey]

Cornelius Sigan you say?

bestie 👀 i got notes for this shit. too tired to share it at the moment but tomorrow.

anyway, yeah i just think there's untapped potential with that character. like say we keep ep1s2 the way it is. that stays. but come s4 we got Agravaine trying his best to isolate Arthur from his allies (Merlin, Gaius, Gwen, his Knights), and i can't remember currently if he was just interested in the vault with magical items or if he just used them to accuse others of sorcerer

BUT say he learns about the stone that's in the vault. how much does he know? enough to know it's powerful and would be a great token for Morgana. so he gifts it to her and oops Sigan is released by them and Morgana and Sigan form and alliance to defeat Emrys and bring an end to Camelot.

this is not concise or a great explanation but I just think what we've been shown of this dude (possession, great powerful magic almost on par with Merlin, craves being immortal -> envious of Merlin's own immortality -> could be an interesting plot thread to use) it would cool to expand on that ya know?

[reginrokkr]

Now that Fontaine around the corner, I hope that everyone enjoys it! Just wanted to pass by a lil bit to say that even though I've stated a while ago that I'm not a spoiler-free blog, I will tag spoilers with the #genshin spoilers tag for a week. This will include from reference posts of descriptions of interest to my own rambles (which will be quite a bunch of them, as I've already read a few things here and there that I found interesting). Moreover, I hope you are Lyney havers for those of you who are planning on pulling for him ♥︎

[altruistic-meme]

just trying to get shit done but instead my brain is rotating a new fic idea in my head like a microwave. vibrating violently and undergoing molecular changes that i can’t even begin to describe.