#puppetmaster chase

[the-mystic-council]

The other Councillors SUCK!! Spread the word

-The Best Councillor

[narxcisse]

— This is basically all the info about Electricpuke that I have collected over time

– CW: EP himself is a warning, allegations of abuse, manipulation, faking a disorder, among other things, mention of gore, incest, weird fetishes, etc (more cw in the future. In case something from this cw is not mentioned now it is because I have not edited it yet).

Basic info

Riel, also known as ElectricPuke/EP, is a former artist, creator, and game developer who participated in the creation of BtD along with Darqx and Gatobob. He created the route for Sano for BtD and the routes for Cain and Vincent in BtD2. Not much is known about his private life, only that he lived in an apartment in California before moving to Texas (This was taken from a Russian page of dubious origin).

Aliases

Afterdark, arioddsandends, askparasitegods, cyanidesin, doctor-dollmaker, electricpuke, fuckbyknifepoint, nagakira, nurseharlot, rocklandgames, runawayoutlaw, scarletaegis, scarletmarionette, trentboyett

Characters

Abel, Adam, Adam Whesker, Akihiko Kojima, Akira Kojima, Alchemy Willow, Alice (EP), Alice Carroll, Amaterasu, Ami, Amy, Ana (Rockland), Ana (Viral), Annabelle Winter, Arcadian, Aria King, Ashley Kinley, Ashton Kinley, Athena Dianoia, Audrey, August Dixie, Avery Greyson, Axel.

Baal.

Cain Zeitgeist, Callum Willow, Cassiel, Charlie Willow, Chase Knox, Chase Valentine, Christopher “Chris” King, Circe.

Damien Morningstar, Dante Stryker, Dominick Torrero, Dylan.

Edison Tekker, Elise, Elizabeth Bathory, Enoch, Eve.

Faereighn, Farz Murphy (EP), Foal, Freya.

Gabriel, Gabriel Lily, Grace Quinn.

Hades, Hammerclaw, Hana, Heidi, Horus, Hunter.

Itsuki Mori.

Jack Buchanan, Jason Buchanan, Jason Carmine (Rook), Jiyun, John.

Kali, Karasu, Kaz Tyagi, Kenny, Kiku Kojima, Kiyoshi, Kurt.

Lachesis Chronis, Lady Yuzu, Leo Taylor, Lilith, Lily Taylor, Lincoln, Logan, Loki Marshall, Lucifer Morningstar.

Macey, Marco Jennings, Marcus De La Cruz, Max, Melanie, Meredith, Mia, Michael Fitzroy, Michael Volkov, Mio, Molly, Morgan, Morgan Le Fey, Munchie.

Naoki “Nathan” Donovan, Nicolas Flamel.

Olivia, Oswalt Morrison.

Peyton.

Quinton 'Quill' Willow.

Rai, Raizer, Raja, Ramiel, Raphael, Raphael Sivori, Reiko Nakamura, Ribbon, Richter (hotelPSYCHO), Rory Stryker, Rose Martinez, Rosey, Roy McNamara, Ruby Red Graves.

Sally, Samael Volkov, Sanae, Sano Kojima, Sejun, Seong-Mi Yeon (Emily), Sergio Marino, Sergio Morrison, Shane, Shiro Suzuki, Sparrow, Sun-Mi Yeon (Scarlet), Sydney Dixie.

Teagan Buchanan, The Engineer, Thor, Tobias Reeves, Trace, Trevor McLoughlin, Tsubaki, Tyler.

Uriel Metzger.

Valak, Vencil Cartier, Veni (EP), Verak, Vincent Castillo (EP), (The real) Vincent Metzger, Vincent Metzger, Vincent Metzger (Lesser Angel), Vlad.

Xander Rosario.

Zero (Dollmaker), Zero (Empire), Zeus.

Projects + their plot

— I don't remember the plot of all of them and some barely have any info. If you have any information about any of them, don't hesitate to tell me.

Arcane.

Boyfriend to Death: horrorporn visual novel where you (the protagonist) have to survive the characters.

Boyfriend to Death 2: Fresh Blood: x2

CodeZero

Crazy AU.

Dark Circus AU.

Devil's Night Carnival.

Dollmaker: Remake of Sano's route

Empire.

Foxtail.

Huntress: basically how Akira became Vincent (A/N: This is so random cuz wdym he turned into a werewolf just by swallowing his eye with vomit? 💀)

Inferno.

Mark of Belial.

Nightclub.

Of Gods And Monsters.

Rockland.

MOB

Most Wanted.

The Hand of God.

The Misfits

Route 66: how Vincent met Farz

The Artist.

The Carnival Game.

The Commander. The Doctor.

The Hunt.

The Puppetmaster.

The Serial Killer.

Till Death Do Us Part: Visual novel where you are married to some weirdo (except Chris... I guess)

Viral.

Welcome Home: Farmhouse

Welcome Home: Mansion

YanAki

Zeitgeist: Remake of Cain's route

(some) Allegations

— Some are confirmed and others are not, it's up to you to believe or not.

Abusive and manipulative behavior.

Pretending to have DID.

Art tracing without credit.

Incest and piss fetish (both on and off the internet).

Grooming.

Draw CP

Gatobob/EP Drama

— Info taken from 'ElectricPuke (+18)' on VK.

It started around 2018, when their personal relationship deteriorated drastically. According to Gatobob herself, she and Riel had a relationship: they were both married, but at the same time they were swingers. Over time, Riel began to act against Gatobob, both psychologically and sexually, which left a significant mark on Gatobob's psyche. EP used Gato to obtain various benefits, from raffles and communication, to financial aid, gifts and money transfers for fake needs such as fake disorder. Despite the nature of the relationship, Gato continued to maintain a relationship with Riel, hoping that he would change. At the same time, her marriage with Alan, who was EP's friend, was also difficult: Alan was abusive, kept Gato's earnings and was involved in manipulations against her (not to mention that he and EP spoke ill of her behind her back). Finally, after everything that happened, Gato decides to end her marriage and end all relationships with EP. This period was accompanied by an emotional crisis, which ended with an overdose. Recovery took a long time, including therapy and long-term treatment.

(mini) Gallery

Want more? Click here

— I'll add more in the future, right now I'm too lazy lol.

‐ Special thanks to my mom for giving me info on certain parts (I still hate her but whatever), I always knew that having parents who are visual novels enthusiasts would be useful to me at some point. 🚶

Last update: 01/05/25

[allthingsfangirl101]

Life As Roommates – Charlie

Charlie and I have been friends since our freshman year of college. We were only in one class together, but our roommates ended up dating. This caused us to hang out all the time. After we graduated, Charlie got a job as this bigshot, Rick's assistant. I got a job as a freelance photographer. I worked for different magazines and websites.

I walked in from a long day of photographing a company's picnic/PR stunt. I kicked off my shoes and hung my keys by the door. I instantly went to my room and changed out of my work clothes. I slipped on a loose tank top and a pair of short shorts. I slipped on my slipper/sandals and left my room. When I walked into our family room, I wasn't surprised by what I saw: Charlie sitting in his work shirt and tie, boxers, and socks, drinking a beer.

"You're home earlier than normal," I teased him. I sat in one of our chairs and grabbed an extra beer he had on the table. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious when Charlie's eyes scanned my legs as I mirrored how he was sitting. I cleared my throat and asked, "Booty call or temper tantrum?"

"Temper tantrum," Charlie sighed, leaning his head against the top of the couch. "It's always a temper tantrum with Rick."

"Why do you work for that asshat?" I asked, trying to sound more teasing than worried.

"He's got his good qualities."

"Like what?" I scoffed.

We had a small staring contest with playful "serious" looks on our faces. Charlie opened and closed his mouth, but ended up sighing.

"You got me," he said, lifting his beer to his lips. I looked away when I noticed I was watching him take a drink a little too long.

"How was your day at work?"

"The usual," I brushed off. "I spent five hours on my feet, taking fake action shots of this company picnic they set up for their website. By the end of the day, I swore never to use that law firm. I mean it, Charlie. If I ever get arrested, don't you dare call Johnson and Morris."

Charlie laughed as he crossed his heart and said, "I promise."

We spent the next little while talking about our days. The more Charlie talked about his work, the more I wanted to go to his work and punch Rick in his stupid, controlling face.

Charlie was in the middle of explaining Rick's fourth temper tantrum of the day when I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I spend my day chasing him around, following his orders," he sighed. "You'd think I'd be used to him telling me twenty things and only remembering the last thing he said, getting furious when I complete the first 19 but not the last 1."

"Yeah," I couldn't stop myself from scoffing. "He's your puppetmaster, right? And a puppet must do what his master tells him to."

I froze, my beer inches from my lips, when Charlie looked up. We had an oddly intense staring contest as I waited for him to say something.

"I'm not. . . He isn't my. . . It's not that bad."

"Isn't it?" I challenged. I put my beer down and ignored what sounded like Charlie's breath getting caught in his throat as I stood up.

"He's my boss," he stuttered. "I have to do what he says."

"Sure," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. My heart did something weird when Charlie's eyes briefly glanced down at my chest. "But Rick takes it way too far. He constantly verbally abuses you as he barks his orders at you. Those orders that he instantly forgets, changes, and then blows up on you when you double-check his change. You told me, literally yesterday, that Rick had a full-grown tantrum and destroyed the science project you worked all day on."

"But. . ."

"Charlie," I cut him off, "when was the last time you were home before six o'clock? When was the last time you left, not feeling like shit? When was the last time you had a low-stress day? When was the last time you didn't hate your job?"

My heart sank when he opened and closed his mouth, unable to answer any of my questions.

"That's what I thought," I sighed. I turned around and started grabbing his many empty beer bottles. I stared at all the bottles and remembered when he'd only have one beer at night.

I didn't look up at Charlie as I turned around and started carrying the bottles to the kitchen. As I passed him, I mumbled, "I kinda miss the days I came home and didn't find you half-naked on our couch, surrounded by empty beer bottles."

* * * * *

The next night was the same. Well, actually different. Charlie wasn't home when I got home. It was exactly the same because it was his work that was ruining his night.

I made myself some dinner, constantly listening for the door to open or for my phone to ring. After I ate and before I hopped in the shower, I sent Charlie a text.

Me Hey, I know you're probably working late (again), but I made some dinner and left you a plate. It's already in the microwave. Just heat it up for a minute and a half. Don't get home too late.

When I got out of the shower, he still hadn't come home. I got ready for bed and decided to make myself some tea, mainly stalling and seeing if Charlie would come home before I needed to go to bed.

I waited for almost two hours, but Charlie still hadn't come home. I sighed and gave up. I took my teacup and washed it in the kitchen sink. After hand-drying it, I finally heard the front door unlock and open as I hand-dried the cup.

I looked over my shoulder as he walked in.

"Oh," he whispered. "I figured you'd be in bed already."

"Almost," I said, turning back around. I put the cup back in the cabinet and walked past him. He grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know my job can be a lot, but it's good for me. I'm getting a lot of experience and making a lot of connections."

"You don't get it," I scoffed, pulling my arm out of his hold.

"Y/N," he tried to stop me, but I shook my head.

"You're changing," I said, my voice slightly breaking.

"What?"

"Admit it," I said, unable to stop my voice from breaking. "You've worked with him for what? Three years? And in those three years, you've changed. You are always rushing to Rick's side. You miss things for him. You ignore me."

"I don't ignore you," he tried to defend himself.

"Yes, you do," I whispered. I sighed and cleared my throat. "How many times have you ditched Roommate Dinner? Or Roommate Movie Night? Or Roommate Drink and Bitch?"

"Y/N. . ."

"I miss you, Charlie," I cut him off. "I miss my roommate. I miss. . . I miss my best friend."

I waited for him to say something – anything – but he just stared at me. The longer it took for him to respond, the more the tears built. I angrily wiped a stray tear before walking away from him.

"I swear," I mumbled, "if I lose you to that asshole, Rick won't have to worry about his career anymore. I'll end it in ten minutes."

* * * * *

I held my breath when I heard him unlock the front door. I couldn't see him, but I knew exactly what he was doing. I know what he sounds like coming home. I heard him kick off his shoes. I heard him hang up his keys. I heard him walk down the hall.

I kept my eyes glued to my book as he walked into the room. It was hard, but I didn't look at him as he froze.

"Hey," he greeted me. I bit my tongue, forcing myself not to look at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him walk over and sit on the coffee table.

"Y/N," he said in a sing-songy voice. "Talk to me."

My heart jumped into my throat when he carefully took the book out of my hands. I watched him as he put my bookmark where I was and placed the book on the table next to him. The second he looked back at me, I looked away. 

"I need your help, Y/N," he said in the tone of voice he only used when he was up to something.

"With what?" I sighed, still not looking at him.

"Finding a new job."

His statement made my head snap toward him. "You want to. . . Really?"

He smiled at my question. He reached over and grabbed my hands. "I quit," he told me. "After talking to you last night, I realized you were right. I was turning into Rick. When you walked away last night, I realized I didn't want to be him. I want to be me. But more importantly, I want to be the guy you turn to, not the guy you walk away from."

I studied him closely as he waited for my response. "Did you really quit?" I asked, my voice slightly breaking.

"I did," he smiled with a small chuckle. "I am officially done with Rick and his. . ."

I cut him off by jumping off the couch and hugging him. We both laughed when we fell backwards. Somehow, Charlie maneuvered us so we landed on the floor with him under me.

He slightly shifted us so he was hovering over me. As we lay there, it felt like something shifted between us. My guess was confirmed when Charlie leaned down and gently pressed his lips to mine. I instantly started kissing him back as I reached up and loosely wrapped my arms around his neck. When neither one of us could breathe, Charlie broke the kiss.

"Well," I said, slightly clearing my throat, "this complicates our living situation."

"It doesn't have to," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, insecurities hitting me all at once.

Charlie smirked as he stood up, gently pulling me with him. When we were standing, he pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"What if we weren't roommates anymore?" He asked, leaning in. He stopped when our faces were inches apart. My heart felt like it was in my throat as he reached up and moved some hair out of my face. I smiled when he left his hand on my chin.

"What if we were more? I don't know about you," he teased, "but I wouldn't mind if we were more. I've thought about it. A LOT."

"Really?"

"Really," he said, somehow pulling me closer. "I have wanted to be so much more than roommates for a lot longer than I should admit."

"Since when?"

"Since before we moved in together," he started to list. "Since my roommate made me go to that bar that one night, our junior year, so I could meet his new girl. Since we spent that whole night telling each other dirt about our roommates. Since we admitted to being okay with being our roommates' buffer friends while they figured their relationship out. Since we ran into each other at the party that our roommates each dragged us to, and then disappeared. Since we shared the cab and you fell asleep on my shoulder. Since I walked you up to your apartment and mentally begged for you to invite me in."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I asked, my voice dropping. "Why didn't you ever ask me out?"

"Because I was a coward," he sighed. "I thought that I was just your roommate's boyfriend's roommate."

"You were," I teased. He sent me a playful glare, but it didn't last long. All teasing and jokes dropped as I added, "But I wanted you to be more."

Our staring contest got intense as Charlie pulled me closer. He smiled before pressing his lips to mine. I threw my arms around him and started roughly kissing him back.

As our lips moved in sync, Charlie pulled me to the couch. We collapsed onto the couch, instantly in each other's arms. Without breaking the kiss, Charlie pulled me until I was straddling his lap. He broke the kiss and moved his lips to my neck.

"Charlie," I moaned. I couldn't help but shiver when he bit my collarbone. He leaned back with a smirk on his face. His smirk fell when he saw the look on my face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"We need to think this through," I sighed. "This is going to change things. And once we change them, we can't change them back."

"I don't want to change them back," he said without a second of hesitation. "I want to do this, Y/N. I want you."

"Good," I whispered. "Because I don't want to change them back either. I want to do this, too, Charlie. I want you."

I gasped when he stood up with me in his arms. He didn't break our eye contact as he carried me to my room. I didn't realize how hard I was breathing until he gently put me on the bed, crawling over me.

"Last chance."

"What?" I asked, my voice soft.

"Last chance to stop before we cross this line."

I reached up and grabbed the front of his shirt. He gasped, but it quickly turned into a moan when I ripped open his work shirt.

"I have no intention of going back."

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Hi! Please excuse any misspellings, english is not my frist language...

Firstly I just wanted to tell you that I love your AU! Your Harlequin au was what intorduced me to lovely TADC au Tumblr community and I absolutley love it! I haven't seen alternate universes as creative as these since the Sansverse era!

Secondly, I hace a question about the Patriarch: He seems to have a very good idea of who Caine is, wouldn't he be this world's equivalent to Able? I ask because althugh his design is WAY different from most fan Able depictions, he still has that "The Puppetmaster's brother" vibe that all Ables tend to have, a peace of Caine's past that he can never get rid of!

If he is not Able then I am curious of who he is, if he is then the lore just got spicier and if you don't want to spoil anything I'll understand.

But honestly: Keep it up! Your au has filled 70% of all my daydreams, the only thing I have been able to think about for a while has only been game mechanics, combat and chase sequences!

Damn y'all are fucking sleuths istg

Though I am very proud of that because that means my design philosophy worked somehow, and for that, I'll throw you guys a bone. And also because I can't keep it a secret any longer I've been holding it in since the very beginning of this au

YES.

The Patriarch of Puppets is none other than Abel, Caine's biological brother.

When I was first designing him, I wanted every aspect of Abel's design to scream "opposite of Caine", and to hold some form of symbolism. From his megaphone head, down to the color palettes, there is meaning. Don't get me wrong, Mushy's Able is a very memorable and awesome design and I could've incorporated him the same way I did Souls-like, but I wanted something deeper for Harlequin.

While Caine is adorned in golds and maroons to symbolize his warmer nature, Abel has teals and silver, a very cold and intimidating stature. Their outfits and the colors are an opposition towards each other yet reflect one another somehow, the way Abel dresses tightly and formal when Caine is loose and open, his intense red pupil conveys his hostility, whilst Caine's eyes are softer blues and greens.

His king-size height dwarfing Caine tells just how much the Puppetmaster felt living on his shadow, HELL, someone noticed the weird "A" on the sides of his head and I had to shrug it off because I didn't want to reveal it as early as that time.

Even the megaphone head design holds SO MUCH UNTOLD STORY BETWEEN THE BROTHERS THAT I WILL CHOOSE TO KEEP A SECRET FOR NOW. I've put SO MUCH THOUGHT behind his design.

*sigh*... Which is also why I very much dislike the "siren head" jokes, because it's the one thing I didn't really foresaw when I was developing his design until I finished, and someone pointed out it might cause jokes like that to prop up. Something I thought I wouldn't mind initially, until everyone made the same joke over and over again and I just audibly groan irl.

But you know. internet's gonna internet, they see one thing that resembles a popular media, it's an immediate connection. I didn't even give a shit enough about Siren head to know how the design actually looked like, just a silhouette of the guy.

Therefore, I would really appreciate it if saying this out loud would help lessen the jokes, but ik not everyone is going to see this post so.

I do still wanna thank you for your kind words, because these kinds of asks are the fuel to my fire of inspiration and motivation for this AU, and I wish that I can keep this fire going till the very end of this AU's story :')

[avatarofthelesbian]

what tma fear domains I THINK (my opinion etc leave me alone) arcane characters would be trapped in with little explanation that makes even less sense (yes the web is here twice. so is the extinction. its arcane what did you expect.):

vi: a desolation domain (everyone and everything she'd ever cared for burns around her. she was never materialistic, but there used to be people in those now-smoking ruins. there were people that turned away from her while she felt the flames on her own skin.)

caitlyn: a hunt domain (she can never rest in the chase. one moment to consider sparing those in her path is her loss. the chase consumes her, but it will never end.)

jinx: a spiral domain (are their faces real? are their words real? is she real?)

ekko: an extinction domain (he is out of time, and even he can't fix it this time. there is a world, and he knows he breathed life into it. he knows there were others. but it's just him now, and they were no match for those that sat and watched it fall to ruin. concrete and rusted metal is all that's left now, and he knows it burrows so deep no roots will grow past it.)

jayce: an eye domain (he has to know. what it is that he has to know, he doesn't know, and it might well destroy him. he knows he is watched, but it won't sway him frim the path of discovery.)

viktor: a flesh domain (no rambling explanation here. you heard the part in mag171 about the cutaway tulip.)

mel: a web domain (every twitch of her fingers yanks on the puppet-strings attached to them, and she doesn't know if she'd rather the puppet hate her or be none the wiser. she's trapped in another web, though, and the pattern must go up forever.)

ambessa: a slaughter domain (she knows the war has a purpose. all wars do. the moment-to-moment blood on her hands makes the memory of that purpose slip away.)

sevika: a lonely domain (there are people all around her, she knows. some of them might hate her, she thinks she might try to lead others. the fog drifts around her face - they don't know her. somebody might have, once, but she doesn't remember them.)

silco: a corruption domain (his home is riddled with holes. he tries to repair them, to build a place apart from this, but the rot persists. perhaps the rot is within him, and he carries it as his home crumbles at the edges. he cannot save it, dearly as the rot loves him.)

vander: a buried domain (he shouldn't be trapped here. where 'here' is, he doesn't know, but it's dark and pressing. he is needed, but every cry of his name pushes the walls closer. his throat is full of mud, even if he could find the words to do what he needs to.)

singed: an end domain (he can't stop. if he does, the end will come for them all. his steps are slow, slowed more as he drags with him what he loves, what must not be terminated. it follows, that invisible cloud of death, and it will catch him and all he holds dear.)

heimerdinger: an extinction domain (he knows he caused this, that he sat by until it was too late to save what literal remained of the world. there is nobody left now, as he wanders the decaying remnants of the lives that people had begged him to change. he is all that is left, and he will continue forever.)

maddie: a web domain (they hate her. she doesn't know who they are, but they hate her. her wooden jaw is moved as a voice that belongs to thousands of tiny things spills from her mouth. she has no control over the show, but perhaps this act is the one that the puppetmaster will admire. it won't be, as much as her character tries to imitate it.)

isha: a dark domain (she is a child, after all. something big is coming, she cannot see it or hear it but in the blackness she feels it. she can't scream, and nobody is coming. she doesn't know what is approaching.)

i feel like some of these (silco and maddie especially) only make sense to me. oh well.

[theamityelf]

got any thoughts about yandere kokichi? hes a classic for yandere stuff but i feel like so little of it actually digs deep into his character, so im curious on your take!

(Thank you for asking! This is going to be more of a brainstorm than the narrative format I used for the other yandere posts, but if you want a narrative, you can ask again. 😊)

Oh boy, the pressure. Okay, there are a few possible approaches for this, and it really depends on whether we think the yandere feelings would override the canon way he interacts with other people or not.

Option 1: Puppetmaster Kokichi. This is Kokichi being unwilling or unable to engage with the person he loves directly and honestly, and so arranging for someone else to date or befriend the person he likes. Someone a little like Gonta: someone he feels he can trust to engage with the person he's fallen for in exactly the ways he wants them to. Not just someone he can manipulate or command, but someone he considers both genuinely decent and malleable.

(Which maybe gives a new context to the end of this post.)

I'm not saying it's literally Gonta, because first of all that would add more variables to the mix and second of all Yandere Kokichi would more likely choose someone he can pluck out of darling's life the moment they displease him. Which is kinda inevitable, because while he's good at having people do what he intends them to do, it's not like a superpower; the people he drives into darling's life will definitely disappoint him one way or another at some point, and he'd like to be able to just flick them off the chessboard the moment that happens and chuck someone else into play.

And this continues for as long as he's able to convince himself he doesn't want more. Once he comes to terms with the fact that controlling things isn't enough for him, he'll most likely pivot to one of the other two options.

I'm picturing Puppetmaster Kokichi sighing heavily and getting rid of the latest match he's given his darling, and darling wakes up the next morning tied to a chair while Kokichi shows them a slideshow presentation on what he's been up to and asks for consumer feedback.

Option 2: Cackling Villain Kokichi. He's chasing. He's picking locks, leaving calling cards in darling's room. He is straight up telling people he's a yandere for this person; it's not a secret at all. Honestly, this one is very similar to the next one, so I'll explain more through compare and contrast in that section.

Option 3: Parody of Every Emotion Kokichi. He asks the person out, but it seems like a bit. He goes places with them and spends time with them, but it seems like a bit. He indirectly gets people killed who vie for their time or affection...but, like, just as a goof, right? Once again, he is telling people explicitly that he's a yandere for this person, but they don't believe him. They believe he's lying when he says he's in love with them; everyone has different theories about why he's being this way. "He's bullying them." "He's trying to get them alone to kill them." "He thinks it's funny."

Being a yandere + being the person who expresses a feeling by expressing it so hard no one believes him means it gets campy fast. The difference between this and option 2 is that he isn't taking credit for actual wrongdoing with this one. If someone goes missing, Cackling Villain Kokichi is saying he tied them to a cement block and sank them in the river (even though he didn't); Parody of Every Emotion Kokichi will pretend he never heard of them in the first place and then admit that he never liked them and then cry if he's accused of doing something (though he's made sure to have an alibi).

For all three versions, any romantic rival who he doesn't consider useful to or deserving of the person he likes is going to be removed from the equation one way or another. (Usually his methods are cleverer than murder.)

If the romantic rival does seem to have the potential to be a good partner, Puppetmaster Kokichi and Cackling Villain Kokichi both drive them together, in their own way. Parody of Every Emotion Kokichi and Cackling Villain Kokichi both threaten and harass rivals, but Parody of Every Emotion Kokichi is doing it to drive them away from darling, whereas Cackling Villain Kokichi is doing it to drive them closer to darling.

[sirenjose]

Thoughts about Mattias' Design Notes

"Ventriloquism" explains the "consonants" in Matthias' deducs 3 and 9.

The manor game designers being inspired by their "device design", but came to include Matthias himself after seeing him pursue "perfection" by playing the role expected of him...

Movable devices that have some way to talk (even if by pretending via ventriloquism) makes me think of Bonbon. Though he was made before the manor games...

There is also how the manor is seemingly responsible for making Louis and sending him back to Matthias...

Maybe a bit of a strange thought, but the Muse sculptures came to my mind too. They were also said to be "mechanisms" designed by Burke. From what we've seen so far, they don't move much or talk, but maybe they'll do more later in the main story...?

But besides that I wonder why else the manor games would need "movable devices"

As for the "perfection" bit, that makes me think of Hollow and his desire to "rebuild paradise", as "paradise" is essentially meant to be a "perfect" place.

With the role Hollow and Orpheus are trying make themselves out to be, they'd also be interested in "perfection". And with Hollow/Orpheus' desire for "vengeance", I'd imagine the idea of "getting stronger" was his first idea to achieve that perfection.

But for Matthias, "Louis" is the imagined "perfect" version of Matthias. Matthias just acts the way people expect him to. Orpheus also pretends in a way, considering what we know about him vs. how we see him act in the final game and in general.

I wonder if you could say Orpheus got the idea of the hallucinations from Matthias?

Matthias pretends to be Louis. Maybe this can be sort of like Frederick acting as Mary? Or Norton who we see holding a pickaxe pretending to be Fool's Gold and pretend to chase Alice?

Puppets are normally controlled via strings, though the Czernin's created "movable devices", so like the design notes say about the chess pieces in Matthias' essence, the Czernin's performance (+ ventriloquism) makes Louis seem alive and like it has a will of its own.

Orpheus in this case is like the puppetmaster, with the game participants being the puppets (especially with how in game they're shown with doll eyes). The participants are alive and thus capable of moving and talking and acting on their own, but Orpheus is the 1 manipulating and moving them into the places and roles he desires them to be in. He can also make them act differently from how they normally are (with the help of the drugs), or basically make them more extreme than they normally are.

But back to Orpheus himself being like Matthias in the way of acting out a different role than what he actually is. Orpheus in a way does act a different role based on people's perceptions. Specifically how he's viewed by the public due to him being a novelist.

In contrast, we know Orpheus' inner feelings are closer to what we see and hear from Hollow as well as how he acts as the manor owner/Nightmare.

In the final game he acts as if he's the son of the DeRoss couple. He acts as if the forest ranger wasn't his real father, as if Orpheus didn't have any part in the tragedy despite how we know from Bonbon's deductions he had been involved to a degree (at least by apparently stealing things from the manor for his real parents). He acts like he doesn't know Alice.

We don't know if he's truly forgotten or if he's only pretending, but this is still likely what he wants to believe in. Even in the present, after Time of Reunion, Orpheus believes in memories we know aren't the complete truth.

As we see in Matthias' Design Notes, the final line is appropriate. It's a "meticulously crafted illusion performance" that "became a lifelong, irrevocable delusion". Except now Alice wants to stop Orpheus, fix everything, and make everyone, including Orpheus, confront the truth.

[ghostonstrings]

Okay as I said I have a Spy!Master AU i wanted to lore dump about, and here it is. I'll draw him soon (well I have drawn him before i just don't like posting doodles to tumblr), but here's the lore under the cut.

Part 1 of 2

Trigger Warnings

Torture, Suicide, Violence

Ignore spelling mistakes i didn't proof read this.

The Puppetmaster is the Spy!Master after escaping the tooth. He played a guessing game with the Toymaker and lost, causing him to get transported and trapped inside the Toymaker's gold tooth, like canon. Inside this tooth, however, was the Toymaker's realm, the tooth one of the many ways to get to it other than direct transport by the Toymaker himself. The Master found himself in a dark dead end of some dirty underground, surronded by faint laughter and giggles. Said laughter was from rabid and broken toys that were thrown away by the Toymaker due to being too feral. These toys chased and ran after the Master, and once they caught him, they tore him to shreds, killing him. The Master woke again in the same place before, the same laughter as before, and was chased then mauled by the same toys as before. This process of dying repeated many times before the Master finally managed the strength to fight them off, killing them/ripping them to shreds and found a door to escape the deepest pit of the Toymaker's realm.

After that incident, things didn't get better, the next place was a playroom made by the Toymaker for the Master. Said Toymaker referred to him as a puppet and a toy, his "favorite" toy, at that. To emphasize that, he attached magical strings to the Master, on his joints and everywhere where a puppet would bend slowly and painfully, turning him into a living puppet. The Toymaker left The Master after that in his playroom. The memories of everything that happened in the hall that the Master broke off a piece of plastic off a toy and slit his throat with it. Unfortunately for him, the Toymaker healed it over quickly without even appearing to him, and removed all plastic toys from the room, replacing them all with stuffed toys until he thought the Master was stable enough to have them back.

The Master mostly slept or talked to the stuffed animals, lonely. He would hallucinate often, sometimes Theta, sometimes 13, even named one of his stuffed animals the Doctor in attempts to have her back. One day, when bored, the Master deciced he would leave the playroom, in some act of rebllion to try to find and defeat the Toymaker, but would find himself to be chased by more rabid toys again. He made it farther than any other times in the dark place. But after 50+ attempts to find the Toymaker, 50+ times dying, they caught him, but, instead of killing him, they burried him alive. He suffocated and died inside the hole the dug him in, and when he awoke again, it wasn't in his playroom (like a checkpoint really), he was still inside the hole, a punishment by the Toymaker for leaving his playroom so many times. The Master obtained many scars on his hands from digging himself out with his hands and feet alone.

After that incident, the Master was hestiant to leave his playroom again. He found himself growing insane, it was hard to remember things since before his many deaths. The Toymaker seeing this more as boredom decided to give him a friend. Enter Millennia, who the Master was far too gone to remember her, but he could tell she was friendly, and was comfortable around her. Millennia remembered him, however, would often call him Koschei. The Master thought he recognized the name, but the feeling was gone just as quick as it came.

In another act of rebellion, The Master left the playroom while Millennia wasn't paying attention and tried to seek out the Toymaker. Bored of the ordeal, the Toymaker activated the invisible strings he added to him and puppeted him back to the playroom. The Master, traumatized by the feeling, didn't want to leave again, but the Toymaker felt a certain rush when he controled him. The Toymaker started visiting the Master a lot more often. Turning him into a normal sized puppet to play with, keeping him life sized to dance with, each time causing the Master to lose more and more of himself.

Too much time with the Toymaker's essance and power corrupted not only his memories, but his self. He could do things he couldn't do before, making the toys in the playroom talk or come to life, spinning things around with just his hands, changing the color of things, turning things into other thing like bubbles or puppets. He quite liked puppets, perhaps because he was one. At a certain point, he asked Millennia what his name was. Millennia told him she didn't know, because he never told her.

Confused, the living puppet left the playroom again to set out to find the Toymaker to ask him who he was. His memory was failing and breaking, only chosing to remember fun things, while long forgetting his life as the Master. He happened to also forget the rabid toys that enjoy attacking him. There were new ones, angry and hungry, recently thrown away by the Toymaker. They knew the Time Lord puppet was their creator's favorite and jealously swarmed in this wooden hearts. They jumped the puppet, the worst attack since the first one when he was still the Master, still knew who he was. The ripped out parts of his flesh, biting all the way to the bone, tearing him apart but in a way that would not kill him like the other attacks. It was pure sdism and hatred, and it left the puppet sobbing, shivering, begging for what was left of his life. The last shard of the Master broke apart at that very moment.

When the toys left, they took a part of the puppet's shoulder, his right hand, and chunks of both legs. The Toymaker didn't see the attack, too busy arguing with one of his toys, but he saw the aftermath. He took his puppet to the castle to fix him up, replacing the missing parts of his skin with colorful skin instead, rather than making the effort of finding his exact skin tone.

When his puppet awoke from his unconscious state and asked why he didn't just change the color because he had the power to do so, the Toymaker said it made him look more fun with multicolored skin, the puppet agreed. While healing in the Toymaker's castle, the puppet asked if the Toymaker knew who he was. His puppeteer assured him that names weren't important. Yet, for some reason, his identity was important to him. He managed to find his scrambled memory the name "Master", yet it didn't sound right, he was a puppet, he wasn't the master of anything! But he was the master of puppets, he loved making them, talking to them, everything about them! So the Puppetmaster was born

[tearyeyedonce-gentlesoul]

glossary (WIP)

i didn't know there was a word limit on tumblr until i made this, so i unfortunately had to remove links that would lead to specific tags and help with organizing on here. also note that this post might be remade in the future

electricpuke/rocklandgame characters: abel, adam, adam whesker, akihiko kojima, akira kojima, alchemy willow, alice (electricpuke), alice carroll, amaterasu, ami, amy, ana (rockland), ana (viral), annabelle winter, arcadian, aria king, ashley kinley, ashton kinley, athena dianoia, audrey, august dixie, avery greyson, axel, baal, cain zeitgeist, callum willow, cassiel, charlie willow, chase knox, chase valentine, christopher “chris” king, circe, damien morningstar, dante stryker, dominick torrero, dylan, edison tekker, elise, elizabeth bathory, enoch, eve, faereighn, farz murphy (electricpuke), foal, freya, gabriel, gabriel lily, grace quinn, hades, hammerclaw, hana, heidi, horus, hunter, itsuki mori, jack buchanan, jason buchanan, jason carmine (rook), jiyun, john, kali, karasu, kaz tyagi, kenny, kiku kojima, kiyoshi, kurt, lachesis chronis, lady yuzu, leo taylor, lilith, lincoln, logan, loki marshall, lucifer morningstar, macey, marco jennings, marcus de la cruz, max, melanie, meredith, mia, michael fitzroy, michael volkov, mio, molly, morgan, morgan le fey, munchie, naoki “nathan” donovan, nicolas flamel, olivia, oswalt morrison, peyton, quinton willow, rai, raizer, raja, ramiel, raphael, raphael sivori, reiko nakamura, ribbon, richter (hotelpsycho), rory stryker, rose martinez, rosey, roy mcnamara, ruby red graves, sally, samael volkov, sanae, sano kojima, sejun, sergio marino, sergio morrison, shane, shiro suzuki, sparrow, sun-mi yeon (scarlet), sydney dixie, teagan buchanan, the engineer, the REAL vincent metzger, thor, tobias reeves, trace, trevor mcloughlin, tsubaki, tyler, uriel metzger, valak, vencil cartier, veni (electricpuke), verak, vincent castillo (electricpuke), vincent metzger, vlad, xander rosario, yeon seong-mi (emily yeon), zero (dollmaker), zero (empire), zeus

gatobob characters: ashe, anthony shore, beg, celia lede, centicat, chamomile, charlie, chastity, chet ichpujani, cry, demon, derek aeron, derek goffard, dirty the possum, dragon, evander hutch, farz murphy (gatobob), farzen, fox, gideon bautista, harold, jack, jaqueline, jedka (facility), jesse, komodo, lawrence oleander, lich, lily talor, machete, marten trell, mason armbruster, mason heiral, matt, mona winters, raid, randall, raven, ren hana, rhodes, richard, roadkill girl, samantha, scream, sid, stan, strade, tom, trigger, veni (gatobob), vincent castillo (gatobob) (gatobob), vincent castillo (gatobob)

other notable characters: a.e.d, ellen klein, izm, lucien rire, rodchester williams, shaun

---

known aliases/blogs:

arioddsandends, askparasitegods, doctor-dollmaker, electricpuke, fuckbyknifepoint, nagakira, nurseharlot, rocklandgames, scarletaegis, scarletmarionette, trentboyett

gatoanswers, gatoafterdark, gatobob, gatobob-spotty, gatoplays-sos, gatxbxb, gurobob, gurpbob, serpulalacrymans

---

eras (label for creator universes): altinr, arcane, boyfriend to death, crazy au, dark circus au, devil's night carnival, dollmaker, empire, facility, foxtail, human!au, huntress, inferno, mark of belial, nightclub, of gods and monsters, rockland, route 66, self insert, the artist, the carnival game, the commander, the doctor, the hunt, the misfits, the price of flesh, the puppetmaster, the serial killer, this is not romance, till death do us part, viral, welcome home, yanaki, you kill me every time, zeitgeist

[mimiyanna]

Immortal temptation. Takes over my mind, condemned. Fallen weak on my knees, summon the strength. Of mayhem.

I am the storm that is approaching, provoking black clouds in isolation. I am reclaimer of my name. Born in flames, I have been blessed. My family crest is a demon of death. Forsaken I am awakened. A phoenix’s ash in dark divine. Descending misery, destiny chasing time.

Inherit the nightmare, surrounded by fate. Can’t run away. Keep walking the line between the light, led astray. Through vacant halls I won’t surrender. The truth revealed in eyes of ember. We fight through fire and ice forever. Two souls once lost, and now they remember.

I am the storm that is approaching, provoking black clouds in isolation. I am reclaimer of my name. Born in flames, I have been blessed. My family crest is a demon of death. Forsaken I am awakened. A phoenix’s ash in dark divine. Descending misery, destiny chasing time. Disappear into the night. Lost shadows left behind. Obsession’s pulling me. Fading, I’ve come to take what’s mine.

Lurking in the shadows under veil of night, constellations of blood pirouette, dancing through graves of foes who stand at my feet. Dreams of the black throne I keep on repeat. A derelict of dark, summoned from the ashes. The puppetmaster congregates all the masses. Pulling strings, twisting minds as blades hit. You want this power then come try to take it.

Bury the light deep within. Cast aside, there’s no coming home. We’re burning chaos in the wind. Drifting in the ocean, all alone.

[sanguine-recollection]

Characters:

Abel, Adam, Adam Whesker, Akihiko Kojima, Akira Kojima, Alchemy Willow, Alice (ElectricPuke), Alice Carroll, Amaterasu, Ami, Amy, Ana (Rockland), Ana (Viral), Annabelle Winter, Aphrodite, Arcadian, Ares, Aria King, Ashley Kinley, Ashton Kinley, Athena Dianoia, Audrey, August Dixie, Avery Greyson, Axel

Baal

Cain Zeitgeist, Callum Willow, Cassiel, Charlie Willow, Chase Knox, Chase Valentine, Christopher “Chris” King, Circe

Damien Morningstar, Dante Stryker, Dominick Torrero, Dylan

Edison Tekker, Elise, Elizabeth Bathory, Enoch, Eve

Faereighn, Farz Murphy (ElectricPuke), Foal, Freya

Gabriel, Gabriel Lily, Grace Quinn

Hades, Hammerclaw, Hana, Heidi, Hera, Horus, Hunter

Itsuki Mori

Jack Buchanan, Jason Buchanan, Jason Carmine (Rook), Jiyun, John

Kali, Karasu, Kaz Tyagi, Kenny, Kiku Kojima, Kiyoshi, Kurt

Lachesis Chronis, Lady Yuzu, Leo Taylor, Lilith, Lily Taylor, Lincoln, Logan, Loki Marshall, Lucifer Morningstar

Macey, Marco Jennings, Marcus De La Cruz, Max, Melanie, Meredith, Mia, Michael Fitzroy, Michael Volkov, Mio, Molly, Morgan, Morgan Le Fey, Munchie

Naoki “Nathan” Donovan, Nicolas Flamel

Olivia, Oswalt Morrison

Pallas Athena, Peyton

Quinton Willow

Rai, Raizer, Raja, Ramiel, Raphael, Raphael Sivori, Reiko Nakamura, Ribbon, Richter (hotelPSYCHO), Rory Stryker, Rose Martinez, Rosey, Roy McNamara, Ruby Red Graves

Sally, Samael Volkov, Sanae, Sano Kojima, Sejun, Seong-Mi Yeon (Emily), Sergio Marino, Sergio Morrison, Shane, Shiro Suzuki, Sparrow, Sun-Mi Yeon (Scarlet), Sydney Dixie

Teagan Buchanan, The Engineer, Thor, Tobias Reeves, Trace, Trevor McLoughlin, Tsubaki, Tyler

Uriel Metzger

Valak, Vencil Cartier, Veni (ElectricPuke), Verak, Vincent Castillo (Electricpuke), Vincent Metzger, Vincent Metzger (Lesser Angel), Vlad

Xander Rosario

Zero (Dollmaker), Zero (Empire), Zeus

Known aliases/blogs:

afterdark, arioddsandends, askparasitegods

cyanidesin

doctor-dollmaker

electricpuke

fuckbyknifepoint

nagakira, nurseharlot

rocklandgames, runawayoutlaw

scarletaegis, scarletmarionette

trentboyett

Projects (Either created or partook in):

Arcane

Boyfriend to Death, Boyfriend to Death 2: Fresh Blood

Crazy AU

Dark Circus AU, Devil's Night Carnival, Dollmaker

Empire

Foxtail

Huntress

Inferno

Mark of Belial

Nightclub

Of Gods And Monsters

Rockland, Rockland: MOB, Rockland: Most Wanted, Rockland: The Hand of God, Rockland: The Misfits (Note that these are organized alphabetically. I am unsure what order they're in chronologically), Route 66

Self Insert

The Artist, The Carnival Game, The Commander, The Doctor, The Hunt, The Puppetmaster, The Serial Killer, Till Death Do Us Part

Viral

Welcome Home: Farmhouse, Welcome Home: Mansion

YanAki

Zeitgeist

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

I have a feeling that Atla creators/screenwriters created a bunch of great female characters and then had no idea what to do with them. Book 1 was really good, but in Book 3 things became much worse (for me).

Katara in Book 1 is amazing. She is strong, stubborn, compassionate, full of energy. She has her flaws which is great. She has her own big goal, to learn waterbending ("I'm not doing it for you" is a great line) – she's a real character, not just hero's love interest. But in Book 2 we met Toph and Katara became more feminine, less chaotic. I know, it's for the contrast, but she achieved her goal, became the master and then... nothing. She's helping Aang, she has some episodes focused on her – only one-episode plots, unlike Book 1, but at least there are many of them, so overall that's good – but she was so much more. And she never did ALL the chores before Book 3 where she out of the blue is often shown... cooking. What happened? Other kids have something to do but all the creators left for Katara, their female lead, is cooking?!.

As for Toph – "The Blind Bandit" is an amazing episode and "The Library" adds more drama to her character, giving her a weakness. And that's all. Toph is and remains cool, confident, amazingly strong and skilled, rude, rebellious, almost fearless – with only exception for "The Sozin's Comet", where she was scared of falling from airship. Her start is great, she has an interesting personality – but what else? Her conflict about not having experience in teamwork is quickly solved in "The Chase", her parents are briefly mentioned at the end of Book 2, then suddenly become important in "The Runaway", but other than that seem non-existent to her. What's her goals? Where's her growth? Why there is no scene where she tries to improve her sandbending, for example? She has problems with sand in "The Library" but in "The Sozin's Comet" she's already a sandbender master... Metalbending also just comes to her, not through resolving any inner conflict. She does not change – not that it was absolutely necessary but I'd love to see her grow.

Yue was good in her three episodes in Book 1 – not a warrior, very feminine but with strong spirit and sense of duty. She appears on the swamp in Book 2, which makes sense, and then in Book 3, "The Awakening" – why her, why Roky is not enough? Why she never tried to contact Sokka whom she loves and promised to be with? If her story is finished why she appears again and again? If creators really wanted to keep her in the plot, she could've done something in "The Puppetmaster" or in "The Day of Black Sun", since she's the moon now. But no. So why bring her up, what's the point?

Suki is the worst example. Audience loved her in "The Warriors of Kyoshi" and she really was good, showing that a girl could also be a fighter (we have Katara but it's nice to see she's not the only girl in this universe who can fight). So the creators decided to give Suki a bigger role in the story... which I can't see. Suki has no goals of her own. Suki has no outstanding personality – she is strong, kind and beautiful and she loves Sokka, but Katara is also strong, kind and beautiful. Toph is strong, kind and pretty, and she also loves Sokka. Yue is kind and beautiful, and has a strong spirit, and guess what? – yes, she loves Sokka too. Even Ty Lee is strong and pretty and interested in Sokka (and she is also a very capable non-bender). So, Suki has nothing unique... She even lost her sarcasm – what happened to the girl who made fun of Sokka? Why she can't say anything equally humiliating about Ozai in the final?.. It would be okay if she was a side character like Haru or Teo, but many fans claim her as a member of the Gaang. What's her role in the story in that case? Being Sokka's official girlfriend and barely interacting with any other main cast members? Creators reduced their cool character to THAT? What a pity.

Azula has the same issue as Toph – great start, no development. She is always strong, talented, sarcastic, cunning. No flaws, not a single weakness ("The Beach" kinda tried, but it's the only episode in two seasons of her screen time). Her relationships with Ursa are a mystery, we don't know why they have such issues, there are lots of interpretations that differ dramatically. Her inner conflict has barely been mentioned through the whole show. She has a goal, yes – to please her father. Not even become his heir, just to please him. Almost everything she does is her father's will/orders. An interesting start, a potential for a huge tragedy, but we see only one moment where Azula was hurt by their unhealthy family dynamic, – and it's in the final. Her breakdown therefore feels a bit rushed. I don't know, it wasn't enough for me. Azula could be much more elaborated.

Ty Lee and Mai are both fine since they are side villains for most of the story. Toph and Suki would also look good with that amount of focus on them.

But at least all these girls havea great start. They are all different and equally interesting. They are all unique.

"The legend of Korra", thought, is much worse. Asami? strong, kind, beautiful, intelligent, a perfect girlfriend. Jinora? strong, kind, beautiful, intelligent, a perfect girlfriend. Opal? strong, kind, beautiful, intelligent, a perfect girlfriend. What's this, the "Suki syndrome"? My god, Ikki or Kuvira at least have some personality... The only interesting female character is Korra herself – at least, she's not cliché, she has flaws, she makes mistakes, she learns, suffers, reflects on her decisions, she can be funny or stupid. But her female sidekicks are plain and boring.

(I did not mention Lin, Suyin, Pema, Eska etc, because they have other problems. At least, they are more developed than adult women in Atla, that's something).

NB: it's not anti-anyone post. The fact that girls in Atla are so cool is very important. I just wish more for them.

X

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Ziku, do you have any unhinged or hysterical notes about your au that you wish to share with the class (me)? Any funny bits or like... Cool as fuck shit you wanna tell us (me)?

Oh, unhinged fact? Oh sure, um, lemme just check my notes real quick....

Ahah, there we go.

Did you know The Puppetmaster started the apocalypse? Happens to the best of us, just like any good war criminal. 😌

'Cool as fuck shit', let's see.....

Did you know that underneath Kingr's skull mask, lies a real mechanical endoskeleton skull? And that the skull can be flipped open like a hatch?

'Hysterical/funny bits', hmmm.....

Moonie really wants to give Pomni a complete makeover, declaring her to be a "an untouched canvas", and that she would make the Harlequin "the most dazzling star to be ever laid eyes upon"?

This is to the point where Moonie would chase after Pomni, demanding a makeover session in a similar fashion that she would chase Caine for a date.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Hey, what are your top 10 favorite episodes of Avatar and/or most underrated episodes?

That is a good one! I'll do my top 10 favourite and then some underrated ones, I think

Top 10 in largely no set order except for #1:

Sozin's Comet (all 4 but if I had to eek out probs part 2 and part 4 would win)

The Southern Raiders

The Storm

The Blue Spirt

Boiling Rock Part 2

The Library

The Southern Air Temple

Siege of the North Parts 1 and 2

The Awakening

The Chase

Honourable mentions: the Puppetmaster, the Avatar State, Crossroads of Destiny / the Guru, the Desert, the Beach, the Western Air Temple.

Underrated: The Deserter, Imprisoned, The Swamp, The Earth King. The worldbuilding, pacing, messaging, and characterization (Jeong-Jeong, King Kuei) are things that always stand out to me and make me appreciate these eps more every time I watch it.

Some of my faves or honourable mentions like Southern Air Temple or the Deserter / the Chase I also think are very underrated tbh. Book 3 of ATLA is overall my favourite even if I think in some ways Book 2 is stronger structurally / pacing wise.

Likewise, looking at my list — an emphasis on stakes, backstory, turning point consequences, ethics — is why I think I've come to enjoy certain shows (aka one, The Dragon Prince) over ATLA because it caters more to what I specifically loved about ATLA to begin with.

Like I love Azula's breakdown arc (hence my episode picks), but there's really only 1 maybe 2 episodes where the lead up gets tangible focus (though you can / I do include her intro scene in 2x01 and fight in Southern Raiders, so rounding that up to like, 3.5ish episodes I guess). Dragon Prince's Azula equivalent — young prodigy in dark arts deeply devoted to her incredibly flawed father vs her older brother who eventually breaks away from their fucked up family dynamic — Claudia? Her breakdown is like 3 seasons and it's still going; she hits Azula's Sozin's Comet breakdown in 6x01 and there's another like 18 episodes after that (with another three seasons planned after that). And this is with her not even starting out the show as a Villain (although she is always, arguably, an antagonist)

Almost every episode, eventually (I'd say halfway through S2 is when it starts in earnest and then it just. steadily ramps out until it is every episode from like 5x08 onwards) is kinda like Southern Raiders Lite minimum if not outright, and I love it so so much

[wheelercore]

Robin Rose Weaver -> a spider weaves its web to trap its prey -> the rose wallpaper on the byers wall that will kept on trying to come through in st1, chased by the demogorgan -> will = prey, demogorgan = spider = predator, rose design = web -> tammy thompson sounds like a "muppet" aka a puppet that is controlled by a puppetmaster -> "my nana is sick" -> "a lie designed to conceal a truth" -> "papa lies"

[let-me-iiiiiiiin]

God, the lyrics of "Bury The Light" by casey edwards and victor borba is such a good fit for OG luo binghe. It's such a shame that the actual song doesn't fit the vibe I've assigned him in my head

Just look at these though:

Immortal temptation takes over my mind

Condemned

Fallen weak on my knees, summon the strength

Of mayhem

I am the storm that is approaching

Provoking black clouds in isolation

I am reclaimer of my name

Born in flames, I have been blessed

My family crest is a demon of death

Forsakened, I am awakened

A phoenix's ash in dark divine

Descending misery

Destiny chasing time

Inherit the nightmare, surrounded by fate

Can't run away

Keep walking the line between the light

Led astray

Through vacant halls, I won't surrender

The truth revealed in eyes of ember

We fight through fire and ice forever

Two souls once lost, and now they remember

[Chorus again]

Disappear into the night

Lost shadows left behind

Obsession's pulling me

Fading, I've come to take what's mine

Lurking in the shadows under the veil of night

Constellations of blood pirouette

Dancing through the graves of those who stand at my feet

Dreams of the black throne I keep on repeat

A derelict of darkness, summoned from the ashes

The puppetmaster congregates all the masses

Pulling strings, twisting minds as blades hit

You want this power? Then come try and take it

Beyond the tree

Fire burns

Secret love

Bloodline yearns

Dark minds embrace

Crimson joy

Does your dim heart

Heal or destroy?

Bury the light deep within

Cast aside, there's no coming home

We're burning chaos in the wind

Drifting in the ocean all alone