#sure I like somethings but it come on yana you had two years

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey, so you seem to be the the All Knowing in terms of twst. With Glorious Masquerade getting a rerun soon, I was looking at the cards.

So what the heck is up with Jamil's freaking hat? I'm sorry but I can't look at it without laughing. It looks so stupid. The closest thing I can think of that matches it is the combined crowns of upper and lower Egypt, but this is the equivalent of France so that can't be it.

While I’m flattered that people come to me with their questions, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that I’m just another TWST fan like you are! ^^ It’s stressful to be considered “all knowing” or a fandom authority 💦 That puts a lot of pressure on me to speak on certain subjects or to interact in a certain way (since people might put too much stock into what I say), and then that ends up detracting from my enjoyment. I’d rather not be put on such a high pedestal, please and thank you.

Now, onto the question!

According to Rollo in 1-13 of Glorious Masquerade, the costumes the NRC students were gifted are “patterned after designs that are over 500 years old.”

If we extrapolate this to real life, the implication is that these costumes have roots in Renaissance era (14th century to 17th century) French fashion. Interestingly, Rollo’s own hat is similar to a tricorne, which was primarily worn in the 18th century… so technically, his hat is more “modern” than what the NRC students wear 😂

So I browsed through records of hats from the indicated period and guess what? I couldn’t find an exact match—though I did find a lot of hat designs that I found way sillier than what the NRC boys have. Like… sorry, what is THAT 😭

Some headwear which bears a vague similarity to Jamil’s hat are the Egyptian combined/double crown (the pschent), which Anon has already mentioned, and the French hood, which was worn by women in the 15th century.

The actual closest match I came across was the mitre, a liturgical headdresses worn by Roman Catholic officials. If you look at it from the front, it doesn’t look like much, but it definitely has the height of Jamil’s hat. But then look closer and you’ll realize the mitre does not have one single flap of fabric, but rather two.

If you take the front flap of a mitre and fold it back, you would probably get something very similar to what Jamil wears. (Note that the black part of the hat is NOT his hair, but is fabric that is part of the hat.)

Considering that Noble Bell College is styled like a cathedral and that the Renaissance era from which the Masquerade Dress clothing derives is characterized by the rediscovery of classical literature, art, and philosophy… perhaps it’s not so strange to see a hat borne of religious associations.

… Why did Jamil specifically get this hat? Not sure, I’m not religious myself so don’t ask me to psychoanalyze him from that angle 😂

The golden part securing the front is unusual and does not appear in French fashion of the time (at least not from what I could tell?). It’s styled like pschent but more likely is meant to be turban-like due to Jamil’s inspiration, Jafar, having the same feather sticking up in the middle of a bulbous hat. You’ll notice Jamil had a “feather” too, albeit metal:

To summarize, I think the design of Masquerade Dress Jamil’s hat borrows from multiple inspirations and not just one/old French fashion. Yana has stated before in a March 2023 interview with the Apple App Store that the cultures of Twisted Wonderland are unique and that the clothing that appears in the game are not “reinterpretations of existing costumes”. She seems to incorporate elements from both high fashion and from a variety of cultures to arrive at the final designs. For example, there are elements of many Nordic cultures in the Apple Pom outfits, and the Pomefiore uniform has a Japanese kimono-like silhouette despite the dorm being based on the the Evil Queen (originating from a German tale). I assume something similar happened when designing the Masquerade Dresses; Yana and co. wanted to combine elements and make something of their own.

Final comment I'll make, the shape of Jamil's hat looks like a kind of dumpling... It makes me hungry.

[yuurei20]

A little bit ago, I heard a fan mention something that implied Sebek’s grandfather’s name has two spellings in the English Server. I am not at Book 7 myself just yet, so I was not sure if it was true, however, I decided to look into it through footage on YouTube to verify if it was true. In Book 7 Chapter 26, Lilia mentions Sebek’s Grandfather’s name, and it is spelled “Baul.” Fast forward to Book 7 Chapter 56, and we get to see Sebek’s grandfather for the first time and his name is now spelled “Baur.”

Is either spelling technically correct? Why do you think the English localizers first spelled it “Baul” before changing it to “Baur”? Thank you!

Hello hello! ^^ Thank you for this question!

You are very correct: the first mention of Sebek's grandfather's name was written with an "L," while from the second mention onward it has been written with an "R," but the name is consistent on JP!

While I do not work for Aniplex USA I have been doing localization work for a few years now, and my guess would be: it was just a proof-reading error :>

It is possible that "Baul" was an early-draft localization that was changed to "Baur" at some point in the process, and they just happened to miss the first time that the name came up! Perhaps they opened the text files to 7-4 and did a search-and-replace for "Baul -> Baur," and did not think to check 7-2? ^^ We will never know!

(Aniplex USA is no stranger to continuity adventures: credit to Twitter's Kanna for discovering that EN has spelled "Felicity Cosmetics" three different ways.)

As for which is correct, we would have to ask Yana to be sure!

The Japanese language does not really have Rs and Ls--Riria, Lilia, Rilia, Liria? They're all the same in Japanese! (It is same with Rollo/Lolo/Roro/Loro and Ferro/Fello, etc., which is why there can be conflicting claims by both fan and even official translators (re: Baur/Baul) if a character's romaji has yet to be announced by the creator.)

Q: So how does someone know how their name is supposed to be spelled in romaji?

A: You decide for yourself! ^^ When you get a passport in Japan you register the romaji spelling that you want! So if Sebek's grandfather wanted to get a Japanese passport he could write either Baur or Baul, and whatever he chose would become the correct spelling!

Since he cannot decide for himself--as he is not real--the decision comes down to Yana, as his creator ^^ As of this post I do not believe that we have seen his name written anywhere in the JP game or on merchandise, etc., in romaji, so there is no way for us to know at the moment which she prefers.

This is likely the source of the problem with Felicity Cosmetics, as well! The EN team did not know the correct spelling as it was only ever written in Japanese, so they had to make something up!

We only just received the official spelling in the Tapis Rouge event :>

There is a new game guide coming out in September and there is a possibility that information about him will be included, so we may get confirmation one day! 🐊

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

Hello Eeshu. Happy Diwali!

If you're still taking prompts could you write something about post cohf magnus coming home after getting drunk with cat and tessa and being all adorable and horny and Alec is amused and annoyed.

Happy Diwali Yana!!!!🌈🌻

I wrote an exact scene like this in LWSYF. But for you, here’s another because there can never be enough drunk and sappy Magnus/Alec scenes in the world.

_______________________________________________

“Knock-knock!”

“Knock-knock!”

“Knock-knock!”

Alec groans as the noise grows louder and louder. He turns his face into the pillow to ignore the noise but it keeps on getting louder.

“Aaaggh,” he groans before finally sitting up. He checks the time on his phone.

1:53am.

Who the fuck is disturbing him at this time.

“Knock-knock!” The voice repeats and all the lightbulbs in Alec’s brain light up.

It’s always your own who disturb you during the middle of the night.

Alec removes the comforter and steps outside the bedroom to get Magnus. He’s not sure why Magnus is yelling ‘knock-knock’ when he can just magic inside. He’s almost unsure why Magnus is yelling the words instead of actually knocking.

Weirder things have happened in their world which is why Alec’s isn’t surprised in the slightest that Magnus is already inside the house and there’s a mid-sized door right in the middle of their living room. And Magnus keeps on knocking on it with incessant yelling.

“Knock-knock, Alexander.”

Alec crosses the distance and stands infront of Magnus, or the door.

“Magnus?”

A huge smile appears on Magnus’s face. “Alexander!! Knock-knock.”

“You’re already inside.”

“Oh.” Magnus makes an o-shape with his mouth.

“And why is there a random door inside our house?” Alec questions.

Magnus’s face scrunches in confusion before the smile reappears and he explains, “So, that I can get inside.”

Alec rubs his forehead. “Baby, you’re already inside. And I’m sure you portaled here.”

Magnus steps around the door and moves closer to Alec, “I invented the portal. Did you know that?”

Even in his most sleep-deprived state, Alec can find it in himself to be proud of his boyfriend. “I know. It’s incredible.”

“You think so,” There’s a lopsided smile on the man’s face and he puts his right feet forward but missteps. Alec moves instantly as Magnus falls into his arms, his smile widening as Alec tightens his hold on him.

“Careful,” Alec chides softly as he wraps an arm around his waist.

“Sorry.”

Alec shakes his head in affection. He removes the hair falling on Magnus’s face behind his ears. “What happened to warlocks don’t get drunk.”

Magnus blinks before his eyes widen. He shifts closer to Alec’s ears and whispers, “I lied.”

He chuckles softly as Magnus plants a kiss under his ear.

“Okay.”

“Promise to not tell anyone my secret,” the warlock holds out his pinky figure looking all types of adorable and Alec’s heart softens.

“On one condition.”

“What?”

“You’ll let me out you to bed before you fall on something else and splinter your head in two.”

Magnus giggles, “I can’t break my head in two Alec. I’m not an egg.”

Alec rolls his eyes, even though he’s floored with affection right now. He’s never been particularly fond of drunk people, not because he has an issue with drinking but because people became annoying when drunk. Izzy and Jace always acted hundred times stupider when drunk and Alec had to carry their drunk asses back to the institute.

But with Magnus, Alec doesn’t mind even his drunk self.

Maybe it’s because he’s so in love. Or maybe, it’s because it’s only been a few months since they’ve been back together and Alec still treasures these moments like they can be lost again.

“You’re an idiot,” he exhales.

“Your idiot.”

“I’ll run you a bath.”

Magnus’s face beams at the words. Alec’s never met anyone who loves showers or bathing as much as Magnus. The man can spend entirety of his day there and wouldn’t mind.

Alec, who spent 20 years of his life taking seven minute functional showers is still getting used to the luxury of what a good bath can do for you.

He manages to get Magnus into the washroom. He undresses the warlock, with considerable amount of strength as the man keeps on singing and flapping his body all around.

“Join me.”

“Baby, if I ever say no to that, please shoot me,” Alec mutters.

Magnus chuckles at him and pulls him under the shower head. “That would be redundant to my plans.”

“What plans?”

His boyfriend snaps his fingers and Alec’s naked in an instant. Magnus closes the distance between the two and pushes their mouths together, but owing to his drunk self, he misses it by a second and is about to fall again but Alec catches him—again.

“You are so drunk.”

“I am. I had a lot of fun today.” Magnus runs his hand across Alec’s back, peppering quick, hot kisses on his neck.

Alec keeps a steady hold on the man but Magnus seems in a mood as he keeps getting closer, not interested in the shower as he rubs their bodies together.

“I can see that,” he whispers, his body tingling at the closeness. Always does when he’s this close to Magnus. “I’m assuming Tessa and Cat are in similar state.”

Magnus pouts at them, “seemed fine. Or maybe they got lost in the portal, would serve them right for challenging me like that.”

“Challenge you at what?” He asks, turning the warlock around. Magnus whines on losing the contact but a few seconds later, Alec is lathering his hair with shampoo and a soft sigh leaves his mouth.

“Don’t remember.”

Alec snorts as he turns on the shower and cleans Magnus’s hair.

He finds a soft robe for Magnus but he refuses to wear it. He goes inside the cupboard and comes out with Alec’s sweatshirt in his head. It’s a baby blue sweater that he hadn’t seen in a while.

“You stole another one of my sweater?” He complains.

Magnus rolls his eyes, “I’ve stolen most of your sweaters Alexander, deal with it.”

“Are you just pretending to hate my clothes?”

“No. I hate them,” Magnus giggles. “But they’re comfy sometimes.” He tries to put on the sweater but one of his hands get stuck and he whines. “Alecccccc, evil sweater is eating me.”

“Hypocrite and a child,” Alec mutters before pulling the sweater on the man. He helps get the warlock dressed and Magnus puckers his lips when they’re done. “Victory kiss?”

“For what?“ Alec asks, not that he minds. But drink Magnus isn’t something he sees very frequently so he just wants to annoy him.

“I put the sweater on,” Magnus huffs his chest.

“I put that on you. Are you having memory loss?” Alec teases.

Magnus blinks and then steps back. “I’m drunk. And you’re being mean.”

“Sorry. Sorry,” Alec mumbles, before leaning to kiss him.

They fall onto the bed finally and Alec turns to get into their usual position but Magnus stops him.

“I’m going to be the little spoon tonight,” he announces and turns around, so that his back faces Alec.

Magnus Bane can break and crush and destroy Alec’s life and heart and Alec would let him. This is something he’d known for the longest time now, since Paris, maybe even more. Maybe since the day Alec kissed him in the accords hall. He knows he’d let Magnus do anything to him. But this—this Alec can not let happen. This, is non-negotiable.

“No.”

“What no?”

“It means no. You will not.”

Magnus turns, a frown on his face. “Why?”

“Because I’m always the little spoon.”

“And?”

“And what?” Alec chuckles.

“And I want to be the little spoon today, Alec.”

Magnus shifts closer and pokes Alec’s cheeks. “You’re mean.”

“I’m not. I just like to sleep a certain way,” he announces, a mischievous smile on his face.

“This is my bed,” Magnus whines and in an instant, all the teasing and lightness leaves Alec’s body. He knows it’s a joke, he knows Magnus isn’t trying to make a point, he knows all of it inside his heart but the second the words leaves the warlock’s mouth, his chest hurts.

It’s only been a few months since they’ve been together and while Alec has been living here, he doesn’t live-live here. It’s a stupid little thing but the last time Alec lived here, he had to leave. He had to leave ‘his home’ and go back to the institute. He’s not sure if he’s ready to do that again.

He needs time before he can live-live with Magnus again.

Magnus instantly notices the change in his body because he climbs upwards and forces Alec to look into his eyes. “I didn’t mean that, Alexander.”

Even in his most drunken state, Magnus sees him.

“I know, baby.”

The warlock shakes his head and cups both his cheeks tenderly, “No, you don’t. This is your home. I was being an idiot because you were being annoying.”

“Wow,” Alec says in mock hurt, “You’re victim blaming now?”

Magnus swats at his chest, “Alexanderrrrrr!”

Alec wraps his arms around Magnus’s waist and turns them around.

“Ouch.”

“What?”

“Head hurts.”

“It’s all the alcohol,” he teases.

“Fuck off.”

Alec chuckles as he hides his face in the crook of Magnus’s neck.

They stay like that for a few silent minutes before Magnus whispers. “Alec.”

“Ssshhhh. I’m sleeping.”

Magnus hums. Then a few seconds later, he speaks again. “Darling.”

“Hmmm. Still sleeping.”

“Okay.” Alec smiles knowing that it’s only a matter of second before Magnus calls out for him again, which he does.

“Alexander.”

“Yes, baby?”

“Can I tell you something?”

There’s a hesitation to his voice that wasn’t present earlier so Alec pulls back a little and peers at his boyfriend. “Yeah.”

“Promise not to make fun of me?” Magnus requests, a sheepish smile on his face.

Alec runs his hand through Magnus’s hair before leaning down to kiss him again. “Promise.”

It’s another few moments of quiet and Alec knows Magnus is trying to find the words. Magnus is a master at words but Alec knows it’s difficult for him sometimes, to say the things that lie deep inside of him.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s just me,” he assures as he runs a comforting hand over his chest.

“I was kind of miserable when we were broken up,” Magnus confesses. “Not just kind of. But, a lot, if I’m being honest.”

There’s something pushing at his chest, something similar to pain but not the kind that emerges from sadness. It’s the kind that blooms out of loving something so much that it hurts, in a good way. In the best way.

He palms Magnus’s cheeks and bends down to kiss his eyelids.

There’s a lot he wants to say but doesn’t. Not because he’s scared but because they’ve talked about this enough. He knows it’s just something Magnus needed to say right now, he’s not expecting an answer. He’s not expecting a ‘me too’. He’s not expecting comfort, even.

It’s just something Magnus needed to say right now.

So Alec says the next best thing he can.

“I love you,” he whispers against the man’s mouth, one hand coming under his body to tighten the hold.

There’s a soft smile on Magnus’s face when they pull back.

“Hey, Magnus?” He says after a few moments of quiet.

“Yeah?”

“I’m still not letting you be the little spoon.”

[purpleandstarlight]

I feel like chapter two of the Kuroshitsuji manga does a horrible job of introducing Lizzy and her relationship with o!Ciel?

I love them both to death and (although I don't ship them bc they're literally cousins) I am very fond of their interactions most of the time.

But that one chapter really wasn't it. Maybe it was Yana's intention, like a fake out, or maybe it was just that she didn't have all of the details about them straight yet, but compared to any other interaction they have, it's off character for both of them.

In that chapter, o!Ciel acts like Lizzie's presence is a bother he's just putting up with, almost slaps her (in a justified fit of anger, but it's not the best move nonetheless) and at the end, while he does end up making her happy, it doesn't give me the good vibes it usually gives me, since this one time he had a right with being upset and he was just putting on a mask for her sake.

Lizzie appears much more selfish than she usually is. Lizzy's whole deal is that she wants to protect "Ciel" and be there for him to support him and make him happy. Even if he's different from when they were kids because of his trauma she knows nothing about (and the fact that he isn't the same person in the first place, but she didn't know that yet), she never makes it a fault of him and she still loves him. This is very mature, and something shes been doing since she was literally eleven. She can go a bit overboard sometimes when trying to cheer him up, as she herself states in the birthday chapter, and ending up making things worse (Because she's literally a kid, no one can fault her for that) but she's doesn't get into his business too much. She never brings up his past in front of him. She's also observant enough to notice that he wears high heels to feel taller and genuinely goes out of her way to make him less self conscious about his height, so I find it hard to believe that she would be so insistent on taking off his Family Ring and even going as far as breaking in because "she didn't know it was important.".

Sure, she can notice something as minimal and unspoken as him wearing heels to look less like a tiny child when working in an adult world, but not think that 'Hey, maybe the family ring (you know, the family who died in very traumatic circumstances only a few years ago) could be kind of important to him"? I find that hard to believe.

Also the thing that Mei-Rin, Finny and Bard didn't know who she was, even though they've been working there for AT LEAST a year. I know Yana probably just wanted a way to introduce her as his fiance and cousin to the readers, but she could have done it in a way that doesnt make it seem like Lizzie's never around when, actually, she's frequently shown coming into the Manor from that point onward during the entirety of the manga. The Phantomhive Manor is home as much as her own house is. She spent a lot of time there with R!Ciel, Angelina and Rachel. It is also the house of his fiance, and she's canonically shown to not give a shit and show up completely by surprise there often (Her first introduction. The Circus arc when o!Ciel wasn't even home. That time where she came into the Manor to tell him about her trip on the Campania at the beginning of the arc). So forgive me for finding it hard to believe that they wouldn't know her.

Anyway yeah these are just my thoughts. Live love laugh Ciel and Lizzie

[whoficky]

Until Morning

Rating: T

Pairing: 10th Doctor X Rose Tyler

Notes: I'm a sucker for reunion fics and I've been playing around with this idea for years now. After much procrastination, I figured the best way to get me to finish writing the thing was to jump in and start posting. Hope you like it!

 

Work Summary: As a weary Doctor, Martha Jones and Jack Harkness prepare to take on the Master, they find their hideout isn't as secure as they thought.

In a burst of blue light, a dimension hopping Rose Tyler finally finds the Doctor, but time is still not on their side.

What if you only had one night to spend with the love of your life?

Chapter 1

The rumbling in Jack’s stomach interrupted his attempt at hacking into the Master’s digital database.  He glanced up to see if Martha had heard, and sure enough, she was looking at him with raised eyebrows. 

“Bit hungry?” she asked from where she was perched on one of the chairs they’d scavenged. 

“More than a little,” Jack acknowledged as he leaned back for a stretch.  “God, I’d kill for something hot and fried right now.”

“Mmm, yeah,” Martha sighed, “I’m so hungry I think I’d even eat Mum’s cooking.  And she’s never met a vegetable she hasn’t boiled into mush.”  Jack chuckled along with her, but neither of them really had their hearts in it.  

It had been a long, rough day for both of them.  

Was it really only this morning that Jack had finally caught up with the Doctor again?  He tried to calculate the hours, but it was as much of a hopeless task as it had always been when time travel was involved.  He hadn’t slept or eaten more than half a protein pack since he’d hitched a ride to the end of the universe, and being immortal unfortunately didn’t prevent him from hunger pangs or the affects of sleep deprivation.  If he listened to his body, he figured it had been about a day, Earth time.  Two at the most.     

The fact that he was already loosing track of his usual twenty-four-hour cycle wasn’t surprising.  That was typical when adventuring with the Doctor.  That man sucked you right into a different sort of reality.  Running for their lives and helping the last sentient life in the universe seek Utopia was par for the course.  Despite a complicated history the Doctor and Jack had needed to work out, he’d been having a hell of a good time.  At first.

Read More

But then the bumbling professor Yana had opened up an old pocket watch and everything had gone to hell.   In some ways it was a miracle - another survivor of the Time War.  But out of all the billions of refugees who could have survived, it’d had to be the Master - an utterly insane Time Lord who’d stollen the TARDIS, taken over the government, and captured Martha’s family.  The poor woman was beside herself waiting to learn what had become of them.  Jack knew it had killed her to run away when her parents were being hauled into that van.  He could relate.  His own sort of family, his Torchwood team, were MIA and his guts clenched when he thought of what the Master had done to them.   Even the Doctor could barely hide how all this was pushing him towards that edge he always danced around.  Jack had seen him go over it only once before, when they’d thought the Anne Droid had vaporized Rose Tyler.  He never wanted to see his old friend go there again.  The problem for all of them was that the Master had shown himself to be very good at hitting them where it hurt.  

So, here they were - holed up in this abandoned warehouse.  Hunted, anxious, and left with limited time and resources.  The Master had had eighteen months to put together a government takeover and whatever other schemes the madman had planned.  Jack doubted the three of them even had days to come up with a way to stop him.  It was very likely that humanity was on the brink of peril.     

Jack was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost flinched when Martha spoke again.

“Have you found anything?” she asked, getting up to look over his shoulder at the computer screen.        

“Almost there, I think,” he reported as he pushed his unease aside to resume working on Martha’s laptop.  “Tosh is usually the one to do this kind of thing, but I’m not too shabby at it.”   

“Tosh?” Martha asked confused.

“Oh, she’s part of my team at Torchwood.  Great with computers.  Gets along better with tech than people most of the time…And, hang on…BINGO!  I’m in!” Jack leant closer to the screen as he searched for various key words in the database.  “Oh yeah!” he said with relief, “Torchwood Four was sent off to the Himalayas.  Well that explains why they wouldn’t pick up the phone.  But hey, I’ll take it!  Better sent on some wild goose chase then mixed up in all this at ground zero.”  The knots in his stomach loosened a fraction as he plowed into a new search.

  “Aaaaand…” he said to stall as he clicked through a few folders, “Here we are, Martha!  Looks like Mom, Dad, and Sister have all been taken into custody for ‘questioning.’  They aren’t hurt though.  Just in custody.  See there’s some video footage.  And…” he scrolled down to make sure, “No mention of Leo,” he winked at her.

Martha seemed to take heart from that, “Guess he’s not as daft as I thought!” she laughed.  “My god, I’m talking about my brother on the run.  How did this happen?  And where is the Doctor?  He said he’d be right back.”

“Still setting up a security perimeter, I guess.  Though he’s certainly taking his time about it.”  Jack had the suspicion the “security perimeter” was really more an excuse for the Doctor to get some air and collect his thoughts.  God forbid the Time Lord showed an emotion in front of the humans, Jack thought with a smirk.        

“Maybe he can get some takeout while he’s at it.  I’m starving,” Martha plopped down on top of a large crate next to the fire they’d started in an old barrel.  

“So we’re back to food again?” Jack asked, shooting Martha a playful look to try and ease the lines of tension on her face.     

“Oh, I don’t know,” Martha chuckled, “I’m caught between fantasizing about it and trying to think of anything else.  Same goes for sleep.”

“Yeah I -” 

A flash of blue light illuminated the warehouse and the sharp sound of static filled the air.  Jack’s body reacted without thought, his training taking over as he leapt to his feet and moved into position to protect Martha.    

“Stay back!” he hissed at her as he stepped forward and pulled the gun from the holster at his hip.  The Doctor had disarmed it hours ago, but the intruder emerging from the crackling light wouldn’t know that.  It could still be a handy negotiating tool.  

“Hands up!” Jack barked as the light faded to reveal a humanoid who was still facing away from them.  His brain, now cleared from the fog of exhaustion, took a mere fraction of a second to catalogue the threat.  The figure was small, dressed in contemporary clothes and had shoulder length bleach blonde hair. He though he saw a flash of metal, maybe a small weapon strapped to her belt, but her hands were empty.  The figure had stumbled when she first appeared, but now was standing completely straight with her hands in the air.  There was something familiar about her posture though…

Then she spoke. “Jack?” 

He nearly dropped the gun when he heard that voice.  

But…it couldn’t be.  It was just traveling with Doctor again - she’d been on his mind was all.  He was tired and hungry and his mind was playing tricks on him.

“Who’s asking!” it was more a command for identification than a question.

“Oh my god!  Jack!” the figure turned around and this time Jack did drop the gun in favor of the blue and yellow blur that ran into his arms.

“Rosie?” he said amazed as his arms automatically folded around her.  His brain that had worked so quickly moments earlier slowed down as he tried to process this.  It was Rose.  Rose Tyler.  Rose Tyler had appeared out of nowhere in a supposedly secure building and was now in his arms hugging him hard enough that he’d be worrying about breathing if he was still mortal.  This wasn’t supposed to be possible.  The Doctor had said…ah, but then this wouldn’t be the first time the Time Lord had underestimated her.

“Oh god Jack, I’ve missed you!  But how are you here?  I thought you had di-,” seeming to catch herself, Rose stepped back out of his embrace, folded her arms, and looked him over.

“When is it for you?” she asked cautiously.  Looks like she’d kept her time traveling skills sharp, he thought grinning.

“Long after the Game Station,” he replied.  Just from a quick once over, Jack could tell that this Rose was a little older and a lot harder then when he’d seen her last, so it must have already happened for her too.  Still, a little caution wouldn’t hurt.  “And you?”

Rose stared at him in astonishment shaking her head slightly, “But Jack,” she said, “How are you here?  On Earth, right?  That’s where we are?  Oh Jack, you died!  The Daleks…”

“Yeah well, didn’t stick,” he shrugged, “Takes more than a fleet of pepper pots to kill me.  Although, I mostly have you to thank for that, sweetheart,” he winked.  “And as for why I’m here, well that’s a long story.  But the short of it is, I used my vortex manipulator to go back in time and then the damn thing burned out. Been looking for you and the Doc ever since.”

Rose’s face fell, “So we left you?  On that ship, all alone?  Jack, I’m so sorry!”

“Hey,” he said resting a hand on her shoulder, “You didn’t know.” And it was true. She hadn’t known.  Jack wondered what story the Doctor had told her to make her think he’d died.  He wondered how much she knew about her part in it all.   “And hey,” he assured her, “I’ve done alright for myself, don’t worry.”    

 She nodded and offered him a small smile, “Good Jack, that’s good.” 

She took a deep breath as if steeling herself for something.  “The Doctor…we got separated,” she admitted, eyes drifting away from his.  “I have no idea where he is, Jack.  I’ve been looking for him too.  For so long…” she looked so tired and Jack wondered what she’d been through in that parallel universe.  

“Yeah, well I may be able to help you with that.”  Her eyes snapped back to his as he continued, “Me and the lovely Miss Martha Jones here,” he gestured to Martha who was still standing a few steps behind him, “are hiding out in this stinking old warehouse because we are currently number two and three of Britain’s most wanted.”

“Two and three…” Rose said slowly, working it out, “and…Number One?”

“He’ll be back any minute,” Jack said smiling, overjoyed to be the person who got to give her the news that her search was over.  It looked like it had been a rough one for her.      

“Jack,” she said half laughing and shaking her head in astonishment before leaping back into his arms. He swung her around a few times until he faced Martha who had remained very still and quiet the last couple of minutes.  

“While we’re waiting on his Time Lordiness…Rose Tyler, meet Martha Jones.  Martha Jones, Rose Tyler.” 

Rose turned to face Martha.  Jack held his breath, wondering how this would play out.  There was a tense moment as both women sized each other up before Martha stepped forward, offering her hand, “Good to meet you,” she said perhaps a touch too formally, “The Doctor talks about you all the time.”

“He…he does?” Rose took Martha’s hand, but glanced back at Jack as if for confirmation, “He mentioned me?”

“Er…yeah,” Martha said stiffly, “Won’t shut up about you sometimes.”

“I…I didn’t think he’d…,” Rose began before breaking out in a wide grin as she gripped Martha’s hand in a firm shake, “Good to meet you too, Martha Jones!  I bet you’ve had a time of it, keeping those two blokes in line.  How long have you all been traveling together?”

“Er…” Jack’s heart really did go out to Martha as she struggled to keep her composure.  “Well, first it was just me and the Doctor - that was for, oh I don’t know, bout a year?”

“It’s hard to keep track,” Rose sympathized.

“Yeah, it is,” Martha agreed, “And, well, I just met Jack actually…”  

Before she could finish, a rain-slicked Doctor bounded through the doors already jabbering, “Alright, that should do it.  This is now a surveillance free zone!  We’ll be able to keep here safely until…”

Jack could tell the exact moment the Doctor noticed Rose.  If he lived to be five-billion years old, he was sure he’d never forget the utterly gobsmacked look on the Time Lord’s face.  

[cursedcupcakemaster]

This is a mini series I made for enjoyment I don't know how frequent updates will be but enjoy anyhow

Each Chapter will center on a different character

I don't own Melody Seashell she belongs to @melodyseashell22 or twisted wonderland and it's characters they belong to Disney and Yana Toboso

I own Celine Perrine,Bonniebelle "Bonnie" Hattleaxe and Nicole "Nikki" Iriscope as I made them

Characters: Melody Seashell, Celine Perrine, Nikki Iriscope,Bonnie Hattleaxe

this chapter centers around Celine Perrine

Chapter 3;Multitasking

A fickle mutual favor, that's how Celine remembers herself agreeing to Nikkis idea.

Yes she understood she needed the funds for her experiments and designs to continue but she knew Nikkis scheme had to involve far more than just a few games with money bet upon the table.

Celine had known Nikki for at least a year longer than Melody so there was no way a few dice rolls and cards would be all that could get them their dreams.

Unfortunately with those games came cheaters and liars that Celine couldn't stand. This included the people Bonnie brought to her now unwarranted anger plastered on their faces

"So these guys are the ones who thought we wouldn't notice?" Celine inquired

"Oh yes they tried to cheat Melody at the last poker game " Bonnie said keeping a grin on her face that Celine knew meant she was eager to dish out punishment

"So gentlemen care to tell me your reason for what you did ?" Celine asked the boys clearly irritated with them

"It was just easy money not much else" the ringleader said

"Uh huh and you didn't see the policy on your way in?" Celine raised a brow as Bonnie tapped a sign that read no cheating or you're out

"Oh please people cheat at shit like this all the time" the second one pointed out before Celine stood up "Yes but unlike those places there's actual consequences here and j don't appreciate you trying to cheat my friend out of her money but seeing as I'm willing to give second chances,I think I can overlook this incident if you do something for me" Celine said a smile slowly coming to her face

At this the boys seemed concerned "and uh what's that exactly?" The leader asked

"Test my game, you play for the money you owe, win and I'll forgive your little debt sound good?"

The males seemed to ponder her words before they nodded

"Sure Perrine we'll play your dumb little game but what is it"

"You'll find out, Bonnie the keys please " Bonnie grabbed a set of keys before they followed Celine to a door that once unlocked showed a room that seemed normal but there was certainly more to it than what these boys were expecting

"Now here's how this is gonna go you guys are gonna split into two teams. The team that gets to the final door first wins and their debt forgotten, lose and you're gonna have to find a way to pay off what you owe" Celine spoke calmly

"You can't do that" The leader said

"Oh yes I can otherwise I think I can just call up the headmaster and we'll see what he thinks about all this huh?" The boys knew she wasn't kidding once Bonnie smiled at them with a dark look in her scarlet red eyes

"fine fine we'll do your stupid game" the third said before they split into two teams

"Good luck fellas you're gonna need it" Celine said before she and Bonnie headed away to the space Azul had given the girls to oversee everything

Celine turned on the monitor to the escape rooms before Nikki came In with Melody

"I'm guessing you're doing this for more than money and defending Melody right?" Nikki inquired

"You know me too well Nicole, yes money is nice and I would love to watch them get torn a new one but what better way to get entertainment than run a nice little social experiment to see which of these guys will actually win fairly" Celine said while looking at the monitor that showed the males looking for the keys and clues to the next room

"Huh multitasking" Melody said

"Please tell me you included something in case they cheat" Bonnie grinned before Celine held a remote

"Wanna push a button when they do to find out?" Celine asked giving it to Melody

"Kind of " she responded

The four watched the monitors until Bonnie spotted something

"We got a fake key at twelve o clock~" Bonnie said giggling manically

"Melody hit the button at the top left once he's got it in the keyhole" Celine instructed

Before long the boy had it in the keyhole qnd Melody hit the button before the boy shouted in pain dropping the key and she knew what this was

"A shock button?" Celine nodded

"I thought they might try something like that so I may or may not have installed some things to make sure everyone plays fair" she spoke calmly

"Not bad" Nikki complimented before adding "what else did you install?"

"Oh a few moving walls, some trap doors can't make it too easy for either side"

After a few rooms the first group was shouting each other

"This is your fault Joe! " the second one shouted at the leader "I thought it was an easy scam I don't see any of you coming up with ideas shaun!" Joe shouted back

Meanwhile the other two seemed to find the key "this is it, Edgar just one more room and we can forget this shit" the boy said "yeah this was a nightmare Daisuke" Edgar said before they heard a sound

"Are those walls moving ?" Shaun asked "GO GO" Joe said searching more frantically before Daisuke fitted the key In running with Edgar

In the monitor room the girls were laughing

"Okay okay we better go greet our winners " Celine said heading to the room the boys were meant to meet them in

The boys panted catching their breaths once Celine and Bonnie were there waiting

"Congratulations boys you won without cheating and used your heads, consider your debt wiped clean" Celine said pleased

Joe and Shaun then came in themselves looking terrible

"As for you two I think that the lounge could use two new sets of hands unless you want me to report you to the headmaster" Celine said showing a video of all their cheating

"Ugh fine just never put us in one of your stupid rooms again! " Joe shouted

"Oh just make sure you never cheat again and I won't have to after all cheaters never win, espically guys who try to cheat my friends and crush their dreams " Celine said looking at her nails

Bonnie smiled dragging Joe and Shaun away before Celine smiled at Daisuke and Edgar

"Hope you had fun fellas" Celine said before she headed off

Nikki watched Celine on the monitor she knew this was Celine at her best, finding a way to make things work in multiple ways and that would surely benefit them in the long run

[aquaburst3]

By popular request...or an anon commenting me last night about enjoying me creating posts about the flaws in TWST and wanting me to talk about the worldbuilding aspect specifically along with me having some free time between jobs, here it is!

Disclaimer: Keep in mind this is all personal opinion. If you enjoy the worldbuilding in the game and find zero problems with it, great! I don't care. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.

Where do I even begin? The shorter question would be, "What isn't wrong with it?" xD But seriously, oh, boy—there's a lot. Hell, this is pretty much my go-to example how NOT to write an urban fantasy world.

The closest thing I can compare the world of TWST to is the movie Bright—and that's NOT a good thing. For those of you who never had the misfortune of watching that late 2010s trainwreck, it's about a cop played by Will Smith teaming up with an orc to retrieve a magic wand. Sounds cool, right? However, like with TWST, the worldbuilding is something to be desired. It's an alternate universe where two thousand years ago there was a big war between The Nine Races where the orcs supported the Dark Lord, but an orc defected and lead an army that defeated him. Despite everything, it's pretty much exactly like real life with a few added fantasy elements. It even brings up real world pop culture references, containing such cringey and problematic lines like, "Fairy lives don't matter" after the Will Smith cop squishes a pixie that's on par with a raccoon in that world.

The worldbuilding in TWST feels like that. It's exactly like real life but with a few Disney and fantasy elements slapped on top, like magnets on a fridge. There is hardly any deviation from real life. Things like planes, cell phones, methods of measuring, days of the week, etc all exist just as they do irl. When you stop and think about it, half of these things shouldn't exist and the other should be a little different.

Yana also never thinks of the implications all of this alternate history. Magic always existing and the Greek gods being real should have a huge ripple effect, creating a completely different history compared to real life, but yet it doesn't. Hell, the whole idea of knowing that the Greek gods are real alone would massively change world history, since they would be a proven concept, snuffing out every other religion in existence! The world should be more massively different than ours with Disney sprinkled on top. There's no imagination about how a world like this would work. To quote Lindsey Ellis, "You cannot import elements from our real world without including all of the history that comes with them. You can, but it's lazy, and it sucks." xD Sure, you can write a fantasy world with cars and stuff, but the histories and the ways those exist in those worlds cannot be the exact same. There must be some divergence for it to make sense.

None of the new worldbuilding elements sense or feels woven in. It feels like Yana tossing out whatever idea she comes up up with at the wall and seeing what sticks. A lot of it starts to fall a part or even contradicts itself.

Take the whole Stitch or Tsums events. The existence both of these imply that aliens exist. That brings up a lot of questions like...

What is this world's policy for alien life?

Are aliens well known entities for this world?

What are other's reaction to this?

How did his story play out in this world if that's the case?

Everyone in this world has a Disney counterpart, right? If that's the case, wouldn't that mean there's some TWST version of Stitch running around Night Raven?

Is any of this ever addressed? Nope. That's stupid. World shattering shit like that should be addressed. While I know these are probably more than likely corporate mandates, especially since Tmus are a Japanese Disney product while Stitch is super popular in Japan, she could've added a disclaimer saying that it's a crack au that has nothing to do with the canon. The fact that these are both canon is mind boggling.

Plus, both of these events create a giant plot hole. If aliens are known to exist in this world, then why the fuck can't Yuu go home? If aliens exist, wouldn't there be portals and other ways for them to go home? It just makes Yuu and the rest of the cast look like total dumbasses for never thinking of this!

It goes beyond stupid events, but happens in general. The game routinely brings up similar elements without thinking of their implications on the game as a whole. Take the whole existence of STYKs. It was never once brought up or foreshadowed in the game, but brings about a lot of questions that are hardly explored. Like if this has existed for hundreds of years, how the fuck hasn't anyone heard of it? If STYKS is attached has a branch which is like our world's, someone should've blew the whistle eons ago. Surely, someone as smart as Idia or another mage should've been able to hack them and expose that to the public. Right? Wouldn't there be more of a public outcry for stealing people away, including royalty? Wouldn't there be government oversight about this? None of these questions are never addressed. Yet that element is slapped in without a second thought. Same also goes for all of the new lore in regards to Lilia's past, those pointless prophet dreams or how Playful Land works.

The magic system and how overblot works also fall apart the more you think about it. According to the light novel, only one out of ten humans is a mage. The percentage goes up in other races, but it remains about the same. But that makes no sense. TWST isn't like the HP universe where mages are isolated from the outside world, they are a part of society. Wouldn't it be the DOMINANT gene after over centuries of mages fucking mortals? I think it being more like the ATLA or BNHA universe where mages are the majority would make a lot more sense. That's what I did in my fic. Hell, it would make the world more unique, because usually fantasy stories have it where mages are a minority.

How overblotting works is never fully explained. All that we know, despite being on the seventh fucking story arc, is that whenever a mage uses Okay, sure. But there are times where that isn't the case. Characters who hard use up any magic like Leona and Vil overblot. Even if you argue that they were emotional during those bits or something, wouldn't the other part play a bigger role, since they used up so little magic in those cases? How in the fuck is that unknown concept to the general public? Wouldn't that be common knowledge? Diseases like Alzheimer's aren't something that everyone experiences, but this existence of those things are still common knowledge. Hell, why is it extremely rare in the first place? Wouldn't it be more commonplace? I feel like having it be a biological consequence of a mage using up too much magic and it being a well known down side to the world like how it is in my writing makes a lot more sense and is much simpler.

The lore around the fae also make zero sense. Common elements in fae lore like never thanking them or accepting gifts from them for you owe them a favour to cream and honey making them drunk are never brought up or mentioned. These are not random tropes brought up in shit like Baldur's Gate 3, but ingrained shit to the fantasy genre. You can't strip them out, because it is what makes the fae, fae. Hardly any types of fae from folklore are ever brought up outside of dragons and Tinkerbell style pixies. Characters like Vil who act very fae like are completely human. To be honest, I genuinely get the sense that Yana has done no research into this topic at all, because that's how out of touch they seem compared to how they are in folklore and other fantasy series. But if that is actually the case, then she should've looked into it more or consulted another writer who knows a lot about it.

Plus, the whole idea behind Briar Valley also makes no sense. They are completely isolated from the rest of the world...because…well, nothing, besides possibly vague hatred of tech. That's dumb. Countries don’t isolate themselves for no reason. There is always some sort of explanation for them to do that, whether it's manufactured for political gain like Panem or out of protection like Wakanda. Seriously, am I the only one that thinks that Brier Valley is just the fantasy Amish? As for the Spinning Wheel Wars, that will be explored in more depth as the fics go on.

If you want to see a world similar to TWST done right, watch The Owl House. That series, too, has a modern fantasy world. Unlike TWST, it seems like a fantasy world with modern elements instead of the other way around. Despite having phone-like devices and manga, it feels like stepping into another world.

Either way, if you wondered why I came up with completely different worldbuilding for my fics—this is exactly why. The worldbuilding in this game is pure dogshit. I wanted to create something leaps and bounds better than the bullshit we got. The fact that me, an amuetur writer, gets complimented and praised for the worldbuilding in my fics and it being better then the game is truly sad. Yana is a seasoned professional with a published manga with dozens of volumes under her belt, she should be better at this than me, not the other way around! Same goes for @stormkitty97, because she helps me brainstorm ideas for my shit and uses it in her writing, too.

The biggest sin of all is that there are some genuinely really cool ideas in TWST. The idea of turning into a monster whenever you use up too much magic is terrifying. The story could've done so much more with that if it made more sense!

As much as I might get hate for saying this, Yana reminds me a lot of Stephanie Meyers in the sense that she can come up with cool concepts and ideas, but has no idea how to execute them properly. I would love to see a better professional writer tackle a concept similar to overblot, because it would be cool and scary in the right hands.

I think one big lesson that amuetur writers like myself can learn from the worldbuilding in TWST is that if you are a "Pantser", aka someone who writes on the fly, like Yana, great, all the more power to you. Hell, I confess that I'm more like Brandon Sanderson in the sense that I'm a mixture of both a "Pantser" and an "Architect" Writer, and I came up with some elements of my worldbuilding on my TWST fics as I was writing like the characters being able to teleport. But for fuck's sake, have a solid plan for your worldbuilding and stick with it. Because constantly throwing ideas at the wall beyond the outlining stage will eventually make these contradictions arise and make your world fall apart. Also, if you are building a modern fantasy world like TWST, always think through the implications each element bring. Adding in elements from our real world will always drag along all of the history tied with it. Having your modern fantasy world seem like TWST or Bright is the last thing you want.

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Arthur Centino/Longshot:

At the District X Halloween event, Arthur encounters a newly-returned Illyana Rasputin.

The man's grin flashed, "I know plenty of things, and one of them is where to find the best cake tonight. You're in luck."

There was a clang and a clatter behind Ilyanna to punctuate this statement, and the brief flash of something not quite human shaped running across the welcome courtyard. Whatever it was, it caught his attention enough to lead toward a distracted glance away from the Center's guest. "Huh. Costumes get more creative every year."

Illyana recognized the brief glimpse of purple and red. She hadn't brought any of the lesser demons topside with her, but this was a good night for that particular one. "Trickster imps. Mostly a nuisance, they're obnoxious about holidays like this. They'll probably make a mess, get hopped up on consuming the chaos energy." All of this was said matter-of-factly, as if demons running around was a perfectly normal sight.

"I suppose all children are sometimes imps. Little demons." The man seemed stuck on the rest of that statement, however, as if he was unsure exactly how to proceed on whether she knew that child or how casually she considered them "obnoxious." This only lasted a second, though, before he chucked that inconvenient and worrisome thought into a bin and tapped near his left eye conspiratorially. "Don't worry, you have me! I'm anti-chaos, certified — well, in one dimension. I'm Arthur."

"Yes..." Illyana responded somewhat hesitantly. Probably best to let Arthur keep his idea of children instead of literal demons tonight. She'd make sure they were rounded up tomorrow if they'd decided to linger. "I am Lyana." Well, a partial truth. She'd pronounced it with a bit of a rush, the sound coming out more 'Lana' than 'Yana', but it was sufficiently close to not repeat herself. "Only one dimension? How many have you been in?"

"One more than I imagined, let me tell you, Lana." He somehow managed to pronounce her name exactly as she had said it, rushed and all. Yet his genuine energy invited absolutely no doubt that this "Arthur" would dream of lying. "But I'm the worst host. What did you need to know?"

Illyana shook her head. "Nothing that can't wait for my contact tomorrow," she replied honestly. A slight jostle from behind alerted her to the small line starting to form, and she gave Arthur a small, genuine smile, drawn in by the bright energy he radiated. She handed over another crumpled bill. "Another worm cake, please? It was nice to meet you."

"Consider it my pleasure, Yana. I've always been more for treats vs. tricks." He handed her two gummy cakes, just for good measure, with a wink. "Happy Halloween.”

[pianostarinwonderland]

same non as the one prior!,listen I love hearing people ramble about the things and characters they like it nice to see someone go off about their favorite characters so yes im serious please go on n release the rot!!

[Reply to here!]

damn y'all 😭 HAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU REALLY WANT THIS SO BAD y'all gonna regret this horribly

Brainrot under the cut because this WILL be a long boi

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Į̸̮̪̗̝̭̦̭̕͝ͅ ̴̰̱̥͒͊̉ṣ̶͔̂̇̅͝ẽ̵̳̥̞̦͈̱̊̈́͊̀̓̎̆̚e̷̛̱̜̤̓̈́ ̵̝͎͛̈̋̇͗̀͜y̵̙̜̻͂̍͐ǒ̷̲̬̺̦͎͍͚̺̔̌ͅṵ̶̢͍̹̄̈́̏̆͒̒̚'̷̭̼̞̱̗̦͙̥́͐ͅṛ̴̛̉̏̿̋̓̄̚̕͝è̴̡̡̗̰͕͎̝̣̌́̾̊̈́̒̃͆̽ ̵͔͇̻͓͉͖̕h̸͈̙͈͚̯͈̱͛e̶̪̙̲͐͐r̸̛̲̜̟͍̯̟̭̔́̅̊̎̕͘͝ĕ̸͔̗̮͕̭̗̄͒̈́̕͘͠ :)

Ok first off, I do have some thoughts listed down here already, but we'll have the screaming version of them here.

so now, let's pull up a pic of Azul's full sprite, bless be to alchemivich for this

I guess let's start from the top then work our way downwards~ (just how I like to do it ;) bricked)

SO let's talk about Azul's glasses, as they're a hot topic now

We've always known Azul with his rectangular frames. I myself have always wanted to see him in round frames, but now that we have them, well,,, time for an explanation WHEEZE.

So when you choose your glasses, you have to take into consideration how well they complement your face. Lots of places will tell you to consider the shape of your face, how long or short it is, even the width of your face and the nose bridge, etc. There's a reason why Azul's usual glasses really work on him—there are several factors, but the one I will talk about is his face shape, which seems to be on the softer and rounder side.

Rectangular/square frames work well with rounder face shapes because of contrast. Rounder frames will further emphasize the roundness of the face, which well if that's the effect you want, then hell yeah go for it. But it can also feel a little off, especially if you aim to balance out your looks.

Azul's round frames emphasize this roundness. But the thing is, the specific thing they emphasize is not his jawline or anything but his forehead LJADLKSJKSLSFJ like, it really doesn't help that he pushed back his bangs inside his hat because there's more skin showing aka there's more of that bald feel.

Am I saying that the glasses don't fit him then?

... not at all. HONESTLY IN FACT, THEY FIT HIM 🤡 it gives Azul this old timey wizard vibe, especially paired with the rest of his outfit. And idk, he always had a knack for those types of glasses that have the chain, like it really just fits his character. They're on the more mature side.

Onto his hat, one of Azul's voiced lines has him saying that he pushed his bangs back because the hat itself is so fancy and very elaborate. And you know what? THAT IS SMART OF HIM 😩 because true, his bangs would add a little too much to the visual aspect. The hat itself is so nice though. I always imagined him having a similar hat to that along with a feather, so seeing this coming to life really satisfied me so much 🥺 It's one of the many things I've asked for. I didn't expect the coral design in front, though! That one, I find pretty neat.

ngl though lowkey hoping for a groovy where he doesn't have the hat though 😳 and we get a view of that SLICKED BACK HAIR— bricked

no like . seriously though, imagine we get something like THIS wonderful gorgeous godly sight right here??? for a groovy??? Yana Toboso, I am currently demanding right now.

Anyway, let's move o—

. hold on.

what is this I see?

... let's get a different image just to be sure

. . . . . .

SO WE HAVE TWO THINGS TO DISCUSS HERE

Number 1. That nautilus shell.

It is about TIME that they gave Azul that nautilus shell necklace that is not in his overblot form AND ALSO LIKE, LOOK AT HOW FANCY IT IS!!!!!!! IT'S SO 😭 it's so pretty like,,, uhuhuhuhu after 2+ years of waiting, I finally got this

Number 2. We all know what it is. :)

look at that. look at that fucking s H E ER RRR R R R 🧍 I was peacefully scrolling through Twitter when I saw that crop + a JP user's caption about how they're like IT'S SHEER???? AND NOW I'M LIKE HO FUCK IT'S SHEER?????????? AZUL ASHENGROTTO, THE MAN WHO COVERS UP EVEN HIS NECK, HAS HIS NECK AREA PARTIALLY VISIBLE???????????? I finally know how victorian men feel when they see a woman's ankle.

And I get why the tweels' favorite food are octopus dishes. 🧍 We'll leave it at that .

Sleeves design! Honestly, I find it interesting how the fashion designers in-universe thought that Azul really fit the NRC robes to the point that they thought oh we should make his outfit similar to the robes. And boom, here we see sleeves and gold decor that is as intricate as the robes but still a little different. Honestly, seeing the entire outfit in general reminds me of one of Robe Azul's lines: "These ceremonial robes do wonders as something akin to a business card. Just wearing these off campus will gather admiring glances." (taken from @/mysteryshoptls) It's such a nice nod to that line 🥺 and I'll be honest, the art for Robe Azul isn't one of my favorites, so to see him in this outfit and as an SSR is so rewarding because like #DESERVED

onto the . whatever you call this, the collar?

There's a point where you gotta wonder how Azul really feels about this outfit in general. Like, he was already disturbed that Rollo knew him and where he came from, he was also disturbed that they knew about his eyesight. But that collar design, that resembles the suckers on his tentacle arms, I don't think you can just brush it off as "oh they're meant to be bubbles underwater". It's not a bad design, it's just how does Azul really feel about the outfit with its under the sea motif and even this kind of pattern? 😂 Is he trying to hide the discomfort about this out of politeness? Or is he so private about this kind of insecurity that he dares not voice it out unlike the way he's clear about his discomfort about how they know about his eyesight?

wow ok we got serious there. Don't worry, though...

We're just getting to the exciting part

So of course Azul would have a belt on his outfit. He needs that cinched waist after all 😩 ughhh I have a special weakness for slim waists because the way a slim waist feels in my arms is so , ,,,, ,,, u uu uu u you get this deep primal urge to protect the person you're holding that holding any other waist just cannot give you. at least, that's just my brain being coocoo wwwwwwww

Something even nicer is that the belt adds so much more to the silhouette that the overall outfit gives. It's cinched at the waist,, but then it flairs out with the TAILCOATS

OH MAMAS THOSE TAILCOATS ARE GOING TO BE THE ABSOLUTE D E A T H OF ME

I mentioned it already. I always loved tailcoats. They give that classy and authoritative aura. AND LOOK AT AZUL MF ASHENGROTTO WITH SIX OF THEM

They also look like they're made of a really really good material. Like, just look at the card art. That material looks so nice and sturdy.

AND THE WAY THAT THE FRONT AREA OF HIS TOP ENDS LIKE THAT, LIKE ,, ,,,, , HUHU HUU HUH UHU you know I always always wanted to wear an outfit like that ever since I was a kid? Ends short at the front but there's a trail or a tailcoat at the back, and it's BLACK TOO like u u u uuuuu uu just seeing that on Azul makes me so oughohouohodfoghodf it's everything I wanted and it's really like Disney saw my childhood imagination uwehhhh waddafak !!!!

and ughh hh h ok can we like . talk about the ribbons too and tailcoats and how they just accentuate his legs so fucking well

Like come ON MAN

whoever drew Azul's live2D was thinking with their dicks because why the FUCK did they decide "hoho what if we draw the ribbons in front such that it creates the illusion of Azul's legs being slimmer and then flaring out at the bottom aND THUS MAKING HIS LEGS LOOK EVEN MORE APPEALING TO LOOK AT" LIKE COME ON,,,, THEY WERE DEFINITELY ON SOMETHING WHEN THEY WERE DRAWING THOSE RIBBONS LIKE . THAT . AND THE GOLD TRIM AT THE END DOESN'T HELP AT ALL LIKE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

please like . those pants . those pants look so nice like hello I like those pants. I want to steal those pants. I want to eat those pants.

but most importantly, I hate hate hate the way that those pants make Azul's legs so so so s os os os os oso soo so ooo so 🤡

. ok speaking of legs, we can establish that the tailcoats + ribbons resemble Azul's 8 tentacles underwater (he really isn't getting a break from being his octopus self wwwwww). But I want to talk about the design in the tailcoats themselves??? Like, it's so delicate and really pretty 🥺 it's not like the design on the collar, but it looks more floral ish. It sort of gives the same hypnotic feel as the Fibonacci sequence or even the golden ratio in some way. It's so delicate and pretty and just huh uh u hu hu

Lastly, shoes , ,, ,, shoes. Those are nice shoes. I love that he has heels. . . WAIT HEELS I JSUT REALIZED HE IS WALKING IN HEELS HELP NKFJNKJDNSNSDNFS HOLD ON HE HASN'T BEEN COMPLANING ABOUT THE HEELS ???? HE'S ACTUALLY BALANCING ON THOSE HEELS?????? HE'S DOING OK IN THE HEELS?????? ok granted though, they are wedged heels, but like, even wedged heels are hard to balance on if you aren't accustomed to heels (flashbacks to the first time I had to wear heels when I was 12 yrs old and wobbling on my own feet when the heels were 1-inch high and wedged).

last but not the least, you can watch the Midnight Masquerade here. At the Goofy part starting 13:27, the dancers' costume vaguely reminded me of Azul's silhouette that his outfit gives him. Makes me wonder how much Twst team took inspiration from this performance honestly.

SO ANYWAY UH GOODNIGHT I'M HAPPY WITH THIS EVENT FOR GIVING US GOOD GOOD SHIT ABOUT AZUL 🤡

[lovee-infected]

Hello! Recently I've seen a lot of twst blogs arguing on how twst characters are mischaracterized, especially Malleus. So do you have any ideas on how he is mischaracterized? Also, is it okay to ask for your general opinion on questions like a short character analysis or how a healthy a relationship with each twdt guy might be? Hope it's okay to ask!

For your first question anon, it's a GREAT thing to ask and to be honest I've been waiting for a chance to talk about him! And for your second one, yes, of course! I just love writing character analyis and it's totally okay to ask for character/personality/relationship analysis here! I've got a lot to say about Malleus so this is going to a detailed analysis about his whole personality.

There are commonly two popular opinions on how Malleus is which divides the fandom into two groups:

Group A:

Those who consider him to be an absolutely soft, baby dragon who just wants to be invited and have a friend. They believe that Malleus needs more attention and can be quite affectionate at the time, he can also be sometimes idiotic toward simple stuff like working with a computer or trying to talk with others which makes him even more adorable. "Despite Malleus's harsh and emo appearance and terrifying powers, Malleus is just a small baby inside," is also a common belief of this group.

Group B:

Those who argue that group A is totally shading everything important about Malleus's personality and true self just because he looks cute and plays with a childish tamagotchi. These group also comes up with rather strong points about his personality such as his status as a crown prince, his naturally dark personality as not only a dark fae but also Maleficent's grandchild, his maturity and cold nature and also, the aspect of his hellish powers which can make him look like an absolute monster at the time.

I believe most of you are familiar with these points of view but the question is, which one of them is the real Malleus?

And the answer is: Neither of them; yet both of them do have a point.

The main problem is how the fandom portraits him as either an emotional tamagotchi baby or an absolutely cold and heartless mister of evil, while the true Malleus is far beyond than just being either good, or bad.

Now let's discuss some of the important facts and common mistakes about Malleus's personality:

(1) Malleus isn't a baby, but he isn't a monster either

This is supposedly the main idea here which will be continued to be discussed through the rest of this analysis. This is often how many end up mischaracterizing him because: the way the describe Malleus is either too dark or too childish. What we need here, is a balance. This is the grandson of one of the most important Disney villains that we are talking about, and don't forget that Maleficent herself was confirmed to consume the powers of Hell, as she was indeed the mistress of all evil. So this dragon boy here surely isn't one to underestimate, and he clearly has inherited that hellish power of her grandmother. It's obviously seen through the story as well, from the way he was presented in chapter 2 and beans day event to how terrified other students always are to even talk about him.

But the thing is, there are softer aspects of his personality as well which prove that Malleus isn't just designed to present an undefeatable force of evil, and this is exactly what makes his personality a lot more interesting.

(2) Malleus is actually hard to approach and talk to

Let's be honest, Malleus isn't as soft and easy to befriend as many fans consider him to be. He doesn't get too friendly or chill as he speaks, and even his close allies like Silver and Sebek fail to get close to him as much as they wish to. When we talk about his dark aura, we aren't just talking about his horns and fearsome magic, it's also because of his personality itself. His calm yet cold tone always remains still regardless of who he's talking to. No need to mention that he isn't an ordinary student either, he not only comes from a well-known family but is also the crown-prince of valley of thorns. Out of all twst characters Malleus is the only one who is directly connected to the great seven by being Maleficent's grandson. His family and people on the other hand are overly protective over him, to the point of not letting him to even have a fake proposal in the ghost marriage event which means that Malleus has also got each and every of his actions under watch.

(3) He's slowly getting used to isolating himself

In his ceremonial robes story, he's obviously upset that he never had a chance to wear his ceremonial robes because he never got invited, but when Lilia says he'd one day overcome his ill fate and gets to wear them as he always wanted to, he says that he's fine. Then again when Lilia tried to bring him to the singing test in chapter 5 he avoids showing up. In his voice lines he also said: "Are you as well scared of me?" which is clearly shouting that he's no longer surprised to see people being afraid of him, he's getting used to being feared and at some point, hated. That's probably one of the bitter sides of his personality which he's slowly giving up on trying to change it.

(4) Malleus has got a great confidence and isn't shy at all

There many fanfics in which Malleus is presented as a shy boy who's scared of confessing to his s/o or asking them out, while he's the total opposite in reality. Just like Maleficent herself, he speaks calmly and in a formal tone, is very respectful as he speaks, and isn't one to ever have problem while talking to others.

It's others who always avoid talking to him while Malleus himself isn't the least uncomfortable with presenting his ideas and asking others for help when he needs to.

He isn't ever shy over his lack of ability to work with machines or asking others for help for seemingly childish issues like having his tamagotchi fixed or finding a friend for the GaoGao dragon.

The only thing left is how Lilia described him as "Kind of shy" in chapter five, which is most likely because of another reason discussed in part (3)

(5) He doesn't eat ice cream and play with a tamagotchi for no reason

Malleus explained that everything is ran by magic back in the valley of thorns and no one really uses any machines there, that's how he's pretty new to both technology and complicated tools.

I believe that the tamagotchi part was given to him on purpose, because else than showing the fact that he's bad with tools, it's great contrast to the harsh picture that his power and personality gives him!

Admit it, it's a funny and somehow, adorable contrast to see one of the strongest magicians who can burn the room to ashes in just a matter pf second playing with a children's toy. And I believe that it was given to him on purpose. They meant to give him some soft and cute features as well instead of just presenting him as an evil fae. He is indeed evil and his powers are terrifying, and that's how watching him play with a tamagotchi is rather surprising to many. If you saw Ortho or Cheka playing with one it wouldn't have gone any further than a simple "Awww" or "How cute" because it's something you'd expect to see from a kid, but when you see Malleus of all people playing with it, you can't help but to fascinated and flustered over how cute this fae's habits can be.

Ice cream on the other hand doesn't really have to do with cuteness, it's something Yana Toboso discovered while doing her researches on fae mythology which discuses that Dark faes enjoy cold and sweet foods, especially cream. So it doesn't really have anything to do with him being either a soft or a cruel boy, it's just a normal part of his nature as a fae.

(6) He might be crazily old to humans, but he's still pretty young as a fae

This one has really been getting on my nerves, come on people! It's true that he's probably been living for decades and possibly, centuries but don't forget that it isn't that much compared to a normal fae! Even Sebek calls him 'Young master' which means that he's still a pretty young one, no need to mention that he hasn't yet became the king either so he's not much different from the rest of the students in NRC.

I've seen people saying: "No Malleus won't do that he's -too old-" and I've got to say: What?

Come on even someone like Lilia who's been living for over 5 centuries can act like a nasty 14 year old at the time, so for faes at least, age isn't a limitation.

Malleus on the other hand is still a teenage fae! He needs to discover new things and talk with more people, just like a normal human being does. So if he doesn't enjoy doing anything too silly or stupid, it's because of his 'personality', not because he's too old. Even when tells Lilia that he isn't a child anymore, it's like how an 18 year old says it to his father.

(7) Malleus won't take insult easily

He is polite and respectful in general, but when he's offended, he'd seriously respond to it. Remember that a single swipe of hand from him can set the whole room on fire.

Rook and Leona were probably one step away from being burnt and when Leona really got on Malleus's nerves by humiliating him, Malleus stopped respecting him as a prince of an ally kingdom and humiliated back.

He is calm but to a specific point, and you can make sure that he won't be any soft or forgiving if you offend him, and it'll probably end in no good if he gets mad. So better not think that Malleus is one to just keep it in and later cry in a room because he's sad baby when someone dares insult him.

(8) Angelina Jolie's Maleficent has nothing to do with his story!

Nope, Malleus never had a lover who cut off his wings and sent him to a hell of depression and loneliness, and no you cannot find those two wounds on his back regardless of how romantic it may seem.

I admit it, it's a lovely Au, but it's JUST AN AU! I can still see people saying stuff like "Ohh!! Will we discover if Malleus too had his wings cut off in chapter 7?" and the answer is NO. While Angelina Jolie's Maleficent is surely a great one on its own, it needs be understood that twst's source of main information and characters designs is nothing else than the original Disney villains.

Malleus cannot be associated with any Maleficents else than the version we saw in 1959's sleeping beauty and it's an important fact to look through.

(9) Malleus is NOT Maleficent!

While they are a lot more similar than you can imagine(in both power and personality), let's not forget that Malleus is NOT Maleficent! He's a total new character on his own, and is unique in his own way.

He is twisted from Maleficent which means that no matter how similar they are, Malleus is a new character with a new personality.

Saying that he isn't soft at all and the fandom will see his true face when he overblots ( It's supposed to mean that the real Malleus is an absolutely evil and destructive one, just like Maleficent) is nothing different from denying all of Yana's hard work on designing him and his personality!

Malleus himself said that his grandmother's skills were far greater than his and most importantly: Malleus still has chance to have a better fate than Maleficent did.

Once again: He's still young! He still has a chance to be saved from turning into a heartless and isolated creature like Maleficent. No matter how cold he is, he hasn't yet got to the point of hating the whole world and losing all of his emotions. And that's why it's totally wrong to deny all the good that he might still have inside by saying that he isn't soft at all. He isn't a baby, but he isn't a monster either. Not yet.

(10) Even Lilia agrees that Malleus is still learning and his personality is in development

Can't you see? Malleus isn't attending to this school for no reason. His magic is already top notch, and his knowledge goes far greater than anything they might teach in NRC.

If you take a look at the story, you'll see signs of Lilia indirectly giving us signs of why Malleus still needed to attend to this school. In Malleus's SR robes' story, Lilia told him that he still has a lot to learn and knowledge isn't everything. And what might he find in NRC which has nothing to do with knowledge? People.

Lilia is trying to hold him back from isolating himself like Maleficent did, and is indeed trying to help him make friends and learn to get along with people without thinking that it's useless because they'd fear him anyway.

Also, he clearly wants Malleus to learn and experience new things in NRC by taking part in activities. In Malleus's Halloween SR story Lilia, who was always the one to choose Diasomnia's Halloween costumes, asks Malleus to choose this year's costume instead of him. Lilia first says that he wants Malleus to do it but later tells him that he has other reasons as well, he was trying to put Malleus into trying something new therefore he can have something learn from the experiment! (What a cute papa he really is...)

This is another proof of him not having the cold and unapproachable picture some imagine him to have, he isn't against experiencing and trying new things.

(11) He's still looking for a true friend

Malleus needs a friend, that's a fact. During his chats he mentions how Maleficent always had her loyal pet crow by her side as the only reliable creature she could always trust, and how Malleus wonders if he can ever find such a worthy ally of his own.

Even as he has Lilia, Silver and Sebek by his side he doesn't feel like he has such a friend.

People have been avoiding him through his whole life, and you can see how excited he got when Cater asked him for a selfie as he was one of the very first people who ever tried to approach him.

While he's slowly getting used to being feared by everyone, he'd still appreciate a friend and he needs one. Not even Maleficent herself could've made it all on her own without a friend by her side.

(12) Malleus isn't heartless

While he won't easily fall for anything or anyone, it isn't impossible for him to love.

We haven't yet seen anything that directly gets us to the point of love in the story but it's something you can tell through his actions and words.

When he cares for something or someone, he'd be serious about it.

Two obvious examples would be his tamagotchi and the ramshackle dorm. He'd certainly get out of his way to find someone to fix his dear tamagotchi and as we saw in the Halloween event, he furiously stated that he'd burn anyone who tries to the ramshackle dorm any harm, because he likes that place.

There isn't much he holds dear in life, but when he does, he won't let a single soul to take it away from him.

When he can be this protective over something that just entertains him, just try to imagine how far he might go to protect the one he loves. He falls in love very slowly and it'll probably take him a while to realize it if he actually does. He can begin with small interests and repeated meetings but at some point, it'll turn into a routine, an obsession. He won't easily fall in love, but when he does, he won't be able to easily let go of it either.

(13) His relationship with MC is far more important than you're thinking

Just by going through his voice lines, you can tell how MC is effecting Malleus's personality and life. I'm not saying that it's love or anything but the thing is, MC is changing Malleus nonetheless.

Their relationship has been a totally new thing for Malleus to experience from the very beginning, because MC didn't know him. Malleus is obviously used to being well-known as the infamous prince of the Draconia family by almost everyone, but MC was an exception.

He asked MC to talk to him and tell him stories, it can be clearly see that he enjoys talking to them.

He also mentioned that MC has made him feeling lots of things he hadn't felt before, which can also be connected to part (10) where we discussed how he's still young and needs more of communication and friends because he needs to learn.

Some argue that Malleus couldn't care less about MC and the only reason he shows up around them is because of the ramshackle dorm, which can be easily proven wrong by two hints:

1) Malleus sent a Happy holiday card to MC after the winter holiday.

2)What Malleus told Lilia at the end of the Halloween event stories after all the troubles that was brought upon the ramshackle dorm: "I want that human to enjoy Halloween too"

While it isn't necessarily romance that we're talking about, his relationship with MC is clearly telling us that he's a lot more of emotions and humanity inside him than what we were expecting.

At this point, it's important to see that in spite of his cold nature and mature personality he is slowly beginning to feel more and more emotions as the result of meeting newer people in NRC, especially MC. Saying that he is nothing but a heartless fae who is wrongly thought to be a soft and emotional boy is nothing different from judging him the same way as most of the people in twisted wonderland itself judge Malleus, it's important to see that he's a lot more.

His personality itself is surely amazing and as a Malleus hoe stan myself I can't wait to get more of his background in chapter 7, although it's probably going to be dark as well. They really did give his design a twist and that's how he's a balance of and menacingly powerful magician and a young boy who's just learning to deal with emotions.

For now, that's all I had in mind! Hope that I didn't miss anything. This was a general character analysis which also discussed some of the common mistakes about Malleus's personality but-

In case that you're wondering how he's being mischaracterized in reader insert fics, that'll be a totally different issue to discuss which would also need another post to be discussed through.

Small note: Just saying that there's often a dark lore to twst x reader fics (Especially for Malleus/ Leona x reader) which is usually better to be ignored while reading/writing for them...

[abybweisse]

Do you think Tanaka knows that Sebastian is something other than human, aka a demon? And if so, does that mean he is aware of Ciel's contract with him? In his regular (not shrunk) form, he is shown to be very intelligent and observant. Also sorry if this has already been answered in the manga, I'm still trying to fully catch up to the current chapters.

This hasn’t been answered in the manga, but I and others have blogged about it. I don’t think I’ve ever gone too deep into this topic before, so here ya go!

⚠️ long post ⚠️

Personally, I don’t think Tanaka quite knows he’s a demon, no. But he must have some ideas… and a lot of questions.

Tanaka does realize that something is way off about real Ciel. In fact, in ch141, Tanaka is standing right next to real Ciel and Undertaker when this conversation occurs:

Sebastian: I am quite certain you lost your life that night. I would not be here otherwise.

Undertaker: Eureka! Right on the nose, you are… master butler!

Real Ciel: It’s true I died once that day.

Undertaker: What does it matter if he’s alive or dead?

Undertaker then explains that real Ciel’s “reanimated”.

And Tanaka might have overheard part of the previous conversation in ch130, before he had actually stepped out to the stairs and made his presence known to the readers. That goes:

Bard: H-hey. What the hell’s the deal with this guy, Sebastian!?

Real Ciel: Sebastian? I see. So you’re Sebastian. This is the first time we’ve actually met. How dare you do that to me that day.

Sebastian: I too… have never encountered someone like yourself.

So, Tanaka… being the smart guy he really is, regardless of how he’s being portrayed at any given time, has quite possibly gathered enough information to at least get the sense that Sebastian is someone (or something) not quite human.

If he heard the previous conversation, he knows that:

Real Ciel and Sebastian hadn’t actually met before, so real Ciel was already dead, or at least he was near death and no longer conscious. [We are to understand that Sebastian devoured his soul in order to cross over into the human realm, so real Ciel is officially dead by the time Sebastian takes any form before our earl and the cultists.]

However, Sebastian did something to real Ciel’s body. [Again, we know that he devoured real Ciel’s soul, but this could also be about removing the ring from real Ciel’s guts and then starting that fire.]

Sebastian has never encountered such an advanced reanimated corpse before. [Sebastian does go on to question Undertaker about the corpses on the Campania and at Weston, so Tanaka knows the walking and talking corpse he’s serving tea to is not quite like whatever Sebastian dealt with before, when he came back to the manor and was given a “day off”.]

From the conversation he definitely heard, he knows:

Real Ciel died and has been reanimated by Undertaker.

Sebastian would not be “here” if real Ciel had not died.

Tanaka’s main questions that might remain would be about what Sebastian did to real Ciel’s body (but more importantly his soul) the day real Ciel died… and what Sebastian actually means by saying he wouldn’t be here without real Ciel’s death. Would Tanaka realize this has more to do with real Ciel’s soul than his body? That’s the real question we have to ask to figure out whether Tanaka quite gets what’s going down.

Yana-san says in an old tweet that individuals are largely shaped by the people who raise them. Each person has their own dark or evil streak, but whether that becomes a strong part of their personality depends largely on influences by those closest to them in their formative years. She says our earl is greatly influenced by this demon, Sebastian. She also says Vincent loves his family (another tweet, I think) but has a very wide evil streak. Then she says that Vincent was mostly raised by Tanaka, hinting that Tanaka has a dark side we have hardly seen… yet.

Then we have all those demon cultists who are super excited (in ch135) to get their hands on Vincent’s children. The guy selling the kids doesn’t know who they are, otherwise he would have priced them much higher. The buyer recognizes them immediately and, without saying what he knows, says they are worth more than twice that. And then they are recognized by the guy who’s essentially just hosting them at his house before their… um… debut. I’ve written a few times before that the two main cultists (the two men at the sacrificial altar) are — I’m pretty damn sure — the same two guys standing in the background, in ch32, during Baron Kelvin’s memory of trying to talk to Vincent.

These two mysterious guys:

The weirdo who procures the kids for the sacrifice is the same guy who shows up at Kelvin’s manor just to tell him he managed to get those kids. Then grossly says he and the others will make up for Kelvin’s inability to attend. 🤢

Ok, so even if those aren’t the same two guys (but I think so!), Vincent was still being hovered around by people who participate in the occult, including ritualistic orgies and sacrifices to demons, trying to summon them. This is the first (and only) sacrifice to work for that cult, but that doesn’t seem to bother most of them, since (as Sebastian says) most demon cults are just about debauchery.

We don’t know how much of this Vincent ever knew about, let alone ever took part in (I hope not!!), but… I suspect he at least knew about some of it. It was his duty as Queen’s Watchdog to know about such things and keep the general public unawares of it. Not even necessarily to put the practices to an end. He probably allowed his fellow Evil Nobles to do as they pleased… as long as it didn’t become a problem for the crown. Or directly involve his own family. Like, he would never have offered up his own children to these creeps. But random waifs? I think he knew what the cultists were doing (generally) and just… turned a blind eye to it. 😔

You know how our earl stops Vanel and his thugs from selling drugs in England for the Italian mafia… but allows Lau to operate his opium den? Lau works as an informant for our earl, so they have a working relationship. It’s kind of like that, to me. When Vincent is watchdog, he allows some things to happen while stopping others. If it’s getting out of hand with polite society (like deaths amongst the peerage) or causing scandal for the queen, he breaks it up. But if it’s a fellow “evil noble” who acts as an informant or a colleague, and it’s only causing problems for the local riffraff on the streets, then “ok”.

I know that makes Vincent look bad, but… come on. He was the previous earl of Phantomhive and Queen’s Watchdog. He joked to his kids about being quite good with knives and saying hogtying is his specialty. He’s an Evil Noble.

All this tangential info about Vincent and the other Evil Nobles is to get to this: If Vincent knew what was going on with his fellow Evil Nobles, in general, so does Tanaka. Tanaka probably already knew that there were demon cultists amongst the visitors who came in and out of Phantomhive Manor.

But does Tanaka realize that’s how real Ciel died and Sebastian came “here”? If he doesn’t realize it yet, I think he might eventually figure it out. If not on his own, Sebastian might eventually reveal the truth.

If Tanaka does already know… that could be just about the only reason why he has stayed behind at Phantomhive Manor, serving the reanimated corpse of the rightful heir… unless he’s just biding his time to return to our earl’s side… with useful information about real Ciel and the other lords of the stars….

[yuurei20]

Hello!! Sorry if this is a little something out of your wheelhouse but I keep seeing people say Yana said in a tweet that the Twst’s story will continue after the current main story arc. Do you know if she actually said it or have a link to that tweet? It feels like an urban legend and idk if I can believe it without seeing it for myself. Thanks if you get around to answering this and if not then have a good night/afternoon/morning!

Hello hello! Thank you for this question!

There has been no explicit statement released by Yana, Aniplex or anyone on the direction of the main story (that I have been able to find), which makes sense!

According to the interviews we have, plans/ideas/characters are changing all the time behind the scenes (sometimes long after development has begun), so someone saying "these are our plans for the future!" at any time would be very unwise. It is a volatile industry!

Proving that something has happened is much easier than proving something has not (which is likely why a lot of these rumors get so popular), but I can certainly share the things that we know have been said! ^^

I reviewed the two official interviews that Yana has given on Twst, one published in the Magical Archives game guide in 2020 and one posted to the Apple Store in 2023, and here are all the comments that might be meant to relate to future endeavors!

・"I wrote this story with the intention of developing mutual understandings through such clashes. So no matter where this story goes, it will never be about forgiveness or saving someone."

・"I would like to have raid battles where players fight together. The theme of the game is 'making problem children cooperate with each other,' so I feel that such an addition to the gameplay would allow us to better feel the growth of the characters."

・"I would also like to collaborate with other Disney productions. The characters in 'Twisted Wonderland' are also Disney characters, so I don't know if collaboration is the right word."

・"I would also like to continue to dress the characters up in gorgeous outfits. I have so many ideas for what kind of fashion I want them to wear, what kind of makeup I want them to try…there are so many things I want to do."

・"As long as villains are the basis for these characters, I think it is important that they never become overly good people."

・"However, I am sure that more and more events are going to be held in the future, so I am wondering if parallel and ‘if’ worlds are going to start appearing."

・"The text of the first book is 35,000 Japanese characters long but book 6 has over 250,000. Up until about book 3 users are still getting to know the characters, so we prioritized helping people come to understand the world of Twst and keeping things compact. After the game was released, however, it felt like people were reading much more deeply into the story than we had anticipated. So now I include much more information than was provided during those setup chapters."

・Going forward things are going to be on a much larger scale, incorporating not only the vertical and horizontal axes of the story but also expanding upon elements such as a present, past and future. Look forward to Book 7 (currently on chapter 2)!

・"We will continue to develop this game that emphasizes the spirit of villains that cannot be discouraged, and we hope that our users will continue to enjoy it.”

・"Thank you so much for playing Twisted Wonderland. We will continue to do our best to make this game into something that can add a little more fun and color to your daily lives."

I have seen fan-rumors before of maybe an RSA arc, or perhaps the 4th years being introduced, or even the current class graduating to welcome a new wave of 1st-year students, but they are all unproven theories ^^ Very fun to think about, but unofficial!

[artsbysakurachan]

A Kuro fan-theory in the Year of Our Lord 2021 because I am always late to the damn party!

I only caught up on Kuroshitsuji’s latest chapters in the last few months and this obviousness just smacked me in the face so I’m posting about it.  The speculation about who shot Soma.  Most have ruled out O!Ciel being the shooter because of his reaction when he and Sebastian find Agni dead and Soma seriously messed up.  He actually freaking cries which is not something the ‘Phantom Menace’ does very often (*bows* yes, thank you I did come up with that on my own, you’re welcome XD).  

But, O!Ciel is a cold-ass sunova-bitch who has killed people he likes before now, Doll, for example, so that’s not enough for me to rule him out.  Also, who killed Agni? Remember that Agni was killed while protecting Soma, which is when he’s at his strongest because he enters Samadhi when he’s defending his “God.”  So I seriously doubt any human could have taken out Agni in that state.  That leaves us with two non-human options because only two species of non-human have ever been introduced in the series.  Demons and Grim Reapers.

That narrows our options down to Sebastian (the only demon we KNOW is around) or a reaper.  We can narrow that down further by looking at reapers who are sticklers for the rules (not interfering with human lives/deaths) and those who like to bend those rules (I’m looking at you Grell Sutcliffe >_>).  Then there is the Undertaker who didn’t just bend the rules, he smashed them to bits with a freaking sledgehammer, jumped up and down on them just to be sure and torched whatever was left.  

I’m ruling out Grell because frankly, she has no motive and in fact, has a pretty good motivation stop whoever is behind the zombie apocalypse.  Why?  Because she freaking LOVES death and her job, that’s her motivation. What Undertaker and the Blue Oyster Cult are up to threatens to undermine the whole concept of death entirely and I’m fairly sure that Grell would not be down for that At. All. So, back to the heresy of suggesting O!Ciel shot Soma and Sebastian killed Agni.  Relax I don’t think that’s what happened but I wanted to walk through the possibility to show why people shouldn’t rule it out just based on Ciel’s emo arse.  So what did rule out O!Ciel and Sebastian for me?  

Soma was shot by someone with a Winchester .45 Revolver.  We’ve only ever seen O!Ciel use a revolver once!  When he pulled it out from under his pillow and put it to Sebastian’s head because he was woken up suddenly.

Every single other time that O!Ciel has a gun it’s a snub-nosed semi-automatic pistol, the same one he carries everywhere in a shoulder holster.  The sole exception was the one time he went hunting where he carried a hunting rifle which isn’t relevent because we can clearly see that Soma wasn’t shot with a hunting rifle.  

Side note: If there’s one thing I’ve learned today it’s that I know a lot more about guns than I thought I did.

But he could have taken the revolver to kill Soma right? Sure, but why bother when he has a better, more reliable and more easily concealed gun with him all the time anyway?  But more importantly, when you’re a survivor with PTSD who keeps weapons within easy reach of where you’re most vulnerable - the place where you sleep - you DON’T move them.  I cannot stress this enough.  You. Do. Not. Move. Your. Weapons.  Because you want the security of knowing that the thing you need to protect your life is exactly where it needs to be at all times. And I would know because I do this myself.  I’m an abuse survivor with an ex who can be somewhat unhinged and a woman living alone in a place where I don’t know that many people so not taking precautions would be stupid and potentially fatal.  I have weapons in strategic places around my house and in my handbag.  Not guns, you can’t just go out and get a gun in my country which is probably a good thing, but the same logic applies.  The weapon by my bed stays by my bed, the one in my handbag stays in my handbag and the others stay where they are placed so I always know where they are.  If you know someone in law enforcement or the military ask them about this yourself because you’ll probably find they do the same thing. There’s also the fact that O!Ciel and Sebastian had been staying at the town house for most of this segment of the story.  While there is likely a different gun under O!Ciel’s pillow in the townhouse, it’s one we haven’t seen so it’s unlikely that Yana would just pull that gun out of thin air because she likes dropping hints.  Her entire brand at this point is basically “this is a big game of iSpy.”  

So, here is what I think did happen.  I think R!Ciel took the gun from under O!Ciel’s pillow back at the Manor and used it to frame his twin because he’s a dick. R!Ciel fits all the requirements for the shooter.  He’s shorter than Soma and he’s someone Soma would recognise, or rather mistake for O!Ciel.  I’d bet money that R!Ciel also took one of O!Ciel’s spare eye-patches at the same time he took the revolver from his bedroom.   Then there’s the fact that when O!Ciel and Sebastian find Soma locked in with Agni’s dead body still blocking the door, Soma straight up clocks Ciel in the face!  How can it be more obvious?? Soma believes Ciel did it and he believes that because R!Ciel went out of his way to make him believe it.  I suspect he may even have left Soma alive so that he would point the finger at O!Ciel.

So the next question is who killed Agni?  I originally thought Undertaker but since when does Undy don a hooded robe and go around stabbing people when he’s super attached to that death scythe and his gimp outfit?

Seriously though, there is one clue and that’s height.

Trivia time: According to Yana, the official unit of measurement in Kuro is 1 Sebastian...

SERIOUSLY??? WTFAWREOIUJGEOGNOGAERKHBG!!!

*sigh*

Sebastian is 6′1 and Agni is roughly half a head taller than Sebastian, so 1 and 1/16th Sebastians? (Fuck you Yana XD). The person who kills Agni is nearly as tall as he is, around Sebastian’s height or possibly a bit taller.  That rules out Undertaker because...well...sorry Undy fans but he’s a short-ass at around 5′8-5′9 which means he only comes up to Sebastian’s chin.  Also rules out Grell who is even shorter at 5′7.  It rules out most of the main characters who are all shorter than Sebastian.  And that’s it, I’m stuck at this point, I don’t know who it could be and I got nothing.  THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT! XD

[chibimyumi]

Redesign Prompt RESULTS!

Alright, thank you everyone who has voted, the results are now in! Overwhelmingly our winner is Ranmao 🐈!

First of all, I need to insert a few caveats here. Unlike with Victorian fashion, I do not have years and years of studying of Qing dynasty-fashion behind me. So whatever results I show here are the product of a fortnight of reading up and meticulous studying of contemporary photographs. a.k.a. I am merely scraping the surface here. But! I do promise that everything shown here is done to the best of my ability to be responsible as a content provider.

Now without further ado, let us dive into Ranmao’s current design, the blatantly obvious inaccuracies, and how I propose to redes...ign... her outfit while keeping the original intact as much.... as possible????  Heck, this is not even worthy of being called a ‘redesign’, this is straight up designing from scratch!

Hair

Let us start with her bangs. Her bangs are in fact surprisingly accurate, as late Qing dynasty women would wear their bangs in a variety of Bettie bangs trimmed well above the eyebrows. Having sides of the bangs growing longer framing the face was usual too, though they would be cut slightly thicker than Ranmao’s. Though, we don’t know how much hair Ranmao has, so I see no reason to alter it.

Twin braids are very much associated with the “China doll look”, but they seem to have been branded into our image of the “Chinese Girl” because it was the go-to look for unmarried women in Republic China (which is many years later than Ranmao’s time, and also has more surviving images.)

In Ranmao’s time, unmarried girls would either wear the bottom part of their hair down, or have everything tied into a single braid behind them. Girls who preferred a more feminine look would often decorate the sides or the top with flowers or other ornaments depending on their wealth.

Yana’s notes say that the flower in Ranmao’s hair is a Chinese peony, which is also called the Empress of Flowers in Chinese as well as Japanese culture. I could find sources on how the peony was the symbol of the Empress of China, and how one better avoid wearing any type of peonies around the Empress herself for fear of being suspected of disrespect. But I could not find any evidence of such flowers being banned for other people, so presumably it was more an ‘unwritten code of politeness’ rather than fashion law.

Hence, I kept the pink peony design for Ranmao, and decorated them in the way Qing women would have.

Neckline

By far the most interesting thing I learned from this redesign attempt was that the “mandarin collar” - the thing that pops up first in most people’s minds when thinking about Chinese fashion - was in fact not at all common.

In this academic work on Chinese fashion history, Finnane writes that the ‘high collar’ was “not a common feature of costume before the twentieth century.” Instead, most costumes would have had a round neckline.

Finnane, Antonia. Changing Clothes in China : Fashion, History, Nation. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. p. 93

The ‘high collar’ gained popularity in early 1900s in China after the Europeans brought with them the beauty standard for high collars, as well as slim-fitted silhouettes. The Chinese increasingly adopted this type of collar and the slim silhouette (the well known ‘china dress/qipao/cheongsam’), and the relatively many early photos that survived helped engrave this stereotype into our minds.

Sleeves

I do not think it requires any mention, but 19th century Chinese fashion did not include boleros... For many of the original designs of Ranmao I can sort of see where Yana got that image from, but this bolero-look truly beats me.

The sleeves worn in the late Qing period were relatively wide, though they were starting to slim down over time. Late Qing women enjoyed much more flexible clothing rules than earlier Qing women, and the width of the sleeves was in great part determined by personal preference, season, but mostly one’s wealth.

Needless to say, the larger the sleeves the more fabric and embroidery it would require, and thus more expensive. Also, the wider the more it would get into the wearer’s way.

I don’t know how much thought Yana put into Ranmao’s original design in relation to her function as elite bodyguard, but considering how the original has zero practicality and only serves to maximise Ranmao’s attractiveness, I have no qualms about giving Ranmao fairly large sleeves too. Besides, let us assume that Lau is responsible for providing Ranmao with clothes. Illegal money tends to fill the pockets quite deeply, I don’t think he can’t spare a few pounds for big sleeves.

Wider sleeves would expose much of ‘a lady’s precious skin’, as such a more fitted layer would have been worn underneath. (The sleeves under the wider sleeves obviously did not have to be orange-ish. This was merely coincidence that both my redesign and the visual source have this colour.)

Silhouette

The figure hugging silhouette x Chinese clothes was - as mentioned above - not at all a thing in Ranmao’s time. In fact, the accentuation of the “female curves” was considered very inappropriate if not downright ugly in the Qing dynasty.

Finnane, Antonia. Changing Clothes in China : Fashion, History, Nation. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. p. 94

Yana’s notes mention that the thing Ranmao wears is just an European corset and that that is the only thing ‘English’ about her attire.

Well... I don’t know where the idea that Victorians wore corsets on the outside comes from, but I myself admittedly was fooled by this a few years ago too... I promise you all now however, Victorians decidedly did not wear their ‘bras’ on the outside. I think even now this look is considered rather ‘questionable’ by most people.

Instead, Qing dynasty clothes were mostly cut wide and straight, loosely dangling around their bodies offering maximum comfort and space. You feared Ranmao killing you in her corset? Now tremble before her now blessed with maximised agility.

Trousers

Well... I considered ‘translating’ Ranmao’s attire to 2020 standard like I did for O!Ciel, but that would not be Tumblr-filter approved. Skirts so short they could be mistaken for a belt are nothing too surprising today, but wearing one with a split that deep is probably a bit too revealing even by today’s standards.

By the late Qing dynasty, men and women, rich and poor alike predominantly wore trousers. Long robes (skirts) were definitely in fashion too, but they were reserved for those who could afford to not have much agility. If you were a farmer, robes would not have been your first option. Perhaps the way long skirts were viewed by the Qing Chinese was not unlike the way we see them now; ‘more classy’ ‘more feminine’ and ‘less convenient’, but not the only way to express femininity.

In these pictures below we can see relatively rich women, married and unmarried alike, all wearing trousers.

Ranmao is predominantly a fighter, and as trousers are plenty feminine in Chinese fashion culture, I don’t see why she would not choose to wear trousers instead of a restricting long skirt. Hence I gave her a pair of trousers.

Shoes

Like I said before, “the shoes are correct...” But the anklets definitely are not!

Golden or silver anklets are something that are worn by very, VERY young children in China. Even to this day it is customary among many Chinese people to gift newborn children at least one piece of pendant, bracelet or anklet, for it is believed to bring the child luck. More practically, this piece of jewellery will become the child’s first piece of property then, which can be sold later SHOULD they ever run into a financially difficult situation.

These anklets or bracelets would not be removed from the child unless they have outgrown them, which happens fairly quick. Ranmao who is probably full grown should have outgrown them at least ten years ago. Hence, seeing these things on Ranmao would probably make it look like she is still wearing diapers or bibs.

Chinese people would likewise not have worn shoes barefoot. Instead, they would have worn cotton socks which were mostly white.

DOUBLE HAMMERS

HERE COME THE WEAPONS! Luckily Yana wrote the following note or I would never have guessed what they are for my knowledge about Chinese weapons is next to nothing.

“These are【SUPER】heavy. They are weapons called 双錘 (double hammers) and they in fact exist. I heard these were used by power-type warriors.”

So, I googled 双錘 and it turns out that the type Ranmao is holding do indeed exist! But... only in fiction and theatre.

The hammers that were used in actual combat were either very thin and long, or short and plump. Such hammers were one of the most primitive metal weapons in China, and quickly fell out of favour among Chinese warriors when more practical weapons such as the metal spear, sword and bows were invented. The hammers mostly retained their value because of their weight in heroic tales and myths about legendary warriors and deities.

I don’t have the full details, but apparently according to some legends or myths, one of such big-ass hammers could deal a force of 200kg, and thus 400kg combined. Regardless of this being realistic or not, it sure does sound very cool! It is therefore no wonder this primitive weapon retains its popularity even today.

Nowadays when these hammers are used, they are either the blown up theatrical versions, or the smaller versions for the sake of preserving martial arts.

I had a bit of a dilemma as to which version to give Ranmao, but in the end I settled with the short and heavy ones because I wanted to keep the idea of this small and innocent looking girl wielding solid metal balls. Two cheer-leading sticks would simply not have the same weight, figuratively and literally.

Alright everyone! Did you enjoy my response to your votes? I hope you did ^^ Non-European fashion history really is not my strong suit, so my deepest apologies if I messed anything up.

Pray tell if I did, I am always happy to learn ^^

[thosebrookfieldgirls]

1 and 3

Ah so we’re trying to get me murdered with number 3 I see XD just kidding. 

1. How did you get into TWST

So long story. The first time I heard about twst and getting interested in it was all the way back when all we knew about the game was it was in development with Disney, that Yana Taboso would be doing the characters and story, and the art of Malleus rising up out of the coffin. This was when the rumors of it being an Otome started because we knew next to nothing about what kind of story it would be outside of the Disney villain's being turned into pretty boys. Obviously this was incorrect but at the time it was all the info we had. Over the years I had checked back on occasion to see if it was out yet and then kind of forgot about it for a little bit until one of my cosplay friends started doing Malleus and Vil. Then I realized it was out and just ran head first first into translations without looking at all at other characters or anything at all about anyone. It lead to some rather funny moments especially with the Scarabia Duo and me thinking Kalim was supposed to be Jafar, ranting about why he was when Jamil’s design and character fit so much better to me, and then me going “oh that's why” in chapter 4 XD it was great. They had just released part 2 of Pomefiore at the time so I binged it all in about two nights. The rest is history~ 

3. Unpopular opinion about TWST? 

So I did have to think about this for a moment considering most of my opinions I wouldn’t say are unpopular especially when it comes to characters and story. Most people agree Leona was done dirty. Most people agree that Chapter 5 with Vil kind of hit a sour note at the end. Most people agree that Rook can come off as less funny and more creepy. Obviously I didn’t do a head count but just based on what I’ve seen it’s a general consensus. But as far as what I could think of four sure... I don’t really like Floyd Leech that much. He’s a great character and he’s funny don’t get me wrong, but as a person I just know he would make me cry and laugh about it on purpose. He is the kind of person who wouldn’t understand boundaries, get upset when you say you don’t want them crossed, and just proceed in general to do what he wants without much care for what the other person wants. We see him do this all the time with Riddle and it’s played for laughs but sometimes those two genuinely hurt each other without care. We also see him and Jade regularly pull out things against Azul to mess with him when he doesn’t want to. I don’t think these things are necessarily malicious in intent he just likes the reaction. But again for some reason Floyd just rubs me the wrong way. I don't’ know if I’m just missing something there or what but either way, yeah that’s my most unpopular opinion so far about twst. 

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | three

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 2.4k

chapter warnings: cussing / mature language, definitely inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, jimin continues to be cute as fuck for being such an angel

> series masterlist <

"Jimin!" You whined as he had hurriedly grabbed the check from the waitress and politely shoved it back in her hand with his card.

"I just wanted you to enjoy your lunch." He laughed at your pouty face - brows furrowed, lips poking out.

"That doesn't mean I can't pay for my own food."

"Can you relax? It's fine. If anything, you can just get me when we grab dessert later."

"Sure, if you don't beat me to it again."

"Maybe it's your reflexes."

"Wow, I'm a little appalled at that statement. Already judging me?"

"Never that, just being honest." He smiled. "Okay, I'm joking. Don't kill me." He laughed as he stood up and gathered his stuff. You two were spending some time going around Insa-Dong before heading to a park near the N Seoul Tower later tonight to chill.

Besides beaming with kindness, Jimin was patient. He let you walk around wherever, doing whatever, without complaining. He was also very smart, giving the inside scoop with the added bonus of tips and tricks and reciting historical facts when the perfect opportunity arose. He made fun of you for buying small, cute souvenirs because it seemed like a never ending collection, but nonetheless, he really enjoyed how happy you looked. How you glowed. How down to earth and laid back you were. Even though it hadn't been long since you met, you weren't reserved and you took him in (as he was) with ease. He was normally a shy person, but he appreciated the warmth that radiated from you. He felt comfortable, almost like you both had known each other for years.

"Come on, Y/N." He laughed. "Really? How many more pins and stickers do you need?"

"Jimin, you need to lower your voice." You joked.

"I'm sorry." He began to raise his voice, causing others to turn towards you two. "HOW MANY MORE PINS-"

"Oh my god, okay! Stop! I'll drop it!" He laughed and prevented you from dropping your items down.

"I'm just playing. I'll stop." It hit you that his hand still lingered on yours, so you quickly drop it down before shyly tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"I promise this is it." You shrugged. "For now." You kept smirking at him over your shoulder before you happily walked over to the counter. After slipping the small shopping bag into your bigger shopping bag, you met Jimin outside of the shop who had been taking pictures of the street with his polaroid camera. "Do you always do this?"

"Take pictures? Yeah, I like holding onto the memories, as cliché as that sounds. They really do hold a lot of meaning for me."

"No, I think that's pretty cool."

"Do you mind?" He slightly rose his camera towards you.

"If you take pictures of me?" He nodded silently. "No, I don't."

"Thanks. It'll add a nice touch to my collection." He quickly snapped a picture of you smiling.

The two of you continued to walk around, with Jimin making sure you didn't miss anything significant. He led the way majority of the time, dancing when he would hear music playing on the street, mimicking ads posted on the walls or simply taking more pictures. When you both had your fill of the area, he drove to a nearby bbq restaurant where you could get some jajangmyeon, samgyeopsal and other entrees ready made for takeout before grabbing dessert on the way to the park. You held onto the food while he grabbed a blanket from the trunk of his car and laid it on the grass so you two could dig in and eat.

"That's a nice ass view." You said, staring at the tower up ahead.

"I could take you up there another day. There isn't much, but the view at the tower is amazing."

"I bet."

"So, what made you want to come to here?" All this time you had been spending with Jimin had been occupied by all the plans that you hadn't been able to really talk about this. You hadn't been able to divulge about the dirty details of all things home.

"I really just wanted a break from the chaos." You shrugged.

"Mmm, really painting a great picture of Los Angeles right now." He said sarcastically before he covered his mouth to laugh.

"Sorry, it's a great place, really. I honestly can't see myself anywhere else." You sighed. "I just.. felt myself slipping, you know? I was getting lost in all the work I had to get done, all the projects on my plate. At one point I felt so stuck that I really questioned if I belonged. I'm turning 26 soon and I still feel lost."

"Impostor syndrome?"

"Yes, that."

"Why? You made it that far, haven't you? May I ask what you do back home?"

"I work in translational science." His eyes widened.

"Wow, that's amazing. You came this far, Y/N. Why would you doubt yourself like that?"

"I guess I just always feel like I need to prove myself to everyone around me."

"In work or in general?"

"It was starting to feel like I had to prove myself in general."

"That's not fair. I know it's easier said than done, but you shouldn't do that to yourself. From what I can tell, you're a great person who's down to earth and enjoys life as it comes. There's nothing wrong with that. You're where you're at for a reason. I'm sure your friends and parents are really proud of you."

"Thanks." You smiled softly. "Yeah, my parents are pretty great."

"Yeah? See, that's good. What are your parents like?"

"Well, my dad is the executive director of another lab, while my mom is a pediatric nurse."

"So, science and healthcare revolves around your family."

"Pretty much. My dad is the reason why I got so interested in pursuing a career in science. He would always teach me things growing up and I always enjoyed going to science museums with him. That's all I wanted to do."

"That's cute." He smiled. "You're really close to your parents, then."

"Yeah, I am."

"Do they know you're here?" You nodded.

"Yeah. They were just sad I didn't join them on their Europe holiday trip."

"What?! You turned that down to come here? You're something else." You laughed and tossed a crumpled napkin at him, making him dodge it.

"Hey! I told you. I just wanted to do something solo. Something different."

"I mean, are you really doing it solo if you're here with me?" He smirked.

"I'm leaving."

"No, I'm kidding." He laughed as he put his hand out to stop you. "I know, I know. For the record, I'm glad you're hanging out with me and letting me show you around."

"Nice save, Park."

"You got it, sweetness." He winked, making you shake your head at the pet name.

"What about you? What's up with you and your family? I can tell you and Yana are close."

"Yeah, we are. I'm really happy about the relationship we have. She's my older sister and she's done a lot for me. A lot." He emphasized. "I can't help but feel super protective of her. I feel like I want to shield her from the world sometimes because she's such a good person and I don't want to see her get hurt, you know? It hurts me." You nodded silently. "I know part of the reason why she agreed to this whole thing was because of her ex." You swallowed the lump in your throat because same. Fucking same.

"I get that. That's really sweet of you."

"As for the rest of my family, I mean.." He sighed. "Yeah, we're all close. I love my mom and dad. I'd do anything for them, no question about that. They've always been supportive. But, sometimes I can't help but feel like I disappoint them."

"Why do you say that? Only if you feel comfortable, though." And he did. Jimin really did. He wasn't much to talk about his personal details because he was so busy trying to make sure his people were good, that people he cared for were okay. He barely had time to look out for himself, but he didn't mind it. All he wanted was for his people to be good. If that could happen, then all was well. Plus, he would hate to have to burden someone with such negative thoughts. It wasn't the happiest topic for him.

"I do." He softly smiled at you, his eyes wide and round like a puppy. He ran his hand through his hair before adjusting his position on the blanket. You couldn't help but feel weak at the sight of him. Sheesh. He could do the bare minimum and it would still be so attractive. "My sister is super smart and successful. She's worked so hard to get to where she is now. I mean, she works for a really popular magazine here. She started as an intern, then worked her way up and now she's close to creating her own clothing line. It's been her dream and she really worked to make it happen."

"That's amazing."

"Isn't it? She's such a boss." He shook his head. "And then there's me." He scoffed. "I went to school for business, with a minor in art. But that's about it for me. I don't really know what I want to do or how to go about making my degree useful." He used air quotes. "I honestly just don't even know. I got through school just fine, but I never had set plans for myself. I help my mom and dad at their cafe, then that's it." He shrugged.

"Jimin, you still have so much time to figure out what you want to do. Don't beat yourself up just because you didn't get there as quickly as Yana or other people. Your path isn't theirs and vice versa."

"It just gets hard, you know? I want to make them proud."

"And I'm sure they are. They always will be. You have so much to offer to the world, no doubt. You'll be able to show that in time."

"Thanks Y/N, I needed to hear that. Really." He smiled. "Just you listening makes me feel better."

"You should make more time for yourself, Jimin." You already could tell what kind of person Jimin was. One that always made time for everyone but himself. One who was completely and utterly selfless.

"I know, I'm working on it." He scooped into his ice cream cup. "So, enough of me." He chuckled. "Back to you."

"What else can I say about me?"

"I don't know, Y/N. I'm sure you have a lot you can say about yourself besides being a badass scientist." You chuckled. "Is that really the only reason why you came to Seoul? To get a break from LA and work?"

"If I'm being completely honest, no." He nodded as he continued to keep his attention on scooping more of his ice cream. "I'm actually in the same boat as Yana with the whole ex situation." You scoffed. "It sounds pathetic coming from me, I know."

"No." He shook his head. "No, it doesn't."

"I dated this guy for almost 5 years. But, it was so on and off and inconsistent during the last year. After we officially broke up, I couldn't separate myself from him, even if he was treating me like shit. Like a convenience. He would come around whenever he wanted to, even though he was already seeing other girls and playing his games. I was so tired of crying and feeling hurt over the fact that I was so replaceable. I was longing to find myself again."

"I'm really sorry, Y/N. I can't apologize on his behalf, but you definitely don't deserve that."

"It is what it is."

"No, it's not. Someone who is more worried about getting their ego boosted than treating someone right doesn't deserve your time. None of this was your fault and I really hope you know that."

"It took me a long time to see it that way, of course. It was really difficult. I always questioned what was wrong with me."

"Nothing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. Please hear me when I say that. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I really mean it. You're beautiful, smart and you have a lot of things going for you. If he can't fit in that equation, then fuck it. That's on him and that's his loss." You chuckled.

"Thanks, Jimin."

"Of course." He tilted his head to the side as he smiled. He continued to stare for a bit longer, eyeing all of your features and taking it all in. You were really beautiful to him. A work of art. The last thing he wanted to do was scare you away, but he felt compelled to be by your side while you were around. He just wanted to keep spending time with you, getting to know you and making you happy. That became his goal. "So, uh. I have a couple of more places I'd like to take you to, if that's alright?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm down to see everything and anything I can while I'm still here."

"I'll do my best." He chuckled. After you both finished up your ice cream, you threw out the empty containers and packed up the blanket before heading back home. You knew you were going to keep spending more time with Jimin and his friends, but you were beginning to feel a little sad parting ways at the end of the night. You gave Jimin a tight hug and said your goodnights before shutting the door. You threw your shoes off to the side and took a quick shower before plopping yourself into the warm sheets. Yoongi had left you a voicemail you hours ago, but you had been so caught up that you hadn't checked your phone until now. You weren't going to call back due to the time change. Namjoon and Yoongi were for sure knocked the hell out. They wouldn't hear a thing.

"Oyyy," Yoongi's raspy voice came up on the voicemail. "Just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing down there. Namjoon is out running errands but I think he's gonna be hanging out with Yana again. Call me back when you get a chance. But not when it's like 4 or 5AM here please. Take care of yourself and be safe."