#the one that's all about conquering hearts and ruling over them vs the one that tries to preserve and protect whatever good is left

[autisticsupervillain]

FTF: Isekai Invasion!

The show where we take a character and drop them into a different franchise at a random location to see if they can conquer the world.

This Episode...

Karkat Vantas vs The Underground!

Conditions:

Karkat's only goal is to escape the Underground alive.

Everyone in the Underground us operating under the assumption that Karkat is a human who is very dedicated to his cosplay, regardless of what he insists.

Flowey doesn't interfere because he finds Karkat's antics entertaining.

Besides that, everyone is in character.

It's assumed Karkat is capable of passing through the barrier.

Scenario:

Karkat falls into the Underground and wants to go home.

Invader: Karkat

Ask yourself one very important question. A question that has plagued nearly all of mankind since its very inception. What does God, our omnipotent creator, look like?

Stop thinking, because you're wrong. Our God is just an internet troll from another universe who wears a massive sweater, pulls his pants up to his chest, and has a love for dumb rom coms.

Meet Karkat Vantas, a mutant blooded alien troll from the distant planet of Alternia. Born as a mutant with bright red blood, Karkat had no place in Alternia's dystopic blood-based caste system and, as such, his very existence was a crime punishable by death. As such, Karkat has lived his entire life in constant fear and paranoia that one day his blood would be discovered and he would be killed. Growing up as a born outlaw in a murderous dystopia did not do well for Karkat's psyche, resulting in him growing up into an abrasive asshole who was fully convinced he would die at any moment.

Little did he know until his 13th birthday (or 6.5th birthday going off Alternia's time measurement system), he had inherited a destiny, regarding both the future of his race and the future of his very universe.

See, Karkat wasn't any mutant. He was a direct descendant of the Signless. A troll who, many centuries ago, had rebelled in the name of trolls of every caste, seeking to bring peace to the horrific, bloodthirsty dystopia. He was executed for his efforts, but not before his genetic information was copied.... by Karkat himself. Technically.

Karkat's other destiny was his destiny as a SBURB Player. He and all his friends were destined to play a video game called SGRUB, which would bring about the end of their world. The game, if played right, would allow Karkat and friends to become the gods of the new world, but in order for that to happen at all, the game had to allow Karkat to ensure his own existence through time traveling clone science fuckery. It's complicated.

This gave Karkat a golden opportunity to both escape his horrible situation and rule as the leader of a pantheon of gods over his own personal universe. Namely, our universe. He kindly assures us that it would've been a horrific and brutal regime, but it never really got off the ground, as Karkat's victory was stolen from him at the last second by an invincible time demon and Karkat would up having to work with the humans he had intended to enslave for the sake of survival.

This is because Karkat is not even half the conquer he wants to be. He isn't even really the leader of his team. Despite all his bluster of being a God born from a superior warrior race, Karkat is a loud mouthed weakling when measured up to nearly anyone else on his team. He has no special powers, he's physically the weakest out of everyone, and he isn't even an actual God.

What Karkat does have... is heart. Much to his chagrin, Karkat's special power is basically friendship. As a Blood Player, Karkat is supernaturally predisposed to being really good at making friends and maintaining friendships... which turned out to be the very thing he needed to succeed as well as he did.

See, all of Karkat's friends have a very deep, bloody history. As in, "these people are personally responsible for the most traumatic and horrifying events in my life. Events that shape who I am as a person to this day" deep. They've killed each other before and they would again. However, thanks to Karkat's influence, they're able to not only work together but actually almost get along. Karkat had a genocidal highblood supremacist counting him as one of his best friends, that's how potent this guy's friendship power inexplicably is.

A lot of this can be chalked up to the Blood Aspect, sure, but a lot of it can also be chalked up to who Karkat is under all the paranoia and anger. He gets people, he understands their character flaws, their failings, their fears, and he sympathizes with them. He gets, probably better than anyone else, that everyone around him is effectively a terrified kid with boatloads of trauma. That's the real reason he could never by the bloodthirsty tyrant he dreamed of. It's not who he is, at his foundation. It just took a long time and a lot of bonding with the humans he supposedly despised for him to realize that.

That said, Karkat is only physically unimpressive by the standards of the literal gods that surround him. He's still a SBURB Player and he still grew up on an inhospitable hell planet. As such, he is much stronger than your ordinary human.

Notably, he should powerscale to the same kind of meteor trip that Dave's sprite survived, as it wasn't even Prototyped yet and the Players are generally shown to be able to fight evenly alongside their sprite. That's an impact of almost 4.24 Megatons of TNT.

Source:

He also much faster. Comparing to the human's Guardians, who can move in the span of lightning flashes and nanoseconds.

From this point, Karkat has been getting stronger all of his life. Everyone and everything in Homestuck has an Echeladder, a video game style leveling system that continues to make them stronger as they accomplish random things throughout their life, ranging from opening a fridge to winning a fight.

On top of this, Karkat is certainly a much more skilled fighter than your average human being. His team was able to take in the armies of the Kingdom of Derse, which has been warring with its opposite Kingdom of Prospite for as long as its home reality has existed. Despite that, Karkat found himself being flat out disappointed by how easy they were to fight against, with only the King proving to be enough of a challenge to rally the whole team.

As with all Homestuck characters, Karkat also has a sylladex, a hammerspace inventory system where he can store objects much too big to carry on his person, allowing him to pull out his handy twin sickles whenever he needs them. Really, the fact that most of his friends can knock him out cold with a love tap says more about them than it does about him.

Despite that though, Karkat is still not a fighter and he possesses bad luck to a literally superhuman degree. In fact, his luck is so horrible that it completely counters out luck based superpowers, allowing him to beat Clover, whose luck is so supernaturally good that it made him completely untouchable to everyone else on the battlefield except for Karkat. Turning all your negatives into a positive. If that isn't just Karkat's entire character arc.

Karkat is not the conquerer he so desperately wanted to be. But he is a leader and he is a friend, and in the hands of a Blood Player, those two titles are far more powerful than a warrior ever could be.

Invaded: Underground

Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. Until many years later, the seventh human would fall into the Underground, with the last soul they'd need to escape their prison.

Having resigned himself to a quest for revenge after the death of his son and adoptive child at humanity's hands, Asgore swore to use the human souls to achieve godhood and destroy mankind.

And if they were going up against the regular real world humanity? Well, let's just say they'd be wildly successful.

Monsters as a whole seem to be genuinely superhuman by any real world standard, as they frequently show to be able to tank explosions, bust down steel walls, and dodge sound. But, their real strength comes from their magic. As beings made entirely from magic, monsters can damage both the human body and soul with all of their attacks, bypassing a targets conventional durability.

How exactly this manifests depends on the monster specifically. Skeleton monsters throw bones at you, fire monsters throw fire, and snow monsters such as Snowdrake can even create blizzards, a feat that would generate energy equivalent to 15 Megatons of TNT.

Source:

But, they can get much more versatile than that. Like Tsunderplane, a sentient airplane, Vulcan, a sentient mini volcano that can create storms and shoot lightning, and Knight Knight, a giant sleepy knight woman who can create a small sun and call down meteors.... underground.... somehow. Every monster has unique bullet hell attack patterns that can be used in tandem with each other's, coming at you from seemingly all directions at once.

Thankfully, monsters are generally good sports, who will happily wait for you to solve their puzzles and explain how their weird attacks work to you if you seem to not be getting it. Take Papyrus, the confident, boisterous sentry of Snowden who, despite his aspirations to capture a human, could never bring himself to actually hurt one. Even his commander Undyne, arguably the most gung ho about capturing humans, will explain how her powers work to the opponent if they appear to be having trouble... provided you don't test her patience.

And, if soul destroying magical attacks aren't enough, they come in different types. Blue attacks go right through you if you aren't moving, while orange attacks go right through you if you are, and green attacks heal you on contact. Beyond even that, some monsters have special techniques that can change the nature of your soul itself.

Papyrus and his lazy brother Sans can turn your soul blue, subjecting you to increased gravity to force you to jump over their sea of bones, including bones that can stretch as high as a building. Though, Sans's forth wall breaking and teleportation imply that something... more is going on with him.

Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard and Gero of the Underground, can turn your soul green to freeze you in place, before honorably handing you a spear so you can block all of her attacks.

Muffet, a nefarious spider baker with a penchant for cooking stingy customers into pasteries, turns your soul purple, leaving you tied up in her web and jumping from string to string to escape her man eating pet.

Mettaton, a charming ghost whose robotic body was built by the brilliant Dr. Alphys, serves as the Underground's biggest star, rocking and indestructible body in his base form while his EX form rocks a host of lasers, bombs, and... legs. Some of his attacks can only be dodged with the Yellow Mode soul power provided by Alphys inventions.

And finally, there is the royal family. Toriel Dreemurr is the caretaker of the Ruins, bent on protecting any humans that fall down from her ex-husbands madness. She is the first monster you'll face and Asgore is the last, and though neither force unique soul modes on you, both stand as the strongest monsters out there, burning away all opposition with blistering hot fire.

Despite this incredible variety in powers and skills, monsterkind is held back by some crippling weaknesses. The stronger their foes killing intent, the more damage they take, even being wiped out in one hit by those with genocidal ambitions. Due to their not fully physical nature, their power depends heavily on their own emotions and they lack the ability to wield the time altering power of Determination without eventually melting into a puddle.

So, monsterkind is most held back by the fact that very few of them actually want to hurt you. They're just decent people trapped in a hopeless situation. Even Asgore underneath it all is just sad and tired and misses his family.

Exploit this kindness at your peril, for two monsters in particular stand ready to smite you down should you threaten their world. Undyne the Undying and Sans.

Should Undyne be pushed to the brink, she'll absorb the power of the Earth and use her Determination to strike you down with all her power, going strong with all her might even as she melts from her own Determination. Sans, on the other hand, cheats. Blasting you with Gaster Blasters, throwing you around by manipulating your Souls gravity, and poisoning your soul with your own sins. He's fast enough to dodge any attack you throw at him, and can even break the forth wall to trap you in an eternal stalemate, attacking during your turn or simply never even taking his.

Humans who head for the cliffs of Mt. Ebott beware, for all humans who venture to the mountain never return... and for good reason.

Throwdown Breakdown:

Alright, first off, statistics.

Monsters are consistently much stronger than Karkat, with even characters as early as Snowdrake able to create snowy weather with 15 Megatons of TNT. This is both much higher than the feat Karkat scales to at 4.24 Megatons and is consistent with feats performed later like Vulcan creating a storm cloud.

However, scaling to Mom Lalonde moving disappearing in a flash of lightning and Bro being stated to move in nanoseconds, Karkat is much faster than anyone in the Underground. Light speed is thousands of times faster than lightning and millions of times faster than sound, putting Karkat at much faster than any projectile monsterkind can throw at him. This is a very significant advantage, as not only is it much bigger than the strength gap, but it compensates for Karkat's biggest weakness. Without any resistance to soul destroying attacks, Karkat would get absolutely shredded by a monster's magic.... if they can land a hit on him.

If they can't land a hit, then Karkat stands a fighting chance. Attacks that would otherwise trip him up and kill him, such as the various soul modes, would be more manageable just because Karkat can react so much faster than monsters can attack, keeping them from reliably capitalizing on their strange movesets.

The question then becomes: how does Karkat react to the residents of the Underground? Because that's going to influence who he has to fight and why.

If this were Act 5 Act 1 Karkat, I'd say "kill almost everything without thinking twice about it?" People do forget that Karkat, especially early on, was not a pacifist or a revolutionary. He was a bootlicker and he still holds many of those qualities until the end of the comic, flat out idolizing the Condescension and the bloodthirsty culture she created, largely because he had no choice.

Buuuuuut, Karkat by the end of the comic has changed significantly. The ability to talk no jutsu his way out of dangerous situations with genuine compassion is a skill he develops with time and circumstance as he gradually unlearns a lot of his past behavior. So while he would still be willing to fight people who seem absolutely dead set on killing him, he would be entirely willing to approach the situation more reasonably.

If Karkat is able to see and willing to approach the good qualities in Eridan and Gamzee, despite their genocidal nature, then I can very well see him seeing those aspects mirrored in people like Undyne and Asgore. Hell, Jack tried to stab him to death and Karkat imprinted on him like a lost baby bird. Do you really think that he could bring himself to kill Toriel?

Karkat would likely bully his way through the Ruins. Quite literally, as his screaming would probably scare away most of the regular monsters, much to Toriel's disgruntlement. She's protective but she would prefer you watch your language young man. Despite that, Karkat begrudgingly warms up to her, as her scaring off aggressive monsters with a glare would earn her some cool points in his book, even if he questions the logic of her "talk it out" preaching and annoyed by her protective tendencies. He'd be a hypocrite for it, granted, but still.

Then comes the question of whether he'd kill her when the time came. After all, he doesn’t know about Toriel's weakness to harmful intent, nor does Toriel necessarily phrase the battle as a fight to the death.

I went back and forth on whether or not Karkat would accidentally kill Toriel and then cry his little eyes out. Until I reread the lore and noticed something.

"A being with a powerful soul". As in, a human soul. Karkat isn't human. Karkat is significantly less likely to accidentally kill Toriel in this context than Frisk is for the same reason that monsters can frequently spar with each other and not accidentally dust each other. He lacks the powerful soul needed to make his attacks devastatingly lethal when his only intent is to "prove himself" as per Toriel's ultimatum.

Karkat would get close to killing her, stop, and then when Toriel keeps fighting, go on a tirade. He'd rip into her verbally about how selfish she's being in trying to keep him here. Even without knowing her for very long, Karkat is generally emotionally intelligent enough to put the pieces together, between the discarded shoes and Toriel's stories about the rest of the Underground, to realize she's trying to avoid being hurt by losing another child, even if he wouldn't get close to understanding the full story.

"FUCKING NEWSFLASH, LADY! I'M NOT YOUR DUMB HUMAN KID! I'M NOT EVEN A HUMAN KID! YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ME WANDERING OFF TO GET MYSELF KILLED AND YOU DON’T GET TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT I TRY!! I HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF THIS SHITTY CAVE AND A FAMILY AND A LUSUS- ER, DAD? MOM? WHATEVER. THAT ISN'T YOU! SO LET ME OUT!!"

It would work. Toriel is capable of recognizing when her protective desires are selfish.

This is where Karkat hits his first big road block: Papyrus. After a few rounds if hilarious back and forth with Sans annoying the fuck out of him and Karkat's tirades bouncing right off Papyrus's big dumb grin. ("YOU TWO REMIND ME OF THE TWO WORST CLOWNS I'VE EVER MET." I can see a bit where Papyrus goes on a tirade about Papyrus's cooking only for Paps to go "WOW, YOU MUST REALLY HATE YOURSELF TO SAY ALL THESE BAD THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF" and just.... destroy Karkat emotionally by complete accident. Sans is having a blast watching all this. Karkat gets trolled by Papyrus being himself. Best prank ever.

Besides that, this is where an issue crops up. No one is going to know that Karkat gets one-hit by any soul attack until it actually happens. Not Karkat, not Papyrus. This means that even people who aren't trying to kill Karkat won't hold back against him adequately enough to avoid it. And Karkat won't know because every attack that comes at him is so much slower than he is that he won't take them as a credible threat.

This culminates in the issue at hand: Karkat cannot handle Blue Mode. Blue Mode is gravity manipulation that directly effects the soul and Karkat has no resistance to anything soul related. His acrobatics are completely crippled because he can't jump like he could anymore. So Karkat may very well stop here as Papyrus accidentally kills him.

But I do think that Karkat could cut through or climb the sea of bones with his sickles using his superior speed. Papyrus isn't so much stronger that such a thing would be impossible and, unlike Sans's attacks that go right through you, Papyrus's attacks are physical objects that can be picked uo and he physically carries around.

Beyond that, the fight plays out basically the same as if you were to fight Papyrus. Papyrus accidentally roasting Karkat would likely lead to an emotional moment that culminates in a friendship that keeps them from killing each other in the end.

Waterfall beyond that is a wash. No pun intended. Karkat being literally thousands of times faster means Undyne straight up isn't catching up with him, much less hitting him with green mode given his reaction time. I do think Karkat can just run right past her into Hotland, as she's one-third his speed.

Karkat skips Mettaton by saying enough slurs on TV to get him canceled and Mettaton calls it a wash. Can't say words like that in show biz and the censors (Burgerpants) don't get payed enough for this. Then Alphys just.... awkwardly leads him to the exit. She wouldn't even pass out on the bridge because she'd lose him before getting that far.

Okay, no, but really, Mettaton came prepared by having every word Karkat says preemptively bleeped. Karkat then reads Alphys for filth when the question of her crush comes up, making a tierlist of all four options in each quadrant before going on a three hour tirade about what quadrants are. Mettaton capitalizes on the memetic outburst with quadrant themed merch and Alphys gets a new shipping chart.

Frankly, Karkat's instantly memeable rants make all his guest appearances smash hits as Mettaton effectively recreates the Homestuck fandom around him in the Underground. Karkat ultimately prevails in their final encounter by just being a more proactive protagonist than Frisk, spelling out for Mettaton how much the Underground needs him rather than letting him figure it out himself. Karkat and Alphys have a heart to heart where Karkat gives her shockingly genuine encouragement about her insecurities, even for as much trouble as they caused him. She's done nothing but try and be helpful so far and, well.... Karkat takes care of his friends when the chips are down.

Then Karkat beats Asgore (speed gap go brrrrrr) but refuses to kill him and leaves, dropping his grumpy act one last time to genuinely wish him the best, before leaving victorious.

Until Flowey resets to dick with him some more, but that's outside the scope of this analysis.

Karkat lacks the DETERMINATION needed to achieve a True Pacifist ending, but he has all other parts of the equation, the compassion, charisma, and speed to not get hit, giving him a comfortable Neutral Pacifist ending.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Karkat Vantas!

[sepublic]

            As I think of it, I guess you could say a recurring idea throughout the GEverse is ‘Mind over Matter’, in reference to the three energies that make up and dictate everything. Mind is Dark energy, Matter is Golden energy… And the unnoticed one, uncapitalized and in-between is Soul energy; Mind OVER matter. The connecting point, the one that enables one’s will to be transferred and enacted onto something else.

         And I’ve brought up before Sovereign and the Terrorbrai, who in a sense want to enact their own will upon the world as a twisted form of ‘freedom’. And in regards to in-universe mechanics, the Soul acts as a bridging point between Mind and Matter; Divorced from the body, the Mind only has the Soul left, and it’s with a sufficiently powerful soul that it can possess and interact with the material world, hence the Phantoms.

         The Soul is an extension of will in a way, and it’s a medium for matter to connect with mind, yadda-yadda. You get what I mean. And from another meta perspective…

         Well, the existence of Sovereign is kind of a plot twist, later revelation that happens down the line. We’re introduced to the classic idea of Good VS Evil, Light VS Dark (or rather Gold VS Dark), in the war between Titan and Overlord. But along the way, the existence of Soul as the third, an outlier, implies that there should be a corresponding Wyvern, correct? Seeds for theory and speculation, I suppose. There’s the Shining Void, the Dream Realm… and the Underworld? People are made of Mind, Matter… but also Soul?

         And that’s when it’s eventually confirmed, yes, there is a corresponding Wyvern to Soul, named Sovereign. And the whole backstory with them, and their alliance with Maerco’s Phantom Alliance. Suddenly, the two-way conflict is complicated with the reintroduction of Sovereign, and all the work going on in the background as they’ve collaborated with Maerco to regain power; The Terrorbrai, of course, are opposed to this, as Sovereign’s return to power would allow them to finally enact control over those possessed by their blood, AKA the Terrorbrai. In addition to other reasons they hate the Phantom Alliance, of course.

         You could argue that’s the foundational, both literally and figuratively, idea behind the GEverse; The interplay and dynamic between three, the rule of three, etc. It’s why I considered ‘Triverse’ as a placeholder name for this story, after all. And I’ve already brought up parallels between Kate and Will and Titan and Overlord, respectively, so that does beg the question if there’s a third Lasher child out there… Maybe a dead one who ‘haunts the narrative’, maybe as a literal ghost or not, since they would correspond with the Soul and all.

         I might be able to apply this to the ‘Big Three’, a term that refers to three powerful, mainstay antagonist organizations that have been running in the background for a while. Yes, the Phantom Alliance works with the Soul, but in terms of goals and pursuit… Well, they’re at heart the For Science trope. So they would correlate with Dark energy, with the Mind.

         The Terrorbrai? They have Sovereign’s blood. They want to spread and enact their will, to create a metaphysical state of chaos; More than just changing the physical, or the mind, but both. So they represent Soul energy, the Will.

         That leaves with a missing third, and that… might be the Techna League! Because they care about bodies, the physical, ‘conquering disability’ and whatnot. So that motif fits if they represent Golden energy, the Body. Now, the Techna League is an infant compared to the Phantom Alliance and Terrorbrai, so including them as part of a ‘Big Three’ triad might be faulty. Granted, I have toyed with the idea in the past of Salazar having an ancient mentor who’s been alive for centuries, so maybe I can bring that back after all.

         But back to the Lasher siblings, this does make me wonder if I should revise Will’s whole deal of being a Techna or not, since he is supposed to be capable of Shadow Travel, as a foil to Trexdis’ Mirror Travel. Not to say he can’t achieve that as a Techna, but I kind of want Salazar to be abridged from the supernatural, inexperienced yet willing to learn more. Since Trexdis is connected to Golden energy, maybe I should link Will to the Dream Realm; Or my original concept for him as a member of the Skull Kin, situated in the Underworld.

         This of course means that Will DID legitimately, actually, die in service; And his soul was retained by Shogaken (more on that guy later) as one of his Skull Kin. But as I brought up, there’s the idea of the third Lasher who represents the Soul, so wouldn’t it be more fitting to save that Underworld association for them, since they ultimately dwell there as someone who died? While Will is associated with dreams and the like. But then, that misses some fun wordplay, to have Will associated with the Soul... Which represents the will.

         Maybe, maybe not. Also, since I bring up the phrase Mind over Matter (and how it’s a term alchemists are definitely familiar with, as part of their fusion of philosophy with the sciences and studies of the universe), maybe that should be the ‘title’ of the series that takes place in this universe. Or one of them; Since it’s a really big universe, I’ve entertained the thought of there being ‘two’ different stories set within it.

         One is on a much smaller and humbler scale, following the adventures of Lloyd and the other students at Arkley’s, while the second is more of a grand adventure that explores the potential of these larger cosmic forces, with a different cast. Of course, characters who appeared in Lloyd’s story will naturally reappear and in some cases be brought into the spotlight in the latter story.

        Lloyd’s story is a more localized thing, with the bigger players and lore being more of a backdrop that is never truly resolved because in the end all you can do is hope to survive in this larger world... but there’s hope someone will come along to save the day. And lo and behold, this new set of protagonists appears in the latter series to do just that; Heroes who can reach the same weight class as villains like Maerco or Nire, who would normally be well above the power scale of Lloyd and his friends!

[edennill]

Yes! — I've also thought a lot about just how important the Lay of Leithian must have been to them in those last years — the great defeats of Sauron and Morgoth, sure, but also Finrod's Ten, "but none would yield and none would tell", et cetera. Probably treated almost like a prayer at times, even — I've written upon this here and here, I think. I've never considered the lesser known stories in that context though, and the bit about the Third Kinslaying is fascinating to think about. Venerating Bor out of spite at the racism of the ruling class... wow.

The reason I'm wondering about martyrological traditions is that, well, I'm hard-pressed to imagine that a people (and religious tradition!) who experienced such persecution could not have one... except that what happened in Númenor, with that entire "human sacrifice to the embodiment of evil" facet is, I think, slightly more awful than anything that happened — on a similar scale — in real life history (and the things that did were already... bad). And I don't know if they'd be able to look at it with anything but horror, even knowing these were heroes, these were people who conquered in death — and to be honest, the idea that they wouldn't even be able to draw comfort from the bravery of others, would make that completely terrifying situation even worse. I don't know if I want that, from a "narrative satisfaction" POV, but I keep debating this with myself.

I'm also wondering in how much did they take the whole idea to be a parody of their own religious traditions — how much Sauron intended it to be in fact — as the kings did make bloodless offerings (i.e. fruit and grain probably) upon Meneltarma. The kings of Gondor are still high priests, but they fulfill any rites alone (anyone have that letter in which Tolkien expounds on this?) — and I feel like what prompted the change had to have been either a sense of collective guilt, or lingering horror at the once-committed desecration.

You're probably right that any martyrological tradition would swiftly decline in popularity during the Third Age; I don't think that if one existed it could be utterly forgotten, but it wouldn't be something an average citizen thinks about too often (or at all), and the númenórean co-responsibility for it might be downplayed too (although I do have this particular headcanon about the Gondorian psyche that might preclude this somewhat, but I believe "they didn't want to think about it too much" is more or less canon...) I do imagine that there is, for example, a symbolic grave someone had raised in Pelargir to a kinsman who was slain in the temple, and that centuries later, there is still a tradition of leaving flowers upon it, but these are local things and need not be accompanied by too much reflection over what they really mean.

(Tbh, I wonder what it looks like in Gondor vs. Arnor, because the latter strikes me as both less connected to that Númenórean heritage, for very understandable reasons — Gondor was always nearer and is partially founded upon the colonies — and more... I don't know how to describe it, ascetic maybe — especially after its might is dissolved? rational? likelier to focus on tragedies?)

The questions of morality when living at the heart of a tyrannical empire are also an interesting subject, since you cannot really avoid being partially complicit. The Lords of Andunië canonically have ships and riches, so I think it's likely the Faithful in the Westlands/Romenna (I have no idea where they were living at this point and the text itself isn't helpful) were almost self-sufficient as a whole — but not all of them were part of this community. At the same time, I also think there was a lot of internal debate on whether the colonialism is justified — I really don't imagine Elendil & co supporting slavery, but there has to have been someone who used the very beliefs of the Faithful to justify it ("We were given this island and power by the Valar, so what follows is that they want us to rule the world et cetera"). Which conflict probably also boils over into how the kingdoms-in-exile approached the "middle men" later on.

Do you maybe have any thoughts about the Faithful in Númenór, esp. in the last, darkest years... their motivations and ways of going about the hellish reality they found themselves in? Do you think the later remnant that formed the kingdoms in exile has a martyrological tradition?

(feel absolutely free to ignore this if I'm being presumptuous by asking — I don't think Númenor is your "specialty" as far as I'm aware, but I really like your philosophical approach to the Silm in general and I kind of yearn to hear the opinions of other religious people on the Akallabeth... since I think one cannot ignore that facet of the story, as interwined with the subject as it is)

I love these kinds of asks and I’m delighted you sent it! I hadn’t comsidered it before – thank you for setting me off thinking about it, because it is fascinating!

I think you’re right, that the Faithful would certainly have matrys and hold strongly to the memory of them as inspiration to hold fast in dark times. It must have bern horrific to them, seeing their entiee culture that they loved twisted and turned to the service of evil, and their friends dragged off as human sacrifices on Sauron’s altars. Remembering borth their own martyrs, and heroes of the First Age who defied the darkness, like Beren and Lúthien and Finrod and Húrin, could be inspiration in that time. I can even see them developing traditions around parts of the First Age they hadn’t thought much about until that time; for example, Fëanoreans followers who turned against the Fëanoreans during Sirion could be an image of rejecting allegiance to your nation-state when it has turned to evil. Or around Bór and his people, who fought against Morgoth; which could also become a symbol of solidarity with the Men of Middle-earth whom Númenor was victimizing. You would see Faithful risking their lives to save Men of Middle-earth from being made sacrifices, and being killed themselves (which would probably also draw parallels with Finrod in Tol-in-Gaurhoth), and memorialized by the Faithful. Martyrdom would be further elevated by being a symbolic contrast to the obsessions of Ar-Pharazôn and his followers: willingly giving up your life in service of what is right, set against the all-consuming obsession with avoiding death.

I think one thing that would become pressing to the Faithful in the time of Ar-Pharazôn and Sauron (and even well before that) would be the question of how to avoid being complicit in an empire that is bring your country such wealth and power. Because of this, I could see a strong ascetic tradition developing among some of the Faithful, living with minimal possessions and on simple food to avoid partaking of the spoils of empire; the love of craft and beauty is rooted to deeply to disappear, I think, but for some it would change to a determination that the only objects of art/beauty you would have would be ones made by yourself and your loved ones – a sort of return to the roots of what makes art meaningful, in human connection not vain display.

In times of such despair, I can also see these things taking a darker turn in some cases. People deliberately seeking out a martyr’s death for its own sake, seeing it again as a defiance of the King’s Men’s obsession with extending life, and because they had lost hope of things ever being better. Ascetics deliberately starving themselves to death.

In the kingdoms in exile, Arnor and Gondor, it becomes complicated in a different way. When the Faithful left Númenor, I think they knew in their hearts something dreadful was going to happen; but I don’t think they necessarily expected it to encompass the destruction of the entire island and everyone on it. While the martyriologucal tradition may have endured until the end of the Second Age, while they were fighting Sauron, as a memorial of what he had done to them and why it was necessary to fight, I think that things would have changed fairly rapidly in the Third Age. When we look at how Gondor remembers Númenor – the ritual of looking west before dinner as an equivalent to saying grace, and the way it’s talked about throughout The Lord of the Rings – it feels remembered primarily as a glorious lost past, not as a cautionary tale. I think the memory of Ar-Pharazôn’s era would have faded quickly, and the earlier history of Númenor would have been valorized – at first the time of Elros and the years when things were uncomplicatedly good, but after a while even the pre-Sauron time of empire and the years of Tar-Ciryatan and Tar-Atanamir might also be remembered as glory days, and the Downfall seen as the tragic consequence of corruption brought about by Sauron, rather than a progressive moral decline that long preceded Sauron and of which he was only the culmination. I think that it’s natural to idealize a thing once you’ve lost it; even a political refugee who left their country because it was tyrannical and oppressive – even one who had vigorously opposed their country’s actions as immoral – would feel grief, nostalgia, sentiment, if while in exile they saw that country destroyed. So I think that in the Third Age, Gondorian memory of Númenor as a whole becomes rather hagiographic, and the period under Ar-Pharazôn and Sauron is sidelined as an anomaly.

[enchairr]

yeah yeah etienne/gwen aka sin/virtue and dark/light and corruption/purity, but do you know what opposites REALLY are their aesthetic? king/knight

[alluringjae]

until dawn; pt. II - ljn

part I | part II

⤑ summary: basic number one rule of the museum is not to touch the art. but no one told jeno that falling for one of them isn’t allowed either.

⤑ pairing: jeno x female reader

⤑ word count: 12.2k

⤑ genre: ANGST, fluff, romance, smut (f receiving, dom!jeno waow, dirty talk, wrap it everyone) | broke architecture major!jeno, historical figure!reader, enemies to lovers!au, college!au, night at the museum-inspired!au

⤑ warnings: references to actual historical figures, explicit language, graphic details, major heartbreak caused by another party, expect time jumps too

⤑ author’s note: happy jeno day!! i’ve been so excited to post this part, and i’m happy we’re here!! perhaps, this is the last long fic i’ll write for a while so i can rest, but i’ll still be posting short stories within the weeks to come! i’m excited for may to say the least hehe

btw, for the smut scene (indicated with **), i highly recommend you listen to strange (feat. hillary smith) by kris bowers!! this song is from the bridgerton soundtrack, and oh man, the feels!!

with that, enjoy!

italicized text either means they are personal notes or flashbacks.

this was meant to be more angsty, but either way, i screamed every time i wrote something gut-wrenching.

⤑ taglist: @renjunniehome

​ ⤑ ctto above!!

⤑  leave me some feedback, constructive criticism, or hellos!

“You ready to get your butt beaten by me, Lee?”

“Prepare your final words when I win instead, (Y/L/N).”

Mischievous banter exchanged between you two became a new norm. Almost every night, someone within the art pieces established a contest over anything and it released the competitive sides of you two. So far, Jeno has been winning. Not like it hurt your pride, but maybe just once, you could conquer one game to feel better. Not only that, there’s a mini penalty for the loser. So far, you’ve cleaned up the lobby yourself and acted cutely to everyone the entire evening (or aegyo as Jeno called it).

Tonight, a game of archery was held by the Greek gods. They pushed away any extra pieces away, leaving the whole room vacant with two boards right beside Zeus’ throne. Numerous arrows were produced and sharpened, Zeus in the center announced to everyone participating.

“It’ll be 1 on 1 games. First to go are Jeno vs (Y/N), followed by Athena vs. Hermes, Cleopatra vs. Freddie, and last would be Hades vs Aphrodite.”

Cutting the chase, you didn’t expect Jeno to be that good at archery. Sure, he told you that he took classes with his friends for fun when he was younger, though it showed that he’s a fast learner and even hit one bullseye in the middle of the game.

Not slightly threatened until the last rounds, you fixed your aim and lessened your overthinking when preparing to shoot. Thus, you scored 2 bullseyes shot. It was a close fight, having the audience on the edge on their feet again because it’s the two of you. Your dynamic with the night guard always elevated the mood, shifting their bets over and over again.

By 1 point, you received your first victory against Jeno. Unlike you, he showcased his sportsmanship sweetly without any comments of disbelief. He’s never bragged about anything big in his life, not unless it’s a high grade for his plate. Normally, he celebrated wins in a laid-back manner. But don’t be fooled: he loves giving penalties.

“This is why I don’t make bets with my friends because I really go for their weak spots.”

“You’re cynical, Lee Jeno.”

“Only if you’re close to me, (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

“Aren’t we already past that stage?”

Almost halfway through his job, he sustained a meaningful friendship with you. Out of everyone, you were his default person to hang out within the nights he had a shift. If he wasn’t present, he made sure to give you small treats or gifts as much as possible. An innocent friendship, it was that the world would’ve never believed in.

Or was it?

“To celebrate your win, what do you want me to do?”

“You’re too kind for me to play around with, even if you’re the complete opposite of me.”

“I’ll make it simple and worthwhile since I don’t know when I’ll win a game again.” As your finger tapped your temple as you pondered deeply, a smart idea came through. “Grant me 3 wishes.”

He chuckled, lowering himself to view you better. “Am I like some genie now to you?”

“No room to complain, I won, didn’t I?” You grinned, raising one brow to show your dominance.

“You’re petty in your own way, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps. Now come on, I want to use my first wish.” You shrugged it off like no big deal, loving the high feeling of triumph. You lead him to the center of the lobby, where a beautiful grand piano only selected people get to play during exhibits. “Open the museum piano.”

Ever since you were brought to life, you never used it. Tempting but because people from the outside might here, maybe it’s time to try something new. A new challenge, and besides, you missed entertaining people through it. The last time you touched the delicate piano keys was to your family before you ran away.

It’s a good thing that in the shackle of keys Jeno held, the needed key was there. Unlocking the lustrous black instrument, you sat by the matching black bench. Crackling your fingers, you tested by pressing a few keys to get the hang of it again.

“What are you planning to play, (Y/N)?” Jeno leaned against the side, his arms crossed.

Humming the first notes of your piece, the nostalgia ran through your veins. “Nocturne No. 2 in E flat by Chopin.”

Your fingers took off and played each chord slowly and calmly. This piece reminded you the most of your mother, who sat by the couch in front of your old piano with your father while guests from the party they hosted crowded around you. Being the youngest, they often requested you to perform as entertainment so you always put your best foot forward. Or so you tried.

Nevertheless, no one else in your family was capable to play this piece as perfectly as you. By the way your eyes closed and your body swayed to the mellow tune, Jeno observed how you memorized this piece by heart. A passionate flame you were, outshining every pianist out there.

He wasn’t surprised at how multi-talented you were, though there’s a different kind of aura you present when you played the instrument. From your hard and tough front, you could be soft and sweet to the right people.

In a way, you showed your comfort toward the boy by serenading him with the piano. Sketching him with him in the past was one thing, but this was another. You’d sketch with people you’ve grown used to, but you play piano to people you want to cherish in your life. As dangerous as it seems, Jeno was someone special to you, only wanting to have good moments with him.

Junmyeon will always have a huge part in your museum life, but Jeno filled the emptiness that he left behind. This loneliness for a human friend vanquished thanks to Jeno, and you didn’t want to jeopardize it at all. Sure, whenever he acted like a gentleman around you, let you inside the Foreign Art Room, or brought you food sometimes, you couldn’t help feel honored.

Though lately, every time he showed off his strength when he defeated Zeus and Hades during an arm wrestle game the god held again. You seriously had to catch a breath at every flex his arms made, like the goddesses. Maybe how he pushed his black hair back when he’s drawing another plate, you’d give yourself a few extra seconds to see his long fingers skim through them. He’d bit his lower lip when he’s in too deep with his creativity, wondering if he’d bite the lower lip of the girl he’d ki-

All right, (Y/N), relax. Maybe you’re thinking this way because it’s been decades since your last relationship. You wouldn’t want to fall for another possible trap and hurt yourself again, right?

Ever since this job, Jeno’s university life drastically changed. Yes, he still hung out with his friends and performed extremely well in his classes, though he prioritized anything related to the museum wherever he was. If they were drinking out, he’d buy an extra bottle of soju for you on his way back to the dorm. Rarely does he get shitfaced anyways.

If he and Renjun visited the bookstore to purchase pens or any art-related materials, he always bought either an extra sketchpad or set of pens. Even if you were simply a figure to everyone else, he appreciated the bond you both developed.

Every night, he’d tell you about his day from the start. Normally, it consisted of a lot of schoolwork and coffee, some stories about his roommates too. Speaking of them, he’d insert a lot of humorous words about his entire group of friends, whom you learned their names too.

Mark, Jaemin, Renjun, Jisung, Chenle, and Donghyuck, each of them presented a different color in their group. Jeno, who’d admitted to being shy and quiet, grew out of his shell because of them. A friend of Jeno’s would automatically be a friend of yours, if only you were allowed to leave the museum or become a human.

Jeno learned more about your past explorations that never got documented because you no longer had an interest in jotting them down. They were adventures you’d kept to yourself, memories only close to you then would know. Except now, Jeno was another addition. You’re not the type to instantly open to people, though again, a sense of relief surrounded him every time you encounter each other. It grew gradually like a warm hug, softening your heart and breaking your walls.

The more he spent time with you, nothing feared Jeno the slightest. He’s always maintained himself intact, avoiding lines to be crossed and giving respect to those who deserve it. However, he began to question himself where exactly his feelings lie with you after Jaemin tried to set him up on a blind double date just so the best friend of his date wouldn’t feel left out.

He’s rarely one to get crushes on people, even when other girls in his college openly showed their affection towards him. Valentine’s Day or his birthday, several girls sent him chocolate or flowers. Jaemin and Renjun got sick of girls reaching out to them first so they could reach him. It’s not because he’s not the dating type, but because he’s so goal-oriented that unlike his roommates, he doesn’t have a slight clue about dating.

Though one-night stands while at a party and dating were completely different, he’d still say he had experience with girls. Plus having an older sister, he never took advantage of them. He’d rather tell them in person that the feelings weren’t mutual than ghosting them. He’s not like Jaemin anyways.

With that, he’s so lost when his heart beats twice as fast the second you’ve woken up from your posing slumber. He doesn’t comprehend how flustered he’d be when you highly insist to help him with his plate or how cute he finds it when you’re playing fetch with Mochi. On top of it, when you chose to sketch each other for one of your sketching sessions, he’d take a longer stare at your visage before he drew some strokes.

A lot of historical accounts mentioned how your beauty was the standard of the Victorian era, wherein you were the jewel of your neighborhood and numerous men wanted your hand. Women envied you, especially having high intelligence skills that were equivalent to a man. That time, that felt like a threat to most men. Though surprisingly, it turns out there were men who liked intelligent girls.

Jeno knew he liked you as a friend, though liking you past that he didn’t intend. Nor was it allowed because it’ll break one of the golden rules. Before he’d go beyond contemplating, he had to stop himself. This was so unlike him. The feelings will fleet away, he’d repeat to himself. Don’t waste a great friendship because of your silly emotions.

Individually, both of you swallowed these harboring feelings down your guts and simply kept your friendship status safe. Doing your typical activities or whatever else you could think of, none of you minded to change it whatsoever.

Unknown to you though, it was obvious to the other art pieces ones that you two practically passed off as young lovers. Although they know that pushing one towards the other went against the rules, Aphrodite begged to differ.

“Holding them back from expressing what they really feel just because of the law here is a tragedy. They should at least try, you know?”

On another typical night, Jeno invited you to the Theater Room for a movie marathon. After finding out that you’ve never seen any moving pictures, he wanted to be there to introduce it. Luck was on his side to not have plates or requirements due for the week and everyone was behaving themselves, so he started with rolling out short films from the 88mm projector. Having premade popcorn and drinks, the two of you shared roars of laughter and emotional tears.

Switching to the cd player for longer and clearer films, you’d opt to believe that you were born at the wrong time. With all these advancements, it came with a lot of new beliefs. One of them was allowing women to study and work. Then again, she was a pioneer according to historians. Without her, it wouldn’t help shape society as it is today.

Nonetheless, this movie Jeno played on the big screen was what he defined as “one of the classics”, 10 Things I Hate About You.

This outspoken character named Kat was presenting a poem to her class, trying to hold in her raw emotions towards Patrick, the boy who broke her heart. Too engaged, you didn’t notice how Jeno stretched his arms out so he could wrap one around your shoulder. Not that you were complaining, his warmth reassuring you safety.

“I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie.” The way she attempted to keep her strong ground only reminded you of where you were weeks ago, especially once she excruciatingly broke down.

“I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.” Only when you leaned back to the chair, you felt his arm. His thumb caressing your covered shoulder, you peeked him a little bit. His eyes fixated on the screen, absorbed in the acting and how Kat’s tears weren’t scripted as she stormed out of the classroom.

Not that you were her, but it sparked the past memory of how you merely disliked him because of his job. But as a person, not even close, not even once did you hate him. How blessed that he never judged you for it, staying patient all this time.

Right before he could look back at you, you moved your face back to resume your watching. Jeno definitely noticed what you did, though not sure as to why. Whatever it was, it wasn’t harmful.

Once the film ended, Jeno checked his watch for the time. 4 am, he wanted to do something else now instead of film viewing. You were on par with it, wanting to walk it out after being seated for hours. As you both cleaned up and bid the posters outside goodbye, the doors to the museum were locked unexpectedly. Impossible on Jeno’s half because he had the keys for every room, but he double-checked his bunch.

Alas, the keys for these doors specifically were missing. But there was no other way anyone could’ve gotten it, plus it’s not like the last person he talked to, which was Aphrodite, would need it.

Or did she?

Rather than putting any blame on each other, your only wish now was to return to your section before sunrise. You and he could just relax momentarily before yelling for help.

“Maybe we should watch another film first?”

“Alright, you choose while I return the rest.”

As Jeno inserted the cd of Cinema Paradiso inside, the background music of the opening played. He hummed the first notes, already feeling the love from this film. Another must-see classic as recommended by Renjun, he wanted to rewatch it with you.

Slowly returning each cd and film roll to their respective drawers, the melodious theme had you waltzing in the small space. Even beyond your life, classical music never gets old. Aging like fine wine, sounding spectacular as time passes because of people’s creativity.

Jeno gazed over your sudden movements, smiling uncontrollably at how immersed you were as you multi-tasked. However, you took a wrong turn by the desk and almost dropped a priceless film roll. But before you fully slipped and fell, a pair of strong arms caught you at the right time. Panting from the nerves, mostly when he was inches from your face. Never has he pressed his body this close to you to protect you, and never have you seen his captivating eyes this up close.

As enchanting as the background music of Ennio Morricone was, it only became noise once Jeno took ahold of the film roll on your hand and placing down on the desk. Taking another step closer, you were backed up by the edge. Not to mention how his height dignified his impact on you, your arms were still situated by your side with nowhere else to go.

That was until his finger elevated your chin so he could meet you on eye-to-eye level. His other hand gripping your waist, you became brave enough to place your hands by his broad shoulders. Licking your lips, you glanced at his lips quickly. But he noticed it, and as risky as this was, it was a leap of faith to take.

“May I kiss you?”

Always such a gentleman, even when he already knew how much you desired him through your returning affections. Calming your breath patterns by the speed of everything occurring, you came back to your senses. He’s the one who constantly told you not to forget your roots, so you were going to take this one.

You trust him, and he does too.

“Yes.”

Since the first film, some kind of tension increased the closer he moved or intimate his actions were towards you. You kept pushing it back in hopes not to ruin what you both have. But it only turned out to be mutual, especially how none of you held back as soon as his lips passionately clashed yours.

Tangling your arms around his neck, you stood on your tiptoes to press even closer to him. Feeling his lively heart pumping against your hollow chest, you bit his lower lip. Something you’ve secretly craved to do, he growled from the pleasure. He hoisted your waist to the desk, his impatient hands earnestly traveling all over your body. While your legs locked around his torso, your feisty nature leaned back so your entire body lied on the small desk.

Jeno was on top, placing one hand down to hold himself while the other squeezed your waist firmly. Even if you’re made of wax, you’re like an actual living woman at night. Everything about you becomes real until dawn. You emitted vulgar moans, giving him more access to your neck. Peppering a mix of soft to hard kisses, your hand teasingly snaked under his shirt. He really wasn’t joking when he bragged that he was quite ripped since he enjoyed sports and going to the gym, cupping a part of his toned abdomen.

“If you want something, all you have to do is ask.” He sluggishly sucked the area between your ear and neck, one of your weakest spots. “What’s on your mind, baby?”

The growing moistness in between your legs left a stain in your panties, trying to close your legs out of embarrassment. It’s been decades since you’ve been stimulated like this. However, Jeno beat you to it as he trailed the hand that was on your waist and lowering it right above your covered sex. He cupped it agonizingly slow, making you folding your leg from the pleasure. For a man who doesn’t date around, he knew exactly what he’s doing.

“I just kissed you, and you’re already this soaked. Can you handle me, baby?”

As the strong woman that you present yourself to be, it would selfishly take the right touch from the right man to weaken you. With his savage lips back on yours while your hands clutched on his shirt, he was simply waiting for a verbal answer, yet driving you completely mad. Everything was happening so fast, and here he was to please you in anywhere you seem fit.

You were deprived, and oh, you needed it more than ever.

However, seconds before you replied, there was loud rumbling from the main doors which stopped your devilish antics. As Jeno moved back from you to see the ruckus, you lifted yourself back up, pulling back your dress sleeves and flattening out the creases. The last thing you wanted was a trail of familiar red marks from the aggressive male, finding any reflective surfaces to check.

“I wouldn’t be that dumb to leave you hickies now, would I?” Jeno ended your worries as he placed his hands by your side again. His face leaned towards yours again, reliving the warmth in your cheeks. His lips were plumper, catching traces of your coral lipstick smudged there down to his jaw. He slotted himself again between your legs, grazing a hand on your waist and the other to your warm cheek. “The door’s unlocked now, and it’s 5 am. Do you want to clean up now?”

You playfully scoffed, aware that neither of you had plans to do that yet. Such a player while in the heat of the moment.

“Spare me 15 more minutes with you first.”

Hiding the romance you’ve both built failed without trying. Aphrodite spotted all the signs from your open physical affection and words of admiration, calling you two out in front of everyone without shame. She is the goddess of love, after all. You couldn’t fool her even if you tried.

Plus, she’s the one who locked the two of you up in the Theater Room that night. But neither of you know that.

“Sketch my ideal home?” Jeno bent down to the table, testing out his newly bought pens so they wouldn’t spill.

“Isn’t that why you decided to pursue Architecture in the first place? Come on now!” You pestered across him, opening your new sketchpad since your last one ran out of pages. As expected, Jeno bought you one when he went to the bookstore. As much as you insisted not to because he should use the money somewhere else, he did it anyway. He loved your works, encouraging you in any way he could.

When he was reminded of his humble beginnings of his passion for architecture by you, never had he envisioned exactly how his perfect home would be like. Settling down was so far beyond his mind, only focusing to graduate university then study for the licensure exams. However, he did miss drawing something for fun, not as a requirement. He also was the one who took charge of designing his dorm.

“Fine, only if you draw what your ideal home would’ve been if you never left London.”

Now as lovers, the only addition to your relationship were the public and private exchanges of affection. Deep conversations, film viewing, back and forth banter, you’re both still the same competitive duo everyone expected to be together. In public, the two of you held hands, hugged, kissed each other cheeks too when it felt right. Cleopatra’s face of fake nausea was priceless every time, while Princess Diana, Anne, and Katherine enjoyed it. It’s been years since they’ve seen this glow of adoration in you. Bit by bit, you’re going back to the old you. Except now, you’re a lot stronger.

Perhaps, this version of you proved wrong for the need for romance. Even if you made the choice not to settle down then, it would’ve been different if Jeno was in your universe then.

“Are you done there?” Jeno asked while you were finishing up your masterpiece. Life in London sounded fun when you were younger, having all these ideas on interior design and the like. An innocent time.

Instead of replying, you strode to his side and compared your pieces together. He pictured a two-story home, with a backyard and rooftop area. He definitely wanted to stay in the city as his whole life was based there. Although you preferred living in the countryside more for more freedom, you gave it a shot by pinpointing every detail of a wealthy typical Victorian-era home you liked. You desired a spacious lobby with a grand staircase in the middle, a crystal chandelier there too. The living room would have a small library and a grand piano, where wide doors leading to the grasslands were beside it.

Considering you two lived from different times, in a way your ideal homes were similar. Somewhere private, surrounded by nature and minimal furniture, you’re curious as to how it would look if the two of you fused them together. A mix of old and new, will it look pretty?

“What will look pretty?” Jeno questioned your random thought, looking back and forth at your sketches. “You know who’s pretty though?”

“If you say what I think you’re going to say, I’m lea-”

“You.”

Jeno has gotten flirtier since that night, always finding the right opportunity to flatter you. Although you denied them out of embarrassment, the butterflies in your stomach can’t lie to you.

You’re so smitten, and so was he.

Jeno’s always one to follow the rules, but so far, he’s been breaking some of them already.

Just last night, he gave Renjun access to the lively museum because he needed more research regarding you. Initially, he practically interviewed Jeno for every piece of information he gathered because he used to be so deep in the books to study everything about you. Now in the past, Renjun still couldn’t forget how Jeno drunkenly admitted how crazy he was going to be over you and your coldness whilst sobering up in the dorm.

He didn’t understand one bit by that, especially when you’re technically dead. But by the sight of the first piece Renjun saw alive, which was Zeus, he almost passed out. Piece by piece, he viewed these artworks come to life from his fresh eyes. Right before he could’ve screamed when Athena shot a lightbulb in their exhibit, you happily called out Jeno’s name.

Renjun froze on the spot upon seeing your wax figure come to life. He’s browsed through this museum numerously due to the new exhibits, but lately, he checked your section out to find any tiny details that were linked to your life. Aside from the sketchpad, compass, and hairpins, he wanted to know if there was more to your life as an explorer.

As human interactions except the night guard weren’t allowed, Renjun needed help for his project in Women Studies. Just like Jeno’s assignment, you aided him. Fruitfully answering every question he gave you, Athena popped out of nowhere to inspect Jeno.

“I see you’re breaking another rule.”

“I’m sorry, Athena. He was desperate, and it would be selfish of me to let him fail.”

“This is the last one I’ll let slide, alright?” Athena huffed, not impressed by the reckless behavior Jeno acquired over time. She saw this coming, but for a change, she couldn’t punish him. He was a young adult, still learning more about life. Only will she step in if things turn for the worst. “I can’t believe I’ve gained a soft spot for you.”

Jeno laughed, hugging the figure like his older sister. “You love me though!”

Glad to say, Renjun aced his project and kept his word of not telling anyone about the happenings in Jeno’s job. Jeno even made a makeshift non-disclosure contract so Renjun wouldn’t spill the slightest details.

Lately, so much has been happening in the museum that having alone time with each other was rare. And when you did, the two of you made sure to maximize it and make every intimate moment count. From each touch, each longing kiss, each moan, and groan, never were you left hanging whether you’re at the Theater Room, Jeno’s office, or the Foreign Art Room.

The only time the two of you went beyond the boundaries was at the indoor garden. Jeno managed to get the key to it, lighting up some candles before you invited you inside. Thanks to the magic of the Greek gods, the cameras were bewitched to display fake imageries when security checks in the morning after.

Upon your deep conversations, you’ve mentioned once or twice about the indoor garden. It was the latest addition of the museum, opening in the early 2000s. Because it was a sacred place, no art piece was ever allowed inside.

Yet again, Jeno challenged the rules again when he invited you inside. A few minutes before, he set up some lights along the hallway of the garden, where he placed a blanket, a picnic basket, and his laptop right at the end of it. The best place to view everything, he just knew you’d love it.

He was undoubtedly right once you gasped at such a pretty sight. Seeing the silhouettes of various flowers and plants together with the night sky with all the stars sparkling, it was like you’re attending another ball with your sisters, who were looking for suitors then.

Once Jeno leisurely led you until the end, he brought out all the delicacies from the basket. One of them was this Italian savory dish of dough with toppings such as cheese and pepperoni, or pizza as they named it. The next ones were fresh strawberries and melted chocolate, followed by grape juice.

“I’d drink actual alcohol with you again, only if I didn’t get shitfaced and do my job properly.”

“Point taken. Besides, this is close enough. So pour me a drink please.”

Perhaps this was the closest to a date Jeno could ever ask you out to. With the restrictions and being constrained with time, he brainstormed all sorts of ways to bring the outside world to you. From simply letting you wander around this fascinating room, he unleashed the inner romantic in him. None of his friends would’ve thought since they never asked him about it, so he kept it to himself only. Finally, he’s satisfied with what he prepared. After eating, the two of you would watch more films before the sun rose again.

You’re just the right person for him at the moment he can act that way.

After your quiet stroll and sitting back down, Jeno surprisingly handed you a tiny box.

“A gift?”

“Open it.” He sipped on his juice, paying attention to your actions. Gently untying the box, the amazement in your eyes couldn’t fathom such a lovely present. No words were required to verify that Jeno outdid himself again, just your facial expression alone is enough.

When Jeno said that he pays attention to the tiny details, he doesn’t bluff. Throughout your growing relationship, you’ve cited how you wanted another special flower in your life. Just because you couldn’t view lavender roses the same way ever again, it didn’t mean you wanted to kick them out of your life. Flowers were one of nature’s beautiful creations, so you’re wishing to find the love you once had for lavender roses in other ones.

Thus, you came across what you thought held the highest form of meaning: red roses. Despite its thorns, it’s still a marvelous flower. Innocently, you told him that just because of the memory of your father giving them to your mother on her birthday yearly.

Red roses represented true love and romance, a discreet message only those eager would know.

Jeno was one of them, which was why he reserved this gift for this very moment. It was a necklace he found through a college fair recently, a subtle red rose pendant in the center. Since he couldn’t give you huge gifts, he settled for something light. Something none of the guards or the director wouldn’t pinpoint out when they do their inspections.

“Do you like it?”

Not one utter from your mouth since you’re so hypnotized, your lips quirked up in a charming smile. “Is that even a question? This is astonishing, Jeno.”

After you attempted to put it around your neck, Jeno sighed and stepped in to help you out. “Turn around, (Y/N). Let me.”

The tension gradually heightened once you held your hair up so Jeno accessibly viewed your clean neck. Clasping the lock, it took all his might to hold himself back from you. Even from behind, your silhouette was attractive to him. The lights he set up weren’t helping the slightest of what he’s thinking to do with you.

“Done.” He breathily whispered in your ear.

**

If he thought he was the only one feeling something powerful, he’d be more than wrong. The lingering sensation of his slim fingers gracing your décolletage area unhinged another kind of want, the one you’ve only imagined in your mind when you were needy and alone. It shouldn’t be a sin unless you’re with the person you’ve fallen for, right?

Facing him again, the eye contact didn’t last long when you were the first one to strike a move. Jeno kissed back right away, his hands pulling you closer by your waist. Whatever sultry music Jeno played, it gave you the perfect momentum to grind on his lap. He groaned against kisses, adding his tongue. His thumbs sensually rubbed your hipbones, one of your hands toying around with his hair while the other one balled up his shirt by the chest. None of you cared if anyone caught you.

The last time you’ve been this aggressive was at the Theater Room, which eventually increased the hidden lust you’ve had towards each other. Taking things slowly at first, it’s about time to delve in for more. The mood was already set from the start, even if Jeno didn’t plan this to happen here. But being the prepared man he is, he did have a condom in his back pocket.

Your fingers trailed from his neck until his crotch. He was hard, sensing how suffocated he must be. But he kept himself in control. Locking eye contact, you sweetly spoke.

“Grant my second wish, Jeno.” That same hand of yours held one of his, planting it in your breast. “Make love to me.”

Giving the go-signal, he crashed his lips on yours while stripping you off your dress. Carefully, he turned you around to untie your tight corset. Once it fell, your neck leaned sideways as his lips attacked it madly. Your breaths were tremulous, placing both his hands on your freed breasts to knead with. His touch felt like fire on your skin, yet you couldn’t stop.

“Jeno,” Obscene moans from your lips choked out. You desired more, shifting back to face him again to attack his lips. Slowly feeling one of his hands laying you down, you spread your legs with ease just for him. He parted after your head landed on the cushion to unbutton himself. The way your mouth dropped to selfishly stare at his bare body, flexing them before getting back into position. He was fit and toned just as Cleopatra predicted.

As much as Jeno knew how wild your thoughts were getting, he was more taken aback by your perky chest.

“Fuck, you are divine.” He sucked one nipple as his fingers ventured to slip your panties down. So much was going on, you didn’t know which stimulated you more. You tried to close your legs around his hand, but he slapped your inner thigh to stop you.

The cool breeze shivered you, especially from your core. Jeno’s fingers adventurously grazed from your hip area to your lower lips. He teasingly rubbed it up and down in your essence, his index finger settling it right at your needy clit. Another moan escaped your lips, an opportunity for Jeno to slide his tongue in your mouth. Enjoying the moment, his fingers dipped inside you. A gasp broke your kiss, making him giggle in your ear.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Oh, angel. The things I want to do with you.”

Sliding them back and forth, curling it even, you squirmed for more. Dropping himself to meet your core, Jeno placed your legs on his shoulder. Pushing you closer, his steamy breath felt like friction. Your hips grinded against it, so he gripped on them so you stay put.

“Angel,” He chuckled darkly, his crotch tightening at how powerless you looked. “You’re so pretty.”

You were drenched from arousal. But to Jeno, you were glowing under the lights. He wanted to take his time to admire what he had done to you. His independent girl, only weak for him.

His fingers unfolded in your lower lips, diving in to your orbit. You could hardly speak from his skilled mouth, especially his tongue savagely lapping your clit in numerous paces. You’ve only daydreamed about what it could do aside from kissing, and it exceeded your expectations. By the heated sensation that had the heels of your feet digging his back deeply, you affirmed to have seen more stars than the night sky above you.

Your back arched uncontrollably while his hands grasped your hips to stay in place, the tears in your eyes formulating while tugging on his hair. Your thighs clenched around his face, but his broad shoulders widened it to taste more of you. No use of pulling away when his grip on you was tight, so you could only cry out from the pleasure.

“Fuck!”

The ringing sounds in your off were going off, your throat drying up from moaning once another orgasm was about to hit. Once the knot in you snapped, nothing could hold back your screams of pleasure whilst panting for air. Sensitive as he licked every remaining essence he caused, he smirked as he got up to unbuckle his jeans.

Oh, boy. He got quite a package behind his boxers.

Even while you were overly sensitive, you had to grasp it in your hands. He was yours, and you were his.

The way you clenched around his protected length, pausing to readjust yourself to the feeling. The foreplay deemed helpful, though the girth of him overwhelmed you. He stretched you out so good.

“Are you okay, (Y/N)?” The stunned face you made was expected, still feeling worried that it may be too much.

Biting your lip, you moaned once everything felt bearable. “You can move, Jeno.”

None of you could track exactly how many rounds you went through. Even in the semi-public area, it didn’t hinder either of you. There’s that thrill, and surprisingly enough, you both shared the liking of it. Always switching the positions, you decided to call it quits after another sloppy round in missionary. Something seeing Jeno on top, fully submitting yourself to him, made you feel calm to be vulnerable. It’s really the trust you’ve established from the start, making you rely on humans again once you’ve let the past be.

Jeno brought out another blanket, initially meant for cuddling. It was still applicable though, curling your body into a spoon towards his racing chest. Music was no longer noise, the intimacy creeping back instead of lust this time. The afterglow of Jeno, sweaty and knackered as his legs sprawled under the sheet, was a sight for sore eyes. He’s always been handsome while on duty, but post-sex gave him an extra boost.

Plus there’s pride from the red marks courtesy of you on his chest, grazing over it softly.

Jeno chuckled softly at your smooth fingers, lifting them up to kiss them tenderly before kissing your lips again. Only humans were capable of and to love, but you’re some kind of an exception. Regardless of the magic from the plate, you’d be able to love too if it weren’t for your background.

There’s so much love Jeno wanted to offer you, even if he hasn’t said it out loud yet.

Perhaps one reason was because time was beginning to tick. Finals were a few weeks away, then the one-month long semestral break until a new semester kicks off. Time really flew by, and his bank account and heart expanded too. Enjoying the now was all he could think of doing, but those uncertainties bothered him.

The biggest would be where you and he would stand when his job ended.

Jeno was too absorbed in his internal debate, as portrayed by his eyes staring off in space and running his hand in his hair repeatedly. Something was disturbing him, and you’re concerned as to what it was.

“Jeno,” Around his arm, you tapped his chest to get him out of it. “What’s going on in your head?”

Jeno approached every obstacle he faces straightforwardly, not wanting to let him hold back. Rarely did he keep secrets, especially from you. Instead of hiding away, he voiced it out.

“(Y/N), will we work out?”

“What do you mean, Jeno?”

You’re so occupied in the present that thinking of the future was never in your field. Like him, you’re just enjoying being in the moment. Though after tonight, it’s making you wonder if there’s a future.

“Well,” He placed his hand on top of yours, affectionately observing you. “Times flies faster when you’re having fun, and well, the semester is ending.”

His last words crushed a part of your heart, remembering his initial plan. None of you expected your friendship to bloom into what it is now, but life was just full of surprises without a schedule. At the same time, none of you wouldn’t have it any other way.

It may have been a few months since you two committed to each other, but the spark was still strong. It wasn’t like a summer romance kind of feeling. Time was not a determinant of love either, which you were certain of it with Jeno. A lot more than Junmyeon.

It should’ve frightened you when you realized your love for Jeno, but it didn’t. Even if you didn’t age physically, your mindset did. You’ve learned to forgive your younger self, and through Jeno, you let your guard down completely. From that, you let love in. Platonic to your fellow art pieces, and all of the above to Jeno.

Throughout your relationship, you regained all confidence in yourself and everything you set your mind to.

“I wouldn’t want to worry too much about it if I were you.” Your body flipped to lie on your stomach, resting your head on your palm.

“Why shouldn’t I, angel?”

Gazing back at him, you left a velvety kiss on his lips to rest his thoughts. His hand wrapped your neck, deepening it. But you pulled away with a giggle, all too knowing of his secret intentions as his cock began to harden again. His eyes narrowed down and his lower lip stuck out at your attempt of being a tease.

But enough about sex, you wanted to address a point.

Lee Jeno was going to be the biggest risk you wanted to take and fight for, and no one should try to stop you.

“I’ll ask Circe for a potion. For me, for you, for us.”

If it weren’t for insistent questioning towards every art piece, who kept their mouths shut, only Circe herself banished him from his suffering. Her series of potions varied, and the one you requested years ago which you threw out was capable of turning any art piece into a living human. No potion of Circe ever failed, so you entrusted your life for the day you do drink it.

“Are you sure, angel?”

Jeno knew about that one specifically, and as great to hear that you never threw it out, he never put pressure on you. He wanted you to do whatever felt right, even if deep down, he wished you’d use it. He was only worried about how the flow of the entire museum would be disrupted.

Typical Jeno always looking out for you, but you saw right through his concern. Here you were, caressing his check as reassurance. With an honest smile,

“I’ve never been more certain with anything in my life here until you came, Lee Jeno.”

Jeno opened up more to his life outside the museum, telling all sorts of experiences not just his days as a university student. From his childhood, his family, his travels, heck you even want to meet his friends at this point!

Newly, he shared with you how the sunrise and sunset looked like in Seoul with much vivacity. It’s a luxury as a human to witness as day breaks and ends, so you could imagine by yourself how it would look like. Sure, you had drawings and all, but that was from the real (Y/N) (Y/L/N).

This version of you wanted to live more; that’s your greed now.

“You’ve never touched snow too, right?” Jeno, who had his arm wrapped around you, silently watched the first batch of snow from inside.

“Yup, that’s the thing when you’re imprisoned in this place.” You sulked by his side, earning a chuckle from him who pulled you in closer.

“Don’t tell me now that you despise this place.”

“I don’t, but it hinders me to experience new things. The whole pattern of being awake at night by a plate gets tiring, Jeno.”

All Jeno would do when you’re frustrated was placing your head on his shoulder, listening as you talk.

“I know, angel. But it won’t be long until you leave this place with me, right?”

“You know it!” You interlocked your hands with him, eyes trained at every falling snowflake.

Sometimes, moments in silence with Jeno were all you needed for the night. Being within each other’s presence, focusing or admiring something from afar, it was all the peace you’ve needed from the bustling art pieces.

This week was the last of the semester, and Jeno’s off duty for tonight to focus on his exams. You’ll see him tomorrow night, which was his last shift ever, and also yours too.

Perhaps the biggest milestone you’re committing to without any regrets.

However, it took an unnecessary conversation you accidentally eavesdropped on to rock your decision.

You needed more ink after running out mid-way of sketching the sculptures as a secret parting gift. Before you could take a single step inside your exhibit room, a series of voices were full-on arguing. Booming back and forth, you peeped your ear out whilst hiding against the door.

“Athena, how dare you did to her?! She’s done so well from moving on from it, falling in love even! And now you’re telling me this?!” The distinct voice of Princess Diana, who spoke sweetly most of the time, boomed towards the Greek god. “You’re heartless.”

“I did what I had to do for the sake of this place, Diana!” Athena raised her voice, the lightning in her hands holding back from lashing out. She hated it when anyone argued with her, especially when she does things according to what she believed was necessary. Out of everyone, she had more leadership. “She had to know that her place is here as a wax figure, not outside. Talking Junmyeon out of it was for the best, plus it’s ideal when he drank the potion of memory loss from Circe.”

“But it tore her apart when he left her, and it’s going to tear her again if you do the same with Jeno.”

“How else are you going to approach the situation then, Diana? Those two have broken the highest golden rule, so they need to wake up.”

Right when she celebrated within herself for healing, hearing the unbearable revelation behind the past devastated you. This whole time, she internally blamed herself for being ageless and lashed out at others. The scary past barged back in, and you couldn’t handle it anymore.

Somewhere in the corner, you wept without a trace. You could care less about Athena’s opinions, but you found yourself agreeing to some of her words. You had a role to fulfill, and leaving that behind would be selfish and it could make the museum go topsy-turvy. As painful for Junmyeon to leave you, it was because the truth hurts. Nothing could change it, even if Circe could be your solution because it’ll leave a lot of questions. You didn’t want Jeno to be seen as a suspect.

Oh, Jeno.

There’s nothing wrong with falling in love either, you didn’t intend it to happen. But it becomes unfair when it compromises with your purpose, and that’s not how you are. You’ll always remember Jeno as your biggest risk, though it’s time to end things. Treacherous as it was to accept for you, risk-takers have boundaries too.

Fast forward, on the night of Jeno’s last shift, you’ve cherished every second with him. Playing around, chatting with other art pieces, kissing in private, you made it count. Before dawn broke, that’s where you chose to come clean by the garden, your sacred place. Not even your self-reassurance could prepare you to witness the hurt and confusion Jeno felt.

“You’re a mortal, and you still get to choose your path. Mine is already predetermined here as a wax copy of a historical figure.” You advised as you held both his hands, your voice shaking at the reality.

A few days ago, you were beaming with exhilaration at a new journey but now you’ve permanently backed out. Jeno couldn’t comprehend, and as much as he tried, he couldn’t. A life without you by his side would be empty and dull. “Even so, there are things about you that the original person didn’t have.”

Arguing with him wasn’t your favorite, and it’ll leave the two of you in a bad mood. But there is no way to negotiate this; you’ve already made up your mind. “We must end this, Jeno. You need someone who can grow old with you, and I can’t be that person for you.”

“But we can make it work!” His hands gripped on your slumped shoulders, whilst your face avoiding his to spare yourself from the heartache. “There’s still Circe.”

“I know, but recently, I found out that she’s an indirect cause of my misery.” Pulling away from his touch, you belted with frustration. “I cannot do this anymore, Jeno.”

You’ve always fought for whatever you wanted in life, and Jeno knew he was one of them if it weren’t for you telling him that. So he did the same, thinking of ways to make you feel whole. Now, he couldn’t tolerate the sudden crumbling of his heart from your outburst, and all he wanted to know was why you felt this way. How could he help you?

You don’t keep secrets from Jeno, but the truth behind your harsh actions cannot be revealed for the sake of the museum. Plus, you didn’t want him to despise this place he admired. Causing him pain wasn’t on your list, but keeping him safe was. It may be shown differently and he may not understand it now, but over time, he will.

“Jeno, you’ll find someone better out there. Someone with their whole life ahead of them, who’ll love you for everything that makes you who you are.” Repetitive punches in your guts urged you to barf at your half-lie, but you held it in.

“Why are you pushing me away? What happened to taking risks, (Y/N)?” Jeno interrogated, taking your hands in his hands again. They unconventionally quivered, like his lips. Jeno has never cried in front of anyone, not even when he was younger. Though for you, he just might. “Am I not worth it for you?”

Dear heavens, he was wrong. You internally screamed that, but you can’t let your selfishness seize the night. As Athena said, you had to wake up from your dream. “Committing to you was my biggest risk of them all, Jeno. Everything else that went along with it, I don’t regret it one bit. But time’s really up for us, and we must resume our normal duties.”

“I can’t lose you, (Y/N).”

“You never will, Jeno.”

He crouched lower to meet your height, his finger moving your head so you’d look at him back. Weakly enough, you did. “I want you to be a part of my normal life, angel.”

“I’ll always be here, you know. I’ll be standing in my usual spot upstairs, and you can drop by whenever you can.” You pressed your lips, lifting your head to avoid incoming tears. Meanwhile, he began shedding a few. You’ve hurt him big time, and you’ll never forgive yourself for this. “I still have one wish, right?”

Jeno’s sorrow was beyond his capacity, leaning his forehead against yours to kiss it. No matter what he could say or do, he already knew it won’t be effective. You’re affirmative in your choices, yet he still wanted to challenge it. All he wanted to know was why you’re doing this.

“Let me walk you one last time to your section.”

The black night sky had remnants of blue, motioning that dawn was approaching. Other figures gave their goodbyes to Jeno earlier, cleaning up their areas before they pose. Though none of them anticipated such a cold atmosphere between you two, they could only spy on what was bound to happen.

“My last wish is for you to let me go, Jeno.” You avowed, blinking your eyes with faux positivity. Your hands patted his blazer so it wouldn’t crease. “I already have a role to fulfill here, and you’re on the way to yours, future architect.”

“I love you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” Only tonight did he muster his courage to finally admit it to you after giving himself more time to analyze it. Timing was always crucial, and the badness of it showed.

Deep in your heart, you resonated the feeling. But it’ll make things more complicated, and it was the final thing you’ve wanted to occur. Someone had to be the strong one, and now, it should be you. With one more compassionate kiss on his lips, you stepped inside your section and readied your position.

“Goodbye, Lee Jeno.”

The sunshine brightened the room, and you’ve frozen to slumber again.

All Jeno could do was drop on his knees, sobbing over your rash actions. Unknown to him, a single tear left your eye as you posed.

Regardless of what status you were in, the pain of it all remained.

Jeno spent most of his semestral break with his friends to travel or whatnot, trying to forget it all. Even if he aced all his finals, his efforts felt like nothing if he never had you by his side to celebrate.

The sting over his short-lived romance with you never diminished the slightest, no one whom he could express his pain about it to especially when Renjun drank the memory wipe potion that Athena initially left for Jeno by his desk.

Forget it all, and live a peaceful life. You have so much potential, my mentee.

- Athena

Perhaps this was the same thing Junmyeon drank all those years ago, but unlike him, he didn’t have the guts to. He still wanted another chance.

So every day since the new semester began, he spent every afternoon break at your section. He’ll be seated by the bench, doing his assignments and talking about his day while sometimes stealing a glance of your figure. Some habits don’t change.

He never got sick of the same smile you exemplified, falling even more for you. He’ll often wonder what you’ve been up to.

What are your new sketches?

Are you taking care of Mochi well?

Have you apologized to Sanghoon yet?

Speaking of him, he surprisingly scooted over to Jeno’s side. This was the first time Jeno met the man, and politely enough greeted him. Sanghoon interviewed the boy, asking all sorts of questions that Jeno had every answer to. The biggest change that Sanghoon noticed since he left was your personality. You no longer bite, but treat everyone kindly without bias. You’re always active to help him out in cleaning the lobby, and you don’t go easily defensive.

Once he found out that Jeno was the reason for that, he was overjoyed at the start and wanted to meet him some way. You were a tough cookie, but now you relaxed. That was all that mattered to him, hoping to know more about him from you. That was until Diana stepped in and told him everything that happened. Mostly, the bad.

Playfulness eventually bore love. The last time you fell in love was in the 80s and Junmyeon pushed you away, he recalled. This time, you’re pushing Jeno away because you simply agreed with Athena’s points.

This wasn’t right, but it wasn’t his place to interfere.

But then again, he finally caught Jeno for the first time today and this time, he was open to hearing his side of the story. Lessen his misery too.

“No matter how stubborn she is, she loves you.” He advised him, bringing out one of your full sketchbooks. As Jeno opened it, the majority of the portraits were him. Sleeping, smiling, laughing, you drew him from every minor detail you could spot like the mole near his eye and his crescent eyes.

A handsome face I would never get sick until the end of time. Someone I want to wake up to every day in the morning if it weren’t for that plate.

- (Y/N)

Towards the end, a sketch of a house unfolded. The interior was a fusion of modernity and old royal design due to its white walls, wide space, and the placing of less furniture, plus an open backyard. There’s another tiny comment on the side from you.

I was right. Joining our varying designs together is pretty. Maybe Jeno and I could live in a house like this one day.

- (Y/N)

If you loved him so much, why did you let him go then when you had all these plans with him? Even if he tried to understand, he just didn’t.

“Don’t give up just yet when she told you to.”

“Are you just saying this or something?”

“Well, Princess Diana passed this message on but after everything, I believe that she’s right.” Sanghoon gave his opinion, but Jeno was reluctant to accept it.

“I never got a proper explanation why she suddenly changed her mind, Sanghoon.” He ranted, raking his hand through his hair from puzzlement. “Did I do something wrong?”

Sanghoon pitied him, having the upper hand and questioning himself whether to reveal the truth. However, since this boy took the job, he’s succumbed to secrecy. Without any transparency, it could drive someone mad. He’s too young for that, so Sanghoon breathed in defeat and placed his hand on Jeno’s shoulder.

“Promise me you won’t be mad when I tell you because I was when I found out; almost screamed even.”

Jeno nodded, listening to whatever Sanghoon had to say.

Of all people, he never would’ve expected Athena to do such a brash thing. Someone he respected and trusted, only to betray him by doing something she believed was good for all. Except it wasn’t, and it ended up hurting you all these years. The woman he loved, now he’s a clearer understanding of why you did what you did. Yet, it can’t fix his excruciation.

Heartbroken was an understatement; he had no one to rely on. With Sanghoon, he finally had a proper breakdown. The older man could only comfort his quietly, picturing him like one of his sons going through a hard time in school. But if it involves the heart, it’ll take more time to recover.

“You’re always the one adjusting, Jeno. But I think this time, you’re the one who needs space.”

A Year and a Half Later

“Jeno Lee!!!” Jaemin roughly wallowed his best friend in a hug when he arrived in their dorm room for the first time in a long time. “You dyed your hair blonde again!”

Renjun, who was behind the two of them, only rolled his eyes as he helped carry Jeno’s bags. “God damn it, Jaemin! You’re supposed to be helping me first!”

“I know, but give me a few seconds! I’m just happy our group is back together!”

Jeno laughed at his friends’ annoying yet silly dynamics, giddy to be back home. For a year, Jeno spent his 3rd year of university in Rome, Italy after one of his professors brought up to him about a scholarship program there for his course. At the time where he needed a change of scenery, he sent his application form and got interviewed.

Acing it, he had the opportunity to fly across the world to study and travel. His English skills surely improved, even picking up Italian words along the way due to a required class for it. He studied the history of different locations and how they were built.

He also went on field trips almost every day if it weren’t for the Italian students assigned to tour him around, academic and non-academic. Nights he spent on drinking wine on the rooftop of his dorm with them, screaming his complaints in the world with them.

It didn’t hit him that his stay was reaching its end until he submitted his final plate. His goodbye party didn’t even feel like one, but a see you later in the next few years after he becomes a licensed architect with money. His goal of it felt more realistic, motivating him to excel in his remaining years in university.

After unpacking half of his things, he was reminded of an email from one of the head professors, who requested another copy of his confidential documents from the Italian university he went to as soon as he’s back on campus.

He raced to the department with a folder of them and luckily encountered the said professor. Handing it to him, this professor questioned how he was and what experiences he gained from the trip. With excitement, Jeno spoke all sorts of tales from his adventures, highlighting how determined he was now to be an architect.

“That’s great to hear, Jeno!” He celebrated, checking on his watch, and widened his eyes. Frantic at his colliding schedules, he asked Jeno for a favor. It turned out that at the same time as his emergency meeting, he’s supposed to tour the new transferee student around campus.

“Only if you have time, Jeno! I could always ask another student, plus you just came back and need rest.”

“It’s not like I left for a decade, sir. No worries, I’ll do it.”

“Oh, bless your soul.” He put his hands together in prayer position, bowing back and forth with gratitude. “Wait, she’s right outside! Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

Jeno nodded, exiting right through the department doors. This girl had her back turned, inspecting her surroundings. She wore a black and white tweed blazer that matched with her skirt, black high heeled boots, and a black handbag. She must be a foreigner, Jeno thought.

“Excuse me, are you the transferee in the department of Architecture?”

Jeno didn’t brace himself for the surprise he’d face once this girl reacted to him calling her out. Her face was one he could never forget, no matter how many times he told himself to. The same face he convinced his heart to stop beating for, yet it lied.

This radiant face was none other than yours.

Jeno almost dropped his phone. He tried his best to hold on to your promise, but he failed. It was the main reason he studied abroad; to forget and focus on his career path. So the least thing he could’ve done was to study hard for his dream career.

Just a glimpse of you projected back every single memory you’ve had together. Beautiful yet heart-wrenching, he kept his emotions to himself.

You even wore the rose necklace he got you. Could it be?

“It’s been a while, Lee Jeno.” You took the metaphorical scissors to cut the tension, trying to contain the crushing feelings. The faculty center was a public place, yet it’s like the two of you were on the main stage.

“Do you remember me?” Astounded, you nodded. Every single detail.

Jeno could’ve ran away, but didn’t. He could’ve left you hanging, but didn’t. He can no longer count how many times you’ve appeared in his dreams, only to be disappointed when morning comes to not have you in his arms. He took one step closer, taking his time.

“How do you know me?”

“You’re the boy whom I helped with his assignment, argued with me over Romeo and Juliet,” You mimicked his move, making you one step nearer to him. “And most of all, the boy I once gave my entire heart to.”

Another step, leaving a few inches between the two of you. His heart palpitated without caffeine. What if he was napping in his dorm again? It was all surreal. “Is it really you, (Y/N)?”

Hearing your name from his lips lowered your guard, you pleased him with a hopeful grin. “I’d be dust by now if I didn’t drink Circe’s potion, right?”

That’s where Jeno unchained himself from his emotions. He engulfed in a warm hug, one that has no plans to let go when his chin planted on your shoulder. You returned the gesture, dropping all your worries away along with your bag and papers as your arms snaked through his neck.

You knew you had to part ways for a while after everything, though you were unsure how he’d feel about it. You recalled every time he visited you after his job ended up until his intense chat with Sanghoon, where he bawled his heart out. You couldn’t take it anymore after trying to stay strong, crying as soon as you woke up that night.

All your fellow figures could do was soothe you down like before to the best of their abilities, yet this time, it was unsuccessful. You’re filled with misery, realizing later how much of a big mistake you’ve made.

You’ve isolated yourself again for a while, but less rudeness and more silence. It was until Circe visited you. She doesn’t like getting involved with drama, though now was different. She, alongside Hera and Aphrodite, couldn’t withstand you tolerating the heartbreak again. So they went behind Athena’s back on this one time and created a potion together just for you. But with a compromise.

“This potion can turn you into a human. However, there’s only a 10% chance you’ll regain all your memories from this place.”

“So I’ll forget everyone and him?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” You’re about to shoo her away, not in the mood to do something drastic as that. But Circe grabbed your arm again. “I strongly believe that if you and he meant to be, then there will come a time these past memories will suddenly surge at you.”

“Must I need to forget to live properly?”

You’re stubborn, and Circe expected it. “You’ve broken so many golden rules, (Y/N), so it must be done. I’ve gone against Athena for this potion, and rarely have I done that. So rather than wallowing up in misery, you should focus on yourself. Do what makes you happy because this place is trapping you from every great thing out there.”

Those were the word that the actual (Y/N) (Y/L/N) lived by, nevertheless, you’re unique from her. You built a separate identity from her. “But Jeno-”

“At the right time, (Y/N). Pull yourself together and do all the things you’ve dreamt of before he came into the picture. I just know he loves you that much, and that he will wait for you.”

That same night, you gathered all your senses and drank it. The transition was fast as lightning speed, and behold, you were like a new person. You’re back in London, with a family that closely resembled your former one; only 3 older siblings, making you the youngest. You also had a new set of memories, from childhood until your adult years.

From (Y/N) (Y/L/N), you became (Y/N) Edwards.

It took one drunken night out with your university friends for the unlikely surge of old memories to speedily hit through your intoxicated state. Way beyond a dream, you’ve dropped your shot glass and broke down in the bathroom of your dorm room. You left something unaccomplished, and you had to do something before it’s too late.

Thus, you rushed to Seoul thanks to your parents’ support as they agreed that exploring outside your home country was a great experience. The only excuse you gave to your friends for the sudden transfer was you finding a new calling.

Sure, studying abroad was an exciting thing but you’re more determined to reunite with him. Even if this encounter was unforeseen, it was bound to happen one day. It so turned out that you had the same major in your former university and this new one.

Head to toe, you remembered everything.

“I’m so sorry I took so long.” You cradled your head on his chest, unaware of how your new life left Jeno so troubled.

“That doesn’t matter anymore.” Jeno tightened his grip, scared of releasing you again. Those two years felt like a breath of fresh air and a punch in the gut. “I tried to live up to your last wish, but I really can’t.”

“I want to take that wish back, Jeno. I wasn’t thinking right and only ended putting you through so much.”

“Oh, angel. I slowly understood why you did it.” Before he got too fragile, he softened his grip on you and showed his face again to you. He wanted a better look at his pretty girl, his fingers brushing strands of your hair behind your ear. Heart-fluttering, you bit your bottom lip. “What would you want to wish for instead?”

“Instead of you letting me go, I wish you could take me back and love me again. I can’t undo the past, but I’d still like to think I’ve tried my best.” That was the only wish you could ever think of. As huge as it was, it was something he may not accept. Yet you gave it a go, risking it all. “I don’t deserve you at all, Jeno.”

“Don’t say that, (Y/N).” One of his hands grabbed yours, putting it on his cheek. Cupping it, “I’ve never stopped loving you, you know.”

Oh, love. An all-too familiar emotion that either makes or breaks you. Of all the times you could’ve said those words, you held back, especially that wretched night you two broke it off. Although you showed it, being able to say it to someone felt more empowering.

This was finally the chance you’ve unconsciously waited for.

“I’m stupid for not saying this sooner.”

“What is it?”

With intimate eye contact, you drowned in the comfort of his brown orbs. You trusted him then, and you trusted him now. “I love you, Lee Jeno.”

Secretly, Jeno anticipated for the day you’d say those meaningful 3 words. Just like you, he showed more affection through actions than words. He only admitted when he lost you, and never would he do the same mistake again. If he felt that the love was strongly present, he will say it aloud.

“I love you still, (Y/N).” His arm around your waist tugged you in further. “I loved you as (Y/N) (Y/L/N) and I will continue to love you as (Y/N) Edwards.”

He peeked on your ID earlier, but regardless, he stood by his truth. You’re still the same (Y/N).

Finally, he closed the limited space between your lips. The memories of your past romance replayed in sync of every touching kiss, popping one leg up like in the movies. The Princess Diaries, specifically. Like in the museum from your unbearable parting, one warm tear freed itself down your cheek.

The sweetness of being reunited with you again beat the torturous wait of Jeno. Time really made your hearts grow fonder. As everyone said, if the love between two people is real, then it’ll find its way back to each other.

The world must be on your side too because no professor called you two out on your public display of affection. Jeno pecked your lips one time before stepping away, picking up the things you dropped.

“Now come on, I have to tour you around as instructed.”

You stomped on your feet, rolling your eyes from being left hanging. He’s still the same tease from before. “After that kiss though, I would’ve thought we could reschedule it.”

“No can do, Edwards.” Passing over your things, he wrapped one arm around you as he escorted you out of the building. The university was huge, with more buildings and green fields surrounded everywhere. “Left or right? There are a lot of places you missed out on all those years.”

“Point taken. Then you lead the way, my love.”

[hehron]

Snowball

Somehow I was in a very intense writing mode and managed to whip up another one shot for @fightfortherightsofhouseelves hinny Christmas fest!! This is a little hinny au where there was no war, and everyone’s alive. I really love the idea of Harry having friends as a child. So just assume that the marauders all had kids that were his age :) Oh, also, I love the trope of Hermione being Harry’s sister!

Summary: The little sneak from next doors who used to pummel him with snowballs unfortunately grew into a rather attractive minx Harry couldn’t quite get over.

FF.net   AO3

“Incoming!”

“Everyone! To the fort!”

“The fort's fallen!”

“Last chance, losers! Give in!”

“Never! Harry, there's the snow shield!”

“I've got it!” Harry exclaimed, running towards the hedges that separated his and Ron's house. He had picked up the plastic shield, and was brushing the snow off of it when-

“Hey!” He turned around, glaring at his sister. “That's against the rules!”

“I haven't done anything,” Hermione shouted back.

“Yes, you did! You hit me with a snowball!”

“Did not!”

“Did- ow!” He spun around as another snowball hit him in the face. Narrowing his eyes, he peered over the fence, from where someone let out a small giggle.

“Who's there?” He asked, shuffling forward on his knees towards the hole they'd made on the fence last summer. He squeezed through the shrubs tickling at his neck to come face to face with mischievous brown eyes.

“Hello,” She smiled toothily, before hitting his face with yet another snowball.

“Stop that,” He complained, spitting out some of the snow he'd caught in his mouth.

“Why? You're having a snowball fight, aren't you?” She asked, bunching up snow from the pile she'd made.

“We were but-”

“No buts!” She said, throwing it at him again.

“What are you doing? We're losing!” Ori came up beside him, only to be hit by another one of her snowballs. “Hey!”

“You suck at this,” She grinned at them.

“Who is she?!” Ori asked, ducking as she threw another one.

“What are you- Ginny?” Ron said, poking his face in.

“Merry Christmas, brother dearest!” She sang, pelting him with half a dozen snowballs.

“That's it,” Harry said, wiggling out, and throwing one back at her. Unfortunately, she was prepared and took cover behind her snow hill.

“Why are you wasting our time? Just admit defeat or fight!” Hermione stomped over, Teddy and Neville, right behind her.

“It's not our fault! She was the one who started it!” Ori protested, pointing at Ginny's head peeking from behind her hill.

“Who-”

“She's my sister,” Ron said impatiently. “Ginny, I told you to leave us alone!”

“But I want to play!”

“You're a girl! This is a boys-only game,” He said.

“No, it's not! She's playing!” Ginny accused.

“Hermione's not a girl-”

“I am!” Hermione said angrily. “And I say we let her play,” She glared at Ron, much to Ginny's delight.

“That's not fair! You'll have four players then,” Harry protested.

“I'm going inside. I didn't want to play in the first place,” Neville moaned, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“Come on, we can hide behind my snow hill,” Ginny said to Teddy and Hermione.

“It's still unfair,” Harry whined, as they tried to find a place to hide.

“Why didn't you let her play with us? We could have won,” Ori grumbled to Ron.

“I didn't know she was so good at it!”

“What are you doing here? This is enemy lines,” Ori asked as Teddy joined them.

“They kicked me out! Said they wanted a girls vs boys game!”

“It's four against two,” Ron said hopefully. “We can win this.”

“I don't think so,” Harry said, just as the girls rolled over their snow hill into a gigantic ball and sent it towards them. Before they could even register what was happening, the ball hit them, half burying them in the snow.

“We win!” Ginny and Hermione chanted, walking around them as they loudly protested and tried to free themselves, failing miserably. It was a good Christmas.

20 years later

“Yeah, yeah, it was a great Christmas,” Harry called exasperatedly as he made his way out into the back. As much as he loved both Hermione and Ron, he thought he'd explode if they regaled their proposal one more time.

“The lovebirds are here then?”

Harry turned his head to see Ginny sitting on a box by the friends, a bottle of butterbeer in hand.

“They arrived two hours ago,” Harry said with a slight shudder.

“Merlin! The proposal took two minutes! How on earth do they stretch it out for two hours,” Ginny asked horrified.

Harry snorted. It honestly wouldn't have been so bad, if Ron hadn't forced the plan down his throat a dozen times before proposing.

“They're coming to yours next,” Harry said.

“I was never here. You never saw me, ” She said, looking him dead in the eyes.

He laughed, feeling the familiar burst of excitement like he did every time he saw her. Honestly, it had been too long.

“Been a while, hasn't it?” Ginny smiled slightly, as though reading his thoughts.

“Last World Cup, after your game,” He said, a little too quickly.

“Almost four years,” She nodded, a faraway look in her eyes.

“Heard you're up for this year's team as well,” He commented.

“Yeah,” She said, pursing her lips in a way that was very unlike her. I 

“Big step down from last time's reaction,” He raised his brows, remembering her jubilation.

“I'm thinking of quitting,” She said abruptly.

“Oh,” He didn't know what to say to that. For some reason, he thought she'd play till she was old and wrinkly.

“What are you smiling about?” She asked with narrowed eyes.

“Nothing, never thought you'd want to quit.”

Her lips quirked. “Thought you'd have to pry away the broomstick from my dead, cold hands?” She asked, thinking of all the times she'd used that phrase when her mother protested her choice of a career.

“Something along those lines,” He said, amused.

“I would have thrown a fit if someone told me four years ago that I'd be considering leaving Quidditch,” Ginny commented.

“Why are you leaving, then? Is everything alright?” He asked gently.

“Yes,” She sighed, taking a swig of her butterbeer. “It's just… It's just not fun anymore. I miss home. I'm missing out on so many things. I couldn't even make it to Vic's birthday two years in a row, and I haven't come home for Christmas in what-”

“Three years,” Harry supplied. “I get it. You don't have to justify anything. I was only curious.”

She smiled. “I know. But I'll only quit after the World Cup. Got to set some more records, haven't I?”

“I thought being Witch Weekly's sexiest athlete was the highest honour,” He teased.

“I'm afraid you've been lied to,” Ginny said with mock sympathy.

“Witch weekly? Lie? Never in a million years. Next, you'll be telling me you and Angelina aren't in a scandalous relationship, hoping to conquer the Quidditch world?”

“I'm afraid Angie chose George over me. Don't know why she'd pick his sneaky ass over innocent old me,” She sighed dramatically.

“You? Innocent? You're sneakier than George,” Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

“Oh?” She asked innocently, before pelting his face with snow she'd hidden in her fist, just like she'd done the first time they'd met.

“At least, you don't have a giant mountain to hide behind, this time,” Harry retorted, aiming a snowball at her.

“Who said that?” She laughed before hiding behind a snow hill Vic or Dom had probably made.

“You never play fair!” He accused.

“You sound like all those losers of the opposite team, who just can't admit defeat,” She stuck her tongue out at him as another snowball hit him. “That's how you throw, learn it from a pro,” She bragged.

“That's funny 'cause there's something we aurors do when the other guy is playing dirty,” Harry said.

“What's that?”

“We tackle them to the ground,” He said, spinning her around by the waist.

“Harry! You use magic to catch them!” She shrieked, through her laughter.

“Not in muggle areas!” He corrected, before losing his balance and falling over Vic's hill, Ginny squished between him and the snow.

“Looks like you lost your snow hill,” He murmured, heart beating wildly at how close they were.

“Don't you aurors have to pay for the property damage?” Ginny demanded.

“Ah, you caught me,” He said with mock disappointment. “Go on, name your price, then.”

“You got snow all over my mouth, and now I'm freezing. I think you ought to kiss it better,” She said seriously.

“Oh yeah?” He grinned.

“Yes.”

“Well, if I must,” Ginny's snort of amusement was lost in her throat as he closed the distance between them.

“All better?” He mumbled against her lips.

“Mm,” She smiled.

“You hit me in the face with snow twenty years ago, I think you owe me something too.”

“Well, then,” She said, kissing him again.

“With interest since you're paying me back so late,” She laughed into his mouth, both of them feeling inexplicably happy.

“I'm so glad we're doing this. I have no idea how I'd have managed not to do that if we're going to be organising a wedding,” Ginny said as they pulled back.

“I know I wouldn't have been able to hold back. Besides, isn't it tradition for the Best Man and Maid Of Honour to bet together?” He winked.

She let out a laugh, giving him a short kiss, just as they heard voices from inside.

“It's time for proposal listening again, I guess,” Harry sighed.

“I put some of Fred and George's canary cream in Ron's pudding,” Ginny smirked, and Harry thought that handling what was sure to be an exasperating wedding would turn out to be the most fun in the world if she was there by his side.

[popculturebuffet]

Star Vs Tom Luictor Retrospective Detour: Skooled!

                                         Dedicated to Jessica Walter                                                     1941- 2021

Welcome back all you still mourning people to Prince of Wishful Thinking, my Tom Lucitor Retrospective... or at least a detour from it as I need to cover the Meteora arc to cover Divide/Conquer properly. When we last left off with Star she and Tom were going closer, but both are taking a break this time. We’ll get back to them in April... oh will we get back to them in april.  For now we’re back to Meteora who I forgot was ABSENT for a while. not forever, but while her parantege, the cover up related to her and all of that has been vitally important, Meteora herself vanished after Monster Party and hasn’t been seen till now. But i’ts a good storytelling engine.. it ratchets up tension for her inevitable return, and gives us time to find out what happened with her and let that sink in.. granted i’td also be the last time it sunk in but I can dunk on the series decline later... I still have season 4 episodes to cover after all. So join me under the cut as we get the welcomed Return of Henious, an unexpected hero.. and Ponyhead because this series clearly hasn’t hurt me enough. And as usual for my Star Vs Reviews, i’d like to thank one of my Best Friends @jess-the-vampire for her insight on this episode. It’s always welcome and she always manages to find something I didn’t think of . 

So we open at Saint O’s with Ponyhead returning to the school, having previously run it post rebellion before leaving because.. I don’t know. She probably got tired of being a leader, and out of universe they needed her to be around star more. Look the series has far more important things it never explained and never will, not explaining why a recklessly irresponsible asshole left a position of authority and responsibility I can let slide. 

She’s come for brunch but things have changed... the school is still a warm, free environment for princesses to better themselves and party hardy, no longer an oppressive brainwashing gulag run by someone who as it turned out was horribly brainwashed herself.. it’s just now it actually has rules and structure. 

It now also has an actual leader, Princess Patty Arms who showed up in the school’s previous appearance this season here and.. that’s it. I think she showed up in the background of the original st o’s episode. And it’s a shame because she’s a really fascinating character. No really she’s calm, dosen’t take Pony’s shit, and while a brunch exam SEEMS like a waste of time... it really isn’t. A good meal can loosen up a dignitary and some rulers have sticks up their keisters about things like this, so being able to do it just right can win them over. It’s still a touch ridiculous but given the world of star is a touch ridiculous to start with, it works. 

Pony naturally leaves in a rage over this especially when no one backs her up.. but soon the School has bigger issues and we get to why we’re actually here: Meteora is back. And while she has changed, now having grown larger and stronger, easily scaling the wall, she still wants payback and we get a damn fine battle sequence as the princesses all unite against their former tormentor. It’s also sad in hindsight.. because as Jess pointed out to me almost NONE of these characters show up again. And I only added the almost because Penelope is in there. They all seem interesting, the setting of ST O’s itself is interesting, and the idea of a school for princesses of various types is a cool idea. I’ts something the show could’ve come back to to see how they bounce back from this attack.. but like most cool background elements in the show they forget about it. It was intresting to see the schools slow evolution from horrible nightmare to princess ran utopia and like many things coming up it feels like a lost opportunity. 

That being said the fight is awesome, with Meteora proving to be a juggernaut in strength and outplanning her enimies, having brought an overide switch for the robots (Patty reprogrammed them to work for the school) and having them throw their hearts/ power sources as bombs. It’s a damn fine sequence as she finds way after way to keep going, with a now restored rasticore helping them simply portal in.

Pony meanwhile.. is hiding , as Patty find sout when she finds her, and Pony assumes this is about her... though for once i’ts not JUST ego.. but because she was one of the two who started the uprising at the school in the first place and THE person who tossed her out. We also get a nice character moment as while Pony tells patti she still hates her.. she puts the princess behind her when Meteora approaches. She may be a selfish twit whose massively unlikeable.. but she has a good heart.. and not just the one she keeps in a jar she got from one of her boyfriends. 

But Meteora has more important buisness and finds her way to the depths of St. O’s.. where we meet the Schools namesake and her adopted mother a robot played by tress macneile.. another thing the series never bothered to care about as where did these robots come from and why? 

Turns out Meteora came to find out her own personal history, with the remote from before used to find the real dirt.. and what we find .. is heartbreaking as we slowly journey back through Meteora’s childhoods as Henious.. and it’s fucking heart breaking with Tress voicing her younger versions, hence why I didn’t use this as the jessica tribute as while walter’s good in the episode, she isn’t given much. 

We see her as a teen, forced to hide her tail and insulted over it by her mother.. and it only gets worse as when her cheeks glow as a kid St. O tries to wash them off and we get the poor child desperately begging that “she can be better”

We do finally get the answers Meteora saught as we see Shastacan dropping off the baby meteora, calling her “Henious”.. which St. O took as her name. Proving the spiderbites minus penelope’s dickishness is indeed genetic and why I have no sympathy for the prick getting eaten later... and hopefully globgor will do an encor with penepople’s parents. Here’s hoping. 

So Meteora now knows she’s the rightful queen, and decides to go take it back.. though Pony does try to stand up for her friends... and while we don’t see it hte next episode confirms she got her horn ripped the fuck off. And this horribly traumatic injury.. is magically fixed via 3d printing next time we see her after an episode grappling iwth it instead of having pony deal with not having a horn, or her prostetic not giving her magic powers again. Because this show again really likes to leave good ideas out to rot in the sun like that  package of hamburger I left out in the sun yesterday. And I actually had a reason there: I need a lot of Racoons for an elaborate scheme involving a map to tex cruz’s house, a used apache helicopter and a bulk order of tiny parachutes. 

We do get some payoff to things though, as Henious comes on to rasticore who not so politely rejects her for being nuts.. before it’s revealed Gemini, her loyal servant is also a robot and she uses his heart to blow up rasticore and take the arm with her... which is ALSO never brought up again. Seriously this episode is so full of loose ends i’m suprised it just dosen’t end with Zuko asking his dad about his mother. Gemini’s death is genuinely tragic as his last words are “If you wanted my heart.. all you had to do.. was assssskkkkk”. God damn. So with that Meteora heads out to reclaim her birthright.. no matter the cost. 

Final Thoughts on Skooled!: This one is decent.. but like the last episode I covered, the lack of payoff off for almost anything here, excluding the Meteora plotline and the Pony thing which instead got a BAD payoff, is really starting to rear it’s ugly head as the series greatest weakness. Yes bigger than the romance plot. And given that romance plot after this season can be best discribed as...

The show just.. forgets a good chunk of things happened to keeep things chugging along. It sets UP plots, what happens to st o’s from here, buff frog and a small caravan of monsters leaving forever, the message from shastacan, who built the st o’s robots, and on and on.. but it never PAYS them off. It dosen’t care to. It just does things so the plot can move but never bothers to think about the fucking consequences. It just gets more and more irrtating to think about as other shows throughly DO: Amphibia has the fact the characters get into shenanigans become a commented on running gag and something they grow past, and everything that happens matters. Every episode of Owl House builds on the foundation of the previous episodes. OK Ko dosen’t forget one episode had the characters not be able to turn back into humans and implies their wearing human costumes for the rest of the series. Which is fucking weird, but it was their memory. My point is other shows around the same time or right after didn’t magically forget things happened for convience sake. While it’s OKAY to loose some things in the shuffle, it happens to the best of us, it’s not okay to do it SO fucking often and with no clear care for the audiences desire for payoff. The show just ignores what plot points, like the huge cliffhanger of Star telling marco how she felt at the end of season 2, it dosen’t care about till it needs them and ignores the ones it never does. You can’t just.. bring shit up like it’s important and then try and forget it ever happened. People remember stuff, we are NOT stupid. KIDS are not stupid. When I was younger I REMEMBERED things that happened on KND, Danny Phantom, Xiaolin Showdown, TMNT 2003, because those shows, which are from decades ago, knew I would and trusted even if I missed something and was thrown off i’d tune in for the quality. 

And in an age of streaming and more story based tv you can’t just.. ask kids to act like something they saw didn’t happen because your fucking lazy and frankly YOU never should have. Kids deserve better, my niblings deserve better and frankly the adults your clearly also writing for.. deserve better. This episode is eh, but the problems it represents are so fucking worse. 

Next time on tom. If you thought I got angry towards the end of this one, just you wait. Next time i’ts Booth Buddies. Yeah.. yeah that one. Stay tuned.

[recurring-polynya]

What comparisons can be made between renruki and Ichiruki? I often wondered about this.

This is such a hot button issue that as soon as I received this (perfectly polite) ask, my body tensed up and my brain went Am I being trolled?

It’s honestly a shame that there is so much bad blood behind this, because it is, in fact, a very interesting thing to talk about, and I am going to attempt to do so in good faith, because I love thinking about this kind of thing. Even though I am very openly a Renruki shipper, I love all three of these characters very much, and I think that Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship is very important! I am doing my best to be neutral, although I have not read very much Ichiruki fanfic/meta, so please give me a benefit of a doubt. Obviously, I can’t stop anyone from reblogging this and putting their own comments on it, but I have no interest in getting in debates over it, so don’t be surprised if I don’t engage.

This is both long, and I am sure some people don’t care, so I’m gonna put the rest under a cut. I have tried to hard to write this in a way that will not make anyone mad, but if you think it will make you mad, please give yourself the gift of not clicking on it.

So, what is the same between Ichigo and Renji? Lots, actually. Physically, they are both tall, strong, and have ridiculously colored spiky hair. They are outwardly grumpy, but secretly have soft, gooey centers. Neither one of them is dumb, but they are both dumbasses. They are protectors: they would rather take any amount of pain or damage onto themselves than see a loved one hurt. Their friends are everything to them, and that goes triple for Rukia.

How are they different, then? There are three major bullets:

- Ichigo is alive. Renji is dead. Perhaps this is a little flip, but Renji belongs to same world that Rukia does, and Ichigo does not. This is not a value judgment, it is just a fact: If Rukia ends up with Renji, she stays where she is. If she ends up with Ichigo, either Rukia or Ichigo have to make a huge change. I will get back to this.

- Youth vs. Experience. Ichigo is a 15-year old boy, as we are told about 1000 times. There is some mystery over how old Rukia and Renji are, but they have graduated from secondary education and are currently employed. I think it’s safe to assume that they are roughly close in age to each other, but I think Rukia may perceive Renji as seeming older than herself-- he graduated from school, and she didn’t; he’s on his third squad transfer, whereas she’s hasn’t budged from her initial, entry-level job, and he’s now middle management. However, the arc of the story we don’t get to see, is that over the timeskips, Rukia not only catches up to, but surpasses him. Also, not for nothing, but I think that in the same way Rukia is immediately drawn to Ichigo because of his resemblance to Kaien, I think she is also drawn to him for his resemblance to Young Renji-- a grumpy, prickly young man, leaking self-doubt from every pore, whom she is more able to be generous towards through the lens of age and experience. (And I think this comparison could support either ship)

- Ichigo is the protagonist. Rules don’t apply to him. Fate breaks on his sword. He represents the triumph of love or hard work or dreams or what have you over the cruel millstone of the world. Renji, on the other hand, is firmly bound to the rules of the world in which he inhabits. In fact, that is arguably the entire purpose of his character. Renji’s fights are often used to set the stakes of the conflict-- ah, Renji got mangled, this guy must be tough. In the Soul Society Arc, he is an antagonist because he is doing what he is supposed to. In the TYBW, Kubo literally throws the two of them in a pit to fight some asauchi just to make the point that Renji is a shinigami and Ichigo is something else.

Let’s jump over to Rukia for a moment. Rukia is a great character, one of my favorite characters in any media. Rukia contains multitudes. She is tough and strong, but often melancholy. She can be beautiful and elegant, but she also lies and breaks rules and tried to put Kon in a dead cat once. Emotionally, she likes to present a cool front, but she has a big, loving heart, and she feels deeply. As a character, all of this makes her very easy to project onto, which is why I think so many people OTP her with someone, no matter who.Some people choose to try to make her into one of these things or another, and some people try to keep her as the full bundle of contradictions that she is.

There is no romantic content in canon Bleach. There is no romantic content in canon Bleach. There are many, many scenes that can be interpreted romantically, but no one goes on a date, no one kisses. Ichigo gazes longingly into the eyes of all his friends, it’s just a thing he does. Orihime does explicitly proclaim at one point that she loves Rukia, although I suspect that in the original Japanese, it’s the word for “friendship love” and not the very-rarely-used “romantic love.” I have seen a scene-for-scene comparison of IchiHime “romantic moments” only it’s Chad and Uryuu (which I choose to believe supports IshiChad, rather than negates IchiHime, but we may all choose for ourselves!) My point is that shipping in Bleach is a DIY craft, which, when we’re all having a good time, is what makes it so fun.

So, bringing all of this together, given that Ichigo and Renji are fairly similar characters, why are the ships so different, and what makes one appeal to some people and be abhorrent to someone else?

I think about romance stories a lot. I actually took a class on romance novels in college and I just really like to think about the mechanics of stories. In the truest sense of the word, “romance” is about extremes-- about sailing the high seas and wearing ostentatious shirts and shouting off a cliff in a rainstorm. When we talk about romance as a genre, the characters tend to behave in a way that we would not prefer our actual romantic partners do, but the over-the-top nature of it makes us swoon and our hearts drop -- except when it doesn’t. What is heart-breakingly romantic to some people can be a huge turn-off to others. The biggest fight my husband and I have ever had was over a kdrama. The male lead was hiding his identity from the female lead in order to help her, and I found it all to be deeply, deeply romantic, and my husband turned to me and said “He is being dishonest with her and I think it’s morally wrong” and I almost died.

So, let’s break down some of the themes of the two ships, which I think gets at the meat of what you were asking. Now, like I said, shipping is very participatory, and anyone may have their own ideas of how these relationships would be, and I am a big fan of “a great writer can get away with anything”, but in broad strokes, I think that these are the themes of the two ships:

IchiRuki:

Love conquers all/ Love is enough to overcome differences of class, age, lifestyle, geography, etc.

Instant connections/Love at first sight

Love is a force of the universe that cannot be denied or defeated

Young love

Grand gestures

Your partner changes you (in a positive way)/You effect change in your partner

Your partner is the center of your world

Your partner is the one person who can get through to you/You are the one person who can get through to your partner

Banter

Dumbassery

RenRuki:

Love takes work

Best friends to lovers

Second chances/Broken things can be repaired

Love is a choice

You improve with age

Shared experiences build love

Pining

Working together with your partner to create a mutually satisfying life together

Your partner enriches your world, but your independence is maintained

Banter

Dumbassery

There is also some degree of character interpretation at work, too-- there seems to be a huge degree of disagreement between fans as to whether:

a) Ichigo enjoys his normal, human life, and even though he do anything to protect what he loves, he would prefer to live a human existence with his human friends and family. He credits Rukia will helping him realize his strength and powers.

b) Ichigo is unsatisfied with his human life and that meeting Rukia opened the doorway to a life of excitement and adventure, on top of being given the strength to protect his loved ones.

As far as Ichigo pairings go, I think that most IchiHime people fall in category (a) and most IchiRuki (and GrimmIchi) shippers fall in (b). In both cases, peoples’ ships align with their view of what makes Ichigo happy. Most IchiRuki content I have seen  seems to feature Ichigo moving to Soul Society, rather than Rukia moving to Karakura. Rukia pretty explicitly indicates at the end of the Soul Society Arc that she wants to stay in Soul Society, plus she’s got a pretty established life there. Contrast that to the story of Isshin and Masaki-- Isshin seems pretty flippant and disaffected about his life in Soul Society; it doesn’t seem like it was a particularly hard choice for him to give up being a shinigami. Also, it’s pretty clear that what Isshin did was illegal, and I’m not sure there would be an easy way for Rukia to just say “WELP, I’m off to live as a human, smell you jerks later.”

To try to wrap things up, I think the actual dynamics of an IchiRuki or RenRuki relationship would be very similar, actually. They would banter a lot and dive headfirst into danger and support each other no matter what. Byakuya would treat either guy with the vaguest, most grudging amount of respect. The primary perpetual, unresolved argument between Rukia and Ichigo would be “The Living World is dumb/Soul Society is dumb”, whereas with Rukia and Renji, it would be “Squad 6 is dumb/Squad 13 is dumb wait no I didn’t mean that Captain Ukitake is an angel.”

Personally, I headcanon Renji as being more able than Ichigo to step back and be the support person in the relationship (see that bullet about Ichigo being the protag), so I think that RenRuki could manage to run a functional household, whereas Ichigo and Rukia would just go on adventures until they got arrested for tax evasion.

*For the record, I am very pro-IchiRenRuki, except that they would be even worse at running a household. It’s just Renji trying to explain how a chore wheel works while Rukia and Ichigo walk out the door on him.

[jackoshadows]

What are your thoughts on Jon-Bran-Tyrion & their relationship in TWoW & ADoS?

I have read that in GRRM original-idea [?] Jon was to rival Tyrion [because of their love over Arya] as well as Bran for the sake of Northern Power [& Arya apparently too, but not in the same sense??]

[No idea what Bran & Tyrion's relationship was suppose to/could look like, don't think GRRM has mention smth]

That being said, I can get behind Tyrion vs Jon, alright. But Jon vs Bran? How is that suppose to look like/work?

Even if we ignore that they think of each other fondly & miss each other, and that I don't see a reason why this would change all of a sudden... Or that Jon will likely gain the support of the North in TWoW, since he rather fit the "perfect image of an Lord", since he is a able-bodied, traditional [swords-] man, grown & proven as Leader/Lord Commander, has the same education as Robb did, is the eldest Son of Eddard, etc....

[Although I guess Lords like Manderly could prefer Rickon, so they can grap power as his custodian/regents? And the whole being-dead-but-not-anymore-&-what-about-the-oaths thing could be a little tricky & stuff😅] while Bran will likely remain longer behind the Wall, won't be able to rally allies & bannermen [Althouse I have read the speculation of Bran, The Blizzard and The Battle of Ice, my main concern is again the pacing:where Bran's plot seems on overdrive, while Jon's & all those around & in Winterfell are on hold in order for Bran to come back. It's the same problem for me with all those "speculations" about Dany & arriving way to early in Westeros] ...

But the thing that makes it so unbelievable for me is: the fricking age gap?! Put aside their feelings for each other, who is more likely to gain poltical support & all of that, Bran will be like 11 & Jon 18-19? Like... a rivalry between a elementary school student & a high school graduate? 😂🙊

I think for certain that there will be some kind of conflict between Jon and Tyrion. Them shaking hands on the Wall and calling each other friends is foreshadowing a friends to enemies arc, IMO.

As for Jon and Bran, it's hard to see this happening, but I am not ruling out the possibility - meaning that I won't be surprised if it happens. As you mentioned, a Jon/Bran rivalry/bitter estrangement was one of the major parts of the story in the original outline.

By the end of A Game of Thrones,------------------------------------- ---------------------------------g--------------- onto the iron throne with a bit----------------premature death, Bran sits free.--Yet his seat is hardly a comfortable one. In the North, Jon Snow is his bitter enemy. Beyond the narrow sea, Daenerys Stormborn prepares her invasion and on the far side of the Wall, the others are watching with cold dead eyes and gathering their strength.

Can this still happen? I think so. I have always said that GRRM likes his themes of dysfunctional families, conflict among family members and the human heart in conflict with itself and again, I don't see why the Starks should be the exception.

But I think it is a mistake to generalize about “the Westerlings,”  just as it would be to generalize about “the Lannisters.” Members of the same family have very different characters, desires, and ways of   looking at the world… and there are secrets within families as well.

GRRM SSM, May 01, 2001

The reason Sansa even exists as a character in the first place is because he wanted family conflict among the Starks.

Arya was one of the first characters created. Sansa came about as a total opposite b/c too many of the Stark family members were getting along and families aren’t like that.

Why would Jon and Bran have a rivalry? That I cannot speculate on, yet. We still have a lot of story to cover. But in the next book, my speculation is that both Jon and Bran would have changed a lot.

Bran is the current Lord of Winterfell/Heir to the North/Robb's Heir and King in the North. Robb's decree legitimizing Jon Stark could be a possible issue between them.

GRRM has said that death and resurrection changes a person and Jon is going to be spending time in a wolf. A resurrected Jon Snow coming back more wolfish and more hungry. Remember this?

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger … he could feel it. It was food he needed, prey, a red deer that stank of fear or a great elk proud and defiant. He needed to kill and fill his belly with fresh meat and hot dark blood. His mouth began to water with the thought. - Jon, ASoS

GRRM ties in his desire for Winterfell to a deep hunger that then connects to Ghost - his hunger for Winterfell intermingling with Ghost's hunger...

Remember the kings in the North of yore, like Ice Eyes. I doubt Jon Stark is going to hold back much. He's going to be doing some really messed up stuff.

Meanwhile, Bran's heavily involved in the magical stuff beyond the wall. Has connections to Bloodraven, the Children of the forest, can influence timelines (Hodor), unearth past truths and will be one of the most powerful greenseers. Blood sacrifice and human sacrifice is a big part of the dark magic of the north. Maybe they fight over how to defeat the Others? I think Bran's connection to the children of the forest is how they win again this time around - and his relationship with Jon suffers because of that?

Bran ends up King on the Iron Throne and Jon Snow ends up in the lands beyond the wall - just the opposite of what we would expect for these two characters considering where they are now and what we know of them (R+L=J) etc. How does this happen?

Anyways, according to GRRM, TWoW is a very dark book and if there is a Jon-Bran rivalry, we may see the seeds of it being planted in this book.

There are a lot of dark chapters right now in the book that I’m writing,” he said during a Q&A at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, according to Entertainment Weekly. “It is called The Winds of Winter, and I’ve been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for. Some of the characters [are] in very dark places.”

This is why I find all the Dark!Dany stuff slightly hilarious. Is Dany going to do things that go against the Geneva conventions (lol) in the next book? Yeah, I think so. She is going to come back from her sojourn at Vaes Dothrak and be like I have had it with these effing slavers and go all Aegon the Conqueror on them (About time I say, she should have done it a while ago). But I am pretty damn sure most of our characters are going to become darker in the next book. Tyrion is already on a downward spiral, Jon will surely go on a rampage against the Boltons, Bran most probably eating Jojen paste over there and learning dark magic, getting taught by Bloodraven, Sansa participating in the slow poisoning of her little cousin in the Vale and have you read Arya's Mercy chapter? That stuff is dark.

As for the rest, I think we should ignore the age gap like GRRM is planning on doing ( GRRM sees his young people as adults anyway - "Arya has the experiences of a 40 year old, If a 12 year old has to conquer the world then so be it" etc.) and I do think he will include some time gaps in the next two books allowing for travel etc. I am pretty sure Arya will end the books at 14.

Bran, Dany and Arya's plots have to be in overdrive in the next book out of necessity. Bran has to advance a lot in his plot, be used to build up the Others as a big threat, give us more info about the Children, Bloodraven, what is actually happening, Hodor etc. - there's just so much stuff here that GRRM has to write. Same with Dany. Dany has to wind up in Meereen, land in Westeros and start her campaign. Same with Arya. I think that's why they will get the most chapters, and time in the next book.

[mst3kproject]

The Flame Barrier

I’ve got an awful lot of movies from 1958 on my resume, don’t I?  Why is that? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Apparently it was just a bumper year for cheap, crappy black-and-white films.  This one stars Kathleen Crowley from The Rebel Set and Rodd Redwing from The Mole People, in a movie written by George Worthing Yates, who also penned Earth vs the Spider.  Also featuring a blob from outer space, with motives even less clear than the one in The Space Children.

Over yet another stock-footage rocket launch, one of those deep-voiced 50’s narrators informs us that there’s a layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the Flame Barrier which destroys everything it touches. This particular rocket was no exception, and its crash-landing in the Mexican jungle may be related to the disappearance of explorer Howard Dalman, whose wife Carol has now come looking for him. She seeks out a pair of prospectors, Dave and Matt Hollister, to guide her to his last known location.  As they go deeper into the bush, they find they’re wandering into something unknown… something that can make men burst into flames!

This movie isn’t terrible.  It’s not great, but it’s not irredeemably awful.  It reminds me a lot of The Giant Gila Monster, in that there’s a story going on and it’s not a bad story per se, but it’s one that’s got nothing whatsoever to do with the title and premise that drew us to the film in the first place.  When the supposed main plot pops up again at the end, it makes for a sudden and jarring shift.

The Flame Barrier starts off all right.  We have the inevitable narrator to give us the backstory, and then it gets right on with meeting the characters.  They’re introduced one by one, telling us their personalities and goals: Carol is naïve and spoiled but she’s trying her best, Matt is a drunk fool but he’s got a good heart, and Dave is a gruff, cynical realist who loves his brother but is tired of his bullshit.  None of them are exactly nice people but you can see where they’re coming from, and they each get an arc.  Carol struggles with whether she really loved Howard, whom she barely knew, and the movie allows her to toughen up and learn how to survive in the wilderness. Dave spends much of the movie being a jerk to Carol but eventually realizes he judged her too harshly and apologizes.  Matt gets a chance to be a hero and takes it, believing that he owes it to Dave for never giving up on him.  The writing is frequently unsubtle but the actors are competent, and these little stories work just fine.

The movie that surrounds them, however, is often very sloppy.  The narrator tells us that the space probe from the opening crashed because ‘it unexpectedly lost its gravitational force’.  What?  What is that supposed to even mean?  The narrator also tells us it’s been six months since Howard disappeared, then mere minutes later Carol says it’s been four. There’s a bit where Carol is menaced by an iguana… the creature is never actually in the shot with her, so they couldn’t find anything scarier?  The stock wildlife footage on their trek through the soundstage sets of Central America includes hyenas.  I can hear Crow saying, “boy, are we in Afri… wait a minute…”  And, pet peeve, they describe a snake as poisonous instead of venomous.

This being a jungle movie, obviously there are ‘natives’.  I think most of these are actual Mexicans, although Wikipedia says Rodd Redwing may have been from India (if so, I like to think his entire career in Westerns was based on just walking into casting directors’ offices and announcing he was ‘an Indian’, and letting them draw their own conclusions).  Being as this is a movie from the fifties, the natives are there largely to provide a body count – white people aren’t allowed to die until the climax.  To its credit, The Flame Barrier mostly (though not entirely) avoids the trope where the natives have interpreted the mysterious happenings as supernatural, leading the white characters to scoff at the whole thing.  There is some of this, but Dave clearly knows these people well and respects their culture and their warnings.

Then there’s the love story.  Obviously this is a movie, so Carol’s gotta fall for one or other of these idiots, but neither of the Hollister brothers is a good choice. Matt is sweet to her but he’s also a useless drunk who only has a job because his brother puts up with him.  Dave spends eighty percent of the movie being an asshole and I have no idea what Carol sees in him.  At least the two men never fight over her.  I guess the love affair is important to the plot, because it spurs the party on to finish their search for the missing Howard Dalman despite the odds being stacked against them… but that basically boils down to Carol and Dave needing to be sure she’s a widow before they can bone.

After all this messing around in the jungle, with the run time half over we get to the plot, and the movie changes gears with an almost audible ka-chunk.  Now we’ve got this space blob sitting in a cave (how did it get in there when it’s still attached to the rocket?) doubling in size every two hours, which must be destroyed before it can consume the entire earth!  Suddenly we have a laboratory, because all the scientific equipment Howard brought with him is still in perfect condition despite having been sitting in the jungle for either four or six months.  Suddenly Dave the rugged survivalist is a scientist and mathematician.  It’s like they took the same actors and sets and started trying to make a totally different movie.

Honestly, I think this is more or less what happened. I think the multiplying space blob was the movie somebody originally wanted to make – it starts out as a tiny thing in a test tube, growing bigger and bigger until it consumes the whole building and will destroy the entire city if it isn’t stopped!  That sounds like a pretty fun 50’s sci-fi movie in itself. It also, however, sounds like an expensive 50’s sci-fi movie, needing miniatures destroyed and screaming extras and other stuff The Flame Barrier just didn’t have the money for. Hence the need to spend so much time wandering around in the jungle swapping tragic backstories before the characters are allowed to get to that point.

The unfortunate thing about this is that the movie doesn’t really have time to get into the nature of its alien.  In Spacemaster X-7, the Blood Rust was offscreen much of the time but we still had a good idea of what it was and of its capabilities, and the explanations we were given made a reasonable amount of sense.  In The Flame Barrier, we’ve got this blob that apparently lives in the rarified and super-hot outer atmosphere (the writers seem to have confused Earth’s atmosphere with the Sun’s corona), but can also survive on the ground… and its effects are all over the place. Sometimes when things get too close to it, they’re just electrocuted and disintegrated, as happens to the rocket’s original passenger, a very young chimpanzee.  Sometimes people get horribly burned and then burst into flames and are reduced to skeletons hours or days later, as keeps happening to the natives. And then there’s Howard, who somehow managed to get close enough to be swallowed up by the thing and his corpse is still completely intact inside it.

None of this makes any sense.  If the blob has that protective electrocution barrier that the humans must be so careful to avoid, how did Howard get close enough to be trapped in it?  How did the chimp get out to end up wandering around in the jungle?  What the heck is happening to the natives who get burned and then skeletonized and why doesn’t that ever happen to the chimp or any of the main characters?  And how do they manage to kill by electrocution a creature that uses lethal amounts of electricity without any harm to itself?  ‘It’s an alien – we don’t understand it’ can cover a multitude of sins in movie writing, but the blob’s random effects don’t even feel like they could potentially make sense.

The Flame Barrier reminds me of other MST3K movies, too. Prominent among them are It Conquered the World and The Crawling Hand, both of which ended on the same unintentionally depressing note: they suggest that the dangers of going into space are so great that humans will never be able to overcome them.  It Conquered the World tells us that there are eight more Venusians just waiting for their own turn to invade.  The Crawling Hand says that exposure to outer space causes mutations that will turn astronauts into mindless murderers.  The Flame Barrier posits that not only is space itself deadly, but is also full of deadly creatures, and the only way to avoid them is to stay on the ground.

This has always interested me because movies like this stand alongside things like the tales of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger!, in which humans have an exciting future among the stars. Stories set in space can be about either the exhilaration of discovery or the terror of the unknown, and this dichotomy seems to be as old as science fiction – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered the first work of proper sci-fi, and it encompasses both.  Frankenstein tells us that if we let our fear over-rule our curiosity, we’ll miss out on something potentially wonderful.  Movies like The Flame Barrier, and even modern space monster flicks like Alien, seem to say the opposite, that we shouldn’t meddle with the unknown at all.

This movie was kind of a compromise on my part.  I’ve had a lot on my plate lately and I picked The Flame Barrier as a movie that was kinda stupid but wouldn’t be either a test of my endurance or particularly challenging to write about.  I’m hoping to have something a little juicier for you next time.

[tyrantisterror]

Tales of Kevalry: A Collection of Star Wars Fanfic Ideas

Ok, so, if you’re looking at this you’ve probably seen the posts where I and a bunch of others workshopped what was originally just a joke proposal for an alternative to the Sith and the Jedi in Star Wars into an almost workable proposal for an alternative to the Sith and the Jedi in Star Wars.  @theswiveldiscourse suggested making a sort of campaign/setting pitch out of all the scattered bits we’ve established so far, so... this is that.

Keval Errants

Our alternative force users, for those who think the “you cannot have meaningful relationships with anyone - family, romance, etc.” rules of the Jedi suck but also don’t like the complete devotion to selfishness that defines the Sith.  They’re called the Keval Errants, and they basically play on the “wandering hero” archetype in fantasy fiction - i.e. the knight errant who wanders from place to place slaying monsters and saving villagers, the nameless gunslinger who rolls into town, shoots the bandits, and rides off into the sunset, the ronin who decides to protect villagers from marauders out of the goodness of his heart, the gumshoe who gets in over his head investigating a criminal conspiracy because a dame with a problem came into his office looking for help, etc.

There’s a loose code for the Keval Errants here, but the jist of it can be summed up as:

A keval errant devotes their life to helping others as much as possible

Keval errants believe that you can’t be good at helping others if you don’t understand and care about them

To that end, Keval Errants dedicate themselves to understanding other creatures as much as possible, and are required to have at least one animal that they partner with in combat to reinforce this idea (because training an animal as a mount requires you to practice communicating with and caring for a creature that isn’t capable of communicating the same way as you)

If a Keval Errant’s mount dies, they are expected to raise a new one after a period of mourning.

A squire is usually expected to pick a different mount than the one their Keval Errant mentor uses, as the point of having a mount is to hone the skills of understanding different creatures - relying on the mentor’s pre-established knowledge robs the squire of a valuable learning experience.

Any creature can be a mount so long as 1. it consents to the partnership and 2. its biological and psychological needs are different than the Keval Errant is works with.  Droids and sapient beings, while uncommon, can be found among the Keval Errants’ partners.

Keval Errants believe that freedom is an essential right of all beings, and oppose tyranny in all its forms

No force power is off limits, though draining life force, dominating minds, and looking into the future are viewed as inherently dangerous powers that should be used sparingly if at all.

Unlike the Jedi and the Sith, Keval Errants aren’t big on dogma and strict rules.  Their code is a set of guidelines that is meant to be open to interpretation and, if need be, broken when necessary.  There is no strict dress code, naming convention, weapon selection, etc. - freedom is a big value of the code, and so followers of it are encouraged to do things their own way.  Keval Errants are also free to leave and rejoin the order as often as they need to - no one is shamed for, say, wanting to pause their training to go save their friends from being killed by fascists, or take a brief holiday to rescue their mother from slavery.

If one chooses to be a Keval Errant, one must travel the Galaxy trying to help people in need and have a creature one trains as a mount.  That’s it, those are the only requirements.

Like the Jedi and the Sith, the Keval Errants are not well chronicled in history - in fact, they are even more obscure than the other two, as Keval Errants don’t actively seek out children to indoctrinate like the Jedi, nor do they try to conquer the Galaxy like the Sith.  Most stories of the Keval Errants are folktales of a mysterious and helpful stranger who wandered into a town, solved some problems, and eventually went on their way.

Though they don’t actively recruit new members, Keval Errants will accept any who ask to learn from them.  Most Keval Errants began as an ordinary citizen of the Galaxy who witnessed another member of the order performing a heroic act, and decided to ask the mysterious stranger to teach them how to do the same.  Keval Errants accept squires regardless of their midichlorian count, believing that anyone - even droids, perhaps - can learn to use the force if they open themselves to it.

Though a Keval Errant’s travels can take them anywhere, they are most often found in the Outer Rim - where there are plenty of problems to solve, and few good warriors willing to deal with them.

Umbrade Vassals

Star Wars loves dichotomies, so the Keval Errants need an opposing faction.  Enter the Umbrade Vassals (we brainstormed a lot of different names but only the “Vassal” part stuck, so we might play with the name some more here).  Their philosophy focuses in the ideas of necessary evils and greater goods, believing that certain cruelties and inequalities are inherent aspects of the universe, and that the Galaxy would thrive if everyone submitted to the rule of the Dark Side of the Force (and, by proxy, the rule of the Umbrade Vassals themselves, who execute the Dark Side’s will).

Like Keval Errants, Umbrade Vassals embrace anonymity, albeit for very different reasons.  While a Keval Errant drifts from town to town as a mysterious but helpful stranger, an Umbrade Vassal commits acts of cruelty beneath a mask in order to deny responsibility for their actions - it is not THEIR will that others should suffer, but the will of the Force, and as such they should not be held accountable for the suffering their actions cause.  Like the Sith, Umbrade Vassals try to dominate and rule as much as possible, though unlike the Sith they prefer to do so without getting credit for it.  Umbrade Vassals spend most of their lives in positions of power that avoid fame - high level bureaucrats, chancellors to emperors, etc.  They do not seek the throne, but rather to be the whisper in a king’s ear.  When forced to change things in the open, they wear uniform set robes and armor that conceal their true identity as much as possible.  Identity is something the Umbrade Vassals would like to do away with should their conquest of the Galaxy ever fully exist - in their Utopia, all are nameless pawns for the Force to use as it will.

There are few stories of grand battles between Keval Errants and Umbrade Vassals - though the two despise each other on principle, most of their conflicts are less epic struggles of good vs. evil and more akin to a story of a trickster evading an over-reaching tyrant.  The Umbrade Vassals have tried to wipe out the Keval Errants on many occasions, but have failed in part because the Errants are so loose and chaotic in structure that tracking all of them down is nearly impossible, especially for an orderly and rule-oriented group of villains who by their nature hate thinking creatively.

Rough Ideas on How a Keval Errant Story Would be Shaped

The Star Wars stories that focus on Jedi/Sith conflicts tend to be Epic in scope - stories of nations going to war and high political drama ala The Iliad.  A Keval Errant story should be a bit more personal and intimate in structure - less Phantom Menace and more The Mandalorian, if you will.  Keval Errants wander the Galaxy in search of people to save and villains to thwart - they don’t get involved in Republic trade disputes and take orders from Galactic senators unless the problem gets REALLY out of hand.  Which is where the Umbrade Vassals come in - while a Keval Errant story should start as a fun road trip where the Errant(s) helps out people in need across the Galaxy, Umbrade Vassals can escalate the problem to a degree that the Keval Errant has to become involved in a grander conflict - a Star War, if you will.

Thematically, a Keval Errant story should be about the value of kindness and love - any and all forms of love, be they Romantic, Platonic, etc (for clarity’s sake: you don’t have to be romantically/sexually attracted to anyone to be a Keval Errant, but you do have to care about people in some capacity).  Keval Errants are compassionate and want to connect with the world, and their enemies are those who are cruel and selfish.

Also, Keval Errants are space warriors who ride space monsters and stop space villains.  Have fun with that and do some goofy shit.

Ok, that’s all I got - what did I miss/what else can we add, gang?

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

Karkat Vantas vs Tavros Nitram!

Conditions:

All "Post Canon" materials are ignored. Both characters have all of their knowns weapons and tools available to them, even if they no longer have them by the end of the story. Tavros is not Gcatavrosprite.

Scenario:

Karkat is both bored and stir crazy having nothing to do on Earth C, so when Tavros invites him to go FLARPing, Karkat accepts. Eventually, the plot of the roleplay contrives that Karkat and Tavros's characters must fight, with both boys getting just a bit too into it.

Analysis: Karkat Vantas

Ask yourself one very important question. A question that has plagued nearly all of mankind since its very inception. What does God, our omnipotent creator, look like?

Stop thinking, because you're wrong. Our God is just an internet troll from another universe who wears a massive sweater, pulls his pants up to his chest, and has a love for dumb rom coms.

Meet Karkat Vantas, a mutant blooded alien troll from the distant planet of Alternia. Born as a mutant with bright red blood, Karkat had no place in Alternia's dystopic blood-based caste system and, as such, his very existence was a crime punishable by death. As such, Karkat has lived his entire life in constant fear and paranoia that one day his blood would be discovered and he would be killed. Growing up as a born outlaw in a murderous dystopia did not do well for Karkat's psyche, resulting in him growing up into an abrasive asshole who was fully convinced he would die at any moment.

Little did he know until his 13th birthday (or 6.5th birthday going off Alternia's time measurement system), he had inherited a destiny, regarding both the future of his race and the future of his very universe.

See, Karkat wasn't any mutant. He was a direct descendant of the Signless. A troll who, many centuries ago, had rebelled in the name of trolls of every caste, seeking to bring peace to the horrific, bloodthirsty dystopia. He was executed for his efforts, but not before his genetic information was copied.... by Karkat himself. Technically.

Karkat's other destiny was his destiny as a SBURB Player. He and all his friends were destined to play a video game called SGRUB, which would bring about the end of their world. The game, if played right, would allow Karkat and friends to become the gods of the new world, but in order for that to happen at all, the game had to allow Karkat to ensure his own existence through time traveling clone science fuckery. It's complicated.

This gave Karkat a golden opportunity to both escape his horrible situation and rule as the leader of a pantheon of gods over his own personal universe. Namely, our universe. He kindly assures us that it would've been a horrific and brutal regime, but it never really got off the ground, as Karkat's victory was stolen from him at the last second by an invincible time demon and Karkat would up having to work with the humans he had intended to enslave for the sake of survival.

This is because Karkat is not even half the conquer he wants to be. He isn't even really the leader of his team. Despite all his bluster of being a God born from a superior warrior race, Karkat is a loud mouthed weakling when measured up to nearly anyone else on his team. He has no special powers, he's physically the weakest out of everyone, and he isn't even an actual God.

What Karkat does have... is heart. Much to his chagrin, Karkat's special power is basically friendship. As a Blood Player, Karkat is supernaturally predisposed to being really good at making friends and maintaining friendships... which turned out to be the very thing he needed to succeed as well as he did.

See, all of Karkat's friends have a very deep, bloody history. As in, "these people are personally responsible for the most traumatic and horrifying events in my life. Events that shape who I am as a person to this day" deep. They've killed each other before and they would again. However, thanks to Karkat's influence, they're able to not only work together but actually almost get along. Karkat had a genocidal highblood supremacist counting him as one of his best friends, that's how potent this guy's friendship power inexplicably is.

A lot of this can be chalked up to the Blood Aspect, sure, but a lot of it can also be chalked up to who Karkat is under all the paranoia and anger. He gets people, he understands their character flaws, their failings, their fears, and he sympathizes with them. He gets, probably better than anyone else, that everyone around him is effectively a terrified kid with boatloads of trauma. That's the real reason he could never by the bloodthirsty tyrant he dreamed of. It's not who he is, at his foundation. It just took a long time and a lot of bonding with the humans he supposedly despised for him to realize that.

That said, Karkat is only physically unimpressive by the standards of the literal gods that surround him. He's still a SBURB Player and he still grew up on an inhospitable hell planet. As such, he is much stronger than your ordinary human.

Notably, he should powerscale to the same kind of meteor trip that Rose survived, as all SBURB Players arrive on their home planets this way and all the Players are capable of surviving their meteor trips. Unless you want to suggest that Rose is thousands of time stronger than Karkat as an infant, Karkat should be roughly comparable.

From this point, Karkat has been getting stronger all of his life. Everyone and everything in Homestuck has an Echeladder, a video game style leveling system that continues to make them stronger as they accomplish random things throughout their life, ranging from opening a fridge to winning a fight.

On top of this, Karkat is certainly a much more skilled fighter than your average human being. His team was able to take in the armies of the Kingdom of Derse, which has been warring with its opposite Kingdom of Prospite for as long as its home reality has existed. Despite that, Karkat found himself being flat out disappointed by how easy they were to fight against, with only the King proving to be enough of a challenge to rally the whole team.

As with all Homestuck characters, Karkat also has a sylladex, a hammerspace inventory system where he can store objects much too big to carry on his person, allowing him to pull out his handy twin sickles whenever he needs them. Really, the fact that most of his friends can knock him out cold with a love tap says more about them than it does about him.

Despite that though, Karkat is still not a fighter and he possesses bad luck to a literally superhuman degree. In fact, his luck is so horrible that it completely counters out luck based superpowers, allowing him to beat Clover, whose luck is so supernaturally good that it made him completely untouchable to everyone else on the battlefield except for Karkat. Turning all your negatives into a positive. If that isn't just Karkat's entire character arc.

Karkat is not the conquerer he so desperately wanted to be. But he is a leader and he is a friend, and in the hands of a Blood Player, those two titles are far more powerful than a warrior ever could be.

Analysis: Tavros Nitram

Alternia. The world before humanity. A death world designed to create conquerors and killers. Only the mightiest of warriors could possibly survive to adulthood. Only the cruelest killers would live long enough to join the fleet of the Alternian Empire and conquer the galaxy.

Tavros Nitram.... is not one of those warriors. Yet, he survives anyway. And Vriska hates him for it.

Tavros is a simple dude. When he's not playing Fiduspawn, rather, Troll Pokemon, he's happily LARPing with his friends while cosplaying Pupa Pan, troll Peter Pan. He's a shy and awkward dork on a planet full of bloodthirsty killers, which you think would make him an easy target. His Lusus isn't even big enough to protect him and he's a bronze blood, the second lowest rung on Alternia's bloodcaste.

Normally, you'd be right, but Tavros has an ace up his sleeve. His unparalleled ability with animal communion. He can control the minds of any animal he can telepathically reach, with his range expanding across entire universes. And when everyone else on the planet has a giant animal parent, that's a very easy way to guarantee no one messes with you. His telepathic ability can even extend to the nigh-omniscient First Guardians, reality warping gods tasked with preparing planets for the apocalypse, so long as they have some kind of animal component to them.

So, Tavros was left well enough alone... until he met Vriska.

Vriska... has had the opposite life experience on Alternia. Even with her similarly powerful telepathic abilities, she lived under a cruel, indifferent Lusus that demanded she hunt down and murder other kids to feed them to it, less she get eaten herself. Vriska, more than anyone, internalized Alternia's philosophy of might makes right. After all, if that wasn't true, then everything bad that happened to her happened for no reason at all and she was just a helpless teenage girl being pointlessly victimized. And Vriska could never admit to that.

So, when she sees Tavros living his best life without a single mean bone in his body, she figures she has to "toughen him up". If she won't, then he'll just die, right? No way someone can be a weakling and live a happy, carefree life.

So begain Vriska's attempts to ruin Tavros's life. Starting with her mind controlling him into jumping off a cliff to shatter his own spine, confining him to a wheelchair that his hive was not built to accommodate. Vriska would continually harass and bully him even as the world burned down around them, all under the guise of toughening him up.

This created something of a misconception in the fandom that Tavros is a complete pushover who lets everyone walk over him. This isn't completely untrue. Tavros is a complete disaster in social skills and the less said about his disastrous attempts to flirt, the better. He's nice, shy, and naive enough to see the best in everyone, even Vriska, which makes him struggle to put his foot down. He's even one of the only people on his team who'd never willingly take a life, even when Vriska tried to force him to kill her with mind control, he instead broke down crying and fled.

But, on the other hand, he does snark back at Vriska for her abuse constantly. He doesn't take anything she does to him lying down, he's just physically powerless to do anything about it and gets humiliated every time he tries. Remember, Vriska is the one most pushing the idea that he needs to be confident to fix all his problems... and Vriska is wrong.

Tavros is more than capable of handling himself in a fight. He used to play Fatal Live Action Roleplay for fun frequently and was confident enough in his abilities to go up against Vriska in it in the first place. LARPing is a lot more immersive when the other players are actively trying to kill you. Tavros spent hours side questing in SGRUB without having to kill a single imp, despite their hardcoded hostility. Equipped with a rocket powered wheelchair, Tavros can easily soar through the skies, charging foes down with his heavy lance. He even survived being carried down to Alternia on the back of a flaming meteor, just like everyone else on his team.

With his Fiduspawn cards, Tavros can create monsters to assist him in combat or call on the nearby wildlife for aide, preferring to use large groups to outnumber his opponents. Tavros is not the dedicated fighter Vriska is and he doesn't have to be. He's perfectly effective as he is doing what he's good at.

Ultimately, Tavros's most impressive feat would come about after his death. After finally getting fed up with Vriska and ditching her, Tavros would help in the battle against Lord English in his own way. He'd gather an entire army of millions of ghosts, thousands of dead gods, to wage war against tge Lord of Time, persuading all of them to his side for the fate of all reality. Tavros would completely upstage Vriska's own plans to take the fight to Lord English and completely shatter her world view, just by being who he is. Just like he always had been from the start.

Alternia tried its damndest to beat the humanity out of every troll on the planet. It might have succeeded for awhile with Vriska, before her own character growth, but with Tavros... it never even came close.

Throwdown Breakdown:

Well, time to see who's actually the weakest troll on Alternia.

Again, not really diving into stats here because they both scale to about the same things. Both of them can survive their meteor trips as grubs and both can keep up with the rest of the group during the fight with the Black King. A lot of the most impressive things Karkat would scale to are also things that Tavros would scale to because they did them as a group.

As for whether Tavros would be willing to fight Karkat at all, I do think he could in this scenario. Fighting is not something Tavros enjoys and Karkat is a friend of his. A very close friend even, Karkat is the person Tavros calls when he first breaks his legs and Tavros goes to Karkat after Vriska kisses him for advice. But, Tavros spends a lot of time FLARPing with and against his friends before and nothing about this scenario mandates that this has to be a fight to the death. Tavros would under no circumstances be willing to kill Karkat and vice versa, but a friendly fight is doable.

I disagree with the notion that Karkat could just bully Tavros into not fighting at all. All of Tavros's most pathetic moments come from interactions with Vriska, someone he couldn't challenge even if he tried. In fact, he did try. He died. Karkat, meanwhile, has never been shown intimidating Tavros and Tavros has never been put down by his insults and tirades. If Karkat was capable of bullying him into submission, he probably wouldn't have been the first person Tav called when he broke his legs. It feels like flanderization to say Karkat could bully Tavros like Vriska could when he has nowhere near the same malicious grip on him that Vriska does.

Now, onto the actual fight. Karkat has a very solid advantage in physical mobility. Even if we're assuming this is a dreambubble ghost Tavros with his working legs, Tav has point blank never demonstrated the same acrobatics that Karkat has by himself. If we don't assume that, then Tavros is either wheelchair bound or using prosthetic legs he hasn't fully adapted to yet. Either way, Karkat backflips and youth rolls all over him.

Problem is, this is possibly Karkat's only advantage and Tavros has counters.

Skill wise, both are pretty on par. Both characters were able to coast through fights with their imps and Derse's armies with relative ease. Tavros was doing a pacifist run, sure, but he still had to defend himself and survive adequately in order to talk his enemies down to begin with. On Karkat's side, he managed to survive up until his thirteenth birthday without anyone ever seeing him bleed, which is very impressive considering what Alternia is like. But, his character introduction directly specifies how little combat experience he actually has prior to SGRUB, while Tavros was a frequent FLARPer prior to being paralyzed. Tav has experience, but logistically, Karkat has the better weapons. Lances can be stilted and awkward to use in close combat as they are built as charging weapons, so if Karkat can box Tav in, he'd be at an advantage. As a whole, I'd say it evens out.

Special abilities is about where this all swings in Tavros's corner. Karkat can't fly so Tavros's rocket chair provides a big advantage, easily getting out of his range and charging from a distance. Even with Karkat's acrobatics, he would need something to jump off of to reach Tav, while Tav could control where the fight takes place to an extent, either by flying off in that direction to lead Karkat there or taking him for a ride should he manage to latch on.

This plays into Tav's obvious trump card, animal communion. With Fiduspawn cards, Tavros is going to have loyal animals on hand to fight Karkat off with and his flight allows him to take the fight to locations where there are animals to get them into the fray too. Or just fly off, grab some animals, then fly back. The sheer range of his telepathic abilities means that, so long as this fight is set on a planet with sentient life (which Earth C definitely has), Tavros can call in animal friends.

Karkat can win if he manages to box Tavros in, but Tav's flight makes that nigh impossible. Even animals that Karkat can completely fodderize through sheer stats would at least serve to distract him and keep him from reaching Tavros, gradually wearing him down with ramming charges.

Karkat's best option is to latch onto Tavros's rocket chair during one of his charges (or latch on after getting hit) and trash it to leave him a sitting duck, seizing the advantage while he's boxed in. And while I do think he's capable of this, he's going to be hard pressed to do so when potentially any and every animal in a ten mile radius could run up and dog pile him at any time, with swarms of birds and bugs pestering him off the chair before can do much damage or leaving him open to get clubbed with a lance or horns while he tries.

Karkat can win, but Tavros has too many options to keep him at bay before he does.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Tavros Nitram!

[sepublic]

Makuta and Rahi

           I really have to speculate about the Makutas’ relationship with Rahi as a whole. It’s never quite defined within canon the purpose of Rahi’s existence in the Matoran Universe, did the Makuta ever consider this, and did it bother them? While Mata Nui created various sapient races with no-doubt clear-cut purposes as part of a larger machine… Did the Makuta ever feel insecurity over the seemingly pointless addition of the Rahi? Did they ever feel extraneous alongside their own creations?

           Especially since I can see a LOT of thought, passion, and creativity going into a lot of Rahi species and their designs, behaviors, the way they interact with one another… There’s a delicate thing that needs to be considered when designing an ecosystem, and that’s Balance. I have to wonder if that’s a concept that the Brotherhood of Makuta held dear to their hearts, especially given how inextricably tied it is to their creations.

           Thinking on it, I can better understand why the Makuta saw taking over the universe as just a mere extension of their pre-existing duties. Their ordained purpose in life had already been to create species who have specific niches, roles, and purposes to play… Mata Nui’s handling of sapient species was no different, right? You had Makuta actively working to improve upon pre-existing creations, so improving upon a fractured universe by uniting it just makes sense! The line is further blurred when one considers the presence of sapient rahi… And in that scenario, I guess it’s not too surprising that the Makuta saw themselves as not all that different from Mata Nui, in the end- Maybe even better.

           The creation of ecosystems also means establishing a cycle of life, which often means designing species with the intended purpose to be devoured and/or killed by other Rahi creations. That sort of lifestyle and mentality, raising and designing entire species for a specific purpose, one they both live and diefor… It can really create a God complex amongst some Makuta. They have literal divine justification in creating a ‘greater system’ where the lives of countless Rahi are meant to be sacrificed and hunted down, all to maintain a cycle of life, a specific balance.

           And considering their roles, the Makuta no doubt got used to the idea of culling populations in order to maintain an order and ‘balance’ within ecosystems. And with the line between Rahi and sapient species blurring… I can see, more and more, how the Makuta became so nonchalant to the idea of killing others for a ‘greater purpose’, and how this casual attitude just led to the Brotherhood becoming more and more desensitized- Until we have people like Icarax or Gorast, who outright revel in carnage. They were encouraged from creation to create species that were meant to die, or species that were meant to kill- Oftentimes both. And as one takes pride in their ability to fulfill this role, some end up taking pride in their creations’ ability to kill, and/or die…

           I’d even argue the Makuta are the Matoran Universe equivalent to the Great Beings, as amoral scientists who saw ruling the world as just a natural extension of their pre-existing duties, and themselves as the best candidates for the job. After all, the Archives Massacre taught them that it was necessary to kill a few, in order to save the rest… Aside from Teridax having always been genuinely terrible, I can see why his role as a Zoologist framed the way he perceived the situation. It wouldn’t have been much different to the nonchalance that comes from killing off an invasive species in droves, all to maintain an ecosystem- Or introducing predators whose sole purpose is to kill those creatures.

           I can also see this desensitization towards individual plights and smaller issues, all for the greater good, really getting to the Makuta. As they spread out following the Matoran Civil War, a lot of Makuta likely had a policy of just letting smaller incidents, chaos, and injustices occur without interference- So long as they didn’t interfere with the grand scheme of things. It’d be like turning a blind eye to a helpless prey being pursued by a hungry pack of predators- Sure, you feel sorry for that prey. But in the end, this is just nature, it’s just how it is… And those predators have to eat, man. It’s like how Zoologists, out in the wild, generally don’t interfere with the stuff that goes on around them, unless this is something threatening an entire ecosystem or species. I can see some Makuta coping with their roles by deciding that it’s downright immature to be caught up in the life of a single Rahi, learning not to be so attached to creatures that just come and go, living and dying, etc.

          I can see how their roles as ecosystem overseers led to the Makuta being discouraged from getting personally involved, nor closely attached to the actual subjects they were working with- And how this practice translated towards their oversight of the Matoran Universe, letting the Toa do the heavy-lifting of protecting society. I can see how they became resentful of the Toa, who were blessed to be but mere heroes and protectors, and received adulation for this; While the Makuta felt unappreciated as beings who had to make difficult choices for the greater good, and often sacrifice the lives of others for this purpose.

          No doubt, many coped by seeing the callous reality of their duties as being noble in its own sense, as is the idea of making the difficult call to kill others for the sake of a larger world. There must’ve been jealousy amongst the Makuta towards the Toa- Who were revered for fulfilling their roles, only for the Makuta to be vilified for doing the same. Don’t blame THEM for their detached manner of overseeing the universe, the Makuta were just doing what the Great Spirit told of them! And that could lead to resentment towards Mata Nui, for even making the Makuta to be like this…

           And when the League of Six Kingdoms fell, following the disappearance of the Barraki? It’s no wonder the Brotherhood of Makuta took over, they applied that same principle of enforcing a balance and functioning system, an interconnected web of interactions, and applied it on a grander yet similar scale- This time to the countless civilizations and sapient species of the Matoran Universe. Given how apathetic Mata Nui was towards maintaining the Matoran Universe, I can see how the Makuta thought themselves as better rulers.

          As Zoologists, they’d be intimately aware of the process of observing populations in their natural habitat, keeping an eye on them, herding them towards a desired path with a guiding hand. The Brotherhood probably saw itself as paying more attention to the goings-on of the Matoran Universe than the Great Spirit, and they were probably right! And it really does seem like common sense, that people who actually know more about the world they’re governing and more closely involved with it, should actually be running it VS some detached, apathetic Great Spirit that can’t even notice the formation of a League or Toa Empire in his own body, so long as it’s not directly affecting him.

           When you’re designing ecosystems, you have to take everything into account- So the Makuta likely saw themselves as more attentive, responsible, and even compassionate towards the Matoran Universe inhabitants, than their own god. Not to mention the idea of constantly manipulating the lives of being they see as lesser, more primitive, and not having the same rights nor intelligence as them… I can see some Makuta mistakenly dismissing the sapient species of the Matoran Universe as no different. Or at least, that same detached, patronizing attitude of treating others without regard to what THEY have to say, because they’re too dumb to consider the bigger picture… I can see how it was applied to beings like the Matoran.

          I can see why the Makuta saw the sapient species of their world, and ‘dumb animals’ as not being all that different… And on the flip-side, this naturally meant that just as Rahi were lesser beings to them, so were the other sapient species in the Matoran Universe. And it just led to the Makuta distancing themselves, creating that sense of detachment and superiority, that mentality that the ends justified the means… Being encouraged to create others with the purpose to kill and/or die, taking pride in one’s ability to create something that causes death, or satisfaction at the demise of something else…

          Not to mention, the diversity of Rahi may have exceeded that of sapient species, which not only influenced the Makutas’ fascination with shapeshifting and their creativity, but likely made them see themselves as being more clever and imaginative creators than Mata Nui himself. Working closely with the Great Spirit also made him seem much less distant to the Makuta, much more approachable… And thus so much more flawed and vulnerable. Especially if they knew exactly how a jeopardized system could easily throw Mata Nui’s health out of balance, how he was outright dependent on the lives of his ‘lesser beings’ and creations, while the Makuta lacked such a weakness and only continued to transcend, evolving past physical bodies.

           The Makuta, most of them, were terrible people. That much is not up for debate, and most of them really DID choose their own horrific paths. People like Gorast and Icarax enjoyed carnage far too much, while Teridax was just awful to an unprecedented degree. But it makes me consider Krika’s sadness, how he sees the Makuta as trapped to their fate, like their decisions to become conquerers and usurpers was merely inevitable… Because in the end, they were made for that. They were made to be Zoologists, and thus predisposed to traits that would better enable their purpose.

           Just as the role of the Toa made them predisposed to being heroic and beloved by others… One could argue that the Makuta were similarly fated in a sense, albeit doomed. They had a completely different purpose than the Toa, and that meant a different mentality, way of life, and handling of others… The Makuta weren’t made to necessarily care for others, and to even disregard the lives of some for a ‘greater good’, for a balance. They were placed in an environment and position that both encouraged and required the attitudes that led to their corruption, so I can see why Krika felt his fate as a traitor to the Great Spirit was inevitable- Because one can’t escape their reason for existence, nor can they escape Destiny. And, it’s funny that Krika becomes so resigned to the idea of being unable to escape one’s inherent nature… Because one can argue that the Makuta DID rise above that, alongside their intended purpose. They weren’t meant to take over the Matoran Universe as conquerers, yet they chose to act contrary to both the plans of the Great Spirit and Great Beings.

           And while Krika saw this lifestyle as a natural extension of their creators’ intended roles for them… There’s still the realization that they DID defy the plans of their makers, to an extent. To the point where they could outright rebel against them- Again, as a result of attitudes implanted by their creators, for the purpose of carrying out their assigned duties. But still… It’s not entirely hopeless, and that’s Krika’s downfall- He just sort of gave up. He was too much of a coward, too resigned, and too apathetic to make a difference. Krika saw one’s environment as dictating a person’s existence and identity, but I can see why- After all, with regards to the idea of evolution and adaptations, for many animals their environment literallyshapes what they are!

          And just as environments can be created by the Great Beings, so too can Rahi be made by the Makuta, with regards to how they’ll function in said environments. Krika lived by the idea that beings are dictated entirely by the circumstances they were made in… If his own Rahi could never rise above their environmental circumstances, then could Krika? Especially since he, too, is a creation of a higher being? Overall, I can see how Krika became so defeatist and cynical; At least until the last second, but by then it was too late. To Krika, beings’ lives are dictated by an unchangeable environment/situation, and the only way to survive is to adapt and conform to that environment, to live by what it dictates- There is no changing one’s situation, you are entirely subject to its whim and power. Perhaps it’s no wonder Krika became so disillusioned.

[lothiriel84]

Just a few random considerations after my latest rewatch of series 1 of BBC Ghosts last night. 

Ghosts vs. the living

It’s extremely interesting that while as a rule humans are completely unable to see/hear ghosts, (some) animals are in fact shown to be able to sense the presence of a ghost, to the point of attempting to interact with them - see Tali (?) the dog barking up at Robin, and then wanting to be petted by Pat. 

It remains unclear whether that’s down to some kind of sixth sense specifically possessed by animals (dogs? bears? any animal at all?) as opposed to humans, or it somehow implies that the animal in question had a scrape with death at some point in the past. (Although the latter doesn’t sound very likely when it comes to Barclay’s dogs, or I should hope so, at least.)

Another interesting point is how often exactly do dead animals turn into ghosts. So far, the only animal ghost (or should that be ghost animal?) we’ve been shown is Button House’s resident pigeon - could that be because animals don’t often have any real unfinished business barring their access to whichever sort of afterlife is reserved to their kind? (But more importantly, was Arthur Shappey right in believing heaven is, in fact, full of otters?)

Schrödinger’s (attempted) murder

As I mentioned elsewhere - probably in the tags while reblogging someone else’s gifs, to be honest - I believe Julian being genuinely unable to tell whether he successfully pushed Alison out of the window or she basically lost her balance and fell as a consequence makes for a much more interesting scenario. 

To be absolutely clear, that would make no difference when it comes to him being guilty of attempted murder; he is shown to have no qualms whatsoever about killing Alison, and when all is said and done, it hardly matters whether his goal was reached by his own hand or through dumb luck (plus a non-indifferent dose of carelessness on Alison’s part).

All I’m saying is, think back of how much trouble he had with pushing a vase which was comparatively not all that bigger than a cup. And even if he did know for sure - admittedly, he might be capable of feeling the reaction of the object he pushes against, should he succeed in doing so - I, as a viewer, would very much rather be afforded a little room for doubt. Not for the sake of Julian’s character, but as I feel it somehow raises the stakes of this particular storyline.

Alison as one of the coolest characters ever

Not only does Alison figure the whole seeing-dead-people situation mostly by herself - with a little help from the ghost therapist at the hospital, but she could have easily written off the entire episode as yet another of her alleged post-traumatic hallucinations - but more importantly, her reaction when she realises she’s effectively stuck with a haunted house as well as a potentially bankruptcy-inducing mortgage is one of the coolest moments in the entire series. 

I dare say most people would be inclined to lose the plot a little bit, when faced with such simultaneously dire yet completely absurd circumstances; Alison, on the other hand, simply unbuckles her seat belt, gets out of the car, and confronts the ghosts head-first. And not only that, but she’s smart enough to call them out on their real reasons for haunting her, to the point they actually confess what they really want from her. (Which sums down, in most cases, to trivial requests such as being allowed to watch war documentaries, or having an incriminated portrait removed from a room.)

Forget her questionable choices when it comes to financial matters, she’s a feisty young woman capable of handling a herd of recalcitrant ghosts, and that’s more than can be said of almost any other character in the show. 

The Captain and the morality of choices

It’s hardly a mystery the Captain is a bit of a bastard, and we all love him for that. Right at the beginning, he is presented to us as someone who would make a show of wanting to ��say a few words’ about the dearly departed just so he could immediately proceed to ‘bagsy her room’. I’d say his general mindset could be summed up as something close to the end justifies the means - with the caveat that we actually know very little about him aside the military persona he chooses to present himself as all the time. 

If I had to hazard a guess, facing everything life death throws at him as a military campaign could either be a subconscious defence mechanism, a habit so deeply ingrained he couldn’t shake it off if he wanted to, or something he elects to do as a way to cope with the listlessness that comes with being stuck in limbo (potentially) for eternity. And, quite possibly, a combination of all three. 

The main thing is, rules are important for him, but so is winning whichever military campaign he embarked upon at each particular moment in time. When his plan to enroll the plague victims as his new army fails, he resorts to strategic subterfuge in order to win the war; as they say, all's fair in love and war, and more often than not, battles are won by military tactics rather than such things as a superior army. He is very much the Odysseus of Button House, with the significant difference that he’s not so much attempting to conquer an enemy city as he’s fighting to take back control of an outpost he used to be in charge of.

In this (probably unfortunate) parallel, I’m afraid the poor Kitty serves as the infamous Trojan horse. (Juan Domingo, please, we’re not getting into this all over again.) The Captain knows Alison trusts her, and his subterfuge will therefore go undetected until it’s too late; and yet, remarkably enough, he still decides to offer Kitty a choice on the matter. Admittedly, he’s already counting on the fact that Kitty is neither particularly smart, nor in any way prepared to give up on Alison anytime soon - however, he still offers her a choice, and I feel like that is very much relevant to his character. He is, for all intent and purposes, tricking Kitty into fooling her friend/the person she loves; but while he’s concealing all the important facts from her, he’s not robbing her of her choice entirely. 

(Should Kitty have decided to prioritise Alison’s happiness over her own, I daresay the captain would have come up with yet another plan to overcome the temporary setback. Neither scenario makes him any less of a bastard, but he’s still a man of principles after his own fashion, and that’s how I choose to read him, regardless.)

A final note on Robin

I’ve made no secret of how Robin is my favourite character by far, just as I believe he is for a significant portions of fans of the show. As mischievous as he loves to be - which is, all things considered, a comparatively tame reaction to being stuck as a ghost for an incredibly long time, with very little hope of ever moving on - his pranks are mostly harmless, and he is at heart the kindest, most emotionally mature of all the ghosts. (Yes, even when he’s scampering around, marvelling at the builders’ equipment. If anything, it’s a sign of his natural curiosity and intelligence; we are, after all, repeatedly shown he is particularly good at problem solving as well as playing what basically boils down to blindfold chess.)

As often as the other ghosts tend to remark upon his language skills or lack thereof, they should probably pay more attention to all the occasions in which Robin’s brains made the difference, and I’m including his emotional intelligence in that category. As others pointed out before me, he’s a trickster with a heart of gold, and the only sane man among what is basically a swarm of squabbling children. 

And he faces all of that armed only with his peculiar brand of humour, and his enthusiasm for new things to discover, including - why not? - new ways to scare the living daylights out of Alison, just for the fun of it. 

[kewltie]

How do you come up with so many new ideas for stories? I feel like I’m constantly stumped and stuck with cliches (and while those are fun and I absolutely love them) I can never really think of something to make it my own? When I see your writing I feel like you’re able to take cliches and make it your own so much it no longer feels like one, I’m always so worried about making a story to similar to another when trying to put a spin on a classic trope, also! Hope youre doing okay during this time

hi anon!!!

such a good question to bring up! for me, personally, inspiration comes really easy bc im really easy. that sounds weird but i basically consume any form of media across various genres that would catch my interest. i read, watch, play (games mostly lol), etc and maintain a variety of interest in like all sort of things so i pull ideas from a lot of diff places. like, i REALLY REALLY love animals and nature documentaries so i like to incorporate that into my stories w/ in the form of post-apocalyptic mermaids au (what happen when majority of humans leave earth and those left behind returns to the oceans bc i watch a fake nature doc about mermaids which are apparently sea ape and how how all live originate in the sea) or plant au (where the earth is living entity and try to take back the planet w overgrown murderous plants and descend into a world of nature taking REVENGE etc). i also really REALLY like watching doc about history of conquered so that influence my writing a lot lol. so yea, i take inspo in all these media i consumed and turn it into something i want to read. so having all these various interests that are all over the place i dont have a problem jumping from one genre to the next and never really get bored! you can see me talking endlessly about the various media i have consumed (i.e shoujo/shounen/yaoi etc manga/webtoon, asian dramas, games, tv shows) and im always open to new ones too!! being open minded to try out things not in my comfort zone was such a huge help for me and now im like ok that sounds cool i’ll try it lol. 

also, i really what i call genre mashing like combining two things that dont usually go together automatically like ??? post apocalyptic mermaids??? the princess bride but steampunk?? OR beauty and the beast au in space?? LIKE all are ideas i have talk huge amount about bc i love putting familiar ideas and throwing it some weird wild settings and just HAVE FUN. if you have something you think been done a millions time before (which is not WRONG AT ALL) just think how you could do it different this time around or look at it in a diff perspective. like, i wrote a hundred arrange marriage royalty au AND I APOLOGETICALLY LOVES THEM and each time im like i already did desert setting so i’ll go for some winter setting this time around; or i’ll make them childhood friends last time, i’ll go for enemies; in other fic i explored theme of duty vs heart, now i want to explore war themes etc so like i dont intentionally try to make it diff but i just think how the story & chars may go if i take on a diff direction and sometimes that little change can have a rippling effect and turn into a whole diff story. so yea, dont be afraid to ask yourself WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF–? bc who knows where it take you! 

this also translate to when im reading fanfics of other ppl and I READ A LOT. LIKE A SHIT TON. if im not writing im usually reading something. when im reading other ppl’s fic i get to see their take on certain tropes or how they address certain that i may really like a lot and i want to tackle it on my own but that also lead to if i run into a branch in the story where the author does it certain way but i think myself hmm…. what if this happen the other way and THAT GIVES ME IDEA. like, dont let hold yourself back from reading other fanfics bc you’re afraid you get similar ideas when the whole of fandom is about inspiring each other. inspiration =/= carbon copy. i openly talked about my ideas all the time and not possessive about it bc sometimes ppl would ask me if they can write something base of it and i 99%  say yea go ahead bc the way they write it would be diff from how i write it even though it’s the same concept, how i write the chars & the themes may be diff from how they view it. you can HAVE THE SAME IDEA BUT DIFF EXECUTION. that’s the most important part!!! it is not plagiarizing bc seeding an idea is like part of fandom and it becomes trend a lot the way ABO gets around the fandom like wildfire lmao. 

last but not least, be THE FIC YOU WANT TO READ. this is why you usually see me starting a conversation w a i really, really LOVE/LIKE etc and ramble away about an idea and how it’ll go. a lot of my stories are a reflection of my interests like how im always talking endlessly about kingdoms, war, and rulers and conquerors bc im just really fascinated by it lmao /o. and there’s also all those single parents fic i wrote bc i deeply empathized with it due my childhood being raised by a single mother. and there are times when things that matter to me i put in my stories, like im hitting my 30s soon and im still single. i think i dont mind being like that but i want to have children so how would that work out?? things that plague me in real life i address in fics in term of surrogacy & sperm donation bc it’s something i consider about wanting a family when you’re single and dont have a partner. every fic or idea i have ever written or talk about you can see my fingerprints all over it bc they’re things i deeply, truly care and am interest about that i want IT TO EXIST IN THE WORLD so i write it out. i algo get really annoyed when im there’s a trend in fandom to take a trope in certain direction and i just dont like it lmao (i.e. villain!deku im more focus on izuku getting his redemption and how & yandere au  WHEN THEY ARE EQUALLY CRAZY ABOUT EACH OTHER) so i put my frustration and complaint into a fic. you can see this clearly in a lot of my ABO fics where i tend to put omegas often on top bc that’s just my particular taste. i dont try to buckle trend just to be contrary but i do it when my taste doesn’t match theirs and ya know be the fic you see in the world basically lol. just bc something is popular by the mass doesn’t mean you have to follow it even IF YOU THINK YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO LIKE IT, let assure you’re wrong. there will always be someone who taste clicks with yours OR you can persuade them just by writing a kickass fic and just stand by what they wrote. sometimes, i find myself falling in love with a story i would never consider reading at all bc i dont like the trope or themes just bc the writing is v v v good or the writer CLEARLY LOVE WHAT THEY WROTE THAT THEY PUT THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO IT and i can see it in their writing and im swayed. so yea, don’t think of putting a new spin on old cliche but try to think of as making it your own by doing it how you WOULD GO AT IT. how would you write the million abo fic? what do you like to see? HISTORICAL, SCIFI, FANTASY? how would you categorized ABO?? go for classic alphas rules society and omegas are lower class? or do the total opposite?? like DON’T FORCE yourself to be diff, just let it come to you and im sure you’ll be able to make it your own bc look there’s like a million fics on ao3 AND EVEN MORE THAN MILLION original novels in real life. you’re not going to invent anything new that had never seen before so dont try be diff but be yourself and soon you’ve have something that is solely your owns and nobody else and that’s the best advice i can give. 

a;sjdf;as sorry this is such a incoherent mess but i LOVE, LOVE cliches just as much as i like trope breaking them and it doesnt matter where you fall on the line as long as you can enjoy what you create that’s all that matter! i hope whatever i said help you out a little and lighten your worry just a bit. and thanks for the question bc it really is intrestingl !!!!! and i hope you’re staying safe and please take care bc im doing ok for now lol!!

[cosmi-trashbin]

Thoughts on Moon and Eclipsa as Queens

Think of the wand as thematically tied to Star’s role as the princess of Mewni. While the wand transforms into a design that best fits and reflects the personality and aesthetic of the current wielder, it’s also tied to the heavy responsibility, expectations, and history of Mewman royalty. A Mewman queen benefits from being imaginative and creative, but she’s limited by the expectations of her role as queen and the needs of her kingdom. The tie-in book showcased that most queens had difficulty walking on this particularly shaky tightrope: Every one of them was molded by the current status of their kingdom, their perspective on what it took to be a proper queen in some way, shape, or form, and how much they personally cared about/were invested in their role as queen. Some weren’t fit for the crown period because of how flighty or selfish they were. One queen was totalitarian. And some queens did what they felt was absolutely necessary.

Discussing Queen Moon

Queen Moon was an example of the last category: She was thrust into the role at a very young age and molded herself into the idealized picture of what she believed a proper Mewman queen should be. She followed every rule and mandate as closely as she reasonably could. She’s elegant, coiffed, and stern, but fair. She tries to be calm and collected for the sake of her people; to maintain a comfortable, but efficient status quo for her kingdom. But, a problematic part of maintaining this status quo was either burying and/or upholding the previous policies/effects of previous queens in regards to monsters.

Though, as the series has continued, viewers discover that Moon isn’t entirely rigid or unsympathetic. The bumbling, doofy King River is an example of the warmer, more tender side of Moon’s personality. River is a terrible king, but his importance as Moon’s partner shouldn’t be understated. His kind words, goofiness, and warm personality played a big role in helping Moon settle into her role and responsibilities as queen; he’s her ongoing emotional rock and moral support. The reason I bring this up is that it’s an example of Moon trying to balance personal happiness with being queen. She could have picked a king that was beneficial for strictly political relations or even specialized in overseeing a specific part of the kingdom. She even could have chosen to stay an independent, self-sufficient queen (ala Solaria). Instead, she chose to take on River as a figurehead while she runs the kingdom. It’s the one decision that she, arguably, received a lot of criticism for. In short, there’s a breathing, feeling person behind the crown.

When Queen Moon relates to Buff Frog on the common ground that they’re both parents, it shows a shift in her thinking. She’s not an unapproachable, unsympathetic figure. This is further showcased when she tries to reach out to Ludo and even tries to help Eclipsa with Meteora. Moon knows what it takes to be an effective and liked ruler, but apparently, she’s also willing to change and adopt new ideas. Moon was definitely willing to work on means to improve relations between Mewmans and monsters. She might use her reputation/influence as queen to slowly and carefully convince the people this is a very needed, very positive change for the kingdom.

The caveat is the controversy surrounding Moon and her lineage as the “imposters” in the royal bloodline. The first two episodes of season 4 reveal that Moon has become the poster child for the Piefolks’ very open, blatant contempt towards Mewni, if not all Mewmans. They readily hand-wave and mock River and Star for being ‘full-blown’ Mewmans while praising and aggrandizing Moon. Confirming that Moon is Piefolk validates their prejudices in some kind of twisted, backwards way. Of course they want to keep Moon herself around to push and fuel propaganda (which could lead to Piefolk trying to ambush and overthrow Eclipsa).

River’s comments about ‘dirty peasants’ and Piefolk comments about Mewmans bring up questions about what other peoples have race tensions/conflict with Mewni and what kind of impact/fallout Mewni’s class system has had. Mina Loveberry’s introductory episode pokes at some of these ideas, too. Since Mina was a super-soldier during Queen Solaria’s reign, she’s a living relic of previous Mewni sentiments and ideas: She approached Earth with a very imperialist, Manifest Destiny kind of mentality. “Mewmans are superior, so it’s our right to conquer!” Star’s response is indicative of how much Mewni has changed since those times. At the very least, Mewni royalty try to approach most kingdoms and peoples with some measure of decorum, diplomacy, and respect. The sad thing is that this approach was rolled out by the time there was a deeply cut, ingrained series of ideas such as “Monsters are inferior” and “Certain peoples are and always will be lower class by default.” 

In short, Queen Moon’s rule was the textbook definition of what’s expected of a Mewman queen. Without the context of her personal new revelations about Buff Frog or Ludo, her reign was the last example of a classic Butterfly queen.

Discussing Queen Eclipsa

When Eclipsa was next in line to be queen, she was already high-key rebellious by dating monsters in secret and practicing “controversial” magic. In some ways, her role as queen was peripheral to her personal pleasure and hobbies. She had very progressive ideas and the potential to dramatically overhaul then-current kingdom policies, but it feels like she couldn’t or didn’t act on them. It’s a bit ambiguous what her personal take on being queen is, but she seems content with the idea of just being able to live a peaceful, quiet life with her baby and monster husband. When she encountered rampaging and fully realized Meteora, note that she was trying to talk Meteora down and explain the delicate, complicated mess behind why Meteora couldn’t just stomp in and declare herself queen. Eclipsa was willing to help stop Meteora despite the fact that Meteora, technically, was the rightful royal princess. She realized how different current circumstances were in Mewni and what has to happen to keep the peace.

When she was an upcoming queen, Eclipsa was already locked into bureaucratic obligations when she was expected to marry Prince Shastacan. Her chapter in the official spellbook reveals that Globgor gave her an ultimatum: Run away with him or stay in Mewni. She chose to run away with Globgor and, presumably, start a new life among monster society until she was caught by the Magic High Commission. Globgor’s ultimatum shows that Eclipsa was forced to chose sides at the time. Globgor is the unknown variable for what Eclipsa’s reign would have been like. While I don’t have a lot to work with for determining the nature of their relationship, I get the impression that Eclipsa would insist on them being equal in regards to ruling; either that, or Globgor is the more assertive, dominant party in their relationship.

By herself, Eclipsa seems to just be going with the flow. She opened Mewni to monsters and her reign so far has been reshaping Mewni’s culture and encouraging a melting pot between peoples. Though, beyond that, the concern about dissatisfied peoples like the Piefolk or even the continuing tensions between Mewmans and monsters has been brushed under the proverbial rug. Eclipsa isn’t dumb, but she needs some pretty intensive PR to back her up. As far as Mewni is concerned, she’s an unabashed monster lover and would pick monsters over Mewmans in a heartbeat. In short, she’s going to be viewed in pretty black and white terms without the gravity or nuances of her personal story and circumstances. From the episode titles released thus far, Eclipsa’s definitely going to work on just that. But, again, the atmosphere surrounding Eclipsa’s current reign is tied pretty heavily to what Globgor is like. He has enough importance in Eclipsa’s personal life that she’d weigh his opinions and her happiness with him that she might not act as rationally as she would solo.

Ending Thoughts

There’s so much emphasis on the balance between a queen’s personal life and her role as queen. For Moon, there’s glimpses of the role being a mandate or obligation. In the episode where Moon was wandering around the pure magic dimension, viewers see a surprisingly carefree, almost childlike side of her. Moon was allowed to “cut loose” for an episode and it poses the question of what she’d be like if she weren’t bogged down with royal responsibilities.  For Star, there’s been hints at what personal hobbies and freedoms she feels like she’d have to give up as queen. Her mom gave up everything; Star is fighting for a balance between her eccentricities and living up to expectations. For Eclipsa, the biggest issue was her decision between duty and following her heart.

Most of Star Vs. queen characters’ stories study the pressure of being born into a position of power and responsibility. Having a list of previous queens to compare and contrast opens the floor for discussing the importance of having the right person in a prominent political office and how their personal morals affect what they do while in office.