#there ya go i fixed it

[doctorderpyfox]

We pledge our Allegience to the flag of the United Divided States of America. And to the Repubic Olgiarchy for which it stands, One Nation Land, Under God Trump, with No Liberty or Justice for All.

[cloudcastor]

soriku week day 4: sacrifice

[starry-bi-sky]

this just in: danny fenton is just as much of a mask as Brucie Wayne? - another danyal al ghul au

Turns out, being placed in a civilian family who have no knowledge of your background is actually detrimental to the health and development of a child assassin due to lack of proper support! Surrounded by strangers in a foreign city, Danyal Al Ghul does as assassins do best. He hides. Espionage is one of many teachings one learns in the League, and it only takes half a day for Danyal to construct a new persona to hide behind: Daniel Fenton.

By the time dinner rolls around, Danyal al Ghul is safely and securely tucked behind the face of Danny Fenton; brand new adoptive child of the Fenton family who came from overseas. A shy, quiet little boy with a thick accent and curly hair, with brown skin and blue eyes, and an avid interest in the stars. The best fictions are always cobbled together in a little bit of truth, it's some of the only truth he ever lets through. He apologizes in a meek voice for his behavior early, he didn't mean to be rude, and he watches the three of them eat it up with coos.

Lies roll like silk against his lips, he struggles to meet their eyes and offers them his weakest, shyest smile. It's too easy. It's easy to go from there.

Danny Fenton, adoptive son, shy and awkward and unconfident but friendly. Who struggles in his classes and isn't the brightest, but tries his hardest. He makes bad jokes and has a quick tongue and a sarcastic mouth. He wants to be an astronaut. He's got the best aim in school, and is a terrifying dodgeball player. He's one of the least athletic kids in his grade.

It's like playing two truths and a lie, but there's only one truth, and the rest are lies. It's easy to pretend when he knows it's insincere.

Danyal Al Ghul, grandson to the Demon Head. Deadly, trained assassin. Has spilled blood, has had blood spilt from. Environmentalist, animal activist. He loves the stars. He owns a calligraphy set. A sharp tongue, an even sharper blade. He's clever, quick-witted, he would be top of his grade if he tried harder. He purposely doesn't.

He misses his family. He misses his mother, and he misses his brother. Mother visits a few times a year, so few times that he can count it on both hands. He cherishes every visit, as brief as they are. It helps remind him who he is.

Sam and Tucker are Danny's best friends. They've never met Danyal, but Danyal's met them.

It becomes routine to become Danny Fenton. As familiar and as easy as pulling on a shirt in the morning. Danyal wakes up and is always first to the bathroom in the mornings; stares at himself in the mirror until he can finally see Danny staring back at him. At night, he locks his door and sheds the mask.

Dying throws a wrench in his mask; splits a crack straight through the porcelain. He's able to smooth it over with sandpaper and liquid gold, but it's a little hard keeping his ghost form under wraps. It instinctively wants to shift to show his true self. Danyal can't have that, he's spent four years as Danny Fenton, he'll spend another four as him as well. Even if the feeling of the hazmat suit in his ghost form feels restrictive, like a too-small shirt suctioned to his skin that needs to be peeled off.

He'll live. Er-- well, you know what he means. It's frustrating however, trying to keep his Danny Fenton mask up even as Phantom - fighting in the air is something he needs to get used to, and the sudden propping of powers throws him off. But he is nothing if not adaptive, and he hates that he needs to slow his own skills down in order to keep pretenses up in front of Sam and Tucker.

The first time Danyal summons a sword when he's alone, is one of the few times Danyal gets to grin instead of Danny. He's fighting Skulker, and from an invisible hilt he draws a katana from thin air. It startles them both. Skulker takes a step back at the smile that spreads across his face.

They're both silent as Danyal examines his new sword.

"Do you know what people like me do to people like you, poacher?" Danyal finally asks him, the accent he began to hide a few months in slipping through. He drops all pretense, dragging the flat end of the blade slow and appreciatively against his palm. It's a good make, and when he cuts it through the air, it slices through like butter. He looks up at Skulker with a smile; "are you ready to find out?"

When Sam and Tucker ask about why Skulker seems so skittish around Danny now, Danny shrugs at them and says with a playful smile; "I don't know, I guess I kicked his butt too hard after our last fight." and he watches as Sam rolls her eyes exasperatedly, and Tucker snickers with his own joke.

By the time he reunites with Damian before their 15th birthday, Danyal is buried beneath so many layers of Danny Fenton that his brother will need a shovel to dig him out. He's not sure what he'll find.

[likesdoodling]

Doodles :D

[levi-lev]

hi again

[yippee-optimistically]

mods r asleep post humanized 4x

finished catching up on tpot it was peakkkkkk but i am so scared of one. also working on little clay and felt dolls of 4 x and 2

[frodo-a-gogo]

Funny Apery. Male-Centric Workplace Humor. Co-written by @boltzmannbutt on Twitter.

[naffeclipse]

What if Eclipse from AP was a naga? And this took place in the deep jungle of the amazon, where photographer y/n is trying to take pictures of the wildlife?

I'm vibrating at the speed of sound over this ask while also nudging my naga au

Naga Eclipse from AP would have the tail of a Green Anaconda, with an olive green scaly color dotted with black, framed by burning-like flares of orange along the length of his slithery body. He's also decorated with orange-yellow striping on either side of his long, slipper form. His upper half is scaley with a lithe deadliness to his musculature and decorated by frills surrounding his head with brighter orange-yellow colors, almost hypnotic in their gradient hues. One eye is deep emerald green, and one is midnight blue.

Lucky you—you're out on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to explore a jungle closed off to the public, funded by Fazco, and occupied by two researchers who will be your bunkmates for the next few weeks. You're itching to take photos of the large river, including swamps, marshes and streams, and whatever wildlife is out there.

The few locals you did meet before you left to hike the rest of the way to what would be your new, isolated home warned you of a dangerous snake—a large, mythical beast. You take note of the local folklore. You understand the truth is hidden in there somewhere, and you are well aware of the dangers and diseases you could be met with in such a harsh environment, but you're determined.

It doesn't take long for you to feel eyes watching you when you first venture out by yourself. You take beautiful pictures of freshwater fish, big and beautiful, unlike any you have ever seen. Of course, you have hundreds of snapshots of the local flora, the trees, the floating meadows, the thick vines that drape each branch and hang thickly about the ground. You almost forget that you eerily don't feel alone.

But you swear something moves in the water—the ripples stop as soon as you look. The stillness is suddenly stiff, lifeless. Even the birds have stopped chirping.

You lower your camera and carefully put it away. A trickle of fear slips into your heart. You turn away from the river's edge only to be met by a low hiss and a creature, unlike anything you witnessed in your travels, spooling itself neatly out of the water, blocking your path to the base. An incredible creature with long arms and a great, serpentine tail that seems to stretch for yards and yards. You can hardly breathe in his presence—he's otherworldly with his frills and scales and fangs.

His eyes contain a mesmerizing shine as if staring into a fire as it burns or watching the ocean as it laps up against the beach, drawing your attention, demanding you don't look away. You couldn't anyway. Half-frozen, you struggle to keep from collapsing. He beckons with a sharp talon. He hisses softly for you to come closer, mouse. He wants to see you. You try to beg no without revealing how terribly you tremble. He doesn't let you go. He insists. His eyes flash with an allure. You almost step close when he murmurs that you need to be good.

But then your sense of survival kicks adrenaline into your heart, and you turn to run—

He strikes faster than your eyes can follow. Two loops of his green and orange tail surrounded you in an instant. You're dragged to the ground, your arms pinned under his mass, and the back of your head cradled by his large palm as powerful muscles squeeze you in the slightest—a gentle rebuke for thinking you could get away. You're hyper-aware of the terrifying bulk of muscles as you lie trapped in his coils. One strong twist and your eyes could pop out of your skull, and every bone protecting your heart and lungs would crumble to shards. You gasp. An urge to kick your legs and struggle erupts in your panic; a sinking feeling tells you it would only make things worse.

He coos over you, hissing and humming in an ancient song of the jungle you have no name for. When you whimper, he shushes you and strokes your cheek. He tells you how lovely you'll be. When you talk back to him, somehow finding your tongue amid your horror, you find out his name. Eclipse. He moves you more upright, resting you on his tail so you're not petrified by how vulnerable you feel lying down, but he never loosens his scaly bindings. He hovers over you. You gaze into his stunning frills of yellow-orange and wonder how a being like him came to exist. He studies you as you study him. He grins at how you shiver when he traces your collarbone with a sharp fingertip.

You remind yourself that you can still breathe. He hasn't crushed you—yet—but you don't like how wide his smile is. Sometimes, his jaw stretches a little too long as if dislocating from his skull, ready to devour you. His eyes gleam with a ravenousness as scales twist around you, holding you close enough to smell the slick green water he had been in and deep musk.

He tells you that he'll see you again very soon—away from other humans, lest you bring him a fine gift for a meal. You can only flex your fingers, silently pleading in your heart that he won't unhook his jaw and eat you alive.

Then, he unravels himself from your limbs. But before he lets you go entirely, he leans in close, his serpentine tongue flickering close to your neck and by your hair, tasting the air around you as you muster all your strength to not scream. He inhales deeply, pleased, before he murmurs, "Sweet mouse. You are mine. Say it."

You don't understand, but you echo his command, and when he taps your chin once in what might have been a loving gesture, you force your jelly legs to solidify before you run and run, all the way back to base. You slam the door to your room behind you. You touch your ribs, your arms, still caught in the heavy sensation of his loops as if he were upon you right now.

The stories are true—there is a giant snake in this jungle, and he wants you. You're afraid to discover if Eclipse's intrigue with you is only an exotic way to satisfy his hunger.

[ravennhearted]

Me (whispering to myself as I hit play on Merlin s1ep1 once again): And like the cycle of the year, we begin again

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Computer Problems

If anyone heard the muffled sounds of violence that was me strangling my friends for telling me to do this.

And being logical and sensible about it how dare they!

Anyway so. I'm not sure who's actually aware of this? I don't think it's most people. But last year in February my computer got a huge crack down the middle of the screen, and the battery decided it wasn't going to be a proper battery anymore. Those of you who've been around for a while will remember that last year was incredibly difficult for me financially as the steady job I'd had for a couple years disappeared and other jobs I'd been promised dried up (ah, the joys of freelancing).

I now have an office job but it still couldn't fully cover bills until I got a raise which kicked in finally in March. I took on two extra jobs the last few months to try and take care of the debt I accrued last year trying to survive (and taking care of family members; I have been partially supporting a couple of them for the last 2-ish years).

I've put off taking my computer in to be fixed as long as possible. At first it was because until this office job my computer was my income, and I literally couldn't afford to have it out of commission for even a few days. Later it was because I simply did not have the money - my credit card was maxed out, etc - but it's been over a year and I can't see big chunks of the screen, and the battery is doing the equivalent of hacking up blood like a Victorian heroine about to die of consumption.

It's going to cost me $800 to get it fixed, and that's where this post comes in. I have a Ko-fi, and if anyone has anything to spare to help, that would be so deeply appreciated.

I know there is so much going on in the world and people who need financial assistance so much more than I do. Nobody owes me anything, and I feel terrible for even asking. But I've been informed there's no harm in asking, and so here I am.

Thank you for reading this long post, and my (as usual) long winded explanation. Any little bit helps, as does reblogging. I apologize for taking your time sharing this, and I hope everyone is staying safe and taking care of themselves.

Ko-fi

I also have a Patreon that's been on hiatus and I'll be returning to shortly.

[silenzahra]

Soooo it's the 20th at my end, which means...

... It's a certain fic's first anniversary 👀🎉

And to celebrate it... it's coming back to Tumblr tomorrow 😁🥳

[kurthummeldeservesbetter]

[star-lights-up]

If the first class characters were in the office

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

🫀and ♟️?

Questions from here:

Fair warning: Lots of Lore dumping is about to take place /A long read... (but for those of you who want a quick read, you can just skim to the picture/image sections which will give a quick summary of what is being explained.) Have a great day!~

Lady Celestine was actually never supposed to be Merlyn... She was originally going to be the "Lady of the Lake... Nimue"

If you see in the earlier drafts I tried to hang on to the whole blacksmith idea/ and the creator of the scared items but then I just changed it to alchemist cause it was just I solidified her role as Merlyn~

She was going to be the soul inside the Galaxia, but she lost all her memories because she was the first to rebel against the ancients and withheld her creations as an act of protest towards them and the other Heroes of Yore... And was punished as a result, but before she was permanently sealed she performed her last act of defiance and scattered them about the galaxy.

(Via. Galaxia imprisonment )

While Sir Uther & Sir Icarus were supposed to fill the bigger roles of how the galaxy became a wasteland, she was written to be the only truly "Good hero of Yore."

Lady Celestine as Lady of the Lake:

I couldn't grasp what to do with her... She definitely had a more stern personality to fit Galaxia, but I just couldn't get on board with her character. The best way to say it is I think I made her "too perfect" (or the girl bossed her too much... I was reading Remarried Empress at the time, so basically, she had Navier's personality.)

Seemly cold & calculating but has a heart of gold underneath is all merely misunderstood. Very nonsense struggles with connecting Normally methodical and is always composed but has a sarcastic tic to her if you rile her up enough...

She was still an owl lady, but it was a reference to the Athena Goddess of Wisdom in Greek Mythology. (Owls often being associated with her and being her symbolic creature.)

I much as I loved the arctype (Navier's personality.)I wasn't in love with her character...

She had nothing really attaching me to her... it just felt like she was there to fill a slot as another hero of Yore she had nothing endearing about her... I didn't know what to do with her...But I didn't want to throw her away (I loved her design & color scheme).

That is until I ran into another problem...

For those who don't know in the original draft, Srir Arthur was supposed to be the villain in the series. (or the surprise villain so to speak~) However, once the rewrite happened and created Sir Uther in the au...all his evil went into him.

Especially once I changed his relationship with Meta Knight as his father figure and became the one who saved him from Sir Uther. But despite all my mind just kept seeing that man as a villain~

But then it occurred while creating this post (Link here ) ... Wait a second (*me taking a long good look, at Sir Arthur in the narrative*) WHY ARE YOU GOOD? I needed a reason why Arthur was good in the KBASW.

I wrote him too naturally accepting he just seemed too suspicious... plus... And besides with such a corrupt system in the GSA (the one created by the Ancients & Uther), how could one good egg exist...

So in a very "Meta" way (pun intended), not only was I trying to find a motivation for him to be good that convincing in the narrative... I was also trying to convince myself...

Perhaps if it was another character, it'd be enough, but... The Sir Arthur from the first draft kept creeping in my mind... (it's so hard to let go of your first ideas...)

Then the answer came to me... who (in Arthurian) was Arthur's mentor and confidant, and his compass in guiding him to become king...Merlin. I had a Sir Uther... why not have a Merlin! (Plus, in the show Merlin 2008: Arthur started out as a little jerk ward and only became a better person through Merlin's influence!)

Wait a moment... don't I have a character design on the back burner.

So, I fully committed to changing her role as the Merlyn of the KBASW... I was able to get a better feel for who she was in the story. This resulted in the current design & personality she has now...

Basically, I pulled both the Disney & TV versions and took my favorite aspect of both of them which resulted in the vigilante persona of "Merlyn" was actually a nod to the TV series Merlin's old man persona Dragoon...I did want to make a few changes to really make her more than just a counterpart to Merlin. (I think that's why I got so stuck on her the first time when she originally was the Lady of the Lake...)

So her future vision would always be the main part of her character. Though I made it the reason why she was such an empathic person. Not only seeing the future, but she can feel it too:~

To go along with the whole guide theme, I made it a part of her title as a Hero of Yore~. Celestine, the "Navigator of the Constellation." The four-pointed Star Crystal refers to the "North Star," the closest star to the celestial pole, the main compassing star to signal north... it was used to guide people home~. (The moral compass)

Due to her ability, she gets overly involved in situations and emotions. Since she has all these terrible visions, she feels responsible for them. Which results in her being overly critical of herself when things go wrong and lacking self-care. Despite hating her abilities, she is overly reliant on them...

Overall she's a smart, witty, scatterbrained, down-to-earth, well-meaning goofball with a sassy edge...

I was finally able to give Celestine the soul that she needed. And how did they become a couple, you may ask? When writing her her story was so entirely laced with Arthur (because of Arthurian legend) that their chemistry was undeniable...(Also I shipped Merthur in the TV series, so once I saw an opening I took it)

And she since was supposed to be Arthur's person. I used complementary colors to connect the both of them together. Adding orange & gold to her blues & yellow...

And so with that all said Sir Arthur became

The First Redeemed Villian of KBASW~

Redeeming the former baddies so they can use their skills and talents for the forces of good through kindness (Kirby). Celestine is basically the first one to do so... This did so much for the plot.

Sir Arthur: If someone like me could be given a chance and be changed for the better... Then so can this lot (Referening to Star Allies)

Arthur can naturally, relate to Kirby's menagerie of former villains who wanted to improve and be reformed. It fixed the problem of his niceness/goodness coming off as disingenuous (when I first was writing). There's a motive and reason behind them... Celestine. She showed Sir Arthur that there was a better way, a smarter way, a kinder way... It's her influence & example that inspired him to be a better man... a good man.

That's how Arthur gained the empathy & courage to stand up to Sir Uther and injustice when he was about to execute baby MK. It also enriches Meta's relationship with Sir Arthur... The man was barely holding on, and Meta gave him a reason to live.

Due to the Ancient cursing & erasing Celestine from existence, she was, he could not even speak her name. But Arthur was able to walk around this by speaking about that funny whimsical rouge that he was never able to catch "Merlyn." The stories always made Meta laugh; however, he could never understand why Sir Arthur would speak of this failure so fondly.

He deeply blames himself for not being able Celestine. Everything that happened to her was out of his control... This is why Arthur wants to create a better world, a place where Meta & Celestine would've been accepted.

Not only that, but he has this fear of being alone left. This is why he made the safest route for Meta Knight (to be one of the holy knights to keep him safe...), but wasn't the right path for him which (Leads to "Birth of Lone Swordsman...") and misunderstands. This makes it all the more heartbreaking to Arthur that Meta Knight thinks he doesn't truly love & care for all of him... when he does </3.

(Don't worry) He learns his lesson, and they make up (early on during Falsapr getting punished for the Fisher King incident, spontaneously meeting up when they're both saving Falspar...) It wasn't a proper talk and it was mostly Arthur and Meta apologizing because they missed each other.

MK only understands Sir Arthur after the war (& the Knightmare's End Saga). And goes to apologize to him again during the Kirby & Crystal Shard (I need a reason why the Meta wasn't there during the game... perfect excuse...)

Also presents a reason why Sir Arthur allows Meta Knight & Kirby to stay in Dreamland. "You deserve a chance to find yourself after this war... that man (Uther) can no longer have a hold on us... You have nothing to prove, you're free now... but if you need anything I will always be here waiting, just visit when you can okay?"

He learns his lesson, too, allowing him to leave & stay as he pleases... and the door was always open for him & Kirby the gang!~

(and someone gets rather jealous of this bias.... *cough* Dragato)

And of course, they do visit often (the plot demands it)... This leads MK to re-establish closeness with his mentor (learning from his own time with Kirby). Sir Arthur was trying his best too & he isn't perfect... he's not invincible... Wait what's happening to him...Why is he moving slower... His protector who seemed so unshakable...his father-... Is he getting weaker?

The early reconciliation is to make way for the true conflict: Meta realizes that his father figure is growing older & weaker. But why (*cough* Trip to Underworld *cough *the deal *)... like I said the man did not leave for free, a price had to be paid... (Did I have these two rekindle their wholesome father-son relationship only to have something tragic happen to the father... yes!)

There's such an emotional reason why Meta Knight has to become the leader of GSA. He's not only continuing Arthur's legacy but also Celestine's legacy. With the way Arthur raised him, he was able to instill the beliefs of her as Merlyn... And I also:

In the Kirby game series, Meta Knight always offers a sword to Kirby. It comes into play with Arthur's story. This act was done with Arthur & Celestine, however, not for the sake of due... for a very different reason... And this action & courtesy is passed down. (There's a hidden special meaning behind it... SWORD & THE STONE REFERENCE)

And so, making Celestine Merlyn was the best decision I ever made!

Celarthur/Merthur

Really, I wanted to engineer a love story that complemented the series as a whole... I was able to write Arthur as a fuller character as well as give an emotional core to him. And Celestine became a fleshed-out three-dimensional character and found his place in the narrative.

I KID YOU NOT THESE TWO SAVED EACH OTHER'S CHARACTER WITHIN AND OUT OF THE STORY! I LOVE THESE GOOBERS WITH ALL MY HEART!

@kirbyoctournament

Fun Fact:

Guys I kid you not she was so close to being named "Celestia..."But then I kept associating the name with My Little Pony~ (hardcore Brony back in the day) So she became Celestine...

~

@ceoofmetagala I got so excited when I got your ask (♟️it was the question I really wanted to get), and the fact that you were the one who asked made me so happy... I JUST HAD TO GO ALL OUT ON THIS POST~ And then I think I got carried away and ended up making it too long!~

I know you wanted this was just a questions 🫀 &♟️ on them:

♟️: When did you make your oc?

But it ended up being snowballed into the trial & error of creating Celty and how she wound up as the final version of herself.

🫀 : is there anything your oc and canon characters don’t like about each other?

I promise I'll get into this 🫀 A lot of people asked this. I'll get to the one soon... I wanted to do something extra special for this one... comic maybe~ (this was the one where I hinted jokingly that everyone wanted Arthur to get the couch~)

I hope this is enough & that you like it!

[ohmigoshiloveu]

Okay so like. I still haven't managed to get myself to finish episode 9, so I don't fully know how Theo's glow up finishes, but regardless I fucking love relistening to Emizel's section of episode 1 and like. Fuck man Theo does a lot of growing. Like he's a little bit pathetic at the beginning of the series. He's so, so brave during the alleyway fight, but he sounds shaky and scared and like a sopping wet pathetic baby the entire time. Charlie specifically describes him as not very alert, not a great fighter, and gives him this little moment where it takes him a second to manage to crush a soda can. He botches the check to beat Emizel in Smash Bros so there's a chance he sucks at the related skills (dexterity and computers I think?), but also after he loses Charlie specifically has him sound super frustrated and conclude that he should've 'stayed in his lane'. When Emizel says 'We'll do what we do best,' and Theo immediately responds with 'drink soda?' so fast that the other players notice it. Charlie might've had that as a predetermined character thing. Theo drinks soda. There's not much else to him.

Which creates this interesting dynamic between him and Emizel, because Emizel is so much better at him at all of these skills that the people around them (a FUCKING GANG) value. Emizel's perceptive, and agile, and strong, and a great fucking fighter irl and in videogames AND he always sounds badass. He's the top dog, the apex predator in their social circle. And I think that colors their relationship a lot? Like Theo has to look up to Emizel. I bet that Theo's looked up to Emizel since they first met, maybe Emizel came crashing into his life doing something epic and Theo thought it was the greatest shit ever.

On the flip side, I was getting a few hints of resentment? Hear me out! It's that 'should have just stayed in my lane' line. He's painfully aware how great Emizel is, compared to how much he's (from his perspective!) just a one trick pony. He's here to drink soda and say funny things, that's all most people want from him and he fucks up whenever he tries to do anything else!

And later in the segment Theo snarkily brings up a medicine check that Emizel had just fucked up in like this super backhanded, super passive aggressive way. That could be him wanting to rub Emizel's one singular fuck up in his face (especially because Theo was having a Moment about how he feels like people only see him as the soda guy, so any feelings of inadequacy would've been dialed up to eleven, so if there was any time for him to resent Emizel it'd be then), but it could also be that he was frustrated with Emizel being an ass (Emizel had just guessed that Theo's dream was to be a nurse, which was flat out wrong, and that's literally what set up the backhanded comment. Theo was saying something like 'thank fuck you don't wanna be a nurse cuz you sure fucked up with nursing that guy earlier.' It could also be that Emizel literally almost forgot Theo's name. Theo literally gave him the 'th' sound, it might've just been a bit Charlie was doing or it could've been Theo being AWARE that Emizel almost forgot his name. Or! It could be that in this moment, where Theo was confiding in Emizel about feeling like being the soda guy was all anyone ever saw in him, Emizel said something to the affect of 'well yeah Soda's the fun one.' Emizel doesn't think before he speaks and literally has a 1 in empathy. Just because he loves Theo doesn't mean he's not gonna blunder into being a complete and utter asshole to him. I'd hazard to say Emizel accidentally being an ass to people he cares about is a running theme).

But also all of that might come down to Charlie still getting the character down. Or, because I've theorized before that Theo might not've been supposed to survive the first Gabriel fight, the little hints of bitterness might've been intentional (even if they were completely improvved and Charlie didn't mean to add that to Theo's character) because Charlie was trying to shove as much character into this character before he was gone, but once it became clear that Theo was going to stick around longer he dropped it. As far as I remember, that bitterness is completely gone in all later interactions we see with Theo. OR! It could be that the bitterness drops because they've both got bigger fish to fry from that point onward, what with Theo's Shilo Incident TM, Emizel's vampirism, the Weylin twins. He doesn't have time to be bitter, he's too busy worrying about losing a cornerstone of his identity or helping his best friend adjust to being a fucking vampire now. And then after he learns to live without soda that basically negates his feelings of inadequacy- like, getting over the idea that he's nothing if he's not the soda guy would be required for him to give up on being the soda guy. And then Emizel would drift back into JUST being a guy to aspire to instead of also being a reminder of Theo's short comings, and then drift even further down into being 'guy who is actually going through it and has to overcome his own demons just like I had to overcome mine'. Like, I think we got to watch Theo slowly start to take Emizel off this pedestal in real time (he still definitely thinks Emizel's hot shit tho. Emizel's his boy, after all.)

Regardless, even if Theo did resent Emizel a little in the beginning, it's so fucking clearly overshadowed by how much he fucking loved him. And like, how could he not? Imagine you're Theo, critically low self esteem, and the literal coolest guy you know fucking LOVES you. Like, Emizel keeps consistently going out of his way to pull Theo up to his level and to treat him as an equal (mostly. Sometimes protectiveness bleeds through, like in his hypothetical fang scenario in ep 1 where he predicts there being five Fangs to fight and he says he can take three and Theo can take two (which in itself is still incredibly kind to Theo. Like, boy, you thought Theo was gonna be able to take out two whole guys? Hell no.) But that could also be chalked up to Emizel just being a cocky ass who wants to show off). Like dude, c'mon. Emizel might be a reminder of everything that Theo's not, but he's also probably Theo's biggest cheerleader. He wholeheartedly thought he was being supportive when he said he thought Theo'd make a great nurse! In all seriousness, though, even if it ultimately discourages him, Theo playing that Smash game against Emizel was at least a little bit of proof of him decidedly not 'staying in his lane,' and Emizel seems to inspire that! Later in that segment he challenges Theo to see which of them can break one of the Fangs kneecaps first! I bet Emizel challenged him to stupid competitions a lot, and that got Theo fired up and competitive in return!

And even when Emizel's not building Theo up, he's still giving Theo special attention, or readily receiving any attention Theo gives him. If nothing else, even at his lowest points that might've made Theo feel cool by association.

On Emizel's part, I think he's like, possibly completely oblivious to any turmoil Theo's going through? Like he thinks Theo's the shit and genuinely sees him as an equal. I'm 99% sure that Theo being his right hand man happened because Theo would've put himself into the role (in episode one before he gets all of his character development he's pretty much always looking to Emizel for what to do, and still more or less does whatever he says up to where I'm at in the series, with refusing to leave the alleyway being the only exception I remember). I think if Theo'd had higher self esteem or been less eager to defer to Emizel, Emizel would've happily gone about his business slotting Theo into more of a partner role. He tells Theo to run from that alleyway because Theo'd taken a fucking devastating hit and Emizel was sure he could handle himself, not because he knows Theo sucks at fighting. He tries to turn Theo into a cool vampire. He convinces Shilo that Theo'll be a valuable asset to raiding the Weylin warehouse and they take Theo with them instead of having him stay behind with the car like Grefgore, despite Theo being the one who actually knows how to drive. He tells Theo about being a vampire even though he keeps it a secret from everyone else, confides in Theo that 'yeah he might absolutely be susceptible to going into a frenzy like Shilo did.'

When you get down to it, Emizel pretty much tells Theo everything he would think is relevant, with two notable exceptions. Maybe three if you count him not telling Theo he has nine lives like a cat but tbh I think he might've just forgot. Or maybe he gets to it later, or maybe he did tell him and I forgot! idk man! But! Those other two things. First off, he like. Pointedly does not tell Theo that he's a prince. Like when they were doing the recap on the way to the Weylin warehouse, there's like. Charlie gives Condi an opening to say it, a little 'is there anything else?' and Emizel just. Doesn't. And the second one is that (at least where I'm at) Emizel never comes clean about bloodbonding Theo. Maybe it just hasn't come up yet, but still. It fits a pattern of Emizel not wanting to admit something that makes him, like, ABOVE Theo somehow. He sees Theo as an equal, and a precious one at that, he doesn't want things to get weird between them because he's literal royalty, and he doesn't want Theo's life to literally revolve around him like it would under a level three blood bond- and doesn't want to admit that he even considered it, even if he did it without really understanding what it was.

And Emizel backing off from ghoulifying Theo after Arthur explains what it actually entails kinda leads into a far more headcanon-y relationship analysis thing so um. Feel free to skip the next paragraph.

So! Like. Why the fuck was Emizel so attached to Theo being Soda. Like he gets over it decently quick, cuz that's his buddy and it's what Theo wants, so like. Whatever. But like, if I'm right about Theo always looking up to Emizel from the moment they met, there might've been some wiggle room between when they first became friends and when Theo became Soda. And like, before Theo became Soda, being Emizel's buddy would probably be the only thing he'd feel he had going for him? Which would've made it even harder for Emizel to get them both on equal footing, and I think that's just... really unappealing to him. Like! Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Emizel loves having people kiss up to him and respect him and blah blah blah, I just think Theo being his boy and Emizel treating him like a partner go hand in hand. Either they weren't best friends yet or Emizel was just. Kind of uncomfortable and eager to push Theo into growing into something more than a hypeman. And then the soda incident occurs, and it gives Theo SOMETHING to define himself by, something people like him and know him for that's got nothing to do with Emizel, and maybe the initial soda incident was bad, but having that sense of identity and falling into what kind've feels like a class clown kinda role might've helped get Theo over his self esteem issues long enough for Emizel to go 'oh you're actually super cool. sweet.' and then blah blah blah they get super close like they are in canon. And then whenever Theo seems like he's backsliding into what he was before the soda incident, Emizel tries to course correct not because he doesn't think Theo's any fun without soda, but because he's made the mental connection that Soda without soda turns into less of a best friend and more of a follower, which as stated before he probably really doesn't want from Theo specifically. but idk. pure conjecture here.

Anyways, above all else, Theo's important to Emizel. I really, really like the idea that Theo was supposed to be like a brother to him (which. Again pointing at my 'Theo was supposed to die in episode 1' theory, can you IMAGINE the angst Emizel could've had about that? Lose one brother and then someone else claiming to be your brother shows up? It would've felt like some hellish, not-worth-it trade. Like a betrayal, like accepting Shilo might mean replacing Theo, and how could he ever?)

And Emizel's important to Theo! But unlike Emizel (who I'm 99% sure is gonna have some kinda moment with Theo but I genuinely cannot see him loving Theo in any other way than the way he does now), Theo has the bonus of having his view of Emizel have a clear trajectory to evolve over the course of the campaign. Like I said, he seems to be getting more confidence in himself and like, not gonna get into the stuff I've had spoiled beyond episode 9 but it seems like Theo's gonna get a lot more comfortable being a proper leader and not just a number two. He's gonna have an easier time seeing Emizel as an equal, and I think that's fucking awesome!

I could be completely off base, but if I never watch another episode then I'll never be proven wrong. So. Ya know.

[angeru-hatake]

Yup, finally done with the first story for this couple. Hope you all like it! Please leave me your thoughts or opinions about it or about SCJW in general~