#they're incredibly similar i love them both lmao

[allebooklover]

So as someone who also recognizes my own family dynamics in the Todoroki family storyline (not the same or as bad, but man, it's probably the first time ever I could see parts of my past in a storyline so clearly) and heavily relates to Touya the most out of the Todoroki's, to me, the message about Touya is along the lines of, 'your anger and grief is understandable and acceptable to feel, but do not let your rage turn you into the worst version of yourself', aka self destructive/into someone that continues the cycle of abuse. But it's also about how not reaching out to others for support and healing can lead to your own downfall.

Which probably makes Touya a cautionary tale? I think.

Spoilers below the cut. Also warning: I could be projecting stuff onto the Todoroki family storyline so take it with a grain of salt.

Anger and grief being understandable and acceptable emotions to feel when it comes to being abused:

Touya is shown being angry and upset over the abuse and neglect his parents showed him throughout his childhood, and of having the abuse gone unacknowledged despite screaming it from the rooftops. This is shown to be an understandable and acceptable emotion to feel - anger towards the person who hurt you is natural and it's fine to feel it. That it should have been acknowledged instead of ignored, and that ignoring such a thing leads to tragedy.

But it also shows that you have to be careful where you redirect the rage (eg: don't hit babies just because you feel like they've replaced you), so that it doesn't hurt people who had nothing to do with the circumstances that had caused you pain, like posted above.

Turning into the worst version of yourself:

Touya has been shown hurting people who were uninvolved in his trauma (innocents), or those who have also been hurt by that same abuser (his brothers), in his quest for revenge. He nearly caused the death of Natsuo, who loved Toya and who was neglected just like he was, because he didn't care about hurting someone he loved so long as it meant hurting Endeavor.

And in the scene where Dabi exposes Endeavor - its cathartic because it exposes the abuse that happened to him for everyone to see and gets Dabi some much needed acknowledgement and sympathy for what happened to him, but its also an example of Dabi lashing out at innocents in rage because:

Dabi is using his trauma as an excuse to hurt others. He's not apologising to the people he hurt - he's going 'you can't get angry at me for hurting you because I'm an abuse victim', because if people feel sympathy for him, they're less likely to be angry at him for hurting them. And he's also going 'don't get pissed at me for burning you and your loved ones, get pissed at that guy for making me angry enough to burn you instead', so that those who aren't tricked by the first will redirect their anger at his abuser instead.

he's also aiming to hurt Shoto, whom he resents, by exposing Shoto's abuse to an entire world without Shoto's consent. Just like Touya, Shoto was also an abuse victim of Endeavor, who was working through what happened to him. Shoto only wanted two people (Midoriya and later on Bakugo) to know what he went through while he processed it and tried to figure out how to heal from it. When Dabi exposes Shoto's story to the public, Shoto's actively torn away from his support system - he has to distance himself from his friends to prevent them from getting caught up in public ire. It's only at UA dorms away from public perception that he can maintain that connection instead of keeping his distance. Dabi didn't actually have to share the abuse Shoto went through. What happened to Dabi was horrifying and it would've been more than enough to condemn Endeavor. But Dabi shared it anyway because he was angry at Shoto for being their dad's favorite and wanted to use it to hurt both him and Endeavor.

Toya was right to do that expose about Endeavor and the abuse he suffered under his father. He was wrong to use it as a way to escape culpability for his crimes and for using the abuse Shoto went through as a weapon to hurt Endeavor - just as how Endeavor tried to use Shoto's success as a weapon to surpass All Might. By not giving a shit about who he hurts and uses in order to reach his goal, Touya has effectively become like his abuser Endeavor, who also did not give a shit about who he hurt and used in order to reach his goal.

Also his murder suicide attempt. Dude never intended to continue living. Didn't just intend to take Endeavor out, he intended to take out everyone else - civilians, other villains including the LoV, so on, because he didn't see a point in living after achieving his goal and would much rather die trying to achieve it. Pretty karmic that he failed that and made to stay alive, so he is now forced to think of his future after failing in his goals, and about all the damage he's done onto his body for the sake of his revenge.

Which leads to the other bit: accountability

BNHA is a story about compassion and accountability - show compassion to those who need it, while holding them accountable for the wrongs that they've committed. Dabi commits multiple crimes (murder etc) and has hurt many people in his pursuit of revenge - big ones being the majority of his family. They've hurt him, yes, and he's hurt them too. He brought his own body to the brink of death because he wasn't planning on living even if he won. Now he's got to deal with the damage he dealt his own body too. All of that has consequences - which results in medical jail.

Even if his circumstances were understandable, he's still a mass murderer criminal. He's still hurt people. Just because he was hurt doesn't give him the right to hurt others; he needs to be held accountable for that.

But he does get his goal - acknowledgement from his family that they've done wrong by him. understanding that he mattered to them, because they'd been effected by his death and came together for his sake when he planned to die. That most of them plan to stick around after too, so that they can talk things out.

And from that, understanding that his brother Shoto wasn't at fault for anything. His apology to Shoto meant everything to me and is also a start of him regretting something he did instead of blaming it on Endeavor or someone else - he acknowledges he did something wrong and from there, atonement for his crimes is possible.

(this probably isn't comforting but Toya does have a doctor that can advocate for him, if that helps. He's jailed and physically stuck because that's the consequences for every crime he's done, yeah, but he's not alone. He's got people watching out for him and making sure he's physically alright. He won't be placed in his previous situation again.

But also like. Someone acknowledging long dormant pain and proving that they're willing to take the steps to prove they'll change, with the rest of the family signing up for it, after you literally burnt yourself out trying to get that, even though your body is now a crisp and you've done really horrible stuff that did make people cut ties with you? heck yeah that's beautiful. That was what I dreamed for, back when I was an angry, self destructive kid.)

How this relates to Endeavor's atonement arc:

Endeavor, who started the series as an abusive piece of shit that thought of nobody but himself, is shown being able to have a life after atonement. He loses his life's goal, his career, most of his family, and is doomed to be a negative footnote in history if he's even included at all. also physical damage. And he's never going to be able to make up for everything he's done, but he does have people supporting him for his decision to change for the better.

If an abuser that drove his wife to insanity can work to atone and still have a life in the process of becoming a better person, so can a mass murderer that nearly killed his entire family in a self destructive attempt to find validation and love.

And comes back to - reaching out to others for support.

Toya had multiple opportunities to reach out to others before the Finale. He escaped AFO and got back home. He could have informed the others that he survived his initial burning. He believes that they didn't miss him - but they did. Natsuo mourned him and hated Endeavor for Toya's death; part of Fuyumi's decision to keep her family together is implied to be because she didn't want to lose another family member like she did Toya and wants to reestablish a relationship with him once she knew he was alive. They, Natsuo especially, would have been ecstatic and welcomed Toya back with open arms if they'd learned he was alive back then, or any time within the six years between his death and the start of the story, before he established himself as a supervillain.

Heck, even before he died, they wanted to connect with him as siblings. It's clear that they loved him, both as adults and as children. If he'd reached back and accepted that love instead of rejecting it in pursuit of getting his dad's love, it's possible he would have gotten the validation he needed.

NGL i think the best example of what I'm trying to get at is with Natsuo - Toya and Natsuo were closest to each other as kids before Toya's death, and both were fellow victims of neglect. Natsuo mourned for him and would've been super happy if Toya had revealed himself as alive. But Dabi burnt that bridge by going through with a plan that nearly killed Natsuo, hurt the rest of his family, and becoming a supervillain that murdered people and attempted to kill the rest of his family and other innocent civillians that weren't involved in their abuse, which is why Natsuo cuts him off alongside Endeavor at the end of the manga. This was a connection he could've had but didn't because he was too focused on his goal.

'But his family didn't acknowledge the abuse and added onto the pain caused by a household that has normalized abuse, so reaching out to them is a zero sum game' - true. Pretty realistic not to use them as support, tbh. But then:

what about the LoV?

This is after Dabi's love for his dad became hate, and he cut ties with his family. He could have found other people to validate and support him the way his family didn't, but we don't see any mention of such in the six years between him deciding to become Dabi and joining the LoV. Even as the LoV became a more tight knit friend group that would ride and die for each other, Dabi keeps himself at arms length - he actively avoids joining in on the group bonding exercise attacks on Gigantomachia and only appears when they need him for fights, he goes recruitment hunting on his own. He also doesn't share much about himself too - Hawks was part of the group and didn't know much past his name. Twice was a talker, so he would've spilled the beans - but he didn't know much either, implying that even in the final arcs, Dabi kept to himself as much as possible. He didn't reach out to rely on them, even though they would have accepted him if he did.

He does care for them, to be clear. It's just that he cares about getting revenge more than he does them. We can see this most clearly with Twice vs Hawks. Its implied he could have intervened earlier if he disregarded getting footage of the battle, but he didn't intervene until he got what he wanted, which resulted in Twice's death. And even that didn't matter as much as his revenge on his dad, but if he just reached out to them as they did to him, it's possible he could have found the validation he was looking for.

What I took away from this:

So it's a warning, yeah, but it's not just a warning that someone should intervene before it got to the point of no return, or that destroying oneself to reach an unobtainable goal is the wrong way to go about things.

It's a warning to reach out to others, and let them be there for you and vice versa. It doesn't have to be family if your family was shit, but it could be friends who are more likely to understand your pain.

Also to not be consumed by your own pain to the point that you ignore and add to the pain of others, because being hurt doesn't give you the right to hurt others. To sacrifice everything of yourself in pursuit of a goal will only lead to a lonely existence, regrets, and your own destruction.

It's a very tough lesson to learn. But I'm glad I did, before it was too late.

Other stuff:

Anon. I'm sorry about your dad. I'm sorry that you feel trapped, and I wish you good luck and well wishes at getting away from them. It sucks that the story's ending didn't work out for you. Your emotions are valid - you don't need to agree or disagree with anything I wrote in this post, I just wrote it because I had a different theory than what was provided.

Also bears repeating - its entirely possible i'm projecting because of how hard I relate to Toya's emotions and the Todoroki family storyline backstory. I'm trying very hard to be unbiased but that doesn't mean I succeeded, so like. grain of salt on everything.

I'm really glad that a lot of Japanese fans are voicing their discomfort with how the manga ended, especially the Todoroki plotline.

The Todoroki plotline really helped me realize that my dad is abusive. I've definitely not had it as bad as the Todofam but it's that domineering, "I'm right and I know what's best", "you're not doing what I/being how I want you to be because you want to upset me" type of thing.

Seeing Dabi expose Endeavors private life to the world was exhilarating!!! You reap what you sew!! Beautiful!

I'm glad Dabi didn't "technically" die but as someone who lives with their parents, idk, the ending of him still being "trapped" killed me and made me feel like maybe I'll never be free.

Sorry if this was ranty and all over the place btw!!

I'm sorry about your dad!

I think what remains still a decent message about the Todofam plot that there are different responses to abuse and victims are valid, their feelings and reactions are valid - with the obvious line of murder and turning that anger to kill or even just hurt people who have nothing to do with it is not ok.

I think the narrative also remains painfully honest that there are no winners in toxic / abusive families - everyone loses and has only the choice to be stuck in the trauma and grief or try to claw their way out somehow.

It also provides some models / coping strategies:

Natsuo who leaves them to start a family of his own,

Fuyumi who struggles for a while to get everyone together, but then resigns and keeps the bonds she can in whatever way she can, but maybe now can start to move on and build a life for herself.

Shouto who makes openings to his parents and watches their actions, who works hard to break the cycle of violence, but in the end bets on his friends / found family to find emotional support and safety as he distances himself finally

And well, Touya - whose anger and holding Endeavor responsible is an important part of the narrative, but also serves as a warning - because while he achieves his goal of destroying Endeavor, he also destroys himself in the process, leaving the painful "what if" questions and the grief of fulfilling relationships he could have sought instead.

I think the story in the end says that for the Natsuos, Fuyumis and Shoutos of this world, there is a way out even if difficult and painful. But for the Touyas of this world, the story in the end doesn't offer much more than to say "it could have been different if your abuser only stopped abusing you at some point" or if someone truly heroic intervened earlier.

And that's not a really encouraging answer.

[kalpeavaris]

Other than the AU gang do you have any murder drones ocs?

Oh, I am SO glad you asked anon! I've been waiting to spam my profile with my OCs but with my AU project going off lately I was hesitant if people would even be interested in original characters or even other stories that don't primarily involve the canon characters. :D

So let me hit you with the giant wall of text that is all this stowed concept art & story I have lying around waiting to finally be released (especially written, lol) Below the cut is all the information to my AU/own story set after the Absolute Solvers defeat in 3071.

Lemme introduce you to my personal project:

"Murder Drones: Echo"

“It takes a demon to kill an angel.”

Let's start with the most important stuff, the characters! This line-up is relatively fresh but it still misses 1-2 characters (especially SD-K) which I haven't finished designing yet. A little bit of info is written below the characters, buuut to add more context Imma just speedrun through them lol

Alot of these characters can be found on TOYHOUSE! (requires you to be logged in, sorry :c)

Serial Designation Y - Trans-masc host (build intended to be female presenting, doesn't love that though. He identifies with the male type much more and it shows). He's the secondary host to ECHO, the main antagonist of the story and has 6 wings (not feathered, they're shaped from membrane and take the shape of feathered wings).

Serial Designation D - A character that is also set on appearing in my MD AUs (like Synemy) - and she has appeared in the Synemy fanfiction before as a flashback character that worked with Cyn! She's a former maid and was rebuilt as Disassembly Drone by the Solver itself. As Dina (her true name) had feelings for Cyn she followed the Solver thanks to it using Cyns body as host. She's neither a good nor bad person in the story but rather a neutral force that just wants to be left alone.

Serial Designation X - A Communication Disassembly Drone that worked in a squad with K & T. She's fairly quiet and rarely talks and if she does, it's mainly to bring up good points. Or to insult someone because they're annoying, lmao. She wears glasses as she misses the main eyes DDs have (the yellow lights on the headband) - she's incredibly short sighted and therefore rarely ever involves herself in aerial fights. She uses close-combat techniques as she used to be a ring fighter before being rebuild.

Serial Designation T - The navigator of the 3-people-squad with X & K. He LOVES 1980s music and salvages places online & IRL for music and CDs. He's not above rick-rolling people. B) He met Kira in 3050s where his programming to kill Solver Hosts was overwritten by the Solver, causing him to become neutral towards her. One thing led to another and they had a child. Whoops! (they're madly in love)

You can also find more stuff on him (and Kira!) on their shared Pinterest Profile B)

Evie (also spelled "Eve") - Ts & Kiras daughter. Her body was constructed to be a hybrid of both a Worker Drone & a Disassembly Drone. She's the perfect middle ground of her parents (not only regarding her height). Her drive to kill Workers is not really present, though she can be very "feral" if she's starving. Still needs Oil to survive and cannot go into the sun - doesn't have nanite acids, but instead a stinger. T made sure not to give her acid. He's worried she'll hurt herself with it.

Kira ("ZWEI") - Kira is one of the Drones that was held at the Cabin Fever Labs similar to Nori and Yeva. She was number 24 (yes ik there's a name for that number in the show but since those names are names from workers on the MD staff team they're more easter eggs and less canon ig) and as a communication drone, her Solver gave her differing powers. She escaped from the labs in the mid 3050s after a botched patch and found herself an Outpost to reside in until she met T. Kiras antennas were able to pick up communication between the Solver & the landing pots, making her aware of the upcoming threat. Her existence as com-drone makes it easy for Echo to manipulate her as well as she cannot tune out incoming signals easily.

Motte - Motte is Echos main host (similar to how Cyn was to the Absolute Solver), with the exception that Echo doesn't inhabit her body all the time; only if it needs to speak through her. Motte is completely blind, her visor crached & her left eye replaced by Echos symbol that glows when she's in active possession. Before the possession she was a worker drone in Outpost 4 and quite a friendly individual. Ever since being possessed Motte is extremely paranoid, doesn't speak (semi-voluntarily, since she fears hearing her voice thinking it might be Echo). She's close with Y due to them sharing the same fate as hosts and he's the only person she allows around her. She's not evil or even slightly motivated to follow Echos commands, she's simply being used against her will (dw, she'll get her comfort to the hurt).

ECHO - main villain of the whole thing. Echo itself is a mutated line of code that seperated itself from the Absolute Solver code back in the Cabin Fever Labs when the humans experiemented with it. It mainly affects communication drones and was first seen within Kira, although it was patched from her and moved onto Motte for it's main host. It's a true neutral entity in the beginning, not differencing good from bad or even having slightly grey area understanding. It does *does*. In the evolution of the story Echo gains a pretty dangerous god complex, seeking out power beyond understanding. Other than the Solver it doesn't wish to satisfy hunger or seek out matter to consume, instead, it wants to experience true ascencion - human emotions and more. It's highly motivated by it's drive to know things, being inspired by human religion (especially christianity) with it's true form being a humongus Ophanim inspired burning wheel that is formed from biological matter, eyes and light.

Echo assumes a more "drone-like" appearance when not needing it's massive true form. It tries to imitate the Workers and well... fails, since it doesn't really look like any normal Worker Drone. It really loves halo symbolism which also results in it's powers and main emblem/symbol being a halo-like structure that manifests in it's victims eye. For that it usually destroys the eye in place. Echo is very capable, though not immortal. Like the Solver there is a way to contain it, but for spoiler reasons I won't share this for now!

(Not shown on this chart but imma share them anyways!)

Serial Designation K - K is one of the squad members that came to Copper-9 with T & X. While T and X slowly started to warm up to Kira and not actively killing the Workers anymore she herself was entirely disconnected from that. K is, to be frank, just fucking through the roof. She enjoys the Solvers task of killing off the life around planets and gladly does so. Stopping just because a Worker "is nice" isn't on her to-do list so she's... well, more or less excluded from the Squad which made her angry. On one hand - understandable, on the other hand she's killing everything she sees, sooo...

She's a minor antagonist in the story and serves as obstacle to go through. Even with the Solver gone K isn't convinced to stop which comes with a price to pay if you actively try to hinder people from finding their loved ones. :X

Alex - Alex is a human soldier from another exoplanet that wasn't yet destroyed by the Solver - the Iron system. He works in the IDF (iron defense force) and when the military on Iron-3 get the message that Solver activity has been spotted again in the Copper System (as well as Echos activity) he and his team is sent to Copper-9 to weed out the reminaing Solver Hosts (and later on Echo Hosts). Alex isn't the biggest fan of Drones but works with Iris to keep their mission afloat.

Iris - Iris is a Drone built to assist in military-grade operations. She's a bit similar to Disassembly Drones (though with differening looks) that is working with Alex' squad in order to destroy Solver Hosts & remnants still alive on Copper-9 to avoid another spread (not being aware that the Solver itself is contained and still alive... oh well... sounds like drama. Hehe.) Her name is an acronym for Intelligent Response and Information System.

So, what's the story? Is there anywhere I can look for stuff?

Well, the story right now is still being written & in draft form. It'll be released on my AO3 when it's presentable!

Basically the story plays after the Solvers defeat in 3071 and spans over a few months. It starts of with a semingly smaller mission of Evie searching for her parents who've gone missing after the Solvers defeat - trying to make sense from the entire situation only to stumble onto something WAY bigger than she (and the people helping her) anticipated in finding.

Will there be canon characters?

Yes! Since the B Plot of the story also revolves around humans trying to kill off the remaining Solver Hosts (and the Solver itself) canon characters will be included too. Obviously the characters from Outpost 3 such as Uzi, N & V primarily.

There will also be canon & fanon character interaction! B)

Anything else I could seek out for this story?

Check out this cool playlist I made for the story! It has edgy songs (woah! who could've thought when it's about MD?!), sad songs! (i love making characters suffer for plot purposes!), cool fight songs (NICE robots smashing each other to bits on the battlefield! B)) and much more (which will be expanded upon in the future hehe)

[akuma-tenshi]

finished closing night!! boy do i have some thoughts. and now that i've gathered them, i'm about to make my autism your problem. spoilers below.

the first part of the event wasn't awful imo, it felt like character building and just helping establish the dynamic. i know some people weren't fond of it but given that i was never really that invested in hullabaloo before this and didn't know every little detail of these characters, it was nice to get some character establishment and figure out how they all are as people. i am also a fan of slowburn character-focused horror, so that may just be a personal taste thing lmao

bryce papenbrook does a good job as mike, even though there are definitely points where he sounds exactly like nagito (namely the scene where he's shouting at margaretha in the foyer). he has a very particular way of speaking / voicing characters that make it immediately clear it's him. however, i do think he fits mike well and he definitely lays off the nagito-ness in the second part.

the rest of the cast was excellent as well. while there was a Choice made with murro's voice (he sounds WAY younger than he's supposed to be, which is off-putting and takes me out every time he speaks), it's very clear everyone knows their characters well and they all do a good job keeping their mannerisms and vocalisations unique and fitting to each role. aside from some awkward lines (which i attribute more to stilted writing than to the va's themselves), the voice acting is absolutely a highlight.

margaretha's trauma with sergi is portrayed very well imo. bear in mind i have not suffered the same abuse as her, so i can't say how accurate or good it is, but it feels like it displays that it was a terrible thing while also being respectful and avoiding being exploitative. the added layer that everyone else (except joker) liked sergi and was unaware of the abuse adds a lot.

in general, i think mike and margaretha are incredibly well-written here. i think ne could've absolutely gone the route of popular fan interpretations and completely demonised margaretha while making mike a perfect angel, and they would've gotten a lot of praise for it. but they stuck to their guns and made them both very flawed yet understandable people, and that just makes everything feel that much more real, at least to me. they're such different people with opposing goals, and their friction really comes through. everyone else is very well done (shoutout to me a couple of hours ago calling joker cute for some godforsaken reason i can't remember) and i love all of their characterisations, but mike and margie really are the standouts here.

i do wish there was a bigger payoff for margaretha using euphoria so frequently. i know it's implied to have been involved in violetta's death, and i appreciate the connection to game 5, but i wish there was a little bit more there. it's not a huge gripe though, so i won't harp on it for long.

the pacing at the start of the second part had me extremely worried; things felt like they were dragging along and being padded out for the sake of being padded out, and i was not having fun with it. fortunately, this issue was remedied about halfway through, and once things got going, i started really enjoying myself. the pacing of the first half of part two is my biggest gripe with this story.

i was noticing a lot of similarities between hullabaloo and fool's gold: hunter forms of popular survivors being announced and used as a major part of marketing for an update to the idv story. with the aforementioned pacing issues, i was really worried that hullabaloo's reveal would shape up to be similar to fg's: a kinda cool cutscene and a lame chase sequence at the very end of a long, boring storyline. however, despite hullabaloo having a much smaller part in this story than fg did in aom, appearing only briefly in the fire at the very end, i still think it's a better incorporation of the character than what they did with norton. better to have it be quick and intimidating than just kinda tedious.

every death in this (aside from joker's) felt very purposeful and well-done. violetta's death was heartbreaking. the change in animation towards the end, followed by the single sound of her machinery giving out after the screen went black, was beautiful, and hey, at least she died happy. margaretha's death pulled at a very specific and very major love i have in storytelling, that being a character choosing to die free rather than live in captivity, and the payoff of all the underwater scenes where she swims towards sergi finally coming through when she chooses to sink away from him had me losing my mind. i genuinely did not expect mike's death to be a straight-up suicide; like i said, i'm not completely caught up on hullabaloo lore, so maybe other people saw this coming, but the fact that he truly could not live with the truth about hullabaloo is such a heartwrenching yet satisfying end to his character. like i said, joker's is the only death that doesn't totally stand out, but i like that they let you put the pieces together yourself.

the chase sequence with joker was unintimidating and a little lame, and honestly it felt somewhat forced, just a way to get his hunter form in there bc they realised "oh shit right this guy's like. a hunter isn't he." i do like that they gave him back his chainsaw though; very nice little callback to the betas.

the animation of the hullabaloo fire was absolutely gorgeous and the ending had me in shambles. for a while afterwards i felt similar to how i felt after finishing end roll: drained and flat but in a good way, like a ton of adrenaline had just released from my body after some intense event.

all in all, i really enjoyed it. i can't say if i like it more than aom, but that may be the frederick bias coming through, so i'm going to choose not to rank them and just say hey. banger event. well worth the hype even with its hiccups and flaws. i always say this, but idv has some genuinely talented people in its writers' room, and i can't wait to see what they come out with next.

[uncomfortably-bowing]

there's so much utena discourse around certain aesthetic signatures of the show (in particular, scenes and shots like the sword pulls, the transformations and outfits, etc.) and, like, surface-level discussions over whether these things are "Actually Beautiful" or "Actually Bad."

and i totally get it, especially with regards to some scenes---like the ways in which people have taken the ending scene of episode 33 and turned into weird pastel-pretty aesthetic boards lmao----but i do feel like a lot of the discussion is over-simplistic, and disconnected from the actual framing and themes of the series

utena and anthy's world is full of beauty. it is also full of horror and pain. there is often no clear delineation between the two, and we are forced (quite generously!) to recognize both sides of this.

the sword pulls oftentimes carry feelings of manipulation, hurt, subservience. anthy summoning the sword drives in the repetitive, obedient actions she is forced to repeat time and time again for others as the rose bride. in the black rose arc, they're violent and terrifying. in the third arc, they're stand-ins of the dysfunctions the characters have with the person drawing them, the ways in which their emotions are being twisted and ignored.

and yet! they're beautiful.

they're incredibly intimate moments, in which the two characters---who, generally speaking, are either emotionally or physically estranged from one another---cradle or hold one another, pull out a culmination of that person's essence, as a heavenly light frames the two of them together. the first time anthy does it to utena, it is out of genuine fear for her, her voice quivering with fear as she tries to do anything to help her! it's love! it's an act of beautiful love!

when pressed on how it felt to have their sword drawn, the duelists are flustered---they can't say it was just painful, because it was more than just painful. the screams of the black rose arc turn into something more quiet, ethereal, pretty---and yet still uneasy, unsettling.

a similar conversation can be had about utena and anthy's outfits. they're symbols of their roles as duelist and rose bride, and for anthy in particular it's an outfit emblematic of her status as a static, never-moving prize to be won. the outfits are as ugly as the entire dueling system, and yet---while recognizing this---the show doesn't stray away from associating the dress and the duels with delightful, beautiful imagery. the rose imagery in general is very beautiful and striking, even at some of the more dark moments!

there is an aesthetically pleasing contrast between anthy's dress and utena's uniform---one that goes back ages in terms of our understandings of gender and social status. why is that beauty there? well, for a lot of reasons! one is definitely making us question what we think of as beautiful, particularly in the contexts of gender roles and society (why did we have that gut impulse to see anthy in that dress as beautiful to begin with?) but, for the sake of this post, i think the most satisfying answer is because horror and beauty are usually intertwined in our actual lives.

so much of the show is dedicated to both finding beauty in horrifying situations and seeing how beautiful things are oftentimes pretty horrifying. anthy and utena's relationship is beautiful, but grows out of abuse, sexism, queerphobia, and hurt.

when utena and anthy dance in front of everyone at the ball, how do we interpret that? well, our first instinct is as a beautiful scene of budding love and care between the two of them; our second instinct (especially after watching the show) is that it's another example of the way in which they've both been boxed into these roles of prince and bride---and all as hundreds of eyes are staring at them. when does the line between gender as choice and performance begin, and when does it become oppressive gender roles? when does anthy's performance as the meek rose bride become her real self? when do the two's relationship become loving, and when do they stop hurting each other? when do the ugly things at ohtori become beautiful, and when do all of the beautiful things become ugly?

and there's not really one point, always, although sometimes there are---and sometimes there's multiple points, and sometimes there was no transformation at all, and sometimes things never stopped oscillating between good and bad, ugly and beautiful, scary and hopeful.

and like, even beyond the really radical ways this impacts the queer and feminist readings of the show, i just think that's also very nice. so much of utena is built on recognizing the beauty in the world. the main characters live in a shitty world while leading shitty lives. and they find beauty in it still.

(i will here also add here at the end that when the show wants to make a very clear definitive statement on one of its aesthetics being basically entirely bad with no beauty behind it, it's very frank in its framing. see: any shot with utena in a dress or her girl's uniform)

[wileys-russo]

i have LOTS of questions so i decided to write them all at once (hope you don’t mind)😭

1. where do they go to their first vacation? i can imagine eli being okay with it but how do ale, alba, mapi and ingrid react? i can imagine alba and mapi being like all calm and like “ahh just let them be young and have fun” and alexia and ingrid all stressed out thinking about everything that could go wrong😭

2. not a question but kind of a question? (and also this is more for @girlgenius1111 but since she is recovering from surgery and you will have free time i decided to write to you) but, I need a fic with fresa is looking after scout. like is this happening when fresa and sol still don’t know each other (and mapi just asks fresa to look after scout for sol)? like when they met while mapi was giving fresa the car tattoo? and is sol still incredibly shy when handing over scout? like when they first met? or are they friends already? or maybe even girlfriends? i NEED to know the tea!!

3. do you know the olive theory? like the one that hates olives and the other that loves them so they take them? (in the end both hate olives) is this applicable to sol and fresa (maybe with other foods)??

4 what is their absolute favorite thing to watch together? and similarly do they show each other some cliché Tv shows in spanish/norwegian? (in my country we have a tv show called family affairs and tbh it’s the cringiest thing i have ever seen, and if i ever have a girlfriend this is the first thing i am going to show her because she NEEDS to experience the cringe of other cultures)

5. who is the one to wake up super early and who is to one to go to sleep at an ungodly hour?

6. another question that very much involves @girlgenius1111 but let’s suppose that sol makes up with her mom and wants to meet with her, how does fresa react? is she super protective? is she supportive? is she a mix of both? does she freak out? is she ready to take out box gloves and beat everyone?

7. once again the opinion of the queen herself @girlgenius1111 is needed but how does sol react to finding out that the relationship between fresa and alexia/alba is very stranded? obviously sol likes alexia but she doesn’t know her on a personal level super well, what does she do when she finds out that it’s not as perfect as it seems? that they may have more in common that she initially thought? the same goes for fresa finding out about sol’s relationship with ingrid, like it’s different but in some ways very similar. i suppose both feel very abandoned? how do they get through that?

ok i have even more questions but i need to stop now or i may yap till the end of the day. anyway sorry for such a long ask. feel free to not answer (if i were you i would just ignore this tbh) or “not answering, find out later” is just as acceptable. whatever you feel like tbh!!!

anyway i love this story that you and k! have created together, you both are very special writers and i VERY much appreciate what you do and write, anyway take care and lots of love🍓☀️❤️ (if anything i have written doesn’t make sense i had a bottle of wine and my first language isn’t english😭)

idk if it counts as a vacation but early on into knowing one another but not yet quite dating they go to madrid together alone for a concert! you are absolutely correct lmao alba and mapi help them get their train tickets and drive them to the station, meanwhile alexia and ingrid are too busy stressing they're too young to go alone and they'll wind up kidnapped or something dramatic

K and I were talking about this literally yesterday and trying to work out a timeline for all the blurb ideas we have for Sol and Fres + how it all ties into filling the void and family line! but yes fresa looks after scout for a week (he comes to stay with her and Eli) when Sol goes to Norway with Ingrid and Mapi, but thats after they've been dating for awhile. the first time Fresa meets Scout its before she even realises she likes Sol, but Sol is shocked at how much Scout seems to love Fresa (aka dog whisperer putellas)

they actually both like pickles on burgers but pretend not to when they think the other doesn't, so neither of them end up eating the pickles despite actually having a mutual love for them (same goes for olives)

mmm i don't know a whole lot about tv shows outside of where i'm from but i imagine both Sol and Fres have a mutual love of trashy reality tv shows. specifically the kardashians and any sort of dating show like love island, too hot to handle etc. they both spend the entire time complaining about how awful the show is but also, never miss an episode. they also love to binge true crime dramas together, and Fresa loves medical programs but she knows she can't watch them around Sol because Sol faints at even the slightest sign of blood

Fresa is a morning person (Alexia's influence) and Sol is a night owl!

Fresa is very cautious how she speaks about Sol and Ingrids mum, obviously she knows whats happened and it breaks her heart that anyone could treat such a perfect human like that. but she also knows theres parts of Sol that still love her mum and Fresa doesn't want to go too hard on the 'your mum is such a piece of shit for treating you like that' train and upset her girlfriend. so she lets Sol take the lead in conversations about her mum and is careful how she responds!

By the time Sol and Fresa start to properly interact its after everything has gone down between Fresa and her sisters and they're well on track back to being as close as they used to be. But when Sol first opens up to Fresa about how she ended up in Spain living with her sister and the strains of their relationship early on in her stay, Fresa opens up about her own struggles with that and they bond over it. Fresa is a lot more forthcoming with information but Sol doesn't trust as easily so it takes a little longer for Fresa to really understand the extent of the struggles in her life when she lived in Norway thank you for all of these they really made me (and K) think!! i know some people might think its stupid to go so in depth about creating a life for a made up character but it really is a fun escape and i love creating Fresa's little universe, and its nice to write about a wholesome queer teenage relationship because they get done so dirty in tv shows most of the time! 🍓🍓 @girlgenius1111

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Hii, Delta anon back again and I have more random hc's!

So Epic obviously has the most sleep issues out of all of them, but I'd imagine both Delta and Color have a bit of issues with sleeping, too. Color because he was stuck in one place for so long, so he probably slept a lot to pass the time. Delta because he has intense PTSD nightmares, but also can't go too long without a nap or else he won't be able to function as well.

I'd imagine that the magic version of sleep-walking would probably be sleep-teleporting, or something similar. Delta probably does this, because his body takes longer to rest than his mind does, and if he starts thinking about going somewhere while he's half-asleep, next thing he knows, he's there. Epic and Color usually have to track him down and bring him back, and then babysit him to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Delta's favorite season is fall, Color's is spring or summer, and I'd imagine Epic enjoys both summer and winter.

(This one is inspired by spiralsalad's latest art piece lmao)

When one (or all) of them get sick, the other two immediately help out.

Let's say Color's the one to get sick first. Epic and Delta would immediately stop what they're doing to take care of him, even if Color protests it because he doesn't want to "bother" them. Whatever he needs, they'll get for him. I'd also imagine that his migraines, misophonia, and sensory issues would act up way more than usual during this time. He'd probably spend most of his time sleeping or distracting himself with something that won't trigger his misophonia, and Delta and Epic would let him rest until he felt like waking up to eat or drink something.

When Epic gets sick, the nightmares increase along with the pain that comes with them. And he'll do ANYTHING to avoid sleeping during this time, which means he'll be going a few days without sleep at a time. He'll try to keep going, distract himself with whatever he can before he knocks himself out, but Delta and Color force him to rest. They'll usually just watch anime marathons, and they'll always get Epic some food. And when Epic does finally fall asleep, the two make sure to stay there with him for when Epic wakes up screaming and in severe pain from his nightmares.

When Delta gets sick, he is far more difficult to deal with. He would try his hardest to pretend like he's not sick and to hide it for as long as he can, until the sickness and exhaustion takes over. Usually this means they're so exhausted from masking it, that they'd physically collapse. When they'd wake up, they'd be in bed, with Epic and Color making sure they won't try to run off. But of course, when he wakes up, he'll try to convince them that he was just tired, definetly *not* sick, that it was an accident. Obviously, Color and Epic don't believe that for a second. They'd make them rest and not even bother to ask if anything hurts, because they know they'll hide it. So they just grab any meds he could potentially need and give it to him. Same with food and drink. I'd imagine that the sickness makes him incredibly clingy, though, not wanting to be alone when he's semi-vulnerable. So they spend most of their time cuddling with Delta until he can get up and keep going. The sleep-teleporting issue enhances.

Because Color was stuck in the Judgement Hall for so long, I imagine he has mild issues with eating since there was not really food there. When he first got out, finally being able to eat after so long got to him and he ate literally until he got sick. It did not end well. Over the years he's gotten better with eating, but if he starts to feel anxious about being forgotten or abandoned again, he turns to food as comfort and a reminder of where he is now, and that he can't predict the future, but he can plan for it.

And that's all I have for now! Thoughts?

Oh I love that. The idea of sleep teleporting Delta and Color turning to food for comfort as a reminder of where he is now? Yes 👌.

I can picture Color figuring out how to bake his friends’ favorite foods for whenever they’re feeling down and need a pick-me-up or just whenever they’re sick or feeling homesick.

You know how some characters are sometimes HC’d to have the ethnicity/nationality, such as Color & Killer being Arabic, id imagine Color would try to figure out how to make cultural meals like that.

I don’t know what Epic and Delta’s creators’ are, I heard Epic’s is Philippines, but Color can make them meals of their own country or his.

And the sleep teleporting thing gave me a mental image of like, sleeping Delta trying to teleport off a cliff and like Epic having to tackle-hug them or Color having to use his Grablings to stop him from falling off the cliff 💀.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

i love the pumpkin decor from anura and the skulls from silk cradle !! even though its not even close to halloween,,,(its always in my heart lmao) i was thinking about bishops (+narinder and/or labert, if your up for it) platonically with a child! black cat reader (who is kind of like in the spooky month skid and pump mindset LOL, but the town they grew up in, possibly outside the lands of the old faith, is very halloween-centered)

i hope this isnt too specific !!

Don't worry, Halloween's ALWAYS in my heart haha. I love those decorations too! And the ones from the blood moon ritual. Can't wait for that event again

.........

Heket

With pumpkin patches flourishing in her domain, it only makes sense for her to have celebrations and rituals surrounding the harvest season.

Yet she knows nothing of this "Halloween" you've rambled on about to her followers, nor why you became so excited upon discovering that Anura's environment reflects the autumn season.

That's because the town you're from is centered entirely around the holiday, with you living among ghouls, skeletons, demons, crows, and (of course) other black cats.

To you, every day is Halloween and you're loud and proud about it!

You introduced the idea of jack o'lanterns to Heket when she discovers you carving a pumpkin, sticking a candle inside after you gutted the entire crop, much to her confusion and annoyance.

"You there..why do you waste precious food?" She accuses, but you're completely oblivious to her anger.

"Where I come from, we always carve pumpkins! And we make cool things like this!" You show her your finished product: a Yellow Crown carved onto the face of the pumpkin. "I offer this to you, Lady Heket."

"I see, but...what am I to do with it?"

"You put it outside your home to ward off scary spirits! Like those who wanna wilt the crops!"

She had her doubts about these traditions of yours, but she grows to like this "jack of lantern" and puts it into effect almost immediately.

More followers join in, learning how to carve their own pumpkins and place them outside their homes.

It actually gives the incredibly superstitious and paranoid some comfort that they won't be haunted or plagued by negative spirits/energy.

Heket made a point to allow an overabundance of pumpkin patches during Halloween season so there's enough for both food and carving.

She also discovers people are willing to pay for the best-looking ones, so she allows the elders to run stands by the fields and make some coin.

Ofc, a good chunk of the profits go directly to her.

Shamura

Skull piles and skeletal decorations are commonplace in Silk Cradle, being trophies of wars and intimidating those who dared wander into their domain--grim reminders that it could be their own skull next.

You, however, find them nonthreatening as you've had similar decor back in your little town of Halloween (/ref).

Fake or not, you loved them all the same (plus the cobwebs, even though most are just part of the natural environment) and had to ask Shamura if Halloween was celebrated all year here, too.

Although their brain struggles to recollect things, they have books on holidays and their ancient origins..so they are aware it exists.

But it's not one they ever cared to implement.

Nevertheless, they permit you to decorate your home to your heart's content with whatever skulls and bundles of silk you found--as well as pumpkins shipped from Anura.

They're nicer to you bc you remind them of Narinder back in his youth, fascinated with the spooky and the taboo.

All the giant axe traps and toxic pits scattered throughout Silk Cradle never bothered you, as you've seen them back in the spooky dungeons of your hometown.

Usually the resident bugs would freak out any newcomer shelling in new traditions..but Shamura told them that you, specifically, are not to be harmed under any circumstance and that they allowed this.

You've actually befriended Hauras, sewing them a spidery Halloween cape for them in place of the gray rags they wore.

They wear it with pride to every sermon from there on, not caring who judges.

Kallamar

This bishop's paranoia is a force to be reckoned with.

Even if one hapless follower said the words "red crown" in any context, he'll strike them down for "preaching heresy". He's easily scared of the taboo and misfortune falling into his realm.

So Halloween is definitely the last thing he wants to hear about, especially with its association of black cats (who are in turn associated with bad luck and Narinder).

He keeps trying to shoo you away when you try explaining that's a common myth.

If he sees you using bones and skulls as decorations, he feels sick to his stomach and orders you to take them down.

Those can be used to forge weapons or intimidate potential dissenters! They're not yours to keep!!

Yet you never listen, oblivious to his demands as you try telling him they're harmless.

Would he ever punish you for disobeying with sickness or sacrifice?

No...or at least not at this stage in your life.

That would damage his already-fragile reputation as a leader even further.

But if you grew up into an elder and continued with these "twisted traditions", however, he'd punish you as retribution for the "torment" you've brought upon him.

He just wishes you'd follow his ways and his ways alone.

Fortunately for you, that retribution never comes as he's brought into Lamb's cult during your teen years...with you keeping the Halloween tradition alive and well.

And Kallamar has a more open mind now, although he's still easily spooked by the decor Lamb brings out during the Blood Moon Festival.

The first time he partakes in it, someone pranked him with a fake ear and it traumatized him so bad he cried and hid inside his shelter.

But you comforted him, forgoing the festivities and sharing your candy until he was okay.

You just show him how to carve a jack o'lantern for the remainder of the night, and he's in awe as it glows.

Every year since, Halloween becomes less and less scary for him--and it's all ironically thanks to you.

Leshy

As a young bishop, he's open to ideas for traditions, holidays, etc. for his followers to enjoy.

So when little kitty cat you hailing from a distant land of Halloween propose celebrating it...he's all for it!

The only problem is, well, his sight.

With the Green Crown, he can see the general forms of followers, his siblings, and most structures within Darkwood, but he wouldn't be able to see the tiny details that gave Halloween its magic.

But you explained how you could go for bigger and brighter things. Like jack o'lanterns (made of both pumpkins and turnips) and skulls of giant beasts!

He approves of it and lets you lead in decorating the village nearest to his temple.

Followers initially questioned why they had to listen to a child, of all folks, but they're grateful it's something genuinely fun.

From your town, you've also brought scented candles to really enhance everybody's spooky spirit.

Especially for your Lord Leshy, who finds the smells delightful.

The pumpkin spice ends up becoming his favorite.

You've got him completely fixated on this event.

Plus it's a good opportunity for chaos to reign: with followers pranking one other and scaring each other half to death, dressing up like ghouls and skeletons.

The Bonfire Ritual is one Leshy likes to conduct to boost both his strength and cult morale (he's gotta benefit from all of this somehow too, of course).

Lamb

Not only did Lamb's cult know about Halloween...but they also celebrated it with the Blood Moon Festival.

You fully participated in the ritual every year, rushing outside just in time to see the moon turn blood-red and the sky darken for several days.

The ghosts of deceased followers usually terrified the living, yet you greeted all of them with smiles, waving goodbye as Lamb exorcised them with their book.

Crows, cattle skeletons, and even demons flocked to the cult as well, having been residents of your hometown, too.

And the decorations?????

You were obsessed and jumping for joy, wanting to decorate your little shelter and help everybody else with theirs!

And of course you participated in the many activities going on, including bonfire rituals, apple bobbing, and passing out soul cakes (yep you had a recipe for that from your hometown, too).

One year, Webber showed up and was initially scared since everyone was just staring at them and the spiders scattered around their feet..

But you greeted them warmly, showing them around the cult grounds and what the festival was all about.

Lamb themselves is impressed.

You're only half the age of most of their followers, yet you're active and very responsible (although only if your tasks have anything to do with Halloween).

So as a gift, they bless you with a jack o'lantern necklace. Not only does it light up at night, but its magical properties allowed you to lift up any pumpkin no matter its size with ease!

You vow to carve the biggest jack o'lantern the Old Faith's ever seen.

[toffee-and-tandoori]

hannah, the tags at the very bottom😭😭

omg lee i saw your ask while i was in bed and i've been thinking about it all morning so this is gonna be LONG (and i will absolutely be taking creative liberties as i see fit because this is MY WORLD)

first of all as i reflect i'm realizing that pierre and valentino have quite a few similarities - love to indulge in conspiracy theories of their own creation, VERY candid about their sex lives while simultaneously being catholic af, february aquariuses, obsessed with a multilingual brown-eyed freak (affectionate) who pulls off CRAZY moves on the track and is hated by entire countries because of it...that's kinda wild! (also, besides the sex life candor/lovin' jesus combo all of these things describe ME???...and i was actually raised catholic too lmao)

anyway despite all of these similarities i feel like what really draws pierre to valentino is how open valentino is about his obsession (because even nico rosberg was never doing all of that...close but not quite). and pierre's like "wow he's just like me!" without realizing that is NOT a good thing pierre. and they're bonding over the psychological mind games that were inflicted upon them. pierre's like "finally someone who understands me".

cut to pierre attending a motogp race and meeting marc for the first time and being like WOW everything about marc is incredible and now i'm really confused. and he's venting to fabio about it like "wow marc's big brown eyes...and his laugh...and the way he speaks spanish AND italian...and the way he moves on track...wish he was taller though" and fabio's like "GIRL first of all i am well aware of how amazing marc is...i have eyes. also pierre...literally everything you just pointed out in marc also perfectly describes esteban."

and pierre's initially reluctant because duh of course he is. and he's like "fabio what are you talking about. first charles and now YOU?". and fabio and tom maubant are both just looking at pierre like GIRL (in french ofc). and after some back and forth staring pierre's like...ah fuck they're right. he phones charles trackside to let him know about his new revelation and charles' like "...pierre i've known this for years this is not a new revelation by any means"

(also i feel like when pierre meets marc he's like "wait marc's like...closer to my age? how would marc have been idolizing valentino if we're all the same age? wait HOW old is valentino?"...because even pierre's drawing the line at years-long grudge holding when there's an age gap "because at least me and esteban actually grew up together. why was valentino sparring with a child?")

next time pierre and valentino meet pierre's nervous because he's really grown to love his bonding sessions with valentino (despite them being based on shared delusion) and finally feeling REALLY understood and he doesn't want that to stop and all of this anguish is SO visible on pierre's face and valentino's like "uhhh...are you good?" to which pierre immediately blurts out how he realized his suppressed feelings for esteban after meeting marc and seeing how amazing he is and "valentino i hope you're not mad at me!". and valentino's like "...you thought i'd be mad at you succumbing to marc's charm...lmao bitch me too! now we just have one more thing to talk about!".

and somehow (because i said so) this turns into pierre and valentino working together to win back the loves of their lives...and even though it shouldn't work it totally does (again because i said so). endgame pierresteban and rosquez.

(okay despite the fact that i said i was taking creative liberties with this universe i wanted to see if pierre had ever talked about motogp before and i found this article which simultaneously contradicts and supports everything about my imaginary universe...and you know we're just gonna run with it!!!)

[thelonelyshore-if]

Okay. Dunno if it's been asked yet but. The fate of the world and MC hang in the balance. Which of the ROs would be willing to let the MC die to save the world and which would say fuck the world to save the MC? What'd be their reasoning behind their choice and how would they feel about it? Uwu

Ooooh fun question. And I haven't ever done this one!! Answers below~

Beck- I think they'd ultimately pick MC, but it would be a very, very close thing. They're kind of bitter about the world right now, but they ultimately think it's good? There's so much of it that they want to see. That being said, in their current situation, MC would be like their light in the darkness. They couldn't just let them go.

Croft- They'd save the world but they'd feel like shit about it. Though they'd try to comfort themself with the idea that it's only logical. They love MC, but they also love their parents. Honestly though it depends on where Croft is at in their journey. There are parts in the story where I could very much see Croft making a different decision.

Jay- Unfortunately it would be the world and they'd hate themself for it. But they have a family and a community that means everything to them. They couldn't just throw it all away for MC, no mater how deeply they love them. It's that whole hero complex. In the same vein, though, they'd be pretty desperate to save both, no matter how impossible.

Perri- Oh, Perri would pick MC. What has the world ever done for them, really? They don't come off as that jaded, and there's a lot of wonder and interest in the world that they crave, but stacked up against the person they love? Yeah, no way. Perri is willing to be selfish sometimes, and this would be one of those times. Though they'd feel awfully guilty.

Ravi- Also MC no questions asked lmao. Ravi Does Not Care about the greater fate of the world. Especially if we're talking a scenario where it's, like, the World Outside Easthaven vs. Easthaven. He'd be like, we're safe in here, fuck everyone else. He wouldn't even feel guilty about it. Ravi's morals are. Interesting. And he wouldn't give up the person he loves for anything.

Yasmin- She'd hate it deeply but would ultimately pick the world, for similar reasons to Jay. She loves the people in her life, her job, her community. Being a part of something greater than herself is incredibly important to her. Throwing that all away for one person, even her lover? It isn't right. But she'd be wrecked by the decision. There's a reason she doesn't want to get close to anyone again--losing another partner would destroy her.

[hwnglx]

Jungkook’s likes and dislikes of his future partner ?

i don't really feel comfortable looking into his dislikes about them, but thought i'd look into some potential green and red flags in their relationship. haven't read for them in months.

jungkook's future relationship - green + red flags

based on tarot. i do not know these idols personally. energies are always changing. what i say is NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

queofw, kingofw&queofsw, knofc, fool&moon

+ an incredibly well balanced relationship. they will complete and compliment each other beautifully, also bond over their similarities. especially when it comes to their ambitions, their fiery and creative sides. jungkook will gain a lot of confidence from his fs' existence and vice versa. i can see him feeling very inspired by his fs' existence creatively. maybe expect some love songs in the future.. he'll be good at writing about his love for them, i think. also his fs in particular, will benefit a lot from jungkook's warmth and vibrance. they might've been through a fair share of disappointment already, which turned them a little closed off at first. jk will be very good at breaking down those walls and opening up their heart, gaining their trust.

they will also just be very lovey dovey and cute with each other, a lot of romance. kinda like this long-lasting couple that everyone is jealous of, since everyday they seem to be just as in love with each other as when they first met. the romantic air will not die down for years it seems.. jungkook is a libra venus, so he'll probably find a lot of fulfilment in sweeping his fs off their feet. i can see him putting a lot of effort into planning the most beautiful dates.

there will also once again, be a great balance between lighthearted and carefree times, but also moments where they'll engage in deeper conversations. they'll truly enjoy each others company and have a lot of fun together, but connect to each other beyond the surface, on an emotional level as well. take away each others fears, light the way in times of darkness. the fact i only got court cards and major arcana really gives me this impression that their relationship will be extremely important for the both of them, it will definitely play a big role in their lives. they'll have a meaningful and longlasting impact on each other.

aceofsw, 7ofc, 9ofw&6ofc, 8ofw&magic

- the main problem i see here, is jungkook's fs struggling to deal with his incredible amount of fame. their partner being in the public eye and having so much going on, will overwhelm them for sure. as i stated before, his fs seems to have dealt with some past bad experiences already, which might've caused them some trust issues. a lot of overthinking. "i trust you, but i'm worried i'll get hurt again." is what i keep hearing. tbh, i do not see jungkook engaging in any infidelity. i actually see him remaining pretty loyal, his fs will just be in their head a lot. they're aware he's a very charismatic guy many people swoon over, so there's this sense of insecurity und worry when he's away. they basically don't like the thought of people looking at him a little too much, if that makes sense lol? maybe some of you know that feeling, i definitely do. "that girl smiled at you for a little too long, don't ya think?" kinda vibes lmao, or they'll feel all weird over jungkook just being his usual charming self with others, maybe confront him over it. they probably have some possessive tendencies and need to work on their ability to fully trust.

btw, i see this pattern for a lot of bangtan's future spouses, which is interesting. it seems they're aware of the set of unique difficulties dating a member comes with. many of them are worried over the members getting seduced by the fame and popularity, which is kinda inevitable with a bg as big as bts, i guess. however so far, most of them seem keen on staying faithful once they settle down 👏🏻

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Yuri posting time. These are ships I personally vibe with from what I post about on here.

Higuchi and Gin (BSD): Okay, I'm not sure I can really explain this properly because it's so entwined with the plot of a particular fic I've been wanting to write about them, and I don't really want to spoil where it goes too much? Basically, I love the potential of two characters who (it's implied) got involved with dangerous work for the sake of their siblings. Higuchi's idealized view of romance contrasts with Gin's survival mentality (which is similar to Akutagawa's). At the same time, Higuchi gives Gin opportunities to express different sides of herself. They both work for the sake of others. Okay, so canonically, there isn't a lot there, because there is little exploration of the themes of BSD through these two characters, unfortunately. But, with a combination of "what if I explored the themes through these characters", some influence from O-Gin and Higuchi-sensei's works, and a touch of my own personal brand of "fuck it, we ball, and see where it rolls", I think there's a lot of fun things you can pull at.

Higuchi and Tsujimura (BSD): Not a long-term relationship. They're best friends who had a brief fling and then decided to remain friends. To me.

Wells and Sasaki (BSD): Absolute crack ship that I have not stopped thinking about since you suggested it @lucythejudge. It's so funny.

Meryl and Milly (Trigun): !!! THEM!!! AUGH! They spent!!! Eight months navigating the apocalypse together!!! Milly's smile and presence is enough to help Meryl out of her dark thoughts! Milly is unable to sleep when Meryl is in danger! Milly challenges Vash and Wolfwood when they try to stop her from rescuing Meryl! Meryl has complete faith in Milly to intervene when she has a literal contract killer pointing a gun at her head!!! They're always at each other's sides! THEY!

Coco and Agott (WHA): They give me slight killugon vibes (also maybe lumity - but I've never actually watched owl house unfortunately). Cute and pure. I hope they continue to inspire each other. :)

Theta and Morena (HxH): Saw art for this once. They haven't even interacted. But still, my brain thinks about it and goes ohohohoho

Ann and Shiho (P5R): Ahhh... they want to be strong for each other... avenging Shiho was Ann's reason for awakening... ahhhhhh

Ann and Mika (P5R): I just think Ann's canonical admiration for women who are mean is incredibly funny and so real. Get her a mean girlfriend.

Makoto and Hifumi (P5R): Okay, they hit it off immediately and also I want to see how intense they get over a game of shogi. Everyone quietly backing away from them... lmao. Also I think it's nice because Makoto could understand Hifumi's struggles with expectation and wanting to help her family, and Hifumi offers a familiar setting (intellectual, strategic) with opportunities for Makoto to expand her understanding as well as form a solid connection. They should be best friends at least!

Bonus:

This idea I had for a fucked up polycule that never actually becomes a polycule and is literally just Yosano, Wells, and Mary all being needed for some kind of research, with a stressed Tsujimura as their supervisor. There is... some kind of tension happening amidst the often inadvisable scientific decisions being made. No sex or romance actually ever occurs but there are conversations that sound suspiciously like flirting that usually end in Yosano gleefully hacking at something or someone in her temporary office, Mary nearly downing the entire grid because she diverted all the power to her latest project that then promptly exploded, or Wells vanishing then abruptly and calmly reappearing minutes later with no explanation except "the world will survive another day". Tsujimura is about ready to tear her hair out. The cat thief drops in sporadically to cause extra chaos. This too, is yuri.

[unironicallycringe]

do koltin and kilton fit in your extended demonology lorebuilding? interested what youd classify em as

THEY SURE DO, ANON, THANKS FOR ASKING!

Right so like, BotW/TotK is so incredibly far from the events of my AU, but I have definitely overthought about how the Demon Tribe stuff would fit Kilton and Koltin in.

Firstly though, some Boko Tribe stuff reminders

1) Their advantage is having very plastic physical adaptability <- to account for their wide variety of body types in the different games, encompass all the various subtypes (Moblin, Bokoblin, Miniblin, etc), and explain why they're the only demon tribe that has persisted in any noticeable numbers through the ages. They're just really pro at adapting to new things.

2) They're easily affected/warped by Magicka <- to account for the game's evil Bokos. In this way, they're a result of Malice being overused to control and resurrect them, rather than evil behavior being their norm. Basically they are on the same level of sentience as humans, but exposure to uncontrolled Malice degrades their minds much faster than it would others. It's essentially the flipside to the above plasticity advantage. They're malleable in ways that are both good and bad.

Man, what does this have to do with Kilton and Koltin, Shea?

✨They have mixed Hylian/Boko heritage ✨

(I always thought the silhouettes here were really similar and wondered if it was intentional, but anyways)

So the headcanon here is that Kilton and Koltin's parents are a non-corrupted blue Boko and a particularly adventurous Hylian. I imagine they're a very sweet couple!!!! Here they are when they were younger.

I never thought of names for them, they just exist somewhere and probably don't hang out much in towns. (We love a power couple, but this sort of thing is likely to freak out the Hylian locals.)

I like to draw the two brothers with tiny little horn nubs as a nod to this. They don't have full horns and never will, but they probably were very excited for their lil skull bumps to grow like 0.05mm over the years.

The family would very much be aware of the whole Malice corruption thing. That's why Kilton is so passionate about "monster education" - he knows the corrupt Bokos were once normal people and often just mind their own business in the wilderness, but also knows that it's dangerous for humans to try and approach. So his ventures with his traveling stall and presentations in Tarrey Town are his way of trying to bridge that gap safely.

Additionally, I imagine Kilton and Koltin can travel pretty easily amongst corrupted Bokos, but not bands of Lizal or Lynel. Kilton would have attempted creating masks because of this issue, then afterwards added the various Boko masks for humans to use. (The Magicka is extremely rudimentary, like, barely a Glamour if you're familiar with my magic systems, which is why they fail frequently). And sidenote for monster extract, I think it would be funny if it's just like, a normal ingredient his mom uses and he just puts purple food coloring in it for the Exotic Flair. Like it's just vanilla extract or something lmao.

That was the rambliest possible answer, but tldr they're half-Bokoblin teehee

[rochenn]

hi! perhaps 🍒 or 🍑 for the ask thing?

PERHAPS I WILL DO BOTH

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

Ohhh man Star Wars is so full of good stuff. Dooku & Asajj, Dooku & Maul, Dooku & Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan & Ashoka... those last two have been particularly fun to write together in Gone with the Light. I think I'm weak for lineage interactions ig.

But yeah, I'm writing Rifle atm and Codywan (especially the middle-aged veteran version) is just such a blast to figure out. But that aside, no matter what era they're in, the constant pressure of their circumstances creates perfect friction... These two are incredibly similar in some aspects and not always in a good way; I think they're uniquely capable of bringing out each other's worst. Both are proud, principled, emotionally repressed for one reason or another and so focused on a greater goal (win the war) that their equally shared kindness can get lost and has to be manually retrieved.

Also uhh the power imbalance (outside of Rifle because things are a little different there) and how they both maneuver within it is what makes the ship so entertaining to me. 20+ year age difference 💥 experience gap 💥 superior-subordinate job dynamic 💥💥 Cody has no human rights and has been conditioned to obey the Jedi since day 1 💥💥💥 I swear figuring this shit out is SO fun. They are horrible and they are everything. I love putting them in Situations that mitigate their differences (like on a mission) only to thrust them back into the sterile bureaucracy-governed "peace" aboard their star destroyer or on Coruscant. Idk I think Codywan is just so versatile and could go a million different ways depending on context and that's what's beautiful about them, I think <3

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

Leave Your Rifle by the Door is already Cody in the most Disco Elysium predicament I could feasibly wedge him into, except his Dolores Dei is not an ex-wife but his bygone days on the front. Lmao. He has a very "my wife left me :(" attitude about the job he lost

I've been struggling with art over the past weeks but I very desperately want to find the sauce to create Star Wars art in a DE style. With the swirling thoughts and messy painterly vibe and everything. It is my dream <3

[moonspirit]

Now that u have answered Annie’s sister in law, we need Armins siblings in law (so Pieck and Reiner)

Maldonado as a side note Annie is Pieck’s younger sister, but she is also Reiner’s older brother. Idk why but that’s just how it is based on dynamics.

Hi anon!

Hahah xD Oh Reiner and Pieck.

Tbh post-canon I really enjoy thinking about these two sets of relationships: Jean-Annie-Connie and Pieck-Armin-Reiner. Each half of Aruani sandwiched between two people from the side opposite to which they once belonged.

Anyway. I said it in some set of tags recently, but I love the potential of the bond Reiner and Armin could share post-rumbling. They're both similar in the respect that they have some self-hatred (though the root-causes are a bit different). This self-hatred, if shared, is something they'd understand. Reiner fought the very essence of life (the hallucinogenia) to help humanity live despite yearning for death himself. After the battle, his mental health is a goner; the guilt of everything that happened right from his birth to the present is extremely heavy to bear alone. If he was at rock bottom before, well now he's below any visible surface lol. Armin isn't too different from him then; he's just as shattered, guilt-ridden and debating his right to exist - but the hope that's inside him is a very, very hard thing to kill. It's because of that hope that the battle could end at all, and even if Eren's death and the loss of much of humanity is a planet-sized sin for him to carry, he's still hopeful, he's still a dreamer, he still sees the beauty in life.

Armin has the potential to lead the way in both his and Reiner's paths to healing. And Reiner, ever the protective big brother, will be unable to hide his genuine care and concern for Armin's well being and safety throughout their political work. The two go on long walks, hands in their pockets, talking about the past and future and everything in between; they play plenty of chess; they pore over maps of the remaining world; they rely on each other to pick the other up when the bouts of guilt overwhelm them.

Pieck now, is very very interesting. Not only is she the sole outsider in the Ambassador group, but she's also the one person who carries no good memories nor much empathy for Eren. She's every bit grounded in reality as Armin cannot help but dream. Initially, I think she'd find Armin's optimism and hope quite naive and delusional; after all she's always been aware of the cruel truth of their existence and the Eldian race's place in the world. Moreover, Armin's bond with Eren puzzles her - she can see that Armin is not a bad person; far from it in fact, he's reasonable, empathetic, careful and strategic. How could it ever have been possible that someone like him and Eren used to be inseparable friends? Over time though as Armin confides in her more about his and Eren's friendship, she learns to appreciate the bittersweetness of two boys who were each the other side of the very same coin.

Pieck and Armin, I hc, share a love for music and gadgets. They are both incredibly smart and this makes it very easy for them to fall into place as a very strong political team. They plan, they strategize, they discuss methods and tools and issues in their way. Armin values Pieck's level-headed approach to viewing and solving problems, while she appreciates his innovative ideas, tact, and careful consideration in minimizing damage. They enjoy conversations, they buy each other music records to play on the gramophone, and while Pieck helps Armin see the things he misses when he's lost in dreams, Armin helps Pieck feel welcome and like family, in their gang of six.

(Bonus: Reiner's always prattling on to Armin about how he's so glad his "little sister Annie" is happy with Armin, while Pieck annoys him to no end by never missing a chance to point out what an adorable simp he is lmao)

[cheezeybread]

Back to our regularly scheduled Alice-asking with Anon McGee.

After playing the game for a few hours and getting through some stuff, I have some thoughts. None in particular for any sort of request [although, at the time of writing this specific part, I am unsure of if I'll tack one onto the beginning of this ask [I did not]. I am also unsure of if it will be related at all], but they're still interesting and maybe can be used for this stuff going forward [for as long as I keep requesting such self indulgent things].

1. Teeth are a currency. Not a whole lot to do with that one, but it is incredibly strange to me even still.

2. Many of the enemies are made visibly of this black, ink-like ooze. Not all of them, but a good majority of them. I feel this means overblots may cause additional layers of stress because of the implications it might cause [something to do with the fact that this inky substance was what corrupted Alice's wonderland, it sounds like it COULD be taken as a physical representation of that same kind of corruption, and the overblotter going literally insane. Could be good oneshot fuel?]

3. Alice is actually SUPER chill in the environment of the wonderland aside from when it's actively trying to kill her [although the reaction does not necessarily have to apply to the reader character we've been using as a stressball for these scenarios, I think it's pretty interesting and likely means that the initial reaction to the students of Heartslaybyul would be void should I have known prior to this that wonderland was actually pretty alright and fine for the most part]

4. Another minor detail that doesn't really mean a lot, but in the Hatter's domain, there's flamingos all over the place. While I was exploring, I saw several just sort of Around. In cages, hung up on walls, some- upon entry- were on those like.. Spitroasters or whatever they are. Many were on wheels being forced to run to give power to some machinery. They all looked pretty... Not alive, though. Also, they were strangely dodo shaped, but that's neither here nor there.

That's all I have for the moment regarding that! Feel free to take it and run however you want, I can't think of any specific request I can give relating to any of these except for the overblot one

Dang, this game sounds absolutely vicious, I love it XD

I need to take your mind and put it in a little glass jar filled with water to observe it (meant in a positive way). Maybe shake it around some to see what kinda scenarios pop out.

But the best I can come up with are some *. * ·imagines*. * · to keep your brain occupied for now

Imagine an MC who- in every single fight they get dragged into (which is an awful lot in the game lmao)- stays behind for a moment to collect some of the teeth punched out by spells and fists. The broken ones that are cracked aren't worth much, they say to their friends who ask what they're doing, but the whole teeth can buy you a lot of good things. Much to the horror of the Twisted Wonderland students, it's eventually realized that MC thinks that teeth are a currency here. They don't know why, but can only speculate that it's from the same issues from before... Riddle eventually ends up begging (or as close to begging as he can get-) for Azul to tell you about Twisted Wonderland's currency. Horrified yet intrigued by your grotesque idea of money, Azul teaches you about merfolk economics, as well as the thaumarks people use on land...of course, he's going to try and get you to explain the whole "teeth currency" thing to him, and what makes one tooth worth more than others.

The inky enemies would actually make for a KILLER oneshot, I might have to write something along the lines of it one day... Maybe Twisted Wonderland (or at least, the part that held the Queen of Hearts in it) and Alice's Wonderland are two sides of the same coin...? While they're both in different dimensions (maybe even parallel to one another!), they're both similar. The main difference was that Alice's Wonderland is isolated from the rest of the world, while "Twisted Wonderland" had different cultures and societies to expand with? The isolation caused some in Alice's Wonderland to "Overblot" (or, at least, some form of it) and become enemy bosses. So maybe Overblots are slightly different in each world, but they're still present!

Imagine an MC who (after having a few breakdowns at first regarding Heartslabyul) eventually calms down...to the point where everyone gets extremely worried about them. Riddle accidentally says "Off with your head!" to an unruly student within their earshot, but MC is so chill that they look...almost zoned out, their eyes glazed over. Like they're in a completely different world. As the overblots go on throughout their stay in Twisted Wonderland, MC's calm demeanor only gets worse. They don't seem to react hardly at all to- well, anything. It's like they've just accepted where they are and the danger they're in.

Mmm short and squat dodo-like flamingos. I like to think that our poor MC, after first seeing the flamingos in Heartslabyul, didn't actually see them, but saw their not-quite-alive bodies wandering around, some being roasted over a fire, others lurking ominously behind bushes, some in cages. All some form of injured or deadish. It would most definitely take a while until MC could see the creatures as they truly were (that is, alive and well, and most definitely not so creepy), but until then, they take it in stride. No one even knows how MC sees the flamingos until they offhandedly mention it one day, and Cater's just like "....no?? Why would we be roasting flamingos???"

[thatwitchrevan]

I finished the game again and unlocked the gallery! it's honestly very confusing and idk if it's because it's 1am or because there's so much missing right now or I just don't get it yet, but it's definitely not clear to me at this point what exactly each category is - like is everything under 'the end of everything' a full ending or is it versions of endings?

(The sound design for it is very icky and cool tho)

it not being retroactive is very unfortunate since I'd already 100%ed the game, meaning that I have to do it again if I want the gallery completed and the achievement for 100%ing the game again, and also leaving massive holes making it harder for me to figure out what I'm missing. but I will complete it all again and in a way the necessity of essentially starting over makes it easier to discover and rediscover everything without having to wiki everything.

I have no clue yet where a new ending would be. I'm extremely curious. but I played through the new Damsel chapter, the new Spectre chapter, and the expanded versions of the Fury, Apotheosis, and Den. My favorite was absolutely the Happily Ever After route.

Spoilers now, just a bit.

But god, that was both exactly what I wanted from Damsel's character and far more than I could have expected. I've always liked the Damsel and wished there was more that could come of her deterioration into a satellite love interest and object of our fantasy. I wanted an eventuality where she could either degrade to her ultimate conclusion, rebel, or actualize, or ideally a combination. The chapter we got was just so fulfilling and well done. I think what I like about this game most is that it never stops feeling fresh and taking new and meaningful approaches to its characters and storyline, and doing things you don't expect but that make perfect sense.

Smitten splitting off and enforcing this pantomime of a domestic fantasy of romance was just such a natural arc of corruption and failure, and the chapter was just so aesthetically interesting. It's also one of the sweetest bits in the game if you leave and dance with her. I adored it.

I also really loved the Spectre's new route, especially for changing the game even more. I am not over that. You are probably not over that either. Holy shit dude. I am gonna sock Opportunist in the nose. Beak. Whatever.

I haven't got to play the Prisoner's new bit yet but I hope there's a similar aspect of the voices doing weird stuff and getting to see them from an outside perspective because that would be some great narrative symmetry and I loved it in both these other routes. I think there's something about the voices being such distilled embodiments of their driving traits that makes them utterly fantastic and sympathetic at their best (like Paranoid keeping us alive in the Nightmare and Smitten and Cheated having compassion and love for the Thorn), and terrifying, cruel, and craven at their worst (Smitten holding the Damsel hostage, Opportunist just in general). The duality of man and all that.

I love the new additions to the Fury, Apotheosis, and Den, they're all my best girls and I love how much more there is to explore with each one. Overall the new music and art and sound design is all so tasty.

And as far as the horror, I have definitely got more of it, lmao. I think the most disturbing thing is the unsettling dinner in Happily Ever After. But the Dragon was also. Incredibly unsettling.

bird man...