#they're the focal point

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Okay, okay, but I'm kinda of obsessed with this messy au in my head. So post canon pregnant Mel becoming head of House Medarda and marrying for political gain not with the intent to cover up that the baby is born out of wedlock and to a disgraced scientist (Jayce Talis) but to ensure the child's future by having two lineages to protect them. Then Jayce (and Viktor probably) are spit out of the Arcane eight years later, in very rough shape, and they crawl their way to the Medarda colosseum (Viktor is attune to Mel's magic). They seek an audience with her, noxians laugh in their face. In order to get an audience with her, they have to fight or make themselves useful, Jayce chooses to enter as a champion, Viktor volunteers as a medic (those five years in purgatory the arcane was balancing the magic in his body so now he's a natural mage and a healer) (also medics were an addition made to the colosseum events by Mel along with the complete banning of fights to the death). But, of course there's a twist, see winning a match usually wouldn't get you an audience with Mel Medarda you'd have to win a whole season of fights no you only get a direct audience if you beat Mel Medarda herself. So, Mel comes out gallavants around the ring, and her foe is revealed. Jayce stumbles out, heaving a hammer over his shoulder. Their eyes meet, Jayce drops his hammer, and the crowd roars. Mel can't look weak, so she lands a blow, throwing him on his back.

She hypes up the crowd to give him time to recover. He catches on, and they fight hand to hand. Mel's pissed and growing more so by the second meanwhile Jayce is living in a daydream seeing his girl again but he soon starts to notice that she's looking at him like he's the devil incarnate flashes of grief but mostly anger she's also not mitigating any of her attacks and her magic is getting fiercer, her hair and her eyes glowing. He ends up on the ground defeated, but her magic is still volatile, tendrils of it, whipping around her until she short circuits and collapses to her knee , Jayce tries to gather himself and go to her. But somebody beats him to her. A child with eyes like his comes to Mel's side. It reminds Jayce of when Ximena fell into the snow all those years ago. Jayce stumbles over to them slowly, his heart in his throat. Mel tucks her child into her arms, her lips curled in contempt as she eyes Jayce like a threat. "Who are you?" Jayce asks the doe eyed child gawking at him from the safety of their mother's arms. But of course Jayce knew. Mel releases the child telling them to stand back, Jayce caught up in his own emotions tries to talk to Mel but she's not having it, she's sits him on the floor again, and raises her fist, declaring victory. The crowds erupt, bell ring. Jayce is left dumbfounded on the ground, Mel grabs her child and leaves the stadium waving around looking triumphant as she exits.

As a reward for lasting so long in the ring, Jayce is still granted a short audience with Mel. He's guided to a room, that seems to be something like a entertainment area for patrons, two long tables that lead to a throne, there are signs of life splashes of dried wine, tipped over goblets and half eaten carcasses sitting atop silver platters. It was obviously recently cleared out. Mel sits at the throne. He stands before her and notices those eyes again, peeking at him from behind the throne.

"You wanted an audience, here it is"

"I have to admit I didn't plan this far ahead," Jayce chuckles.

"So, you're wasting my time"

"I need your help"

"Yes, well some things never change"

"Aren't you at all curious about where I've been all these years?"

Mel hums at the irony.

"Not particularly no, you have one question left, Talis"

"Who's that behind you"

"Come forth," Mel holds out her hand the child reveals themself and grabs it.

"Tell my old friend your name,"

"Jaena Medarda, heir to House Medarda, daughter of Mel and Tizor" the young child manages. Mel smiles proud.

"Can you find cousin Salerri, my heart?"

The child nods and flees, giddy and light.

"Tizor?" Jayce asks as the door closes.

"My husband"

"Is it just you, or is Viktor here as well, sleuthing somewhere in the shadows"

"He's volunteered with the medics" he says gruffly.

"You should get him to check you out then, you're in very bad shape"

"Jaena... is she? She has to be..."

"She's my daughter that's all that matters"

"Mel"

"I can temporarily set both you and Viktor up with quarters in my estate, I'd offer you space elsewhere but the whole of Runeterra's in town for the Tournament of Houses"

"I- thank you for your hospitality, Mel"

"Of course, my guards will escort you,"

He is guided out. In her aloneness, her emotions flood and Mel breaks down. Tears flowing.

Afterwards, when Jayce and Viktor are settled, Mel and Viktor begin to bond over their magic, drawing them together. Jayce and Viktor get closer as well, but they're both hesitant to pursue things now that Jayce is technically a father. Jayce and Mel argue over Jaena and their relationship. Mel's husband is out of the picture for now because he's away at sea, with the Noxian fleets. Jayce and Mel eventually make up, and Mel reveals that Jaena knows that Tizor isn't her father because she didn't want to keep her daughter in the dark the way Ambessa did with her. She hasn't revealed that Jayce is her father but will allow him to do so if he so wishes. Jayce asks if they can tell her together. Mel agrees. They do and then do a bunch of family bonding activities so Jayce and Jaena can connect. Mel starts to pull back when she realises she's still in love with Jayce. Comedies and family dramas ensue. Ximena makes her way over from Piltover. Tearful reunions blah blah blah. Mel gets drunk with Viktor one night, and they kiss. Mel becomes avoidant with him, too. Leading to Jayvik cornering her in the middle of the night to talk about their relationship. And that's how meljayvik endgame. Thank you very much.

[luguangs]

If you're not here, then how are you always with me? If I'm not here, then how am I not there with you? — One of Us, Paruyr Sevak (tr. metamorphesque)

happy belated birthday, tay ♡ @misakarose [insp.]

[frobby]

the evils of princess tutu have infected me and now when listen to classical music I'm like "oh its fakir's muscial motif"

[rockeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

day 11th ... What if there was a weird guye.

[chucapybara]

y'know the funny thing is that i'm not even into sci-fi. futuristic settings aren't typically my cup of tea. but signalis SLAPS

[katyspersonal]

Do you think that there are characters who stand for absolute justice or absolute evil in bb？🤔

This is a hard question! Almost everyone in Bloodborne is morally grey in terms of motivation, I'd say! In terms of intention. For example, Alfred is a religious fanatic that beats Annalise into a bloody mess in """righteous""" quest, but in his head he is doing a "good" thing as he is convinced Vilebloods are just bad and it is "not fair" that Logarius has to suffer because of one instead of being buried. Micolash has done uncountable amount of horrible things, but in his head humanity was "not worth it" anyway and evolution and knowledge is worthy of any sacrifice. In fact, it is actually a reasonable assumption considering the setting and all the cosmic horrors Byrgenwerth scholars have learned! Suspicious Beggar is literally just trying to survive, trapped between being not a full human neither a no-longer-sapien, "innocent" beast. You can see why this is so complicated...

The bad guys

I'd say Valtr is the closest to being 'absolute evil'! Vermin is something that could only be seen during keeping his rune burnt into mind, but every Hunter defeated with Impurity in mind + every boss defeated with a League confederate drops Vermin. We thus could assume that virtually everyone has Vermin... or does not, because lore calls it an "illusion". But regardless of interpretation, Valtr is an absolute madman that keeps pulling people into a crazy cultish activity to exterminate all life. But even then, it is closer to 'May Chaos take the world' issue than to simply revelling in relentless murder. Even Valtr tries to help the world, albeit by cleansing it from the life itself sdhfhds Fromsoft is very good at writing insanity, which by definition can't be true evil.

Amelia is a good candidate for being true evil person - maybe long after Laurence's corruption and death, the head clerics willingly exist on borrowed time! They know the blood is not as efficient as it is preached, they know they are not helping Yharnam's citizens, they know they're feeding on what the decaying city still has to offer, they know their end will come sooner or later but they choose to be selfish and use it up while they can. But even then, how can we be sure Amelia was not indoctrinated and brainwashed since childhood and is not stuck in the idea that such existence is "honorable" and DOES something? How can we know whether she has a successor? In my headcanons, she actually became aware and deliberately did not leave a successor (and ate the superiors that pulled her into all this, actually!). So the corrupt system ends on her!

And, of course, Flora / Moon Presence. The one who benefits from the vicious cycle of blood and hunt, yet also somehow from people that attempt evolution through cosmic knowledge. It is just hard to judge a deity from the standpoint of human morals.... But she is more or less a leech on humanity, especially on its suffering, despair and blood. I think I'll count her too... I guess.

The good guys

This one is so much more simple! We have the little girls and their mother Viola, who are easily just a simple family that wants to live! Gascoigne might be more complicated, especially since he's falling for blood-drunkness and paranoia. He announces he won't take any chances with people even if they are not beasts yet! Gilbert, Lonely Old Dear and Arianna also are probably just good people that want to live and do their thing. (Narrow-Minded Man not so much because he is a judgemental asshole that will poison people's daily lives outside of the hunt xd)

Simon certainly stands for justice. He wants the truth to be uncovered, and for the Nightmare to lose its fuel so people do not have to suffer for generations for the sins of their ancestors! I think Henriett is a good girl too - her items and boss summons imply that she used to work with the Healing Church but detracted. However, she is still a hunter, fashioning herself as one of the old ones (this is what 'default' Hunter set is). And she only kills Amelia after she becomes a beast despite her gripe with the Healing Church, right?

And, of course....

According to Miyazaki, Iosefka and especially the Imposter are good and heroic! I can absolutely see the intention. Iosefka is simply a good doctor that tries her best, and she also notably cleans the blood she gives from the blood cells. I've had a theory on how it is useful and very responsible, but additionally, since she is a white doctor, meddling with the holy blood this way should be... heretical? Iosefka disobeys dogmas of her own institution because "cleansed" blood will be better and with less side effects. Fauxsefka, on the other hand, is turning people into Kin so they physically can't become beasts instead. Her kind of good, again, deals with insanity. For an average person, what she's doing makes no sense and she appears to be evil doctor experimenting on poor people... But in the bigger scheme of lore in its entirety, she has a good point. Beasthood stems from humanity... Remove the humanity from humans - and they are safe! She even says this herself, that "we should transcend our stupidity" or something. Think of Micolash, but... kinder? Or even Valtr, but kinder. xd Miyazaki was right that what makes her a hero and not a villain is hard to understand, but I do!

Thanks for the ask! It was interesting to think about! I love philosophy!

[ichimatsufreak]

sincerely i mean this when i say it but do not call individuals finding themselves out as objectum or being young and trying to understand if they're objectum due to more accepting situations or not 'trendhoppers' . it's not only obnoxious but it feels demeaning to those who are finding themselves out. whether or not they are doesn't matter UNLESS it's something they're actually doing and making it an actual problem. give new objectums space to grow and figure themselves out, being vocal about it now is the only reason why people are finally able to get it out.

[lampfacedstudios]

yep I'm still here doing art here and there, still chugging away at this. updating Videre's reference sheet bc the old one is... well let's say it's old and I don't like it so much anymore. she could use a new one.

now I have to play the game of figuring out how much I want to change Videre's helmet and ear-fins on said helmet from what they looked like before. and if I want to change it so they're basically detachable ear-covers or if it's different from the ones already portrayed in the two to the right.

[moonlit-escape]

almost finished with pdh s2, and i can already feel a ranting review coming on

[crehador]

brother crab's winter 2024 parting thoughts: ishura s1

tl;dr was originally meh on this for reasons that really aren't fair, ultimately wound up enjoying it well enough to pick up s2, but wouldn't necessarily recommend (especially if you'll be bothered by the fact that it's Very slow)

full review:

you know what i think for the first half of the season i really didn't give this show a fair shake. based on a skim of its summary and the fact that it had the battle royale tag, i went in thinking it would be structurally similar to shuumatsu no valkyrie (which i'd recently binged and enjoyed immensely)

and that sort of battle royale, a tournament between a roster of op heroes, does seem to be coming up. but unlike snv, ishura doesn't dump us straight into the tournament. there's a whole lot of buildup to it, in fact...

the whole first season is buildup for the tournament to choose a hero, which isn't necessarily a bad thing! just isn't what i expected, so i was a bit on the fence for a while

ultimately though i think i did enjoy this series. it's heavy on the action (and gore) but most of the fight scenes are pretty banging, and the cast is full of fairly interesting characters (many of whom are not long-lived lmao)

some of the characters are so cool, in fact, that it feels like a shame to not get more time with them. the pacing didn't feel bad or anything, but it's a very, for lack of a better word, scattered series. not in a negative way, though, because the relatively huge cast provides a wider look at the world. it's just a lot of build-up and so far not much payoff (but clearly it's the start of a longer thing, so i guess to me that's fine)

the worldbuilding to me is by far the strongest point of the series, even stronger than the action sequences. there are some elements of it that i really love, like the naming conventions ("taren the guarded" "dakai the magpie" "alus the star runner" and so on, instead of family surnames) and the word arts magic

the (fairly early) reveal that not only humans and wyverns but even these... constructs? that seemed like mechanical golems? could use this word arts magic was fantastic to me, and i hope we get to see more interesting things of that nature as we continue

ishura has had a second season announced and even though i was a bit lukewarm on it for half this season, i do think i'll continue. if only because the cast is absurdly stacked and i go where my favorite voice actors go lol

i would still say it isn't exactly exceptional as a fantasy action series, but does do some interesting things with worldbuilding that i don't think i've seen much of before (but i also haven't watched fantasy extensively yet, so don't have too much to compare)

dakai my beloved freak i miss u already umu it was such a trip hearing hoshi souichirou voice a character like dakai though lol i mean i'm sure he's done many before but i more associate him with darling momo revale (and more recently saiyuki swk) so this was. new. and a treat

[anonymouslyyourssix]

obsessed with fanfics in which wonka leaves charlie to manage the factory all by himself. but instead of feeling hurt or abandoned, the boy just waits for him to come back, no matter how many eons or decades, he still chooses to believe, full of hope in his heart and unending love for willy, his best friend, his mentor and his brother

[myriad-rainbows]

[image: a digital painting of the broadcast scene from Nona the Ninth: a giant screen displays the faces of Kiriona Gaia and Naberius!Ianthe. In the foreground, Nona and Hot Sauce perch on the crossbar of a traffic signal pole, looking at the screen over the heads of the gathered crowd, Hot Sauce seated and Nona looking almost like she is dancing. End I.D.]

“there she was — it was her, the girl in her dream.”

[towl]

the leader of rescene is a may gemini.....gotta support

[jostansbandc]

Let's be a single mother together...

[what-am-i-doing-in-this-fandom]

🥹 Thank you for the mention, this is beautiful, and I did, in fact, need to see it 🙏

AGHHHHH I CANT STOP DRAWING VAMPIRE FIDDLEFORD HELP

[californianedgeworth]

worry not people who follow me for rgg content... i am relearning how to draw by means of Like a Dragon yuri