#though i also doubt she'll get any more and/or any on her own due to being a fat black stud and also a centaur 💀

[droodlebug]

i dont think you should focus super hard on getting defences in artifight but i cant help bur feel sad for janis knowing she will probably never be drawn for an attack because shes fat and hairy which sucks bc she is so cutee anyone attacking is missing out on her 😩

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

a little self-indulgent, but may I request Full headcanons of M6 reacting (and accommodating?) to MC who's easily jealous and possessive due to their trauma? (for example, MC got cheated on before and now they can't bear the thought of M6 doing the same to them, if it makes sense.)

thanks!

The Arcana HCs: When MC struggles with jealousy

Julian

Cheating simply Does Not Occur to him. It doesn't enter his mind

Seriously. He doesn't doubt his capacity to be attractive, but for such a complicated person, experiencing love is a straightforward matter for him. He loves you. Why bother with anything else?

Of course, if it's a source of pain for you, then it's a concern for him too. He's had his fair share of unhealthy relationships and isn't in the dark about just how badly cheating will mess someone up

He's also the type to overthink things, so once you bring it up as your own issue, he's naturally taking it on as his issue too

He wouldn't! ... but now he's going to go out of his way to prove to himself that he's not the kind of person who would

It also drives the point home to him just how precious it is to have your trust (and why he really should have never tried to briefly dump you on the docks). That did need some discussing

In general, he's so transparent and talkative with you that there's nobody in his life you don't know about. If he has a high opinion of them, he's already trying to get you two to be friends as well

And if you ever worry that someone else is better for him, he will take that as a challenge to outdo your sense of unworthiness /j

Asra

They would never. You know this. They know this. Every citizen in Vesuvia knows this. The major Arcana know this

But the horrible thing about traumas and fears is that they don't have to be rational to hurt you, and Asra knows that too

Your relationship actually went through quite the rough patch with this at first. Asra's plenty familiar with heartbreak, but he doesn't have a jealous bone in his body and struggles to understand it

What's more, their own traumas make them practically allergic to feeling controlled or trapped in any way, which doesn't help their love of being mysterious and unpredictable

Which, of course, only fed your anxieties, and in turn left him easily triggered if you tried to get a solid answer out of him about what he'd been up to all day on his spontaneous solo side quests

What's most important, though, is that they love you with everything they are, and they're dedicated to helping you heal and being the best partner they can as they build a happy life with you

It's a catalyst for both of you to confront and work through your traumas together - your jealousy, and his fear of constancy

They do find telling you all about their day is actually lots of fun

Nadia

She is so glad you're bringing this up

Would she ever cheat? Absolutely not. She takes relational boundaries very seriously and what she has with you is a kind of love and safety and closeness she's waited for her whole life

However, while she and Lucio never cheated on each other, they did have an open marriage which meant other lovers were in the picture, and knowing you're not comfortable with that is important

She will happily get into the nitty gritty of past grievances and unsatisfying relationships and the details of every boundary

She also strongly values your sense of safety and security with her, and if there's any little things she can do to equip you to battle your demons, she will happily do them. Just tell her what helps

However, it is also very important to her to clarify that your jealousy is your situation talking and not a slight on her character

Because if it helps you heal to see her be transparent with you, she'll practically become glass, but if you start questioning her own intentions and moral code, you're not giving her space to do right

Can and will set things up so you can watch her beat down anybody flirting with her in real time (and kiss you afterwards)

Muriel

Cheating is an entirely foreign concept to him and the fact that someone would actually do that is completely horrifying to him

He is so, so sorry you had to find out what that was like

He's also baffled about how that could even happen. In his case, you're the first person he's even considered having a relationship like this with. Who else would he even want to be with?

The first time you express any insecurity or jealousy about him specifically, he's a little thrown. Just the thought of betraying you like that disgusts him, do you really distrust him that much?

Of course, that's his own traumas and insecurities affecting him, and he knows better than anyone how poor past experiences make him fear hurt from his loved ones which he knows they'd never do

If you have the patience to soothe him when he flinches from your sudden movements or unexpected happy shouts, he easily has the patience to reassure you of your importance and safety with him

He'll also hold a grudge even bigger than yours against whoever gave you that relational trauma. In his mind, they have a reserved spot right next to Lucio in the not-fun part of the afterlife

Still doesn't know who else would find him desirable anyways

Portia

Oh, she gets it. She doesn't necessarily experience this to the level that you do, but she certainly relates on multiple counts

Feeling left behind by a loved one and struggling not to be insecure about it? Check. It's why she's so free to steal Julian's kneecaps

Feeling like she's just the good option people pick until they find their ideal option? Feeling like it's just a matter of time until she gets dropped again, no matter how well-meaning that person is?

Yeah, she gets you. Not to mention that it's a little hard not to compare herself to the incredible people you're friends with who would all clearly love to be the focus of your affections

The fact that you feel this too is such a relief. You two are about to spend so many hours on her couch with tea and baked treats while you talk about your similar experiences and unpack those feelings

And honestly, hearing you voice your doubts gives her space to voice hers. You can be open about how she's clearly the Countess's favorite and she can be open about your past roommate setup

If either of you finds it just a little bit attractive when you get to flaunt your relationship at ambassador events when another partygoer gets a bit too friendly - well - it's a guilty pleasure

Lucio

Look, he knows he's not a shining example of a model citizen, but he wouldn't disrespect the boundaries of someone he loves

At the same time, his assumptions about what those boundaries are aren't exactly monogamous. Will he be in a closed, exclusive relationship with you if those are your boundaries? Absolutely!

Will he need you to explicitly tell him that those are your boundaries? Also yes. Otherwise he might randomly ask how you feel about inviting a new friend to go on a date with you two

He's still working on his emotional intelligence, too, so the chances of him understanding the relational trauma aspect of that are slim

However, he understands the insecurity. You could leave him tomorrow and as heartbroken and betrayed as he'd feel, deep down he wouldn't be able to find it in himself to blame you

The last thing he wants to make you feel is less than or unworthy. You are worth so, so very much and you deserve only the best

Because he's still learning new habits, accountability is something he finds as uncomfortable as he does necessary and while he doesn't need it in this area, he still values it

Still needs reassurances that you don't think he'd actually do that

[respectthepetty]

The Loyal Pin - Episode 10

Last episode, my Wild Ass Theory that Anin and Pin will inherit their mother's colors as they come into adulthood resurfaced as Anin wore a yellow dress when she left the beach, and this episode, she wears a blue and yellow skirt as she asks her brother to teach her how to drive.

Anin's brother is wearing blue, so I had high hopes for him being supportive of Anin this episode, and the piggyback ride as well as the purple flowers helped me keep the faith.

But Kuea stays pissing me off, and Anin's younger brother seems oblivious to anything beyond his own little get-everyone-hitched agenda.

So, of course, Kuea runs immediately over to the main house DURING HIS WORK HOURS to snitch on Pin. I appreciate that everyone keeps questioning his worth ethic though.

But the mom is wearing pink and blue, so unlike Anin's older brother, I have no idea how she'll take this news. Pin is wearing a darker pink now though, so I think the adult responsibilities are coming sooner than the girls are realizing.

AND WE GET BACKSTORY! Part of my Wild Ass Theory was that Pin's mom was a lesbian. She has her more vibrant pink color, but at times she wears yellow/orange. I guessed the yellow/orange came from a previous lover.

So her opening a sunflower ring was all the evidence I needed.

I don't know if Im's color is peach or pink.

But I can't focus because Patt is on the floor looking like a snack, and I think she is in blue.

Then, we see Im and Patt's love story. Patt was Im's companion and Im is still wearing whatever color she is wearing, while Patt is fully in blue.

And they were in love with each other.

Patt knows what Pin's ring means because she was once Pin. Im gave Patt the yellow flower ring in the same way Anin gave the ring to Pin.

But there was no happily ever after for Patt and Im because Im died!

I thought the backstory would help clear up the colors and the confusion, but it didn't! Patt seemed colorless in the past like Aon is now. If Im's color was pink, then it makes sense Patt carried it with her all this time. And if Im's color was peach, it makes sense that Patt uses it every now and then, yet it doesn't explain why Patt shifted her color from blue to purple. It also doesn't make sense why she was so upset about Pin's ring. It's not like Im rejected her or left her for a someone else. Im died. They loved each other. That love was real and never doubted, so why is she upset at Pin's ring now?!

The girls and their colors are evolving, but they are changing together, so what is the mom so afraid of? If we had seen society or some external factors harming Patt and Im's relationship, maybe I could understand, but the backstory just makes me think she should be more supportive of the girls' love.

But here she is now fully in her color and throwing her support behind Kuea! I do not comprehend this.

I'm shocked that Anin's older brother seems to be the only one with any sense! I was worried when he showed up colorless, but he helped to cover for his sister.

And now he can get that ally badge for supporting the color-coded couple!

Anin and I both love him dearly!

But Patt is still bothering me! She is a lesbian! She shows up in yellow and orange because she still loves Im. So why not let the color-coded girls be IN LOVE?!

Pin's color is getting redder just like her mom's, and I'm worried that her mom is going to push even harder next episode for her to get married. We have six episodes left. Even though I don't fully know what the colors mean, the reds and yellows/oranges are showing up too often now for me to ignore.

Just like Anin sneaking up on Prik, these colors and adulthood are sneaking up on the girls while they are just trying to enjoy their lives.

By the end of the episode, the color-coded girls in love seem to have sorted their issues out because Pink Person Pin is looking lovely.

Which is probably due to her getting all of Anin's attention after not seeing her for a weeks.

And Blue Beauty Anin looks refreshed the day after.

So of course this chick with her can't-get-one-consistent-color self would ruin the color-coded happiness I wanted to feel secure in!

Patt's color confuses me, but Aon's color(s) frustrate me because I don't know if she is trying to be Pin which is why she wears Pin's color(s) or if she has no real identity and will shape herself into whatever she needs to be to please Anin because she never wears a consistent color.

And I know this frustratation is going to stick with me next episode because my babygirl is crying, and I'm already salty about it.

At least Pin and Anin will be solely in their colors next episode, so I have nothing to worry about with them and their relationship, right?

*Heng walks into the scene* FUCK!

[magua-vida]

SLAY THE QUEEN THORN

I was inspired by Abby's sketch of a hypothetical Queen version of the Princess, so I tried my hand at it with a few vessels, including this one. I... ended up drawing something akin to a fashion design concept art rather than a practical design that won't be tiring to draw over and over after a handful of sprites later. I also had to use a bit more artistic license growing unnatural poppies on the dress and the thick twirly prickly noodles.

some explanations behind the process

For the "mended" Thorn, I pretty much just removed the foreground thorns and added the dirt.

rambling/fangirling/screenshots below:

The Thorn is one of my favorites. If I had to choose only five vessels to offer to Shifty and there's no replayable feature, she'll definitely be one of them. I'm one of those suckers who's into Hurt/Comfort stories. Almost like a masochist for those fics, you could say. If the climax to an Action-heavy story is the defeat of one party, then the catharsis of Hurt/Comfort is when the two characters... well, comfort each other- either due to hurt from each other or someone else. In The Thorn's case, she started off rather innocently, Damsel-like, but not quite. She still had caution. It was until she was literally stabbed in the back that she learned that it was a mistake. And when Long Quiet offered sincere regret and admission of fault, she stabbed him... but she didn't feel the relief she thought she'd get from it. I think many relate to having been betrayed and/or betraying someone they trusted, and the scratches are felt by many players.

The thorns curve inward, as if it's more painful to leave her than it is to approach her.

Poppies grow around along the bramble. Many mistook them for roses because they're red and there are brambles (tbh, I actually dunno if they're brambles or briars, I looked them up and I got confused, forgive me, plant enthusiasts ;.;) that grow around the patches of those poppies. Death and romance~

This brings back to Chapter 1 where Hero was kinda-sorta-maybe-definitely crushing on the Princess and wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, not only because of feelings, but for a reasonable cause of wanting to rescue someone who possibly may actually be a victim of circumstance.

Look, I have reasons why Thorn route is one of my favorites and it definitely doesn't have anything to do with both characters having massive trust issues and the capability to change themselves for better or worse and the emotional moments hitting me like a lovely diamond-dusted dagger. Both of them are rather cat-like with pointy ears too.

I appreciate that you're still given the options to leave or stab Thorn, as if the situation isn't pitiable enough. Even her tiara looks like a crown of thorns. It's as if she views the thorns as both a form of penance and a defence mechanism to protect herself from being hurt again, even though she's hurt by her own making this time.

I chose for the Long Quiet to save her and leave the cabin together.

This part stabbed me the most. Even when shown genuine help, she shrinks back.

This part burns a bit of the jadedness away. Trust is a scary thing, so is love. How can you be so sure that you won't be hurt by the one you love again? But just like what The Prisoner says, it's about trust- blind trust. Thorn looks more human than her previous self- less animalistic, softer. A part of The Damsel returns, even in the music.

I recall weighing on whether I prefer the version with the Voice of the Cheated or Voice of the Smitten. I vaguely remember wondering if there was an option to ask her if it's okay to kiss her. I guess the ideal would be is to have that choice, but I suppose the climactic moment calls for it and she doesn't mind it, at least. It's like the option to hug Astarion from BG3, but you're not sure whether he'd be comfy with it after being hurt so much. He gave approval for it too~

As much as Thorn is one of my favorites, I'm not attracted to her and any of the vessels. Instead, I ship her with the Long Quiet- the character himself. I don't really see myself AS the Long Quiet, more like choosing what actions on what he does and I separate myself from him a lot for many reasons. It's a bit like the Harry situation from Disco Elysium in terms of seemingly blank-slate protagonists.

Instead, I kinda put myself into her situation to feel how she felt in this route. The poppies not only felt symbolic of her nature as part of the Shifting Mound, but also specifically the end of the mutual treachery you've inflicted on each other, potentially beginning anew on a path of healing.

==============ramble-bramble over===================

[chemzee]

How likely are hpma characters to die tierlist yay!!!

since Y4 is on the horizon, it's about time I post this silly lil tierlist I did a long time ago and explain my reasonings behind it. Unlike the dating option tierlist, this one is purely intuitive and there isn't any hard logic or facts behind it, it's just the vibes, basically.

(most of these are speculated to die due to a sacrifice and the last tier is more of a half joke, but I'll explain later)

You're free to disagree with me ofc and if you have any thoughts or your own personal theories, feel free to share! :D

Edit: just in case, please remember that this is just a theory and speculations based on pure intuition and I could be very wrong about all of this and your fav or just nobody in general will die. I did this tierlist for fun and fun only.

MOST LIKELY

This tier is for non companion characters only, as I believe companion characters, in their majority, are not going to die at all (aka anyone below likely tier is most likely safe). Out of all characters that appeared in the storyline, these 3 give off the biggest death flags.

Elliot: he's an antagonist so it already means he's more likely to die hsdakd. But on more serious note, I feel like his personality and especially his life philosophy are what would lead him to his demise. Or to his arrest. It's either of these two,really.

Esme: as much as this one would hurt like hell, it's also a likely possibility. She was already used as a plot point for Daniel and his arc, her getting hospitalized and with high chance of being permanently damaged leaves me to believe the story killing her off isn't too far fetched. Just another way to traumatize Daniel, basically. CRossing my fingers that it aint gonna happen tho.

Winifred: same reasoning as for Esme, she's got a high chance of dying for sake of Ivy's arc. She was already kinda "killed off" after she accidentally evanesco-ed herself, so high chances are, she will die for real or she'll accidentally kill or seriously injure someone. A part of me feels that the twins,most likely, would not have a happy ending, with Winnie either being killed off or something else terrible happening to her. Perhaps she'll sacrifice herself for Ivy.

LIKELY

Here we start with the companion characters. As I mentioned earlier, I highly doubt anyone below this tier will die, but there's still a possibility I can't deny.

Colby and Fischer, however, are the exception, to me personally. And my bet is it's going to be one of the two, rather than two of them together. Given how in one of the interviews it's mentioned the twins's relationship would become more tense and distant at some point in the story, I feel like one of them dying would be a pretty likely outcome, for sake of development of the other twin and Cassandra. I suspect a sacrifice.

Question is, which of the twins it's gonna be. My bet is on Fischer, mostly because of how I suspect Colby's development is going to go, but Colby can still be the unlucky one lol.

HIGH POSSIBILITY

aka not really. If anything, I doubt these characters are going to die. But if anyone out of rest of companions will face death in the storyline, these 3 are the most likely.

Daniel: Daniel is...well, Daniel. He's a loyal friend, someone who's described to never betray those he holds dear and we've seen him be really protective of his friends and family, deliberately putting himself in danger to save those he loves, especially during Y3. I smell sacrifice, likely for sake for MC and Ivy. Or one of his family members. Or- ok I'll stop here.

Ivy: pretty much the same reasoning like the one behind Daniel, her sacrificing herself for sake of MC, Daniel or Winnie. She too, is a loyal and protective friend, someone who hates injustices or bullies, willing to break rules for her friends, so again, I can smell a potential sacrifice. Or it's her anger issues and impulsivity that are going to lead her to her demise. But I feel like she has less chances than Daniel though.

Kevin: falls off his broom and dies lol. Ok on serious note, I can,sorta, imagine a "final stage of his character development" scenario where he becomes brave enough to be able to defend himself and his friends, especially Robyn. And, in the end, sacrifices himself for her. I doubt it would happen tho but it's still a possibility. But a lot less likely than the rest of the characters.

HARD TO SAY

Self explanatory, I can see them dying, especially Cass, but I don't think it'll happen. Mostly because I don't see why would they be killed off, other than for shock. So it may or may not, again, hard to say.

Robyn: ehh, given her personality, her dying kinda makes sense but storywise why would they kill her off? I mean, she could die for Kevin's character development, but Kevin dying kinda makes more sense to me personally.

Cassandra: I actually wanted to put her in the tier list above, because I can see her dying after her redemption arc while protecting someone, you know, another noble death/sacrifice scenario. But like. I dunno, she doesn't strike me as someone who'd die because like,what for? Her personality also doesn't give me any reason to believe she'll die, unless someone would try to kill her, but she's confrmed to have a redemtion arc so I doubt the attempt would be successful. It makes a lot more sense to keep her alive from narrative perspective. I think, at least.

LIKELY NOT

Lottie: game constantly ignores her existence so she will escape claws of death thanks to neglect writers give her/jjj. Ok in all seriousness, she literally has no reason to be killed off. Like. What for? Shock value is the only reason I can think of and I doubt they would go that route. She's safe, most likely.

MC TIER

bc of how often HPMA storyline parallels or straight up copies the original HP plot, a silly part of me thinks there would be a scene in like, Y7, where MC would have a false death moment. As in, either die and resurrect (I highly doubt tho despite the tier being called that (I did think that while making it tho but I changed my mind)) or they would appear dead but in reality, they were alive all along. Or they would recieve a very bad, potentially lethal injury, but would survive. I could be wrong tho ofc but a part of me feels like that's kind of a route they'd go with.

Doubt they'd kill off the player character fr lmao

--------------------------------------------------------------

ANYWAY this was longer than I thought it would be lol THANKS A LOT to everyone who read until the end hehehe :3

[ilikepjo24]

what are your veldette hcs? ,:3

Was born and raised on Aldershot, England.

Her actual name is Maya but she changed it after she died, partly to fit the Vee agenda.

The other half of the reason is that if she's ever forced to sign a soul contract, the plan is that she'll do so with the name "Velvette" and will use the fact that this is not her real name as a loophole to get out of it after. I imagine a lot of people in hell do that. Vox obviously did.

Which is also why only Vox and Val know her real name isn't Velvette.

Her parents divorced when she was really young but they shared custody, so both of them were part of her life.

Both of them were part of her life, but if you were to ask her she'd tell you she could do without her mom being around. They have a bad relationship.

Absolute Daddy's Girl to literally no end. Loves her dad more than Alastor loves his mom.

Was born an only child but after her dad remarried she got a new little brother and sister that are twins.

She never felt insecure about her father loving her new siblings more that her bc she just has such a good, healthy relationship with him that she never ever doubted he loves her.

But she did have a hard time getting used to the new siblings bc only child life is wildly different from the older sibling life. Now she has to share stuff, babysit and had two little gremlins bursting into her room without permission (younger siblings are the worst) (I'm a younger sibling and I can confirm)

She never got too close to her stepmother, not due to lack of trying from the stepmother's side, but due to lack of reciprocating from her own. She just generally doesn't feel very relaxed around older women, courtesy of her mother.

Struggled with an ED, courtesy of her mother, that followed her in the afterlife.

Her father worked in finance, her mother was a dance teacher, her stepmother was a nurse.

She's a phenomenal dancer, courtesy of her mother, who started teaching her how to dance when she was 2 and a half.

And it was comments about her body "having to be that of a dancer" that caused her to have issues with her appearance and with food. Thanks mum. Aren't you just the best.

She used to sketch outfits ever since she was a kid, and started sewing at middle school, but never considered doing it professionally until she was with the Vees.

At age 14 she had her first ever crush and it was on a girl so she thought she was lesbian, but after having a couple more crushes on different genders and some soul-searching, she started identifying as omnisexual with a preference for women.

By age 19 she was identifying as a nonbinary gray-A omnisexual that uses she/her.

She was a fairly good student. Not the top of her class or a straight A's, but she was pretty smart, nobody paid too much mind though, because she wanted to be really low-key about her good grades, since "studying's for nerds and losers"

She studied marketing at Oxford university, but died before she got her degree.

Died at age 21, and in 2009. She's been in hell for 15 years and was an '88 baby.

The reason she's in hell is bc when she was still in highschool, she was a bully, and she harassed a girl so much that she (the victim) committed suicide.

That and some minor crimes like shoplifting, underage drinking, driving without a license and DUI.

Drunk driving is how she died. Went out with some friends, had one too many drinks, it hit her like a train cause she hadn't eaten anything before going out (or at any point in the past 2 days) and she passed out behind the wheel, resulting to a fatal car accident.

Met Val as soon as she manifested in hell. Like, she fell from the sky on top of Val's parked car. Killed by a car, landed on a car, she can't seem to be getting away from those fucking vehicles of death.

When asked what the fuck does she think she's doing on top of his car, by Valentino, she proceeded to answering by going on a long, very aggressive rant about her stupid ED, and her stupid mother that is to blame for her stupid ED, and her stupid friend group for not deciding on a designated driver before going out, because she's new here and nobody taught her not to just trust people enough to spill her guts to them.

Valentino barely understood anything bc his English wasn't all that good at the time. Vox was teaching him but they had known each other for 3 or 4 years by then, so it's not like he had enough lessons to keep up with her monologue. The speed in which she was talking and the blackish english accent did not do him any favours.

Despite not understanding shit he decided he liked her energy and took her home with him. He adopted her like a stray cat.

"Home" does not mean the Vee tower, because the Vee's weren't a thing yet, but a simple penthouse apartment he shared with Vox.

Vox had a cardiac arrest when he went home that night and found a random girl just sitting on his couch, eating cereal, watching a Spanish soap opera with his boyfriend, who introduced her as his new "thing".

"Voxxy, look what I found! Isn't it adorable? I found it on the street, poor niñita. I'll keep it, she's mine now, okay?"

"What? What do you mean you found her? How does one even-? And what, you just decided she's staying with us now? You can't just do that! Where did she come from? What's her name?"

"...~"

"What's her name, Val?"

"What is your name, chiquita?"

"Maya.."

"Great, now don't ever say that to anyone ever again."

She pitched herself as a marketing expert and an entrepreneur (she had a big following on Twitter (X) , Facebook and Tumblr when she was alive) to get Vox to agree to not kicking her in the curb to be homeless and unprotected in hell.

Vox and Val helped her bully her first victims into signing their soul away. It was their equivalent of watching your baby walk for the first time.

Voxbook, X-Vox and Voxblr already existed in hell, because Vox had found out about them through souls that died after those platforms where created, so he was their sole owner, but Reddit was something he learned from Velvette, and she helped develop, launch and market it, so she's the co-owner of it.

Soon enough, finding about new social media platforms on the land of the living and creating equivalents of it in hell became more of her thing than Vox's, but considering they all exist thanks to Voxtech existing, and due to the fact that Velvette cannot code to save her life, they are still co-owners of all the platforms.

The only reason Voxtagram, VoxTok, SnapVox, ect. have only Vox's name in them is bc Velvette thinks that's an overkill and frankly, kinda pathetic.

She utilized her knowledge of marketing to the fullest and is a huge part of why the Vees are as famous and rich as they are today. Did promo of Vox's products and Val's movies like her life depended on it.

In 2009, she manifested in hell. In 2010, the Vees™ became official and started promoting themselves as a group instead of individuals. In 2012, Velvette decided to add "Fashion Designer" in her CV. In 2013, she was the Channel, Dior, Loui Vuitton, Gucci and any other extremely-famous-and-expensive-brand equivalent of hell.

If the Goetia, Sins and the Royal Family have a hell equivalent of the Met Gala, she designs everything in there.

But she also IS fast fashion. H&M and Shein have nightmares about her stealing their jobs.

Fast and cheap for the poor, high quality and expensive for the rich, she sells everything to everyone and she IS fashion in hell. There's no other clothing brand except hers. She does shipments in all the rings of hell too, because she creates clothes for all shapes and sizes and that includes imps and hellhounds.

Her range in sizes is very body positive bc she knows how much it sucks to have issues with your appearance, so her products are designed to make everyone look drop dead gorgeous no matter their size. (No, this doesn't count as a good deed, she just wants as much money as possible)

Vox and Val have decided not to let the on-again off-again nature of their relationship affect their ability to be a united font when co-parenting Velvette. Valentino's the mom.

They are in their 40's, she's 21, it's the only way.

She hates that they do that, except from the times it feels homey and loving and sheltering and soothing. Then she hates it less.

She's on good terms with both of them, but she's closer with Vox than with Val. Once a daddy's girl always a daddy's girl. And Val's the mom.

And Vox is a major girl dad too. Val's the "do you really need it? Saving money is important." parent despite being rich because he grew up working class and old habits die screaming. Vox is the "oh, you like the Lust Ring? I'll buy it for you!" parent bc he grew up rich, fucking privileged asshole (I love him).

She never met Alastor personally, because he and Vox's friendship was already dead and gone and sour by the time she died, so she only knows him as "Vox's rival" and "The guy that hurt my dad colleague", which reflects on how she treats him when they happen upon each other, in the street or in meetings (not cordially, to put it nicely).

She's not on good terms with Carmilla, or Zeezi, or Rosie, or whoever tf Bethesda von Eldritch is (she showed up when I googled the names of overlords). She's generally not in good terms with older women period. Courtesy of her mother. Because hell doesn't have good therapists and therefore she cannot heal from past trauma.

I have reached 55 now, so I think I've more than overdone it. However, if you still want more of those, let me know, because Velvette is my current hyperfixation and I could go on and on about her!!

[legobiwan]

What do you think the rest of the mario crew thinks of luigis villains?

Oooh hoo hoo. Fun question, anon! I'll include my projected opinions of Bowser, Peach, Mario and maybe a little addendum of E. Gadd as they're the main players who would have definite and varying things to say about each villain.

Bowser

Antasma: Thinks he's an absolute pushover and annoying, to boot. 10/10 would join forces with and betray again as it was almost a little too easy.

King Boo: Is extremely wary of him and tries to avoid entering any deals or partnerships with him, as even Bowser thinks King Boo is seriously deranged and from the rumours he's heard from the Boos who immigrated to the Darklands, he is a petty, tyrannical, and insane ruler. (Not that Bowser isn't petty and tyrannical - at least in his own mind. But, in reality, Bowser is pretty fair according to Darklands culture and treats his minions well, even if he yells and stomps around a lot).

Dimentio: Hates him with a burning passion and wants a chance to go one on one with him, just so he can personally stuff a sock in the smooth-talking jester's mouth. Bowser is always open to less-than-healthy alliances for personal gain, but even he knows Dimentio is someone you do not do deals with if you want to live. But by the lava gods, would he love to dig him up from the River Twygz, just for the opportunity to bury him again.

Peach

Antasma: Frankly, to Peach, Antasma is another villain-of-the-week who kidnapped her. She has no patience for villains who rely solely on kidnapping as their modus operandi, it's insulting and she's over it. She'll, of course, keep an open line of communication with the Pi'illo Kingdom in case Antasma or someone similar tries to make a pass at the Dream Stone, which is a wildly dangerous artifact.

King Boo: Even though King Boo did kidnap her once, Peach holds less disdain for King Boo than Antasma, as, at least with King Boo, her imprisonment wasn't targeted solely on her. She has a healthy respect for King Boo's powers and does not want to get the Mushroom Kingdom entangled with whatever bizarre blood feud is going on between him and Luigi.

Dimentio: She's just glad he's (hopefully) dead. This hasn't stopped her from drafting up a contingency plan to account any reappearance, just in case. She considers him one of the most dangerous villains of all time and worse, due to the whole Chaos Heart fiasco, that contingency plan she's created? Strategies to contain Luigi are also in that plan, and she hates every word she has to dictate to her scribes.

Mario

Antasma: Hates him for the fact he managed to infiltrate his brother's dreams and not only violate his deepest thoughts, but bring Bowser along for that ride. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as the old saying goes.

King Boo: Wants. His. Head. On. A. Platter. (But also, that whole thing makes him doubt himself? He's supposed to the protector, not Luigi. And three times now, Mario has managed to fail and been taken captive by ghosts. He can't figure out why he's so ill-disposed to deal with the paranormal. He needs to fix it).

Dimentio: Mario simultaneously despises Dimentio and is also terrified of him, as he's one of the only bad guys he's never truly been able to kill. Sure, they brought down Super Dimentio (Mario doesn't want to think about that, the other way his brother was folded and stretched into a grotesque monster of the apocalypse), but even then, Dimentio had one last trick up his sleeve and if not for Count Bleck and Tippi, the worlds would have ended and that damned jester and his in-thrall brother would have been left kings of an empty universe. More than King Boo, the nightmare that returns to Mario again and again is Dimentio rising from Underwhere with dangerous, silky words, somehow convincing Luigi to join forces with him to reignite the Chaos Heart and bring reality crashing to an end.

Post-script: E. Gadd

I think of all the villains, E. Gadd would be most fascinated by Antasma. King Boo is a nuisance, one created - if he were to be honest with himself - in part due to his own negligence. He'll never know everything about ghosts, but he knows a damn lot after all these decades. But to traverse the world of dreams and use them to alter reality - that is something E. Gadd has not encountered before, and he would love to study Antasma's powers and see how they align with the brainwave charts he's taken in secret of Luigi.

[ansbobcar]

Infodumping/venting about the lack of Mashle fanfics on most fanfic platforms

WARNING: This isn't a vent. This is a mashle fanfic idea dumpster fire with MANGA SPOILERS.

I'm so heartbroken discovering that there is barely any mashle x oc content out there even x readers or character x character. I have so many tiny plot point ideas for a Rayne/Rain x fem oc/reader. Which resulted in me beginning to write my own oc, Darren Randel. Her name's stolen from my random ass mha oc Darren Halston. Darren Randel is lowkey different (she's less edgy/and emotionally unstable) even though they both have brown hair.

PLS TELL ME IF YOU'RE GONNA STEAL OR GET INSPO FROM THIS PLS BECUZ I WOULD LIKE TO HELP.

SO-

What was the original plot idea you may ask?

Infamous girl from rival school transfers to Easton Magic Academy because she fell in love with Rayne Ames lol.

Lowkey unoriginal right?

So then I added an extra spin to it borrowing a key romance drama plot point from See You in My 19th Life: Darren only gets 3 chances to confess and have her feelings be reciprocated by Rayne, and if he rejects her feelings. She'll give up (on that romance).

The ending of the fanfic is bittersweet: She doesn't get Rayne. But they stay close friends.

OH BUT HERE'S WHAT I'M TRYNA FIGURE OUT TO ADD MORE OF THAT BITTERSWEET FEEL TO IT:

1. Darren confused her initial crush on Rayne to be love at first sight/romantic feelings when she actually felt like she had a friend/that sense of trust in him compared to others.

1a. As a result of that she kind of decides to nullify all her chances of getting him.

1b. Regardless of this plot point she still ends up developing actual romantic attraction for Rayne and still doesn't get her feelings reciprocated.

2. It turns out that Rayne ALSO developed feelings for Darren over the course of the fic but he still rejects her advances due to either:

a. Her newfound realisation that she confused her feelings of attraction for something like companionship or trust. (1a)

b. His new position and role as Divine Visionary and the fear that she would be in more danger than she already was. (For context: her former school Walkis has so much beef with her existence for the 4 ish years she was there that they want her erased from existence and the Bureau of Magic is extremely alert about her whereabouts due to that and her skills which will be explained in the OC Profile section below).

c. Typical fears of a dude who for most of his life before Easton was seen as a nuisance alongside his younger brother Finn. (Big headcanon.) Doubt he cares/he probably would shove in the aristocrats face if he was dating her honestly (fake dating plot point???)

_ _ _ _ _ _

OC PROFILE:

Fyi - I haven't completed her complete information so I may have removed some parts.

General Info:

Name: Darren Randel

Other names: “Renren”, “Walkis Traitor”, “Wandless Psycho”

Sex: Female

Age: 18 (from the start of Mashle canon timeline)

Birthday: February 18th

Blood Type: A

Height: 168cm

Occupation: 3rd Year Student at Easton Magic Academy

House: Adler

Affiliation: Easton Magic Academy (current), Walkis Magic Academy (former)

Dominant Hand: Left

Good Subjects: Magic Geography (it better exist), Magic Zoology

Bad Subjects: Magic Mathematics, Magic Biology

Hobbies: Cooking, Running at 4am, Pestering Rayne whenever possible

Favourite Food: Mussel/Seafood Pasta

Favourite Word: “Antidisestablishmentarianism”

Favourite type of the opposite sex: “People think about those?”

Dislikes: Her sense of justice being challenged, Bunbun, People who hate Rayne Ames

Frequently visited school spots: School Garden, Training rooms, Dormitory kitchen 

Appearance: 

Her hair is orange brown with cornflower tips. The way she styles her hair hides one of her lines. The main line that is shown juts out just under her cheek from her forehead while the other one only juts out slightly from the side of her eye. She’s more of a sports person than a bookworm. When she manifests her third line, it appears across and under her eyes. She switches between 3 types of bottoms. Pants, Long skirt, shorter skirt of which she wears jogging leggings underneath but they’re all dark blue you know.

Lines: 2 + 1

Skills/Abilities: 

General Magic: Offensive Magic - Due to the competitive environment of Walkis, she has a general grasp on nearly all learnable offensive magic spells. Being able to cast them with ease compared to more typical and unlethal spells. Her speed at casting these spells were unmatched during her time in middle school.

Personal Magic: Impart - Darren’s magic essentially allows her to balance out either magical power, strength, and weaknesses between her targets (living and non living) or with herself. It’s essentially cheating at life. The magic is highly confusing due to the fact that she doesn’t have to chant the words to the magic and its essentially treated as a debuffing magic (which is wrong because she aims to fight everyone on fair terms).

Impart Zero - It dispels a spell.

Impart Seconth: Impartial Vice - Instead of deducting and balancing their power, like a water dam. Water is added to balance both sides.

Summon: Themis (Goddess of Justice) - When summoned, the user’s wand transforms into a dull sword whilst Themis appears with blindfold with a scale in hand

Themis Inclination - Themis appears and buffs her attacks’ range but she rarely utilises this due to how lackluster it was against Rayne (ineffective) and other people

Impart Thirds: Divine Mercy - It’s essentially renders its' target a painless death. It's an instant kill move.

Impart Thirds: Divine Tears - Unlike Divine Mercy, this one's pure torture. (To be developed later) (Tears of Themis reference?)

Wandless Casting: Her aptitude to cast magic without a wand has earned her infamy and wanted death since she enrolled into Walkis in middle school. It has also made her wanted by a few subdivisions of the Bureau of Magic, namely Magic Talent and Magic Research Administration.

Immense Speed: Exactly what running at 4am, and doing marathons before starting class does.

Immense Endurance: Due to the fact she does running as a hobby, her stamina/endurance in terms of speed/running is more than decent. She can withstand advanced offensive spells typically used by the police.

Equipment:

Basic Wand - She prefers to not wield a wand though finding it too rudimentary for her purposes, hence many assume she cannot unleash her secondth and thirds magic (to which she has). It stays in her cloak mostly.

Infinite Storage Fabric - Lining her uniform’s robe it has the ability to store anything it can consume within its’ own subspace. She stores majority of her items in it. Even though it’s mass doesn’t change due to how many things there are, it still is a heavy fabric. It will help fish out whatever the user who is currently wearing the cloak wants to have.

Resistance bands - She carries it around to do some exercise. Especially when she’s in the kitchen

Thick Rope - She carries this around as well but its to apprehend anyone she sees.

Photo album of Rayne Ames - She carries this with her at all times alongside a self printing camera. Don't worry, she gets permission to take the pictures.

Family/History:

The Randel Family while not aristocrats or anything, take pride in their magic aptitude which is a recent cut above the rest. Born as a two-liner magic user, she was put on a pedestal with unwanted attention, which is why she has a hime cut to hide her other mark. Her parents treat her like a trophy child and place their expectations on her.

She’s an only child but has an extensive selection of uncles and aunts 5 each. But she prefers her grandma over everyone else.

She had a tendency to break her wands while practising magic as a kid. Due to this her family/parents decided to just stop supplying wands (cuz it was costly) which resulted in her adapting the way she casted magic spells without the use of a wand. During her entrance exam into Walkis, she was ridiculed for not having a wand and got into trouble while getting the highest score of her batch in terms of magic.

_ _ _ _ _ _

I was tempted to add a Modern Magic/unmagic AU of this as well based on the anime endings which I find to be completely confusing even though they're fun. (SERIOUSLY, HOW IN THE WORLD DO RAYNE AND FINN HAVE FANCY OLD CARS THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN WHEN THEY'RE CANONICALLY ORPHANS UNLESS DIVINE VISIONARY IN MODERN AU IS A SUPER RICH POSITION-)

[theaterpug-writes]

Hi! I absolutely love your fic Misfortune, and I’d love to hear more about the universe surrounding it! I’ve always been curious about the dynamic that was hinted at with Erik, Pietro and Luna, from what we saw it seemed very nuanced!!

I'd really like to start by saying that I'm so glad Misfortune resonated with you! It's tied for my favorite work I did for House of Dadneto 2024, and I hope that if there's a 2025 event, I'll be able to live up to my work in 2024. I also want to say that I adore A Quiet and Starry Place and am excited for any upcoming chapters!

Within Misfortune, I tried to capture the idea of people's words, actions, and beliefs not completely coinciding. Whether it be Wanda claiming not to care about Erik outside his relationship with Pietro while still visiting him (albeit on the astral plane) or Erik denying that Luna's birth and humanity has any impact on him, while joining the X-Men for that very reason. I also tried to show the breakdown of communication within the family unit, and how that only leads to more pain.

When Pietro got married to Crystal, Erik wasn't there. He never truly got an answer as to why, though it was mainly due to Erik being a fugitive after his failed rebellion after the attempted assassination of Charles Xavier. Crystal's pregnancy was announced soon after the wedding, and Erik seemed to be excited at the prospect of being a grandfather again. He gets along with Crystal, although he only visits twice during the pregnancy so Pietro and Crystal don't get in trouble for meeting with a fugitive. Even though Crystal is royalty, he doesn't want to risk anything.

Pietro wants Erik to be proud of him, he wants to have a good relationship with him. To Pietro, having a relationship with Erik and considering him his father alongside Django is both possible and okay. He considers Django his father, and Erik as his father as well, one does not cancel out the other. Wanda has a harder time reconciling the two, so she uses Pietro as an excuse to get closer to Erik, as she doesn't want to betray Django, Marya or Magda. That's one of the reasons he still hasn't met Billy or Tommy. That and the fact Wanda's afraid they'll get hurt if anyone finds out about their relationship to Erik.

When Luna is born, and born human, Pietro is afraid.

He's heard what people say about his father, and seen the things his father has said and done when it comes to coexistence with humans. He doesn't think he'll harm Luna, but he thinks that he'll ignore her, and that he'll pretend that both she, and he, don't exist. Crystal encourages him to tell Erik about his doubts and fears, but he doesn't, he only tells him his daughter is born human.

Truthfully, Erik never considered this.

He figured she'd either be born mutant or inhuman, and either one was fine with him. But to be baseline? That wasn't a possibility.

Pietro waited to tell him until he was already holding Luna, but the second she was placed into his arms, Erik loved her. He saw his own eyes-the eyes of his son- staring back up at him, and blonde hair that's a perfect mix of that of her mother and of her father. She was perfect, and he'd do anything to make the world safer for her.

But then, Pietro fearfully told him she's human. Only a moment later he took her back, afraid of what Erik might say. While Erik's loved many humans, that's not what he's known for.

His granddaughter will grow up hearing all about how Magneto fought against the humans, and she'll think that he doesn't love her. He does love her, but at the same time, she's human. He can't really reconcile the idea of his granddaughter being a human. She just can't be, yet she is.

While he doesn't believe in the possibility of true human-mutant coexistence, he does believe in her; and making the world safer so that Tommy, Billy, and Luna Maximoff can grow up unafraid.

He couldn't live with himself if she was afraid of him. He can't live with himself while his son is afraid of him.

He would destroy the world at the drop of a hat, but he'd keep it safe for his grandchildren. Human and mutant alike. He'll try coexistence if only to make Luna happy. It doesn't mean he won't fight for mutants with the same vigor he always did, it just means he'll try to live alongside the humans and advocate for peace.

He'll try it, just as he'll keep his promise to an old friend.

So, he packs up his meager belongings, and joins the X-Men. Not only for Charles, but for his children and grandchildren too. Perhaps this way he can prove to his son, his granddaughter and even himself that he hasn't already damaged his relationships beyond repair. He remains aware that every move he makes is being monitored, not only by the UN, but by his son too.

When word reaches Pietro that his father has joined the X-Men and has been saving humans and mutants alike, he sends him a gift. A way to let him know he still loves his father, and wants to maintain their relationship. Because Erik hasn't talked through any of this with him, he doesn't know how his father feels about Luna, or if joining the X-Men has any correlation at all. A few days later, Wanda decides to visit Erik in the astral plane.

As for the gift, I have my own opinion on what's inside; but I worry that whatever answer I give won't live up to what the individual reader thinks is inside. If you want to know what I originally wrote to be in it before letting it be ambiguous, let me know, and I'll reveal it and it's significance to Pietro as a person.

I hope this in-depth examination of character motives makes sense, and thank you for reading this long! I've always found Magneto to be a very interesting character, so I knew I wanted to do a character study to open House of Dadneto. In fact, this was the third fic I wrote for the event, but the first I posted. I had already written Polaris and Acceleration, Tangential Speed and the Practicality of Fatherhood when I started planning out Misfortune!

I've also considered following more of the X-Men 97 plot through the lens of this AU, but I'm not sure if I'll end up doing it or not. I have plenty of ideas when it come to Episodes 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10.

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Oh, Equal Lady would be very into the reciprocal ownership thing. You think she'll just be subservient? Bs. Like, she'd treat him as the head of the household & would differ to him for the most part & all that, but she also wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind & put her foot down on certain issues. And rather than arguing, she's liable to use reason & logic rather than try to change him. Basically, just provide him with a different perspective that he may not have considered before.

So, it's more of a balance in that she'd expect him to trust her judgment at times, especially in regards to things he knows she's very knowledgeable about, ya know?

Though, I think that there’s been a bit of miscommunication here.

To make things clear, he only wins when it's a direct, one-on-one, head-to-head fight.

Like, yeah, he wins, provided that he sees her coming.

But Sheikah are trained as assassin-ninjas, which don't really need to be seen in order to get the job done, now do they?

Humans are still human, after all, & humans have a lot of weaknesses to exploit. Which ninja are most likely trained in the analysis & identification of. Even if the one they're fighting also happens to be a dark sword sorcerer with a divinely magical, reality warping relic in their hand.

Like, I tend to be of the opinion that when TP Ganondorf got the ToP at his execution, it really just resuscitated him, then started healing him. So, I think that if the Sages had instead stabbed him in the skull or just outright beheaded him, he'd just be dead.

Again, trained, deadly assassin of a tribe of assassins who have been refining their skills at such for, not just generations, but possible myriennia.

And, in fact, the most promising of her tribe in 100s of years. The entire reason she left to start traveling is because none of the men in or out of her tribe could measure up. Oh, she’d had a lot of marriage offers, but weaklings need not apply.

As for who I think her ideal iteration of Ganondorf would be? She was actually made with TotK in mind, but I've also been contemplating different iterations of her as well.

At the same time, typically lose doesn’t mean always lose. Though, her actually winning a direct duel with him would be much more rare than a stalemate. But, again, it would happen.

Though, at that point, it’s really up to chance. I see her as naturally faster & more nimble than him, but very much not as physically strong as him. As such, she’d need to make up for it with her magical capabilities, speed, agility, & quick, strategic thinking.

There’s also the fact that he’s just way taller & heavier than her. As such, by all accounts, he should absolutely body her & the fact that he doesn’t, not even once, is actually more of a testament to her abilities than his own. Which, he may well not realize as he grew up around women & no other fellow male Gerudo to compare himself to. As such, his perspective is very skewed.

I actually highly doubt that many of the women in his tribe were able to even approach matching up with him upon him reaching full maturity. Because by that point, he’d have much more upper body strength than any of them, as well as greater height & weight, not to mention the practical freaking superdrug that is testosterone. Which itself lends to him greater muscle capacity (more physical strength), larger lungs (meaning bigger lungfuls of air), longer limbs (meaning farther reach & able to take longer strides), bigger feet. All of which likely made him naturally more physically capable than them in a bunch of ways.

In contrast, they’re specialty would revolve more around their flexibility, agility, reaction time, & their main strength would be in their lower bodies, which would admittedly be greater than his in that area (so kicking would have more comparative strength).

But, I doubt that he’d be aware of this due to having had no other men to compare his own abilities to. As such, he may well just assume that there normally is no difference between men & women as far as fighting capabilities go & that he’s just ☆special like that☆, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

So, the fact that this, in my mind, relatively petite, little lady is able to fight him to a stalemate even once, should absolutely blow his flipping mind.

… Sorry, I got ahead of myself. I do think she could beat him in a direct fight, but she’d essentially have to find a way to unbalance him, knock him on his back, & immediately pounce on him, blade pressed ever so slightly against his throat. Which would be a clear win. But I also think that it’d really all depend on a mix of luck & him not reacting fast enough. And even then, I think she’d be near passing out due to the effort of the accomplishment.

As for what her hard limits are, children damn well better be safe from his ambitions. And if she ever hears of him being so much as unbothered by pedophilia & child slavery, everything's off. And if he’s ever participated or encouraged it, he better sleep with one eye open at night, because all bets are off. He’d be her next hit & he would not see it coming & by the time he’d realize what was happening, he’d already be dead. He likely wouldn’t even know it was her who did it either.

Like, while her preferred method of fighting is with blades, this woman is a master of toxins & has pinpoint accuracy. And she knows so many ways to kill a person with very little effort.

See, she has a very personal, seething hatred for those who would exploit children due to a traumatic experience she had as a kid. She’d been kidnapped slavers & they were… training her… if you get my drift… There’d also been others…

She was saved later by not just her family, but the majority of the warriors in her tribe, as well as several knights & even a few militia. But by that point, what was done was done.

As a result, she has a personal mission of hers in which she wishes to purge the world of such individuals. She also takes great, sadistic delight in taking her time torturing them for their evils. Until they are broken & begging for death.

Normally, she isn’t like that, but some things just bring out the beast in her.

She’s also very morally opposed to sexual slavery & rape (regardless of the sex of the victim) as a whole. However, unlike with children, in very specific situations, she’s able to very begrudgingly accept that someone has no choice. And the Gerudo in the OoT, HW, & the ancient past of TotK would be one of the very rare exceptions to the rape rule. Not because she’s okay with it, far from it, but she’d also understand that the Gerudo are kinda between a rock & a hard place due to the fact that they only get 1 man a century & that their relationship with the nearest source of men is very strained.

As a result, Hyrule’s men most likely weren't exactly amiable to pairing with Gerudo Vai, so the way that the Gerudo likely had to reproduce in these situations, probably had to do with feminizing the enemy & the kidnapping of men to turn then into slaves for their use.

Not that I think that the Gerudo are evil by default, not in the least. Rather, I believe that when survival is in question, then survival tends to have a lot of sway in regards to people's actions.

Nonetheless, she'd hate the situation, but she'd also understand to a degree.

THERE IS SO MUCH LORE HERE, EQUAL LADY!

Took me a few tries to read over everything and actually absorb everything, cuz my brain is kinda oatmealish (I love longer posts though oml)

I recommend everyone giving this a good read for the lore on Equal Lady's OC-

As for Ganondorf... I do not believe he would harm children in a SA manner. As someone who has (unfortunately) experiences being harmed in that way, I just don't see him doing that to children. Now, I'm iffy if he would use Child Soldiers. That... is something I can see some iterations of him doing in extreme cases, sadly. Gerudo are warriors, skilled ones at that, so seeing them train their children early to fight isn't stretched to me. Would they actually send them into battle? No, its more to protect themselves from monsters and various desert possibilities, but with Ganondorf, if pushed to the brink...

Ehhh... I don't like the thought of it, but yeah.

I am going to reread this post often, just cuz I love the lore of Equal Lady. Will we ever get Equal Lady's name?

[jaggedwolf]

2. Share your thoughts about Beau

Beau thoughts! Always Beau thoughts hour over here. Can you believe there are still Beau thoughts I haven't yelled at you yet? What a gal.

Don't think Beau cares much for fiction. She's canonically not much of a reader before the campaign, and once she gets into it she cares way more about the world's secrets and connections than a story. An adept, instinctive liar, it's warped truths that are her jam. She would've cared even less than we did about that long-ass cat story Caleb told Jester, except maybe as a lens through which to psychoanalyze Caleb, and I doubt she's one to go see a theatre show of her own accord. She'll dramatically read out lines from Jester's smut books though, she finds that funny. Her accidental ownership of Courting of the Crick (Jester bought it for Caleb, who didn't want it and gave it to Beau) is 50% because it was banned in the Empire, 30% lol Kryn smut, and 20% burgeoning history nerd

Beau is deeply embarrassed by how much the single incident of the monk kidnapping got to her. While I'm sure part of its lasting impact is the final parental rejection it signifies, exacerbated by the later letter she gets about TJ, I think a lot of it is the sheer helplessness of it. She had that young person's confidence in her own immortality and ability to get out of any scraps on her own merit, and gets hit by the one-two punch of needing her dad to bail her out of jail and then experienced parent-endorsed monk kidnapping which she could not escape due to a combination of emotional shock and plain physical inability. This seems quite pathetic to her, and is one of the reasons for sharded backstory strategy she employs. A Beau who left her parents of her own accord, heck, a Beau who got plain kicked out of home, would be a significantly different Beau at the start of the campaign.

Related: It was really really good for both Beau and the Nein as a whole that Beau was one of the rescuers in the Iron Shepards arc and not one of the rescued. You know how Fjord took it badly, having to be rescued at such a risk? I think Beau at that stage of the campaign would have taken it worse, in a more volatile way. Subtract the confidence boost of defeating Lorenzo's crew, add in a sense of debt of not carrying her own weight, oof, messy AU there.

IMO, the only worlds in which Beau's mom leaves Beau's dad are worlds in which Thoreau is societally condemned, which means I don't think of Clara as sooo much better than Thoreau. Only a little. I do think Beau is willing to give her way more grace because Thoreau did do worse shit, Beau has more of a complex about Thoreau, and Beau also just tends to give women more grace. (I don't think I'm making up that last bit lmao) So yeah, I can see a post-campaign Beau rebuilding her relationship with her mom or whatever, but I will be eternally judgy-eyed about the woman who sent her monk-kidnapped daughter a letter saying the Lionetts had been "granted their greatest wish and had a son". It is not a Thoreau move to tell Clara to send that letter.

Scrolling through the wiki about post-campaign canon, and while I abstractly respect all this "the Mighty Nein see each other regularly!" and "Beau has a good work-life balance" stuff...my favorite take on a post-campaign Beau will always be one who dives in full speed with Caleb into taking down the Cerberus Assembly, each of them barely pulling the other back from burnout, literal or metaphorical. An obsession that leaves them neglecting the others and themselves, yes.

I still think it would so funny for Beau to have a one-night stand with Astrid after the campaign (only once Trent's trial is complete ofc, what a professional) and then go oh shit...bro code.. Visits Caleb and go yo I slept with Astrid sorry if that wasn't cool and Caleb's immediate reaction is "are you sorry because she's my ex or because she's part of the Cerberus Assembly??" And then he goes, actually no, we will never speak of this again, because he's scared Beau will go into detail. (Beau wouldn't, Beau would only go into detail about hypothetical sex acts in front of Caleb, because it would scandalize him without revealing anything about herself, the perfect Beau troll bit.)

[summertimemusician]

So.

Things are gonna be quiet here for a lot longer than anticipated, and I am sorry for that. Well... It's better for me to get it out of the way quickly.

One of my dogs passed away this morning.

At the time I'm writing this it's been at least a couple of hours since I found her. I would have been... Not prepared, per say, if it was my eldest dog, because frankly who the heck is ever prepared for the death of their pet, no one ever is. But I wouldn't have been surprised, she's an old but good girl and I'm terrified every day I'm going to wake up and see her gone, but it wouldn't have been a surprise.

It being one of my youngest to go first was a surprise. And definitely not a good one to wake up to when you are just trying to go to sleep.

...

Her name was Crystal. She was a soft good girl, quiet and with the fur the color of ivory and gold. She was really gentle and affectionate, every time I was home she'd immediately come bounding over, tripping over her own paws to pat at my legs for pets and hugs and kisses. She has an elder sister which has the fur opposite to hers and is incredibly hyperactive but just as sweet, but I've been raising them both since they were pups with my eldest dog as their resigned surrogate mom and a stray I was raising at the time as their brother.

She was such, such a gentle and kind girl. And I... I don't even have any words, she was alright yesterday you know? The rest of this week in fact, running around, barking and playing and cuddling with her sister while my eldest watched on because she has no patience for puppies but Lord willing she'll let fights break out and I had to hold their brother back because he's too big and he'd bowl them both over and I was still trying to teach him how to not accidentally crush them because he's a silly but good boy and I just... Can't process this right now. I just can't. I don't know why or how she passed away and it just... Hurts, I'm numb and I'm empty and I'm so, so, so darn tired I wish I could just tear the pain out of my heart but unfortunately if I tried I'd just find a useless organ that is used to pump blood onto my body so it has oxygen to continue working. Grief is always such a clawing, biting, gritting, cutting thing and it destroys anyone from the inside out and I'm tired of it, I wish I didn't have to mourn again and that she was still here but well, the thing about wishes is that they don't come true.

... But that's not important right now. I'll always, always miss her. I loved you so, so much Crystal, still do. Probably always will though we've barely spent a full year together. I hope you know that, that you're happy wherever you are now and hopefully not in anymore pain, and that you won't worry about your useless owner. I'll make sure to watch over your sister and everyone as best as I can, so just rest in peace okay? Wherever she is, I hope she doesn't worry about me.

(I'd give you guys a picture of her, but she was also my mom's since she helped take care of her and she's... Well, devasted is too soft to put it. Out of respect to her wishes I won't be putting it here.)

... I might go silent here for a while due to this. I know I was going to post a lot more Linktober stuff I didn't yet because I hate to leave stuff incomplete, among other stuff and projects and asks I've been working on. And for those who have read and liked my writing I'm sorry I won't be able to post anything any time soon, and for the unanswered asks in my inbox, I was getting to them in between essays and well. This happened. I... Need to take some time for myself, and to keep an eye on my dogs and on my mom too to make sure they're going to be okay. I'll probably be writing and rewriting a lot in the meantime, writing was and always will be one of the better ways I coped and it's the only way I really can get this out of my system since somehow I doubt I'll have the proper space and time to properly grieve. Hopefully I'll be back soon and until then my apologies, hope you all can be patient with me until then.

Till next time guys. And thank you everyone who liked any of my writing until now.

[kob131]

TBH I feel like Cinder's being set up to be absolutely decimated by Ruby after this Volume. This was pretty much established the last volume, but I find it interesting that any fight with them is set up to be OVERWHELMINGLY in Ruby's advantage due to Cinder both being consumed by her Grimm arm, and a Maiden. Ruby coming out a stronger person after this volume (hopefully) would cement that even more imo.

Also as much as I love her, Neo is totally gonna bite it this arc, isn't she? She's definitely set up as the final boss here. I'd be pleasantly surprised if she wasn't though, that Jabberwock army could really be useful against the Grimm. Oh yeah one more thing, if things pan out right, I'm guessing it's gonna be Jaune or weiss that takes out Neo and/or the Jabberwock thing once and for all, since in the original story iirc it was slain by a Vorpal Blade, and they're the only sword users so far.

Unforunately, I'm going to have to say yes to Cinder and Neo.

Cinder almost certainly is gonna get humiliated and defeated by Ruby come the Vacuo Arc, especially given how much destruction she's caused in Ruby's life and how she basically got Penny killed.* My only doubt here is if Ruby kills Cinder- Like I said, it makes more sense to me that Cinder either gets herself killed due to her own flaws or she dies in some indirect way to avoid giving her any kind of glory in her death. That's something reserved for heroic characters like Pyrrha, Hazel or Vine.

Neo is also probably gonna die. Again, makes sense. With her obsession with killing Ruby in futile revenge, refusing to open up about her grief and pain while Ruby does seems a fitting end. But it is possible she'll live but be taken out some other way. Maybe she loses herself to the Jabberwalker as her pain literally consumes her. Maybe she'll really become a Mad Hatter, trapped in a delusion of the people she lost while never moving on. Maybe she'll lose her indentity and become someone new. She has more thematic aveunes to survive but none of them will end well for her.

As for the Jabberwalker- I can see three outcomes.

1- Ruby kills it and shows that she's truly back before defeating Neo.

2- Jaune and Ruby kill it, with Jaune accepting once again that he's not some grand hero and finally moving on from his guilt as he turns back into his young adult self.

or 3- WBY and Jaune fend it off from killing Ruby to finally show that they know her pain and take up arms so she can recover.

Honestly, Volume 9's been such a thematic and visual ride that I'll be really sad when it ends. I may have cheered on Tesla in Record of Ragnarok but I've felt far more appreciation and respect for Volume 9.

[mercuriangelic]

I hope this isn’t insensitive, and I sincerely apologize if it is. I’ve seen you post about having erotomania, and my mother has been experiencing all the textbook behaviors for the past month and is only getting worse. I’ve gotten her to begrudgingly agree to come to a therapist with me if I can find one, though she thinks they’ll tell me my refusal to believe her is due to my own issues and nothing to do with her. Do you have any advice for how I can help her and encourage her to be evaluated? Thank you in advance, and once again, I’m sorry if this is insensitive in any way, I’m just extremely lost and would appreciate the perspective of someone who is aware they have the disorder. <3

hello this is not insensitive at all! it's really nice that you're showing concern for your mother, having erotomania is not easy in the slightest... and finally accepting it isn't easy either. i've personally been experiencing symptoms since i was 17 and at the ripe age of 24 decided to sit down and evaluate myself thanks to the help of my actual partner who had to sit me down and have a long conversation with me.

now this shouldn't need a disclaimer but i feel like it'd still be right to say to take what i say with a grain of salt, since i am no professional. getting resources on erotomania is so damn hard too, since it hasn't been that looked into but it DOES exist so i'll add the resources i find after this. i don't know how much you know about this disorder, but it's always good to learn as much as possible so you can approach her in an understanding manner. what really helped me, personally, was being told that what i'm going through isn't crazy or making me a bad person. i liked knowing there was a loved one in my corner, cheering me on and showing support at the same time. which isn't to be confused with enabling, keeping her grounded while also reassuring that she's still your mother and that you still love her is key. i would also go one step further and offer to go with her to the evaluation, let her know that if anything bad happens you'll be at her defense. because even though she'll be talking to a professional, that judgment is still possible but not something she needs at the moment.

now when looking for a professional definitely find someone who specializes in schizophrenia, since erotomania can fall under that umbrella. i will actually go one step further and see if she has any pre-existing disorders that could cause her to develope erotomania. it can be a stand alone disorder, but more often times it will be a symptom of something preexisting like schizophrenia and bipolar 1, so finding a specialist that can help with those first you can work your way up to addressing the more specific delusion (erotomania in this case). it will definitely be a process and a long one at that... but i hope you two are able to find someone trustworthy quickly. now addressing your "refusal to believe her" is there a way to elaborate on that? you can send another anon so you can continue staying private. i'm assuming you mean you refuse to believe her attachment is genuine, and by that i would agree with you and if the person you look for knows anything about schizophrenia i doubt they'd enable your mother like that. i wouldn't want it to be said to her face that she's wrong and that her attachment is wrong, not yet anyway. it's good to take it little by little, she needs to know you are on her side even if there isn't an agreeance with behavior. try to make sure (if this is a physically accessible person) she limits her interactions with them, like for me. my very first attachment was my ex, who after the breakup i believed and would tell others we were just taking a break and he was waiting for me. i was going to return to him eventually, and he was going to love me again. thankfully i had a friend i could rely on, someone to physically stay with me and keep my brain occupied so i minimize thinking about him. she took me places, out to eat, i stayed at her house, etc. obviously the routine will be different since you are family but basically doing anything you can to keep her mind busy will help!

i do want to end this by saying thank you for reaching out, i know you're anonymous but you still don't know me so i can imagine it took a lot of courage to find someone and trust them enough for advice on this. i can imagine this is a lot on your shoulders right now, and while it is admirable you're doing this, remember you're a person with emportance too. erotomania is a hard HARD disorder to help with, sometimes you'll run out of patience and that's okay. it's okay to not 100% be there at every beck and call. if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed take care of yourself, prioritize yourself, make sure you are also safe. if you feel safe enough to come back with updates, i would love to hear it and hopefully help more. have a good day!

some resources:

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/erotomania/

https://theprivatetherapyclinic.co.uk/blog/erotomania-the-delusion-of-love/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/schizophrenia-caregiver-guide/help-someone-with-schizophrenia-get-treatment/

https://www.bcss.org/support-resources/living-with-schizophrenia/managing-delusions/

[fog-weaver-of-nyc]

Sterling Ashfield or Fog-Weaver at your service, been doing this since I was 18, almost 27 now, and am the third spider person of E-7777520. I recognize I have... A lot of issues, but I'd like to work through them for my kids, I just haven't had the means due to my being labeled a terrorist by the dystopian government of this world. I don't trust the doctors or therapists here, as they answer to the government, and the last thing I need is to be reported and have that cause the younger Harry to be sent back to the Osbornes, Bryce to be sent to foster care and Jace arrested.

I co-parent with our world's Gwen Stacy or 'Alpha' as she's now called, and one of my ex Rogue's gallery, Dr. Finn Halycon. Both have politely declined to join us for the moment. Alpha is cagy about any form of professional, and Finn doesn't want too. The three of my children that have agreed, Jace, Harry (Jr), and Bryce are my sons.

Jace is the eldest and is currently at university for business, he and I started as working partners but I ended up taking him in after a while. He has his own vigilante persona of the Nightwren, and is honestly the most stable of everyone in the household. He has had some traumatic encounters including a brief stint in captivity by a local crime family, so I'd imagine that's something to be addressed.

Harry, or Jr, is my middle son, and the first child I took in after he fled from his parents after they attempted to test a new strain of the green goblin formula on him. He's the most rambunctious and mischievous of us, and I have a hard time getting him to listen. He's a good kid though.

Finally, my youngest is Bryce. He was a runaway orphan myself and Alpha came across and Alpha gave me no option other then taking him in. He's mute due to extreme abuse and is terrified of most AFAB or female presenting people. It was a hard road getting him to at least be comfortable with the women in our lives to a point he'll semi communicate with them and sometimes verbally talk to us. He's the one I'm inclined to say needs help the most, something that pains me I can't provide.

My two daughters, Athena and Thalia live in a seperate dimension with their uncle, and aren't mine legally. Athena also is very resistant to talking about her issues, so I doubt she'll be up for this. Thalia may be more open, we'll have to see.

Alright let’s do this one last time.

I’m Ezekiel Sims, I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the last 12 years I’ve been the one and only spiderman.

I fought a lot of villains, got my Masters in psychology, saved the city, retired from active spidermaning and emended up here.

Luckily I’m not need much anymore to the save the city. I get to focus on my practice and patients. My friends Harry and Peter discovered the multiverse communication and travel. So now I’m also here to serve this spider community

Because just by peaking around, most of you need serious therapy.

So feel free to contact me at any time.

[yuikomorii]

Do you think Ayato would make a good parent? Not now, while him and Yui are still 17, but maybe 10 or more years into the future? I was just curious since Ayato has been shown interacting with kids before and he seems surprisingly caring. He isn't the best at looking after them, but he tries. Question aside, I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of any ending where Yui becomes a mom at 17...it just doesn't feel right. I'm sure she'll make an amazing mom one day, but I think now is much too early. Sorry if I ended up rambling!!

// Unpopular opinion but I don’t want Ayato and Yui to ever have a child. :”)

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against children and I actually really like them as long as they’re kind and respectful but a child would be more of a burden to them…?

First of all, even if years pass by, Ayato will continue to look and be the same because vampires develop much slower than humans due to their immortal lifespan. As a result, who will be responsible for the child after Yui dies because she can no longer be turned into a vampire? Exactly, Ayato. The fact that he is the Vampire King would make matters worse in this case because he would be unable to deal with a child while also fulfilling all of his king duties. In the DF short story, he was already shown working himself off, and putting even more pressure on his shoulders would be very sad. Some may believe that having one of his brothers take care of the child will solve everything, but I disagree. I seriously doubt Ayato would be okay with it given his experience with an absent parent.

Secondly, it has been established that the Diaboys are prone to becoming envious of their own children, which is very unhealthy. I understand that they are natural predators and that it is acceptable to date a human as long as she is treated with love and respect, but I draw the line at having children and then viewing them as competition.

When it comes to Ayato being nice to children, I suppose he's acting more like a "big bro" than a father figure. Carla, in my opinion, is the only Diaboy with true father qualities, as demonstrated in LP.

I believe Yui can act motherly but she’s still not mature enough to raise a child. I agree with you that she’d be a good mother in the future if she evolves more as a person but that is kinda doubtful taking account that in the recent games she was mostly turned into an emotional support rather than a character with development and was proven unable to help any of the Diaboys with their king duties (that’s understandable though) but I miss the times when DL was focused more on her thoughts, actions and growth. ://

I'm honestly glad that the main guys are usually never the ones who impregnate the MCs, because most heroines are teenagers, and it's just weird turning them into mothers when 90% of them were sheltered and didn’t even experience living life so… I guess that’s just not the ideal outcome of any otoge? Don't worry about rambling though; I appreciate the ask, and look at me starting to ramble about it as well. xD